Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, December 29, 1894, Page 5

THE OMAHA DALY Be= B. ROSEWATER, Editor, — — EVERY MORNING, PUBLISHE = = CRIPTIC One Yenr TERMS OF UL (Without Sunday) Datly B and Sundey, O Dally Tee Bix Months Thrae Monthe ndny Tee, On turday 1 Weekly Pee, Omaha, The T Bouth Omaha, Council BIufts, Chicago Office, 3 New York, T 14 and 15, Tribune Bldg. Washington, 1407 F Street, N, W. CORRESPONDE ANl communications relating to news and edl toral matter should be addressed: To the Editor TERS, remittances should be Publishing Omaha, Drafts, checks and posto be made_payable to the ord: THE BEE PUBLISHING Bullding and Twenty-fourth All . STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION George 13, Tzschuck, secrotary of The Bee Pub- tishing befng duly sworn, says that the actial number of full and complete cop of the Dally Morning, F and Sunday Bee printed during the month of November, 1§ as follows 20,569 2 Total .. Less deduict coples . na - for uns Total S0M.....covneiess Dailyaverage’ et Sireinfion Bworn to before me and subscribed in my pres- cn this 30 day of Decembor, 189 “Seat) Z FEIL, Notary Publie. s N ekl Bt s Mr. Breckinridge received a cool reception at Cincinnati, and it will grow cooler as he goes farther south on his lecturing The secretn has invested $0T5 of the in 150 new chairs for the leg What has Dbecome of the chairs bought two ye ago? apiece for to be used “day session Nebraska to dollars and a half that are expected up at the end of the sixt f8 a very nice luxury for indulge in these hard time Six chairs The battles of the Nebraska militis will liave to be fought out before the Nebraska legislature with Major Gen- eral Colby and Adjutant General Gage standing guard over the camp chest. If there are any postmasters or fed- eral officers in any capacity among the men clected to the legislature they had better resign at onee. No person hold- ing a federal oflice can be a member of the legislature. In times like these it is essential that every dollar of Nebraska money, so far as practicable, be kept within her bor- ders. Buy Nebraska produets and man- ufactures in preference to all others, and thus stand up for Nebraska. When Commissioner Luke of - the Towa Rallroad commission impetuously exclaimed that the commission was not in existence to submit to a cross-exam- Ination he unwittingly exhibited the railroad brand on his collar, Two Sticks, the Sioux chieftain, has pald the penalty for his terrible crime. There is but one ret attending the affair, and that is the escape from jus- tice of his accomplices in the foul mur- der of which he was convicted. A state official of Towa is authority for the statement that the Iowa railways will not present bills for transporting the state militia to Council Bluffs to re- pel the invasion of the Kelly army last year. Let us hope, for decency’s sake, that the statement may prove true. Superintendent Hunt says that the re- ceivers of the waterworks company contemplate extensions and improve- ments which will cost over $200,000, the work to begin early in the spring. This announcement will be hailed with satis- faction by the property owners of Omaha, A new beginning ought to be made in the city hall in the matter of tele- phones. One teleplione station on each floor would be sufficient in any business establishment, but the city is paying $48 a year In telephone charges for nearly every office in the building. There 1s such a thing as having too many conveniences at the public ex- pense, The spread of that diphtherin, this year, is the subject of general comment. We hope the con- vention of doctors now sitting in this city will take necessary steps for making experiments with the new Ger- man remedy, anti-toxine, As yet the medical profession in Nebraska secins to have taken little intercst in the new treatment, Salaries of superintendents and em- ployes of stute institutions ave out of all proportion to those paid exceutive and judicial officers, Retrenchment is the order of the day, and there is no more fallow fleld for the practice of economy than in the vavious state insti- tutions, from the the penitentiary down to the asylum for fecble inded at Beatrice. The fact that these officials and employes are fed and housed by the state Is a big item these drouth-stricken times, and should be considered when the legislature takes up the pruning knife In dead eavnest, dread sconrge, A provision should by all means be Incorporated in the new charter tl will prohibit the Introduction of new dinances or claims that ve not been approved by the comptroller within twenty days before the close of evach conneil. That would do away with all jobs and frauvdulent elaims that are held back purposely until the last days of the council, and railroaded through under Ligh pressure, The constitution of Nebraska prohibits the introduction of bills within twenty days of the close of each sesslon. The object of this clause was to check hasty legislation and jobbery, Its effect has Leen very salutary, and the state has been saved thousands of dollars by heading suap-judgment bills and claiws that fear the daylight | past | producers oft | THE FIGAT OVER 10WA RATES. The discussion over the proposed In- crease of Towa freight rates, which has been in progress before the Towa Railroad commission during the two days, ias attracted at- tention not only through the | state of Town, but also this sideof | the Missourl. The Towa shippers nml: have been ably represented by men who are thoronghly familiar, not only with railrond tariff s, but with | the ingide rates made by traffic man- agers and general freight agents to the | rebate favorites, | Iix-Commissiozer Campbell demotished all the specions arguments made by the railrond attorne who asserted that higher rates prevailed in adjacent states situated the same as lowa is, by citing | the inside rates that have been for years | given to jobbers and mill men in Wis- | consin, Minnesota and Illinois. A might have been expected, Nebraska | was quoted by the railroad retainers in | support of their claim that Towa rates mder the present commissioner schedule are unreasonably low. They failed to | state, however, that the shippers and producers of Nebraska have for years | been In revolt against the exorbitant and oppressive local rates exacted on | this side of the Missourl. They did not | refer to the fact, either, that our legis- lntures have for ten years past been elected on platforms pledging reduced rates to the people. 1t is significant in this connection to note the pressure which is heing brought upon the Iowa Railroad commission through republican mpaign managers, who are exerting their political pull in the interest of the railrond corporations. he Towa commission will do well to bear in mind that the railroad attorneys who are pleading for higher rates do not voice the sentiment of the rank and file of the party, and mpreover would, if their pernicious influence predominates, drag the party down into defeat in the | very next campaign, Tt is safe to say that not one voter in every ten thousand in the state of Towa favors the raising of freight rates, even if the railroad chedu'e was sure to be rescinded within ninety day THE SCHOOL BOARD DEFICIT. The B of Rducation finds itself in sore straits. The report of the finance committee, which embodies recommendations for reforms which the new board is expected to inaugurate, is in reality an ar nment of the old management for extravagance and un- businesslike methods. The committee has discovered a shortage of several thousand dollars in the building fund, caused by expenditures for new build- ings in excess of the amount set apart for their construction and equipment. This is not the only bad break made in connection with the new school houses. The worst imposition on the xpayers was the exorbitant prices paid for several of the sites, the squan- dering of thousands of dollars for fill- ing and grading these lots, and the costly foundations that had to be built for some of the buildings by reason of their being located on filled ground. The commiftee points out as one of the caunses of shortage in the school fund the increase in the interest ac- count by nearly $20,000 a year, but that increase could haye been forescen and forestalled by corresponding reductions in other directions. To say that inas- much as the bonded debt for the new school sites and buildings was created by a voluntary vote of the people therefore the city should make pro- vision for paying the interest and sink- ing fund by an increase of the school levy is pettifogging the case. The Board of Education formulated and submitted the school bond propositions. It made the purchases and expended not only the proceeds of the bonds, but fmprovidently and without warrant of law overdrew the building fund. It stands to reason that the school board is expected to make provision for meet- ing the interest on the debt it has created, just as it does the current ex- penses for running the schools. If the income overlaps the disburse- ments the brakes should have been turned on at every point where re- trenchment and economy are possible without seriously impairing the effi- clency of the schools. The deficit for the coming year is estimated at §65,000 by the committee, This corresponds with the estimate made by The Bee some weeks ago, The committee seeks to make out a very good case for the board as well as the city council by asserting that no- body is to blame for this extraordinary overlap, but if the members had been managing the business of a private cor- poration In the same way there would have been somebody to blame, and that somebody would have been severely veprimanded or relieved from further responsibility by involuntary retir ment. While it is true that there has been a marked increase in school at- tendance within the past two years that fact constitu! no valid reason for keeping up the needless and expensive fads and ologies when the income does not warrant such luxuries. The new school board has a very rocky road before it, and it Is to be hoped it will profit by the blunders of the outgoing bourd. JUTHERN WAR CLAIMS. A lurge numbe of southern war claims hoas been dismissed by the court of claims and transmitted to congress because upon preliminary inquiry the fact could not be established that the claimants were loyal during the war, | How many more claims there are be. fore the court, presented by persons who is impossible to say, but unquestionably the number is large, and it will be very materially increased if half the claims before congress shall be sent to the {court. The calendar of the house s will be unable to prove their loyalty, it | | londed down with bills reported | last sesslon to pay the claims of loyal men who lived within the coufed- ate lines during the war and whose | property was taken or destroyed by the |union army. ‘Ihe mewmbers who bring forward these claims usually assert that all they ask Is that the elaims be re- | ferred to the court, which must poss on them according to the evidence e Isented o 16, The advantage Is cleavly le the | alleged | with the clalmauts, for it Is so long THE OMAMA DAILY BEB: SATURDAY, D HECEMBER 29, 1894, since the war that it is difficult in some cases, and in most of them impossible, for the government to prove the dis- loyalty of claimants, many of whom are making claims as heirs of persons now dead. However diligent the at- torneys for the government may be they cannot in a great many cases got testimony at this late date to disprove that brought forward by the claimants, who generally can afford to pay well for the testimony they require. The amount of southern war claims now pending is sald to exeeed $600,000, 000. Tf is not probable that more than one-third of them are honest and just but the chances are that a much larger amount will finally be allowed. It has been urged that notwithstanding the undoubted fact that a large proportion of these claims are fraudulent and that the difficulty of the government showing them to be fraudulent increases from year to year, still it is the duty of con gress to let the court of claims or some other tribunal sift these claims and ad- Just the few valid ones, This is a| questionable proposition. Loyal men living in the south during the war whose property was taken or destroyed by the government should be reim- bursed, but there is reason to believe th ¢ few such have not already had their claims adjusted, and those who have neglected to do so hardly de- serve consideration if it involves an in- terminable raid on the treasury by peo- ple who were not loyal to the gove ment. The persons who could pre a just claim to reimbursement for lnw; of property have had ample time in| which to do so, and if they have failed to improve the opportunity they alone are to blame. It is an injustice to the taxpayers of the country to be required to provide money for an indefinite time for this purpose, with the certainty that a considerable proportion of it will be [ paid to persons who have no legal or moral right to it. There has been an enormous inerease in the the amount of these claims presented in the present congress, showing that the people of the south ave fully alive to their oppor- tunity in this particular. The republi- cans in congress will be justified In pre- venting the p: claim to which there is a warrantable doubt of its honesty and fairness SLEEPING CAR AT It is announced that Sel intends to make an earnest effort to have adopted his amendment to the house pooling bill, which provides for the regulation of sleeping and parlor car charges. This measure pr ibes a maximum rate of one-half cent per mile for upper berths and one-third cent per mile for lower berths in sleepers, and for parlor cars one-half cent per mile, and makes it unlawful for any in- dividual or individuals, corporation or corporations, owning, leasing or oper- ating any sleeping car upon any railroad in and between the several states in the United States to make a greater charge than the bill prescribes. It is also pro- vided that the companies shall supply secure safes for the care of valuables. All sleeping car companies or other cor- porations owning, controlling, leasing or operating sleeping and parlor cars are to be deemed common carrlers of passen- gers and subject to all the responsibili- ties, duties and laws governing common carriers of passengers. Any violation of the provisions of the bill 1s made punish- able by a fine of $100 per day, one-half of which goes to the prosecutor and the other to the United States. 1t is stated that if the committee in charge should fail to report the amend- ment with the bill Mr. Sherman will push it in the senate and demand a vote on its adoption. There can be no doubt that the measure will be approved by the traveling public, though it would be improved and rendered more acceptable to the public if it fixed the rate for par- lor cars at one-third of a cent per mile, The reduction which it is proposed to make in sleeping car rates is not great, and cannot be objected to on the score of being either unreasonable or unfair. The munificent revenues of the sleeping and parlor car companies show that they can stand the rates prescribed in this amendment, which are very little below those now charged by the companies, e cept In cases where, by an arbitrary rule, the charge is fixed between points having competing lines according to the longest distance traveled. Besides, they would undoubtedly have more patron- age at the reduced rates, so that proba- bly their gross revenues would not be materially affected by the proposed re- duction. Senator Sherman will have no difficulty In presenting conclusive argu- ments in support of his proposition, and he can press it with the assurance that it has the practically unanimous ap- proval of the public. The sleeping car monopoly has always enjoyed the privi- lege of making its own terms, and it has never considered the question of what is fair and reasonable to the traveling public In doing so. It has arrogantly and arbitrarily pursued its course of ex- action, evading responsibilities and du- ties whenever it was possible to do sc and all the time showing the rapacity and greed that intrenched monopoly is capable of. It 18 high time that the tional authority stopped Its exactions and subjected it to just regulations. Congtess will co the publie a very valva- ble scrvice by passing Senator Sher- man's amendment, or Sherman “The appointment by the Chinese goy- ernment of Ex-Secretary John W, Fos- ter to assist the peace commissioners of Ching fn negotiating terms with Japan is a distinguished compliment to that diplomatist. Mr., Foster succeeded Jumes G. Blaine as secretary of state, and made an excellent record, showing very superior ability in conducting dip- lomatie questions. Prior to this his services had been called into requisition by President Haveison, with most satis- factory results, as his appointment to the secretaryship attested. - He was min- ister to Spain and has had other expe rience in the work of diplomacy. Prob- ably no American is better equipped than Mr, Foster for the servic perform for the Chinese government, und it is safe to prediet that the result will greatly iuerease his reputation, It is now certain that China desives peac and probably s pre) A to make a ve generous offer to secure it. The are he Is to Japan will make, and there is reason to Dbelieve that'ehe will not be governed by a spirit of fifagpanimity. Having China at ler feet shio.can make her own terms, subject only ol the restraint of not go- ing so far #§ fo incite opposition from Buropean natlans. The Stath Federation of Labor will send represenfatives before the legisl ture In advecacy of a half dozen meas ures in whieh labor Is vitally concerned. We have heretofore suggested that labor lenders herenbouts would do well to con- centrate thelr efforts upon one or two important bills. for which they are con- tending. We néw suggest that the Fed eration call 1y some of the laws now on the statute books of other states en- acted In their behalf and Institute an Inquiry as to how well they are being enforced, if at all. 1t I8 now given out that the proposed bill to regulate sleeping car fa is to be attached by Senator Sherman as a rider to the railroad pooling bill. If that ve true, and Senator Sherman suc- ceeds in having his rider engrafted on the pooling bill, that measure will at least possess some merit. The chances ave, however, t the Troad contin- gent of the senate, which is sald to con- stitute about two-thirds of its member- ship, will reject the Sherman amend- ment as soon as Is has been presented. 1t for Destruction. Boston Advertiser. ent only affords another way in which the demo- arift law has decreased and choked rade with the Un States, and arison between the pledges made by the democratic orators a few years ago and the fulfillment of those pledges in the pres- ent year is so significant as to cail for little added comment, R Ralds on the Gold New York Tribune, Russia_fs borrowing $75,000,00 in gold in eastern Europe, and Austria 18 borrowing 7,000,000 in gold to complete its arrang s for setting up the gold standard, his 1s causing another such transfer of stocks of gold as was seen two ye S Ao, when the outgo from the United States was 80 heavy. Taken in connection with the prevailing disposition of Kuropeans to carry small a supply of American securities as posgible, these developments promise to make the drain upon our gold reserves this winter and next spring unusually heavy. esson in Convict Labor, Indianapolis Journal, The last legislature in Ohlo passed a law requiring all goods made by convict labor to be labeled ns convict made, This re- sulted in the boycotting of the goods to such an extent as o cause many contrac- tors to quit the business, and in consequence of this the prison has run behind this year $73,131 and hundreds of convicts are in” the idle house. If convict labor Is to be abol- ished, and there are strong reasons why it should be, 1t will become a serious question how to employ convicts and prevent prisons from becoming a heavy tax on the people. ittt inor Too Much Government. Chicago Herald. A clty newspaper, in_descriving the evils of the muitiplicity of governments from which Chicago suffers, says that a man can stand on any'corner ‘and consider Limself as under three separate jurisdictions, the state, county. and city. " That only’ half describes it, ‘fo say the least. Mo is ulso under ‘the jurfddiction of the town, park district and” sanitary district, to say noth- ing of the wa¥d and school jurisdictions, the last being a taxing jurisdiction. The citi- zen lives under-seven different governments, each wth its. different laws, ordinances, regulations, official establishment and tax- ing powers. We are governed too much. e Calling Spain to Time, Chicago Tribune, The president has not acted & moment too prompily or a whit too sharply. Spain has always been ofie of the worst and most un- Just offenders‘ ugainst this country in the matter of trade. .She has received more money from this country than from all others combined. Her West Indian posses- sions have lived off our gold and she has lived off them. She has been haughty and insufferable in all her dealings with us, and it {s time she was squelched and made to behave herself. The president has struck her in a vital spot, and it may have the effect of bringing her to her senses. This country has endured Spanish insolence long enough. It is time to talk back. e Frults of Finnnclal Tinkering. Springfleld Republican. Gold will continue to go out as long as the Democrats stay in. The country would be much better oft if it could export the democrats and keep the yellow metal at home. But as there s no domestic, so there 18 no foreign demand for them, and they are not wanted anywhere except now and then Dby the criminal courts and the grand jury. With the present currency tinker at the head of the finance department, it is rather surprising that a dollar of gold Is left in the country, It does not flow away from him like molasses in winter, but with nimblest radiating centrifugality, like the distribution of koumiss out of an exploded bottle. When he leaves the department he will probably not leave enough of the stand- ard metal to start a gold cure with, and the retiring administration may need one, A Jewel Among Reformers, Chicago Herald, The committee of five was the executive body of the committee of seventy which managed the recent successful campaign against Tammany In New York City. Ful- ton McMehon was & member of the com- mittee of five, and the appointment of dep- uty sherift was offered to him, which he declined. It is a very lucrative office. He sald that If he should accept the appoint- ment it would look as if he had taken a part of th> spofls as a reward for his re- form labors in politics, and it would close his mouth If the new reform administration should prove faithless to the objects for which it was placed in power, and should deserve -public censure. A reformer in pol- itics who refuses an office worth several thousands of dollars a year because it would create a scandal displays evidence that his reform principles are genuine, and_not a cover for the pursuit of the spoils, Citizens of this stamp are rare, ile. Al Caplital, The Davenport Democrat heartily endorses the Nebraska valued policy law, which re- quires Insurance companies in case of total loss to pay the total amount named in the policy, and for which the company has ac- cepted the premiums. It fs well known that the Insurance g‘DlXIPuIIIPM object to such a law on the gfound that it encourages in- cendiarism and also encourages over insur- ance, he companies say that If they are ot permitted to prove that the property had r had not the Isurance value at the tim of the taking out of the policy, they mi, as well consider themselves ready to pay very policy that is Issued, and that the resuit would be insurance rates would have to be increased,: The disinterested public say that the InSurance company ought to be compelled to make its investigation and know what it Is insuring at the time the policy 18 made ouj: that if there is any fraud that Is thejtime to make the dis covery, 3 e Penstorsd OMoers' Widows, Curtis In Chicago Record, The senate hith pissed bills granting pen- sions to the widows of General Nathaniel P. Banks and Themas L. Crittenden at the rate of $100 a th, Congress has been very liberal in placing the widows of army officers on thewally The highest sums are pald to Mrs, Garflald and Mrs. Grant, but they are widows of presidents. The follow- ing is a fist of Wldows upon the pension | receiving net less than $100 a month and the amount’that ch recelves monthly: Widow of James A. Garfleld, $116.60; widow rant, $11650; widow of Phil Sherl- s of David D, 33, of John A. I . widow P, Blair, $166.66; widow George Cook, $166.06; widow of George MeClellan, $166.65; widow of John €. Fre- mont, 3168.66; widow of Fletcher Webster, $100; Widow of Robert Anderson, $100; widow of 'James B. Rickeits, $100; widow of George 1. Stannand, $100 widow of Gabriel . Paul, $100; widow of James A. Mower, $100; widow of David P, Jou; : widow of 8. P. Helntzelman, $100 L. H, Rosseau, $100; widaw of J. W, Nichoi- son (rear admiral). $100; widow of W, (. Whitaker, $100: widow of Harry D. Wailen, $100; widow of John ¥, Hartranft, $i00; widow of G. K. Warren, $100; widow George A. Custer, $100; widow of Charles Wilkes, $100; widow of Hudson Kilpatrick, $100; widow of Bilas Casey, $100; widow ¢ James Shields, $10; widow of John M Corse, $100. The following were also granted, but the pensioners are dead Widow of A. Lincoln, $116.66; widow of ] w of John Tyler, James K. Poli, $41 . $116.66; widow arragut, $166.65; M all sorts of reports as to the demands widow of George H. Thomas, $166.66; widow of W. 8. Hancock, §166.66, of | ] GIHER LANDS THAN OURS. The total forelgn trade of China amounted in 1892 to $260,086,308, and $208,069,110, or 80 per cent of that trade, was with Great Britain and her colonies. The coastirg trade is in the hands of the British, and so are the banking facilities at the twenty-three treaty ports. An Englishman is at the head of the | customs administration and Great Britain | virtually controls the entire forelgn trade | |of China. She sells to China about $30,- 000,000 worth a year of oplum and nearly all | the $65,000,000 worth of cotton and woolen goods China buys. Cuatside of her colonics | Great Rritaln buys from China $3,000,000 loss | of merchandise than does the United States | and sells about $25,000,000 more of goods to China than we do. When the colonfes are included the differenc in Britain's favor | is enormously increased. That explains the | great anxiety of England to proserve the | weak and corrupt government of China from | roorganization. It is purely a selfish intor- | est. But Russia can be dependal upon to prevent any direct interferonce by | Britain in the interest of her trade. If the | Japanese forca on China the Importance of adopting western ideas in the internal and external administration of her affairs it may hurt Great Britain's trade, but it will im- prove the Chinese government, teach the. people of that nation a needed lesson and benefit the world in general. vor The movement on foot in France for the purgation of the Legion of Honor, particu- larly the extrusion from It of those involved in the Panama scandal, will be found a par- ticularly dufficult undertaking. That great in- lquity stained and infected all classes, public offictals, the judiclary, the financiers, the press and everybody who had anything to do with it, except the investors, who were the innocent sheep,. supplying the flecce which their spoilers parted among them. To pluck out every one who has been be- smirched in this ill-starred business would leave so many holes in the order that per- haps little else would be left. The great chapter might be annulied altogether and re- constituted on a new basis, leaving the un- worthy out in the cold, where they belong; but it is not likely that a step so radical will be taken. From the first its emblems of honor have been given to some of the most dishonorable men who have ever ex- isted, such as Talleyrand, for example. And it 18 not surprising that in this period its decorations often find their way where they do mot legitimately belong. ~The society would undoubtedly be the better for a co- plous purgation and the extrusion from its rolls of those proved to be unworthy, but it will be difficult work, and may be found to be impossible. Great | e The young czar has given another practi- cal demonstration of his earnest desire to effect reforms in the Russian body politic by his order to release the survivors of the Cossack massacre at Krosche, In Poland, which occurred on November 10, 1893. The liberation of these prisoners will recall the horrible treatment meted out to the inhabi- tants of the Catholic village of Krosche, whose resistance to an order to close their church was punished by the slaughter of 100 of thelr number by lance thrusts and the blows of murderous knouts in the hands of a horde of Cossacks, while the remainder, men, women and children, after having been stripped and flogged within an inch of their lives, were driven to prison. The reformation of a system under which such cruelties are possible is a task of overwhelming magni- tude; but there is evidence that the czar will not shun his self-imposed duty in the re- moval of General Gourko, the despotic gov- crnor of Warsaw, who was, at least, indi- rectly responsible for the persecution of the Jews in_his province, as well as for the hor- ror at Krosche. oo The new president of Brazil is enforcing measures of economy, the like of which were never before heard of in that country. When any appropriation is asked for, even one that seems to be necessary, President Moraes calls attention to the state of the. treasury, or the diminution of the public revenue in recent times, or the desirability of reducing the enor- mous’ debt incurred during the war, or the inability of the Brazilian people to suffer any enlargement of the burdens of taxation. His language on the subject is impressive and his conduct is in conformity with it. In the {naugural address, which he delivered last month, he spoke of the necessity of econ- omy in the public administration; but the Rio politicians regarded his words as not less vacuous than words of the kind usually are. In the most practical way he has given it to be understood that his promises are to be kept, and that the policy which he outlined when he took office is to be enforced, so far as he has the power to enforce it. There are already signs that it will bring him into troble before long; but if he shall be able to carry it out against all opposition he will win a place in Brazilian history more favor- able than that of his two extravagant prede- cessors in the presidency, and he may be able to rescue the young republic from the finan- clal morass iato which it has been driven during the past five years. Up to this time republicanism has brought neither peace nor prosperity, neither complete freedom nor full satistaction to Brazil, Somp interesting statistics have been sub- mitted by the Austrian government to the select committee on electoral reform which has the troublesome question of the franchise under consideration. These figures show that in Csleithania, with about 24,000,000 inhabi- tants, and a male population of about 11,500,- 000, the number of persons of 24 and upwards who could claim the right to vote if the uni- versal and equal franchise demanded by the working classes were granted would be 5,643,795, whereas at present only one-third, or 1,725,072, are on the register. If the right to vote were glven to all who pay direct taxes, however small in amount, nearly 800,- 000 persons would profit by it, while if the franchise were confined to the in- dustrial working classes the new voters would also number about 800,000 Furthermore, If both classes were included—and for this extension two out of the three coalition parties in the Reichsrath, the Germans and Poles, are prepared—the number of voters would rise to 3,300,000, or nearly 14 per cent of the entire population. Should the education test be applied, as is also proposed, the consequences would be very different, since out of the whole male population of Cisleithania of 24 years and upward _only 3,350,000 can read and write, while 1,793,000 are illiterates, the proportion per cent being—in Galicia 84, in Dalmatia 381, and in lower Austrla, with Vienna, 3. e . Great Britain sustains today peculiar rela- tions to both Germany and Russia, a fact which the episode of the princo of Wales at the czar's funeral has tended to emphasize, When the venerable Queen Victoria shall die she will leave the British crown as a possible legacy to the heirs of elght courts outside of the British Isles, Germany, Prus- sia, Saxe-Meiningen, Greece, Hesse, Batten- berg, Russia and Schleswig-Holstein are all représented in the line of succession. The prince of Wales, the duke of York, the duke of Kent, the duchess of Fife, Lady Alexandria Duff, the Princesses Victoria and Maud of Wales, the duke of Edinburgh and eleven others of the intimate family circle would seem to insure the continuance of the throne to the royalty of the soil; but the twentleth In succession is Emperor’ William's mother, and he himself is No. 21. The crown prin: ceas of Grecce, Victoria’s granddaugiter, stands In the thirty-third place, and the | Grand Duchess Sergius of Russia, another granddaughter, is seven ranks removed. A great Buropean war would be, without doubt, a great family quarrel, o France is the largest forelgn creditor of Russia, holding $1,600,000,000 of her securi- ties, a fact which ought to promote amicable relations between the countries, particularly as the new czar may find it desirable to bor- row some inore money one of these days. There scems no end to the reserve fund of the French people, who are everybody's cred- itor, owe nobody and possess in their economy and (hrift an inexhaustible mine of pros- perity and abundance. They off enor- mous war indemnities with no strain or trou- ble whatever, finding the resources therefor in the woolen stockings of their peasantry, | and on occasicn can drop such a trifle as $400,000,000 into a blind ditch like that at | Panama without winking. The lesson of fru- | gality which the nation inculcates s of in estimable value to the world at large, and | some leniency might be studied by our own workers with considerable advantage, CARNEGIE'S GREAT PULL. San Francisco Call: The Navy depart- ment seems to have admitted practically that as carrled on for some years through the agency of guns and armor plate the gun has the best of it. At all events armor plate that projectiles have cracked Is to be attached to one of our crack battle ships. Whether or not democracy is triumphant Carnegle cer. tainly is Chicago Times: After a personal confer ence with M:. Carnegi ary Herbert announces that “the cracking was caused by the use of a projectile much superior to the ordinary service hot,” and thal he will ac cept all the armor despite this failure under trial. What, then, is the use of having tests at all? And, above all, what is the terious influence which Andrew Carnegie ex- erts at Washington? Chicago Post: Tha relations administration and Carnegie, remain the most inexplicable in Amorican bistory. If the firm had shown previous faithfulness in the execution of contracts toward it might be allowable But after it has betrayed rogulsh traits and boen convicted morally of fraud, to permit 1t to botch its work and palm off dangerons material on the government Is more than a sage could account for. In any other country than this Mr. Herbert's action would subject him to a public uprising that would drive him from offic New York World some more which failed between this Phipps & Co. Then the Carnegies made armor—about $300,000 worth to stand the prescribed tests, Nevertheless Mr. Carnegie was able last woek to persuade the secretary (o accept the whole defective lot. Now Carnegie coolly demands that the paliry sum his concern paid in lieu of submitting to a criminal prosecu- tion shall be returned to him half his pay for the blowholes by grace of the president, he now demands the other half and threatens suit for its recovery, Wh 1s the secret of this extraordinary ‘“‘pull? Why should not congre ask th cretary and the president to explain it? g peiedtast-s TICKLING TAKE-OFFS. ow York Pross Boston Transcript: Hicks—Phraser de- clares that he owes cverything to his wi Wicks—Nonsense! Why, man, he owes everybody in town, Atchison Globe riendship between two girls usually censes as soon as th have told everything they kuow. hel—T Kissed your it was €0 much Philadelphia Record: ¥ pleture yesterday becaus like you. George--Did it kiss you back? thel—No. George—Then it wasn't much like me. Washington Post: The man who never changes his views always attracts the at- tention of the man who never changes his shirt, Plain Dealer: Friend—What is your father doing now, Jimmy? ather? Doin'? Let's see. derday. T s'pect he's tryin’ five-dollar bill about now.™ Chicago Tr This to is Sad- borrer a hune: I wouldn't smoke those vile-smelling things, dear hoy." “Why not? = Robert lLouls Ste oked them. 1 know it, but he had humanity enough to &o fo the'middle of the Pacific ocean to do s0."" nson Washington Star: *“Talk is cheap,” ob- served the man who believes in proverbs, Humph!"” replied the man who doesn’t “That remark shows that you never hired awyer or rented a telephone. “This old fellow,” aid the ten , fondly patting his horse on the nes been hauling for the city for twenty-five vear: “Got a pull, T suppose, wump gentleman, Indianapolis Journal: sneered the mug- Philadelphia Record is an_animal; but, fortunately, at this sea- son of the year he has but two legs to pull,” said Mr, Pennsqueezer. “And if man were a four-legged. beast,” retorted the wife of his bosom, “he would kick with all four. “‘Yes, my dear, man Chicago Tribune: *It that makes you always conceal your age, Banks,” said Rivers, ‘but I'm going to find it_out’ in spite of you!" T'd like to know how you expect to do it,” sald Banks, “I am going to outlive you," Rivers, “and read it on your tombstone. New York Weekly: Tramp—No'm, T am not a wood sawyer, mum. I draw. Gimme a square meal, and I'll show you. Housekeeper—Well, it's worth it to man like you do anythin, 'ramp (after the meal)-Thankee, w I'll go and lie down in the sun. But you promised to draw. Yes'm. I draw flies.” A WARNING. A youth whom his parents named Willle Was fond of the sauce called Chili, And, to cool his inside, Kept his mouth open wide, And he died from inhaling bacilli. P BETTER TIMES, Atlanta Constitution. Country's lookin' all alive, Better times for Ninety-five! Don't care what the croakes Country’s happy on the way! Sun’s still shinin’ round about— When it's night, the stars come out; An’ when they ‘ain't shinin’ right, "Long comes the electric light! Keep on goin'—toll an’ strive; Better times in Ninety-five! Country's lookin’ all serene; Though the woods is stripped o' green, Somewhere, underneath the snow, There's a dajsy that'll grow! If it's cold, it does us good Exercise in_choppin’ wood! An’ if wood comes purty high, Somer'll be here by an’ by! Keep on goin'—look alive! Better times in Ninety-five, nothing but vanity rejoined see a mum, say— mya. | Having got | ’wnum ABOUT FORT CROOK - | In the contest between assault and resistance | | Quartermaster General Sces No Cause for | Precipitating Wo. k of Construction, iM’\V ADVERTISE FOR NEW BIDS SOON 04 0. King of Omaha the Lowest Bidder for atting Up the New Foderal Bullde I0g At Kansas Clty—Other Capital Gossip, | WASHINGTON BUREAU OF THE BER, i 1407 F Street, N, W. WASHINGTON, Dee. 28, ‘ It seems that the officials in the office off ‘mv quartermaster gencral in the War departe | ment will not take any extra pains to expes dite the work placing the contract for constructing new buildings at Fort Crook zent requests have been made: 0 the quartermaster general that this work be hastened to a completion, and that offi= cial has made several promises that the work Wil be pushed as rapldly as possible, It Is now over two weeks since the bid of M. P, | Keefe of Omaha was rejocted by the departe ment and since 1t was decided to advertise again for proposals, and still the advertise- ment has not yet been fssued. It was stated | today that bids will bo asked for very soon, | but that there Is no hurry about placing the contract, for the reason that the work cans | not be prosecuted until late in the spring. | 0. J. King, the well known contractor of Omalia, was the lowest bidder for crecting | the superstructure of the public building at Kansas City, Mo, bids for which wers opened in the office of the supervising archi= tect of the tr, today. The amount of lis bid was $207 It Is expected that the contract will be awarded to him in a short time. Mr. King was the contractor who built | the foundation of the Omaha federal building, JOHN H. GEAR RECOVERING. Senator-elect Gear of Towa has improved rapidly during the past twenty-four hours, and is now belleved to be entirely out of danger. He has displayed wonderful vital= Ity and remarkable powers of recuporation. | The iclan in charge of the case says | that Senator Gear will be able to attend the s “‘ ns of the house within a couple of woeks, Nebraska postmasters today as follows: Fred A. Austin, Amelia; | Annie B, Marker, ottc The postofMice at Roxie, Bremer county, |Ta, has been discontinued. The mail w | ko to Holton | The following postmasters pointed: Nebraska—Otto, Webster county, Annle Marker, vice F. E. Palne, resigned. Towa—Iveyville, Adams county, O. L. Mu zle, vice P. B. Hummell, resigned; Moore- ville, Tama ccunty, M. M. Hill, vice A. L. Peveril, resigned; Springhill, Warren county, J. R. Lundy, vice B. E. Melntyre, resigned. The board of army officers, which has | had charge of the compllation of a new set of army regulations, has about completed its work, and the publication is now In the hands of the secretary of war for his ap- proval. It Is believed that the new regula- tions will be issued during the early part of next February. First Lieutenant on the Many u were commissioned have been ap- Henry A. Shaw will re- port for temporary duty at Camp Merritt, Mont., and on completion thercof will pro- ceed to Fort Snelling, Minn. First Lieutenant James M. Arrasmith, Second Infantry, is granted leave of absence for three months, and Pirst Licutenant Stephen L. H. Slocum, adjutant, Eighth cave alry, three month INCOMPLETE RECORDS, plaints Against the Keportor of Judge Chapman's Court, NEBRASKA CITY, Neb, Dec. 28.— (Special)—Ten days ago Mr. Warren of this city, counsel for Father Corbett and other priests of the Catholic diocese of Lincoln, obtained from the state supreme court an order requiring the reporter of the district court to furnish him a copy of the records and testimony in the case of Bishop Bona- cum against Father Corbett, tried befors Judge Chapman in this city last May, Ef- forts previously made to obtain the record for the purpose of appeal were fruitless, as was shown by letters from the roporter pro- duced in court by counsel, and it was not received by the defendants until a day after lhexcxp.rdlluu of the extended time for ap- peal. An examination of the record by the de- fense revealed many startling features of the trial omitted from the testimony. One of the interested priests says the record is so incomplete as to be worthless. “All the letters,” he says, “that were cited against Bonacum are lost or lald away. At any rate they are not in the evidence. Bonagum' testimony is o changed that he would not recognize it himselt." It is believed the Incompleteness of the records will result in a retrial in the district court. S City Takes Possession of a Bank, WEST SUPERIOR, Wis, Dec. 28.—At 2 o'clock this morning a deputy sheriff took possession of the Bank of South Superlor in behalf of a recelver, acting for the city of Superior. It has been known for some time that the bank was in financial straits, and the city attorney decided that to pros teet the city the recelver should be ap= pointed. ( Your Money's Worth or Your. Money Back. Men’s Ulsters--- The best time to buy ulsters is when youneed'em. You need 'em now,when it's about a dozen degrees be- low zero. We are offering an elegant heavy storm ulster for $10, better ones for $12.50 and a splendid one for $15. Boy’s Ulsters--- We are closing out certain lines of boys' ulsters at $4 and $6.50. The cold can’ Underwear--- t get into 'em. Ulsters and underwear are the things to keep cold out. We have both, BROWNING, Reliable Clothicrs, 8. W, Cur KING & CO., ner Fiftzenth and Douglas Ste: {