Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, May 27, 1901, Page 4

AHA DAILY BEE. EDITOR, E ROSBEW A ER PUBLISHED EVERY MORNIN M8 OF EUBSCRIPTION. Dally Bee (without Sunday), One Year Dally Bee and Sunday, One Year Iustrated Bee, ¢ Year Bunday Bee, One Year beine 3 Baturday Be One Year . 1 Twentleth Century Farmer, One Year.. 1 OFFICES: Omaha: The Bee Bullding. South Oma, City Hall Buflding, Twen- ty-Afth and M strects Councll Bluffs: 10 Pearl 8treet, .00 <00 w | | 0 Chicago: 1610 Unity Bullding New York: Tempo Court Washington: 81 Fourteenth Street. CORRESPONDE Communications relating to torial_matter snould be addressed Bee, Editorial Departme HUSINESS LETTERS Business letters apd remittances should be addressed: The HBee Publishing Com- pany, Omaha REMITTANCES Remit by draft, express or postal order, ws and edi- Umaha payable to The Bee Publishing Company, Only 2-cent stamps accepted in payment of mail accounts. Personal checks, vxcept on Omaha or eastern exchanges, not accepted. THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION State of Nebraska, Douglas County, ss.: George B. Tzachuck, secretary of ‘The Bee Publishing Company, being duly sworn, suys that the actual number of full and complete copies of The Dally, Morning, | Evening and Sunday Bee printed during the month of April, 101, was as follows: 20,000 1. ..30,270 17 1 10 EBENRRENNNS Less unsold and returned coples Net total sales Net dally average GEO. 24,185 TZSCHUCK. B. Subscribed In my presence and sworn to before me this 15t day of May, A. D, 1901, . HUNGATE Notary Publle. —— r the duel honorable commend us to the senators from South Carolina. Emperor Willlam should insist upon having more reliable inside tips when he wants to anticipate stock exchange movements. lowa republicans are already select- fng delegates to their state convention which is called to meet the end of August. This is taking time by the political forelock. Governor Savage is on the right tri when he says the sinecure jobs paid out of the taxpayers’ money must go. If he sticks to his text he may rest as- sured his own office will be no sinccure. —_— Aud now comes the Intimation that the reported fabulous fortune of eu- Benator Pettigrew is little better than an ordinury April fool joke. If so, sucin Jokes ought to be listed as capital oi- fenses, The national conference on taxation which has just closed its sesstons in Buffalo should have been held in Omaha. Tax reform is & more crying need In Omaha than in any other town in the country that we know of. —_— The next legislature of South Carolina will have a chance to emulate the late Nebraska legislature in selecting two United States senators to represent the state at Washington. Sixteen to one, however, it cannot match the Nebraska senatorial deadlock. Omaha capital never fails to dip into oil wells or bore into rocks or venture upon the slippery floors of the stock exchange. In most instances, however, it would have done better to invest in Omaha enterprises which promise slower but sui returns, Those expelled West Point cadets are not so anxious to go to work for a living after all, but prefer to spend a few weeks or months importuning the War department authoritles to take them back into the army where pay is certain and promotion possible. It political pull and promises to be good will turn the trick they will e rein- stated. lowa's supreme court s to vindicate its dignity by citing for contemut cer tain attorneys so rash as to asserc that country lawyers have no chauce to win cases before that tribunal. The losing lawyer must be made to under- stand that he cannot use the court us the scapegoat for his failure, no mat- ter upon whom else he may try to un- load the blame, et— A Liucoln judge intimates that he may call in all the ministers of the town to assist him in passing upon the ap plications for divorce made In his court. As the ministers tie the knots origiually, it may be only fair to make them help untle them affer they have become snarled. We venture to predict in ad VAN however, ‘that should the experi ment be tried it will not be repeated more than two or three times, Great Britain i to the fact that the inroads of Amer! slowly waking up can trade is due to the resourceful energy of the people of this country and that it bhas more to fear from this diréction fn the immediate future than In the past. The United States has heen so busy until recently supplying its own needs that it has hardly had time to devote to the demands of other countries, but It Is getting in position to take care not only of itself but of a few little provinces Hke Great Britain into the bargain. Ep— The Anti-Saloon league at South Omaba threatens to publish the names of all the persons who have signed either the bonds or the petitions on which the liguor licenses have been granted for that eity. The idea Is, doubtless, to either frighten people off from signiug such papers in the future or to show up the insincerity of those who talk against the saloon and sign petitions for it. - The experiment may be entertaining and instructive, but how it is going to lessen the evils that grow out of the liquor tratiic is dificult to see, COLONY A When the Mormons found themselves outtlanked and outnumbered by the tidal wave of Gentile fmmigration they sent out advance agents to Mexico with a view of founding a state where polyg amy, that twin relic of barbarism, would not be disturbed. In due time the Mexicanized Mormons discovered that they were no bhetter off in the land of the Montezumas than they were in Unele Sam's domain. A similar experiment seems about to be tried by some of the irreconcilable populists of Nebraska. Advance agents to found a populist colony have béen | sent to the Puget Sound country and recruits are being drummed up by the leading organ of populism at Lincoln. According to the published prospectus the pew populist colony ie destined to be a verltable paradise where every- one can sit under his own fig tree with- out seeking shelter from rain or plutoc rney In that promised land men may chase sllver rainbows by moonlight and fabulons wealth will cirenlate at the ratlo of 16 to 1 without walting for the ald consent of any nation on earth. There the farmer may safely rest all the year around without ling the pangs of hunger or thivst; there the tollers will not be oppressed by the taskmaster nor pursued by the tax- gatherer. Reform will be the watceh- word in the new colony year in and year out instead of just before election. There there will be no distinction be- tween office-seekers and office-holders, because everyone will he on the public payroll. No wonder, then, that the exodus of populists from Nebraska will be watched with intense interest by the ik and file of the discontented in part of the world. —_— EXPECTS RETALIATION. The general manager in this country of the North German Lloyd Steamship company, who recently returned from an extended visit to Europe, is of the opinion that increasing Awericun com- petition will result in some scheme of self-protection on the part of The European countries affected. He ad mitted that there are great diticalties to be met in forming an industrial and commercial combination against the United States, but he sald there s every reason to believe that earpest efforts, which may have serious covse quences to the trade of this country, will be made, “The talk he heard in Germany and England convinced him that commercial and industrial peace between this country and the European nations imperatively calls for certain concessions on our part—tariff conces- slons, of course—which, If not made, “Europe will, as sure as fate, put some kind of a restraining duty on American _productions,” Such warnings of possible trade re- taliation on the part of European coun- trles whose ludustries and commerce Lave been unfavorably affected by American competition bhave been so numerous within the last year or two, and nothing has happened to support them, that it 1s becoming dificult to secure fur them any serious attention or consideration. We have never be- lleved that there was any real danger of a European combination or alliance against American competition in the markets of Europe and we see no more reason now than heretofore for appre- hending auything of the kind. As we bave several times pointed out, the special and peculiar foterests of the European countries render a combina- tion or alliauce between them divected against American trade utterly im practicable. Of course, some of those countries, acting singly, may impose discriminating duties . on American goods, as was done by Russia by wa of reprisal for the countervailing sugar duty, but no alliance vur‘hlu purpose can be effected, as some of the wisest European statesmen have acknowl- edged. Nor is it probable that any Buropean country will go so far in dis- eriminating against American products as to provoke retaliation on the part of the United States. However anxious certaln interests abrond way be to have American competition reduced, there are other interests no less anxious for the retention of the American market and which will strenuously oppose any policy which might result in their los- ing this market. The great body of Kuropean consumers must also be taken into account in connection with any proposition to shut off American compe- tition and thereby lucrease the cost of everything to the people, whose condi- tion would thus be made far worse than it 1s. In reference to this the Cleveland Leader says: “Even if there were no great and imperative trade reasons for letting American products have a rea sonably free and faly chapce in Eu- n markets the notion that the great powers of Europe conld and would unite to hamper American tratie with that contivent is chimerical in the ex treme. ‘The leading nations of the old world’ can bardly act in harmony for any purpose whatever and they surely will not find it easier to do so at the cost of deranging their business and Inviting costly retaliation from America than it has been when no such reasons existed for avolding trouble.” Mean- while the question of concessions through a judicious application of reci- procity is worthy of serious considera- tion. WITHDRAWING FROM CHINA, A few days ago It was announced in the House of Comwons that the British government had decided to withdraw its troops from China at an early day. Now It is stated that the German gov- erument has come to a like decision. The latter fact appears to be regarded with much satistaction at Washington. It appears that the German declsion was hastened by reason of the hostile attitude of Russia In China, from which It I8 feared scrious clashing might re- sult. This is & phase of the sltuation that was not before known to exist, the general impression having been that there wes a good understanding be- tween Russla and Germany In regard to Chinese affairs and that the rela- tlons between the forces of those | Tammany subordigates to o to England THE OMAHA 0w wor larmon fous, However, it i« not material what the motive fs that has indueed Germany to dectde upon withdrawing her troops from Pekin, It Is sufficlent that she s concluded to follow the example of the United States in this respect and it Is probably safe to axsume that she will put the decision into effect without | unnecessary delay. The dispateh from | Berlin intimates that the withdrawal may not take place nutil the indemnity | question is disposed of, which makes the time indefinite, but it is quite pos «ible that this question will not be al- lowed to stand in the way. It is to be expected that this decision of the German government will induce other powers to take a like course, so that it Is likely Pekin will be free of forelgn troops, except the legatlon guards, within a short time. There is no doubt, at all events, that Germany's decision will have a generally wholesome effect. SUBURBAN RAILROAD FRANCHISES Propositions for the establishment of suburban electric rallroads have been submitted to the Board of County Com- missfoners, conditloned upon the grant of free right of way over the public roads. While the popular demand for suburban railroads will justify the hoard In adopting a liberal policy to- ward the promoters of these enterprises, it is of the utmost importance that the interests of the public and especially of the patrons of these public carrlers be fully protected. At the very outset it should be clearly understood that a right of way over the county highways constitutes a val- uable franchise. In granting franchises of this kind the board should adopt a policy that keeps in view the following points First, that no proposition for fran- chises be entertained unless submitted by responsible parties who are known to have the means to carry into execu- tion the construction and operation of the proposed roads. No proposition that has the elements of speculation in it should he considered. No franchises should be given to speculators to sell for what investors can be held up for. If any wmoney is to be paid for fran- chises the county should get it. Second, that the county should exact a royalty or bonus in proportion to the value of the franchise. The value of a franchise depends upon the distance it covers and the perlod of time over which it extends. No perpetual fran- chise should be granted under any cir- cumstances. Third, that every franchise granted be coupled with conditions prescribing maximum rates to be charged and re- quiring a guaranty of reasonable fa- cilitles for traffic. It should also be stipulated that the public shall share the benefit of cheaper power and new processes for transportation. With these safeguards coustauntly kept In view the commissioners will accom- plish more speedy and substantial re- sults, which are what the people really want. What bas become of the delegation of heavy property owners which always presents itself to register a protest against the tax rate when the tax levy ordinance is before the city council? Are its members not aware that the tax rate I8 in reality determined by the as- sessors who list taxable property on the assessment roll for city and county? The county assessors are now engaged at thelr work, and if they can be forced to do their duty by including realty and personalty that has hitherto evaded tax- ation and raiging the assessments of great corporations to a level with those of the small home owner, the aggregate can be materially increased and the tax rate proportionately. lowered. Now is the time for the taxpayers to get in their work rather than after the mis- chief is done. After his tour of inspection on this side of the Atlantic, Alfred Harmsworth has returned to London convinced that American newspapers are ahead of their British couslns in more ways than one, but he says he hesitates to in- troduce American innovations !nto his papers for fear of giving his readers someihing better than they want o can appreciate, The American news- paper-reading public wants the best and the publishers’ chief difficulty is in keeping pace with their demands for Improvements and extensions. Nothing could mark more strikingly the differ- ence in characteristics of the two great Euglish-speaking peoples. If General Bates is not to be placed in command of the Department of the Mis- sourl, we will have to wait as pa- tlently ns we can for someone to be assigned to that position. The Depart- ment of the Missourl has had to suffer A vacancy of its head, on account of the war in the Philippines, more than any other department in the country. — A Dangerous Man. Indlanapolis Journal Tom Johnson Is a dangerous man. He wants railroads and other corporations to pay their share of taxes. Advice Gratis. Milwaukee Sentinel, The freedom with which your respected Uncle Russell Sage gives advice to pros- pective stock speculators these days would indicate that he has a deal on. The t of young girls who dressed in white to wel- the Innumerable band of come Lafayette has just died again. It is announced that this is really the last one. Porto Rico 3 Detroit Journal Governor Allen of Porto Rico says the island 18 a heaven where a man may lie in & hammock, pick bananas with one hand and dig sweet potatoes with one toe. This makes real wicked the conduct of those who have tried to starve on the Island and, falling, have gone to Hawall. An American Monarch Abroad. Philadelphia Record Formerly Croker was in the hahbit of leaving his English home for a brief time in order to make the Tammany nomina- tions. But it now app: that Instead of taking that trouble he will make the nom- inations in England. As the ticket Is pretty large he has summoned some of hi DAILY l BEE: MONDAY MAY 2%, 1901 to teceive In ters of detail. the few mat one as Not ting Fair, Howella Joirnal Lincoln fsn't ‘toting fair on the | state falr grounds question. After | securing the permanent location (wo years ago with the specific understanding thet the grounds would not cost the state 1 cent, a bill wae lobbied through the last leglslature carrylng an appropriaticn for | the purchase by the state of a suitable site 1t will be well to cut the string on future offers emanating from the capital city Passing of the Pen. Philadelphia Bullotin The actlon of the New York Board of Education In ordering the abandonment of the system .of “‘vertical handwriting” in the schools of that city has attracted com- pafatively little attention. The truth is that handwriting has assumed a far lower place in business pursuits than it occupled a few years ngo. The great bulk of mer- cantile correspondence is now conducted by means of the typewriter, and that use- | ful machine is steadily pushing its way Into the realms of authorship and news- paper work as well. There will always be A demand for neat and legible penmanship in certain occupations. but in the great majority of pursuits this no longer exists, although as a personal accomplishment, apart from bustness uses, it in of course eminently desirable. “PROMIBITION” IN THE ARMY. Somming Up the Results of the Aboll- tion of the Canteen. New York Times From time to time we have printed au- thentic reports from various military posts in the United States which have revealed a general falling off in the moral condi- tlon and discipline of the troops stationed | at these posts gince, by an act of con- gress, absolute ‘“‘prohibition” has been made to prevail at the army clubs of the private soldier. Within a week we have learned that the 118t of deserters at Fert Sheridan threatens, in the opinion of the officers, to become “longer than any in the history of the fort.” On the evening of May 18 “twenty-one men were reported under arrest in quarters and the guard- houge on charges arising from violations of army regulations caused by Intoxication.' From Fort Snelling. we have reports of in- dividual degradation on the part of prom- ising soldiers, which must be paintul for every believer in our army to hear, while an officer of the fort has declared that “never in the history of the Eighth regi- ment have the officers had so much trouble with ntoxicated soldiers as since the army canteen was abolished.” These and other reports which we have published in the last few weeks speak for themselves. We have yet to lean of a single military post where the moral condition and the dis- cipline 8t the men stationed there have uot conspicuously deteriorated since the sale of the light liquors under the auspices of the government was abolished. We are mnot surprised at the result. While the prohibitory measure was still pending it was proved by the testimony of men who know the private soldier and love him, In the mwost categorical and ab- solute manner possible, that the abolition of the army canteen would tend toward degrading the American soldier and by de- grading him to render him a pitiable object in time of peace and to diminish his ef- ficlency in time of ‘war. The matter has now assumed so serfous an aspect that, un- less ‘we ave greatly mistaken in the candor and sincerity of many of the advocates of prohibition, certain legislators who advo- cated the pernicious measure and certaln of their ignorant and fll-advised coachers in morality should now be ready to re- consider their theory in the light of indis- putable fact. All honor to those of them who will take the Initiative. It is for them to attempt to undo ine harm and wrong they have done. And should any of them feel at this mo- ment. that the time has come to retract, we would call thelr atiention to a few matters of which hitherto they could not have suffi- clently considered. The conduct of men in a practical institution lke the army should bave nothing to do with religious teaching or with the possible inculeation of morals under the sanétions of religion. It is not at all necessary to underrate the beneficial influence that religious discipline may have upon certain individual soldiers when ap- plied directly to them, In order to point out that the history of the world has shown that no discipline of this nature can be eficaciously applied to an army as a body, and that all regulations having their origin in the idea of religlous discipline tend toward the demoralization and disruption of the army upon which they are forced. The same lesson s learned from political institutions. The prohibitionists as a po- litieal party, after rising to a certain prom- inence, have rapidly declined as a political force. The canteen should be regarded solely &8 a matter of army regulation. It is so regarded by European governments. In European ecyes it would be just as absurd to have legislators directly regulate the personal conduct of the army as it would be to have them Invent a new treatise on skirmishing or guard-mounting and force it upon the army by a majority vote. Uw- fortunately, in this country the national legislature, Influenced by bands of ignorant and fanatical reformers, have usurped the natural prerogative of the War department and have Inflicted a measure of discipline upon the army as a whole which, in spite of its sublime purpose, actually tends to degrade and debase the American soldier and thereby weakens the fighting and pro- tecting force of the country. PERSONAL NOTES, Weston Howland, who dled the other day in Fairbaven, Mass., is sald to have been the first man to discover a successful method of refining petroleum. Hoke Smith, secretary of the interior during President Cleveland's second term, has just been chosen for the second time a member of the Atlanta school board New York's already populous colony of milllonaires is to be Increased by the ad- ditlon of Jumes J. HIll, who has leased a splendid apartment in the Belkenhayn, on Fifth avenue. George O. Smith of Washington, who is the geologist detailed by the governm to make a survey of the United State Canadian boundary, l& a natlve of Skow- hegan, Me., and a graduate of Colby col- leg 3. Since the decisfon of the Ohlo supreme court holding counties llable for damages for lynching, the discovery has been made that the fellows who managed the lynching do not pay taxes. General Sakharof, the Russian com- mander of the new Manchurian army corp i & brother of the chief of the Russian gen eral staff, and bimself commanded the frontier corps. General Gerngroes, hitherto commanding the protective force in Man- churla, has been appointed his assistant A monument s to be placed in St. Paul cathedral, London, to the memory of th late Sir Arthur Sullivan. It is also pro- posed to endow a scholarship, to be called the Arthur Sulllvan scholarship, at the Royal Academy of Music, and to erect a statue to the composer on the Thames em- bankment According to Arnold White, an English eritie, the inhabitants of the British lsles are degenerating physically. He bases his conclusions on the results of recruiting for the Boer war. In the Manchester district alone 8,000 out of 11,000 men who offered themselves for military service were certi- fled uaft to endure » soldier's lite ‘McClellan New Nothing could indicate more strikingly the obliteration of memories of the civil war. and incidentally the rise of & new gen | eration whose knowledge of that terrible | conflict has heen obtained from histories only. than the casual manner of the news | papers in commenting on the death of Gen- eral Fitz-John Portor | The long trial of Porter by a court-mar- tial at Washington, which agsembled in the last month of 1862, was a proceeding which provoked intense feeling throughout the unfon at the time, and brought to a head the bitter controversy over McClellan into which violeut political animosities had al | ready entered. In truth, McClellan was in- | volved in no way in the case, but as Porter | had been one of his most trusted and fa- vored generals that officer suffered in pub- | Mle estimation as a suspected partisan of | his old general, who had rendered unwill- ing service under Pope: whose charges against Porter were undoubtedly due | targely to such dietrust | McClellan, the first commander of the | Army of the Potomac, had endeared himself greatly to his soldiers, whose affection clung to him with pecullar tenacity in spite of his defeats and manifest short- comings as a general in the fleld. He was not only their first leader, under whom the army had been organized. but be had also engaging qualities of character and dispo- tlon which attracted to him the affection of those with whom he came in contact, whether officers or men, soldiers or civil- ‘»mn\. In the esteem of a great part of the rank and fle he was a veritable Napoleon So deep was the personal devotion of his | troops to him that it threatened possible | danger to the union cause; and when finally | he was relieved of his command and or- dered to Trenton to remain in practical ve- | tirement both in the army and outside of it | there was angry and long-continued resent | ment. The controversy over him divided | the public into bitterly hostile camps. It | raged in private conversations, estranged | friends and exasperated enmities. The sub- | fect could not be introduced into any circle | without provoking a war of words between McClellan and anti-McClellan men. For this reason the democratic party, with a fatuity not extraordinary in its his- tory, nominated McClellan for president in 1864, and while the war was still raging it put him on a platform of disgracetul sur- render so infamous for a soldier that he felt compelled to undertake to relieve him- self of its odium by saying in his letter of acceptance: I could not look in the face of my gallant comrades of the army and navy who have survived so many bloody battles and tell them ihat their labors and the sacrifice of so many of our slain and wounded brethren had been in vain: that we had abandoned that union for which we had so often perilled our lives" It was the most anxious campaign for president in the history of the republic, and Lincoln himself was full of painful ap- prehensions as to the result. “This morn- ing." he wrote on August 23, 1864, fn a private memorandum, six days before the meeting at Chicago of the democratic con- vention which nominated McClellan on the first and only ballot, “it seems exceedingly probable that this administration will not York Sun. and Porter be elected.” But victories of Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and of Sheridan in the Shenandoah succeeded, and McClellan came out of the election the worst defeated candidate in our history, getting only twen ty-one electoral votes to Lincoln's That broke the back of the McClellan superatition, for such It was. It proved that loud as had been the partisanship which kept it alive its real depth and it extent had been grossly exaggerated both by Lincoln and the democrats. When, more than twenty years later, and a year after McClellan's death, Mr. Prime published McClellan's Own Story,” with extracts from his private correspondence, the de struction was made complete. It wi the work of a devoted friend, but it Injudi- clously revealed weakness of character in its hero inconsistent with great generalship and thus did an il service (o his reputa- tlon. McClellan's campaigns have never yot recelved the thorough military exam!- nation, analysis aud criticism their im- | portance to our history and to military art | and sclence demands, though the late Gen eral Michie of West Point fs understood to have left the manuscript of such a study, | tor which he had a distinguished Atness recognized by all military men, that handles them with severity and brushes away many illusions regarding them and McClellan him selt which persisted at the time The McClellan episode of adulation and superstitious veneration {s over. That the controversy is closed and forgotten, save by gray-haired survivors who took an active and heated part in it has never been demonstrated so completely as now in the comments upon the death of Fitz-John Por- | ter, an abler man and a better general, who should go down to lasting fame for his achievement at the battle of Malvern HIill alone. On that historic field, when McClellan, apparently, had given up the day as hopeless and retired to a gunboat on the James river, Porter gathered an army seemingly demoralized In a seven days' re- treat and made dispesitions so masterly that there resulted a victory which saved the unfon, for it Is not too much to say that defeat then would have meant ruin. The wildness of the McClellan contro- versy, we ma d, was illustrated by the hot and persistent denial by his civillan champlons of even the indisputable fact that McClellan, on July 1, 1862, the day of the battle of Malvern Hill, went aboard the gunboat Galena. When asked as to the matter by the committee on the conduct of the war, McClellan replied, strangely enough: I do not remember; it Is pos- sible I may have been."” In a dairy of the surgeon of the Galena, however, it is re- corded, under that date, that McClellan came ahoard at 9 in the morning, that at 10 o'clock the vessel moved Gown the river with the general, “‘who, belng considerably fatigued, has gome into the cabin for a lttle sleep.” In the afternoon he went ashore in response to a message calling for his immediate presence. General Hooker testified before the same committee that if the battle had been followed up “Richmond mond would have been ours beyond a doubt.”” Instead, McClellan's order was for retreal to Harrison's Landing to which, testified Hooker farther, “we retreated like a parcel of sheep, and a few shots would have panic-stricken the whole command.” LIFB IN THE PHILIPPINE Men and Events Etched by Artiats on the Spot. A short-range view of Aguinaldo through the bars of his prison at Manila has wrought a marked change of opinion in the capital of the islands. Local papers delicately declare he is not as black as they have painted him, and as his opportun- ities for mischief sink his greatness rizes in proportion. The New American of Ma- nila, commenting on the peace proclamat.o1 of the late insurgent chief, says: “It is not 80 1auch what he says, but the way he says it that commands a certain sort of admiration. In assuming exactly the oppo- site of his previous attitude, Aguinaldo is regardful of his own dignity “In submitting to the inevitable, in bow- Ing to the will of the people, be would have it appear that he is a creature of circumstances. Exlsting conditions have caused him to change front. But he faces the situation fairly. In acknowledging and accepting the soverelgnty of the United States throughout the entire archipelago without any reservation whatsoever, he has deprived the so-called Irreconcilables of their principal excuse for continuing to wage & wicked and useless war. “All of Aguinaldo's influence is now ex erted In the behalt of peace. And we have a right to hope that much good may come of his address to the Filipino people.” The ministerial roar against the native pastime of cockfighting did not influence the authorities of Manila. The sport will con- tinue, but uader restrictions that will turn the revenue it ylelds into one pocket. A Mrs. Lara, widow of the murdered police captain of Manila, is given exclusive cock- pit privileges in Manila, sald to be worth $10,000 a year. Captain Lara was oue of the first natives to espouse the American cause, and his zeal in that bebalf is pre- sumed to be the direct cause of his death The valuable privilege granted his widow 1 In the nature of a reward for his faithful services. The New American says the cockpits ““will be opem sixty-five days In the year. Any appearance of a cocking main outside the licensed pit will be pun- ished severely by fine and imprisonment In this way the authorities believe that they can cater to the desires of the common people to indulge in the sport and at the same time prevent them from Indulging to excess and endangering the development of the island industries by thelr neglect of their daily duties. ““The cockpit has been closed ever since American occupation and many attempts have been made to have it thrown open again to the public without success. As a result the Filipinos who love thelr national sport were obliged to go to Cavite and Santa Ana or take chances in the outskirts of the city. The natives enjoy cockfight- ing above all other sport and it is found impossible to prevent them trom indulging. A cock pit, well regulated, in Manila would prove a more wholesome mathod of dealing with the question and would bring a large sum into the city treasury. “It is hinted that certain well known men about town are interested in this monopoly granted Mrs. Lara and that she will really receive the short end of the proposition, though on paper she looks like the whole of it Recently a Chinese comtractor shortenel the breath of several American builders In Manila by securing the job of building commissary barracks in Manila, doing the Job In less time and for less monev than any other bullder would undertake the job | The barracks consist of six buildings, | thirty-five feet wide by 250 feet Jlong, seven smaller buildings for oficers’ quarters and six lavatories and bathroom buildings. The woodwork or framing, which is bullt en- tirely of bamboo, was constructed by Chi- nese carpenters, and the thatching was done by the native Filipinos. The Chiness contractor eugaged to put up these build- ings for $32,000 in thirty days. The morn- Ing after signing the contract he had 800 laborers at werk, and the whole barracks were ready for occupation In twenty-three working Aays. The owners of the Manila & Dagupan railroad, the only raliroad in Luzon, has banded \he government & bill for damages {and services amounting | Mexican money. Besides this snug bill, the company has sent to Washington a claim for the § per cent dividend on its capital guaranteed by the Spanish government. According to the terms of the concession granted the rail- road company the Spanish government guar- anteed the railroad an 8 per cent dividend, and when it fell short the government made it good. During the years that the insur- rection was on and the military occupied the road no dividends were possible. The road claims that the Ameriean government has undertaken the obligations of the Spanish government and will expect the payment of the dividends. to $2,384,047.84, A Chicago boy, writing from Bucarre llocos Norte, P. I, says “We are stationed in a pretty town, siiu- ated about five miles inland from the Chi- nese sea. The place boasts of having a pop- | ulation of 13,700 inhabitants and is governed by & municipal council composed of a ‘pres- idente’ and twenty-one ‘cabezas,’ under the jurisdiction of the military authorities. | “The ‘presidente’ acts in the capacity of a | mayor, and receives a salary of $12.50 a month. Notwithstanding the fact that he recefves such small compensation, he has more authority than a man Alling a similar position in the united States. He sched- ules the prices for which all articles are to be sold by the natives who come under his jurlsdiction, thus avoiding competition by the cutting of prices, and also extortion. He also acts as a magletrate, trying all | persons who commit petty offenses, and should any controversy arise between the natives he {s Invariably appealed to, and when he gives a decision the natives mc- cept it as final ““The ‘cabezas.’ or headmen, receive no compensation whatever. They act as dele- L of the ‘presidente’ for their respective wards and are held responsible for the con- duct of the people, as well as the sanitary condition of thelr wards. The positions of ‘presidente’ and ‘cabeza’ are elective offi- ces, and are held for a perlod of one year. From what I can understand, the majority of the present Incumbents are composed of ex-lnsurgents, who lald down thelr arms shortly after President McKinley's amnesty was proclaimed throughout the islands. It | seems strange that, although the people claim to be in favor of peaceable govern ment under the United States, they fn- | variably give an ex-insurgent precedence | over all others." e e Nebraska arden Spot. Hastings Tribune Nebraska s certainly fast becoming the garden spot of the universe. The flowers, the trees and the birds are more plentiful and more beautiful thun they ever were beforo, while the flelds of waving graln speak loudly of pros- perity and the farmer, like the merchant, wears @ smile of satistaction, peace and contentment. And well might the Ne. braskan feel glad amid such surroundings. Who would not, with the erop prospects as promising and bright as they are? Take the statistics of Nebraska for last year and they show a surplus production of cattle, hogs and their products to the amount of $117,621,751, while the surplus of poultry, eggs and butter amounted to $7,458,479, This explalus that smile of contentment and why Nebraska is the garden spot of the universe. oort Loufsville Courter-Journal The chances for Mr. Carnegle to dle rich are growing smaller by degrees and beau- titully. Even a fortune of $200,000,000 s bound to dwindle rapldly when its owner gives it away In blocks of $5,000,000 and $10,000,000 &t & time, to say nothing of the frequent smaller donations running up from $25,000 to $500,000. The babit of giv- ing, Mke others, grows by indulgence and the more Mr, Carnegle gives the more en- thusiastic a glver he seems to be. At tho he fs now proceeding it will require only two or three years for him to disposs of the bulk of his encrmous wealth, He fa taking a bond of fortune iu this matter, for what {3 glven away always stands to the Springfield Monitor (dem ) general {s about to bring against ex-Secrotary of State Porter for holding out fees belonging to the state. 1t Porter is guilty he should be pushed to the Hmit. It fs just such ucts as these on the part of state officers that gives any party to which they belong a black e Arcadla Champion (rep.): The state has made a formal demand of ex-Secretary of Stato W. . Porter for the $022.80 fees ree tained by him and which he.'like Moore, failed to turn over. We unferstand that sult will be brought agatnst him. The re. form hosts are strangely silent on the sub ject and we do not know whether this is in the line of reform or not. If some Wil Ham J. would only throw some light on the subject Kearney Hub (rep.): Some friends of ex- Secretary of State Porter make the rather surprising defense that he cannot be com peled to make restitution of the fees ille- gally retained, coupled with the assertion that the action for recovery instituted by | the present attorney general is promjted by political motives. This Is certainly a Darrow view to take of the matter and it should not cut any figure with any offcial The attorney proceedings who has taken an oath to perform the duties of his office Crete Vidette (rep.) fix - 8 of | State Porter was one of the loudest reform shouters in the state house. He was con- stantly yelling fraud and pointing the finger of scorn at other men's shortcom | Ings to such an extent that the public eye | was diverted from his own immaculate | personage. He fs now to be sued, in the | Dame of the state, by the attorney general | for the recovery of fees to the amount of 450 which he retained coutrary to a | plain constitutional provision | Hastings Tribune (rep.): Ex-Secretary of State W. F. Porter fe in hotter water { than he anticipated, as he Is to be sued in | the name of the state of Nebraska for the | recovery of $823.80 which he retained cons trary to the constitutional provision pro- hibiting state officers from rotaining public fees. This money which Porter {8 to be sued for came into his possession by him being a member of the marks and brands committee. Mr. Porter claims the marks | and brands act says he was entitled to 20 por cent of the fees collected and he put that much into his own pocket. This was contrary to the constitution and Mr. Porter must have been aware of the fact when [ he pinched the 20 per cent. Even many of | his close fusion friends say this and cannot understand why Porter would do such a { thing. This is easily accounted for: Porter is one of those fellows who goes into poli tics and office for all there is in it, and while holding down office If there was any doutst whether certain money belonged to | himself or the state he gave himself the | benefit of the doubt N TICAL Democrat An eastern paper upon the fact that the pop e of Nebraska fs hopelessly in debt regards this as a “sign of disin- tegration.” The dlagnosis is Incorrect. It is simply a sign that the pops do not pro- pose to spend their money on a dead horse COMMBENT, RASKA POL Beatrice commenting state commit when they are liable to ueed it next fall in promoting reforms. Springfield Monitor (dem.): The poli- tictans have already begun figuring on elec- tion this fall and are trotting out their fa- vorite candidates. These political boosters should be set down on good and hard. They are everlastingly trying and very often do foist a lot of old chronic officeseekers on the party who have either held office all their lives or tried to and expect the peo- ple to swallow them without wincing at the dose. The thing has become too old and the people won't stand for ft any |longer. Trot out new men. There are plenty of them and good ones, too. Kearney Democrat: Billy Bryan made a speech at Nevada, Mo, 1 week in which he said that the reorganizers of the demo- cratic party were bent on ‘‘wrecking the party from within by shouting harmony.' It anybody can do a better job at wrecking the party than Billy has done in four years we would like to see the color of his whiskers The “wrecking of the party from within'" began when Billy's strikers at Lincoln attempted to forcibly throw such life-long democrats as Hon. A. J Sawyer out of the house becaise he chal- lenged the right of pop and republican rounders nd thugs of that city to come into a democratic caucus and control fts actions at the instance of the national playmate of Altgeld and Tillman. The same manner of methods have been adopted by Billy's strikers everywhere and every dem- ocrat in Buffalo county is fully cognizant to what extent Billy's wheelhorses at Kearney have *wrecked the party from within” and behind closed doors by makiog fllegal and unlawful nominationd and se- lecting themselves delegates to county, district and state conventions. If anybody can improve upon Billy's plan of wrecking trot him out and let the democrats take a look at him. e HITTLED TO A PO Cleveland Plain Dealer ‘False! false'™ shrieked the hero of the latest dramatisa- tlon in falsetto tones é “Do you say that to my face screamed e herolne lh"‘I ;‘.l_\ it to your very teeth roared the Chlcago Record-Herald: “My wifs i but 2 ok down at her moth Tomesick No; but her youuger sisters admired our baby so much rly washed It 1o pleces. Philadelphia o “It's a boy he heard the say, and fmmelitately he 111 his friend: When he wis permiited o 3 G'blesh me!™ he exclaimed, 1 dldn’ know it wuzh twinsh.* Washington Star onfucius puts @ great deal of wisdom into condensed form,” sald the student, angweréd the person who has 1o reverence whatever “T take it th had only st dialect a It have been th «h Billings of Philadelphla Times: “IIL have to lea your service, sir.’ sald the coachman 1o the trust magna “I'm sorry to hear that, John, Why? “Hvery time T drive you out, sir, T hear people say: ‘There goes (he scoundrel and 1 don't know which of us they mesn Cleveland Plaln Deaier; [ see Indlana court has decided that a p: traveling on A pass ean recover dur for injurles due to the carelessness of train employes.” bt “Yes, but how do you get the pass Detrolt Free Press: “Yes, wir" exclatme! Codling. “my friend Simpfon is & man of unimpeschable veractty 4 “What makes you say that? “well, I've known him twenty years, and never once. In all that time, winter or sum mer. did he exaggerate his thermometer record. Somerville Journal: Mrs. Whyte-Does vour husband ever have the nightmare? “'Mrs. Browne—Well, he sometimes starts to have one, but for a good many years now | have been in the hahif ‘of taking u hatptn to bed with me, so thut I gan gen- orally wake him up before he gets well to Boing. OUTCLASSED. Somerville Journal I loved a malden and proposed, And she at onece sald “Ye we marrlod scon. and wettl To fe-long happiness. At least that was the wav [ thought “That It Was £OINE 10 be, But pretty xoon I hod my doubts, For we’ did net agree $ho chose to rule 6o a1d T We could not both be first Ore of us wis compelled to yleld And that is not the worst Her will, I found, outrivalled mine, A termagant wis she 1 Thought st first I'd married her, Aown credit of be glver's spiritual bank accouut. Not much! She marrled