Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, January 15, 1902, Page 6

The OMAHA DAILY BEE! E. ROSEWATER, EDITOR. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. Dally Bee (without Sunday), One Year. Dally Bee and Sunday, Ore Year. llustrated Bee, One Year. Bunday Bee, Orle Year Baturday Bee, One Yo ‘wentleth Century Farme DELIVERED BY CARRIER. Daily Beo (without Sunday), per copy . Dally Bee (without !lmflt{).ntf waa{ L 12e Dally Bee (Including Sunday), per week,.1ic Sunday Hee, per copy Evening Bee (without Sunday), per week.10c Evening Bee (including Sunday), per week . s Compla irr i should be addressed to City Clrcula partment, OFFICES. Omahn—~The Bee Bullding, . South Omaha—City Hall Bullding, Twen- ty-fifth and M Streets. mctl Bluffs—10 Pearl Street. Chicago—1640 Unity Bullding. New York—Temple Court Washington--#1 Fourteesth Street. CORRESPON DENCE. Communications relating to news and edi- torlal matter should be addressed: Omaha Bee, Editorial Department. BUSINESS LETTERI Rusiness letters and remittances should be addressed: The Bee Publishing Company, Omaha, REMITTANCES. Remit by draft, express or postal order, ayable to The Bee Publishing Company. nly 2-cent stamps accepted in payment of mail accounts. Personal checks, except on Omaha or eastern exchanges, not accepted. THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY. ATEMENT OF CIRCULATIO , Douglas County, Goorge 1. Taschuck, secretary of Tl Publishing Company, belng duly sworn; Fays that the actual number of full a gompleto coples of 'The Daily, Morning Evening and, Sunday Bee printed durl the month ot Decentber, 1001, Wa 80,100 n delivery tion De- 30,840 30,440 40,700 80,610 80,480 80,480 .., 80,440 180,070 80,510 80,650 30,440 Less unsoid and returned cople: Net total sales Net dally average GEO. B. TZSCHUCK. Subscribed In my presence and sworn to fore me this 38t day Of December, A. 2 M, B. HUNGA'TE, (Seal.) Notary Publlc. E————— Two Kansas City men have flhmv@r@d* a way to beat the pool room. A little nerve and a palr of revolvers turned the trick. With a membership in the United tates Golf association, Omaha can pmplacently let the fight between the warring base ball lengues rage. —— “King” Phillips of the corn pit has been dethroned again. Kings are made and unmade on the Board of Trade with as great facllity as presidents In South America. Pretty soon the taxpayers will have sized up right the self-constituted cham- plons who are always hot for retrench- ment before election and steadfastly op- posed to it after election, fe——— The new board of Ak-Sar-Ben gov- ernors is made up of superb material that justifies the prediction 'that the phgeantry of 1002 will be more 4mpos- ing than it ever has been. 4 An Illinois man is trying to prove that he is alive in order to secure his share of an estate. His wife |i|ny next be called on to prove him dead to secure a dividend on his life Insurance. SpE—— The chief point about the new chief of Tammany hall that disturbs the slum- bers of Mr. Bryan and his admirers is whether he will hold the organization steadfast to the Kansas City platform. 1 Sie Thomas Lipton has commissioned! Fife to design his new cup challenger, Shamrock IIL Sir Thomas may think the third time is the harm, but he is warned that there is a “Ring” around that cup. S—— Remember that Omaba is not the only city that finds itself compelled to grapple with a school system grown top-heavy. 'The restriction or abolition of the fads is the order of the day everywhere. —— Towa has a surplus of $780,000 in its state treasury. Such ‘a surplus is a great incentive to wasteful appropria- tions, but the Iowa legislatures have established a reputation for keeping within bounds, Now that the forty days following the decislon of the Redell case by the su- preme court have expired, the opinion of the attorney general as to the pros- pects of seating a new governor- appointed commission is in order. = The transmission of the Lincoln land office from father to son would indicate that it s a hereditary office and that the Kenoards bhave an indefeasible and in- festructible right. to the perpetual enjoy- ment of Its perquisites and emoluments, — Attorney Van Dusen has followed in the footsteps of Buperintendent Greene of the Lincoln Insane asylum, He is hard pressed by his friends to become a candidate for governor, but Is not will- ing to allow his name to be used until Governor Savage gets out of his way. N —m————— The duke of Manchester seftled the breach of promise suit brought against him because he did not wish to have his love letters made public, It would cer- tainly have been embavrassing had the letters to the castaway proven move ardent than those written to his wife. e—— And now the famous exclamation called forth on the field of battle by the brilllant charge of the gallant First Ne- braska has been corripted into. “There goes the Fiist Nebraska after the euen)y. All hades cannot stop them.” ‘he next step in the pgocess of expurga- THE DEPARTMENT OF CONMEROR. Nearly every civilized nation on the globe, 'whether the eachinery of gov- | ernment s entrusted to a ministey ap. | poluted by the monarch or held responsi- ble to a parliament, boasts a depart- ment of commerce, This is true of | Russia, France, Geemany, Austrin -and Italy. In Great Britaln the depart- menf of commerce Is known as the Board of Trade with a cabinet officeer at the head, whose title is president of the Board of Trade.dn the United States the functions pertaining to the ministry of commerce In foreign countries have devolved upon the s tary of the in- terfor and the secretary of the treasutry. It has been apparent for many years that the expanding cowmmerce of the United Stated, its gigantic strides In the manufacturing and mining Industries and the vast increase in the army of Tabor would ot only juktify, biit compel the establishment of a department of commerce and Industry. As a matter of fact, the Department of the Interior, created in 1840, has been the dumping ground of all the odds and ends that could not well be dovetailed into the other departments; thus the Department of the Interior, which origi- mally was confinéd to the supervision of the land office and the management of Indian affairs, has not only included among its powers the patent office, the burean of raflways, the labor bureaun, the geological survey, the bureau of edu- catlon and the bureau of agriculture, but it also was given control of the bureau of pensions, which ought really to be under the direction of the War department. The bureau of agriculture was en- larged into a Department of Agrlrul(uro‘ twelve years age and its functions were extended over the weather service and the bureau of animal Industry, together with half a dozen other minor branches of the publfe service more or less co- related. A Dbill to establish a Department of Commerce was under consideration by the United States senate two years ago and its features have since been dis- cussed by the press and generally ap- proved by commereial bodles through- out the country., It has not only re- eived the approval of commercial Todles, but also of the grént pAfty con- ventions and has been récommended by President Roosevelt in his message to cqugress. In®view of the almost universal de- mand, It seems passing strange that op- position should have been raised to the bill reported by Senator Nelson of Min- nesota for the creation of a Department of Commerce. The most strenuous op- position was ral by Senator Teller of Colorado, who !nsists that in his judg- ment, based on his experience as a for- mer secretary of the Interior, there 18 no urgent necessity for this new. depart- ment. Senator Teller, however, over- looks the fact that within the twenty years which have elapsed since he held that office the commerce of, this country has been enormously Increased and the work of the Interior department has grown out of all proportion to that which should legitimately come under its control and management. Benjamin Harrlson, in a contribution on the functions of government, pub- lished four years ago, has this to say: “The Interlor department is now, in the variety and lmportance of the business committed to it, one of the greatest of the executive departments and only a strong and versatile man can conduct it successfully. The secretary must pass finally upon questions relating to depart- tment law, pension law, mining law, the approval of Indian treaties and many other questions calling for legal knowl- edge, If the judgment of the secretary 18 to be of any value,” : P The néw Depirtmetit of' Commerce 1s not merely expected to relieve the secre- tary of the interior of a very consider- able portion of the. complex duties now devolving upon him, but will also re- lieve the secretary of the treasury and the secretary of state of much work that does not properly belong to thelir respective departments, Among those are the bureau of immigration, the bureau ‘of statistics, the bureau of for- eign exports and statisties and- the consular bureau, which should be un- der the direction of the secretary of commerce. . The Department of Commerce may be expected to open up entirely new bu- reaus for work that has been lmperative in view of the necessity of finding for- elgn warkets for American products. cerr—— EXTINGUISHMENT OF WELLINGTON. The election by the Maryland leglsla- ture of Arthur Pue Gorman to represent that state in the United States senate as the successor to George L. Wellington on the first ballot without a single vote recorded for the outgolng senator is a signiticant mark of speedy political retribution, When Wellington was pro- moted from the lower house of congress as the first republican to be sent to the senate from Maryland since the recon- struction period, no man seemed to have before him a brighter prospect for public usetulness. © Wise and prudent leader- ship might have converted' Muryland permanently to the republican column and Maryland republicans were ready to accept the leadership of their new senator, It 1s hardly putting it too strongly to say that few men with like opportuni- ties have succeeded as well as Senator Wellington in destroying the eptire fab- ric of his political popularity. He might have failed to shine as an orator or as a constructive statesman without forfeit- ing the support of his constituents. He might have quarreled with the president over matters of patronage and disagreed with his colleagues on questions of policy without losiug his position in the party councils, The fatal step was taken, THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1902, tlon of President McKinley, brazenly in- sniting every sentiment of humanity. The extinguishment of Wellington wauld not even merit passing notice ex- cept for the polated lesson it conveys. No public man can commit the grave offense charged against him and retain the respect, much less the confidence, of any portion of the American people. e—— NO CHEAP-JOWN MARKET HOUSE. According to published Interviews, the members of the council who have just returned from a tour of inspection of eastern market houses will recommend the erection of a market house in the center of one of our widest streets in preference to a block or square hetween two streets, If they are correctly, quoted they express the opinion that a $10,000 market house will answer the purpose. With all due respect to the council- manic Inspectors, The Bee ventures to express the opinion that no cheap-john market house will be satisfactory to the people of Omaha. A $10,000 market house simply means a wooden shed that would disfigure the streets and endanger adjncent property. ‘While it is true that the city of Cleve- land s disfignred by just such a struc- ture as a central market, it is also true that the Cleveland shack was erected forty-five yeard ago, when that city had a population of less than 40,000 people. It has been enlarged, repaired, patched and repatched, but for many years has been considered an intolerable nuisance. The Washington market house is a mag- nificent brick structure; it Is erected on a plot of ground adjacent to the public thoroughfare and represents an expendi- ture of not less than $250,000. The modern market house, llke all other public bulldings, is bullt of stone, brick and iron, with steel girders and covered by a sheet iron or slate roof. No other style of market house will be satisfactory to Omaba. We may be- gin with a section, but the section that we bulld must be erected in conformity to a plan that eventually will give us a modern structure. The only advantage in erecting a mar- ket house In the middle of a wide thor- oughfare is in the saving of the cost of ground space. A street 150 to 200 feet wide would readily admit of the con- struction of a market house without serlously interfering with travel and traffic, but a street of less width would have to be widened by the donation, purchase or condemnation of adjacent property. While it {s true that in some cities market houses forty feet wide are in existence, yet they are ridiculously out of proportion and so Inconvenlent and inaccessible as to be almost worthless for market purposes. The market house in Charleston, 8. C., which is built on this plan, is about 600 feet in length; it is a rickety, ramshackle affair. It is really a long shanty, with negroes sit- ting on each side selling tobacco, garden and dairy produce, semi-tropical fruit and herbs. The demands of Omaha will hardly be met by the reproduction of the market house at Charleston. ——— IT IS UP TO THE COUNCIL. The councll is about to commence a series of sesslons as a board of equaliza- tion. Its function under the law is to review the work of the Board of\ Re- view and as far as possible to equalize the tax burdens. It Is an open secret that the work of the Board of Review was not satisfac- tory to the great majority of the tax- payers and especially to the committee appointed by the Real Estate exchange, through which remonstrances were made against the flagrant favoritism shown by the board to the franchised corporations. The extremely low yalua- tions placed upon these properties shifts the burden from the concerns that are enjoying speclal privileges from the community to the shoulders of the mid- dle and poorer class of taxpayers who have no pull with the assessor. It is up to the council to readjust the assess- ments and rectify, as far as possible, the injustice done by the Board of Review. Nobody wants the franchised corpora- tions to pay more than their tair propor- tion of the taxes for ralsing the funds necessary to meet the expense of municipal government, but there is no valid reason why they should be allowed to escape with less than their just pro- portion. Thelr incomes are chiefly de- rived from the public through natural monopolies created by public necessities, and fhe people therefore have a right to insist that they shall share, in com- mon with all other classes of property owners, thelr just proportion of the bur- den created for the maintenance of fire and police protection, water, gas, elec- tric lighting, drainage and other ex- penses incidental to the management of a city of Omaha's pretensions and popu- lation. Nebraska populist papers do not ap- pear to have vitality enough to stand two successive election frosts. During the last two weeks four prominent pa- pers of that faith have suspended pub- licution and two bave been converted nto republican organs. These sudden collupses on the loss of official advertis- ing patronage are a powerful tribute to the many republican papers which stood staunchly by the faith during the years the party was out of power, S Nebraska has just made a momentous discovery In the field of wireless teleg- raphy. An inventor at Tekamah has perfected a device which will convey. the human volce from one room to an- other without metal connection, but that does not signify that' the train dis- patcher will be able to move trains from his bedroom instead of from the railroad switch tower, however, when Senator Wellington, in the very hour of the nation's griet over the dastardly assault upon their chief tion will make it “All sheol cannot stop them.” Why 8ot stick to the original? executive, publicly expressed hlmu:lf as absolutely indifferent to the assassina- Commissioner O'Keeffe has laid out an official program for himself which wil commend him to all taxpaying citizens. The new commissioner declares that he would huve every man ewployed by the county do am Kondst dag’s work and recelve an honest day's pay, just the same as the men who toll in the pack ing houses and for other corporations, Let him commence by weeding out sine- cures and superfluous hangers-on who arve earried on the county pay roll and if his efforts are supported by a ma- Jority of the board the taxpayers may look for substantial relief. Captain Hobson has not resigned from the navy, but has merely obtained a year's leave of absence, with a view to devoting his time to money-making on the lecture platform. Hobson should be compelled to resign apd so should every other army or navy officer who seeks notoriety and public applause by making an exhibition of himself at so much per capita. If these men prefer the excitement of the stage to the mo- notonous routine of service in the army or navy, they should be given a per- manent legye of absenc Sp—— Captain Clark, commander of Oregon during the war, is to represent the United States at the coronation of King Edward. In the midst of admirals, vice- admirnis and high digunitaries of other navies Captain Clark may be forced to bring up the tail end of the coronation procession, but the assembled throng will have to look hard to search out a better type of the tighting man of the sea. By the last census the south bhas in- creased in population a greater per cent than any other section of the country. with all Its great natural resources, the south had been almost stagnant until ten years ago and it is gratifying to see that the reports of its waking up are verified by the figures. A healthy rivary between the various parts of the country is a good thing for all, ge——— A New York man has presumed to make up a list of men and women whom he classes the “real thing” in Amer- lcan soclety. As over three-fourths of the people mentioned live In New York, and even the list in the metropolls 1s abbreviated, the New York man will have a hard time of it convincing Amer- ican soclety that his dictum ends it. S—— Judging by the profuse effusions of the independent newspaper which parts its name In the middle, John L. Web- ster's name s spelled Daniel. But what had Daniel to do with the Declara- tion of Independence? He was slmply the advance agent for a Babylonian me- nagerié. — The new executive committee of the Commercial club has an opportunity to strike out on new lines that will give the club prestige by advancing the com- mercial interests of Omaha. Concentra- tion of energy will accomplish more than a scattering fire. Staggering the Taxpayer. Kansas City Star, An Englishman with a talent for figures estimates that the war in South Africa has cost Gresat: Pritaln the welght In gold of the entire Boer army—and the fighting is stiil golng on. Where, the Judiciary Scatters, ‘Washington Post. Railroad Betterments ' Loulsville Courter-Journal. ' Decldedly "the feature of this business year will be the enormous expenditures of the great rallway systems in. extending their linee and termindls, improving thelr roadbeds by laying heavier rails, straight- ening curves, building, bridges, reducing their grades and thus providing for larger tralnloads and economies in operations. An« nouncements of their determination to do his were made by several great trunk lines t week, but they have been com- ing “not as single sples, but in bat- talione” for many months, 8o much of this hae been dohe aince the great period of re< organization, beginning about 1894, that one would think the rallroads were entitled to rest awhile and follow the example of the British lines by distributing their extra profits to the stockholders who have for years been secing their money sunk into the betterment of old lines and the mequisi- tion of new ones. On the contrary, if the work has been any more than begun, it is certainly hardly under full headway as yet, Judging from the statements put out last week. The latest announcements are .those of the Baltimore & Ohlo, the Atchison and the Union Pacific. Friday an authorized report was' made that the Baltimore & Ohlo would appropriate $60,000,000 this year to exten- slons and betterments, supplemental to the $560,000,000 devoted to the same purpose during the past two yearw. will be membered that $26,000,000 was put aside for betterments two years ago, that sum being regarded as almost unprecedented at the time. Later $15,000,000 and then $10,000,- 000 more was added to the outlay. The last $50,000,000 just announced means $100,000,- 000 to be spent in three years on one of the great trunk lines. The $50,000,000 freshly appropriated by the Baltimore & Ohio seems a very heavy outlay, and yet this sum s exceeded by the Pennsylvania appropriation of $100,000,000 to be spent on Ita lines in 1902, largely on terminals in New York. The Pennsylvania has for years been making enormous out- lays in this way, and by reason of its con- trol of the Baltimore & Ohlo this policy has been extended to that system. Both lines lnet week, it may be added, raised the wages of all their employes. Last Saturday the Union Pacific system, a corporation which holds almost exactly a thousand millions in securities, gave it out that its expenditures for 1908 would be be- tween $26,000,000 and $30,000,000 in improve- ments. It was only a short time ago that the Southern Pacific, which is largely con- trolled by the Union Pacific, authorized the statement that it would make improve- ments {nvolving $50,000,000 to $60,000,000 for AMERICA'S MINERAL WEALTH. t of Nature's Storehouse Passes Billlon Mark. St. Louls Globe-Democrat. The final figures of the country's aggre- gate mineral production are somewhat slow in coming to hand, but we are getting them. Those for the year 1900 have just been fur- nished and they make a very favorable showing. In that year for the first time in the annals of the United States the coun- try's mineral output passed the $1,000,000,- 000 mark. This fact was seen several months ago to be probabl and revised figures, which public from Washington, give the actual output officially. The precise figures are $1,067,603,606. As there was a gain in sev- eral of the items in 1901, the figures for the year just ended will undoubtedly, when they are compiled and revised im the ax- gregate ten or twelve months hence, make & very encouraging exhibit. An increase in the United Btates gold pro- duction was made in 1900 over 1889, and a galn in 1901 over 1900 hi been scored. There has been & slight increase, too, Im silver. But the preclous metals are far Oun this year, so the expenditures of these two great systema deserve to rank with those of the Baltimore & Ohto. : The Atchison, it has been sald, ia to fssue $30,000,000 of bonds very soon, $18,000,000 of the proceeds to be spent on equipment, the remainder on new lines and better- ments. The St. Paul, a road which has for years been devoting millions to the work of strengthening and improving ite lines, published last week its intention to make the outlay for 1902 $8,000,000 more. The ‘New York Central, the Gould roads, the Louisville & Nashville and dozens of other great trunk lines are and have been pur- sulng an exactly similar policy, and so far as 1002 is concerned there are no indlea- tions of a let up anywhere in this mighty task of development. Nearly all these have also increased wages. The purchases of equipment alone during 1901 amounted to $200,000,000 for all the rallroads in the United States, and the car foundries, loco- motive works, bridge bullding companies and rail mills have a larger accumulation ot orders on hand now._than ever before, which {nsure general business activity for the entire year. The general effect of these vast expen- ditures will tend to the continuance of the prevailing prosperity and they also indicate that the transportation industry, which is our largest business interest, preparing to work fiore cheaply and on ger scale than ever. If another pamio should com thero is not likely to be any repetition the bankruptcies that followed the collaj of 1893. Oranting that there may be a great reduction of trafic it can be handled so cheaply and so economically that there is not only no likelihood of the ension of interest on floating debts and lcans, but it is improbable that the present dlvidends will be cut. The roads have been most conservative in the declarations already made and, though the genersl policy has been that of increase, the margin of safety has beon kept very large! 2 The only conclusion to be drawn from the plain statement of facts herein pre- sented {s that another panic has been made @ remoter contingency than ever before. Speculation has been running high beyond doubt, but the sreat banking and rail- road interests bave been so comservative that the danger has been epormously re- duced and America has beon strengthened wonderfully for the struggle over the world's markets that seems imminent. The Keneral advance of ges has come be- cause the business is profitable and can only be continued as long as there is re- muneration for invested capital. —eeeeeeeeeee e BITS OF WASHINGTON LIFE. Etchings of P @ Events at the National Capiti Writing about receptions in Washington in general and the president’s function on New Year’s day in particular Congressman Scott of Kal says: “A man simply got into the line and followed his leader until he reached the door of the reception room— passing for the last twenty feet of the way through a double file of secret service men, who looked. him over unobtrusively but keenly, to note whether his hand was wrapped in & handkerchief or there was anything else of a suspicious nature about him—and then he pronounced his mame to Colonel Bingham, who repeated it to the president. If the caller was a stranger the president shook hands quickly, sald ‘I am glad to see you' and passed him on down the line, If the callen was & mere ac- quaintance . the. president eaid, ‘I am de- Iight-ed to see you; how are you today?' and shook his hand a Iittle longer. If the caller happened to be a rather familiar friend the president would swing his arm, giving the outstretched hand of the visitor a smack that could be heard acroes the room, and The Indiana supreme court has declded |from being at the head of the lMst of the | gaiq, ‘Hello, old man; I am de-lighted to that the man who rides on a railroad pass must ablde by the conditions imposed upon its back. This is.a proposition upon which Judges appear to scatter widely. New York World. This 1s Indeed a case where change Is al- most certaln to mean improvement. With corruption stopped in the city government and Crokerism ended in the control of Tammany the outlook is indeed hopeful. Get Busy, Please. ' New York Tribune. Disturbing rumore tome from the west saying that a scheme 18 oh fdot to corner the egg market. But the modest, unassum- Ing, industripus hen may baffle the plotters. Who can corner the diligent matrons of the nests? Hot Alr Irritants, Chicago Chronicle. When England and Germany get educated up to the point of disregarding the stump speeches which politiclans make in gither country reflecting on the other country they will reach the level of American civili- zation. No speech ever made by an Ameri- cam orator in or out of cungress was ri garded as provoking cause for internatlonal hostilities. Output. of Mineral Wealth, Phlladelphia Record. The value of mineral products of the United States for 1900, according to the re- port of the geological survey, was $1,067,- 603,606. Of this vast sum more than one- hal? was the outturn of iron and coal, their combined value having been $566,000,000. The value of gold produced was $79,171,000;¢ of silver, $35,741,140. Petroleum and cop- per added heavily to the aggregate value. ‘The galn over the preceding year, 1899, was 495,702,712, mearly 10 per cent Selection of Canal Route. Indianapolils Journal. It 1s worthy of note that not until within a few days past has it been proposed to leave the selection and determination of a route to the president of the United States. That is what should be done. In addition to the fact that it is clearly an executive duty, placing it in the hands of the presi- dent would remove the question from the arena of comgresslonal discussion that fis more or less heated and place it in the way of an intelligent decision based on careful Investigation and full information obtained from experts of the highest au- thority. By all means let the selection of the route, the declsion between the Nica- ragua and the Panama routes, be left to the president, with whom it properly belongs. Steps After the Unattainable, Springfleld (Mass) Republican No one can contemplate the restless and Incessant movement of science without wondering If the ultimate truth will ever be reached. Every century now i strewn with the wreckage of sclentific bypotheses and theorles which did service in thelr day, and there can never, it would seem, be any guarantee that the human mind can say of this, that or the other, There is no more to learn.” With some such thought in his brain Huxley wrote: “It {8 the customary tate of new truths to begin as heresles and end as superstitions.” The new dlscoveries or hypotheses of our scientists, therefor are likely to be endless, and every step fo unattainable if the goal be the Illumination country’s mineral products. The coal pro- duction of the country in 1900, for example, was $307,000,000, compared with $79,000,- 000 for gold and $86,000,000 for silver. In 1900, for the first time, the cogl product of the United States passed the mark for the British islands and this country took the first place among the coal producing locall- tles ot the world. Coal and iron ia 1900 accounted for more than half of the total of the country’s agi e metallic product, or $566,000,000. ¢ Ot course, in aggregate mineral produc- tion no other country in the world makes any close approach to the United States. Moreover, the growth in the output of the United States is greater than is scored by tly there is in the way of The United States has again taken the lead in gold output, and will probably hold it until the South African mines are opened to their full capacity, which cannot be until after the war in that section is ended finally and permanently. Colorado and Alaska are the flelds in which the United States stands a chance to make its greatest gains in gold output in the mear future, but this is only one, and not the most important, of the great avenues of minerdl wealth production of the country. e s , FPERSONAL NOTES. It 18 up to King Egdward to beat Emperor Kwang Su’s modest little $4,200,000 demon- | stration. The king of Sweden I3 regarded as one of the most learned men In Rurope. King Oscax can speak and write perfectly in seven different languages. Governor-elect Montague of Virginia will be the orator at the celebration of General Lee's birthday at Atlanta, Ga., on January 19, under the auspices of the Virginia so- cloty of that city. Isaac Smyth of Chicago has invented a flylng machine ,which 1s to be entered against the aerlal contrivances of M Sa Dumont. and other aeronauts in the con! for the $200,000 prize offered by the St Louls exposition. General Otls, commander of the Depart- ment of the Lakes, will not be transterred to San Franclaco, but will remain at his present post of duty until March 27, when he will reach the age limit and will be re- tired from active duty, Baron Schwegel of Austria is coming America to study the industrial this country and the methods of “trust’ or- ganizations of capital. He ¢ a member of the Auetrian parllament and a leader of the German party in that body. August Glssler, governor of the Cocos, a Costa Rican possession, is visiting fn Chicago. The island is famous In cons nection with the operations of the buccas neers of the Spanish maln and the reputed hiding place for millions of thelr {ll-gotten treasure. Mr. Glssler has held his office since 1897, A sumptuous breakfast was provided at the Foraker wedding in Washington and various cabioet people ate hardly anything that morning. The president and M Roosevelt, with the cabinet party, occuple a ceparate table, and had been seated but a minute when Mr. Roosevelt saw at a dis- tance someone with whom he wished to talk. He at once went to this person, and as etl- quette required that those seated with bim should also abandon thelr meal all arose to of dent id not come back, so the others went ward must be apparently a step after m.l.na left the breakfast untasted. The presi- of the figal mystery of lfe away hungry. the production of the metals in this country. | see you—de-lighted! de-lighted! How are you today? Fine day, {sn’t it?" In other words, this new president of ours can g0 through the mo#t conventional function in the most unconventional way and come out of it with the most unconventional excla- mation of gratification and delight.” Rtludlnt\lhc firet lady of the land the Washington correspondent of the Cleveland Leader writes: *Mrs. Roosevelt is proving Lerself to be one of the most charming mistresses the White House has ever had. Already she has won a place in the hearts of everybody who has attended any of the functions at the historic manslo 8he the personification of graclousness and has a manner that is most captivating. Al- though her distinguished husband is a royal shé eastly ‘excels him in the happy he has of greeting gu At the diplomatic reception last Tuesday her winning personality so impressed itself upon the thousands who attended that it seemed to be the chief toplc of discussion during the evening. Mrs. Roosevelt's man- ner of greeting the guests is very much llke the late president’ Mr. McKinley had a way of shaking one’s hand and ex-. pressing his pleasure at meeting him and smiling so0 sincerely that every guests felt that his welcome was the warmest that could have been given. “‘Mrs. Roosevelt, while she does not shake hands—the president does that—makes her guests feel perfectly at home and that it ‘was more of a pleasure to her to meet them than for them to accept her hospitality.” But one American woi courtesied to President Roosevelt on the occasion of the recent diplomatic reception. Mrs. Clover, daughter of W. A, Clark, the millionaire tor from Montana, executed a bended- knee bow before the executive of the natfon, which was elabol and pro- longed that it delayed for the better part of a minute the line of guesats walting to be presented to Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt. Courtesles are common at diplomatic re- | That ceptions, however. The greater number of the ladies connected with the forelgn embassies and legations bring their court manners with them, just as they wear their court clothes. They greet the president of the United States as If he were a ruler born by right. But American women proffer their hands to the president and bow—perhaps a little lower than if they were meeting an acquaintance on the street. Mrs. Clover, who has resided much abroad and mingled in European soclety, attalned her proficlency In making a courtesy while across the water. Tuesday of last week, writes a corre- spondent of the St. Louls Globe-Democrat, the senate adjourned early because the at- tendance was small and & large number of senators were in attendance at the mar- of a popular army officer. The n fact, lasted but nine minutes. [ acterietio of thé! work of the wenate M the Ohristmas holldays. Apparently th senators have been seeking delay and have been loth to enter upon the serious business of the seusi The slightest pretext has been seized upon for adjournment or post- ponement of public business. Senators Al- 1ison and Aldrich have been absent from the capital during the week. This i8 the reason why no busines 8 been transacted. Not a senator will admit it. Not one but re- alises that it true. Every atteropt at committee megting, every step toward a conference, every proposition for putting the senate machinery /into heavy service has been met with the query: ‘‘What does Allison think of 1t?" or “What does Aldrich say?’ In this way is their leadership o koowledged. There is naught of the el ment of & “boss’ about either of the digni- fled old senators. Senator Allisom is the quiotest and the most mild-mansered mao in the senate. Kven his tread mcross the marble floor s as silent as that o & «» He never orders or commands. Apparently be does not seek to control. Yet not a move is made nor a decision reached without a suggestion from the chairman of the ap- propriations committee. His decistons are not arbitrary. A dissenting nod or the single sentence, “I think perhaps it would be well to do so and so,” suffices. If any- On the democratic side, If there is leader- ship, no one has dlscovered it. As in past sesslons, Senator Cockrell of Missouri per- baps indicates closest what the conservative element in the minority thinks of a measurs or & poliey, but his is not leadership. The menator himself would resent luggestion of his responsibility for some of his col- leagues. Semator Tillman would perhaps be the mouthplece for what the more radical and erratic elements in the minority might propose to do. Yet Tillman in most things represents ounly himself. In the preses wession & new element, composed of Sen- ators Balley and Heitfeld and seme of the other younger men, has to be reckomed with, No real leadership in the minority is expected until the return to the senate ot Gorman of Maryland. While in the senato before he made up his mind what he would do and announced it. Usually it turned out to be what the minority did. INHERITANCE TAXES VALID. Laws in Several States Withat Judiel Tests. Chicago Chronicle. The supreme ocourt of the United States has rendered another decision sustaining the principle of taxing inheritances. The case which was decided arose under the New York law, which furaished the model for the Illinol It would app: for the taxation of Inheritances and be- quests has been sustained under all the judicial tests that are likely to be applied. The state laws and the federal law placing taxes on the transfer of property descend- ing by will or under the general laws regu- lating inheritances are valid in all respects. They are based on a valld principle of taxa- tion and the detalls of the various acts are not repulsive to the federal or state consti- tutlons. If heirs and legatees and their attorneys would understand once for all the principle on which inheritance laws are based they ‘would save time, trouble and expense in contesting the tax. All contests have been based on the ground that the tax is ume- qual, lacks uniformity of falls in some other respect to conform with the rules un- der which property is taxed. The entire matter is very plain. The inheritance tax is not & tax oa the property that is transterred by will or op- eration of law. It i¢ in the mature of an excise or a license tax. It is impost on the right to bequeath property by will and on the right to Inherit property—not a!tax on the property itself. ' y It is' on this understanding that thé courts, federal and state, bave sustalned the valldity of all the laws on the subject. They will not take the back track from these numerous dectsions, all in the same line. d Al —_— LAUGHING GAS. Philadelphia Press: *Now. here,” sald the salesman, ‘in & very fine umbrella. ndle, you will observe, in especially The attractive, “That's just what T want to avold. Every umbrella 1 ever o has been entirely too attractive.” Chicago Tribune: “Can't you look & lt- tlg, pleasanter” asked the photographor, “I'wish 1 could,” replied the in the chalr, with & ghastly emile, “but T Just happéned to remember that ‘I came awa: Trom home n & hurry this morning, and left four gas jets burning in the base- ment.," Chicago Tribune: r sign of pros- othes perity,” remarked the optimist, ‘‘is "that more persons were married last year than ever befc “Huh!" snarled the other man. “There were more persons living on the earth laat year than ever before.’ udge: Mrs. Newlywed (wee IR A PRI AL AV RS afternoon, Jack, r. Newlywed—Heavens! Those wretches will ‘do anythink to get into jail for the winter, won't they? Clevoland Plain Dealer: “That embeszl- ing cashier had boen speculating In cot- “It's strange that he oot EERS gehe should have had Yonkers Statesman: Bill — Your friend imsonbeak reminds me of the moon. ili~Becauss he out late nights? 0; because he appears to be bright- hen ul P ” —eeee GRANDMA'S COURTING DAYS. Ing)—A vil- lipllle this James’ Barton Adams in Denver Post. Young folks don't do_thetr courtin’ Row way they used to do when I Was of the pLoper cpurtin® age an’ plumper The boys are slangy It Ik, Yo o ara-iRe. any Doy, 1%, the sals An' seem to look too lightly on the sweet- est story ever told. T‘hlywll:hlm:lm;ll:. ;‘mf' nloe'g all “the talk elp o n' eyes, Their keerless bog)m- Vor feel the acred o 3 ng 5 ipend the evenin' sparkin' hours In ghin’ an’' in erackin’' jok mong the rely ‘d bin out o' ¢ good ol'-fashioned ?nl{:.“ In them ol' days I speak about whenever man 'd come ln'rnuol“! he would sort o' | make himself to hum An’' be as social as he could ontll the , chapter had bin read An' fam'ly Dl‘l.yI!: og'odrud up an' pa an’ o ma 5 Then him an' d come to court 'd et " fireplace bbe make some taffy, ase, d set an’ eat away, an' even at a hint“o' love They both 'd blush as red as them red pepper pods that hung above, They'd lose a heap o' bashfulness, of course, as matters moved along. Gt so's they'd “let thelr "volces jine in singin’ some ol' meetin' song, An' mebbe_ git a squeexin' hands from Whets they' bl stlady ‘Company for 'L " ) oy lb}:‘ml nhnm?lh oli,(wg»pk':"'n' "e n' when they'd reach the nsin’ o When he would'mis his. hat termo 50 “Twas evidence thelr ias had d In each m“gr 20 i a | They, seemed like they was only sne, an' the plans df more than one outsider were upset. Major Pruden, one of the secre- taries to the president, arrived at the capitol eather-bound portfolio con- the nominations of nearly 500 ap- . He. did ne ime to present them because of the early adjournment. He carried them back to the White House with him. On Wednésday, the day following, the senate 4id not convene until after 2 o'clock, because of the wedding of Miss Foraker, daughter of the senlor senator from Ohlo. When it did meet nothing but morning busi- ness was disposgd of. This has been char- heart was Jnkin" up to h t In sojaon chal & hineal 1ove that muthin lews 'n death could' part. ' whot her eyes an' t it go, fch P ness {n’ sfc know? » ol 0 ? 400d ol courtin’ ways that as le when L K Bot. there befare the ol fireplads an’ got to lovin’ grajuily, Fur love that ( e g R R, P 47 fhata-way et ok " ok . -;;u,."‘; e g mv’&uu aa' shows