Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, September 21, 1902, Page 18

18 THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: SUNDAY, THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE E. ROSEWATER, EDITOR. BLISHED EVERY MORNING. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION Dally Bee (withoui sunuay), Une Year..#.00 Lally Bee and Suncay, Une Year.......§ lilustrated Bee, une Year e Bunday Bee, Une Y« . I’ q . On L y DELIVERED DY CArslnk. Daily Bee (without Sunday), per copy Daily Bee (witnout Sunday), per we Daily Bee (nciuding Sunaiy), per w Bunaay e, per vopy KEvening bee (w!tnout Sundi Evening Bee ncluding Sutday), per K o0 10¢ weel k ; Complainis of Irregularitics in delivery snould be addressed to City Circulation Le- partment. OFFICES. maha—The Bee Builaing. outh Omaha—City Hall Bullding, Twen- ty-fitth and M Streeis. Council Bluffs -1) Pearl Street. Chicago—1640 Unity Lutlding. w_York—232s Purk Row pullding. ‘Washington—&1 Fourteenth Street. CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to news and edi- torial matter should be addressed: Umaha Bee, Editorial Department. BUBINESS LETTERS. Business letters and remittances should be addressed: The Bee Publishing Coin- pany, Omuha. Romit b flHl-)IlTTANl.'h“. al emit by drait, express or postal order, ayable to The Bee Publishing Company. nly 2-cent stampe acce) n payment of Personal checks, except on istern exchanges, not hhkifiltdv PUBLISHING COMPANY. STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION. Etate of Nsbraska, Douglas County, ss: Georggy B. Taschuck, secretary of The Bee Publisl Company, belng duly sworn, says the actual number of full an omple coples of The Duu , Mornin, vening and Sunday Bee ted duri; ui the month of Augusi, 1902, was as follow: 18, 25,600 1 28,820 20,880 ErmENRERe Total ..covvenee Less unsold and returned coples. Net total sales Net dally average. GEO. B. TZSCHUCK. Eubscribed In my presence and sworn to before me this 1st d:-yu-.r Scptember, A. D. | | | B. HUNGA Notary Publie. (Seal.) In the music of the cornsheller will be found the popular air for Nebraska. | e Presumably the annual smashing of | “the machine” has agaln been duly | effected. And soclety at Newport goes right along as oblivious as if it never read a newspaper. p— No one seoms to have suggested to 'Bpeaker Henderson and his constituents 'to arbitrate their differences. —— An effort is on to get Coin Harvey and General Coxey together in Arkansas ‘and the effort is universally endorsed. ——— Alregdy the friends of ex-Governor Boles are planning a presidential boom for him. This 1s a little sooner than was expected, but it was sure to come. erme——— With the colleges and universities |again open for business at full blast, the problem what to do with the young man has at least temporary solution. P — Manufacturers of fine paper are tak- ing steps to tighten up their trust. The demand for new bonds, stocks, de- bentures, etc., has doubtless encouraged them. E— Although those new McKinley postal cards have not yet been called in, they ought to be. A more ungainly product of postal art was never intlicted on the publie. —— President Roosevelt says he believes emphatically in organized labor. That 18 another reason why the great corpora- tions do not believe implicitly in Presi- dent Roosevelt. Not only is the cost of living higher than in democratic days, but living itself s higher—a fact not mentioned in the democratic campaign book, but none the less appreclated by the American people. No tariff tinkering is needed to re- form the bicycle trust. Although or- ganized only two years ago, the mills of the gods have already ground it up 'very fine, and a receiver has been ap- pointed to do the rest. _— Colonel Bryan had hardly got out of Missourl betore Senator Cockrell, in Janguage similar to that of ex-Governor Boles, characterized free silver as “a| dead issue.” If this sort of thing goes on the Commoner will have to keep its epithets standing in type. The building rule in London is that no structure shall rise above the pavement higher than the street in fromt of it 15 wide. Skyscraper tower buildiugs are therefore unknown in London. A bullding rule like this in our American cities would, we belleve, be useful with- out imposing any undue restriction om property owners. - It will not hurt legitimate business seriously if some of the speculative bub- bles Wall street has been blowing should burst. Such fakes are really det- rimental to the legitimate concerns of business. If some of the inflated specu- lative enterprises should now collapse | it will prevent more people from putting their good woney into them. ———————— Attention of readers Is called to the advertising columns of this number of The Bee, which econtain announcements of a wore than usual number of repre- sentative business Louses and proprie- tary articles. The pressure upoun our advertising space affords best evi- dence of the high standing of The Bee as & wedium of publicity, and lu turn ‘We can testify to the reputable and responsible character of our advertising patrons. Read the advertiseweuts—it will pay you. Yo | prehension the | | right to rej MERCER'S RENOMINATION. The allied corporations have brought about the renomination of David H. Mercer for congress for a sixth term through the machinery of the republican pafty. It is an open secret that the trinmph of Mercer In the primaries was accomplished by the coercion of repub lican wage workers by the railroads and by employers who depend upon the raflronds for forbidden favors, as well as the lavish use of a large corruption fund and hundreds of perjured affidavits issned promiscuously from the clty clerk's office. A nomination secured by such meth- ods would not be binding, even if Mer- cer had ndt forfeited the support of honest and self-respecting republicans by his indefensible treachery to the party two years ago when the supreme struggle involved the election of two United States senators. With full com- of all the consequences, Mercer first countenanced and encour- aged an organized effort to knife and de- feat the republican legislative ticket in Douglas county, which, if success- ful, would have sent two dewocrats from Nebraska to the United States senate, and when the legislature was in session deserted his seat in congress to Importune republican mewmbers to vio- late their pledges to the people and their obligations to the party to adjourn without electing any senators unless he was one of them. To ask the republicans of this district te condone and reward such disloyalty by a re-election caps the climax of audacit Conceding Mercer's efficiency as an app.opriggion logroller and legislative tiader,”The Bee cannot and will not stultify itself by recommending bim to republicans of this district. Mr. Mercer has long since forfeited his cosent this district by ceas- ing to reside here. Although elected and re-elected for five successive terms, he has taken no other interest in the re- publican party of Nebraska and repub- lican candidates of city and county than the periodic effort he was obliged to make to retain his own seat in con- gress. His defensive and oftensive alli- ance with the railroad corporations wakes him simply the candidate of those corporations rather than of the repub- lican party, and the stolen republican label gives him no claim upon the sup- port of auny self-respecting republican. PAYING 1BE PENALTY. Some of the combinations that were overcapitalized and were organized without much regard to sound economic principles have recently been paying the penalty, suggesting that drastic experi- ences may be in store for others of like character. The bicycle corporation made a great error when it was orgun- ized and is now paying the penalty. A tobacco trust organized in deflance of sound economic law is experiencing the consequence of admitting an evil of the kind into its primary organization. It is bankrupt and a few days ago a re- celver was applied for. Not long ago promoters established what was called a bread trust, clalming that it had ma- chinery which would accomplish better things In the way of bread making than the most powerful and thorough knead- ing by human energy had ever done. Its promoters overcapitalized it and when it was found that the corporation could not command the whole or even any great share of the market, the so- called trust went to pleces. Many other instances could be cited of corporations, orgunized on the trust plan, that bave collapsed because they violated sound economic principles, and undoubtedly there are more to come. Combinations that are greatly over- capitalized and which otherwise violate immutable financial and commercial laws may go on for a time with appar- ent success and prosperity, but inevi- tably those laws sooner or later assert themselves and the organization that disregards or deties them pays the penalty. The experience already had should at least serve the purpose of warning the public agalnst investing in the securities of corporations that are known to be overcapitalized, or as to the orgaunization of which there is not full and satisiactory information. THE ROUMANIAN NOTE. The appeal of our government to the Buropean powers for just and humane treatment of the Jews in Roumania is not without precedent. As stated in the note, the United States in 1872 re- monstrated against the persecution of the Jews under Turkish rule, a condi- tion which the Berlin treaty of 1878 was expected to remedy and to an ex- tent did remedy. Ten years ago Presi- dent Harrison drew the attention of the Russian governwent to the effect on our immigration of the persecution of the Jews in_Russia, it beiug then pointed out that any internal policy which drove subjects abroad necessarily af- fected the countries these subjects sought, however little desire the land receiving these immigrants might have to interfere in the domestic affairs of another sovereiguty. The note of Becretary Hay takes a like position in regurd to the persecu- tion of the Jews In Roumania, ex- pressed in somewhat strouger and wore direct terms. This appeal of our gov- ermment, which is in the Interest of humanity, will be very generally ap- proved by Americans. The facts in regard to the persecution of the Roumanian Jews show a most cruel and inhuman state of affairs. It is in the power of the European governments that are parties to the Berlin treaty, which gave lndependence to Roumania, to put an endl to the deplorable situation by requiring the Roumanian government to respect the provision of the treaty which says that the “difference of rell- glous creeds and confessions shall not be alleged agalnst any person” with refer- ence to “civil and political rights,” and there is reason to hope that the appeal of the United States will induce them to take the necessary steps to have this treaty provision regarded. It is not the policy of this government to interfere in European affaire, but its right In this instance to remonstrate is strongly set forth by Secretary Hay After reciting the treatment to which the Jews are subjected by the Rouman- fan government the note says: “Whether consciously and of purpose or not, these Lelpless people, spurned by their native land, are forced by the sovereign power of Roumania upon the charity of the Jnited State This government cannot be a tacit party to such an intérnational wrong. It is constrained to protest against the treatment to which the Jews of Roumania are subjected, not alone because it has unimpeachable gronnd to remonstrate against the re sultant injury o Itself, but in the name of humanity.” The European response to thls appeal will be awalted with wmuch interest and there can be no doubt that it will at least recognize the sincerity aund the justice of its purpuse. ——ee RAILROAD TAXATION A4 CAMPAIGN INSUE. The people of Nebraska who had looked to the suprewe court for relief from railroad tax shirking bave reason to feel sadly disappointed over the re- fusal of that tribunal to lssue its man- date to compel the reassessment of the railroad property by the state board. To men not yersed in legal hair splitting the conclusions of the court are unin- telligible and inexplicable. In granting the prayer of the Omaha Real Kstate exchange to compel the Board of Equalization to reassess the propertdes of the local franchised cor- porations on the basis of their value measured by the market price of their stocks and bouds and proportionate to the assessment ratio of other taxable city property, the court established a precedent in line with decisions rendered by supreme courts of other states and by the United States supreme court. It was natural to presuwe that the priuck ples laid down in the decision in the Oniaba tax cases would apply in all es- sential respects to the railroad tax case instituted by the editor of The Bee. How the same court could cousistently hold against the Omaha street rallwuy and Omaha water, gas and electric Ught- ing companies in the wonth of April and hold in favor of the railroads in a case involving identically the sawme issue in September is a mystery we confess we cannot fathom. . In the Omaha tax case the court over- ruled the findings of a referee who had taken testimony on the facts. In the rallroad tax case the judges of the su- | preme court heard the testimony in pes son, but ignored it, although in the | higher court of public opinion that tes- timony conclusively established the fact that the rallroad franchises had not been assessed and that even the tangible property of the railroads had Dbeen grossly undervalued. - Two of the three members of the state board admitted on the stand that they bad made no effort ¢o appraise the road- way, improvements or rolling stock separately or that they had made any rational inquiry into the value of these assets or sought to arrive at any ra- tional basis of assessment by the earn- ings of each system, as is done in every other state. They admitted that they arrived at their conclusion concerning the value of the roads by the assess- ments of previous years and utterly regardless of the new improvements, additions to rolling stock and enormous increase in earnings and market value of their securities. Evep if the tangi- ble property had been assessed cor- | rectly, the admisslon of Auditor Weston und Treasurer Stuefer that they did not attewpt to assess franchises Dbecause they believed they had no legal right to. do so0 is brushed aside in the ruling of the court, which says In so many words that iu its judgwent the members of the board did assess the franchises, although they did not know they were assessing them aud thought they bhad no vight to | do s0, and made no effort to ascertain what the franchises were worth. Advocytes and friends of tax reform Wwill not be content to drop the issue be- cause the court has refused to cowe to their assistance. The taxpaying citi- zens of Nebraska will not tamely subinit to intdated tax rates ou their property for the beuetit of the railroads, whose property Is assessed this year at $20,- 500,000, when it should by rights be us- sessed at wofe than $50,000,000 and was assessed at nearly $30,000,000 ten years ago, with a mileage 600 wmiles less than now, Having relegated the whole question of railroad taxation te the people, the issue must be met squarely at the bal- lot box, not on party lines but on broud lines of justice and equity. EE—— AMERICA'S NAVAL POSITION, American pride in our navy will not be affected by the official statement that it ranks fifth in the number of ships, though doubtless much stronger in the matter of eficlency. Great Britain is still wmistress of the seas, France is & poor second and Germany and Russia are about on even terwms. The United States is behind these na- tions in npaval strength, but a com- parison of work being done shows that this nation will be at least on even ters with Germauy and Russia six years hence. All the naval powers are energetically adding to thelr sea power and iu this we are not much behind auy otlier country. What appears to be the greatest need of the American Davy is more officers. This watter, wanifestly of great lw- portance, Is discussed in & magazine article Ly Lieutenant Commander Smith, who polnts out that even with the lpcrease in the nuwber of widship- men at Annapolis due to conferring up polotwents ou senators, the Dnaval academy does not auunually graduate enough men to make good the natural decrease u the comumissioned ranks of the service. He suggests u large in- crease ln the number of midshipwen, for the increase of appolntments due to the larger mewbership of the bouse of rep resentatives, which does not go intv effect until uvext year, will, with A SEPTEMBER 21 additional allowed the president, carry the Annapolis battallon up to only 465, reckoning the contributions of the sena- tors. Commander Smith would have for ten years every senator and repre- sentative make an appointment to An- napolls every year or even oftener, in- stead of as now every four years. Such a system would mean a battalion at the Naval academy of about 2,000, but Com- mander Smith can see no other way of providing the more than 3,000 graduates the navy will need in the next eleven years, assuming that merely the present rate of increase in ships is maintained. Commander Smith considers the prob- lem of officers as far more serious than the question of men. The latter may be secured at short notice, if it be im- possible to secure them otherwise, and they may be sent to sea with a minimum of training, but it takes time to make a capable officer. The remedy for the situation pointed out by Command Smith must of course come from con- wress and that body has been slow to learn that ships alone do not make a navy. The attention of congress has been repeatedly called to the need of making provision for an adequate num- ber of officers and wen. This was urged Ly President Roosevelt in his first message, which said: *“To provide battleships and cruisers and then lay them up, with the expectation of leaving them unmanned until they are needed in actual war, would be worse than folly; it would be a crime against the nation.” He stated that 4,000 addi- tional seamen and 1,000 additional v ines should be provided, and an increase in the ofticers should be provided by making a large sddition to the clusses at Aunapolis. Yet congress but par- tially met this recommendation. Per- baps it will make the needed provision at the next session. —— THE BOARD OF TRADK DECISION, The decision of the Illinois district court in the Chicago Board of Trade case, wherein it is held that neither that body mor any other set of arbitrators representing it can fix a settling price In specilative operations materially above the legitimate figure, strikes a blow at schemes for running speculative “cor- ners.” If the decision shall be upheld by the supreme court, it will be prac- tically impossible to squeeze the losing side in such operations as has been the immemorial practice. There has been all the time abundant remedy at law agalnst such arbitrary confiscations, If the subject could have been got into the courts, but the Board of Trade, which s an exclusive and close corporation, has heretofore contrived to cut its mewmbers off from legal remedy. By an elaborate and cunning system of regulations, ruthlessly enforced, the victims of cor- ners who were injured and undertook to protest were cut off from the priv- fleges of the bourd. The lower court at one stroke goes to the heart of the question by declaring that such regula- tions, although they may be buttressed by contracts, are against public policy. It holds that the only basis of settle- ments which such an organization as the Board of Trade may lawfully enforce is the normal value of grain or other sub- Ject of speculation as indicated by the various markets of the country, the fair average level of prices, and not the artiticial price arbitrarily dictated by overreaching and unscrupulous specu- lators iu a local market—such a price, in short, as a court of law would sanction in a dispute submitted to its adjudi- cation. The decision s sweeping and tar-reaching. - If nothing more were involved than the wrangles of two sets of mere gawbling Board of Trade oper- ators, tuere would be less occasion for public interest iu the case, but many of the recurrent corners involve aperations of glganuc wagupitude and profoundly disturb geueral business. 1t the props are to be effectually kuocked from under the fictitious superstructure which the Chicago Board of Trade bas built up, a long step will be tuken toward keeping the operatious of the generul business public within normal bounds and on a healthy roundation. But it will ma- teriully reduce the sphere aud the protits ot the Board of Trade clique and will be resisted by thew to the uttermost. ———nee ‘Lhe necessity for un elastic currency 18 not 1o be cowpared with the necessliy for au elastic banquet table to accow- modate the leugtheuiug list of guests tor the dinner to be wudered President awvecvell by Ak-SBar-Ben, High Score oi 1004, 8t Louls Globe-Democrat. Another year of unexampled prosperity s tast drawing to a close. , The only thing that bave not scored distinct successes are Lue airsulps sud oe strike col rence Where the Shoe Pinohes. Philadelphia Record. The mine owners declare that they are certain to win, and with equal emphasis the striking miners assert that their winning is just as certaln. In this conflict of opinion Bothing is more certaln than that the con- suming public bus been tho loser from the outstart, “Trath Stranger Fiotion” Chicago Chronicle. ‘The ingenious Mr, Zola has written many stories dealing with the secret life some- times led by eminent respectability, but bas never portrayed anything more strange and shocking than the spectacle of a man of advanced years, & man of eminence, the inheritor of & great name, the recipient of trust and honor at the hands of his coun- try, slain in & low saloon quarrel over a woman. Imagination never has been able to rival the queer turn of facts. Cholce of Life Positions. Boston Globe Max O'Rell, who has been asking ques- tions of everyome he meets, reports that be has found an emormous majority of women whd would elect to be men and only & very small minority of men who would elect to be women. Conclusion: Most people would elect to be men. He adds, howevor: “I would elect to be a beautiful woman from 20 to 30, a brilllant officer from 30 to 40, a celebrated painter from 40 to 50, & famous poet or movelist from 50 to 60, prime minister of Eugland or presi- dent of the Umited States from 60 to 70 and & cardinal for the rest of my lite.” Whe woulda's? . HLASTS FROM RAM'S HORN, Fashion may hide the scars, but it cannot heal the disease of sin. The wolves always applaud whem the shepherd whips the sheep. When a preacher trios to be pops he is more dangerous than the priest. A man's thinking powers will be in in- verse ratio to his drinking powers. The delights of heaven may be fashioned out of the disappointments of earth. They who will not be their brothers' keepers are willing to be their executors. The men who skim the milk of human kindness curdle the cream with thelr hands. It 18 easier to be eloquent over the faults of others than to be penitent over our own The devil is willing that you should be called the driver 8o long as he holds the reins. The warmth of the winter's revival does not depend on the frigidity of the summer church. | One difference between the true preacher {and the talking machine is that the lat- ter can be purchasd. It is safer to trust your eyes than your ears when a man argues religion while his wife carries in the water. PERSONAL AND OTHERWIS| President Baer of the coal combine reso- lutely refuses to join a “Don't Worry club.” Colonel Watterson would never do as a reporter of Newport functions. He talks too much. Truly the people of St. Louis are entitled to large gobs of sympathy. Besides being looted at the city hall they have been given a handout of painted sausage. After solemnly deliberating for several months the naval medical board intimates that Captain Hobscn is not sick enough | to quit the navy and enter politics. Iigh class music is not as popular with its backers In Chicago since they were obliged to go down into their jeans for $30,000 to make up the last season's deficit. President Roosevelt's pump handle mo- tion was not seriously disarranged by shak- ing the digits of 8,000 neighbors. This puts him in prime condition for the western “Shake, pard." J. Plerpont Morgan gave $1 to a newsboy the other day and the Incident was con- sidered worthy of a special dispatch. Per- haps the incident is an incipient symptom of heart enlargement. Hustling women of a Michigan town got busy one dey récertly. ‘They built a mile of sidewalk, cut all the weeds and tidied up the alleys. While all this was going on the men folks kept in the shade and looked wise. A Sioux City woman asks for a divorce on the ground that her husband wears the same shirt three weeks and goes to bed with his socks on The shirt proposition 1s a pretty strong one in itself. As to the socks the most humane of men are often obliged to protect themselves against coid teet. Sentiment and romance take wings when the cold pedal is worked on neigh- boring shins. Another telephone girl has won a prize in the matrimonial lottery, this time at Muscatine, Ia. The prize,is a rich banker, who was So charmed by the musical voice, the merry laughs which tickled his ear, that he sought out and'won the owner. Bachelor bankers are very susceptible to sweet telephone voices which reach recep- tive ears in tones entrancing. This is no- tably true of Omaha telephone voices. The only reason they do mot win a like prize is that Omaha's bachelor bankers are um- able to chocse one flower from the bunch, so eveply balanced are their vocal charms: INFANTS IN SCHOOL. Protest Agalnst Forced Mental Ef- forts in Primary Grad Philadelphia Record. + A superintendent of schools is quoted to the effect that four hours in school a day ie enough for children 6 years of age and un- der. Four hours a day in school is a great deal more than is good for children of that age. In the primary departments of fhe public schools the instruction is not after the manner of the kindergartens. The children are required to make a distimct mental effort in circumstances which are unfavorable to their mental growth. Dis- clpline even in the primary department con- tinues to be a fetich, and the ideal teacher is one who can prevent the restless little ones from moving in their seats, whis ing and allowing their attention to wander. A child of 6 is still a good deal of an in- fant, and has the infant's impatience of restraint. Even when the primary pupil fs inter- ested in the instruction (which is rarely the case in the public schools) four hours of confinement, including the brie¢ and too infrequent recesses, is enough to dwart its intellect. When it is necessary to force its attention to the lessons, which are forbldden in the manmer of teaching, the four-hour session ie equal to eight hours of severo mental application by an adult. That 1s, it is exhausting. Persons who have made @ study of children lean to the idea that their tender brains are best served by very brief periods of instruction with long intervals of play. The little brain is usually busy enough in acquiring the education of circumstances or in ap- propriating the Information which it meets in its every waking moment. Many of the children of 6 years are sent to school sim- ply to be got rid of and since the state permits this the teacher would best serve humanity by assuming the role of nurse rather than that of a teacher of certals ous studies. Superintendent Skinner of New York state, has afirmed that the young are con- stantly overtaxed In the schools, and that the usual course of study s enough to ac- count for the cases of il health and of mental debility. It is the declaration of Prof. Bain, who speaks with authority and after practical experiment, that every minute spent in study beyond s certaln limit is worse than wasted; that for & time the fresh brain is in a receptive condition, but when the child ceases to take a lively pleasure in study it is mis- chievous to attempt to teach It further. Superintendent Skinner id that much of what is included in the present exacting courses of study “is in no way e tial to a thorough groundwork for & child's education,” and that in every grade, from the lowest to the highest, there are too many studies. It Is espec- fally dangerous to the future of mere ba- bles of 6 years to force their attention to text book matters and to compel them to silence during four consecutive bours each school day. Unfortunately, the protests of school superintendents, which are fignored by school boards, do not fall intc the hands of parents. It is strange thet the mem- bers of school boards usually believe that the ouly limit to the acquisition of knowl- ed, by the child is the time habit—that it o learn things as long as It may be compelled to study. Therefore their op- position to fewer school hours & day and to further holidays. Every braln worker kpows that by frequent rests he can ae- complish more than by an uninterrupted application of his mind to any work. It is only by arousing parents to the danm- gers of over-study that the intelligent teachers can bring a wholesome influence lww«.m-mmm WANE OF THE NATIVE BORN. Significance of the Diminished Birth Rate in the United States. Boston Transcript. The general decline of the birth rate dur- ing the last half cemtury has often been commented upon. The phenomenon is most noticeable in the case of the peoples | that stand highest in the scale of civiliza- tion. The persistence of this tendency is & matter of grave concern, for it ralses the question whether the most highly de- veloped nationalities will be able to hold their own against the more rapidly increas- ing inferior stocks. of the falling birth rate has been largely oftset hitherto by the reduction of the death rate. But if the ratio of births con- tinues to drop a point will be reached sooner or later when the native popula- tion in the great civilized states will be- come stationary or retrogressive. Indeed, this condition has already arrived Iin France, as the death rate in that country already exceeds the birth rate, and in Eng- land and the United States it scems to be not far distant The recent census returns for England show a birth rate of only 31.67 per thou- sand, as compared with 28 per thousand thirty years ago. Another noteworthy fact in the population statistics of England has been the decline of immigration during the last decade. The excess of emigration over immigration amounted to only 70,000 in the ten years, 1890 to 1900, whereas dur- ing the preceding decade it had been 600,- 000. Instead of dending large numbers of native immigrants to other countries En- land s now recelving large annual addi- tions to its population from southern and eastern Europe. The birth rate in the United States ia lower than that of England. In 1900, ac- cording to the census report on vital sta- tistics, it was per thousand. This was slightly higher than the rate for 1890, which was 26.9 The death rate fell mean- while from 19.6 in 1890 to 17.8 in 1800. It should be obeerved, however, that the fig- ures for births given in the census returns are based on very Imperfect data and are Dot to be regarded as trustworthy. The actual birth rate in the United States is doubtless considerably higher than the figure glven in the census volume. But, while the birth rate for the country at large has probably not declined during re- cent years and the death rate has beem lowered several points, the growth of pop- ulation has been much greater in the for- than in the native stock. The census statistics show that the average annual increase of population through excess of births over deaths in the decade, 1890-1900. was 36.5 per thousand for the class born of forelgn white parents and omly 19.5 per thousand for the class born of native white parents. In the northeasters group of states the,disproportion between the two classes was even more striking; the rate of increase for the foreign class was 39.6 and that of the native class 3.8. In the New England states it appears that the native stock is actually declining, its death rate exceeding Its birth rate by 15 per thene whila fn the foreign population the i rate exceeded the death rate by 445 per thousand. The situation revealed by these figures s truly slarming. The old New England stock is rapidly being sup- planted by a polyethnic amalgam of a sorted foreign elements. It is generally recognized that the cause of the decline of the birth rate is more psychological than physiological—that is, it results rather from a growing disinclin tion to raise large families than from an increasing incapacity for child-bearing on the part of the modern woman. The rise in the standard of living which has taken place during the last half century has operated to check the growth of population | to an extent never dreamed of by Malthus. The {ncreasing cost of supporting a family has developed a high degree of prudence in regard to the murrlage relation. Within reasonable limits this tendency is a desir- able one, but it has been carried too far. Aside from the advance in the standard of living there are other powerful factors that have combined to diminish the birth rate by absorbing the emergies of women in various activities outside the home. On the one hand social ambitions and on the other hand intellectual or philanthropic in- terests fill the lives of many women to such an extent that little strength, time or To be sure, the effect | | sECULAR sHOTS AT THE PULPIT. Chicago Record-Herald: That Oyster Bay preacher reems to be very much in need of the services of a blue pencil expert. Brooklyn Eagle: Those who talk of the waning influence of churches should ponder the fact that in Shamokin the pastor asked for coal and the miners immediately went to work and put eighteen tons of anthracite in the church cellar. Morgan could do no more. Boston Transcript: Some of the devices resorted to by pastors who wish to increase | the attendance at their churches remind one of the story of the preacher who in & similar effort— ‘When ,all his nrayers were sald | Slid gently down the Xulpll stalrs And stood upon his head. Kansae City Star: Some allowance must be made for Rev. Dr. Washburn, who made such a bad break in the sermon which he delivered yesterday at Oyster Bay in the presence of Mr. Roosevelt, since it may be assumed that if preachers could help such apses of discretion they would met be per- petually guilty of them. Chicago Chronicle: The worshipers in & church at Auburn, N. Y., found it dif- cult to extricate themselves from the newly varnished pews. It is not an uncommon thing, if we may belleve the veraclous re- porters, for people to be glued to their seats by the eloquence of the person ad- dressing them, but In the present instance the controlling cause appears to have been a case of matter rather than of mind. New York Times: That the Salvation army has been and still i# properly de- ! soribed ss a “‘great institution” and that | 1t bas dene and is still capable of doing a | vast amount of practical good will not be | denfed, even by those to whom its peculiar | form of emotionality is most offensive, but there is & general impression that, however disinterested its privates and inferior of- ficers may be, the highest ranks of the army have come to be almost as business- like as plous, that both money and glory are unduly monopolized and that the dis- | cipline so sternly maintained is not quite always exercised for ends wholly admirable, | even when matters of taste are left aside. DOMESTIC PLEASANTRIES, Detroft Free Press: Summer Girl—The man 1 marry must be handsome and clever. Summer Man—How fortunate we have met. Brooklyn Lite: He—I think that in order to make & good husband a man should practice self-denial. She—Yes, but not preach it. Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Yes, &he threw away the sugar because one of her guests | picked up a lump with her fingers. “Dear me, 1 wonder what she does with the door knobs?’ Philadelphiu Press 1 should be | ashamed,” sald mamma, severely, “to be | caught by your own mother kissing a young ma # i “But it wasn't my fault at all,” sobbed the culprit, "1 told Willle to hurry, but he is 80 slow. Chis News: He—The prettiest girls always marry the biggest rools, you know. Sho Am I to consider that in the nature of a proposal? Philadelphia Record: Gabble—1 tell you a fellow's got to be mighty brave to be a man. Henpeck—Oh, I don't know. The bravest man | ever saw was an iceman. Gabble—That s0? What did he do? Henpeck—He sassed my wife. Philadelphia Catholic Standard: Tom-— How are you and Mabel getting along? Dick—Oh, I don’t see her as much as I aid. Tom—Really? I heard you were engaged. —That's just it. The light's turned the parlor when I call now. e out in Waushington Star: “If you please, ma'am,™ exclaimed the nusemaid in great excite- ment, “I can't keep the baby from going (o the scuttle.and trylug to eat coal “Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Languil “That child is going to takt after his father for extravagance.’ Detroit Free Press: “Helen has improved her game wonderfully since she has been playing with Jack.” ow do you know?'" “Why, she's gotten so now that she plays entirely’ without a caddle.” Chicago Post: The maiden wag more than ordinarily wise and cautious. “But Are you sure you Can support a wife?” she asked when he proposed. “Oh, well,”” he answered in an offhand way, “I don't imagine your father would inclination is left for the rearing of chil- dren. The club movement among women Is undoubtedly responsible in no small meas- ure for the diminution in the size of the average family. The ‘emancipation” of ‘woman, beneficent as it is in the main, scems to have been somewhat overdone in this country. There is need at the present time of & reaction agalnst the ultra-strenu- ous feminine life and & revival of the old- fashioned domestic ideal. Cost of Living. Portland Oregonian. Here is a little calculation sald to have been made in Commissioner Wright's re- port on the coal strike: “A bill of gro- cerfes and provisions which cost $13.12 in 1895 could not be bought {n 1900 for less be mean and stingy enough to stand by and seo his daughter suffer.” AK-SAR-BEN. (Written for The Bee.) Enthroned In majesty, he sits "Neath braided corn’ husk canopy, Serenely munching hom'ny grits, And gently stroking beard of hay. The rich, white blood of Indlan maize Majestic coursed through his ns; Alfaifa crowns—the prairie's ba Benign and cloudless brow; Of_huskers' merry songs vibra The cool SBeptember alr and cheer, His promise to anticipate, ‘When deigns in state he to appear. His countleas subjects bow to him, When enters his metropolls Our graclous, well beloved king— In loyaity not one remiss. strains than $16.96. The Pennsylvania working- | From nation's chief to workingman, man in 1896 was required to work nine and three-tenths daye to pay this little grocery bill, while in 1900 he had to work ten and | The close obse: five-tenths days to pay the same Dbill" This s & part of the “informal commeats" of the report. All hither haste our king to greet His progress in, ‘'mid brilllant van And following, on Farnam stree 4 The me: win| 3 Now right. now y jett, each kngwing goat s l. ow dry am. i o 'RED MARSCHNER. riage Co., Racine Wagon and the best “B” special made. used Jess than one year. We in the vehicle list will be cut for driving to come. and have always on hand all talking machines. gasoline, steam and electric Omaha, Here Is Your Chance To get an open canopy or extension top surry at abso- lute cost. We have Columbus Buggy Co., Watertown Car- hand Concord buggies, one Columbus, one Troy and one Moyer, all full leather tops and bargains. Everything else ber there is three of the pleasantest months in the year yet Get a carriage now and save money. We have just received a full stock of September records We are the leaders in bicycles and headquarters for largest stock in the middle west in all the above lines. H. E. FREDRICKSON, 'th and Gapitol Av Carriage Co., Moon Bros. and ‘We also have three fine jobs also have three good second- loose from now on. Remem- the leading phonographs and automobiles. We carry the Nebraska. e o e TR — P