Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, January 15, 1903, Page 6

T e THE ©OMAHA DAILY BEE E. ROSEWATER, EDITOR. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. afly Bes (without Sunday), One ¥ Year.}4.00 y Bee and Sunday, Une Runraied e unday Bes, Ore Year ay Bee, One Year.. Twentieth Century Farmer, DELIVERED BY Dafly Bee (without Sunday). Dally Bee (without Bunday). Daily Bee (Including Sunday One Year. One Year. ARRIER. Evening Bee " e . Com (k f diarities in delivery i should | be addressed (6 City Circulation De- tment. v, OFFICES. Qmana The Bee Butldin muna— ity Hall Dullding, Twen- Bou ty A1t and M Strests ‘ouncil Blufle—lo Peart Street. Chicago—140 Unity Bulldin, N { rk—2328 Park Row Hu\ldlnl V\u)nnnun W1 Fourteenth le!rl CORRE! Communica ftorial matter should Bee, Editorial Lepartment. STATEMENT OF Llfl(l Btate of Neb George B. Tzschuc kb L sworn. ublishing compuny, o orn, ¢ Fhat the “actuai number of full ana’ com lete coples of The Daily, Morning, Even Kxx and Bunday month of December, 1%, was 32,280 81,120 follows: Net ‘total sales Net averago sa GEORGE Subscribed In m{‘-umnc'e nd_sworn to December, A, D. M. B._ HUNGATE, otary Public. before me this 3is (Seal) It looks as if there may be something to arbitrate between she beef packers and the beef growers. Ee———— The legislature may work short hours now, but it will have to put in overtime to make up for it before adjournment. —— Next to the committee on revenue and taxation, the most important committee in the legislature is that on constitu- tional amendments. Several long-horned Texas steers have broken loose in the National Live Stockd §uch a condition as now prevails re- convention at Kansas City, but their on- set against the beef trust is more spec tacular than seriou: Epmm———— The danger s that y these committees investigating the coal situation are ready to report their find- Ings, the expiration »f winter will have obliterated the issue. Eapeme——— The member of the legislature who wants to keep it dark needs watching the most. A measure that canuot stand the searchlight of publicity has no place in the legislative chambers. ———— If the coal magnates do not want to stir up public sentiment against them to a greater degree they will keep Presi: dent Baer In the background aid en: force the gag rule upon him. e This ought to be a good time to re- mew those periodical discoveries of coal in Nebraska. might be sunk just to keep up the ex clitement. is—— e ‘When a member of the legislature as- sures you that there Is no politics !n his bill, he will bear as much watching as the politiclan who wants it understood that he Is not a candidate, but is in the hands of his friends. A euchre party given by students of a Brooklyn college and participated in by 7,600 people netted the promoters $10.- 000. Just think what the kitty would have raked in if the turn had been called for a good old game of draw. AEEE—————— Congressman (Imveno; pleads guilty ‘stand- to the arraignment of being a pat” republican. From the way the re. publicans have been carrying the coun- republicans must try the “stand-pat” constitute the majority of the popula: tion. e per copy... 2¢ per week, uc D! relating to news and ed- ehouid be addressed: Omaba | Tee printed during_the | authority of congress. 80,610 80,580 80,780 28,700 +..80,000 ... 80,860 80,000 80,250 .30,880 30,870 28,565 80,700 82,820 230,870 952,045 10,181 If the coal fields of Ne- braska are shy perhaps a few oll wells STRIKING THE CO4L COMBINE. The determination that is being shown in congress to find an effective way of dealing with the combination or con- epiracy that 18 depriving the country of an adequate supply of coal, and exacting extortionate prices from the public for that fuel, can hardly fail to have good results, There hng rarely been a time in our history when the representatives of the people In the national legislature were so stirred by a great public exl- gency, or were more susceptible to the popular demand, than they are at this | time. In the house of representatives yester- day there was Introduced a resolution by the chairman of the judiclary com- mittee directing that committee to in- vestigate and report to the house, with all convenlent epeed, as to the power of congress to declare that a necessity ex- ists for the government to take posses- slon of coal mines and lines of trans- portation, and If in the opinion of the committee such power exists to report a hill declaring the necessity and providing | every means for meeting it within the At any other time in our history it would not have been possible to get the slightest atten- tion for a resolution of this nature. No one would have ventured to introduce in congress a proposition of this charac- ter, The fact that it is now made by the chalrman of the house judiclary committee strikingly {llustrates how conditions have changed and some of the ablest men have come to realize the necessity of a departure from old meth- ods and policies. It Is safe to assume that Representa- tive Jenkins of Wisconsin, who intro- duced this resolution, did so after con- sultation with members of the judiclary committee and perhaps also with others in congress. There I8 no Information as to what His own views are, but it is not improbable that he belleves the national government has the right, in the public interest, to take possession of the coal mines of the country and the common carriers necessary for the transportation of coal. At all events, his resolution contemplates an {investigation of that question which is most timely and de- sirable and the result of which will be in the highest degree important. There can be no doubt that public opinfon will very generally approve the resolution. This and other evidences of the pur- pose of congress to find a remedy for specting one of the greatest public neces- . | sities are most reassuring. The house has passed, nearly unanimously, the bill providing for a rebate on imported coal equal to the duty and there is rea- son to expect that the senate will pass the measure without delay. A search- ing investigation of the course and pol- lcy of the coal operators Is being made, the results of which thus far show a conspiracy of the most flagrant charac- ter. The coal barons are learning some- thing of the power of public sentiment which ought to have an Improving et- fect upon them. rem—— TAFT WILL REMAIN. -} It has been reported for some time that . | Governor Taft would return from the Philippines and be appointed a justice of the supreme court of the United States, - | to succeed Justice Shiras. It Is now an- 1| nounced, evidently upon good authority, that Judge Taft will remain in the Phil- ippines, the desire of the people there - |that he shall do so having been ex- pressed in communications to the presi- dent and by public demonstrations. Gov- ernor Taft's course in the Philippines has given him a very strong hold upon the confidence and esteem of the people and there is no doubt that his with- drawal from the Jslands at present would be detrimental to the carrying out of conditions which he has inaugu- rated. Very likely Judge Taft would prefer a place on the federal supreme bench. He Is a jurist of distinguished abllity, fully equipped for our highest judicial tribunal, but he is strongly de- voted to his present dutles and takes a patriotic interest in them. Governor Taft remains in the Philip- - | pines, therefore, wholly for the reason that he feels he can be of greater ser- vice to the government there than else- where. When he returned to the islands a few months ago he expressed an earnest desire to do all he could to fm- ‘The proposed extension of the terms of Omaha munlcipal officers for two months beyond the time for which they were elected Is made on the presumption that the silk stockings will turn out at the polls more readily in May than in March. The Western Union has scored one in the legal fight with the Pennsylvania rallroad. After the telegraph companies thresh out thelr difficulties Uncle Sam should step In as arbitrator and clear the degk by absorbing the telegraph [t lines as u} adjunct to the postal service. e _ It séems that there a of the Cuban reciprocity treaty besides | that relating to the sugar tariff to, which objections are ralsed. This ought to be | quite.n_rellef for the senators who have been cartooned and lampooned as beet sugar men by Cividing the blame for |, delay In ratification of the treaty. ! ¥ S — Ed Howell has shied his castor Into the mayoralty prize ring with an un- qualified endorsement of the Howell Dill, but how does that jibe with his |! position on home rule? Why should the governor appoint a water works com- mission for Omaba any wore than he should appeint a tax comiissioner for Omaha? ; t Governor Bailey of Kansas in his in- augural message declares that the rail- |V roads pay too small a proportion of the taxes in the Sunflower state. In Kansas the railroads were assessed $38,000,000 last year, while In Nebraska they were mssessed $20,500,000 on a mileage of about one-third less than that of Kansas. ‘What is the matter with Kansas? he is well informed. prove the conditions there and benefit the people. keeps him in the islands and it should be appreciated by his countrymen as it is by the Filipinos. That is the incentive that ] STOCKMEN OPPUSE BEEF TRUST. There is one feature of the address of the president of the National Live Stock assoclation, in session at Kansas City, in which the general public is particu- larly interested. This is the declara- fou of hostility on the part of the stock- men to the proposed merger of the pack- ing interests. other features | y, President Springer was ery direct and declded in his reference o this, as to which it is to be presumed He characterized he proposed merger as the most unholy combination ever attempted aund de- clared that if consununated the stock- men will refuse to sell to any packing- house combine. If this reflects the sentiment of the members generally of the Natlonal Lire Btock assoclation and they are firmly determined to adhere to it, there is no doubt that they can work very >ffec- ively against a combine of packers. Ac- cording to the president of the assocla- tion they are able to command sufficlent capital to establish a formidable compe- ition to, the packers. “If forced to do THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: THURSDAY, JANUARY 15 R O e o obv.ous difficulties in the way that could not be readily overcome, the chief of which, of course, is that of organizing the stockmen as competito of the packers. However, the position of the members of the National Live Stock as- soclation, in this particula is to be heartily approved as helng distinctly in the public interest, and it ought to have a good effect. BOARD OF REVIEW RECOMMENDATION. The recommendations made by the Board of Review in its report to the mayor and council deserve serious con- slderation by the city authorities and also by the lawmakers who undertake to revise our revenue laws. With reference to the assessment of property exempt from taxation now ex- cluded from the assessment roll, it is purely a local matter which can be rem- edied by the council if it will provide for the work necessary to list exempt property. A rough estimate places the value of this property at close to $10, 000,000, which if added to the present total city assessment wounld make the valuation of the city $135,000,000 instead of $125,000,000. The omission of this property also leaves us in the dark as to the amount and character of the tax exemptions. It Is quite probable some property is now exempt under pretext of statutory grounds which should be listed for taxation, but this will not be disclosed until the owners are compelled to make a showing to entitle them to ex- emption. As concerns the duplication of assess- ment machinery, The Bee has spoken in the past, showing the unnecessary ex- pense Incurred because of independent assessments for county and city pur- poses. There is nothing to stand in the way of a law permitting the county to accept the assessment made by the city and reduce it to the ratio prevalling outside of the city limits, or vice versa, thus abolishing the outlay of labor and money for two assessments each year where one is amply sufficlent. The recommendation that the valua- tion of real estate-be regarded more as a permanenit assessment subject to revi- slon from year to year, but renewed completely only at periods of three to five years, is also in the line of economy. In the early days, when real estate val- ues were constantly changing, annual assessment was absolutely necessary, but with real estate values fairly well settled complete new assessments each year, the same as for personal property, are hardly required. These may be minor points in the pro- gram of tax reform, but they are Im- portant and should not be neglected. 1 The proposed land leasing bill which restricts the amount of land which may be taken up by any one lessee to twenty sections instead of to thirty sections, as proposed by the representatives of the grazing Interests, fails, it is said, to satisfy - the cattlemen. This is quite natural in view of the fact that the cat- tlemen have up to this time had free use of all the land they could fence. The proposed compromise, however, is a con- siderable concession from the require- ments of the present law and if it comes to choosing between that and immediate vacating of the fenced land the cattle- men will fall into line, eve. if they are not entirely satisfied. ey Sixteen indictments have been re- turned by the federal grand jury against bootleggers who are charged with dis- pensing firewater in and around the Ne- braska Indian reservations. Inasmuch s it takes an average of twenty Indians to prove that one white man has sold a bottle of whisky to an Indian, it will take 820 Indians to convict the latest batch of offenders against the federal no-treat, no-sell-whisky-to-red-men law. The prospective harvest of fees for United States deputy marshals Is better than for the next fall wheat erop. E— The fine Italian hand of Police Com- missioner Spratlen was visible in the latest performance of the pompadour councilman from the First ward, who adjourned the city council for lack of the necessary number to carry through the plot directing the city attorney to withdraw from the suit now pending be- fore the supreme court, in which the valldity of the Savage-Baldwin-Mercer commission Is being tested. E—— Omaha’s perpetual claimant, Judge Gordon, Is once more trying‘to Invoke the power of the supreme court to as- sist him In collecting a claim for a frac- tion over $800 for going through the motions of calling the police court to order at the back door of the police sta- tion while Judge Berka occupled the bench. Good Boost for Socla Chicago No doubt the soclalist agitators will see the propriety of tendering their thanks to | the coal corporations for the great boost | received by their cause. ' Excep! to the Rule. Saturday Evening Post “Look up and not down' is good advice, but it won't do for the man who has to descend into the cellar every day to see bow much longer his coal supply will last Pro Should Be Chicago Record-Herald. Those congressmen wio object to the re- moval of the present duty on coal, claiming that it would not relieve the situation, may have forgotten that guarautees of good faith are always timely. ed. Smite the Cluteh of Indianapolls Journal The laws are not strict enough for the prevention and punishment of combinations to rob the public by the establishment of artificlal prices for necessities of life, like eced. scheme 1s plainly and public mind while it Is robbed. It is the method of pickpockets who work in couples. One of them brushes up against their victim to distract his attention, while the other filches from him. Easy to Find Trouble There, 8t. Louls Globe-Democrat. The Arkansas major who offers the gov- ernor of that state a cavalry company 150 strong “te protect the people of Indianola, Miss., against negro domination,” should be careful how he interferes with the opera- tion of the postal department of the United States. No person ever had any luck who tried to fool with Unele Sam's mall Development in the Sowu: Minneapolis Times. ‘With fts 4,000 miles of new rallways built in 1902 and 5,000 miles to be constructed during 1903, with its $30,000,000 inveated in cotton milling during the old year and possibly an equal sum to be put Into that industry this year, with {ts $500,000,000 worth of exports and prosperity in all in- dustries, the south is doing very well in- deed in a business way. Outlook for Hetter Times. Philadeiphia Press, The customs receipts for ten months In the Philippines show an increase of only $554,027 over the corresponding months in 1901. But the cholera did much to retard business last year. It will be some time before the islands are thoroughly settled and the Ladrones or brigands suppressed. It Is gratifylng to know that the soldiers have not been required in the districts under elvil control. Buny Season for Uncle Samuel. Bt. Louls Post-Dispatch. Uncle Sam {s a great business man and a great boss. He fs like the millionaire head of a big concern who signs a $10,000 check in ‘one breath and with the next observes that Willle Pay, the entry clerk, smokes cigarettes. Nothing is too big or too little to escape his e-y, eve. At times his glance is cy- clopic; again it is microscopie, but hardly ever myoplc. Today Uncle Sam settles a quarrel be- tween two nations; tomorrow he appoints a fourth class postmaster. Today,he issues $100,000,000 worth of bonds; tomorrow he pinches a moonehiner. Today he defies all Europe, and tomorrow he sends some poor devil to jall for four years for stealing,30 cents’ worth of postage stamps. 80 it 1s today. After balancing his books for the year and finding himself ’steen umpty billions to the good, he turns round with a great show of severity and com- mands his army officers to wear only a certain color and make of shoes, because one of them—one out of all his thousands— was discovered wearlng tan shoes with a dress suit. Which shows that, besides being a great manager and organizer, Uncle Sam 1s an old gentleman of axquisite taste. 'TWAS NOT EVER THUS, Deference Shown the United States by European Powers. Kansas City Star. Perhaps the most striking phase of the Venezuelan situation is the consideration which the powers of Europe are showing for the United States. They are continually consulting this government to know whether they may do this or that. They are giving repeated assurances that they have no ulterior aims in South America and that the Monroe doctrine is their Bulding star. A few years ago the powers were not 80 careful of American feelings. At the close of the civil war France’ withdrew from Mexico because General Sheridan’s presence on the Texas frontler gave' significance to Secretary Seward's protest. But after the decay of the powerful navy of the sixties Europe did not display the same solicitude. The massacre of the crew of Virginius was carried out with fmpunity. In the dispute over the Venezuelan boundary England paid little_attention to the representations of the United States. The lynching of the Italians in New Orléans was followed by an offensive note from Rome &nd the with- drawal of the Itallan minister. Protests from the United States to the Turkish gov- ernment on various subjects could not have been treated with wmore indifference had they emanated from the sultan of Sulu. When the Spanish war broke out the feel- ing in the important European capitals wa: contewuptuously hostile to the United State The transformation in the attitude of the powers is due Lo several obvious reasone. The new navy is probably the foremost of these. But it was the Spanish war which called atteation to the strength and ef- clency of the United States fleets, Events from the 1st of May to the 4th of July, 1898, revolutionized forelgn sentiment. The vig- orous course of President Cleveland and Secretary Olney in 189 on the Venezuelan boundary question s another factor in the existing situation. The recognition of the Monroe doctrine, which was then secured from Great Britain, has given a good prece- dent to back Secretary Hay In his present policy. And of course behind all of these causes is the primary one of the tremendous power and vast resources of & vigorous na- tion of nearly 80,000,000 people. EDUCATION AND CRIME, Expert Testimony Provokes a Mild Sensation, Washington Post. Dr. Arthur MacDonald's report to con- gress is a very sensational document. He has been Investigating crime, suicide, In- sanity and all other forms of degeneracy, and in connection with the result of the investigation he furnishes certain statistics of illiteracy, etc., which throw a very im- portant, not to say startling, light upon the subject. » Of course, we do not take it for granted that Dr. MacDonald's figures constitute an unassallable hypothesis, nefther does he Eimsel! clalm or even suggest as much. The doctor is an official of the Bureau of Education and enjoys a very high reputation for professional efficlency. We do mot understand, however, that he essays to settle a question so vast and complicated, and are quite sure that it was no part of his original purpose to produce a theatrical effect. Facts are facts, however. Dr. MacDon- ald finds that in New England, where the average term of echoollng is six years and the average of flliteracy 6 per cent, the ratio of crime. insanity, nervous disorders ete., Is far higher than in the South At- lantic states, where the term of schooling 1s less then three years and the average flliteracy nearly three times greater than in New England. Most significant of all, though, as it is most discouraging, is the proof that the proportion of juvenile eriminals in New England Is 425 to 1,000,- 000, while in the South Atlantic states it 1s only 1 Moregver, this contrast be- comes all the more significant when we consider that the temptations of poverty are far greater {n the south than in the north. he said, “you ean bulld packing plants of your own, kill your own stock, market the produet and undersell any packing house warning implied in this may bave a good effect and certainly the consumers of meat would welcome & movement on the part of the stockmen which world result in reducing prices. But there are trust.” . Possibly the coal. The love of money s the root of the evil, and It should be struck at with vie- dictive energ: | Methods of Plekuockets, Boston Transeript For the coal trust to claim that the inde- pendent operators are keeping up the price of coal is an absolute falschood. 1f the trust were so disposed the independents These figures should set our authorities to thinking. We spend hundreds of mil- llons every year in the effort to punish and suppress crime. The question is whether our scheme is intelligent—whether there may not be a better way. Surely, it crime and degeneraey keep pace with free school education, and virtue and whole- someness prevall in inverse ratio, the fact is worth coneidering even though the super- could be driven to the wall in & week. The ficial conclusions be fallaciows. Minor Scenmes and Incidents Sketched on the Spot. On the first of the year the United States treasury held an aggregate of $617,000,000 in gold coin and bulllon. The exact sum was a trifie more, but the round figures are taken as a basis for calculating the di- mensions of this vast store of yellow metal One million dollars In gold weighs 3,685 pounds and 8 ownces. In the calculation following, made by the New York Times correspondent, the elght ounces is also dis- carded. Thus we have $1,000,000 in gold coln of standard weight and fineness, repre= | senting 3,685 pounds, which gives a total of 3,645 pounds as the welght of the treas- ury holding. This reduced to tons of 2,240 pounds, gives 1,015 tons, with 45 pounds to spare. Divided Into short tons of 2,000 pounds, 1t would give 1,136% tons, with 145 pounds to spare. It the gold were loaded into ordinary carts used for the delivery of anthracite coal, 2,240 pounds of gold to each cart, and assuming that fitteen feet would be required for the movement of each horse and cart, and nine-tenths miles, and if the measure- ment were by short tons the procession would cover three and a quarter miles. The value of the silver dollars and silver bullion held January 1, 1903, was not so great as the value of the gold, but the welight of {he former was relatively sixteen times greater. in round numbers the treasury held on the first of the year $495 000,000 in standard eflver dollars and silver bullion. One million dollars of standard welght and fineness welght 58,920 pounds and 9 ounces. For ease in calculation the weight of 1,000,000 silver dollars 1s made 68,030 pounds, and the fraction of a mil- lon is dropped in the amount of silver held, which 1s placed roundly at $495,000,000. This gives the total weight of tho silver dollars and silver bullion in the treasury 29,170,350 pounds, which is equal to 13,022 long tons of 2,240 pounds, or 14,585 short tons of 2,000 pounds. Loaded into carts as was done with the gold the procession would cover thirty-seven miles in the first case and forty-one and a half miles in the second, or from the United States Treasury bullding in Washington &o the custom house in Baltimore. Representative John Wesley Gains of Ten- nessee ran afoul of Representative Gros- venor the other day. Grosvenor said one of Galnes’ statements was a “shameless state- ment.” Galns replied in a long speech, in which he quoted numerous legal declsions. Aftér he had finished Grosvenor rose and 1 can sum up what I think of Mr. Gaines fn a bit of poetry I once saw on a hotel register at the Mammoth cave in Kentucky. It rea “'Oh, Mammoth cave, what a spot! In summer cold, In winter hot God Almight hat a wonder—' Grosvenor stopped. “Go on, finish 1t!" sald Representative Shattuc. ‘““Well,” sald Grosvenor, “the poet ran out of ammuni- tion then, for he closed like this “ ‘Andrew Jackson, hell and thunder!" " Minnesota Senator Nelson of is not a Spanish scholar, and when he was discuss- | ing the statehood bill he made sad havoc of some of the names he used. Senmator Elkins, who speaks and writes Spanish | readily, enjoyed the Minnesota man's per- formance greatly. “Maria Virgil," sald Nelson, pronouncing the name according to English rules, “Mahreeah Veehil,” whisp- ered Elkins to his next door neighbor. “Jicarillas” was given ordinary pronuncia- tion by the man from the northwest, and Elkins said “Hicareeahs” so that Nelson heard him. The latter looked at the West Virginian for a moment and then lunged ahead. But the look was enough; there was n§ more audible criticlsm. A rare milk etew,” said Representative Kahn of San Francisco, making himselt comfortable at one of the house restau- rant tables, reports the Washington Post, The nimble waiter nearly dropped to the | floor at such an expression from a Pacific coast member, who was to get his oysters a good portion of the year in tin cans carried overland. “I mean by that that I want the milk boiled first and the oysters dropped in aft- erward,” eaid Mr. Kahn, sternly, rather impatient that the term should not be un- derstood. “When you cook the oysters and the milk together the bivalves are shriveled up and not so good to eat. Do you comprehend me?" A few moments later the Californian was eating his rare stew with relish, “Dave” Lane, an old-time Pennsylvania politician, sat in the senate gallery ‘in “Vashington and listened to an hour of oratory. Then he went out and, meeting a triend, bewailed the lost days “when they did things” in the Keystone state legis- lature. “Why, I remember once, said lane, “that a bill affecting a big corpora- tion was passed. An agent of the company went to the president of the senate, and asked if something could net be done to hold the bill up. ‘No, sir,’ was the reply. ‘That bill has been passed by this legis- lature. The people demand it. And I want to say that I am golng away until next Mon- day, and meauntime the bill will repose safely in this desk, where it is now locked up.' He went away, and do you know,” said Lane with a wink, “during his absence the bill disappeared and has never been seen since.' The national house of representatives has concluded that Cougressman Sheppard of Texas has the most delicately balanced con- sclence in the entire body. When he started back from his hollday he had through tickets to Washington, but he found that by coming on the route he had selected he would be four hours late Yor the opening of congress. This discovery was made in St. Louis. Mr. Sheppard promptly threw away his tickets and bought another which landed him in Washington just in time. He wondered why more seasoned statesmen laughed when he told of this experience. The Texan is only 27 years old, which may £0 a long way toward accounting for his ex- treme fidelity to duty. In the United States supreme court the other day Justice Shiras was delivering with all proper solemnity an opinion in a patent medicine suit. A pretty little child sat with her mother among the spectators. The court was the embodiment of dignity s0 much so that it was stmost oppressive. The little girl fidgeted In her place as the justice, in monotonous tones, fine points of law, and she shook her head, adorned with a big plcture hat, in im- patience. There came a pause. The little ed: *“Mamma, why don't somebody and instantly she had her wish, for everybody except the horrified court of ficials immediately displayed the broadest kind of & grin. Heaving Commercial Bricks, 8t. Paul Dispatch The supreme court of the United States sustains the Jlecision made by Secretary Gage that the sugar bounty system Russia amounts to a bounty on exports and brings imports of Russian sugar within the provisions of the Dingley act, which lays an additional duty on bovuty-aided sugar equal to the bounty. The immedia of the secretary's decision was a doubling by Russia of her d on our exporis, much to the dismay and grief of sundry folk who thing it unfair for others (o heave bricks at our glass houses, but perfectly tair for us to throw rocks into theirs. the procession would cover two| expounded | ROTECTING PUBLIC INTERESTS, Fearless Publication of News Upheld by lowa Comrtw. Oskaloosa {Ia.) Herald. The great care exercised by the average editor In verifying his news reports and making his published statements absolutely accurate 18 a phase of newspaper work lit- tle understood by the gemeral public. No one who has not served a veteran's career behind the scenes of the business of news. paper publishing can have any conception of the diligence and constant care exercised by newspaper men to make thelr every statement absolutely true in fact. All the information contained In an aver- age newspaper, aggregating in volume every two days the size of an ordinary 350- page book, has to be ferreted out, reported, edited, et into type and published within an average working day, and yet the per- centage of mistakes to the total number of accuracles, if known, would make the aver- age critic of a newspaper ashamed of him- self. It must have been with some idea of this situation in his mind that Judge Burnham, in ruling upon a motion to direct a verdict for the newspaper in a libel suit against the Oskaloosa Times-Republican, sall: “It Is the duty of a newspaper man, when he conducts and publishes a newspaper, to give the news to the public and, If it Is done in good faith and without malice or intention to wrong or injure another, if it is substantially correct it is conditionally privileged and, therefore, there is mo lia- bility on the part of the publisher to one who claime he is wronged in a suit against them for damages, and if this paper has ever done a good service, it seems to me it has in this matter.” Since man has begun to live in organized soclety the acts of his neighbor and the doings of the Individual have become mat- ters of legitimate concern to the public fn- sofar as such acts could or would have a material effect upon the welfare or inter- ests of others, and it has long been held by courts that a newspaper, engaged in the business of publishing news, not only has a conditional privilege to publish facts of public concern about Individuals, but h a distinet duty to perform which places upon 1t an express ebligation to keep the public g0 Informed, in common parlance, to print the news. The'legitimate performance of this duty, when fearlessly done, becomes & public service of immeasurable value in the pro- tection of private interests and personal welfare upon every side. In this particular case of the publications complained of the distinct public service of the newspaper was ably set forth by the court when it sald: “Now the charges that wers made against this plaintift had been circulated broadcast throughout that community be- fore theee publications. It did not seem to have affected elther him or his business very materially, untfl it came out in the newspaper. Then, when the same facts that had been known to everyone were pub- lished in this newspaper, from that mo- ment it seems to have put a check upon his somewhat wild and mad career and, he claims, damage has resulted to him. Consequently, in this particular case, the newspaper has served the public in a way | that is very creditable to it and a protec- tion to that community.” PERSONAL NOTES, The people of South Bend, Ind., ing beans for fuel. pea coal. Minister Bowen has witnessed 126 revolu- tions in Venezuela. No wonder he is get- ting round shouldered. One of the steamship companies will print a'dally newspaper on board its vessels ply- ing between Liverpool and New York. The new publication will probably be called the Sheet-anchor. “Etherogram” is said to be Mr. Marconi's preference for a name of dispatches sent by his wireless method. He disapproves of ‘“Marconigrams’ becauso, he says, it savors too much of self-advertisement. President Gastro has borrowed all of the avallable money In Venezuela, his soldlers refuse to fight and he is altogether without resources. Under the circumstances his only recourse {s to call in an auctioneer, A criticism often made of America is that we do not regard highly enough the higher education and its votaries. What clse is to be expected if.the price of ofl Jumps whenever a college receives a gift? Concerning the late ex-Speaker Reed's personal feeling toward his political oppo- nents, a writer in the Independent says: “The most conspicuous picture in his sea- side cottage was a large photogravure of Willlam E. Russell, the only democratic governor whom Massachusetts has had for many a year, and whose friendship Mr, Reed heartily prized.” In an impassioned burst of oratory last week a ccngressman sald on the floor of the hous “Congress 1s the warehouse of truth,” and his colleagues applauded feel- ingly. When the nolse subsided, the orator meanwhile sipping a glass of water, a cynic in the gallery growled: ‘es, but you never carry any stock,” which, some- how, also was applauded. R. Masujima, a distinguished Japanese at- torney of Toklo, will attend the annual meeting of the New York State Bar asso- clation at Albany on January 28. Masujima is one of the most prominent and highly educated of the modern men of affairs in Japan. Owing to his reputation as a Japanese jurlst he was Invited to attema the bar assoclation meeting at Albany ana by request will deliver an address on ““The Present Position of Japanese Law and Juris. prudence.” ‘e burn. They cannot get even Greedy Combin ains to Shackle Chicago News. It for no other reason the present crisia would be noteworthy Ilustrating in & striking way how utterly dependent civil- fsed man is upon coal. It s not only a necessity of life, according to the usual classification, but it is the Indispensablo olement in securing all the other “neces- sitics.” Man can dispense with beef and subsist on grains, or he can dispense with woolens and olothe himself in other mate- rials. For coal there is as yet no practie- able substitute and it is the one commodity upon which modern soclety depends for all the others. Considering the paramount Importance of oAl as & necessity of life, it is not surpris- ing that the menace of a continued shert age should have stirred public opinios « deeply throughout the country. There is no mistaking the signs of the apprehension which underlies tho present movements in every important center in the country. Tho congressional investigation at Washingt Mayor Low's call for a conference in N York, the appeal {ssued by Mayor Maybury of Detroit for joint action on the part ot governors and mayors and the prosccutio begun in Chicago before a grand jury are indications of & serious and widespread a tation. There is evidently a general agree- ‘ment with the sentiment expressed by Judge McEwen in his charge to the special grand Jury that such an interference with the coal supply as is now charged s “a erime and an Infamy.” Nor ean it be denfed that the evidence thus far brought before the jury does not weaken the force of the charges. What do the coal operators think fs going to be the effect of all this? That there have been extortion: practices in the coal business and that some of the eastern operators, in particular, have de Iiberately undertaken to withhhold a neces- sity of life for the purpose of profit-making is hardly to be doubted. The operators have opposed the enforcement of laws which would interfere with thelr misuso of their extraordinary powers over both mines and raiiroads. They will not brook the suggestion that they be placed under further restraint, no matter how reason- able. How long can they expect this state of things to continue? “If in another win. »" sald Judge Grosscup in his address, ‘a situation such as exists now with regara to coal should prevail nothing could prevent an irresistible sentiment spreading over this state for the public ownership of the bituminous coal flelds.” Who will have been responsible for this revolutionary change—who but the men who created the conditions that forced the people to de- mand it, as & measure of self-protection? Forging Themuselves. LINES TO A LAUGH. sald Uncle 1t makes. Do mas, but i ear 85 expensive.”'—Wash- ington Star. “Well, that beats the Dutch sald the Amsterdam schoolmaster, s he fondly gased at his’ well-worn birch.—Princeton ger. “‘You clalm to be you are eating meat, ““That's all Fight; thi animal that ate gras: vegetarian and yet meat came from an New York Times. Anxious Resident—Hello! Hello! Bmith's coal office? Coal Dealer—Yes; do you want? what R.—I've only got Eml enough in my good. ington Is this | cellar to last until tonight— Coal Dealer (lnlefmnlln‘)—’l'hlt _nwn ‘Il you take for 1t?—W m Church—Those western editors llflflg. 'G% ‘hat's the matter now? Church—Why, in a paper published in ey Whith ‘anded ‘ilke this', Sigre, mods ayer Which ‘e Bis S hote: —Yonkers Statesman. ““The trouble with you ou, Job,” sald one of his tormentors, “is that you can't eee the ‘grotesque features of your case. You have have no_sense of humo “No sense of humor, Job, searching In valn for a lloo 'heru he could scratch himself. hen my blood s full of it!"—Chicago Trtbuna. Bixter—Do you know, Jipson, that your play fs positively indecent? Jipson—It s very kind of you to say s Bixter; but ‘what's the use? I haven't been able to get any of ¢ pers to de- Rounce it as unfit 1o be seen.—Boston ‘Transcript. Have you got the_facet{or Yes, sir, " answered the dealer, handing out a’package of dog hiscuit. Tin "y Bec a8 fuve 10fuent to" the pouna? Address, please.” .Thesé smart Alecks give mo tion of weariness.” he said, as the faceti Jouth backed Gut of the dcor— Philadelphia got any ny pound cake?” asked THE BALD SPOT OF ALTSTADT. ‘The ‘“shyster” sued the widow Short And brought the case to Altstadt's court, id by some subtle turn of law o caught the widow a flaw, e—ere aware that she'd been wve evidence that must convict, But nllllllll when_too late Bhe begged the 1ufl e ln lul. its weight. Dot's nnt the la: tstadt! Und shustice make flot bllfl spot.” hylur" rubbed his hands in gles he ’udll most _heartily, tricked— on a With ster’’ unked hig wine: “Come ir my cour! l Bt yo Come In der hall T break your ‘d “Yaw, dot vos me—Schudge Altstadt! Und shustice make dot bald spo Then, reaching for his pipe and hat, He turned to where the widow sat “Und you vos poor, my woman-—not?" “Your verdict reaches ‘all I've got!" “Doan told nobody, Mrs. Short: Der case vos seddléd out der court! And, tossing her the cost, and m 112 sald, while passing throuh the door: “I am the law—Schudge Altstadt— Und shustice make dot bald spot.” Leavitt, Neb. ISAAC A. KILGORE. S The Honor of Your Presence Is respectfully solicited January Fifteenth at our Annual Advance Sale of high class novelty juvenile apparel, con- sisting of late creations in woolen fabrics, and a great waists and blouses. variety of samples of shirt Extra palns and expense has been taken to make this sale the best of its kind ever held in Omaha. All imported and domestic noveltles—the very cream of two worlds are placed before you. Nothing finer or better in the world—whether shown in New York, Chicago or Omaha. ple suits. These are all sam- You make your selection now In regard to size, style, quality and material—the delivery will follow later—about April ist, This advance salo will last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and is of such magnitude and splen dor that mothers will miss & rare treat if they fall to see the splendid fx ings we have gotten together for the little folks for tha spring and summer of 1903. Display on second floor, (Juvenile department.) Rrowning Khe -G R. S. WILCOX, Mmager washable and light weight ‘ [} { i3 Y b ’