Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, January 24, 1903, Page 6

THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: SATURDAY, JAN JARY 24, 190 ‘THE _OMAHA DAy BEE. B RUEEWATI:R. EDITOR. Pususunh EVERY MORNING. TERME OF SUBSCRIPT Dafly Bee (rithout & Sundny). One Year. uun ear Daily Bee ai Illustrated Bunday Bee, 'llurdn) B Twentieth Century Farmer, One Year. DELIVERED BY CARR! Datly Bee (without Sunday), per €opy... per_week..13¢ Bee lmcmuln. uunmy), per week. 1 D:“v Bee (without Bunday), Bunday Bee, pes Evening Bee ‘l'llholll Sunduy), per week u Evening Bee (inciuding Sunday), week partment. OFFICES. Omaha—The Bee B ul South Omaha—City Hllln{!ulldilll. Twen- ty-fifth and M Streets. 10N, IER. Council Bluffa—1lv Pear] Street. Chicago—1640 Unity Building. New York—7% Park Row Fusain gton—501 Fourteenth Btree CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to news and ed- p ‘d ressed: Omaha ftorfal matter should be Bee, Editorial Department. per 100 Complaints ‘of frreguiarities in delivery shouid be addressed to City Circulation De- STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION. Btate of Nebraska, Douglas County, 8s. ‘Tzschuck, secretary plete coples of The Daily, ing and Sunday Bee month of December, nted n 18. ». 2. . 2. 3. u. 5. 2. 0. 2. 2. . n. Total . Less unsold and returned cop Net total Net avera GEO! Subscribed In _my ;wfort ‘me this 31st (Beal) Get down to business. By common consent the coal dealers of company, being duly sworn, £a) ictual number efuhlll‘lnd't'm orning, during ) fxuenca ana_sworn 1o of December, A, M. B, HUNGAT Notary Publle. Ee————eSSSpSSEED To the legislative revenue committee: still have the center of the stage. e— The Colorado legislature should be given guarters in a Keeley cure insti- tute. The Nebraska farmers’ trust proposes to wrestle with the Nebraska elevator trust. It Colorado ever builds a new state house it should equip it with an arsenal on the premises for use of warlike leg- The omnibus statehood bill does not find the legislative track as smooth as Bvi- dently the building bill was so heavy did the omnibus building bill. that it wore ruts in the road. The or’y labor organization that is not preparing for a strike s the politi- cal wire pullerd. They have altogether too much busivess in prospect to take a lay-off In these coal famine | After the experience of his farewell reception Minister Tho.npson should be better prepared when he comes to' the seat of government in Brazil to with- stand a siege than was Minister Conger at Pekin, When D. E. Thompson ception he exclaim tony, " cut of all.” e with The fight between the advocates of the deep water harbor at Port Arthur and at Sabine Pass threatens to break The ¢il boom having sub- sided Texas land speculators must work out again. some other scheme. Smp— While the legislature is in the repeal- ing business why not repeal the “no That law has been on the statute books just twenty-two years and the first man is yet to be arrested and fined for violating it eitber behind treat” law. the bar or in front of it. ————— The prospectus of the consolidated street rallway for 1903 is a little more modest than the New York news broker Its 200-mile suburban street rallway system will for the pres- ent content Itself with an extension laid out for it. from Omaha to Florence. The remaln- ing links are on the map. o President ing ground is hardly fair. are not accustomed. times. looked at himself on the front page of the Lin- coln Journal the morning after the re- An- “This was the most unkindest| Mare Roosevelt's proposition to accept an invitation to ‘go hunting in Wyoming conditioned on the eviction of all néwspaper reporters from the hunt- It .would be giving the newspaper men a hunt for news about the president to which they —_—— Many years ago coroners' inquests ended with the verdict, “Came to his More re- cribed death for want of breat! cently these verdicts have mortality to heart fallure. The latest verdict of coroners’' juries from causes unknown." age of intelligent progress. If the members of the state legisla- themselves against delegations from home they should pass a law prohibiting conven- tions of state organigations at Lincoln during legislative sessions, which en- able those who wish to attend to travel tures want to pmtect to the state capital on balf A The president of the German Reich- stag has resigned his position as pre- siding officer because of adverse sent!- ment roused by one of his rulings dur- none of them would fare. en- the was a8 follows: [the senate, but the Colombian congress “Died We live in an PANAMA CANAL TREATY SIGNED. The signing of the Panama canal treaty may be accepted as settling the question of an isthmian canal and suring the construction and control of the Panama waterway by the United States. The matter that had obstructed the negotiations and seemed for a time to threaten thelr failure, the question of the amount of annuity to be pald to Co- lombla by the United States, was set- tled by compromise. Investigation showed that the original proposition of our government was too low, while the demand made by the Colombian govern- ment was excessive. The amount of the annuity agreed upon Is not yet made publie, but it is said to be equi- table and it is believed will be approved by congress when the facts upon which it is based are fully set forth. Co- lombia has accepted all the terms and conditions proposed by the United States In regard to the control of the canal and the strip of territory contigu- ous thereto required by the United Btates. The general features of the treaty as at first framed have been ad- hered to, the only important change re- lating to the pecuniary consideration, which is considerably more than was at first contemplated. The sum to be paid down to Colombia, when the treaty shall have been ratified, 1s §10,000,000 Instead of $7,000,000 and the annuity is probably three times the amount at first proposed by our government. The treaty must be ratified, of course, by the senate of the United States and also by the Colombian congress. The expectation is that there will be no un- necessary delay in its ratification by will not be in session until spring. There appears to be no doubt, however, of the ratification of the treaty by that congress. It scems safe, therefore, to regard the isthmian canal question as settled and that within the present year the work of completing the construction of the Panama canal will have begun. The Spooner bill giving authority to the president to negotiate for the purchase of the Panama route and make a treaty with Colombla, provides that when this shall have been accomplished “the pres- ident shall then cause to be excavated, constructed and completed, utilizing to that end as far as practlcable the work heretofore done by the new Panama canal company of France and its prede- cessor company; a ship canal from the Caribbean sea to the Pacific ocean.” President Roosevelt, it can be confl- dently assumed, will lose no time in Inauguratifig the work when everything is In readiness therefor and will have it pushed with all possible vigor. Esti- mates as to the time that will be occu- pled in completing this great enterprise vary somewhat widely, but probably at least ten Year§ will be consumed in the construction “ and the cost will very likely reach $200,000,000. Em— CARING FOR RURAL DELIVERY. There is favorable promise that con- gress will appropriate $12,000,000 for the support of the rural free delivery service during the next fiscal year. The appropriation for the current year was $7,600,000, which is just about twice as much a8 was allowed for the preceding year. The expansion of this service has been notable and there is abundant room for its continued growth. Five years ago there were forty-four rural free delivery routes; gow there are 12 500 #nd by July 1 there will be 15,000. This is very remarkable progress. It is understood to be the intention of the Postoffice department to estab- lish 10,000 more routes with the money that will be available after July 1. At the present time the ecarriers travel dally over 275,000 miles of coyntry roads to serve about 7,000,000 of the strictly rural population. The area cov- ered by these routes is about 800,000 squage miles. The establishment of the service has been fully justified by re- sults. It is no longer an experiment, but has become a fixed and permanent part of the postal department which must be cared for and steadily ex- panded until there will be no accessible rural community without free mail de- livery. It 15 a system the promotion of which is for the general welfare. E——— . THE GERMAN BOMBARDMENT. The bombardment of Fort S8an Carlos, Venezuela, by the German cruisers, is a very serfous matter. So far as appears there Is no. justification for it and it looks like a plece of wanton aggression, wholly unwarranted and inexcusable, The right to maintain a blockade of Venezuelan ports, pending an adjust- ment of the preliminaries to arbitration, has not been questioned. It i the privi- lege of the powers having clalms against Venezuela to make the blockade as effective as possible. But this does not include the right to seize and de- stroy Venesuelan ships of war and to shell Venezuela ports under whose guns those ships are at anchor. The course of the Germans in this matter.would be justifiable only in case of war and there has been no specific declaration of war agalnst Venezuela. On the contrary the undenum‘nx is that the powers maintaining the block- ade are not at war with the southern republic, but are slmply exercising a recognized right for the collection of their claims. They have consented to an amicable settlement through arbi- tration and their diplomatic representa- tives are to meet the representative of pealed to by the Venesuelan govern- ment. What the German government should do is to instruct its naval officers in Venezuelan waters to confine thelr operations to the blockade and stop In- dulging in such warlike demonstrations as that at Fort San Carlos. MAKE SPECIFIC APPRUPRIATIONS. The legislative committees that are formulating revenue revision should at the outset of their work plant them- selves firmly in favor of specific ap- propriations for every state institution, whether benevolent or educational. Ap- propriations of Indefinite sums by the imposition of a half mill or mill tax for any particular institutions are mis- leading and calculated to produce either a feast or a famine. The originator of the gill tax scheme, the late Boss Stout, understood very well that it was easler to pull through an appropriation that did not specify the aggregate amount to be taken out of the treasury than an appropriation that would specifically name the amount to be levied against the tax- payers of the state. This was the reason why he preferred to lobby through the legislatures bills ap- propriating a half mill or mill tax for|, the construction of the state capitol building than by the imposition of a fixed sum, that was likely to be un- popular and embarrassing to members of the legislature who were persuaded to assist him in his jobs. The university half mill tax and the later university mill tax were of the same order. It was much easier for the university lobby to logroll a mill tax appropriation through the legisla- ture than would have been an appro- priation bordering closely on $200,000. The university mill tax, or any tax based on that principle, should by all means be abolshed. A mill tax for 1902 was equivalent to $184,000. If the true value basis Is adopted for all assessments a one-mill tax for 1903 would be equal to not less than $1,100,000, or an amount sufficient to pay all the running expenses of the state and interest on the state debt. A tax of such colossal dimensions for university education would create a popular uprising in every section of the state; nor would a half mill or quarter mill tax on true value basis be toler- ated. The correct principle for disbursing the public revenues is to sppropriate for each institution a given amount of money and compel that institution to live within its income. The experience: of other states where indefinite taxes have been imposed” has been identical with that of Nebraska. | Specific_ap- propriations for state Instltutions are advocated by the governors of every state where indefinite taxes have formerly been levied upon the grand assessment roll of states under the misapprehension that the taxpayers will never find out how much they have been forced to contribute toward the maintenance of the institutions fa- vored with indefinite tax appropria- tions. ——— . The proposition to abolish preecinct assessors In Douglas and Lancaster counties and impose thelr duties upon the county assessor with such deputies as he may find necessary is In line with the movement for tax reform enacted with the creation of the office of tax commissionér for cities of the metropolitan and first and second classes. In addition to insuring greater uniformity of assessment, the proposed law creating the office of county as- sessor would effect a large saving to the countles by requiring the county as- gessor to adopt the assessments made by the city tax commissioner for the appraisement of all propeny within the respective cities. No trust bill wiil find favor in or out of congress that does not provide for ample publicity of trust finances. En- forced publicity resulting from the peri- odical statements to the comptroller of currency was the best thing that ever happened to national banks, and if the national banking law were repealed these institutions would still continue to make regular exhibits of their condi- tion. When the trusts are forced into reasonable publicity they will wonder why they ever opposed the proposition. The county board is get{ing ready to launch its reform program for 1803, The first reform in order will be the discontinuance of star chamber sessions. Public business should be transacted in public. That relates as much to com- mittee meetings as It does to regular meetings of the board. ' Star chamber sesslons have cost the taxpayers of Douglas county thousainds upon thou- sands of dollars. — In proposing to do away with odd year elections In order to doublec the terms of county officers, the county commissioners’ assoclation has undertaken a larger job than it can carry through during the present year. It will take a constitutional amendment to do away with state and district judi- cial elections, and that means the post- ponement of the scheme to 1905 or 1907. The exalted ruler of all the Elks is going south. The potential potentate of all the Buffaloes will probably go porth, and the grand Mameluke of the Veaezuela in Washington to effect ar- rangements for the arbitration. In such clreumstances it would seem to be the clear and unmistakable duty of the powers to avold any aggressive action toward Venezuela, except what may be essential to the maintenance of the blockade until arpangements for the ar- bitration shall have been completed. While the American people feel a great interest in this matter, it is not apparent that our government is called upon to lnterpose. At any rate it is not likely to do so uuless it should be ap- s et b o0 fmperious and imperial order Jiasti- cutuses Is preparing to take a tour around the world to pay his respects to all the crowned and uncrowned rulers of the earth. The Hear as & Tall-Twister. Chicago News. It is becoming one of the chief pleasures of the Russian ministry to drop a warship into the Dardanelles and watch the British ministry throw a fit. [ — Taking & Large Contract. Baltimore American. The Department of Agriculture is trying to Sud sometbing that will make tat people lean. It will be a long time, however, before any sort of treatment except hypno- tism will make people lean toward modern breakfast foods. Where's that Fire Now? Chicago Record-Herald. A Yale professor claims to have discov- ered that all life originated at the north pole and that man came from the primates through fire. This of course happened long before the coal gombinations got to doing business. Lacked Calture in the Art. Indlanapolis Journal. The woman who called a member of con- gress a liar from the galleries because he made a prediction about the future attitude of Canada toward the United States had not studled the ethics of lying. A mere difference of opinion regarding some su, posititious event in the remote future does not furnish just cause for a charge of mendacity. all Risk in Travel Minneapolls Journal, According to the figures of the Inter ate Commerce commiseion it is safer to travel tHan to stay at home. Last year the railroads carried 07,278,121 passengers. Including killed and fnjured the of casualties was 5,080. It appe only one passenger out of 119,643 was danger of injury, however slight; the risk of death was only as 1 to 3,702,908, e for Natio Sadness. New York World, The sultan of Jolo ie dead; long live the sultan of Jolo! His Highness Hadji Jumalul Kiram is gathered at,30 with the faithful; but his honors were hereditary, and as his collection of sultanas knew no limit except his pay envelope there are plenty of heirs, one of whom may be se- lected, by the Oriental method of killing off his rivals, to wear the robes of state. Uncovering Ancient Scandals. Indianapolis Journal, For those who have rated General Fre- mont among the bright lights of the repub- lican party it is unfortunate that a recent debate in the house brought to light the scandals incident to his command in Mis- sourl in 1861. He showed himself visionary and unequal to the task he had undertaken. He became a victim of rapacious army con- tractors, but his unpardonable sin was in consenting to be a bolting candidate for president against Lincoln. Let the Momey Flow. Springfield Republican. Corrupt practices legislation was quite the rage a few years back, but its prac- tical achievements are not known to have been tremendous. Bills are pending in the Minnesota legislature repealing the cor- rupt practices act, and Judge Herrick ot the New York.supreme court for the dis- trict of Albany has just promounced 'un- constitutional the law requiring candidates for public office to make public returns of their campaign expenditures., While this legislation has probably been of some re« straining influence, still money seems to be as potent an influence in politice as ever, and as largely ubed. ——— O.le‘fll to the Lease Bill, Minneapolis Joyrnal, : That the problem of ‘bow' to utilize the arid public,lands {s no easy one to settle s Indicated by the protest of western N braska stockmén #gainst the lease bill In- troduced in the Sénate by Senator Dietrich. The small think this bill is favor- | able to' th Ones. They want a lease law, they Bay, but not this one, Yet it must be éntirefy possible to work out some sort of schemel Which, while not interfering with the privilége of the homesteader, will make it possible’ to utllize the publie lands for grazing in a‘more advantageous manner than at present, both to the public and the cattlemen. — The Unreasonable Producer. New York Evening Post. In connection with the recent extraordi- nary advance in the price of petroleum, we r of some mutterings from the produc- ers because they are given so small a share of the enlarged profits. To the consumer oil has advanced in the last four months $147 a barrel. The producer maintains that he gets but 27 cents of this, and perversely argues that he ought to have more. But he should understand better the wise and benevolent ways of the Standard Ofl com- pany, The considerate gentleman at the head of that charitable institution know well the temptation which sudden wealth brings In its train. They cquld not think of subjecting a mere producer to such a test. So they restrain their instinctive de- sire to give him six-sevenths of the in- creased price, and keep it themselves out of regard for his moral character. Besides, how could they be sure that he would en- b A SORRY MONUMENT. American Writer's Zeal and Royalty. Detroit Free Press. Few Ametican newspaper correspondents are able to withstand a European environ- ment. For every MacGahan, who is the soul of consclentious devotion to his work, there are a dozen Smalleys and Ralphs who are so dazzled by the glitter of rank and caste that they blindly singe their poor, weak wings in the flame. Mr. George W. Smalley went to London as the corre- spondent of the New York Tribune, and became so saturated with the spirit of British institutions that he soon earned the sobriquet of “the Tory squire,” which still clings to him. As the Washington correspondent of a great New York dally, Jullan Raiph, who dled Tuesday, galned a national reputation for able, intelligent, fair-minded service. Then after a few yeurs of “free lance” work he was sent to South Africa by one of the jingo news- papers of London and succeeded in casting Aiscredit on the efforts of a lifetime. No naiive-born Englishman who accom- paniéd the British troops equaled this American correspondent in ecstatic devo- tion to the British cause and venomous denunciation of the Boers. Mr. Ralph set for Class out from London to maintain the thesis that the Boers were semi-savages with none of the institutions of civilization, and he allowed nothing so inconsequential as fact to Interfere with the elaboration of this theme. Days before he was in sight of the Transvaal or the Free State he was sending letters to the Mail describing minutely the barbarity of Boers he bad never seen and acts of savagery that were never committed. The British army repre- sented all that was chivalrous and brave and noble; the Boers represented all that was brutal and degraded and detestable. Presumably, that was the kind of news trom South Africa that the Mail desired, but the writing of it was sorry business for a reputable newspaper correspondent to be engaged in. And In the end, when the truth became commonly known and Englishmen geperally had begun to testify to the valor and courage and honor of-the Boers, Mr. Ralph had nothing to show for his worse than wasted opportunities except the wreck of reputation for accuracy and impartiality. This will remain as & warn. ing, perhaps, to other brijliant fellows who are seduced Into the bellef that there |s lasting profit in writing down to the pas- sions and ignorance and superstitions of the wob OTHER LANDS THAN OURS, o 1002 England put into service, laid dowh or provided for a very respectable navy, as navies of most countries go. From the public dock yards two 15,000-ton battle- ships, one 9,800-ton armored cruiser and two 5,880-ton protected cruisers were launched. From private yards were launched four 9,800-ton armored crulsers, besides a number of submarines and tor- pedo. boats. At .present there are on the blocks five 16,350-ton battleships, one 9,800- ton armored cruiser, six 10,200-ton armored cruisers, two 13,500-ton armored cruisers, four 3,000-ton third-class crufsers, two 1,070-ton sloops, four 1,600-ton scouts seventeen torpedo boat destroyers, four torpedo boats and four submarines. Ships that are completing comprise six 14,000-ton battleships, thirteen armored cruisers, ranging from 9,800 tons to 14,100 tons, and two sloops. The ships that were completed and commissioned during the last year comprised one battleship of 12,000 tons, three of 15,000 tons, four armored cruisers of 12,000 tons and one of 14,000 tons, one sloop and two gunboats. The greatest suc- cess of the year was the armored crulser King Alfred, which maintained a speed of 23,465 knots with 31,071 horsepower, fts coal consumptfon at full power being 1.81 pounds per hour per 1. h. p. This estab- lishes that King Alfred could go from England to Australia at fifteen knots an hour without recoaling Among other elgns of unquiet and dis- content in the Russian empire s a curious exodus, for the purpose of evading mili- tary service, of Tartars from Crimea into Turkey. It was found necessary not long ago to put a large steamer on the line running from Sevastopol to Constantinople in order to accommodate the Increasing number of emigrants. Moreover, the Tar- tars are using other opportunities for es- cape and the Russian authorities have found it necessary to lay special fnjunctions upon” all local fishermen forbidding them to assist the fugitives in their flight. They eay that they do mot regret the departure of the it makes room for more desirable Rufisian peasants, but feel com- miseration for the emigrants, who ara going from bad to worse, and certalnly the Tartars are grossly mistaken it they ex- pect to find Turkey a land overflowing with milk and honey. The suggestion has been made by the Mahommedan priesthood that all Tartar recruits should be ealisted in one special regiment, and it is believed that this would remove many sources of discontent, but the authorities fear that it they made an exception of this sort im favor of the Mahommedans it would not be long before similar privileges would be de- manded for the Jews. The Novoye Vremya says that a remedy must be sought in ed- ucatton. Compulsory free elementary -education biving been established fn France in 1882, the conmscripts drafted into the army, and born within the last twenty-five yea passed through the communal or schools. Thus Frenchmen who cannot read and write are becoming rarities. Captains in various parts of France last year sub- Jected the comscripts drafted into their companies to a sort of examination, which proved that nearly every man was fairly proficient in reading, writing and arith- metic. But beyond this the ignorance of the great mafority of the men was astonishing. According to the Revue Pedagogique, a captain of the Fifth army corps, of which the headquarters are at Orleans, where the population is supposed to be rather above the average in intelligence, discovered that two of the forty-four conscripts -drafted Into his company were completely illite- rate. The others ecould read and write fairly well, and the: greater uumber could polve @ problem of arithmetic. correctly. Having ascertained these facts the cap- tain assembled the conscripts, and giving them pen and paper acked, them to' write as full answers as tley could to three questior ‘What do you know about Joan of Are?” “Of what does the national fete of July 14 remind you?’ “What do you know about the war of 18707 It was found that more than half the conscripts knew nothing at all about Joan of Arec, that three-quarters were ignorant of the event commemorated by the national fete, and that two-thirds had no knowledge what. ever of the Franco-German war of 1870. The publication of this fact has caused somewhat of a sensatfon. . Steadily and methodically Rusia is con- tinuing its preparations for tightening its grip on Manchuria. The Russki Invalid of St. Petersburg publishes an order of the minister of war dwelling upon the impor- tance of having a supply of officers a quainted with the local languages among the troops stationed in the Amur territory, and announcing that arrangements have been made at the Oriental Instituie in Vladivostok for the instruction of forty officers in the Chinese, Japanese, Corean and Mongolian languages, as well as in French and English. The course of in- struction will last four years and ten officers will be admitted every year in order to study the languages chosen for them by the general in command of the Amur miltary district. There will b2 no entrance examination. The officers s lected for these courses will enjoy various priviliges, among others, annual allowances of 120 roubles for books, and 200 roubles for traveling expenses. For dvery month which they spend abroad during leaves of absence in order to perfect themselves in their languages they will receive an addi- tional allowance for living expenses. P The insecurity of the Prussian author- ities in the matter of the suppression of deulling s amusingly appparent In the answer of the minister of war to a memo- rial addressed to him by German students. The latter desired an arrangement by which duels between officers and studenis should be fought with the sabre rather than with the pistol. The minister of war says that he recognizes in the attituce of the students a general desire to avold af- fairs with officers, a wish which, he says, is reciprocated in the army. The location of garrisons In university towns, he points out, was arranged with the object of giv: ing students a convenient opportunity of serving their year with the colors. On the whole the relations between the officers of these garrisons and the members of the universities have been excellent. He cannot, he savs, agree to take part in any formal regulation of duelling, because “the duel in ftselt is forbidden by law and 1s punishable.” He then refers to the emperor's cabinet orders for the preven- tion of quarrels and the arrangement of difterences in the army, and adds: “For the rest, it must be left to every one to main- tain his own honmor, since every one is the representative and guardian of his honor.” He then goes on to suggest that courts of honor ought to be instituted for the students in each university, so as to co-operate with honor for the settlement of quarrel long as the highest authority plays fast and loose with the law in this way, duel- ling will certainly continue. —_— A Change for the Better. Buffalo Express, The decision of the United States su- preme court that six months’. residence in South Dakots does not give & legal domicile bas the effect of invalidating all South Dakota divorces obtained by nonresidents. It emphasize: n the need for uniform divorce laws among the various states. ' the military courts of 8o POLITICAL David Bennett Hill drow the legal brief that is credited with knocking out the state franchise tax law in the New York appel- fate court, A Missour! legislator who answers to the name of Colin Seiph sports a valet in sight of his colleagues. In the heyday of Mis- sourl's greatness such conduct would pro- voke a lynching The Arkansas legislature has one member who is 6 feet § inches in height, but when the question Is put to him he says he is & feet 20 inches tall. He is a school teacher —J. 8. Rowland of Valley Springs. Among the distinguished dead in the sen- atorlal melee is the late James K. Jones ot Arkansas. Mr. Jones was pressed into a round cotton bale by his opponents, but his fame as a political prophet will linger | as long as American sovereigns appreciate campaign humor. Former Governor James 8. Hogg of Texas, who made millions in ofl, now de- kires to succeed Joseph W. Bailey In the United States senate. Though the contest 18 four years off, Hogg Is trimming his sails for it by getting on intimate terms with the members of the present legislature. Judge John H. Reagan of Texas retired to private life the other day and will write some memoirs—which ought to be Interes ing, In view of his sixty-four years in pub- lic office as a member of the confederate cabinet, judge, United States senator, mem- ber of the Texas railroad commission, ete. The only female member of the Utah leg- islature voted for Apostle Smoot's nomina- tion in the republican caucus. The fact | that she {s a GentHe and the executive head of the Federation of Women's Clubs in that state may tend to lce water the claims of some of the folk who are expect- ing to overturn the situatfon out that way. Prof. John W. Burgess of Columbia uni- versity declares in a magazine article that the United States senate at the present moment is the worst rotten-borough insti- tation in the civilized world. He bases this assertion on the fact that of the 76,000,000 people in the unjon 14,000,000 are repre- | sented by forty-six senators and 62,000,000 by only forty-four senators. Prof. Burgess does not believe that popular government will long endure o great an inequality in 1ts répresentative system. Six members of the Kansas legislature are expert cowboys. They are all in the house—C. M. Beeson of ¥Ford, W. H. Wel- don of Clark, W. W. Martin of Morton, Fred Friar of Wichita, R. B. Campbell of Meade and ‘Sherman William of. Stanton. “Chalk” Beeson is dean of the outfit.. He has al- ways been a cowboy, though he owns a fine ranch in the southwestern part of the state and keeps it stocked with from 700 to 1,000 cattle. It was Beeson who in 1880 got together a real cowboy band, which later became famous all over the country. STATUS OF THE ISLE OF PINES. Americans There Anxious to Know Where They Are At. Philadelphia Record. Forcible resistance is threatened by 300 American citizens residing -and owning property in the Isle of Pines to any fur- ther exercise of sovereignty there by the Cuban governthent. out a fairly good case against the Cuban authoritles; the taxation is high, but the the money collected being appropriated to the use of Cuba, and the Isle of Pines re- maing without adequate police protection, without proper courts of justice and with- out schools. - Favana government in providing a system of administration. Nevertheless, the island not having been ceded to the United States, the government at Washingtorr can exercise no authority therein. The situation ought o be relleved. Still, the American resi- dents ought to be the last persons to set so bad an example to thelr Cuban nelghbors as to seck redress through lawless methods. ELECTION EXPENSE LAW VOID. New York Supreme Court Works Its Hammer Effectively. Philadelphia Ledger. The supreme court of New York ba decided that the election law of that stat 5o far as It provides for the forfelture of office by the fallure to make and file & eworn statement of the election expenses | of candidates, is unconstitutional and void. That instrument provides that no declara- tion shall be exacted from cflicials except the oath prescribed by the comstitution. The constitutional provision applying to the case in New: York is not to be found in all state comstitutions. The laws of other states requiring sworn etatements of election expe: from candidates for #Mce may be unassailable. The New York law was accepted as a very desirable re- form. It was expected that its execution would purify elections, check bribery and all fllegitimate expenditure. It has been helpful in these directions, though many candidates have probably been ingenious in devising ways and means of evasion. The forfelture of office which followed ex- posure was a severe penalty. The law was. believad to be necessary, or it would not have been enacted. It was carnestly discussed before passage, and ity enactment regarded as a very im- portant and efficacious reform measure. Similar laws have received public approval in England in the Parliamentary contests, and in certain American states. Too much | money js spent in elections. It is & com- petitive prodigality sure to become more and more demoralizing unless some way be found to check it: The direct or indirect purchase of votes cannot be stopped entirely by drastic legls- lation. -Crime of all descriptions exists and persists, despite the criminal code. The portion of the New York election law now declared void was in line with other measures designed to secure pure elections, | and it 16 regrettable that it is not conm. | stitutional. In order to revive the law it ! will be necessity to amend the comstitu- tion. In many of the modern constitu- tions the oath of office proscribed is in- | tended to restrain officlals from spending money corruptly in securing appointment | or election. The malcontents make menl. h, taxpayers ‘recefve nothing in return, all| &9 for Ph'um- The position. of the island is certainly -ofl"m:'e Rt [mow MEXICO DEALS WITH TRUSTS. President Dias rops & Hint and = Cleveland Plain Dealer. If the gentlemen in Washington and else- where who are losing sleep in trylng to solve the monopoly problem fn this land of the free will cast their eyes southward they will see across the Mexican border something that they may find to their ad- vantage. The strenuous gentleman who presides over the dedtinies of the Mexican republic is given to taking short cuts and is not in the habit of being hampered by red tape or legal formulas. Just at this time the story of how he tamed a Yankee octopus that had found its way into his balliwick may be of interest. Some mohths ago the Mexican Oentral railrond suddenly changed hamds, and thereon hangs a tale. It appears that a Mexican, while trying to obtain water near Tampico, struck oll. He was ignorant of the value of his discovery, but a chance American recognized it and the two went into partnership in the ol business, doing eventually a Jarge and profitable trade. Like most parts of the sarth Mexico is in the grip of the oil monopoly and the big concern was soon aware of the operations of the humble pair who had ventured to do business for themgelves. An offer to buy them out was madb and refused. The cor- poration’s agents hastened to San Francisco and soon the new# came out that the Mexi- can Central had changed hands. The trust's agents knew why the road had been eold even if the public &id net, and the old familiar process of putting the screws to the Mexfean and his Yankee partner was at onee begun. The trick was | played that has for years driven out of business every Amserican oil producer who has daréd to stand out agalnst the trust. A tariff was adopted which practically pro< hibited the sale of Tampico oil fifty miles from that place, and the two humble part- ners were forced to suspend operations. But they were not to be beaten so easily, They wasted no time in taking thelir griev- ance to court, but proceeded posthaste to the City of Mexico, lald thelr case before President Diaz, and showed him all the accumulated evidence. He promptly or- dered that the former tariff of the rallroad be restored under penalty of forfeiture of its charter to the state in case of refusal. The old rate on ofl was at once and by wire ordered restored. The ofl well is agafn In operation and the monopoly 18 booking no business in that section of the eountry. In the meantime the raflroad, bought for the purpose of freezing out the two partners, is paying a reasonable dividend on the investment and the new owners are suffer- ing no loss on that score. All of which goes to show that there may be something in the claim so often set up that a benevolent despotism may be the best of governments. We are rather in. clined to look down on Mexico; not always, it would appear, with good reason. PASSING PLEASANTRIES, “Do you know what I ean take for Indi- gestion after dinner, doctor?" “Yes; ple.’ —-Ynnknru Statesman. “'Bpeak loud«r 4 !nld the judge, ““so the Ju o hear yor o asked the witness, in astonish- re lhey interested in the case? — Chicago News. 8he—Doctor, is S?uaunk a mfl place to Pe. 'rhn‘- where I got -ine. —Delmlt Free Pre lll’—lhc nm conatders herself a l’lrl but muu 0 be an old mald, isn't she? mdefd I few more summers her jce cream and Yes, will —Philadelphin Press. anomalous. [n, accordance with the. Platt| «Quite a stormy {ime at the theater i A ent 1t bas been exclyded from ‘the [-week: ‘d y f o manuger. constitutional Timits of the Cuban republic. | -'\m““ & Hence, probably, the negleéctfuliiess of the s ¥4 iz thunders of applause: Mrs. Upjohn—What beautiful floors! How do you keep them so nicely lished ? Mra, Gaswell (glving her the lcy glare)— J don't. 1 leave that to the housemald.”— Chicago Tribune. “'Oh, shucks exclalmed the shredded Fodder. “I'm broke. Can't you lend me a little money?"* “No,” replied the Hay !hll Ihe farmer was preparing for the bal 'm all tled up myself, and expect y Tement 1o d for money. A BaTmore Amer. —thr"wn Star. “Pardon me,” said the polite man in the cheap restaurant, “but I don't lfke anything sweet in my coffes “It ain't been sweetened at all.’ replied the waltress as she set down the china cup before him. “Ah! I may be wrong, but I thought I saw your thumb in it."~Philadelphia In- quirer, Cyrus was asked how he managed to re- member the name of every soldler under him. easy,” replied the great Persian. “When 111964 1h the suburbs T used. to buy all my wife's threads and ribbon: Marveling at the ulmpllcl(y of genius, they withdrew.—New York 'Tril GLORY IN THE GRANITE ROCK. Ella Wheeler Wilcox in Success. L A nite rock on the mountain side on the world and was nu-ned It watched the centuries come and It welcnmed the sunlight and lov‘d the 1] f J { It lr;n'\'td when the forest was forced to Y ) But smiled when the steeples rose, white and tall, below it, and thrilled to hear , In the valle; The volce of the great town roaring near. 1L ‘When the mountain stream frofn its idle Was caught by the mill wheel, and borne away And trained to lahor, the gray rock mused: pree und verdure and stream are used By man, the master, but I rem by l'lklld of the Muunluin Plain; Unichanged forever, b; While passing centu and Star, God's decree, es bow to me!” 1L Then, all unwarned, with a mighty shock, Duwn Jram the mountain was wrenched the and Brused 4nd battered and broken in heart, It was carried away to & common, mart. Wrecked and ruined 4 peace and pride, “Oh, God 1§ cruel’ the granitg o yComrade of Mountain. of Star the fr(end— By all deserted—how .Y A dreaming sculptor, in passing Gazed on the granité wit umu.m(ux eye Then, stiffed with & purpoge, augreme and He bad dream in the rock expand— And lo! from the broken. snd shapele mass, That grieved and doubted. ft came to pas That a glorlous #tatue, of infinite worth- A statue of LINCOLN-adorned the earth This 15 the house of fine clothing We are compelled to offer some extra in nearly every kind of men's apparel. broken lines of suits, overcoats and odd sizes and extra trous whole stock teems with speclal Inducements and you can make a big saving | W Right Here . % | | and clothing at close cost. Making room for our spring invoices compels us to have extra space and (o gef it. reductiol to sell quickly. Therefore, in faet our Now Is the bargalu seeson. No Clothing Fits Like Ours. Byrouning-King -§- @ R. S. WILCOX, Manager. l 4 8