Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 1902)
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, "AUGUST C, 1901 entered ct the PostoClce at Portland. Oregon, as wcoad-clnss matter. XvEVISED SUBSCRIPTION' RATES. By Mail ipostace prepaid, la Advance) Dally, with Sunday, per month Dally, Sunday excepted, per year J Dally, with Sunday, per year ?, Sunday, per year ...... ? The Weekly, per year 1 The Weekly. S months w To City EubscJlbera anr. per -reek, delivered, Sunday c,epled.Wc ail-, per week, delivered? Sundays included" POSTAGE RATES. United States. Canada, and Mexico: - U to 28-page paper 10 Foreign rates double. News or fllrcussloa intended for publication la The Oregonlaa should be addressed invaria bly "Editor The Oregonlan." not to the name ot any individual. Letters relating to c-t3ver" tialng. subscrlptloas or to any business matter should be addressed simply "The Oregonlan." Eastern Business Offlce. 43. -44. 45. 47. 4S. 49 Tribune building. New York City; 610-11-1-Trlbuno building. Chicago: the S. C. Beckwlth Special Agency, Eastern representative. For sale la San Francisco by L. E. Lee. Pal ace Hotel news- stand; Coldsmlth Bros.. 238 Sutter street; F. TV. Pitts. 1003 Market street: J. K. Cooper Co.. 740 Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Foster & Orear. Ferry news stand; Frank Scott. 80 Ellis street, and N. "WheaUey. 813 Mission street For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 50 Bo. Spring street, and Oliver Haines. 305 Bo. Eprlng street. For sale In Sacramento by Sacramento News Co., 420 K street, Sacramento, Cat. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co 217 Dearborn street, and Charles MacDonald. 63 "Washington street. For rale in Omaha by Barkalow Bros.. 1012 Faraam street: Megeath Stationery Co.. 1803 Faraam street. For sale la Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co.. 77 W. Second South street. For sale la Minneapolis by R. G. Hearsey & Co.. 24 Third rtreet South. For sale la "Washington, D. C., by the Ehbett House Bt-rn stand. For tale In Denver. Colo., by Hamilton & Kendrick. 000-012 Seventeenth street: Louthan ft- Jackson Book & Stationery Co.. 15th and Lawrence street; A. Series. Sixteenth and Cur tis streets. TODAY'S "WEATHER Fair; continued warm. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem perature, 90 deg.; minimum temperature. CO deg.; no precipitation. f PORTLAXD, WEDNESDAY, AL'G. O. JUSTIFICATION IS TO COME. Labor union as defined by Its ad vanced leaders offers to the country much for its good and nothing, if the practice may "be made to fit the theory, for its harm. But the world of business has yet to be convinced of this fact, to be assured that the -purpose and 'tend encies of unionism are not destructive but helpful. In the mind of the aver age man of business, labor union is associated with arbitrary demands, with an insolent interference with the details of business, with uncertainties, strikes and losses. There are those and they represent Intelligence, numbers and great re sourceswhose chief concern for the fu ture of the country is in connection with a presumed danger due to the as sumed destructive tendency of labor operating in the mass under an absolute and arbitrary central authority. Their fear is that labor union will, by limit ing the working efficiency of the Indi vidual laborer, destroy measurably the economic efficiency of the labor element as a whole; that it will break down the co-operative spirit between em ployer and employed, which is the basis of confidence; that it will, by reducing the general efficiency of labor, reduce the general welfare, that of the laborer as well as of other elements of society; that It will make capital shy in all en terprises calling for the co-operation of labor; that it will repress special talent and so prevent the rise of those captains among men so essential to sustained social power and the world's progress; that it will tend to the formation of rigid lines of caste similar to those which have burdened the countries of Continental Europe for ages. These views are widely and honestly enter tained, and they find a specious sup port In incidents of mistaken policy on the part of labor unions and In the in discreet utterances of many unwise and Intemperate labor leadera The general fear here outlined draws much of its inspiration from England, where, under quite another set of condi tions, labor has lost much of its old time self-respect and dependability. American observers report that the British workman, speaking broadly, hates his employer upon instinct and tradition; that his moral fiber has so deteriorated that his work is done me chanically and under compulsion; that all co-operative sentiment has been lost; that sullenness is a common if net the universal mood; and that under these conditions and largely as the re sult of them, British Industry is losing iead and falling in these later days to support England's leadership In the commercial world. It is commonly be lieved tha. the notable advantages re cently gained by American manufactur ers in competition with British, rivals is due to the better spirit, superior cheer fulness, higher moral quality and gener ally greater efficiency of the American as compared, with' the British work ingman; and very many, not mindful of all the facts, attribute the contrasting conditions to the effects of labor union upon the Briton. Great harm to the cause of labor union is done oftentimes unconsciously "by those who act as Its spokesmen, not so much perhaps by the terms as by the tone with which they meet opinions and charges like those above quoted. The labor leader is not always or often a skilled and self-controlled debater, and he is quite as likely to flare up and retort with angry vehemeice as to maintain for his side the diplomatic advantages of good temper and civil ity. Three times out of five a commit tee representing a labor union will give the impression of Insolence in a busi ness conference when the real fact is that its overwrought self-assurance is the result of embarrassment rather than of arrogance. There is no human relationship in which arbitrariness or the appearance of it is effective or ex cusable; and least of all should it be permitted to color the dealings of those seeking rights denied and seeking also to commend an agency by which they may permanently be maintained. The "what-are-you-going-to-do-about-It" ar gument has but one force, that of a vulgar smartness; it never yet made a friend and it never advanced a cause. We have gone into' these matters in some detail with the purpose to exhibit the attitude of those who upon preju dice or instinct or through fear are enemies of labor union. That they fail wholly to comprehend the motives or the spirit of labor union in Its higher forms in the forms for which Mr. Gom pers and leaders of his class stand goes without saying. This may to some extent be their fault, but It Is also their misfortune. It Is part of the business of labor union to find ways to reach these questioners and doubters, to In struct and assure them, to so convince and convert them as to turn their fear and enmity into confidence and support. In the language of the street, it Is up to labor union to Justify Itself before the conservative world of American business and capital. This may be done to some extent by calm and intel ligent discussion, though there are plain limits to this form of argument. It is not so much by what men say as by what men. do that they Impress others. One wild act on the part of a strike leader In an hour of public excitement will discredit' all that may be accom plished in months of speaking and writ ing by an earnest, eloquent and mod erate man like Mr. Gompers. Wherever labor union Is able unfail ingly to match purpose and theory with practice. It is a distinct aid to the em ployer as well as to the employed.. It creates a system by which steadiness succeeds uncertainty; under which time contracts may be made with assurance that there will be no disturbance through Interrupted labor and no varia tion through change of the price or labor. It makes the price of labor the same to all competitors. It acts as the agent of labor In ways which, while aiding the workman, relieve the em ployer of the annoyances and hazards of the old-time individual system. In short, it gives to labor under a mutually ac cepted set of rules a character compara ble with the position of capital under the corporate device. There must of neces sity be some loss under this arrange ment, due to the elimination of person ality, but this Is not to be avoided. Capital, under modern conditions, has very largely cast off personality In Its operations, and labor cannot afford to cling to a sentiment to which there is and can be no response. If capital Is to be an Impersonal' force, so, too, must labor. Self-control, reasonableness these are the two great and high qualities need ful to those who are to lead labor un der the banner of labor union. All things else are combined in these simple principles. Self-control will save many a critical day against a thousand hazards and turn fear and enmity Into respect and friendship. Reasonableness persistently maintained will solve and dissipate all problems which over hang and cloud the horizon of labor union. REFORM MACHINERY XOT AUTO MATIC. , The recent resignation of Mayor Ames, of Minneapolis, who is a fugitive from justice in Indiana, has Inspired a good deal of unfavorable comment upon the primary election system, under which Ames was nominated. Ames is under indictment for offering a bribe. Ames had a bad reputation before he was nominated to the office he had previously filled for three terms. He was known to he a thorough-going spoilsman. Nevertheless, this man was nominated under the primary election system that was first put In practice by Minneapolia The outcome of this elec tion is now quoted to depreciate the value of the plan of nominating by popular vote instead of by the old cau cus and convention system. If popular nominations result in the choice of can didates like Ames, whose reputation was utterly rotten, what Improvement do they offer over the old methods? The primary election methods cannot be fairly condemned by a single failure, which really proves nothing against the ciaims made in behalf of the new sys tem. A single failure does not invali date the claim that nomination by pop ular vote will more likely result In a better average of candidates than nomi nation by the engineers of the machine through caucus and delegate conven tion. Of course, no law and no method, however complete, will take the place of a constant and vigilant exercise of political duties by the intelligent, hon est majority of citizens. No elective machinery is automatic for good results. The spirit of the people behind the sys tem Is more important than the system itself. No matter what may be the system, it is "always the spirit and vig ilance of the voters rather than the sys tem that wins victory for reform. The secret ballot was a most Important re form, but the secret ballot did not pre vent party bosses obtaining control of the machinery of caucus and conven tion. The natural demand is for super vision of the nominating machinery, for open enrollment and the open primary regulated by law and supervised by legally constituted offlcera The reform in the method of 'nominating party can didates logically followed the establish ment of a secret ballot, but new sys tems of political reform machinery are worthless for good unless the people behind them are in deadly earnest. There never was a system ofMmproved railway signals devised for the preven tion of accidents that was absolutely automatic The efficacy of the system finally rests upon some man who bears the responsibility and faithfully dis charges it. It is so with improved po litical reform machinery; it Is never au tomatlc. If the opposition to Mayor Ames had done their duty, he never would have been nominated. A bad man may be nominated under any im proved system of political machinery. If the people support him or are Indifferent to his success. On the whole, therefore, there does not seem to be anything In the election of Mayor Ames that discredits the dl rect primary system. It may be abused or neglected, like any other well-con trived system of political machinery. If the people are corrupt or indifferent to the success of corruption, of course the primary election system will not save them from the consequences of their own folly and wickedness. The ship may be seaworthy and stanch, 'and yet be run on the rocks by Ignorant navigators or scuttled by pirates. WILLIAM DECLINES TO DISARM. The refusal of the German Emperor to approve of the King of Italy's pro posal for a contraction of European armaments is Justified by the situation. Italy is carrying a burden of military taxation In excess of her resources, and naturally desires disarmament, but the German Emperor knows that while the triple alliance has a nominal life, it is visibly crumbling. German authorities say that Germany is losing Austria and Italy as hard-and-fast allies. The pres ent triple alliance will not actively out last the life of the present Emperor of Austria. His successor Is not German In his sympathies, and he has a Czech wife. The Czechs hate the Germans, for their harsh treatment of the Polea Italy's ' sympathies are with France. Austria is on excellent terms with Rus sia. Neither Austria nor Italy are In a position to help Germany in her pres ent ambition to become a world power through her policy of commercial and colonial expansion. The German Emperor "knows tljat the triple alliance Is really become nothing but a rope of sand; that Austria and Italy are both unable and unwilling to back Germany's progressive policy In the future; he knows that the safety and the growth of Germany are as sured by her military supremacy. Her army today on a peace footing exceeds 600,000 men, and her armies on a war footing amount to a grand total of 5.7SS.000 men and 6f 250,000 officers. This leaves France far in the rear, and ex ceeds Russia's nominal total by 600,000. Germany alone Is today more than a match for the combined forces of Rus sia and France. Germany cannot af ford to disarm, so long as Russia and France are alllea The present Isolation of Germany In Europe explains why Emperor William loses no opportunity of courting the friendship of both Ens land and the United States. The Ger man Emperor knows that England alone could drive his navy oft the seas; he knows that Germany could not stand as a world power against England and the United States. The German Emperor long ago per ceived that a close understanding with England and the United States is Germany's- safest policy, and to this end he has been shaping his course. Under the present circumstances, when Ger many is without a real, active, efficient ally on the Continent. It is absurd to ask the Emperor to consent to reduced armament; he not only will keep the ranks of his splendid armies full, but he will cultivate friendships with a view to reducing his present great naval inferiority to France and Russia. AN UNPARALLELED ACHIEVEMENT. The thrifty Boers are going about the work of restoring and restocking 'their wasted country with the same vigor ous spirit In which they prosecuted the recent .war. Their war leaders have turned promptly to the business- of peace and apparently have no larger ambition than to re-establish the Indus trial prosperity of the country upon the general lines existing before the war. The Boers are a race of farmers, and they turn by instinct and preference to the.soll rather than to the mines of their country, which, almost without excep tion, are operated under the direction and by the force of Outlander or Kaffir labor. The fund conceded by England In the treaty of peace for the restoration of the country will soon be available, and to the end that It shall be employed to the best advantage representative Boers are making studies of agricultural methods In the most progressive countries of the world. Leading men are going in pairs to England, France, the United States and elsewhere, commissioned to look carefully Into conditions in these coun tries with a view to selecting what Is best; and before the fund is expended their reports will be compared and con sidered. The American committee Is composed of Generals Dewet and De- larey, who are soon to arrive, and it is announced that they will spend sev eral months here, going to all parts of the country where the conditions bear any resemblance to those in the Trans vaal. This mission is one of the great est Importance, and it can scarcely fall to have a beneficial effect upon the in dustrial alms and practice of the Boer farmers. When once they are Informed of the status of agriculture here, made acquainted with Its methods, pro vided with its implements and stocked with its proved domestic, breeds, they are not likely to gobicfi&'nhe primi tive and obsolete DractIceMrtder which their industry was-Jjandieapped prior to the war. History does not afford a-parallel In stance of a people who, ih losing all in the hazard of war, gained so much as has the Boer race, In this late terrible and protracted conflict At the begin ning of their contentions with England the Boers were the most obscure and disregarded race of European stock on the face of the earth. In the very na ture of things. If they had been let alone the race would have been over whelmed and absorbed in course of time. But the war which wasted their country, destroyed their homes, broke their political Independence and nearly decimated their numbers, has given to the race a new and probably a perma nent lease of life. It has emphasized their nationality and established them as a special people in the world's re opect, secured for them under the strongest guarantees self-government with the perpetuation of conditions cal culated to preserve their laws and lan guage, with such provision in ready money for the restoration of their homes and farms ao will enable them to re place an antiquated and outworn sys tern with one better suited to this age and to the progress of their country. No other country ever found Itself pos sessed through defeat of such striking advantages. No other race ever so es tablished Its character and secured a fixed and honorable status in the world through the process of losing its inde pendent national existence. REPETITION' HAMMERED .ON THE EAR. Mr. Robert H. Wilson, of Oswego, set forth an old proposition in vigorous language In a communication published Monday In which he demanded that politics be ignored in the selection of superintendents and other officers of the Penitentiary and Insane Asylum. It cannot be said that any new reasons in support of this Idea were advanced by Mr. Wilson. The subject has, indeed, been gone over so often and so thor oughly that any argument that can be presented in its behalf is in the very na ture of things but "repetition hammered on the ear." No one will or can take issue with the plain statement that "the management of the Penitentiary and Insane Asylum should be entirely re moved from politics, and their entire staffs, from top to bottom, be selected with a sole view to competency." The statement of a self-evident fact does not call for a demonstration, although one Is occasionally put upon the boards in support of this one with dramatic power and telling effect. To place In experienced persons that. Is to say, per sons who have not come up from and through the ranks of prison service In the higher and more responsible posl tlons in prison management, Is danger ous. The desperate character of the men whom these officers are required to keep in subjection and confinement Is sufficient to support this proposition. To place men who are untrained In the care or unskilled In the treatment of the insane in charge of these pitiably helpless creatures is inhuman. There Id no chance for argument here. And yet the superintendent and most If not all of the employes, who hold responsible positions in these institutions, are changed to meet political changes In the state . administration every four years, and the haphazard work goes on, That the system Is cot more distinctly disastrous than It Is is due to the sim ple fact that men, when confronted by grave responsibility, can usually be de pended upon to rise to nreet It consci entiously and set themselves with dili gence to the task of acquiring such knowledge of their duties as only ex perience brings. Even at the best, how ever, four years, the usual limit of a term of such service, are not long enough to acquire the skill and discern ment of an alienist or the experience and Judgment of a criminologist. But, as said in the beginning, these things combine to present an old story. without even new language for Its set ting. A chapter can be added Is add ednow and then, but without giving strength .or variety to the presentment It is to the credit of enlightened hu man nature that while It meets failure In this effort. It does not acknowledge defeat, but comes up vigorously to the attack as often as events give excuse for Its renewal. Opposed to it Is a sys tem of political rewards- that Is so deeply Intrenched In partisan politics as to be practically invincible. The most discouraging subject for re form is he who acknowledges his error. accepts criticism upon his pernicious course or habit as Just, even perhaps adding self-censure thereto, "yet who persists in the line of conduct that has called out remonstrance. Viewed from this standpoint, the fact that politicians themselves confess judgment upon every count of the indictment upon which they are arraigned, that of "working" the Penitentiary and Insane Asylum in the Interest of politics, dis courages the hope of reform In this practice. Still, we are told by Mr. Wil son that "some of the older states have already made a move in this direction, and others are preparing to do so." This Is In a limited sense encouraging, though It may be well to remember that reforms of this kind- move slowly, and there Is no prospect that this one will reach this state In the near future, since It Is more than probable that all matters of this kind are "fixed" for the next four years. Trades-unionism has not made faster progress than have the devices for shielding employing capital from dicta tion of employes. Both have developed greatly and both show the effects of civilization. The problem of higher or ganization is one that holds for the wage-earners much more than merely the power to force justlde from the close fist of capital. Its solution requires higher intelligence in ordering the re lations of wage-earners with wage-earn ers, and it extends to every contact of laboring men with the Industrial and social world. They need this higher or ganization for their own good, outside of the consideration that It gives force to their demands for fair wages and conditions. The quality of organiza tion that will win an economic battle will demand better standards of living; and these will redeem the earth for both labor and capital. The Massachusetts Bureau of Statis tics, in Its recent report on the prices and the cost of living, compares the retail prices for 1902 with similar re turns collected In 1872, 1881 and 1897. The qpst of food has Increased since 1897 by 1L16 per cent, and since 1872 it hap decreased by 19.97 per cent Rent has increased since 1897 by 52.43 per cent Not only will the dollar of today pur chase more of the necessities and luxu ries of life than In 1872, but the average man Is getting more dollars for a given time of labor. Nevertheless, the gain in real wages obtained by the w'age-earner has been attended by a still greater ad vance In the standard of .living, so that the average family Is", saving less to day than thirty years, ago. This may be partly due to the abolition of child labor. A much larger percentage of the families showed a deficiency of Income In 1902 than In 1875. An unbroken line of electric, roads now connects Boston and New York by way of Springfield, paralleling the steam lines all the way. The distance is about 240 miles. A long-distance trolley line is now being formed out of existing local roads, and will connect Toledo and Cincinnati, a distance of 204 miles. The organizers of this enter prise will run a fast through service of sleeping, parlor and buffet cars, and also a freight service. In New England the steam roads are seeking to come Into possession or control of all parallel trolley lines, expecting In this way to crush the threatened competition of the electric roads, and to extend the steam monopoly so as to Include all lines of rail transportation: This scheme. If successful, would destroy the trolley lines as low-priced carriers. It Is a serious thing for a policeman to shoot an unruly boy who refuses to stop when ordered to do so; It is also a serious thing to allow an unruly boy. the leader of an obstreperous gang of mischief-makers, to go unwhlpt of Jus tice. Since in the case of the lad Charles Boggess the .wound happened to be a superficial one, letting blood enough to frighten but not severe enough to cripple him, the man behind the gun may well be leniently dealt with the more so in that the incident has "broken up the gang." A lad dis posed to malicious mischief cannot learn too early that penalty follows trans gression. It Is fortunate for all con cerned if the lesson does not entail serl ous consequences. Nevertheless, be It remembered that any rate on grain from the Columbia River to tidewater which enables it to be hauled over the longer route and the mountain grades to Puget Sound Is an excessive and unreasonable rate. The demand of the farmers should be fixed upon a rate based upon the short est haul over the easiest grades. There is stilfanother test; If Mr. Hill Is dead in earnest there will be no lobby at Olympla this coming Winter. But really, if this institution should be abol ished, what would become of most of the leading citizens of Washington? .Money distributed among the farmers of Washington In the form of reduced grain rates is much more wisely and decently spent than money paid over to the sharks of the Olympla lobby. Governor McBrlde's avowed purpose, after all, has- been to get the railroads out of politics, and perhaps he will be just as well pleased with one method cf accomplishing this as another. It Is all very nice for Cullom and the rest of them to shout for tariff reform In dog days, .but how will they vote next Winter? Ia the opinion of the farmers of the Palouse region. President Mohler Is one of the wost eloquent msn aUy. CERTAINTY AND THE LAV. San Francisco Bulletin. Ten thousand years hence, when man kind shall have passed the stage of bar barism in which It is at present and shall have begun to approach true civiliza tion, readers of history will smile at the crude ideas of law and Justice which pre vail In the present century. We fancy, now, that we are fairly well advanced, and that reason guides most of our actions, but In many things we are childishly foolish and paradoxical. Consider, for example, the way litigation Is conducted In the courts of Europe and the United States. Suppose that a rail way train has run over and Injured a man, and that he has brought an action for damages against the company. The defendant will demur to the complaint on the ground that It does not state a causa of action, and counsel on both sides will prepare lengthy arguments. If the demur rer has any merit at all both, parties will have shoals of precedents in support of their respective sides, for an industrious lawyer can find authorities to support al most any contention, however nonsensical, he may please to make. Courts have been deciding cases for centuries, and all these cases are quotable as authorities. If some judicial Ignoramus makes an un reasonable decision In Texas or North Da kota his decision has more or less weight In California, and will be quoted Impres sively by the lawyer who finds It apt The perplexity and contrariety of au thorities on most law points really puts the Judge pack on his own reason, for the authorities nullify one another. Now the Judge's reason Is merely his opinion, and his opinion depends on many conditions on his quality of intellect, on his age. on his personal experiences, on his education. on his prejudices, on the condition of his stomach and on the amount of sleep he had during the night before ho forms hl3 opinion. Therefore the court's rullnjr on the point of law raised in the case Is at bottom dependent on chance. There Is an appeal to a higher court, but the de cision above Is quite as clearly a matter of speculation as the decision below. In the estate of Fair, for Instance, the Su preme Court of California reversed Its own judgment in a case which involved Immense internets, which had been ex haustively argued by counsel, and to which, the Justices had given months of thought and research before rendering the first Judgment on appeal. On both de cisions the seven Justices stood four against three, and it Is not unusual for the Supreme Court to be divided and to reverse itself. Is it not clear, then, that there Is no more certainty In litigation than there Is In dicing? Chance enters quite as deeply Into trials of questions of fact as It does into ques tions of pure law. Nothing la more un certain than the verdict of a Jury. Fre quently, when the same damage case is tried twice, one Jury will award the plain tiff $10,000 and another Jury on a retrial will award him only $1000. In a will case ono jury will sustain a will that another Jury will break. In short, the result of a trial on Issue of fact Is determined chiefly by the drawing of Jurors' names from the box exactly ns the result of a lottery is determined. The skill of counsel rather Increases than decreases the part played by chance In litigation, for It can help defendants to escape a Just liability or plaintiffs to recover, an unjust verdict. If the outcome of litigation In this day, with all our lawyers and our law libra ries, is as unforseeablo and as dependent on chance as is the turn of the card in faro or the turn of the wheel in rouge et nolr, what Is the use of keeping up an expensive and cumbrous system of Judi cature? Why not adopt the cadi system of the Arabs and give a judge absolute and final power In the exercise of his common sense? Why not go back to the trial by battle, in which our forefathers settled disputes by physical force? Why not revive the trial by Are. through which our pious but shrewd ancestors; by re quiring defendants to walk through flames, passed all litigation directly up to heaven and gave the ddty an opportunity to perform a miracle In order to save the Innocent from wrong? There are mani fest and manifold objections to these systems of determining causes, but they are as likely to produce Justice as Is our own1 system and they have tho special merit not possessed by our system, of being speedy, inexpensive and conclusive. Roosevelt's Soft Side. Philadelphia Post The strenuoslty of President Roosevelt and his liking for rough sports, hard living, his brusqueness of manner, etc, have led many to suppose that there Is no soft side to his nature. But one of his traits, conspicuously different from the character with which he Is commonly credited, was displayed a few afternoons ago. Ia company with Secretary Root he had been enjoying a horseback rido to Chevy Chase. On their return, casing up from the vigorous gait of the outing, they were Jogging along Sixteenth street near the Henderson castle, when a series of plaintive tries attracted the Presi dent's attention. "What Is It?" asked Secretary Root "Kittens, I think." replied the Presi dent turning his horse around. "And they seem to be in distress." Then tho Chief Magistrate began an Investigation and discovered that the melancholy chorus Issued from the open catch-basin of a sewer. The President beckoned to two urchins who, from an awed distance, were ad miringly watching the performance. "Will ono of you boys crawl Into the opening while the other holds his legs?" President Roosevelt asked. Sport like that with tho greatest per- sonage In the united States as umpire could come reasonably only once In a lifetime, and the boys fairly tumbled to the opportunity. "That's the stuff!" exclaimed the Presi dent "Now, what do you find there?" "Cats In a bag," shrilled the boy with his head In the sewer. The other boy sturdily clung to his companion's legs. The kittens, unaware that their plight had stirred the sympathies of the head of the Nation, and that their deliverance waa at hind, walled as If a new calamity were about to strike. "Drag them out" came tho command. -In a moment the President of the United States, the Secretary of War and two excited youngsters stood around the rescued litter. Three forlorn kittens struggled feebly. Then the wrath of the leader who had slaughtered wild game and shot down armed men in battle blized forth Into epithets upon the wretch who had flung the kittens to die in slow agony. The commotion brought out a wonder ing butler from a neighboring residence. "Will you care for these kittens?" asked the President; "give them milk and a place to live?" Had the man been asked to accept a Cabinet portfolio he could not have re sponded with more eagerness. The President thanked him, told the astonished little urchins they were lit tle men and. Joining Secretary Root, moved on to the White House. "Gently to the Errlnsr." Los Angeles Herald. A bewlldered-looklng gentleman was standing on the corner of Second and Spring. "Where is Broadway?" he asked of a policeman. "Just one block away," said the cop per, pointing toward tho west and turn ing to his duties. Half an hour later he turned toward the place where tho Inquirer hid been, and there ho stood, still gazing helpless ly toward the coveted thoroughfare. At first the policeman was inclined to be impatient Then a great light dawned upon him. He approached the stranger and said: "Who are you?" "I am a deputy Sheriff from Seattle," he replied, with tears In his eyes. The policeman apologized profusely and took the poor man by the arm. never releasing his hold until the stranger, W99 cafe J0O Broadway, BRYANISM'S IMMORTALITY. Minneapolis Tribune. The speech of William J. Bryan In Bos ton Is a plain declaration- of the Ideas to which he owes his personal following, made on a conspicuous platform. It will not do to treat these Ideas as those of Mr. Bryan alone. They are enthusiasti cally indorsed by a large number of vot ers. In the East a3 well as In the West There Is a Bryan Democracy In New England as menacing to party union as any In Illinois or Minnesota. It is as fatally opposed to what Is stHI called the Cleveland Democracy as that in Wiscon sin or Nebraska. The speech of Mr. Bryan is a definite advertisement not only of the views of this branch of the party, but of their large following In It. This speech should be read "beside the late Interview of Mr. Vilas, for the best understanding of the aims and principles of, the two Democratic parties. These are as fatally opposite as any two par ties that ever contended for mastery In this country. The Cleveland Democ racy Is practically Republican on every question except that of the tariff. It is willing even to waive the expansion issue as an accomplished fact. It deals with the trust issue only as an out growth of what It considers the vicious principle of protection. The other Demo cratic party has a broader foundation, It opposes everything Republican on principle, whether it be sound financial legislation, encouragement of domestic prosperity, the natural expansion of vital people or the resistless extension of a commerce based on superior producing capacity. Mr. Bryan puts the whole spirit of this opposition In his speech, when he de noucces as aristocratic the Ideas, prin ciplcs and methods common to the Re publicans and the Cleveland Democracy. That which he condemns is the laws and principles of finance and trade, govern ment and society, worked out by human experience and the common property of men of education of whatever political faith. What he seeks Is to rally tho prejudice of the hour against eternal principles: to array human capacity and unthrlft that have failed against human industry and prudence .that have suc ceeded; to arouse the poor against the rich; to Inflame the proletariat to as saults upon property, and Involve busi ness and government, Industry and society in a common anarchy by denying to hu man differences of capacity the common fruitage of difference of human condition. There Is no denying that this Is genu ine democracy in the Immortal cense of demagogues of all times. It Is as old as the Athenian republic, and it will last as long as the Democratic experiment lasts on earth. It Is a mighty wholesome 'thing. too arid the soundest government we have rests upon compromise between It and the opposite extreme. This com promise has been followed by all Ameri can government of either party. The Democracy represented by Bryan has made a noise In campaigns but it never carried an election and won the fruit of lt victory. Even Bryan could not do this. Were he made President he, too, like Jefferson and Jackson, would come under restraint of the laws of accumu lated human experience. THE EVILS OF RACE PREJUDICE Chicago Tribune. - Mr. James A. Le Roy, who spent two years in the Philippines as private secre tary to Commissioner Worcester, calls at tention In an article In the Atlantic on "Race Prejudice in the Philippines." to one of the obstacles to the creation of a cordial understanding between Americans and Filipinos. It Is that the Americans have carried to the Philippines "a petty race prejudice, the offspring of past pro vincialism and the Inheritance of slavery." The color line which is drawn in this country is drawn, by some Americans in the Philippines. Tho Malay Is not a ne gro. He is as distinct from the African as he Is from the European. There are Americans who are not aware of the dis tinction and hold In common contempt Filipinos and Africans. The men or women of no race enjoy being looked down upon. Unfortunately, there are Americans who think they are immeasurably above any Filipino and are tactless enough to let It be seen. They will not admit the possibility of social equality between themselves and Filipinos, although Filipinos differ as much among themselves as Americans do. Some Fili pinos arc well educated and well man nered. Indeed, as a rule, the Filipinos have a natural courtesy of manner which is not always found among Americans. The evil which Mr. Le Roy points out is one which It Is hard to cure. It Is ex tremely difficult for men who belong to a race which Is or thinks itself a "superior race" to get along without friction with men of an assumed Inferior race espe cially an Asiatic race The consciousness of superiority Is apt to betray Itself and to provoke resentment. Comparatively few men can at all times rise superior to their real or fancied racial superiority anil make the men of the baokward races whom they are sent to govern feel that they are looked on with respect, not dis dain. If the majority of Americans In the Philippines members of the civil service. Army officers and business men can live among Filipinos without being contempt uous or condescending, the success of the great experiment which the United States Is trying In the Islands will be assured. It will not be difficult to govern the Philip pines If the Americans who go there will act on the theory that the statement In the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal" means that all men, no matter how backward may be tho race to which they belong, are en titled to be treated with common courtesy and ordinary consideration. Selection of Nurses. Leslie's Weekly. One among several important lessons to be derived from the awful story of con fessed crime related by Jane Toppan. the Boston woman. Is the need of exercising great care In the selection of nurses for sick, feeble and helpless people. By the very conditions and circumstances under which their service Is rendered, such per sons can do an Infinite amount of mischief and positive Injury with the slightest pos sible chance of detection. In the case of infants. Imbecile people and persons re duced to general helplessness by disease, maltreatment of the worrt sort may be secretly practiced with little or no danger of exposure and no retaliation from the victims. Injuries occurring to such unfor tunates, when discovered, can easily bn explained away as the result of natural causes. . Bad Postapre Stamp Books. Brooklyn Eagle. The Postoffice Department Is having con siderable trouble with Its postage stamp books owing to the use of a poor quality of paraffin paper to which the stamps ad here. Numerous complaints have been re ceived at the department of stamps that have been ruined In the effort to separate them from the paraffin sheets. The de partment has decided to redeem from the public all such defective books at their full value, and In the meantime a better quality of parafiln paper will be used. Jean. Robert Burns. Of a' tho airts the wind, can blaw I dearly like the West. For thero the bonnle lassie lives. The lasFlo lo'e best; There wild woods grow, and rivers row. And mony a hill between: But day'and night my fancy's flight Is ever wl' my Jean. I see her In the dewy flowers, I see her sweet and fair; I hear her in the tunefu birds, I hear her charm the air: There's not a bonnle flower that springs By fountains, shaw or green. There's not a bonnle bird thai .ilDga, "But minds jns. tf jp issa. NOTE AND cqIMENT. Cuba is to borrow 53000.000. This la the first step toward annexation. Although this Is hot weather to pay taxes, it j docs not stay off the day oC delinquency. A J40 fine was Imposed' upon a Jap tho other day for vagrancy. Was it because he was a Jap? Higher taxes for blllbcards. Thaf right; let's make the billboards luxuries, and then we may appreciate them. It looks as If the Dercocrats would not have to go outside th party for a permanent Issue. Bryan Is still In It If Cudlhee and Tracy realy have been so hard after each other.' we'd like to know which of the two has cold feet They are having pent-up, troublesome times In France. Will they have to re turn to the Dreyfus scandai, after all? "Sullivan" Is the commonest name in Boston. And the mortification of It all ia that its pedigree doesn't run back to 1620. The Crown Prince of Slam Is much impressed with the magnitude of tali country. He got his Impression from his father's dear friend, Mr. John Bar rett. The drunkard who failed to kill either his wife or himself was sorry he waa alive. Now he will have occasion to b sorrier. People are cautioned against building cities on tho northwest corner of Mar tinique Island. All of us who intended to emigrate to the island are grateful for the ad vie. Why, of course, the reward will ba paid for the capture of Tracy. But If anybody thinks he will get the reward without working for it, he is mistaken, like Mrs. Waggoner. Yes, indeed, we all pay too high rail road freight charges. But if we all speak at once we are not likely to get what we- want, even though we go to railroad presidents about It Democracy Is in great; want of cam paign money: yes. Indeed. Lack of Issues makes money all the more necessary. When a party has neither a man nor an Issue nor money, things look dubious; Indeed they do. Perhaps Tracy Is touring the State of Washington to show his contempt of Sheriffs, for we understand there is a Sheriff In each county. Perhaps If some body else than a Sheriff would go after Tracy the result would be different It'3 not what you think of yourself, but what the community thinks of you that makes life worth living, if you arc a selfish man. remember you are a member of a community, and the Lewl3 and Clark Fair Is- an enterprise of tho community. Mr. Hanna received a cane as a present from his street railway employes. No, Indeed, we don't blame Mr. Hanna for rejoicing over a present from working men. In fact we don't know of any person who should be more gratified than Mr. Hanna by such a gift Tho Klmr of Italy nronoses reduction of armaments. The Czar proposes sub jugation of trusts by International agreement. After all, the only king over there with horse sense Is J. P. Morgan, -and he looks better in court knickerbockers than any of them. Kruger fled from his country. Botha fought and surrendered. The one de clared the Lord would drive out the British; the other tried himself to drive' out the British. Now Botha advises his- people to make the beat of British rule. Is it difficult to choose the greater man? As a result of the conferences between tho farmers and tho railroad presidents we see the other side of the page of ethics. Railroads may have a grievance against farmers when cultivators of the soil are not progressive and up to date. This Is something novel, surely. It teaches us not to be so Intent upon the shortcomings of others as to ba blind to our own. Elk meat was the chief food of Lewli and Clark In this country 97 years ago. Between December 1. 1S05, and March 20, 1S06. the explorers killed 131 elk and 20 deer, according to Patrick Gass, a, Sergeant of the eompany. The Lewis and Clark journal says: Every day, parties, as large as we could spare them from our other occupations, wera sent out to hunt, and we were thus enabled to command rome days' provision In advance. It consisted chiefly ot deer and elk: tho first is very lean and the flesh Is by no means as good as that of the elk. which Is Indeed our chief dependence. 13 tho Order of Elks well named? As Is known, the order took Its name from that animal of America. But that ani mal Is not the real elk. The genuine elk, alces machlls, Is a European ani mal and much resembles our moose. The American elk Is a true cervus, a relative of the red deer or stag, bart and hind of Europe. Hence, If "elk" is applicable to any American animal If Is properly applicable to the moose. In stead of what we call the elk. The Eu ropean elk and the American moose have broad, flat low antlers and are in many other ways differentiated from the Eu ropean stag or American "elk." However, the European name had be come fixed to the present so-called elk. even before the time of Lewis and Clark, and, of course. It is now fixed that way for all time. PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGKAPHEItS A Home Remedy. "Do you think coal oil U good for mosquitos?" "I think a hard slap U better." Cleveland Plain Dealer. Then the Struggle Began. Wood Extreme meet. Tucker They do. Tonight I ate som angel cake and deviled ham. Puck. Customer Have you anything that Is good for falling hair? Facetious Clerk How would a waste-basket do? Chicago Daily News. A Summer Engagement. "Was their engage ment a happy one?" "Oh, yes. very! They both married somebody else." Philadelphia Bulletin. "Oh. Lord." he said, as he knelt at his bed sldo one evening, "make me a good little boy. I asked you the other day to do It, and you didn't." Chicago Tribune. She Do you think we can get along without that cook, dear? He Sure. Why, If the worst comes, you can do the cooking and I can get my meals at a restaurant. Life. Days ot Chivalry Gone. Wife (drearily) Ah. me! The days ot chivalry are past. Husband "What's the matter now? "Sir Walter Raleigh laid his cloak on the ground for Queen Eliza beth to walk over, but you get mad 'simply because poor, dear mother sat down en your hat." New York Weekly. A ilental Strain. "These teachers." growls the first man. "have no mercy on th young minds Intrusted to their care." "What havo they done now?" asks the second man. "Why, my boy came home yesterday In a state of -collapse because his teacher Insists upon his tell ing her how many times the Philippine War waa jn EaliJE&arsL Atatrlcaa. I