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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1903)
6 THE MORNING OHEGONIAN, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1903. he (Dregmticm EntereS at the Postoffles at Portland, Oregon as second-class matter. REYIEED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Halt (postage prepaid, la advance) TJally. with Sunday, per month ....I M Sallr. Sunday excepted, per Tear....... W Dally, with Sunday, per year Sunday, per year 3 00 The Weekly, per year...... ...... 1 60 The Weekly. 3 month 60 To City Subscribers P"r. per week, delivered. Sunday eieepted.Wo Oally. per week, delivered. Sunday induded.20o POSTAGE) RATES. United Statei. Canada and Mexico: 10 to 14-pare paper ......lo it to 23-pace paper 3a Foreign rates double. News or discussion Intended for publication In The Oreronlan should be addressed Inrarta. bly "Editor The Ortgonlxn." not to the name of ay Individual. Letters relating to adver t!lr.ff. subscription or to any business matter should be addressed amply "The Oreronlan." The Orecontan does not buy poem or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts seat to it without solici tation. No stamps should be Inclosed for this Purpose. Eastern Business Office. X 4. i. T. . Tribune bulldlnr. New Tork City: 510-11-12 Tribune bulldlnc. Chicago; the S. C Beckwltn Epeclal Agenry. Eastern representative. For sale ta Ean Francisco by L. E. Lee. Pal ses Hotel news stand; Goldsmith Bros.. 236 Eutter street; F. W. Pitts. 1003 UarLet street; J. K. Cooper Co.. 716 Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Foster & Orear. Ferry news stand: Frank Scott. 80 Ellis street, and X. Wheatley. 81X Mission street. For sale in Los Anreles by B. F. Gardner. 239 South Eprlnr street, and Oliver A Halnea. SOS South Eprlnc street. For sale In Kansas City. o, by Rldcsecker Clear Co., Ninth and WaJcut street. For sale in Chicago by the P. O. New Co ll" Dearborn street, and Charles MacDonald. C3 Washington street. For sale In Omaha by Barkalow Bros- 1G12 Farnam street: Megeath Stationery Co, 130S Farnam street. For sale ta Salt Lake by the Salt take News Co.. T? West Second South street. For rale In Washington. D. C. by the Ebbett House news stand. For sale in Denver. Colo., by Hamilton Kendrlck. 808-012 Seventeenth street; Louthan t Jackson Book and Stationery Co.. Fifteenth and Lawrence streets; A. Series. Sixteenth and Curtis streets. TODAY'S "WEATHER Increasing: cloudiness, probably followed by showers; southeasterly winds. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum, tem perature, SO: minimum temperature, 20; pre cipitation, none. POIITLAAD, TUKSDAY, FRB. 17, 103. AG A IX "TIIC UNSPEAKABLE TCIUC" The quarrels that are convulsing Macedonia and the sympathetic unrest that pervades Greece and Bulgaria at bottom are racial and religious. In Macedonia the trouble is fostered by Greece and Bulgaria, through racial an tipathies, national aspirations and hos tility to Mohammedanism. Bulgaria has a good deal of spirit, and wants to develop Into full independence or find absorption In the great Slav Empire of which Ruesia Is the head. Greece has as little of the high spirit necessary to nationality as when Byron deplored her degeneracy; but she leans on Western Europe, which sustains her as a bul wark against the Mohammedan Turk, while she remains herself a steady if sot monumental example of disorder, pusillanimity and mlsgovernrnent. Greece Is continually plucking the Turk by the beard, and is saved from the consequences of her temerity only by the Jealousy of the great powers, who protect her. Long ago Russia would have expelled the Turk and all his works from Europe but for the fact that the "Western powers could not allow Russia the pre-eminence such result would have given her in the affairs of the world. But Bulgaria and Greece, .under pro- tectlon of the great powers, feel that they can go very far in their hostility to the Turk. Macedonia, therefore, much disposed towards revolutionary movement and little under the restraint of fear, is In chronic unrest largely through their machinations. At bottom of it all are racial differences and re ligious contentions; with disorder and mlsgovernment wherever the Turk Is present and in power. To superficial viewlt seems a wonder that that anach ronism, the Turkish Empire, can last so long. To two circumstances this is due. One Is the fear among the pow ers that Russia would obtain too much advantage. The other Is the vigor of the Mohammedan religion, which con stantly gives the government of the Sul tan a devoted and fanatical support. It Is not merely the play of one of the powers against another that keeps the Sultan on the throne. Behind this Is the hidden strength of a religion that holds the subjects of the Sultan to gether. To them he Is a hlerarch, the representative, the exponent, the great caliph, of Mohammedanism. Christianity long ago lost its opportu nity of crushing Mohammedanism; for the spirit of toleration has become too strong to permit further crusades against "the Turk end infidel Tet the spirit of Mohammedanism Is the key of all the Sultan's conduct and the source of all his power over his subjects. Thus sustained at home by the devotion of the followers of Islam, protected from external attack by the Jealousy of the powers of the Christian world, though disturbed continually on his frontiers and In his outer provinces by an unrest fostered through religious and racial an tipathies of peoples over whom his rule Tet remains, the Sultan still holds be fore the world the attitude of the "un-; speakable Turk," and will hold It ret indefinitely. He has forces enough to quell all risings In Macedonia, and to whip the dwarfish war and pigmy arms of Greece and Bulgaria back into their territories; and the powers of Christen dom will interfere only so far as to keep each other from aggressive advance upon his dominions. These "war clouds" in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece will yield no peals of thunder. MUST GO CP TIIE1 DESCHUTES. Approval of the reclamation contract of the Pilot Butte Development Com pany, In the Deschutes Valley, rather sharpens the question of transportation for that country. The truth Is that the transcontinental railroads do not care to open up more timber country. Their lines already have all the lumber traffic they can handle conveniently; Indeed, the preponderance of tonnage eastward Is so great that thousands of empty cars are hauled west for the accommo dation of the lumber business of the Pa cific. Northwest. Now, hauling empty cars Is clear loss to the railroads, and they don't care to increase this move ment. Opening new lumber territory would do it. The natural increase of the business adjacent to lines already open they cannot escape, but they do sot, under the circumstances, feel like going to the expense of building or sup porting new mileage that will Increase their traffic troubles. Lumber and ore promise immediate traffic from the Upper Deschutes coun try. The lumber Isn't wanted, and some doubt still hangs over the ore. That CQnnt3 top anal hi" la certain railroad circles. But, now that agricultural de velopment Is assured through the In strumentality of irrigation, the question Is given another phase. Settlers will go in. even if the railroad does not. though they, of course, would gather much more rapidly If there were ade quate transportation facilities. "With a large volume of agricultural products seeking market and a large demand for merchandise from the outside. It Is not likely that the Upper Deschutes will long lock a railroad. Undesirable as the timber traffic may be. It must be taken with the other factors of the case. And then the mines will have oppor tunity to show what is In them. Now. the question arises, "Will this In evitable railroad connection be with Portland, or with San Francisco, or with the East? Portland must In every possible way strengthen herself In the Upper Deschutes Valley and establish relations that will forbid raping that country with a railroad from distant trade centers that have no Interest in it except that of a commercial profit. Po litical and social relations must always be with "Western Oregon. It would be economic crime to drive trade relations elsewhere. OLD AND NEW DISEASES. The number of persons stricken fa tally with heart disease, acute indiges tion, etc., seems astonishingly large; and In some cases the attacks appear to have come without warning. It Is per fectly certain that high living and phys ical Inaction, consequent upon the strenuous living and- gayety of modern life, subjects the race to greater strain in many ways, intensifying some com plaints, simultaneously with the advan tage gained by medical science over other ailments which were wont to fructify the death-rate. The human frame, apparently, stirs up new enemies from ambush as fast as it puts the old ones hors de combat. Smallpox, for example, is fast losing Its terrors. Few well-regulated com munities are now without some rare Isolated cases at all times; but nobody thinks of going into panic on account of It. Once It was a goblin as horrible as the Black Death of Europe or the Red Death of Romance. Whole settle ments of Algonqulns and Hurons were wiped out of existence by it In New France, and even thirty years ago Its coming struck terror to countless com munities in the Northern States every Winter. Vaccination and sanitary prog ress have narrowed Its purview and apparently minimized Its virulence. The medical journals comment upon Its mild form. Few of its victims ore pit ted as in the old days; and we know better how to copo with it. Through some subtle influence of heredity and physical development, even the unvac clnated have less to fear from Its rav ages than In former times. Yellow fever is losing Its terrors. It has been stamped out of Havana and in our Southern States It no longer par alyzes an entire population with sus pense and fear. Diphtheria, also. Is so effectively fought with sanitation and serums that It comes more rarely and seldom proves fatal. Consumption is hardly curable as yet, but Its spread has been checked through precautions, its inclpency is more effectively met, its promotive conditions are better un derstood, and thousands are living com fortably through medicine and change of residence who would have died under the treatment of thirty years ago. Sur gery has mitigated very many fatal ail ments, notably among women, and the athletic craze has conspired with Chris tian Science and kindred doctrines to rescue a great army from hypochon dria, debility and decay. Scientific tem perance has lessened the mortality of business men, and even venereal dis eases have been shorn of much of thels once deadly power. It is an advocated though perhaps not an accepted theory that moderns have been largely ren dered immune from syphilis Itself through Inheritance. On the other hand, diseases multiply. Some of them have existed before un der more general terms. Appendicitis, for example, has doubtless been often treated for peritonitis. The rise of spe cialists has given to many ailments a new terminology, which probably makes something for precision and accuracy, the while it ministers to the patient's due submission and the Esculaplan halo of omniscience. Your disease will depend something upon the school of practitioners you affect, and so will its treatment. The multitude of new schools, regular, irregular, crazy and criminal, that have sprung up on the prolific soil of human frailty and Ignor ance have probably created as many new and strange disorders as they have professed to discover. Tbe Ingenious have been busy with massage and me chanical appliances and the dieting and rest cures and colored glasses that have been brought to bear upon physiog nomy and anatomy have served to en rich the dictionary as well as the drug store. Advancing foreign commerce has brought us overseas more than one alien disorder. The Black Death, un der the name of bubonic plague, has found Its way across the Pacific from Asia. Its ravages are not severe, and It seems tempered to our American blood like the mild form of smallpox our soldiers brought home from the Philippines. The plague is doubtless continuous at San Francisco, but In a much milder form than in tropical Asia. Thirteen years or so ago la grippe also made its appearance, apparently from Russia, by way of Europe, but possibly, like the bubonic plague, from Asia, where It has long prevailed. These Im ported diseases, especially la grippe, have made sad Inroads on our health and population. Indirectly the grip Is the source of many deaths through the enfeebled condition in which It leaves Its victim, the prey to attacks on his weakest point. Meanwhile home manufacture has not been idle. It Is doubtful whether we should lay greater stress upon the Im ported diseases or upon the weakened vitality which lays the system open to their attacks. Conviviality produces disease, but so do unremitting toll and the strain of worry. The Increasing I keenness of business strife; the absorb ing demands of professional careers upon men and of fashionable life upon women; the constant rush; the perpet ual .strain; the close application to men tal toll with Insufficient rest, play and real Joyousness have all Impaired di gestion, racked the nerves and en feebled the heart. Paresis, heart fail ure and Indigestion take up the work that smallpox and diphtheria have laid down. By chance or by design It comes about that only a fraction of the hu man race survives at any given point in its advance to old age. Civilized races have long passed the point where Individuals in any considerable num bers fail before plague or famine. But Nature grimly raises up new forces of decimation as fast as the old are inca pacitated. The truth appears to be that man, like any other animal, insists on fighting with his environment, sav age or civilized, up to a point where only a portion of his army can survive he shock of onset. Ambition, whether for scalps or wives or coupons, lures us on, and In the arena or the stock pit we muster up our forces for a des perate battle, whoso outcome Is precari ous. It Is in this balancing between valor- and discretion that the resultant death-rate is fixed; and when prevent ive and remedial agencies have done their best there still remains the master ful spirit, rushing Into the fray, daring the shafts of poison that sometimes pierce home, and the blows of over tempted Nature that fall with fatal force. THE AMERICAN FAMILY. An article in a recent number of the Medical Record giving figures on the decrease In size of American families has called forth the usual arraignment of American women for pelflshness and flagrant dereliction of duty on this point. Dr. George F. Shrady, editor of the Record and formerly General Grant's physician, commenting upon the figures rendered, declares that the fashionable woman of today does not want children; that when they are bom to her she does' not care for them prop erly and they become sickly and die; that the aversion to children is rapidly spreading through all classes, and that It is especially true among the well-to-do, in the country as well as In the cit ies. There Is. without doubt, much truth In this estimate. Still the enrollment In the public schools of large cities does not support the statement that the de crease In the number of children born In this country Is alarming. There are, in fact, more children in every city be tween the ages of G and 10 or 12 years than can find seats in the public school rooms, and this notwithstanding the fact that the school building tax in every city Increases year by year. Tak ing a cursory glance at the conditions of Juvenile life In our own city, we find a larger number of children enrolled In the public schools than ever before; pri vate schools more numerously attended than ever before? and children being pushed Into gainful vocations In such numbers as to awaken the apprehen sion of philanthropists and induce the enactment of a child-labor law. Added to this the increasing number of Juven ile offenders that appear before the Po lice Court for reprimand or penalty and we will be forced to the conclusion not only that children are not alarm ingly scarce and constantly diminish ing In numbers, but that Juvenile life greatly abounds. In truth, the vice to be deplored In this connection Is irre sponsible parentage rather than the de crease in the number of children born. While the selfishness deplored by Dr. Shrady abounds to a greater or less extent In every community. It Is not a matter of regret, broadly speaking, that people of the class arraigned do not have children. Dr. Shrady tells us that children born to such people usually sicken and die, hence It Is a gain to hu manity that relatively few ore born. The volume of irresponsible parentage now is enormous; let us not grieve or chafe that it Is not greater, as, accord ing to Dr. Shrady's estimate. It would be if "the fashionable women of today" pursued motherhood as a fad Instead of rejecting it as a nuisance. While re gretting the degeneracy of the times, wherein "the demands of society and life In flats make the baby more un welcome than a dog," let us not be un mindful of the fact that unwelcome children, handicapped from their birth by a law not the less potent because unwritten, are not likely to grow up Into the men and women that the world seeds. PERSONAL FOrtCE IX POLITICS. Harper's Weekly strongly urges that Cleveland would be a stronger; Demo cratic candidate tor President In 1904 than Olney, and treats with contempt the fact that Bryan persists In refusing to be harmonized on a Grover Cleveland basis, and has repeatedly Intimated In his Commoner that he would resist to the utmost the renomlnatlon of the ex President. In our Judgment the conse quence of Mr. Bryan as a personal polit ical force In the Democratic party of the' Southwest and Middle West is sufficient to make It very doubtful whether Mr. Cleveland could be nominated In defi ance of Mr. Bryan's opposition. Bryan Is a man of great energy and political shrewdneis; his personal character In spires attachment among his followers; his weekly paper reaches thousands of torpid-minded Democrats who never read a dally newspaper, and It is safe to say thai in some respects Bryan has as much Influence In the Democracy of the West and Southwest as he ever had In his life. Bryan does not conceal his friendly sentiments for Olney; he does not hide his unrelenting hostility for Cleveland. Olney could poll as many votes In any of the doubtful states of the East as Cleveland; he is reported to be very strong at the South, while Cleveland Is hated by the masses of the Democracy at the South with an In tensity that Is born of Ignorance as the architect of the ruin of the National Democracy during his last term of of fice. Given this situation with two able men. Gold Democrats and of conserva tlve record, rivals for the nomination, and It is not too much to say that the Influence, of Bryan energetically em ployed among his recent following would be sufficient to secure the victory for'Olney against Cleveland. Bryan Is shrewd enough to make his opposition to Cleveland a personal issue; he does not say that he will support no man for the nomination who did not believe in free silver at 16 to 1 In 1S96; he opposes Cleveland .as personally odious to him because he has always treated him with superlative public rudeness and political contempt, while Mr. Olney dif fered with him In 1S96 on the financial Issue without any exhibition of persona disrespect. It Is easy to laugh at this personal opposition of Bryan to Cleve land, but intense individual opposition from within the party has more than once upset the fairest prospects of the party favorite winning the nomination, he Southern Democracy in 1844 invent ed the two-thirds rule to beat Martin Van Buren for the Presidential nomina tion, but while Van Buren was beaten he remained a powerful personal polit ical force, and in 1S43 the secession of his following cost the Democracy the State of New York and the election. The Democratic Administration of Polk had Just carried the Mexican War through to a victorious conclusion, and they felt sure of the election of 1848. The Whig nomination of Taylor had offended the friends of Webster, and without the insurrection of the Van Buren faction in New York State the Whigs would have been defeated. Tay lor's popular vote was 1.360,101; that of Cass was 1,220,544, while Van Buren polled 291,268 votes. There Is no doubt but the personal Influence of Van Buren elected Taylor by enabling the Whigs to carry New York for Taylor. Henry Clay lost the election of 1844 to Polk by offending the anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats who threw away their votes In New York State on James G. BIrney, the candidate of the Liberty party. Had Clay consented to conciliate BIr ney, who was also a Kentucklan, the anti-slavery vote of New York would have given Clay the state and the Pres idency. The nomination of Abraham Lincoln was indirectly due to the per sonal force of Horace Greeley In the Republican party. He had quarreled with Seward, and determined that he should not be nominated at Chicago In 1S60. It Is true that Lincoln was not originally the choice of Greeley, but the knowledge that Greeley was from first to last opposed to Seward made Lin coln's nomination probable when other wise It might have been hardly possi ble. If Greeley had gone to Chicago as active and aggressive a partisan of Sew ard's as were William M. Evarts and Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, Seward doubtless would have been nominated, but out of Greeley's declared opposition grew the wave of hostility that finally swept him to defeat. The personal Influence of Vallandlgham in the Democratic National Convention of 1SCS prevented the nomination of Salmon P. Chase, whom Horatio Seymour stood ready to present to the convention. The personal dislike of Tammany's leader, John Kelly, for General Hancock cost the Democracy the State of New York and the Presidency In 18S0. The "per sonal Influence of Conkllng, Edmunds, George William Curtis and Carl Schurz cost the Republican party the State of New York and the election of Blaine In 1SS4. If these things are possible In Northern States, they are quite likely to happen In the states of the South and Southwest, where personal loyalty to men rather than cut-and-drled princi ples Is far more common than at the North. As between Cleveland and Ol ney In 1904, if Bryan throws up his hat for Olney it is safe to say that Cleve land will not be nominated. The next Democratic National Convention will consist of 994 delegates, which Include six votes each to all the territories. In cluding Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands. Of this number, 498 will consti tute a majority, and 663 will be neces sary to make up the two thirds required to nominate a candidate. The Eastern group of states. New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, would have 252 votes, and Olney could at least divide this vote with Cleveland. The Southern States, Including the bor der states, would have 332 votes. Olney Is reported as the favorite candidate of' the South In Alabama, Georgia and Florida. In the Middle West and South west the influence of Bryan would be effectively employed for Olney rather than Cleveland. The nomination may not go to either of these men, but It Is in Bryan's power to turn the scale in favor of Olney and against Cleveland if he chooses to exert himself for that purpose. Dr. A. A. Ames, ex-Mayor of Minneap olis, after an official career that Is with out parallel In the annals of municipal corruption outside of New York City, a sensational flight from Justice some seven months ago while investigation of his official career was In progress, and successful hiding during the Interval, has been captured among relatives In New Hampshire. The record of his ad ministration of the city of which he was four times elected Mayor Is one of rob bery, murder, blackmail and plunder conducted by professional criminals un der police direction. It Is said that he will make a bitter 'fight against extradi tion. Hovey C. Clarke, foreman of the grand Jury that last April laid bare the vice and corruption of Mayor Ames' ad ministration, answered the Litter's chal lenge of defiance, saying: "Doc Ames, I am after you, and I am going to put you where all contagious things are put where you cannot contaminate any body else." The country Is now looking on, curious to see whether the bold grand juror will be able to keep his word. The great State of Pennslyvanla has a larger share of Illiterates than any of the old free states save New Hamp shire and Rhode Island. In Pennsyl vania In 1900 there were 87,372 persons over 10 years of age who could not read or write. This was 40,000 more than New York, though New York has but 70,000 more persons in it over 10 years of age. The Philadelphia Press reports the salaries paid schoolteachers In Pennsylvania as appallingly low. Curi ously enough, it appears to be the na tive population which Is scandalously Ignorant. The Legislature has now be fore It a minimum salary bill put at $40, and a bill requiring each school district to spend on schools at least as much as It gets from the state appropriation. The liberal state appropriations have thus far been used, not to educate chil dren, but to reduce local taxes for schools. The Rev. J. J. Pipkin, a black, is the author of a recently published book on "The Negro In Revelation, In History and In Citizenship." General John B. Gordon, ex-Confederate soldier, ex Unlted States Senator from Georgia and an elder of the Presbyterian Church, writes for this book 'a preface in which the negro problem is treated with good sense, moderation and kindly- feeling. Among the Interesting facts cited In this book Is the visit of Julius Mel bourn, a negro tourist from England, to Thomas Jefferson at Montlcello In 1815. On this occasion Melbourn dined with Chief Justice Marshall, William Wirt. Samuel Dexter and other men of dis tinction. A bill has passed the Senate advanc ing one additional grade all retired officers of the Army below the rank of Brigadier-General who served In the Civil War. It Is not doubted that the bill will pass the House. It has been strongly recommended by Secretary Root and is entirely In accord with the Views of the President. Under this bill a Captain will became a Major and our old friend, . Major Eckerson, will be a Lieutenant-Colonel. Dr. A. A. Ames, the.fugltlve Mayor of Minneapolis, who has been arrested In New Hampshire, was the first city edi tor of Ben Holiaday's Portland Bulle Itn. The paper was started In 1870 and died In 1875. Ames was brought here from San Francisco. At that time he was about 30 years of age, and re mained In Portland about one year. PROSPERITY OX A SOUND BASIS. St. Paul Pioneer Press. The Financial and Commercial Chronicle takes a very cheerful view of the general business outlook which seems to be fully borne out by reports from all sources. It points out that the comparative quiet of the stock market which has Induced some of those In the neighborhood of Wall street to be pessimistic Is, In fact, a symp tom of a thoroughly wholesome condition. As usual, the stock exchange anticipated conditions and has finally brought prices as near to the point of equilibrium as it is possible to get them. Railroad stocks are. as a rule, as high as the prospective returns Justify, and on the other hand the prospect of any decline In earnings Is so slight that every tendency of prices to fall Is promptly checked. There Is. moreover, nothing In the gen eral business situation to cause alarm. Bank clearings, railroad earnings and the output of Iron are steadily Increasing, and failures are the lowest on record. Even the severe strain of the coal strike did not seem to check development. Had there been any unsoundness In the Indus, trial situation the apprehensions caused by that struggle would have brought them to light. But the affair did not even seem to discourage new enterprises; and In spite of the shortage of fuel, which has seriously embarrassed the ope rations of many industries, the tldo of prosperity has steadily risen. Even the more serious and more reasonable appre hensions caused by the severe stringency of the money market In November and December had no visible effect on the vol ume of business. The Chronicle points out that In the freight blockade also there are no features to Justify pessimism. The blockade. It maintains, is the result of an urgent demand by dealers for goods for which their customers are clamoring. They want large supplies and they want them at once. There Is no element of speculation In this heavy freight move ment as In some previous ones. Stocks are nowhero accumulating, and the Chron icle cannot detect a sign of "over trad ing." Tho fact Is that the consuming capacity of the country after several years of good times. Is surprising every one. It Is be yond all calculation, and therefore there are many who feel that there must be something fictitious In It somewhere. But there Is nothing to Indicate anything of a fictitious character. Stocks of all kinds are consumed rapidly and paid for with out delay. The situation in tho Iron market Is typi cal. In 1S97 the country broke Its own pig Iron record In turning out 9.600.000 tons, or about as much as England's highest up to that time. In 1902 we turned out 17,821. 000 tons, or almost twice as much as In 1S97. and as much as England. Germany and Belgium together. But not only was all this enormous output consumed, but a shortage In the supply had to be made up by heavy imports. It has, in short, been as impossible for the Iron and steel com panies to produce what was wanted as It has been for the railroads to carry the merchandise offered. If the statistics of other Industries were as complete as those of the Iron and steel Industries, what Is true of Iron would doubtless be found true to a greater extent of other products. The fact Is that even In ordi nary times thero is an astonishing de mand for goods of even the most Inde structible character. The maw of the public Is Insatiable even for articles which aro by no means Indispensable, and In prosperous times that maw seems to be come a bottomless pit. If It were shown that Jobbers or dealers were piling up goods In unreasonable quantities or were extending or demand ing credit unduly there would be somo reason to fear. But It is said that in nearly all parts of the country business Is being done more nearly on a cash basts, and Jobbers aro seeking the .assistance of the banks to a much smaller extent than ever before In proportion to their busi ness. Caution la always necessary, but caution ought not to be made to spell pessimism. A crop failure, a financial panic or a number of other Incidents may set the tide flowing the other way, and It Is always safe to bear such facts In mind; but the surest of all methods to bring about a reaction Is to Infuse dis trust when there Is no reason for dis trust. It Is ono thing to point to actual weaknesses; for that Is the surest way to correct them. It Is another to assert that a setback Is at hand merely because good times have lasted longer than any one thought they would. Tho failure of care ful diagnosis to reveal any unsoundness does not Justify a debauch, but It cer tainly Justifies not being a hypochondriac Germany's Protestations. Chicago Evening Post. Several distinguished Germans have ex pressed surprise and regret at tho re cent manifestations of American distrust of their government. "Tho Emperor's pol icy In Venezuela, wo are assured, has been totally misunderstood, and all sus picion with reference to tho alleged as saults upon the Monroe Doctrine Is gra tuitous and unwarranted. We believe that this Is substantially true. Germany has had no ulterior motives In this unfortun ate South American business, andi none of the acts that havo so irritated and dis gusted the American people has been prompted by an Intention hostile to the Interests of the United States. We do not admire the mailed fist In action, but that should not prevent our recognizing the sincerity of Germany's professions of friendship for tho United States. There may bo incompatibility of temper, but there Is no Incompatibly of principle or of ultimate Interest between the Amer icans and the Germans. A better mutual understanding Is highly desirable, and any means calculated to promote that end should bo eagerly adopted and cultivated. Kenou'i Addlcks Exposure. Boston Herald. Mr. George Kennan. the noted trav eler, has turned his attention from dark est Russia, as regards which he once conveyed considerable information to the public, to darkest Delaware. He finds this locality In the southern portion of tho state, and has shown that tho voters there In the period following tho lato elec tion were loaded with bills on a Boston bank which there Is reason to believe that Addlcks carried Into tho locality, and with which, his agents purchased their suf frages by the scores and hundreds. Mr. Kennan. not acting In any sense as a political agent, but in the spirit of an investigator into what is being done In the shady places of the earth, has sought out this plague-spot of corruption and laid the doings there bare to the Inspec tion of the American people. Ho has done his work so thoroughly as to make It al together probable that, even If Addlcks should now be elected to the Senate from Delaware, that body could not, in decency, admit him to Its membership. An Apparent Absurdity. Washington Post. We are getting very weary of these re peated explanations touching our military affairs. Every announcement of the com pletion of a new man-of-war or the man ufacture of a few millions of smokeless powder cartridges or the contract for a new gun la promptly followed by a chorus of assurances that there Is no significance In It. Really, this Is a very tiresome and stupid performance. Moreover, It con veys a perfectly transparent falsehood. To say that thero Is no significance In the strengthening of our Army and Navy Is absurd. It deceives nobody, while it makes us ridiculous. Army Reform. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Secretary Root will have his general staff Idea incorporated In legislation. A hard fight has been made against that project, but it has received the support of all military men of tho country of any consequence and will be enacted. All the great military nations have general staffs, and the United States will have to put Its Army on the best possible basis. The Army will always be small In time of peace, but It must be made as effective as any In the world for Its size. THE M0XR0E DOCTRINE. Minneapolis Tribune. It Is said that even Englishmen do not quite IIio Captain Mahan's Interpretation of tho Monroe doctrine In his National Re view article: and that It Infuriates Con tinental publicists. Nevertheless, we think that Captain Mahan has elven the Inter- j pretatlon of the Monroe doctrine which lies In the back of the American popular ! mind. He rejects, though. In very smooth ftna tactful phrase, the European theory ' mat we must be responsible for the debts nnd behavior of South American countries. If we are going to protect them from Eu ropean Interference. This European notion rests upon a per sistent error as to our motive -In stating nnd upholding the Monroe doctrine. For eigners are apt to think that we do this from altruistic sentiment; that our object Is to protect the feeble republics of South America. This being so, they cannot see why we should not accent It. If our only or chief purpose were to protect the South American republics. The truth Is that we care as little for them as the most con temptuous European; and most of them return our Indifference with more positive dlsllks.. The Monroe doctrine Is for the protection of the United States, and no one else. We oppose the extension of European sov ereignty in the Western hemisphere and still more the establishment of any new European sovereignty because we think that It would be dangerous to the peace and security of the United States. We should like to clear away all' European settlement on this continent, as buildings and trees are cleared away about a forti fied town, lest they should afford shelter to attack. That would bo going too far; so wc content ourselves with prohibiting any more settlement of this kind. This is the American Idea of the Mon roe dostrlne. It Is absolutely selfish, and that is why we nre so vitally In earnest about It. The strongest Instinct In any Individual or any living nation Is the in stinct of self-protection. That instmct Is the whole motive of the Monroe doctrine. We will not have any more European na tions established on the American conti nent, where they can reach us to do us an Injury. The sooner the European na tions understand this and make the best of it, the better we shall agree In the fu ture. We shall neither be responsible for the acts of South American countries nor protect them from consquences of these acts, that do not look to European, colo nization: but It must be clearly under stood that the price of any more European colonization in the Western continent la war with the United States. We do not take this rather brusque at titude toward Europe without being will ing to make some compensation. The compensation we havo offered from the beginning is declaration that we will not Interfere with any of the European pow ers. In the part of the world which we recognize as belonging to them. In return for requiring them to keep hands off over here, we undertake to keep hands off over there. Another interesting thing in Cap tain Mahan's article is his careful defini tions of the part of the world which we recognize as closed to American Interfer ence. He conceives this as Including Eu rope, Africa, India and the countries be tween: but not Japan, China or the Pacific ocean, on which we have a great coast line and In which we expect to have great commerce. This extension to Asia of the sphere within which we claim influence Is. of course, an outgrowth of the Spanish War. In another magazine article, not long ago, Cartaln Mahan suggested that we surren der exclusive Influence In South America below the equator In compensation for .this addition. That concession may come later but we think that Americans are not quite ready for It yct- Hannn'a Ridiculous Bill. New York Herald. Senator Hanna has cast all measures In the shade by -bis ridiculous "slave pension bill." No one for a moment supposes that It will pass Congress. Not even Senator Hanna could keep his face straight were he asked If he believed the measure would become a law. In fact, ho excuses Its Introduction by apologetic ally Indorsing It as presented "by re quest." It was a most mischievous thing, however, to have done. It will arouse a vain hope among the negroes of the South that they are to bo pensioned by tho Government, and it will stir Into ac tivity those who on various occasions have deluded these poor people with such hopes and induced them to part with their little savings to "help It along." If Senator Hanna Isn't ashamed of himself he ought to be. Humor of the Vermont Situation. Boston Globe. It Is to be remembered that aside from Maine and New Hampshire only Kansas and North Dakota remain In the prohibi tory column. In tho Vermont contest the humorous feature of the situation Is that the liquor men are not happy, notwith standing what might naturally be supposed to be their triumph. They conceive, that under prohibition they can carry on a liquor business- at much less expense than under the newly enacted liquor system. This In Itself Is a very significant com ment on the folly of prohibition. It Is none too soon that tho people have ex perienced an awakening. Power of the Trusts. Pittsburg Post. A striking Illustration of one power ac quired by tho formation of a trust and ono brazenly announced In academic es says on the virtues of such organizations is tho shutting down of tho refineries of tho sugar trust at Williamsburg, N. Y., throwing out SOOO employes, and thus de priving dependent families of support. The closing of the cooper shop3, an Inci dental sequence, will almost double the number of the unemployed. The reason for the closing Is the regulation of the production. That Is, to follow out the process, to maintain prices and secure more profits to enable payment of larger dividends. The FlndlnfC Is Absurd. Philadelphia North American. The House committee on naval affairs finds that Doblln tried to corrupt Con gressman Lessler "with the Idea of mak ing money for himself," but falls to ex plain how Doblln could have bribed Less ler or made any money for himself If the company to be benefited by Lessler's vote was not behind him and willing to supply him with funds. That Doblln acted "on his own initiative nnd responsibility," as the committee declares, is not to be be lieved. When he offered money to Lessler he must have known where the money was coming from. Will Not Act nnsh'ly. Pittsburg Dispatch. With the venerable Mr. Morgan delaying tho Panama Canal bill and the astute Mr. Quay blockading everything else till three weeks before adjournment. It- Is ob served that the deliberative Senate has carfully provided against any rash actlon on the subject of either trusts, reciproc ity or canals. It's Ills Own Jlensnre. Boston Herald. Quite likely SenatorHoar will not ap prove of the published description of his anti-trust bill as an administration meas ure. Senator Hoar is on record as up against the Interference of the executive with the Legislative branch of the Government- The bill Is a little thing of his own- Postponement Is Without Reason. Springfield (Mass.) Republican. In view of the strong desire of the ter ritorial people for admission to the Union a desire that is sure to be gratified some day because there is no other possible des tiny than statehood for our continental territories no sufficient reason exists why admission should longer be postponed. NOTE AND COMMENT. Isn't It about time for some paragrapher to eay something funny about Bohemia taking a little Turkey? Of course. Germany didn't want to break the Monroo Doctrine. She just wanted to see how far It would bend. Bishop Spalding says wealth Is degrad ing. But so weak is human nature that most of us are willing to take the risk. No, my son. those are not breastworks on Morrison street. Pretty soon they will dig up the other side, and then they will have a canal to carry off the Spring freshet. That 'ancient benedict and his son over at Vancouver should take consolation in these lines: Stone walls do not a prison mate. Nor Iron bars a cage. Firs the press report had it that General Uribe-Uribc committed suicide, tnen ne Jellied a man In a duel, then It was his brother who fought the duel, then It was his brother who committed suicide, then at last It was a man committed suicide at a place called Uribe. Truly these foreign ers are worse than the New York evening editions with their "fake extras." The Duke of Tetuan was a properly Im pressive title for a Spanish government Minister, though It covered the personality of an Irishman named O'Donnell.' His title came from the fact that his father, in the Spanish service, captured the Moor ish City of Tetuan. This was In 1S39. and two years later the Sultan of Morocco ran somed tho city for 3),000.0CO a rather large sum for a Mohammedan town of 13. C00 people. In this connection It Is recalled that the Emln Bey, subsequently Emln Pasha, who figured so prominently In British military operations In Egypt and the Upper Nile country a few years ago, was an Austrian physician named Ed Schnltzler. These honest Celtic-Saxon names are quite too plain for the Moham medan taste, or for others who wohshlp tho veneer, tho guinea stamp. Over In the vicinity of Columbia Slough resides a very estimable couple of deaf mutes. The wife Is a dressmaker. The other day one of her patrons, who Is a great lover of cats, noticed nt the muta dressmaker's a happy family consisting of an old tabby and three or four half grown kittens basking by the stove. Tha visitor stooped and caressed the cats, nnd they stretched and purred in tho most sercno contentment. Then she spoke to the cats. Instantly there was commotion. Again she spoke soothing words, and tho cats redoubled their frantic demonstra tions, leaping on the table, upsetting a lamp, clawing half the paper oft the walls in their attempt to climb, and emitting terrifying howls In various keys. Tha visitor thought the cats were having fits. But It was soon explained to her that these cats had never before heard a human being speak, nnd the sound of the human voice frightened them nearly to death. Tho movement In the Wisconsin Legis lature for an Investigation of tho Stand ard Oil Company, and to Instruct the Attorney-General to apply for a receiver to conduct the affairs of the company In that state, is like an echo from the dim past. In these later years there has been a pretty general disposition to accept the Standard Oil as an unavoidable. If not necessary, evil. But private monopoly can have no permanent rest- The people de mand that success must- be- won In open competition, not by trickery that elimi nates competition. And whenever the work the strife of elements that Is the law of life from vinegar to oil. Is ab sent from great trade enterprises, the people wanj to know why It is so, and how they are faring under it. If they work and fail It Is all right: but to suc ceed vIthout the work, the strife of deal ing with their equals. Is rot to be toler ated. Recent publication of Standard Oil history has also Tevlved Interest In the ways of this oleaginous octopus, and doubtless contributed somewhat to fresh scrutiny. Fine weather this for Winter time. With sky all blue and sun ashlne: With moon a-bloomtng late at night And Just a touch of frost In sight. But I wouldn't swap th weather that w ought to have today. With Us filmy cloud of vapor stretching 'twlxt us and tho blue. And the gently falling raindrops melting- all the frost away. For all this bright and parching time that really isn't due. " Crisp February atmosphere Is laden with a heavy cheer In Webfoot Oregon. The east Wind we do value much the least. For It brings us all the colds and coughs ana all the aches and pains. Brings us rheumatism, ague. Influenxa, wreck and death: And It hurts our trade and commerce. Inter feres with all our aims. And every sort of evil Cometh on Its hated breath. No foreign climate need we here To charm the Winter time of year. Though, having It, I must confess I like our own not one whit less. For ours brings balm of Gllead, sweet amar anth and thyme. All the soothing fumes of nature on the soft wings of the air. While the curtain clouds protect us from all other sorts of clime And the plagues and chills and fevers that run riot otherwhere. The Height of Prosperity. Philadelphia Ledger. Somo Irritating nnd querulous peopla want to know where the prosperity is when they have to pay no a ton for coal. Whv. that is tho height of prosperity for the coal trust. PLEASAXTIUES OF PAItAGIlAPIIEIlS nnmmi What Is that old savlnfir about a .... .t ht. mrtnm ir (lnhnnrI nrf.l th rled. Judge. Industrious nan. ana lays i.vw.vw prks tu year. .air. uacon in, anu. jou auu. doesn t cackle about 1L lonKers statesman. "My father died of water on the brain." re marked the man from Ohio. "Let It be a warning to you," replied the Kentucky Col- . . - . .1 I 1 . t -. 1 I, I - too late." Chicago Dally News. Tess Now. here's a secret. I was married last week to Dick Gaylark. Jess Oh. my! I thought you'd be the last person In the world to marry him. Tess well. I hope I am. Philadelphia Press. I Percy I sent a girl a book hollowed out and filled with chocolate creams. Guy Did she like It? Percy She writes me that she wants at once a complete set of the American En cyclopaedia. Detroit Free Press. "You brute! When you married me you said you would gratify my slightest desire, and now you refuse to buy that cloak for me!" "Yes. dear: but I don't regard a hankering for a sealskin cloak as a slight desire." Balti more News. Greene Look at that woman, will youT I should think she'd freeze with that little bit cf a Jacket. Wyse My dear fellow. If you were any Judge of values, you'd know that the cloth that Jacket's made of Is the most ex pensive goods In tho market Boston Tran script. Mrs. Gotham (looking for a home In the suburbs) This Is a gem of a place. I admit, but the house Is too smalt. Agent You said you had but two children. "Yes. but there are no rooms here for servants." "Don't worry about that, my dear madam. If you succeed In finding a servant girl wining to stay over nights I'll hare aa nrtilltlm built." Nsw York Weekly