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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1903)
V if . vy-' THE SUNDAY OREGONLAN, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 8, 1303. . Entered at the Postefflce at Portland. 'Oregon second-class matter. REVISED SUBSCRIPTION IIATES. Uy stall (postage prepaid, la advanced- Sally, with Sunday, per month ... Xaily. Sunday plt4 per ye at 59 Pally, with Sunday, per year OJ Sunday, per year ? JO Ths Weekly. rr year I JS Tie Wklr. 3 montbl 60 To City Subscribers ... Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday exeepted.lSo Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday lneluotd.500 i POSTAGE RATES. United States. Canada and Mexico: 10 to 14-page paper 14 to SS-pags paper........ Foreign rates double. Km or discussion Intended for publication In The Oregonlan should be addressed Invaria bly "Editor The Orcronlan." not to the nam ef ary Individual. letters relating to adver tlslcr. cubserlptlon or to any business matter Should be addressed simply "The Oreroalan." The Oreronlan does not boy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to It without solici tation. Ko stamps should be. Inclosed for this purpose. Eastern Business OBee. 4S. 44, 43. 4T. 4S. 43 Tribune building. New York City: 510-11-1 Tribune building. Chicago; the S. C. Beckwlth Epeclal Agency. Eastern representative. For sale In San Francisco by L.E. I. Pal fce Hotel news stand: Goldsmith Tiros.. 23S Cutter street: F. W. Pitts. 100S Market street; 3. K. Cooper. Co, 740 Market street, near ths Palace Hotel: Foster & Orear. Ferry news Und: Frank Ecott. E0 E11U street, and N. WheaUey. S13 Mission street. For sale In Let Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 50 South Spring street, and Oliver & Haines. 805 South Spring- street. For aals in Kansas City. Mo., by Itlcksecker Clear Co, Ninth and Walnut streets. For sale la Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. SIT Dearborn street, and Charles MacScnald. C3 Washington street. For sale In Omaha by Usrkalow Bros.. 1012 Farnsxa street: Uegesth Stationery Co, 1303 Farnara street. For sale In Salt Inke by the Salt Lake News Co.. 77 West Second South street. For sale In 'Washington. D. C. by the Ebbett Bouse news stands For sale in Denver. Colo., by Hamilton & Eendriek. 900-012 Seventeenth street: Louth an A Jackson Jook and Stationery Co, Fifteenth and Lawrence streets; A. Series. Sixteenth and Curtis streets. . TODAY'S "WEATHER Ualn: brisk to high Kusty couth to west winds. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem perature, SS: minimum temperature, 32; pre pipltatlon, 0.71. Inch. FORTLAJTO, STODAT, Feb. 8, 1000. EQUAL BATES TO ALU The Portland Labor Press; in Its cur rent telle, asserts that the Associated Press and Its Individual members "hare special privileges In this etate" lower rates from the "Western Union Tele graph Company- than others can obtain; and this. It declares, makes the Asso ciated Press a "trust" or "monopoly." That there may be tx mistake or quib ble, we quote: It Is true that the Associated Press owns no telegraph lines, but it has secured an absolute service rate from the Western Union Telegraph Company, which forbids any other organiza tion Jrom competing. It may hare been better to have Incorporated the Western Union la the (Pierce) bllL Telegraphic news service comes high to any one lse than, a member of the Associated Press, and since the membership is closed. It Is almost Impossible for an independ ent company worth a few thousands of dollars to promote a publishing company and main tain It. Since the premise Is wholly erroneous, the conclusion as utterly falls. The As sociated Press has NOT "secured an absolute service rate from the Western Union, which forbids any other organi zation from competing." The western Union Is carrying news all over the United States, for other press associa tion?, at as low a rate as 'for the Asso ciated Press; and It carries special re ports for every newspaper, of whatever press association, at rates uniformly equal. So does the Postal Telegraph. The Associated Press and Its Individual members use the wires ot these two companies Indifferently sometimes the wires of one and sometimes of the other. The rates of the two companies are the same to the Associated Press and Its members, and to all others. . The two great telegraph companies are competi tors, with uniform rates that stand on agreement between them; and neither the Associated Press nor The Oregonlan has any advantage or concession la rates from one or the other. For every line and word The Oregonlan receives by telegraph, through either company. The Oregonlan pays the open rate; and the companies carry for the" various press associations, or hire wires to them, for so many hours a day, at rates abso lutely the same, for equal mileage. Any one who desires can satisfy himself as to these facts, by easy inquiry. State ments made without knowledge come to nothing. The charge, therefore, that the Asso ciated Press rests on "privilege." and henoe Is. a "trust," or "monopoly," has no foundations It cannot be a common r carrier, for It has no means of carriage, but has its messages transmitted by the telegraph companies, which are public or common carriers. It la just what Is claimed for It, -in the statement that "It is a flub of newspaper owners who have united In the pursuit of collecting and disseminating news .to each other; that they own nothing but a few desks throughout the country, and that It Is nothing but a sort of mutual news bureau." 'There are no "franchises" In the As sociated Press; nothing but, club mem berships. The Associated Press has nothing-whatever from government. Na tional, state or municipal; it has no fa vors from any quarter, no advantages whatever In telegraphic rates. Persons who wish to start newspapers have every possible opportunity to associate tor the purpose and collect news to their hearts' content; and the telegraph com panies will carry for their association on the same terms, as they carry for the ' Associated Press; and 'for separate newspapers, independent or members of 1 other associations, on the same terms as tor papers of the Associated. Press. The telegraph companies are doing this now, Jn all the slates of the United States, and have uniformly done it. This Jo aid from experience and knowledge, not from Ignorance or hearsay. There can be no monopoly of news where' the telegraphs are open on equal terms to all; for the sources of news are open, everywhere, to all alike. No newspaper, no association, makes news, which is a record merely of events, that any one. may write who desires to do so; and they who write and collect have a right of property In it. Its value J io mose wno collect it is the right to print and sell it. The right is the same as that of the man who grows apples for the market. It-jyould be different were there "privilege" anywhere: but there isn't the smallest It is true, as stated by the Labor Press, that "it is Impossible for an in dependent company worth a few thou sand dollars to promote, a publishing company ana maintain it. in other words, a great newspaper cannot be started, .equipped, maintained: and put on a paying basis for a small sum of .money.' The owners ot The Oregonlan -have found this true, at a cost which "hat- absorbed .all the efforts,, energies and accumulations ot more than forty years. However, this is not the matter we are dealing with at present. Just now the subject for statement and elucidation- Is the fact that neither the Associated Press nor any membervof it has the slightest advantage over Others In telegraphic rates. It is surprising that an assertion so unfounded should be made and persisted In, when the truth, to the contrary, can be so easily ascertained. DIRECT PRIMARIES. The close vote In the .State Senate on the direct primary bill lends hope that some measure may yet be passed this session amending the statute at present applying solely to Multnomah County and extending ts operation to other counties. Apparently the bill as drawn contained non-essential features that were objectionable to some Senators who are not at heart averse to direct nominations. The fees of $30 to $50, for example, are, in Mr. Ed Bingham's opinion, unconstitutional. Perhaps there is something also In the assertion of Senator Manners that the bill as drawn would lend Itself readily to the mach inations of "the political rounder and sharp politician." The treatment ac corded to political parties, conventions, etc, Is far from convincing In attitude or ppccWcations. This docs not militate against the sim ple fact that th present law In force in Multnomah County should be amended, or the further fact that it should be ex tended over the state. The law has given us the first fair primaries that Multnomah County has ever known. It puts them under official Instead of ring administration. The .party rank and file has a chance to record its will, in stead of being helplessly manipulated by the party machine. It makes the County Court select the Judges and clerks fairly, and It makes the County Clerk enroll all nominees fairly on the ballot. It puts the booths and ballots In the hands of the regular elec tion judges and clerks, and practically eliminates all opportunity for fraud. There Is no county, however small, and no voting precinct, however remote. wnere tneee ends are not worth the little time and expense necessary to gain them. The law should be extended. The boss Is the same everywhere. Cli mate does not impair his resourceful ness or' scant population dampen his ambition. The law should be amended. It was not enacted for the purpose of providing airect nominations, but for the purpose of giving theM-ank and file of the nartv a chance to be heard In the selection of delegates. From this It Is an easy step to the choice of candidates thpmsplvM at primaries. The primary becomes an election under all the forms and safe guards of law and the candidate o- iscuiue KCUJ urn name on the ballot on general election aay as tne party nominee. In this way the power of the machine to form, it favorites on the ticket and tn kill nfr those who may have Incurred Its enmity is aesiroyea, except as Its purposes ap peal successfully to the Judgment of the voters themselves. The law should also be amentlM. to provide the Australian ballot. Instead or tne present separate party, ballots. Voters resent the necessity of call In a- for a certain party ticket. This is the compiainf everywnere, e. g. In Minne sota, where the St. Paul Pioneer Press says: The point that has kept a considerable ner- centage of voters from the polls Is the necessity of making their Inclinations known in selecting one or the other ballot. Secrecy Is as Import ant in the primary election to secure an honest and fair selection of candidates as It Is at the final election. The right of the voter to reg ister his choice for candidates for nomination without fear and without restraint should be guarded as carefully as his right to register his choice between nominees. All oaic!i nr. the servants of the voters, not of asy elIo.ua- or ring, and the voters should have aha rawer ct .selecting their rervants at every step ot the process witnout being subjected to the surveil lance of any one. No one should be kept awar for fear of offending some one who may punish him for expressing his honest choice. It would not be creditable to the Leg islature to leave the Dresent nrimnrx- situation unchanged. VTbe act In force- in juuunoman county is Imperfect as it Is, and should be amended; and the ex tension of the Australian ballot and offl clal oversight over the ceneral nrimnriM of the state 19 & natural.and necessary oiep m oauox rerorm, loilowlng Upon me Australian Daiiot and the registry law. TWO DOWAGERS. When the .Empress Dowairer nf n- many died, a few years ago, her life was aeciared by certain biographers to have been at once a Inphlr nmi n ro mance; a tragedy in Its relation to the imperial house of Hohenzollern, to which In her early girlhood she became attached by marriage, and a romance in -that she maintained through all of her trials and, the manifold persecutions of Bismarck her Dlace in the nfTmtlnr.. and confidence of her husband. Bom to the pUrple: llVlnt: all Of her mnr thar. sixty years in palaces. It Is yet true that the life Ot this -woman AritJvim t Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort- was one or deep humiliation and dlsap- Dolntmenr. Anri n v-mnatAtf' ..-i stood reverently by her bier. A rew days or weeks ago another Dowager Empress passed on and out. Closely secluded in the very heart of the- "Forbidden City," possessed of. a power that no one questioned, ruling absolutely and arbitrarily. Hons of people, Tel An, Dowager Em press of China, lived and died. Born in me iu iy uui a umnese laborer, sold In her childhood to a mandarin, she was as a little slave girl Introduced at court ana tnrougn the process of selection dis tinctly Chinese she became the wife of the Emperor, mother of a weakling oon. and thereafter a power In the vast em pire of China. Her life, looking at it from a superficial standpoint, was all romance. It. was, however. In fact a most strenuous life, given over to polit ical sshemlng and dominated by a sort of feline cruelty that first tortured and then removed from her path all who In any manner stood or might come to stand In the" way of her Imperial power. Li Hung Chang; easily the first states man of her empire, was at one tlmo de graded, by her -order, but was restored again to favory at least partially, for the sole reason that she needed him. A shrewd politician of thaToutdated school of Chinese polltlcpi she refused to learn, even when LI, then In her full confi dence, gave It out, the lesson of growth as opposed to the policy of excluslve ness. Implacable In her hatreds, of Im perious will, determined to rule while life remained, she sacrificed without compunction those who failed to carry out her wishes, regardless of the impos sibility, ot so doing, made a puppet of the Emperor and became absolute In poTjer. " Not before since the unscrupulous -. Catharine of Russia rose from lowly birth toa throne, arrogating to herself all power, even that of life and death. has her counterpart In audacity, in de termination and in power taken on the form of woman and ruled a nation. The death of Tsl An will no doubt' open the way. for modernizing, to a certain extent, the commercial, industrial, pollt leal and military policy of China. Grooved in- the prejudices and customs of antiquity, the Chinese will still con tinue to worship their ancestors regard less of their posterity, but to a certain extent their delusiveness must give way bfefore the challenge of progress and their learned Ignorance to modern en lightenment. A dead nation China can not always remain. The death of the Empress Dowager may signal the dawn ing of a new political and commercial era for the empire. But whether it does or not, the wise, policy for the nations of the world to pursue is to let the Chinese, uncer compulsion of commercialism. wore out me aestiny or China. BRIGHTER DAYS FOR IRELAND. The official revocation or the official proclamation issued last year placing thirteen districts In Ireland under the crimes act and malntalnlrxr summarv jurisdiction by the Magistrates Is Inter preted to mean a more liberal govern ment policy for the .future. The Im prisoned members of ' Parliament have been released. The Redmondltes have helped the Ministerialists In rejecting an amendment made by the House of Lords to the educational bill. The gov ernment is reported to favor the com pulsory purchase of Irish estates on the lines or tne scheme of T. W. Russell. M. P. The wholesale purchase of the arable and grazing land would mean simply the Issue of. some 1500,000.000 In guaranteed landed stock, similar to that which the Salisbury government author ized by the act of 1891. The whole issue would be repaid In forty-nine years, or such term as might be fixed, and the Interest would be paid by the Irish pur chasers. The state today finds no diffi culty in obtaining the interest on 62,000 mortgages, but If collateral securlty was wanted there Is no Countv Council In Ireland that would refuse to pledge me county rate ror its farmers. The return it the Redmondltes to Par liament to support the educational bill wosdoubtless due to the Irish hlernrehv. which Is deeply interested In placing the support or their denominational schools- upon tne rates. The Irish priesthood In all critical emergencies controls the Irish party. In tlje British Parliament. The fall of Parnell began when he lost the support or the Irish clergy. The ex planation or this change in the attitude or the Unionist government toward the IrUh Nationalists, a change attested by Secretary Wyndham's promise to Intro duce a land purchase bill and by Lord Lieutenant Dudley's admlnslon or grave derects In the existing system of Irish administration, ls-belleved to be due to the personal influence of Edward VII, who favors conciliating tie Irish people by granting them a. large measure of control over distinctively Irish affairs. rne prospect of radical reform of the present political .situation in Ireland Is welcome news to intelligent Americans of all parties. America had the sympa thy of Ireland in our struggle for colo nial Independence; Irishmen were'eon splcuous among our gallant military and naval commanders. There Is no walk of. American lire In which Irishmen have not risen to distinction. The Irish rebellion or 1798 cast upon our shores Thomas Addis Emmet, William Sampson,- Dr. MacNevln and other exiles or fine talents and scholarship. As an In dispensable Industrial rorce at a critical period of our public Improvements the Irish peasantry did a work that no other worklngmcn on earth could have performed In the some time, for In mus cular power and endurance there la no people on earth equal to the farm-born and bred Irishman. , In peace or in war the Irish are the most superbly .endowed athletes on earth. O'Connell was the first great Irishman to win something for his countrymen through constitu tional agitation. Catholic emancipation and the destruction of the tithe system were the chief work of O'Connell. After O'Connell, . who died in 1847, nothing of importance was wrought for Ireland until Parnell rose to his first distinction, in 1870. At that time evic tions were resisted with firearms In Tlp perary with fatal results. None of the firing party was ever "brought to Jus tice, although every member of It was well known; but the authorities were unable to obtain evidence that would convict. This affray first forced the English government to deal wlthythe Irish land question, and Mr. Gladstone. Introducing the land act of 1S70, referred to this affair of Bollywhoy as proor .or the urgency of the measure. At a con siderable later date Lord Leltrlm, a very brutal Irish landlord, was shot dead from ambush In broad daylight and his three murderers all escaped. These facts are worth reciting, as. they mark the steady progress of Irish land reform since 1870, Parnell and Glad stone accomplished the passage of land tenure legislation that was revolution ary In its beneficent influence. The best friend of Ireland today is T. W. Russell; he is not a home ruler, for he thinks the enactment of his land purchase bill a far greater boon than the enactment of home rule. The versatile Intellectual gifts, the manifold social graces, or the Irish peo ple make their leaders mi or mark In every land. The Irish scholar . Is the enly man who can brilliantly blend wit with scholarship. Burke, Prancls Ma honey (Father Prout), Goldsmith, Dr. Maglrai, Lever, Lever. Moore, Sheridan, are Illustrations In- point A very bril liant people, they lack nothing but seir reotralnt td win a desirable degree of self-government. The Sultan of Turkey has ordered the Immediate mobilization of 240,000 troops for a military demonstration In Mace donia. This action Is likely to Involve complications between Turkey and Rus sia and Austria. Rulola and Austria will demand of the Sultan the approval of administrative and official- reforms in Macedonia. The Turkish government. If pushed to It. can put 800,000 robust, well-armed soldiers In the eld, and half of this number are as good troops as there are In Europe. The rank and file of the Turkish army fought with gfeat1 gallantry In 1S77 against the Russians, but they were Imperfectly armed and deficient In tactical discipline and In struction. -In the Turkish-Greek 'war of 1897, however, the Turkish troops were equal In drill, armev discipline and tac tics to the best In Europe. Their artil lery was ot German manufacture and Instruction, and the Turks fairly wiped the ground with the Greeks. The Turk ish Infantry are robust men, who do not use alcohol, and, man f6r man, are equal to any soldiers in Europe. If the" Otto man Empire should, put its whole fight- Ing strength in the field. It would be difficult to conquer. Sir Charles Dllke considers the Turkish Infantry soldier tne best military material In Europe. White Calf, the aged chief of the Blackfoot Nation. In Northern Montana. died In Washington, D. C. a few days ago 01 pneumonia a disease unknown to his people in the days wherein they slept on the ground In the open air, spent their days on horseback and lived on buffalo meat. With a delegation of his people White Calf went to Washing. ton early In January to protest against tne leasing of the Montana reservation by the Government agent. He secured a hearing before tlje.President and Com missioner Jones, and received the as surance that the reservation lands would not be leased. Having accom plished his mission and being anywhere between SO and 100 years old, the Black- foot chief was, we may well suppose. ready to depart for the happy hunting grounds, to which, according to the In dian's hope and belief, the white man has not obtained admission. There Is pathos Jn the Indian's story, whether 11 pertains to his life or his death, but OTer against It Is the stern logic of the survival or the fittest, and to this he must succumb. Coleman Younger, the last or the three notorious outlaws who terrorized a wide section or' the Northwest a rew years ago, has been pardoned. The two older brothers are dead, one from consump tion and the other committed suicide. The State of Minnesota luid these out laws In hand, and Is only too clad to be rid of the last of them. Cole's par-' aon was cwltlngent upon hls leaving that state, never to return. Minnesota probably reels that she has done her ssare In restraining and punishing this notorious trio or criminals, hence bids Cole depart to some other locality without compunction of conscience or apprehension of results to a new and strange community. An order of this kind represents a violation of the golden ruie in aeaung witn criminals which Is very generally Indulged. The criminal of special characteristics Is shoved on, though the more brave and honest jray would be to deal with him according to his deserts In the community to which he belongs. If music is not a proper equipment of public parks. It would be difficult to see what Is. It must be more from un- famillarlty with the proposal than from any well-considered objections that some of the Park Commissioners hesi tate to apply tlOOO to J1500 of their ap propriation to the promotion of band concerts. It has been too much the fash- Ion with us to give public undertakings our moral support and pass on the nnanciai ena or tnem to others. If it were nothing else than to arouse public Interest In the parks, probably few at tractions wouldaccompllsh more in that direction than music of a high order, which would bx certain to bring the parks under the direct notice ot thou sands who might otherwise never see them. TheOregonlan thinks the tax payers who contribute to the support of the parks would not begrudge a small proportion of the fund for band con certs. ' r And now the Crown Princess of Sax ony has gone whimpering back to Aus tria, leaving her paramour, the French music teacher, togo his way. Mother love was the magnet that drew her back, disgraced, humiliated and de prived of all rank. It Is strange that this most potent force did not serve as an anchor to hold her back from degra dation and folly. While feeling scant sympathy for a woman and a mother so shockingly recreant to her obligations as was this weak and unhappy womcuv it Is hard to suppress a feeling of con tempt for her rather, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who, in utter disregard ot his own wild youth and licentious man hood, refuses with pompous self-rlght-eousneas to permit his daughter to re turn to the shelter of his home. Truly me suD-royaiiies or tne Old World have a curious way of squaring moral delin quencies. In the northern provinces of Italy manufactures flourish and 1 the people are active, prosperous and proitreselve. The south of Italy Is almost exclusively agricultural: its inhabitants are back ward, Indolent and very poor and igno rant. The proportion of Illiterates among the recruits In the Prqvince of Naples was at a recent date 51.37 per cent, and In Sicily 55.03 pef; cent, while In Piedmont It was only 14.93 per cent. in criminal statistics, also, the south had a bad pre-eminence. In 189S and 1897 the number of murders committed in Sicily per- 100.000 Inhabitants was 27.90, and In the iProvlnce of Nanles 24.53j whereas In Lombardy It was only 2.92. The same disproportion is ob served In other crime's. The great highways of Eiropo are none of them built by the farming re gions through which they pass. The central government in Europe pays hair or more or the expense or road building. In France the broad roads which cross every department are paid from Jne national treasury. The de partment builds roads across every commune. The commune builds only narrower branch roads, ht Is now pro posed that Pennsylvania appropriate J6.000.000 $1,000,000 for each of .the six years: and that a Ijuarter of the cost of new roads come from the country and a quarter from the township. Charles Francis Adams will be hardly gratified with the following statement of his opinions, printed by the Rich mond Tlmcs-Dlspatch: The truth la out at last, and it is recoenlxed. Charles Francis Adams, one of the foremost men of New England, has declared thai reces sion was constitutional, that the men of the South decided right when they decided to cast their lot with their own states, that they unf nonorea an the more because they chose this course, and that Ilobcrt E. Lee stands forth In the estimation ot the country and of the world as the peer of George Washington. This Is in deed a grand triumph for truth, and It Is-the most notable triumph of the new century. In the death recently at the Patton Home of Mrs. Margaret Hale, a gentle woman of the old school closed her earthly record. Cheerful. Industrious. hopeful, she "wrested happiness from fate's hard hand" and at the age of nearly 92 years folded her- long-busy hands and passed on, leaving tender memories and the record of a kindly life behind her. Mary Mac Lane ts living in a seques tered nook' near Boston, engaged, It Is said, in writing a drama. It we are to Judge or this effort by the book thatj contained her "impressions," published a year ago, we may well believe that the Montana authoress will find it diffi cult to secure a manager bold enough to stage her drama. A PROBLEM JN FINANCE. . In 1S33 a fire occurred In the vault of the United States Mint at New Orleans and destroyed 5.000 In Treasury notes. The superintendent of the mint was charged with this amount in the final settlement of his accounts, and the Government brought suit against him and his bonds men to recover the money? Last Monday the United States Supreme Court, to which the cose had been appealed; decided in fayor of the Government. Many Inter esting points were Involved In this case. In tho first place counsel for the defend ant argued with no Uttlo force and plaus ibility that the Government had not sus tained an actual loss. A Treasury note Is merely a promise to pay. The United States pledges Itself to pay tho face value of this note on demand to tho bearer. When C3.000 of promises to pay wcro destroyed In the New Orleans fire evi dence of the Government's Indebtedness to that amount disappeared, and the Treasury could not be called upon to pay that sum. The Government, satd Justices Bhlras and Peckham, In their dissenting opinion, did not suffer loss beyond the ac tual cost of printing and transporting the notes to New Orleans. That seems to be a reasonable proposition. This may not be a parallel cane, but suppose the paper money burned at New Orleans had been n and Jo silver certificates. "This certi fies," states the inscription on these notes, "that there has been deposited in the Treasury of the United States one sliver dollar" (for five silver dollars, as the case may be) "payable to the bearer on de mand." These notes are signed by tho Treasurer and the Register of the Treas ury. When tho $23,000 In certificates were burned, the Treasury did pot lose the 25. 000 silver dollars. They remained In tho Government vaults In, Washington. It Is difficult to understand why the superintendent of the New Orleans Mint and his bondsmen should be called on to reimburse Uncle Sam- for a loss which he had not sustained In fact, even If his coffers -were depleted of promises to pay. These pronuses have been wiped out by the flames and cannot be presented to the Treasurer for redemption. It Is very puz zling to tho unsophisticated layman. "It is for the Government, guided by the Leg islation of Congress," he says in his de cision, "to determine when It shall or may Issue new Treasury notes. It cannot be compelled to Issue them In order to recompense Itself for the loss of those in the hands of an officer required by the terms of his bond to deliver them to tho Treasury. That is the law of the case, and it Is conclusive. Still, thajintutored layman finds It no easy matter to com prehend the transaction. Uncle Sam may nave tne t,ow in coin, which he promised to pay, but which he is now relieved from paying, and he may recover In addition 5.009 from the former superintendent of tne rew Orleans Mint or his bondsmen. That doesn't seem 0 be exactly fair, but it must be a perfectly regular financial transaction, otherwise, the Supreme Court would not have stamped it with its ap- provau- But it is all very bewildering to those who are not experts In finance. SUICIDB AT HOME AND ABROAD In Vienna last year 431 persons commit ted suicide. This is at the rate of 23 sui cides to isvery 100.000 Inhabitants. While this proportion Is 'formidable it Is moder ate compared with the maximum In Eu rope 51, to the 100,000 In Dresden. Lati tude seems to have comparatively little effect on the number of suicides In Eu ropean cities. The minimum rate is In Lisbon, where it Is 2 to the 100.000. In Madrid It is 3. In Jlome 8. in Constantino ple 12. All these cities are near the 40th parallel. White the 'figures generally In crease to the. North, tho progress Is by no means regular or uninterrupted. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Stockholm and Chrtstlanta are In approximately the same latitude, but tho rate, varies from 11 to. 7 In the first two to 27 and 23 in the last two cit ies. The highest suicide rate In European cities appears in those grouped about the 50th parallel. But even among these there are wide variations. Amsterdam and Brussels, where the rate Is li or 15, are north 'of Paris, where the rate Is 42, and tn about the same latitude with London, where it is 2J; Berlin, where it Is 36, and Dresden, where It Is EL The suicide rate of the countries as a whole frequently does not correspond to that of the chief cities. In France, for instance, it is only 15.7, while In Austria It is 21.2, and in Nor way 7.5. In general the city rate Is far above that of the country. Similar con ditions exist in the United .States, where the general suicide rate is given in the World Almanac as-3.5 per 100.000. But for ten years the average rate in St. Louis was 25.7. In Chicago 23.3. in Oakland. Cat. 21.5. In New York 20J. In Milwaukee 13.S, In Brooklyn 15.7 and In New Orleans 15.9. Apparently the temperament of the peo- pie and various local conditions are the determining factors In suicide. The cause of 10O cases Qf self-destruction In Europe were found to be: Acute madness or de lirium. 18; alcoholism. 11: vice and crime. 22; moral suffering.6; poverty. 4; family troubles, 4; loss of Intellect, 14; disease, 2; unknown reasons, 10. All of these causes are magnified In tho extreme social con ditions of the city. Whether they are strong enough to Impel men to death de pends largely on the National tempera ment and, possibly, too, on the strength of religious sentiment. An Undeveloped Empire. . Denver Weekly. , There Is an empire In the Northwest or which the people of the country will heart more within the next three years. Portland, the metropolis of Oregon, has cHrrtft f nrmAr nnil la nnMtv n t hiHn- (preliminary plans for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition to be held In 1905. commemorating, the centenary of tho ac quisition in 1S05 of a territory greater than the whole of that portion of the United States lying cast of the Mississippi and north ot the Ohio. Too brief Is the scope of a newspaper. column to give more than a faint notion of the latent resources, partial though marvelous development, and opportunities presented to the homesceker In the State of Oregon. The Lewis and Clark Expo sition will .reveal to the world at large unrealized possibilities of the region embraced in Washington. Idaho, Western Montana and British Columbia. Indeed, the mere preliminary announcements of plans has turned a tide of Immigration In that direction which It has been estimated by conservative officials of commercial bodies wilt add 200.000 people to the popu lation or Oregon alone during the next three years. At first the claim that any state 'may Increase by 60 per cent of Its present population In so short a time seems almost preposterous. But when one comprehends something of what the ter- rrltoryhas to offer, the claim subsides into the realm of things reasonable. Ethics of Murder. New fork Evening Post. "Disinterested homicide" Is the name which a French Jurist has given to mur der committed for other than mercenary motives. Under such a motive an old acquaintance, the crime passlonnel. hap almost the look ot a virtue. If you kill a man who has insulted you, your act Is disinterested; If a husband slays a wife who has betrayed him, he, too. smites In a spirit of disinterestedness. The French courts have always been so lenient to wards crimes of passion that one must regret that they have this" new -word to gild murder withal. It will be small com fort to the shades of those Who have been the victims ot political assassina tion, for example, to learn belatedly that they have, after all. only been the ob ject of a disinterested desire to kill. Baer Also Is a Mystery. Pittsburg Dispatch. Those pestiferous Eastern papers which are calling on President Baer to fulfill his promise to open retail coal yards Tf .coil' was eold at high prices evidently, oter loolf the fact that -Jnce Providence moves in inscrutable ways Its representatives In the coal business are entitled to do the Mm FIVE-MINUTE BOOK TALKS. So. SO Barton's "The Anatomy of Melancholy." Prpmlncnt among admirers of "The Anatomy of Melancholy: What It Is, with all the Kinds, Causes, Symptoms, Prognostications and Several Cures of It." etc titles In the lTth century were apt to be long and descriptive was Dr. Samuel Johnson. Ho though It "per haps overloaded with quotation. But." he added, "there is great spirit and great power In what Burton says when he writes from his own mind." Boswell re lates that his eminent friend said this work was the only one thaUtook him out of bed two hours sooner than he wished to rise. Similar testimony to the Inter est of this bookish man's book Is abun dantthat of Charles Lamb, for example. The plan of the work Is regular, and to read It through Is to appreciate its Sym metrical system. On the other hand, to consult the synopses of its three "parti tions" Is to please one's self with a bill of fare of -the most diverse and appetiz ing character, any. Item of which may bo selected with gratifying results. Such is the prodigal wealth of learning' em bodied In the book, that recognition of the author's erudition and Industry leads naturally to wonder that one mind could compass and utilize, with happy results of illustration and argumentative sup port, such a vast array of reference, anecdote and opinion. The author's .sub ject is a strange one, but It wzs apt; he himself was strange. A writer whom I have consulted says there Is a flavor "of thorough-going ill humor about "The Anatomy -of Melancholy," as If It were written by a man who regarded the world as a dreary farce and life as something to be laughed at. My own( Imprefelon scarcely would bear such strong terms of description. Perhaps I should be disposed to characterize the work as the heir of the Invention of a scholar and bachelor re cluse whom Melancholy had marked for her own. ..... The dates which limit Robert Burton's life are significant 1576 and 1610 a year well advanced Into the glorious reign of Elizabeth and one almost Immediately preceding the war between King and Par liament. He wrought when the English language had reached perfection for lit erary use, and when solid attainments In the learned languages were the. badge ot a scholarship restricted as to subjects but thorough and deep. Born of gentle par ents he was sent to Oxford for his educa tion, and after one academic preparation was ordained to the ministry of the Church ot England. His living was In Leicester shire, but he spent a great pari1 of his life In the university city, where his varied and wide reading was largely assisted by his access to the Bodleian Library. The eighth edition of his book appeared In 1676. only 55 years after the publication of the first, which is evidence of the great ap preciation It received. I havebefore ,me a reprint of the fifth edition, produced 16a-2. and containing corrections and additions made by tho author shortly before his death. The publishers A. C. Armntrong & Son, New York, 1893-announce the work, which Is In three volumes octavo, as "a new edition, corrected and enriched by translations of the numerous classical tracts." An Interesting fact In the history of Burtons great work Is Its extended reputation due to the publication in 1793. of a book by Dr. FerrJar, of Manchester, England, who pointed out numerous plag iarisms from Its pages bj.the author of "Tristram Shandy." - . . . I light on an Interesting passage in the elaborate introduction, entitled ''Democrl tus to the Reader": Burton published as "Democrltua Junior." He pays: Where good government is. prudent and wlso l-rtnces. there all things thnvo and prosper, peace and happiness Is In that land: where it is otherwise, all things are ugly to behold. Incult, Daroarous, uncivil, a paradise Is turned to wilderness. This Island, amonsst the rest.-. our next neighbors, the French and Germans, may be a sumeient witness, that in a. short time, by that prudent policy of the Romans, was brought from barbarism; see but what Caesar reoorts ot us. and Tacitus ot those old Germans, they were once as uncisll as they In Virginia, yet by planting of colonies and good laws, they became from barbarous outlaws, to be full of rich and populous cities, as now they are, and most flourishing kingdoms. Even so might Virginia, ana tnose wua Irish navo been civil ized long since. It that order had been hereto fore taken, which now begins, or planting colo nies, etc - -V . . Speaking of Idleness as a cause of Mel ancholy. Burton observes: Our too zealous Innovators were not so well advised In that general subversion of abbeys.. ana religious nouses, promiscuously to fling down all; they might have taken away those gross abuses crept In amongst them, reclined such inconveniences, and not so far to have raved and raged against those fair buildings and everlastIngmonuments of our forefathers' devotion, consecrated to pious nies; some mon asteries and collegiate cells might have Been well spared, and their revenues otherwise em ployed, here and there one. In good towns or cities at least for men and women of all sorts and conditions to live In. to sequester them selves from the cares nnd tumults of the world. mat were not aesirous. or nt to marry: or oth erwise willing to be troubled with common af fairs, and know not well where to bestow; themselves, to live 'apart In for more con- veniency. good education, better company sake, to follow their studios (I say), to the perfection of arts and sciences, common good, and as some truly devoted monks ot old had done, freely and truly to serve God. ' . He describes as mental symptoms of Melancholy: Suspicion and jealousy are general symptoms: they are commonly distrustful, apt to mistake and amplify, facile Irascible, testy, pettish, peevish and ready to snarl upon every small occasion. . . . I they speak in Jest.- he takes it in good earnest. If they be not saluted. In vited, consulted with, called to counsel, etc. or that any respect, small compliment or cere mony" be omitted, they think themselves neg lected, and contemned; for a time that tortures them. If two talk. together, discourse, whisper, jest or tell a tale in general, he thinks present ly they mean him. applies all to himself. . , . Or It they talk with him. he Is ready to mis construe every word they speak, and Interpret it to the worst: he cannot endure any man to look steadily on htm. speak to him almost, laugh. Jest or be familiar, or hem. or potntr cough, or rplt, or make a noise sometimes, etc - - . - - "Lone Melancholy" Is a very entertain ing part of the book. There la no need that I should say this. But little space Is left, and as Burton asks: "Who can reck on upon the dotage, madness, servitude and blindness, the foolish phantasms and vanities of lovers, their torments, wishes, idle attempts?" - , When Burton wrote tobacco wa3 becom ing well known on both sides of the At lantic. I am not astonished, therefore, to find a passage, which Is regarded by friends of the weed as rccommendatqry of lta moderate 'use. Tls curious to read what was said of the herb as long, ago as 1621. Ijy a wiser and more accomplished man than James I, who before that date had fulminated against the emoker'e luxury: Tobacco, divine, rare, super-excellent tobacco, which goes far beyond all the panaceas, potable gold, and philosopher's stones. Is a sovereign rmedy In all diseases. A good vomit. I confess, virtuous herb it It be well quaimed. Oppor tunely taken, and medicinally used; but. as it la commonly abused by most men. who take it as tinkers do ale, 'tis a plague, a mischief, a violent purge of goods, lands, health hellish, devilish and damned tobacco, the ruin and 1 overthrow of body and souL HENRY G. TAYLOR, K0TE AND COMMENT The dollar seems a. whole lot mightier than the sword in Morocco. One newspaper Is too 'small to print all that Blnger 'Hermann Isn't saying. Mr. Addicks seems quite willing to get Into the United States Senate by the back way. It begins to look as though Professor Glron would have to go to work for a living, after all. The next thing Germany will demand will be reimbursement for all the ammu nition that was wasted on San Carlos. The only people to whom Hobson's re tirement Is a severe blow org the news paper parngrnphers. He has gone, and we shall miss him. Speaking lightly of that lonesome little old anti-trust bill that got through Con gress, It looks as though Mr. Morgan had one on the House. Your Uncle Sam continues to prosper. During January he paid off $3,222,116 of his Indebtedness. He now owes, lesa cash in his pocket to meet possible demands for money, tol3.913.9a. Of this total he pays Interest on S914.541.330. The old gen tleman has given his notes of h'and. pay able on demand, without Interest, to the amount of S335.166.1S6. As no one appears to want either the principal or Interest on these notes. Uncle Sam does not walk the floor. Neither do the people he owes. They know ho can pay at any time. The Paris Tempspubllshe3 a series of documents selected by the sister-in-law of the late M. Thiers from his papers and presented to the French Academy, which throw a new light on the negotlaUons carried on between the great French pa triot and General Menteuff 1. commander. In-chler of the German Army during the Paris occupation of 1S71-3. The document shows that Thiers' patience was often tried by the attitude ot subordinate offi cials, who persisted In Insulting the Ger mans. Pedro Alvarado, the Mexican silver mil lionaire, was a peon miner, working for 50 cents a day, when he discovered the rich ledge which has given Elm a fortune of 150,000,000. It Is believed that tho Pal mlllo mine, which he owns, will double this fortune In a few years. A week or so ago his wife .decided that she needed the service of a dentist, so the Alvarado family traveled from Parral. their home, to Chihuahua, in a special train, some 30 persons in all. They and their belongings took up a dozen cars. According to Professor Baldwin Spencer, ot Melbourne University, tho blacks ot Central Australia are free from one "white man's burden." He snent several years making ethnological Investigations among them, and. one of his discoveries was that a mother-in-law was not allowed to come within a mile of the "mia-mla" (hut) of her married daughter. If she did so. the husband was authorized by the tribal law to use his club. The professor expresses admiration of this drastic meth od of preserving domestic peace and tran quillity. Mr. B, H. Elliott, In the Peking and Tien Tsin Times, urges the value of smok ing opium as a preventive against sea sickness. "A correspondent informs me," ha. says, "that three out of a party of four who Inhaled opium vapor on going on board and then lay down for soma hours, as directed by me, were not sea sick. The result,' my correspondent adds, was miraculous. We were none of us In the least sick, and. most wonderful of all, wo all appeared at table and ate out meals heartily and well.' The fourth, who did not smoke opium, was seasick." John Jerome Kelly, son of the late John Kelly, who was leader of Tammany Hall next before Croker, became a member of the New York Stock Exchange a fow days ago and was Initiated with a degree of violence which bore testimony to his popularity. The members daubed his faca with paint and made him dance as In dians dance In geography pictures. The reason they hazed him that wiv was h. cause his father was a political Indian and because Mr. Kelly expects to do whatever brokerage business there is to bo done for the Tammany Indians of this day. A short time ago the New York Trlbnn reprinted -from the" Princeton Tiger thesa lines: There once was a man from Nantucket. Who kept all his cash in a bucket: Cut his daughter, named Kan. Ran away with a man. And as for his bucket. Nantucket. A correspondent retorted with these: This roused the old man from Nantucket, Who chased them as far as Pawtucket; Where ha scolded Miss Nan. Thrashed soundly the man. And as for ths bucket. Pawtucket. And still another paraded his geograph ical knowledge: The pair followed pa to Manhassst. Where he still held the cash as an asset; Rut Nan nnrt Ih. man Stole the moneyand ran. And as for the bucket. Manhasset. They have been having some fun Jn Washington with two new Congressmen from Chicago. Martin Emerich visited the Capitol and was being shown around by Jim McAndrcws. The two were sitting In the House when Jim arose and said: 'To going out to the lobby. There's an oil painting there that I want to ship home one of the little perquisites we have, Mar tin." "Say," said Emerich, "what's the matter with me getting mine and send ing It to Chicago at the same time?" Congressman Mann hid W. W. Wilson In tew. They were also sitting In the H0U39 when a page came and laid a number of blue' slips In front of Wilson. "Sinn them." said Mann, and the new Congress man did so. Then he asked what they were. "Receipts for your piy from March to December 1 next," said Mann. "Great Scott!" yelled Wilson. "I didn't get tho money." It took the combined Illinois delegation to convince him that this was the usual thing. Souvenir Gold Dollars for St. Loali. Philadelphia North American. Under the supervision of Assl.rt.mt Coiner Robert Clark.. the Coinage ot one fourth million gold dollars eauvenlrs of the St, LouU Exposition was oegun ai tne mint last week. The first shipment of 50,000 to Chicago was made tho following day. The new dollar In size and weight, is similar to the old American dollar, being 25.8 fine. On the obverse side of 125,000 will appear a me dallion of Thomas Jefferson. A likeness of President McKInW win k tho obvlrse side ot the other 125,000. The roersra sine 01 tne new coin has the following Inscription In the form- of a circle: "Louisiana Purchase Exposition. St, Louin." In the center are the dates "1S03" and "1503." Of special historic, value to coin collectors and connoisseurs Is the numbering of the first 109 as proof coins. To tho purchasers of the first five pieces will be given a certificate signed by the chief coiner as a guarantee that they were thfj-flrst five Of the naw ann-ventr dollars struck off. The price' of each coin ts S3,