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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1900)
28 w x&gpxtt&tt Enteral at the Postoffice &t Portland, Oregon, u second-class matter. TELEPHONES, ffflttorfsl Eooni..-.i6a3'Bajflaea JDflScev....6S7 Z BEVISEU StTBSCSUPTIOJf HATES. Br Xall (postage prepaid), in Advance Daily, with Sunday, per month.. ....-....$0 S5 Dall, Sunday excepted, per year.......... T 60 DftUywtth Sunday, per year g 00 Supday, er year ...............-....... 3 (M Tfts "Weekly, per year 1 BO The "Weekly, 3 months... ...... an To City Subscribers Daily, per week, delivered. Sundays excepted.l5o DaJy, per -week, delivered. Sundays lncluasd,20e News or discussion Intended lor publication In The Oregonian should be addressed Invariably "Editor The Oregonlan," not to tne name of eny individual. Letters relating to advertising, subscriptions or to any business matter should be addressed simply 'The Oregonlan." The Oreffoalan does cot buy poems or stories from individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to it -without solicita tion. No stamps should be Inclosed for this per Pose. - ru. - "" Paget ,Sound Bureauo-Captaln' A. Thompson, office at 1111 Ps,c!no avenue, Tacoma. Box 655. Tacoma posto&ce. Eastern Business Office The Tribune bunding, Kew Xork dry; "The Rookery' Chicago; the 6. C. Beckwlfh special agency. New Tort. Far sale in San Francisco by 3. K. Cooper, 746 Market street, near the Palace hotel, and. at Goldsmith Bros, 23G Sutter street. For sale in Chicago by the-P. O. News Co.. C17 Dearborn street. TODAVS "WEATHER Occasional rain; fresh to brisk southeast winds. JPORTTAJfD, SIOXiOAY, JAXUARY 1. OREGON'S ;OST PROSPEROUS TEAR. Never since thzr pioneers drove their ox-teams -across -the--plains have .the peopfe' of Oregon 'be.en so genuinely prosperous '.as' they were-last y ear. The greatest .activity prevailed in every calling that engages the" energies of our people, and advancement was gen eral in all branches of Industry. While prices for some commodities were not bo good as In 1898, producers have not neen forced to selL Large crops and fair prices in 1897 and 1898 made pro ducers financially independent, and those who are not satisfied with pres ent market conditions are in position to hold their 1899 crops for higher prices without borrowing money to tide them over. The producing classesi notwith standing their lajije holdings ,fpr im proved markets, Jnsver were better off. Productions of farm, orchard, dairy and range amounted last year to $45, 50,737. This includes $9,500,000 which Gales of tock brought into the state. The yield of minerals was $2,743,103, of which $3,286,000 was gold, $198,940 silver and $264,163 coal. Manufactures were, according to the best estimate, $56,140, 195. The lumber cut, which is Included In manufactures, was the largest in the history of the state. It amounted to 669,550,000 feet, valued at $6,228,250. Multnomah county broke all records with a cut of 205,000,000 reet. The prod uct of fisheries was $2,443,155. Port land's foreign commerce for the twelve months ended November SO, 1899, was $9,130,803. This makes a total of $117, 007,993 for products and foreign com merce. Demand for stock never was better. The only check to larger trading in this industry is the inability of stock men to meet the demands of buyers. Horticulture is passing from the con trol of the careless and the negligent and into the hands of men who will give scientific management to orchards. Mining is out of the experimental stage In every section of Oregon where min eral is found, and the era of large pro duction has dawned. .The only unsat isfactory condition is the slow growth of manufacturing. So long as our peo ple continue to ship hogs, wool and high-grade lumber -to the East and buy them back, with transcontinental freights added, as bacon, clothing and furniture, just so long- will industrial development drag. Immigration was Email last year, but it was of a high type. The newcomers were mainly native-born Americans from the Middle "West, with a sprink ling from the Atlantic states. They are the cream ofLjthe Easterners now settling in the dEaciflc- -states. They come well provided with funds either to buy or make homes. Oregon's pop ulation, according to the federal cen sus to be taken this year, should not be far from 425,000. One of the surest -signs of the pros perity Is the enormous store of ready money. Our people are financially in dependent sll the East. It iRcDnserv atively estimated that the national, foreign, state and private banks of Ore gon, "Washington and Idaho are now carrying individual deposits of nearly $50,000,000. Individual deposits of the national banks of Oregon were $11,781, 130 33, on September 7, 1899. Those of the national banks of Portland were $7,842,873 03 on December 2. All the towns of the state are stead ily Increasing in population, but there is no extravagance. Municipal expen ditures are kept down to the lowest notch. Portland has made rapid growth and extended its trade. Its population Is neating 100,000. Last year'-its job bing;" rade ampnnted- to$100,0j!ib,090, an Increase of t25 per cent-'over 1898." Its bank clearings reached a total of $91, 652,230 63. Sales of real estate were 8,60o,5$5 2L New buildings, costing ?64S,930, were built All towns in the Northwest made substantial progress, but their growth has not endangered Portland's supremacy. - - Our people begin the new year pros perous and contented; with well-filled purses and practically no debt; with confidence in the future of the state and Its institutions; with conservatism born of the experience of depression; with modern methods in the manage ment of their affairs; and with the valves of energy wide open. They are spurred to new and greater endeavor by the opportunities which these progressive- times, the resources of the state and the investment of outside capltal4 offer to Intelligent effort. The entire state breathes the spirit of prog ress. Great as was the development of 1899, that of 1900 will "be greater. If we insist, as we plainly are In sisting, upon the open' door at Port Ar thur and Kiao Chau and Kwang Chau "Wan, how shall we refuse it at Manila also? Such inconsistency is incredible, .and yet equal privileges for trade at American ports involves a revolution in American political theories. Apparent ly, -unless the threatened republican revolt in .congress, exceeds, its present dimensions, the open door in the de pendencies and the reciprocity treaties with France, Argentina, Nicaragua and the British "West Indies, will put an end forever to exclusive tariff policies -on part of the United States. This -may be the stroke of policy that will keep Mr. Bynum's party from polling its SJOQO.000 votes In 1S04. It would be a just retribution for the Iniquitous 1 course of the democratic party at Chi cago in 1896, If the economic policy on which it might have held power for long years were effected by its enemies, while it tarried to play with currency debasement, sympathy with riot and opposition to the government inrtlme of foreign .war. ,-. -.- GOOD 7UOXEY AKT FIiEXTY OK IT. Although the amount of money in the country is greater than ever before, both in the aggregate and per capita, the rapid increase shows no signs of abatement.; rThe" direpSor offce mTnt reports our gold product for the year just closed at $70,694,170, an Increase of $6,236,670 over 1898, and our silver prod uct at $74,424,696 (coinage value), an In crease for the year of $4,040,211. A large portion of this silver has been sold abroad, but the gold has been added to our monetary stock. "Within the year ye jhavejjmpojted .asmuqh gJ as wejhave exported, even Including the shfpments "for Europe now on the Atlantic, so that from gold alone we have increased our money within the year by at least $70,000,000. Prophecies of dire disaster by the sil verites have come to grief, and for pro posals of inflation have been substituted through natural processes accretions of money and currency, every dollar of which is as good as gold. As Repre sentative Grosvenor reminded the coun try in the progress of the debate on the reform hill, the currency has gained nearly $400,000,000 In the three years since Bryan was defeated. The gold stock has Increased $178,000,000; silver dollars, $12,000,000; subsidiary silver, $14,000,000; treasury notes, $1,000,000; bank notes, $20,000,000; gold certificates, $6,000,000; silver certificates, $46,000,000. Speculators that were nipped in the recent squeeze in New York and Boston might inquire where all this money has gone, as there is a stringency in sup plies available for their use. The an swer is that the money has gone into the country, absorbed in trade, depos ited as savings of the people in banks. In this little town of Portland banks contain no less than $3,000,000 in cash, and the individual deposits of Oregon, Washington and Idaho banks are n,ot far from $50,000,000. On the Pacific coast generally, and throughout the South and "West, banks are practically independent of the great money centera and have vastly more funds on hand than they are able to find safe and nrofitable use for. It is an exhibit in prosperity and solid resources that may well put the Bryantines at their wits end for an is sue on which to go before the people next year, and one that has already stiffened the backbone of our timorous republican politicians, whom the word "gold" has been wont to throw into a panic. mmm ,mmmmm THE REGISTRY IiAW. A bright spot in Oregon's political history Is the new registration law, which goes into effect today. It lias taken a long time to bring the reform about, and there.is good reason to fear the act as it stands is far from perfect. But a beginning has been made, and amendment "will do the rest. In the history of ballot reform there are no steps backwards "When the voter has once tasted freedbm from the tyranny of the political boss, he never goes back to put his neck in the old yoke. It is an opportune time to pay a tribute to the cranks and enthusiasts who have carried on this uphill and thankless task, for the purification of the ballot is their work and theirs alone. The most unpopular man In his day and generation is the reformer. His mortal enemy Is the boss. He is held in scorn by the practical man, and his approach is the signar for busy per sons to close the door and be con sumedly busy. But he Is nothing daunted, and when he is dead the re nown he earned will be freely bestowed. It was through that arch-offender, Mr. Ed. Bingham, that the strange and un welcome Australian ballot was forced upon us years ago. "We took it with a wry face, but the politician does not live who would dare propose to take It from us today. Probably the chief credit for this registration law Is Mr. Bingham's also; and we shall be sur prised if he does not gird on his armor now for another campaign, whose ob ject shall be extension of the registry law to the primaries a measure of re form for whose neglect there is no excuse and which should be enacted by the next legislature. Everybody should register. It is no use to wail about the corruption of pol itics or the poor quality of officials or the power of the boss, and then neglect the primaries or stay at home election day. Good citizenship that preaches and scolds, but is too busy to vote, isn't worth much. Support of the new law by registration is the most effective way to secure its perfection and purify our politics. THE FORCES pi SOUTH AFRICA. General Joubert Is repprted as having said recently that the Dutch population of the two republics is but 170,000, fur nishing an army of 50,000 men. But it would not be possible to form an army of 50,000 men out of a total population of 170,000. It is probable that a good many foreigners are In the Boer serv ice; also Dutch from the British prov inces; for the indications are that the Boers have at least 50,000 men under arms. At the outbreak of the war the Brit ish war office reported that the Brit ish forces in South Africa amounted to 24,746 regulars, all "trained and ma ture men." These original forces, less the members lost in battle and by dis ease, are mostly shut up lniadysmith, Kimberiey and Mafeklng. Probably 15.000 effective jnen of these forces ire main. , . .. , The British authorities do not now give -out information as to the numbers and movements of their troops; but it Is known that the reinforcements which already have arrived carry the British forces up to at least 85,000 men. Be sides.'these, over 15,000 colonial trojbps have "been recruited; and this colonial force is very valuable, since It has a large proportion of mounted men. In cluding these troops and the naval brigade which reached Ladysmith be fore the complete Investment of the place by toe Boers, the British num bers now must reach and may exceed 100,000. In addition the British govern ment ishurrylng its .preparations, with all possrbleeneTgyio" transport an ad ditional force, 'estimated at 60,000 men, the last of whom should arrive in Feb ruary, at farthest. These reinforce ments are mostly from England, but considerable numbers are from Canada, Australia and India. Here Is the largest muster of white THE MORNING' troops ever gathered under the British flag. But thercontest Is of a kind that requires at least three men to one; for the Boers are wise enough never to attack. It is clear that the British strength has been from the first and even yet is nullified by lack of concen tration. The plan of General Buller was to pressthe Boers strongly along the- line of the Orange and Modder rivers, so as to make them let go of Natal and Ladysmith; but it requires, more men than thus far have been at his disposal. If now General Buller has 85,000 men at his disposal (not includ ing the beleaguered garrisons, which hie not at his -disposal) he cannot, af ter detaching thenjipecessary forces for protection of his communications, bring much more than 50,000 in direct and active movement against nearly or quite equal numbers of a brave and vigilant enemy, holding the interior line, superior in mobility, supplied with the best arms in the world, and stand ing On "the defensive. Bullfer's army thus far has been utterly unequal to the execution of sound Btrategy. GOTERNOR-GENERATj "WOOD. If General "Wood is not the very best man that could have been appointed governor-general of Cuba, everybody thinks he is, which, for-all practical purposes, comes to the same thing. As physician, sanitarian and soldier, he has made a record that promises sue-' cess In the career upon which he has entered with greatly widened powers. In some circles his appointment is re garded with great satisfaction as a needed blow to the principle of iron clad seniority in the army. Secretary Root has, perhaps, not more venera tion for the traditions of the army than necessary for the impartial discharge of the duties of his position, and he de sires to promote men on their merits. This, it is conceded, he has done in this instance. Having proved himself a man who can do things with a mini mum of mistakes. General "Wood has fairly won the promotion which the secretary of war was bold enough to give him. General Wood Is a well and favorably advertised, hence a well known and popular man. He has writ ten for the magazines and been, written about, and he was advanced with extraordinary rapidity, considering the claims of many of his co-workers to advancement In accordance with mili tary usage. Criticism in army circles in regard to his appointment is disarmed, however, by the fact that his civic rather than military qualities won for him this ap pointment, and that civil ability rather than military responsibility will be re quired for the successful discharge of his duties. The civil administration of Cuba requires the judgment of a civil ian' rather than the unbending methods of the military man, and it also re quires a man who is widely known and whose reputation, civil and military, is established upon a popular basis. These requirements General "Wood meets, and the very fact that he is a civilian, though necessarily holding military rank, will make it easier for men who outrank him in the service to serve un der or with him in their purely mili tary capacity. It is a fact that augurs wrell for the success of his administration that the department commanders in Cuba, though all much his senior as soldiers, seem to have welcomed him very cor dially while, more important stillk the Cubans are apparently disposed to ac cept 'his administration with confidence and hope. Thus equipped for work in his new field of endeavor, and with the full sanction of public opinion at home. Governor-General Wood assumes the difficult role to which he has been assigned under very favorable auspices, and starts with every opportunity to accomplish excellent results. His title has a sound to which American ears are unaccustomed, but with which they must, under changed conditions,' soon become familiar. Our success in the management of our new possessions and dependencies depends largely upon the interpretation given to this unfa miliar title by the men who bear it, and, unless indications are greatly at fault, the administration of General Wood as governor-general of Cuba will do much to relieve the title from the odium that was attached to it in the American estimation by the odious rec ord made by Spanish generals, and es pecially in recent years by Weyler. There is no probability that Senator Clark, of Montana, will be turned out of the senate. It cost him $1,200;000 to get the seat, which is but one-fourth of his income for a year, and his chief manager, John B. Wellcome, has been disbarred by the supreme court of Montana from practice in the courts of the state, for complicity in the con spiracy to purchase the seat. But the senate has no mind to encourage in quiry into the methods by which its members are elected; so Clark Is in little danger. In. Montana the grand juries were "fixed" at the beginning, and the coming ones will be "fixed" till the statute of limitations shall have run. Clark has unlimited money, the product of great mines; and money "goes." There would be a remedy against 'these abuEes if senators were elected by popular vote; but the sen ate blocks the way to the amendment of the constitution necessary to secure that result. An hereditary body might not be an improvement, but it couldn't be worse. Neglect of engineer officers affords significant corroboration of Great Brit ain's well-known inefficiency in the early stages of land operations. It is a counterpart of our similar errors in the early months of the Spanish war. We are not a military people, neither is Great Britain and the evidence of it is sometimes humiliating. Yet the basis of the inefficiency lies in quali ties of supreme value. These are an tipathy to militarism and devotion to the arts and labors of peace. Herein is to be found explanation of that per petual -unpreparedness for war in which the .English-speaking., world,, lways finds its" land forces, for which we blame our organization and our repre sentatives, and against which military studentB rage in vain. To what extent education of the masses in the neces sity of army reform can prevail over this deep-rooted instinct is problemat ical. It is a pitiful commentary on popu lar intelligence that thousands hurrah for the Boers because their govern ment is called a republic and Britain Is a nominal monarchy. Slavery to words and phrases is. common obsta cle to the spread of truth. "Free trade" is a sacred shibboleth to many, but there Is not, nor can be, any such OREGONIAN, MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 1900. thing as free trade. "Consent of the governed" is worshiped by those who "have no adequate understanding either of its historical significance or legal In terpretation. So it matters not to large numbers that Great Britain has as per fect a form of representative govern ment as our own, or that the Trans vaal, nominally a "republic," is a more exclusive and oppressive oligarchy than dermany or even Spain. They come to the word "republic" and the word "monarchy" and they can go no further. Statistics printed elsewhere in today's paper give in detail the movement of wheat for the year just closed. This cereal Is the one great staple of the Pacific coast. From Mexico to British Columbia, scores and hundreds of ham ets, villages, town3 and cities are de pendent on wheat to keep the wheels of trade moving. The figures men tioned are from official records, -and they show that in the year 1899 "Port land handled nearly one-half of all the wheat exported from the Pacific coast. Dow prices for wheat and high rates for ships made a much lighter move ment than was expected earlier in the season, when the enormous crop was harvested. However the wheat must eventually seek a market, and, as Port land has better facilities and more ex porters in the market than are found In" any other city on the coast, the movement for 1900 will probably find her still In the lead which she has long maintained. All branches of trade are affected by the wheat movement, and Portland's supremacy in that busi ness accounts for much of her prestige in other lines. Russia, in her reply to our overtures concerning the open door in Asia, con tents herself with, verbal representa tions made with great suavity and im pressiveness by that past master of diplomacy, Count Cassini. That is to say, she will promise anything now, but she will perform as It suits her best when the time comes. The his tory of international politics shows us what this means. "Spheres of influ ence," to France and Russia, mean trade preserves, securely Jocked from competition. This is a situation we shall have to face with firm diplomacy some day, unless the work shall be sooner done for us through the war ships of Great Britain and Japan. It will be well for the British if Lord Roberts really purposes, as he is re ported, neglecting the beleaguered places and marching direct upon Boer centers. To strike at vital points is the way to make war, and this will not only leave the formidable strongholds now occupied by the Boers unassalled and inevitable losses, saved, Dut-will draw the Boers away from them to meet the main British advance. By this time the political considerations that broke in on Bullers original plan should be amply satisfied. Cable reports of London press utter dances show how quickly in this rap- Idly moving age tables may be turned. Journals that twitted us in our ex tremity eighteen months ago now make haste to speak well of us. It is Eng land's turn to worry. Consistently enough, there are .ingrates on both sides. The role played by our aspersers in.Gr,eat B.rjtain at,, the time of our civil war and in xne iate wm - Spain is now sustained by the Boer sympathizers in this country. The popocrats who attribute the cur rency stringency in the East -and the recent panic on 'change to the gold standard bill, should not neglect to note its extensive effects also throughout the Old1 World. Its baleful influence seemp almost as extensive as those of the crime of '73. The real reason behind the Mont ,,,4 nffnir ?s. of course, yet to come. The Schley partisans will soon discoverl that the cruiser was shuffled off in or der to put fresh humiliation on their idol, who waB away off in South Amer ican waters and knew nothing of the proceeding. Hints of a plan to deadlock the Ken tucky legislature have, strong antece dent probability. The arch built up by Kentucky politics recently needs some such fitting keystone. ANOTHER PHILIPPINE LETTER. Our "Antih" Are the Strenfftli o the Rebellion. Tro-rffnrfl PnnrAnt. "Llfe' has a letter from sorctebody whomd It vouches for as "an unbiased United States official (not officer, observe), now ,ln tha Philippines." It publishes some In teresting -extracts from the letter. "Life .Itself is not unbiased. It 13 very strongly "anti-Impeflallst" as all its readers know, though it has occasional twinges of pa triotic compunction. The unbiased official is not in love with ti -pviinnninea. Once he Rets out of them, he hopes never to set eyes on tbem again. He does not approve of General Otis. He thinks" it quite natural tha Fili pinos should dislike a lot of strangers who do not speak their language, who are not of their religion, who call them "niggers," who have raised prices without (reducing taxes, and who, by occupying a district or town awhile, and then clearing out of It get them fined by the insurgents. Here is the really important paragraph of the letter: The greatest obstacle to the settlement of the question Is the- encouragement of certain Ameri can public1 men, newspapers, etc These things or all read, and many of them reprinted In the Heraldo Filipino, La Libertad, etc Many of them, 1 think. beliee that congress -will recall the troops shortly Ih. Uncase, IHa. 250,000 Tagala -would run the wnple' group of Islands. So the situation stands. So tig unbiased official, who Is "sour" op General Otis and the management of the campaign, and the islands themselves, corroborates unqualifiedly the dying tes timony of General Lawton that the chief responsibility "for the continuance of the bloodshed in the Philippines lies at the doors of the "anti-imp erialists" here at home. We reproduce again the impressive words of that knightly soldier, written when he was already (though he did not know it) in the shadow of death. He wrote to ex-Minister Barrett: i would to God that the truth of this whole Philippine situation could be known by every one In America, as 1 know It. If the real history, inspiration and conditions of this In surrection, and the influences, local and exter nal, that now encourage the enemy, as well as the actual possibilities of these islands and "peoples and their relations to this great East, could be understood at home, we would near no more talk of unjust "shooting- of gov- ernment" Into the Filipinos, or of hauling down J our flasr in the Philippines. It the so-called I antl-lmporlalists would honestly ascertain -the truth on the ground, and not in distant Amer ica, they, whom I believe to be honest men, misinformed, would be convinced of the error of their statements and conclusions and of tha unfortunate effect of their publications here. If I am shot by a Filipino bullet it might as well come from one of my own men, because I know from observations, confirmed by cap tured prisoners, that the continuance of fight ing Is chiefly due to reports that are sent out from America. We hope that as often as an "anti imperialist" gets up In senate or house this winter and declaims the common places of his sect, some one win immedi ately read these words of our dead gen eral to him, and invite him to comment on them. A IAW OF HISTORY. And Its Application to the Present Contest in South Africa. The question has- been asked why it is that the Boers are not entitled to the sympathy -of the? America!? people, and why there is not good reason for think ing that, in the long run, their cause, because it is the right one, should not succeed. Perhaps the best answer that can be given to this question is one which Is drawn from an exceedingly scholarly article recently written by M. Edmond Demollns, entitled, "The Boers and the English Which Is in the Right?" and printed in the French periodical La Sci ence Soclale. This review is one which Is to this extent interesting, that M. De mollns, as a Frenchman, might be ex pected to share the feelings of the great mass of his countrymen against the na tion on the other side of the channel. But he has arrived at the conclusion that In this respect they are In the right; that they are simply following a law which has controlled mankind from the earliest days of recorded history the law that when two races, representing different social conditions, are brought to gether, the contentions between the two races will Inevitably end by the Buccess of the superior. The war now going on he looks upon as simply an Incident, and ho goes so far as to say that, if the Boers were to win an apparent victory, it would only delay for a short time heir inevitable fate, un less they changed their conditlQns of ex istence and brought themselves into Hne with the manners ana methods of the progressive races of the present time. There is, he says, no civilized country which does not afford evdences of changes of this kind, whether it is the Phoenicians, the Gveeks, the Romans, the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Eng lish or the American, or, Indeed, the Boers themselves. Air of these various people, and many others beside them, have advanced through migration Into a Lpreviously occupied territory, and when once there, have given a practical demon stration In one form or another of the law of the survival of the fittest. Take the Boers, for example. When they "trekked" out from their settle ment In the Cape Colony, they found the Transvaal occupied by native races races which still in numbers far exceed all of the white settlers that have since been there. They dispossessed these natives of their land, and even of their cattle, with out the least ceremony, and without the least consideration for their personal or national rights. They were an inferior race, and as such were compelled to sub ordinate themselves. In certain instances, as In the case of the Zulus, the natives were determined fighters, and It required long and severe warfare to bring about this dispossession. But In the end It came, and those who are the friends of the Boers are hardly In a position to assert that the Boers are entitled to the possession of the TranBvaal as against those representing the higher order of civilization. If they were justified as a superior race In driving out the Hottentots and the Kaffirs. Or, take the various great nations of Europe. As they are at present consti tuted, they represent the extinction, usu ally through forcible means, of a large number of small Independent, nationali ties. Within the present generation the German empire has been formed, with enormous advantage to the Germans as a whole, by the enforced suppression of a!arge number of Its formerly lnde-elinr-sratesFrance, England. Italy, Austria, were eachrOTmeriydlyJded into a greater or smaller number of independ ent sovereignties. By degrees one of these small nationalities became, through its progresslveness, superior to Its neighbors, then dominated over them, and finally compelled them by force of arms to Join with It through the complete loss of local Independence. This movement M. Demollns asserts to be a law of nature, which is productive of the best and highest social. Industrial and political results. When two classes of people living together, or two nation: living in contiguous territory, show marked differences In civilization, making a superiority In one instance and an in feriority In the other, judged by the tests TT,nAm civilization, then, unless the 'Inferior can by imitation bring itself up to the level of Its rival, it is wevrtauie that It will sooner or later go to the wall. This he asserts to be the law of human nrojrress. If one denies it, they should proclaim that all Europeans and Ameri cans are simply monsters, worthy of being placed under the ban of humanity. They should be treated as animals of prey by all savage barbarians or less advanced people whom they have unjustly or bru tally dispossessed. It is the law of their being that they have followed out, and it Is as the result of this law that a largo part of the world Is now civilized, and is not In the state of barbarism or seml barbarlty in which, In numberless cases, the native inhabitants would have con tinued to live If the more advanced peo ple had not overcome and dispossessed tnein- - i ' No Poclcets In a Shroud. Denver Post. Ol ye who bow at Mammon's shrine. Whose hearts with greed are growing cold, "Who turn your backs on things divine And -worship but the god of gold, "What will it profit you when death Lay3 low the head so kingly proud And rebs the -wasted form of breath-7 There are no .pockets in a shroud. Tour thoughts by day, your dreams benight, Are but' of grasping- golden gain. Tour guide Is but the beacon light Of riches burning in your brain. Ton cast all nobler alms behind And struggle as a madding crowd To clutch the dollars, but you'll find There are no pockets In a shroud. Ta usurers who grind the poor Beneath a cold, relentless heel, "Who overshadow many a door With cloud of misery, and feel No sympathy to see them He Beneath the hand of sorrow cowed, Remember when jou come to die There are no pockets in a shroud. What is the profit to the man "Whose life to Mammon, has been given.? A brMge of gold can. never span The gulf between the earth and heavent What will It be to him to find The wealth with which he is endowed, At death's gate must be left behind? There are no pockets in a shroud. This life is but a span; today "We're .here; tomorrow w are gonev Have faded from the earth away Into eternity's strange dawn! Tet In the hungry greed for gams Too many at the gold shrine bowed. Forget that when the life-spark wanes There are iio pockete in a shroud. POSITION OP OUR COAST JOBBERS If the Pacific coast had possessed no advantages over Eastern jobbing cen ters for supplying the retail trade of the Western slope, and even the inter mountain region, no jobbing trade would have been established here. Now that so large a wholesale trade is es tablished, here it is not to be supposed that It will be surrendered to greedy competitors of the East. The jobbers of the Mississippi valley are making a desperate fight for shipping rates that will give them command of much of the territory that is now supplied by the distributors of the coast, but they must fail in the end, because they can not destroy the natural advantage that operated to bring business here in the first place. At least four rate-making factors are involved in the controversy now pend ing before the interstate commerce commission, wherein the jobbers of St. Louis seek to get transcontinental rates that shall enable them to undersell the Pacific coast dealers. These are (1) water competition with rail lines; (2) distance as a basis for rate-making; (3) carload compared with less than carload rates; (4) classification of pack age freight. The greatest pressure ia brought to bear upon the question of the relation of carload to less than carload rates, it being presumed that if 100 pounds of freight can be trans ported at the .samp rate as a carload that the interior retail dealers will buy their supplies in the East, rather than on the coast, lor the Eastern Jobbers boast of being able to do business cheaper than those of the coast, and to sell their goods at a corresponding reduction in price. This would grant those who buy by the carload or train load no consideration whatever for their large shipments, for their capital in vested or for the cost of distribution, while at the same time there is no de nying the fact that the handling of the large lots of goods is at a much lower rate of expense to the carrier than the handling of the small shipments. The rates contended for by the St. Louis men who are really acting for all the jobbers of the Middle West would tend to make the Pacific coast jobbers pay the freight for the interior retailers or go out of business and leave the field entirely in the hands of these Eastern competitors. In other words, the rail roads were asked to lend a club to break the backs of their own best cus tomers. They refused to do this, and it is not probable that the interstate commerce commission will undertake to force them Into any such course. Moreover, water carriage, which first brought goods to the Pacific seaboara at a living rate and was largely Instru- at a living rate ana was iartjeiy mauu- mental in building up the great whole- sale trade of this coast, will still re main to menace and destroy any com bination of transportation interests and Middle West jobbers that may be en tered into. The St. Louis plaintiffs rec ognize the danger to their scheme that lies in ocean transportation when they make the Southern Pacific Company defendant in this raid on transconti nental rates. The Southern Pacific has its own through line from seaboard to seaboard, using steamers east of New Orleans, and it has been able to dic tate terms on through freight. When other lines insisted on making a cer tain rate on certain commodities froni Chicago and Missouri river points to the West, the Southern Pacific made the same rate applicable from New -v-nr-ir where its business originated- This Is the influence that brought into use and has retained the blanket or postage-stamp rate on so many com modities. And it was the cheap water carriage ea&t of New Orleans that mada the pc-ltion of the Southern Pacific so strong. If the Middle West people were to be successful In eliminating the pres ent difference between carload and less than carload rates, and at the same time get rates graded according to dis tance carried, they would gain two things for.which. they have long been striving. And really the two go to gether, for it would avail the Middle West men nothing to find after all their struggle that they had been successful only In letting New Tork deeper into their own country. Ocean carriage, nevertheless, which originally forced through rail rates to figures so low that the railroads could not use them In serving interior points, would remain to regulate the case of the Eastern Jobber versus his coast competitor. Just now is the opportuni ty 3f the St. Louis schemers, for the ex-Q-. loiea of war in two continents have drawn a large part of the ocean ton nage of the world from the channels of trade and made ocean freights very high. Therefore, at this moment water transport does not serve as a protec tnn nf eoast iobbers against incon venience in case the obnoxious rates sought by the Middle West were put into effect. But this condition cannot long continue. Shipbuilders will rem edy this difficulty even if the nations shall not make peace. The future promises low water freights; rail rates, however, are rising by leaps and bounds. If there -were a canal across Nicaragua thi3 matter would adjust it self without any worry on the part of the coast interests attacked, and even without the canal the influence of sea carriage must defeat the Middle West in its attempt to corner and monopolize the distributing trade of all the great West. Supposing the coast jobbers were to be driven out of business does the in terior retailer think he would be able to buy goods from the Eastern houses for less money than he would pay here? It is the history of all such movements that prices are temporarily reduced to a figure even below cost In order that competition may be de stroyed. When the field is clear of competitors, who names the prices at which goods may sell? This consid eration, of course, will not restrain the country merchant from buying where he can get lowest prices today, but it ought to make him hesitate to add hla voice to the cry in favor of giving the home trade field over to the invaders who have no interests here except to "milk" the country. Better or less ex pensive service cannot be expected from the Eastern jobbers. It would not come if coast wholesalers were driven out of business. They will not be driven out of business, because ocean carriage protects them beyond possi bility of destruction. Improvement in means of land transportation has not outmarched those of the sea, and car riage by water must continue to be cheaper than carriage by land. The Man to Asl?. Boston Commercial Bulletin. The question, "Where do the pins go to?" is easily answered by the fellow -who makes a 10-strike. IENT. -rrrt y: Happy New Tear. y i J;; Turn backward, turn backward, oh. time la - - your flight. "3JWTJU And explain what I did with thatig? 3 night. X Beginning on wash day, the new year ought to have a clean start In life. The first thing requisite to comfort on New Tear's day is to buy a new hat. Aguinaldo will not lack for company al ways. Bryan will be running next year. First thing you do this morning probably will be to write "1S33" at top of your let ters. There will be atlll another Christmas in this century, de3pttc all demonstra tions to the contrary. "I just called." said Alphonso to Clar inda on New Tear's" day. And then her father saw him and raised him. Beginning today, the Pennsylvania Rail road Company will retire 1000 of its em ployes on pensions. Even the' devil Is not so black as he is painted. Alfred Austin, poetaster to her gracious majesty, Queen "Victoria, has written some more poetry on the Boer wan. This fact is chronicled moro in sorrow than in anger. ' The Boers evidently read Scripture to say, "Let your searchlight so shine before men that they may see your earthworks and glorify the chance that has given them a target to shoot at." While congressmen are sending out gar den seed to their rural constituent why don't they donate a few packages of water plant and electric light plant seed to their urban friend3? This Is the first day of the new year, the first day of the working week, the first day of the month, the first day of the new moon,, the first day under the workings of the new registra tion law, and according to some mistaken people, it Is also the first day of the new century. With all these new Items and a set of regular New Tear resolutions, people can make a good square beginning in life on January 1, 1300. Since good servant girls became as scarce as hens teeth, housewives who are so fortunate as to secure one are show ing their appreciation of tha treasure by the granting of unusual favors, and a brighter day seems to be dawning for the hard-worked kitchen glrL In one district of the city there are a number of these good girls, and their employers have adopt i ea system uj. .... .. .. J each other occasionally of evenings. Some ed a system of allowing tnem 10 eiuenaiu allow them the use of the kitchen, others a back parlor or dining-room, and oc casionally one gives up her parlor to the servant "giri'sfrlends. Tete-a-tete tables for games, and light refreshments are fur nished for the company, and the favored girls appreciate the favor shown them, and greatly enjoy entertaining and being enter tained by each other. Every woman who has a good servant girl whom aha desires to retain- can well afford to grant favors of this kind occasionally, as they make the lives of the girls better worth living, and render them m6re contented, and happy, and cause them to have a kindly feeling toward their employers. Hear the whistles and the bells, , t iriAnl.dt Voiles How we shudder as we listen to tha tale their tumult teas; For the pitiless New Tear Unrelenting now Is here. All the things that we've been dolnff That Is clear. For the- noise, noise, noise. 13 a warning that the boys, "Must go- hereafter down the line without our -For we've taken resolutions that as straight as strings we'll be, While the bells, bells,, bells, as their clamor wells and wells. Make more racket than the hobos In their dank and clammy cills. Do tha belts, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells., bells. Do the fearful shrieking- whistles and the bells. It is not improbable that the season of 1S00 wilL witness an arrangement that will Insure an annual Intercollegiate game of football between the Atlantic and Pa cific coast3. "Westward the star of em pire takes its way," is as true in the world of sports as In other material things. The advent In Portland, Saturday, of "Ted" Sullivan, the baseball manager, closely following -the Carlisle-Berkeley football game. Is significant. The New Tork Sun, In commenting on this contest, saldr A conclusion, not unfair to Carlisle, is that their victory was a fluke. It wlU hardly do to say that the Indians were stale, for they are never out of tralnlnar. Th truth la they met an eleven that, under the tuition of college specialists from the East, had de-veloped cham pionship form. Physically, the Callfornians were the peers of any football men the Indiana had played in this part of the country. It must be borne in mind that outdoor sports are pos sible in California, all tha year round. Some of the greatest 'American athletes of the future ohould come from the Pacific slope. Tha Cbrartmas game at San. Francisco presented a a new candidate for championship honors in Berkeley. If Its gladiators should coma East to try conclusions with Harvard. Prineeton or Tale next fall, the football prophets would nardly be able to forecast the result with con fidence. An annual game between, the Atlantlo and Pacific coasts may yet become a. fixture. There has been no end to the arguments as to when the 19th century ends and the 20th century begins. The matter Is of Uttlo consequence, and a child ought to know that It takes 100 years to make a century, but it Is said that the same misunderstand ing has occurred at the end of every cen tury since the current chronology went jnto general use. It Is. however, only a trifling and local misunderstanding. The Chinese, who reckon back thousands of years before there was any Christian era, and patronize tha lunar year; the Moham medans, who also use the lunar year of 351 days, and reckon time from the date of their prophet's skedaddling, never have any fuss of this kind about the end of a century. If one could stand off in spaco he would see that there was no such thing as time, and understand that the calendar In use on this speck of earth Is only a record of how many times the earth re volves on Its axis, and Is Intended to en able us to keep some record of the brief Bpace of our existence, which amounts to nothing and cuts no figure In the econ omy of nature. Out In space, away from the trivialities of human life, nature rules alone, and Is Ignorant of epochs and dates, heeding neither century nor cycle, lustrum, or olympiad. It will, therefore, be seen that only narrow-minded people will worry themselves over trying to make a century end at the wrong time, as very few ever have to go through the end of more than one. It is to be hoped that all thos'e now engaged In discussing the proposJiSiwho IKe till the end of the next,, century will get their heads screwed OBj-jight by that time, and be able to frowajjaya, any such wearisome dlscussiontnflnwthafc occasion. As for the rest ofns.T-lt'-,no Kreatonatter i anynow. sa' -ai 93" .wjwai JE .