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 .