wftswrs T
'T a fif
.--,
"ftfcBjHW si jW"
rjs s ,
, r"s:"-
SfJRjXS w
?Jp"'T31' 1
,, THE MORNING 0RE60NIAN, SATURDAY," JANUARY 6, 1900.
-u.u . i
toe renomcm
Entered at tee Fostoffice at Portland, Oregon, as
Eecoad-class matter.
TELEPHONES.
Editorial Booms... -160 ! Business Office 657
REVISED SUBSCRIPTION BATES.
By ilall (postage prepaid). In Advance
Bally, with Sunday, per month. ?0
ally, Sunday excepted, per year.......... so
Daily, wita Sunday, per year....... 00
Sunday, per year - J
The "Weekly, per year. l ojj
trie Weekly. 3 months B0
To Oty Subscribers
Dally, per -week, delivered, Sundays exceptea.loc
Daily, per week, delivered. Sundays IncludedDC
News or discussion Intended for publication In
The Oregonian should be addressed Invariably
"Editor The Oregonian not to the name or
any Individual. Letters relating to advertising,
eubscrlptlons or to any business matter should
be addressed simply "The Oregonian."
The Oregoalan does not buy poems or stories
ttom Individuals, and cannot undertake to re
turn any manuscripts sent to it without solicita
tion. No stamps should be Inclosed for this pur
pose. Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson,
office at 1111 PaclQc avenue, Tacoma. Box 055.
Tacoma postoffice.
Eastern Business Office The Tribune bunding.
Mew York city; "The Rookery," Chicago; the
6. C Beckwith special agency, New Tork.
Tor sale In San Francisco by J. K; Cooper. 746
Market street, near the Palace hotel, and at
Goldsmith Bros , 23G Sutter street.
Per sale in Chicago by the P. O. News Co.,
217 Dearborn atreet.
TODATTS WEATHER. Occasional rain, with
southerly winds, brisk In force.
PORTLAND, SATURDAY, JAX. C.
A MOMENTOUS BBEASD.
It is a prodigious task which Most
Reverend Placide Louis Chapelle, arch
bishop of New Orleans, has undertaken
as papal delegate to the Philippines.
He goes on a mission of peace, tomake
a white man's promises to a people in
whom distrust of the white man has
Deen bred by centuries of Spanish cor
ruption and embittered by sacerdotal
tyranny. Prior to American occupa
tion, the Philippine archipelago was
governed by the priests, and not by the
Spanish civil or military authorities.
Monastic influence penetrated into
every corner where it could command
the Spanish soldiery In support of its
oppressions, provided its own hold on
the simple people, through appeal to
the mysteries of religion, proved insuf
ficient. It was the state.
The Tagalog, though Catholic to the
core, charges all his Ills up to the Span
Jsh friars. Every proposed reform has
been vetoed by the friars. The Fili
pinos even charge them with inciting
Insurrection, that they might be the
first to discover the "ringleaders and
thus to demonstrate to the Spanish
government the importance of the or
ders in the management of Philippine
affairs. Dissolution of the reformist
assembly, which, composed of natives,
met at Manila after the deposition of
Queen Isabella H, in 1868, was credited
to the friars. Neittier political reaction
in Spain, nor ultramarine legislation,
nor persecution In the archipelago,
could totally extinguish the spark of
liberty which had been lighted by the
reformist assembly, and by representa
tion in the Spanish cortes under the act
of 1810, again in 1820, and for the last
time under the regency of Isabella IL
Memory of these liberties destroyed,
coupled with ecclesiastical despotism,
furnished the principal causes of the
Tagalog rebellion which broke out In
August, 1896. That insurrection was
not wholly against Spanish authority,
for Foreman assures us that the insur
gents, driven headlong out of Cavite
by General Lachambre's troops, en
tered Santa Cruz crying, "Long live
Spam; death to the friars!" It was
armed rebellion against the monastic
heel pressed against the Filipino throat.
Archbishop Chapelle finds himself be
tween two factions, each of which bit
terly hates the other. On the one hand
are the friars demanding state sup
port, re-establishment of the Spanish
curates and restoration of realty hold
ings, the title to which has been cloud
ed by war. On the other hand are the
Filipinos strenuously opposing the res
toration of the friars to their ancient
rights and privileges. The fear is ex
pressed that bloodshed will result if
the friars are given their old parishes.
It is not a groundless "fear. If atrocities
committed in the early period of the
rebellion of 1895 give a criterion. Some
of the priests capturecL then were treat
ed most barbarously. One was cut up
piecemeal; another was saturated with
petroleum and set on fire, and a third
was bathed in oil and fried on a bam
boo spit run through the length of his
body. Native feeling towards the friars
Is decidedly antagonistic, if not mur
derous. It does not seem possible for Arch
bishop Chapelle to reconcile the Fili
pinos and their natural enemies, the
friars. He cannot do it through state
support of the friars, for the American
people would never tolerate So close an
approach to the union of church and
state. If he restore the friars to their
former authority, he will be placing
them in the same position they held
under Spanish aule, and- against which
the Filipinos rebelled In the first place.
The "appointment of an American, like
Dr. McKinnon, late chaplain of the Cal
ifornia regiment, as archbishop of Ma
nila, might relieve the tension, but the
best solution would be the recall of the
friars by the generals of their orders
and the sending of new men to take
their places. An Indication of the prob
able policy of Archbishop Chapelle is
afforded by the fact that when he was
in Cuba, the Vatican, upon his recom
mendation, appointed a native priest
to the see of Santiago, which Arch
bishop Saenz had voluntarily vacated.
The Tagalogs always complained that
their native priests were Ignored. If
success shall attend Archbishop Cha
peHe's mission, the Philippine ques
tion will be satisfactorily solved, for,
with distrust of the white man re
moved, the Luzon Tagalogs will settle
down to peaceful pursuits. Luzon
quiet, the entire archipelago will be
in peace, as the inhabitants of Min
danao and the Sulu .group are" Moham
medans, and are not torn up by re
ligious strife.
Kansas City, a city of twice the pop
ulation of Portland and four times its
business and wealth, has reduced its
taxable valuation from S2& millions to
72 millions. There is complaint about
this, just as there is a like complaint
at Portland; but at Kansas City as at
Portland the complaint comes chiefly
from those whe "want more money to
run the city government." The bulk of
taxes at Kansas City as at Portland
falls on real property, which is not
more profitable there than here. Hence
the reduction of valuations there as
kere. Yet business at Kansas City is
active and prosperous, and the city has
EO.OOO more population than it had when
Us property valuation was ten millions
higher than now. The fact Is that in
all "Western cities valuations of real
estate ten years ago were absurd, and
it lias been the hardest thing' in the
world to get the expenses of govern
ment reduced to a level corresponding
with actual valuations.
OLD FRIEXDS IN XEW FACES.
If the anti-Imperialists have any suf
ficient ground for their ominous hallu
cinations, or if, they have any tenable
proposition to offer for the country's
consideration, it is meet that they come
forward with plans and specifications.
This would relieve their families,
friends and neighbors from some em
barrassment and re-establish the tradi
tionary view that man is a reasoning
animal.
Meanwhile we can only take up their
contributions to the eccentricities of
political thought, as they are put forth,
examine them cursorily, and lay them
down with deepened misgivings as to
the advance of the human species over
the brute creatlpn, For example:
Be it resolved, etc, That the United States
declares that its purpose in acquiring Jurisdic
tion and control over the Philippine islands
was and Is to secure to the inhabitants thereof,
as soon as practicable after the suppression of
the existing rebellion therein, a free, independ
ent and stable government, republican in form,
and that the United States guarantees to eald
inhabitants protection against all foreign in
vasion. ,
This is anti-imperialism, right off the
reel. It embodies the ruminations of
the holiday recess upon the original
cud of anti-ism, and it is brought into
congress by representative McRae, of
Arkansas. The purpose of the United
States in going to the Philippines was
to crush the naval power of Spain. "We
destroyed the Spanish fleet, we took the
islands, we paid Spain $20,000,000 to per
fect our title. Before we had a chance
to turn around the Tagal warriors at
tacked us, and ever since, in a blun
dering sort of way, we have been try
ing to beat them off and maintain our
sovereignty. That is the fact, but Mc
Rae has heard nothing of it. He un
derstands we went there for the pur
pose of forming an independent repub
lic The idea is preposterous to all but
the infatuated.
Whence does Mr. McRae derive his
authority to go about the earth estab
lishing free and independent republics
among mixed populations of savage
and semi-civilized peoples and protect
ing them from foreign invasion? If
the constitution forbids us from en
larging our borders; if it inhibits us
from making the Philippines into
states and at the same time inhibits
us from not making them into states;
if it denies us such elemental functions
of government as acquisition of terri
tory and enforcement of sovereignty,
how shall we undertake without offense
to force upon distant peoples a -form of
government of our own choosing and
employ our army and navy to bolster
up an independent nation half-way
round the globe? It is reprehensible in
the authors of this resolution not to
give article and section of the consti
tution directing us to establish free and
Independent republics throughout the
planet and stand around protecting
them against the combined armiss and
fleets of civilization.
Yes, but the Philippines are just as
far around the globe if you propose to
keep them, and we now have to defend
them against all comers. Oh, but they
are ours, and that makes all the dif
ference in the world. A. man will' get
up in the middle of the night, saddle
his horse, take his shotgun and drive
a brace of tramps out of his own wheat
stacks at the other end of his farm,
but he is not going to do this for some
body else's wheat stack the same dis
tance away. Perhaps anti-ism would
require that he should, but he won't;
and nations are not built that way any
more than farmers.
Find out what the government is do
ing, and the anti will tell you at once
what should be done. That is, some
thing different. He doesn't know much,
but he does know that whatever is be
ing done is all wrong. He would of
all things prefer, of course, that his
country be defeated and humiliated;
but as that Is Impossible now, the next
Impossible thing, and therefore the
next best, is to turn the Islands over
to the Tagals and stand by to see that
no one interferes in their carnival of
"self-government" as they understand
and upon occasional withdrawal of our
garrisons practice It.
No virile government Will renounce
sovereignty over territory for whose in
tegrity and permanence It is responsi
ble. No government will protect a peo
ple from the consequences of its acts
and have nothing to say about what
those acts shall be. This would be too
impolitic, too dangerous, too idiotic
in short, too anti-imperialistic.
TEE ARMY MEDICAL- SERVICE!
The bill before congress providing for
an Increase in the medical department
of the army embodies substantially the
views of Surgeon-General Sternberg,
who is. Indeed, its sponsor. Matters to
be considered before this or any simi
lar bill becomes a law are at once so
Important and so technical in character
that patient deliberation and a thor
ough understanding of its purpose are
essential. If this exceedingly important
arm of the military service is to be
strengthened by its enactment. It Is a
well-known fact that from the very
beginning of the late war with Spam
the medical department was hampered
in its work through a lack of officers
to meet the demands of field and hos
pital service. The requirements for ad
mission to this branch of the' gdvern-'
ment service are very rigid so much
so that of ten candidates rising to
meet a sudden emergency not over one
on the average could successfully pass
the examination. "While the result of
this stringency has been to make the
office one of special honori -it can.read
ily be seen that it would jalspr result-Jfr
a great dearth In case of a sudden
and imperative demand.
The character of this demand and the
urgent need behind It caused the sec
retary of war to avail himself of the
provisions of the act of congress au
thorizing the appointment of acting as
sistant surgeons, commonly known as
contract surgeons, because employed
under revokable orders. The posts
being in the nature of emergency posi
tions, the appointees are not subject
to the severe restrictions of the regular
service nor to 4he age limitation. As a
result, only a very small proportion of
this auxiliary body of army surgeons
measures up to the standard In the
regular service. At first temporary, the
conditions requiring a larger medical
corps have become permanent, menac
ing, as will readily be seen, the high
efficiency of the medicalaepartment of
the army. It Is eminently proper that
this efficiency be maintained, and this
can only be done by bringing as mu'ih
as possible all now in this branch of
the service within the permanent corps
and making them subject to the salu
tary regulations that govern it.
Under the plan embodied in General
Sternberg's bill, as many of the 400
acting surgeons now on the pay-roll
as could not pass the required test of
efficiency for the regular Service wopJd
be retired to private life. The measure
is one that, while it should not be dis
carded without consideration, should
not be passed without careful scanning.
Army officers, as Is well known, are apt
to be jealous o'f their prerogatives, aha,
within certain limits, properly so. Per
haps none are more stubbornly In
clined in this direction than members
of the medical corps. Hence, while it
Is desirable and indeed necessary that
the medical standard for the regular
service should be maintained, great
care should be taken in so doing, lest
the department lose, upon unimportant
technicalities, the services of surgeons
efficient in everything except in their
.power to make the old stagers of the
'service extend to them hearty fellow
ship.
THE SEXATB REFORM BILL.
The statesmanlike utterances of Mr.
Aldrich In presenting the financial re
form bill to the senate are so farln
advance of the traditional senatorial
drivel and Insincerity on this most im
portant question, that it takes har
dihood to complain either of the bou
quets he throws at silver and sllventes
alike, or of the amendments the finance
committee has made to the bill. His
defense of the gold standard, both
sturdy and unequivocal, his apparently
fearless contemplation of the advisabil
ity of refunding the national debt at
lower Interest, and especially his open
and candid way of urging legislation
that will give banks a profit on circu
lation and increase the supply of their
note issues all this is so far ahead of
the base deceit and miserable petti
foggery with which the money question
has been debated in congress, that, if
men were to withhold a meed of praise
and gratitude the very stones would
cry out. Therefore, when Mr. Aldrich
'refers to the silver maniacs as "a band
vpf bold, able and aggressive Readers,"
and professes an open mind and s6ber
face towards "International bimetal
ism," and urges In favor of the bill that
it will do something for silver, because
it will "greatly strengthen its position"
and not take from It "any of the mone
tary privileges or prerogatives which
it now enjoys," we are disposed to for
give him for this bit of tomfoolery and
political chaff offered as grain, in re
membrance of the merits of the re
form bill as a whole.
The amendments are not so harmless.
The committee pretends its sole pur
pose is to make the bill more definite
and certain; but this comes painfully
near prevarication; for the first amend
ment introduces no new matter of any
moment except this pregnant clause:
. . . and United States notes, exchanged In
accordance with the provisions of this section
shall, when covered into the treasury, be re
issued as now provided by law.
This is not in clarification of the orig
inal bill, but in reversal of it; for the
original bill said:
The notes redeemed as herein provided shall
only be used for the purpose of restoring said
fund to the maximum amount of $150,000,000.
This part is now cut out. The idea
is to prevent retirement or even im
pounding of the greenbacks. Discussion
of Our Currency difficulties has made it
much moire' clear than formerly that
retirement of the greenbacks is not
nearly so vital a matter as some have
supposed. They are not our real prob
lem. With a properly supplied treasury
the "endless chain" will lose much of
its efficacy. So the senate's amendment
is not the dreadful thing some will re
gard it. The mischief appears to be in
the ostentatious surrender to greenback
protests. The president recommends
the impounding of the greenbacks, and
the house, as it should, will doubtless
force this amendment out in confer
ence. The other changes made by the
amendments are, as the committee
says, textual corrections. Except for
its greenback surrender and its failufe
to separate the treasury's currency, and
fiscal functions, the bill is a grand and
good measure. As compared with the
house bill, it is more practical and
more comprehensive.
A result of the breaking out of the
plague at Honolulu which is much re
gretted is the necessity that will com
pel government transports bearing
troops and animals to the Philippines
to make the entire yoyage from the
Western home port to Manila without
stopping. This is distressing, since it
adds greatly to the tediousness and dis
comfort of the voyage and Increases
the chances of the loss of animals in
transit. However, there Is no help for
it, since it would be criminal folly to
subject our troops to even a slight risk
of infection from that most subtle and
persistent of all filth diseases, the bu
bonic plague of the Orient. It is grati
fying, however, in view of the long, un
interrupted voyage between Western
Pacific ports and Manila, to reflect that
the voyage now does not mean, in bit
ter discomfort, what it did to the
troops that went out on the first hur
riedly equipped, greatly overcrowded
transports. Government officials have
learned from experience how to trans
port troops across the sea without'
making the voyage a justly dreaded
one. Still, It Is long enOugh and mo
notonous enough to make the necessity
of passlng'Honolulu without stopping a
matter of regret.
The Boers are making the most of,
the enforced inactivity of the British
troops in strengthening and extending
the trenches which the foe must take
by storm before Ladysmlth can be
relieved and England can score a vic
tory. Of determination and brawn,
the sturdy Dutch burghers have an
enormous and as yet an undiminished
stock. These they seem to be using to
the best advantage possible in making
the already difficult advance of the
British yet more perilous. Humanity
awaits with a shudder the shock of this
advance, which cannot now be much
longer delayed, and the record of which
will be written in the best blood of the
opposing armies.
Four hundred young men, chiefly
from the West, have recently been en
listed in the navy. Some of them have
never been to sea, and know nothing
whatever about water craft of any de
scription. The Dixie lately steamed out
of New York harbor for a cruise around
the world with 200" of these landsnlen
on board, and the Hartford will follow
soon on a similar cruise with the re
mainder. The experiment has never
before been made in our navy of taking
large numbers of green landsmen to
sea and training them to be sailors,
and the result will be watched with ih
ttefest. Carefully officered, these sturdy
young men of the great" West should
make ideal sailors.
Half a ddzen last week's Oregon pa
pers'the sort that have been unable
to see a ray of light since the Bryanite
fusion of 1896 failed declare the recent
flurry among speculators in New York
to be conclusive that the country is
impoverished. "When Wall street It
self suffers," we ate" told, "the condition
of the people must be deplorable in
deed." Even at. the' joyous holiday time
there was no joy for the perennial de
pjorer. The panic among the "myrmi
dons of the money power" failed to re
lieve his pessimism. He has prayed for
a decade that the vengeance of a just
Gdd be wreaked upon the, sharks of
Wall street; but when the hour of
Jretribution comes, he has no heart for
Jubilation. Gloom has become his
habit.
It Is difficult, if not impossible, to
allay the fears or stop the doleful
prophecies of a certain class of people.
T'here are those, for example, who see
in the recent advance in wages in the
New England woolen mills a deep-laid
plot on the part of the employers to
do their employes an injury. They ar
gue that a voluntary advance is too un
natural to be altogether wholesome,
Shake their heads ominously and say,
'Walt and see." The truth is that the
wage increase in New England facto
ries refutes all that demagogues tried
to prove from the reductidn of wages
that resulted from and was a part of
the late Industrial depression namely,
that corporations have no thought or
care for the welfare of their employes.
Captain Goldman, of the Twentieth
Kansas, who remained in the Philip
pines and took service in the Twenty
third infantry, writes about the diffi
culty the officers experience in induc
ing the soldiers to exercise common
prudence In caring for their health.
He says:
Our men are in gtfod health, and If we can
keep them exercising horse sense they will re
main as healthy, If notjiealthler, here than, at
home. But they started in today trying to get
sick. They discovered an old sugar mill that
had been abandoned by the Insurgents, with
several tons of crude sugar lylpg around, and
proceeded to fill thfcmsehes full of It. One
Company had 17 men Immediately sick. One
man of my conpany ate a lot of green nuts, and
was pretty sick for awhile, and so It goes. We
have to watch, them like a I6t of schoolboys.
Archbishop Chapelle Is one of the
ablest men in the hierarchy of the
American Catholic church. He has the
implicit confidence of Martinelll, the
apostolic delegate to this country; of
Cardinal Gibbons, and consequently of
Pope Leo XHI. Rome's confidence in
his ability was. attested by -his eleva
tion to the see of New Orleans, and
by his appointment as papal delegate
to Cuba and Puerto Rico, the most im
portant mission given to an American
prelate since Archbishop Hughes went
to Europe in civil war days to coun
teract the feeling unfavorable to the
Union which the envoys of the seced
ing states had excited m more than one
cabinet.
The growing Importance of Oregon
City as a center of public business is
shqwn in the-records of the Jan'd office
and. the increasing volume of postal
busine'ss transacted. The bill of Rep
resentatlve Tongue, providing for the
appropriation of $60,000 for the con
struction of a public building for the
use of these offices at that place, is
strongly supported by these records.
The demands upon the government are
so heavy at this session of congress,
however, that the chances of securing
the appropriation asked are conceded
to be exceedingly doubtful.
It Is a patriotic letter which John
Leland Henderson writes to the demo
cratic central committee of Wasco
county In tendering his resignation as
committeeman for Hood River pre
cinct. He has a son in the army of
the United States in the Philippines,
and will support the government with
his vote, as his son does with his rifle,
so long as the war lasts. Furthermore,
he respects the teachings and doctrines
of his party on expansion during his
lifetime, and declines to shift his prin
ciples to humor the exigencies of politi
cians. The report of the senate's committee
on the Quay case indicates that the
senate will adhere -to the precedents It
has made and followed during recent
years. It is well It should do so, for. It
cannot afford to be changingacdorQIrfg
to whim or caprice. It is a piece of
impudence and presumption on the
part of Quay to seek a seat In the sen
ate by appointment, since both himself
and his colleague, Penrose, who is
merely his tool, voted against Corbett.
At Canby, the public school was last
week opened to a popullstic and social
istic lecture by a vociferous calamity
howler. The supreme court and the
government were duly attacked, while
"socialism came in for an explanation,
as did that much-abused word, anar
chy." Blatant and unpatriotic ignor
ance ought to be kept out of school
rooms. Now is the time to register. Every
good citizen has a duty to encourage
ballot reform, and a good way to per
form it is to register promptly when
the books are open. Go early and
avoid the rush.
THE OLDEST SENATOR.
Some Interesting Information About
rnis Individual.
Rochester Post-Express, rep.
John P. King, of Georgia", who died
March 19. 188, began his service In the
senate of the United States in 1833. Upon
his death, the distinction of belrt the old
est ex-senator belonged to Henry A. Fos
ter, of New Tork. who was born May
7, 1800,, and died May 11, 1889. His service
In the senate was very brief trom is
to 1845, Governor Buck havlhg appointed
him to- succeed Silas Wright. Upon his
death, the oldest ex-senator became Sl
l0n Cameron, of Pennsylvania. He was
born March 8, 1799, and died June 23,
1889, surviving Mr. Foster only six weeks.
The oldest ex-senators then became James
W. Bradbury, of Maine; Alpheus- Felch,
Of Michigan, and George W. Jones, of
Iowa.
James W. Bradbury, now the oldest
ex-senator of the United States, is ly
ing dangerously ill at his home in Au
gusta, Me, He was born In Tork coun
ty. Pa., June 10, 1802,. and was graduatcl
from Bowdoln in the famqus class of
1825, among his associates being Long
fellow, Hawthorne, John S. C. Abbott,
and Jonathan CUley, the Maine congress
man, who was killed In a duel by Graves,
of Kentucky, in 1838. Mr. Bradbury
Is the sole survivor of the class of '23.
The service of Mr. Bradbury as a sen-
ator began in 1847, and he is the only
survivor of the 30th congress. Among his
colleagues were John M. Clayton, of Dela
ware; Herschell V. Johnson of Georgia;
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois; Henry
Clay, of Kentucky; Hannibal Hamlin, of
Maine; Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland;
Danl8l Webster, of Massachusetts; Lewis
Cass, of Michigan; Jefferson Davis, of
Mississippi; Thomas H. Benton, of Mis
souri; John A. Dlx and William H. Sew
ard, of New York; Salmon P. Chase and
Thomas Corwln, of Ohio; Simon Cameron,
of Pennsylvania; John C. Calhoun, of
South Carolina; Sam Houston, of Texas,
and Robert M. T. Hunter, of Virginia.
a a
Railroads of the World.
Nearly everyone is more or less interest
ed In railroads' and railroad statistics.
It was not so very long ago that the first
locomotive was put Into service, and
since that time the development of the
railroad has .been, so rapid and so enor
mous as.to make a spectacle of progress
to which even the least interested turn
with pleasurable contemplation. Here
are a few comparisons of the railway fa
cilities of the leading countries:
The United States has 184,532 miles of rail
road,, Germany 20.0S4, France 25,802, European
Russia 25,357, Great Britain 23,534, British In
dia 21.54S. The United States has 36,746 loco
motives; Great Britain 10.002, Germany 10,842,
France 10,502, Russia 8748, British India 4258.
Great Britain has more locomotles per mile
than any other country, owing to the congestion
of her population. She also has more passen
ger cars, for the same reason and because her
coaches have from 30 to 50 per cent Ies3 ca
pacity than those of the United States. Her
passenger cars number 02,252, while those of
Germany number 34,500, and those of the
United States 33,893. As for passengers. Great
Britain's yearly record lo 1,062,011,000, while
that of the United States is 693,342,000, Ger
many's 646.431,000. France's 382,240,000, British
India's 1GO.000.000, Russia's 07,000.000. But it
should be remembered that he average journey
In the United States is much longer than that
of the European countries, notably than that of
Great Britain, where the large number of pas
sengers is due greatly to the enormous sub
urban service in and about London. But when
It comes to freight, here are the best j early
records: United States 913,t)00,000 tons, Great
Britain 437,000,000, Germany 270,000.000, France
120,000,000, Russia 07,000.000, British India
39,000,000.
B fe
The Seattle-Alaskan. Trade.
Following Is a monthly statement of the
traffic from Seattle to Alaska during the
year 1899:
No. Tons. "Value.
Month Pass. Freight. Freight.
January 1.40G
3,497
4,897
4,832
349.700
February 1,461
March 1,765
April 1,381
May 1,292
June 1,941
July 1,317
August 1,407
September 1,157
October 418
November 461
December 597
489,700
483,200
456,900
510.300
1,133,400
561,400
967,500
1,123,000
1,251.600
267,600
523,600
4, ota
5.103
11.334
6-,614
ll'229
12,516
2,676
5,236
Totals 14,633 81,178
. From Alaska to Seattle during
the movement was as follows:
No. Tons.
Month Pass. Freight.
January 678 367
February 478 411
March 918 650
April 752 40S
May 1,015 168
June 1,558 213
July 3.575 340
August 3.094 416
September 3,076 1,257
October 2,670 1,645
November 1,786 1,569
December 699 494
$8,117,800
the year
Value.
Freight.
? G4.223
71,925
113,750
71,400
29.400
37,275
59,500
72,800
219,975
287,875
274.575
85,450
Totals 20.299
0
7,938 $1,389,150
Births in Germany and France.
New Tork Sun.
Wnlle France contents Ijerself with not
ing and deploring the fact that her popu
lation is stationary, Germany can boast
a broken record of increase In 1898. In
that year the excess of births over deaths
was 846,871, about 62,000 more thah it was
in. 1S9J; and 25 times as great as France's
numbers for the year. Or, as the German
newspapers rather unkindly put it, the ex
cess of German births over deaths in 1898
was greater than the total number of
births in Franco for any year.
There were 2,029,891 little Germans born
that year, and 1,991,126 the year before.
The yearly average for the 10 years from
18S9 to 1898 was 1,919,384. The number of
marriages, too, Is increasing, and likewise
the proportion of Illegitimate children.
In 1898, moreover, more Germans ab
stained from dying, the number of deaths
being 1,183,090, whereas the yearly average
for the decade is 1,2261,632.
More Germans born every yaar, with
fewer dying and fewer emigrating, while
France stands still or retrogrades, means
fainter hopes for the latter of recovering
the lost provinces and a poor chance of
succeeding In colonial expansion.
mt
Irishmen In the British Army.
New Orleans Times-Democrat.
There are at the present moment seven
full regiments of Irlshirien In the British
army the Innlskilllng fuslleers, the Con
naught rangers, the Royal Dublin fusl
leers, the Royal Irish fuslleers, the Royal
MUnster fuslleers, the Royal Irish regi
ment and thfe Royal Irish rifles. And these
Irish regiments are freer from any admix
ture of fdreign or non-Irish blood than
probably any other seven regiments In Iter
majesty's army.
Not only are these Irish regiments com
posed of Irish, but tho mixture of Irish
men lh the English and Scottish regi
ments s very material. Of the 202,000
troops In tho British army last year, 158,560
were of English, 26,370 of Irish, and 16.4S0
of Scottish birth.
The Premature German Press.
New Tork Tribune.
The German papers may be somewhat
promatdre in announcing England's total
collapse as a military power and discuss
ing the problem of her position hereafter.
She" has only begun to fight. We were In
something tho same pdsitlon after Bull
Run, and were promptly dismembered and
parceled out by the same Continental
press, then, as now, omniscient, self-suf-ficlenti
all sufficient and Insufficient,
o
The British Army.
Salt Lake Tribune.
It seems clear that when the present war
is over Great Britain will have about
150,000 Jighting men trained for service,
and tho rtakns that are now declaring
that her prestige is about gone will then
have -to, bo a little careful, for that many
trained men, backed by 750 warships, are
war factors that cannot be ignored.
B c f
ThaRullncr Passion.
Chicago Tribune.
"Why don't these fellows clap their
hands when they want to applaud? ' said
tho man in the back Seat. "They do
nothing but stomp."
"This is a convention of philatelists,"
explained the man sitting next to him.
u
For Private Circulation.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
"Tes, he hrought out his history of the
regiment for private circulation."
"indeed. That's strange."
"I don't think so. Every private In the
regiment bought a copy."
d O '
He Lit Hard.
Washington Post.
Editor Hitchcock has evidently decided
that the less said about the lack of up
holstering at the bottom of the elevator
shaft the better.
Waiting: dr Frankfort.
St. Paul Dispatch:
rpvia irtnhTo -rolf Mr. Goebel seem? to
be that he doesn't kriow when the car stops
and his station is cauea on.
4 0
Sowing? by the "Wayside.
Philadelphia Ledger.
Fifteen million packages of government
seeds, the coming season, will demon
strate the need of congressional fences-
RECORDS 0FTHEC0NTRABAND CASE.
Nothing Is so incapable of precise defini
tion under all circumstances as what is
contraband of war. In 1793, during the war
between Great Br.tain and France, the 'for
mer denied the right to seize and confis
cate all provisions destined to Frencn
ports. Mr. Jefferson, our secretary of
state, denied the right, except in case of
a blockade. While admitting that imple
ments of war delivered for the enemy
might be taken by a belligerent on the
open seas, he stated that "corn, flour and
meal are not of the class of contraband,
and constantly remain articles of free
commerce." Modern practice in Europe
and America does not maintain the view
of Jefferson. The great English admiralty
judge, Sir William Scott, held In 1799 that
a cargo of cheese was contraband, be
cause the proof showed that It was In
tended for tb$ use of the French navy.
Sir William Scott said, as to the ques
tion whether food was contraband of War:
"But the most important distinction is
whether the articles were Intended for the
ordinary use of life, or even for mercan
tile ships' use; or whether they were go
ing with a highly probable destination to
military use." This decision 13 sound
common sense, for there is no more rea
son In justice why a beleaguered garrison
should be allowed to receive food than It
should be allowed to receive munitions or
war.
Mr. Justice Story, of our federal su
preme court, said:
By the modern law of nations, provisions are
not in ceneral deemed contraband, but they be
come so, although the property of a neutral, on
account at the particular situation oZ the war,
or on account of their destination. If destined
for the ordinary use of life In the enemy's
country, they are not, in general, contraband,
but it is otherwise if destined for military use.
Hence. If destined, for the army or navy of the
enemy, or for his ports of naval or military
equipment, they are deemed contraband.
The British government claims the right
to- extend or reduce the list of articles to
bo held absolutely or- conditionally contra
band according to circumstances, and In
its "Manual of Prize Law," for 1SS8, rates
provisions' fit for the consumption of the
army or naVy among others conditionally
contraband. The French government went
further than this in 1SS5, and declared food
contraband of war, not only whenr deliv
ered directly for military consumption,
but when going In the ordinary course of
trade as food for the civic population of
the belligerent government, a position that
England has refused to take. Lord Gran
ville wrote the French ambassador in 1885:
In the lew of he majesty's government, the
test appears to be whether there are circum
stances relative to any particular cargo, or Its
destination, to displace the presumption that
articles of this kind are intendad for the ordi
nary use of life and to show, prima, facie, at
all eents, that they are destined for military
use.
Mr. Kasson, then our minister at Ber
lin, wrote Secretary Bayard:
We are neutrals in European ware. Food con
stitutes an Immense portion: of our exports.
Every European war produces an Increased de
mand for these supplies from neutral countries.
The Frenoh doctrine declares them contraband,
n6t only when destined directly for military
consumption, but when going In the ordinary
course of trade as Tood for the civil population
of the belligerent govornment. If food can be
thus excluded and captured, still more can
clothing, the Instruments of Industry, and all
less vital supplies, be "cut oft on the ground
that they tend to support the efforts of the bel
ligerent nation.
The views of Great Britain and the
United Statos appear to be identical and
In line with common sense, viz., that food
may or may not be contraband of war,
just as coal may or may not be contraband
of war, the clear proof of Its destination
would be necessary to determine Its con
traband character. In our civil war, the
ship Peterhoft, sailing under the Rrltlsn
flag, while bound for the Mexican port of
Matamoras, on the south coast of the Rio
Grande, was captured by the United States
fleet then blockading the Confederate
jjorts on the north coast of tho Rio
Grande. Our supreme court adjudged the
arms and ammunition that was part of the
cargo to be contraband and condemned
them as such, but declared the provisions
to be Innocent merchandise, not subject
to condemnation.
Tho rule of our own court seems thus
far to be Identical with that of the Brltlsn
coiirts-dhat food cannot be properly
treated as contraband of war, Unless It Is
reasonably clear that such food is intend
ed for the use of the military and naval
forces of the country to which it Is con
signed. It would appear that the English and
American view, that food may or may not
be contraband of war. Is entirely sound.
If the flodr seized in transit to the Trans
vaal can be shown to be Intended to sup
port the Transvaal military fortes, Its
seizure Is in line with the English and
American doctrine that food on tho way to
the enemy's army In the field may be
treated as contraband of war by the other
belligerent able to intercept it- The Brit
ish government in 1863 refused to Inter
fere in behalf of th Peterhoff. Earl Rus
sell said:
Her majesty's government cannot, without
yiolatlng the rules of international law, claim
for British vessels navigating between Great
Britain and these placed any general exemption
from the belligerent right of visitation by the
cruisers of the United States; nor can they pro
ceed upon any general assumption that such
vessels may not so act as to render their cap
ture lawful and Justifiable.
It is uncertain, however, whether Great
Britain will Insist upon the full measure
of her rights in this case. She Is more
likely, in view of all the circumstances,
to make good to the neutral shippers any
loss they have sustained as to foodstuffs.
A strict enforcement of the doctrine we
have outlined would not leave much mar
gin for trade Into the Transvaal. The
whole people Is virtually In arms. Every
man is a soldier. The Boer army Is only
aJ synonym for the Boer male population
"
Netv Year's Ere.
The 1.1 ing Church.
The night is starry, bright and clear.
With moonlight glimmering on the snow;
Arid midnight winds, with voicesjow.
Sing dlrgea for the dying year.
Old Tear, I pray we part aa frlendsi
Sincerely we can cay "Adieu1."
And as we welcome in the New
We promise him to make amends
Wep!eage ourselves-to nobler deeds.
To loftier thought and purer life,
To be more faithful In the strife
Tor what our nobler nature pleads.
Remembering-all the solemn past.
Its lessons treasured la the heart.
So we will live and act our part
As If this New Tear were our last.
a
Also "Wavy.
Philadelphia Press.
Gentle sleep descended upon the Man,
and as Jie slept the Woman was made.
When the Man awoke he saw her who
was to be his companion. She spoke
"Adam," she said, "Is my hair on
straight?"
"No, dear," be replied, "it's just the least
little bit curly."
Thus Is the antiquity of humor proven.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
Colonel Hare has a name that is un
doubtedly the envy of Agulnaldo.
The steamer Mascot, it seems, will never
have any luek till her name Is changed to
Hoodoo.
Mayor Harrison says Chicago Is the 20th
century city, which means, we take it,
that its career has not yet begun.
As he seems to be elected to spend a
season on the cold outside. Quay would
probably like to be the Ice man.
Jaggs What did you get for Christmas
this year anything very nice?
Jiggs Nothing to blow on; except a
handkerchief.
V
TIs now the foolish housewlfa
Her thoughtlessness bewails;
She's nothing left from Chrlstmaa
Tor the January sales.
If the way to a man's heart is through
his stomach,, the missionaries In the Congo
Free State are going in the right direc
tion to convert the natives.
It is reported that General Baden-Powell
has again defeated the Boers, .which
means probably that he has once more
advised them to lay down their arms.
The Newberg Graphic thinks the loving
cup reported to have been ordered by the
populists of Clackamas county for their
democratic brethren will not be overflow
ing with the affection lt3 name signifies.
Edgar Saltua says that the first fancy
dress ball was on Mount Olympus. He
might add that while the style of dress
at that time has not since been reached,
fashionable women are approaching It
right along.
v
A New York man is suing a telegraph
company for $10,000 for falling to deliver
a telegram that wquld have secured for
him the girl of his choice. Perhaps the
company will file a counter suit for services-
rendered.
v "
Two of the grandsons of John C. Cal
houn reside in the Northern states Pat
rick Calhoun In Cleveland, and John C.
Calhoun, in New Tork city. They are
wealthy men. and interested In the coal,
iron and manufacturing enterprises of the
South.
"Oyster cutlets will soon be on the menu
of the Paciflc states," observes the St.
Louis Globe-Democrat. "Fifty barrels of
the famous Yezo oysters of Japan, which
grow to the length of a foot, will be
planted In the tidewaters of Washington
and Oregon."
"
At La Grande, a man whose woodpile
was rapidly decreasing was called to his
woodshed by unusual noise about 9 o'clock
at night, and found that hl3 pet bear had
"treed" a neighbor In a corner on top of a
stack of wood. With an admonition to
mend his ways, the bear-owner let the
wood-hunter leave.
v
Charles Gordon, of Fulton, has an edu
cated dog, which chews tobacco in three
languages and understands what is said
to him when he is sworn at In seven.
Nothing in any foreign language, how
ever, will cause him to get a move on
himself so suddenly as when he is told to
"clatawah" In classical Chinook.
From a New Jersey Inventor comes a
top which revolves 43 minutes, and stands
erect when at rest. It la perfectly "bal
anced with weights Inside, and the "peg"
is no larger than a fine needle, The
weight 13 four ounces, and only 10 Inches
of string are required. The Inventor is a
schoolmaster, and when he lectures at
educational meetings he spins the toy "to
illustrate the beauty of a systematically
developed life."
The manner in which crowds- gather
around pictures of London illustrated pa
pers, posted In front of stationers stores
in Portland, shows the deep interest every
body is taking In the present struggle be
tween Briton and Boer in South Africa.
Stirring scenes of brave soldiers charg
ing on the enemy, entrenched behind
rocky barriers, bring forth a good deal
of comment, and people who have never
met before become quite sociable in tho
discussion, and America's troubles with
Agulnaldo are entirely lost sight of.
Tho football game at Pendleton on New
Tear's produced one exciting incident. A
player from Walla Walla, maddene4 by
"rooters," made an offensive remark, 'and
was told by a Pendleton man that no gen
tleman would uso such language in tho
presence of ladles. The rebuke was re
sented with an assault; but an officer sep
arated the men. Then a special officer
strtick the Pendleton man in the mouth
and It was all the sheriff and hl3 deputies
and several policemen could do to keep
tho crowd from throwing the special officer
into the Umatilla river.
A lot of the beat looking dressed chickens
seen In this market for many a day was
rpceived by a commission man yesterday
from some country poultry-raisers; also a
dozen of very fine dressed, turkeys. The
chickens weighed about six pounds each,
and were fat and plump, but the neat and
careful manner In which they had been
dressed attracted attention. The incisions
by which the craw and entrails were re
moved bad been carefully sewed up, and
the severed ends of the neck and legs
carefully wrapped in a bit of muslin . The
turkeys were also carefully picked, and
were as clean and fresh looking aa pos
sible. If there were more people in Oregon
who knew as much about raising and feed
ing poultry as the woman who prepared
these chickens and turkeys for market,
there would be more profit in poultry,
and more satisfaction to purchasers of
it. Every ode who Saw the fowls was
sorry that they had not been sent in in
time for the New Tear's market, for there
was such a clean-up of poultry of all
Klnd3 at Christmas that the supply was
short at New Tear's, and these fine fowls
would have brought good prices.
Yesterday.
There may be days on high as sweet
Ao this sweetmundane sample herei
There may be trails for angels' feet
Where hymnlnff seraphs charm the ear,'
And herald larks may usher day
In other spheres exempt from. frer.
But while we breathe the air of May,
Old Earth. I cannot spare you yet.
I would not chance the airy league
And leave these sunlit, erweet parterres;
Ancestral taint makes dire fatigue.
Old Adam shuns the golden stairs.
I'd ever breathe the encirclin? air
But that the Beaper must be met.
Sweet violetSi virginal and fair.
And Earth, I cannot spare you yet.
Not ever thus the azure there
Diffuses sunlight through some souls.
Oft earthly blues and carklng care
Tleld but untc- th4 flowing bowls;
But higher plains he rlss to
"Who tries thl3 antidote to get
The simple gifts conferred, by you.
Old Earth I cannot spare- you yet.
Portland, Jan. 4. S. SV JJodiWJ.
"S
A