THE KOENING OEEGONIAN, MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 1900.
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yOR.TLA2, STOXX3AT, JAJTUAKY S
THE CROMWELL REVIVAL.
There is remarkable increase of In
terest in the study of Oliver Crom
welL His career, like that of Napoleon,
Js one of the perennial themes. It is
not merely hero -worship; for as a mere
Jiero each of these great men and every
great man has very sad limitations.
EDhe interest arises from perception of
the fact that in the modern world the
games of Oliver Cromwell and Napo
leon Bonaparte stand for popular right
jagainst ongarchicairule. And this is
true, though Cromwell overturned
throne, church and parliament, and be
came sole master of the British realmt
land though Napoleon Imposed his sin
Sift despotic "will -upon nearly the -whole
of Europe. Each in his "way stood for
Ithe fundamental doctrine that all just
powers in the state are derived from
She people; and this is the explanation
of the career of each, and of the peren
nial interest in their careers though
5t he easy to assert and even to prove,
upon superficial view and argument,
that each was the head or center of as
complete a despotism as ever existed.
Mr. John Morley, who has had some
thing te do hitherto with Cromwell,
has turned aside from his task of pre
paring the authorized life of Gladstone
to a new study of the career of the
Great Protector. Recent numbers of
the Century Magazine carry the fruits
of this new inquiry. In ScrTbner's Mag
azine for December Governor Roose
"Yelt, of New York, began a series of
illustrated papers on Cromwell. Last
November a majestic bronze statue was
xmveiled in front of "Westminster hall,
in memory of the great man to whom
partisan animosity had denied such rec
ognition in England for the space of
two hundred and fifty years. Yet it
5vas as late as 1894 when Samuel Har
den Church wrote in his ""Oliver Crom
w .11 A History"; "He has no monu
ment in England, and he can have
none with the sanction of the govern
ment, because a monument to Crom
well would be an official acknowledg
ment of successful rebellion." Move
ments of public sentiment often seem
slow, and so tihey are In the formation;
but in their consummation they are
often surprisingly rapid, and it Is not
too much to say that, with the excep
tion of an extreme tory and high church
element in England, -whose numbers
comparatively are not large, the mind
and conscience of the nation bas gone
over to a just view of the life of Oliver
Cromwell, and to a clear and broad
recognition of his supreme agency in
making the British nation and empire
what they are today.
First of living English historians is
Dr. Samuel R, Gardiner. No writer
2ias unfolded the Stuart epoch as he
3ias done in his twenty-odd volumes,
or given so comprehensive and impar
tial an account of the civil war and
the -commonwealth. Tet Dr. Gardiner,
in his "Lectures on Cromwell's Place
in History," delivers the opinion that
the work of Cromwell was not positive,
but purely negative, and he holds that
mothing that Cromwell did survives
liim. This seems a narrow view for
o able a man. It shows the tenacity
-of old prejudice and traditional opinion.
For, while Cromwell's government
was unstable, simply as an expedient
of the time, and while it was so soon
to fade away, his work must endure
while merf Inhabit the earth. Queller of
parliament as he was, lie yet made the
conditions under which parliamentary
government could be established and
maintained as the government of a free
and sejf-governlng people. After Crom-
well, there could, be no return in Eng
land to the doctrine of the divine right
of kings. Above all else, Cromwell de
stroyed the dangerous theory of a fun
damental union between church and
state, whereby the rulers assume the
Tight to coerce the consciences of dis
senters! and he broke in pieces an ec
clesiastical system which promised to
be as Intolerant and. tyrannical as
that which he had displaced for it was
Ms might that made effective Milton's
indignant declaration that "New pres
byter Is old priest, writ large." It was
under the nourishing and zealous care
of Oliver Cromwell's government that
the absolute freedom of conscience and
equality before the law which are so
largely the principles of modern civili
sation, Wherever they have had their
birth, have flourished into healthy and
permanent life. "What then if his gov
ernment did not last? The throne was,
indeed, restored, but the monarchy
could not be the same as before.
In "Past and Present," Carlyle
writes: "Await the issue. In all bat
tles If you await the issue, each fighter
has prospered according to his right.
His right and his might, at the close
of the contest, are one and the same.
He has fought with all his might and
in exact proportion to his right he has
prevailed. His very death is no victory
over him. He dies, indeed, but his
work lives, very truly lives. A heroic
"Wallace quartered on the scaffold, can
not hinder that his Scotland become,
one day, a part of England; but he
does hinder that it become on tyran
nous, unfair terms a part of it." Again:
"Oliver Cromwell (quitted farming; un
dertook a Hercules' labor and lifelong
Tprrestle with that Lernean hydra-coil,
-wide as England hissing' lieaven-high
through Its thousand-crowned, coronet-
ted, shovel-hatfod quack-heads, and he .
did wrestle with It, the truest and ter
riblest wrestle I have heard of; and he
wrestled It and mowed It and eut it
down a good many stages, so that its
hissing ever since ias bejen pitiful: In
comparison, and one can 'walk abroad,
in comparative- peace from It; and -his
wages, as I understand, were burial
under the gallows tree near Tyburn
turnpike, with -his .head on the .gable?
of Westminster "hall, and two centu-"
rles now of mixed cursing and ridjcule
from all manner of men. His dust lies
under the Edgeware road, near Tyburn
turnpike, at this hour; ad his mem
ory Is Nay, what matters what "his
memory is? His memory, at bottom,
Is or yet shall be that of a god, a ter
ror and horror to all quacks and cow
ards and insincere persons; an. ever
lasting encouragement, new memento,
battle-word and pledge of victory to
all the brave. Its"the natural eourser
and history of the Godlike, In every
place. In every time. The regular way
is to hang, kill, crucify your gods, and
execrate and trample them under your
stupid hoofs for a century or two; till
you discover they are gods, and then
take to braying over them!" "Which
seems sufficiently prophetic of the pres
ent Cromwell revival I
Cromwell's severities in Ireland are
sure to come forward with every men
tion of his career and character. Ac
cording to the "standards of the presentH
day they eannot be defended. No
writer attempts 1t Such excuse as
they can have must be sought in the
spirit of the times and In the usages J
of war, which continued in their sever
ity till long after Cromwell's day. Even
Dr. Gardiner admits that the severity
of the Protector at Drogneda and Wex
ford was strictly la accord with- the
law of war as it-stoOd up to the time
of "Wellington; and in a footnote he
reprints from Wellington's dlsp'atches
the statement that "it was always un
derstood that the defenders of a for
tress could have no claim to quarter,"
but "the French have availed them
selves of tie humanity of modern war
fare and have made a new regulation
that a breach should stand one assault
at least" So he says, regretfully, "The
consequence of this regulation was the
loss of the flower of the army at Ciu-dad-Rodrigo
and Badajoz. I certainly
should have thoHght myself justified
in putting both armies to the sword;
and Jf I had done so to the first, it I
Is probable I should have saved 5000
men In the assault on the second. I
mention this In order to show that the
practice of refusing quarter to a gar
rison which stands an assault is not a
useless effusion of blood." What Crom
well did, then, was the law of war,
atrocious as it was when judged by
modern standards. He" acted in the
spirit of his times, in war, even though
he was in many things far in advance
of his times; and Wellington admits
that he would have done the -same
thing In the nineteenth century, but for
the law of war having just been
changed when his necessity arose. Be
sides, according to the morality of that
time, the terrible massacres of English
and Scotch that had been perpetrated
In Ireland a short time before were be
lieved to call for vengeance; so Crom
well, when, he went to Ireland, said:
"We are come to take an account of
the innocent blood that hath been
shed," in "the most unheard-of and
most barbarous massacre." The low
est estimate of the victims of these
massacres was 40,000 persons. Not yet,
nor till long afterward, had the world
Tid itself of the idea that .justice
required bloody retaliation.. It is
as unfair to judge the actors in war
in former times by the humanity of the
present times as it is to judge the
church of today by the unspeakable
atrocities perpetrated In its name in
former centuries. That is not the way
to read history or to use history with
any profit. Men at the Jiead of affairs
must be expected to act, on the whole,
in accord with the spirit of their times.
These remarks, begun with the
thought of producing only a paragraph,
have run to some length. We add only
the single remark, that there clearly is
deep significance In the new interest
which the English-speaking world is
taking in the historic mission, charac
ter and career of the Great Protector.
Who could have supposed he would
see the time when a majority of Eng
lishmen would join Milton in hailing
Cromwell their "chief of men"?
WORSE THAJf ROBERTS.
It is one of the evidences of the sa
gacity with which the United States
constitution was framed, that the
strict constructionists usually find
themselves wrong. When the neces
sary and inevitable thing to do seems
in conflict with the constitution, there
are always those who see in the letter
of the law an Inhibition of that neces
sary and Inevitable thing. But the pro
cession does not stop for them, and in
cidentally somebody Indulges the in
tellectual diversion of proving them
technically as- -well as practically
wrong. This is what Senator Lindsay,
for one, did for anti-Imperialism's pro
test that we cannot conquer and an
nex territory.
Another Interesting illustration in
point is the impatience of certain
sound-hearted and ---practical-minded
people with ther&efense made by Rob
erts, the TJtah claimant in congress.
The claimant is disposed to argue his
case as a matter of interpretation of
written forms, but his opponents ex
press a diverting indignation that he
seeks to ignore the main point, perhaps
the only point, MrT Tayler for es
ample, understands It, "wnether or not
Roberts is a polygatnlst." But just
there's the rub. If he is a polygamist,
out he must go, maUger all his fine
points about the rights of members and
the limitation of the powers of the
house, the purposes of the Edmunds'
act, the appointments of presidents.
It begins to look as if the senate
might itself have to take some such
short cut to the goal of right. It is
certain that the Quay conspiracy and
the Clark investigation will develop
public opinion to- a point undreamed of
months ago, when the foundations of
these scandals were being laid, at Har
risburg and Helena. The senate is not
a popular body. It prides itself upon
its distance from the people and its
answerableness to nobody. But It will
perhaps find itself not so impregnable
to the general conscience as it has fan
cied. The Montana business and the
Pennsylvania iniquity may beget a
popular Indignation that will not be so
easily Ignored.
Which is worse, Roberts or the pair
of senatorial claimants? One has
transversed the letter of the law, the
others have set at defiance no less a
thing than popular government Itself.
The enthronement of resourceful and
J unscrupulous bosslsm that Is Quay.
The embodiment of the Idea that the!
senate is for the highest bidder that
is Clark. It makes no difference that
one comes from a 'mining camp, and
the other from unworthy descendants
of Penn .and Franklin, if there is any
degree in the odium, Pennsylvania's
fall Is the greater.
If Quay and Clark were at the bar
of the house, they would be sent home
along with Roberts. The senate, from
tradition and self-cencelt, Is disposed
to make more of written and technical
Impediments In the way of what is
right and true. This time they may
hesitate to Ignore simple justice. The
committee's report on the one case and
the determination to probe the other
to the bottom are hopeful signs. So,
also, Is the reflection that unrestrained
Clarks and. Quays are the most effect
ive possible arguments for eleetion of
senators by popular vote. 4
THE TREATMENT OP VAGRANCY.
A problem that Is always with us
a "by-product," so to speak, of civiliza
tion Is found In the above words. Va
rious methods have been applied to its
solution imprisonment; the bitter pen
alty of enforced labor; cheap boarding-
houses; missions that supply the gos
pel of encouragement and strive to pro
mote the gospel of cleanliness; relig
ious influences, arid, finally, all failing,
the authoritative order to "move on,"
have all been applied and singly or
combined have failed to give a satis
factory answer. The great army of the
thriftless, the indolent and the desti
tute shows no diminution in numbers.
The most discouraging feature of the
case is that the vagrant, born and bred,
is well content with his lowly, degrad
ed estate, literally "owing no care, and
fearing no ill." A bivouac in his' mal
odorous blankets wherever he can find
room to spread them has no discomfort
for him, and prison means shelter and
food during stress or storm. Work is
his only dread, and he isian expert in
managing it so that it becomes a dread
as well to the municipality that im
poses it upon him.
Maud Ballington Booth, whose name
is a synonym for earnest endeavor in
the treatment of this moral disease,
says: "I cannot see that we have yet
found any remedy for vagrancy that
will do more than afford temporary re
lief." She and her coworkers, as faithv
ful, self-denying an army as ever
strove persistently to subdue the hosts
of evil, have found through experience
that the plan of colonizing the idle and
the destitute of the cities, with the ex
pectation that they will remain per
manently in the country and become
contented and thrifty, is not practical.
Even the houseless wanderers feel iso
lated when transferred from their pop
ulous haunts in the city to the quiet
life of the country, and become gen
uinely homesick to return, regardless
of their bettered physical and moral
condition. It follows that they return
to their old life and take it up again,
with its squalor and destitution, its
shifting and dodging of vagrancy laws,
and are relatively happy.
City shelters as a scheme for curing
vagrancy are equally unsuccessful.
Having thoroughly, conscientiously and
laboriously tried this plan, Mrs. Booth
Says: "I realize that the great pro
portion of the lodgers utilize the shel
ters for temporary convenience, and
that this plan merely relieves and does
not effect a permanent cure for va
grancy." Summing up the phases of
this perplexing question, this compet
ent authority says: "The class under
consideration, in my judgment, should
be treated as individuals, not in bodies.
A large proportion of them have known
no other manner of living, and have
followed In the idle and vicious ways
of their parents. Religious advice, In
the form of addresses, no matter how
forcible or eloquent, has no effect on
such people. They are too deadened to
realize its meaning. Only individual
effort will benefit them."
In the light of this advice and the
experience upon which it is based, the
waste in money and energy that has
ensued from the attempt to lift vag
rants as a class in urban community
life out of the idleness and squalor in
which they prefer to pass their lives, is
appalling. The effort to give them
something they do not want and can
not appreciate must, in the very na
ture of things, represent mistaken en
deavor and Tesult in disappointment.
The best, apparently, that can be done
is to keep the vagrant class on the
move, thus equalizing to some extent
the expense which they entail upon
thrift and industry, without increasing
the menace which their existence en
tails upon organized society. This
method, though at variance with the
principle of the Golden Rule, is the
general resort of municipalities the au
thorities of which have found it utterly
Impossible to solve the problem of va
grancy and have felt compelled in self
defense to accept this means for tem
porary relief.
SMAI.li HOPE OP ABATEMENT.
The melancholy reflection whieh al
ways follows discussion of the gross
abuse of our pension legislation is that
things are likely to be far worse be
fore they are better. The pension roll
today demands an annual appropria
tion of over $140,000,000, with the pros-J
pect that it will reach $200,000,000 be
fore its Increase is Anally checked. Of
the 25,000 Spanish war pension claims
already filed, most of them are sub
mitted under that calamitous law of
1590," which never ought to have been
enacted and ought to be repealed or
at least radically amended. If the 25,
000 Spanish war claims alread3- filed
under this act are all allowed it would
mean probably an addition of at least
$3,000,000 to our pension expenditure.
Ultimately probably ninety per cent of
all oUr volunteer army enlisted for the
Spanish war will be borne on the pen
sion roll, but this is not all.
The worst prospect before us is the
passage at no very distant period of a
service pension to every Union vet
eran. This measure was advocated by
General Alger when the G. A. R. met
in national encampment at Boston a
few years ago, and he carried the ma
jority of his comrades with him. Log
ically It is not easy to see how con
gress can refuse to pass such an act in
face of the utterly 'indefensible act of
1S87, granting a service pension to all
survivors of the Mexican war who had
served sixty days in Mexico or en route
thereto. With this ugly precedent of
a service pension for Mexican war vet
erans it is folly to expect that the
vicious disabilities pension law of 1890
will ever be disturbed; it is far more
likely to be supplemented within ten
years by a service pension to Union
veterans
This worst of all our pen-
slon acts, the Mexican war service pen
sion swindle, has the solid South be
Tilnd -it. It 'was devlsted W the demo
cratic party and was enacted under j
President Cleveland. Even the repub
lican party shrank from the enactment
of the very dangerous precedent of a
general service penBlon bill, but Grover
Cleveland signed it, hvpiteof his rec
ord as a pension reformer. There is
small prospect that any of the present
pension acts will be repealed. Revision
of the lists without radical recasting
of the present pension laws would
probably not greatly reduce the roll;
but the publication of the pension roll
might drive some well-to-do pensioners
into surrendering their pensions. Pres
ident Cleveland's evil pension act of
1887 will probably bear fruit at no dis
tant day in another service pension
bill.
The position of The Oregonian Is to
day what It has always been, that no
man should receive from the govern
ment a pension to which he cannot
Bhow a moral title of poverty or disa
bility that compels dependency. But
under our pension laws, a rich man is
allowed to establish a technical right.
to a pension for wounds in battle or
Inability through age or Infirmity to
support himself by manual labor, while
in all moral equity the people ought
not to be taxed to pay a pension for
wounds 6r disability to a veteran am
ply able to support himself and his
family. There are some kinds of serv
ice that cannot be paid for; there are
some favors like the kiss of true love,
that no money can buy and for which
no money can be offered or accepted on
either side. The Intent of pension leg
islation, its spirit, is not that of a
bounty. It is clearly intended to ex
tend help to those veterans who need
help, either at present or are likely to
need It in the near future. It was
never expected that a rich man would
claim a pension, for his situation is
not that of either present or prospect
ive dependency. The sordid disposition
to accept help from the government
that In principle and in spirit was nev
er intended to be sought for save by
the helpless, has not only brought such
veterans Into just contempt as para
sites with the people, but, what is far
more deplorable, has brought indirectly
into disrepute and contempt the whole
mass of Union veterans, who inevitably
suffer something by the satire deserv
edly shot at these black sheep.
Up to conclusion of the year 1863 the
battles of the Union were fought by
the million of men which Lincoln ob
tained by volunteering, men who en
listed for nothing but the small month
ly pay and the 'government bounty of
$100. The enforcement of the draft be
gan in July, 1863, and the clause of
the conscription act which permitted j
the famishment of a substitute cre
ated a class o' mercenaries who re
ceived enormous bounties from towns
short of their quota and from drafted
men financially able to bid for substi
tutes. The result was that between
October IT, 1863, and February 4, 1S64,
there were furnished over 369,000 of this
quality of eleventh-hour patriots. Un
der the call of March, 1864, we secured
over 292,000 of these bounty-"seeking and
bounty-jumping mercenaries. We mus
tered into service for 100 days over 83,
000 militia, who were never on the fir
ing line. Under 'the call of July, 1864,
we obtained over 386,000 men; and un
der the call of December, 1864, over
212,000 men, Then there were nearly
186,009 colored troops enlisted during
the war; there were over 106,000 three
months' men, few of whom ever stood
on the firing line; there were nearly
88,000 nine-months' men, the majority
of whom saw little or no service, be
tween October, 1862, and July, 1863.
There were a few nine-months' men
who fought well in the Chancellorsvllle
campaign and at Gettysburg, but for
the most part they never saw the firing
line. Then there were o'ver 16,000 six
months' men who never saw any field
service. These figures indicate that un
less we believe in the theory that of
the Union, veterans none but the fittest
have survived, there must be a deal
of very worthless trash on the pension
roll today.
J. W. Cook has given substantial aid
to the project to establish a technical
and industrial school by the donation
of seven acres in a high and sightly
part of Alblna as a site. The. location
is not only within a city that is coming
into industrial prominence, but is with-
f in easy distance of industry Itself.
Close by, so close that the hum of the
machinery can be heard, are some of
the principal manufacturing establish
ments of Portland. Almost at the base
of the rise on which It is proposed to
build the institution flows the Willam
ette river, always alive with Portland
foreign, domestic and inland commerce.
Mr. Cook wisely makes it a condition
of his gift that distinction of race, color
or religion shall have no place In the
school. His observation that the best
citizens are those from whom racial,
religious and color prejudice Is absent
is worthy Of a patriotic American. The
industrial school project has been given
a healthy start, and should now be
taken up by public-spirited people and
pushed to completion.
"It is said that Napoleon was inor
dinately fond of fried onfohs. This
statement throwB a new light on why
he was banished to a lonely Island."
Thus the Kansas City Tlmtes. But
there's no joke about this. After the
great battle at Dresden, where he had
won a triumph that dismayed his ene
mies, Napoleon had for his dinner a
shoulder of mutton stuffed with onions.
It gave him an acute Indigestion and
made him so violently ill that he was
unable to direct operations for support
of. his lieutenants, who in the absence
of orders failed to co-operate and were
crushed in detail. It is the belief of
many that the course of the history
I or1 Europe was changed by that Indi
gestible meal.
It will make little or no difference, in
Great Britain's future wars with pow
erful enemies, what course she takes
now as to contraband of war. If she
allow now that foodstuffs are not con
traband, her enemies in future wars
will not be bound by the precedent, if
they believe they can starve her out
by intercepting her food supply. She
may as well go ahead, then, with her
seizures of provisions destined to the
Boer states. In her future wars her
enemies will stop her importations of
food, if they can.
The Oregonian Is asked whether it
has considered that free sugar from
West and East InSIa is to be a coh
sequence of the policy of expansion,
and the result on b'eet-sugar produc-
1 tion In the United States. It has; and
it thinks that even If sugar should oe-
cbme cheaper, which perhaps would be
realized after a while, the consumers of
sugar that Is to say, the whole popu
lation of the U.nlted States would find
a way to stand it.
Political trouble Is brewing in Ken
tucky; civil war perhaps, for there Is
every probability that an effort will be
made to put Taylor out of the govern
or's office and to put Goebel into it.
But people of other states may as well
refrain from hot controversy over it. j
Kentucky no doubt will be able to see
it through. Her quotas in both armies
were kept full during the civil war,
and everything turned out well enough.
As to expansion and consent of the
governed, the Florida Times-Union
says: "Senator Hoar stands today
where Southern statesmen stood in
1860, and President McKinley where
Jefferson stood in 1804." In which re
mark lies much truth.
It is settled that our government Will
not tender Its services as mediator be
tween the belligerents in South Africa,
unless both parties Intimate a desire
or willingness that It should do so. Till
then we shall do well to mind our own
business.
From the accounts of the war in
South Africa it would seem that the
British, not the Boers, were In need of
the sympathy of mankind.
THAT QUESTION OF TREASON.
Hold That It Was Settled by the Pol
icy of Reconstruction.
Florida Times-Union and Citizen.
The article in the current McClure's on
the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson con
tains an admission of vital interest to the
South, which has attracted no special at
tention, so far as we have observed. The
impeachment proceedings marked a divi
sion In the republican party and the tri
umph of legal technicalities with which
we have nothing to do, but Congressrnan
George S. Boutwell, who was selected as
chairman of the managers o the proceed
ings, says in the article: "The controver
sy with Mr. Johnson had Its origin in tho
difference of opinion as to the nature of
the government. That difference led him
to the conclusion that the rebelllonhad
not worked any change in the legal rela
tions of the seceding states to the na
tional government. His motto was this:
'Once a state, always a. state, whatever
might be its conduct, either of peace or
war.' "
The republican party naturally took the
opposite ground that the South was con
quered territory; Mr. Stevens held the
Southern states were "enemy's territory"
Mr. Sumner that the states by surrender
became territories subject as such to the
government of congress, as if they had
been annexed from Mexico or Canada.
Under Mr. Johnson's conception, a state
could not secede, and could not levy legal
War on the nation therefore Davis and
Lee were traitors. But several states re
served the right to secede when they en
tered the Union Massachusetts declared
that the annexation of Louisiana was a
breach of the original compact, and there
after any state could withdraw. This
view was accepted by the nation Davis
and Lee were not punished because their
states had Seceded, and they had only
obeyed legal authority.
Therefore, the war between the states
was held by the republican party itself xo
have been no rebellion, nor civil war, but
a struggle between sovereign powers, each
fully capable In law of governing Itself
In peace and war.
Therefore, the Southern states must re
turn as territories, and did, but this put
a negative forever on any possible charge
Of treason it established forever the claim
of Southern statesmen that a slate had a
legal and moral right td withdraw from
the Union at its option, and It should have
left the two peoples without more bitter
ness than is inevitable between foreign
nations that have fought each other fairly
to the death. The article of Mr. Boutwell
Is the first authoritative expression of this
Ylew from the other side, and, therefore,
is important historians and teachers
should immediately govern themselves ac
cordingly. By the decision of the high
court of Impeachment, as well as by the
supreme court of the United States, wo
may now conclude that this view 1s the
legal and accepted one.
i i . o
1900.
New Tork Sun. Dec. 31.
At midnight of tonight, the close of
the year 1S90, there will begin a special
function in the Cathedral of St. Patrick,
to usher in the year 1900, declared by the
pope a holy year, a year of jubilee. As
many people have acquired the erroneous
impression that the universal decree ap
pointing the celebration gave the authority
of the Vatican for regarding the coming
year as the first of a new century, tne
20th, we will reprint here the portion o
the text that touches that point:
It to moat becoming that xve -who are about
to celebrate the commencemsJit of the holy
year, happily proclaimed by our Holy Father
Leo XIII, should. In the depth of night, rise
to greet the author of time and prostrate before
his altars.
Since, moreover, at midnight oi the last day
of December of the coming year the present
fbentury will come to an end and a new one
begin, It la Very appropriate that thanks be
given to God, by some pious and solemn cere
mony, for the benefits recelvdd daring thb courts
of the present cfentury.
The decree goes on to say that the mass
tonight is to be celebrated "fn order that
the approaching year, 1900, may begin
happily," and "that it may end, after a
prosperous course, by ushering In a stilt
mors happy century,"
The time for expressing gratitude for tho
century wo still live in and hope for the
century to come is not, therefore, in. the
Roman Catholic church limited to a night,
but is spread over a whole year, 1900, the
last year of the 19th century.
4 0 1
Discourtesy, Isn't ItX.
Boston Transcript.
What an astounding and enlightening
piece of news is this that Congressman
Boutelle has been located! It has been a
long and breathless chase for the reporters,
but they have hounded the sick man down
at last In spite of all the barriers thrown
up by his family to preserve their right to
privacy, and in -spite of the refusal of the
physicians employed to divulge profes
sional secrets! This information reveals a
combination of news gathering, detectivo
instinct and absolute lack of delicacy of
feeling that 1b an up-to-date triumph in
deed! If Congressman 38outello had never
held public office, and never done anything
to bring him a measure of fame, he might
now, in his helpless days of suffering, be
allowed to spend them in a different man
ner than by dodging as for his life a paper
chase of athletic reporters. Supposing him
to be in heaven's mercy oblivious of it all,
his family might at least be guaranteed
that sympathetic and charitable letting
alone that is at times one of the most
precious gifts in the bestowal of frlend3.
Lack of courtesy at the hands of those
who would be disseminators of news pub
lic meh have always experienced and prob
ably always will, to a certain extent, but
in a case of this kind making the family
of the prominent one to suffer unwarrant
ably and unnecessarily, Is nothing short of
ruffianism, and stupid ruffianism at that.
d 0
ICKBon Rrom the Charleston's Loss.
Washington correspondent, Philadelphia Ledger.
The loss of tho Charleston has set in
operation on all the vessels In the Philip
pine fleet a systematic charting of sounds
ings in all waters that are suspected.
The reefs around the Northern Philippine
Islands are all volcanic, and the navigator
has no warning nor means of Informing
himself of their proximity. The Charles
ton, acccbrding to the official reports, was
one minute making headway in a roung
ea, 400 feet deep. The next she had run
one-third her length on a flat reef where
the depth of the water was but 16 feeL
This mountain'top, for that la what these
volcanic reefs are fcr tho most part, was
uncharted, and two miles from the near
est charted shore. The Spanish have not
been as good sailors in the 19th century
a& In previous history, and their charts
are grievously defective. To send our
splendid cruisers over to the Philippines
to do patrol duty close in shore is a risk
that seems suicidal. The officers of the
fleer, in their official reports, do not hesi
tate to criticize Admiral Deweys course
in sending more fine shlpa over there. Now
every cruiser sent on patrol duty feels her
way along, making records of soundings.
By this course Intelligent and trustworthy
charts will soon be provided and the dan
ger reduced. In especially bad and sus
picious water they put their boats out well
ahead of the ship. The naval authorities
agree that around the large islands of the
Philippines lie some of the most danger
ous coasts in the world. When Captain
Wilde, of the Oregon, was ordered by Ad
miral Watson to go on patrol duty In Cebu,
on an almost uncharted coast, he made a
protest in writing, which the admiral re
spected, and the ship went to Lingayen
gulf. A large amount of patrol work is
done by launches, but there Is a scarcity
of these boats in ManHa, and the navy
buy3 as fast as it can those that are of
fered in Hong Kong. This patrol system
Is just at this time a feature of the service,
which is much needed, and is receiving
constant attention from the department.
i B '
The Kind SIcKlnley "TaUes Care Of."
Boston Herald.
The United States has been recently
again humiliated through one of Its for
eign ministers. One W. Godfrey Hun
ter, of Kentucky, represents the country
In Guatemala. The wife of the Britlsn
representative there gave a reception to
which Minister Hunter was not lnvitea.
The attempt was then made to convert
this omission into a national affront, but
it turned out that the character of Min
ister Hunter was so objectionable that
this English lady refused to receive him.
Further inquiry developed that ha was
odious to United States residents of this
Central American capital as well, ana
that they had almost In a body petitioned
our government for his recall. This man
Hunter had been" the republican candi
date for United States senator in Ken
tucky, but was detected in having given a
private pledge to a populist member of the
legislature of that state to support free
silver as the price of his vote. This ex
posure lost Hunter the election. He then
appeared; at Washington, soliciting on ol
fice from the administration, and recelvea
it in the place at Guatemala, with the re
sults that we have above noted.
"Widely Extended Operations.
The wide field covered by the Ameri
can operations in Luzon Is shown by re
cent events. Aguinaldo's wife and sev
eral, rebel officers were captured at Bon
toc, 253 miles north of Manila, and 150
prisoners ancL four rapid-fire guns were
captured at Cabuyao, 67 miles south of
Manila. The northern provinces having
been cleared of armed rebels, the Ameri
can troops are moving on the rebel forces
in the provinces of Cavite and Laguna,
south of Manila. In this last campaign
against the rebels, the American troops
are moving from Laguna de Bay on the
east as well as from, the north. Cavite
Is Aguinaldos native province, and It haij
been the boast of the rebels that they
would make their last stand In the rougn
lands of their leader's home province. This
plan has suited General Otis, because It
has enabled him to aim tho last blow at
the rebellion without sending his troops
to distant provinces.
i) c t i
"When the Last Centnry Ended.
Here Is a curiosity. A correspondent of
the Boston Transcript writes:
In reading Scott's "Life of Dryden."
published in. 1S08 I .have just, happened
upon a paragraph which seems almost too
good to lose at this date. Scott says that
Dryden was asked to write a masque tor
the Drury Lane theater, adapted to the
termination of tho 17th century, and adca
the following note:
"Upon the 25th March, 1700, It being sup
posed (as Jby many In our own time) that
the century was concluded so soon as tho
hundredth year commenced as- if a play
was ended at the beginning of the flftn
act."
4 0
Lest We Forxret.
Chicago Journal.
The enormous benefactions of a Rocke
feller, a Carnegie, a Pierpoht Morgan, the
Stanford, or the Crocker estate, do not
excuse nor should they blind the people
to the methods by which the millions
from which these gratuities are subtract
ed were rolled up. Robin Hood, history
tells us, dispensed his booty among the
poor. Incidentally, it may be noted that
some of these later freebooters have re
versed the process and distributed among
institutions Intended for the use of the
rich or comfortable classes the largess
forcibly collected from the poor.
A Corurressman's Idea.
Congressman BIbley In St. Louis Olobe-Demo-crat.
"It has cost the people of the United
States millions of dollars to have that
roll called in the house of representa
tives, and I hope to see the day when a
man can sit at his seat in the house and
press a button which will record his vote
at the clerk's desk; when the votes will
be added automatically, so that the
speaker cah announce the result five min
utes after the question has been put. It
would cost us only $2500 or so, and it would
simplify the work of the house a great
deal."
a o
Great Britain's Trial.
Boston Transcript.
Great Britain's prestige will be greatly
lowered if she does not bring the war to
a triumphant conclusion. Her future may
and probably will invite a long series or
annoyances, Jf not assaults, from jealous
Continental powers. The British race
would be more than ever on trial for Its
Imperial life, and it is a race that haa
never yet shrunk from a fair field.
1 ' ti B
Fine Point, Bnt Well Taken.
Boston Herald.
One of the fin points made by Mr.
Godkin, In his reminiscences, Is his re
mark that we have got Into a way ot
taking material prosperity for good gov
ernment, a delusion of which the bosses
take advantage, and which, to most men,
Is the sweetest delusion possible. There
is no such fosterer of indifference to poli
tics as a good bank account.
i a
The Chccrfnl Idiot.
" Indianapolis Press.
"Then the heroine," said the youngest
boarder, who has a habit of telling about
the stories he reads, "discovers that her
idol has feet of clay."
"And after that, of course, his name Is
mud," said the Cheerful Jdiot.
A Forest for Tea Chests.
A large Glasgow (Scotland) tea chest
company has purchased lO.CoO acres of
forest land lit North Carolina, with 73,
006,000 feet of stumpage, to use the lum
ber for venefiring of tea chests. A fac
tory to prepare it will be built at Wil
mington. 3 i
Hainbnrc's Trolley Lines.
Hamburg, Germany's first seaport, has
adopted the American overhead trolley
on its street lines. Eighty German cities
are supplied with electric railways, and
American appliances are admitted to be
beyond comparison the best.
10 1
Sensitive Ah out Seclns Ghosts.
New Tork Tribune.
Mr. Edward Atkinson has written a let
ter in reply to General Lawton's dy:ns
message, which suggests that he is sensi
tive about seeing ghosts.
Note Am comment.
Taking Aruinaldo for all in. -all, wi
never shall look upon Mb Ilka again w
hope.
It looks now as lf It might turn out
that the best British general will b
French.
Perhaps that cannon Is delaying Its ar
rival In Portland, because It knows it will
be bored when It gets here.
Prisoners having grown scarce on tha
firing line, the Boers are now trying ta
get a few out of their corral.
"Sometimes I find," observed the foot
pad, "that in order to hold a man up It
Is necessary to hold him down."
"I've just finished my 20th century run,"
said the scorcher. And now he Is wonder
ing why they set upon and beat hlra.
Quay and Agulnaldo would be a team
of presidential candidates which would at
least have the approval of Senator Hoar.
Perhaps now the Boers are anxious to
get the blacks to fight for them, they will
condescend to allow them to walk on the
same side of the street.
They say that when Aguinaldo's wife
was t61d that the United States troops
were coming' and would be right on her
in a minute, she exclaimed: "Goodness!
Is my hat on- straight!"
Birds a alngln' In the trees.
Sun a-ehlnln la the sky.
People -wearia summer clo'eai
Just the -weather for July.
"Wind a-howlla roun' the roof,
Drlvln eheet3 o' dnnchia rain,
Slty a-lookln cold an Cray,
People chasln heme again.
Summer, winter, spring- an fall.
Chunks o March, and chunk3 o Mayj
Chasln one another past.
All to Portland ysterda.
A young woman of Portland, who takes
a general interest In the welfare of babies,
thinks the new style baby-carrlagesv with
two little wheels In front, are not fit to
trundle young babies about the streets in.
These babies, she says, have little or no
backbone, and should not be expected to
sit bolt upright, as they have to In these
little trundle carts. A strap in front holds
the little one in, and over this strap the
tired babe throws its whole weight, while
the thoughtless nurse feebly realizes the
torture the little one Is subjected to.
Cheap and rapid transit and a 25-cent
rate between this city and "Vancouver and
Oregon City have practically made those
cities suburbs of Portland, and enabled
the women of Portland to place their
friends In Oregon City and "Vancouver
on their calling lists, and calls are inter
changed regularly. NOW Astoria has been
added to tho list of suburbs of Portland,
and the women of Portland have placed
the names of their friends in Astoria on
their calling lists, and vice versa, and
calls are regularly Interchanged, the dis
tance of 100 miles cutting no figure while
the fare is only 25 cents.
Portland police have been reporting very
few Infractions of tha laws by wheelmen
this winter, and the sidewalk scorcher is
said to have well nigh disappeared. This
welcome change Is not due to any serious
punishment inflicted on the bike riders, but
rather to a sober judgment on the port
of the wheelmen themselves. Early In the
season the police stopped a good many
scorchers and "read them the riot aqt," and
the3elittlelectures, It is thought, have been
productive of considerable good. Occa
sionally some youth who does not realize
his own danger Is caught riding the side
walks at night without a light, but he
always promises to behave better in fu
ture, and most of them keep their word.
Municipal Judge Hennessy Is still holding
down that ?40 throne which he purchased
on his own responsibility without author
ity from tho committee on health and
police. The furniture-dealer declines to
exchange the chair for a cheaper one. and
the committee has not ordered it paid for,
and the judge is becoming so tired of the
situation that even the softly-cushioned
chair falls to rest blm. If the committee
does not pay for the chair before long
tho judge will pay for It himself. If he
Is re-elected he can afford the luxury, and
if not he will keep It as a souvenir of his
judgeship. It would not be out of place
for some of tha religious fortune-tellers
who were upheld by the judge to make
him a present of the chair.
A citizen who lately returned from Ros
land, B. C, and who chanced to bring
along a number of Canadian silver coins
in his pocket, complains of the discount
made on them here. He says that in Spo
kane and the Sound cities these coins pass
at their par value, as does Ainerican silver
on the Canadian side of tho boundary.
Banks here discount Canadian bills 1 or 2
per cent, but a much greater discount Is
made on silver, and a Canadian quarter
passes hero for only 20 cents, a discount of
20 per cent, which Is outrageous. Of
course, anywhere along the boundary line
the silver coins of both countries pass on
an equal footing, for there is very little
difference in their value, and people keep
crossing back and forth across the boun
dary. Portland is so far from the boun
dary line that it costs something to send
bank notes or silver across the line and
get American money in exchange. Ameri
can money being worth a little more than
the Canadian coins of the same denomina
tion, pass freely on the British side of tfhe
boundary line, but it would be well, in
order to save loss and annoyance, for
persons coming over the line into the
United States to leave the Canadian money
behind.
A wonderful adjustable gunstock, which
can bo arranged in a moment to fit the
tallest man or the shortest boy has been
Mnvented by O. O. Scripture, of Prescott,
Ariz., and the Journal, of that town, gives
it a highly commendatory notice. It is
usually difficult fcr ordinary people to un
derstand such Inventions, but the expra
nation the Journal gives of this one Is so
lucid that he who runs may read, and ne
who never fired a shot may understand.
Without entering into a detailed explana
tion of the invention, the following in re
gard to one of the points covered by the;
patent is given for the Information oJ
those interested in such things:
The combination with the butt section or rear
section havlnsr a concavity at Its forward end,
of the barrel" section or front section having a
convex rear end to fit the concavity ot the butt
section, said convex and concave faces belnff
formed with teeth adapted to interlock, a trans
versa pivot in the barrel section, a connecting1
rod mounted on said pivot directly and extend
ing rearwardly through the butt section, the
rear end of said rod being ecrew-threaded. and
a nut held to revolve on the butt section and
screwing on the rear end of the connecting rod.
Some may imagine that It would bo
cheaper and less troublesome to have a
patent, double back-action toggle joint
put on one's neck to make It fit any kind
of a gunstock. and the Invention Is open
to this objection, but those who Imagine
that their heads are put on right can
patronize the adjustable gunstock.