Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 1900)
THE mmSMQ OREGQIAN, , tJESDAY, JAUtjARY 9, 1900. 'te x&Qoni& Entered at the Posioffice at Portland, Oregon. &i seeead-class matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Rooms 166 I Business Office.,.. ..637 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mall (postage prepaid). In Advance Daily, with Sunday, par month $D Dally, Sunday excepted, per year GO Dally, with Sunday, per year -..- 9 0 Sunday, per year ............. 2 00 The Weekly, per year... 1 The Weekly, 3 months .... w To Qty Subscribers DaHy, per week, delivered, Sundays excepted.153 Daily, per week, delivered, Sundays lnduded.Oc News or discussion Intended for publication In The Oregonian should be addressed invariably "Editor The Oregonian,' not to tne name of any individual. Letters relating to advertising, subscriptions or to rany business, matter should be addressed simply "The' ofegenlan." The Oregonian does not buy poems or stories iron individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to it without solicita tion. No stamps should be lnelosed for this pur pose. Pugct Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson. office at 11U Pacific avenue, Tacoma. Box 8S5. Tacoma postofflce. Eastern Business Office The Tribune building. New Tork elty; "The Rookery." Chleaco; the . C Beckwitfc special agency, New Tork. For sale in San Franciseo by J. K. Ceoper. 748 Market street, near the Palace hotel, and at Goldsmith Bros 236 Sutter street. Fcr sale in Chicago by the P. O. News Co., 217 Dearborn street. TQDAT'S WEATHER. Occasional rain in the afternoon; -west to eoutn winds. PORTLA3TD, TUESDAY, JAATJARY O. OUR. OXPS ttfBEPEJfDENT WAT. We have large numbers of citizens, and residents not citizens; who are put ting in a great deal of time and appar ently much effort in denunciation of Great Britain. That may be good enough employment It is a matter of feeling, and each one has a right to seek happiness or satisfaction in his own way. It often gives relief to un pack the heart with -words. Besides, when a great nation is the subject of objurgation, nobody in particular is hurt. The British man has often said unhandsome things about our country and our countrymen,, and our people feel at liberty to repay these civilities whenever they choose. So, as the Brit ish man Just now has a tough job, new seems to be a good time. But it is altogether unnecessary to scream against a "British alliance," or to pretest and declare that "the United States never shall be an appanage of Gerat Britain." These are puerilities. They who exclaim thus have but small opinion of the United States; for they talk as If they supposed there was dan ger that the United States would in some Way accept, or in some way be subjected to, the hegemony of Great Britain. JChese two great nations will remain separate entities, with no thought of alliance; and each win con tinue to play its own part in the world of affairs. But their mission in civilization is somewhat similar, and they need not be enemies. In the present posture of the world's affairs, it is hardly conceiva ble, indeed, that they could be enemies. Each has large and similar problems to face, and hostility between them, in the face of a world largely hostile to each and to both, would now be madness. Yet there will be no alliance, nor even co-operation; for each will pursue its own Way and fight its own battles. "W'e have been fighting our battle with Spain and with the insurgents of the Philippine Islands; Great Britain Is fighting her battle with the Dutch Afri kander. She did not Interpose In our war; we will not In hers. Our exports of merchandise to Eu rope in 189S amounted to a value of $975,806,245. Of this total, the United Kingdom took merchandise valued at $540,860,152, or nearly five-ninths of the whole. Our exports to all other parts of the world amounted to $257,676,085, of which British possessions in various parts of the world took over one-half. The British empire, then, takes more than E0 per cent of our exported prod ucts. We impcrt much Jess from the British empire, in return; and the enor mous balance In our favor is liquidated on that gold basis which we have often been told Great Britain has forced upon us. Now commerce never Is to be preferred to honor; yet- commerce seems to be of some use to the world, and the amicable relations to which it tends need not be ignored. It is quite to be expected that when a power like Great Britain, which, in the course of its long history, has come In conflict with many nations and .races, shall be engaged in serious war anywhere, many who have sprung from those nations or races would be glad to see that power beaten. It is a natural and human feeling. But of course this nation of ours, made up of people from all countries, cannot enter into the strifes of any. The historic enmities of the Old World do not belong to us. We have our own mission, and must pur sue it in our own independent way. THE MODERX MOLOCH. Dabblers in "Christian Science," "theosophy," "menticulture,"- and all the wide range of insane and pernicious imitations of medical, and psychical science, may find matter for -reflection in the moving story Pittsburg- contrib uted to yesterday morning's dispatches. The three children o a family were attacked by thai dread disease, diph theria, and the ignorant and criminally reckless father neglected to call in a physician, and when one was forced -upon hinxU the authorities, he refused to administer the medicine prescribed, though one Child was""aeaa and" another was already in the advanced stages of the disease. No one who has seen a child in the agonizing throes of this most terrible of children's maladies can read this Pittsburg story without a chill of hor ror at the little sufferer's fate and an execration of the unnatural parent who could watch the membrane gather thicker and closer in the tiny throat without an effort to stay its progress, under the brutal and idtotie pretense that he could .net take the matter out of "the hands of the JLerd." It would be the wish of Christian mercy and forbearance that his worse than useless frame might fall Into "Che hands" of that ancient Jehovah who sought to kill Hoses in the way, with none to de liver him when he called for help. It is right to differentiate the Christian- Scientist as a dreamer of alleged religious dreams from the Christian Scientist as a breaker of law. But the functions Wend so closely sometimes as to be almost indistinguishable. The blood of these murdered infants, and of hundreds of others ail over the country, is upon the heads of those charlatans who knowingly preach delusion as sci ence, ffnd humbuggery as religion. Medicine and physiology are sciences in the experimental stage; but there is a science of medicine, and there is a science of physiology. .To profess a science of healing that ignores them is to profess a lie. Half of Christian- Science is delusion, half Is Irrmncrtnre TTiorn nn.rtetrUpY blot upon the boasted civilization of, the century now drawing to a '"close than this monster of chicanery and in sanity upon whose altar every year so called Christian parents throw their hundreds of human sacrifices. - A visrOJf op EarPiKE. , B.epresentatlve Hopkins declares, that the war'taxes will stand, so far as this congress is concerned, and utterances on this subject from him are doubtless ex cathedra. This assertion1, coming as it dees on the heels of a remarkable treasury statement, is strikingly sug gestive of the profound effect develop ing industry and the Spanish war will have upon our fiscal policy. It is too late to Inquire as to- the advisability of ehange or steps to ward It off. The old order has given place to new, the ancient landmarks have been removed. We stand like "Venice when conquests east of the Adriatic had brought her face to face with her imperial destiny and Oriental commerce; like Spain when the New World burst upon her view. The order of the day is readjust ment. To take a Single aspect of this trans formation, our fiscal circumstances are to be all but revolutionized. No longer can we be contented with the income that onee sufficed our comparatively moderate needs, when, a bilBon-dellar eongress was thought fit to scandalize th country. Xt is evident, also, that the bulk of our Incomes ean no longer be derived, as formerly, from customs tariffs. Taxation must be more' direct, and business must brace itself to meet It. If we compare our treasury re ceipts for 1894, 1897 and for twelve months at the rate now prevailing, we shall see the vast distance we-Jiave traveled In an economic point of view, thus: IBM Receipts ...$373,000,000 1K7 i3O,00O,000 1883 ,570,000,000 If we t recall the sources of govern ment income in former years, we shall find them as follows: Receipts. IKH. 1S97. Customs $132,000,000 $176,000,000 Internal revenue 147.O00.O0O 147,000.000 Postal eerrice fw.000.000 S3.000.-000 Miscellaneous 1&.000.000 24,000,000 Totals .?373,000.00 $430,000,000 No longer ago than from 1894 to 1897, therefore, our Internal revenue was about stationary at $143,000,000 to $147, 000,000, while our income from customs tariffs was on the increase as compared with them. But since the war laid, un usual burdens upon us, the limited ca pacity of the tariff to produce revenue comes out plainly, desp'ite the Increases of the Dingley law and the strenuous efforts made in the war revenue bill to raise from tea. and other imports in creased returns. In the month pf December, 1899, our customs tariff yielded $19,000,000 and our internal revenue- $5,000,COO, At this rate, 'it we eliminate the miscellaneous receipts, which are- nominal arid the postal receipts, which are usually ex hausted by the mall service, we should have to raise, for the annual $570,000, 000 of Income required, no less than $324,600,000 -from Internal revenue, and $24C,OOOvOO0 from. -customs, tariffs In 1897 we drew 54 per cent of our income from the tariff; today but 43 per cent. The simplest deduction from the as sertion made by Mr. Hopkins is the perpetuity or the war taxes. We can indirectly see also that there is small hope of reduction In expenditures. Such little savings as can be made in over sea operations will be offset. by increase of pensions and government undertak ings of various kinds. It would not be surprising to find congress casting about for means of increasing revenue before trying to reduce it. The tariff has about reached the limit of its effi ciency In this respect. Direct taxes must come more and more into vogue, and customs dues will be laid with a view to revenue rather than protection. Substitution of direct taxation for customs is an evident bur den, but of counter-balancing merits. Direct taxation" is more apparent, but thereby more honest. Customs duties are often a clog upon trade. Flour ishing business can afford heavy taxes better than hampered trade can afford light taxes. Our industrial development and the accession of our new dependencies will exert a profound effect in lifting from trade the burden that heavy import duties have laid upon it. No one can foresee to what immense volume our trade may swell under these new con ditions, to what vast proportions our shipping, our wealth and our sea power may expand. The building of the na tion has been done. We stand on the threshold of one of the greatest em pires, perhaps the greatest empire, the world has ever seen. It may not be the last, but its history will be worth the reading. A CRUEI. DISAPPOINTMENT. Heal life has its pathos, equal to that of the romancer or the mimic stage. Most readers of The Oregonian, we fancy, have followed with more or less faithfulness and Interest the concern of a Sellwood mother for her boy, one of Gillmore's party, long held prisoners "by the Tagal bands, but at length rescued by a picked force of 150 American sol diers. This mother's anxiety is no doubt merely a type of that of many others all over the country. She has written letters to The Oregonian con cerning her boy, inquiries have been made at Washington and Manila, with out definite response, until last week the story came of the rescue and the name of youngVenville appeared In the press reports as among the rescued. This good news was carried to the mother, whose joy may be imagined, for her suspense had been great. "I would sit," she said, "as the days went by and wonder whether my boy was dead or alive. I would open the morning papers With fear and trembling, lest I should read some fatal news about him, yet I sought all the information I could get hold of to relieve my suspense. In formation we got from the department ytas to the effect that my boy had "been wounded, but was well, and had- not been recovered. He was always a good boy, and wrote me constantly." This false report of good news' was sorry preparation for the truth, which was to fall next day like- a thunderbolt It took this.form: Manila, Jan. 6. Secretary of Navy, "Washing ton: GHImore, Walton, Tandoit, Xllsworth, Xnlsolec, Anderson. Peterson," IJdwarde, arrives. Also Farmey, Burke and Herbert, e the Urda neta. Only Venville. unaccounted for. last seen at Baler, Jane 15. WATSON. Disappointments of fond and anxious hearts seldom fall as cruellv as this. Every heart fcnoweth Its own bitter- ness; but in these enlightened times no one bears' his grief alone. " Such com- fort as can be offered will not fall for bearers. Cultivation has been described as the capacity for entering into the, feelings of others, and sympathy hs never been as widespread as it is to day. The case is far from hopeless, and; the end of the story may yet be bright. Perhaps the boy has fallen in with some ether band of American troops, who may report him any day at an American camp. Or he may be de tained as prisoner by some roving band, that cannot much longer evade the American f6rces. Such fatalities, as befell the prisoners seem to have, grown out of the first attack upon, them, in which Venville, evidently, was not wounded. Prisoners have not been killed by Aguinaldo's forces recently, but treated with ostentatious courtesy., for political effect. There is the beBt reason for hoping that the Sellwood mother may yet welcome her boy, as back from the dead, and certainly such, love and devotion deserve such recom pense. - - BRITAIN'S SELF-IMPOSED JHSADi;; VANTAGE. When the Dutch seaport of Ostend bade defiance to the besieging army of Spain, a certain Italian Spinola entered Into a contract with Spain to take Os tend. He succeeded in his enterprise because he excelled his predecessors in the knowledge how to make war. If the British government today would let out the contract to beat the Boers to Colo nel William F. Cody, known as Buffalo Bill, or some other equally daring, ex perienced and resolute ex-commander of Indian scouts under Crook and Miles, the Boers might be beaten near to surrender within ninety days after his forces arrived In Natal. The Boer is a fair shot, and he is an admirable mounted rifleman. His tac tics are admirably suited to get fhe very best possible service out of an irergular force. His strong point is his mobility. He can ride to a chosen spot, dismount, drop reins, fire half a dozen shots, mount again and go on to a fresh position. His horse is trained to stand in the field wherever he is left. He carries his rations in his pocket, and the grass of the veldt gives him ample forage for his horse. He is armed with a better rifle than the English weapon; his cannon are of longer range; his ar tillerists have been thoroughly educat ed by German officers. Given this splendidly armed body of mounted riflemen, who, by their superior mobil ity, can appear and disappear rapidly; can quickly make an attack or avoid one, and how can the English com manders hope for Victory until they throw against the Boers an equally well armed body of mounted riflemen superior in numerical strength? Under the present circumstances, as suming that General Buller has 35,000 men, chiefly infantry, he could not rea sonably expect to force the Boer in trenched line, because the moment) his point of attack is developed the Boers, by their superior mobility, can always "get there ,first with the most men." But if the British had a force of 25,000 to 30,900' mounted men, they could rap idly turn. the position of , the Boers while pressing their, infantry attack along the front. They could fight the Boers justas Sheridan fought the Con federates in the Shenandoah valley and at Five Forks, when he launehed 10,009 splendid horsemen on the enemy's' flanks while pushing a stiff infantry attack along the front. Out of the British-born colonists alone of South Africa England can raise a mounted force of 25,000 men, as gallant men, as good shots and as good horsemen as the Boers. This foree, supplemented by 10,000 British regular cavalry and plenty of mounted field guns, would execute in force the very same tactics that General French with some 2000 men practiced when he pushed up to Colesburg. General French had but a few men, but his force was as mobile as that of the Boers, so that he was able to attack quickly on both flanks. There is no mystery about the Boer tactics. They Intrench in strong posi tions, protect themselves from shell Are by shelter trenches, and by their su perior mobility can concentrate rapidly to meet an attack and can disperse rapdily if they find it necessary to evacuate one position, can reach quick ly and rapidly intrench another. All this Is easily possible when fighting an enemy whose force is chiefly slow-moving infantry. But if the Boers found a column of mounted Infantry 20,000 to Sti.OOO hanging like a gathering storm on either flank, they could not hold their position and could not evacuate it safely in face of an enemy as strong and mobile as themselves. When our sol diers and Indian scouts hunted down the mounted Indians of the plains twenty-five years ago, we did not do it chiefly with infantry, although our foe was not to be compared with the BoeT In courage, or marksmanship, or arms, or Intelligence; -In nothing save mobil ity and hunter craft. Lord Roberts must remember the inestimable service of the native irregular 'horse under the command of British officers during the Indian mutiny of 1857. Until a large force of mounted riflemen is pushed against the Boers, the British will win no battles, even with large numerical superiority of infantry. England's-'un-preparedness for war lies not so much in lack of troops as in failure to fight the Boers on even terms by employing chiefly mounted riflemen and batteries. The British seizures of German ves sels of the South African coasting trade as suspects in; the Boer interest have given a powerful card into the hand of Emperor William, which he will promptly play in the naval game that Is now in progress in the reichstag. The assumption that England would not have dared to overhaul and search these . German merchantmen had the German navy been equal to a conten tion with that of Great Britain, is bold ly made, and will be vigorously pushed in advocacy of the naval bill presented by the emperor and opposed by the so cialists. The world in general will doubtless feel that it Is a good thing at this juncture that Germany is re strained by prudential reasons from a course that would involve, all Europe, in war. .General Miles wishes to fill the gaps among officers by anticipating West Point appointments, giving the grad uating cadets commissions in February instead of in June, but Adjutant-Gen-eT-al Corbin, who is an Ohio-bred mili tary politician and demagogue, wishes to 'fill these posts from civil life. Gen eral Miles is xight. So far as possible our army officers should be trained West Point graduates. The court-martials of officers held since the reorgan ization of the army in 1866 prove that a disproportionate share of these trials have been held on men appointed from civil life, whieh are always due to po litical -"pull" and favoritism. The only way to kep the army efficient Is to keep promotion even and continuous from top to bottom; that is to make appointments at the Bottom on the same continuous plan. General Miles decides like a soldier, and General Cor bin like a milrtary politician and dem agogue seeking to-make votes in con gress for his schemes. The savings banks of the state of New York, together with those t of the six New England states, hold '.78 per cent of the savings deposits of the ! whole country, the share of New Tork alone being 38 per cent. The resources of the savings banks of the entire state of New York increased from $65,000, 000 in 1890 to $923,000,000 in 1399, while the deposits In the banks, of Ney York eity and Brooklyn rose from $389,879,000 in January, 1890, to $598,437,000 in July, 1899. Their surplus grew In the same period from $60,000,000 to $80,000,000. Taken in connection with the indus trial depression that bore heavily upon the class of people who deposit' their earnings in savings banks during at least half of the period covered, this Increase in the deposits and surplus of these banks may well be considered phenomenal. These figures attest the diffusion, not the centralization, of wealth, representing as they do the surplus Income of labor, and the sys-tematic-economy of thousands of peo ple. If England and Japan are attacked in Asia; we may have to help them out. If Germany pursues her designs on Brazil, we may have to repel her with words or warships. If the Filipinos continue obstreperqus, we may have to keep a considerabler force there. (If we build an isthmian canal, we shall have to police it. , If France proceeds to oc cupy Santo Domingo, we shall "have to put her out. If Russia closes her Asiatic ports to us, "we shall have to remonstrate. Some show of force may yet be necessary to secure our Alaska miners their rights or collect our bills from Turkey. These are prospects that may well cause the lazy man to be come weary and the timid to hide his head. The genuine anti will want to go off and die. But all these crises must be faced. To do work and brave dan gers and discharge responsibilities be long to men, not to the antis, who have sulked in the tents of vigorous human ity from the dawn of history. Archbishop Christie, probably made it clear to at least some of the wives in his audience at Mount Tabor Sunday that retirement from the world in the capacity of a nun is not the only or most disagreeable form of submis sion which is or may be exacted of daughters of the church. His Grace, prefacing his remarks upon this subject with the statement that he "desired to be practical," pro ceeded to draw a comparison between submission to an "ugly husband" and the submission of a recluse, in a way that could scarcely fail to score a point in favor of the estate of the latter. It is seldom that priest or preacher makes 'so strong a personal application as this of a theory that he is called upon to defend from the altar or pulpit. The incident Is as Interesting, in its way, as Rose, Terry Cooke's sketch, the labors -of ..an honest New England parson. The decision of the government to send a detachment of troops to the Cape Nome district as soon as naviga tion bjjens in the spring is in the line of prudence. The estimate that 30,000 people, largely of the aggressive type, will have congregated there by May 1 is sufficient ground to fear trouble, un less means are taken to avert it. In default of civil government, the mili tary power makes a showing that holds lawless men in check. In this, as in other things, the ounce of prevention is better than the pound of cure. The statement of General Joubert in his published letter that out of a popu lation of 170,000 Boers the South Afri can republics have put into the field an army of 50,000, is explained "by the faot that boys of 16 and men of 75 are now bearing arms In the Boer ranks. Dur ing the last year of our civil warj boys of 16 and men of 60 .years of age werf so -frequent m the Confederate ranks that General Grant, in one of his offi cial reports, says that "the enemy have robbed the cradle and the grave to fill their depleted ranks." The military stagnation, so to speak, in South Africa creates a tension in fhe public mind not. only In England but in the United States, which every day, with its ominous silence and grave possibilities increases. Popular clamor has ceased, criticism has been hushed. The shock of battle is imminent, and ignoring in the crisis the underlying xauses, humanity shudders at the aw ful carnage that will follow an onset Which cannot much "longer be delayed. The Dreyfus trial (so evanescent a thing Is popular Indignation, even when evoked in the cause of justice) Is not likely to affeet the attendance or ex hibit at'.the world's fair. A more po tent cause may, however, seriously af fect the former. Paris hotel-keepers have combined, it is said, to charge at the rate of $5 a day for entertain ment without meals to all comers. In the Worst Case. London Spectator. It may be that a real disaster is still going to happen In South Africa, and that while General Methuen's force will be penned in and starved out at the Mod der. General Buller will be unable to re lieve Ladysmltb, and that It, too, will fall. We do not believe that either of these things will happen, for we believe that General Methuen ean always fall back to the Orange river, while If the worst conies to the worst. General White can, by a night march, cut his way out of Ladysmith and join General Buller. He would have to sacrifice his vast stores of food and ammunition, and so will not move -till absolutely obliged, but that he can mpve if he likes, we make no doubt But even supposing our notions to be wrong, and that both General Methuen and General White are destroyed, the public here must stand firm. They will get in that ease plenty of suggestions of panic from South Africa, hut they must not be moved by them. Even if we were to lose 15,000 men, we must still go on, and must begin to organize another army appro priate to the work in hand. When that army has been trained and organized for its special work, as Lord Kitchener trained ana organized the Egyptian army to re conquer the Soudan, It must be used to beat the "Boers. The Dutch have been 20 years fighting in Acheen, and are only just finishing that war. Probably, even if we have to endure the big reverses of the kind we are considering, we shall not take "20 years, but the spirit of the Dutch In their oversea war la the spirit we must copy. 'Meantime, we se no reason to be lieve that -either Methuen or White will be unable to look after himself. 6 ROOSEVELT ON TRUSTS. ni-Considorcd Laws Mlg-frt Do Mora Harm Than Good. Upon the questi6n of trusts and monopo listic corporations 4n the form of truEts, Governor KoQsevelt's recent message to the 'New 'York' legislature points out Very clearly the harm which these combina tions may do to weaker competitors, to the consumer and to the laborer. But he sees with equal clearness that hasty and Ill advised legislation may accentuate the very damage it seeks to repair. It is a problem, he thinks, which should be at tacked, not In any spirit of vindictive ness, but thoughtfully, carefully and ten tatively. As a first step he advocates the utmost publicity In corporate affairs which may be compatible with justice to the cor poration affected. He says: "The first es sential is knowledge of the facts, public ity. Much can be done at once by amend menVofthe corporation laws bo as to pro vide for such publicity as .will not work injustice as' between business rivals. ' "The chief abuses alleged to arise from trusts" are probably the following: Mis representation or concealment regarding material facts connected with the organi zation of an enterprise; the evils con nected with unscruplous promotion; over capitalization; unfair competition, result ing in the crushing out of competitors who themselves do not act Improperly; raising of prices above fair competitive rates; the wielding of increased power over the wage earners. . . . Some of these evils could be partially remedied by a modification of our corporation laws. . . . We should know authoritatively whether stock repre sents actual value of plants, or whether it represents brands or good will; or If not, what it does represent, if anything. It is desirable to know how much was actually bought, how much was issued free, and to whom; and, if possible, for what reason. In the first place, this would be invaluable in preventing harm being done as among the stockholders, for many of the gross est wrongs that are perpetrated are thoBe of promoters and- organizers at the ex pense of the general public who are in vited to take shares in business organiza tions. In the next place, this would en able us to see just what the public have a right to expect in the way of service and taxation. There is no reason whatever for refusing to tax a corporation, because by its own acts it has created a burden of charges under which it staggers. . . .. "Where a trust becomes a monopoly the' state has an immediate right to Interfere. Care should be taken not to stifle enter prise or disclose any facts of a buslne?s that are essentially private ; but the state for the protection of the, public should exercise the right to Inspect, to examine thoroughly all the workings of great cor porations just as is now done with banks; and wherever the interests of the public demand It, it should publish the results' of its examination. Then, if there are in ordinate profits, competition or public sentiment will give the public the benefit in lowered prices; and If not, the power of taxation remains. It is therefore evi dent that publicity is the one sure and adequate remedy which we can now in voke. There may be other remedies, but what these others are we can only find out by publicity, as the result of investiga tion. The first requisite is knowledge, full and complete." EXPANSION AND PttOTECTlbN. Parties Have Shifted Positions on Expansion Will They Shift on Protection, Too? Louisville Courier-Journal. The Courier - Journal has repeatedly pointed out that the expansion policy is democratic and not republican. It was inaugurated by democrats, and opposed by federalist, whlgs and republicans. At this late day the republicans have pitched .their tents on.tfte ground where the dem-' ocrats etablished a camp in 1803. This accession of the republicans to the policy of the democrats In the days when the latter were in power has not been made without some sacrifices. For gen erations the democrats, in their efforts to protect the American consumer from spoliation, were met with the charge that they were bribed with "British gold." The friendliness of democrats for Great Britain, commercially, as tho chief buyer of our agricultural staples, was persist ently held up as an evidence of corrup tion. Only a few years have passed since it was charged that the Cobden Club had contributed an immense sum to the dem ocratic campaign fund, and that at a time when -the club had not money enough to pay its very moderate running ex penses. All that is changed now." We pass by the fact that the republican administra tion Is extremely friendly with Great Bri tain, for that is largely due to recent events In which the whole country is in terested, and ' has no particular relation to International, trade. What we desire to point, out is that national expansion goes hand In hand, if not with free trade, at least with freer trade than we have heretofore had. The tendency of expan sion beyohd the continent is toward free trade, or at least to such measure of free trade as is possible consistent with the needs of the government. Every new bit of territory that becomes a part of the United States extends the area of the free trade that has always prevailed among the states and territories of the Union. t o A Dcpew Story. Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post. To illustrate the position of one, of the great national parties during a campaign noted for its fiery partisanship, Mr. De pew tells this story of the youthful pol itician and the woodchuck: "The tutor in one of the smaller schools near my native town of Peeksklll had drilled a number of his brightest scholars In the history of contemporary politics, and to test both their faith and their knowledge he called upon three of them one day and demanded a declaration of personal political principles: "You are a republican, Tom, are you not?' ' 'Yes, sir.' '"And Bill, 'you are a prohibitionist, I believe?' -" T am, sir.' " 'And Jimr you are a democrat?' " 'Yes, sir.' ',' 'Well, now, the .one of you .that can give me the best reason why he belongs to his party can have this woodchuck which I caught on my -way to school this morning.' " T am a republican,' said the first boy, 'because the republican party saved the country in the war and abolished slavery.' " 'And Bill, why are you a prohibition ist?' " T am a prohibitionist,' rattled off the youth, 'because ,rum Is the country's greatest enemy and the cause of our vrerowded prisons and poorhouses. " 'Excellent reasbns, Bill!' remarked the tutor encouragingly. 'Now, why are you a -democrat, Jimf " 'Well, sir,' Was the slow reply, T am a democrat beeause I want that wood chuclc "And he got It, toq.H added Mr. Depew. ' 0 The Dutch Afrikander'? Reasons. Kansas City Star. There are plenty of sentimental reasons for sympathizing with the Boers without resorting to claptrap. The Boers are fighting to prevent the strangers from rul ing their country by securing citizenship and outvoting them and changing Beor customs to English customs. They are not fighting for republicanism, but for oligarchy. They are not fighting for dem ocracy, but to retain their identity by denying democracy to the stronger. They are,. Indeed, fighting for home rule, but for home rule by natives exclusively They are fighting for the ballot, but a ballot for Dutch. They are truly fighting for love of home against the love of gold. but not for freedom, because freedom means equality of rights. They are not fighting for any church, except for the Dutch Reformed church, and they are not fighting for free institutions In the Amer ican .sense. The Boers are fighting for the rights of the first possessed against the later comers, and for the right to be left alone and against foreign interference. These are the plain facts, and they can not be successfully controverted. 6 The Kaiser Holds Europe Dovn. Prof. Delbruck. University of Berlin, In the ?orth.American Review. A strong and even passionate feeling of resentment against England . prevails at the present moment over the whole con tinent of Europe. The successes of the Beers have been greeted with exulta tion, and further favorable news Is await ed with eager suspense This need not excite surprise, at any rate so far a3 the Russians are concerneC, for they have long seen their greatest enemy in the EnglJBh. Prance, until recently had di vided her dislike between tho English and the Germans; but ever since Fashoda her desire for revenge for that humiliation has thrown her antagonism, toward Ger many into the background. Hence, the curious and characteristic feature in the political situation of Europe at this mo ment is that tho people of Germany, the leading power of the triple alliance, are entirely in agreement with the mem bers of the dual alliance, inasmuch as a sentiment of hate for England unites the tyhole Continent. "However, It Is of little avail to pass In review the lntornational questions which might be brought to the fore in conse quence of the South African crisis. What I wanted to say is only that the feelings of the Continental nations of Europe at this moment are In an astonishing unison against England, ana would greet with joy any measures that their governments should happen to undertake against Eng land. The man who restrains them all from common political action is the Ger man emperor, and no doubt he will con tinue to do so as long as English states men and the course of the South African war may render it possible for him. 0 Loss of Life In Great Battles. Fortnightly Review. We English have, happily,, been so free from war of late years that the list of casualties after each engagement has oc casioned painful public surprise. It is nec essary to remember that we are not now fighting with savage tribes, but with the most redoubtable marksmen In the world, armed with the latest and deadliest weap ons that money can obtain. Keeping this in mind, the losses at Glencoe and Elands laagte are not, comparatively, heavier than those recorded in many battles of the Franco-German war of 1S70. At Spicheren, when the Germans stormed the French positions, they lost 224 officers and 4871 men. During the attack on St. Prlvat, on the 18th of August, 1S70, It has been calculated that fiOOO men of the Prus sian guard fell in the short space of 10 minutes. Going further back to the days of smooth-bore cannons and the Brown Bess, the casualty roll during the Penin sular war was often quite as heavy. At the siege of Cludad Rodrlgo there were 90 officers and 1200 men killed or wounded, 710 of these being struck down in the final assault. During the memorable assault of Badajoz. the British loss was 3300 out of 18,000 engaged, and of these 60 officers and 700 men were returned as slain, a record which would have satisfied even President Kruger's thirst for slaughter. Later on, at Ban Sebastian, 1716 British officers and men were struck down in the final assault of that fortress. If these figures were worked out so as to give the percentages of losses to numbers engaged, the result would show that the recent casualties were not greate'r than might bo expected under the circumstances of the fighting. It Is Danaerons Business. New Orleans Picayune. The London Times has a correspondent at Modder River who is certainly trying to do the best he can. Speaking of the Boers in battle, he says: "Their nerv ousness causes much amusement among the British." It is a mistake to put guns in the hands of such nervous people, even for amusement. They are liable to lose control of themselves t any moment and kill half a regiment of Highlanders or fuslleers who are being amused. b A Self-imposed Disadvantage. The utter incapacity of the house au thorities to understand the war problem presented for solution In South Africa Is found in the first and last reply to the colonial offers of troops: Oct. 3. "In view of num bers already avail able, Infantry most, cavalry least, serv Dec. 16. "Mounted men pre ferred. Men should be trained and cood shots; supplying iceable." their own norses. Tennessee's Convict System. Now York Post. There is no present worry in Tennessee concerning the utilization of convicts for their own maintenance. During the year ended on December 1, the gross earnings amounted to $320,147-, and the total ex penses to $1SS,417. showing net earnings of $131,730. The prisoners are employed in farming, in the mining of coal and In the production of coke. a "Something: Hot." Sir Algernon West's Recollections. D'Orsay was at a dinner at Disraeli's, which was not of a kind to suit the fash ionable gourmet, and where everything had been cold. At the end of dinner there was brought In some half-melted Ice In a dish. "Thank heaven!" said D'Orsay, "at last we have got something hot." 1 o For Brotherhood of Man. M. X. in Chicago Times-Herald. Asaln is England'e power arrayed Against a foreign foe, Again Is England undismayed. Though torn by battle throe. At Runnymede first England won, And there at first began The freeman's right to light or dla For brotherhood of man. They eay the shining sun ne'er sets On England's proud empire And everywhere England begets Offspring that love their sire, 'For England married Liberty By Magna Charta's ban, And bo today 'tl3 fight or die For brotherhood of man. England Is greater now than when Knights met at Hunnymede; Still pjaylng England crle3 anien And'blds her warriors speed That bigotry may soon be crushed In boorish bigots' land, And England's sons will flght-and dla For brotherhood of man. j The gentle Galilean taught Tbit changing nations hold A duty etora with purpose fraught As true and pure as gold. Thi duty Is toward all th world, 2Cot to a tribe or clan; A duty due- to progress true For brolherhoed ef man. in Transvaal land the plucky Boer Mfeeta death, defying fate. And bathed In blood and red with gore The British onset wait, But though they flght with prayerful hearts Aa best they know and can. They flght as bigots flght and die, 'Gainst brotherhood of man. Forgive them, God, may that dawn break. When battle's carnage red No more the trembling earth ehall shake With mlchty warlike tread; May lgnoranee and selfishness No longer break the span That binds the earth to heaven above In brotherhood of man. j NOTE AND COMMENT. Oom Paul may not be an Illiterate man, but he has been giving the English a, bad spell. The popular song In the British arm? just now Is 'There's One More River to Cross." What the democrats need Is a campaign fund large enough to hire Bryan to stay at home this year. The rescue of the traitorous Brown froa the hands of the Filipinos was a miataka which cannot be easily atoned for. Alfred Austin would rather write th poem3 of a nation than flght lt3 battles, and perhaps he Is more deadly so. As yet there has been no wild clamor ing for the honor of having written thi money plank in the Chicago platform. Emperor William's views about the 20th century vindicate the claim of his ad mirers that he is a fin de slecle potentate. Be careful when you deal with these end-of-the-century people that they don't pay you 99 cents when they owe you a dollar. If England were as desirous of ridding herself of the burden of royalty as some peopla suppose, she would send a few dukes and things to the Boer war. It Is adding insult to Injury to make a man pay $1,000,000 for a seat In the sen ate and then expect him to ask an Inves tigating committee to be allowed to oc cupy It. A member of the Multnomah football team went through the lively season just closed without a scratch, and last week played a game of golf and sprained his wrist. This is going through the woods to be scared by an owl with a vengeance, and verifies Bret Harte's lines: But the ship sailed safely over the sea. And the hunter came home from the chase with Klee; But the house that was bullded. upon a rock "WaB swallowed up by the earthquake's shock. With C. E. S. Wood. Pat Powers, W. D. Fenton. E. Killfeather, L. B. Cox, Jim Frainey and others in the:r ranks, there seems to be no reason why" the local democrats should not form a strong club. It Is true that no two or the foregoing gentlemen stand for any principles In common, but neither, so far as can be learned, does the democratic party of to day, so this clfcumstance ts no bar to organization. The body formed last night will only last till the democratic conven tion, anyway, so, in the Interest of har mony, it is well that all the sundered remnants of the party should be united for a time. The severe beating received by the blacksmith, Charles Burckhardt, on Mor rison street. Sunday afternoon, on ac count of his having struck a woman, hla paramour, in the face, snould be a warn ing to him to mend his ways, and an object-lesson to all of the large crowd who witnessed the afTair. Only a few years ago Burckhardt wa3 a decent fellow., em ployed by the Frank Implement Com pany in setting up wagons and machinery. Now he has fallen so low as to be on a par with Bill Sykea in his treatment of the fallen woman he associates with, and has been beaten and kicked like a dog, and of all the scores of people who wit nessed his maltreatment there was no one to Intercede for him or to. say that he received any more than he deserved. Af ter he had struck the woman, in the face shea ran up Morrison street and sought refuge and protection in a. cigar store near Second. Burckhardt followed up, and, seeing his victim in the cigar store with the blood pouring from her mouth and nose, ordered her In a brutal manner to come out. The bystanders could not stand this. Some one yelled, "Kill him!" He was knocked down, kicked In the ribs, his head hammered with the handles of um brellas, his hat kicked to pieces, and for a time it looked ss if he really would ba killed. He was finally put on his feet and forced to apologize to the woman. It was then proposed to take him to Jail, but he objected, and, having got his over coat off, made things lively for his prin cipal assailant for a time, but the crowd closed in on him and he was downed again and received more maltreatment. This rumpus had been going on for about a quarter of an hour before the police arrived and he was taken away from the crowd and landed in Jail. One experience like that should be enough to last a man a lifetime, and Burckhardt should turn over a new leaf, and try to be a man again. The Oregonian has received a request from a person at Moscow. Idaho, for in formation in regard to a "so-called lan guage of postage stamps." somewhat simi lar to the "language of flowers, but based on the manner In which the stamp is at tached to a letter. There la no one con nected with The Oregonian who has any knowledge of such a language or code of signals, but, from attaches of the postofflce It is learned that there Is such a thing, but It has never been used among sensible, respectable people. This language of post age stamps Is Intended as a sort of aid to flirtation at long range, which takes the place of handkerchief and Tan signals at short range. Such a code has been printed in patent medicine almanacs and literature of that class, but has never been used except by a certain class of male3 and females, and The- Oregonian has no desire to diffuse any information on such a subject. Persons who wish to carry on a flirtation in this way can devise a code of their own which would be preferable to using one which would be understood by others. For example, it might be ar ranged that a- stamp placed cornerwlse should mean. "I love you"; a stamp up side down, "Your picture Is turned toward the wall," a stamp on the wrong end ot the letter, "This will make the postal clerks swear"; stamp omitted means, "Held for postage," and so on, though why a person writing a letter should not say what he wants to on the Inside and put the stamp on properly Is difficult to Imagine. When a person puts pen to paper he should take heed what he writes, but if he Is afraid or unwilling to write what he wants to say. the letter might better be left unwritten. n ' .TirE PH1UPPIXE SITUATION. Bnt the Gentle Author Can't Dia Smisc His Hand. Our Uncle Sam he Is Immense; No king on. earth la any bigger; He sends full sixty thousand men To fence and whip hla boughten nigger: He twenty million dollars paid For several Islands at one clatter; But he got cheated In that trade. And that's exactly what's the matter. For there was hitched upon hl3 purchased loot A long and most axpenslve war to boot. Portland. Jan. 8. Z.