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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1900)
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, FEBRUABY 5, 1900. FAMG IN OREGON Wheat "Raising Costs 42 Cents a BQshe! in Crook. NOTHING IS GAINED BY HOLDING Farmers Adopt the Diversified as the Beat Method for Success Report From. Other Counties. PRINaYvTLLE, Or., Feb. 3. Owing 'to or betas 00 far from railroad and other SMtn of transportation, wheatraislng Is somewhat limited, and the wheat grown is Crook county 1b for home consumption, which market Is good. The cost of pro ducing wheat Is about as follows: Flowing, per acre, $1 5; harrowing and drilling. V-1; svd, cents, or a cost of $36 per acre for seed and seeding; cut ting, per acre, & 26; threshing, 12& cents; eacktag, i cents (when used), which makes a coot of 42 cents to produce a bushel of Wheat, allowing an average of 20 bushels per acre. T And tka jwrsep lands of this county have produced in the last six years 43 ( bushels for the highest yield, per acre, and 31 for the lowest, and made an aver age of over 39 bushels per acre for six years. These crops were raised on lands that were summer-fallowed, without irri gation. The average lands and crops raised by proper farming, I think, should be taken for a basis from which to make an estimate, but I find others that have not summer-fallowed and have Only made an average of 12 bushels per acre, on equally as good lands; hence, I have placed the average at 29 bushels per acre. The latter method I can hardly recog nise as farming, as it seems to me to only be a slow way to starvation. The farmer on this bas.'s would nave to re ceive BOl cents per bushel to be safe. "Wheat has not feeen lower than 65 cents per bushel, which price was paid last season; 75 cents has been about the average price 3or the test six years. The farmers came out well test year; that is to say, the ones that had crops on summer-fallow lands. There is nothing gained by holding, as the price of wheat changes but little in Crook county. Diversified farming Is the only certain way to prosper on the farm, and, as most of our farmers have adopted this method of running their farming business, I attribute their success largely to this fact. J. H, GRAY. NOTHING IX HOLDING. farmers Often Lose by Waiting; for Hiehcr Prices. TANGENT. Or., Feb. 3. (To tho Ed itor.) I have been asked to figure on the cost of raising a bushel of wheat, and submit the following. No one can figure on one bushel or one acre, and do the subject justice; so I will figure on 100 acres and fix the average at 15 bushels per acre. Plowing 103 acres, at $1 25 per acre.. $125 00 .Harrowing twice, at : cents acre... 25 oo Seeding, at 12 cents acre 12 50 Seed. 309 bushels, at 49 cents bushel.. 80 00 Binding, 0 cents per acre 50 00 Shocking, 16 cents per acre 15 00 Twine. 1 pounds per acre, at 12 cents pound . 18 75 Threshing, S cents per bushel 75 00 Sacks. 710, at 4 cents each 30 00 Hauling to market, 2 cents bushel... 30 CO Storage, 4 cents bushel CO 00 Total for the 109 acres ?521 25 Thl6, you will see, makes nearly 35 cents per bushel, and does not Include Interest on money invested in land and farming tools, or the boarding or the farmer and his 4eam when not employed In the field, taxes or incidental expenses in keeping 'HP the M. Of course, this includes a years work, and all other expense must Ve added to my figures. In a season Mke 1809 there was heavy expense in reehocking and loss In grain wasted, and the farmer makes nothing on his year's work at the present time. The farmer is often the loser by hold ing his wheat for higher prices. When grain is held for higher prices, there Is extra storage of 8 cents per bushel, and In surance, if any is carried, must be added to the cost; that is, if vne grain Is held over the next season. Very few insure wheat la the warehouse. There are very few farmers who are practicing diversified farming, but it Is frequently spoken of. There are quite a few who are turning their attention to dairying and creameries, and skimming stations are becoming quite plentful. J. H. SCOTT. OX SUMMEtt-KALLOWED LAND. Nearly All of Umatilla County's "Wheat Grown In This Way. PLEASANT VIEW. Or.t Feb. 3. Prob ablj 0 per cent of the wheat grown In Tmatllla county is on summer-fallowed land. Before the turableweed and other foreign growths had made their appear ance here, wheat planting was begun any time after harvest, or even during har lest, finished up any time during the fall and winter, irrespective of moisture conditions. If there was not moisture enough to sprout the grain, all right; they were planted in the dirt and let come up when there was rain enough to bring thorn up. It is different now. Probably not 50 per cent of the fallowed land is kept freo enough of turabieweeds to admit of being seeded during August or early September. I6ually these weeds. If left to mature, can not be removed till killed by frosts oi other causes. Though a. new crop of tumbleweeds may make its appearance after a good rain late in summer or early fall, they are able to do no damage then, as the first heavy frost annihilates them. Not so with the mustards, tarweed and China lettuce. The different varieties of mustard are autumn plants, and come up only in the fall. Tarweed and China let tuce will come up at any time there Is moisture enough to sprout the seed. If wheat is sown before there Is moisture enough to bring np these weeds, they will come up with" the wheat and prove trouble some. This proved to be the case in tho fall of IMS, because of there being no rain till November. Most of the grain of the county was sown before then, and, of course, the weeds and wheat came up to gether, and it is the consensus of opinion'! of the farmers here that had it not been for the freese-out and consequent neces sity of reseeding, requiring cultivation by seeder and harrow, which exterminated those weeds not already killed by the f reese, the majority of the crops In certain portions of the county would have been almost taken by weeds. The foregoing has been written in order that what follows ffltv be more fully understood. First, I will say that the item which ap peared In recent Issue of The Oregonian, to the offset that the wheat of Umatilla county had such enormous growth as to require pasturing back, is misleading. True, there are some fields so forward as to need being cropped down by stock or otherwise retarded, but the number of such fields is inconsiderable. A few farm ers in different parts of the county, who had their fallow clean of weeds, began seeding just as soon as the surface and submoiBtures met after the midharvest rains. In lees than a week the young plants were through the ground, and have made rapid growth ever since. This is all the wheat needing cutting back here. One reason why there was not mora grain sowed early is that it was feared that just what has bapeaed would happen the wheat would get too far along before spring- Xrea had ft been generally de fined to seed earlier, harvest, which begun two weeks later titan usual, and was put back two more weeks by the unprece dented rainy harvest weather, was In the way Then there were many fields from which tne matured tumWewceds had to be gotten. After about September 10 there was no rain till about the corresponding date In October. What grain was put in with the drill within 35 days after tie last rain, came up all right;- that which was put In after that time did not como up till after the October rains. Some was sown after the October rains. All is looking well. Some fields, especially those nearer tho mountains and in the vicinity of Weston, were replowed to destroy the heavy growth of wild oats, volunteer wheat and weeds, and followed Immediately after with the seeding. All the crops spoken of nre on fallowed land, and It will thus be seen that "the crops of the county are In alL stages, from that nearly knee high to that not yet covering the ground, the great majority being in no danger what ever of overgrowth, even should the weath er have remained as "soft" as it was up to a short time ago, which it has not For about a week there were nights of freezing, the ground not thawing out en tirely during, the last few days. Of course, as long as the ground is frozen, grain cannot grew. A. RUPPE. JANUARY WEATHER. The "Weatner Furnished to Portland, era 1y Our Local Forecaster. The' following- statistics for the weather during January, Tvith comparative tables for the same "monthn bther years, Is fur nished by the Weather office at Portland: M Q otr SO" P re Temperature. U..Y c 5.!? DATE. 57" Sil tr T ?H ?3B 52 49 50 48 52 54 59 48 47 48 54 56 54 47 49 54 61 54 62 42 42 48 45 42 46 44 48 44 46 47 47 .18 .39 .12 .02 .02 .25 .29 .07 .27 .02 .52 .93 .33 .12 .34 .01 .07 .01 Pt cloddy uioudy Pt cloudy Cloudy uiouay Cloudy Cloudy Pt cloudy uiouay Cloudy 10... 11... 12... Cloudy Cloudy 13... 14... uiouay Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Pt cloudy 15... 16... 17... 18... 19... 20... 21... .22... 23... 24... 25... 26... 27... uiouay Clear Cloudy Uioudy Cloudy Cloudy Pt clouds .62 Clear Clear Clear Clear Pt cloudy Pt cloudy Pt cloudy Mean 49.3 33.8 43.9 4.58 Indicates trace of precipitation. Summary. Mean atmospheric pressure, 30.10; high est pressure, 30.49, on the 24th; lowest, 29.68, on the 5th. Mean temperature, 44 deg; highest tem perature, 61 deg., on the 17th; lowest, 28 deg., on the 27th; greatest dally range of temperature, 20 deg., on tho 27th; least dally range, 3 deg., on tho 12th. This table shows the mean temperature for January in the years given: .37 .43 .39 .39 .41 .44 Mean temperature for January for 29 years, 39 deg. Average excess of daily mean tempera ture during month, 5 deg.; accumulated excess of dally mean temperature since January 1, 155 deg.; average dally excess since January 1, 5 deg. Prevailing direction of wind, south; to tal movement of wind, 6279 miles; maxi mum velocity, 39 miles, south, on the 5th. Total precipitation, 4.58 inches. Number of days with .01 Inch or more of precipi tation, 19. The following table shows the total pre cipitation (in inches) for the month of January in the years given: 1871.. 7.60 1879.. 6.28 1887. .12.31 1895.. 8.53 1872.. 6.56 1880..12.27 1888.. 8.57 1896.. 6.52 1873.. 8.49 1881.. 8.57 1889.. 4.78 1897.. 3.25 1874.. 9.49 1882.. 5.06 1890. .11.13 1898.. 3.91 1875.. 4.49 1883..13.71 1891.. 3.62 1S99.. 6.42 1876.. 4.80 1884.. 3.70 1892.. 4.79 1900.. 4.58 1877.. 2.75 18S5.. 4.57 1893.. 2.12 1901 1S78.. 6.67 1886.. 9.39 1894.. 9.65 1902 Average precipitation for January for 30 years, 6.79 inches. Total deficiency In precipitation during month, 2.21 Inches; total precipitation from September 1, 1899, to dote, 23.39 Inches; average precipitation from September 1 to date, 26.50 Inches; total deficiency from September 1, 1899, to date, 2.11 Inches; average precipitation for 24. wet seasons, 46.83 inches. Number of clear days, 5; partly cloudy days, S; cloudy days, 18. Greatest precipitation in 24 hours, .95 Inch, on the 12th and 13th. 0 STEEL AND WIRE PROFITS. Over ?12jOOO,000 the Past Year Dividends on Common Stock. "Chicago The board of directors of tho American Steel & Wire Company have Tieclared a dividend of 7 per cent on the common stock, payable out of the profits of the year 1899, In four quarterly install ments, beginning on April 2, and ending on January 2, 1901. In connection with this announcement the balance sheet, as of December 31, 1893, was made public. It shows as the result for the company's operations during the year a net profit of $12,162,529. There Is deducted from this $2,100,000, which, was paid out as dividends on the preferred stock. Only three pay ments of 1 per cent each were made on the preferred Issue last year, leaving the fourth quarterly dividend of 1 per cent to be declared this month. This will call for a disbursement of $700,000 more. Sub tracting the $2;100.000 and the $700,000, or $2,800,000, from the net profit of $12,162,'529, the sum of $9,362,529 remains applicable to the common 6tock. If applied It would be equal to 18.7 per cent on the common stock of $50,000,000. J. W. Gates, In commenting on the action of the board of directors in declaring a dividend on the common stock, said: "It has been determined by the board of di rectors to be the policy of the company to IgJYq the holders of the common stock the benefit of the, earnings of the company, concurrently with theprefe?yed stock, pay able, however, during, the succeeding years, after the dividends on the preferred stock have been paid, "which Is a requirement of tho New Jersey law, Tinder which the com pany is incorporated." Mr. Gates said the outlook for 1900 was even better than In tse&. Tet this Is one of those greedy concerns that has to be favored, at expense of the country, with protective tariff. Money to Push Railroad Building. Whatcom Reveille. The Belllngham Bay & British Colum bia railroad has given a trust deed to Its property in Whatcom county to the Bank of California to secure the payment of $1,000,000 In first-mortgage bonds. The deed was executed In San Francisco on December 1, and was filed for record in the auditor's office In this county on Jan- uary S3. The document is the most vol- umlnous of any ever filed here, and It re quired $499 SO in revenue stamps. It Is the purpose of the company to pay off an Indebtedness of about $600,000 on the! road, and the balance realized from the sale of the bonds to the Bank of Califor nia will be used In construction work. The instrument calls for the completion of 24 miles of additional road this year, on which will be issued In bonds $17,000 per mile. This extension Is the one now under J survey from Sumas to Boulder Creek. 1871 11879 38 3887 42 11895. 1872 38 1880 42 1888 29 1896. 1S73 45 1881 39 1889 38 1897. 1874 43 1882 40 1890 32 1893. 1875.. ...30 1883 38 1S91 43 1899. 1876 40 1884 40 1892 40 1900. 1877 42 18S5 37 1893 34 1S01. 1S78 41 1886 38 1894 40 1902. INDIAN WAR VETERANS REPORT OF SENATOR. GALL1NGBR ON THBIR'REMEF BILL. Strongly Favors- Its Passage Through Congress Recites- Some ot the Circumstances. WASHINGTON, Jan. 30. The report of Senator Galllnger on. Senator McBrlde's Indian war veteran bill contains a num ber of -very interesting statements, and brings to light some facts that are not generally known. This bill. It -will be recalled, provides not only for the surviv ors of the Indian wars of Oregon and Washington from 1851 to 1856, and the Cayuse war on the Pacific coast in 1817 48, but also for the survivors of the Flori da and Georgia Seminole war of 1817-18; the Fevre Indian war in Illinois, in 1827; the Sac and Fox war of 1831; the Sabine wars of 1$36 find 1S37; the Florida Semi nole "wars from 1842 to 1858; the Texas and New Mexico wars of 1849; the California disturbances of 1851 and 1S52; the Utah wars of 1850-63, and also the surviving widows of officers and enlisted men who served against the Indians in these wars, provided they have not remarried Jt has been estimated that the pension roll, should this bill pass, would be swelled to the extent of about $730,000 At thl3 time, although the amount car ried by this bill would decrease rapidly, owing to the great lapse of time since most of these wars occurred. For exam ple, there are but five survivors of the Seminole war of 1817-18 and 120 wid ows. Of the Fevre war there are but 14 survivors and 107 widows. Two hundred and twenty-one veterans surylve the Sabine war, with but 155 widows, and 144 survivors of the Cayuse war are now alive, and but 88 widows. The survivors of the Texas and New Mexico wars num ber up to 1448, with 890 widows and 476 survivors, and 230 widows of the Cali fornia wars are yet alive. There are many more survivors and widows of- the wars. In Oregon and Washington than any of the other difficulties, -and hence the Indian war veterans of those two states "would derive the greatest benefit should Senator McBrlde's bill pass. There are 2399 survivors and 1340 widows of these latter -wars. It has been estimated that because the same person enlisted in different com panies at different times during these Indian wars, there has been found to exist a great duplicity of names on the rolls, which Tvlll cut the total number of survivors down to about 4000 In all. In its report on the bill the committee says: "The last of these wars occurred 40 years ago, and the estimated age of the survivors is nxea at 6o years, wnue tne estimated age of the Seminole survivors Is 94 years. Of the inestimable services of these pioneer men and soldiers we J deem it unnecessary to Tefer. History recognizes the results thev have achieved. In the South and West they endured tho greatest privations, sacrifices and suffer ings. We owe to them largely, if not en tirely, the acquisition of the Vast empire of the Pacific Northwest "It having been the policy of the gov ernment and the uniform course of the legislation that service pensions should be granted at the expiration of 40 years fol lowing the wars for which such pensions have been granted, it will be seen that this period has now been reached as to all the wars mentioned in the present bill, while as to some over 77 years ha-ve elapsed since the -war. Most of these old survivors are in needy circumstances, while all are in old age, and, as estimated by the commissioner of pensions, the av erage pensionable period cannot extend beyond about seven years henco. Many of these aged men were omlttid from the act pensioning survivors of Indian wars between 1832-and 1842, and for this reason the presdnfc bill "Is the more just, since t includes all the survivors of the recognized Indian wars prior to 1856. "The language of the bill has the ap proval of the Interior department." Puerto Rico and Statehood. It will evidently be some time before Puerto Rico is admitted to the Union as a state, and the chances for its ever .gain ing this distinction are very remote, as viewed from the present standpoint. How ever, early as It Is. there is already some speculation as to what would be the pre dominating political inclination of the peo ple of tho Island. One gentleman who is well acquainted In the Island, and who knows the general sentiment among Its people, ventures the prediction that Puerto Rico would cast her electoral votes In the democratic column. While this prophet is a democrat, he yet aligns a number of plausible reasons for this prediction. "In the first place," he says, "little as those people know of political economy or poli tics, they are nevertheless freeAtraders, and if given the right to vote would cast their ballots for the party which favors that policy. They are free-lraders because they desire that their products shall enter our markets 'without payment of duty, and they have nothing to protect, ancl they want our goods without the payment of high protective duties. Free trade would be profitable to them both going and com ing. At present they may be said to be industrially worse off than before they be came a part of our territory. Then they traded with Spain, but now their product ive resources are at a standstill, barred as they are from our markets, and being compelled to pay high duties upon -what Is Imported to them, and to a large extent they have lost trade with Spain. I can not see how a tariff system Is to be main tained between the United States and the Island if it is to remain a part ot our ter ritory. After all, the whole system ot protection and free trade Is Involved in this, matter. Those Americans who will settle In the islands will be as much In favor of free trade as the natives themselves now are, without regard to what their past po litical affiliations may have been. That Is one reason why Puerto Rico should make a democratic, state. This view ot the case Is all very well from one standpoint, and in one direc tion, but the argument is faulty. It Is true that under existing circumstances, with the present tariff discriminating against Puerto Rico, the people would; be free-traders, out if that island, ever be came a state, the very fact of Its -admission would do away with this tariff, and no more duty would be charged on .goods to or from Puerto Rico than Is now charged on goods from ono state of the Union to another. There would, of course, be the duty on goods exported other than to the United States, and on goods Im ported from other countries, as Is true of any state of the Union, but, further thaii that, there could be no tariff discrimina tion. That this present tariff is unjust Is a debatable question, but. aside from those Interests tha-t would be affected hf an abolishment of this tariff, the generalssen tlment seems to be In favor of giving- free entry lo Puerto RIcan products. Telegraph to Alaska. The creation of the department of Alas ka In the army and the Increase In the force In that department has made It necessary to have some suitable and sat isfactory telegraphic communication be tween that station and the states. Al ready the signal corps Is working out a comprehensive plan for the establishment of such a line to Alaska. The fact that the f "eJ, t SStfT L? P.J ?g " "J8) SSSZ ative that there be somo sort of speedy conjmunlcatlon between the various posts. In order to make the military or ganization, effective. Thus It will be nec essary not only to construct a line to Alaska, but to have lines running all over that territory, and as the distances be tween points of Importance are In many times great. It will necessitate a very extensive telegraphic system. The signal corps officers are now preparing maps, based upon the reports from military au thorities, and, the reports of the military exploring expeditions that have been working In Alaska for several seasons past, with a view to constructing these lines In localities where they are most needed. When It comes to constructing these lines, It is apparent that owing to .the limited number of men in the sig nal corps, they will have to be put up .largely by civilians under the direction of the signal corps. Such a system as is contemplated will require a large amount of money, and It is the. Intention of the department to call upon congress for an appropriation sufficiently large to meet the demands. Graduation ns Usual. General Corbln, adjutant-general of the army, has put a quietus on the report that gained quite general circulation, to the effect that owing to the war In the Philippines, and the drain on the officers in the service, the senior class at the West Point military academy would be 'graduated earlier than usual this year, to provide more officers for actual duly in the islands, and in companies about the states that are short of officers. It "was frequently claimed that the class would be graduated as early as February, and aa a result of this rumor, many congress men who have appointments to West Point this year have been frequently re quested to make early appointments. Rep resentative Moody received a number ot these requests, and finally consulted Gen eral CorblnT Gene,ral Corbln, In his re ply, stated that, so far as he knew, it was not the intenttoh. to graduate the senior class of cadets at West Point earlier this year than Usual. However, he said, If an early graduation should be decided upon, it would not require examinations of candidates for this year's appoint ments earlier than 1b prescribed by the regulations. In other words, the time of graduation of tho senior class will have no effect whatever upon the class that enters the school next fall. Government's Old Junk. Every now and then the government seeks to unload itself of much old junk that has accumulated in the course of years, and which serves no other, purpose than to lumber up government yards and occupy space that might better be de voted to more worthy objects. It has at last been concluded to clear up the grounds at Fort Stevens, Or., and to get rid of much of the old out-of-date arma ment that remains about that station. Lieutenant Bethel, at that post, lias been authorized to sell three old 8-inch guns and carriages of cast-iron, 25 10-inch guns and carriages of like make, five 200-pound Parrott guns and carriages, 1900 solid shot of eight and 10-lnch caliber, 4800 shells of the eight and 10-lnch caliber, 125 hand spikes and a numher of other old and ob solete engines of war, that, by the prog ress of the age, have been rendered value less. Lieutenant Bethel Is also to sell a simi lar lot of rubbish at Fort Canby, Wash., including 8 and 10-lnch guns and carriages and miscellaneous articles of cast-Iron, wood and coaDer. CARRIER PIGEONS IN WAR. They. Are- Now Being Utilized by the British, in South Africa. Collier's Weekly. The pigeon post established at Lady smith arid Durban for carrying "war mes sage's has been such auccess that special appropriations for increasing that service will be recommended by the war office. A good deal of this success of tho pigeon service is due to the skill and energy of Colonel Hassard, of the royal engineers, who has spent years in pigeon culture for just this sort pf an emergency, and he has demonstrated the fitness of the birds for war purposes. Colonel Hassard, who was stationed at the Cape before hostili ties broke out, systematically trained his pigeons for carrying messages across the rough, mountainous land, and his various pigeon posts were of the greatest value In keeping the home office apprised of the exact condition ot the army. Nearly every civilized government now has carrier pigeons, connected with both their war and navy departments. France has entered into pigeon culture more 'ex tensively than any other European power, and it is" roughly estimated that there are 250,000 pigeons in that country trained for war emergencies. The main pigeon loft or training station Is at Chalons, where several thousand birds are kept all the time. Every frontier post and fortress has smaller lofts, and three times a week regular communication is kept up between these places by means of the pigeons. This pigeon post In constant practice In times of -peace would be of immediate service in times of "war. The state pro tects the carriers, and any one caught shooting a pigeon of any kind in France is heavily fined. The pigeon service has been established In France since 1870. The German war department owns about 10,000 pigeons, but they have a system of reserves, which they can call Into service in times of war. The owners of private lofts have to register their carrier pig eons, and the war department knows ex actly how many of the birds It can ob tain at a moment's notice. The Austrian government also relle3 largely upon private owners pigeons for service In times of war. Every bird In the country has to be registered, and not one can be sold or sent out of the coun try without permission. Since 1875 a few thousand pigeons have been in regular service at the fortresses and frontier posts. Russia has a- military pigeon system, which is maintained by the of ficers In the corps of engineers. Little Is known about her system, except that lofts are scattered throughout the empire, Including bleak Siberia. The Intense cold of the "Winter months .in the latter place seriously interferes with the success of the pigeon post and partly neutralizes the good effect of It. ' Italy's pigeon post was established In 1872, and Spain and Portugal inaugurated similar systems a few years later. There are 1000 homing pigeons on the books of the British navy, and several times this number on the books ot the army. In the past 10 years the United' States army and navy departments have been Interested In the carrier plgeqns,i and we have posts established at different points throughout the country. Their services have been useful chiefly In the navy, and experiments are being made constantly In communicating by this means between the shore and the ships. There la no Bystem of registering homlng plgeons In private lofts, and In an emer gency the government In need of more pigeons would have to depend upon the patriotism of the private owners for In creasing Its supply. That there would he plenty of volunteers no one doubts for a moment. Ladysmlth. and Yorlctown. In discussing the Yetreat of General Bul let's forces across the Tugela river, the London Times says: The: most carefully planned and executed movement of the -whole, campaign has entirely" failed, and It can hardly be necessary to dwt-11 upon the extreme probability that we shall learn, a little sooner or later, of a catastrophe almost without precedent in our military his tory a catastrophe. Indeed, without a parallel except In the sMrrender at 'SorktOTvn. The force surrendered by Lord Cornwal lis at Yorktown to the combined armies of Washington and La Fayette, October 19, 1781,' numbered 7247 soldiers and 840 sea men. It is difficult to estimate the size of the besieged force In Ladysmlth, but at the present time It probably does .not ex ceed 8000 in number, which would make it about the size of the army surrendered by Cornwallis. But Ladysmlth may not sur render. h p .. The Origin of "Sterling-." London Telegraph. Sterling is derived from the name by which the dwellers In Eastern Germany were known In the 12th and 13th centuries they were called Easterllngs. The purity not only of their money was very famous, but that of their silver specially so, and coiners and silversmiths were fetched from. those parts to improve the quality of our own manufactures. THE BRITISH WAR OFflCE CRITICISMS BY AN I3D?ORTANT JOURNAL OF LONDON. Lord Lansdovrne Utterly Fails to Grasp the Problems of the Hour, and Should Resign. London Spectator. In the present case, everything turns upon whether Lord Lansdowne has or nas not proved equal to the task of managing the military affairs of the na tion. If he has not proved equal to the task, no knowledge of his devotion to the interests of the country, of his de sire to do the best, of his many fine qualities of heart and head, should have any weight. If he has shown incompe tence, it is not to the interests of the na tion that he should remain at his post. How are we to judge of thB compe tence or Incompetence of a war minte terT Most certainly not by asking -whether the generals he appoints have or have not managed to do well In the field. To visit upon Lord Lansdowne the reverses suffered by our armies in South Africa would be the height of Injustice. We should never dream of preferring against him any complaint based upon the fact that tills or'that general has not been suc cessful, we base our statement that Lord Lansdowne? has not proved himself well fitted to hold the post of secretary ot state for war upon considerations far more-Jgeneral and essential. Lord Lansdowne has been minister of war-for nearly five years. During that tlmejie has been supreme; and yet, during that. time he has not given us an army -which can bir any possibility be called an effective fighting machine. No doubt, people will eay that, even granted the hypothesis that the army is not an effi denV fighting' machine. It is very hard to make Lofd Lansdowne bear the blame. We"dd not think so. We have always argued In favor ot keeplng'the civilian secretary of war real ly respqnslble for our land forces, and the real head of the army. And this Is the system which prevails. But wnat does this fact import? It means that the office of secretary of state for war Involves a tremendous burden, but that when a man accepts that burden he cannot say later that It is not his business to carry It When a statesman is Intrusted with the great, and as every patriotic man should consider it the noble, duty of being re sponsible for the military affairs of such a nation as ours, he should surely enter upon his duties with a keenness and an energy of no ordinary kind. He should say to himself: "I have a great trust laid upon me, and to fulfill it properly, I must continually be considering- -whether I have done, and am doing, all that can be done to perfect the machine. It Is true I have experts to help me and advise me, and on those ex--perts. I must lean In regard to many mat ters of detail, but It Is my supreme duty to keep those experts up to the mark, to see that they do not become petrified by habit or dulled by prejudice, and to use my own common sense to correct their judgments. I must never be content to say that I am satisfied if they are, but must assure myself that they have good grounds for being satisfied, and that they are not merely giving themselves and me an 'easy time.' Not an expert myself, I must thus exercise a ceaseless -vigilance over the experts, and compel them to nse their" reason and not trust to conventions and formulae. In a word, I must never be content with the notion that, when a thing seems rotten and. absurd, I may allow It to go on, because it has gone on for the last 20 years without a break down, and because that people who ought to be better Informed than I am do not seem to have noticed it, Again, I must never allow kindliness, or laziness, or dis- -like of a conflict to prevent me from purg ing the army of Incompetence. I must be merciless in regard to inefficiency wher ever I find it. Lastly, I must not hesitate to refuse to be any longer responsible for the army If I cannot persuade my col leagues to support In action what I con sider really essenllaL" . Can it be said that Lord Lansdowne has exercised his functions on these lines? We fear that he has unconsciously, no doubt regarded bis duties rather as those of a figurehead chairman of a great char itable or ornamental corporation than as those ot the minister on whom the effi ciency of the army depends, and on whose exertions was staked the safety of the nation. He did his best, as far as he could, but he did not go Into the work as a man does who who is determined to make a great business flourish or kill himself In tho effort- We will take an example of the way in Which Lord Lansdowne appears to us to have erred In the carrying out of his du ties. When, three years ago, there was a great public controversy In regard to army reform, two things -were urged upon the var office the provision for more ar tillery and of more mounted troops. At the tftne we ourselves wrote very strong ly as to the question of artillery, and also as to the mounted: troops. But having made our protest, we regret to say that we did not fbllow the matter up. We thought, most foolishly we now admit, that there must be some good reason which we as mere journallsls did not know, which, however, had been put be- tfore Lord Lansdowne, and had convinced 'Hlmdhat we did not need more artillery and" more mounted troops At -any rate, Lord Lansdowne did not listen to the demands for more guns and more horses, but rejected them. Events have proved that he was wrong. But tfcajt belng so, we cannot see why the consequence -should not follow as In the caso of the. head of "a -department in any well-managed business. We do not, of course, say this from any vindictive feel ing, or because we want, as it were, to exact a forfeit for the blunder. We say It because Lord Lahsdowne's manage ment of the war office in the past de prives utf of confidence in his action in thB present and the future. If -we thought that Lord Lansdowne, having made his blunder, would now throw himself Into the work with tremendous energy and in ltiatlYet we should not for one moment dwell upon the past. But we cannot per suade ourselves that he will do anything of -the kind. He will play the part ho has always played, of ahlgh-minded Eng lish gentleman no mean part, we admit but he will show none of the tiger, will show none of the tireless vigilance-and the1 resource which are- wanted now. Of course, the war office keeps Its great est secrets, but just look at some of the recent examples of want of vigor and the energy that have lately been apparent. The war office, it is staled, and has not been denied, had the option of buying 15.000 Basuto ponies at 15 apiece. They dld not accept the offer; we suppose he- cause the military advisers, having de termined that this is to be an infantry war, are not going to spoil their "face" by admitting that ponies can be. wanted. But surely Lord Lansdowne, If he had possessed any originality of mind, would have said: "Buy those ponies, whatever happens. You military experts may be right, and they may never be wanted; but If they are wanted they will be above price. I will at any rate effeot this as surance against the failure of the Infan try view." Again, take the feebleness of the way In which the raising of the yeomanry force has been handled. It was quite right to delegate the raising of that force, but It was not right to withhold from the com mittee an absolutely free hand as to all the arrangements -for that force. 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DeYOUNG'S offices are eemntete m every detail, hater taulnpod with all MODERN FIXTURES and APPLIANCES Jor the treatment ot both 1LLB and FEMALE DISEASES, and special attention is given to the PRTVACY P all cases coming to us for treatment. Our operating-rooms and rocoptlon-r inu ara strict ly MODERN, having a SEPARATE RECEPTION-ROOM for MMk natfent. male or female. Do not neglect your case. Save PAIN and EXPBWSE by oattlng at once. A NOMINAL CHARGE. NO EXORBITANT PRICES. If you & hvneod ot an electric belt, a FREE examination will he bmkh by the jrttysM&n ht charge, and you will be Informed ot all necessary ex pans and bonoHto. All special and. chronic diseases of ladies or gonitemon, auoh ad kidney trouble. blood and skin diseases- and catarrh, soedsly cund. AH madtefaac furnltinsd free. DOCTOR DeYOUNG SPECIALIST 88h Third Street, Opposite Chamber of Commerce. Hours O A. M. to S P. M.; evening ? to 9; Simdaois, 10 to S. able recruits are running to waste be cause tho committee can only tako men who are up to a fairly high standard. ; The government is quite right to esat that standard.. but does it not stand to. common sense that the war efflae should have said: "Enlist all likely men, aven though they cannot paws, and wa wffl give them six months' training at homo. R. may be that they may never be want ed, because the war will be over. But it the war is not over they will be invalu able." As. far as we can hear. Lord Lansdowne has given no such order, and hence somo thousands of really valuable men are be ing lost, and lost for good and ail for men peremptorily rejeoted once as "net good enough" are never likely to seek re enllstment. Of course, these two examples do not constitute the whole post-bellum against Lord Lansdowne. We merely cite then as examples of how utterly Inadequate, seems Xiord Lansdowne s grasp en the military problems of the hour. His fail ure to get hold of, or even to explore, the great reserve of trained-men in the coun try (and, we may add, to provide mobil ity for the volunteers) Is a most serious matter, but of that our readers have wo fear, heard only too much In these col umns. We can only end our remarks on a most disagreeable theme by asserting once more that we have no vindlotive or maftetoue feeling against Lord Lansdowne. As a liberal unionist of enlightenment and high character he naturally appeals to us strongly. We should only be too glad to be able to say that his tenure of the war office has been successful and carried on on right lines. Bat we can only soy nothing of the kind, and we have, there fore, no choice but to adopt the thank less task of speaking out on the subject We do not, of course, suppose that our protest will have any practical effect There Is no more colossal humbug than ...v. . .v.0wv. junn via. ure piCSB JH 2UCJI matters. Unless Lord Lansdowne chooses himself to recognize that he is not tho man for the post, and that he had better change his present office for some other. hi3 position will- not be shaken by our words, it he goes, it will be of bis own free will. Nevertheless, we shall have at least the satisfaction of having spoken out and perhaps of having done some thing to check that dangerous and dead ening notion whloh Is ereeping into Eng lish public life the notion that no man need fear any consequences of inefficiency jn public affairs, provided only that his hands are clean. Southern Voices for Expansion. New York Suit At the dinner of the American Astetfc Association, the Hon. John Lowndes Mc Laurln, of South Carolina, a. democrat! senator who prefers business to Bryanlm, so far as the Philippines are eoneoraod. thus contemptuously kicked away the bogie of imperialism: I wlU vote lor the retention ot these leiaadd in some constitutional way. so aa to eoatrot new markets and: Sew commercial advantegta. Nor am I to be deterred By the speeter ot hn verlalism, Invoked by sentiaentalfaKo or de tignlng politicians to frl&tea the weak ana timid. If this be lxnpena:iE&i, let thera make the most of it HalHne from the Sofath. as I do, I say, let all eectloee jn band in setatstc this grand opportunity of exteacha? our com roeroe, influence and ohrltizatton. With toe opening of the Nicaragua, canal and tfee cn struetloa of deep-water Barbara along the Gull I believe the South will be aWe to underbid the world la suppjyjar AM with raw and man ufactured cotton, aSd that oSe of the marvels of the new-born century trill be the great tide of Southern products svreepins across the bread Pacific to xaiiKona of eeasumen m the Orient. The South is led to favor expansion by what the moral philosophers call the urf conscious utilitarianism of common a once the unforgotten democratic instinct of expansion reinforces the clear demands' of self-interest. The Sooth must have the Asian markets. That Is a fact that cannot be declaimed away. Senator MeLausin's rafarenee to design ing politicians maybe deemed personal by I thfl nrjygtxt teai xaed&iae-xnaa of the I Others Fail Consult Doctor I f ih? SPEbSMJST THie ST. PRIVATE PjBoaooo. JPjgw. gonor- Ing, Qtiickly cured without jln or eta tion iron OF ,democrthr party, but it contains an las preosivo wamtftft to tho ntaltocg of tho aaxt democratic nrijHunoi nfcMhim. Wltkfn a Yfenr the- Barnstormer to Gaunt Ti. Bugle to Scattered IjB,v Praotiae. La. Qr&Sfde Chronicle. The mfiis of tho 5d srhtd slowly in tfcte dhtnoenctte country of ours, and jus tfeo sonHtftutu goes bfeslng for her dues, hut thore Is the same inevitebfeness in tho: coars of affairs a in the tabled dais ot old. When Xr. Bryan, lawyer, sitting in his LInoom office Jh the leisure mo ments that bis clientage afforded him, decided that he would gnt tho nomina tion from the Chicago convention by a pyrotechnic display of oratory, the fates and the American people remained un moved. There is just enough of tls stolid and the phlegmatic about tna "averago" American citteen to prevent his being carried est bis leet by the stage tricks of proCuMional barnstormers Tho average ettlaen has a arha sense of humor which, added to a little native in- tetHgence and a good ent of experience, enables him to see behind the mask of an stfcge-actimr statainieh. Be likes to be amused and entertained and instructed by actors and poets and theorists In their pihee, but when be easts his vota lie asks what has the man done and what can he be trusted to do above all he aks what can he be trostea not to do When Mr. Bryan burst tipon the na tion's view m the full radfuiee of hU dnzsttng oratory, he hod yet done noth ing but mahe a few che&p-spesches as faulty hi logic as they were insincere a sentiment Ho had not then, nor has ho yet, proved hjmsetf Incapable of errors of statemMMwlbfp that would be calami tous He had merely the boy's ambition to rule by doanMng. coupled with the actor's trick of producing effects. In his brief but unsuccessful term as an actor ho hod absorbed a few principles necessa ry to stage success, but inimleal to states manship, and these he has been putting into practice ever since. They era glar ingly in evidence when, affecting the un uoceuth. be bowed and smiled to the crowds from the rear platform of his ar in 1SK. His purpose in entering- the army was so atagy that it smelt of paint It his attack upon every advance mevemei t of the administration in tho mutter of the Philippines, be has strutted potttpously and annealed grandiloquently to conserv ation. And now. As in the last act e rants against the corBoratlooo, mi can hear tho prompter behind tho scenes Bt the audience 1 preparing to ring down the curtain upon this mem who is neither actor nor aeaieoman; and after another year and another election. Bill Bcyan, barnstormer, may he seen eount fenr the ties book to a sehJteiod taw prac- o Tho BaseHGe of Bryan tam. New Turk Thnes. hid. dura It is prepcoteroujr for Mr. Bourke Co-k. ran and other perplexed gnwtlemen caet rg about for political standing and recogni tion to argue that antt-trnperianom or anr other new ieeue can he (breed to the fron in the Bryan campaign, leaving free si ve? and soclanem out of sight and out of M thought of too people in tho far back ground. As the democratic candidate f the presidency this year, W J. Bryan w profess and preach populist doctrine -i3 the foundation principles of hht Candida c He will talk antl-tmperialhnB more or e?3 in order to give renegade sound-monr ' democrat aoote decent pretext for sap perttaf hint. But that, like the antl-tnist issue, -ndtt eland only in the relation of an l-outor adornment to tho deep, structural aettdeej of torth that conetttete the essen tials of Wryaenem. i a A Training- Softool Chicago News. Meekp' gtona atntayw speaks well of everybody Weeks Merely a force of hahtt. Meeke How so' Weeks He's a marble cutter and hie arothUty hr austhwy anttophg on grave- 1 stones.