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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1900)
THE MOENING OHEGONIAN, MONDAY, FEBKUAEY 26, 1900. te gamcm at tfce FseMBee at PortJaad. Oreeea. as cocoad-da matter. TKLCPBOKBE. Konortat MctM....ltIBwtggfl Offlee....G87 xivimo gooCRipnoN rates. Br MaU see prepaid), ia Advance Dally, wtthSaadar. lr mentfa ..-? SS Daily, bandar excepted, pec rear 7 W Dsily. with Bandar, per year 9 69 Sunday, per rear .......... 2 00 Tbe Weeldr. per year . .... 1 3 The Weekly. 3 montne. .............. CO To City Bvbecrtbete Dally, per week. delivered. Senders excejte4.1&c Daily, per week, delivered. Sundays laetadeJc Tbe Oregoaian does set bay poems er stories from Indivtdvais. and eaeast wtdert&ke to re mix any manuscripts sent to K without sottdta tton Mo stamps efeoald be tectceed for IbU parpoe. News or dtsottoetoe intended for pabMcatlen In The Oregonian shoeld he addressed tevarlaMr "Editor Tbe Oreconias," not to the name ef any individual. Letters relating to advertising, eabecriptieae or to aay bmrtncan matter should fee addromd stenMV "The Oreeeaian." Paget 8omd Bureau Captain A. Thompson, office at 1111 Pacific aveaae, Tacoma. Box 9S5, Tacoma soetoSlee. Eastern Busmess Oflfee The Tribune balM Ing, New Tork city; "The Hoakery." Chicago; the g. C. Beckwlth special agency. New Terk. For Mile In San Francfeoo by J. K. Cooper. T4 Market street, near tbe Palace hotel, aad at Ooldatntth Bros . 2SS gutter street. For sale In Chicago by the F. O. News Co., 117 Dearborn street. TODAY'S "WEATHER Rain; southeast winds. that retirement, upon his present rank, with the pay and privileges that be long to it, is all that the services of General Shatter merit. This belief is so well based in the open history of the Santiago campaign that it will require a disclosure of new facts, sup ported by substantial proof and strong arguments, to dissipate it. PORCTM.XD, MOXDAT, FBDHCARY 20 XBrW PHASBS OF WAR. Some months ago an article by M. Bloch, a noted war expert of Europe, was published by most newspapers of the world. It contained statements about war, under modern conditions, which appear to be finding verification through the struggle in South Africa, In this article it was asserted that "with modern firearms there could be no decisive battles; that attacks by frontal assault could no longer be made, that Intrenchments would play a pre-eminently important part, the in trenched force being superior to its as sailants in the proportion of eight to one, that war must become a matter of strategy and choice of positions rather than of actual conflict of large masses of men seeking to defend or capture those positions, and, finally, that war, instead of hinging on a few decisive battles, must be prolonged in definitely, both contestants fighting numerous small skirmishes, each hos tile maneuver or 'battle' being a long-drawn-out contest of endurance, last ing many days." All this is just what appears to be going on in South Africa now. The conditions as presented there require a great preponderance of force on the part of the British, since they are com pelled to make aggressive campaigns, and must have means of outflanking their enemy while they also maintain powerful forces in front. But Great Britain has resources for indefinite pro longation of this sort of warfare, against small states that already have their entire strength in the field, and so undoubtedly will wear her enemy out; but it to easy to see what this kind of warfare would mean between very powerful nations evenly matched. It would make war so costly as to exhaust the greatest resources. As the attack ing party could not hope to win in de cisive battles there would be no direct and general attacks and no crushing defeats; and the greatest nations would either be compelled to settle by treaty or arbitration, or wear each other's financial resources out. It may be doubted whether Germany now could overrun France again the latter standing on the defensive; and it Is only their immense superiority of resources that now gives the British any chance of overcoming the Dutch Afrikanders. TOT. SK AFTSR IIHTWAKD HIM,. There is a bill now before the House of Representatives whose purpose is to retire General Shatter from the Army a Major-General, instead of a Brigadier-General, which latter rank he now holds. His name does not, of course, appear in the bill, the wording being, "an officer not above the rank of Brigadier-General, who may have distinguished himself in the war with Spain in command of a separate Army." General Shatter is the only General to whom this designation -would apply, and it is admittedly for his benefit that the measure is proposed. The rankest favoritism could alone, in the face of General Shaffer's part in the Santiago campaign, have insti gated this bill. Though a soldier who performed some meritorious service in the Civil War, and a Lieut. -Colonel in the Regular Army at its close, he received no promotion until the incoming of the present Administration. He was made a Brigadier-General in May. 1897, and was, through the influence of his friend Alger, then Secretary of War, given command of the forces which Invaded Santiago Province in Cuba, being at that time raised to be Major-General of Volunteers, which position he now holds, though past the age limit for re tirement. It Is now proposed, pending his formal retirement, to make him by act of Congress a regular Maior-Gen-eraL in order that he may enjoy the title, emoluments and privileges per taining to that rank during the re mainder of his life. It is clearly incumbent upon the member who introduced this extraor dinary bill, together with those who may advocate Its passage, to inform Congress and the country what distin guished services of. General Shatter warrant its passage. His participation in the Santiago campaign, though at first heralded as valorous and valuable, is now know to have been of the passive rather than the active order. During toe battle of San Juan Hill he -was several miles from the firing line, and was furthermore so inadequately Informed of the progress of events at the front that, in one of his dispatches to the Secretary of War, he Intimated a purpose to abandon his position; he was in favor of retreating rather than advancing, and was only persuaded to the latter course by the representa tions of other Generals who were active participants In the battle. Those being facts of common knowl edge, the country naturally expects to hear from Representative Hull, who presented what may as "TN be called the Charter reward biH." cogent rea sons, row unknown, why the proposed promctin should be made, to the nogier' nf other abler, better and more desen r.g soldiers. The reward an w orthily given to General Bagan is still f-esh in the public mind The Admin istration can hardly afford to bestow an-tWr so rank with faoritigm and .ajttftice. A FIAIi XOTE OP FOLIiY. The disappointing feature of the gold bill reported by the Senate and House conference committees Is that which stipulates that "the provisions of this act are not intended to preclude the accomplishment of International bimet alism whenever conditions shall make it expedient and practicable to secure the same by concurrent action of the leading commercial nations of the world, and at a ratio which shall insure permanency of relative value between gold and silver." While this provision will not endan ger the stability of the gold standard, It is a concession to folly which the country had no reason to expect from advocates of the gold standard like Sen ators Allison and Aldfich, conferees on the part of the Senate. Senator Al lison's acceptance of the clause is sin gular when we recall his speech at Ma rion, Iowa, last October, in which he said that it would be Impossible to car ry on our large domestic and foreign commerce profitably "without measur ing that commerce in the money that goes freely everywhere without dis count or fluctuation In the settlement and adjustment of balances." He re ferred to gold. The provision will gain no votes for the Republican party from the silver ranks, while it will have a tendency to offend a great many gold standard men. "Concurrent action of the leading na tions of the world'' and a ratio to "In sure permanence of relative value be tween gold and silver," which the bill mentions, can never be obtained. Therefore, the provision is useless, and should have been omitted. In so far as the bill looks to "international bimetal ism," to that extent is it encumbered by dead weight Europe definitely de clared Itself against the double stand ard, concurrent or alternating, at the Brussels conference, and no help can be expected from that source. Even Europe's assent would not give us "bl metalism" in any form. No interna tional coinage agreement, however numerous the contracting states, could restore the old relation between gold and silver. No international agreement could give the silver coin a value great er than that of the material of which it is made. No international agree ment could remedy the constantly in creasing accumulation of silver by cre ating a purchaser without there being actual needs to be supplied. No inter national agreement could protect the contracting states against decline in the price of silver, and such a decline would land part of the contracting states, at least, on the silver stand ard. No international agreement could give silver a stationary price, for the world has had no experience In sta tionary prices for any commodity, and never will have. The gold standard Is the product of evolution. The law of least resistance, inevitable and Inexorable, and ever present in Nature and in the doings of mankind, has Impelled all civilized na tions to the gold basis. The people have become habituated to gold, and no International agreement can upset their preference. "Bimetallsm" would likely cause a scramble for gold, and at once bring dislocation of the agreed parity, with consequent fall in the ex change power df silver coins, wide spread panic, business chaos, and In dustrial distress. The greatest suffer ers, of course, would be those least able to bear the burdens the salaried work ers and wage-earners, who would be powerless to protect themselves. In countries strong enough to maintain the gold basis, the disparity would find expression in the discount of silver coins, as was the case with legal-tender paper on the Pacific Coast during and after our Civil War. In countries too weak to maintain the gold basis, the discrepancy in value of coins of the two metals would be expressed In a premium on gold, constantly Varying with the fluctuations of silver. "Inter national agreement" would be at once at an end. The sane financiers in Con gress know these things, and it is con temptible weakness in them to yield again to the puerile demand to "do something for silver." The good women of the W. C. T. U. should see and acknowledge this, and if they still feel constrained to work for the abolishment of the army can teen a work which is clearly within their province they should change the base of their operations, attack the law at its source, and not in its inter pretation. President McKinley plainly states the matter for himself, saying: "Whenever Congress shall speak In plain terms on this subject, his part of the government stands ready to exe cute the law." Is evidently not very confident of get ting the full amount. The annual sub scriptions for the Monthly Bulletin were 190 in 1897 and only 92 last year, so that this source of revenue is insig nificant. The annual appropriation by congress Is $36,000, and if the other re publics do not pay up better than they have been paying, this will be the prin cipal income of the bureau, and in spite of the economies Mr. Rockhlll has in troduced he can hardly fail to end the year with a deficit. GOBBEusai ix anssotmi. Missouri has trouble on hand with the Nesbit law, a measure founded on the principle of Goebelism. Like the Ken tucky statute, the Missouri law pro ceeds on the theory that the mere ex istence of a majority for an opposing political party is proof of fraudulent voting and justification of any measure that will effect a change. This Is a common weakness of partisan human nature. Republicans are prone to think that Democratic majorities in New York and San Francisco are secured by corrupt methods, as Democrats are quick to charge Republican majorities In Portland and St. Louis to intimida tion and boodle. As matter of fact, where elections are free and open, the corruption and rascality are little or no worse in one party than the other. The great danger arises when a partisan attempt is made to prevent an open election, and to set up the tools of one party In judgment on the other, with power to make their prejudiced pur poses effective under color of law. The result in Kentucky of this sort of malignant assault upon majority rule is not yet reached, but the schem ers will probably win in the long run, when the victims will step down and out, to the great satisfaction" of the Missourians who are seeking to de fraud St. Louis of her right to choose her local officers and Representatives in Congress from her three districts. The purpose of districting a State is to give each portion of it the right to a satisfactory Representative in the popular branch of Congress. Every second year It affords electors a chance to express their will and to select men to speak their sentiments. Under this system, the Republican districts of St. Louis elect three Representatives of their political faith, while the remain der of the State sends twelve Demo crats to Washington. The fairness of this distribution is apparent, but the Bryanites have saddled the principle of Goebelism on St. Louis, under the name of the Nesbit law, to deprive the elec tors of the right to choose their Repre sentatives and local officers. The Nesbit law applies to St. Louis alone, and is as well devised as the Goebel measure to enable the minority to triumph over the majority. Its pri mary object is to get all local offices and patronage, but in thiB zealous work the three Congressional Representa tives are to be included. Naturally the three Republicans have precipitated a debate in the House at Washington on the iniquity of the measure, and as the Integrity of that body may be af fected by it, the matter has received wider attention than a local law usual ly gets. The defenders of the measure find it a difficult thing to justify a law that is an assault on majority rule, craftily designed to cheat voters out of their choice of public officials. The London Chronicle prints a Ions statement from Canon Farmer, a dig nitary of the English Church, who lived five years at Pretoria. Following is a condensation: The Boers were arming long before the Jameson Tald, and Kruger welcomed that as an excuse to continue arming more openly. For more than a year before that raid, arms and ammunition were being poured Into Pretoria. Directly after ward the forts around Pretoria were started and within two years afterward the large forts around the capital were erected. In 1898 a great new fort was built at Bloemfontein, which showed an understanding that the Free State was preparing for trouble. At regular in tervalB guns and arms arrived In Pro toria quite openly and trials of new guns were continually being made. One of the last remarks Joubert made be fore leaving for the front was "Cham berlain will be surprised at this, as he thought we were merely bluffing." Canon Farmer tells us that on the evening of his departure, Chief Justice Gregorvosky said to him: "Is it really necessary for you to go, as the war will be over in a fortnight? We shall first take Kimberley and Mafeking and give the British such a beating in Natal that they will sue for peace." The Boer officials also told Canon Farmer that they would put between 90,000 and 120,000 men. in the field. He says, too, that Immense storehouses have been erected and filled with flour and meal, and that when he left, trainloads of flour, largely from Australia, were ar riving from Delagoa Bay. Old Testament that it required several centuries to establish Yahwtem firmly In Israel (for example, Elijah's visit to Horeb. and the fact that we do not find proper names compounded with Yah till Saul's time). In the postexilic period historical details are ahnoot entirely lack ing till the latter part of the fourth cen tury. B. C. Professor Cheyne seeks to restore the history of the time from tbe literature (especially Isaiah, Job, Proverhs, Psalms), with the general result that this period, which used to be regarded as a blank, Is found to be fuH of Intellectual and spiritual life. a ' PnOTECnON OF SPECIAIi INTERESTS Dangers Puerto The new gold bill, as agreed on by the conferees of the two houses, pro vides that all United States and Treas ury notes, when presented at the Treas ury, shall be redeemed in gold coin, and that such notes so redeemed shall not be reissued except in exchange for gold; and if the gold in the Treasury, for re demption of notes, shall at any time fall below $100,000,000, the Secretary of the Treasury must restore It to the maximum of $150,000,000 by borrowing gold on the credit of the United States issuing bonds therefor, payable, prin cipal and interest, in gold. This Is ex pected to prevent any renewal of the "endless chain business," and It prob ably will. UNFAIR. CRITICISM REBUKED. In passing again, at the request of the President, upon the army canteen law, Attorney-General Griggs took oc casion to administer something of a rebuke to the members of the W. C. T. U. for their unfair criticism of his previous decision and of the President's refusal to override the law. In defer ence to the appeals of the Union, the President asked the Attorney-General to review the law again, and the sec ond conclusion was identical with the first. This could not be otherwise; since it was based upon constitutional authority. The canteen will continue to be a part of the army's equipment unless Congress interferes. It is to Congress, and not to the President, that temperance people, moved In this direc tion, must address their appeals. That the President would gladly accede to the wishes expressed in this appeal is probable; that he cannot do so is plainly shown by the decision of his legal adviser. To conduct a crusade against him for refusing to do some thing that does not lie within the scope of his authority is manifestly unjust. Reformers, however, are frequently ar bitrary in their demands, and In this instance they manifestly forget that they are not living under an absolute monarchy, since they have treated the second decision of Mr. Griggs as they did the first simply as an expression of personal and official hostility to the temperance cause, and have again asked the President to override it. Much has been said that might, were it of the slightest use to do so, be re iterated to show that the canteen sys tem Is the best that can be devised, so long as a good many soldiers will have something stronger than coffee to drink. Under this system stimulants are is sued to them under arms' regulations, which are certainly better than the ordinary methods of the saloons that follow military camps and flourish upon the outskirts of garrisons. But the issue in this instance is not one of temperance, nor yet of personal con victions. Such aspects of the question have nothing to do with the Attorney General's opinion, nor with the Presi dent's refusal to ignore his advice. The issue Is one of law and until the law Is changed the opinion of the Attorney- AN ADDITIONAL WORD. It is altogether probable, as asserted by Professor Sumner, of Yale, that "not more than ten per cent of married1 peo ple, looking back at the end of their lives, can honestly say they have real ized all the happiness and all the ideals with which they began married life." But what of that? Realization of any Ideal Is about the rarest thing on this earth. The ample proposition of hope and expectation falls, very commonly, in the promised largeness. But to assert that marriage is a fail ure because its highest ideal is seldom, perhaps never, realized, is as absurd as it would be to assert that "life was not worth living" because its highest ideal had not been attained. Life Is what we make It; marriage is what we make it. Life undertaken and pursued with high, unselfish, humane purpose, is never a failure. It is only when it is pursued with low, sordid, selfish pur pose that It is a failure. And so of marriage. It was never yet undertaken by both parties in a high, humane, sweet spirit of unselfishness and proved a failure. It is only when the motive of marriage on one side or the other was 16w, mean and sordid that mar riage ever proved a failure. A good woman may marry a good man with out danger, for a good man will com pel respect, and respect soon ripens into fine friendship and enduring affec tion; but a woman who will knowingly marry a thoroughly depraved man for the sake of his money or for the sake of a coronet whose plume he has dragged through the ditch-water of two continents is a woman who is entitled to no sympathy when she shrieks hys terically, "Marriage Is a failure!" Success in marriage stands exactly for what success in life does, viz,, the patient discharge of duty, not the ex pectation to be made happy by the sacrifice of the happiness of your fellow-men to secure your own. Happi ness in life comes through the upright discharge of duty to our fellows, and happiness in marriage comes through cheerful self-surrender and sacrifice on both sides of everything save personal Integrity and conscience. If marriage begins in selfish expectation of wanton self-surrender on either side it will be a failure, and deserves to be a failure, but it is the spontaneous, cheerful giv ing on both sides that makes marriage successful. General Cronje's army still defends Its position, but it appears to be held as in a vise, without power to move. In this situation General Cronje has been held for a week, and apparently cannot extricate himself else he would have done so heretofore. Clearly, un less some change not now foreseen can occur, he Is lost. The gallantry of his resistance extorts the admiration of his enemy. His men seem to be endeavor ing to slip away in small squads, and many may make their escape this way, under cover of darkness. It is reported that the British are picking up these straggling parties, and already have a good many prisoners. General O. O. Howard makes appli cation of our experience in the War of the Rebellion to the situation in South Africa, as follows: We tried to keep many armiea going, all at the same time, from the outer to the inner cir cle, of which Richmond was the center; but ultimate success came to the Union forces by so combining armiea as to greatly outnum ber the enemy on some important line, and then defeat him in battle all along that line. Kimberley should be the Nashville, Kronstad the Atlanta, and Johannesburg the Appomattox of the South African war. Thnt Iiurk in the Rlcnn Tariff Bill. From Washington the Boston Transcript has an impress ve dispatch on the proposed Puerto Rican tariff. Suppose, says this dispatch, that the principle becomes es tablished that the Constitution does not go with the flag, and that Congress may do as it pleases in the government of all the territory that we may hereafter ac quire, so long as it Is not admitted to Statehood, what Is to prevent the passage of laws, whenever they may seem neces sary, to choke off all competition with the special interests which are within the Charmed circle of sovereign) States? Somebody gets the Idea that the Puerto Ricans might make cigars. The Cigar makers' Unions, averse to all competi tion, decide to prevent this by bottling tho Puerto Rlcani clgarmakers-up In their own little Island, so that they can hope for no general market. The Puerto Ri can then goes to manufacturing some thing else, and since this is a very thick ly populated Island, Its people must do something more than till the soil or they will starve; but as soon as the new in dustry starts up, its competitors in the States at onco rush to Congress to get a tariff enacted to choke that off, too. This might be done with every industry, and in every Island. Nothing but Consti tutional inhibitions con prevent a riot of special Interests from dominating the tar iff schedules as they relate to the non voting populations under our flag. How long, It may be asked, would Alas kan salmon come in free had the Colum bia River fishermen known that It might be shut out by a tariff? The Alaskans have no vote, while the Columbia River fishermen could easily hold the balance of power In two doubtful States. The net re sult might be a great relief to the people or salmon, if somewhat disastrous to the Alaskans. The phrase, "as happy as a clam at high water," would probably then give place to "as happy as on American fish where the Constitution does not go." Some of these possibilities are likely to restore respect for the old Constitution as a bulwark of equal rights. It was framed to put on end in Its day to the same sort of abuses that threaten to break out anew in case it is decided that only the 45 sovereign States are entitled to Consti tutional privileges. Why will not the Montana copper Interests, It may be asked, get up a combination to pass a law imposing a tariff upon the copper of Ari zona, in case Congress and the courts decide that the uniformity of duties prin ciple enjoined by the Constitution applies only to States? As Arizona Is a tremend ous copper producer, the home market could doubtless be much strengthened by her elimination from the field of equal competition, and it is upon this basis that tariff duties are generally imposed. The present debate also suggests that the open-door principle In the Philippines may be in danger. As soon as some strong American interests want to hold the Philippine markets for certain pro ducts of their own, those doors are quite likely to close, and especially will this be true after the 10 years when by treaty we must treat Spanish importers the some as our own. In fact, there Is no telling what the end of the regime of in equality will be if once Introduced, and this consideration Is beginning to appeal to the soberer men of Congress. a the afflicted Puerto Ricans. and there are some Demeorafs who, "tanuenced by meal considerations,' intend to vote for It. To pass tins measure, at the Instance of a handful of misguided doraestc Mfcaeco growers and high protectionists, would he a lasting disgrace to this mighty Re public. g o MISTAKES IX BOER TACTICS. German Officer Analyzes Events in South African War. Special to the Chicago Tribune. Berlin. The Muitalr-Woeehenblatt, un like a majority of the German payers, does not regard the inefficiency of the English commanders as the sole explana tion of Boer successes in the Transvaal war. The writer, evidently a member f the general staff, dtecuseing the strategic and tactical lessons from tbe war, says: "The fighting has apparently demon strated the impossibility of, wth modern weapons, successfully attacking fortified positions, even with greatly superior sorces, and that artJlery cannot dieot ganize a steady defense line sufficiently to enable the attacking infantry to de sert its protected position and undertake a storm without risking aniuhilatkm. "The superior English artillery was un able to overcome the enemy's artillery on the Tugeia, at Spionkop, and Vaalkrants. and at Vaalkrantz certainly the enemy's artillery hindered the English infantry ad vance. "This experience apparently stops tbe entire modern theory of war. There ia danger that superficial theorists will con clude that tactical defensive measures are immeasurably superior to other forms of warfare, and a weight of voices has al ready drawn this conclusion in our army, verbally if not In written theses. "This view must be decisively combated. otherwise frightful military and political consequences to the fatherland will re sult. "In my opinion, there is no better proof of the necessity of offensive tactics titan the experiences In this war. The Boers' incapacity for tactical offensive move ments has held the forces at Ladysm-th and on the Modder River in spite of all victories. They have not been able to hold Sir George S. White's. Central Buller's and Lord Methuen's defeated armies in check with smaller forces while uniting their main body on the decisive southern and western battle-ground. "White's capitulation and Buller's d3clstve defeat, even If dearly bought, would have de termined the war, enabling Cronje's re inforcement, and reueing all the Cape Afrikanders. "Such results are only attainable through strategic offensive movements on a grand scale. Without such a result the Boers' only hope Is In a changed international situation or English sentiment. "Germany is more exposed than the Transvaal, and imperatively requires an army equipped and trained for rapid of fensive measures. "My concluelon is that artillery and baggage trains be restricted to the mini mum in order to heighten the array's mo bility, with cavalry aume'ently strong to discover the enemy's and conceal our own movements." ! Every journal in the United States has printed ex-Governor Pennoyer'a latest political deliverance, which con tained the remark that Bryan had de stroyed the chances of his party by his "volubility," and many of them have 'made editorial comments. Here is the Boston Herald's: That's a rather pointed observation of ex Governor Pennoyer to Mr. Bryan that only one man In all time has been endowed with suf ficient power to defeat the enemy with a jawbone. The Oregonlan Is asked whether re tention of the Philippine Islands by the United States will not be inconsistent with our Declaration of Independence. Not unless we treat our colonies as King George treated his which, It must be owned, from the effort to pass the bill to skin Puerto Rico, that is to serve also as a precedent for skinning the Philippines, we seem in a fair way to do. The report of the director of the bu reau of American republics shows that the proceeds of advertisements in the publications of the bureau amounted last year to $27,000. But this was ac complished by running a regular adver tising agency, soliciting advertising under the name of the department of state, and involving a branch of the public service in what is essentially a private business. The Impropriety of this has been recognized, and the ad vertising bureau and its solicitors have been dispensed with. Advertisements that are offered will be printed, but for the coming year the director estimates the revenue from this source at only $30W. This amount is so small that it is of dubious wisdom to pub lish advertising at all. In mak ing up his budget for the com ing year the director estimates the contributions of the Latin-American republics at $15,000, but last year less Marcus Daly is at Washington, to help throw hl9 business rival and per sonal enemy out of the Senate. It looks as if the effort to unseat Clark would succeed. Then the whole business In Montana between the Daly and Clark factions will have to be done over again, and the pressure for seats in the Legislature will be unprecedented. There's nothing wrong about having colonies. The wrong is when the sov ereign country skins 'em. The Early Semitic Religion. Professor C H". Toy in International Monthly. Of the Semitic civilization, the oldest known to us Is the Babylonian, which Is already well developed when we first meet it In historical records. The large mass of Babylonian and Assyrian religious ma terial has been carefully worked up and clearly presented by Professor Jastrow, who describes In detail the deities, myths and legends, epic poetry, magical formu las, prayers and hymns, and the temples and cult. Unfortunately there ore almost no records of popular religious customs, but Professor Jastrow has subjected the old poems to a searching analysis, and extracted from them not a little material bearing on early ideas; there is enough to ehow that crude, savage conceptions lay at the bottom of this old faith, which later advances to the very verge of ethical monotheism. It appears also that there Is the usual Semitic vagueness in the per sons of the gods; no one of them differs much from "the others. The Israelitlsh re ligion also Is known to us only in a rela tively mature form; its history Is sketched by Professors Budde and Cheyne from the entrance of the Israelites- Into Canaan to tiie second century B. C. In the earlier period the principal prob lem is the origin of tho Israelite cult by Yahweh; Professor Budde, In agreement with many recent scholars, derives It from the Mldlarutes, with whom, he holds, Israel entered Into alliance, the natural I condition of which was the adoption of I than $6000 was contributed by our part- There is a strong feeling I General in the preiruses will stand. I ners In this enterprise, and the director itiheir reuigion. He sees evidence In the Brains t0 the Top. Brooklyn Eagle. Instead of closing opportunities, wealth opens them. Every fortune, every busi ness, demands brains and energy to man age It. A business simply must have brains to keep it alive, and It must pay the price which those brains demand. This young man (George B. M. Harvey) started not 20 years ago as a newspaper reporter in a small New England town. He was, no doubt, as proud of the first job at which he earned $25 a week as he Is now of finding himself at the head of one of the great firms of the world. The rich man who would enjoy the leisure to which his fortune entitles him must put it in charge of able and trusted representa tives, and he must pay them, not what he chooses, but what they choose. The ability to manage masses of money Is rare, and it takes Its own toll as it goes. That natural law keeps the strong men on top under the present system. It would only serve to send them to the top faster under a communist reorganization of society, wMch attempted to give every man "his share" o the world's wealth. A man's share 'a what he can keep, and the most that sociology can do Is to so regulate the rules of the game as to give every man free play for the gifts which he has. America has grown enormously wealthy because the American system has given to men the fairest chance which the world has yet seen. o Three Questions. L What Is the object of the electoral college? Could not Its powers be vested with Congress? 2. What do estimators figure the popu lation of tho United States at the next census will be? 3. Give the dimensions of the steamers Oceanic and Deutschland. SUBSCRIBER. L The object of the electoral college was to secure deliberation in the selection of President and Vice-President. But it has completely foiled to meet Its object. So it would, if its powers were given to Congress. Party connections dictate. 2. Careful estimates Indicate that the population of the United States, by the coming census, will be about 76,400,000. 3. The steamship Oceanic Is 685 feet length, 68 feet breadth and 44 feet depth. The Deutschland, 685 feet length, 66 feet breadth, and 42 feet depth. a o Gold-Hnntlnff Periods. Salt Lake Tribune. The gold discovery In California was in 1848; the rush began in 1&9; Pike's Peak and tbe Comstock were discovered In 1859 and the rush began In 1860; there have been several lesser rushes since, notably the one to White Pine, Nev., in 1869. This year everything points to an unparalleled rush to Cape Nome. It is quite possible that the country will be found just as rich on the Siberian side. It Is but 300 miles across the Bering Sea at that point, and, though we believe the currertts eet In toward the American side, still the ebb and flow of the tides must be the same on both shores, and hence it is only natural to- suppose that one shore will be as rich as the other. It Is expected that Cape Nome will glva up $20,000,000 In dust during the present year. A Instlnr DIj?rnce. New York Herald. There are Republicans who refuse- to be "whlooed Into Hce" to -vote for the un-American and inhuman treatment of J Two Qaetrtlons. PORTLAND, Feb. 25. (To the Editor.) In order to settle a dispute will you kindly state In the columns of your valu able paper whether Robert Morrte, the financier, who sent supplies and money to the starving army during the Revolution ary war, was a Jew or not? Also, what Jew, if any, advanced Christopher Colum bus money for his expedition. A CONSTANT READER. Robert Morris was not a Jew, and we have met with no record that a Jew sup plied money to Christopher Coiurabue. o P Imaginary Troubles. Judge. Callahan Poor Casey Is worried to death. Afther losin' both arms: am' wan leg be the trolley-car he be took down wid applndlcltls an' pneumonia, complicated wid angina pectoris an' muscular rheuma tism, an' ran he gkts out av the beep tal they be goln' to tSwry1 him fer murderin' Jerry Hogan tin mont's ago an' Costlgan (disgustedly) Shure, an Casey has nawthkv to worry about, an' Casey has nawthin' to complain about. Casey isn't married. These fool bachelors make me sick wid their imaginary throubles. a Boston's Prize Crank. New York Tribune. The Chicago ant!-trust convention rourd ed up a dreary drove of cranks, wth George Fred Williams pleating for the place of bellwetiher, but opposed by an dmmense pressure of competition. If they have not darkened counsel with words of no wisdom, it will he a new thing in sueh convocations. But that lfl not to be thought of, George Fred alone poseese'ng the be clouding capabilities of the cuttlefish, of giant squid, with an inky squirt equal to tho eclipse of any possible occasion, a o t The Orange Free Stnte. Philadelphia Press. "What are you worrying atoout?" de manded the Secretary of War. "I'm disturbed because of the alarming alacrity with which the Irish are enlisting with the Boers," replied the Prime Min ister. "Let them. Can't you see Roberts' plan?" the Secretary retorted. "He's in vading the Orange Free State, knowing that the Irleh will never consent to defend it." ' o Better Time for the Baby's Efforts. Brooklyn Life. Grinder What! asleep at your desk, sir, and work so pressing! Meekly Excuse me, sir; baby kept me awake all night. Grinder Then you should have brought it with you to the office. a c ' An Addition to tbe Arsenal. Memphis Commercial-Appeal. Tho Denver Post records the fact that a New York man hat had a false tooth taken from his vermiform, appendix. We expect at any time to learn that the KentucWane are utilizing the appendix as an extra hip pocket. 4 O The Terrible Frenchmen. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Boni Castellane is going back to Paris anred to the teeth, and De Rodays has purchased a eelf-cockkig fountain pen of the heaviest caliber. No doubt the streets .of Paris will soon be running blue wKh copying fluid. I8 ' Mill People In the South. Savannah (Ga.) News. Tbe factory operative population of North Carolina last year amounted to nearly 95,000. The miH people are becom ing quite an important faetor in the South. n Treatment for Calamity-Howlers. Savannah (Ga.) News, Dera. A New Jersey lunatic had his reason restored by a blow on the head. This ought to suggest a way of curing some of the calamity-howlers. ai At a Safe DHtascc. Indianapolis Journal. "Dick Dabbs Is going to teach portrait painting "by mail." "That's all right; you've seen his por trait haven't you?" i o A Gray Day. Earn "Wood in Chambers' Journal. Within tbe woodland's somber depth A faint, sweet, note awakes axA tes; And sadly thnmgh tbe swaying besgbs The west wind on its mUeioa sighs; While cloudy billows northward roll Across the low. gray skies. Tbe sounds that made the wcodlead say Awhile as If with grief are mate; The linnet, has no heart to sing. And silent is the blackbird' 9 flute; Xooght Btlra save that faint note of sons And sad aeollan late. XOT AJfD COMMENT A stg oC uprhm jK p off the grass. It Is stegntar fin mm, people om never loose In tbsir Mora tt they are tight. Bryan says ko prslHfn not to be called Colonel. It took as If he was sore of Kentneky. anyvMsy. The first atm tfce wmr police In the PbWpptees wlH stsnuly Is to arrest Agataaloo for fast ildlnsj. Crostfs has the mmtirtton C being; a storn and vnytaMtns; oM MtowC tort Rob erts seems te have got juoifd Ma It le auggmtod that the nam who banged Msssetf tan 9lM tho other toy dm Isgaily exeewtoa, becanso ko Mt Ms) mk on tbe gallos. Secretary Soot Is 1 usdiliia K he has a war ox Ms homfe. ChsmfeerMn Is not pcrolsartng Ms onto abovft any sMt ques tion. Tombstones ami eoAat turn now on sale In the CMcago aogartmsat storos, which will eonvincs St. Ixmia that bnnlnooo Is dead with thsfc bated xhrsi. One ouootma has been brought up by the Transvaal war wMch Is bard te solve, and that la, how. en two Islands of lim ited area, there has tern room for all the inajor-gonsTmls that are fighting under tho Brttah flag. Quite a number of petitions for prlvato permits to grade streets, r. rather, sec tions of streets, m front of tho petitioners property, havs lately fcesn presented ta the Council, and. as noaal. granted. It is, of course, desirable that streets should be Improved, and if it Is done under pri vate permit, tbe property-owner, of course, has to do the work in accordance with the City ordteasee. This style of improv ing streets m bits is, however, the least desirable way of having the work done It Is also unsatisfactory to the City, beoauss when property-owners Join In ha!n-c a street Improved, they have to pay for 'ha surveyor's work. wnQs, whers private p r mlts are granted, the City Engineer has t give grades and set stake, which takes up a lot of time; for which the proper-y-owner pays nothing. One object In secur ing permits to do such work by prH a a contract Is to avoM payment of the ex pens of tho necessary sorveytng. An at tempt was mads not long ago to enact ax ordinance providing that persons granted permits for Improving strsots should pay for tho sOTveytng; but It was vetoed uy the Mayor. The mind of man Is constantly seekirg out new Inventions, and now a citizen of Portland has discovered a method of (T traetmg gold from water. It Is said tli it traces of gold, silver, copper, etc.. can La found in the water of creeks or spring" .a mineral regions, and tkls man has d ee v ered a method of precrpttatmg the me' ila hi sueh water. He has experimented wi a his precipitant by allowing a stream of water from a mountain spring, such .3 w I run through a Joint of older with the pulp punched out, now over it for 31 days an I has secured an ounce or so of stun wh h he believes to consist of or contain &1I. silver and copper. When he has had this stuff analysed he win know more about the vaht of bJs discovery. Bo says ha ean rig up a "prectpJtatosC-rjBSiCMUCi C? ex tracting tbe metals from a streamN water a foot square, for Jost hoi long It will take to get 9M worth of prsekms metals out of dnest i. stream 18 what ha has not yet fejmd eat K will depend to soma extent on how much oC the metals there Is In tho water and some what on the efficiency of the precipitant. A man who stood listening to a street hawker a day or two since, and notion g the energy and verbosity ha display 1 2, remarked that the young man raised !a the Xast were more talented than those raked in Oregon. A bystander took excep tion to this statement, and want on to say that there were young man raised in Oregon who ware as bountifully provided with gall and gab as there was any neces sity for. Ha gave as an example the caaa of a young friend of his who had securt d an agency for the sale of seamless hose for woman, and who was m a fair way u making a fortune. As a salesman, he w 13 a wonder, and ho sold his hose right and left wherever he want to women, young and old, from the mistress of the house down to the kitchen ghi. Ha has got a large portion of the women of this city stocked with. hose, enough to last th ti for years, and Is now about to turn Ka attention to other Cities in the North wt. As a sample of Ms business talents it was stated for a faet, that a short time ago he attended Sunday school at ono of the most fashionable churches In thf c(Fy, and, before the class was organised, had succeeded m setting the teacher half a dozen pairs of hose. Whether hf4 IH the other teachers escape has not been learned. A subscriber writes all the way from Harney County to ask what the graps fruit mentioned m tba market reports is, and what It is Use. Tbe grape fruit is a shaddock, a species of orange, quite com mon in tba market here, but not nearly so extensively used as the orange It Is usually larger than the orange, and is more the color of a lemon. The use of it, a dealer m such fruits says. Is a fad The juice of tba grape fruit Is not scr sweet as that of the orange nor so soar as that of tba lemon. It is supposed to have health grvmg properties, and is commonly par taken of before breakfast. The grape fruit Is cut In two parts across th middle, the tough central portion extracted, and a spoonful or two of sugar pot to its place, and after It has been allowed to stand for some time, the Juice Is spooned out and swallowed. Tbe grape frtttt is mors expansive than the orange; and is muh mora expensive In tba Bast, where It 9 procured from Florida. Ik 2few Tork it has sold for K to H par dosen, and Is meetly used by the wealthy class, but hra it sells for 12 58 par box, and is not ex tensively used by any body. Jost why it Is catted "grape inftt," whan It is a sort of orange, te not known; perhaps, because It te "sour grapes to soma. The deakr who furnished this mformatkm says some people Imagine thai th Jtrtoe of the grape Jratt has tonte qualttlasy something Ilka sttntne, and ha Is carta that it is healthy, for he ate on ftv years ago and has never bean sick a day stac. nor has he ever eaten another. H ' Her Xother, Tkeedesta FMncmg Qaiiswa m Harper's I eaaaot think C bar ae eae eC Wa Bittfetoe asquhi, mtr and vary wtee, la all the maay ways of perfect bum, Tnadtag ta flower tela of Paradise. Jay. she Is sm tbe little eMM mat knew Xa tbmg- sareod say arm's warm tenderness, That seake a word my Utile eMM who drew Mr )m er ry stseagth of aeisfeMaeae. Lord, when kemr tbe doorway ef Thy house, A ttort. iMw-aera aosl, I treatafteff, stand. Let her set came wtth glory ea bar brows, A fair, strong angel, bsarmg Thy Oammand; Bat let mine own, mr eMM. took up at 3 WHh Hie same eyes that need , crave tae, and Draw tae screw Thy threa&eld tene-iv. With her own ban ir 'Me, tender ta