THE MORNING OBEGONIAN, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1800.
hs rssomon.
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Editorial
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TODAY'S WEATHER.-rlr; winds besoming
sou heart Tuesday afternoon.
PORTLAXP, TCBSPAY, PHRTJARV 27
TKH TWWTi' MILLIONS.
Debate has again arisen on the na
ture of the money payment we made
to Spain, on account of the Philippine
Islands. What Aid we pay the money
for'
The motive mi very much but not
i-together the same that induced us
to pay $15,000.u to Mexico, at the dose
of our war with that Republic The
twenty million were paid to Spain as
a soi&tium, to ease her pain, to soothe
her wounded pride, to lubricate the
Iu6iess of the Peace Conference, to
go fruity or make a show of doing it,
in the sight of the world. The money
was paid very much on the principle
that the tinkling of the guinea helps
tbe hurt that honor feels." Spain was
at our mercy. We could have taken
the islands without payment of a dol
lar But it would have been ungener
ous Spain asked $1M,OOMM, and we
gave her &MM.O0Q. It ws money
je3, too, for protraction of the nego
t ation was costing us much in main
".aanre of armament and in further
; ' paration for possible needs of war.
Looking over the official report of the
proceedings- of the Peace Conference,
w " find a statement of the reasons
v hioh moved UteAmerican Commission
er to make this concession. The Com
n Woners say: "Deeming it essential
nat the present negotiations, which
l-dAf already been greatly protracted,
s-h u d be brought to an early and defi
nite conclusion, we bet; now to present
l. new proposition, embodying the con
c i triors which, for the sake of Imme
Gidte peace, our government is under
Thr circumstances willing to tender."
Turn follows the statement that the
t i mm ssionerc were "authorised to of-f--r
to Spain, in case the cession should
be agreed to, the sum of $20,009,096, to
be paid in accordance with terms to be
fixed in the treaty of peace."
The Commissioners didn't want to say
that they were ready to apply a balmy
du 'omatic diachylon, in the form of a
ni 'ne j award, to the wounded honor
o" tpain, but that they would compro
n ii?e by payment of $30,060,vM, "for the
ea.ke of immediate peace," aad as -a
reason why "the cession (of the Philip
P ins) should be agreed to." It seems
i The Oregonlan that these statements
nmkc it sufficiently clear why and on
w hat basis we paid the twenty millions
t Fpain. In diplomatic language, the
r aMn w as substantially the same that
moed us to pay the fifteen millions to
iue-xieo, at the close of the war with
that country. The treaty of Ouada
1. upe Hidalgo says we paid that money
ti Mexico "in consideration of the ex
tension acquired by the boundaries of
tbe United States." In this recent case
We had the further motive of hurrying
the treaty of peace to a conclusion, and
of showing magnanimity, before the
V orld, to a helpless enemy.
I THE FOOTPRINTS OF TUB PAST.
India, though long accustomed to
famine conditions. Is now face to face
w n ha situation more distressing, if pos
sible, than any that has confronted her
people in recent years. Already many
million" of persons are receiving stinted
lief, and deaths from starvation are
cul becoming more numerous. To
wdd to the extreme gravity of the situ
waon, India must this year rely very
rgeiy upon, her own resources for
' edlng her people. During previous
- aeons of famine In recent years, help
.i8 been forthcoming front England,
..-I the English people are manifestly
t . heavily taxed In other directions
r w to give much thought or aid to
sufferers of India. Not only is the
Z eminent under tremendous pres-
; re, but aB. the money that can be
r .Bed by private subscription and
writable devices is being expended
: - the relief of British soldiers serv-
in South Africa, and for "the folk
t at Tommy left behind him." Prom
charitably disposed people of the
ited States a full measure of aym-
l hy goes out to these famine-stricken
- atures. but in the very nature of
ngs scant hob? must come from this
,arter. We have our own problem to
r t of feeding the hungry in Puerto
I o. and our own heavy war taxes to
- ft, and though the pity of the pitiful
ps out in small ways (as in the aa-
r uncement a fow day o that the
i ,t o& people ot .Forest urove nan raisen
enough to maintain a family in India
fvi a year). It is manifest that any
thing like adequate assistance cannot
V given by our people. As to the rest,
Kussia has her own famine-stricken
districts to look after and Germany
sjd France their enosmous standing
mles to maintain. So the problem
'apidlj narrows down to one of self
..e.p for India, and this under present
i .ndHionc means wholesale suffering
iud starvation for a period of some
months, at toast.
Meanwhile, the wastefulness of war
i es on. and the beatific visions of
.ace interpreted by poets aad pro
i aimed by phllanthroptots through
k ug years seem as far as ever from
re alltauon. This Is but to say that the
j-oent treads in the footsteps of the
; est. and that human nature is human
i k ' ure still, though some of Ks ae
j.t me have been softened by pity, as
show n in the tremendous efforts of the
1 . d Crostv Society to minister to the
uraea upon oatue-ueiae ana miu
. t tot miseries of the wretched non-
combatants in war-desolated provinces,
aad in the sublime charities that look
after tbe necessities of the widows and
orphans of war. But the shouts go up
for "Bobs" and for Kitchener, for
French aad for Buller; for Cronje, In
hie determination to fight to the death,
aad for the lesser warriors of the rank
and file British and Boers. Certainly,
as far as ever from realization seems
the dream of Longfellow of the time
when
The warrior's name will be a name abhorred,
Aad every nation that shall lift again
Its band against its brother, on its forehead
Will wear forevennore tbe Curse of Cain.
Hounded hy the passions of men,
urged by their ambitions, spin-red on,
it may be, by the underlying energies
of progress; dominated by economic
considerations that lie without the sim
ple realm of mercy and have a wider
range than a present demand of bread
for the hungry, the upheaval of the
nations goes on. The present treads in
the footprints of the past; history re
peats itself over and over, as it must
do, with man as its moving, subduing
force. This is a fact. Whether deplor
able or not depends upon the point
from which it is viewed, but in detail
appealing forcefully to the pity of mankind.
EXPORTS OP AMERICAX FLOUR.
One of the most Interesting features
of the rapidly growing foreign trade of
the United States, and one that is sug
gestive of substantial profit to the pro
ducers and shippers of the Pacific
Coast, is the wide extent and increasing
demand for American flour in certain
markets. The United Kingdom is still
the best customer that American mil
lers have abroad, but the possibilities
for this product in Asiatic markets are
practically boundless. Great Britain
took nearly 11,000,000 of the 18,250,000
barrels of flour that were exported from
the United States last year, but nearly
every country In Continental Europe
buys some American flour. Last year
flour was shipped to Germany, Holland,
France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and
some other countries not specially enu
merated in the report, the total ship
ments to Continental Europe amount
ing to over 2,500,000 barrels.
To countries other than Europe, the
shipments of American flour reached
the surprising total of 5,500,000 barrels.
These included over 1,000,000 barrels to
Hong Kong; 855,000 barrels to the
"West Indies, exclusive of Puerto Rico,
which took 185,000 barrels, and of Cuba,
which took 563,000 barrels; 550,000 bar
rels to South American countries other
than Brazil; 515,000 barrels to British
North American possessions; 397,000
barrels to South Africa; 267,000 barrels
to Japan, and about 400,000 barrels to
other ports, including those of Mex
ico, China, Australia and the East In
dies. The best feature about this trade,
next to the practically inexhaustible
supply that can be drawn out by de
mand, is that it is rapidly growing.
The exports of 1899 were a million bar
rels in excess of those of 189S, showing
clearly that the consumption of flour
is growing among people who are not
generally classed as bread-eaters. This
opens the door to a tremendous supply
of American breadatuffs. If the de
mand is intelligently met and diligently
cultivated, it will result In creating a
market which cannot fail to add largely
from year to year to the prosperity
both of the vast wheatgrowing and
milling industries of the United Statefe.
The mills of this country produce in
aggregate about 76,000,000 barrels of
flour annually for home consumption.
In addition to that, they made nearly
19,eOO,(NK) barrels last year for export.
This is a substantial tribute to the en
terprise of American millers, since it
shows about 41 per cent of the wheat
export of 18&9 was in the form of flour.
Though this is gratifying, there is still
room here for growth. The proportion
ought to be much larger than that,
since every bushel of wheat that is
ground into and exported as flour
means an addition of from 5 to 10 cents
a bushel In the price paid by the for
eigner for the surplus product of our
wheat fields. This, besides, leaves a
tremendous bulk in "millstuffs" that
can be turned into dairy products for
the home market and a Judiciously ex
tended export trade.
ANOTHER POLITIOAI, BUGBEAR.
Now the bugbear has risen that ten
millions of Malays in the Philippine
Islands are to become American citi
zens, with rights to come and go and
to enter into competition with Ameri
can workingmen.
It is easy always for the politician to
conjure up terrors for the worklngman.
Not that he cares a fig for the welfare
of the worklngman; but he wants to
persuade the worklngman that he, the
politician, is his champion, guide, de
fender and friend for the worklngman
has that which the politician wants and
is desirous above all things to fool him
out of, namely, his vote.
The whole Inhabitants of the Phil
ippine Islands are perhaps eight mil
lions, of whom one-third may be Ma
lays. The majority consists of tribes
but little advanced from the savage
state. It is not an industrial popula
tion. The notion that euch a population
would leave the soft, tropical climate to
which it has always been accustomed,
and come to a country where climate
and all the conditions of life would be
oppressive to such a people, is simple
idiocy. No appreciable number of Fili
pinos will ever come to the United
States to work or live; and no person
of intelligence who stops to think about
it can suppose they will. But of course
the political agitator, who wants votes,
will say anything. No absurdity dis
concerts htm.
One of the lessons of the naval battle
off Santiago has been exemplified in
detail in the reconstruction of the
cruiser Atlanta. The terrible danger
to the crews of war vessels during ac
tion that lurks in woodwork was dem
onstrated in the fierce fires that raged
upon the Spanish vessels as the result
of our bursting shells. This danger has
been practically abolished in the re
building of the Atlanta. Corrugated
metal was used in the place of wood
for bulkheads, and the wooden panels
of the ceilings and walls have given
place in construction to asbestos and
non-inflammable paint. Wood is, in
fact, rigidly excluded from the vessel
in all forms, the furniture, bunks and
frames being entirely of metal. It
peonis from this that the vessel that in
its construction defies the flames and is
able at the same time to pour hot shot
into its adversary, and capable of run
ning as well as fighting, will be the In
vincible factor In naval warfare in the
future. In view of this fact, and of
pothers developed by the two contests
that wiped the fleets of Spain from the
sea, it is no wonder that British states
men are insisting that immediate at
tention be given to the English navy
for the purpose of bringing Its fighting
craft up to date.
TESTING HER STRENGTH.
It is not impossible that England's
present war may be to her a. blessing
in disguise, since it will be sure to test
her latent strength as it has never been
tested since the days of Cromwell; for
since Cromwell England has never had
an army that was not, as Wellington
said, small and Inexcusably out of con
dition for service. It is easy to see
why this is so. It is due first to the
dread of a great standing army
through which the despotic govern
ments of Continental Europe have been
created and upheld; and it is due, sec
ondly, to the fact that since the days of
Cromwell Great Britain has never had
an enemy among the armed nations of.
Europe when she had not allies of
greater military strength to help her,
save when she fought America In the
Revolution and in 1S12. It is true that
Great Britain fought France with Hol
land, Prussia and some lesser German
States under Marlborough, but while
England's money was the army chest,
England's soldiers were comparatively
few. It Is true that England fought
France with Frederick the Great for
her ally, and It is true that England
fought Napoleon with nearly all Europe
at her back; but England fought them
by using her gold to keep the armies
of her allies on their feet. It was the
test of the length of her purse and
strength of her patriotism; not the
military quality and numbers of her
home soldiery, which are today being
tested for the first time since the re
cent revolution in the conditions of
modern warfare, which enable a small
body of men armed with modern maga
zine rifles and cannon to bid defiance
to frontal attack. Great Britain had
become filled with an idea that a great
fleet alone was adequate preparation
against military dangers. Her army
since Waterloo had never been pitted
against a civilized enemy, save in the
Crimean War. and in that war the Brit
ish lost all reputation for formidable
military quality, save that steady gal
lantry that Napoleon always admired,
even when he spoke contemptuously of
the military genius of the average
English general. In fact, until today
Great Britain has never been prepared
for war since the days of Cromwell,
except in the sense of creating Conti
nental armies through subsidies, sup
plemented by her great fleet.
But today, for the first time in- mod
ern warfare, the British are left to flght
alone against a white enemy well pre
pared, well armed and occupying an
exceedingly difficult country. This
time of trial had to come to England,
sooner or later, and the resolution and
ability with which she meets it will
prove her salvation, not only In the
circle of her Colonial Empire, but
against prospective coalitions against
her on the continent of Europe. Eng
land has learned from the Boers that
not only an enemy armed with mod
ern rifles cannot be dislodged by the
frontal attack, but she has learned
that artillery cannot disorganize a
steady defense line and drive it from
its sheltered position. Tou can do this
against Filipinos, Chinese, Afghans, but
Skobeleff could not even dislodge the
Turks from Plevna. Great Britain had
to learn this lesson from somebody, and
better that she learned it from the
Boers than from a powerful Conti
nental nation.
The Boer war will do for Great Brit
ain what the Civil War of 1861-65 did
for the United States. It will develop
her enormous latent intellectual power
and pecuniary material resources to the
utmost. See what four years of trial
did for both the North and the South.
When the war broke out the Confed
erates were mainly an agricultural peo
ple. The great foundries and manufac
tories of the Union were at the North,
but under the stress of war the South
soon established foundries for the man
ufacture of cannon, factories for the
manufacture of gunpowder and ammu
nition of all sorts; factories for the
manufacture of military harness and
saddlery of all sorts, so that at the
close of the war, if the finances of the
South had been In sound condition, she
could have made defensive war indefi
nitely, for she could manufacture all
the munitions of war and had plenty
of food, so long as her railway com
munications remained Intact. Further
more, the South taught the manufac
turing, inventive North the first lesson
in ironclad naval warfare. This is
what the stress of war did for the
non-manufacturing, agricultural South.
For the North the stimulus was equally
great. When the war began our peo
ple thought they knew all about the
capacities of railway transportation,
but when the news of General Rose
crans defeat of the 20th of September,
1S63, reached the East, the Eleventh
and Twelfth Corps of the Army of the
Potomac, on picket near the Rapidan,
got orders to go to Bridgeport, on the
Tennessee, and on the 2d of October
these two corps were at Bridgeport,
where the railway from Nashville to
Chattanooga crossed the Tennessee
River. In February, 1865, an order from
Grant transferred General Schofleld,
with 30,000 men, from Tennessee to
North Carolina, a journey made in ten
days. Our Civil War developed the
latent energies of both sections, in all
directions. So will the present war de
velop those of the British people; for,
though not a great war, It is a serious
one.
The experience of Nebraskan farm
ers in- the last year should have taught
them the fallacy of the cheap-money
crowd's arguments. Owing to the pros
perity that they enjoyed, the amount of
mortgages on farms in the State was
reduced during that time by nearly
58,000,000. Yet these same people only
last November showed at the polls
their determination to stand by the
cheap-money idea and the cheap-money
candidate. The condition reflects stub
bornness that will not see, rather than
a prudent spirit that desires to find
the safe way and walk therein. Plg
headedness never yet triumphed over
the calm and unerring logic of events,
and in the attempt to do so it merely
makes display of its narrow quality.
The march of the British to Bloem
fontein will be over a treeless plateau
about 4000 to 4500 feet above the sea.
There is little water found along the
direct route. The distance from Kim
berley to Bloemfontein is 87 miles, and
from Paarde Drift to Bloemfontein It
is about 6 miles. The natural order of
march from Paarde Drift would be
along the Modder. The country be-
tween Paarde and Bloemfontein is
1 wholly a. pastoral region, Th,e agricul-
tural region lies 60 to 80 miles to the
east in a narrow belt along the east
ern frontier, and is bordered In part by
the mountain region, where the Boers
are holding General Gatacre in check
on the Cape Colony side of the frontier.
There are hills rising above the level
of the plain which furnish opportuni
ties for effective resistance, but they
are not so numerous west of Bloemfon
teln as east of it and in the Transvaal.
The natural defenses of Bloemfontein
are not equal to those of Pretoria,
which has mountain ranges on the
north and south, with forts on their
slopes that command every approach
to the city.
Senator Pettlgrew, of South Dakota,
is the only thorough reproduction of
the old-time "copperhead" of 1862-65
that has come to the surface in this
generation. In 1862-65 there were high
toned, honorable men, like Horatio
Seymour, of New Tork, who were
openly hostile to Lincoln's war policy,
but nevertheless were faithful to public
duty and public trust, and then there
were a number of men who- were con
spicuous for speech and behavior that
was nothing but covert treason to the
flag whose protection they enjoyed and
never hesitated to invoke. Such ma
llgnants had Vallandlgham and Voor
hees and Pendleton for leaders, while
the rank and file of these malevolent,
vitriolic "copperheads" from East to
West was represented by such men as
Senator Pettlgrew, who is a "Vermont
"vinegar plant" transplanted to the soil
of Wisconsin when he was 6 years of
age. He settled in South Dakota in
I860, when he was 21. The various
transplantations that the Pettlgrew
"vinegar plant" has undergone since
1854 do not seem to have abated the
natural-born acerbity and malevolence
of the man.
Will those very belligerent persons
who oppose neutralization of the Nica
ragua canal and insist that we ought to
fortify it be good enough to pay atten
tion to what Admiral Dewey said on
this subject the other day? The Ore
gonlan printed the statement in its tel
egraphic columns, but reprints it here
with, because the Admiral's opinions on
such a subject are those of a man who
knows what he is talking about. He
said we ought not to fortify the canal,
and gave the reasons. They are as di
rect as the fire of his guns at Manila,
viz:
' Fortifications? "Why, of course not. As I un
derstand it the .canal Is to be and should be a
neutralized commercial pathway between the
two great oceans. To fortify it would simply
result in making' it a battleground in case of
war. Fortifications would be enormously ex
pensive, and ought not to uZ erected. Our fleets
will be sufficient guaranty of the neutrality and
safety of the canal In time of war as well as
In peace.
What would be the object of fortifi
cation? Only to defend the canal. But
we couldn't defend it unless we were
strong at sea, and if we were strong at
sea there would be no need of defenses
on the canal.
These questions, cut from an East
ern paper, are sent to The Oregonlan:
During the Spanish war, did the English peo
ple get up mass meetings to express their sym
pathy with the Spanish?
Did the English Government allow foreigners
to go there and make speeches and collect money
for the Spaniards?
Possibly these queries are sent in
with a view to evading the "procla
mation of neutrality" which it has been
necessary to make to our bellicose
correspondents; but possibly they are
asked in good faith; and, assuming that
they are sincerely presented, The Ore
gonlan must say that it recalls no
such meetings in England or contribu
tions to the Spaniards, though a few
speakers and newspapers expressed dis
like for the United States. But in fact
anybody can go to England and make
speeches for any country, and collect
money for any country on earth. He
may not get much, but he has the right
of free speech, for it is a free country.
Now they talk of only 15 per cent
discrimination against the new insular
possessions. It is a pitiful retreat.
Why not come out plump and plain,
and say that wherever the flag floats
commerce and industry shall have
equal rights? To this complexion it
must come at last. One who is wrong
can't get right too quickly or com
pletely. So the authors of this Puerto
Rico bill would do well to face right
about, and abandon the whole error.
Louisiana is a state that produces
sugar and rice. We find the New Or
leans Picayune, a sturdy Democratic
journal of three-quarters of a century,
arguing for protection of "our high
class American labor" (it is negro la
bor in the South) against the prod
ucts of Puerto Rico and the Philip
pines! Where is anybody "at"?
In P. W. Gillette's article on "Ore
gon's Early History," which appeared
yesterday, the name of Hon. J. W. Nes
mith was printed "Hon. J. W. N.
Smith." The correction Is made in or
der that the authority of Mr. Nesmlth,
on certain matters quoted, may appear.
London's last census, nine years ago,
showed a population of 4,211,000. New
Tork confidently expects this year's
census to show her to have above
3,6CO,000. She may pass London before
the middle of the coming century.
A Gift to Carnegie.
Chlcaeo Tribune.
Inst year the United States imported
674,000 tons of iron bre, mostly from Cuba
It was used by the iron and steel manu
facturers east of the Alleghanles, who
cannot get Lake Superior ore so cheaply
as do Mr. Carnegie and other manufac
turers west of the mountains. The duty
on that Cuban ore is 40 cents a ton, so
the revenue of the government from that
source was about $270,000 in 1S99. Were
there no duty on the Cuban and New
foundland ores the Imports would have
been much larger than they are, the sea
board manufacturers would be able to cut
down the cost of the production of steel,
and could compete more effectively with
Western rivals.
Mr. Abrom S. Hewitt, who knows a good
deal about tho Iron business, says that
tho Government, by retaining this duty
of 40 cents a ton on iron ore, is making a
present to Mr. Carnegie, whose work3
turn out half the steel made In the United
States, of $10,000 a day. For, it tho duty
were removed, Mr. Carnegie would have
to lower the price of steel ?1 a ton to
meet seaboard competition. A tariff pro
vision which adds annually $270,000 to the
revenues of the Government and $3,650,000
to those of the Carnegie Company, whose
profits last year were $21,000,000 and which
are estimated at $10,003,000 this year, is
not defensible. That provision is net one
to supply revenue for the Government,
which gets next to none. It is not needed
for the protection of Messrs. Carnegie
and Rockefeller, who are large owners
of Lake Superior Iron ore beds. It is not
required to protect the wages of tbe labor
employed in tho Iron and steel industries,
Lit exists only la enable lit. Carnssic to
make an extra profit of 14 per cent on his
capital of J2S.O0O.0OO. Without it he wonW
havo had last a year a profit of nearly 79
per cent. That is enough for a man who
believes it is a disgrace to die rich.
6
DEMOCRATS AND EXPANSION.
Indications of the ''Drift" in the State
of Indiana.
Indianapolis News, Ind.
If straws indicate the drift, the Dem
ocracy of Indiana will need a skillful
diplomat to frame a platform. Already
there are evidences of a break on the so
called expansion question. Men that have
sons battling in the Philippines or that
wero represented In Cuba are not pre
pared to say that America Is pursuing a
war of conquest. Recently, Colonel
Myers, ex-Secretary of State, whose
Democracy has never been questioned,
sounded a warning at the State meeting
of the Democratic editors. Still more re
cently, the Hon. S. M. Ralston, of Leb
anon, the leader of his party In past
campaigns, and who wHl likely be In
diana's representative on. the National
committee, while standing by the open
grave of a soldier who had given his life
to the flag in the Philippines, said:
The exigencies of war put our flag, our sail
ors and our soldiers rightfully In the Eastern
archipelago, and eo long a9 they shall remain
there, and battles occur, our hearts, our sym
pathies and our prayers will be for the triumph
of American arms and the emerging of Old
Glory from the smoke of battle untarnished and
with new luster.
These are brave -words, but cold com
fort for the Agulnaldos at home. They
are not only patriotic, but they reflect the
views of a sagacious politician who feels
the drift of publio sentiment and respects
it. Within the week, while Republicans
wero naming their candidates at Rich
mond, recognized Democrats, seeing no
immediate future for their party, made
affidavit that they intended to support
the Republican ticket, that they might
participate in the primary and aid in se
lecting good men. AH the while, con
servative Democratic journals throughout
the State have uttered words of caution
against even a suspicion of "copperhead
ism" creeping Into the party utterances,
and in every hamlet there Is a disposition
to indorse the words of a cautious, con
servative man, who, speaking along gen
erai lines, declared: "I would be slow to
put up the flag anywhere; but once up,
debate ceases. The flag is there, and
there it remains." Experience dating back
to early Colonial times shows that the
great heart of the people Indorses this
simple doctrine
e a
A CHANCE FOR THE DEMOCRATS.
They Should lie Evimiihinniatx, 1'ot
Not Imperialists.
Kansas City Star, Ind.
By a "curious turn in politics the Demo
crats In Congress have become the defend
ers of the rights of Puerto Rico as against
the protectionists. This may end up In
causing the Democrats to espouse the
doctrine of expansion with Constitutional
privileges for the new possessions of the
United States.
The United States stands or ought to
stand In the attitude of a mother to
Puerto Rico. It deprived the island of the
only parent it had, and this Involves a sol
emn obligation to supply something better
instead.
This duty would not be fulfilled by the
United States it Congress should levy a
duty on. the products of Puerto Rico. Its
moral right to do that Is no stronger than
Us right to provide for duties between the
several States. As a question of abstract
justice, Puerto Rico is as much a part oi
the Republic as Ohio or Pennsylvania. It
will be a gross violation of faith to put up
any bars against It.
The Democrats In Congress need not be
hound or handicapped by the position taken
by Mr. Bryan and other politicians of
his school against expansion. The wiser
members of the party have no sympathy
with this idea. The Democrats who believe
In Americanism may now espouse with
perfect consistency the doctrine of expan
sion with Constitutional protection for the
new Islands. This wrould give them a
strong and popular issue against the pro
tection Republicans who assume that the
United States has a right to treat Puerto
Rico and the Philippines or any of Its in
sular D3Ssesslons of aliens.
It would seem Incredible that the Dem
ocratic party has reached a limit of stu
pidity that will cause It to neglect this
chance of renewing Its allegiance to free
trade and to Constitutional rights.
a
Exports From Oregon.
The Oregonlan recently asssrted in a statis
tical statement, published to quiet apprehension
as to the loss of Oregon trade, that nearly the
entire wheat and flour export trade from Port
land had been attained within a period of the
last 15 years. Astorlan, Feb. Si.
Tho Oregonlan made no such assertion,
and, of course, the Astorlan knew that it
was deliberately mictating facts. The
men who have the welfare of the State at
heart feel no "apprehension as to the loss
of Oregon trade," for the simple reason
that Oregon Is gaining and not losing.
Government statistics printed In The Ore
gonlan last Tuesday showed that Portland
exported more wheat In January than was
exported from any other port In the United
States, and about six times as much as was
exported from Puget Sound. The Astorlan
prints columns of distorted figures under
the guise of Government reports, all tend
ing to show that business in the State of
Oregon is going to rack and ruin, from an
Astoria point of view, but any one of its
seven subscribers would look In vain In Us
columns to find anything as favorable to
Oregon as the last monthly report of the
Bureau of Statistics. Every cargo of Ore
gon products which floats past Astoria on
Its way from Portland to the sea is as
gall and wormwood to the chronic calamity-howler
who perpetually seeks to Injure
the commonwealth from which he gains
his living. But there Is retribution in the
fact that the "living" he gets Is a mighty
poor one.
o
A Practical Point.
Boston Herald.
It may be remembered that, before the
present Congress came into session, sev
eral prominent Republicans of the coun
try had declared their intention of favor
ing the repeal of any protective tariff
duties on articles the price of which had
been raised to their consumers by the for
mation of trusts. One member of Con
gress is now. disposed to keep that pledge.
Representative Hemenway, of Indiana,
says that he has so notified the chairman
of the committee on ways and means of
the House of Representatives, and he adds:
"I havo- also stated to him that I believed
tho Republican party ought to act prompt
ly where trusts are formed to control any
article that is protected. We cannot per
mit trusts to raise tho price of any pro
tected article without being justly criti
cised, and, in my opinion, if Congress will
act promptly In these matters, no trust can
successfully Increase prices upon such ar
ticles as are protected." The editor of the
Keokuk Gate City, of Iowa, who was a
Republican member of the Congress pre
ceding this, remarks on the same subject
that, "If Congress will hit a few specific
trusts 'like those of paper, tin and coppei
by a prompt taking from them of the pro
tection given them by a high tariff duty. It
will teach swift instruction to all other
trusts, and you will see how soon they will
abate their pretensions," and he goes on
to say: "The Republican party will not
have the shadow of a chance to carry the
Presidential election of this year if th'a
Republ'can Congress leaves all the cormor
ant trusts preying upon the American peo
ple next November as they are now."
a o p
Tii llocnum.
New York Tribune.
Careful exanunatlon of the man with the
hoe favors the view that there Is no de
generating force in the implement, and
that the arts of painting and poetry may
be too sentimental in portraying the use
ful &fror?r ssm glelfls it. In our coun
try ho sometimes goes to the Senate
afterward or Is made President; in France,
where hte artistic archetype originated.
he is sometimes the father of Presidents.
In general, he can hoe his own row and
need not be ovsrdrenched with tears of
sympathy. Art should present him, when
it does so at all, in an aspect of dignity,
that of Virgil being a good exemplar and
much truer to the fact than some of hi3
modern delineations.
a
What Cleveland Would Do.
"Washington dispatch to Chicago Record.
If President Cleveland were in power to
day, in place of President McKlnley, he
would be sending for members of tho
House of Representatives by platoons asd
trying to persuade them to vote against
the recommendation of the committee oa
ways and means, imposing a duty upon
Puerto Rican products. He would deny
the patronage of the Government to
every man in Congress who refused to
sustain the recommendations In Ms mes
sage, and would shovel out postoffiee ap
pointments to every man that stood by
him. He would have given notice long
ago that those who vote for a tariff on
Puerto Rican products need not expect
favors from this AdminJstratIo, and
would have used every other Influence
and weapon at his command to carry bis
point.
President McKlnley is more amiable.
Some of his supporters declare that he
treats his opponents with more considera
tion than his friends. He has not re
tracted the recommendations in his mes
sage. On the contrary, he tells every man
who approaches him on the subject that
the reports of the committee on ways
and means and the Senate committee on
Puerto Rico have not convinced him that
it is either just or wise to impose aa em
bargo of any kind upon commerce with
our now possessions, although he does
not claim to be Infallible, and admits tbe
right of other people to hold different
opinions. His defenders, too, say that
President Cleveland broke up the Demo
cratic party and hopelessly divided it by
his autocratic attempts to dictate the
legislation of Congress. President Mc
Klnley does not differ from his party in
the House on matters of principle. He
concedes that Congress has the power to
Impose taxes upon the commerce of
Puerto Rico, but he questions the exped!.
ency of exercising that power.
a a
Kmger'g Bitter Pill.
New York Commercial Advertiser.
Cecil Rhodes, uncaged and unransomed,
is the bitter pill that relief of Klmberley
will compel the Boers to swallow. And
those diamonds that Cronje was waiting
to commander would have been a fine
war fund. So far as a patriarchal esti
mate of wealth could go, there was doubt
less a hearty appreciation of the money
value of Rhodes and the diamonds, and
a truly religious satisfaction in contem
plating' future disbursements for Krupps
and Creusots and food supplies. Of course,
Kruger still sticks to his war texts and
the Boer interpretation of them, but he
must want more light. Rhodes free nd
unpunished Is enough to shake his faith
in the Psalms.
o
The Population of Europe.
A scientific statistical work Just pub
lished fixes the population of Europe at
381,000,000, an Increase of 79,000,000 since
1S70, or an annual increase of about 3,600,
000. The average density of this popula
tion is given as 30 inhabitants for every
five-eighths of a square mile. Belgium pre
sents the most thickly settled state, with
224 inhabitants for every square kilometer.
Then follow Holland with 152, Great Brit
ain with 127, Italy with 111, the German
Empire with 97, Switzerland with 76, Den
mark with 58, etc. The least-crowded
countries in Europe are Russia with 31,
Sweden with 11, and Norway with 6 In
habitants per square kilometer.
4 B
Slioots and Booze.
Washington Star.
"Orddnarily," said Colonel Stillwell, "1
object to the conundrum. I regard it aa
a primitive form of humor. I also resent
these constant Jibes at the State of Ken
tucky. They represent both deficiency of
taste and poverty of resource. But Just to
show," he continued deliberately, "that 1
am a broad-minded man who can accept
a joke amiably, I will ask you a question:
What is the difference between the State
of Massachusetts and Kentucky?"
"Give it up, Colonel."
"Massachusetts produces boots and
shoes, and Kentucky produces shoots and
booze."
4 0
A Bonanza for the South,
Louisville Courier-Journal.
The high price of cotton this year is
proving of Immense benefit to the South.
About all the advantage of the increase in
values will remain In the Cotton States, as
the planters and merchants, contrary to
their usual custom, did not market the
crop early, but held it back long enough
to get the full profit. Estimates, vary as
to the amount of money that the rise has
given to the South, but whether it be $60,
000,003 or $100,000,000 it is a very large sum
and will he divided among the cotton pro
ducers and small merchants, stimulating
eery claes.
4 0 t
' The Patent Office.
The report cf the Commissioner of Pat
ents show that, in the year 1880, the total
receipts of the office amounted to $1,326,487,
a sum but twice exceeded In the history
of the office. The patent office Is one of
the departments which pays as it gees,
and has turned Into the Treasury $5,600,600
more than It has drawn out.
3
Pennoyer's Version.
New York Times.
"Well, boys, It's goin' to be McKlnley
and Samson Bryan araln."
"Why do you call him Samson?"
"Because he's the only man that ever
defeated his- party with the jawbone of
an ass."
a 9
Calm Kc'Kontlon.
Harlem Life.
"Is Brbwn happy in hte marriage7
"Well, I think if Brown were to eee
Mrs. Brown today for the first time he
wouldn't even ask for an introduction.
Still, he doesn't complain."
a S
Exception Proves tbe Rule.
Philadelphia Record.
"Whisky," said the temperance lecturer,
"will destroy everything there Is in a
man."
"Yes," replied the unrtgenerate, "axeept
his thirst."
4 0
No Longer n 3Irstery.
Chicago Record.
"I have discovered that Bdfeks is thor
oughly unreliable."
"Then you know just what you an rely
on."
4 B
A Warning.
Boston Commercial Bulletin.
Do not drop careless remarks. They can
not be picked up, but you may be.
4 a
A Gunnel of the Bice Grass.
Cleveland Plain Sealer.
. A cunael of the Blue Grass
Lay groaning on bis cot,
There was lots of woman's nerstag,
There was juleps cool or hot;
And a pistol lay beside Mm
As he tomad and tumbled there,
With the handle quite lnvitta?
For his fingers long aad. spare.
Then there came a pal reporter,
Who beheld the ready gun.
A3 it caught the ehining sotaader
Of the giary of the eun;
And he paused and mutely wondered
O'er the wherefore aad the way.
Till the proud aad naughty caeael '
Caught the question la Ms eye.
Feebly then he raised the weapon,
Aad he rattled as he said:
"Safe, a eunnel of th' Blae Grass
Ifi a gentleman whea dead.
So I hang fas' to man gun, sea'
Here his pulses eeased to beat
" 'Cause I don't know whar Tm. goia'
An' X dca't-toMCKha-TH meetr ,
NOTE AiYD COUHENT.
Crooje's army- may be m tbe--hole, but
it is stfll m the
British patrJotisatlB jrtty1ttalrWtake
cokL in the ovontof a dntit.
If Bryan would Mre a. pcaca eeaeer,, .Ma
speeches might better on ante m jwkat.
These two theater Hies wet aeun the
biggest in roaltom we ha yet hoauit oft
The bee has been mightier ttnaa -the-pen
in bringing' one K. Markln M jnoml.
nenoe.
Macrum is new ah aad In me teifcfciz
contest, with Bryaa a seed flnooufti and
me pfcOBOgraefe es the wuraiem, sMe e the
distance flag.
A huge bate of dtoeerdea THInlne pes-
tal staass and earus hen been seUr in
Manila for Me Mexican dollars. iaW.
chase was a apeoulntloa la arama caJJooto
lag.
A young fettew was sxrastau m.
tana the ether day fee throwing a grl
a kiss. If kisses eanoot be thrown, after
a while things will cease to such a-paas
that one cannot heave a sigh.
There are two well-known famlaes iu
Devonshire, JSnglead. the Carews and the
Careys, and It is eeM the the members of
the Carew jamity pronounce tbe name
"Carey," while the CanejH eaH. tsea
selves "Carew."
In Jewell County, Kaneae, ft.nwn imor
rled a girl named Beose, the ether day
This leads the loeal paper o say: The
young men oM a eharMaMa aet. And
the law can't touch Mm toe howttsg-lt
either, if this is a. proMbKion Stejte."
The villagers of Obersmmergau .are uj
in aims against the proposed estabMehaent
of a line of motor voMoton, aeoignad $ do
away with the tedious two hours' drive
from the nearest railway station to the
village. They say it wBl detract from the
devotional attitude whtoh att visitors to
the Passionspiel are supposed to assume.
"Apart from that," says the AuesmoMle
Magazine, "it is bound to interfere with
the prosperity of the village stage-driver
and other rustle jehua'
Professor Kolilekor, of the Naples
Aquarium, recently went down into the
Mediterranean in an iron oage, lit up
by electricity. With the aM of a powerful
receiver and a specially eonstmieted pho
nograph, he registered the expreaoiono of
surprise with. wMeh the fish welcomed his
appearance. He notes that the sound
made by one fish oiffeee greatly Irom
that of another, and has summed up the
results of his experiment m the eenvte
tlon that the sounds by flowed win yet
be recognized as a language.
Heroes do not always need to be out
on the firing line to prove their eueJHtao.
One of the officers of the Oregon "Vetas
teers tells the following little story of
a Corporal in the regular army. His
name was Keogh, and his nationality was
that of most men of the same name. He
was standing on one of the Manila streets
one day, watching tbe Spanish aoWnera
pitch pennies. Suddenly they coacod thetr
pastime and began volubly commenting
on the approach of an insurgent omeer,
who, it being befooe the outbreak, bad the
liberty of the elty. As the omcer ap
proached, the Spaniards sprang forward
and fell upon him, and one of them sent
a dagger to bis heart. Keegh was all
alone, but without a moment's hesita
tion he ran among the excited Spaniards,
seized tbe murderer, and held him till
help came. The odds wrere against Mm,
and he might have been easily ever
powered and killed, but there was some
thing In his coolness which told at Sean
lards that he was an excellent man to let
alone, and he was not molested.
The Dawson City earreepondent of The
Oregonlan sends the fonowteg story,
which will prove that men do not forget
to laugh, even when in the gran, pursuit
of gold:
Quite a. laugh occurred in the peotofflce
recently, and the cause of It has jnet been
ascertained. A disheartened miner work
ing a lay on the Klondike, m writing to
his wife in the old country, used the fol
lowing: "I witt stay all winter 4a Daw
son God-forsaken pteee, reyalty-bHrdened
Klondike, and go to Nome next .spring.
I am on Discovery on a lay, Bonansa. In
writing to me be sura and write my full
address, as the poetofflce here very
stupid." His recent letter wMeh oouaod
the merriment in the postomee bare the
following superscription:
JAMBS ATTiCmS.
Dawse Very Step T. Cv
BeyaRytwlM8d
Godforsaken e a. lay, Baaaaaa.
--J
4 a
A Sons of tbe Bee Wemaa.
Jshn J. Jteeaey m Mew Yeric Sea.
Trekklaai trakknig! trasfctagf wm never tta
trek be doae?
WIH new th , will mevar tae e
won, aad orr wea?
Are we only as beasts ot tbe JaagJe aot H-tfca
With a lair ta the bam at aiMalnht in the
veldt, a tracktaas way?
Ever the ward fc "' w watte
train gees
Deeper aad deeper aertlwwwd bayeta gcaey
of our foes
Deeper and deeper aertawaed ear fa" went
before
Bat the door f the tt to ehxwd-bi alaeedt
where eaa w trek ar?
Trekking' trekfctagl tioMctag'. tntnk ym we
love net our heme?
Think you mi father arte not the wm at the
yellow team?
Aad mother I see bar wiping beams mr afew
" tW' .
Turning and aaotag- aortfcwatd beams mo
mountain well. jm ,
The cattle tbey seam ta be staaauay agjno n
a brute despair. f
"With a hmslBg took at tbe aortwm mar Jed
the trelc in tba air'
Evea old Tok mat bmbaa be tans mam the
tempting bone
I see Mm there m the eraer, man mm toeo-
mgaleaei
Trekking' trekking! taraMnag mjidgfc ta
Zulumnd w an,
The midnight tiger stammg ns'amft ar tbe
savage foe
Before-Urn eavag to to meal; aw "laaeanr'
foe behind
What have we dona to be lm'iim aa Mm a
leaf upon the wtaeT
Ah, over me Vapl we stfe mtaaurpeaett over
tbe rasomg Vaa
The Lord has tod as te met at mat Mmdly
we followed Mb aaS;
The land be promised Is seas te heap la e4
forever to heap
Fwt, what noise la that la tka Ml mmlr yea a
wK at the aheap?
Trekktag! trek Wag t taraMetegi we have taehked.
till ear tall strong men
Have sworn aa oath by oar fathers Bad w
shall never trek agate
The doors of the nortbwaid valdt are' npraad
the doors of ear heart am stioanj '
They stall ope then- fcxk te a brother's mwfc-
but not ta the threat of wrong'
There Is the gun your father bore when he
eMmaad Majanars MM
T to room. Wet. to bear It now with year
father's faith, aad win
For the mad to owro -the land lo oura-lf evera
lead wag woa
You go at the dawn, you aey, my ea? Yes,
go at tbe daws, my coat