THE MORNING OKEGONTAN, SATURDAY, MAECH 3, 1900.
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TODAY'S WEATHER. Occasional rain, with
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PORTL4.XD, SATURDAY, 3IAKCH 3.
IDLE TALK OP INTERVENTION.
From now there will be Increasing
talk of Intervention In South Africa;
but the talk will be confined to politi
cians and newspapers. No Government
will seriously attempt It It Is beyond
question that Great Britain will pur
sue her course and make the settle
ment In her own way. No nation will
care to take a rebuff. These troubles
In South Africa between British and
Dutch have continued many years, with
steadily increasing acerbity. Since they
have culminated in so great a war. Great
Britain will settle the whole business
now. Her armies will go to Pretoria,
and the conditions of peace will be dic
tated by the British Government. But
beyond extinction of the Boer States
that is to say, beyond the annihilation
of their claims to exist as independent
and sovereign political entities the
terms of peace will not be severe.
There will be no proscriptions or confis
cations; and the Dutch Afrikander will
"be accorded all rights claimed by the
British Afrikander. But British sover
eignty will be established, and never
more will be questioned. The result
will be a federation In South Africa,
In acknowledged allegiance to Great
Britain, after the manner of the feder
ations of Canada and Australia.
No nation is prepared to dispute with
Great Britain her right to prosecute
this war to a final settlement of the
questions underlying it. Therefore no
nation will interfere; no nation is likely
even to offer a suggestion of media
tion. The suggestion, if it came from
the United States, would probably be
courteously answered but positively de
clined; if it came from any power of
Europe it might and probably would
receive very curt reply and sharp re
pulse. This business already has been
too costly to Great Britain to permit
her to think of tolerating any inter
ference with it. It is a struggle that
has the general character of a civil
war, and Great Britain will net just as
any other great nation would act in her
place. That Is, she intends to see it
through, to permit no Intervention, and
to settle a contention of long stand
ing, once for all. She hasn't sent an
army of 250,000 men so great a distance,
nor put forth so great an effort, nor
done so much bloody fighting, to leave
it an unfinished job.
In saying these things, The Orego
nlan merely states the situation as it
is. It witnesses with regret the hard
fate of the Boer Republics though it
believes British rule over the country
will be better than their own. The
Afrikander Dutch are of sturdy and
independent stock, but out of touch
with the movement of the modern
world. It is a pity to see the whole
fighting force of such a people, the
whole body of Its best men, destroyed;
and it may be hoped therefore they will
see the uselessness of the contest and
abandon it. Their fight Is not for lib
erty, but for political independence.
Liberty will be preserved to them, and
it will become a fairer liberty than
they ever have known; but their polit
ical Independence is lost. It is a con
test between two systems, and theirs
must succumb. The result of a war
on so large a scale as this, so strenu
ous, so exhaustive to the weaker party,
will be radical and thorough. The
Dutch man and the British man will
change places in South Africa. Hith
erto the country has been Dutch rather
than British. Hitherto the Dutch man
rather than the British man has held
way. But after this war the British
man will have the leading place. Two
men may ride the same horse. But one
must ride behind. Yet, under the Brit
ish system, the man who rides behind
"will have all the rights of the man
who rides before. Under the Boer sys
tem his rights were not the same.
IS PROTEST USELESS T
The whole scheme of ship subsidies,
as of all subsidies, Is to give money
drawn out of the public treasury to
men who are rich already. Poor men
do not own these big transportation
lines that are clamoring for subsidies;
poor men do not build big ships and
sail them over the seas. Poor men
will not be enabled by this subsidy
scheme to do it. But upon men al
ready in possession of wealth, some of
them enormous wealth, millions of dol
lars, drawn by taxation from the labor
and ordinary business of the country,
are to be bestowed every year.
Yet the ocean-carrying business,
without subsidies, is one of the most
profitable lines of business in the world.
The bounty of the Government will
simply be an additional profit to men
already rich; for it will not increase
the value of a bag of wheat or a bale
of cotton produced by our labor. It
will not reduce ocean freights, for the
owners of vessels will still take all the
traffic will bear. He who supposes they
will not is much too fresh and green
for this old world.
But there are few now on whom such
delusions can be forced for such duper
ies practiced. Even the Standard Oil
Company is to have part of this bounty.
Is it not already rich enough? Even
the Carnegie Steel Trust may share in
it using the money drawn from the
treasury to build vessels to ship steel
to foreign countries and supply the
market there at lower rates than at
home, while holding the home market
for exploitation at top prices through
the other form of subsidy that pro
tective tariff affords.
This sort of policy, twinned with tarlfi
for robbery of our new possessions, at
the command of the sugar and tobacco
trusts, will lay a burden on the Repub
lican party which will make it sag with
weariness and shake with fear, towards
next November. The people will un
derstand the purpose to he the creation
of an Imperial plutocracy, through
commercial monopoly, supported by
special legislation. To them It will ap
pear that such policy must wrest na
tional expansion from its true course
and objects, and convert it Into a cru
sade of plutocratic imperialism. The
best friends of the Republican party
are those who warn It against these
courses. No party ever made capital
for Its opponents faster than the Re
publican party has been making It dur
ing the past two months.
REFUNDING SCHEME WISE.
To that sterling publication, the
Bankers' Magazine, we are indebted for
explanation of the mysterious opposi
tion of Wall street to the refunding
scheme of the reform bill. The expla
nation is one that was resorted to by
The Oregonian in default of any other,
and It is that the refunding plan, once
carried Into effect, will almost certain
ly kill the scheme of bank notes Issued
against commeicial assets. Students
of currency reform and the better ed
ucated class of bankers have shown
determination to secure change in our
banking system. They view a system
of note Issues based on securities as
unsound in theory and expensive In
practice. They offer in its stead the
Baltimore plan, the Fowler plan, and
other plans, all more or less specifically
calculated to replace our present se
cured bank currency by an asset cur
rency. In the refunding scheme they
see a perpetuation of our Government
debt, and a practically permanent form
given to the present system. If It pre
vails, it can only result in crushing
these hopes and plans, perhaps for
ever. Their remonstrance has been
vigorous and spirited.
Mr. Rhodes, in his Bankers' Maga
zine, rises above these fears and preju
dices. The refunding scheme, he says,
is wise, on Its own account, because It
will save the Government material
sums In interest, it will fund the na
tional debt In an ideal form, which Is
at Interest rates that will fix the bonds
approximately at par, so they caji be
retired readily by the Government upon
occasion, and through the use of the
bonds as deposits for currency the Gov
ernment will avail Itself of a legitimate
device for adding to their value. On
this general aspect of the scheme, John
Jay Knox, Controller under Garfield
and Arthur, Is quoted as favoring just
such a refunding of the national debt
as has now been determined on, except
that he proposed 3 per cent bonds In
stead of 2, as are now possible. "If
the whole public debt," said Mr. Knox
In his annual report for 18S2. "were re
duced to a uniform rate of 3 per cent,
the present high premium on bonds
would almost entirely disappear, and
the volume . of circulation would re
spond more readily to the demands oi
business. The temptation to sell such
bonds for the purpose of realizing the
premium would no longer remain."
Two further considerations advanced
by Mr. Rhodes incidentally must carry
great weight to the reflective mind.
One is that It is useless to contemplate
speedy payment of the national debt;
and the other Is that the advocates of
banking on assets have so far failed to
prove their case. It is not Impossible
that the political and economic revolu
tion Inaugurated by the destruction ol
the Maine includes among Its effects a
perpetuation of our national debt. "We
know how Britain's national debt has
long been accepted as a perpetual bur
den, to be borne not only for England,
Scotland, Ireland and "Wales, but for
the Empire as a whole in Its farthest
dependency. So It may be with us.
The area in which we are responsible
for good government has been vastly
extended. The burden Is onerous, and
good government costs money. Nor do
our domestic affairs give promise of
speedy relief. The pension budget Is
as likely to grow as to decrease. The
more we export and the less we Import
Che smaller grow our customs reve
nues; and there is no way for a gov
ernment to pay debts but through tax
ation. There is, therefore, no Immedi
ate prospect of payment of the na
tional debt.
It is Impressive to read In the Bank
ers' Magazine that the advocates of an
asset currency have not proved their
case. Once for all, the ardent reform
ers who seek revolution of our banking
system may regard their cause as lost
when this influential organ of banking
opinion declares against them. Bank
ing on assets alone, it says, is not safe.
Some banks could be trusted, but there
might be "a rush of new banks Into the
system which could not be so easily
safeguarded." To raise a safety fund
would only be to iilace a burden on the
sound banks. Moreover, where are we
to get prompt retirement of the asset
currency, so a3 to secure "elasticity"?
Mr. Rhodes says no provision for this
essential feature of an asset currency
has ever been offered. It Is a wither
ing commentary on the ambitious "re
form" plans that have proposed radical
reconstruction of our banking system.
It is well, after all, that theorists are
compelled to submit their proposals to
the adjudication of facts. It is well
that a hard-headed world requires its
reformers to go through the prelimi
nary of election to Congress before they
can enact laws. Otherwise Pegasus
would never be seen In conjunction
with the load designed for his back.
HEREDITARY MILITARY TALEXT.
The Earl of Dundonald, who com
manded the first troops of Buller's army
to enter Ladysmith, and has been as
conspicuous for brilliant military dash
and skill as General French has been
under Lord Roberts, comes of a Scotch
noble family that has been famous for
military talent for nearly 150 years.
The family name of Earl Dundonald
Is Cochrane. Thomas Cochrane, tenth
Earl of Dundonald, who was born In
1775 and died In 1860, was the most
brilliant officer In the English navy
In the Napoleonic wars, save Lord
Nelson. He had Nelson's singular
union of daring and prudence, but he
had a passionate. Imperious temper;
was a political radical In Parliament
of the Sir Francis Burdett faction; be
came embroiled in quarrels with the
Admiralty, even as Nelson had at an
earlier date; was expelled from Parlia
ment, prosecuted by the government,
sentenced to pay a fine and imprison
ment; escaped from prison, and, at
tempting to take bis seat In Parliament
to which he had been re-elected, was
violently thrown out of doors after a
pugilistic fight with the officers of the
House. Having been dropped from the
navy list, he took service from ISIS to
1S25 in the navies of Chile and Brazil,
and covered himself with glory. He
served in the Greek navy during the
revolution that ended with the erec
tion of the modern Kingdom of Greece;
was pardoned by King "William IV, and
restored to his rank in the navy and
to his membership of the Order of
Bath, given him for his service at
Basque Roads In 1S09. "While he was
the greatest name of the family, there
were others of high distinction. Ad
miral Cochrane, uncle" of the great
Lord Dundonald, commanded the Brit
ish fleet that co-operated with the
army under General Ross, which cap
tured "Washington in 1S14; and both the
sons of this Admiral Cochrane were
distinguished officers of the British
navy. The present Lord Dundonald
has shown the superior natural talent,
energy, enterprise and daring courage
that has characterized his family for
150 years of English history.
TAXATION OF MORTGAGES.
The subject of the taxation of mort
gages is under discussion before the
New York Legislature. It is a curious
fact that in so enlightened a State as
New York It should not be understood,
without argument, that a tax on mort
gages. Is a tax on the borrower and not
on the lender provided it Is enforced.
This economic fact was demonstrated
in the State of Oregon, the State of
Michigan, and many other States,
years ago. We need not recount the
experience of Oregon. But we find a
recital of the experience of Michigan,
which, even if it throws no new light
on the subject, presents a great deal
of cumulative evidence, which is worth
attention. In 1S87 the Legislature of
Michigan passed an iron-clad mortgage-tax
enforcement law, the purpose
being to force the levy and collection
of that tax on all mortgages on Michi
gan real estate, held by residents of
that State, these securities being per
sonalty and taxable only in the town
ship or City of the holder thereof. Reg
isters of deeds were required to make
and keep lists of all mortgages of rec
ord In their offices, with the amounts,
residences of mortgagees, locations,
descriptions of property, etc., which
data they were required to furnish by
April 10 of each year to the assessing
officers of each township and City in
the County of the listing register; and
to furnish, furthermore, to the Regis
ters of each other County similar data
In regard to mortgages held by resi
dents of such County on property In
the County of the listing Register,
while the Registers so furnished with
such information were required In turn
to distribute It properly among the as
sessing officers of the Cities and town
ships of their Counties. No attempt
was made In this statute mortgages
being personalty to reach those on
Michigan property held by non-residents.
In spite of this Ingenious at
tempt to secure the collection of the
tax on all mortgages on Michigan
realty held by residents of the State,
the result was that the current Interest
rates for loans of $500 to $1000 for three
years, which when the law was passed
were 7 to 7& per cent, with money
easily had, jumped at once to 9& and
10 per cent, with money difficult to be
had, though plenty could be had at the
banks on good paper for sixty days at
8 per cent. But money could be bor
rowed a few months later on mortgages
at 7 per cent from local savings banks,
because it had been discovered that by
reason of a loophole In the law savings-bank
mortgages were not subject
to the tax, and furthermore, mort
gagees had learned through a system
of assignment to Eastern trust compa
nies how to dodge the tax.
Soon a strong demand went up from
the mortgage-debtor class, largely
worklngmen owning homes bought on
mortgage with small payments down,
for the repeal of this "Iron-clad" en
forcement act, and quite generally for
the repeal of the mortgage-tax law
proper, which when enforced bore hard
on the mortgage debtor, who often,
though owning In reality only half the
property assessed to him, was forced
to pay more than three-fold Its assessed
value. For while real estate land and
buildings was assessed at a quarter to
a third of Its cash value, mortgages
were generally listed at half their face
value, or more.
In 1S91 the Democrats carried the
Legislature and passed a substitute for
the law, which made the mortgage In
terest part of the realty and taxable in
the City or township where the mort
gaged property lay. Other provisions
required the deduction of the assessed
value of the mortgage from the as
sessed value of the encumbered prop
erty, thus eliminating, as was claimed,
the double-taxation Injustice, while at
the same time relieving the mortgage
debtor of the tax on the mortgage. The
mortgagor was authorized, in case the
mortgagee did not pay, to pay the
mortgage tax, the receipt therefor be
ing made equivalent to the payment of
so much principal or interest of the
debt. But as in the case of the "iron
clad" enforcement act of 1SS7, the first
effect was to lift the Interest rate 2
per cent, and soon after money could
not be had on mortgage at all, because
the new statute made It uncertain
whether the mortgage Interest rate
could be legally increased so as to cover
the mortgage tax; but In a test case the
Supreme Court held the new tax law
valid, and that "the covenant gener
ally in existing mortgaes for the debtor
to pay all the taxes on the encumbered
property made him liable also for the
mortgage tax; and, still further, that,
although the aggregate of the mortgage
tax and the Interest exceeded 8 per
cent annually, such excess was not a
violation of the usury laws." So, as
the borrower In every case was com
pelled to agree to pay the tax, the
lender was beyond reach, as usual.
In 1893 a Republican Legislature re
turned to the law as It existed prior
to the passage of the "iron-clad" en
forcement law of 1S87, under which the
great bulk of mortgages so readily es
caped taxation that in 1897 Governor
Pingree strongly urged the repeal of
the mortgage tax, on the ground that
It was practically a nullity; that It en
hanced the Interest rate; that It dis
criminated against resident lenders In
favor of non-resident lenders; that, if
enforced. It would drive capital out of
the State and greatly Increase the in
terest rate, and because It was double
taxation.
All these expedients, wherever tried,
only embarrass and burden the bor
rower. He must always agree to pay
the tax or he will not get the money;
or, if the statute specifically declares
that the lender shall pay it, the rate of
Interest will be advanced to cover the
tax. And, since the amount of the tax
to be levied from year to year cannot
be known, but only guessed at, the rate
of Interest will be advanced to a high
figure, so as to provide against the un
known but possible quantity. If the
question be asked, "What, then, are you
going to permit the lender to escape
taxation?" the simple and effective an
swer is that he escapes and will escape
without your permission. No way ever
has been devlbed to make him pay the
tax on the money he lends, nor ever
can be. Even if ho be forced by "Iron
clad" legislation to make nominal pay
ment of the tax, he recoups through
advance of the rate of Interest, and the
borrower must accede to his terms or
not get the money. Thus, every mortgage-tax
law is a burden to those whom
it Is mistakenly intended to relieve.
It is no credit to the Intelligence of the
country that this matter has to be tried
over and over, and proved futile again
and again; and still there are those
who will not give up the absurd and
impossible.
The word "about" precedes most of
the statements in regard to the ages
of the people enumerated by the census-taker
in Puerto Rico and neces
sarily so, it would seem. According to
perplexed enumerators, who, having in
vented names for the father and
mother of a family, ask concerning
their ages, the latter will respond with
a statement of the number of years
that have passed since she "was
pretty" the particular time of life at
which her beauty was conspicuous be
ing left to the imagination of the man
of figures. The father usually responds
to the same question with a perplexed
grin, or perhaps points to the omnipres
ent small boy, averring that "he was
as tall as that boy at the time of the
San Filipe hurricane." From such lucid
data as this, the estimates of the cen
sus man in Puerto Rico are made up,
the convenient "about" covering all de
ficiencies of accuracy in regard to the
respective ages of our new public
charges and some time citizens.
The conflict over the reactionary
tendency in the Episcopal Church goes
on, with varying results. One of the
latest instances occurred a short time
ago In Jersey City. The rector of Grace
Church Introduced the confessional,
and at once had such a contest on hand
as can only grow up over creeds and
dogmas. The vestry called a meeting
and declared that, If the obnoxious
High Church feature was not omitted,
they would reduce the salary of the
rector to a nominal sum and compel
him to retire. The rector, to avoid
trouble, presented his resignation to
Bishop Starkey, who advised him to
withdraw it and act in harmony with
the vestry, who favor Low Church
methods. The advice was accepted,
and the rector Informed the vestry that
tho confessional would be omitted.
One Wilbur Stewart, described as "a
newspaper publisher of Mullan," tells
the Congressional committee now In
vestigating the troubles In the Coeur
d'Alenes, that one of the state officers
of Idaho offered to have him freed from
the "bullpen" at Wardner If assured
that his paper would be "run on the
side of law and order." The virtuous
Stewart spurned so base an offer, and
retained his comradeship with the mur
derers and dynamiters in the celebrated
lnclosure. No deadlier Insult could be
offered any of the patriots of the "bull
pen" thar a gentle hint that they ought
to support law and order.
Newberg Is a "dry" town, but never
theless It seems that thirsty wayfarers
manage to get what they want to
drink, and that attempts to punish per
sons accused of selling liquor result In
failure, through acquittals or "hung"
juries. The moral old as the race Is
that no ordinance or law can be en
forced without a supporting public sen
timent, and that any effort to interfere
with what a man conceives to be his
personal right to choice of food and
drink will be defeated or circumvented.
The crop prospect of the Willamette
Valley, both In grain and fruit, was
never better at this season of the year
than now, though the wheat area Is
not, In some sections, equal to that of
some former years. To the extent that
this Is due to diversity of crops, this
will prove beneficial to farmers, and
where It is due to fall weather condi
tions, It will be corrected by spring
sowing, should the season prove favor
able. The agonized prayers of McKlnley
worshipers that their god will move In
the Puerto Rico matter and lead the
cause of Justice and humanity would
be amusing If they were not so pa
thetic. The suppliants ought to know
that President McKlnley Is not a lead
er, but a follower. Let him alone, and
kick up all the row possible. Then,
maybe, he will relent and save them.
Democratic acquiescence In the bill
for Immediate relief of Puerto Rico re
veals a higher order of political sense
than that party has been exhibiting for
years previous to the present Congress.
Mr. Richardson has abundantly justi
fied the wisdom of his selection as
leader of the opposition. This Is an
other menace to President McKlnley's
re-election.
Evidently the British campaign will
be delayed some time now through lack
of adequate transportation facilities
that is, of animals for cavalry and
draft purposes. If supplies of this na
ture were plentiful, the war could now
be ended In a short time.
The Chicago Times-Herald professes
to be a friend to the Administration,
yet continues to say "Porto" Rico.
Loyalty that falls on orthography 13
not very thoroughgoing.
An Iron and steel trust, with $1,000,
000,000 capital, Is a Democratic argu
ment, and will be as long as a protect
ive tariff is retained on iron and steel.
Tribute to Cronje'a Valor.
New York Tribune.
Beyond doubt. General Cronje Is entitled
to unstinted praise. His midnight march
up the Modder River, from the point
where ho set a death trap for Lord Me
thuen to that at which he found himself
in such a trap, was conducted with great
skill. Certainly it was not less creditable,
perhaps more creditable, than General
Yule's much praised march from Dundee
to Ladysmith. As for his resistance at
Paardeburg what shall be said of It?
Surrounded on a practically open plain,
with no cover and no chance to make for
tifications, by an army three times the
size of his own, bis camp the center of a
circle of fire from guns of all types lit
tle more than a mile away, his position
has aptly been likened to that In the cra
ter of a volcano. Six hundred British
troopers won immortal fame by riding
through a "valley of death." But this
man and his comrades have been for a
week encamped in the very heart cf such
a valley. Whatever he may havo done be
fore, and whatever shall bo his ultimate
fate. General Cronje has In this campaign
shown himself a man, a warrior and a
hero. Matched against one of tho great
est soldiers In the world, ho has shown
himself a worthy antagonist.
WASHINGTON AXD OATHERIXE.
Interesting? Reminiscences Brought
Out by Max Muller.
Chicago Tribune.
The friendship of Russia for the United
States has always been a puzzle to the
world. Its origin has been traced to tho
romantic element In the character of tho
great Empress Catherine, whom Carlyle
described as "the female Louis the Four
teenth," by others designated the "Seml
ramls of the North." It is Max Muller who
revived an episode in the relations of Cath
erine and George . Washington which
throws a curious and wholly charming
light upon the beautiful and not puritanic
ruler whose influence abides in Russia
more universally than that of Peter the
Great
Educated far In advance of her age by
her pedantic German mother, Catherine
drank of the cup of French literature deep
ly at the time when the personality of
Washington constituted Its most august
figure; wien the heroic struggle of the
revolted American colonies was the chief
concern of Europe. Then the continent.
so for as It thought at all, thought in
French. French was the language of
every court, and. except in England,
libertv was dreamlncr nil over thi wnrlrt
j In French. Catherine differed from Louis
the Fourteenth In at least one respect.
She was a sincere student, not a mere
appropriator of the gifts and achieve
ments of others. Mistress of the modern
languages and acquainted with the clas
sics, she applied herself with persistent
diligence to the project of a universal dic
tionary. For nearly a year after her ac
cession to the throne she remained in se
clusion perfecting her plans and arrang
ing for co-operation In carrying them out.
She had designs upon Washington should
he succeed. That he might succeed she
refused to abet England In suppressing
the Revolution.
Horaca Walpole makes merry of the
autograph letter of George the Third to
"Sister Kitty" proffering 5100,000 for troops
to be dispatched to America. The King
wrote to Lord North that the Empress had
not even the civility to answer him with
her own hand in giving a refusal more em
phatic than polite. Catherine was at that
moment engrossed chiefly with radicals
and derivatives, with collecting vocabu
laries In all languages and dialects acces
sible to her friends and agents, and with
a vast scheme which was. in fact, the
foundation of the most modern of sciences,
comparative philology. Her sympathy
with Washington was double political,
more perhaps because she detested Eng
land than understood America, and phll
ologic because she wanted him to secure
for her verbal equivalents in the aboriginal
languages and dialects or America. .Nor
was the versatile Empress to be disap
pointed. Habitually courteous and con
stitutionally grateful, Washington, when
Catherine's list of hundreds of Russian
words arrived, issued an official order di
recting Governors and commanding offi
cers to forward to her Imperial Majesty
the corresponding words in the American
dialects and jargons.
Autocrat she was In her own empire;
but an accomplished and enterprising citi
zen of the republic of letters. Catherine
laid tho basis of the cordial kindness of
Russia to this country which proved of
precious value in the dire hour when dem
ocratic Institutions in a part of this hem
isphere were threatened by a conspiracy
of which England and Louis Napoleon
were the organizers.
Other Instances are not lacking to prove
that the destinies of mankind have hung
at times upon a woman's words. None
other so picturesquely confirms the obiter
dictum of John Selden that "syllables gov
ern the world."
i t
REAL AXT PRETENDED LOYALTY.
Correct Delineation of the Republi
can Party's True Friends.
Chicago Times-Herald.
During the debate on the Puerto Rico
,blll In the Republican caucus two Repre
sentatives from Michigan gave expression
to some wholly false notions of party loy
alty. They were not satisfied with tho
bill, neither were their constltutents, but
they declared that they would stand by
tho ways and means committee and not
aid the Democrats.
As a matter of fact, however, the surest
way to aid the Democrats Is by commit
ting tho Republicans to a mistaken pol
icy. The committee Is not the party, and
It would be far better to correct its er
rors now than to approve them and suffer
them to becomo a campaign issue. In tho
former case the trouble would blow over
in a few days. The most that could be
said would be that there had been some
difference of opinion and somo personal
humiliation. If the Democrats should
harp on these facts It would do them little
good after the Republicans, acting as a
majority, had passed a free trade meas
ure and sent it to the President, by whom
it was suggested and who is, moreover,
the head of their party.
But If the committee must bo pro
nounced lnfalliblo when its fallibility is
patent to the whole country, then the dif
ficulty Is Just begun. At one point at least
an aggressive campaign would be Impos
sible. The party would stand disarmed,
bereft both of the weapons of offense and
of defense. A goodly number of Con
gressmen could not advocate the thing
that they havo denounced, and a very
considerable portion of tho press would
be in the same position.
It is not as If tho opposition had come
from a small and selfish faction. The re
bellion has been too widespread, and Its
character shows that It is based upon rea
son and the right. People who slnceroly
desire the party's success on many ac
counts would not embarrass It for an In
significant cause. They are prepared
rather to sacrlflco personal opinions In
the Interest of harmony. If this Is advisa
ble, and as they would naturally be re
luctant to criticise, the revolt itself Is
proof that a blunder has been made.
Only the foolish consistency which Is the
hobgoblin of little minds can Impel the
committee to persevere In Its present
course, and that Is a poor guide for a
great political organization. Persistence
In the wrong Is not admirable. It Is not
even calculated to catch votes. It would
load Inevitably to a costly day of reck
oning, which may be avoided If the proper
strategic movement is executed now.
Whether the Puerto RIcan tariff is 23 or
5 per cent, indeterminate or for two years,
makes not a particle of difference with Its
Justice. It will not be acceptable to the
American people because of the plea that
It Is such a little breach of "our plain
duty." as acknowledged by President Mc
Klnley. IB
IRTSn AS FIGHTERS.
Over 400,000 Killed In European Bat
tlefields In a Century.
New York Tribune.
John O'Brien, of St. Louis. In speaking
of the Boer war, said: "The proml
mence of the Irish troops on both sides In
tho present struggle Is In line with the
prominence Irishmen heve taken in fight
ing the world over for centuries. Both
Kitchener and Roberts are Irishmen, and
many of the greatest names in Europe are
borne by descendants of Irishmen who
fought and distinguished themselves upon
the Continent In the 17th and ISth cen
turies. Lecky estimates that no less than
400,000 Irishmen laid dowrc their lives on
European battlefields In the course of
100 years, and the Count Dillon, who
commanded the French army In the reign
of Louis XV, was on Irishman pure and
simple. With an enthusiastic love of
fighting for fighting's sake the Irish com
bine a readiness for witty repartee unex
celled by the natives of any other country.
An anecdote of this same Count Dillon
Is a good Instance of this characteristic
"Tho Irish troops while eagerly sought
after In tlnvw of war, on account of
their courage and dash were anything but
a Joy In time of peace to their employ
ers, for they loathed the routine of bar
rack life, chafed at discipline and drills,
and where no legitimate means of gratify
ing their love of fighting lay to hand, were
prone to manufacture some in any way
that seemed easiest. One morning Louis
XV received a message from Marseilles
to the effect that the Irish regiment quar
tered there had broken loose and made
a rough house of that historic seaport.
"While still angry at the news he had re
ceived the King entered the room where
he dally received those who waited upon
him. The first person whom he encoun
tered was Count Dillon, to whom he testily
said:
"What about this report I have Just
received from Marseilles, Count? Your
Irish regiments give me more trouble and
cause me more grief than all the rest of
my forces combined."
" 'That, sir. replied Count Dillon, 'is ex
actly what your enemies say of them.'
"Thus was tho royal wrath turned away
by a ready rejoinder."
a
SILLY PROTEST.
The Purpose of "War to Destroy or
Capture.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
The New York Sun, which usually gives
evidences of hysteria whenever the sub
ject of Great Britain Is mentioned, has
come to tho conclusion that the South
African war must stop because General
Kitchener has caught General Cronje in
a corner where he must surrender hla
army or let It be destroyed. The Sun can
not endure the idea that the Boers are
being shot down by enfilading batteries
using lyddite shell, though If General
Cronje had tho British In a like position it
would shout "Lay on, Macduff!" The fol
lowing bit of tearfulness Is taken from
Saturday's London cable:
All Europe looks on In mingled horror and ad
miration at the magnificent but heartrending
tragedy. Already a mighty voice of. protest is
rising up from one end of the Continent to the
other. French and Germans and Russians unite
in the cry, "These men deserve to be tree;
Great Britain shall not crush such a nation of
heross." England herself la aghast at tho spec
tacle. She suddenly realizes that she will have
no friend left on earth, least of all America. If
she permits the deliberate slaughter of these
8000 helpless patriots. No Boer victory, how
ever great, could so damage the British cause
In the eyes cf mankind aa the completion of
this wholesale execution with lyddite.
General Cronje and his army are the
victims of as scientific a bit of warfare as
the world has seen In recent years. It Is
very sad that such a magnificent body of
men should be destroyed, and all that, but
General Cronje did some scientific warfare
recently himself. When he got the British
Into hla skillfully devised traps he had no
hesitation In slaughtering them merciless
ly with his sharpshooters. The British at
Magersfonteln, at Modder River, at the
Tugela and at Splon Kop wero shot down
by concealed riflemen without a thought
of pity. Fortunately in these cases the
way was open for tho survivors to retreat,
and they did so.
General Cronje's case is an extreme one,
of course, because he was skillfully
penned up. and the British have been
using a new and terrible explosive on
thorn, though one authorized by Interna
tional law. Still, whether It Is the killing
of one man or 8000, the principle of war is
the same. General Sherman said expres
sively, "War is hell," and this being so,
tho quicker It is over the hotter. Kitch
ener Is doing only what all other soldiers
have done and will do, and what all rea
son commands, though sympathy must be
with the gallant Boers. If he destroys
Cronje'o army, regrettable as that would
bo, peace will coma all the quicker to the
other Boers.
Admiral Montojo, In an address Issued
after the battle if Maiila, denounced the
heartlessness of the American commander
In bringing long-range guns and modern
battleships with which to bombard his
fleet of hulks, whih were unable to get
within range. True, Dewey had tho ad
vantage, and he pressed it mercilessly un
til tho Spaniards surrendered, but he did
what all soldiers must do. Tho aim of
every soldier Is to capture or destroy.
Cromwell destroyed every army against
which he led the Ironsides. Kitchener Is
only maintaining British traditions.
a e
The Disappointed Burglar.
Chicago Tribune.
Tho burglar listened.
There was no noise.
The family, at the supper table below,
did not suspect his presence.
Cautiously he threw back the bedclothes
and opened the cornhusk mattress.
"Shucks!" he muttered, huskily, extract
ing a roll of bills and a box of jewelry.
"I had got all ready to say 'Excelsior!' "
Waste of Time by Single Women.
Boston Transcript.
Grimes The chances are in favor of a
widow marrying again against a single
woman getting a husband.
Burns That Is because a widow Is con
tent to regard men as pretty much all
alike, while a single woman wastes her
time trying to find one who Is different
from all others.
Dream of Ills Youtli Dispelled.
Indianapolis Journal.
"What an unhappy expression young
Higby has."
"All his life he has looked forward to
tho time when his mother would lean on
him In her declining years; but she has
got to be one of those new women and
won't lean."
e t
Versatility.
Chicago Tribune.
Athletic Applicant Do you need a strong
man?
Manager (of a d'mo museum) No, I have
one. But I'd give 575 a week for a good
living skeleton.
Athletic Applicant AH right. I can train
down to it in a month.
Available Refngre.
Chicago Times-Herald.
She I suppose. Senator, you find the
glare of publicity very annoying some
times? He Yes, I frequently become so weary
of It that I am almost tempted to run for
the Vice-Presidency.
c
Koiir'H Advantage.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
In the matter of the Philippine question
Senator Hoar says he is not looking for
anything helpful from the Democratic
party. In this Tespcct he has a striking
Intellectual advantage over his friend
Agulcaldo.
a i
Expenses Merely Nomlnnl.
Detroit Free Press.
"Who defrays the expenses of the gov
ernment of the so-called Filipino repub
lic?" asked Spatts.
"There are nono now," replied BIoo
bumper, "except Aguinaldo's running ex
penses." o
An Early Shade.
Baltimore American.
Mrs. Wundcr-Mv dear, that nlum-col-
ored silk you bought for me Is not plum-
colored at all. It Is green.
Mr. Wunder Oh. it's plum-colored all
right. It hasn't ripened yet, that's all.
o
Wit and Humor.
Chicago Record.
"What's the difference between wit and
humor?"
"If a man says humorous things about
you. It makes you laugh; If he says witty
things about you, It makes you mad."
a v
A WIHInjr Giver.
Chicago Record.
"A burglar got into our house last
night."
"Did he take anything?"
"The children are all sick, and wo hope
he got tho measles."
4
NOTE AND COMMENT.
' Chicago Is out of luck with a venge
ance. She missed a convention In a census
year.
The Invasion of the Orange Free State
can be left with safety to the Irish
Fusil eers.
Dr. Cyrus Edson might have added to
his recipes for longevity, "Keep out oi
Kentucky."
Having weathered two cyclones. Kan
sas City Is fully prepared for the Dem
ocratic convention.
If Goebel had lived he undoubtedly coulcl
have secured a remunerative position tak-
lng the Seattle census. "
H
B. Atkinson. Boston: '
I report with regret that the jig is up.
AGUINALDO.
The fortunes of war are usually realized
by the sutlers, although beef packers
sometimes get their share.
Boston has a society called tho Holy
Ghoat and Us. probably founded on Em
peror William's Me und Gott.
We are again reminded that Chile hates
the United States. We can stand a
little more Chllo sauce, however, this kind,
of weather.
The Canadian Board of Customs is re
ported by the Imperial Institute Journal
of London to have rendered a tariff decis
ion, according to which elevators or float
ing dredges, used In mining submerged al
luvial gold-bearing deposits, are to be ad
mitted, to tho Klondike free of duty.
A clerical organ of Chile declares that
the Chileans sympathize with the Boers,
because they hate tho United States.
"Chile," It says, "has never been bullied
or browbeaten by England, but the treat
ment she received at tho hands of the
United States In- 1SS3 and 1S91 cannot easily
be forgotten, and It Is not strange that a
feeling should be abroad that the great
powers of late years have been coming to
feel contempt for the weaker countries,
which exposes theso small powers to hu
miliation, and even to oppression."
The Memphis Scimitar tells of a young
man, fresh from college, who wanted to
be a Journalist, and "accepted a position"
as a market reporter. He had been on,
the street only a few days when a fruit
dealer received a consignment of the first
crop of oranges. The fruit man told the
reporter that they were of the navel va
riety, but the name evidently did not
suit the joung scribe. In his market re
port the following paragraph, appeared:
"The flrsz umbilical oranges of the sea
son were received by a. local dealer to
day." The balmy breezes whisper
Among the leafless treest
From out the dusty hay-mow
Come regiments of fleas;
Tho purling brooks sing softly
Their dreamy lullaby.
And from some part of nowhere
Troops forth the festive fly;
There gleams upon the meadow
The limpid morning dew.
The cockroach from his burrow
Stalks out upon the view:
The glowing golden sunbeam
Has klseed the waking plants.
And In the kitchen window
Parade the warlike ants;
How sweetly In the forest
The Joyous robins sing;
The hop louse, too. Is happy.
For this is vernal spring.
Poet Edwin Markham is crltclsed by tho
Times-Herald of Chicago for first identi
fying Abraham Lincoln with "the man
with the hoe," and then exulting In his tri
umphant labors as a statesman and pa
triot. Tho close of the birthday "ode,"
this critic suggests, entirely ignores tho
purport of Its opening verges. "For If
its deadly, pessimistic philosophy were
true and its subject were a universal type,
then tho rail splitter must always have
remained a rail -splitter. He must per
force have been dull, stupid, apathetic,
and Incapable of development, 'stolid and
stunned, a brother of the ox.' And when
his brutal forces were finally aroused,
when the atep of earthquake shook the house.
Wrenching the rafters from their ancient hold
what would have been expected of him,
according to the poet's own formula, ex
cept that he should aid in the work of
destruction?" Markham's "Man With tha
Hoe" is plainly at war with the "Ode,"
but the second poem breathes the better
philosophy the progress of man in It3.
tributo to Lincoln's rise and growth. The
New York Times supplements the Chicago
paper's criticism by asking Mr. Markharn
"how he knows that 'the man with tho
hoe may not be developed by circum
stances Into a higher condition as well
as Into a lower one." The poet-professor
has given no answer, and will, of course,
be unable to offer convincing response, in
face of the world's knowledge of the suro
progress and development of man.
i a
The Great Silver Lode.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
It seems strange that the last IS to 1
speech has been heard in the United
States Senate, the silver stronghold for
so many years. The antiquarian of tho
future will be amazed when he strikes
tho silver lode in tho Congressional Rec
ord. c
Land of the Cliild.
Folger McKlnsey In Baltimore News.
Lead me down to our land, my sweet.
To your land of the Dreamy Way;
I ehall follow the rhyme of your dancing feet
And the song of your heart of May.
Let me have hold of jour little hand.
And let me look Into your eyes. 4
As we seek for the gold of the nummery Btrand,
Where the haven of childhood lies.
Oh! far away, and well-a-day;
To the roaring world, farewell!
I am on! with her. for the love of her,
To the lanes of the dreamy dell.
There shall not come a shadow gaunt,
Xor ever a weary care;
There ehall not come a grief to haunt.
The land that Is oer there;
The land that Is over the hills of rong.
And down in the valleys of blips.
Where only the children of loe belong.
And the toll is a smile and a kiss.
Far away, darling, and two by two.
Under the roses red.
This Is the moment for me and for you, i
Ere music and dreaming be fled!
Lead me down to the world that la light.
To the meadows of mist and mirth.
For. oh! there are beautiful things for the sight
Of the weary-heart children of earth.
Dear little hand In the hollow of mine,
Trust me to follow you. weet.
Out of the shudder and shimmer and ehlne.
The rumble and roar of the street.
Swinging and clinging, glee unto glee,
Blossom-paths stretching away;
Oh! for the Joy of the dreaming to be
The guest of a child at her play!
Lead me and lend me, oh! blossom of life.
Faith of your faith In the nun
Of the years that are filtered through tolling
and strife
Till the sands In the glasses be run.
Lead me. as leaning to lips of your love,
And songs of your heart, I may fare,
Under the azure skies bending above.
To the May-scented Land of Xowhere.
Oh! far-away, and well-a-day.
,To the roaring world, good-bye!
Just so we go. where dream sonffg flow,
My little girt and Zl