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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1900)
THE MOKNING OREGONIAN, THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 1900. to vzQOxtimt Entered at the Poetofflce at Portland, Oregon. as second-class matter. TELEPHONES. :ditorial Rooms.... 100 I Business Offlc....S07 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mail (postage prepaid), in Advance ally, with Sunday, per month ....f0 85 slly, Sunday excepted. pr year.. ........ 7 CO Sally, with Sunday, per year 8 00 Sunday, per year ...... ...... 2 00 Weekly, per year -..-.... 1 50 tie Weekly, 5 month. M To City Subscribers ally, per week, delivered. Sundays exoepted.lSo iiy. per week, delivered. Sundays lncluded.20a The Oregcnlan doeo not buy poems cr stories ora Individuals, and cannot undertake to re- urn any manuscripts- sent to It without aolldta- lon. No stamps should be Inclosed Xcr this purpose. Jfewo or discussion Intended for publication In rhe Oregonian should be addressed Invariably "Editor The Oregonian." net to the name of y IndlvlduaL Letters relating to advertising. inscriptions or to any business matter should j addressed simply "The Oregonian." Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson. office at 1111 Pacific avenue. Taccma. Box 853, i.acotna poetofflce. Eastern Buslneos Office The Tribune bulld- ng, New York city; "The Rookery." Chicago; i E. C Beckwlth special agency. New York. For sale In San Francisco by J. K. Cooier. T46 Market street, near the Palace hotel, and U Goldsmith Bros., 230 Sutter street. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. 217 Dearborn street. TODAY'S WEATHER.-Occaslonal rain; high outh to west winds, decreasing In force. PORTLAM), THURSDAY, MARCH 8 THE PERIL OP A PARTY. We are told that President McKinley lakes it clear to callers at the White Couse that his views as to free trade etween the United States and Puerto lco have undergone no change. But le Is unwilling to enter Into contro versy with Congress or with members f Congress about it; therefore he has jiven his consent to the nominal tariff Imposed by the bill, but deems It advls- ible to get the matter as soon as pos sible to the Supreme Court for an au thoritative decision on the constitu tional question involved. Moreover, he wishes the country to understand that ingress, not the Executive, is respon sible for the phase which the subject las now assumed. All of which is very :haracteristlc of Mr. McKinley. At first it was the intention of the lepubllcan leaders In Congress to carry )ut the suggestion of the President. Jills having that object in view were I formulated in the committees of the two houses. Suddenly the proceedings were stopped. Unseen hands were at work. Republican members halted, and then faced about. What was the lnflu- 2nce that arrested the movement and reversed it? None other than the pressure brought Ito bear by certain protected interests, which center chiefly In the sugar and tobacco trusts. So plain is it that the rhole country sees it. Even Repub lican newspapers in every part of the :ountry, hitherto supporters of protec tion even In its extremest demands, fear the effect of this revelation upon the country, in this year of a Presiden tial election, and cry out against the irrender. Read, for example, the artl- Icle from the Chicago Inter Ocean, printed on another page of The Ore- Igonlan today. It is the universal cry if the press of the country. No wonder lhe President is startled by this mighty und. What now should he do? Refuse to drift further, but employ such Influ ence as he can command and the power of the President Is great to en force his orlg'nal suggestion, by de feat of the bill in the Senate. He could have prevented it from passing the House, by encouragement of oppo sition to it; and this is what he ought to have done. He now has power to prevent its passage by the Senate, and he ought to use it. Or, if he should fail in this effort, he still has the veto. It is not power to defeat this measure of greed and injustice that he lacks: is it the courage to use the power? Bnt it is said the President should not try to "drive" Congress. A Presi dent should to' to do right, and he ahould use all his Influence and power to that end, especially in matters of great concern. President Cleveland was right when he "drove" Congress to repeal the silver-purchase law, and thereby rescued the country from finan cial and Industrial ruin. "But," says the little politician, "look what hap pened to President Cleveland. He was r deserted by his party, and ever since he I lias been execrated by It." This argu- I ment we find in the Seattle Post-Intel ligencer, addressed to The Oregonian. It well befits a journal controlled by a windy politician who makes partisan ship a pursuit, and seeking place in Congress and distributing offices from I It a profession. But newspapers so controlled, newspapers of that stamp, are not the newspapers that reflect, di rect or represent public opinion. Pres ident Cleveland lost favor with the con trolling section of his party, but he gained the hearty approval of the coun try, and his party went down to defeat because it rejected his counsels. It was through his earnestness and success as a "Congress-driver" that President Cleveland rendered a most Important and remarkable service to his country; and President McKinley might render service to his country and save his party besides, by becoming a "Congress-driver" now. For he who takes note of the trend of public opinion on this great question of national policy in treatment of our new possessions, and observes how universal is the sen timent against the course to which the House is committing the Administra tion and the Republican party, cannot doubt that it Is high time every avail able force in the hands of the President were exerted in the direction of his original recommendation. "Our plain duty," he said, "is to abolish all cus toms tariffs between the United States and Puerto Rico, and give her products free icoess to our markets." So only can we attach our Insular possessions to us. We have done it with the Ha waiian islands; why not also with Puerto Rico and the Philippines? Why not bring Cuba to us, on the same "basis? Nothing but the greed of pro tected Interests stands against this pol icy of national expansion, founded on a true national interest, which never can be inconsistent with honor, reason and justice. It is amusing to read again, even at this late day, the statement made by Mr. Burrows, of Michigan, three years ago, that "Senator John H. Mitchell, In the campaign of 1896, with unflinching courage and unwavering fidelity, car ried his party flag to victory in Oregon, and it was expected he would be chosen his own successor." Unfortunately, Mr. Mitchell was not at that time in position to serve either himself or the Republican party. He had always been a strenuous advocate of free coinage of silver; only a short time before he had flooded the country with his "Planet of Mars" speech, and wherever he appeared, extracts from this speech and others delivered by him In support of silver and against the gold standard, against even "Irternatlonal bimetal Ism" (for to do him justice he had re jected that fraud), were scattered be fore him through the crowds and on the platform, like leaves of Vallam brosa. In the campaign of 1896 for the gold standard he was a sad and sorry misfit, and was a heavy burden to the Republican party, instead of a help ti it. He never came out for the gold standard, but essayed the impossibility of that colossal straddle "one foot on the Andes and the other on the Gan ges." The severe logic of the contest between gold and silver made his posi tion ridiculous worse than useless to the Republican cause. Yet he had con siderable support in the Legislature, little or none, however, from disinter ested motives. The whole framework of his support was the official patron age which he had commanded and which it was supposed he could still command. He had expected silver sup port in the legislature: but the sllver ites had "got ostracised agin him," as John White used to say, because he hadn't supported Bryan, as they felt that a man with his record was mor ally bound to do. So he fell "between two stools. All this, however, is an cient history, spun out in this para graph only because republication of a thing said by Senator Burrows gave the end of the thread. TWO WAYS, AND NO THIRD. The heroic battle waged by the late Fish and Game Commissioner, Hollis ter D. McGuire. against extermination of the native food supplies of this fa vored region is fresh in the memory of the people of Oregon. It appears that the violators of law have taken cour age since his death and gathered their forces together for a concerted on slaught on the cause Mr. McGuire so faithfully upheld. Whether they suc ceed or not must depend very largely upon the mettle displayed by his suc cessor. Game Warden Quimby. The ruthless despollers of our fish and game heritage may have imagined that in Warden Quimby they should find an easy mark; but probably they will find they have caught a Tartar. The man who takes an oath to enforce a law and then sells out to money or "in fluence" must prepare to lose his self respect; and If Mr. Quimby Is that kind of a man, his career so far has cer tainly concealed the fact with admir able skill. In matters of this kind the safest assumption to proceed upon, un til the contrary is shown, is that the official is going to do his duty. This The Oregonian will assume, and, fur ther, will say that if the fish and game laws are to be nullified, the result must be achieved without its aid and over its protest. There are two ways, and only two, of dealing with fish and game. One is to save them and have them, the other is to give up the whole fight and con sign them to summary destruction. There is no middle ground. Now the chief difficulty in enforcement of pro tective game laws Is the ingenious subterfuges of market men and restau rateurs whose real or supposed inter ests will be served by evasion of the law. They are in favor of protecting fish and game, but they try in every conceivable way to circumvent the plain mandate of the law. One of these devices is just now in evidence. It Is the demand for sale of fish and game brought hither from outside the state. The courts recognize that to permit sale of Imported game in time o'f close season Is to destroy the effect of the law. Most species are so nearly alike, native and imported, that native fish and game can be passed off as im ported, and this will certainly be done if interpretation of the courts glvea countenance to the fraud. In Missouri, for example, it has been held that a law which prohibits the selling or keep ing In one's possession of certain game within a certain portion of the year Is valid even as to game Imported from another state. Proof that a restaurant keeper caused game to be served to his customers on a designated day within the period during which It was declared unlawful for a person "to purchase, have In possession or expose for sale" designated birds, will sustain a con viction, notwithstanding the proof tended to show that they were shipped from another state. And in New York it is held that time when or place where killed is not material; "that it was either killed within the lawful period, or brought from another state where the killing was lawful, constitutes no defense." It is obvious that procedure on this matter must depend a good deal upon the specific wording of statutes In vari ous states. In one case brought In Mr. McGulre's term of office the Oregon Supreme Court felt constrained to sus tain the dealer because a contrary rul ing "would have necessitated the de struction of vast quantities of salmon lawfully caught and canned during the open seasons." Prosecutions under our present statute, therefore, may demon strate that the law as it stands needs amendment. If this prove true, a duty will devolve upon the next Legislature of making the statute more definite and certain. Meanwhile, offenders against the law should be promptly brought to book. And public sentiment, If any re spect for law or appreciation of the value of our fish and game Is left among the people, should range Itself firmly In opposition to the lawbreakers. BLOEMFONTEIX INCAPABLE OP DE FENSE. The news that Lord Roberts has turned the flank of the forces in his front and forced them to retreat rapidly confirms the military opinion that Bloemfontein was incapable of defense. The Boers will be obliged to fall back to the line of defense north of Winburg, on the line of the Vet River. But in any event, the Boers are in a bad posi tion. They will be obliged to leave a considerable force to hold Van Reen en's Pass Into the Orange Free State. Harrlsmith, in the Orange Free State! on the railway, is but sixty miles from Ladysmlth, and If General Buller should ever force the passes Into the Orange Free State or the Transvaal, the Boer left would be turned, and it Is clear that when Mafeklng Is relieved the Boer right can be turned by a column of Infantry and mounted men moving from that point. Doubtless Lord Roberts has this pur pose in view, should the Boers be able to present a line of defense In the Or ange Free State impregnable to a frontal attack. The present prospect is that the Boers will not be able to re main long In the Orange Free State after Lord Roberts gets railway com munication restored between Bloemfon tein and the Orange River bridges. It is fair to assume that the Boer retreat of yesterday means the speedy aban donment of Bloemfontein and its occu pation by the English forces. With the railway restored to the south bank of the Orange River, Lord Roberts will be at Bloemfontein but 450 miles from the sea base of Port Elizabeth. With Buller with 25,000 men and in command of the railways leading from Ladysmlth to Harrlsmith via Van Reenen's Pass and from Ladysmfth via Newcastle to the Transvaal, the left flank of the Boers will need to be care fully guarded, while with Lord Roberts pressing forward with 50,000 men from Bloemfontein simultaneously with a large mounted force from Mafeklng, the Boer right could not hope to main tain Itself. The prospect is that as soon as Lord Roberts gets his railway com munications restored be will soon force the Boers out of the Orange Free State. PROTECTED, BUT XO TRUST. An observant traveler throughout Western Oregon reports that the farm ers are dissatisfied with the prices of harvesting machinery and agricultural implements generally, which they are Inclined to attribute to the trusts and the protective tariff, and that they are thinking seriously of embracing the first opportunity to express their disap proval of the whole matter at the polls. Obviously, the only way for such a re buke to be administered is through votes against the Republican party, and whether such action would be wise must depend on all the Issues present ed, not on a single issue. It begins to look doubtful whether the menace of Bryan's party. Involving financial dis honor and stupidity, and the' socialistic portions of tho Chicago platform, will be grave enough to counterbalance the desire of the country this fall to rebuke the Republican party's subservience to the protected Interests. This remains to be seen. But as to the lack of neces sity for a tariff on the class of goods referred to, the farmers are correct, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Section 460 of the Dingley tariff law reads as follows: Plows, tooth and disk harrows, harvesters, reapers, agricultural drills and planters, mow ers, horwrakefl, cultivators, threshing machines and cotton gins, 20 per centum ad valorem. Here is a tariff of $20 on every 5100 machine of the enumerated classes im ported Into the United States. It keeps foreign competition out and reserves the home field to the American manu facturer. What Is the need of the tariff? The Indication that there Is no need is afforded not only In the fact that there are no Importations, but that we send large numbers of these ma chines and Implements abroad, where they compete with foreign goods after paying the freight thither. The statis tical publications of the Government are now out for December, 1899, and the latest issue includes comparative statements for the calendar years 1897, 1898 and 1899. The statistics of agri cultural implements show exports as follows: 1897. 1S93. 1S99. Mowers. reapers.?3.1 49,023 $G.&M.41 $ 9.739.129 Plows.cultlvators C23.4C9 1.12G.0T0 1.779.S06 Other implements 1.029.713 1.390,573 2.075.5S9 Totals $5,302,807 $9,073,351 $13,504,324 Observe what a startling rate of In crease in the sales of our implements abroad. The Increase of 1S98 over 1897 is 70 per cent, and the sales for 1899 are 257 per cent of those of 1897. Nobody grudges this expanding trade to the implement men. Everybody" rejoices at It. But why does the Republican party steadily refuse to abolish this unneces sary duty? It Is certainly true as a general rule that trust-controlled products should be put on the free list. But If the farmers Imagine that agricultural im plements are controlled by a trust, they are greatly mistaken. No business could be so easily formed Into a trust or combination to keep .up prices, but in no business Is practiced such demor alizing competition. The factories sup ply the Jobbers and then send out men to try to sell to the farmers direct. The farmer who proposes to cast a vote to break up the agricultural implement trust is barking up the wrong tree. There are plenty other trees where there is real live trust game. A PLAI.V PROPOSITION. Anonymous letters are without hon orable standing, even among sensa tional newsmongers. Hence the charge contained In a letter of this kind re ceived at the Navy Department, from Manila, to the effect that the cruiser Charleston was wrecked through the drunkenness of her officers, is entitled to neither respect nor credence, and will receive little of either. Still, as In duty bound, the department will make Immediate Inquiry Into the report, as It Is of a nature too serious to pass with out notice. The man who drinks liquor to intoxication, and, indeed, the habit ual drinker, even though able to per form his duties from day to day accept ably, has been practically eliminated from the transportation service of the country. Accurate knowledge of the effect of alcohol upon the human sys tem, supported by the sudden and un expected lapses Into drunkenness, with disastrous consequences, of men who have been moderate drinkers for years, have arrayed the prudential forces that control commercial life against the liquor-drinker, on the basis of self-interest. The result has been the com plete elimination of the drunkard from places of responsibility In the transpor tation service, while the process of eliminating the habitual or moderate drinker therefrom Is steadily going on. In working out the temperance prob lem along the lines of public safety and economic self-interest, the Govern ment Is not behind the forces of com merce. It cannot be so, if it would, so great are the Interests of national honor, safety and finance involved. As a purely economic proposition, there Is too much money invested in the most unimportant vessel of the new Navy to permit a man whose nerves are un steady through habitual liquor drink ing, or whose brain Is befuddled thereby, to have control of Its move ments. While this may not be the highest argument upon which to base temperance reform. It is clearly a most substantial one. All large transporta tion companies are pledged to It upon the ground of self-interest. The Gov ernment is pledged to It on a like basis, and neither the economic forces of com merce or of the nation can or will re cede from the stand taken. Intelli gent, self-contained men, young and middle-aged, will recognize the neces sity presented by the situation and gov ern themselves accordingly, while those to whom, unhappily, self-indulgence has become second nature, will be re pudiated by the controlling forces of industry, the moving agencies of which are steam and electricity. The terms of this proposition are so simple and its statement is so plain that no intelligent man can -fall to read It aright, and to recognize the fact that he must con form to its requirements or retire from the field of responsible industry which it dominates. The fanners meetings In the Chamber of Commerce are developing much of value to the agricultural, horticultural and stock Interests of the state. The old days wherein farming In all of Its branches was carried on by main strength, unassisted by brain power beyond, certain limits fixed by the fath ers, have passed away, and men have come to the knowledge that, to make farming pay, the farmer must be a progressive, wide-awake man, fully abreast of the times. When a congress composed of men of this class meets "to study and extend the markets for Ore gon products, and to gather and dis seminate information concerning and encouraging the production of such things adapted to our soil and climate as we do not now produce," the event may be regarded as proof that old things in agriculture have passed or are passing away, and that new methods with good and sufficient reasons for their- existence are coming rapidly upon the stage. This Is as It should be. There Is no reason why the most an cient of all Industries should not also be the most progressive. Farmers' In stitutes as precedent to the farmers' congress have shown that the farmers of today work with their brains as well as with their hands. The newspapers of the country are being called upon to furnish a great deal of free advertising for an author of books named Sheldon, and a. paper that sadly needs advertising, the To peka Capital. In the main, they re spond complacently, but there is such a thing as riding a free horse to death. The Oregonian has received a circular letter, offered for publication, In which the past and present of Missouri and Kansas are extensively treated, and deftly tucked away In nearly every paragraph Is a covert reference to Shel don and his newspaper venture. This Is well enough, but the opening phrase of the circular reads "From a Staff Correspondent." Now, It Is a most pat ent untruth that this advertising cir cular, when printed by the papers to which it is addressed, is "from a staff correspondent." Somebody is engineer ing a pious fraud out of zeal for his holy religion, and in the name of Chris tianity The" Oregonian protests. The horrors of war are illustrated In the putrefying bodies of men and horses that line the road from Lady smith to Colenso half-buried or wholly exposed to the alternate rains and sun shine, ghastly witnesses of the strug gle that had taken place in the Boer trenches during the long Investment of the first-named place. More pitiful and scarcely less horrible Is the condition of the emaciated troops that had formed the long-beleaguered garrison, as they staggered past the trenches that had been defended to the death by the decaying bodies of these one time men. This. Is a phase of war be fore which humanity quails and con quest for the time being sinks into In significance. It is an ephemeral stage, however, in the upbuilding as In the downfall of nations, representing wreckage cast up by the ever-moving tides of human events. The Senate shows great change from the days when It was the "bimetallic stronghold." Last Tuesday, the date of the final vote on the conference report on the financial bill, the "friends of the white metal" were too drowsy or Indolent to use the time at their com mand In tragic declamation against the purpose of the wicked goldbugs to splinter the Constitution and Imperil our liberties by striking down the dol lar of our forefathers. In fact, minor measures had to be presented to occupy the time till the arrival of the voting hour on the gold bill, while the cham pions of silver slept at their posts and allowed us to be delivered over to the merciless Money Devil. The times are sadly out of tolnt when the citadel of the cartwheel dollar becomes the dor mitory of its erstwhile doughty defend ers. Announcement of failure of the reci procity treaties comes from a source such as to leave no doubt of its sub stantial correctness. The news is to be received with mingled joy and regret Joy for another rebuke to economic Humbug and regret that the Protected Interests have scored another triumph over broad national policy. The pill of freer trade had been disguised and sweetened by the name of Reciprocity, and In that form there was hope It might be swallowed. But hides and silks, wines and fruit, will continue to pay the Dingley rates, and retaliation will be practiced by France, Argentina and the British West Indies. Tariff re ductions for our own consumers and re ciprocal concessions to American prod ucts seeking markets abroad are thus postponed indefinitely. These remarks of ex-President Har rison are not made, we may be cer tain, merely to relieve an overcharged breast. Nor will they be regarded so by the present occupant of the 'White House. Harrison, gold standard, antl-Puerto-RIco foolishness, pro-Boer, is a presidential possibility almost equal to the task of Injecting life into the Phil adelphia convention, now a foregone McKinley conclusion. Harrison would be a stronger candidate than McKinley, and wcu'd oe elected. But the time is doubtless too short for the substitution to be carried out. Who could have supposed that the time would come when the Democratic leaders of Oregon would put up "nigger orators" to expound the principles and purposes of their party at "mixed" meetings? Well, well! The world do move. The Kanaka and the Filipino will lead the Democratic procession next. The Treasury's Bit? Balance. New York Journal of Commerce. As the Treasury makes dally and month ly statements It might be supposed that the amount of money in the Treasury at any particular date could be easily ascer ttined. But it is not; very competent readers of the statements differ as to what the showing really Is. The dally statement for February 27 shows "avail able cash balance. Including gold reserve." of $300,216,545. But to obtain this result there is deducted from the money and bullion actually In the possession of the Treasurer enough gold and silver and cur rency to meet all outstanding certificates, and enough money to meet outstanding checks and drafts, the National Bank 5 per cent fund, disbursing officers' balan ces, the postoffice account and miscel laneous items. The disbursing officers' balances amount to J35,8S6.436, and are not outstanding liabilities, like checks and drafts and certificate, but simply portions of the general funds of the Treasury placed to the order of disbursing officers. There arc funds in the Treasury available for all expenses of the Government, but not required to redeem checks, drafts or certificates. There are some other items that perhaps might be treated in the same way, but, disregarding them, tho money in the Treasury in excess of outstanding obligations may be taken at least as tho sum of the "available cash balanca." and the "disbursing officers balances," or $356,102,962. a THE BETRAYAX. OF A TRUST. A Specimen of the Protest That Are Appearing: In the Republican Journals of the Country. Chicago Inter Ocean, Rep. The bill passed by the Senate on Thurs day for the local government of Hawa.1 Is in accordance with American Ideas and American laws. It creates the Territory of Hawad, and gives It a delegate In Con gress. It extends to the islands our rev enue, navigation, Chinese exclusion and contract-labor laws. It establishes a Ter ritorial Legislature, Supreme and minor courts, a Governor, and other administra tive officials. It grants manhood suffrage, with an education qualification to all save Asiatics. This simple act of good faith to Hawaii would be accepted aa a matter of course by the public were It not contemporane ous with an act of downright perfidy to another land which recently has come un der American rule. By an Inevitable com parison of the Puerto Rico and Hawaii bills the reople of the United States are enabled to see, at -a glance, the whole Infamy forced upon the Republican party by Its representatives In the lower House last Wednesday. Why do we redeem our pledges to ex tend liberty, prosperity and equal rights to Hawaii and not to Puerto R-co? Why do we open our arms to the Islands of the Pacific and turn our backs on the island of the Atlantic? Why have we nothing but Imperialism for an island a few hun dred miles from our shores while we con fer the gift of territorial government upon the islands in midocean? Why do we wan tonly violate our promises and our obliga tions to one and gladly fulfill them to the other? Why do we follow the traditions of the American people for our possessions to the West and cast them into the sea with our possessions to the East? Why dc the Republicans in Congress thus stultify the Nation? Why do they do it? Aye, there's, the rub. They do It, openly and avowedly, in full view of tho whole country, for the simple and the sole reason that a bare handful of lobbyists, representing the sugar and the tobacco Interests In the United States, and theco interests along, have demanded this sacri fice to the Nation's welfaro and the Re publican party's future. The atrocity of the situation needs only to be stated to be realized, and only to bo realized to be everlastingly condemned. The spectacle of a Republican Congress yielding up results of the war, endanger ing the success of the whole expansion policy, and fastening upon a Republican Administration the stigma of bad faith on the one great question by which It must stand or fall In the next election and all this at the behest of two protected mer cantile interests is enough to make the moat steadfast Republican tremble for the future of his party. No national organization in this country has ever been sufficiently powerful to re sst long the force of the conviction which such a revelation must carry to the hearts of its members. No party which has sur rendered Itself body and soul to any one or two material Interests whether the Inter ests of slaveholders or the Interests of stockholder has long survived the expo sure of its folly. And if through the blind ness and perversion of Its representatives In Washington today tho Republican party bend the whole destiny of this country to the demands of two Industrial enter prises, thrust back Into the hands of the copperheads the very weapons which hav been wrested from them at infinite pains by a loyal press and a loyal people, and Imperil the whole future of tho expansion policy by stamping on it the trade-mark of oligarchical imperialism, then we may well fear that the time is at hand to write on the walls of the Capitol that this party has been at last weighed In the balance and has been found wanting. But we cannot believe that It has come to this. We cannot believe that the pro tests of the Republicans In the Middle West, which are now being hurried by the thousand to the Representatives and Sen ators In Washington, will be ignored. We cannot believe that either William McKin ley cr the United States Senate, In this emergency, will fail to heed the voice of the Nation, as they have heeded it day by day and week by week ever since the destruction of the Maine in Havana har bor. Their responsibility Is a grave one. It is responsibility that has in it the weighti est results for the future of the United States, and, It is not too much to say. tremendous consequences, for the Republi can party In this Presidential year. May they open their ears to the voice of the American people, grasp the situation with tho sagacity which has been theirs In the past, and wrench the cause of national expano'on out of the reckless hands stretched forth to throttle it! i o THE GOEBEL LAW IX KENTUCKY. Anxiety of Democrats and Their Urgency for Repeal or Revision. At Washington. D. C, a few days ago Mr. Henry Watterson, editor of the Louis pille Courier-Journal, who was in the city on a lecture tour, and was departing for New England to meet other appointments, made the following Interesting statements: "I am satisfied that the Republicans propose to make of the Goebel law an offset to Republican monstrosity In Ken tucky. Nor is this all. They expect to be able, with the Goebel law as their pretext, to throw out the vote of Ken tucky in the next Electoral College. Their dearest hope Is that the Kentucky Demo crats will neither repeal nor modify the Goebel law, and, therefore. It Is the uni versal opinion among Democrats In both houses of Congress that the first duty of Kentucky Democrats is to defeat this sinster purpose by such a revision of the Goebel law as will cure It of such fea tures as play Into the hands of Republi cans, and may procure tho defeat of the next National Democratic ticket, in caBe tho result should hang upon the vote of Kentucky. My opinion Is that our friends in the Legislature should address them selves at once to this all-Important ques tion. It Is not a matter whether any Democrat is for or against the Goebel law per se. It Is simply a matter of arithme tic and practical politics. In these latter regards there Is not room for the least question among Democrats, and here among the Democratic leaders there Is none whatever. The question Is no longer a local, but a national one." The Proposed Tito Per Cent Bonds. Chicago Tribune. Since It became settled that the refund ing plan of the Senate monetary bill is to become law there has been an advance of from 2 to 3& per cent Is the selling price of most Government bonds. This Is as cribed to the heavy purchases of bonds by New York bank3, which intend to exchange them for the new 2 per cents and then deposit the latter as security for notes. If the banks are doing this It Is evident that there will be no diffi culty about refunding a considerable pro portion of the outstanding 3. 4 and 5 per cent bonds. And If a bank Is willing to pay a premium of 16 per cent for a 4 per cent bond redeemable In 1907 In order to be able to exchange It for a 2 per cent bond, which is not redeemable for 30 years. It expects to make money by the transaction. The bill provides that the outstanding bonds may be received In exchange at a valua tion not greater than their present worth, to yield an Income of 2i per cent per annum. Thus the holder of a 4 per cent bond which he can sell for $115 will re ceive a $100 2 per cent bond and a bonus of about $10. A bank can take out notes against that bond and make a good profit thereon. But It Is hard to see why a sav ings bank could afford to hold any 2 per cent bonds if It had to pay par for them and pay 3 per cent to depositors, or why any private Individual should buy them as an Investment. The people of this generation have witnessed a remarkable declino In interest rates, but 2 per cent Is what a capitalist would call painfully low. It Is true that the security is per fect In the case of a Government bohd, but there are some railroad and state bonds which are as "good as gold" and yet pay more than 2 per cent. There fore many will be surprised If all the outstanding bonds are refunded. The bank3 certainly, do not need them all for their special purposes. a lie 3IlHncd Omar Khayyam. Omaha World-Herald. "You should have gone with me to hear tho 'Persian Garden,' dear," chirped Mrs. Bird when she found her husband still at home the night of that concert, and he looked as if he had smoked too many strong cigars in her absence. "Humph! I've sworn off from Persian and Egyptian and all sorts of gardens since the Midway closed." "But this would have Interested you." she asserted. "It was Oriental In senti ment and music and so poetic, Omar Khayyam must have written it to please some men's club. Didn't you ever hear the titles of some of the songs and reci tations?" "No; what were they?" he asked with some show of languid Interest. "I can't remember but two." replied his wife, musingly. "One was 'The .arthly Drinks Men Set Their Hearts upon," aim the other was 'The Bruised Mint That From Our Cups We Throw.' " "What's that? Can't we go tomorrow night?" "No, Indeed, sir. This was one ndght only. Your chance is gone until next winter." 9 The Compromise Unsatisfactory. Indianapolis Journal. Tf It Is a rood measure, two years is too short a time to develop Its merits, and if it Is a bad one, that is too long a time tn lmno.se Its evils on a people already suffering for lack of markets and trade facilities. If the friends of the measure agree that it shall only remain in force two years, they confess to a doubt of its justice or wisdom, and If its opponents agree to the proposition they virtually admit that their opposition Is not well grounded. a a A Day of Reckoning Will Come. Detroit Tribune. Congressmen, especially those from Michigan, have "been bombarded with let ters and telegrams telling them to stand firm for free trade with Puerto Rico and tho honor of the Nation. It remains to be seen whether the people or the pro tected Interests will conquer. The strug gle is being watched "by the people and there will be a day of reckoning for those Congressmen who capitulate to the capi talists when they come up for re-election. A Monstrous Wronjr. Philadelphia Ledger. This monstrous wrong, which the Repub lican majority of the House has committed against right and justice and the funda mental principles of our government, should be corrected by the Senate. There should be enough honor, courage, patri otism and statesmanship in that body to undo the wrong which the House has com mitted. 9 ' Seizing an Island for Our Orra Good. Indianapolis News. If we are to pass this bill, the seizure of Puerto Rico was not for the benefit of the Island, but for our own benefit, and we are going to use it as Mr. LIttlefield said In his eloquent speech, like an orange for us to squeeze. We are going to make its people hewers of wood and drawers of water for the Inhabitants of this coun try. o Why Free Trade Is Plain Duty. Utica Herald. That is why Congress should establish free trade with Puerto Rico. Not foi constitutional reasons, for none such ap plies; but because it was promised, be cause it ia right, and because there Is no tenable reason why the United States should fail to act up to fair promises mado In its name. o A Breach of Plain Duty. Chicago Times-Herald. Whether the Puerto Rican tariff Is 25 or 5 per cent. Indeterminate or for two years, makes not a particle of difference with Its Justice. It will not be acceptable to tho American people because of the plea that It is such a little breach of "our plain duty," as acknowledged by President McKinley. no Their Fear of the Goehcl Law. Boston Herald. Both Joe Blackburn and Henry Watter son appear to be sufficiently gifted in their perceptive faculties to see that the Goe bel law is something that may be made to cut both ways sooner of later. e Easy Start. Indianapolis Journal. "Arthur, we haven't had a quarrel for weeks and weeks." "Haven't we? Well, wo can easily get one up by discussing who was the most to blame in the last one we had." o e ' Keeplnfr Up the Average. Chicago News. Mistress Jane, this floor doesn't look very clean. Did you sweep It today? Jane No, Mum I didn't sweep It to day, nor ylsterday, but I sweeped It three times the day afore that. i a Difficult to Say. Philadelphia Press. She When the papers speak of the low er branch of Congress, what do they mean? He It's pretty hard to say, just now. o The Free Trade Should Befrln Xovr. New York Sun. Tho essential Justice of the situation de mands that the free trade of Peurto Rico which the bill promises In two years should be made to begin now. 3 The Woman With the Broom. George Blrdseye In Leslie's Weekly. "The Man With the Hoe" let others sing. And to him ready tribute brine; Tell all his labor and unrest. The eensw of wrong that rives his breast; How on his Atlas back he bears The world, with all Its tolls and cares. His broken spirit wrapt In gloom I sing "The Woman With the Broom." Smiling-, within her door she stand. Her busy broom lc willing' hands; She makes the household wheels go 'round Without a Jar, with ecarce a sound. To her the eklee are always clear. And. moving with a breath of cheer. She sweeps away the dust of gloom This happy Woman with the Broom. And while aha works she sings a song. While all life's Joys together throng. Throughout her realm of "Home, Sweet Home." Love's garden nestles 'round the door. Where flowers of fond affection lloom And bow their rainbow heads before The radiant Woman with the Broom. Queen o'er the homo her scepter sways; Her subjects wall: In pleasant ways; They love her rule, protect her right. Enjoy her sweetness, strength and light; And when, at last, she's called to rest. "Her children rise and call her blest"; By cradle, altar and the tomb. The faithful Woman with the Broom. NOTE AND COMMENT. The worst cases of plague In San Fran cisco are the Sunday newspapers. It seema that Senator Carter, of Mon tana, had tha hot end of the poker. The horse must go, maybe; but so must the automobile, If It is to serve any useful purpose. Nansen says that Andree Is probably dead. The world now await with anxiety his opinion of Moses. This is the stage of the game when tha Boers can be thankful they are eo well practiced In trekking. If there is going to be much more weath er like yesterday's there will be a demand for Harveylzed umbrellas. The one Portland man who bad hla boots blacked yesterday may have been drunk, but he was game. No one can charge that Mr. Sheldon, when he took hold of tho Topeka paper, overlooked a lot of free advertising. Now doth the honest farmer Wax most uncommon wroth And vow to wreak fell vesgeonc Upon the codlln moth. There have been a good many plena for the employment of city prisoners, but ths difficulty has been that none of them would work. Old Simon Cameron was right when at said he would rather travel 1000 mile than write a letter involving politic Thomas; H. Tongue. Me, too. Georgo C. BrowneU, Of course, "Bobs" i3 entitled to cowa4 erable credit, but it must be remembered that he didn't accomplish much of any thing till Rudyard Kipling arrived oa tha scene. The zephyrs and gentle showers at yesterday were doubtless the equinoctial gale which should occur a little later. It is only a dozen days to tho vernal equinox, and as this is an early spring It is desir able to have this gale over -with, and out of the way. A Nehalem statesman asks, through tho Astorlan, what objection could be raised to having the 14th section of the pending gold bill amended to read as follows: "Tho provisions of this act are not intended to preclude the accomplishment of an Inter national railroad to the moan whenever conditions shall make It expedient and practicable to secure the same by concur rent action of the leading commercial na tions of the world, and at a traffic rate which shall Insure permanence of relatlv rates between Mars and Mercury." Tho night before his execution, a Georgia convict wrote the following letter to a friend: "Dear Jim: I send you five tickets to my hangln. I want you to fetch all the family. Everything will be pleasant weather permlttln'. They've painted the scaffold my favorite color which Is bright red like the dress Mollle Spllklns wore when I took her to Zeke Hanford's party an' I'm to swing In the middle of a green lawn, sprinkled with daisies. I'll ask the Sheriff to provide seats for you and your'n. I want you to hear my speech, which, if I do say it myself. Is as good a piece of word-palntln as ever I done. So be sure an' come, Jim, and bring all the family." Wind and rain together, March and April, too. Bout the roughest weather Portland ever knew. Looked for jour umbrella. Didn't find It. though; Some far-sighted fellow Swiped It weeks ago. Gentle zephyrs tore you Nearly limb from limb, . Dared not step before you, 'Lessen you could swim. Signs and awnings flyln' Through the leaden sky. Owners of 'em sighing', Wlshln' they could fly; Nursemaldu all a-pushln' Babies homeward bound, Prewln' need o rushln'. Babies nearly drowned. Wlnd and rain together, March and April, too. Just a little weather Of that kind will do. ft Fifty Years Ago. Yesterday was the 7th of March, and on that day 50 years ago was delivered one of the most famous speeches in American history. Daniel Webster's "Seventh of March" speech. In support of the Clay compromise on slavery aroused intense in dignation in the North, especially In Mas sachusetts. Tne most momentous relio of the occasion Is this poem of Whittier, entitled: ICHABOD. So fallen I so lostl the light withdrawn Which once he wore! The glory from, his gray hairs gone Forevermoret Revile him not, the Tempter hath A snare for all; And pitying tears, not scorn and wrath. Bent his fall, r- - or ' Ohl dumb be passion's stormy rage. When he who might Have lighted up, and led his age. Falls back In night. Scorn! would the angels laugh, to mark A bright soul driven Fiend-goaded, down the endles3 dark. From hope and heaven! Let not the land once proud of him Insult him now. Nor brand with deeper shame his dim. Dishonored brow. But let Its humbled sons. Instead, From sea to lake, A long lament, as for the dead. In sadness make. Of all we loved and honored, naught Save power remains; A fallen angel's pride of thought. Still strong In chains. All else is gone; from those great eye The soul has fled; When faith is lost, when honor dies. The man Is dead! Then, pay the reverence of old days To his dead fame; Walk backward, with averted gaxe. And hide the ohame! Whittier. i o Protectionists Bevolt AKalnst It. Chicago Inter Ocean. Men who are protectionists to the hack bone, whose lives and fortunes have been devoted to the advocacy or protection aa a policy, will revolt and are revolting against the proposals to exclude the people of Puerto Rico from full and free participa tion in the "benefits of National trade and against a scheme to debar the people of the United States from the advantages of free intercourse with American territory that has been won by expenditure of their blood and treasure. A Cold Snap. Philadelphia Record. "I haven't had a bite for three days," said the hungry tramp. "Poor man," remarked the kind-hearted old woman: "I haven't any dog to set on you, but If you stay out long enough perhaps you will get frost bitten." e Retucrt Courteous. Baltimore American. "Do you favor our policy toward Puer to Rico?" wroto the eminent statesman to the reformer. The latter, who was a spelling reformer Jby trade, replied: "I cannot suppuert HI