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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1900)
'4 THE MOKNING OREGONLAN, MONDAY, MAECH 19, 1900. hs rjefiowcm .Entered, at the Postofflce at Portland, Oregon, as eecond-clas matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Room,... 190 I Business Ofilee. .667 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. Br Mall (postage prepaid), in Advance Dally, with Sunday, per month ....$0 S3 Dally. Sunday excepted, per year.- 7 50 Dally, with Sunday, per year . 8 00 Sunday, per year , .................. 2 00 The Weekly, per year 1 50 The Weekly. 3 montha...,-. M To City Subscribers Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays excepted,13 Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays lneluded.20c The Oregonlan does not buy poemo or atorlea from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to It without solicita tion. No stamps should b inclosed tor this purpose. News or dlv;usslon intended for publication In The Oregonlan should be addressed Invariably "Editor The Oregonlan," not to the name of any Individual. Letters relatlnr to advertising, subscription or to any business matter should be addressed simply "The Oregonlan." Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, office at 1111 Pacific avenue. Tacoma. Box 855, Tacoma postofflce. Eastern Burfnees Omee The Tribune build ing. New York city; "The Rookery," Chicago; the S. a Beckwlth special agency. New York. For sale In San Francisco -br J. K. Cooper. 746 Market street, near the Palace hotel, and at Goldsmith Bros.. 23C Sutter street. For sale in Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. 17 Dearborn street. TODAY'S Winds. WEATHER Fair, northwesterly PORTLAND MONDAY, MARCH 10. LET THEM STAND ALONE I The Republican leaders are reported as greatly exercised as to how the country will regard the party's atti tude to the trusts. A little investiga tion will show them that this Is not nearly so important a matter as the question how the country will regard the party's attitude toward the Pro tected Interests. The politicians are planning to outdo each other In plat form attacks on the trusts: but the people are patiently waiting for some sign from the Republican party that it is independent of the Protected In terests. So far as the trusts are concerned. It begins to look very doubtful whether the people will be disposed to insist on Indiscriminate prosecution and perse cution of trusts simply because they ere trusts. If we can have special privileges removed from trusts, corpo rations or Individuals, and publicity lor corporate finances, and free scope for natural influences such as those that have recently hit the sugar trust and the flour trust so hard If we can have these things, the people will be disposed to stand off a while and see if these simple remedies will not go very far toward solving the trust problem. If aggregations of capital are able to secure unjust advantages through fa voring legislation. It makes little dif ference whether the owners of that capital are trusts, partnerships or lm jnersely wealthy individuals. And It is the special privileges created by the tariff, by undue power with railroads, and by failures to enforce laws already in existence against restraint of trade, that have excited the antipathy of the people. It is this conviction In favor of stepping these special privileges that has been so aroused by the events of the past few weeks at Washington. The reciprocity treaties and the Just proposals for Puerto Rico have been put by, in response to appeals of the Protected Interests. That Is the source of the popular cry, and It Is a matter of little importance whether these great interests are in the form of organized trusts or not. Soon after the formation of the Fed eral Union, our infant industries ap pealed to Congress for support through tariff legislation, and in 1816 the history of protection began. If they could have a monopoly, complete or partial, of the home market for a few years, they would be able to stand alone. All they wanted was a little temporary re lief. The protection was granted, and the impression is gaining ground that it has been extended long enough. The evidence In support of this Is found In the fact that, while consumers here at home, are deprived of the advantages of foreign competition, our manufac turers are able to export large quan tities, pay the freight to Europe, im port duties, if there are any, and com pete successfully with foreign makers on their own ground. For example: There is a tariff on soap of 20 per cent ad valorem, on castlle soap of 1 cents a pound, and on toilet soap of 16 cents a pound; yet our exports of soap reached 26,000,000 pounds in 1897, 28,000,000 pounds in 1898, and 41, 000,000 pounds in 1899. There is a tar iff of $4 a ton on pig-iron, but we are exporting 3,000,000 tons of pig-iron an nually. There Is a tariff of $7 a ton on steel rails, but our exports of steel rails have grown from 2,900,000 pounds in 1897 to 5,800,000 pounds In 1S9S, and 6,100,000 pounds In 1899. All kinds of tools, machinery and Implements are heavily protected, yet our exports of these things are advancing prodigious ly, thup: Exports. 1897. 1S0S. Firearms $ 601.360 $ SH2.620 Builders hardware 6,405,082 8,iM3.530 Pumps 9M.4M 3.016.(M5 Electrical machines 017.453 3,143,330 Sewing-machines 3,103,130 4.103.&U Printing preesea 743.221 1,037,014 Steam engines 4,112.207 0.724,000 Typewriters 1.506.916 2,776,303 Perhaps the heaviest beneficiary of our tariff laws is the Iron and steel industry, which exported, exclusive of ore, $62,737,250 worth of goods In 1897, and in 1899 the stupendous total of 5105.6S9.645. Though able to export these vast quantities of manufactures, the iron and steel Interests will not permit free competition here of foreign makers for the benefit of our consum ers. Or, take manufactures of leather, which are still very heavily protected. "We sold abroad 55,000,000 worth In 1897, and nearly 57,000,000 worth in 1899. On boots and shoes the duty is 25 cents on the dollar; yet we sold abroad last year 53,600,000 worth of boots and shoes. Our total sales of leather manufac tures of all kinds have risen from $19, 000,000 worth in 1897 to 526,000,000 worth in 1899. Of manufactured cotton goods, heavily protected, we sold 518,000,000 worth in 1897, and 524,000,000 worth in 1899. Of agricultural Implements, pro tected by a duty of 20 cents on the dol lar, our exports have risen from 55,300, 000 worth in 1897 to 513,600,000 in 1899. The manufactured articles of our pro jected industries, sold abroad, were 530S.000.000 in value In 1898, and 5381,000, 000 in value In 1899. It Is folly to pretend that these Immense Interests are un able to meet European competition here without a tariff of 10 cents to 51 on every dollar. The once infant Industries that stood a humble suppliant at the door of Con- press have grown like the white man In the Indian's speech, until they have spread out their parchment over the whole and say "It Is mine." Our mill Ions of consumers realize that the bur den of higher prices they have so long been carrying for the manufacturer's benefit may at length be safely laid down. The laboring man at length realizes that the wages he gets from the manufacturer do not depend on the tariff. The question simply Is whether Justice Is to be granted over the protest of the protected interests, or whether their will is supreme In Congress and at the White House. This question Is what the people are determined to find out, and no one need doubt that they will do so. The day for special privileges to these in fant industries, now grown to be giants, has gone by. Let them stand alone! THE FARMERS TRUSTS. Though the attention of the various political parties In Oregon may be drawn to the combinations of hop- growers and fruitgrowers, it Is safe to assume that no thunderbolts will be launched against these combinations. They are In restraint of trade. In one sense, because they aim to head off the natural process between Indlvld ual buyer and seller. Their naked and unashamed object Is to raise prices, and this borders upon conspiracy against the consumer. Tet, so far as the politicians are concerned, or even the Legislature, these farmers' trusts may pursue their unmolested way. Is there a gleam of light here on the trust problem in general? Probably there Is; for, though the politician Is mindful of the farmer vote, his forbear ance In this instance has reason behind it. There is a great difference between these farmers' trusts and most of the trusts we read about and denounce without fear of consequences. In the first place, the farmers will not ask for special favors at the hands of the Government. They don't expect any protective tariff, and they don't expect to Interfere In the least with any farm er outside their organization, and cry out "Government by injunction!" if one of their number breaks the law and has to be punished or restrained. In the second place, these farmers trusts are not stock-Jobbing concerns based on overcapitalization of acquired properties. The trust that goes to work to buy up sugar refineries, or cracker factories, or flour mills, or salmon can neries, at extravagant figures, paying for them In stock and with the pro ceeds of stock sold to credulous in vestors, is an entirely different thing from the trust that alms merely to combine the output of Independent pro ducers for more scientific marketing. If all the trusts had stood on their own bottom, without tariff protection from the Government or Illegal favors from railroads, and had abstained from stock-jobbing and swindling overcapi talization, the agitation of the past few months would have been devoid of much of Its vigor and Its terror to the politicians. The success of the farmers' trusts is to be doubted. The field Is too big. The concern Is in danger of topheavi ness through ambition, and collapse under the load of weak members. These schemes have gone to pieces be fore, and very likely will do so again. But that is their own lookout. So long as they get along without special privi leges accorded by law and conduct their dealings with business fairness and honesty, nobody Is going to have their officers arrested or denounce them as public enemies. RECOGNITION OP A JUST DEMAXD. A "bill to promote the efficiency of the revenue uter service" is now before both branches of Congress, .with excellent prospects of favorable action. The Intent of this bill is to afford rec ognition which Is long overdue to one of the most Important branches of the naval service. The chief purpose of the bill Is to make the officers of the revenue cutter service rank with those of the regular army and navy. Coinci dent with this, a permanent retired list Is provided, enabling men who have grown gray in the service to make way for younger men. The duties of the hevenue cutter service are at times most severe, and call for the best phys ical and mental equipment possible In mankind. Thus it Is but natural that as men age in the service they are of less value than the younger men. Un der existing rules, the elderly men are placed on waiting orders without de priving them of their rank or making places for their younger officers. The result of this apparent hopeless ness which stares the young men in the face is a lack of interest In the service, which shows a general inclina tion toward stagnation. In time, un less remedial legislation is secured, it will be extremely difficult, if not Impos sible, to secure the class of men re quired for this Important duty. Per haps the most glaring Injustice that ex ists In connection with the service Is the discrimination in pay that is made against the cutter service men. The latter, in peace and war alike, are al ways engaged. When the Nation is at peace with all the world, and the vessels of the regular navy are loafing around on their stations, with nothing special demanding their attention, the revenue cutters are on police duty in the far North, chasing smugglers, pelagic sealers, suppressing piracy or mutiny on merchant vessels, or assist ing local authorities in some seaport town to quiet any disorder that may arise. Despite all this work, requiring courage and executive ability of a high order, there has always existed a great disparity in the pay of the cutter men as compared with the regular navy and army officers, occupying relatively the same station In the service. Seldom, if ever, is there a question raised about the chief officers of the army and navy being overpaid, and yet for much more arduous duties the cutter men receive only about two thirds of the pay allotted the men In the army and navy. On the Pacific Coast especially a high order of effi ciency In the cutter service will be of the greatest Importance now and in the near future. With the rapidly Increasing Oriental trade and Alaska's maritime business assuming big pro portions, the only "floating military au thority" in the Northwest will find plenty of work, and It will be work of a class where underpaid and dissat isfied men should not be engaged. The captain of a revenue cutter Is compelled by law to land a party to quell a disturbance of any kind when ever called on by the civil authorities of a port. In many of the new towns on the Alaskan coast this authority will be about the only kind that will be rec ognized by the lawless element which 4 is always found with the vanguard of civilization. The bill In question will undoubtedly bring the efficiency of the cutter service up to the high standard needed, and it is to be hoped that the favorable recommendation of the House commerce committee will be acted on. BRAVE MILITIA ARE NOT TRAINED SOLDIERS. The conduct of the Boers during their retreat before the advance of Lord Roberts makes It certain that they are only fit for the defense of strong natu ral positions, where only steadiness and good marksmanship are needed. They have some skillful leaders, like Joubert hand Cronje, some trained artillerists and military engineers, but their leaders are only able and enterprising soldiers In the sense that Marlon, Sumter and Andrew Jackson were valuablo In par tisan warfare. The difference between a General like Nathaniel Greene, who was a born tactician and maneuverer, and Andrew Jackson Is the difference between a great General like Lord Roberts and a skillful defensive Com mander like Joubert. The retreat of the Boers shows that they are unequal to a steady retreat, A German military critic has already pointed out the Boers' Incapacity for tactical offensive movements. They have never been equal to making a determined attack. They have not the slightest capacity to conduct such a retreat as Lee made after Gettysburg, finally crossing a swollen river in face of a superior victorious army without leaving anything of value behind. The Boers cannot do these things because no men can do them, no matter how brave they may be, unless they have become a real army through drill and discipline under trained officers. Brave militia who can shoot straight can do deeds like Bunker Hill, New Orleans and Magersfonteln, but brave militia cannot steadily assault an entrenched line nor make a successful retreat un der fire. Had the Boers been equal to the work of trained soldiers, they would easily have stormed Ladysmlth. Had they been equal to the work of trained soldiers, they would have transferred the bulk of their army from Ladysmlth to the Orange Free State In time to reinforce Cronje, and the capture of Ladysmlth, with the foiling of the British pursuit of Cronje, would have roused the Cape Colony Boers Into re bellion. The Boers have been easily discomfited by Lord Roberts, because he clearly understands their strength and their weakness; and he declines to make war after the methods of Gen eral Methuen. It Is exceedingly doubtful whether the Boers will make an effective stand for any length of time this side of the Vaal River. They are preparing against a British advance from the southwest Into the Transvaal, and a camp has been established at Bloemhof, on the north bank of the "Vaal, near the western border of the Transvaal, to guard the roads leading from Klm berley across the river toward Klerks dorp, the present western terminus of the railway from Johannesburg. There are plenty of strong defensive posi tions north of WInburg, but they are threatened on the left by General But ler's advance from Natal, while the right could. If necessary, be turned by a column moving from Klmberley or Vryburg. With an army of 80,000 moving from Bloemfonteln, and an army of at least 25,000 men pounding at the gateway from Natal to the Or ange Free State, the Boers are not likely to make a long stand south of the Vaal River, and we are likely soon to see the seat of war transferred to the South African Republic. AMERICAN AUTOMOBILES FIRST. According to the New York Herald, American Inventors are about to Invade France with automobiles that promise to eclipse, both In, speed and endurance, anything yet produced In Europe. The machine thus Invading the original do main of the automobile, prepared to' meet all requirements of wear and tear, will not give out for want of battery power or water, since It will be run by kerosene, a motive power that, In case of stress, can be procured at any house by the roadside. Experience has shown the necessity of employing a fuel that is safe, easily obtainable and condensed In form. One pound of kero sene equals fifty pounds of liquefied air, 450 pounds of storage battery t and has the further advantage over the battery of being already charged with energy. As proof that the horseless vehicle of the future will be driven by an ex plosive gas, and not by electricity, It Is cited that out of 100 vehicles of all classes shown at the recent automobile exhibitions In London, one was pro pelled by electricity, one by steam, and ninety-eight by explosive engines of the Dameller or De Dion types. These are respectively the accepted German and French type of automobile motor, but they all suffer from vibration, and for comfort cannot compare with the elec trically driven motor. According to cable advices, to which reference Is above made, It has remained for an American Inventor, John A. Secor, of Brooklyn, to devise an automobile mo tor with a cylinder In which explosions occur almost simultaneously on both sides of the piston one being much lighter pressure than the other alter nately, but sufficient In strength to take up all vibration. The Idea is de clared by automobile experts to be a solution of mechanical difficulties that have barred the way to the popular Introduction of the horseless carriage. If this view proves correct, the new device will go a long way toward bringing the automobile Into general use, making it, in fact, possible for everybody to keep a carriage and use It with perfept safety, as nearly as that term can be applied to any means of rapid locomotion. Several newspapers of the machine type say that "if McKinley shall be renominated The Oregonlan will have to eat its words, and a nice dish of crow it will have." Such Is the machine Idea of politics in journalism. If The Oregonlan shall support McKinley for re-election it will eat no words. It will not withdraw an expression, nor abate one jot or tittle from its estimates of McKinley. The question that will de cide Its course of action Is this, name ly. What Is the character of the op position party, and what policy does It offer the country? This Is the In quiry on which the Independent citi zen makes up his mind. He wants to know what the parties stand for, what Is the sum of the forces that control them, what is the tendency of the course of action of each, and what results should be expected from the success of either. This is the basis on I which the men whose votes will de- clde the coming election will act. So It was In 1896; so It Will be in 1900. In such matters candidates are of little account. The great sacrifices of the war and the necessity of making peace on a basis that will preclude future wars render It Impossible to suppose, reason ably, that Great Britain will make any terms with the Boers that do not start from the basis that the national inde pendence and political autonomy of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State are to be extin guished. Proposals of mediation, there fore, are valueless, and worse than use less; for on the one hand they hold out hopes to the Boers that never can be realized, and thereby lure them on to moro complete destruction; and on the other hand they tend to make ugly relations between Great Britain and the nation that interposes. No sane person can doubt that Great Britain would accept any war rather than yield to intervention. The almost unanimous indorsement of Representative Moody given by the Re publicans of his home county at Sat urday's primaries is a weighty Indica tion that the people there realize no mistake was made In substituting him for the cipher who previously repre sented Eastern Oregon In Congress. Mr. Moody's latest triumph Is the fa vorable report of the "double minimum" bill from the House committee on pub lic lands. Mr, Moody was sent to Con gress because he was right on the main question of the hour the safety of the currency. It Is gratifying to know he has not only stood firmly for that, but Is also developing effective qualities as a legislator. The result In Wasco seems to guarantee Mr. Moody's re election an event to be desired for many reasons. It Is probable the Senate will con tinue to Insist on our right to fortify the Nicaragua canal. Yet Admiral Dewey says the talk about the "ne cessity" of fortifying It is pure non sense. Rear-Admiral Erben- says that the building of forts down there would be "a waste of money." Captain Ma han, the author of "Sea Power,'1 Is of the same opinion. Possibly, as the New York Press, with a touch of sarcasm, suggests, their judgment on the matter Is as likely to be sound as that of Hon. W. B. Hepburn, of Appanoose, la. We all learn new things as we grow older. Now we discover that Senator Mitchell was so grieved over the de feat of Senator Dolph that at last he Indignantly accuses Senator Simon of having brought it about. Whether the accusation Is Just, or not, The Orego nlan does not pause now to inquire. What strikes it with force Is this proof of the jrrief of Senator Mitchell over the defeat of Senator Dolph, at the time McBrlde was elected. The San Francisco Examiner, Demo cratic organ, says that the "free-silver terror has been eliminated by enact ment of the gold-standard bill," and It will therefore "be Impossible to repeat the scare of 1896." The Examiner is jubilant thereat. And yet It knows its party will still demand free coinage of silver. What then? Is there no dan ger? Doesn't it expect its party to Win? Evidently not. It Is the season of political amenities in Alabama. The Selma Times wants Governor Johnston elected to the Sen ate; the Montgomery Advertiser sup ports Senator Morgan for re-election. Here is one of the Montgomery paper's courtesies to its neighbor: The Selma Times let up on Johnstonlsm last Saturday and devoted a column editorial to a dead dog-. But it wasn't much of a chance In subjects, after all. The Republican leaders rest secure In the belief that the people will soon get tired of howling about Puerto Rico and "come back to protection." It is a vain reliance. There has never been a day since 1888 when high tariff could carry the country. Matthew Marshall, of the New York Sun, admits his error In predicting that the new 2 per cent bonds would not command par. Perhaps the rest of his pessimistic prophecies will prove equal ly Ill-founded. Does the labor of this great country need or ask "protection" against poor little Puerto Rico? Not at all; but there are some special "grafts" in Con necticut and New York that demand it. "UTOPIAN AND VISIONARY." "Consent of the Governed," From the Confederate Standpoint. Memphis Commercial-Appeal, Dem. On the question of expansion. Colonel Bryan was perceptibly less Intense and radical than formerly, but still Utopian and visionary. He would abandon tha Philippines on grounds purely sentimen tal, and had much to say on the subject of "tho consent of the governed." The consent of the governed, like the declara tion that "all men are created free and equal," Is a beautiful theory, but not one that is always followed In practice. "The consent of tho governed" was not sought or cared for In acquiring any of the territory that has been added to the 13 original states, save In tho case of Texas. The poignant irony of the abstrac tion must have been apparent and almost grotesque to the grim ex-Confederates who sat in the audience, and who re flected that for four years they fought against the power that now governs them without their consent. No doubt they thought that if such treatment Is good enough for them it ought to be good enourh for the fraction of a Tagal tribe in the Philippines. On one point, all will agree with Colonel Bryan. Ho said that he believed that every drop of blood shed In the Philippines was spilled without necessity. This is true. No blood would have been shed, or very little of it, at least, bad it not been for tho Hoars, At kinsons and other aunties cabling encour agement to Agulnaldo and giving him to understand that the American people ap proved of his shooting down American soldiers. But all such sentimental talk Is useless, or fit only for academic ex ercises. Wo own the Philippines, and the war there Is over. The people of this section prefer the Philippines and 10-cent cotton to sentimentality and 5-cent cotton. "Life Is real, life Is earnest," and the lupine Instinct In man remains to confute the dreams of the dreamers and the the ories of the theorists. The Philippines will be held. The contempt of logic In volved In tho "consent of the governed" preachment Is nowhere better understood than In the South. Besides this, our friends over tho Ohio outnumber us three to one, and they have had much to say about how we handle our race problem, and there Is no objection in these quarters to giving them a race problem of their own. Let them try their " "prent'ee hand" at It, so that when their hysterical spin jesters rave over tho wrongs of the op, pressed they may strike near home. Let them uplift the Orientals, teach them the ways of Western civilization, and the South will sell them cotton clothes to wear. On the whole, a stanch supporter of Mr. Bryan's summed up the situation accurately when he said: "Bryan is mod ifying his views on expansion rapidly. He took such high grounds at the outset that it is difficult for him to climb down." So let us hope. Ideas such as he enter tains on expansion are hostile to the bus iness Interests of the country, opposed to the National aspiration, antagonistic to accomplished facts, and, If followed, will land any party in the slough of merited defeat. a ARMAMENT OF THE BOERS. Their Complete Preparations for the Present War. New York Times. It was not In 1S99, or because of any thing done by Englishmen In that year, that the Boers determined to try their strength with Great Britain's. In the comparatively calm days of ISM Oom Paul and his people bought 5500.000 worth of big cannon in Germany, and spent the same large sum in Austria for rifles. The Krupp guns were delivered the next year, and they included two of what were then the most powerful cannon In the world. They are 48 feet long, weigh 120 tons, throw a shell weighing 2300 pounds, and burn 904 pounds of powder at each dis charge. In 1835 another half-million pro duced by the taxation of the Uitlandera found Its way to Herr Krupp. and in re turn ho sent to the Transvaal a number of long-range field guns and several mountain and bush guns especially adapt ed for use In a hilly country, and a hot climate. The next year the Boers began to secure the cannon they have found most effective In the present war six Creusot guns. Tho number of these has since increased to 21. The Creusot gun has an arrangement of springs and brakes to lessen the recoil and bring the gun back to Its former position within two seconds after being discharged. This gives greater velocity to the projectile and in creases the range. The velocity Is over 1800 feet at the muzzle, and the carrying distance Is a trifle under Ave miles, the charge being less than two pounds of pow der, the gun weighing only 3400 pounds. Eight shots may be fired each minute without heating the metal, and every gun goes Into action provided with 144 rounds of ammunition. All through 1S96, 1S37 and part of 1S9S, the Boers continued to strengthen their armament and to fortify their capital and their frontiers. Just what the total expenditures for these pur poses amounted to It is impossible to say, but when at last the war came they were thoroughly prepared for it. In a way this speaks well for their Intelli gence, but It hardly bears out the claim that they are a people who turn their thoughts to fighting only under compul sion. o ' A Pitiful Defense Disproved. Chicago Tribune. General Davis telegraphs from Puerto Rico that the stocks of sugar and tobacco now on hand are owned by the producers. That disposes of the charge made by beet- sugar men and Connecticut tobacco-grow ers that the sugar trust and tobacco trust own the commodities in question, and are In favor of free trade with Puerto Rico, so they may Import their property duty free, and thus make large profits thereby. Many of the Senators and Representatives who are opposing free trade between Puer to Rico and the United States have argued with great earnestness on numerous occa sions that tariff duties are not paid by the domestic consumer, but by the foreign . producer that they are the price be pays to gain admission to the American mar ket. Congressmen who believe the for eigner pays the duty might have no com punctions of conscience when the duty falls on a sugar or tobacco trust, but it must go against the grain for them to Impose duties which will have to be paid by the Puerto Rican producers, who are so poor that the general Government Is still feeding thousands of them. Mr. Ox- nard must have much influence in Con gress to induce its members to deal thus harshly with the suffering Puerto Ricana, who have been waiting patiently for a year and a half for untaxed commercial Intercourse with the United States. The Puerto Rlcans are, as Senator Foraker said the other day, "in distress, in pov erty. In squalor, hundreds of thousands of them." Then why does he Insist that they shall surrender part of the value of the products to get an American market for them? Why Ask for Bounties? New York World. The Cramps have just built a cruiser for Russia. They got the contract by the simple procesa of underbidding the ship builders of other countries. They got the contract In precisely the same way that an American bridge builder got the contract for the Atbara bridge; in pre cisely the same way that American loco motive builders have got contracts for lo comotives for use on British railways namely, by ability to do the work mora cheaply, more quickly and more satlsfac torlly than anybody else could do it. But If our ship-builders have brought their work to this state of superiority if they can build ships more cheaply than Englishmen or Frenchmen or Germans can why should they insist upon the reten tion of our antiquated and crippling navi gation laws? Why should they ask for bounties? i a How Should We Have Taken It? Boston Herald. President McKinley would be very glad to further a pacification In South Africa so far as the diplomatic proprieties per mit. This, however, la not very far, for on such a delicate question diplomacy moves among eggshells. He will not push his action beyond the line laid down by Impartial neutrality. During our late war with Spain the Administration would have resented an attempt on the part of any power to trench upon the boundaries of diplomatic neutrality, with the view of terminating hostilities, and, so far as Great Britain was concerned, we had from her only friendly assistance to keep other powers from interfering. o ' Close FlRhtlnff Still Wins. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Nothing has occurred in the South Afri can conflict to Indicate that arms of longer range have tended to increase casu alty lists. If Judgment were made up now a contrary view would have to be accepted- The new rifles add a novel element to the defense and that is Invisibility. Lyddite is offensive to the nose and the lungs, but Cronje yielded to the advance of riflemen, not to the new-fangled shells whose concussion alone was supposed to be fatal. Rifles of greater range have In creased the caution of armies, not their casualties. a o Not Genuine Khaki Cloth. New York Commercial. Khaki cloth, as we know It In this coun try. Is not khaki cloth. This Is something of a paradox, but It Is true. It Is per fectly proper to say our soldiers are dressed In khaki cloth, because custom has naturalized the word, which originally meant a textile plant grown In the East Indies. It has some of the characteristics of flax, producing a fabric of a brownish color. A material In Imitation of khaki cloth Is made, from cotton. o The Secretary of 'War's Views. The highest considerations of justice and good faith demand that we should not dis appoint the confident expectation of shar ing in our prosperity with which the peo ple of Puerto Rico so gladly transferred j their allegiance to the United States, and4 we should treat the interests of this peo ple as our own, and I wish most strongly to urge that the customs duties between Puerto Rico and the United States be re moved. Secretary of War Root In his an nual report. o GOVERNOR TAYLOR OUSTED. Final Consnmmntlon of the Con- splracy In Kentnclcy- Phlladelphla Times, Ind. Dem. That Colonel Taylor, the Republican candidate for Governor of Kentucky, was elected to that office by the people of the state Is hardly disputed by even his most violent opponents. The Goebel election law placed the whole political power of the state In the hands of Taylor's po litical enemies, and they have wielded It to the uttermost. It has been, a costly crime for those who planned and executed It, as Senator Goebel. the author of the Infamous elec tion law, was assassinated just when he was about to reap the fruits of his fraud; and now the Legislature, chosen by the same criminal methods, has formally de clared that Taylor Is not entitled to the of fice, and that declaration has been made In strict conformity with law. Taylor carried the case to the courts which are not politically friendly to him. and the lower court has decided against him, and the higher tribunal, to which it may be appealed, is reasonably certain to confirm the decision. The judicial decision Is clearly In accord with the ruling of our highest and best judicial tribunals, as the courts cannot set aside a legitimate act of the Legislature performed in obedience to the law. There Is nothing left for Governor Tay lor but to give" up the office to which he was elected, to the political usurpers who have displaced him with all the ceremonies of the law, and he will commit a very grave error If he shall attempt further resistance to the Democratic Governor, who, while without any moral right to the position, is fully fortified by the concur rent legislative and judicial judgment of the state. We sincerely hope that Gov ernor Taylor will at once give up the un equal and now unlawful contest. He has fought his battle manfully, and fraud has triumphed after he has exhausted all legi timate sources to defeat It. o The Cases Are Parallel. Philadelphia Record. Senator Simon, of Oregon, has very re cently exposed In Senator Carter a con necting link between Clark of Montana and Quay, of Pennsylvania. While Clark wishes to keep by hook or crook the seat Which he obtained by wholesale corrup tion. Quay seeks to get by aid of Clark's vote the seat for which the Legislature of Pennsylvania has rejected him. It would be difficult to determine, on grounds of political ethics, which Is the worse case, that of Clark or of Quay. If Mr. Quay should be admitted, asked Senator Simon. with great pertinence, what compensation could the Senate make to Mr. Corbett, who was rejected, though he had by no means as weak a claim to a seat as that of Quay? This Is a question that appeals strongly to the equity and honorable feelings of Senators. Senator Simon was undeniably right when he said that Mr. Quay ought to be estopped from claiming admission to a seat becaure he had voted against the admission of Corbett. If Mr. Quay be so wanting In a sense of propriety as to push for himself a claim which he would not allow when made by another It Is for the Senate to convince him of his false position. As the Senate Is the highest political body In the country it should not fall to set the highest examples of politi cal proprjety and decorum. 4 3 "A Matchless Titan." This phrase Is used by Professor Trent In an article In the International Monthly on Balzac. He says Balzac was "a match less Titan" and not "an Olympian," like Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton. Of Balzac's letters he says: They are not splrltuil documents like the Browning letters, or documents dealing with the amenities of friendship and social life like the Steveneon letters; and It may be doubted whether. In translation, rhey would appeal to one-tenth of the reader that have recently been fascinated with these two epistolary col lections. Tet they set before us a far greater man than either Browning or Stevenson, and their valuo will Increase with the yearn. Browning was a great man, but what be tells Elizabeth Barrett about his literary work seems almost trivial when we compare it with what Balzac tells Mme. Hanska of his. Stev ontn was a marvel of energy, considering all things, but when he writes about his work, he does not Impress us as does Balzac. The lat ter has not Browning's spiritual insight and depth; he has not Stevenson's charm; but he dwarfs them both by his Tltanlo energy and power. He has more sovereign force and am bition than any other man of lettera of this century; Indeed, at times his Titanic qualities do not suggest the man of thought at ail, rather the man of action, and, in particular, one supreme man of action Napoleon. e ! The Republican Press. The Administration has not a friend for Its Puerto Rlcan policy among the leading Republican papers of Chicago. The Times-Herald, the Tribune and the Inter Ocean are vying with each other In fight ing that policy and In predicting serious political consequences If a new national Issue be furnished by the passage of tha tariff clause of the bill. To the Senate. Chicago Times-Herald, Rep. The United States Serrate is Republican. It does not need the voto of Quay for any party measure. If It deliberately violates law and defies the popular will by seating Quay the people will hold the Republican party responsible for such violation of Na tional decency. o ' Senator Davis. What Is the reason that this tariff rate, anomalous, unheard of, unprecedented and temporary, should be applied to Puerto Rico while the other day a bill was passed in the other House appropriating 52,000.000 for Puerto Rico from the Treasury. Sen ator Cushman K. Davis. e Speak Up, Everybody. Louisville Courier-Journal. So Debs. too. has been nominated by something or other for President. If there is anybody who has not received one of these nominations yet, let him come for ward. There are still a few left. 4 e General Miles Promise to Puerto Rico Puerto Rico under the American flag will. enjoy the same privileges and the same Immunities as the citizens of the United States and territories of the Union. From General Miles' proclamation on invading the Island. o Scnntor Hoar. A duty on exports Is forbidden by the Constitution, and the proposed duty of 15 per cent on goods from the United States and Puerto Rico would be a violation of that prohibition. Senator George Frisbie Hoar. o Br-Senator Edmunds Speaks. I believe that the Puerto Rican tariff bill Is clearly unconstitutional and iolate3 all our agreements with and pledges to the Puerto Rlcans. If I were in the Sen ate I should certainly vote against it. Ex Senator Edmunds. o "Under One Flag." Our flag does not mean one thing hers and another thing in Cuba or Puerto Rico. President McKinley to M.000 Methodists at Ocean Grove on August 25, 1S99. a Writlna- Will Undo a Man. Chicago Journal. Mr. McKinley still believes In our plain duty, but he wishes he hadn't put It In the message. 3 0 Ex-Speaker Reed. The attempt to make three-quarter citi zens out of the Puerto Rlcans Is certainly orlglnal.-Ex-Speaker Reed. c NOTE AND COMMENT. It begins to look as If Pettigrew had talked himself out of the Senate. Bryan never lacks for wind, but of what avail is wind to a sinking ship? In a few weeks now, pedestrians will be able to resume the use of sidewalks. The Topeka Capital has been, of course, supporting tho church-social democracy. By striking, the local carpenters are by no means likely to hit tho nail on tha head. The theory of the Indestructibility of matter gets a pretty hard rub In the steam laundry. We are getting our Spring medicine in allopathic doses, and. we can stand a good deal more of the same kind. Uttle Jack Horner eat in a corner Thumping a. Christmas pie. But the Harveylzed crust he in vain tried to bust. And he gave up the Job with a elgh. A teacher In the Philadelphia Girls' Nor mal School tells a story of a girl of humble parentage who gave her name as Bridget when she was flrat enrolled. During her flret year Bridget changed to Bridgetta. During her second year the first syllable was dropped and she became Etta. That developed into Margaretta, and when she received her diploma her name was Mar guerite. From Bridget to Marguerite seems a far cry. but they do such things at the Normal School. A person who had a rccm on Washing ton) street under loase and was not us lns It sublet It to a local club of Dem ocratic politicians for a month for $20. When they vacated the room, it cost $30 to get it cleaned out and put in decent condition. The victim made no complaint, but savs he would pay $30 more to know how the club managed to get the room In such a condition In so short a time. Some member of that club possessed of tho desired! Information can sell It for a good price. They are telling a story In Chicago about an advance agent for the Thomas Orches tra who recently went to New Orleans to book dates for concerts'. He was told, however, that it would be well for him first to talk the matter over with a wealthy woman who Is a leader In the musical circles of the city. So he called at her residence, a great, old-fashioned brick mansion surrounded bya high brick wall. The gate was locked, and a ring brought out an old negro, who took the caller's card, on which was printed the legend, "Representing the Thomas Orchestra." Presently a young woman came to tho door, holding the card In her hand. Sho did not seem to understand the object of the call. The agent attempted to explain. but was cut short by the young woman, who said: "I don't think we want any mu sic today." T. Brook White, in a communication published In The Sunday Oregonlan. urg ing bicyclists to select as their candidates from among the nominees for all city and county offices, habitual riders only, says: "Rudyard Kipling said of the streets of Portland that they would disgrace an Irish village." Mr. Kipling said no such thing. What he did say In his account of a trip to the Clackamas, was: ''Half a mile from this city of 50,000 souls we struck (and this must be taken literally) a plank road that would have been a disgrace to an Irish village." If Mr. White's idea that electing bicycle riders only to office would be the means of providing a place for wheels on the streets other than side walks, were likely to prove correct, every body would favor It, but probably he Is as far from correct In this as in quoting Kipling. If the Council, now that flno weather has come and the streets are dry, would put a stop to bicycles being ridden on the sidewalks, it would earn the gratitude of a suffering and much-iraposed-upon public Mr. Justice Grantham, of England, cele brated by an odd judicial act the an nouncement of the relief of Klmberley. Ho was presiding in Liverpool at the trial of a man charged with assaulting and killing his brother-in-law. It seems that in a quarrel over Splonkop, the prisoner struck his brother-in-law with a poker so that he died a week later. The pris oner expressed "great contrition," and pleaded guilty, whereupon Justice Grant ham said: "The war was an all-absorbing topic, and as very satisfactory news had been received that day as to the re- lief of klmberley, he thought justice would be met by giving the prisoner tho benefit of the good tidings." The prisoner was thereupon discharged. A similar caao was tried in 1SS4. before Chief Justice Pier pont, of the Vermont Supreme Conrt. A discharged Union soldier was violently assaulted by a deserter from the English Army in Canada, and shot his assailant to escape being thrown off a high piazza. It was proved on the trial that tho Eng lishman had provoked the quarrel by curs ing the American flag, reviling Lincoln and denouncing the Union Army. Judge Pierpont. In his charge, told the jury that In a time of war, when patriotism natu rally became passionate In Its intensity of feeling, an ex-Union soldier would nat urally be provoked beyond restraint by the offensive language used by his an tagonist concerning the flag, the Presi dent and the Army, and that the Jury had a right to consider the extreme provo cation to anger the prisoner had received before he was assaulted. The Jury promptly acquitted the prisoner. o The Rlpcnlngr W. M. Gamble In Atlantic O vast, unwildly land of ours Like some huge Titan boy thou art. Whose young blood surges througH his heart In a crude strife of powers. Until come tingling moment when One co" wrings all true souls, and then Thou standest In the strength of wrath and tears Thou gatherest all thyself to tower above thy peers I Thee, new-born far beyond the main. God cradled in a new-found clime That wistful Europe's dreams sublime Might not eeem all In vain; Hope, reawakenlrg at thy birth. Thrilled the droopt oonssters of the earth To brief ecstatic Joy. Ere long In thee Shall they behold the pledge of one Humanity? The nations, ay, the natJon3 wait. Thy ripening. Shall they lift their eyea To see thee knit thy thews and rise, Single, and whole, and great? Not sooner for the bugle-call. Not sooner for the sound of all The cannonades that roar beneath the eun. Knowledge and Love and Toll shall slowly make thee one. What oong hall hall yon far-off morn? Must hope be sung In sweet sad walla By Europe'n rich-voiced nightingales. Bleeding against a thorn? Come, new-world Lark I Come, future seer In thy strong chanting men shall hear Love dominant, through the triumph hymn of Life, While long-retreating drums beat the dead march of strife.