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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1900)
r ?nrt THE MORNING OREGONIAN, TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 1900. -SRp )Q&xtitm Entered at the Postofflce at Portland, Oregon. aa second-class matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Booms.... 163 I Businesa Offlce....GS7 KEV1SED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mall (postage prepaid). In Advance Dally, with Sunday, per month... . ....$0 S3 2ally, Sunday excepted, per year......... 7 00 Dally, with Sunday, per year -. 9 00 Sunday, per year .-.. .. 2 00 The Weekly, per" year. .i. ........ ... 1 SO The "Weekly. 2 months.............. 60 To City Subscribers Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays excepted.l5o Dally, per -week, delivered. Sundays lncluded.20a The Oregcnlan does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to It without solicita tion. No stamps should be inclosed for this purpose. News or discussion Intended for publication la The Oregonlan should be addressed Invariably "Editor The Oregonlan," not to tho name ot any Individual. Letters relating: to advertising, subscriptions or to any business matter should be addressed simply "The Oregonlan." Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, office at 1111 Pacific avenue. Tacoma. Box 853, Tacom.i postofflce. Eastern Business Office The Tribune build ing. New Tortc city; "The Rookery." Chicago: the S. C. Beckwlth special agency. New York. For sale In San Francisco by J. K. Cooper. 40 Market street, near the Palace hotel, and at Goldsmith Bros.. 238 Sutter street. For sale In Chicago by tha P. a News Cc. 21. Dearborn street. TODAY'S WEATHER.-Fair, except rain In morning; warmer; winds southwest to west. PORTLAXP, TUESDAY, MARCH 27. SOCIAL DEMOCRACY. There are signs that "The Social De mocracy," which already has presented Its candidate Eugene V. Debs for the Presidency, will be a considerable fac tor in many states this year. It has newspaper organs In Illinois, Kansas and Ohio; it will present electoral tick ets in a majority of the states, and in several may have strength enough to become a balance of power. It might be thought that the Bryan Ized Democracy was socialistic enough to meet all requirements of men of this description. But, though fts tendencies are plainly that way, it does not ven ture yet to declare war on the existing social and Industrial order, to the ex tent of demanding that Government shall take possession of the machinery of production and distribution, direct the operations of labor and give every man his "share" of the proceeds. This Is what Social Democracy wants. It demands that Government shall take control of property employed in pro duction and distribution, and adminis ter it. Bryanism Insists that Govern ment should not protect such property against efforts to destroy It, through riotous proceedings like those in Idaho last year, and at Chicago and Sacra mento when President Cleveland sent the military to restore order. The So cial Democracy Insists that Govern ment shall be the owner and employer; the Bryan Democracy does not declare against private ownership, but is for free riot Opposition to preservation of order and protection of property against mobs is a cardinal principle ot Brj-anism. It does not want mobs in terfered with when they blow up mines and destroy factories and. railroad de pots. The purpose of Social Democracy Is that there shall be no more private ownership in or private control of the meiis of production. It Intends the destruction of private capital, or Capi tal, in the sense in which socialists use that word. It means the Introduction of common or collective property in the Instruments of production, and on the basis of this collective property a ma chinery of production forming a single system, carried on by public corporate bodies, communal groups and systems of groups; and it means moreover state organization of the distribution of what remains to be divided out of the col lective output after the satisfaction of the public requirements the distribu tion to be made In proportion to the share of work contributed by each indi vidual, as some have It, or, as others have it, according to individual needs. All this to be under the rule of pure popular sovereignty, both In the In dustrial sphere and In the Government or State. Under such system It Is evi dent Chat the present constitution of so ciety, with its basis of private property, would be entirely changed; and such change Is the distinct and avowed ob ject. It would involve the abolition of all relationships of private service, the present hire or wage system, as well as all private dealing in commodities, In services and In the use of commodities. It would mean the cessation of trades, of markets, the currency, credit, the abolition of all kinds of interest and rent, and the introduction of a system of public payment for work as the sole form of income. The object Is an ex clusive and universal system of collect ive production and distribution of commodities entirely superseding the capitalistic system, and thus also the wage system, in the interests of "in dividual freedom and the equality of all." This Is a scheme on which Debs stands as a candidate for the Presi dency. It Is going to carry a good many votes, chiefly those of wagework ers in the cities, and of dreamers of reform, who think the world badly made up, because, through lack of en ergy or adaptability, they have not "been able to get on In it. Every man who fails thinks his failure due to oth ers, or to society at large, never to himself. In nearly all these cases It happens that the man does not under take to direct the fortune of the state till he has demonstrated his incompe tence to conduct his own affairs. BISHOP POTTER'S OBSERVATIONS. Every one who visits the Philippine Islands and studies the situation there soon reaches the conclusion that it is impossible for the Filipinos to maintain national independence and self-government. This is the key to the whole situation. It is the condition that makes it impossible for us to withdraw, and the condition that makes it neces sary for us, since we must stay, to re quire obedience to the authority of the United States. The Oregonlan has heretofore re printed extracts from the statement given by Bishop Henry S. Potter to the New York Evening Post. In another journal we And a statement from him that is entirely similar. Bishop Pot ter was at flrst strongly opposed to re tention of the Philippine Islands by the United States. Since he has been there to see, his mind has undergone great change, and he freely says so. The test Is the question whether the people of the Philippines are capable of self-government aod could maintain their na tional independence. Bishop Potter pronounces it impossible. "It is non sense." he says, "to talk of the native Filipinos having ability to organize a government of their own. It Is only In rare cases that any of them show any real governing power." Again: "If the Philippines were given a civil govern ment tomorrow, we could not take away the soldiers." Still further: "I believe that a military government is, for a while, the only feasible form of government." Bishop Potter believes that pacifica tion of the islands Is near at hand. Friends of Agutnaldo told him that the Insurgent cause was hopeless, and the better class of natives are satisfied that American occupation means good order and increased prosperity. "The war," says Bishop Potter, "is practically over, the only Insurgent activity now being of a guerrilla character that resembles the adventurous freebooter wars of Southern Italy. The majority of Fili pinos are friendly to us, have every confidence in our soldiers, and are 'ready to come under our Government. This friendly feeling Is shown every where by the children, who are devoted to the soldiers." Bishop Potter is not a politician try ing to make an argument for a party nor a speculator with views of exploita tion, nor a soldier on the search for military opportunities. He is a philan thropist, following the course of right and duty, as he sees It; and there is courage as well as candor in his frank acknowledgment of change of mind on the subject, brought about by personal observation. THE LATEST BLOW AT TRUSTS. The decision of the United States Supreme Court in the case of the "Waters-Pierce Company against the State of Texas certainly looks as if all right ful and practicable remedies against trusts can be invoked under laws easy of enactment by the states, provided only Legislatures will set about the task in a sincere and intelligent way. The State of Texas undertook to de clare forfeit the charter of the Waters Pierce Company, an agent of the Stand ard Oil Company, as a penalty for vio lation of the anti-trust law of the state. The company appealed from the decision of the state courts, but the United States Supreme Court affirms the decision, and unless some other rem edy can be found by the Standard Oil people, their agent's charter is forfeit and their business as a trust in Texas Is at an end. They will be forced, here after, to sell their product to jobbers In open market In the ordinary way. This is a decided triumph for fair business methods. The Texas law, passed last year, ac quires, through this decision, consider able interests for students and lawmak ers. It provides, in substance, that every combination of capital or Its equivalent for the restraint of trade. whether organized under the laws of Texas or any state, doing busi ness within the state, shall be deemed a trust or monopoly. The act prohibits the giving away of any article or sell ing it for less than cost for the pur pose of preventing free comnetltion In manufacture or distribution. Refusal to sell to any person because he is not a member of the combination Is pro hibited. Purchasers of articles manu factured by violators of the law can not be required to pay for them. Each corporation Is required yearly to state under oath whether it is in any "pool." Failure to answer within thirty days Is considered evidence of guilt. Cor porations violating the act are subject to a loss of their charters or prohibited from doing business within the state, and are subject to a fine of from $200 to $5000 for each offense. Every dav's business is a separate offense. All court business may be set aside for the trial of a case under the act, and prosecut ors are given one-fourth of the penal ties imposed under the law. Here, evidently, are several separate weapons possible for use against the customary methods of trusts. The one rAenrta.4 r In flirt J,mnil .. j j .t.uw.wt-u iu in. mo BiJirviiuu Uiititi just ue- cided Is the inhibition of refusal to sell to any person because not a mmhpr of the combination. The Standard Oil people, through their agents, the "Waters-Pierce people, made contracts with certain merchants by which the oil company required them to buy of it ex clusively, not to SPlI in nnv nann handling competing oils, and to sell at a price nxed by the company. The statutes must be considered in refer ence to these contracts, said Justice MCKenna. In any other aspect they are not subject to our review on this record, except the power of the state court to restrict their regulation to local commerce." It must be borne in mind that the constitutionality of the Texas act, as a whole, has not been passed unon. Th defense of the appellant company was restricted to the inviolability of their contracts, tne State Court of ADDenli and the United States Supreme Court aiso holding that the status of the com pany's business after the passage of the act was subject to the provisions or tnat act. They could obey it, or take the consequences. As long as results of this kind car be reached under state . laws, the demand for amendment of the Federal Constitution In the inter est of trust supression will not get mucn attention. OFFICIAL BANISHMENT OF CIGAR ETTES. The order of the chief of the Woathor Bureau at "Washington prohibiting per sons connected with the service from smoking cigarettes in office hours will be generally Indorsed by business men whose patience has been greatlv tried with the carelessness and inattention to business details, due. as it is be lieved, to the prevalence of this habit among desk employes. The order Is given (as Is that which frequently dis misses from service In transportation business otherwise competent men who drink immoderately), not In the interest of morality or through officious suDer- vlsion of the personal habits of em ployes, but strictly for the good of the service, which demands alert, clear headed men. The public interest is arbiter In these matters, dominated, of course, by self-interest of those in authority. That cigarette smoking Is a form of self-in dulgence that conduces to llstlessness, and that In turn to laxness in the ner- formance of duty, no one can doubt who has had to deal with this habit in connection with business mattery. The method inaugurated by Chief Moore will. If adopted by employers gener ally, or even partially, do more to check and ultimately to abolish this baleful habit than all the legislation that can be brought to bear against IL It Is practical, has sufficient reason be hind it, and will receive the Indorse ment of alert business men every where. "While the time may come, owing to the Increasing demand for close and exacting application, when the cigar and pipe will be barred from offices where desk work, the value of which depends upon accuracy and promptness. Is performed, that time is not yet; but when the necessity for such an order becomes apparent to clear-headed business men, it will be given and employes will have to con form to it. Practical reform does not fritter away its energies in paltry methods and much speaking. It bides its time, gives a sound reason for its edict, speaks, and it is done. Self-interest hold3 the whip hand in human affairs, and it will surely use it,, when too closely pressed, upon whatever mili tates against its accomplishment along business lines. Reforms based upon this fact are those that may be depend ed upon for performance. Until the pipe and cigar are banished In office hours, such orders as that of Chief Moore's will doubtless tend to en courage consumption of real tobacco and put a deserved opprobrium upon the pestilential cigarette. He should go farther, however, and require every cigarette fiend to have his fingers scoured and his clothing fumigated be fore entering the office. "What Is the use of fighting germs and cleaning out sewers when the noxious fumes of the cigarette are permitted to pollute the atmosphere? THE ABLER CONGRESSMEN. Commenting on the fact that "the abler members of Congress of recent years do not come from the greater cities of the Union," the Boston Her ald says that the prizes in professional and business life In great cities are such that men of ability will not sacrifice them for seats in Congress, and fur ther says that the party machinery of great cities Is in such hands that "the abler kind of men, unless they are rich, are shut out from office by those who control it." These reasons furnish only a partial and inadequate explanation. The chief reason why men who have spent their youth and manhood in the atmosphere of great cities do not as a rule make able Congressmen is because they do not comprehend any public opinion outside the business and social circles of the great city In which they have spent their lives. Such men may be very able lawyers, as was "William M Evarts; they may bo very able financiers, as was Devi P. Morton; they may be very able men of business, as was Abram S. Hewitt; they may be very able railway mag nates and after-dinner speakers, like Chauncey Depew, but these men, not from lack of intellectual force, but from lack of dally contact with the average American who represents the ruling public opinion of the towns and vil lages of the land, never know what two-thirds of the American people are thinking about. If a foreigner should want to find out how, the average American lives, or to' master the salient points of American character, with a view of determining what our people would probably do in an Important political emergency, the very worst place of residence would be to live five years in this country exclu sively in some of our great cities and accept the leaders of Its highest busi ness, political and social circles as his teachers. Chauncey Depew Is as able, brilliant and versatile a man as New York political club statesmanship has produced, and yet how little he knows about the character of the American people outside of his own state com pared with a country-bred Congress man of ability and experience! The country-bred Congressman is a child of the conditions of average American life outside of our great cities. He knows fairly well what the average American Is thinking about and what he Is likely to do under a given set of political or industrial circumstances, while Mr. De pew knows all about railway manage ment and knows nothing In particular about the American people outside of the narrow circle of the very wealthy merchants, the eminent bankers, the able lawyers and men of affairs whom he has been accustomed to entertain, if not instruct, with his serio-comic polit ical vaticinations for the last thirty years. The Union League Club of New York City includes a great many very able men, who have won large business and professional success. It is full of polit ical philosophers; it is much given to political proclamations of its views in what it' chooses to consider important emergencies. Does anybody remember within the last twenty years when any utterance of the Union League Club exercised any appreciable Influence out side of its dining-room? Some of the conspicuous members of this club have been sent to Congress. Does anybody remember any Union League Congress man who ever exercised any notable influence in politics within Congress or without it? Their lack of influence was not due to lack of ability, or Intelli gence, or oharacter; it was due to the fact that they were not In touch with ordinary American life; they knew nothing of it: felt no sympathy with it. They had never listened attentively to that talk of the sidewalk that "Wendell Phillips shrewdly said was the ultimate law of the land. And this is the chief reason why New York City and other great cities do not often send men to Congress who become men of conspicu ous national Influence. Great cities become more or less cos mopolitan in feeling and manners; indi vidualism that counts for so much In the American towns and villages counts for little comparatively In a great city, so that your city-bred Congressman, while he may be an able master of his business, or his profession, or may know books, is not often a man of nat ural or acquired ability for political leadership of the kind that obtains in average American life outside of great cities. This Is probably truer today than It ever was before in our Ameri can history, and yet it was always a fact since we had any cities large enough and old enough to create any visible line of clear distinction between the life and manners of the city and the village. Fifty years ago it was rare to find a city-bred man a conspicuous leader in either house of Congress. The only great city of the East that sent men to Congress who were of conspic uous ability fifty years ago was Bos ton. The Northern statesmen of con spicuous ability in 1850 were country bred quite as much as they are today, and even in the case of Boston her greatest statesman was a country-bred man of high reputation for ability be fore he sought Boston as a residence. Very seldom even fifty years ago did a mdn city bred from youth up become a conspicuous political leader In the House or the Senate. Cowper wrote: "God made the country, while roan made the town," and it looks as if Cow per, measured by the superior political manhood of the country, was right. The delay of Lord Roberts at Bloem fonteln will probably continue until a base of operations is established at some point on the railway between the crbsslng of the Vaal at Fourteen Streams and Mafeking for a column marching to the eastward through the Transvaal at the same time that Lord Roberts advances with his main body, with his railway base behind him. "With this subsidiary column threaten ing their right while General Butler's army presses their left, the Boers can not reasonably hope to resist the Brit ish advance, but will be pushed back by Lord Roberts Into Pretoria, which has a mountainous country behind it. From Kroonstad "a railway runs northwest to Vier Fontein, close to Klerksdorp Drift, on the "Vaal River. Klerksdorp, the terminus of the line to Krugersdorp and Johannesburg, is easily reached from this point. Tho carrying on of the war by Lord Rob erts involves the transportation of 70, 000 troops, and their supply on a line which is today 750 miles from the sea base at Cape Town and 450 miles from Its sea base at Port Elizabeth. The railway lines are narrow-gauge, the grades are steep, and coal has to be carried 500 miles from the coast. Pre toria is distant 1040 miles from Cape Town, and 740 miles from Port Eliza beth, and it is doubtless correctly re ported that Lord Roberts has been busy accumulating supplies at Bloem fonteln as a semi-base sufficient for his next forward movement. It is as hard for the Republican party to let go of Protection as it was for the Democratic party to let go of Slavery. Yet the former is as clearly an economic evl as the latter was though it lacks some- of the grosser evils on the moral side. Protection, however, is doomed, as Slavery was; and this effort to protect some of the people under the flag of the United States against others and at the ex pense of others under the flag of the United States, reveals the error and enormity of the whole system. Even when you examine its work and its re sults at home, what Is Protection but an invocation of the powers of Gov ernment to rob the whole people for the benefit of a particular interest? There has been no such revelation of the true character of Protection to the people of the United States as they have in this Puerto Rican outrage. The utter recklessness with which business was transacted under the name of banking in the months Imme diately preceding the general financial collapse of 1893 is seen In the effort of the receiver of the Union Banking Com pany, of this city, to realize upon the assets of that concern after a lapse of seven years. The sums of $1, offered for a note for $1260 by one man; of $20 for his own note of $500 by another; or $40 for notes of a corporation aggre gating $17,000, tell the story of unbusi nesslike transactions for which depos itors (with whom a few honorable names as shareholders and directors carried weight) paid dearly. Sifted to the bottom, these transactions would be branded as dishonest; glossed over, they are called unfortunate, and as such they are booked against a. number of well-known names. The Salem Statesman says the Bank Examiner of the Forks Is and always was a gold-standard man. And yet, during his whole career In the Legisla ture and out of it, he was trying to send silver men to Congress and to prevent gold men from getting there. It was Johnson's kind of gold-standard men that made all the difficulties for the Re publican party in Oregon and came very near turning the state over to the Demo-Populists; from which indeed it was saved only by the vote of the sin gle County of Multnomah. In John son's own county (Linn) Bryan got 700 majority; and throughout the state, where the work of such "gold-standard" men as he was done, the results were similar. Johnson never cared for; principle. He was one of many in a gang of mercenaries who were de voted to faction and to pursuit of office. The lack of parental supervision of boys Is never more apparent than in cases of dignified and Impressive public ceremonies. Thus, for example, when the crowds were awaiting In Riverview cemetery last Sunday the arrival of the funeral cortege, dozens, perhaps hun dreds, of boys, wholly unsupervised, romped and wrestled over graves, tum bled about among the shrubbery, shouted names from the headstones and made themselves generally the most irreverent of nuisances. These are not bad boys. They are simply un trained, unsupervised boys, let loose with their flow of animal spirits upon an occasion which they made one of unseemly hilarity. The parents, who were nowhere in evidence except In the existence of the unmannerly boys, were to blame not the .untaught boys. Senator Allen, of Nebraska, says he Is prepared to admonish men not to en list for service in the Philippines, be cause the conditions are too bad there for human 'existence. "Very well, then; let us admit that we are cowards and milksops and poltroons; that we are unequal to the work the English are doing In Africa and India, and the French In Madagascar and Cochln China, and the Dutch In Java. Let us confess our cowardice arid weakness and sneak home. , Anti-Expansion's "Wry Fncc. Baltimore Sun. Bishop Potter, of New York, has re turned from the Philippines impressed with tho Idea that the archipelago must be held permanently by the United States, and that the Filipinos are not caDable of self-government. Bishop Potter Is a man of affairs, clear-minded, alert and earn est. He did not always hold his present views about the Philippines, however. Hardly a year ago he said that "any man with Intellect should be ashamed to affirm that because we have bought the Islands we have possession. . . . When a na tion forgets the sober promises it has made it has struck the flrst note of de cay. "Wo aro pledged by the most solemn obligations to sustain freedom. "We ought to go back and wriggle our own necks Into tho English yoke and see how we like It. . . Let us suppose, however, that this Republic has crushed out the last ember of rebellion and stifled every faint est note of protest. The old revolution ary Idea survives, the old passion of free dom wakes anew, and so the new posses sions must be vigorously governed." Bishop Potter has the right to change his opinions, and If he discards views which he openly proclaimed a year ago that Is his affair, as it Is his privilege. Possibly GeneralOtls convinced him during his stay in Manila that the situation had entirely changed, and that we are not "pledged by the most solemn obligations to sustain freedom." The Bishop Is simply exercis ing an unquestionable prerogative of American citizenship when ho "abouta face" on the oropositlons which he laid down with so much vigor and earnestness In an address in Brooklyn 6n January IL 1899. It Is nobody's business if he upsets .his own arguments on the question of self government and liberty. It will interest tho South, however, to learn, on the au thority of Bishop Potter, that the Filipino boys and girls make excellent cotton fac tory operatives and acquire a practical knowledge of the business much mora quickly than white children. Possibly in time we may Import Filipinos to work for cheap wages in American cotton fac tories, or, better still, wa may establish cotton factories In the archipelago to man ufacture goods for our "Eastern trade," and perhaps for sale in the United States. LOSS OF BONDS AND CURRENCY. Millions of Profit to the Treasury of the United States. Chicago Record. Washington. The Government has al ways made money by the loss or destruc tion of bonds, notes and paper money which cannot be presented for redemption. Many drafts and warrants upon the Treas ury issued in payment of current expenses have never been presented. Some may be lost in the malls or mislaid by people who own them. Of course, it is impossible to explain where they go to, but tho records of the dead-letter office show that people are remarkably careless about such things. Several million dollars in money goes astray In the malls, and finally turns up at the dead-letter office every year, be cause 6f mistakes in addressing envelopes and other forms of carelessness on the part of tho senders; whereas the natural loss and destruction of money from unavoid able causes Is quite as great. The Govern ment lost fully $1,000,000 In tho Chicago fire, but that could be replaced. The amount lost by citizens cannot be cal culated. There must have been several millions of paper currency destroyed at that time In the cash drawers, clothing, vaults and tin boxes of people whose houses and stores were consumed. It la estimated that the profits of tho Government In the destruction of paper money since 1S66 have been not less than $1,000,000 a year. Of the loan of 1812,- Issued in payment ot sundry vessels built for naval purposes, and amounting to $711,000, $100 still re mains outstanding; a $500 bond of the loan of 1SO0 has never been presented; $4600 in bonds of the $16,000,000 loan of 1813; $43,160 of the Treasury notes of 1814, and $41,030 of the Treasury notes or 1S15 have never been redeemed. Of the notes of 1846, $S2, 526 are still outstanding; of the $5,000,000 bonds Issued to satisfy claims growing out of the annexation of Texas, $21,000 remain unsettled, unredeemed. Of the United States bonds Issued during the Civil War. $1,208,000 have never turned up; of the bonds Issued In aid of the Union Pacific Railroad, $13,000 have never been offered for redemption; $31,000 of the Cen tral Pacific bonds, and $0000 of the Kansas Pacific bonds, making a total gain of $1,258,000 to the Government In the loss or destruction of bonds since 1861. Occasion ally some of the old bonds como In, hav ing been discovered In a garret or hidden In a crevice in tho wall, In an old trunk or a teapot. Last year $410 In bonds wero presented for redemption, upon which the Interest ceased 19 years ago. Probably the greatest profit ever enjoyed by the Government aB a result of the de struction of money was In connection with the fractional currency or shinplasters Is sued during the Civil War. The total amount Issued was $35S,724,079, of which $6,SS0,55S has never been presented for re demption. A large amount has been pre served as curios by collectors, and occa sionally even now It is offered for redemp tion. This was especially the case during the recent hard times. People who had the old "shinplasters" of war times in their cabinets and scrap books got hard up and sent them In for redemption. In 1SG1 $60,000,000 of what were called "demand notes" were Issued bv tho Gov ernment to pay the emergency expenses of the war. Of this amount, $53,S47 has never been offered for redemption. The same year, $266,593,440 In compound interest notes were Issued, of which $16S,110 are still outstanding; $59,055 of the one and two year notes and $132,630 of the famous seven-thirty notes are still outstanding. But almost every year small amounts of all these old Issues turn up for redemption. Only a few weeks ago a man hrought In ono of the $100 seven-thirty notes, and last year $710 were presented at the sub Treasury In New York of the compound interest notes, upon which interest ceased moro than a quarter of a century 'ago. As a rule, the paper money and the bonds that remain outstanding are of small de nomination, which shows that people are more careless In handling small than large sums of money. 4 8 1" UXDER THE "WHIP. BoNses of the Lobby "Who Worlc for Oppression of Puerto Rico. Chicago Inter Ocean, Rep. Committees of the Senate and House listened patiently to all that Mr. Myrick, Mr. Oxnard, and their associates had to say against free trade with Puerto Rico. Some of the strongest party men In Con gress, who havo had great experience In legislation, listened respectfully to Mr. Myrick when he threatened the Republi can party with the opposition of the 500. 000 subscribers who, he alleged, were tak ing his several papers, and of the 2,000,000 voters interested or represented In his Pro-, ducers' League. The time was when, If any man had attempted to crack his whip as did Mr. Oxnard, or Mr. Myrick, in the Senate committee-room, he would have been kicked out. But, In this case, Sen atprs representing Western constituencies listened patiently to. the threats of these men, and passed without rebuke their declarations to the effect that It was to their Interest not to have Puerto Rico prosperous. Mr. Myrick (who poses as "chairman of the League of Domestic Producers") claimed that 2.000,000 men among the pro ducing classes in this country would vote against any candidates for Congress or President who espoused the cause of free trade in Puerto Rico. He assumed to speak for the people of the West, and the House, taking It for granted that he did s.peak for the people of the West, changed ground on tho most Important question now before the public, and Republicans who have been zealous In the cause of ex pansion marched over in a body to the ground occupied by the anti-expansionists. It Is admitted that the members of the House did not change ground on con viction, but in the belief that their party was in danger through the intrigues and conspiracies 'of men like Myrick and Ox nard. It Is apparent toaay that the ma jority of the Republicans In Congress, with the pressure of the Oxnard lobby removed, would stand where they always have stood, In favor of expansion and In favor of treating Puerto Rico fairly. They pretend, however, that It is their duty, In the face of the declaration of Mr. Myrick and his associates, to yield their convictions and to save to the party the 2,000,000 votes which Mr. Myrick carries around In his pocket. They insist that they yield their own convictions at the demands of the people. If Republican Congressmen are honest In this, the question Is of easy settlement. Since Mr. Oxnard' and Mr. Myrick spoka tho people themselves have spoken. Reso lutions like this have been adopted in nearly every Congressional district In the West: "Resolved, That we favor action by Congress giving to the people of Puerto Rico tho same advantages of trade that the various states in the Union now en joy." This Is of particular Interest to Chicago Congressmen who supported the Puerto Rico tariff bill, because it was adopted by the Republicans of the Twenty-Fifth Ward of this city. But It Is of general Interest to all Congressmen who supported the. Oxnard tariff bill, because resolutions like It have been adopted at every meeting of Republicans held within the last three weeks. The telegrams, letters, petitions and appeals that hay gone forward to Con gressmen and Senators, and to the Presi dent, are certainly as true indications of the people's real views as anything Mr. Oxnard or Mr. Myrick can say. A vote taken today would show that nine-tenths of the Republicans In every ward and township in the states of the Middle West are in favor of expansion, in favor ot free trade with Puerto Rico, and against Mr. Myrick, Mr. Oxnard and all others who have been worldng persistently for two years to overthrow the expansion policy. If Congressmen doubt the truth of this statement let them come home and Investi gate for" themselves, but under no consid eration let them mvlte the defeat of the party by the repudiation of a party princi ple, and do this on the pretense that the people demand it. Whatever else may be said of Western Republicans, they are not under Mr. Myrick's whip, nor In his pocket. a u PANAMA OR NICARAGUA T The Advantages and Disadvantages Compared, New York World. De Lessep's plan was for a canal at sea level. This has been abandoned. The route of the Panama Canal is from As plnwall or Colon to Panama, the short est" distance between the oceans'. The highest point to be cut through is the Culebra watershed, 284 feet above tide water. . The disadvantages of tho Panama route are tha deadly climate, the uncertainties of the Chagres river, which Is sometimes almost dry and at other times in tre mendous flood. The great problem which many engineers have declared Is unsur mountable is to control the river. After 10 years of construction, during which $250,000,000 was spent, of which $140, 000,000 was either stolen or spent In cor ruption funds, the Panama scandal put an end to the work. In 1S94 a new com pany resumed construction. It has com pleted 16 miles of canal, -about two-fifths of the whole. It Is proposed to control the tide action by locks and the feed supply by artificial lakes and dams. Tho Nicaragua canal route Is a fraction under 170 miles from ocean to ocean. It begins at Greytown. There fs necessary 14.87 miles of canal excavation at the east side. This is necessary to reach the San Juan River. Vessels must ba raised 110 feet "by locks; the lifts vary from 30 to 40 feet. Many dams are necessary to make the river navigable. When Lake Nicaragua Is reached there 13 plain sailing for more than 100 miles. On the western side there Is more excavation through the val leys of the Rio del Medio and the Rip Grande, a cut through solid rock, three locks and then Is entered the harbor of Brlto, on the Pacific Coast. One of the gravest objections to the Nicaragua route is the danger from vol canic disturbances, which, might com pletely wreck the canal at any time. The native name for Nicaragua Is significant, Cuscatlan, "the land that sways like a hammock." As to cash, an International board of engineers decided that the Panama Canal can be finished In 10 years for $100,000, 000. The estimates for the Nicaragua Ca nal are about the same, so far as its own engineers are concerned, but disinterested ones say it will cost $150,000,000 to con struct tho great waterway. o "Threatened Calamity.' There are "miserable little newspapers" that never are so happy as when misrep resenting Tho Oregonlan. Here, now, is the Eugene Register, which prints the following, under the above head: The Oregonlan carves notice that It will brook no criticism from, the country press, or what in its arrogance It pleases to term the '"miserable little newspapers." On top of this cornea the statement that this la a political year, and "If they (the country presa) will take rote of this now. It may save them some vexa tion." This Is a covert attack couched In a vagueness of language the Intent of which Is to strike terror to the hearts of country Jour nalists. The Oregonlan win repeat what It said, just to show how pitiful a prevaricator this one "miserable little newspaper" Is, viz: The Oregonlan Is not published to pleaee tho little, cheap, self-seeking politicians of the country, nor the miserable little newspapers that toady to them. It Is published for the people at large. Therefore the little, cheap, self-eeeking politicians, and the little news paper organs that accept enslavement to them, needn't read The Oregonlan, unless they desire. It Is all one to "It whether they like or dislike it. Since this Is a political year. If they will take note of thLs now. It may save them some vexation. Onco more to the brother: He Is not compelled to read The Oregonlan, and It's all ono to it whether he and such aa ho like or dislike It. JJJCnnnot Pat Aside Onr Responsi bilities.. Bishop Henry C. Potter. I am convinced that we must adhera to our possession of the Philippines. Time will settle all the problems which con front us in those Islands, and whatever the difficulties that may be In store, we have all tho gifts that are caMed for to meet theso Increased tasks and responsi bilities. We cannot now put aside tho re sponsibilities we took upon ourselves, whether tho outcome bo for the better or for the worse. Apart from the moral ob ligation of carrying out the duty we have imposed upon ourselves, the comity of na tions requires that this country should keep its control of the islands. a Twero Well It Were Done Quickly. St. Paul Pioneer Press, Rep. It Is said that several thousand Repub lican newspapers demand freo trade with Puerto Rico, while perhaps only 10 or a dozen favor a tariff against the islands. Congressmen would do well to note the fact. They cannot safely throw them selves against the almost unanimous sen timent of the press. For the newspapers, as a rule, keep their hands on the popu lar pulse a good deal more observantly than 13 possible for any Congressman. a Troubles All Aronnd. Yonkets Statesman. Mrs. Crimsonbeak John, do you considei tho efforts of the peace conference were a failure? Mr. Crimsonbeak Decidedly so! Look at the troubles in the Philippines, this un pleasantness In South Africa, and even the members of our church choir, I under stand,' are having troubles of their own. No Reciprocation. Indianapolis Journal. "Isn't England rather slow?" "Slow about what?" "Why, about sending us her sympathy and condolence in regard to our war In Kentucky." o Tribute to "Old Bullion." Appropriately enough, the portrait of Thomas H. Benton will bo the chief decoration of the new 2 per cent bonds. It is a fitting tribute to the memory of "Old Bullion" and his adherence to the gold standard. s fri i The Partlntr of the "Ways. Joseph B. Glider In Harper's Weekly. "Un trammeled Giant of the "West. With all of Nature's gifts endowed. With all of Heaven's mercies blessed. Nor of thy power unduly proud Peerless In courage, force and skill. And godlike In thy strength of will Before thy feet the ways divide; One path leads up to heights sublime: The other downward slopes; where bide The refuse and the wrecks of Time. Choose, then, nor falter at the start, O choose the nobler path and part! Be thou the guardian of the weak, Of the unfriended, thou the friend; No guerdon for thy valor seek. No end beyond the avowed end. "Wouldst thou thy godlike power preserve. Be godlike In th will to ccrvs! NOTE AND COMMENT. Having shut up tho gamblers, the Ntew York police might try their hand on Bryan. Henry Wattorson doesn't expect any; serious trouble In Kentucky. Neither did' Buller in South Africa. The rattlesnake never had any great reputation for Industry, but he is always able to make both ends meet. Deba will find when he gets into tha Presidential fight that tho runs of his Ufa were made when he was a locomotive en gineer. McKInley can go the man who ssdd none so blind as those who will not see" one better. They are not half so blind aa those who are not allowed to see. A visitor at the White Houso in 1SG4 said: "We in Buffalo believe In Abra ham Lincoln and Almighty God." "Well " said Lincoln, as he sped his guest, "you are half right." It costs $2 to take a bath at Capo Nome, out It must be remembered in extenuation that the condition of tho water up thero most of the year round'is such thata bath Is solid comfort. An ostrich trust Is tho latest monopoly. Colonel Bryan will undoubtedly ask to be nut down for a largo block of stock. He took lessons in running from a Texas ostrich last fall. if enthf fflc,als tho.Brltish Colo- woL ? 9 iad CCaslon to consult Mar ked, the executioner, as to the most rapid' SSLf rmnS a man out oC existed Marwood expressed himself in favor of what ho professionally called "tho lone drop, and drove home his argument by remarking: "Thero was a Mr. Peace, now. a small man; I gave him a six-foot drop and I hassure you, sir. he passed hoff ,llko a Summer heve." London Punch caricatured tho custom of giving thanks to the Almighty for vic tory In war so effectively in 1S70 that pop ular ridicule, it was thought, had killed It. Tho lato Emperor William, or as he was then. King William of Prussia, was ac customed, during tho Franco-Prussian war. to send a dispatch to Queen Augusta in Berlin ascribing every victory of the Prussians over the French to Divine Prov idence. Punch paraphrased one of thesa dispatches In the following verse: By will Divine, my dear Augusta. We've fought another awful battle. r Ten thousand Frenchmen sent below, - Praise. God from, whom all blesslngs'flbw. Naming a ncrrel is not an easy thing to do and do welt Dickens roamed all over London taking notes of names on sign boards and in windows, and Balzac was never satisfied until tho tltlo of his book was suggested by a reality. Mary John son found In the Book of Common Prayer a name for her last and highly successful romance. "To Have and.to Hold- is taken from tho marriage service, and is certainly felicitous. The name of her first novel, "Prisoners of Hope," originated in the death-cry of ono of her Puritan charac ters, who shouted as he fell the words of Zecharlah, "Turn ye, turn ye to the Stronghold, ye Prisoners of Hope." Tho British private soldier does not en Joy church parade, and will sometimes de scend to subterfuge to escape it. This was the caso the other day with a private la South Africa, who was trying unsuccess fully to evade the watchful oye of his sergeant. Tho latter asked him, with per haps unnecessary emphasis, why he did not fall in. He replied that he was a Unitarian. But tho Sergeant, an opponent, doubtless, of all sectarianism, would lis ten to no such excuse. With him disci pline was far superior to dogma. "That atn't one of tho three religions," said he. "Fall in with the Roman Catholics." It appears that, according to the views of this "noncom." all forms of worship aro Included under three heads "church, chapel, or 'oly Roman," as he expresses It and his recruits havo to declare pref erence for one or tho other. Most of them are governed solely by expediency, as was the Tommy who, when examined as to his religious choice, replied: "I ain't! no wise pertlculer. Sergeant. Put me down Chu'ch of England. I'll go with tha band." Tho following paragraph has been going the rounds of the press, and has even been printed In papers of somo pretensions: "Fish scales are being utilized in France, where a chemist has discovered that tho scales may bo used In the manufacture of artificial pearls, and our Consul at Lyon3 has found that tho supply is in adequate, and that there Is an actual de mand for large quantities of the scales In his Consulate, where good prices are paid for them. The scales should be sprinkled with salt as soon as they aro removea from the fish and packed In tin cans. Any specimens sent to Mr. Covert, at Lyons, will receive special attention, and tho results, with any suggestions that might bo made, and particulars of price offered, will bo daily reported. As tho American sturgeon has tho most beautiful and larg est scales of almost any fish In the world, this may be of considerable lmportancs to fishermen who engage in catching stur geon." Well along toward half a century ago, artificial pearls were made in Franca by lining tho interior of glass globes with a preparation of the scales of some tiny fish, which were particularly silvery. Tho idea that thl3 art has just been discov ered Is ridiculous, but not so much to ba wondered at as tho fact that any Ameri can paper should publish the statement that "the American sturgeon has the larg est and most beautiful scales of almost any fish In the world." The fact is that sturgeon havo no scales that are per ceptible. They wear their bones outsida their skin, and pass for scaleless fish. It Is, however, not safe to say that a fish has no scales because it appears to have none. Many imagine that the Eastern brook trout have no scales because they have caught many of these fish and never saw any scales on them, but they hava scales, and so do most kinds of fish. Even the eel has scales, although they cannot be seen by the naked eyes. The catfish Is one of the few species of fish which havo no scales. It may bo possible that stur geon have scales, but they certainly ara not large. (8 England. Jay Lincoln. In the April Atlantic. Who would trust England, let him lift his eyes To Neiron, columned o'er Trafalgar Square, Her "Hieroglyph of Duty, written where The roar of traffic hushes to the skies; Or mark, while Paul's vast shadow softly lies On Gordon's statued sleep, how praise and prayer Flush through tho frank young faces cluster ing there To con that kindred rune of v Sacrifice. O England, no bland cloud-ship In the blue. But rough oak, plunging on o'.er perilous Jara Of reef and Ie, our faith will follow you The more for tempest roar that strains your spars And. splits your canvas, be your helm but true, Your courses ebapen by tho eternal -stars.