Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1900)
- ar T.V T THE MOKNING OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 190(T " T "T "V 4 "WLK yTa'rX anF" ORDERS FROM ROOT Secretary Held a Conference With Philippine Commission. FINAL MEETING OCCURS TODAY Discussion Covered the Probable Scope of the "Work: of the Board for the Xcxt Two Years. WASHINGTON, March 29. By appoint ment the Philippine Commission waited on Secretary Root about 3 o'clock this after noon and spent three hours behind closed doors in earnest conference. At the con clusion of the conference the Secretary Bald the discussion covered the probable scope of the work of the Commission for the next two years. So far he has not been able to present the Commissioners written Instructions, and what passed to day was rather preparatory to the recep tion of those Instructions. It was not the intention at this time to make the in structions public But it might be stated in general terms, the Secretary said, that the new commission will have much broader powers In dealing with the prob lems arising in the Philippines than had Its predecessor. The primary purpose Is the establishment of local civil government throughout the island. In the selection of the civil officers, the committee will have a free hand. When asked whether the civil authorities will dominate the military, the Secretary contented hlmse'.f. with the reply that as he sees it. no ques tion is likely to arise on that point; there will be no chance for friction. The Commission will meet again tomor row, and will continue the conference with Secretary Root In the afternoon. That will be the last meeting of the full com mission in "Washington before the depar ture for Manila. The members will dine with the President at the White House tomorrow evening, and tomorrow night three of them, General Wright, Judge Ide and rrofessor Worcester, will go to their homes to prepare their private affairs for a two years' absence In the Philippines. Judge Taf t, the chairman of the Commls eion, will go to New York Saturday, but will return to Washington before starting on his voyage. Professor Moses will also leave Saturday, going directly to his home In California. The Commission will gath er at San Francisco April 12 and will sail for Manila the 15th, on the army transport Hancock. The personnel of the attaches and staff has been practically completed, but Judge Taft prefers to defer the announcement of their names until tomorrow, in order to comply with certain necessary formalities. COALI7CG BASE AT GUAM. Kavy Department "Will Soon Begin Construction of Works. NEW YORK. March 29. A special to the Tribune from Washington says: The naval authorities have decided that Guamstrategically is of scarcely less value than Hawaii, and have begun the prepara tion of plans to make it one of the most important naval bases in the Pacific. The projected improvements will involve an expenditure of several millions for a breakwater at Port San Luis d'Apra, a coaling wharf and repair shops and shore butteries for protection against assault. The department has Just received com plete surveys of the harbor and port of the Island, with exhaustive soundings at the port, and Is making an accurate chart to be used In laying down the public works. The project will be perfected by a board, to sit In Washington, and an ad visors' board may be convened at Guam to furnish additional information. Ad mirals Bcraey and Kempff will also visit Guam and make reports before construc tion work begins. It Is proposed to erect on one side of the barbor of Port San Luis d'Apra a coal shed and wharf of 20.000 tons capacity, with automatic loading machinery. The immediate necessity for this is shown by the fact that all naval vessels bound across the Pacific are compelled to call for coal at Guam, none of them being able to make Manila or Hong Kong, after leav ing Honolulu with full bunkers, except through the exercise of extreme economy and the maintenance of their lowest speed. The Army transport service has found that a whole day can be saved on the vojap-e to Manila, by running faster and recoallng at Guam, and these ships will stop there regularly as soon as rapid coaling facilities are provided by the navy. CHURCH IX THE PniLIPPIXES. Bishop Potter Found Plenty of Room for Reform. NEW YORK, March 29. A partial re port of the condition of affairs as found In the Philippines by B.shop Potter, ad dressed to the Joint Commission on the Increased possibilities of the Protestant Episcopal Church, has been made public. The report is in part as follows: "The religious situation in the Philip pines is such as was to be expected in a colony of Spain. She has stamped her ec clesiastical traditions narrow, intolerant and often, corrupting wherever she has gone, and she has gone almost everywhere among the various islands of the archi pelago, great and small. Worst of all, her religious order-?,, except, perhaps, the Jesuits, have robtied the people, wrung from them their lands and taxed the ad ministration of the sacraments and ordi nances of religion with a scale of exac tions and impositions at once scandalous and outrageous. "If we are to retain these islands, and the undersigned are constrained to own, however they may differ from any of their assoc'ates as to the wisdom of originally entering upon them, that no other course seems for the present open to the United States, these wrongs and the righting of them lie at the foundation of the whole Philippine problem. We must do Justly In the Philippines, or God will have no use for us, and our presence there will inevitably redound to our National dis honor." SPAXIARDS IX PHILIPPINES. Glyen More Time to Decide Question of Naturalization. WASHINGTON. March 29. Secretary Hay and the Duke d'Arcos, the Spanish Minister, today flgned a protocol extend ing for six months the period allowcl Spanish residents in the Philippine Islands to elect whether they shall remain Span ish subjects or surrender their allegiance and adopt the nationality of the territory in which they reside. The article in the Paris treaty bearing on this subject al lowed the Spanlrh subjects one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of the treaty within which to make their choice. That period expires the 11th of next month. The extension arranged for does not apply to Cuba or Puerto Rico. It is confined In operation to the Ph.llpplncs for the reason that conditions in the archi pelago have been so unsettled as to war rant the Spanish residents in hesitating to make an election In this matter. Kempff Transfer His Command. SAN FRANCISCO. March 29. Rcar-Ad-miral Kempff has transferred the com mand of the Mare Island navy-vard to Captain Miller. Admiral Kempff will sail next Saturday for the Asiatic station where he will be second in command. StndjIiiK tlie Atmosphere. Chicago Record. In Prussia the Meteorological Institute is about to arrange for the systematic exam ination of the aeronautical observatory at Tagel. near Berlin. Kites and balloons will be employed at heights from SOOO to 5000 meters to ascerta'n the atmospheric conditions. The registering apparatus is taken up by a kite-balloon Inflated with hydrogen, and can lift 500 meters of wire. To it a second kite is attached and to this latter a third, and so on unt!l the balloon reaches a height of 4000 or more meters. NATIONS LITTLE KNOWN. Small Republics In OHt-of-the-Way Corners of the World. As regards population, the smallest re public in the world is that of Tavora'a, an island about five miles long, with an average width of little more than half a mile, situated about a dozen miles to the northeast of Sardinia. The total pop ulation of the whole of the Republic does not exceed GO, but they elect a President every six years and a council of six members, all of whom serve the state without pay. The women of this island go to the polls and vote with the men. and ever rfnee Jt became a Republic, in 16SG, all public business has been trans acted without turmoil, the elections tak ing plnce without any high party feeling or undue excitement. In 183G King Charles Albert of Sardinia granted the Island of Travolara to a fam ily of the name of Bartoleonl, but in less than half a century the inhabitants threw oft the yoke of the monarchy and took to themselves the right to be governed Dy themselves. This little war did not alarm I the world, and was quite a peaceful one. .rung -aui i reign ea until J.6&A ana oiu his deathfbed requested that none of his kin should succeed to the throne, and, as no one claimed the honor, four years later the people decided to draw up a constitution, and Tavorala has been a very successful little Republic since. Twelve years ago its independence was recognized by Italy, and it is to be pre sumed that other powers would have rec ognized it also If they had known of its existence. The inhabitants live princi pally by fishing and raising fruits and vegetables. They fear no sudden invasion, for they dispense with an army and navy, and presumably, in case of need, would rely upon their entire population to up hold the freedom of the country. The small half-French and half-Spanish Republic of Andorra, which lies in an al most inaccessible valley of the Eastern Pyrenees, possesses a charter of right dating from Charlemagne, in 790. There is but one way of getting to Andorra from France, and that is by the River Bolira. To reach it from Spain you have to be carried down by mule over one of the most dangerous footpaths In Europe. There are six parishes m the Republic, and the whole contains about 6000 people, the territory covering an area of 143 square miles. The Republic is governed by a general council of 24 members, each parish sending four, and of this council the Syndic, or President, is chosen for life by the council. The Syndic, being Presi dent of the Republic, receives a salary of $15 a year, and the members of the coun cil are paid 57 50. The Republic is rather hampered for, while it elects its own of ficers, collects its own taxes, and looks after its own army of 11O0 men, it has to pay to France 960 francs a year for the free Importation of com Into the country, and is forced to import it from France. Twelve months ago Andorra bought a big gun from Krupp, and planted it almost in the center of the Republic, right be tween Spain and France. Europe should tremble, for when that gun Is fired, either France or Spain will be hit, for the Re public is but 17 miles across, and the gun carries 20 miles. Very few people have heard of the exis tence of the Republic of Goust, which is situated on the flat top of a mounfain In the Basses Pyrenees, south of France. It has but an area of one and a quarter miles and a population of 140, so that as regards size, It can fairly claim to be the 'emallest Republic in the world. It is an older Republic than the United States, having been in existence since 1648, and enjoys the distinction of being recognized by both Spain and Franco. The Presi dent is elected from an elder college, consisting of 12 peasants, who are chosen every 12 years by the people. The Presi dent Is also Tax Collector, Assessor and Judge. If, however, his decisions, are dis pleasing to the people, they appeal to the Bishop of Laruns, In the Spanish parish down the mountain side, and what the Bishop says is law. Goust is certainly a unique place, for it has no church or clergyman, the people worshiping In churches beyond the limits of their coun try. Neither have they any burial grounds, and when a death occurs among them tlie body is slid down to a cemetery In the valleys below. In this valley, too, all the baptisms and marriages take place. The Republic of San Marino, in Central Italy, Is perhaps the beat known of all these tiny Republics. Its territory covers about 33 square miles and the population numbers about S500 souls. This minia ture state was founded in the Fourth cen tury by SL Marinua, who, having em braced Christianity, fled here to escape the persecution under Diocletian. The capital, San Marino, Is on the crest of a mountain, over 200 feet high, and has a population of 1200. It Is one of the most picturesque places in the world, being perched upon perpendicular cliffs. The Republic Is governed by a Legisla tive Senate of 60 members, elected for life. From this body is elected the council of 12, which, with a legal adviser, decides all questions. Two Captains Regent, elected every six months, represent the state, which has also its Home Secretary, its Minister of Foreign Affairs, its Chancel lor of the Exchequer, Its army of S50 men. and a regular budget. San Marino Is proud of her antiquity, and hns many curious customs. By treaty with Italy the republic receives a certain proportion of the Italian customs revenue, but ex acts no customs on her borders. She also agrees not to grow tobacco, but Is al lowed to Import It. duty free. In order to avoid copyright difficulties there is no printing press in San Marino and when the mall arrives at Borgo a bell is run, and those inhabitants who have their dwellings up on the cliffs have to descend to get their letters, for, owing to the primitive state of affaire, the postman never ascends the rock. Another curious fact is that the commissary or Judge nnd the physician must both be strangers, and a ,d.out of the PublIc Purse-London Tit-Bits. The Indecent Cuckoo. The Academy. The most affectionate of birds is the bullfinch tender to his wife, kind to h's children, faithful even to a human friend, and, as might be expected, he mates for life. When tho last scarlet tins .1-0 t. ting on the bare hedgerow, you may still1 i,cc mm ,uiu me wi:e nc courted In tho greenwood eating and roosting together. But the cuckoo Is at the other end of the scale. He has not the decency to stick to his wife even for a season, and she spends Summer flirting with a succes sion of males, and laying eggs from about the 9th of April to the middle of June. A lady robin or hedge-sparrow, knowing that she will have to feed and nurse her offspring, takes care that they shall not number more than four or five. The cuckoo doesn't care. Without making a nest, she lays her eggs at the hedge root, and then flies with it in her mouth to the first home that comes handy. She does not oven Inquire into the character of the nurse, since her egg has been found among those of over a hundred species, ranging In size from the wren to the woofl-plgeon. From so careless and disreputable a parent Is it reasonable to expect any but a monstrous progeny? But the young cuckoo, though wicked. Is interesting. Indeed, he presents to students of evolu tion a problem that becomes more diffi cult and fascinating as the facts become more fully ascertained. When newly out of the shell, the naked, feeble, sprawlinfi monster proceeds to Fhou'fler his foster chicks or eggs out of the nest o Superintendent Prltchett Resigns. NEW YORK, March 28. A special to the Tribune from Washington says: Professor Hnry S. Prltchett superin endent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, has resigned his place to accept the presi dency of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Boston. CLEMEN rSATFAURESMITH FREE STATE TOWS OCCUPIED WITHOUT A FIGHT. The Movement Toward Glen Reason for Lord Roberts' Prolonged Halt at BlocBifonteln. LONDON, March 29. The War Office has received the following dispatch from Lord Roberts, dated B.oemfonteln, March 2S: "General Clements occupied Fauresmlth today without opposition. One nlne-pound-er and one Martini-Maxim were discov ered In a prospecting shaft of a mine, where a large quantity of ammunition was buried. Arms are being surrendered gradually, and the Inhabitants are settling down. "Colonel Pilcher visited Ladybrand on March 25. On leaving the town he was attacked by a party of the enemy and one of his force was wounded and five are missing. "Dunng the skirmish north of the Mod der River on March 25, five men were wounded. Three are reported to be miss ing. Captain Sloan Stanley, of the Six teenth Lancers, and five men of that Teglment were taken prisoners." Conjecture as to Lord Roberts ad vance from Bloemfonteln is the topic of the day, and is likely to con tinue so if the British Commander-in-Chief in South Africa conceals his move ments as carefully as he has done in tho past. April 2 is set by various critics as tho probable date of the departure of the main army from Bloemfonteln. It Is point ed out that there will then be over a week's hard marching before Kroonstad is reached, though there, seems no cer tainty that Kroonstad will entirely oc cupy Roberts' attention. The advance, when it does occur, will probably be made by parallel columns along a broad front The movements of the cavalry force and part of the Infantry towards Glen can scarcely be construed as an actual ad vance, although they undoubtedly point to the Imminence of such a step. But only a small part of General Gatacre's forces have yet arrived at Bloemfonteln and un til that movement is completed. It Is not likely Roberts will start for Pretoria. The latest news from Bloemfonteln, con tained in a dispatch published In the sec ond edition of the Times and dated Wednesday, again dwells upon the neces sity for not making a premature advance. This correspondent, who on several occa sions seemed to be chosen as the mouth piece of Roberts, cables: "It should be clearly understood that tho present halt in the vicinity of Bloemfon teln Is absolutely necessary as a military precaution. It should be borne In mind that we are about to enter on a new phase of the operations, with the main communication through a recently occu pied hostile country and that the recent successes necessitated a great expenditure of horse power. Here and In Natal we shall move on the commencement of tho South African .Winter and must be pre pared to face the effects of the first frost upon such animals as may be affected with horse sickness. It would be suicide to push troops forward until they are equipped to meet the exposure of Winter. Horses, clothing and food we must have." The correspondent adds that the Boer forces have been re-equipped, and he says he la fully convinced that 15,000 for eign troops have been landed to aid the republics. The Duke of Norfolk has resigned tho office of Postmaster-General, owing to the fact that he Is going to South Africa with the Sussex Yeomanry. Speaking at Belfast today, Herbert Gladstone, son of the late William E. Gladstone, and a member of Parliament, declared that nearly all of the Liberal nhade agreed. In regard to the settlement of the South African question, that It was the duty of the government to make a recurrence of the war impossible, and to show the world that British power In South Africa was predominant; that the British flag must wave over the whole of South Africa. AX IXTBRVIEW WITH KRUGER, The Transvaal President Still Confi dent of Success. NEW YORK. March 29. The World publishes a long interview with President Kruger, under date of Pretoria, February 7. President Kruger said: "I sent a message to the World saying that the losses in a war 'would stagger humanity.' The British laughed at me and said they would only take a month to conquer us. Did those 650 dead at Splon kop and those hundreds who were killed in other battles please the British? Are they laughlnc now? When you camo through London did you see much laugh ing?" The correspondent told him of the scenes in front of the London war bulletin boards, the weeping relatives and the sor rowing friends. Mr. Kruger went on: "Yes, that Is only one side of the picture Here we have the same scenes, only our casualties are not so great Every home in South Africa has been desolated and the war has only berun. Walt until the war Is ended and those who will suffer on account of It will be numbered by the hundreds of thousands. Did Chamberlain and Milner and the capitalists who were back of them think of those things before they drove us to the wall? Are the tears of widows and orphans to pay for the gold fields? "Tell the Americans that I appreciate their expressions of sympathy, and tVat I will inform my burghers of it I am greatly pleased to hear that cemmitteea have ber-n formed to raise funds for our Red Crrls. We need medicines and sup plies for the wounded not so much for our own wounded, but for the many poor British soldiers who come into our hands. It makes my heart bleed to see that they suffer, we cannot help them as much as we would like to do, because the British authorities will not let us bring medicines or supplies for our local Red Cross through Delagoa Bay." President Kruger said that the Boers looked for no assistance from any nation. He declared that the Boers would not de stroy the mines in any event. He said that before the war he believed that the United States would offer to act as ar bitrator of the differences between the two countries, and that he was perfectly con tent to accept the decision that wou.d have been made, but Great Britain refused to arbitrate. Kruger explained at length the efforts which the British authorities made to seal up Delagoa Bay, and then told of a message he sent Salisbury concerning it Kruger says he refused to have any more correspondence with Chamberlain, but frequently cabled to Salisbury. In one cablegram he asked Salisbury to allow food stuffs to enter through Delagoa Bay, or they would be compelled to feed 2000 British prisoners In Pretoria on maize porridge. Salisbury did not reply, but a message signed "Chamberlain" explained that the embargo on foodstuffs had been raised three days before. Kruger laughed heartily when he told that Chamberlain's message was telegraphed back to Salis bury with the query. "Is this true?" The President added: "We have not heard from Chamberlain since," and laughed for fully half a minute. Secretary Reltz then told of a series of communications between the President and Salisbury concerning prlsaners who were taken by the British at Douglas, Capo Colony, and who. although they be came citizens of the Orange Free State, are being tried in Cape Town for high treason. The President sent a cablegram directly to Salisbury demanding that the Douglas prisoners be treated only as pris oners of war and not as treasonable sub jects of Her Majesty's Government, and stated that If they were executed reprisals would be made. Salisbury replied that if the Pretoria prisoners were Iniured. both J President Kruger and Steyn would be hanged at the conclusion of the war. The President thought that was harsh lan guage to use, and, according to Reltz' statement replied: "Go ahead with your hanging, but remember that your son, Lord Edward Cecil, is In Mafeking." Kruger has no reply to this message. "My burghers are fighting bravely," he ald. with much earnestness, "and will continue to do so until Great Britain asks for peace or withdraws her soldiers,. We cannot expect to conquer several hundred thousand men In a day, but my burghers are going ahead rapidly, as you can see by looking at the place where we keep our prisoners. Even as your forefathers fought against great odds in the Revolu tionary War. so are we struggling; and even as God was with your people, so Is he with us. We have fought with .Eng land before, and we defeated her sol diers. We will be victorious again." NEW "WORDS IN ENGLISH. How Anglican Dictionaries "Will Be Enriched by the Boer "War. London Daily Mall. When the war Is over and done with, many folks will be surprised "to see the number of strange words that have crept Into the English language, and which, In the process of time, will duly find their place in the dictionaries of the English tongue. These words are the direct result of the present operations in South Africa, In every case when England has had occa- WORSE NOISE slon to add to her empire some portion of land hitherto in the possession of an other power, she has also annexed certain words most commonly current in that country. Already there are signs that a dozen words at least have been, so to say, In corporated Into our language, of which 99 per cent of Britons would have been Ig norant had It not been for the war. Take a word like "commandeer," meaning to annex, by force if necessary, but anyhow to take possession of. The Boers "com mandeered" men, money, guns, horses and anything they found ready to their hands. We shall hencoforth speak of schoolboys "commandeering" apples from an orchard, or a selfish traveler "commandeering" tqe best seat In a first-class compartment. Again the word "roolnek," meaning "red neck," which is a Boer nickname for an English soldier, is already used as a term of opprobrium, and a new slang expres sion to denote a man against whom one has a grudge. Another Boer term that Is extremely expressive, and cannot fall to make its way, even In the English language, which Is so well supplied with adjectives of a like nature, is "slim." This means cun ning, sly, canny, or smart In the rather unpleasant sense of the term as Implying a desire to get the better of somebody else. General Joubert Is called "Slim Plet" and many instances have occurred during the past few months demonstrating the fact that one of the chief character istics of the Boer nation Is that of "sllm ncss." It Is a useful word, and conveys a subtlety of meaning which Is not fully ex pressed by any other single word In our tongue. Again, to "trek," Implying to travel, to shift one's quarters, to move, to travel across an expanse of country, is a very useful synonym for an operation of dall occurrence. The Boers always "trek" from one place to another, and with them It means a kind of caravan, which, before the advent of railways in their country, was their only means of progression. We shall henceforth say, "Where are you trekking to this summer?" In place of "Where do you mean to spend your holi days?" or "It is a long trek home when the snow blocks the tram lines." It will be found an extremely useful word, with a deal of local color clinging to It A collection of wagons, forming an ob long lnclosure, and containing the oxen used to draw the wagons, is called a "laager," and forms a sort of primitive fortification which the Boers use at night to protect themselves from the raids of enemies or wild animals. "Laager," again, will be heard very ofen after the war Is over. Children will build "laagers" at the seaside with sand, and even the old proverb may be altered to read. "Every Englishman's house Is his laager." There are many other developments which this word may take, but it Is sufficient to indicate its general scope. When a team of oxen is unharnessed from the yokes they are said to be "out spanned," and when they are put to the wagon again they are "lnspanned." This applies equally to horses or to mules. Here and there on the commonage close to the larger towns a notice board may often be seen displaying the Inscription, "Geen TJltspan," which means that oxen must not be outspanned on this spot When our troops come back from South Africa the stable3 through England will echo to the familiar expressions "inspan" and "outspan." In future, no doubt, every little hillock will be christened a "kopje." It is a useful term for any elevation larger than a dust heap and smaller than a mountain. It comes trippingly off the tongue, particular ly If It is pronounced in the South African fashon. "koppy," and not. as Is too often the case In England, "kopjee," which is absolutely wrong and unauthentic. These and many more words will make their appearance before long in current talk, as they already have done in the columns of the newspapers. Our grand children will find them duly Inscribed In the dlctlorarles of the perlcd, and will even cease to wonder whence their origin. a o Tennessee has become the leading phos phate producer of America. There are 243 valuable mines In the state, and over 21, 000 men arc employed in the business. New mines are being opened dally. BOERS AT CLOSE RANGE JULIAN RALPH DRAWS A FOCUS OX THE ALLEGED REPUBLIC. Lip Service to Religion Deceives None "Who See the Cunning:, Trickery and Dishonesty. Julian Ralph, special correspondent of the London Daily Mail with the British army in South Africa, contributes to the New York Times this letter: The agents of the Transvaal, paid to arouse sympathy and, if possible, to in duce the Intervention of a foreign power, have different methods In different coun tries. In France they simply malign Eng land and prevaricate about her purpose and part in their war. In Holland and Germany they hold up the glistening bub ble of a great Teutonic nation embracing all South Africa. In England and Amer ica they p6so the Transvaal and Orange Free Statetas two feeolo farmer-republics throttled by the British octopus, though they never would have made this war if they had not expected to play the part of the octupus themselves and to take England at a disadvantage. They are honest in no country and In nothing, but It Is In France that they come nearest to AND MORE OP IT. St Louis Globe-Democrat tho truth. They hate England as genu inely as the "professional Irishmen" only pretend to. They have hated her since she freed their slaves and forbade the Inhuman cruelty with which the Boers treated the black races around them. They left Cape Colony, which England owned by purchase, and trekked as far as possible from the loathed "red necks" in order to set up a government wholly according to their tastes and liking. In the Free State, by reason of Intermar riages with the Briton and close relations with him as a neighbor and as a customer, they produced a dignified and honest gov ernment and a happy commonwealth, now betrayed, alas, by an unscrupulous Pres ident, who, bribed by a promise that he shall succeed Kruger as the head of a union of both republics, has sold his coun try to the victor In this war. In the Transvaal the more Ignorant, fanatical and unruly section set up such a govern ment as could be planned by the progeny of 17th century peasants who had retro graded from even that narrow foothold on the edge of civilization. As to the pit iful character of that government and their unworthlness of even so poor a makeshift, I refer you to James Bryce's "Impressions of South Africa," trusting that you are aware that Mr. Bryce's prin ciples constitute him neither a tory, a jingo, nor a warm devotee of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain. In his able book you will also read how helpless the Transvaal be came In the state of its finances and the face of its black enemies, how England came to its rescue, then took over the chaotic government, and then abandoned it, but retained that suzerainty whose continuance has been questioned only by means of a quibble In Boerdom, but Is recognized by every other power on earth. But it is as to their plea that England Is waging war against two struggling "farmer-republics" that I desire briefly to ad dress you. I do so because extracts which I have seen from reputable American newspapers cause me to suspect that some of my countrymen may be impressed by Transvaal arguments reiterated In news papers whoso aid may have been pur chased, and In others whose editors may be swayed by sentiment rather than knowledge or reasoning. To begin with, the Boers are not and never havo been farmers. Until 20 or 23 years ago they were hunters and traders in pelts. Since then they have become cattle-herders. Their so-called farms are but ranges of the veldt tho prairie. These ranges are fenced with barbed wire, im proved by wells or reservoirs, and rein forced by small patches of Indian corn. Otherwise these farms remain as the first Boers found them. In the second place, this is their war, and not Great Britain's. It should have been of England's making and should have been waged a dozen or 15 years ago, when the Boer conspiracy to seize South Africa was seen to be waxing strong and general. But, aa events have proved, it is a war steadily projected for 19 years by the Boers, who began to equip themselves for it with lavish outlays for arms and fortifications at least four years ago. Finally, it was forced by the Boers, declared by the Boers, and begun by the Boers. I am here with a British army, but I came with an open mind. On the voyage I read all the trustworthy books upon tho history of South Africa, and since I landed here four months ago I have made It my task to study the Boer at home and at large. The public at home knows, so far as It knows me at all, that I take no retainer for what I write. Here I am a foreigner, an outsider, and a looker-on. I am frank to say that the English re peatedly made grave mistakes In their dealings with both their own colonists and. In one or two instances, with the Boera. but these mistakes were always to their own damage. They did one in justice. They acted unjustifiably in their mode of acquiring the Kimberley diamond fields, but the Free State accepted a small sum of money as a salve, and may never with dignity or decency -reopen that sore. As to the Jameson raid by means of which the Boers seek to justify their present war so long as the British Government be not shown to have been privy to it, there can be no more to say than that it was an asinine and outrage ous affair, for which many of the reform era were punished as the Boers saw fit. and a portion of the raiders as the Eng lish law decreed. The Boers would have you believe that tho capitalists among the disappointed Ult landers are the progenitors of this war, and that their purpose is to hand over the Rand to England. Several facts in terfere with this theory. In the first place, there are hundreds of men in Cape Town who were approached as far back as 17 years ago with an invitation to Join tho Dutch in their conspiracy to drive the British out of South Africa and make It a great Boer empire. In the second place, the Ultlanders are not nearly all Englishmen, and the Rand mines are mainly owned by French and German in vestors, tho English Interest being a -very small part of the whole. In the third place, tho grievances of the Ultlanders truly were the basis and cause of the demands which England made of the Transvaal last year, but those were not unjust demands. They could have been acceded to with great credit to the Trans vaal, but every man who was here, be he Boer or Briton, knows that war and not peace was the goal at which Kruger was driving, and driving in such hot haste that three weeks before he declared it, he devoted a Sunday morning to urging Steyn to Join him In it3 Instant declara tion, that the English might be thrashed before they were ready to fight If this really was a war of the Ultland ers against the Boers, and If the Ameri can public would Inform itself upon the nature of the rule which persecuted these heavy taxpayers who have created Boer dom's wealth and made possible its crude ambition, then, I say, no Boer could get a hearing from my countrymen. Grave and cruel as was the Injustice our fore fathers suffered at the hands of an Imbe cile English King before we threw oft hi3 yoke, I do not hesitate to say that the grievances of these Ultlanders were more numerous and In some part more grave and Intolerable. The crafty Boers have dared to liken their present hapless plight to our unhappy condition as colo nials, but whenever they rouse an Ameri can to the point of studying the facts, they will And that man likening the Ult landers to his ancestors and vowing that so narrow, bigoted, unjust and corrupt a people as the Transvaal Boers have tio right to national exlstence In this broad, humane and progressive age. You are 9000 miles from the Boers, but I assure you that the nearer you ap proach them and the more closely you view them the less you will respect them; to like them Is Impossible. Their Up service to religion deceives those who do not know that they are a non-moral peo ple, cunning, tricky, dishonest, and un truthful in the extreme, and holding up "sllmness" (which Is ability to take an unfair advantage of a neighbor) as the highest proudest aim of man. I will not describe to you how they are housed, how they eat, dress and sleep, for unless you have heard something of the facts you could not believe the whole account to be true. You will find somewhat similar conditions only In the Balkans and in Turkey, and yet it Is unjust to those peo ples to even seem to compare them with tho Boers. I am not permitted to describe the at mosphere of treason, spying, false Infor mation and underhand dealing with the enemy by which the disloyal Boer subjects of the Queen environ the British armies on their own British ground. Nor am I permitted to tell you of the barbarities and despicable tricks with which the Boers are fouling their record In war. I am under military law, and these things are forbidden. This much I will say that the course of this war, which thus far ap pears to reflect extraordinary credit upon the Boer as a soldier. Is due to British blundering far more than to Boer prow ess. No European army of these days has encountered the conditions which prevail here, and the British are learning to suit their methods to the novel requirements. We are now about to open the chapter which will record the results of this revo lutionary training In modern warfare. But the point I wish to emphasise Is that this war Is of the Boers' own begetting, and they should be allowed to tako their fill of it, whether they like the medicine or not As for England's part in It, con sider how It has already cemented her and her colonies, and reflect how surely this means that there Is to be a multiplied Great Britain, stronger than ever we dreamed she might be. A new Great Brit ain with a large army the only experi enced, practical, modern force In Europe and with another standing army In each of her colonies. JULIAN RALPH, Modder River, Grequaland, West. Feb. 15, 100. "We Are Cleaner Today. The Cornhlll. With regard to all the refinements of habit conveyed In the words cleanliness, sanltalton and facility of locomotion, the small shopkeeper, the mechanic, the very peasant of today is better off than were Princes and noblemen 70 or 80 years ago. That little bathroom of poor Queen Maria Antoinette, at the Trianon must havo been almst as much an object of curiosity, for Its singularity. In her day, as it Is now for its associations; and certain it Is that In all those vast piles of buildings at Ver sailles, with all their gorgeous magnifi cence, bathrooms were an unknown quan tity. According to some authorities, Louis XIV never washed a little cold cream ap plied with a cambric handkerchief serving Instead. This let us hope was a cal umny, but-In St Simon's minute and de tailed account of the monarch's day, from the handling in of his periwig through tho closed bed curtains In the morning, until several Dukes and Marquises had handed the royal night chemise to each other, the highest in rank placing it upon the royal shoulders, and his chaplain, kneeling at a prie-dleu at the foot of the bed, had said his night prayers for him, no mention Is made of any ablutions, except that he was shaved every other day. Mme. De Carette, In her "Souvenirs," gives a curious account of tho state of the Tullerles under the Second Empire; the splendor of the state appartments in strange contrast with the discomfort and darkness of the Interior of the place; nar row wlndowless corridore and staircases, with no ventilation and lighted with lamps both night and day; the consequent heat and oppressiveness becoming quite painful with the first return of spring, and mak ing the whole household sigh for the sig nal of departure for St. Cloud or Fontaln bleau. - Intolerant Bigotry Bred Skepticism. New York Commercial Advertiser. While some persons are Investigating the decline of Christianity in our rural districts and cities, others have turned their attention to colleges and universi ties, and claim to find a very encouraging state of things among the students. Tho Influence of the late Mr. Moody, varied by the scholarship and tact of his friend. Professor Henry Drummond, appears to have been enduring and fruitful. Accord ing to replies received from 45 education al Institutions in 20 states, from 45 to E5 per cent of the students in different colleges profess some form of Christian belief. It Is significant that at Johns Hopkins, our first university m the strict sense that many of our best educators at tach to that term, Co per cent of the senior class are identified with religious Affnrf Annfhpr Klrrnlfleant fact Is that returns are as good from undenominatlon- al as from denominational colleges. The whole result of the Investigation Is an educational sign worth noting, because it is an unforced tendency of young men in an environment where Intellectual effort Is both fresh and active. It Is different from the numerical return of the census taker; it is proof of quality under ex ceptional conditions. In another respect also it serves as contrast between the colonial and later type of college under church control or Influence, and the pres ent educational openness to intellectual Influences of all kinds. The returns are more favorable under the new than the old order. It Is doubtful If today there Is in any college or university in the country such an assertion of skepticism as there was once in Yale in the early days. THE GAME IN ALASKA OBSERVATION OF EXPLORERS THE GOVERNMENT. OF Thousands of Water Foivl and Song- Blrds Visit the Territory Every Summer. Some of the exploring parties sent out by the War Department in 1S9S traversed wholly unknown regions In Inner Alaska hundreds of miles Irom the coasts, says the New York Sun. They saw a good deal of Alaskan game, and In their re cently published reports give some fresh Information on this subject Lieutenant Castner, for example, who struck out a route all the way from Cook Inlet to Dawson City, sums up his observations with the remark that Alaska is not so well suplied with game as most people imagine. Many large tracts in the Interior seems entirely devoid of game and are a perfect solitude. Every summer, however, thousands of water-fowl and song birds pay a visit to our northern territory, rear their young and then go South again. Among them are many varieties of tho duck and geese families, and many ot the water-fowl stay all winter along tho mild 'south coast of Alaska. The raven, the ptarmigan and a few small snowbirds are the only birds that remain after the snow comes. On his long journey Lieutenant Castner saw the tracks of hundreds of bears, but did not see one of the animals. The large brown and the small black bears are tho principal representatives of the bruin family. The black bear Is most plentiful and Is not so fierce as the brown bear, which Is said to be very ferocious when wounded. The large game that he saw were moose, caribou, sheep, goats, lynx. foxes, wolves and wolverines. He saw the tracks of perhaps a thousand moose, but they are so shy and so quick to dis cover the presence of a human being that he saw only one of them. The wolverine seems to enjoy a practical joke, for ho tears open caches and destroys their con tents, even though they are not edible. Captain Abcrcromble mentions in his re port 20 species of mammals living in tho Copper River Valley, Including- those men tioned above, besides the sliver tip, blue glacier and yellow bears, and the beaver, marten, mink, muskrat, whistling mar mot, porcupine and gopher. Captain Glenn's report tells of the ef forts that Mr. Story, of the Alaska Pack ing Association, and others are making to raise blue foxes on Fox Island, about SO miles southwest of Port Valdez. They pay the United States about $100 rental every year for the use of the island, and their plant. Including the foxes brought to the island, has cost about $12,000. with very small return up to the end of tho third season. In 1S93 they had about SCO head on hand, and expected to utilize some of their increase last year. The re- .putcd increase of the animals Is seven per female annually, but these trappers are amply satisfied if they succeed In raising five. The foxes run wild on the Island, but are caught readily without Injury in box traps, from which the males are tak en and killed and the females are re leased. The pelts are valued at from $10 to $15 each. Mr. F. A. Lucas has recently described in Science the feeding and trapping of blue foxes on Prlbllof Islands, where the Industry has not long been established. The Island of St George Is admirably adapted for the abode of the fox, the only drawback being the lack of food dur ing the winter. After pelagic sealing b came prevalent the foxes had, for a time, an abundant supply of food In the shape of seal pups, whose mothers had been shot at sea, the pups starving In conse quence. In 1S96 every pup was devoured by foxes. On the Aleutian Islands dried salmon has been used to feed foxes In Winter, and on St. George linseed meal has been fed to them. In 1S97 it was de cided to use the carcasses of skinned .-eals. but as the catch out of St Geor-ja has of late been small, carcasses were ?alted. brought over from St Paul and used for baiting the fox traps. As tho use of the box proved slow, a corral, was constructed and arranged so that the ei trance could, easily be closed. This plan proved a success, the foxes entering with out hesitation, so that from five to forty could be taken. The males are killed by breaking their necks, but one male Is left alive to every three females. Blue foxes seem to lack the proverbial craft of tho other fox species, for they readily enter the pen, and when released do so again. If by a little artificial selection and en vironment a naturally monogamous ani mal can be rendered polygamous, the sup ply of blue fox skins will be jnaterlall Increased. The greatest number taken In one evening on St George Island has teen 245, of which 61 were killed. a ' Gape's Happy Thought. New York Journal of Commerce. It wa3 a happy thought of Secretary Gcge to decorate the new 2 per cen; bonds, authorized under the gold-standard law, with the portrait of Senator Benton, of Missouri. The process summarized in "Gresham's law" had sent gold out of the country; the inconvenience of silver had stimulated the Issue of bank notes with little regulation and inadequate se curity. Mr. Benton, a Democrat of tho period of Andrew Jackson and not of that of William J. Bryan, saw that the mint ratio must be made to conform to tho market ratio, and induced Congress to so change the law. As he desired not sim ply the concurrent circulation of gold and silver, but a circulation of gold in preference to silver, it served his purposo that gold was somewhat overvalued. From the date of the coinage act which he car ried through Congress to the present time, with the exception of the paper money period the country has been in fact upon the gold basis, and now that the country has been put legally also on the gold standard, It Is At that this em inent Democratic champion of gold should be honored. hi Blowing- Him Down. T Longman's. Dr. Isaac Barrow was an eminent di vine, great at long sermons; three hours were nothing to him. On one occasion ho was preaching In the abbey, and had got well on In his "tenthly. my breth ren," without any Indication of tho stream's running dry. Now, the abbey Is a show-place as well as a church; and the showmen to wit, the vergers-becama restive under the eloquence of Dr. Bar row. Accordingly, as the veracious chron icler records, they "caused tho organs to play, until they had blowed him down." Here again, you see, the organs blew. Whether the organist was asleep not un likely, for organists prefer a" sleep to a long sermon any day and one of tho vergers officiated at the keys. I do not know, but I confess. I should like to have, heard the "voluntary" fit name! that "blowed" Isaac Barrow down. - a Officer Arrested For Kldnnpplnr. SACRAMENTO. Cal., March 29. The agent of the State of Washington, having in charge John Collins, the alleged Seattle bank robber, was arrested here on the arrival of the Oregon train on a warant Issued by Judge Lawter on a charge of kidnapping, a preliminary step to habeas corpus proceedings. Por Infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always Bought Boars tho Signature of Z&fi&t