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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1900)
-t- - -"" v., : -t J -v . THE MORNING OREGONIAN, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1900. . . Catered at the Pcatoffic at Portland. Oregon, as second-class matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Room.. ..168 I Business OSes.. ..667 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. Br IU tpostage prepaid). Id Advance Dally. jrllhSunday. Kr month ....0 85 Dally, Sunday excepted, per rear.......... T SO Dally, with Sunday, per Tear........... 8 00 Sunday, per year 2 00 The Weekly, per year 1 SO The Weekly, 3 months. ......... ...... 80 To City Subscribers Dally, per week, delivered, Sundays excepted.l3e Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday tncludedOa t The Oregcnlan does not buy poems or stories from lndlldutla, and cannot undertake to r turn any manuscripts sent to It without solicita tion. No stampi should be Inclosed tor this purpose. Puret Bound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, cfflce at 1111 Pacific avenue. Tacoma. Box BH, Tacoma postoffloe. Eastern Burlmss Office The Tribune bulld lr.g. New Tork city: "The Rookery." Chicago: the S. C. Beckwith speclcl agency. New Tork. Tot sale In Ban Francisco by J. K. Cooper. T8 Market street, near the Palace betel, and at Goldsmith Bros.. 238 Sutter street. For sale la. Chlcaro by tha P. a News Co.. SIT Dearborn street. TODAY'S WEATHER. Threatening. Win occasional shoers; southerly winds. POn.TI.AXU, TIIVRSDAV, APHIL C a coDrnox, xot a theory. The Prohibitionist correspondents who have attempted to answer The Oregonian's views on "The Canteen" either lntentionallyor through opacity of mental vision misapprehend and there fore mistake the point at Issue when they pretend to believe that the Army canteen is supported In the Interest of the use and abuse of alcohol. The Army officers were confronted with a condi tion for abatement, not a theory. Of course. If It were possible to obtain an army of total abstainers there would be no canteen, 'but the Army officers were confronted with a choice between a canteen which furnishes beer con taining 4 per cent of alcohol. In limited quantities, to a soldier within the Juris diction of the post and vile ardent spir its containing over 60 per cent of alco hol sold to EOldlers by the various liquor dives that gather around a post where there is no canteen. The post exchange may not be an ideal place or a perfect method, but we are obliged to take the world as It Is and men as they are in the government of .an army. The canteen Is free from the kind of Indecencies that flourish in the dives and saloons that are sure to surround ft post that is without an exchange. The soldier Is a citizen who only gives up such of his rights as a citizen as are Inconsistent with the performance of his duty. It Is Impossible to refuse soldiers at a 'post or garrison liberty, for such refusal would make military life so unendurable that good men ! would not enlist or would be sure to desert. The extinction of the Dost exchange would diflve the men beyond the garri son for amusement and for drink. To prohibit the sale of beer In a garrison surrounded by grogshops, dancehalls and gambling-houses, in the hope that the cause of temperance and morality will be benefited thereby. Is not a wise thing to do. It is straining at a gnat and swallowing a cameL Soldiers will have their diversion, and it is the least Xtt many evils to sell them good beer at The exchange rather than to encour age their going away for liquor. In the Philippines, at the posts where no beer is allowed, the men will get vino," or anisado, as It Is called; it Is impossible to prevent It. "With the In troduction of the post exchange In the Philippines the poorest and worst of the surrounding saloons began to die a natural death; were compelled to close up from lack of business, and the men became easy ,to control. The Rev. Percy Stickney Grant, who accompa nied Bishop Potter to the Philippines, In a recent address said: "Regard ing a statement that soldiers in the Philippines are leading debauched lives, I would say that personally I saw no drunkenness in Manila." A regular ny officer writes the Army and Navy Gazette from the headquarters of the venty-seventh Infantry, at San Ma teo. Manila province, that at Montal- ban, San Mateo, Marlquena. Amlipolo and Morong "we have a nice canteen ind store, with beer on Ice and every thing one could want. Our men are ill well and hearty." ' The Army officers bear testimony that In even nominally prohibition states like Vermont and Maine a great leal of disorder and trouble resulted through giving leave to the men until the canteen was established at Fort than Allen, Vermont, and at the Jnlted States Soldiers' Asylum at To ns, Me. There is no canteen during tctlve campaign, such as our troops vere engaged in before Santiago and in pushing through Luzon, so the mortal- Ity Incurred from diseases contracted n the field In Cuba and Luzon had no onnectlon with the canteen. Tv- lihold, smallpox contracted In camp, or nalarla. the result of exposure at night In the trenches. Is no respecter of per sons in war time, and yet our loss from llsease was very small compared with he losses of our Army, East and "West. Eurlng 1SG1-62. when there was no ateen allowed at any Army post kr garrison. To compare the superior health of the len on our small fleet before Santiago vlth the number of sick In our Army If 25,000 men in the field Is absurd. pu can make a warship absolutely llean every morning and keep It clean. UI your refuse can be swept overboard It once, and your decks washed down kith, sea water. Your men are pro- ected from the weather when their latch Is over; their hammocks are dry; ley have no digging in trenches; no tposure to malarial atmosphere; no Stance of drinking contaminated water. ship of war lying off the land far lough to be exempt from the accu mulating toils and exposures that afflict I' matching of besieging army every a.y ought to be an Ideal place for lealth compared with an army camp- fg or marching In a tropical country, ovlng forward with a rush and with- it preparation. At all events, when se campaign was over and our soldiers rere comfortably housed in Cuban and Lierto RIcan towns, their health be- se rapidly re-established. lit was not the canteen that made ur soldiers contract malaria or typhoid the campaigns of the Civil War or Shatter's campaign against Santl- go; for there wasn't any canteen hssible in active campaign. It Is an Istitutlon that belongs to an army Ihen stationed at a regular permanent bst or garrison for a considerable ac; It Is no part of a marching or Shtlng army In the field. The can- en. has reduced intemperance and Immorality In the Army by the testi mony of the officers, commissioned and non-commissioned, whose life brings them Into dally observation of the sol dier and whose business It Is to keep the Army In order, free from turbu lence and under strict discipline. A drunken soldier Is not only a-subject of disgust, but he Is a source of discom fort No one is more selfishly interested In making the Army sober and keeping jit sober than the Army officers, high : and. low, who live, move and have their being with It all their days of profes sional duty. "WORDS, BIT SO THOUGHTS. If any one thinks there Is any serious thought or sound argument In Bryan, he can undeceive himself by perusal of the speech delivered at the Exposition Building last night and reprinted In The Oregonlan this morning. It con sists of sound and fury, dogmatic asser tion, baseless claims, and the baldest sophistry. There Is appeal to Demo cratic partisanship, there are specious overtures to the failures and the discon tented, there Is denunciation In plenty for the Republican party, some of which is merited, but little of which Is sup ported by a shadow of evidence. But there Is nothing there for the serious mind that bestows thought upon the words so glibly uttered. There is no sign of Intelligent apprehension of the topics discussed or the problems before the country. Bryan's appeal Is not ad dressed to thinking men, and he is now among a people, we apprehend, where the unthinking are not In a majority. Because the Government Issued its promissory notes In a time of extrem ity Is no reason why those notes should forever be unredeemed.- Yet Bryan holds up to scorn the man who was for Issue of the greenbacks in the Civil War, and Is for their retirement now. It Is true that McKInley spoke for sil ver In 1S91; It Is true that the St. Louis platform's declaration for "interna tional blmetallsm" was a fraud, and It is true that the "blmetallsm" clause of the new currency law Is humbug. But none of these things militate In the slightest" degree against the gold standard. Concessions to error made by timid politicians do not Impair the validity of the truth. It is true that the Republicans deserve no credit for the gold discoveries of the Klondike and South Africa; but this is no pallia tion for the demand for free coinage with the Inevitable silver basis. If we had had hard times, Mr. Bryan would have said there Is no relief except In 16 to 1. Now that tie can no longer deny prosperity, his only refuge is to say that he will appeal then to every man who hasn't received his share of prosperity, that Is, to every man who hasn't as much money- as he would like; and this Is sheer demagogy. Equally unworthy statesmanship Is his arraignment of the currency law because it encourages banking. He as sumes In his hearers the belief that ii banking is made easy and profitable. the people must suffer in proportion. He might Just as well say that If the farmer is prosperous, .everybody else must suffer. The bank is not the enemy of the public. It Is merely the servant of the community in Its mone tary transactions, just as the miller grinds Its wheat and the blacksmith shoes its horses. Burdens upon the banks are only burdens upon the busi ness of the people In buying and sell ing, borrowing and lending. Mr. Bryan professes to believe it monstrous that a National bank buys bonds and re ceives an equal amount In bank notes for use, while the Individual who buys bonds loses the use of his money. He Ignores the fact that the new currency law permits anybody with $25,000 to start a National bank. Banking is thereby thrown open. If there is any undue profit In the business, competi tion will soon cut It down. Where Mr. Bryan falls Is In the fact that he never gets beyond party to principles. He has no conception of the National spirit behind expansion. It is enough for him to say that the Repub lican party is trying to change the Re public to an Empire. He has no appre hension of the deep popular conviction for Justice to Puerto Rico. It Is suffi cient for him that the Republicans first proposed free trade and then proposed the tariff. He offers no argument to show that all trusts are necessarily bad, or that a monopoly may or may not exist In other form than in a trust; He does not even catch the principle that protective duties on trust prod ucts should peremptorily be struck off; his case is satisfactorily made up In the declaration that the Republican party Is run for syndicates and by syndi cates. His defense of free sliver Is that the Republican party Is Insincere in Its professions for "blmetallsm." His charge against the gold standard Is that the Republicans have not been consistent in Its support. His brgu ment for an Income tax Is that Abra ham Lincoln approved one, and In 1894 Republicans voted against one. His poser against expansion is that no Republican can say Just exactly what should be done and what will have to be done In the Philippines. These are welcome sallies for the Democratic partisan and catchy phrases for the rabble. But they afford no light on the questions of the hour, they offer no aid to the sincere student of our National problems. If there are those who like this sort of "thing, they will like. But are the voters of Oregon of such small discern ment as to be caught with chaff like this? THE CANDIDACY OF DEWEY. The announcement, made by himself, that Admiral Dewey has reconsidered his decision In the matter, and will be a candidate for the Presidency of the United States, comes as a surprise to a vast multitude of his considerate fellow-citizens. Without any disposition to detract from the great service that the Admiral performed for his country In the vocation in which, from boy hood, he had been trained; recognizing, on the contrary, the value of this serv ice, and holding his name in honor be cause of It, thoughtful men are dis posed to regard him as a sailor who has fully mastered his profession, and not in any sense as a statesman. He has himself repeatedly declared that he knows nothing about politics, referring. It may be supposed, to grave and subtle questions of National policy, and cer tainly his fellow-citizens may be ex cused for taking him at his own esti mate in this matter. They may be ex cused, furthermore, in the opinion that he has not had time since he thus de clared himself to become familiar with questions to which he had confessedly never given any consideration previous to his arrival In New York last Sep tember. The conclusion would naturally be that such knowledge of politics as Dewey has acquired in this Interval is of the type that looks to personal ends rather than the National good. The spasm of patriotic fervor with which the American people greeted him as the hero of Manila Bay, for the time being, literally knew no bounds. While it lasted they would have made him President, Admiral anything, every thing permissible in a Republic, so long as the position carried with It a high sounding title and exalted him above his peers. This spasm naturally spent Itself, and the loyal common sense of the Nation greeted, him as Admiral of the Navy, satisfied that the highest honor of his vocation had come to him well earned, and content to let him rest In it. The announcement of his candi dacy Indicates not that Admiral Dewey has been studying the political ques tions of the country without a prompt-1 er, but that scheming politicians have been laboring with him. Indeed, It Is strongly suspected that a politician of large experience and boundless social ambition who Is very close to him has been striving mightily with him for some months past in the direction of his candidacy, and that In the event of hi3 election to the Presidency he would discharge Its duties by proxy. Dismissing this - assumption as groundless. It may be said distinctly and truthfully that the American peo ple are satisfied with and proud of Ad miral Dewey where he is. As a great Captain, who understands his business, they believe in him thoroughly. As an officer who earned with his high title the gratitude of his countrymen, his fellow-citizens, without regard to party affiliations, or in spite of them, honor him. It must be apparent that his candidacy, brought about by the subtle ties of personal influence against his own better Judgment, will, If persisted In, cheapen him as a man rather than exalt him as a statesman, or even as a politician. . FALSE! PLEAS FOR SUBSIDIES. In another column appears some carefully edited "news matter," sup plied by Mr. A. R. Smith, chief of the shipping subsidy bureau of promotion and publicity at Washington. The term "carefully edited" Is used advised ly, for a perusal of the letter will dis close a studied effort to put the roost favorable possible construction on the Liverpool paper's reference to the Ger man mercantile marine. To a casual reader the reason for a British paper offering such complimentary tribute to the German marine may be a trifle mystifying. The animus of the tribute may be explained, however, through the fact that the Liverpool Journal of Commerce Is tho recognized organ of the subsidized shlppjng interests of Great Britain. Its voice Is at all times raised for more subsidies or In protest against a reduction of those already in force. .To read the joint effusion of Mr. Smith and the Liverpool subsidy advocate, one would suppose that everything afloat under the German flag was finder the direct patronage and support of the German Government, and that government aid alone was re sponsible for the rapid growth of the German merchant marine. No more gross misrepresentation of facts was ever attempted. The Ger man Government subsidizes the North German Lloyd and the German East African Company, operating fast pas senger and mall steamers, and pays a moderate subsidy to about 30,000 tons net of other mall steamers. Why should the "patriotic German tax payer" murmur, when only about 4 per cent of the total net tonnage flying the German flag is paid anything which bears a semblance to a subsidy? . The American taxpayer pays without a murmur a good mall subsidy to the American trans-Atlantic line and to the line running between San Fran cisco and Australia. It does not, how ever, pay a subsidy to the big fleets of Sewall, Chapman, Pendleton, Mig hell and the few other men who main tain that portion of the merchant fleet of the -world which still flies the Amer ican flag. These ships make money without a subsidy, and will continue to do so. The unsubsidized German mer chant marine also makes money, and the report of the German Parliament in 1S9S on the question of renewing the subsidy to the Oriental lines of the North German Lloyd mentioned the growth of a number of unsubsidized companies to show that the companies which got nothing from the Govern ment flourished In spite of the mall lines, which. In consideration of In creased speed, received subventions. The figures presented at that time showed that within the past five years the Independent fleet Increased Its ton nage as rapidly as did the subsidized fleet. To understand fully the growth of Germany's unsubsidized marine. It is unnecessary for Oregonians to. go be yond the confines of their state for illustrations. Ten years ago but one German ship came to this port. Five years ago there were half a dozen ves sels of this rising marine power at Portland. Last year there were four teen of these vessels loaded at this port. For the first three months of the cur rent year seven German ships have loaded here, and twelve more are listed to arrive before the end of the year, with strong probabilities that fully thirty will load here before January 1. 190L But few of these ships were Ger man built, but Instead were vessels purchased from the British by one of the "foreign methods" for building up a fleet which Is more effective than. a subsidy. Deduct from the German mer chant fleet the vessels which have been bought from other nations, and It would make a very sorry showing In com parison with that of Great Britain. "The Increase In valuable shipbuilding plant In German yards has verged on the marvelous." The same may be said of the American yards, every one of which Is crowded to Its utmost capacity with work. In fact, the works of one of the most clamorous advocates of the subsidy is reported to have contracts on hand calling for over 20,000,000 worth of shipping, a great deal of it for foreign nations. American shipping and the shipbuilding industry Is grow ing so rapidly that every day that passes makes the appeals of the sub sidy grafters appear all the more un worthy and ridiculous. If Bryan's wallet has grown and his physique has ripened somewhat, his mind has not. He still delights In plat itude and serio-comic phrase-monglng; In stating the position of opponents not as it Is, but as he would like It to be for partisan purposes: In putting up a man of straw and exhibiting his cour age to attack and pummel the insen sate shape. He speaks not as an un prejudiced student of public questions. but as a partisan to partisans; he is all the time a candidate playing for votes, and never a thoughtful man discuss ing principles. The auditor carries away the pleasing consciousness that he has heard- a clever actor of the ro bust school; has seen a frame and Jaw that a pugilist might prise; but If one soberly ask himself, two days later, what he learned, he will fall to .recall a new thought or a helpful idea. The actor offers nothing new; he but repro duces and repeats. Professor Nicholas Murray Butler, of Columbia University, in discussing "A Century of Education," presents figures showing that the annual public expend iture of the common schools of the United States amounts to $200,000,000. or 32 67 per capita of population. In Great Britain and Ireland the total public expenditure on the same account is JS8,000,000, or 2 20 per- capita; in France It is about 58.000,000. or U 60 per capita: in the German Empire it is over 10S.000.000, or more than 12 per capita. Thus the four great leading nations of the world are annually ex pending for public education alone a. sum considerably in excess of $450,000, 000. Coming again to our own country. Professor Butler adds: Tho annual expenditure of the United States far common schools fai quite equal to the sum total of the expenditures of Great Britain, France and Germany combined upon their pow erful navies. It is nearly four-fifths of the total annual expenditures -of the" armed camps of France and Germany upon their" huge nnntet and a, sum greater by many millions than the net ordinary expenditures of the United States Government in I860. A few years, perhaps a third of a century, ago, Longfellow, an ardent ad vocate of peace, as are all men of his temperament, wrote: ' Were hslf the power that fills the world with terror. -Were half the wealth bestowed on camp and court. Given to redeem the human mind from error. There were no need of arsenal and forts. Facts and figures do not support this estimate, for, though the expenditures of the common schools have nearly trebled In this country since 1870, the "need of arsenals and forts" does not seem to have In the least degree abated. Colonel Bryan had an opportunity yesterday to sound sentiment In one of the oldest and richest farming districts In Oregon. At McMlnnville and Hllls boro he addressed S500 people, one-half of whom were Republicans. Curiosity gathered the Republicans within range of his voice, but they showed no enthu siasm, and the Bryanltes were only lukewarm. Colonel Bryan prated about "blmetallsm at 16 to 1," but the deathly silence that greeted this sentiment both at McMlnnville and Hlllsboro must have convinced the young 'orator that the people have at last a stable money system and are satisfied with It. The only parts of Colonel Bryan's speech that were well received were the ar raignment of trusts and the criticism of the Administration for robbing Puerto Rico. These straws show the trend of political sentiment In Oregon. Colonel Bryan has come and gone. He has talked and smiled, posed and declaimed. Joked and gesticulated. For more than two hours he gave his light and breezy entertainment, sending his audience home like a circus crowd, tlfed and bewildered, but with nothing of value. His speech contains no kernel. It has no worth In dealing with any subject. Whether It touch money, trusts or expansion. It only darkens counsel. Refusing to consider all the elements of any question. It reaches wrong conclusions, where it reaches any. Casting aside all Important cir cumstances of a situation, it offers nothing to help any. citizen who seeks truth and light. In Its April number the Forum main tains consistently its position as semi official defender and economist of the McKInley Administration. The two leading articles, as usual, are devoted to this end. Mr. Vanderllp, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, whoops it up for the new financial law, and Repre sentative Hopkins supports the Puerto RIcan Iniquity. The persistence of the Forum's programme in Its new role Is almost as objectionable as its former penchant for anarchistic propaganda. On money, Bryan is weaker than heretofore. He is confounded by hav ing the falsity of all his theories dem onstrated during the past three years. There were expressions of relief on the faces of mat.y of his partisan hearers when he stopped the effort to present the "double standard" absurdity. No part of his speech received fess ap plause than that relating to silver, and he betrayed lack of heart In It. Not even Bryan can galvanize more than the semblance of life Into 16 to 1. The Prince of Wales was probably shot at by some pro-Boer crank. Queen Victoria's life has been attempted by lunatics and political cranks no less than eight times since 1840. The only notice taken of these various attempts has been the consignment of their would-be assassins to asylums for the Insane, to remain "confined during the Queen's pleasure." Bryan presents much the same ap pearance as In former years. He Is a little older, a trifle more bald, and per ceptibly more rotund from the abound ing prosperity he has enjoyed In com mon with his fellow-men since his financial vagaries were rejected and he was kept from the Presidential chair. Bryan showed sense In one particular. He had nothing to say In commenda tion of Lentz and Sulzer's attempt to discredit the authorities who broke up the criminal gang that was practicing murder and anarchy In the Coeur d'Alenes In the name of labor. These will be busy days for Mr. Hanna. What with his efforts to hold Dewey down and keep Bryan up, his task is no light one. The molt effect ive support Mr. Bryan will have In his fight for renomlnatlon will come from the Hanna dynasty. Tom Reed calls President McKInley "The Emperor of Expediency." The Bishop and the Antis. , New York Commercial Advertiser. It is very rlaky business, this is the moral of the bishop's sad plight, for any body to differ with or part company with the league after once associating with it You see, all the moral virtue of the United States is concentrated la It. and this It Is that puts in its hands "the bruis ing Irons of wrath" that Wlnslow Is swinging. Bishop Potter was only four days in tho Philippines, and he says, such is his brazen Impudence, that what he saw end heard convinced him that he was la error about the situation. Wlnslow was never hampered with either four days' or one day's or one minute's visit there, so he is better qualified to speak than the bishop, because he has not been seduced by the "environment of an enemy's camp." He Is so impartial, so unhampered, that when a native Filipino visited the league headquarters in Boston a few days ago and ventured to say that, tho league view of 'the Philippine problem was all wrong. Wlnslow rebuked him warmly. Instructed him kindly but firmly In the truthand then dismissed him. That is the way to be true and steadfast and right. Take' the position firmly that you embody In yourself all the moral courage and all the patriotism there is left In the country, and whenever anybody differs with you your course Is clear. Be he bishop or lay man, soldier or politician. Judge or em inent educator, his attitude, apart from yours, is proof positive that he Is not only wrong but surely insincere, and prob ably is either a time-server or is actuated by mercenary motives. , OCR. SUBSIDY ADVOCATE. ' i ii i Latter From Mr. Smith -Which Is No ticed Elsewhere Today. HOTEL COCHRAN, Washington. D. a, March 30. To the Editor.) The following article te carefully prepared from an edi torial appearing In the March S, 1900, Issue of the Liverpool (England) Journal of Commerce, en old-established, conserva tive and influential British commercial and maritime dally. A. R. SMITH. GERMAN MARITIME GROWTH. What Germany Is accomplishing In the way of building up her merchant marine Is discussed moat interestingly In an edi torial In the Liverpool Journal of Com merce of March S. The Congress of the United Statu Is soon to dtcuss a bill for the building up of American shipping, in view of the possible passage or which foreign, methods, as regarded by foreign newspapers, are of timely Interest and In struction to the American people. The Liverpool Journal of Commerce, la the editorial In question, significantly en titled "German Competition." points out that Germany Is evidently determined to take a hand In ocean carrying; that brand new German fleets are supplied wherever world's trade openings are possible; that tho patriotic German taxpayer bears the cost without a murmur, and that the Em peror and the government, by word of praise and encouragement, stimulate the national zeal whenever It appears to flag. All of this, says the Liverpool Journal of Commerce, advertises the growth of Ger man commerce and shipping. No oppor tunity Is lost sight of to let the world know of Germany's growth: "the highest officials seize any occasion to advertise to the world, as did the Emperor at the launching of the Dcutschland the other day, what Germany means to be as a mar itime power. Even accidents to German steamships afford opportunity to exploit the glory of her marine, byi the honoring and mcdallng of her "heroes of the sea.' "Within CO years." said Count von Bu low at the launching of the Deutschland, "Germany has Increased the 'tonnage of her mercantile marine quite fifteen-fold." In tho same time American shipping in the foreign trade has declined Just one-half. Until the British White Star liner Oceanic was launched, Germany had the largest ship afloat, says this Liverpool newspaper, and even now her ships hold the blue rib bon for speed. The revival of German shipping Is due to the genius of Bismarck, says the Liver pool Journal of Commerce. It continues: "Consequent on a memorandum emanat ing from that famous statesman, a sub sidy was provided for the North German Lloyd Company. Subsidies In the opin ion of an unread controversialist expressed In a morning half-penny paper, are grant ed for the sole purpose of passing Into the pockets of a few millionaires posing as patriots. Nothing can be further from the truth. They help to etart a line of ves sels which would not otherwise come Into being, and thus carry the nation's flag to places where hitherto it had been but a name. Unless some such assistance were given by the nation there could not be a trade carried on at all to certain parts of the empire." This newspaper points out other ways by which the growth of German shipbuild ing was aided, beginning In 1SS3, one being by placing all shipbuilding materials on the free list. This the United States also did several years ago. In respect of shipbuild ing for the foreign trade. Moreover, thlJ British Journal continues, shipbuilding ma terials are carried at reduced rates on German government-owned railroads. No I alone the German millionaire, but the Ger man people in general, says this Journal, are determined upon having a home-built merchant marine of their own. This news paper thus concludes Its editorial: "The Increase In valuable shipbuilding plant In German yards has verged on the marvelous. At the samo time the Iron and steel Industries are attaining to greater proficiency owing to the Increased demand for shipbuilding material, and the day Is not for distant when tho merchant ships and war vessels of Kaiser Wilhelm. will be fashioned at homo of material oil 'made In Germany.' Legislation and ad vertisement by high authorities have not done all under the head of advance In the numbers and tonnage of German ships. Nevertheless no other country has done so much for Its shipbuilders and shipown ers in order to foster a satisfactory mer cantile marine to compete in the markets of the world. Whether the subsidy-fed German shipping will hold Its own Is hid den from us V1 the womb of the future, but It Is certainly pushing forward at the present time." Considering that, during the last hall century, British steamships have received In subsidies for carrying British mails 50,000,000. and that British steamships aro more numerous than the steamships of all other nations combined, the concern of British commercial and maritime JournaU over Germany's rapid maritime and com mercial jrrowth is not surprising. THE CUV OF TUEUTO IUCO. Fatal Uncertainty Is What Paralyses the Island's Industries. Chicago Tribune. Rep. While Senators wrangle Puerto RIcans suffer. Congress has appropriated $2,000. 000 to pay the expenses of administering the local government. That is a recogni tion of the fact that the inhabitants of the island aro too poor to pay taxes. The ap propriation is excellent as far as it goes. It will provide the means to pay the sal aries of school teachers and other govern ment employes. It will put some people to work at roadmaklng. Those who are to share in the two millions will be ben efited. Those who are not to do so will starve unless cared for by public charity. tor what congress has Just done does not go to the root of the evlL It doos not end that fatal uncertainty which has paralyzed? the Industry and put an em bargo on the commerce of Puerto Rico. Merchants and planters. Ignorant as to the nature of their future trade relations with the United States, are even more at sea than are protected manufacturers whon they do not know whether duties ar to bo left unchanged, lowered a little, or cut down a great deal. The planters, as a rule, are moneyless. They cannot pay labor to plant crops or to put in shape their coffee plantations damaged by the hurricane of last year unless the mer chants make, them advances. The mer chants do not dare do so, because their only security will be the crops, and they do not know whether there will be a market for them or what price they will bring until Congress has settled tho tariff question. Most of the plantations are mortgaged, and the time Is drawing near when these mortgages must be foreclosed, unless the owners of the land ore enabled to rase and sell the products of their fields. If Congress trifles much longer with a question which is all In all lo Puerto RIcans. the present proprietors will lose their lands and be beggars. That disturbs them more than doubts as to the form of government which may be given the island. "Hope deferred raaketh the heat sick" The merchants and planters of Puerto Rico have been waiting patiently since the rummer of 1S98 for free trade with the United States and the, material happiness they were confident it would givo them. They endued uncomplainingly tor long months th practical exclusion of two of the Important products of the island from the American market by the duties of the Dlngley law. They were sure Congress would give them relief when It met. They did not take Into consideration Mr. Ox nard and ths Connecticut tobacco-growers, who have put a veto on the kindly design of the President to give Puerto Rico free trade. So at last there comes up a bitter cry from the owners of the mortgaged, un titled fields of Puerto Rico. They are going to exerclf e one right, which nobody will dare to deny them. It Is the right of petition. They are going to beg Congress to do something, at once, and put an end to their torture of suspense. They win not Insist on that absolutely free access to American markets they expected and should have. If CongTess Is going to give less than Justice demands they should be given, they beg to be given that little now. It win be.twice as valuable as If given weeks or months hence. Never has such a petition been presented to Con gress as the one which Is to be laid be fore it soon by the Puerto RIcans. Be fore It Is presented an ashamed Congress should give the petitioners that free inter course with this country which Is their due. Then labor- will be set at work and the fields will hear profitable crops. Then the affectionate feeling of Puerto RIcans for America, which Is rapidly being de stroyed, will be revived and made endur ing. i BltOOKE AXD WOOD. A Cuban's Esilmate of the Chanced Condition of Affairs in the Island. Edwin Warren GuyoC Editor pf La Lucha (Havana) In Harper's Weekly. Brooke was an exceedingly conservative man In most rra&ects. with many narrow Ideas, and very hard to approach. His good traits were many. He was kind, generous, and honestly felt deeply the pit iable condition of affairs. But he lacked energy, was too credu lous, not sufficiently firm to say "stop" when necessary, and was obstinate to a degreo when an attack was made on 'any project which he himself had fathered. He delivered himself Into the hands of a Cabinet of shrewd, unscrupulous men who had played to every audience in the the ater of Cuban-Spanish politics during the last few years. He trusted his own Judgment implicitly In making selections of secretaries, disre garding the protests of public and press, and maintained them In office until tno end of his reigo-an end which they brought about. During the year of their work. Capote and Lanuza were doing nothing but giving employment to relative and other scoun drels, and pulling tha wool over the eyea of Brooke. Brooke was shown, personally .and through tho newspapers, that these smcoth rogues were ruining him and prejudicing Cubans against the entire American Na tion. He would calmly say to men who had attended college with the secretaries, to Americans who had llvod here 10 years, "Gentlemen, you are very much mistaken, and are cruelly misjudging most excel lent, honorable men." When Brooke was removed matters had reached a dangerous stage. The Jails were full of Innocent, persecuted men; the asy lums were caring for children who were subjected to abuse and deprivation, while the administrators were using the funds supplied them. The courts were being operated Just as in former days. Schools had npt been opened, nor had plans for their organiza tion been formulated. Ludlow was plot ting to succeed Brooke, and was constant ly agitating fractional discontent. The muttering and growing animosity became more apparent dally. -" Wood came. . This gave hope to the Cubans through out tho Island, reports from Santiago hav ing long shown that the Easterners be- Heved In this Doctor-Governor. Since his arrival there has been more actual, visible, beneficial work done than there was during the entire year gone' by. Where Brooke came to his office . at 10 A. M. and went driving in the afternoon. Wood is to be found at his desk at 8, an hour for luncheon, another for dinner, bed at midnight. And the rapidity with which he grasps a subject enables him to accom plish a tremendous amount In a given time. Where Brooke asked and blindly accept-i od advice from one or two men, then al lowed them to do as they pleased. Wood consults a dozen, then Issues Instructions, an dsee that they are obeyed. Where Brooke received "reports," Wood makes personal Inspections. Where Brooke "filed" or "respectfully referred" com plaints. Wood conducts an investigation. Wood declares himself candidly, and proves his declarations to be sincere. His policy, which he will carry out to the end unless Interfered, with by Washington, can be summed up In a few words. He will trust Cubans always, and help them pre vent themselves from betraying the confi dence. He will convince these people that he Is sincere In his desire to place them on their feet, by showing them that he re alizes that he needs their assistance to Insure their success, and that successful accomplishment of the task before him means his own future assured. Cubans are being shown every considera tion by Wood, who appreciates their na tures thoroughly, and understands that what might appear trivial to an American may mean tho lasting friendship or en mity of a Latin. He will use tho greatest care In selec tion of Incumbents for public office, and will unhesitatingly remove his own ap pointees should they prove unworthy. He Intends that the Judicial and educational Institutions shall be as nearly perfect as possible, and that they shall be the bases of the Cuban governmental establishment. The brightest sign, in Wood's eyes. Is the apparent anxiety of children and adults to obtain education. This desire is m manifest that schools are being opened as lapiuiy as lumiiure ana doors can be ob tained. Let Leonard Wood alone, and It is safe to assume that he will, during nn Mo have Insular affairs in such hn , hi will conduct general elections, electa Pres- juent ana congress, have a constitution framed, and turn over to a grateful peo- vj .juti. ic wuues to ouiia as much as they to have a model republic e , After Joys. Kansas City Independent. "I don't think Mr. TLoftr,. . -..-...j c, en joyed her money so much as she does now." , 'Why. shn lost her mnnw an. ..- ago. "True, hut tbr-n vm, eA i plied her with an unUillng topic of con versation ever since." , J - Where She Drnn the Line. Atchison Globe. A woman can buy an Inferior article In groceries because a better is too expen sive, and keep her contentment, but she can't do It in a dry goods ftore. i a Detained at Home. Philadelphia Record. Mrs. Muggins Are you gplng to the Paris Exposition this Summer? Mrs. Buggins No; I can't get away. The cook wants to go.. in Germs. Detroit Journal. TOoctor, I wonder if I'm not getting old?" "Quite possibly. The bacillus of old age Is very prevalent this Spring." fc Boar Method. Indianapolis Journal. Johnson Jackson, how would vnn into society? I Jackson Oh. If I felt like It. and had the clothes, 'and was invited, I'd go. a Be Made Many Yesterday. St- Paul Pioneer Press. Bryan fW. J.) is now on the Pacific Coast, making votes for the Republicans. ' NOTE AND COMMENT. He -wouldn't rather be Dewey than Pres ident, after all. ' The roof of the Exposition Building wtyl bo repaired Immediately. The Vanderbllts. having- money to bum. are naturally willing to put It into coaL Dewey didn't give Bryan 'any more warn ing than he gave the Spaniards la -MaTiaT Bay. Albert Edward ought to.have gone with his mamma to Ireland, and he probably thinks so now. Between passing unpopular measures and passing the lie the Senators are kept pmty busy lately. Bryan used to be considered a pretty good talker, but Webster Davis has been unmuzzled since then. Quay will wake up onef these days and find that he has ceased to be a public men ace and has become a private citizen. Bryan refused to answer any telegrams on the Dewey matter. There ore a few subjects on which he prefers to think be fore talking. The museum managsr who can sign a Kentucklan who Is not a Colonel, and who has not been arrested for the murder of Goebel, will make a fortune next season. iJhre a. thumSerbolt shot fnai a clear asare ty. like a pro-BritlBh speecit on tha Fourth of July. Like a deep basso growl from an artless spring lamb. Or a Cnrlstlan Endeavorer sarin?. "Oh. d nf That was the fashion tbe startling news came. That Ooualn George Dewey Has got In the garca. Judge Jenkins, of the United States Cir cuit Court at Chicago, has declined to ap prove a lawyer's claim to J12,5P0 for three months' service as a receiver of something or other. The president of the United States, observed the Judge, was paid at no higher rate than that, and he might hae added that it was a sum more than twice as largo as tho United States Government pays Judge Jenkins for a whole year of service. Sir Algernon West records of his ma ternal uncle. Lord Orford. that in 1KU he Was invited to become president of tha Norwich Bible Society; his reply was as follows: "Sir, I am surprised and an noyed by the contents or your letter. Surprised, because my well-known char acter should have exempted me from such an application and annoyed because It compels me to have even tWs communi cation with you. I have longi been addict ed to the gaming table; I have lately taken to the turf; I fear I frequently blaspheme; but I have never distributed religious tracts. All this was known to you and to your society. Notwithstanding which you think mo a fit person to be your pres ident. God forgive your hypocrisy! I would rather live In the land of sinners than with such ealnta." Accidents to pedestrians on the side walks from the reckless riding of bicy clists are quite common, but cases where a bicyclist gets the worst of the encounter are not so common. Once in a while, however, a reckless rider of the silent steed finds himself up against the hard end of an accident, and usually he is one who deserve no such fate. A case of this kind occurred at Fourth and Alder streets a day or two ago. A bicyclist who was evidently not an expert, undertook to pass a man riding a shy and spirited horse. A bundle he was carrying touched the horse, which gave a violent plunge, nearly unseating the rider, and sending the bicyclist sprawling In the street. Ho and his bicycle fell In front of a. pair of horses being driven up the street at a rate approaching what in a bicyclist Is called "scorching." The horses shied so suddenly and so far to one side that the driver narrowly escaped being tossed over the dashboard on top of the bicyclist. The latter rose to his feet, covered with dirt, and evidently pretty badly hurt, and as ha limped off he received a lot of abuse from the horseman and tho driver, which evidently did not sit well, but to which, he made no audible reply. IS! Mast It Be McKInley or Bryan? Indianapolis News. Those who want to see McKInley and Bryan both defeated ought to speak their minds plainly and emphatically, and act In accordance with their opinions. This Is a free country. A man can be a Re publican or a Democrat without being either a McKInley or a Bryan man. Even those Who think that they ire bound, by party loyalty to suoport the party candi date after he Is nominated are not at all bound toadvocate the nomination of any particular, man. Perhaps nothing can bo done. But it Is very certain that nothing can be dona without making a beginning. e Bryan's Poor Choice of Dates. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. In going to Oregon to talk. Bryan is preparing for his usual ill-luck. He re marked Just after his defeat in 1S96 that he lost nearly all the states In which ha made speeches in that year, while ha carried all which he kept away from. This Is a particularly bad time for him to appear in Oregon. That state has an election in June, and his present speeches stand a chance to add a little to the Re publican majority which was likely to be rolled up In any event. A reverse right at the outset In his canvass Is not the sort of thng which a wise candidate would invite. The Crime and Its Punishment. Louisville Courier-Journal. The Republicans of the Senate showed their petty feeling against Senator Bev eridge by leaving the chamber when ho made his Puerto RIcan speech. Senator Bevcridge's offense was that he dared to form and express an opinion of his own a heinous crime In the eyes of the thlck-and-thln party puppets. b Gentian. Elizabeth G. Crane. So all day lonff I followed through the flelfa The voice of Autnmn. railing from afar; And now I thought: "Ton hazel thicket yields A glimpse of her," and novt "Thee asters are Sore sign that she of late has passed this way; Lo; here the traces of her yellow car." And once I looked and seemed to see her stand Beneath a golden maple's black -drawn boughs. But when I reached the place, naught but a band Of crickets did perform then- tuneful vows. To the soon-fading grass, and through the leaves. The quiet sunlight falling, blessed my brows. Till, as the long rays lengthened frcm the West, I came upon an altar of gray stone. O'er which a creeper flung with pious zest Her flickering flames. About that altar lone. The crowding mitnac burned with steady Ore; Before It, stately, stool a priestess; one. Who turned to me her melancholy eyes. 1 saw her beauty, ripe with color's breath, Tet veiled, as when wood and hill there lies A mist, a shadow, as of coming death. And while I gazed she faded: swltt I clutched Her fringed cloak, which rent, my grasp be neath. And she was gone. As fluttered to the ground Its many fragments. I with sudden fears. Stooped, vainly seeking, them, when all around The blue-fringed gentian smiled up through my tears. As one who knows his welcome will be warm. Although sad news to hla belOTed. he beam J i --S. V k .