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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1900)
SWiH 6 THE MORNING OREGONIAN, SATURDAY, 'APRIL 7, 1900. ' fyfmr-r v-kfs at-tfgfftfi Enured at tb PoitoOce at Portland. Oregon, as-sccond-clsss matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Room... .160 I Business Office... G6T REVISED SCBSCRIFTIOJf RATES. By Mail ipostage prepaid), in Advance Dally, with Sun Jay. per memh... .... .10 85 Ually. Sunday excepted, per year-....... 7 SO Daily, with Sunday, per year 9 00 Sunday, per year .... 2 00 The IVeekly. per year ...... 1 SO The Weekly. 3 month.. ............. B0 To City Subscribers . Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday exeepted.lSo Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday lncludlOa Tb Oregcnlan does not buy poem or atorle 'from Individual, and cannot undcrtalc to re turn any manuscript sent to It without solicita tion. No stamp should be Inclosed tor this purpose. Puget Sound: Bureau Captain A. Thompson, once at lilt Pacific avenue. Tacoma. Box SCS. Tacoma posto&oa. Eastern, Business Oraee The Trlbuns build ing. New York city: "The Rookery." Chicago: the S. C Beckwlth special agency. New Tork. For sale In Ban Francisco by J. K. Cooper. I Market street, near the Palaoe hotel, and at Goldsmith Bros., 238 Sutter street. For sal In Chicago by tb P. a Nerw Co, Z1I Dearborn street. TODAY'S "WEATHER. Generally fair; west erly wind PORTLAJCD, SATURDAY, APRIL T. TWO VTEWS OF ORIEXTAL DEVIX OPJIEXT. The American people are asked to view with alarm the prospect of close social, commercial and Industrial rela tions with the cheap-labor peoples of. the Orient. They will, it Is argued, cor rupt our morals, undersell our factories, degrade our labor. That, undoubtedly. Is one way to look at It. But there is another way, -and the other way is set out in a letter printed elsewhere from a Portland man now at Manila. Not every one can nccept at once the view held by "Veritas Vinclt"; but it cer tainly Is a. view deserving of serious consideration. "Veritas Vinclt" make3 one mistake In his letter, probably, and that Is in unduly emphasizing the money ques tion. The silver standard is not the sole cause of the low price of Asiatic labor. The two things are concomitant. Improved wages and Improved mone tary standards go together. They are marks of advancing civilization. Japan's awakening has been accompa nied by higher wages and the gold standard. They are talking of the gold standard In China. They are acquiring It in India. The prophecy that in a short time England will fasten the gold standard on China as she has fastened it on Japan and is fastening It upon India, is an excellent illustra tion of that apostle of socialism's dan gerous perversion .of truth. The men of India have demanded the gold stand ard and insisted on it, despite the ef forts of English and American "blmet allsts" to keep them down on the sil ver standard. Japan has taken the gold standard at her own Instance: and the struggles jof South American states to raise themselves to the solid ground of the gold standard will ere long be duplicated in China. In viewing the contact of the Orient and the "Western nations, therefore, we should look at the matter in a broad and comprehensive way. The question " Is. "Will they drag us down or shall we lift them up? Our correspondent takes the hopeful view, and he supports it Tvlth evidence drawn from actual ob servation in the Philippines. His letter Is very suggestive, and should be read -by all who fear the effects of Oriental competition upon our industries. Two great streams of civilization are converging here. One is strong, the other weak. One has degraded labor, low conditions of comfort, debased currencies, benighted Ideals, medieval institutions; the other has educated labor, thff gold standard, free press and free speech, high mechanical develop ment, unbounded enterprise. Will the lower drag down the higher, or will the higher elevate the lower? History encourages us to the more optimistic view. Backward races touched ad vanced civilization in all times and climes, and Imbibed its culture. Old "Egpt and old Persia were drawn upon by- the ambitious hordes of Europe. Greece got its beginnings of culture from ' Egypt, and Rome drew from Greece. The nomad Israelites tarried by the Nile and carried what they learned into Palestine. Spain drew its civilization from the Moors and the cross followed the Roman eagle to Britain. A hint of what may be ex pected In- the Pacific's era Just opening is afforded in the record of Japan. How Incomprehensibly small the Oriental in fluence upon our own people, how tre mendous the uplifting effect of West ern ideas already discernible In the Island kingdom's Industries, manners and laws! We can look at this thing In a timid way, fearful of ourselves; or in confi dence and reliance we can Indulge the hope to bring the Asiatics up to our level of ambition and comfort. The precedents are encouraging; and we can feel assured of Incidental benefits to ourselves. An awakened and up lifted Orient means another Europe at our doors. The" commerce -that has built up New Tork and Philadelphia. Boston and Baltimore awaits, on this side, the future Portland and San Fran cisco. TO JIB EXPECTED. Captures of small detachments from Lord Roberts' army, like those reported from Bethanle and a week ago at San aa's Post, are to be expected from time to time, as they ane an incident of all wars In which a long line of railway communication needs protection from the attacks of a rapidly moving mounted enemy. Such attacks were of weekly occurrence upon the communi cations of General Rosecrans In Ten nessee nnd General."' Grant in Missis sippi during 1S63. General Grant's first attempt to move by land from Memphis against Vlcksburg, in co-operajion with General Sherman's attack upon Chick asaw Bayou, was foiled by a successful attack of Confederates under General Van Dorn upon Grant's depot of sup plies at Holly Springs. Miss. The Fed eral garrison surrendered and the sup plies were destroyed. In 18C2, 1863 and 1864 the Confederate Mounted Riflemen under Forrest. Wheeler and John Morgan were very successful In attacking our line of rail way communications defended by blockhouses In Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. We had plenty of cav alry; we had fairly good cavalry com manders; but the enemy were nearly i always successful in picking up our de tachments and garrisons, because of I'- their superior mobility, which was due , to their thorough knowledge of the country; tney jujcw every crossroad; every wood road; every ford, and the people were ready to furnish them with information or act as guides. Lord Roberts suffers under the same difficulties. He has a long line of com munications; the enemy are well mounted; they know the whole country thoroughly, and the majority of the people are their spies. The capture of a few hundred men out of an army of 70.000 has no appreciable effect upon the execution of Lord Roberts' plans for his next advance. THE TRi'STS AXD PUERTO RICO. Mr. T. F. Kershaw writes us from Ashland: In dealing your Titan 'blows on the Puerto Rico "enormity," why not be fair? Your posi tion that the protected Interests tobacco and sugar are responsible for the IS per cent tarlft on Puerto Rlcan roods 1 controverted by weighty authority. Senator Depew, Speaker Henderson, in his famous letter, and Congress man Tongue, all say, substantially, that these Interests were represented by a lobby working, not for a tariff, but for free trade. Specula tors, last Winter, bought up this year's crops of tobacco and sugar In the Islands, In antici pation of free trade with the mother country. Their Interests would be "protected" by free trade. The "bogie" man Is jumped up on both sides of this question. Where does he stand? Who owns the sugar and tobacco in Puerto. Rico makes no difference. Governor-General Davis, in answer to an inquiry, telegraphed that the story of the previous purchase of the sugar and tobacco by the trusts was a pure fabri cation. The British Vice-Consul at San Juan says it all belongs to the planters themselves, and that there Is not much of it, anyhow, as all but this year's crop was exported long ago. It seems. therefore, that the story about the trusts wanting free trade with Puerto Rico has been manufactured by the ex emplary partisans quoted by Mr. Ker shaw, for the express purpose of throw ing dust In the eyes of the people. All this, however, is aside from the question. The Protected Interests are not concerned for the paltry products of Puerto Rico. That Is a small mat ter. What they fear Is the entering wedge of free trade with Puerto Rico, to be widened in the case of the Phil ippines, and eventually, perhaps, to knock down about their ears the whole fabric of their special privileges under the tariff. Then we should have the benefit of foreign competition. Then our Protected Interests would have to sell as cheaply here at home as they do abroad. To ask us to believe that the trusts are lobbying at Washington in favor of free trade is to give us credit for a tremendous stock of credulity. While on the subject, it may be as well to give Mr. Kershaw a few figures for his scrapbook. They are furnished by Mr. Henry W. Lamb, of Boston, president of the New England Free Trade League, and are open to correc tion or refutation If wrong In any re spect. The comparison Is of prices of products controlled by trusts, through operation of our protective tariff: PRICES IN UNITED STATES AND ENG LAND. U.S. Eng. Article and quantity. price. price. Lead. 10U lb l TO 3 CI Litharge, lb b"!i 4 Wire, smooth. 100 lbs 3 2 S3 Barb wire. gait-.. ICO lbs..... 3 SI 2 3a Wire nails. 100 lbs 3 3$ 2 55 Iron ore. ton til3 C 23 Tin plate. 100 ltn 4 KS 3 GO Sheet steel. 100 lbs 2 70 2 07 Galvanised Iron. 100 lbs 3 TS 3 S3 Steel beams. 10O lbs 2 5) lm Borax, refined, lb 073 034 Lime, bbl so G2 Cream of tartar, crystals. lb. 22U 150 Bleaching powder, lb 2 .013 Castor oil. lb 12& OGO Caustic soda. 100 lbs 2 42 1 M Cement, Portland, best. bbl.. 2 55 1 11 TO MIGRATING FARMERS. An exodus of 1500 farmers from some of the Atlantic States and those of the Middle West, to North Dakota, is re ported, as the result of the enterprise of a Western railway company In se curing settlers along the line of its road. The movement will be of prac tical benefit to North Dakota,- whose vast areas are capable of supporting an immense population. The climate of that state does not differ materially from that of the states whence this immigration was drawn, hence these farmer folk will not have to learn anew the lessons of their vocation, as they have descended from sire to son for generations, but will keep on battling climate in the old way. The same rig ors of Winter and heats of Summer to which they are accustomed must be met and provided against in their new home. The environment will be new, the elbow room Increased, and the change, merely as a change, will be In a greater or less degree beneficial. There Is a theory that people wear out certain conditions of environment, nnd if they persistently remain therein they become stationary, so far as growth in Intelligence and aspiration is concerned. If, Indeed, they do not retrograde. In this view an exodus from old to new lands, with all that the transfer implies of growth and nwakenlng to new conditions and exi gencies, may be commended, even though. In climatic and other natural advantages, the new location is not su perior to the old. Of far greater value, however, to farmers who seek homes in a nw or a different locality would be a transfer that would add to the simple advantages of change of location the decided advantages of a change from a rigorous and Inhospitable climate to one that Invites rather than repels the ef forts of the husbandman. The break ing up of old conditions; the aban donment of familiar surroundings; the leave-taking of the friends of a life time and of relatives who from close association are almost of one's own family, are matters 'that careful men ponder thoughtfully when the question of moving to another part of the coun try Is broached. Of course, all of these are minor con siderations, and become subservient to the main object that of bettering the industrial and financial conditions of the family by the change. A move In volves expense, trouble and anxiety; the readjustment of the individual to the new community life. Prudent fam ily men are not rovers. But when such men, having decided that it is for the best interests of all Immediately con cerned to make a decided change in the location of their homes, such as Is con templated In a move of from one to two or three thousand miles. It is mani festly short-sighted t to leave the ques tion of the new location to be decided by a transportation company. The man who has spent the half of his time since and including his boyhood in battling the elements or fencing against them might well consider a milder climate as a matter of first Im portance when contemplating a change in location. He who has wasted his energies in vainly coaxing an unwill ing soil to yield reasonable tribute to his Industry will be short-sighted In deed if he does not require a generous soli as a passport to his favor in de ciding upon a new location. Accessi bility to market is another considera tion; social conditions and educational advantages are others. Pioneering, In the sense of Isolation and a deprivation of the comforts of life, is no longer necessary In order to secure the advantages of the equable climate, the productive soil and the im mense natural resources of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon has room and wel come for an Immense addition to her farming population, though she does not press her invitation upon intend ing immigrants as she might or as she should. Whether from modesty or carelessness, or both, her citizens do not advertise her advantages as they should. Yet the fact is that an exodus from the Atlantic seaboard or the Mid dle West of farmers to Oregon would mean an exchange to these people of a severe for a mild climate, unfailing crops and a constantly widening mar ket for everything that the farmer produces northward and eastward Into the great mining regions of the conti nent.' and westward across the Pacific And in securing these climatic; Indus trial and commercial advantages through the change in location, they would lose nothing In social or educa tional opportunities, since pioneer con ditions have passed away and Oregon Is in touch, through the magic of mod ern Ideas, as evolved through rapid transit, with the whole world. is prosperity a dream: Colonel Bryan, to whom good times have given "fair round belly with good capon lined," delights in posing as the Iliad of human woes and In telling peo ple that the prosperity they are enjoy ing is imaginary. He would hold It to be prosperity if people's pockets were weighted with bastard silver dollars, and poverty If people have fat bank accounts and security to offer for money when they want to borrow. But it is the money you have or can get on security that counts, and right here Is where the National bank statements to the Controller of the Currency put Colonel Bryan's arguments to rout Business throughout the country was at a low ebb when Bryan was stand ing for the Presidency In 1896 and the pressure In our Pacific Coast States was especially severe. Bryan had scared much of our money Into hiding places, and our Individual deposits had fallen to J37.SSS.6C0 87; business contrac tion, loss of confidence and Instability of values had forced .our loans and dis counts down to a little short of $35. 000.000. Three years of business revival increased our deposits by nearly $40, 000,000 and our loans and discounts by over $18,000,000. "You Republicans," to use Bryan's hysterical method of ad dressing his audiences. If this is not prosperity, what Is it? In our North western States Oregon, Washington and Idaho individual deposits were $25,243,374 19 on December 2, 1899, the highest total ever reached In this sec tion. The decrease of nearly $2,300,000 between December of last year and February of this year Is accounted for by the fact that money Is coming out of the banks and finding Its way Into business, which It would not be doln-r if Bryan had been elected President. Since September of Inst year loans and discounts have Increased nearly $2,600; 000. They are now higher than at any time for nearly six years. Colonel "Bryan may prate about the poverty of our people, but for what do hi3 Idle stories and frivolous allegations count against facts and figures? These bank figures have value In that they prove beyond quibble that the Pacific Northwest Is prosperous. We have an abundance of money, and It is gratifying to note, as Indicated by the Increase In loans and discounts, that It Is coming out of the banks and finding its way Into business. The demand for money has been very active for the past six months, and It Is a natural and healthy condition that deposits should decrease and loans and dis counts Increase to meet it. Three years ago the man who could get along with a credit of $5000 at his bank now needs between $10,000 and $15,000. What has created this Increased demand for money? Increased business. Our banks are overflowing with money available for legitimate business. Only legiti mate needs are supplied, for the banks learned In the free-silver panic the wholesome lesson that Inflation Is bad policy. Never In rthe Northwest have business conditions been more stable than now. Never has our financial po sition been so strong. Colonel Bryan Is paid to preach free silver to the people of the United States. It Is part of his dally duty to rave and storm that there can be no genuine prosperity without 16 to 1. He deals in generalities and ignores facts. All of which goes to prove, as the his torian Fiske has aptly said, that "It takes men a weary while to learn the wickedness of anything that puts gold In their purses." THE GOLD DEMOCRATS AND I1RYAX. Certain prominent Republicans of New York City Interpret the recent effort of certain Gold Democrats to dissolve the Sound-Money League as indicative of their purpose to support the candidate of the National Democ racy this year. J. Sterling Morton, a member of the Cabinet In Cleveland's second administration, recently re signed the presidency ( of the Sound Money League, and conspicuous among its members who advised its dissolution are Horace White, editor of the New York Evening Post; Henry Vlllard, Edward Atkinson, Edward M. Shep hard, and other earnest opponents of the- expansion policy. All of these Gold Democrats and "Independents." who urged that the Sound-Money League be disbanded as early as possible, having outlived Its usefulness, agree with Carl Schurz that the country would be bet ter off under Bryan and an anti-expansion policy than under McKlnley and his present policy. Some of the Republican members of the Sound-Money League believe that the real reason which makes these antl expanslonlsts anxious to dissolve It is because they thought that the existence of the Sound-Money League would be an embarrassment to them in the exe cution of their future political purpose, if, as reported, they have decided to accept Bryan, whether he preaches free sliver at 16 to 1 or not, provided only he declares himself to be in per fect sympathy with them upon this question of expansion. If It should be announced by the Sound-Money League that with the passage of the new cur rency law the sliver Issue is dead, then the greater part of the Democratic members of the League would return to the Democratic party, and as It Is the purpose of Atkinson, White, Vlllard, Morton, Shephard and others to do what they can to defeat McKlnley, anyhow, the dissolution of the League is a mat ter of minor Importance, Many lead- tng Republicans of the League believe that "the tendency exhibited among a considerable part of Mr. Cleveland's personal following to form an alliance with the Bryan Democracy and sup port Bryan for President explains the report that Mr. Cleveland himself pro poses to support Bryan. It Is possible that Cleveland may not be able to swallow his pride and for get his humiliation of four years ago, but in all probability we shall sec much of the personal following of Gro ver Cleveland that has remained loyal to him enthusiastically supporting Bryan for the Presidency, whom they strenuously opposed In 1S36, despite the fact that Bryan not only has not changed' his platform or his creed, but has recently declared that the Issues set forth In the Chicago platform by the Democracy In 1896 are as supreme In life and truth today as they were then. The certainty of Mugwump an tagonism to McKlnley adds to the peril of his candidacy. Mr. Hepburn's an nouncement will put an end to the agi tation. Mr. Hepburn is custodian of the League's funds, and he is evidently determined they shall be employed to keep sllveritcs out of the Senate. The woes of newspaper proprietor ship in the State of Washington are ac cumulating. One nominal owner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer sought from the Ellensburg convention the high honor of delegateshlp to the Philadel phia convention, and another made It known that he would be pleased.to have like favor bestowed upon his personal friend and political manager. The con vention concluded that the state could assist in the McKlnley ratification meeting without the valuable and dis interested services of either of these gentlemen, and left them at home. The Post-Intelligencer swallows Its medi cine with a poor face. It broadly hints at treachery and bad faith. It would have saved unnecessary, words, and have contributed its mite to the party harmony it so loudly demands, if It had crystallized the facts In the simple and altogether truthful statement that the Republicans of Washington did not want Mr. Wilson or Mr. Hughes at Philadelphia, and sent somebody else. The old-fashioned notion appears to abide In Washington that a political party has a right to select Its own can didates for office. There Is. unhappily, no way to estop unsuccessful newspa per aspirants from using their own or gans for noisy and undignified squeal ing. Citizens of Tacoma have reason to congratulate themselves upon the rela tively prompt movement of Justice in the case of Albert Mlchod, who was hanged there yesterday for the brutal murder of his former wife last Septem ber. A review of the case shows that Mlchod was one of a type of men whom a woman, once Joined to In marriage, can neither live with nor get away from. As is usual In such cases, he killed the woman and made a feint at taking his own life. Contrary to the usual course of the law, he was tried without ado, convicted without unnec essary delay, and hanged without pro test or appeal, the case being finally closed a little less than seven months after the crime was committed. The battle-ship Kcarsarge Is one of the most formidable lighting machines afloat. Except In name, she bears not the slightest resemblance to the historic vessel that destroyed the Alabama off the coast of France, and finally went to pieces on a reef) in South American waters. The first Kearsarge served her country's needs valiantly and well, but she would have been useless in this day of two-story turrets and steel cruisers and armored battle-ships. Her namesake will succeed to her title, with its attendant honors, and will doubt less. If occasion calls, serve her country as signally In the twentieth as did the old Kcarsarge In the nineteenth cen tury. Proof presumptive that Fort Stevens is to be made a four-battery post is furnished in the announcement that a twenty-four-bed hospital, thoroughly equipped In every respect, is to be con structed there at once. Certainly there Is no more favorable site on the Pa cific Coast, either as regards health fulness or accessibility, for an Impor tant military post than at the mouth of the Columbia River. When the Gov ernment Is fully convinced upon these and other points easily demonstrable, the present capacity of the post will no doubt be greatly enlarged to meet pos sible exigencies in our military opera tions In the Pacific Mrs. Dewey has smilingly assured an Interviewer whom her husband had turned over to her with the words "Mrs. Dewey will talk." that "the Admiral has a mind of his own." adding: "He thinks for himself." This ought to set tle the matter, coming as It does from headquarters, but It cannot fairly be said to do so under the circumstances. That it should be necessary for a man's wife to make such a statement (so perverse Is human nature) has a strong tendency to discredit It. Tho New York Chamber of Com merce has resolved that the stamp taxes should be reduced. This Is hard on Bryan. He has been pleading for the toiling masses who arc ground Into the earth by having to pay taxes on all their telegrams at 1 cent each, and 5 cents' tax for riding in chair-cars. Now he will have to switch around and denounce the Money Power for want ing to get out of the stamp taxes; and we all know how Bryan hates "flops." Now the Chronicle, of The Dalles, concedes that In the Wasco County Re publican primaries Senator McBrlde received no more promise of support, either direct or indirect, than did ex Governor Pennoyer. Undoubtedly true; but Is publication of the fact such "a slap In the face" as friends of both men ought to resent? The Ellensburg convention treated the Wilson candidates with distin guished impartiality. It defeated them all. "The Cruel Wronir. Proponed." Independent. The Republican policy In Congress looks to a tariff between Puerto Rico and our ports. This is cruel and short-sighted. It is a concession to avarice, and avarice Is blind to all principles of right, nnd Justice, and humanity. It Is a poor basis on which to rest a policy. If the present course Is persisted in, evil results ate Inevitable. The futbre of a prostrate and starving people will rise to condemn and distress us. if we make it impossible for them to recover what we have taken away from them. They had prosperity before their alle giance was changed: their agriculture iflourisned; Spain, although ebe ruled UmsJ with an iron hand, gave them a free mar- ket: she did not condemn them to star- . vation; they paid all their obligations. In- sular and municipal, and came to u with- I nut in minify debt. Is it Dosslble for Congress, after the markets of Spain have been tight closed to Puerto Rlcan products, to insist on closing ours to them? Shall we put ourselves In the position of robbing these trusting, helpless people? God for bid, and open the eyes of Congress to the cruel wrong proposed. a, HUMBUG AXD THE CAJITEEX. Bishop Potter and an Army Chap Iain's Sound Views. New Yotk Times. Bishop Potter has shown his usual cour age in recommending the article on the post exchange In the army, prepared by the Rev. Henry Swift. Chaplain of the Thirteenth Infantry. The paper Is. In effect, a pica for the extension of the use fulness of what the writer regards as one ' "L """ JT ....... .lr.r: :"".!. ' L.tTTv 7 . 7 T, ,n tSs ' with the service. His testimony upon the subject of the "canteen." which Is the bar of tho exchange Is especially valua- j .. c.. .. .- .I-.....-..., ......... ,...-. . ence has extorted against what may be assumed to be a professional preposscs- slon, and also becauso he has served at a post In which the canteen was at first suppressed and afterward reopened. He thus had an opportunity to compare the effects of the system advocated by the officers of the army with the effects of that advocated by .those whp are incapable of seeing anything In the question except the horror of the government's engaging la the "rum traffic" . When the canteen was oTosed, on the post at which Mr. Swift rved, and tha enllitcd men had to leaverlhc, reservation to get a drink of any alcoholic beverago, he testifies that "the reputation of the regiment suffered severely." There were frequent affrays and one murdw, and those things brought the soldiers within the Jurisdiction of the civil courts. "After th reopening ot the canteen," he emphat ically say. "our disorders ceaed." Thero was absolutely no drunkenness except when the men went Into the neighboring town. At the post exchange what drinking was done was of light beer only, and it was done under the eyes not only of the comrades, but of the superiors of the drinkers. The barkeeper, himself a total abstainer, was empowered and directed to refuse to sell whenever he thought It nec essary', and men who abused their privi leges were promptly punished. When the canteen was In operation, men did their drinking under every safeguard that could be devised. When it was suppressed, they did it under the auspices of men whoo Interest and practice It was to fleece drunken soldiers. Ono such testimony as this will, to 'a sensible mind, outweigh all the declama tion of all the male and female Podsnaps who Insist that the way to abate evils Is to Ignore them, and not to attempt regu lation, because regulation Involves recog nition. In "One View of the Question." Mr. RuJyard Kipling draws a powerful picture of the evil that has been wrought by the application of the spirit of Pod snappery to other vices than drinking. Hut Mr. Swift's testimony chows that. In its application to drinking In the United State.t Army, this spirit has done and can do nothing but mischief. And it lstra.lmony whlch simply reinforces all the testimony we have had from officers of the army, who are all men most warmly Interested in the wo'.I-bclng of the enlisted men under them, and who know best how that well being can be promoted. The canteen- Is but a small part of the post exchange, which Is the center of the social life of an army post. Drinking bears no larger a proportion to the other social needs which aro met there than It does. In a re spectable club. Mr. Swift's desire is that the post ex change shall be a still more recognized feature In the life of the army. He par ticularly desires that better buildings be provided for It. buildings expressly de vised for its uses. Instead of Its being fobbed ofT. as now, with premises of which no other use can be made. Ap parently It would be an excellent thing for the army If a suitable building for the post exchange were made part of the equipment of every post. Bishop Potter suggests that If one sccccwful experi ment could be made with private funds. tho case would be greatly strengthened for an appeal for public funds to con tinue the good work. And certainly It would be a good thing If Congress, In legislating for the army, took counsel of those who beet know the needs of the soldiers, and nre most Intelligently inter ested In their welfare, however much amateur and disengaged philanthropists of either sex may squawk at the recom mendations of the men who know, what they are talking about. Let them squawk. e Trusts Don't Own the Sucnr. New York Times. There Is a suspicion, widespread and amounting almost to a certainty, that somehow or other "the trusts" are behind the Puerto Rico muddle, and there has been much talk in Congress and out of It about the vast amounts of money to be' put Into the hands of the sugar and to bacco barons by the Imposition of a tariff on the islanders. The barons themselves have denied this with much apparent earnestness, but of course it was assumed that they would do that, whatever the facts In the case, and their protestations have confirmed rather than decreased the belief in the reality and effectiveness of their Influence In the controversy. But nowtccmes forward Mr. Flnley, the Eng lish Vice-Consul at San Juan, with the explicit declaration that, it least so far as sugar goes. It will not make the slight est difference to "the trust" what action on the tariff Is taken. There Is. he as serts, no basis for the reports about large quantities of sugar In tne island awaiting shipment. "On the contrary." the V!cc Consul explains, "all the sugar In Puerto Rico was exported long as". We had no sugar to supply the local Jcmand, and It was Imported from the United States for that purpose. It brought, for local con sumption. 7 cents a pound. The United States troops going to Puerto Rico took their sugar with them, because it could be purchased In the United States cheaper than In Puerto Rico." The only suga? now on the Island, according to this au thority. Is that made from this year's crop, and It all belongs to the planters. What the latter want Is speedy action in order that they may know where they stand. Tho planters have not the means to hold their sugar long. They have be gun grinding, and if something Is not done speedily they will be compelled to let their sugar go at the best price they can obtain, and It will be bought up by speculators and others, who will be pre pared to hold it for a good price. So Mr. Flnley. says, and he ought to be well la formed. Chances for Retaliation. New York Journal of Commerce. Germany Is complaining because our tariff neutralizes her sugar bounty, but that leaves matters even between German and other sugar, but we can easily make the differential exceed the bounty: In the calendar year 1S9S we Imported JSJT0.700, and in 1S99 $10,760,153 of German susar. We can easily shut It all out If Germany Insists on a tariff war. We Import over' $1,000,000 of German wine annually. If we pulled every cork to test the wholesome ness of the wine this trade would disap pear. It is the producers of sugar beets and of wine who are making war on our exports. s Gucssinsr on Kipling's Dates. Nevf York Tribune. Just now, at all events. It would be useful to have everything Mr. Kipling pub lTshcs dated In the moat elaborate man ner. We referred last Sunday to the shock ing declension from his former standard of writing In his first letter from South Africa. But now copies, in the Ladleo Home Journal, the first of a new series ot Jungle tales, and in its way it Is almost as good as Mr. Kipling's best. To be sure. U "say" fc-at-Jxr4Kiprtaal. "XJisp It Elephant Child" 1 another of his "Just So" stories, a piece of Juvenilia expressed in terms not unfitted to the nursery. But humor, which in the South African letter had seemed to have departed from Mr. Kipling, is here present In full force. The whole thing is delightful, eo that the il lustrator, jar. vcroecK. nu Dcen Bpiuioc ly Inspired, and his drawings Join with the text in leaving a perfect' impression. Query: Did Mr. Kipling write this long ago, when unspoiled by laudation, when unwarped by the notion that the fate of tho British Empire lies In the hollow of his hand, or Is it really a late production T We elncerely hope that the latter hypothe sis is the correct one. FAILURE AS EXPORTERS. Argument Made by Mr. Edmnnds Seems to Be? Raseless. New York Evening Post. Ex-Senator Edmunds has put forth over his signature an argument for the ship-' subsidy bill which shows that a man may b5 a flrst-rate antl-lmperiallst without flrst-rate economist. "No farmer." he tellB -would. jf ne could hclp ,t send , pTOduce to even tbe' nearest mar- Ket ,n tne wagon 0I Ms neignoonng iarm- cr or any otner conveyance whose owner na ... Bame ot tnincs to sell." This proposition we take leave to question. Speaking from observation, we nfflrm that farmers are generally quite eager to send their butter and eggs and garden truck to market in their neighbors' wagons in order to use their own teams for plowing, har rowing, haying, or other farm work. "He (the farmer) knows;" continues Mr. Ed munds, "that it he would nnd the best cus tomers and get the best prices, he must run his own wagon and control his own means of transportation." Not under the modern condition? of consignment, we beg leave to remark. The farmer knows be forehand into whose hands hfa chickens, his milk, his cabbages, are to go, and that he will receive the market price for them. Consequently, he looks only to the safe carriage of his "exports." and the delivery ot them to the right person. When this Is secured. It Is a matter of indifference to him who carries them, but he will aim to secure the cheapest conveyance. If this happens to be a railroad, he will not use either hi neighbor's wagon or his own. Mr. Edmunds goes on to say: Any man. any country, or any nation that trusts his or Its ccmrtltor to do nny part ct his or Its business. Is sure to (all In the end. All the farmers, all the miners, all the manu facturers and all the merchants, etc. make up the family of the nation, for a nation Is nothing' else than a union of all these really co-opcratlna; families. Just like a single rer sonsl family, they must co-operate, or elfe the family will grow poor In comparison with a nelchborlnir family of which all Its members try to help each other. This Implies that tho United States is cure to fall In the end. if It allows "any part" of its export trade to be carried on by foreigners. It Implies that we have been rushing to financial ruin during our lifetime as a nation for the want of a ship-subsidy bill. How does it happen then that our export trade has been advancing by leaps and bounds during recent years, as the following figures from the Statisti cal Abstract of the United States shows? Fiscal year to June 30: Exports. ....$ 7!3..EfiMO .... 84i1.HM.4ST .... I.0S2.uri.U3 .... 1.21O.I01.D13 .... 1.SU3.931.SS2 The slight decline In exports In 1S5S-93 was due to the war with Spain, but even with this drawback, the Increase over 1S35 was 10 per cent. If this is called "falling In the end." Uncle Sam can endure a good deal of it. THE IRISH AVATAR. Wnen George IV visited Ireland In 1S21. Byron, who was living In Italy, wrote a poem, entitled. "The Irish Avatar." avatar bclns a Hindoo word, meaning the descent of, a deity to esrlh and his Incarnation as a man or an animal. The poem was preceded by the following extract from a speech, of the great Irish orator. Curran: "And. Ireland, like a bastinadoed elephant kneeling "to receive the paltry rider." These terrible lines on George IV were Justified, for he had always de nied Ireland Catholic emancipation. The fol lowing extracts are without parallel la Eng lish literature In ferocity of satire, when we remember that they were written by a mem ber of the hereditary Kngllsh aristocracy, by a man who In his llrst fame had enjoyed the per sonal acquaintance of George IV. who had In vited Byron to visit him and had grossly flat tered him: But he comes! the Messiah of royalty comes! Like a goodly Leviathan roll'd from the waves; Then receive him as best such an advent be comes, g With a legion of cooks and an army of slaves! II. He ccmes In the promise and bloom of three score. To perform In the pageant the sovereign's long live the shamrock, which shadows bun o'er! Could the green In his hat be transfenM to his heart! III. Could that long withered spot but be verdant again. And a new spring of ncWe affections ar! Then might freedom forgive thee this dance lb thy chain. And this shout of thy slavry which saddens the skies. IV. Is It madness or meanness which clings to-ttec now? Were he God as be Is but the commonest clay. With scarce fewer wrinkles than sins on his brow Such servile devotion might shaine him away. V. Let the poor squalid splendor thy wreck can af ford (As the bankrupt's profusion his ruin would hide). Gild over the palace. Lo! Erin, thy .crd! KbM his foot with thy blcsalng, nls blesl:is denied! VI. Each brute hath Its nature: a king's Is lo reign To reign! In that word see. yc tg-fi. comprised Tre eiuj ,f the curseo all nruis contain. From Caesar the dreaded to George the de spised! VII. Will thy yard of blue riband, poor Flngal. re call The fetters from millions of Catholics limbs? Or. has It not bound thee the fastest of all The slaves, who now hall tielr bttrayer with hymns? VIII. Spread spread, for Vitelline, the royal repast. Till the gluttonous despot be stuffed to the gorge! And the roar of his drunkards proclaim him at last The fourth of the fools and oppressors call'd "George" ! IX. Let the tables be loaded with feasts till thty groan! Till they groan like thy p-ople, through ages of woe! , Let tho wine flow around the o!iBacchanal's throne. Like their blood whlca has flcWJ and which yet has to flow. i Shock to FIHnl Trust. Yonkero Statesman. The Son Pop, the hay in the barn is all scattered about terribly. The Father It Is the work ot tramps, my son. "Why, pop, I thought you told me tramps never worked?" The Hoodooed Xnmuer. Buffalo Express. A Michigan transportation company has spent 12 in collecting a bill amounting to 13 cents. Will people never learn to be ware of that number? A Prudent Man. Brooklyn Life. Btey Do you believe in luck, father? His FaUiSar-YeJL ytjj "'it r"9't depend NOTE AND COMMENT. Yesterday's breere was only a feeble echo of the boy orator. And now what are we going to do about celebrating Dewey day? A campaign of "education does not al ways begin at the primaries. A woman like Mrs, Dewey would hava destroyed the fame of George Washington. The Boers never trek so fast that they cannot spare time to set a few traps la their wake. John L. Wilson's finish is about- the fin est thing in the way of Washington scen ery Just now. "Bobs" will have to hire another press censor and revive the formula about re porting with regret Probably the real reason Bryan Is not going to Kansas City la that he has no new metaphors to spring on the convention. McKlnley recalls Bismarck's famous description of an eminent Eigllsh diplo mat, as, "a lath painted to look Ilka Iron." Public sentiment has at last breed tha repeal of the Horton boxing lav In the Empire state, and New York'Cly, after September 1, will cease to b the tenter of prizeSghtlng in the United States. A report Just submitted to the Ptllafiel ph'a Board of City Trusts show th:t In SO years the Glrard estate has lncrea-ed la value from J4.S0O.00O to nearly $16.00,000. It is a large coal shipper. The.numb-r ot scholars In Glrard College has increased, nearly threefold elnco 1S70. Several South American states are strtg gling through the morass of sllverlsm aid the qulckeands of paper currency toward the solid ground of the gold sUndard. Peru claims to be the first to react there becauso the Bank of Peru and Londin, la Lima, announces that all current oay ments will be raado in sterling or Peru vian pounds. The Filipinos are described as a cleanlr people. They all bathe evtry day, ana even twice a day. Their simple garments) are frequently washed, and are clean. Withal, thero Is a strange Inconsistency here. While clean In their person, they have never seemed to have any ideas ot cleanliness relative to their surroundings. They have no conception of sanitary re quirements. Slop, offal, sewage and ac cumulatlono have been Indifferently left to nature end the kindly" absorption of tha soli. Major George O. KIrkman. Forty-ninth, Volunteer Infantry, who Is a Captain of the Seventeenth Infantry, has been sen tenced by a court-martial to dismissal from the service. The sentence cannot become operative until It has been ap proved by President McKlnley. Major KIrkman was accused of having been drunk on tho Liverpool, which carried the Forty-ninth Infantry from San Fran cisco to Manila, and of having been In sulting to Archbishop Chapelle. Apostolla Delegate to the Philippines, on that ves sel. The Forty-ninth Is a negro regiment. All the field officers are white, and were selected from the regular Army. Major KIrkman was born in Texas, and appoint ed to the West Point Military Academy from Illinois. The Republican State Convention to bo held at Montpeller Wednesday, April 18. to elect delegated to the National Republican Convention, promises to be one of the most Interesting political gatherings ever held In Vermont, says tho Rutland correspond ent of the Burlington Free Press. It can be stated that It seems probable that tha Green Mountain state will declare in no uncertain tones In favor of free trade with ruerto Rico. The Indorsement given tha members of the Vermont delegation In Congress, who have come out boldly against the majority plan of Imposing a tariff on Puerto Rlcan products, leaves no doubt as to the sentiment of the state on this subject. Congressmen Llttletleld, of Maine, and McCall. of Massachusetts, will probably both address the convention. John Flske, the philosopher and histo rian. Is iS years old. Ix feet In height, and measures 15 Inches around the waist; weighs 110 pounds, and Is reported to be In a Etate of perfect health. Here are hl3 reported hablt3 of life: Always sit In a draft when I find on", wear the thinnest clothes I can Unci Winter and Summer. catch cold once in three or four years, but not severely, and prefer to work in a cold rcom, S3 to GO degrees. Work the larger part of each 21 hours, and by day or night indifferently. Scarcely ever change a word once written, eat when hungry, rarely taste coffee or wine or smoke a cigar, but drink two or three quarts of beer each day and smoko a p'pe all the time when nt work. Never experienced the feeling of disinclination for work, and, therefore, never had to force work. If I feel dull when at work, a half hour at the piano re stores normal mental condition, which is one more argument for the hygienic and recuperative effects of music. General Botha, the new Boer Commander-in-Chief, has an Irish wife, a MIsa Emmet, a descendant of the Irish patriot) of that name, and the Botha country seat, on the heights between the Pongola River, near the boundary line between the Trans vaal and Swaziland, bean traces of re finement, a well as of comfort and lux ury, not usually found in Boer homes. The house Is comfortably furnished, there Is a line library', all the latest European pa pers, a grand piano, as well as an organ, Extensive greenhouses and ferneries. The mansion is surrounded by beautifully-kept grounds and Urge avenues of trees. Gen eral Botha is about t years of age. tall and stout, and well educated. He Is good natured, rather slow of speech and man ner. It was Botha who commanded the Boers In the successful opposition to Bul lcr's flanking movement on the Upper Tugela, and who personally directed the victorious battle of Spionkop. The Ger man military attache spsaks of him in flattering terms. The Storm. Emily A. "Warden In Philadelphia Ledger. Cold blows the gale from out the north; Wild moan the forest, vale and moor. Fierce spirits wander boldly forth. Grim monsters scream at every door. Agaliut the tempest's hurling might God keep the helplers poor tcnlght. Cold creep the waves along the shore. Wild shout the breakers In their gleet Fierce swells the voice of ocean roar. Grim stalk the shades along the lea. Against the storm's temiestuous might God guard .ice- sea-tossed ships tonight. Cold mists are turned to rattling hall; Wild volets call In every gust; Fierce forms resist the shouting gale; Grim fsces toward the sea ere thrust. OS. God. against the ocean's might Protect the staggering ships tonight. Ah. cold the sea's embrace, and chill The winds that wildly howl and fling. As wrecks are tossed and fenns now still To cpor and malnrray sadly cling. Ah, yes, for. aye. from tempett might J Thine nwnr.Mfelr hne tJifc