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THE MORNING OREGOXIAN, - MONDAY. 3IAY 21, 1900.
SKGpTjf "
tie t&xzQomc&u
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1 .
POItTLAXD, aiOXDAY, MAY 21, lOOO
Senator Turner forecasts the Demo
cratic campaign as a struggle for Jef
fersonlan ideas. As Jefferson was an
advocate of the commercial ratio be
tween gold and silver, and an original
expansionist, the Senator's reference is
not especially apropos. He must have
heen thinking of Lincoln. Lincoln is
the great Democratic Ideal now, Just as
McKinley will be In 1940.
If the only service we require of a
Legislature were enactment of local
laws, it would be measurably safe to
trust to the Judgment of the individual
candidate as to his views on National
questions. But the fact is that the
function of choosing a United States
Senator is the most salient feature of
the Legislature's work. Until that task
is performed, nothing else is done, and
if agreement cannot be reached, the
session is unproductive of material re
sults. Now it so happens at this time that
Oregon Is vitally concerned in two things
that are at stake Jn Congress. One is
the standard of value, and the other is
Pacific -development. The Republican
party Is committed to the trold stand
ard and to Pacific expansion. Every
Republican nominee on the Legislative
ticket is pledged to these two things.
If any one of them were known to be
false on these supreme questions, he
should be -and would be dropped from
tho ticket tomorrow. They are all for
the gold standard and Pacific expan
sion, and they will vote for no man
for the Senate of the United States, to
succeed McBride or to succeed Simon,
who is not known to be solid as a rock
for the cold standard and for expan
sion. On the other hand, .what does the op
position propose? Of the eighteen men
Sanring for the Legislature in Mult
nomah County against the Republican
ticket, no two, so far as we know,
think alike on the Important subject
of qualifications desirable in a United
States Senator. In their declaration of
professed principles they expressly dis
avow any such agreement. Each one
has his own Ideas, each one will con
sult his own ideas, as to the United
States Senate. If he wants Mitchell,
he will vote for MIchell; if he wants
U'Ren, he will vote for U'Ren; If he
wants Jonathan Bourne, he will vote
for Bourne. If he Is a silver man, he
will vote for a silver Senator; If an
anti-imperialist, for an anti-imperialist
Senator; if an anarchist, for an an
archist Senator. Nobody knows what
kind of a Senator any one of these
eighteen men will want. To support
them is to take desperate chances at
a critical period In the state's history.
As to the Republican nominees, we
know not whom they will vote for.
But we do know the man they vote for
will be right on the two main issues
to which Oregon stands committed be
fore the country. When Congress is
about to take steps of such importance
that the future of the Pacific Coast
may be made or marred by its acts is
x?ot a very opportune time for men to
ask election to the Legislature on the
promise that in the election of United
States Senators from Oregon they will
be guided by their own sweet will, to
be ascertained at their leisure and ex
ercised without responsibility to any
pledges or principles.
When Populism raged over the land,
Oregon escaped it. "When wild-eyed
Prohibition orators had their will in
Iowa and Kansas, Oregon remained
sober. When the silver mania swept
tho West and South, Oregon kept to
financial honor and sanity. "When Cali
fornia and Washington lifted up vio
lent hands against the Chinese laborer,
Oregon respected law and order. Have
we escaped all these pitfalls of crankery
to fall at last into the abysmal gulf of
Fema'e Suffrage? Some few enthusi
asts seem to think so, and even to hope
so. But it is inconceivable. Members
of the Legislature and politicians gen
erally are inclined to treat the alleged
"problem" with the deference chivalry
requires of them, but alone in the elec
tion boc th with their Australian ballot
they will act with sanity and prudence.
The suffrage amendment may get 15,
000 votes in the state. It should not get
more.
At the risk of being obnoxious to
the Bryanite party in the Pacific North
vuest, ' must again draw attention to
plank of the Chicago platform, the
inferable document that haE Just been
"reaffirmed in its entirety" at Spokane.
Tho Chicago platform says:
"We declare that the act of 1S73. demonetising
silver, without tho knowledge or approval of
the. American peopK has resulted in the ap
preciation of gold and a corresponding fall la
the prices of commodities produced by tho peo-
Prices, as a matter of fact, have risen
greatly since 1S96, and the "commodi
ties produced by the people' are now
about as high as most consumers find
It convenient to pay for them. The
crime cf 73 is still unavenged. Is it
responsible for the rise ln prices, or was
the Chicago convention talking through
Its hat?
There can be no doubt that the true
bubonic plague has appeared in San
Francisco, and it will require the ut
most vigilance to prevent spread, ot
the Infection to other Coast cities and
to the Interior. General recognition of
the demands of the occasion, and
cheerful compliance with the rules that
may be made for controlling inter
course between communities, will make
it possible to circumscribe the range
of the disorder and to stamp it out in
due time. Great difficulties will attend
this service. It is hard for people of
so healthy a country as the Pacific
Coast to realize the gravity of a situa
tion so threatening as the present.
But it must be brought to the com
prehension of all, and there must be
intelligent and unremitting vigilance
if the danger is to be removed or the
plague limited to the Chinatown of
San Francisco. It was an error to
conceal the facts so long; now that the
approximate truth is known, health au
thorities everywhere should take cogni
zance of it.
A DEMONSTRATION IN CAPACITY.
There is aneffort to sneer at the Ori
ental trade on the part of those who
conceive that politics makes t neces
sary for them to belittle our achieve
ments across the Pacific, and to assert
that trade cannot possibly develop to
any consequence with a people whose
physical wan.ts are so simple as those
living in Asia and upon the many
islands fringing the Asiatic coast, and
whose earning and purchasing power
is so smalL To assume this attitude
makes it necessary to Ignore the prog
ress made within the past few years,
and to close the eyes to the forces at
work there that are making for an en
larged consumption of American goods.
According" to the "Returns of Trade"
by the Imperial Maritime Customs
Sen-ice of China, the total foreign trade
of the empire last year was, in round
figures, 525,000,000, being an increase in
exports of more than $40,000,000, and in
Imports of 565,000,000. The total is more
than double that of 1S99. Much
of this increase was in cotton
and woolen goods and foodstuffs
from America. It is impossible to blink
these figures or to say that they sig
nify nothing. If such an increase has
been made in Chinese trade alone, with
only the surface of the country
scratched in the matter of trade de
velopment, wl-at may not be expected
from the opening up process now going
on so rapidly?
It is folly to say that the Asiatic
millions have no wants and no purchas
ing capacity. Neither did the Goths
and the Franks and the Lombards of
Europe before the advance, of civiliza
tion gave them new wants and the
capacity to supply them. Improve
ment ln Internal transportation will
stimulate trade, leading to increased
earning capacity and enlarged con
sumption, and familiarity with what we
have to sell will create a demand for
it. The report referred to Indicates
fully this tendency in speaking of rail
road construction and its effects, as fol
lows: The internal trade of tho country 'was also
unusually brisk, and the Important changes
which -will be brought about by the exten
sion of railways have already been proved.
Now Chwang and Tlen-Tsin have promptly re
sponded to tho stimulus of better means of
communication, and the trade of those ports
has leaped forward, although the former suf
fered from a severe outbreak of the plague
It is found that immediately trains began to
run. districts through which there was llttlo
traffic, such as between Peotlng and Peking,
suddenly commence to hum with life and acll
lty, and there springs up a nourishing trado
which was formerly undreamed of and impos
sible for want of cheap transport.
The United States needs this trans
pacific commerce, and it needs the port
of Manila and the rich Philippine
Islands as a local center of trade. All
talk about giving them up or turning
the government of them over to a lit
tle aristocracy of half-Chinese Tagals,
fct the head of a mass of ignorant,
shiftless and Irresponsible Malays, is
absolutely puerile, and would be in
dulged in only by a few utterly im
practical sentimentalists, were it not
that politics blinds the Judgment of
many honest men and makes insin
cere and hypocritical a great many
more who are not honest. In order to
oppose the Republican party, it may
not be necessary to block the progress
of the country, arrest Its development
and close the doors to its expanding
trade, but it seems to be, since that
is the attitude the' anti-expansionists
have assumed.
LABOR'S OPPORTUNITY.
The industrial life of the Nation to
day is confronted by conditions which
are practically new, and to which both
capital and labor must adjust them
selves. Within a few years our en
tire industrial and commercial policy
has changed. It Is as if industrial en
terprise, that dropped to sleep, so to
speak, in 1893, has awakened, a giant
in new-found strength, willing, anx
ious and able to push its endeavor far
out into the Islands of the sea and Into
the world's great marts of trade. This
Is a condition that calls, as never be
fore, for an understanding upon the
simple basis of equity and good-will be
tween laborers and their employers.
Theorize as we may, the labor of the
country, like the capital and products
of the country. Is regulated by the In
exorable law of supply and demand.
Just now the demand in all these lines
is great, and if the first two elements
adjust themselves wisely to the new
conditions ln which they find them
selves, an era of prosperity is dawn
ing for both, the like of which the
world has never seen.
Conflicts now on and foreshadowed
between these two prime elements of
production, threatening to halt the Im
portant industrial enterprises, are cred
itable neither to the leadership of
labor organizations nor to the fore
sight and wisdom of capitalists. The
aim of labor organizations Is to bring
about and maintain the best compen
sation possible to wage-earners, and
the sympathy of the public is with
them in every legitimate and honest
effort looking to that end. The aim of
capitalists, who Invest their means in
industrial enterprises, is to bring the
earning power of the investment up
to the highest standard, and in this
desire they are not unlike other men,
Including the grand army of men
whose labor is their capital. The ele
ments of conflict lie dangerously near
the surface here and only through the
tolerance and Just consideration on
both sides of the rights of the other
can conflict be avoided.
The present is undoubtedly labor's
opportunity, and its demands should be
wisely placed. Not only should those
who are ln authority look to the pres
ent Interests of labor in formulating
these demands, but they should stead
ily keep in view the fact that other and
less favorable conditions are inevit
able sooner or later, and soon at the
latest; the one thing to be studiously
avoided is the less of confidence of em
ployers and of. capital Many impor
tant Industrial enterprises have been
halted, and the proprietors of many
others are looking to improved, meth
ods for avoiding the necessity of the
employment of a large force of labor,
chiefly or wholly because they may be
wrecked by persistent disturbances.
Thus, by pushing its present advantage
too far, labor may greatly lessen Its
own employment by leading to studied
methods to diminish the necessity of
depending upon it.
American enterprise has entered the
world's markets, seeking. The meas
ure of success It has already attained
is due to the superiority of American
labor. It is more skillful, more pro
gressive and more intelligent than the
labor of any other nation. It must ad
vance with our National advancement
not in wages alone, but in the high
er standards of Intelligence, discretion
and integrity, and in a dependable
quality that will reduce whatever dan
ger there may be of an influx of cheap
labor from foreign lands to the mini
mum. The labor of the land is on
trial, and only the most unwise direc
tion can make it lose its case.
FATE OF 1IIE SAIJIO.Y.
In commenting upon the salmon
packing Industry, the Chicago Tribune
says:
The catch of salmon ln Canadian waters last
year was valued at $3,159,300, a decrease ot
?2,520.SCS when compared with the returns of
the previous year. The decrease Is so great
as to suggest that In splto of all that Is being
done to replenish the supply of salmon, it, ltko
the lobster of tho Atlantlo Coast, and the seal
of Alaskan waters. Is doomed to extinction
within a few years. The salmon has been
driven further and further north with the ad
vance of civilization. It was formerly exceed
ingly abundant in all of the rivers of the At
lantic Slope north of the Potomac, but was
killed by overfishing and other causes until now
It Is practically unknown In that region. The
fish now remain only ln Canadian waters, and
ln Oregon. The supply In tho Pacific Coast re
gion seemed Inexhaustible only ten years ago.
Then it was not uncommon for the rivers to
be choked with tho multitudis of ascending
fish. Canneries were established and fish were
caught ln enormous quantities, canned and
sjilpped to all parts of the world. The fish
were caught by means of a device called the
fishwheel, which threw tho fish ashore ln
shoals, and permitted hardly one to escape. A
stop was put to this when the supply began
to show signs of diminution, and then the
Government began to hatch tho salmon, but
the hatching stations have not been able to
make amends for the waste of & few years
ago.
The Tribune is correct ln its diag
nosis of the fate of the salmon every
where except in the Columbia River
and Puget Sound. Though Its Ideas of
the methods of salmon-catching on the
Columbia are somewhat erroneous, its
statement about the great decrease in
the number of fish Is correct; yet Its
ideas upon the Inefficiency of hatch
eries are not sound. It is true that
hatcheries on the Columbia have not
yet repaired the waste of two decades
of excessive fishing, but there are not
wanting abundant evidences that the
river Is now on the up grade. The
value of hatcheries has been amply
demonstrated. The trouble has been
ln the past that we have only propa
gated 10 per cent of the number of fish
annually that should be put Into -the
stream. Where we have averaged
probably 5,000,000 a year up to the large
output of 25,000,000 last year, we should
have had an annual total of 50,000,000,
a total which will probably be approxi
mated this season. With seven hatch
eries at work, there is no doubt of the
result, bo long as the Columbia re-,
mains a stream of pure water. The
same conditions prevail on Puget
Sound, the state hatcheries there hav
ing begun propagation on a large scale
before depletion had. reached the low
point to which It had arrived on the
Columbia.
Not alone to excessive fishing may
be ascribed the decrease of salmon in
rivers. Contamination of the water by
manufacturing enterprises along their
banks, by surface drainage from cul
tivated fields and by the sewage of
cities plays an Important part. All
the hatcheries in the world could not
keep a foul river full of salmon. That
has been one of the leading causes ot
the decadence of the salmon-fishing
industry on the Sacramento
River, ln spite of the years of work
at the Government hatching sta
tion. Fortunately, the Columbia Is
still, and by reason of the topography
of the country will always remain, a
stream of pure water, and the waste of
excessive fishing is the chief obstacle
to be overcome. This may be done by
an annual propagation of from 30,000,000
to 50,000,000 fish, which is easily within
the capacity of hatching stations al
ready at work. Practically the same,
conditions prevail on Puget Sound,
since mostof the streams entered by fish
for spawning purposes will remain con
tinuously pure as to their waters. The
outlook is that the salmon-canning in
dustry will gradually center more and
more on the Columbia and Puget
Sound, until they will become at last
the only scenes of extensive packing
for the world's markets.
IIIS OCCUPATION GONE.
A little more than a year ago the
great business centers of the country
were in the throes of a financial mad
ness of a type heretofore practically
unknown. The disease reached its
most virulent period about February,
1S999. The "promoter," so-called, was
abroad sowing with reckless hand the
seeds of this peculiar type of madness,
and even the most conservative and
level-headed business men in many in
stances yielded to his blandishments
and entered Into Industrial combina
tion of greater or less solidity. For
awhile it seemed that no scheme for
the combination of capital &nd consoli
dation of business interests was so
wild in its conceotlon that It failed to
enlist the support of ordinarily careful
and just men. Money that had long
been lying idle eagerly sought the
channel indicated by the promoter as
certain to bring back large returns.
New corporations of stupendous capi
talization were formed, and the treas
ury of New Jersey (the compliant laws
of that state making the organization
of trusts under them an easy matter)
was filled to overflowing by the fees
received from them.
The promoter was popular in those
days, but conditions now are not what
they were when this wid-Wlnter mad
ness was at Its height. Men' who for
merly besieged his office and almost
humbly sought his assistance ln "get
ting ln on the ground floor" of some
heavily watered enterprise do not now
take the trouble to recognize him upon
the street. His fees and commissions
belong to the past, and, if driven by
stress of circumstance to approach a
capitalist with suggestions of a new In
dustrial combination, he is ln danger
of bodily violence.
Men who kept their heads while the
trust epidemic swept the country,, and
placidly declared that the evil would
worts out its own remedy, find their pre
diction In process of verification sooner
than they perhaps anticipated. It Is
true that there are many trusts in ex
istence, but the fact that no more are
being fcrmed shows that the check
which precedes the stamping out of a
malady has been applied. Heralds of
disaster and sticklers for calamity still
abound, and these, ln the face of a
general prosperity that mocks at trusts,
declare that the organization of "in
dustries" is depressed because it has
absorbed everything In sight; that the
promoters are so many Alexanders,
sighing for more worlds to conquer.
But this is plainly an exaggeration,
since there are many industrial lines
which these manipulators of finance
would have tackled, had there been
any prospect of success. Disintegra
tion has not "been so rapid, as consoli
dation was for a time, but many trusts
have fallen to pieces by their own
weight, and some of the largest show
unmistakable signs of collapse.
The worst that was predicted has not
come to pass, though much that was
reprehensible under the name of In
dustrial organization resulted from the
mid-Winter trust madness of last
year. The signs of the times are hope
ful, the public has recovered its equili
brium, and the promoter's occupation
is gone. Predictions of dire calamity
from this source will be kept alive for
yet a few months by campaign ora
tors, who propose political panaceas for
an evil which they will not acknowledge
Is abating, but those who declared at
the height of the epidemic that the evil
would effect its own cure have already
good and sufficient grounds to con
gratulate themselves upon their sagacity.
A bill known as the Hallock hill, the
object of which Is to prevent the
slaughter of birds, lately passed the
New Tork Legislature and received the
signature of Governor Roosevelt.
Thereupon the Millinery Merchants'
Association of New York met and
adopted a resolution not to use for
ornamental purposes the plumage of
any birds except domestic fowls and
game birds killed for food, after the
present supply is exhausted, the ob
ject being to make the law obnoxious
by rigid enforcement. The dependence
is, of course, upon the Influence of
fashionable women to secure its repeal.
Self-deprivation is not one of the
virtues of a woman who sets out to
procure "a love of a bonnet," and it
is admitted by all that if fashion de
mands the plumage of any kind of
bird, means will be taken to pro
cure it.
It has been frequently- asserted by
persons who take human nature at its
worst that "hard times" were peculiar
ly favorable to the destruction of prop
erty by fire. This theory Is not veri
fied by the figures showing fire losses
for 1899, as presented by the National
Board of Fire Underwriters. . Accord
ing to these statistics, losses from fire
ln this country rose to the enormous
total of $153,597,830 last year, as against
$116,000,000 in 1897, and $130,000,000 in
1898. The increase is somewhat sur
prising, and no solution of it is of
fered. It disproves, however, the as
sertion that hard times tended to the
destruction of property through Incen
diary means as a method of turning un
productive property or business into
money at the expense of underwriters.
Consul-General Mason is too opti
mistic by far in his expectation that
out of German antagonism to the
United States will result "a broad, lib
eral, comprehensively framed treaty, or
a series of treaties, between the United
States and Germany, ln which all the
vexed and Irritating questions relating
to naturalized citizenship, countervail
ing duties and port charges on vessels
shall be regulated, and liberal Justice to
Imports of food products secured by
reciprocal concessions and embodied in
permanent conventions between the
two countries." Has Mr. Mason never
heard of the Senate of the United
States and the reciprocity treaty with
France?
Seven states will hold elections prior
to the vote for President ln November,
Oregon taking the lead. North Caro
lina will follow next ln order with her
state election, the date being August
2; that of Alabama is August 6, that
of Arkansas September 3, of Vermont
September 4, Maine September 10, and
Georgia October 3. Of these, only Ore
gon and Maine will furnish Presiden
tial straws.
The communication signed "S." ln an
other column, suggests the power of
appointment of commissions, health of
ficers, regents of state-aided universi
ties, eta, to be reposed in the Justices
of the Supreme Court, in order to di
vorce the appointments from political
influences. Might not the line of cleav
age fall on the other side, and the Su
preme Court be married to political In
fluences? Five hundred Filipino warriors am
bushed eighty American scouts, and
escaped from the combat with a loss
of only fifty-one, having inflicted cas
ualties of two killed and three wounded
upon the entrapped Americans. Men
who can win their independence in this
heroic fashion would certainly make a
startling phenomenon In self-government.
City Engineer Chase is said to have
Incurred the enmity of numerous street
contractors through his rigid policy of
holding them to their agreements with
the city. An official of that kind ought
to be loved for the enemies he has
made.
While our furniture and other manu
facturers are working up the white oak
of the Willamette Valley, they might
look Into the matter of fancy furniture
woods ln the Philippines.
All talk about reducing the Army to
the old dimensions is arrant nonsense,
and everybody who voted for the Army
bill a year ago knew it then as well as
he does now.
Stephen A. Oonglas In the Bear SIctn.
Atlanta Constitution.
Mr. William C. Morris, the well-known
Insurance man, was exchanging reminls
ences with me the other day, when some
thing was said about Stephen A. Douglas.
"You know that Douglas," said Mr. Mor
Tls, "like many great statesmen of his
day, sometimes drank to excess, and in
his frolics with the boys forgot all about
Senatorial dignity. I saw him gloriously
drunk ln a little Illinois town in 1E59, after
he had made a great speech.
"The Senator at that time had an iron
constitution. He could work harder and
drink more than any of "his contempo
raries, and hla excesses did not muddle
his head nor tangle his legs.
"In this little Illinois town he lost his
equilibrium for once.
"After drinking many hours with scores
of tough Qld topers drinking champagne,
brandy and whisky, the 'Little Giant' un
expectedly collapsed.
"A moment before he stood Hke a gran
ite statue- Then, wtihout the slightest
warning, he was a shapeless lump of boozy
humanity, lolling ln a big arm chair.
"The reckless revelers had just sense
enough to know that Douglas was drunk,
and their next step was a practical Joke,
which was a disgrace to the town.
"In front of a drug store stood a big
stuffed bear. The drunken mob pulled him
down. They ripped him open and pulled
out the stuffing.
"It was 2 o'clock in the morning, and
the sober citizens then on deck were too
few ln number to do anything.
"The town boys had their way. They
Jammed the unconscious Senator into the
bear skin and stitched it up.
"Then they propped the horrible figure
in a large chair In the hotel lobby and
stood around it ln a state of wild and
noisy hilarity till daylight
"Occasionally the bear would give a
lurch forward, hut the bystanders
straightened him up again. The Senator's
snorts and grunts were so decidedly bear
ish that the boys were delighted.
"In the early morning hours, when the
bear left his chair, and gave chase to his
tormentors, swearing at them ln good, old
fashioned Anglo-Saxon, the tipplers went
into spasms of glee, and it was difficult
to induce them to rip open the bear skin
and put the furiest Senator to bed.
"That was the meanest practical joke I
ever saw," said Mr. Morris ln conclusion,
"but it was also the funniest.
"Only a very great man could have out
lived it. But Douglas was such a 'genuine
patriot, and a man of such remarkable
ability that the people gladly overlooked
his little indiscretions."
THE BRYAN CRAZE.
Astonishing Hallucinations His Ad
mirers Hold Concerning Him.
Washington Star.
Mr. Bryan affects some men like a craze.
They appear to be positively daft on the
subject of his personality. Not without
claims to consideration when they dis
cuss men and afTaire In general, when they
speak of him they lose all sense of propor
tion and responsibility and talk like those
possessed. Their support of him has be
come a species of worship. They magnify
him. They bow down before him. They
call upon him for relief as though he sat
upon a throne and -commanded all things.
Take, for example, this extract from the
speech of Senator Allen placing Mr. Bryan
in nomination at Sioux Falls:
There Is but one name in the hearts of the
American people, and one name on tho lips
of the people for President of the United
States, and In the man whoso name I am about
to mention there is embodied all that Is good
ln the American citizen, all that Is pure and
all that Is lofty. He Is a statesman of ripe
experience, a philosopher and orator without a
peer on this or any other continent. Fearless
and wedded to tho interests of this Nation,
he would make an Ideal President ot theso
United States. Since tho election of 1S0G but
one name has been connected with the candi
dacy for that oHlce. This man Is the embodi
ment of all that opposes plutocracy, the em
bodiment of all that opposes greed. He is in
my Judgment clearly the greatest American
citizen ot the age. As an orator, a statesman
and scholar he Is the equal of Webster and
of Clay, If he la not their superior.
Let us make liberal allowance for the
extravagance always exhibited In politi
cal conventions when favorites are pre
sented for consideration, and yet what
arrant nonsense is left In this! Mr. Bryan,
eo far from being "a statesman of ripe ex
perience," has had next to no experience
at all In statesmanship. As a member of
the House, ho connected: his name during
his two terms with but one piece of leg
islation, and that was the Gorman-Wilson
tariff bill the most disastrous botch of a
bill ever prepared by men holding public
commissions. It ruined business for a
time, and it was the strongest force that
operated to hurl the Democratic party
from power.
Is Mr. Bryan a philosopher? Of what
school? And when were philosophy and
successful stump Bpeaklng ever so closely
allied before? Ordinarily they mix as oil
and water do. Is Mr. Bryan a scholar?
He makes no such claims for himself. He
probably chuckles to himself when the
term Is applied even to round out a cam
paign eulogy. Is he tho greatest of living
orators, and does he top "Webster and
Clay, w!io are gone? In the language of
the poet, rats! Mr. Bryan is a smooth
and captivating sppaker, but he has at
least 20 equals in his own party alone,
not to mention the Republican party,
which Is "long" Just now on orators of a
most excellent grade.
This flubdub of Mr. Bryan's chief Pop
ulist lieutenant would count for little If
It did not express in a way sentiments en
tertained for him by many Populists and
Democrats alike. "Wherever his support
ers are found they feel for him, and de
clare, a like reverence. He is accepted
as the sum of human wisdom. Finance?
He knows it all, although the develop
ments of the past three years have shown
that ln 1SD6 he was a stranger to the
subject The tariff? He knows it all,
although he helped to frame and to pass
the Gorman-Wilson bill. Expansion? Ho
knows It all, although he has been so
busy campaigning since that subject be
came Important he has not had a mo
ment's time to give to an exclusive sludy
of It
And this Is the man whom so many men
would call to the Presidency at a time
when a statesman of real ripeness, real
experience and real soberness of view and
statement is absolutely necessary to the
needs of the country and to the formula
tion and forwarding of sound policies!
BRYAN'S COXFESSIOX.
Silver to Be Dropped "Whenever Peo
ple Tire of It.
Chicago Times-Herald.
In a sudden fit of Impatience that over
came him the other day. Colonel, the
Hon. William J. Bryan said to an inter
viewer: I am asked as often as once a week whether
I have abandoned sliver. To that I answer
No. But suppose I should abandon silver,
what difference would It make? I am not tho
people. "When they abandon that question It
will be an Issue no longer. The people make
the issue, not the man. No man Is greater
than his party.
This la a blow for which we have not
been prepared. Upon various occasions
heretofore we have commended Colonel
Bryan for his unvarying loyalty to sil
ver. We have pointed out how It was im
possible for him to abandon silver with
out abandoning his self-respect and for
feiting the good opinions of people who
have had reasons In the past for believing
ln his sincerity, even If they could not
subscribe to his theories. But how comes
the apostle of the heaven-born ratio, like
Rumor:
Blown by scrmlse3, Jealousies, conjectures;
And of so easy and so plain a stop
That the blunt monster with uncounted heads,
The stlll-dlecordant. wavering multitude,
Can play upon it.
It io true, as Colonel Bryan says, that
he is not the people who compose his
party, and, this being so, why should he
abandon silver, even if they, in their
wisdom, should do so sensible a thing?
Alas, we need not pause for an answer.
Colonel Bryan hoe already given it.
When the rest of the people In his party
abandon silver it will, as he declares, be
no longer an Issue, and then he, too, will
throw it down.
By his own confession. Colonel Bryan
Is the champion of silver because it is on
issue and not necessarily because he be
hoves ln it He has smashed an idol that
if not altogether lovely, was, we had
foijdly believed, cut from a flawless block.
Sancc for the Goose Etc.
Milwaukee Sentinel.
Captain Mahan, ln an article In tho In
dependent shows that the United States
could not intervene in the Boer war with
out endangering the Monroe Doctrine.
We presume It is in accordance with the
rule of law that he who seeks equity must
no equity. If we forbid Europe to inter
fere in the affairs of this hemisphere, we
should refrain from Interfering In the af
fairs of Europe,
GOSSIP OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
WASHINGTON, May 16. Senatcr Lodge,
when he delivered his speech on the Mon
roe Doctrine, and Germany's attitude re
garding it -wanted the people to talk about
him. and has succeeded even to a decree
that he evidently did not Intend. Not
only are they talking about him abroad,
but a great many people have considerable
to say about him here ln this country.
One Senator who has a pretty good idea
of foreign affairs, remarked in a very sar
castic tone that Senator Lodge was prob
ably trying to hold the German vote for
the Administration. But as a matter of
fact the speech fell like a thunderbolt
on the Administration, as every effort has
been made for a long time past to main
tain friendly relations with the German
Empire. The Samoan question was set
tled and the treaty was put through with
great speed so as to remove all cause of
Irritation with the Germans. It is true
that during the time tftat the Gernans
clashed with us in Manila Bay. this coun
try was ready to fight at the drop of the
hat. It is also true that the manner In
which Germany treats our meat products
and fruits has caused a great deal of
complaint and irritation. But at the same
time every effort is being made by the
Administration to prevent any retaliation.
The speech of Secretary Root caused a
great deal of talk, but he did not go any
where near as far Senator Lodge. Secre
tary Root, at his banquet gave some in
timation about the testing of the Monroa
Doctrine. Of course this started Inter
national writers to discussing what he
meant and they finally decided that he
was pointing at Germany. JEtoot himself
never mentioned Germany, but Senator
Lodge, a member of the Senate committee
on foreign relations, did mention thnt
country, and spoke in round terms
about it
This action amazed the Federal Admin
istration because at that particular time
everybody on the inside was well aware
that there was little danger of any trou
ble with the Germans. It has been stated
by those who seem to think they
know something about it that the Ger
mans colonizing in Brazil are likely to
cause trouble. As a matter of fact. It .Is
well understood that these Germans- In
Brazil are not likely to become any morn
antagonistic to the Brazilian Govern
ment than are the Germans in our own
country. They will still be fond of the
fatherland and maintain their German
relations and characteristics, but they will
not try to make Brazil a part of the Ger
man Empire any more than they will try
to make a portion of the United States,
where they are thlcky settled, a part of
the same empire. There was, perhaps,
some reason for believing that Germany
would like to secure the Danish Islands,
but even that was a little flurry of no
great consequence, and not worth the
attention given it as a possible cause
of war with Germany. It was noticed
that Senator Spooner. representing a
state where mere is a very large German
population, took occasion to refute tha
statements of Senator Lodge very prompt
ly and vigorously, and asserted that there
was no danger of a war with Germany or
any desire for one
Government Friendly, People "Sot.
It Is rather interesting to note In these
complications that just at the present time
the people of the United States are con
siderably Irritated against Germany, and
that the Germans have but very little
better feeling against the United States,
while the government, of both countries
are on the very best of terms, better than
they have been ln a great many years.
There is also a bitter feeling among the
people of this country' against England,
especially over the Boer War, and yet
the Government of. the United States and
the Government of Great Britain are on
the very best of terms. It Is often ob
served that governments do not always
represent the feeling of tn .people in their
dealings with foreign nations. At the
same time governments are a necessity
for tho purpose of avoiding just such com
plications as the people might rush into.
It Is a good thing that the Government
does not take the same view of every pass,
ing breeze that some of our statesmen
and some of our people do, or we would
be constantly in -turmoil, and war would
be threatened at all times.
Kansas City's Graft.
The manner in which the Kansas City
hotel-keepers are holding up the Demo
crats in the matter of rates at the con
vention is causing a vigorous protest from
those who must go to tne convention. It
appears that Ave or six to a room, with
the usual rates of " to J6 each a day Is
what these Kansas City hotels Insist
upon charging. This is so much more
than has ever been paid before at any con
vention that people who are compelled to
attend are protesting very loudy. It also
appears that rates at private houEes are
very nearly as high. Single rooms at these
private establishments are to be charged
for at the rate of $10 to J2Q a day. If tnis
Is kept up it will leave a very bad taste In
the mouths of tho Democrats who attend
the convention. It Is in striking contrast
with what they have been used to at re
cent conventions, for In 1SSI, 1S92 and 1SW
they were at Chicago, and ln 189S at St
Louis, and In all four of these conventions
they were treated as usual, and the rates
were not exorbitant. Now, to go into a
campaign after being overcharged by tho
hotel men will make them decidedly sore
and possibly give the town of Kansas City
a very bad name.
This is another one of tho evils of pur
chasing a National Convention. It cost
Kansas City J50.CCO in cash to get the Na
tional Committee to locate tho convention
there, this money being used as a part of
the campaign fund. As most of the con
tributions camo out of the hotels, hotels
want to get even. The work which thp
National Committee has been doing in
the distribution of literature with that $50.
000 will be nearly offset by the dissatisfac
tion which will result among those Demo
crats who attend the great Bryan hurrah
on the banks of the Missouri.
Extremity of Gold Democrats.
, St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Those who are depending upon discon
tent with the Republican record are reck
oning without their host. Among Re
publicans generally, so far from disconent
there is enthusiasm. Among the raug
wumps, Gold Democrats and other Inde
pendents there is plenty of discontent
But if straws indicate the direction of
the wind it will not influence their votes.
They recognize that the Republican party
has kept its pledges even better than they
had hoped. They have spent their time
and Ink and eloquence in reviling Mc
Kinley, have been ransacking the cosmoa
to prevent the renomination oi Bryan,
and are now taking the only course open
to men of their convictions. They are,
in short, pursuing the very tactics they
pursued In 1SD6 and have begun already to
point out that Bryan stands for Bryan
ism; that, though his power to ruin the
country has been curtailed, he can and
doubtless would severely Injure It. As a
choice of evils they infinitely prefer Mc
Kinley, and frankly say so. A few antl
expansionists who prefer anything to ex
pansion, a few gold Bourbons who ex
pected to lead their party by leaving
it, and a few others for various other
reasons about as sensible, may swing to
Bryan. But the number that know him
to be a false prophet will. Judging by
present indications, so far outnumber these
scattered elements that McKinley's popu
lar electoral plusality promises to exceed
even that of 1SS6.
He 3ilBht Have Said.
New York Sun.
According to the Hon. "TCilllam Vincent
Allen, who Is properly grateful for his
seat in the Senate, the peerlesa leader is
peerless everywhere, "a patriot without
a peer on this or any other continent"
Besides, he Is "the most American citizen
of the age" and "as an orator, as a
statesman, he is the equal of "Webster and
Clay, If not their superior." This Is the
measured and impartial estimate that
might have been expected. Hail Mr. Allen
chosen to Indulge In pardonable exagger
ation he might have said that Colonel
Bryan combined the energy of , the Hon.
Tornado Jones with the vocal stress of the
Hon, Cyclone Davis.
NOTE. AND COMMENT..,
f .
Don't bo a clam. Get out and run for as
office.
Roosevelt would rather be strenuous
than vice-president
Cuba seems to be as badly ln need ot
jails as Luzon is of gallows.
The Boer war Is seven months old, and.
it is able to sit up and take nourishment
already.
Baden-Powell will be a hero now till he
reaches home and tries to get elected to
something.
If the public Is going to win in that St
Louis street-car strike it will have to win,
in a walk.
The Populist party will not do well
when women vote. The supply of beard
ed ladles Is limited.
It now looks as If Oom Paul would come
out of the war pretty well separated from
his wife's relations.
Perhaps the Barker people would do
better If they kept to the right Instead of
ln the middle of the road.
The candidate now vainly trlea
To make all men believe
That be has got the winning cards
Stowed somewhere up his sleeve.
In holding out as long as It did, Mafe
king showed a cruel disregard of the feel
ings pf military experts.
The modern dentist says he never pulls
his customers' teeth. But he makes no
pledges about their legs.
Now doth tho man who makes the Jokes
All other themes eschew.
And roast the man who queries: "Is
It hot enough for your
Uncle Sam should look out for the Sul
tan. The statute of limitations is running
all this time he is sparring for wind.
Dewey's special train has the right of
way on the Southern railroads. The Ad
miral also had the right of way as e.
rule when he traveled by water.
Now dqth the boy who swimming goes
Protest his Innocence
And says Jils shirt got wrong side out
"While climbing through a fence.
Barbara IIetchie has gone the way of
William Tell et al. In a few years they
will be saying that there was no such,
person as Oom Paul and that Dewey was
a myth.
Senator Clark couldn't get Into the Sen
ate, but he may console himself with the
reflection that he will be able to hire a
room in Kansas City during all the tlmo
the convention lasts.
The catcher caught the pitcher's eye,
The batter dropped his Jaw;
The rooter raised his heavy voice.
The crowd was struck with awe.
Tho baseman's beetling" eyebrows fell.
They cast on him the Blame,
The coacher pitched his words too high.
The runner threw the game.
Chicago, May 20. I notice that you
Oregonians are greatly pleased because
you have pansies so large that they will
entirely cover a Jl-plece. "We have plenty
of pansies that will cover a. $S-plece, and
we don't brag about it, either.
VERDANT GREEN.
A citizen who attended a meeting at the
North End the other evening, where sev
eral unasked, incapable and Independent
candidates for office were endeavoring ta
convince the Intelligent and independent
voter present that the only safety and
the only hope of a pure and patriotic ad
ministration of public affairs depended on.
their election, came away much disgusted.
He remarked to a friend that, if, by any
stroke of 111 luck, that gang of tax-eaters
and chair-warmers should be elected to
office, he would go into the chicken raising
business and secure a contract enabling
him to attach incubators to their office
chairs, and thus utilize the animal heat
produced by them, which Is about tho
only useful property they possess.
If the election campaign now on hass
been decidedly prolific in producing can
didates for various offices In triplets and
quadruplets, it has been forbearing in
the matter of those much greater nui
sances, the curbstone orators, who were
around In droves a few years ago, and
who, with their senseless clamor, col
lected crowds which blocked the side
walks and made life a burden to all sen
sible and well-behaved citizens. One
leather-lunged fellow made an effort to
gather a crowd on Third street a day or
two ago "to listen to what he had to say
to them," but the encouragement he re
ceived was of a nature to discourage him,
and his mesage is still undelivered, and
Is likely to remain so. The number of
candidates anxious to sacrifice themselves
for their country,s,itftfdst'nefr! own good
has a tendency to convince one that the
Idea which many people have, that "good
men are becoming very scarce," Is an in
correct one. Probably at no previous
time ln our nation's history have so many
unselfish and unasked men of pure and
noble motives been ready to sacrifice
themselves for inadequate salaries.
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHER3
Once Enough. "I notlco that lightning struck
the Chicago River last Thursday." "I'll bot
that's a case where lightning never strikes
twice la tha same place." Cleveland Plain
Dealer.
Fatalities. "I can't understand the largo
number of fatalities ascribed to the earth
quake. It was the merest tremor." "Ah, but
quite sufficient to cause the average folding
bed to close up." Detroit Journal.
Mrs. Smythe "What is poor Mrs. Perkins go
ing to do now that her husband Is dead?
Smythe Take In boarders. Mrs. Smythe No?
Why sho can't cook! Smythe Precisely I
Didn't I say that she was going to take thein
In? Harlem Life.
"Thanks," he said, taking the cigar. "I will
smoke this after dinner." But it was so vile,
that he smoked It while sitting on the front
seat ln the grip car, on hl3 way home. For
what was he. that he should fly in the face
of long-established custom? Chicago Tribune.
A Sarcastic Thfbw-Down. Vindictive "Varley
(savagely) Dat. new idea uv yours about beta'
a "broken-down chess-master" ain't no gootf.
Foxy Farquhar Wot happened wen you told
de lady? Vindictive Varley (disgustedly) Sha
whistled fer de dorg, an said it wuz "jay
move." Judge.
The Cape Town censor sat chewing the
stump of a blue pencil. "Dickens,"' he called
to his assistant, "how many Boers did you say
our 0000 men defeated J" "One thousand nine
hundred and ninety-nine!" responded the loyal
Dickens. "Then Just turn It around to 9031.
It will make many glad 'hearts, and, besides,
Dickens, my brother is a buntlng.manutacturer
ln London." Chicago New3.
A Critical Moment. "I want to be very care
ful." said Mr. Blyklns; "very careful. Indeed.
I am now at a critical moment ln my career."
"What are you talking about?" asked his wife.
"My hopes for the future. I have Just been
mentioned as a possible candidate for a prom
inent office." "Isn't that nice?" "No. It's not
at all nice. It means long, gloomy suspense.
When a man Is mentioned for office he's got to
be careful. He may start right there and soar
to fame. And then again he may get so busy
with politics that don't pay that he forgets
all about business, and the first thing you
know they even neglect to put bis name la th
Directory" Washington Star.
-Jl
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