THE MORNINtf OREGONIAN, WED2ESDAY, JUNE 6, 1900.
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PORTLAND "WEDNESDAY, JUNE C
In the result In Multnomah County
there is a lesson that Is sufficiently
clear. In a county -where the dominant
party possesses an ambitious, powerful
and disgruntled faction that is ready
at all times to combine "with the oppo
sition, It Is the part of "wisdom to pur
sue a conciliatory course toward such
faction. The Oregonlan suggested such
policy, at the beginning of the contest
lor the nominations this year. It was
not heeded. "What has followed Is mat
ter of course. But the result is not dis
astrous. The two Republican members
of the House of Representatives have
been re-elected, and, though the status
of the Legislature is not yet entirely
clear, it is believed that some kind of
& Republican will be or may be elected
to the Senate. Whether these bickerings
In the party will ever cease till there
'Shall be a smashing defeat in both state
and Nation seems uncertain; but they
ought to cease, for they are very tire
some. In his denial that abandonment of the
Philippines was ever advocated. Sena
tor Teller falls In most adroitly with
the consistent policy of the anti-imperialist
school. If facts are against you,
simply deny the facts, and the thing
is done.
It cannot be said that the Boers have
fought with any remarkable pluck or
daring. They have not shown any very
great individual nor even collective
courage. Such feats of arms as they
have achieved have consisted In repulse
of British columns stupidly thrown
against impregnable positions; but they
never have been disposed to fight In the
open, even when their numbers exceed
ed those of the British, as they con
stantly did during the first months of
the war. From their standpoint this
doubtless was wise, for they could not
afford to lose men. But their record
for resolute courage has nowhere been
conspicuous, and they permitted the
little garrison at Mafeking to hold out
seven months. In our war any Union
or Confederate force would have taken
such place quickly; if not otherwise, by
assault.
Abandonment of the Philippines was
urged by the Bryanltes as long as we
were considering their retention. Then
they dropped it. Then they took up the
next thing that seemed necessary to do.
"Whatever army was required to subdue
the insurrection was too large. "What
ever way we were doing anything was
just the wrong way. About the only
thing pending on the Philippine prob
lem now Is the Spooner bill. It is upon
the Spooner bill, therefore, that the
vials of their wrath are poured out.
For the nonce the Spooner bill incar
nates all that Is evil in theory and per
nicious In practice. Next week it will
be something else. Find out what is
necessary to do and you will know at
once what is the sublimation of all
infamies.
The aged wife of John Sherman, and
his companion during more than half
a century, lies on her bier In Mansfield,
O.. the place of her birth, as It will be
of her sepulture. A gentle, womanly
woman, a faltltikil wife though never
a mother, Mrseherman lived happily
in the sunshine of her husband's polit
ical prosperity, and retired softly into
the shadows of his political eclipse,
"Without any show of disappointment,
fully exemplifying the accepted idea of
woman's lot without any of its modern
Intellectual embellishments. Another
woman w hose name shines by a reflect
ed light, which is even now so ephem
eral Is political fame growing dim, lies
on her deathbed in England. The
names of Mrs. Gladstone and Mrs. John
Sherman are spoken softly in honor of
the unselfish lives which they represent
and of the womanhood which these lives
adorned. "While not more worthy or
more useful in their day and genera
tion than thousands of their sister
women, ho so far as the public knowl
edge goes were nameless, they attained
to such prominence as the reflected lus
ter of a great name can give, and
adorned high social positions by such
forces of womanhood as glorify alike
the mansion and the cot. Since death
is the logical end of life when its ac
tivities are ended and its part In the
drama is worked out, grief will find no
fitting place beside the bier of Mrs.
Sherman, or, when her time comes, of
Mrs. Gladstone. Louisa M. Alcott, a
faithful, tender daughter, as she was a
lpathetic writer on life's common-
ices, embodied this idea in a poem
tten at the bier of her mother, say-
thought to weep, but sine for lor Instead.
I Full of the grateful peace
That follows her release.
nothing but the weary dust Is dead.
Our British friends are by no means
the grave, saturnine. Immovable people
they have often been taken for. They
get up big steam of enthusiasm, to
te very pressure of ecstasy, when
there is occasion. Yesterday they all
"Went wild, once more, over the fall of
! Pretoria. It was not so great a feat
, in itself; It was great only because the
' conditions were such that it required a
great army to do it. The end cannot
now be far off. A considerable Boer
force is yet under arms, but must soon
Rsolve. That it has been dissolving
during a month past has been very evi
dent. The Boers are not a people of a
character to keep up for a long period
a guerrilla warfare, nor are the condi
tions within their country favorable
to it.
TELLER IN HIS TRUE FOR3I.
Teller's latest exploit is worthy of
him. His tearful departure from the
St. Louis convention and his touching
appeal In the Senate for the man with
the blistered hand fitly blazed the way
for hiB masterpiece on anti-expansion.
Teller has sense enough to see that
the hole into which "anti-imperialism"
has deposited Itself is very deep and
slippery. He magnanimously under
takes the task of rescue. Every posi
tion taken and contended for by the
antls has been proven ridiculously un
tenable. The need of succor is immedi
ate and severe. Teller will save the
day. How does he propose to do it?
This is his answer:
Nobody, no far as I know, has ad
vocated aliBHdoamcat of the Philip
pines. There are only two mistakes in this
assertion. One Is that abandonment of
the Philippines was urged by all the
Bryanke crowd, including Teller, as
long as they cculd urge It In' counte
nance, and the other mistake Is that
Teller knows it very well.
"When the necessity for our retention
of the Philippines became manifest,
every opponent of Republican princi
ples began to oppose it. They contend
ed openly and flatly for a grant of im
mediate independence to the islands.
.Bryan declared we must not "deny the
people of the Philippines the rights for
which our forefathers fought from
Bunker Hill to Yorktown." He resisted
annexation and he opposed it up to the
last minute, when he supported ratifi
cation of the treaty of Paris. Senator
Daniel opposed annexation. "We are
now asked," he said, "to sally forth 7000
miles from our native seat to grasp,
against their will, millions of unwilling
people, to seize upon them, to take them
by force of arms, and deposit them,
land and people, within the lines of the
Constitution, under the American flag,
to make them an integral part of this
American Republic."
It is possible Mr. Teller didn't know
this was going on, but he cannot be
presumed ignorant of what he himself
wrote over his own signature. He op
posed annexation. He favored Filipino
independence, and in support of It he
said:
You will need over 50,000 soldiers, and in a
littlo while you will need more, for they Are
a great people. They aro a people who know
something of their rights. Ther aro a peoplo
who arc willing to contend for them; and I be.
lleve it to be an axiom that people who will
fight for their liberty and who are willing to
die for It, are capable of maintaining It when
they got it.
Teller thinks he is a great man. He
looks upon his exit from the St. Louis
convention as one of the tragedies of
the modern world. He thinks that
when he says anything from his august
seat in the Senate it will fall upon the
ears of an awestruck world like the
oracle of a Delphic priestess. And when
he says nobody so far as he knows has
advocated abandonment of the Philip
pines, he imagines it will be accepted
without question. All of which shows
the greatness of Teller's head and the
sublimity of his self-sufficiency.
THE END IS NOT YET.
General Otis, having after several
days' detention escaped from quaran
tine, is ashore in his native land to say
that "the Filipino war is practically
ended"; that Agulnaldo's followers
have lost heart and are deserting him
rapidly, and that, as soon as the na
tives in general gain confidence in the
friendly offices and the justice of the
Americans, there will be little difficulty
In bringing them to terms. This, as the
view of a military man who has been
long on the ground and Is presumably
well acquainted with the matters
whereof he speaks, is entitled to the
most respectful attention. It does not
tally, however, with statements of hap
penings in the islands since General
Otis embarked on the Meade, homeward-bound,
which indicate plainly a
state there that is not one of peace and
security, or the immediate promise of
either.
The Filipino problem, to the solution
of which the United States Govern
ment was set by events growing out of
the war with Spain, is a long and com
plicated one. Many factors enter Into
it which will have to be eliminated
not by the sword, except in an auxil
iary sense, but by processes of educa
tion. That the forces that make for
peace and civilization are at work in
the Philippines there is no doubt. They
have been planted there at great cost In
blood and treasure, and they are there
to stay and to operate. But they will
be thrown many times against the bas
tloned walls of Ignorance, of tradition,
of superstition, and many times re
pulsed, before the peace that has It?
surety in a contented people and wise
civic rule will prevail In these islands
of the sea.
Agulnaldo is said to be still in flight,
though in what direction.it is not easy
to determine. From every direction
come reports of outrage and robbery at
the hands of roving bands of Insur
gents, while Filipino bulletins continue
to be sent out charging grave crimes
upon the American soldiery. Time, a
superior military force. Judicious man
agement. Just rather than partisan
measures of government, and the
leaven of patience working through the
whole, must bring order out" of the
chaos that was precipitated upon the
Philippines through Insurrection. But
it must be said that proclamations of
peace seem to be premature while these
conditions of unrest and lawlessness
continue.
MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXPECTED.
Murders and suicides are sometimes
mysterious, but there was no mystery
about the double crime that was com
mitted here last week. The dead man
married the woman with full knowl
edge of her antecedents. It was not a
congenial match. The man had no
brains, no Intelligence, no self-respect,
no moral sense to speak of and prob
ably no reputation in particular to pre
serve. The woman was at least his
equal in intelligence and morals, and
from this point of view, while it was
a foolish, reckless marriage, it was not
an unequal match.
Of course, even a stupid man who
makes such a marriage knows that it
would naturally breed disaster. The
only possible hope for any other out
come would be for the man to drop all
dissipation, and by living an Industri
ous, quiet, virtuous and in every way
exemplary life, win his wife's respect
and affection, and persuade her to Join
him In the effort to put the evil past
forever behind them. But this man
continued In his old ways; he did noth
ing to build up his own character and
restore his self-respect, and of course
hi3 Ineradicable weakness and worth
Iessness educated the Woman to view
him with contempt
Finally the end came; the man's
money was gone; he had wasted his
youth; he had no aspiration to make a
new career for himsefL Without hope,
without sturdy health; with nothing to
bind him to life strongly, he became
filled with despair, and in its dark train
came vindlctiveness. He was ready
and willing to step down and out of a
pleasureless, hopeless existence, but be
fore he went he would drag down to
death with him the woman who. had
cut him off from her companionship.
He meant that she should walk the
plank with him, and pitilessly he exe
cuted his design.
There is no mystery 1& such a case.
Any other outcome to such a marriage
would have been unexpected. If not un
natural. The man really took his moral
life and all his hopes of honor, happi
ness and usefulness in his hands when
he married the womaw with full knowl
edge of her antecedents. He knew ex
actly what to expect. He knew the
natural outcome and explosion of such
Ill-omened marriages. He led a life af
ter marriage that was swept by no
moral breeze, and finally he flew Into
a murderous and suicidal rage when he
discovered that the woman did not be
have like a heroine and martyr when
she found that he wa3 without ambition
or humanity of temper and with no
prospect of personal improvement or
reform In his condition. A woman of
this sort might perhaps be redeemed by
a man who had forced her to respect
him by his own reformed life, but no
cheap, weak, worthless, thriftless man
can marry a woman of irregular hab
its and expect to lead her back to virtue.
THE BOER APPOMATTOX.
The Appomattox of the Transvaal
Republic has been reached, and further
resistance In shape of guerrilla war
fare in the mountains will be of short
life. The easy occupation of Johannes
burg and Pretoria was not unexpected.
There was a strong peace party In Pre
toria, headed by Mr. Eloff. son-in-law
of President Kruger, a man of large
wealth and possessed of great availa
ble capital. He and his party have
been for some time engaged in urging
the abandonment of the defense of Pre
toria and bringing about complete
submission to the British. Afrikander
influence has been brought to bear from
Cape Town to create a party hostile
to Kruger's influence, both in the Or
ange Free State and the Transvaal.
The common-sense argument used has
been: "You have lost the battle be
yond the doubt; why should you insist
upon a further useless loss of life and
property?" A house divided against
itself is not a place from which to de
liver a "last ditch" battle, and, whether
Kruger Is a fugitive or still nominally
in arms, he could not in wisdom persist
in defending Pretoria with its influen
tial publlcmen unanimous for surrender.
The Boer War, which began with the
Invasion of Natal, October 12, 1S99, fol
lowing the issue of the Boer ultimatum
of October 10, has lasted a little more
than eight months, and has ended, as
every intelligent man knew it would, in
the conquest of both the South African
Republics and their conversion Into
crown colonies of Great Britain, al
though It is possible that the Transvaal
may be clipped of some of Its territory
to round out the boundaries of Natal.
The only sane explanation of the orig
inal declaration of war by Presidents
Kruger and Steyn is the assumption
that they felt sincerely confident that
the Afrikander population of Cape Col
ony and Natal would Join In the revolt,
and that leading Continental powers of
Europe would interfere In their behalf.
From November 1, when Sir George
White allowed himself with 13.000 men
to be cooped up in Ladysmith, until De
cember 15, when General Buller was
severely defeated In attempting to force
the Tugela River near Colenso, the
British arms were humiliated by a suc
cession of military disasters, suffered
by Generals White, Buller, Methuen
and Gatacre. These disasters were so
clearly due to military Incompetency
that the home government ordered
England's greatest soldier, Lord Rob
erts of Candahar, to the scene of action.
Since the arrival of that great soldier,
order has been brought out of chaos,
and his march, which began late in
February, with the splendid stroke
which relieved KImberley, captured
Cronje's army, obtained the occupation
of Bloemfontein and forced the Boers
to raise the siege of Ladysmith, has
ended at Pretoria without any appreci
able check, much less disaster. Lord
Roberts halted at Bloemfontein from
March 15 until April 3 to accumulate
supplies at hiB secondary base, remount
nis cavalry and renew his transpor
tation. Since he began his advance
from Bloemfontein his army has gone
forward like a great tidal wave over
the Orange Free State, over the Vaa.1
to the gates of Pretoria.
No British General ever before com
manded so many men In the field,
about 200.000, Including the troops of
Hunter, Methuen and Buller. In his
advance through the Orange Free
State, counting out his garrisons and
guards. Lord Roberts must have had
on his front of 200 rnlles long nearly
125,000 men. To direct such a great
force, with its columns separated by
great distances; to clothe and feed his
great army by a single-track railway;
to make his movements so well timed
and exact; to secure the successful co
operation of his scattered commands,
from his extreme left, under Hunter
and Methuen, in the Orange Free State,
at the west, to bis extreme right under
Buller, in Natal; to advance so rapidly
over a vers difficult country against a
very vigilant and skillful foe, and to
.have done it with very small loss, is
a military achievement of the highest
order of merit. The German and
French military critics, bitterly hostile
to England, speak today of Lord Rob
erts with profound respect as not only
a vers able General, but as a very
brilliant soldier. They are right He
Is the ablest soldier in the annals of
England since Wellington. He is the
ablest soldier Europe has seen since
Moltke, and the saddest reflection for
Englishmen to'day, in their hour of vic
tory, is to reflect that, had it not been
for the stupid favoritism of Lord
Wolseley, which gave the chief com
mand in South Africa originally to Bul
ler, instead of to Roberts, who was
easily the first soldier of the army,
many thousands of lives, much treas
ure and much transient loss of military
and political prestige would have been
saved to Great Britain.
The Boer War really has taught in
telligent military men nothing that
they did not know before: nothing that
Lord Roberts did not already know.
Had Lord Roberts adopted the stupid
tactics of Buller and Methuen and
Wkite, he would not today ba in
Pretoria, and the Boer army would still
be in occupation of NataL
The Oregonlan would again urge
upon the attention of farmers in Yam
hill County the importance of the beet
sugar enterprise now offering to locate
at Newberg. Half of the 5$60 acres de
sired to be pledged for beet culture
have been obtained. The other half
must by all means be arranged for.
Assurances have been given that the
time requisite for maturing the beets
In that section is ample. A flourishing
and profitable industry can be estab
lished if this arrangement can be en
tered into, and trustworthy dependence
added to the uncertain Incomes from
wheat, hops and prunes. The terms on
which the interested capital is willing
to go in seem very favorable, and again
we urge consideration of the matter
upon the farmers of Yamhill County.
Among those present on Memorial
day celebration at the battle-field of
Antietam were the survivors of Brock
enbrough's Maryland Artillery, which
distinguished Itself on the Confederate
side of this great battle. Major Brock
enbrough, who commanded this artil
lery, was for several years a resident
of Portland during his term of offlce
as agent of the United States Land De
partment, to which he was appointed
by President Cleveland in 1S8D. Major
Brockenbcough was severely wounded
at the great battle of Fredericksburg,
December 13. 1862.
The death of Stephen Crane cuts off
in the morning of what promised to be
an active literary career a very enter
taining writer on matters pertaining to
the current thought of the world. His
railroad stories have fascinated thou
sands of young men, eager for an ad
venturous industrial career, while as a
war correspondent, in which capacity
he did some of his best work, he was
widely read and enjoyed. The hard
ships incident to the latter vocation
undermined his health and led to his
death at the early age of 30 years.
The onerous duties that devolve upon
the police In looking after political
matters Just prior to an election nat
urally absorb the energies of the entire
force. Hence, no wonder a murderer
well known to a number of men In the
city frequented his old haunts unmo
lested by "detectives" from Thursday
evening, when the crime was commit
ted, until Saturday evening, when,
tired of lying around waiting to be
taken up and lionized in the usual way,
he secured the notoriety which he de
sired by committing suicide.
The British casualty list up to May
12 shows 35? officers and 5028 rank and
file killed In action and died of wounds
and disease; 690 officers and 9440 men
wounded; 181 officers and 455S men pris
oners and missing; and 54 men ac
cidentally killed; total, 1228 officers and
19,080 rank and file. Invalided to Eng
land, exclusive of wounded, 416 officers
and 7203 rank and file. Total estimated
casualties to that date. Including non
combatants with the army and civil
ians in besieged towns, 46.727.
From the returns, it will not be
doubted that Oregon is a Republican,
not a Democratic, state. Oregon will
go against the Bryanized Democracy
In November by sheer momentum and
force. If not another word should be
spoken on the subject from now till
November.
Tongue appears to have carried every
county in his district, except Linn, and
possibly Lake. Linn's majority for
Daly will be less than 250. Tongue's
majority In the district seems to be
about 1800.
Surprising results in Mgody's favor
appear in several counties in Eastern
Oregon. His majority in the district
may reach 7000.
The total vote of Seattle in the elec
tion of March last was 8839. The vote
of Portland on, Monday last was 13,592.
An "Itemized" Account.
New York Commercial.
If the gorgeous Major Eates G. Rath
bone, late director-general of posts In
Cuba, has been living up to a correct in
terpretation of an "itemized account,"
business men generally will have to ad
mit that they have long been following a
cumbrous and useless method. From Sec
retary Root's report to the Senate we
copy this "itemized account" of Major
Rathbone's expeditures for the last year:
Miscellaneous $ iO.Zii SO
Salaries, Department of Posts 210.0S7 01
Salaries, clerks in Postofflce 35,072 00
Salaries, postmasters 87,381 39
Salaries, railway postal clerks 24,270 49
Salaries, letter carriers 17,027 24
Telegraph and cables 407 S2
Printing and stationery 31,100 4$
Furniture 20.072 05
Rent 11.2OT 14
Light 3.000 03
Per diem , 17.313 30
Bonds 1,074 30
Carriages, etc . 3,105 20
Newspapers 41 57
Mall transportation 14,231 1!)
Mail bags 4.600 33
Letter balances and scales 354 00
Post-marking and rubber stamps... 1,003 80
Street letter boxes 2.W1 45
Safes 0,292 4i
Transportation 7.404 72
Building and repairs 35.031 40
Mail wagons 1.085 00
Star route contractors 14.400 53
Mail messengers 1,733 00
Exchange- 373 10
Refund 100 00
Total .S313.C03 17
Warrants refunded 1.517 73
Net expenditures $012,200 33
Only for a part of these royal expendi
tures have vouchers been furnished, so
that a thing may appear on the records
of tho Senate aa an "Itemized account"
which the ordinary business man would
be apt to quibble at. It will be observed
that Major Rathbone's "miscellaneous"
Item is the largest but two In the entire
list. "Salaries, department of posts."
and "salaries, postmasters," are the only
two that exceed it. It would seem that in
expenditures aggregating nearly $50,000
there might have been an item or two of
sufficient amount to warrant Individual
entry- This proposition, we think, would
hold good in a majority of the counting
rooms in the United States, but under the
Rathbone system of bookkeeping matters
generally regarded important were
brushed aside aa useless details. On the
whole, it Is just as well that a check is
put on the Rathbone system at this stage
in order that an Inquiry by disinterested
auditors may determine whether it Is the
right or wrong thing from a business
standpoint .
v Reclaiming' a Desert.
Chicago Tribune.
Persons who have traveled Eastern Ore
gon and noted tho stretches of alkali des
ert through which th Columbia River
runs will be interested in the experiments
now being made by the Oregon Railroad
& Navigation Company, with a view to
turning the whole desert into grazing
ranges. The energy of the industrial
part of the company is directed toward
discovering, by practical tests, the proper
grasses and forage plants to take the place
of the native bunch grass eaten off by the
cattle In years past The Portland Ore
gonlan says the experiment has now pro
ceeded far enough to show that brome
grass, bunch grass, blue gram grass, Turk
estan alfalfa, Australian salt bush, and
white page will grow upon lands now re
garded aa desert The covering of the Co
lumbia River region with some or all of
these forage plants will Insure the re
vival of stockgrowinjr and the establish
ing of dairy Interests on a largo scale. Al
ready the population of Eastern Oregon
is growing more rapidly than that of West
ern Oregon. This is but one incipient
chapter in the really marvelous story of
how Americans have made deserts to
blossom and bring forth abundant fruits.
The narrative of similar achievements sit
forth in William E. Smythe's recent vol
ume, "The Conquest of Arid America,"
is as interesting as a romanco and much
more important in the way it touches the
life and comfort of the people. It is by tho
rehabilitation of the Western cattle rango
through sclentlflr methods like those of
the Oregon experiment that we may ex
pect relief from the present shortage of
tattle and from the consequent high prices
of meats.
ECLIPSES AXD CHRONOLOGY.
Past Records Can Be Verified by
Astronomical Science.
St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press.
In nothing, perhaps, do the powers of
tho human Intellect find grander illustra
tion than In the exactitude with which
the astronomer can predict tho coming
of an eclipse. He can set down not mere
ly the hour but the minute and second
when it will begin and end at any given
point on the earth's surface; define the
path of the shadow from the moment
when it shall strike the earth until its
pencillngs shall vanish in the outer void;
tell us the degree of obscuration which
will be observed at places outside the
limit of totality; and finally, with a certi
tude like that of a heaven-born prophet,
he can glance ahead through the cen
turies and tell us when and where and at
what intervals the phenomenon will be re
peated." Looking backward, ho can like
wise toll when and at what points eclipses
have occurred through all the ages of his
tory. He may not, concerning far-off
eclipses, be as exact to a minute, in time
or to a mile in space as he is with an
eclipse of the present year; but still his
science has attained such accuracy that
calculating backwards, there is no method
of verifying chronological records so
wholly to be depended upon as that. by
the testimony of eclipses. Let it be found
recorded In some ancient tome that such
and such an event happened concurrently
with an eclipse of the sun; then if the
astronomer finds, by his calculations, that
the eclipse actually did take place at the
time named, the historian Is supported by
evidence wholly beyond dispute. If, on
the contrary, the astronomer does not find
tho eclipse, the narrative is discredited. So
certain in its results is this application
of eclipses to the verification of dates,
that the author of a work recently pub
lished In St Louis well named the eclipse
"The Great Seal of Chronology."
The enormous difficulties- attending the
acquisition of the data for such computa
tions become apparent when it is con
sidered that the pencillngs of shadow,
which are traced in an eclipse of the sun,
fall upon a body whirling with Inconceiv
able velocity through spaces measurable
only in millions of miles, that Ihey are
cast by another body the moon whose
complex motions at differing velocities it
would seem impossible to reduce to an
exact formula, and that the sun Itself,
whose rays are intercepted, !s also In mo
tion, carrying along the whole planetary
system. To these complications, with the
pull which the sun exerts upon the earth
and moon, must be added the little pul!s
of the other planets, especially of Venus.
Professor Newcomb makes the admission
that in calculating distant eclipses the
astronomer may make an error of a mln
uto in GO years with an air of defeat
which seems really pathetic, so earnest
are these astronomers in their pursuit of
absolute accuracy. And yet It is seen
that even with an error of a minute in
every CO years there would be a total
error In time of only about an hour in
4000 years; so that since history seldom
uses a smaller portion of time than a day
in Its narratives, the reliability of dates
fixed by eclipses remains unimpaired even
by the possibility of slight error which
wrings the astronomer's heart, and to
overcome which Is his dearest ambition.
TUE CANTEEN AGAIN.
Some Misapprehension Seeming to
Need Continual Correction.
New York Times.
The attempt to get a bill through Con
gress abolishing the Army canteen has
brought forth some vigorous protests from
the officials of the "War Department, who
are charged with the duty of looking out
for tho welfare and comfort of Uncle
Sam's soldiers.
Secretary Root, in a communication to
tho House committee having the bill be
fore It, declares that its enactment "would
bo Injurious to the temperance, morals
and discipline of the enlisted men of the
Army." Adjutant-General Corbln asserts
that:
The prohibition of tho salo of beer in the
post exchange means an increase of whisky
drinking and drunkenness, and the consequent
noccsslty for medical treatment; an increase of
the- horrors of delirium tremens and insanity:
an increased' number of courts-martial and
punishment and of desertion, to the scandal of
the service, no less than a decrease of discip
line, health and morals, and the consequent
diminution of contentment self-esteem apd
self-reliance on the part of the enlisted men, to
say nothing of its effects upon surrounding
communities.
These emphatic utterances should be
carefully considered by Congress before
it yields to the petitions and representa
tions of the people who are trying to
have the canteen swept out of existence.
It may be freely conceded that most of
these remonstrants are sincere in their
belief that the canteen is an evil. But
not one in a hundred probably not one
in a thousand among them knows any
thing by practical experience of the condi
tions which confront the Army au
thorities in their responsibility for
the lives, health and discipline of
100,000 men. temporarily or permanent
ly deprived of the restraining Influence of
home ties and exposed to the temptations
of the dens of vlco that are to be found
In close proximity to all garrisona
In the canteens only beer and light wines
are sold under rijld restrictions. With
these institutions abolished It has been
shown conclusively that It is Impossible to
prevent numbers of the men from pa
tronizing resorts where the vilest grades
of strong liquors are dispensed. Since it
is out of the question to compel all the
soldiers to practice total abstinence, is It
not far better, from a practical and hu
manitarian point of view, to remove the
inontlves to drunkenness and disorder that
exist where the canteen system Is not In
operation?
Will Women Become Mannish?
New York Press.
Nothing can make a woman unwomanly
without her own consent Nor does the
eligibility of women to official councils
in church or state mean that any greater
number of them will be speechmaker3
than at present Ballots can be taken in
any deliberative body as privately
as a i3dy can draw her check
or make out her deposit slip In
the ladles parlors of a bank If the
members choose to adopt that kind of a
rule. Rev. William Prall, of Albany, In
his Baldwin lectures on "The State and
the Church." before the University of
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, held that the
giving of suffrage to woman, whether in
dividual suffrage or a representative fran
chise. Is a blow aimed at the stability of
the marriago relation, and that it tend3
to divide authority and therefore to de
stroy it "There Is no inequality," says
he. "between the man and the woman;
the one is the, complement of the other."
The family being the typical form and
the family spirit the ideal spirit of sdcial
relationship. It is supremely important to
society that the family as an institution
should not decay.
It would certainly be rash to encourage
young mothers to leave households of lit
tle children without maternal care while
they went off to vote and attend board
and conference meetings. But the very
fact that woman's disposition is the com
plement of tbnt of man. and that the Ideal
family is that in which masculine au
thority and feminine suavity and tact are
united, receives a new application from
the attempt to make the family spirit
serve as a model for the universal social
eplrt If a municipal or a church council
Is to be characterised by the family spirit
In the interest of justice and peace, then
It is all the more Important that the
feminine eloment of gentleness and sym
pathy and insight be combined with the
masculine disposition to assert authority
and to declare various kinds of war. And
this need cannot possibly be supplied bet
ter than by matronly members who have
brought up their children well and ar
ranged their homes so that they can be
spared occasionally for public duties.
A FerfHBctory Campaign.
New York Commercial Advertiser.
According to the present indications, the
approaching Presidential campaign will
be the most quiet the country has had
for many years. The general belief,
shared openly by thousands of Demo
crats, that Bryan has no chance of elec
tion, will rid the contest of the ele
ment of anxiety that kept the cam
paign of 1ES6 keyed to such a pitch of
Intensity till the very end of it The
whole country now views the contest with
serenity, feeling assured that nothing
will Induce the people to disturb the
present prosperity or unsettle existing
business conditions. So strong Is this
feeling that the faintest doubt which the
Republican managers felt at one time lest
the Democrats might gain control of Con
gress has been dispelled. They now feel
as sure of returning a majority there as
they do of re-electing McKlnley. It
would be a strange outcome were this
not to be the case. Congress has dono
nothing that has excited serious popular
dissent, and H has performed one great
act that entitles it to universal approval
and gratitude In establishing the gold
standard. So long as Bryan and his fol
lowers constitute the opposition, both a
Republican President and a Republican
Congress must be regarded as the nec
essary barriers to guard prosperity
against the assaults of the mob. On such
an Issue as that there can be no doubt
as to where the American people stand
they are on the side of property. As
Lowell says, "If history has taught us
any other lesson than that nobody ever
profits by Its teachings, it Is that prop
erty Is always too much for communism
in the long run."
t
Habit and Its aioral.
Philadelphia Times.
Those who have made it one of the ob
jects of their life, to oppose the use of
alcoholics and tobacco no doubt meet many
discouraging experiences. On the other
hand, it is equally true that they feal
themselves fortitied by their occasional
victories over smoke and drink. As is but
natural, they watch the. papers closely,
with a view to securing from their faith
ful mirroring of the day's events those
living arguments that bring homo with
redoublea force the impressiveness of the
lesson they nould teach.
Perhaps this method is open to tha ob
jection that it is manifestly unfair to rea
son that because particular results have
followed as the apparent consequence ot
a habit in one instance, i- must necessar
ily be the same In all. Such argument
is like assuming because a certain boy ad
dieted to cigarettes afterwards runs away
from home to go "West and kill Indians,
that a similar unjustifiable thirst for the
red man's blood Is bound to characterize
every lad who surreptitiously or otherwis
delights his soul with whiffing at the cher
ished weed. And this conclusion brings
up the matter of one Joseph McGrath,
some facts concerning whom have Just
appeared in the public prints of New York,
and have a decided bearing on the ques
tion in hand.
"While there can be no doubt the moral of
McGrath's life as the evident slave of habjt
is free to all who care to make use of It
as a warning or an example to youth, we
belie that in particular directions it will
be wiser not to so embody it. This es
toppel, moreover, seems to hold good not
withstanding that no later than last Sun
day, McGrath, In a hilariously healthful
manner, celebrated bis 103d birthday, ot
which period 85 years had possibly never
seen a day without liberal indulgence In
his bottle and his pipe.
"War Lies.
Andrew Lang in Longman's.
One lesson we might learn from the war,
tho lesson of examining evidence fpr state
ments. The number and variety of lies
which one hears daily, even in a rural
place, are huge and glittering. "What must
they be in London, where the stock ex
change and the authors of newspaper
placards are busy at work? The lies are
accepted, as a rule, without hesitation. A
General simply cannot march 20 miles
through a hostile country in 20 minutes,
yet people tell you news which could only
be true if the march were practicable. To
day I was informed that A, commanding
the B brigade, on the march through the
dark to attack at Magersfonteln, sent back
his galloper to ask his commanding officer
if he might make his troops advance In
open, not in close order. The galloper rode
back and returned with the reply that tne
troop3 must advance hi close order. Now,
where were the troops at this moment
and where was the officer whom the gal
loper had to consult? How long a rido
had tho galloper to make, back and for
ward In pitch darkness, and what were the
troops doing in the meantime? "Were they
going on or did they wait These par
ticulars were unknown. My informant
was a lady, and her informant was
a lady, who had the story rom an officer
that was present on the occasion. The
evidence does not appear absolutely trust
worthy to myself; not that I dispute the
accuracy of any of the three witnesses;
still, I think one must suspend one's
Judgment
Honor "Warps Poetical Ability.
Providence Journal.
Why should the mere fact that a man
has been made poet laureate render him
Incapable of writing good poetry? Mr.
Austin had done some creditable If not
brilliant work before he was selected to
succeed Tennyson. Perhaps It Is assum
ing too much to assert that his new of
ficial position has had anything to do
with his decline. Even poets of distinc
tion have been known to write themselves
out The long silence of Arnold, a man
of the first rank, has never been ex
plained. Tho Iaureateshlp itself certainly
never injured' Tennyson; nor is there
good reason for saying that It had a bad
effect on his great predecessors, Words
worth and Southey.
For the Man Who Falls.
Paul Laurence Dunbar.
The world Is a snob, and the man who wins
Is the chap for lt3 money's worth;
And tho lust for success causes half of the sins
That are cursing this grave old earth.
For it's fine to go up, and the -world's applaus
Is sweet to the mortal ear;
But the man who falls in a noble cause
Is a hero that's no less dear.
'Tis true enough that the laurel crowa
Twines but for the victor's brow;
For many a hero has lain him down
i With nought but the cypress bough.
There are gallant men in the losing fight
And as gallant deeds aro done
As ever graced the captured height
Or the battle grandly won.
We sit at life's board -with our nerves high
strung
And we play for the stake of fame.
And our odes are sung and our banners ht$c
For tho man who wins the game. ,
But I have a. song of another kind
That breathes in these fame wrought gales
An ode to the noble heart and mind
Of the gallant man who fails!
The man who Is strong to flght his fight,
And whose will no front can dauut
If the truth he truth and the right be right
Is tho man that thf age3 want.
Tho ho fall and die In grim defeat,
Tet he has not fled the strife.
&nd the house of Earth will sceni mere sweet
For tho perfume of his life.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
A good many candidates are suffering
from acute dayaftcritls. '
The Boers are unfortunate In not hav
ing any tall timber to tako to.
Tho Lord Is evidently not on Kruger'
side. Ha side is too plainly tha cold out
side. The Navy wants real ships for targets.
Perhaps Abdul Hamld would like to sup
ply It with a fow.
Mayor Storey has probably learned that
the way to men's votes does not . lla -through
their stomachs.
The British are a bravo people, but a
state election will chase them oft tha
first page whenever it comes along.
It is not reported that Roberts wasted
any time looking for the remains of Pul
ler's Christmas dinner when ho got Into
Pretoria. .
Roberts Go pick up that Boer shell and
throw it out ot camp before It explodes.
Subaltern I don't like to, my Lord; I
am afraid it isn't the right one.
Storey Farewell, a long farewell, to all my
chances;
This is the state of man, today ha blows his
Hard-earned coin on booze, tomorrow follows
The route of tho saloons and tanks up grafters;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost.
And when he thinks poor, easy mark full
surely
He'll run like Agulnaldo, wilts his nerve.
And then it's off. No Jolly. I have ventured
Like foolish pugilists, who think they're scrap
pers. Full many weeks upon my gall colossal.
But clear outside my class; My high built
front
At length went all to pieces and has left me
An also ran a has been at the mercy
Ot any guy who lost his boodle on mc.
Vain politics and other sure-thing games, Z
hate ye: --
I've been put wise by this Jolt: oh, how easy
Is that poor mark who looks for voter's favors.
There is between that X we would aspire to
Have marked upon the ballot and our throw
down More double crosses than a diplomat could give
us.
And when it's off it's In & thousand places-
And that's no campaign lie.
Peoplo who are particular about what
kind of a roast or what cut of steak they
eat often have trouble in finding anything
to suit them at their butcher's. Such a
person stood looking over the display In
a butcher's shop Saturday with a sort
of disgusted look on his countenance.
"What will you have?" asked the butcher.
"Oh, I don't know!" was the reply, "I
want something nice, and I don't seo
anything I want" "Not hungry, are you?"
asked the butcher. "No; how should I
be? I have Just eaten a hearty lunch."
"That's all right." said tho butcher, "I'll
send you up something nice." As the man
passed out the butcher remarked to a
bystander: "I can always tell whether
a customer Is hungry or not If he is
not hungry, nothing suits him; and If he
is hungry, anything is good enough for
him." And he proceeded to remove tho
shoulder-blade from a quarter ot lamb,
"put a pocket in it" and wrap it up for
tho hard-to-pleaso man. The moral Is
if you want to be easily suited don't
call at your butcher's until you are
hungry.
In hunting for a name for a strange new
malady recently discovered in California
the doctors coined the word "topsyturvy
opia." The case baffles explanation. "
Mary Terry, 7-year-old daughter of a
Portuguese rancher in the southern part
of the state, was born with some defect
ot the optical structure, which causes
her to see everything reversed, precisely as
mortals with normal vision seo things in
a mirror. Little attention was paid to
her peculiarity until she went to school.
Though marvelouely bright mentally, she
could not make much progress, and her
teacher was In despair. She learned to
read with reasonable ease, but when It
came to writing the trouble became most
prominent She persisted in writing all
the characters not only hlndforemost,
but upside down. For a long time tho
teacher could make nothing out of her
scribbling, but by accident she looked
through tho sheet of paper on which Mary
had been writing and then the letters
appeared in proper order and quite legi
ble. Fruitless efforte have been made to
correct her strango defect, and tho child
continues to seo the world topsy-turvy.
PLEASANTRIES OF PAKAGRAPHER9
He Tes, dearest I have loved before we met;
but let us not dig up the past. She Oh, all
right then; if you don't want to dig up tha
past why, let's not dig up the future, either.
Life.
Ancestral Mrs. TJpperton Ah! Is it yoursrlf
or your wife who is descended from King Al
fred? Mr. Commonstalk Neither one of us. It
is our daughter Henrietta and our son Percy.
-Puck. ' rf' &
Didn't Know It by That Name. "Didn't you
find the tipping nuisance particularly exasper
ating?" some one asked "Uncle Jerry, who had
Just returned from bis first visit to a fashion
able watering-place. "The- tipping nuisancer'
he said. "Oh, yes, there was always some
Wot who wanted to rock the boat" Chlcaga
Tribune.
Ostracism. The Ordinary Society "Woman met
the Trust Magnate's Wife at the threshold.
"Backl" cried the Ordinary Society Woman.
T did not invite you! I am ostracising youl"
The Trust Magnate's Wife drew a document
from her bosom. T have here," she said, ."a
mandamus from the Federal Court directing
jou to cease ostracising me, on the ground
that in ostracizing me you interfere with in
terstate commerce." Thus again had Law
operated to fortify Wealth in the bastions of.
Privilege. Detroit Journal.
Logic "Here," Bald little Arthur's father,
"you've made a blunder in this picture. Tour
flrures are well drawn, but you have made a
horse with wings to represent Time. That
Isn't right. The horse with wings is Pegasus,
the steed on which the poet is supposed to
ride. Time should be represented by an old
man with a scythe." "Well." the boy replied,
"peoplo often say Time flies, don't they 7"
"Yes." "And then there's something about
'taking time by the forelock, isn't there? It
time isn't a horse with wings how can it fly
and be taken by the forelock?" Chicago Times
Herald. i - t "
Unanswerable.
Washington Star.
Why is it that the wandering fly.
Who might bo happy In the gleam
Of Summer sun. prefers to die T
And thereby spoil the breakfast cream?
Why does the hateful sparrow thrle
While song birds into silence sink?
Why does the paste brush still contrive
Somehow to get into the Ink?
Why does It rain each holiday.
And shine throughout the toilsome week.
Why does the freckle find its way
Unerring to the fairest cheek?
Why do the weeds displace the flowers?
Why does a discord drown the sons?
In short, upon this world of curs.
Oh, why does everything go wrong?
A Kind Word for Money.
Washington Star.
They say that money is the caus
Of everything that's naughty.
Tet money merits some applause.
Oh, moralist, so haughty.
The man who elevates tho race
Or makes the world more sunny, '
Toils on, in nearly every case.
Because he needs tho money.
3