Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, June 11, 1900, Page 4, Image 4

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THE MOItOTNG OBEGOIJIAN, 5E0XDAY, JUNE 11, 1900.
hs regomcxt
X the Postofflce at Portland. Oregon, as
second-class matter.
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News or discussion Intended for publication In
The Oregonlan should be addressed Invariably
"Editor The Oregonlan." not to the name of
any Individual Letters relating to advertising.
subscriptions or to any business matter should
be addressed simply "The Oregonlan
The Oregonlan does not buy poems or stories
from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re
turn any manuscripts sent to It without solicita
tion. No stamps should be inclosed for this pur
pose. Paget Sound Bureau Captain A- Thompson,
office at 1111 Pacific avenue, Tacoma- Box 855,
Tacoma Postofflce.
Eastern Business Office The Tribune building,
Uew York city; "The Rookery." Chicago; the
IK. C Beck with special agency, New York.
' For sale in an Francisco by J. K. Cooper. 4B
I ''Market street, near the Palace hotel, and at
Goldsmith Bros.. 236 Sutter street.
Tor sale in Chicago by the P. O. News Co.,
SIT Dearborn street.
TODAY'S "WEATHER Fair and cooler;
"westerly -winds.
PORTI.AXD, MONDAY, JUNE 11, lOOO
.The Alaska Mexican Gold Mining
KJoVapany, opposite Juneau, saved last
year, from 1C6.054 tons of ore mined
and milled $231,841, or 51 40 per ton
In the mill. Concentrates sulphu
rets amounting to S053 tons -were
saved and treated, yielding $115,574,
"being $37 8S per ton of sulphurets,
or 69 cents per ton of ore milled.
Total returns from the ore were $347,
415, or $2 09 per ton. Large Eastern
Oregon mines, like the Golconda, put
out as waste ore of higher value than
the average of the rock treated by the
Alaska company last year. "When our
Eastern Oregon mines are equipped
wHh proper machinery we shall make
a showing In production that will as
tonish the mining world. "With the
utilization of the by-products will dis
appear the bitter jest that to find an
Oregon mine all that Is necessary Is to
follow a creek as far as you see tail
ings along the bank.
Criticism of President McKInley,
whether of clerical or lay origin, for
not having abolished the army canteen
is utterly unfounded. The President is
bound to follow the opinion of his chief
law officer. When Attorney-General
Griggs decided that the law did not
exclude the canteen, there was nothing
for the President to do but to act on
that view of the law or obtain a new
Attorney-General.
"The question of Iron ore supplies is
becoming an important one in several
European countries." says the Mining
and Engineering Journal, "and the
mines of Spain. Sweden, Greece and Al
geria are being drawn upon heavily to
supply the British and German blast
furnaces. In Great Britain especially
this matter of the Iron ore supply Is
causing much discussion. Germany
has still large supplies at home, and
the Imports are of less Importance. In
I the United States we shall not need
outside supplies for many years." The
i Pacific States have large and valuable
deposits of Iron ore, but no development
of them Is possible, because of the
trusts. Any attempt to mine the raw
I ore for shipment or for conversion Into
manufactured products would Invite
the crushing competition of Carnegie,
ithe Federal Steel Company, and the
I American Steel & Wire Company. So
I long as the trusts control the iron and
Bteel Industry, the Great Lakes country
will be their source of Iron ore supply,
and the deposits of the Pacific Coast
will not be worked for any purpose, not
even to meet shortages In Europe.
A contemporary complains of the
"dearth of Vice-Presidential possibili
ties." But there is an ovemroduction
In Vice-Presidential impossibilities.
Once Friday was hangman's day.
Now it Is prizefighter's day. Poor Fri
day. With the exception of Paardeburg,
for which General Kitchener was re
sponsible, a fight in which more men
were lost in a single day than any other
during the war, no bloody assault has
taken place under General Roberts' di-
i rectlon. Since Paardeburg and General
Cronje's capture no Boer force has
i made a serious -vsiand, because the
kBoers are not a disciplined army, and
the flanking tactics of Lord Roberts
have demoralized troops under no dls-
clpline confronted with the spectacle
i of the ease w 1th which a superior force
, can surround an inferior force.
A current news item from St. Louis
has this startling paragraph:
A mob of furious -women and boys tonlcht
beat and denuded Lena Kaenter, a young
I woman who makes her living by peddling
lunches among the cmploes of the California
avenue street-cir line. When the mob had
etrlpped her to the -waist, one woman daubed
her with green paint, while two others held
her. The Jeering bojs and women of the
mob applauded the outrage, and threw mud.
Two shop girls were attacked by the same
xaob an hour later, and they were partly de
nuded before they escaped.
St. Louis is the city that asked for
and got from Congress a large appro
priation for a world's exposition de
signed to show the progress, enlighten
ment and culture of the Mississippi
Valley. It would appear that the world
Is also In need of a few lessons In the
science of government, and its orderly
and peaceful administration, from this
great Missouri center of the arts and
industries.
McKInley forgets that the constltu-
lon and the laws concentrate the power
f executive appointment In one Pres
ident, and do not distribute it among
ninety Senators.
The losses of the English at the hands
3f the Boers, armed with Improved
lagazinc rifles, are small compared
with the losses of the Union army dur-
ling the Civil War. The loss of the
British has been not to exceed ten per
it, while Battery B of the Fourth
United States Artillery lost forty per
sent killed and wounded at Antietam
id thirty-three per cent at Gettys-
inrg. Within a period of eleven months,
inSerage strength of one hun-
hree present, it lost In five
ktrunty-one killed and eighty-
P?led. -while out of a total of
Ud.7 It had forty killed and 118
l At Chancellorsville Battery
me regiment lost forty-five
per cent killed and wounded, while at
Chickamauga, H and I each lost thirty
two per cent, H of the Fifth Artillery
losing thirty-one per cent in this last
battle. At Olustee, E of the Third Ar
tillery lost thirty-three per cent. Four
times in the Civil War the enemy got
among the guns of Battery B of the
Fourth Artillery, yet it never lost a
gun or a caisson.
GOVERNMENT COFFEE PROMOTION.
The Government of the United States
has gone Into the business of boosting
coffee at the expense of tea. This It
does through levy of ten cents a pound
on tea and admission of coffee free.
The excuse for the tax on tea is the
need of revenue, but nobody has yet
explained why the need of revenue dis
appears as soon as we strike coffee, es
pecially as ten times as much coffee as
tea is used in the United States. The
only explanation of the discrimination
ever made was that when the sugar
trust was enacting the war tariff. It
wanted free coffee as an aid in its fight
with the Arbuckles. This assertlan we
have, never seen denied, nor has any
one denied the further assertion, fre
quently made in these columns, that
Increased taxation of everything that
comes from Asia to our Pacific ports Is
In the interest of Atlantic Coast trad
ers and the Canadian Pacific Railroad,
the most influential slngje lobby main
tained at Washington.
Consumption of coffee In the United
States is advancing by leaps and
bounds, but consumption of tea is less
than at any previous time In the long
period since 18B8. Not a single year in
all those thirty-two years, with their
hard times and panics, has seen a lower
per capita tax of "the cup that cheers"
than now prevails. All this time coffee
has been gaining in figures of consump
tion, gross and per capita.
This would be explained without ref
erence to tariff taxation, were It not
for the fact that consumption of tea
was on the increase until the tax was
laid. Here are the figures ot imports:
Coffee. Tea.
1804 550,000.000 03.000.000
1835 C52.OO0.O0O 37.000.000
183 737.000.000 113.000,000
18U0 831.000.000 74.000.000
(The figures of 1833, the year the tax was
laid, are valueless.)
Observe that while we Imported 94,
000,000 pounds more coffee In 1899 than
in 1S97, we Imported 39,000.000 pounds
less tea. In 1897 our per capita con
sumption of tea was 1.55 pounds; In
1899 It was only .96 pounds. But our
per capita consumption of coffee rose
from 9.95 pounds in 1897 to 10.55 pounds
In 1899. It might be said that coffee
suits the National palate better than
tea as time goes on. This is practically
disposed of by the Increase in per cap
ita consumption of tea before the tax
was laid. Our average for ten years
before 1897 being 1.35 and the per capita
for that year being 1.55, greater than
for any previous year in our history.
But if It were true that we use more
coffee because we like it better than
tea, the fact would demonstrate the
error of the discrimination between the
two. A tax of ten cents a pound on
coffee would yield the Government
$S0,000,000 a year, instead of the paltry
$8,000,000 or so we shall collect this year
on tea.
Another thing. Despite this general
decline, there are branches of the tea
trade that are Increasing. The Pacific
trade Is less, and enough less to reduce
the total in spite of the fact that the
shipment of tea hither across the At
lantic is increasing. Compare the first
ten months of" this year with those of
last, and we find that our Imports from
the United Kingdom are 2,144,000
pounds, instead of 1,331,000; from Brit
ish North America (the Canadian Pa
cific's graft at Washington), 1,229,000,
Instead of 949,000. But In 1897 we Im
ported from China 51,000,000 pounds of
tea in these same ten months, and now
we import 39,000,000. The effect of the
duty on tea, rice and matting, and the
Increased duties on silks, is to drive
trade with Asia to Europe, so that we
buy our Asiatic supplies in England.
The fact Is that free trade in tea,
rice, silks and matting would be a good
thing for the Pacific Coast. It is Just
as Impossible at the hands of Congress,
therefore, as the Nicaragua Canal is,
or withdrawal of aid to the Canadian
Pacific, or a fair chance to sell goods In
Manila.
GENERALSHIP LARGELY A GIFT.
The Chicago Times-Herald says that
a recently published table shows West
Point's great, soldiers not to have been
its best students. "Sherman was by
no means a star, Thomas, Schofield and
Sheridan and some others of note had
a hard time to pull through the semi
annual examinations or were obliged
to be content with a standing which
gave them more leaders than followers
in their classes. Stonewall Jackson
was considered little better than a dul
lard at his books. Pickett was at the
foot of his class Custer was also last
man in the procession of his class," etc
This table was clearly carelessly pre
pared, for Sherman was No. G In his
class, Thomas No. 12, Schofield No. 7,
while Stonewall Jackson ranked 17 in
a class of 38 members, which no dullard
could have done, and was, like Grant,
an excellent mathematician.
On the other hand. General Isaac L
Stevens was No. 1, General Franklin
was No. 1, General Warren stood No. 2,
General McPherson No. 1, General R,
S. McKenzie No. 1, General Rosecrans
No. L General Newton No. 1, General
Fitzjohn Porter No. 8, General Hancock
No. IS, General Slocum No. 7, General
Howard No. 4, General Stanley No. 0,
General Sill No. 3, General Lyon No.
11 in a class of 52 members. General
Ewell No. 13, A. P. Hill No. 15, General
Getty 15.
As a rule, the man who rose to dis
tinction obtained a good standing at
West Point. The exceptions are Long
street, Heth, David A. Russell, Crook
and Hood. These exceptions to the rule
at West Point only illustrate that in
the schools of war as In the schools of
peace it Is the power to apply rather
than the mere power to memorize
knowledge that makes an efficient man
of the world. Superior military schol
arship is no more assurance of success
In the application of the art of war to
the sudden emergencies of the cam
paign and the battlefield than superior
legal scholarship at a law school Is an
assurance of success in the courts, or
than great scholarship at a theological
seminary Is assurance of future power
in the pulpit. Grant If you please that
some of the ablest generals of our Civil
War were not among the scholars of
the first rank at West Point, It does
not prove that fine military scholarship
is not worthy of attainment by a man
who would become a General. It only
proves that outdoor executive energy,
pugnacity and moral courage are es
sential to a General as well as exact
knowledge of the scientific principles
of strategy and grand tactics.
The scholarly temperament Is some
times too cautious, contemplative and
reflective when it needs to he aggres
sive and audacious in action. It reflects
so much that it becomes self-distrustful
and hesitates when It should strike
both swiftly and surely. Grant was the
best General for the battlefield because
he trusted to his power to meet emer
gencies when they arose. If troubles
came in battalions he trusted to his
nerve and his courage to meet them;
but he never relaxed his grip on his
own original purpose until the enemy
forced him to break It and obtain a
fresh hold.
Success in war, as In business. In pol
itics and the professions, is not assured
by great knowledge of books alone, or
even pure intellectual power. There Is
a native temperamental quality neces
sary, which Includes Judgment, push,
enterprise, and prompt decision at the
golden moment, the absence of which
no knowledge of books and. no mere
power of pure thought will supply. If
a fine military scholar lack this quality
he will not .make a great General. A
man of less military scholarship, who
has this temperamental quality, will
worst him In action.
CUSTOMER AND C03IPETTTOR.
Completion of the Trans-Siberian
Railroad to Port Arthur three years
hence will put an extensive region,
heretofore almost totally unknown, into
competition with cereal-producing
countries. At a conference at Lyons,
Franqe, in April, on the resources of
Siberia, Emile du Marals. a civil en
gineer who has passed many years In
Russia, quoted figures that give an
idea of the station Siberia is likely to
take In the industrial world. He said
that 200,000 farmers settle In the coun
try annually, the Russian Government
providing them with free transporta
tion and giving each family the free
use of 37 acres of land for a stated
time. Siberia's population now is 8,000,
000, but on the basis of the population
of Russia In Europe, the country Is
capable of sustaining 80,000,000 people.
The, annual production of cereals is
2.000,000 metric tons, COO.OOO to 00.000
of which are exported. The country
can produce 10,000,000 tons a year, from
4,000,000 to 5,000,000 tons of which are
subject to exportation. Siberia now ex
ports butter to Denmark, and It Is es
timated that she can export annually
$15,500,000 worth of butter, wool, leath
er, dried and preserved meats. Fish
and tallow may figure conspicuously In
her exports In the near future. The
immense coal deposits have hardly
been touched. One mine, with six beds,
is believed to contain as much coal as
all the deposits in England.
The opening of Siberia will bring the
world's two greatest producing regions
into competition with each other for
the trade of the consurring millions of
China, Japan and Oceanlca. On the
one side we shall have Russia's granary
Siberia and on the other America's
the country west of the Rocky Moun
tainswith the Pacific Ocean between.
In the matter of exports there Is rather
a striking analog' between these two
widely separated regions. Our princi
pal commodities for foreign shipment
are lumber, coal, cereals, leather, fish,
dairy products and meats. In all of
these, with the possible exception of
lumber, Siberia seems likely to become
our competitor, and she is already mov
ing in the direction of forest preserva
tion, destruction having caused a scar
city of fur-bearing animals. Western
America and Siberia are granaries. Si
beria Is not a manufacturer and neither
Is this coast. In the large sense. East
ern competition favored by transconti
nental rate discrimination forces profits
to too low a plane to admit, with the
present limited population, of extensive
development here. But Siberia's entry
Into the world's business may result
In a readjustment of conditions. When
the Trans-Siberian Railroad reaches
Port Arthur, Moscow will be only thir
teen or fourteen days' distant from
Pekln, compared with our long ocean
voyage from the Pacific Coast to China
and the still longer trip from the At
lantic seaboard by way of Cape Horn
or the Suez Canal. Reduction of time
from the manufacturing centers of Eu
rope to China on the Trans-Siberian
Railroad ought to open the eyes of
American manufacturers to the ad
vantage of establishing factories on the
Pacific Coast and thus reduce the cost
of manufacturing and time and cost of
handling finished products made for
Asiatic use.
The coming together of Siberia and
Western America in a contest for trade
forms an analogy of Industry and an
anomaly of race. The one represents
the Slav; behind the other is the Anglo-Saxon
Impulse. The struggle, so
long continued on the European side
of the Atlantic, is about to be trans
ferred to the Asiatic side of the Pacific,
by the "building of a railroad, from an
economical and political standpoint tha
greatest feat of the century.
The land or boundary dispute al
ways in progress at some point on the
frontier bore Its usual fruitage a few
days ago in Gilliam County, one ranch
er shooting another with fatal results
over the contested ownership of a field
and Its crop of grain. Since there does
not seem to be any way to settle dis
putes of this kind, except through the
regeneration of human nature or the
rancher's shotgun, the latter means will
no doubt continue to be applied in ex
treme cases of provocation. Even at a
distance one can feel the bitterness of
a dispute Involving what each party
thereto considers his Just and inalien
able right to the fame piece of land.
Of course, the pulling of the gun un
der the circumstances Is not excusable,
but numerous examples have proved
that It Is the natural outcome of a dis
pute carried on with the exasperating
accompaniments of throwing down
fences, letting stock in on growing
grain, etc The actors in this rural
drama are usually about equally enti
tled to sympathy or censure, even af
ter it ends in a tragedy, since the out
come Is usually determined by the ac
cident of being the "first to draw."
It is a subject for public regret that
Congress adjourned without passing the
army reorganization bill passed by the
Senate. The House committee pigeon
holed the bill by refusing to report,
either favorably or adversely, the Sen
ate bill. There was great need for the
passage of the Senate bill, which was
a very modest measure. Congress has
made provision for the mounting of 940
modern guns on our coast fortifications,
and about 500 of these guns are already
In place. There Is not now a sufficient
number of men in the artillery corps to
take care of the guns already mounted.
There are not men enough to afford a
relief for each gun now In fortifications.
Only skilled and experienced men can
make effective use of these guns, which
are enormously expensive, with ma-
j chlnery for handling them and the am
munition, and these guns require con
stant attendance to keep them from
rusting and deteriorating. The Senate
bill provided for an addition of 5000
men to the artillery, a force only suf
ficient to take care of these guns. Mr.
Cockrell, the .Democratic economist of
the Senate, favored this increase in the
artillery as absolutely necessary and
as in the direction of a small standing
army, because If the coasts are well de
fended a large standing army Is not
needed. The bill passed the Senate
without division, but the House com
mittee refused to report it. The only
other important provision in the bill Is
that providing for an Interchangeable
staff for the army, such as the navy
now has.
The Socialists of the Italian Chamber
of Deputies in their late attempt to
override parliamentary rule seem to
have taken their cue from Vienna,
where last year they created an uproar
In Parliament that echoed all over Eu
rope. Beating their desks, shouting,
singing in chorus a revolutionary work-"
lngman's hymn, they effectually
drowned the voice of the President and
stopped all proceedings. The senseless
ness of this sort of thing is even more
apparent than its arbitrariness. The
new Parliament that will assemble on
the 16th inst. stands the same chance
of being shouted down. Taken in con
Junction with the fact that the govern
ment is utterly Incompetent to meet
the social and financial crisis with
which the country is face to face, the
"Italian question" may well be regard
ed as a serious exhibit in the decadence
of parliamentary rule In Europe.
No reasonable taxpayer can find fault
on the score of economy with the man
agement of the County Poor Farm for
May. With 107 Inmates to feed and
otherwise provide for, the superintend
ent's expense account for the month
amounts to $1097, a per capita expense
per day of 29.7 cents. To all appear
ance there are no more employes at
this institution than are needed to car
ry on Its work, and certainly the sala
ries paid are reasonable, the whole ag
gregating but $391 a month. It is fair
to presume that the food furnished to
Inmates is abundant and wholesome,
that the care given Is sufficient, and
that they are kindly treated, since no
complaints have lately reached the
sympathetic ear of the public from peo
ple who are proverbially tenacious of
their rights and loud in their demand
for considerate treatment as "guests of
the county."
Whether viewed as a monument to
Ignorance or a display of obduracy that
is utterly deaf and blind to the fact
that the world moves, the revolt in
China makes a presentment of the gov
ernment and people of that country
that will go far to Justify the rapacity
of the nations that are evidently plot
ting the dismemberment and partition
of the empire. The revolt is an anti
foreign movement, the wild inception of
which has found fruitage In murder of
missionaries, destruction of railroads
and other property, and menace to the
lives of all foreign residents. The na
tions of the Old World will probably
find In this internecine strife in China
the opportunity to atep in and in the
name of progress and human rights
settle the Chinese question in accord
ance with their desires.
The first National Convention of the
Republican party was held In Phila
delphia June 17, 1856. The survivors of
the 555 delegates are to be invited to
attend as honored guests. In 1872 the
Republicans held their convention in
Philadelphia with 677 delegates,, when
Grant was renominated for President
without opposition. The Republican
National Convention which meets in
Philadelphia June 19 will not probably
extend its deliberations beyond two
days.
There are only a few of the founders
of the Republican party left. So far as
can be ascertained, but fourteen dele
gates to the Philadelphia convention of
1856 survive, and they are to occupy a
place of honor at Philadelphia. Why is
Bryan not Invited? He has- repeatedly
Informed an interested public that he
Is now the only surviving advocate of
original Republican doctrine.
The Republican party in 185S cast a
popular vote of 1,341,264 and 114 elec
toral votes for Fremont, while In 1896
It cast a popular vote of 7,104,779 and 271
electoral votes for McKInley.
If the St. Loujs car strike were to
spread across Missouri to Kansas City,
we could expect some mighty Interest
ing reading in the second Chicago plat
form, adopted four years after.
When prices fall, says Mr. Bryan, we
have a rising dollar. When prices rise,
that's due to the trusts. Consistency,
however. In advocacy of Bryanism
would be a damning fault.
Colorado also has a great Democratic
politician named Tom Maloney. So the
Olympla statesman of that name Is not
unique, solitary, grand. He has hap
pened twice.
Grover Cleveland denies all interest
In National affairs. He lives In New
Jersey.
Only Oae Flagr NoV.
Atlanta Constitution.
We regret that any difference of senti
ment should have sprung up in the ranks
of the Sons of Confederate Veterans at
Louisville in regard to carrying the Stars
and Stripes along with the stars and "bars
at the .head of the division in Friday's
parade. If the veterans themselves who
bore the flery brunt of battle through four
long years of sacrifice could so far forget
the asperities of former conflicts as to
mingle the colors of both flags above
them, similar feelings ought surely to have
characterized the action of the sons.
When the war between the suites ended
some 35 years ago the Confederate sol
dier presented the spectacle of gracefully
returning to his old allegiance under th
Stars and Stripes. He left the Union to
flght for what he conceived to tie the right
ful Interpretation of the Constitution, and
when he failed to establish this conten
tion he accepted the -situation In good
faith and promptly reaffirmed his devotion
to the country's flag, realising that it
mean as much to him as It did to any one
else, and that Its folds were Broad enough
to cover North and South alike. If such
was the spirit which animated the Con
federate soldier on returning to the Union
33 years ago, there Is certainly no occa
sion for the exhibition of any other spirit
at t.s time, when the once divided sec
tions have In recent years been still more
closely knit together by common sacrifices
and common achievements upon the field
ot battle. We commend to the Sons of
Veterans the conduct of the veteran
themselves, and we would further Impress
upon them this fact, that If the Con
federate soldier Is their Ideal In war he
should also be their Ideal in peace. Let
us honor the flag under which our fathers
marched to battle in the '60s and let us
treasure the memories of. heroism which
have come down to us from the past, but
let us also remember that we live under
the Stars and Stripes, which Is hence
forth and forevermore the flag of the
whole American people.
FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICA.
Not aa Inviting Field fdr Peraianeat
Coloalal Movement.
New York Mall and Express.
It is not certain that South Africa will
fulfill the high expectations for its future
under which Briton and Boer have taken
up arms, or will Justify their extraordi
nary efforts to become masters of It. The
region represents certain very definite if
temporary possibilities of enrichment, but
there are no convincing grounds for sup
posing that it will be the field of a perma
nent colonial movement, that it will ever
support a considerable population or that
It will continue an empire factor of great
importance.
The reason is that South Africa Is de
pendent for Its present position solely on
its diamond and gold mines, and that the
latter, at least, have a fairly definite term
about 50 years-nset to their existence.
Barring their mineral riches, the Dutch
settlements of the hinterland are among
the leanest countries of the world. They
cannot compare In natural advantages
with the Argentine Republic or the colony
of Queensland, in the same latitude of the
south temperate zone. South Africa has
never had a large population, chiefly be
cause it could not support It. It was
found but sparsely inhabited by the
blacks, who could solve the struggle for
existence on Its rainless wastes only by
keeping down their numbers through war.
The Portuguese passed by without pop
ping, and the Dutch did not settle the
Cape until they had made unavailing ef
forts to get a lodgment In Mozambique.
They made their trek Into the barren In
terior for racial reasons and against the
protests of the wilderness.
South Africa presents the strange spec
tacle of an agricultural country that can
not support its own scanty population,
.but has to buy its meal, potatoes and tim
ber abroad. In the Orange River State
one square mile In a hundred Is under
cultivation, in Natal one square mile In
130. In Cape Colony one square mile In
200, and In the Transvaal one juare mile
In 1500. The area of cultivated land In
the entire Transvaal, according to the
latest obtainable figures. Is no greater
than the area of Brooklyn Borough, no
greater than the area of single wheat
farms In the Northwest.
A territory which In Europe supports a
population of 100,000,000 falls In Africa to
feed a white population of 2.000,000. The
unfortunate geographical configuration of
South Africa, with no navigable rivers,
with a coast line devoid of habors and
Indentations, and with northern frontiers
open to the plagues and droughts of the
tropics, has stamped It. perhaps forever.
It Is feared, as the region of locusts and
hot winds and fever and rinderpest, whose
only lasting white inhabitant may be the
solitary Boer farmer, rifle In hand, fend
ing his flOCks On tha Innplv rnnn-oa Ti.a.Vi.
ing the marauding Kafflr. or. with patient
toll, leading thin streams of water into
his arid) fields.
Some time the gold-seeker may And the
precious metal growing scarce and he will
leave this Inhospitable land as he Is leav
ing Nevada, as he has abandoned a hun
dred once populous districts. The Boer
was there before him. He will be there
after him unless he wanders from a soil
no longer his own.
Practical Uses of Llqald Air.
Baltimore Sun.
J&? I :?eeUnS oi tho Franklin In
stitute, of Philadelphia. Professc- Raoul
Flctet, of Switzerland, discussed the applt.
cations of liquid air to practice pur
poses. It was shown- that with a $25,000
plant, using a 600 horse-power steam en
gine and having expenses of $74 a day,
there would be a dally output of products
worth $1950, as follows: Three thousand
pounds carbonic acid, at 7 cente a pound,
worth $210; 3.550.000 cubic feet of oxyren'
worth $1000; 5.300.06C cubic feet of nitrogen,
worth $750. As a direct source of power
or as a refrigerating agent, liquid air, it
was positively declared, could have no
practical value. The Philadelphia Manu
facturer, which reports M. Plctet's ad
dress, relates that a liquid air engino waa
shown in operation. It produced one-na!f
horse-power for five minutes with for.r
gallons of liquid air, but each gallon of
the, liquid required four horse-power for
its production.
. The carbonic aold produced by the
$25,000 plant would find ready sale for car
bonatlng waters and for certain forms of
power generation. The demand exceeds
supply. The oxygen separated from the ni
trogen of the air by the supposed plant
would bring at present prices 10 cents a
cublo foot, but could be sold profitably
for 1 cent a cubic yard. At the lower
price it could be used for Intensifying the
heat of furnaces, for making an oxyhy
drogen flame suitable for welding and for
producing light, for ventilation, for burn
ing smoke and for bleaching. The ni
trogen would be in demand, for making
the cyanides used in treating gold ores,
for tho manufacture of nitric acid and
other acids and for Isolating heated bodies
that must not be oxidized. It would be
used also In preserving butter, fruits and
other organic substances that spoil In the
presence of the oxygen contained In the
air. At present the costliness of oxygen
and nitrogen restricto their industrial use,
but when once cheapened by manufac
ture on a large scale these gases would
And numerous applications.
Alfred Austin's Poem.
Following is tha full text of Alfred Austin's
Kafeklng poem:
MAFEKING.
Oct. 15. 1800 May 10, 1900.
Once again, banners, fly!
Clan? again, bells, on high.
Sounding to sea ana sky
Longer and louder
Mafeking's glory with
Klmberley, Ladysmlth.
Of our unconquered kith
Prouder and prouder.
Hemmed In for half a year.
Still with no succor near,
Nor word of hope to cheer ,
"Wounded and dying:.
Fevered, and foiled of sleep
By the fierce cannon's leap.
They still, still vowed to keep
England's flag flying. a
Nor was their mettle shown
By male and strong alone.
But. as Intrepid grown,
Fragile and tender,
"Without tear or sigh
Echoed the brave old cry,
"We. too, would rather die ,
Die than surrender."
As pressed the foe more near.
Only with naked spear.
Ne'er knowing what to fear.
Parley, or blench meant.
Forward through shot and shell,
"While still the foremost fell.
They with resistless yell
Stormed his lntrcnchment.
Then, when hope dawned at last.
And fled the foe, aghast
At the relieving blast
Heard In the melly
Oh, our stout, stubborn kith!
Klmberley, Ladysmlth,
Mafeklng. wedded with
Lucknow and Delhi!
Bound for them martial lay!
Crown them with battle-bay.
Both those who died, and they
'Gainst death could wrestle.
Powell of endless fame.
All. all with equal claim.
And, of the storied name.
Gallant young Cecil!
Long as the waves shall roll.
Long as Fame guards her scroll.
And men through heart "and sou!
Thrill to true glory.
Their deed, from age to age.
Shall voice and verse engage,
Swelling the splendid page
Of England's story!
Alfred Austin. Llaavlhangel Court, Aber
gavenny, May IS.
GOSSIP OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
WASHINGTON, June 5. The Bartlett
Tripp Vice-Presidentialboomscarcelymade
a ripple on the political waters In the
East. Occasionally something wousd be
said about It, but It was generally hit so
hard on the head immediately by the itc
publican leaders that it got little or no
show. The general impression was that
it waa put forward for the purpose of
placating certain Gold Democrats in va
rious states, who were inclined to return-1
to the Democratic party.
Bartlett Tripp is a man of excellent
character, who, as Minister to Austria,
did the honors very nicely, but accom
plished nothing, because there was noth
ing to accomplish. As Judge of the Da
kota Territorial Court years ago, he was
quite a success as a lawyer. He was also
successful as a Commissioner to Samoa.
But this was not sufficient to entitle him
to the horror of second place lrt the Na
tion on the Republican ticket, according
to views of Republicans In the East.
More than this, the examples of the
past have been such as to teach parties
not to select men ot the opposite faith for
the Vice-Preeidontlal candidates. It is
only the students of "United States history
that realize the mistake the "Whig party
made In 1S-S0 when it nominated John Tyler
as the Vice-Presidential candidate on the
ticket with Harrison. Harrison's popu
larity carried the Whig party, Tyler serv
ing the entire Presidential term aave a
month.
Tho latest and moat unfortunate exam
ple wo have, occurring in tho memory ot
men now riving, was the selection of An
drew Johnson, a former Southern Demo
crat and a Union man, for Vice-President
on the ticket with Lincoln. Lincoln's as
sassination gave Johnson the Presiden
cy, and a vicious reconstruction policy,
together with a meet unseemly wrangle,
followed. The attempt of Congress fo ab
solutely rule the Nation through a two
thirds vote over the vetos of the President
and without regard to the wish of the
President Is one of the dark spots In
American history. A man In harmony
with his party on general principles,
such as Hannibal Hamlin, had he been
renominated, would have avoided the scan
dal between 1SC5 and 1S69.
"While Judge Tripp Is a very accom
plished gentleman, he is scarcely known
throughout the United States, much less
known than any of the other men who
have been mentioned for the place. You
cannot take a man from the prairies of
Dakota, make him Minister abroad and
6end him on a commission to the Pacific
Islands, and create out of him a popular
character. The country wants a man
that has had more experience In public
affairs than that. It may be said that
Hobart was as little known as Tripp is
now. but that could scarcely be true, be
cause Hobart had attended every Repub
lican National Convention for 20 years,
had been a member of the National Com
mittee for 16 years, and was well known
by nearly all of the politicians of his
party. Not only that, he wa? a man of
large ami extensive business affairs, which
gave him a standing In the business
world. No comparison can be made be
tween Hobart and Tripp on the subject of
availability. If the "Western States per
sst In nushlror TrlDD's candidacy and
'vote for him. they may create a ripple of
interest in the Republican convention, nut
it would be better for them to make up
their minds to cast their votes where they
would mean eomething,ratheT than throw
them- away.
Money for Navies.
In spito of the fact that there is always
a howl because Congress makes large ap
propriations for Its Navy, It is yet very
true that when these sums are compared
with the appropriations made by other
prominent countries ot the world, espe
cially countries which take a pride in
their navies, the appropriations by Con
gress are very small. As a general thing,
a war has much Influence upon the Navy
of a contesting country, and, as a result
of the conflict, steps are generally taken
to enlarge the navy or army, or both.
This has been especially true of Germany
and England, and even Japan, after Its
conflict with China, has set to work, and
now has a navy building that Is said
will equal If not excel that of the United
States. Spain Is a notable exception to
this rule, and It would not be surprising,
after her recent experience, if she aban
doned the Idea of a navy, and contented
herself with what vessels were left her
by our fleets.
In the matter of a complete naval equip
ment, no nation can compare with Great
Britain, and yet Britain continues to en
large and Improve her navy every year,
and Is making advances out of all pro
portion to other nations. Germany Is also
very progressive, and Intends In the next
15 years to double her present navy. The
expenditures of these nations on their
navies speak for themselves. England
spends annuaHy nearly $120,000,000 on her
navy, Russia and German spend each
about $50,000,000, and while It is probably
true that warships can be constructed
cheaper in the United States than in
these countries, yet the expenditures of
the United States are not at all In keep
ing with those of the European powers.
So while the United States is balking at
the price of armor-plate, these other na
tions are paying their price and continu
ally adding to their navies.
At best, it must be admitted that for
a country of Its size and capabilities, the
United States has been niggardly In Its
provisions for an adequate and befitting
navy. It is true that an efficient and
well-equipped navy costs a good round
sum, but where other nations that are
not usually considered equa'e of the Un'ted
States can afford Immense and powerful
sea forces, It is to be regretted that our
Congress should so hesitate at making
adequate appropriations in order to give
the United States its proper standing
among the fighting powers of the earth.
Blent Home For Sale.
New York Commercial Advertiser.
Lovers of Dickens should be Interested
to learn that the famous Bleak House,
Broadstalrs, is for sale, the price aeketi
being $15,000. So far, no purchaser has
come forward, the reason, alleged for this
being that the house is in a bad state ol
repair, and would require a considerable
sum to make it habitable. Failing a pri
vate purchaser, it is suggested that the
house should be acquired as a Dickens me
modal and museum.
Some Truths In Homeipu.
J. W. Foley. Jr., in Bismarck Tribune.
Be wise and envy not the man
Attired however spick and span.
True greatness empty fripperies but scorns,
Silk hats may sen e alone to dress
A noddle full of emptiness.
And patent leathers hide a wealth of corns.
No garments, fine they be, yet can
Make lady or make gentleman;
No garb, how poor it be. can ever hid
The mark of true nobility.
Nor velvet cloak, but we may see
The boor, once Its rich folds are dropped aside.
No lady yet was made with lace
Or silk; for Nature leaves a trace
That every artifice Is vain to hide.
The lady Is, in calico.
Not less the gentlewoman, though
She had no mark of gentleness beside.
The practiced-oft deception thin
By asses In a. lion's skin
In some unthinking bray with ease we read,
A vulture, be he decked and dressed
"With plumes from any eagle's crest
Betrays, in seeking carrion, his breed.
Count no man your superior,
"Whatever his exterior.
Appearance of truo worth Is not a, rule.
The Jester's cap and Jingling bells
F1I many a gem of wisdom tells.
And wisdom's mortarboard may deck a fool.
A King, by right and nature grown.
Is King without a, crown or throne.
Simplicity but marks his klngllness.
No crown or throne or signet ring.
Can make a knave seem more a King,
The purple only makes him seem tha loss.
The boor, of any style or Ilk,
Is but the greater boor in silk.
The garb but marks the more his boorishness;
No person ever yet that rose
Above himself by help of clothes.
The manner makes the man, and not the dress.
X0TE AND COMMENT.
Portland has 100,000 people. If tyou don't
believe It. count 'em.
Neely says he -wants justice; but he, will
change his mind If he gets it.
A new cigar has been named after ,
Bryan. "Why this effort to make light of
the boy orator?
Now "William "Waldorf Astor is trembling
lest some enterprising census enumera
tor count him among the population of
New York.
Astoria wants to catch her rats. She
might write to Oom Paul, who has' a
Job lot of traps on hand for which he
has no use.
The idea ot a has-been like Jim Corbett -trying
to run for Congress! He can't ex
pect nothing better than Vice-President,
at the very best
Senator Hoar Is writing his memoirs.
In view of the present public estimate of
him, he Is not taking any chances on &
post-mortem biography.
A boy murderer 13 under sentence of
death In Connecticut. "When he com
mitted the crime the boy, Charles E.
Cross, was IS years old, and is now 17.
With Agulnaldo lm the tall timber.
Neely in Jail, Bryan in silence, and Con
gress adjourned there Is no reason why
the march of prosperity should not pro
ceed.
A fact not commented upon In the re
cent political campaign Is that the law
firm of which United States Senator
Joseph Simon Is a member has for one
of its clients Dr. Andrew C. Smith, Senator-elect
on the Citizens ticket. But it
is a fact.
The department of manuscripts of thi
British Museum has purchased a series of
letters of the Duke of "Wellington of great
historical value. A number of them, near
ly 200, were mostly written by "Welling
ton to Marshal Beresford, and nearly all
are dated In 1S10 or 1811.
We pick the comic Journals up
And read on every page.
Seme Joke in which the census maa
Aska women for their age.
Nor do we find It chronicled
In any that we read.
That any tactful questioner
"Was able to succeed.
From which we gather that the- sex,
Is getting on In years.
No blushing maidens have as yet
Been counted. It appears.
For surely, when a girl Is In
The heydey of her youth.
There is no earthly reason why
She should suppress the truth.
Now maidens all. of seventeen
And up to twenty-one.
There must be culte a lot of you
Beaeath the shining sun.
Come, therefore, forth and give your names
In accents clear and bold.
Or else we'll hae to think, forsooth.
That all of you are old.
A discharged soldier, lately returned
from the Philippines, tells a tale of a shirt
which may be new, but perhaps Is adapted.
Some people may not have heard It, how
ever, and It Is too good to be lost. He
says that as his company was returning
from a long and tiresome scouting trip.
In which most of the men had parted wi h
the greater part of their wearing apparel,
he saw on a clothesline in the grounds
of a residence adjoining a blsr stone
church two very good shirts, hunjr ouf-u
to dry. As he had at the time only
half a shirt to his back, and the smaller
half at that; he proceeded to help himself
to a whole one. As he was rolling It
up a woman came out of the house and
said to him in passable English: "You will
pay for that on the judgment day." He
replied: "Madam, if you give such long
credit I will take both shirts," which
he proceeded to do, and the debt he owes
has never troubled him.
Towards the close of the recent cam
paign, Dr. Andrew C. Smith, one of the
Citizens nominees for State Senator, was
visited by a man who is prominently Iden
tified with the Christian Scientists. "Doc
tor," said he, "I am going to ask you a
candid question, and I shall expect a can
did answer."
"I shall endeavor to be as candid as I
can," was the reply.
The visitor went on: "If you are elect
ed State Senator what will be your pol
icy with regard to the Christian Scient
ists? You know we have a way of our
own for treating the sick."
To that question," said Dr. Smith, "I
can give you a prompt and candid an
swer. If It lay in my power I would leg
islate into the penitentiary every person
who prescribes for human Ills and Is not
qualified to do so."
"Yours Is Indeed a candid answer," said
the Christian Scientist as he left the of
fice. ' '
Speaking of the incident yesterday. Dr.
Smith said: "If I were a politician I sup
pose I should have made my caller as
evasive answer, but as I am not I let him
know how I stood."
Dr. Smith will Introduce a bill regulat
ing the practice of medicine and surgery
in Oregon. It will be more stringent than
the present law, and will get the support
of even doctor of high standing in Mult
nomah County. "When Dr. JosephI ran for
Senator in 1S98 to fill the vacancy caused
by the resignation of Joseph Simon, the
doctors of Portland, without regard to
party, supported him to a man. Now that
they have two of the leading physicians
of the country In the Multnomah Sena
torial delegation they will make a deter-
mined effort to get the legislation they
want.
PLEASANTRIES OP PARAGRAPHERS
Scene. On the Quay. Ocean liner's syren fog
horn emitting short, sharp grunts. Little Girl
Oh. mamma, that poor ship must have a
dreadful pain in its cabin! Punch.
Behind the Times. "They say that old Dr.
Doce is losing all his practice." "No wonder.
He hasn't begun to prescribe a trip to the
Paris Exposition." Harper's Bazar.
Evidence. Friend I suppose the baby Is fond
of you? Papa Fond of me? "Why. he sleeps
all day when I'm not at home and stays up
all night Just to enjoy my society! Brooklyn
Life.
Not Binding. "Didn't I promise you a whip
ping if you disobeyed me?" asked his mother.
"Te3; but I'll release you from the promise,
ma." replied Johnny diplomatically. Philadel
phia North American.
Haughty Lady (who has purchased a stamp)
Must I put it on myself? Postoflce Assist
ant (very politely) Not necessarily, ma'am; It
will probably accomplish more if you put it oa
the letter. Tit-Bits.
"Look here." exclaimed the angry man, as
he rushed Into the real estate office. "That lot
T bought from you yesterday Is 30 feet under
water." "Pardon my oversight." apologized
the gentlemanly agent. "We give a diving
suit with each lot. I will send yours to you to
day." Baltimore American.
A Good Character. "Can you give any evi
dence In regard to the character of the de
ceased?" said the Judge. "Yes. my Lord."
replied the witness. "He was a man without
blame, beloved and respected by all men. pure
in all his thoughts, and " "Where did you
learn that?" "I copied It from bis tombstoa
my Lord." Harlem LUs.
)