B
THE MORNING OREGONIAtf, WEDNESDAY, NOYBMBES 28, 1900.
he rsgouxott
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POnTLAXD. 1VI5MM5SDAY. NOV. 28
Tardiness In pupils of the public
schools hits for years been the unpar
donable sin, and has been visited by
the unscheduled and unmitigated wrath
of teachprs and the indignation and
scorn of fellow-pupils, While punctu
ality Is a virtue which cannot be too
strongly commended, it has been evi
dent to parents many times that the
censure visited upon pupils otherwise
well-behaved and conscientious stu
dents has oassed all bounds of justice
and propriety, and might well be
placed upon a more dignified, reason
able and orderly basis. Be this as It
may, it Is clear that what Is Inexcusa
ble in pupilf. should be equally so In
teachers, and perhaps It Is not too much
to hope that the next time a panting,
cowering lit Je girl creeps like a culprit
Into her seat two or five minutes late
she will be allowed to plead a car off
the track or a clock several minutes
slow in extenuation of her grave In
fringement of the rules. Since teachers
ask to be excused and are excused for
tardiness upon such a plea, they should
certainly listen kindly when trembling
childhood voices it, and considerately
allow that circumstances may at times
be beyond the child's control.
The thorough, deliberate and compre
hensive method with which the Taft
Commission is going into the subject of
Philippine tariffs Is pretty good evi
dence that no general act for the gov
ernment of the islands will be passed
at the short session of Congress. One
jrood reason for this is the necessity of
military rather than civil rule there
until order is fully restored, and an
other good reason IS the desirability of
some practical experience in adminis
tration before Congress formally and
finally acts. Permanent trade regula
tions for the Philippines, therefore, will
bo enacted by the Congress that Is
elected in January. This makes of
great Interest and concern to Oregon
the correspondence printed in another
column today between Senator Fora
ker and ex-Senator Corbett. Mr. Cor
bett proposes, if he is elected this "Win
ter, to stand In the Senate for the larg
est possible freedom of trade between
the Philippine Islands and the United
States. It is objected to this that If we
do this, other powers will claim, under
the "most-f avored-nation" clause' of our
commercial treaties with them, the
same equal rights with us accorded to
Spain by the treaty of Paris. Mr. Cor
bett holds this objection invalid, and
toe Is prepared to maintain in the Sen
ate that this concession to Spain was
part of the purchase price of the
Islands, not subject to the "most-favored-nation"
clause of the ordinary
commercial treaty. It is interesting to
6ee that Senator Foraker agrees with
Mr. Corbett on this point. It Is cer
tain that this question will be acutely
at Issue in the Fifty-seventh Congress,
and the cause of free trade with the
Philippines will need all the votes It can
iret. The ddath of Senator Davis re
duces the ranks of the champions of
the Islands by one. The gap would be
filled bv Mr Corbett's election.
Circumstances are conspiring to draw
attention to cur commercial relations
with Russia. The Norwegian steamer
Universe cleared from Portland for
Vladlvostock yesterday with a miscel
laneous cargo worth about $148,000, con
sisting of flour, fruit, meats, butter,
oats, hardware, etc. Confirmation is at
hand of the Russian intention to put a
tax on our imports into Siberia, and
reports are leaking out of tentative
overtures between Russia and the
United States looking toward recipro
city. Our situation regarding Russia Is
a good deal like that regarding Canada.
Products are so similar as to render
reciprocity exceedingly difficult of ne
gotiation. "We have been sending agri
cultural and other machinery to Euro
pean. Russia, for years, but she is de
veloping her own industries, and this
trade may diminish. On the other
hand, we have the largest share of
trade with Siberia, both Irr food prod
ucts and manufactures, and this Is sure
to lnorease with the development of the
country. Even after completion of the
Siberian Railroad we can supply this
market by water carriage more cheap
ly than it can be supplied from Europe,
unless shut out by heavy tariffs. Rus
sia's open-door pledge does not apply to
Siberia, and 't is perfectly certain that
If we are to continue our present lucra
tive volume of exports to Siberia some
material concessions will have to be
made for entry of Russian goods into
American ports. One of the things
Russia most desires to sell us is beet
sugar, and there is the basis of a bitter
fight In Congress. Tear by year high
tariff sentiment is broken down, not so
snuoh by intellectual progress as by de
YClopmtnt of our manufacturing sur
plus and the need of markets. On the
Pacific Coast the belief in protection
will hardly avail longer against the
imperative demand for freer trade with
all Asia and Oceanica.
DIItBCT PRIMARY IX DISFAVOR.
North Carolina, it appears, has tried
the South Carolina primary plan, and
Democratic leaders announce them
selves, after the experiment, as opposed
to its adoption. There Is, In fact, in
tense opposition to the primary system
all over the state. It is said that not
one Democratic Legislator-elect in ten
will favor "legalized primaries," as de
manded by his party's platform. A
large majority of the ninety-seven
county chairmen express their disgust
at the experience just acquired, and
declared that they had "enough of the
South Carolina importation to last a
lifetime."
Judge W. R. Allen, of Goldsboro, who
will probably be the Democratic leader
on the flooi of the House when the
Legislature meets, says:
Three of the reason why I oppose the pri
mary method are: (1.) Too contests between
aspirants of the name party degenerate Into
personalities and abuse. (2.) No ono who Is
not wealthy or very close to the party organ
ization can win In a. primary against compeU
tors enjoying cither of the advantages. (3.)
The tendency Is to decrease the power of the
country vote, and to gle undue advantage to
the town rot, as It Is hard to get out the
former and easy to secure the attendance of
the latter.
Chairman W. L. London, of Chatham,
said:
The effect Is to distract the efforts of party
workers at the polls from the candidates being
voted for. and thus increase the chances of
the opposition candidates. Ir held on a day
other thn a regular election day, the country
people wouW not participate largely in a pri
mary. A dozen prominent party leaders and
a number of well-known party workers
said:
Tha primary system is positively ruinous in
a state like this, where there is such a strong
opposition pcrty. In South Carolina, where
there Is practically no -Republican party, and
virtually m opposition whateer to the Demo
crats they win afford It with all its biaker
Ings, dissensions and bitterness. Not so here.
A close examination of these utter
ances makes It apparent that the pri
mary system Is not indicted so much
as the way it is used and the people
who use it. If candidates resort to dis
creditable personalities and abuse, or
buy up the voters like sheep, it is too
much to expect of a primary system
that It will transform such men's mor
als or manners. If the voter does not
turn out to vote, he, and not the sys
tem. Is culpable. It is very possible
that the people of North Carolina are
not yet ready for this Important step
In self-government. The devices of
government must be adapted to the
community where they are to be ap
plied. A large proportion of North
Carolina's voters are not fit to elect
candidates. Perhaps they are not fit to
nominate thm.
But the vital objection to the primary
system is contained in the references
to the opposition party. The Demo
crats don't like it because it gives the
other side a show. Give them the old
system so they can run things all their
way. "We take It this objection will not
carry great weight in Oregon. Unless
we mistake the temper of the people
and the Legislature, their desire Is for
a primary system that will give the
voters the fullest possible latitude in
selection of candidates and reduce the
power of the machines of all parties to
the minimum.
ICRUGEK, AND FRANKLIN.
A correspondent inquires whether
The Oregonlan remembers that "Frank
lin went on the very same mission to
France as Kruger does now." No; The
Oregonian does not remember any iden
tity between Kruger's mission jlnd that
of Franklin. Kruger went to France
when his oligarchy had been reduced
to a mere band of a few thousand guer
rilla horsemen, while Franklin, when
he secured a treaty of alliance with
France, a grant of monev and the as
sistance of French ships and soldiers,
was not the envoy of a wretched little
oligarchy with Its headquarters in the
saddle, but the representative of the
American Colonial Congress, whose
army under Gates had just compelled
Burgoyne to surrender over 7000 men
prisoners of war. France did not help
us because her people loved liberty or
cared a button about our cause. She
helped us because France had been
robbed of Canada by England fifteen
years before, and Spain helped us be
cause England had robbed her of Gib
raltar. Had not Franklin been able to
point to Bur.-oyne's defeat and surren
der. France would not have given us a
dollar, a ship or a soldier. She gave
Franklin lust what she has given Kru
ger. nothing but the cheers of the popu
lace, until Franklin was the envoy of a
people who had defeated, destroyed or
caDtured a first-class British army of
12.000 men.
Franklin stood for victory; Kruger,
who stood by the cradle of the Trans
vaal, now follows its hearse. Europe
mav take off its hat in compassion to
Kruger and his funeral cortege, but
comnassion does not count as a prac
tical force in modern politics. The
American colonies never had any help
until their ultimate triumph was as
sured by the defeat of Burgoyne. Po
land, since its original partition by
Russia. Prussia and Austria, has risen
three times in revolt without getting
any help from France or England.
Kosciusko was crushed, although he
chose the hour of the French Revolu
tion for his uprising. Napoleon, when
he could have reconstructed Poland, re
fused to do so. and Poland has risen
twice in vain within this century. The
powers of Europe granted the Greek
revolution of 1824 no military assist
ance, and the naval battle of Navarlno
in 1S27. which cave liberty to Greece,
Is described as an accident. Kruger's
Visit will have no international results,
whether he stays in Europe or sojourns
in America. He will get cheers from
the populace In America, just as did
Michael Davltt. the evangelist of radi
cal home rule for Ireland. But fine
words butter no parsnips, and cheers
and compassion do not mean interven
tion or even mediation.
Such investigation as has been possi
ble in the disturbed conditions prevail
ing in the Philippines has shown that
the forest wealth of these islands is Im
mense. "Wide areas of forest, aggre
gating millions of acres, have never
resounded to the woodsman's ax. In
order that this magnificent growth of
timber may become available to com
merce, roads must be opened, railroads
built, and the tropical undergrowth cut
but All this will take time and labor
and intelligent direction. A surprising
peculiarity of these Insular forests,
which contain nearly 500 species of
trees, is that the varieties are not
grouped together in bodies sufficient to
insure a cargo at any one point of a
single variety. Even nature seems to
be erratic in her movements and meth
ods in these far islands of the Pacific,
and to require direction in order that
her bounty may be made available to
Western civilization.
THE BIBLE IX THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The opinion rendered by Attorney
General Blackburn, in which he up
holds the reading of the Bible as part
of the religious exercises of public
schools. In which all the pupils are
obliged to participate, Includes a good
deal that is not to the point. Nobody
supposes that the reading of the Bible
as part of the religious exercises of our
public schools is objected to by Roman
Catholics, by Jews or by agnostics, on
the ground that the passages read in
culcate immorality, or on the ground
that the passages read may not be part
of a fine body of literature. The plea
of the Roman Catholic dissenters Is
that the Bible, known as the Protestant
Bible. "King James' version," is held
and believed by the Catholic Church to
be incorrect and incomplete, and it Is
further taught by the Catholic Church
and believed by its members that the
Scriptures ought not to be read indis
criminately, since the church has di
vine authority as the only infallible
teacher and Interpreter of the same;
that the reading of the same without
being expounded by the only author
ized teachers and Interpreters Is likely
to lead to the adoption of dangerous
errors, irreligious faith, practice and
worship. This is the position of the
Catholic Church, and in the light of
this exposition the Protestant Bible Is
clearly a sectarian book to a Roman
Catholic pupil.
So to the orthodox Jew the Protestant
Bible is clearly a sectarian book, be
cause while he recognizes the Old Tes
tament, he rejects the New Testament,
denies that Jesus was the Messiah, and
holds that he was nothing more than a
gifted social agitator put to death by
Pilate as a disturber of the public
peace. To an agnostic the Bible would
be attractive as fine literature, but of
fensive as a part of religious exercises
in which he has no faith, and which
he ought not to bej obliged to endure in
a public school which is legally no
place for sectarian religious exercises.
The question cf Bible reading as a
religious exercise in the public schools
was exhaustively argued before the Su
preme Court of Wisconsin in 1890 on appeal
from the Circuit Court of Rock County.
Mr. Justice Lyon held that the reading
of any version of the Bible in the pub
lic schools as a religious text-book Is
sectarian Instruction. He quoted from
the reports of the American Bible Soci
ety the statement that through the
reading of the Scriptures alone several
persons were converted from Roman
ism. In this case, Bible reading was
sectarian Instruction, and Bible read
ing in the public schools Is sectarian in
struction. The learned Judge said that
these views do not banish from the
public schools such text-books as are
founded upon the fundamental teach
ings of the Bible, or which contain ex
tracts therefrom. Such extracts per
vade secular literature, are rightly in
cluded In text-books for secular In
struction as standing for noble litera
ture, and the code of good morals, con
cerning whose fundamental principles
the religious sects do not disagree. Mr.
Justice Lyon held that the truths of
the Bible are best taught to our youth
In the church, in the Sunday schools,
the social religious meetings, and,
above all, by parents in the home circle,
where the truths may be explained and
enforced, and the spiritual nature di
rected and cultivated In accordance
with the dictates of the parental con
science. The constitution of Wisconsin
does not interfere with such teaching
and culture. It only banishes theolog
ical polemics from the district schools.
The court held that reading of the Bible
in the public schools is religious wor
ship; that it constitutes the schoolhouse
for the time being a place of worship,
and that such reading in schoolhouses
as a school exercise against the con
sent of the taxpayer compels him to
support a place of worship.
The court also said that no child
should be compelled to retire from
school because of the reading of a ver
sion of the Bible in schools offensive to
the parents. The fact that the reading
of the Bible In schools was a source of
religious and sectarian strife was held
sufficient reason for its banishment.
The court was unanimous in holding
the Bible to be a sectarian book. Prot
estants are a sect to the Catholic
Church, and so is their version of the
Bible sectarian as against the Catholic
version of it, which includes as part of
the inspired canon books omitted from
the Protestant version. The constitu
tion of Wisconsin provides that "no
sectarian instruction shall be allowed
in the public schools," and the court
was unanimous in the opinion that the
reading of the Bible therein is contrary
to the rights of conscience, and that
the taxpayers of any district had a
right to object to the reading of the
Bible therein, since the constitution de
clares that "no man shall be compelled
to support any place of worship."
The contention of Attorney-General
Blackburn that the reading of the Bible
as a school exercise is nor. sectarian is
clearly not well taken. To a Jew or
a Catholic our Protestant Bible is
clearly a sectarian book. The same
Question came before Attorney-General
Jones, of Washington State, about
eight years ago. and his opinion was In
accordance with that of the highest
court of Wisconsin that the Bible is a
sectarian book, and Its reading Jn
schools Is sectarian religious instruc
tion. Those timorous souls who were pre
dicting not long ago the ruin of Ameri
can manufacturers by Japanese com
petition and have lately transferred
their anxiety to the "Yellow Peril," will
be interested to learn that the New
.York Commercial Indulges a similar
feaY from European imitation of Amer
ican models. The Europeans, it says,
while less inventive than Americans,
are constantly stealing our ideas. They
are buvinc American tools not only for
use. but also for models. t Hence the
Commercial declares American export
of tools and machinery must soon reach
its highest tide, and Americans will be
fortunate If the tide does not return
upon their own shores in the shape of
cargoes of European-made "American
machinery, the cheapness of which
would be a serious embarrassment to
American makers and a dangerous
menace to American pay-rolls." The
Commercial's fears are greater than
are warranted. Few Americans will
be willing to admit that their
incenuitv has reached the highest
point Indeed, as the Chicago Tribune
points out, constant advances are be-
ing made in machine tools, hundreds of
new patents are granted each year,
and old methods are being constantly
supplanted by new ones. As yet the
Improvements in machine tools have
been few abroad, and In all probabil
ity these essentially Yankee notions
will remain the peculiar forte of the
Americans. However this may be,
there is no way to stop the pirating of
which the Commercial complains, and
unless confidence is placed in the con
tinuance of American skill, the outlook
is gloomy. One cause for assurance Is
the increase of technical schools in the
United States, which are training1
skilled inventors and mechanics whose
brains will do much to retain American
pre-eminence in these fields. These
periodical fits of gloom over fancled.de
cllne of American industries seem to be
the inevitable fruits of ineradicable su
perstition. There is little danger of an
imitator ever surpassing the originator.
Another good use the Treasury's am
ple fundi can be put to is the exten
sion of rural mall delivery. The rapid
strides the system is making are seen
in the statement that on June 30 next
there will be in the United States Just
4300 routes and 3000 rural postofflces.
The largest appropriation ever made
for this service was that of the last
Congress, ?450,00O. The amount asked
for the maintenance of the routes and
offices mentioned above Is 52,600,000,
with 51.000,000 more for the further ex
tension of the service. This, it is be
lieved, Congress will readily grant, for
members are discovering that nothing
is so popular now except with the
fourth-class postmasters as rural free
delivery. If Postmaster-General Smith's
recommendations for a reform in the
much-abused second-class mall privi
lege are "adopted, the department. In
stead of 53,500,000, could be allowed
510,000,000 for free delivery routes; and
the rest of the 520,000,000 now thrown
away could be applied to giving the
Nation a 1-cent letter postage rate.
Rural delivery has had two good trials
In Oregon, and experience approves Its
extension to other districts.
There seems to be a conspiracy
among the creditors of Count Bonl de
Castellane to restrict the living ex
penses of himself and his wife to 5250,
000 a year, in order that the residue
of the Income of the Countess from her
share of her father's estate may be se
questered In the Interest of her hus
band's creditors. Truly, Count Bonl's
father had reason to protest, as he did
a few weeks ago, most pathetically,
against the appointment of George
Gould as trustee of his sister's Inter
est In the estate of the late Jay Gould,
on the ground that it would be admin
istered with "narrow parsimony." It
remains to be seen whether the rest of
the old man's prophecy will be ful
filled. If so. poor Bonl will be utterly
unable to live on the pitiful dole to
which it Is proposed to limit him. The
result in thit case is too shocking to
contemplate.
Indications are that the movement of
immigrants to the South will assume
large proportions in the near future.
Farmers are interested lrt the fact that
Southern farmers are now In a prosper
ous condition, while the whole world is
well aware that the industrial move
ment in 'he South is increasing every
year. Says the Savannah News: "The
building of cotton mills Is only fairly
begun, and yet the number of such
mills is large enough to have an ap
preciable effect on the price of cotton,
while there Is hardly a day in which a
new enterpme of some kind is not in
augurated In the Iron-producing sec
tion." This shows that the Southern
people are waking up to their opportu
nities, and that they appreciate, even
though they still stubbornly refuse tc
assist by their votes, a National policy
that leads to industrial and commercial
prosperity.
The death of United States Senator
Davis deprives the Nation of the most
important man in the Senate. Davis was
the only man thoroughly familiar with
the Hav-Pauncefote treaty and the
French reciprocity treaty. The Wash
ington correspondent of the Chicago
Record writes that Senator Davis "Is
the onlv member of the committee on
foreign relations who had mastered the
complicated details and could explain
the effect upon our commerce and in
ternational relations of the ratification
of these various conventions. Nor Is it
possible during a single session for any
member of the committee to familiar
ize himself with the intricate ramifica
tions of the various provisions of the
reciprocity treaties."
Papa Zimmerman, according to his
own emphatic statement, likes his new
son-in-law, the Duke of Manchester,
and was never at any time opposed to
his daughter's marriage. Moreover,
though properly reticent upon the sub
ject, he Intimates that there will be no
trouble about his daughter's dot. Since
he seems to realize that Dukes come
high, and Is willing to pay the price of
one in order to get a title in his family,
the curious, babbling public may as
well console itself and drop the subject
Senator Davis, of Minnesota, made a
heroic struggle for his life. Such con
stitutional resistance to the inevitable
as he has shown arouses the sympathy
of true humanity, that protests invol
untarily against the devices of so-called
medical science whereby a human be
ing is kept alive for days or weeks
after all possibility of the recovery of
health or even of consciousness has
vanished. Nature mercifully takes the
sharp edge off cruelty of this type by
depriving the victim of sensation.
America in Foreign Eyea.
Denver Times.
In the days of the great Civil War
events in this country were followed with
considerable interest in the European
newspapers. Considering the general con
ditions of journalism In that period, per
haps the degree of interest shown was
remarkable.
But as soon as the Civil War was over,
American news dropped out of foreign
journals, and It became as difficult as be
fore for the American abroad to know
anything about what was going on at
home.
There was some change in thi3 respect
during subsquent years, but not more
than would be accounted for by the gen
eral development of journalism. But
within a yean or two the change has been
very marked. The approach of the Span,
lsh War marked the open manifestation
of the change as a fact, but the tone
and color of the change did not show
then. v
Until the war was actually begun un
til Dewey's guns in Manila bay were
"heard round the world'' there was a
snarling tone in nearly every mention of
America. It was plain that we stood In
the attitude of the strange dog without
friends.
Manila took: the snarl out of the note,
and after Santiago there was, to con
tinue the canine parallel, an unmlstaable
wag in the tail when American affairs
were approached.
It is more significant that It has been
universally respectful attention, too. Too
unfriendly undertone may sometimes hav
been audible, but there was no longer
even a suspicion of jeer in it
The significance of all this Is not at
all that we have changed by drift to
ward imperialistic methods, though some
of our own people have affected to think
so. It Is, rather, that government by
the people has forced the barrier of
recognition as government, and is hence
forth to be no bar to full voice In the
councils of the nations.
SUBSIDIES UNNECESSARY.
A Flourishing Industry Thnt Can
Stand Well Enonga Alone.
New York Evening Post
The most prosperous year ever enjoyed
by American shipping interests is reported
by the Commissioner of Navigation. For
the first time since the outbreak of the
Civil War, the documented tonnage of
the United States exceeds 5,000,000 gross
tons. It Increased more than 300,000 tons
last year. Moreover, the new vessels are
made to an increasing extent in our own
yards. In 1S90, only 20 per cent of the
world's shipping was of steel; now the
percentage is three times as great. As to
the manufacture of steel, the position of
this country is now well known. Steel
can be produced and wrought here more
cheaply than anywhere else In the world.
As the Commissioner observes, "Steel has
radically changed the industrial organiza
tion of the world's shipbuilding and ship
owning. It requires expensive machinery,
great capital, and the employment of
large numbers of specially trained me
chanics." These requirements are met In
this country. No one, least of all an offi
cer of the Administration, will question
the ability of our mechanics to do suc
cessfully any work that Is assigned to
them. No one can dispute the existence
of an Immense capital In this country,
ready for any use. It is borrowed by the
nations and even the municipalities of
Europe, and no enterprise here that can
be carried on with profit need be ham
pered for lack of funds. There seems,
then, no reason why ships should not be
built and owned here at a profit. We
have the steel; we have the skilled la
bor; we can make, If we have not now,
the best of machinery; we have the money
to own and operate these vessels when
completed; we have the coal to move
them; we have the goods to freight them
wlthaL
From this Impressive array of facts and
arguments, the proper inference would
seem to be that the shipping industry
needs no aid from the taxpayers. The
citizens engaged In It are likely to make
as large profits as those engaged In any
other business. In fact, on August 15 of
this year, 68 merchant steel vessels, ag
gregating 27S.000 tons and 47 naval ves
sels of 113,000 tons, were building or con
tracted for. Contracts since that date
bring the merchant tonnage up to 350,000
tons, so that the current year will see
much the largest amount of steel ship
building ever known In our history. The
Commissioner of Navigation declares that
In the United States "the conditions have
now been established, abundance of cap
ital, cheap materials, practical experience,
constructive talent and skilled labor"
all that Is lacking Is a system of bounties
to be paid by the people to those who
take" advantage of these conditions. No
more unreasonable conclusion than this
was ever drawn. If the shipbuilding in
dustry were an "Infant" something might
be said In favor of administering Govern
mental pap. If we had to Import our steel
and send abroad for our machinery; If we
borrowed money in Europe Instead of
lending It there, and our mechanics were
dull and untrained; then, Indeed, some
plausible claim for a bounty might be
made. With conditions as they are. It ap
pears to be altogether unjustifiable, and
it will be generally regarded as a delib
erate present to a few rich men of a num
ber of millions of dollars taken by the
tax-gatherers from the1 pockets of the peo
ple. The Commissioner of Navigation oc
cupies a humiliating position when he
tries to show that shipbuilding cannot be
profitably carried on in this country, and
he carries his argument to an absurd ex
tent by winding up with a proposal to in
crease the tonnage taxes.
Carious Result in Nebraska.
One of the most curious results of the
election was In Nebraska, the full figures
of whose balloting have just been pub
lished. Mr. McKinley received a plu
rality of 7822, but the Republican candi
date for Governor got a plurality of only
861. Local pride In the Presidential
candidate might have been expected to
put Mr. Bryan well ahead of his ticket
and It would have created little surprise
If the state had given Its electoral vote
to Mr. Bryan but elected a Republican
Governor. If we examine the returns
more closely we find that Jin. Bryan
actually did get 995 more votes than
the Fusion candidate for Governor did,
but S951 persons voted for Presidential
Electors who did not vote for either can
didate for Governor, and practically all
of these voted for Mr. McKinley. While
Mr. Bryan led Mr. Poynter only 995 votes,
Mr. McKinley led Mr. Dietrlck by 7966
votes. There may be something in local
politics to explain why several thousand
persons voted for President and no't for
Governor, and the fact that about all of
these voters opposed the Nebraskan can
didate for President is curious enough.
Germ of a Royalist Party.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
There Is no room to doubt that royalty
and nobility are looking up. We are to
have a royalist deputy in Congress from
Hawaii. He can hardly form a party by
himself, or even a group, but he will be
able to do service as a nest egg. His
heart will go out to the Sultan of Sulu,
with his harem and his slaves, and he
may stretch his arms toward Sulu, .either
east or west, In affectionate yearning. We
have got at least the germ of a royalist
party.
Causes Concern in Europe.
Indianapolis Press.
It is a singular demonstration of the
precarious state of European peace that
there should be such intense concern for
the health of the Czar. More than that,
it is a high tribute to the esteem in which
that young monarch is held and the faith
of the nations that his efforts to prevent
war are made in earnest and if he shall
be spared to continue his reign, will be
carried to fuller development
More Effective Than Fines.
Now York World.
In these days of 55 and 510 fines for all
sorts of serious offenses, it is refreshing to
read that a Judge In this city has imposed
a sentence of 14 years imprisonment on
a man convicted of keeping a low dive.
A few more such convictions and sen
tences would mako much easier the task
of those who are trying to close up the
wide-open dens of vice now flourishing
in this city.
The Canal Bill and Its Rider.
Buffalo Courier.
It is becoming quite evident that the
Administration will not permit a Nicara
gua CanaL bill to pass the Senate until
the treaty Is ratified. That will require
a two-thirds vote. The friends of the
canal in the Senate may have the alter
native of accepting the teraty in its
present unpopular form or Indefinitely
postponing construction of the canal.
Files in tbe Ointment
St Paul Pioneer Press.
There Is always som plaguey worm
hole or rotten spot In the apples which
Uncle Sam puts into his annexation bas
ket With New Mexico we annexed the
Gila monster; with Hawaii, the leprosy;
with the Philippines, Agulnaldo, and now
comes the story that if we acquire the
!AtUUOU MWfc .&UU40D WO OUUIA CUiUCA uiuu
With a new kind of grasshopper.
NEIGHBOR'S ERRORS ON SUBSIDIES
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer dislikes
The Oregonlan's attitude on the shipping
subsidy graft In a column editorial It
displays great ignorance of the subject
under discussion. The first paragraph of
the objection filed by the Post-Intelll-i;encer
reads as follows:
The Portland conception of commerce Is the
shtpplne of train, raised la this state, par
chased by the agoats of foreign 'buyers, and
sent abroad in foreign ships. The sole revenue
to a port where commerce of this character is
transacted is that which flows to the long
shoremen who stow cargoes, the tugboats which,
tow the ships, and the boarding-house-keepers
'ho rob the seamen aad blackmail the ships.
It is probably for this reason that The Orogo
nian is singular atnonr all of the newspapers
on the Pacific Coast in its opposition to the
shipping subsidy bill, and In its advocacy of
the proposed Democratic substitute, which,
suggests the admission of foreign-built ships to
American register.
The Oregonlan used the grain fleets of
Oregon and Washington for an illus
tration for the simple reason that four
fifths of the population of these two
states are directly or indirectly depend
ent on the wheat business for a liveli
hood. An Industry which produces by
far the largest proportion of the wealth
created in Oregon and Washington Is
naturally entitled to precedence over less
Important industries. This is the "Port
land conception of commerce," The ex
tent of The Oregonian's advocacy of a
free-ship bill was a suggestion that if
the subsidy grafters were sincere In their
efforts to got America's merchant marine
back on a plane with that of Great Brit
ain and Germany, their chances of suc
cess would be enhanced It they followed
the same methods as are followed by
those countries.
In the article to which the Post-Intelligencer
takes such exception The Ore
gonlan cited the fact that Arthur Sew
all and a few other patriotic Americans
had made fortunes in the shipping busi
ness through sailing their vessels with
out subsidies, in competition with the
fleets of the world. Through ignorance
of the facts In the case, the Post-Intel-llgencer
says:
The mammoth fortunes to whioh it refers
have been made in the building and operation
of ships in the coastwise, not in the deep-water
trade.
The late Arthur Sewall wa3 pre-eminently
tho king of American shipbuild
ers and owners. The Sewall house flag
floats today from the masthead or a
dozen of the finest ships afloat, and here
Is their position at the present time:
Dirlgo, 2S45 tons, en route from San Fran
cisco to Liverpool; Arthur Sewall, 2919
tons, from New York for Yokohama;
Edward Sewall, 2916 tons, from San
Francisco for Liverpool; Kenllworth, 2147
tons, from San Francisco for Queens
town; B. F. Packard, 2014 tons, New
York for Hong Kong; Roanoke, 3347 tons,
from San .Francisco for Liverpool; Shen
andoah, 3154 tons, from Sydney for San
Francisco; Susquehanna, 2591 tons, from
Norfolk for Manila; W. F. Babcock, 1993
tons, from New York for Japan; Ersklne
M. PhoIp3, 2715 tons, from San Francisco
for New York; Iroquois, 1997 tons, from
Seattle for Honolulu; Henry Vlllard, 1463
tons, from Savannah for Honolulu. This
is the kind of "coasting trade" that the
Sewall ships have always engaged In,
and it Is the kind that made Sewall rich
in spite of the fact that nearly the en
tire fleet of ships were in competition
with those of every other nation nearly
all the time. Continuing, the Post-Intelligencer
says:
The Oregonlan simply Ignores facts within
the knowledge of every resident of a seaport
town when it asserts that we can operate ships
as cheaply as can the foreigners. In the mere
matter of wages alone the cost to the Ameri
can shipowner is at least SO per cent greater
than is paid on ships under any other flag,
and it ranges from that upwards until it
reaches In some Instances an amount three
times as great as is paid by some foreign ship
owners. Every resident of a seaport town who
takes the trouble to Inquire Into the mat-'
ter knows that crews are shipped on
merchant vessels In every part of the
world at exactly the same rate, Irre
spective of the flag. The wages out of
Seattle at the present time for round-the-Horn
voyages are about 525 per month,
and not a particle of distinction Is made
by masters, owners, or any one else,
between flags. The same condition exists
all over the world. An American ship
In London can ship a crew at the same
price as a British ship is compelled to
pay, and the Britisher In New York gets
no cheaper sailors than the American.
The Post-Intelligencer adroitly at
tempts to confuse the postal subsidies
of Germany and England with merchant-marine
subsidies, which are not
paid by either of these countries. As to
the postal subsidies, Germany pays her
steamers 44 cents per pound for letters,
the British Government pays 75 cents per
pound, while our poor, "unsubsldlzed"
fast passenger steamers are paid but
51 60 per pound.
The subsidy bill which the shipbuilding
trust so fondly hopes to get through Con
gress is practically the same as that
now In effect In France. Here Is the
manner In which the French Republic
Is benefited by it: The French bark
Alice, now In Portland, came out from
Glasgow in ballast and drew enough
money from the French Government to
pay all of her expenses on the voyage to
this port. She Is now loading a cargo
of grain for an English settlement in
South Africa, and it will probably be two
years before she gets anywhere near a
French port. No less than a dozen
French bounty-earners have made the
same voyage this year, and It would be
interesting to learn where the French
taxpayer Is deriving any benefits from
the subsidy. Forty ships have sailed
from Portland with wheat this season.
They were owned by 25 individuals or
firms. Their cargoes were produced by
5000 farmers. If this had been an Ameri
can subsidized fleet the 5000 fanners
would have paid the same rates, and in
addition would have been compelled to
pay a subsidy tax for the benefit of the
25 shipowners.
Senator Veit on the Outlook.
Kansas City Times.
Senator Vest sees nothing to cause
despair in the recent defeat of the Demo
cratic party. He places as the prime
cause of defeat the disposition of the
American people, manifested In quite a
number of Instances in the past history
of the country, to sustain an Administra
tion that is engaged in a war, regardless
of the ethical merits of the controversy.
Thousands of patriotic citizens, who were
really opposed to McKlnley's foreign pol
icy. Senator Vest thinks, voted for him
at the last election because they thought
that we should first end the war In the
Philippines and then settle other ques
tions. Not So Terrible, After All.
Cincinnati Enquirer.
We believe In the dignity of tho Senate
and we rejoice that there are men there
who can maintain that dignity against
the upstarts that in the course of events
get there occasionally. There is every
reason to hope that it will be preserved,
even when Roosevelt holds the gavel. He
Is not such a terrible person as he has
been represented to be. His thundering
I has all been in the index.
NQEEIAKD COHHSIfT.'
The world is not holding its breath
pending the reappearance of E. Atkinson.
Oom Paul Is enjoying high life'ln Paris.
He has been to the top of the Eiffel
tower.
Why talk of reorganizing the Demo
cratic party? Wasn't it pretty thoroughly
reorganized November 6?
If Jehn Bull wants this hurrah over
Kruger in France to stop, he need only
send A. Austin over lb write p'oems.about
it
If Chicago can be set to work to reform
New York, and New York given the task
or purifying Chicago, perhaps something
can be accomplished.
Oora Paul want3 to stay pretty well to
ward the interior of France. The Eng
lish have got some long-range guns on
their side of tho Channel.
The dlvekeepers of London are qualdns
with the fear that Croker may take it
into his head to Institute reform In that
city. Croker can only exist In an atmos
phere of purity.
How would any great reforms ever be
accomplished wltheut men like Creker
and M. S. Quty? Such men as these are
indispensable to the reformers, because
without them there 'would be nothing to
reform.
Long lines of Bernhardt-Coquelln New
York admirers or their messenger boys
stood patiently in a drizzling rain for the
chance to get an early chelce of single
seats for that engagement. The sub
scription sale was a success, two five
seat boxes netting 51000 each, and many
blocks of the outside seats sold fer the
entire 40 performances. Fancy prices
were paid without a murmur.
Professor N. S. Shaler, of Harvard
University, a Southern man. who has
made a special scientific study of the con
dition of the negroes of the South, gives
no favor to the pessimistic ppin'ons that
come from that section. He thinks that
the moral and intellectual condition of
the negroes Is Improving, and. so far as
social morals are concerned, he regards
the negro as, on the whole, less danger
ous than whites of a like social grade.
Frank Sanobrn takes to task Rebecca
Harding Davis because of her article In
the November Scrlbner's, In which she
gives some recollections of a visit to
Concord 40 years ago and tells about
the Summer house built by Alcott for
Emerson, and which contained no door.
This statement is denounced as pure
nonsense by Mr. Sanborn, who says the
house has a door, and a big one, which
he has often entered, and which has been
sketched by artists.
The Secretary of the Navy dismissed
from the Naval Academy recently, on
recommendation of the superintendent a
cadet found guilty of "gouging," which
is the slang for dishonesty in work. In
this case the copying as his own of a
theme written by another cadet, and of
falsehood. Fifty-six members of his
class petitioned the Secretary to exercise
clemency, and are all placed in the third
conduct grade for insubordination, which
permits them to have liberty but once in
four weeks.
t 4
Among the tales of a traveler brodght
home by certain Buffalo tourists to the
Commercial of that city Is one which
they declare true In every particular., of
a conversation between two girls from
Rochester, N. Y., overheard from neigh
boring deck-chairs on the steamer.
"Let's see," said No. 1, "who Is the poet
laureate now?" "Why, Tennyson," said
No. 2, the well-informed, who knew
everything. "And the one before him
was let's see; what was his name?" No.
2 could not recall the name instantly, but
she got it at last "Oh, yes, now I re
member! It was Wblttler John Green
leaf Whlttier. He was the poet laureate
before Tennyson."
"The smallest meerschaum pipe In the
world" Is the legend attached to a tiny
bit of carving, partially colored, which
Is exhibited In the window of a little Phil
adelphia shop. "I made this little pipe
several years ago," the proprietor said
recently, and I started to color it myself,
but it was mislaid one day and I didn't
find It again for a long time. It is only
1 Inches long, the amber mouthpiece Is
less than nine-sixteenths of an inch in
length, and is less than one-eighth of.
an inch thick. It was a decidedly deli
cate Job. I would rather carve 100 big
pipes than that little one." A tiny pinch
of tobacco may be placed In the towL
One puff and it la gone. Itvis perhaps
needless to say that the smallest pipe
in the world is not for sale.
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHBRS
The Bigamist Magistrate Are you a mar
ried man? Prisoner I should say I was I'm
the husband of two women; that's why I'm
here. Ohio State Journal.
Phoebe So Miriam wants to be a Red Cross
nurse? Penelope Yes; she hears they Intend
to organize a special ambulance corps to at
tend football games. Puck.
A Fond Critic Wife of His Bosom Lovely,
dear. lovely 1 But I think those sheep look
too much like clouds er that la of course
darling unless they are clouds. Life.
FieJ Botany Teacher What is the stlgma7
Keturah, you may answer. Frightened Little
Girl The stigma Is the name of the college
society my brother belongs to. Chicago Trib
une. "One of de gret hindrances in de way of da
cullud race," said Unele Kben. "ie dat dar
aln' no way of habbln chleken steal!' politely
spoken of in de papers as a defalcation."
Washington Star.
Nell (exsltedly) Here's a telegram from
Jack Punter of the 'varsity team. Belle
What's it say? Nell It says: "Nose broken.
How do you prefer'lt set Greek or Roman?"
Philadelphia Record.
Ecce Homo.
8. E. KIser in Chicago Times-Herald.
When the last cannon shot haa been fled
And the war oharger ceasss to neigh.
When the last roll of drums has Inspired
The last man to hurry away
To the last bloody fray
When the last mercenary la hired
To march and to slay.
When the last shell has burst
Who shall head the long list of the heroes,
Whose name shall be first?
Shall the world have some new Alexander,
Some Captain who, dauntless, may rise
Unsmircbed by the tarnish of slander,
To claim and be granted the prize?
Some soldier more wise
Than imperial Caesar and grander.
From the flash of whose eyes
And tho gleam, of whose blade
The shot-riven toe may have hurried, ,
Despoiled and dismayed?
Nay. the Captains whose helmets are gleandssv
Who fearlessly lead in the fray, '
Who, deaf to the cursing and screaming.
Can calmly cut legions away.
Who are heroes today.
And for whom, the proud banners are BtreaaB
lug.
Will die and decay
With, their kind of the past
And the Meek. Maa of Pr&ce win rlee m
All heroes, at last!