Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 1900)
THE MORXISG OKEGOKIAN, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1900. Dhe resomcm Entered at the PostoOce at Portland, Oregon, as iecoad-class matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Rooms 160 J Business Office. ..OCT REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mall (postage prepaid). In Advance Dally, with Sunday, per month $ S5 Dally, Sunday excepted, per year......... " W Dally, with Sunday, per ear 9 00 Sunday, per year 2 00 The "Weekly, per year 1 50 The "Weekly. 3 months W To City Subscribers Bally, per week, delivered. Sundays excepted.l5c Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays lnctttded.20c POSTAGE RATES. United States. Canada and Mexico: 10 to 16-page saner...... ....................lc 18 tc 22-page paper .....2c j foreign rates double. News or discussion Intended for publication In The Oregonlan should be addressed Invaria bly "Editor The Oregonlan." not to the name of any individual. Letters relating to advertis ing, 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 solici tation. No stamps should be Inclosed for this purpose. Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, office at 1111 Pacific avenue. Tacoma. Bax 035. Tacoma Postofflce. Eastern Business Office The Tribune build ing. New Tork City; "The Rookery." Chleago; the S. C Beckwith special agency. New York. For sale In San Francisco by J. K. Coepr. 746 Market street, near the Palace Hotel: Gold smith Bros.. 238 Sutter street: F. W. Pitts. 1008 Market street; Foster & Orear, Ferry News stand. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 259 So. Spring street, and Oliver &. Haines. IOC So. Spring street. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co., 217 Dearborn street. For sale in Omaha by n. C Shears, 105 N. Sixteenth street, and Barkalow Bros., 1612 Farnam street. For sale In Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co.. 77 W. Second South street. Tor sale In New Orleans by Ernest & Co.. 115 Royal street. On file In Washington. D. C. with A. W. Dunn, 500 14th N. W. For sale In Denver. Colo., by Hamilton & Kendrlck. O00-D12 Seventh street. TODAY'S "WEATHER. Generally fair; cool er; light to fresh westerly winds. . PORTLAND, SATURDAY, DEC. 22. If the people of Portland want the monthly arrest and line of gamblers to cease, and the substitution of the old regime Instead, they can have it. This is the plain Inference from official ut terances, printed yesterday and today. The history of the present situation ap pears to be that upon accession to his office Distilct Attorney Chamberlain notified the police department and other interested circles that he was deter mined the time-honored system of pri vate graft should not prevail, but If the gaming places were to pay tribute they should pay it into the public treas ury. Under this determination, ii which the police department seems 1o have acquiesced, flnes to the extent of $25,800 per half year, or upwards of $50,000 a year, accrue to the city treasury. The District Attorney understands that this is satisfactory to the taxpayers of the community, and as he bases his defense upon the financial showing, and as Po lice Commissioners Bates and Cohen both profess willingness to return to the old system If the taxpayers wish it, the decision evidently Is In the hands of the community. Reasons based on evidence should be adduced, therefore, for changing the procedure, if the de mand for change is to be Insisted on. It Is noticeable that Mr. Chamberlain does not shrink from the responsibility laid upon him in The Oregonian's arti cle, which Commissioner Kankin wails about as throwing all the blame on thei police. "What is the matter with Brother Bankln? Can't he read Eng lish? "We print elsewhere a synopsis of ex President Harrison's Ann Arbor ad dress, and in another place a trenchant criticism upon It from the New York ZTimes and New Tork Sun. The only point lu General Harrison's argument we wish to notice is his treatment of the Filipinos. They have, he says, "no conception of American Ideals"; they "will be very slow to reach the stage where they might with safety be made citizens." "Well, what is the conclusion from this undeniable state of Philip pine development? VThy, that we must make them citizens at once. That Is the whole tenor of General Harrison's argument. He says the islands are a part of the United States, and that the Constitution extends to them In every respect, without regard to the treaty of Paris. If they are not full citizens, he argues, they are aliens. If the islands are not part of the United States, they are foreign territory. This is the contention of a controversialist, but not the sane and sensible conclu sion of practical statesmanship. If the Filipinos are manifestly unfit for full citizenship, is not the natural course of .wisdom to admit them to such measure of citizenship as they are fit for, and advance them as they develop capa city? Then they will be best provided for, and we shall' escape 'both extremes of tyranny over them and danger to our own civilization. Then they will not be states, not foreign territory either, but United States territory In tho rudimentary state of organization. The anti-imperialist position, main tained by General Harrison" and by the petitioners before the Supreme Court, is that of stubborn opposition to the reasonable, half-way measures which prudence dictates. They are so set against annexation that they are deter mined It shall be made as odious as possible, and they are indifferent as to which of two opposite and Irreconcila ble methods is employed to insure that odium. The fact that the Philippines are ours and that we must do the best we can by them is blindly ignored. On the one--hand they maintain that the Filipinos are entitled to full citizenship, and on the other hand they aver that the Filipinos are absolutely unfitted for citizenship. This Is a contradiction, and while they fondly imagine that the con tradiction Is one they have dexterously saddled upon the cause of annexation, the fact remains that they have only destroyed their own argument. For if their antagonistic contentions prove anything, they prove that the treaty of Paris is a physical Impossibility and therefore never happened. But the fact of annexation is one of the plainest facts in history, and can neither be set aside nor undone. The fact that full citizenship for the Filipinos is an un thinkable folly, and the fact that American Consuls to the dependencies were withdrawn and Spanish Consuls recognized are two facts not, as Mr. Aldrlch imagines, mutually destruct ive, but they are facts that must be harmonized and blended into a rule of action, correct In form and beneficent in practice. That rule of action' it will be the duty and purpose of Congress and the Administration to formulate. And, -with imperfect human" methods, that Is Just what they "will do. The proposed "Weather Bureau exten sions contemplated by the Secretary of Agriculture, and which were favorably Indorsed by the Chamber of Commerce at Its last meeting, consist of the re establishment of weather and vessel-reporting stations at the mouth of the Co lumbia River near Fort Canby, and at Tatoosh Island, at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Stations at both of these places were operated for a number of years, and proved very val uable aids to the shipping interests of the Pacific Coast Through the break ing down of the cable at Tatoosh Island and the lack of an appropriation to replace it, the station there was aban doned about two years ago, and the one at Fort Canby was for some unknown reason discontinued shortly afterwards. Reports from these two stations have been greatly missed, as they were the outposts that gave the first intimation of changes In 'North Pacific weather, besides being important points for re porting all In-bound and out-bound ves sels for or from Columbia River or Puget Sound ports. Numerous peti tions have been sent to the Agricultural Department by vessel-owners, masters and agents at Portland, San Francisco and at Puget Sound ports, for the re establishment of these stations, and the Secretary of Agriculture has acceded to the wishes of the petitioners by In cluding the cost of their re-establishment and maintenance In his estimates of the appropriation needed for his de partment the coming year. Members of Congress from the Pacific Coast will be derelict in their duty unless they bend every effort to secure the passage of these appropriations. The brutality of hazing as practiced at "West Point and elsewhere does not present so deplorable an aspect of life there to many excellent but unsympa thetic 'persons as does the heinous fact, now established upon. Incontrovertible evidence, that the cadets indulge in ex ploits and pastimes productive of gen uine mirth-making. The spectacle of human beings enjoying themselves, and especially of young persons actually having fun, sends the Iron deep into the soul of large numbers who have forgot ten they were once young themselves. That these "West Point youngsters, boil ing over with animal spirits, should have attended rat funerals, Joined In bowl races and eaten eighty-five prunes at one sitting, Is a demonstration In youthful exuberance calculated to strike terror, to all who have short memories, and those Imperfectly consti tuted cretatures who were never young. Such sports do not extenuate brutality, to which hazing Is pretty certain to de scend, unless ruled with a rod of iron, at West Point or anywhere else. Per haps the most gratifying feature of the "West Point testimony so far is the uni form disclaimer of the common charge that religion is the target of ridicule and abuse. Sanctimoniousness Is doubt less considered fair game, but "Saint ly" Mitchell can be readily apprehended as an innocently intended sobriquet, adopted In recognition of his office as president of the T. M. C. A., and with out i "'ous purport. The organiza tion itstir Is somewhat Incompatible with the legended Impossibility of re ligious life In the academy. Of course, the testimony of Hebrew students as to religious toleration there must be either a myth or a typographical error; for we have It on the authority of anti Semitism that no Jew ever wanted to be a soldier. Room was made in yesterday's issue of The Oregonlan for the full text of the franchise granted by the City Coun cil to the City & Suburban Company for Its street railway extension to the Southern Pacific carshops. Undertak ings of this sort are or vast moment to the community, and thlB franchise should be studied by all, for It reveals the results developed by study of mu nicipal history and conditions. Notice, In the first place, that the franchise. In stead of being perpetual, as such con cessions were once carelessly drawn, expires absolutely at the end of thirty years. The ordinance is careful also to specify the license cars shall pay under existing regulations. Every portion and detail of the work Is to be subject ed to supervision and approval of the city authorities, on pain of forfeiture of the charter. The speed of cars, the rate of fare, the frequency of service, the completion of the line within a year, are all specified, with the provision, in the event of failure in any one partic ular, that "this franchise shall be for feited without any further act upon the part of the city or Its officers." In addition to these specifications, the or dinance prescribes the kind of rails to be laid, regulations Tor the company's participation In street Improvements, and for the precise manner In which the work of construction shall proceed. The controversy with the company over this franchise and over the $SO00 due from it to the city shows that in this respect, at least, the interests of the city are earnestly safeguarded. Careful reading of the Hay-Paunce-fote treaty, with the, Davis amendment Incorporated, gives one an uneasy feeling that the text is awkward as It stands, and that, if railroad Interests opposed to the canal have accepted the amend ment as an effective Instrument of de lay, there Is reason to fear their course Is shrewdly advised. If we suppose that the British holdings In the rail roads have Influence also at London, fears of delay have pretty solid founda tion. The treaty forbids fortification, except that the provisions against forti fication and belligerent use shall not "apply to measures which the United States may find It necessary to take for securing by Its own forces the defense of the United States and the mainte nance of publ'c order." The question Is, "What does that mean? "What meas ures In its own defense can the United States employ along the canal, consist ent with the complete inhibition of all use of the canal -for warlike purposes In peace or war? The treaty forbids not only fortifications, but interference with freedom of the canal to bellig erent vessels, blockade, embarkation or disembarkation of troops, stores or mu nitions, and the remaining of warships for more than twenty-four hours within three marine miles of the canal's ap proaches. Of course, if the United States is going to take any measures It likes In its own defense. It will be likely to do a number of these things. Is It, then, the purport of the amend ment to overthrow the rest of the treaty? This is. It Is true, the provis ion of the Suez convention, and no dif ficulty need arise In its administration, provided the henest effort is made by the contracting parties to get on. Rati fication, even, could proceed apace now, if the only question were to facilitate the canal. But we have to reckon with determined and resourceful antagonism. Is the amendment an instrument of delay? XO CURE FOR BLOATED SUFFRAGE. A. K. Shepard, in a brief address -before the Colorado Society of the Sons of the Revolution, delivered at Denver on the 25th ult, makes an earnest plea for restricted suffrage, longer tenure of office, fewer elections, reform In our naturalization laws, and a check on what he terms "the Importation of for eign scum." The war cry of Mr. Shep ard Is, "Put none but Americans on guard." By Americans he does not necessarily mean those born in this country, but those who are Americans at heart, who are capable of intelligent ly exercising the right of suffrage and appreciating the privileges conferred on them. Between 1S69 and 1899, Inclusive, we Imported 12,194,424 human beings. Three-fourths of these were from non-English-speaking races, and of these a very large percentage was of the very lowest type. The adult males of this horde under cur laws became voters two years after their arrival on our shores. The fact Is recalled that in 1798 the term of residence required for aliens was fourteen years, with five years' previous declaration of Intention. In 1802, under Jefferson, the residence was reduced to five years and the dec laration of Intention to three years, and the power to naturalize aliens was placed In the hands of Inferior courts. Under President John Qulncy Adams the declaration of Intention was re duced to two years. The present re quirements for the naturalization of aliens are five years' continuous resi dence, with two years' previous decla ration before any court of record, and one year's residence in the state or ter ritory where the declaration was orig inally made. Mr. Shepard would re form these present conditions. Citizen ship should only be granted by the United States Courts after a full resl--dence of at least five years, and all privileges accorded by "first papers" or declaration of intention should be abol ished. The reforms urged by Mr. Shepard are excellent In theory, but will never be put In practice by either party. It Is true that the Importation of human freight from Europe or China Is a dan ger. You can exclude the human freight from China, but not from Eu rope, because you could not get cither party today to exclude that quality of foreign Immigration described as hu man freight The Republican party could not hold its foreign vote of recent years today if It excluded this human freight vThe Democratic party would make the practical exclusion of foreign Immigration a battle-cry, as they did under John Adams. So long as the la bor vote of America will not ask that the door be shut and barred against this human freight. It will come to America, and when It once gets here It will be sure to be turned rapidly into Democratic voters. The fatal mistake was made when the states began to repeal the property qualification for suffrage. From this repeal dates the slow but steady demor alization of the suffrage In America. This error It is hopeless to expect to correct Party greed and demagogy are sure to resist successfully all ef forts at reformed system of naturaliza tion. If we could absolutely stop the Importation for a number of years, we could, give us time, safely absorb and make over the repulsive foreign ele ment hut we cannot absorb and edu cate the whole world at once. In small detachments we can digest the whole human race, but the present swarm of Egyptian lice Is more than we can di gest If they come, they are sure to become voters, and they are likely to continue to come, for no foreign exclu sion act is likely to be ever enacted. American labor Is not disposed to do more than oppose the introduction of contract labor. Under the circum stances, there will be no exclusion of human freight from Europe; there will be no reform of our naturalization laws. "We are in a bad way, perhaps, but Great Britain is really worse off, for her dangerous vote has already com pelled her to enact legislation that stands for gross socialism and labor pensions. A CRITIC, BUT NOT A SURGEON". The comments of Democrats of vari ous shades of opinion upon Mr. Cleve land's article on the present plight of the Democracy are not flattering. The Bryanltes, of ccurse, speak of It with contempt, but even Mn Cleveland's friends and admirers confess that his utterances are too general to be of any practical benefit In the reorganization of the party. The trouble with Mr. Cleveland is that the situation demands not a critic so much as a surgeon. The Democratic party Is bleeding to death. Anybody can see that as readily as Mr. Cleveland, but when he passes from the province of a political critic to that of a political surgeon, Mr. Cleveland falls flat His remedy Is "to return to first principles," which Is as absolutely Im possible as It would be to solve the present situation In China by ordering the 6peedy conversion of the Chinese people from Confucianism and Taoism to Christianity. Mr. Cleveland Is not quite Ingenuous In his article, for "the abandonment of the principles of true Democracy" for "the fallacy of free sil ver and populism" began as long ago as 1892, when Mr. Cleveland's party managers ran a fusion ticket In certain "Western States with the Populists and free sllverites, and when Mr. Cleveland allowed himself to extend the olive branch to riotous strikers by denounc ing what he called "the communism of pelf." "What are these "first principles" to which Mr. Cleveland would have the Democracy, return? The Democracy opposed the "greenback" during the war, when It was a deplorable mili tary necessity, but It upheld the green hack and perpetuated It after the war, when the Republican party hoped to re tire It In 1SG8 the Democratic party favored repudiation; wished to pay our bonds In depreciated paper. Just as the Bryanlte Democracy desires to pay them today In depreciated silver. In 1874-75 the Democracy declared for fiat paper money; in 1877 the Democracy began voting for depreciated silver, and on every occasion from this date to the present two-thirds of the Democratic party, within or without Congress, has voted at every opportunity for flat sil ver. "When President Cleveland, at the extra session of 1S92, urged his flarty to repeal the act of June, 1S90, he- was able to achieve his purpose only through Republican votes. On a party vote he would have been beaten, so strong then was his party lor flat silver. In 1896 his party was overwhelmingly for flat sliver, and so it was in 1230, and so it Is today, and so it will be In 1904. The Democratic party has been the party of repudiation, fiat paper and fiat sliver since 1868. Mr. Cleveland's run ning mate, Stevenson, was selected In 1892 because It was necessary to throw a bone to the baying dog of free-silver. Surely Mr. Cleveland cannot seriously suppose that some six or seven millions of Democrats who voted for Bryan in 189G and 1900 can 'be "reorganized" for victory In 19M by pointing out that they must return to "first principles." In effect, Mr. Cleveland tells the advo cates of populism and fiat silver that they must become apostates to their financial and political creed or again Incur defeat The Democracy that Mr. Cleveland Is talking about Is not the Democracy that the party Is thinking about today. The Cleveland Democracy Is dead, except so far as its Influence Is manifested through the Republican party. Populism and flat money rule the National Democracy today, and will continue to rule It directly or indirectly for some years to come. The Cleveland Democracy Is as dead as the old "Whig party was In 1856 and 1860. Cleveland Is a sound critic. He sees what we all can see, but he Is no surgeon. He can not tie the artery of the bleeding De mocracy. He only advises that It be tied to save the patient Roseburg comes to the front with a poultry show the like of which has never been seen In the Umpqua Valley before. A bronze turkey weighing thirty-five pounds Is the leading attrac tion of the exhibit, though a Brahma cock weighing eleven pounds equals the turkey In degree, if not in kind, as proof of what breeding will do for fowls. That which would insure the In terest of the masses In the poultry in dustry, however, would be the an nouncement of the discovery or produc tion of a breed of fowls that can be de pended upon to furnish eggs from Oc tober to February, Inclusive. Fowls of very ordinary pedigree or no pedigree at all are fairly mindful of their duty In this respect during the rest of the year. The huge bronze turkey gob bler and the mammoth Brahma cock is each a fine specimen fowl In his way, but give us the Industrious hen that goes singing about her duty from day to day and announces Us faithful per formance by a cheerful cackle. The menace of a dock laborers' Btrlke so long hanging over Antwerp materi alized a few days ago, when 30,000 men employed In loading and discharging shipping went out The strike, it is said, promises to be of greater propor tions than the memorable and disas trous one of 18D3. Oppressed by real grievances, which have been industri ously played upon ana magnified by labor agitators, the men are In no mood for compromise. A proposition for arbitration made by the Burgomas ter a few days ago met with an abrupt refusal, and, falling In wiser counsels, a general hold-up of business on the docks was precipitated. The history of the great dock strike of 1893 is yet sufficiently fresh In the public memory to cause Its renewal to be viewed with alarm In shipping circles the world over. The benefit of the fire drill as prac ticed In the public schools of this city was demonstrated in the Couch build ing a few days ago, when appearances indicated that the roof of the building was on fire. The rooms were emptied of the 700 children there congregated In exactly 2 minutes, and without the slightest alarm among the pupils or disorder in the ranks. Fortunately, the building was not on fire, but the conse quences of a nanic would have been quite as disastrous as if real danger existed, had not the teachers kept con trol of the situation. As a demonstra tion of the dominion of intelligence over fear, and method over confusion, an example of this kind Is gratifying alike to teachers and parents. The French Chamber of Deputies is announced to have adopted a resolution Intended to prohibit the manufacture and sale of absinthe in France: If Mr. Dooley were well, he would probably mangle Hamlet's farewell to Horatio and say to France, "Absinthe from fe licity a while, and In this harsh world draw thy breath In pain." Portland and Multnomah property owners and Count Bonl run into debt with equal facility. But we may get some satisfaction out of feeling like the GouldB. The longer the ship subsidy bill Is exposed the more does it betray its taint and the surer is it of defeat Hanna must get it through now or never. Bryan alleges conservatism as one cause of his defeat He Is right Con servatism Is a mighty good thing when opposed by foolish innovation. Germany may impose a 50-cent im port duty on wheat Oregon farmers who favor protection should make sure they are protected. If Roberts had waited until the war was ended, he would not have started home before it was over. It will do no good to make new cen tury resolutions because rew of us will live 100 years. Bryan will stick to his principles. Nobody objects. Now let Democracy stick to Its. Chinese Characteristics. For more than 2000 years not only has It been a political axiom that the ruler Is for the people, not the people for the ruler, but the civil official always takes precedence of the military of the same nominal rank, says the Contemporary Re view. The civil Viceroy Is supreme com mander, of all the forces In his Vlceroy alty, even though he be utterly Ignorant of the art of war. la civil and military rank there are nine grades. These are In dicated by knobs of precious stones on. the crown of the hat. These knobs are usually called "buttons." There are cor responding signs of rank sewn in gold thread In scuares on the chest and back of the outer robe. In the case of Chil ians, these slgna are various birds. In that of the military they are animals. A mil itary officer of a certain rank, or "but ton," is not entitled to sit down In the presence of a civil official of the same nominal rank. Literary knoweldge com mands profound and universal respect and marks the real upper class of China; military knowledge is held in no esteem. This will serve as an , indication of the love of peace so characteristic of the Chi nese people. They revere Confucius as something more than many. They admire the excel lent system of ethics which he has trans mitted. To this system and the rich liter ature connected with It the Chinese owe their unity and their high ideals of mo rality. To Inquire whether or not their own ideal standard is attained by them In practical life Is beside our present pur pose. That standard exists, and Is ap pealed to as the highest and meet influen tial court in the land. No people appeal to and rely upon reason more than do the Chinese. Their Instruction from childhood teaches them to trust to reason and not to force for the statement and the acqui sition of their rights. Years ago they appealed In this way to "Western nations, by whom their appeal was spurned with contempt hence the present horrors In China. Their etiquette, again, which is strictly observed by all classes, makes a police force unnecessary. Their deference to seniors, their politeness to strangers, all combine to form a powerful restraint of the coarser feelings and on that resort to physical force hot uncommon among many Western nations. In all their quar rels I never 3aw one Chinaman, however angry, strike another. They certainly sometimes do strike with lethal weapons, and murder to committed, but It Is so rare that a case never came under my ovm. personal observation. THE ORDINARY CONGRESSMAN. lie Simply- Comes and Goes and Leaves Little Behind Him. Tho average length of a career in con gress 13 four years. At the beginning or every Congress about one-third of the members of the House are new to the business. It Is a rare thing for a mem ber to make any sort of a mark in leg islation before he has been In the House at least two full terms, and those who have forced themselves above the surfaco before the close Of a single term can almost be counted on tho lingers of ona hand. The ordinary Congressman comes and goes and leaves no trnee behind him, except on the salary vouchers, writes L. A. Coolidgo In Ainslee's Magazine. The man who stays In the House for more than two terms has a fair chance of wielding a little influence. He gets his name Into the Congressional Record once In a while; he Is recognized by the Speaker occasionally; ana if he Is unusu ally lucky the newspapers take him up and sometimes give blm a headline all to himself. There are 134 members ot the present House who are serving their third term or better. Of these, 25, at a generous estimate, are so well known that their names might carry some mean ing outside their own state. The work of a Congressman Is thankless enough. It brings nothing in tho way of money, little In the way of reputation, except In rare Instances, and a vast amount ot drudgery. A man must be In the. harness for years generally before he amounts to anything, and by the time ne begins to count In legislation he has lost his en thusiasm and spirit and becomes a pack horse. Once In a while, at rare Intervals, there is a flash across tne dull legisla tive sky like a meteor, and a sudden reputation la made for a new man. That was the way with Bryan when he first came "to the House In the Fifty-third Congress, and sprang Into Instant noto riety with a speech on the tariff that dazzled everybody. Llttlefleld, of Maine, made an even more effective stroke last "Winter with his argument against the unseating of the Mormon Roberts. These are the most striking examples In recent years of reputations quickly made. Away back In the Fifty-third Congress, Lafe Penco caught the House in the first week after he took his seat with a free sliver speech. It Is significant that those who thus make a dramatic entrance In the House rarely count for much In legisla tion afterward. Bryan never had any influence, and all tho whllo he stayed In Congress ho was looked upon as a good talker and nothing more. Towne frittered himself away after his silver speech, and, as for Lafe Pence, who had black type in the newspapers for a few days after his maiden effort, it Is ham nowadays to find anybody who can remember Ws name. TON TF SOAP TO LAUNCH SHIP. The Time, Money and Trouble It Takes to Get War Vessel In "Water. New Orleans Times-Democrat Tho launching of a little torpedo-boat Is comparatively easy, and the cost is not over a few hundred dollars, Including flowers and souvenirs and even the bot tle of champagne used In the christening. But when it comes to a big armored cruis er or a first-class battle-ship the actual expense seldom falls below $4000 or $3000 The building of the ways for the ship to slide down over is the main Item, and then comes the greasing, Every Inch of timber over which the vessel slides must be covered with a lubricant Different firms use different substances, but soap ana tallow form the main Ingredients of them all. Cramps use a layer of beet tallow and a layer .of soft soap, and taken altogether, between one and one and a half tons of the stuff was required to put a move on the average battleship. The tallow is spread on first to the depth or about three fingers, and tha workmen use big flat trowels to make the surface as smooth as possible. Then they pour over tne sort soap, which Is just thick enough to run. or about the consistency of tar As a general thing this double coating answers the purpose admirably, and the ship glides Into the water as If It was sailing In air. If It sticks, as has hap pened In a few cases. It is likely to spring some of Its plates, and accidents of that kind are so costly that nothing Is spared to avert them. Moreover, sailors are very superstitious about launchings. and, if anything goes wrong, the ship is regarded as unlucky, something greatly dreaded by all officers. Several years ago a Chicago packing-house got up a special preparation for greasing ships ways and sent a quan tity of It to a firm In Maine to demonstrate its merits. It was made from the refuse of the rendering house, and had an odor that seemed strong enough to lift a man-of-war clear off its bearings) The firm tried It on a small merchant ship which It had ready to launch, but Instead of showing the qualities of a lubricant It acted more like glue. The vessel stuck fast on tho ways and had to be pulled off with jacks. That was the last ever heard of the preparation, and the Chicago folks dropped the scheme. "What is left of the soap and tallow after a launching Is carefully scraped off and sold. It Is used In making axle grease. BRITISH XAVT UNPREPARED. The Actnnl Fleets at Sea. Are Not on a War Footing-. An efficient Navy is essential above all else for England, owing to her Insular position, the adoption of free trade, the extinction of British agriculture and the vital necessity of free access for our ships when going to and fro on the wide common of the sea, says a London corre spondent in the Philadelphia Public Led ger. The first element of efficiency in a fleet Is Its readiness to fight Naval war is differentiated from war on land by the quality of suddenness. "When the next maritime war breaks out between two maritime powers, the world will get a surprise. One or other of them will strike a blow similar in kind to the blow struck by Admiral Dewey against the ships of the Soanlards In Manila Bay. In spite, however, of the lessons record ed on the pages of English history, our principal British fleets are not ready for action. They are deficient In essentials. No addition to the building programme, no Increase to the number of men, no voting of millions by a Legislature bewil dered by the complexity and number of the problems with which it has to deal, will have any beneficial effect on the next maritime war until the fleets actually at sea are made ready for action. Common sense, therefore, requires that our Med iterranean fleet and the Channel squadron should be placed on a war footing with out loss of time, whatever economy may be necessary in other directions COMMENT ON HARRISON'S ADDKESS New York Times. In beginning his address at Ann Arbor. ex-President Harrison took pains to dis claim any intention to make a legal ar gument The address supports the dis claimer by strong Intrinsic evidence. If General Harrison had been making an argument before the Supreme Court in support of the proposition that the Con stitution follows the flag, and that there fore the people of the Philippines and Porto RtCo are citizens, he would not have wasted the time ot that eminently unsentimental bench by such an appeal as this: If tbe Constitution relates only to the states and their people, then all things prohibited la the states may he done In tho acquired terri tory, and this view ot the Constitution Is shocking. And It It oou:d he done In Porto Rico, why could It not bw done In Oklahoma, Indian Territory and Alaska? Who Is shocked by that 'view of tne Constitution? It is good law to say that when we speak of the states of the Union we mean also the territories. They are a part of the National domain, not exterior possessions. Yet the Federal Government may not exercise within a state the right of eminent domain, that Is, the taking of private property for pub lic purposes, a right which it exercises within a territory, with or without the action of the territorial government The laws passed by territorial Legislatures are subject to the approval or disapproval of Congress. The Legislature of a terri tory Is, In fact a body to which Congress has delegated powers that are to be ex ercised under its supervision. The people of a territory may In convention as sembled adopt a constitution satisfactory to themselves, yet Congress may refuse to recognize it The Constitution does not give Congress power to treat states In that way. let has anybody ever really been shocked because things prohibited in the states may be done In the territories? Except for tho purpose of opposing the Adminis tration, have sensible and sober-minded persons ever really been shocked by the proposition that the President or Con gress may do in the Philippines what the Constitution forbids them to do in the It would, indeed, be shocking If the President or Congress should attempt to govern the Philippines in a despotic and oppressive manner, without any regard for the bill of rights say as Spain gov erned them prior to the cession. The American people know very well that no President, no Congress, will attempt that So they refuse to be shocked. Between what a monster and a fool might do and what any President trusted by the peo ple will do Is so great a gulf that per sons standing securely on the hither side of tho proposition are quite beyond the effective radius of the shock. Of course, every anti-imperialist in the country In stantly jumps up to say that the gov ernment of McKlnley Is worse than the government of Spain, because we are killing off the Filipinos. Ho the Govern ment would use the military arm to kill off men who ahoud rise In rebellion against its lawful authority In New York or Michigan, where the guarantees of the Constitution have full force and effect. The American people, being sensible, have recently expressed their belief that the President can be trusted. They know that as soon as the rebellious spirit that actuates a small fraction of the Filipinos has exhausted Itself the work of civil administration In the Islands will proceed In the temper of the President's instruc tions to the commission. They know. In other words, that the blessings ot tree Institutions will be conferred upon the Filipinos under American rule Just as fast a's and just as far as they become capable of understanding and enjoying them, and that under Spanish rule they never would have enjoyed anything of the kind. An unprejudiced mind Is not shocked by that situation, and would not be even If ex-Presldentt Harrison was right about the law. Daniel "Webster, who was something or a hand at expounding the Constitution, declared that "the Constitution cannot be extended over anything except over the old states and the new states that shall come hereafter, when they do come In." Until that tlmo Congress was the source of their government The slave holders at one time eagerly seized upon General Harrison's doctrine, the doctrine that the Constitution of Its own force extends to the territories. They wanted, as Benton put it to carry the Con stitution, "the slavery part ot It, Into the territories, overruling and overriding all the anti-slavery laws which It found there, and placing the Institution there under Its own wing and maintaining It beyond the power of eradication either by Congress or the people of the terri tory." New York Sun. "We regret to say that the Intellectual reputation of the Hon. Benjamin Harri son, which It has been the Sun's pleas ure always to look upon as among the first in the land, has been damaged by his address of Friday at Ann Arbor University on the relations of the Con stitution to tho flag. "We say this In the spirit with which General Harrison dis cussed tho legal status of the Philip pines, that Is, without regard to the mer its of expansion. General Harrison thinks that the Con stitution follows the flag By Its own vigor, and that, therefore, the Filipinos, being citizens of the United States, must have citizens' rights. But what is the weight of a judgment that arises from this passionate reasoning? No map can read that schedule of rights which the President save to the Philippine Commission. In an inverse order, without hor ror. Did you ever read one of the treaties made by the United States -with an Old World power? On one side the speak, of the "sub jects of Her Majesty." and on the other "the citizens of the United States." Now. it these provisions guaranteed to citizens ot the United States do not apply to citizens ot the Philip pine Islands, It Is time for us to amend these treaties by adding "and subjects" after the words "citizens of the United States." General Harrison has been President, and so haa been the negotiator of treaties in the name of the United States; yet in not a single treaty ever sent before the Senate by him, or by any other Presi dent for that matter, have the Inhabi tants of the territories ot the United States ever had the slightest part They had no voise in the choice of either the President who proposed or the Senators who ratified. Toward tne treaty they were as truly "subjects" as are the "1U plnos whose subjugation now afflicts Gen eral Harrison with horror. A subsequent paragraph of the Ann Arbor address contains evidences of even greater mental excltemenxs But aon't you see that there Is a graver peril hanging over us? Are the rights of the people upon the mainland secure when we ex ercise arbitrary power over people from whom we demand entire obedience? There are today within the strict bor ders of the United States four communi ties over whom practically arbitrary pow er Is exercised and from whom entire obedience is demanded. In the Territor ies ot Arizona, New Mexico, Indian Ter ritory and Oklahoma they vote neither for members of Congress nor President In the distant part of the continent that Is subject to our jurisdiction, Alaska, it is tho same. We will not consider the other portions of the country where lor a time the authority of the President was as arbitrary as It Is today In the Philippines, nor will we discuss the power of Congress to remove the restrictions which in, Its discretion it has put upon that authority. Neither will we review the history of the North American In dians. The Ann Arbor address gives one the Impression that General Harrison took: tho first convenient opportunity to vent his feelings about the Philippine ques tion, giving to them the dignified outlet of an apparent argument as to the law. Nevertheless, at the close General Har rison found that he had reached the con clusion that waits for all orators on the subject: "These Constitutional questions will soon be settled by the Supreme Court" NOTE AND COMMENT. The war in the Transvaal Is still under the head of unfinished business. Christmas Is a festival about which tho postal clerk can get up no enthusiasm. A Toledo man has been sent to Jail for kissing a girl. Possibly It was worth It Dewet should seize this opportunity to submit terms of surrender to the British All this talk about getting presents ta stockings must make Hon. J. Simpson very tired. Among the writers whose works are m demand for Christmas Is our old friend, Mother Goose. It Is not noticed that the coal miners' strike, which "was hushed up till after election," has broken out again. If General Agulnaldo Is not dead ha has procured a helmet of Invisibility which is' proof against war correspond ents. Archbishop Ireland is a total abstainer, and as he appreciates the value of tem perance, he Is In favor ot the Army can teen. Adlal can congratulate himself that even election to the Vice-Presidency couldn't have obscured him any mora completely. If It had not stopped raining when it did we would have begun to get a very accurate Idea of how Noah's contempora ries who were left out of the ark felt about It. Omaha detectives have located tho house In which Millionaire Cudahy's boy was concealed by kidnapers. Now tha Omaha public has a chance to get cvea with Colorado by burning the edifice alive. The Castellane safety valve, which Is .leaking under the high pressure of tho finical count's Indignation, does not portend explosion. The little Frenchman was In high dudgeon a few months ago and left America to light a duel with- a Paris editor. However, the Count cooled off on tho ocean voyage. His present pet Is only the effervescence of his an cestors. A new field of usefulness has been dis covered for the superfluous man, and a Philadelphia woman voucnes for the dis covery. Her bell rang on Monday morning and the colored maid announced that "de washman hab cum." "The washmanr You mean washerwoman, don't you?" ex claimed her mistress. "No'm; lt3 da washman now," said 'Liza. "De lady w'ot done uster do de washin' is a frlen ob mine, an Ah done got er a. stiddy Job las' week workln' In a fambly on Locust street" "Well, then, who's to do my wash?" demanded 'Liza's mistress. "Why, de washman. He's done yere now," said 'Liza. "He's de husban o my lady frien' w'ot used to do de washin'. He's a no 'count nlggah, an' now she's got a stiddy Job, he's gwlne to do her washin' fer hl3 bo'dl" Marie Drofnah, who Is Charles B. Han ford's leading lady In "Private John Al len," has been the occasion of much curiosity. A Southern lady, on being In troduced to Hanford, said: "What per fect English Mme. Drofnah speaks?" 'Yes," was the reply. "She speaks very good English." "Without the slightest foreign accent" "I have observed that." "Does she like this country better than Russia?" "Very much better." "But stie would rather act In Russian than In Eng lish, would she not?" "I don't believe she would. In fact, she can't speak Rus sian." "Can't speak Russian! "Why, she is an enigma." "No," was the response, "she Is not an enigma. She is an ana gram. You will notice that her name spelled backward Is the same as mine. She Is Mrs. Hanford." P. L. Foote, of Poughkeepsle, N. x., sends out the following suggestion In a circular: "Were you born In 1S50? Hero Is a proposition that may Interest you. Let the men of 1S0O, who were babes In 1850, form a&soclatlons In town and city and celebrate the completion of their half century of life and the beginning of the new century with banquets held on the coming New Year's eve or New Year's night. Here is a unique dual event for the fifties. Each town or city has enough of the vintage of 1S50 to form a congenial gathering. The rosters ot the different societies will give ages and chance of selection. A benefit Idea might be evolved, with stated meetings, result ing In payment to widows on death of a member, or an accumulating fund tor those reaching the age ot 100." The Ore gonlan Is' qualified for membership In an Oregon society. Old Loves. (From Henri Murger.) Louise, have you forgetten yet The corner of the flowery land. The ancient garden where we met My hand that trembled In your hand? Our lips found words scarce sweet enough. As low beneath the willow trees We sat; have you forgotten, love? Do you remember, love Louise? Marie, have you forgotten yet The loving- barter that we made? The rings we changed, the suns that set The woods fulfilled with sun and shade? The fountains that were musical By many an ancient trystlng tree Marie, have you forgotten all? Do you remember, love Marie? Christine, do you remember yet Tour room with scents and roses gay? My garret near the sky 'twas set The April hours, the nights of May? The clear calm nights the stare above That whispered they were fairest seen Through no cloud-veils? Remember, lovt Do you remember, love Christine? Louise Is dead. and. well-a-day! Marie a sadder path has ta'eh; And pale Christine has passed away. In southern suns to bloom again. Alas! for one and all of us Marie, Louise. Christine, forget; Our bower ot love Is ruinous, And I alone remember yet- Andrew Lass. i ' - Da-wn. The night was dark, though sometimes a faint star A little while a little space made bright. The night was long and like an Iron bar Lay heavy on tho land; till o'er the sea Slowly within the East, there grew a light Which half was starlight, and half seemed to be The herald of a greater. The pale white Turned .slowly to pale rose, and up the height Of heaven slowly climbed. The gray ssa grew Rose-colored like the sky. A white gulf flew Straight toward the utmost boundary of the East. Where slowly the ro3e gathered and Increased. It was as on the opening cf a door By one that In his hand a lamp doth hold. Whose flame Is hidden by the garment's fold The" still air moves, the wide room Is less dim. More bright the East became, the ocean turned Dark and more dark against the brightenlnj sky Sharper against the sky the long sea line. The hollows of the breakers on the shore Were green like leaves whereon no sun doth shine. Though white the outer branches of the tree. From rose to red the level heaven burned; Then sudden, as It a svord fll from on high, A blade of gold flashed on the horizon's rim. KIchard Watson Gilder.