THE MOUSING OREGONIAN, MONDAY,. DECEMBER. U,r 1900.
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PORTLAND, MONDAY, DECEMBER 24
In the debate on the Tvar-revenue bill
an unexpected champion of Pacific
Coast Interests arose In the person of
Representative Fitzgerald, of Massa
chusetts, who advocated abolishment
of the tax on tea, and withal so effect
ively as to secure a vote of 55 to 7G In
its favor. His contention, of course,
was not that the Government, in tax
ing tea and etting coffee in free. Is
discriminating against Pacific trade in
favor of the coffee and sugar trusts,
but he did contend that abolishment
of the tax on tea -would be in line with
the greatest god to the greatest num
ber. Figures, Indeed, indicate that
this tax, which falls upon the masses
of the people, adds more than SO per
cent to the cost of tea. In ten months
of the present calendar year the im
ports of this article amounted to 79,
715,847 pounfis, valued at $9.836.641. 'This
is an averake of a little over 12 cents
per pound. The exact figure Is 12.33
cents. As the duty Is 10 cents per
pound, thW tax added $7,971,584 to the
importing Value, bringing the cost to
22.33 cents jper pound, aside from the
importers' profits and other charges.
Mr. Fltzgefrald -was fully justified in
saying, aVhe ali, that "millions of the
people ty!e laboring people and the
middle itlass who now pay 35 cents a
pound .for tea, -would be able to get
tea for' 25 cents a pound but for the
imposition of the tax." The reduction
bill h&s still to pass the Senate, but
the chances for justice to tea is very
ijmll. The Senate has always shown
reater subserviency than the House to
'the influences interested in perpetua
tion of this tax.
If we can judge this latest story of
President Hill's excursions into fresh
railroad fields by the history of simi
lar past achievements, -we must sep
arate It into a true part and a false.
Community of ownership does not go
very -well -with close traffic arrange
ments between certain connecting East
ern and Western lines, but the two
things seem inseparably associated in
the minds of our railroad romancers.
If Mr. Hill has succeeded in bringing
into amicable touch the ownerships of
the Great Northern, Northern Pacific
and Canadian Pacific, a logical corol
lary of such proposition is not a line
to tidewater over the St. Paul and Erie
roads. Yet that is the deduction the
observers offer. The fact seems to be
that in discussing the new harmony
our authorities are unable to dismiss
from their minds the old ideas of fight.
"While the three Pacific roads con
cerned are routing their business over
the St. :Paul and Erie, what -will the
friendly ownership of the competitors
of the St Paul and Erie be doing? Ob
viously, they would be protesting. The
tendency of all these transcontinental
negotiations is not toward close traffic
arrangements for through connections,
but for harmony and equity all round.
Interlocked directorates -will look after
the owner's interests. They may di
vert traffic, not to destroy anybody,
but to conserve properties In propor
tion to their needs and just demands.
The -wand of peace Is waving over the
railroad world. It means order, sta
bility, economy. Its rule will be bet
ter for all than the old regime of -war.
Nobody -will profit by it more than
the merchant, -who can depend on set
tled conditions, and his customers as
"well. Gradually -we shall miss the
sharp practices with which competi
tion is now carried on. And that
means great gain to public morality.
Another highwayman has been land
ed in jail, and it remains to be seen
how many of our recent unpleasant
nesses can be brought to his door.
This is the customary end of such
epochs in municipal life, for the "car
nival of crime" usuallv consists of nn
or two clever crooks, who do all the!
mischief. As a rule, they stay In the
scene of their operations till they are
tracked and treed. Portland has had
many such experiences, regardless of
politics, and Burglar Nicholson and
Highwayman Long are no exception to
the rule. These arrests, of course, will
not solve the mystery of those blood
curdling encounters sustained by
heavy losers at poker games, or weaken
the confidence of trusting wives who
have been regaled with accounts of
nocturnal mishaps Invented to cover
up a night's debauch. But of the genu
ine hold-ups Mr. Long may be proved
guilty of all; and If not the only thing
to do is to persist in looking for the
other offender or offenders. The Fori
ncr crime was of exaggerated heinous
ness, and public interest in it was en
hanced by its dramatic and pathetic
features. It is certainly to be hoped
that If Long is guilty as charged,
evidence may be adduced and prose-
cution pushed that will mete him out
condign punishment. We can't make
it too plain to our Incipient lawbreak
ers that the way of the transgressor
Is hard.
On the -whole, we seem to be having
a little better luck in the Philippines
than Great Britain is meeting in South
Africa. ' The two cases present many
interesting points of divergence, though
superficially very similar. The Boers,
are the better soldiers, capable of more
respectable resistance than the Philip
pine fugitives: but, on the other hand,
they are more civilized, and -will know
when war is over. The Filipino bandits
have now no hope of success, but have
resolved, themselves into mere outlawry
for Its own sake. The Boers would
not stoop to this, but until the final'
stage of ths war is reached they put
up a more dignified and considerable
defense. The Boers want to live and
do business, and establishment of free
government will have far more effect
on them than on the Filipino guerrillas.
They can carry on war; the Filipinos
only brigandage. A natural criticism
to make Is that the African difficulties
should prove an object-lesson to the
American authorities in the necessity
of clearing the situation up thoroughly
before they announce that the Insur
rection Is at an end; but the cases are
hardly similar enough for this appli
cation. The character of Philippine
mountain resistance to the Spaniards
for hundreds of 5Tears, and to our own
forces for nearly three years. Indicates
that sporadic depredation by armed
bands may be expected for a long time
after the Boers are again peacefully
dwelling on the veldt. We shall have
to hold them down to the minimum of
activity by means of native soldiery.
A good deal of dissatisfaction is ex
pressed in this country with the con
cessions made to Great Britain in con
nection with the Nicaragua Canal, and
with the Clayton-Bulwer treaty Itself,
which, recently printed in full in The
Oregonlan, elicits the inquiry why
Great Britain needed to be considered
in connection with the project Why
wasn't it conceived as a purely Ameri
can affair, and so constructed? To an
swer this question It Is necessary to
review the circumstances leading up
to that treaty. The fact is that while
this country was dreaming about the
canal. Great Britain's more alert and
vigorous diplomacy set about action.
An important step In this direction was
the acquisition by Great Britain of
one terminus of what was considered
the most available route across the
Isthmus. This was effected by exten-f
slon of a British protectorate over the
Mosquito Territory, claimed by the Re
public or Nicaragua. This protectorate,
abandoned for a time by a treaty be
tween Great Britain and Spain, which
then had large American holdings, was
afterward revived by extending over
the Mosquito Territory the superln
tendency of Belize, now known as Brit
ish Honduras. An English settlement
was established at San Juan de Nica
ragua, to which the English settlers
gave the present English name of Grey
town, the eastern entrance of the canal,
and In 1S43 an attempt was made by.
the British to fake possession of the
surrounding country in opposition to
the wishes of the NIcaraguan Repub
lic. Out of this situation grew the
Clayton-Bulwer treaty, which natural
ly became, as much as anything else,
a measure of defense against British
designs on the Isthmus. This explains
why the United States was so glad to
stipulate in that treaty that neither
party should obtain or maintain any
exclusive control over the proposed
ship canal, should, not fortify there, or
colonize or assume dominion over any
of the adjacent territory.
The fact Is that neutralization of the
canal is not only enjoined upon us by
the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, and by a
further specific undertaking-of 1S57 with
Nicaragua, but is the historic policy of
our Government No Secretary of
State has ever put forth the proposi
tion that we should exclusively con
trol it, or that we are not bound by
our treaties concerning It In 1S56 Sec
retary Cass declared that "what the
United States wants in Central Amer
ica, next to the happiness of its peo
ple, is the security and neutrality of
the interoceanic routes which lead
through it" Mr. Seward in 1S66, and
Mr. Fish In 1873, each invoked the
Clayton-Bulwer treaty In remonstrances
to Great Britain. Even Mr. Blaine,
who desired increase of American op
portunity there, proposed "a readjust
ment of the terms of the treaty in a
spirit of amity and concord"; and when
his successor, Mr. Frellnghuysen, ad
vanced an argument to show that the
treaty was voidable. Lord Granville's
pertinent reply was that the prime ob
ject of the treaty was to prevent either
power from exercising "exclusive con
trol, in peace or war, over any of the
grand thoroughfares between the two
oceans." President Cleveland declared
that the canal "must be for the world's
benefit a trust for mankind, to be re
moved from the chance of domination
by any single power, nor become a
point of Invitation for hostilities or a
prize for warlike ambition." The fact
about neutralization is well set out in
these two. extracts from two high au
thorities, the late Senator Davis and
Admiral Dewey:
Davis No American statesman speaking with
official authority or responsibility has ever in
timated that the United States should assume
a control of this canal for the exclusive beneflt
of our Government or people. They have all,
with one accord, declared that the canal was
to be neutral ground In time of war, and al
ways open on terms of Impartial equity to the
ships and commerce of the world.
Dewey To fortify It would simply result In
making It a battle-ground In time of war;
fortifications would be enormously expensive
and ought not to be erected. Our fleets will
be a. sufficient guarantee of the neutrality and
safety of the canal In time of war as well as
In peace.
The demand or the Kansas City plat
form for exclusive ownership and con
trol of the canal by this Government,
In spite of pur solemn obligations with
Great Britain and Nicaragua to the
contrary, is a piece of unstatesmanlike
Impertinence, and such also is the ac
tion of the small minority In the Sen
ate that opposed the Hay-Pauncefote
treaty to the last
Idaho, Nevada and California are
said to be supplying Oregon with coy
otes which reolace victims of the scalp
bounty. Those people who study the
efficacy of the measure and are famil
iar with the circumstances know best
whether the law is accomplishing its
purpose. If it !s advancing the sheep
Industry, there is very potent argu
ment In its favor. If It is not Eastern
and Southern Oregon people, no doubt
are unwilling to waste the resources
of the state. The question Is not one of
grafts or of private emoluments, but In-
stead it involves -what means are most
efficacious for encouraging industries
and adding to the -wealth of the state.
NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR.
It is a curious fact that Rabbi Gross
man, discussing "The Jew and the
Christian" before a popular audience In
New Tork -City, Instances Shylock as
illustration of how literature had been
used to misrepresent the Jew. The
truth is that the picture of Shylock is
not an Indictment of the Jew at all,
but of the Christian of the Middle Ages
and his frightful abuse of the Jew. The
words put by Shakespeare into the
mouth of Shylock make a most elo
quent defense of his conduct and a
most terrific indictment of the Chris
tian merchant Antonio, whose shame
ful abuse ot Shylock had roused the
Jew to vindictive action, Shakespeare
clearly meant by his picture of Shylock
not to caricature the Jewish race, but
to hold the mirror up to his time, so
that It could see the Image of its own
brutality. Reverse the situation. Sup
pose Antonio had been reviled, spit
upon and footed in public by Shylock.
as Shylock had been by Antonio;
would not humanity have sympathized
with his passionate desire to be re
venged within the full extremity of the
law?
There is no need to explain Shylock;
he needs no more explanation than a
Christian would under like circum
stances. He is a man of powerful
mind, strong passions, high personal
dignity, who has been horribly perse
cuted and insulted by mean men, ut
terly inferior, to him In Intellect who
have taken a base advantage of his
helplessness within the law. Antonio
deserved to have his throat cut for his
cowardly persecution of Shylock, and
the vindictive passion of the outraged
Jew would be called heroic, had the
situations been reversed and Antonio
been the victim of Jewish arrogance
and brutality in the market place. No
Intelligent Jew can read Shylock's de
fense, which rises to the white heat of
eloquence, without feeling that Shakes
peare clearly meant not to satirize the
Jew, but powerfully to rebuke the mis
erable religious intolerance and racial
prejudice that disfigured the Middle
Ages. When we remember that Shakes
peare does not sketch Shylock as a Sir
Giles Overreach, but as a man of pow
erful nature, whose passionate vln
dlctlveness would do honor to any man
of equal dignity of mind and character
who had been equally abused. It can
not be truthfully said Shakespeare's
Shylock Is responsible for literary mis
representation of Jewish character. On
the contrary, the noblest defense In
literature of the Jew Is placed by
Shakespeare in Shylock's mouth.
There really Is not anything inex
plicable about the Jew and his condi
tion, past or present The Jew is what
he is today from environment and cir
cumstances rather than blood. The an
cient Jews were a warlike and an agri
cultural people, not a mercantile and
peaceful people. Racial and religious
persecution, and consequent civic and
social disabilities, forced them to con
centrate themselves In the few call
ings that were left open to them by
the law, or Into which they sometimes
bought their way by bribing barbarous
Christian Princes and Potentates to
suffer the law to sleep. Under the law
for centuries In Europe the Jew could
not be a soldier, could not be a land
Holder; and, pei force, a people that was
originally a race of warlike shepherds
and tillers of the soil became peace
loving bankers, doctors, chemists and
traders. The peculiar traits of the
Jew are the result of environment per
secution and concentration within a
few callings, not consequent upon pur
ity of blood or religion. The Jew stands
for a vital. Irrepressible race today for
the same reason as does the Irishman.
The discipline of difficulty and ancient
despotism has made him a man of en
durance and dogged power of resist
ance, to oppression under the most ad
verse circumstances. The brains and
vitality or both these races have been
dispersed all the world over, and wher
ever you find them they are a people of
striking though entirely different in
dividuality and vitality. The Irishman,
unlike the Jew, was not debarred from
military service, so he became a famous
fighting man wherever he selected his
place of exile.
No Jew capable of reflection cares
any more about the cheap caricatures
of Judge and Puck than an Intelligent
Irishman cares about the caricatures
of Richard Croker and his Billy Mc
Glory constituency, or Booker Wash
ington does about the caricatures of the
Darktown fire brigade. The truth Is
the Jews are a great race; but like
other great races, they have a right
to be judged by their noblest and best
representatives, not by their worst
There Is no abler, more accomplished
or high-toned Englishman In public
life today than Lord Rosebery, and he
married a Jewess. Intermarriages of
Jews with Christians in England,
France and the United States are actu
ally numerous today, though they still
may be few relatively. The Jews are
largely agnostics or Unitarians, and
the race separation is not likely to out
last another century. Given a declin
ing belief in the divinity of Christ on
the one side, and an increasing indiffer
ence to Judaism on the other, and in
another century the Jews will cease
to be a peculiar people, so far as race
prejudice and religious feeling are con
cerned. The Jews are eminent In
finance, business, law, statesmanship,
science, medicine, art, music, philology
and the stage. They are what they are
through the discipline of difficulty, of
oppression, of despotism, which has
stimulated, nurtured and maintained their
irrepressible vitality and vigor.
CITIES, RELATIVELY SPEAKING.
A late number of the bulletin of the
Department of Labor presents the re
sults of an official inquiry made under
an act of Congress of 1S9S Into the rela
tive status of the cities of the country
which are ambitious to be known as
"great cities." The investigation was
made under the supervision of the
Commissioner of Labor, and was lim
ited to cities having over 30,000 popu
lation. The New Tork Independent
having studied carefully the bulletin In
which the relative greatness of the
cities of the United States Is presented,
furnishes conclusions from the data
which are interesting both from their
brevity and accuracy.
Briefly summarized, it is shown that
New Tork City leads all others In area,
population and total assessed property
valuation, and Is the oldest chartered
city in the land; the people of Fall
River. Mass., are the most prolific; one
is most apt to get married In Mobile,
Ala.; and will die soonest In Charles
ton, S. C, which therefore must be our
most unhealthy city. As to liquors,
eleven cities, viz., Lowell, Cambridge,
Somervilie, Salem, Chelsea and Maiden,
Mass.; Manchester, N. H.; Charleston,
S. C; Portland, Me.; Topeka, Kan., and
Kansas City, Ma, have no licensed sa
loons, while there are more saloons in
proportion to the population in Atlanta,
Ga.. and some of the small Massachu
setts cities, than anywhere else In the
country. Birmingham. Ala., is our moat
criminal city: at least, there are more
arrests per capita, made by the police
of that city, than, In any other. The
lowest taxed citizen Is he who Is fortu
nate enough, to live In Wheeling, W.
Va,. while the average man in Boston
Is richest In point of assessable prop
erty. Boston Is also the most liberal
city In appropriating funds to keep so
cial order and help the destitute; South
Bend, Ind., gets along with spending In
these lines one-tenth as much per cap
ita as Is, spent In Boston. The Massa
chusetts cities as a whole spend most
on their public schools, though in this
list Butte. Mont, and Los Angeles
stand respectively first and second in
the land. Charleston, S. C, spend3 the
least for-public education, the expend
iture per capita for this purpose being
but 14 cents; the rate in Butte is 55 67
per capita
The civilized world stands aghast be
fore the conditions that prevail under
the name of war In South Africa, Kru
ger Is primarily responsible for the
state of stubborn misery to which the
Boers have bfen reduced, since he. In
his arrogance, precipitated what was
from the first a hopeless struggle on the
part of the people of the Transvaal.
Having fled the field, the leaders and
people whom he encouraged to begin
an aggressive war are responsible for
the miseries of Its hopeless continu
ance. Brave men. who are as wise as
brave, and as humane as wise, would
not subject their women and children
td the horrors of confinement in a
kraal, and their country to the devas
tation depicted by Kruger In his com
plaint, voiced from a safe distance, but
would recognize the true bravery of
honorable surrender and avail them
selves and their country of the bless
ings of peace which surrender alone
can bring. England, finding her vlci
tory Incomplete the testimony of "Lit
tle Bobs" to the contrary notwithstand
inghas recoiled, so to speak, for an
other onset, which will not need to be
again repeated. The heart of human
ity goes out to the wretched non-combatants
of this war,, even as It did
toward the same class In Cuba, hoping
for a speedy end through the only way
possible, of conditions in South Africa
that are a reproach to an enlightened
age.
People are coming to learn, though
slowly, that change of climate as a
remedial agent for wasting disease, es
pecially of tuberculosis In any of Its
various types, must, to be effective, be
permanent Judging from the pale,
peregrinating host that throngs the
health resorts of the country, and of
the wide world, without having derived
any benefit from change of air, wearily
sighing for home and its quiet and
peace, the lesson has not yet been
learned that after a certain stage In
such diseases Is past the change so des
perately sought is valueless for reme
dial purposes, and often hastens rather
than retards the end. In evidence of
the fact first mentioned, It is noted
that Secretary Long's daughters, who
went to Colorado Springs a year ago
for their health will not return for the
harsh, humid winds of the Atlantic
seaboard to undo the beneficial effects
of the dry. Invigorating air of the
Rocky Mountain region. Their father
will build a home for them at Colorado
Springs, where they will remain per
manently. There Is wisdom In this de
cision, which should and doubtless will
appeal to many over whom the menace
of the most Insidious and persistent
malady that afflicts the human race
hovers. It is not enough that people so
menaced go to the high, dry table-lands
of the continent in the interest of their
falling health; they must stay there for
a term of years at least, and learn to
call the place where they can live
"home." Flitting hither and thither but
adds to the dlscomfojts of semi-Invalid-Ism
of the consumptive, without in the
least abating the cause that Induces It.
Just about the time the Kaiser said,
"Where I put my blue boys, nobody
shall remove them," a large number of
his blue boys were removed from the
sea near Gibraltar by a storm. It
makes a difference where he puts them,
and he should absorb the parable Into
his education.
If spite was surcharged with satis
faction by reduction of Multnomah's
assessment it will be fed on richer food
by annulment of the Portland vehicle
tax. This Is one of the 'very remote
Instances where personal gratification
of soreheads serves the pleasure of
property-owners.
The Senate Is determined to enforce
Its constitutional guarantees and to
have more say than the Secretary of
State in ratification of the Hay
Pauncefote treatv. There is. nothing
better than being the whole thing in
government excepC the consciousness
of It
Many impracticably good people
make a longer and louder fuss when
they see vices than when they don't
The fact that disconcerts them seems
to be open Vices, not hidden ones.
Inasmuch as the Sultan refuses to
pay that little bill for murder of Chris
tians several years agor the fresh mas
sacres In Turkey are rather discourag
ing. The Dutch In South Africa seem,
after all, to be partly possessed of the
Indomitable resistance and courage of
their Holland ancestors.
Southern Oregon seems to be in as
great need of scalp bounties for stage
robbers as nor coyotes.
It is good we have only two ex-Presidents.
More might persuade us we"
were going to shucks.
Exit Plneree.
Chicago Journal.
Pingree retires, fittingly, in a hurricane
of vulgarity and drink. His dinner last
night In the Hall of Representatives at
Lansing might not have teen objection
able in itself in the absence of the Impu
dent invitation addressed by him. to the
Senate. In this communication the Gov
ernor employed the language of the bar
room. He laid stress upon his store of
wines and liquors, and contrived to gross
ly Insult the President of the United
States. It was the last bid for notoriety
of a dethroned boor, it was not surpris-
lng that all but three Senators treated it
with contempt
The bancnetwe are informed in the,
dispatches, "was unique, the wines plen
tiful, and the toast? lively." We are
ready to believe it The Governdr's re
sponse to the proposal of his own health
was a masterploce of polished diction:
"I wish you all many happy days. Those
not afraid of the cars must pray for
those that are afraid of the cars." More
bar-room elonnence.
Governor Plngree's nnal achievement
was a slur upon the Supreme Court of
his own sfte a fitting performance by
an official who has sained most of his
prominence by the pardon of criminals.
Michigan will bid adieu to her freak Gov
ernor without regret.
A PHILIPPINE CONSPIRACY.
Oscar L. "Williams' Name Mentioned
In Lnfavoruble Light.
Washington special. Chicago Tribune.
In the report of the Philippine commis
sion, wldch already has been submitted
to the War Department and will be pub
lished soon, there are some sensational
paragraphs which will make disclosures
of another more or less official scandal,
which, this tlm affects the Philippines in
stead of Cuba. The Government loses no
money, but the report will explain the
.ramifications of a conspiracy ot vast pro
portions, which was checked only by the
vigilance of General Otis and subse
quently by the investigations of the
commission.
The particular official in question, who
Is charged In the report with practices of
a peculiar nature, is Oscar L. Williams,
who was the Consul of the United States
at Manila when war was declared be
tween this country and Spain, having
been appointed to that post In the Sum
mer of 1S97, at the beginning of the pres
ent Administration
According to the facts set forth in the
report of the Philippine Commission. Mr.
Williams took aavantage of his official
position to work a scheme which de
pended for Its execution upon the nat
ural ignorance of the military officiate
as to Spanish methods.
It is said that soon after the surrender.
Consul Williams, who still was officially
connected with the State Department,
pending a decision as to the status of the
islands, associated himself with a syn
dicate which had for its object the ac
quirement of certain valuable mines in
the Island of Luzon.
It is charged In the report that this syn
dicate managed to concoct certain deeds
of concession from the Spanish Govern
ment, giving abso'ute control of the min
ing property referred to. Thereupon the
syndicate, with Mr. Williams at Its head,
made application to the Military Gov
ernor for a confirmation of the deeds ot
concession.
A stock company had been formed and
agents sent to the United States seek
ing to secure subscriptions for the sale ot
those mining properties. Meanwhile. Gen
eral Otis, with the caution character
istic of him, which worked so dlsa
trously to the Army, but so admirably in
civil affairs, started an Investigation.
On the surface the concession was per
fectly legal, and apparently there was
nothing to do but to permit It to be con
tinued ur.der the general principle adopt
ed In the Islands and accepted In the
treaty of peace that all contracts maae
In good faith by the Spanish Govern
ment prior to the declaration of war
should be executed. For some reason,
however, suspicion was aroused, and upon
further Inquiry. It was discovered that
the papers had been manipulated In a
peculiar manner, and. If forgery was not
actuallly committed. It was at least evi
dent that the supposed deeds were en
tirely fraudulent and had not been In ex
istence probably until after the surrender
of Manila.
Thereupon, acccordlng to the report.
General 0tls declined to confirm the con
cession of the valuable mines under his
military authority, and now the Phil
ippines Commission, exercising civil con
trol, openly denounces the syndicate and
all Its operations, dee'ares the transfex
Illegal and void, and rakes Mr. William?,
pver the coals for his connection with the
transaction.
Just how far he was officially responsi
ble Is not yet known publicly. He held
an anamolous position from the day ot
the declaration of war, being a Consul
without a post on the roll of the depart
ment, but without any official duties to
perform. Whether he was an official or
civilian, the report of the Philippine
Commission will be a sensational one.
Tlie Hestorntlftn of Cleveland.
Spokane Chrontel-.
Four years ago the Democratic party
scorned Grover Cleveland. It Is different
now. The leaders and the masses of the
party are beginning to remember that
while the man from Nebraska has twice
led them to disaster, the sage of New
Jersey twice led them to victory. It Is a
pretty safe prediction If anything in pol
itics that Is four years distant can be
safely predicted that four years hence
they will be more likely to follow his ad
vice on many lines than that of Bryan.
That means that the free silver Issue Is
as dead as the old free trade Issue that
preceded It
New Issues, of course, may arise; but
at present It seems probable that the
campaign of 1904 will be waged over the
policy of the United States In Porto Rico
and the Philippines. Cuba by that time
should be cut loose from this Nation, so
It Is not to be counted among the subjects
for discussion. Hawaii, It Is easy to
guess, will get quite as many privileges
as any American would care to accord It
In Its present state of civilization. Guam
and its kindred little isles are not to be
counted on to furnish anything but the
comic opera of the campaign for the use
of Senator Clark and similar humorists.
It would seem, then, that the game Is
In the hands of the Republicans. If they
stand by the promises upon which they
triumphed this yrar. If they honestly try
to give to these Islands the widest meas
ure of self-government consistent with
their own welfare and our duty to the
world, there should be little need to fear
the Issue of ISm. On the contrary, if they
neglect these pledges. If they permit the
development of a carpet-bag system ot
plunder. If William McKlnley tolerates
the rascality and robbery that put a last
ing stain upon the second Administration
of Ulysses S. Grant his fellow-soldier,
then the Republican party cannot expect,
and should not be awarded the victory
four years from now.
Under the Snow.
Atlanta Constitution.
I.
Tou wIU not ccme to me at Christmas
I shall not beheld you, I know;
The love-lamps are bright.
But you're there, in the night!
Tou are lying under the snow.
TVhat are your dreams In the gloom and glow?
I never shall know.
It
Tou will not come to me at Christmas
Like a blessing of long ago; '
Tou are stlU you are white
As the snows of the night
Ton are lying under the mow.
TVhat are your dreams. e.s the elf-trumpets
blow?
I never shall know.
III.
Tou will not come to me at Christmas
And dreary and weary lire seems,
And vain Its delights
On the plains and the heights:
Tou are lost In the dreams In the dreams!
And what are those dreams . , . do we
reap as we sow?
I never shall know.!
An Iniqnitoss lleaxnrc.
Baltimore Sun.
The lnqulty of the subsidy Job Is rank.
There is no more reason Xor giving a sub
sidy to a man for bulialng or owning
ships -than there Is for giving a subsidy
to the farmer for owning a farm. If the
shipowners and the farmers were com
petitors for bounty, the farmer would be
the more deserving of the two. Ships
are but means of transportation. As such
they have no more title to free gifts from
the treasury than have ths railroads
WHIST LEADS REVOLUTIONIZED
New York Sun editorial.
Few persons who are not brought Into
Immediate contact with the enthusiasts
can realize the hold which, the game ot
whist has taken upon our higher card
players. Thousands of men In this coun
try play whist four or five nights a
week and as. many women, play itvery
day. And discussion of the complicated,
theories that have sprung up with the.
enormous cultivation of the. game is end
less. When Milwaukee saw the first Whist
Congress in 1S1, called to draw up a code
of laws better suited to America than
the English gambling rules, there were
a few whist clubs then, most of- them,
adjuncts of larger social organizations.
jjupucaie wnist naajust, Deen invented, i
Whist players then received little notice
in the Dress, hut hefor,. innir thv out- I
in the press, but before lonir they out
numbered chess players ten to one, the
Whist League alone no having S9.WO
members. When the congress met In Mil
waukee, whist was played after the some
what wooden English pattern and tne
only authority recognized was Cavendish,
the exnert of the London FleTrt. HV held
that every hand should bo opened on the I
mechanical principle of Deginning with f
the lonjcest suit. The American Wftlst
League preached the long-suit theory as j
the only true, faith. In 2v they Invited
Cavendish to visit America during tne
annual congress, then held at Manhattan
Be&ch, so that this country might see i
how tho master handled his cards, tie I
came, but be did not add much to tne
reputation of bis schooL as he proved to be
a very second-rate player. And to his.
surprise many men disagreed wltb his
theorv. and asserted thar the onlv rea
son its weakness was nut more widely
recognized was because no one played,
anything elsev Some heretics thought that
instead of requiring every one to follow
a hard and fast system the game wou.a
be much more interesting if the players
exercised their Judgment in the openings
and were taught to discriminate between
hands In which a long suit could prob-
aoiy De maae ana tnose in wnicn it
.,,u v.. k,,o- . ... . . .- n ..., .
would be better to pay greater attention
to "supporting cards," ana to that com-
binatlon which the cowDoy would say
gives the "drop" to the man who holds
the key of It. the tenaco.
Gradually believers in thts new school
spread. The greatest score ever made at
an annual congress of tha league was
that of the Capitol Eicycle Club, of Wash
ington, who were and still are the short
est of all short suiters. The A. W. L.
challenge trophy, which was played for
at the congress to which Cavendish was
invited, was won by the short-suit team
of the New Tork Whist Club. The Man
hattan team, of which the high priest
of the short suiters was ciptaln. carried
off five out of the six prizes In the Inter
city tournament that year, and during the
existence of the club the team never lost
a match, although It challenged all com
ers, short suits against long, for money,
any sum tho long suiters would put up.
The fundamental Idea of this team was
that when they opened a long suit it
indicated sufficient strength behind It to
make it probable that the suit might be
brought In. When they led a short su'r. It
warned the partner to pick up what tr'cks
he could by finesse and underplay. "o
evident were the advantages of this sys-
tern," says Butler, the wnlst historian.
"that Hawkins, who was a member ot
the team, used to laugh ar the blindness
of the long-suit experts, and wonder how
long It would be before they would waje
up and see It Well, they are fully alive
to It now."
In argument, the long-suit game still
retained the weight of recognized author
ity. But in 1S95 there was presented in
the Sun a full analysis of all the offleial
records of the play for the championship
trophies of the league during a period or
several years. In this It was shown that
when the long suit was opened just be
cause It was long, the adversaries won
the majority of the tricks. In 06 deals
leader never took a trick In his long suit,
although ha held 4 aces, IS kings. 16
queens, 0 jacks, 17 tens, and 110 small
cards.' In only two cases was the suit
trumped. In not a single case did the
leader's partner win more than one trick
and In only 12 did he do that, while the
adversaries got no less than 63 tricks out
of these suits, without trumping.
Then players began to try it generally.
Tho New Jersey Whist Club, one of the
best In the country: the Pyramid Club, of
Boston, the strongest coterie of players
In New England, took up short suits and
supporting cards as a regular system ot
play. This team Is now merged In the
American Whfst Club, or Boston, and
they are the unquestioned champions ot
the world, having this Winter defeated
all comers for the challenge trophy, win
ning It nine consecutive times from the
strongest teams In the country. They are
now Its permanent possessors. They are
probably the most radical and convinced
short suiters in the league. Recognized
experts who after strenuous opposition
have acknowledged the men:ts of the
short-suit game are too numerous to
mention. For example, two particularly
prominent authorities, Fisher Ames and
L. M. Bouve, spared neither fact nor ar
gument in their implacable opposition to
the short suit, but the former, in Whist,
the official organ of the league, for July,
1200, recommends that we abandon the
standard league system of play, and adopt
tho new game, the first principle ot
which, ho says, should be: "The opening
lead may be from the long or the short
suit, according to the Judgment of the
player." Bouve, although he still thinks
the long-suit game tho Better for the
beginner, has adopted short-suit tactics In
all his matches for the past two years,
and with eminent success. Even Dr. Pole,
the venerable English writer on the phil
osophy of whist, wrote a personal letter
to the arch-heretic In this country, ex
pressing the opinion, after reading the
arguments in favor of the short-suit game,
that he thought he should have no difficul
ty In making them agree with his own
theory. W. H. Barney, president of the
A. Yr. L., In 183S, when short suiters were
getting nothing but abuse and ridicule,
had tho courago to come out In an In
terview with the expressed opinion that
the discussion of short suits had done
more than anything else to put life Into
the game, just at a time when It was
In great danger of becoming monotonous
and wooden, and that after tho acrimony
of the discussion had worn away, the
game would be the better for it Events
havo proved him a prophet
How about the players themselves?
Who plays the strict long-suit game to
day? Hardly a single team In the coun
try, and scarcely a player of any prom
inence. Go to any of our compass games
and look, at the names or those who
make tho top scores. Run over those
who are well and widely known In the
whist world and ask what game they
play; Elwell, Taylor. Hawkins. Henriqucs,
Cole. Ward. Whitney. Bouve, Kenollosa.
Messcr, Becker. Common sense and short
suits every one of them. Then the wom
en: Miss Campbell, Mrs. Johnson. Miss
Day, Mrs. LIttell, Mrs. Baker and an
those whose names are household words
among whist players; they are all short
suiters.
Tho Rochester Post Express. In an edi
torial on October 10. in speaking of the
opposition to American, leads and long
suits, which first found expression In
the Sun. Eays- "Neither ridicule nor abuse
has been able to move It lrom Its posi
tion, and. as pointed out by Bond Stowe.
the well-known analyst. Its arguments re
main unanswered today. Botn In theory
and in practice Its philosophy of whist
has proved to be the best."
Cietlnlons Snorts.
Detroit Free Press.
It has been said by one of the fra
ternity that "the easiest sucker on earth
Is the man who tries to live by his wits
or thinks that he is up In the sporting
game." Credence Is Inclined to go out
to this statement when it is noted how
many of the class referred to pay bis
prices, and make fool bets these days in
their zeal to see fake prlzefiguhts and
simulated knock-outs. Tneyare not half
J visa -or ordinarily smart
NOTE AXD COMMENT.
.The, city that cannot set up an antl
Ylce crusade- should, refund, the .census
returns.
The lady who Is tc marrv ex-KImr Mi-
Jan should be warned, that he la at pres-
fenti only a two-spot.
Philadelphia la to driye. the hogs from
I within her city limits. Certain political
leaders will be excepted.
The Lincoln Commoner cannot expect to
achieve- success if It publishes only the
po3thumous works of Us editor.
Now that kidnaping, is. a fad, somebody
ought to kidnap Bryan and
Democracy the, cost of bis keep,
' - - r
to kidnap Bryan and sav
The English have ordered 100 more
bicycles for South Africa. Thus, at least,
1C0 men will escape the next Boer trap.
The Boer3 don't know when they are
whipped, but the British know they are
victorious long
befpre they really are.
. ... . r , A.
The minister who Is conducting a pa-
Per m London may succeed for a few
years until his. countrymen see the Joke.
The people who began the new cen-
tury a year at;o will b sorry when they
are excluded, from the celebration, ot next
week.
If Roland Reed ever gets out alive he
will find that havlngi an operation every
' week Is about the best advertisement an
actor ever bad.
!
' If the new Assessor shall have as much
trouble In getting his office as the Com
missioners have had In getting that In
dex, he may continue Indefinitely to be
merely Assessor-presumptive.
i rri, .. . io .,. .
l Tne recent storm, blew down fences ana
., . , . . . . , . ,,.
I tImbcr- demolished windmills and did
, other damage. Some of our farmers who.
I are more consistent than the rest may
now ask their Republican neighbors,
"Where is your boasted prosperity?"
Communion service was being solemn
ized In a chnrch In a bis Eastern city the
other Sunday morning, when a well
dres?d. handsome young man trod di
rectly up the center aisle, only stopping
when further progress was impeded by
the chancel rail. There he sjood for a
moment and gazed solemnly at the won
dering congregation. Just as people were
wondorlng what was going to, happen,
he straightened himself and said: "Well,
I don't see them coming, but neverthe
less I am here In the Interest of William
Jennings Bryan." A vestryman stepped
up to him. tapped him on the arm and led
him down the aisle and, out. It turned
out that the young man's mind was af
fected on the silver lasue.
Francis, H. Clergue, the "Cecil Rhode
of Canada." who has Just sailed from
New York- City for England, will open
an Immigration agency In London and ar
range to send 00 immigrants a month to
settle in Algoma. Many of these are to be
skilled workmen, whose services will ba
utilized, in the industrial works In process
of development at the Sault "Our agree
ment with the Ontario Government for
the construction of Algoma Central Rail
way," he said, before sailing, "calls fo
the location of 10,000 settlers in Algomn..
We have already placed that number oi
persons in new Ontario, and, as I hav
said. I am about to Institute plans to set
tle 500 more a month for a period of five
j ycars" PeopIc here have n dea f
rate at which settlement will go on In
that part of Ontario. I venture the pre
diction that within 10 years 5.000,000. peo
ple will have found homes there."
Representative Landls, of Indiana, did
a good deal of speaking through the West
during the campaign. In one town,
while he was at the hotel waiting to take
a train, a little old man came Into the
room and asked for a private audience.
Landls thought he had some political in
formatloa of value and "shooed" out th
other people.
"I have a. great Invention," said th
visitor.
"Well?" Inquired Landls.
"It is to prevent hydrophobia."
"Well?"
"There's millions In it"
"Well?"
'Til give you a share If you will get
Congress to adopt It as the official hydro
phobia remedy "
"But where will the money come In?"
asked Landls.
The visitor whispered, confidentially,
"Why, don't you see?. We will collect
a royalty from the government for every
body that doesn't have hydrophobia."
"Much tc my regret," wound up Mr.
Landls, "I was compelled to decline the
offer. There certainly was millions in
it If we could collect."
PLEASANTRIES OF PAIIAGRAPHEBS
Half the TVork Done. "Are you. through
your Christmas shopping. Mrs. Tibbs,?" "Tcs,
but I haven't bczun changing things yet-"
Chicago Record.
The Ultimate Cause. "But why Is It." asked
the thoughtful Chinese, "that I may go to your
heaven while I may not go to your country?"
The American missionary shrugged his shoul
ders. "There's no labor vote In heaven!" said
he. Puck.
Little Johnny Mrs. Tahcemdown raid a high
compliment to me today. Mother Did she.
really? TVell. there's no denying that woman
has sense. TVhat did she say? Little Johnny
She said she didn't see how you came to have
such a nice little boy as I am. Tit-Bits.
Her Conscience TVasn't Troubled. "If any
people call, Norah, be sure to tell them I am
out. "What are you waiting for? It doesn't
disturb your cosclence, docs It?" "Oh, nov
ma'am. I'm hardened to 1L I've worked for
society liars before, ma'am." Cleveland Plain
Dealer.
Scandal. "She seems to me one of the most
distinguished-looking young women in Boston!"
"They tell dreadful stories about herl" "In
deed?" "Tea, they say. for Instance, that the
lenses of her spectacles are plain glass, with
no magnifying power whatever!" Detroit Jour
nal. A Cruel Blow. Miss Flypp (tearfully) I
think Mr. Huggins is real mean. Miss Fosdlck
TVhat has he done? Miss Flypp Ho asked
me what I thought would be a nice Christmas
gift for a youns ladyt and I told him a dia
mond brooch. Of course. I supposed I was the
young lady ha alludsd to: but what does he
do but go and buy it for that perfectly odious
Julia Tracy!" Leslie's Weekly.
A Thankful Heart.
Edith M. Thoma3 in Harper's Bazar.
Thou art not rich, thou art not poor.
Thy fortune keep3 the middle way;
No Ills thy strength cannot endure.
Apportioned to the passing day.
Thou art not young, thou art not old.
Yet, calm, thou scest thy years depart;
And Joys are thine a thousandfold
Because thou hast the Thankful Heart
A Thankful Heart for Life alone
For Beauty in the earth and skies.
(And for such share as thou dost own
By happy gift of seeing eyes)
For human Love's endearing bond
Where stanchly thou dost bear thy part
For solace here, and hope beyond
For all. thou hast the Tnankful Heart.
So. Jo this day of crowning cheer.
By easy course thy step did tend.
Since with each day of all the year
Some grateful leaven thou didst blend.
No chance thy prise from thee can wrest;
While Life shall last thou shalt not part
TVIth that good gift (of all. the best)
Ths treasure or & Thankful Heart