THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY. JANUARY 28, 1901.
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PORTLAND, MONDAY, JANUARY 2S.
The way to get rid of Mrs. Nation and
all her hysterical ilk of Kansas Is to
repeal the prohibition law of the state.
That law is a farce and fraud. It is
utterly dishonest. Enforcement of It is
not wanted by the body of the people,
or there would be no liquor saloons.
Tho law Is a monument of political
cowardice. These proceedings will go
far toward procuring its annulment.
It never pays to be dishonest on public
questions, any more than In private
matters. A similar dishonesty was the
repeal of the canteen regulation, recent
ly, by a cowardly Congress. It will re
turn to plague Its inventors. The whole
basis of the life of man is to let indi
viduals do as they please, and then
hold them responsible for their acts and
the consequences. Why doesn't Mrs.
Nation use her hatchet on those who
Beek liquor and get drunk? They are
the actual offenders. If she has a
drunken husband or brothers, let her
chop them up. They are the ones re
sponsible for the evils of drunkenness,
and the world would be better without
them. It Is not the "crib" woman who
is responsible for the social evils, but
the men who seek her. It Is not the
Baloon-keeper who is responsible for the
liquor excess, but the drinkers, who
create his "place" by their demand for
It It Is not the keeper of the "game"
who Is responsible for the evils of gam
bllng, but the persons whose demand
creates the game and supports it. But
the disposition of many reformers is
more to hold the principals In these
vices to account. Hence, the effort to
work reform backwards; and hence Its
difficulties and failures. This poor fel
low can't resist the seduotions of drink;
that poor fellow can't resist the seduc
tions of the painted woman; the other
poor fellow can't resist the seductions
of the gaming table. And all of these
poor fellows are a cheap lot, none of
them worth saving, and the world
would be better without them.
The "trusted agent" of a Manila firm,
who sought out Aguinaldo in some un
named place at some unspecified time,
was "astonished at his knowledge of
the history of the United States." Ho
marveled, and well he might. For
Agulnaldo's studies in American his
tory leads him to rejoot amnesty for
this reason:
To accept amnesty means shame, Infamy,
slavery, degradation.
The question that arlsos Is, of course,
what particular chapter of American
history has shown Aguinaldo that to
accept amnesty from the United States
means all or any single one of the igno
minious lots he views as inevitable?
"Was It the care and guardianship of
the Indian tribes, whose surrenders to
American authority gave them better
support and truer liberty than they
could achieve for themselves? "Was it
the surrender of Mexico in 1847, and
our subsequent payment to her of
millions In money, and neighborly
friendship ever since? "Was it the am
nesty extended to the survivors of the
Confederate Army who sit in the Cab
inet, command our armies and control
the legislation of Congress? Is it in
one or all of these that Aguinaldo
traces the inevitable slavery and degra--datlon
visited upon the United States
by those wh surrender to its sover
eignty and swear allegiance to Its au
thority? Whatever similarity there Is
between Aguinaldo and George Wash
ington, there Is at least none In the
basis of their Insurrections. One pro
tested against mlsgovernment, the oth
er revolted upon the transfer of sov
ereignty before the acceding power had
had opportunity to put its administra
tion into operation. The American Col
onists asserted their wrongs In the Im
mortal Declaration. The wrongs of
Aguinaldo are his catalogue of fictitious,
results of amnesty. In one short sen
tense, the Philippine dictator and assas
sinator gives the lie to everything that
goes before. He will form a govern
ment, he says, patterned mainly upon
the United States. That Is. he wants
a regime of "shame. Infamy, slavery
and degradation " If he believed what
he said about amnesty, he would not
be talking of American Ideals.
The worthiness of a man's ambition
tor the United States Senate depends
upon two things his motive and his
fitness. If he covets It for the honor
and the opportunity of usefulness It af
fords, and If thraugh quality and force
of character he is equipped for useful
ness in the place, the aspiration is legit
imate and praiseworthy, and its real
ization is a public blessing. But If he
covets it merely as the prize of intrigue
and unscrupulous self-seeking, a3 a
means to his own Instead of the public
ends, without exceptional capacity for
statecraft or affairs, his ambition is one
that ehould be rebuked, in "the Interests
of public policy and common honesty.
When a man of Mr. Corbett's high
character and demonstrated force in
affairs is willing to serve a state in
the capacity of United States Senator,
the opportunity to secure his services
should be gladly availed of. The differ
ence between a big man willing to de
vote his high talents to the public serv
ice, and a little man striving for things
above his capacity Is very great, but
Is not always appreciated. The main
point In this matter Is to find out which
of the two courses is the better for the
state, and not to make the election a
mere scramble for the gratification of
personal ends and factional ascendency.
It is not creditable to our Legislature
that It has always shown the disposi
tion to subordinate the welfare of the
state to the desires of professional
spoilsmen. What the politicians want
Is "patronage." What the state needs
is efficient service. At this critical time
Oregon needs at Washington a man
who can achieve things for us, through
his standing among men, the weight of
his influence and his proven efflclency
In achievement. Measured by this
standard, none of Mr. Corbett's com
petitors are to be named In the same
day with him. If he is defeated, it
will be because the Interests of the
state have been sacrificed to personal
ends.
President McKlnley's open antago
nism to the expedient of cutting down
Southern representation in Congress
and the Electoral College has been ex
plained as a recognition of his disrepu
table Southern support in the last two
National conventions. It Is possible,
however, that It rests upon the more
statesmanlike basis of a belief that
under wise policies a Republican party
can be built up in the South, capable
of drawing to Itself elements of social
and commercial strength. This is indi
cated by a special dispatch to the Prov
idence Journal from Columbia, S. C,
which affirms that the Washington Ad
ministration Is about to adopt a new
policy In that state, by which disaffect
ed Democrats will be brought into the
Republican fold. The Administration,
it is said, Is to discontinue all further
official appointments of negroes, and
those now in office will be replaced by
white Republicans as soon as. their
terms expire. In this way It Is hoped
that Southern business men In that
state will have a valid excuse for
breaking loose from old political affilia
tions and openly joining the Repub
lican party, as the majority of them
have developed a strong support of the
Administration's tariff and financial
policy. This story may not reveal act
ual plans held at Washington so much
as It does the desire of Southern men
who are tired of 3ryanlsm; but even
In that case It has elements of reas
surance. It points to a willingness on
the part of at least some Southern
Democrats to leave their party, as soon
as the fear of negro domination and
negro officialism is removed. In this
view, negro disfranchisement, appar
ently to be universal In the Southern
States, may Itself have paved the way
for breaking up the Solid South, and
permitting its men to divide politically
on grounds of rational and National
issues.
In another column appears a discus
sion of Government aid for Irrigation,
by Secretary Hitchcock. It may be of
fered as an impressive and pertinent
exhibit In the changed public opinion
which once opposed, but now favors,
use of public money for this purpose.
Mr. Hitchcock's study of the arid land
problem has convinced him that the
reclamation of our vast rainless region
is practicable and will pay in the de
velopment of miillcna of acres and the
support of 50,000,000 people; that no
agency can so well do this work as the
Federal Government, which owns the
land and must In any event exercise
control over the land and the water
rights; and that this Government un
dertaking Is rendered Imperative by the
simple fact that efforts In this direction,
made by private enterprise, have re
sulted In financial failures. This is the
conclusion of students of the arid land
problem, almost without exception. The
undertakings; are of such magnitude,
and though of ultimate National profit
so prolonged between Investment and
return, that without Government par
ticipation In the matter, these lands
will continue to He unproductive, and
the waters of the mountains will be
spent as now in wasteful and devasta
ting floods. The difficulty, of course, is
in the conservatism of Congress and in
the active opposition of Eastern States,
Jealous of the Far West's growing
power In wealth and politics. These
will urge the plea of economy, which
has been invoked against every form
of internal Improvements, whether Pa
cific railroads, canals, public buildings,
or rivers and harbors. Advance In pub
lic sentiment on this important prob
lem is. rapid now, but has a tremendous
amount of resistance to overcome. Un
fortunately, the West is too often dis
posed to exaggerate Its relative weak
ness in Congress by sending weak men
to Washington and keeping Its strong
est men at home. One of the planks In
Mr. Corbett's platform is liberal in
ternal Improvements. If he is elected,
the arid and semi-arid regions of Ore
gon will have In him a moat effective
champion.
TIP TO THE PRUNEGROWER.
- Prunegrowers of Marion County, and
perhaps some other sections of the Wil
lamette Valley, did not, as the sequel
has proved, handle the dried prune
product of last season wisely. They
find themselves at the beginning of the
year with a promise of a full new crop,
a few months hence, still holding a
considerable bulk of the last year's
product, without prospect of moving it
profitably. This surplus, owing to a
variety of conditions, could have been
sold last Fail, when fresh and in ex
cellent condition, at good prices. But
it is said growers allowed a difference
of from a quarter to half a cent be
tween the asking and offering price to
spoil the market.
There are some exigencies, of course,
which the most sagacious producer
cannot foresee, but general experience
has shown that he is wise who accepts
a fair price for the products of his farm
as soon after harvest as such price Ib
offered. Controlled by the law of de
mand and supply, the market Is, or
may be, a constantly shifting proposi
tion. This is, perhaps, especially true
of the prune market. Into the demand
of which, as cited by our Salem cor
respondent yesterday, other fruits en
tered. The Pacific Coast should have a
greatly widened market for dried
prunes through American occupation of
the Philippines and the growth of
American commerce In Asiatic ports
generally. There Is reason for the be
lief that the addition of dried prunes to
the Army ration of our soldiers In trop
ical islands would be of immense value
to them, which is justly the first con
sideration, and then to the prunegrow
ers of the Pacific Coast. The addition
of a healthy, suitable subacid dried
.fruit to the Army ration would save
the country enormously In Its hospital
supplies, including quinine, and In the
effectiveness of its troops. One does
not need to be a prunegrower with a
large surplus of dried prunes in stock
awaiting market to be able to subscribe
fully to this statement. It Is sufficient
that he be possessed of ordinary knowl
edge of hygiene and have his attention
called to the matter through testimony
readily obtainable. Certainly, with this
evidence as supplemental to the legiti
mate efforts of Pacific Coast prune
growers to open a market for dried
prunes, it should not long be said that
the soldiers serving In the Philippines
get only small quantities of dried fruit,
and this at long Intervals. The ques
tion may be said to be "up to the
prunegrower." Proper measures should
at once be taken to bring it up to the
President, who, by the terms of the new
Army bill, Is arbiter in the matter of
the Army ration.
THE TRAMP EVIL.
The experience of Massachusetts with
the tramp evil seems to be conclusive
that the uniform exaction of work will
do more than anything else to check
and finally do away with this social
plague. In the year 1899 the cases of
vagrancy In Massachusetts numbered
207,081, and the cost to the state was
$33,086. The tramps prefer the towns,
like Worcester, which shelter and feed
vagrants, but do not make them work,
to Springfield and Boston, which shel
ter and feed the vagrant far better
than Worcester, but exact work.
Worcester, which feeds its tramps at
the police station on nothing but crack
ers costing 1 cents per tramp per
meal, harbors. In the course of the year,
one tramp for every nine Inhabitants,
while Springfield escapes with only one
to thirty-five, and Boston Is burdened
with one tramp for every twenty-one
inhabitants.
The tramp abhors work; and the ex
perience of Worcester proves that the
way to multiply tramps is to feed and
shelter them without requiring any re
turn in work. Springfield gives the
tramp food and shelter, for which he
must saw one-fourth of a cord of wood.
The neighboring city of Holyoke, which
provides lodging at the police station,
but no food, harbored double the 1472
tramps entertained by Springfield, lodg
ing one tramp for every thirteen of the
population, while Chicopee handles one
tramp for every six of her population,
like Holyoke furnishing lodging, but
no food and exacting no work. That
is, no food and no work Is preferable
to food obtained by work. It is clear
why thlB should be so, when we remem
ber that the tramp can generally get
food at the hospitable back doors, but
seldom can get shelter, which is indis
pensable in the inclement Winter oE
New England.
The mere rumor that Chicopee was
to establish a woodyard in 1895 reduced
the nightly arrival of tramps at the
police station from twenty-five to six,
but the moment the report was con
tradicted the normal average was' re
gained. Some twenty years ago va
grancy was a great evil in Vermont.
During the Summer months these va
grants lived by fishing, pot-hunting and
poaching; dwelt In camps In remote and
unvlslted spots and led an easy and en
joyable kind of gipsy life, but severe
Winter weather sets In early in Novem
ber in New England, and these vagrants
always managed to commit some tri
fling misdemeanor that would insure
their confinement In the county jail
through the Winter, which meant light,
heat, cards, tobacco and salacious con
versation with their fellows In the com
mon room of the county; jail.
In the Spring they were fat, ragged
and saucy, ready to begin again their
Indolent outdoor life of poaching and
begging until Winter came again. But
the state built a workhouse, and every
person convicted of petty crimes is
sent thither, where he Is confined In a
cell at night, and during daylight he is
compelled to put in his time dressing
stone in the open air all Winter. This
workhouse dispersed the vagrants, for
it not only meant hard work but
It meant hard outdoor work in an In
clement Winter; it meant solitary con
finement; it meant deprivation of cards,
tobacco and conversation. When you
make It unpleasant for a tramp by
forcing him to work for his food and
shelter, he will either reform or he will
cease to plague your coasts with his
presence.
A PEW FACTS OX SUBSIDIES.
Mr. Chauncey Depew, who repre
sents Interests which have much In
common with those of Mr. Griscom,
Mr. Rockefeller and other impover
ished patriots who are endeavoring to
sail ships in competition with the rest
of the world, has added his tribute to
the shipping subsidy bill. Mr. Depew
presents no new arguments in favor of
the graft, but merely clothes the old
and oft-repeated pleas In charming De
pew language. The extraordinary ef
forts which Mr. Depew.and his fellow
ptarlots are making to get the measure
through at the present session of Con
gress show that they realize that for
the measure It Is clearly a case of now
or never, for the American merchant
marine Is growing at a pace never be
fore attained. The Standard Oil Com
pany, which charters more ships than
any other concern in the world, and
also owns a big fleet of sailing vessels
flying the British flag, has Just received
from the yards of Arthur Sewall, at
Bath, Me., a large four-masted steel
ship, which they are loading with oil
for the far East. The cost of this ves
sel was 53000 less than she could be
built for In a foreign yard. Her crew,
with the exception of master and mate,
will be hired in New York, at exactly
the same wages as are paid for sailors
manning the British ships owned by the
Standard Oil Company. The Sewall
yards have contracts ahead for several
more of these modern-built freighters,
which can sail on any sea In the world
on even terms with the fleets of any
other nation.
Even modern-built craft flying the
American flag today is making big
profits for its owners, and even the an
cient wooden vessels are selling at
higher prices than they have com
manded for more than ten years. These
facts cannot be concealed from the peo
ple much longer, and it is accordingly
of the utmost importance for the Bub
sidy grafters that the $180(000,000 Job is
railroaded through Congress at the ear
liest possible moment The obsolete
and disgraceful maritime laws of this
country are fully entitled to all of the
scoring they received from Senator
Vest Wednesday. For maritime ex
pansion to reach its greatest possible
development we stand more In need of
the repea of some of the laws on the
statute-books than we do of the enact
ment of new ones.
Out here on the Pacific Coast, the re
peal of that antiquated statute forbid
ding Americans to buy ships as other
nations buy them where they can be
procured the cheapest would bring a
big fleet under the American flag
within thirty days. Less than six
months ago a prominent Callfor
nlan, tiring of keeping his capital lying
Idle while British and German buyers
were picking up ships wherever they
could find them, bought three big Brit
ish ships, and, in order to get them as
near his home as possible, registered
them at Victoria, B. C. They are earn
ing enormous dividends for their Amer
ican owner, but he is prohibited from
sailing them between American" ports,
and cannot fly the Stars and Stripes
from the masthead, as he would like to
do. They add no prestige to the Ameri
can flag and disburse no "home port"
expenses in an American port. Ameri
can shipping, even under the enormous
handicap of ancient and costly hamper
ing laws, is moving forward with giant
strides, and it will do so without the aid
of a subsidy.' If we desire to Increase
the pace and swell the fleet Into big
proportions, as Germany has done In a
very few years, we must adopt the
methods which have proved so success
ful with that nation, as -well as with
Great Britain.
The old English method of electing
Kings by the popular assembly, or wl
tan, started from a Teutonic custom,
and still survives In the constitution.
Edward VII has succeeded to the king
ship through the some Parliamentary
process. The right of Parliament has
been clouded at times In English his
tory by the custom of hereditary suc
cession, which was engendered of feu
dalism, but the popular prerogative has
always been wrested back and reas
serted. Thus the succession has always
been regarded as elective, and not as
absolute. The principle of election has
even been so far advanced at periods
as to result in the deposition of Kings.
Several old English sovereigns were
deprived of their thrones. Edward II
in 1327, Richard II In 1399, and James
II In 1688, gave up their scepters at
Parliamentary demand. Parliament
has not alone deposed Kings and elect
ed successors, but It has changed the
line of succession. In the reign of
Henry VIII, the succession to the
crown was ordained by Parliament,
and Henry conformed his will -to the
enactment. In the Revolution-Settlement
of 1688, after the high-handed
Stuart Kings, with whom Parliament
waged its last struggle, excepting, pos
sibly, that with George III, Parliament
negatived in very definite terms the
absolute hereditary right. English hab
it Is so conservative that It still follows
the precedent of hereditary succession,
but it does so because rulers themselves
do not violate the precedents of the
constitution.
Mr. A. E. Gebhardt, secretary of the
Oregon Fish and Game Association, has
taken pains to group In one bill all ex
isting game and trout laws, and' It has
been introduced in the Legislature with
the Indorsement of sportsmen. It is
House bill 110. It Is an orderly ar
rangement that Is sadly needed, for
acts relating to game protection are
scattered confusedly throughout many
volumes of codes and session laws.
Neither Mr. Gebhardt nor the associa
tion which he represents seeks to dic
tate what shall be game law. They
leave to the judgment of the Legisla
ture what shall be close seasons, du
ties of the Game Warden and penalties.
All they ask is that the harmony of
the bill and Its orderly arrangement
shall not be disturbed. It is a small
favor they ask, and it should be grant
ed. Thl3 Idea of codifying laws, bearing
on general subjects Is a good one, and
should be applied to mining, horticul
ture, National Guard and many other
topics.
It looks as if several members of the
Multnomah delegation in the Legisla
ture, whose wisdom in its loftiness and
profoundness has been all-sufficient for
criticism of former Portland charters,
have even less acumen than their pred
ecessors to boast of for formulation of
a new Instrument. If they have not yet
made the discovery they will find out
later, if not sooner, that it is easier to
denounce for the purpose of getting
elected than to do so for the purpose
of getting re-elected.
Barbers dislike working 365 days In
the year. Nobody blames them. They
dislike working 12 hours a day. Nobody
blames them. But cannot their union
enforce, equity for Its members without
statute? If not, all barbers are not a
unit on Sunday closing. It has not
been demonstrated that they who like
being overworked should not be allowed
to enjoy "the pleasure, or that they who
cannot endure the vocation cannot do
something else.
These figures reveal the extraordi
nary change that has taken place In
imports and exports of steel, to and
from the United States within twenty
years:
Imports. Exports.
1SS0 $ 04.000.720 S 14,710.524
1000 20,470.524 121,658,344
This change has been effected in the
face of the severe competition of the
world. Does this industry stand In need
-of a protective tariff, further?
Portland citizens may not swindle for
fear of the law, but they may cozen
the Assessor and get recognition for
pre-eminent virtue.
The .Senate refuses to abolish the
stamp tax on bank checks. It is a
wise decision, which ought to prevail
In conference.
The bill to stop "treating" must be
for the purpose of saving legislators
from being preyed upon by their con
stituents. The Emperor of Germany is now a
British Field Marshal. Again, "Blood
is thicker than water."
Agulnaldo's interview sounds like it
might have been written by a Boston
anti-imperialist.
GOVERNMENT AID FOR IRRIGATION
Secretary Hitchcock, of tho Interior Depart
ment. One-third of the whole area of the Unit
ed States, exclusive of Alaska and the
outlying possessions, consists of vacant
public lands open for entry and settle
ment under the Homestead Act. This
third includes some of the richest agri
cultural lands of the world, but there is
one obstacle which prevents its utiliza
tion the scarcity of water.
There Is a considerable amount of
water in this vast area, but It is so sit
uated that artificial means must be pro
vided for conserving the floods and dis
tributing the needed supply. When this
is done, there will be opportunities for
thousands or even for millions of homes
within a part of the United States now
almost uninhabited. The creation of these
homes would add enormously to he ma
terial wealth of the nation, and the utili
zation of the additional farming land will
in no way reduce the value of the land
now cultivated. The crops produced in the
arid regions are entirely distlhct in their
nature from those of the humid East, and
seek other markets; while the possible
population of the country west of the
Mississippi will so enhance the volume.
of trade and manufacture throughout the
rest of the country' as to make more
valuable the productive areas adjacent to
the great industrial centers of the East,
In my annual report I have estimated
that 600,000,000 acres of public land remain
west of the Mississippi River, on which
there is water sufficient for the reclama
tion of at least 74,000,000 acres. A still
larger area can probably be brought
under cultivation tlfrough the complete
conservation of floods and pumping of
water from underground. This, however,
could be accomplished only through laws
providing for ' an administration of the
lands In accordance with their available
water supply.
That this huge acreage, capable of sus
taining under proper Irrigation a popula
tion of at least 50,000,000, should remain
practically a desert, Is not ip harmony
with the progressive spirit of the age.
The fundamental question Is whether it
would pay to store and control the storm
and flood waters. The average cost per
acre of a properly constructed Irrigation
system necessarily varies with local con
ditions. The remarkable results accom
plished in the valley of the Nile, in prac
tically redeeming Egypt from a state of
bankruptcy, should encourage a most
liberal consideration of our own problem.
Under a Joint resolution of Congress of
March 20, 1888, directing the Secretary of
the Interior to make an investigation of
that part of the arid lands of the United
States where agriculture is carried on
by means of irrigation, as to the natural
advantages for the storage of water for
Irrigating purposes, etc, a number of
reservoir sites have been selected and
approved by the department. These sites
were Intended to be used in connection
with a general plan under control of the
United States. No appropriation has yet
been made for the inauguration of such a
system, but the results of investigations
conducted under the supervision of the
Director of the Geological Survey have
been brought to the attention of Con
gress. The interest of the public is manifest
in the formation of associations in dif
ferent parts of the country to promote
the examination of water and forest re
sources. Large sums of money have been
subscribed, and the parties in interest
have had the co-opera tton of various bu-
reaus, notably the hydrographlc branch of
the Geological survey. The appropriation
for that office was increased by the last
Congress from $50,000 to $100,000.
The development of Irrigation has here
tofore proceeded almost wholly along the
lines of building small Individual and co
operative ditches. The opportunities for
extending and multiplying these are, how
ever, limited, as the lands most easily ac
cessible for water supply have already
passed under individual ownership. There
remain large bodies of public land, for
which water can be' obtained only at
great expense, although the cost per acre
may not exceed that of the small system.
Further extension of the Irrigable area
rests In the building of great storage res
ervoirs and canals.
Progress In the construction of these
large works of reclamation has come
practically to a standstill, as such works
have almost without exception proved
financial failures, while the small co
operative ditches built by the landowners
have been conspicuously successful. The
large works, while causing loss to their
owners, have, on the other hand, been of
advantage to the communities and to the
state as well as to the nation; but It Is
improbable that investors will continue a
philanthropic enterprise.
The cause of failure of these works has
been that their owners can not secure for
themselves the increase in value which
has directly or Indirectly resulted from
their construction. It is evident that if
further reclamation is to take place, it
must be through governmental action.
Facts Without Comment.
New York Sun.
The annual pension appropriation bill
now before Congress carries $145,245,230.
This Is the largest appropriation on re
ord.
The amount to be appropriated this year
for pensions, SG years after the close of
the Civil War, to which the enormous
charge Is chiefly due, exceeds the ag
gregate payments on the samo account
during the five years from 1879 to 1SS3
Inclusive.
It is more than double the appropria
tion for 1890, 11 years ago.
It is more than double the expendi
tures of the Federal Government, for ail
purposes, in 1S61, the first year of the Civil
War.
It nearly equals the total expenditures
of the Federal Government, excluding in
terest on the public debt, in 1871, only 30
years ago.
It Is more than five times what the Re
public was paying for pensions in 1S78,
13 years after the end of the Civil War.
The total number of pensioners now on
the roll is 993,529. Ten years ago there
were 537,944. Twenty years ago there were
250.802.
The total number of new claims allowed
last year was 40.643. exceeding by more
than 2000 the reduction occasioned In the
roll by the deaths of old pensioners, 36
years after the end of the Civil War.
Greatly Loved nnd Respected.
Chicago Tribune.
Few sovereigns have commanded so
much respect and admiration from the
world at large. No other sovereign has
been so universally loved and respected by
the English people.
, .
Wnltlnsr In n Restaurant.
Grand Rapids Press.
I gaily ordered celery and puree of preen peas;
I've waited fifteen minutes, and have neither
- one of these. '
'Tis so long since I ordered the fish I quite
forget
What kind it was, but anyway I haven't een
it yet.
A "prime sirloin of beef" would do, cr slice-
of roasted pork.
Out all I see before me Is my plate and knife
and fork.
How good It looks upon the card the "curry
of Spring lamb"!
But I'd be glad to simply see a slice of cold
boiled ham.
There arc some other things to read, as "ver
micelli cake,"
And "macaroni au frornage," but if I had a
steak.
Or Just a piece of toasted bread, or tiny bit of
cheese.
'Twould help me live, while waiting for the
"puree of green peas."
I sit here, silently and wan, and try to feast
my eyes
On "apple cobbler cream sauce," and several
kind of pies.
"Coffee" looks well when printed, and so does
"lemon Ice,"
But to see one thing materialize, would be so
very nice!
I have read the menu over from "consomme"
to "tea."
And sit here calmly waiting-, till the waitress
waits on me.
LESLIE STEPHEN ON ANTHSM.
New York Commercial Advertiser.
Leslie Stephen, president of the Eth
ical Society, author of a treatise on the
science of ethics, and one of the most
accomplished of living English writers,
gives expression to views In the January
number of the Monthly Review which
will fill our anti-imperialists with horror
and amaze. He was moved to discuss
the subject because of criticisms which
were called out by his refusal to sign a
protest against the Boer War. Nearly
everything that he says has direct bear
ing upon the question of continued op
position to our war in the Philippines,
and is, therefore, of keen interest to all
persons on this side of the Atlantic who
have suffered martyrdom of one kind or
another because of their attitude toward
that struggle. It is to be said at the
outset, in traversing Mr. Stephen's views,
that his general position is Identical with
that taken by a large and distinguished
body of men in this country since tho
ratification of the treaty of Paris, In
cluding Judge Tnft, Bishop Potter. Presi
den Eliot, of Harvard; Charles S. Fair
child and ex-Mayor Hewitt.
Mr. Stephen says he declined to sign
the protest because it argued in sub
stance that the action of the English
Government before the war had been
criminal, a statement which, it seemed
to him, "whether true or false, had be
come an anachronism," since "whether
Mr. Chamberlain's treatment of the Boers
had been Immoral was for the time as
obsolete as the question whether Pitt's
declaration of war against the French
In 1793 was Justifiable. We had some
how got Into a bog and could only con
sider how to get out of It." This Is very
like what many persons of character
and Intelligence and even keen moral
sense have been saying in this country
about our Philippine complications. Mr.
Stephen goes even farther and lays down
this broad ethical principle: "The folly
or wickedness of bringing about a war
does not alter the fact that a war, when
once begun, has to be fought out, nor
even prove that the victory of the wrong
doer may not be the most satisfactory
solution of the question."
This will strike our anti-Imperialists as
shockingly immoral, but there Is worse
to come. We quote almost at random
from Mr. Stephen's argument. Interna
tional conflicts are one product of that
"struggle for existence" which troubles
many people by its apparent indifference
to morality. The man of flint implements
went out before the man who used iron;
the aborigines of America and Australia
have been extirpated by the Spaniard and
the Englishman; and the same process is
operative, however much the form of
contest may be modified, all over the
world. It underlies all the greatest move
ments of the day. The historian, so far
as he alms at scientific methods, must
consider such processes simply as facts.
He must record Impartially the series of
events by which nations have grown and
races succeeded, as the natural historian
describes tho changes which have sub
stituted the modern horse for the hip
parlon. The victorious races may have
won success by barbarous cruelty. The
Saxon got rid of the Celt without pay
ing any attention to the Sermon on the
Mount. He succeeded not less, or pos
sibly succeeded all the more, because he
had never heard of that document. In
later times war and conquest have laid
the foundation of the most civilized races.
We preach the Christian ethics, but we
admit that in practice the code of the
barbarian has answered better.
Here is an Illustration which brings the
question nearer to us:
"Who are the rightful heirs of tho tribes
who once occupied tho United States?
The 'last of the Mohicans' died long ago,
and we cannot expropriate the present
possessors of Massachusetts and hand It
over to any rightful heir. No rightful
heir exists. Obyiously, In such cases we
have to consider the actual state of
things, and to admit that the abstract
right has vanished with the original
owners. When a wrong cannot be re
dressed It ceases to have any bearing
upon actual problems. Go far enough
back, and at the origin of every political
system you find either force and fraud
or absurd doctrines as to the rightful
grounds of action."
It Is quite clear from these observa
tions that Mr. Stephen would not con
sider the question. Why Dewey did not
sail away from the Philippines imme
diately after the battle? Or its fellow,
Did he or anybody else give Aguinaldo
cause for thinking the Americans would
help him set up an independent Filipino
Government? relevant to the present sit
uation in the islands. "The whole ques
tion," he says, of whether such original
claims "were morally right, or right
upon, the old moral assumption, is one for
antiquaries, and has no significance on
actual questions." So, too, in regard to
the responsibility of so-called great men
for the events which seem to occur under
their leadership, Mr. Stephen holds ob
viously with Tolstoi, quoted by us a week
ago, that these are merely the "name
labels of history," the unconscious agents
of the "march of human history and hu
man life." He says of them: "They rep
resent the forces, moral or Immoral,
which are working the evolutionary pro
cess. They may be selfish and have low
ambltjons, even In a good cause. We
may hold that the social evolution, whose
instruments they are, is, on the whole,
for the best, and that they are so far
likely to be on the right side." So also
in regard to the moral aspect of things.
Mr. Stephen appears to share the view
which many other wise and good and
philosophic men have held before him,
that there Is a higher wisdom, a clearer
knowledge than ours upon this question,
In accordance with which the affairs of
the universe are conducted, for he has
the courage to say: "The moralist, If he
keeps to tho merely legal aspect of
things, will denounce the 'lust of con
quest' which leads to the absorption, of
less civilized states. Yet, in point of
fact, the process may be not only in
evitable, and. so to speak, automatic, but
really desirable on moral grounds." With
that citation, wo leave the audacious pro
fessor of ethics to the tender mercies of
our anti-imperialists, the only real moral
ists now extant upon the earth.
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAORAPHERS
Did It Well. Chawloy Gotrox I think It's
delightful to have nothing to do. Dolly Dim
ples And you do It so well, Charlie. Ohio
State Journal.
A Clear Field. Towne D'Auber tells me he's
in love -with his art. Browne Is he? Well,
ho need never have any fear of a rival. Phila
delphia Press.
Lady Most of your trouble, I suppose. Is due
to drink? Tramp Well. yes. lady; it Is a good
deal of trouble to get a drink sometimes.
Philadelphia Record. ,
Too Bad. "My husband has had dyspepsia
dreadfully lately. He has been such a suf
ferer." "I am so sorry to hear It. I had no
Idea that you were without a cook." Detroit
Free Press.
Sayings of Little People. Teacher And how
do you know, my dear, that you have been
christened? Scholar Pleas", mum, 'causa I
got the marks on me arm now, mum. Leslie's
Weekly.
In London. "Tes," said the magazino editor,
"we are trying to arrange a military sym
posium." "Tes?" "Yes; we hope to publish
articles by several well-known Generals, en
titled. 'How I Didn't Catch De TVet.' "Puck.
An Agreeable Form of Philanthropy. Mrs.
Brown Wo are going to give a progressive
euchre for the poor. I love to do something
for the poor! Mrs. Jones So do I. I love
to play progressive euchre for tbem. Brook
lyn Life.
Old Mrs. Bently Did ye hear how Mr.
Brown Is gettln' on 7 Old Mr. Bently I heerd
he took a relapse this momln'. Old Mrs. Bent
ly (with a sigh) Well. I hope It will do the
old soul good; but I hain't much faith In them
new-fangled medicines. Tlt-BIts.
Means the Same Thing. "Has she accepted
you?" "Well, not In ao many words, but
what she said amouxrts to the same thing."
"What did sho say?" "She advised me to
be economical and try to save up a little
money, instead of buying flowers and theater
tickets." Chicago Evening Post.
NOTE AJJD COMMENT.
The report that Aguinaldo was, dead is
confirmed. But he is alive again now.
If the French had given grip a milder
name it wouldn't be half so hard to got
over.
The Kansas saloon-keepers probably
spell Mrs. Nation's name with the prefix
d-a-m.
Grafting at Salem Is of all sorts. .Even
the territory of one county Is not safe
against another.
It is a very insignificant Orogon town
that does not have an amended charter
before the Legislature.
If John G. Woolley would beafc his
speeches into brickbats, he could accomp
lish more for his cause.
Editorials of McBrldc organs at present
are bringing out some very Interesting
aspects of the China question.
King Edward could hardly have seen
more of his pictures In the papers If ha
had married an American heiress.
The King had better hurry up and ap
point a competent press censor before
Alfred Austin gets his copy ready.
Now doth tho maiden who Is wise.
Implore the man she loves.
To rather hammer dynamite.
Than put on boxing-gloves.
The Oregon Legislature may abolish slot
machines. The best way to do it is to
kidnap Mrs. Nation and bring her out.
The Ladies' Home Journal may now bo
expected to publish a column of side talks
with Queen Victoria by her cook's fourth
cousin.
Roosevek's press agent denies the re
port that the wolves treed the Colonel.
He says it was the wolves that climbed
the tree.
That California ballot-box which has
been presented to McKIniey would be of
more use to the party, if it had been
held back for four years.
It Is well that Congress has passed
the anti-canteen measure. The Kansas
saloon-wrecker might otherwise try her
hand on the National Capitol.
As long as it is only a weather prophet
who Is going to the north pole, no one
Is worrying. If there is anything in
scriptural adage he will be highly hon
ored up there.
Fourteen men who had been exposed to
the smallpox were confined in a Rochester
saloon. The wise city officials who employ
such a pesthouse are spared the expense
of guards and locks.
'a he State of Washington will buy the
Courthouse at Olympia for a Capitol.
Thurston County has outgrown the struc
ture, but the building is thought to bo
sufficient for the state's purposes.
Ha kicked about the taking out
Of slot cigar machines.
"Cigars come high," said he, "and I
Can't buy them, on my means."
Yet every smoke had kept him broke.
For his experience
Showed each cigar he'd won so far.
Had cost Just eighty cents.
Twins were born on a train which was
speeding 40 miles per hour near Spokane
last week. They have a good start in
life, and if they can keep up the pace
through life they ought to attain some
thing. Homer Davonport's cartoons play havoo
with the vanity of the subjects of soma
of them, but they generally follow the
chief rule of the cartoonist's art. which
is to stick close to tho subject's mora
prominent features, and make them funny
by exaggerating tnem. In a speech which
this cartoonist made at tho Quill Club
In New York the other night he told a
string of anecdotes about men whom ho
had caricatured, and who generally ac
knowledged that the artist's pencil had
hit them off about right. A notable ex
ception to this rule was Senator Spooner,
who waxed exceedingly wroth at one of
Davenport's cartoons of him, and his
anger was not appeased until he took tho
cartoon home and showed it to the baby,
who promptly Identified it as papa.
Lord Rosebery, in his book on Napoleon,
speaks frequently of the Corsican con
queror's admiration of Richardson's
"Clarissa Harlowe." This reminds tho
"Academy" of Hazlitt's quaint reason,
printed in a footnote to one of his "Ta
ble Talk Essays" in 1821 (a year In which
it needed a bold man to admire Napoleon
In print).
During the peace of Amiens, HaiUtt wrote,
a young English officer, of the name of Love
lace, was presented at Bonaparte's levee. In
stead of the usual question, "Where have you
served, sir?" the First Consul Immediately ad
dressed him: "I precelve your name, sir, Is tho
same as that of the hero of Richardson's ro
mance!" Here was a Consul. The young'
man'B uncle, who was called Lovelace, told ma
this anecdote, while we were stopping together
at Calais. I had also been thinking that his
was the same name, as that of the hero of
Richardson's romance. This is one of my rea
sons for liking Bonaparte.
Senator Clem, of Linn County, seeks
by legislation to abolish the time-honored
custom of treating, and has introduced a
bill making it an offense against the peaco
and dignity of the State of Oregon to buy
a man a drink in a saloon. The bill will,
of course, receive the hearty support ot
the members of both houses, for not only
are all politicians (and the average legis
lator Is something of a politician) rabid
prohibitionists, but if thero Is any one
place where treating is abhorred It Is in
a political campaign. The candidate who
buys a man a drink heaps insult on his
head, and the practice la never resorted
to before election. The only opposition
which the bill Is likely to meet Is from '
organized charities, who will be com
pelled to quench the thirst of those un
fortunates who are suffering for whisky,
and have no money to buy it. Heretofore
it has been possible for them to stand
around in saloons and look longingly at
the bar until s6mo one asked them to tako
a drink, but all this must be stopped, and
they will have to be furnished Intoxi
cants (In original packages only) from
tue City Board of Charities and from the
Willing Workers in the churches, who,
of course, cannot stand idly by and see
men perish for want of whisky. There is
one thing, however, that Senator Clem
overlooked. wch would have added to
the friends he has made of all his brother
members a host from the ranks of lov
ers. He should have left out the word
"Intoxicating," thereby extending the be
nign Influence of his bill to the young
man who looks upon tho return of the
lee cream, soda season with feelings akin
to horror. If it were a violation of the
law to buy a girl a glass of ice cream
soda tho young men of every city would
soon accumulate enough money to get Into
politics themselves, and in future years
would secure legislation erecting a monu
ment of idle soda fountains a mile high
to the memory of their benefactor.