Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1901)
THE MOKXIXO OKEGONIAS, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY, 23, 1901. ft regamcm Entered at the Postofllce at Portland, Oregon, as second-class matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Rooms ICC 1 Business Office. .G07 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mall (postage prepaid). In Advance Dally, with Sunday, per month $ 83 Dally, Sunday excepted, per year ... 7 00 Dally, with Sunday, per year 9 00 Sunday, per year 2 00 The Weekly, per year 1 50 The "Weekly, 3 months 50 To City Subscribers Dally, per -week, delivered, Sundays excepted.l5o Dally, per week, delivered, Sundays lncluded.20c POSTAGE RATES. United States, Canada and Mexico: 10 to 10-page paper i lc 1G to 32-pago paper ...So 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, ofllce at 1111 Pacific avenue, Tacoma. Box 055, Tacoroa Postofllce. Eastern Business Ofllce 47. 48, 40 and CO Tribune building. New Tork Gity; 4C0 "The Rookery," Chicago; the S. C. Beckwlth special tgency. Eastern representative. For sale in San Francisco by J. K. Cooper. 740 Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Gold smith Bros., 230 Sutter street: F. "W. Pitts. 1008 Market street; Foster & Orear, Ferry news stand. For sale in Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner, 250 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines. 100 So. Spring street. ' For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co, 217 Dearborn street For sale in Omaha by H. C. Shears, 105 N. Sixteenth street, and Barkalow Bros., 1C12 Farnam street. For sale in Salt Lake by the Salt Lake N'ews Co., 77 "W. Second South street. For eale In New Orleans by Ernest & Co., 115 Royal street. On file In "Washington, D. C, with A. "W. Dunn, 000 14 th N. "W. For sale in Denver, Colo., by Hamilton & Kendrick, O0C-012 Seventh street. - TODAY'S "WEATHER. Rain; brisk and probably high southerly winds. 1 PORTLAND, SATURDAY, FEB. 23. On this last day of the legislative session The Oregonlan feels it to be its duty to make a final appeal. Election of Senator is not everything; the state has other functions; yet at this time we are so in need of influence and working power at Washington that the Legislature cannot afford to adjourn without the election of a Senator. Of 63 Republican members, 34, a de cided majority, are voting for Mr. Cor bett. Thirty-two of these, last Monday, drew up and deliberately adopted a pre amble and resolution declaring their purpose, as a majority, to adhere to Mr. Corbett and vote for no other per son. These 32 have since been joined by two others, who thus also have expressed acquiescence in the declara- . tlon. The Oregonian reprints this dec oration, conspicuously, on its first kge. from their agreement with each other support Mr. Corbett to the end, and ir pledge of honor to each othr to so, the members constituting the H5v,ruy cannocieccv?e. A.C all times, however, they have been holding out invitation to the minority to enter a party caucus and settle the matter in that way; if that way were deemed preferable. Thus far, however, this in vitation has not been accepted. It is not to be supposed that the members constituting a majority of all the Republicans, who have put forth the declaration which we reprint today will or can abandon that position. They are men of judgment, prudence and honor, men of purpose and integrity, who consider well their statements and weigh their words. Such statement as they have put forth cannot be with drawn. "We dwell upon this as a re minder to the minority members, that they cannot expect it. There remains the intrigue with the Democrats. There has been much traffic in it, yet it has met difficulties at every step, owing to repugnance of Republicans on the one side and of Democrats on the other to second the efforts of the leaders who have been trying to work it up. It is a scheme from which men who like straightfor ward proceedings in politics as in other affairs recoil. Democratic members, to their honor be it said, have stood out against it There are Republicans who hitherto have acted with the minority, who will do likewise. It is necessary to the welfare of the country as well as of parties that parties be maintained :n party lines. It is injurious always rhen they mix public affairs up in bar- is between them. In such proceed ings party principles and purposes are always lost. It Is only barter or bar gain among individuals, for spoils; and it is always disliked and condemned, by the high-minded men of every party. Now since the Republican majority who have made their declaration can not recede, and since there is no vital principle making division in the party as sometimes heretofore, when neither would recede, it remains only to say that the majority cannot reasonably be expected to yield, while it is every way fair to expect the minority to do so. There is no room for such a division in a party except upon the greatest and gravest questions, none of which now is presented. On all the Important questions of the time Mr. Corbett's po sition is satisfactory to all Republicans. 'The present contention Is that of per sonal feeling, or contention for personal advantage. It cannot be Improper to suggest that a limit ought to be set upon such motives. In all our political action there ought to be reasonable re gard for the opinions and rights of oth ers. It is not unreasonable, unless some great principle is at stake which can not possibly be compromised, to expect the party minority to acquiesce in the decision of the party majority. This is the present case. Oregon's needs at "Washington call for the election of a Senator. Mr. Corbett Is able to repre sent the state well. A decided major ity of the Republican members have declared for him, in terms which pre clude recession on their part. Should there be no election, no proclamation from any quarter will be necessary to fix the responsibility. It will fix Itself. Circumstances surrounding the pass age of the Portland charter mean the perfection of an arrangement by which le police and fire departments of Port- land are turned over to the Democrats In return for votes to elect John H. Mitchell to the Senate. How success ful the deal -will be today's balloting will disclose. CALIFORNIA'S PRUNE TRUST. The prunegrowers "combine'' of Cal ifornia is the latest illustration of the difficulty of "cornering" any commodity of which there is a general production, and which to a considerable extent can be replaced by a substitute. It Is now well past the prune marketing season, and the bloom will soon be on the trees for another crop, and yet this organiza tion has remaining on hand from last year 50,000,000 pounds of prunes. The method of procedure of the California prune trust was similar on some lines to that of the late but not lamented hop trust of Oregon. The growers tied up a large portion of the output of the state, and fixed a price at which it must be sold. The possible rebellion of the consumer against a higher price than was warranted by the law of sup ply and demand was overlooked by the trust, and this was one of the weak points in the "cinch" which came to light early in the proceedings. Another factor which was perhaps more responsible than anything else for leaving the trust and its 50,000,000 pounds of prunes "up in the air" was the persistent selling of independent growers outside of the combine. These latter were willing to take the market price, which in the long run is always regulated by supply and demand, and they steadily unloaded their crop at prices a fraction under those demanded by the trust. They were, of course, aided in securing higher prices than otherwise would prevail, by the with holding from the market of the big quantity of prunes in the hands of the trust. In the same manner the hop trust of Oregon helped out the "Wash ington, California and New York grow ers two years ago. "When one of two tradesmen in the same line of business closes his shop, the proceeding is bene ficial to the one left alone in the field; but the profits of the retiring man cease from his withdrawal from busi ness, and the man remaining profits in a greater degree than before. The harm done by the California prune combine did not end with leaving an Immense stock of prunes to be sold for a song to distillers or thrown on the market for anything they could command. Having secured a duty of 2 cents per pound on foreign prunes on that ancient pretense that the pauper labor of Europe could produce prunes so much cheaper than the high-born American, they seemed to think that the prune-eater of this country was in their own hands, and must -pay any price that was demanded. The con sumer disagreed with the combine, and turned to peaches, apples and other dried fruits that had been overlooked by the combine. He was encouraged in this change by an army of salesmen and distributers who had been left on the outside by the trust, and the result is a decided shrinkage in the demand for consumption. The pauper labor of Europe was not so "pauperlsh" but that it enabled the prunegrowers to market 5200 carloads of their fruit abroad, al though they considered it a vital neces sity that a duty of 2 cents per pound must be levied to enable them to raise prunes in competition with the for-,, elgner. The latter, however, objects to combine prices for prunes, and is ap parently eating his own product, for the exports of that fruit since the reign of the combine are less than one-fifth as large as they were a year ago. "We can sell prunes to Europe, if we sell them cheaply enough, but not oth erwise. The California prune trust and the Oregon hop trust have pretty ef fectually demonstrated that experi enced middlemen and distributers who can Increase the demand and widen the market for products are much more beneficial to growers than the schemers who attempt an unnatural forcing of prices by r "corners," trusts or com bines. SEEICERS AFTER THE NORTH POLE The spirit of adventure and explora tion as witnessed in the attempt to reach the north pole has not received even temporary check through the fail ures, hardships and fatalities that marked its efforts during the closing years of the nineteenth century. From Sir John Franklin, whose fate was for years shrouded In the white silence of the far North, to that of Andree, per haps the most hopelessly adventurous man who ever set his course poleward, all who have entered the forbidden realm of King Cold have either per ished in useless quest or returned to repeat tales of suffering and disappoint ment and relatively useless search. Notwithstanding this record, each suc ceeding year has witnessed the de parture of one expedition or more to the north, and the initial year of the new century finds at least four in pro cess of preparation, anxious to depart. The United States expedition will be equipped under the direction of Evelyn D. Baldwin, of the Weather Bureau, who Is now in Europe consulting with other scientists and inspecting ships. The funds for this expedition will be furnished by William Zelgler, a New Tork millionaire, with the lavish hand that characterized the equipment of the ill-fated Jeannette by James Gordon Bennett. Much has been learned since the sailing of the Jeannette of what a ship should not be if she would outride the ice pack, but relatively little as to what she should be in order to Insure the accomplishment of this perilous feat in safety; and known errors will be avoided, whether to encounter those 3et undeveloped can only be determined by experiment. Of the Russian expedition, Vice-Admiral Makaroff, of the Russian Imper ial Navy, will be in charge. The cruise will be undertaken with the famous ice-crusher, Ermark, which has already proved Its ability to break through solid Ice fourteen feet in thickness. This vessel's sides are fifteen times as strong as those of the average commercial steel ship, and make the equipment of the Jeannette, then thought to be per fect, seem like that of a toy vessel made to ride a Summer sea. The Ca nadian expedition will be in charge of Captain Bernlce, who is fitting out his vessel, the Scottish King, in England, after the most approved ice-ship mod els. Besides these, it is known that a German expedition will be undertaken, the plans of which have not yet been made public, while Dr. Nansen and the Duke of Abruzzl are said to have agreed to make the trip together, though whether they will start the pres ent year Is not known. Of course, no one can say that these expeditions or any one of them will be unsuccessful in the great quest In which so many lives and so vast a sum of money have been sacrificed. Each will start well equipped, and the men in charge will be full of hope and deter mination. It cannot be said that the expeditions that have preceded them have utterly failed, since progress such as Is only possible to experience has been made In the navigation of North ern waters, and in securing a degree of comfort and safety to men who pur sue the behests of science in the frozen zone. ANACHRONISM OF MRS. NATION. The acts of Mrs. Nation and of those possessed of her frenzy have received throughout the country universal cen sure of her travesty upon law and or der. Antipathy to her methods is wide spread and genuine, and cannot be mis taken. Abhorrence of mob violence seems to be Instinctive with the sober element of citizens. But this has not long been the political habit. In England, re spect for law and order Is deeper set than in America. Since the anarchy which preceded Henry VII, this politi cal sentiment has been developing. But up to a very recent date the cus tom was to resist, by violence if neces sary, legislation or aught else which abridged privileges of any class of peo ple. We say privileges because democ racy and liberty are modern concep tions. This resistance was first di rected against the crown, and it ex tended over so long a period that it was the recognized method of gaining redress. It must be understood, how ever, that outbreaks were not regarded lawless, for they Invoked the law. The evolution of the Cabinet solved the dif ficulty between the nation and the crown. Then there was further strug gle between the nation and the govern ment until modern reforms were con summated. The conspicuous fact to be noted is that, although the English exalted the law, they gained their rights by law lessness, or rather by violence. In America this aptitude of resistance did not have the exercise it had In Eng land. But in 1775 it came into play and made use of illegal methods. The acts committed against the soldiery of George III, the Boston tea party, the battle of Lexington, were violations of law and order. It must be remembered that Independence was not thought of until later. Up to the recent suprem acy of courts in America and of the Cabinet in England, the habit of the people was to take the law Into their own hands. But they did it for politi cal, not fanatical, purposes. The very essential difference between Mrs. Na tion's disturbance and the outbreaks mentioned above must be kept in mind In making the analogy. It is proba ble that respect for law and order is not so much instinctive as objective. The memory of Washington was pledged yesterday at Democratic ban quets "asrthe foremost exponent In his time of good, sound Democratic doc trine." The truth is that Washington dreaded Jefferson and trusted Hamil ton. Washington had not been more than a year in office when a contest be gan over the powers of Congress. Penn sylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina denounced the assump tion of state debts by the Federal Gov ernment as unconstitutional, and the people of Western Pennsylvania -rebelled against the whisky tax. The tax on carriages was denounced as direct, and the right of Congress to charter a National bank was disputed by Jef ferson. Hamilton approved of the bank, the excise act, of all these meas ures, as covered by what he called the express, the Implied and the resultant powers of Congress, while Jefferson dis approved of the bank and recognized only those powers expressly granted to Congress and those absolutely neces sary to carry out the powers expressly given. Hamilton won Washington to his views, but the opposition that began then between the schools of constitu tional construction, headed respectively by Hamilton and Jefferson, continued many years after the death of the great principals to the controversy. When Congress adjourned March 3, 1791, the nucleus of a new political party existed, whereof Jefferson and Madison were to be the leaders. When Washington, in 1793, declared for neu trality between France and Great Brit ain, the opposition denounced his ac tion as unconstitutional, as usurpation of powers expressly 'delegated to Con gress. Jefferson really inspired this op position, and Hamilton defended Wash ington against Madison. The ratifica tion of the Jay treaty produced another storm, the House claiming the right to share in the making of treaties and refusing to vote money to put it in force. Washington was defended in this instance by Marshall and Hamil ton. It is clear from these facts that if agreement with Jefferson is the test, Washington clearly was not a Demo crat in his day; he was with Hamilton and Marshall, not -with Jefferson. Jef ferson finally stepped down and out of Washington's Cabinet, and to the day of Washington's death was the leader of opposition to his views. Washing ton's picture does not fairly belong In the gallery of Democratic saints, for Washington always stood with Mar shall and Hamilton, not with Jefferson, In all of his political views. Another name has been added to the long list of marine disasters on the treacherous rocks around the entrance to the Golden Gate. Responsibility for this latest horror cannot be fixed until official Investigation brings to light cir cumstances which may be overlooked in the excitement attendant on the wild scramble for life yesterday morning. The story, as told by the telegraph, however, would Indicate that the greater part of the blame rests with the dead captain, who paid the penalty for a brief lapse of vigilance with his life. A long and successful career as master of the fine ship with which he went down had engrafted upon his na ture a contempt for the perils of the sea. Restless and chafing under the disappointment of coming in with his ship over two days late, Captain "Ward took chances which proved his undoing. A careless and even foolhardy effort to save a little time, cost scores of lives and a fine ship. The story of the loss of the City of Rio Janeiro In Its main points does not differ from that of scores of others. The name of the ship, the local settings and the victims are new, but, aside from this, it is the same old story that has been told at Inter vals all too frequent ever since' man has gone down to the sea in ships. If the blame, as it appears from the stories now related, must be borne by the dead captain, public censure will be softened by the heroic manner in which he went down with his ship. Man Is but mortal, and the, mistakes of mortals from the beginning 'of time have caused needless loss of Innocent lives. Seldom, however, has there been such a side light of pathos thrown on a dark picture of death as in this case, where the apparently guilty one paid for his first and last error of judgment with a voluntary surrender of his own life. "Maternal duty" pTesents a wide field for discussion. Among the elements that the topic brings out are found self-righteousness, that with tractable children at the knee vaunts Its power to bring up wise meri and virtuous women by simply staying at home and looking after its affairs; arrogance that Is never tired of arraigning the mother whose sons and daughters go wrong as faithless custodians of a sacred trust, and humility which, while re joicing in the hope that painstaking endeavor may produce honorable, up right men, and noble, self-sacrificing women, yet looks abroad and trembles at the possibility of failure. Let him not boost who puts his armor on. As he who puts it oil the battle done. It ill becomes a mother with children at her knee, whose every want she has thus far been able to meet, and every petty waywardness to restrain, to gird at the heartbroken mother farther along In life who mourns in her chil dren a waywardness that she cannot control, and deplores habits in her sons that are the result of an environment the temptations of which she dimly comprehends. Not the mother alone, but the parents, are responsible for the training of children, and .to this end, fully conscious of the gravity of the self-imposed duty, the efforts of respon sible fathers and mothers tend. The statement that the Sioux Indians are seriously contemplating an "upris ing sounds like ancient history. While a band of Indians with a grievance, real or imaginary, may go on a raid and possibly kill a few people, anything like a concerted uprising of a tribe or tribes with a view to recover, for lazy occupation and use as hunting-grounds, lands that have been occupied and, to a greater or less extent, cultivated by white men, is absurd. The days of devastating border warfare with a savage foe are forever past in this country. The heel of civilization, meta phorically speaking, is upon the neck of savagery. Not the less because of this fact, but the more rather, should justice In a treaty sense be observed in our dealings with the Indians that survive, as weak representatives of a once mighty race. For a Sioux chief or the chief of any other tribe to de clare hostilities for any cause under present conditions and circumstances is but the- folly of unreason, which finds a parallel from, time to time in the "die In the last ditch" declaration of white men In the face of a superior force, to encounter which Tfn battle means certain defeat and capitulation of 'extinction. It appears that there are reasons, and in the estimation of Speaker Hen derson "weighty and conclusive ones, why the Indian War Veterans' pension bill should not receive the recognition of Congress at this time. --These "rea sons may be condensed In the words, "There are others." With no lssthan elevdfi similar bills strongly urged, ac tion upon the Oregon veterans' bill would open the door to a flood of serv ice pension bills. Whatever feeling of disappointment may result from the at titude of Speaker Henderson' toward this measure, it may be well to re member that he holds a position of vast responsibility, the duties of which re quire the exercise of firmness and the Impartial treatment of all similar measures. No doubt the local repre sentatives of this bill now In Wash ington, who have bitterly censured our delegation in Congress for the failure from year to year to secure Its passage, will return to their homes somewhat wiser from their futile attempt to force their claim through Congress. Frederic Harrison, the distinguished Englishman who delivered the address on Washington before the Union League Club, of Chicago, last evening, Is the leading apostle of positivism In England, and he has long been promi nent as a jurist, essayist and philo sophical writer.' He was-a' member of the Royal Commission of Trades Unions from 1S67 to 1SS9, secretary of the Royal Commission for Digesting the Law in 1869-70, professor of jurisprudence and International law to the Inns of Court from 1S77 to 18S9, and a member of the London Couqty Council from 18S9 to 1892. Washington has commanded the public euloglum of all great English men, Including Fox, Burke, Welling ton, Byron, Brougham, Macaulay, Green and Gladstone. The total collections in the State Land Department at Salem during the years 1894 and 1895 amounted to $99, 689 13. Perhaps under all the circum stances surrounding the transaction of public business, at. that time the people should feel thankful that nearly two thirds of this considerable sum passed Into the state treasury. So simple were the expedients by which $30,949 73 was abstracted from the sums paid to the clerk of the board, it seems truly won derful that, with tjie peculatlve talent there harbored by official carelessness, the shortage was not much greater. The new charter with which Multno mah legislators are fretting the placld ness of their self-sufficiency seems too great for the superlative measure of their pre-eminent statesmanship. In other words, the job is bigger than their egotism, despite their self-consciousness. The Oregon Legislature knows full well what it means to the state to be without complete and able representa tion at Washington. The Legislature Mas a grand opportunity to serve the great Interests of the state by laying aside little difficulties. What was the Hon. Phil Metschan doing In 1895 that the looting of the school fund of the state escaped his at tention as treasurer of the Land Board? '' ' Waldersee is about to send out an other punitive expedition. He must be running short of loot. The orphan bill is framed not alone to relieve orphans, but to make or phans. The Democrats furnished the votes. They are entitled to the usufruct. PROTECTION FOR ALASKA SALMON New Tork Sun. This country leads the world In the value of Its fisheries, and we sell abroad about $6,000,000 worth of fish, although this sum, In 1S99, was only one-half of 1 per cent of our total export. We should have practically no exports of fish if it were not for our canned salmon, our oys ters, and a small part of the Maine her ring catch which Is packed In oil and sold In Latin-American countries. It is now certain that if the wholesale destruc tion of salmon continues, under the law less and wasteful methods of fishing fol lowed In many of the Pacific Coast riv ers, our fisheries export will almost wholly disappear, and salmon will also disappear from our home markets. The salmon pack of this country and Canada first passed a million cases a year In 1SS2. Since then, the pack has almost continuously Increased. It amounted. In 1S$0, "to 3,133,040 cases. .The older fisheries, however, have been largely depleted. The Columbia River pack of 1S99 was only about one-half that of 1S95; the Sacra mento River Industry has been almost extinguished; the British Columbia pack was reduced from 1,000,000 cases In 1S97 to 700.000 in 1SS9. The Puget Sound Indus try, not largely developed till recent years, has been steadily growing and amounted to nearly a million cases In 1S99; but It Is the great development of the Alaskan fisheries since 18S7 that has done most to swell the annual product. Alaska has be come the largest center of salmon fishing and canneries. Its pack Is worth about $3,000,000 a year, fully two-thirds as much as the entire product of all the Wash ington, Oregon and California rivers. But the end of this great Alaskan industry is said to be in sight unless there is a radical change In the methods now pur sued. The report of Captain Charles P. El liott, U. S. A., retired, on the Salmon Fishing Grounds and Canneries of Alaska, recently published In Washington, says that the Government regulations for the protection of salmon are openly vio lated. At one place on the Nushagak River 700,000 fish had been wantonly de stroyed, for It was Impossible, after they were killed, to ship or can them before spoiling. Seines were drawn directly across the mouths of rivers In such a way that no fish could escape them. There was Illegal fishing at every station he visited, the most wanton destruction of salmon occurred at Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound,, Algonak, Kadlak Island, Chlgnlk Bay and Nushagak. In his opin ion the Alaskan fisheries will be de stroyed within 10 years unless stringent measures of prevention are at once taken. Officers with full power to arrest should, he believes, have charge of all the can neries. For every fish taken the packers should be required to turn out from pri vate hatcheries a certain number of fry, or If they have no hatcheries they should be compelled to buy fry from Government hatcheries, the establishment of which at specified points Is recom mended. It Is high time for the rigid enforce ment of regulations for the protection of an Industry that may be made perma nently successful If wise management supplants the flagrant violation of law that has been very marked, for some years, in the Alaskan salmon fisheries. Antiquity of the Vices. Chicago Tribune. The letters and inscriptions of Ham murabi, a King of the Babylonian dynas ty, dating back to 2200 B. C, which have recently been translated, throw most in teresting light not only upon the antiquity of vices of a financial kind, but also upon the manner In which they were punished In those faraway days. In one of these letters Hammurabi notifies his corre spondent that a case of bribery has been reported him. and that the man who of fered tho bribe, the man who took the brlbeand a, witness to the transaction are In 'Babylon. The officer Is further noti fied to apprehend all these men, as well as to ".set a seal upon the money or upon whatsoever was offered as the bribe, and cause it" and all the parties to bo brought before him for summary punishment. The outcome of the case Is not reported, but as Hamniurabf, the Amraphel of Genesis, was absolute m power, it Is not unlikely that two Babylonians lost their heads As a salutary 'warning to Others. The second letter bears upon the ques tion of money lending in those ancient days. A serf had Informed the King that Anl-ellati, a notorious usurer, had laid claim to certain lands which belonged to him, and had appropriated his crops. Tho King, after looking Into the matter, found that the usurer held a mortgage upon only a small part of the serf's acres, and or dered that his pledge should bo returned to him, and that the usurer should be brought to him for punishment, the regis try of title being held sufficient to defeat a usurious claim a feature of land laws which, curiously enough, Is now advocated in England. These two letters, over 4000 years old. show not only the antiquity of the vices of greed, but also the excellent manner In which justice was administered sometimes In the early days of the race. In the bribery case the briber was held as equally guilty with the bribed. In the usury case the Babylonian Shylock lost not only his Interest but his principal, and was punished besides. In the bribery mat ter the King was determined not to touch tho hush money, 400 ounces of gold, so ho ordered his officials to return it to the briber, after deducting 39S ounces for legal expenses and 2 ounces for fees to the ser vants, which shows that Hammurabi was crafty as well as just. Justice, after 'all, has not made much advance In the last 41 centuries; on the other hand, Its ad ministrators today might learn a useful lesson from the study of the Hammurabi tablets. "What Queen's Fortune Amount To. New York "World. The following is an accurate estimate of the fortune Queen Victoria will leave to be divided among her heirs: Three hundred thousand dollars privy purse or pocket money yearly. Half saved. Compounded at 4 per cent for 03 years, amounts to about $10,500,000 Net revenues of Dachy of Lancaster, which have averaged $300,000 a year for the past 03 years 0,500,000 Private fortune of Prince Consort, amounting to $2,300,000, left tho Queen In 1801 Thla waa all Invest ed In land In South Kensington, then practically a waste, now one of the most fashionable residen tial sections of London, and worth about 10,000,000 Osborne House and Balmoral, her pri vate estates, with their furnish ings, palntlng3 and articles of value, worth about 4,000,000 Bequest of $2,600,000 left her 50 years ago by John- Camden Nfeld, now Increased to about 8,000,000 Estate In Coburg and a villa in Baden worth about 1.000,000 Gifts at diamond Jubilee 2,500.000 Jewels, etc. 1,000,000 Real estate in this country 2,500.000 Total $49,000,000 Questions Aliont Lincoln. Milwaukee Sentinel. When Senator Quarles speaks of Lin coln's surprise at finding himself superior in mental power to the great men at Washington, whom he had long looked up to, he touched upon one of the moments in Lincoln's ca'reer about which it would be particularly Interesting to have a full record of Lincoln's own thoughts. In deed, among the many merits of the Sen ator's address, insight, knowledge, good English, the most signal is perhaps Just his power to suggest questions, to re awaken the Interest of hia hearers in a character which no one has ever perfect ly understood. Imperfect Civilization. Indianapolis Press. "Would you?" asked the grocery loaf er, "call Carrie Nation a civilized Na tion?" "Not entirely," said the Cornfed Phil osopher in reply. "She resembles the great nations in claiming to carry on the work of the Lord, but sho doesn't take any loot' MANNERS OF AMERICANS IN EUROPE New Tork Times. A contributor to The Baltimore Sun makes, from what seems to have been personal observation, the statement thut the bold, aggressive, bragging Ameri cans, Intensely proud of themselves and their country, who were once the most noticeable, if not the most numerous, representatives of the United States among the foreigners residing in or traveling through Europe, are now very rarely to be encountered there, their places having been taken by Americans of an entirely different sort. A spirit of humility, due, the writer thinks, chiefly to novels in which our own authors pic tured with cruel fidelity the ignorant, noisy, and vulgar American tourist, now finds frequent Illustration. Occasionally a tired business man or a homesick young Westerner flaps his wings and crows for th $ flag, but the typical Amer ican abroad makes as little noise as pos sible and takes frequent opportunity to condemn, excuse or ridicule his country, its inhabitants, and Its Institutions. And men are not the only or the worst sin ners in this respect. "The attitude of the vulgar American women abroad," says the writer, "is that of servile imitation of Continental manners and customs: that of the cultivated American one of timid reaching out and apology. A wom an who has lived here all her life, owes per position, her fortune, her very ca pacity to travel to her native land, will tell you to avoid a certain hotel lest you meet your fellow-country men and wom en, and 'so like an American is their fa vorite phrase of depreciation." In other words, the pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other. And the result Is described as a decrease, not an increase, of respect for Americans on the part of Europeans. They laughed at the old-time bragging, but they believed in a good deal of It. The slurs of America by Amer icans they accept as necessarily well founded ,and probably Inaccurate only In Being too mild. Tne exuea novelists should Instantly study the new type and hold it up to attention and disgust. Then our travelers may shun both extremes and come to rest at the golden mean. The combination of patriotism and self respect with modesty and manners ought not to be ImposRible. The Next Electoral College. Milwaukee Sentinel. When the next president Is elected the number of votes necessary to assure his election In the electoral college will be 239 Instead of 224 as it was in the recent election. The addition of 29 representa tives to the lower house of Congress means an addition of 29 votes- to the electoral college. The change In the elec toral college can be seen In the following table: ElecElec. vote. vote. Elcc. Elec. vote. vote. 1000. 1004. 1900. 10O4 Alabama 11 Nevada 3 3 Arkansas .. California . Colorado . . . Connecticut 8 0 4 C New Hamp.... 4 New Jersey... 10 4 12 39 12 4 23 4 34 4 0 4 12 IS 3 4 New York ... 30 North Car.... 11 Delaware 3 North Dakota 3 Florida 4 Ohio 23 Georgia .... 13 Idaho 3 Illinois 24 Indiana .... 15 Iowa 13 Kansas 10 Kentucky ... 13 Louisiana .. 8 Maine 0 Maxvland ... 8 Oregon 4 Penn 32 Rhode Island 4 South Car.... 0 South Dakota 4 Tennessee ... 12 Texas 15 Utah 3 Vermont ...... 4 Virginia 12 12 5 7 13 3 Mass 15 1C Washington Michigan ... Minnesota .. Mississippi . Missouri .... Montana . . . Nebraska .. . There are 14 W. Va. o o 17 .1 . S lWlconln .. 101 Wyoming .. 181 31 Total3 447 470 81 votes gained by the nine Southern states, and 21 by the rortnern states. According to the results of the election in 1900, 19 of these additional votes go to republican states and 10 to democdatlc states, Colorado being the onfy northern demochatlc state that gains a representative. Were the next election t6 be contested with the same results as this year, the Republican ma jority In the electoral college would, -therefore, be Increased by nine votes.- The January Fire Loss. New Tork Journal of Commerce. The fire loss of the United States and Canada during the month of January, as compiled from our records, shows a total of $16,574,950. This is a heavy increase over the figures for the same month in 1SD9 and 3900, as will be seen from the following comparison: 1S99. 1000. 1901. January ...$10,71S,000 $11,755,300 $10,574,050 During January there were 234 fires of a greater destructlveness than $10,000 each. A 4etalled list of these losses ap pears upon the Insurance page. They may be classed as below: $ 10 000 to $ 20.000 to 30.000 to 60.000 to 20.000 90 30.000 39 50.000 41 75.CO0 19 100,000 15 200.000 21 2,750,000 0 75.000 to 100.000 to 200,000 to Total 234 The principal fires during January were these: Sheboygan. "Wis., coal dock and other.? 200,000 Brooklyn steamers and warehouses.. 480.000 Cincinnati. O.. theater and other 320.000 Des Moines, la., department store.... 007,000 Baltimore, Md., show building and animals 215,000 New Tork City, cigar-box factory and silk-label factory 1,140.000 Montreal, wholesale millinery store.. 2SO.00O Montreal. Board of Trade building and wholesale stores 2,750,000 Montreal, butter and cheese ware houses 200,000 Fire underwriters suffered severely last month, as In all important fires the prop erty was Insured to practically full value. "With an increased fire loss and extor tionato taxation threatened the outlook for their business Is still not very en couarglng. A Model Retraction. New Tork Times. Many of our readers will no doubt re member that a few days ago we drew some conclusions unfavorable to the Rev. Dr. Ament, one of the representatives in China of the American Board of Foreign Missions, from a dispatch published in the Sun of December 24. The Rev. Dr. Judson Smith, secretary of the board, has written a long and interesting letter to the Tribune to vindicate his represen tative from the imputations contained In this report of an interview with him. He emotes from a letter of Dr. Ament, writ ten, November 13. giving an account of the same transactions to which the dis patch referred, and putting an entirely different face upon them. The dispatch says that "wherever Mr. Ament went he compelled the Chinese to pay," that he had collected 300 taels for each murder, and "had assessed fines amounting to 13 times the amount of the indemnity." He was also made to say that "the soft hand of the Americans is not as good as the mailed fist of the Germans." In his own letter he says the compensation for the losses of converts obtained by him had been obtained "by appealing to the sense of justice among the villages where our people lived." The two versions of Dr. Ament's behavior, of which one Is Indis putably authentic, are virtually incom patible. It seems that we have been led into doing an injustice to him by adopt ing the less authentic In Ignorance of the more authentic. In that case we have to express our sincere regret. Huxley's Epitaph. In "The Life and Letters of Huxley," recently published by his son, there Is a brief passage curiously In contrast with what had been the apparent tenor and trend of his life-long teaching. It occurs in what he had chosen for his own epi taph. The verses were written by his wife, and they appear to voice the general human Instinct that, after all, God does exist and death does not end all. The epitaph is: And if there be no meeting past the grave, If all is darkness, silence, yet 'tis rest. Be not afraid, ye waiting hearts that weep, For God still "glveth his beloved sieep." And if an endless sleep he wills so best. NOTE AND COMMENT "Did the charter get through?" and came out on the other side." "Tes, "We suppose there is no law against close shaves on Sunday outside of bar ber shops. Cuba is expected to declare the United States entirely unnecessary, except to have around when needed. It Is nine years until the next census, so that there is no pressing need for Se attle to stamp out smallpox. '- Bryan has not announced lately that he is not a candidate for Senator. The fact is he has not had to do it. Roosevelt says all the hunting tales about him are lies. That is pretty hard on the Colonel's strenuous reputation. If John Marshall Is within hearing ho must be wondering how so many editors knew more about the Constitution than he did. Homer Davenport accepted an Invitation to address the Oregon Senate the other day. The courtesy was no reflection on Mark Hanna. From the Spanish armada down to the present is a far cry, but the upheaval In Spain shows that its people are review ing their history. If the Indian war veterans who went to Washington got no pensions for their pains, they got at least a good time for their trip and for that $2000. It would be a transcendent courtesy if Clatsop County would buy the fishwheels which are about to be outlawed in its favor, since It Is going to have the salmon industry all to Itself. Such a token would be a sign of altruism, unmistakable. Kipling has found time to administer some of his sharp pen pricks to the anti quated railroad accommodations of Great Britain, and he winds up by suggesting that all those who have a grievance against the railroad management should write to each director personally and keep on writing till the directors became dis tracted. Next he proposes that billboards be erected by the side of the tracks and covered with sarcastic placards in large letters, and, finally, that when by acci dent a train arrives on time the public should overwhelm the company with mock applause. "Cheap opera-glasses are an abomina tion," said an eye specialist the other day. There is no doubt about this. I have made a special study of the matter. Lots of eyes are nearly ruined by them. I find this particularly true of young girls who go a great deal to the theater and who seem, to think they must have opera -glasses. To their way of thinking an opera-glass is an opera-glass, and that's all there Is to it. So they buy cheap ones, and then wonder why their eyes are giv ing them so much trouble, and why they have such headaches. Unless the very best lenses are used, I should advise everybody to taboo opera-glasses. The farther from tho stage one is the better and more perfect the glasses should be. Exactly the reverse of this 13 actually the case, for the people who sit in the rear seats or in the balcony are usually the ones who have tho poorest glasses." "When Washington was proceeding from Mount "Vernon to New Tork, In 1739, to be Inaugurated as the first Presi dent of the United States," recalled-a Ess ton man tho other day, "his passing through the several cities en route was made the occasion for magnificent demon strations, tho most notable of which was at Philadelphia. An early historian tell3 us that General Arthur St. Clair headed the local notable who went out from Phil adelphia to meet and receive the President-elect; that the city was filled with people, and that triumphal arches had been erected over many of the streets. While passing bareheaded beneath one of the arches erected for the occasion, tho historian tells us, Washington was re quested to stop. He did so, and a young woman 'placed on his brow the laurel wreath of victory." Just imagine some one stopping the inaugural procession next 4th of March and placing a 'laurel wreath of victory on tho brow of Presi dent McKinley. From all over the coun try would go up the cry that on Emperor was being crowned. Even if McKinley should do as Caesar did on the Lupercal and push the crown away, the 'antis' could not be made believe McKinley did not frown, as Caesar did, because the populace cheered the act." PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPIIERJ Theodore He went so far as to call mo a puppy! Harriet And at your age! The Idea! Boston Transcript. A Bargain. "Tes, Flora married a titled foreigner; for all she isn't so very rich. He Is the last of his race." "Oh, well, remnants always come cheap, you know." Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. Hopeless. "My volume of poems is filled with typographical errors!" cried the poet. yes," replied tho disgusted publisher. "Even the proofreader seems to have balked at read ing it through." Philadelphia North Amer ican. Disproved. Parke I know your wifo didn't like It because you brought me home unex pectedly to dinner last night. Lane Nonsense! "Why, yon hadn't been gone five minutes be fore she remarked that she was glad it waa no one else but you. Harper's Bazar. A "Woman's Reason. She I bought this Chip pendale chair for you, dear. He That's ver kind of you. But er I don't think it's Chip pendale. She Yes, dear, It must be. Th man said It wasn't oak, and I know It Isn't mahogany. So it must be Chippendale. Punch. One Blessing. Mrs. Isolate (of Lonelyvllle, helping to extinguish Are In their cottage with the watering pot) Hasn't the volunteer h03e company come yet, Ferdinand? Isolate (re lieved, working with bucket) Yes, my dear; but, thank heavens, their hose is too short! Puck. That Boy Again. Mrs. Bllkins (sweetly) Do have another piece of cake. Cousin John. Cousin John "Why. really, I've already had two; but It's so good I believe I will have an other. Little Johnnie (excitedly) Ma's a win-, ner! Ma's a winner! She said she'd bet you'd make a pig of yourself! Brooklyn Life. The World's Two Questions. S. E. Klser In Chicago Times-Herald. The world has two questions ever One for the woman, one for the man And the world will have answers and never "Withhold its approval or ban, And these are the questions the world asfea forever: "How much has he won?" And: "What has she done?" Her face may be fair and her bearing May stamp her as soulful and pure; The world sees her worth without caring If her name bear a stain 'twill endure; Two quertlons the world asks forever, nona sparing:: "How much has he won?" And: "W,hat has she done?" His manhood may never be doubted. His wisdom may tower and spread. But his worth Is unthought of or flouta If It's all In his heart and his head Two questions there are, to be whispered' or shouted: "How mnch has he won?" And: "What has she done?" V-