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PORTLAND, FRIDAY, MARCH 1.
Suppose the United States were at
war with Great Britain in the Carib
bean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico what
sort of a figure in affairs would be cut
by this Cuban constitutional provision
that the Island shall not be the basis
of military operations "for the United
States or any other country"? Ja
maica is one of the factors in control of
those waters, Cuba is the other. To
contemplate that we should use our
own ports only while Great Britain
had the use of Jamaica is to make a
proposal most foolish and unlikely. Not
only that, but who is going to enforce
such a provision? Cuba cannot do It
alone, so her only dependence for re
pelling foreign attack rests with the
United States. It is little short of pre
posterous, therefore, for the Cubans to
nact that when the United States is at
war with a European state it has no
more privileges there than are equally
open to our foe. Yet all these things
are protoably getting far more attention
and airj of importance than they de
serve. "iVhat relations Cuba sustains
to the United States and the United
States ti i Cuba are not for the constitu
tes there or swelling Senators
here to determine In advance. They
will be determined by events. How
worse than bootless it is to attempt to
control the future by joint resolutions
Is seen In the Spanish War and the
declarations that preceded It, just as
the Civil War long before had also
abundantly demonstrated. If Congress
Is governed by common sense, it will
make annexation so desirable that
Cuba shall hurry into the Union of Its
own accord. It will be the part of
childish folly to grant Independent
Cuba the trade privileges she will be
entitled to expect after annexation.
This Is the way to settle the Cuban
problem.
Do not imagine, because the opposi
tion In the Senate is allowed to discuss
the Spooner amendment without reply,
that there is no reply to make. These
panegyrics to liberty and eulogies at
the tomb of the Constitution are of
fered with a very definite object In
view, and that object is to deny the
Administration authority to act in the
Philippines. The hope is to delay and
defeat the bill. It Is a cruel fate for
the Republican Senators to have to sit
still and repress the tomes of oratory
on tap for their side of the question,
but It Is the necessary price of passage
of the amendment. There was a real
danger In the Spooner amendment in
its original form, because it lacked the
very proper reservation to Congress of
disposal of the public lands in the Phil
ippines; but the danger has been elim
inated through adoption of the Hoar
amendment supplying that lack. The
object of the Spooner measure is to
authorize the President to inaugurate
civil government In the Islands. With
out such authorization, he is merely
in military occupation there under the
treaty of Paris. But why should the
artis hesitate to grant such author
its? Partly because they cherish a
vague but vain hope that somehow
evacuation may yet set the seal of ap
proval upon their scuttle policy; but
principally they hesitate because with
the enactment of the Spooner measure
there will pass away the last shred of
their pretense that the'President Is act
ing in the Philippines without authority
of Congress. So long as he hasn't au
thority they can denounce him. Once
it is granted, their complaint falls.
Here is the meaning of the long battle
and spirited addresses of Wednesday.
It Is a discreditable move in a lost
game.
Much baseless legend is doubtless in
corporated in the popular Idea that the
electoral college was created as a body
of picked men to select a President
Upon deliberation. This conception has
recently been opposed by Chief Justice
Nott, of the United States Court of
Claims, who points out that if It had
been intended to make the electoral
college a deliberative body It would -naturally
have been allowed to meet in
a single place. Instead, the Constitu
tion provides that the members shall
meet in their several states. The con
vention voted down a provision to allow
them to assemble In Washington so
that in case of a failure to elect they
might ballot until an election was se
cured. Justice Nott argues that this
action showed that the electors were
expected merely to register the will of
the people. If we eliminate this aspect
of the electoral college from consid
eration as unwarranted, we are Inevi
tably thrown brack upon, the simple fact
that the device was nothing more or
less than a concession of practical poll-
tics, made necessary as a condition of
the Constitution's acceptance by the
smaller states. In the Constitutional
convention Madison favored an elec
tion by the people, but he believed the
smaller states would not consent. How
carefully their Interests were safe
guarded Is evident In the fact that to
day Illinois, with eighty-five times as
many people as Nevada, casts only
eight times as many electoral votes.
This is not to say that the electoral
college has not worked well, or that It
can or should be superseded by any
other device. It simply shows that the
lofty ideals of the Fathers were re
fracted through some very cracked and
twisted prisms of conflicting interests.
Conger was never anything but a
fidgety politician of the wasp type,
and when he was transferred from
Brazil to China pursuant to some trade
in which the Brazilian mission was in
volved, the Administration was warned
that It might expect trouble from him
if matters of grave import should arise.
The Pekin horror and the stress of
subsequent negotiations have silenced
criticisms and caused the country to
maintain an attitude of dignified for
bearance and waiting towards all the
actors in the melancholy affair. Noth
ing is left us now, however, but the
conclusion that Conger's offenses have
not rieen all of the nature of blood
thirstiness, and that little in his Pekin
career will become him like the leav
ing pf It. There has been, we cannot
doubt, ugly feelbng between our diplo
mats in China and the military. Accu
sations have been bandied back and
forth, and throughout the whole the
brave, humane and dignified bearing of
Chaffee will pretty surely be found to
have stood out In bold relief against
Conger's desire for "recognition" and
cries for blood. It Is remarkable, on
the whole, considering the exigencies
of our yellow journalism, that the Pe
kin bickerings have been so well
screened by correspondents from the
American public. Conger's recall will
not only set the seal of official dis
trust upon his course, but also release
the true story of his exploits for pub
lication. The moral, of course, will be
the mischief of selecting diplomats for
political services rather than for fit
ness. A correspondent inquires whether
The Oregonlan, in its recent editorial on
Washington, Is correct In saying:
"Washington was born higher than
Patrick Henry, who belonged to the
poor white class, but lower than the
Randolphs and the Lees." The Orego
nlan is correct In the sense that Patrick
Henry, while he came of intelligent and
Intellectual stock, did not belong to the
well-to-do, landholding gentry of "Vir
ginia. Among the very wealthy land
holding gentry of "Virginia were the
Lees and the Randolphs. Washington
did not belong to this class, but to the
minor gentry, men who had a very con
siderable landed estate, but were not in
the first rank of colonial wealth. Pat
rick Henry's father was a Scotch immi
grant from Aberdeen, who was scholar
enough to keep a grammar school and
was a surveyor. Patrick was one of
nine children. He kept a country store
with his brother for a time, tried farm
ing, was not successful, and at 24 be
came a lawyer. His father was a poor
man in distinction from a rich, land
holding Virginian, and Patrick did not
socially stand as high as Washington,
whose father was a large landholder
and a man of sufficient property so that
Washington's patrimony would have
supported him. Measured by his edu
cation, Patrick Henry probably was
better equipped than Washington, if he
learned all his father could have taught
him. But the evidence Is strong that
In boyhood he was an Idle scholar, and
Jefferson, as recorded In Daniel Web
ster's autobiography, says that while
Henry was a man of astonishing genius
as an orator, he had no taste for books,
returning to him "Hume's Essays" un
read, saying that "he could not under
stand such books." Henry confessed
this with embarrassment, saying that
in his boyhood he had been hunting
when he should have been at his books.
DRINKING IX EUROPE.
The popular notion that the "saloon"
is peculiarly an American Institution
is a mistake. The drlnklng-places in
England and Scotland are called "pub
lic houses," "boozing kens," "ale
houses." efc In Germany there are
"beer halls" and "wine shops," ahd
Paris is full of drinking shops of all
sorts, as anybody who ever read" Zola's
novel of "Drink" can testify. And in
all these countries the consumption of
alcohol In various forms is greater than
In America. France consumes annu
ally 925,000,000 gallons of wine, or 24.25
gallons per head of the population.
Germans' comes next with 76,000,000 gal
lons, or 1.5 gallons per head. In the
United States 21,500,000 gallons of wine
are consumed annually, or only three
tenths of a gallon to each Inhabitant.
The annual consumption of wine In the
United Kingdom was four-tenths of a
gallon per head, or 16,000,000 gallons.
Germany consumes 1,382,000,000 gallons
of beer annually, or 26 gallons to each
inhabitant The United Kingdom con
sumes 31.S gallons per head of popula
tion, or 1,250,000,000 gallons. The United
States consumes 920,000,000 gallons a
year, or 12.6 gallons per head of pop
ulation. France consumes 205,000,000
gallons, or 5.3 gallons per head. The
total consumption of ardent spirits In
France reaches 74,000,000 gallons, or 1.94
gallons per head of population. Ger
many consumes 100,000,000 gallons of
spirits per year, or 1.02 gallons per
head. The United States consumes 63,
000,000 gallons of liquor, which is equal
to eighty-six one-hundredths of a gal
lon per inhabitant. These figures show
that Americans are decidedly the most
abstemious, whether -the alcoholic bev
erage be wine, beer or spirits. The
United Kingdom stands next, and yet
Scotland, celebrated for the industry.
the thrift and intelligence of her people,
is a very drunken country. The offi
cial report on the judicial statistics of
Scotland for the year 1899 says:
The saloon Is with us. It remains terribly
clear that we are farther than ever from get
ting rid of the huge volume of drunkenness
and disorder which mark Scottish statistics so
unfavorably, as compared with those of other
countries. Last year the number of persons so
charged rose to 112,083, another record figure.
The Dundee Advertiser says: "In the
matter of sheer, besotted, overmaster
ing drunkenness we stand without riv
als in shameful isolation." There is lit
tle or no intemperance in Spain, Italy,
or Southern Europe generally. There
is little intemperance in Southern Ger
many, where beer and wine are manu
factured, but It is not for lack of
"saloons"; that is, "beer halls" and
wine shops. In the cold climate of
Northern Germany, where the drink is
cheap alcohol made from' potatoes,
there Is much drunkenness. There is
much intemperance in Norway and
Sweden and Northern Russia. In a
broad sense hard drinking in Europe
seems to be largely a matter of climate.
The countries that produce beer and
wine easily are temperate, while the
countries whose climate Is too cold for
winegrowing consume great quantities
of cheap spirits, the consumption of
which has greatly Increased In France
since the ravages of the phylloxera
made wine dearer than vile spirits. In
the United States drunkenness has de
creased In proportion to the population
since we became less given to the ex
clusive use of ardent spirits and have
enlarged our area of wlnemaklng and
the consumption of beer.
Regulation of the liquor traffic in New
Tork State under, the Raines law
shows some excellent results. Since the
law went Into operation In the Spring
of 189G, there has been collected under
It for the privilege of selling liquor In.
the Empire State more than 561,250,000.
Despite the large- Increase In the popu
lation of New York State within the
four years, the number of places where
liquor Is sold has decreased from the
last year of the old excise law to the
first year of the new law by over 6000;
while in this period the arrests for
drunkenness have decreased from
twelve In 1000 to nine In 1000. The
Raines law puts the liquor business,
like any other business, under the do
main of law, which fully protects as
well as vigorously punishes; and
so far as it Is an evil it Is not peculiar
to the poor and the conditions of pov
erty, for relatively there Is as much
drinking- among the well-to-do as
among the poor.
CHINA'S OMINOUS OUTLOOK.
The heads of two Chinese dignitaries,
who were conspicuous abettors of the
Boxer assault upon the Legations, have
fallen by the hand of the public execu
tioner at Pekin; two others are soon
to be executed at Sinan Fu. What
then? What is the probable outlook for
China? It is not probable that Count
von Waldersee seriously Intends to send
an expedition to Slnan Fu. Such an
expedition would require long prepara
tion, a. strong force and water trans
portation on a large scale. It could
doubtless reach Slnan Fu, but its suc
cess would mean the first step toward
the dismemberment of China, which Is
not the purpose of the allies. If It
were necessary to exert military' pres
sure on China, it would be done by a
naval force on the Yangtse Klang,
which could cut off the southern half
of the empire from Slnan Fu, while
light-draught gunboats on the Hoang
Ho would close another avenue of com
munication with the new capital.
Such Important steps Involve the
united action of the powers, and would
not be approved by Russia, the United
States or France. In her substantial
domination In Manchuria, Russia has
obtained all that she cares at present
to secure, and the United States, not
only as a matter of justice to China,
but of fidelity to our commercial Inter
ests, desires a return to peaceful con
ditions at the earliest moment. Our
cotton mills at the South are on half
time because the Chinese market Is cut j
off. The reduction of $5,000,000 in out
cotton exports to China is a serious
loss, while our prospect of supplying
China with American rails and rolling
stock for her projected railroads has
vanished. It is in China that the great
est of our markets for iron and steel
is ultimately to be secured, for when
peace comes railway equipment, ma
chinery, tools, electric supplies, bridges,
structural Iron work of all kinds, will
be In large demand there.
It Is reported that China Is anxious
to negotiate her Indemnity loan to the
United States rather than to Europe,
because all China already knows that
from the taking of the Taku forts to
the present date the United States has
been conspicuous for the moderation
of its demands and the humanity of
its action. At a recent banquet at
Hankow, at which an American Naval
officer was present, the speech of the
leading Chinese dignitary referred to
the fact that alone of all powers the
United States refused to fire on the
Taku forts. When peace does come
with China, and she Is once more the
seat of a valuable trade, there is every
reason to believe that the United
States will be able to restore her com
merce to Its old volume and probably
increase it. Nevertheless, peace will
not be fully restored In a day, for the
hostility of China to the foreigner has
been increased and intensified by the
recent outbreak. The chief cause of
permanent irritation arises from the
extra-territoriallty which Is the central
Idea of all the treaties with foreign
nations. Under .these treaties the for
eign merchant is In a privileged posl
Jion and Is withdrawn from Chinese
jurisdiction. The missionary Is simi
larly beyond the reach of Chinese law.
The only efficient remedy for this long
standing cause of Irritation' and hostil
ity consists, according to Jjjir Robert
Hart, in treating China as any other
civilized nation is treated. If the West
ern nations would only agree to give up
extra-terrltorlallty In all their treaties,
there would be friendly relations at
once with China; trade would be per
mitted everywhere; the Investment of
foreign capital would be Invited and
protected, and the development of In
ternal resources energetically encour
aged. Without this friendliness ob
tained by submission to Chinese juris
diction, there will be small material
progress In the near future.
The Chinese statesmen, are not fools.
In the English and French war with
China in 1860 Prince Kung, the brother
of the reigning Emperor, said: "Take
away your opium and your missionaries
and all will be well"; and later a Chi
nese Prime Minister, Wen Hslang, said:
"Cancel your extra-terrltorlallty clause
and merchants and missionaries may
go everywhere." Russia may restore
to China her sovereign rights in these
respects, but there Is small hope that
the other Western powers would make
this concession. And yet without it
there can be no real peace or-satlsfac-tory
traffic with China for any Jong
term of years to come. The partition
of China could doubtless be accom
plished, but It would not endure any
longer than the time necessary for the
Chinese to learn all Europe can teach
them about the modern art of war and
military transport, and then the Chi
nese would rise up and expel the for
eigner, for then it would be the Insur
rection of eighteen great provinces of
400,000,000 of people instead of two or
three provinces with a population of
50,000,000.
The partition of China is, of course.
possible, but Its life would be main
tained at a cost of men and treasure
that Europe could not afford. Such a
scheme Russia, France and the United
States would not support. Permanent
peace and resumption of trade must
come through some modification of the
old-time methods of the foreigners in
dealing with China. The reformation of
China is only possible through the
reformation of the bitterly offensive
foreign methods which kindled resent
ment and fostered It until it broke
Into open violence In the Pekin Prov
ince. The allies have used the most
sacred temples of the Chinese religion
In Pekin as the feeding-places for the
horses of their cavalry. The British
turned the old South Church In Boston
Into a stable for their cavalry, and yet
they did not conquer America.
THE RULE FOR NEUTRALS.
Richard Harding Davis ought to
know hetter. than to denounce the pur
chase of mules and horses by British
agents In this country as a violation of
the obligation of neutrals. Horses and
mules captured on the high seas by
the cruisers of either belligerent flag
would be held contraband of war If
there was evidence they were intended
for the service of either belligerent,
but the sale of contraband of war to
either belligerent Is not a violation of
the obligation of neutrals. Great Brit
ain has the same right to buy horses
here as the Boers had to buy munitions
of war.
The sale of all war material, except
ships equipped for war or built so as
to be equipped. Is not a violation of
our obligation as a neutral power. Our
neutrality laws forbid the use of our
territory as a base for military organ
ization. Troops cannot be enlisted and
organized, but Individuals can go as In
dividuals to any war. English officers
and German officers and French officers
served on both sides during our Civil
War, but they Joined as individuals.
Men went from this country to join the
Boers, but they could not go as sol
diers. Horses can be bought and sent,
but they must not be organized Into
cavalry companies on our soil. A pri
vate firm can sell naval guns, but
cannot furnish an armed cruiser. Am
munition may be bought, but It cannot
be put In the magazines of a ship of
war In our harbors. Agents may buy
munitions of war, but they must be
bought and shipped like any other mer
chandise. We enforce today dgalnst Great Brit
ain and the Boers the same policy we
did against France and Great Britain
in the Napbleonlc Avars. In our Civil
War the subjects of Great Britain sold
contraband of war without restraint to
the Confederates, but when the English
shipbuilders began to fit out Confeder
ate armed cruisers from their yards the
British Government on the peremptory
demand of our Government was obliged
to Interfere, for this was as clear a
breach of neutral obligations as it
would have been to have raised and
organized on British soil a Confederate
brigade. Sir John Crampton, British
Minister at Washington, was recalled
on demand of our Government, which
charged him with attempting to enlist
soldiers In this country for the Crimean
War of 1854-56.
The Pennsylvania Legislature has
unanimously passed, and the Governor
has signed, resolutions addressed to
Congress under article 5 of the Consti
tution. The scandal of Quay's re-election
has drawn the attention of the
country to the defects of the present
system. The Addlcks deadlock In Del
aware has already given rise to charges
of bribery; the deadlock In Nebraska
threatens to leave the state wholly un
represented In the next Congress, and
the deadlock In Montana Is another sig
nificant fact. A State Senator of Mas
sachusetts who has served some years
In one of the worst of our boss-ridden
states writes the Springfield Republi
can as follows:
My experiences of the last threo years con
vince me that unles something Is done to pre
vent the enormous expenditures of money In
order to control state Legislatures In favor of
certain aspirants for membership In the United
States Senate, and the purchare of votes after
the Legislatures have assembled, the Senate
will won be degraded into a stock board In
which the price is fixed upon each seat; and I
am convinced It would be- Infinitely better tor
some states If the United States Senatorshlps
were put up at auction and the proceed of
the sale of the seat turned Into the public
treasury. This would lessen the amount of
bribery, and nt the come time would, be add
ing a handsome sum every few years to the
state treasury-
A member of the Montana State Sen
ate complimented the "Father of His
Country" a few days ago by voting for
him upon the daily roll-call for United
States Senator. Upon being asked fa
cetiously If he did not know that George
Washington was dead, he replied: "Cer
tainly; but some of your fellows have
been voting for men who are polltlcally
just as dead for thirty-three days, have
you not?" Of course, not being an Ore
gon legislator, this honorable Senator
could not have had our Hermann In
mind, nor yet our senior United States
Senator, who but now stidly turned his
face eastward to finish up work that
he never began. '
The returns of the foreign trade of
the United States for January Indicate
a vast and constant strengthening of
our financial relations with the rest of
the world. The first month of the twen
tieth century, as shown by the records,
has distanced even the stupendous
trade of the corresponding month of the
preceding year. The value of exports
for the month was $136,317,354; that of
the imports, ?G9,100,194, or at the rate of
$1,600,000,000 for exports, leaving an an
nual trade balance of $500,000,000 in our
favor.
Office-holders under the present Port
land regime are asking Governor Geer
to veto the new charter. But In a pure
Democracy like ours, should there be
'discrimination in favor of one crowd
against another? Is not one ring of
grafters just as worthy as another?
Mrs. Sltton is the first woman candi
date for School Director. Voters should
take their chivalry with them to the
polls.
The St Louis Exposition is to be
closed on Sunday. How would Oregon
barbers like that with our exposition?
If it were not for military experts at
London, the cause of England In South
Africa would be hopeless. '
Mrs. Nation has become an editor
for rest, and not to make the pen
mightier than the hatchet.
ELASTIC CURRENCY THE SAFEST-
St. Paul Pioneer Press.
While there Is not the slightest prospect
that the Senate in the crush of business
now upon It could act upon the Lover
lng currency bill before the close of the
session, the passage of that measure by
the House would have an immense educa
tional value, and help to prepare the
country for a similar measure In the
next Congress. It would serve to attract
attention to the matter, evoke criticism
and furnish a series of texts upon
which the principles of sound currency
might bo preached. The Loverlng bill,
it may not be superfluous to point out
again, provides for a bank currency pro
portioned to the paid-up capital of the
issuing bank, guaranteed by the Treas
ury and secured by a safety fund. While
It leaves the bond-secured Issue Intact.
It initiates a system of elastic currency
and provides for the gradual Increase of
the Issue. The purpose of the bill is
to give a practical illustration of the
benefits of an elastic currency, and thus
to do away with the groundless prejudice
which hs thus far prevented the adop
tion of a system that has proved itself
In other countries to be Invaluable and
freo from defects and dangers of the
bond-secured currency, whose distinguish
ing feature is that it is so incapable of
automatically responding to the needs of
business that during the decade when
the business of the country and the need
of money was most rapidly expanding,
the volume of bank notes fell off more
than SO per cent, or from $35S.100,000 In
1SS2 to ?1CS,000,000 in 1SD1. Not only over
long periods, but over short periods, has
this absurd currency shown Itself utterly
Irresponsive. The cost of the bonds,
the difficulty of securing them and other
factors, not only made the tesue of
notes comparatively unprofitable to the
banks, but made It Impossible for them
to use this sort of money to send to the
West or the South when there was a sud
den local demand. During the depression,
when new bond issues and the slowness
of the market brought down the price
of bonds, there was a partial recovery
In the volume of banknotes. But that
occurred at the very time when business
was Inactive and there was the least de
mand for money.
It is needless to point out that the want
of a practical currency such as all other
progressive countries have has Imposed
a handicap upon business in the United
States, has aggravated disasters and re
tarded recovery. But In spite of the pal
pable defects of our rigid system of cur
rency and the freedom of other countries
from the evils to which it gives rise, there
remain many prejudices against the in
stitution of an elastic currency. One of
the most widespread objections to the
substitution of notes secured by the as
sets of the banks Instead of by United
States bonds Is that the security would
be Insufficient, and that the holders of
notes of a falling bank might suffer loss.
As a matter of fact, the provisions of the
Loverlng bill, or of any of the numerous
bills for the institution of a rational bank
currency Introduced or suggested, give ab
solute security. They all have proposed
a safety fund made up of the proceeds of
a tax not exceeding 1 per cent of the
circulation of the Issuing banks. The
Loverlng bill and other -bills that have
been introduced provide also that the
Government shall have -either a first or a
ratable Hen on the assets of failed banks
to indemnify It for the redemption of the
notes, and that if the assets are Insuffi
cient, to reimburse It, it shall reimburse
itself from the safety fund. In other
words, the Government guarantees the im
mediate redemption of the notes of failed
banks, thus giving to the noteholders
absolute assurance against loss, and re
imburses itself from the assets of the
failed bank and the safety fund. That
the safety fund, composed of the pro
ceeds of a 1 per cent tax on circulation,
is more than ample to protect the Govern
ment against loss as thoroughly as it
protects the noteholder Is not only as
sured by tho experience of Canada, where
the safeguards are much weaker than
those of the Loverlng bill, but by tho
statistics of failed banks In the United
States since the national banking system
was established. The Lovering bill pro
poses to allow the Issue of notes t,o a
maximum of only 40 per cont of the paid
up capital, but Representative Broslus, of
Pennsylvania, recently pointed out that
if we suppose that the banks had been
allowed to Issue circulation to 3) per cent
of their paid-up capital, and had been re
quired to pay 1 per cent thereon for the
safety fund, the total amount In 3G years
that would have been paid out of that
fund to reimburse the Government for Its
redemption of tho notes of failed nation
al banks would have been $69,211, If tho
Government held the prior Hen on the
assets. If It haa held a raiame nen xne
loss to be paid out of the safety fund
would have aggregated only ?3,961,16S. In
the first case the amount remaining in
the safety fund last October would have
been $130,953,457. and In the second case,
$124,5SS,201. In the light of these figures,
based on actual failures over a period of
26 years, it Is clear that notes necured by
such an arrangement as this would be as
absolutely certain of redemption, even
without the Government guarantee, as
they are with United States bonds behind
them.
Xapoleon'M Evil Eye
Goldwin Smith In The Atlantic.
Lord Russell, when the present writer,
Questioned him about Napoleon's iQok,
said, and emphatically repeated, that
there was something very evil In hls;'eye.
He added that the eye flashed, at an. allu
sion to the excitement of war as con
trasted with the dullness of Elba. A fea
ture In the character which perhaps has
hardly been enough noticed waB a sheer
lust of war, and especially of battfes. the
emotions of which Uapoleon seems to have
owned, were agreeable to him. It ap
pears not improbable that this had a
share, together with his insatiable ambi
tion and his political need of glory, In
launching him on his mad Invasion of
Russia, for which it is difficult to assign
any political purpose, as he refused to
restore the kingdom of Poland.
Another feature not much noticed in Na
poleon's character is his classicism. In
his early days he had employed his gar
rison leisure partly in reading Roman his
tory; and instead of being repelled he had
been fascinated by the presentation of the
Roman Empire in Tacitus. We see the
result In his Eagles, his Legion of Honor,
his political nomenclature and the general
cast of his political institutions. Perhaps
the image of the Roman Empire as a
model for reproduction floated vaguely be
fore his mind as it does before those of
our Imperialists at the present day. A
grosser anachronism. It Is needless to say,
there could not be than an attempt to im
pose on the European family of living na
tions anything like the yoke Imposed by
Rome on a set of conquered provinces in
which national spirit was extinct.
Twelve Thousand Heroes.
Richard Harding Davis.
I was told at Washington that the rea
son the regimental officers did not re
ceive the Medal of Honor, for which they
were recommended on account of their
braver' at the charge of San Juan Hill,
was because the Government argued that
If It gave the medal to one man there
was no good reason why It should not give
It to 12.000. A virtue which is shared by
12.000 men must be a common virtue. As
a matter of fact, tho members of the
Knickerbocker Club in the Rough Riders
Regiment and the negro regulars, who,
had they not been soldiers, would have
been barbers and servants, reached the
top of the hill at exactly the same time.
This Is not said In bellttlement of cour
age, certainly not of this particular ex
hibition of it, which was to me one of
the most moving and magnificent spec
tacles of a lifetime, but rather to suggest
that we have cause for congratulation
In the fact that tho proportion of brave
men Is so great. One might almost say
that all men are brave.
THE TARIFF TO THE FRONT.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
The suggestion made In the financial
columns of the New York Sun that if the
great steel combination expects to sur
vive Its members ought to go before Con
gress and announce their willingness to
accept a fair tariff law has much more
In It than casual readers may think.
Tho Sun is a partisan Republican organ,
which has always been an advocate of
protection, and the expression car. not
be regarded as an editorial opinion. Still,
the observation made is one that comes so
naturally to students of present economic
conditions that it is not surprising to
find it in any newspaper.
The process of consolidation in the
steel industry Is a direct Invitation to
the reduction of the tariff on iron and
steel. The bill offered by Mr. Babcock
the other day Is only a forerunner oi wnai
Is to come. If any purpose seems to be
clearly defined in tho formation of this
gigantic syndicate apart from the remov
al of domestic competition In steel, It is
the capturing of the world's markets. It
is Inevitable that China will be opened
up to development In the course of a very"
few years, and South Africa and Russia
are Inviting fields, to say nothing of what
is promised in our new colonies and Jn
Cuba and South America. It will be Im
possible, however, for the foreign trade
to be developed In competition with Brit
ish and German manufacturers and at the
same time keep up the prohibitive duties
now imposed upon steel products. So far
sighted a manufacturer ns Mr, Carnegie
In 1S72 proposed to have an adjustment of
tariff rates justified by the development
In steel manufacture, and this develop
ment has since been enormous. We are
now competing successfully with the Brit
ish in their own colonies; selling at ma
terial reductions from their prices. The
placing of the tariff on a revenue basis
must Inevitably follow this general low
ering of prices to foreign customers, for
with the abolition of high protective du
ties there would go tho mecnanism u
which such trusts as the American Steel
& Wire Company are enabled to ex
tort exorbitant profits on commodities sold
at home. It can no longer be pleaded
that American manufacturers must be
protected against the pauper labor of Eu
rope when they are able to undersell the
products of that labor abroad.
St. Louis Exposition Closed ton San-'
days.
Chicago Tribune.
The Senate has passod tho House bill
appropriation Jo.OOO.OOO for the exposition
at St. Louis to commemorate the cento
nary of tho Louisiana purchaso, but It has
tacked an amendment to the bill forbid
ding the opening of the gates on Sunday.
The St. Louis managers are said to be
angry because of this restriction. It Is
natural that they should wish to settle
questions of this kind themselves, but
they should not take the matter seriously
to heart. Chicago's experience In regard
to Sunday attendance at the World's Fair
showed that It does not pay to keep tho
gates open on that day. It is true that
the Sunday opening in Chicago was not
complete, as the machinery did not run,
but It Is doubtful whether the attendance
would have been any larger In any case.
If the popular sentiment against Sunday
openlng was sufficiently widespread In
Chicago to reduce the attendance below
the profitable point. It Is probable that It
would be still more marked In St. Louis,
for the tendency to strict Sabbatarianism
Increases as one goes toward the South.
The St. Louis fair officials should accept
their 45.000,000 with good grace, and should
be glad the Sunday question has been
settled for them In advance. Still more
should they be thankful that their bill
escaped the amendment which certain
temperance organizations wished to attach
to It. forbidding the sale of all alcoholic
beverages on the grounds. That would
have been a blow which would have af
fected their finances much more seriously.
The Breton Fensant.
Contemporary Review.
If there Is a country where tho tra
dition of hatred of "tho Englishman" as
a hereditary enemy still holds, It Is In
Catholic Brittany. In the eyes of the Bre
ton peasants and fishermen, the English
man Is the enemy with whom they have
fought battles and will fight them again.
That Is to say, the Englishman stands for
the typical sailor of a man-of-war or torpedo-boat,
whom they will fight when the
time comes for the attack, but no one
thinks of him as a man. The enemy Is
a unit of war. something outside ordinary
life, a being In uniform whom it Is glori
ous to kill. He Is "the enemy" some
thing which will do, great mischief tb
France If one does not take care, some
thing which must be much more terrible
and dangerous than they can imagine,
since all the men of France lose the best
years of their youth In learning to kill this
eventual adversary. If ever the peasants
come clearly to realize that tho only use
of war is to kill people like themselves;
If ever each soldier becomes capable of
Imagining what the shock of two armies
la, and by what complicated series of lies
and Intrigues people are brought to the
point of killing each other, the work of
neace congresses will be wonderfulIsrBlm-
Dlffled.
9
Mrs. Dublin and the Clubs.l
Josh Wink In Baltimore American.'
Mrs. Aramlnta Dubbs,
President of fifteen clubs,
Member of a3 many more,
'Soclate In half a score.
"Wrote,
And read.
And sang.
And said.
In her clubs from dawn till bed.
She was ever on the go
"Must not mis my club, you know."
Daybreak, Health, and Breakfast clubs
Honored Aramlnta Dubbs.
Morning club, from 0 to 10,
Browning club then on again
Luncheon club, and Sisterhood,
Eucher club, and Better Food.
Ibsen club, and Amateurs,
Had for her their clubby lures.
Smile
And chat
Of this
And that
"Faith," or "How to Trim a Hat,"
"Latest Searches for the Pole,"
"What We Know About the Soul." k
"Woman's Sphere," and "Help the Men."
"How to Treat a Setting Hen."
"Ibsen's Mystic Inner Thought."
"Whlchneas of the Why and What,"
"Immortality of Plays,"
"Is the Walklns Skirt a Craze?"
"Wireless Messages to Man,"
"Chats With Famous Female Stars"
To
And fro.
And on
The go-
o
Mrs. Dubbs was never slow jT
lumcu uuu w.vfcc f f 5 ...... .,,
Took course In cooking, too.
Sorrow came, though, after while.
In a very sudden etyle.
Mr. Dubbs bocame quite III;
But. with martyr's Iron will.
Mrs. Aramlnta Dubbs
Kept her ceaseless round of clubs.
Till one afternoon, when she
Was, as sweetly aa could be,
Speaking, with much grace and life.
On "The Duties of a Wife"
To the Maids and Matron's guild.
All her eloquence was stilled
By
A card
Which her
Speech marred
Dubbs" soul had been unbarred.
Mrs. Dubbs repressed a elgh.
Said, " 'Twas mean of him to die,
Just as I'm about to reach
Finest part of all ray speech!"
But. of course, she had to quit.
And that was the end of It.
For, when she had burled Dubbs,
Sad to tell, all of the clubs
Had another on her throne.
And she found herself alone.
She
Who Btubs
Her too
On clubs
Should heed the fata of Mrc Dubbs.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
Fine July weather, this.
The Legislature has adjourned, but the
evil that men do lives after them.
Conger has been recalled from China.
He Is too vengeful for Christian passlve
ness and non-resistance.
It is said that Mark Hanna Is yet un
decided about an extra session of Congress.
The prospect ' of government without
regular semi-annual revolution Is too dull
for the Cuban patriot.
Tho Omaha kidnaping has furnished
more inspiration to writers of fiction than
the War of the Revolution.
Once upon a time there was no coal in
Oregon. Now there Is so much that
everybody is wary of mining i't.
Henrik Ibsen is suffering from, an illness
which his physicians can not understand.
One of his plays must have struck In.
It is said that cold food prevents peo
ple from becoming fat. This will supply
the Summer girl with another argument.
Dave Hill is yet a Democrat in spite of
all the rcent thicks and thins. In this
fact, at least, Is virtue worthy a reward.
There seems to be some difference of
opinion as to the merits of the Port of
Portland bill passed by the' Legislature.
There was a free fight yesterday on the
floor of the Austrian Relchrath. Congress
is, by comparison, rather a peaceable
body. Now that Democrats from Multnomah
ran the Senatorial business, is the rest
of the state still impatient of Multnomah
dictation?
It is said that McBride Is entitled to re
ward for his getting out of the way of
Mitchell. But did he get out of the way
voluntarily, or was he put out of the
way?
There is a rebellion against the Sultan
of Wandal. It's an 111 wind that blows
nobody good. Tho rebellion gives thq
Sultan a long looked for opportunity to
be heard of.
Tho Almond Branch has gone, thank
fortune. We are always glad to have
deep sea vessels in port, but, on the
whole. It Is just as well not to have them
as a permanent exhibit.
The cities of Puget Sound are anxiously
hoping for another railroad to Portland.
Both Seattle and Tacoma arc capable of
becoming very flourishing suburbs, with
better transportation facilities.
Superintendent HoweU, of tho Scran
ton. Pa., schools, has proposed a plan for
Instructing the pupils as to the manner
In which a President of the United States
is elected. The demonstration Is to be a
practical one. Each school is to consti
tute a convention, and each pupil Is to
write an essay giving the history of a
Presidential campaign from the begin
ning to the Inauguration. After these are
completed, a platform committee will be
appointed In each school to prepare reso
lutions or declarations of party princi
ples, after which tho election will be held,
each pupil voting for his candidate- for
President. The election is expected to
take place in March. Many advantages
are to bo had from practice of this kind,
and there is no reason why it should be
confined to Presidential elections.
The "poetess in "Huckleberry Finn"
was always right on hand with her trib
utes to the dear departed, a quality in
which she is imitated by the yellow
newspaper. So anxious are many of these
Journals to furnish their readers with llfa
llke pictures of the Ill-fated Rio do Jan
eiro that they pressen into secvlce all
kinds of craft for models. In many
papers she Is a fine Atlantic liner, with
three smokestacks. In others she wears
a full three-masted rig, whllo in still others
she Is about tho size and appearance of
the average tug. There Is nothing like
being prompt in such a time. The slight
probability that the Rio will be raised
made it safe to print any old thing as a
picture of her, and many a noble "beat"
was landed by papers which had stock
cuts of steamboats like which the Rio
ought in reason to look.
While disliking. Mr. Weather Clerk, to seem
to Interfere
With other people's business, still It strikes U3
It Is clear
That you've sidetracked February and have
let the months slip by.
Till we wake and find we've landed In the mid
dle of July.
We are slow to tell a, fellow how his business
should be run.
But It's plain you've made a blunder, and that
something should be done.
Hero It h In February, Just the month of all
the year
When outdoors should be an eager and a nip
ping atmosphere.
When the Btars should shine and twinkle with
with a radiant arctic light.
And the frost should paint the sMewalks and
the roofs and fencc3 white; f
And Instead of that the butter melts dejectedly
awav
And the flies come forth in legions at the
dawning of the day.
We admit by education and experience that
you
Should be fitted for the duties that are given
you to do.
But unto a rank outsider it would very much
appear
As If you'd let your heat machine get sadly
out of gear.
Tou'd better don your overhauls and go to
work tonight.
And try to see It you can't get the thing to
running right.
. .
PLEASANTRIES OP rARAGRAFUERS
Uncle Well, Johnny, are you at the head of
your class Johnny No: but I can lick the
fellow that Is. Tlt-Blts.
As to the Prima Donna. "I think she's los
ing her voice." "Possibly; but I'm afraid It
will Inst through this opera!" Puck.
Selfishness Is the meanest thing In the world
unless something can be made by It, says the
modern Solomon. Boston Transcript.
Anxious to Live. "Poor Emma! She has so
much to live for." "Tea; they say her hus
band's life Is Insured for 530,000." Harlem
Life.
"I wish you to pose for a centaur, one of
those creatures half horse and half man, you
know." "Yes. sor; which half do I pose fort"
Brooklyn Life.
Over-Anxious. He Who knows but when I
come back from the Philippines you may bo
ensaged to some other man? She Nonsense!
As If you were coming back without sending
me word! Harper's Bazar.
"The late editor's wife la something of a hu
morlit." "Indeed?" "Yes; took a line from.
his original salutatory and placed It on his
tombstone." "What was It?" "We are here
to stay." Atlanta Constitution.
Mrs. Dove My husband always kisses me
when he leaves the house In tho morning.
Miss Splter Funny how good-natured some
men are when they are getting away from
home for a whole day. Boston Transcript.
"Aren't you afraid of that man who keeps
making incendiary speeches?" Inquired the
cloze friend. "Not a bit," answered Senator
Sorghum. "The only kind of Incendiary who
stands a show of making an impression In my
bailiwick Is a man who has money to burn."
Washington Star.