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THE MOKNKNli UKUGUSIASr,- -WEDNESDAY, Jt'NE 19, 1901.
&izrz& ww "jf"nr) tTT
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TODAY'S WEATHER. Showers. possibly at
tended by thunder. Cooler. South to wen
t Inds.
PORTLAND, -WEDNESDAY, JUXE 19.
THE RETIRED LIST.
The princlpjpthat' all men should,
during the productive period of life,
save from their earnings, whether in
salaries or wages, for the time when
the earning capacity Is abated or ceases
from natural causes. Is as sound In po
litical economy as In the ethics of self
respect. Exceptions to this rule,
whether In civil or military life, can
only be made through favoritism, and
when made they create a privileged
class, contrary to the genius of our In
stitutions and to the basic principle of
a republican form of government.
The general idea of old-age pensions
Is held to be Impolitic for the very sim
ple reason that It encourages men dur
ing their years of productive Industry
to live constantly up to their earnings
by depriving them of all incentive to
save. This is contrary to the plainest
precept of thrift, which bids every man
prepare for the Winter of life by hus
banding the surplus of its Summer or
earning time. Economy thus routed,
extravagance and waste come In; the
-virtue of self-denial is more than likely
to be superseded by the vice of self
indulgence and the sturdy principle of
Independence becomes subordinate to a
sort of a modified pauper Instinct that
looks forward with complacency to the
pension period, wherein, without per
sonal care or exertion, all individual
wants will be supplied.
Ip strict justice, therefore, to the in
dividual as well as to the Government,
favoritism of this type should be dis
countenanced and disallowed. Pity
may be properly constrained to relieve
the sufferings of the destitute aged,
and it is so constrained In every civil
ized community. But to create such
destitution for the purpose of relieving
it is a very different matter, and a
most unwise proceeding. This is in ef
fect the result of a policy that bids the
man of middle age, in whatever sta
tion, to take no thought of the Winter
of life, since means for its comfort will
be furnished, provided it is prolonged
beyond a certain spah of years. Re
stricted earning capacity from any
unavoidable cause, the special type of
incompetence commonly known as "bad
management," and misfortunes in vari
ous lives, are to be reckoned with In
dealing with this matter. That they
are generously taken into account and
the debt of pity and sympathy that Is
thus incurred duly acknowledged and
conscientiously canceled, the Institu
tions of benevolence, public and pri
vate, that form a part of the
political machinery of every state
abundantly prove. This, however, is
one thing: encouraging pauperism in
age, under whatever name it masquer
ades, or in whatever class it is en
rolled, by a system that promises pay
after service has ceased, is to say to
men drawing salaries or earning wages,
"There is no need for you to husband
your resources. Go on and spend what
3'ou earn, and you will be provided for
amply, according to your station in
life, when your season of productive
endeavor has passed." This Is an elab
oration of the something-for-nothlng
idea, the application of which to any
station in life whatsoever should be dis
countenanced as unjust and un-American,
and discredited accordingly by all
classes of American citizens as a pre
mium upon unthrlft in lowly lines of
life, and as creating a privileged class
in higher stations.
And yet there is -another view, and It
is often presented with plausibility
and force. It is remarked that in
Army and Navy life a retired
list of half or three-quarters pay ex
ists in all countries of high civiliza
tion, and the reasons for its existence
are obvious. Military service is pe
culiar, and cannot be measured by com
parison with the ordinary pursuits of
civil life. To induce a good quality of
educated men to embrace for life the
profession of arms, which in its possi
bilities if not probabilities Includes ex
ceptional hardships and perils, some
inducements must be offered. The pro
fession of arms requires a complete
surrender of personal freedom. The
soldier has no choice but to obey orders
or abandon his profession.
It is. of course, desirable that an offi
cer should be encouraged to have a
wife. No officer has any surety of any
certain residence for any fixed period.
The emergency of the service, or the
caprice of the authorities of the War
Department, compels an officer to make
frequent and unexpected changes of
residence from the Atlantic to the Pa
cific Coast, from the Lakes to the Gulf,
from the United States to Cuba or the
Philippines. When the unexpected or
der comes, the officer, who may have
just furnished his quarters, say at Van
couver or some other post, counting
upon at least five years of stay, Is
obliged to make a forced sale of his
household furniture for a very small
part of what It cost him. "With every
change of station this sacrifice takes
place, and unless an officer Is fortunate
enough to marry a rich wife, his pay,
even with economy, will not give him
and his wife and children more than a
decent support until he becomes a Ma
jor, at an annual pay of $2500, and
In time of peace such as we enjoyed,
with the exception of Indian hostili
ties, from May, 1865, to the outbreak of
the Spanish War, a Second Lieutenant
would not get his Majority until he was
gray-haired. Hence it Is argued that,
without some assurance that long years
of faithful service would be rewarded
by retirement on pay, few men of abil
ity, education and energy would select
the military profession for life.
Yet we think this conslderatlpn Is not
a controlling one in the minds of those
who seek places In the Army or ,Navy.
Most of these persons are placed In
their youth Tn the military and naval
schools by their parents; and the lead
ing idea is to place their sons where
they will not be obliged to struggle In
the competition of the world, on their
own account. It Is a wonder that we
get, under this system, as efficient men
as we have. Yet .doubtless it would
be impossible to suggest a better. Still,
It must be said that a system which, in
its operation, affords a refuge for men
who are," unwilling to engage in the
competitive struggles of life, and which,
moreover, notifies them that there is
no real need of economic prudence In
the management of their affairs, since
the country will support them on pen
sions after their period of efficiency Is
past, leaves something for criticism.
TWO MEX OP WATERLOO.
Yesterday was the anniversary of the
momentous battle of Waterloo. It Is a
singular fact that the truth about the
character of Wellington, the victor In
this great fight, has seldom been told
so unflinchingly as It is recited by Gold
win Smith, a great scholar and writer,
a thorough Englishman of birth and
education. In the June number of the
Atlantic Monthly. Goldwln Smith de
scribes Wellington fairly, putting noth
ing down in malice and yet saying
nothing In extenuation of his serious
limitations in Intellect and In charac
ter. Of course, he does not pretend that
Wellington was a man that approached
Napoleon as a soldier, since his fine
military talents fell far short of mili
tary genius. Wellington himself, whose
greatest virtue was his unflinching
veracity, confessed that "Napoleon
humbugged us at Waterloo," and he
never pretended that the battle on his
part was any more than a mere slug
ging match, or that he would have es
caped defeat If the Prussians had not
assailed the right and rear of Napoleon
at 4 P. M. To repel the assault of the
Prussians the Emperor was obliged to
detach from his army of 70,000 about
16,000, including nearly half of the
splendid Infantry of the Guard.
The entire plan of the battle was
dislocated by the appearance of Bu
low's corps of Blucher's army, which
was made possible by Napoleon's neg
lect to occupy the defile of Lasne early
In the day. The Old Guard was there
fore too weak for success In the final
assault, and by somebody's blunder It
was made to assault the strongest and
not the weakest part of the British line.
Napoleon was so ill In the whole -campaign
that he lost the fruits of his
victory over Blucher at Ligny, and
made a series of tactical errors at
Waterloo that the Napoleon of Eck
muhl and Austerlltz could not possibly
have committed. The assault upon
Hougoumont by an entire corps was
one of these blunders; the Infantry and
cavalry did not support each other.
Sir Shaw Kennedy says that if Napo
leon had used his forces In proper sup
port, one arm assisting the other, "Wel
lington had been lost." The Prussian
loss of 7000 men between 4 and 8 P. M.
shows how desperate was Wellington's
need of their arrival. If Napoleon had
been himself, the battle would have
been begun at daylight instead of wait
ing until noon, and It was fought so
badly that military critics believe that
a commander Inferior to Wellington
could have beaten Napoleon on the
18th of June, 1815. Wellington's confes
sion that Napoleon had "humbugged"
both himself and Blucher meant that
he had as a strategist completely out
generaled them by fighting their armies
in detail before they could form a Junc
tion. Napoleon's fine strategy was nul
lified by his wretched battle tactics at
Ligny, Quatre Bras and Waterloo.
He could think, but he could not act
and execute with his old-time energy
and promptness. He was a sick man;
his bodily energies were burnt out; he
had become fat and sluggish In body,
and a victim to chronic dyspepsia.
To pass from Waterloo to Wellington,
it Is interesting to note that Goldwln
Smith Is not among his fervent wor
shipers. He says that Wellington was
a very able General; that his exploits
were remarkable when we remember
that neither Wellington nor any of his
lieutenants had received anything but
a mere smattering of military educa
tion. His admirably written military
dispatches prove him to have been a
very strong man; he did not lack diplo
matic tact In dealing with Spain and
Portugal. As a statesman he was no
orator, and he was a hidebound Tory,
who worshiped the crown but had no
love for Parliamentary reform; never
theless, his great common sense led him
at critical moments to counsel the
House of Lords to yield gracefully to
the Inevitable, lest their refusal should
endanger their further constitutional
existence. He was a man destitute of
family affection, a man of libertine life
among women, and was not religious.
He opposed arming the troops with the
new rifles in the Kaffir War, saying, "I
won Waterloo with 'Brown Bess,' and
such weapons are good enough today."
The consequence was that when the
Crimean War broke out, In 1854, two
years after Wellington's death, the
English Army was the worst armed
and equipped of any of the great pow
ers of Europe. Goldwln Smith evi
dently does not think Wellington more
than an able soldier, a man of veracity,
but a man without much humanity,
without much public or private sympa
thy with his fellow-men; a man in
tensely patriotic In his narrow-minded,
passionate allegiance to the crown.
Heine, the German poet, always de
scribed Wellington as a wooden-headed
bulldog, and Lord Byron does not
herolze him. Wellington was not a
man of genius unless consummate good
sense deserves the name, but he never
swerved from truth, never swerved
from that which to him was the path
always rather narrow and sometimes
mistaken path of duty. He was a
cool, wary, Indomitable, enterprising
soldier, whose best talent was shown
Jat Salamanca and the passage of the
Douro. Goldwln Smith says that Wel
lington was not responsible for the hor
rors of Badajoz and St. Sebastian, but
Wellington's dispatches show that he
regretted sparing the lives of the garri
son of Cludad Rodrlgo. He was nat
urally a less humane soldier than even
Napoleon. He stood up to the last for
the brutal and degrading punishment
of the lash In the British Army, and
he denounced his soldiers as a pack of
vagabonds who cared for nothing but
drink and could be kept In order only
by the whip. His soldiers trusted him
In battle implicitly and cordially hated
him In camp and on the march.
THE EMPIRE STATE.
The Increase In wheat acreage In Ore
gon and Washington this year Is ex
pected to be fully 100,000 acres over that
of last year. Nearly all of this increase
Is In new localities, which are being
opened up by newcomers from Kansas,
Minnesota and the Dakotas. The crop
failure in those states last year sent
large numbers of farmers to the West,
and Oregon and Washington are profit
ing by their coming. This year Kan
sas is coming to the front again with,
record-breaking crops of both wheat
and corn, and with fair prices prevail
ing the great storm center of Populism
will show a creditable balance on the'
right side of the ledger. But with the
most favorable showing that can be
made, neither Kansas nor the bleak
Dakotas can ever win back the settlers
who have once pitched their tent on
the rich lands of the Pacific Northwest.
Boom literature calling attention to the
great resources of this country Is tame
and insipid compared with the dally
news In connection with our natural
development. These news items ap
pearing every day In the wSek tell a
gieat story of marvelous. resources and
growing development on diversified
lines:
In yesterday's Oregonlan an Albany
dispatch told of the receipt In May of
21,658 pounds of butter fat at a single
creamery In that city, a gain of 50 per
cent over the corresponding month last
year, and a greater amount than the
entire receipts for the year 1895, when
the industry was started. Prom Hllls
boro came the hews that the Washing
ton County wheat crop would be the
largest In years. Oregon City reported
the hop lice disappearing, and Portland
dealers stated that the hop yield would
reach 90,000 bales. Astoria made the
pleasing report that the salmon run
was Increasing, and big fish were be
ing taken, also that the entire force of
one of the big packing houses was at
work curing sturgeon bladders, which1
command enormous prices, when prop
erly cured. A Salem special gives the
experience of Judge Davidson In grow
ing from 140 to 160 bushels of corn per
acre In Marlon County. The Grant's
Pass correspondent sends news of the
bonding of a Josephine County mine for
$75,000, and the equipment of another
with a five-stamp mill.
An Interview with a Portlander 'just
returned from Southern Oregon told
how the Rogue River Valley farmers
till the soil In the Summer and wash
gold out of the hills In the Winter,
when water is plentiful. Judge H. L.
Benson, of Klamath Falls, away down
on the southern boundary of the state,
came out by way of Lakeview and re
ports the Btockmen all so prosperous
that they are In no hurry to sell their
1901 wool clip, although many Eastern
buyers are on the'grotlnd bidding for
it. Items about the establishment of
sawmills In various parts of the state
are of dally occurrence, and the one
noted yesterday was from Forest
Grove. A local Item stating that the
Oregon strawberry crop Is the largest
on record was corroborated by the no
tice of a shipment of 1,000,000 berry
boxes to a single firm. It Is the dull
season In shipping, but the marine col
umn had news of the dispatching of
three big grain-carriers, with nearly
400,000 bushels of wheat, the arrival of
a big Oriental liner, which after dis
charging was to take out 35,000 barrels
of flour and half a million feet of lum
ber. In addition to a mixed cargo of
other goods. The charter of a big ship
for July loading was also reported.
From the fruit district east of the
Sandy River came the report that the
cherry and prune orchards were all
looking well, and a big crop assured.
These are simply news stories from a
single Issue of The Oregonlan, but In-,
dlvldually and collectively they tell an
eloquent tale of the wonderfully diversi
fied resources of a wonderful country.
No other state In the Union can offer
such inducements to capital and labor,
either or both of which, If properly
directed, cannot fall of success. With
so much to offer the immigrant from
the fields of the Middle West, where
opportunity Is limited, It Is a certainty
that Oregon from now on will show a
much greater and more rapid develop
ment than ever before.
WHAT AN ENGLISHMAN SAW.
In the Nineteenth Century for June
Mr. Frederic Harrison, the well-known
English writer and critic, gives some
account of his Impressions of America.
He says he found a people more homo
geneous than those of the United King
dom; "from Long Island to San Fran
cisco, from Florida Bay to Vancouver
Island, one dominant race and civili
zation, one language, one type of
law, one nationality, American to the
core." There iwas no state or city or
large area with a distinct race of its
own, as Ireland, Wales or Scotland, but
everywhere one sense of nationality,
"the consciousness of its vast expan
sion and collective force filling the
mind of American citizens as noth
ing can do to this degree In the nations
of Western Europe."
Mr. Harrison had come "not so much
to- another nation as to a new continent
inhabited by a people soon to be more
numerous than any two of the greater
nations of Western Europe, with nat
ural resources superior .to those of all
Europe put together, and an almost
boundless field for development In the
future." To this observer It was a won
der that in so short a time we had
made over so many types of Europeans,
a variant population, Into a homogene
ous nationality, markedly" different
from any other In the world. And
yet, of course, It Is merely the result
of the action, of man upon environ
ment, and the reaction of environment
upon man.
Another thing Mr. Harrison says of
which we take note, viz: "No compe
tent observer can doubt that In wealth,
manufactures, material progress of all
kinds, the United States In a few years
must hold the first place in the world
without dispute. The energy of the
people exceeds that of the British;
their Intelligence is hardly second to
that of Germany and France, and their
social and political system Is more fa
vorable to material development than
any other society devised by man."
1 Finally, this" writer Admonishes his.
countrymen of England that "the'uv
dustrlal prizes must ultimately go to
numbers, national unity, physical re
sources, geographical opportunities,
trained intelligence and restless arnbi-.
tion."
Mr. Harrison is of .those Englishmen
who are out of harmony with the ex
isting order in their own country. They
find it too little democratic to fill the
measure of their demand for an
abounding national energy. But they
ought to see that bounds are set by
geographical limitations to the energy
of all the modern nations of the Old
World, save Russia; and that In Amer
ica democracy Is so fortunate only be
cause It has found a vast continent to
bustle In.
An advance In the price of fresh meat
already phenomenally high Is now
going on. There appears to be no good
reason for this. The explanation of
fered by the beef trust, which controls
the market. Is that the farmers who
supply the cattle are too busy harvest
ing their crops to bring their stock to
market. This obviously applies to only
the small farmers, who keep a few
cattle, Incident to the farming opera
tions, and not to the big companies on
the great ranges, from whose herds the
wholesale meat supply of the country
Is drawn. Besides, as retail dealers,
who have to meet the burden of the
consumer's complaint, 'admit, the same
conditions prevailed in other years
wheh prices were not advanced. "The
plain truth," says the Philadelphia
Ledger, "probably Is that the beef trust
Is making a vigorous effort to capture
the foreign markets and to do so must
sell its goods therein at low prices.
Losing In this venture, it must recoup
itself by taxing the American con
sumer." To this may be added the fact
that the trust has the consumer at Its
mercy. Ah Illustration of the tradi
tional "ground-hog case" Is hereby
brought home to every family In the
land. The people "must have meat."
The beef trust controls the market, and
can charge what It chooses; the con
sumer must pay or go without: Some
people many, perhaps must go with
out, but there are enough who can
have and will have meat, at whatever
cpst, to pay the exorbitant prices
charged by the trust. The vegetarian,
in the meantime, though lean and hungry-looking,
should be and probably Is
happy, as he Is clearly master of the
situation.
Elsewhere appears an interview with
President Lusk, of the Cattlegrowers'
Association. The fact concerning leases
of range lands appears to be that the
large owners have at length realized
that such an arrangement can only be
perfected by means of concessions sat
isfactory to the small owners, whose
protests thus far have been violent and
effective. The great ranges are nar
rowing, feed Is growing scarcer, and the
struggle for survival gains yearly, al
most hourly. In vehemence. Crimes
and suffering are the Inevitable con
comitants of this transition epoch,
whose end must be the substitution of
tame pasture and stall-feeding for the
traditional nomad life. The Oregonlan
hopes to hear from sheepmen and small
cattle-owners with their views on Mr.
Lusk's proposals.
While the legislators of Washington
were about It, they should have added
an emergency, clause to the reconstruct
ed law on capital punishment. Failing
In this, murderers recently convicted
will have a longer lease of life than is
warranted either by humanity or pub
lic economy. An Illustration of the de
lay of penalty and the expense incident
thereto Is shown in the case of Alfred
Hamilton, tried at New Whatcom for
the murder of D. M. Woodbury In Ana
cortes a year ago last September. Con
viction was secured and Hamilton was
sentenced last Monday to be hanged
August 16, whereupon his attorney ap
pealed on the ground that there is no
statute at present In the state to cover
the case.
Statistics dealing with the matter
show that the consumption of sugar is
steadily Increasing In the principal
countries of Europe. In the United
States such consumption rose from
2,078,068 tons In 1899 to 2,219,847 tons In
1900; Russia consumed about 20,000 tons
more In the year last named than In
the preceding year; Germany, 91,233
tons more: France 29,250, and England
46,100. From these figures It appears
that the world has In recent years not
only "cut a sweet tooth," but that
saccharine dentition is a progressive
process and withal a pleasing one, and
bids fair to become enormously profit
able to the sugar trust.
British critics who affect to scorn
American military skill cannot be
greatly encouraged by the coincidence
of renewed Boer activity with surren
der of the last Filipino General with
his command. There may be some
things we do not know, but we seem
to get results as well now as 120 years
ago. m
Portland Is acceptably honored In the
selection of one of Its rabbis as repre
sentative to the Vienna Grand Council
of Zionists. Nor will American Juda
ism have any abler representative
than Dr. Wise.
Increased duties will doubtless prove
a more eloquent argument for with
drawing discrimination against Rus
sian sugar than all M. De Wltte's la
bored periods. The tariff is mightier
than the pen.
Now is the t'me for the Oregon to
furnish forth a Portland Fourth of July
celebration. Is there Influence enough
t among us to bring her here?
The next time Uncle George Is Inter
viewed on the St. Louis Fair he should
put In a word for the Lewis and Clark
Centennial.
Two QucMtlonR.
Chicago Chronicle.
The question which Congressman Bab
cock, Republican, is asking and which is
giving the tariff-protected trusts much
pain Is this: "What answer can we make
when we are asked why we maintain
duties on products thab our manufacturers
are selling all over Europe at lower prices
than they ask for them at their factory
doors?'1 This query and Mr. Sugar Trust
Havermeyer's flat assertion that the tariff
Is the prolific mother of trusts ought to be
kept together for purposes of public ob
servation and reflection.
The ImpoHKlblc.
Detroit Journal.
She read the letter again, and tears
filled her eyes.
"What noble, manly sentiments!" she
exclaimed. "Oh, if only he knew better
than to fill up the pages! consecutively
Ah me!" ?
She cried a little, in. a wQmanlsh fash
Ion, and then resolutely wrote him telling
him she could not be his wife.
CRITICAL PERIOD FOR PORTLAND
Pendleton Tribune.
Transportation in Eastern Oregon Is the
greatest need of this part of the state. We
L have !or.g distance, broad plains and rug-
Ee-c mountains, which make trave.lng du
n'cult ar.d the carrying of produce ex
pensive. Social and political relations
are hindered. A large part of the proMts
of industry are appropriated by freight
ing companies, and resources remain unde
veloped because of tne high rates for ship
ping ores, livestock ar.d agricultural
products.
Eastern Oregon comprises a territory
alrr.osr 230 miles square It extends, from
the summit of the Cascades to the- Idaho
line, and from California and Nevada to
the Columbia. Every one of 15 counties
has resources, topography and climate
similar to all the others. They are by
nature sisters. Their hopes and aspira
tions vary but litt'.e, and whatever brings
good to one benefits the others. The
dreams of gold of the Blue Mountain
counties are shared by Harney, Lake,
Crook and Wasco, and the wheat fields of
Umatilla, Union, Sherman and Gilliam
supply bread for the cattle and sheepmen
that pasttare their herds and flocks In
every county. Two or three counties
may be classed as wayward. Wasco has
become identified in many ways with
Portland, and the Valley and Lake and
Klamath lean toward the Southern Pa
cific and California. The remaining dozen,
however, are as good friends as the al
most slight acquaintance of the people
can Justify, and when greater transporta
tion facilities are provided, they will stand
together for industrial, social and political
ends, and Eastern Oregon will become
much better known than It Is today. Wil
lamette Valley will not then be another
name for Oregon, but Eastern Oregon and
the Inland Empire will become the Mecca
toward which the Immigrants will jour
ney. This vast territory has but one railroad
of any consequence. The Oregon Rail
road & Navigation Company's track lies
along the extreme northern border for half
its distance, and then cuts off all the
northeast corner. The Northern Pacific
has a 30-mile branch running into Pendle
ton, and the Oregon Short Line meets the
O. R. & N. at Huntington, barely touch
ing the state. A small branch line runs
south 30 miles to Heppner from the O. R.
& N. main line, and the Columbia South
ern has been built southward a short dis
tance from near The Dalles.
The Columbia and Snake Rivers are of
no advantage as long as the dalles ob
struct navigation, and Eastern Oregon
has no other navigable streams.
The extreme northern part Of Eastern
Oregon, then, has transportation facilities,
but nine-tenths of this great area never
saw the smoke of a stfeam engine or
heard the echo of ltfe whistle. Citizens
travel hundreds of miles to the state cap
ital. Cattle and sheep are driven from
20 to 250 miles to a railroad for shipment.
Wool Is hauled similar distances at a
heavy expense, and good mines remain un
worked because the gold In the ores will
not pay for shipment alone. It costs 12
cents a bushel to market export wheat,
between one-fourth and one-fifth of the
price being given up to the railroad com
panies. This tax, allowing for a reason
able rate, means a tax of a quarter of a
million dollars annually on Umatilla
County alone. In spite of these things,
however, Eastern Oregon Is prosperous.
The difficulties of transportation are over
come In the best ways possible, but there
will be a different story tto tell when the
dalles are made passable and railroads
are built Into the Interior. These are In
evitable facts, that the future must bring.
Grant, Harney. Malheur, Crook and others
are now traversed by projected railroads,
and the building of them before long is
not a dream.
Portland should become interested in
this matter and endeavor to secure the
trade of this region. If railroads are built
southward into the interior from the O. R.
& N. main line the channels of tirade will
flow toward Portland; but If the Southern
Pacific builds a line through Lake, Klam
ath and Harney Counties San Francisco
will capture a large share of this section.
Portland should for the same reason labor
for the opening of the Columbia to pre
vent Seattle from securing much of the
business of the northern half of Eastern
Oregon.
THE FRENCH PEOPLE.
Not Latin or Celtic, bnt Probnbly
Ibcrinn or Llrurlnn.
Letter In London Spectator.
In connection with the recent visit of
the Italian fleet to Toulon, there have
been many references In the European
press to a renewal of the entente cordl
ale between two "Latin" nations. It may
be of some Interest to inquire In what
sense the term "Latin" can be correctly
applied to the French, whom, almost In
the same breath, many people are apt to
describe as "Celtic" people. One thing
surely is certain, that In blood the French
cannot be at the same time both "Latin"
and "Celtic." Yet the inconsistency does
not seem to strike people.
I think that, although outside of Prov
ence the French have little or no Latin
i. e.. Italian blood in their veins, the ex
planation of their being described as a
"Latin" race Is to be found In the fact
that their language and civilization are
both Latin. It seems no longer permissi
ble to hold that the French are mainly
"Celtic" in blood, the view now being
generally accepted that the bulk of the
population In France Is of a pre-Celtlc,
and probably of Iberian or Llgurlan
stock. And this view seems to hold good
also of Ireland and Wales.
Mercy for Depew.
New York Sun.
Fortunately, everybody knows Senator
Depew. Everybody knows the enthusias
tic benevolence of his heart and the end
less variety of his mind. With heart and
mind overflowing during this, his vaca
tion season, with philanthropy toward his
fellow creatures, he would distribute hon
ors and gratifications and titles and
favors and saccharine largesse of all sorts
as lavishly as Mr. Carnegie distributes
library buildings. In such a mood, If he
knew and liked a King he would nomi
nate him for Emperor. If he approved of
a fourth-class Postmaster, he would pro
pose to quadruple his salary and give
him a life tenure. He would elevate every
amiable duck to swanship. He would
make everybody happy to the best of his
ability; and. If he thought a third term
could add to the sum of human felicity
he would forthwith confer it on his own
responsibility, or a fourth term for that
matter. We sincerely hope that President
McKlnley will pardon Senator Depew.
Up to the Cnbnns.
Philadelphia Times.
It Is for the Cubans themselves to de
velop the opportunities thus opened to
them. Their relations with the United
States always must be Intimate, and if
the future shall make them closer. It will
be In the natural evolution of evpnts. The
part which has been played by the United
States In their liberation and advance
ment Is one which all Americans can re
gard with pride. Even the professional
patriots of the Island must be convinced
that the people and the Government of
the United States have had no selfish
purposes, but have been throughout the
truest friends of Cuba Libre.
TIic Lost Chance.
Worcester, Mass., Gazette.
It will not now be possible to test the
Depew and Grosvenor notion that Mc
Klnley Is more popular than Washing
ton. Ground to Win On.
Washington, D. C, Post.
For a free trade party there Is no hope.
For a war against the gross and palpable
abuses of protection there Is a certainty
of success.
FRONTAGE ASSESSMENT UPHELD
P.ecer.t decisions of the United States
Supreme Court. In which the doctrine that
Legislatures have not the power to au
thorize the taking of private property
for public use Without compensation Is
apparently overruled, are conceded by
Case and Comment, a law publication, to
leave without remedy the property-owner
whose abutting lots are assessed for street
improvement. Case and Comment says:
Two recent decisions by the Supreme
Court of the United States will attract
great attention because they overturn the
doctrine declared In Norwood vs. Baker
with respect to assessments for local im
provements In excess of benefits. The
court does not expressly overrule the
Norwood vs. Baker case, but In all essen
tials its latest decisions are diametrically
opposed to the doctrine of that case, as
three dissenting Justices clearly recog
nize. Statutes of several states author
izing municipalities to assess the whole
expense of a street pavement upon the
abutting lands In proportion to frontage,
without reference to benefits, are upheld.
Thl3 kind of assessment is precisely what
was authorized and made under the Ohio
statutes in the Norwood vs. Baker case.
In that case the court clearly declared
that 'the guaranties for the protection
of private property would be seriously Im
paired If it were established as a rulo
of Constitutional law that the Imposition
by the Legislature upon particular pri
vate property of the entire cost of a
public Improvement, Irrespective of any
peculiar benefits accruing to the owner
from such Improvement, could not' be
questioned by him in the courts of the
country"; and that "the exaction from the
owner of private property of the cost of
a public Improvement In substantial ex
cess of the special benefits accruing to
him Is, to the extent of such excess, a
taking, under the guise of taxation, of
private property for public use without
compensation." But in the latest cases
these doctrines are ignored by the opin
ion of the court, which upholds the power
of the Legislature to Impose the entire
cost of a pavement upon abutting owners,
irrespective of the amount of benefits
they receive from It. The opinions In the
late cases are written by one of the Jus
tices who dissented from the decision In
Norwood vs. Baker. He points out that
the assessment in thet case was for the
cost of opening a street. Including the
amount paid for the strip condemned
and also the costs and expenses of the
proceeding, and that the same person
whose land was condemned was the own
er of the abutting property to be as
sessed. He says this appeared 'to be an
abuse of the law, an act of confiscation,
and not a valid exercise of the taxing
power." But the fact that one person.
Instead of two or more, owned both
the strip condemned and the abutting
land can, of course, have no bearing
upon the principle of assessment. The
ract that the assessment wa3 for the open
ing of a street rather than the paving
of It does not seem to affect the rule on
which the opinion of the court In the
Norwodd vs. Baker case was planted
squarely and unmistakably that an as
sessment In substantial excess of the spe
cial benefits Is, to the extent of such
excess, a taking of private property for
public use without Just compensation.
That fundamental proposition seems to be
now entirely abandoned. In lieu of that
the court now adopts the doctrine that,
if the Legislature authorizes the entire
cost of a pavement to bo assessed on
abutting property according to frontage
and without reference to benefits, that
is conclusive on the courts, and Is con
stitutional. If the assessments must be based on
benefits, they must logically be limited
by the amount of the benefits. But a
statutory rule of assessing the entire cost
of an Improvement on abutting lots ac
cording to frontage must in that case be
based on a conclusive presumption that
those lots are necessarily benefited to th
amount of the total cost of the work.
This presumption Is not only arbitrary
and baseless, but is untrue as a matter
of common knowledge, and so established
repeatedly by legal proceedings In which
abutting lots have sold for less than the
assessments. If the taking of a man's
property for public use without compen
sation under an arbitrary assumption that
Is demonstrably false constitutes due
process of law, the Constitutional guar
anties for the protection of private prop
erty are not very valuable. If there Is
no limit to the power of the Legislature
to fix taxing districts In such cases, the
Legislature can provide for the assess
ment of the total cost of a street Im
provement on any one of many abutting
lots, and the unfortunate owner will have
no remedy. But In that case he will be
no worse off than many abutting owners
are under the doctrine now established.
There are two grounds on which the
latest decisions on this subject are great
ly to be regretted. In the first place,
they leave many humble owners of subur
ban lots at the mercy of reckless or cor
rupt municipal boards, who. at the Insti
gation of paving companies or of thobe
who want to use the thoroughfare, may
force upon the unwilling residents of a
street a pavement which their lots must
be sold to pay for. This hardship, al
ready worked In many cases, will doubt
less be repeated In many more. The more
serious result, however, Is In the hu
miliating and painful fact that there 1s
left no Constitutional protection to a
property-owner In such cases against the
literal confiscation of his property. If
this was the result of an erroneous find
ing of fact only, It would be less serious,
but It Is the result of a general statutory
rule applicable to all cases without re
gard to the facts. In the last analysis
It Is the taking of private property for
public use without compensation under
authority of an arbitrary statutory rule
which has no color of justice except by
virtue of an assumption that Is demon
strably false. One typical Instance of the
working of the rule was an ordinance for
the pavement of a wide suburban road
leading to a fair ground, passed against
the remonstrance of the abutting owners.
whose lots were taken from them to pay
the cost of a pavement for other people
to use. Such undisguised robbery of the
weak by the strong is for the present Con
stitutional. "
Rcq.nlrc Ice Treatment.
New York Press.
Probably Mr. Chauncey M. Third-Term
Depew and General Charles H. Third
Term Grosvenor are thanking their stars
at present that the Ice which they re
quire to soothe the throbbing of their
heads does not cost a dollar a pound. We
were afraid that the long, cold Spring,
followed by a sudden burst of sultry Sum
mer, would raise the deuce with some of
the palpitant brains of the Nation, but
fortunately the worst seems to be over.
The country may now return to Its com
paratively comfortable studies of the
wheat, corn and cotton crops, and Senator
Depew and General Grosvenor may be
regarded as safe from brain fever If only
they will keep out of the sun and stick
to the ice treatment.
'
Inevitable Good Fortune.
Omaha Bee.
The only Insurgent leader of Importance
in Luzon who has not already surrendered
has concluded there Is no use of fighting
longer, and proposes to quit. With the
trouble ended In Luzon It will be a short
Job to finish up the disturbers in the
minor Islands and then the development
of the Islands can go forward. A few
years of American push will suffice to
convince the Islanders that they have
fallen Into good fortune In spite of them
selves. Example for Bryan.
New York Herald.
It would be well for the Democracy and
for the country If Mr. Bryan would fol
low this example by distinctly and defi
nitely declaring that he will not for
a third time i&ek a nomination by his
party.
NOTE AND COMMENT. -
If you have brides to wed, prepare to
wed them now.
Turn about is fair play. We have been
roasting the weather.
Now Kansas has an epidemic of suicides.
We might have expected it.
The only safe course for a girl to pursue
when she discards a lover is to shoot him
on the spot.
A Chicago minister cries "Down with,
the decollette waist!" Insatiate man, is
it not down enough?
Nature Is standing In with the railroad
companies. It is worth $3 30 to go to the
seaside weather like this.
The great American hobo Is consumed
with fear lest the brakebeam trust put up
the price of transportation.
Comrade Mark Hanna will probtrtoly
spend his vacation learning to sing
"Marching Through Georgia."
Will not the order making the purchase)
of liquors for the army permissible only
for use In the hospital largely increaso
the sick list?
If the Czar hasn't any ue for that
daughter he might send her to America
and give her e. fortune. She will be sure
to get into a noble European family that
way.
Although we have been listening intently
with our ear toward Lincoln, Neb..
have not heard Mr. Bryan say anything
about not accepting a first term if It is
offered him.
Vassar College made a display of daisies
on commencement day. It Is not unrea
sonable to suppose that there was also
a goodly display of peaches on that in
teresting occasion.
Hon. Grover Cleveland has written an
article on the waste of money, but prob
ably not with the expectation that It
will exert any restraining Influence on
the reckless extravagance of his friend,
Russell Sage.
A Marlon County young man of rustic
culture entertained the notion that a mar
riage license Is the great essential of a
marriage contract. He therefore went
to the County Clerk, secured a license au
thorizing the marriage, and then gave his
Intended the first Intimation of his plans.
When she refused that sort of proposal,
he wanted to go to law to enforce the
rights he had secured under the license.
His friends dissuaded him but he can't
understand yet what good a marriage
license Is If It won't compel the lady to
marry him. It never occurred to him
that It takes two to make a bargain.
Ex-Speaker Reed does not forget the old
days In Maine. The people of Cape Eliza
beth were arranging a sort of fair, and
they were anxious to get Mr. Reed's
autograph as one of the attractions of
the "memory table." Mr. Reed at one
time taught the Pond Cove School, and
was Interested In all the social gatherings
at the Cape, and he sent the following
words of kindly greeting:
Dear Madam: I have your letter (asking my
autograph for the "memory table"), and be?
to assure you that 1 am not likely to forget
the Winter 1 taught school at Pond Covt. or
the friends I found thero who have been
friends ever since. Hoping your entertainment
will be worthy of tho old town and the old
days, I am very truly yours,
T. B. REED.
Straw hats In countless numbers now appear
unon the street.
The dainty, white-gowned Summer girl looks
good enough to eat.
The hokey-pokey vender's bell clangs loudly
all day long-
The robin In tho leafy shade cuts out his
dally song:
White collars arc as hard and rough as bene
fits forgot.
In fact, there's Just one thing to say, and that
Is, -Ain't it hot?"
The Bagging asphalt pavement yields like tar
beneath our feet;
The iurly copper wearily patrols his scorching
beat;
The bicyclist rides languidly, and for the nonco
omits
To run down playful children and to rfrtnd
them Into bits:
The be drones dull and listless on the near
by vacant lot.
And everything In nature seems to say, ' Oh,
ain't It hot?"
Along the street tho Iceman comes, and on his
Hsfnlng ear
There beats a score of voices saying, "Iceman,
stop in here!"
His brow Is low and full of care; It much dis
cretion takes
To cat 100 pounds of ice In twenty ten-pound
cakes.
We find mint Julep and gin fizz go right
straight to the spot.
And as they cool our pnrching throats, we ask,
Oh, ain't it hot?"
PLEASANTRIES OF PAItAGHAPHERS
The average Chinaman doesn't feel that he
needs Christianity. He has excellent teach
ings of his own which he doesn't follow.
Puck. , f
Cheaper NoddAro you renting a- cottage
at the seashore this Summer? Todd No: I
couldn't afTord It. I'm buying one. Brooklyn
Life.
Caller Now, my little man. what is your
parents' genealogical chart for? Boy To hide
a tear in the parlor paper, sir. Philadelphia
Kecord.
She There Is nothing like a good dinner to
cho-r one uo. Is there? He (alarmed at her
order) Well er It depends upon who pays
for itt-Llfe.
She I wonder. Harry, If you would marry
again It 1 should die? He You little silly,
don't you see that I couldn't marry again un
less you did die? Boston Transcript.
No Tangible Evidence. Police Magistrate
You are accused of stealing a ride on the rail
road What have you got to say about it?
Goodman oGnrong You may search me. y'r
honor. Chicago Tribune.
Why He Doesn't Work. Mrs. Strongmind
Why don't you go to work? Tramp Please,
mum I made a. solemn vow, 0 years ago.
that IM never do another stroke of work till
women was paid th same wages as men.
New York Weekly.
During the Discussion. She But you must
not believe ail these stories about the mission
aries in China. They are helping your poor
countrymen to save their souls. The China
manMay be! Only thing poor countlymen
have left! Puck.
Purchaser -I want to ouy a pair of those
braces you have hanging in the window, and
labeled "The best in the world." Shopman
Very good: they cost nlnepence a pair; but It
you want something really strong and lasting.
I would recommend you to take these here at
elevenpence ! Tit-Bits.
Life's Wayside Inn.
Frank L. Stanton. In Atlanta Constitution
I.
Let us rest us from tho strife
At this wayside Inn of Life;
No remembrance of years
Sorrows, or the fall of tears.
Let us rest us from the throng
Where the Silence Is a song.
II.
Let us rest. The twilight falls
Soft on echoless. dim halls.
Where life's withering blooms are shed
Life of quiet comforted.
Stormy was tho way, and long.
But God's Silence Is a song.
III.
What were worldly hopes and fears?
What were kisses what were tears?
What the heart's cry In the stress
Of Its unloved loneliness?
After all the wrath and wrong
Comes God's Sller.ee like a song.
IV.
Rest. O Heart! from storm and strlf.
At this waMde Inn of Life!
We shall fold above the breast
Hands that need God's gift of Rest.
Comes the Night: the Night Is long.
But God's Silence is a song!
A
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