THE MCVRNING OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST
1901
.
Entered at tho Postoffice at Portland, Oregon,
as second-class matter.
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Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson,
office at 1111 Pacific avenue, Tacoma. Box 035,
Tacoma Postoffice.
Eastern Business Office, 43, . 45, 47, 48, 40,
Tribune building. New York City; 4C0 "Tnu
Rookery," Chicago; the S. C. Beckwlth special
agency. Eastern representative.
For sale is San Francisco by J, K. Cooper,
746 Market street, near the Palace Hotol; Gold
smith Bros., 236 Sutter street; F. W. Pitts,
1008 Market street. Foster & Orear, Ferry News
ctand.
For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner,
C39 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines, lOtt
8a. Spring street.
For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co.,
Kl7 Dearborn street.
Far sale la Omaha by Barkalow Bros., 1612
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On file at Buffalo, N. T., In the Oregon ex
hlblt at the exposition.
For sale In "Washington, D. C, by the Eb
feett House news stand.
For sale in Denver, Colo., by Hamilton &
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appear entirely from public view before
the fraud could be detected." It is
added that in private hands the post
office "would never be suffered to con
tinue under existing haphazard meth
ods, which are largely the product of
polities'. For even yet, the service de
pends largely on the mutations of Na
tional politics, notwithstanding the con
siderable progress that has been made
with the merit system.
Observe, moreover, that there is no
necessity of rendering the system self
supporting. It cannot 'therefore be a
model for those who would extend the
industrial functions of government. It
is not in fact an industry; It produces
nothing and the taxpayers make up the
annual deficits. Nothing therefore could
be more erroneous, more at fault, than
the habit of using the postoffice as an
Illustration of what might be accom
plished under a general system of mu
nicipal, state or National collectivism.
TODAY'S WEATHER Fair and cooler, with
Westerly winds.
YESTERDAY'S "WEATHER Maximum tem
perature, 90; minimum temperature, 61; pre
cipitation, nonet
PORTLAXD, "WEDXESDAY, AUGUST 7.
his source: OP WEAKNESS.
The McKinley Administration has
many points of excellent achievement,
but It has one point of most damaging
weakness. Affairs of diplomacy,
finance, the Navy and (since Alger's
retirement) the Army have been admir
ably handled by efficient Secretaries;
'but there Is one very important matter
that cannot be delegated to Secretaries,
and this Is the matter of appointments.
The President's amiability, -which pre
vents him from saying "No" at oppor
tune times, is a prolific source of trou
ble, but the main difficulty is in the
method the President adopted at the
beginning of his first term and has
pursued -with fidelity throughout.
The -watchword of the McKinley
method of appointments has been ma
chine rule. Wherever he found a ring
in apparent ascendancy In a state, pos
sessed of the offices and party organiza
tion, he has recognized it to the exclu
sion of all other persons, influences and
community interests -whatsoever. To
these Republican rings throughout the
country the President can refuse noth
ing. To them he has turned over the
Army, the Federal appointees through
out the country, and the civil service
at "Washington. This "was not Cleve
land's "way, nor Harrison's. Their effort
-was to ascertain the needs of the vari
ous offices, large and small, and find
the men to fit them. Thus they
strengthened their Administration and
tHelr party with the people, whereas
McKinley has weakened both.
A prime qualification -with an execu
tive is the ability to say "No." Espe
cially In the Presidential office, encoun
tering, as it does, the tremendous pres
sure of unscrupulous political rings,
this ability to say "No" is all-important
because it alone can stand against de
moralization of the public service. In
its default, we shall see just "what we
have under McKinley sacrifice of the
Army to spoilsmen, an odious "Federal
brigade" in every state, wholesale vio
lation and scorn of the civil service
laws, leniency for offenders and par
dons for bank-wreckers. A significant
commentary on the civil service situa
tion is afforded by an article from the
New York Times, reprinted in another
column on this page.
The President's method is not only
bad for the country but it defeats the
end aimed at. He thinks to intrench
bis party, but he only "weakens It His
course Is natural to him, and he will
doubtless pursue It to the end of his
incumbency. By that time he will
leave his party In a very unenviable
eltuation. It is already sadly demor
alized through his policy of leading it
from the rear, and even now it looks
forward to the approaching Congres
sional elections and the greater
events of 1904 with misgiving
and justifiable alarm. In conse
quence of his failure to strengthen it
through firm leadership, It looks for
ward to a most desperate effort to
maintain itself, notwithstanding the
brilliant record of Its chief departments
it "Washington.
THE NEW RECIPROCITY.
Reciprocity is not tariff reform. It
has a claim to high regard for the ene
mies it has made, and that is all. Those
who will urge it upon the ensuing Con
gress are not sincere in anything but
their devotion to private and partisan
ends.
There is reciprocity and reciprocity.
One Is a legitimate device of some real
capacity for good if intelligently em
ployed, and of this sort of reciprocity
there are some sincere adherents. But
the reciprocity with which we shall now
have to deal is a weak and spurious
Invention, advocated by protected in
terests as a means of augmenting their
own gains.
Congress has refused serious consid
eration both to tariff reform of the
Babcock order and to reciprocity of the
Kasson school. But popular disap
proval of this course is finding loud and
Indignant voice. Something must be
done. It will be dangerous for the Re
publicans to go into the Congressional
elections of 1902 without the semblance
of an effort to reduce the Iniquitous
protection afforded to the industrial
trusts by existing tariffs. The Repub
lican leaders see this, and they have
decided on their course, which is dis
honest and should be Ineffectual.
The programme is to" deprecate tariff
reform and to tie up with reciprocity.
The proposal Is for a system of letting
in free such goods as we do not now
produce in return for concessions by
foreign nations on our manufactures.
It is a hoax. The goods we do not pro
duce are on the free list now. They
have never been protected because no
lobby has been sent to Washington
for that purpose. We protect the in
dustrial trusts, but we give them free
raw material except in such things as
are raised by others among us also
clamorous for protection. Coffee is free
and tea has always been free except
under the war revenue tax. The great
tropic staples of dyewoods, fertilizers,
quinine, sulphates and salts, aromatic
oils, licorice, indigo, iodine, crude rub
ber, gutta percha, jute, manlla, phos
phates, sulphur, turpentine, are on the
free list. We tax sugar, hides, matting,
rice, etc., because they come into com
petition with home products. The num
ber of goods not produced here and now
taxed, available for this bogus reci
procity programme, is Infinitesimal.
Protectionists are for this form of reci
procity because it keeps the word of
promise to the ear and breaks it to the
hope.
The new and spurious reciprocity has
another basis, and more( definite. It
represents the desires of the industrial
trusts and the Administration's perpet
ual surrender to those trusts. Tariff
reform, honest and actual, would cut
down the duties which secure a mo
nopolized home market to the Immense
body of rail, wire, hoops, machinery, lo
comotive and implement corporations
that are based primarily upon iron and
steel. These are strong in Ohio,
whence come McKinley and Hanna.
They are strong in Pennsylvania, where
the steel trust reigns. They are strong
in Illinois, for whose manufacturers
Senator Cullom speaks In yesterday's
rHsnntfihes. Through Morgan and
Rockefeller they are strong in the great
railroad combinations, identified in
countless "ways with the industrial
trusts.
It is well for the country to appre
hend thus early what these giant cor
porations will demand and the Presi
dent will recommend in his forthcoming
message. They will propose to reduce
the tariff through reciprocity in such a
way as to hold the home markets for
the trusts and secure to them entranced
into foreign markets at whatever nec
essary sacrifice of other interests. What
among these other Interests will be of
fered for sacrifice does not yet appear.
Sugar and fruits, hides and wool, are
likely to be among the first attacked.
Whatever will minister to the profits of
manufacturers who no longer need pro
tection will be selected for slaughter.
But the proposed victims will make
themselves heard, and will not be easily
silenced.' How well the country re
gards a programme of free raw ma
terials and protected manufactures can
be gathered from the protest that went
up from producers everywhere over the
original draft of the Wilson bill in 1894.
rlff-on tho upper Delaware, and a two-pouna
bass will outfight. Outsklrmlsh. outgeneral
any fish of his Inches that plows any old
kind of water.
And when It come3 to original devices and
ingenious tricks to mystify and fool the
angler, tfie black bass can give cards and
spades to the most expert conjurer, and
beat him out "hands down."
Anglers who go in search of black
bass will need to remember that it is a
most capricious fish In its appetite.
Some days It will rise to a fly, and
other days the live minnow is the most
killing bait. Sometimes the helgramlte,
popularly known among bass fishermen
as the dobson. Is the most fascinating
lure, and at other times the black bass
will take the common earthworm, or
"angleworm," most greedily, and large
strings are sometimes taken by using
a bit of pork rind for bait, the bass evi
dently mistaking the white of the pork
rind for a small fish. Trolling for bass
with a spoon is practiced in lakes,
ponds and rivers, but It is poor sport
compared with taking bass with fine
tackle and a trout rod and reel. Of
course, in using fine tackle ji landing
net is Indispensable, for a bass that
does not exceed two pounds is a far
stronger fish than a trout of the same
weight. If a fine tackle is not used,
good sport can be obtained by using a
stout bamboo rod wtth a reel, and a
line and hook strong enough to hold
the fish while landing him. A landing
net Is desirable in any event, for a
bass that exceeds 2 pounds is a very
powerful and artful fish.
The small-mouthed black bass.
broiled or baked, Is an excellent fish for
the table. The flesh is firm, well fla
vored; there are few small bones, and
next to the whlteflsh and the trout the
small-mouthed black bass Is the best
fresh-water fish In the waters of the
United States. It is a far less bony fish
than the pike or pickerel, or wall-eyed
pike. Its flesh is firmer and better
flavored, and as a game fish that fights
for its life from start to finish there is
no fish of its weight or inches that com
pares with it. When a black bass feels
the hook It leaps at least two feet out
of the water in its efforts to get free;
It will swim for the boat to make the
line slack; It will sulk at the bottom;
It will make for a rock or a root in or
der to snag the line. Altogether, no
fish that swims affords more sport to a
genuine angler.
there is no relief there the moment you
quit the seaside, while the Summer
heat in Western Oregon is never severe
enough to make a general exodus to
the seaside a necessity, as It is to those
who can afford it in the North Atlantic
States." Some day there will be quite
an addition to the transient if not the
permanent population, of Oregon, be
cause of its delightfully cool Summer
climate compared with that of the rest
of the country.
The New Tork Journal of Commerce
and a number of other reliable trade
journals in the East are printing the
following:
State Grain Inspector Wright, of "Washing
ton, has been over the state and says the
wheat crop will be 33,000,000 bushels.
So long as State Grain Inspector
Wright keeps his wonderful crop esti
mates to himself, or limits their circu
lation to localities where he is known,
but little harm can come from them.
When they are given circulation by
reputable papers, however, they are
more likely to cause damage. Last
year at this time Inspector Wright es
timated the Washington crop at 30,000,
000 bushels, and his state actually har
vested less than 25,000,000 bushels. That
extra 5,000,000 bushels which never ex
isted or never should have been In
cluded in an estimate were sufficient to
cause shipowners to hold tonnage at ex
travagant rates. The estimate of 33,
000,000 bushels for the coming crop is
worse than that of last year, and is
fully 6,000,000 bushels higher than is
warranted by the facts in the case. It
will require sixty large vessels to carry
6,000,000 bushels of wheat to market,
and the addition or withdrawal of a
fleet of sixty ships from this section
means a difference of several cents per
bushel in the freight rates. The Wash
ington farmers should muzzle Grain In
spector Wright. He is costing them
more than 75 cents per carload on their
grain by the circulation of such rot as
a 33,000,000-bushel crop estimate.
NOT AX EXAMPLE.
They who want to pu3h the Govern
ment of our country into socialistic
schemes continually cite the postoffice
as a favorite illustration of the manner
In which Government can do it, when it
tries. But the postoffice is not a pro
ductive Industry. It Is not even com
pelled to earn Its own support, and in
fact never has earned It. It by no
means follows that because an under
taking of this kind can be carried on,
through the Government, the great pro
ductive industries, as iron, steel and
Bhoemaking, could be carried on
through the same agency.
But is the postoffice, as a National
undertaking, really successful? They
who are so fond of citing it as proof
and example of what the Government
can do would do well to read what the
Auditor of the Treasury for the Post
office Department says In the North
American Review. He tells us that the
Bervice "swarms with Incongruities,
temptations and perils." There is abun
dant opportunity for heavy embezzle
ments and defalcations, which In fact
are constantly occurring. Opportuni
ties for forgery are numerous, and for
geries outright, as well as successful
attempts to "raise" .money orders, are
of frequent occurrence. "Under the
practice of paying money orders at of
fices other than those at which they are
drawn," says the Auditor, "an evil-disposed
person could buy ten $100 orders
at the New Tork office payable In Phil
adelphia; hold them for a short time;
apply for and procure duplicates: pre
sent the latter at the Philadelphia of
fice and receive payment; then Immedi
ately collect his original orders at Bal
timore, and have abundant time to dis-
A GREAT GAME FISH.
Something has been said from time to
time in The Oregonlan, pro and con,
concerning the merits of the black bass,
meaning by that the small-mouthed
black bass of the North Atlantic -States
and the Middle West, and not the large
mouthed variety, known as the "Os
wego bass," a far Inferior fish both In
the sport it affords the angler and In
its value for the table. The small
mouthed black bass is found in the St.
Lawrence and all the Great Lakes; In
Lake Champlain and Lake George; In
the Delaware, the Susquehanna and
the Potomac. It has been introduced
Into all the lakes and ponds of the Mid
dle West; abounds In the fishing waters
of Minnesota, and is regarded by ex
perienced anglers as the finest game
fish in the country. The relative game
qualities of the brook trout and the
black bass have been the subject of
long argument between, a good many
good anglers, but the difference of opin
ion is generally due to the fact that
the anglers have not been familiar with
both trout and black bass, or at least
have not angled for black bass with
the same fine tackle used In catching
trout. The latest sportsman to confess
judgment in favor of the black bass is
Kit Clarke, who writes the New York
Sun:
For years, with tongue and pen, I maintained
that the trout was champion among fresh
water finny fighters.
I desire to "withdraw my affidavit' chew
the cud, "take water" and confess my error.
It has been my good fortune to "lift" whole
heaps of trout In various quarters and from
many waters of this beautiful world, but my
experioncc with black bass In swift waters
during the last four years fills me full of the
belief that he Is the greatest game fish that
A HOT WAVE.
The records of the fatal heat from
which the whole country east of the
Rocky Mountains and north of the line
of the Ohio and the Potomac suffered
last month ought to make our people
thankful that we never experience a
hot wave of equal duration and Inten
sity. In the terrible hot spell of last
month 250 people died in New York City
in one day as the direct result of Sum
mer heat. This was 109 more deaths
than the highest heat mortality for any
single day ever before recorded, the
highest previous record being the 11th
of August, 1896, when the number of
deaths from heat was 141. The hot
weather of 1896 lasted from August 6
to August 13. inclusive, and in this
whole period there were 79 fewer deaths
than occurred in New York City on the
2d ult. There have only been two occa
sions in thl thirty years that the
Weather Bureau has been in existence
when the mortality from Summer heat
for New York City has approached the
figures of this year. One was in Au
gust, 1896, "just mentioned, and the
other, in 1876, lasted from June 24 to
July 21, Inclusive. There was no sin
gle day in all the twenty-eight days
of torrid weather of ,1876 In which the
mortality from hea't came near the rec
ord of July 2. The highest temperature
In the hot week of 1896 was 94, for New
York City, while the highest tempera
ture in the recent hot spell that
scorched New York City from June 27
to July 5 was 99.8.
The record of the heat for other lead
ing cities of the country that were
struck by the hot wave is appalling
when we contrast it with the record of
hot days in Portland. In Philadelphia
the first two days of July the mercury
rose to 102 degrees and 103 degrees, re
spectively. In Boston the record for
July 3 was 96; Baltimore's record for
the first two days of July was 103. The
highest record for Cincinnati was 106
degrees on July 22, but there were four
other days in the month when the mer
cury in that city reached 100 degrees.
On the 10th and the 21st of July the
mercury in Chicago marked 102 degrees.
At St. Louis the highest record was 108
degrees, July 24, but there were ten
other days when the thermometer fur
nished the following terrible record:
July 1, 100 degrees; July 5, 100 degrees;
July 10. 104 degrees; July 11. 104 de
grees; July 12. 102 degrees; July 17, 100
degrees; July 20, 100 degrees; July 21-22-23,
106 degrees each day. The
record of Kansas City for the month is
the worst of all, for there were twenty
days In the month when the thermom
eter did not fall below 100 degrees.
Theie were two days "when the record
was 106 degrees; five days when 104 de
grees was recorded, and six days when
the mark was 102 degrees. For the
month of July the City of Philadelphia
had but four days when the maximum
temperature fell below 80 degrees, and
New York had but six such days. Phil
adelphia had twelve days when the
thermometer went above 90 degrees,
and New York had ten such days. The
City of St. Paul had a record of 104
degrees for July 24, a record of 102 de
grees for July 20, and a record of 100
for July 23. St. Paul had twelve days
when the thermometer went above 90
degrees, and but six days when the
maximum temperature fell below 80
degrees. These figures show that Chi
cago and St. Paul had a dally maxi
mum temperature about the same as
that of Philadelphia and New York
City.
The hot days in Portland thus far
were June 16, 17, 18, when the thermom
eter rose to St degrees, 86 degrees, 87
degrees. Since that date we had no
hot days until last Saturday, when the
thermometer marked 85 de'grees; on
Sunday It rose to 92 degrees, and on
Monday It marked 91 degrees for max
imum heat. In the whole month of
July there was but one warm day, July
28, when 82 degrees was the maximum
heat. These are remarkable figures, as
illustrating the delightful character of
our Summer climate. The day will
come when hundreds of people will seek
refuge from the dreadful Summer heat
that scourges the whole country east of
the Rocky Mountains and north of the
Ohio and Potomac line in the cool cli
mate of Western Oregon and Washing
ton. Of course, those who are near tne
great seaside resorts of New England
and New Jersey will not seek the Pa
cific Coast, but there will be hundreds
from the heat-scorched trans-Mississippi
States who will some day seek the
Oregon and Washington coast as a
Summer resort. In event of a hot wave
at the East there Is absolutely no relief
short of the great open sea beaches of
The Hamburg-American line Is to
build at Belfast a 21,000-ton steamer for
the New York service. This is larger
by 4498 tons than the Deutschland. The
new steamer Is to be built on the model
of the great freighters Pennsylvania
and Pretoria, and she is not expected
to log over 17 knots, but for a combi
nation freight and passenger steamer
she will be without a rival. Of course
the great flyers will get the bulk of the
first-class passenger traffic. The rul
ing passion of the present age is travel,
while the desire to "get there" is a
constantly Increasing mania. Steam
has about been pushed to the extreme
limit 'of Its controllable power in re
sponse to this demand, and now all
eyes are turned toward the flying, ma
chine, looking to an increase in speed.
But for the combined freight and pas
senger traffic the newly projected
steamer will be a wonder, and she will
find plenty to do without bidding for
the patronage of the restless class
whose anxiety to start Is only exceeded
by their anxiety to reach their destination.
WANTED BACKBONE.
New York Times.
We venture at this moment to call the
attention of tne President of the United
States to the extreme deslrabllly and
even necessity of a backbone if he wishes
to preserve an Important part of the
.Governmental organization for which he
is responsible, and to trne maintenance of
which he is pledged by his express prom,
lses and by his public duty, t
The laws and rules relating to appoint
ments and promotions in the. civil service
are intended to enforce what Is known
as the merit system. The essential require
ment of that system is that selections
shall be made of the best applicants and
that application shall be free and open.
The test of merit that has been found
by experiment extending over a long
period and a great variety of posltSona
to be the most practical and the fairest la
the test of competitive examinations open
to all, followed by probationary service.
It Is the testimony of responsible officers
of thp Government during the past 18
years that this test has been efficient
in direct and exact proportion to the fair
ness and good faith with which It has
been applied.
Since Mr. McKinley came Into office,
there has been a steady and progressive
tendency on the part of his subordinates
to evade this system and to make appoint
ments and promotions for political or
personal favoritism. This tendency Is dis
tinctly due to the fact that Mr. McKinley
has appointed his immediate subordinates
In great degree for like motives of politi
cal favoritism. The consequences have
been unfortunate and discreditable. It Is
very desirable that the tendency shall be
checked. It is demoralizing the service.
It is destroying accountability. It is de
basing the standard of efficiency and of
fidelity. It" is bringing the President him
self Into disrepute and encouraging the
politicians to regard his promises made
to the whole country as of little worth
and their own hold on him as stronger
than his conscience can resist.
The only one who can put a stop to this
is the President himself. The only way
In which he can do it is by stiffening his
backbone and firmly refusing any longer
to tolerate the devices of the politicians.
He cannot be unaware of them. They
have been brought patiently and definitely
to his attention in numerous instances
during a long time. In the language of
the street, an immediate and decisive re
form is "up to" him.
King Edward is an intensely prac
tical man. This has been shown by the
manner in which he has disposed of
relics of his family gathered through
out her long life and fondly cherished
by the late Queen; the opening up, fur
nishing and refurnishing rooms long
sacred to the memory of the dead in
the eagerness shown to discard all out
ward semblances of mourning. In fur
ther evidence of this characteristic was
the undisturbed manner in which the
King went abour planning for his own
and others' pleasure while his sister's
death was hourly expected. Sentiment
was evidently left out in his make-up,
or, perhaps, having been fed upon it
in season and out of season for "many
years, he grew tired of the diet and re
pudiated it when, at "the advanced age
of 60 years, he became for the first time
"his own man."
Two tragedies have recently occurred
In Idaho of a type against which it is
Impossible to Interpose defense. In
each case a maniac, until then un
known to be such, suddenly turned
murderer. In one case a prominent
citizen of Rathdrum, Judge Brady, was
shot and died a few days thereafter
from the effects of the wound; in the
other, Moscow lost a worthy and useful
citizen, Dr. W. W. Watklns, through
the-maniac's murderous purpose. The
community can only deplore events of
this character, being powerless to fence
against them, and scarcely seeing its
way to punish the perpetrator of such
acts of sudden fury. Perplexity on this
score was ended In the latter case,
however, by the killing of the insane
man, who, with the weapon that had
already proved so deadly in his hands,
defied arrest.
Wise people will remain as nearly sta
tionary while the hot weather lasts as
is compatible with the simplest re
quirements of business and ordinary
domestic duties. Moving about to find
a "cool place" is a delusion, and iced
drinks are a snare. The coolest "place
about one's own domicile is the best
place when the mercury is dancing
among the 90s, and wise people, If they
were not already ensconced at the
coast In anticipation of the August tem
peratures, will eschew crowds and take
things as easy as possible, always re
membering that to chafe and worry
because of the weather intensifies any
discomfort that heat and humidity con
spire to inflict.
San Francisco's maritime interests
have suffered an uncomfortable setback
in the Treasury Department's r,ullng
that newly arrived Chinese cannot be
employed to unload ships, for fear of
violating the exclusion act. Doubtless
much of the cargoes will spoil, but the
poetic justice of the harvest may not
escape attention from the reapers.
Admiral Dewey was "too busy" to
take part In the ceremonies of laying
the corner-stone of a pedestal to himself
In New Jersey. The Admiral has been
married long enough now to boss the
ranch himself.
President Is for Reciprocity
Washington Corr. Brooklyn Eagle.
An Ohio politician who Is very close to
the President and Senator Hanna, and
who has just returned from a visit to his
home In the Buckeye State, Informs me
that in his coming message to Congress
President McKinley will devote a large
amount of space to advocating the pas
sago of the reciprocity treaties now before
the Senate, and that he will urge in the
most emphatic language that action on
these treaties be taken at the earliest pos
sible date.
My Informant says that the President
appears to be more interested In this
question nt the present time than In any
thing else, and that in conversations he
has held with the statesmen of his party
who have visited him at Canton he has
dwelt on this subject to the exclusion of
almost everything else. The question of
the action on the reciprocity treaties must
not be taken to mean that the President
favors any general tariff legislation, but
that he believes that new conditions that
have arisen and are arising as the out
come of our war with Spain and the
threats of certain nations of Europe to
pass tariff acts aimed at the United
States have rendered absolutely necessary
the negotiation of reciprocity treaties.
The President, it is said, thoroughly un
derstands the attitude of certain Senators,
particularly a group of New England men.
In opposition to these instruments, and
he is aware of the great difficulty in ob-tnlnlnc-
for them a two-thirds vote. Not
withstanding this, he proposes to bring to
bear upon Congress the full weight of the
Administration strength in favor of tho
treaties, and it is the belief of the Admin
istration leaders that in this effort the
President will be backed up by many rich
and powerful manufacturing interests
whose export business will be seriously
crippled unless tho treaties are passed.
In case, however, the opposition Senators
are able to prevent the treaties from going
through, the Administration, it Is believed,
may favor a tariff with maximum and
minimum schedules; the latter for those
nations thrft meet us half-way In regard
to tariff rates, and the former to be Im
posed against thoso countries that enact
high tariffs for the purpose of keeping
out of their countries American manufac
tured goods and food products. This
scheme offers the advantage of giving to
our Government something to trade on In
making commercial arrangements with
other countries which need a market In
the United States' for their products.
Robnon Challenge to Critics.
Chicago Record-Herald.
Stuart Robson has taken his pen in hand
to prove that actors are not illiterate,
and the Forum has given his demon
stration a place In its pages. Since the
work Itself Is an essay in literature, its
very existence might be considered proof
of the author's contention, but Mr. ,kod
son Is too modest to hint at this test. He
waives the point and refers to William
Shakespeare and others who were or are
both play actors and play writers for the
confirmation of his argument.
This Is a fair defense of the stage folk,
If defense against the charge of illiteracy
were needed, but "Rob," as he Is famil
iarly called, does not stop with the defen
sive. His heart Is full of offense toward
the judges of the drama who write for
the newspapers, of whose parts, literary
an'd mental, he has evidently a mean opin
ion. Concerning these censorious persons
fie says:
A man of limited brain capacity may be
come a successful stage critic. In tho popular
acceptance of the term, but not a successful
stage exponent. It is easy for the facetious
critic to tear down In a single sitting the
structure which the actor has spent weeks
of studious preparation to erect.
This Is surely an odious comparison,
and the author-actor follows It up with a
more comprehensive indictment thus:
"The scurrilous style of some alleged
critics causes a suspicion that if they
chould depart from their accustomed
methods and treat the actor seriously the
managing editor would quickly call for
their resignations."
The saving clause, "fortunately such
men do not represent the many, fair
minded newspaper writers of which this
country Is Justly proud," hardly removes
the odium from the profession, but it
cherishes no grudges, and Its most preju
diced members will be disarmed when Mr.
Robson appears as Bertie In "The Henri
etta" again. Every one, high, and low,
rich and poor, literate and illiterate, ad
mits that he was made for the part.
LATEST THING IN UNIONS.
New York Evening Post.
No sooner Is It announced that the steel
strike will be speedily settled than news
comes of another, great" uprising of labor
against the oppression of capital. This
time It Is the Working Women of Amer
ica, an organization of Chicago servant
srirls. that snatches the torch from the
falling hand of the Amalgamated As
sociation of Steel Workers. The name of
President May Murphy bids fair to replace
that of President Shaffer In the public
prints, for she has now delivered her
ultimatum to the householders of Chicago.
She demands the immediate adoption of
the following union scale: Cooks and
housekeepers, $5 to ?7 a week; general and
second girls, $4 to $5; young and inexperi
enced girls, $3 to 54. President Murphy
further insists on these concessions:
"Rule 1. Work shall not begin before 5:30
c'clock, and shall cease when the evening's
dishes are washed and put away. Two hour
each afternoon and the entire evening, at
least twice a week shall be allowed the do
mestic as her own.
"Rule 2. There shall be no opposition on
the part of the mistress to club life on the part
of the domestic. Entertainment of friends In
limited numbers shall not be prohibited pro
vided the domestic furnishes her own re
freshments. "Rule 3. Gentlemen friends shall not be
barred fror the kitchen or back porch. Mem
bers of the family of the house shall not Inter
rupt the conversation arising during said
visits.
"Rule 4. Domestics shall be allowed such
hours oft on Mondays as will permit them to
visit the bargain counters of the stores and
enjoy on that day the same privileges enjoyea
by the mistress and her daughters."
Comment on these terms is obviously a
delicate and difficult task, for every lover
of domestic peace recoils even at the
thought of stirring up further bitterness
and inflaming passion. But in the hope of
clearing away possible misunderstandings,
and thus promoting unity and. concord, it
may be allowable to suggest that rule
2 la so vaguely drawn that disputes as to
its meaning are sure to arise. If the cook
wishes to prepare for her club a paper on
"Emerson and the Transcendantal Move
ment," would the refusal of the master
of the house to let her take his rare and
costly first editions of Emerson into the
kitchen be construed as opposition to cluh
life? If the second girl is put down on
the programme to play the overture of
Wagner's "Walkure," must she be per
mitted to practice on her mistress grand
piano at any time, or shall she be re
stricted, say, to three hours a day? Again,
what are "limited" numbers of friends?
Then, too, if the "conversation" in rule 3
Is so loud as to disturb the whole neigh
borhood, is no interruption permissible?
Of course. It is only to be expected that
the Working Women of America should
be somewhat Inexperienced in the busi
ness of drawing up scales and agreements;
and it is therefore in a spirit not of carp
ing, but of pure friendliness, that we call
attention to these slight matters, for ex
perience has abundantly shown that just
such trifles sometimes bring to naught
the noblest and best-directed efforts.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
Those Vallejo thieves were very deep In
Iniquity.
Rudyard Kipling seems greedy to wrest
the bays from the dead, cold brow of the
Sweet Singer of Michigan.
With the Invention of the flying ma
chine, George Kennan will be able to hand
the Czar a package of birdlike laughter.
Somebody predicted four years of drouth,
and the prediction brought more rain than
all the piety and wit of the Kansas clergy.
In the charge of plagiarism against His
torian Maclay there are cited as exhibits
no editorials from the Baltimore Ameri
can. "B. L. T." in the Chicago Tribune prints
a picture of a hammer as a photograph of
Historian Maclay, without any saving
claws.
The El Reno lottery Is the only one of
Its kind In which the prizes are all drawn
by the players, and the blanks by the
house.
A Copenhagen chemist has Invented a
substitute for rubber, and hereafter swan
like necks will not be such an expensive
luxury.
The new cruiser Cleveland Is to be chris
tened with water, and yet the most illus
trious bearer of that name is famous as a
fisherman.
What the barbers lose by the Kaiser's
decision to raise a beard is gained by the
photographers. He will have to have an
entirely new stock of portraits.
A party of gentlemen in Colwlch, Kan.,
who could not get liquor, smashed tho
town pumps. What grievance they had
against the milkmen is not apparent.
If we have been reliably informed on th
glass-of-fashlon and mold-of-form attri
butes of His Majesty King Edward VII,
his crown will be on the' correct spring
block.
Dr. Koch is now busy inventing a theory
which all the distinguished medical gen
tlemen of the United States were not fa
miliar with when Dr. Koch was learning
the alphabet.
Sticky, sticky weather.
As these lines I spurt,
Tet I am in very much doubt.
Which sticks the more I can't find out
If my back or If my shirt.
Sticky, sticky weather.
Prenclicr's Focus on Trust Demands
The strike of the Amalgamated Associa
tion of Iron and Steel Workers furnished
the Rev. W. J. Lhamon, of the Pittsburg
First Christian Church, with the basis for
his sermon on a recent Sunday. The gen
tleman's text was "Altruism Among La
bor Unions," and his remarks were in part
as follows:
The modern Jericho road Is the factory road.
The traveler who has fallen among thieves
down that way Is the workingman. The labor
union plays the role of the Samaritan blun
deringly sometimes, but yet as well as It can.
The trusts are the robbers, and their cry is.
"Watered stock must have Its dividends."
Capital combines. What can labor do If
It does not combine? Capital cares far its
dividends. What can labor do if it dues
not look out for lt3 wages? Capital defends
capital. Labor must defend labor.
Sympathetic strikes usually kill sympathy,
but strikes for Justice are applauded by most
communities. The true altruism of the la
bor unions Is In the granting of financial
help to strikers who have cause to strike.
There aro now, perhaps, a million and a halt
of union men In the United States. Most or
them are worklnj and are willing to be as
sessed a dollar a week for striking brothers.
The total Is enormous, and In such altruism
worklngmen have their only hope of meeting
capital with capital.
From the standpoint of competition and In
dustrial warfare the present strike Is Justifi
able, and President Shaffer is a skilled tac
tician. Freedom of Individual contract no
longer exists on the part of capital. Th
unions. In self-defense, demand that It shall
not exist on the part of labor. It Is a bold
thing for the pulpit to defend such a demanQ.
but capital has forced the Issue, and the frlono
of the workingman must advise the working
man to stand by organized labor.
Arbitration might have been adopted, slnco
Is requires labor as much as capital to make
the great Iron business. They might have
said to each other, "Choose your representa
tives and let them decide our differences.
We seek mutual Justice." That would have
been altruistic, but in forcing the strike on
the issue named, the trust has virtually salfi,
"Capital has ceased to compete with capital,
but It demands that labor shall compete with
labor." That Is not altruistic. Justice Is
the demand of the hour. Let there be no
riots and no bloodshed.
Rwlms.
Given a five-ounce rod, a good fly and a Maine, New York and New Jersey, and
In spite of the reductions In war
taxes, July internal revenue receipts
were $700,000 greater than for July of
last year." Verily the country Is boom
ing and the surplus roosts high.
Roosevelt has gone coyote hunting in
Colorado. Perhaps he expects to have
the scalps cashed In Oregon.
Tillman opines that silver can wait
This Is about the only way at present
to do something for silver.
A much-needed rain has fallen in
Texas. This shows the Insufficiency of
prayer.
JuBt now. Oregon climate Is cooler at
Buffalo than It Is at home.
Question of A'ntlonnlity.
Baltimore Herald.
It happened at one of the Baltimore
police stations. The prisoner, a long
haired hobo son of Erin, lounged against
the bar of Justice. The Justice glared at
him over his spectacles.
"What's his name?" he Inquired of the
lieutenant.
"Michael O'Hara, squire; charged with
being drunk on the street."
"Urn! Foreign born," mused the justtce.
"Sprechen -sle Englishchen, O'Hara?"
The prisoner straightened up in his sole
less shoes, and, with the dignity of gen
erations of kings, said:
" 'Squolr, it's an American citizen I am,
from me birth, being born In Olrland. I
want me case tried by an American judge,
an' not by a foreign dago with a spache
that a Christian cant' understand."
"Oh, you're Irish. I thought your name
had a German sound," said the squire,
more humbly. "Case dismissed, lleuten
ant."
An Aricnnsns Opinion.
Boston Herald.
Clifton R. Breckenridge, of Arkansas,
comes forward to declare that' free silver
is dead in that state. Mr. Breckenridge
will be remembered as a member of the
National House of Representatives some
10 years ago, and as a man of superior
ability and influence in that body. He was
later appointed Minister to Russia by
President Cleveland. He Is a descendant
of tho celebrated Breckenridge family,
of Kentucky, which in earlier days fur
nished some of the most distinguished of
the state's sons. It is to be hoped that
this restoration to reason may be tin
means of bringing men from the South
like Mr. Breckenridge again Into public
life. The Populist delusion has materially
lessened the strength In CongresB of the
South, intellectually speaking.
IiCnn Yenrs Sure to Come.
Indianapolis News.
The wayfaring man would do well to
heed the signs as he runs along. They
are plain enough. They tell him that In
good times he should prepare for worse.
These are the fat years. It is certain
that they will be followed by lean. Hold
on to your earnings until you are sure
that you have an investment that is le
gitimate and that; will give some return.
Then If the panic comes it will not hurt
you.
The Lost Kiss.
James Whltcomb Riley.
I put by the half-written poem,
While the pen, idly trailed in my hand.
Writes on "Had I words to complete It,
Who'd read It, or who'd understand?"
But tho little bare feet on the stairway.
And the faint smothered laugh In the hall.
And the eerie low lisps on the silence
Cry up o me over it all.
So, I gather it up where was broken
The tear-faded thread of my theme.
Telling how, as one night I sat writing,
A fairy broke In on my dream.
A little, lnculsltlve fairy
My own little girl, with tho sold
Of the sun In her hair, and the dewy
Blue eyes of the fairies of old.
'Twas the dear little girl that I scolded
"For was It a moment like this,"
I said, "when she knew I was busy.
To come romping In for a kiss?
Come rowdylng up from her mother.
And clamoring there at my knse
For 'One Mttle kiss for my dolly.
And ono "lttle uzzer for mel' " '
God pity the heart that repelled her,
And the cold hand that turned her away.
And take from the lips that denied her.
This answerless prayer of today!
Take, Lord, from my memory forever
That pitiful sob of despair,
And the patter and trip of the little bare feet.
And the one piercing cry on the stalrl
I put by the half-written poem.
While the pen. Idly trailed in my hand.
Writes on, "Had 1 words to complete it.
Who'd read it, or who'd understand?"
But the little bare feet on the stairway,
And the faint, smothered laugh in the hall.
And the eerie-low lisp on the silence.
Cry ud to me over it all.
Pfo Bnsls for Reciprocity.
"Louisville Courier-Journal.
The news from Berlin with reference
to the rates of the proposed German tariff
is somewhat sensational. For example, it
is proposed to raise the rate on cattle Im
ported from 9 marks to 100 marks per ton.
This is the extreme advance reported, as
the rate on swine is simply doubled. On
wheat the raise reported Is from 33 marks
a ton to 65 marks as a minimum. The mini
mum rates are to be granted to those
countries that make reciprocity treaties
with Germany. But on animals and pro
visions there are to be no minimum rates
in other words, no basis for reciprocity.
Let us see what these proposed rates will
mean. A mark Is valued at 23.S cents In
our currency, so that 100 marks are equal
to $23 SO. This is the proposed charge upon
a ton of cattle or hogs Imported into
Germany. It cannot be lessened, if tne
proposed law passes, by a commercial
treaty, because there is no minimum rate
given.' There is therefore no basis for
reciprocity. On wheat there will be a
margin of 10 marks ($2 30) a ton. That Is
the only reduction that reciprocity will be
able to compass If the new rates prevail.
t
Denirnule AH Around.
Chicago Record-Herald.
Schley himself has been denounced as a
liar, coward and incompetent. Sampson
has been ruthlessly ridiculed as the ab
sent commander who left other to do the
fighting, and as the unworthy pet of the
reigning official clique of the Navy De
partment. The Secretary of the Navy has
been fiercely condemned for leaguing him
self with the bureaucrats. So serious are
all the charges that there can hardly bo
two opinions about the desirability of an
investigation.
The Logic of Uniformity.
Typographical Journal.
Thflrs la every reason why a trust can
and ought to pay a uniform wage scale
for the same class of work, and, being an
advanced type of organization Itself, It
comes with very bad grace from It to
deny recognition to wageworkers organ
ized for beneficent purposes, Instead of
combining, as the trust does, to hold up
society In general for the advantage and
profit of the few.
PLEASANTRIES OF PAItAGIUPHERS
"You look nice enough to eat." he said ad
miringly. "Ah! now that you mention it,"
she replied, "I wouldn't mind eating a little
ice cream. Philadelphia Record.
An Easy Choice. "You don't mean to say
that she accepted him? He wasn't at all
Ker Ideal!" "Well, it didn't take her long to
choose between a fiance In the hand and aa
Ideal In the bush."
A Creditable Movement. Mrs. Horse A lot
us girls have started an Audubou club. Mr.
Horse What's that? Mrs. Horse Why we ,
are not going to wear birds or wings on our
hats. Detroit Free Press.
The Objection. "No," said Mr. Holtlte.
"I don't object to the time a man takes for
a reasonable vacation." "To what Is It that
you object, then?" "The long rest he In
variably needs after he gets back." Boston
Traveler.
Everything Checked. Floor Walker-Good
morning. You wish to do some shopping I
presume? Bride (with hubby) Y-e-s. Floor
Walker Step Into the smoking room and the
boy thero will give you a check for your hus
band. New York Weekly.
Good Judgment.-Mr. Bridal (at luncheon)
Is this the best salmon you could get? Mrs.
Bridal Yes, the grocer showed me sev5r'
kinds but I took this can. Mr. Bridal-Did hit
say this was the best he had? Mrs. Bridal
No. but It had the prettiest label.-Phlladel.
phla Press.
The Rural Man of Letters. Josh Abner'l
tho greatest reader here at the Corners. An
that hain't all; he acts on what he reads.
Llge Yew bet he does. Now, last week, tet
my certain knowledge, he answered two adver
tisements of matrimonial bureaus, sent for
three packages of love powder an a book
on hypnotism, an' he also sent a dollar ter
feller In New York fer seventeen ways ter git
rich in three months! Puck.
Politics, BritiKli Style.
London Globe.
Oh, yes! we are united on most topics. Wa
believe ,
That Phoebus rlse3 In the morn and sets a.
dewy eve; ....
That bicycles and motor cars should alwayi
carry Usht3
When running down the public roads at certain
hours o" nights;
That one Is not compelled to buy a license
for a pup; '
That, no matter what the time of year, tht
Strand Is always up:
That motor cars may not be run above a cer-
tain speed;
Oh. yes! upon such topics we are thoroughly
agreed.
With regard to current topics we are all
agreed. God wot;
That the war was either necessary, or that it
was not:
That the government in waging It Is partly
to be blamed.
Or else, as an alternative, that it has been
defamed:
That concentration camps and such are much
to be deplored.
Unless such camps protection to the women
can afford;
That South Africa must either subjugated be
or freed.
Oh, yes! upon such subjects we are thoroughly
agreed.