THE MORNING OUEGONIAS. MONDAY, AUGUST 19, lyui.
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. 1
PORTLAND, aiOSTDAY, ANGUST ID.
A DAXGEHOUS POWER.
"The great Western works of the
American Tinplate Company never will
be opened," Is the definite announce
ment made Saturday "upon positive
irformation" by a Joliet representative
of the steel trust. Doubtless the trust
can do just this If it likes. It can
close and dismantle plants at its will.
Its power in this xespect Is most dan
gerous. It menaces the wellbelng and
existence of thousands of inoffending
citizens. It tends to promote disorder,
it is a covert blow at the perpetuity
and efficiency of political government
itself.
We have not at hand the population
of Joliet by the census of 1900; bit in
1890 it was 23,000. There are now on
strike In Jdiiet 3500 workmen, and the
closing down of the Illinois Steel mills,
a constituent part of the steel trust,
will throw out of work 3200 more.' It
is perfectly certain that the life and
activity of Joliet are largely bound up
in the continued employment of these
6700 men, 'They and their families,
with the tradesmen they indirectly
support, make Joliet what it is today.
Should the trust pursue' its closing and
dismantling programme, already in
course of execution elsewhere, in Joliet,
:oPEejuences to its inhabitants are
appalling to contemplate.
Yet this Is nothing more than the le
gitimate fruit of the trust principle.
Tnder the old system of independent
competitive plants the proprietor had
the same permanent interest In the
community possessed by the laborer.
If he underwent a strike, he started
up his mill again when It was over.
"Under the non-competitive regime of
the trust these conditions have passed
away, As the trust owns all the steel
plants, it is a simple matter of busi
ness for It to run such plants as can
"be run at a profit, and close the others.
It wants to make goods where union
sentiment is not strong, where freight
rates are low, where supplies and mar
kets are accessible. The trust is in a
"battle for supremacy over organized
labor. It conceives it a necessary part
cf its campaign to discipline such com
munities as are friendly to the unions.
Its policy has always been to perfect
the machinery of its nonunion plants
and let its union plants run down. It
is but a step from this proceeding
to the final abandonment and destruc
tion of its least desirable properties.
The point we are seeking to make is
that this revolutionary and dangerous
programme is an Inevitable property
cf the trust principle that is, the prin
ciple of monopoly as opposed to inde
pendent effort, the principle of so
cialistic non-competition as opposed to
the principle of competitive effort To
admit that the elimination of competi
tion is a correct basis of industrial pro
duction carries with It consent to the
idea that the subordination of disad
xantageously situated plants may
rightfully be extended to the point of
their abandonment or removal.
Now, what is to be the effect of this
revolutionary readjustment? The work
men, it Is superfluous to argue, can
not transplant themselves from place
tD place with the facility of "boilers and
furnaces. Their means are limited,
their habits fitted to their environment
Homes cannot be uprooted and fami
lies dismantled as easily as steel walls
and iron beams. Nor is It any way
certain that the strikers can obtain
employment whither the plants are
mcved. The active, brainy fellows
who bave organized unions and wrest
ed concessions from employers are in
deed the object of special aversion by
the trust The more of them starve to
death, the better for Schwab and Mor
gan. We confront, in fact, the imminent
spectacle of whole communities re
duced to Industrial stagnation, wbich
speJs beggary and want, crime for
men. shame for women and vice for
children. There Is no law to reach
the case. The trust has risen above
law, above public opinion, above even
the powers of organized government
No representative government In the
wcrld today would dare to wipe out
whele communities in pursuit of econ
omy or vengeance. The trust is mak
ing rapid progress toward that point
where society will turn on it and com
pel abandonment of its socialistic sys
tem for the old and natural regime of
competitive effort
People who need strength are often
recommended by their physicians to
take Iron, but there is often trouble in
getting It to assimilate with the blood.
A German physician has devised a
new scheme for administering the' Iron,
which is found to work well. The
metal is first fed to hens In a carbon
ate of Iron mixed with. 20 per cent of
, powdered sugar, which is Etirred into
the mush fed to them. The eggs pro
duced by the hens thus fed are found
to contain a large percentage of Iron,
and when they are cooked in any way
desired and fed to invalids he iron
thus conveyed is found to be readily
absorbed and taken up by the blood.
Persons feeding extensively on such
eggs might have the iron enter their
souls without the usual unpleasantness.
THE ISTHMIAX DIFFICULTIES.
How shall we explain the confused
and conflicting versions borne daily in
the dispatches from Colombia and
Venezuela? Each of these powers at
tributes the difficulties to the machina
tions of the other. Each protests its
integrity, each holds the duplicity of
the other up to scorn. Which is right,
or are both wrong?
To begin with, the International
character of the uprisings it is impos
sible to doubt Venezuelans in arms
on Colombian soil, and Colombians in
arms on Venezuelan soil, demonstrate
conclusively that we have something
more to deal with here than the ordi
nary Latin-American revolution of dis
affected factions. There Is definite
hostility toward each of the national
governments on the part of the other.
What is the source of the antagon
ism? Indications strongly point in the di
rection of Venezuelan responsibility.
There Is no explanation of Colombian
aggression that at all compares In
plausibility with the explanation of
Venezuelan aggression. We know
what Uribe wants. He has confessed
his Bolivar dream of a ''Greater Co
lombia," to Include Colombia, Vene
zuela and Ecuador. How, then, is he
recruiting his forces on Venezuelan
soil, and with Venezuelan arms, unless
by consent of President Castro, not
only to the war, but to its political
purposes? It is not difficult to picture
Castro himself as ambitious to become
a second Bolivar, and to form a union
of the three states mentioned, such as
lasted under Bolivar from 1819 to 1829,
when Venezuela seceded.
Further significance is supplied by
the fact that If such a programme
were contemplated, Its first strategic
blow would be directed at precisely
the object now engaging TJribe's at
tention. This is the conservative gov
ernment at Bogota. There it is that
the opposition to the proposed union
is virtually centered and most effect
ive an opposition that voices Itself
most strenuously in passionate loyalty
to Colombian Independence. It Ib not
strange, but to be expected, from the
readiness with which armies spring
Into being in Iatin-Amerlca, that Ven
ezuela now finds herself on the defen
sive against Invaders from the north
in Colombia's behalf. If her states
men's claim of victory over these Co
lombian forces is valid, it augurs fa
vorably for Castro's and Urlbe's re
puted ambition, and 111 for early ces
sation of the disturbances.
There is only one cloud upon this
troubled horizon for the United States
In an international aspect, and that
consists of these ominous rumblings
from France. Why Is it that the
French people, alone in Europe, are
loud and bitter In animadversion
against the United States? The an
swer is found in the Panama Canal.
It is in the latest of these fulmina
tions that we find the reason for all
the bluster" that has been burdening
the cable. The Journal des Debats
serves notice that France is concerned
in the execution of a contract between
the Colombian Government and the
canal company, and that she Is de
termined "to insist peremptorily on
the carrying out of this contract"
What does this mean? Well, it seems
to mean, when taken in "connection with
the simultaneous and unwarranted
outbursts of French journals upon the
inception of the present disturbances,
that the Isthmian revolutions found
France prepared, perhaps forewarned,
if not in actual participation. Some
body apparently knew what was going
to happen and imparted to the Paris
ian press the cue for the French atti
tude. This attitude is unfriendly, and
has to do, as has been said, with the
Panama Canal. We also have a con
tract with Colombia concerning the
canal, and American attention has
been directed toward It There is just
one thing that would end our treaties
with Colombia concerning the isthmus,
and that Is for Colombia to pass again
under the control of Venezuela, with
which our relations, almost pre-eminently
among South American states,
are unsatisfactory. How much of
Venezuelan hostility to the United
States is of French promotion? How
much has French Influence been lent
to the assault on Colombia's sover
eignty? OREGON APPLES.
There Is a future for apple-growers
In Oregon. Varieties must be selected
with a view to their late-keeping and
marketable qualities of the fruit;
trees must be intelligently planted in
locations judiciously selected, and or
chards must be properly cultivated and
kept free from pests. Nature, in this
fair and favored region, will do the
rest until such time as picking, sort
ing, packing and shipping the apples
comes. Here haphazard methods will
not do. Every orchardist must know
how, and, happily, any intelligent man
can learn how to do these things with
out feeling his way through a too long
labyrinth of experiment.
Apples are in one respect like roses.
There are very many varieties that it
Is pleasant to have, and that the grow
er and his family can enjoy, but when
it comes to cultivation for the market
half a dozen varieties meet the demand.
A London dealer now in this city thinks
the "Yellow Newtown" should head the
list of the planter of the commercial
orchard. While perhaps no variety ex
cels this in shipping, keeping and tooth
some qualities, there are doubtless
others that fairly equal it. The main
point Is to select good varieties, and
not too mans, since there is manifest
advantage in handling large shipments
of a single variety. If the Yellow New
town, well; if the Red-Cheeked Pippin,
well; if for nearer markets the Spltz
enberg is chosen, it will prove satis
factory among the earlier Winter ap
ples; the same is true of the Baldwin
and Yellow "Bellflower and several oth
ers. Whatever variety or varieties is
or are chosen, study the tree and its
fruits with the purpose of becoming
thoroughly acquainted with them, wait
patiently for a few years the process
of Nature as developed In growth and
the expectation of a just reward tor
intelligent Industry will be fulfilled.
Of this there can be no doubt. The
fame of Oregon as the home of the "big
red apple" was dimmed for some years
by the lack of a market This Induced I
carelessness and the neglect and decay
of orchards. But this lame was not
destroyed, and it only remains for
Oregon horticulturists to revive and
re-establish it upon a paying basis by
planting suitable lands in considerable
areas 'to carefully selected apple trees.
BOUNDARIES OF TERRITORIAL AC
QUISITIONS. Director Merriam. of the Census Of
fice, is entitled to thanks for a semi
authoritative definition of the bound
aries of territory acquired by the United
States. At his request a conference
was constituted of representatives of
the Department of State, the Coast and
Geodetic Survey, the Geological Sur
vey, the Census Ofllce and the Library
of Congress. While the findings of this
body have no official standing, they
clear up a number of disputed points.
The main conclusions may be sum
marized as follows:
First The region between the Mississippi
Rher and Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartraln
to the west, .and the Perdldo River to the east,
should not be assigned either to the Louisiana
Purchase or to the Florida Purchase, bur
marked with a lecend indicating that title to
it between 180.1 and 1813 was in dispute. -
Second The line between the Mississippi Riv
er and the Lake of the Woods, separating the
territory of the United Statrs prior to 1S'J3 from
the Louisiana Purchase, should be drawn from
the most northwestern poinf of the Lake of
the "Woods to the nearest point on the Missis
sippi River, In Lake Bemldji.
Third The western "boundary of the Louis
iana Purchase between 40 decrees and 42 de
grees north followed the watershed of the
Rocky Mountains; thence It ran east along the
parallel of 42 decrees north to a point due
north of the source of the Arkansas River,
thence south to that source.
The northwestern boundary of Texas, as an
nexed, extended up the principal Stream of the
Rio Grande to its source, thence due north to
the parallel of 42 degrees north.
Fifth The southern boundary of the Mex
ican cession of 1848 should be drawn from a
point on the Rio Grande eight miles north of
Paso, Instead of from one about 30 miles far
ther north, as Is the usual practice Vt preent,
west three decrees, thence north to the first
branch of the Gila River.
The Oregon Country, as defined by
the conference, Is set apart from any
connection with the Louisiana pur
chase. Many persons have been dis
posed to Include Oregon in Louisiana,
though the weight of historical author
ity is against any such interpretation
of the treaty with Napoleon in 1803.
The Oregon Country is held to include
all of the present States of Oregon,
Washington and Idaho, part of West
ern and Northwestern Wyoming, tak
ing In the southwestern part of Yel
lowstone National Park, and Western
Montana, Including the present Cities
of Anaconda and Missoula, Wyoming
has the odd distinction of lying partly
in the Oregon Country, partly in the
Louisiana purchase, partly in Texas
as annexed in 1845, and partly in the
Mexican territory ceded in 184S.
As to the Oregon Country, the con
ference found nothing in history to
warrant mention of the claim of Spain
rather than that of Great Britain.
The final settlement of the question
of sovereignty and boundaries by the
treaty of 1846, fixing the forty-ninth
parallel "by an amicable compromise"
as the northern boundary west of the
Rocky Mountains, seemed to be a rec
ognition by the United States of the
importance of the British pretensions
sufficient to warrant mention on the
map. The treaty of 1819, the Florida
cession, had already served as a con
clusive relinquishment by Spain of any
claim in this quarter. The conference,
considering these facts, together with
the historical narrative of discovery
and occupation of the northwest; coast
of America, and the part played by
traders, explorers and settlers from the
United States within the territory
known under the name of Oregon in
the eighteenth century, decided to
place as a legend on the face of the
map, to describe briefly with historical
accuracy the area in question, the fol
lowing words: "Oregon Territory dis
covered and settled; British claim ex
tinguished 1846."
THE HOUSEMAID'S OPPORTUNITY.
In too many cases the two sides in
volved In contests between capital and
labor are the inside and the outside,
but in the Irrepressible conflict which
is constantly waged in a large number
of kitchens in every community there
are two legitimate points of view. In
England, where lines of station are
firmly laid down, the problem of do
mestic service is not so troublesome,
for cooks, nursery maids and house
maids are trained for their several
callings, and never hope for anything
better than a good position. In Amer
ica, where the young woman who is
now washing dishes looks forward to
the time when she will be courted
under a lilac bush by a struggling
young blacksmith, who will study law,
go to Congress, and eventually make
her the first lady of the land, the prob
lem presents difficulties.
Yet considerable may be yielded on
both sides without loss of the great
American prerogative of rising above
one's station on the one side, or of self
respect on the other. The young clerk
in an office or store does not expect
the manager to ask him to smoke with
him every morning, partly because the
manager doesn't have time or inclina
tion to smoke with all his employes,
and partly because he cannot afford to
waste the time of the clerk for which
the company is paying. The girl in the
kitchen cannot expect to eat with the
family, be she never so much their su
perior In culture and Intellect, for the
reason .that she has duties to attend
to for which she is paid. Those du
ties require her presence in the kitchen
at certain times in the day. and if she ;
performs them thoroughly she has all
she can attend to without tormenting
herself with the Tilack fear that she is
being oppressed.
On the other hand, the girl that is
efficient and industrious has many
rights which are too often abrogated.
She is frequently subjected to sense
less regulations as to her manner of
addressing the children in the family,
is often assigned tasks which are too
much for her strength, and is not sel
dom nagged and scolded when she is
not really at fault. But, in any event,
the girl has the best of it, for such
is the demand for good servants that
she need have no difficulty in finding
a more congenial "place" if the one
she has is too severe. Thus it has
come about that in many households
the girl is really the mistress of the
situation. She can 'dictate the num
"ber of "days out" she shall have a
week, she can limit her duties to those
she sees fit to discharge, and she can
be far more independent and free from
restraint than the girls who are em
ployed in various capacities in mercan
tile institutions. With all these things
In favor of the girl, the solution of the
problem seems as far off as ever; for,
owing to the word "servant," hateful -to
the American mind, young women
prefer to work much harder and for
much less money in other walks of life.
We respectfully suggest in this con
nection that if hntisewivpc will dwinml
nate their help as per the following
schedule, and treat them as employes
in factories and stores are treated,
there will be less trouble:
OLD. ( NEW.
Cook. IForelady culinary de
partment.
Second girl. Assistant forelady cu
linary department.
Chambermaid. Superintendent of sleep
ing apartments.
Washerwoman. Superintendent of the
laundry.
With titles such as these, and with
no duties other than those laid down
by the rules and regulations to be
printed and posted in every room in
the house, a girl' will submit to as much
bullying as can be given by the most
self-sufficient floorwalker or head of a
department, and will never murmur.
She will do five times the work she does
now, and will never complain, and will
take about .half the wages she now re
ceives. But she mus;t not be called a
servant, and her right to expect some
day to be able to pass her employer
on the street with a cold, stony stare
must never be questioned even by intimation.
In yesterday's dispatches from Salem
It was shown that within the past week
eight new companies filed articles of
incorporation, with an aggregate capi
tan of $2,930,250. Attention was -also
called to the recommendation of Sec
retary of State Dunbar to the last Leg
islature that these corporations be
charged a fee for the privilege of 'as
suming corporate shape in this state.
At present only a small fee for re
cording the articles is charged. The
Legislature gave no heed to the Sec
retary's recommendation, and no ef-
fort was made to enact a law in ac
cordance with his suggestions. His
report contained numerous helpful
notes showing the fees charged in
other states. If the Oregon Legislature
had required the payment of the same
fees as are charged in the State of
Iowa, the State of Oregon wouid have
received $3130 from the corporations
last week. At this rate the income
from this source would amount to
5162,760 per year. The failure of the
Legislature to act upon Mr. Dunbar's
recommendation was probably due to
the fact that under the law determin
ing the fiscal year the Secretary's re
port could not be laid before the mem
bers of the . Legislature until the first
week of the session. The law has been
amended so that the biennial reports
may be issued in October or November,
and hereafter the legislators will have
time, before the confusion of the ses
sion begins, to consider the sugges
tions made by the state officers.
The statement printed this morning
concerning the Cascade forest reserve
The Oregonian tried to get from the
records and files of the General Land
Office some weeks ago, but the Infor
mation was then refused. When Com
missioner Hermann found that Infor
mation obtained from other sources
reflected somewhat upen him, he was
prompt to open his files and give out
copies of documents that would tend
to divert criticism from him. The In
teresting question arises, Are the rec
ords of a public office like the Gen
eral Land Office of the United States
for the benefit of the public, or merely
for the personal benefit of the official who
may chance to have charge of them, to
be concealed or exploited as may suit
his personal purposes? Are they to be
opened to public scrutiny only for the
vindication of the Commissioner, and
not for public information? If for the
former purpose, how may the public
know that it has all the facts? What
assurance is there that the whole
story is given out? Secrecy in these
matters is harmful to all concerned.
Light' Is a great, purifying agent.
The fact that in the past ten years
the term of life of the people of the
United States has Increased percep
tibly, while the death rate has de
creased 1 per cent per annum per
1000. as shown by the last census, is
attributed principally to the increase
of sewers and sanitary arrangements
and public water supplies. Modern
sanitation and medical discoveries
have lessened the prevalence of many
diseases, and fewer people die of
typhoid fever, consumption, scarlet
fever, diphtheria, smallpox, croup,
troubles of the nervous system, etc.
On the other hand, certain ailments,
as cancer, Bright's disease, heart dis
ease, dropsy and pneumonia, have
killed off a greater number of people
in the past ten years than in any pre
vious decade. High living and the use
of alcoholic drinks are supposed to have
something to do with this, bat general
ly speaking, owing to improved medi
cal science and sanitation, the span of
life is gradually lengthening.
The patronage of American tourists
is not as satisfactory to Europeans
this season as it has been in former
years. It is complained that the Yan
kee abroad has formed the habit of
using his money cautiously instead of
lavishly. Whether this is the result of
the lesson of the hard times a few
years ago or of years of experience with
foreign money-grabbers of American
coin can only be conjectured. The fact
probably is that the American snob
years ago set the expense pace for
American travelers, and not until this
year have the Wter been able to secure
a "go-as-you-please" gait. It will prob
ably take some time to disabuse the
Continental mind of the idea that all
American travelers are rich, and there
fore 'fair game for cheating and swin
dling. Progress is, however, evidently
being made in this direction, hence the
growls at American parsimony that
are coming across the water.
Major Caukin's letter, elsewhere
printed, is curiously instructive in the
light it sheds upon his school of oppo
sition to pension reform. Censure of
pension frauds he designates as vili
fication of the deserving soldier, which
everybody knows it is not. Pension
reform aims rfot at deserving, but un
deserving. In assuming that the rank
and file of Union veterans are hit by
demands for honest pensions, Major
Caukln comes too near the point of
confession to be just to the great body
of his comrades.
Russell Sage has just had another
birthday, and it is said that it was
necessary to put more than seventy
pennies in the cake. But Russell's
credit is so good that he had no trouble
in borrowing them.
The steel strike is making a pretty
good bluff at longevity, but it should
remember that the Boer War had about
two years the start of it.
The Kansas City papers, which last
month had to be printed on asbestos,
are now shouting about the delightful
moothar in that locality.
DEFECTS IN PENSION SYSTEM.
New York Evening Post.
he New York Times, a few day9 ago,
in its Washington correspondence, pub
lished an item of intelligence from the
rolls of the Pehslon Ofllce which sheds a
ray of light on the system, or want of
system, under which the Federal Treas
ury disburses about $150,000,CC0 per an
num. A report made by Colonel Barnes,
of the Eighth Kentucky Infantry in the
Civil War, describing a reconnolssance In
force at Lookout Mountain, November 24,
1S63, had been examined by the writer,
and an extract from It ls published In
which 17 soldiers were branded by name
for cowardice. They all skulked. One of
them said that he hadbeen sent to the
rear by a superior officer, and as he had
previously behaved well, he' was given
the benefit of the doubt. Turning to the
pension list, the writer finds the name9 of
these 17 men on it at the present time.
Fifteen of them are drawing the pensions
in person. One is represented on the list
by his mother and one by his widow.
The question naturally arises, how did
these 17 men, who took 9uch good care of
themselves in the war 2S years ago, hap
pen to be, without a single exception, pen
sionable persons? A service-pension bill
has not yet been passed. We have not
reached the point of pensioning every
body whose name was on the Army roll,
regardless of the question whether he
received any hurt or disability. Yet it
would seem from this recital as though,
if such a bill were passed, there would be
little scope for Its operation in the Eighth
Kentucky, all the persons living who
might desire to be on the roll having
already found places on it.
It has been a cause of increasing wonder
during the past decade why the ravages
of death do not lessen the amount of tho
penslomappropriatlon bills. This question
Is satisfactorily answered by Mr. F. E.
Leupp in the August number of the Fo
rum. The answer, in brief, Is that the
ravages of deathare counterbalanced by
the multiplication of frauds, which the
most vigilant Commissioner of Pensions
cannot control; and the most discouraging
part of the system 19 that whenever a
Commissioner, or an honest man in public
or private station, starts a movement to
investigate or expose the frauds, he can
make no headway In Congress, but finds
obstacles, Innumerable and insuperable.
thrown In hi3 way and himself frowned
down by an organized public opinion, man
ufactured and wielded by pension agents,
solicitors, touters, clerks, and hangers
on, who probably number 50,000 In the
United States.
Medical examinations are tending to be
come a mere formality, to enable any com
munity where ex-soldiers are found to
"get even" with all other communities in
the drawing of pensions. A special in
stance is 'mentioned by Mr. Leupp where
a medical board of three examiners passed
32 cases as being pensionable for heart
disease, all in one week. This seemed
so extraordinary that 12 of the claimants
were ordered for re-examination before a
medical board In another county, and an
Army surgeon of the Civil War was sent
to witness the re-examinatlon. Not a
single case of heart disease was found In
the 12. To make assurance doubly sure,
the Armv surgeon then personally exam
ined the 12, and he confirmed the report
that not one of them had heart trouble In
any form.
Frauds by personating dead men are
numerous and increasing, and there seems
to be no reason why these should not con
tinue indefinitely. "Of 105 claims filed by
a Tennessee attorney," says Mr. Leupp,
"only eight were found on Investigation
of sufficient merit to have passed the
board if properly prepared; the rest were
wholly fictitious or based on forged pa
pers." An attorney in Indiana, the su
perintendent of a Sunday school, forged
pension papers for friends on the ground
that they were good men and deserved
pensions, although they had never served
in the Army. He said that the dead men
whose names were used "would have been
perfectly willing. If alive and present,
to have sworn to the eame statements."
An attorney of 'Providence, R. I., had
charge of the collection of pensions for
several clients. Whenever one of these
pensioners died, he changed the man's
address at the Pension Bureau to some
other place and went there and obtained
the remittances. He was drawing money
for about 20 of these dead pensioners
vhen he was detected. A soldier in Brook
lvn flndlntr It easy to get a pension for
himself, conceived the idea of personating
some of his dead comrades. He succeeded
In doing this at seven different points in
tho TTnltprl States. No wonder that the
pension list does not shrink with the lapse
of time.
Mr. Leupp's exposure is really startling,
and It raises the query whether there is
strength enough In the country to grap
ple this monstrous abuse. People have
consoled them9alves heretofore with the
reflection that the soldiers of the Civil
War would pass away in the course of
nature, and that then the frauds would
cease, but this is a mistake. If pensions
are given to dead men, and if middle
aged men (as Mr. Leupp affirms) ate
drawing pensions as soldiers' orphans,
there is no apparent reason why the pen
sion appropriation bills should grow any
smaller during the present generation.
The loss of money to the taxpayers Is
the least part of the evil. The poison
that Is spreading through the country, the
demoralization that is communicated to
the young, teaching them that there is no
wrong or harm in cheating the Govern
ment, Is a menace to society. It cannot
continue without entailing momentous
consequences hereafter.
Responsibility Locntcil.
New York Times.
In commenting in this column the other
day upon the bullion robbery near San
Francisco we endeavored to characterize
the fellows who did the job by calling
them "spacious villains." So the phrase
was written, and it seemed to its lnvent
oror adapter or adopter to be neat, but
not gaudy, and to suit the circumstances
of the case as well as any other he would
be likely to find in the time at his dls
posaU "Spacious villains," however, did
not meet the approval of the linotype ma
chine through which this particular piece
of "copy" made the first stage of its
devious journey to the public eye, and, ex
ercising that stern but loving supervision
which these marvelous Inventions regard
as a part of their duty, it changed "spa
cious" into "specious," thereby forming
a combination of words which, though
utterly irrelevant and meaningless, as ap
plied to the California brigands, pleased
the machine vastly better Because or us
long established familiarity. "The editor
person must have meant 'specious vil
lainp,' " the Spirit of the Linotype mur
mured, "because everybody always says
'specious villains' whenever opportunity
arises or can be made, and 'specious vil
lains' it shall be." So It Was, In im
mutable print, the next day, and the
editor person, who knows his plac sftid
nothing, and, being unable to look happy
over the change, looked 'as happy as he
could. But he will be silent no longer, for
here comes the Utlca Observer with the
statement that to call the robbers of the
Selby Company "specious villains" was an
offense as heinous as that of the men
who stole the gold. The statement is
true, but let the responsibility for the
dreadful, though doubtless involuntary,
pun linotype machines never jest lie
where it belongs, and that is on th6 lino
type machine that made it. We are
deeply grieved at finding ourselves com
pelled thus publicly to reveal the secrets
of the office, but compelled we are by a
desperate sense bf cruel wrong, and now.
the revelation effected, let the conse
quences be what thej- may.
A Good Democratic Plntform.
Philadelphia Press.
There seems to be one point on which
the Democratic factions can unite, and
that is opposition to Mr. Bryan. And this
suggests that the next Democratic plat
form consist of one plank of three words
only, reading: "Down with Bryan." That
might rally the party and enable it to
go to defeat in 1904 as comfortably as it
could oh any platform.
WHERE IRELAND HAS BEST OF IT
Chicago Record-Herald.
Ireland, as Mr. Davltt says, has lost
nearly half her population, but it Is re
markable how she has held on to her rep
resentation in Parliament. Here, at least,
she has no grievance, but exceptional
privilege which Is beyond anything
dreamed of by the states which scheme
for the best of it in our Congressional ap
portionments. The population and non-university rep
resentation of the different parts of the
United Kingdom are now as follows:
Popula- Represen
tion. tation.
England 30.812.S53 4C0
Wales 1.710.317 30
Scotland 4,471,037 70
Ireland 4,450,510 101
There are Irregularities which would
require a reapportionment for the various
English counties, but taking England as
a whole her representation Is as 1 to
66.06S. That basis would entitle Ireland
to only 67 members, Scotland to 6S and
Wales to 25. There was a redistribution
of seats In 1SS5. but the excess in Ireland
and Wales Is explained by the fact that
they were unaffected by it. Six additional
members were given to England and
12 to Scotland, which until then had
had only 60 members all told.
Other comparisons will serve to bring
out more vividly the overrepresentatlon
of Ireland. The great manufacturing dis
trict of Lancashire has a population of
4.375.471, about S0.000 le3s than Ireland's,
but its representation Is only 57, or 44 less
than Ireland's. The four counties, Mid
dlesex, Surrey, Kent and Essex, have a
population of more than S.OCO.OOO, nearly
double that of Ireland, and a representa
tion of 99, two less than that of Ireland.
An analysis recently printed In the Pall
Mall Gazette shows that upon the basis
of 1 to 66.06S the greatest relative loss In
England would fall upon the five Eastern
counties Lincoln, Norfolk, Suffolk. Cam
bridge and Hunts. They would lose 11
members 'for a population of 1,5S7,S15.
But even they are not so largely over
represented as Ireland, and they could
hardly complain legitimately against a
reduction if they were.
As tho House of Commons Is a very
large body (nearly twice the size of our
House of Representatives) it would seem
as though a general reduction were desir
able, but if that is not proposed and
a ratio be derived from the present popu
lation and representation of the whole
kingdom Instead of from those of England
alone. It will be found to be 1 to 62.715;
and It leads to the following exhibit:
Entitled to Actual
. members, members. Gn. Less.
England and Wales. 510 4JM 29
Scotland 71 70 1
Ireland 71 101 .. 30
Such a change would affect the balance
of power considerably by weakening Ire
land and strengthening the Unionists cen
ters of England at the same time.
Rcpnblicnn Solicitude for Democrats.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
All is not gloom In the horizon of the
St. Louis Globe-Democrat since the Ohio
Democrat convention, notwithstanding the
clouds with which the action of that body
overcast the Republican sky, as purveyed
from this Republican organ's conning
tower.
It sees a star of hope in Mr. Bryan's
proposal to fight the Ohio Democrats.
"Ho will work with all his power," re
joices the Globe-Democrat, "to defeat
the unholy alliance of the Cleveland-Mc-Lcan-Johnson
aggregation, which has
started out to efface the men who swayed
the conventions of 1S96 and 1900, and who
fought the battles of the Democracy in
those National campaigns."
What an estimate the Globe-Democrat
must put upon the Intelligence of "the
men who swayed the conventions of 1S93
and 1900" If It assumes that they do not
see through this Republican interest In
them now.
In the connection a paragraph from the
Philadelphia Record is pertinent:
"It would be natural to expect that
such Republican journals as the Tribune
and the Sun, of New York, would rejoice
In the Indication which came from the
Ohio Democracy that the Democratic
party does not Intend to continue under
the leadership of Mr. Bryan. These news
papers could hardly find words strong
enough to express their feelings against
the policy that was most distinctly urged
by Mr. Bryan in his first campaign. Now,
however, they appear to be disturbed by
the injustice of the treatment which the
Ohio Democrats have accorded to the re
cent leader. They would like to arouse
the remaining friends of free silver to the
importance of holding the party to the
standard of Mr. Bryan. There Is a sus
picion that the Tribune and the Sun are
not sincere when they give advice to
Democrats."
Other Republican organs are playing
similar tunes Just now. But they should
have a care. A very little of that kind
of music is enough to defeat its ob
ject. Mr.
Havemeycr'H Rntlnpf.
Chicago Tribune.
It was reported on Wall street last Mon
day that Mr. Henry O. Havemeyer, the
president of the sugar trust, .was seri
ously ill. Thereupon sugar stock fell from
133 to l9tf. It did not recover until
word came that Mr. Havcneyer was in no
danger. It must be pleasing to a man at
the head of a great business enterprise to
be able to learn to what extent the out
side world looks on its prosperity as de
pendent on his life. That there Is such a
dependence, especially in the ca.e of a
quaBi-speculatlve enterprise, is undeniable.
The death of ex-Governor Flower worked
havoc with the stocks of one or two of his
companies. Mr. Havemeyer has found out
that his serious Illness Is rated at a lit
tle over four points. His death would be
rated at as much again, perhaps. This is
the Wall-street standard of the Import
ance of men. No tedrs drop when a man
of some consequence Is sick or dies, but
quotations drop. Then, after he has died
and has been buried but a short time,
quotations usually go up again. Wall
street finds out that the Interests he looked
after are managing to get along tolerably
well without him.
Hott to Prevent IiyncniiiRs.
Indianapolis News.
It Is foolish for the people of the North
to make any hypocritical pretensions of
superiority over those of the South, or to
pretend that they would not, under the
same circumstances, act much in the same
way. The thing to do is to encourage the
sentiment against lynching everywhere,
and to stand firmly for the rigid and or
derly enforcement of the law.
Chivalry Is Not Dead.
, New York World.
The seizure of a little postofflce from
a Kentucky woman 'for a spoilsman does
not mean that chivalry is dead In tb
Blue Grass State, but that the politicians
are on top with the kind assistance of
the one-time civil service reformer Wil
liam McKinley.
SlnRlnpr of Good Times.
Frank L. Stanton. In Atlanta Constitution.
Let us sing: about the good times in the val
les on the hills.
The music of the mocldns birds the Joy of
all the rllls;
Let us ee in all the Winters, where the snow
lies chill and deep.
The soil that yearns to blossom where the
flowers are safe In sleep.
U. i
Let us sins about the good times; they are
bright on plain and slope.
And all the world Is ringing with the siUery
bells of Hope:
The blue skies bend above us the grass is
green and sweet.
And the violets spread a carpet for the falling:
of Love's feet.-
III.
Let us sins: about the eood times; they are
coming right alone,
And all the world Is sweeter for their hallc-
lula song;
And ho! for Love and llvinar. for no Blessing
Love denies,
And life's a sweet thanksgiving to the glad
tnd answering skies I
NOTE AND COMMENT.
The adjournment of Parliament will
drive the war correspondent back to
South Africa.
President Hays tenure of office seems
to be about as Insecure as that 'of the
Czar of Russia.
If only President Schwab would strike,
the trust would save enough on his sal
ary to tide them over Its other troubles.
How can the Pullman car porters, who
pass the Glendale wreck, bear up under
the spectacle of 10 carloads of ruined
watermelons?
General Gribski. the Governor-General
of Blagovestchensk, has killed himself.
He was undoubtedly making an effort to
tell somebody who he was.
A 20-year-old feud In Vienna was set
tled effectively in a church not long ago.
This method saves two long hauls, but
it is rough on the carriage companies.
Lieutenant Watterson, of Kentucky,
who married a Cuban girl, will not run
any chances when he smokes the cigars
she buys for him. She will try them
herself to see that they are all right.
The typhoid germ notes with consider
able satisfaction that the soldiers In tho
desert military posts prefer to drink the
water in which he abides to the bad
whisky sold by the antl-cantcen saloons
In hot weather.
Diamandi. a native of Pylaros. one of
the Greek Islands. Is a remarkable cal
culator. After a mere glance at a black
board on which thirty groups of figures
are written he can repeat them in any
order and deal with them by any arith
metical process. It Is said that he never
makes an error in calculation Involving
millions, and he can extract square or
cube roots with marvellous rapidity and
accuracy. Diamandi writes poetry and
novels in the i Intervals of business and
shows considerable intellectual capacity.
The poets sins: of budding Sprinff..
Of April's gentle ihoweri.
And many a lay of blooming- May .
Is bright with birds and flowers. '
And January's hoary face
And March's howling: gale,
And February's biting cold.
Fill many a rhjmlng wall, v
July calls forth the comic mus?
That Pins the singed small boy.
And in the tearful Autumn dirge "'
The solemn bard flnds joy.
The Yul-tlde Alls Decembr with
Glad measures not a few.
But poor. hot. smoky August, thers
Is not a song for you.
The San Francsco Argonaut tells this
as a true story: "When the Transvaal
war was at its height, Paul Kruger smnt
a Commissioner to England to find out
If there were any more men left there.
The Commissioner wired from London
to say that there were 4.C0O.0OO men and
women 'knocking about the town;' that
there was no excitement, and that men
were begging to be sent to fight the
Boers. Kruger wired back: 'Go North
The Commissioner found himself In New
castle eventually, and wired to Kruger:
'For God's sake, stop that wart England
Is bringing up men from hell, eight at
a time. In cages I He had seen a coal
mine."
A fruit supposed to bear the mark of
Eve's teeth Is one of the many botanical
curiosities of Ceylon. The tree on which
it grows is known by the significant name
of "the forbidden fruit," or "Eve's applo
tree." The blossom has a very pleusaitt
scent, but the really remarkable feature
of the tree, the one to which It owes Its
'name. Is the fruit. It is beautiful, anil
hang9 from the tree in a peculiar man
ner. Orange on the outside and deep crim
son within, each fruit has the appearance
of having had a piece bitten out of U.
This fact, together with Its polaonoua
quality led the Mohammedans to represent
It as the forbidden fruit of the Garden
of Eden and to warn men against its nox
ious properties.
"The City of Cebu has something like
200,000 inhabitants, but this population i3
largely made up of people who are hud
dled together in native huts." said Cup
tain Going, of the Forty-fourth, Just back
from service in the Philippines, the other
day. "They live year In and year out on
rice and corn. There Is no hunting, but
thousands of small fish, less than six
Inches long, are caught and dried for local
consumption. We had a contract with
an old man who controls the fishing at
Dumanjug, to furnish us with all the big
fish he might catch. Once In two or
three weeks he would bring us a fish
a foot long, but such are very rare. The
natives, even of the lowest classes, are
extremely fond of cock lighting. Thoy
arm the birds with saber gaffs, and noth
ing is regarded as a fight unless both
the birds are killed, the money, of course,
being awarded to the backers of the bird,
that survives the longer-. A native, who
Is able to get as much as 50 cents, know3
no more delightful way to spend It than
to wager It on the outcome of a cock
fight."
PLEASANTRIES OF PAR.VGRAPHEnS
Orange Citizen Did you say he hod on hK
Sunday clothes? Newark Man Tea, he hod
on his golf suit. Yonkers statesman.
Deaf and Dun. ). "How many serants have
the "WrltleysT "Two. a deaf cook and a
dumb waiter."" Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
"Man wants but little here belov," remarked
the landlady "Ard hore Is the place to get
it." continued the facetious boarder. Tit-Bits.
Very True. Sunny South De -world owea
eery man a. living Brake O'Day Yea; but
It costs more ter collect It dan wot it's worth.
Puck.
"I had a good Job on hand last night." said
the first burzlar, "but I was stopped by an
open-faced watch." "Get-out!" "Fact. H
-was a bulldog in the yard." Philadelphia Rea
ord. Taking No Chances. First Caddie Wot hev
yer got dot breastplate an' muzzle on ferl
Second Caddie Vc wlmTn olr goin' ter play
terday an I ain't takin any chance-i. Ohio
State Journal.
Her Opinion. The Captain Why. yes; we
can tell when a storm is approaching. There
are weather prophets at sea." The Passen
ger I hope they are not so often at sea na
those on land. Puck.
Characteristic "I wonder Jiow Admiral
Dewey will start that court of Inquiry?" "I
suppose he'll look around and say, 'You may
begin firing, gentlemen, 'when you are ready.' "
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Our Remarkable Language. Mrs. Snaggv
They must have somt bis pistol? out West.
Mr. Snaggs Why? Mrs. Snaggs There's some
thing in the papr about a train robber cover
ing a conductor with a Tevotver. Plttibur;?
Chronicle-Telegraph.
Heroic Measures. "Miss Creeoher says th
neighbors don't appreciate her singing becaus
they haven't cultlvatsd ears." "Cultivated?
Well. I guess they will have If they keep oa
listening; to such harrowing sounds." Phila
delphia Evening Bulletin.
A Constant Reminder. Dusnap I see yau
call your naphtha launch after your wlf.
Bertwhlstle (working over launch engine, per
splringly Yes; because whenever I want to.
go anywhere with it. it takes so long t)4fr
it gets ready to start! Puck.
The Up-to-Date Girl. Of eourse. it waa all
the result of her business training. "B mine,'
he urged. And started to plead his case. "My
dear sir," she replied, "put your proposal fn
writing and submit It by mall I have no
time to listen to oral arguments." Chicago
PcJrt.