THE', MORNING OEEGONIAN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1901,
te v&Qoxawa
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Tacoma Postotfiie.
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Tribune building. New Tork City; 409 "The
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Por sale Ja Fan Francisco by J. K. Cooper.
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YESTERDAY'S "WEATHER Maximum tem
perature. 4; minimum temperature, 50; fair.
TODAY'S WEATHER Fair; cooler; westerly
n inds.
. J
PORTLAND, THURSDAY, AUGUST 29.
CALAMITY OP TRADE.
Out of Germany comes unexpected
and unintended light upon the bogy of
international tariff combat, making its
portentous figure as translucent as
Hamlet's ghost to the eyes of the
Queen-Mother. It is iittlng that IradG
enlightenment should rise in benighted
Germany and shed its rays on Darkest
America; for nowhere is the mutual
profit of trade so studiously and relig
iously unknown.
All the world knows that the United
States and Great Britain, by virtue of
facile production, have been pouring
into Germany prodigious supplies of
cheap iron and steel. This influx of
first-class raw material at low prices
might have seemed to a practical eye
a source of delight. The Bismarck and
McKinley school, however, knows that
it is not so, but that, on the other hand,
these exports from the United States
to Germany rush into that land like
devouring and devastating demons, im
posing upon the paternal government
of the Vaterland the duty ofarising
in holy might to repel the awful invad
ers. Just what has happened to Germany
as the result of this Invasion appears
in yesterday's dispatches. Her im
ports of pig iron grew from 462,000 tons
in 1897 to 930,000 in 1900, and those of
rough ironware from 43,000 tons to 73,
000 tons. "What became of this supply?
"Well, the Germans were thus enabled
by cheap raw material to increase their
output and sales of manufactured iron
abroad. And on this wise:
1807. ' 1000.
Iron and iron -work $82,000,000 $118,000,000
Machines 30.000.000 40,000,000
Roiling stock and ships 3,000,000 D.OOO.oOO
Cast machines 107,000 235,000
And so on.
Germany's Imports of cheap iron
have been a blessing to her instead of
a curse, while every pound imported
has perpetuated by that much the
stores In her own mines. An illumin-.
ative comment on the process is a re
cent utterance of the secretary of the
Cobden Club, who said, in a different
connection:
It may be that your superior natural ad
vantages, and the superior alertness of your
workmen, will outweigh the load you hav
placed upon your Industry by your protective
tariff, and that you will be able to carry'
your goods across the Atlantic and under
hid our producers. Even that prospect does
not alarm us. There "was a time when Eng
land exported -wheat to the United States.
For a century we have ceased to do so, and
for a half a century we have been largely
dependent upon you for our dally bread, and
yet we go on and continue to smile. If you
can send us cheaper steel than we can make
ourselves we shall gladly buy It, for It will
enable us to produce ships and machinery
even more cheaply than now.
The sublime and happy goal of trade
is exports and imports constantly com
ing and going. The international ely
sium is not where one power is pouring
iron or wool ceaselessly into another
power, but where both iron and wool
are flowing freely and profitably north
or south across the Channel, east or
west across the Atlantic, homebound or
outbound through Suez or Nicaragua.
Cheap raw material, it Is easy to see,
is a blessing; but in truth it is no
greater blessing than cheap finished
products. Germany is no more to be
felicitated upon her desirable imports
of Iron than is Great Britain to be fe
licitated upon cheap machines .from
Germany wherewith to spin her cotton
and card her flax. It is a heathenish
view of trade which pities the English
public for the infliction of speedy Amer
ican locomotives and comfortable
American cars; winch commiserates
the Germans for the excellent Ameri
can bicycles upon which they ride and
which deplores that every American
woman can wear kids from France and
a diamond from Kimberley. The loco
motives we sell Japan are better for
her than the gold.for which she buys
them, and the German toys with which
our Christmas trees are furnished forth
could not be banished without leaving
greater voids here than In the Augs
burg factories. Business is not a ca
lamity, however it is viewed in paleo
logic philosophy. It is as blessed to
buy as to sell.
There has been great development of
a new wheat country in Eastern Wash
ington and Northern Idaho, which the
O. R. & N. railway system does not
reach. This will account for increas
ing shipments to Puget Sound. A wail
ing newspaper at Astoria says the rea
son is that Its town is not given a
"common rate" by the O. R. & N. But
the O. R. & N. doesn't reach the dis
tricts from which the greater part of
the wheat is shipped that Puget Sound
receives. Every person who possesses
information knows that not a single
additional cargo wduld have been
ihipped from the Columbia River since
the Astoria Railroad was built, If not
a single vessel had loaded at Portland,
but every one at Astoria. All the pro
duce of the country traversed exclu
sively by the railroads that terminate
at Puget Sound will be carried to Puget
Sound. "Why shouldn't people at As
toria be ashamed of this irrational
howl? TVhat is wanted Is construction
of some three hundred miles of addi
tional road by the O. It. & N. in the
upper country; particularly in the Big
Bend country and the Clearwater re
gion. This road would nearly double
its tonnage by doing so.
TORXER AS HE TURNS.
The stump speech of Senator Turner, I
purporting to be an Interview, pub
lished In another column, does not, we
take it. call for any extended discus
sion, as its ex parte character-effectively
overshadows its ostensible guise
of imparted Information. There is,
however, one point on which he should
have been more specific.
The Senator's effort is to find some
plausible pretext for abandoning sil
ver, yet the while adhering to the Dem
ocratic position on the money question.
He figures, with true Bryanlc crooked
ness, that the output of gold has met
the difficulties complained of by our
silverine statesmen in 1896, indirectly
approving1 the Democratic demands. of
that year, and has so dulled the popu
lar mind with reference to silver that
present agitation in Its behalf would be
fruitless; yet that the silver doctrines
are as true as theyever were and their
adoption now would "not only improve
present conditions, but preclude the cer
tainty of future disaster." The Chi
cago platform is true as ever, but the
people, in mistaken security, won't
stand for it.
Now the fact Is that the production of
gold does not satisfy any demand of
the Bryanic philosophy. The complaint
has been against "gold monometalism,"
which "has resulted in fall in the prices
of commodities produced by the people,
a heavy increase in the burden of tax
ation and of all debts, public and pri
vate, the enrichment of the money
lending class at home and abroad, pros
tration of industry and impoverishment
of the people." This policy of "gold
monometalism" was what had "locked
fast the prosperity of an industrial
people in the paralysis of hard times."
And the remedy, definitely prescribed,
wxis the free coinage of silver at 16 to 1. '
But the record is that the gold-standard
policy was not abandoned, but
strengthened. Silver WAS 110t given free
coinage at the mints, out rrom it was
withdrawn the support it had in the
Sherman purchase law. The causes al
leged to be promotive of disaster were
intensified, and produced prosperity.
The remedy laid down for relief was re
pudiated and the promised doom failed
to fall. There is no demand of the
Chicago and Kansas City platforms
that is met by the increasing output of
gold. Silver has been further "de
graded," jiot restored, and the crime of
'73 goes unavenged.
The extension of gold in our currency
and the relief afforded through aug
mented bank circulation are phenom
ena at sword's points with the Demo
cratic position. Gold, discoveries and
development may be set down as the
legitimate result of the gold standard,
quite as much as of unforeseen acci
dent. The free coinage of silver now
would produce trouble instead of "Im
prove present conditions," precisely as
our silver poliices of 1878 and following
years Induced the panic of 1893 aod the
dreary struggles up to the election of
1896. As for restoration of silver pre
cluding "the certainty of future dis
aster." this is a most preposterous im
possibility, which discredits the intel
ligence of its author. Nobody in his
right mind predicts the cessation of
commercial disaster, least of all
through debasement of the currency.
To one other point we would invite
Senator Turner's attention. He says
that the trusts "would be impossible
,in this country without the tariff wall
to protect them." What we want to
know is what the tariff has to do with
Standard Oil, with the anthracite coal
trust, with the coffee trusts, with the
Tammany ice trust, with the cop
per ore trust, with the salmon
trust, with 'the railway trusts, the
ready print trust, the gas trusts,
the telephone and electric light combi
nations, or any of the great trusts or
ganized for monopolization of business
fields outside the production of manu
factured goods. And oh this point our
columns are open for a reply. Protec
tion has sins enough to answer for
without such misrepresentation.
OBJECT-LESSON IX FOREST WASTE.
The State of New Hampshire has
500,000 acres of spruce forest, of which
about 300,000 acres are situated in the
White Mountain district. It -Is esti
mated that at the present rate of de
struction the entire area will be cut
over in ten years. The lumbermen are
cutting off all the large trees, and the
owners of pulp mills are sweeping away
all the small spruce. The state unfor
tunately, in the spirit of very short
sighted public policy, a number of
years ago sold all its forest lands for
a song. Had the state adopted the
wise policy of retaining public owner
ship of the woodland acreage of the
White Mountains, this area could have
been preserved and developed under a
Forestry Commission. But under the
present conditions greater ravages are
making upon the woodland area of
New Hampshire than upon any other
section of the American forest belt.
This spruce belt, through accessibility
to market, ease of removal and superior
quality of product, is in danger of early
exhaustion.
There is a Forestry Commission, ap
pointed in 1S93, but it can do nothing
beyond trying to persuade the propri
etors of the lumber and pulp mills that
for their own ultimate welfare a policy
of restriction ought? to be adopted.
Some of the larger lumber companies
employ foresters, and in many cases
less wasteful and reckless methods than
formerly are now pursued. There is
considerable public sentiment in favor
of forest preservation, due to a grow
ing appreciation of the scenic value of
the forests. The Forestry Commission
argues that the Summer-boarding in
terests of New Hampshire, now bring
ing an annual revenue of upwards of
510,000,000 Into the state, would be Im
paired, if not destroyed, if the mountain
sides are stripped of their, green cover
ing. The probability is that the work
of destruction will proceed until the
forests are swept away by the axT for
the Legislature shows no disposition to
help the commission.
Last Winter the Legislature promptly
voted down the proposal that the state
exercise the right of eminent domain
and purchase the timber lands of the
White Mountain district and convert
the region into a perpetual forest pre- j
serve. Another proposal that was re
fused enactment was a measure of re
strictive legislation forbidding the cut
ting of spruce, pine or hemlock trees
under twelve inches in diameter, but
which should not apply to persons cut
ting timber or wood for domestic con
sumption or clearing land for agricul
tural purposes.. So it seems that New
Hampshire friends of sound forestry
legislation are too late. Their time to
act was. when the state was consider
ing the sale of its forest area. "When
that sale was completed the mischief
was wrought that it is too late to undo.
The great lumber and pulp mill com
panies will be strong enough to defeat
all restrictive legislation until they
have skinned the mountains com
pletely of their forests.
The people of the state as a whole are
too poor, or at least think they"are too
poor, to purchase the woodland moun
tain area for a permanent forest pre
serve. New York has rescued a good
deal of her Adirondack forests from de
struction, because the state was wise
enough not to sell all its forest land,
and it Is rich enough and enlightened
enough to adopt the policy of purchas
ing forest lands as a permanent forest
preserve. But New Hampshire is a
email, poor and provincial common
wealth; and through her original folly
in selling all her forest lands for a
song she is bound to lose all her spruce
timber within a few years. As an ob
ject-lesson in short-sighted public pol
icy, the example of New Hampshire
ought to be worth something to the
timber states of the Pacific Coast.
CANADIAN"DIVORCE LAWS
With singularly mistaken zeal, some
writers and occasionally preachers are
never happier than when they picture
Canada as a blessed haven of happy
homes, where law and order are ob
served to a degree not noticeable in
the United! States, and where divorce
is practically unknown. A recent re
port of the Canadian Minister of Jus
tice says: "There is no official publi
cation of divorces granted by the Par
liament of Canada, but a reference 'to
the statutes shows that In 1899 four -divorces
wTere granted, and that in 1900
five were granted. This, however, does
not include divorces granted by divorce
courts in the maritime provinces, of
which there are no statistics in the de
partments." Happy Canada! Just to think of it
only five divorces In Canada excluding
the maritime provinces for the whole
of last year. Clitics of divorce state?
that as it is unusually difficult to ob
tain a divorce in Canada, husbands and
wives bury their common differences
and quarrels in that favored land, since
they swore to take each other at the
marriage altar until death parted them,
and they know they cannot appeal to
a divorce court to break marital bonds
that become hateful. Theerfore they
live together, come weal or come woe.
But that pretty picture of domestic
felicity in Canada is not a correct
one. it does not stana tne searuuntjut
of inquiry. Husbands and wives in
Canada, like those of other lands, have
their family tragedies when hearts are
broken and happines vanishes. Yet
these good Ganadians do obtain di
vorces from each other but not in.Can
ada. They get divorced in the United
States, and unconsciously help to swell
our divorce returns. Then Canadians
In Canada say, "Those terrible Amer
ican divorces!"
Any one who has lived in Canada for
a year or two cannot but be struck
with the number of "grass widows"
who have husbands in the States, and
husbands whose wives are vaguely
stated to be "across the border." A
great many of the absent ones are those
who have obtained divorces that are
only legal in America. Therefore they
continue to live in America, to prevent
themselves being arrested, should they
dare return to the land of their birth.
Lately, when a married couple dis-
agreed in Ontario, the wife suddenly
disappeared, and next month she wrote
from Michigan that she was In the
States to get a divorce.
In Michigan and Pennsylvania a
great many Canadians live who have
become citizens of the great Republic
and who have dissolved hateful ties
from moral lepers through the medium
of American divorce courts. Very few
of the Canadian divorce colony reside
of late years in New York State, on
account of the unsatisfactory divorca
law there, which only grants divorce
for one cause. Today in Canada the
land where there is practically no di
vorce mismated wives, live apart from
husbands and husbands live with other
women who are not their wives. They
cannot get a divorce except by apply
ing to the Parliament of Canada, and
even then their appeal may be in vain.
Better by far are our more liberal
American divorce laws so liberal that
neither party to a marriage contract
dare break marriage vows, knowing
full well what the, direful consequence
will be. '
It would be only a reasonable regu
lation that the bridges which span the
river at Portland should remain closed
during the noon hour. The .inconven
ience to the few navigators who whistle
them open at that hour would be noth
ing as compared witb that of the hun
dreds, often thousands, of persons who
wish unobstructed passage at that time
of the day. It is often that an embargo
is laid on movement of passengers at
that hour, to let some little weak
steamer struggling with a rack of logs,
through. If these boatmen knew that
the bridges would not be open at that
hour they could just as well govern
their movements 9 accordingly. The
necessary regulation could be obtained
by appeal to the proper authorities at
Washington City; and The Oregonlan
trusts that, "for accommodation of the
great numbers of persons who partic
ularly desire to use the bridges at that
hour, our delegation in Congress will
attend to it.
Lord George Hamilton, in a recent
speech before the British House of
Commons, said that the .introduction
of the gold standard, in India has
brought about such a marvelous pros
perity that, in spite of three years of
famine and acute depression in the
chief agricultural staples of tea, in
digo and cotton, the Secretary of State
for India has been able to produce the
most favorable balance-sheet since
India came under the crown, forty
years ago. Lord George Hamilton fur
ther said that before long the produc
tion of steel would be begun in India,
and that within the next fifty years the
British Government would possess all
the railways in the country. At pres
ent the India railways belong to pri
vate companies, and have been merely
subsidizedby the government, without
whose aid they' would become bank
rupt. They will gradually become gov- j
ernmeht property, just as the telegraph
service and the postal service and the
public " savings banks belong to the
Government of India today. India has
to'day about 15,000 miles of railroad on
the standard gauge of 5 feet 6 inches,
and about 10,000 miles on the meter
gauge. "With the exception of -the chief
officers and the engine-drivers, the of
ficers of the India railways are natives,
chiefly Hindoos and Mohammedans.
The rate of speed seldom exceeds
thirty miles an hour. The annual pas
senger travel is about 160,000,000 of peo
ple; the goods traffic Is estimated at
30,000,000 tons a year.
Recent experiments in Cuba leave no
doubt that yellow fever may be trans
mitted by the bite of a mosquito. The
mosquito that has bitten a yellow fever
patient may carry the disease to a
well person, by biting that person after
ward. Several courageous men who of
fered themselves for the experiment in
Cuba are dead, and it is not probable
that more will volunteer to put their
lives in peril so deadly. But these
proofs and demonstrations In Cuba
were scarcely needed. The fact that
yellow fever may be propagated
through one kind of mosquito, and ma
larial fever through another kind, had
been established some time before, In
various parts of the world. Italian
physiologists have perhaps been fore
most in these demonstrations.
The Vicksburg (Miss.) Herald points
out that the administration of justice
by mobs in Southern communities does
not even have the effect of stopping
the crime against which It Is aimed.
The Herald recently went over the list
and found twenty lynchings had oc
curred in the State of Mississippi
within the past six months. So far
from this doing good, the Herald de
clares that -there is now in some coun
ties "a virtual dethronement of law;
that the demoralization consequent
upon the mob is creating a social con
dition that increases instead of lessens
the Insecurity of womanhood," a situ
ation that has always resulted wher
ever the solemn, calm, deliberate ad
ministration of the courts of justice
has been usurped by mob law.
The name of the bark Lausanne,
notable amng vessels that came to
Oregon in pioneer times, was misspelled
in The Oregonlan yesterday. The ob
ject of this paragraph is to have the
name appear in correct form.
The end. of the steel strike Is In. sieht.
but it is vjust as well to remember in
this connection that the end of the war
in the Transvaal has been visible for
more than a year.
Governor Pennoyer is keeping so
quiet that it might be well for such
of his brother Democrats as believe
him disposed of to dredge in his harbor
for mines.
Lord Kitchener has determined to end
the Boer War September 15. It seems
to be more of a fight against time than
against the Boers.
Carnegie must have expected the
steel strike. He subsidized libraries in
stead of soup kitchens.
It might open the eyes of the potato
to see the figures opposite it In the mar
ket quotations.
The "terrible Turk" Is terrible only
when considered as a hopeless dead
beat.
LIBRARIES OF THE UNITED STATES
Chicago Tribune.
The latest report on the subject of pub
lic libraries, just issued by the United
States Bureau of Education, bears testi
mony to the fact tfhat the libraries of this
country, comparatively young as it'is. are
making rapid progress, and as methods of
popular education are now unexcelled by
those of the Old World. The statistics
cited 'in the report are eloquent in their
suggestiveness.
There are now 53S3 public libraries, con
taining more than 1000 volumes each, 3S78
having 300 Volumes and over, but less
than 1000, while many thousands have
fewer than 300 volumes each. The total
number of volumes in all these public li
braries having over 300 volumes each is
46,610,509. In five years the gain has been
in libraries, 2077; volumes, 12,014,251. The
circulating libraries last year Issued over
5S,0O0,O0O volumes. Add to this great ac
cumulation and output of books the cor
respondingly large private reference li
braries of scholars and collections of rare
and curious books, like that, for instance,
made by the late John Flslte, and the
sum total will demonstrate that the Amer
ican people are not wholly given over to
the pursuit of the, dollar, but have literary
ambitions and intellectual attainments in
the book line quite equal to the older
communities of the world.
If the report of the United States Bu
reau of Education were brought down to
date it would show still more astonishing
figures than those above quoted. It!
would show that in money contributions
and in gifts of books and pamphlets a
money value of more than $16,000,000 was
added to the library fund of the country.
It would also show that' Mr. Carnegie's
munificence is preparing the way for a
still greater increase In the number of
libraries and their endowments, in iaya
he gave ?3;503,500 for 31 libraries, in 1900
$645,000 for 19 libraries, and in 1901 to date
?12,14i,500 for S6 libraries, a total ror tne
three years of $16,297,000 for 139 libraries,
all of which,- with one or two exceptions,-
are new. Such liberality as this. lias naa
and will continue to have a stimulating
effect upon others, as has been shown In
the numerous Instances where wealthy
men have erected libraries in their native
places ad memorials of themselves or of
some of their family. These quiet but
potent Influences are leavening the whole
lump of American life. The public li
braries show that the American people,
and particularly the working people, have
the reading habit quite as much as the
dollar habit, and the immense catalogue
of private libraries on special subjects,
recently compiled in Germany, shows that
American scholarship, particularly in
original research already ranks with that?
of the Old World.
Pensions Good and Bad.
Philadelphia Public Ledger.
The payment of liberal pensions to hon
orable soldiers who rendered valiant serv
ice to their country is a duty cheerfully
and gladly performed by every good citi
zen. The money wasted on unworthy sol
diers is the smallest of the evils of a dis
honest pension roll, but the fraud, per
jury deceit, injustice and dishonesty
which surrounds a gigantic rotten pen
sion roll is a menace to the strongest na
tion. Quay's Democratic Hold.
Louisville Post.
If there had been an honest, aggressive
and capable Democratic organization in
Pennsylvania during the last three years
there would not be the slightest doubt of
the overthrow of the boss in the ap
proaching election, if it had not already
been accomplished. But Quay has had
the Pennsylvania Democracy In his grasp
so long that there is little hope of effect
ive escape from his yoke this year.
THE THIRST FOR BLOOD.
New York Evening Post.
The occurrences at Pierce City, Mo.,
during the past three days merit the at
tention of the whole country. On Sun
day afternoon a -young, white woman,
who had attended church in the town and
started alone for her home In the coun
try, was found by her brother, who had
lingered behind, lying dead, with her
throat cut, near a railroad culvert, with
evidence that she had had a terrible
struggle with some person who had as
sailed her. A copper-colored negro had
been sitting on the bridge a short time
before the tragedy ocurred. Great ex
citement prevailed, and a mob was soon
organized which decided that a negro
named Godley was the guilty man, and
on Monday night he was put to death.
Thus far there had been nothing to dis
tinguish this lynching from the frequent
cases where a "mob of white men takes
vengeance on a black man for "the usual
crime." But as time passed, the excite
ment which had raged in the town
spread throughout the surrounding coun
try, and by Tuesday morning crowds of
men had poured into Pierce City, which
is near the junction of four railroads,
by trains from all directions. The grand
father of Godley had been put to death
at about the same time with him. On
Tuesday morning the mob cremated Peter
Hampton, an aged negro, in his home-,
set the torch to the houses of five blacks,
and with the aid of state militia rifles
stolen from the local company's arsenal,
drove thirty negro families from their
homes, many of them hiding In the sur
rounding woods. The excitement died
down about neon, and the mob dispersed,
"more from lack of negroes upon whom
to wreak their hatred than from any other
cause." By the time that something
like order had been restored, the conclu
sion was general that the negro who had
been lynched was not the guilty man; an
other against whom suspicion was
aroused came so near being lynched as
to incriminate a third, in order to save
his own life; two others who are also
suspected have been caught in places
some distance away.
The significance of all this only ap
pears when one inquires where Pierce
City is, and what sort of people inhabit
the region. It is In the southwestern
corner of Lawrence County, which is in
the southwestern corner of MIsouri, and
is separated by only one county from
Arkansas on the south and Kansas and
Indian Territory on the west. The section
is Inhabited almost exclusively by whites,
Lawrence County in 1S90 having only
364 blacks out of population of 26,225;
the adjoining County of Newton 681 out of
22.09S; Jasper, 913 out of 50.484; Barry, 97
out of 22,943; and McDonald but 3 out o
11,273. The voters of this section are di
vided almost evenly between the two
parties, Lawrence having gone for Mc
Kinley last year by 239 plurality, and
Barry, McDonald and Newton for Bryan
by pluralities ranging from 204 to Ail.
while Jasper, the most populous. gflVG
Iclvlnlej- ST31 votes ana Bryan 0G60.
Pierce City has churches, schools, and all
the other characteristics of a progressive
town In a civilized country.
These facts show that the latest out
break of lynch law on a great scale is with
out any of those excuses which are some
times plausibly made in behalf of white
people living in the "black -belt" of the
South. The colored population of the
town, as of all that section of the state,
Is but a trfllng percentage of the whole
number of people. It Is Impossible that
the whites shall live in the dread of the
blacks which undoubtedly exists in re
gions where the blacks outnumber them
10 to 12 times. The administration of
justice is, of course, absolutely con
trolled by the whites, and there cannot
be the slightest difficulty from race causes
about the proper punishment by the
courts' of any colored offender. If the
people had waited until the real criminal
of last Sunday had been caught and his
guilt had been shown, there could have
been no question about his conviction.
The only reason alleged for the action of
the mob in Its wholesale operations yes
terday is that "the citizens of Pierce
City say that, as negroes"have committed
several crimes In the last 10 years, none
shall live there in the future, the same
feeling already existing at Monett, four
miles east of Pierce City, and the end
of the 'Frisco passenger division."
The Pierce City occurrences 6how that
there is developing a thirst for blood, a
craze for vengeance, which is most alarm
ing. Every day brings some fresh re
port which illustrates the same tendency..
In Grayson County, Texas, a white
woman was murdered on Saturday last.
A negro was suspected of the crime
whether justly or not, does not appear;
he was captured by a mob of whites,
and was burned last night. The dispatch
which tells the story contains a passage
that shows how the passion for torture,
which we used to consider characteristic
of the savage, is now exhibited' by the
superior race without any sense of shamp:
"The negro was taken to a tree, and
swung In the air. Wood and fodder were
piled beneath his body and a hot fire was
made. Then it was suggested that the
man ought not to die too quickly, and he
was let down to the ground, while a
party went to Dexter, about two miles
distant, to procure coal oil. This was
thrown on the flames and the work com
pleted." Where is this sort of thing to end? What
is to become of a comunlty of whites
which puts blacks to death on mere sus
picion, and drives whole families from
their homes because several crimes have
been committed by persons belonging
to their race during the past 10 years?
What have we left of civilization when
hundreds of men, having in their power an
alleged criminal, will not even put him
to death promptly, but deliberately pro
long the most ingenious tortures? This
may be only "a parochial problam." but
It is a very real one, and it presses for
solution.
Weary of Free Silver.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
The Iowa Democrats, who have no
earthly chance of carrying the state,
reaffirmed by about a dozen majority
the JCansas City platform, while declar
ing that the campaign should be pitched
upon state Issues. Now comes Mr. rtrn-
llps, the nominee ror uovernor, wun a.
very back-handed approval of the pro
ceeding. "Of course, I felt," he says,
"that silver, having been twice defeated,
should take a back seat, and rather fa
vored the resolution of the majority. But
the convention adopted the Butler sub
stitute and nominated me to stand upon
It, and that Is where I stand. It only
merely reaffirms the Kansas City action,
after all." It is pretty clear that the
Iowa Democrats are not going to waste
any more time fighting for free silver.
What ScliTval JInt Not Do.
Chicago Journal.
The unions are essential to the welfare
of the great mass of workers. They have
undoubtedly been carried to extremes and
far beyond their capacity for good, but in
the matter of treating with their employ
ers about wages and hours of labor they
have been of vast benefit to employers.
Demagogues have controlled them and
have worked much mischief both to tho
unions and the employers at times, but in
their legitimate sphere they are all-important
and should receive every encour
agement. If Mr. Schwab Is trying to
overthrow them simply because they are
unions, he 'will meet with no co-operation
or sympathy from the public.
. A Brave Sheriff.
New York Times.
Sheriff North, of St. Clair County, Ala
bama, has done more for the good repute
of his state than any other Alabamian
we have heard of for some time. It Is one
thing to string up or burn a helpless
negro, and quite another to confront a
Sheriff's pistol with assurance that he
will use It. Lynching parties will not be
a popular amusement in St. Clair County
while Mr. North remains , Sheriff of the
same. In spite of the lawless element in
it, he has given it a name for abiding the
law for which all Its respectable citizens
ought to he very much obliged to him.
SUEZ CANAL FIGURES.
The Suez Canal traffic has been used as
a basis for estimating the probable busi
ness that will be done by way of an
Isthmian canal. A recent Teport from
Consul-General John G. Long, at Cairo,
contains a statement of the navigation of
the Suez Canal for the year 1900. as Is
sued by the British directors of that
waterway. This report is exciting a good
deal of Interest, and is as follows:
The net tonnage for the past year shows
a decrease of 157,477 tons, as compared
with that of 1SS9, but an increase of 499,
549 tons, as compared with that of 1S33.
The transit receipts, which In 1S99
amounted to 91.31S.772 francs ($17,624,230)
and were higher than in any previous year
since the opening of the canal, fell to 90,
623,603 francs ($17,490,256) in 19C0, being a
decrease of 095,164 francs.
The number of vessels which passed
through the canal was 3503 In 1S93. 3607 In
1S59 and 3141 in 1900, of which 2295 in 1&93,
2310 In 1S99 and 1935 in 1S0O carried the
British flag.
There has consequently been a falling
off In the tonnage of British vessels, wnich
amounted to 6,297.743 tons In 1S9S, 6.5S6.319
tons in 1S99, and 5.605.421 tons in 1900. Dur
ing the same period the tonnage from
German vessels has Increased from s&,
597 tons in 1S9S to 1,070,767 in 1S99, and 1,466,
391 tons in 1900.
Of 2407 merchant vessels and vessels in
ballast, of a net tonnage of 6.612.316 tons,
passing through the canal. 1661 ships of a
net tonnage of 4.7C5.631 tons were British,
being fully 69 per cent of the number
and fully 71 per cent of the tonnage; 291.
or 12 per cent, were German vessels, whose
tonnage was 11.1 per cent of the whole;
France. Holland and Austria-Hungary
combined furnishing a total of 11.8 per
cent of the vessels and 9.6 per cent of the
tonnage of the carrying trade to the East
through the Suez Canal.
In the 10 years 18S9-9S the annual net
tonnage ranged from 6.7S3.1S7 tons to
9,238,603 tons, and the transit receipts from
66,167,579 francs to S5.294.769 francs ($12,770.
343 to $16,461,890). The average of the net
tonnage, was 7.S92.S97 tons, and of the
transit receipts 75,126,933 francs (514.489.4S9),
while in 1900 the net tonnage was 9.73S.152
tons and the transit receipts
amounted to 90.623.60S francs ($17,490,356).
The mean net tonnage per vessel also
rose from 1951 tons In 1SS9 to 2743 tons In
1899. as against 2S30 tons in 1900.
The mean duration of passage for all
vessels navigating the canal amounted to
IS hours and 32 minutes In 1900, as com
pared with IS hours and 3S minutes" In
1S99. In 1900 the percentage of vessels
navigating by night was 91.2 per cent,
as against 90.7 per cent in 1S99.
The percentage of vessels drawing less
than 23 feet was 5S.9 In 1S99, as against
62.4 In 1900; while that of vessels draw
ing more than 23 feet was 41.1 In 1S99, as
compared with 27.0 In 1900.
The maximum drart allowed ror vessels
passing through the canal Is 25 feet 7
Inches, and 302 vessels drawing more than
24 feet seven inches used -the canal, as
compared with 3S6 in 1S99 and 374 In 1S9S.
representing a percentage of 10.7 In 1S93.
10.7 in 1S99 and S.S in 1900. It Is hoped
that before long the maximum draft al
lowed will be raised to 26 feet 3 Inches.
It may be of interest to remark that In
1890 only 13 vessels passed through the
canal with a beam of 49 feet 2 inches or
more. Since 1S95 the number has Increased
as follows: Forty-two In 1S95. 6S In 1S96.
92 In 1S97. 123 In 1S98. 159 In 1S39 and 212 in
1900.
The number of troops carried through
the canal in 1900 amounted to 154,249, as
against 10S.552 In 1S99, being an Increas
1
of 29,711 Russian, 2S.770 French, 22.634 Ge
man, 634 Italian, 5S7 Japanese, 319 Dutc
and 297 Portuguese, against a decrease of
13.23S British, S543 Turkish. 7S91 Spanish
and 75S3 American troops, as compared
with 1S99. The number of civilian passen
gers amounted to 1027415 in 1900. as against
SS.616 in. the preceding year, while the num
ber of pilgrims, emigrants and convicts
was 25,530 in 1900, as compared with 25.
179 in 1S90.
In the year 1S70 26.75S civil and military
passengers were carried through the
canal: in 18S0 the number rose to 98.900; In
1900 to 252,203, as against 221.34S in 1S99.
Mr. Littlcfield at Denver.
New York Sun.
There Is no statutory law which pre
vents any American citizen from discuss
ing and doubting and repudiating and de
nouncing. In private or In public, any de
cision of the United States Supreme
Court. There Is. however, a well-defined
provision In the code of American humor
which makes it a misdemeanor In the sec
ond degree of ridiculousness for a lawyer,
probably a member of the bar of the Su
preme Court, to stand up all alone before
the American Bar Association and sol
emnly and on his own hook overrule
the Supreme Court In so Important a mat
ter as that involved in the insular cases.
Yet intention counts for much, and the
Hon. Charles E. Llttlefield, of Maine, who
Is an able man and a very serious per
son, certainly did not Intend to be ludi
crous. Answer to Llttlefield.
Chicago Tribune.
It has been settled that the Insular pos
sessions of the United States arc not to
be given up. The question is not open
for argument. The Important question Is.
therefore, how they shall be governed.
The Supreme Court could have given a
decision which would have made the task
of governing these possessions an ex
tremely difficult one. Happily, It did not
give such a decision. Instead.it gave one
which makes the government of these pos
sessions a comparatively easy task. It is
because the conclusions arrived at by the
majority of the court are so full of rea
sonableness and common sense that Its
decision Is approved of by all Intelligent
people who are not swayed by passion,
politics or unworkable theories.
Perhaps.
Washington Star.
If we could live ten thousand years, perhaps
we'd see this earth
All radiant with smiling and all musical
with mirth.
But men and likewise nations all declare
with warlike zest.
"Woil show you we're the biggest, even
If we're not the best."
And they blow upon the bugles and the mar
tial drums they pound.
And It's weird and weary waiting till a thou
sand years roll 'round;
But at last thero'Il be rejoicing through the
near and distant Iand3,
When we get theso matters settled and we
all
shake
hands.
Thoso who study human nature say that while
It's strange. It's tut-,
That men like each other better when they've
had a flght or two.
Tha hand of many a foeman in all friendli
ness you've gripped.
And you found him a good fellow when you
had him good and whipped.
Tho Chinaman talks nonsense, and the Rus
sian seems to sneeze.
How can we get in sympathy with languages
Hko these?
But perhaps there'll come a time when each
the other understands
And woil get these matters settled and we'll
all
shake
hands.
In City Pent.
William Watson, In The Century.
Oh. sweet at this sweet hour to wander free,
Or follow some Invisible beckoning hand.
Among the moody mountains, where they
stand
Awed with the thought of their own majesty!
Sweet at the folding up of day, to be
Where on the tattered fringes of the land
The uncourted flowers of the penurious sand
Are pale against the pale lips of the sea.
Sweetest to dream, on easeful earth reclined.
Far In some forest's ancient idleness.
Under the shadow of its bossy boles.
Beyond the world's pursuit and Care's access.
And hear the wild feet of the elfin wind.
Dancing and prancing In mad caprioles.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
This weather leaves no necessity for
making any remarks about It.
Newspapers which color their newa
never color It anything but yeilowv
Missouri has only 130 Indians, exclusive
of some of her well-known poUttelaas..
Astoria is now the common point for alt
those who are looking for a high old tiniw
Admiral Crowninshlefe has proved his
right to the title of the Corbin of the
Navy.
Let dogs delight to bark and bite.
And shed good people's gere
For what else do their owners pay
The license on them for?
Of course every girl would make a more
charming Queen of the Regatta tham any
other.
A plow trust will be a hard dig at the
farmers, and will no doubt stir them,
deeply.
Although Sampson and Schley are not
on speaking terms, they are very much.
In speaking terms.
It appears th- correspondents
Are not hustling adequately.
For we don't remember having
Heard of Agutnaldo lately.
Now the Kaiser is raising a beard.
Boreas must be careful or he will be ar
rested for lese majeste.
The ocean will soon be singing Us
mighty symphonies only Into the dull,
cold ears of the unresponsive clam.
What might not the Inquisitors have ac
complished had they been able to pick
up a few pointers in the New South!
Shamrock II could hardly have inspired
more terror had she sailed Into New York
harbor and began bombarding the city,,
Now doth the bad mosquito
Pull off a merry smile.
When he observes the Area In
So many wells of lie.
The King of the Carnival should be
elected immediately, or it will be too lato
for him to extend an Invitation to tha
Czar.
Santos-Dumont has discovered that Da
rius Green's head was level when he said
that lighting was the troublesome thing
about flying.
Tom Johnson 13 wrathful because a
cheap cigar has been named after him.
He feels, perhaps, that hft hasn't rUtfl
tion to burn.
Only five persons were killed In the last
Kentucky feud. Really, the science of
marksmanship must be on the wane ln tho
Blue Grass State.
There was onee a most trucculent Sioux
Who on drinking a whisky or tloux
Unfailingly grloux
So ugly that yloux
He was loaded Instinctively knleux.
Whatever may be said of the honorable
VIceJPresldent, not one who has readi hte
book will accuse him of not attending tho
battle of San Juan Hill.
The Yale man who has succeeded in
splicing a rattlesnake and an adder must
be engaged in the construction of up-to-date
hazing apparatus.
A Coroner's jury has charged a boat
rocker with murder. It bogins to look as
if the cataract had been removed from
the eyes of Chicago justice.
Strange that Homer never thought to
submit his copy to the faculty of the Uni
versity of Chicago before having the ef
frontery to make It Immortal,
The horse may be passing, but the steed
that can trot a mile In two minutes id
still worth considerably more than tho
automobile that holds the same record.
The problem of getting suitable wives
for Princes of the blood will be solved
when the powers divide Turkey. There
will be all the harem before them whera
to choose.
Mrs. Carrie Nation, while on an excur
sion stfeamer on the St. Lawrence River
.i.. ,i.-..f ... M -.. .nr.
f reCculiy, I.UUlUlLliUt;i OClJf UU7 WUU WUE
smoking to throw his cigar away. Eu
gene Foley, a traveling man for a TJtica.
N. Y., shoe house, refused, whereupon
Mrs. Nation undertook to snatch hl3
cigar from his mouth. Foley countered
with his open hand upon the robust cheek
of the reformer.
Maud Muller on a Summer's day
Baked the meadows, sweet with hay.
And something pleasing about her
Inspired J. G. Whittier
To write a poem, which consists
Of wholesome food for parodists.
And now the public, sad and worn.
Wish Mistress Maud had ne'er been bors
The kindest thing Maud could have did
Was to have died when but a kid.
PLEASANTRIES OP PAItAGRAPHERS
Bacon When that girl begins to sing I
know I'm going to be bored. Egbert I can
say tho very same thing about a mosquito.
Tonkers Statesman.
A Cool Reception. "Did you notice? I
have a new electric fan in my office." "Oh.
yes: I got wind of it the minute I opened tho
door." Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
At the Ocean Beach Hotel. Friend Howdy,
Colonel! Taken your morning dip yet? Col
onel Kalntuck (puzzled) Dip? Ain't It usually
called 'nip.' sah? Puck.
Not Her Choice. "So May refused that
young M. D.?" "Tea, she says she Isn't
quite sick enough of her maiden name to
have a doctor. Philadelphia Evening Bul
letin. A Swell Time. Nobb And I got Into a
bumblebee's nest while I was on my vacation.
Nebb Say, you must have had a dreadful time.
Nobb Oh, it was a swell time. Ohio Stato
Journal.
Drawing a Distinction. "I was In the South
African War." said one Englishman. "Gen
eral ?" asked the other. "No. Journalist."
"Oh, I see. You were a reporter; not a re
gretter." Washington Star.
Tho following was posted up in a small
country village: ."Notice is hereby given that
tho Squire (on account of the backwardness
of the harvest) will not shoot himself or any
of his tenants till the 14th of September."
Tit-BIta.
A Possibility. "There in a good deal eC
trouble in Colon." remarked the Observant
Boarder. "Yes, the belligerents- may reduae
tho place to a semicolon," addd the Cross
eyed Boarder. Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph.
Nt "Burke's Peerage." "What's the name
of that book that shows the social standing
of the aristocratic families?" Inquired tha
seeker after knowledge. " 'Bradstreet's, "
promptly replied the man who know. Phila
delphia Press.
A Great State. Mr. Gotham California Is
a great state. I hear. Mr. Oakland Great!
It's Immense! Everything grows like mad.
I can remember when the first grapes were
planted, when the first fruit trees blossomed
and the flret market-garden was started. New
look at U3,! We could supply the worWl
Why, sir. Jf you plant one grain of corn this
year, you'll need a whole factory to make
agricultural machinery for you next year.
Mr. Gotham You don't say! I have been tokl.
too, that California has five natural bridges.
Mr. Oakland Yes. that's so; and it Isn't two
years since we planted the first one. New
York Weekly.