THE MORNING- OREGONIAN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, . - 1902. tie r0mxtmu Entered at the Postofflce at Portland, Oregon, as aecond-clais matter. REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mall (postage prepaid. In Advance Daily, with Bunday. per month . j Dally. Sunday excepted, per jear j Daily, with Sunday per year " J Sunday, per year ., ..... JJ The "Weekly, per year t gj The "Weekly, 3 months ow To City Subscribers . . , Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays excepted.l5c Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays lncluded.300 POSTAGE RATES. United States. Canada and Mexico: 10 to 14-page paper ......lo 14 to 2S-page paper c Foreign rates double. News or discussion Intended for publication In The Oregonlan should be addressed invaria bly "Editor The -Oregonlan." not to the nanoa of any Individual. Letters relating to adver tising, subscriptions or to any business matter should be addressed simply "The Oregonlan." The Oregonlan does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to It without solici tation. No stamps should be Inclosed for this purpose. - Eastern Business Office. 43. 44. 45. 47. 48. 40 Tribune building. Kew York City: 4C9 "The Rookery." Chicago; the S. C. Beckwlth special agency. Eastern representative. For sale In San Francisco by L. E. "Lee. Pal ace Hotel news stand; Goldsmith Bros., 230 Sutter street; F. W. Pitts. 1008 Market street: J. K. Cooper Co . 746 Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Fester & Orear. Ferry news etand. For sale !n LTos Angeles by B. F. Gardner, 250 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines, 305 So. Spring street. For sale In Sacramento by Sacramento News Co., 429 X street, Sacramento, Cal. For sale m Chicago by the P. O. Newp Co., 217 Dearborn street, and Charles Macponald, C3 "Washington street. For eale'ln Omaha by Barkalow Bros., 1612 Farnara street. For sale In Salt Lake by the Salt Late News Co.. 77 "W. Second South street. For sale In New Orleans by A. C Phelps, "COO Commercial Alley. For sale In Ogden by W. C. Kind. 204 Twenty-fifth street, and C. H. Myers. On file at Charleston, S. C. In the Oregon ex hibit at the exposition. For sale Jn "Washington, D. C by tho Ebbett House news stand. For salo In Denver, Colo., by Hamilton & Xendrlck. 008-012 Seventeenth street; Louthan & Jackson Book & Stationery Co.. 15th and Lawrence streets; A. Series, 1053 Champa street. i TODAY'S "WEATHER Partly cloudy, with westerly winds. YESTERDAY'S "WEATHER Maxtmum tem perature, 52; minimum temperature, 30; pre cipitation, 0.02 inch. PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, MAR. 10. FALSE AM) PERNICIOUS. The proxy system as now in force In the Republican party in Multnomah County and in Oregon Is false in theory and in practice most vicious. It should at once be superseded by a more just and modern plan. Upon what principle of representative government does the man who has been by law intrusted with delegated powers "undertake at his own instance and dis cretion to delegate those powers to an other? The party has elected him, John Jones, to do the work, presumably be cause it prefers him to "William Smith, who was not selected and possibly was even rejected upon application. Now for Jones to turn, this work over to Smith Involves an unwarranted latitude of individual authority. It Is a legis lative conveyance which Jones has no right to bestow or Smith to accept. These delegates are officers of the law. They are chosen at an election regu larly called by the courts under stat utes provided. The County Clerk has certified their election to their offices and the law expressly enacts that they "shall be entitled to sit as the delegates from the said precinct In such conven tion." It la not customary for elected officers to abdicate their functions In iavor of some person arbitrarily se lected by themselves. The law pro vides what shall be done when a tie exists between two candidates; but It cays nothing about what shall be done In case a man wants to sell his vote for personal friendship or other consid eration. It is presumed the delegate 'seeks or accepts the nomination because he expects to serve. It is assumed that within such -short time as intervenes between primary day and convention even' man will live, and not change his (mind, and be on hand. Tie system Is dangerous in prac tice, also, as has been said, and evi dence of it is plentiful. It opens oppor tunities for fraud, for perversion or de Jfeat of the popular will. In this way 'men repudiated at the polls may sit in 'conventions. The contingency and the temptation are hostile to every consid eration of fair play and public policy. There Is only one chance In a thou sand that a delegate elected on a Satur day cannot be in the convention the next Wednesday. If he cannot, his del egation should cast his vote, and not 6omebody he may designate. If the 'delegation is antagonistic to the ab sentee's wishes, so much the more rea son for his presence and for selecting only men who will attend. In this coun try the minority often has to submit to the majority. All chance of Injustice 1would be eliminated by the election of 'alternates. "We do not allow our dele gates to National conventions to give -their proxies out at their own discre tion. No more should we In county con ventiona In the first Republican convention for the State of Washington, held in 1889, some Tacoma men who had been repu diated as delegates presented them selves with proxies which they had ne gotiated for, and thus sought by Indi rection an end they could not openly reach. They were refused admission, and a precedent "was set which has averted much mischief and has never been broken. . A similar precedent should be set this year by the Repub lican parry's conventions In Oregon. The time Is auspicious "for reform in this respect as In others. The British naval estimates for the coming year aggregate $156,255,000, of which $75,000,000 will be devoted to building new ships. Forty more war ships will be floated this year. In 1903 sixty ships will be under construction, besides the twenty-seven which the new esImates call for. Guns of more for midable caliber will be mounted on many vessels, and six-Inch guns of the latest and most-approved type will re place the 4.7-lnch guns. A large num ber of vessels will bo added to the sub marine fleet. It Is the undisguised pur pose of the Admiralty to prepare the fleet for war. which, It Is added, "It hopes will never come, but for which It Is In duty bound to provide." The strength and resources of the British Empire for carrying on inland war are being severely tested. Lack of drill and preparation In the army are freely al leged; the unprogressive military spirit of British officers is given as the reason for the sacrifice of the lives of thousands of British soldiers to the quick move ments and fiercely aggressive tactics of the Boer Generals. Whatever censure of this kind may' justly attach to the War Office, the Admiralty Is forestall ing by its determination to make good against all contingencies the claim of England to the title of "Mistress of the Seas." Her power in this role Is yet to be tested by modern standards, but her preparation for defense of this title. If called upon, la certainly being made re gardless of expense and in close touch with the best In raval architecture and armament. RIVER AND HARBOR IMPROVE MENT. Hepburn of Iowa, who is among the foremost advocates of using Govern ment money for constructing an Isth mian canal, inconsistently boasts his lifelong antagonism to river and harbor improvement. His opposition Is most unreasoning and unreasonable, and the positions he assumes are Indefensible. There are those who profess to con demn, on principle, every diversion of taxes to Internal Improvements. It Is a contention, however, that has been discredited by Jefferson and other emi nent statesmen of variant political affil iations. The question Is not one of aca demic reasoning, but of political expe diency, and the ease with -which Gov ernment raises money through the two methods reserved to it by the Constitu tion (the customs and Internal revenue) has long demonstrated the marked de sirability that this class of work should be done by society through the Fed eral Government, rather than through the local devices, pf direct and more bur densome taxation. These things" must be done, and such theoretical Injustice as inheres In the use of taxes for canals and harbors is overborne by the ease with which results are reached. Riv ers, harbors and canals are Improved by governments the world over, and will continue to be until It becomes easier to do the work by private enter prise than by government undertaking. Mr. Hepburn Is forced to admit that the jobbery which formerly character ized river and harbor bills has largely dloappeared. No fact In our legislation is more strikingly apparent,, and its ex planation consists largely In the devel opment of our Engineer Corps to its present trustworthiness and efficacy. It would be Impossible for Hepburn or any one else to repeat today the impressive attacks made on river and harbor bills by the late "Sunset" Cox. The waste ful and useless appropriations that used to be made for streams that never could be made navigable and for upper reaches of streams whose lower portions were Impassable are conspicuous by their absence now. for the simple rea son that they have had to run the gauntlet of examinations and recom mendations made by boards of United States Engineers. The great bulk of the appropriations are meritorious. Mr. Hepburn's unreasoning attitude is clearly discovered in his recommenda tions that Congress set a limit to the depth of harbors and the draft of ships. He might Just as well propose that Con gress should say how many bushels of wheat shall be sown on an acre or how many letters a man can mail at the New Tork postofflce in any one day. Harbors must be deep enough to ac commodate the ships that seek them, and the dimensions of the ships will be determined by conditions of trade and tonnage, which Congress Is powerless to control. The sole object, of course, In" limiting depth of harbors and draft of vessels Is to set an arbitrary limit on expenditures. These undertakings can not be controlled that way. The work done must be commensurate to the need. To set a limit at thirty feet of water might work Injustice to some great port that needed greater depth, and It would certainly encourage every minor port to demand thirty feet, whether It had use or not for more than twenty. The Justification of river and harbor bills is in their fruits. Mississippi and Columbia River commerce, New York harbor, Galveston and the Erie Canal system are Illustrations In point; and no section of the country has gained more or now hopes for more from Judi cious waterway improvement than the Mississippi Basin, of which Iowa forms so Important a part. Mississippi River improvement has had greatly to do with making the State of Iowa what It Is today. There are few more ambi tious enterprises en the globe today than the dream of a great commercial highway from Lake Michigan via Chi cago River to the Gulf of Mexico a project that means much to Iowa as well as to the whole Mississippi Basin. Mr. Hepburn's course ist not only ad verse to world-wide commercial devel opment, but hostile to the Interests of his own state. A SATISFACTORY ADJUSTMENT. xThe relief promised the commerce of Portland through putting on another tug at the mouth of the river and In creasing 'the number of pilots is exceed ingly gratifying. The Oregonlan be lieved that relief lay nol In attempting -to huBh up comment upon a condition of affairs at the mcuth of the Columbia River that was distinctly Inimical to the best interests of Portland and the state, but In giving the broadest publicity pos sible to the plain facts In the premises. It believed that President Mohler, of the O. R. & N. Co., would refuse to be a party to the selfish schemes of a ring looking solely to the Interests of Its own members, as represented by a wage out of all proportion to the service rendered. The sequel has proved this estimate to be correct. Mr. Mohler, for his com pany, has met the Issue fairly, and re lief to our belated and congested com merce is In sight That Is to say, the coming season's shipping will not be de layed at the mouth of the river waiting for tug and pilot service, as It was last season. An open, outspoken policy in a matter of this kind Is the (best policy. Commerce Is not carried on In corners. Its outgoings and incomings are not of the secret service type. If Its opera tions are facilitated at any port, the commercial, or, more directly speaking, the shipping world, knows and appreci ates that fact; if Its operations are cramped and delayed by a narrow, self seeking policy ddminated by a few at a port of entry, the sea captains who stand on and off the harbor entrance for days waiting In vain to be served may reasonably be expected to make ihe cause of their detention, especially If Itshould result In loss of vessel or charter, as sometimes happens, known to all the world. For the commercial' advisers of the port to Imagine that b1 lence on their part and on the part of the press means the exclusion of the knowledge of this state of affairs from the general public is folly. An out spoken policy that nothing estimates nor sets down aught In malice Is the wise one In tuch cases. This is clearly proven by -the prompt promise of relief that followed the plain statement made of the hindrances to which the com merce of the Columbia River has of late been subjected. We are to have an other tugboat next season for bar serv ice, and the force of bar pilots will be Increased by six. Moral If you want anything, ask for it. Grumbling under one's breath does not pay. VETERANS AND SOLDIERS' HOMES. The American people do not mean to neglect their soldiers, living or dead. Massachusetts has just voted to erect a Btatue of General Charles Devens, a conscientious war Democrat of 1861, who in 1851, as United States Marshal, sent Thomas Sims back to slavery. The Federal pension roll Is enormous; Fed eral Soldiers Homes have been gener ously established. And yet the pension roll Is open to criticism because It has been swelled beyond reason through lax pension laws, under which meritorious men not seldom get less than their deesrts. while unworthy claimants ob tain far more than they deserve. It Is probably too late to purge the pension roll of fraud, for Congress Is not willing to undertake it, but It seems to us it Is not too late to Improve the so-called Federal Soldiers' Homes by making them mpre of a, genuine home and less of a barrack. These homes are located at Dayton, O.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Togus, Me.; Hampton, Va.; Leavenworth, Kan.; Santa Monica, Cal.; Danville, 111., and. Marion, Ind. At these homes there are assembled about 27,000 veterans. Then there are state homes provided by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Tork, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsyl vania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Of the administration of the State Soldiers' Homes as a whole we do not know enough to speak with au thority, but of the National Soldiers' Homes it Is safo.to say that they are probably all open to the criticism that the old veterans at a time of life when they need something more humane are given nothing but a very comfortable barracks. Some rooms have 100 occu panta There Is no doubt that the vet eran Is treated as well as possible In these National Homes, under the pres ent barrack system, but the trouble Is that no well-bred man would willingly enter a Soldiers' Home where in his old age, when he most feels the need of privacy, he could not possibly have it. Most of the veterans of the Union are 60 years of age and upwards, an age when it Is very wearing for men to live with any comfort In large numbers together. And yet these old men are obliged to herd together. There are 100 cots in a single room. At the mess table from 800 to 1000 men are assembled. These arrangements are all admirable for men who are soldiers in age, obli gations, in physical and mental fitness for a soldier's life. But these poor old fellows are no longer soldiers In age, strength of body or spirit; they are only ghosts of soldiers In body, and It le not humane that they should be deprived of what they need far more than a li brary, a billiard-room, social hall, card room, theater, church and music; and that Is some privacy of life In their rooms and at their meals. And this is the reason why so many decent old veterans shrink from these splendid Federal Homes. They feel that It Is a perfectly honorable place of refuge, be cause It was earned by the same service that obtained a pension; but in spite of Its comforts and Its privileges, the decent, well-bred veteran prefers a very hard and comfortless home of his own that Implies some privacy when he seeks his bed or takes his meals. This lack of privacy, this fact that the Na tional Soldiers' Home is not really a home at all, but a great barrack, make It repulsive to the veteran, whose nerves are Impaired by age, who needs above all Jhings a chance for quiet rest and solitude when he desires it as he marches to the grave. It mas be said that there are not many old veterans who find this lack of privacy more repulsive than hard living outside thehome. The truth Is that there were probably a million of men enlisted In the Union Armies during the war who were so decently brought up that the lack of privacy In their Army life was disagree able In youth, but was then endurable because It was necessary, because they were young, strong and volatile. They were then a healthy, happy. Impulsive, Inexperienced, reckless, noisy, enthusi astic multitude of young fellows, en tirely able to endure hardship and with out experience or Imagination enough to fear it For these strong-nerved young soldiers it was not difficult to endure the repulsive coincidents of Army llfr but as soldiers In 1SC1-63 they had more privacy than a Federal Soldiers' Home holds out to a decent veteran; for four men who were naturally friends lived together under the same shelter tent during campaigns, they had privacy at meal times and when they sought sleep. If, as strong-nerved young soldiers, these men In war time sought privacy, how great must be the need of It when these men are no longer eoldlers In mine or body, but men sinking Into old age growing nervous, querulous and Impa tient at needless restraint or wanton disturbance. i Practically, these Federal Soldiers' Homes repel by their lack of privacy the very best class of Union veterans, who prefer a comfortless hut with pri vacy to a crowded barrack. The vi cious, noisy, worthless veteran will seek such homes and stay in them as long as he can, for he enjoys the idleness and the turbulence that wear upon the decent old man. That Is why the decent Union veteran often finds the Federal Soldiers' Home odious. There Is, It would seem, a lack of good sense In housing a throng of weary-souled, broken-down old men upen the plan of a large garrison post of vigorous young soldiers. The literary remains of the English historian, Green, are in course of pub lication under the editorship of his widow. In one of Green's historical ar ticles concerning the famous old univer sity city of Oxford Is the statement that the most characteristic result of the Norman conquest was the Jewish set tlement planted In the" very heart of the town of Oxford. This settlement pos sessed Its own language, its own relig ion and law. Its peculiar commerce. Its peculiar dress. The policy of the Nor man Kings secured each Hebrew settle ment from the common taxation, the common justice end the common obli gations cf Englishmen. The city bailiff could not enter the Jew settlement; the church Itsef was powerless against the synagogue. The historian Green says that almost to the end of the thirteenth century the attitude of the Jew In Eng land through the protection of the King was one of proud defiance. We quote: Hl bonds were kept under the royal seal. A royal commission visited with heavy penalties any outbreak of violence against these "chat tels" of tho King. Tho thunders ot the church broke vatnry on the yellow gaberdine ot the Jew. In -a well-known story of Eadracr'a the Red Kins actually forbids the conversion of a Jew to the Christian faith. It was a roor exchange which would have robbed him of a valuable property and given him only a sub ject ' Green recognizes the fact that with the Jewish settlement began the culti vation of the physical sciences in Ox ford. The Jews brought to England the medical knowledge and surgical skill of the East; and to their wealth and Influ ence was due the remarkable develop ment of domestic architecture In Ox ford. From the standpoint of learning, medicine, surgery, physical science and domestic architecture, the expulsion of the Jews from England by Edward I was as regrettable as their expulsion frpm Spain. In nothing was the superi ority of Cromwell's mind to the popular prejudice of his time more strikingly displayed than In his reversal of this ancient exclusion of the Jews from England. Thp troubles of the Finns In their native land Increase Their latest grievance Is on account of the deter mination of the Russian Governor of Finland to deprive them of their native press. Within a few weeks past a num ber of the Finnish newspapers, includ ing some of the most Important jour nals In Finland, have been arbitrarily suppressed, aud othei-s have been sus pended. The Immediate cause of this action was certain editorials in the Is sues'of March 3, the forty-first anniver sary of the emancipation of the serfs, In which recent reactionary measures were lamented, that. It was said, had largely disillusioned the political and social aspirations raised by the emanci pation of the peasanta It would seem that with the example of Poland before them the people of Finland would cease their hopeless struggle against the power that, thoroughly equipped for the purpose, has set out to Russianize them. There afe two courses open to them. One Is to submit, the other to emigrate. The latter alternative is, for a home loving people, perhaps the hardest to accept. Orders and decorations will be be stowed with a liberal hand by the Ger man Emperor as supplemental to the late visit of his brother, Prince Henry, to the United States. The high offi cials of the German-American steam ship companies, whose steamers bore the Prince across the seas and back again, have already been the recipients of imperial favor In the bestowal of the decorations of the Red Eagle. This should not be taken as a compliment to the American eagle in appreciation of its dignified silence while American hospitality was outdoing itself In enter taining the visitor. Our historical bird knows when to scream and when to look on decorously, Ignoring its own exist ence. It represents "liberty," the one principle that neither asks nor receives the favor of monarchs. It will be In good voice about July 4. The closing of the Oregon City branch of the Portland Flouring Mills uritll after harvest is likely to work some thing of a hardship upon a nurriber of men who are thereby thrown out of employment. On this account the event Is to be regretted, since, however ca pable men In any special line of indus try are, It Is not easy to shift the en deavor to a line distinctly different, in response to ?. sudden emergency. For this reason the most skilled and ateady worklngmen are often placed at a dis advantage In the Industrial world, and are entitled to warmest sympathy and most intelligent consideration. In this Instance the working world and Its de mands will soon absorb these laborers, though at present they are probably perplexed, not knowing Just what to turn to. Dr. Felnberg, a young physician of Berlin, has made a discovery which he says makes the diagnosis of cancer In its early stage possible. He has located In cancerous growths independent ani mal organisms, to subdue which is to cure this disease, which, next to leprosy. If Indeed not equal to It In baffling virulence, Is the despair of the medical scientist, so far as he permits himself to despair of tracking down and con quering any Insidious foe to human life. If means of cure follow this discovery, those afflicted with cancer will be more fortunate than those whom the bacillus of consumption have attacked have yet found themselves. The discovery, how ever, is an Important one, and perhaps In due time will be followed by a rem edy. The city has seldom had a more gen erous bequest as represented by the la bor and love of years than that given by Benjamin Roop, and which is now fairly in place In the City Museum. The collection of birds and, animals, which comprises this bequest represents the labor of years of a man devoted to his work and discharging Its details with patient fidelity. The collection has been carefully transferred to the City Mu seum, and to Its doner the thanks of the city are due, and will doubtless, a"t the proper tlmo and In the proper way, be rendered. A New York dispatch says that over 300,000 dressmakers have declared their Intention of forming a union that shall Include the whole of the United States. A preliminary meeting looking toward this latest coalition in the industrial world was held a few days ago, and ac tive steps will, It Is said, be taken to perfect the organization. Perhaps this will result In the revival of the lost art of cutting, fitting and swlng In homes. Greater disasters than this have fol lowed In the wake of Industrial combi nation. An Indictment has been returned against the Louisville & Nashville for payfng freight rebates contrary to law. This Is the way to proceed use the ex isting statutes, of which there are per haps enough, if they are enforced. What is needed is aroused public sentiment behind the law, and this seems now to be'comlng along. Senator Morgan's ability, character and long services to the Isthmian canal project seem to deserve a better fate than that he should be superseded in the charge of the measure. His limita tions, however, in the way cf force and directness are severe, and the cause will doubtless gain in the substitution of Senator Mitchell. Bryan has no sympathy with the Democratic protest against Investiga tion of negro disfranchisement This Is thoroughly Bryanlc. He has no sympa thy with anything save himself and his own peculiar- political properties. His conceit equals his stubbornness. No one Is quite so Impressed with the claims of equity, remarked a Simon delegate philosophically, as the under dog. . TO USE THE EARTH'S ENERGY. Kansas City Star. Commenting on the experiments now being carried on by the British Associa tion for the Advancement of Science, Pro fessor William Hallock. of Columbia Col lege, says the Idea of obtaining steam power from the heated depths of the earth la entirely feasible. It has been demonstrated that there Is a regular rise of temperature for every foot of pene tration Into the earth's surface, and It Js only a matter of going deep enough to find heat enough to make steam power. The heat of the 2500-fuot level In the Comstock mine Is 145 degrees, 'and In a deep well near Pittsburg It Is 129 degrees. Professor Hallock estimates that at a depth of 12,000 feet there will be found a temperature of at leabt 240 degrees, or much more than is requisite In boiling water. "It Is not," says Professor Hallock, "a question of getting steam, that being sim ple, but a question of getting steam in sufficient quantities. Hot water Is even now drawn from a deep well and used to heat a dwelling house near Boise City. Idaho, and when we pumped out water which had leaked into the deep well near Pittsburg It was so hot I could not hold my hand In It But while the Pittsburg well Is capable of heating water left In It over night, even If its depth were suf ficient to turn that water to steam, It would require many hours of waiting, which would rob it of all commercial value. In other words, there would not be the slightest difficulty In obtaining steam from tho earth's Interior, because that involves merely a little extra labor In boring down Into a very hot area, and it Is as easy comparatively to bore 12,000 feet as to bore COCO; but in order to give the steam commercial value a method must be provided for dropping the water to the heat area, allowing it time to heat, and yet having It return to the surface as steam without for a moment Interrupting the flow." Professor Hallock thinks he has discow ored a method that Is entirely practicable. Ho would bore two holes into the grounu 12,000 feet deep and 50 feet "apart Then he would lower heavy charges of dyna mite In both holes and explode them. He Is sure that after this process has been repeated many times, a connection be tween the two holes would be established, while the shattering of the rock around the base of the holes would turn the sur rounding area into an immense water heater. "The water," says the professor, "poured down one hole would circulate through all the cracks and crevices, the temperature of which would be over 240 degrees, and In Its passage would be heated and turned to steam, which would pass through the second hole to tho earth's surface. The pressure of such a column of steam would be enormous; for, aside from tho Initial velocity of the steam, the descending column of water would exert a pressure of at least 5000 pounds to the square Inch, which would drive up through the second hole every thing movable. The problem is, there fore, a mechanical one, and the chief difficulty would be In connecting the holes at the bottom. This accomplished, the water heater would operate itself, and a source of power be established that would surpass anything now In use." Professor Hallock nays that a practical test of the undertaking can be had at a cost not to exceed $50,000. The wonder Is that in this age of scientific research and mechanical progress some one has not at tempted to accomplish the thing which men have dreamed of ever since the heated condition of the earth's interior came to human knowledge. It need not be suggested that If unlimited power can be obtained by the simple process of bor ing two holes to a depth of 12,000 feet, It will form the most stupendous achieve ment In the Inventive career of man. Pro fessor Hallock tells us that the Pittsburg well Is to be lowered until the existence of sufficient heat has been demonstrated In a practical manner. Let us hope that Its undertakers will carry out the two-holo idea and show again that some of the greatest of human Inventions are tho sim plest In their character. VIEWS OF ALTGELD. New Tork Evening Post It was as an agitator and Iconoclast that he Is chiefly remembered a man who found his mission in the attempt to tear down and who bore himself out against the conservatism of American character. St. Louis Globe-Democrat A, man of great talent, of vast indus try and of utter fearlessness, he was by far the most formidable of the foes which conservatism and stability had to encoun ter In the great cataclysm of half a dozen years ago. New Tork Commercial Advertiser. It Is not to be denied that Altgeld had much ability, and that at times he showed a gift of leadership, which, under the guidarce of better principles, would have achieved great things. But he was as rallent an example of the doctrinaire dem agogue as the country has ever produced. Brooklyn Eagle. One of the mercies of the defeat of Bryan and his programme was that It precluded the possibility of this man, with his as tute and powerful mind, from coming Into any position where he might have carried out the heresies in which he believed. His was essentially a gift If not a genius for destruction. Boston HeraldA He had a rare faculty of presenting a subject with originality and with clear ness. Had he possessed a better-balanced mind, ho might have been a most useful citizen. The extraordinary feature about him was that he, so gifted mentally In most respects, should have been denied the quality of mental discretion. Boston Transcript That he was ciriblttered and warped by his loss of fortune and the signs of wan ing popularity there is no doubt, and this feeling led him to somo extraordinary ac tions and speeches, with which the gen eral public Is likely to associate hl3 name. Nor can we be oblivious to the mischiev ous tendency of his teachings with regard to social order and Integrity. All these, united to h!s great Intellect, made him a dangerous man. " i Carelessness on Railroads. Cleveland Leader. It must be confessed that the Injuries received in railway work in thl3 country, relatively to tho army ,of trainmen em ployed, are far more numerous than they ought to be. There Is evidence in the bare figures of much gross carelessness, and I Is painfully apparent that the man agers of great railways are often too in tent upon earnings and too little mindful of the lives and limbs of the men who operate their lines. In this direction there Is room for vast Improvement, and the progress made recently has been miserably slow, Need of the Export Trade. Minneapolis Tribune. Why should American wheatgrowers fear injury to their Interest by the grind ing pf Canadian wheat for export in Min neapolis mills? The price of their produce will continue to be fixed by the price of export wheat, and of course the Canad ians would" not sell their wheat to the millers for less, since they could send It through the country In bond for export Since London makes the price of wheat all ovor the world, what does it matter to Northwestern wheatgrowers whether they meet Canadian competition in London or Minneapolis? Mr. Hanna'H Real Position. Louisville Courier-Journal. The intentions of Senator Hanna with respect to the next campaign for the Presidency are said to be a riddle, but, nevertheless, a plausible guess might be made. For Instance: He will take' the nomination If he can get It; If he finds he cannot get it, then he does not want It. There are several other receptive gentle men in the same situation, GOOD ADVICE TO THE DEMOCRACY Indianapolis News. Much has been written and spoken of late aboyt the reorganization of the Dem ocratic party, and it is, of course, clear that something will have to be done. But there Is one phase of the question to Which little attention has been paid. And, strange as It may Bcem, the speech of Mr. Altgeld, delivered Saturday, brings this question to the front He spoke of the vnrious reorganization suggestions, and said with entire truth that the only Idea that many men seemed to have was that there must be a change In order that the party might win, and that the only reason that these men wanted to win was that the party might get control of the offices. If that is all there Is In a campaign for the Democratic party, It had better never win. But this thought naturally suggests an other one or, rather, a different view of the same one. For, as It Is true that the Democratic leaders have no right to sac rifice principles to success, neither have they any right to saennce success ana with It a chance to carry principles Into effect to a foolish notion of consistency. In other words, the question concerns other people than those charged with the guidance of the Democratic party, name ly, the people at large. There has been too much fooling already. No man has anv right to destroy tho usefulness and to put In Jeopardy the life of a great party, and that at a time whon It may be very sorely needed by the country, almply be cause he has found that his leadership Is fatal. The problem Is not simply a party prob lem. It Is a problem In the solution of wplch everj' American citizen Is deeply Interested. The squabbles among the so called Democratic leaders, the narrowness and bigotry, the rule-or-ruln disposition, the mean ambitions of many of the lead ers, the crimination and the recrimina tion, and the hatred and bitterness that are so often manifested, hurt not only the party, but the country. And so the coun try, which needs an opposition party, and which very soon may need a real Demo cratic riarty. has a riirht to demand that the folly cease, and that the Democratic party get Into ehape to meet the real and living Issues of tho day. The people have been very patient, in the hope that good sense and patriotism might soon triumph. But the outlook Is not encouraging. The political situation in the United States Is most unsatisfactory. Tet. know ing this, the Democratic party is stupidly uncertain as to its duty. We believe that the rank and file Is sound and prepared to follow any wise and patriotic leadership. The Democrats that have nothing to gain, that want no office, that never have held or desired to hold office, that are able to take care of themselves, and that only wlsh to see their party made strong and true again, so that It may serve the coun trythese men know that Mississippi has pointed the way. Obscure, half-educated and envenomed Popullstlc editors of weekly newspapers do not appeal to them. More and more, the Democrats of charac ter and substance are turning oacK to the old leaders, and great men they were and are Tllden, Hendricks. McDonald, Thurman and Cleveland and wondering how It was that the party ever got so deep Into the bog of Populism. But the point we Insist on now is that we have to do with something that is vastly more than a mere quarrel among different factions of the Democratic party. The country Is Involved, and every citizen of the country has a right to demand that the foolish ness of the past six years shall stop, and that the Democratic party shall show that If Is worthy of the respect and con fidence of the country. Lout In the Sliuflle. New Tork Commercial Advertiser. What. we should like to ask. has be come of the high hope3 which our only pure moralists In politics had of Con gressman Llttlefleld, of Maine, a year or so ago? When Mr. Llttlefleld appeared In the House, after the death of Mr. Dlngley. to whose vacant seat he had been elected, and took open ground against the McKinley administration's Philippine policy, he was hailed by the anti-Imperialists as sharing with Sen ator Hoar the distinction of represent ing what was left of the New England conscience In the Republican party. He wis tho coming man; he was to lead to that revival of the true faith which was to save the Nation from de struction. What is he doing now? Why. standing with the beet-sugar lobby in unyielding opposition to con cessions of any sort to Cuba! That Is a nice attitude for a friend of the down trodden and oppressed to occupy. Is It not? Do the "antis" express any opin ion about It? Not that we have noticed. They seem to have lost all interest in Mr. Llttlefleld, and while they have noth ing but abhorrence for the conduct of his Republican associates in Congress who are violating their party's pledges to Cuba, they forget to mention Mr. Llttle fleld by name. It Is very sad, and we do not wonder that they fall to speak of It Tou see, nearly the whole world had gone to the devil before Mr. Llttlefleld started, and when he, too, deserted the cause of right and truth, what was there left to cling to? Very little, except Erv ing WInslow and SIxto Lopez. Cromwell's Titled Descendants. London Chronicle. There are no less than 13 peers at pres ent who are descended from the great protector. They all come through his fourth daughter, Frances, who married for her second husband Sir John Russell, by whom she had five children. Among these peers descended frDm Frances Cromwell there are two Mar quisesNorthampton and Rlpon; eight Earls the Earls of Chichester and Clar endon, Earl Cowper, the Earls of Darn ley, Lytton, Morley, Rothes and Skelm ersdale; and Barons Ampthlll, Avsbury (still best known by his 30 years' public life name of Sir John Lubbock), and Lord Walslngham. Although Oliver had five sons, there Is not a single surviving Crom well In the male line, though any one who consults a peerage under the names of the aforesaid noblemen will find his descend ants through the female line, to say noth ing of Oliver's untitled posterity, frequent enough. The two eldest sons of the protector died of smallpox. Robert, the first born, a boy of 17. at Foisted school, and Oliver, his second, a cornet in Earl Bedford's horse, a few da3 after he came of age, In lfril. A Lesson for 3Ilntster Wu. Chicago Record-Herald. The lesson for the Chinese Minister is that this country Is no place for his peo ple. If there were no exclusion law, that would be plain from many successful conspiracies and many acts of violence, taking such Incidents and the exclusion law together the evidence should be over whelmingly conclusive." Moreover, If Mr. Wu retorts that China's hostility to the foreign devils is as Just and rational as our opposition to his countrymen, we might reply that the con sequences of white Immigration Into China and of Chinese Immigration Into the United States are so widely and In trinsically different that the parallelism will not hold. What we have done Au stralia Is doing and Canada proposes to do. It is the effort of white labor to save Itself against a competition whose numbers have so far defied computation. PnrndiHl Gloria. There is a city, bulltled by no hand. And unapproachable by sea or shor?. And unassailable by any band Of storming soldiery for evermore. There we no longer shall divide our time By acta or pleasures doing petty things Of work or warfare, merchandise or rhyme; But wo shall sit beside the silver springs That flow from God's. own footstool, and behold Sages and martyrs, and those ble3Sd few "Who loved us onco and were beloved of old. To dwell with them and walk with them anew. In alternations of sublime repose. Musical motion, the perpetual play Of every faculty that heaven bestows Through the bright, busy and eternal day. Thomas "William Parsons. NOTE AND COMMENT. The early candidate catches the frost Now for the conventionalities of poll tics. A student's riot is on in St Petersburg, and the college yell Is undoubtedly strik ing terror to the heart of the Czar. Marconi has allowed several days to go by without astonishing the world. Is he getting careless of .his press work? Only 16 Inches of space will be alloted to each person at the coronation. This will come pretty nearly shutting out the King. - That man you met this morning with a distended hatband was not King Ed ward. He was only a delegate to .the convention. England had better be careful. The Boers will capture some Missouri mules one of these days, as well as regiments and Lleutenant-Generals. The Grand Army opposition to Pen sion Commissioner Evans bore much the same fruits as Senator Piatt's attempt to sidetrack Mr. Roosevelt. In spite of all the attacks on the Mon roe Doctrine, and the attempts .to pass the canal bill, the American continents are still hanging together. Another Prince is coming over to this country. Uncle Sam has made such a record for hospitality that he will soon have to make the exclusion act apply to foreign noblemen. General Miles has shown that he was prevented from going to the Philippines. He was also prevented from settling the Sampson-Schley controversy. What's the use of being a Lleutenant-General, any way? A Washington letter carrier opened a Tetter-box th eother night, stuck his hand In and then dashed madly down the street, shouting, "A snakel A snake!" A police man stopped him, and together they went back to investigate. They looked Into the box and say the supposed snake collEd on top of a. bunoh of letters. The police man poked It with his club. It did not move. Then he grew bolder, and pulled it out The snake was a fat string of sausages. Cecil Rhodes' latest biographer contra dicts the story that Rhodes ever used tho phrase, "I never met a man whom I could not buy." The germ of this fiction is said to be found In the fact that one day, when discussing his proposed telegraph wire across Africa, somebody asked him how he proposed to carry it across the Sou dan. "Oh, leave It to me," Rhodes answered. "I never met the man yet that I could not come to an agreement with, and I shall fix things up with the Khalifa when the time comes." In connection with the news from Lon don that the price of good windows com manding the coronation procession of Ed ward VII has gone up to something like $365, someone who has looked it up notes that at the coronation of Edward I the price of a seat was half a farthing; In Ed ward II's time a whole farthing was re quired; to see Edward III cost a halfpen ny. A good seat for Edward IV's proces sion cost twopence, and for Edward VI the price was fourpence. There Is' a big jump between VI and VII. a Told Time by His Belt. "I've heard of many strange time pieces," said a buyer for an ice compaqy to a Chicago Tribune reporter, "but I ran across something entirely new In that fine last week. I went to a lake In Wisconsin to estimate the ice crop. Among the men working there was a heavy-set fellow, who was set In blanket clothes. He kept' his trousers In place with a narrow leath er belt and several times In the course of the morning I noticed him tighten it a hole at a time. " 'What time Is It?' I asked him, for my watch was not running. "He glanced at his belt, and answered promptly, 11:30.' "Seeing that he had no watch. I asked him how he knew, and he explained his system of telling time by his belt. After breakfast, which was eaten at 6 o'clock, the belt was set at the last hole. Every hour during the morning he was forced to take It in a hole. He knew It was 3d minutes after 11 because he had taken in five holes and the belt was just beginning to slacken. After dinner he would let it out again to the last hole, and it would mark off the hours during the afternoon. He said It was as trustworthy as the best watch he had ever owned, and. sev eral tests proved that he was right" The Belief In a Devil. International Monthly. A mild servant, belonging to one of tho women's colleges, had been out with her lover without leave from her mistress and was returning late along my road, at the top of which lived the lamented Profess or Nettleship. Now the latter had a largo yellow dog that took the usual canine de light in seeing cats scatter and flee. and. the better to pounce1 on them when they were stealthily crossing the street, ho would perch himself on the top of the professor's garden wall, surrounded and half hidden in the foliage. As the truant maid servant passed beneath him ho caught sight of a cat in the middle of tho road, and making a spring at It. collided with her and knocked her down. She picked herself up and ran screaming home, almost mad with terror, because, as she said, the devil had Jumped on her back and thrown her down. PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHEItS The Mea.-Father-Marle. I wish you would ask that young Perkins why he doesn't go home earlier. Daughter-What an Idea, papat-Just as If he doesn't know! Puck. Accounted For. Jones Professor Hottalre thinks he hai Invented a flying machine. Smith Has he tried It yet? Jones Oh, no, That's why he thinks he ha3 Invented a flying ma chine. Judge. IN FLA. In an Inn on the east coast of Fla. A chap met a maid In the ca. At once he was smitten, But she gave him the mitten, "Whereupon he rpmarked he abha. Chicago Tribune. Mrs. NoosenB My daughter's becoming mora proficient. She plays regular pieces now. Tou don't notice her playing exercises now as much as she did. Mrs. Naybor No. but I notice her playing exercises my husband as much as ever It did. Philadelphia Record. A3 Far as She Had Heard. "Does your son matriculate this year. Mrs Hamroandsope? "Why, really. I don't know. I ain't heard any thing about matriculation, but he wrote In bis last letter that he had got vaccinated, and It took terrible." Chicago Record-Herald. Purely Disinterested. Pureton What do you think of those slot machines? Snlvelson Of course. I never play them, but they are cer tainly Inventions of the evil one, and should not be tolerated In our midst. Besides, you don't get anything out of them half the time. Chicago Dally News. Two Great Events. Amos Cornshuclc I seen by the paper that they're talkln' of connectln Amerlky with the Philippines by one o' them there cables. Hiram Clod This has been a great century fer Improvements. I'm thlnkln of puttln' a new barb-wire fence clean across thet lower SO-acre lot. Lcille's Weekly. A Great Success. The Medical Expert I'm sure your baby shows what our modern meth ods will do. Did you follow my directions? Mother Oh, yes. First. I skimmed the milk, and added two parts of hygienic water and two parts of your celebrated modifier. Then I carefully sterilized the whole. "And then?" "I threw It out of the window and gave tho baby the cream." Life.