Morning Oregonian., June 21, 1902, Page 6, Image 6

THE MORNING OJJEGONIAS. SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 1902.
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PORTLAND, SATDnDAY, JUXE 21.
DEMOCRATIC HARMONY.
When Mr. Cleveland talks of harmony
and victory he is sure of an appreci
ative audience. "Who does not feel his
blond stirred and his imagination
pleased as he contemplates the picture
of a great and reunited party, breath
ing the spirit of its revered founders,
pledging allegiance to the highest tradi
tions of its past, marching onward with
unbroken step to victory In the name of
reform and economy and everything
else that is suggested by the term
"good government"? Mr. Cleveland's
New Tork speech paints just such a pic
ture, and his record is so creditable and
his purposes are of -such unquestioned
soundness that the country can admire
and cheer his utterances, regadless of
party. Approval is rendered easier by
the fact that he avoids details, for the
most part, and Ignores such things as
would be likely to engender strife and
captious criticism.
It is strikingly true, as Mr. Cleveland
eayr, that harmony is not to be had
by simply declaring for harmony.
Grounds of unity must be chosen on
which all can stand without loss of self
respect or sense of humiliation. His
wisdom in sticking to glittering gener
alities, and the peril of more definite
specifications, are abundantly attested
in the able speech of Governor D. B.
Hill, who followed him at the Tilden
Club banquet. The radical differences
which divide the Democrats of today
are well known, and, while Mr. Hill
seeks to minimize them, the work is
bunglingly done. No one, perhaps,
could do better, with the materials at
hand, but the task of harmonizing such
discordant elements is afmost beyond
. human power. It is to be feared that
other Democrats are just like Mr.
Cleveland, vvho Is for harmony on lines
that exclude the Bryan element, or like
Mr. Hill, who is for harmony that
would exclude the opponents (and they
number many influential Democrats) of
Cleveland's Venezuela, message of 1894.
A few points in Mr. Hill's speech will
show the difficulty of the union he and
Mr. Cleveland hope to bring about He
touches the money question, and says,
"We are all hard-money men." But the
only bearing this has on the money
question of today is to exclude the
.greenbackers. many of whom voted for
Bryan and expect to continue with the
Democrats. What sense would a dec
laration for "hard money" carry today
to either a gold man or a silver man?
Then Mr. Hill says, "We are all in favor
of the Constitutional Reforms Involved
in the election of United States Sen
ators by the people rather than by State
Legislatures"; but some of the most
strenuous opponents of this proposal
are Democratic Senators. He says "it
would be folly longer to divide upon
abstract or unreasonable questions," by
which he means, of course, that the
party has been divided on the abstract
and unreasonable question of free coin
age at 1C to 1. He also refers to Bryan
as an "able and eloquent Democrat,"
who would have been gladly welcomed,
when he knows very well that most of
his hearers wish that Bryan would go
off and die or otherwise remove himself
out of the way of Democratic rehabili
tation. Mr. Hill must' also be aware that
large numbers of Democrats, especially
the cultivated Eastern free-traders who
are English in sympathy, ran never be
harmonized upon the basis of censure
of Great Britain for the Boer War, cen
sure of the United States for main
tenance of strict neutrality through that
war, and indorsement of Mr. Cleve
land's Venezuela message. Comntercial
New York, both Republican and Demo
cratic, disapproved that message, be
cause it cared more for Its profits than
for the rights of all South America.
Nor will this utterance of Mr. Hill's es
tablish his own political fortunes more
firmly with those numerous Intelligent
Democrats who understand that a wide
difference exists between our Interfer
ence in the Venezuela case under the
Monroe Doctrine and the interference
he counsels In South Africa with a
friendly power over a matter In which
we had no more concern than we should
have today if imperial Germany should
go to war with republican France.
There is one point upon which all
Democrats will agree; and that is the
unwisdom of substantially everything
the Republicans have done. As an 'es
tablishment of fault-finding the Demo
cratic party is beyond reproach. But
fault-finding is not enough. A party
must have proposals constructive as
well as censures destructive. The only
two constructive proposals offered by
the Democratic party In 1S9B and 1900
were free coinage of silver at 16 to 1
and the alienation of our Philippine
Islands. The country disapproved them
and still- disapproves. The constructive
proposal favored by Mr. Cleveland is
the one he won on in. 1S92 tariff reform.
He may be right In thinking the party
could win on It again; but the country
hae not forgotten, if he has, In what
manner the Democratic party carried
out Its tariff-reform proposals. It has
not forgotten that he himself character
ized the "Wilson law with the celebrated
phrase "perfidy and dishonor." It has
not forgotten the shock to business and
industry occasioned by the presence of
the Democratic party In full possession
of Presidency and Congress. Harmony,
It is true, cannot be created by merely
saying harmony. Nor can confidence.
Nothing but the election of 1904 can
tell whether the country is willing to
trust the Democratic party again, after
its performance of 1893-7 and Its threats
of 1896.
IT MEANS TOE CANAL.
The Oregonlan has maintained, and
still believes, that the Nicaragua route
Is preferable to the Panama route, for
many reasons, not the least of which
is that the Panama Canal must always
be a mere passage between oceans, in
a belt of calms, unhealthy of climate,
deadly for human life, barren of devel
opment; while at Nicaragua and Costa
Rica we should have created and main
tained a zone of Industry and settle
ments useful to us commercially and
politically. The Panama Canal will
swallow up thousands of lives in a fierce
struggle with tropic heat and miasms,
and a hundred years hence will see it
just as it is today, untouched and un
improved by any impulse toward habi
tation and wealth. In Nicaragua and
Costa Rica, on the other hand, we
should before many years have seen
thriving American communities, raising
crops, buying our manufactures and ex
erting a profound influence for the civi
lization of Central and South America
upon lines approved in Canada and the
United States. The redemption of Latin
America from indolence, lnefficience and
revolution would have been sent im
measurably forward by the construction
of a canal across Nicaragua.
But the Senate has agreed to the
Spoonerplan, and we think the confer
ence will ratify it. It should do so, for
the Senate's consent to the Hepburn bill
is now Impossible, and a deadlock now
means simply Indefinite postponement
of the whole matter. The Panama
Canal is Infinitely better than no canal.
We therefore acquiesce In the Senate's
action, and shall at once and finally
acquit the majority in the Senate of
any secret purpose to defeat the canal
through adoption of the Panama route.
Undoubtedly there are railroad attor
neys In the Senate who supported the
Panama scheme for no other purpose
than to defeat the whole project; but
this cannot be reasonably predicated
concerning men like Spooner and Alli
son, Cullom and Lodge, Hoar and Hale.
These men would have the courage to
vote against the canal if they were not
believers in It; and if they are believers
in it they are not the men to sacrifice
It by the Panama dishonesty. They
think the Panama route is best; and as
they have won their way, it Is to be
hoped they are right.
The Spooner amendment, that is fo
say, means a canal. Unless the House
possesses greater blind stubbornness and
willful fatuity than it has yet displayed,
its conferees will agree to the Spooner
bill. The "if" In reference to the title
simply gives the President the neces
sary club with which to secure the prop
er concessions, just as the commission's
shrewd course compelled the Frenchmen
to reduce their price. The title can be
secured, and the canal can go forward.
It will be under the Immediate direction,
under the President (and many Presi
dents will be concerned in its execu
tion), of a commission of seven men,
three of whom are engineers, one an
Army man, and one a Navy man. The
funds are provided 510,000,000 immedi
ately available, and bonds for $130,000,
000 more. The cost is nominally limited
to $135,000,000 in case of Panama, and
$180,000,000 In case of Nicaragua, but
these figures are negligible, as their
binding force is of no longer life than
the first session of Congress that chooses
to change them. The vote by which the
bill was passed 67 to 3 is a suffi
ciently strong demonstration of the
complete collapse of the hostility which
so long has delayed this magnificent
dream of navigators and hope of com
merce. There is only one thing more to be
said concerning the choice of routes",
acid that is that posterity will hold this
Senate responsible for that choice. If
the Panama Canal should prove a fail
ure, the blame will rest with Spooner
and his active allies. It will be vain for
them or their political heirs and as
signs to plead that they couldn't fore
see the future.. It was their business
to foresee it They had data enough; it
was their business to find out, to resolve
all doubts into certainties, to be ab
solutely sure. The country has had to
judge the question indirectly and with
imperfect sources of information. The
Senate had all sources and all expert
opinion at its hand. If it has made a
mistake, the error is one of the most co
lossal in history, which time can afford
neither to forgive nor forget
STRENGTHENING THE BANKRUPTCY
LAW.
It Is evident, from the action of the
House of Representatives, that oppo
nents of the present bankruptcy law
cannot get the measure repealed. The
tendency Is decidedly In the other di
rection. In the direction of strengthen
ing the law, so that It will work more
equitably. IS the Senate shall adopt
the amendments that have passe'd the
House, we shall have a law materially
better than the present statute in that
it will -be no more difficult for an hon
est man to get Justice under it, but it
will prevent many frauds that cannot
now be reached.
No corporation can now file a volun
tary petition In bankruptcy. No mat
ter how sadly it may be in need of the
benefits of the bankruptcy court for
the protection of both itself and Its
creditors, It must subihit to expensive
attachments until some outsider shall
see fit to file the bankruptcy petition
against It The Ray amendment which
has passed the House of Representa
tives, gives the corporation the same
right an individual would have under
the same circumstances. As the law
now stands. It is fcneertain whether it
may absolve a man from payment of
alimony or claims for support which
women sometimes obtain against men
as a result of court proceedings. The
practice now differs in different juris
dictions. Under the amendments men
would not be freed from that class of
debts by parsing through bankruptcy.
The time to get cases at iS3ue would be
greatly shortened if the amendments be
come law; the Federal courts would
have concurrent jurisdiction with state
courts, .regardless of the .place. of resi
dence of the parties, and it would not
be so easy as It now Is for dishonest
debtors to get discharge from bank
ruptcy. Obtaining property on credit
on materially false statements, making
fraudulent transfer of property, and re
fusal to obey orders of the court or an
swer material questions, under the
amendments, would be causa to refuse
a discharge in bankruptcy. And It
would also be Impossible to go through
bankruptcy oftener than once In six
years. There is. however. In the new
bill provision for higher fees In connec
tion with bankrupt estates, which might
well be omitted. It should be no part
of this service, which inevitably means
loss to many people, to fatten referees
and court officials on large fees.
Very large Eastern mercantile houses,
banks and lawyers are the chief oppo
nents of the bankruptcy law. It re
duces litigation, which accounts for the
hostility of the lawyers. It prevents
preference of creditors, through which
agency banks and the largest mercan
tile establishments frequently secure
themselves against loss at the cos of
the other creditors. Banks are more
likely to make themselves whole out of
embarrassed estates than any other
class of claimants. But this law de
stroys the preference which was so often
exercised in favor of the banks and
the big wholesale mercantile houses.
These latter, moreover, could afford not
to compromise their claims, because the
embarrassed creditor in all probability
would eventually seek again to buy
goods from the wholesaler, and pay
ment in full of the old account would
be exacted as a condition precedent to
entering upon new relations. Import
ing wholesale houses so large that they
amount almost to a trust can in this
way look after their own Interests very
well. The bankruptcy law puts all on
a level, defeating preferences and per
mitting no liability to hang over the
discharged debtor. Therefore the law
Is for the general good, and it will be
still more for the general good to re
inforce it at points covered in the Ray
amendments.
NOT A DYNASTIC QUARREL.
General E. P. Alexander, in his speech
at the West Point centennial, among
other things, said that "it was best for
the South that the cause was lost. The
right to secede, the stake for which we
fought eo desperately, were it now of
fered, as a gift, we would reject as we
would reject a proposition of suicide.'
This Is the mature judgment of a very
gallant ex-Confederate soldier, who was
Chief of Artillery of Longstreet's Corps
at Gettysburg, and planted the batter
ies whose terrible flre was the prelude
to Pickett's famous charge. It is honor
able to the good sense and good feeling
of both sections that a gallant ex-Confederate
veteran Is able to say less than
forty years after Gettysburg that he ia
glad the Southern Confederacy lost Its
great battle agairfst the Union. Prob
ably this gallant Southern soldier did
not reach this opinion for at least ten
years after the surrender at Appomat
tox, for the great advantages accruing
to the South from the perpetuation of
the Union were not at once apparent.
The emancipation of the blacks and its
regrettable consequences was a subject
of immediate consideration, but the far
reaching consequence of the political
emancipation and elevation of the "poor
white" farmer class of the South
through the extinction of slavery was
not fully anticipated and understood
even by the intelligent leaders of the
Southern Bourbons. This political
emancipation of the poor small white
farmers of the South was the most im
portant result of the war. The transfer
of political power was not complete un
til the Tlllmanltes upset Generals
Hampton and Butler In South Carolina.
The power that has passed away from
the old-time ruling class to the poor
white class will never return to those
who have lost it
The nonslaveholdlng whites of the
South are now on deck, and are
sure by force of numbers to stay there.
If the same Industrial and commercial
situation that exists today had existed
at the South In 1850-61, secession would
have been impossible. The 30,000 miles
of railway then in the United States
were chiefly In the Northern States.
There are 200,000 miles of railway within
the United States today, and among the
greatest and most prosperous of our
railroad systems the Southern systems
are conspicuous. Southern manufac
turers of cotton and iren compete ex
tensively with those of the rest of the
Union. The "poor whites" of both sexes
are today the cotton factory hands at
the South. The cotton crop of I860 was
4,500,000 bales; the cotton crop of last
year was about 11,000,000 bales. The
population of the eleven seceding states
in 1S60 was about 9,000,000, but in 1900
it had increased to about 20,000,000. In
1860 the people of the South were poor;
there was a wealthy political oligarchy
of 350,000 slaveholders, whose existence
impoverished and degraded the small
white farmer. These are some of the
reasons resting on radically changed so
cial and commercial conditions, that
would make the South today reject se
cession as they would a proposal of sui
cide; but there are some other reasons
which serve to bind the sections togeth
er In sentiment as well as self-interest
If the Government of the United
States had treated the South brutally
after the Civil War, there would be
nothing like real reconstruction today,
but the truth is that outside df the ini
tial blunder of negro suffrage, the po
litical treatment of the South following
the Civil War was neither inconsider
ate nor ungenerous. The old soldiers on
both sides were conspicuous for mod
eration of speech and action. The
demagogues, of course, on both sides
made the most of their opportunity for
mischief. But on the whole the people
of the North and the South have come
to a fairly good understanding of each
other in virtues and infirmities, and are
disposed to exercise a large charity for
each other. The Spanish-American War,
the war in the Philippines in which the
best blood of both North and South has
been shed for the old flag has served
to still the voice of sectionalism and the
harsh cry of peacock political partisan
ship. We are where we are happily today
chiefly through American good sense
and good feeling. We could not be
where we are today under a monarch
ical form of government Only under
free Institutions could we so quickly
compose the great quarrel of a civil
war. This is due to the fact that our
great Civil War was a conflict between
systems, not a fight about dynasties.
1 In 1715 there was a Jacobite rebellion In
England and Scotland. There was no
principle Involved of good government.
It was merely a matter of loyal devotion
to the Stuart dynasty, the most worth
less family in history, for which brave
and noble-minded men died in battle or
in poverty-stricken exile. Among the
rebels executed for treason In 1715 was
the Earl of Derwentwater. His brother,
Charles Ratcliff, an accomplished man,
escaped to France. .Here he remained
thirty years, and, venturing to England
in 1746, was captured by a British ship
and sent to the scaffold undef the old
judgment of 1715, and so, too, was Dr.
Cameron, the brother of the famous
Lochlef, chief of the Clan Cameron.
This kind of judicial cruelty was pos
sible, perhaps natural, in a dynastic
quarrel. George II's liberal-minded
statesmen urged the exercise of clem
ency in the cases of Ratcliff and Cam
eron, but the brutal old German would
not listen to the appeal. He had been
too badly frightened by the Jacobite
rising of 1745 to be merciful. Had it
been a mere quarrel between political
systems, npt a fight between dynasties,
pardon could have been easily obtained.
Great Britain found It easy to be mer
ciful in the Canadian rebellion of 1837
and In the Irish insurrection of 1848;
finds It easy to be generous In Its terms
with the Boers, because these quarrels
are not instinct with the personal po
litical bitterness of dynaotic conflicts.
Events tread so swiftly upon the heels
of events, crowding each other out of
the public mind, that the recent yes
terdays oC the Nation belong to a dis
tinct era the incidents -Of which are re
called with a start of surprised mem
ory. Thus the name of Grover Cleve
land, but now standing for the political
activities, and to a greater or less extent
the industrial depression of the country,
recalls an era that has moved off or
been crowded Into the domain of the
past, though In reality but a few years
distant. "Tilden and Cleveland." How
utterly insignificant beside either of
these names is that of Bryan, the god
of latter-day Democracy, shouting free
silver and mouthing imperialism! If
the rehabilitation and consolidation
of the Democratic party is to be
accomplished, Bryan must be left
out of the councils of the recon
structlonists. Even then, with Grover
Cleveland and David B. Hill working in
full accord, the Republican aggregation,
under the inspiring leadership of Theo
dore Roosevelt will hold the political
fort, rejoicing In having met and over
come an opposition masterfully mar
shaled for the fray foemen whom it 13
an honor as well as a pleasure to defeat.
The Oregon Soldiers' Home at Rose
burg is said to.be in excellent condition
as to discipline and financial manage
ment. At the same time the comfort
and health of the inmates are carefully
looked after. While the eulogiums passed
upon Soldiers' Homes by an inmate of
one of these institutions on parole, who
In endeavoring to persuade an old com
rade to make application for entrance
therein said, "Why, man, you can go to
"bed there with your boots on, if you
want to," does not apply to the Home
at Roseburg, the old soldiers there as
sembled are treated with consideration
and kindness, and are well fed, well
clad and comfortafbly housed, thus fill
ing the measure of humanity and use
fulness to which the Institution is
pledged.
Paterson, N. J., Is in a fair way to
get a long-needed cleaning out of an
archists and other disturbers of the
peace. The cloak of honest labor does
not disguise the motives, and cannot
long protect the persons of anarchists
and strikers bent upon destroying prop
erty. The spectacle of men wearing re
volvers at their belts while spinning and
weaving is not a pleasing one, but It
is reassuring in that It Indicates a de
termination long overdue on the part of
substantial citizens of Paterson to give
outlaws who Interfere with their busi
ness a proper quietus. To temporize
with people-of this class is but to invite
disaster, since they are wholly unable
to discriminate between magnanimity
and cowardice between concession and
capitulation.
Observe that Messrs.
Bacon Jones of Nev.
Bailer McLaurln
Berr' Mallory
Blackburn Martin
Carmack Patterson
Clark Stewart
Clay Taliaferro
Culberson Teller and
Heltfeld Turner .
Jones of Arlc ,
voted on Thursday for a bill authoriz
ing $130,000,000 of gold bonds, Interest
to be paid in gold coin. Who shall
rescue the brow of labor from the crown
of thorns, and mankind from trans
fixion on a cross of gold, when this once
gallant band of silverites thus bow the
knee to the accursed gold standard?
The death of Albert, King of Saxony,
is an event without political significance
to Europe. A wealthy -and childless
monarch, his estates and his throne de
scend to his brother. Prince George.
The royal house of Saxony is of an
cient but not powerful, lineage. Close
ly allied to those of Prussia and Great
Britain by generations of Intermarriage
and birth, it holds a regal and assured
place in the line of monarchs. Only
this, and nothing more.
There is one story about the escaped
convicts Tracy and Merrill that the
public is fully warranted In believing.
When last seen "they looked tired and
worn." We can well believe that their
excursion Is not all a picnic, since In
following them several companies of
militia, the Sheriffs of four counties, an
Indefinite number of detectives and
two brace of bloodhounds have been
successively tired out.
Mr. Chamberlain, Governor-elect, is
very earnest and urgent on the subject
of flat salaries. Which Is well. Under
present conditions, through salary and
emoluments, he gets about $4250 a year
Mr. Chamberlain expects a "Hat salary"
of about $5000 a year$ and no doubt
would consider $6000 better.
Our staff correspondence from Seattle
this morning shows what immigration
means to a state's seaports. Railroad
activity in Securing settlers has filled
up Eastern Washington. It can also fill
up Eastern and Western Oregon, and it
should. .
Mr. Richardson's objections to the Re
publican majority Includes arraignment
because jio more legislation in susten
tion of the gold standard has been en
acted. Some silver men are easily of
fended. A flat salary of $5000 a year Is as un
constitutional as are fees and perqui
sites aggregating $4250, and takes more
money from the treasury.
THE PRESIDENT SUSTAINED.
Boston Herald.
The closing days of the week just over
witnessed two remarkable incidents In the
progress of the Cuban situation toward
the United States. They were, first the
disclosure of the circumstance that Gen
eral Wood, as Military Governor of Cuba,
has Interfered with the use of Cuban funds
to promote certain legislation in the Inter
est of the Island in the United States Con
gress; second, the appearance of a mes
sage from President Roosevelt urging upon
Congress the wisdom and propriety of
such legislation. The two incidents are
not of necessity connected, but there Is
little doubt that the one grew out of the
other. The President does not refer to the
Governor's action which we have noted
above, and does net. therefore. Indorse It:
but he does indorse the cause in which It
was undertaken, and he apparently recog
nizes an exigency as having arisen In the
interest of this cause which makes It ex
pedient that he shall enter upon the step
he has taken This seems to have come
"from the course pursued by the Governor.
The Interest of President Roosevelt In
the promotion of Cuban reciprocity under
the tariff with this country Is no new
manifestation. It appeared In his annual
message to Congress, which he himself
now quotes. His message is as calm and
cool as It 13 clear and decided. He does
not mix himself In any mistakes that Gen
eral Wood may havo made. He sees Gen
eral Wood as having given the opponents
of Cuban reciprocity an advantage In Con
gress by the policy he has pursued. The
President does not undertake to pass upon
that policy. He neither indorses nor con
demns It. That is a matter aside from
what Is concerning his mind now. He
may appropriately deal with It In the fu
ture. His present concern Is to counter
act its effect in aiding thooa who would
Impede the progress of desirable legisla
tion toward Cuba.
The President is right In what he has
done, and he deserves to be sustained by
the country. His message tends to divert
attention from the extraneous features In
his Cuban question, and to turn it to that
which is really vital in the matter. The
nation needs to do Justice to Cuba, and.
we may add, to da justice to itself. "Here
Is the paramount duty in the case. No
one can accuse Mr. Roosevelt of acting
prematurely upon It. He has been cautious
and forbearing, rather. But when the oc
casion came that it was necessary that the
situation be met by positive action on his
part he rose promptly to meet it, and he
has done this In a way which affords no
one who sympathizes with Cuban reciproc
ity the slightest cause for cavil.
A Chlvnlrons Plen.
New York World.
President Roosevelfs special message to
Congress is an urgent and iorclble appeal
which under the circumstances is not only
a courageous, but a chivalrous act Cuba
has no votes to cant in the Republican
nominating convention or at the polls In
1904; the beet-sugar states have, and Mr.
Roosevelt has many strong friends in
those states whom this special message
will not please.
Ignoring all lower considerations and
resting his plea for Cuba on the higher
grounds of what honor and duty and
magnanimity require us to do, the Presi
dent carries not only the Judgment of the
country with him, but Its sentiment
Confer ens Should Act.
New York Tribune.
There can be no further doubt or ques
tion as to where he stands. We believe
there Is none as to where the Republican
party as a whole stands, or as to what
the American neonle. hv nn nvcrwhplmlntr
majority, desire. The President has plead
ed the Case eo directly and so etrougly
that he should have the unhesitating sup
port of every member of his party in Con
gress. Nominally the President's mes
sage Is an appeal for Cuba. In a higher
sense it is an appeal for the United States
for the vindication of National honor
and the promotion .of- National welfare.
We are not willing to believe that such
an appeal can fall to have effect
Honor or Repudiation?
New York Sun.
We do not believe that an American
Congress, Republican In both houses, will
reject this manly appeal from the man in
the White House.
We do not believe that the Republicans
in Congress will defeat positively by vote
or negatively by obstruction and omis
sion, the Cuban policy of McKlnley and
Roosevelt
We do not believe that either the Sen
ate or the House will put upon the Gov
ernment of the United States the shame
of repudiation, or bring down financial
ruin upon the neighboring people we have
enfranchised.
A Convincing: Slexsnge.
Springfield Republican.
President Roosevelt's special urgency
message to Congress respecting Cuban
reciprocity has been expected for some
time. It is an earnest, sober, convincing
plea for liberal commercial dealings with
the new republic, In harmony with the
declared trade and tariff policy of the
Republican party. ... It is a conclu
sive argument which the President pre
sents, and Congress cannot fall to act In
accordance therewith withqut repudiating
a clear National obligation as well as run
ning against our own commercial and po
litical Interests.
Appeal From Selfishness to States
manship. Providence Journal.
President Roosevelt's message to Con
gress is an appeal to the Republican party
to throw off the selflshri'ess that now dom
inates It and to give to the Ciibans "all
posslblo chance to use to the best advan
tage the freedom of which Americans
have such right to be proud and for which
so many lives have been sacrificed." Can
the Senators come up to the' President's
level of statesmanship and political ex
pediency? Did All That lie Co aid.
New York Times.
The President has set himself right be
fore the people. No one can mistake his
attitude. Whatever may be the popular
judgment on Congress, the people will
understand that the President has done
all that he could in the cause of Justice,
decency, and the highest expediency.
The Senatorial "Borers."
. New York Herald.
In sending his special message to Con
gress urging prompt relief for Cuba, the
President has defied the threats of Re
publican "Boxers" and done his duty re
gardless of political consequences.
It is a ringing and persuasive presenta
tion of the case.
Present Farcical Laxr Xot Wanted.
Weston Leader.
A number of Oregon newspapers seem to
be exercised over Governor Geers candi
dacy for the United States Senate, and
his Indorsement by the people at the re
cent election. There is no occasion for
alarm. The Legislature will undoubtedly
do exactly as It pleases, since the ma
jority vote of the electors la by no meas
binding, and would have been cast for
any other Republican candidate whose
name appeared on the official ballot What
we want is direct election of United
States Senators, not the present 'farcical
law.
A Good Example.
Utica Press.
Notwithstanding their strained relations,
Secretary Root introduced General Miles
to the students at West Point as "a man
who cantell you how to win battles."
That was surely a very gracious intro
duction and could not have been more so
had they been the best of friends, high
In each other's esteem. The fact that
General Miles Is not on a peace footing
with the War Department and is not
highly esteemed by the officials thereof
old not prevent Secretary Root from be
ing very courteous In public
MISS LEE AND THE JIM-CROW LAW
Chicago Chronicler
A few days ago Miss Mildred Curtis Lee.
daughter of the late General Robert K.
Lee, boarded a street-car running from
Washington to Alexandria and seated her
self in the section of the car which, under
a statute of the State of Virginia, Is de
voted, to the uses of ""niggers.'
When the car reached the sacred soil
Mis? Lf e was told by the conductor that
she must move out of the colored section
Into the white section. As she had sundry
impediments with her and was situated in
a manner satisfactory to herself, she was
unable to- sec why she should move, and
declined to do so.
Thereupon the conductor, mindful of the
majesty of the law. caused her arrest
when the car arrived In the vicinity of a
justice establishment, 'where the lady was
put under bonds to appear next day and
answer to the charge of holding the fort
Jn the'jim-crow end of the car. ,
She appeared at the appointed hour,
and, the law being no respecter of persons,
she was fined $0.
Acordlng to a dispatch from Richmond
the Confederate Veterans are highly In
dignant and "some of them" go eo far as
to demand the repeal of the Jim-crow law
so far as it applies to street-cars.
One would suppose that all of them
might go to that length. Can the passion
for openly expressing contempt for an in
ferior race go to a more absurd extreme
that it has gone in the enactment of this
Jim-crow law?
Is there a white man In all Virginia
who cannot see what Is worse than ab
surdity, an Insolent Invasion of the rights
of the individual, in this dictation to men
and women of what they must do to em
phasize the vast distance between blue
blood and black blood?
Is not the daughter of the greatest Gen
eral, the most Idolized military leader of
the late Confederacy, capable of deciding
for herself whether her dignity and self
respect are able to bear the 9traln to
which they would be subjected by sitting
in a seat dedicated by an act of the Leg
islature of Virginia to negro occupancy?
Miss Lee has seen enough of negroes
vn& Is a good enough Southerner to un
derstand the proprieties In such a matter.
She cannot need to be Instructed in mat
ters of this kind by a9 lot of politicians
not noted for superior refinement or so
cial discrimination.
Swelling: Pension Rolls.
Chicago Record-Herald.
It Is reported from the office of the
Commissioner of Pensions that the num
ber of pensioners April 30. was 99S.303. and
that there were 335,259 claims pending, of
which 36,611 are due to the war with Spain.
It Is now 37 years since the close of the
Civil War, yet the number of pensioners
Is the largest in our history. There has
been a steady increase, with but a slight
setback In 1S99-1900. since 1873, when the
total was 223.99S. This Increase went on
with accelerated speed toward the close
of the decade In 1SS0-1SS0. and was given a
new Impulse by the disability pension act
of the year last named. During 1831 and
1S92 It was at the rate of ,200,000 a year,
and in 1S93 the total stood at 366,012. By
that time the force of the new legislation
was fully developed, but additions to the
rolls have continued as indicated by the
totals fpr the years named in the follow
ing table:
1S91..., 969,514
1S95 970,524
1S96 970.678
1S97. 976.014
1S98 993,714
1S99 931.519
1900. 995.520
1901 997.733
1902 993.303
In considering these figures It must be
remembered that there Is a large number
of 'deaths every year among the older
pensioners and among those claiming from
them. This accounts for the slight In
crease at the present time, and not any
lack of applications. The last report of
the Commissioner of Pensions showed
that the original applications on account
of the Civil War for the fiscal year ending
June 31, 1901, amounted to about CO.OOO.
and that the applications on account of
the Spanish War for the same period num
bered nearly 20,000.
The pending Spanish claims of 33,611
represent a very large percentage of the
troops who saw actual service, and un
doubtedly many of them should and will
be disallowed. It Is simply impossible
that an army of young men such as was
called together could present that number
of Just claims. Another noticeable feature
of the applications In connection with the
Spanish War is the large number of "re
married widows" who are claimants under
the act of March 3, 1901. Over 3000 of them
had appeared before June 30 of tfiat year
toeeek restoration during a second widow
hood or as divorcees. And the possibili
ties from this vicious legislation are only
dimly realized as yet.
On to the West Indies.
Chicago Tribune..
The country will be glad to see Admiral
Dewey on deck once more. It is true
that his exploits this time will be In the
nature of experiments performed under
a glass case, but experiments are Interest
ing, and when they are performed by a
man like Dewey cannot be neglected. Be
sides, the maneuvers In the West Indies
will be of a colossal kind. Never before
has the United States got together so
large an armament In times of peace.
There will be the North Atlantic squad
ron", the South Atlantic squadron, and the
European squadron. There will also be a
flotilla- of torpedo-boats. There will also
be a fleet of colliers and provision ships.
There will also be a distilling ship, a re
pair ship and a hospital ship. Finally
there will be a complement of water
barges. One can easily see that all this
portends much grandeur and impresslve
ness. As a spectacle the thing will be
the best that the United States has ever
presented. The Admiral will rejoice to
be on the ocean once more after a long
period of shore life. The maneuvers he
is to superintend next Fall will not be
so exciting for him as those in Manila
Bay, but they will be a refreshing change
from the placid routine of the last few
years.
A Queer Ground of Opposition.
Philadelphia Bulletin.
Senator Dubois of Idaho is quoted as
assuming a novel attitude on the isthmian
canal issue. He is said to have asserted
that the construction of the canal by
either the Panama or the Nicaragua
route would prove ruinous to the Pacific
slope, and to have declared that he pro
poses to oppose canal legislation of any
type. Thl3 statement has at least the
merit of frankness, but it is not likely to
find many open adherents. It is well un
derstood that the transcontinental rail
roads would prefer not to see any canal
built, but with this exception opinion in
the United States Is overwhelmingly In
favor of the project There need be no
fear that Its completion woul do grave
injury to the Pacific Coast Interests. In
any event, the thriving cities of our West
ern coast must do an increasing business
In the Oriental trade, and their natural
resources are such that It is absurd to
predict the coming of disaster lf the
country should dig a ditch between the
two oceans.
Hoar's "Wasted Rhetoric.
Kansas City Journal.
While he was soaring aloft In eloquent
flights about the wickedness of govern
ing a people without their consent the
Philippines Commission was reporting that
a majority of the Filipinos were willing
and anxious to live under the government
of the United States. While the echoes of
the Senator's speech were still reverbera
ting through the Capitol, a delegate from
the Federal party, the only political
organization In the archipelago claiming
in Its membership most of the education,
wealth and patriotism, of 7,000.000 of popu
lationwas before a committee of the
Senate explaining that his countrymen
were satisfied with the rule of th"e United
States; that they hoped lt would not be
withdrawn, and that they begged our
people not to leave them as a Drey to
1 their enemies.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
Even Summer seems to be rushing the
season.
Nicaragua will have to go way back
and dig an opposition canal.
Mount Pelee continues to stand in with
the publishers of new school geographies.
Hadn't wobetter send for thosa blood
hounds and' turn them loose In the North
end?
Cuba sees little hope In the Senate, and
Cuba Is fully as keen-sighted as many
thinking Americans.
The beauty of the Ice cream combine Is
that It will have to pass over all Its profits
to the ice trust.
A few more hot winds from the East
and we shall begin to be suspicious of the
'sobriety of Mount Hood.
Judging by the list of Americans who
will attend the coronation, there will be
little room for the peerage.
The King of Saxony was a long time
dying, but he made as good a job of It
as his bitterest enemy could desire.
No, gentle reader, just becaure he wore
a Panama hat he was not necessarily J.
P. Morgan. Both hat and man have Imi
tators. Lord Beresford says the British Navy
Is rotten. The Sampson and the Schley
he has In view have not yet appeared In
evidence.
Perhaps a little less attention to outlaws
In Washington and a little more to thugs
at home might Improve our local detec
tive service.
If King Edward had thought of it ha
might have made the occasion still more
auspicious by waiting to be crowned on
the Fourth of July.
Senator Bacon says that the Philippine
camps are suburbs of hell. If the Senator
can provide transportation facilities, he
will find no end of commuters to patron
ize his line.
Personal Messrs. Tracy and Merrill, the
well-known outlaws, have left their tem
porary residence on the first page, and
are now quietly sojourning next to pure
reading matter on the inside.
Another professor of Chicago University
has come forward with a sensational the
ory. Mr. Rockefeller must use up a good
part of the earnings of the S. O. Co. on
tha advertising department of his billion
dollar school.
The golden text for a certain Sunday
school was, "And the child grew and
wnPd strnnsr In spirit." (Luke 11:40). Lit
tle "Ted's" hand went up like a flash when
the, superintendent asked: "Can any of
these bright, smiling little boys or girls
repeat the golden text for today? Ah,
how glad it makes my heart to see so
many little hands go upT Teddy, my boy.
you may repeat it, and speak good and
loud, that all may hear." And they ail
heard this: "And the child grew and
waxed strong In spirit like 2:40."
An English writer has the following to
say of a popular American novelist: "I
was surprised when I met Marlon Craw
ford today down at Sarah Bernhardfs
theater. He had been supervising the re
hearsals of 'Francesca da Rimini,' and
was very happy with the enthusiasm of
Sarah for the work. As we drove back
together the brilliant author told me that
he could count on his fingers the days
that-he had been in England during the
last 20 years. Southern Italy was to him
a paradise. Marlon Crawford Is a burly
man. almost horse guards blue ia his
gait, but I should Imagine, of very deli
cate temperament. Although the day was
mild and a Jacket was sufficient for the
ordinary man, he buttoned up his over
coat to the cheek bones and then seemed
chilly."
The venerable Senator Pettus, of Ala
bama, Is entitled to be known as "the
last of the snufftakers." On either side
of the United States Senate chamber Is
an ancient snuffbox one for Republicans
and one for Democrats. The boxes are a
survival of the old-time habit of snuff
taklng. which was almost universal in the
18th century among persons of fashion
and public men. The habit persisted well
through the first half of the 19th cen
tury, but during the past 50 years snuff
has gone out of style. The Senate boxes,
however, remain, and it appears that they
are kept filled. A Washington paper re
cently noted that Senator Vest, of Mis
souri, and Senator Harris, of Kansas, who
formerly used the boxes occasionally,
have broken off the habit, and that Sen
ator Pettus Is now their solitary patron.
He Is the last of the snufftakers, at least
in that historic body. "Every now and
then he goes to one of the black ebony
boxes . . . and, taking a pinch, snuffs
it. Then an expansive smile spreads over
his face, and. with a look of thorough
enjoyment, he sneezes." Senator, Pettus,
being well -over 80 years of age, came
honestly by the snuff habit since he was
taught the grand manners of the old
school of Southern statesmen in vogue
60 years ago.
7
Evil Power Increased.
Philadelphia North American.
In the present and future of Quayism
it needs no seer to discern that there Is
greater menace than ever before threat
ened the state. It has crushed revolt,
shackled the men who had made them
selves Infamous In its service, and en
trenched itself behind a fatuous respect
ability. From weakness It has plucked
strength. In that certain elements of po
litical villlany have been routed the peo
ple may congratulate themselves. In that
the greater force for evil has taken new
power they may well look to the defenses
of their state's honor.
Counsel to Girls.
Robert Herrick.
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.
Old Time Is still a-flylng;
And this same flower that smiles today.
Tomorrow will be dying'.
The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun.
The higher he's a-gettlng
The sooner will his race be run.
And nearer he's to setting.
That age Is best which Is the first.
When jouth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times, still succeed the former.
Then be not coy, but use your time;
And while ye may, go marry;
For having- lost but once jour prime.
You may for ever tarry.
On a. Girdle.
Edmund Waller.
That which her slender waist confined
Shall now my Joyful temples bind;
No- monarch but would give his crown
His arms might do what this has dona.
It was my heaven's extremest sphere.
The pale which held that lovely deer;
My Joy, my grief, my hope, my love
Did all within this circle move.
A narrow compass! and yet there
Dwelt all that's good, and all that's fair;
Give me but what this riband bound,
Take all the rest the sun goes round.