THE MOROTNG OREGOjNIAN, TUESDAY .AUGUST 9,- 1904,
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PORTLAND, TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1904,
WAGES AND PRICES.
Kepresentative Cowherd's answer toA
Carroll D. "Wright's statistics of wages
and prices is in many respects admira
ble, and occupies to some extent, it will
be recalled, the ground covered in these
columns at .the time Mr. Wright's de
duotions. "were given out. And yet it
would be very easy to show that the
Cowherd arraignment of the industrial
situation is no more logical than Mr.
"Wright's glorification of Republican
rule. As we have often sought to show
in these columns, statistics are capable
of almost any desired exhibit in the
hands of skillful manipulators. One
has only to pick out the years, Indus
tries, articles, etc, to suit the purpose
in hand, and the thing. Is done.
It was the structural weakness of Mr.
"Wright's argument, for example, that
he undertook to demonstrate an Im
provement in prices by making compar
isons with 1S96, when business was so
unusually depressed that products of all
sorts had no value in the ordinary
meaning of the term. No trustworthy
or serviceable cbncluslon as to the con
dition of our working people can be
drawn from the abnormal year of 1S96
It Is a perfectly fair answer which Mr.
Cowherd makes, mpreover, that wages
have risen In unprotected Industries;
and that upon those industries Mr.
"Wright largely depends for his optim
lstic exhibit, and that In other lines.
;whlch Mr. "Wright carefully ignores, the
wage fund has actually declined.
But if Mr. Cowherd thought to make
any better showing for his own side of
the controversy, he has failed. He says
that increased wages are due to unions
and most prevalent in strongly union
ized industries. But he goes right on
to complain of the bad conditions
.among railroad men and miners. These
two fields of labor are well unionized
-whatever Mr. Cowherd may say; and if
the -tariff has not raised "wages where
wages are higher, then It has certainly
not reduced wages where they are
lower. His reference to scanter hours
of labor is "at least "unfortunate; for Is it
not' one of the dearest purposes of
urilpnlsm to secure a constantly lessen
ing. number of hours in the day and
days in the week?
There are two reasons "why these" dis
cusslons are unprofitable. One is that
in the general run of things high wages
and high prices go together. It is
foolish task for Mr. "Wright to seek,
through manipulation of figures, to
show that the Republican party has
brought about an era of high wages
and low prices; and it Is equally boot
less for Mr. Cowherd to intimate that
Republican rule means low wages and
high prices. The other reason is that
every such undertaking Is a two-edged
sword. Cheap bread doesn't suit the
farmer, nor low cost of meat the stock
grower. It is questionable, also,
whether a demonstration in high labor ,
cost of manufactures does as much good
with workingmen as it does harm with
owners and investors.
There is another element In the cost
of living which it seems to us these
partisan controversialists too much ig
nore, and that is the effect of cheap
ened processes of manufacture upon
products not foodstuffs. The man who
earns from $100 to $150 a month spends
approximately $30 to $50 a month on his
table. The rest goes for things outside
the necessaries of life. Clothing is
much cheaper than it used to be. So
is furniture and so are all the odds and
ends of housekeeping. Interest on the
homebuilder's mortgage Is lower, and
as for house rent, it rises and falls with
the general condition of industry. Rent
is high when employment Is plenty and
the worker has the means to pay it;
and it comes down when jobs are scarce
and rent-paying capacity Is impaired.
The average lot of common humanity
is immensely easier today than it was a
generation ago. Since population has
doubled, the piano, for example, is ten
times as common. This improvement is
not due to the tariff, as Republican
spellbinders would hav.e it, nor yet to
the trusts, as their defenders fondly
declare, but to the advance of science
and Its application to industry. It is
the chemist who has established the
packing Industry by teaching it how to
use by-products. It is the inventor, not
(Rockefeller or Havemeyer, who has
given us cheap sugar and kerosene
These axe the great material-glories of
our modern civilization, and it i3 better
for the campaign hustler to leave them
unspotted from his unclean hands.
HOPE VERSUS DESPAIR.
The November election will be decid
ed, not by the veteran Gold Democrats
who voted for McKInley in 1S96, but by
men who at that time were from 13 to
21 years of age, whose first vote for
President will belong in 1S96, 1900 or
1904. Of the men 35 years and over In
1896 some 2,500,000 have died since that
ear, and the ranks of the voters have
been increased by not fewer than 3,000,
000 who have become voters since 1895.
"Whoever can get the bulk of these
young men will be elected President.
It is an Interesting fact, as a little
inquiry will show any unprejudiced ob
server, that young men of Democratic
antecedents who cast their first vote in
1896 or 1900 show much less inclination
to vote for Parker than do the older
men. whose minds are swayed by the
recollections of 1876, 1884 and 1892. This
Is partly explainable, of course by ref
erence to the power of old associations,
but it may be explained also in many
cases by the fact that the younger mind
Is attracted more by the gospel of hope
and endeavor than by the wall of com-.
plaint and despair. The old man for
reflection and misgivings, perhaps, but
the young man1 for action and confi
dence. "What a contrast in this respect Is af
forded by the attitude of the two great
parties today! 'The Republican looks
out upon what- seems fo him on the
whole a pretty good sort of world.
Times are ,good, business is thriving,
our foreign relations are peaceful and
oUr domestic affairs satisfactory. The
Treasury Is full, foreltm trade Is ad
vancing every year, our Army and i
Navy have sustained their high tradi
tions on land -and sea, the isthmian
canal goes ahead apace, the dependen
cies are coming on comfortably, the
gold standard is secure, capital is well
Invested and labor well employed. "We
point to the past with pride, we re
joice in the present, we look to the
future with resolution and hope.
Cross the street and you enter the
house of mourning. Sackcloth shrouds
every form, ashes rest on every brow.
Instead of the song of hope, we hear
the lamentations of Jeremiah and the
grief of Job. If you look at President
Roosevelt one way 'he is dangerous to
the financial Interests, and in another
way he is under the control of the
money power. The people are being
ground into the earth, and on the other
hand the country Is being delivered
over to the rabble. Taxes are too high.
the Treasury Is plundered, our foreign
relations are Imperiled, our domestic
affairs too much Interfered with and too
much let alone at the same time, and
our free institutions are menaced in a
thousand different places. Everything
that is, is to be viewed with alarm;
whatever Is, is wrong.
"While it is true now and always must
be true that earthly Institutions and
mortal men fall something short of the
ideal; and while what Is satisfactory to
some or even to most cannot be satis
factory to all, and while there is no
great and wise man or great and wise
undertaking but will at some point lend
itself readily to captious criticism, It Is
yet very doubtful if this gospel of pes
simism can address Itself successfully
to the 3,000,000 young voters of the land,
who will find it hard to reconcile things
as they find them with the black pic
ture painted by the Democrats; who
will suspect there is something wrong
when the party of despair can find no
spot in all the wide domain of current
progress on which to Test in approval,
confidence and hope.
DOLLAR WHEAT AGAIN.
Chicago quotations yesterday made
dollar wheat look cheap. Cash wheat
and the entire list of options sold above
$1 per bushel, and the gain in May and
December was more than 4 cents per
bushel. This wild market and excitable
prices are due to the continued bad crop
reports ffom all parts of the great
wheat belt of the- Middle "West and
Northwest, and are so unlike any of the
previous booms of recent years that the
professional operators stand aghast,
afraid 'to buy and afraid to sell. A few
months ago, when Mr. Armour was
carrying on a systematic bull campaign
in wheat, the sensational advances
noted from time to time were the result
of clever manipulation, and by these
methods he succeeded In forcing the
price up to $L09 per bushel. Then came
the crash, and wheat went down with a
rush, declining more than 25 cents per
bushel before it paused for breath.
The slump which followed the. close of
the Armour deal was the logical termi
nation of a clever piece of manipula
tion, backed by a statistical position
sufficiently strong to start a speculative
movement, but not strong enough to
maintain it to the end to -which It was
sure to be carried by the excited specu
lators who are always the most power
ful as well as the most uncertain factor
to be reckoned with In a. wheat deal.
At the time Mr. Armour succeeded in
forcing the cereal up to $1 per bushel
the 1904 wheat crop in this country was
sufficiently promising to warrant specu
lators in selling wheat for July deliv
ery at fully 20 cents per bushel under
the abnormal and unnatural price of
the May delivery. This was conclusive
evidence that the strength in May
wheat was artificial and due to manip
ulation. In the present bull market, however,
there Is a very pronounced reversal of
conditions, for, while wheat for Sep
tember delivery in Chicago closed yes
terday at $1.01, for May delivery the
close was $1.01. In other words, the
near-by option during the Armour deal
sold at a premium of about 20 cents per
bushel over that for distant delivery,
while on yesterday's market the distant
option commanded a premium over that
for September delivery. This reflects
an intrinsic strength which was miss
ing from the market -when It was under
the manipulative Influence of Mr. Ar
mour. Just how far this strength will
carry prices it is difficult to forecast.
As has frequently been stated, the
American market is far out of line with
the rest .of the world's markets, and it
will be necessary for us to use all of
our wheat at home in order to maintain
these prices.
Oregon and "Washington growers are
both fortunate and unfortunate under
present conditions. They are fortunate
In having larger crops than have been
produced this year in any other part of
the United States, and in a measure
unfortunate through their inability to
reach the markets that are now paying
the highest prices for the cereal. One
pleasant feature of the situation lies in
the fact that, no matter where the
wheat is marketed, there is but a very
faint possibility of the farmer being
obliged to accept less than 50 cents net,
and at present he can secure 60 cents
net, and even better. There is a good
profit in wheatgrowing at these figures,
and a low valuation of the crop of Ore
gon, "Washington and Idaho this year
would be $30,000,000.
"MORE POWER" FOR ICHABOD.
It is conducive to the general gayety
that just as the Interstate Commerce
Commission has begun rendering decis
ions uniformly in favor of the railroads
the Democrats should be demanding
more power for it. All of which seems
solemn enough, of course, to the staid
and conservative Financial Chronicle,
to which we are Indebted for the dis
covery, but such things are obviously
no laughing matter for "Wall street. The
St. Louis platform declares for "an en
largement of the powers of the Inter
state Commerce Commission to the end
that the traveling public and shippers
of this country may have prompt and
adequate relief from the abuses to
which they are subjected in the matter
of transportation."
It appears from the record, however.
that if present tendency is a safe guide,
the more power the commission gets
the worse off the shippers would be.
One case which has just been decided
was "In the matter of allowances to
elevators by the Union Pacific Railroad
Company." The points of the decision
are enumerated as follows: (1) That
the comnensation nald for the elevator
or transfer service is not unreasonable; 1
(2) that the' Union Pacific Is entitled to
perform the work itself or have It done'
by others and is not legally' at fault or
guilty of wrongdoing because incident
ally those employed by the carrier to
transfer the grain are aided more or
less in another line of business in which
they are engaged; (3) that any Injury or
detriment resulting to rival carriers'
under the arrangement is something
which the law does not seek to prevent
The opinion In this case was by Chair
man Knapp.
Another decision was that In the
cases against the Southern Railway
Company and the Columbia, Newberry
& Laurens Railroad Company", Involv
ing the question of storage charges on
freight held in railroad depots, the
opinion In this instance being by Com
missioner Fifer. The Commission lays
down the sensible rule that a railroad
freight depot and a public storage
warehouse are not used for similar pur
poses, and the charge for storage in
the railrpad depot may properly be
made higher than the public warehouse
charge with the object of compelling
the expeditious removal of freight.
The decision -consequently is that the
Southern Rajlway Company, in apply
ing storage rates in excess of the usual
public warehouse charge on interstate
traffic at Macon, Ga., and the Columbia,
Newberry & Laurens in applying stor
age rates at Columbia, S. C, In excess
of the usual public warehouse charges,
did -not violate the act to regulate com
merce. .The commission at the same
time decides that storage rates and reg
ulations enforced by common carriers
subject to the interstate law must be
published at the. stations of the roads
and filed with the commission.
There is a reasonable probability that
nobody in the St. Louis Convention
knew anything about the course of the
Interstate Commerce Commission's re
cent rulings. All simply recalled the
same old cry for more power for it and
supposed it periectly safe to take a
chance in favor of the downtrodden
traveling public and shipper. The Dem
ocratic party Is the great apostle and
advocate of every one who has noth
ingthere is no doubt about that; but
it is not always as judicious as possible
in the means it suggests for getting
even.
A LESSON IN WOODCRAFT.
"Wesley Pyle, S. youth of 19, who was
recently shot for a deer In the moun
tains near Cow Creek, In Southern Ore
gon, w.as "not skilled in woodcraft.'
Hence he became the target for the rifle
of a man who, by inference, knew ex
actly what he was doing. Rev. L. E
Meminger was the marksman in this in
stance. He was out for deer, and evi
dently regarded any object that had the
temerity to move in the bushes "his
meat." Young Pyle, "ignorant of wood
craft," was not able to get through the
bushes without setting them in motion.
He had, moreover, just shot his first
deer, and the prudence that forbids a
trained woodsman to move under such
circumstances was ignored. A shot
from the minister's rifle brought him to
a realising sense of his ignorance of
woodcraft Fortunately he was not
killed, only winged. He now lies in i
hospital in this city, his right shoul
der shattered, but with a good chance
of recovery.
In extenuation of his lack of know!
edge of woodcraft it is explained that
the lad was but recently from Iowa
and knew nothing about mountains
Having shot a deer, he grew" excited It
was his first deer and not being
aware that he was in dangerous prox
imlty to a man with a gun, who was
used to killing deer, knew all about
woodcraft and was skilled In mountain
etiquette, he incautiously moved the
bushes through which he passed. "What
followed has been told. Clearly this
untaught boy from a prairie state need
ed a lesson in woodcraft, and, true to
his vocation as a teacher of the Igno
rant and a monitor to the erring, Rev
S. E. Meminger gave it A calm and
deliberate hunter who Is out merely for
recreation and never gets "buck fever'
Is just the man to give salutary lessons
in woodcraft. ,
"POTENT, POWERFUL AND SINCERE.'
The most practical phase of foreign
missionary effort Is represented by the
work of the missionary physician and
his wife. Dr. J. Hunter "Wells, who has
sailed again for the Corean field, pre
sented very forcibly the possibilities in
this line, in the examples that he cited
from his own experience wherein not
the comforts of religion, but of medl
cal and surgical science, were applied
as a saving grace to the afflicted and
the needy.
Ministrations whereby the blind can
be made to see, the lame to walk and
the sick are restored to health repre
sent missionary effort that is indorsed
by a multitude that cares little for
creeds and to whom the forms of religion
do not appeal as matters of vital lm
portance. Upon this point those who be
lleve in bending the energies to the so
lution of the problems of "one life at
time" are as cordial In their good-by
and godspeed to these Portland mis
sionarles as are those who regard rellg
ious effort as the mainspring of foreign
missionary work, arid who would first
convert to Christianity the disciples of
Buddha and Confucius and Mahommed
and then relieve their physical suffer
ings.
As truly said by. Dr. "Wells, "the most
loving expression of missionary enter
prise Is the branch that has to do with
hygiene in raising the standard of llv
ing and in ministering to the sick, the
sorrowing and the very poor." In. this
resjject foreign missionary effort does
not differ from missionary work in the
home field. The work of the Salvation
Army is the strongest exemplification
of this fact that is now before the Eng-l
llsh-speaking world. Energetic, me
thodical, practical, merciful, these sol
diers of peace and good-will labor pa
tiently in the lowly field in home cities
that Dr. "Wells and other practical rep
resentatives of the missionary Idea have
found so attractive in foreign lands.
The work, wherever It Is done and un
der whatever denominational name, Is
commendable, and not the less so when
it goes hand in hand with religious zeal
providing. Its "most loving expres
sion," as designated by Dr. "Wells, takes
precedence, first making the present
life worth living. "Potent, powerful
and sincere" is the effort made by mis
sionaries who enter the field from the
standpoint of pure humanity, literally.
at the present time, taking their lives
in their hands as they go forward. in
the most "loving expression" of the
missionary spirit.
The tragedies of railway travel multi
ply. It is in vain that the champion
of American railway methods cites the
small number pf casualties from rail
way accidents as compared with the
Immense number of passengers carried.
The public is confronted again and
again witi familiar figures showing
that on an average only one passenger
out of 47,793,320 carried is killed on
English railways, while in the United
States one passenger out of every 3,963,-
iD is killed. In England only one out.
of every 1,540,745 passengers may expect
to be injured; here one in 146,896 pas
sengers, is injured. The explanation of
the fact presented by these figures Is
not far to seek. The first impulse is to
place the blame upon traffic managers
who drive their trains at too great
speed, overload cars and employ in
ferior men in important branches of the
service. This explanation, savs the
Rochester Post-Express, Is not carried
far enough, adding: "Upon careful In-
estigation it would probably be dis
covered that traffic managers do not
drive their trains at greater speed than
is demanded by their patrons." Prob
ably the correct . explanation Is found
In the fact that we are an Impatient
people,' and, w;hereas the Briton is con
tent to take the accommodation train,
the 'American is satisfied with nothing
less than flying along- at fifty or sixty
miles an hour. It is the eager desire of
the people to "get there" that regulates
the speed on American railways and is,
indirectly at least, responsible for many
accidents caused by rapid transit.
The steamship Arabia, which was
seized by the Russians with a cargo of
merchandise from Portland, has been
released, and that portion of her cargo
which was not contraband will now be
delivered at the destination for which it
was originally headed. Eventually It Is
not Improbable that Russia will pay up
for that which she has confiscated, for
if she Is out roaming the seas In search
of cargo which might In the course of
time reach her enemies, even though
it now -be floating, in neutral bottoms
to neutral ports and consigned to neu
tral merchants, she will find It In such
wholesale quantities that It would
amass an overstock of. trouble for her.
LSo long as flour, provisions and other
contraband of war can be shipped, to
Hong Kong there will be plenty of
coasting vessels ready to run It up to
Japanese ports, especially when they
can do the running under the protec
tion of Japanese guns, for practically
the entire distance. Russia is powerless
to stop this traffic.
Robert Hess and Edward Chester,
two noted horsethieves of the Inland
Empire, are certainly experts in their
line. Their latest exploit deprived the
Sheriff of Malheur County, his deputy
and the City Marshal of Vale of their
horses. Mounting the steeds of their
confiding custodians while the latter
were at breakfast, they were "over the
hills and far away" almost before they
were missed. "While the character of
the horsethlef is not an admirable one,
he who does what he sets out to 4o
deftly, expeditiously and successfully
commands a degree of admiration even
though his talents are misdirected. This
fact made "Gentleman Jack" the hero
of a past generation, and for a time
elevated the vocation of a highwayman
to the rank of a profession. These bold,
bad men of Eastern Oregon are likely
to do the same by horsestealing. It be
hooves the constabulary of the stock
counties where these men are operat
ing to look to their laurels.
The timber supply of Oregon and
"Washington just at present Is In jeop
ardy from two different sources, both of
which are making great inroads on the
standing timber. The competition of
the loggers Is so great that they are.
said to be cutting 500,000 feet per day
more than there Is a demand for, and
the result will be a. waste of the sur
plus. More distressing because, they
leave absolutely no recompense for the
destruction are the ravages of the forest
fires. The business of logging requires
the employment of many men and the
distribution of considerable money for
wages, and even If a portion of the logs
are lost, some of the output will be
sold. "With the forest fire the loss is
complete, and in many places
today are large tracts of smoking
stumps and damaged timber -which a
month ago had a merchantable value
aggregating many thousand dollars.
"With Sheriff's posses In pursuit of
two separate and distinct bands of
horsethieves, Oregon Is In a fair way
to receive some-unpleasant advertising.
It Is not so very long ago that Oregon
horses were so plentiful and cheap that
they were not considered worth steal
ing, but the desperate chances which
the thieves now fleeing from the wrath
of the law are taking in an effort to
round up a small bunch is a high trib
ute to the present value of the Oregon
range horse.
Plans for a water system for Manila
bave been submitted to and approved
bythe Secretary of "War. The supply
is io oe pipea in irom tne Aiarquina
Valley, a distance of sixteen miles
This is another phase of the outrage
perpetrated by the United States in
subjugating the poor Filipinos! A sys
tem of sewerage will next be inflicted
upon these people. "When abuses of
this kind begin there is no telling when
or where they will stop.
Japanese soldiers continue to be
slaughtered by the thousands at St. Pe
tersburg. It is astounding In view of
this terrible decimation of their ranks,
that the little brown men continu'e to
advance and .that General Kuropatkln
and his undiminished .host continue to
retreat
RUSSIA'S PIRATICAL ACTS.
St Louis Globe-Democrat
The United States Government will
demand full reparation from Russia
for such damages to American proper
ty as may have been inflicted by the
outrage in which the Russians sank
the merchant vessel Knight Command
er. That was a British craft, and the
government at London may be rolled
on to look after Its own Interests In tne
affair. A strong protest has been made
by the British authorities, to the Czar's
government, and recent developments
in St- Petersburg show that it will be
heeded..
But the goods on board the Knight
Commander belonged to Americans.
Under the commonly accepted defini
tion, they were not contraband, and
Russia had no right to interfere -with
them, and no right to inolest the ves
sel carrying them. The position of the
Government at "Washington will be
that by destroying the vessel the Rus
sians forfeited all right to show
whether the goods were contraband or
not. Prompt and adequate compensa
tion from Russia will be demanded by
the United States just as soon as the
preliminaries can be arranged. There j
win uu uu ueaiiaiiuu oil luia puiui uj
the Roosevelt Administration.
Russia's recent depredations on the
high seas have a piratical look which
win aruusu u siruns leeiiiis aguiuat '
In the United States and England. It nn . - . . . f
. . ,,,,, i.-, t. -r , , " on the Federal statute book to require re
Is not likely that Russia Intends to In- . . . .,, t
r-rLtA c... ,..,, fMo I ports of the Inner working of great in
sult the United States, although this ,. XT, , ,. t. a
, . . i ,,. 1 dustrlal corporations. Under It the se
Is the way the matter Is looked at by . . , . ,,,, . et j
many persons in this country. Rus- I cr Lf sreat n0?0 f ,
sla can gain nothing and may lose I arf n T,st' fm bc K a con-
something by making an enemy of this 1 "0 director on this trust always
country. Thus far the United States , ePubl,Icanv in thf past', nas re'USed, l
has observed the strict letter of Presi- share in the work of electing President
dent Roosevelt's proclamation of neu- i Roosevelt it is because neither he nor
trallty. issued at the beginning of the Ms associates can forgive a party or a
Russo-Japanese war. No legitimate ! candidate who has determined that there
cause for offense on Russia's nart has ! shall be no great corporation whose secret
been given by the United States dur
ing this conflict. Yet Russia started out
by slighting this country. Its govern
ment refused to officially participate In
the St Louis World's Fair, although it
had promised to be represented. One
of the reasons for Russian withdrawal
from the Fair was said to be the ne
cessity for the employment of all the
country's spare cash at home on ac
count of the war. Another reason as
signed was anger at -what St. Peters
burg called the antl-Russlan sentiment
of the United States. These things will
be brought to mind by the Knight
Commander sinking outrage. A halt
will have to be called on Russia's pi
ratical acts.
THE ADVANCE IN SILVER.
Baltimore Sun.
The price of sliver has advanced and It
Is expected to go above 60 cents an ounce,
unless the situation should change In
some unexpected way. To a certain ex
tent the advance Is caused, perhaps, by
the nice handling of the market by large
holders of silver. A disposition to specu
late for a rise helps the advance. The
larger factor, however, is the Eastern
demand, which has long been the main
stay of the market The Far East has
always been the great buyer of the white
metal. In that quarter of the world are
some 700,000,000 or SOO.OOO.OOO people, most
of whom are very1 poor and use coins of
small value. For their ordinary trans
actions even bronze and copper suffice
so small are their units of value; but
silver is, used In larger transactions and
for hoarding.
It Is customary to get the village metal
lurgist to turn one's, fortune In silver
Into jewelry and wear it on one's person
for safekeeping. Vast quantities of sil
ver are yearly bought, and the demand
increases when crops are good and the
people are prosperous. India In very re
cent years, it is pointed out, "has been
unusually prosperous; crops have, been
good and exports large. This has caused
a demand for more currency, and has
also resulted in larger purchases through
the bazaars for personal use and hoard
ing. For the first half of the present
year the increase In shipments to India
and the Straits, as compared with last
year, has been 63.3 per cent"
China has not bought directly from the
West In as large volume as In some for
mer years, but a good deal of silver has
Indirectly found its way Into the coun
try, It is believed, through Japanese and
Russian channels. China pays out a
large amount to Europe yearly in indem
nities, but the expenditures of the West
ern powers in China In recent years have
been very large. Railway-building, sup
port of troops and military operations
have thrown a good deal of cash John
Chinaman's way, and he will absorb a
good 'deal more before the present Russo
Japanese War is concluded.
The price of 60 cents an ounce is a
good one and promises to be stable
enough for a year or two. But it is far
below the value of $1.29 an ounce, which
prevailed in 1S65, and which tho Sherman
act tried in vain to restore. New gold
mines aro being opened every year, and
gold may become much more abundant
than now, but there Is no Indication of a
disposition of progressive mankind to.
abandon gold for silver. Even Mexico Is
looking to the employment of the gold
standard of value.
Terrifying Memory.
Atchison Globe.
An Atchison woman has remained an
old main for no other reason "than that
her mother once had twins.
The Song of the Common People.
Alfred J. Waterhouse in. Success.
Wo are the common people, tho hewers of
wood and stone,
Tho dwellers In common places, mighty of
brawn and bone.
Bearing the common burden that only the
shirkers shun.
And doing tho common duty that others
have lett undone.
Dubbed, by the few, plobeian, rabble or
proletalre.
Ours Is the hand that feeds them, ours is
the prize they, share.
And ours Is tho common blessing, freo to
the tollers all.
To win from the lowly valley unto tho sum
mits talL
Common, and only common
This by the might of birth
Tet tho world in Its need leans on us
We are tho kings of the earth.
Wo are the common people, and ours is' tho
common clay
That a God deemed fit for using, when, In
that olden day.
He took tho dust of the garden, the dust
that his will obeyed,
Fashioned and formed and shaped It, and
man In his image made;
And, seeing that God selected such clay for
tho human test.
And deeming his wisdom suffices to choose
but the surely beat.
We. who aro common pcoplo and made of
tho common clay.
Ieavevto the proud uncommon to Improve on
th Maker's way.
Common, and only common
Tattered, sometimes, and frayed
Wo still aro content' with the pattern
That God in his -wisdom made.
Wo aro the common people, yet out of- our
might is wrought,
Ever, by God's own flat, masters of mighty
thought,
Men of that grand republic whoso rulers
walk alone.
Piercing the future shadows, knowing what
seers have known:
And, measured by these, the unco are petty
and wee and small.
Playing with gilded, baubles, chattering,
voluble all;
And these, our sons, surpass them as tho
hills o'ertop tho glen.
For their great hearts throb to the world's
long sob, and they are the saviors of
men.
Conimon, andonly common.
Hopelessly commonplace,"
Tet out of our loins still issue
The saviors ox tho race.
WHY TRUSTS OPPOSE -ROOSEVELT
Philadelphia Press.
"Why do the trusts oppose President
Roosevelt? Because his policy and his
speeches have brought legislation limiting
their power.
For 15 years Federal lawsuits under Fed
eral legislation have been brought to regu
late and. restrain, corporations, railroad
and industrial. One of these suits alone,
brought by President Roosevelt, the North
ern Securities case, abruptly checked the
community of Interest plan, which had ad
vanced the cost of freighf tn this coun
try to shippers and consumers by a round
$155,000,000 a year, over 53,000.000 a week,
or half a million dollars every, working
day.
But a lawsuit directed, against a corpora
tion breaking the law is, after all, a de
structive and not a constructive measure.
It Is punitive rather than preventive. The
Republican party and President Roose
velt's Administration are to be measured,
not by their chase of those who have done
evil, which has been vigorous, efficient, ef
fective and successful, but by the broad
legislation which has taken a long step
forward In the control of corporations.
Tn,3 hQJ been accompUshe'd by two acts,
one creating the Department of Commerce
and Labor and the other the Elklns Rail
road Rate bill. '
Both these measures were opposed by
rt,.Mft., Th Arcf 1 tho onrlloot Inw
forces shall go on amassing wealth at the
expense of the people without publicity,
required by law and enforced by admin
istrative power.
The trusts do not like this. Their work
loves darkness. They turn naturally In
this great contest to the Democratic party,
which, through all the last 50 years since
it cast In its lot with human slavery, has
been the party of reaction In politics and
of alliance with the darker forces of life,
gambling among the rest.
The Elklns Railroad Rate bill directly
attacked the power of trusts and rail
roads by substituting for a fine or the
Imprisonment of the officer making a pre
ferential railroad freight rate, a heavy
fine on the corporation which sought to
profit by it. The trusts have been built
up on preferential tates. Not one but
owes whatever advantage It has, such a3
the Standard Oil or the Beef Trust enjoys,
to the special rates granted by railroads.
Through 20 years these have been at
tacked, but here again a lawsuit, neces
sary as It may be, is but destructive. The
Important matter Is constructive legisla
tion which makes it more the Interest of
the railroad corporation to deal alike with
all shippers than to give special favors
to trusta
Both these acts would accomplish noth
ing if it were not for the suits which es
tablished the power of the Government.
The real value of the Northern Securities
decision, one of the greater legal decisions
on the control of corporations,, lies, not in
the precise consolidation which It pre
vented, but In the opinion which estab
lished for all time the full and sufficient
power of Congress to deal with any cor
poration engaged in Industry and com
merce. On this basis trusts can be controlled.
Until this decision was 'secured they be
lieved themselves free from regulation
in tho space left between the limits of
State and Federal jurisdiction. This Is
true no longer. These lawsuits tho two
acts and the policy of the Administration
In enforcing both, constitute a construc
tive reform In corporation control which
only needs to be continued by re-electing
President Roosevelt to Insure tho su
premacy of law without shock or destruc
tion of property.
London Punishes, New York Pardons.
Atlantic Monthly.
One of the commonest ways of giving
fictitious value to stock, and of selling
large quantities of worthless certificates.
Is by paying large dividends, not out of
the actual earnings of the company, but
out of the money paid by stockholders for
their stock. Stockholders and others, be
lieving from these dividends that the com
pany Is actually prosperous and earning
money, either Increases their holdings or
buy stock at high prices, only to find
later that It Is worthless. The penal code
provides that the directors of a corpora
tion who perpetrate this swindle are
guilty simply of a misdemeanor. Equally
serious Is the action of directors In know
ingly making and publishing false state
ments or reports as to the financial con
dition of the company of which they aro
trustees. Whittaker Wright (the great
company promoter, who committed suicide
after being sentenced to hard labor for
Issuing false balance sheets of the
wrecked London & Globe Finance Cor
poration) was convicted In England under
a statute substantially similar to this sec
tion of the penal code. He was sentenced
to seven years' penal servitude. Under
this New York law the maximum penalty
which he could have received would have
been one year's Imprisonment, or a flno
of ?50O.
A Typical Trustbuster.
Chicago Inter Ocean.
It Is announced from Democratic quar
ters that George Foster Peabody will bo
appointed treasurer of the Democratic
National Committee. At the same time
It Is made known that Mr. Peabody Is a
director in the following corporations:
Morton Trust Company.
American Beet Sugar ' Company.
General Electric Company.
Mexican Mineral Railway Company.
Mexican Northern Railway Company.
Potosl & Rio Verdo Railway Company.
Southern Improvement Company.
Alvarez Land & Timber Company.
Companla Metallurglca.
Conqulsta Coal Company.
Mexican Coal & Coke Company.
Mexican National Construction Company.
Montezuma Lead Company.
Here, then, is the barrel and the bung.
No wonder the Hon. Thomas Taggart
"greatly encouraged by the prospect," Is
eager to get to work.
New Light on the Servant Question.
Lippincott's.
"Here's a nice girl, Mr. Fenton." With
unconvincing benevolenco the intelligence
office "lady" anchored in front of him a
stern and ancient Valkyr.
"Have the others been long with yous?"
The fierce newcomer took a fierce Initia
tive. "No, oh, No." In his own office Edward
was a man of authority, but here even
the weakest woman rose immeasurably
his superior. Overhearing a lady to the
right bluntly assert, "You won't do; I
never could stand a cross-eyed waitress,"
he envied her Inhuman courage.
His examiner deigned to enlarge: "I
never go where tho other help has been
anny while, because sometimes they sides
with the family."
The Phantom Coasters. '
Edward N. Pomeroy in Atlantic Monthly.
The'coastcra of the past aro back.
The Emblem. Effort, Enterprise;
T was long ago they wont to rack,
But lo, they loom before my eyes.
Below the cliffs that saw them strike
And foaming breakers round them fold,
Their skeletons are hidden, llko
The pirate's bible and his gold.
Yet now. as In their golden prime,
Tho circles of the sea they sweep
They pass behind the veil of time
And traverse the primeval deep.
About them howl forgotten gales;
- Abovo are pre-hlstorlc skies;
The fleet of ' Greece beside them sails .
And Troy town's wreck behind them Ties.
NOTE AND COMMENT.,
It's quite a pleasant walk from Irving
ton. The dead-sure thing is usually deader
than sure.
Kuropatkln should be a stimulating
name for a racehorse.
The trouble about the gee-gees is that
the right one doesn't always gee.
We notice the London "comics? : are
still running jokes about "Hiawatha."
Now that the English have reached
L'Hassa, the "h" will soon be dropped.
Of a slovenly writer one might, instead
of saying that he describes a scene, say
that he descrlbbles i.t.
The Sketch explains why certain build
ing sites In London are. not finding a
ready sale by saying: "The short lease,
0 years, is the cause of-lack of Interest"
It shows a deplorpble Ignorance of
woodcraft to be mistaken for a deer, and
the experience of the youngster who re
ceived a bullet In his shoulder should be
a lesson to him to be careful In chasing
his hunting companions.
At Skibo Castle, it Is said, Carnegie
has hung- in every room a large pla
card bearing the words, "Please do not
tip the servants." If he can succeed in
having his wishes carried out, it may
become less expensive for Englishmen
to visit a friend's country home than to
stay at a fashionable hotel.
Max. Beerbohm, the Irrepressible critic,
has been complaining of the unreality of
the love scenes in novels and on the
stage. In real life, he says, lovers merely
hold each other's hand and murmur
"dearest." "What would this look like on
the stage? Simply ridiculous. The novel
ist, according to Max. has the advantage
of the dramatist in that he can describe
the scenery at great length. The dramatist
must rely upon a few daubs of paint and
a canvas? face.
There's nothing like helping the homo
team. Here is how the Norwich Sun
appeals to Its readers:
If the young ladles who aro helping to
entertain the members of the team have the
best Interests of tho nine at heart, they will
deny themselves and send the boys home
early. This is particularly necessary this
week, as the team has live hard games ahead.
Wo don't want to shut down on this entire
ly, for we realize how the boys feel about
It when they are with the girls, but unless
something Is done we shall have to go out
of business. So It Is up to the girls to show
their patriotism and see that the boys get
their sleep.
It is a noble mind that will own itself
mistaken. The Paradise City correspon
dent of the aptly-named Aurora Borealis
hag a mind of such caliber that he Is not
ashamed to admit his occasional mistakes.
Our Mayor is painting his house and
says he will have a cook very soonf
writes the man from Paradise. "We once
bet that it would be a South Paradise
lady, but we do not think so now." These
affairs of the heart are deceptive, espe
cially to the onlooker. The girl that gets
the most Ice-cream sodas doesn't always
get the heart
Professor Starr, the "Midway" pro
fessor of Chicago University, has been
unburdening himself lately of his con
clusions on degeneracy. Some of the
signs which indicate the degenerate
are .tho habit of parting tho hair In.
the middle or on thoflgliaeT'tiaiu"'
ness, gray hairs before the age of 45,
stub nose, bat ears, small lobes on the
ears, receding chin, protruding lips,
left-handedness, cross eyes, fondness
for jewelry for hand wear by men, red
hair for most people (the proressor
said that the Irish were entitled to
tho privilege of having red hair with
out being degenerates), blonde hair
(except with the Swedes), teeth wido
apart, pigeon toes and knock knees. If
you have 12 of these signs you should
be in tho asylum, says Professor Starr,
while 15 almost certainly insures you
a life in the penitentiary.
Hitherto the drunken man has been
looked upon with contempt and disgust.
He has been held up, figuratively, to tho
gaze of the young as an example of what
uncontrolled indulgence In strong waters
will do for a man, and he has been the
horrible warning of countless flrey decla
mations. Yet all the time the poor fellow
has been wronged. Man drinks himself
silly, not because of a brute craving for
Intoxicants, but because of eye strain.
Dr. Chalmers Prentice needless to-say he
halls from Chicago has made this great
discovery. Badly-fitting glasses causa
nervous derangement, and nervous de
rangement throws the system out of the
proper functional arrangement This
derangement causes an abnormal appetite
which demands liquor. Here It Is in the
physician's own words, and mark tho
cose of his sentence, "demands liquor."
Do not blame the poor drunkard; do not
fine him in the police court; but buy him
a good pair of spectacles and send him
forth a reformed man.
T7EX. J.
OUT OF THE GINGER JAR.
If it's a poor rule that won't work both
ways, what about tho rule that won't work
either way? Baltimore American.
Johnny What does It mean to take a thing
philosophically? Mother It's tho way your
paw pays hla card debts, but not tho butcher
bill. New York Sun.
Grover Oh, by tho way, do you have steam
heat In your flat? Forester Only In Summer,
and we are away then, so we don't mind It,
you know. Boston Transcript.
"Yes, that Is a statue of Virgil. Ho was a
great Roman poet." "Was that the reason ho
couldn't afford to wear pants?" asked little
Waldo. Chicago Record-Herald.
"Do you believe In the 'barrel' In politics?"'
"Not any more," answered Senator Sorghum.
"A man ought to have a hogshead In order to
amount to anything these days." Washington.
Star.
"He's just a bad egg." 'Yes? Wouldn't It
be awful If he should fall and be broke." "Ho
did fall once and It kept him from being
broke. He fell heir to half a million." Phila
delphia Press.
Tired Tatters Dla paper tells erbout a feller
wot died from ennui. Weary Walker Wot'3
dat? Tired Tatters It's de feelln wot comes
to a man when he gits eo lazy dat loafln's
hard work. Chicago News.
Argus emitted a yelp, of anguish. "How
would" you like to get a cinder In 50 of ybnr
eyes?" ho demanded. Making a bee Una. for
the drugstore, he proved mythology Isn't what
It Is cracked up to be. New York Sun.
Lady Caller I am sorry to hear that your
husband has failed. Mrs. Taketeasy. It must
be Mrs. Taketeasy (sobbing) Yes, It's dread
ful: but (brightening visibly) thank goodnes3
my new costume came home just before the
crash. New Yorker.
Farmer Treefrog What makes you think
Daniel Webster wuz a smart man? Farmer
Hoptoad Waal, I'ye been reading somevof hlet
speeches, an' they seem to agree purty thor
oughly with Mary Jane's graduation essay.
Philadelphia Bulletin.
"Binka overcame a lot of obstacles," said
Banks to his wife. "He never went to school
In his life, but he Is a successful business
man and prominent enough to be sent as a
delegate to the St. Louis Convention." "Oh,
I know!" exclaimed - Mrs. Banks. "He's one
of. those unlnstructed delegates the papers tell
about." Cleveland Leader.
k