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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 12, 1905)
8 THE MORNING OREGONIAN. FRIDAY, MA3T 12, 1905. Entered at the Postofflce at Portland. Or., as second-class matter. SUBSCRIPTION KATES. INVARIABLE IN ADVANCE. (By Mall or Express.) Dally and Sunday, per year Dally and Sunday, six months j.OO Dally and Sunday, three months Dally and Sunday, per month... So Dally without Sunday, per year t- Dally without Sunday, six months - 3.80 Dally -without Sunday, three months. . . 1.85 Dally -without Sunday, per month .65 Sunday, per year 2." Sunday, six months - 1-00 Eusday, three months 60 BY CARRIER. Dally -without Sunday, per week - .13 Dally, per -week, Sunday Included...... .20 THE WEEKLY OREGONIAN. (Issued Every Thursday.) Weekly, per year - 1-50 Weekly, six months. 3 Weekly, three months - 50 HOW TO REMIT Send postofflce money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. . The 8. C. Beekwith Special Agency New York; Rooms 43-50 Tribune building. Chi cago; Rooms 510-512 Tribune building. . The OregosI&B docs not buy poems or stories trom Individuals and cannot under take to return any manuscript sent to It without solicitation. No stamps should be inclosed for this purpose. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex. Tostofllci News Co.. 17S Dearborn street. Dallas, Tex. Globe News Depot. 2C0 Main street. Denver Julius Black, Hamilton & Kend rlck. 806-812 Seventeenth street, and Frue ttuff Bros., 605 Sixteenth street. De Moines. la. Moses Jacobs. 309 Filth street. Goldfield, Ner. C. Malone. Kansas City. Mo. Rickseckcr Cigar Co., Ninth and Walnut Eos Angeles Harry Drapkln; B. E. Amos, 514 West Seventh street. Minneapolis M. J. Kavanaugh. 50 South Third; L. Regelsburger, 217 First avenue South. New York City L. Jones & Co., Astor House. Oakland, Cal. W. H. Johnston, Four teenth and Franklin streets. Ogdea F. R. Godard and Meyers & Har top, D. E. Boyle. Omaha Barkalow Bros.. 1012 Farnham; Mageath Stationery Co., 1S0S Farnham; McLaughlin Bros.. 210 South 14th. Phoenix. Aria. The Berryhill News Co. SacramcBto, Cal. Sacramento News Co., 428 K street. Salt Eake Salt Lake News Co.. 77 West Second street South. Santa Barbara. Cal. S. Smith. San Diego. Cal. J. Dillard. San Francisco J. K. Cooper & Co.. 74C Market street; Foster & Crear. Ferry News Stand: Goldsmith Bros., 236 Sutter: L. E. Eee. Palace Hotel News Stand; F. W. Pitts. 1008 Market; Frank Scott. SO Ellis: N. Wheatley Movable News Stand, corner Mar ket and Kearney streets; Hotel St. Francis News Stand. St. Ioals. Mo. E. T. Jett Book & News Company. S06 Olive street. Washington. D. C. Ebbit House News Stand. PORTLAND. r FRIDAY, MAY 1! 1805. LAW AND ORDER FIRST. To appreciate the singular request of the leaders of the labor unions to Pres ident Roosevelt at its true value, it is needful to recall some of the conditions in Chicago during the past three weeks. Let u Put aside for a moment the orig inal controversy between the garment workers and Montgomery "Ward & Co.. and the sympathetic strike of the Teamsters' Union, and study the condi tions of the city. It may be that union labor was the lancehead of the army of rlot and disorder. The leaders of the unions deny it. But. unless all reports have been false, union teamsters have been prominent in street obstruction and in the mobs which attacked, over powered and slew nonunion teamsters and their escorts. In the actual tights tnat occurred, union teamsters met wounds and Injuries which demonstrate their presence, their share In the disor ders. But, say the leaders of the unions, we discountenance mob vio lence and stand ready to oppose It. If, then, they desired to draw the line between their anxiety for a peaceable strike and the actual riots in the. city streets, how easy it would have been for these leaders of their brethren, not only to have ordered, but to have se cured, the absence of the union team sters from the mobs. They might have gone one step farther. In view of the hourly accumulation of outrage, and aided officers of the peace in their dan gerous work. "What fellowship should there have been between the self-respecting work er, the decent citizen and the savage mob, recruited from the lowest of the low denizens of the" slums of the great city? who that has seen such a mob in action can forget the awful sight? Drunk with riot, lusting for disorder. cruel and cowardly alike, dangerous as fire, amenable to no argument but fear and force. In dealing with such condl tlons, where the pending strike Is seized on as the pretext for their assembling. " decent and law-respecting labor should have forgotten Its own wrongs and as sociated Itself with society Itself in Its hour of utmost danger. Certain weapons the Nation has in its reserve of power wherewith the laws, enacted to protect all classes alike In their most essential rights to peace and order, shall be enforced. The city has its police, the county Its Sheriff and his deputies, the state its organized militia, the Nation its trained soldiers. In Chi cago the police were, nearly but In effectively, holding their own. 'The Sheriff and his deputies had come into the play. Evidently the situation was improving. The mobs were checked, though not yet suppressed. The au thorities of the city and country had not, and knew they had not, exhausted their powers. That moment was the one chosen by the leaders of the work men's strike modestly to request the President of this Nation to tie his own hands In advance of any call on him. Probably the last man in these United States to fall to mark the difference be tween a strike in certain trade matters between employers and employed (in which he, as President or as individual, had no right whatever, unsolicited by both parties, to interfere), and riot In the streets of the second city in the land which he, as Chief Magistrate, should the call come to him through lawful channels, was bound absolutely to- suppress. The public will hope that the Presi dent's reproof, kindly if stern, will open the eyes of many of the parties to this most regrettable controversy. Violence begets violence. As blood flows, justice disappears from sight. Not until rifles and revolvers, with brickbats, stones and cluba. have been, by both sides abandoned, can peace and order reap pear. Nor until this condition Is reached can the merits of the appeal by any party to the original disputes be pleaded in the Supreme Court of pub lic opinion of the Nation. One feature in the conduct of banks, applicable only in. large cltlea, has been adopted In Portland. For several days there liu been stationed just inside the entrance 1 the First National a police man In full blue uniform, wearing white gloves. In stature he stands for Klpllag'e Deanla'Mulvaaeyj above fix feet, broad shouldered, and the com plexion of a healthy Infant and the limbs of a Greek athlete. His duty is to direct strangers to the several win dows. Already there is felt the pres ence of business men who have been called here by the Lewis and Clark Fair. Incidentally he follows with his eyes any suspicious-looking persons. He will always be at the exit to stop the progress of a possible pursc-snatcher. This guide and watchman will be a permanent adjunct of the Institution. Uniformed men are common In New Tork and Chicago banks, but unknown in cities of this size. The Innovation is more eridence of Portland's rapid business strides. , NOT A COMMERCIAL DELUSION. Mr. Harold Bolce. a' writer In the BookIover's" Magazine, has in a measure impaired the good, reputation of some of his former articles on Oriental trade by one which appears in the current number of the publication mentioned. In this article Mr. Bolce makes the statement that the generally accepted belief that our trade with" the Orient Is growing" rapidly is a "delusion." To support his statement he cites the fact that our trade with the Far East In 1904 was smaller than for 1903, and makes a scarcely noticeable allusion to the cause for the decline. Had the ar ticle in question appeared six months' earlier, existing conditions would have gone much farther in support of its contentions. As It Is. the latest offi cial statistics of the Governmept place an entirely different complexion on the situation. The official figures on trade between the United States and the Orient, for the nine months ending March 31, 1905, show that in that period we have, ex ported goods to the .value of $85,319,877, compared with $44,540,321 for the same period In the preceding season. Our Im ports from the Orient for the first nine months of the fiscal year amounted in value to $124,067,487. compared with $109,003,502 for a corresponding period In the previous season. These totals show an Increase of more than $56,000,-' 000 for the nine months. Reduced to percentages, thls-is a gain of nearly 40 per cent, an amount which certainly makes our increasing trade with the Orient 'something more than a delusion. Ip selecting for comparison the cal endar years 1903 and 1904, Mr. Bolce failed to explain that the heavy de crease In the export trade to the Orient in 1904 was due almost exclusively to the practical elimination of our Amer ican cotton and cotton products from the list of commodities shipped. The abnormal and unwarranted heights to which Sully and his associates forced cotton in this country caused the' Ori ental imports of cotton cloths to drop from $13,689,860 In the fiscal year end ing June 30. 1903, to $4,020,952 for the corresponding period in the year end ing June 30, 1904. The striking recov ery that has been made in this branch of our export trade is shown by the figures for the first nine months of the fiscal year which ends June 30, 1905. They have reached the magnificent total of $18,022,471, practically assuring a total of $25,000,000 for the entire year. In crediting the present increase In our trade with Japan to the war. Mr. Bolce becomes himself the victim of a "delusion" which is dispelled by the details of the exports. Cotton is not one of the necessary munitions of waf. and of the big Increase In the shipments of this great staple Japan was credited with more than $7,000,000 over the same period In the preceding season. Ex ports of flour to Japan show a consid erable Increase, but to the Orient as a whole they are much smaller than for the preceding season. The most pronounced Increase that can be directly credited to the war Is In leather and leather .goods, which for the nine months have amounted to a trifle more than $3,000,000, compared with but $360,000, for the corresponding nine months last season. These figures Indicate quite clearly that commercial and Industrial expansion has been pro ceeding throughout Japan, compara tively unhampered by the presence of the low-hung war cloud. That our trade with the Far East should show such splendid Increases during the progress of a bitter war, which prom ises to change the political and com mercial map of the world. Is an excel lent Indication of what is In store for us when peace Is declared and there are no restrictions on our operations. - TO REDUCE THE FIRE RISK. If a carefully formulated plan of the National Board of Fire Underwriters Is carried out. there may in due season be a striking reduction In fire Insur ance rates, and a. good-sized army -of Insurance workers will find their occu pation gone. This board, which "Is com posed of representatives of 120 leading fire insurance companies of the United States, is planning organization of an engineering department, to be recruited from the best experts In the country. The work mapped out for this engi neering department Is Investigation and supervision of structures with a view to reducing the fire hazard. In a state ment of the position of the insurance 'companies on this matter, the under writers call attention to the fact that loss suffered by fire Is never made good, as the value is wiped out of existence and the insurance companies merely distribute the- amount for which it was Insured, first collecting it In small .amounts from those whose property was not destroyed. "The almost crim inal carelessness of the people of the United States is strikingly Illustrated by comparison .of fire losses in this country with those in foreign countries. On this point the underwriters' state ment says: Fire losses being the barometer of Insur ance rates, it Is Interesting to note that the re cost per thousand dollars ot value of property destroyed Insured Is twelve times greater In the United States than in Great Britain where high buildings, large areas, poor flues and shoddy construction are pro hibited by law, and It Is twenty tiroes greater than in Italy where the construction Is still better and the conflagration hazard practically eliminated. It is not stated to what extent the recommendations of the engineers will be followed when the writing of Insur ance ,1s considered, but It Is assumed that the reports-will have some effect in lessening the amount of "wlldcatting" now indulged in. Prior to organization of Retailers' Protective Associations every cash buyer of merchandise at his local store was forced to pay the dealer an excess profit sufficient to make good the losses .occasioned by Indiscriminate credit This in effect was penalizing the cash buyer and placing a premium on the trade of the purchaser who was given credit. Exactly the same, evil is now existent in the Insurance business. Our Insurance rates are twelve times as ae those ot Great Britain, and twenty times as high as those of Italy, because the insurance companies need the premiums paid by the careful owner of a fireproof building to pay the loss on some structure which was thrown together with perfect Indifference as to whether it burned or not. The cash grocer, or the grocer with none but responsible patrons, can af ford to sell cheaper than the man who has a line of uncertain credit due him. As a result, there Is a growing tendency among grocers to cater to the best class" of trade, and permit the other class to go to the men who choose to handle It. This policy soon forces the Indiscrim inate credit-giver out of business, and it ought to work well In the insurance business. If the better class of under writers will cease writing anything but gilt-edge-risks on well-built and well protected property, they will soon force all the wildcat risks Into the hands of companies that will In due season be come bankrupt. It will be many years before we can reach the standard of conservatism reflected by the figures of England and Italy, but an enormous. saving could be made if the Insurance companies, by refusing risks, would cause improved construction and the exercise of more care on the part of applicants lor insurance. NEUTRALITY BETWEEN FRIENDS. Recent events in the Far East lead the observer to conclude that nations regard neutrality as a means of helping a favored combatant and hindering jam unfavored. It' may be just a strange coincidence that Britain's observation of neutrality Is satisfactory to Japan and quite the opposite to Russia, while the manner In which France construes the duties of neutrality is highly pleas ing to Russia and exceedingly Irrltatln to Japan. The trifling facts that Brit ain and Japan are in a sense allies and that France and Russia I are allies in spirit and in -letter can have nothing to h RMth ti .i Franco londiv n.i norsistontiv riftclnrf that their one consuming desire is to preserve the strictest neutrality and to treat each belligerent with just the same "degree of friendship Japan sees the ships of Rojestvensky calling at various ports between the Baltic and the China Sea. Cherbourg. Algiers, Jibuti!. Dakar. Madagascar. Kamranh Bay these calling places of the squadron all happen to be French, but that may be another coincidence. France has "shoo-d" the Russian ves sels out of her ports after they have had enough time to make good the waste and injuries of a long voyage. In Indo- Chinese waters Rojestvensky has quiet ly lain at case. From the Qua! d'Orsay urgent telegrams were sent to the Gov ernor cf the colony to permit no infrac tions of French neutrality, ami the Governor filed the telegrams. Can a man go out In a rowboHt and chase away a fleet of battleships? And fur ther, one -Ingenious colonial asserted- that Russia had bought land near Kam ranh Bay. had stored her own coal there and had thus obtained a perfect right to use the place as a naval base in time of war. Russia agrees with France that neutrality has been observed duly. the while Japan gnashes her teeth and cables long protests to Paris. On the other hand, the same Russian squadron, having of necessity to call at several British seaports, there met with quite a different reception. It was CHe ol . ",Bre- "v" "l l'or' stara anu suqz. anu Singapore oi- fered no attraction- to Rojestvensky. Russian ships were not even permitted to coal at the Canal ports. Britain and France are both neutral as regards Russia and Japan, but each is a little more neutral to one than to the other. I.UTHKR HUKBAXK'S WOUIC One of the most interesting exhibits to be made at the Lewis and Clark Fair will be prepared by Luther Bur bank. of Santa Rosa. Cal. There will be presented some of the wonderful re sults of his experiments" with plant life. Vegetables and flowers. grln.. grasses and fruits, have responded to the touch of this .magician In the realm of Na ture, with results that are at once mar velous and beneficial. Luther Burbank has aptly been styled the "Miracle-Maker of Gardens." An article under - this head in a recent number of the New York Independent makes good his claim to this title a claim, however, that is urged by his friends rather than himself. He is too busy with hi? work to turn aside for admiration or for fame. The article In question is written by his sister. Mrs. Beeson. of Healdsburg, Cal.. and in its simplicity of detail and description car ries the reader through an enchanted land, from which, for obvious reasons, the ordinary curiosity-seeker Is ex cluded. Upon the experimental farms of Mr. Burbank. at Santa Rosa and Sebasto pol. varieties of fruit have been pro duced that are more prolific and har dier, growing In regions where old va rieties failed: the fruit season has been prolonged several months by early and late-bearing varieties; keeping quali ties have been developed so as to stand long-distance shipment; many years of costly wilting have been saved the fruitgrowers by developed precocity In trees: fruits have been made larger. stones removed, thorns eliminated, shells made thinner, flavor, color and odor Improved, and entirely new fruits produced. Grains and fodder plants have been ma'de larger, more prolific, more nutritive and to have less waste. Cotton, rice and sugnr-cane have been improved. To flowershave been added beauty, grace, perfume, size and color. If It Is true that the man who makes two blades of grass grow where but one grew before Is a benefactor to mankind. how many thousand times a benefactor to mankind has Luther Burbank proved himself to be! A creator In the plant world, the sun never sets on the produc tlons of this man's patience, genius and skllL "In far-away New Zealand," says this chronicler, "and In the wilds ofv Australia, they find a welcome; In South Africa are the Cecil Rhodes or chards. from which Burbank plums are shipped to San Francisco for the "Win ter market: In the garden of King Ed ward grows the famous crimson "Win ter rhubarb, also enjoyed by the Mi kado of Japan. iot entirely unnnown in our own market is the "plumcot," a combination of the apricot and Japanese plum; the primus berry, the product of crossing the Siberian raspberry with the native California dewberry; and we are told In this article of the Bartlett plum, having the flavor of the Bartlett pear. and of the sugar prune, which, because of Its large size. sweetnes and drying qualities, has proved of great value to the prune Industry. The Burbank po tato has been a household necessity in thousands of homes for more than three decades, and its production has been a dependable source of Income to farmers of a vast agricultural area year after year. This "alchemist In Nature's labora tory" began his real life work In the production of the Burbank potato in 1873. His name is now known in all civilized lands. His experiments are of intense Interest to scientific men, and his grounds are a Mecca to scientists from the great universities and experi ment stations of every country. The California poppy, which in the Spring times of far-away years rovered the valleys of that state with cloth of gold. nodding and undulating In the soft air, has been made by the subtle power of the alchemist to change Us garden dress to crimson: the field daisy, a poor little flower, has blossomed Into the beautiful Shasta daisy, a popular and useful flower-Jor decorative purposes; upon the thornleas cactus the labor of careful-experiment has been bestowed forbears; and yet it Is withheld for fur ther improvement before It goes out of this enfJianted land edible for man and beast. Its mission is to reclaim vast deserts and furnish food for twice the present population of the world. The subject Is exhaustless. Jsew won ders are encountered at every turn ot this wizard's road First the lowly po tato; then the luscious fruits, and now the rarest flowers claim attention: and again, grains and grasses, the like of which were but now unknown, call for wonder and admiration and gratitude. '.'I shall be content If because of me there shall be better fruits and fairer flowers." Is the simple statement of Lu ther Burbank. and thus gauged It would seem that the measure of the deepest contentment were already more than full. "We are In a position to fight the case to the bitter end." announced the rep resentative of Mr. Armour before the Interstate Commerce Commission at Chicago Wednesday. It will not be com fortlng to the fruitmen who are fighting the .trust magnate to reflect that It Is their own money paid to Armour in the shape of excessive Icing charges, rebates, etc.. that has placed him In that strong "position " Right and jus tice are cxcclcnt allies In all legal contests, but coin of the realm In un limited quantities Is always valuable in maneuvering for "position." It Is to be hoped that the bitterness of the "end" will all be suffered by the com mcrclal pirates who are at the bar of Justice. The President found the crop of boys and girls In Nebraska much more In teresting than the corn crop. It Is on record, however. In the farmers' homes of that state that it takes a big corn crop year after year for many years to bring the crop so much admired by the President to maturity and dependable effectiveness. Let not the value of the corn crop, of the great Middle West suf fer by this comparison. Children In abundance are only. to be desired when there Is plenty upon which to bring them up. It moans something to launch a child upon the great sea of Indus trial activity In these times, and much depends upon successful launching. Monslgnore Falconer, the apostolic delegate to the United States. Is en deavoring to collect from 51,000.000 to $1,500,000 for use by United States troops of church properly" In the Philippines during the period of military occupa tion. It is hardly probable that these claims will be settled in full. Estab lishment of such a precedent might prove disastrous to the Treasury sur plus. If the- troops were charged sim liar prices wherever they rested in the Philippines and Cuba, the original cost of the war would be small In compari son with this aftermath remuneration claimed. The Government dredge Is working on. the bars between Salem and Inde pendence. and will be'contlnued in ser vice throughout the Summer. This Is money well spent by the Government, and the river traffic continues to grow as the channel Is deepened. The full amount of good accomplished by keep ing this river channel opened Is not re flected In the actual tonnage moved by the steamers, for it is the work of the river as a freight regulator in keeping down railroad rates that Is the most valuable for the shippers at points reached by both river and rail. It is reported from Heppner that woolbuyers are endeavoring to break up the practice of pooling the different clips, which in the past has been so successful In elevating prices for the growers. As the method employed by the buvers is to pay from lo to 20 cents per pound for the wool, tiere Is no con certed effort on the part of the grow ers to stop the work of their ancient enemies, the buyers. With 20-cent wool a good demand for sheep and a remark ably successful lambing season, the sheepmen of Eastern Oregon have no legitimate grievance this year. The Japs seem to be in sufficiently close touch with the whereabouts of the Russian fleet to cause a mighty roar at France because Rojestvensky loiters around In the vicinity of the French possessions. Being In the possession o this knowledge, they might Insist on Togo getting busy and laying the Rus slan fleet away, without the consent or assistance of any foreign nation. Un less the opposing fleets mix In the near future, a suspicion will be entertained that "one Is afraid and the other dare not." Distracted Chicago! The menace of the hoopsklrt has been added to the actual troubles with which that city Is wrestling. Think for a moment of the hoopsklrt of ante-bellum days In con junction with the streetcar traffic of today! The Idea is appalling. Since the suggestion does not come from Paris, however. It Is not specially fore boding. Fashions do not originate In Chicago or with the Dressmakers' Club of that city. So let us hope for the best. .. The people did not grudge their stren uous President his strenuous vacation On the contrary, they enjoyed It with him. But they are glad that It Is over and that he Is back again In "Washing ton. ready to meet any emergency that In this day of happenings and surprises may come. John L. Sullivan writes to the Lewi and Clark Fair management to know if there Is any way by which he can "swell the gate receipts." The pur chase of a commutation ticket might help "some. "I will." doeiii'U says- Chicago; but she Note andjcomment. It's a long Lane that has no turning down. An English proverb says, "Look after the pence and the pounds will take card of themselves." Colonel Hawkins amends it to "Look after Pence and the parks will take care ot themselves." The modern magazine consists of a fren zied. cover design and a hundred pages ot automobile ads. Reports from Chicago Indicate the re crudescence of the hoop skirt or crinoline in that center of fashion. In Paris Sarah Bernhardt has pronounced herself against the revival, and In London John Strange Winter, the military novelist, whose real name we have forgotten. Is trying to spur her sisters Into more than "passive resis tance" to "this Indecorous and absurd fashion." John Strange Winter claims the honor of having prevented the revival of the crinoline 20 years ago. and this time warns her readers that "If capital once be expended In steel hoops nothing can stop the Introduction of the crino line." There we suspect the writer touches the spot. When some great milliner finds himself In the possession of a lot of use less materials, he promptly launches a new fashion which will cause a demand for his otherwise worthless goods. EvI- ently some Parisian has discovered a few thousand hoops stowed away In his basement. left there, perhaps, when the crinoline was crumpled before, and now he says the old fashion must be revived so that he can dispose of his junk at ex orbitant rates. This is probably the cause of all changes In fashion, and It Is time some Lincoln Stcffens probed this corrupt practice. All employes of the First National Bank In Milwaukee, the bank of which BIgelow was president, were recently photographed and measured. The bank will thus have a record of each employe's appearance. presumably for use should he fly the coop. The clerks didn't like to be "mussed," as the rogue's gallery photographer calls It, I but they finally submitted. If the bank could find some means of measuring the conscience of each employe It would have rcaso'n for a great deal more belief In the fficacy of Its plan, but unluckily or luck ily? there 1? no bertlllon for the soul. "Extry! All about the disaster!" was the enticingly vague way a small news boy advertised his wares yesterday even ing. A performance In the Municipal Thea ter at Halle. Switzerland, had to be sus pended the other night, says an exchange. while the policeman on .duty was ejected. He had fallen asleep at his post, and his loud snoring disturbed the audience. It seems to us that the performers should have been ejected from the house, if the show wasn't good enough to keep the po liceman awake. An interesting scrap" of foreign news that has filtered through the press Is that. for the first time In living memory, every Turkish official- wo paid his full salary punctually on April 1. The date Is a bit suspicious, but If the statement is true the Sultan Is setting a terribly dangerous precedent. Accustom an employe to re ceiving his pay promptly and In full and there will be trouble when next the ex chequer Is squeezed. The Jewell (Kan.) Republican says that the hen that lays the eggs- Is the mother of the chickens. The hen that hatches them Is the nurse. What, then. Is an In cubator a foundling asylum? From Singapore the correspondent of a German paper has sailed away In his own steamer to sec the Russo-Japanese naval conflict. He must foci almost as happy as the fan aboard a crowded streetcar bound for the ball grounds. Chinese merchants talk of boycot ting American gooJs because Ameri cans boycott Chinese. Time to get out the big stick. President Roosevelt is accustomed to "crowded hours," but in Chicago events tread so closely upon the heels of events that he is making them Into strap-hang- rs. Wc can never make out how June brides resist May's temptation to advance the day. A new Elngcr Is known as the "Utah nightingale" Nice companion for the more celebrated "Utah stork. Seven girls on swings the "swinging septet" form the principal feature In New York's Iatesr play. Shakespeare never thought of Introducing seven girls on swings. Unbelievable news from Germany! The Cigar and Tobacco World accounts for the higher prices, of Turkish tobacco by the triumph of the cigarette over the pipe and the cigar in Germany. Just think of tne big pipe being knocked out by a mis erable little cigarette. Next the stein will be put out of business by the highball glass. Red lichts In England usually indicate the house of a medical man. who can thus be readily found at night, and it appears from a communication In the Brltsh Med ical Journal that there can be ethical and noncthlcal varieties of lamp shade. In one place a surgeon who served through the Boer War, has put up a white lamp with two red crosses marked upon It, and professional opinion Is shocked thereby. The profession believes, apparently. In hiding onVs light under a bushel with holes in it. The Idea seems to be that a rose In the buttonhole Is worth two on the bush. WEX J. Cost of Railway Mail Service. Public Opinion. Americans pay more for transportation of mall than all the other peoples of the world combined. In the last year for which comparative figures are available (1901) It cost us $35,500,000 for railroad transportation of mall alone. All the other countries In the world paid for transpor tation by all means only $37,000,000, op $1,500,000 less than we alone paid. Freight and Dassenger rates have gone down. They are cheaper here than abroad; ex press companies pay the railroads about half the rates tney cnarge tne uovern rnent. and yet the Postofflce Department continues to pay tor tne transportation of mall just as much as It paid 30 years ago, while all other transportation rates have greatly decreasea in tnat time. Quaint Competition. London Daily Chronicle. With the forefingers of their right hands resting on a tombstone in the churchyard, eight boys belonging to the parish of Wotton. Surrey, competed for the charity of 46s bequeathed to William Glanvllle for those boys who most correctly recited the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles Creed, aad .the Ten Commandments. Seven of the hoys were awarded 2 each, . Y. M. C. A. MEN TURN BARBERS Greatest LHxary Weuaded Japanese Soldier Cas Have Is Hair-cat Pro vided by Workers la Hospital. The T. XI. C A. National Union of Japan sends the following letter from Tokto. When the association first began Its work for - soldiers In the Japanese army it was decided to limit Its activities to the men In the great base camps, leaving the soldiers In the. hospitals to other so cieties. However, after the committee re ceived the report . of R. S. Miller, of the American Legation in Toklo, who kindly devoted two months of his furlough to a trip of investigation of the field for this work, it was clearly realized that the as sociation could not shift the responsi bility of attempting to do something to relieve the sufferings of the men on the fighting line and the wounded men In the hospitals. The military officers, heartily indorsed the plan to enlarge the scope of the association's work to take In these fields. In Fengwanchen a room In the hospitals was set aside for the use of the association. Benches, tables, fire-boxes and other simple equipment were provided and a man was detailed to look after the place. The association put In magazines, games, writing materials, a phonograph, barber outfit and some homely decora tions. Secretary HIbbard send3 the fol lowing Interesting report ot the way the men use these luxuries: "The men crowded in at once, hopping and limping and crawling. Such a crowd you never saw. Here Is a man shot through the thigh. The surgeons cut away his trousers and drawers above the wound, but the leg still being good needed trousers, so the patient wears the ampu tated portion of his trousers stocking fashion with a string tied around the knee. There Is a man shot through the calf of the leg and his trousers ripped up to the knee, so that as be limps across the court one leg has an odd nautical look, while the other Is strictly 'rlkugun." Here again is a familiar face all smiles In reminiscence of frequent meetings at Antung. He was shot through the hand and is almost well. All are long-haired and the greatest luxury that we can give is a hair cut. We have each become fair ly proficient with the clippers. While I clipped their hair the men chatted freely. "Hello, have you got so you can walk? This as a new figure dragged Itself across the court. 'Hello, don't you belong to regiment?' 'Yes.' 'Well, what be came of ? I thought he was hit pretty hard. Is he dead, do you know? 'Where did they get you? 'Oh, In my chest, but It's getting along all right.' 'Did the ball go clear through?' 'No. it stopped inside and the surgeon left it-' 'Say you! (this to me) 'where docs this "guntalrokwal" (soldiers comforting outfit) come from?' Full explanations follow. 'Well, it's our hope that this thing will be a practical example of the pirit of Christianity." (Follows a brief statement of the prin ciples of Christianity.) 'Do you make many concerts? 'No. we don't have op portunity for sufficient teaching here, but we hope that some of you fellows will have enough interest to follow it up later. 'Xaruhodo! Well, most of us haven't enough religion to hurt us. It looks like a good thing. Religion is a good deal In demand with us over here. " "Yesterday the usual daily installment of wounded from the front rose to 400. When a little after 9 I reached our branch at the hospital. I found the man who Is usually on duty there had been withdrawn vfor special hospital duty and there were lircs to build and preparations to make. Already the patients were coming In and I was soon busy clipping heads. By noon I had finished 30 and came back here for lunch. After lunch Takabatakc went to the hospital and I took his place in the rooms, passing out soap, patches (for torn uniforms) and continuing the hair-cutting. Late in the" afternoon one man spoke to me as I was crossing the yard and asked me to please wash his face. A glance and I had no thought to refuse. Both hands torn by-a field gun. were neatly dressed and hung from slings from his neck. His RUSSIA'S FINANCIAL STRAIN. New Yok Sun. The Russian budget for 1901 showed that the ordinary revenue of ?1,00?,30,000 ex ceeded the ordinary expenditure by 3,- 500,000. Extraordinary expenditure of H01,- 500.000 had to be met. Of this $320,500,000 was for war expense and $S1.000.000 for railroad construction. This extraordinary expense was met by the following: Ordinary revenue surplus $53,500,000 Treasury bonds and Imperial Rente bonds 215.300.000 Balance? from prior years 1 DO. 500. COO Other extraordinary revenues j.jw.vw Total J161.0O0.00O This leaves a surplus of SoO.oOO.OOO to the credit of the Russian treasury's "iree balance." The "free balances" have been reduced from 5190.500.000 to Ji39.5O0.O00. and the public debt Increased by $215,500,000. Since the close of the year jiw.wu.wu was also raised by Internal loan. The net . result is that the government has $159,500,000 to meet war expenses. In the 11 months of 1904 the war expenditure was $320,500,000. The ordinary revenue of 1904 was $3,500, 000 less than for 1903. The 1905 ordinary revenue will doubtless be still further re duced, as the Russian people are dally becomlns: less able to meet taxation. Every day the war goes on makes matters worse, more and more going out ana less and less coming In. All this means more loans and further heavy burdens "on an Impoverished treas ury and an Impoverished people. Kaiser Wilhelm as a Bluffer. New York Press. Emperor William is not looking for war now and we doubt If he ever has wanted war, the "mailed fist" swagger to the con trary and all his bellicose speech notwith standing. In the 17 years since he climbed the throne ot the German heroes, rivers of blood have overrun the face of the globe, but save that of the Herero tribe and of a few "boxers" not a drop has dripped from the sword of his grand father. Cuba has fought her long fight for freedom, a dozen South American revolutions worth the name have oc curred, the "United States and Spain have battled on sea and land. Great Britain has beaten the Boers. Japan is putting the jiu-jitsu on the Kaiser's sprawling neighbor, but all the while his part is that of audience. The war lord should be so called only because he takes no chancea of" getting Into a war. He Is "a lath painted to look like a swprd." In the language of the National game he Is a big bluff. A Story Joseph Jefferson Told. ' Philadelphia Press. When he was playing In Missouri once, he boarded a notoriously slow train for St. Joseph- He went Into the sleeping car, but not to go to bed. as the train was due at St. Joseph late in the evening. It dawdled along, however, and finding that It could hardly arrive before morning, he ordered his berth made up. As the porter finished hl3 task, Mr. Jefferson said. "jThls Is the worst road I ever traveled on. I fancy Pm In tor a full night of it." "Deed, I reckd you Is, sah," replied the porter. "Positively the slowest road! It'll be morning before we are there. Do you think you'll get In before I m awake?" "Slow road, sah! Bound-to be plumb mo'nln', sah! But one of the passengers, sah. was tellla' me that you's the genie- man what once went to sleep and slep twenty years; and I reckon, sab. dat It you take one o dem naps We 11 be able to land you mighty close to St. Jo, befo" you wafce; sah." hair, which had not been cut since Christ mas, was all down over his face and cars. His face, which he said he had not. been able to wash for five days before he was -wounded, naturally had not been washed in the 15 days since, and was unspeakable. I cut his hair, shaved him, washed head and face and as much of his body as pos sible without undressing him and found a more than usually fine face under the grime. He said frankly that he could not speak his gratitude and he wouldn't try. "While eating supper a man came In with a question about the correspondence room and lingered to ask me If I would pray with him. So he shared the remains of the supper and then we prayed to gether as well as my Japanese would per mit. Just above his temple was the mark ot a rifle ball showing how near he bad walked to death. "As we count up the totals for the day we nnd 501 different men writing icuers. a total of about 1300 letters: 150-1S0 hair cuts, of which 00 are my score; 100 doing laundry work. These are counts, not estimates, and on these and other data we estimate that we have had 2000 visitors during the day. Among the callers were the chleff of staff ot the Yalu army and his aide, who called to pay their respects and expres-3 their thanks for the dinner to which we invited them a couple of days a"go. Other commissioned officers called and Inj one or two cases took pains to ex press their appreciation of the work. It Is not too much to say that we are get ting all the appreciation that we have any right to expect." Mr. Gleason sends the following from the Ylnkow branch: "Mr. Kawasuml has just returned from his third tour to the front. He was away from here nine days, and In that time he visited five different hospital points and was in Mukden three days after Its fall. Everywhere he was welcomed In the hospitals, giving cheer to the sick and dying with the graphophone or a Chris tian talk or prayer, distributing postal cards, writing last messages for those who would never see their dear ones again, and In one case writing a poor fel low's will. Two nights in the hospitals where the men were In too much pain to sleep he stayed until 1 o'clock In the morning giving what help he could to make them forget their pains. He used the graphophone until every pin he could get hold of In this country was worn out." "Mr.-Fujll reported that the minute he landed at Tashichao four days ago he began to give out supplies to the wound ed men on the trains. He took with him 10.000 sheets of writing-paper, 2000 en velopes, 10.000 postals. 3000 American en velopes used by the United States soldiers and 3000 sheets of paper of the same. These last, with their American flag, are much liked by the officers. Fujll also took 'pencils, newspapers a month old, magazines, a paltry number of tracts, tooth powder, towels., cakes, toilet soap and many other things. The soldiers here in Niuchatung contributed 130 parcels of these supplies from their own limited storer. One man wishing to express his gratitude for the kindness received gave Fujll a cross taken or received from a Russian. It is of brass, an Inch and a half long and an Inch wide." . Bishop Harris, of the Methodist Episco pal Church, who enjoys the honor of be ing one of the most popular foreigners In Japan and who has twice received decora tions from His Majesty, the Emperor, after completing an extensive tour throughout the empire made the follow ing written statement regarding the army work: "Coming to Japan I find that the Y. M. C. A. has made great strides "forward. Its position at this time is unique. The government and the people have the ut most confidence in and appreciation of its splendid work and Its admirable organi zation. The Y. M. C. A. is the John the Baptist of Christian work- In the empire and especially In the army in Manchuria and Corea. The organization -is worthy of the support of all who believe In doing good unselfishly." S0UTIIERN0PINI0N. Beware of Bryan. Memphis Commercial Appeal. . The Democratic party has tried sev eral fanciful issues in recent years, and now an effort is being made to commit It to Government ownership. If the Democracy is going to embrace every fad that Mr. Bryan takes up it might as well go out of business. Dangerous Times Ahead. Austin (Tex.) Statesman. People of the present day, In reading Roman history, are prone to observe that the downfall of that great em pire was due to lustful excess and great wanton Indulgence In display and ex- travagence. That which nas happened may happen again, and while it is not likely to apply in the case of the United States, the deportment of many of our howling Odety swells of the big East ern cities recalls vividly to the minds of some writers at least the scenes depicted In ancient Rome upon the oc casion of many a gaudy dinner and feast celebration when that city was In the zenith ot its glory. Independence in Politics. New Orleans Times-Democrat. That party will be ultimately suc cessful and will deserve the best of the republic which takes into itself the fruit3 of this spirit of sincerity anJ In dependence. For It is the very spirit of the time. In science, in social econ omy, in politics. Nothing Is true but truth .and nothing Is made sacred by mere prescription. Before every gen eration of tAose who think conditions. Institutions, ideas, all pass for criti cal review. If they stand the test of Independent thought, It is well. If not, then It must b. remembered that to republics, as to men,, comes at times the stern injunction to pluck out anJ cast away whatever shall offend. The Negro In the Crack. MobileRegister. We hear It proclaimed that Mr. Roosevelt's visit South has closed th chasm at last. How about It? The edges of the chasm are all ragged and worn In previous efforts at closing. Bring hither the cement, concrete, as phaltum, the gumstlckum, a block and tackle, and some grappling hooks; and let us make the Job complete! The only thing to do Is to pull It together, fasten it, plaster it, and sift it over with the dust of ages". If we can get the plaguey thing to come together, all right; but there Is a foreign substance that Is an obstacle. The negro sticks right In the crack, and we can neither push h!m down nor pully him up. What Is the President doing; to relieve the situation? Alas! nothing. He talks of the "door of hope," which means: Keep the negro In the crack. , A Good Reason. Llpplncott's. Willie had been naughty and his father was going to whip him. "My son." he said sternly as, switch in hand, he confronted the lad, "do you know why I am going to whip you?" "Yes, dad," replied the little fellow, 'it's because you're blggern I am." Lines From a Kansan's Obituary. From the Belleville Freeman. He was one ot the brightest mta and fiercest b ooze-flghters that this cora- jBunity ever had, A