THE 3IORXIXG OREGOXIAX, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1906.
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I'ORTLAND. TVESDAY, SEPT. 11. 1806.
NATIONAL OWNERSHIP.
Long distanced and great mileage of
railroads in the United States, It is be
lieved by those who have given the
subject special study, will make the
problem of Government ownership in
our country more difficult than In the
countries of the Old World that have
tried the experiment. This is an argu
ment deduced by the New York World
from various sources. The details are
too long for specific statement here,
and are largely of technical character.
It Is argued that the system would
cut out the element of competition, as
to time and excellence of appointment
and service, which is of special import
ance for the long distances of our
country; but the main argument is
that, "to enable us successfully to ap
ply the German or Italian system of
government ownership and operation,
we should have to surrender much of
our Constitution, modify our Institu
tions, undermine the right of manhood
sitffrage and turn our Government
back toward autocracy." For In those
countries "no question of railroad pol
icy Is determined by popular suffrage
or party conventions or political lead
ers. The railroads are outside the en
tire realm of partisan politics. They
are not controlled by politicians, they
are not operated by politicians, they
are not affected by political or cam
paign considerations." But It Is not
probable that in our system any bu
reaucracy, above or beyond the direct
control of the people, would be prac
ticable or possible. Yet we could not
have our railroad management in poli
tics, or direct it through popular elec
tions. Perhaps we should find also
that so sweeping a change, In so great
a matter, would virtually wipe the
states off the map and concentrate
nearly all powers In the General Gov
ernment. Objections of these descriptions will
have to be met and removed, before
the policy can be adopted. We do not
say they are unanswerable. Yet cer
tainly great changes in our system of
government and methods of adminis
tration must precede or attend so vast
an operation. In the German Empire
the entire mileage of the railroads is
34,016; in Italy, including Sicily and
Sardinia, scarcely 10,000 miles. Illinois,
Pennsylvania and Texas have as many
miles of railroad as the whole German
Empire; and Pennsylvania alone, with
a population of 7,000,000, has more than
Italy, with a population of 33.000,000.
Then as to equipment and service, con
venience of travel and transportation,
railroads In foreign countries, under
governmental ownership, fall below the
standards of the United States.
In Italy there Is a singular history of
governmental ownership. It makes no
hopeful showing. Recent Issues of the
Railroad Gazette (New York) have
contained elaborate articles on the
government connection with railroads
in Italy, written by Mr. Giuseppe
Spera, who has had long service and
experience as government engineer and
expert, in connection with the opera
tion of railroads in Italy, under na
tional control.
Till the unification of Italy the rall
roeds of each state ran without con
nection one with another. The sys
tems, says Mr. Spera, were not merely
Independent, but were Isolated. The
railroads of Tuscany did not reach
those of Rome; those of Rome did not
reach those of Naples. After the series
of wars from 1859 to 1870, and the for
mation of the present government, the
railroad system was in the main con
nected, although the conflict between
the natural economic developments
along the line of the through routes
from northwest to southeast, and the
old crosswise political divisions occa
sioned the Italian system to be broken
up Into four groups. These roads, for
a time, were operated In part by the
state, in part by private companies,
helped by the government. But the
conditions were most unsatisfactory,
and In 1876 a plan was drawn up under
which private companies were to oper
ate all the roads, subject to govern
mental ownership. The history of this
management, as Mr. Spera tells us,
was marked principally by two contra
dictory features; by a studious parlia
mentary research into the situation
and by great recklessness in expendi
tures. It was estimated that it would
cost $125,000,000 to put the systems In
shape for proper private operation. As
matter of fact, this was doubled before
the work was really under way, and
was constantly Increased thereafter for
political reasons, the representative of
each state seeking to secure special
benefits for his own constituency.
This plan, which was that of gov
ernment ownership, with private opera
tion, utteTly failed. The properties
were insufficiently msflntalned; they
were not profitable; rates were up and
service was down, and all the time
they were a drain on the government.
In the face of popular clamor the pol
icy has for the third time been reversed
and now the government has taken the
operation C b railroads iback again.
The prospect is said to be no more fa
vorable than have been conditions In
the past. Mr. Spera is unable to see
any hope of Its success. Of course
Italy Is not so powerful a nation as the
United States. It has, however, a pop
ulation more than one-third that of
ours; but Its area, including Its Islands,
Is less than half that of Texas. In so
small a country, carrying so dense a
population, government ownership
ought to he practicable. If anywhere.
INSANE OR CRIMINAL?
What degree of religious mania min
gled with more ordinary human mo
tives to induce Esther Mitchell to
shoot down her brother" the courts will
probably find it difficult to decide. If
there were other motives, such as re
venge, malice and the like, how did
they arise in her mind? George llfttch
ell had not personally wronged or even
offended his sister. If she hated him in
the ordinary, sane, human, manner. It
was without cause. It must be admit
ted that she was probably influenced
by Mrs. Crcffleld, but this Influence was
effectual through their common relig
ious belief, and not because of personal
feeling. The wife of jthe slain prophet
pictured George as guilty of sacrilege,
and Esther's faith made her a victim
of the same delusion.
Very likely Mrs. Creffield'e motives
In egging on Esther to commit the deed
were more mixed. A wife naturally re
sents the murder of her husband, even
If he Is a prophet. No doubt she
played upon the flexible mind of the
girl and used her as an Instrument of
vengeance; but It is incredible that
Mrs. Creffield should not have been
deeply affected by the faith they both
professed. Beyond all question 6he was
a sincere convert to her husband's
creed. In urging Esther to shoot
George, Mrs. Creffield may even have
been unconscious of any earthly pas
sion mingling with her religious frenzy.
She may have seen In herself only an
uncorrupted motive. Both the women
thought themselves instruments of the
divine wrath, and the circumstance
that Esther was selected to do the
actual deed seemed to them trivial.
Both were perhaps equally guilty or
equally guiltless, so far as purpose is
concerned. ,
Crime Implies criminal intent and the
consciousness of moral distinctions.
There can scarcely be much doubt that
both these women had become oblivi
ous through their religious frenzy of
the ordinary distinction between right
and wrong. They had learned to call
evil good and . good evil. That they
were morally irresponsible admits of
very little doubt; and while their exe
cution would be no great misfortune to
the world, still, as the law goes. It
would in all probability be Indefensible.
The time has not i.yet arrived when
mankind will submit' to see irresponsi
ble persons put to death, even if there
is no hope for their future. Taking
into account all the circumstances of
the unfortunate Creffield affair, the
moral sense of the world would be bet
ter satisfied to see these women In
carcerated for life In an asylum than
to see them executed.
HEARST AS A CANDIDATE.
Mr. Hearst will get a nomination to
day. It will be for Governor of New
York. The Impossibility of his election
Is assured in advance, for the nomina
tion will be by the Independence
League, which Is a Hearst newspaper
made league. Perhaps that Is the rea
son why Mr. Hearst declares his first
allegiance to the Independence League
and Informs the Democrats that they
can nominate him or not, Just as they
please. He doesn't care anything about
the Democratic nomination. Perhaps
he fears he might be elected.
What Mr. Hearst would dd with a
great office If he had It he doesn't
know, for no one knows; but he does
know that promise and performance
are totally different things. Mr. Hearst
Is by Instinct and occupation an agi
tator, and little else, and his true place
is outside the breastworks. . The enor
mous disadvantage under which he
would labor if he were to abandon the
role of critic of public men and meas.
ures, and permit the whole public to
Judge of his worth and work by his
deeds as an administrator of a great
public trust, is entirely apparent. Mr.
Hearst Is a representative in Congress,
it is true, but he doesn't do much with
it, except advertise himself and his
newspapers. But as a Governor he
couldn't do that, or anything else that
would not be subject to continuous and
severe public scrutiny. Could he '"make
good"? The gulf between promise and
performance is too wide for any but
the most exceptional public men to
cross, and .It still remains for Mr.
Hearst to prove that he is exceptional
either in ability or integrity of purpose.
THE HONEST FARMER.
There are two sides to most contro
versies. If not to all, and while the
other side may have the least merit, it
Is worth while to hear all that the par
ties controversial may have to offer.
We've all heard the complaint made
by the downtrodden farmer and have
sympathized with him, thoroughly con
vinced that he Is the victim of grievous
wrongs perpetrated by the avaricious
dealer in farm produce, who hammers
down prices for. the grower and boosts
prices for- the consumer. That the
farmer suffers at the hands of city
commission men there Is no room for
doubt. The farmer says he does, and
we have the daily market quotations to
corroborate his statement. Whichever
way you turn you find the agriculturist
held by the throat by the man to whom
he ' must sell his season's crop. Upon
the farmer's neck rests the foot of the
financier. At least this Is the Inevita
ble conclusion after hearing the farm
er's side of the case.
But now comes a communication
from a produce merchant who deals in
farm produce and who has a grievance
against the farmers. He thinks he is
being made the victim of gross injus
tice,, and desires to unburden his
troubles upon a public which he vainly
hopes to find sympathetic. That his
story may have some foundation is
true, but that any one will suspect a
farmer of sharp practice in a business
transaction is hardly probable. Every
body knows that the farmer's occupa
tion brings him Into close communion
with Nature, and that his habits of.
thought are such that he could not de
vise methods of cheating even his
worst enemy. The farmer lives In a
freer, purer atmosphere; he is incapa
ble of evil intent; he knows no guile.
But, though we will all pass Judg
ment In advance In favor of the horny
handed tiller of the soil, let's hear the
complaint of the produce-buyer. It
will do no harm to listen, for we have
already made up our minds that the
complaint is ill founded and we shall
be able to say that we have given both
sides a hearing. The buyer's letter is
long, and contains a large number of
counts against the farmer, but it is
necessary to mention them all. One or
two will suffice. Selecting at random,
here Is the charge that the buyer con
tracted with a grain farmer for the
purchase of his entire crop of oats at
27 cents a bushel. The crop was esti
mated at 1200 bushels, to be safe, but
the farmer expected to have more. But
the price went up 3 cents a pound, and
when threehing was over the farmer
hauled In 30Q bushels-of oats and grave
ly informed the buyer that this was the
extent of his crop.
Again, the produce-buyer alleges that
he entered into an agreement with a
prunegroer for the purchase of his
crop, roughly estimated at 40,000 pounds.
That contract was made early in the
season. Since then the market for
prunes has slid down, down, down, and
the buyer sees a loss ahead for himself
or the Eastern dealer to whom he has
sold In turn. But the grower has smil
ingly informed the buyer that his prune
crop is turning out much larger , than
he expected, and the buyer hears on
the side that the aforesaid grower is
buying fresh prunes from many of his
neighbors who failed to make early
contracts. , Putting two and two to
gether, he surmises that the grower
Intends to deliver two or three crops at
the price agreed upon in the contract
for the sale of one. ,
It isn't necessary to elaborate. These
two charges are fairly representative of
the many allegations rolled up against
the agriculturists. No one will believe
the charges and no one wants to. The
farmer is honest. He was born honest.
Plodding along In the furrow behind
his faithful team end followed by his
faithful dog, he listens to the raptur
ous singing of the care-free birds, and
his thoughts soar to higher things than
trickery of the sort described by the
produce merchant. The farmer is inno
cent, we know he is, so there's the end
of it.
i EVOLUTION.
In his very interesting sermon on
"Evolution" Elder George A. Snyder,
for some reason, refers only to the ac
count of the creation given in the first
chapter of Genesis. In this chapter. In
the verses chosen by Elder Snyder for
his text, it Is stated that God made
man in his own Image, creating "them"
male and female at the outset. But in
the second chapter of Genesis there is
another, and, In some rejects, differ
ent account of the creation. Here it
says nothing about man being made In
the image of his creator, but on the
contrary that he was formed out of the
dust, Just like the beasts and every
other living creature. It is clearly im
plied that for some time the clay body
which was to become man had no life,
and only became animated when the
creator breathed into its nostrils.
Again, the first account, the one which
Elder Snyder quotes, states very clear
ly that of the first human creatures
made the number was large. Thejr are
spoken of as a collection, "man,"
which goes repeatedly with a plural
verb. It is a noun of multitude, like
"beast of the earth" and "cattle,"
which occur in the twenty-fifth, verse.
"Man" is used all through this chapter
precisely like "cattle," .Implying beyond
a doubt that the writer speaks of a
large number of individuals.
In the second chapter, on the other
hand, it is distinctly stated that but
one human being was originally made
and that he was a male. This fact
brings out another variance, since in
the first chapter it is stated that male
and female were made at the same
time in the case of human beings as
well as of beasts. The account of the
supplementary creation of the female
sex is elaborately set forth in the sec
ond chapter, together with the rea
son for it. In fact, in the eight
eenth verse we. read that the Lord
discovered that he had made a mis
take in creating only the male. He
found that "it was not good for man to
be alone." If it was not good for man
to be alone, then it was bad. If it was
bad it was Imperfect; therefore we
learn fromnhe Bible itself that at least
one mistake was made at the creation
of the human race; that at least one
imperfection existed which had to be
remedied by revising the work. How
6hall we reconcile this truth, drawn
from the Bible itself, with Elder Sny
der's remark that "the Bible teaches
that the earth and all of its original in
habitants were created in a state of
perfection"? Man, at least, was not
created perfect, because the .Bible itself
says that in one particular he lacked
something; that is, he lacked a female
companion.
Not only is Elder Snyder's theory
that man was created perfect unscrip
tural; It la also unfounded in reason.
If man had been created perfect he
must always have remained perfect.
It Is no answer to this to say that fie
would have remained perfect if he had
not been tempted and fallen. A
perfect being cannot fall. The pos
sibility of falling Is in itself an
imperfection. A perfect being may
perhaps be tempted, but he can
not yield to temptation. Hence the
fact that man did yield proves that he
was not perfect at the outset. It is of
no use to try to elude this dilemma by
asserting that the fall came about
through man's free will, and not be
cause of any defect In his original na
ture. This is a contradiction In terms.
Man's will, whether free or not, was
part of his nature; and If that will
acted to drag him down it was Imper
fect, and therefore his nature Itself was
imperfect. There, is absolutely no pos
sibility of escaping the conclusion that
if man fell they must have been cre
ated imperfect. If they did not fall
then also they were created imperfect
If they were created at all. The con
ception of an originally perfect being
which lapsed Into the present unhappy
condition of the human race is logically
self-contradictory. If man had ever
been perfect they would necessarily be
perfect still.
Elder Snyder argues for the original
perfection of the human race in order
to combat the theory of evolution. ' He
need not have taken so much trouble.
All that Is necessary to overthrow evo
lution is to prove that man was cre
ated; how, when, of. in what state is
of no consequence for the argument.
Evolution claims that man developed
from some other species of animal.
This can be disproved by showing that
he did not develop, but came Into in
stantaneous being through creative
flat. What sort of a man he was,
whether good or bad, makes no differ
ence. Could the Elder do this he would
not leave the evolutionists a leg to
stand on. No further argument
against them would be necessary. A
single fact overthrows any amount of
theory; but the fact must be a fact, not
a mere guess. If the fact adduced in
evidence took place in the past. It must
be proved. Two conflicting accounts of
the same transaction given In the same
book do not prove that it ever took
place.
The accounts of the creation are not
only flatly contradictory, but they are
otherwise fatally deficient In credibil
ity. For one thing, they do not -say
upon whose testimony they are based.
The bald items art? set down without
authority or reference of any kind.
They do not claim to be given on the
authority of an eyewitness or to be
transmitted from an eyewitness. Who,
indeed, could have been an eyewitness
of the creation of Adam? There was
no other man alive to look on while It
was done. If the account comes from
Adam himself, the Bible does not say
so. What Is Its source? If the tale
does really run back to Adam, it is
still of no value, for we have' no way
to tell which of the two accounts he
believed to be the correct one. It Is
not our purpose to attempt to exhaust
this question in a brief reference; . we
merely wish to point out to Elder Sny
der and those who think as he does a
few of the difficulties which beset the
unprejudiced mind when it is asked to
accept the first two chapters of Genesis
as of scientific and historical author
ity. .
The treaty of peace that was signed
at Portsmouth, N. H., ending the war
between Japan and Russia, was com
memorated upon its first anniversary,
September. 5, in that city by ringing
bells and unveiling a tablet In the
fbuilding in which the envoys met to
discuss the terms of peace. The copper
of which the tablet was made was al
loyed with Japanese and Russian
metal, and was inscribed as follows:
In thla building, at the invitation of Theo
dore Rosevelt, President of the United States,
was held the peace conference between envoys'
of Russia and Japan, and on September 8.
1905, at S:7 P. M. tu signed the treaty of
Portsmouth, which ended the war between the
two countries.
Observances of this character serve
to keep alive and encourage the peace
sentiment, and to commemorate events
of national and international signifi
cance, but they have no bearing upon
the war spirit in man that comes to
the front upon provocation. The vic
tories of peace touch the heart, but
those of war gratify the . aggressive
spirit, toy which and through which
man has won his way and maintained
his place in the world.
The hoppickers that throng the yards
of the Willamette Valley are having a
merry as well as a remunerative out
ing. With Ideal weather, clean vines
and a good yield, industrious pickers
make good wages and are not too tired
to enjoy an evening's amusement in
the halls that are accessories to the
large yards. Not all of the pickers par
ticipate In these rural festivities, of
course, but many of them enjoy the
dancing, the music and the games pro
vided for their entertainment. There
is danger, and even certainty, that
these festivities will absorb the wages
paid for picking many boxes of hops',
but those kindly disposed toward this
army of industrious merry-makers can
only hope that no loss that Is not cov
ered by money will result from these
hilarious gatherings. The guarantee of
this hope lies in the prudent oversight
of parents or others charged with the
duty of "looking after the young
folks."
The week that does not unearth a
scandal in Pittsburg is barren of news
from the upper-under world. The rec
ord began with Sunday of this week.
In it the names of two prominent poli
ticians and men' of wealth,, and that of
the wife of one of them, figure. The
record Is disgraceful in' the extreme.
It Is likely to conclude with the death
of one of the actors in this modern
drama and the sensational trial of the
other. As to the woman, she is In hid
ing, and it may be hoped will remain
so, since public morality cannot be
served by dragging her forth into the
marketplace and forcing the shameful
story of marital unfaithfulness from
her lips.
The steamship City of Topeka, being
out of her course off Point Arena Sat
urday night, was thrown heavily on
the rocks by a great wave, lifted bod
ily and thrown, clear again by a suc
ceeding wave, and was able to limp
into the port of San Francisco with
two gaping holes in her side. Captain
Swanson showed himself to be a good
seaman, rising quickly to meet the
emergency. The navigation of the ves
sel must, however, have been at fault,
since In the steamer's charted course
there are no "rocky reefs." As for the
rest, a smooth sea, the nearness to port
and a commander who. knew his busi
ness combined to turn serious' disaster
aside.
Prospect of getting red liquor again
in Maine brings 'em out. The princi
pal Issue was on resubmission of pro
hibition to the voters. The Republi
cans had the negative, the Democrats
the affirmative. On this issue the vote
was larger than even in Presidential
years; and the Democrats made great
gains though the Republican vote
held up above its average.
They do say now that if our political
experts, or men as have supposed
themselves such, and have Imagined
they knew something about the poli
tics of Oregon, will go and sit at the
feet of Mr. Puter for a while, they will
learn something In fact, oft this inter
esting subject.
The London papers universally praise
the sportsmanlike conduct of the Har
vard crew, which came out two lengths
behind, We feel the same way about
it, but would feel more so if it had
been two lengths ahead.
If you'll Incline your ear toward New
York today, you'll hear the gentle, rip
ping sound of Mr. Hearst pulling off
a nomination for Governor. Mr. Hearst
never has much trouble about his nom
inations. If a Seattle commission in. lunacy
rather than a court of law can find Es
ther Mitchell and Maud Creffield to be
crazy, King County will be dollars
ahead and the reading public get much
relief.
The sympathy Representative Ford
ney offered so generously to one of the
land-fraud defendants on the ground
of "persecution" he may now be dis
posed to withdraw and offer to him
self. Seattle may withdraw Its ball team
from the Pacific Coast League because
baseball In Seattle doesn't pay. What,
a town of 206,401 (directory census)
cannot support a ball team?
When Mr. J. J. Hill foretells uncom
fortable facts and seems to become a
pessimist, it is well to watch the stock
market and keep out of It.
They are going to put Sulzer up' for
Governor, Just to cure that Democratic
headache.
EASY SPANKING FOR BAD BOYS
Victory Won by Mrn. C, H. Mackay tn
Long Island School Board.
New York World.
In deference to the convictions of Mrs.
Clarence H. Mackay concerning the'
training of children, an up-to-date at
tachment has been affixed to the old
fashioned hickory with which many a
Roslyn, Ll I., schoolboy has been tanned
for sticking out his tongue at the teacher
and cutting up otherwise. The attach
ment consists of discretion and modera
tion used In about equal parts.
Had it not been for the cordial rela
tions which prevail between the members
of the Roslyn School Board, conditions
were ripe when the school reopened for
a spilt on the spanking question. Mrs,
Mackay was known to be an uncompro-
mlslng nonspanklst..
At the organization meeting of the
Trustees. Mrs. Mackay's four fellow
members of the board, all men, clung
to the Long Island belief that there Is a
power of education in two feet of sea
soned hickory, and pointed to upright
citizens of Roslyn who got theirs In the
village school long before Mrs. Mackay
took a hand In matters educational.
There was some shuffling of feet and a
reluctance - to broach the subject until
Mrs. Mackay took the initiative and said:
"I would like to see corporal punish
ment abolished in the school. The Jap
anese have of late been looked upon as
a nation solicitous for the training of her
people. Little Japs are not whipped in
school. The rod is not necessary for the
American schoolboy. Rewards for merit
and kindly admonition for transgressions
will accomplish more than the birch."
Trustee Tubby took the floor. "Cor
poral punishment is all right If employed
with discretion," he said. "Some boys
would be the worse If It was not admin
istered to them. We can depend upon
our teachers to do the proper thing."
An informal discussion followed, and
Mrs. Mackay brought to bear on the
Trustees all her diplomacy. It resulted
in a decision that when a teacher had
to deal with a cantankerous boy who
could not be tamed otherwise, a brief
review of the case should be submitted
to the principal, with a recommendation
that the boy be spanked. Should the
principal agree with the teacher on the
wisdom of taking the hickory down from
the cupboard, the bad boy will be prop
erly tanned, and the principal will write
out a history of the operation, to be sub
mitted to the Trustees. Mrs. Mackay
was much gratified over the decision.
Principal Jacob E. Clark looks forward
to the future of the Roslyn small boy
with serenity. "I'll do- the spanking alt
right when it's necessary, he told a
World reporter last night. "I officiated
at four spankings last year. One of -'em
got It good" and Principal Clark rubbed
his palms remlnlscently.
"If candidates are not too grown-up I
nop them across my knee and use the
flat of my hand. This method Is efficaci
ous when N the boys are plump. When
there is a slack In their trousers I have
to take down the ruler," said Principal
Clark, casting his eye upward.
Fat Girl tn Pond Imperils Baptists.
Doolittle (la.) Dispatch.
Three persons had a narrow escapo
from drowning In a pond during a bap
tism here because Miss Ida Tuttle, one
of those Immersed, was so fat that when
she entered the water it rose above tne
heads of the minister and a young man
who was engaged to marry Miss Tuttle
and who was to be baptised with her.
At first the water reached only to the
waists of the minister and the young man
convert. But the moment Miss Tuttle
stepped Into the pond the water surged
up and ingulfed all three. They were
carried off their feet, but, after a strug
gle, were helped out.
Later in the day the young man was
taken to a hospital with a broken leg.
He reported that Miss Tuttle sat down
suddenly on his lap and he felt the bone
snap.
Miss Tuttle keeps her weight a secret,
but she looks as though it might be 325
pounds.
Being; Welded Into Americana.
New York Times.
Johann Schumann-Heink, son of the
opera singer, Is working in a Jewelry
store in Springfield, Mass., and learning
the English language. He is going to
be a singer and actor, and he wants
to sing and act In English. HJs mother,
he says, Is an American, and he is an
American, too, though he has been In
the country but six weeks. Johann, or
plain John, as he wishes to be called
by his American friends. Is a pleasant,
well-bred young man of 20 years. He
came here from his native town, a
small place near Dresden, Saxony. By
rights he should be Berving in the Ger
man army, but his mother got him ex
cused through influence with the Kai
ser. Another brother came over with
him, and is now an engineer at the
Cramps' shipbuilding works In Phila
delphia. John is picking up English
rapidly, and can make himself under
stood now, though with some difficulty.
Old Law Doom" Dog to Death.
Pittsburg (Pa.) Dispatch.
- A rare proceeding materialized be
fore Alderman Gelder of Carbondale,
Pa., when a dog, an ordinary yellow
mongrel, W2S formally sentenced to
death.
The animal had chewed the trousers
of Baggage Master Eugene Wonacott,
of tho Delaware & Hudson Railroad,
and of several other persons. One ol
them, Charles J. Kerlms, complained
to the Alderman and requested that the
dog be killed.
Back in the days of 1836 an act was
passed whereby the sentence of death
can be Imposed on any dog found to
be vicious. Alderman Gelder found the
law, and accordingly Imposed sen
tence. Two fat frankfurters, plentifully
sprinkled with poison, ushered the cul
prit into the hereafter.
Anton nnd Tobacco Chewing,
Lewlston (Me.) Journal.
One of the largest retail tobacco dealers
In the United States says that the con
sumption of chewing tobacco has In
creased almost 50 per cent in five years.
He attributes this increase to the auto
mobile, because It Is impossible to enjoy
a cigar or pipe while whizzing alone;
in a motor car. There is also danger of
sparks or ashes from the lighted cigar
or pipe getting Into the eyes. - ,
The New Spelling Bee.
Anaconda Standard.
Cut them out, cut them off,
Sklddoo dead letters!
Free this great English tongue
Of all Its fetters!
"Forward the spelling class!"
Rubicons let it pass,
And let It Jump en masse
On the three hundred 1
Typewriters to right of them.
Typewriters to left of them.
Typewriters dead onto them.
Punched the three hundred!
Vowels knocked down and out.
Consonants slammed hard about.
Diphthongs all put to rout.
Shattered and sundered;
Never the fate In doubt
Of the three hundred!
Ripped off were all their clothes.
By these relentless foes;
Why. the Lord only knows!
Stripped of their vestments bare.
E'en of their underwear.
Oh. what a sight was there.
Naked three hundred!
There for the world to seel
Modesty, where was sheT
Comstock, oh where was he?
All the world wondered!
Robbed of the duds they wore.
And what Is worse and more.
Robbed of their flesh and gore.
Skeleton three hundred!
Oh, what a shocking raid!
Oh, the wild changes mad
la the three hundred I
HIPPLE ONE OF A GRIM LINE.
Philadelphia Has. Morbid Record of
Eleven Financial Suicides.
Philadelphia Dispatch in Kansas City
Star.
Beginning with the failure of the
Keystone National Bank 15 years ago,
which ruined men whose reputations
were as untarnished as that of Frank
K. Hippie, president of the Real Es
tate Trust Company, Philadelphia has
had an amazing series of financial
scandals and financial wrecks, involv
ing the suicide of ten well-known men.
Bank depositors have lost millions,
the largest loss resulting in the failure
of one of the great asphalt companies
and in Consolidated Lake Superior. In
thesa two companies the public of Phil
adelphia dropped upward of $100,00;),
000. The following men committed sui
cide: John S. Hopkins, cashier Matt Quay's
People's Bank, embessled $700,000; blew out
his brains.
William M. Slngerly. president Chestnut
National Bank and Chestnut Trust Com
pany, and proprietor of the Philadelphia
Record; poisoned himself.
Joseph G. Deltman. president Quaker City
National Bank; body found in Schuylkill
River.
Benjamin H. Gasklll. wrecked City Trust
Safe Depository & Surety Company; em
bezzled $500,000.
Robert Adams, Jr., Congressman and
financier; committed suicide in Washington,
D. C. after squandering fortune of saoo.OOU-
Joslah Adams, politician and lawyer; com
mitted suicide after exposure of get-rlch-Qulck
concern.
John Field, ex-Postmaster of Philadel
phia and member of dry goods firm of
Young, Smyth. Field & Co.; killed himself
after losing fortune In realty speculation.
James v. P. Turner, City Register of
Vital Statistics; killed himself In Fair
mount Park after financial ruin.
William G. Rothermcl, stock broker, bead
of wildcat concern known as Popular Brok
erage Company; found dead In bed.
Franklin B. Gowen, president of the Phila
delphia & Reading; committed suicide after
losing Immense fortune in realty specula
tion. In nearly every one of ten suicides
caused by wildcat finance, attempts
have been made to suppress facts as
in the case of Hippie, whose suicide
was known to members of his family,
the Coroner and the Coroner's physi
cian for six days.
Circumstances surrounding the self
destruction of Hippie and of John S.
Hopkins, cashier of Matt Quay's Peo
ple's bank, who killed himself in March,
1898, are strikingly similar. Both men
occupied positions of trust, were promi
nent in church work, had-a rigid code
of morals for the government of their
employes and were strict observers of
the biblical injunction to remember
the Sabbath day.
Hopkins embezzled $700,000, which he
lent on worthless collateral to a con
cern called the Guarantors' Company.
He foisted its aecurltles oft on his di
rectors as of value, and when exposure
threatened he prepared himself for
death and eased his conscience by writ
ing a voluminous letter of contrite ex
planation to James McManes, president
of the institution.
Then he went Into the bathroom of
his house in West Spruce street and
put a bullet Into his brain. The fact
that he had taken his own life was
kept quiet for three days. -
Railroads Separate.
Washington Star.
Announcement is made that the Penn
sylvania Railroad Company has dis
posed of more than half of its holdings
of Baltimore & Ohio and Norfolk &
Western stock. Of the stock of the for
mer road the Pennsylvania held some
$21,500,000 preferred and $30,300,000
common, and "of the latter $23,3)0,000
common and $5,500,000 adjusted pre
ferred, a total holding In both roads
of $77,600,000, more than one-half of
which is now sold and the proceeds
turned into the treasury for application
upon the terminal improvements now
under way.
The reason for the sale officially an
nounced by the Pennsylvania corpora
tion is that the purchases were origin
ally made in order to prevent .secret
rebates, end that this practice having
been checked, the occasion for continu
ing controlling ownership of other rail
roads has ceased. The public belief,
however. Is that this sale Is a conces
sion to publio sentiment, and possibly
a move anticipatory of the operations
of the new railroad rate regulation
law, which forbids such holdings.
Sorrow Rises to the Occasion.
t New York Sun.
It' was to be expected that that well
of English and Latin undeflled, our old
friend and master, Dr. William Everett,
vlr bonus dlcendl peritus, would not al
low President Roosevelt's assault on the
English language to pass unrebuked. He
writes to the Boston Transcript:
"May I ask space In your paper for a
protest against the extraordinary and un
warranted proceeding of President Roose
velt In giving Government authority to
the so-called 'reformed- spelling? Are
he and Mr. Carnegie satisfied that their
own names are spelled as pronounced?
"WILLIAM EVERETT,
"Qulncy, 'Feast of St. Bartholomew, 1906."
None but a poet and orator would have
selected the day of the excoriated mar
tyr, the anniversary of a ruthless mas
sacre, to rouse the Indignation of his
hearers against the torture Inflicted on
the language.
Bryan.
Pilot Rock Record.
Bryan has neither said nor done any
thing to be remembered by the Ameri
can people. His name and fame are In
separably connected with the silver
fallacy.
Father Smoked the Son'a Share.
Admiral Prince Louis, of Battenberg,
lg said to have been much astonished
when he asked General Fred Grant for a
cigar and learned that the son of General
U. S. Grant did not smoke.
NOT ASLEEP
"A DAMN DECENT GREASER."
Expressive Epitaph Found In Sand
hills of New Mexico.
Kansas City Star.
'"""""" "
: Here lies the bones of Sancho :
: Pedro, the only damn decent :
: Greaser I ever knew. ;
: Killed by Apache Indians, 1S4G. :
: Gen. S. W. K.. U. S. A.
The letters had been burned Into tho
pine slab with the corner of a branding
Iron. The dry climate had kept the
wood preserved and there was no indica
tion that it had stood for more than a
few years except for the date below the
epitaph.
A few bullets, tributes of cowboys,
who doubted that a greaser could be
good even when dead, had splintered
the sides of the slab.
It was an unusual epitaph. The fino
slab stood in a sandhill far off from trie
Pecos River up near the foothills in New
Mexico. The epitaph was unusual be
cause It spoke well of a Mexican half
breed. You might travel for days m
New Mexico and Arizona and find
neither on wood nor stone or the lips
of a white man such flattery as that
a greaser was decent.
Sancho Pedro must have been an
unusual half breed to acquire the friend
ship of a general. The slab was recently
found half buried In a sand dune by a
Mexican grading crew on the Santa Fe
Railroad.
An old Navajo Indian who had been
with General Stephen W. Kearney, told
of Sancho Pedro. He was a hostler ror
General Kearney, the old man said. He
served the General for years and was
killed In a skirmish with Apache In
dians down in the Pecos Valley near tne
foothills in 18-18. The General ordered
him given decent burial and burned tho
epitaph with his own hands on a pine
slab with an old Spanish branding Iron.
Man Breaks Woman' Strange Covenant
Colorado Springs Cor. New York World.
An agreement entered into between two
women whereby they promi.ie "to love,
honor and cherish until death do therti
part" .figures in a suit begun in the Dis
trict Court to recover property which one
of the women. Nellie B. Hewitt, is al
leged to have turned over to the other,
Columbia Anna Robbins, on the belief
that the covenant they entered into
would never be broken.
But a man came between them.
Mrs. Robbins, whose name was Zim
merman at the time the agreement was
drawn up, married, and according to Mrs.
Hewitt retained the property which they
had held Jointly, and which is valued at
about $5000. The novel nuptial agreement
which was included in the original com
plaint filed reads as follows:
"We do hereby solemnly covenant and
agree each with the other to take each
other for better or worse, to love, honor
and cherish, through sorrow or Joy or
woe, until death does us part, God being
our witness, for In him we trust."
The agreement as set worth Was en
tered into and duly signed by the women
May 8, 1892, and their happy home was
broken up six months ago by the mar
riage of Mrs. Robbins to a mere man.
Mrs. Hewitt professes to have been the
original owner of most of the Joint prop
erty, and wants It back.
A Pi-Year-Old Judge Still Busy.
Boston Herald.
Judge Charles Field, of Athol, Mass..
is still dispensing Justice, although 91
years of age. Recently he disposed of
three cases In one morning, then went
to Gardiner, 13 miles away, and disposed
of eight cases. He walked a mile from
the courtroom to the railroad station.
His figure Is erect and bis step is firm.
Bffalhenr Style of Summer Widower.
Vale Orlano.
Ed Hamilton Sundayed In Payette and
claims a swell time, although expensive.
Ed has been so busy since making new
engagements we have not had a chance
to learn all the particulars. Be careful.
Ed, for when the "cat's away the mice
will play."
Old New Haven's Air.
Wallace Irwin In Saturday Evening Post
WhenJohnnle went off to Tale, to Yale.
He was a parlor boarder;
They sent him down to Ell Town
To study law and order.
They told him not to study much
Because he was so frail
X wonder what his ma-mab will say
When Johnnie comes back from Tale?
i
When Johnnie cornea back from Tale agall
Harooi Huroo!
He'll greet his pa with a rah-rah-rah.
And his aunts and uncles, too.
The local band and the fire patrol
Will chase the pig up a slippery pole.
And there'll be a scream from the taaeball
team
When Johnnie comes home from Tale.
When Johnnie went off to Tale, to Tale,
He was a son of peace, man;
But soon he became the pet of Fame,
When he whipped a fat policeman.
He eat up nights by the candle lights
Till his face grew rather pale
But I wonder what ma-mah will say
When Johnnie comes from Tale?
When Johnnie comes home from Tale again,
Hurangl Hurang!
He'll stop the clocks for several blocks
And the fire alarms will clang.
The family horse will neigh and pranoe
And grandmamma will try to dance.
'Twill be for the good of the nelghborhooJl
When Johnnie comes home from Tale.
When Johnnie went off to Tale, to Tale,
His foliage was vernal:
But now on his vest he's wearing a( crest
In an order of Greek fraternal.
His friends refined are awfully kind
In keeping him out of Jail
But I wonder what his ma-mah will say
When Johnnie comes home from Tale.
AT THE SWITCH
From the St. Paul Pioneer Press.