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1 1 1 i M H H H-H-H-Il HH 1 1 1 II I II II 1 1 1 !
jj Whether Common or Not
HH-f-H-l-l-H 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 M-MH-1 -H-l t-H-l l-ll H-i'
I Ain't th Littlest Girl No Jlore.
My papa called me sweotheart till it came,
An' jus' played with mo nearly all tb' time;
But now he's Jus' forgot my baby name
'Causo there's another baby now, an' I'm
Told 'at I mustn't run an' sing an' play
'Causo it might wake It up an' mako it cry.
An' 'stead of beln' potted ov'ry day
I'm tol' I'm such a bother when I'm nigh,
That's why I'm feelin' so drefful poor
I ain't th' littlest girl no more.
Fore baby came my papa used t say
At I wus jus th' sweetest girl in town;
An' 'at he'd ruther sing an' romp an' play
Wlf mo 'an any littlo girl aroun'.
An' ho wouldslng me sleepy songs at night
An'tuck mo in my little cradle bed;
But 'at wus all before ho caught a sight
Of 'at new baby's little fuzzy head.
An' now I's feelin so mighty poor
I ain't th' littlest girl no more.
It's so drefful hard for a girl like me
'At ain't no bigger 'an a pint o' sand
T' have t' Btan' aroun' t' wait an see
. A baby gcttin' pats from mamma's hand.
I can't seo why they wanted 'nothcr one
While I wus hero an' jus' a wishin' I .
Could seo my papa so 'at I could run
An' s'priso him till he had to say, "O, myf"
But baby como an I's drefful sore
I ain't th' littlest girl no more.
A Little Fable.
A Benevolent Assimilation walking along the
Public Highway met a Deep Longing mournfully
wending its Way.
How now!" exclaimed the Benevolent Assimila
tion. "Why this Pensive air?"
"Alas, I have in ray Possession something I treas
ure Highly, but which I am in Danger of Losing."
'What can it Be?" asked the Benevolent Assimi
lation. "It is my Right to Live."
Thereupon the Benevolent Assimilation seized
the Deep Longing by .the Nape of the Neck and felled ,
it to the Ground.
"Why am I thus Assaulted?" wailed the Deep
Longing.
"I am merely seizing your Right to Live so that
I can make you my servant," said the Benevolent As
similation. "Alas and alackl" moaned the Deep Longing. "I
was deceived by Your Appearance."
"Perhaps," said the Benevolent Assimilation.
That's why I'm called by that Name."
Moral: But there is nothing Moral about It.
t
Sure.
Now comes the bore with airy mica
And loudly whistled tune,
Who surely leaves ajar the door
He always closed last June.
A Fatal Mistake.
The legislators-elect were engaged in caucus, con
sidering the names of gentlemen who had been men
tioned in connection with the senatorship.
"I suggest," remarked the gentleman from Sque
dunk, "that we invite all who are candidates to ap
pear before us, one at a time, that we may question
them."
" If the gentleman from Squedunk will put his sug
gestion in the form of a motion I will second it," said
the gentleman from Squgee.
The gentleman from Squedunk hastened to act
upon the suggestion and the motion was duly made
and carried. Thereupon several candidates were
ushered in, one at a time, and cautiously questioned.
It took several hours to exhaust the list of avowed
and known candidates, but finally the end was
reached and the gentleman from Southville asked:
"Are there no more candidates to question? "
Before the sergeant-at-arms of the caucus could
reply there was a knock at th door, and upon th
The Commoner.
door being opened a gentleman walked in and ad
dressed the caucus, saying:
"Gentlemen, I understand that this caucus is cit
ing senatorial candidates to appear before it to an
swer certain portinent questions. I have decided to
be a candidate, therefore I come to submit my candi
dacy to this body."
The members of the caucus were stricken dumb
for a moment, for the man was well known as a friend
of the people and an advocate of clean politics,
Finally, however, the chairman of the caucus said:
" The gentleman is welcome. We will now pro
ceed with the inquiry. What is your politics? "
"I am a member of the party represented by this
caucus."
" Have you always voted the straight -ticket? "
"Yes, when the candidates were clean men."
" Do you appear as a candidate favoring the in
terests of the X., M. & Q. railroad? "
" I do not. I do not appear in the interests of any
railroad corporation."
" Have you proper references from the Slambang
Oil company?"
"I have not. I do not admit that the Slambang
Oil company, nor any other oil company, has any in
terests superior to the interests of the general public
in this senatorial contest."
" Then yon are properly vouched for by the Sac
charine trust, I suppose? "
"You suppose wrong, sirs."
"Then perhaps you will bo kind enough to in
form this caucus whose interests you pretend to rep
resent as a candidate for the high and honorable posi
tion of senator of the United States."
" I appear in the interests of the whole people of
my state. I am not backed by any corporation. If
elected I will reprepresent the whole people and op
pose corporate domination, public extravagance and
governmental collusion. If elected I "
But at this juncture the sergeant-at-arms, acting
upon a signal from the chairman, seized the presump
tuous fanatic and threw him over the transom.
This," said the chairman, after the dust had set
tled, "seems to be a case for the lunatico inquirendo,
not for this caucus. If there are no objqctlpis the
candidate who gently hinted that he could do a few
things with the Slambang Oil company will be le
recalled for further questioning."
There wexe no objections. W. M. M.
1 1 I I II 1 1 1 1 I I 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Ml I II I I I 1 1 1
Subsidies.
-sSw. :
7 1 1 n 1 1 1 1 1 n 1 1 1 u 1 1 m 1 1 e-h 1 1 n 1 1 1 1 !
Senator Vest of Missouri was right in declaring,
at the close of his speech opposing the Hanna ship
subsidy bill, that the measure was certain to pass the
Senate. "Drunk with victory," said Mr. Vest, "the
republican party wilL now stop at nothing."
It will be well for the people of this country to
read with the closest attention .the full report of Sen
ator Vest's speech. Its revelations arc significant to
a degree. He shows that the ship-subsidy bill is the
boldest and most shameless piece of syndicate legis
lation ever attempted in Washington. The utter and
contemptuous disregard of the people's interests
shown in the ruthlessness with which it is being
jammed through the National Congress against pop
ular protest is ominous.
Senator Vest clearly points out that there will be
no general benefit to American shipping from the
operation of this bill. It will'impose upon the Amer
ican people a tax burden of 5180,000,000 to be paid
within the short period of twenty-five years. Of this,
total, 342,000,000 will go to the International Naviga
tion Corapanv whose president was appointed by
Senator Frye as chairman of the Committee of Pro
motion of the ship-subsidy bill. Its next leading
beneficiary will be the Pacific Mail Steamship Com
pany, which will receive 1550,000 a year from the sub
sidy. Its third beneficiary in importance will be the
Standard Oil Company and it is these monopoly in
terests that have prepared and pushed the bill, the
American people having no voice in the matter from
beginning to end.
The republican party, under the direction of
Mark Hanna and Mr. McKinlcy, is certainly paying
its debts to the syndicate interests whose millions
brought about Mr. McKinley's re-election. It is do
ing this by putting its hands in the people's pockets
and extracting the money necessary to such payment.
A filching of $180,000,000 at one snatch is going it
pretty steep, however. Will the people be able to
stand thin sort of thin; for four years mar? St Louis
Republic
II Hill III III 8 f I HHHH HMHH I II
tj i; Miscellaneous.
I II I I I II I I I II 1 1 1 I III! ill 1 1 HI! IHW
Attorney-General Griggs, in the course of hli
argument for the policy of the Government and the
action of Congress in enacting the Porto Rico tariil
law, is reported as saying that if we cannot goverm
the peoples of now territories according
to their customs, then this country will not take any territory
which is not capable of government, except under tho laws of th
Union as It now exists.
Congress may legislate for territories according
to their needs within constitutional limitations, but
there can bo no safety in "legislating for distant
islands and peoples "according to their customs" out
side of constitutional limits. If we cannot govern
them inside of the Constitution, which Mr. Harrison
so firmly holds should operate "always and every
where" in territorial legislation, it would bo the part
of wisdom to renounce our rule over them. Polyg
amy, slavery and other forms of savagery prevail im
portions of our newly acquired territory. We have
deferred to the barbarous "customs" of these people
to win their precarious allegiance to the American
Government and to induce them to keep tho peace.
We are ruling them upon the theory that even the
fundamental rights of personal libortycan be'with
held within our dominions.
By the treaty with the Sultan of Sulu and by th
yearly stipend the President has agreed to pay him,
we have legalized polygamy and slavery and the rule
of an absolute, though petty, monarch within the
territory of the United States by direct contract and
by the protection of our arms. Thus the Constitu
tion in its vital features and the Declaration of Inde
pendence, too, have been made to yield to the "cus
toms" of Sulu. To what extent that instrument
must be fashioned to meet other difficult situations
and exigencies involved in our recent expansion re
mains to be seen. Perhaps Attorney-General Griggs
will be able to enlighten the country on these points.
Philadelphia Ledger.
It was never intended to trust to the good inten
tions of the President, hence the numerous constitu
tional limitations on his power. Mr. McKinley has
shown remarkable aptness in tho abuse of discretion
ary powers. The papers of the whole country are
now ringing with severe criticism of his recent ap
pointments of the sons of two justices of the Supreme
Court to lucrative and responsible positions in the
West Indies. The first Congress did not deem it any
reflection on George Washington to withhold from
him discretionary power over the size of the regular
array. Why should not McKinley be restricted in
the same way? The only reason is the spread of the
imperial idea. Pittsburg Post.
K K
Secretary Hoot is unable to discover signs of tho
joyous peace that was to accompany the election re
turns to the Philippines. He assures tho Senate that
if more troops are not sent promptly we shall have to
abandon large portions of the islands where we have
been giving the Filipinos "the best self-government
that is possible." "Self-government" is a new name
for military occupation, and the credit of its invention
belongs to the secretary of war. Philadelphia North
American.
According to Solicitor General Richards the treaty
of Paris never intended to make the Philippine islands
"a part of the United States in the constitutional
sense, and just as certainly did make them a part of
the United States in the international sense." This
is another instance of to be and not to be. Our col
onial policy requires curious reasoning and strong
army support. Denver News.
Japan has made greater progress in the past dec
ade than any other nation in the world, her exports
having increased from $16,000,000 to $167,000,000,
while her imports have increased from $26,000,000 to
$443,000,000 in the aame period of time. National
Watchman.
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