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The Commoner.
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, Anti-Military Pedagogy.
A League for the Suppression of Tin
Soldiers has recently been founded in
Prance. Its theory is that the savage
instincts of the young are excited by
the uso of such toys. The boy who
sets up a gaily painted soldier and
then bowls him over with a marble is
thereby training himself some day to
march away to the sound of fife and
drum. Ho may even be awakening
those gory instincts which will make
of him a Hannibal or a Napoleon to
drench whole continents in blood. The
paper doll is harmless, tho toy fire
engine only a nuisance, but death and
destruction lurk in the tin soldier. It
must be abolished.
This is, on its face, a momentous
and at the same time a practical re-
form. It betokens Gallic finesse. The
Czar attempted to eradicate war by
calling a Peace Congress at The Hague.
But the adult generation is hopelessly
Imbued with tho martial spirit. The
nations showed their unwillingness to
beat their swords into plowshares and
their spears into pruning hooks.- Eph
riam is joined to his idols. He is to be
let alone, but his eons are to be led
arigh't. No youthful 'hearts are to be
Btirred at the sight of a martial array
of glaring-eyed tin soldiers standing
in battle line or ready to be blown
from tho mouth- of a toy cannon in
which a rubber band does duty for
power. Harmless . wholly sheep that
t "ble,4t when the string is pulled are to
:.i '&. h$ P.l.a9,9. . of the war-inspiring
toys.
'""tt must' tie a'dmi'it$a that the" League
for the Suppression of Tin Soldiers is
working along the lines of the new
pedagogy. Good psychology demands
. that the twig be bent aright. The only
question is whether the society is go
ing far enough.
Why should the tin soldier be abol-
" ished when nothing is said against
the toy cannon? Ought not the fife
and drum to be made to follow in the
train of the departing military gim
crack? The mimic battleship both
the-one that trundles about On wheels
and the other which navigates tho, mill
pond cannot consistently be allowed
to 'remain. Noah's ark filled with
curious wooden animals whose legs
break off at unexpected" moments
would make safe substiti- 3s. A tor-
- ough revision of the list of playthings
should be made as soon as the league
gets in running order. It must issue
an index expurgatorius.
Societies affiliated with the League
for the Suppression of Tin Soldiers
will be organized throughout Europe
JSfe
I.YCl HSHH&'
Uf ir- ytJtiwvV
Ytw
. Monarch Grubber
will pull a. stump 7
' -feet acro-ssand is
guaranteed to stand a
strnin nf 'Avmnn n.
For cntnlOffuo and
discounts of first ma
chine, nddrosa MON
ARCH GRUBBEK MFG.
Co., Lono Tree, Iowa.
TO DEALERS WHO WArf
PURE MAPLE SYJRUP
which has tho finest flavor in
. existence, for their fancy trade .
' and in tho finest package in. the
United States writeto : : : :
R.E.FRENCH, - - Medina, Ohio
and America. The dawn of tho goldon
age is at hand. When children grow
to maturity without coming in con
tact with tho horrid influence of the
military toy, nation will not longer
war against nation. With these vic
ious martial figures removed from the
nursery another generation may see
the beginning of the thousand years of
peace. The league is right. A has le
tin soldier! Vive le Noah's ark!
Kansas City Star.
Real Trouble With British Army.
Kipling, the poet of empire and the
glorifler of the British army, says of
his country's ofllcers that they "are as
good as good can. be, because their
training begins early, and God has ar
ranged that a clean-run youth of the
British middle classes shall, in tho
matter of backbone, brains and bowels,
surpass all other youths." From the
exuberant fancy of the romancer turn
to the sober testimony of facts. "It
has been within the last five years
constantly officially reported that at
musketry inspection some 70 or 80 per
cent of the men did not know the dis
tances to which their rifles were
sighted on back and dial sights, and
that officers and non-commissioned of
ficers could not give correct commands
for opening fire." This is not the
biased opinion ot a foreigner. It is a
sentence from an English magazine ar
ticle written by Lieutenant Colonel
Pennington, formerly in command of
the Second Battalion of the Northumb
erland Fusiliers the term battalion
in England corresponding with regi
ment in the United States. Colonel
Pennington's ' assertion seems almost
incredible, yet it is not probable he has I
maliciously and untruthfully held up
his brother officers to the derision of
military men the world over, or that a
magazine so careful of its reputation
as the Fortnightly Review would stand
sponsor for such an amazing charge
unless it had full confidence in the
writer. After reading Colonel Penning
ton's article it is easier to understand
why disaster was reported from South
Africa. Two sentences show the utter
disorganization that prevails: "Com
manding officers of battalions in Eng
land are unanimous in stating In gen
eral terms that they never see their
battalions; and it follows that captains
of companies rarely see their comman
ders. Under such conditions, to ex
pect war efficiency is to expect a mod
ern miracle." And this explains in
efficient marksmanship: "The cap
tains rarely see their companies for in
structional purposes except during the
limited period of some three weeks
when an" official curriculum of exer
cises is carried out, and again for a
hurried fortnight when musketry is
rushed through. A Maurice Low, in
Harper's Weekly.
Our Claim Against China.
The United States is going to make
a claim on China for $25,000,000 on ac
count of damage to the life and prop
erty of citizens of the United States
during the recent trbubles in northern
.China. This amount, is. much smaller
than the European nations will de
mand, but it is at least ten times as
great as anybody in this country would
think of presenting any nation that
wa3 not a helpless nation. Wo ven
ture to say that for all the damage the
United States or Its citizens have suf
fered in China, the United States would
not dare to demand of any other na
tion than China more than $2,500,000
at any rate wo would not dare to en
force such a demand. Tho total num
ber of officers and enlisted men of our
army, killed in China, last year, was
thirty-two, and sixty-three other
deaths resulted. Tho number of
wounded was 177. Thus tho largest
possible number on the casualty list is
272. If our government could collect
from China $10,000 for each man killed
and wounded, tho amount would bo
$2,720,000, Tho losses of tho mission
aries cannot at the outside bo expand
ed into more than $500,000. It is said
that tho cost of our expedition must
be paid for by China. The truth must
bo that $10,000,000 would be an enor
mous sum for China to pay us for what
happened last year. Fifty millions
would bo an ample sum to reimburse
all the nations, and yet the prospect
is that the Chinese will be asked to pay
$500,000,000. Hartford Times.
The Income Tax.
It is gratifying to know that public
opinion is fast crystalizing In favor of
an income tax, as one among the most
equitable ways in which revonues for
the support of the government can be
secured. Its adaptation to the needs
of local government, as well as to
those of the general government, is
also becoming generally recognized.
Congressman Grosvenor has publicly
announced that "there is no fairer or
more equitable tax than that which is
levied upon profits and the gains of
business." That a man with an income
of ten thousand dollars a year should
go untaxed, while the man with an
income of but one thousand should be
taxed to the extent of twenty per cent
of that income, Is an arrangement that
cannot merit the approval of any hon
est citizen; still that Is one of the re
sults of our present system of taxa
tion which we, meet with every day.
The democratic party, as a whole, has
been advocating the basing a good
portion of our tax levy, upon Incomes,
for some time back. "Now, with in
fluential members of the republican
party advocating the same thing, wo
may reasonably hope to see it soon
adopted in some form. Columbus
Press-Post.
Municipal Ownership.
When Abraham Lincoln pleaded for
a government by, of and for the peo
ple, it is probable he had no thought
of the direct ownership and operation
of public utilities by the public; the
term, "public utilities," had been lit
tle quoted, if any, at that time, and
was not so full of meaning as now.
The leaven is growing, however, and
the increasing popularity of the ques
tion of the municipal ownership of
street railways, water, light, power
and heating plants a step in the di
rection of government ownership, is
but a following out of the intent of
Lincoln's "by, of and for the people."
After all, may it not be that Bellamy
drew his inspiration from the great
commoner, who, in turn, was in truth
a desciple of Jefferson. It is with
much pleasure that we note the
growth of our hobby and the tendency
of the democracy to make it a na
tional issue. Our other pet measure
the issue of all money direct by the
government was made a part of the
ilatform in the campaign of 1900, and
with the growth of public sentiment
in favor of both these reforms, we
hope to see them the successful Issue
of the future. St. Louis Labor Compendium.
MAKE
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The Portraits of Our Presidents
With Biographical Sketches
By GEN. CHARLES H. GROSVJ3NOB.
Title Page Designed by Tiffany.
Till Inaugural yrar, when the public mind U arouafd ctr Preeideaeia'
ijurtUom, Ij fllUn; time to lu Grnmi Unrritrtf Uk. In ultUiT
rcid utuxadout, a4 will iki tioccd MMottitatttl Qnat'g 1'tnmtX
ytttaAn.
Eirjr patriotic AmntaAtim tot tAwht Ooml OrwtnKT hta la
ofOcor YtlatU,Thvm-uJtt!mM,ADtlTrrJuktvu, Abraham LUeala,
I'taMrat MeKlolf J d4 tl Vtt dJf ieutlf r of th oulcn. Ercntolr
deilre to tttA LU Oram! Ototitnor, U iUaneti eld maltltaa XttAri lo
Ctrnrlll iijof UiJt f Uiineb old donocnt, Anirrw Stektm, U ftthtr
ot tU itmacnUt (Art. Gnra Grutrobr Lai tlmnra lata M ikeUii f
JuluoaalltLDraod cwtjj cfldl niturt. TT Uojrphj cf Tbamu
Jrffmaa U gtioi. Tie Mojnpl'T f LIcctJq li u Leacdfitl
M fimrfj trier tl MISUj. UanJ Gmrtnor W ptncaxlW
lumn ill UK rMld(iU f Inee lit iLd of J lew Jlucbutu. Tbc QevtnXt
tk will tliertfart ccaUln Mitvry .Lltti Iaimtct U( tetn jauUkbeJ.
wiluu frvra Ut va nrwiul bbimtloa fcf Um pnt own. Otuttti
OioiTtaor hJ Mrrt I to Cagrai for mjjIj tvest? jean, and U Lm kttc4 til
country In r Jd Jo Caijrwt for tuxAjtcrtj jttn. T)A UM coouinj
twrbtjr-four Urje Itt6rarurc ZuUtt u d ajfc(l I1tu,prlnud Ij
litod, on It ITT pUu pifrr uvi t yttUiiy to order. Tkes " Ixotonror
Xtchlnx u in diSermt tioU, uA rt well worth tZ taeh. Thtt portnlt,
r nud from lh Pslatinji endoned Vf tho Untij ni ua.t nUtlia ofU
lrrldU. Two jtn time oda fortuo hiroUcB nfnde.l JnteevrlBX
tleM nmAactiiat. The templet took U well wcrtb V), tot tb rl hit
been ptwed to Ur tlot the rooit hniab .tmerlean eitben cm own It TL
bloxikhleal ikeubet m prlate-l In hrfe open tn In two cclorr; tLe work !
o beautiful tlit wVen people M it t7 wtnt it. The idrane ult U nj
Urje. I'retldeot MeElnler u the Unit ruUeilUr. Tter U ixjt eJltloo
known M the fretldent Edition de flnnt Lore. iaIUi letter! hand p-UaltJ,
1'ortnlubtnd colored, title pp hand lllamiaahd, rrrirteitd and Bsmbrred
rubeerlptlon prW. I-M. Orienr ami apjJIcitioai for lerrilerran muZnf
inrpUl A bib claet mm or wonuncf jwlacrlil atandfn; can km
mite a fmall fiTU.ce UkbuonVr la any eotaffiuaitj. Ben reference! and
apply for (ernu quirk, i lU teirlUwy will all be aeiljurf aooa.
Addio The Continental Press,
Cutcou Koilmjo, Orroem Ujmu Stitm Taiticar
Washington, D. C.
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