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government hns gone into tho business of build
ing a $300,000,000 waterway; it lias for two years
boon engaged in investing $30,000,000 in dams
and ditches for irrigating largo tracts in some
" sixteen slates of the west."
JT IS pointed out that little complaint is heard
of tho practical operation of government
managed utilities and the interstate commerce
commissioner referred to, speaking of utilities
under tho control of tho government, said: "For
some reason or other, they aro moro respon
sive to tho demands of tho groat majority than
thoso which aro managed in the interest of pri
vate capital. Tho world is smaller than it used
to bo. Electricity and steam, applied to trans
portation and communicatioi., have brought tho
romoto sections into close proxmity one to anoth
or. Industrially and economically they are tho
same as tho parish, tho village, the town and tho
county were 100 years ago. Then tho public road
was owned and operated by tho local government
for tho people. There is nothing new or radical
in tho proposition for communistic control and
ownership of public utilities. The only thing
now is the mechanical invention which has wiped
. out mere geographical distance." Tho census
bureau is engaged in tho compilation of a volume
entltlod "Wealth and Taxation," in which the valu
ation of railroad properties will be considered
in ono chapter. It is expected that it will con
tain some valuable statistics for those who are
studying the problems of railway regulation and
ownership.
ASIDE light on government ownership is thrown
by a writer in the Boston Post who says:
"A race is taking place in the building of the
battleships Connecticut and Louisiana. The for
mer is being constructed at the Now York navy
yard, and the latter at the works of the Newport
News Shipbuilding company. The government's
working day is eight hours, the private company's
ten. The relative progress on the two vessels
has been carefully watched, and the results are
highly interesting. It is shown, for example, that
on the hull of the ship Uncle Sam is building the
averago man accomplished as much every 10 min
utes as tho average man at Newport News did
every 12 minutes and 25 seconds. In 10 hours
tho latter worked in only one-fifth of a pound
Tliie Commoner.
more than the former did in eight hours. Tho
average production per man per hour on tho
Connecticut was 24.8 per cent greater than that
of his competitor on the Louisiana. It appears
that when tho people feel tho need they can, s
through their accredited agents, carry on an in
dustrial establishment at as low a cost, and with
as good results, as a private corporation. It is.
pretty safe to say that if they ever go in for
government ownership on an extensive scale, they
will feel tho need. It will not take them long
to realize that there can be no success without
honesty and efficiency."
A STATISTICAL abstract of the growth of the ,
United Sjtates for the year 1904 has been
issued. According to the synopsis presented by
tho New York Commercial, it shows a remark
able growth during a single year. During tho y
year, the population of the United States in
creased by 1,380,000. The estimated total for the
entire given year of 1904 was 81,752,000. Tho
amount of money in circulation increased by $151,
450,091, a gain of upward of $2 per capita. Tho
gain in gold circulation alone was more than
$28,000,000. The interest bearing debt of the
nation decreased by more than $19,000,000 and
the interest payments decreased by more than
$1,300,000. The total deposits in banks increased
by $44G,853,405 and the number of persons who
deposited money in savings banks alone was 270,
215 more in 1904 than in 1903. The imports de
creased by about $34,000,000. The exports to for
eign countries increased by more than $40,000,000.
The total export of farm products amounted to
$853,643,073. This was a decrease from the pre
vious year.
AMERICAN merchants sold goods in foreign'
countries to the amount of $452,415,921. This
represents an increase of $47,000,000 over the pre
vious year's record. The total value of farm ani
mals in the United States in 1904 was $3,006,580,
737, an increase of more than $8,000,000 in a year.
The production of wool in 1904 amounted to '291,
783,032 pounds, a gain of over 4,000,000 pounds in
twelve months. The wheat crop was 85,000,000
bushels smaller than that of the year before, but
the production reached 552,399,517 bushels. Tho
corn crop was tremendous, the grand total of the
1904 harvest being 2,467,480,934 bushels, a gain
. VOLUME 5, NUMBER 18
of 223,000,000 bushels over the crop of inno n.
the railroads 4,595 miles were built in tho i,
year. The number of passengers carried was JlSt
than 42,000,000 larger than in the year U?
the grand total being 696,908,994. Tho nf i
amohnt of freight carried by the railrcuk ?ial
mile was 171,290,310,685 tons, or over 15 000 ft?
000 tons moro than in the year before. UJ0'
ADMINISTRATION officials express fcPe,t
concern at tho treasury deficit. A dh
patch to the Denver News under dato Tf
Washington, April 27, says: "The excess of ex
penditures over receipts for the present nal
year reached tho surprising sum of $30118 434
today. At this time last year there was an excess
of receipts over expenditures of $2,412,005. Thero
are only two months and one week of the fiscal
year, and treasury officials now have no hope that
this deficit will grow less. To say that they aro
disappointed and surprised at tho situation is ex
pressing it mildly. The deficit lor the first thrco
weeks of the month of April was $5,640,295. it
is not expected to be so large as this in May and
June, but under present conditions it is thought
that the deficit for the year will reach at least
$35,000,000. Meanwhile official junkets are going
on at a rate never before known in the govern
ment's history. The eyes of the administration
are just beginning to open to this fact."
THE announcement is made by the Army and
Navy Journal "from the highest authority"
that Major General John C. Bates has been se
lected to succeed General A. R. Chaffee when tho
latter retires for age on April 14, 1906. The Army
and Navy Journal adds: "General Bates will servo
in this capacity until his statutory retirement
August 26, 1906, and will then be succeded by
Major General Henry C. Corbin, who will serve as
lieutenant general and -chief of staff until his re
tirement, September 15, 1906. It is the present
purpose to appoint Major General Arthur Mac
Arthur as lieutenant general and chief of staff
when General Corbin retires. General Mac Arthur
will not retire until June 2, 1909. As we havo
already announced, Major Bates will come to
Washington as assistant chief of staff upon tho
retirement on June 15 of Major General George L.
Gillespie and the consequent promotion of Brig
adier General .George M. Randall. i
U
GREATER LOVE H A T BT N O MAW
Nan Patterson, the "Florodora" girl charged
with the murder of "Caesar" Young, has been dis
charged. For the second time, a jury has failed
to agre as to her guilt or innocence, and she will
not be required to undergo another trial. The
prosecution has doubtless concluded that it will be
Impossible to convict the defendant and so the
state is to bo saved additional expense, while
tho public is to be spared further recital of the
details of this disgraceful affair.
But there was one satisfactory feature to
tho long drawn out trials. That was the devo
tion displayed by the distracted father toward
his wayward daughter. When, during her first
trial, Nan Patterson stepped from the witness
Btand after having pas- through the ordeal of
a relentless cross examination, the old man put
his arm affectionately around his child and said:
"You did splendidly little girl." When the jury
returnod with the report that it could not agree,
tho newspaper dispatches say:
The father of the accused, who has been
by her side ever since the trial began and
whoso tender care and devotion to her has
been the most touching of the trial, tried to
comfort her, but his saddened face and s
mournful expression robbed tho words he
uttered of force and meaning as he said:
ri ?it et"ry SirlJ R WiU COme out a11
Someone has said that the true test of lovo
is the willingness to endure and suffer for an
other; that it is the suffering element that meas
ures love, and that characters that are great
must of necessity be characters that shall be
"KSf i& p5 ??1 anfl strong t0 endure for others;
?i Li lK d up aaturo in the wllllnS service
nLXthGi '? l8Jh0 d'vine Idca of manhood." Un
questionably the average parent would success-
fully meet the test, even, as it was met by the
father of Nan Patterson. Children seldom ap
preciate the parciit'u love. Doubtless Nan Pat
terson has learned to appreciate it, just as many
other wayward girls have learned it in the past,
just as many other girls will learn it in tho
future.
No human pen can accurately describe that
love. It is wonderfully elastic, and as child after
child is born into the family, covers them all,
giving the same portion to the newborn, while
lessening none of that enjoyed by the others.
Tho good mother who when asked which of her
children she loved the best said "The one who
is sick," pointed out in a happy way the only
difference a parent can feel in his attitude to
ward his children. We love best "the one who
is sick;" we .love best the one who is crippled
in body; we love best the one who has some
weakness, for which he is not entirely respon
sible; we love best the one who has fallen, even
though he fell as Nan Patterson fell, even though
the doors of society be closed against him, even
though all but the hope of heaven has been de
nied him.
i !,Don'twor7' llttle 6irl, it will come out all
rISf' ZK i8aId Nan Patterson's father; an
with all of her faults, she was his "little girl"
wr5tuetarirtfig nW' and Bhe wil1
Ms little girl" until the end. The faithful
father best remembers his daughter as she was
when indeed a little girl. Although she has
grown, into womanhood there is always in the
father's mind portrait of tho lUtie gfrl in
frocks; there is always a picture of ' thf little
?S V U sirl may have met the world
and been conquered by the world; her friends
one by one may have turned from ner- she
may havo fallen even as Nan Patterson Si w
at the critical moment the may parental
love asserts itself; "the divine idea of mSnll vl
to manifested. At the TcriSSS moment To lot
.of the parent for the child is supremely 1 arm IS
arm the devoted father and the wayward daugh
ter face a frowning world and walk together
through the dark valley, the one loving as ho
always loved, the other appreciatiye of that ma
jestic affection perhaps for the first time in her
life.
All the world loves a lover; it smiles at tho
sweethearts gathered at the trysting place; it
nods approval when the husband and wife grow
day by day into a fonder and holier union; it
admires the manly devption of brother to sister:
it respects the affection of friend for friend; it
is inspired by the lovelight in the mother's eyes
when she bends over the cradle of her babe. It
must stand uncovered in the presence of that
parental love exemplified in the Nan Patterson
case; for that is the true reflection of the lovo
shown by the Savior of men-r-that is the spirit
which hovered over the manger at Bethlehem,
made Gethsemane endurable and Calvary pos
sible. "Greater love than this hath no man!"
Painters have sought to paint love upon can
vass; poets have tried to picture it in verso;
dramatists have endeavored to describe it in
play. But it is not a thing to be shown in picture
or in words. It was manifested in all its majesty
when the Nazarene cried: "It is finished," and
since then it has been shown in the palaces of
the rich and in the hovels of the "poor wherever
a good parent's love for his child has been put to
the test.
, .J is a pity that old man Patterson's "little
girl fell; ft is' a pity that the hearts of her par
ents were broken; it is a pity that the happiness
of a good wife was wrecked by the folly of
Caesar" Young- and the weakness of the girl
? gelded; it is a pity that the public must he
mulcted with the details of such a case. But it
would be worth all-ihe tears and all the grief
and all the toil and trouble If the plain moral
presented throughout this affair could be written
inSfi y llpon tlie heart of every other man's
; little .girl" in-all this wide, wide -world.
HICH&RD li. 'METCALFE.
jAiW.tftUAfc.