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syndicate profits of "James H. Hyde and asso
ciates." Mr. Alexander is now ill, and the money
was turned over by his son, Henry M. Alexander.
The New York correspondent for the Baltimore
Sun says: "The restitution of the syndicate
profits was absolute and unaccompanied by any
condition or reservation. Henry M. Alexander
sent to Mr. Morton a letter enclosing a check for
$25,053.22 and a release of the $40,790.54, which
his father deposited with Cashier Murray, of the
Equitable on February 1 last, pending decision as
to the propriety of retaining the money. The res
titution is considered the most important victory
won by the state officials who are moving to com
pel the restoration of money alleged to have been
obtained improperly by officers and directors of
the Equitable by virtue of their connection with
the'soct-ly. Moreover, the statement is made in
authoritative quarters that Attorney General
Mayer and his advisers would not be largely sur
prised if the restitution of other sums should fol
low within the next few days or weeks."
IDA M. TARBELL has written for McClure's an
interesting description of the Standard Oil
magnate. Miss Tarbell says: "John D. Rocke
feller, measured by our national ambition, is the
most successful man in the world the man who
has got the most of what men want. How did
ho get it, the eager youth asks, and, asking,
strives to imitate him as nearly as ability and
patience permit. Thus he has become an inspirer
of American ideals, and his methods have been
crystallized into a great national commercial code.
Nor is this all. Mr. Rockefeller distributes money
in charity and in endowments. If not our first,
he is certainly our second philanthropist; the
amount of the money given being the standard.
All over the land those who direct great educa
tional, charitable and religious institutions are
asking: 'Can we not get something from him?
Receiving his bequests, they become at least the
tac supporters of the thing for which he stands
that is, John D. Rockefeller exercises a powerful
control over the very sources of American intel
lectual and religious inspiration. Now a man who
possesses this kind of influence can not be al
lowed to live in the dark. The public not only
has the right to know -what son of a man he is;
it is thv duty of the public to know. How else
can the niblic discharge the most solemn obli
gation it j wes to itself and to the future, to keep
the spriius of its higher life clean? Who, then,
Is this John D. Rockefeller? Whence did he
come? By what qualities did he grow to such
power? Has he proved his right to the power?
Does he give to the public whence he has drawn
his wealth a just return in ideas, in patriotism,
in devotion to social betterment, in generous liv
ing, in inspiring personal character? Has John
D. Rockefeller made good? From time immemo
rial men who have risen to power have had to
face this question. Kings, tyrants, chieftains,
since the world began have stood or have fallen
as they have convinced the public that they were
giving or not giving a just return for the power
allowed them. The time is hero when Mr. Rocke
feller must face the verdict of the public by which
he .lives."
WILLIAM COURT GULLY has retired from
the' office of speaker of the house of com
mons and his successor is James William Lowther.
A writer in the London Mail says: "Lord Rus
sell, Mr. Herschell, and Mr. Gully were contempo
raries on the northern circuit more than thirty
years ago, and all three at ono time contemplated
emigrating and becoming colonial barristers,
despairing of obtaining remunerative work in this
country. Mr. Gully had, when an undergraduate,
been president of the Union at Cambridge, and
has now lived to receive both Oxford and Cam
bridge honor degrees, besides the freedom of
Carlisle. What a change has come over the tenor
of his life in the last thirty years! He might
have lived and v..ert an unknown barrister at
Lagos or Bermuda; he will now, having been
speaker of the house of commons for ton years
be presented with a viscounty and the well
earned pension of 4,000 a year. Many long
sittings has Mr. Gully seen in his time. Pos
sibly the longest was on an occasion when the
house met on a Tuesday at3 o'clock this was
before the rules were changed and sat until
10:30 on Wednesday morning. On that day at
12 he resumed his seat in the chair, and sat until
s 5:30 that same afternoon, with, the aditional bur
den of an official dinner which followed. It may
therefore, be said that he was on duty on that
occasion for twenty-four and a half hours "
REFERRING to Mr. Lowtner the Mail writer
says: "He has been chairman of commit
tees since 1895, and has won increasing respect
in the house for his impartiality and valuable
work both as chairman of committees and deputy
speaker of the house, and by his invariable good
temper in the chair. I venture to prophesy that
he will be a great success when invested with
the full degree of authority and power of the
speaker, and he will find the preservation of
order more easy and the attention which the
house gives him more complete. Mr. Lowther's
training has been totally different from that of
Mr. Speaker Gully. Brought up as the son of a
country gentleman, he has taken part in all field
sports and is devoted to the country and country
life. On the other hand he has had no special
legal training like Mr. Gully, who was Q. C. and
Recorder of Wigan when he was elected to the
chair."
ONE week's happenings pertaining to "graft"
are presented by the New York World in
this way: "Tuesday, June 20 President Roose
velt dismisses Minister Bowen for "graft" in con
nection with Venezuelan mission, but refuses to
remove Assistant Secretary of State Loomis, in
volved in the same transaction. Wednesday,
June 21 President Roosevelt, in an open letter,
lauds Secretary of the Navy Morton, a self-confessed
violator of the law, and the new head of
the Equitable Life Assurance society. Wednes
day, June 21 NewYork state legislature con
vened in special session to investigate charges
of 'graft' against Supreme Court Justice Warren
B. Hooker. Wednesday, June 21 Superintendent
of Insurance Hendricks reported that the charges
of 'graft' made against the Equitable directors
and officials had been established and sent the
evidence to the attorney general of the state and
the district attorney of New York county. Thurs
day, June 22 Attorney General Mayer announced
proceedings against Equitable officials and direc
tors to compel restitution of the company's money
illegally diverted to personal uses. Friday, June
23 President Roosevelt despatches Assistant
Secretary of State Loomis on a confidential for
eign mission, although the latter had been repri
manded for his connection with the Venezuelan
'graft' by. Secretary Taft, the executive head of
his department."
THE strangest quest on record is referred to
by the Johnstown Democrat in this way:
"One Jimmie Click has departed for the darkest
depths of Africa on perhaps the strangest mis
sion that ever induced a man to dare death in
the jungle. Click is an animal catcher of varied
experience and great skill. He has trapped lions
and captured fierce tigers. He has made many
trips into the wilderness. He has always been
successful. He has always come back with the
thing he went for. This time Click has departed
in search of a very small but ferocious animal.
He is searching for a flea. Baron Rothschild,
the London millionaire, has a vast collection of
fleas. He keeps them in a glass case and has
spent a fortune in gathering -from all parts of
the globe specimens of his favorite man-eater.
Rothschild finds no pleasure in the display, how
ever. He is unhappy because there fs still one
stray flea, one kind that he does not have in his
collection. This flea is missing, and the baron
will not be happy until he gets it. Ever since
the world began the poor have envied the rich
It now appears that there has been no cause
for such a feeling. The poor have always had
plenty of fleas and without price. In spite of this
fact a multi-millionaire longs for a single flea
w !?. ? h,,B mney he has ,een unable to
buy. Scientist have searched the world for it
An expedition went to Alaska seeking it And
now Click proposes to rake Africa with a flne
tooth comb. The rare and exclusive flea is known
as the 'simmy' and the price offered for it bv
Rothschild is $15,000. The difficult of catch ng a
flea is proverbial. But the sending of an expert
into Africa to catch one is something new. Gen
erally there is not the slightest objection when a
flea gets lost and slays lost. The spectacle is I
peculiar one. Here is a man with money pos
tion, rank-everything. He has all that the ord -nary
mortal ever desires in his dreams. Yet he
snot happy. He is pining for a flea. Evidently
woTd." n thinS 8 contentment in the
WRITING in McClures for July Henry Beach
Needham says: "At West Point in lift
football cost only $5,721.88, as against VfiVr ki
at Harvard and $26,990.00 aYa!e. West' 'Point
,"" '" VOLUME 5, NUMBER 25
defeated Yale at football,, therefore a commr
between the two of expenses in this branch 5
athletics is reasonable. Yale expended for w
chandise and sporting goods, siioes and renS
$4,924.52-double the amount, $2,074.10 whlJh
West Point expended for 'material' (incluZ
medicines as well as athletic goods and shZ ?
At Yale it is insisted that 'a man can't plaV thi
football of today on ordinary grub;' that the food
provided at the university commons, costing about
$5 per week will not 'sustain' a football warrior
His board costs about $15 per week, of which ho
himself contributes a third or less; hence tho
net charge to the Yale association for the football
training table of $1,811. As against this sum
West Point expended just $60. Thus Yale squand
ers about $9,000 a year on extravagant living for
her athletes in all branches of sport, and Harvard
and Princeton are not far behind in this extrava
gance. In the Yale financial statement there is
a charge of $1,549 for 'trophies.' Trophies in
clude gold and silver footballs and large photo
graphic groups of teams and Individuals, hand
somely framed; these are the spoils of the 'star'
athlete. There is no corresponding item in tho
report of the Army Athletic association. They
are very old-fashioned at West Point. The cadets
are content with the laurel.
THERE is just now considerable discussion as
to a general increase in the salaries paid
public officials. The Sioux City (Iowa) Journal)
says: "The president of the United States re
ceives a salary of $50,000 a year; the members
of his cabinet, $8,000 each total for the bunch,
$122,000. This looks small in comparison with
what is paid in the insurance business, and
there are patriots who are disposed to take the
matter up in behalf of the president and the cab
inet officers. The 'government does not have to
pay-more. If a man does not want to be presi
dent of the United States, on account of the sal
ary, he can make the struggle of his life to bo
president of an insurance company and to get
the policyholders where they can not help them
selves. There will be men left who will prefer
to be president of the United States, and men,
too, who will be willing to sit up nights to see
how the grafters can be headed off. A man ia
the public service ought not to have his salary
so high that he is tempted to forget all about
the public service, If he doe3 bnot care about
the public service then he ought not 'to be tempted
to enlarge himself in hypocrisy by baiting the
hook with an extravagant salary. An increase
in the salary of the president and in the salaries
of the cabinet officers would touch the whole line
of officialdom with unrest. Senators and repre
sentatives would brood over the discrimination
against them, and janitors in the public build
ings would be found with stubs of lead pencils
figuring on various propositions as to where they
ought to come in.' The government ought to spend
less money and not more on salaries. The list is
larger than is required and it should be pruned.
The public service is no place to exploit frenzied
salaries, and tendency in that direction is a block
to reform and an encouragement to graft everywhere."
FRANCIS W. BROWN
The democratic congressional convention for
the First Nebraska district nominated Francis
W. Brown, now mayor of Lincoln, to be the demo
cratic candidate at a special election to be held
July 18.
The convention adopted an admirable plat
form and Mr. Brown has explicitly committed
himself to that platform.
It is to be hoped that every democrat in the
First congressional district as well as every
other citizen who desires that the people of that
district shall be represented in congress by a
man who is free to act in the public interests
will attend the special election July 18 and cast
his vote for Mr. Brown.
Mr. Brown has told the people exactly whero
he stands upon the questions at issue. He is a
man of high character and ability, and, in the
event of his election, -may be depended upon to
represent the people. Attention is directed to a
speech delivered by Mr. Brown at Nebraska City,
whicji speech is reproduced in another column or
this issue.
Ora Knapp of East Dummerston, Vt., writes
that there are hi Vermont several good locations
fort democratic weeklies. He says "a democratic,
up-,to-date newspaper man" "will learn something
to his .advantage by- looking over tho Vermont
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