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The Commoner.
yOLtJMB 7. NUMBER 2 J
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:f CURR6NIT (TOPICS
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A SPECIAL TO tho Chicago Record-Herald
from Yellowstone national park says:
"Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks risked
his life to savo Miss Lena Waters, a waitress
at the Park hotel. While sitting on the hotel
veranda the vico president heard screams from
tho lake, whore the young lady was struggling
to keep herself afloat. Mr. Fairbanks ran to
wards the lake, throwing off his coat as ho ran.
Ho leaped into tho water and made for tho girl,
another following. The two men then dragged
tho unconscious girl to shore where she was
restored to Consciousness."
THIS LITTLE STORY is printed by the Now
York World as a Washington dispatch:
"Work Was suspended in tho big war, state
and navy building for a few minutes today fol
lowing tho entrance of a precocious youngster
of four years. Neatly attired in a blue gingham
suit, but hatless and without stockings or shoes
to hide his tanned logs, ho Blowly .walked
through tho building. Ho was spied by one of
tho watchmen, and when asked his business he
said, with a grin: 'Oh, nuflln'; mo des rub
betfinV He couldn't or wouldn't tell his name
and ho was turned over to the police as lost
prdperty.
O HENRY, the story writer, Is responsible
for the-' following: "An effeminate
yoting man daintily placed two cents on a drug
store counter and 'asked the clerk for a stamp.
The clerk tore off one and slid it over to him.
The young man 'drew an envelope from his
poclcet. 'Would' you mind licking it for me and
placing it on here? he lisped. 'Sure,' said tho
.,oY; as he started to stamp the letter. 'Oh,
BtayP cautioned the young man in great alarm;
'Not that way, I beg of you. Kindly place tho
stamp with the top toward the outer edge of
tho envelope..' 'Sure,' said the obliging clerk.
'But what in thunder's that for?' 'Why, you
see,' confided tho youth blushingly, 'I'm a stu
dent in the Cosmopolitan Correspondence school,
and that's our college yell.' "
THE. KING of England has granted a pardon
to Colonel Arthur Lynch. The story is
told in an Associated Press .cablegram from
London as follows: "On the eve of his visit
to Ireland King Edward has granted a free
pardon to Colonel Arthur Lynch, who was con
victed of high treason in 1902 for having fought
In the Irish brigade, on the side of the Boers,
in the South African war. Colonel Lynch was
sentenced to death for high troason in 1903,
his sentence later was commuted to imprison
ment for life and in January, 1904, he was re
leased 'on license.' While in Paris after his
return from South Africa Lynch was elected to
parliament by Galway City and returned to Eng
land with the intention of taking his seat in
the house of commons. He vas arrested on
landing and conviction followed."
THE NET RESULT of the boasted Investiga
tion of the insurance business by the Arm
strong committee is described by the Now York
. World in this way: "Insurance corruption con
tinues; Thomas F. Ryan still controls tho $434,
582,375 assets of tho Equitable; Perkins'
brother is still 'vice president of the New York
Life; KihgSley succeeds his father-in-law, John
A. McCall, as president of the company; the
Standard Oil crowd controls the Mutual; the
robbery of the poor through so-called 'industrial'
insurance goes on; the violations of the insur
ance law by Edward H. Harriman and his asso
ciates are unprosecuted; Mr. Jerome's court cal
endar does not include the names of the great
insurance criminals; Kelsey remains superin
tendent of insurance. Mr. Ryan publicly prom
ised mat ue would turn over the management
and tho assets of the Equitable to its policy
holders. Instead of fulfilling his pledge, Mr.
Ryan through his dummies is now arranging to
turn over tho assets of Equitable Trust company,
in which the Equitable Life Assurance
society is the largest stockholder, to tho Mer
cantile Trust company at a valuation which will
deprive tho policyholders of $2,000,000. Tho
new board of directors of the New York Life
elected as president a man who testified in ex
culpation of George Wr Perkins, who was secre
tary to tho finance committee when Perkins waff
reimbursed for his contribution to the republican
campaign fund, and who in an affidavit before
a city magistrate confessed that he had failed
to make any entry of the transaction in the min
utes. The trustees ofthe Mutual Life continue
'as its president Charles A. Peabody, a Wall
Street lackoy of Edward H. 'Harriman, who
voted to depose Stuyvesant Fish from the presi
dency of tho Illinois Central, who is a dummy
director in the Union Pacific and other Harri
man corporations. Tho investigation of indus
trial insurance and the correction of- its shock
ing evils, which the Armstrong committee recom
mended, have not been touched by the insur
ance department. The criminal prosecution of
the men whose crimes the Armstrong committee
disclosed lias so far resulted in the reversal of
the conviction of the only official who was sen
tenced to Sing Sing, in the $500 fine of one
insurance president who pleaded guilty and in
a few indictments which have been adjourned
until next fall."
LIGHT ON A recent railroad order is thrown
by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in this
way: "It begins to appear that the railroads
linked together in the Western Passenger asso
ciation are not prompted by purely benevolent
motives in their sudden concession which makes
tho two-cent fare laws operative in interstate
travel. For a time this seemed "to be a case
of broad-minded public spirit. But no. When
the two-cent faro law went into effect in Ne
braska, two or three, months ago, the railroad
folk up there said, as they have said more re
cently in Missouri, that they would delay legal
proceedings until time and experience might
give some actual results upon which to base
contesting litigation. But the waiting promised
to be disastrous. Tho people were quick to learn
that, whilo they could not get the benefit of the
two-cent rate on interstate travel they could still
beat the game in part by buying transportation
to the state's boundaries at the low fare, and
there buying another ticket to their destination.
Well and good. But ihe effect of this was to
increase the showing of local travel enormously,
out of right proportion to the facts. The Ne
' braska roads were threatened to be hoist with
their own petard. Earnings within the state
wore 'booming,' and it was evident that, on"tho
face of those returns, there would be no grounds
for a contention of 'confiscation.' What was
true in Nebraska was true also in every western
state in like case. The action" of the passenger
association, therefore, is purely self-defensive,
seeking to bring matters to a right balance by
preventing these undue swellings of state business."
JESSE R. GRANT, son of the late General
U. S. Grant, is, according to the, St. "Louis
Star-Chronicle, making a tour of the south for
-the purpose of advancing his candidacy for the
democratic nomination for the presidency. The
Star-Chronicle says: "Ho came to St. Louis to
announce his willingness to run for the presi
dency, if it was shown that he was wanted. He
considers himself a western man, though he
has lived in Now York for the last eight years.
He has lived in Arizona and California and owns
mines out there. He says if anyone will stand
for his aspirations, the people out here will, and
furthermore, he says the south and west will
name and elect the next president. As for Mr.
Bryan, he says he is making no particular effort
to put him on the shelf, but believes if the peo
ple want a fresh candidate they are entitled to
have one. He does not believo in a man hiding
his aspirations, he says, and thinks the way to
reach a position in the gift of the American
people is to say so and let them do the rest.
'I do not care to talk extensively,' he said to the
Star-Chronicle in his robin at the Southern hotel
Monday morning. I rtm not even a possibility
yet, but T will let the people say what they will
have. I believe, though, that the tariff revision
will be in both platforms this time, and ' un
doubtedly the trusts will be an issue again.'
Grant is accompanied by H. H. Childers, form
erly in charge of the speakers' committee of
the democratic national committee, and an old
newspaper man in Texas. He was formerly a
lawyer, also. 'I think Grant is a man who will
take well with the people,' said Childers. 'He
is conservative, amiable, a deep thinker, an
extensive reader, shrewd and capable. He has
made a success of his private business ventures,
which should recommend him to the people.
Hp is a lover of horses, but does not ride them
over the hurdles for exhibition purposes. Ho
is a baseball fan, but he Is not the kind to gossip
about it all the time. He is a quiet, even-tempered
man with many of the characteristics of
his great father, who engineered tho destinies
of the country at its crisis as a leader of armies
and again during the reconstruction and carpet
bagging days when times were, very critical.' "
O
CHARLES H. MOYER, president of the West
ern Federation of Miners took the witness
stand at Boise and an Associated Press report
says he made an excellent Witness. Frorn this
report the following is takeii: "Moyer, with
the utmost deliberation denieo" that he had' ever
discussed the explosion at the Vindicator mine
as detailed by Orchard in his evidence. He ad
mitted having met Orchard in Denver during a
labor convention in January, 1904. He had
also seen him at Cripple Creek in February,
1904, when he became fairly well acquainted
with him. Moyer denied "that at any' time
he had given Orchard airy money or had
any knowledge of Orchard having ,rheen
given money by any officer 6f the Western Fed
eration of Miners. Moyer detailed his tVip to
Ouray, Colo, with Orchard in 1904. He said
Orchard was going there to get work and Moyer
suggested that they travel together. ' This Was
for self-protection because of attacks on mem
bers of the organization. He described their
arrangements for carrying revolvers and 'sawed
ofT" shotguns,' which he said were secured by
Pettibone. Orchard, Moyer said, bought his own
ticket, but Moyer paid his expenses and hotel
bill."
WILLIAM D. HAYWOOD took the witness
stand in his own defense. The Asso
ciated Press report says: "The accused man
was perfectly at ease as he walked to the chair
and took oath as a witness in his own behalf.
His "voice was quite low at first, but when' his
attention was called to it he elevated it so as
to carry to Judge Wood. Haywood was first
questioned as to his family history. He said
his father and stepfather were both miners, and
he first began work as a miner under the latter.
Haywood was born in Salt Lake City in 1869.
His fatherwas born in Ohio and his mother in
South Africa the daughter of an English army
officer. Haywood said he first went to work at
the mines when he was nine years old. He was
married in Pocatello, Idaho, and has two chil
dren daughters. The witness, who ha'B but
one eye, said he lost the other when a; 'boy of
seven by sticking a knife in it. The prisoner
spent the greater part of his mining cafeer at
Silver City, Idaho. He joined the Western Fed
eration of Miners in 1896. Haywood deolared
he never knew Governor Steunenberg and had
no interest in the Coer d'Alene troubles other
than as a member of the federation. The pris
oner's Vife, mother and young daughter were
present in court this afternoon when he was
called to the stand. Resolutions and discussions
condemning Governor Steunenberg's course in
the Coeur d'Alene, Haywood declared, were, not
confined to the Western Federation of Miners,
but applied generally to labor organizations
throughout the country. The witness was asked
if he ever said to anyone, as has been testified,
that Governor Steunenberg should bo extermi
nated. He said he had not.
1 . fV
REFERRING TO the Haywood trial at Boise,
Idaho "John I. Tierney' representing tho
Denver News" 'says: "Th;e defense In thcKHay- '
wood case believes it has shattered Orchard'
credibility as a witness by developing a glaring
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