ALGER IS TO BLAME.
Naturally enough , Secretary of War
Alger is very angry at the President's
fletermiuation to courtmartial General
Eagan. Of course , Algor would prefer
a court of inquiry , because in a court
nf inquiry all sorts of side issues could
be dragged in. It is alleged that Alger
is so very angry over the President's
move that he has threatened to resign.
But he won't resign. No such good
luck as that for the nation need be
hoped for. Alger may die , but he will
never resign. That is to say. lie will
never give up his position as Secretary
of War of his own volition.
Of course , his blunders and his vcnal-
ily may force the President to ask
Alger to re-sign , and under coercion this
incompetent millionaire may leave the
Cabinet , but that is not likel } ' to be the
case. Alger has proved useful to the
adminislration. lie. is a shrewd wire
puller , an experienced and unscrupu
lous politician , and all through his term
of olHee has served the Republican
party faithfully , to the neglect of his
duty to the nation. Again , Alger was
largely instrumental in securing the
flection of the Republican candidate
for President. His barrel came in
handy and his political pull was of
great value ; therefor Alger is likely to
Htay in the Cabinet.
Nothing more beneficial to the army
could happen than the resignation or
removal of Alger. Indeed , if the Re
publicans knew when they were well
off they would urge upon the President
mine what we shall do with them. We
arc the unwilling trustees of an ungrate
ful office which we can neither decline
nor instantly abandon. All our tradi
tions , interests and inclinations forbid
the thought of annexation or permanent
occupation. We are not in the business
of colonization or territorial aggarandizc-
ment.
But in the Philippines we stay until
we see our way clear to getting rid of
them by transferring our sovereignty to
some power , native or foreign , capable
of its exercise and responsibility.
Thus , after all , it will be seen that
while the Republicans say they don't
want the Philippines , they are going to
hold on to them just the same to the
bitter end.
Col. Bryan's Declaration.
Mr. Bryan , speaking at the Jackson
Day banquet in the Tremont House ,
Chicago , said :
The Democracy of the nation is still de
fending Jeffersonian principles with Jack-
sonian courage , and has no thought of de
parting from the principles enunciated at
Chicago in 1890. That platform will live
in history , and the hour of its adoption
will he remembered as the hour when the
money changers were driven from the
Democratic temple.
There will he no turning back. The
platform will lie added to as new condi
tions force new issues into the arena of
politics , hut nothing will be subtracted
from it. Events have vindicated every
position taken by the platform. Arbitra
tion was advocated in that platform , and
arbitration is stronger to-dav than it was
in 1S9G.
That platform denounced government
oeratic party is the party of the pee
ple's necessities. . It takes up the cause
in which the welfare of the people is
involved , and carries it through to
success. It .matters not what the
name of that cause may be from era to
era , but once taken up it remains the
shibboleth , until all opposition van
ishes. It is the Democracy of 1S9G
which now challenges the government
of this country. It is that Democracy
which will fight for the supremacy , no
matter whether the battle be long or
short , and it is that Democracy which
the Republicanism of the country may
expect to find in the field whenever the
opportunity offers. Atlanta Constitu
tion.
Annexing Ravages.
Spain has never been able to conquer
peace in the Philippines. Neither has
the United States ever been able to
conquer peace with the American In
dians. By annexing the Philippines
another century of oppression to the
aborigines , another hundred years or
more of death-dealing on both sides
will be inaugurated. Aguinaldo is not
much of a power for the United States
to fear. Neither was nor is Geronimo ,
but they are both savages and neither
will ever become civilized.
Recently Aguinaldo said to an En
glishman who went to Malolos to see
the dictator : "We have fought always
for our independence , and. we will al
ways fight for it until our last man is
dead. " The best students of the com
plex Filipino character are steadily be
coming more convinced that a conflict
with the insurgents is ultimately un
avoidable. Under the circumstances , is
the game really worth the candle ?
Chicago Democrat.
Four Months' Time Thrown Away.
With but six weeks remaining of the
Congressional session , and much im
portant legislation pending in both-
branches , it would be idle for Congress
to begin at this time an investigation
THE MOUTHPIECE OF THE SECRETARY.
fTi 1 r m t it i i * t' * * ' * * * \ ti jf 'Jttlll"J ui t Vt ft \ fit
' Chicago Chronicle.
the dismissal of Alger. He is an Old
Man of the Sea on the neck of the ad
ministration. But Alger lias come to
stay. Eagau will go. He ought to go ,
although Eagan is but the ill-tempered ,
ill-conditioned , reckless- and foolish
mouthpiece of Alger. But Alger will
stay. Out of Eagau's splenetic attack
on Miles some great good may conic.
In discussing this question , the New
York Journal says :
It would be simple insanity to put more
soldiers and more money at the disposal
of such a staff machine as has just re
vealed its nature to a horrified world.
If the President wants a larger army
let him do three things as a guaranty of
good faith :
1. Remove Alger.
- . Recommend a. reorganization that
Avill unify responsibility and deprive dis
reputable and inefficient element of pow
er.
o. Propose such an enlargement of the
educational facilities at West Point as
will provide the new army with a full sup
ply of trained and honorable otlicers.
Should such measures he taken ,
I Eagan will have proved himself the
r greatest of reformers. But it is too
much to hope that such reforms will be
made by a Republican administration.
Chicago Democrat.
sii ; on Ix } > : i
While the Republican administration
is taking every menus to bring about
expansion , the remarkable statement
is made by t'hc Chicago Tinier-Herald
that the annexation of th" Philippines
is not contemplated. This i- the most
.startling statement that has yet bou
made concerning the policy of the Re
publican party. In the course of a loutr
double-leaded editorial on this subject
the Times-Herald says :
The Times-Herald has no more UM > for
annexation of the Philippines , no more
sympathy with the incorporation of mill
ions of ignorant isli > j < lors iun ? our na
tional policy , no more lOloration of gov
ernment of alien race without their con-
M'jit than Senator Hootf'.u1 ! Sr-harz or
any of the men who : ir < > kicking : iihist ;
tiio Philippine pricks. It m opposed to the
annexation of the Sulu arehip Jane to the
I United States just as firmly as it would
oppose the annexation of a portion of
African continent inhabited by Zulus.
This i.s what t'he ' Democratic pap.'rs
nave been saying ever since the Phil
ippine question came to Hie front , and
ihis is what the Republican p-ipers
have called a small and aanow view.
Sonic new light must have tlav/ued up
on the Times-Herald. Ds.ubilrss the
danger of a war with the natives of the
Philippines has caused vefV-lion as to
the consequences.
While the American peoplewort1 a
unit as to the justness of a war with
Spain , there can be no such unity con
cerning a war of conquest against the ?
rightful owners of the Philippines. In
an endeavor to hedge and to play the
Bailie of politics upon ihi > principle of
"heads I win , tails you ) u c\ " the
Times-Herald shiftily si ; , > :
To-day we are forced to miike- our sov
ereignty supremely effective ii , the Phil
ippines Jr. prder tliat we may later deter-
FLAQRANT CASES Of
LESEL-MAJESTY.
" 32/7 TONS OF EMBALMED
B EF WCRE : SENT TO PORTO
R.ICO" " IT WAS SENT'W-
D K PRETENSE Of AN EXPERI
MENT " GCN.N.A.MILE5.
"THE MEAT HAD A GREEN
ISH GROWTH , KNOWN AS A
' '
'BEARD'.THAT HAD TO BE SCRAPED
ANY MAN WHO SAYS '
ED OFF TESTIMONY OF MAJ.
"EMBALMED BCEF"OK
HARRISON. 8CTORU INQUIRY COM
"PRETENDED EXPERIMENT * MISSION.
$ § Si2Sb = s = *
15 A LIAR. . A SCOUNDREL AT BEST THE TINNED BEEF
WAS TA5TCLES5 AND AT W0 r
AN3 A. TRAITOR TO HIS
ITWASNA.USEATIN6.1 P EfERRED
COUNTRY TO UET MY MEN Q6 HWGRY T W
ALGCR.PEI EAfiAN
4-CT THCM EAT
STUFF. "
by injunction ; and the sentiment against
government by injunction is increasing.
That platform denounced the trusts and
declared them to be a menace ; that men
ace is greater to-day than ever before.
That platform warned the people that a
conspiracy was on foot to give the nation
al banks a monopoly of the issue and sup
ply of paper money ; that conspiracy is
now known to every one.
That platform denounced international
bimetallism as a delusion and a snare :
the Democratic party will be a unit in
opposing it.
Wo are told that the Filipinos are not
capable of self-government ; that has a
familiar ring. Only two years ago I heard
the same argument made against a very
respectable minority of the people of this
country. The money lenders who coerced
borrowers did it upon that theory ; the
employers who coerced their employes did
it for the same reason. Self-government
increases with participation in govern
ment. The Filipinos are not far enough
advanced to share in the government of
the people of the United States , but they
ire competent to govern themselves. It
is not fair to compare them with our own
citixens , because the American people
have been educating themselves in the sci
ence1 of government for nearly three cen
turies , and while we have much to learn
we have already made great improvement.
1 The Filipinos will not establish a perfect
[ government , but they will establish a gov-
| eminent as nearly perfect as they are
! competent to enjoy , jnid the United States
can protect them from molestation from
v. ithout.
Shtme : upon a logic which locks up the
petty offeiidei' and enthrones grand lar-
ccnHave the people returned to the
worship of the golden calf ? Have they
mue unto themselves a new command
ment consistent \vilh the spirit of con-
qiic t and the lust for empire ? Is "Thou
shalt not steal" upon a small scale , to be
substituted for the la\v of MosesV
Awake. O ancient1 law giver , awake !
llrcaJv forth from thine unmarked scpul-
cher and speed thce back to the cloud
cro\VIUH ! summit of Mount Sinai ; com
mune once more with the ( loil of our fath
ers and proclaim again the words engrav
en upon the tables of si one the law that
\vas , the law that is to-day the law that
neither individual nor nation can violate ,
with impunity.
I5r.vnu in Denver
The speech delivered by Hon.V. . .T.
Ilryau in Denver contains the keynote
of true Democracy. Between the aiix-
irty to create a new issue and thr1 con
tinued iteration of the dochirailiou that
s'lver is dead , the Republican party and
its allies have been between the devil
and the deep sea. The issue will not
down , notwithstanding all their efforts
lo close it out from the sight of the
pj'oph * .
It is with reference to rhSs phas ? of
the ijuostion that Mr. JJryau spoke in
Dwivt'r. In that speech he declared
that the silver is ue retains all its vi
tality for the reason that "the cause
live" . lcuiso ) it embodies the hopes ,
the aspirations and the belief of our
people. * ' - ° People eat because
they need it. not because food has to
be consumed. ' '
This homely illustration is but In-
tumk'il to convey the idea that the Dem-
of the conduct of the war. Mr. Mc-
Kinley's commission has been Investi
gating ever since Sept. 24 last nearly
four months and what has it discov
ered , aside from a few raw War De
partment sores ? If it takes so long to
cover thiugs up , how much more time
would be needed to bring everything
into the light of day ? Philadelphia
Record.
Benevolent Aid to Filipinos.
Instead of setting up as a "benevo
lent assimilation" society ( see Presi
dent's proclamation to Filipinos ) , let us
set up as a "benevolent aid" society.
Instead of annexing the Filipinos let
us try the experiment of helping them
to stand alone. Such a policy would be
American. It would at least tend to
allay the suspicion and bitterness with
which the natives now regard the pro
posed American occupation of their
country. Many lives and much treas
ure would be saved to the American
people. Springfield ( Mas-O Repub
lican. *
a Revenue Tariff tYoul < l Do.
"Free trade England" collects from
twenty different imported materials
from $100,000,000 to $120,000.000 year
ly. We collected about $1H : , ( )00,000 )
from nearly -100 different materials im
ported in the year ended June ' 50 , 1SJS. )
A revenue measure , cast on the lines
of the tariff of 18,17 , would yield # 200.-
000.000 annually and give no cnr-our-
ageinent to such trusts as the steel wire
combine , the paper combine , the tin
plate combine , the pottery combine and
a do/on others , the sole support of
which is the prohibitive rate of duty
laid on imports of like materials.
( . 'hatlanoocra Times.
Choice for the President.
Not a great many more hours will be
ticked off by the White House clock
before it Avill become necessary for
President McKiuley to decide whether
he will have an army composed of iu-
Vlividuals such as Alger , Eagau and
their like or of soldiers and gentlemen
like Miles. Morritt. Wheeler , KriK-kiu-
ridge , Fitzhugh Lee. Lawtou. Otis.
Wood , Chaffee and Miller. The Ameri
can people have reached that conclu
sion already or the universal verdie ;
of the press in all sections is no inder ;
to popular sentiment. WashiugtoL
Times.
Trusts in No Immediate i
Attorney General Monuett should
know that it is one thint : to talk against
trusts , but quite a different thing to act
against them. President MeKinley can
denounce trusts all he pleases as long
as he keeps his Attorney General from
attacking them in the courts. Louis
ville Dispatch.
Pith of a Colorless Report.
Report of the war commission on the
beef controversy : Some of the beef was
good and some was brtd , but we are un
able to determine which was good and
which was bad. Kansas City Star.
CHINESE BEGGAR CHIEFS.
fine of the Peculiar Features of So
cial liife iu China.
One of the most peculiar and inter
esting figures in Chinese social life i
the beggar chief ; and no less peculiar
and interesting , both as to methods
and personal appearance , are the mem
bers of the motley organisation of men
dicants over which he reigns abso
lutely.
He is required to pay a sum equiva
lent to about $100 to every newly-ap
pointed tuug hwan prefect , as a hum-
hie testimonial of his allegiance to tin
high authority from whom his badge ot
oflice emanates , and when this require
ment has been duly fulfilled he is al
lowed to exercise the prerogatives ot
his position without fear of interfer
ence on the part of the government offi
cials in the district assigned to him.
His authority over the beggars is ab
solutely unlimited , and they obey his
orders without hesitation or sign of
protest.
' The office is hereditary , so long as
the tribute is paid ; but the immediate
progeny of the incumbent are debarred
from the enjoyment of any literary
degree. Why this condition is exact
ed is not quite clear , but it is certain
that no descendant of a beggar chief
has ever held a literary degree. How
ever , the other privileges enjoyed by
him are so attractive and the income
is so substantial that he probably does
not worry much over this one priva
tion.
tion.How does he secure his income ?
from the merchants and tradespeople
who know that unless they procure
from the beggar chief ou or before
Xew Year's day a "holo twa , " or "pass
port of safety. " their shops or "hoags"
will be infested almost constantly by a
horde of boisterous , impudent , impor
tunate vagabonds , who will drive away
customers and damage the stocks of
goods without hindrance from the rag-
ular authorities of the district.
Once a month , on a day suited to the
convenience of the chief , he assembles
all the beggars of his district at the
"Khichia Jail , " or remlezvous. and dis
tributes alms among them , each re
ceiving a sum commensurate with his
personal merits and obedience to or
der . Philadelphia Press.
Why He Was Happy-
Whistling in a public conveyance is
an offense against good manners , but
the Chicago Journal reports an instance
which really seems to have been excus
able , as it was excused.
The rest of the passengers were read
ing the morning news , but one man
gazed Avith unseeing eyes out of the
Avindow and Avhistled fcoftly , the tune
being broken now and then by a smile
that crossed his bearded lips.
The young girl directly opposite
thought him handsome , and ascribed
his preoccupied air to romantic rea
sons. And the older woman who sat
with her glanced sharply across from
time to time , to see AUiat the young
man meant by rudely whistling in a
public coiiA'cyance. But the looks of
youth and age were alike lost on him ,
and after a Avhile he turned his face
toward the light , and sang Avith such
hearty tmtunefulness that his specta
cled neighbor felt bound to remon
strate.
"Young man. " she said , "have you
hired this car for your OAVU use ? "
He started at her blankly a minute ,
and then Hushed to the roots of his
hair.
"Was Avas I singing ? " he asked.
"You Avere making a horrible noise , "
she replied.
Then he laughed a Avholesome , hon
est guffaw , and leaned forward confi
dentially.
"The joke's on me , " he said. "To tell
the truth , my baby has just cut a tooth ,
and and I Avas thinking how cunning
thelittle chap looked Avhen he grinned. ' '
The Avar light faded in the Avornaii's
eyes , and a smile touched the corners
of her mouth as she beamed on the
roung father and said Avith deep inter
est :
"t'ppor or under ? ' '
A Novel Swindle.
A well-known Italian confectioner in
Ihe doAVUtown district Avas last night
made a dupe in a novel swindling
scheme that cost him $50. A stranger
came to his fruit stand and while look
ing over some bananas suddenly lost'
his glass eye among the fruit. After
bcurching for a Avhile , hu went away ,
saying that if the Italian found his eye
he should take it to his hotel , and then-
he Avould receive $100 for it. A few
moments later another stranger came
along. The Italian saAV him grasp the
glass eye Avhile examining some fruit.
That Avas too much for the owner to
stand , and he offered the stranger $ r > 0
for the eye. The offer Avas accepted ,
but Avhen the Italian took his prize to
the hotel there Avas no one there to re
claim it. He notified the polif - of the
swindle. Pittsburg Chronicle.
i
The Water Clock. j
The Avater clock , otherwise the clep
sydra , seems , unless the EiryprologNt *
find something fresh iu that land of
incessant discoveries from the nio t fat-
mists of time , to have been the lir t
scientific effort at uoting th" hour.A
good many people talk glibly about ihe
clepsydra who neither know its pivcivj
construction nor the nation \vho have
the credit of constructing it. That be
longs to the Assyrian , and as far back
as at least over L'.GOO years ago the
clepsydra Avas used in Xineveh under
the sway of the second Sardanapalus.
It was a brass vessel of cylindrical
shape , holding several gallons of water ,
which could only emerge through one
tisiy hole in the side. Thus the trickling
a the fluid marked a certain amount
* f time , and the Avater was emptied
i.bout half a do/en times per-diem. In
Nineveh there was oue at the palace
rhese AA'ere all filled by signal from a
watchman on a tower at the moment of
Jttnrise , and each had au attendant.
Avhuse business itvis to refill thlo : - >
sydra : ! > soon as it was oinptieu. tin
fact bt'inn nnounccd by criyrs. : incv
j as iu the last century th watc-Iinor :
drowsily xhouteil till1 hours -u ulg'Jl
throughout the sto > ts of Lond-ni. S mu
live eoiiturii's lat ir an anonyv. ' > ii >
genius made a great improvoini'iit b ; ,
inserting toothetl wheels , which , iv
volving. turned two bauds on a dial in
clock fashion , thus sb.jwi.ig the j.4o
ress of the time. Avhich from one lilli1 ! '
to emptying averaged two hours and : i
half. In this shape the * clepsy I-i ,
i which was UICMI chiefly procurable \ \
Egypt , became iiitrodm-cd to variii :
other nations , including Rome , whore
it flourished with various spIendM 0111-
bellishmeuts until the end of the em
pire.- London Standard.
Iu Queen Elizabeth's reign the ex
penses of the British navy were about
$30,000 a year , a contrast to the present
huge sum of $125,000,000 spent annual
ly on the fleet.
German university students have iu-
creased in number from about 10,000
twenty-five years ago to 32,241 last
year. The increase is out of proportion
to the population.
A model farm on the American plan
and run with American machinery ,
stock and methods is about to be es
tablished by a Chinese mandarin who
liA'es near Shanghai.
The most costly piece of railway line
in the world is that betAveen the Mon'-
sion House and Aldgate stations , in
London , which required the expendi
ture of close upon $10,000,000 a mile.
After a litigation lasting fourteen
years the Avill disposing of a San Fran
cisco estate once worth $75,000 has
just been sustained and litigation sus
pended , because the estate has been ex
hausted in paying legal fees.
Au Ohio woman has patented a
match box for pocket use , which is
opened at the bottom to load , the
matches being pushed out one at a
time by a button on the side of the
safe , the head coming last and passing
over a roughened surface to ignite it.
Mr. Godiu. French minister of public-
works , in a circular addressed to rail-
Avay boards , urges the construction of
a larger number of corridor carriages ,
especially third-class , so that by 1000
ill fast trains going long distances maybe
bo exclusively composed of such car
riages.
The violin used by Mine. Camilla I'r-
< ? o , who is giving concerts throughout
the country , was made in Italy in 1TH7
by Joseph Guarnerius Del Jesu. Mine.
L'ro purchased the instrument in Lon
don several years ago and has on sev
eral occasions boon offered SG,000 for
t. She would not part Avith it for any
> rice. V x „
According to a note in the C'ourrler
do Paris , the Athenians and Greeks
collectively intend to exclude all bach
elors from their parliament. The idea
seems to be that the bachelor has no
stake 'ii the eommomvealth ; if he is
represented , that is as much as he can
ask ; a representative ho ought never
to be , for Avhom does bo ropro cTit ex
cept himself ?
One of the most novel and radical de
partures from ordinary methods of in
troducing new improvements in rail
way management is the formal an
nouncement by a u electric headlight
company that it is ready to "guarantee
railroad companies from any loss from
head-on collisions occurring at night
* * * Avhere the locomotive- , are
equipped Avith our headlight-- , "
The ingenuity of the counterfeiters
now appears to bo chiefly devoted to
the turning out of bogus copper and
nickel coins , rather than those of larger
[ lenomiuation. According to the report
of the United States treasurer for the
last fiscal 3'ear , no loss than G9,2G5
pieces of this character Avore detected
last year , and they circulated chiefly in
Boston , Xew York and Philadelphia.
Faueuil Hall is being made fireproof ,
but the process seems to the reverent
people of Boston more like destruction.
Havoc has apparently been Avorked in
uhe interior. Stairways have been torn
; lown. floors ripped up and balconlos
.lemolished. it seems , ruthlessly. But"
: t has all be'eu done Avith care and rev
erence. Each piece of timber and each
strip and board that is to be used in
the reconstruction has boon tagsed and
jtored in fireproof vault * . The founda
tions have been strengthened and put
u condition to withstand the ravages
) f time for ages , it is hoped.
An old Pennsyh'ania UIAV has been
singularly revived in Pittsburg. Fif-
een , years ago Frank Leslie Gould had
i leg cut off by a car of the South
> ide Passenger Railway Company. He
ivas then only 5 years old , but attain-
nl his majority recently , and now
n-ings suit under an act of assembly
ipproved March 17. 171.'J. Avhich per-
uits a minor to brintr an action for
la mages within six years after he bo-
omes 21 years old. in his OAVII rijht.
ind Avithout reference to the time
vheti the cause for action may have of-
urred. As late as 1SS1 the Supreme
Jourt of Pennsylvania decided a cu < e
n which the act Avas declared to be
: .MI ! law. Young Gould claims $2..uuO
lama ires for the loss of his loir.
Xerves IJIVG After .Death.
With an apparatus called the inyo-
) boue Mr. D'Arsoirval has proved that
he nerves may , contrary to the old bo-
ief. liA'e many hours after the death of
he body. This cannot long be made
) erceptible through the excitability of
liv muscles , but the sound In the iii-
itr-uineut shows that a nerve may act
m a muscle , in a state of electric ex-
itability , Avithout producing more thai ;
loiplo molecular vibration.
Parity of the Metnls.
The silver standard nailons , compare
ed to their former condition of five ;
years past , are marvelously advanced. s
In the last five years the exports of t
Mexico have increased more than 54 (
per cent. The number of manufactur s
ers in Japan and Mexico have more
than doubled , and the railroad building
in every silver standard country has
been increasing enormously , while in
the gold standard countries , instead of
an increase of manufactures , there has
been , during these five years , a shut
ting down and closing of them to an
sxtent unknown before in the history
Df the nation.
It is true that on account of the fam
ine in India , the shortage of crops in
Europe , and the war between the Uni
ted States and Spain , there has , in the
last eighteen months , been an upward
tendency in the price of some commodi
ties , but when conditions again become
normal the same low prices must again
prevail.
Some people talk of this flood of sil
ver as if it would be disastrous to the
nation should it occur. No nation AW < J
ever injured by its people havingygfti
abundance of the precious inetals and
instead of being a detriment it would
produce the greatest era of prosperity
in the history of this country. Homo
people think that as soon as a foreigner
brought silver to the United States
mint and had it coined that thorn
would be some American with sold
chasing him , in order to get him to ex
change the silver for a gold dollar.
1 apprehend that the American people
ple are intelligent , and that they are
not going to exchange a gold for a sil
ver dollar unless it is to their advan
tage to do so. When a foreigner bringi
his silver to our mints and has it coined
into dollars , what is he going to da
with his money ?
You know that a foreign coin will not
circulate in this country , neither will a
United States silver dollar circulate m
a foreign country , consequently it wilJ
do him no good to take the silver dollars
lars back to his own country. The only
thing that he can do with them is buy
something that we have for sale , and
we are not going to sell him any more
of our products than we think his sil
ver dollar is worth. John F. Shafr. rli ,
M. C.
Coinage of Silver.
If , according to the premises , money
is purchasing power over things in gi n-
eral. and if the value of a money unit
consists in the amount it possesses of
this purchasing power , and if falling
prices are , in the ways we have soon ,
inimical to industrial progress and sV i
cial happiness and thus ultimately d -
structive of liberty , it follows Miar a
money system that furnishes a unit
constantly calling for more commodi
ties in exchange is both unsouu.ltnd
dishonest ; and if during any given per
iod the average level of general prices
undergoes , in spite of temporary
checks and slight recoveries , a procrn's-
sive fall , this fact itself is an indi'-t-
meut of the money system in operation.
The gold standard , dating approxi
mately from 1S7. . has furnished the
nations attempting to use it with a.
riioney unit that since that dat'in
spite of short temporary periods of
relative stability , and with even slight
accasional declinations toward its for
mer commodity equivalence , has. upon
the whole , constantly and progressive
ly risen in value until the purchasing
) OAver of a unit Aveight of gold is to-day
approximately 100 per cent , gr atr-r
than in 187 ; ; . This decline of average
prices is one of the notorious common
ilaces of recent economic history , anil
s no longer seriously disputed by uny-
jody. It has been conclusively estab-
ishcd by the tables of prices used by
he London Economist newspaper , 6y
Dr. Soetbeer , of Germany , and fiy
nany others , and especially by Auirsis-
us Sauerbeck , the well-known stuti -
ician of the English Statistical Sot-i-
ty. Charles A. Towiie.
Free Silver the Isbiie.
Republicans are extremely anxloiir. tc
nake themselves believe that the < -uisi
if free silver is dead. Constantly
louucing the deatli of free silver
Republicans confess that the sentiiu t
vhich they fear so much will not .stay
lead. The people are more firm than
ver in their demand for the remoiioti-
ation of silver.
In discussing the silly claims of Ilo-
mblicans that "free silver is dead" the
Vashington Post , a strong advocate of
lie gold standard , says : "The simple
ruth is that the coinage question is thf
> nly national issue now in sight for
lie next Presidential campaign. Tho-
lope that the war of ' 98 would develop
ome great issue that would displar-o
he currency question and prevent an
ther battle of the standards has vau-
ii1
This is the truth plainly stated by an
pponent , and the Republicans might
s well admit it. They would like to-
hift the issue , but it can't be shifted.
Free t-ilver Ni ht Schools.
It can lie shown by the rules of the-
ommou school arithmetic that ! o.\-
rice.s in the United States have been-
aused by an increase in the rate of ex-
hango between gold and silver conn-
ries. resulting from tlie demonetization * I
f silver. Leaflets have been prepared
y George Burr Smith , of Chicago , with.
samples to show the application of
liese rules. Organization of these-
L-hools is progressing rapidly. Orgaii-
: ers have been sent out and excellent
stilts are reported from their work.
The British make of bicycles will " tt *
heavy as usual this- year "V.
* - "