Western news-Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1898-1900, April 27, 1899, Image 2

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    M'KINLEY AND THE TRUSTS.
Among many solemn assurances
\vhich President McKinley gave the
people of the United States in his in
augural address two years ago , were
the following :
"The declaration of the party now
restored to power has been in the past
that of opposition to all combinations
of capital organized in trusts or other
wise to control arbitrarily the condi
tions of trade among our citizens , and
it has supported such legislation as will
prevent the execution of all schemes to
oppress the people by undue charges on
their supplies , or by unjust rates for
the transportation of their products to
market This purpose will be steadily
pursued , both by the enforcement of
the laws now in existence , and the rec
ommendation and support of such new
statutes as may be necessary to carry
it into effect. "
Doubtless in March , 1897 , there were
people who believed that these utter
ances were sincere and candid. They
were made in the most solemn moment
of Mr. McKinley's life , with the Bible
which he had kissed after taking the
oath of office in reach of the hand that
was uplifted to emphasize his promises.
But how many people now believe that
a
v. the President , if then sincere , has not
since repudiated those promises and
sold his administration to the very in
terests against which he assured the
ff I people he would enforce the law ?
Trusts capitalized at a billion and a
half of dollars under his administra
tion give answer to this question. The
apathy of his Attorney General an
swers it , his own failure to even men
tion the trusts since March 4,1897 , an
swers it ; and the people are driven to
appointment of a commission to inves
tigate the trust question and to report a
legislative remedy. In other States
there are on foot movements which
may result in restricting the operations
of trusts. It is ridiculous to say that
there is no preventive of this evil. If
neither the State nor the Federal au
thority can protect the people from
combinations to throttle competition
and cripple commerce we have a very
poor form of government. Atlanta
Journal.
That Beef Inquiry.
When the court of inquiry to look into
the charges against the commissary de
partment of the army was formed it
was confidently expected' that facts
could be so manipulated as to result in
whitewashing Alger. Fortunately for
the soldiers and for the friends of the
soldiers this expectation has proved un
founded and the beef inquiry will re
sult in a vindication of Gen. Miles and
a condemnation of Secretary Alger.
Undoubtedly the Republican adminis
tration will be vastly disappointed in
the results obtained and will do all it
can to break the force of the indict
ment , but the people are familiar with
the facts and that familiarity will have
its results when the campaign of 1900
is on.
That much of the beef accepted by
the commissary department and fur
nished to the troops in Cuba and Porto
Rico was unfit to eat has been demon
strated by the evidence given before
the court of inquiry , and thus Alger
and Eagan have been condemned.
The question now before the Repub
lican administration is what to do
about it. Undoubtedly Alger should be
forced to resign. Eagan is beyond the
UNITE AND CONQUER.
Democracy "No factional fights ; yonder is our common foe. " Chicago Dem
B * ocrat.
the conclusion that his intentions were
a sham then , or have since been
fr V changed by corrupt influences. Colum
bus Press-Post.
Bryan's Best Act.
Bryan made a tenstrike in declining
to attend a dinner of Perry Belmont
and others. Not one of those fellows
would have voted for him next year.
They are his enemies , and he did right
in giving them a blow they will not for
get. He followed the example of An
drew Jackson. The same interests in
Jackson's day tried to influence the
President by banquets and all kinds of
allurements. He told them to get out.
Bryan will be nominated next year
with the silver issue to the front. It is
the only issue on which he can win , and
I believe he will be victorious in the
next campaign.
Hard Fight Ahead for Haima.
Hauna is the embodiment and repre
sentative of the aims of predatory cap
ital and he is to-day the most powerful
man in the United States , with no ex
ceptions. He is busy now organizing
the fight to re-elect McKinley , under
whose administration he knows the
trusts will be free from prosecution ,
the railroads saved from any sort of
regulation and an income tax impossi
ble. He already is certain that he can
deliver the goods , so far as the nomina
tion is concerned , but we imagine he
will know he has had a fight before
election day. San Francisco Exam
iner.
Political Alignments Possible.
Taken altogether , the factors that
make for uncertainty in the future of
the Republican party and in the for
tunes of Mr. McKinley are not only
numerous but formidable. The democ
racy is having its internal troubles , but
Democrats can console themselves with
the thought that the slumbers of the
enemy are disturbed by frightful
dreams. The campaign of 1900 is not
far away and still there is time for a
political realignment that may be start
ling. Minneapolis Times.
Republican Defeat the Cure.
At the present time the Republican
party is effectively Hannaized. The
Ohio boss is backed by the power of
the patronage of the Federal adminis
tration and the immen.se wealth of the
combined trusts , and , though a most
respectable opposition may be aroused ,
It is difficult to see how he can be dis
lodged , except by a defeat of the Re
publicans. Louisville Dispatch.
Trying to Curb Monopoly.
The Pennsylvania Legislature has
passed a resolution providing for the
reach of further punishment from army
sources , but he can be made to feel the
hot indignation of the American people.
So far as the administration is con
cerned , its rebuke will come from the
people at the polls , and the result of the
presidential campaign of 1900 should
be the overthrow of the corrupt Repub
lican party. Chicago Democrat.
Pierces liven Hanna's Hide.
Senator Hanna's denial that he was
ever present at any conference con
cerning army beef contracts and his
vehement repudiation of "the con
temptible insinuations of that man
Lee' ' may create the impression in the
public mind that this Falstaffi "doth
protest too much. " Major Lee's casual
questioning of Eagan appears to have
pierced the Ohio Senator's ordinarily
thick armor and brought forth a con
spicuous howl of distress. Pittsburg
Dispatch.
Political Potponri.
Mr. Hanna says he had no part in the
beef contracts. Mr. Hanna fries his
fat ; he does not boil it St. Paul Globe.
A European critic says the American
soldier is not attractive in appearance.
That critic should see the other fellow
when the American soldier gets
through with him. Birmingham ( Ala. )
News.
Senator Platt remarks that Mr.
Oluey is too closely identified with
great corporations to be an available
candidate for the Presidency. This
from Platt is something sublime. Bos
ton Herald.
The Republicans are enjoying the.
spectacle of squabbles among the
Democrats. But they will learn that
this means a live party with something
to accomplish. The dead never fight-
Washington Times.
The citizen who is bitten in his ven
tures in trust stocks will not get much
sympathy. No trust has been organ
ized for benevolent or sanitary pur
poses and the fact is quite well known
to everybody. St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Standard Oil Company declares
that Ohio's Attorney General is carry
ing on a "malignant persecution of it. "
lias the Standard Oil Company no
rights in Ohio ? Has persecution gone
to the lengths of refusing to accept its
bribes ? Louisville Courier-Journal.
The President is quoted as saying
that the newspaper criticisms of Secre
tary Alger applied to him as much as
they did to the Secretary. This Is true
as gospel. For haven't we Mark
Hanna's word for it that Alger made
no move without first consulting the
President ? Wheeling Register.
DEVOTED TO CHARITY
BARONESS HIRSCH , WHO RE-
GENTLY PASSED AWAY.
Was the Friend of the Poor , anil Spent
Many Millions in Philanthropic En
terprises Some of This Noble Wom
an's Many Beneficences.
One of the world's greatest philan
thropists and one whose demise will be
mourned by millions of Christians and
Hebrews passed away at Paris in the
death of Baroness Hirsch. The benevo
lent undertakings of this amiable wom
an and of her husband will bear fruit
for many generations.
It is rarely that a husband and wife
can be found who have entered into
the spirit of a great work with such
thorough harmony as did Barou and
Baroness Hirsch. Through the later
lifetime of the Baron , and until he died
on April 21 , 1890 , his wife was his best
helper and adviser. Indeed , she was a
S
BAROXESS HIKSCH.
thorough partner in his work , for much
of her own personal inheritance of
$20,000,000 was devoted to charitable
purposes. Since the death of the
Baron she had carried on the work of
putting into execution his plans , and
had in many ways added to their scope
and made them more effective.
Baroness Hirsch was a member of
the family of Bischoffsheim , with
which Baron de Hirsch had been asso
ciated in many business'operations. .
She was a daughter of a member of
the great banking firm of Bischoffs
heim & Goldschmidt , which was long
a power in European financial circles.
It was in 1883 , when the Baron gave
up the business of making money and
retired from the active management of
his railroad and other enterprises , that
he , married Miss Bischoffsheim. Her
own fortune , large though it was , was
only a small factor as compared with
his , and it was separately invested and
used for separate purposes.
The Baroness was a strong , ' sympa
thetic and self-reliant woman. While
her benevolence did not at all points
coincide with those of her husband , in
the most important matters the two
were as one. Considering how fully
the lives of the two were bound up in
these various undertakings for the
good of humanity , it can be truly said
that the biographies of these two people
ple from 1883 to the dates of their
deaths can be written from their chari
ties and from them only. What great
means they had to support them in
their work is well known. The Baron's
fortune , when he stopped building new
railways from central Europe to the
far east , was considered the only pri
vate fortune in Europe that approach
ed that of the Rothschilds , and was es
timated at about $200,000,000.
Some Great Benefactions.
After the Baron's death the Baroness
retained active connection with the va
rious European charities , which she ,
with her husband , founded , but became
better known than ever in America
through the extension of her benevo
lence for the special benefit of the Jew
ish poor of New York. The work took
three phases. First , there was the de
velopment of the Baron Hirsch trade
schools , which were planned on unique
lines , and have already done untold
good in New York. Second , there was
the Claire Ilirsch Home for Working
Girls , an institution which has recently
been copied in other American cities ,
including Chicago. Lastly , there was a
new Baroness Ilirsch fund of $1,000,000
created for the removal of the unfor
tunates from the New York Ghetto , and
the transplanting of them in suburbs
and agricultural communities , where
their hard labor and willing work
would accomplish good both for them
selves and for the industrial com
munity.
The Working Girls' Home had per
haps the stamp of the Baroness' indi
viduality most fully impressed upon it.
The idea arose from letters which the
Baroness received in Paris in regard to
the sufferings and wretched surround
ings of Jewish working girls in New
York City. After much thought she hit
upon the right plan , to her mind , and at
once made arrangements , through her
American agent , to carry it out. She
provided funds for the erection of a fine
building as a home on G3d street , be
tween 2d and 3d avenues , immediately
back of the Hirsch Trade Schools , and
added $15,000 a year for running ex
penses. Before this building was erect
ed she provided a temporary home on a
smaller scale , so that there would be
no delay in having the work begun. The
plan was to give girls the benefits of a
home , with pleasant and elevating sur
roundings , at the least possible expense
to the inmates. Not a charity , but a
place where poor girls could get the
worth of their money and more , too ,
was desired. Arrangements are made
so that girls out of employment can do
housework for their board and room ,
and at the same time get good training
in domestic matters.
Other Beneficences.
Still more interesting from a sociolog
ical point of view is the work of actual
ly ameliorating the condition of tene
ment life in the New York Ghetto. The
baroness provided first of all for care
ful investigation of the conditions by
an expert , Dr. Milton Reitzensteiu.
Here , as usual , direction and control
were provided for the poor Hebrews
instead of degrading , direct charity.
Through the fund provided by the
Baroness the way lias been made easy
for small manufacturers , once in tene
ment rooms in the Ghetto , to secure
sites and buildings in villages and
towns near New York , and easy for
their work people to secure homes near
by. Model tenements and model work
shops are also in the program of this
work.
Among the Baroness' many gifts to
charity in Europe was a donation of
2,000,000 francs to the Pasteur Institute
in Paris ; a similar sum to found an
asylum for the employes of the rail
roads of Turkey , in which her husband
had vast interests , and large endow
ments for hospitals in London and
Paris and other European capitals.
How many millions the Baroness ex
pended in charities will never be
known , for a considerable share of her
benefactions were private. She despised
notoriety and only when unavoidable
was her name associated with her bene
ficences.
The only son of Baron and Baroness
Ilirsch died several years ago and they
afterward adopted two boys. In her
will the Baroness leaves several million
pounds sterling to charity.
SHIPBUILDING AND IRON.
How the Metal First Came to Be Used
in Nautical Construction.
The story of the use of iron as a ma
terial for the construction of ships is
full of interest. Iron was long ago used
experimentally for building boats ; sev
eral references to these crude attempts
will be found in the annual register of
last century. Grautham quotes from a
publication dated July 28 , 1787. The
writer says : "A few days ago a boat
built of English iron by J. Wilkison ,
Esq. , of Bradley Forge came up ou *
canal of this town , loaded with twenty-
two tons and fifteen hundredweight of
its own metal , etc. It is nearly of equal
dimensions with other boats employed
upon the canal , being 70 feet long and
G feet S % inches wide ; the thickness of.
the plates with which it is made is
about five-sixteenths of an inch , and it
is put together with rivets , like copper
or fire engine boilers ; but the stem and
stern posts are wood and the gunwale
lined with the same ; the beams are
made of elm planks.
"Her weight is about eight tons ; she
will carry , in deep water , upward of
thirty-two tons , and draws eight or
nine inches of water when light. " It is
extraordinary that such hints as these
should have fallen dead. Was there no
shipbuilder with an eye swift to wit
ness the enormous possibilities latent
in these little canal experiments ? A
small iron boat was launched in Au
gust , 1815. She was fitted up in Liv
erpool as a pleasure boat. Hundreds
viewed her as a curiosity. She was
sunk maliciously in the Duke's dock ,
as though some Daniel Quilp of a work
man , foreseeing iron as an issue if this
boat was suffered to go on hinting , had
put an end to her. Her owner raised
her and sold her for old iron ; "but the
loss of this boat , " he says , "turned my
attention to the practicability of mak
ing an iron boat which could not be
sunk by any ordinary means. " Pall
Mall Magazine.
FOUND A SATURN SATELLITE.
How Prof. William Henry Pickering
Has Irately Distinguished Himself.
Prof. William Henry Pickering , who
has just distinguished himself by dis
covering a new satellite of Saturn ( or
rather of bringing to light an old un
known one ) , belongs to a family of as
tronomers and has in every way served
only to add to the fame already
achieved by his relatives. He is a na
tive of Boston and is only 41 years old.
He was graduated from the Massachu-
"W//77/ '
PHOFESSOK I'ICKERIXG.
setts Institute of Technology in 1879
and for six years thereafter was an in
structor in physics in that big school.
He began his practical work in astron
omy by observing his first total eclipse
at Denver in 1878. In 1SS7 he became
connected with the Harvard observa
tory. iud he has conducted the affairs
of that institution with much skill and
success. He established several plants
in far-off places for watching tie stars
and planets , and his work in stellar
photography has been of especial value.
He has established stations at great
heights on mountains , including that at
Arequipa , in Peru.
The children of a poor man never
care so much whether he forgives them
for an offense , or not.
A silver lining may have a copper
cloud.
AN UNHAPPY QUEEN ,
Henrietta Most Unfortunate Among
.Europe's Crowned Heads.
Queen Henrietta of Belgium is one
of the most unfortunate of crowned
royalties. Her married life has been
one of much unhappiness , and for the
last twenty years she has been separ
ated from her husband , rarely appear
ing with the King , even on state occa
sions. Her bitterness against her hus
band has been due to two circum
stances ; first , the appalling and fla
grant immorality of his private life ,
and , secondly , his conduct with regard
to the large fortune belonging to his
sister , the ex-Empress Charlotte of
Mexico , which he held in trust , and
which he is understood to have squan
dered to the last penny in his Congo
ventures and other speculations.
Nor have the Queen's children been
a source of much comfort to her , for ,
while her eldest daughter is confined
in an Austrian lunatic asylum , after
having publicly eloped with her chain
berlaiii , the Queen's second daughter ,
Crown Princess Stephanie of Austria ,
was made a widow through the trag
edy of Meyerling
There is some mystery in regard to
the third and only remaining daughter ,
Princess Clementine , for each time a
marriage has been arranged by tlu
King between the Princess and some
royal suitor , the Queen has invariably
ended the matter by summoning the
Prince to her presence and imparting
some information to him , which not
only resulted in the breaking off of the
match , but induced the Prince in ques
tion to leave Brussels without seeing
either the Queen or the Princess again.
Among the suitors of the Princess
whom her mothjer has treated in this
manner are the Crown Prince of Italy ,
Prince Rupert of Bavaria and Prince
Ferdinand of Bulgaria.
Another cloud hangs over her life. In
1SG7 , she lost her only son in such a
sudden manner that his death was gen
erally ascribed to poison. Queen Hen
rietta , in the density of her grief , laid
the responsibility for the crime upon
QUEEX OF BELGIUM.
French agents , who believed that by
removing the young Prince they were
furthering the cause of Napoleon III. ,
and facilitating the absorption of Bel
gium by France. Wild and unjustified
as tliis belief may appear to-day to un
prejudiced peoi.le , it led to Queen Hen
rietta making a solemn vow not to set
foot on French soil , and considerably
over a quarter of a century elapsed be
fore she at length consented to accept
a pressing invitation of her husband's
uncle , the Duke d'Aumale , just before
his death , remaining a couple of days
at Chantilly , without , however , visit
ing Paris.
The Queen is passionately devoted to
horses and music , the latter being an
art which the King holds in abhor
rence. She is renowned as one of the
most famous four-in-hand whips in the
old world , and possesses an extraor
dinary knowledge of the art of conjur
ing. In fact , she is a very gifted wo
man of high spirit and of high prin
ciple , whose entire life has been sad
dened and embittered by the depravity
of her husband and by numerous do
mestic sorrows. Queen Henrietta is
the sister of Archduke Joseph of Aus
tria , the palatine of Hungary.
She Missetl the Point.
Katharine de Forest , writing in Har
per's Bazar , tells a story which illus
trates the peculiar simplicity of mind
of many French people. A French
woman who wrote many clever novels ,
and who needed time in which to write
them , was trying to explain to her new
chambermaid , Marie , why it was that
she must not bo interrupted when at '
her work.
It was necessary , as she knew , to be- >
? in at the beginning and lay the foun :
dation for the information she was
about to convey.
"Now , when you are sewing , " the
lady said , "and you are called away
from your work , you can go back and
take it up just at the stiteh where you
eft it. But if I am disturbed in my
writing. I can't pick up again the
hread of my thought in that way. You
juderstand. don't you ? "
The girl said she understood , and
tvent away. Very soon she came back.
"What is it. Marie ? " the novelist
iskod.
"Well , madamo. " said the maid , fum-
'
) ling awkwardly at her apron , "if I
lon't kuoAv how to do anything luit
ew. it's because I was never taught
o do anything but sew. If I'd been
: aught to write books. I could write ain
) ooks ! " aim <
Chinese Tast ? .
The finest shops in a Chinese city are ei
hose devoted to the sale of coffins.
Dvery Chinaman likes to provide for
L swell time at his funeral.
la
Nothing makes a boy quite so proud si
is to be * offered fifty dollars for a dog. sica
No man ever filed a kick because his ca
ignature to a petition was ignored.
All Money 3s Sovereign.
All money should stand on an equal
footing and be interchangeable at par ,
and no inconvenience will ever be ex
perienced by the Government in sus
taining such a custom if we have hon
est laws honestly enforced. The first
" " issued
demand notes or "greenbacks"
by the Government in 1S61-'G2 kept
pace with the price of coin and never
depreciated in value , because they were
made receivable for all public dues , the
same as gold. They were not even
"legal tender , " but they kept company
with gold through all the period of the
lowest depreciation of legal tender
greenbacks. In March , 1SG3 , when de
preciation reached its average , gold
brought 1551in legal tender notes , and
demand notes brought 153 , and this
practical parity between the two kinds-
of money was sustained throughout.
Legal tender greenbacks depreciated
because , and only because , they Avere-
by special act of Congress excluded
from payment of duties on imports and
interest on Government bonds and
notes. This act was forced through.
Congress by the influence of the bond
holders and the agents of the Roths
childs. It was savagely attacked in a.
speech by Thaddeus Stevens , delivered
in the House of Representatives on the-
20th of February , 1SG2. Among other
things , Mr. Stevens said :
"I have a melancholy foreboding that
we are about to consummate a cunning
ly devised scheme , which will carry
great injury and loss to all classes of
people throughout this Union , except
one. It ( the legal tender act ) makes two
classes of money one for the banks
and brokers , and another for the pee
ple. It discriminates between the rights
of different clasess of creditors , allow
ing the rich capitalist to demand gold
and compelling the ordinary lender of
money on individual security to receive
notes which the Government had purposely - {
posely depreciated. But now comes the
main clause. All classes of people shall
take these notes at par for every article
of trade or contract , unless they have
money enough to buy United States
bonds , and then they shall be paid in
gold. Who are this favored classV The
banks and brokers and nobody else. "
Even at that early date the Roths
childs had their grip on the throat of
our Government , and they were strong
enough to force their measures
through Congress. As a result of this
scouudrelisin and national robbery , the
people of the United States paid , ingress
gross profits to the national banks , be
tween 18GG and 1893 , a period of twen
ty-seven years , the almost fabulous
sum of $3,2G9,374.G50 , or $490,138,57 $
more than the entire cost of the civil
war ; and they are still paying on the-
same account , while the banks have
meanwhile doubled their holdings by
means of the gigantic crime of ' 73.
When you read these things you will
understand why the Rothschilds want
redemption planks in the platforms of
our great political parties.
\Vhich Will Yon Have ?
The gold Republican says that what
we need to secure prosperity is higher
tariff , a gathering in of the greenbacks
and ultimately their cancellation ; in
brief , more taxes and less monej- . The
international agreement Republican
says that we must have "more tariff , "
and also "international bimetallism"
if we can get it. The goldocrat says
that all we need is less money ; in other
words , that the greenbacks and treas
ury notes should be destroyed , and the
finances of the country turned over to-
the banks. The genuine American bimetallist -
metallist says that what we need above
nil other things is more money , through
the operation of the free coinage of
both silver and gold. Which will you
take as a primary proposition , leaving
the other reforms to be considered in
the light of future events and condi
tions ?
Pardoned.
In the life of Henry Bradle3r Plant is-
i story which shows that mercy may
sometimes temper justice to good ef-
"ect , by awakening in an offender a
oyalty which he has never before
hown.
Mr. Plant was one day traveling in a
> aggage-car , when he saw an express-
nan , in handling a box marked
'Glass , " turn it wrong side up.
"Here ! " he called to the man. "That
ox is marked 'Glass , ' and should be
ept glass-side up , as indicated. "
"Oh , I know it's marked 'Glass , ' "
aid tl e expressman , "but I never pay
iny attention to that. "
Mr. Plant said no more , but later ,
vhen the superintendent of the office
vas alone with the man , he asked him :
"Do you know who that gentleman
ras who spoke to you about the box
aarked 'Glass ? * "
"No , sir. "
"Well , that was Mr. Plant. "
"Then that means my dismissal. "
"I think it does. I shall have to dis-
aiss you. "
Later , the superintendent said to Mr.
'lant , "I shall dismiss that man , of
ourse ? "
"No , " said the president , "don't dis-
harge him. Call him into your office.
nd impress it upon him that that is
ot the way the company does its busi-
ess. He won't forget it. "
He did not forget it. Xo more loyal
tnploye was to be found in the com-
any. Youth's Companion.
The American Bible Society circu-
ites the Scriptures in 9G tongues , be-
des our own speech ; 28 European , 39
siatic , 8 Oceanic , 9 African , 9 Ameri-
m Indian and 3 South American laa-
uages and dialects.