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The Worth of a Child's Life.
The Rhntlnnmiitlius of a Now Jersey
court , Judge Guiinnero , bns been mnclo
the target of widespread criticism , not
to say attack , oil account of the charge
ho gave in a recent litigation. The case
was a trial for damages against a rail
way company , and the matter at issue
was the valuation of a child's life. The
judge declared to the jury that , accord
ing to the law , damages could only ho
assessed on the bays of the actual finan
cial damage thc oss of the child had
been to the father , not on any punitive
grounds nor yet by any sentimental
measure. Of course there can bo no ab
solute justice in such a case , and the
best possible is only u proximate rule.
Many children remain expense to their
parents rather than advantage , viewed
as a matter of arithmetic. Even in the
case of working children the ameliorated
factory laws have greatly reduced the
financial aid which they give to the
family. In the affair referred to Judge
Gummero decided that the jurors would
bo justified in valuing that assistance
at $1.
The torrent of popular animadversion
appears to have been misdirected. It
should have been aimed against the
law , not the interpreter ; the legislature ,
not the judge. If such matters are made
questions of court assessment , sentiment
must bo completely banished from any
consideration in balancing the scales
of justice. From the standpoint of senti
ment no money damages could possibly
compensate a parent. Wounds to the
affections , amounting sometimes almost
to heartbreak , cannot bo measured in
terms 01 goia ana suvor. in going 10
any court for compensation the parent
deliberately puts himself out of the
realm of emotion and sentiment and
confesses that ho remits for the advan
tage of the defendant any influences
flowing from these powerful springs.
When ho chooses dollars and cents as
the measure of value , he defines the
solo basis from which the problem must
be treated. This thought appears to
have been confused in the minds of many
who have been made indignant by the
words of Judge Gummero's charge. It
should not bo stigmatized as the meas
ure of the value of a child's life. It is
the answer which the cold blooded law
gives to those who seek to draw balm
from it in a cold blooded way.
An Odd Situation.
The hostility of the English and
Dutch in South Africa has bred manj
an interesting imbroglio , in some cases
leading to battle and bloodshed. But
the dilemma now agitating Capo poli
tics , while it does not involve war witl
the Boor republic , is a queer complica
tiou , full of important consequences to
; ho whole future of South Africa. It is
not dissimilar in its elements to that
lolitical condition of suffrage power ex-
sting in America before the civil war
which gave a preponderance to the south
, n congress for so many years by mak
ing the slave population the basis for an
increased representation.
As things now stand in the Capo Col
ony it takes about half as many votes
; o elect a representative to parliament
in a Dutch district as it does in an Eng
lish district. When the division of seats
was made , it was a fair 0110 , but as
the rural districts , where the Boors have
the majority , have grown slowly and.
the towns and cities , where the English
are ascendant , have advanced in wealth
and population rapidly the just ratio
lias been completely upset. The Boers ,
who always vote against English inter
ests and in sympathy with the wishes
of their fellow Dutchmen iu the neigh
boring republics , have so far fought
successfully against a redistribution of
seats. The forthcoming election will
probably settle the question for the
English side , but create a most passion
ate ill feeling , which may lead to dan
gerous consequences. The same anomaly
as to distribution of political power ex
ists even today in some of our own
states in America. For instance , a rural
hamlet in Vermont with seven voters
sends as many representatives to the leg
islature as does Rutland or Montpelier ,
both goodly cities.
Po Mun , the editor of Mun Kee , a
Chinese paper of San Francisco , is cred
ited with having perpetrated a "boat"
on all other newspapers in having pub
lished the first cable news of the battle
of Manila. It was only ten words long
and sent as a piece of guesswork from
Hongkong by another Chinaman , but
it smote the nail square on the head.
Now Po Mun has retired on his laurels
and will print no more cable news.
The study of forest preservation becomes -
comes a more serious problem in this
country every year. It is only true in
part that the natural increase provides
for the devastation of the lumberman's
ax. Thrusting aside all those serious
questions touching climate , rainfall auc
riverine volume , which proceed from
the denudation of our forest areas , let
us glance for a moment on the problem
of spruce supply. ' Cellulose , or wooc
pulp , which has become one of the most
important of the crude manufactured
products from its amassing adaptability
to such a wide range of uses , is in the
main made from the spruce , as other
woods are far inferior for the purpose.
Though spruce grows freely again , the
demand for it is much greater than the
natural supply. It is becoming more
and more difficult to secure it at easily
available points , and a quarter of a cen
tury will banish it to regions remote
from transportation facilities. A similar
fate has banished the soft pine from its
old homes. Great as is the productive
energy of this laud in forest growth it
will not bo very many years before wo
shall bo in a predicament ; like that of
Suglautl , whore lumber sells for more
ihau double the prices of the American
market. A judicious use of the science
of forestry will bo of the greatest value
in regulating inordinate waste. It
should be made a course in every scien
tific and agricultural school in the land.
The attitude of Russia toward the
United States is that of traditional
friendship. Since that critical time
when a Russian fleet lay in Now York
harbor uudsr sealed orders , which have
since been revealed to bo co-operation
with us in case of any attempt to smash
the southern bJockade , nothing lias dis
turbed a cordial harmony. We do not
clash in any possibility of Asiatic de
velopments with Russia. There is not
even a shadow of contention between
the two , so far as one can see , in posse
or in esse. Russian expansion of com
merce and power iu northern Asia has
a zoiio widely apart from any which wo
could possibly wish to occupy as a com
petitor. Any theory of Russian alliance
with other continental powers in put
ting the screws on the United States in
a contingency which has boon discussed
is too vague to bo seriously considered.
The now ruling of the postolfice de
partment refusing to reforward second ,
third and fourth class mail matter , ex
cept extra postage is prepaid , carries
with it many inconveniences. Yet it
was the abuse of the privileges relating
to these classes of postal matter which
mainly caused a deficit in the annual
report. So the individual must stand it
fr v flin T ii 111 in rrnnrl
Betrothal Rinctt.
Modern Greek peasants exchange a
gold and silver wedding ring , and they
drink wine from the same cup. But the
regular ritual of the Greek church or
dains that solemn betrothal precedes the
actual marriage , in which are used gold
and silver wedding rings blessed by
the priest , the gold ring being given to
the man , the silver ring to the woman.
The form of the espousal is then repeat
ed , and the rings are placed on the right
hands and then exchanged thatno in
feriority may bo betokened by the wom
an wearing the silver ring and also to
indicate a common ownership of prop
erty.An
An Armenian mother usually chooses
her daughter's husband. After all busi
ness preliminaries are settled between
the families the bridegroom's mother ,
accompanied by a priest and two ma
trons , visits the bride and gives her a
ring in token of espousal , and with this
ring the couple are ultimately married.
Among the fishing communities very
ancient and elaborate rings are used ,
and they descend as heirlooms from
generation to generation.
In Japanese marriages arranged be
tween very young people the girl re
ceives a ring in evidence that the union