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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 29, 1904)
THE OMAHA DAILY IiEE: MONDAY.. FEBRUARY 20, 1004. The Omaha Daily Bee. E. ROSEWATEIl, EDITOR. PUBLISHED EVERT MORNINO. TERMS OF SlMlSORIPTION. Dstlv Hee (without Sunday). One Year$n0 Dully pee anl Sunday. ne Tear M Illustrated Bee One Year 2 00 Sinday Be, one Year.. 2 Saturday pee. One Year 10 Twentieth Century Farmer. One Tear.. 100 DELIVERED BT CAHTRIER. Pally Bee (without Sunday), per copy.. ?c Dally Bee (without Sunday), per week. ..lie lally Bea (Including Sunday), per waek.Le Sunday Bee, per ropy " evening tjea (without Bunoay, pi wm . Evening Bee llncludlng Sunday), per week ; ......10c Complalnle of Irregularity In delivery hould be addressed to Clljr Circulation De partment. OFFICES. Omaha The Bee Building. . South Omaha City Uajl Buildlnf. Twep-ty-Sfth and M streets. - Council Bluff M I'esrf Street. Chicago 140 Unity. Building. New York-MC Park Row Building. Waahlngton C01 Fourteenth street. CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to news and edi torial matter ahoold be addressed: Omaha Be Editorial Department. REMITTANCES. Remit by draft, express r postal order payable to The Bee Publishing Company. Only 2-rent alampa received In payment oi mart accounts. Perwial ehecaa. except on Omaha or eastern exchanges, not aceptea THE BEB PUBLISHING COMPANY. STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION. State of Nebraska, Douglaa County, a.! Oeorg B. Tear hue, secretary of The Bee Publishing Company, being duly worn, aaya that the actual number of full ana 3n? snT Sunday Be. prln'ted" during might draw It Into complications: How the month of January, not. was as f1'ow.,J i ever, neither of the belligerent nations 1.. , VtMtOO t i-r..so,aso l..,tr..:....2T,leO i"!"!""'"!2h.too J !!'.S!4oo 2i"!""i"'.!!.s.J2 1 . 1.TO y' .nio I... SU.T40 I... HW.430 s,4ao j JO S4.TOA ! 1J.. SH.OTO 11 SH.I3 it. a.4(M . it....... ssuooo i in aujtttt m!!!"I.'!"!!"M0 ;':;;;i;;Ki2T0 2 sw.omo -- (Mk A SLA 1 tn" '.'.".'.'.'.'.'.'.-'. ro v";"sno II 8vwb J 111 S,lTO Total'.".".'.?!?. ' .' ...."...'.....w.hm Dees upaold and .returned e op lee.... . ft347 Ke tout sale. "77,............taajto J Net average rales 3,4t3 ? 1 OEO. B. TZBCHUCK. Subscribed In my preeence and aworn to peiore Die uua su aay or jreDrvary, a. v. 13CV4. , . M. B. HUNGATE. (Seal.) Notary Public No dancer that the sinecures in the city hajl and court house will go on a I strike. Ak-Sar-Ben'a dates for 1904-are al ready fixed. Mark tVm down with red ink on your calendar. The Taxpayers 'want the mayor and council, the police commission and the school board to slow up a little. Rnscla must prove that Its fence of in fantry is of more enduring stuff than Weyler's trochns of barbed wire. Chalrmari Huntlnaton sars nrovlslons are higher and the ple-bitera will not allow him to reduce thelr'ratlons. Japan seems to be as effective In de- troylng the power of Coreans who favor I iiussia aa in aemoiumng battleships. The present situation In Great Britain 4ea ..1,11. A Tll. Tl 1i a. I x. o ... u.iu lue .u x uniaraenrary party can play the ame of "heads I win, tails you lose." 1 I Itlsalwayo easier to expand public ) Kvav. easier to lnorea' iVufille ' Wi;'HiiOPPe the' charter of any corpoVa 1 . i (, than to reduce them 'Instead of traveling In. "royal atyle" ' Emperor William is going to for com-1 fort and wllLjt&ke ii la trip to the Medl-1 , terranean In & regular liner. , - reti Mr w ... . . .... who xom iiocxor as ineir candidate for mayor, the democrats of South umana are Headed for Retrenchment , ana Reform, with two big Rs. . The u Crawford county system, , as tnaidphlated by the democrats of South Omaha, works very much like the famous machine that turned In dogs and . turned out sausages. Omaha has just experienced "the I heaviest fog In Its history. It Is to be noteo, f nowever, mai me city . broke For repairing and maintain through to bright daylight on very short I ins curbs, guttata ' aJ meter. , - An Omaha man has set up a claim to hava been the discoverer of radium. Omaha has never been short of self- confident claimants for all the high honor in alirhr nr nrnanooH very lew senators can stand up against a charge of favoring their own homes regardless of Justice. It is prob able-that if they would attempt such a course there would be a change of sens Mr. Schwab's dislike for American re - porters is as natural as It is sincere. Publicity has had much to do with squeezing, the water from many stocks and Mr. Schwab was nearly drowned in the flood. - r. ' - eruapa wr. uryaa may regret mat his recent visit was not with , Mr. Murphy, rather than Mr. McClellan. H.earst presidential stock seems to be lower than before the Hoffman house Conference. N ' ' If American traders who want the United . States to settle the trouble jn San Domingo would prepare to foot the bills resulting from such action the gov ernment tnlgh look upon tbelr demands with greater favor. The museum lu the' Omaha public library has acquired a case f stuffed lurda through' the generosity of one of our public-spirited ' uitisens. Some of the' rare old bird of which the city boasts may soon have a look and see what they are coming to. It must pot be forgotten that In addl tlon to the tax levy Imposed for the year the city is piling up a debt of nearly $100,000 a year for hydrant rentals and water supply; which is being converted Into judgments that bear big rates of interest ana wui nave 10 oe paia sooner or later. Had not the authority te 1m pose a tar for this purpose been re - pealed, another mill would have had have- beea added to the lev, BO AMtRKAtf I.TTSArrifTO. The suggestion thnt comes from the consul general of the United Ptnte at ft. Petersburg, that this country ' may ere long find an opportunity to tnterveno In 'the far eastern war and thus do Kus sla a good turn tnd beheflt It sol f and the world at large, la not likely to find much, favorable response here. The nearly universal sentiment of the Ainerjonn people la that the Vnlted States should keep aloof from tle- war and 'strictly maintain the position of neutrality which It baa taken. What has been done by our government with a -view to localiz ing the conflict and protecting China Is approved by the Intelligent Judgment of the country and received the sanction -of the European power and of tlie bellig erents. Thnt action was taken In the Interests of commerce anil the pence of the world. It was a work for humanity which our. government happened to be better eltqnted to perform than any other, and It Implied uo Interference and Involved no danger. Had the powers not accepted the suggestion-that would aim ply have ended the matter and the United States would have assumed no responsibility. Our government might be placed In a different position" were" It to underta'ke Intervention. It Is conceivable that that lis looking forward tcPlntertentlon aud the war must become tastiy more de- atructlve before either oi them' would seriously consider a proposal of media' tIon or intervention. Each la. at present in a very confluent frame or mind, re " gardlng the result and they are likely to continue so or a long time., At all events the . government of ' the United states will-not look for any such opportunity aa oir consul -general -suggests.- There has been shown no disposition at Wash ington to depnrt in the slightest degree from our traditional policy respecting the difficulties and flifferences- or na tlona In the other hemisphere and it is entirely safe to say that president Roose- velt Will take the utmost care to BvoHI any departure frbra tle country's well established policy.' TlUt TO CALL A HALT. The city of Omaha Is a corporation owning more than $100,000,000 of real and personal property. Ilv this corpora- tlon every taxpayer is a jtockhokler and the mayor und council the board of directors. The charter under which the muyor and council are empowered to administer the affnirs of the corpora tion known as the City of Omaha! ex pressly limits the amount to ' bey ex- Tended by them for ench of the various departments -.of municTpal government nnd PtoltU the-transfer, or diversion of moneys from one'und to another. The charter,- moreover,' prohibits the is- sue of warrants or x orders la any one year exceeding 90' per cent of toe amount tit taxes for such vpnr mid the ,mnn, Br1,fliiv rw from nthor .ourefi-, -nd .npplfleallv? declares thnt tte clty authoritle. shall not contract or ,ncur any deftJn additlou to tne I .MA.,aV Mfklnk 41... M M ..lnClA,1 4WI "'LU OID uulUU., 1 - . I .1 l..-l.l II II A. 1. I . jat UUU'BUUUIU 111111b 1UU UUUTU Ul UIIQLUMB to an expenditure of $1,000,000 a4yfar and the directors in defiance of the charter and th -express will of the stockholder- should make appropriations n create aebis ror 9i,zw,nuo a year, or lor ti.Dw.vuu, wnai wouia ine stock I holders Aol would they allow.' the directors to 'bankrupt , the corporation. or would they call a halt by invoking the power of the courts to stop their lawlessness or by summarily deposing the directors? ". :, Yet this Is precisely' the position in i A . Mer Hmlts the aggregate levy for any I . . ,, , ,, 100 - 90, Per Ct.'Per Ct For Burnoses. . 85.000 $229,100 .pavements 30.000 40,000 25.000 la.ooo 115.000 70,000 100.000 100.WI0 , Hf.otie 30,000 ,ooa 10,000 27.0W KOTO 22, SCO 112.(00 108.500 a.oo) 90,000 180.000 18.0JO Street cleaning ,v. Sewer maintaining Fire , Police street lighting I Water rent Blnklng- fund Public libraries Park Improvements. Judgment , 18.C0) Health O.Ono 11,040,000 1936,000 These specific limitations have been recklessly ignored Jn.' the past years, so much so that a large part of the pro- 1 ceeds of the refunding bonds recently I issued has been used for paying current I expenses In palpable violation of the charter. It la sought to Justify-this lawless I financiering on the plea that the neces sities of the cltv demand greater ex- nendlture than is authorised by the cUarter. That plea would not; answer wlth th. stockholders of anv other cor- nation and should not answer with tne taxpayers of Omaha. It is high I tnr Vn mivnp mnA nnnnnll trt nil derstand that they are not responsible for what may befall the city on account of charter limitations. Their duty is to expend the money legally at their dis posal and to stop there. v. A. flagrant Instance lu polut Is shown la the attempt to- saddle upon Omaha I n additional tax over $20,000 a year tor an Increased force m the Are depart I went under pretext that the new fire I engine house and new .apparatus will I compel the employment of aji add! I tional fire company. There is absolutely I no occasion, or excuse for such an In crease. Omaha wants the very best fire- - 1 fighting apparatus and the taxpayers j will not grudge the expense, although it I u a serious questlou whether we should j buy all this apparatus in' one year or distribute, the expenditure over a' num I ber of year. i Hut w by should, the new fire ap- - 1 paratus have to be manned by new 1 men? Why not dispose of the okl ap to paratus, close tbeTepth street and the I Harney street engine houses,-locate the men In the new Jackson street engine house and let them handle the new ap- pnrntns? The fire chief Is qnoted as I saying that the Itnrney street engine house must be kept up because It Is In the neighborhood tf two of the (arrest hotels. Do they maintain engine houses next to every hotel In Chicago, New Ynrlr and nthor InreA cities? fa not the .. I...... r-l K ir.f. VSIgliiV inning .rs aJiiitrt niu oii't I hp, within four blocks near enonehT We are told the Tenth street engine house should be maintained for the pro- tectlon of the jobbing district Will not th- now Jarkann street enrlne house In the heart of the district offer ample protection? Terhans the mavor and council mar not be aware of the fact that oti,er cities cut their garments according to thelf clpth. The city of St. Joseph, for example, claims a census population several hundretl greater than Omaha. Its jobbing houses are just as numerous as those of Omaha and do a much larger business, but the total cost of city gov ernment of Rt. Joseph is beloV half a million, while Omaha's municipal ex penses exceed $1,000,000. The payroll of, the Are department of St. Joseph for 1003 was $.8,Cnn and the expenditures for fire apparatus fot the year $14,000, making In ail $72,000, while Omaha during the same year expended more than double that amount Concede that St. Joseph was padded by 20.000 in the census, the divergence between the mu- nlclpnl expenses In St. Joseph and Omnha is still enormous. Grant that Omaha is a more progressive city and grant that its prospective growth is brighter than that of St. Joseph, there la still no valid reason why the ma' nlctpal expenses should go beyond the charter limit, which was liberal and ample for all purposes by an exercise bt reasonable economy. TJTS PANAMA COMMISSION. The names Of the members of the new Panama commission will be sent to the senate today and undoubtedly there will be prompt confirmation. It is Interest log to note that there is no politician on the commission, all the members being practical men and of the highest charac- ter and qualifications. It is a body in which the public can repose absolute counuence ana wmcn can uareiy De ex- pected to perform Its important duties intelligently and industriously, By the terms of the Spooner act the I commissioners shall each receive such compensation ns the president shall pre- scribe until the same shall have been otherwise flxetf by congress. This ques- tlon of compensation Is said to have given Tresldent Roosevelt some concern. He desires that they shall be amply paid, but as congress is bound to place a limit on the pay of the board and this limit is not likely to be large, te presi dent has naturally found the matter somewhat perplexing. It is thought probable that the. remuneration, powers and management of the cnnnl commis sion will follow closely the lines of the Philippine commission. The president of that commission . receives an, annual 1 salary of $20,000 and his four associates 1 ' . . I $15,500 each.1 In view 'of the fact that the canal Commissioners will be ex-L pected to visit and live for long periods 1 in a most unhealthy zone, .where they will virtually take their lives in their hands, this compensation could not be regarded as extravagant. " Asked If the commissioners Vill go to the Isthmus, the president la said to have replied : Every one of them. I would not ap point a single man on that commission who would not go to the Isthmus. ' I do not Intend, to have any long-distance guesswork done" on thnt canal. Every one of the Commissioners will be con versant with the actual conditions as tney exist in tnat strip or land. The president has had less difficulty In se- curing proper men for the commission than had been anticipated and the coun- try will heartily commend him for hav ing Ignored the politicians. ? COLLECTING TOR BCHOPt. The action of The Hague tribunal in imposing upon the United States the duty ofcarrjing out its decision In re gard to the claims against Venezuela has been somewhat shamlv criticized. and the question asked on what assur- ance ever given by our government did the court: base that provision of its awa-d. ft ia pointed out that there Is .1 no such stipulation in the protocols and that nowhere was there any expressed I nnderstanding that this country was to have anything to do with carrying out the award of The Hague court It is al leged that some one, when the Venez uela matter was pending, made an oral pledge committing our government to the performance of the task now im- posed on it by The Hague decision, but to n1 ln thirty days, but it didn't there appears to be no knowledge as to Th." panf" p" ,wh0 tr?et0 b,ow . , . . ,. , ," ., up the Manchurian railway bridge over who gave the pledge and it is altogether tne gungarl river are said to be still hang improbable that it was ever given. ing around.there. It is certainly not a pleasing task for our government to act as a collector of , , , . . European claims. In the opinion of the New York Times it la a business In which we cannot honestly or safely en- gage. Yet t Is not probable that our . ,,, . , government will encounter any serious difficulties in performing the task. It Is reasonably to be expected that Venez uela, ln view of the great obligation she la under to the t'nlted States,' will be disposed to make the performance of the duty imposed on this country as simple and as little troublesome as possible. Dut at best. It must be admitted, the work or collecting claims ror European added: "I fear there are too many-agrt-governments from an American republic I cuiturists In the senate." la anvthln7 hnr mrrwnhlp - . The big torpedo makers profess to be .... I i , lueaaeu wuu iu- uruiuu.iriuuU gitru vj the ltussian-Japanese conflict that their weapons of destruction are proving ef fective. It Is clear that. we will bare to have a war every little while to measure the progreea made ln the contrivance of death dealing devices even If we have to hunt far and wide for a pretext . With the couvictiou in the courts of the lott office department bribe takers. the chances for making democratic cam- palgn capital out of the late postal scau- dais are perceptibly waning. The aemo- crnts Would much have preferred to see the crooka go free, so as to be able to charge the administration with lack of energy In their prosecution and to ascribe the alleged miscarriage of jus tlce to political pull jn-UHHTiin unit- vire UUUUirurouri HI- -, n . . TaT Irom " "u' wblch tW conen,lon8' MCh aiming regularity, nave e.ecteu ue.egaies to me nt convention. Look out for fun St- I'"19- Control of the convention mnT turn on spa,,n of contesting aeiegations. it ii snail, mere win d lots of ginger Injected Into the preslden- tlal nom,nnt,on Wo are very' much afraid that the nerformances of the congressman from fhe Gmana dlstrlrt npon tne nnva, ap. proprlntlon bill effectually blocks all ex pectation of getting congress to provide money for" an armed flotilla on the Mis souri river at this point. The only con solation is that Council Bluffs must share the samQ. disappointment in this as Omaha. - . . ' It turns out that the new Cuban tariff Is not altogether satisfactory to Amer lean exporters, wfio think they suffer under discriminations by It. But the Sugnr trust people are not finding serious fault with its provisions, and as long as they are content to leave it as it stands the Cuban lawmakers are- not likely to manifest a disposition to change its provisions. The Bee's superiority as a newspaper over its would-be competitors in this, field is again exemplified in its war news service. Headers of The Bee are Betting as full, accurate and complete reports from the seat of the war be tween Russia and Japan as those of any I paper in the country outside of a few of the greatest metropolitan dallies. The fact that Omaha's new federal building has just been completed and formally turned over to the, government fifteen years after congress made the first appropriation for Its site and con- struction should lend encouragement to other cities having public buildings un der way. uncle Sam's builders move slowly but surely, That federal judgeship for the north' era district of Iowa has been held vacant altogether too long. While the Judicial business may not suffer seriously, the accumulation . of an unearned salary in the treasury at Washington is liable to Increase the surplus to the danger point A Mystery Intensified. Detroit Free Press. When the fact Is recalled that kissing- Is unknown among the Japanese their attempt to "Hobaonlaa" Port Arthur was a double folly, Not Isooltlne; tor TToable. St Louis Globe-Democrat. "There is no danger' of this country be- mmlnff tnvnlved in fhA .r."'Mva tlm tirea. ,det, so that silences another lot of fool. ishnesa. r A ' ' , What's Coming; to 'Em. - . Chicago Chronicle. Let the Japs take warning. Old General Klllemoff. the celebrated Colonel Dragem oft and the redoubtable Major Blowemhlgh akyakl are on their, way to the front-wlth blood In their eyes. Wonderful Feata la Langaage. Chicago Chronicle. T, Id n k. mmY,wA .tint V. a Ia4ln KUl9he1 noveiiats now at the seat of war have not yet described the first battle that was fought When, the do make connec tions with th events of the day there will be something fearful and wonderful In the way of language. - ' A Plctaresejaa Relle. Buffalo Express. The question of whether the sword of officers of Infantry shall be abandoned has been taken up by the general staff of the army. It is regarded by most officers as a 8eIe" ornament and an impediment on mu ninrcii, in iiiv ticiu aitu sit iiiu uou- room. Bull it Is a picturesque relic, and many will regret to see it go. It will con tinue to be used by lodges when they pa rade, but In the army it will be beaten Into plowshares. Watteraoa Takes to the Woods. Louisville Courier-Journal. jOne of the Courier-Journal's esteemed country cousins suggests, apparently with not unkindly intention, that "if Mr. Watter son wants to be a delegate in the next na- tional democratic convention he must get out among 'the boys and hustle for it." ?ha"k': bu nouldJh " for V1" " i"u' wiiini urn wuuiu nut sbm;i;vi;i um a rlftT He wm not ln tho ,tata conven- tlon or in the national convention. H haa already'entered luto profitable and agreea- uie ouugauuna wmcn during ine wnoie perlod of the sitting of the latter will take him far away from- St. Louis. PERSONAL. XOTES. The Russians predict that the war will end in August. The Civil war was going Phonographic records of Emperor Wll- " me,al "- I the first deposits made In the phonetlo -rchive. that . tw. vnt h,.. university and In the Congressional library nd the National museum at Washington, Ch"-1 nw- Jenkins of Corpus Christ!. Tex., a millionaire, has perhaps the oddest M of any co,,ector of curioB ,n th Unlte1 States, that of human skulls, ire has at present in his private museum its perfect human skulls gathered In all parts of the country. - Mr.' Tillman of South Carolina was talk ing In the senate of life on a farm. In the course of his remarks he said: "A farmer Is a man who makes his living with his hands, while an agriculturist Is a man who makea a living with his mouth." He Robert J. Burdette. Jr.. son of the wall I known humorist and lecturer, is now busily "'"fj?"' hl?.c.re'' ,a th, "me path " I that trod by his father. Por over a year ha n connectej wlth the editorial I dr part men t of the Burlington (Iowa) Hawkeyc," where twenty-five yeara ago or more nis ratner made a name fighting for a Nicaragua canal for I fifteen years and who has seen his favorite I project almost through congress several times, came out of the senate after the treaty providing for a Panama canal had been ratified. "Well, senator," said a friend, "it Is all Over." -yea," replied the actuator, "my canal troubles are all over and theirs have Just begun. W11ERH WAR RAGBS. . Gossip Aboat Places and People la Datile Array. Colonel Blr Howard Vincent. M. P., a writer on military subjects, discusses some phasea of the organisation of the Russian army In the Vnlted Service Magfiilne of Great Britain. "In marching," he says. "the Russian Infantry haa absolutely no equal. Nothing is omitted to develop and improve It. The vast hedgeleas country facilitates great extension In movement. and all that can be done to make the march cheerful and pleasant is done. "The Russian does not yield to the Ital ian in his love for song, or to the Spaniard in his love for dancing and fun. They sing every inch of the way and often a dancer will step tn front of his company and by merry carnival antics send the laughter round. That Is the way to get men along and to keep them gond tempered under ad verse conditions. The man who helps therein renders good service, and is let off some guard or fatigue, or gets an extra ration. How different to our comparatively dull, silent march In serried fours. 'The soldier who sings as he marches, marches to victory.' Bo wrote Lord Wolseley for a book of marching songs. Th Russian In fantryman is also a 'handy man.' There are few things ho cannot do, or will not try to do, if taken the right way. As fbr food, he never had much, even when grown, and as he rarely enters on a campaign under 23 or M years old he eacapes many constitutional dan gers of extreme youth. "It Is In mounted Infantry work that the world military Is now humbly following the ancient lead of Russia. Wholly apart from the sixteen regiments, with ninety-six sotnlas, oT Cossacks, the finest mounted In fantry In the world, equally good on horse or on foot, dare-devils to whom tiding and horsemanship are as much second nature aa to the old Boers of the Transvaal, there are flfty-stx regiments of dragoons. 'The Russian cavalry la organised In nineteen divisions of two brigades each, or, in other words, in eighty-five regiments. with, in war, E03 squadrons, with seven squadrons of mounted police. There are two divisions of cavalry of the guard, with ten regiments, four cuirassiers, the chava Her garde, the garde a cheval, the culro slers of the emperor and of the empress; two of dragoons, two of hussars and two of lancers. The heavy regiments have four squadrons, the light regiments have six each. "The horse provision for such an enor mous mounted force, each regiment of six squadrons requiring 1,000 horses, necessa rily entails, the most elaborate arrange ments. Practically every cavalry division has a remount establishment in the great horse breeding provinces of the southeast. There are also remount commissions. Each buys from 800 to 1,000 horses. The system of selection and distribution is complicated and difficult of explanation. Every infantry division has a field artillery brigade of from six to nine batteries of eight guns each attached to it and every cavalry division has in like manner a horse- artil lery brigade, with six guns to the battery. The field battery has about 250 men and 207 horses, and the horse battery 208 offi cers and men and 250 horses. The artillery Is now In process of rearmament with a three-Inch quick-firing gun of the most re cent pattern." i Harbin, the' Chicago of Manchuria, 600 miles north of Port Arthur and 350 miles west of Vladivostok, is said to be the ob jective of the Japanese land forces, Har bin is on the'fiungari river, a tributary of the Amur; the Chinese Eastern railroad connects it with Port Arthur on the'south and with the transslberian road on the north. When the Ice goes out of the Sun garl steamboats run In five days to Har borofsk, on the Amur, where railroad con nection Is made With Vladivostok- The Russians call Harbin the Moscow of Asia, It is in the midst of a country of wonder ful resources. The soil produces -corn, wheat, oats, barley, millet, tobacco, vege tables and some fruits. Vast tracts are under cultivation. The grazing lands are extensive, timber is plentiful and cheap and In the vicinity there is a wealth of minerals awaiting development. Admiral Togo, chief active commander of the Japanese navy, is about 66 years of age. He is not of princely or noble birth, but is a simple gentleman, a Samurat of the great Satsuma clan, as so many of his fellow officers are. His senior in rank, Admiral Count Ito (not to be confused with his namesake Marquis Ito), who was In chief command of the navy during the Chlno-Japanese war and Is now chief of the naval headquarters staff In Toklo, Is also a Satsuma Samurai and formerly the whole Japanese fleet was officered and manned by the Satsuma, ln the same way that the Japanese army was drawn from the Choshu clan. Nowadays neither navy or army is entirely given over to these. the two moat powerful . 6f the clans of Japan, but many men from all over tho empire are to be found In both services. When Togo entered the navy, however, Its whole personnel was Satsuma, Admiral Togo received a great part of bis education at the Naval college. Green wlch, England, where he went through the regular courses of Instruction current some thirty-odd years ago. He thus understands a good deal of the history, training and traditions of the British navy, and he has brought the knowledge thus acquired to bear on his own with excellent effect Returning to Japan, he was employed ln Various capacities. In 1894, when war he tan between China and Japan, he was ln commandVf the Nanlwa, a cruiser of 3.6i0 tons, one of the vessels composing what was then known as the first flying squad ron of the Japanese navy. During the war he greatly distinguished himself and earned the reputation of being a first-class fighting man. In person Admiral Togo is sshort, some what stout man, with full black beard and mustache, and a distinctly Japanese ap pearance. He Is not a great tamer; in deed. In manner he is somewhat reserved Above all, he in a good, resolute, deter mined, very courageous sailor, quick and ler? of perception, but calm and unpre clpltate in action. By no means are all of the Japanese small people, and among them there is a caste distinguished by gigantic stature namely, the wrestlers, who afford a very remarkable Illustration of what may be accomplished by artificial selection in the breeding of human beings for certain phys ical attributes. The wrestlers Intermarry only among themselves, and, the process having been carried on for several hundred years, both men and women of the caste are giants. Oddly enough, the men wno make a living in this profession eat and drink enormously, and are usually very fat' The emperor of Japan has one consola tion that has as yet been denied his pres ent enemy, the czar of Russia; he has a son, now grown to manhood and himself a father. Of this son much that is com mendable haa been said. He has been ed ucated both at home and abroad and Em peror Mutsuhlto feels that when his life's work Is done a worthy successor will per petuate the "line of emperors unbroken for sgeg eternal. WIJa eIIT Itf Chicago Record-Herald. WIJu remained open to the commerce of the world about twenty minutes, which was Just long enougb. for It to get on the map. DHRT-Bl RDENED EI SOPS, Clash of War Dlstarba the Flnanrlnt WorH. Philadelphia Press. Now, as during the corresponding rrlsls during the Spanish war, the danger before i the financial world conies from the enor mous increase in the past decade to public debts. The t'nlted States In the Inst tin years has added little to Its total public debt, federal, state and local. The fall of Interest has been so great that the Interest charge on the taxpayer has been reduced Instead of IncreSsed. Our Increase In se curities has been In the capitalization of "trusts" and railroads. If these collapse Individuals Buffer, but the foundations of public credit stand firm. European financial centers have made comparatively few additions to the capital stock of new enterprises. Kouth African mines have been exploited and expanded In that period, but their total Is not a third of our trusts alone. The railroad and In dustrial system of Europe yeara since reached a solid basis of shares and bonds, not much expanded even In booms under their stringent company acts. Public debts, however, have gone on ex panding at a reckless vrate. France for twenty years haa run behind nearly ltM.000. 000 a year. Russia in recent years has been running behind $ino,000,rmo a year and In the fourteen years, 18S7 to 19"1, Russia added IfiJO.OTO.OOO to its debt, nearly all for enterprises still unproductive. Spain has added $000,000,000 to its debt In the last ten yeara. These three countries In twenty years have added to their public debt nearly ss much as our present federal, state and local debt complete. Thl has gone on all over Europe. Even England has had to add heavily to Its debt to pay for the Boer war. and In five years has swollen its gross debt 135,000,000. The increase to Its local debt In the past twenty years Is nearly as large as the entire local debt In the Vnlted States, and we kick about the else of that all the time. The Interest eharge on these debts has been practically paid by new Issues. New public debt has been poured out in Europe for the past five' years. The result is that English, French, Russian and other na tional bonds have fallen a round 15 to 25 per cent before war came at all. English consols have fallen 7 points- tn four years, 113 to SB. Where would we be If "governments," federal" bonds, had dropped 27 points since the Spanish war? War now comes and adds to this burden. Every European nation must borrow this year. Not a European country, not even the German empire. Is living on Its income, though Prussia has an unexpected surplus. Great bankers are loaded with po,st issues. I Another great fall In public securities, gov ernmental bonds, is before them. They must sell to realise and the one market where securities are still salable is our )w(l. A steady stream of American shares and bonds will cross the ocean this year. Fortunately, this country Is perfectly sound nd without a weak spot visible anywhere, glad to take all foreign holdings as they come. GROWTH Or LIFE lSlItACE. Proportions he Business Has At tained In Recent Years. Brooklyn Eagle. The development of life insurance in the United States goes on apace among the companies devoted to 'this form of busi ness, in spite of the competing efforts of benevolent organizations that make In surance a specialty. Four companies in this country now enrry each upon their books more than 11,000.000,000 In politics. Of these one has established a record of $1,746,212,899; another Is a close second with $1,446,218,681: the third has $1,409,918,742. while the fourth passes the billion mark by $342,381,467. A fifth company is a promising candidate for the billion class with a total In policies of S331.2K8.813. Below these five leaders there ta a company which can show buslneBtnouhart.3 l.gtl.lM, end three which have, each, considerably more than $300,000,000 to their credit. There are also twelve companies, each with more than $100,000,000 In politics, and repre senting an aggregate Investment by pat rons of $1,748,337,989. In 1806 two companies for the first time touched almost simul taneously the $100,000,000 mark. These figures will give some idea of the proportions to which the life Insurance business has attained In recent years. No argument should be required to convince people of its value In every case where a man has dependent .upon him a wife or family who weuld suffer deprivation of or material reduction In Income by his death. But if the Insurance companies had no other custom than that derive! from men who insured entirely for the protection of their families the business would show rothtng like the tremendous development exhlhlted by It today. The endowment or Investment policies mainly account for the popularity of life Insur ance. A man at the age of 30 may take out an endowment policy payable twenty years later at an annual premium repre senting, say. 4'4 per cent of the face value of his policy which, for the sake of con venience, may be put at $1,000. ir ne ne alive at the age of 60 he will get -the mount of his policy plus several hun dred dollars representing the cash profits which all companies now apportion among their patrons. In making his annual payf ments for twenty years he Is therefore putting Just so much money away as an Investment. What Is true of the growth of fire insurance here Is true In lesser de gree of the business ln other countries. The annual increase In policies keeps pace everywhere with the increase ln popula tion. The American companies have made glgintlo strides ln the last few years. That they will continue to enlarge their several spheres In the immediate future is be yond all question. ' Demise Long Orerdae. Portland Oregonlan. ( The report of the death of Tsl An, dow ager empress' of China, which was current few days ago, has not been confirmed, it the pictures H at were printed of her im perial majesty ' " ir any resemblance to her her demise Is certainly long overaue. i-i us hope that the report Is true, or that the picture Is but a nightmare of the fevered brain of a starving artist who will not at tempt another sketch until his vital forces and artlstlo imagination have been recupe rated by a generous diet for aome days and restful slumber for many nights. So One Knows Hanna'a Fortune. New York Tribune, Various guesses are made at Senator Henna's fortune. The most conservative are willing to name $16,000,000. This la a subject, however, that the senator himself was not at all willing to discuss, one day a Cleveland newspaper ian, w Tery close terms with him, asked him point blank how much he was wonn. -mat, young man," he said, "Is something that I would not even tell my wire. Woman is supreme where ii morals" and Mothing like II for cooking. Kuf, S6.00; Lump, $6.50 double screened. Best coal mined In Wyoming. Teiechone 127 Victor White Coal Co. 1605 fanum MIGHTY FHH STIFF, apremerr of -Nebraska Batter Tested by Unt Years. Chicago Inter Ocean. .- , r A jar of butter placed In the spring? of n Nebraska farm fifty years ago slipped from a ledge, sank into the sandy bottom f the well and was lost. Recently a Tarty ft hunters resurrected the buried Jar and lounn ine nuuer to pe ns sweci as tne aay It was churned. A small quantity of the butter has been received by the widow of the man who owned the Nebraska farm half a century ago. Mrs. Decatur of San niego, Cal.; and some of the remainder, having been put Into cold storage, will probably be ex hibited at the St. Louis World's fair as the oldest butter known to be in exlstenre. Of course, there will be numerous dis putes ns a result of Jhls claJm and par ticularly In the 8t. Louls hoarding house. The nge of butter has always been, and probably always will be, a fruitful source of discussion and discord around boarding house tables, and these will not be lack ing during the festive season about to bo Inaugurated down there. In Imagination, one can hear Miss Jones, the school teacher from Rloomlngton, ask ing Mr. Rrown, the muslo professor from Kansas City, If he does not think that but ter can be preserved longer than fifty years, followed by Prof. Brown's remark that he knows from personal experience that butter can be preserved more than 100 years. And thereupon follows a run ning conversation, the burden of which Is that the butter on the table must have been churned long before Nebraska was organized as a territory. ', And In Imagination also one can hear the veteran boarder from Omaha offering , odds of 10 to 1 with the str boarder from Memphis that he found the hairs of 'ani mals long extinct in the butter Mrs. Har ris served yesterday. Just here the regu lar boarder, who gets a rebate for de fending the house, declares In a feeble voice that people who are brought up on axle grenso do not know how to appreciate the genuine fresh creamery article manu factured at the East St. Louis stock yards. And so forth. It is unfortunate . that the "fifty-year-old Jar of butter should be discovered on the heels of the announcement that we have been eating chickens and eggs of the fire find Colombian exposition period all winter. It will simply have the effect of ' making life harder for tho St, Louis board ing house keepers, who must be outwardly calm while boarders recite In oil the ac cents of a cosmopolitan population Jokes concerning the antiquity of boarding house provender that have been current in the country slnco the earliest colonial days. THIS COlXTnY'S COIMMCR Bl'SIXESS. Producer and Conanmer of One-Half the World's Ontpnt. New York Sun. - The world production of copper is now a little less than 600,000 bins a year, and the T'nlted States supplies about 65 per cent of it. Twenty-five years ago our annual out put approximated 25.000 tons. The produc tion for 1908 Is estimated at nearly 82COW tons, or about tHIrteert times that of a quarter of a century ago. ' During that time tho total output of all the other count of the world haa only a little more than doubled. The United States Is now the great cop per center of the world. In addition to our home product, we import from Canada, Mexico, Tasmania and elsewhere, In various forms of ore, regulus, bars, ingots, etc., a quantity approximating 45 per cent of the weight of our domestic copper. The major portion of this comes as ore and regulus for smelting and refining In American es tablishments. Out of the total thus produced snd Im ported for treatment we export, taking the average for the last five years, about 126,000 tons a year,, leaving, the ..United States the actual consumer of nearly 60 pea cent of the world's output. MIRTH PI L REMARKS. Weary Willie What's your Idee on pen sions? Dusty Rhodes Well, I think every man who hasn't worked for twenty years orter have one New York Sun. "Aren't you afraid that a great mnny people will criticise you for becoming rich?" "Yrs," answered Senator Sorghum. "But the chnnces are that if I had stayed poor they wouldn't have noticed me even tht much." Washington Star. Judge The complaint aRulnst you is that you deserted your wife. Prisoner I ain't a deserter. Judge. I'm a' refugee. I,oTk at these welts on my head and this black eye. Chlcugo Tribune. Real Eatate Agent You really ought' to buy the house. Now, If you and your wife will only discuss the matter thoroughly Peckliam Oh! That's out of the question. We never discuss things; the most we can ever do Is dispute about them. Philadel phia I'reas. Mr." Ooodleiah I m surprised at . Don't you believe that honesty pays. Ill tlm long run? Mr. Skinner Oh, yes; but I'm short winded. Town Topics. . The Japanese and Russian armies were facing each other for the first time. With dnybreok would come a decisive battle. The stillness of the night was suddenly shattered by a most astounding series of crashes, explosions and rumblings from the Russian camp. The outburst threw consternation among the Japanese. The Mikado's tlcld commander leaped from his quarters. "Colonel," he Commanded his aide, "have a sound of the best scouts sent out at once to find out whence comes this portentous noise." "Ha, ha," laughed a N Russian prisoner, and they asked him why. Why?" said he, "my erstwhile compan ions are merely answering roll call." New York Sun. SIMIIXG WILL. COME AG'Itt. New York Sun. I kind o' dread the winter's cold, the wind an' Ice. an' snow: Don't like tn ba all bundled up like -some ol' Eskimo. Don't Ilka to see the cattle Stan' an' shiver in the lane, Nor see the roosters on one laJg es tho they suffered pain. I like to Jiev my slwvus rolled up, so' ol' wide-brimmed strhw hat, An' summertime, an' llmbw J'lnts, an' free dom au' all that. An' .all the comfort 1 kin git when ton-tin" foot an' tiliin . . . Is In the thought that by an' by the spring will come ug'lii. I ain't young like I uster be, my blood is thick an' tilow-, . An' I Jes' dread the wintry gales, the sllp'ry Ice an' snow. Don't like a he.l that's cold es Ice, or frosty winder lights, Or kiti liena In the moniln's when the fire goes out o' nlghtn. I like the "crick" all clear UV Ice, the boat tied on 1 lie shore, An' hev a chance to try ray han' at pick erel once more. . An' all the comfort I kin git when winter keeps me in Is in the thought that after all the spring will come ag'ln. she is careful of millinery and fhe use of Jl t 1 ..-- U a,. -, : r I