10
THE OMAIIA DAILY REE; SATURDAY, MAY 21, 1901.
Tim omaiia Daily bee.
B. ROSE WATER, EDITOR.
PUBLISHED EVERT MORNINO.
TEHMS Or SUBSCRIPTION.
tll! Bee (without Sunday). Off Tear..$40
knliy ne nn.1 Bifioay, unl rear...... v
IfluMrated Bee. One Tear J)
fl.inday P.ee. One !n?
Saturday Bee. One Year iw
Twentieth Ontnrv Farmer, One Year.. 1.00
DELIVERED BT CARRIER.
xllv He (without Sunday). rfr crpy.. 2'
Pillv Pee (without Sunday), per we.-k..l?i
Dally He. (Inclddlng Sunday), per week.. lie
Punrlav Bee. r-r fP 60
Evening Bm (without Sunday). I" week So
Evening Dec (Including Sunday), per
wc.k , 13
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should be addressed to City Circulation
department
OFFICES.
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CORRESPONDENCE.
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REMITTANCES.
Remit by draft, express or postal order,
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C'aly 2-cent stamps received In payment of
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THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY.
STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION.
State of Nebraska, Dougias County, se.t
George B. Tischuck. secretary of The B
Fublixhlng Company, being duly sworn.
W that the actual number of full and
complete copies- of The Dnilv. Mornln.
kivenlng and Sunday Bee prime t during lb
'. 80.S40 16.., 80.2A0
1 so. 1 no it xn,mo
I aa,sio it 80.KM1
4 so.iso u m.tmu
1 3o,noo k ss.kho
S. 80.S70 . SI........,. 80,000
) 8O30O 22 80,200
so.oou fci ao.ooo
f O.lOO 24 M.500
10 , 8 7,100 23 SO.ttM
If. 80.0OO 28 S0.H4O
U 8O.OV0 27 M0340
11 S,040 28 BU.OH0
It,.... 80.1MO JO 80.1H0
It...... 80,870 tU 81U4i
Total 8UU.OSO
Lew unsold and returned copies.... l),bl
Set total sales tts,104
Net average sales ito.sao
GEO. B. TZ8CHUCK.
'Subscribed In my presence and sworn to
before uio tills 2d Ctiy of May, A. l. UOi,
U.Seal) M. B. HUNGATE.
. Notary Public.
TColoncl Bryan 1s sure the Democratic
Success Icngua is beading straight for
democratic defeat.
a -
Illinois republicans will take a week
ti think It over while the candidates
ajso do a little considering.
? 1 j ssa
r.The question box. Is uot likely to be
engrafted as a regular feature on the
Ijroffrara of our republican state conven
tions. (f.t teems that the Kansas City plat
form is the ghost of Banquo that will
riot down in the democratic piny of
Hamlet.
r ' t
tltecent events would Indicate that
Russia is wiser In trusting to the Ood
oT Battles than to Its generals for the
discomfiture of Its enemy.
.
,To Judge from Its advice to Instructors
14 Methodist schools,1 the general con
ference must believe. In the adage,
close mouth shows a wise head."
Reports from all over Nebraska are
that crop prospects were never better
at this season of the year. In other
words, continued prosperity is ahead of
us.
lt is but natural that, having had ex
perience In the real thing, a Colorado
foman should forge to the front in the
political arena of the Woman's Federa
tion. , ( '
j e " I' l,
i.ColoneI Bryan dobs hot say he will
bolt the convention, but In his latest
Interview he seems to leave the door
oy en so he can get out in a hurry if be
fc desires.
Jt belligerents are turning mines loose
Itf the Yellow sea to float at random,
General Miles' prediction of other ca
tions becoming involved In the present
w,ar may yet find fulfillment '
ItU8Hla feels that the loss of Japanese
vjpssels has made the enemy more nearly
equal In war strength to the Muscovite
empire, which Is a damaging admission
for the largost country of Europe.
EThe successful candidate for the re
publican nomination for state auditor
balls from a county that bad only three
delegates to represent It in the state
convention. But he made those three
votes count.
pow that there is- no primary election
contest in tight, the Civic Federation is
feeptng a wee 'still voice. It tuny be
expected to break out again, however,
a soon as-it sees another chance to
Oiake, political capital for the spurious
reformers
It has reached a point where the theory
of war has to give awHy to stem facts
in the far east and the occasion finds
both commanders apparently somewhat
disconcerted which may atuount for
the mutual retreats which are being
heralded. ' '
he mayor of Des Motues has received
a bouquet in the form of a church en
dorsement of his administration. The
mayor of Omaha has done lots of things
at the demand of the church minister,
but never ho much as got a public
"thank you." .
The chief c liar go brought by the local
reorganise f.gnlnat the "peerless
leader" Is that his devotlou to whnt be
imagines to be deiuocrutle principles bus
led blni to hand over or at leant to try
(o .baud over nil the, putronage worth
having to popullut pleblters.
4 Thibet could not tuke a more certain
etep toward becoming an unwilling pnrt
of the British empire tlmn by renounc
ing allegiance to the central government
of China, for with the retlllon of
Thibet the real partition of China would
begin and Britain would claim Its share.
XAXOlTtLt HAILHOAU PROPS HtT.
Two years ago the Bute Board of Rail
road Assessment, then connituig of
Governor Savage, Auditor Weston and
Treasurer Htuefer, assessed the railroads
of Nebraska on their tunglble property
without regard to the value of their
franchises. When called before the su
prenie court on the application of The
Bee Building company the board ad
mltted that it had not taken Into ac
count the value of the franchises be
cause the statute was not clear regard
Itijr the assessment of the franchises
This action was regarded by the rail
rond attorneys as a dead give-away of
the case and they thereupon Induced
Auditor Weston and Treasurer Stuefer
to contradict their original statement in
an amended answer In which they
claimed to have assessed the railroad ns
going properties that derived their tax
able value not merely from the value of
their rlght-of-wny. roadbed, rails and
rolling stock, but by reason of their use
as public highways..
This plea furnished the supreme court
the excuse for reversing itself by re
fusing to grant the writ ordering the
state board to reconvene and add to the
Assessment of the tangible property of
railroads the valtte of their franchises
based on their capitalization and earn
lugs, as the court bad only a few months
previously done by mandamuslng the
city council of Omaha to reconvene and
re-assess the street railways, water
works,, gas and electric lighting com
panles on their franchise, as well as on
their tangible property.
In reality the pretended assessment
of the tangible property of the railroads
of Nebraska has been a farce and a
fraud for n number of years past. There
Is no record in the state house to show
what Value the various assessment
boards bad placed upon the right-of-way,
terminals, roadbed, depots and other
Improvements on the right-of-way of
any railroad, or upon any particular
class of equipment that constitutes their
rolling stock. All that the state boards
had done previously was to assess rail
road properties in a lump at so much
per mile, with the franchise dumped In,
and ench successive board simply
adopted the preceding assessment with
a few trifling changes.
In view of the fact that the new rev
enue law expressly requires the state
board to include in the assessment of
railroads cot merely their tangible prop
erty, but also the value of their fran
chises, based upon earnings and market
value, it is immaterial what proportion
of the total value of a railroad consti
tutes the tangible and what proportion
the' Intangible property, providing al
ways that the aggregate valuation fairly
represents the actual value of the prop
erty. Inasmuch, however, as the board Is
now proceeding to ascertain the value of
the tangible property of each railroad
despite the fact that the rolling stock of
these various systems is used over the
whole system, we venture to make a
tew suggestions to the board.
To make a correct appraisement of
tangible property the board should take
as its-basis tho cost of reproduction.
The value of any tangible piece of prop
erty Is what it would cost to reproduce
It, or to buy it under existing market
prices. This applies not merely to roll
ing stock and trackage, .but also to the
right-of-way. It .is Immaterial how
much a railroad paid for its right-of-way
or whether it was secured by outright
donation. The question is, what could
It be bought for now? But what con
stitutes the right-of-way of a railroad
in Nebraska? On the main line of the
Union Pacific .the right-of-way Is a strip
of land 400 feet wide and 407 miles
long. The right-of-way of other rail
roads varies from 100 to 200 feet In
width. The right-of-way of most of the
railroads of the country is only from
60 to 80 feet wide.
Next come the valuation of the termi
nals aud depot grounds. These are not
merely so much acre property to be
valued at farming land prices, but lands
worth millions of dollars, because of
their location In the business districts
Of large cities, and especially their util
ity for the distribution of commodities
to factories, mills and jobbing bouses.
Next to the right-of-way and terminals
comes the roadbed. It goes without say
ing that the roadbed of the Union Pa
cific main line, ballasted with Wyoming
granite, is worth enormously more then
the roadbed of lines ballasted with lime
stone, gravel or mud. The tarns radical
divergence applies to the trackage of
the various roads. The valuation of
viaducts, culverts and bridges is alto a
most serious and difficult problem, be
cause nobody but an expert Is qualified
to estimate the cost of their duplication.
- When it comet to the rolling stock the
flret question la, What la the value of
a locomotive, a passenger coach, sleep
ing car. or a freight car? The ouly cor
rect estlmato of their value Is their
present cost In the machine shop and
factory. In order that the board may
not bo In the dark concerning this class
of tangible property,-a few figures from
the reports of the various railroads nt
to the prleet paid by them In 1903 for
new equipment mny be of value.
The Union Taclflc returns, first-class
locomotives at $11,000, necond-elasa at
$7,000 and third-class at $:i,0()0. The
Union rnclfle purchased In 1003 forty
three loeomotlret of all classes nt a cost
of $724,484, or an average per locomo
tive of $l,S4a4S.
The Chicago & Northwestern returns
its first-class locomotives at $10,000,
sccondK-lnss at $7,0mj and third-class at
$.VO0, but Its directors' report for 1903
shows on expenditure of $55,020 for four
psssenger locomotives at $1S,7.5; $117.
451 for nlno freight locomoUves, or
$1S,0U& each, and the value of new pas
senger and freight cars, bult by the
Chicago & Northwestern at Its own
snops, which should be a fair standard
for til other railroads, la a follows:
Firtt-clast passenger coaches, $fl,(H5;
postal cars, $tl,2tl2; combination cars,
$4,500; baggage cart, fLISS; furnlturu
cars, $087.&V box cars. $770, and C
cars, $402.57.
The Rock Island returns flrst-elnss lo
coraotlres at $9,000 nd second-class at
$0,000. while the Chicago, St. Paul, Mln
neapolis & Omaha returns first-class lo
comotives at $11,004, second class $0,73fl
and thlrdlnss $2,400.
The report of the Missouri Pacific
directore for 1903 shows that that com
paily purchased seventeen freight loco
motives at $15,088 each, ,tliree Faclflc
type locomotives at $17,088 nnd threo
switch engines at $13,501, which shows
that new first class locomotives cost at
least $17,000, second-class $15,000 nnd
third class $13,500. That is also the
average cost of locomotives purchased
by the Great Northern and Burlington
The trouble with the tangible property
assessment, however, will be that the
returns of rolling stock are made for
each system a9 a whole and the propor
tion with which Nebraska Is credited
Is not according to mileage, but accord
Ing to wheelnge. This Is deceptive, be
cause wheelnge estimates are based on
the assumption that all the commodities
transported over a road nre of the same
value and conveyed at the same rate,
and also assumes that the wheelnge of
trains hauling freight over the level
grades of Nebraska are the same as
over the steep grades, across the moun
tains of Colorado and Utah, when In
fact there Is double wheelnge at one end
of the rond ns compared with the other,
and consequently Nebraska gets the
worst of it In a wheelage estimate.
k iriHVUSS'lX FACTIONAL TIGHT.
The factional fight In the republican
party of Wisconsin Is regrettable. It
will not affect materially, if at all. the
Vote for the candidates of the Chicago
convention, since the factions are- not
divided on presidential electors, but It
may result In placing the democratic
party in control of the state adminis
tration nnd in electing a legislature thnt
will choose a democrat to succeed Hon.
Joseph V. Qunrles In the United States
senate. This would be unfortunate for
Wisconsin and to some extent a detri
ment to the republican party at large.
The ostensible ground of the fight on
Governor La Follette is opposition to a
third term, but It Is hardly to be doubted
thnt the real reason Is the persistent
effort he hns made to compel the rail
roads to pay their just share of state
taxation. For the last four years he has
earnestly labored In this direction and
has consequently Incurred the relentless
enmity of the corporations and the poli
ticians who are under the influence of
the corporntlons. Of course there Is
no open mnnifestatlon of this. ,The men
who are antagonizing La Follette do not
publicly proclaim that they are doing
so in the interest of the corporntlons.
But the connection of some of them
with the railroads In the past, if not at
present, Is well known and the obliga
tions under which this placed them they
have not forgotten. Governor La Fol
lette having labored assiduously for the
public Interest where this was antago
nized by the corporations, there is now
arrayed against him those who have
profited politically or otherwise through
the support of the railroads and who
hope for further favors from the same
source. y , ..;
This , element will be responsible if
Wisconsin should this year elect a'demo
cratlc governor and so far as the cor
porations are concerned they are doubt
less quite indifferent as to the result
since they are probably able to dictate
who the democratic cnndldnte shall be.
The republican plurality in Wisconsin
in 1900 was 100,581, so that the state is
absolutely safe on the presidential ticket
this year and will probably give as
large a plurality for Roosevelt, as it
gave for McKlnley fouf years ago. It
is very much to be regretted that a
factional quarrel renders doubtful the
election of a republican governor and
legislature. '
LABOR OS' TBS JBTBMVB.
The question of securing an adequate
supply of labor for the construction of
the Panama canal does not appear to
be causing the commlsBlon any solici
tude at present, yet it is by no meant
certain that It may not do to when the
work Is fully entered upon. The report
of Colonel Black of the United States
engineer corps, who baa been investi
gating conditions on the isthmus, states
that there are now fully 15,000 negroes
there who are clamoring for an oppor
tunity to work on the canal and be is
of the opinion that all of the common
laborers needed for the work, probably
40,000, enn be secured from the Carib
bean countries. An obstacle, to this,
however, It already presented vin the
action of the government of Jamaica in
placing a tax upon the emigration of'
laborers from that Island.
It Is to be noted that Jamaica tup-
plied the great bulk of the labor for
the operations of the French canal com
pany and most of the labor now on the
Isthmus came from that Island. This
fact shows that few people from other
parts of the West Indies could be In
duced by the French canal builders to
go to Pannmn, so thnt It Is by no means
certain thnt many enn now be secured
from this source. Indeed It Is stated
thnt all the West Indian governments
Just now nre very sore on the subject
of labor emigration and probably strin
gent legislation, designed to prevent It
will be enacted In most of the Islands
before the appeal for laborers for the
canal Is made. A correspondent of the
New 1'qrk Sun who Is evidently well In
formed anys that while It may not be
Impossible to obtain the necessary labor.
It will certainly 1e a task of Immense
difficulty and will probably cost far
more than Uncle Snm expects to pay.
He thinks the labor problem Is likely to
dclny the work seriously. Our govern
ment will doubtless be a much more
liberal employer than the French coru
pnny and conditions of living 011 the
Isthmus will be greatly Improved, con
siderations that will count heavily with
the people whose labor It Is desirable
to obtain.
Omaha people nre thankful that the
work of street repairing is under way.
But the pavements ought never to have
been allowed to reach the present con
ditlon of bad repair, and they would
not had not the warring paving contrac
tors preferred to see the streets go to
ruin than to let the other fellow get the
job.
Missouri scandals have no end. Now
It Is the speaker of the house of repre
sentatives who is Involved, being found
guilty of mutilating the records of the
supreme court. As his client was a
murderer and not a St. Ixuls boodler, It
Is possible that the attorney will be
dleba rred.
Moved to Amend.
Washington Post
Mr. Bryan proposes to write a book of
his "Political Reminiscences." We sug
gest that "Pollticnl Lamentations" would
be a more appropriate title.
Nothing- to Talk Aboat.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Practically all of the great questions of
the day have been settled by the repub
lican party. There IS no Issue before the
country. No wonder Judge Parker can"t
talk.
Ceaseless Worry.
Louisville Herald.
"Most of our worry Is," according to a
wise man, "due to the anticipation of
things that never happen." A possible ex
planation of Colonel Bryan's worry about
the reorganize electing" a goldbug demo
crat president of the t'nlted States. It
can't happen, colonel.
The Commerrlallslnar Spirit.
Brooklyn Eagle.
With the keenest money grabbers
on
earth, with the commercializing of every
interest, even politics, why this urging of
more commercial education? Let's have
leas of that and more of the education
that made moral and happy men and
women. Still, If we must have bookkeep
ing taught, It might as well be taught
correctly. .
Patriots at a. Discount.
Philadelphia Press.
Cuba Is having the usual trouble In mak
Ing out Its pension rolls, It . borrowed
135,000,000 to pay the liberators, but when It
oomes to distribute the money it finds that
large proportion of the claims have been
sold for 20 per cent of their face value,
Whether or not to pay the men presenting
the claims that rest on such transactions
Is the question. About 70.009 names are on
the rolls, but it la fairly certain that one-
half that number represent men who never
performed any eervlce for the republic.
Roosevelt In the Campaign.
Kansas City Journal.
There Is especially little occasion for Mr,
Roosevelt to participate actively In this
year's contest. It has been but a short
time since he mads an excellent tour of
the country, and on that tour he showed
himself to hundreds of thousands of his
countrymen and made speeches defining his
views upon almost all pending public ques
tions. Those speeches, together with his
previous and subsequent career, In and out
of the presidency, have made his per
sonality and his policies aa well known as
those of any Amerloan statesman ever were.
THE RESCL'S: OF NIAGARA.
Raid of Promoters Cheeked by Hew
York's Governor.
Chicago Record-Herald.
Governor Odell of New York baa not
escaped without criticism because of his
tolerance of certain bills of evil ante
cedents that passed the general assembly,
but his action In vetoing the Niagara
power bill will bring him much praise, not
only from his own state, but from all parts
of the union.
The very existence of the Amerloan falls
at Niagara was threatened by as ruthless
and greedy a gang of speculators in publio
property as ever got together for a raid.
These men desired unlimited rights to take
Water from the American side of the river
above the falls. They desired unlimited
rights to condemn property in all part of
the state In connection with their power
distribution plant. And they did not pro
pose to pay a cent to the state for what
they Vere to receive. Had they gained
their desire the American falls would soon
have become nothing more than dry rock.
On the Canadian side Of the faUS. the
government of Ontario has granted! several
power franchises, but it has taken pains to
limit the amount of water that may be
abstracted, and It baa secured a high rate
of compensation from the companies It has
chartered. Governor Odell was moved by
this example, as well as by the many pro
tests he received, to veto the destructive
'grab" to which the legislature had shown
Itself so sympathetic
It Is believed by geologists that through
the natural processes of erosion the Amer
loan falls will disappear in the course of
some tens or hundreds of thousands of
years. But surely nobody but our up-to-date
American promoters and gang legis
lators could possibly see In that fact an
exouse for hastening the disappearance.
OIK INDEPENDENCE.
Almost KTerytblnn- Needed bjr the
Amerloan People Prodaeed Here.
New York Sun.
It la the boast, especially In campaign
times, of many statesmen' that If a wall
should be constructed around the United
Btatea, closing In the whole territory from
the Atlantlo to the Paclflo and from British
America to Mexico, it would be possible
to grow, mine or produce every particle
needed by the eighty or more millions of
people of the United States without sending
broad for anything. In the main, tins
statement is true, and the United Btates
is the only country In the world of which
It Is true; but there are some Imports whloh
the United States must get from abroad or
do without. 1
The chief article which Is In such de
mand by the people of the United States
as to be, in fact, a necessity of life. Is cof
fee. It is not produced here and comes
almost exclusively from BraalL
Another item of necessary Import is tea,
not raised to any appreciable extent In the
United States, but shipped here from China
and Japan In almost equal amount. These
are the chief items that the United States
must Import, but not the only ones.
Chemicals In large amount are imported
Into the United Btates, and along with them
drugs; Germs ny being the chief country
of shipment of the former, and South
Amerlcon ports for the latter. Cork and
quicksilver, both from Bpaln. are not pro
duced here, and a very large Item of Im
port to the United Btatea la goat shins.
niamonCe, spices, raw silk, sponges,
rubber, furs, cocoa nuts, cocoa and some
fruits are Imported into the United Btates
without great competition with American
products. But prsctlcnlly with these ex
ceptions, the United BtsifS produces or. Is
able to produce, grow, mine or manufacture
everything that It needs without sending
abroad for It. or without being under the
necessity of buying outside of Its borne
market.
OTHER LARDS THAI OIRS.
A report that the Russian prisoners taken
by the Japanese are Poles from Warsaw
recalls experiences with the Polish troops
In the Russian army during the Russo
Turklsh war of 1STT.' Soon after the pass
age of the Danube desertions became so
numerous from the Polish regiments that
It began to look as If they were precon
certed, there being a number of Poles In
the Turkish army, some on the staff, but
they were soon stopped. The scouting
corps of the Turkish army to which the
Polish deserters gave themselves up was
composed of Circassians, who Invariably
murdered them and brought In their head
and rifles as evidence of having killed aa
enemy. Eventually this became known la
the Russian army, with the result that thi
Poles became aa anti-Turkish as the Rus
slans themselves. Inasmuch as It may be
assumed that In the present war the Japa
nese will treat humanely all Russian prls
oners, the experience of the Turkish war Is
not likely to be repeated, and fortunately
for the Japanese, since the loyalty of all
the soldiers wearing the cxar's uniform
cannot be assumed.
For the first time In twenty years the
British Indian government has granted a
remission of taxation, and a large one.
At the same time the revenue has In
creased In the five years of Lord Curson't
reign by more than 11 per cent and the
yearly budgets have shown surpluses aver
aging tlS, 000,000. To Increase revenue arid
at the same time to decrease taxation is
great achievement. But this is not all.
Gold and silver are flowing Into India from
other lands at the rate of llt.OCO.OOO a year,
and deposits In savings banks, of which
nine-tenths are made and owned by In
dians, have Increased by more than 50 per
cent since 1870. The railroad system U be
ing extended at the rate of nearly 1.000
miles a year and Is now paid for and yield
ing a handsome profit. Such Items make a
gratifying and auspicious showing. They
Indicate that the Indian empire Is be'ng
well governed. But there Is something
more. The empire is being more and more
governed not only for the Indians, but also
by the Indians themselves. The Indian
civil service Includes 26,908 places, with
salaries of from $.100 to $4,000 a year. Of
these no fewer than 16,233 are filled by na
tive Indians and only 6,205 by Europeans,
the other 5,420 being filled by "Eurasians."
The showing on. the whole Is a vindication
of the Imperial rule.
It Is urged that members of Parliament
should receive a salary. In order that per
sons of small means may serve In that
body. The agitation for a salaried House
of Commons la of long standing, but the
movement has mado little progress. The
National Democratlo league has Issued a
manifesto addressed "To the Democracy"
favoring the payment of members of
Parliament and their election expenses out
of the public funds. The manifesto sets
forth that. In view of the Impending disso
lution of Parliament and the "probable ac
cession to power of a liberal ministry," the
time Is opportune for democratlo reforms.
It Is urged that the proposal to pay mem
bers Is not an untried Innovation, but a re
turn to an old constitutional custom; that
there can be no genuine "people's parlia
ment" until this practice has boen re-estab
lished. It is declared that electioneering
expenses at present are alone sufficient to
deter a poor man from becoming a candi
date, and that Parliamentary representa
tion Is a monopoly of the wealthy. It Is,
therefore, demanded that the first budget
In the expected new Parliament shall con
tain provision for Parliamentary salaries.
The democratic electorate Is called upon to
exact a distinct pledge from every candl
date to support measures securing the "re
form." The Indications are that the prop
osition will be coldly received by the elec
tors, and that It will hardly rise to the
dignity of an Issue. The financial burden of
Great Britain is sufficiently heavy to dis
courage new obligations, to say nothing of
the slight appeal the proposals will make
to conservative voters.
It Is reported from South Africa that
brigandage hat broken out In the. Trans
vaal, and that a band of marauders, about
200 strong, has been operating In the moun
tainous Lydenburg district In the north. It
Is said to be composed of men recruited
among the riff-raff of Pretoria and Johan
nesburg, of whom seven were captured
about the middle of last month, the re
mainder breaking up Into small parties
that retired Into the back country. It Is
not known what Importance is to be at
tached to the presence of this organization.
tne authorities being very reticent on the
subject; but It le,hoped that the examina
tion or tne prisoner taken may give some
clew to the matter. The capture of the
seven men gave rise to the wildest rumors
and the British government has been urged
not to make any further reductions In the
garrisons In South Africa for the present
Efforts will be made in tha meantime to
find employment for the many who have
been left Stranded by the ending of the
war and the slackness of work, while the
habitual vagrants and undesirables, of
whom there are a great number, will be
deported.
SM
The convention recently signed In Rome
on behalf of France and Italy Is of general
interest. It relates to the conditions of
labor of Italians In France and of French
men In Italy. As there are only 10,000
French workmen In Italy, while nearlv
100,000 Italians are working In France. Italy
seems to have the better of It This Is
said to be the first international treaty
containing mutual engagements- regarding
legislation affecting labor. Neither state
seeks to Interfere with the domestlo laws
of the other, but each, In drafting fresh
legislation, will take Into aeoount that of
the other country. The adhesion of Franc
to any International conference concerning
the unification ef the conditions of labor
will entail the adhesion of Italy, and vice
versa. . Existing conditions In the two ooun
tries are far from being unlrorm, and It Is
recognised that an equalisation of working
hours and the equal protection of women
and children In all countries would be bene.
ficlal In many respects. The convention
prohibit night work by women and chll-
flren, and the employment In factories of
children under 1J years of age. It stipulates
for one day's rest In the week, and the
limitation to eleven hours of child labor.
It will necessitate In Italy an Inspection
of factories similar to that existing In
other countries. Moreover, It Is agreed that
aa both countries possess postofflce savings
banks, a Frenchman In Italy with money
In the French savings bank shall be able
to secure payment of hlH deposit from the
Italian savings bank, Italians In France,
of Course, enjoying a similar privilege,
Settlements of compensation for accident
Will be effected on a similar principle.
Web, Davis ns n Sleuth.
Kansas City Stnr. .
Ther Is no apparent reason why the
stunt of Sherlock Holmes should not fit
Webster Davis quite nicely. To land two
Boer blackmailer the very first crack out
of the boa was quite a trick. There will
be persons In Kansas City who will give
the hone laugh to Davis' pretensions aa a
detective, because he never sucoeeded In
running down the miscreant 10 shot him
through the hat.' But that was different.
In his testimony before the mnglstrate In
New York yesterday pavls said: "About
that time there was much publicity given
to a story that I had received a large sum
of money from the Boer government" And
then he didn't deny lb
13
IjL. r vl J 3D. 1 m ill
Greatest Aid to Cookery &
' With least labor and trouble it makes
hot-breads, biscuit and cake of finest II
flavor light, sweet, appetizing and ty
issuredly digesjlend wholesome.
NO NATIONAL DEFICIT.
Democratlo Assertion Drawn
from
Overripe Imagination.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
It seems rather strange that the demo
cratlo newspapers Juat now should be
chortling with Joy over an alleged deficit
In the national treasury, especially as no
such deficit exists. The remarkable feature
I that the democratlo party is the only
one that ha ever 00 me anywhere near
producing a deficit by means of legislation
which destroyed not only the national In
come, but the domestlo business prosperity.
In the last Cleveland administration there
were bonds Issued to the extent of $362,-
000,000 in a time of peace, while the Wilson-
Gorman tariff bill cut revenue down to
the lowest point in many years.
The democratic pre Is now . declaring
that there Is a deficit In the operations for
this year. It Is not true. What Is meant
by a deficit Is the difference between the
ordinary receipt and the ordinary ex
pense of government. It Is true that up
to date we have paid out more money
from the. treasury than has been paid Into
it slnoe the beginning of tho last fiscal
year, but It Is as Absurd to call that a
deficit a to say that the man who In
vested money in paying for Invested securi
ties was losing money. The condition of
the treasury last Saturday as given In the
official reports showed that the receipts
had been $472,000,000 and the ordinary ex
penses had been $468,000,000. This latter
sum Inoludes the $5,000,000 given to the St.
Louis exposition, which is not an ordinary
expenditure. It Is true that In addition
to the above there has been expended $41,
000,00$ for the Panama canal, and $4,500,000
has been loaned to the St. Louis exposition,
which I to be returned. 60 that, as a
matter of fact, there Is an actual surplus
for the year of several million. The canal
was paid for out of the accumulated sur
plus, aa every sane man knows, being so
provided for In the law, and after this ha
been done, and, after $180,000,000 ha been
placed In the gold reserve fund, there Is
still In the treasury an unexpended balance
of $122,000,000. ' I
Do the democrat objeot to paying for
the canal? Or do they prefer that extra
taxes be raised for the purpose while mil
lions of money He idle in the treasury t
They have been shouting themselves hoarse
for years about .taxes. It Is our opinion
that it was unwise to repenl many of the
internal taxes two and ll"e year ago,
because they were not- a I Jen to anyone
and could easily have been expended to
good purpose. The democrats have long
decried a surplus In the treasury, yet the
moment it is consumed for a good invest
ment they object. The truth Is that we
have now about three times as large a sur
plus as Is necessary.
The national taxes are low and the
Income la large. The outgo Is large and
every dollar expended I bringing in re
sult. POMTICAL DRIFT.
I a candidate for vio presidency Mr.
Hltt would be a hot favorite among base
ball fan.
Dave Hill Is Just dumb as the sage ef
Esopus, but ha i sawing considerable wood
on the quiet.
It la suggested that Parker and Pattlson
would mske a good democratlo team. Plat
form: Hush!
What' th use of urging Judge Parker
into a state of eruption. Mr. Bryan hat
the floor. One I a-plenty.
Former Senator Fetter Is said to have
sheared off hi whiskers and declared tor
Roosevelt. When a tinner repents all
thing may be forgiven.
Mr. Hearst Insists that he will not bolt
the nominee of the St Loula convention.
Th yellow kid is "a wise guy." It will be
considerable of a task to swallow the nom
ine by flcsT.es.
Th Louisville Courier-Journal assert
that the boomer of W. R. Hearst ars
working th Blue Grass state to a nnlsh.
They mak the claim "W can buy th
democrat of Kentucky for $SO,0O0 and send
a delegation to St. Lout Instructed for
W. R. Hearst." Evidently they know the
country.
After op of John Sharp William' pull-
and-hsul contest with republican In th
house during th last session of congress
Speaker Cannon said to hlml "John, what
makes you such a bitter partisan r "Well,
Joe," was th reply, "eomlng from you that
Is certainly vary good." "Oh, never mind
If food distresses you
Why not take half a teaspoonful
cf Horsford's Acid Phosphate in half
a glass of water? It will give im
mediate relief; but it must be
HORSFORD'S Acid Phosphate.
about me,' but tell me why you are such a
partisan." The Mlssisslpplan answered
gravely: "To tell you the truth, I never
saw a republican until I was 21 years old
and I can't get used to them, somehow."
Should Congressman Hltt be chosen vies
president by the republicans he will be 71
when he take the oath of office, and In hi
72d year, he having been bom January It,
1831 He will be the oldest man ever elected
to the vice presidency. Elbrldge Gerry was
69 when he became vio president, and Is
still the oldest man on the list of those who
have held that office. Clinton, King, Wil
son, Hendricks and Morton had all passed
the sixtieth milestone on life's highway.
The youngest vice president was John C.
Breckinridge, who was 86 when he was Inaugurated.
. BRIGHT ASD BREEZY.
Socrates had drained the hemlock.
"I thought the new cook made it so I
didn't dare refuse," he said.
Strange to say, history has deemed the
motive suicide instead or self-preservation.
New York Sun.
"Once In a while.',' said Uncle Ehen, "you
finds a man dat blames all his troubles on
de trusts when, as a matter of fack, he
done los' his money on a hosa race."
Washington Star.
Mrs. Upjohn (Just back from foreign tour)
But I was going to tell you about tha
scsraba.ua I got In Egypt. It"
Mr. Gaswoll O, I used to be troubled
With that when we lived In Pennsylvania.
Quinine will knock it out every time."
Chicago Tribune.
"Tou oughter git me a Job," the office
seeker said. "Why, I done the work of a
dozen men fur you on election day."
"You did?" replied the successful candl
date. Incredulously.
"Sure! I voted for you twelv times."
Philadelphia Ledger. S
Pronrietor What mad that customer
walk outt Did you make him mad?
The Clerk I don't know. He said be
wanted a hat to suit his head, and I
showed him a soft hat New York Com
mercial.
First Common Soldier Th officer rid
In palace cars, and they crowd us Into
boxcars. And yet they say all men are
created eoual.
Beoond Common Soldier 80 they are.
Tommy. They're created fequal, but they're
crated differently. Philadelphia Pre.
"They say that lot of money 1 dropped
in Wall street"
"Tea?"
"But I'll bet It never hit th street."
"Why not?"
"There are people ther who are quick
enough to catch It la the sir," Chicago
Post.
"I have never known you to admit th
you wer in the wrong."
"No," answered Senator Sorghum. "In
my line of business I consider It foolish to
make a mistake and twice as fooliah to
own up to It." Washington Star.
"It's all up with me," as Port Dalny re
marked when it arose and scattered Itself
over the surrounding landscape. Cleveland
Plain Dealer. .
One of tha loveliest spot I think
My vision ever saw
Was when I wished an ace, to fill
And got It on the draw.
Yonkers Statesman.
THE NORSE SIGHTING ALB.
Milwaukee Sentinel.
Dar ban a man named Vllllam Tell
Who .ban a qvite gude snot:
Ay bet yu ven he tak nice aim -
He alvay hit the spot.
Ay s'pose he hunting every day
And killing lots of game:
Ef he ban missing such a chance
Ay Unk it ban a shame.
Some fallers yump on him von day
Ana taking mm 10 yau
And tal him he skol have t6 pay
Sax t'ousand dollars bail. . .
Yee whls!" say Tell, "sax t'ousand ho nasi
Ay ant got axty cent!"
And so dey mak him breaking stones
Behind big Iron fence.
Den 01f Gassier y to him,
"Bill, yu ban qvlte gude shot
So ay kol give yu yust von chance
To vlnnlng nice yaek pot,
Yure son ban purty brave young kid;
Ay tal yu, on .the dead.
Yu skol go free ef you can shoot
DIs apple oft his head."
'Yeruaalem!" say Bill, "ef you
Bkol give me drenk of bock
Ay bet you ay can shoot dls fruit
Off little Ylmmle's block!
But ef ay shoot tu low. val den
Yust sidestep qvlck. by heck.
Or yu skol finding little bunch
Of arrows in yur neck!-
80 Olaf frame It op for Dill
And Bill ha tak gude aim
And shoot at little Ylmmle block
Ay tal yu. he ban game.
And BUI skol knocking apple off,
And Tim vent back to school;
But Olaf put Bill h k in y ail
And tal him "April fool I
