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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1905)
4 THE OMAIIA DAILY HEE: TUE8PAY. JANUARY 31. 1903. Tiie Omah Daily Hee. K. P.OSKV. ATKI'.. UDlTm. PLBL.ISHED KVKRY MORMN'S. TERMS OF BIBHCRIPTION. I'slly Be (without fbindsvi, on year.M'w) lolly Hee and Sunday, one yer J Illustrated bee, one yir -' Monday Bee, one year J- Haturdav Hee, one year Twentieth Century Fanner, one year... 10 DELIVERED BY CARRIER. Dally Be (without Sunday, per copy... "c Daily Hee (without ft'indav). per wk..l!c Dally Hee (including Sunday ), per wek..l,c Holiday Bee. wr oov c Kvenlng Bee (without Sunday), per week .c Evening Bee (Including Sunday;, per . Wee l-'C Complaint of Irregularities In delivery should be. addressed to City Circulation de partment. : OFFICES. Omaha The Bee Building. Houth Omaha Cltv Hall building, Twenty fifth and M street!. Council Bluffs 10 l'ear! street. Chicago 1W0 fnlty building. New York 2321 Park Row building. Washington 601 Fourteenth street. CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to new id edl firlaJ matter ahould be addressed: Omulia Bee, Editorial Department. REMITTANCES. ' Remit bv raft, express or postal order. ? arable to Vhe Bee Publishing Company. nle 2-rent stamps recelTed In payment of riiail account. Personal checks, except on Omnha or eastern enrhnng's, not accented. THB BEK PI BUIUHINO COMPANY. STATEMENT OF CtnCI'IJkTION. .State of Nehrsskn. Douglas Count v. sa. : Oeorge H. Ttschnek. seeretarv of The Bee Publishing Compnnv. 1olng duly sworn, va that the actual numhT "f '"H "nl complete rnple of The Dnllv, Mornlnir. Evening and Humlav Bee printed during the sronin or iwemner, IIUH. was as rouows: 1 znjtoo 1 t sa.Ooo 4 tU.i.-20) 17... II... It... SO... 21... ... ... 24... ... ... ... iw.tis ao.2uo 2A.KN0 8H.na l. ZD. (IO so.nun Jti.ir sit.axn SO.RIIM f).(MH an. too SH.THA VH.7HO SH..110 I .. I... ... ... 19... 11... 12... 11... 14... ... SM.USIO si, two hojhio S8.BO0 2800 SM.S20 10 88,880 U 81,470 u ss.rao Total Lata uasold copies., .21,TS5 . 10.18U Net total salts sil.tMS Dally average ZU,40t QEOROE n. TZSCHLCK, Subscribed !n my presence and sworn to before w thla 31at day of December. 1004. (Seal) M B. HI'NOATE. Notary Public Judged by the commotion It Is making, the Omaha grain ninrket is pretty healthy for a 1-year-old. Rioting In the strepts of Rome l.as a lnticli different sound to the present head of ll.(i hoimo of Savoy than It lintl to hi nuifl father thirty-five years aao. rolltlonl revolutions may not lie so prevalent in Ran Domingo In future, but there will probably be a business revo lution which will make some of the na tives dizzy. . More reliable than the return of the birds Is that forecast of spring which comes from Chicago in the form of a resumption Of labor troubles la the build ing trades. ' French, dancing masters have declared war on Hhc cnkewalk. Next year, after .they have taken the life out of the step a n. 1 nlmnnA,! Ia I . ...Ml ...... I . 1.1 ,l returned to America with French ap praval. The fire fund was Increased by the last legislature from !Mj,;m)0 to Sl.'iO. 4KI0, an Increase of 20 per cent. That ought to take care of the lire depart ment in a city of Omaha's size fur a few years to come. That the czar Is looking lakvnrl rather than forward Is Indicated from .the fact that he Is taking advice from (irand Puke Sergius, the representative of an older generation, who has yet to realize how fast the world is progressing. " If the president succeeds in securing legislation providing for the collection of marriage and divorce statistics by states. i inn may nave au opitonuuiiy 10 point; tho finger of scorn at some of Its sister commonwealths which have been !ior rifled lately. Grover Cleveland shows no more signs of lapsing into Innocuous desuetude than does William J. Bryan. The fact that both of them take special pains to keep In the limelight M ould Indicate that both )f them want to be ready for any emer gency that may present. It Is gratifying to know that the su preme court has "permitted the Northern Securities case to come before It again, as In these days, when combinations in restraint of trade are threatened, the sooner the' promoters ' know the legal 'way of going out of business the better for all coneerued. t Rt. Petersburg received the news of fighting on the Shakhe In successive mes sages aliout as follows: "We won a vic tory." "Tho fight was unimportant." "Japanese soldiers caused us to retreat." Aa each one of these sentences came on a different day It U easy to understand bow the Russians are kept constantly In the dark as to the real condition of tho empire. If It were only Omaha that required direct primary elections no lawmaking by the legislature for that purpose would be necessary. The party committees ber have worked out a fairly satisfac tory form of nomination by direct rote for ofTices to be filled hi city and county and they can get along under the pres ent arrangemeuts without embarrass ment . To make ' direct nomination effective throughout tho state, however, will require legislation. Hue company of firemen bad a narrow escape from an explosion of chemicals In Sunday's fire, and there has been scarcely ft big conflagration In Omaha In which the fire fighters have not been vipowd to tiuneccusary dauger from stored explosives. The Bee stlil advo cates the enactment of an ordinance regulating the sale and storage of ex plosives and IntiamiiMble oils within the city limits and providing ?or a rigid In spection cf all store houses In which b!$h combustibles are kept. rut BKt.r thvst rrattox. The decision of the supreme court of the United States In the Reef trust case, affirming the decision of the lower court and continuing the injunction against the combine of packer, will be popularly hailed as a most notable victory for loth the government nnd the people. The court was unanimous In the opinion thiit a conspiracy on the part of the packers, for controlling the livestock market and the dressed meat trade, elsted and that the offense was of n. nature to Justify proceedings by the government. The evidence before the lower court estab lished conclusively the fact that there was such a combine among the packer as the Sherman anti-trust law declares to be unlawful and this was fortified by the comprehensive statement of Attorney General Moody before the supreme court. This decision is even more Important, so far as the general public Is concerned, than that In the Northern Securities case, and It gives added force to the anti trust law. It may not have nn Imme diate effect upon the cattle and meat markets, which perhaps at present are controlled by other Influences than those exerted by the packers' combine, but ultimately an effect favorable to the public Is reasonably to be expected. It Is to lie presumed that if the packer are not already obeying the Injunction they will at once do so. since dlregord of It would render them liable to criminal prosecution and It Is safe to assume that the federal authorities would not hesi tate to apply the penalty. We may be sure that there will le prompt action at Washington If the packers are found dis obeying the decree of the court. Among the great combinations none has been more odious than the Reef trust and there will be a universal fooling of grat IhVotlon at the decision which breaks up this conspiracy against the people. THE BAXKHVPTCY LAW. A -revival of hostility to the bank ruptcy law bus been shown in congress and there Is promise of a determined ef fort for either the repeal of the act or Its general amendment. When a few days ogo the house Judiciary conunitt -e was giving a hearing on bills amending the bankruptcy law It was found that several members of the committee iiie strongly opposed to the law as It .daml. They are reported as declaring that tho original Intent of the net had been en tirely lost sight of and that it Is now used by dishonest debtors as a means of escaping payment of their Just obli gations. Representative Bassett of New York, author of a bill to amend the law, presented to the Judiciary commit lee facts to show that the law Is being per verted from Its intended purpose as a help to honest debtors and Is now much more the means of accomplishing frauds. He was of the opinion that probably a majority of the merchants and manufac turers of our large cities would like to see the law repealed, lie declared that unless the law Is soon modified to pre vent the present free discharge from debts it will become a scandal and tho people wllj demand Its repeal. A sulH'oinmiltee was appointed to con sider the whole subject and roort as soon as possible. The present bank ruptcy act was the result of patient work and prolonged deliberation. The neces sity for such legislotlon had long been felt by the mercantile Interests of the country and it was urged upon congress by oil the influential business organisa tions. We are inclined to doubt whether a majority of merchants and manufac turers would approve the repeal of the law and the restoration of former conditions. That the act Is not perfect must bo admitted. This has been de clared by some of the ablest Jurists. But the defects are certainly remediable and this I the task to which the house Judiciary committee should address Itself, rather than giving consideration to the proposed repeol of the act. The country needs a uniform bankruptcy law. This was conclusively shown tin der the conditions that existed before the present iaw was enacted. Congress bi Us wisdom should be' able to fiud and remote the defects from the law and so chunye 11 that It will be Just and sat's factory In Its operation. itvrunrn or corpohatiuxs. There appears to be a good prospect that the bill in congress requiring all corporations engaged lu Interstate com merce to make annual reports to the ltepartment of Commerce and Lalior will be paused ut the present session.. It is understood to have the support of the administration and Commissioner Gar ileld of the bureau of corporations ear nestly advocated the measure before the house judiciary committee a few days ago. lie urged that the proposed legis lation would be- a very good and safe guide for the collection of Information regarding corporations by the govern ment and ulso afford to congress the Information tion those conditions con cerning which the greatest complaint has Imhmi made. He explained that under existing legislation there Is no way in which the .Information regarding cor porations obtaiued by the Department of Commerce and I.almr shall le made public, as the faw requires such reports to be mude to the president, who has entire discretion as to whether or, not they shall le given publicity. Assuming that congress has the au thority to require reports from corpora tions doing an Interstate business, there are very substantial reasons why the authority should be exercised. The pro posed legislation contemplates nothing that, any honestly and legitimately con ducted corporation can reasonably ob ject to. It simply provide that the government shall be uunmilly furnished with certain general information regard ing Interstate corporations and that this may le supplied to congress whenever called for. As we understand the bill it is not Intended to require corporation to go Into all the details of their busl- neas, but simply to supply such facts respecting their business as will acqualut the government in a general way with their operations. The new department, with Its bureau of corporation, waa created with thla In view and the bureau will hardly be able to fully and effec tlvely carry out the purpose of Its or ganlzation unless there is such legisln tlon a is emlKxtled In the bill referred to. It can of course nnder existing law Investigate the condition and operations of the corporations engaged In Inter state business, but this Involves a great deal of work and necessarily a very considerable expenditure. This would be to a large extent ohvlated under the proosod legislation and doubtless the results would be quite as satisfactory, Some of the corporations undoubtedly Would be found entirely willing to com ply with a law requiring animal reports to the government and others would In time fall Into line, since any corporation that should persistently refuse compli ance would, subject Itself to public mis plclon that Its affairs were not being legitimately conducted. A QCESTIOXJBLf: PROV5O.V. One of the few points upon which the various charter committees are said to have agreed Is au amendment limiting current expenses of different de partments of the city government to the revenue accruing to each sjeclal fund during the year and turning over to the sinking fund all balance and all de linquent tax collections that are now distributed between the fund. The In evltable result of such a charter require ment will bo to leave no balances In tho funds, but to force the officer charged with the expenditure of each fund to spend every cent available for ony one year before the expiration of that year. The very object of dividing the an nual tax levy for city purpose Into a composite of separate tax levies for the separate fund Is to Insure the appro' prlatlon of each proportionate part of the tax paid by each Individual tax payer to the designated object. The payment of the tax In a lump sum In stead of In separate Item for each fund Is simply for the convenience of the taxpayer and the tax collector. So if a property owner In this year, lOOTi, pay a delinquent tox for the year 18a, he 1 still paying simply an aggregate of so many mill for the general fund, so many for the park fund, so many for the police fund, etc., that he would have been paying had he met hi taxes be fore they became delinquent. To say that all of the taxes, If paid after the dale of delinquency, shall go into the sinking fund. Is the same a transferring (he money from every other fund Into the sinking fund and destroys the whole system of checks and balance sup posed to be provided by the system of separate funds. Further than this, should the scav enger law bo effectively executed and all the back taxes cleaned up with cur rent collections maintained at the pres ent high rate, It would not be long before the collection from delinquent city taxes will be a mere bagatelle. With each department exhausting the current levy for Its fund each year, and no Sub stantial amount of delinquent taxes to be collected, the Increment to the sink ing fund will not be worth figuring on, while the mischief done by stimulating complete consumption of current reve nues will have no offsetting advantage. It In even probable that the sinking fund Itself would fall short of require ment unless the limit of the sinking fund levy should be raised from time to time as the collections of delinquent taxes dwindle down. If this amendment I one of the agreed propositions between the charter com mittee and the legislative delegation, the agreement should be Immediately reconsidered. The proposed free high school law undertakes to fix a uniform price of 75 cents a week "for tuition of nonresident pupils in any high school in the state. But there is a difference between high schools. The cost of Instruction In the high school at Omaha Is considerably greater than the cost of Instruction In the high school at Lincoln, and the cost of instruction In the high school at Lin coln is likewise still greater than the cost In the high school at Hastings, Kearney or Norfolk. If T5 cents a week Is right for Lincoln, It is surely too much for the smaller high schools and too little for the Omaha High school. If a price Is to be fixed by the legislature for non resident tuition In the high schools sup ported by different localities. It should be on a sliding scale, adjusted according to the cost of instruction In the several Institutions. line feature of Iteprescntatlve Ander sen's charter bill which deserves com mendation Is that relating to the estab lishment of fire limits and regulation of building construction, which undertake siteclttcally to prohibit the city council from suspending or modifying tho pro visions of the tire limit ordinance by resolution. The practice has become al together too common by the council to make exceptions from the tire ordinance for favored parties, so that every now and then a new firetrap Is planted In dangerous proximity to substantial busi ness blocks. The only way to make the tire limits effective against com bustible construction is to make It Im possible for any one to evade them by crawling under tha tent under any pre text. Down at Lincoln the self styled re formers are rigorously engaged In com batting a bill to do away with spring fit y elections, while up in Omaha the so-called reformers are vigorously en gaged In pushing a bill to do away with spring city elections. There is about as much consistency among reformer as among those who lay no claim to that title. Tresldent Koosevelt la said to ls Irri tated by the refusal of ongress to enact laws he deems desirable. The president has doubtless long ago discovered that among the "duly elected representatives of the people" there are men who care for the opinion of no man who Is not in a iositlon to advance their personal In terest regardless of Its effect upon the country at large, and that these people ire confined to no particular party. As a result of special Investigation by a special commissioner, the World Her ald announces that Governor Folk never Issned hi so-called rules for the gov ernment of lobbyists at all. It Is tip to the World-Herald now to withdraw that fervid open letter which It directed to Governor Mickey, making demand upon him that he forthwith adopt and pro mulgate the Folk rules for Nebraska. It the effect of the latest n it of Sec rt.ry Hay Is to keep both side t t the I lesent contest In the east, from winning fruits of victory, the distinguished sec retary of state may have don mote to make war unpopular tfian all of the conventions of all the peace r.mgn-ssoi. Royal Hilarity t ara Ileal For. Chicago Newa. Meantime, the mikado ahould not b too elated. All monartha ruling by "divine right" will be due to have their resigna tion papers handed to them one of these days. Old Prophets nrew the l.lne. ' Minneapolis Journal. Mr. Smoot says he cannot see whv mod ern prophets are not Just a reliable as prophets who have been dead long time. The prophets of old necr tackled the weather. Years Behind the Procession. Chicago Record-Herald. It was thought a few days ago that Russia had Anally succeeded In advancing to the point that wna reached by France when tha revolution began. Apparently the supposition waa unfounded. The Russians are still about 130, Instead of 11a, years bo hind the procession. Where the Trouble I-les. New York Tribune. The gist of the diplomatic discussion over Chinese neutrality, expressed somewhat un diplomatically, is that the Ipse dixit of no nation Is to be accepted as essentially In fallible and luerrant, but that the conflict Ing statements of all concerned would brat be referred to some Impartial tribunal. Where the Switch Key Heats. New Orleans Picayune. That the popular house of congress Is strongly In harmony with the president In his movement against the railroads seems to be fully established, but the senate can not be counted on. It la In the upper hooae that the railroads are autd to be Intrenched and It remains to be seen whether the rail way Interests can control the senate or not. "Jokers" In the llephnrii Bill. Springfield Republican. According to some of the Washington cor respondents the Hepburn railrond rate-con trol bill la already beginning to find accept- nce in congresalonal circles as a Joke. And the Joke la on the administration, not the railroads. The, attorneys of the latter, who are laboring In Washington, chuckle when the bill la mentioned to them. They could not have filled It much fuller with "Jokers" had they had tho entire making of it. THRIFT OF WAtiK KAHF.HS. Billions la Savings Banks nnd Bnlld- Inar and Loan Associations. Success Magnsine. The total number of de;xsitors In tho savings banks of the I'nited States has doubled In the last seventeen years. The total amount of their deposits has in creased from $1.2:15.247.371 in 1887 to J2.93.. 204,845 during the year 1903. The official statistics for Iflftl show 7,306,22!? individual depoaitors. About one-half of the amount deposited represents the aavlngs of the wage earn ing class. The figures here given not only show an Increasing prosperity among those of small Incomes, but they also Indicate an Increasing frugality. Of the total deposits of the entire country not leas than 88. 6 per cent are In the state of New York. The part of this grand total of deposits which Is credited to the wage earning class does not represent all the savings of that group. The building and loan associations, with total assets of mora than 1500,000,000, are a favorite form of Investment for many. Then peraonal hoarding, Ufa Insurance and even modest Investment In stocks and bonds are other means of accumulation. Many wage earn era In country towna and email cities own their own homes. All this shows that the wage earners of tho United Btatea have a large ahare in our national prosperity IttREASIOn HOLD OITPIT. World's Supply of 3g.B0O,0tO a Year Quickly Distributed. New York Evening Post. No phase of the financial situation has attracted more attention In the forecasts ofvthe coming year than the Increased gold output of the world. Eight years ago thla product footed up a trine over $200,000,000; in 1899 It roes to t3(rl, 700,000, eank to $264.5(10,0(0 In 19"0 during tha Transvaal blockade, established a "new high record" In 1908 with Its $328,600,000. hna certainly exceeded this In 1904 whh the $l,0iO,000 Increase In 8outh Africa and will probably expand still further In the approaching year. " Leaving aside the general question of the Influence of theae new supplies on markets a highly Interesting question arises, Where does I lie new -gold go? Even al lowing for tha substantial portion used In Industry (upward of $30,ooo,ooo Is thus an nually consumed In the United Htatea alone), who gets the rest? In particular, which nations are the beneflclarles? This country gets a reasonable share. During the last twelve months the treas ury's figures show that tha American stock of gold In snd out of ths treasury has Increased by $M,0n0,0U0-nearly one sixth of the whole world output. Th great European banking Institutions, too, hav had their ahare; nine of them have added 10,01)0,000 gold to their reserves dur ing tha twelvemonth, of which Increaeo $66,000,009 went to tha Bank of France, tB6,ono.o(N) to tha Imperial Bank of Russia, $J,OUO,000 to the Bank of Oermany and only $3,600,000 to tha Bank of England. When allowance la mad for use by foreign refiners and for th Urge amounts of gold which In European communltlee pass Into band-to-hand circulation, tha balance un accounted for of perhaps $80,000,ooo in th annual output la not excessive. But th now of this paw gold from na tion to nation la mora peculiar. England owns tha Transvaal mine, which nav produced about $78,000,000 gold theae twelve, laat months, yet the Bank of England added only one-twentlatli of this sunt to Its gold reserve. The past year'a gold output In th Vnlted States was not far from $80,000,000. yet scarcely one-third as much was added to our horn circulation despite a Urge additional gold Import. On th other hand. Huasla. whose own yearly gold product la barely $S3.0',000, has been able ta add four tlmaa that sum to the Imperial bank's reserve, whll Franc, which produces no gold at all, stands second ta Russia In th amount Of gold added to Its gold reserve , ARMY fiOSSIP V.HIGTO. Matters nt Interest t.leaae froaa the Army and avy Register. The army aignul offlcera expect to have the aignal toipa outfit In full working order at Omaha by May 1. Much satisfactory progress is being made In that direction Nothing appears to have been done, and nothing Is In contemplation for doing any thing, with army balloon work. In that direction there has been very little accom plished by thla government, largely owing to the fact that there is a lack of funds for experimentation or tria! construction. It t likely a balloon train will be kept at irniana. although there are some reasons for suggesting Pcnlila. Cal.. as better suited for that purpose. The reasons are mainly climatic, alnce ballocn work In Cali fornia can be carried on for 3 days In the year, practically, and In nny other aectlnn of the country there would be Interruption on account of the chiinge In sensors and the Inclemency of the weather. The quartermaster general of the army has completed the draft of a general order which lei Intended as a relief from the pre ent confused and complicated method of ad justing the clothing allowances of the en listed force cf the army. Nothing In many years has been the subject of so much un favorable comment as the existing system ,of making these allowances. The operation of the general orders, applicable to the sit uation, has led to numerous Interpretations hardly two of which are alike. The system has wrought some Injustice upon Individ' naln and hna served to deprive certain en. listed men of what rcallv belongs to them Two or three experts In the office of tha paymaster genrul of the army do very Ut tie else than construe the Intricate regula tlona on the subject and It la with the grati fying piopect of something to relieve this condition that the guarlermnater general's office has prepared the text of the general order, which has gone to the general staff preparatory to Its formal isaue to the serv ice. The draft of the order provides for all enlisted men and Insures them a relmburfe ment covering all they may have Icet by the change In the army uniform from blue to olive drab, a transformation which has resulted In all thla confualon. One para graph provides for thoee whose first six months of enlistment were s.ibenuent to June , 1904. and another paragraph pro vides for those whose six months of enlist ment were prior to June 30, 19ii4. Officers In the War department favbr the change In tho law which will permit the sale at a price no less than cost of Individ ual pieces of t'nlted States armament, which can be advantageously replaced, where there exists for such sales aentl mentul reasons adequate In the judgment of the authorities. General Crosier, army chief of ordnance, Is conaunly In receipt of applications from relatives and friends of deceased officers and soldiers who de sire to secure this or that article carried In the last days In the field. The Idea Is a most commendable one and Is a conces. slon to sentirnrnt which ought to be grafted. The Connecticut legislature has sent a l'tltlon to congress In the form of a reso lution adopted by the state body, asking that Benntor Hawley, the end of whose term in the senate la approaching, shall be appointed to the retired list of the army. The senator has had a long career In the t'nlted States senate anrRJias for many years been the chairman o the senate military committee, in which capacity he served with distinction and usefulness The disposition In the senate Is to agree to the proposition, but there la not the sam sympathetic reception of the proposition 1 the house. There Is a comparatively re cent precedent, however, for such a thing In the appointment to the retired list of th navy of Mr. Boutello of Main at the end of his congresslona career, during which he had served through aucesslve sessions as chair man of the. house naval committee. Sena tor Hawley has been unable for a year o mora to attend to his senatorial duties. on win nc succeeaea in the senate on March 4 by Morgan B. Buckley, and In the next congress the chairman of the senate military committee will be Mr. Troctor o Vermont. Communication by wireless telegraphy across Norton sound, Alaska, a distance o 107 miles, has now been maintained by the ilgnal corps Installation for six months during which time there has been no Inter r apt ion in the transmission of messages, Recently forty-seven messages were trans mitted in Immediate succession without a break. Coupled with thle satisfactory state or affairs la the equally satisfactory report of the excellent condition of the Alaskan land llnea, the only untoward Incident re ported, and that being relatively Insignifi cant, being the burning of the telegraph House at Old Woman. Now that cable communication la established between Sitka and Valdex, communication with various parts of Alaska is maintained over the all- American lines. A wonderful fish story, or, rather, a whale atory which rivals that of Biblical fama. Is contained In the reports of the repairing of the disabled cable between Sitka and Val der, Alaska, the report being properly au thentlcated by a cablegram received by the cnier signal officer of ths army. Thla cablegram la from Major Edgar Rusael, signal corps, in charge of tha cable ship ijurntiae, wtucn was sent to Alaskan waters to repair the cable. Major Ruasel says: "Removed fault in cable seven miles from Sitka, caused by whale entangled In cable." When the cable waa raised It waa loun.l that a dead whale was attached. Its Jaws were firmly entangled in th wires and rubber Insulation. ARGIMKXT AUA19T POOI.IXG. Scramble for C orn Trad ProTea the Importance of Competition. Minneapolis Times. Chicago, smarting under the loss of a large percentage of her com trade to Omaha and Kansas City, coupled with the loss of much wheat bualnoes to Minne apolis, has been making strenuous effort to check the development of tha trade by way of the gulf ports. The railroads, alao sufferers, have been readily Induced to take the matter up, and aa a result concesalona of 7 cents a hundred hav been mad on grain from the Missouri river points through to the Atlantic coast ports. Th Missouri Pacific and th Wabash, Gould roada, Immediately met th cut, a did competing southwestern llnea. By this lat ter move the advantage of the gulf rout la still maintained. Th fight Is a fin thing for the corn raiaers snd shlppper of th middle west and It Is devoutly hoped that it may go on merrily. Thar is In thla fight a very positive argu ment against th great ln of railroad pooling. Had sn agreement of this kind been In fore there would hav baen no cutting of rates rather their advancement, for such Is the temper of th magnates. What Is true In tha matter of opn com petition In freight carrying Is tru In all other lines. Free and untrammellled com petition would minimise the evil effects of tlu Htanduid 1)11, beef, coal and other trust. Minneapolis asks no favors. 8b demands tier rights; and th most aha asks la th right to Uy r wheat snd flour at th seaboard at equitable, honest rates. 'The llnea Interested will meet Monday and endeavor to reach a basts for agree ment." Of course they will until th power to enter agreements la takn sway fi&m them. PEHSOV4L sores. George S. Nixon, who Is to succeed "ena tor Stewart aenator front Nevada, I a CalifornlHn by hlrth and has earned bla own living from the tlms he was IS yests j of age A gift of curios valued at t:.00.n ha been offsred to the Smithsonian Institute py Charles I.. Freer of Detroit. He I the owner of the famous Whistler collection of painting. fllrls In a Chicago cooking school caused a $o,00n (Ire. As long as the girls did not try their confections on defenseless men the town pocket the property loss wl:h becoming equanimity. An English scientist asserts that men lost sn Important cog in their digestive machlna when they parted with their appendix. Evl dently the savant did not observe the vic tim chew the rag w hen the bill came In. Gilbert Roeslter, year ago a writer of historical sketches concerning the north west, baa Just died In Lake Forest, aged 82. He devoted much time to Indian le gends connected with the early history of Illinois. Wisconsin and tha 1-ake Superior region. The little republic of Honduras is evi dently In the line to fear a flourish of tho bl stick. Honduras owes a foreign debt of about I2". 000, mo and another stupendous sum of nearly t75,fn",ono In interest and ar rearages. Honduras appears to be the Mrs. Chadwlck of rotten repnbllrs. William rean Howclls hns settled In San Itemo for the winter, but finds that tho monotonously perfect weather at that lovely Italian resort palls upon him as a native born American. Writing to a friend, the distinguished author says: "You have no idea how sick ono gets of aun shlne and calms. I should like to see R naked elm tree shudcrlng lu a good old northeasterly storm." K. Henry Ummbc, the circuit court Judge In New York whom a Pennsylvania law firm wants to impeach, was appointed by President Cleveland. Judge Lacomho was corporation counsel In that city at one lime under appointment of an anti-Tammany democratic mayor. When Judge T .a com be took his seat nn the bench he appeared in a full drees suit. though It waa in the forenoon. Ho said that he wished to show that ha felt that the office deserved such recognition on his part. OrPER AS TlPHOIIl FRIKH. 'i Reeent lnrestlaatlon on that l.ln Shatters Rome Idol. American Medicine. The value of copper sulphate In ilesti ey ing typhoid bacilli has recently been exten sively exploited by the dally papers of Phil adelphia. The basis of their reports Is cer- tuln statements made by Dr. Edward Mar tin, director of Public Health and Chailtlesv under whose direction laboratory experi ments have for some time been in progre, and also additional assertions by Dr. Moore of the Agricultural department it Washing ton, whose announcement on this subject earlier In the year created much dlsrusnion. Aa so often the case, many of the newspa per claims are somewhat roseate, and are apt to arouse unjustified expectation on the part of people whose long-suffering endur ance of polluted drinking water makes them Intensely anxious for development of this sort. That thla successful method of destroying typhoid bacilli In the labora tory may b extended and made possible of application to large bodies of water Is u consummation devoutly to be desired, but that Is a question of the future. In the meantime, the discussion on this subject bids fair to shatter an idol cherished from time Immemorial by both physicians and laymen. We refer to the danger of copper polmnlng from the use of cooking utensils made of that metal. Eminent physlclana and chemists now announce this fear to be unfounded. Director Martin asserts posi tively that no harm wib come from drink ing water which has atod In copper vessels for four hours at living-room temeprature or three or four times that long In refrig erators, though this will destroy all typhoid bacilli which may have been therein con tained. I.OGEH (OMiHKXt SKSSION. Changes Neeeasarr to Conserve the Pa bile Need. New York Tribune. An extra esion of the Fifty-ninth con gress seems now a certainty. Our Wash ington dispatches announce that President Roosevelt will call the two houses together early next fall. It Is appurent that an extra session must be resorted to if the new con gress Is to wrestle successfully with the legislative problems which are to com be fore It. No federal legislature In years has been confronted with a more serious and exacting program than that which will fall to the congress coming Into existence on March 4. That body will need to bring to Its taak an exceptional store of Intelligence, patience and Industry, and It is from every point of view desirable that tho two houses organise as soon as practicable and act to work. It waa aome years ago the fashion to sneer at congress a a body whose activities It was the part of wisdom to minimise and suppress. President Cleveland once de plored the fact thut he was about "to have congress on his hands"; but we have hap pily outgrown the frlvoloue notion that con gress Is, snd can be, only a disturbing and meddlesome factor In national politics. 8o long aa th party In power is content to play a merely negative role, the participa tion of the two house In government may be looked on as an Infliction, unwelcome, but necessary to be endured. But thla bar row and patronising valuation of the legl latlv branch can hav no place In the thoughts of an executive broad minded enough to appreciate the true functions ot congress and to wish to make the house and senate partners In executing such poli cies the national welfare demand. It I becoming apparent, In fact, that the activities of the two house, Instead of being curtailed In the public Interest, must. In th near future, be materially enlarged. Congress has no longer time enough in Rheumatism yields to Nature's great 1 T7 MOIttSIOTf B BLHTHB A WATER J which effectually overcomes and counteracts Uric Acid. Sold Everywhere. HE, RICHARDSON DRUB CO., SOS JACKSON STREET. UISTHIHII'IsjU AUKSTS. COAL WOOD COKE KINDLING W sell the best Ohio Cooking Coal clean, hot, lasting Rock Springs, Manna, Sheridan, Walnut Block, Steam Coal. Best medium grade Is Illinois Nut $6; Egg and Lump $0.29. for heaters and furnaces-Cherokee Nut $9.25; Lump $S.5C. A hot burner Missouri $4.79. Scranton-the best Pennsylvania Anthracite mined. Spadra-the hardest and cleanest Arkansas Anthracite. Ail coal hand-orened and weigh d over any clut oale daalred. COUTANT 6l SQUIRES, A MATTER OF HEALTH Absolutely Puro HAS HQ SUBSTITUTE - - hlch to do Its legitimate and necessary work. Coder our present arrangement et long anil short session, three months sra given one year nnd shout six months an other, year to legislative business. Th house of representatives elected In Novem ber, 19u4, could not meet, except through call from the president, until December, 1116. Two month would have to be taken to complete an organisation, and then, with their own rnnvaeeea for retiomlnatlon and re-eleclion already beginning, th members would be expected to settle down to work. In a presidential year everything must b sacrificed to forcing nn adjournment h June. In a mid-term year the struggle for the control of the next house ha an equally distracting effect. Thus at the long ses sion passing question of party politic as sume a wholly artificial Importance, whll at tho short session there I barely time ta crowd through th routine appropriation work. To accomplish anything of special Import ance nn extra session has now to be callT. President Cleveland called one In ISPS to se- ,.A iha .A..af n , V. BI1,.A ........ U .... I .. . Vine uir ir'l,l VL tliv a jlnuses of the Sherman art. President Mr tlnlny summoned one In 1897 to pass tli lni!ey tariff act. President Roosevelt called one In 1903 to get the Cuban reci procity bill through. Now congress la to meet ahead of time to consider railroad rat regulation and the possible modification of certain tariff schedules. The Tribune has long advocnted a change In our political calendar which would carry Inauguration day forward to April 30, thus relieving th legislative block at the short session. Rut this reform seems now more remote than ever. Yet tho increasing scope and Im portance of federal legislation will mak some lengthening of tha present sessions more and more Imperative. The expedient of extra sessions may serve for a time. Eventually, however, we must face tha necessity of allotting congress an ampler period for the discharge of duties which are becomtnar vearlv mora arduous and more complicated. PASSING PLKASAKTRIR. "Why does that night watchman war such loud clothes?" "So as to let the burglars know that h is coming." Clevelund Plain Dealer. Knlcker So the burglar was found under tho bed? J-tockcr Yes; his defense was absent- nilmlcuness. Said he was so used to . usea to J crawling under his auto to see w hy I ' it man iss (o.-jiew lork nun. Esmeralda What did about my getting Jack GwendoJe Jen i Jl jiariiMum away rrom ner : Miss Tartun Oil,- she admires your skill because you had so many natura.1 disad vantages to overcome. She says you practiced a kind of mental Jiu-.lltsu on th poor fellow. Chicago Tribune. "Did you spend money to get Into publlo office?" "No," answered Senator Sorghum. "I didn't spend it. 1 gave It away and then depended on a decent sense of gratitude in the beneficiaries." Washington Star. Mrs. McCall I do wish I could get a good main. Mrs. Vandlne You might Interview mine. I think ahe'd be delighted to go with you. Mrs. McCall JUut why don't you keep her? Mrs. Vandlne Oh. she won't ty. She says sl.e wants a place where ah won't have so many gowns and hats to tak care of. Philadelphia 1'rtHg. "A blizzard la a big nuisance." said Umi Kben, "but It's a sort o' comfort to fin' sumpin' (lls.igree'blo dat can't be blamed on a truat." Washington Star. "He's talking now of becoming an actor." "Why, he hasn't any qualifications, has he?" "Oh, yes; a friend ot bis died recently snd left him a fur-lined overcoat and gold headed cane." Philadelphia Standard . II IK SilOVKI, OS THE WALK. Albany Times. Wlmt joy some winter morning When I suddenly awake. And Just the tlwmght of getting t'p will make the cover shake, When chlllv draft Inform m That tho furnace fire Is low, And looking out the window I can see the falling allow What joy It is to listen To my neighbor cheerful talk And the merry, merry clatter Of the shovel on the walk. I make a mental picture Of the snowdrift on the street And sleep at once becomes a Itlescing more than twice as sweat. Oh. how I bug the pillow Ken more tightly than rcfor rr. And make all klnua or wlanea Thai relate to sleeping more. 1 know that "duty calln me Rut I'm much Inclined to balk When I hear the merry clatter of the shovel on the walk. Give me tha good old summer. When th snow 1 at the pole, And I don't hav to (hovel Any iisbe, snow or coal. I-t any man that wishes Spend his morning pushing snow, Hut not for in th labor When the biting bllszarrt blow. The stuff about the pleasure Of the work Is dippy talk And I don't like to bear th clatter Of th shovel on th walk. SHERMAN & McCOHIELL DRUG Ctl, ItiTH AND DODOE. RETAIL AOr.1T. Nut, large site $4.90: Lump UOSVaRNAM 8TRSI1 Tjphone94tJ 5 s