Editorials
OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS
THE VINDICATION OF DREYFUS.
iMK Dtevfiis ilrnmii Ik closed ut lust with n
I lrliunj)li of Justice. To Hiiy that the trlmii)li
I I was complete woiilil be an error, !
I .1. i..... i ....t n,.M .! Iti utilili lr.
uiri e nun iit-en i. hi it-i i "
rmelf nll Injustice bus been done. Drey
fiiH liliuM-ir Iiiih suffered ho terribly In mind
mikI body Hint no human tribunal could ever
nxilty bin wrongs. Men who rallied to his assistance
rwiTwJ Injuries from which recovery was Impossible,
An unspeakable clique of rogues prospered fur too long
vlille the Innocent and the. trim were subjected to perse
nation.
These nre facts that Hlioiild not he overlooked when
the vindication of the accused Is considered. The restora
tlwi to bin rank In the arm' Ih an Insurance for the fu
tart, bin reputation and the reputation of hlu support
s mire finally overcome calumny, but atonement for the
cruelties of the past In Impossible.
The Impressive ilfclxlou of that great court of forty
ahir Judges must he regarded jik though It concerned an
other defendant, namely, the Ite)uhllc of France, uud In
this view It Ih a confession. The Judges say, In effect,
Ut the French army was dominated by contemptible
wcouudrcls and crlmlunlH; tliat ministry after ministry
aided or condoned the offenses of. these villainous con
wplrutorn ; that the legal trials of Dreyfus were a mock
try, and that the Infamous "affaire" wuh a Htalu upon
41? honor of the nation. It lit Impossible to develop much
ntIiuHluHiu over hucIi a relroKpecl, The moHt that can
be done Is to die up excuse out of political conditions,
od them; were lout; ago wistod on foreigners. Hut "bet
far late than never," and France will profit In reputa
tion by the action of the Supreme Court. Chleaso Hoc
THE FALL OF THE FORESTS.
N the very near future, this country will
bo suffering n lumber famine. The once
mighty forests have gone, or are going, like
grass before a scythe.
The lumber cut In this country In !!)(.' Is
stated by the Department of Agriculture at
liT.T.'tN.OOO.IMJO cubic feet. The vast proper-
tiotni of (Ids slaughter of the forests may be appreciated
hj Imagining the lumber to be alt of Inch thickness,
inUltig a "board walk" 'J.COO feel wide from New Vork
U Nan Francisco.
It lack walnut has almost disappeared. Oak has be
come,' a rare wood, Georgia pfne, once cheap, Is costly.
There Ih little- more while pine, and one of the 1 1 1 f II
euUles of building now Is that there Is no substitute of
quite such versatile usefulness. Duly :i.! per cent of the
jour's cut comes from this noble tree. The once despised
ketulock furnishes almost three times as much. In the
rarclty of better lumber, poplar and basswood, which
the American of IH.M) did not consider lit for llruwood,
Imnlsb more than while pine.
Maine and Michigan are no longer the grout dumber
States. The L'ucllle slope and the gulf lead to-day, Wash
ington being the chief lumber State uud Louisiana second.
Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, Alabama,
Georgia uud Virginia make with Louisiana eight Southern
States, each of which leads Maine In the amount of lum
ber prodmvd.
How the huge annual cut of lumber and the ravages of
floreat llres as. well shall be replaced Is one of the most
lmivavtnut problems with which this country has to deal.
Some of the great railway companies are planting trees
by tbe millions to provide ties for the future. The gov
ernment has been feebly attempting experiments In for
estry. Hut fur more thorough measures than any yet
undertaken must be resorted to, and that speedily, If the
next generation of Americans Is not to be left without
lumber.- Kansas City World.
THE COUNTRY TELEPHONE.
UK fii finerV wife him u iipw t'exnllree. Jfi-r
V I Jot has been Improved In many ways In the.
1 I Inst ten years. The "separator" and the
I ........... I. ....... II 1 1 ,1 . A.
i-renuiery imve renevvu ner m me severest
toll of the dairy. Tbe rural free delivery
brings magazines and newspaper to her
door. Lately tbe telephone Iihk put her with
in visiting distance of her nelgllbors.
The nearest farmhouse may be half a mile away, ami
the village three miles. The lines of poles and the wlreh.
perhaps merely the wire fence, have suddenly drawn her
Into an Intimate relation to both, unknown to her before.
To one who has never experienced tbe solitude of the
farm It Is hard to realize the Joy of tbe wife and mother
ut being able to consult u friend about the cut of the
baby's coat, the recipe for mince pies, or tbe dose of cough
sirup.
The demand for the telephone In tbe country Is Imper
ative. "KverylMid.v's got one," said the village storekeeper
to a city visitor. "Why, there's three families that' belui;
bellied by the town, and every oiif of 'em has got n tele
phone. Old MIh' Kearco says she'd rather go wltbout her
victuals than huve the telephone taken out!"
What u testimony to the desire for human companion
ship! Tbe gossiping Instinct, some cynical critic will
say. Hut, ufter all, wbat Is thut but the wish to com
pare notes on the perennially Interesting study of human
nututX' u study a fascinating to the unknown couutry
woiinin as to the famous psychologist V Youth's Companion.
lMI
THE VULGAR RICH.
ifcANY years ago (eorge William Curtlfi wrote
a little parable thut now reads like a proph
ecy, lie represented himself as having been
nsked to the house of a rich man. and when
asked by another whether be was going, be
said: "W'll he give mo any of his money V"
The man to whom he spoke was astonished
ut the question, aud asked why be supposed that this
would be (bine. Curtis went on to say thut when he wont
to see u literary man or an artist or a distinguished so
cial lender or u reformer or a scholar, be got something
from bis host Information, pleasure, Inspiration, the
charm of line society, etc. In other words, every man
gave him of that of which he had most. The rich man
hud only money, therefore, so the essayist argued, he
should give it to those who vlHltcd him. There Is, of
course, no tlaw in the logic. For society exists that men
mny give something to lr aud get something from it. If
tlds condition be not fulfilled there can be no society.
And this means thut u man who bus nothing but bis
money has no social value of any sort. When be ateuls
bis money us many rich men do to-duy we have only
another reason for excluding him. A fortune bused ou
bribery and corruption, ou bought franchises, on truffle
in foul food ami drink, is a vulgar aud detestable thing.
It Is time that this truth were enforced on our people.
Indianapolis News.
AUSTRALIAN MESSAGE - STICKS.
Ttry Kervcil im Vouehern In I'rlml
tlve KorniM of Trnile.
Considerable mystery has always at
tached to the so-called "message-sticks"
ed by nutlves of Australia, bearing
arks that are often supposed to take
tli place of written characters lu the
transmission of information. Tin-re is
sio doubt that these curiously marked
stk-kH are carried by messengers from
ae body of natives to another, but It
in asserted by Walter Uolb. who writes
ki the subject lu one of the ethnograph
Seal bulletins or the Queensland gov
raiueiit, thut thoy do not serve lu
themselves to convey Information, but
xrt merely used for puroses of Iden
tSflcutlon. Says Mr. Uoth, us quoted
fu Knowledge and Scientific News:
"The limit Ml quantity and portability
T n nutivo'H personal goods offer little
mc no opportunity for the uso of prop,
city murks. Jf weuons are of the
Mme cut, them nre minute, yet sutll
efcnt, differences which are recogniz
able to the owner; oven If similarly
wiutmcntcd, no two are so alike that
tfecy cannot bo distinguished. In a
Kcueral way, ouch having sutllclent for
lila own wants, and no person having
MOffv than another, there. Is nothing to
tlik've mid hence the lcnlly with which
titcft, even when It occurs, is regarded.
Oaly In cases of trade and barter,
through an intermediary, where it is
aa?ntlal thut ono Individual's goods
obould be distinguished from another's,
Sm there n necessity for a definite prop
rty mark, this taking the form of a
TO-called 'letter' or 'message-stick.' Un
Aar such circumstances the 'stick' may
pqt Into use as follows: Charlie,
ireshllng at lloulla, wants, wo will say,
atime plturl, but being prevented by
siefcness or some other cause from go.
bag hlnifiolf, sends some relative or
ftieucl Peter to the nearest market on
lbs Mulligan Ulver to get some for
&Lu, and gives him a 'message-stick.'
"Arrived, at last at his destination,
Peter Is usk(d his business, tells who
Xms sent him, liuud.i over tho 'stld:,'
ud establishes his bona fides. Tho
Jarful of plturl being at last forth
ewulng, tho vender returns tho 'stick
to Peter, but not before taking careful
mental note of It, so us to be sure of
recognizing It again. Peter returns at
lust to Charlie at l'.oulla. aud deliv
ers up both plturl and stick. It now
remains for Charlie to pay for the pl
turl with spears, boomerangs, etc. If
ho can prevail on Peter to take a sec
ond trip, all well and good, but if not,
us Is usually the case with so long a
Journey, ho either proceeds himself or
sends another messenger with the goods
aud the Identical 'message-stick' as be
fore. He, or tbe second messenger, ar-
lvlng at the Mulligan, finds the ven
der aud gives him the spears, boomer
angs, etc., together with the 'stick.'
Recognizing the latter, the seller uc-
epts the various articles In payment
for tbe bagful of plturl which he part-
(I with Home few weeks previously.
knowing now thut he bus been paid by
the right person, probably personally
unknown to him I. e., the sender of
the original 'stick.' "
Mr. Uoth states Ids absolute convic
tion that the marks ou the sticks do
not convey any communication, In the
ordinary sense of the term; the same
message may accompany different
sticks, or the same stick different mes-
sages, and tho stick may hoar no murks
at all. He goes on :
"I have been given u stick to tuko
with a certain message to another dis
trict, and purposely mislaid It tem
porarily, In order to secure another
specimen. Again, 'second-hnud' sticks
may be used over and over again by
strangers, who certainly huve had no
knowledge of the original manufactur
ers. Sometimes a broken twig Is suf
ficient, without any Incisions whatever,
and 1 huve often seen a piece of tea
tree bark, or even a rug, Just tied
round and round with twine, to consti
tute the .so-called letter. To put the
matter plainly, the message Is taken
verbally, the stick serving only to ac
centuate the bona tides of the messen
ger; If tho messenger Is known to both
parties, no stick Is sent. On the other
hand, there Is more or less uniformity
recognizable lu the nhupo of tho sticks
manufactured In different areas; the
flat feather shape of the lioullu ills
trlct beura a strong contrast to the
squared form of the letters met farther
north. Occasionally the stick may be
nflixed with twine to a bundle, carried
vertically in front, and the suggestion
has been offered that this expedient Is
resorted to when the messenger Is trav
eling through hostile country, so as
to give him immunity for trespassing ;
my experience is that, under such cir
cumstances, be would avoid any risk
of being .seen by traveling only by
night. I have often wit a HvJIized
black Ik.v on the road holding In front
of him u short twig. In htt split
tremlty of which n crm-lop cw,, lias
been Inserted ; nt it tiUlPtw; U ram
bles a flag somewhat'
: LD
3
yavorite
"Wr llwve DrunU from th" Sumr
('mil mi.
There are bonds of till sorts lu this world
of ours,
Fetter of friciiditliip and tin of flowers
And truu lovers' knots, I weeu.
Tie; i'irl and the boy arc bound by a kiss,
Put there's never a bund, old friend, like
tlii.
We huve drunk from the same canteen '.
It was sometiinos water and sometimes
milk
Aud sometimes npplc Jack fin? a silk ;
Put, wlmtever the tipple bus ben,
We shared it together in bann or bliss,
And J warm to you, friend, when 1 think
of this
We have drunk from the same canteen !
The rich and th? srent sit down to dine,
And they (4unff to each other in sparkling
wine
From jjImhhpk of crystal und grwn,
Put I Riiess in their golden potations thpy
miss
The warm I h of regard to be found In
this
We have drunk from tbe SHine canteen!
We have slum-d our blankets nud tents
together
And have marched and fought in all kinds
of weather,
And hungry and full we bav been;
Hud days of battle and duys of rest,
Hut this uipmory I cling to and love the
best
We huve drunk from the same canteen !
For -when wounded I lay on the outer
slope
With my blood flowing fast and but littl
hope
Upon which my faint spirit could
Ieuu
(Sit, then, 1 remember, you crawled to my
side.
And, bleeding so fast it seeuied lxh must
have died.
We drunk from the .same canteen !
O'eu. C. G. Ilnlplne (Private Miles
O'Peilly).
nge are sent to hawk goolans of cold
water, hard-boiled eggs or fresh dates,
llg or oratigeM. tip and down the coun
tryside stations; and thr-so bright,
clamoring, smiling, pearly teethed
maidens are pleasantly familiar little
figures to all travelers throughout tho
Delta. The bigger girls in time of
wheat harvest will Join with tho older
women In field lnlxir, which Is very fa
; tlguing, us In many districts not only
do they pluck and bind the corn, but
. nfterward carry the sheaves to tho
I threshing place. Not Infrequently n
bevy of women lalKirors who nave tho
leisure will proceed nt harvest time
from village to village, and so add a
few more shillings to the modest fam
ily chesL
Few Kijyjitian village scenes appenl
more forcibly to the cultivated taste or
artistic sense than that of tho village
maiden fetching water from the river
or the well. The lithe, elastic, well
developed figure of the peasant damsel
seems singularly noble in Its homely
simplicity, draped In Its loose dark blue
garment, the beautifully molded earth
enware pitcher wised ujxn her shapely
bead. Her long veil of coarse enrpe, It
is true. Is half drawn to conceal her
fact from prying eyes, or, when she
wears no veil and often, owing to the
exigencies of field labor, tho burko
(face veil) Is dispensed with- Its office
Is jierfonned by gathering a fold of her
head covering Into a corner of her
mouth. Yet the very poor are not al
ways punctilious about keeping their
faces hidden from strangers, and so
sometimes one sees the Indigo or greenish-blue
tattoo designs on the forehead
or below the under lip. On reaching
the river, where her shadow seems to
kiss tbe ripples, the modern Rebekah
tucks tlie skirts of her raiment between
her knees, enters the water to cleanso
and fill her water jar (babiss), and
then, with a last feminine touch of ad
justment to the folds of her dress, she
raises tbe heavy burden Into position
and bears it away, spilling nothing of
Its limpid contents. She never loses
her balance, having made a practice
from early childhood of carrying all
burdens on her head and having thus
acquired a naturally upright carriage
and statuesque gait.
I'lit rlotlnm.
Hreathes there the man witli soul so dead
Who never to himself .hath said,
"This is my own. my native land!"
Whose heart lint h ne'er within him burn'd
As home his footsteps lie hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strund?
If such there breathe, go, mark him well!
For him no minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentered all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And. doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung
Unwept, unhonor'd, and unsung.
Sir Walter Scott.
THE FELLAH'S YOKEMATE.
litn, lirum't .InUr,
Secretary Taft, In lU-mitr, n cer
tain hoax, said:
"It reminds me of ttw try nlut
Sir Plchard Owen, tin- iattum V.utfMi
scientist. A footman -afw ut Pem
broke lodge. Sir JllhrT. residence,
one morning, with lor Uiue wrap
ped lu a cloth, and wth h tUtW from
his master, Lord John Uuwll, asking
if Sir Richard would pU'ac ;ty what
animal the bone belonged to.
"It required but a glance from the
scientist to convince him that tbe hone
was nothing but a ham bone from an
ordinary pig. lie sent a menage back
to that effect, and, meeting Mrd John
the next day, huld :
"'Why on earth did you wild me a
pig's ham bone yesterday''
" 'I'll tell you,' said tbe other. 'Cen
oral (Srant, you know, Is a great Joker,
lie made me a present of what pur
ported to be that rare delicacy, a grizz
ly bear's ham, but, as I had my doubts,
1 sent you the bone.' "
.Not ' Slrrllnif.
Mr. Ouddbi The Poormans celebra
ted their silver wedding last night,
didn't they?"
Mrs. Gaddle Oh, no; I saw all the
presents.
Mr. Caddie KhV What do you
mean?
Mrs. Gaddle it seems to havo been
a silver-plated wedding. Catholic
Standard aud Times.
All that glitters can't be measured
by the solden rule.
Some OectiiuttlonN of the lltfjlil Inn
(Jlrl null Woman.
Her lot has Improved vastly since
those dark days of superstition when,
In order to propitiate Serapis, the deity
who presided over the waters of Fath
er Nile, she aviis liable to be given as a
sacrifice to the flood custom which
was until quite recently commemorated
at the annual cutting of the Khalecg at
Cairo by the erection of an earthen
"bride," which was swallowed up by
the rushing waters, says the Fort
nightly Itevlew. Albeit the fellow's
lines have never been cast In pleasant
places, very early in her existence does
her round of drudgery begin, for while
HtlH a tiny child she Is allotted a varie
ty of tasks. In the clover season one
nees peasant baby girls posted as senti
nels over the horses and cattle tethered
in the vividly green borseem fields;
mere children, placed lu authority near
tt harshly creaking water wheel, fol
low with toddling Hteps the wiry little
donkey or gaunt, ugly buffalo harness-
ill to a wooden prop which is attached
to the cogged wheel of the sakceyoh.
The little mites by voice and whip
urge the wcar.v blindfolded beasts to
keep Jogging along In the worn circu
lar track, that the slowly revolving
earthenware isits cease not to pour tiie
fertilizing water into the trough.
The same little maidens, their hair
generally plaited and the wisps and
braids decked with coins, are often
seen tending smalt serds of gouts. At
times, too, they are M'lit to forage for
rare windfalls of firewood (rare, be
cane In the delta wood of any sort is
warn), which, If they llnd, they carry
homeward across tho fields on their
heads, the strings of beads and glass
bracelets on their fat little necks and
arms glistening lu the bright sunshine;
while those who dwell in woodless
provinces are employed to collect ma
nure, which, mixed with chopped straw,
is pounded Into round cakes and when
dried in tho sun forms the staple native
fuel called "gelloh." Active little maid
ens carry diminutive hods or baskets
of mortar or bricks when building op
erations are In progress, or are set to
destroy caterpillars at seasons when
these pests threaten destruction to tho
maize or other crops.
Should their village be within easy
'distance of a railway, t'lrls of tender
A CUP OF TEA.
t
Huylng a cup of tea may be a trag
edy or a comedy. Much depends ou
the sex of the buyer. This is the way
a miyt buys it, says a writer In tho
London Sketch, lie slides sheepishly
Into the shop, takes the seat In the
draft, of the door that evcrylwdy else
has avoided, and says to the waitress
Willi a diffident smile:
"Oh, would you bring me a cup or
teaV"
The waitress, vho returns the smllo
or does not return It, according to the
rule of the establishment In regard to
tipping, brings him his tea, slams It
down, scribbles out a check and sails
away.
The man tastes the tea, finds that it
Is bitter from long browing, slips out
of ids seat, pays the bill and hurries
away from the shop.
Now let us see how a woman buys a
cup of tea.
She marches Into the shop with a
little boy on one side of her aud a lit
tle girl ou the other.
"I want a table for three." she says,
In the manner of one about to order a
dinner at ten guineas a head.
"Yes, madam," replies the meek at
tendant. "Will you kindly step this
way."
"Mummy," says the little boy, when
at last the party Is seated aud the at
tendant Is waiting to take the two
penny order, "mummy, why lws that
lady got a turned-upj nose?"
"Want a scone," complains the little
Kirl.
"A pot of tea for one," orders "mum
my," "and would you mind bringing an
extra cup. so that my little girl can
have some milk?"
"One tea and one tnllkV" asks the at
tendant. "No, thank you. r thought I gave
my order quite distinctly. I want a
pot of tea for one and an extra enp.
That's all."
"Yes, madam," says the meek at
tendant, and drags herself away with
the firm Intention of becoming an ac
tress, let the stage be vrfiat it may.
"Just one moment," says "mummy,''
when the tea L brought- "I should
like to make sure that this Is not too
strong. Yes, It is much too strong.
Will you let me have a pitcher of hot
water, please? And 1 don't think you
have brought quite enough milk."
Half an hour later she marches
proudly from the shop, having paid
exactly the same sum for these privi
leges as the wretched man who could
not swallow a mouthful, and who sat
In a draft.
IIKtlnur Itolh Wuyi.
"There Is one big advantage In this
matinee-idol business," mused the hand,
some actor, us the curtain went, down
on his thirty-third encore; "when you
hit a miss, you are always sure that
you v ill never miss u hit." Baltimore
American.
