CHAPTER X.
HE beer belug
done, the Doctor
chafed bitterly
while Jean-Marie
finished his cakes.
“I burn to be
gone,” he said,
looking at his
watch. "Good God!
how slow you eat!”
And yet to eat
slowly was his
•own particular prescription, the main
.-secret of longevity!
His martyrdom, however, reached an
«nd at last; the pair resumed their
3>laces in the buggy, and Desprez, lean
ing luxuriously back, announced his
intention of proceeding to Fontalne
bleau.
“To Fontainebleau?” repeated Jean
“My words are always measured,”
*j_ aaid the doctor. “On!”
The doctor was driven through the
Slades of paradise; the air, the light,
ithe shining leaves, the very movement
«of the vehicle, seemed to fall in tune
with his golden meditations; with his
head thrown back, he dreamed a se
ries of sunny visions, ale and pleasure
dancing in his veins. At last he
;spoke.
“I Shall telegraph for Casimir,” he
®aid. “Good Casimir! a fellow of the
lower order of intelligence, Jean
Marie, distinctly not creative, not poet
ic; and yet he will repay your study;
(his fortune is vast, and is entirely
•due to his own exertions. He is the
very fellow to help us to dispose of
•our trinkets, find us a suitable house
in Paris, and manage the details of
•our installation. Admirable Casimir,
•one of my oldest comrades! It was on
his advice, I may add, that I invested
my little fortune in Turkish bonds;
■when we have added these spoils of the
mediaeval church to be our stake in
the Mohammedan empire, little boy,
we shall positively roll among doub
loons, positively roll! Beautiful for
■est,” he cried, “farewell! Though
•called to other scenes, I will not-forget
thee. Thy name is graven in my
heart. Under the influence of pros
perity I become dithyramblc, Jean-Ma
rie. Such is the impulse of the natural
^primeval man. And I—well, I will not
soul; such was the constitution of
3-efuae the credit—I have preserved my
r. youth like a virginity; another, who
should have led the same snoozing,
•countrified existence for these years,
another had become rusted, become
stereotyped; but I, I praise my happy
•constitution, retain the spring unbrok
en. Fresh opulence and a new sphere
•of duties find me unabated in ardor
■and only more mature by knowledge.
For this prospective change, Jean?Ma
Tie—it may probably have shocked
you. Tell me now, did it not strike
you as an inconsistency? Confess—it
is useless to dissemble—it pained
you?”
“Yes,” said the boy.
“You see,” returned the doctor, with
sublime fatuity, “I read your thought!
!Nor am 1 surprised—your education is
not yet complete; the higher duties of
men have not been yet presented to
you fully. A hint—till we have leisure
—must suffice. Now that I am once
-more in possession of a modest com
petence; now that I have so long pre
pared myself in silent meditation, it
becomes my superior duty to proceed
-to Paris. My scientific training, my
undoubted command of language, mark
• ~me out for the service of my country.
Modesty in such a case would be a
snare. If sin were a philosophical ex
pression) I should call it sinful. A man
must not deny his manifest abilities,
-for that is to evade his obligations. I
must be up and doing; I must be no
iskulker in life’s battle.”
CHAPTER XI.
0 HE rattled on
copiously g r e a s
ing the Join,
01 his inconsisten
cy with words;
while the boy lis
tened silently, his
eyes fixed on the
horse, his mind
seething. It was
all lost eloquence,
no array of words
‘Could unsettle a belief of Jean-Ma
rie’s; and he drove into Fontainebleau
filled with pity, horror, indignation,
-and despair.
In the town Jean-Marie was kept a
fixture on the driving-seat, to guard
the treasure; while the doctor, with
-a singular, slightly tipsy airiness of
manner, fluttered in and out of cafes,
where he shook hands with garrison
officers, and mixed an absinthe with
the nicety of old experience; in and out
of shops, from which he returned laden
with costly fruits, real turtle, a mag
nificent piece of silk for his wife, a
preposterous cane for himself, and a
kepi of the newest fashion for the boy;
in and out of the telegraph office,
whence he dispatched his telegram,
»nd where three 'hours later he received
an answer promising a visit on the
morrow; and generally pervaded Fon
tainebleau with the first fine aroma of
Tiis divine good humor.
The sun was very low when they set
■forth again; tihe shadows of the forest
trees extended across the broad white
Toad that led them home; the pene
[ trating odor ol the evening wood had
already arisen, llko a cloud of incense,
from that broad field of tree-tops;
and even in the streets of the town,
where the air had been baked all day
between white walls, it came In whiffs
and pulses, like a distant music. Half
way home, the last gold flicker van
ished from a great oak upon the left;
and when they came forth beyond the
borders of the wood, the plain was
already sunken in pearly grayness, and
a great, pale moon came swinging sky
ward through the filmy poplars.
1 The doctor sung, the doctor whistled,
the doctor talked. He spoke of the
woods, and the wars, and the deposi
tion of dew; he brightened and bab
bled of Paris; he soared into cloudy
bombast on the glories of the politi
cal arena. All was to be changed; as
the day departed, it took with it the
vestiges of an outworn existence, and
to-morrow’s sun was to inaugurate the
new. ’ Enough, he cried, O this uie
of maceration!” His wife (still beau
tiful, or he was sadly partial) were
to be no longer burled; she should
now shine before society. Jean-Marie
would find the world at his feet; the
roads open to success, wealth, honor,
and posthumous renown. “And oh,
by the way,” said he, “for God’s Bake
keep your tongue quiet! You are, of
course, a very silent fellow; It is a
quality I gladly recognize in you—si
lence, golden silence! But this is a
matter of gravity. No word must get
abroad; none but the good Casimlr
is to be trusted; we shall probably dis
pose of the vessels In England.”
“But are they not even ours?” the
boy said, almost with a sob—it was
the only time he had spoken.
“Ours in this sense, that they are
nobody else’s,” replied the doctor. “But
the state would have some claim. If
they were stolen, for instance, we
should be unable to demand their res
titution; we should have no title; we
should be unable even to communicate
with the police. Such is the monstrous
condition of the law.* It is a mere ln
•Let It be so, for my tale!
stance of what remains to be done, of
the injustices that may yet be righted
by an ardent, active, and philosophi
cal deputy.”
Jean-Marie put his faith in Madame
Desprez; and as they drove forward
down the road from Bourron, between
the rustling poplars, he prayed in his
teeth, and whipped up the horse to
an unusual speed. Surely, as soon as
her character, and bring this waking
they arrived, madame would assert
nightmare to an end.
Their entrance into Gretz was her
alded and accompanied by a mo3t fu
rious barking; all the dogs in the vil
lage seemed to smell the treasure in
the noddy. But there was no one on
the street, save three lounging land
scape painters at Tentalllon’s door.
Jean-Marie opened the green gate and
led in the horse and carriage; and al
most at the same moment Madame
Desprez came to the kitchen threshold
with a lighted lantern; for the moon
was not yet high enough to clear the
garden walls.
“Close the gates, Jean-Marie!” cried
the doctor, somewhat unsteadily alight
ing. “Anastasie, where is Aline?”
“She has gone to Montereau to see
her parents,” said madame.
“Here, quick, come near to me; I
don’t wish to speak too loud!” he con
tinued. “Darling, we are wealthy!”
“Wealthy!” repeated the wife.
“I have found the treasure of Fran
chard,” replied her husband. “See,
here are the first fruits; a pineapple,
a dress for my ever-beautiful—it will
suit her—trust a husband’s, trust a lov
er's taste! Embrace me darling! This
grimy episode is over; the butterfly
unfolds its painted wings. To-morrow
Casimir will come; in a week we may
be in Paris—happy at last! You shall
have diamonds. Jean-Marie, take it
out of the boot, with religious care,
and bring it piece by piece Into the
dining-room. We shall 'have plate at
table! Darling, hasten and prepare
this turtle; it will be a whet—it will
be an addition to our meagre ordinary,
t myself will proceed to the cellar. We
shall have a bottle of that little Beau
jolais you like, and finish with the
Hermitage; there are still three bottles
left. Worthy wine for a worthy oc
casion.”
“The turtle, my adored, the turtle!”
cried the doctor; and he pushed her
toward the kitchen, lantern and all.
Jean-Marie stood dumbfounded. He
had pictured to himself a different
scene—a more immediate protest, and
his hope began to dwindle on the
spot.
CHAPTER XII.
HE doctor was j
everywhere, a little
doubtful on his
legs, perhaps, and
now and then tak
ing the- wall with
his shoulder; for it
was long since he
had tasted absinthe,
and he was then
reflecting that the
absinthe had been
a misconception. Not that he regret
ted excess on such a glorious day, but
he made a mental memorandum to be
ware; he must not, a second time, be
come the victim of a deleterious hab
it. He,'had hi* win* out of the celar
In a twinkling; he arranged the sacri-.
flclal vessels, some on the white table
cloth, some on the sideboard, still
crusted with historic earth. He was
in and out of the kitchen, plying Anas- ,
tasiej with vermouth, heating her with !
glimpses of the future, estimating their
new wealth at ever larger figures; and
befcre they sat down to supper, the
lady*8 virtue had melted in the fire of
his enthusiasm, her timidity had dis
appeared; she, too, had begun to speak
disparagingly of the life at Gretz; and
as she took her place and helped the
soup, her eyes shone with the glitter
of prospective diamonds.
All through the meal, she and the
doctor made and unmade fairy plans.
They bobbed and bowed and pledged
each other. Their faces ran over
with smiles; their eyes scattered spark
les, as they projected the doctor’s po
litical honors and the lady’B drawing
room ovations.
"But you will not be a Red!” cried
Anastasle.
"I am Left Centre to the core,” re
plied the doctor.
“Madame Gastein will present us—
we shall find ourselves forgotten,” said
the lady.
“Never," protested the doctor.
“Beauty and talent leave a mark.”
“1 have positively forgotten how to
dress,” she sighed.
“Darling, you make me blush,” cried
he. “Yours has been a tragic mar
riage!”
“But your success—to see you ap
preciated, honored, your name In all
the papers, that will be more than
pleasure—it will be heaven!” she
cried.
“And once a week,” said the doctor,
archly scanning the syllables, “once
a week—one good little game of bac
carat?”
“Only once a week?” she questioned,
threatening him with a linger.
“I swear it by my political honor,”
cried he.
“I spoil you,” she said, and gave
him her hand.
He covered it with kisses.
Jean-Marie escapes Into the night.
The moon swung high over Gretz. He
went down to the garden end and sat
on the Jetty. The river ran by with
eddies of oily silver, and a low, monot
onous song. Faint veils of mist moved
among the poplars on the farther side.
The reeds were quietly nodding. A
hundred times already had the boy
sat, on such a night, and watched the
streaming river with untroubled fan
cy. And this perhaps was to be the
last. He was to leave this familiar
hamlet, this green, rustling country,
this bright and quiet stream; he was
to pass Into the great city; and his
dear lady mistress was to move bedi
zened into saloons; his good, garru
lous, kind-hearted master to become a
brawling deputy; and both be lost
forever to Jean-Marie and their better
selves. He knew his own defects; he
knew he must sink into less and less
consideration in the turmoil of a city
life; sink more and more from the
child into the servant. And he began
dimly to believe the doctor’s prophe
sies of evil. He could see a change in
both. His generous incredulity failed
him for this once; a child must have
perceived that the Hermitage had com
pleted what the absinthe had begun.
If this were the first day, what would
be tho last? “If necessary, wreck the
train,” thought he, remembering the
doctor’s parable. He looked round on
the delightful scene; he drank deep
of the charmed night air, laden with
the scent of hay. “It necessary, wreck
the train,” he repeated. And he rose
and returned to the house.
?TO SlflOVTIVUSH.*
TO MELT SNOW.
A Simple Scheme to Clean the Numer
ous Streets of Large Cities.
Among those who have given consid
erable thought to the problem of
quickly and efficiently disposing of
the snow which falls on the streets of
the city, and which the bureau of street
cleaning is frequently unable to force
street cleaning contractors to remove
as rapidly and thoroughly as it should
be removed. Is Robert G. Mueller, an
engineer and architect in the office of
Otto C. Wolf, at Broad and Arch streets,
says the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mr.
Mueller’s plan involves the turning of
the accumulated snow Into water,
which afterward runs off through the
gutters into sewers. “This can be
done,” said Mr. Mueller, "both cheaply
and successfully. In melting the snow
I would use electricity upon such
streets as have trolley lines running
upon them. On other thoroughfares
steam would be used. After the sweep
ers and snow plows have thrown the
snow into a long pile between the
tracks and the curb laborers could
thro it into carts, which would haul it
to the nearest corner. Here I would
have the melting machine. It would
be In the form of a radiator, say 9 by 3
feet, on wheels. A• wire connects it
with the trolley wire. The heat gen
erated by the electric current will melt
the snow as rapidly as it can be hauled
up and thrown on the melting machine.
The water runs out through a pipe at
one corner of the machine Into the gut
ter or sewer opening.
“I have calculated that with six men
and carts all of the snow on a square
like any of those on Market street be
tween the city hall and the river can
be gathered up and melted In half an
hour.”
Mr. Mueller estimates the cost of
each machine at not more than $250.
The electricity, he thinks, the traction
company would be willing to supply for
nothing, as it would derive an equal
advantage with the city in the rapid
removal of the snow. Mr. Mueller has
prepared working drawings of his plan
and will submit them to the bureau
of street cleaning.
ME. BRYAN AGAIN.
HE IS TO CONTINUE HIS “EDU
CATING" WORK.
The Tarts BUI Being rnaked Rapidly
Ahead—Republican Seuator* Working
Together —Democrat* Dlaconaerted.
Home Want Tree Trade Some Protection.
(Washington Letter.)
Special correspondence:—The prop*
osition to utilize Mr. Bryan aa a cam*
paign orator in sundry states and cities
in the approaching campign is the oc
casion of considerable comment here.
Mr. Bryan visited twenty-eight states
as a campaign orator during the re
cent presidential campaign and suc
ceeded in carrying six of them, five of
these six having from time immemorial
been Democratic states. In all the large
cities visited by him the Republican
vote was enormous and nearly every
one of them was carried by the Re
publicans. In thirty-five large cities
of the United States, which in 1892 gave
162 thousand Democratic plurality, the
Republican plurality in 1896 was 464
thousand and most of these cities were
visited by Mr. Bryan during the cam
paign.
Poshing the Tariff.
There have been some interesting de
velopments in Washington during the
present week and some especially sig
nificant in their character. The Re
publican senators have shown their de
termination to push the tariff bill with
all possible speed while the Democratic
senators have shown themselves en
tirely at sea In the matter of policy up
thls Important question. Both parties
have held caucuses to determine their
action in regard to the tariff bill and
the contrast between the developments
of the two conferences was Btrongly
marked. The Democrats found them
selves entirely at sea, unable to agree
upon any course with reference to the
Important features of the bill while the
Republicans emerged from their cau
cus a thoroughly united body deter
mined to present a solid front to the
enemy whom they know to be in con
trol of the senate.
That the senate of the United States
is not a Republican body, everybody
knows. That the ability of the Repub
licans to pass a tariff bill depends upon
the strength of the protective senti
ment among the Democrats and Popu
lists is conceded. The Republicans are
in the minority in the senate. To pass
the tariff bill they must either have the
active open support of one or more
Democrats or one or more members of
the Democratic and Populist parties
must omit to vote against it. There
is reason to believe that the bill will
receive the support of at least one
Democrat and probably two Populists,
if Senator Kyle is to be classed as a
Populist, He is put down in the Con
gressional Directory as an Independ
ent. Senator Jones, of Nevada, who
has been classed as a Populist for the
past two or three years, will, it is un
derstood, support the bill and it is
probable that Senator Kyle will do so
or at least not vote against it. Senator
McEnery, of Louisiana, Democrat, has
indicated clearly his intention to sup
port a protective tariff.
It is under these circumstances that
the Republican minority In the senate
enter upon the desperate struggle to
pass their bill. They have, as above
indicated, the advantage of presenting
a solid front in support of the bill
while the other parties are not able to
solidify themselveB upon any feature
of the measure. Their caucus showed
that upon the numerous questions at
Issue not only were they not united
but that they could not unite. The Re
publicans, on me otner nand in their
caucus determined to put aside per
sonal preferences in regard to the var
ious items of the bill, each man sub
mitting hiB proposed amendments to
the finance committee, and afterward,
if necessary, to the caucus committee
upon this subject. They further agreed,
much as they might desire to enter
upon a general discussion of the tariff,
to forego that undertaking for the sake
of economy of time, and to press nt
every turn for active energetic work
upon the schedules of the bill with the
purpose of getting final action upon it
at the earliest possible moment. Not
a speech, aside from the explanation
which Senator Aldrich offered in the
opening day of the debate, is to be
made by the Republicans, other than
the brief responses made necessary in
reply to the attacks which it is expected
that the Democrats will make upon the
schedules of the bill as the discussion
progresses. Thus the public may un
derstand that if there is delay in the
passage of the bill through the senate,
the responsibility will rest with the
Democratic party. If the Republicans
could control the action of the senate,
the bill would be passed through that
body within a fortnight and be upon
the statute books certainly by the end
of the fiscal year. If they cannot, the
fault will be with the Democrats.
If the Republicans are able to carry
out their program, the first four
months of President McKinley’s ad
ministration will witness a heretofore
unheard of occurrence in the history of
the country, the meeting of a congress
within fifteen days of the inauguration
of a new president, the framing of a
great tariff bill and passage through
the house, its consideration by the sen
ate and conference committee and
enactment into a law—all within four
months. If this fails to happen the
public will understand that the failure
is because of delay offered by Demo
crats, who recognize the fact that
every day’s delay is a postponment of
business activity and prosperity, and
that by this process only are they able
to create the dissatisfaction which they
hope may result to their advantage in
the coming elections.
Retaliation Talk*
Much Is heard now of the retaliatory
measures about to be adopted by cer
tain countries In cases where the new
tariff law will affect their merchants
adversely.
"Retaliation,” as against the tariff
law of another nation, might be a good
thing if it could stop there. But there
Is such a thing as retaliation 1 gainst
retaliation. Those foreign countries
which are talking about retaliating
against our tariff law will think several
times before they deliberately cut off
their markets with the United States
which they now have. For instance:
The Argentine Republic which is talk
ing so loudly about retaliation, will
discover when It comes to look into the
case that it sold us last year twice as
much of the productions of Its people
as it bought from the United States,
Austria-Hungary sold us three times
as much as her people bought from the
United States and Japan sold to this
country more than three times as much
as our own people sold in her markets.
When the authorities of those countries
recognise the fact that they will, by re
taliation, lose a market two or three
times as valuable as the one which they
propose to take away from the United
States, they will abandon the Idea.
GEORGE WILLIAMS.
Tillman on President McKinley.
From the Chicago Inter Ocean: A
Democratic exchange reports a nail
made by Senator Tillman of South Car
olina upon President McKinley. II was
purely social. It does not appear that
the senator had any favors to ask, or
any points of policy to urge. He simply
wanted to get better acquainted with
the president of the United States. The
idea was certainly a good one, and it
would be well If It were adopted gener
ally. Personal acquaintance is a great
factor In greasing the wheels and
chalking the bands alike in business
apd public affairs. Grover Cleveland
made a great mistake In discouraging,
wittingly or unwittingly, the cultiva
tion of personal friendships, and that,
too, when he especially needed such
friendships; President McKinley knew
personally and was on terms of pleas
ant personal friendship with a large
proportion of congressmen and sen
ators of both parties. In this respect
he probably had an advantage over any
president since Van Buren. President
Cleveland, on the other hanA, had an
exceptionally small acquaintance with
public men. Senator Tillman Is a
unique figure in politics, but his career
only began eleven years ago. Prior to
1886 he was a plain farmer, not a
planter, but a farmer, with no thought,
apparently, of a political career. His
term in the senate began two years ago,
and will end with the closo of this ad
ministration. Here Is what our Demo
cratic exchange reports the senator as
saying about his visit:
“My call on Mr. McKinley was en
tirely social In Its nature, and was
made by me for the purpose of getting
better acquainted with the president.
Our conversation was such a one as
any two men in public life would have,
the questions of the day being touched
on only in the most general way, and’
no attempt being made by either party
to introduce questions on which we
knew we differed. I was much Im
pressed with Mr. McKinley and told
him that, no matter what his politics
were, he had the advantage of coming'
into the white house with the cleanest
personal record of any president for
the last twenty-five years. I am sure
of the fact that the present executive
is an honest man, heart and soul, and
that, no matter what the Influences
are that surround him. It will not be
his fault if he does not give an honest
administration, according to the teach
ings of his party.”
There is no man at Washington
more given to harsh and rasping criti
cism than Senator Tillman. This pe
culiarity has earned for him the name
“Pitchfork Tillman,” and when he has
only words of praise for President Mcr
Kinley It means a great deal. He has
a very large following throughout the
south. The rural whites, no longer
content to be political nonentities, are
asserting themselves In all that region,
and Benjamin R. Tillman is their lead
er. His favorable report of the Re
publican president will do much to
soften the asperities of sectionalism.
Mr, Bryan Scheduled.
William J. Bryan has accepted an in*
vltatlon to make an address In Union
Square, New York, on September 6,
Labor day.
The active campaign for the control
of the city of New York will then have
been begun, and politics will be sizzling
If not roaring in the heat of the early
fall. If the silver question has re
ceived attention at the hands of the
Democratic managers, that Its import
ance demands, then Mr. Bryan’s pres
ence will add to the hilarity of the oc
casion and the silver cause, like ihe
soul of John Brown, will go marching
on.
If, on the contrary—and this is a
fateful thought—the Democratic man
agers, with premeditation and malice
prepense, have artfully, insidiously and
with deliberate purpose, sought to ig
nore, sidetrack or otherwise obscure
and make insignificant and inconse
quential, the great silver question, then
the presence of Mr. Bryan In New York
on Labor day will be as a ton of dyna
mite exploded under the Tammany
wigwam: as a stream of burning oil
poured upon the shattered Democratic
hulk; as the roaring of a pack of Ben
gal tigers—if those beasts ever went
in packs, which they do not—to the
mewing of a puling kitten.
In fact, the presence of Mr. Bryan in
New York on that Interesting occasion
will add immeasurably to the gaiety of
politics, if not to the Joyfulncss of the
nations.—Albany Journal.. __ _
Wb«r« IS “FrM |Ut«» Jtmw t t
The former free ellver Journal#
themselves furnish ample proof of the
collapse of the “bimetallism" move*!
ment. No better commentary on the)
change in public opinion whl"h haaj
taken place In the western states could!
be desired than the information fur-J
nlshed In the following article from)
the Oregonian, of Portland, Ore, I»
says:
“The dreadful financial cataclysm*
that were to engulf Colorado, alone
with the rest of the world, In case*
Bryan was defeated, do not seem toi
be materialising, if one may Judge from!
the Denver Times, one of the most!
rueful of ante-election prophets.!
Speaking for the state, it says: 'Colo-:
rado boldly challenges any state in thei
union to make a race with her this!
spring in the matter of general activ
ity.’ Then follows a long summary of
new and prospering enterprises. Even,
money matters aro buoyant. 'Credit*
are being settled rapidly,’ says the
Times, ‘ in the larger cities of the state.
Collections are an even 60 per cent bet*
ter than they were one year ago. I
Easter sales in all stores were better /
than they had been since April, 1893.
Bank deposits have increased from 5
to 15 per cent, and bank clearings for
the current week advanced 14 per cent <
over last year.’ This Is a melancholy p
prospect for a free silver paper to con
front, In the face of the awful havoo
still being wrought by the gold stand
ard."
Of all the tree silver states in tho
last national campaign, Colorado was
the most rampant and uncompromis
ing, and of all the advocates of freo
silver the Denver Times was perhaps
the most vindictive and threatening,!
it predicted that it the cause it
espoused was lost, ruin would clutch
the state. Yet now that same uewspa
per is proudly boasting of Colorado’s
increased prosperity, of the better col
lections, the greater bank deposits apd
the larger volume of business which Is
being transacted. It even challenge*
any other state to show a degree of
commercial activity equal to that now
being displayed by Colorado.
Such testimony as this, which Is to
be found In scores of Journals that
once advocated free coinage. Is th*
worst blow which sllver-at-16-to-l
could possibly suffer. It knocks th® ;
last props from under the movement W
and leaves It an absolute and hopeless
wreck.—Cincinnati Commercial Trib
une.
The President ud Cabo,'
Those who were expecting t sensa
tional message from President McKin
ley ou the Cuban situation will b»
much disappointed. But they should
remember that the main object In
view 1b the relief of suffering Ameri
can cltfxens In the war-harried island.
This can be done in only two ways.
First, with the consent and co-opera
tion of the Spanish authorities, or,
second, In face of their opposition. It '
the President had recommended the
recognition of Cuban belligerency, and .
If congress should have followed Us
advice, the Spaniards, though they
could not rightfully have regarded
recognition as a hostile act, could, and
probably would, have refused to allow
us to communicate with the Interior
of the Island; and if they saw lit, to
establish an effective blockade. It
would be the duty of the United States
to recognise and respect it
We think that President McKinley
has acted with great wisdom In limit
ing his recommendations to the sub
ject Immediately before the country.
I The senate Is entitled to credit for
adopting a resolution in accordant*
with the suggestions of the President
If the Democrats of the house under
the leadership of young Mr. Bailey
think that they can make political
capital by trying to force the recogni
tion of the insurgents as belligerents
a. this time even at the cost of defeat
ing the senate resolution, they will
And that they have mistaken the tem
per of the people of the United States.
The two subjects are in nowise con
nected, and they ought not be con- ‘
founded. President McKinley is clear
ly right, and he Bhould be loyally sus
tained.—Indianapolis News.
Th» Nlmn(n Canal.
Evidences have been given in many
of the recent dlspatchea from Wash*
ington that the project for constructing
the Nicaragua canal will soon come to
the front again in congress and will ho
supported by the whole force of tho SS
administration. Secretary Sherman Is '
known to be favorable to the enterprise
and there is every reason to believe
that President McKinley desires to
make its acompllshment one of the
prominent features of his term of office.
The Importance of the canal Is suck
that every particle of news affecting It
is a matter of general interest. For
that reason there will be close attention
given to the subject, now that it is
about to reappear as a practical issue
before congress. While the subject has
been long under discussion, it has never
become threadbare, because every one
who favors it fully recognizes tho
strength of the opposition and knows
that unless its supporters are incessant
ly active it can never be accomplished.
The news from Washington will,there
fore, revive the agitation on the sub
ject all over the country and strength
en the energies of the friends of the
measure by increasing their hope cf
speedy success.—San Francisco Call.
Telephone Service for Farms.
Farmhouses in Carroll county, Mary
land, are supplied with a telephone
service at $15 a year, and it is said by >
those who have tried it that life in the>
country is made far more attractive'
when Instant communication can be, v#
had with the family doctor, the post
office and village stores, to say nothlngi
of an occasional chat with a distant)
friend. The cost of the service is mor% -
than returned in various ways.
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