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Romance of the Year
Time Civil, Ecclesiastical and Astronomical
Dato of New Year Variable Equinoxes Alone
Constant- Customs of New Year's Observance
In Ancient and Modern Times. n?
All nation .ip.il people have a par
ticular epoch from which they date
tli" era in whli li tl ey may have Ii vttf .
The Uomnns !at'i their chronologle-al
vrrit.H from the founding "f the? city.
The? expression. "The year of Rome."
or the letters A. U. C. tab urbs Coii
i ita ) refers to that particular epoch.
Ttn Mohammedans express their se
efiieuiec of time ,y "the e:ir of the
prophet." The date is from the lli jira.
or the flight of Mohammed from
Merrn HIejira i:: (.ronomued Hej i ra,
aii:I is an Ar.'ihic v.onl tiieatiiii llii;ltt).
wiilch o f nrrcil A. I. tl'Jl!. The J'vs
rTon their lisj -.etisat ion fnim ti.e
er.'itiori of t!u- wurlil, t.ut in r-ulify
their chronology lieIris with tiie
i-'xoilus. Jli'i i's init nt iotially ititri-line-Ml
a new ealeiithir. ami makes
A I i I their Irst month. It has hr-en
.siii posed that the Jewish ivahhatti is
the s:mie a;4 the .seventh day on which
!! eniled ill-; wt.rk, hut as Jinx -s
lhanReif the f!r.-.t month to At-il. he
chanp:el the first lay also. The flrt
li-.iy of this new year was the first
tay of the first month ami the first
lay of the first week. Tho Sabbath
beitiK held on tle seventh Iay. it must
of necvfty have been changed also.
Hut b in, changed, it could not be in
correspondence with the seventh day
cf creation on which God Tested."
Christian date their epoch from the
birth of Christ, the expression for
which la the Latin words Anno Dom
ini, or A. 1)., the initial letters of the
words. Five centuries elapsed before
an attempt was made to authoritative
ly fix the date of the Nativity. This
was then undertaken by Dionyslua
Kxlguus (little), who fixed our present
chronology. It is now generally al
lowed that be was four years out In
his reckoning, and that II. C. 4 is the
eorrect year. This corresponds with
the statement by Irenens and Tertul
lian that Christ was born about the
year of Home 731.
Different nations have begun their
count ef time at different parts of the
twenty four Ssours. The ancient Ac
cadians. Habylonlans. Syrians. Per
sians, the modern Greeks and the In
habitants of the Ualearic isles reckon
their day from sunrise to sunrise. Why
the ancient nations began the day at
sunrise is evident from their early re
ligion. wMch was Magism. Fire was
a chief object of reverence with them,
ami the run as the grand symbol of
their worship received especial venera
tion. Hence they began their day as
they began their devotions with the
rising sun.
Others, like the Athenians, the Chi
nese and the Jews have counted the
day from sunset to sunset. Why the
Jews begin the day from sunset is
potent from their religion. The char
acteristics of the Jewish religion are
in sharp contrast to those of other
nations. The aim of Moses was to
wean them from the grossaess of
oriental religions. Hence the contrasts
and antitheses. If the worshipers of
the elements begin the day with sun
rise, then the followers of Jehovah
will begin theirs with sunset. Moses
can have no concord with error.
The Kgyptians and pagan Roman
priests began their day at midnight.
Most European nations follow the
fame rule. Americans have also adopt- !
ad the eur-tom. Astronomers, however. '
begin the day at noon, when the sun
Is on the meridian. I
To Ilipparchus. a Greek philosopher. ;
who flourished about IJ. C. K. must j
be given the credit of dividing tne j
t'ay from midnight to midnight into j
twenty-four hours, or two equal por-
tions of twelve hours each. This sys- I
tern prevails generally at the present !
day. Hut astronomers count continu- j
ously for twenty-four hours.
The week, as all know, consists of
seven days. Christians and Jews j
hold this division because (Jod created ;
the heaven and the earth (the solur I
system) and primordial forms of life
In six days, and "rested" on the )
seventh. Rut it would seem that
pagan nations selected seven days be
cause of the seven planets known to
them, after which they called the
days. The sun and moon were In
cluded in the planets. They were:
Sun. Mercury. Venus. Moon. Mars.
Jupiter. Saturn. We call three days i
of the week directly after the planets j
Saturday (Saturn. Sunday (Sun).
Monday (Moon), and four through the j
Saxon names for the others: Tuday j
(Tuesco Mars). Wednesday (Woden
Mercury). Thursday (Tbor Jupl-
ter). and Friday (Friga Venus).
Tha month, no doubt, originated
from the phases of the moon. These,
sharp and well-denned-, are four In
nnmhp (ha naio m -win flrf nn:irff-r
mil moon and last qnarter. Men or
ItiM itliaaes orencles about seven
z7 zzrjzr
DOOR
iiiirinui
Wlnn yon !i-.-ir lli Nw Yar
Knock !fi( nt th door.
W hich, of all your lnhcn.
Wniil'l yon ;i-k lilm for.
If lie ::il. ! gr.irl yon
fi- an I J'lut no more?
When )'oi le-r tin- New Yc.ir
KiiocktiiK t tlo iloor
WI-cmi yon h-;i r tin- N-w Year
.Knocking at the floor.
'ays. so that from new full moon to
fiew full moun, there Is Komthing
more than tweniy-nine days, which is
calle-.l a syuodical month, or lunation.
No nation up to the present time
has devised a system of abswlitte ac
curacy In the measurement of the
eolar year. Koine ancient nations, such
as the Chaldeans, reckoned the year
as :w,) days. This is the principle of
I hat most ancient astronomical term,
the Zodiac. The Zodiac is a belt en
circling heavens on each side of
the ci-iiplie. within which the planets
Known to the ancient : always revolve.
It extends eight degrees on eneh side
of the ecliptic. It is divided into
twelve e'iual parts, called signs of the
Zodiac. It is a great cyc le, and is di
vided into ::' degrees, like all cir
cles; iieiiee Uiiii days in tho Chaldean
v e.ir.
The Egyptians counted days in
their year. As the year contains
::;." 'i days nearly, su.-ii systems could
not fail to work great inconvenience,
for the seasons would move round in
i cycle from one time of the year to
the other. Let me make this quite
plain. Take the winter solstice, for
instance, which happens on Dec. 21.
At the end of four years the; solstice
would be- not on Dec. 21. but on Dec-.
22. The sun would be behind time. In
order, therefore, that the seasons
should occur ?t the same titre in the
civil year, it was necessary to take
account cf this fraction of a day.
Julius Caesar, the great Roman em
peror, determined to rectify the error.
He called the celebrated Egyptian as
tronomer. Sosigines, to his aid. Sosi
elnett suggested the addition of a day
every fourth year. This day was add
ed to February, and is known to us as
"Leap Year." but to the Romans as
Kissextilo (His, twice, sexttis, sixth).
This corrected calendar became
known as the Julian. Hut a3 it made
the year consist of .." days. hours,
it was in excess of the actual time by
. minute 10.3 seconds. Small as was
this fraction, it accumulated to about
rne day in every 134 years.
The calendar needed reform. Time,
civil ami ecclesiastical, required re
adjustment. Hut to urge the neces
sary chang. was dangerous, as the
learned Friar Hacon found to his cost.
For pointing out errors in the calendar
he received as a reward for the ad
vocacy of the truth a prison, where he
remained ten years.
As often happens, ecclesiastical
requirements minister to civil neces
sities. The immediate cause of the
correction of the calendar was an
error in the time of observing the
Easter fe.tival. The Council of Nice,
in A. D. 32.". decreed that Easter is
the Sunday following the full moon,
next aft or the Vernal equinox. Owing
to disputes arising from this decree
Tope Hi!arius. in 4tf3, ordered that the
paschal moon should not be the actual
lull moon, but an ideal one, falling on
the 14th day of the moon by the
nietonic cycle (so-calle-d from Metoni,
a Greek philosopher who discovered
;f. It consists of nineteen years, at
the end of which the sun is in about
the same position he was at the be
ginning). In 13S2 it was found that the real
equinox fell ten days before the nom
inal one. and from the error in the
Metonlc cycle. Eater had got four
days wrong. Then Fope Gregory
XIII reformed the calendar, called
rftcr him the Gregorian calendar, by
the aid of Clavius, a learned Jesuit.
The equinox of 15S2, which should
have fallen on March 21. fell on
March 11. Gregory cut the Gordian
knot by decreeing that Oct. 5 of that
year should be counted as Oct. 13.
The first method of measuring time,
as far as we know, was by means of
the obelisit- The pyramids of Egypt
very probably answered the same pur
pose. Jsephus states that Moses
erected, at Heliopolis. in Egypt, a pil
lar for such purposes. "The cloudy
pillar" that accompanied the Israel
ites in th-ir forty years' wanderings in
the w ilderr.ess. and which wair a "pil
lar of fire by night." most likely an
swered the same purpose. Pliny states
that an obelisk, now on the Thames
embankment in I-ondon. and known
as " Cleopatra's Needle." was erected
by Mesophres about B. C. 1700. likely
for similar uses. We all know, I hope,
the reference ia the Hible to the sun
dial of Aha, about B. C. 74i. Accord
ing to St. Jerome, who revised the old
Iatin Hitk what is called the
Vulgate Version of the Holy Scrlp
Mres. it was a pillar erected near a
flight of steps (translated degrees in
the English Bible). Berosus was the
first to construct a sundial proper, in
B. C 640 the flret recorded in pro
f history
WoijM you a?k lor Money
l!cafii In Kolin More?
llfmemtwr M I 'nriifirlf.
Who nay Hint wrnlth'n a bore,
Wti-n you hear ttn N-w Year
Hnofklnjc at the ilwir.
WhMi you liar tho New Year
Knock I UK at tin door.
Would you wind for Pov.-r.
I -lk monarch held of yore?
S" Hi" z.ir of Kuaxia.
liornliarilril, oft ami fore. ,'
When you hear the New Year
Knocking ut the door.
When you hear the New
Year
Knocking nt the floor.
Make the wish that'll host
of all.
11 what may In more
'Tl to keep the olil friends
Keloveal of your heart's
When you hear the New
Winn Litiir ut f lie ilnnr
core.
Year
John S. McG: uarty
Hut. sundials are only useful when
the sun shines; hence some other
measures of time became a necessity.
The Kgyptians were successful in in
venting such a contrivance. They
called it the Clepsydra (kleps, to
steal, and hudor. water), by which
time was measured by a continuous
ltow of water at a uniform motion.
The Clepsydra is first mentioned by
Kmpedocies, who flourished in the
fifth century before Christ. It was
brought to a high degree of perfec
tion by a philosopher of Alexandria,
named Cfesebiu -, and continued down
to the invention of clocks, probably in
the fourteenth century. Watches fol
lowed in hie eour. e. till they have
become an r.lnm: I iitcessary requisite
of everyday use.
Most people lire i:nder the impres
sion that I he rotation of the earth
has never varied from one complete
turn in t. eiity-foiir hours. But this is
an error. The motions of both earth
and moon have not been invariable.
There was a time when the lunar
month was twenty-nine days instead of
twenty-seven, as it now is (Sir R.
Hall: Time and Tide). The synodical
month, therefore, was between thirty
and thirty-one? days. (A synodical
month is the interval from one new
moon to the next.) So that primitive
man, reckoning the month as a synodi
cal period, or lunation, may not have
been so inaccurate as we in our su
perior wisdom imagine.
Going back from this epoch to the
infancy of the moon, we come to a
time when the day and month were
of equal duration about four hours
each! Going forward to the old age
of the earth, we cotne to an epoch
when the day and month are again
equal. But this time, instead of being
four hours each, they will be 1,400
hours. Just think of it! One day last
ing 1,400 hours! When the day will
equal fifty-eight of our present days,
what will be the length of the year?
But we must not stop at a 1,400-hour
day. Going still forward in the far-off
future, we come to a time when the
face of the earth will be always
turned to the sun, as the moon's face
is now turned to the earth, and as she
will continue to be. Then there will
be a perpetual day, for the sun shall
never set, literally fulfilling the words
of the prophet: "Thy sun shall no
more go down, neither shall thy moon
withdraw itself." (Is. lx:20.) The
romance cf time! How it fascinates!
The new year has been observed
with festive rejoicings from remotest
antiquity. Its celebration by religious,
as well as secular observances, pre
vailed generally among the nations of
antiquity. And Egyptians, Hindus.
Chinese, Persians, Jews, Romans and
Mohammedans. although differing
widely as to the time from which they
reckon the new year, all regard it with
especial interest of a joyous kind.
The Chinese begin the year at the
Vernal equinox, and make it one of
the most splendid festivals. All
classes mingle together, and unite in
thanksgiving for mercies received and
rrayers for a genial season and good
crop.
With the Hindus the first day of the
new year is sacred to Ganesa, the
god cf wisdom, to whom kids and
wild deer are sacrificed amid illumina
t:ons and rejoicings. Among the
mountainous tribes a buffalo is sac
rificed before vast multitudes of peo
ple. The Sabeans held a grand festival
on the day the sun entered Arus, one
of the signs of the Zodiac. Priests
and people marched to the temples
and sacrificed to the planetary gods.
In the Brftish Isles the Druids be
gan the year on March 10th, with the
solemn ceremony of cutting the mis
tletoe from the sacred oak. On that,
day two white bulls were tied by the
horns. When a Druid, clothed in white
robes, mounted the tree and cut off
the mistletoe, after which the sacri
fices were offered.
The. Mexicans on new v-ear's day
adorned their houses and temples
and engaged in various religious cere
monies. On such occasion human
sacrifice was offered to propitiate the
gods.
In modern times it is also an occa
sion of social rejoicing and inter
change of courtesies. In England,
under old style, the year began on
March 25. On the change of date to
Jan. 1, great opposition was offered
by the people generally. Many really ;
believed they were being deprived of
eleven years of their existence.
Rev. F. P. Duffy, Secretary Ameri
can Church Bible Institute.
Ravecswcod, Illinois.
GROSVENOIi ON SNAG
'FOXY GRANDPA" FROM OHIO
GETS A SETBACK.
Boasting in the House of Our Achieve
ments in Foreign Markets, He Finds
Congressman Benny Exceedingly
Well Posted on the Subject.
Foxy Grandpa Grosvenor of Ohio
was coasting along beautifully in one
of his brilliant, boastful, grandiloquent
speeches in Congress the other day,
when he suddenly ran over a tack and
punctured a tire. While boasting of
our achievements in foreign markets,
he read the following news Item from
the New York American of Nov, 16.
1!03:
"Berlin, Nov. 15. The Frankfurter
Zeitung's Constantinople correspond
ent says the Pennsylvania Steel com
pany has been awarded the contract
for 20,000 tons of steel rails for the
Mecca railway, in competition with
tho Krupps and several other German
and Belgian establishments."
Naturally he supposed that his hear
ers would assume that he had read
the whole article. It happened, how
ever, that Congressman Benny of New
Jersey had this same newspaper item
in his pocktl. The rest of it was
as follows:
"The price is $22.98 per ton del'v
ered at Beirut. The price of steel
rails in the United States is $28 per
ton, which is the highest average
price in ten years."
Foxy Grandpa was much disconcert
ed when Mr. Benny read the rest of
tho item, but soon recovered himself
to say:
Now if the gentleman gets the floor
. . . will he tell me In an official
manner how much harm has been
done to the people of the United
States by breaking into that monopo
ly of the Krupps on the other side of
the water and selling steel rails even
at a price lower than they can be af
forded for?"
Mr. Benny did get the floor and he
made it quite clear that these rails
sold in Beirut were not sold at a loss.
He said, in part:
"The American trust sold these rails
at $22.88 per ton delivered in Beirut.
Deducting $5 estimated freight rate
per ton and the price to the trust is
then $17.88 per ton. Is that 'less than
they can be afforded for?' Has not
Mr. Chas. M. Schwab himself, the
president of the steel trust, put the
cost of production of steel rails at
less than $12 per ton in the United
States and about $19 per ton in Eng
land? "In the United States Steel Cor
poration's financial statement of 1903,
as contained in Moody's Manual of
Corporation Securities for 1903, at
page 1706, we find that this one cor
poration for the year 1902 produced
1,920,786 tons of steel rails; that its
total production of all articles was
8,197,232 tons the same year, while
its net earnings during that year were
$133,308,763.72.
"Does the gentleman from Ohio be
lieve this Pennsylvania steel company
is selling 20,000 tons of steel rails at
a loss? Was it by selling their more
than 8,000,000 tons total output at a
loss that the United States Steel Cor
:poration made a net earning last year
of above $133,000,000 more than $16
per ton?
"Is it not fair to assume that Mr.
'Schwab's figures are correct? If so,
then this sale of steel rails to be de
livered at Beirut carries a profit of
about $lt per ton, less the freight
charges to that Syrian port. If we
estimate that freight charge, as be
fore, at $5 per ton. there still remains
a net profit of $6 per ton. which, based
upon the output of steel rails by the
: United States Steel Corporation for
last year, would yield that company
an annual profit on steel rails alone of
;$11,524,716. . . . Since the trust
jhere sold those rails at $22.88 per ton
delivered at Beirut we should deduct
from that the $5 per ton estimated
freight charge to be paid by the trust,
which leaves $17.88 per ton as the
net price to the trust. American con
sumers are paying for the same ma
terial $28 per ton. a difference of
$10.12 a ton in favor of the purchaser
in foreign lands. At that rate, and
estimating the consumption of steel
rails in the United States this year
at the total output of these rails for
1902 in this country, viz., 2,872,909
tons, the 'harm' this year to Ameri
can consumers of that particular
product will amount to $29,073,839.08.
1 "The 'harm' to American consumers
of other products, handled in the same
way by other trusts, is beyond com
putation. Does the gentleman from
Ohio mean that breaking into the
;Krupp monopoly on the other side of
the water has benefited the people
there? If so. will he not admit that
by removing the duty upon steel rails
of $7.84 per ton and assisting in the
'breaking into' the steel trust here
our own people would be benefited?
"Are we to infer from the gentle
man's remarks that extortion in this
country is not wrong if practiced on
the railroads that purchase steel
rails? The Democratic position is
that, without regard to whom it is
practiced on. extortion is always
wrong, and when permitted and en
couraged ty our laws is a political
crime."
Republicans Call This Prosperity.
The Hon. J. O. Cannon said the day
the Republicans nominated him for
speaker of the House: "The people
t " j
1 1 mMMm
nevf-r were so well and perfectly em
ployed as now." That great Repub
lican leader, Congressman Hepburn
of Iowa, who, when he is speaking
will not brook interruption by any
new member, said on Dec. 1 : "To-day
5 very man In the United States who
wants to work finds employment In
the great labor fields of the United
States, and at compensating wages."
How do the facts bear out these
strong optimistic assertions? On Oct.
22 the Boston Transcript, a leading
Republican paper, said:
"Organized labor is facing the great
est wage crisis since the panic of 1893.
It has been estimated that before the
close of the year the big employing
concerns of the country will have dis
charged nearly l.Ooo.OOO men."
On Nov. 11 the New York Journal
of Commerce and Commercial Bulle
tin, the greatest journal of this class
in this country, said:
"It would be folly to shut our eyes
to the fact that Industrial and in turn
commercial depression are following
right along In the wake of the finan
cial collapse. Mills are shutting down;
mining is being restricted."
The National Labor Tribune of
Pittsburg said, Nov. 21st:
"There is still more idle mills
throughout the country than seemed
possible during the flush times of a
year or more ago. What Is Kt ill more
unpleasant to contemplate, a number
of the shut-downs appear to be for
good, or at least for an indefinite
time."
The International Mercantile
Agency, of which ex-Director of the
Census Merriam is the head said,
about Dec. 5th:
"The week is characterized by
further slackening industry. Wages
of 2oo,000 industrial employes have;
been reduced 10 per cent or more, and
preparations arc; making to effect a
similar reduction with respect to 300,
ooo others in various lines on or about
Jan. 1st."
As indicating the slackening in In
dustry, we may note the falling off in
the production of pig iron. The Iron
Age of Dec. 10 says that the; produc
tion fell from an average of l.coo.ooo
tons a mouth for July, August and
September to 1,074,000 tons for No
vember, and that "such a drop within
tho short space of two months is al-
,-- -e - - -: "
u-..ct fevers .XiJ-ry
steel, rfiusr:
w
Johnstown Democrat.
together unprecedented in the Ameri
can iron industry." Yet it says that
not only did the stock of unsold iron
greatly increase during November, but
that for the first week in December
there was a still further falling off in
production.
If, as has heretofore been supposed,
the iron and steel industry is the
barometer of business then a great in
dustrial storm will soon be upon us.
Of course those who choose to do
so can accept the interested optimis
tic vaporings of their Republican
statesmen and discard the disinterest
ed warnings of our great trade and
labor journals and of our financial and
commercial authorities. This is a
free country and a man need not put
a roof on his house, if he does not
think there will be any more rain.
Time will tell who are right. Byron
XV. Holt.
A Meeting of "Grafters."
1 Perry Heath bobbed up serenely at
the meeting of the Republican nation
al committee, with the hearty ap
proval of Senator Hanna and the good
wishes of all the grafters in the G. O.
P. The warm welcome that Heath
received at the hands of the commit
tee and the congressional friends of
the grafters shows that, although
there has been a partial investigation
of the postoffice frauds, the idea that
loot is a perquisite for Republican of
ficeholders is still dominant in the
minds of the Republican leaders.
President Roosevelt, who at first was
opposed to Heath holding the high
official place of secretary of the com
mittee, for acceding to Hanna's de
mand for his retention will make the
average voter conclude that the spoils
men have complete control of the Re
publican national organization. Nor
was this continuance in the office of
secretary the only honor that was
thrust upon Heath. He represented
Minnesota by proxy in the delibera
tions of the committee. President
Roosevelt, it is said, claims that the
question of dealing with Heath be
longs to the national committee and
not smirched with postoffice scandals,
of the party he could have requested
that Heath be set aside for some one
not smirched with postoffice scaldols.
It will not be a drawing card with the
honest Republican voters when they
understand their candidate for presi
dent did not stoutly object to the
elevation of Heath as one of the pil
lars of the party temple. Mr. Bris
tow must feel that his work of expos
ing Republican rascals has received a
severe set-back and the cause of good
government a jolt that will undo the
laborious work of his investigation if
those like Heath, who only escaped
indictment by the saving grace of the
statute of limitations, are put forward
as the highest products of Republican
ism. Wages Down Cost of Living Up.
According to Dun's Index Number.
showing the course of prices, the cost
of living was greater on Dec. 1 than
on Nov. 1, and is still very high com
pared with five or six years ago. Mil
lions of men have had their wages
reduced during the last two months.
Is It not time for the trusts to reduce
the cost of living? Do they think that
they can squeeze blood out of a tur
nip? When will the trusts let up on
tne pressure T
"S-"'ii'J LI III,
Commoner
THE REAL TKCSTS.
Statistics dis Ice thai since January
1. 1903, fourty-four trusts ln -or pot at cd
tinder the laws of New Jersey have
beon thrown Into th hand of receiv
ers. Of thcro defunc t onjratbnK. the
"authorized" capital wan f :;o.340.00O;
the amount of tock actually subscribed
for wii S17.272.333.51. and the ".tt-
inatPd" aswets $l.fi64.0K4.28.
In the cat of the salt tnibt. for
Instance, the capital suae k puriKH ted to
tie $12,000,000, bat the receiver for that
concern rejmrts Its assets at $37,500.
In this connection the Atlanta Con
stitution makts a very lmHrtant xlnt
and one that deserves to lx emphaMred
by democratic newspapers. The Con
stitution says:
"In connection with the moribund
condition of thef wildcat corporations
we observe a note of exultation in
many republican papers over the super
ficial Idea that, tluce the trusts arc
going to pieces of their own rotten
ness, the democratic- ocupatlon of
"trust-busting" Is gone. Our jubilant
contemporaries serm to have wholly
overlooked the very patent fact that
the real trusts the really monopolistic
and. therefore, oppressive trusts are
i:ot touching the Ix.ttc.m of this watery
tjf-j.. nor are they in the least danger
of touching It.
"The public- h not d-cflvcd by the
foolith c ry that tne trusts are commit
ting t ub ic!:. and it has not lost a par
tic le of its motive for lidding in sloie
a day of reckoning."
The trusts that go to pieces of their
own rottenness" inflict the largeH
damage upon innos'Mit pronle who have
money to invent, and who are led to
invest that money in - Mocks- of the
overcapitalized concern. It is entirely
proper that thes-v ccmcei r.s be called to
ac count. The evil of oven apitali.al ion
Is. indeed, a gnat one; but not all of
the people of this country have money
to invest. Indeed, comparatively,
speaking, only a small number of the
people have money to span for invest
ment purpuset; ami me trusis that in
flict the greatest amount of clanger arc
the trusts thai, are not going to pieces.
The tnu-ts manipulated by men who
conspire in icstraint of trade and who
secure a corner UXJI1 Hie iwc c it ie
of life, impose ujion and oppress thou
sands and thousands of helpless con
sume iv of the country where the ovc r
e -apitalized and "rotten" c-onc e i u.s im
pose upon hall a da.en men and womc n
having money to inveM.
It c an not be tco often r iterate el in
democratic rewv papers ti:at. in tne lan
guage of the Constitution, "the real
trusts the leally monopoji.-t i-. and,
tnereforc, oppi e ;-:-ive- tuistr are not
touching the bottom of this wate-ry s a.
ncr are; they in the ba.-t danger of
touc hing it."
"Publicity." the only remedy which
the Rcossvelt administiatioii sfenis
able to prerr'nt. even in half-hearted
fashion, will ne;t touch the "really mon
oj:
;HMie- and tlwipforc oppre-ssive
tl UEt!'.
Restraining ciders and injunctions
will not. seriously affect the wicked
schemes of the men in e ontied of tliese
t rusts.
Thei-e is. however. o::a pot'nt wea
pon upon the Mlatute book and It re
mains to this day unus-.ed. in spite of
Mr. Roosevelt's boast that he is in ear
nest in his to-called fight against the
trust tystem. No repressntative of his
administration and no republican edi
tor has yet undertaken to explain why
the administration has not employed
that powerful weapon. The weapon re
ferred to is the criminal clause of the
Sherman anti-trust law.
The managers of the "leally monopo
listic and therefore oppressive trusts"
are not seriously disturbed by the rem
edy called "publicity," when A is un
accompanied by forceful proceedings.
They do stand in awe. however, of
criminal proceedings: and the power
of theEe real trusts will never be brok
en until we have an administration that
is just as willing to proceed agalnM the
wealthy man who conspires against the
life of the people as it is to proceed
against the humblest violator of tne
federal law.
The Baltimore American says that
"Colombia should reflect upon the pro
found truth contained in the fable of
the greedy dog who dropped the bone
from his moutn to secure the one he
saw in the water reflecting his own
image." And while Colombia is about
it she might ponder long and well over
the fact that under present conditions
this once honest republic- is now en
gaged in diplomatic- work for profit.
regardles of common honcsty.
The steel trust will reduce the wages
or 150.000 employes on January 1. the
reduction being from 15 to 25 per cent.
This will save the steel trust $15.00').000
a year. Accompanying the redue ticm
will, we presume, be a neat little cir
cular setting forth the wondrous beau
ties of "letting well enough alone," and
"the full dinner pail."
Perry Heath declares that, he will
ret lesign. Having piofited by the
statute of limitations he is now ready
to take advantage of the statute of in
timidation. He will dare them to dis
charge him. Perry has his yrs c)n a
few pillars of the republican temple
that show signs of being easily pulled
dowr.i.
The annual Nobr-1 prize of i.-,0 has
been awardfd to William R. Ciemer.
M. P.. for his work in behalf of inter
national arbitration. This, is encourag
ing. That amount e.f me,nr-y is alm t
one-hlf of the winner's r.et profits in
.he last prize fight.
Captain J. F. KeMI. of M Keesport.
Pa., is desirous of obtaining informa
tion of the whereabouts of John P.
Keil. a plasterer by trade, now 54 years
old. and a member ct the Masonic fra
tet nity.
George Washington wrote something
about "entangling alliances," but It
must be remembered that George'
reputation for strenuosity was not at
all pres agented.
Another girl has been born into the
Ypnderbilt family, and already a num
ber of infantile earls and dukes are b
icg taught to take notb e.
"No man is? above the law. and tio
man is below it." says President Roose
velt. Weil, what's the matter with the
criminal clause cf the Sherman anti
trust law, then?
Senator Hoar wants the president to
have an opportunity to tell the whole
truth about that Panama deal and that
Is why Senator Hoar is not in good
tianding at the White house now.
Since the republicans "redeemed"
Nebraska from fusion rule the stata
has been plunging in debt at the rate
of $L05 a minute. This is a very ex
pensive kind of redemption for th taxpayers.
Comment.
Till-: DAY WK CKLKHff ATI-:.
The tokeiiH of love and affection ex
changes! ut this season of tin? year are
small when coni'mred with the great
Klft brought to humanity by the ineek
ai.O lowly Nazarn In wImmm honor
ChrlMmuH day In observed.
To the Christian., Jcmus came as mm
unbpeakahle gift. His face Ilium. a-cd by
a divine radiance. Ills life sui rendered
In fulfillment of a dtvlu plan, fits res
urrection fixing in the Armament a
Hr of hope that Khali never be
dimmed. Hut eve n thotw tuts1doof Iho
church, a-s well hh Its members, share
In the benefit winch humanity has re
ceived from the example and le-achlng
or the Man or Galilee.
In a letter writte n to a friend, Tho
mas JefferFon analyzed the doctrines of
Chi 1st sh they re-lute to man's conduc t
tow hi el his fellows, taylng:
"Ills moral d.n trlne-s, relating to
kindied and fiienus were more pun
und i.eifee-t than tho.-ee of tlu niotvt cor
levt of the philortophetti, und greatly
more mi than tho of the Jews; and
they went far beyond In Inculcating
iinlverhal philanthropy, not only In
klncli cd and friends, to neighbor and
count rynuMi, but to an mankind, gath
ering all lnt: one family, under the
bond of love, charity, ie-e, common
wants unci common uiela. A deve-lop-mrnl
of this head will evince the p-
e uliar siipei lenity of the- p.yktcm of Jihim
ove r all others.
"Tin pneeptH of philosophy and of
the Hebipw moral coel lain hold of ac
tion only. lie pushed bis scrutinies
into Hi" heart of man; creutcd his til -IiiiuhI
in the region or Ills thought, and
pun.. the; wutei.i ut the tountalii
he an."
Those who accept Jesus as the Son
of God und Won.n.p Him as Mie h, c an
atliibiic ih niHrve-lous. spread er Ills
gospel to u Mipc-riiat uial force behind
it; tnose, however, who dispute Hit
divinity iniihl fiti! in thef doctrine:
themselves an explanation of their In-
cit.oji'g hold upon Hie liu mill heart.
Ni language that cun be employed by
pcii. no words that can be niKcn by
the tongue, can exaggei ite the influ
ence which ClniM'i plillenophy has J I -lead)
exerted upon the nice, or esti
mate ilH fu'ure powe i.
Cetweeil the eK.ctiiiie el' might a lid
the- die tline of light ; bet we ell I lie plill
ciple that piopagute-s Hm If . . ' -
sword and the piiiMlple that grows
through the pcif, native influence of its
own Intrinsic im-iit: between the grasp
ing, ove i -re:ie hing i-pirit that e iithronen
se-lt ami saiims an c be to lt own
iiciv-anlage unci the generous, manly re
cognition of the nghls of diners; be
tween a nieasuie of greatne-M that, es
timates a man by w hat he; ha.s absorbed
fie, in society and mat which estimates
u'-ii wortny in propoit ien aus tlie-y ebi
service HTn! elitruse tiletstdllgs-1 lieK
ciiiierelli e-s surpass e-ompie henslon.
If Jew. is had left nothing but the?
Paiahlcp, His name would ..ave been
impe l iseiable in literature; if had
iH.-ej ue ut heel te posterity nothing but
tne simplicity of His speech, and the
irresistible logic of His argument. Ho
would have had a permanent, place
among the orators of the world; if He
had given to the world nothing else
but the c-ommaneiment. "Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as Ihyseir," enforced
as it was by His own example, this one
gift would have been sufficient, to out
weigh all the wealth of all the world;
if He had left no record but. the Ser
men on the Mount, It alone would havn
made His natal day worthy of perpetual
celebration but all these added to the
matchless majesty of a perfec t life and
the inspiring Influence of an all-pervading
ove, are turning the eyes of an
ever-increasing number to the path
that He trod from the manger to the
cre;si
I.ove was the dominating force of
His life and love Is today the overmas
tering imp.tl.se whose ebb and flew
mark the retreat and advance of civili
zation. And love, too san tines the Christ
mas gift. With it the merest, trifles
swells into an object of Imortanee;
without, it the most expensive pres:ent
dwindles into insignifie-anee. I.ove Is
the alchemy which inve..ts with price
less value all that It tone-hes the
magic wand that, con verts the. hum
blest cottage Into a palace ami gives
to earth's pilgrims a glimpse of para
dise. A Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year to every Commoner render.
Secittary Root says be is willing to
stand for everything General Wood did
In Cuba. This Is quite brave of Mr.
Root. but. perhaps, if he will take an
other look, he will discover tnat he
alreadv has about all one man can
s:tand for.
The more Mr. Hanna looks Into ex
isting conditions unci future proba
bilities the more apt. be is to le-t Pres
ident Roosevelt have the nomination by
default. l.'ric-b- Manns may be tex
v.i.-i to go up against ron-ordaine-d ee
feat. A British scientist predicts that In
about five billion years the da will
be fifty-five hours long. When that
time comes doubtless the truts will
pay by the da and doc k their employe
for the time 1gk1 In sleep.
By the way. spe-aking of senatorial
tiafficking hi postefneeh. Is It not tni
that while men may not as a rule do
that to see ure election. Is it not. gener
ally e-oncedeel that senators do It to
see-nre re-e e-tion ?
Would It nor Le a good ida to put
an emanc ipation prex-Iamation into th
Sulu sticking? Or will the adminis
tration refuse to issue the proclamation
on the technicality that Stilus weir
no stockings?
Mr. Hanna keeps on deellning. but
he talks- with the emphasis of a man
w ho is depending a great eteal upon his
friend.
President Roosevelt must have l la
on his "far-sighted glasses" to he en
abled to sfe the Independene-es of Pan
ama before If happened.
Perry Heath refuses to resign and
Presid?nt Rcosevelt should resign him
self to the situation. Uncle Mark is not
allowing his friends to be shoved the?
days.
With a distinct recollection of the
Transvaal the British newspapers ex
perience no difficulty in finding commendations-
fcr the president's course
in the Panama matter.
It will be noted that Baking Powdsr
Magnate Zeigler tries to make light of
the boodllng charges against bim. .
A successful temptation immediately
gives way to a larger one. - ,
V
V