The Nebraska independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1896-1902, January 09, 1902, Image 1
t 1 3 I I'V 1 yaM M .' -J' "V.. VOL. XIII. LINCOLN, NEBRASKA; JANUARY 9, 190i. NO. 34. WHITE HOUSE RECEPTION Rig Hugs Get Disgusted and go Away The Xicaraguau Canal The New Cuban President Shows Signs of Stubbornness Washington, D. C, Jan. 4. Presi dent Roosevelt's upsetting of precedent made a very bad mess of the New Year's reception at the White house. IJ has been the custom hitherto for the various official bodies beginning with the diplomatic corps, the supremo court, the cabinet, the senate and tha house to arrive at the White house r.t set hours announced beforehand. This time the stated times were an nounced, but when the reception was on, each body was compelled to wait until the preceding one had cleared the way whether its time was up or not. The result was that several scores of dignified public men with the ladies of their families left in disgust after having been compelled to stand in the cold outside the portico until their patience had been exhausted. Presid.nt Roosevelt seems to pride himself on always having a way of his own, but having a way of his own brings him into unpleasant conflict with everybody, who, under other ad ministrations, has been led to expect a different and more agreeable way. The first business before congress after the holidays is the Nicaragua canal bill. The state department has been ac tively at work clearing the diplomatic way for this measure by securing from Nicaragua and Costa Rico an uncon ditional right of way over the pro posed route six miles wide. While these two governments do not surrender absolute sovereignty, so many rights and privileges are given that nothing but the shell of sovereign ty is left them. They will have no more to say if the canal should be built than Turkey has in regard to the administration of Egypt. . In the meanwhile an authorized agent of the Panama canal company is "urryirg to the United States with a IVmaf. proposition to sell the whole company with its rights and privil eges for the sum of forty million dol lars. He- is probably too late to accom plish anything, as Rop-evelt seems committed to the Nicar&Juan propo sition, while McKinley was really in favor of Panama. An effort will be made to secure proper consideration of the Panama Meet, but it is doubtful if at this la. tour it will be given the prefer ence Ver Nicaragua. It Ms whispered that Roosevelt threatened to veto the Philippine tar iff bill if it came to him in the shape in which it came before the house. That measure was so brutally mer cenary and inconsiderate of the inter ests of the Filipinos that George III. anti-colonial tax legislation glowed with generosity in comparison. Consequently the senate to avoid for the present conflict with the White house is having a Philippine tariff bill prepared by the committee on col onial affairs to be offered as an amend . ment to the house bill. " The senate has no constitutional ht to originate revenue legislation, v has always got around this inhibi tion by amending the house bills to suit its own sweet fancy. The senate Philippine bill will fol low closely the recommendations of the Philippine commission, which has urged that 50 per cent of the Ameri can tariff rates will be sufficient for the island revenues. This peculiar tariff legislation wiil fit into the supreme court's patchwork decision that the Philippines are a part of the United States when it comes to suppressing insurrections, but not when tariff legislation is to be considered. Before any legislation, however, is enacted, congress will have a chance to learn Governor Taft's side of his controversy with General Chaffee. Chaffee says that Taft is promoting insurrection by toddling the natives. Taft says Chaffee is promoting insur rection by the severity of his treat ment and the outrageous conduct of his soldiers. The administration is looking grim ly on while Germany threatens to col- j lect from Venezuela several million dollars in claims. German contractors built several hundred miles of railways in Venezue--la and took advantage of the govern ment's guarantee to make the road cost six times what it ought to. Cas tro refused to make, good and the kaiser is trying to squeeze him. There is a grave suspicion that Ger many would like a coaling station on the Venezuelan coast which would !r. time develop into a fortified port from which the inter-oceanic canal could be menaced. This the United States cannot permit. Estrada Palma, the newly elected president of Cuba, always looks as though he were half asleep. He was picked out as the administration can didate for the office because it was thought that be could be handled in favor of annexation. Having been elected, he shows signs of sudden independence, will not come to Washington for instructions, but v ill sail directly from New York and talks like a man of sense and discern ment, for the upbuilding of free and united Cuba. D. P. B. GRAVEYARD TRANQUILITY That Is the Sort That the Official Reperts Show is Pervading the Island of Porto Iilco ' Governor Hunt of Porto Rico says in his message to the legislature that "tranquility and contentment prevail; Amwgrco n fhp island has ben able.". This is cheering news.. If tho Porto Ricans are tranquil and con tented. their lot is indeed enviable. The latest report of the superior board of nealth of the island does not fall so pleasantly on the ear as does the message of the governor. This report, says there has been a steady improve ment in the health of Porto Ricans, but that existing conditions are not satisfactory. Anemia, i. e., starvation, is still the chief cause of mortality. To it are charged up 12,076 out of the 41,854 deaths during the year ending on June 30 last. It is evident that a large number of Porto Ricans did not get enough nourishing food to keep them alive. The report say3 that what ever decrease there has been in this alarming cause of mortality is due to "the increased amount of foodstuffs available in the country as a result of American sovereignty." This report also makes the state ment, painful and almost inexplicable, that in the last four years the deaths have exceeded the births. The follow ing table is given: Births. Deaths. 1897 .....25,827 31,980 1S98 19,719 33,614 1899 J 23,931 38,727 1900 20,259 41,854 If that sort of tranquility continues it will not be many years until Porto Rico will be the most tranquil spot on the face of the earth. Since the time when a newspaper man who would tell the truth has not been allowed in the island, there is no means of knowing the situation there except what we get from the "official" statistics. The In dependent has an idea that in a coun try where the death rate is more than double the birth rate, there ought to be very great tranquility, and that Governor Hunt reported the facts as far as that is concerned. Think of it! Twelve thousand and seventy-six peo ple died of starvation in one year! Anemia means without blood, but it is only a doctor's term for starva tion. Those people would have blood enough if they had plenty to eat. DON'T LIKE ROOT Washington Residents In a Quiet Way Let Secretary Root Know What They Thought of His Idiotic Rep rimand On New Years day General Miles, soldier that he is, walked at the head of more than one hundred uniformed high ranked officers of the army, and with courtly, dignified manner took the hand of a president who,; through his clerk,' the secretary' of war, had grossly- ' insulted him.' Miles is every inch a soldier, and, he never showed the soldier's traits to greater advan tage than, in his .call at ' the White hOUSC'- : j. Later in the. day calls at two house3. gave indication , of how Washington sentiment is . crystallizing over the Schley, matter. General Miles' ; and Secretary , of War Root's houses are. within a stone's throw of each' other, though one is around the corner.' In front of Miles', house all through the afternoon was a throng of carriages, private and public. Inside the house was a crush of citizens of all degrees to pay homage to the lately reprimand ed military chief. Senators, represen tatives, high judicial dignitaries, great, land and sea fighters with their wives, daughters and sweethearts filled the great parlors and wished the general long years of fame, health and happi ness. The general himself, grand in station and pinked with health, stood with quiet dignity, his left hand lean ing on the hilt of his sheathed sword, its toe resting on the floor. In quiet tones he responded to the heartfelt congratulations, no bitterness, no com plaint, no criticism.- He proved him self a magnificent hero this quiet New Year's day, both at the White house and in his own home. Just around the corner the man through whom the president had in sulted Miles, Secretary of War Root, was, with winsome wife and beautiful women friends, also keeping open house. The rooms were spacious and classically furnished, handsomer by far than the Miles mansion. But callers were few. Carriages and vis itors, as compared with those at the Miles home, were in painful disparity. Everybody noticed it, everybody men tioned it.. The sentiment has been growing and within forty-eight hours has gained immense head that Dewey and Schley and Miles, the great sailors and the greatest American soldier living, have been outrageously treated by the. heads of the civil government. The receptions at the Miles and Root mansions pointed the drift and tenor of public thought upon the subject. Said a senator today: "Roosevelt lost his head when he approved that outrageous reprimand of Miles. He talked to him as a brutal lord would tonguelash his menial. I would not ourrage a boot black as Root outraged Miles." The. sentiment for Schley and against the naval cabal that plotted his disgrace is gathering force hourly. Senators and members who a week ago were silent now declare openly that justice must be done the real hero of Santiago and that his traducers must be punished. By the time congress meets the administration whippers-in will hardly be able to keep their lines unbroken. Advocates Right Principles Editor Independent: Please find enclosed $1 for subscription. . I am well pleased with your paper; it advocates my principles to a dot. I hope your paper will still continue . to keep up the battle for human rights andi civil liberty for all people and special priv ileges to none. I want no trusts In mine. I am a man of W. J. Bfyan's sentiments and politics. - 1" " ! THE ARMORPLATE TRUST A Government That Allows its Tariff Laws to be Used to More Than Double the Cost of Its Nary The investigation of the armor plate trust a few years ago developed tne most astonishing state of scoundrelisrn that ever disgraced a set of govern ment officials. On account of the trusts folding all the avenues of in formation, the people never knew the facts. At that time there happened to be a democratic majority such as it was in the house of representatives and a committee was appointed to in vestigate the armor trust. The evi dence shbwed the most damnable piece of swindling on the part of Carnegie that was ever exposed by an investiga tion. It came near to amounting to high treason, for he had furnished plugged plates for our battleships that were no more protection than so much sheet iron. The plates were on the ships when some patriotic wage workers came to Wasnington and re vealed the facts. Carnegie was lined some four or. five hundred thousand dollars and the matter was hushed up. The Bethlehem company and Carnegie had formed a trust that long ago, and were holding up the government to the tune of uncounted thousands, all the time selling the same armor to Rus sia and other nations at half the price they sold it to the United States. The same armor could have been bought in Russia and shipped back to this country at a great profit, if it had not been for the tariff. Attorney Gen eral Knox was the lawyer that fought the armor trust's battles in those days. He is a member of Roosevelt's cabi net now. The New York World, in commenting on the confirmation of Knox, says: "It is a fact publicly notorious that the armor plate trust has effectually destroyed all competition in this country aided, of course, by the tariff between the manufacturers of armor plate. As a result "of that suc cessful 'conspiracy in restraint of trade' so termed by the Sherman act the United States government has been, and is now being, compelled to pay $500 per ton and upward for ar mor plate for its warships, such as is bought by other governments for prices ranging from $200 to $250 per ton. "Two secretaries of the navy, one a republican, the other a democrat, have officially reported to the senate that by this combination of armor ' plato makers the cost of naval construction has been increased by enormous sums, aggregating millions of dollars. V "Why lias Mf. Knox taken no step to break up the armor plate trust? Is it not clearly within the definition of an illegal combination' given by,, the supreme ; court" on December 4, 1899, when, in deciding the Addystone Pipe and Steel company's case, it said: ",!The Addystone combination was not one which simply secured for its j members fair and reasonable prices for the article dealt in by them. .. . The effect of the " combination . was to enhance prices beyond a sum which was reasonable. , . . " 'And when congress has acted by the passage of a statute like the one under consideration (the . Sherman anti-trust law) !does not such a con tract clearly violate that statute? We think it is plain that this contract of combination effects this result.' "There can be any honest or reason able doubt that under this decision of the highest federal court the armor plate trust could be convicted of vio lating the anti-trust law? Can there be any doubt that it comes well with in that other historic ruling of the same court that- it is against 'the substantial interests of the country that any one commodity , should be within the sole power and! subject to the sole will of one powerful combina-. tion of capital?' "Why has Mr. Knox ignored the. petitions and the evidence submitted to him against this armor plate com bination, which is levying vast and continuous tribute on the whole Amer ican people? Why has he refused to take one single, step to restrain, pre vent or punish its extortionate opera tions? Does he not clearly lack sym pathy with' the laws which cannot be enforced except by his direetion? "And this being evident, did not the republican majority of the senate, in voting to confirm him, confess in effect that they, too, lack sympathy with such laws as exist for the prevention and restraint of unjust monopolies?" BRYAN IN MASSACHUSETTS He Tells the People That a Party Must Have Steadfastness in its Prineipies . A' dispatch hidden away in the graveyard of; one of the great dailies was discovered the other, day. It said that -the: democratic state committee of Massachusetts had held a meeting and unanimously reaffirmed the prev ious platforms of. that state in which public ownership and the referendum had been advocated. That is all thai the paper printed, but there were other interesting things, no doubt," that couldhave been reported. Those dem ocrats must have., referred with exul tation to the immense gain that had been made under those platforms as well as to the "capture of the city of Boston. Mr. Bryan is now in Massa chusetts. He spoke in Worcester at a Jackson day banquet on the 5th, a lit tle ahead of the birthday date, so that he could afterwards appear at New Haven and Boston. The reception that he received was just as enthusiastic as any ever given him when he was a candidate for the presidency. Among other things he said: ' "Among the traits - of character f ' r- J--.., T1 helpful to his country than his stead fastness. When he believed a thing, he believed it. Where duty led he fol lowed without questioning. When he decided that anything ought to be done, he did it, and no power could overawe him. He did not have In his veins a single ; drop of 'anything to win' blood. . "When Nicholas Biddle declared that through the national bank he could make and unmake congresses, Jackson replied that that was more power than any one man ought to have in this country, and he then began his war against Biddle and his bank, which resulted in the. overthrow of that great financier and the institu tion which he so , autocratically con trolled. Others , were afraid that Bid die's influence, if antagonized, woul 1 defeat the. democratic party, but Jack son saw in it a menace to his country and he did not stop to consider what effect an attack on the bank would have on himself or on his party. He won, and we revere his name and cele brate his day.. , . "Benton, in reviewing Jackson's work, said that, as Cicero overthrew the conspiracy of " Cataline and saved Rome, so Jackson overthrew the bank and saved America. We shall observe this day in vain if e do not gather from the life of Jackson inspiration and encouragement for the work which lies before us. Today the democratic party needs" to learn from the hero of New Orleans the lesson of steadfast ness; it needs to learn , from him not only that to be right Is-more impor tant than to be successful, but that to be right is the best way to insure suc cess. "A party must .have principles or it can have no claim: upon public confi dence; and how can It commend its principles better than by standing by them? Who will have faith in the creed of a party if the party stands ready to barter away its creed In ex change for the promise of .patronage? A halting, vlcillating-course not, only, fails to invite recruits, but it alienates and drives away veterans. "Another reason for 'steadfastness is found in the fact that no one can teU until the attempt is made what ob stacles courage can overcome. The bold and fearless triumph - where the timid fail. The victories which live and light us on to noble deeds are the victories snatched from' the jaws of defeat by intrepid ' spirits, who pre ferred death to retreat. "There. is-a profound philosophy as well as a religious truth in the words: 'He that saveth his life shall lose it. The party that has no higher purpose than to save its own life will die be cause it Reserves .tjb, die," but" one that will 'die, if need be, for the sake of a great cause will live because , it de serves to live. "Who; says that, we cannot afford to measure strength with the great mon opolies which now arrogantly assume to control the domain of politics as well as. the field of industry? .Not iin til we can . gather good fruit from an evil tree and figs from thistles can wre expect a private monopoly to bring forth, public blessings. The water that has been poured into the stocks of our great corporations has for. the most part been drawn from the agriculturaf regions, and the drouth that is suf'3 to follow will teach the farmer the meaning of the trust system. . "Must we abandon the self-evident truth that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed? Must we accept imperial ism as an accomplished fact and poiu in the shout for blood and conquest? Our republic rests upon solid rock and while its principles are revered it can not be overthrown from within or from without, but if all parties" joined together to erect an empire upon Am erican soil they would build upon the sand and the edifice could not endure. It is a law divine in its origin, irre sistible in its force, and eternal in its duration that wrongdoing ultimately destroys the wrongdoer and no na tion or ' combination of nations is strong enough to evade or resist .-e-tributive justice. "Sut suppose what no one should assume and what no one can prove that steadfas tadherence to democratic principles would result in repeated defeat, is there any reason why we should abandon those principles and adopt others, or have none at all? Those who prefer prison fare or a servile subject's lot to the dangers of the battlefield may condemn the Boers for continuing what some describe as a hopeless struggle for independence, but those who can measure the mighty in fluence of great deeds know that the sturdy. Dutchmen of South Africa have already conferred upon the world a benefit that cannot be measured by money.' Their vakn has brought greater security to all the republic? of th.e earth; the bodies of their dead have built a bulwark behind which the friends of liberty will fight for centuries. , 'So the democratic party; whether in power or out of power,tis serving mankind when it stands , steadfastly for constitutional government and in sists Jthat that ; government shall be admiistered according to Jeffersonian maxim, 'equal rights to all, and special privileges to none." s- For Humanity Nebraska Independent: , In answer to your circular letter of December 28, will say that after receiving the first sample copy of your paper I liked it so well that I at once ordered same for one year from the Commoner on its $1.35 clubbing rate, and if same has not been reported to you it Is cer tainly an oversight of one of Mr. Bryan's clerical force. I will write the Commoner today. Am commending the ' Independent to our , people here because, as I believe, you, as well as the-Commoner, are fighting for hu- STRAIGHT POPULISM That is What Is Taught by the Springfield Republican on the Money Question These Days - Perhaps the populist position on the money question wa3 never more clearly stated in a short article than in the following editorial of the Springfield Republican. The writer seems to have started out to criticize the action of John P. Jones, but he winds -up with a statement of the money question which will be accept ed by every populist in the land. The Independent is under obligation to Mr. Gus J. Axelsori of Chicago for calling the attention of the editor to it. The" article Is a3 follows: In returning to the republican party Senator John P. Jones of Nevada makes a statement. He left the party solely because of its attitude on the money question, and he returns to it now not because that attitude has been changed or is right, but because he is with the party on other ques tions and the present enlarged out put of gold has temporarily sunk the issue of bimetalism. The world's gold production, he says, is now greater than the combined product of gold and silver when he' carried his fight for the restoration of free silver coinage to the. extent of leaving the party. This production, he believes, will con tinue to increase for some time to come, and as long as such is the case bimetalism as -a political issue must remain in. the republican party. But ere long the limit of gold development will inevitably be reached, and "then the whole world will experience an other dreadful period of hard times, which are always due primarily to scarcity of money." Geologists were not wanting some time ago to express the opinion that the world , has or had already about reached the limit in gold production, and that a great monetary crisis from contraction would- soon threaten the gold standard nations. ; Now we find men of that scientific persuasion who see practically no limit to the expan sion of gold production. Prof.-N. S. Shaler of Harvard contributes an arti cle to the International Monthly of November which presents reasons for believing that a, .time of almost un limited gold production is upon us, threatening a great debasement of the dollar of account in the gold standard countries. We need quote no more than a closing paragraph to bring out the basis of Professor Shaler's rather startling opinion: ; s In reviewing with some brief addi tions, the foregrJing account of the probable future of the goid supply, we see that 'we' are evidently at, the be ginning of : ari s increase due to, .an. ad vance in mechanical -and chemical in-J ventions, which, , in , terms of , labor, has greatly ' cheapened the cost of its : production. These innoyations havy vastly extended the arsas from which the metal may be profitably won. j At the same time, the opening of 'the world to the enterprise of miners. and capitalists' ? has served? to bring ' into: the field of production -.many extensive regions which a -generation ago were inaccessible. Moreover, , the . lowering of, the rate" of .interst on .money, has had its effect in directing attention to investments of this nature.. The result of, this combination cannot fail to lead to a very great increase in the supply of this measure of values. As production increases and the gold dollar cheapens, prices of commodities and labor, of course, rise and the costs of mining increase. This will serve as a partial brake against any unduly accelerated production; and the ex tension of the monetary use of gold tc the silver countries, and to the taking up of outstanding silver money in gold using countries, would further assist in staying the fall or depreciation of the standard dollar. But t Professor Shaler anticipates that the movement in gold production will probably be so strong that these resources could not be safely trusted to arrest it, and the financial systems" of the great civil ized nations would be subjected to the most revolutionary effects. ."All debts would be! as effectively scaled down as though a despot had, for his profit, debased the coinage of the civilized world." But there has -been already, during the past three or four years, from this cause," a great scaling down of debts, a great - depreciation of the dollar reflected in a rise of some 35 per cent in the prices of commodities l and yet never has a change been so welcomed by the business and all the other interests, which in 1896 most strongly stood for a. stable and hon est dollar. Thus it Is hardly to be supposed " that Professor Shaler's startling predictions will spread much terror in that direction. We must regard his anticipations as possible, but not probable. There are no indications that gold is to be dis covered in greater profusion than from, time . to time heretofore, and meantime-the great and continued ' expan sion of business and commerce and population provide a monetary demand upon ' which any probable increase In the gold supply will fall wittu pretty steadily diminishing effect. Never theless, the fact must be faced that; either one of the precious , metals af fords a very uncertain, unreliable and unstable money basis; and the' same is true to a less degTee of the con current or alternative use i of botlv under the bimetalic plan. Ultimately civilized society will get away from what Is . a good deal of a barbarism the employment of something most useful and valuable in the arts for the service merely of a medium of ex change. TalrD Tnn I nnrr i: unv ivw bung LU1I& i Editor Independent: It woald take too long for me to write h0 I " like your naner. If I had a printiftfe press recalls to my memory an old populist paper that I highly prized,, the Farm ers' Voice. I was so animated -at your convenient coin carrier as an aid in prosecuting the good work that I herewith enclose a ten cent piece in the little pouch to aid you in it. v-M.,C. MINTON. Bloomington, Tenn. The Farmers' Voice was frozen out and bought up by the plutocrats at the time they captured most of 'the agri cultural papers. They tried the game on the Independent,' but it didn't work. Ed. Ind.) ADVANCED DEMOCRACY How it Has Brought the People of New Zealand From Porerty to Unsurpassed Riches in Ten Years . Since New Zealand achieved its in ternational reputation as an exponent of advanced democracy, a succession of reports, has had wide circulation to the effect that the colony was suffering fi nancial embarrassment by reason of its social 1 and economic experiments. These reports have been denied by vaiious friends of New Zealand, but ha- 3 continued to gain currency until they have now received the attention of her prime minister in his annual address to the rolonial parliament. Premier Sed don's address has been summarized by Mr. Henry D. Lloyd in a remarkable letter to the New York Evening Pest of December 7. His statement is briefly as follows: Dur imr the ten years since the radical par ty came into power the population of the country has increased 19 per cent, the exports 40 per cent, and the bank deposits 60 per cent. The wealth of the country per family has increased from 85,700 to $7,400 a figure exceed ed nowhere in the world. The in crease in the colony's debt is ; large ($54,000,000, or, $300 per family), but the V three-quarters of it Invested in railroads,.: land settlements, advances to settlers,, etc., riot only pays interest on the bonds issued therefor, but yields a profit of $300,000 a year to help pay the interest . on ; the remainder. Even the remaining debt is indirectly profitable, as nearly all: of it was In curred for new roads, bridges, and public buildings, and for the purchase of native lands. There is no; war debt whatever -to., depress industry.! The gains of the decade have been excep tionally marked i during the : past live years of international-prosperity, and most maiked of all during the year rst ended, -During thia year the gov ernment reduced railroad rates 6 2-3 per cent in. pursuance of its policy to reduce, these, rates whenever 'the re-, duction could, be inacte' arid- the roads still net the government enough to pay the Interest on their b6nds.irTristead of causing a., deficit,, this cut in rates was f ollowed; by, sucli. an increase in traffic as to yield the government more' than ever before: Further reductions were made - in. its' .customs duties, postal rates etc., but v ail! these , cohabined;- in stead .of causing the loss of 350,000 (which would ihavev'tesulted' had, not business , Increased),, caused or were followed by an. increase in the govern ment -revenues, amounting ;to: 1,660, 000. " The widely circulated report that the . premier': had confessed that the colonyi was approaching financial em barrassment had nothing" back of it, it seems, - except his statement to a delegation that new bonds could not now be issued for . new undertakings except at a higher rate of interest, be cause (and this, of course, was omit ted from the tory reports) the rates of interest in the London- money market had been advanced by the loans to car ry on the Boer war. Outlook. : Two Pardons v . On the first day of January Governor Savage issued an unconditional pardon to the defaulting state treasurer of Ne braska.,: Op, the following day the gov ernor of .South Dakota issued an un conditional pardon to a defaulting county auditor of South Dakota. The state treasurer of Nebraska wis convicted of deliberately appropriating to his own use a state warrant amount-, ing to over, $180,000,. while his actual defalcation would exceed $750,000, with the interest computed to the end of last year. The defaulting auditor of South Dakota was convicted for mu tilating public records to cover a short age of less than $5,000. , The , Nebraska governor commuted the sentence, of the state treasury wrecker from twenty years to three and one-half years. - ; The South Da kota governor commuted the sentence of the defaulting' county auditor from five years to two and one-fourth years. The exercise of executive clemency to the South Dakota defaulter was pre ceded by the ; restitution by himself and his bondsmen of every dollar that he had embezzled. ' The ' executive clemency extended to the Nebraska embezzler ' was exercised without the repayment of a single dollar by the embezzler. himself, who is reputed to have in , his possession thousands , of dollars ot the surplus from his-lawless depredations, while the bondsmen who agreed to make good the loss incurred by the state have hown no disposi tion to reimburse the state ; for its enormous loss. - ' " i- ; In the exercise of executive clem ency the governor of Nebraska pre tends to have acted upon" a petition signed by the beneficiaries and side partners of the embezzler and a sym pathetic class of people who Bign ; pe titions indiscriminately, while the South Dakota governor ; acted upon the recommendation of the state board of .pardons.; . i The contrast between the South Da kota pardon and the Nebraska pardo a is' so striking that it scarcely I Justifies INSULT MILES AND DEWEY Teddys Conduct Criticised by Every Clen tleman in Washington Public Krcep tlona Chinese Exclusion , Isthmian Canal Washington, D. C, Jan. 4. (Special Correspondence.) This was essential ly a "society" week in Washington. Congress has been adjourned for over two weeks and there has really beea very " few of the eastern congressmen in the city most of them having gone, to their homes to spend the holidays.! On New Year's Day, the president held his annual New Year's reception and it was attended as very few have ever been attended before. Every one was,- of course, very anxious to se the president and curiosity was the es sential element in drawing the crowd. He first of all received the diplomatic corps. Each member and attache oZ the foreign legations in Washington together with their wives and suit s called, as is the custom, to pay their respects to the nation's executive, it was really a brilliant sight each of the foreigners wearing the full Insig nia of his rank and title, covered over with the gold lace, wearing their medals, and having their swords buck led at their side; each of them wearing their emblems of royalty, took thc?r place in the diplomatic line according to the rank of their nation and senior ity of the service, and shook hands with the president, wishing him all the compliments of the New Year. The procession was headed for the first time in the history by a woman. Mrs. Pauncefote, the wife of the British ambassador In Washington. Following the diplomatic reception, which lasted one hour, came the army and navy calls. . All of the military and naval officera stationed in Wash ington are required by their "official etiquette" to call and pay their re spects each New Year's Day to the president. The line was headed by Lieutenant General , Nelson A Miles. Every one wanted to see how the pres ident would receive General, Miles af ter the curt rebuke of a few days be fore, and it turned out just as was ex pected. The president's hand was Just touched by Miles, and with all the formality that he could, muster, he wished Roosevelt the season's greet ings' and departed. Following the army line came the navy officers, headed by Admiral George Dewey. He was but slightly noticed by Roosevelt. The slight to these two great com manders of their respective branches of the service is full of significance, when it is compared with the warm greetings given by the president to many of the minor officers. Each offi cer was clad in the uniform of his rank, as this is required at all such functions.: , i Following , the army and navy re ception, the large crowd that lined for blocks entered the White house In sin gle file. These were the curious, who simply wanted to get a view at the interior- of the White house and inci dentally to see the receiving line. It surged in the main door until 3 o'clock and during that time the turnstiles showed that eight thousand one hun dred shook hands with the president. On Friday evening the eldest daughter of the president. Miss Alic? Roosevelt, was formally introduced into society. It was called a small affair on the invitations sent out by Mr. and Mrs. . Roosevelt but then were over seven hundred Invitations sent out to the official and personal friends of the president's family. It was truly one of the most brilliant af fairs of the season and was appro priately described by-the papers the following morning as the most beauti ful reception held at the White haus since the formal introduction of Mi.ss Nellie Grant when her father ( wa3 president some twenty-five years ago. I might say that Miss Rooseveltf has been asked through the American em bassador at Berlin, as a personal re quest from the kaiser, that she chris ten his new yacht now being built in this country. This launching . win take place some time during the month of June, and Miss Roosevelt has ac cepted the honor at the German em peror's, request and will christen the boat. . There were many other receptions held in Washington during the week. among them to be especially notr-d were those held by General and Mrs. Mile3 and by Mrs. John Hay, the wife of the secretary of state. But . more things were done during the week by the officials than to at tend to the "pink teas" and "drawing room receptions' of the various. per sons about town.- There still continue to be the buzz of comment concerning the Miles rebuke. It is really surpris ing how much comment this seeming little-incident has occasioned. The con demnation :ha3 not only been amor." those on the outside, but among th officials and organs as well. The inci dent has been seasoned by the inter view of Captain Mahan one far mor searching thanthat of Miles and yet there has been no censures hurried m him. I send you a clipping from tb 1 Army and Navy Register, an official organ of the allied department. It adds strongly to Its previous critlct-r:i of President Roosevelt for his action in the Miles episode. It says: "It is-a great - pity the complct -? story 'of General Miles' visit to tlw White house previous to the episode cannot be told. The anger of th, president on that occasion and th.- language which he employed to th" commanding general of the Unitel States army has never been accurately reported. . Mr. Roosevelt approached General Miles in a manner which. without exaggeration, may be de scribed as savage. It was a poor com pensation for -the publicity of a per sonal reprimand that the prrsiden. before General Miles left the room, as sumed a less domineering attitud-. The president offended the amenities