Harrison press-journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1899-1905, October 05, 1899, Image 6

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    TQ ALhEXMI FARMER
JgtS RELATION TO THE ECONO
MIC CONDITIONS.
Addrass of Ganerai Charles H.How
ard at Buffalo. N. Y., Before Nat
ional Social Conference.
Address of General Charles H. huw
ssjl at Buffalo, N. Y-, June 29, before
the National Social and Political Con-
ce, published In Farm, Field and
Fireside, Chicago:
Oa behalf of some 7,600,000 (according
la V. 8. census 7,670,438), of our coun-
en who are directly engaged in
various branches of agriculture, 1
to thank the program committee
! this conference and acknowledge the
esy of this body, for the repre-
ktion provided for on this platform.
Oaantlnr the families, these 7.000,000
era stand for a population of over
,000; or about one-third the en-
population of the United States.
large class of citizens might, of
In a way be represented by law-
clergymen and the members of
1 professions and occupations; they
twee often been so represented In the
Carted States congress, and even in the
BoeXical conventions which nominate
amen and presidents. Bat there
been a growing feeling among the
for a decade or two, that the
M saying "he that would be well serv
ed aiast serve himself," applies to their
BSiltlcal affairs. A conviction has be
assae prevalent among them that they
have vital Interests that no other class
at ettiaens can appreciate as well aa
that other classes such aa
afacturers, merchants and bankers
' Indeed represent Interests more or
In conflict with those of the
icr.
Oa the other hand, I am not here to
plead for any public policy which shall
favor agriculture to the Injury of any
(her business. The farmers of our
ntry have come In for some pretty
names of late. At some of these,
Bach aa"hayseeds," "horny-handed sons
af toll," etc., they can afford to smile
gaod-naturedly; at others, like "the
asaa with the muck-rake," or "the man
with the hoe," they are thoughtful.
Dees the occupation of agriculture nec
essarily tend to degrade?
AGRICULTURE A NOBLE OCCUPA
PATION. Classic literature, both Latin and
SagHslv, affords an answer:
"Beatua Ule qui procui negotiis
Tit prtoca gens mortaiium
Paterna rura bonus exercet suis."
Horace.
Ta ancient times the sacred plough em
ployed The kings and awful fathers of man
kind, Awd some, with whom your insect
tribes are but the beings of a
summer's day
Have held the scale of empire, ruled
the storm of mighty war, then
with unwearied hand
Bis gaining little delicacies, seized the
plow and greatly independent
lived." Thompson's Seasons.
American history on every page gives
ABke answer. George Washington was
BBSS Lincoln, James A. Garfield and
assay ethers, distinguished in peace and
war, were at some time in their lives
tamers like Antaeus took an lrre-
Ibie start upward from a touch of
soil.
MAN WITH THE HOE.
yet some of our farmers winced
Inwardly when, lately, they looked upon
picture. "The Man with the
I ee." Tea could read In their faces:
is not my likeness." "It Is not a
re at ray boy." "Is It to be a por
trait of my son's soar'
"A thing" that grieves not and that
never hopes,
BtoUd aad stunned, a brother to the
oa."
If not our occupation, do its condl
ttssss mean this for those who come
after us? Must the descendant of the
an Hi an farmer revert to the Euro-
peasant type?
with the weight of centuries.
he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground.
emptiness of ages In his lace.
on his back the burden of the
world.
is no shape more terrible than
this
tongued with censure of thr
world's Mind greed."
; CUBAN SLAVES..
Tae speaker spent a brief period is
fa Tea on a sugar plantation in Cuba.
It was before the emancipation of the
sis us Tae field bands rose at 1 o'clock
la the soornlng. A piece of cold corn
stood far breakfast, eaten aa tsey
i hurried to their task. At II o'clock
were served from a great Kettle
one principal meal of hominy or
Hen aad women were herded and
Hka animals under the lasn oi
taw brutal overseer. The sad and hope
leaa expression on the faces of some
af these stoves-especially of the wo
asaa hat never In all these years been
tOaesd from my memory. This was
1 jaassh slavery, and that on the sugar,
ass aad oettoa plantations la oar own
i like It But tnoae negroes
1 1 saw In Cuba ware emancipated
tea aad their sons maoe up
aad file with Gomes
-7!i"l- tkelr
eassaresl wiu oe neiier uh
ate. Thar an looking up.
tSSWBCUUTBIQ FARM INCOMES
lainum seas too often Had that
I farm la depreciating every year;
4 MMirt m all; the SOBS
tit cannot be sent away to
ium mm mmm the nracticc
awty-foar years ago warn the speaker
JLX Msna aa in new mb
fwkaf tavr yaara eoures of study. The
t-Vft aaw alaat the girts, also, seek env
f Tnnnrt ta the cities. What is their
I T tsareT Take WykofTs pen picture
af wan he saw la a maaufactory of
'Tr'r -...
CiT aad identity. He became a
zrw. iwf nw " Jr.
s ftcra r-W in the awralag; reieas-
I m . mtm MMHa: BO 0000 Of DTO-
Jmmr TaiawaTwasaa; X naarrtod,
J eTt-r T of oadtwa, the tempta-
m y t aj . aaaka rirtoal
-I? 1 sejprta aad. If not, the
w et si'u taesa asaa up street
far twtr ami-
,,-J i'7rMm tkeja-aad
t'-st rrixum.
nit
r t53rt U B) t- It
if if iir
Hi
H if ri
I M a
K-i.
are looking down. Their faces are to
ward the ground.
"But those that do stay on the old
farm, surely they are better off?" Let
us examine more carefully into their
condition:
25C GROSS INCOME PER DAT.
Taking Census Bulletin 378 and the
figures of the official statistician of the
department of agriculture, we find the
value of farm products for the average
farm in the United States was $538.94.
Allowing 5.74 persons to each farm, as
reported by the census, and divide the
$S38.94 among them equally, we find
that our agricultural population re
ceives an average annual per capita In
come of $93.89. Divide this amount by
the number of days in the year (365),
and we have for those who depend on
the farm for a living an average per
capita income of 25.8 cents per day.
10C PER DAT NET INCOME.
It must be borne in mind that this
$638.94 per farm, or 25.8 cents per day
per capita, is not the profit made from
the average farm or day's labor, but
constitutes the value of the entire
crops. It Includes that portion con
sumed on the farm as well as that por
tion sold. Out of this amount the
farmer must pay his taxes. Insurance,
interest, the cost of seed, hired help,
wear and tear of farm implements, re
pairing of fences and buildings, and
feed for his team for one year while
cultivating the crops. All these items
must be paid out of the $538.94 before
the farmer can have anything for him
self and family. The question then Is.
how much will the average farmer and
his family have for their own support
after paying all these items? Will they
have 15 cents per day per capita? No
Will then have ten? Possibly, yes; but
I doubt It. For argument's sake, how
ever, we will admit that our agricultur
al population receives a per capita in
come of 10 cents per day, with which to
buy food and clothing, educate the
children and pay incidental expenses.
COMPARE FARMER AND PAUPER.
Now, to bring out the meaning of
these figures in bold relief the moral
force, if you pleace, of this condition of
things take two facts and compare
them:
1 Cost of keeping a pauper at public
expense in Illinois. 28.5 cents per day.
2 Price paid to the state of Illinois
for the labor of a convict, 39.4 cents per
day.
Please set down in your memory
again and let it burn In a little, if you
will: The average daily Income of every
one dependent on the farm for a living
is 10 cents.
The agricultural population of the
United States is compelled, under pres
ent conditions, to live on an Income be
low that provided for paupers; and re
ceive less for their labor than is paid
for convicts.
IS THERE NO RELIEF?
Is there no moral significance in these
figures? Do they not appeal to a sense
of duty, of equity on the part of those
who hear me?' If there be any condi
tion of finance or currency or of eco
nomic laws which can be reached by
us, as citizens, through our congress,
and which has produced such a result,
can we shirk our plain duty to remedy
this condition? It does not make it an
better that such facts pertain to othel
industries. For my part, I cannot Ig
nore these facts and figures. They:
mean not starvation alone, they mean
the wrecking homes, the breaking up
of families, the crushing out of the
bright hopes of youth, the shattering
of faith. They mean the poorhouse to
the Kick and aged. They mean tears
and untold sorrow. They mean the
breaking of hearts. They mean de
spondency, despair and suicide. They
mean crime.
MILLET AND MARKHAM.
Alas! With such conditions Millet's
picture or Markham's poem will not
have to wait for ages or centuries to
find its counterpart in our country. If
we do not yet, in vision even, see
"Time's tragedy," "In that aching
stoop," we already find traces of fam
ished minds, suffering hearts, desperate
resolves, bitterness and hatred.
But this Is not Christian, some one
may say. "These are the necessities of
life and they should be meekly borne
and develop patience."
Here we take issue. It Is not an in
evitable and cruel necessity that pau
perises the American farmer and de
grades his children and enkindles in his
heart too often the spirit of retaliation
and revenga.
WRONG ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.
The economic or financial system of
our country Is somehow wrong when 91
per cent of the families own 29 per cent
of the wealth and per cent of the fam
ilies own about 71 per cent of the
wealth.
According to a carefully obtained list
published In the New York Tribune,
of those who own the 71 per cent of
wealth, there are 4,047 known million
aires. These average at least $3,000,000
each.
Another statistician of high reputa
tion for accuracy. Charles B. Bpohr,
sums up the distribution of wealth dls
tribtlon aa follows: "Less than half the
families in America are property less;
nevertheless, seven-eighths of the fam
ilies hold but one-eighth of the national
wealth, while one per cent of the fami
lies hold more than the remaining $7
per cent."
HOW THE OTHER HALF (?) LIVES.
According to an estimate of Mr. Ed
ward Atkinson 14,100,000 of the $li.000,-
000 families In our country are sup
ported on Incomes of lesa than $400 a
year, $70e,0U0 on less tnan .wu, ana we
remainder on larger Incomes. But the
average annualtaconTefhartehMit
by good authority (Thomas O. Shear
man in the forum), at $1,600,000. Put
this again by the side of four-fifths of
American families whose earnings av
erage leas than $500 per annum.
CAUSES.
I dqi-domIv refrain from a discussion
of the causes which have produced the
deplorable results. They are attributed
by soma to me aeveiopmeni ox monop
olies, combines aad trusts by which
the wealthy, under favoring legisla
tion, has ereatir added to the riches
and of necessity the poor have become
poorer. What baa Been saw ia inw
conference of monopolies, abuses .of
transportation and of the currency ap
ply aa much to the former aa to any
other class. Bone bar attributed this
enormous Inequality to me eaecu oi
contraction la the currency or the
quantity of standard money, so en-
hnjmif; ie purcnannw ww
ey and giving to those who had cap
ital great advantage over those who
had not This la styled monopoly of
money.
Others attribute both the trusts and
iha riches acquired by them to the ef
fect af the policy and laws of the pro
tective tariff. And aa wheat aad cotton
and. such farm prodacts aa depend on a
fore5a snarket have no protectloa, the
tarUle pronoaaesd very unjust ta the
farmer. Ke to taaad la so far as he
svparta Ma iwadaita, by the tajrasaed
priaa oa the lartaewd goods watch a
mt i shi- y c warJ"! ftlaa. Ta
t tj 1 1 my h
The Imn'ii":: .set Is that for many
years there has been an almost unvary
ing fall in prices of farm products, In
cluding live stock. This is destructive
to the property values of the agricul
turist and is more the source of disap
pointment and distress than would be
the mere fact of low prices, If stable.
THE BETTER TIMES.'
But times are better, says my repub
lican friend: Tes, the price of bread
stuffs advanced greatly from the in
creased demand, growing out of the loss
of crops in several foreign conlrles In
1897. Even In 1898 prices kept up and
as late as till Jne, 1899, the export of
wheat and cotton had continued to
be about as great in quantity as the
previous year. But just here we are
met with an appalling fact. The re
ceipts on wheat and some of the other
cereals and on cotton have, owing to
reduced prices, this year (the year end
ing June 1, 1899), fallen off $50,000,000,
as compared with the year before. That
$50,000,000 is now to be subtracted from
the Income of the agriculturist of our
country about $2 for each man, wo
man and child of the farmer's family.
This means another pinch; and this not.
withstanding that we are still feeling
the effects of the short crops abroad.
We must surely count on another drop
If there Is a return to normal crops in
all countries.
With the average Income down to 10
cents a day less than that of the pris
oner or the pauper of Illinois and then
subtract $7.14 more from each head of
family ot three members for the year
with almost an absolute certainty of
another drop next year and the general
conditions such as to force the convic
tion that all prices and values, except
money, will continue steadily to fall,
what are we to expect In moral effects
except what is most deplorable?
FALLING PRICES THE GREAT EVIL
Until some remedy is suggested for
the evil of falling prices and until the
rich cease to become richer and the
poor poorer, how are we to bring any
good cheer to the farmer? Look again
at our sore-hearted, discouraged, des
perate son of toll. May we not quote
the Inspired words of the poet? The
prophecy as well as protest?
How will you ever straighten up this
shape;
Touch It again with immortality;
Give back the upward looking and the
light;
Rebuild in it the music and the dream;
Make right the immemorial Infamies;
Perfidious wrongs. Irremediable woes?
O masters, lords and rulers in all lands.
How will the Future reckon with this
Man?
How answer his brute questions in that
hour
When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the
world?
How will It be with kingdoms and with
kings
With those who shaped him to the
thing he is
When this dumb Terror shall reply to
God,
After the silence of the centuries?
This Is the pathetic side. It is true;
but there is a brighter side. Wykoff
found no haniner soot in all his travels
on the Minnesota farm. The family and
the neighborhood life were Idyllic. And
it would be qually true In New York,
Ohio or any other state. But these
hard statistics are averages and tell
of a terrible depression and a wrong to
be righted.
FARMERS NEVER ANARCHISTS.
On the other hand, it would be almost
impossible to make anarchists out of
American farmers. They love their
country. In the civil war and In the
last war the best recruiting grounds
were In the great agricultural states.
In peace they are Industrious; in war
they are patriotic. They are the great
conservative and preservative element
In social life In politics. They will
stand by the free public school the uo
corrupted ballot box and will not eas
ily adopt rash or revolutionary meaa
ures. .
It am not a "calamity howler, and
am not here to represent such a class.
The late war has come In to Increase
marekts and Innumerable activities
which brought relief to all industries,
including agriculture. The Klondike
and the general increase in the produc
tion of gold Is another unexpected
source of relief both in the employ
ment of men and In the vastly increased
output of gold meeting the argument
of those who have asked for an in
crease In the per capita quantity of
money.
Even the final necessity of renewing
the worn out farm Implements, the
wagons, the windmills, the engines
the numerous appliances of the modern
farm, In states where wheat was a pro
duct, has contributed to the prosperity
of the manufacturer and the merchant
and reacted upon the whole community.
These are the facts of the hour tor
which we should be grateful. But be
cause the 23,000,000 to 25.000.0H of our
people who are getting their living by
agriculture are good and reliable citi
zensAmerican and patriotic to the
very marrow, are we to forget their
rights and allow a system to grow
upon them which must Inevitably crush
out their manhood? Or because there
is a streak of daylight from the unex
pected sources of divine providence
the war and the Klondike and the fail
ure of foreign crops and the farmers
are permitted for one year to draw a
breath of relief, shall we sit down to
indifference or conclude that they are
well enough oft with such appalling
facts and figures staring us in the face
from the United States Census?
What I ask of this conference, and
- - mmm mt tmm ci Is of the United
States and of congress, Is to readjust
our economic and financial system so
that the farmer shall be called to bear
only his equitable share of the bifrdent
of the citizen.
BRIEF NOTB8.
Rudyard Kipling Intends to visit Aus
tralia and wtll probably stay for a short
time In South Africa, en route.
For the forty-eight hours ending on
Monday evening there were three new
cases of fever and one death at New
Orleans.
John Lawyer, jr.. aad Bd Jones of
Charleston, III., got Into a quarrel and
Jones waa slashed In the neck with a
pocket knife and died In less than Ave
minutes.
The new torpedo boat Craven waa
successfully launched. An attempt was
made a week ago to run the vessel Into
the water, but she became wedged on
the ways.
At Toronto, O., all membera of the
tailors' union, between 401 and HO,
struck because the employers refused to
grant their request for a II per cant
advance la wagea.
Frank 3. Pishoon, accused of having
embeaaled state funds while employed
aa boowhaeper m the hospital at Oak
koaa. Wk, waa arrested at Atahlaon,
Kan., an a requisition from Wlaoonsln.
Tom Topham, a saloon keeper, la la
aH ewarged with murder, and Charles
U Weastar. a cigar maafactarer at Of
aea. Utah, la dead at km riatiieiM aa
a reeaK of a
A STEP III lf.lFERIALISf.1
PUBLIC INTELLIGENCE HELD BY
THE THROAT.
The Truth About the Censorship of
General Otla Told by the Agent
of the Associated Press.
The following letter from Robert M.
Collins, correspondent of the Associated
Press at Manila, to Melville E. Stone,
general manager of the Associated
Press, was written in response to a re
quest for a full statement of the facts
In regard to the censorship of General
Otis. It appeared in the New York
Journal and other papers last week.
The following Is the full text of the
letter.
Melville E. Stone. General Manager
the Associated Press, Chicago, 111.: My
Dear Mr. Stone Your request for a
detailed record of all circumstance
leading- to the statement cabled by all
the correspondents In Manila to their
newspapers, Is just received. In the be
ginning It should be explained that cor
respondents had the question of taking
some united action to secure the right
to send the facts about the war, or.
failing In that, to explain to our papen
and the public why we were not telling
the facts, two months before the cable
gram was released.
The censorship enforced during the
war and before the beginning of It, wap
according to newspaper men who had
worked in Japan, Turkey. Greece, Rus
sla and Egypt in war times, and ir
Cuba under the Weyler regime, and
during our war so much more stringen'
than any hitherto attempted that we
were astonished that the American au
thorities should countenance It. aw
were confident public opinion should bt
overwhelmingly against it, if Its metli
ods and purposes became known.
SUBMITTED AFTER MANY AP
PEALS. For a long time we submitted to the
censorship because of appeals to oui
patriotism and a feeling that we mlf?!v
be accused of a lack thereof If we madi
any trouble for the American authorl
ties here.
But when General Otis came down l:i
the frank admission that It was not In
tended so much to prevent the newspa
pers from giving information and as
sistance to the enemy (the legitimate
(unction and, according to our view, the
only legitimate one, cf a censorship),
but to keep the knowledge of condi
tions here from the public at home, and
when the censor had repeatedly told
us in ruling out plain statements of un
disputed facts, "My instructions are to
let nothing go thai can hurt the ad
ministration," we concluded that pro
test was justifiable.
Otis had gained the idea from the
long submission by the newspaper men
to his dictation that It waa a part oi
the duty of the governor-general to dl
rect the newspaper correspondent as he
did his officers. Much of the censorship
was conducted by him personally, the
tensor sending a correspondent to the
general with any diispatch.es about
which he had doubts. The process of
passing a message was identical with
the correction of a composition .by a
schoolmaster, Otis or the censor strik
ing out what displeased them and in
serting what they thought should be
dald, or, what came to the same thing,
telling the correspondent he must say
certain things If bis story was to go.
PRESS MADE OTIS' PERSONAL OR
GAN. In this way the entire American
press was made the personal organ of
Otis; we were compelled to send noth
ing but the official version of all events
and conditions, even when the official
view controverted the opinions of the
great mass of the officers In the field
and intelligent residents, and was a
falsification of events which passed be
fore our eyea
In this way every fight became a glo
rious American victory, even though
every one in the army knew It to- have
been substantially a failure, and we
were drilled into writing, quite mechan
ically, wholly ridiculous estimates of
the number of Filipinos killed.
Repeated appeals made by all the
correspondents to their papers to se
cure change in censorship methods bad
been fruitless, and as conditions stead
ily grew worse and failure was piled
upon failure, while we were sending
rose-colored pictures of successful war
and Inhabitants flocking to the Amer
ican standard, the repeated suggestions
of correspondents that "We must do
something" resulted in a formal meet
ing. THE WORK MADE A FARCE.
All agreed that their work was being
made a farce, the papers were wasting
money In keeping them here, that Otis
mls-ht aa well detail some of his clerks
to do the work. Each had his own
idea of what should be done. I propos
ed they protest to the president against
the censorship, with the request that
all matter should be passed except
military movements which would as
sist the enemy, and thought It had
better be signed by the names of the
organizations and papers represented
than by our names, because their dis
play might be construed Into a desire
for personal advertisement. The others
thought we should send a statement of
the conditions, with an explanation to
the public why our efforts bad been so
misleading.
On comparing notes we found that
we had among us learned the views of
all the American generals and most of
the other prominent men In Manila
whose opinions were worth considering,
and that there was a practical unanim
ity of opinions of the situation. The
dispatch prepared was an epitome of
these opinions. The pressure upon us
to "tell the truth" from army officers
of Man rank and men of all classes had
been something tremendous, and we
have been accused of cowardice and ail
sorts of things- Before taking any
steps we concluded to talk with Otis,
and he made vague promises of greater
liberality.
ANOTHER MONTH OF TORTURE.
Then followed a month of history re
peating Itself. Before the movement on
Antlpolo, Taypay, and Morong, we were
told that It must Inevitably result In
the capture and destruction of Filer's
army of two or three thousand men;
then the same predictions were mads
of the movement to the south In Cavlte
province; next the collapse wss about
to come through the surrender of Gen
eral Tries, who would bring over his
army.
About the middle of June I wrote a
conservative review to the effect that
every one here waa convinced that It
would be Impossible to end the war
during the rainy season and for some
time thereafter, unless heavy reinforce,
menta were sent
The censor's comment 0 made a note
of It) waa: "Of course, we all know
that we are In a terrible mess out here,
bat we don't want the people to get
excited about rt If you fallows wilt
only keen aaiet mam ws will suit thro
He took the review to General Otis,
who ssld:
"Tell Collins that If he will bold that
for a week or ten days he wtll thank
me for not letting him send It."
OTIS REPEATED SAME 8TORY.
When I went to see him he repeated
the same old story about the insurrec
tion going to pieces, and hinted so por
tentlously about having wonderful
things up his sleeve that I almost be
lieved him. The other men had prac
tically the same experience.
So, after wlatlng a month for the gen
eral's pretentions to materialize, we
decided to send the statement we had
framed without changing It, as the
conditions bad not changed.
The views were the views of Law
ton, Mac Arthur, Funston, Wheaton, et
al., and we could not be accused of
prejudice against the administration.
The attempt to hold the newspapers by
the throat was so unusual that unusual
action seemed to be justified and de
manded. As a matter of form we took
the message to the censor. His com
ment was practically the same that he
had made on my message. He did not
question the accuracy of the statement
of conditions, but said: "This Is just
intended to suppress."
He. of course, took It to Otis, who, In
turn, sent the messenger requesting to
see Davis, of the New York Bun, to go
and see him, doubtless thinking that
as he had treated the Sun as his or
gan, and Its correspondents being un
der obligations to him for special fa
vors, he could work them to give up the
plan. Thompson said he thought Col
lins and McCutcheon should go also.
A committee was chosen Davis, Mc
Cutcheon, Bass and I.
When we were ushered Into Otis' room
he said with some anger:
"Gentlemen, you have served an ex
traordinary paper upon me. You accuse
me of falsehood. That constitutes a
conspiracy against the government 1
will have you tried by a general court
martial and let you choose the judges."
We knew from experience with his
threats to "put you off the island" that
there was nothing to be frightened
about, and also knew that all officers
who would be on a court-martial would
know we told the truth. Three hours
of exceedingly plain talk followed.
The general did not contradict our
statements that the purpose of the cen
sorship waa to keep the facts from the
public, but said that what we wanted
was to have the people stirred up and
make sensations for the papers. We told
him that there had never been any sut.
ject furnishing more good material for
sensations than this war, and that he
should be exceedingly grateful to the
papers for handling It so temperately.
Dealing with the specifications, we
said that the hospital officers refused
to give us any information as to the
number of sick, on the ground that
he had Instructed them to withhold
such facts; also that he had reported to
Washington a percentage of 7V4 sick,
when the srgeons agreed that at least 20
per cent of the command was sick; that
not more than 10 per cent of some regi
ments were fit for duty, and that the
hospital force and room was entirely
inadequate, so that they were compelled
to discharge hundreds of men who were
really sick.
His reply was that the hospitals were
full of perfectly well men, who were
shirking, and should be turned out To
send home figures of the numbers In
hospitals would be entirely misleading.
We reminded him that while he had
been reporting to Washington that "the
volunteers will render willing service
until relieved," the same volunteers
were sending regimental petitions to
the governors of their states to use
every Influence to secure their recall.
In the matter of prejudice against the
navy, It was stated on the parts of
the correspondents that all were cem
pelled to change their accounts of the
taking of Hollo, to make It appear that
the army had done the work with Im
mediate assistance of warships, and
that only a few houses were burned.
The unquestioned facts told In the
original stories were that the soldiers
did not land until three hours after the
marines had raised the flag and chased
the insurgents out.
General Otis explained that the navy
was so anxious for glory that It dis
obeyed instructions by landing before
the proper time, although the corre
spondents could not have been per
mitted to send that explanation had
they known It, and were forced to give
in a false account of what occurred.
The fact is questioned by no one that
almost all of the business quarter and
much of the other sections were burned.
1 reminded him that two stories by
Dunning, of the Associated Press, de
scribing the work of the navy In pa
trolling the coasts and taking prizes
were "killed" without reason, and the
others agreed that the entire attitude
of the censorship toward the navy had
been one of prejudice and discrimina
tion. Otis Is a very hard man to argue with
or to pin down to any definite proposi
tion, and bis explanation of the failure
of Hall's expedition the first week In
June was characteristic. He said: "But
how could we capture them when they
were not there? They all got out the
night before we started, and there
were not two thousand we found, but
only six hundred."
We rehearsed In detail the objections
to the censorship, which I have out
lined in the beginning of this letter.
Davis said: "When I returned to Ma
nila I asked what I would be permitted
to send, and you told me all facts,
news about military operations not
helpful to the enemy and my opinions
as opinions."
All of the committee agreed that the
fulfillment of that rule would be sat
isfactory, and I disclaimed any desire
to send my personal opinions for the
Associated Press.
General Bates was present through
out the Interview. At the cloe Oen
eral Otis turned to him and ssked:
"What would you do with these gen
tlemen. General?"
Bates promptly replied: "I would do
what I said."
"Court-martial them?" asked Otis.
"No, let them send what you prom
isedthe facts and opinions as opin
ions," Bates said.
The next morning Otis sent for Davis
and tried to talk him over. Among
other things, he complained that he did
not clearly understand what we wanted.
Wishing to give blm a chance to estab
lish a reasonable censorship, we sent
another committee with a written re
quest that we be allowed to send al)
fscts not useful to the enemy and de
scribe the different views of the situa
tion when It waa open to difference of
opinion. The committee threshed over
the same ground several hours, and the
result was a etstement In effect that
we might send anything which in his
opinion wss "not prejudicial to the In.
terests of the United Statea"
That did not change our opinion In
the least, because he had always con
strued aa damaging to the government
any story tending to carry the smallest
Inference that bis acts and policies
were not entirely successful and Indors
ed by the whole army. He :
pointed a new censor, although we told
hi ht would not be the slightest re
lief unless the system waa changed, and
ha prom toed ta keep ina censor iuuy
posted aa all eventsan arrangement
which ke ha ot aarrtod Into eseca-
A WARNING TO BOYS4
The small boy stole his Mtgnbtsrw
grapes.
His sin
Did not Impress blm overmuofc,
A grin
O'erspread his freckled face
Aa be
Broke bunches off and gobbled them
In glee.
He ate. and ate, and ate, and ate.
And ate.
And all the time this wicked boy
Was great.
He did not think how wrong It was
To swipe
His neighbor's grapes before they were
half ripe!
But oh! before the clock struck twelve
That night.
That wicked boy waa pale as chalk
With fright.
He realised at last how very great
A sin
It is to steal, though it be but
A pin.
For awful gripes him stomach filled
With woe.
And he ejaculated: "Oh!
Ohl Oh!"
The moral is now heed it, boys!
"Don't swipe
Your neighbor's grapes at least until
They're ripe."
JEWS IN THE UNITED STATES.
The American Jewish "Year Book"
for 1899-1900, corresponding with the
Hebrew year 5(60, which has just been
issued by the Jewish Publication Soci
ety of America, contains some interest
ing figures relative to Jewish statistics
in the United States.
Mr. Cyrus Adler, the editor, makes
this estimate of the Jewish population
in the United States:
"In 1818 Mordecal M. Noah estimated
the Jewish population at 3,000. In lltl
Isaac C. Harby placed the figures at
1,000, and in 1840 these were further
Increased by the estimate published in
"The American Almanac" to 15,000. In
1848 M. A. Berk placed the population
at 50,000. In 1880 William B. Hacken
burg put the figures at 230,257; In 1$
Isaac Markcns put them at 400,000 and
in 1897 David Sulzberger estimated the
total at 937,000."
The following figures are then given:
Jewish Immigration into the United
States, 1885-1899:
New
York.
1886 18,535
1886 27,348
1887 25.718
1888 2.62
1889 22.874
1S90 32,321
1891 2.57
1892 52.134
1893 2578
1894 l.38l
1895 27.065
1898 23,802
1897 17,278
1898 22.921
To July, 1899...... 12,909
Phila
delphia. 1.07$
2.310
1.680
1,761
1.28
1.982
4.94
3.039
6,324
3.825
2,791
2,499
1,752
2.079
Balti
more. 1.581
S.ltf
1.941
1.901
2.22
1.817
1.664
1.40
1.449
Totals 417,010 36,390 20.140
Imlmgratlon for 1881-4 74.SIJ
New York, 1885-99
Philadelphia, 1885-99 JJ.JfJ
Baltimore, 1886-99 -'
Total M7.$a
"If we add this Imlmgratlon to the
estimate of Mr. Hackenburg made la
1880," says Mr. Adler, "we secure a to
tal of 778,107, without making any al
lowance for the natural increaae If
twenty years, nor for the immigration
through Canada and other porta of the
United States than New York, Phila
delphia and Baltimore."
Prattle of the Youngsters.
Sunday School Teacher Johnnie, who
was Paul? Johnnie He's de feller wlW
de funny bunch of whiskers dat'a
t'rowln' a bluff at de English.
"What's the matter, Willie you goln'
round al Idoubled up like that?" "Oh, I
ject eat a square meal an the corners
hurt me."
"Yea, ma, I ate the jam with exten
uating circumstances." "What are the
extenuating circumstances?" "You did
n't catch me at It"
"Can any of you tell ms the use ol
the collar bone?" asked the teacher at
the junior class In physiology. "It la
used for the collar to rest on," prompt
ly replied the small boy at the foot of
the class.
"No. Tommy," said bis mother, "one
piece of pie Is enough for you." "Well,
I can't understand it," responded Tom
my. "You said the other day that X
should learn to eat properly and new
you won't give me a chance to prac
tice." "Mamma," said small Johnny, "1
thought you said Mr. Jones waa a very
wise man.' '"Yes, and so he Is," replied
the mother. "Well. I don't think so,'
said Johnny, " 'cause when I told I waa
In school be wanted me to tell him how
much two times three was."
Soma Raoant Inventlone.
To ad dto the comfort of bicycling a
spring attachment has been patented,
which la inserted In the rear forka
with a central rod In each fork, engag
ing the hub connection, the springe
holding the rods down aad lessening
the shock and Jar to the rider.
Vegetables can be rapidly siloed aa
mashed In a newly designed oattea,
having a hopper resting ever a set of
knives carried by a base, with a layer
mounted on one side of the baas, ta
depress a plunger In the hopper aad
force the vegetables between tae cut
(era
In a newly patented system of gear
ing for chalnleaa bicycles the oraak
shaft carries a plain gear wheel, which
drives a smaller wheel, carried by a
shaft below the crank hanger, a pair af
short cranks being mounted on the aefrf
ond abaft to drive roda oeaneotlng wtta
cranks on the rear hub.
For use In cold weather whea tae
hands get numb a new driving mitten,
baa a metal bar pivoted In the palm,
with a slotted guide covering the loose
end of the bar to draw It clsee ta tai
palm whea pushed toward tko ingarg,
caustag It t trip taw rata with a ,
action aad allow taw tear to rai
m time without any ism at
their kola.
As