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sage recommending anti-trust legislation? If we
have only one private monopoly in the country,
and that is a benevolent one, why does the repub
lican party make iuch a pretense of opposing
trusts?
A Politician's Congressman Each, of Wiscon
Imprcsslons. sin, in a newspaper interview,
says: "An impression prevails
that the decision of the supreme court in the
Porto Kican cases will be favorable to the gov
ernment and that it will be handed down in a
short time." How did this "impression" get
abroad? All the history of judicial opinion in
this country would give the impression that the
decision would be in keeping with precedent.
A Blow, to The recent French duel, in which
Duelling. the participants really tried to in
jure eachpther, may result in an
effort to ablish the practice. For some years the
appeal to swords has been so harmless as to excite
little protest, but a sure enough engagement, with
anger and red blood accompaniment, is likely to
prove useful in hastening the outlawry of this
relic of barbarism.
A duel in which the parties only pretend that
they want to kill each other is a laughable com
edy; a duel in which the parties actually try to
kill each other is a horrible tragedy.
Infringing the Congressman Levy, of .New
Copyright. York, has written a letter calling
attention to the fact that he in
troduced the first bill providing for the redemp
tion of silver dollars. He says that he does not
mention it to claim personal oredit, but because
he wants to keep the honor (?) in the democratic
party. He need not be so modest about, it; he is
welcome to all the advantage he can get out of
the bill. The democratic party will never claim
credit nor admit responsibility for it. The re
publicans have a perpetual copyright on measures
of that kind, and Mr. Levy is liable to prosecu
tion for infringement.
.
Reportorlal Israel Zangwill, according to an
Enterprise. exchange, has had an interesting
encounter with an enterprising
reporter. He thus records his experience:
My experience of the American reporter leads
me to the conviction that you must either accept him
unconditionally or reject him absolutely. No tempo
rizing' or attempt to dodge him will pay. Perhaps
the oddest specimen of an American journalist that I
met was a man in Cincinnati. He called on me one
night, told me that ho was racked and torn with re
ligious doubts, and asked my guidance. With 'such
reasoning and thought as I had at command I tried to
help him to a clearer view, and he Went away full of
gratitude. Imagine my astonishment when, next
day, I found this young gentleman posing throughout
the interview as a profound thinker while I figured
feebly as a shallow sophist.
Officers The new army bill provides for
Galore. about eleven hundred officers run-
'ning from major-general down
to second lieutenant. These are life positions
and there will be a scramble for them. If they
are judiciously distributed .a considerable senti
ment Tvill be created in favor of a large military
establishment. Army officers are, as a rule, men
of intelligence and have influential family connec-
The Commoner.
tion, and the advantages which they derive from
the system can be easily seen. The burdens of a
large standing army are, however, distributed
among all the people, and aro not so easily dis
cerned. The few who are benefitted are aggres
sive while the burden bearers aro unorganized. It
is not strange, therefore, that the people find it
difficult to keep a standing army within bounds.
Food for Two years ago this month the
Thought. 'Philippine war began. It has
cost this republic a quarter of a
billion dollars, 3,500 lives and its self respect to
further the selfish schemes of pro motors. Dur
ing these two years wo have had more men un
der arms in the Phillippines than Washington
had during the Revolution; more men than the
republic had under arms during the war of 1812;
more men than Scott had when he invaded Mexico;
more men than Shafter had when ho invaded
Cuba and compelled the surrender of the Spanish
forces, and more men than Grant, had at any time
during his Vicksburg campaign. And yet it has
been impossible tp subjugate a weak, people who
are fired by a love of liberty. There is much in
these facts that demands the consideration of
the thoughtful.
Exit The Illinois Senate has adopted
Lobbyists. rules withdrawing the privileges
of the floor- from former mem
bers of the legislature who are acting in the ca
pacity of attorneys for railroads or other corpo
rations. It is an excellent rule, but it would bo
unnecesary if the ex-members had a proper con
ception of the dignity and responsibility of a leg
islator. All legislative bodies, state and national,
ire, to a greater or less extent, afflicted with the
lobbyist, who, after establishing a reputation and
gaining acquaintance as a law-maker, yields to
temptation and sells his political influence" to the
corporations which are trying to secure some
advantage or some exemption from legislatures.
When all legislators realize their obligation
to the people and act as representatives of the peo
ple in all matters, the lobbyist will depart with
out the gentle hint administered by the Illinois
Senate, but at present strict rules are necessary.
Desecrating' Some people are deeply con
the Flag. cerned lest the United States
flag be used for advertising pur
poses. Such a protest is indeed a worthy one;
but is it not strange that some of those who are
so careful as to the piece of bunting itself should
be so careless as to the principles which that
bunting represents?
It is important that the flag be not used for
advertising purposes; but it is even more impor
tant that the flag shall not become a "commer
cial asset." The preciousness of the flag is due
to the doctrines for which it stands. Because
the flag is an emblem of something sacred it
should be free from anything that savors of com
mercialism; but it would be better that every flag
flung to the breeze throughout this broad land
was covered with patent medicine advertisements
than that that flag should wave over a war of
conquest.
Popular affection for the flag will prevent the
desecration of the bunting; and popular affection
for the flag will increase only when we are ae
careful of the ideals for which the flag stands aa1
we are of the material of which the flag is made.
Sudden and The New York Times speak
Simultaneous, gleefully of what it terms "thai
sudden revival of interest in the
improvement of tho ourrency which has sprungi
up in the two oommittees of tho House of Repre
sentatives." If tho Times will loojc back over
the past twenty years it will be able to find sev
eral "sudden revivals" of this kind. They usu
ally come after an election never immediately
before one and there is a suddenness and a sim
ultaneousness about the revival which compel the:
belief that there is a perfect organization back of
it. Immediately after the election of 1892 there
was a "sudden revival" which resulted in anf
effort to repeal tho purchasing clause of the Sher
man Act during the last days of President Harri
son's administration. When tho attempt failed
President Cleveland called Congress together in
extraordinary session to pass a bill to carry out
the same purpose. After the elections of 899
there was another " sudden revival" which led to1
the passage of the act of March 14 last. The monicdj
interests move slowly and with deliberation, bun1
when they decide that it is time to secure another
legislative advantage, a "sudden revival" brcaksi
out all along tho line. The decree has gone forth;
that the silver dollar must be degraded and de-'
stroyed in order that national bank notes may
take tho place of silver certificates, and those Rep-'
resentatives who draw their inspiration from the
financiers are manifesting violent anti-silver symp
toms, which indicate that the "sudden revival"
is again at work.
The Flag at
Half Mast.
Mayor VanWyck of Now York
is being criticised because he
failed to order the flag lowered
to half mast on the city hall on the occasion of
Queen Victoria's death. Mayor VanWyck' s dc
fensc is that it has not been tho custom to lowetf
the flag on such occasions. Ho points out that
tho flag was not lowered on the occasion of the
death of Gen. Joubert of the South African Re
public. Whether the flag on a public building shall
be lowered in tribute to men of other nations is
not a serious question. It is, indeed, a little act
of courtesy which contributes to good nature,
and while accomplishing some good, as all acts
of courtesy do, can accomplish no harm. But
Mayor VanWyck presents a complete defense
when he cites the failure to pay this tribute to
Joubert as a precedent for the failure in the case
of Queen Victoria.
If a flag on a public building is not made to
pay tribute to the memory of a hero who died in
freedom's holy cause, then it is not extremely
important that that flag be required to pay tribute
to Kings and Queens. '
This may yet become an interesting question.
If Paul Kruger, the Old Roman of tho South
African republic, should die, there would be a
very general demand that the flag be lowered in
tribute to his memory. Nor is it to be doubted
that there would be vigorous opposition in cer
tain quarters to such recognition. There are
some people iri this country who are more anx
ious to pay tribute to monarch, than to recognise
the merit of freenesv
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