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Burning Not The burning of one negro in In
Scctlonal. diana and another in Texas, com
ing so soon after the burning of
negroes in Kansas and Colorado, proves that this
form of brutality is not sectional. It is a sad
commentary on our civilization that people can
become so frenzied as to resort to such methods
of punishment in any part of the country.
Slavery In The revolting instance of en-
South Carolina, forced servitude discovered in
South Carolina has caused a wide
spread sensation among the colored people of the
north. But it should bo remembered that very
few persons were connected with this new form
of slavery and that a white judge and a white jury
ferreted out the crime and brought the offenders
to justice.
A Just Senator Charles 0. Baldwin, of
Measure. Duluth, has introduced a bill in
the Minnesota legislature provid
ing for the taxation of railroad bonds as part of
. the capital of the company. The Supreme Court
of that state has decided that bonds shall not be
deducted from the assessed value of capital stock,
and Senator Baldwin's bill is intended to make
this decision effective. As long as a railroad
company insists upon collecting tolls sufficient to
pay interest on bonds as well as dividends on
stock, it ought not object to paying taxes on
both.
Hauling Down What! Haul down the flag from
the Flag. the staff in China after all the
blood that has been shed! What
has become of the noble sentiment to the effect
that where the flag has been hoisted by American
valor it shall never come down ! Has treason left its
slimy trail across the steps of the White House?
Has copperheadism lifted its horrid front and
hissed through the keyhole of the Blue room?
Or is the flag-loweririg episode in China explained
by the fact that there is no chance for American
exploiters over there? Can it be possible that the
pacified condition of the Philippines requires all
our attention? Or has "who will haul down
the flag?" taken a place alonside 'plain duty"
and the "national code of morals?"
J..J -
Waiting for The Kansas City 'Star is taking a
Prodigals. deep interest in the St. Louis sit
uation and expresses great indig
nation because The Commoner protests against
the nomination of an unrepentant republican on
the democratic ticket. Well, it seems impossible
to please our esteemed contemporary. It does
not connect itself with any party, but generously
gives advice to all. Here is a sample of its logic:
"The character of the men who bolted Bry
anism will not permit a stultification of belief;"
therefore, the party must stultify itself and apol
ogize to the deserters. This seems to be the
Star's idea. It is willing to forgive the party,
provided' it will return to the fold of the financiqrs.
Defalcation is Judge Candler, of Macon, Ga.,
Contempt. recently put contempt of court
proceedings to very practical use.
A receiver appointed by Judge Candler's court
was alleged to be in default as receiver to the
The Commoner.
amount of $0,000. Judge Candler wasted no
time on red tape. He promptly sent the receiver
to jail for contempt of court and ordered him to
be confined until the full amount was paid.
There have been instances when contempt pro
ceedings were rather overdrawn, but it will bo
gratifying to learn that Judge Candler has been
sustained on this occasion. If an officer of the
court steals other peoples' money, tho money hav
ing been entrusted to him by tho court, the honor
and dignity of the court have been assailed. To
make the dishonest receiver disgorge and to pun
ish him for his offense are desirable results.
Judge Candler has moved in the right direction.
Great Progress On March 3rd Mr. Taft, presi
Toward Peace, dent of tho Philippine Commis
sion, cabled to Mr. McKinley
that "Great progress has been made toward
peace." Since the receipt of this dispatch tho
work of recruiting 30,000 men for use in tho
Philippines is being carried on with renewed
vigor. Tho " progress towards peace" recently
made in the Philippines has been so "great" that
it will not do to permit our army to fall short of
65,000 fighting men. The "backbone of the in
surrection " has been "broken" on so many oc
casions that wo might begin to suspect that there
was no room left for additional fractures. But
the backbones of inEurrections carried on by men
fighting for self-government must be broken
many times. Until this country became a " world
power" Americans were in tho habit of believing
that it was impossible to actually break such backbones.
Commissioner of Public Works
McGann, of Chicago, Jias made
a report in which ho takes occa
sion to defend the practice of employing day la
bor on public work instead of letting the work
out to contractors. The contract system will not
stand the test of investigation. The work done
by contract is apt to be slighted, and it is gener
ally more expensive. The contractor, after he
once secures the contract, is pecuniarily interested
in making as much out of the job as possible,
and if officials are corrupt in the procuring of
the contract, the amount must be made out of the
public. There is no reason why a city, county,
or other subdivision should not pay for what it
gets in the way of work, and get what it pays
for. The contract system has been fruitful of
large contributions in campaign times, but it is
not satisfactory from any standpoint. There is
every reason to hope that the practice of direct
employment will increase. 1 i,
' :'
Bankrupting Mr. Charles R. Flint, of rubber
Our Customers, trust fame, in an article in the
Forum, says:
The United Kingdom for ten months in 1900 im
ported 82,081,000,000 worth of merchandise against ex
portations amounting to81,183,000,000, leaving a trade
balance against her of 5897,530,819. Germany, which
ranks next among the industrial nations, importd
8915,019,000 for nine months in 1900, and exported
merchandise valued at 714,000,000, leaving a trade
balance against her for nine months of 8237,959,000.
France for nine months imported 8638,996,000, and ex
ported 8580,471,000, a difference of 858,000,000 against
her. While, therefore, the United States is piling up
a credit balance of over 8600,000,000 a year, our three
cliief competitors for the trade of the world are writ-
Day Labor
Best.
Ing a total of over a billion on the wrong side of the
ledger. That the full significance of these figures
may bo appreciated, they must bo studied and ana
lyzed. It is as though four houses were doing busi
ness side by side. One of these houses, the United
States, after paying all its running expenses, has a
balance of 8000,000,000 in round numbers, while the
other three houses havo an aggregate loss to write up
at tho end of each year amounting to 81,000,000,000.
It is not always safe to discuss a balance of
trade without first examining it. England gener
ally has a balance of trade against hor, but tho ex
cess of her imports has, as a rule, measured her
income from foreign investments. This nation
has been a debtor to England and our accumula
tion of money has not kept pace with tho balance
of trade in our favor. But, in tho long run, trade
must bo reciprocal. Wo cannot expect to profit
permanently by a policy which seeks to encourage
exports and prevent imports. A trade must
bo profitable to both sides to bo enduring, each
party selling what it can produce best and buying
what it can buy to advantage. There is a limit to
our balance of trade. We caunot hopo to sell
everything and buy nothing, for such a policy
would soon bankrupt our customers.
Municipal Several municipal contests to bo
Contests. decided next month have as
sumed national importance. Chi
cago, the second city in the United Suites, is to
select a mayor and Carter II. Harrison, for a
third time the democratic nominee, seems sure to
be re-elected upon a platform favoring the mu
nicipal ownership of municipal franchises.
In St. Louis, the campaign is notable because
the re-organizing element of the party is in con
trol of the democratic machinery and is fishing
for the support of the corporations with a bolter
for bait. ,
In Cleveland, Tom L. Johnson has been nom
inated on a reform platform, and is making what
looks like a winning fight against tho Hanna ma
chine. Toledo's mayor, Sam Jones, is a candidate for
re-election. He has become so well known as a
champion of the golden rule that his race is being
watched with interest. His success seems as
sured.
Judicial Naps The Illinois Appellate Court was
Not in Error. recently confronted with the
point that certain court proceed
ings were invalid because the presiding judge
took a nap on the bench while the case was pend
ing. The Illinois court has held that the judicial
nap did not invalidate the proceedings.
'A 2srew York paper recalls an interesting re
joinder made by the late William M. Evarts. In
the New York Constitutional Convention of
1807, a proposition was made to retire all judges
at the age of seventy. One member of that con
vention, who was a lawyer famous for his long
speeches, told of having seen one venerable chan
cellor asleep on the bench and used this as an ar
gument in favor of the proposition. Mr. Evarts,
who was a member of the convention, said:
The honorable gentleman does not tell us whether
he was, present as counsel or as a spectator on the oc
casion of which he speaks so feelingly, but it is well
knoyjrn to the members of the bar that the venerable
Chancellor never slept when anything was transpir
ing,vvorthy of his attention.
The only wonder is that "judicial naps" are
not the rule rather than the exception.
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