;
The Commoner.
Good
Advice.
Interesting,
But Not
Reassuring.
The new mayor of Garnctt,
Kansas, after being sworn in
to office, opened the city coun
cil meeting with prayer, and issued a manifesto
directed to the city officials advising them to
"fear God, keep His commandments, and avoid
cigarettes." It would be difficult to get more
good advice into a volume than is contained in
this terse admonition. If the Garnctt mayor's
advice is followed the people of that town will
have as faithful a lot of public officials as were
ever called upon to serve the public.
Maude Gonne, the famous
champion of Ireland, predicts
that within ten years Ireland
will be a free and independent
nation. Miss Gonne's optimism on this point
is refreshing, but it would bo more reassuring
if there was anything in the present situation
to warrant the prediction. Certainly there is
nothing in the attitude of British statesmen to
ward Ireland that would give encouragement
to Irish patriots. Even the pretenses of the
past quarter of a century have been abandoned,
and it was only a few months ago that Irish
members were ejected by the police from the
House of Commons because they exercised
their constitutional right of protest.
Robert W. Dutton, a news
paper reporter, has been made
chief of the fire department in
' Washington pity. This ; is
an unusual 'move, and yet it will probably
prove to be a wise one. The average news
paper reporter is a man of character and abil
ity. As a rule ho is clear headed, possesses
strong executive power and is well fitted for
large responsibility. It is to be hoped that
Mr. Dutton will make an exceptional effort to
protect and preserve the honor of the profes
sion in his new position, and his reputation
among newspaper men warrants a prediction
to this effect.
New Field
For Newspaper
Men. , ,
f ft y i (r"'
Morgan and
the Ship
Subsidy.
J. Pierpont Morgan has or
ganized another trust. He has
purchased the Leyland steam
ship line and combined it with
that of the Atlantic Transport Company. This
combination will operate sixty-seven large ocean
steamers, and it is freely predicted that the new
interest in the ship subsidy bill which this
move will give to Mr. Morgan will result in the
passage of that measure. The man who is
shrewd enough to organize all the trusts of the
day, and influential enough to have the attorney
for the greatest trust of them all made attor
ney general of the United States, ought to
have sufficient influence with republican con
gressmen to accomplish the passage of Mr.
Hanna's subsidy bill.
The Cost of Chief Justice Doster of Kan
Imperialism, sas, in an article printed in the
Arena, says that in 1892 the
total market value of the imports and exports
of tho Philippine Islands amounted to
$30,000,000 in gold. He estimates that, a ten
per cent basis being used, the profits for tho
traders amounted to $8,000,000. Ho also shows
that the expenditure incurred in tho Philippine
war now reaches at least $200,000,000. The
usual government interest rate of 8 per cent on
$200,000,000 would amount to $0,000,000, and
Judge Dostor points out that this is twice as
much as the total annual profit to the whole
world on the Philippine trade, counting that
profit at 10 per cent on the custom house val
ues. He adds: "If peace were here now the
profits on our Philippine trade for the next two
hundred years would not give us back tho
money thus far expended in the prosecution of
tho war, with a reasonable rate of interest on
the amount."
Not Loaning At this time when republicans
on Farms. are measuring prosperity by
the value of tho stock of cor
porations enjoying more or less of a monopoly,
it may be well to remember that it is not al
ways easy to obtain a loan on farm property.
For instance a Pennsylvania trust company re
fused a loan on a farm near Pottsville, Penn
sylvania, which coat $9,250 eleven years ago,
is in better condition than it was then and is
now assessed for over $3,500. Tho trust com
pany says it is loath to make any farm mort
gages. Why should the financiers bother
about farm mortgages when they can make
more money speculating in stocks than they
can make loaning on farms?
eluded that a twenty-year wait was lo'ng enough
for any man.
Tho explanation is ample. Procrastination
is tho alienator of affection -as well as the
thief of time. The man who finally won this
woman met her for tho first time in February,
proposed, was accepted three months later, and
was married within twenty-four hours, and it is
fair to assume "they lived happily forever
afterwards." This fortunate man explained:
" She looked so sweet that I could not help
myself, and I saw no use in wasting time."
Between a suitor who could not summon the
courage necessary to a proposal during a period
of twenty years, and a man who could offer
himself within a period of three months, the
preference is decidedly with the latter, and we
take it for granted that this woman made no
mistake. - -
'k'
Some Bold
Opinions.
y-Qy-.
V.
Not Interest
of the
Community.
organizers.)
"Economies in production and
distribution" are the object
sought in the organization of
the trusts (according to tho
When some genius among the
trust magnates originated the term, 'Commun
ity of interest" as a title for the trust, the New
York World said that community of interest
was "not the interest of the community." It
is now pointed out by the World that the steel
combine has raised the price of rails two dol
lars per ton, while the anthracite combine has
advanced the price of coal one dollar per ton
and will collect a tribute of $50,000,000. from
the consumers. The World thinks there is no
reason for a revision of its original declaration
and who will take issue with it on this point?
Twenty Years For twenty years a rich New
Was Sufficient. Yorker courted a charming
New York woman. One day
last week this rich New Yorker was shocked
when he learned that the charming New York
woman had been married to another man.
When the rich New Yorker demanded an ex
planation of his whilom sweetheart, she said:
"I waited for you twenty years or more and
then decided that I had waited long enough. I
have won the love of an honest man and "am
married to him."
The happy bride added the explanation that
on two occasions when she had promised to
marry other men she broke the engagement to
oblige her long-wait sweetheart She did not,
hovcver; desire to die an old maid, and con-
Thc republican newspapers are
growing bolder all the time in
their advocacy of plutocratic
and imperial principles. For instance, the
New York Sun warns the democratic party
that it is useless to make war on plutocracy.
It says that Plutocracy is popular and will pre
vail. The Globe Democrat, which is a close sec
ond to tho Sun in its courageous defense of all
that is wrong, criticised President Hadlcy be
cause of his outspoken opposition to the trusts.
It said that he was a pessimist andclose to tho
sedition line. When republican papers openly
defend plutocracy and denounce criticism as
seditious, the rank and file of the party ought
to have no difficulty in seeing the dangerous
tendency of republican policies.
Odell The republican governor of
Reflects New York is very near the
on Judges. danger line. A bill was in
troduced in the New York
legislature providing for the appointment of
40 official referees by certain judges. In an
nouncing his determination to disapprove of
the measure, Governor Odell said:
"I have had some experience, in politics In
New York and I know there are judges wno use
their offices for political effect."
It is a terrible thing for even an ordinary
man to "assail .the integrity of the courts" or
to "question the motives of men who occupy
the bench." But how much more terrible it is
for the Governor of the great state to make
such an assault. It was bad enough when the
democratic party intimated that, after all, men
who held judicial positions were human and
subject to criticism by those whose laws they
were selected to interpret. And what a storm
of protests went over the country when the
democratic party made this criticism! Men
who criticised judges, men who intimated that
one who held a judicial positipn was liable to
err, or was susceptible to the weakness to which
flesh is heir these were branded as anarchists
and as enemies of law and order.
What shall we say of the republican gov
ernor of N,ew York? Can it he that anarchy
is manifesting itself in the empire state?
rri
J
