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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1901)
T""1 " The Commoner 10 W-m r-" r i r Despotism In Porto RIpo. 1 Luis Munbz Rivera, who was presi dent of the autonomic government of Porto Rico under Spanish rule, has written a long letter to President Mc Klnley on the subject of the tyranny of American rule in that island, from which tho following Is taken: In the days of what many in Ameri ca called Spanish - despotism Porto .Rico sent her deputies to the cortes at Madrid, passed her own laws, was a province of Sjpain, tho equal polit ically of the peninsular provinces by the constitution, which protected them, making them equal before the law and oven granting to tho island in tho At lantic tho autonomy which it refuses to the provinces of tho peninsula. It had also a council, but what a differ once between the. council of that time, of popular origin and parliamental character- and the council of tdday, official in its origin and bureaucratic in its character! The' writer has the honor of presid ing over that tody, which governed without restriction and without reser vations, and he can affirm that not once wore tho ministers opposed to their measures by the veto of Spain. We were ourselves responsible for our decrees and we framed them with the utmost prudence, but also with an independence which was neither ques tioned nor curtailed by the metropolis. In a word, self-government was un folding itself without obstacle and Por to Rico was beginning to feel herself mistress of her present and of her future. When the historic edifice of the col onies, crowned by the gift of auton omy, disappeared, destroyed by your squadrons1, all the hopes of 'their peo ple, turned to that other edifice which was to be erected on the broad, basjs. of a democracy which is,,.tbe aston ishment of the world. "Even tho most pessimistic believed that in no case, under no pretext, would it curtail the liberties conferred by the former rule. Ah, sir, not' only "does it curtail, it annihilates and destroys them. In Porto Rico popular suffrage is a farce. The , order of the governor tho only law .in the case-f or the conduct of the elections?-) oxe.ates a board of inscrlp-' tion in San Juan and various subordi nate boards throughout tho island. All are alike appointed by the governor himself. And they have thQ power of Inscribing or not inscribing the elec tors, according to their caprice and without any furtherv.r.esponsibility. Thus it wasEha't;at the election of the chamber only one:iarty cast thoir votes, the party vtiich flattered the government, seconding its plans, bow ing to its acts of injustice and accept ing in shameful silence or with' in comprehensible applause the death of their country. And, therefore, it is that the chamber in which only one shade of political opinion exists, rep resents not the Idea or the interests of the country, but the" ideas and the Interests of the government whiqh im posed and sustains it by. force. Those who in Porto Rjco represent the wealth and the intellectuality of 'the island remain proscribed by. the ad ministration, doubtless for the enor mous crime of .desiring for their, coun try American liberties under the Am erican flag. Those liberties do not exist In Porto Rico'. Tho municipalities cannot ap point the , teachers in their schools, for in their appointment the commis sioner of education intervenes, nor tho physicians In their districts, for the health commissioner must be con sulted; nor the watchman in their wards, for tho governor appoints all the members of- the insular police ;md the towns are not permitted to have their own, police force, nor can they impose or collect their taxes, for tho treasurer of tho island has entire charge of this function so that In Porto Rico there are no municipalities and even the vacancies in the offices of mayors and councilors are filled by tho governor. The judicial body, from the judges of the supremo court down to tho justices of the police courts, are ap pointed in the same way. And they are appointed exclusively in tho interests of one party, so that the tribunals are not the highest guar anty of society in the island, but the docile instruments of political pas sions. Not long ago, in the month of April, all of the judges who were not appointed by the republican party were deprived of office. Among them were jurisconsults of great distinction and of unblemished reputation. They were replaced by young men just grad uated from the. universities, the admin istration of justice being ' tliua x in trusted to ineptitude and inexperience. Tyranny siicli as. this is known -bhly in the steppes of Russia!, he "domin ions of the Ottonian gtfrteJor among the despotic mandtlriiisf dt the celestial empire. Chicago ClirohicleV10 ' ' k lv (..,! Y' A CHANGE KK13AKFAST v Getting: ltendy for Warm Weather. As the warm days approach, it is well to give some thought to an easy way to prepare breakfast. A food that is already cobked and simply needs to be treated with a little cold milk or cold cream, is ideal on. that point, and such a food can be found in Grape Nuts, at 15 cents per package. It Is sold by all grocers, and is so highly concentrated that not more than three or four teaspoonfuls are re quired for the cereal part of the meal. This makes the food very economical mm uues not overtax the stomach with ka great volume The Practice of Dueling. sThis curious 'paragraph, has been adopted by tho Alabama constitutional convention: "The legislature shall pass such penal laws as they may deem expedient to suppress the evil prac tice of dueling." That such a provi sion in a state constitution is deemed necessary will surprise most North erners. It is well known that the code survived in the south long after it had been abolished in the north, but a formal recognition of the exist ence of this anachronism today was not expected. I i' , "p : Missouri has not, known an affair of honor of iraportance"since Septem ber. 4, 1875, when Major John N. Ed wards fought Colonel-E. S. Foster six miles north of Rockford, 111. The dif ficulty" arose over a criticism made by 'Major Edwards In the St. Louis Dispatch, on those who 'opposed invit ing Tefferson Davis to make an address at "the Winnebago county fair. Colonel Foster replied in an editorial in the St. Louis Journal, ,and Major Edwards asked satisfaction for personal refer ences in the article. Colt's thirty eight calibre pistols at twenty paces were agreed -upon. - The men fired simultaneously, and neither was in jured. Then wthey shook hands arid expressed! regrets over the quarrel. "A cehtUfy ago the practice of dueling was common Jn this country and in England. It had arisen in Europe as a .judicial process about the sixth cen tury. . In France the legal duef lost its prestige 600 years ago as the result of an encounter in which a man who was afterward proved innocent was de feated and hanged. After this the duel then ceased to be an appeal to heaven and became merely a means for satis fying wounded honor. England retained the obsolete law allowing an appeal to tho judicial duel until 1818. Tho year previous a de fendant had Glaimed the1 right to chal lenge the plaintiff. As his offer .was declined ho escaped punishment. This led to the repeal of the statute. The practice of dueling still continued in the army and among politicians. Fdx, Pitt, Canning, O'Connell and the Duke J of Wellington all had called out thoir men. In 1843 Colonel , Fawsett was killed by his brother-in-law in a duel and the Prince Consort seized the op portunity to crystallize public senti ment against the custom. As the re sult of his efforts the duel was ban ished from the British army and from civil society. - In the United States the practice received a severe blow from the death of Hamilton in his duel with Burr in 1804. This did not prevent Henry Clay from, fighting John Randolph twenty two years later, or Andrew' Jackson from killing Charles Dickinson or Ben ton from causing the death of Lucas. During the last half century the duel has almost disappeared from America except in unenlightened communities In Germany it. is contrary to law, but only a few years ago an officer was expelled from the aririy for refusing to challenge another who had insulted him. . France still clings tenaciously to the code, but fortunately most of Its duels are bloodless. Kansas City Star. Jackson and the Taylor's Bill. A gentleman in Pennsylvania "has a queer document which came into his family's possession many years ago, and shows an Interesting phase of An drew Jackson's character as well as a glimpse of the simple times of his pres idential term. It appears that a clerk in the state department contracted a tailor's bill for $64.50, and the tailor, finding him self unable to collect the amount, laid the matter before the -president in an appealing letter. ' t Ja'cksori promptly decided that this, .wasta'ttriatter to which he must attend personally; so- he transmitted the tull6r'")letter. to 'the secretary of state-, with -this, strong recommendation: . a ''Referred to the 'secretary of state. If on inquiry the fact stated be true, unless the clerk"pays hisrdebt let him be forthwith discharged "This- government would become a party to such swindling provided it permitted its officers to become in debted for necessaries and not see that they paid their debts out of their sal aries. "Honest men will pay their debts; dishonest men must not bo employed by the government. A. J." "This case is referred to Amos Kenr da'll, Esqr., on '$10 per month being se cured to C. E. Kloff, MV. Gooch to be continued in his office. A. J." Youth's Companion. Salute to Mount Vernon. - The TJnited States dispatch boat Dol phin was making her way up tho Po tomac from' tho sea to Washington. A winter's cruise in the tropics was1 just ended and the exchange of the bril liant scenery of the West Indies for the softer atmosphere of the home shores was a welcome one to her crew. The captain, navigator and officer of the deck were on the bridge piloting the vessel carefully through the m'anj turns and bends of the river, keeping a sharp lookout for the landmarks and buoys and following the course of tho ship on the chart spread out on its stand on the starboard end of the' bridge. The navigator, looking up from his BELTING AT A SACRIFICE ! We bought at salei 600 now, perfect, reft h inch 4 piy; prier;jiioa" nimi fcayo all kinds of netf rubberleathor and canvas belts,, bought (ft Sheriff's CHICAGO HOUSE WRECKIHO COMPANY, ! twi oom an lron BM'i UMCajfO. i WWW IIIIWIB IIIIUMIMIM UU LELX BALESS- HAY Thn n.m Unit Ol-.l. Xi VJ - .... Btrongoat.oheapest balor. Made of wrought steel. Operated by 1 or 3 horeea. BalealO tol6 tonaa day Sold on 6 days trial. Catalogue free. Addrawi "" .r." wm vuinoy in PjL fjBuj mtxl I f J aF VG THE WHEEL DF TIHP W7 for'alltluiolstho "" Metal Wheeln mnke tnem in an sizes and vari. ctlqs, TO FIT ANY AXLE. Anv height, any width of tiro desired. Our wheels are cither direct n Btapfrcrspoko. Can PIT YOUlt WACOM perfectly without tharife. NO BREAKING DOWN. Nodrylaiout. No resetting tires. Clicnp because they endure. Send for cata logue ana prices. ree upon request, Eleotrio Wheel Co. Box 38 Qulrtoy, Ills. a ELI" Baling Presses mi yiiu gajMyim ARE THE EASIEST Tu FFFn haying a large feed opening. Thbmakeathem correspondingly or steam power. They are thus beet united to the wonts of the Individual farmer or the man who make baling a business. .tfKl,yKm?te, hy ?Mne.i. ahlghdegSee, lightness, strength, durability and general efficiency. Bales are compact and erea sitedpack to good advantage in cars, saving freleht. We wall Urgro Illustrated catalogue free. COLLINS PLOW CO. 1193 Hawpghire St.?Qalncr. Ills. WANTED AfiENTC ,n T ountj to sell "FAMILY MJi. WAIlUll AUEfll J MORIALSt" tool proflU and lUidf woik. -Addrtu Campboll & CO., Oil Plum St., E1b.ii, 111. mm X test by test 74 Years. WE OAVCASH ana wane mora salesmen, i r&i wtlAli Outfit FREE.. STARK NURSERY. Stark. Ho $75 Month, and ExponBos; no ozperlenco needed: position permanent; HOlf-Boller, PxaskMvo. Co.,Stat'n SOClncinnati, O. TRENHAM tho PRINTER. Alexandria, Minn. observation of the chart, turned to ward the. captain, who was gazing fix edly throvlgh his binoculars, trying to malco out or, to make use of the nau tical term, to "pick up" a buoy which I the ship was rearing. - . "Mount Vernon is just ahead, sir," h6 an id. "Very well; call all hands to quarters;"- was 'the reply;- "Sound to- quarters, sir." This tb the officer of the deck from the navi gator. '"' "Aye, aye,' sir." ' Bugler, sburid' to quarters!" rang out the voice of tho young officer who then had the deck. He was but lately graduated from the naval academy and the hardships' of sea life had not yet roughened the youthful freshness of his voice. . A moment's pause and the assembly call rang over the silent current of the river and echoed back from the heights above its banks, The whitd pillars of Washington's b'eautiful home flashed out through the deer) green of the trees high up above the- ShiD as the offir.firs nnrl ttipti 1111!!!!' from all parts of the vessel, ..range tnemseives at their quarters. , "Form on the port side, facing out board!" came the sharp order from the bridge, and later, "Sound atten tion!" The bugle' again broke the stillness. The Dolphin, was now abreast of the historic home of the first chief magis trate of the country; all hands, were lined up along the port side of the ship, standing at attention and facing the shore. As the order, "Salute!'-' came sharply cut and abrupt from the bridge the right hand of every officer and man was raised to his cap and remained there while the ship's bell rang out twenty-one slow, solemn strokes, one for. each gun or a national salute. With the last stroke of the bell came the; .orcler, "Sound the re treat!' The bugle answered and as the last note came back from the shore Mount Vernon disappeared behind the green of the trees. .... ) Every vessel" of war of the United States passing the home of Washing. ton observes this impressive cere mony." Youth's Companion. ' Great Stock Country. ' No bettor cattle and sheep country in America. Cheap lands, pure running water, and flowing wells, fine climate, no malaria, plenty of hay. Write for infor mation to J. O. MORROW, , O'Neill, Nob. . .tei
