Lovo a
Sneers at
Injunctions.
That injunctions do not always enjoin is
suggested by a story that comes from Cleve
land, Ohio. One year ago
Agnes Smith applied to the
courts of Cleveland for an
order restraining one James
W. Cobb from pajing her
the attention of a lover. The injunction
was issued. Last week, however, Mr. Cobb
and Miss Smith were united in marriage; all of
which goes to show that love not only laughs
at locksmiths but sheers at writs of injunc
tions. It is announced that William Dean Howells
is about to bring out a new book in which he
will deal with "Heroines of
Dickens' Fiction." The advance notices
Had no inform us that the book will
Heroines. deal with the heroines of Dick
ens, Hawthorne, Thackery,
Read, Trollope and others. It will be inter
esting to read what Howells says about the
heroines of Dickens. Dickens was a master
hand at portraying male characters, but was
not so happy in his representation of women.
While some of tlic female characters in his
novels were types, they are by no means to be
considered heroines.
A Belfast concern recently purchased 20,
000 tons of American .steel at a price $5 per ton .
lower than the. price prevail-,
..tJl..ing .,jn, .tho,, jGCnifted States,! ,tha
. steel to be laid down-in ' Bel-'-fast.
. In other words, the
Amerftan steel maker paid the
ocean freights to Belfast and sold his pro
duct cheaper by five dollars a ton than he
would sell it to an American consumer. How
is he enabled to do this? By having the benefit
of a protective tariff, which enables liim to
charge his American customers just that much
more than they would have to pay if competi
tion'were allowed The Chicago Tribune (rep.)
admits that "A tariff such as that on steel is
indefensible."
i ..
The taxpayers of the nation have long since
become accustomed to hearing of plans for
"keeping money in circulation"
Always that contemplate allowing the
Aiding national banks to handle the
the Banks. money. Secretary ' Gage has
conceived of a new plan buihjled
on the old lines. It is to deposit the govern
ment receipts in national banks in all clearing
house cities, giving each bank a share in pro
portion to its capital stock. The government
claim is to be a first lien on all assets, and the
bank is to pay 2 per cent interest. This is a
good thing for the banks. After the money
has been needlessly taken from the people it is
to be deposited,in banks in order that the peo
ple may borrow it at a higher rate of interest
than the bank pays for it." Always and ever
lastingly devising up plans to "assist the peo
ple" by putting them further at the mercy 'of
the banks! Did it ever occur to Secretary
Gage and the members of his school of finance
that the best way to keep the money of the
Thev
Tariff
Rake-off.
Sugar Trust
Infant's
Strength.
The Commoner.
country in circulation is to take no more of it
in the shape of taxes than the government ac
tually needs to pay its ordinary expenses?
Why wring a surplus from the taxpayers in
order to loan to the national' banks at 2 per
cent that the banks may loan it to the people
at 5 and 10 per cent? The chief cause for
wonder at this remarkable system of finance is
that the people have not long since expressed
their disapproval of it by a unanimous vote.
Another example of trust methods is af"
forded by the action.of the sugar trust in cut
ting the price on sugar west of
the Mississippi river for the
purpose of driving the inde
pendent beet sugar factories to
the wall. The trust has cut
the price of granulated sugar to 3 cents at all
trans-Mississippi points, but maintains the old
rate at cis-Mississippi points. Manifestly, if
the sugar trust can sell granulated sugar at 3.
cents per pound west of the Mississippi, it can
sell at the same price east of the Mississippi.
If it is losing money at that price it clearly in
tends to make it up after driving the indepen
dent factories out of business. Make it up
fr6m whom? From the consumers, of course.
It seems strange that people will continue to
advocate protection for an "infant" that is
strong enough to destroy competition in this
manner.
Republican enthusiasm for reciprocity just
atthis time recalls' to mind the fambus'inci-
dent which resulted in the
demolition of Secretary
Blaine's silk hat. The story
is familiar to all ' who have
' ' kept track of tariff legislation'
during the past ten or fifteen years. The irici
dent occurred while the house ways and means
committee was framing the tariff bill which
afterwards became known as the "McKinley
bill." Mr. Blaine was opposed to a further
raising of the tariff duties, but despite his
earnest protests the schedules were raised right
and left. Failing to prevent an elevation of
the schedules he proposed "reciprocity" to the
committee, but this was frowned upon. Mr.
Blaine appeared before the committee arid ar
gued his case, but lost his temper at the quib
bliugs of the committeemen and left the room.
On his way1 out he displayed his anger by
smashing the silk hat he wore. This display
of temper impressed the committee with the
idea that Mr. Blaine might throw the weight of
his influence against the bill, and knowing that
this would probably be fatal to it, the reciproc
ity idea was incorporated.
The American Authors Society has asked
the New York board of education to instruct
the teachers in the public
schools to address their pupils,
on "King Alfred as the father
of popular education."' This
leads the 'New York World td
protest against the proposed' instruction. "The
World explains:
"Popular education Is almost as old as the hu-
flr. Blaine's
Smashed
Tile.
Popular
Education
Not New.
Excluding
the
Anarchists.
? ,
. v
man race. It flourished In Greece and Rome. It
never wholly died out on the continent of Europe.
It appeared in England after tho Norman Con
quest, when Alfred had been dead nearly three
centuries. But it was a vory limited form of pop
ular education. Not until 1870 did England really
take up with the idea, and oven today England
is far behind tho other nations of western Eu
rope in this matter.
"Alfred was a worthy and progressive chief
of a small tribe of semi-barbarians. As a 'literary
person' he is interesting rather than important.
As a political figure ho is almost wholly a myth,
and tho little that he did was completely wiped out
by tho conquering Danes from whom tho Normans
finally rescued England. Alfred's sole contribu
tion to education was the establishment of a sort
of primary school' at court to which only the sons
of nobles could gain admission.
"Popular education was brought to this coun
try by the Puritans from Holland. They established
pay schools with provision for those who could
not afford to pay. The first free school in America
was established on Manhattan Island by -tho
Dutch."
A protest has been made against an edi
torial which appeared in a recent issue of Thjj
Commonkk, to the effect that
an immigrant should be com
pelled to assert his belief not
only in some form of govern
ment but in our form of gov
ernment. The objector asks, "How could the
immigrant know whether he believed in our
form of government until he tried it?"
The answer is easy. Tho .immigrant who
is notJnteHigent.enough to have an. opinion on :
the subject of government is not a desirable
citizen, and our country will lose nothing if he
remains away until he has convictions on this
subject. If his opinion leads him to favor a
monarchial form of government he ought to
remain in Europe. We can secure all the im
migrants we need and yet limit immigration to
those who believe in our form of government
and who come here with a patriotic purpose to
assist in maintaining this form of government.
Once in a while our boasted "Yankee
shrewdness" is made to play second fiddle.' A
British contractor recently
performed a neat trick on an
American steel manufacturing
concern. The Englishman in
question secured a contract for
building a section of an elevated railway in
Boston. Knowing that because of the curious
operations of the American protective tariff he
could buy American made steel cheaper in En
gland than Americans could buy it at their
own doors he proceeded to take advantage of
the fact. The Englishman wrote from England
to several American structural iron works ask
ing bids on a certain lot of iron. He selected
the best bid and closed tho contract. When
the contract was properly signed he cabled the
American iron manufacturer not to ship to
Liverpool but to ship to Boston. The point of
the Englishman's joke will not be seen by those
who still cling to the idea that Americans can
tax themselves rich. Neither will it be seen
by those who still labor under the delusion that
the foreigner pays the tax'
Englishman's
Tariff
Joke.
m