i?iWBlwwSSSffi!IS
Lord Kitchener's Christmas gift to the tax
payers of England was a casualty list of 12049
killed and 71 wounded. Not a
Britain Is pleasing gift, to be sure, but one
Reaping: tho that might have been expected.
Whirlwind. Indeed, the people of England
have become accustomed to such
gifts, and the mourning emblems worn oy mothers,
fathers and widows are mute evidences of the fre
quency with which casualty lists have come in
from the Transvaal since the beginning of tho at
tempt to murder two little republics in South
Africa Great Britain has sown the wind of land
lust and greed and boastfulness and is now. reap
ing the whirlwind of tears and humiliation
The dispatches bf December 20 announce that
Secretary Long had Intimated that there would be
no more censures in the Schley
affair. The secretary's explan
ation is that this course is the
best to adopt with the view to
bring the controversy to a coir
Would it not have been better had this
coursoibeen adopted before the rebuke was ad
ministered to General Miles? Rear Admirals
"Beardslee, Erben, Miller, B'rown and Belknap have
all expressed opinions, in public interviews, di
rectly in line with the opinion given by General
Miles. If it was the duty of the president to ad
minister to General Miles a severe rebuke, why
need, he hesitate in the discharge of his duty with
relation to. the rear admirals named?
Why Not Rebuke
tho
Rear Admiral.
elusion.
VN"
It would be interesting to see what a first-class
circus advertising agent or press representative
": ' like Tody Hamilton of Barnum's
," Whs or Mr. Coxy of Ringling's would
' Adjsctlvcs do with the glittering pageant
Fall. that is to accompany the corona-
' ' ' tioh of Edward VII. If a circus
wftn'tnree rrngsa'greal Roman hippodrome and a'
menagerie exhausts the adjectives in the Century
dictionary, the coronation of Edward VH. "should
put the circus advertising manager on his mettle
and result in the coinage of a lot of adjectives that
would be a valuable addition to the language. For
glittering pomp and gorgeous pageantry the cor
onation of Edward VII. will make the first circus
as you see it in memory sink into utter insigni
ficance. , But Ed-ward is to be crowned but once,
and a coronation comes to but few men in a gen
eration, so it is not surprising that such an event
should call for a barbaric display that would
have made the ancient Romans turn green with
envy.
t A reader of The Commoner asks to what ex
tent passes are used by persons directly' connected
.Willi the national government in
4 - The i an official capacity. He explains
. ., Pass his inquiry by saying that he
Question. wants to know whether those
who pay for their own transpor
tation also pay for the transportation furnished
to officials. The Commoner has no way of knowing
to what extent federal officials use transportation.
When President McKinley made his trip across
the continent last spring it was stated that he de
sired to pay for the trip out of his own pocket, but
that the railroads insisted upon furnishing the
special train and the transportation for the en
tire party. It is certain that many public officials
use free transportation and a great many people
seem to regard it as perfectly proper. The Com
moner has already called attention to the pass
question and while It does not insist that a pass is
in every case a bribe or that it is always so in
tended by the company, it does Insist that as a
rule the railroad companies furnish' transportation
because they feel that they will secure a return of
equal or greater pecuniary value. ' It is also
certain, that many public officials use free trans
portation .to. such an. extent that they find it diffl-
The President
and tW
r
The Commoner.
cult to decide impartially between the rights of the
people and the demands of the corporations. As a
public official usually receives sufficient compensa
tion to make his office desirable, and as his ex
penses are always provided for when ho is com
pelled to travel upon official business, he can
afford to pay his own way. When he pays his fare
,hc is free to act upon his judgment in all matters
without being annoyed by the importunitios of cor
porations or embarrassed by obligations to them,
A reader of The Commoner asks what kind of
reading. should be supplied to boys,, complaining
that his boy is addicted to tho
Reading "penny dreadful" class of read-
for the ing. The answer depends large-
Boys, ly upon the boy. If he Is just
beginning to take an interest
In books there is nothing better for him to read
than the delightful stories written by Olivdr Optic,
Horatio Alger, Harry Castleman and Charles
Carleton Coffin. One of the most charming boy
stories ever written is Thomas Bailey Aldrich's
"Story of a Bad Boy." Prom the books of these
writers to books of a more solid character is an
easy step. Books that deal with natural history, ,
American history and political history in the
guise of clean and interesting fiction are helpful
and educate the youthful mind to enjoy tho be3t
literature. But .parents should study tho bent of
the boy's mind and seek to ,encp.urage him along
lines in which he takes thernosi, interest, pro
vided always the bent is away. r from literary
trash. , ' ', ,
The Chicago Tribune is responsible for tho
statement that Mr. Roosevelt "has given It out that
he will veto any resolution or act
of congress proposing to revlvo
the grade of vice admiral for
Schley .or to.glye.him the thanks
of congress, or in any other
way to recognize Schley by statute. In taking
this position the president is not influenced in any
way by his own personal feelings in the matter,
but merely- by his desire to put an end to a dis
turbance which has scandalized both the army and'
the navy." As tho president is "not influenced
in any way by his own personal feelings" in this
matter, how did it happen that-everything he ha3
done so far, with the single exception of Maclay's
discharge, and everything which It is predicted
the president may do, is clearly antagonistic to
Admiral Schley? Does Mr. Roosevelt really
imagine that it is possible even for him to set
tlo a controversy without the .slightest regard to
Its merits? Does Mr. Roosevelt imagine that with
the- memory of the "figure on the bridge of the
Brooklyn" clearly distinguishable to the public
he can put an end to the Schley case-simply by
setting himself resolutely against every act of
justico sought to be done for the hero of San
tiago bay?
"Historian" Maclay, after having been, re
moved by the president, appealed to the civil ser
vice commissioner to ask
A whether his removal was not In
Secret violation of the civil service law.
ci:a-ffe. Commissioner Proctor replied to
the effect that the removal did
not violate the law. Mr. Proctor says; "The ob
ject of the rule requiring notice and a hearing was
to prevent political removals or removals upon
secret charges. No Issue of this kind is involved
In your case." It would be interesting for Mr.
Proctor to inform us upon what charge Mr.
Maclay was removed. As a matter of fact, he was
removed on a "secret charge" because the reason
for his removal was. never made public. To be
sure, the people have what they think is a pretty
good idea of the reason for Maclay's discharge,
but it is all -guess 'work -so- far as tncy are con
cerned; In the letter of the president to the seen
- Schley Case.
rotary 'of the' navy directing Maclay's discharge,
and in the secretary's letter to Maclay's imme
diate superior, as well an in tho formal notifica
tion by that superior to Maclay, not ono word
was permitted to creep in showing why Maclay
was discharged. It is not difficult to believe tho
statement that tho real reason was withheld In
order to avoid saying anything that could bo
taken as any sort of recognition of Admiral
Schley's distinguished services. Therefore, what
ever notion the public may have conceived as to
the reason for Maclay's discharge, and however
gratifying the dismissal may have been to tho
people, tho fact remains that Maclay was removed
upon a "secret charge."
The Omaha World-Herald quotes one demo-'
crat as being for David B. Hill becauso the said
David B. Hill "is a true blue
Catches 'en . democrat and gave cordial sup-
a-Comln' port to the democratic ticket in
an' a-awin'. 189G." According to the saino
- authority another democrat is
for David B. Hill, because tho said Hill "did not
support the democratic ticket in 1890," nnd tho said
democrat adds "more honor to him ior such."
Tho World-Herajd makes a valuable suggestion
to tho managers of the Hill boom. It says that
if all who supported the ticket in 1896 can be per
suaded to support Mr. Hill on the ground that ho
was faithful to tho ticket that year, and If . all
those who bolted the ticket in 1896 can be induced
to support Mr. Hill because he was unfaithful, ho
ought to have a strong following in the conven
tion. Mr. Dooley complains that every candidate
mentioned is found, upon investigation, "to bo
either a traitor or a man whom tho traitors won't
vote for." If, however, it can be shown to tho
satisfaction of both sides that Mr. Hill both sup
ported tho ticket and bolted it, he Ought to be In
dorsed as an ideal harmony candidate by" such
papers as the New York' World' Courior-Jdiir'nal
and Chicago Chronicle.
When it is stated that the following poetry
came-from the pen of Secretary of State John Hay,
it is scarcely necessary to add that it
was written some time ago: - , .
'What man is there so bold that he,"
should say,
'Thus and thus only would I have the
sea,? .
For whether lying calm and beautiful, .
Clasping the earth in love, and throwing back
The smiles of heaven from waves of amethyst;
Or whether, freshened by the busy winds,
It bears the trade and navies of the world . '
To ends of use or stern captivity; 4 .;
Or whether, lashed by tempests, it gives- way -To
elemental-fury, howls and roars ,..,.
A I all Its rocky barriers, in wild lust
Or ruin drinks the blood of. living things,
And strews it? wrecks, o'er leagues of desolate
shore
Always it is. the sea, and all bow down
Before its vast and va-ied majesty.
And so In vain will timorous men essay
To set the metes and bounds of Liberty,
For Freedom is its own eternal law.
It makes its own conditions, and a storm
Or calm alike fulfills the unerring Will.
Let us not, then, despise it when It lies
Still as a sleeping lion, while a swarm
Of gnat-like evils hover round its head;
Nor doubt It when in mad, disjointed times
It shakes the torch of terror, and its cry'
Shrills o'er the quaking earth, and in the flamo
Of riot and war we see its awful form
Rise by the scaffold, where the crimson ax
Rings down its grooves the knell of shuddering
kings,
For always In thine eyes, O, Liberty!
Shines-that high light whereby-the world is. save 1;
And though thou slay us, we still-trust in thee!"-
But That
Was Very
Lonjf Ago."
em