6
Current Copies
THAT WAR MAY SOMETIMES DE A MEANS
of good Is illustrated by recent advices as to
tlio intornai progress and prosperity of Spain and
her people sinco the termination of the war with
the United States. Dr. Florcstans Aguilar of
Madrid, who Is on a visit to this country for tho
purposo of arousing interest in tho international
medical congress to bo hold at Madrid, April 23
to 30, 1903, gives in tho Chicago Chronicle an In
teresting account of tho feeling in Spain? After
denying tho stories circulated as to tho young
Icing's escapades and tho claim that ho is unfit for
his high ofllco and its duties, the doctor said:
"Tho governmont Is in sound condition and has.
gainod materially by tho war with this country,
Getting rid of tho Philippines, receiving 820,000,
000 in cash, which sho needed, and tho influx of
Cuban capitalists to tho homo country has proved
of great boneflt to us and wo are having a period
of great financial prosperity. Wo should nevor
havo entered upon any war with tho Unitod
States if wo had known what wo wore tackling,
but it Is just as well that wo did. Wo havo
learned something about this country, where be
fore we woro in Ignorance."
THE FIRST EXPLORER OF THE CELE
brated Colorado Canyon, Major J. W. Pow
ell, died recently at Haven, Mo. Major Powell
was also director of the bureau of ethnology in
tho Smithsonian institution at Washington, and
has been, placed by scientists in tho foremost
rank of the geologists and anthropologists of tho
world. Ho has been identified with the scientific
work of tho govornmont since the early '60's. Ac
cording to tho Chicago Tribune, Major Powell's
most notable scientific work, from tho viewpoint
of scientists, was his exploration of the Grand
canon of tho Colorado in the '60's. His fellow,
workers say he was not only the first man who
ever went through tho Colorado canyon, but the
only one who ever has traveled its entire length
from Green' river station to the mouth of .the
canon. This exploit scientists say was one of the
most notablo geographical, geological, and ethno
logical explorations and surveys in the history of
North America.
ROOSEVELT'S SPEECH-MAKING TOURS
- are dealt with in an Interesting manner in
tho Louisville Courier-Journal. It is recalled that
"two years ago when the nominee of theVdomo
cratic party for president was touring the country
in the interest of his candidacy for election, and
tho nominee of tho republican party was resting
quietly at his home' in Canton, O., tho course of the
latter came in for much praise as dignified and
statesmanlike when contrasted with the methods
of campaign adopted by Mr. Bryan, who was a
private citizen occupying no official position. The
republican press, however, seems to havo forgot
ten the incident, and there is no objection to Mr.
.RoosQvelt and his entire cabinet making any kind
of a 'campaign they see lit, even though he hap
pens to be president and there is not even at stake
an election which involves a change of administra
tion. It all depends upon whoso ox is gored."
AN EXPERIMENT THAT WILL BE WATCHED
with a great deal of interest is about to be
tried in London. It is said that English house
wives havo become convinced that something else
besides tho Incompetence of domestics is respon
sible for tho servant-girl problem, and are there
fore seriously considering tho advisability of es
tablishing training schools for the girls' mis
tresses. A committee of society women who havo
just completed a systematic investigation into tho
causes of domestic woes in a varioty of London
homos, have reached tho "unpalatable conclusion"
that these woes are chiefly duo to the incapacity
of masters and mistresses to manage domestic
affairs. The result of these inquiries has been
published in a report which deals candidly with
tho question, and in conclusion says: "The words
'patience,' 'forbearance and 'consideration' need
to be printed large, not only in tho servants halls
of England, but in mQst of tho drawing rooms.
When they aro taken to heart wo shall hear loss
of the servant-girl problem." This suggestion
could bo studied with profit not only in other
lands, but in this country of ours; where the
"domestic" problem has long been discussed as
one of tho questions of the day.
The Commoner.
4 '
A MANIFESTO IN THE SHAPE OF AN AP
peal to tho civilized world has been issued
by tho Boor generals, Botha, De Wet, and Dolarey,
on tho ground that as they havo failed to induce
Great Britain to grant further assistance, tho peo
ple of Europe and America are to be appealed to.
In this appeal it is pointed out that at least 30,000
houses on Boer farms and many villages wero
burned or destroyed by tho British during the
war. It is claimed tnat the small amoimt given
by Great Britain, even if multiplied ten-fold, would
not suffice to cover tho war losses alone, and con
tributions to assist the destitute Boers aro asked
for. Tho signers of this manifesto repudiate all
desire to inflame the minds of the people, and de
clare: "The sword is now sheathed ,and all dif
ferences aro silent in tho presence 6f such great
misery."
SOME SURPRISE HAS BEEN MANIFESTED
because the statistics relating to tho opera
tions of railroads show that while in 1893 the
passongcrs numbered 593,500,612, in 1900 tho pas
sengers numbered 576,865,230. This is a decrease
of 36,695,382. Reduced to percentages there wer
2.8 per cent less passengers carried in 1900 than
in 1893. These statistics also show that in 1893
tho freight carried amounted to 745,119,482 tons.
In 1900 tho freight carried amounted to 1,101,680.
238 tons. This represents an increase of the freight
carried amounting to 356,600,756 tons.
SOME INTERESTING DETAILS AS TO THE
progress of the coalv strike are given in
Public Opinion, of October 2. It is said that "at
tho end of tho twentieth week of tho coal strike
last Saturday the total cost to all concerned was
estimated at $123,220,000. These estimates are al
together misleading, as we have heretofore pointed
out, but the situation is bad enough without re
gard to the exact amount of tho loss involved. At
one time last week six counties in Pennsylvania
wore depending en iho militia to keep even a
semblance of orJir. Conditions Improved after a
few Oojs, though noi soon enough to check the
steady diminution of sympathy with tho strikers
which has been going or. with a rapidity propor
tioned to the ever increased price of coa1. Tho
mines are now producing 200,000 tons of coal a
week and tho strikers have lost .It is a pity that
they cannot bo brought to a realization of this
fact" "The steady diminution of sympathy with
the strikers" referred to is perhaps not altogether
general, nor is any one yet justified in asserting
that the strikers have lost The pity lies not so
much in the fact that "thoy cannot be brought to
a realization of their failure" as that the coal
barons cannot be made to understand that the du
ties of the "trustees of God" do not lie in the
direction of oppression and injustice to their
fellowmen.
THE RECENT DIPLOMATIC CORRESPON
dence between the United States and Rou
mania regarding the Jews, has brought to light
several instances of the high esteem in which
these people are held in other countries of the
globe. Sir Marcus Samuel, a Jew, is to be inaug
urated mayor of London in a few weeks. There
aro also several Jews who aro members of the
privy council of the sovereign, notable among
them being Lord Rothschild. Some of the most
capable of England's colonial administrators are
orthodox Hebrews, the entire Gold Coast de
pendency, for instance, being subject to the rule
of a singularly able governor named Major Mat
thew Nathan. Jews also figure largely in the Eng
lish army. The Italian king also has just given an
illustration of his appreciation of able service
in the appointment of General Ottolenghi, a He
biew, to the post of minister of war. In Austro
Hungary, there are no less than 2,000 Jewish offi
cers in tho army, several of whom are very promi
nent in army circles. In France, despite the
anti-Semetic movement, thero are at least 300 pro
fessed Jews holding commissions in the army,
among them brigadier generals and even generals
of division.
AN INTERESTING COMPARISON AS TO
man's longevity in Bible days and our time
is made by a learned Russian physician. His ar
ticle is condensed by the Literary Digest in tho
following translation: "Eight of the forefathers
lived nearly a thousand years each. Adam lived
930 years, Soth 912, and so on until Enoch, who
lived only 365 years, and of whom the Bible inti
mates that he died prematurely. Of each of tho
others it is said, 'And he died,' Implying a per
fectly natural cause, while of Enoch it is said:
'And he was not, for God took him.' Lamech's
days wero 777 and Noah 950. When we reach
Terah, the change is striking; for his days were
only 205 years, and there is no intimation of any
Vol. a, No. 39.
special cause of death. Abraham, who 'died in a
good old age, an old man, and full of years,' lived
altogether 175 years"
SOME BIBLE CRITICS ASSERT THAT IN THE
antedeluvian period our month was called
a year, but this view is not taken by this author.
His view is that just as the animals of those days
wero of stupendous and colossal proportions, so
tho organism of man woro naturally stronger and
their health infinitely better. Tho climatic con
ditions wero also more favorable to the longevity
of the race, and the mode of living differed radi
cally from what it is in our time. The use of
fermented liquids was totally unknown and tho
vice of alcoholism with all its evils was absent.
To all this must be added the entire freedom from
tho diseases due to congestion and tho sundry
other evils of dense population. Taking into con
sideration all these causes, it is not difficult to
understand the claim set forth that ""in short, in
3,000 years the average of human life fell from
upwards of 900 to 260 years, and as a result of
natural causes."
AN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF AN ODD
elevator test is given in tho Kansas City
Journal of October 5. The Journal says: "The
elevator tower in the Philadelphia city hall is to
be tested to determine its safety, and to arrive
at this important conclusion live rats, a keg of
nails, a glass of water and fresh eggs will be
used. In making the test the ec i and glass of
water will be placed, in the elevator car and on
the keg of nails, while the rats in a trap will be set
beside the keg. When these preliminaries have
been arranged the car will bo released from tho
top of tlio tower and allowed to descend to tho
air cushion at the bottom, traveling the 372 feet
and 9 inches at the rate of 256 feet a second. If
the water is not spnled, if the eggs are not cracked
and the rats are not dead after the drop tho
test will be considered, satisfactory."
A PROBLEM FOR ORNITHOLOGISTS TO
solve is provided by A. M. Mumford in the
Chicago Tribune of October 5. He makes the as
sertion that there has been a marked tendency in
the last two or i .ree years on the part of several
of the feathered species to change their travel
time from darkness to daylight when bound on
their southern autumn -journey. This change has
been especially noticeable along tho east coast
of Lake Michigan, which nas been a guiding line
for the birds in spring and fall for years unnum
bered. Some Chicago observers have called the
matter to the a -ention of the biological survey
of the agricultural department at Washington and
it is probable that a close investigation will be
made by the ornithologists attached to the sur
vey. The night-hawks, for instance, that are al
most strictly nocturnal in their habits, have been
noticed lately to pursue their journey south in the
daytime. This change in their migration habits is
puzzling students of ornithology and it is said that
the number of birds that aro killed by contact with
the heavy glass of the light houses on the coasts
is not as great as formerly. This is taken as an
indication that the birds are either diminishing in
number or that to some extent at least they are
changing their migration habits, and the ques
tion is "Why?"
KENTUCKY CLAIMS TO POSSESS THE OLD
est living man in the United States in the
person of "Uncle" Elijah Bledsoe, a negro, who
says he is 130 years of age. L.e remembers tho war
of 1812 very distincu and has in his possession a
piece of money which was given him as a "tip" by
Marquis de LafayeAe for services rendered tho
distinguished Frenchman. The old negro claims
that ho knew Aaron Burr, but does not admire
him very much, perhaps because Burr endeavored
to buy Bledsoe from his master. Bledsoo made
himself famous in 1830 by one of the most noted
running contests in history, when ho covered a
distance of thirty-iwo miles in less than two
hours, his opponent dropping dead on the road.
DURING THE WAR WITH SPAIN, MUCH
discontent was expressed in this country
over the censorship estaLiished by the military
officials over cunpatches from Cuba and the Phil
ippines; and the fact of this inconvenience leads
one to wonder how the people of the United
States would regard a censorship such as the
press of Russia must submit to. The New York
World has obtained a list from a German news
paper of things which the Russian newspapers
aro not allowed to print, and here aro some of
them: No. 7,130 The statement concerning Count
Leo Tolstoi's journey to the Crimea, contained in
the Petersburg Nachrichten, is not to be repro
duced. Per Telephone- You are recommended to , t,
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