The Commoner.
7
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Oct 34, 190a '
general laws regulating the admission of alien
citizens. The treaty of Paris, unlike earlier trea
jtiee Which dealt with Louisiana, Florida, Califor
nia, and Alaska, did not undertake to make native
lrorn citizens of Porto Rico citizens of the United
States. It expressly provided that the civil rights
and political status of the native inhabitants of
the territories ceded to the United States Bhould
be determined by congress."
THE DAY IS FAST APPROACHING WHEN
,the Journey from this country across the
'Atlantic may be made in Very much less than the
'time it now consumes, which is some hours more
than Ave days. Tho two speediest vessels in the
- service are the Deutschland and Kaiser "Wilholm
der GroBse, and their record in reducing the tima
limit leads tho Chicago Record-Herald to express
the opinion that in the course of a few years it will
be possible, to reach Liverpool from New York in
seventy-two hours. The Record-Herald says that
a young inventor, Charle3 D. Mosher, has figured
out "that the horsepower required to drive a 700
foot vessel at the speed necessary to cross the
ocean in three days is about 140,000 on a vessel; of
19,000 tons displacement The speed would aver
age about forty-five miles an hour. The Record
Herald .concludes with the pertinent inquiry: "But
who is going to undertake to stow away 140,000
horsepower machinery in the hull of a vessel
- and in these days of strikes where are you going
to get the coal to feed It?"
THE OLD SAYING THAT IT IS AN ILL WIND
that blows no one good is Illustrated anew
by a story that comes from Boston through the
Chicago Chronicle of October 6. It is said that East
Boston contains at least one man who has defied
the coal trust and won a fortune. This man is
James McCarthy, a coal dealer, who has cleared
$250,000 in coal transactions since the strike be
gan. Early in April Mr. McCarthy ordered 1,000
tons of coal from the Delaware & Lackawanna
company, and on the arrival of the coal had not
a penny to pay for it, but pledged the cargo at a
bank and so obtained money to pay for it This
process he repeated until he controlled 100,000
tons of coal worth at the current prices nearly a
million dollars. As tho prices of coal rose, he
sold gradually ,and though threatened by tho coal
trust, he has continued making sales and so cleared
a fortune on his under taking.
THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT THAT SIR
Thomas Liptdn has again challenged for the
America's!; cup has aroused interest in the great
' yachting event Sir Thomas LIpton is the only
challenger who has tried three times- to win the cup
from tho Americans, and his persistence cannot
wholly be traced to a desire to possess tho cup for
himself as even in the event of his winning it, it
would go to the Royal Ulster Yacht club, which
stands sponsor for the Lipton challenge. Another
obstacle in his way. is found in the determination
of the New Yprk Yacht club that has charge of all
arrangements as to the racing to immediately
challenge the English club in case they capture the
trophy. Great confidence is expressed, however, in
yachting circles that there is small likelihood of
the cup bemg borne to English waters for many
years to ctinio, American yachts having proven to
be tlie" best in speed qualities so far.
. .-'''
THE UNIVERSITY OT? CALIFORNIA HAS
undertaken to excavate the Shasta limestone
cave for the purposes of geological study, and in
so doing discoveries of important fossil remains
have been made. Bones of the gigantic "Arcto
therium Slnum," or prehistoric cave bear, have
been dug up and these prove to be much larger
than any others found. Besides this find a well
preserved claw was found in the soil of tho cave.
This claw was more than three inches in length
and evidently belonged to the giant sloth, a prim
eval mammal as large as a cow, whoso origin is
said to have been in South America. A news dis
patch announcing these discoveries also gives aa
account of another important find in the following
"words: "The third fossil reported by Sinclair is a
skull belonging to some unknown carnivore. -This
specimen, together with several other cases' of
bones, is on its way to Berkeley, where the work
ers in tho geological laboratories, will make a
careful examination of all the fossils, washing and
chiseling away the earth clinging to the bones and
mounting- them for future scientific study.
ENGLISH PAPERS GENERALLY BOAST OF
the prosperity of Ireland, but a recent As
sociated press dispatch from, New York tends to
show that all these reports are not founded on fact
Judge James Fitzgerald, who spent eight weeks in
Ireland, on returning to this- country sets up the
claim that there can be no real prosperity in Ire-
land as long as tho Irishman has no political
rights. Judge Fitzgerald's comments on tho situa
tion are so interesting that they are reproduced as "
follows: "In twelve counties of Ireland tho equiv
alent of martial law has been proclaimed. In
cases of political prisoners trial by Jury and
habeas corpus have been suspended. Tho offcct of
tho Crimes Act is to place Ireland on the basis of
a conquered country. The result is that no man Is
safe, and that those who would invest in devel
oping the resources of tho island are afraid to do
so. Capital In Ireland is timid, as it is every
where. It is true that a number of creameries
have boon built recently, and an effort made to
establish tno lace Industry on a largo scale, but
nowhere did I see any substantial ovidences of
prosperity. Tho Irish aro fighting for existence.
All they put into the barren soil is their own labor.
They are planting and reaping for tho sake of
living. Thousands of tho young and ambitious
men are making preparations to go to other parts
of tho world. Ireland is govorned for tho benefit
of less than a fifth of its population. There aro
less than 4,500,000 Inhabitants. The country will
never bo any better until England realizes tho
necessity of treating tho Irish with fairness. I
think that there is a glimmer of hope, as Great
Britain has begun to realize that there is a strong
sentiment, especially in tnis country, in favor of
Ireland. As matters stand now, loyalty to tho
British crown Is In Ireland as rare as snow at tho
equator. As a result" of the attitude of England,
I noticed that there was an intense national feel
ing in the Emerald Isle. The Irish language is
spoken often, tho old Irish songs and tho anclont
dances aro being revived."
ALTHOUGH THE COAL FAMINE IS BE
ing felt with more or less sovority through
out the country, itls in the larger cities where tho
people are almost entirely dependent upon coal as
their fuel that the scarcity is keenly felt The New
York World of October 5 gives an interesting ac
count of some of the results of tho coal famino in
that city. Here is it: Tho people in tho tenement
houses are practically without coal. Tho big office
buildings are burning a filthy compound of dust
and dirt. Tho patients in the hospitals aro suf
fering from lack of warm water, which, in hun
dreds of cases, means life itself. Tho prico of bread
has been raised two cents a loaf on account of tho
inability of tho bakers to obtain coal. Many
fences in different parts of the city are being brok
en up by tho poor people to obtain fuel to cook'
their food. Tho poor of tho city are grubbing
over tho dumps of tho street cleaning department
for stray pieces of wood. Tomorrow, If tho weather
Is cold, the scholars in many of tho public schools
will be sent to their homes and educational work
will come to a halt Tho vast coal pockets usually
filled to overflowing by the coal kings, are empty.
The clam diggers along the shores of Long Island
have quit their occupation and have begun to dig
for lumps of coal dropped from tho barges. They
find it more profitable. Many great industries aro
finding it impossible to secure more than a' day's
supply of coal at a time. This is tho condition
during the comparatively mild month of October.
What will be the state of affairs as the colder
weather sets in if the fuel cannot be mined and
shipped in time to meet tho demand?
AN INTERESTING SUMMARY OF THE COST
6f the anthracite coal strike is given in tho
New York World, which has obtained its informa
tion from Wiikesbarre, Pa. This summary is dated
October 4. The twenty-first week of the coal
strike ended today and the estimated general losses
are as follows: Loss to operators in price of coal,
$50,000,000; loss to strikers in wages, $27,500,000;
loss to other employes made idle by strike, $6,
100,000; loss to railroads in earnings, $18,000,000;
loss to business men in iho coal region, $15,400,000;
loss to business men outside coal region, $9,300,000;
cost of maintaining coal and iron police, $2,
000,000; cost of maintaining non-union men, $590,
000; cost of maintaining troops, $490,000; damage
to mines and machinery, $6,500,000; total, $120,
000,000. A REMARKABLE "FIND" OF INDIAN RELICS
is reported from Kineo, Me. The discovery
was made by workmen engaged in grading and
consists of hundreds of arrow heads, spear heads
and "many other things made of flint This partic
ular spot has always been famous as a rendezvous
for tho Indians on account of tho abundance of
flint to bo found there, and tradition has it that
an Indian burial place was also located in the
vicinity. "
ENGLAND SEEMS' TO BE COMING TO THE
front in religious novelties, if they may bo
so .called, as is evidenced by recent dlstuibance-
causcd by tho appearance of a peculiar sect near
London, whoso head declares himself to bo tho
"Now Messiah." This man is named J. H. Smyth
Piggott and has already obtained 3,000 follower,
who worship in a $500,000 church. Some time ago
a clorgyman named Brown challenged the "Mes
siah" to a public debate l'lggott's secretary re
plied that communications directed to him by
namo only would bo disregarded and that if out
siders wished to reach lr. Piggott they jnust acr
cord him tho title of tho "Messiah" and approach
him in an attitudo Qf reverence. Slnco that time
It is said that tho number of visitors dally are
somotimes ap many as 50,000. It has boon an
nounced that this person will come to America la
an effort to spread his doctrine.
THE PERSONALITY AND"' TEACHINGS OF
Piggott have been thought of sufficient Im
portance to bo widely discussed and tho Now York
World's London correspondent gives this account
of soino incidents In his career: "Piggott became
tho leader upon tno death of Brother Prince, four
years ago. Ono of his first remarkablo acts was
to assemblo his followers and toll them that thoy
wero all to go to heavon with him on a certain
day. At tho appointed time thoy mot In a field
near Spaxton and waltctl to bo translated from
tho earth to heaven. Some of them renounced the
faith, but tho falluro only temporarily retarded the
growth of tho sect Again Piggott promised to
. take his people to heavon, this tlmo on August
24, 1901. A second -disappointment did not shake
their fnlth, and shortly afterward they ercctod the
beautiful church facing Clopton Common, in the
northeastern part of London, whoro tho sect now
worship. Tho splro Is decorated with four enorm
ous figures representing tho strango beasts do
scribed In tho Apocalypse. These wero oxecuted
by A. G. Walkor, tho famous sculptor. Tho In
terior of tho church is magnificent, with mosaic
floors, richly carved woodwork and costly decora
tions. Piggott's coming visit to America will not
bo his first Ho lived many years on tho Pacific
coast He was born in England about sixty yoara
ago, and was educated for tho clergy at Cam
bridge. Ho abandoned tho career choson for him
by his parents and emigrated to California, whoro
ho lived a dissolute life, according to his own
story. Later he becarao a sailor. He returned to
his native country in 1890, took holy orders and
became a curate of tho Church of England in a
London parish. Next he joined tho Salvation Army
and was made a major, only1 to desert in a short
time to tho Agapemonites. The now 'Messiah' in
tall and of austere appearance. He weaijs clerical
garb, with a Roman collar. Ho drives in-, a
brougham and lives in luxury on the $30,000
year which ho receives from his followers."
TNTERESTING DISCO VERIE3 IN THE MEDI
X cal world wero recontly reported from Rus
sia. A Russian scientist, Dr. Kulebko, has suc
ceeded in restoring rhythmical "beating of tho heart
in dead animals, and it is said that after having
tried this experiment many times on animals ho
mado the oliompt on human beings. His succcs
in causing pulsation of tho heart In quadrupeds
129 hours after death led him to experiment upon
the hearts of children taken from their bodies two
days after death, and ho actually succeeding in
causing tho organ to pulsate regularly for about
an hour. The Chicago Chronicle tells tho story In
a special cablegram from Vienna and concludes as
follows: "At present the discovery is practically
valuable only In proving beyond doubt that at
tempts to revive drowned or suffocated indi
viduals have not been carried on long enough and
should not be desisted from before many hours
have passed."
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ANOTHER ALLEGED DISCOVERY WAS
recently made by a physician at Alexandria,
Ind., and reported to the New York World. Ho
claims that ho can restore life to the dead as ho
professes to have discovered the vital principle of
life. This principle ho asserts to bo volatile mag
netism and by experiments with a certain com
pound in tho form of powder, makes the claim
that by its use tho dead may bo called back to
life. Many people would like to believe this claim,
tut it is quite likely that no great credence will be
placed In it for some umo to come, as the problem
of bringing the dead back to life has always been
regarded m one impossible of human solution.
APPENDICITIS HAS PENETRATED
even to tho animal kingdom and a lioness at
the Paris zoological garden was recently operated
upon for the fashionable ailment It is reported'
that. tho appendix of tho lion is just as useless as
. is the appendix of man and the Paris operation is
said to have been eminently successful.
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