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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1902)
wwpf wimwiii wumni wmmsmmm The Commoner. f M I -! i a J r? KM s I' J i I, I n i ii t J. Current topics SOME OF THE LARGER CITIES ARE CON fronted with the problem of overcrowding in the public schools. The portable school house has been suggested as a solution. This plan if? described by Harper's Weekly in this way: "The idea of portable school buildings first came from Paris. Then the idea reached th United States, about five years ago, and Milwaukee was the first to adopt it. In St. Louis, which next adopted the portable school house, the plan was a great suc cess. Several large eastern cities have within the last year or so commenced on a small scale to have portable school houses as a part of the edu cational facilities. In St. Louis there has been a great influx of people on account of the world's fair. When the city schools-opened a few weeks' ago "the increase was enormous, but the schools were well able to care for them. The portable school building, however, is all that saves them, and when in any neighborhood there is a likeli hood of an overcrowding, a portable school biiild ing is at once moved in. At present there are twenty-seven school houses of this kind in the world's fair city, and all of i .n are in use." 3fJ fT ALTHOUGH IN MANY INSTANCES CON gressmen who opposed Mr. Roosevelt's reci procity treaty were re-hominated and re-elected the administration seems to have accepted the result of the election as an indorsement of the Roosevelt plans,, particularly with reference to Cuban reci procity. On isovember 12 a conference "was held between Secretary of State Hay, Secretary of War Root and General Bliss. The Cuban reciprocity treaty was under consideration at this conference. The dispatches say that the objection of President Palma to the treaty as it stands isthe insufficient rebate of 20 per cent proposed to be allowed on Cuban imports in the United States, rt is stated that Secretary Hay is anxious to ascertain if pos sible how far, he may yield to President Palma'a ..wishes in this respect and yet rely upon the sup port of congress when the treaty is submitted. In spite of the administration claim that the results of the election is the complete indorsement of the "-president's polic es, Secretary Hay does not ap pear to be at all confident of his ability to per suade congress to make any concessions on the line of the objection raised by the president of the Cu ban republic. On" the contrary, it is asserted that, members of congress nave bluntly told Mr. Hay ' ., that under no condition will congress submit to ' any substantial increase in the' rebate to be al lowed on Cuban imports into the United States. THAT SERIOUS DIFFICULTIES WILL ARISE with relation to the Cuban question cannot be doubted when it is generally understood as it - is known in Washington circles that the Cubans are not willing to accept an immaterial increase. An Associated press dispatch referring to the con ference held on November 12 conveys the informa tion that in the face of the great shortage in the European Tjrops and a rising market the Cubans have acquired confidence in their ability to get along for an indefinite period wituout reciprocity with the United States, and this report declares that it is generally understood that the Cubans are displaying the indifference in the prosecution of the treaty negotiations. It is pointed out that President Palma makes the point that conditions have changed in Cua so that whereas the 20 per cent rebate might have served when it was first proposed, it would at present afford so little relief as not to warrant the sacrifice of Cuban revenues ' that would be involved in .its acceptance. Accord ing to these same dispatches Secretary Hay has determined to clear up that point and at the con . fercnce it was decided that General Bliss should visit Cuba and make a personal investigation of the Industrial situation and the fiscal possibilities Df the island. A HIGH OFFICIAL OF THE GOVERNMENT, is quoted by a representative of the Asso ciated press with respect to this interesting ques tion. It may not be doubted that the statement made by this "high official" is a statement author ized by the administration. This "high official" explains: "The mission of General Bliss will be to clear up in the minds of the Cubans some appre hensions which they have regarding the effect of the concession offered by the United States and the various concessions which the United States demands from Cuba. It seems apparent that the , . situation is not understood in Cuba and the ne gotiations halt on that account, 'mere is no dis position to offer a greater concession to Cuba than 20 per cent, which will include all products of the islands, Vhile the concessions demanded vary from 10 to 70 per cent. This is explained by the fact that concessions must be considered not so much upon percentages as upon existing tariffs." The tariu of the United States on all articles produced in Cuba is so high that a 20 per cent reduction will mean much to the island. This relates especiajly to sugar and tcbacco. A single illustration is given: The present duty on sugar is aboitt 100 per cent; a reduction of 20 per cent will give a re bate to Cuba of $20 In every $10U worth of sugar sent to this country. On the other hand, the duty imposed by Cuba on cotton manufactured goods is about 33 1-3 per cent,, and the United States manufacturer shipping cotton goods to Cuba un der a like 20 per cent rebate would secure an ad vantage of only abdut $G.G6 on each $100 worth of goods. To equalize this sacrifice it was found nec essary to pay the rate of concession of cotton goods going from the United States into Cuba at GO per cent. I. IS FURTHER POINTED OUT BY THIS Au thorized statement that "it is thought here tnat the Cubans have not considered the matter from this point of view 'and that it will be in order to inform them of the basis of the demands of the United States. It is possible that the demands of this country may be modified slightly on an in vestigation of trade conditions in Cuba. It is not likely, however, that any greater concession will be granted Cuba as i, is held that the high rate of duty on sugar and tobacco will, with 20 per cent reduction, enable the Cubans to either undersell all other foreigners or secure greater profits on their products than people of other nations. The reciprocity treaty is Jikely to be a separate docu ment from any general treaty provided for under the Piatt amendment. It makes no difference whether or not the treaty: is negotiated with Cuba save on the subject of the Isle of Pines. The Piatt amendment being a part of our law and a part of the Cuban constitution, it is held that it operates as a binding proposition, even if the provisions of the amendment are not embodied in a duty. The United States will secure Ue coaling stations and Cuba is bound to carry out the provisions . of her own constitution. That the embodiment of the terms of the Piatt amendment in a treaty would be well, " it is not denied, but such action is not necessary save to establisn closer and more friendly rela tions between the two governments from a diplo matic point of view." TN BULGARIA RECENTLY A CHURCH JL erected as a memorial to the Muscovite and Bulgarian soldiers who fell in the storming of the Shipka was dedicated. During the services a tele gram was made public by the Bulgarian authori ties which telegram purported to be a message of congratulations from Emperor Nicholas to General Count Ignatieff, the Russian ex-minister of state and ex-amljassador, who, as president of the Pan Slav community of Moscow and an active head of the Pan-Slav movement, was a conspicuous figure in the festivities. A writer in the Chicago Tribune says that this telegram excited no end of attention and comment by reason of the extravagant praise lavished on Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria, who was referred to repeatedly therein as the "dear and beloved brother" of the wruer. This writer adds: "Now the word 'brother' is only used by sovereigns in ceremonious reference to brother monarchs of equal rank. For instance, King Ed ward Would never dream of addressing the king of Servia as 'brother,' and Napoleon III. embarked France in the costly Crimean war because Czar Nicholas declined to accord it to him. The fact, therefore, that Emperqr Nicholas should have re ferred to Prince Ferdinand,, who at the best is a vassal of the sultan, as a 'brother,' created no end of comment, being regarded as an intimation to the effect that Russia regarded the prince of Bul garia not merely as an independent sovereign, but as a ruler of the highest ranlc. It now turns out that the writer of the telegram was not Emperor Nicholas of Russia, but Prince Nicholas of Monte negro, and he Bulgarian government has ,been forced by a peremptory demand from St. Peters burg to publish an intimation to this effect, late in tho day and rather humiliating to Prlnco Ferdinand." i? a? AN INTERESTING STORY RELATES TO THE recent resignation of John H. Baker, as United States district judge in Indiana. About a year ago Francis H. Baker, Judge John H. Baker's son, was appointed judge of the federal court in the Honsier state. The appointment of the young- Vol. a, No. 47. er Baker was resisted on the ground that it would not be well to have two members of tho same family on, the federal ben5h in the same state. It now develops, however, that an understanding was had that if the younger Baker should be appointed, the older would resign. This promise has been fulfilled. t? & T" -IE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE DISTRICT of Columbia recently rendered a decision in a cascinvolving the right to sell and dispose of liquors at the capitol. Proceedings had been com menced against the Capitol restaurant proprietors charging them with violating the liquor laws of the district, and further with ignoring the regula tion which prohibits the sale of liquor on a gov ernment reservation. The court of appeals holds that congress, being a self-governing body, may regulate the affairs of the capitol building accord ing to its own pleasure. AN INTERESTING STORY CONCERNING THE Great Salt Lake at Utah is presented by a wnter in the Chicago Record-Herald. This writer declares that this body of water known as Amer ica's Dead Sea is gradually passing away. It is pointed out that a few years ago what is known as Garfield Beach was surrounded by water which was from four to five feet deep, Amt during the last . summer it was necessary to walk half a mile lake ward before water could be found of sufficient depth for bathing. It is said by this writer that the resort authorities are considering two schemes to preserve the place for bathers. One is to build an artificial lake around the present site, and wall it in, and the other is to move it further out into the receding body of water. If the latter project is undertaken it may be found necessary to "keep moving" from year to year, as the lake is growing smaller at a phenomenal rate. This dead sea once occupied the entire Utah Val ley. Tho "water line," which is visible along the mountains bordering the valley, reaches as high as one thousand feet above the present surface of the lake. The salt deposit on the shore extends at some points miles inland, thus proving a re markable recession of the water in recent years. In 1861 a writer said of the Great Salt Lake and vicinity: "Not a tree flourishes on its border, nor on any of the adjacent plains.' But this his tory ha3 been outdone, for today the adjacent plains abound in groves, fruit trees and fields of grain, all of which has" been niade possible through a system of Irrigation. The discovery of the magic influence of water on this supposedly barren soil is causing the mountain streams to be diverted from their accustomed paths and the lake to be robbed of its supply. Meanwhile evaporation is steadily reducing the level of the lake. Snow does not fall in the mountains as heavily as in past years, hence the streams are not fed so bountifully. Farmers and municipalities clamor for increased quantities of the precious fluid and the hand of law is invoked to settle the question of ownership, while the great lake is forgotten and is actually dying of thirst THE ANNUAL REPORT OF, THE COMMIS sary general of the United States army presents some interesting figures. This report shows that $227,284.98 were spent for meals for re cruiting parties and recruits and that $26,902.15 was spent for "liquid coffee for troops travelling. ' The interesting sum of $233,569.17 was spent for ice and $366,749.72 was spent for wages to inspec tors and "miscellaneous small employes." The report also shows that the department sold to officers goods to the value of $21,538.22 and to en listed men goods to the value of $65,000.' This re port shows that among the stock "kept on hand for sale to officers and enlisted men,u may be found tho following articles: Candy, can openers, chamois skins, cheese ,cherries, chocolate, cigar3, cinnamon, clothespins, cloves, cocoa, coffee", lob ster, lye, macaroni, matches, needles, nutmegs, oatmeal, pins, pipes, plum pudding, polish, pre serves, tapioca, thread, tobacco, toilet water, tongue, tooth powder. AN IDEA OF THE ENORMOUS QUANTITY of mail that is never claimed is given in the , annual report of the dead letter office for the last fiscal year, which report was submitted pn October 14 by Acting Postmaster General Wynne. This report shows total receipts 9,300,351 pieces of mail matter pf all kinds, an increase of 9 per cent over last year. ..The ordinary unclaimed letters numbered 6,446,60$ ;: ordinary unclaimed returned from foreign countries, 620,235; letters and par cels held for postage, 156,831; domestic letters un delivered at hotels, 306,232; letters and parcels with .fictitious address, 150,307; bearing no address 81.068; originating iri' foreign 'countries, 838,805. I !