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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 1902)
6 The Commoner. 'II 11 ff ft rii B p, 1?' L . ' r ml Current topics SEVERAL YEARS AGO MORRIS K. JESUP contributed $50,000 to the American Museum or Natural History for the purpose of financing an inquiry concerning the East Arctic Siberian tribes. The American Museum co-operated with the Russian Academy of Scionce and their agents have recently made a report to the effect that the American Indian and the Asiatic Eskimo are re lated and that both originated in China.. THE QUIETEST AND YET THE MOST STUB born strike is reported from Bridgeport, Oonn. A correspondent of the New York World relates that one year ago 100 men walked out of Parson's foundry. Seventy of these were iron moulders and thirty were their helpers. The con tention relates to piece work. Since the day of the walk-out noither side has sought a conference looking to the termination of the strike. The foundry people have managed to keep running, but they have been sadly handicapped by inex perienced men. The strikers still maintain a picket whose duty it is to urge the non-union men to. quit work. In many cases these appeals have been, effective and the company has found it nec essary ,to employ some now men every week dur ing the past year. It is said that "both sides to the difficulty have lost money; Neither side has expressed a desire to state its case in the papers, as is usual in such matters, both appearing to be perfectly content to let matters stand as they are, no doubt with the feeling that each is right, and hecauset talk would be useless. And on Decem ber 13, Mn Emmet Hall, the iron moulders cele- Dratea tne anniversary of the strike." i . tr .( t & THE QUESTION OF RECIPROCITY WITH Cuba will bo an interesting feature during the present session of congress. The president in his; message has urged reciprocity and yet there are indications that his plan will meet with" vig orous objection in the senate. There are some who are willing to grant a 20 per cent reduction on the duty laid on Cuban imports, but it is maintained by the Cubans that this will be of no advantage whatever and they plead for a more liberal reduction. Cuban tobacco men say a re duction of 50 per cent on raw material would be advantageous, but that they believe the better thing would be a uniform rate on wrapper and 'filler tobacco of 20 or 25 cents a pound. ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING Visi tors to America is Dr. Adolf Lorenz of Vien na. He is a celebrated surgeon whose specialty is in the treatment of cripples. He came to this country in response to summons from one or two wealthy men who desired his services in behalf o their own children and wherever he has been he has given fr-a clinics for the benefit of ,the poor. Dr. Lorenz's visit to this country has prompted an i-vestigation on the part of sur geons in various localities as to the number of crippled children. In New York, for instance, the surgeons of Cornell university have examined 1,600 children. They were surprised to discover that among this number there were 100 having con genital dislocations "of the hip, rn affliction to .which Dr. Lorenz pays particular attention' atid in the treatment of which he has been eminently suc cessful. m AN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF THE methods of Viennas famous surgeon is given by Dr.,V. P. Gibney in the December Re view of Reviews. Dr. Gibney explains . that Dr. Lorenz is one of ceveral orthopedic surgeons who have made relentless war on all kinds of de formities and diseases which criprle a child. Dr. Gibnpy says that whore permanent lameness comes in adult life the sympatny is not so acute as when it attacks a child in its earliest years. . rho appeal of the father and .mother becomes truly pathetic, and it is not surprising that the best years Df a man's life are devoted to the cure - of these little ones. It is only within the last two or three decades that hip disease itself has been regarded as a curable malady, it Is explained however, that, after all, the large number o'f cases of disease involving this joint are not so relieved that tho functions of the joint are perfectly re stored, and it is no wonder that thousands of children with stiff hips and shortened limbs are longing for the advent of this distinguished Vien nese surgeon. & a? THE METHODS EMPLOYED BY DR. LORENZ do not involve cutting. These r methods are described in Dr. Gibney's article' in this way: "The non-bloody method means this: the forcible stretching of all tho soft parts about the hip, sometimes oven to the point of breaking the skin (which is rare), until the head of the bone can be brought to the place where the -socket should , be. If one can employ enough force to bring the head into this position, it naturally ' follows that a great effort is made to retain the bone sufficient ly long for tho formation of a socket more or less Substantial. Many surgeons in this country and abroad have been able to accomplish the former, and tho percentage of cures (by which is meant the retention of the bone sufficiently long for this socket to be serviceable) is just large enough to enlist still greater efforts. Now this great effort has been so persistent in the hands of Dr. Lorenz that his statistics furnish a larger percentage of. perfect results. The stages of treatment are as follows: (1) Tho exaggerated position of the bone as related to the pelvis, extending over a period of from, six to twelve month. "(2) A less ex aggerated position, wherein the thigh is brought midway between what is known .ad extreme abduc tion and the vertical line. This period extends over from three to six months. (3) The limb is brought into a ,rmal position, when the fourth stage of treatment is begun namely, massage, ac tive and passive movements until the function of the joint is made normal." THE AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT IS EXPERI mentihg with a new and powerful explosive which Is known as "galazit" An Associated press " dispatch from Vienna says that "the explosive is the discovery of two Houmanians of Galatz an engineer named Demetriade and a chemist, "Jones. In the course of the experiments a cartridge ex- .ploded in a barrel of water threw the spray 20 feet high; another exploded in the Stump of an old tree, buried several feet under ground, blew the stump to splinters and torera great .-hole, in the earth. Great results in .the way of shattering iror were obtained by the inventors, and the gov ernment experts regard the new explosive as bod ing ill to all existing naval and military defensive materials. It is claimed that galazit can bo transported without risk and produced at a low cost." THE DEATH OF DR. JOSEPH PARKER AT London on November 28 removed one of the most distinguished clergymen of his time. Dr. Parker was a Congregationalist. He began preach ing in an humble way in 1848 at the age of eigh teen years. It is said that his first pulpit was a cross beam spanning a salt pit and that the pul pit he held at the time of his death was made of solid marble and cost $1,500, the church building in which he preached, known as the City Tem ple, having been erected at a cost of $350,000. He was a forcible and dramatic speaker and had a personal acquaintance which extended into all sections of the world. af a? SITTING IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT court at Richmond, Va., Chief Justice ful ler of the supreme court recently denied tho in junction asked by John S. Wise, representing the negroes. Mr. Wise represented the negroes who were barred from voting by the new constitution. He asked for .a writ of prohibition against the state board of canvassers restraining them from issuing election certificates on tho ground that the election was illegal because of the disfranchisement of the black man. In passing upon tho application Chief Justice Fuller said: "Tho rule heretofore entered herein is discharged and a preliminary order denied this for want of jurisdiction. Tho writ is not sought 'a aid of jurisdiction nor does it appear that there is no other remedy. The pro ceeding is iii effect against the commonwealth, which is in any view an indispensible " party, and tho matter being political, cannot be disposed of in such a proceeding." Regarding the matter of equity the decision was that a court of equity has no jurisdiction in such a case. Mr. Wise an nounced that he would carry tho case, to the su- ?r mAG court and would m nt -least :fifty suits of ?5,000 each against .the members of (tho, constitu tional convention. These would beffor. damages alleged to have been sustained by negroes in'be- Vol. 2, No. 48. ing disfranchised; Mr. WIho fnrM, that ho'wbuld go to wTshlngtoi andT proceedings to prevent the nfwfy chosen cn pressman in one district from takinc htt S ing his protest on the ground thS n 1' bas" voters had been disfranchiseu a nUmber of A THOUGH THE REPUBLICAN PARTY LiJ, i?attonal Inarms has repeated! v toTn fmi8tai8h0? t0.the territories there seems to bo little hope for the passage of an omnibus , TlUG admTissia to Arizona, New Mexico ?hn iSClaIi0ma- In the last aessIn of congress to w'lfa,teS frm each of these territories S to work for an omnibus bill or nothing Tho house committee on territories reported favorably and a measure is now pending before the sena e committee of which Mr. Beveridgo is airman Pla? aLJ3 A1on, Aldrich! HaTe, Piatt, Cullom, Lodge, Hanna and Beveridgo are op posed to the omnibus bill, but that they are wHi ng that Ok ahoma should be admitted. It is be lieved that n spite of tho agreement on tho part of the delegates from these territories the result will be the admission of Oklahoma and the Ne M at thlS time f the ClaImS 0f Arizona and THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON TERRITORIES has reported a substitute for the house omnibus statehood bill. This substitute provides for the admission of one new state comprising the territory of Oklahoma and including Indian ter ritory, the new state to take the name of Okla homa. The bill makes no reference to New Mex ico or Arizona and is intended as a substitute for the omnibus bill which was designed to admit the three territories by one measure. It seems to bo taken for granted that this bill will pass and that the influences adverse to Arizona and New Mexico will see to it that the ambition of those territories is not realized. THIS REPUBLICAN PLATFORM OF 1896 HELD out the hope that the territories would be admitted; and no one could obtain from that plat form the inference that any discrimination would be shown. Indeed, the opposition to the admis sion of Arizona and New Mexico does not seem to -b& entirely popular among the- rank, and file of republicans. The Chicago Record-Herald, a re publican paper, while admitting that Oklahoma has the best claim of the three territories doubts whether it is worth while to draw distinctions at the present time. The Record-Herald says: 'The fact is that the republicans are estopped by their own record from debating the matter, as if there were nothing to consider but the relative merits of tho applicants. The standard of comparison is a historical one; which they have helped to establish, and, judged by it, all three are entitled to admission." ACCORDING TO THIS REPUBLICAN Au thority "argumentative refinements of the character of the population will doceive no one since republicans are not in a position to moral ize." Referring" to the republicans the Record Herald says: "They took in Nevada and Idaho and Wyoming because they wanted their votes in house and senate, and for no other reason. It was a clear case of opportunism, and that is the policy which actuates them now. They are sim ply availng themselves of the chance to keep out two territories because the latter might strength en their opponents. ' OKLAHOMA HAS ALREADY A LARGER population than many of the states and it will come in with tho largest population ever credited to a new state, having something In ex cess of 400,000, Is a fact pointed out by this re publican paper.. New Mexico had 195,000-at the last census; Arizona, 123,000. Nevada, which was admitted in 1864, had only 42,491 in 1870 and 42, 335 in 1900. Idaho and Wyoming, which were admitted in 1890, liad 84,385and 60,705, Respective ly, at that time, and "have 161,772 and 92,531 now. Both these states had an average of less than one person to the square mile when they were admitted; all tho territories seeking admission have a larger average. THE IMPRESSION THAT THE ANTAGONISM to Arizona ,and New Mexico is purely po litical Is conveyed by the Record-Herald and it says". that the republican leaders would be "more worthy of trust if they would confess the truth, .but oven so they would not deserve support." In X