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The Commoner.
VOLUME 3, NUMBEltl
fCURRGNT
lrTSSTrrr..
ac V m- --t--
x
AN INTERESTING CASE IS ABOUT TO COME
to trial bcforo tho fedoral court In Boston.
Referring to this caso, tho Chicago Tribune says
that hoforo it is finished It may involvo tho In
eldo history of tho Porto Rlcan campaign and mako
rovoiatlons which will Interest tho whole country.
Tho caso Is briefly this: Senor Mateo Tagado of
Maynguez, tho richest planter and one of tho most
Influential eitizons of Porto Rico, brings suit for
libol against P. G. Badger & Co., publishers, of
Boston, on account of cortaln statements in a book
Issued by thorn purporting to lay baro Inner
occrots of tho Porto Rlcan campaign and also
making somo startling assertions about Senor
Tngado. Tho book In question was written by
Karl Stophon Ilorrman of Now York, one of
Roosovclt's Rough Riders, and at ono time editor
of tho Smart Set. Somo of tho mo3t brilliant law
yors In Boston have been retained on both sides.
Tho dofonso has summonod numerous witnesses,
among thorn General Nolson A. Miles, General
Thcodoro Schwann, ox-Secretary Alger, ox-Gov-ornor
Charles II. Allon, and Governor Hunt of
Porto Rico. Tho plaintiff also has summoned a
long list of Americans and Porto RIcans. Tho
caso has boon ponding over two years, but has
only now boon reached, owing to tho crowded
stato of tho doekot. Tho prominonco of tho prin
cipals to tho suit and tho high station of most of
tho witnosses invest tho caso with extraordinary
lntorost, bosides which there is tho possibility of
a docidod sensation, if, as is oxpocted, tho insido
history of tho Porto Rlcan campaign becomes a
featuro of tho testimony.
"pIIE RECIPIENT OF A UNIQUE SENTENCE
JL at tho hands of Judge Adams of the United
Status clrcut court at St. Louis is John Fickler.
' Fickler was convicted of robbing a mail carrier.
' Tho penaltlos for tho offonses of which Fickler
was shown to bo guilty aro ten years at hard
labor for robbing tho mail by Intimidating tho
carrior, Imprisonment for lifo at hard labor for
robbing tho registered mail by placing tho lifo of
tho carrier in jeopardy by tho use of dangerous
weapons, and ton years' imprisonment at hard la
bor for robbing tho mail by intimidating tho car
rier. Judge Adams scntoncod Fickler to impris
onment for lifo nnd then gavo him, two sentences
of ton yoars each. Fickler Is in tho impossible
position of being required to serve first a lifo
sontenco and thon twonty years in addition
thereto.
THE VICAR OF CLERKENWELL, A PARISH
in London, has announced that In future he
. will havo his church darkened during services,
, - hymns and prayers to bo thrown on a screen with
a magic lantern. Thoro are many poor people in
Dr. Parkor's congregation and ho says that ho has
discovorod that a number of them remain away
from service because thoy hesitato to compare
their 'Sunday best" with tho elegant garments of
well-to-do members. Dr. Parker thinks that when
ills now plan is in operation many peoplo who
have horotoforo absented thomsolves from service
will nttond. Rovorend James S. Stone, rector of
the St James Episcopal church In Chicago does
not approve of Dr. Parkor's plan. Ono objection
offered by Mr. Stone is that "the darkened church
will put peoplo to sloop." Mr. Stono thinks that
the remedy is to bo found In a cultivation among
ly for0churPch tU hablt f drcssin& niodest-
THERAPEUTIC PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE
namo givon by a Paris physician to a nro
cess for the examination of patients sufferine
m halludnatlonB. , Th0 Paris correspondent of
tho Now York American presents the Btory Tho
name of tho doctor is Ilippolyto Boraduo! Ac
cording to tho American correspondent Dr Bom
duo holds near his subject a dry pia0 wrapped
up in light papor-,proof paper. If the patient is
suffering from melancholia it is impressed Srnm
tho plato, showing as a whirlwind of lines The
opposite emotion, of joy, appears upon tho Plato
in flashes like Roentgen rays. Dr. Boradue claims
cat 12 nCOrded graphically the purr of a
? i n? Kh0 co of a Pteeon, but his boliLf
claim is that of his ability to take , photog?anh
of persons resembling crayon portraimin "the
hard lines, by light projected solely by tho con
centration of thought by the subject.
. tf1 J?
A RESIDENT OF QUINCY, MASS., WILLIAM
Hatch by namo, has invented what Jio says
wnl prove to bo a substitute for coal. This ma
terial is weed taken from the beaches, eel grass
and rock, weed mixed with clay and subjected to
a process, the secret of which is locked up within
the Hatch breast. Mr. Hatch says that ho can
produce this "coal" and make money on it by
selling it for $2 a ton.
TIIERE'IS DANGER OF THE Bl.EPHA'NT-BE-cbmlng
extinct and tho authorities of the
Congo Free Stato are taking measures to -prevent
tho slaughter of these animals in their' domain.
It is said that unless somo check Is placed upon
tho slaughter of elephants, the species will be
.corae extinct in Ihe Free State within eight or ten
years.
POPULAR SENTIMENT IN PEKIN IS VOICED
in a memorial addressed to the dowager em
press by tho censors asking her to retire in favor
of the emperor. In this memorial it is stated that
the retirement of tho dowager empress will be the
first step in tho direction of reform and it is made
plain that it is a very essential step.
A MAN WHO INSISTS THAT HE IS A Sci
entist has informed tho St. Louis Post-Dispatch
that he has counted the hairs. of the human
head. The results of these investigations aro
stated as follows: "Blondes, for instance, have
tho greatest number, and those with red hair the
smallest In 'no caso is there much variation be
tween tho sexes when the color is the same.
Light-haired people have between 140,000 and
105,000 hairs. Brunettes avenige only about 105,
000 hairs. Red-haired people do not have much
more than 0,000. This means that red hair is
coarser than other shades, but it has the advant
age of lasting longer."
A PROFESSOR AT YALE, J.nL. WORTMAN,
has been making investigation and an
nounces that he has discovered that animal lifo
originated in tho Arctic region rather than in the
tropics. Professor Wortman spent" several months
In Wyoming investigating the fossil monkeys and
apes. He says that these apes lived in the
eocene period and were Bimilar to the apes of
Europo of that period. The professor explains:
These facts are pregnant with meaning and can
be explained only on the hypothesis that there
was a common center from which these plants and
animals were distributed. Considering further
that the present continental masses were essen
tially the same, in the eocene time as now and
tho north polar region then enjoyed a sub-tropical
climate, as Is abundantly proved by fossil plants
WT t0,th conclusion that this common
arctic" cirde?" 7 api)roximately within tho
J-pHAT THE POWJBRS WILL ADOPT THE
J. lead of tho United States and let China
SShS n Uy alFosslble Is the VIw taken by
Public Opinion with respect to the dispute over
the payment of the Chinese indemnity It is
said that "China owes the powers an indemnity
of nearly eleven million taels, a tael be ng worth
seventy-four cents in gold at the time the indem
nity was agreed upon. It is now worth abot
KCGnV? g0ld' and wl3lto5
The trltv ioPniWerS b0Ver a millIon d"ars.
wmmKw1,01 says that the indemnity is a
gold debt but it does not say anything about the
rate of exchange, and unlna may be fxSused to?
taking advantage of the existing rat fifTla more
favorable to her than tho rate T prevailing atuE
time the treaty was made." v"""b at uio
HHHAT THE YEAR 1902 WAS A FORTUNATE
a nS f7 presIdents kngs and emperors, not
one death of a national ruler or president bavins
been chronicled during that period, is an interest?
lng fact pointed out by a witeV in the New
York World. This writer says: "President Lou!
bet of France was lucky enough last August to
escape the bullet of an assassin while walking jin
Rambouillet Forest. Tho nearly fatal illness- of
Queen Wilhelmina of Holland last April, whon
she wavered between life and death for days;
the equally dangerous sickness of- King" Edward
of England, which rendered it exceedingly donbf
ful for a time as to whether or not he would -bo
crowned, and the narrow escape of King Leopold
of Belgium from assassination at Biarritz last
April, all bear witness to-the fact that the lucky
stars of European monarchs must have been fn
tho ascendant during the past twelve months:"
THE SAME AUTHORITY REMINDS US THJ?
the year 1901 was.a most unfortunate onejijojr
presidents and monarchs as the following list J?
deaths will show: Queen Victoria of Great .Brit
ain, died January 22, 1901. Milan, ex-king, of' SJ&
via, died February 11, 1901. Ex-President Belija
min Harrison, died March 13, 1901. EmpressV4p
toria of Germany, died August 5, 1901. President """
William McKinley, uied September 14, 1,901. Ab-v
durrahman Khan, amer of Afghanistan, died Oc
tober 3, 1901. To this list may be added Li Hung
Chang, the greatest man of his generation Wn ..
the Chinese empire, who died November 7, 1901,
in Pekin, and Count Bismarck, the "Man of Blood
and Iron," of Germany, who died. May 30, 1901.
Crispi, premier of Italy, and Hohenlohe, chancel
lor of Germany, also died in that year of many
fatalities 1901. "
AN INTERESTING SIGHT WAS PRESENTED
to pedestrians on tho streets of New York '
recently. The officers of the Hanover Natioflal
bank were engaged in moving their offices from
Wall and New streets to the new building at Nas
sau and Pine. The bank clerks and messenger's,
all carrying more than $60,0uu,000 in gold, green
backs and securities, were linked together witha
stout chain and marched through the streets 'with
their precious burdens attended by a platoon of
police.
THE RACE QUESTION HAS BROKEN OUT IN
a New York Sunday school, where a class of
white girls have rebelled against the attendance .
of a colored girl, the white children refusing -to
sit with her. Here is an opportunity for Mr. ...
Roosevelt to write a letter to some "prominent " '
citizen" of New York. Undoubtedly such a com
munication would be read with great interest by
9. certain "prominent citizen" at Charleston, S: C.
TT IS REPORTED THAT THE NUMBER OF
1 child tramps In England, most of them be
ing children of tramps, has recently increased;
and for the purpose of coping with the situation,
the clerk of the Bridgeport board of guardians has
drawn up a plan for the treatment of vagrants.
The chief feature of the plan is presented by Pub
lic Opinion in this way: "Every person leaving
home for the purpose of obtaining work must ob
tain from the police a certificate, stating his age.
trade, whether single or married, number of chil-
& n25Z?poBel r0Ut0, Upon Production of
SS crtiIfcat? sucn Person and family shall- bo
received into tramp wards and allowed to depart
next morning without task. Any tramp present'
ing himself or herself at any tramp ward or
found by the police, shall be apprehended and
unless he or she can prove that thoy are not
w! ualftramP3' an are earning their Hving in a
egitimate way, shall be liable to imprisonment
ngonhVnumbernoff0r TtaS '
children X be removedCrLCtf Panmt the
detained until alxuS years of a IfT and "
pense of the state." agG' at the !x
-pHE HEIRS OF WAGNER, THE GREAT (W
AiKnffT' received durinS 1902 the sum i -$115,000
in royalties from wLn, Um ot
"Lohengrin," which is said tn X S 0peras'
nlar of Wagner's operas t0light SMOOO VT
during the year. "Tannhe'gh? $&
A NOVEL CONVENTION IS TO BE hwtti
.t&ilKfa eTpranorK
will " be tolnnttoJ? thIa"
tno international earthquake
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