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J4AY.1, 1903,
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T' HE-TAXPAYERS OF GREAT BRITAIN ARE
staggering under the burdens of militarism.
It Is announced tliat the navy estimates for next
year amount to $172,000,000. The cost of the army
and .navy it is estimated will aggregate $345,
000,000. WRITING IN GUNTON'S MAGAZINE FOR
April, Eugene Parsons says that the total
wealth of the world is estimated at $400,000,000,
000, and of this amount the United States had
$94,300,000,000, or nearly one-fourth. It is shown
that Great Britain is the richest country in Eu
rope, having property and money amounting to
$59,000,000,000, or $1,442 per capita. France is the
next richest nation of Europe, with $48,000,000,0.00
in money and property, or $1,257 per person, and
wih $6,000,000,000 more lent in Europe, Asia,
America, and Africa. Germany's wealth is $40,000,
000,000, pi $700 per person, with $8,000,000,000
more lent or invested abroad. The United States
has wealth of $1,235 per person. Australia has
$i;229,JJenmark,l,105;' Canada $980, and Holland
87d per' person. Among all the nations the per
centage' of debt to wealth is lowest in the United
States. The British debt per person is $89, the
French $148, the German $55, the Russian $32, the
Canadian $50, while the debt per person in the
United States is only $12. In volume of wealth
$94,3u"p;000,000-the United States leads all oth
er nations. Great Britain comes next with $59,
000,000,000, and France follows with $48,000,000,
000, Germany $40,000,000,000, and Russia with $32,
O00,000;000." Our national debt is $915,370,000,
-wrhile that of Great Britain is $3,088,528,252, that of
France $5,718,360,198, and that of Germany $3,,
093,638.400. Among the powers df the world the
United States has the greatest total wealth and
the smallest debt
THE NEW YORK LEGISLATURE HAS EN
acted a law regulating the employment . of
newsboys in New York city and Buffalo. The law
will take effect on September 1. Frederick S.
Hall, secretary of the child labor committee,
speaking pf- this measure, says: "Uuder-the Ag
new law no girls under the age of sixteen are al
lowed to sell newspapers. Boys under the age of
ten may not engage in this occupation, and be
tween the ages of ton and fourteen they must se
cure a license and badge from the school au
thorities,. , and, are ,not allowed to work later than
l'Q., o'clock at night? . . , "...
A FORCE OF MEN OPERATING UNDER AN
engineer are engaged in an effort to reclaim
forty square miles of mosquito infested land ad
jacent to Jamaica bay, Coney island and Grave
send bay. The New York correspondent of the
Washington Times, referring to this undertaking,
says: "While the expedition is being started by
three men, it will soon employ about 200, and will
be joined in by the property holders, especially the
race horse interests in that locality. The move
ment has been initiated by William C. Whitney,
whose stables are on Garretson's creek, near the
old tide mill. It is Relieved that as soon as he has
proved the .feasibility of his plans the health de
partment will compel the other Property owners to
do likewise. While the season is late, it is .said
that if the work is successful it will rid the area
completely of mosquitoes next year. Roughly
stated, the plan is to soak the mosquito-breeding'
beds' with petroleum, and so ditch and drain 'the
meadbVs that they will be rendered uninhabitable
liy the "pests." '
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THJ3, JAPANESE .GOVERNMENT - HAS
2 agreed with the British government to what
will probably prove to be an interchange of offi
cers for'the better understanding of each other's
military progress. The Tokio correspondent for
the .Philadelphia North American sayB: "For the
present British officers are to commence by being
attached to the-"Japanese army; later on Japan
ese loffijcors will go to- Great Britain. The original
idea was that two British officers should be reg
ularly attached to the Japanese army, the period
for each man being two years, but in all prob
ability, since the idea has been so warmly taken
up and approved, the number will be increased.
The, first year will probably be, spent in a study
of the language, and during the second year the
officers, will be attached to Japanese regiments,
ancbiwill make themselves thoroughly conversant
Vitlrthe duties of the Japanese officer. Inquiries
Khojsfrcthat this interchange fs exceedingly popular
InrfJapan; which very greatly appreciates this new
sccfof the 'sincerity and Cordiality of the Anglo
J&panese 'alliance. The British) officers are Bure of
a?warm'' welcome, and they "are 'certain to profit
fronrothebr experiences, foK the Japanese army
zPJ"' i !".. "'" r , n ' ' , t
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The Commoner.
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continues to maintain, its high .standard. This
permission to attach officers to the Japanese-army
is an exceptional privilege. No nation hitherto
has enjoyed it, for the Chinese who have boon
sent over for instruction havo been simply at-,
.tached to the military colleges.'"
af X?
CURIOUS ARRANGEMENT CALLED. "THE
CXChanco Of children" was ndnnforl Tnnf vnnr
uy some cnaritamo peoplo in Berlin and xvlll be
revived this spring. A writer in the New York
Tribune says: "The promoters arrange for the
temporary Interchange of city and country chil
dren. Children of working peoplo there begin to
contribute to the Support of' the family soonor
than in this country. The little ones all havo
their tasks. This Is true in the country, as well
as In the cities, but the labor performed by chil
dren in the towns Is very different from that -on
the farm. Hence some charitablo women of Ber
lin organized a fresh air schomo, . py which the
children of the poor may exchange places for a
few months In the summer. Those from the farms
come into the city, which is a valuable educa
tional experience for them, and thoso in the city
have an opportunity to enjoy-a little country life,
without depriving the parents of either of their as
sistance. Families who are willing to make such
exchanges are invited to report at the headquar
ters, where an exchange is arranged."
DANIEL FREEMAN OF BEATRICE, GAGE
county, Nebraska, has made an interesting
gift to Pennsylvania. A Bingharaton, N. Y tele
gram to the Omaha World-Herald says: "A com
memoration of Hon. Galusha A. Grow's long term
in congress, during which he represented Penn
sylvania at largo, Is to be hold at Montrose, Pa.,
next month. As Mr. Grow was the originator of
the famous homestead law this will be a prin
cipal feature of the celebration. Homestead grant
No. 1, the first ordor under the now law, was to
Mr. Freeman, and he has sent the first tree grown
on the first homestead, which will be set up intact
in the state of Pennsylvania and an effort made
to grow it as a perpetual monument to tho
founder of tho homestead law. Mr. Frfceman will
be a guest of the state at the celebration.
A WRITER INTHE LONDON NATIONAL. RE- .
view describes horw a railroad merger "act
ually 'works. This writer takes for his text tho,
Chatham and Southeastern railway lines, which
lines cover the same territory. Together theso
lines have a monopoly of a large suburban busi
ness and every person going direct from London
to Paris must use their cars and may use their
boats over the Channel. It is said that both lines
tvore weak whenTparliament, four years ago, per
mitted a "working union" between1 , them" in the
hope that better service might result from monop
oly than from competition. Fate 'has ruled other
wise. The law of 1899 includes a secret "gentle
men's agreement" of 1865, so ,that killing com
petition," for a, part of. the traffic at least, has had
a long trial. Some of the results of a: closer union'
are here summarized: Theuthrough service from
the north of England, to the continent" hag been
abolished. Kent and Eussex are'ttfe dniy English
counties that havo no direct railway communf
dation with Liverpool. Express trains from Lon
don to the continent start from twer' local' sta'
tions in London. Steamboat rates 'are k6pt up t
$2 for the twenty-mile Channel crossing, first'
class, and an apparently illegal charge of 25 'cents
is made for "registering" luggage that should go
free. The "lowest charge for a private cabin
has risen from $2.50 Xo $5. The fastest express to
Folkestone- connects with a train on the1 French
side, ten miles an hour faster, though" British
trains on other lines are about as swift as any.
The Dover harbor board taxes' each, landing 'ana;
emuancmg passenger bn cents.
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ACCORDING TO THIS SAME AUTHORITY,
the mayor of Maidstone calls freight condi
tions simply -chaotic, passenger conditions lard
worse than they were thirty yearns Trains' are
on time because, another" resident says,' tho 'com
panies have "altered their time-tables to suit the
pace of their trains." Local service id paralyzed.'
The indictment of conditions whioh prevent tlio
sale or letting of houses redds like descriptions of
the local effect of the Brooklyn ' ItapidiTransit
monopoly. The trip from Reading to Folkestone,
which used to take three hours, now consumes
five. Ramsgate, a kind of Coney Island; reports',
through its mayor, "universal discontent "' Fares
have actually been raised to Hythei and Santfgate;
other shore-Tesorts. People itfLorfdonatually'
pay $4.25 for a second-class return "ticket' to
Ramsgate. Fruit and hop growers ' complain -df
'" - - - ' K --. H", j-K t-',": A
bad service. No attempt is made to attract traffic
xo complaints tho niorged companies' attitude is
that of a haughty czar. Of this policy behold the
surprising result: Electric lines are stealing tho
combine's" suburban traffic; ' Belgian boats got
its Channel business, and sinco tho union tho
$PKn a3 903"4; 1901' Gi 1)02' C53-4; 1903
5rtJ"o; S5thJn U dW" im' 12i' 1M0, 108? 1901,
Wl-2; 1902, C4; 1903, 61. Minnesota and Kent arc
?mjs way apart, but human nature is tho same
tho world over.
JO c
NOW THAT WINTER IS OVER, IT IS AN
nouriced that an immense tract of coal has
been discovered on land owned by tho Delaware.
Lackawanna & Western and tho Lohigh and
Wilkesbarre Coal company near Wilkesbarro, Pa.
It Is said that there are twenty volns aggregating
)0 feet of coal, tho smallest being 2,300 foot deop.
This Is said to bo tho most valuablo coal discov
ery over mado i;i the anthracite region sinco its
SnloDm,Snt' and lt- Is estimated that there nro
300,000,000 tons of coal in tho now tract.
v tr &
ALFRED DREYFUS HAS WRITTEN A
lotler to tho French war minister for a re
hearing of tho Droyfus case on tho ground that
tho alleged bordoreau of Emperor William has
been found to bo a forgery and that Estorhazy.
has been proved a falso witness. An Associated
press cablegram from Paris, under date of April
22, says that the- 'Droyfus letter recounts tho
circumstances of Dreyfus' former persecution, tho
accusations that he had betrayed tho military
secrets of his country, tho absolute dominance in
the army of tho cllqdo of high officials, tho antl
Scmltic opposition which tho wrltor had to suffer, '
ho forged Picquardt letters, tho court-martial
and tho public disgrace, the subsequent trial and
the agonies of banishment to tho Ilo du Diablo.
Tho scenes of tho great trial at Rennes are de
picted In glowing rhetorical terms; tho attempted
assassination of tho prisoner's counsel, tho viru
lent attacks by the press, tho friendship of Zola
and the troubles which this friendship brought
on the head of the famous author, all are recalled
DREYFUS REFERS TO THE SUFFERINGS
ho has endured and concludes his lotter in
this way: 'In .constant thought of ultimate lo
gal revision I havo reassembled little by little all
the divergent elemonts.of testimony contributing
to my conviction. , I .have scorned calumnies and
falsehoods. I have remained silent with tho firm
conviction that Justice would surely havo its day
of triumph. Tho victim of criminal tactics and
violation of tho law twice committed against me,
I now address myself to the supremo chief of mili
tary justice, and, supporting myself by now facts
which have been elicited and by tho existence
of tho, pretended bordereau annotated by Em
peror William, I beg to ask that you institute an
inquiry, first upon the uses mado of this falso
document at Rennes and the consequences it pro
dueed on those rendering Judgment; second, upon
the false aiid' fraudulent testimony of Czernuski
at Rennet" '
AN INTERESTING QUESTION RELATING TO
a mposo and a woman is under consideration
i'rt vthe jvialne Jegislature. . A writer in tho Topeka
Capital '.points out that the laws of Maine pro;
v)de that any oho killing, a motfae is subject to a
fine of 41.000.' This writer .says that recently
Mrs. Easter, wife of George -Easter of Byron, Me.,
was Ici'lled, and. her child was seriously injured'.
Death .came through, a, runaway accident In which
ifc is claimed' .ttfe hoo became frightened at Ji
moose. The' woman was thrown from her car
riage and wasjnstantlyldlled, while the child was,
seriously1 wounded in the head. Inasmuch as tho
life of a moose ie"valugd at $1,000, a petition ia
now befdre 'the legislature asking that this sum
bO'pafd'Mr. Easter for the loss of his wife. Tho
mooseTifc Is' B"etr 'forth in the petition, Is a ward of
Maine, and therefore- the stato should be respon
sible for itsacts. Tho stricken husband claims
that' the necessary expense of a housekeeper to
take cardv6 hiff home and eight small children
would b& considerably- mdre than $1,000 in two or
tWe$ years'" tinte.4 But he 'only asks that tho
statbpa'for the'ibsfJ'of his wife as much as i
would1 haver denian'ded' fbrth0 loss bf a moose:
The -tfdtitkra', which Is slgheil by leading citizens'
bf thd'ttelgbbdrlngitowiiM of Byron, where Mr.J
Easter live"s, "has b6dn tiirned over to the legisla
te committee "6n'ffsti andgamo. It 'will T)e ifc
teresting to'udte'what? action Is taken. Maine, it
Is kadwir Jealously1 guards' i&mo6se. It now re
mains '-tfMbe :sedn whether leHl be ' zealous In
protecting It. jJGSpTefrbin ita'hlbosd as itis"iri'
ptotectf ngf Vix niooWf romr Its peoplo. - . ' . 1
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