"m" wnirr,m!FmrTiFfr "i$-Tvrvri"
l-""''"W"w"4' 'tiH wf PM
The Commoner.
16
VOLUME 3, NUMBER If,
, jy "" "
IV
Education in tlio Philippines.
According to Dr. Theodore de La
guna, writing in Gunton'B Magazine,
tho attitudo of the Filipinos toward
the now education is one of "wide
spread disgust"
At first tho natives seem eager, be
cause they do not understand the
difficulty of learning, partly also from
natural curiosity. When they And
that they cannot bocomo lotter per
fect in English in four months they
leavo school in shoals.
Tho people have thoir virtues. In
El Salvador, whero Dr. de Laguna was
stationed, no soldiers were over sta
tioned. Ho and his follow-teacher
lived there without protection, twelve
miles from an army dotachment, in
porfect security.
Tho school population of El Salva
dor was about 800, as reckoned in this
country. Tho attendance varied from
forty to 400. Most of the boys sit
on the floor. Fittings aro of the rud
est kind; the village has no money
to do better.
Natlye toactiors aro of poor quality.
"Why not? They got six to eight silver
dollars a month lesB than half that
sum in gold.
Administration does not fulfill tho
boasts of "the white inan'B burden"
boarers. Teachers sent to their posts
In September in many cases received
thoir first supplies about Thanksgiv
ing. Books, slatos, pens, blackboards,
paper, chalk wore all missing, and
Yankeo ingonuity was taxed to find
substitutes,
Of tho American teachers some aro
fine types of enthusiasm and learn
ing, some mere carpet-baggers with no
knowledge of Spanish and no lovo
of the work. Thoso are easily dis
couraged. By talking broken Spanish the ig
norant teacher "unavoidably exposes
himself to contompt" in a land where
ovory vlllago has gentlemen who
speak tho purest Oastilian and plenty
of people who know it when they
hear it
Teachers' salaries aro not paid
promptly. The largest consignment
of them sent to the Islands were herd
ed in Manila barracks and fed by a
Chinese contructor "who did not un
derstand catering to Americans."
Many fell ill and blamed the caterer.
There was constant dissatisfaction,
accentuated later by the hasty and
careless distribution of tho schools.
x uu ouiicmu 10 III LUUUU IUU JL' 111- I
plnos something for which they feel 1
no immediate need and in which they
take no direct interest namely, the
English language useful only to a
limited number in the larger cities.
Now York "World.
AND PAY TEIS PBIGE FOB VIQTORY?
In our opinion Grover Cleveland can, and should be, nominated for president in 1904
by the democratic national convention as the only man who can assuredly lead the party?, to
victory. -Brooklyn Eagle. '
judge dropped the amendment at
once. Billings (Mont) correspon
dence New York Sun.
Dangerous.
One of the most hospitable citizens
of Sioux Falls was Judgo Fuller, of
the supremo court Ho was intro
duced to tho president's attention with
the following incident of his career:
The judges made a strong cam
paign to got tho legislature to raise
their salaries. Tho bill met with
great opposition. Judgo Fullor, who
had no small political influence, wont
up to Pierre to see about it Ho "was
mot by one of tho leaders of tho
party.
"How about this thing?" said tho
judge.
"Judgo," said tho other politician
gravely, "you better drop this salary
business. I tell you as a friend. You
don't want It to go through. It is not
in your interest."
"Eh! Why ain't It!" exclaimed tho
(Judge, who felt deeply on the sub
ject. "Why ain't it?"
"Don't you see, judgo," explained
tho politician, "that If wo put tho
salaries of the judges up to tho flg
uro you want, tho people will turn
around, and elect real lawyers to the
bench."
The point of the story is that tho
Placating the Trust.
The efficacy of the Sherman anti
trust law having been established In
the railway merger suit, the country
is looking to tho administration to
enforce the law against other criminal
conspiracies, notably the coal trust,
tho greed of which is insatiable. The
country, however, is doomed to disap
pointment The administration will
leave tho trusts in neace.
The suit against tho railway merger
was forced upon the administration by
tho governors and legislatures of the
northwestern states. President Roose
velt could not evade taking action,
although he hesitated a long time,
without confessing that his anti-trust
crusade was purely spectacular. The
president is not unaware of tho power
of organized wealth. The merger de
cision has aroused the rosantmnnt nf
tue "business Interosts" of the coun
try and his policy henceforth will bo
to placate their anger. There will bo
no further suits brought against crim
inal trusts. Mr. Roosevelt's single
aim is to secure tho republican presi
dential nomination and to.be elected
to the office which he now holds by
virtue of President McKinloy's unex
pected death. With the organized
wealth of tho country opposed to his
candidacy tho republican party would
be cut oft from its base of sunnily
J and without money, and plenty of it.
there would be little hope of carrying
the election. Tho republican "pa
triots" have come to expect pay for
their services. They are not volun
tary workers. The immense campaign
fund that Hanna has had at his dis
posal in recent elections has demor
alized the republican party.
When tho morger decision was
handed down, the Daily News took oc
casion to make the prediction that
there would be no further efforts to
enforce the Sherman law. Though
since then the republican newspapers
have been picturing President Roose
velt as an unrelenting foe of the
trusts, determined to enforce the law
regardless of consequences, there is
no occasion to withdraw the predic
tion then made. Indeed, there is
much to. confirm its accuracy. In his
Washington correspondence to the
Chicago Record-Herald, Walter Well
man says that "It is admitted by offi
cials of tho administration that in
the anti-merger decision of the cir
cuit court they have an elephant on
thoir hands. T4ioy are at a loss to
know what to do with it No ono de
nies that there .are other combina
tions in the country amenable to the
law as interpreted by the court To
bo consistent tho administration
should prosecute these other combi
nationshalf a dozen of them. The
anthracite coal trust", for instance, is
a known violator of the, law. There
la no doubt about it Official records
and not mere conlecbiro rnnfnin im
proof. Officers of the departmentvot
justice do not pretend that they have
prosecuted all tho illegal combina
tions, but they offer no explanations
as to why these other offenders arc
not to bo hauled into court It i3
well understood that they are not to
be molested."
Mr. Wellman, however, offers an ex
planation for the attitude of the -administration.
It Is fearful of the hos
tility of the "business interests." Its
course is determined by political ex
pediency. "It has enforced the law
against ono combination, but it daro
not enforce it aga'inst all combina
tions." it has assured "the big men
in Wall street" that nothing further
will be done. The "business interests"
are not to be antagonized. It is ex
pected that the public will be satis
fied now that "the country is con
vinced that there is a courageous
president in the White house .and
that monopoly must bow to the law as
long as he is on guard." But will it
be satisfied should a halt be called?
There's the rub.- Milwaukee News.
A Pair of Paragraphs.
Chicago Tribune: No good friend
of President Roosevelt will take a'
snap shot of him -when he is gestic
ulating earnestly with his face.
Louisville Times: H. H. Rogers, a
Standard Oil magnate, worth $40,000,
000, has joined his chief in search of
a new stomach. How much longer is.
Mr. Morgan going to delay the an
nouncement of tho discovery of his
1 pcific for "undigested securitlesT