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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 17, 1903)
jpTPVM The Commoner VOLUME 3, NUMBER 2d m, - ?- r 14 Rochester (Ind.) Horald: The pur chasing powor of tho dollar Is about three laps behind In tho race with prices. Zobulon (Ga.) Journal: Just as harmony was about to perch upon the flagstaff and fold its wings for a nap, ox-President Cleveland frightened it ott with an explosive "I didn't say it" Indianapolis (Ind.) Standard: Un do Mark's prayer at the Ohio conven tion, "For God's sake keep on letting well enough alone," met a fervent response from tho Rockefeller corner. Ironton (Mo.) Irontonlan: The re publicans of Ohio have a millionaire candidate for governor and a multi millionaire candidate for senator Tho republican party is fast becoming a millionaire's club. Bonham (Tex.) News: The scan dals concerning the conduct of af fairs by tho present government offi cials grow worse the more they are investigated, and if a full and fair in vestigation is made, and the whole truth is given tho people, wo shall yot learn many things that wo do not know. Tho republican party has grown so accustomed to scandals among its officials that the exposure of a part of its corruption does not worry it much. Randolph (N. Y.) Enterprise: That good old democratic platform plank, "tho party in power responsible for tho government while in power," is particularly applicable just at present to national as well as state adminis trations. Tho party of "high moral ideas" seems to be pretty well covered with the barnacle z of loot and extrav agance. It is becoming more and more apparent that the people will insist upon a very vigorous house cleaning at Washington as well as at Albany a trifle over a yoar from now. Monticello (la.) Times: Prominent republican politicians and editors are endeavoring to make it appear that President Roosevelt is a trust smash er and is being oppdsed by trust mag nates and the Wall street financiers. No one should be deceived by such claims. Every trust magnate in tho United States is satisfied with Roose velt's administration and is ready to contribute to a campaign fund to secure his election. Crete (Neb.) Democrat: Every cor poration controlled republican 'paper in the west favors Grovcr and the re organizers. Those republicans who lcvo their party and honor its past achievements should keep an eye on these backers of Grover. They de feated two republican candidates for president in order to foist the stuffed prophot upon the country for reasons best known to themselves and for you to surmise. Democrats supported him because he was their candidate and unknown outside of New York state. Ho had never been even in Chicago. These same fellows have been tho hardest fighters against Bry an and his supporters and never lose an opportunity to laud the reorganiz es. This is evidence sufficient to con vince most any sensible republican that th6re is a secret understanding or a powerful influence which directs both. Watch them during tho next eight months and you will be fully convinced that they are seeking to control the nominations of both na tional conventions and then they can look on while their dupes fight in the campaign, over side issues. ossarily as civilization, advances be en use new laws are made constituting new crimes. While the number of violations of law increases, tho num ber of atrocious crimes diminishes. The fact is that the increase in the criminal statistics is almost entirely in the newer and lighter offenses. Pittsburg Dispatch. SOME ITEMS OF INTEREST Tho king of Italy is five feet three inches in height. The United Stages has granted 3,500 patents to women. Brazil is passing through a season of severe financial depression. Eighty-five per cent of the children of Japan are now in school. The entrance to tho Mediterranean sea at Gibraltar is 12 mile's wide. . Automobile building gives employ ment to 20,000 persons in France. An elephant's jaw has been un earthed in Halleck Canyon, Wyoming. ' Thirteen now theatres, to cost $8, 000,000, are building in New York city. The head instructor of the naval college of China U to bo an American. Six hundred men are regularly em ployed on tho new steamship Kaiser Wllhelm. The state of Now Hampshire gets more than $5,000,000 each season from summer boarders. A Gorman scientist who has spent oight years in Patagonia says that Patagonians will 'soon bo extinct The empress dowager of China is selecting 14 princes of her own blood for study in Europe, America and Japan. At Troy a linen shirt is made In six and a half minutes; tho working of the button holes occupies one-quarter of a minute. The movements of tho higher strata of air during monsoons Is to be deter mined by means of kites at Simla, in tho Himalayas, 7,000 feet above sea level. Tho Trout Rod on tho Wall. This slender, rod of mine; This delicate silk line, And the creel; This landing net, these flies Of every shape and size; With tho reel, Now hanging on the wall Such memories recall Of the past, That I live them o'er again, And rejoice as I did when I made a cast. I can see the shady pool, Underneath the alders cool Bending o'er. Specks of foam about an eddy, Circling round with motion steady To the shore. Now I see the beauty rise, As the artificial' flies Strike the pool. I can hear the water boil, And the crazy reel uncoil From the spool. Ah! he's out upon the bank! And the specks upon his flank How they shine! Oh! none but anglers know Why my eyes with tears olerflow, As I think of days gone by, Of the rod, the reel, and fly, And the line, James H. Hoadley. FRIDAY A LUCKY DAY. The number of homesteads entered in British Columbia during April was 4,675, or 600 more than double tho number "entered in tho corresponding month last year. , Tho condition of the Japanese wom an, says Mr. Masujuima, before the New York bar, is fully as favorable to her development as that of the woman of America. On the army this year we shall spend $130,000,000; on the navy, $85,000,000. The civil establishment will cost $128,000,000. To the Indians we shall give $13,000,000. The interest on the public debt will be $27,000,000. The oldest collection of moral max ims known is that of the Presse papy rus, dating 2,600 years B. C, recently found in a tomb at Thebes. They havo been translated by Phillippe Vivey, the famous French Egyptolog ist, and rival in excellence the pro verbs of the Hebrews. For high-grade work requiring great precision and excellence there is to be fdund in nearly every leading machine shop in Germany a group of American tools a silent trlhntA 4 the remarkable position held in the world today by the American machine tool's work. A torpedo machine which can be steered and exploded by wire from a warship has been Invented in Pitts burg for destroying submarine craft. Tho submarine leaves a trail of bub bles on the surface, which will indi cate its location to those operating the explosive "chaser." Tho number of crimes increases nec- A Remarknblo Tree. A Los Angeles, Cal., dispatch to the Cincinnati Enquirer says: A wonder ful tree of unknown variety has been discovered in a mountain canyon in a spur of tho San Jacinto mountains, down near the Mexican line. It was discovered by a party of prospectors v. no penetrated tho canyon in search of water. A branch of the tree and its blossoms were brought to this city for classification, but it is un known to botanists in this city. Tho leaves of the tree resemble, in size and shape, the fig leaf, but they are of a- vivid purple color and the under side of the leaf is thickly cov ered with stiff hairs which stand out from the leaf fully half an inch. ThAso nairs are sharp and thorn-like, and vauuy penetrate tbe skin, and when they do so they are poisonous, causing swelling and much nain. Tho blosoms are as peculiar as are the branches and leaves. They are of a rusty red color, and are about two inches in diameter. In shape they are a very good representation of the ta rantula. There is a huge hairy bulb, in shape resembling the abdomen of tho poisonous spider, and there are several chives or stamen correspond ing to the legs of that Insect The most peculiar feature of the plant, however, remain to be told. Whenever one approaches the plant or when tho wind agitates tho branch es of the tree the flowers give off an abundance of perfumeheavy, sick ening and deadly. This perfume has the quality of chloroform, and a few inhalations of the odor produces un consciousness. The prospectors who made the discovery of the plant were rendered insensible upon approaching tho tree to examine it. As the plant seems to have no bo tanical name two names have been suggested by the qualities of the plant itself. One is "Tarantula Plant;" tho other, "Chloroform Tree." . .Friday, it has been discovered by a painstaking and laborious statistician is net tho unluckiest but actually the luckiest day of the week. Taking all the great calamles which befall humanity, the painstaking gath erer of facts has discovered that tho general average gives the title of "luckiest day" to Friday, and that of unluckiest to Monday. The moral is plain. Beware of Monday. In one line alone it has been found that Friday deserves its present ti tle. In railroad accidents Friday heads tho list. So it is wise, if you bo superstitious, to avoid beginning a journey on Friday. The "thirteen superstition" was knocked in the head long ago, and it was to bo supposed that an icono clastic age would "take a punch" at the Friday dread before long. Sir William Churchill was one of the first to discard the superstition. "Friday is my lucky day," ho wrote. "I was born, christened, mar ried, and knighted on "that day, and all my best accidents have befallen me on a Friday." It has not been necessary for a per son to admit being superstitious to acknowledge a preference for begin ning certain things on any other day than Friday. This feeling is inborn in nearly all nationalities except tho Scandinavian. Sir William Churchill's experiences might not be accepted as disproving the general rule against Fridav un dertakings, but the conclusions of tho statistician may have more weight. First he takes the record of assas sinations. In these he discovers that Sunday is pre-eminently the conspic uous day. Wednesday comes next, counting attempts which did not suc ceed as well as attempts which did. Saturday is third, and Monday fourth. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday aro equal. There is a possibility that the per son having in mind such an attack chooses any other day than Friday, in the belief that the day will prove unlucky for him. An examination of tho records of such attacks in the last 150 years has disclosed the fact that the would-bo murderer looks on Fri day as an unlucky day for his at tempt. That might be construed to prove either side of the argument, but it is fair to accept the statistician's conclusion in favor of Friday as tho lucky day. As a side issue, he has discovered something which might be used to bolster up the "thirteen superstition." Of all the assassinations, attempted or acomplished, during the last cen tury ana a naif, 91-3 per cent have fallen on the 13th of the month, A! proper proportion would have been about 31-3 per cent Three famous men, among others, he finds were assassinated on Friday Abraham Lincoln, William McKin ley, and Nasr-ed Deen, shah of Per sia. Three attempts were .made to kill Alexander II. of Russia on Mon days, two to kill Bismarck on Mon-. days, and three to kill Louis Philip pe on Tuesdays. The sailor has a right to consider; Friday his luckiest day if exemptioni from ship-wreck bo considered. It has been a pet superstition of the sea that Friday is the unlucky day lot sailing. This is found to be extraor- dinary, as the number of ship-wrecka occurring on that day of the week ia the smallest To secure this conclusion, the sta tistician examined tho records of tho disasters to British vessels from 1899 to the present day. He found that 24 per cent happened on Thursday, 16 per cent On Saturdav nnd Siinrlnv' 14 nfir I cent on Monday and Wednesday, 11 u m . J JSjAggiiagJIfi twivMjjaB ttik,