" W TT- -
""JV-
NOVEMBER 6, 1903,
ffc'VOV
made to induce the president to withhold Brls-
tow's report or- o ifcuch of it aa relates to the
former administration."
IN THE DEATH OF WILLIAM E. H. LECKY, ,
the historian, an interesting and well-known
character was removed from the world's stago.
Referring to this man, a writer in the Philadelphia
Public Ledger says: "The three Ustorians of the
jVictorian era, who seem more or less associated
together In the- American mind, are Justin Mc
Carthy, James Bryco and William Leclcy. The
last, and -possibly the most distinguished, meant
decidedly less to popular comprehension here than
McCarthy, with his 'History of Our Own Times,'
and Bryce, with his 'History of the American
Commonwealth.' As a historian Leclcy lacked the
imagination of McCarthy and the narrative gift
of Bryce, but he brought to his work more
learning than either; his researches were always
thorough; he, wrote logically and endeavored to
present truth with self-evident value rather than ,
employ persuasion and the story teller's art. He
was the same age as Mr. McCarthy, and was Mr.
Bryce's senior by .eight years."
W ILLIAM EDWARD HARDPOLE LECKY
was born at Newton Park, within the coun
ty of "Dublin, March 28, 1838. He received his
education from private tutors at Cheltenham col-"
lege and Trinity college in Dublin where he grad
uated in 1859 and where four years later he re
ceived his master's degree. Young Lecky at once
devoted himself to literary pursuits .which, even
as an undergraduate, had found expression. in an
anonymous yolume entitled "Leaders of Public
Opinion in England.'' Referring to this publica
tion, the writer in the Public Ledger says: "This
book, written with much simplicity and directness,-
was widely read in Ireland and England;
its conclusions 'were locally viewed in the' light
of prophecy; in 1871 it was republished with the
author's own name, and probably the last. work
that he did was to write an introduction to, a new
edition, and to augment and revise the original
"text for publication in England and America this
year. Between 1866 and 1875 Lecky wrote ,'much
for the reviews,, principally treating of historical
topics" in, a ne,w light, or discussing, the' funda-;
mental' principles of contemporaneous political'
moyements During this period he published in '
book form the 'History of the Rise an'd Influence
of the Spirit of Rationalism fn Europe' (1861
18G5), and 'History of European Morals from
Augustus to Charlemagne' (1869). The first of
these Works founded his reputation as a scholar
and thinker; the Second confirmed it"
IN 1875," LECKY-BEGAN TO jPUT INTO Co
herent form, admass of material dealing with
the history of the" qighteenth .century. The, Pub-
v He-Ledger writer says' that although England was'
' the central theme the material practically, cov
ered the history pf civilization for the pjerlod,
describing the. forces -which contributed to ' make
the England of; the nineteenth century, whether '
r those forces had their initiative in England Jtself
or' on the continent or in America. Publication
began with two volumes in 1878. "Volumes three-
and four appeared in 1882; five and Six in 1887 and
seven and eight in 1890. On- this work Lecky's
reputation as a historian will undoubtedly rest.
It is called "The History of England in the Eigh
teenth Century." A wide and almost popular
circulatipu Was given Lecky's "Democracy and
Liberty,'' which was published in 1896, and. dealt
,wfth 'political problems -and movements of the
day. It is r impossible to say, however, whether
the book was "most read because of Its. instruc
tive, inspiring nature, or from the fact. that it
" attempted to "show up" Gladstone. vHe .was
elected member of parliament for Dublin univer-
sity in !1896. ' He became prominent in the .coun
cils of 'the' new liberal-unionist party, and was
alert' and' active on the floor of the house Four
years ago he published a philosophical yolume,
rich with impressions and keen observations, and
called it "The Map of Life, Conduct and Charac
ter." Lecky once tried poetry, and publisned a
volume .of verses. It revealed him, however,
rather a master of didactic prosody than 'a. poet.
AN INTERESTING TEST IS BEING -MADE
-by the New York Central railroad. P. W.
Dunnell of West Warren, Mass., is the inventor
of a leather cross-tie that is designed to take the'
place of; sleepers made of wood. A Springfield,
-.Mass,, correspondent" of the New York Mail and
Express, referring to Mr. Dunnell's invention,
l The Commoner.
says: "While studying the art of paper making
Mr. Dunnell learned that thero was a scarcity of
lumber In the country and that the railroads used
annually 120,000,000 ties for ronowals alone. Tics
of steel, Iron, glass, atone and of grass and saw
dust composition had been made, but thero were
objections to all of these. So ho sot to work and
finally hit upon a formula which seems to answor
the purpose In tho manufacture of his crosa-tlo,
which wolghs 125 pounds, tho scrap leathor from
shoo shops is taken into a disintegrator, ground
very fine, subjected to a refining process and
molded. The tension of tho molding machine can
bo so regulated that ties hard enough to take a
spike or ties through which a spike cannot be
driven can bo turned out. Tho three groat essen
tials in a cross-tie are apparently found in this
leather sleeper, for it is guaranteed to hold a
spike, tho fishplate will not splinter it, and it will
not rot. It Is expected to Btand service for 35
years. Samplo ties put down 28 months ago in
the West Springfield freight, yard of the Boston &
Albany road do not show tho least wear. Road
master Sullivan, of the Boston & Albany, says
the spikes hold as well as when first driven In
stead of working loose, as In the wooden ties.
Tho ordinary chestnut tie now In use must be
ieplacod every two years."
C
AN ELABORATE UNIFORM SCHEME HAS
been devised for White hou-.a employes, and
the Washington correspondent for the New York
World says that when this scheme Is in full
swing, the duties and relative importance of ev
ery employe will bo Indicated by his clothes. Tho
opinion Is expressed by this correspondent that If
public ridicule and popular sentiment do not force
the president to either call Secretary Loeb off or
to modify his plans, tho men In tho White house
will blaze with all the glory of the flunkies at
European courts when the social season opens.
Some Idea of this plan' may be obtained by this
correspondent's explanation- that "the uniform of
the eight messengers at the executive offices, who
were the first to be put in livery, is of about tho
same shade of blue as tho ordinary policeman's.
The coat is single-breasted, box style, with shin
ing nickel buttons. The trousers have a stripe
of black braid down .the outside of each leg. The '
ushers arid- doorkeepers tit the executive offices -will
be 'the next to don the- uniforms prescribed
by Mr. Loeb with tho tacit approval of Mr,
Roosevelt, As they .outrank the messengers they
will have double-breasted coats, with two rows
' of shining buttons. The trousers will be the
same in style as those worn by tho messengers
and the cloth will bo of the same color in both
.uniforms. The liveries will show more gay col-
ors as they ascend the scale and be cut In more
fashionable style. The ushers and servants at
the White house will be much more brilliantly at
tired than the men at the executive offices, where
there, are no social functions and nothing but
business to attend to."
IT SEEMS THAT THE UNIFORM SCHEME
established by Mr. Roosevelt's secretary is
not a new ' one; The Washington correspondent
to the New" York World says: "John Addison'"
Porter, secretary to President McKinloy, was an
other who tried to make the White house look
like a foreign court. He ordered Captain Loef
fier, the president's doorkeeper, who is an officer
in the army, to appear in h!s dress, uniform. Mr.
McKinley spotted Loeffler when he opened tho
door the first time and asked why he was in uni
form. Captain Loeffler referred him to Secretary
Porter, who said he thought it would look more
dignified to have all of the attendants uniformed.
Mr. McKinley Was very angry. 'This is a republic
said Mr. McKinley, 'not a monarchy. Send Loef
fler Tiome to change his clothes Until Mr. Loeb's
advent no one since then has had the courage to
suggest uniforms at the White house'
scvac
ATTORNEY GENERAL KNOX HAS DE
livered an opinion in the Llttaiier case. The
attorney general holds that "no part of the con
sideration paid by the government is subject to a
demand for repayment?" and it Is therefore taken
for granted- that the proceeding against Mr. Lit
tauer will be dropped. The Washington corre
spondent for the New York Times, referring to
the attorney general's opinion, says: "Secretary
Root asked the department of justice whether any
further action was called for on the part of the
government, and upon this point the attorney
general says: 'By "any further action" you mean,
I presume, criminal action. There is no occasion,
however for me to determine whether the trans-
7
action called in question, and which you aay fctf
the only one whoroln there. Is any evidence A
violation of law, presents sufficient ground for
criminal prosecution under section 3739 of tho re
vised statutes, slnco tho statutory period of limi
tation within which such a prosecution could b
brought elapsed moro than a year ago. No useful
purpose, thoroforo, would bo subserved by such
determination. An affirmative opinion could not
bo followed by a vindication of tho law; a nega
tive ono might bo regarded as. an afllrmanco of Urn
validity and proprloty of methods of dealing with
the government In cases whero, nfter all, the form
of tho transaction la not to be so much considered
as Its substance "
r it
THE ISTHMIAN CANAL QUESTION WILL
vory soon bo brought to public attention
and It Is probable that tho entlro question will bo
fought out ngnln on the old claim that the Nlcnr
aguan route should bo adopted. The Washington
correspondent for the Now York World Js au
thority for tho Uatoment that a movement Is on
foot whereby Colombia will declare void the law
extending to tho Panama Canal company tho
franchise from 1894 to 1910 and confiscate tho
property with tho Idea of turning it over to a syn
dicate headed by Germans. It Is pointed out that
In that event, Franco probably would Insist that
tho oxtonslon bo recognized and might adopt co
ercive measures against Colombia. Tho Hay
Horran treaty recognizes tho validity of the ex
tension and the administration, it Ik said, could
not object to any pressuro exerted on Colombia by
France. At tho same time, It Is explained that
there would be a powerful element l the senate
which would llko to see the franchise forfeited so
that this country could deal direct with Colombia.
It seems to be taken for granted that President
Roosevelt has no disposition to cxcrelso his pre
rogative In making a choice as to routes, and It
is predicted that Sfyialor iMorgan of Alabama will
Introduce a resolution calling upon the- president
to discharge his duty under the Spooner law and
to immediately proceed to tho construction of
the canal along the Nlcaraguan route.
i
AN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF THE
way In which tho British museum was es
tablished Is given by' a writer in tho Philadelphia
Public Ledger In this way: "The British museum
Is to be extended at a cost of $1,000,000 which
will not bo raised by lottery like the $500,000 with
which that vast treasuro house was begun. Of
that lottery, authorized in 1753, tho Archbishop
of Canterbury, the lord chancellor and tho speaker
of the house of commons were tho managers and
trustees. Tho amount was $1 ,500,000, raised by
$15 tickets, to provide fl,000,000 for prizes and
?500,000 for the purchase of tho Sloane collections
and tho Harlelan library and for cases, house
room and attendants. The operations of ono
'Peter Leheup, Esq, says the London Chronicle,
made the lottery notorious. He fraudulently 'cor
nered' tho tickets, 0,000 or so of them passing
by his aid to a Sampson Gideon, who sold them at
a premium. An Innulrv. instituted r tho hmmn
of commons, resulted In the prosecution by the
attorney general of Leheup. The penalty was a
fine of 1,000, but this was by no means exces
sive, as 40,000 was Leheup's estimated profit
from the fraud."
ac
ANOTHER INTERESTING TOPIC OF DIS
. cusslon in England these days Is the work
that Is being done by. the recently appointed homo
secretary, tho Rt Hon. Aretes Akers-Douglas. A
cablegram to the Chicago Chronicle, under date
of London, September 5, says: "In his capacity
as head of the department of the government
which deals with criminals, Mr. Akers-Douglas has
just laid before parliament a scheme regarding
the treatment of wrong-doers which he' hopes
will solve a problem that has been for years agi
tating the minds of his predecessors. He is go
ing to try and reform tho criminal classes so as to
make them both within and without tho prison
useful citizens. Hitherto prisoners, Irrespective of
their antecedents, who were sentenced to penal
servitude; that is", any term Involving confine
ment for ovr two years, were put to such un
profitable occupations as picking oakum or break
ing stones. The secretary feels that all prisoners
are not hopeless cases, hence his new scheme,
Ydung men serving their first period are to bo
kept under special observation and if it is found
that the criminal instinct is not strongly developed
In them they will be taught some useful trade
whlch'may help them to become respectable citi
zens on their release."