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The Commoner.
llt 1904.
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CLEVELAND, DAUGHTER OF
ier resident Cleveland, died recently at
5' Miss Cleveland, who was about fitteen
ce, was the eldest of the Cleveland chu
te Philadelphia Inquirer unquestionably
iblic sentiment when It says: 'A dozen
the newspapers were filled with the
'Baby Ruth,' and when the Clevelands
le white house the second time there
babies to prattle in the historic halls.
rer seems so heartrending as when it
the young girl just on the verge of wo-
f, with all the beautiful things of life
liter. Death is never welcomed (m spite
fessed faith) and always abhorred. In
In question wo have another confirmation
ivincr of Horace: 'Pale death with equal
nocks at the hovels of the poor and the
:of kings.' There will" be tears and sym-
io out toward the bereaved of Princeton in
lured flow."
a?
AC ATTENTION HAS RECENTLY BEEN
attracted to two judicial proceedings, seri-
L involving two members of congress. At
la, the federal grand jury indicted Senator
Ich, republican, on several counts, one being
alleged acceptance of a bribe, paid by a cau-
te for postmaster in return for Senator Diet
's influence. Another indictment was based
Senator Dietrich's renting to the govcrn-
Lt for postoffice purposes a building, contrary
ie federal law. Another indictment charged
iuietiicn ana ivur. x'lsuer, mu pusiuiuami- il
tings, Neb., with conspiracy. A demurrer to
conspiracy indictment was promptly sustained,
the proceedings with respect to the bribery
ptment were commenced. After United States
trict Attorney Summers had, in his opening
foment to Ahe jury, stated that Mr. Dietrich,
jciating then as governor of Nebraska, was
iteu to tne omce or senator on marcu so, j.yuj.,
took the oath of office on December 2, 1901,
Dietrich's attorneys raised the point that
Dietrich was not senator until he had formal-
kaken the oath of office, and that the offense
reed v having been committed hetween March
frftnd December 2, at a time when Mr. Dietrich
fc .really not senator, although the records dis-
f& that he had drawn pay as senator, mat
Hetrick could not be held under that indlct-
United States District Judge Manger and
id States Circuit Judge Van Davanter pre-
kat this trial. They listened to arguments-on
lnt raised by Mr. Dietrich's attorneys, ana
following day sustained the point and in-
tho jury to return a verdict of not
f. wraSTILT OP THIS RULING IN THE
Imintrinh case, bv the federal court, the
ItWfiStates district attorney dismissed other
igs against wr. uietncn anu aiso tue
; against Postmaster Fisher. In Ne
blic opinion seems to bo practically all
ls soon as the indictments were Drought
!r. Dietrich, ho repeatedly announced
nlrl meet the issue sauarely. and many
e surprised when he resorted to tech
Many of his friends, of course, seek to
i. but it seems to be understood that
nion in Nebraska very generally con
rrt. Soon after beincr released by the
"court. Mr. Dietrich and his friends an-
d that he -would .sk for an investigation
United States senate, but Washington (as
say that in this effort Mr. Dietrich win
HH-.l or no encouragement, republican
s very generally agreeing that this Is one
several republican aitairs in which "let
;h alone" should -be the controlling
'wAMHHP
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tTHB VERY DAY WHEN MR. DIETRICH
rm discharged1 In the federal court in
fnimni rvynprnpcimnn nrlires wnfl convicted
deral court at New York. Mr. Drlggs
irged with having useu mb lnuueuce an u.
man to secure for indiviuuais certain
rlth the government. It developed in
r that. whatever Mr. Drlggs aid was
lis election to the lower house, but
nil 4. when his official term began.
fudge ruled that although the offense
was committed before Mr, Drlggs' official term
began, ho was amenable under tho law, because ho
was indicted under tho federal statutes which
provides: "Every member of congress who di
rectly or Indirectly takes and receives, or agrees
to receive any money, property or other valuablo
consideration whatever after his election as such
member, for his attention to, service, action, vote
or decision on any question, matter, cause or pro
ceeding which may then bo ponding or may by
law, or under the constitution, bo brought before
him in his official capacity, or in his place as
such a member of congress shall be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor." It will bo observed that In
this section, it is provided that the "member of
congress who directly or indirectly takeB ani re
ceives or agrees to receive any money, proporty
or other valuablo consideration whatever, after
his election as such member" shall be deemed
guilty.
THERE IS THIS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
the Dietrich case and tho Driggs case: .Mr.
Dietrich was indicted under the section preceding
the one" under which Mr. Driggs was indicted.
Mr. Dietrich was indicted under tho section pro
viding punishment for a member of congress who
accepts bribes for doing certain things. Mr.
Driggs was indicted under tho section whi"h pro
vides that any member of congress who "after
his election" accepts money for his influence is
amenable. Many lawyers think that the inter-,
pretation which Judge Van Davanter made of the
particular section under which Mr. Dietrich was
indicted was good law, and it is pointed out by
these that the result of the Dietrich trial would
suggest to the national lawmakers tne advisabil
ity of amending the section under which Mr.
Dietrich was indicted and acquitted, in order that
it may conform to the section under which Mr.
Driggs was indicfed and convicted. ,
a? '
ALTHOUGH NEWSPAPER OPINION
throughout the country generally condemns
Senator Dietrich and in Nebraska public opinion
is very generally against him, men who are in a
position to know freely predict that in spite of
the methods to which he was required to resort
in order to escape from tho clutches of tho fed
eral court, Mr. Dietrich has sufficient strength
with the national administration to secure tho
political, scalp of United States District Attorney
S'ummers. At this time, Mr. Dietrich is bending
all of his energies in order to persuade Mr. Roose
velt to discharge tho man who prosecuted him,
and Washington correspondents very generally
agree that the probabilities are that Mr. Dietrich
will succeed in these efforts. In spite of the fact
that Mr. Dietrich seems to have lost none of his
influence or standing with tho national leaders of
his party, it is generally admitted that in Ne
braska the republican party has suffered a severe
blow because of the Dietrich affair. Mr. Dietrich
was admittedly chosen as the republican nominee
for governor by the railroads of the state, and ho
has been known as a partisan of tho Buriiu&ton
and Missouri railroad, and as such, was chosen to
the United States senate when the two railroad
factions in Nebraska came to -divide tho senatorial
honors. The representatives of the B. & M. have
been very active in Mr. Dietrich's defense and
former United States Senator Manderson, who Is
tho chief attorney for the B. & M. in Nebraska,
has written for the public prints a letter in which
he defends Senator Dietrich not only on the merits
of the case, but also justifies Mr. Dietrich's resort
to technicalities.
HP JT
THE ROCHFORD, ESSEX, ENGLAND, COR
respondent for the Baltimore Sun says that
"the whisper court" Is an interesting observance
held annually at that place under the superin
tendence of tho steward of the -manor. According
to this correspondent, the business of the court is
carried out at midnight in the open air; the ab
sence of a tenant is punishable by a flne of double
his rent for each hour ho fails to be m attend
ance. No artificial light except a firebrand is per
mitted and the proceedings are recorded by means
of one of the embers of the brand. The roll of
14 tenants is then called over and answered to in
a whisper and then they kneel down and swear
allegiance. Very many years ago the lord of tho
manor, after an absence from his estate, was re
turning homo by night. On tho way ho accidental
ly heard some of his discontented tenantry plot
ting his assassination. Thas warned ho returned
home by an unexpected route. Then he ordered
that each year his tenants should assemble at tho
samo time to do him homage around a post which
ho erected on tho spot where tho plotters mot.
IT JC
IT IS POINTED OUT BY THIS SAME CORRE
spondont that "tho castor whip tenure" is
oven more remarkable. This correspondent ex
plains that on Palm Sunday, a servant from tho
Broughton estate attends service at Castor church,
England, with a now cart whip, and, after crack
ing it three times in tho porch, marches with It
to tho manorial seat. When tho clergyman bo
gins the sermon he quits his seat with his whip.
A purso containing 30 pieces of silver is fixed on
the end of tho leash, and, kneeling on a cushion,
ho holds the purse suspended over tho head of tho
clergyman until the end of tho sermon. At tho
conclusion of tho service th) purso and whip are
left at tho manor house. At Clingford, in Essex,
an estate Is held by a very curious condition. '
Whenever it passes into new hands tho owner,
with his wife, man servant and maid sorvant,
comes on horseback to tho parsonage and pays his
homage by blowing three blasts upon a horn. Ho
carries a hawk upon his fist and his servant a
greyhound in a slip, both for the use of tho rector
for that day. Ho receives a chicken for tho
hawk, a peck of oats for hiB horso and a loaf of
bread for his greyhound. After dinner the owner
blows three more blasts and then with his party
withdraws from tno rectory.
IN THE MOUNTAIN DISTRICTS OF NORTH
Carolina, near Waynesvlllo, a remarkatlo
tree was recently felled. Tho Charlotte, N. C,
correspondent for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
says: "This treo has an estlmatod value of $1,,S00,
and contains 25,000 feet of first-class lumber. It
Is worth more than tho average farm in this sec
tion, In which it was cut A part of the tree has
been engaged for exhibition at tho St. Louis ex
position this year and will be placed among tho
North Carolina lumber exhibits. The tree Js a
curly poplar and 12 horses were required to haul
away the butt cut, which was 12 feet long. The
lowest limb was 80 feet from the ground. Tho
wood will bo used as veneering and will be
shipped to eastern markets for sale."
it
REFERRING TO THE DIVIDEND AND
interest disbursements paid In January, 1904,
by the leading railroad and industrial companies,
local banks, trust companies, and traction corpor
ations, together with the interest payable on the
government debt, a writer in the New ork Jour
nal of Commerce says that these disbursements
will reach a total of $134,000,000. This writer
says that "this sum is about $2,000,000 greater
than tho total payments of January, 1903, but a
decrease compared with the semi-annual payments
in July last, which wore $136,000,000, the highest
on record. Interest payments by railroads would
have shown a much heavier inciease had it not
been for what seems to be a general effort to
make payments on new issues falling due at somo
other season of the year, this being done to avoid
disturbance to tho money market."
s. ar
AT' MANILA RECENTLY SEVERAL MEN
were condemned to death on the charge or
murder. Tho garrotte was used on four of tho
condemned, one being put to death outright, an
other dying later, but with the remaining two the
instrument of death failed to work successfully.
Tho Washington correspondent for the Chicago
Tribune says that the war department has re
ceived reports of these executions and attempted
executions. The Tribune correspondent says:
"The Official had practiced with the strangling
machine until he thought he was perfect. Tho
pressure was applied to tho cords for eight min
utes, and then the bodies were left in the ma
chine, according to custom, for four hours. Af
terwards they were removea to a nearby church,
physicians made out death certificates, and tho
court affixed its seal. Then the relatives were