Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1904)
rt j "ipupwj , The Commoner MARCH 18, 1904. I UvUtki(iMS f jippcxt fzcwm i I f 1 1 Oi'KVl l v ,rrsi i lv s I II ! ---- t .i t I i.Jv v -tjs3p MANY AMERICANS WILL BE SHOCKED BY tho statement made by Leslie F. Perry in the Chicago Tribune, to tie effect that in 1901, Germany's record-breaking year, that country harvested six times more Irish potatoes than were raised in the United States in 1902, the most productive year in this country. While it is gen erally believed that tho United States leads the S strnrlrl in ovomftliltiff 7LTi TJrtitr rrlnfo nnf flml'. "uwu w 1 1 J m"H3) Alii. X -jr Jijuiutp wuv "" this country stands fifth in the rank of potato growing countries. The figures for the five lead ing countries are given by Mr. Perry In this or der: Acres: Bushels: Germany 1902 8,907,405 1,593,021,076 Bussia 1901 9,273,719 851,9G9,2S0 Austria 1900 4.3u6,240 608,450,6ll2 France 1900 $729,448 450,134,785 United States ....1902 2,695,587 281,632,787 B . HP HE FRENCH COURT HAS GRANTED THE X appeal of Alfred Dreyfus for a revision of his trial at Rennes. The court shows that a suf "iicient showing has been made to justify a re opening of the case for the purpose of establish ing all the doubtful points. The Pans correspon dent for the Chicago Tribune says that the deci sion will be another marked success for Dreyfus and that it is the expectation of the highest gov- u firnmnnf. mithnrltipa that, hfi r.ourls final deci sion will rehabilitate Dreyfus. Labori, Dreyfus' f amwi mm 1r.rm nnn In -ii lnf si I 1 rirvl- innanp fj jLUlXUCi iCjWJ'Gl, VYU3 1" tUUI I, UUl W1U "Ol UilJycUr. l( lor Dreyfus. The TriDune correspondent says that it is a matter of common gossip that rela tions between Dreyfus and Labori have greatly changed since the Rennes trial, which was con cluded in 1899. Labori's friends are reported to have said that Dreyfus treated his lawyer shame fully. f IT BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE charged with - inquiring into the Smoot charges, President Joseph w. Smith of the Mor mon church has admitted that he has violated the law and that most of the npostles of the church have done the same. Mr. Smith admits that for years he has been living with more than one wife and that neither he nor any of his apostles had marlo anv secret of the fact that thev were con- i 77 r, ?,".:," rri. J..," .,:?-, - Biantiy aeiymg me siaxe jaw wuicn punmia polygamy. Mr. Francis M. Lyman, president of the twelve apostles of the -Mormon chuich and the man chosen to be the successor of President Smith, has made admissions similar to those made by Mr. Smith. Mr. Lyman said that he expected to continue polygamist relations. While it has not been shown that Mr. Smith has mpre than one wife, and while be denies having been guilty of polygamy, the Washington correspon dent for the Chicago Tribune says that if Smith. fcr sinri iiia nssop.iar.fis nan rieen retained to nein urv Conotnn HmlfTi rmf nf his HPnf frhpv milrl nnfc . MMJ. MU.U w- -r , J V have succeeded better tnan tney nave done, through their remarkable testimony as to con ditions in Utah. The Tribune correspondent says that the effect on Mr. Smoot's chances of retain ing his seat are already noticeable and that there is now no room to doubt that Mr. Smoot will be fl vl1A i?... 4-t.s finnnfn CXJJttUUU UUU1 IUC OCUU.UC. WHEN PRESIDENT SMITH OF THE MOR mon church was before the senate com- R -mittee. ho admitted that he now has forty-two r v " - . . . . . - ... children, twenty-one noys ana twenty-one gins. On this point he was questioned by .Attorney Tay lor. Mr. Smith said that he has been the father of eleven children since the manifesto of 1890, according to his best recollection. The following dialogue took place: Q. Are you sure of the num- ber? A. I cannot say that I am absolutely sure. Q. Now, I don't want to be impertinent, but isn't it a fact that there have been twenty? A. No, nothing like that. Q. Well, how many by your wife named Alice? Please give the names. A. By Alice there were Fielding, Jesse, and Andrew. The youngest is about four years old. Q. That is the one borri on the day of Mr. Smoot's accession as an apostle, is it not? In reply the witness an swered that it was and proceeded to give the chil dren born to his wife, Maty, since the manifesto. By Mary the children are Silas, James, and Agnes, -he said. "Whose child is Samuel?'' asked Mr. M!'s'iiao. iitIa in tvTo ftr'a " TroairlRnr Smith an- swered. Ho stated ho couldn't give Samuel's ago or the age of his son Calvin, and that by each of his other three wives he had had at loast two children since the manifesto. THE DEMOCRATIC STATE COMMITTEE OF New York met at Albany March 4 and a spirited contest was on between the forces led by David B. Hill and those led by Charles F. Mur phy, of Tammany Hall. Mr. Hill's friends an nounced that they wanted the convention held at Albany. Mr. Murphy opposed this, but was de feated and it was decided that New York's demo cratic convention would be held at Albany, April 18. The friends of Alton B. Parker say that by this action, the judge scored a distinct triumph and they expect that he will be presented to the national convention as New York's candidate. SOUTHERN PAPERS ARE THESE DAYS paying considerable attention to an incident that recently occurred at Springfield, O. On March 6 Richard Nixon, who murdered a police officer, was taken from the jail at Springfield by a mob and shot to death, after which his body was strung up to a telegraph pole and made to servo as a target until the ammunition of tho mob was exhausted. It is pointed out by southern papers that no section of the country has a mo nopoly on mob law and that the negro who kills and destroys in the north in these days is just as likely to be visited with swift punishment as he would had he committed the crime in the south. r ac THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL HAS RULED THAT Venezuela must pay the claims of the three blockading powers first and afterwards the claims of the eight non-blockading powers. This ruling is based on tho ground that by negotiating a pro tocol with Venezuela, the powers acquired a priv ilege de facto position. A writer in the Literary Digest, referring to this decision, explains that the United States, which is one of the deferred cred itors, not only loses its case, but is commissioned by the court to carry out the decision. The pre ferred creditors are Great Britain, Germany, and Italy; the ones to be paid later are the United States, France, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Sweden and Norway, Denmark, and' Mexico. Thirty per cent of the customs collected at La Ouayra and Porto Cabello are to be applied to the liquida tion of these claims, and it is expected that the claims of the first three powers w'll be settled by the end of this year, and the remaining claims within the next five years. The total claims amount to about ?7,000,000. The decision will .make no difference to Venezuela, as it only de termines the order in which the claims are to bo paid. IT IT A PROMINENT OFFICIAL OF THE STATE department is quoted as saying that the de partment is disappointed at the court's decision because it "puts a premium on violence and tends to discourage nations to settle their claims "by peaceful methods of diplomacy." The Literary Digest presents opinions of several newspapers on this decision. The Pittsburg Chronicle Tele graph says: "The award looks like international approval of the use of force, the very thing which The Hague tribunal was created to avoid, by substituting peaceful methods for the adjustment of international difficulties." Tho New York Times thinks that the decision will provide direct encouragement to similar raids, and adds: "Tho decision of The Hague court actually . confers a reward of merit upon three powerful European nations for going to war with a weak little Spanish-American republic, torn by civil convulsions, to collect money claims and damages which had never been subjected to any Impartial examina tion. The court says in effect that by blockading the ports of Venezuela, sinking her gunboats, and bombarding her land, defenses, these three powers followed a course so meritorious as compared with the United States, France, Mexico Spain, and other claimant powers that they are entitled to preferential treatment over the other creditors. Venezuela must first pay them; the creditors who did not make war upon her must take their chances of satisfaction later. Of courso, this is a direct encouragement to Europoan powers to unite in a blockading adventuro as often as they claim to have monoy due them from Spanish American republics." MANY AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, HOW ovor, approve tho award Tho Philadelphia Inquirer says: "As there would probably havo been no payment had there boon no blockading, or, to say tho least, as tho payment was tho re sult of the blockading, the Judicial decision seems to be fair." Tho Providence Journal says: ''The decision of Tho Hague 'ribunal appears to bo lu full accord with tho rights and equities of tho case as revealed by tho facts, which as summar ized in the report of tho decision are that since 1901 Venezuela refused arbitration proposed on several occasions by Germany and Great Britain; that after the war no formal treaty of peace was concluded; that tho operations of tho blockaders were stopped beforo they had recoived satisfac tion for all their claims; that tho question of preferential treatment was submitted to arbitra tion, and that in adhering to tho protocols signed at Washington the blockaders could not have in tended to renounce their acquired rights, nor their privileged do facto position. The govern ment of Venezuela itself had recognized In prin ciple that their claims were well founded, while it had not recognized thoso of the non-blockading powers and until January, 1903, mado not tho slightest protest against tho claims for preferred treatment." CHARLES DICK OF OHIO IS JUST NOW AT tractlng widespread attention because he has been chosen to succeed Mr. Hanna in tho United States senate. While many republican pa pers uphold Mr. Dick they do not seem to do so enthusiastically and yet they all appdar to agree that the now senator is a very skillful politician. The Literary Digest presents soma of the news paper opinions. The Philadelphia Press thinks that "there is overy reason to expect that ho will make a capable and successful senator." The Wyandotte (O.) Union Republican thinks "Iho choice is wise from every standpoint." The Kosh octon (O.) Ago says that "General Dick will fill tho high position with credit to himself and the commonwealth ho will represent." The Dayton (O.) Journal says: "Mr. Dick has distinct ability for the discharge of tho functions of a national senator, His conduct of the last two state cam paigns raised him to that political eminence which he occupies today. He is not only a most effic ient party leader, but Is a well-trained thinker and statesman, as shown by his strong and time ly bearing on current issues in the last two Ohio campaigns." IT JC ON THE OTHER HAND, THE SELECTION of Mr. Dick Is bitterly criticised by some newspapers. The Detroit Tribune, an indepen dent newspaper, says that Mr. Dick's selection as senator is "a disgrace not to Ohio alone, but to tho whole nation." Tho Tribune says that Mr. Dick was one of- the meri who, with Major Rath bone, was "deliberately charged with legislative bribery in connection with Senator Hanna's first election to the senate, and who never took tho trouble to defend himself before tho investigating committee, or call for any form of vindication." "In short," adds The Tribune, "his general re putation is that of one of the most crafty and unscrupulous of machine politicians, for whom his most admiring friends would hardly have the hardihood to claim a single qualification of states manship' The Columbus Dispatch (md.) says the selection of General Dick "has fallen liko a wet blanket upon the people of the great and proud state of Ohio." It adds: "Even if Mr. Dick stood worthily among his fellow republicans of the state as a man of ability and real strength, the spectacle of his being designated for this high office without an" opportunity for the people to be heard from, without a chance for them to con sider the facts as to the merits or demerits of the man, is so strange' and unusual as to require an explanation. . . . But it must be written In truth and all fairness that Mr. Dick not only does not J i 5i , f JkYlUl . J3.C D il"J W, WM.vw v .s,. - r&ut&i