' ""1J"1
MAY G, 1904.
The Commoner
8
CuRBeNT Topics
4tf-
i im k - . - . m m -fti " - w- - &. i t . m -' - t cpr- .r- a m ea.
FOR .sixteen years and under eleven postmas
ters general, books have been carried
through the mails as second class matter. The
United States supreme court has ruled that the
department has all along erred in permitting books
to go through the mails as second class matter".
The opinion was delivered by Justice Brown. The
'Associated press report says: "The chief justice
and Justice Harlan united In a dissenting opinion,
which was delivered by Justice Harlan, in which
the course of the postoflice department in chang
ing its own system after sixteen years was re
ferred to as an assumption of legislative authoi
ity. Justice, Harlan said that the department's
order after congress, after a deliberate hearing,
Iiad refused to change the language of the law was
'a mode of amending and making laws whicn
Sought not to be encouraged or approved.' "
FORMER Queen Isabella, of Spain died at
Paris, April 9. Isabella was twice expelled
from Spain and since 1877 she has lived in Paris.
!A writer in the Brooklyn Citizen says: "Maria
Isabella Louisa was born dt Madrid, October 30.
1830. Her father, Ferdinand VII., had been in
duced by the influence of his wife to issue the
pragmetic decree, revoking the Salic law, and
at his death, September 29, 1833, his eldest daugh
ter, then a child, was proclaimed queen, under
the regency of her mother, Maria Christina. "This
event proved the signal for civil warfare, as the
claims of the late king's brother were warmly
supported by certain classes of the people.' The
war of succession lasted seven yearr;, and the
country was desolated by the struggle between
contending Carlist and Christina parties, until
the cortes confirmed the claims of Isabella by pro
nouncing sentence of .exile on Dpn Carlos and his
adherents."
IN 18 4 0.. the. queen regent, according to this
same authority, finding it impossible, to
carry on the government, without making conces
sions to public feeling, for which she was indis
posed, retired to France, resigning her power into
the hands of Espartero, whom she previously had
been compelled to summon to the head of affairs.
For the three years following, while that' consti
tutional leader in great measure was able to direct
her education and training the young queen was
subjected to purer and better influences than sbe
before had experienced. She was declared by a
decree of the cortes to have attained her major
ity October 151843, and took her place among
the reigning sovereigns 'of Europe. Maria Chris
tina returned to' Madrid' -in 1845, anther restora
tion to influence was mai'ked by the marriage of
Isabella II. to her cousin, Don Francisco dAs
sissi, the elder son of her maternal uncle, Den
Francisco de Paula, which took place October
10, 184G.
SACRIFICED to the intrigues of a party
whose interests were based on this uncon
genial union, Isabella II. never knew the bene
ficial influences of domestic happiness. Estrange
ments and reconciliations have succeeded each
other in her married life. The Citizen writer
says: "It deserves special mentioji that during
her reign, Spai,n rose to rank among the great
powers of Europe, while the internal progress of
the country advanced with rapid strides. On Sep
tember 16, 1868, a great revolution broke out in
Spain, starting with the fleet off Cacdz, and grad
ually spreading over the whole peninsula. The
speedy result was the formation of a republican
provisional government under Serrano and oth
ers, at Madrid, and the flight of Queen Isabella
to France. On November 6 of that year her ma
jesty took up her residence in -Paris, where she
remained during her exile, with the exception of
an interval spent at Geneva, during the Franco
Prussian war. On June 25, 1870, she renounced
her claims .to the Spanish throne in favor of her
eldest son, the Prince of Asturias. After eight
Shears of exile she returned to Spain and was re
ceh at Santander by her son, the late King
Alfonso XII., July 19, 1876. Her residence inkor
native land, however, was of but short duration,
for the next year, 1877, she returned to Paris on
a visit. While there she associated with Don
Carlos, the pretender to the Spanish throne, and
an edict was ifesued expelling her from Spain for
life. The late queen, up to a few years ago, was
noted for her cheerfulness and jovialty. In fact,
it was this inherent good humor which made her
,wS8y Vict1im10f raany intrigues and which to a
tir! earlyTife ' WhiCh marlved hcr
AN I N T ERE STING contribution to cur
,, ,Ten polItical literature is made by the
Washington correspondent for the Bostou Advor
tiser, a republican paper. Under date of April 6,
this correspondent says: "Andrew Carnegie has
sent word to President Roosevelt that he need not
worry over the rumors that the moneyed interests
of Wall street are not disposed to chip in to the
republican campaign fund. The founder of li
braries says he stands ready to contribute any
reasonable sum up to $1,000,000, if necessary, to
offset any defections by the rich Wall street men."
CANON HEN SON of Westminster Abbey
has attracted attention because of an ar
ticle written by him and printed in the Contem
porary Review. The London correspondent for
the Associated press says: "In this article, Canon
Henson impugns the inspiration of the old testa
ment, refening to 'its incredible, puerile and do
moralizing narratives,' which are regarded as 'be
ing a pack of lies too gross for toleration Let
ters, interviews and resolutions by church and lay
bodies, denouncing Canon Henson, followed. Sir
Oliver Lodge, the distinguished sicentist, added
fuel to the fire by an article entitled, 'Suggestions
Toward the Reinterpretation of the Christian Doc
trine..' This agitation for. revised Christianity led
by such well known men, whose religious priu
' ciples even their critics do not dispute, threaten?
to stir the church to an unprecedented degree.
Canon Henson declares that 'inspiration' is now
not allowed to certify to the truth of any state
ment in the Bible, 'which cannot be substantiated
at the bar of reason and evidence.' "
IN THE New Testament, Canon Henson find.?
little to offend reason or conscience, saying
"But whether much or little it will have to go
the way of the Old Testament prodigies." The
London correspondent says: "Canon Henson rec
ommends supplementing the reading of the Bible
"in church with 'Christian compositions which have
secured the approval of general acceptance de
claring that indiscriminate reading of the Bible
in public is an extremely perilous proceeding,
and adding that 'the rigid! ty which restricts the
modern English church to canonical scriptures is
ad intrinsically indefensible as it is practically
mischievous.' Despite its misuse, however, Canon
Henson holds that the Bible will continue for all
time to be the 'best manual of fundamental
morality and the best corrective of ecclesiasticnl
corruption,' besides being 'the most effectual
check on the materialistic tendencies of modern
life.' In a striking analysis of the present social
condition, Canon Henson attributes the spread of
anarchy, the ulcer that is eating the vitals of so
ciety, to the 'disappearance over large areas of
civilized life of the religious basis of morality.'
Yet he finds an excuse for these 'nonmbral multi
tudes,' who, 'from the cradle to the grave, have
faced the severe pressure of competition, Lio
squalor of poverty and the miserable exigencies
of unmerited want, and who Inevitably compare
their condition with the ostentation of unearned
wealth, the provision of unchecked luxury and
the insolence of unchastened power. "'
THE Canon further says that "when It is re
membered these cruel, shocking contrasts jio
longer regarded with the dull sort of figmlsilc
ignorance, but in the full light of those doctrines
of equality which are the commonplaces of demo
cratic qualities, it is no wonder that minds ot
thousands are predisposed towards the sophistries
of anarchy. It would be idle to deny that the
credit of the scriptures is seriously shaken in the
nubile mind, nor can it reasonably be doubted
that the tendencies of popular life, as at present
prevailing are in the main hostile to Christian
tradition " In another and similar article Canon
Henson, "dfaling with Christ's resurrection asks.
"Is the faith of the church, in the divine Christ
living, present and active, really bui't on an emp
tv tomb For myself I prefer to believe that no
such intimate vital connection exists between tno
t?uth of Christianity and the traditional notions
of its historical origins." Sir Oliver Lodge asks:
"Now that religion is becoming so much more
real whether the formal statement of some of
the doctrines we have inherited from rn.edia.eval
and still earlier times cannot wisely and Inof
fensively be modified?" and shocks many of bin
co-religionists by declaring that ho regards "the
doctrino of atonement In its concrete form as a
survival from barbarous times," repudiating tho
belief in "an angry God appeased by the violent
death of Christ," and maintaining that human
nature now "is rising to the conviction that wo
are part of nature, and so part of God. In this
sense tho union of divinity is what sclenco somd
day will toll us is tho inner meaning of the re
demption of man." Tho Associated press saya:
"These outspoken utterances have caused pub
lic and private appeals to be made to the Arch
bishop of Canterbury, but so far no action has
been taken. Tho upshot of Canon Henson's boM
declaration that "current and generally accopled
versions of Christian truth are becoming Inade
quate and unsatisfactory," i3 awaited with kecu
interest."
PROFESSOR OLIN of the Iowa colloge
of agriculture says that the value of tho
hens' product of eggs is ?280,000,000. Professor
Olln says that the hens havo beaten the mines
every year in history with tho exception of 1900.
The country's hens lay 52,500,000 eggs a day and
are themselves worth $70,000,000. The consus re
port of 1900 confirms Professor Olln's statement.
It says: "Value of all poultry, June 1, 1000, $Si,
794,996; value of poultry raised in 1899, $136,830,
152; dozens of eggs produced in 1893, 1,293,819,186;
value of eggs produced in 1899, $144,286,158."
THE storekeepers In the west are said by a
writer in the New York Commercial to bo
very partial to tho Indians In tho selection of cufc
tomers. This writer says that tho Indians know
what they want and will pay almost any old price
for It. Mrs. J. I. White lives In Porter, I. T., wheo
her husband runs a store. Porter Is a brand hew
town, and is now in the boom state. There arc a
great many Indians about Porter, and they aie
the store's best customers. When Mr. White went
to tho Territory, his wife says, he supposed the
Indians would demand as low-priced goods as it is
possible to sell, but found out that the redskins
were not just as he sized them up. Tho Indians
want the sportiest things on the market. They
turn up their noses at cheap clothes, and want
loud colors and costly garbs. When Christmas
came it was natural to suppose that the Indians
would also want costly sweets as well as cost'y
clothes, and Mr. White was surprised to find that
tho Indians passed up the high-priced candies
and bought the cheapest kind possible. The mo3t
they could get for the money was the kind they
wanted. The Indians argued that they ato the
candy and no ono saw it, but with tho clothing
it was different, as every one saw tho clothes
they wore. The red man is much more particular
about what he puts on his back than what he puis
in his stomach.
ROBERT B. ROOSEVELT, "the presi
' dent's uncle, was chosen by the New Yqrk
democratic convention to serve as a presidential
elector and thereby hangs a tale. Mr. Roosevelt
declines to accept tha honor and in a letter ad
dressed to Charles F. Murphy, says: "I have
just seen by the public press that I have been
nominated as one of the presidential electors of
the democratic party. I had no notice of the in
tention of the convention to make this nomination
or I should have declined it. 1 now decline the '
honor. While I differ with the president and the
party with which he" is associated as to certain
fundamental principles of public policy, I have
the highest appreciation of him personally and
his unselfish, unquestioned devotion to the public
good. I feel that while he is the candidate of that
party for the highest position in official life, our
family relations and the strong personal affection
which I have for him would make it impror cr
and unbecoming in jnc to take any part In the ap
proaching national compaign."
IN A N - Interview with the New -York corre
spondent for the Chicago Tribune, Mr.
Roosevelt made a statement that will be Inter
esting to democrats generally. The Tribune cor
respondent asked: "What do you think of Judge
Parker as a presidential candidate?" Mr. Roose
velt replied: "I am told ho voted for Bryan.
Now, I cannot support any one who voted for
Bryan. As for myself, I Yoted for MeKinley in
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