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WRITING- In a recent number oftho "Forum,"
Ossian H. Lang says that' the common
school is unique In tho world's agencies of civili
zation; that it Is above everything else the most
tangible expression of the honesty and intensity
of our national belief in the universal education of
tho people. Mr. Lang says 'that tho Individual
schools reveal more than anything else the amount
of the quality of the solicitude of the several com
munities for the educational welfare of their chil
dren and ho adds! "Tho school can not remain
below the standard of efficiency which the com
munity supporting it has agreed upon as a mini
mum. Nor will a school" be able to rise much be
yond a point at which it can sustain Itself by
public opinion. In judging tho character of in
dividual schools in the United, States, this condition
must be borne in mind. From this point all criti
cism must proceed, and to this it must return."
THE coloring given to individual schools by the
purely local characteristics and aspirations,
according to Mr. Lang,, has not been able to obscure
to the seeing eye the underlying great national
thought. He adds: "All the schools are, in vary
ing degrees of Intensity and intelligence, local ex
pressions of the one unifying ideal of universal
education. In their development, they are becom
ing more and more the principal culture forces
for expanding the social and industrial usefulness
of every individual unit of our democracy to its
highest possible degree. The philosophical idea
of the foundation of these schools, then, furnishes
the key to whatever our national life reveals of
educational enthusiasm and pre-eminence in in
dustry and commerce. The United States are a
land of practical attitude and action rather than
of theorization. American philosophy is not yet
reduced to a logical system. But to the discerning
mind it is visibly incarnated in forms of life, in
institutions and the historic trend of popular
movements, The common school is stfch an in
carnation. It is probably the purest embodiment
of American aspirations. The logical develop
ment of the realization reveals the irresistible
iorce behind the institution."
IT IS further pointed out 'by 'MrVLang that the
common school is yet in its Infancy; 'especially
in the east. He explains: "Out west, its vigorous
development!, is revealing more closely its trend in
practical . phases. But east and west and north
and south, everywhere the national hopes incor
porated in it are making themselves felt with
steadily growing intensity. Again and again the
Mosely reports speak of the pride American com
munities take in their schools. Mr. Jephson found
that 'the pushing people out west, even amid all
their immediate wants and the stress and strain
of getting a living in new and unsettled lands, did
not. forget to provide 'gQOd schools. Some of the
best schools visited "by the Mosely commission were
in the west. ' Oklahoma is singled but for a special
word of praise i as fan object lesson in American
ways.' because' .notwithstanding the rush and
bustle of 'settling a new territory, the schools had
received careful consideration. 'Some of the roads
may be unpaved, some of the streets not in very
first rate order, but the schools are there, and the
whole machinery of primary school, high school
and university is there, all free to the children of
this new community.' Mr. Anderson says he was
specially struck with the discovery that 'the people
as a whole believe In the absolute necessity of a
good, sound, general education as one of the prin
cipal factors in the building np of a successful
state.' To this belief he ascribes the.popular. will
ingness to contribute without stint to the' build
ing and equipment of the common school."
T UDGE PARKER'S promise that in the event of
I hfg.election he would-, not be a candidate for. a
second -ter, has brought forth considerable" dis--cussion.
. Pervy. Belmont, in axnewspaper interview
discussing the attitude of the south toward-Judge-Parker's
candidacy, says: "Judge Parker's state
ment that if elected he will not bo a candidate for
another term is commended .because 'Mr. Tilden
made the same' pledge in his letter of acceptance,
and gave asa controlling reason that the civil
service of theJnatibn had grown to be so enormous
that It could not bo reformed if the president was
permitted to plot for a renomlnatlon."
REFERRING to elmont's Intorvtcw, tho New
York World ventures the opinion that some
careless statesman must have presented this frag
ment of history to JMr. Belmont. The World
directs attention to page 372, volume 2, of "Tho
Writings and Speeches of Samuel J. Tilden,"
edited Dy John Bigelow. In this work, it is found
that -what Mr. Tilden actually said in his lottor of
acceptance was this: "Whilo much may bo ac
complished by these, methods, It might encourage
delusive expectations If I withheld hero tho ex
pression of my conviction that no reform of tho
civil service in this country will bo complete and
permanent until its chief magistrate is consti
tutionally disqualified for re-election, experience
having repeatedly exposed tho fultlllty of solf
imposed restrictions by candidates or Incumbents."
IN THIS connection it is suggested by the editor
of tho World that: "Mr. Tilden was too ex
perienced a, politician not to know that If ho were
elected president he would be renominated by his
party, and that he would accept the renomlnatlon.
No president liad ever refused a second term, and
Mr. Tilden had faith .enough in human nature to
believe that none over would so long as a second
term was In conformity with political custom and
with the constitution. His plan was not to sub
stitute new practices for old traditions, but to
strike at the root of things by Imposing a constitu
tional obstacle to a re-election."
THE republican platform for 1904 contains the
following plank: "We favor such, congres
sional action as should determine whether by spe
cial, discriminations the elective franchise in any
state has been unconstitutionally limited, and if
such is the case we demand that representation in
congress and in the electoral colleges shall be
proportionately reduced as directed by the consti
tution of the United States."
IT IS now pointed out that in their speeches of
acceptance, Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Fairbanks
wholly Ignored this plank. The New York World
directs attenti6n to the fact that the New York
Sun, which is just now engaged in cordially sup
porting Mr. Roosevelt, says: "Intelligent citizens
of the northern states, to whichever political party
they belong, have not been surprised that southern
states have taken heroic measures to prevent tho
negro domination which in so many districts would
be involved in leaving all negroes free to exercise
the franchise. That nothing else could have been
expected from the whites is understood and ad
mitted at the north.' ":,.
REFERRING to the republican platform plank
herein quoted, tho Brooklyn Eagle, says:
"That impish cruelty and folly was the work of
Henry Cabot Lodge Mr. Roosevelt's nearest friend.
Mr. Roosevelt was unaware of it, is opposed to
it and: wa3 significantly silent about it In" his -speech
df acceptance. But It is In the platform,
Mr. Roosevelt is in the field and Mr. Lodge Is In
the saddle."
A' FRENCH statistician recently presented some
. interesting figures showing the gain in the
population of the leading countries of the world
during the last half century. These figures follow:
iv years, du .years.
232.6
10.7
57.0
52.1
82.0
United States ,....22.2
France ; .-
Germany ....., ' V " !!"
United Kingdom 10.0
Russia in Eurone .....16.4
India '"A'lt ':".
B&giumi.- .. 12.3 61.4.
COMMENTING upon these figures a writer in
., the Minneapolis Times says: "There is
no surprise In tho showing made by the United
States, for, with, the exception of India, we have
drawn more or less heavily upon all thp countries
named and two or three others. Our gala, by
immigration has. been their loss and some of us
may bo surprised to find that our percentage of
increaso for the decade la no greater than It la,
as compared with that of Germany or Russia.
Bear in mind, however, that thoro has been a groat
docreaso In emigration from Germany in tho last
fifty years. Franco has been almost at a stand
still for tho last ten years, but Gormany and Rus
sia have made fair progress, and tho 10 per cent
Increase of the United Kingdom is not a bad show
ing, all things considered. With these figures an
a basis statisticians believe the day Is not far
distant when the. homo market will absorb our
agricultural product, but 'far distant' is a lather
indefinite term in history. We have a vast area
of unoccupied lands, of which a large proportion
will bo made productive, antt highly ho, in time.
Even old farming regions are not cultivated to
thoir full capacity by any means, and as population
increases there will be a constant increase in their
production by reason of closer cultivation and tho
taking up of territory now practically untilled oven
in the eastern and middle states. Our population
will overtake our agricultural output some day,
but tho distance of that day is an indeterminato
matter. As to some staples It will come earlier
than to others."
THE Japaneso government has found a novel
use for post cards. A writer in thc-Man-cnester
Guardian says: "Realizing, that for va
rious reasons, the soldier on campaign may not
have leisure or opportunity to write homo to his
family, the military authorities have supplied to
each army a sufficient number of post cards, ready
printed, to which the soldier has only to affix his
name, or, more exactly, his seal, each Japanese
soldier carrying one with him as part of his out
fit. On all the cards the same message Is printed:
"This is to let you know that I am alive and w,ell.
I can not give you my address, not knowing where
I shall be tomorrow; but your letters will reach
me some time or other if you reply to the place
the name of which is printed in the postmark.
Greetings to my family and friends." This is an
idea which might well bo copied by other nations.
At once practical and humane, it would cost little
and save many thousand of people from unneces
sary anxiety and pain."
IN HIS REPORT for the year ending June 30,
tho pension commissioner estimates the num
ber, of soldiers and sailors that served the United
States in its various wars to be as follows:
Revolution .-....'. -184,038
War of 1812 286,730
Mexican war 78,718
Vdian wars 83,993
iVil war .' 2,213,365 '
Spanish war '.. 312,000
Philippines and China 146,151
Total ..... 3,304,995 .
The total amount paid in pensions to , these
soldiers and sailors has been $8,179,717,161.
During the past year the amount paid for pensions
was $141,093,571 and the number of pensions on
.the rolls at tho end of the year was 994,762. In
the previous year there were 996,545 pensioners and
the payment aggregated $137,759,654, so that dur
ing the past year the number of pensioners de
creased 1,783 while the payments increased $3,333,
917. The pensioners are classified as follows;
Pensioners.
War of the Revolution 3
War of 1812...... 19
Indian wars . . ....... 5,886 -
War with Mexico $...:. 13,035
Spanish war ......,, 16;S27;
Regular establishment ,.". , .. 12,724
Total ...; T 994,78
DURING the past year, as is pointed out by the .
writer is-th RocktefKYPotrKrpr ,- Co
moro than 268,000 pension cases ware adjudicated
and 153,900 pensions were issued. The Post-Express
writer adds: "The number of deaths of
pensioners during the year was 31,728, of whom
30,071 were volunteers of the civil war. The pem
sion commlsisoner says tkat there will be about .
47,000 deaths this year and tkat losses to the noils
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