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FRANK A. DAY, private secretary to John A.
Johnson, govornor of Minnesota, speaking
to an Associated Press representative at Omaha
announcod Governor Johnson's candidacy for the
democratic presidential nomination. The Asso
ciated Pross nuotos Mr. Day as saying: "Wo
hoar a great deal of Mr. Bryan as the next dem
ocratic nominee for president, but I want to
toll you now that Minnesota will have a word
to say about this. Minnesota will have a man
before the next national convention in the per
son of Governor John A. Johnson. He is a can
didate, has mbro strength and will continue to
dovolop more strength until the convention
meets, when ho will go before it a formidable
candidate"
o
ATTORNEY GENERAL YOUNG of Minnesota,
a republican, is quoted by the Minneapolis
Journal in roforring to Federal Judge McPher
son's decision as saying: "As it now stands
I am bound by the constitution and laws of this
state, as well as by the federal constitution, to
enforce the law, and at the same time am re
strained by the mandate of a federal court from
doing so. If, when this matter comes to a
hearing on July 8, an injunction is issued against
mo, this sovereign state will have lost its sov
ereignty, and your officers , will thereafter bo
accountable for their actions, not to you by
whom they were elevated to power, but to the
federal judiciary. It must be plain to the mind
Df the common citizen that such practices are
destructive of the very fundamental principle of
popular government. If the states are in this
manner to be deprived of the power to admin
ister their own laws they might as well be de
prived of their power to make them' .
O
PATRONS OF EXPRESS companies who have
felt the exorbitant charges will bo inter
ested in this news item in the New York World:
'The Adams Express company cut a $24,000,000
melon for its stockholders yesterday. The news
was not announced until after the business day
in wall Street had ended, but the cutting will
probably do something today in the way of
knocking holes in the funereal pall which has
overhung the financial district for months. Once
before, in 1898, the Adams Express company
cut a huge melon for its stockholders. That
was a $12,000,000 molon.'just half the size of
the one handed out yesterday. The $24,000,000
vmelon amounts to a 200 per cent dividend dis
tribution on the stock. The capital of the' com
pany consists of 120,000 shares 'which are gen
erally quoted as at a par value of $100. Adams
Is Hrti)nt &tock association which was formed
in 1854. On a basis of 100 the 120,000 shares
have a par value of $12,000,000, but the stock
has a market value of $300 a share, or a total
of $30,000,000. The $24,000,000 melon will be
distributed in the form of collateral trust four
per cent bonds, just as the $12,000,000 was dis
tributed nine years ago. -For each share of
stock a shareholder-will got $200 in bonds
' Announcement of the melon cutting was made
by Levi C. Weir, president of Adams Express
company, in a circular addressed to-the stock
holders." AFTER ALL THE noise and bombast the in
surance management has not materially
changed. .The New York World prints this
story: "The McCall family was again nut in
the saddle in the New York Life Insurance com
pany yesterday by the election as president of
Darwin Pearl Kingsloy, son-in-law of the late
John A. McCall and brother-in-law of John C
McCall, secretary of the company. Though
nominal y George W. Perkins has had nothing
to do with the New York Life for more than a
year it is said he was an important factor iS
the election of Mr. Kingsley, Mr. Kingsley as
fwSVV??; was the managing ra It
the New York Life under the administration of
Alexandor Ti) rw whAVM t, ...l"",iaLUluon or
,i 7 i I .' "u"4 "h yuHteruay succeed
od. Owing to his advanced age, feeble health
and inexperience in insurance matters Mr Orr
Whiff'S? most of his duties to Mr. Kingsley!
While some of the trustees may have doubted
the wisdom of e eking a man Who was so closely
identified with theXMcCall regime, whose mani
fold evils were disposed by the legislative in
surance investigations, there was no opposition
Voiced fit VhRtmvlnv'a VnanHnU- , iV
,,. j u ,v.wm& ui uuy umer can-
didato nominated. It was the retiring presi
dent, Mr. Orr who nominated Mr. Kingsloy' for
the position which places him in control of
the savings of nearly one million policyholders,
and of $500,000,000 of assets. There were
eighteen of the newly elected twenty-four trus
tees present, and all of them voted for Mr.
Kingsloy. Mr. Kingsloy will receive a salary
of $60,000 a year, or more than double the
amount he has been drawing as vice president.
The salary of the president of the New York
Life was $100,000 in John A. McCall's time, but
it was-cut in half after the insurance investigation."
PLAINLY THE New York World is disgusted,
for it says: "Vice President Kingsley was
yesterday elected president of the New York
Life Insurance company. This was to have
been expected. Mr. Kingsley should have been
prosecuted criminally or promoted as the logical
successor to his late father-in-law, John A. Mc
Call. In the lobbyat Albany Kingsley opposed
tho insurance reform legislation. Kingsley was
one of the group at whom Andy Hamilton shook
his finger when ho made his confession. If life
insurance agents are to be permitted to elect
trustees for the policyholders, if the policyhold
ers' money is to be used for that purpose, and
if with their eyes opened by the Armstrong
committee's investigation the policyholders con
sent, they are entitled to have it .their own way.
It is none of the business of the state to act as
guardian over adult male citizens."
ACCORDING TO A statement recently made
public the requests for gifts sent to Miss
.Helen Gould aggregate nearly two million dol
lars a week. An Associated Press dispatch
says:, "They range all the way from, the ask
ing for $15 for a Bet of false teeth to $1,000,000
to start a colony in Cuba. In the week re
ferred to Miss Gould received 231 requests for
money outright. Out. of these 1$9 left the
amount to her good will and discretion. Miss
Gould was asked in that week for $5,00 0,0 00
to help form an anti-saloon league in Idaho.
She received forty-three requests for aid from
churches, twenty-seven for educational institu
tions and twenty-six for libraries. More than
thirty were for help ,for charitable institutions.
Four persons, presumably young women, wanted
Miss Gould to help them buy trousseaus. Eleven
persons wanted pianos and twelve wanted Miss
Gould to buy their inventions. Following are
some of the other wants: Bibles, bicycles, a
farm and three cows, one invalid's chair, enough
arid plows to supply a regiment of soldiers, one
set of teeth, five sewing machines and fifteen
railway tickets."
WHILE SECRETARY TAFT was on his west
x, ,. ,?n,trip Washington dispatches reported
that his friends realized that his presidential
boom had been punctured and that he would
soon retire from the contest. Reporters who in
terviewed the secretary on this point say that
e y SPil6'1, NewsPaper dispatches agree
that Mr. Taft made no progress in his contest
for the nomination on his western trip. Some
say that this is because tho sentiment for Mr
Roosevelt is so strong that his re-nomination
JL I m Jor?od' . "oosevelt republicans say
that Taft has failed because there is a pro
nounced sentiment, not only against a third
term, but against any man in the White House
naming his own successor.
BEFORE the Kentucky republican convention
held xJune 19, a determined effort was
made for a Taft endorsement. Fairbanks sup
porters showed up strong and with others who'
were opposed tp Taft, but with whom Fairbanks
was not the first choice, they were able to defeat
a Taft endorsement. The Associated Press re
port of the Kentucky convention said: "Tlie
republicans of Kentucky in state convention to
night selected Hon. Augustus' E. Wilson, of
Louisville, as their candidate for governor and
adopted a platform without a dissenting voice
The contest between the adherents of Vice Pres
ident Fairbanks and Secretary of War Taft in
committee was warm, but there was but one
report, naming no candidate and merely expres
5iu Preference for a candidate who would
faithfully carry out President Roosevelt's nol
icles.' Augustus E. Wilson has been a resident of
Louisyil e for many years, prominent in politics
nSS AeAa,r ? nas held numerous political
offices. At the afternoon session Judge W H
Holt, of Mt. Sterling, was nominated for tent
porary chairman by acclamation and when after
SnrLT6?? he ,called for the nomination of
permanent officers former Governor. W. O Brad-
w2nanlm"8ly ch0B0n' Permanent chair
man -ataid uproarious cheering. The only ex
citement of the afternoon occurred over a mo
tion which, had it prevailed, would have let
down the harder for the indorsement of a pres
idential nominee and made possible a fight on
S? J?i 0f the conveniion between the follow
1 i the various candidates. The only refer
?3?Ji na"onal affairs in the1 platform is con
tained in the first paragraph, which is as fol
iSws:i .ie aPProve the policies and commend
the ability, integrity and courage of President
ItSLR00S7elt and hls administration and,
2U? thl IIV ?g pFefei:ence fr any candidate
fnl wJSi se,lec"on by the national convention
JHnPesident J on0 In ful1 accorl with those
w Vn? 7h yiU enersetically carry them
out in the Interests of all the people.' "
FORMER JUDGE Seldon P. Spencer of St.
i, hou ,'? ai1 interview given out at Oma
ha, said: I have just returned from Washing
ton. I was there on matters political. At this
t me I am not permitted to give out informa-
tlon officially, but I can say that the president
has. recently considered very carefully the mat
ter of accepting the nomination at the hands of
the republican party for. another term, if he
decides in his own mind that it is the true wish
SL pecTle iW, he d0- so- Secretary Taft
? 1 iVand Prbably will not, announce himself
a candidate. Of course, if President Roosevelt
does not step in, the war secretary will receive
the unanimous support of the next republican
convention However, I think I am in a posi
tion to say that President Roosevelt -has decided
that he can not decline the nomination if it
is tendered him unanimously. He realizes that
his position would be weakened should he at
this time announce himself ready to accept the "
nomination. While in Washington I was in
conference with persons authorized to speak for
the president in this matter, and there is no
doubt in my mind as to what may be ex
pected. I do not believe Secretary Taft's name
will be presented to the next convention "
XN THE CONTEST over Missouri's two-cent
X passenger rate law, Federal Judge Mcpher
son, sitting at Kansas City, assumed jurisdic
tion in -a proceeding brought by the railroad at
torneys to prohibit the enforcement of-the law.
Judge McPherson, who lives in Red Oak, la.,
but-was filling the place of another federal juuge
at Kansas City, held that the state would be
given three months in which to give the two
cent rate a trial for the purpose of determining
whether two cents'is remunerative to the rail
roads. Following are extracts from Judge. Mc
Ptterson's opinion: "That the -fixing of rates by
the legislature is presumptively correct, all con-
S?6; ? hati. tt iS a leSlBlatfve act all agree.
But that such rates must be reasonably renuraer-
S?VL?i n. nge be discussed, The railways
are v entitled to cost and a reasonable profit, and
?? tiair;mI?ded, man diBPutes it. How to arrive
atu and reasonable profit is a most diffi
?Si ?2? fei?' lfc must be ascertained, and
SSn52sePtaln,m!nt vcan only be by Judicial pro
ceedings, and to be determined only by the
ffiSrS;i?2f 5HmatelX. by tne supreme-court of
'?;?!? a-e U cm never be settled in
ronSi Cale mating ticket agents or
.conductors. The supreme court in the end must
S?Hmn?fl0vi?enqo,.y11? the right t0 make the
ultimate findings of fact. No local tribunal, fed-
SS1 fBiate' Can foreclPse tbe fact, as would be
done if the case goes o the supreme court on
writ of error to the state courts, and from the.
state courts there is, no method of review but
by writ of error. The argument that the courts
of the state can decide as to the validity of the
laws of the state as well as can the United States
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