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JANUARY 3; 1908k
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KLa freo schoor r the education of poor
children. A short time previous to receiving
the royal 'letters patent,' or in 1611, Sutton had
purchased the Howard house, as the Charter
House (now one of London's most notable public
Bchools), was then called, for 13,000. It was
this old Charter house, once the homo of the
Carthusian monks, that the philanthropist de
signed for his home for the aged as well as a
school for the young. But before anything
further was done in the matter Thomas Sutton
7iri ln hls wiI1 was a cla"se which provided
5,000 for 'the building of mine intended hos
pital, chappie and school.' Sutton dying with
out fully establishing his institution or without
perfecting the corporation which should control
It, a nephew, Simon Baxter by name, brotight a
suit for trespass against the then occupants
of Charter house, by virtue of its purchase by
Thomas Sutton, and also to set aside the bequest
of 5,000 in the will. Among the counsel for
the plaintiff, was Francis Bacon, Lord Vefulam,
who after the adverse decision to the client sug
gested to the king that the whole Sutton estate,
as he needed the money, might well be conveyed
to him for his personal use. The plaintiff con
tended, among other tilings, that there was no
'incorporation' in the letters patent of the king,
and that, even admitting the incorporation, there
was 'no foundation' made by Sutton. . The dis
tinguished counsel, Lord Bacon, also main
tained that 'the place of every corporation should
be made certain. For without a place or loca
tion, there can not be any incorporation.' The
arguments were heard by a bench of eleven jus
tices in the exchequer chamber. Among these
judges was Chief Justice Edward Coke, of the
court of common pleas, who gave the decision,
and who sustained the will of Thomas Sutton
as well as all of the decedent's transactions in
reference to his intended hospital while in the
life. Also 'it is not requisite,' said Justice Coke,
that there always be truth in the name of the
corporation either of a hospital or any other
body politic' This decision likewise says, 'a
thing which Is not in esse, but in apparent ex
pectancy, is regarded in law.' 'A corporation
aggregate of many also said Justice Coke, 'is
Invisible, immortal and rests only in Intend
ment and consideration of the law. Corpora
tions can not commit treason nor be outlawed.
For they have no souls.' "
EEAR ADMIRAL Willard H. Brownson, chief
of the bureau of navigation, created some
thing of a sensation in naval circles by sending
his resignation to the president. It was quickly
accepted. It later leaked out that for some time
trouble has been on ln the navy department.
The Washington correspondent for the Chicago
Record-Herald says: "Investigation tonight,
however, lifts the veil of mystery without mini
mizing the sensation in the slightest degree.
Within the last few weeks there has been a
radical difference of opinion between the presi
dent and the bureau of navigation. The presi
dent wanted Surgeon Charles E. Stokes put in
command of the-hospital ship Relief, now at the
Mare Island navy yard. The bureau threw up
its hands at the thought of any except an officer
of the line being placed in command of any
vessel connected with the navy. And when it
became apparent that the president would have
his way, as he usually does, Admiral Brownson
up and resigned rather than sign the order as
the president directed. Surgeon General Rixey
originated the idea of having a hospital ship join
the battle ship fleet under direct command of a
medical officer. Brownson protested that a staff
officer had no business in such a position of com
mand and that such an appointment would be
subversive of discipline to an alarming extent.
The president sustained Surgeon General Rixey.
Admiral Brownson would not stand for it and
wrote his resignation with hot ink and a smok
ing pen. Commander Cameron" McR. Winslow
has been selected to succeed Admiral Brownson
as chief of the bureau of navigation. Com
mander Winslow, who will not attain his pro
motion to a captaincy until next month in the
regular course of events finds himself with the
rank of rear admiral tonight by virtue of his
new assignment."
THE DENVER News says: "The latest de
velopment is a 'personal letter campaign'
conducted by the people of Minnesota upon' the
people of Colorado by friends of Governor John
son of that state. Advance copies of the per
sonal letters reached Denver yesterday. If you
have a friend in Minnesota you'll probably get
a letter. It will not be exceedingly pressing
The Commoner.
rl1ioflyn2nHiDqUrf roS"Mns the position of Colo
fhl, aSuh0 !tot0 wIth enormous power gained
through its selection as the place for the holding
Likolv ifvnfnt D' Th,B fir8t lottor la 1.
Likely If you do not reply to it or your roply
is not favorable to Governor Johnson you Till
nlof Ski- nmtn,ess M far as il hns developed it
niobably will bo continued industriously. A
large number of Denver men roport having ro
il? m! ette,rS tr?m frIondo and acquaintances
in Minnesota. Starting.ith tho extension of
compliments upon DenveYfcolcction no the con
vention city, theso letters proceed with tho main
object, an offort to determine tho chances for
Governor Johnson in tho state thnt holds such
a commanding political position. Following is
one of the letters received from St. Paul:
Dear -: it is proper that congratulations
be extended to Denver and Colorado upon secur
ing the next democratic national convention, to
bo held in your auditorium. Tho people hero
are very much interested in having Governor
Johnson of Minnesota nominated as tho demo
cratic candidate for the fall presidential cam
paign. From your close association with the
newspaper men you are In an excellent position
to judge of tho sentiment ofr tho people of Den
ver and tho state toward tho different candi
dates. What seems to bo the sentiment ln Den
ver and tho state toward Bryan? Governor
Johnson has made a very good impression upon
the heads of tho democratic party, and we feel
that, if given a boost by tho people of Denver
and the state of Colorado, his chances for secur
ing tho nomination are most excellent. What,
in your opinion, are tho chances of securing this
co-operation ofj Denver and Colorado for Gov
ernor Johnson? An articlo In the Pioneer-Press
of December 13 shows how favorably Governor
Johnson was received on his recent eastern visit.
I shall be interested in receiving your opinion of
tho political situation.' "
THE TROUBLE in tho American navy is be
coming serious. A Washington dispatcli
carried by th.o Associated Press after the an
nouncement of Admiral Prownson's resignation
follows: "Not since tho day preceding the pass
age of the personnel law ten years ago has the
feeling between lino and staff of the navy been
so acute as it is today as a result of the refusal
of Admiral Brownson to transmit orders from
his superior officer, the president of the United
States, assigning a naval surgeon to command
vessels in the navy. In the case of the person
nel act, it was Mr. Roosevelt, then assistant sec
retary of tho navy, who acted tho part of pacifi
cator and succeeded in bringing the two warrfng
factions together in support of the legislation,
which, for a decade past, though a makeshift,
has served to maintain peace between the two
factions in the navy. In tho present instance,
however, the efforts of the president to reconcile
the surgeons and the lino officers have failed and
It is probable that tho whole controversy will
be threshed out on its merits in congress. This
is much, deprecated by conservative officers in
both line and staff, as likely to prove prejudicial
to the navy's interest as a whole, for they be
lieve that in order to succeed In securing for the
four great battleships, the cruisers, scouts and
submarines the year's naval estimates, in addi
tion to securing legislation that will better tho
lot of naval officers personally, the navy must
present a united front, which can not be done
if just at tho beginning of a session line and staff
are to engage ln a fierce strife. Through the
published statement of Surgeon General Rixey,
the merits of the doctors' side of the case in
this Instance have been clearly set forth. Lino
officers believe that in common fairness, they
should also have a hearing. But they are in
an embarrassed position In that respect. Ad
miral Brownson preceded his resignation by a
cold, clear, logical presentation of his reasons
why ho objected to the assignment of a physician
to command a naval ship, even though that ves
sel was exclusively devoted to hospital use. The
statement was submitted to the president and,
notwithstanding the staff has had its say In print,
applications at the White House are met with
refusal. Now It is clearly impossible for Ad
miral Brownson or any of his line officers to
make public a copy of the letter without Incur
ring the risk of a court-martial on charge of
disrespect toward their superior officer, the presi
dent of the United States. So they can only look
for a change in the executive mind, or congres
sional investigation which will develop all the
facta. It may be stated in the absence of the
text of Admiral Brownson's letter that his letter
objecting to tho execution of the president's
?,wi '?, p,ut a Bur&oon In command of tho hos
pital relief was twofold. In tho first place, Uko
every lino officer, ho helioved that tho subordina
tion of any lino officer, no matter how low In
S t0 ,ft Bt,ft(r "!cor on ship board, was bad
policy and subvorslvo of naval discipline. But
a stronger objoction in his mind was that tho
proposed action was clearly illegal Inasmuch aa
it Is forbidden by law or naval regulation to as
sign a staff officer to command ships. It is only
fair to tho staff side to stato thaL this is debat
able ground and that it would not bo difficult
to construe tho naval laws and regulation) either
way. So it Jm not to bo doubted that when tho
subject com oh before congress for consideration
tho lawyers in that body will find materia! to
support either contention."
A GLASS DRIDSS and Iron ooat Ik described
by a writer In tho St. Louis PohUDIs
patch In this way: "One of the latest novelties
in dress malaria! Ik reported to bo .a cloth made
from spun glass and It can bo had in white,
groon, lilac, ptnk and yellow. Tho Inventor of
the fabric is an Austrian and he declares that
it Is as bright and as supple as silk and Is
none the worse for being either stalnod or
soiled. The Russians manufacture a rabrlc
from tho liber of a filamentous stone from tho
Siberian mines which Is said to bo of so durable
a nature that it is practically everlasting. Tho
material is soft to tho touch and pliable In tho
extreme and has only to bo thrown Into a lire
when dirty to be mado absolutely clean. Iron
cloth Is largely used today by tailors for making
tho collars of coats sit properly. It Is manu
factured by a new process from stool wool and
has the appearance of having been woven from
horsehair. Some time ago a woolen manufac
turer In tho north of England succeeded In mak
ing a fabric from old ropes. He obtained a
quantity of old ropo and cordage, unraveled
them and wove them by a secret process Into
a kind of rough cloth."
. o
A CHAPTER In the "Life of Jay Cooke,"
written by Dr. Oberholtzer Is devoted to
the panic of 1873. Referring to this chapter
a writer In the Wall Street Journal says: "It
was the failure of this firm that was the imme
diate cause of the panic, although tho great
fundamental causes lay, of course, much further
back than the operations of this great financier
in tho promotion of the Northern Pacific rail
road. Just as during this year, many of our
bankers have been apprehensive of a financial
collapse and yet have, by the force of circum
stances, been drawn Into the whirlpool, so Mr.
Cooke, far-sighted man as he was, understood
clearly the conditions which surrounded him all
over tho world, and yet felt so secure in his own
position and was so confident of the ultimate
success of the Northern Pacific railroad enter
prise, that he had really no conception of tho
danger In which his own firm was placed. There
is no moro dramatic Incident in all financial
history than that of the day of the Jay Cooko
failure. The day and night preceding this event
President Jrant was the guest of Mr. Cooke at
his magnificent home at Ogontz, near Phila
delphia. President Grant was a frequent visitor
at Mr. Cooke's house and the two man were on
terms of close intimacy. Mr. Cooke was appar
ently unaware that the storm was to burst which
would sweep his great banking house out of ex
istence, when on the morning of the eventful
September day he bade President Grant good-by
and went to the office of his firm In Philadelphia
and took up the threads of his business. During
that morning his partners In New York, unable
to withstand the pressure upon them, closed the
doors of the New York office, which waa at tho
corner of Wall and Nassau streets. Mr. Cooko
was then obliged to close the doors of his Phila
delphia office, and the great panic of 1873 start
ed In and swept with tremendous force over tho
entire land. Mr. Cooke Is not the only financier
who has been astonished at his own failure. In
the crisis of 1907 many a banker and business
man has had as rude and violent awakening from
a sense of security. Mr. Cooke, say Dr. Ober
holtzer, had .appreciated the unsoundness In tho
financial arrangements of the government and
of private persons, firms and corporations in the
boom preceding 1873. He had seen the wrongs
of tho system very clearly, but, as one who is
in the current will, he allowed hlmselJ to bo
swept along with the tide, ospcciaP.y after he
had become so deeply involved in the Northern
Pacific enterprise. The long inflation had
brought on a promoters' fever, leading inevitably
to the crash."
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