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The Commoner.
VOfiukEI 81, NUMBER 44
South Oarollnav Gore of Oklahoma, Milton of
Flbi'ldhr, Overman of North Carolina, all of whom
will bo succeeded by democrats. The only sena
torshipH remaining in doubt are those of Ohio,
Indiana and Oregon, which are now represented
by Senators- Fo raker, Hemenway and luilton,
republicans, and Colorado, Missouri and Nevada,
represented by Senators Teller, Stone and New
lands, democrats. Governor Cummins of Iowa
is about to realize his ambition of becoming a
senator from that state. He has many admirers
in Washington and his entry upon the scene of
national 'politics will be observed with keen in
terest. Mr.
UnpRrvATE JOHN" Allen of Mississippi may
X always bo counted upon to come to the
front with a timely story. His latest one has
to do with politics and tells of the experiences
of a certain Major Blank of Mississippi. Major
Blank tried for years to secure a democratic
nomination to congress but signally failed each;
time Finally he turned republican and was
given, the republican nomination. He made a
"whirlwind tour" of his district and felt con
fident' of the result. When the returns were
counted it was found that Major Blank had re
ceived just two votes. And the next day he
was,.arrested on the charge of "repeating."
ONEi OF the most important crusades inaug
urated in this country during recent years
Jb thnt against tuherculosls the "white death."
Als over the country "tuberculosis exhibits" are.
being, given with a view to educating the people
drfW how the plague may be successfully com
fejttt'eidfi. -' Thesfi' exhibits educato fcho
neoPl'e bV
j . .. - M. M W
viatMwJesaons'in methods of sanitation, and: warm
against the so-called' consumption cures that are,
offered; by charlatan who watf rich upon tneF
fears: 6f strlctferif and? often1 well nigh hopeless
pfcdpfe. These exhibitions; are made? doubly in
teresting1 by lectures- and illustrations and
awaken a determination to seize every oppor
tunity to reihove the caiises that" result in tuber
autotfis.. Municipalities and. states are lending
every, encouragement to the crusade and already
the beneficial effects are being" felt. One of
these exhibits recently given in Lincoln' showed
somestartling statistics that immediately halted
th$ attention of visitors.. One was that 2000
children in Lincoln and 75,000 in Nebraska
wduVd die of tuberculosis before they arrived1 t
fhage of forty years unless proper safeguards
were taken immediately. Another statement
showed that tuberculosis is costing the state
of ..Nebraska $75,000,000 a year through! the
loss, of the activities of wage earners audi pro
ducers. It is gratifying toaiotethafc fraternal
societies, insurance- companies,., trades .unions
charitable organizations,.. m,odicalsocietiesi and
religious bodies are co-operating; inv the.: great
flght .against this dread disease., -p
?' t! "
tv
nftH$ DESTRUCTION of the American' forests
tilns: commanding the earnest attention of
tWuglitful people. The New York Times' fur
rifeheS some interesting statistics on this matter
when it says: "The cuttings in Uncle S'am
wood lot during: 1907 were the most severe
on record. They were seven per cent more than
the' cut reported in 1906, and amounted to con
siderably over 40,000,000,000 of board feet.
Texaa, possibly because of this year's more ac
curate reports, rose front' eighth tb third place
among lumber producing States, The supply
in the north is giving out; in the south the
forests are being ruthlessly destroyed. Prices
for lumber have climbed for a half century,
while the average consumption per capita has
risen from 250 feet In 185 0; to 460 in 1900 an,d
4;80 in 1907. It has been a stupid waste of
sylvan capital; without thought of interest." In
tliifr connection It may not be out of place to re
call1 the fact that during the last twenty-five
or' thirty years a premium has been put upon
tlie destruction of the American forests by the
very men who are now loudest In their denun
ciation of the destroyers.
Tnff APPEAL of the Audobon Society for
funds for the prosecution of bird killers
should meet with a hearty response. But, after
all1, would it not be better to begin a crusade
ag klnst the bird wearers? The bird killers
would soon find their occupation gone if there
wsi none to wear the birds after being properly
iribnnted. The practice of wearing birds as per
&1&1 adornment is ireapoasible for the whole
sale slaughter of the feathered songsters, and
until "woman, lovely woman" -eases to adorn?
herself with the corpses of birds the cruel worlc
will continue. "You cruel boys," exclaimed a
woman when she saw somo boys robbing a
bird's nest of its young. "What would the poor
mother bird say if she could speak?" "She
wouldn't say nuttln," retorted one of the boys,
" 'cause she's a roostln' on yer hat dls minute."
All appeals for the protection of the birds will
be vain until the use of birds and feathers as
articles of adornment is no longer prevalent.
nnlB TRUTH about these So-called ihterna
Jj tibnall marriages is that the American girl
who trades her millions for a foreign title- is
looked upow as being the morganatic wife of the
foreign nobleman. The American girl who has
been raised In the belief that the marriage tie
Is sacretl finds, after an alliance' with a foreign
nobleman that sbe is merely a "wife of con
venience" and that so far as she is concerned
the mnrriage tie is a myth. Charles Edward
Russell has very clearly and succinctly 3et these
farts forth in recent magazine articles so
clearly that the American girl who is hereafter
deceived has no one but herself to blame. The
morsranatlc wife in Europe may be an accepted
institution, but no American girl who is true to
her training or to American traditions can ac
cept a position as such. The American heiress:
wlio puts her fortune In the scale with a title
and social position soon finds that she has;
neither title nor social position, and; that she
is looked upon by the circle of nobility as. little,
more than the mistress of the man upon whom:
she confers her wealth'. The1 sooner this brutal
fact is impressed upon the minds ofour Amer
ican girls the better.
TE PRESIDENT of a frnnehlsed corporation'
in a western- city recently rented a local
theatre and pye an illustrated. lecture to' hl3
employes on his- recent tour pf Europe: At: first
bluslr-thiff inightbe taken as"an evidence' of
great interest- iir tli'e1 "welfare ofr' the"1 enlplbveSj
but bevorid this' there Is ant-evidence of-some-thng
that may. well cause he. people to. think,
deeply. .Doubtless .the emploves of this ipVri"
mav be inclined to look: 'upon his action with:
appro va, but Is it not exactly In line with the
principle adhered to by the barons and feiidal
-masters of ancient times? The muster takes all
the trips the men must be content with hear
ing about them. The master will assume air
responsibility for the welfare of. his: people;,
theirs beintr but to have implicit confidence and
render implicit obedience. Secure in. his. feudal
castle the baron ruTed by rlscht of holding the
wvTfare' of his retainer's In the doITow of his
hand, and how ?nd then he condescended; to
give them a- holiday., a festival, or a bout in
which thev furnihed the fighters, and nursed,
the wounded. The Incident mentioned above
rimst strike the thonerhtful observer as a hark
ing back to- those' feudal customs.
46tt ETTTCTCS OF an American Workingman'
1 j Is the title of a recent.lv published book
which should: be carefnJTy. read by students of
modern industrial conditions.' The book Is pub
lished anonymously, though thre are many who
have kept in dose touch with literature upon
industrial topics who will readilv recoernize the
author. The bonk consists of a ppries of letters
written bv a machinist named "Bill" to a friend
named "Tim,," and thes letters discuss in. a
plan, simple and yet effective way the many
qifPstlons of vital concern to th workers. Not
the least Interesting., of the letters are those
dallne: with the subjects of the workingman
ad the church, the workipfrman and the mis
sions, the workingman "and his relations to the
. employers and the -workfnarnn and the satoon.
These subjects are handled from the viewpoint
of a man who has had actual experienco as a
wagarner,, and in this resnect the letters differ
from those written by men whose exnerience
in industrial welfare work has been that of men
who approached it from a standpoint unknown
to the mechanic. Several of the letters in this
helnful book appeared oriina11v In the Out
look, the Independent and the Epworth Herald
The book is from the press of the Fleming H
Revell Company, New York.
ON THE DAY following election, Nmani E
U not much for me to sayandno a6 ogfes4v
..v.,v w mC victory ot.tne republican
party;. Mr. Bryan' made the most magnificent
flglit ever waged by a. candidate. The nartv
was made the victim of misrepresentation a
misrepresentation that democratic success would
retard the business interests of the country
That was, of course, an. argument without
foundation in fact. Notwithstanding yesterday's
defeat, the democratic party stands more united
today than it has been in. many years and in
this union lies the future strength and power
of recuperation. It is my intention to continue
headquarters in Buffalo and Washington for the
next four years to keep in. touch with the lead
ers of all the states and to promulgate demo
cratic principles and democratic thought by the
printing of literature to aid the leaders of the
party, by fighting the high tariff, which, in all
probability, the republicans will continue not
withstanding their promises to revise it. I am
supported in this by the national committee,
state chairmen and other leaders all over the
country. In his own state of Nebraska, where
he is best known, Mr. Bryan was victorious, and
while it is true he met defeat in the nation
he did so as the noniinee of his party supported
by the six or seven million of his countrymen
who- voted for him and the principles he so
splendidly espoused, and with, the respect and
admiration of the entire nation."
TTE ORIGIN of dogs? names is told by the
London Answers- in thi3: way: "The dog
fancier stroked gently the silky coat of a beauti
ful spaniel. 4Do' you know,' he asked, 'where
our dogs get their names from? The spaniel
was so called because the original breed of this
type came from Spafn. The Blenheim spaniel
got his name from Blenheim Palace, where this
dog first gained, popularity in the time of the
great Duke of Marlborough In the same way
the Kihff Charles spaniel, ow.es its name to the
merry monarch.. Fox terriers, did not gain their
name from a likeness to 'the fox:, but from the
fact that formerly they Were used in hunting
foxes.. .. Many years agp they were sent by their
masters: down the,fox!s burrow- to draw and kill
theff quarry. Tt was In those days a saying that
a good "f 6x; terrier never came- out of a burrow
without: the fox-. He either brdught out nis
prey dead or never came out alive himself The
bulldog: used to drfye cattle,, and was trained
to meet tire" rushes of his. enormous charges by
gripping them, in their mast vulnerable spot
the nose. Thus in time: he became known as
the bulldog. The dachshund is a German dog,
arid, as hil's name1 Indicates when: translated, was
used for' hunting badgers: Hence' his name
badger dbg;. Among hunters, in the; fatherland,
this breed Is still popular, although as a rule
they are now too delicate to face such a ferocious-fighter
as the badger. Spitz- dogs are so
named owing- to their sharp noses. This is also
a. German name; spitz meaning' sharp-pointed.
Another name for this breed is Dalmatian dog,
because his native home was. in Dalmatia.' "
TMAS ESTRADA PALMA, former president
of the Cuban republic,, is dead. Referring
to this Cuban, patriot the Chicago Record-Herald
says: "Senor Palma, as first president of the
republic of Cuba',, held an honor merited by his
loyil ty to liberty's cause and the sacrifices he
made in the days long before the sun of inde
pendence had shot more than a feeble ray above
tbje horizon. Senor Palma died almost on the
eve of the second trial at self-government whh'h
Is to settle the fate of Cuba as an independent
nation. jre is pathos connected with the
closing chapter of his career. Called from
practical exile after the war between the United
States and Spain had established Cuba in its
long-sought status,, he was placed at the had
of an apparently joyful people, only to meet a
situation which was feared by those observing
from a distance. He was an old man even then.
Had he been, younger he might have been ab'e
to face the situation vigorously, to overcome the
jealousies and other Cuban characteristics that
menaced self-government, instead of being
forced to a somewhat ignominious but still patri
otic abdication, in. favor of possible future nar
tional. life through- American, intervention. As
an executive Palma showed none of the genius
at a critical time whicli might have given him
place among the great men of the present age.
His long career devoted to freeing- Cuba, how
ever, ,mnst be weighed against. the circum
stancescand conditions that confronted him at
the end: Whatever be. Cuba's destiny- its people
f willtn.wfl WhaHs'hil rfmfJTnhrnnPAtoUthe Patriots
' amon&swhom Palma was- arstrikingpicturesqu
ngure5L . ..-.