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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1909)
r-rypvi !f, --- fwn "j-t-- ( The Commoner. VOLUME 9, NUMBER 15 6 -a- -tJU r ,. unr' . !! ill' .L.J.! I1 ' "" ' ' ' ' -. .l-J"' i. ''"JfW ri 100 Vwfto323 M-KYJVJ'SV av1! BLM. i lykfe. . - -?srS52.VXfe. IiTiiT in ti "MlilllM If ' "W "rf " AN ASSOCIATED Press dispatch from Wash ington describes an historic custom in this way: "The grasBy slopes of the White Houso lawns woro thronged with romping children Monday, the grounds having boon thrown open from early morning for Easter egg rolling, a custom which has been handed down from gen eration to generation for scores of years. Un dor instructions from President and Mrs. Taft, children from all parts of the city were per mitted to run pell moll over every part of the spacious park in tho rear of the oxecutivo man sion. The choir of St. Patrick's Roman Catho lic church visited the White House early in tho day, woro admitted to tho east room and sang thoro for an hour. Tho members of tho choir appoarod in full church vestmonts." THE NAPLES, Italy, correspondent for tho Now York World tells this story of tho death, on April 11, of Novelist Crawford: "P. Marion Crawford died seated in a big armchair, gazing out of a window. Before him spread tho beautiful Bay of Naples, into which a blood rod sun was sinking. "It was one of thoso rarely boautiful Italian sunsets and tho novelist drank in its suporb coloring with all the appreciation of his artistic nature. His mind was perfectly cloar. Ho was oppressed by no death racking pains. Ono of tho family was reading in a low voico 'Plato's Dialogue on tho Immortality of tho Soul.' In an interval they heard the novelist murmur: 'I die with Jesus Christ.' For somo time after that he sat quietly in his chair. Then as tho sun was just about to sink out of sight his family hoard him sigh and say: 'I enter peacefully Into eternity.' Tho sun disappeared. Marlon Crawford was dead. Tho family was much affected by tho solemnity of the scene. All woro present oxcept tho. novelist's eldest son. ' Sorrento sharod in the family grief. All shops woro closed and business is practically suspend ed. Evorywhoro aro thoro manifestations of (loop feeling. Eulogistic articles appear in all the leading Italian papers." o ALGERNON Charles Swinburne, tho English . pooti died recently. Tho Denver News re fers to him "aB a master workman," and says: "To Algernon diaries Swinburne belongB tho palm for absolute mastery of word music. Some times, indeed, this mastery betrayed him into moro riot of sound, as a lesser but similar gift betrayed Poo. But at least it made him a con scientious workman, and a workman who left a doop impress on tho poetry of his nation. Swin burne began tho revolt against the tyranny of tho 'iambic pentameter,' which Milton and Popo had fastened on English verse. 'Oh son of tho rose-red -morning, oh god twin bom with tho day, Oh wind with tho young sun waking, and winged for tho same wide way' You may havo read too far and you do to know just what he is talking about, but tho musical lilt of the lines will carry you along It is this triple measure, this 3-8 time, to use tho musical phrase, that is commonly deemed most characteristic of Swinburne. As a sample of his soberer music, wo will quote from our favorite of all ho has written 'By tho North Sea:' 'Slowly, sadly, full of peace and wonder, Grows his heart who journeys hero alone. Earth and all tho thoughts of earth sink under Deep as deep in water sinks a stone; ' Hardly knows ho whence tho rollers' thunder, Hardly whence tho long, low wind is blown." And tho man who could writo that was side tracked that the crown of poet laureate might be placed on the brow of Alfred Austin." T'-IB EIGHTIETH anniversary of the birth of GoneraJ William Booth of tho Salvation Army was celebrated at Now York April 12 Tho following cable message from General Booth was read to tho largo audience: "London April 12. To the American people: O, Amer jca, how vast is your opportunity for making a last mark for good on the entire human race Endowed with measureless material resources' .wSitoWW enjoying tho unbounded confidence of your own people, favored with the concentrated light of earth and heaven, possessed of an influence cov ering like a shadow, all tho world besides, what a power you must bo destined to become. What will you do with this mighty, magic force? If you aro permitted to realize your ambition to lead the world, whither will you lead it? To utter abandonment of faith in the eternal and tho neglect of every duty flowing out of it, to senseless worship of mammon, to useless friv olities? No, I am suro you won't, and I blush at the very mention of such things and denounce them with all my soul. Where else can you lead this poor, blind, stumbling world of ours, but to the mighty, just, holy God and obedience to His commands; to the practice of righteous ness, purity, honor, kindness and simplicity, to self-sacrificing service cf mankind. America, I invito you to tho actual realization of the Chris tian principles you profess and to practical imita tion of Jesus Christ, who came out of His heaven to seek and to save. Come along, then, let us gird up our loins and go out of our heaven and put our arms around perishing multitudes and bring them to Christ, purity, peace and paradise. I invite you to make our common Christianity an ungainsayablo reality ard thus wipe out the reproach fast gathering over us that it is noth ing more than an exploded tradition, a fashion able association or a lifeless ceremony. Then, when tho wondering world asks: 'In what coun try can I find the things described by the letter of tho Bible and set forth in the life of Jesus? The answer shall be America.' " MR. CLARK of Florida, Is having troublo with his constituents. An Associated Press dispatch under 'date of Tallahassee,' April' 15, follows: "Congressman Frank Clark addressed tho Florida house of representatives tonight in answer to a resolution proposing the censuring of Mr. Clark for his recent criticism of William J. Bryan and other democrats in the course of a speech on the tariff in the national house of representatives. Denying the right of the Flor ida legislature to censure his conduct in congress Mr. Clark said ho had expressed himself freely in congress, standing for tho rights of Florida in the matter of tariff revision and was respon sible for his conduct to the voters of his district alone. In conclusion, he said that if Bryan is nominated again, 'I'll do as southern democrats did in 1872 when they held their noses and voted for Horace Greeley.' When Mr. Clark fin ished ho was greeted with shouts of 'Hurrah for Bryan,' somo of the representatives standing in their chairs and shouting for the Nebraskan. Later both houses of the legislature, by unani mous vote, Invited Mr. Bryan to address their joint session at an early day." COMPLYING WITH a request made by the house the senate returned the tariff bill so that the house might amend it to place upon the free list the products of, as well as, crude and refined petroleum. The bill was properly amend ed by the house and given again to the senate. Senator Bailey then offered an amendment to tho tariff bill providing for an income tax. He proposed to place a tax of 3 per cent on incomes of more than $5,000 annually. He said this would provide a revenue of from $60,000 000 to $80,000,000 per year. Speaking of Mr. Bai ley's amendment the Associated Press says "It provides for a straight tax of three per cent on all incomes above $5,000 a year. It exempts all incomes from federal, state, county and munici pal securities, salaries of all state ofilcors and incomes of corporations below $5,000 The former law on this subject provided for a tax ol two per cent on incomes of $4,000 and up wards. Mr. Bailey does not attempt to avoid tho constitutional questions and in effect chal lenges them. Ho estimates that if his amend- nnntn Comes ,a law il wiU raise about $100, 000,000 annually. Mr. Bailey said he had in troduced the amendmont so far in advance of its consideration because he wished every sen ator to have a full opportunity to consider it aud to suggest any additional amendment deemed proper. He added that the tariff bill re ported to the senate was in tho main the same as that of 1894. His income tax amendment, he said, was the same as the law which had formerly been enacted with minor exceptions. He had in this amendment raised the exemption from incomes of $4,000 to incomes of $5,000 and had raised the rate of tax from two to three per cent, which, he said, would result in greater revenue than would the two per cent tax on $4,000 incomes. Mr. Bailey said he did not in troduce his amendment because he desire 1 to tax prosperity, but because he preferred 't.otax the incomes of prosperous people rather than to place it upon the backs and upon the appetites of people who at best are doing none too well.' " PRESIDENT TAFT sent to congress, April 15, a special message as follows: '"To the Sen ate and House of Representatives: I transmit herewith a communication from the secretary of war, inclosing one from the chief of the bureau of insular affairs, in which is transmitted a pro posed tariff revision law for the Philippine Isl 'ands. This measure revises the present Philip pine tariff, simplifies it and makes it confor i as nearly as possible to the regulations, of the cus toms laws of the United States, especially with respect to packing and packages. The present Philippine regulations have been cumbertome and difficult for American merchants and export ers to comply with. Its purpose is to meet the new conditions that will arise under the section of the pending United States tariff bill, which provides, with certain limitations, for free trade between the United States and the Islands. It is drawn with a view to preserving to the Islands as much customs revenue as possible and to protect in a reasonable measure those industries ' which now exist in the islands. The bill now transmitted has been drawn by a board of tariff experts, of -which the insular collector of cus toms, Colonel George R. Col ton, was the presi dent. The board had a great many open meet ings in Manila and conferred fully with repre sentatives of all business interests in the Philip pine Islands. It is of great importance to the welfare of the Islands that the bill should bo passed at the same time with the pending Payne bill, with special reference to the provisions of which it was prepared. I respectfully recom mend that this bill be enacted at the present session of congress as one incidental to and re quired by the passage of the Payne bill." REFERRING TO this measure, the Associated Press says: "Generally speaking, the bill submitted by the president makes a slight in crease in the rates of duty now provided in the Philippine tariff, but its framers say its ten dency is to insure as far as practicable the ben efit of the Philippine market for American man ufacturers and products. The measure makes some additions to the free list. There will be an increase in internal revenue duties by which it is hoped to make up the loss which the Philip pine Islands will sustain by the operations of the free trade, provisions in the pending Payne tariff bill. The internal revenue laws for the Philippines are enacted by the Philippine assembly." WILBUR F. WAKEMAN, secretary of the Protective Tariff League, ventures a tariff prediction. Speaking to a representative of the New York Herald, Mr. Wakeman says: "I m'et a friend at the National Press club in Washing ton tho other day and I offered to wager him one to five that there would-be no tariff bill at this special session of congress; that finally the two houses would get into such a jangle that they would appoint sub-committees to work on the bill all summer and report the same for passage on the first Monday in December next; that in the .meantime a joint resolution or con current resolution would be passed by congress, recommending to the administration that foreign tariff trade agreements be abolished. As you know, these foreign trade agreements, .now ex tended to every nation of the continent and to Japan, can not be abrogated without six months i BKim --wiwiigaa -riJ-LL'. .- j- . . iL"v '-'----. mi ime- frmnnfariu i