Governor Hughes, the Legislature, and Primary Reform __i Reprinted from nn nrlleln by Theodore Roosevelt In Thu Outlook, by special arrangement with I'ho Outlook, of which Theodora Roosevelt is Contributing Editor. Copyright. 11*10, by The Outlook Company. All Rights Reserved. — BELIEVE that Governor Hughes tins been support eit by the bulk of the wis est and most disinterested * public opinion as regards most of his measures and positions, nnd 1 think that this bus been markedly the ease ns regards direct primary nominations. I know that many honest and sincere men are on principle opposed to Governor Hughes on this point, and l know also that the proposed reform will very possibly accomplish less than Its ex treme advocates expect; while 1 am well aware, ns of course all thinking men must be, that the worth of any such measure In the last resort de pends upon the character of the vot ers, and that no patent device will ever secure good government unless the people themselves devote sutll ctont energy, Mine, nnd Judgment to make the device work. Finally, I freely admit that here and there, where the principle of direct nomina tions bus been applied In too crude shape or wrongheadedly. It has, while abolishing certain evils, produced or accentuated others in certain eases, for Instance, putting a premium upon the lavish expenditure of money. But while 1 freely admit all this, I nevertheless feel. In the first place, that on thi* fundamental Issue of di rect primary nominations the Gover nor Is right, and, In the second place, that, ns the measure finally came tip for action In the state legislature, It whs well nigh free from all objections save those of the men who object to It because they are fundamentally op posed to any change whatever In the desired direction. The hill provided only for direct popular notion in the primaries !n relatively small geo graphical and political communities, thereby making the experiment first where there was least liability to se rlous objection, and avoiding or defer ring the task of dealing with those big communities where (he difficulties and dangers to be overcome would be greatest. Moreover, while guarantee ing full liberty of Individual action, It also provided for the easy main to nnance of party organization, and thereby avoided some very real dan gers—among them that of encourag lng tbo use of masses of the minority party In any given district to dictate the actions of the majority party. In other words, the proposed bill, while it marked a very real step In advance, was tentatively an.l cautiously fram ed, and provided all possible safe guards against abuses. If In practice it had failed to work in any particu lar, there would have been no possible difficulty In making whatever amend ments or changes were necessary. The Republican party was In the majority in both houses of tho legis lature which refused to carry out the Republican governor's recotnmenda Ilona; and although it was only a minority of the Republican members which brought about this refusal, the party cannot escape a measure of re sponsibility for I he failure; but it is only just to remember that a clear majority of the Republican members of each house supported the bill, whereas three fourths or over of the Democrats opposed It. This Is one of the eases where it 1b e.ns!er to ap portion individual than party responsi bility. Those who believe that by their action t hoy have definitely checked the movement for direct popular prl liiarles are, in my Judgment, mistaken in Its essence, this is a movement to make the government more demo cratic, more responsive to (lie wishes and needs of the people as a whole. With our political machinery It is es sent la! to have an efficient party, but the machinery ought to be suited to democratic and not oligarchic customs and habits. The question Whether in a sell governing republic we shall have self governing parties is larger than llie particular bill. We hold that the right of popular self government is Incomplete unless it includes the right of the voters not merely to choose be tween candidates when they have been nominated, but also the right to determine who these candidates shall be. Under our system of party gov eminent, therefore, the voters should be guaranteed the right to determine within the ranks of their respective organizations who the candidates of the parties will he, no less than the right to choose between tho cand dates when the candidates are pre sented them. There Is no desire to break down the responsibility of party organization under duly consti tuted party leadership, but there Is a desire to make this responsibility reel and to give the members of the party the right to say whom they desire to execute this leadership. In New York state no small part of the strength of the movement has come from the pop ular conviction that many of the men most prominent In party leadership tend at times to forget than In a democracy the function of a political leader must normally be to lead, not to drive. We, the men who compose the groat bulk of the community, wish to govern ourselves. We welcome leadership, but we wish our leaders to Understand that they derive their strength from uh, and that, although we look to them for guidance, we ex peet this guidance to be In accord ance with our interests and our ideals. . THEODORE ROOSEVELT. IDEAS ABOUT THE RAINBOW Queer Notions Held by People of Different Countries Regard ing the Cow. In many countries the rainbow Is spoken of as being a great bent puntp or siphon tube, drawing water front the earth by mechanical means, in parts of Russia, in the Don country, and also in Moscow and vicinity. It Is known by a name which is equiva lent to "the bent water-pipe,” in nearly all Slavonic dialects it is known by terms signifying the cloud siphon.” and In Hungary it is "the puntp,” "Noah’s pump" ami "God's pump." The Malayan natives call it by the same name that they do their rnanded water cobra, only that they add "boba" (meaning double-headed), the equivalent in our language being “the double-headed water-snake.” They tell you that the bow is a real thing of life, that it drinks with its two mouths, and that the water is transferred to the clouds through an opening in the upper side of the cen tre of the great arch. In the province of Charkav, Russia, the rainbow is said to drain the wells, and io prevent this many are provided with heavy, tight-fitting stone platforms. In the province of Saratov the bow is said to be under the control of three angels, one of whom pumps the water, the second "feeds" the clouds, and the third sends the rain. Many Im probable and impossible things would happen if you could only get in reach of "the bow." The little Turk is told that if he would have a silver head, with gold teeth and ruby eyes, he has but to touch the orange stripe. In Greece they say that the person so unfortu nate as to stumble over the end of the bow w ill have bis or her sex lmme diatoly changed. Only Classified. "I confess to being rather particular about my pajamas," said the fastidi ous man, "and I had an experience last week that nearly gave me nervous prostration, until 1 saw the humor of the situation. 1 was staying in a little country town down In Maryland, and it was necessary to send some soiled clothing to the laundry, the one laun dry of which the village boasted. "Judge of my surprise when m.v stuff was returned to me to tlnd that my pajamas had been heavily starched, with decided creases ironed down in front. 1 was not only en raged, but mystified as well, until, in looking over the bill, I came to this item: " 'One tennis suit.35 cents." Not Then. Bacon—I see a patent has been granted for an attachment to rocking chairs to operate a fan to cool the occupants. Egbert—And when a man goes into the dark room and stubs his toe against the rocker, we do not think the new attachment will cool him ofT any.—Yonkers Statesman. The Common Notion. ‘’What's your idea of success?" "Getting $50 for a nickel’s worth of work.” Had a Native Gift for It. Artist—Ah. Giles, good morning. 1 want you to come and give me a few sittings some time. 1 suppose you can sit? Giles—Can 1 set? Ix>r‘, yes—like an old hen! A Plunge Into the Prosaic. "See the beautiful sunset colors on the water." said the poetic young woman. “I'm glad to know what they are." replied the near-sighted man. “I thought the bathing suits had faded ” HOPE FOR NARCOTIC VICTIMS — Actual Thirst or Craving for Alcohol is Not Inherited—Curious Se lective Action. The causes and effects of alcoholism j 1 form a vast subject about which much | truth and many falsehoods have been | i written. The falsehoods have done I | more t ha ntt passing harm, for they ! have caused in the minds of the igno- ! 'rant a disbelief in the truth, and the . strict truth displays a terrible pic ture, writes Alexander Lambert, M. D., in Suec< ss Magazine. The use of | alcohol is the most common and wide spread of all the narcotics, and un like mhrphine and cocaine it may be indulged in modestly without ever be ing taken to excess; but, also, unlike morphine and cocaine, when used even in moderation, it may cause pathologic changes in the body, and when taken In excess invariably pro duces degenerative changes in the va rious viscera. Alcohol 1ms a curious selective ac tion, and as Individuals reach differ ently to equal doses, so, too, do indi viduals show different patholicic! changes from equal indulgence. The ] brain and central nervous system, or j the heart and arteries, or the liver and kidneys, may each separately bear the I brunt of the alcoholic poison. Thus the brain and nervous system may en-1 tirely escape the poison, and the in-' dividual die of cardie or other visceral degeneral Ions; or the brain and nerv ous system may become early degene rated and the viscera escape, and the chronic alcoholic live long years, a nuisance and a curse to his commu nity. Unfortunately, when alcoholic excesses are committed in the youth ful, formative period of life, the brain and nervous system are t he more prone to lie affected. The man who indulges in alcoholic excesses is like a man who recklessly signs drafts which he never expects to be cashed in, but when overtaken with acute dis ease or accident these drafts tire cashed in with pitiless insistence. The effects of alcohol do not always re main confined to the generation which commits the over-indulgence, since idiocy, epilepsy, moral degeneracy and weakness, unstable mentality are more often found in the children of alcoholic parents than in those of non-alcoholic parentage. The actual thirst or craving is not inherited, but the weaker moral character which is bequeathed easily gives way to any temptation and quickly forms habits of excessive indulgence. NATION'S LARGE DRINK BILL Decrease In Amount of Alcohol Con sumed in United States Shown . by Estimate. That the people of America are be ginning to grow more sober in their habits again is the apparent lesson of the American Grocer’s estimate of the nation's (ftink bill for 1909. In spite of ten years of prohibition agitation 1907 was the banner year for the liquor trade. Consumption reached then its maximum. In two years the population Increased by 2,749,966, but the money spent upon alcoholic drinks fell off $110,185,600. This was not an economic after effect of the panic: that would have been more apparent in 1908; besides, tea, coffee and cocoa established in 1909 a record. The per capita use of spirits in 1909 was tin* smallest since 1900; of beer since 1905. Of both there was a de cline in 1908 and again in 1909. The consumption of wine alone increased, but by a trifle. I The treasury in 1909 derived from spirits $109,868,817; from fermented liquors, $75,550,754; from imported a! 1 coholics, $15,650,113, and from tobac co, $59,355,084. The average tax per capita from all these sources was $2.93. ! Taking the estimated retail price of alcoholics and adding coffee, tea and cocoa, the 1909 drink bill of the na tion was; Malt liquors .$ 904,212,837 Spiritous liquors . 539,469,744 Wines . 131,881,657 Coffee, tea, etc. 216.440.9S8 ---,| Total .$1,792,005,226 This is $!)i»15 for each family of five persons—enough In all conscience! Ilut the alcoholic part of the expen diture shows now for two successive j years a decided tendency to slacken. — Cardinal Gibbons' Views. Cardinal Gibbous recently expressed the view that under present conditions it might he difficult to enforce pro hibitory laws in some neighborhoods now, but that the movement in favor of temperance reform so strong now will grow still stronger, until in every neighborhood the great vice of drunk enness will be brought under control. Tax Aids Temperance. The reimposition of an increased t whisky tax has aroused much resent ment in Ireland, but all w ho are in- 1 terested in temperance cannot but ap prove of the tax. which worked a re-, duction in drunkenness of from 30 to TO per cent. Tl. ! si. people are now drinking stout, v 1 is not hall so injurious as bad v,: • ’:y EFFECT OF WATERWAY COMPETI TION ON THE RAILWAYS OF THE COUNTRY. DIRECT AND INDIRECT SAVING Conservative Estimate Is That In a Single Year It Would Be More Than Enough to Discharge the Entire Na tional Debt. It wua stated In a previous article that waterways produce both direct and indirect savings in the cost of transportation and also exert what may be called a creative effect. As an Instance of the direct saving it was shown that the 100,000,000 tons of freight handled on the great lakes in 1907 were carried for $550,000,000 less than it would have cost by rail. If the opinion of the United States army engineers is correct—and this opinion is based upon results actually achieved on the riverH of Europe— we have a number of rivers on which, when properly improved, freight can be carried for less than on the lakes and many rivers on which it can be carried for much less than by rail. If, therefore, the plan advocated by the National Rivers and Harbors congress should be carried out—which includes the improvement of all our rivers to such extent as shall be found advisable after exi>ert examination— the direct saving in cost of transporta tion would be vastly increased. It would probably be increased tenfold, but if it were only doubled the direct saving in a single year would be more than enough to pay off the national debt. Hut this is not the end of the bene-1 fits which the general improvement of our waterways would bring, it is only the beginning. Reside the direct sav ing there is an indirect saving which results from the effect of waterways on railway freight rates, for rates are always lower on railroads which meet water competition than on those which do not. The amount of tnis sav ing is not everywhere the same, owing to difference in conditions, but we can get a good general Idea of it from a study of some sample instances. Freight Rates Affected. Freight rates from New York to Salt Lake or Spokane are much high er than to San Francisco or Seattle, although the distance is much less, be cause goods can be carried to the Pa cific coast by water, around Cape Horn, while there is no waterway of any kind to the inland cities named. It is not the ocean alone that affects railroad rates. Compare the rates on first class merchandise to river towns and inland towns situated about 250 miles from St. Iajuis. Towns on the upper Mississippi get a rate of 33 cents a hundred, Inland towns pay 63 cents; towns on the Ohio pay 41 cents, inland towns in the same regiotn pay 87. A still more striking instance, and one showing the direct result of wa terway improvement, is to be found on the Columbia river. Before the locks at the cascades were built freight rates on nails, and that class of goods, from Portland to The Dalles were $6.40 per ton. As soon as the locks were finished and the steam boats could get through, the railroad rate dropped to two dollars per ton— less thau one-third what it was before. That the difference was due to the river improvement is shown by the fact that rates were not reduced be yond the point t* which the steam boats could run. For instance, the rate on salt in car load lots was $1.50 per ton to The Dalles, and $10.20 per ton to Umatilla—$1.50 per ton for the 88 miles with water competition and $8.70 per ton for the next 100 miles without. These rates have since been reduced as the improvement has pro ceeded. and when the work is finished and boats can run far up the Colum bia river and to Lewiston and other point in Idaho on its principal tribu tary, the Snake river, the people in all that region will benefit not only by the direct saving on goods carried by water, but also by the indirect sav ing through the reduced rate on goods carried by rail. Exactly similar re sults would follow the radical im provement of rivers all over the United States. Indirect Saving Large. There is, however, no possible way of finding out just how much this in direct saving would be. Rates on some freight would be reduced greatly, on some freight slightly, on some, per haps. not at all. But we can get some idea of the amount of freight which might be influenced. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1907, the total amount of freight handled by the railroads of the United States was 1,796,336,659 tons. Some of this was hauled a short distance, some a long distance, and some was handled by more than one road, but it was equal to 236,601,390,103 tons hauled one mile. If the comprehensive improve ment of our waterways should make an average reduction of one mill per ton-mile—the difference in the rates on salt given above is 70 times as much, or seven cents per ton mile—L would make a saving of over $236,600, 000 on the value of business handled in the fiscal year. At first glance, it looks as if that would mean disaster to the railways, but that is the exact opposite of the truth. Strange as it may seem, the Burest and speediest way to enlarge the business and increase the profits of the railways of the United States ts to improve the waterways of the United States. INTER-STATE