'Cbe Conservative *
fierce fighting to bring the unruly Saxons
to realize the beneficent Christian faith
the Frankish military chieftain wanted
to give them. And after their conver
sion they would not remain firm in the
faith , when Charles was absent , but
would return to the worship of Odin.
Because of this " "
"backsliding" propen
sity their "reconversion" was often
necessary and only accomplished after
severe chastisement. The patience of
the great Christian monarch finally
became exhausted. In his desperation
he resorted to massacre as a means of
enforcing respect for his God. Accord
ingly he slew 4,500 Saxon prisoners in
cold blood. After several exhibitions of
this convincing form of argument it is
recorded that "Wittikind , the hero of
the whole war , was compelled to con
fess the superiority of the God of Char
lemagne and received the right of
baptism. His example was generally
followed and Germany became Chris-
tian. " After the death of Charlemagne
the empire he hud built and the religion
he had establisned , by force of arms ,
both perished. The latter was revived
at a later and more opportune period ,
and in an altogether different manner.
Bishop Cranston is demanding of this
country a repetition of the campaign
made by this mediaeval monarch.
THE CONSERVATIVE believes that there
is too much enlightenment in the world
. _ , today to permit a
A Barbarous , , . . .
Suggestion. return to this
ancient , barbarous
idea of missionary effort. If our mis
sionaries are unwelcome in China , let
them do as any courteous people ought
to do , leave the country or desist from
their teaching. Until the Chinese are
willing to desert Confucius and accept
our Christ , without the aid of artillery ,
we had best leave them at the shrine of
Confucius.
THETKOPICS.
confronting us in
the Philippines are becoming more and
more apparent. We must not only meet
the armed resistance of the people but
must contend against that which is even
more difficult to overcome , viz. , the diffi
culty of adjusting ourselves to the cli
mate. In order to develop the resources of
the islands , physical labor is a necessity.
For this our race is not adapted. The
experience of our soldiers in the Philip
pines indicates their inability to with
stand the debilitating climate.
I * Capt. E. O. Woodruff , surgeon in the
United States army , recently returned
from service in the Philippines , in his re
port shows a veritable epidemic of ner
vous diseases , bordering on insanity ,
among our officers in Luzon : He says
"It made no difference to tell every
one in the tropics that alcohol was danger-
. . . ,
* . x. . .
Stimulants .Essential. , . , , ,
v be confessed that
we saw more drinking in the Philippines
than we had seen for a long time steady
daily consumption. It seemed inevitable.
This almost universal drinking must
mean a natural defensive craving , as
surely so many men cannot be fools to
do what was so positively said to be
wrong. A Spanish army surgeon told
mo that their experience was to
the effect that a certain amount of wine
daily was essential in that climate. I
did not believe him , of course , and was
inclined to ridicule their large requisi
tions for wine , putting it down as the
race characteristics imported from the
shores of the Mediterranean. It did not
take long to find out that he was cor
rect , and the reason is not difficult to
find.
"I have never yet seen any account of
the terrible nervous exhaustion that re-
. suits from the long
Nervous Diseases . .
Epidemic. continued expos
ure to great heat
and moisture. It is a veritable neuras
thenia. There is no escape from the
heat nicrbt or dav. One wakes UD at
night fairly drenched with perspiration.
It wears out nerve force quickly and
surely. Now the symptoms of exhaust
ion are everywhere. I never heard so
many complaints of persistent insomnia
as I did in the Philippines. One young ,
vigorous staff officer , who seemed al
ways cool , complained to me one day
that on the previous afternoon at 5
o'clock ho found he could not remember
anything he read. When he got to the
end of a sentence he had forgotten the
beginning. He was disabled until the
next morning. A surgeon informed me
that before he was half through his
daily rounds he discovered he could not
remember the patients' answers , and he
always had to lie down thirty to sixty
minutes before the brain would work
again properly. A general officer one
day found himself in the same fix. He
would act on no papers because he could
not remember what was to be acted on.
It is needless to remark that in warfare
the lives of soldiers are rather precarious
if from sheer exhaustion their officers
cannot use their brains. It is a serious
question , and I have been astounded at
the illogical actions taken in some in
stances. In these conditions of mental
prostration the thing that ought not to be
done is apt to be ordered through paral
ysis of the reasoning faculties and mem
ory. Much absurdity of conduct has its
origin in cerebral asthenia. In my
limited circle one man broke down com
pletely and another became insane ; both
due to overwork and the heat. A large
percentage of soldiers have gone insane ,
and there are also a large number in
whom muscular strength is largely re
duced. Soldiers who appeared to be
just as strong as at home found them
selves done up after five innings at base
ball. It showed itself in the eyes , and
in a number of cases there was inability
to read through paresis of accommoda
tion indeed , accommodative asthenopia
is almost a tropical disease. "
This does not present a very en
couraging outlook. The resources of
the islands will be of little avail to Am
erican enterprise if the islands are un
inhabitable to our people. The attempt
to adapt our race to the Philippines will
fail as has every like attempt to people
torrid countries.
THE CONSERVATIVE
BUSINESS.
TIVE was passing
down Wabash avenue , Chicago , on Fri
day , June 15 , 1900 , and beheld over the
door of an empty and dilapidated build
ing , a newly-finished sign. It was long
and loud in colorings and painted upon
canvas it read "Democratic
; : Headquar
ters. " Next door , with an eye to business ,
was a smaller sign and in golden and
cheerful letters it said : "Tape-worm
Expelled. " If the people who practice
under the latter can efficiently treat the
people represented by the former sign ,
Bryan will not be nominated at Kansas
City. The tape-worm grows fat by the
diminution of its victim ; the latter is
constantly emaciating while the tape
worm "expands" and "benevolently
assimilates. " As Bryan has grown the
democracy has diminished. Until the
tape-worm is expelled the decline will
continue.
Mr. Bryan has
THE BKYAN
VOTE. frequently made
the claim that he
received an unusually large popular vote
in 1896. Because of the oft-repeated
assertions of this character , many people
have been deceived into believing that
Mr. Bryan proved an exceptionally
strong candidate and would have been
president if the popular vote instead of
the electoral vote had determined the
result. To correct an impression so at
variance with the facts it is only neces
sary to refer to the history of presidential
elections.
Mr. F. H. Clifford has compiled the
presidential vote , from the first cam
paign of Jackson
Weaker Than
Greoley. in 1824 to the elec
tion in 1896. It
will be a surprise to many an ardent
Bryauarchist to know that the represen
tative of thu sacred ratio received the
smallest per cent of the popular vote of
any democratic nominee during the
entire period. The defeat of Greeley
has always been regarded as the most
humiliating disaster to the democratic
party. Greeley received 44 per cent of
the popular vote. This record of Greeley
was eclipsed by Bryan in 1896. Mr.
Bryan received but 40 per cent of the
popular vote. This showing ought to
silence the absurd claims put forth by
Bryauarohists , whose lack of judgment
is in part compensated for by an excess
of enthusiasm. There is but one possi
bility for the democrats to duplicate the
humiliating record of 1896 and that is
by repeating the nomination made at
that time.
"Roberts , Pretoria : They sometimes
won't stay whipped. Otis. " Philadel
phia North American.
