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THE HESPERIAN.
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garment with rosaries, crucifixes nnd other sacred emblems.
Such scenes were witnessed for five weeks from sunrise to
sunset. It is reported that the season has been unusually
profitable for the exchequers of botli the cathedral nnd the
pope.
In the December number of the A'arA American AYwVr
Rear Admiral Luce, U. S. N., declaims upon "The Benefits
of War". He regards it as a potent agency ot human prog
ress and without which our prc&c.it state of civilization would
have bejn impossible. It is a great factor in the formation uf
a nation, the shaping of a people's iK.Miny, and the spreading
of a civilization. The sword his ever preceded the banner
of the cross, while commctce owes its very existence, to the
military arm of the people it represents. War was the only
means of solving the question of the abolition of slavery.
The science ami art of war has never been so carefully stud
ied as at the present time. It is to this state of preparation
that we owe the peace of Europe to day.
Pr.ictical America .should not forget that war is z. calamity
that may overtake the most pcacerul of nations and that
insurance against war by preparation lor it is, of all methods,
the most business-like, the most humane, and the most in
accord with the teachings of the Christian religion.
It was not so very long ago that Rdyard Kipling was
saying some pretty mean things about America and the
Americans. Hut now news comes that he has succumbed to
the charms of a beautiful New York girl, Miss llalestier, who
is at picsent in London. It is amusing to note the press
comments upon the news. One paper calls it the irony of
late, and says that young Kipling either never meant what he
said about us Yankees or has h istily repented of them.
Another says that he will find out that matrimony is "another
story," sure enough. Yet another calls the proposed mar
riage an apology, saying thai the whirligig of time thus
brings its revenge.
Carmen Sylvia is not the only poet born near the steps
of a throne. According to the press reports, the Grand Duke
Constantinc of Russia, cousin of the cz.tr, has recently pub
lished a book of poems. They have been translated into
Herman by Julius Grosse and have been highly praised by
the critics. The lines are rather unpretentious yet thsy show
a depth of feeling and a way of looking at things quite for
eign to one of his rank and station. The melancholy and
pessimistic spirit that prevades them would seem to suggest
that life under' the shadow of the "whiM throne" is not as
enticing and sclf-satislying as poetic imaginations aie wont to
picture it.
It is announced that William Dean Howclls will shortly
retire from the editorship of ArVr'jr Magazine and accept a
similar position(upon the Cosmopolitan,
CURRENT COMMENT.
There is one ruler in the nineteenth century who will go
down in history as a capricious tyrant. That is the present
czar of all the Russias. Without exception there is no more
exacting and unreasonable autocrat over any nation to-day
than he. His will is more than law. It is religion. As his
will is, so the church goes, so the adherents of the church do.
Witness how the English wife of one of the royal princes was
forced to change her religion to the Greek faith, so-called.
This mighty autocrat is the state far more really than Louis
XrV of France ever thought of being. With an iron hand
he rules political airairs of his nation. His government offi
cers hardly dare give council in opposition to what his wishes
may be. Hut the c.ar's will governs not alone the political
alTaiis of the empire. The private actions and affairs not
only ol those in high ranks, but even of the common people,
arc none too petty to be subject to his capricious temper.
The Siberian exile system is a dreadful living reminder ol
this. There comes now the report of his selfish, inhuman
tyranny in connection with the starving peasants of the
drouth-stricken regions. It sec"s that some of the army offi
cers joined together and agreed to surrender their pay for a
time tothe peasants. The czar not only refused to allow
this generosity, but felt that his dignity was offended. He
desires the reports 01 famine to be suppressed because he
feels that they are reflections upon himself as an autocrat.
The czar insists that there is no famine, but only a partial
failure of crops. This he says in the face of circumstantial
and reliable evidence that the world has received constantly
for the last few months. Such an outrageous action on the
part of the czar is worthy of an autocrat who lives but for
himself. How terrible a prostitution of the energy and fruit
fulness of so large a part of the population and surface of the
world is this! It is the glaring anomaly of the nineteenth
centurv.
jay Gould has "lots of money and lots of railroad stock,"
but he cannot get rid of the cranks, nevertheless. One per
sistent gentleman of that persuasion has written repeatedly
demanding one thousand dollars. His threatening demands
for this modest sum were signed A. 11. 53. So far there is no
report that Jay Gould has waxed generous and acceded to
A. It. 33's demand. This many millionaire, at least, is not
hat sort of a person. Another crank desiring money from
Gould has just lately made his debut and his exit. While
not so modest in the amount he wanted, he was milder in his
asking. He was only a grocer's clerk, but his ideas and aspi
lations were great. He wanted Jay Gould to co-operate with
him in a scheme he had of building an elevated railway in
St. Louis. He casually remarked that Gould was sure to
advance the money needed, which was only Si 5, 000,000. He
added, moreover, that he was willing to marry Mr. Gould's
daughter Helen whose consent he felt confident of obtaining.
This erratic man was taken to the police station and exam
ined. . The doctor found him hopelessly insane and he was
committed to the asylum. It is a little surprising how this
craze for a millionaire's money is bringing to notice so many
hopelessly insane people. It must be that New York is full
of them ready to come forth on a moment's notice. The
notice seems to have been largely received of late. The
cranks seem likely to find, as other people before them have
found, that the money of millionaires is held with .never-tiring
BP-
Whether General Booth has found the way out of "dark
est England" is yet to be seen. A loud protest, one not
unfamiliar to American ears, has lately arisen. General
Booth in working out his plan, has set those who came to
army quarters for relief at work cutting wood. Now it seems
that in London there are a large number of men engaged in
this same business. So large is the outfit by the army work
ers that the business of these men is being ruined. At least
they claim this. They connot complain that prices are being
lowered for General Booth expressly declared in his book
that he would not lower prices when he came into competi
tion with other labores. This complaint that the wood-cutters
of London make is familiar to Americans in connection
with the convict lease system. Here the problem presented