( i 11113 OMAHA DAILY BEE : TUESDAY , .TAXTABY 0 , 1000. THE OMAHA DAILY BEE. 1J. HOSliWATIiH , IM.lor PUBLISHED BVBUY MOKNING. TERMS OF SfnSCMUl'TION. Dally lite ( wlthoJt Sunday ) . Ono Year. . . Daily Wc > sntl Sumlny , One Year. . . . . . . . S.W Dally , Sunday and Illustrated , Ono * ear i. Sunday nnd Illustrated. Ono Year 2. * Illustrated lice , Ono Year * > Sunday Hoe , One Ycnr ? * Saturday IJoe , One Year 1-JJJ Weekly Bee. Ono Yonr w OFFICB8. Omnha : The HPO Building. South Omaha : City Hall Building , Twcnti'-llfth nnd N streets. Council Bluffs : 10 1'cnrl street. Chicago ; 1610 Unity Building. New York : Temple court. Washington : 501 Fourteenth Street. COIWESPONDENCE. Communications relating to news nnd edi torial matter Should be addressed : Omana Bee , Editorial Department. llt'SINESS LETTERS. Business letters and remittances should be uildrooseil : The Bee Publishing Com pany , Omaha. Omaha.REMITTANCES. . s , Remit by draft , express or postal order. ] payable to The Bco Publishing Company Only 2-cent stamps accepted In payment 01 mall accounts. Personal checks , except on Omaha or Eastern exchange , not nccepteu. THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY. STATU.1IU.\T OF CIRCULATION. Stain of Nebraska , Douglas County , ss. : George B. Tzschuck , secretary ot ' 1 he Uco ' Publishing Company , being duly sworn , nays that the actual number of full anil completes copies of The Dally , Morning , Evening nnd Sunday Bee. printed during i the month of December , 1K0. was ns fol lows : , 1 I | Subscribed and sworn before me day ot January. A. D.f \ JUTNGATI. : . ( Keal. ) Notary Public. The weather man Is not under the suNpldoii of being sulmldl/.LMl by this coal barons. The arrival of the man of destiny has causpd a 'sudden drop of 1 ( ! to 1 tli'Krees in the temperature. "Senatorial contests disposed of with neatness and dispatch" Is the slsxn which the Iowa legislature lumps out. How ina'iiy blrthday.s did Ccneral .Tnektmn have and how many annivor- Kurlrs of the battle of New Orleans do we have to celebrate ? A Kentucky court which was heariiiK adjourned to witness alight a murder case ; light in which two other men were killed. At that rate the court can never catch mi with Its business. The IJee has scored a notable news beat on nil its alleged rivals in the story of the unraveled murder mys tery at Kearney. The Uec's readers al ways get the b'-st and get it lirst. Senator Clear will read a title clear to another six years' term as soon as the Iowa legislators can KO through the legal formality of registering their votes for him ami certifying to his commis sion. The ex-Hev. Mr. Brown , who played traitor to lieutenant Cllmore's com mand of prisoners while in the hands of the Filipinos. will probably take up his permanent abode with 'the sultan of The voting machine Is said to bo a handicap to the ignorant voter. Wonder if that Is the reason the democratic or gan Is having such tantrums over its prospective adoption for the coming mu nicipal election. Scarcely a week passes without an announcement of some new business en terprise establishing itself In Omaha. As an attractive Held for capital Invest ments Omaha Is not to be excelled by any of Its competitors. The Kngllsh generals In Africa have telegraphed the American commanders In the 1'hlllpplnes for the recipe for mak ing their opponents run. Oeneral Otis has offered to trade It for the English method of inducing them to stop and light. . _ = = Numerous democrats have denH'd that an effort Is being made to displace the present leadership of the party and place It In the hands of ex-Senator Gor man. 'But It is noticeable the Maryland ex-Kcnalor and his close friends are not among those who make the denial. Every department of the city Is sure that It needs greater iippmprliitlnns for maintenance the coming year than It had the-last year. It will devolve upon | the council to persuade most of them that theft estimates can be considerably contracted by wringing out the water In them. * Our anilablo ponoerntlc contemporary , which Is so anxious to Jiavc the Slocumb law enforced In all Its drastic provisions , Is reminded of the fact that the county attorney Is a popocratle olllclal , who Is doubtless ready to carry out any orders that do not Interfere with the revenue of the gang. Boss Tweed once Inquired , "What arc yon going to do about ItV" when taken to task for misappropriating public funds. Boss Tweed was landed In prison In spltu of ills defiance. The ex-county olliclal who sent a defy to the county commissioners should have Ills challenge as promptly accepted , Senator 1'ettlgivw is wearing away his life sitting up nights writing resolu tions to Introduce in the senate. The production of one each day must be a j severe tax upon his resources and if congress does not wish to sec him pros trated from overwork It should take a short vacation to give him a rest. AO srilUltDISA Tiny OK SlWhlt \Vhllo thorp are di-moi-rats In every vi'HInti < if the c.nmtry who desire that silver shall be subordinated If not la- nored in tlij * year's campaign , tlulr wls'.i makes no Impression upon the leader of the parly. Uecently the chairman of the New York democratic state committee , having made a trip through the south with a view to ascertaining the senti ment there , stated that none of the lead ers whom In1 mi't was disposed to Insist upon making free silver the main Issue of this year's campaign. They were not wllllii ? to abandon the Chicago pint- form , but they thought the sliver ijues- tlon should he subordinated to the newer Issues. There are democrats In other sections who take tills view and a few who urge that It would be well for the parly to drop the silver Issue altogether. It Is noteworthy that tills question re ceived no attention from the speakers j at the banquet of the Chicago Jackson club , with the .exception of the chief guest. Mr. Bryan , however , will tolerrtte no subordination of sliver. Ills declared platform Is. silver , anti-trust and anti- imperialism and the greatest of these is silver. In his Chicago address Mr. Bryan declared that the demand for the free coinage of silver had been vlntll- wited by the experience since ISOli. for had not the Increase In the supply of gold and the resulting better prices for commodities demonstrated the sound- ness of the quantitative theory of money ? "The light for bimetallism at the ratio of 1(1 ( to 1 lias not been lost , " said Mr. Bryan. "The Increased pro duction of gold has shown the advantage of more money and lias answered the argument so often made that the parity could not be maintained because of the overproduction of silver. " The mean ing of the last part of the sentence Is not clear , but that is not Important. It Is sulllclent that it serves notice upon Mr. Bryan's adherents that no heed will be given to those who favor placing silver In a sulMmllnato place among the Issues of the national campaign of 11)00. ) Whatever others may think as to thn policy or expediency of keeping that question at the front , Mr. Bryan be lieves that It should continue to occupy that place and what lie believes "goes. " The "bimetallism" for which Mr. Bryan stands was badly beaten In 1S ! ) ( > and again suffered defeat wherever it was an issue in 1SS. ! ) It has nnquest'onably lost ground everywhere. States tl't. ' he carried In IgOO he could not now carry on tills Issue. Every state that went republican In that year is practi cally certain to render a verdict against free silver next November. These considerations , however , have no weight with Mr. Bryan , and why ? Because adherence to free silver is abso lutely necessary to his retention of po litical leadership. Whenever that ques tion is abandoned by his party Ills domi nation will end. It is this question that gave him ascendency and has kept him at the head of the party. It Is his political capital and the moment it Is dropped he will fall back Into the ranks or take a. subordinate place among the leaders. No one understands this but ter than Mr. Bryan himself. He knows that as an anti-trust and anti-Imperial ism champion he is seriously handi capped. During his two terms In con gress lie never uttered a word against trusts. When the treaty of peace with Spain was before the senate he advised his political friends to vote for Its rail- lication. He is striving to make politi cal capital out of these questions , but he realizes that without the silver issue his party leadership would ho lost ami he therefore insists upon keeping that issue prominent. That he will compel the national convention to do as lie wills is not doubted. TUK SOUTH AFRICAN Sl'fUATHX. There Is nothing encouraging to the British In the South African situation. It seems evident that the Boers have determined upon more aggressive tac tics and If this shall prove to be the case a terrific battle or series of battles may be expected at any time on the Tiigola river and about I.adysuilth. Ac cording to the latest reports that place Is very likely to bu captured , but this will not bo accomplished without tre mendous lighting , for the British garrison risen Is composed of veteran soldiers and General White is n brave and able com mander. It Is probable that the. army besieging Ladysmlth has been materi ally reinforced , while it appears'to be abundantly supplied with artillery. If the Boers are able to prevent Bui- ler from crossing the Tngeln river with out withdrawing forces from Ladysniith , that place must fall and its capture would be a tremendous blow to the Brit ish. It would very much strengthen the Boer position and add greatly to the dlf- llcultles of the British , to say nothing of the loss of prestige which the latter would suffer. General Buller , In com mand of an army very much larger than the Boer forces confronting him , ap pears to be unable to strike an effective blow and It Is not surprising that he should be the subject of some sharp criticism In the English press and that doubt Is expressed whether he Is quail- lied for the great task committed to him. It Is certain that thus far he has done nothing to justify great confidence in Ids ability. But as to that no British olllcer in South Africa lias distinguished himself for generalship , with the possi ble exception of General White , the com mander at Ladysmlth. There Is no ques tion in regard to their bravery , but as strategists or tacticians they have shown no great skill , being In this respect con spicuously Inferior to the Boer com manders. Even If It be admitted that they were somewhat at a disadvantage at the beginning of hostilities , It l.i still a fact that they have not fully Improved their opportunities. This lias been clearly pointed out by some of the military ex perts of the London newspapers. The fact is that the British military estab- llshment had greatly degenerated. The statesmen of the country have been chlelly concerned In maintaining thu navy and the army has been neglected. The consequence Is that In a war re quiring a high order of generalship Great Britain la without a soldier of flrstrate knowledge of Hie art of war. lii-r ; i n MN hnvi' had mn.'fiT'Xperloncc' In Imlla and in ( luhtlng natives In Af rica , but they now have to deal with a civilized white fee. as Intrepid and do- i termlned as any people In the world and i who are demonstrating an astonishing familiarity with the art of war. The Boer tactics may not have been fault less , but they have certainly shown a skill and sagacity that were not ex- i peetod of them , particularly by the Brit ish. ish.The The situation appears to fully justify , the apprehension that is said to prevail In England. A great and possibly de cisive battle is imminent In which there will he great loss of life on both sides , whatever the result. Should the British suffer another reverse It may Increase the gravity of the situation for them by causing fresh accessions to the Boer ranks. Should the Boers lie defeated they would perhaps retreat to the Trans vaal and nwnlt the British invasion , which It Is believed they can success fully resist for an Indefinite time. AltOl.lSIt THE FEE SYSTEM. The experience Douglas county has had with fee olllcers during the past ton years emphasizes the imperative ii'jed for the abolition of the entire fee system. Every dollar collected In fees for whatever service should be turned into the treasury ami every public ollicer from constable to .sheriff ami clerk of the court should receive an Income fixed by law. There should be no grub-bag or chance in the compensation of public servants. The fee system Is in the na ture of tilings an Incentive to imposi tion and a source of corruption. It Im pels public olllcers to charge exorbitant mileage while traveling on railroad passes ami is a premium on perjury ami padded vouchers. When a candidate for ollice knows exactly how much lie will get for his service he will have no ground for complaining about being un derpaid and overworked. The fee system is chargeable with .sham oil Inspection and sham meat in spection. It Is also chargeable with the wholesale arrest of Indians as witnesses against bootleggers and the recent up heaval among United States deputy marshals. It Is responsible for a sys tem of transporting prisoners , imbeciles and Insane persons In single Hie from county seats to the state penal Institu tions , reformatories and asylums when they could be bunched together and con veyed In charge of deputy sheriffs In one trip. But so long as deputies can draw 10 cents a mile for each prisoner , truant or lunatic they are not likely to miss the opportunity to make a fat fee out of the state , which In the cud means out of the Individual taxpayer. It is the temptation of the fee system that makes one class of ofliclals dis honest and extravagant and the other class wink at imposition and fraud. The only remedy Is an enlightened pub lic sentiment that will demand at the hands of the next legislature the aboli tion of all fees as perquisites of ollice and the fixing of salaries for every uul- ) llc ollicer who Is now dependent for his income on the volume of fees and extent of mileage. The Interest of the taxpayers In the police court Is brought home by the statement that only ? 'J1 ( ! were-collected from police court lines during the past year for the benefit of the school fund. Ins'tead of being a source of income the police court , as now conducted , is a posi tive burden. It Is worth while for the school board to look Into the situation with a view to revising the methods now employed. The present is an age noted for the utilization of all manner of forces to meet the needs of man. Nolle have been developed to greater perfection than the injunction , but It remained for an Iowa man to go the limit by secur ing a writ to iirevent the marriage of ills daughter. As love laughs at lock smiths , Cupid will doubtless be able to break jail If sent up for contempt. The treatment of American prisoners by the Filipinos will have a tendency to make thinking opponents of the admin istration adjust their spectacles and wonder if their optics have not been playing them false on the Philippine question. Barbarous acts are not the work of a people intent on self-govern ment of an enlightened character such as modern civilization demands. The civil service rules under which competent and faithful school teachers enjoy protection against annual hold ups and summary removals for frivolous cause should not be disturbed. Any at tempt to abolish the permanent tenure rule will Justly arouse public resentment and stir up a hornet's nest over the heads of the school board. Some of the Omaha populists waift to know whether they will be allowed to make suggestions , as to the makeup of the popocratlc city ticket. That de pends tqion the suggestions. If they are modest enough to concede to the democrats the whole piece of pie they can suggest all they want. Co ni I n K Our AVny. Indianapolis Journal. For a government which Is new In world- \vldo diplomacy It is certainly a triumph for tlio United States to obtain the open- door In China after Great Britain had failed. Tlinc'N Involution , Globo-Dcmocrat. A steamship loaded with American coal Is on II& wuy to the birthplace of Columbus. The acnccso little thought In the time of their famous navigator that some day they would be sending across the Atlantic for fuel. iK'fx Coini ! In tin * Mountain. Son Krunclsco Call. The United States , having demonstrated Its right to the title , "First in war. " Is about to bo conceded "First In peace. " Most of the nations on earth uro clamoring for American Intervention In the war In South Africa. lliiiirlionlHiii In SoimTliliiux. . Springfield Jtepubllran. Anglo-American civilization Is obatlnutely old fogylsh In some matters. France has adopted in all olllclal departments ( ho sys tem of tee 24 o'clock day. following the ex ample of IJelcium and the railroads of sev eral European countries. To adopt this method of reckoning the hours of the day In England or the t'nltcd States would require more effort probably than to establish the ! metric system. nlj' .Toxin ill UK * Ktinfms City Star. A rare flash of humor In the speech of Mr. Bryan , nt the annual banquet of the Nebraska Traveling Men's club at Lincoln , was the observation that "tho November elections destroyed the last hope of UiMc who sought to modify the creed enunciated at Chicago In ISOfi. " Mr. Bryan probably meant that It would be vain to modify what hail been utterly demolished. \ol nn ItlnrK IIH I'nliitvil. Philadelphia Ledger. Too great precautions cannot bo taken against the spread of the bubonic plague , and the appearance- a single case at any point is just cause tor alarm , but there is no need for excitement , much less a panic , on Its account. It was found when the disease was raging nt Its height In India that persons of white race were but little affected by It , and those of cleanly , tem perate hnblts were almost entirely Immune. This class of persons , to which nil clvlllzcj bOlngs should belong , need have very llttlo fear , wherever the disease may obtain a foothold. A SUMTlltlOIIK | ( 'Ollllllllllll. Now York Tribune. Admiral Montojo finds fault by the most courteous Implication with Admiral Dewcy for taking advantage of the superior range of his guns at Manila , .nnd keeping at n distance at which his own guns would bo cffdctlve upon the Spanish ships while the SpanUh guns could do him no harm. At the same time ho blames his own govern ment for not giving him longer range guns , so that he could have pounded the Yankees without himself being annihilated. We are afraid the two complaints have something the effect of n double negative. Either alone might bo effective , though really wo do not see that honor or valor or courtesy or nnythlng else requires a commander to put his ships and men In unnecessary peril. Hut to nnd fault with Admiral Dowcy for something and then complain because he was um ! ef ] not able to do the same thing seems to the critical Judgment well , let UB say n trlllo superfluous. . - - A MiSMl.VSICA SAMP Mi. IU > bt-l'nj-iiiK PiiNHlbllttlcM of an Av- I'ritKt : HarvvHf. American Investment , lluffnlo. A few years ago hard times made the western farmer deny himself everything save the barest necessities of life. Then crime the great crop year of 1897 and with It n story. A Nebraska farmer carried n mortgage of $4,200 on his property , nnd It was a burden hard to contend with , The wheat crop of ' 97 was enormous and prices were high. Ho appeared at the bank shortly after harvest , pulled out $4,000 and asked for a loan of $200 to enable him to cancel the mortgage note. The banker , who held the note , urged him not to bother about It , but go and buy cattle with his $4,000 , feed his corn crop and In that way get the maximum for his product. "No , sir , " re plied the farmer , "I want to pay that note now. Then when I harvest the corn crop I'm going to pay you back that $200 I Just borrowed , and then do you know what I'm going to do2" and his honest face beamed all over with pleasure , "I'm going to buy a buggy ! " This little'Incident tells the stcry of thousands of others out In Nebraska , and the fact that during the past six months ono | concern has shipped to one firm In Omaha alone 130 carloads of buggies and carriages , averaging about twenty-two to the car , makes It very evident that prosperity Is with Nebraska. It Is a wonderful state with i great resources , and the crops of the past fe.w years have put 'Nebraska farmers In an enviable position.MI ; * ' BI1H TII1B IX ItAIIAVAY FA1MJUKS. Iusl Year'N Itppn'ril I'rovokrn Slicnlfl- timt C'ontriiNf N. Phlladcliihla Times. Indications of business prosperity are of two kinds positive nnd negative. The first relate to the volume ot business actually transacted , Including business failures , sus pensions , extensions , compromises with creditors , etc. In dull or disastrous busi ness seasons the list of personal nnd cor- ' p&rato failures Is Invariably a long one , and in prosperous years It Is quite as invariably lessened. The list of mercantile failures for ISO ! ) has been shown to bo In line with this in variable rule. The most striking feature of the year's bankruptcies , however , relates to the railway receiverships , which num bered but ten , comprising but 1,019 mllt-s of railway all told , being but one-half of 1 per cent of the tbtal mileage of the coun try. But ono road of importance , the Kan- saK City , I'lttBburg & Gulf , was Included in the list , two of the others being short logging roads , one an old narrow-gauge railway , nnrt the others merely short local lines. JVhen this record It ) compared with that o' 1803 , | n which the receiverships Included seventy-four , companies , with nearly 30,000 miles of rpad-tjio ; contrast is very marked , nnd Indicates thnN railway construction Is either getting on n sounder business basis than ever before or that business was t-o good last year that any sort of n railway could meet Its obligations. ST.YTU EMiCTIOXS OF ISt ) ! . KliruroN that Indicate tlu > Drift of 1'ulillf Sc-lltlniciK. Philadelphia Press. Eleven states held elections In 1899 In which general tickets were voted for and In three other atntcs there were elections for legislatures or Important county ofllccrs. In the latter states the vote has not been compiled and Is known only approximately , but In the eleven states the official vote cast by the different parties has been de clared. It Is as follows : States. Hep. Dem. Pro. Pop Iowa 239,613 lt,325 : ! 7.C50 ] .C9 | Kentucky 193,711 191,331 L',310 3,038 Maryland 116,280 128,409 5,270 ST.2 MnSMflchusettH . . lfiS.W.2 103,102 7,402 10,778 Michigan 218,828 1G5.1S2 8,7 9 4 , 51 MlHslHHlppi 42,273 C.C&7 Nebraska. flt,213 1(0,320 ( Ohio 417,199 M.-.nG 5K > 5 10B.721 Pennsylvania . . . . 431,000 227,512 18,0,2 1,9 < S llhodo iBlnml 2I.30S 14,602 1,27ft 2.C41 South Dakota. . . . 21,201 18,601 Totals Itl33,19l 1.652.434 62,735 132.1CS The result shows that of these eleven states the republicans carried eight nnd the democrnts three. The total republican vote ! was 1,933,191 nnd the total democratic vote 1,652,434 , leaving a republican plurality of i 280,760. The aggregate prohibition and j ' populist vote and some scattering votes. Im ' passible to classify and therefore not given In the tnble , sum up about 230,000 , leaving a clear republican majority of 50,000. This Is an excellent showing In a year when there was very little political Interest outside of two or three state * . The three states hold ing elections , but In which there was no 1 general ticket , were Kansas , New York nnd Virginia. The republican plurality In the first state U estimated at 20.000 and In the ' second state at 33,000 , a total of 53,000 , and the democratic majority In the third state Is placed between 00,000 nnd 55,000. So they just about balance each other. The elections In the year preceding the presidential election year are closely looked to for Indlcatlpns uf thu drift of public senti ment. If there Is opposition to the party In power which la likely to become formid able It In sure to show Itself. IluJ if the country Is atl fled with the administration a vote of confidence will be given. It Is In the latter light that the clectlona of laet year will be Interpreted. lit IIIUMi IMMVV TIIK SCH UMMiHS. New York World The Canadians In < ulh Africa behaved very like Amerlcar- I Philadelphia Times : England fenrt if j food for the IJoer tables Is declared contra band , in time tht tables may be turned on Itself. Washington Post : England Is not paying much attention * 10 China. John Hull's time 1 Is fully occupied with the open Doer In the ' Transvaal. San Francisco Call : It looks n If Huller - ler had decided not to make nny further ad vance In the war until be has made up his mind whether ho Is fighting In the nine teenth or the twentieth century. Olobe-Uemocrat : A humorous report comes to the effect that England will send President Kruger to the Island of St. Hel ena. The first trouble will bo to get him , nnd It Is ccrtnln he will never follow Na poleon's example of voluntary surrender. Indianapolis News : Man to man , the llrltlsh are no better than the Doers , nnd with the Doers entrenched ns they arc , on their native heath , knowing , with the un erring Instinct of Indians or frontiersmen , how to take advantage of every feature of the ground , something that the Urltlsh do not know , man for man , they cannot be defeated , although they are not so good marksmen as they were supposed to be. They are strong , sturdy men and can shoot strnlght. Hut they cannot do the fine In dividual shooting of the good marksmen nmonK the English or American people. An article in the Forum says tbat a Doer's favorite mark is a herd ot 200 or 300 bles- bok nnd that ho refuses to lire nt a single nnlmnl , for fear of wasting his ammunition. Dud armed with modern rapid-lire rlllcs , nnd shooting straight ns ho does , nnd be ing a bravo man ns ho Is , neither the Eng lish nor nny ono else can tnko him on the frontnl attack unless the attacking party have men to waste ton to one. COXTUAllAXn OFVAIIt naltimore American : The United States has notified Great Drltaln that seizures of American vessels will not be tolernted ns n matter of Drlllsh right. This sounds llko an echo from out of the dim pasts of his tory. tory.Duffalo Express : Another strong point ] scored by German newspapers In discussing the seizures In IJclagoa bay Is that In 1870 English firms made considerable money by selling not only food and ordinary mer chandise , but even arms to the French. St. Louis Globe-Democrat : It ought to bo apparent to the Drltlsh government that the repeated seizure of German vessels In South African waters Is bad policy. A Ger man historian In an article In one of the American oiagazlnes recently said there was only ctie man In Gernmny who did not hate England and that was the kaiser. The story now Is that the kaiser himself Is be ginning to get angry at England. This may or may not bo true , but the folly of Eng land's course Is pretty apparent to most persons by this time. Kansas City Star : Speaking of seizures on the high seas , probably the most high handed affair since the Urltlsh frigate Leopold searched the United States frigate Chesapeake for British deserters was the taking of the Confederate commissioners from the British mall steamer Trent by the United States steamer San Jaclnto. When England demanded their release the State department made the amusing contention that the commissioners were contrabands of wnr and hence liable to seizure on the high seas. England's reply was to prepare for war and the prisoners were released. Detroit Free Press : Ambassador Choato has been to see the British premier about j ' those Delagoa bay Hour seizures. He told , Lord Salisbury that the three captured cargoes - 1 goes In two British and one Holland chip , were , A erlcan b.readstuffs consigned to rcputnble merchantsiln a neutral porl and therefore not properly subject to seizure as contraband of war. The premier was non- j i committal. The British government had yet | to ascertain what -considers contraband. "But don't borrow any trouble about It , " eald Lord Salisbury to Ambassador Choate , In effect. "Tho commercial rights of our dear kinsmen across the sea will be equit ably considered. " So ended the Interview. New York Times : There Is nothing high- flown or fantastic about the German Insist ence thnt their commerce shall not be In terfered with wantonly. Without doubt we should seriously resent the seizure of an American ship which was followed by de taining and searching her to the extent of unloading her cargo , unless undoubted and unquestioned contraband was. found on board , the ship's papers to the contrary not- withstanding. We have been saved from the i Irritation the Germans are undergoing by the fact that the seizures of American goods have been effected on board of British ships. If the ships had been under our Hag we should have been much more disposed to take otfense. Washington Post : If England can stop , search , perhaps seize , any vessel bearing freight to a neutrnl port , no matter upon what pretext , then our commercial Interests are at England's mercy absolutely. For our part , we think that the government of the United States should address Itself to this clear-cut question. There should bo no hldo-nnd-seek nonsense about specific In stances , no long postponements over diplo matic Jargon. Are we to submit to , or shall wo peremptorily forbid , all Interference with our commerce with neutral ports ? There is no other Issue consistent with our dignity nnd material welfare. The alterna tive Is clearly before us. Either free com merce for us , or a ruinous suspension of our foreign trade and a paralysis of our do mestic Industries , IMilt.SOXAI < AXIJ OTIIHHWISH. Captain Loary of Guam Is monarch of all bo surveys. Slgmar Mohrlng , editor of a Berlin comic paper , has been sent to prison for six months for making fun of the Catholic church. This Is no joke. A gifted Boston scientist has constructed a diagram to prove that the twentieth cen tury will begin next year , and now UoBlon no longer doubts It. Senator Hale , with his own wealth and that which was added by his marriage with n daughter of the late Senator Chandler of j MlchlKtin , Is a multl-mllllonalrc. j It Is related of a popular lecturer now ( touring n portion of the country that his ] tickets of admission read : "Li-cturo by Dr. I Hensoii of Chicago on 'Grumblers. ' Admit one. " Captain Slgsbee. the hero of the Maine. 'and who will take charge of the naval In- telllgenco bureau on February 1 , has pur chased a house In Washington which will bo occupied by tbo Slgfibeo family. ! The first official act of Mayor Hart of Bos ton on taking olllco on Monday last was the i appointment of Patrick A. Collins , whom I he defeated ut the recent election , to be u member of the special commission for the revision of city ordinances. Mr. Collins was formerly a member of thla commission , but resigned In September last , when It was decided Uial he was to be a candidate for ' the mayoralty. In the opinion of the Chicago News the historic codfish of Boston , so long displayed as the city's heraldic crest , must now hide Us diminished head. Its glory pulen before the matchless brilliancy which must Illume the first fish caught In the Chicago river In thirty years. That fiah. preserved and glided , should be set on high In the city council chamber und kept there that future generations may see and marvel at the light. j A nitOPPKII-OAY Vl'.AIt. \o Prrnnn l.lilnu Now Will Srp An other I.IkeII. . St. IxMlis Itrpubllc. Whciher or not It Is due to the fart that ' women miss the privilege of usurping male , prerogatives which come to them with leap | ) ear. It Is certain that much anxious In- j qulry has arisen as to why the year 1900 , ( although It Is the fourth year. Is not a leap year. It Is not , that Is certain. February , 1900 , has only twenty-eight da > s. It Is fortunate thnt In this way attention Is fometlmcs directed toward the calendar , ns perfect n llljtlc device ns nny which man has ever fitted himself into the unaccom modating phcnomtna of the solar system. The year 1'jOO Is n "dropped-day ycnr. " No person living now will ever see another. The year 2100 IB the next "droppcd-dny year. " The trouble comes about in this wny : One day of twenty-four hours Is the time required for the enrth to make one rotntlnu on Us nxls , producing the change of day and night. One lunar month Is the time required for the moon to revolve once around the earth. Ono year Is the time required for the enrth to revolve once around the HUH , pro ducing the changes of the seasons. For these different periods of time there Is no "common devisor , " thnt Is , the day Is not contained nn oven number of times In the month or the month nn even number of times In the year. For Instance , the mouth ccntnliiH exactly 29.S305SS4 days , nnd the yenr contains exactly 3C5 days. C hours , 48.75 minutes. Thnt makes nil the trouble. The Mohammedans , In making up their calendar , disregarded the year entirely nnd base their reckoning en the month. Under this plan the Mohammedans have the blithe some spring sometimes In January nnd sometimes lu August. Christians disregard the month entirely , using nn nrbltrnry division which they call [ n month , which has no connection with the month , nnd use the ycar as the bnsls of their calendar. This makes the seasons always fall nt the same time. Now , the true year contains 3C5 days , 5 hours , 48 % minutes. The odd number can not well bo formed directly Into n calendar year , which must contain only complete days. Pope Gregory XIII. , who In 1582 Improved the cnlendnr Invented by the astronomers of j Julius Cne.sar , mndo a rule , which has adopted by all countries except Hussla , thnt "tho closing yenr of each century , 1600 , 1700 , otc. , Instead of being always n leap yenr , ns In the Julian calcndnr , should be A leap jear only when dlvlsablo by 400. " Therefore the year 1900 Is not n leap year. The plan produces c'oso ' coincidence be tween the calendar yenr and the sun's yenr. You can figure It out. The sun's year Is 365 days , 5 l.ours , 4SM minutes long. The ordinary cnlendnr yenr Is 363 days long. The leap year Is 366 days long. The average year U 3G3'i days long. In this way the calendar gains on the sun 11V4 minutes each year. In 100 years the gain Is 1.125 minutes or 18 % hours , almost n dny. Dropping the leap-year day , therefore , once every 100 years balances up the 18 % hours and leaves the sun B',4 hours abend of the calendar. In 400 years the sun will be nlmost a full day ( four times 5Vi hours ) ahead of the calendar. Making every 400lh year n lenp yenr brings about almost absolute coin cidence. enn wx Tin : AVAR TAXES. U 'nt mill MOH ! FviiNlliIc Plnii of Pre- VFiitltiw ll StirpIiiM. Louisville Courier-Journal ( clem. ) The republican party , If It expects to re main In power , had better speedily set about some reform In revenue legislation. The way money Is piling Into the treasury In excess - cess ot the government's requirements threatens continued danger to business , be- sides being a constant temptation to ex travagance. A few figures will show this. The ordi nary receipts' and expenditures of Decem ber left a surplus of $7,703,604 , besides which the .anticipation of the January Interest , and the Items of Interest duo In December ab sorbed $4,346,000 more , making the real sur plus for the month over $12,000,000. No vember's surplus was $6,175,724 and Octo ber's was $3,359,561. Here Is nn actual ex cess of $17,238,889 of receipts over expendi tures In cash for the last quarter of the year , and If the Interest payments of Janu ary had not been anticipated It would have been $21,500,000 , which Is at the rate of $86- 000,000 per annum. January promises an other large surplus , and by the close of Au gust the excess of receipts over expendi tures , It Is officially estimated , will amount to $00,000,000 and It will go to $100,000,000 by the close of 1900. With the vast Increase In business activity which Is calling for the use of every dollar of our currency It Is manifest that this enor mous sum cannot bo spared from the gen eral clrculntlon. The treasury already has a net cash balance of $282,000,000 , and there would be no reason In permitting It to reach $400,000,000. The only way to obviate It as the Jaw now stands Is for the secrctnry either to buy bonds or else to Increase the deposits In the national banks. With the presidential campaign going on It Is reasonable to suppose that the adminis tration will not subject Itself to any more charges of favoritism to the national banks. Money Is so valuable now that the privilege would bo worth a great deal to the banks , and would embitter the already great preju dice against them. And to buy bonds at the exorbitant prices now asked would hardly bo good financiering or good politics. The more feasible plan would bo to re duce the revenues. What Is the use of tak ing money from the people when It Is not needed ? The abolition or reduction of some of the war taxes would be nn easy solution of the question , If the sacred structure of the DIngley tariff cannot bo meddled with. The fact that It Is necessary to go carefully because there Is no clear Idea as to expendi tures In our dependencies may bo alleged as an excuse not to touch the tariff , but the war taxes should be cut down In some way. 01 it MVV : TicitiMToitiis. : Their < ; OV < TIIIU 'II < n SrrloiiH I'rolili'iii lor CoiiKrcHH lo ( ; niiilc | | Wllli , Hultlmoro American. Ono of the most perplexing matters which ciingreHS will have to deal with Is the gov- ( iniincnl of the now territories. This per plexity docs not arise from any Inherent illlllculty. but from the eagerness to give BHIIKI of these territories n complex form uf government totally unsulted to existing conditions. The people of Puerto Hlco , fcr Instance , nro quite ns cnpablo of sustaining thn ordinary territorial form of govern ment IIH nny of the southwest territories were twenty years ago , but an effort will bo ma < le to glvo them n complicated nffalr absolutely unique In our political history , with the Idea that they will bo benefited. The effect of such a government would 1)3 to convert u people who are more than friendly to the United States Into bitter critics with u serious grievance. If they are not yet llttcd for the regular territorial form of government , why not let them remain ns they uro ? They appear to be thoroughly satisfied with the situa tion as It is and they will condone grlpv- UIKCS In the present rule which would ba very galling In a government prescribed by congress , In which they were treated us grown-up children. To establish u com posite territorial rule In the Island. In which nil authority and all power and all emolu ment went In foreigners , while the natives were allowed to play at government. tvoul'J bo a blunder that would long con 11 nun to plague the Inventor. If they are not fit for Hclf-government let them remain as they are , or glvo them a commission suh a * exists In the UlKtrict of Columbia and him existed there with uuccess for many yearn. What ban been eald of Puerto Rico ap plies with greater foree to Hawaii The proposed plan of government for those Islands vlolnlrs the bnsl' ' prlndplw upon which the government of the United Slates rests. There has never been any division Into parts of the privilege of citizenship. A man In the United StnUs Is cither n citizen or ho Is not. There re no cla es amm ? the citizens of this country. If a man ran vote for members of congress he can vota for the members of the legislature , which fleet United States senators , nnd he ran vote for the president of the United Staloc , But under the Hawaiian bill they are di vided Into classes , one nnd the much largei class bring given a Blight tnste of citi zenship , while the other , an oligarchy , Is 1C bo given nil power nnd authority. The truth Is. thnt Hnwall Is not fitted for nny form of government but the sliuplc.it nnd will not be for n number of years. If the present government Is not acceptable then the government of the District of Columbia will lit the cnee exactly , with the supple ment of n delegate In congrern. Ki.Asiins or PI N. Indlatmpolls Journal : "What U n bache lor , Aunt Martha ? " "Oh , lie's a man who thinks every girl that looks at him Intends to marry him Chicago News : "Don't you pity ttuo glrln who marry foreign tltle ? " "No ; any girl who Is n genuine Anirrliiw ought to give the man the worst of It. " Cleveland Plain Dealer : "You say the n an stele your umbrella ? " "Well , I don't want to be too sure nbmit It. Ho may have been the. original owner. " Washington Slur : "There's no doubt about It , " snld the man with a largo diamond mend In his necktie ; "that man Is a genuine patriot. " "How do you know ? " "Why , he can get up ns much enthusiasm over an election as ho does over a prim light. " Chicago Hocord : "This Is n nk-e round steak , " remarked the landlady , as Mho wielded her knife. "It may be madam. " ppoko up the comedian boarder , "but It will take a miracle lo make It go around. " ' Boston Transcript : Mrs. Fogg A gentle man culled to see you , David , this m rn- Ing * . Mr. Fogg Did ho have nnythlng to nay ? Mrs. Fogg Only that lin would call again. Mr. Fogg H'm evidently a dun. but to give warning of his second coming betrays inexperience. Heckon there's no great dan ger from him. Chicago News : Mrs. DlggrHow Is It you nro . o successful In managing1 your husband ? Mrs. Biggs Ob , 1 simply feed him well and trust to luck. Harlem Life : "Did yon know thnt Miss BJonos was going to marry young Smith ? " "I knew It ; but I cannot understand how ti girl as intelligent as she In can ronsent to mnrry a man Mupld enough to want to marry her. " Chicago News : He How long should a man know a girl before proposing ? She That depends on his Income. Indianapolis Journal : "If all the money In the world were divided .equally , each person would got about $ .TO. " "Is that so ? Well , I move we let things stay as they are. " ColIler'.M Weekly : HUsbnnd My dear , I want to a."k you one favor before you go off on that long visit. Wife A thousand , my love. What is It ? Husband Don't try lo put the house In order before you leave. Wife U Isn't hard work. Husband Perhaps not ; but think of the expense of telegraphing to you every tlmo I want to llnd anything. Chicago Tribune : "What shiftless people there must have liecn living on earth at the beginning of tin Christian era ! " ex claimed the mnn who was nil tangled up over this twentieth century business. "How so ? " asked the person who hap pened In for the purpose of helping out the dialogue. "Because nobody appears to have been able to look out for number 1. " Effect oil Attire. Detroit Journal. "You're aibrlck ! " cried a fellow named Will , To his sister , nor took she. It lilt , - Till ho added , "Oh ; yes , ' " ' You're but half-baked , or less. But you're certainly dressed up to kiln ! " XB.VUIvR HOME. Phoebe Cnry. One sweetly solemn thoucht Comes to mo o'er and o'er ; I'm nearer homo today Than I have ever been before. Nearer my Father's bouse. Where the many mansions be ; Nearer the great white throne , Nearer the crystal sea ; Nearer the bound of life. Where we lay our burdens down ; Nearer leaving the cross. Nearer Kninln ? the crown ! But lying darkly between , Winding down through the night , Is the silent , unknown stream , That leads at lust to the light. Closer and closer my steps Come to the dread ubvsm ; Closer Death to mv lips Presses the awful chrism. Oh , If my mortal feet Have almost gained the brink- It It be I nm nearer homo Even today than 1 think 1 Father , perfect my trust , Lot my spirit feel In death That her feet are ( irmly set On the Rock of a Living Faith ! Your Health is worth more than all the c'othing ' in the world but it doesn't take a fortune to get all the clothing you need if you go to the right place , We manufacture more goods than any other simi lar house in the world , We put our best judg ment and taste into the work and we don't permit anyone to make a better or more stylish garment than we do and our prices are as reasonable as any $10 to $25 for Suits , $10 to $40 for Overcoats and Ulsters.