TIIE OJIAITA DAILY BEE: TIIUJRSDAT, DECEMBER 25, 1002.
Tiie 'uniaiia Daily Her
E. ROS2WATER, EDITOR.
PUBLISHED EVERT MOKN1NG.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.
Dally Nee (without Sunsny), On Year..4"
Unity l(ee anu 8unuay, one Kcar .0U
Illustrated br. One 1 ear
Kunriay Hee, One Year ii.OJ
baturnay Hie, one Year l.oo
'1'wentleth Century Farmer, One Tear., l.uu
DEL1VKKKD 11T CARHIER.
Dully flee (without Sunday), per ropy.... 2c
Dally Iteo (wittiuut Sunnay, per wek....lic
Daily Bee (including bunday), per week. .lie
Sunday Hec-, r copy , 6c
Evening Bee (without Hunday), per wwk 9c
Evening Bee (lnaludlng Bunday), per
week 10c
Coniplalnts of Irregularities In delivery
should be addressed to City Circulation De
partment. OFFICES.
Omaha The Bee Building.
South Omnha city Hall Building, Twenty-fifth
and M Streets.
Council Bluffs-Hi Peari Street.
Chicago ltrlti Unity Building.
New York 2.118 Park How Building.
Washington 6l Fourteenth Street.
- CORRESPONDENCE.
rommiinlcatlotis relating to news and edi
torial matter should he addressed: Omaha
Bee, Editorial Department.
STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION.
State of Nebraska, Douglas County, as.:
Ueorge B. Tischuck. secretary of The
Bee Puullshtng Company, being uuly sworn,
ays that tha actual number of full and
complete copies of The Daily, Morning,
Evening and Sunday ee printed during the
month of November, WW. was aa follows:
X... S1.4TO 16 88,435
t 2tf,4SO 17 80.UUD
I ft 1,0410 18 30.8T0
4 Sl,3KO ' 1 BO.IMO
41 .Or 20 SO.eMMI
84.JWH) 21 80, (KM)
7 31.210 22 31,410
3,3tO 23.', 2(4,310
( JTU,675 24 3U.U20
10 3 1.3(H) 2a... ;. .31,01(0
11 80.UTO 24.. .t 81,(M)0
11 80.7OO 27 8),7fM
12 SO.eUU 28 Sl.l.'IO
14 80,730 29 31.4HO
U 81,310 K 24,475
ToUl 032.U10
Less unsold and returned copies.... 0,237
Net total sales ,..022,078
Net average sales 30.7B5
GEORGE B. TZSCHUCK.
Subscribed In my presence ar.d sworn to
rerors me thla jKJih day ot November, A. v.
M. B. 1IUNGAT E,
(Seal)
Notary Public.
Merry Chrlctmns.
And the game to you.
Christmas Is the children's day. See
that they get the most out of It..
By the way, Santa Claus, don't for
get to leave Guiana that new audi
torium, When It comes to Christmas presents
TJucle Sam beats all his Euroiean
cousins out. ' "
The ship subsidy bill can' be pu$ in
the class of rucasurcs that will not be
floated at this whhIou of congress!. ' ,
It won't be a very efficient war
measure hereafter to cut the cables if
Marconi's little scheme works out all
right
Tho way ex-Governor Hogg of Texas
la denouncing the story that oil has
been exhausted at Splndletop indicates
that tie still has oil well stock to sell.
The luckiest strike In oil In Nebraska
to be anticipated In the near future will
certainly be that of Governor Mickey's
appointee to the state oil Inspectorship.
With disastrous earthquakes, famines
and other mishaps of nature In so
many countries, Americans may well
conclude that theirs Is after all a pretty
good land to live in.
The news that a violent snowstorm
has been raging In and about Constan
tinople affords little consolation to the
paople here who see their coal piles
melting away, while prices are still at
airship altitudes.
If Mr. Vanderbllt gets daily health
bulletins In the papers during his pres
ent sickness how often would the phy
sicians have to announce the condition
of their patient If J., rierpout, Morgan
were under the weather?
The congressional mill has closed
down for the holidays, but the third
house consisting of the Washington
correspondents Is In continuous session,
doing icven more legislating than when
the legislator, are there.
Army officers everywhere are, with
few exceptions, In favor of the resto
ration ofthe, ranteeu-. After another
experience or two with holiday cheer
furnished by the groggerles on the
fringe of 'tho posts the verdict will be
unanimous.
Notwithstanding Secretary Shaw la a
radical gold staudard man,' he did not
let the silver .anniversary of his mar
riage go by without due celebration
with his friends. Still his political
enemies may, make a handle out of the
fact that be would ' permit no "presents.
Judge McTbersOri's decision overrul
ing the Iowa supreme court and holding
that express companies can handle
liquor packages for Iowa C. O. D.
from other states did not came In time
for Christmas business in the prohibi
tion counties, but It will answer every
exigency connected with New Year's
awearing off.
j a j
The situation with reference to the
tatebood bills pending In the senate
may be summed up briefly In a few
. words. All the senators are for the ad
mission of all tho territories, but they
aret agreed on the time that admis
sion s&ould take place. If a rote were
taken oft the date statehood should be
come effective it would vary all the
way from next week to. next century.
A strong effort Is being made to re
habilitate the bicycle trust, which got
punctured on the rough road of syndi
cate nuance. The scheme Involves prac
tically a heavy asseosment of the stock,
showing that in- the end it is the-stock-bolder
that gets the worst of it In such
case. They will have to .sacrifice their
stock or put up more money on an un
certainty a to pulling their enterprise
through.
(RMSTMAS. '
The one day In the year that Is always
welcome and is welcomed by all, ' that
never loses Its'-power to gladden and
cheer, that "Is ever an , Inspiration to
kindly offices and generous acts. . that
whether the sun shine or the sky be
leaden with winter storm 'still diffuses a
Ki'iil.il and Joyful Influence, that Is the
most truly symbolic of Christian days
the merry Christmas la with us again.
1 We need not be concerned about the
j genesis of this day, whether It had its
origin In barbarous times ages before
the Christian era or had a more recent
beginning. Neither reed we be troubled
with considering the past or the various
methods of Its observance. We need
only be concerned with the spirit of the
day as we find it and with the Influences
It exerts, nnd In-, these there, appears
every renson why. it should rank tirst
among days In the affection and appreci
ation of the Christian 'world. If the
observance of Christmas is getting far
ther away, with each succeeding gene?
ration, from the austerity which once
characterized It and becoming more and
more festal and Joyous, it is' not there
fore losing its moral and religions In
fluence. On the contrary, there' is
reason to ' believe that In its newer
character, in the greater care thati Js
taken In Its observance to minister to the
happiness of the young, associating with
such ministration easily impressed, les
sons of the significance of the day, far
more Is accomplished for moral' and
religious effect than was possible under
the restraints which Puritanism im
posed upon the observance of Christ
mas. ' The churches have remitted noue
of their proper labor on this day,
though the sermons may be somewhat
shorter; the Sunday schools make the
occasion one of such exceptional at
traction as to draw Into them many
children who would not otherwise enter
their doors, and Christian beneficence
takes a broader sweep on this day than
on any other of the year, doing it, too,
with a warmth nnd ' heartiness and
genlalty that make It doubly valuable.
So we say that no matter when or
where or how Christmas originated. Us
spirit nnd Influences as we find them
arc wholesome and elevating and good.
The gladness this day brings into .mil
lions of homes, brightening the life of
childhood and sweeping away the shad
ows that hang over the pathway of
age, the testimonials of love and friend
ship it calls out. the family gatherings it
Invites, and the heartfelt greetings It
evokes, are all humanizing , and
Christianizing In their tendency, creat
ing delightful .memories that never fade,
but rather become with tho advancing
years more delightful and more
cherished. May ro reader of The Bee
lack today any of its legitimate pleas
ures is our sincere "vlsh, and so we ex
tend to all the greeting of a merry
Christmas. .
PROPOSED BVRtAU OF STATISTICS.
Among the suggestions for legisla
tion which la is said the Omaha Com
mercial club will re-enforce Is one for
the creation of a Bureau of Statistics
for Nebraska, with a view to advertis
ing the resources of the state as an at
traction for Immigrants and Investors.
The promoters of the proposed bureau
overlook the fact that Nebraska already
maintains a bureau or department de
voted to a compilation of statistics and
that the work of this department, so
far as it goes, Is highly satisfactory.
We refer to the work under the deputy
labor commissioner, which has been ex
panded so as to include the gathering
of Information with reference not only
to labor and labor conditions, but also
to the entire Industrial activity of . the
commonwealth.
It is true that in the matter of crop
reports Nebraska Is behind some other
states, notably Kansas, where, under
the 8tate Board of Agriculture, a sys
tem has been perfected of gathering
news of growing crops from the open
ing of the season to the completion of
the harvest, as well as the usual statis
tics as to acreage, animals and farm
products. That such statistics for Ne
braska are desirable and would ' be
useful goes without saying'. Whether
a new and Independent bureau of sta
tistics Is needed to do this Is open to
question. What we should do, If more
varied industrial statistics are wanted
Is to'strengthen and build up the work
of the labor commissioner and place
him In position to command the co
operation of county authorities and
assessing officers. To duplicate present
machinery of government simply out of
sentiment, or to give .employment to
somebody out of a Job, would be un
necessary expense without producing
any better results.
OCH HISTVRIC roLlCT VINDICATED. '
,It la perfectly gratuitous to assert, as
some partisan critics of President
Hoosevelt are asserting, that his admin
istration has backed down from the tra
ditional principles of the Monroe doe
trine. The explicit avowals of the Brit
ish and (German governments that they
propose no Infringement of the Mon
roe doctrine, that they Intend neither
to oppress Venezuela nor to seise Its
territory,' establish the exact contrary.
It Is rather a triumph of the adminis
tration to "secure recognition of the
American doctrine without exasperating
asserttveness or unnecessary' spread
aglelsm. There Is absolutely nothing
new in the position that the Monroe doc
trine does not protect South American
governments "in wrongdoing, and that
they must like other governments, re
spond In damages .where the-subjects
of foreign countries' "ha va been In
jured In person and property.
To assume thst'the Monroe doctrine
was ever Intended to suspend In the case
of the countries of the new world the
principles of International Justice aud
comity which obtain among civ
ilized nations. and which we' ourselves
both submit to and enforce upon others,
la preposterous. Time and again tb
government of ihi United State La
paid damages for injuries to subjects
of foreign nations, and It Is absurd to
suppose that the administration of Pres
ident Roosevelt or any other typical
American would establish any different
rule . for the so-called South American
republics, under guise of Monroeism or
otherwise. Whst the Monroe doctrine'
In Its original Intent and subsequent
development does do is to Interpose to
prevent their dlsmemlerment or the ap
propriation of their territory by Euro
pean aggression, no matter on what
pretense.
The present administration, having
f nforced this principle, even to the point
of securing In advance positive assur
ances of lta observance, the essence of
the Monroe doctrine has la fact been
vindicated In the most notable manner
The preliminaries, to arbitration of the
whole subject assume the Inviolability
of our position on that doctrine, and the
suggestion- of the chief European gov
ernments. Interested that President
Roosevelt himself shall act as arbi
trator Is a precedent establishing the
substance of our historic policy with the
most signal emphasis.
RUO8KVKLT AUD AHBl TRATIVX.
President Roosevelt has . received a
formal request from the European gov
ernments to act as arbitrator in the
Venezuelan dispute. There is no Intima
tion as to what the decision of the
president may be, but having 'already
had the matter under consideration aud
conferred with his cabinet and others
in public life In regard to li, and realis
ing also the desirability of an early
determination, it may confidently be ex
pected that a decision will be reached
wlthoutNinnecessary delay.
The president has been strongly urged
not to accept the task and some weighty
reasons are given why he should de
cline It, and continue his effort to In
duce the piwers to submit the contro
versy to The Hague tribunal, which
was created for tho express purpose of
adjudicating such disputes and is ready
to do so In this case. v One of the ob
jections to Mr. Roonevelt acting as ar
bitrator Is that It would Subject him to
the crltlclsmcertaln to follow from the
disappointed party to the controversy,
but this Is not a consideration that is
likely to have any great influence with
the president There is no doubt that
all the parties have entire and Implicit
confidence In his Integrity, fairness and
Impartiality and would accept his
award without complaint A more
serious objection appears to be that
In regard to the position which the
United States would be placed In. The
request of the European governments
that President Roosevelt act as arbitra
tor la very generally regarded aa an
exceedingly shrewd piece of diplomacy,
the credit for which belongs to the Ger
man foreign office, which very likely
was prompted by Emperor William. It
Is felt that the president acting as arbi
trator would place the United States
under some Implied obligation to see
that the award is enforced. It vfs ap
prehended that" the ultimate purpose of
the allies Is to press thla country into
some sort of an acknowledgment of
responsibility for the conduct of the
countries in this hemisphere over which
it has extended the protection of the
Monroe doctrine. But it would seem
that this objection may be removed by
an explicit stipulation that our govern
ment will assume no responsibility In
the matter, that whatever the award of
the president It will not in the slightest
degree commit the United States. More
over, it Is extremely doubtful r? the
European governments are actuated by
any such motive as some are disposed
to ascribe to them. It is more reason
able to think that they want President
Roosevelt as arbitrator Solely because
they have full faith in his wisdom, In
tegrity and sense of Justice.
We may ' be sure that the . president
will give this matter the careful and
deliberate consideration which Its very
great importance calla for. No one can
be more anxious than he for an ami
cable settlement of the grave trouble
and the country may confidently look
for a Judicious determination of the
question before him.
MINISTER BOfVEN'8 GOOD WORK.
The United States minister at Car
acas, nerbert W. Bowen, is receiving
merited commendation for the ability
and tact he has shown since the begin
ning of the Venezuelan affair. Imme
diately upon the severing of diplomatic
relations between the European govern
ments and Venezuela, Minister Bowen
was entrusted with the task of look
ing after the Interests and welfare of
British and German subjects in Venez
uela and he discharged this duty most
acceptably and satisfactorily to the
British and German governments. The
subjects of those countries have been
fully protected and the valuable service
leudered by, the American minister has
been cordially acknowledged. ,
Conclusive evidence of the popularity
oft Mr. Bowen with President Castro
was furnished when he was selected to
represent the Venezuelan government
in proposing arbitration, he having been
given practically a free hand in the
matter. All that he has done in the
difficult and delicate position of sole rep
resentative in Venezuela pf the United
States, Great Britain and Germany has
been marked by intelligence, tact and
good Judgment, giving him high rank
among contemporary diplomatists. Mr.
Bowen, entered the consular service
twelve years ago, during which time he
has had considerable diplomatic experi
ence and throughout has made a most
creditable record. . .
No graver danger exists, In our midst
than thia Infamous method of robbing
the people by corrupting their trusted
representatives. -It Is a menace to our
civic and political life. It is anarchy,
for It strikes an Insidious and deadly
blow at government' It substitutes
the debauching moneyed power of irre
sponsible corporations, acting through
their agents and unscrupulous public
officers, for the lawfully constituted au
thority vested by the people In the muni
cipal legislative body to be by It hon
estly, and faithfully administered. The
higher the tltlon of the persona who
bribe or are bribed, the greater la their
moral responsibility, because the more
potent for etlt Is their wicked example.
Benjamin Harrison.
The Austrian government Is not going
at it right to check emigration to Amer
ica. The means it proposes to employ
Is an elaborate system of restrictive
legislation, which has been tried a thou
sand times by different nations, but has
never succeeded In the long run. The
only true check to emigration Is to
make life at home so easy, pleasant
and remunerative that people will pre
fer to stay there. If this cannot be
done, emigration should be facilitated
rather than hampered.
The younger and more distant chil
dren of the republic are turning out to
be considerable and rapidly Increasing
consumers of Its products. The official
figures indicate a total of exports to
Porto Rico, tha Philippines and Ha
wllan Islands and Alaska of more than
$40,000,000, the purchases representing
a great variety of staple, agricultural
and manufactured products. How much
of this goes to Americans In temporary
residence there, however. Is not exactly
stated.
A St Louis Judge has just settled
all the perplexing problems arising out
of trusts and combinations by declaring
that both labor and capital have an In
defeasible right to organize, provided
only they keep within tho bounds of
law. He carefully abstains, however,
from defining the bounds of law they
must not overstep. Most learned Judge!
There are now two announced can
didates for the speakership of the house
of the next Iowa legislature, to which
body the members will not be elected
till nearly a year hence. But the ques
tion of election cuts practically no fig
ure with republican candidates In that
state.
. Pickled la Its Owa Brlae.
. Baltimore American.
The Salt trust has given up the fight
for Its existence against government pro
ceedings. Maybe this Is the thla edge ot
the wedge.
Coining; Money from Mlsfortaae,
Philadelphia Record.
The shortage In the supply of soft coal
Is almost as grievous as the shortage In
anthracite, and the effort of bituminous
producers to exact famine prices does not
appear to be In the least relaxed. Thus
Is tha consumer fleeced.
Giving; Fiction a Frost.
Brooklyn Eagle.
Publishers say that they hare been so
overdoing the novel business that they must
now print somethlqg besides stories. What
chilling news to come just as every second
young man and young woman In the land
was preparing Immortal historical Action 1
Hints Worth Heedlnar.
Chicago Chronlcla, .
Some life Insurance cempanles appear to
entertain the fixed conviction that ' every
policy bolder who dies' Is a suicide who
takes his own life la order to beat, the
company. If this attitude be maintained
much 'longer It is likely seriously to Inter
fere with tha writing -of Ufa Insurance poll
cles. j .
Instincts of Great Haas,
New York' Telegram.
The Osage Indians have Invested 1800,000
In the state bank and own. 1,600,000 acres of
land. Each brave, squaw and papoose In
the tribe possesses . land to the value of
$4,000, and the interest on their money In
the bank affords au annual income of $300
to each member. That's great. Henceforth
better call them the O'Sages.
Lay Them Gently Away.
New York Tribune.
The outworn old phrase "high noon" still
appears In reports of weddings with tire
seme frequency. Is It not time to send It
Into banishment together with "the tire
fiend," "no reason tas yet been assigned for
his rash act" and "he fell with a dull, sick
enlng thud?" What excuse for the con
tinued existence of such tedious repeditlons
of words so frayed and ragged, so loop-
holed by the misuse ot generations? And
what la the difference between high noon
and low noon anyway?
It Pays to Be Arcsrate.
Springfield Republican. '
If a person Is writing history it pays to
be accurate, yet it often happens that a
historian will make the most egregious lit
tle blunders regarding facta that can be
ascertained by anyone. A recent instance
is that of Wood row Wilson, In his new his
tory ' of the American people, where he
writes of the naval battle between tha Bon
honime Richard and the Berapta that
"neither ship survived the encounter forty
eight hours." It would be a plcayunlsh
critic, however, who would condemn Mr.
Wilson's work aa a whole on that account.
Email errors will creep In.
"Hitched to a Star.
Chicago Chronicle.
A grandson of Ralph Waldo Emerson
drove a wagon the other day carrying coal
Into suffering -Boston districts.
The writings of his celebrated forbear
hava not been without comfort to many,
but the coal wagon ot the grandson waa
"hitched to a star," aa Emerson advised;
it was bitched toftk star of hop for many
unconscious of any other species of poetry
or philosophy.
It Is probable that this is exactly the
kind of occupation the sage of Concord
would have prescribed for tils descendant
under such circumstances.
Trad laloa Held for Dasaas.j
Philadelphia Ledger. - -A
decision of great possible Importance
is announced from London in tha Tsft Vale
Railway Company against the Amalgamated
Society of Railway Servants. The verdict
is In favor of the company against the
union, which is held responsible for "ma
licious molestation" and interfering with
the business ot the railway Vy picketing,
intimidation of employes and other means.
This case has 'been pending tor l long time
and . hss now reached a decision Ja the
high court of Justice. The act of Parila
men permitting the Incorporation of trades
unions waa designed for their benefit, but
it Is seen that auch incorporation carries
with It accountability. Though the question
of damages is reserved by tha courr, tho
liability of the union for damages resulting
from the enforcement of a strike is es
tablished by tha verdict. This Is sufficient
reason for the objection generally held by
labor leaders In this country to tha prop.
sitloB that labor unions should ba Incorporated,
IJVB TO PIVB (CORE.
Ineroaslna- Aee-Llailt Rfcowa r Ten
sas ttetaraa.
Tha ready reckoner of tha bureau of
vital statistics In tha census department
has reared some tall columns of figures on
human ages, and is contemplating the fin
ished product with much satisfaction. Ev
erything about life and death which the
census takers could gather are piled up on
these columns, and furnish an abundance
of material for those who thrive on figures
and figurative conclusions. A correspond
ent of the Record-Herald found much meat
In them meat for thought and specula
tionand deftly masticated them Into
prose. One of the most important facts
thst the ready reckoner hss logically de
duced from his comprehensive material Is
that which proves that there ara mora cen
tenarians accumulating In thla country dur
ing every decade, and the natural corollary
that the average length of life within' our
boundaries is appreciably increasing.
First of all, we find In thla report the
statement that there are, or were In 1900,
8.53C persons In the United States who are
100 years of age or upward. This may not
seem particularly impressive as an indica
tion of growing vitality when it Is placed
beside the Item that puts our population
at 78,000,000, but It means something alto
gether different when on Is told that It
gives us twice as many centenarians as
there t are In Germany, England, France,
Scotland and Servla, with a combined popu
lation of -185,250,000.
Incidental food for argument Is afforded
by a further examination of the figures 'In
tha - eases - of the foreign countries men
tioned In thla connection by the ready
reckoner, and In but One Instance do they
rob us of any glory. Ha says that Germany,
with a population of 65,000,000, hss 778
centenarians; that England, with 82,000,000,
has 14; that Scotland, with 4.000.000, has
46; that France, with 40,000,000, has 213,
and that little Servla, with only 2,250,000
people, has a list of E7S who have passed
the century mark.
Turning again to our own centenarians.
wa find that out of tha 8,636 almost two
thirds of them are women, the exact roster
being 2,247 women and 1,289 men, and
that out of the 3,117 that ara native born
1,098 are men and 2,098 are women.
There are, It appears, 118 Indian centena
rians, two Chinese and one Japanese, and
72.8 per cent of the whole number are ne
groes 886 males and 1,667 females. The
ready reckoner of the census bureau says,
however, that a considerable grain of salt
should be taken with these figures regard
ing Ethiopian longevity, as the older a
negro grows the mora vivid his Imagination
becomes.
One noticeable oddity In all statistics
concerning centenarians Is that showing
how steadily the proportion ot the sexes Is
maintained among them from one census
to the next. More than half ot them, too,
are always colored.
Ot the foreign born centenarians In the
United States, the census man sets down
45 per cent as Irish, 16.4 per cent as Ger
man, S.4 per cent aa Canadian, 6.6 per cent
aa EnglUh, 1 per cent aa Japanese and 1
per cent as Chinese.
The average length of life In tha United
tates ten years) ago was, according to the
ready reckoner, only thirty-one years. Now,
according to tha aama authority, it Is
thirty-two years. This isn't much to be
come, enthusiastic over, so far aa tha pres
ent generation Is concerned, but It means
something to the chl!T born 100 years
hence, granting that the same proportional
Increase continues.
In connection with the census Inferences
regarding tha prolongation of life It Is
poiated out by other authorities that suf
ficient emphasis cannot be laid upon the
Importance of occupation, or rather tha
choice of occupation, among those who wish
to avoid the grave aa long ha possible.
. Tha following table shows the ratio be
tween occupation and mortality among a
thousand persons noted by Ufa Insurance
companies:
25. 35. 45. 65. 65.
Physicians 7 15 21 84 112
Teachers and lawyers 4 7 14 25 98
Musicians 9 18 26 43 89
Domestic servants 6 10 IS 28 89
Commercial travelers I 13 21 39 106
Railway engineers and fire
men S 7 16 42 153
Trainmen 6 9 17 36 89
Truckmen, etc 9 17 28 60 146
Watermen, bargemen, etc.. 10 17 24 44 129
Dock laborers 15 24 41 65 137
Sailors ., 18 19 28 45 144
Fishermen 9 11 19 28 110
Agricultural laborers 6 8 13 25 99
Brewers 11 19 31 54 129
Printers 14 22 43 1"3
Tailors 7 14 22 38 97
Copper workers 7 14 25 41 119
Kricklayers and masons 7 13 22 40 nj
Carpenters 6 9 17 32 102
Textile workers 8 12 22 46 1H9
Coal miners 6 10 13 44 14
General laborers 10 17 28 42 117
Peddlers ...15 24 37 49 $
Out of 600 centenarians interviewed by
American newspapers since the last census
waa taken, practically all gave the same
rules for the guidance of those who desired
to attain equal distinction In longevity.
These rules were: Regular habits, hard
work, plenty of exercise, simple food, mar
rlage and avoidance of worry. All Insisted
that tl best of these rules was that pre
scribing bard work, and all but two or three
were equally in favor of marriage. Half of
them. Including many women, declared
strongly in favor of liquor and tobacco.
MARCONI'S GREAT TRIl'MPH.
Tresneadona Importance of Receat
Achievements.
Chicago News.
So gradually has the possibility of wire
less telegraphy been made known to the
world that the public generally will miss
the tremendous significance of the an
nouncement now made at Halifax. To ap
predate it better one has only to consider
that, but a very few years ago telegraphy
without wires waa looked upon as some
thing well out of the range of possible
attainment.' Even , after . its practicability
for short distances had been demons) rated
the Idea of sending messages across the
Atlantic without wires waa regarded aa
the dream of a visionary enthusiast. Mar
coni, it appears, has succeeded not only In
sending messages across the ocean, but in
demonstrating beyond all reasonable doubt
tbat this 'may be made a regular method
of communication for practical purpoaea.
The achievement appeals to the Imagi
nation not alone as another Instance of
man's conquest of material forces, but as
bringing a new factor Into play In the
social and political life of the world. Like
the telegraph, (he telephone and the cable
the wireless system must have its effect In
bringing tbe ualione nearer together and
making them-more closely Independent. In
some ways it may be curiously effective
In shaping (he world'a history. To men
tion but one Instance. Jt haa always been
possible heretofore to cut off a govern
ment from Its colonies or Its ships or Its
troops by the simple expedient of cutting
a wire or a cable. In the future time that
means of securing secrecy In military
operations may be of no avail.
It need not be doubted that the young
Italian's work will give his nams a per
manent place in history, along with the
names of the founders of ths cable and
telegraph systems. While the principles
which he haa applied may not be of hli
discovery and while esseutlal parta of the
apparatus he uses may have been Invented
by others, he It la who baa made them of
practical effect. ,
THE CYlUCa SELF-DECEPTIO.
Daaarer of Overdoing tho Doafctlna;
Inclination.
Kansas City Star.
Phillips' Breoks once made tha kindly
criticism of harvard university that It
turned out men who were more afraid lest
they believed something untrue than lest
they failed to believe some truth. Per
haps It Is ss well thst some people are
Inclined to be skeptical on all matters.
Buckle used to contend that civilisation
had Its origin in skepticism and that to
the critical attitude will be due all the
progress that the world ran hope to make.
Yet there Is danger of overdoing the
doubting inclination. Many a man who
prldea himself on his ability to penetrate
shama is the dupe of his own skepticism.
He has as distorted a view ot things as the
person who obstinately refuses to see any
motives except good ones. The extent to
which a man may be deceived by his own
smartness frequently appears In politics.
A i professional politician who, aa Croker
said, is working for his own pocket all the
time frequently has no conception of the
motives of such a-man, for Instance, aa
President Roosevelt. When the president
was police commissioner of New York a
certain politician In the administration
was fighting his efforts for decent govern
ment and blocking every move he tried to
make. Jacob Rils happened to be in the
office when a political police officer came
In and attempted to curry favor with his
chief by urging a raid on a disreputable
place,' where he had Information that the
enemy would bo found that night. Rils
did not know the man's errand at the
time, hut he heard Roosevelt exclaim: "No,
sir. I don't fight that way." That police
offieet would probably have put the man
down a . "suck, ; who3 should have told
him that the police' commissioner would
not seize any opportunity to strike at bis
opponent.-
Justin McCarthy tells how Disraeli once
observed In a conversation with John
Bright: "Of course, we are both In politics
for the glory of It." And when Bright
protested that he was In Parliament only
because he thought he could do something
there for his country, Disraeli smiled
cynically, shook his head and walked away.
For all his shrewdness, he could not under
stand such a character as Brlght's. Vol
taire, as was perhaps inevitable, consider
ing his times, attacked the whole schema
of the church. What an advance Is shown
from his attitude to that of the author of
"The Washerwoman's 8ong," with Its In
sight Into the meaning of Christianity for
this woman, at least.
Of course there Is a lamentable amount
of hypocrisy and selfishness In the world.
"Frail children of dust," the hymn runs,
"and feeble as frail." But the cynic who
observes only the cant is as Infatuated as
the Irritating dullard who refuses to see
any evil in the world. ' A newspaper's
news columns frequently recount sad In
stances of crime and of beartlessness. ' But
that Is because unselfishness and devotion
to duty are so common that moat cases of
the sort have no news value. It Is tha
unusual that -attracts people. The person I
whose mind is really open and whose In
sight Is keen enough to discern the truth
may see plenty pf little foibles and bits of
vanity to smile, at; he will discover too
many exhibition of selfishness. Yet he
will be confronted on every hand with such
an amount of genuine honesty, sincerity and
regard for duty that he Cannot avoid taking
a hopeful view of things. The flist rosy
beliefs of youth may prove false. A process
of disillusionment may be necessary. But
this means simply that untrue values are
swept aside and that the person has ac
quired sufficient experience to see the world
as It la When this process Is complete
the man, If he be ot the right stuff, will
have a surer faith in humanity than before,
because It Is grounded, not on fantasy, but
on fact.
PERSONAL, NOTES.
Senator Teller Is at Denver looking
closely after his senatorial Interests.
Short weight coal dealers in Chicago are
getting full weight sentences from tbe
courts.
Booker T. Washington can sleep and wake
at will. Few men have such .control over
their minds.
The center -of population of the United
SUtes Is in Henry Marrs barnyard, near
Columbus, Ind.
The Chinese emperor, In his capacity of
high priest, has to offer at least forty-six
sacrifices to different gods In the course
of a year.
Robert E. Peary, the Arctlo explorer, la
making a tour of Inspection ' of the New
York navy yard, looking after . the civil
engineering operations being conducted
there. -;
Miss Anna Hovevslef, who is In America
studying our way of editing newspapers
and magazines, ia the editor of the largest I
newspaper in Norway, the Attenpesten, of
Chrlstlanla.
When Henry Marr of Columbus, Ind.,
goes to his barn lot and steps upon a
neatly carved slab bearing the inscrip
tion "1900" he has 18,650,000 people on all
four sides of him, for he is the center of
population man of the whole United States.
Spencer Trask of New York and George
Foster Peabody of Brooklyn have a force
ot workmen employed In remodeling
Crosbyshire, a hotel on Lake George, where
they will establish a vaoatlon home for
the young women tollers of New York
City.
"Vanumanutangi," which Is Bamoaa for
the "home of the singing bird," Is the name
given to her new residence In the Santa
- 1
Merry Christmas.
We are going to hang our stockings,
Bo they will be the first thing Santa sees,
When he' conies down the chimney,
From out' the wintry breeze.
And snug beneath our blankets, 1
We will listen' to the roar,
Of winds that laugh and says it Is ' '
Old gray haired winter's snore;
And we feel, while we murmur prayers. - ,
' God's mighty good to pause,
And think of us, his children,
And send .us Santa Claus.
Therefore, our store will be closed all day Christmas, as
we want the entire day to gloat over the many remem
branes we feel so sure of receiving.
Thanking you, all for your liberal patronage, and wish
ing you a glad Christmas, we are, respectfully, : '
RS WILCOX, Manager.
THE OLD RELIABLE
teiilLaVUliU
Absolutely puro
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE
Crus mountains of California by Mrs.
Robert Louis 8tevenson. , The spot Is In
one of the quletes parts of the great blue
mountains and much like the old homo at
.Valllma.
Dr. Mllburn. tha blind chaplain of the
. United States senate, ;iho has resigned,
being now In his eightieth year, once said
to a senator: "Never allow a session to
be opened without prayer-having been first
, offered. If you do my boys will be sure to
. get Into trouble." The same, in ator recalls
that on the day of the Tillman-McLaurla
fracas Dr. Mllburn was too 111 to attend
and the session was opened without prayer,
j The venerable chaplain dovoutly believes
t that the trouble resulted from that
omission.
MIRTHFCL, REMARKS.
Somervtlle Journal: The girt who is
homely enough to stop a clock Is generally
smart enough to know how to keep it
going,
Chicago Post! "He talka a good deal of
the wealth of the country. What doea he
know about It?"
"Practically nothing at all. He's an aa
sesaor." Boston Transcript: David You don't
mean to say she rejected your proposal 7
Jonathan Hardly that; she was aort of
noncommittal, so to speak. She aid when
she felt like making a fool of herself abe'd
let me know.
Detroit Free Press: "Mrs.' Hunker has
the queerest fad," said Mrs. Qlddlnga.
"She collects umbrellas."
Perhaps she Is trying to lay up some
thing for a rainy day," waa Mr. Glddinga'
guess.
Yonkers Statesman: She Don't you al
ways feel annoyed when those pesky rail
road windows won't open?
He Not always. I saw the president of
the road the other morning trying in vain
to open one.
t .
Judas: "There's one srreat ImnfAwmitnt
I wish Santa Claua would make this year,"
said Cumso.
"What's that?" asked Cawker.
"I wish he would attach a receipted bill
to each present."
"-"
Brooklyn Life: Mooney Brace up, man!
Troth, yes luk aa if yes didn't hov a
fri'nd in th' whole wur rid.
Hogan Ol hovn't.
Mooney-rG'wan! If it ain't mcney yea
want t' borry, Ol'm aa good a fri'nd aa
Ivor yes had.
Yonkers Statesman: Mr. Bacon I notice
all of the articles of that woman which are
now appearing In thla raavaslne are about
things which happened years and yea re ago.
Mrs. Bacon Perhaps aha gave the articles
to her husband to mall.
Cleveland Plain Dealer: "It la claimed
that there are 60,000 Missouri mules at work
In the Transvaal."
"What lot of kicking there must be."
"Yes, I s'pose that s one of the heeling
effects of gentle peace."
Smart Set: Clerk Michael, are you about
through moving those trunks?
Porter Yls, sor; In a few trlnutes.
Clerk Well, when you've f.riltihed stretch
the life net over the front pavement. Mrs.
Hlbawl haa just telephoned from tbe top
floor that her husband has fallen out of
the window.
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM.
By Phillips Brooke.
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet In thy dark streets shlneth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God, the King,
And peace to men on earth.
For Christ Is born of Mary,
And gathered all above.
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
There watch on wondering love. ,
How silently, how ellentlv. -J
The wondrous alft Is a-lven!
So God Imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him stUL '
The dear Christ enters in. ( .
Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blesad Child, . ,
Where misery cries out to thee
Son of the Mother mild;
Where Charity stands watching,
And Faith holds wide the door.
The dark night wakes; the glory breaks
And Christmas comes once more.
O holy Child of Bethlehem, "4
Descend to us, we prsy! 4,
Csst out our sin, and enter in; ' . .
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell; '
O, come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel! ".
