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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1903)
THE (mAHA DAILY BEE; HATUHDAY. "JANUARY 17, 1003. 'Hie 'Omaha Daily Bee E. ROPE WATER, EDITOR. PUBLISHED EVERT MORNING. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. Dally U (without Sunday, One Year. $4 00 Laily litv and Hun.lajr, on Year ") llllatrated Hee, One Year 2t Sjn.lny Ute, Or,e i'tar U.'W Saturday Hie, One nr 1 at) twentieth Century lirmer, One Yesr.. l.W DELIVERED BY CARRIER. -Dsfly lire (without Hunday), per copy... 2c Dally lice (without riunday, par WHk.a Dslly Bee (including Hunday), per wirk.Ko Sunday lifu. per copy 5c Lvenlng Bee (without Sunday), per week 6c Lvenlng Bee (.Including . Sunday ), . lfT k ' , 10" t'ouiplalnts of irregularities In delivery Should be addressed to City Circulation De partment. OFFICES. Omaha The Bee "Building. i South Omaha ilty Hall Bulldlngy Twen-ly-Uftd and M Street. , Council Bluffs 1 rvarl Street. Chicago 1640 Unity Building. New York Zt2H I'erk Kuw Building. Washington 6ul luurteenth Street. , , CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to news and ed itorial matter should be addressed; oniaba Bee, Editorial Department. ' STATEMENT Or CIRCULATION. State of Nebraska, Douglas County, ss.: George B. Ttechuck, secretary of The Bee Publishing company., being1 duly sworn, tays, thai ihn actual tuitnher of. full, and com" let copies of The Dally, Morning, Even ing and Hunday Bee minted during the month o December, 1SU2, was as loiiowa 1. 82.2HO 17... 80,820 ... BI.1SO ...81,470 ..L.3l,0M ..S.ai.oio ...J 1,820 ,.:.iu,(io -....ati.WK) .'..8O,0SO ....ao,woo .... 80,070 ....30,4O ....IIM.SZO ....UO.HIO ....ao.mo m;..... is 20 21 22 , ', 21 24...... 25 28...... 27 28 29 31 ..so.oio ..80, (t ..80,7MO ..2h,TOO ..80,000 ..SO.eJUO . .80,UtO ..3O.2C0 ..SO.H3U . .UO,M70 ..88.H413 ..80,71m) ..82,880 ..80,870 10 V i i.' i 16 16 Total Less unsold -and returned copies. .r2,U43 . 10,181 Net total sales 942,44 Net avers ge sales :w.4)2 GEORGE B. TZ9CHUCK. Subscribed In my presence and sworn to before ma tbla 31st day of December, A, D. 12. M. B. HUNQATE, (Seal) . Notary Public Ik seems safer after all down south to be a black postmaster than a white ' editor. It's a trifle early yet to figure on the succession to Pope Leo, notwithstanding the pontiff's advanced age. '. 1 From the work of tho council as; a bokrd of equalisation It Is quite plain that there Is a city election ahead. . Viewed at long range, the fight of the cattle barons at Washington looks as If they were merely sparring for wind In order to. stave off action. No wonder the coal operators prefer to pay miners, by the ton on estimates rather than actual weight Estimates cannot be checked up half as readily as the scales. " The Idea that the state must have money before it should undertake to spend It seem to be altogether foreign fo'the conception of some of our Ne braska lawiuakertf : As the cards are now stacked the republican City primaries are to be set for Frldaj-VT'ubruary 13. Are not fel lows who stack their cards for Friday, the 13th,, liable to strike a streak of '111 luck? " - ' Now, that John Baldwin of Iowa him' Inspected the Nebraska legislature in person as head politician for the Union Pacific, the people may rest as sured that the legislative rolling stock la 4u good running order.. Omaha bus connected with the South western Horse Bbow circuit, that In cludes also Minneapolis, Milwaukee, In dianapolis, Kansas City, Denver. The next thing Is to make sure we have a pluce to entertain the, horses. It. turns out that that Marconl-gram daily newspaper which was to bo pub lished simultaneously on all the ocean steamers that plow the deep Is to be only a ticker service furnishing bulle tins for the passengers to bet on. Senator Dolliver's optlniistlo remarks about the trust magnates working them selves to death were probably Intended as a Joke, but the -danger hf that the deadly effects of the trusts will be felt more by the consumers of their products than by their owners and promoters. The National Board of Trade has called upon congress for the adoption of an educational test to foreign immi grants. s How much education must a, man have In order to be able to break rock or handle dirt In aubways and lew era, work In the coal mines, sweep streets or scrub floors? The question. ''Has the government a right to, take possession of the coal mines?"' having been put to a number of emluent local attorneys, the consen sus of opinion Is unquestionably that the subject Is one too deep and too vital to elicit an offhand oplyion especially when there Is no retainer In sight ' Congressman Shallenberger wants It dlstlnt-tly understood that the bill which be has Introduced to regulate the trusts was not drawn by Colonel Bryan. This explanation Is necessary because If It had the Pry a if label on It too mauy democrats In cougress might refuse sup port for fear they would be building up more capital for their late leader. One of the bills Introduced Into the legislature provides for a reduction In the interest payments on bank deposits of county funds from 3 per cent to 14 per cent or a reduction of one-half the present requirement With our banks paying 3 per centra deposits of country correspondents and receiving 2 per cent on their balances In Chicago and New York, why the county money should be given over for a smaller, rate U hardly explainable. If the present rate of 3 per cent Is too high, the proposed rate of IVi per cent Is certainly too low. ' ttibEkti or CONSPIRACY. . There Is ahnndnnt evidence of combi nation and conspiracies to limit the conl output and withhold that fuel from tlie public. Tin testimony before the snntc committee of Investigation has shown cotirltmlvely that 'there was a perfect understanding among those en gaged In the Industry in regnrd to the dlstrflmtlon of conl and also In respect to prices, while investigations made at various localities hare developed the fuct of combinations between railroads and dealers fyr th purjose of keeping cos! from the markets.. These investiga tions have disclosed fnefs attesting the most culpnble disregard of the public In terests and the well known sufferings of hundreds of thousands of people. The facts presented to the grand Jury at Chicago point unmistakably to a con spiracy between 'the coal operators and dealers, In which . the railroads are prob ably Involved. The evidence hows that there would have been a sufficient sup ply of coal If it had been' placed on the market Instead of being sidetracked. Af Milwaukee It was found that some of the dealers had large amounts of coal which they ' were holding for higher prices. A large storeof coal was found at Terre Haute and other points In cars, the pretense being that It was not shipped 'to Its destination because of the lack', of mot We .power. These and other facts. brought out by Inquiry and Investigation prove beyond a question that there has been widespread com bination, and conspiracy, embracing both anthracite and bituminous opera tors and dealers, -with the Coal trans porting railroads as a party, to curtail the distribution of coal and extort the highest prices posslblo from the con sumers. Tet in the face of' all this President Baer, at the conference a few days ago with Mayor Low of New York, had the hardihood to say that there Is no coal combination and to assert that while he Is responsible for the companies of which he is president, he Is powerless to control the action of the other com panies and of the Individual operators. It Is a matter pf common knowledge, however, , that most of the hard-coal production Is practically in the control of railroads united on the communlty-Of-lnterest plan and that the presidents of these roads have been In the habit of .meeting periodically to regulate out put ftlght charges and prices. So far as the Independent- operators are con eerned they have '.annulled their con tracts with the railroads, but until very recently they were- completely under the control of the coal-carrying railroads which are In possession of nearly all of the anthracite field. It Is useless, for Mr. Bnerr anyone else to deny that there Is a' coal com bination or that there has been con spiracy to deprive the public ,of coal. The evidence Is overwhelmingly. against them and there is everyjreason to expect that It will be made etl.lf eftonger by further Investigation. ' . TBM PRKSWJSqT iS.SUPhATK Washington reports say that Presi dent Roosevelt has been very emphatic In stating to members of cbntrress who have conferred with, him. that if there is not , anti-trust legislation at the pres ent session, he will call the Fifty-eighth congress lri extra1 session very soon after March 4. The president is quoted as saying: "If there is not time to pass an anti-trust laV at this session there w ill be enough time between March 4 and August 1 to do It and there will be time for the ratification of the -Cuban reci procity treaty- In that time, too." There Is no doubt that Mr. Roosevelt Is most earnest In the desire for early anti-trust legislation and probably would not hesitate to call a special ses sion of the new congress if the present one should rail to act. It appears prob able, however,' that this will not be necessary, the indications being that an anti-trust measure will be passed. This is fully assured so far as the house of representatives is concerned and repub lican senators are showing a favorable disposition toward such a measure. The president is no lees anxious that the reci procity treaty shall be ratified and the prospect Is very good that this also will be done. As matters now look, It seems quite safe to say that there will not be an extra session of the, Fifty-eighth con gress. AGRICVLTVRAL rXPORTS. There is a good foreign demand for wheat and corn, the exports of which during the present J month from New York have been about 6,000,000 bushels. The active purchases, It Is noted, are not the result of any material 'reduc tion In prtcesjof grain, but are rather the result of decreases In foreign stocks, rendering the foreign buyers less dis posed to keep up the Independent atti tude they have manifested for some months. Aside from the smaller stocks abroad, the purchases have been stimu lated to some extent by the wet weather delaying shipments from the Argentine. Another stimulant of active export pur chases, says an eastern commercial pa per, Is the abnormally low ocean rates for transportation, due to the profit able figures tramp steamers obtain for bringing full coul cargoes this way. Meantime It Is stated that the freight congestion on western railroads is seri ously affecting the export trade, partic ularly of corn. The New York Journal of Commerce says there has been a very active demand for export corn, but ex porters have had no end of trouble lu filling the orders and have sustained considerable loss because shipments have not come forward within specified time, thereby forcing them to go Into the market again and fill their contracts as best they could, ofteutiutea at a ma terially higher prioe. 'The trouble Is in the shortage of cars and lack of motive power, which when remedied, as Is grad ually being done, win be followed by an eaormous movvment f grata from the west to the seaboard. The year opens wrll for agrliulrural exports ami then? Is reason to expect that the record of the lust few yenrs will lie maintained. I XOT HHtA 7 . I" AhARMKIi. ' If Howell has his way the city would be compelled to pay for the frsnchlse ss well as for the tangible property. On those terms the company, we feel sure, would cheerfully sell out. but the city might hare to pay anywhere from one to two millions more than the plant could be duplicated for. The Bee. ' if the company would cheerfully sell out 6n the terms prescribed by Mr. Howell, It Is strange that the representatives of the water works are not co-operating with the senator from Douglas. World-Herald. The Omaha representatives of the water company do not appear to be very much concerned about the com pulsory, purchase bill and are not likely to show their hand by co-operating with Mr. Howell, but we have positive knowledge that the owners of the water works ln New York would be yery much pleased 'with a compulsory purchase on the terms proposed by Mr. Howell. I There never was a time since the works were built when machinery and cast iron pipes have commanded as high a price in the market as -they do floW. Water mains which could be bought five years ago at $18 per ton are selling today at $37 per ton, and the labor cost computed at the present wage scale, would be equally in favor of the company and against the city. 1 An appraisement under tlje original Contract excludesthe franchise. An ap praisement under the compulsory pur chase clause would include the franchise, or at any rate raise a question about the value of the franchise to be settled In the courts,xwith a possible Judgment agaiust the city. Under such conditions there s no doubt that the owners of the water works would cheerfully ex change their bonds for an equal or larger amount of the bonds of the city of Omaha with a very liberal allowance for their watered water stock. cjrr akd couimr merger. The charter committee of the Com mercial club has decided to ask the legislature to submit a constitutional amendment to permit the enactment of a law authorizing the merger of the governments of Omaha, South Omaha and Douglas county. The proposition is eminently sound and In the Interest of more economic and better government but the verbiage of the amendment is too ambiguous. ,' It should be borne In mind that the proposed merger of the city and county governments !was embodied in an amendment to the constitution by the legislature of 1805 and submitted wjth eleven other amendments in 1806, In the following lahguage: ' N The government of any city of the metropolitan class and the government of the county fn which it Is located may be merged, wholly or in -part, when the propo sition so to do has been submitted by authority-of law to the voters, 'of said city and county, and receives the assent of a majority of the votes cast In such city and also a-majority of the votes cast In the county exelustve of those cast In such metropolitan elty at last election.' " It will be noted that this amendment permits not only the merger of the Whole county government with that of the city, but any part thereof, so that one board 'of commissioners, or one mayor and council, could manage the affairs of both city and county, or one treasurer and one auditor could make all the disbursements and collection of taxes and check up all the financial .transactions of the county and city without consolidating any other branch of government The last clause In the amendment of 1895 would, doubtless, be most objec tionable, as it would enable a small minority to defeat the will of the ma jority, but this clause was inserted as a Compromise with Senator Noyes, who at the time declined to support the bill unless this provision was Inserted. As a natter of fact, the legislature could provide for the merger of county and city treasuries without a constitu tional amendment by requiring the county treasurer to collect all taxes within the county, thus doing away with all tt b other treasurers. A county tax commissioner could assess all the prop erty In 'the county for state, ounty and city purposes. A separate amendment granting to cities of the metropolitan class the right to make their own charters was also Introduced In .1805, but defeated by the lobby representing the franchlsed corporations. That the same Influence will make Itself felt at the present ses sion nobody need doubt It Is barely possible, however, that the corporation managers no longer have any objection to home rule, by reason of the policy adopted in the mode of assessment and taxation through the tax commissioner and Board of Review. While nobody has any serious objec tion to the bill postponing' the Omaha city election from the first! Tuesday In March to the third Tuesday In May, the assertion that this change is In the In terest of better government, because "the roustabouts will get out at any time, while the business men are too busy or too delicate to go out in March," Is absurd. Retail merchants are just as full of business In the latter part of May as they are lu t,he early part of March. In fact most of them are more busy lu May than In March, and mauy of the jobbers who .are at home In March are liable to be away from home In the latter part of May. The true In wardness of the move is that the mem bers of the Douglas delegation want to take an active hand in the primaries and some are ambitious to occupy pla-e under the new administration. That la the milk In the cocoa nut Hawaiian are much exercised over the report of the senate committee rec ommending . i.be establishment of a national leper colony. It would naturally be upyo&ed that .Uwy would be glad to have the natlonnl government offer to help care for this class of unfortunates. If the national government volunteered to take care of the dependents in any one f our states it would enter no protest against It. Slashing the nscessment returns, ns made .lip by the ax commissioner and the I'.oanl of Heviow, menus a cor're sKnd!ug Increase in the levy for every reduction In the total proierty valua tion. The iieople have hnd their ex pectations et on a low city tnx rate for 1003 and ought not to be disappointed. Vaaarles of Motloai. Saturday Evening Post. It has required much more time for many a man to toll up the stairway of fame than It has for. hlra, to slide down the banister of obscurity. As It Looks to the Operators. Detroit Free Press. More testimony Is coming from the coal operators to show that the miners struck In order to get a little time to spend their accumulated wealth. Snperflaows Explanattoa. Philadelphia Record. . Some of the operators say that they are not in the business for their health. Un fortunately they are In the business to the decided detriment of the health of other people. t Arousing- Danareroas Wrath. Buffalo Express. It Is a large' undertaking to hold up 76 000,000 people for one of the necessities of life. The coal trust has roused the wrath of the people and must take the conse quences. Jollying- John Ball. Washington Post. Mr. Charles T. Terkes understands his business. He Is throwing a big Jolly into the English people about the superiority of their goods and workmanship. There Is nothing like being polite to the con tributors. Trylnar It on the Kids. Baltimore American. The next 'experiment under, government auspices is to be made by trying adulter ated food on infants and dyspeptics. It wouldn't be much harm to kill off a few dyspeptics, but it does seem rather rough to get up a poison squad of Infantry. So Difference In Reaalta. Cincinnati Enquirer. Some coal dealers will learn before the present investigation is completed that there is no difference in principle between ordinary highway robbery and that kind in which one takes advantage of people's help lessness to overcharge them for the neces sities of lite. Each Is but a different way of obtaining by force the money that does not rightfully belong to the procurer. A Beat that Was av Beat. New'Tork Tribune. Yankee Jack iars still hold their, own against challengers In oarsmanship. Never, theless, it Is k strange tale which cornea from China that a boat's crew from Uncle Sam's battleship Kentucky heat the best rowers of John1' Bull's man-o'-war Glory by a mile In a five-mile race at Hong Kong. A hundred yards' 'victory would be enough for the Stars rind Stripes, arfd to spUYe, To dim the fa'm of the British rivals by a full mile in ,nvi"se'em8 an Incredible ex plbit ' Sd ertrenie a triumph ' might be thought ill-natured. :...'- Perils erf tho Coal Sqneese. Springfield Republican. ' The leading citizens of another Illinois town have been seizing upon a tralnload of coal' belonging to someone else and con fiscating It to their own uses. From an Ohio city comes the report that prosecu tlons for petty fuel thievery have been sus pended, which means that anybody Is at liberty to steal coal If he does not steal much at one' time. Thus we have in this crisis what appears to be a pretty distinct start in a reversion of society to anarchy. It is an experience which the forces of law and order will do well to see does not recur again. . Stupendous TJndertaklnca. New York Press. ' While we boast of our big engineering feats let us look beyond the seas for a mo ment. There Is. the Siberian- railroad, cost ing 1401.700,000. The Russians have planned other lines In various parts of the empire, private companies to build them. But the imperial government will indorse their bonds to the extent of 1250,000,000. The Slmplon tunnel, now well under way, is to be fourteen miles long and will cost $1,000,000 a mile. Enormous difficulties have been overcome. Water trickling down from the top of the mountains, (,000 feet high, flows Into the .tunnel at the rate of 15,000 gallons a minute, and at a tempera ture of from fl2 degrees to 140 degrees, rendering not only work but life Impos sible. . The engineer, by pumping cold air against the currents, has reduced the tem perature to 70 degrees. He uses the water not only for power to operate the refriger ating apparatus, but to compress air for use in the drills. MORTGAGING THIS CONTINENT. Steady Flow of American Dollars Into Canada and Mexico. Philadelphia Bulletin. Not long ago an official report stated that not less than half a billion American dollars had been recently Invested In the railways, mines, plantations and factories of Mexico. It Is now declared that a decided movement of capital from the United States over the Canadian border was witnessed during the last year, and the prediction is made that within a comparatively brief period the amount of American Investments devoted to developing the great natural resources of the Dominion will reach a very high figure. A few ultra-Brltlsh-Canadlan newspapers have bewailed this tendency, just as they have deplored the steady Increase of Ameri can emigration northward. It does not ap pear, however, that these apprehensions are shared In any perceptible degree by Cana dian business men who are Intelligent enough to understand that their fairly pros perous hut as yet undeveloped country stands in urgent need both of Yankee capi tal and enterprising Yankee farmers to In crease its annual grain and meat produc tion. As a matter of fact, the flow of funds from this country over the frontiers of Mexico and Canada is simply an example of the economic law by which abundant capi tal always seeks profitable Investment without much regard to arbitrary geo graphical lines. Within the last five years or so the amount of cash In the United States available for Investment has In creased enormously, and a considerable share of it was bound to find Its way Into the potentially rich regions adjacent to this republic. The actual annexation of Mexico may never, occur and that of Canada may be a long distance In the future, but there are net wanting indications that before the average American schoolboy reaches middle age the United States will hold a virtual mortgage oa pretty nearly the whole North Atuerlcaa caUttAb OTHER LtD TIH OIRS. The standing army or Russia In time of peace numbsrs over l.OCO.OOO, rank and file, or 4 per cent of the male population be tween the ages of 21 and 60 years. It Is divided as follows: 627,000 Infantry. In 25 army corps, 52 divisions, 209 regiments snd 836 battalions; 117.000 cavalry, In 23 divi sions and 6.14 squadrons; 138,000 artillery, with 412 batteries of field artillery and 46 of horse artillery; 34,000 engineers, 34,000 commissariat, transportation, medical and other departmental troops, snd 60.000 Cos sscks. Liability to military service Is gen eral between the 22nd and 44th birthdays, the only exemptions being In favor of the Cossacks of the Caucasus, who have a spe cial organisation; the settlers In Turkestan and the territories of the Amur; the non Russian population of Astrakhan, the Asi atic provinces and Archangel. A million men have every October 1 attained the mil itary age, but only 300,000 are required to bring the standing army up to Ita peace establishment. Every urban and rural dis trict has Its recruiting board, which Is in formed of the number of recruits It mum furnish to each arm. Selection is made between October 15 and November 15. Usually about 48 per cent of the conscript candidates are exempt or ineligible. Chile and Argentine have signed condi tions for the sale of all warships now build ing for either country In European ship yards, and each has agreed to dismantle a number of its most powerful men-of-war In compliance with the treaty of July last which provided for the limitation of arma ments. Unqualified and practically com pulsory arbitration having bscn made the subject of a convention of the same date, the two republics ill hereafter have little use for- destroyers, battleships and other jingo paraphernalia. They will have no occasion to fight each other, and their dis tance from possible assailants la their suffi cient defense. The Chileans and Argen tlnans are wise in their day and generation. Other governments which confer together in peace congresses, but shy at the men. tion of arbitration and disarmament, prefer to postpone the practice of wisdom to the coming of the millennium. Water works upon an Immense scale are In course of construction in various parts of West Australia. Among those recently completed are those at Mundarlng, twenty three mllra from Perth, whlph r. ntnaittafl I to have an important Influence upon the mnlA IhImI.. In k- f. 1 M T." 1 U1IUIUB AM lUO UUIg.IUlQ MUU XV1U goer lie districts. The Helena river has been entirely dammed by concrete weir rising 100 feet above the river bed. and having ' its foundations at one point 100 feet below the river bed. It is 700 feet long at the top and fifteen feet wide there; eighty-five feet wide at the base, and pro vided with a waste weir and a freo over flow of Ave feet deep and 400 feet wide. The depth ot water Is 100 feet, and the river, which runs In a deep valley, feeds the dam for seven and one-half miles of its course. The capacity from twenty feet above the river level, the Icwest depth from which water will be pumped. Is 4,600, 000.000 gallons. But It is one thing to col lect the water at Mundarlng' 320 feet Sbove the sea level, and another to force It through thirty-Inch pipes to Coolgardle, 1,400 feet above the sea level and S25 miles distant, and to Kalgooriie. 1,230 feet above the sea level and twenty-five miles further off. This is done by eight sets of pumping stations, each with extra engines and pumps, in case ot breakdowns, each set ot engines being capable of pumping 2,800,000 gallons a day; and a number ot minor and regulating reservoirs are provided, besides service reservoirs at Coolgardle and Kal gooriie. , , . Admiral Mafkarov, the designer of the suc cessful ice-breaker Ermak, which keeps the weva pen to Ht. Petersburg the greater part of thwinter, has not abandoned his intention of seeking the North Pole In his pet vessel.- In a recent lecture delivered before the St. Petersburg Imperial Geo. graphical society he explained once more the grounds on which he basee his hopes ot one day reaching the goal which has eluded other adventurers. Ermak, in his opinion, la better adapted to withstand an ice. squeeze than any wooden ship, and In Its special work of breaking through ice fields is more successful In operating upon me continuous nelds found In extreme north latitudes than against the more mo. bile Ice nearer home. Admiral Makarov did not succeed In getting very far north upon his last expedition, but he brought back a very valuable collection of photographs and speclnei of the flora and fauna ot the Arctic regions. It is a distinctly German idea which animated the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Berlin to give a dinner entirely of horse meat, to build up the publlo taste for that food, so that old horses will find their way to the butcheries instead of being worked to death. It requires an intricate German mind to hatch out a scheme like this in the name of charity. So many horses are already used tor food in Germany that there is no reason why any man with an erstwhile Bucephalus should not sell him for meat. But heretofore horse has been eaten only by the poor, or the rich per. chance when they trade with a deceitful butcher. Now the point is to develop a taate tor the rump steaks of draught ani mals among all classes of the people and call It a species of chilanthrony. The economic problem of Naples is Just now perplexing the Italian government very seriously. Naples Is a town of over 600,000 Inhabitants and Is without any staple Industry, with the result that there are always at least 150,000 unemployed, and consequently distress and misery are never absent. All efforts to develop trades have failed but it is now proposed to make Naples the Mecca 'of all tourists to Italy, It being recognized that tourists are likely to prove ita main source of sub sistence. Among the plans proposed Is one for the erection of a large gambling casino on the lines of that at Monte Carlo. It Is further proposed to line the shores of the fsmous bay of Naples with magnifi cent hotels. By these measures It la hoped to solve the problem upon which the ex istence of Naples depends. CIVILIZATION AND GREED. Instincts of Common Haiaaalty Iarnored by "the Superior Race." Indianapolis Journal. That very acute "heathen," Mr. Wu Ting- fang, makes, in a current periodical, some comparisons between Chinese and western civilizations by no means to the advantage of the latter. He defines civilization as the sum ot man's efforts to advance from a lower to a higher level, and. while he admits that western nations have done much to raise this level, he holds that the present tendency of Americans to devote theaiselves to money-getting and to at tempts to become rich by the shortest roads Is likely to cause the highest qualities ot heart and intellect to suffer and so retard general progress. If Mr. Wu were In this country now he would see la the coal situation much to confirm him In his belief. Even those thlck-and-thln upholders of the "American Idea'' and American methods as expressive of the highest development of mankind will hardly wish to class the various out growths of the coal strike as manifestations of the best twentieth-century civilization. But how shall tbey avoid ItT The evidences of barbarity and brutality brought out by Us cval caualloa la its UauirUs late the treatment of nonunion miners could hardly show a greater lack pf bumanlrlng and re fining Influences had the events described occurred In the wilds of Thibet. They will, perhaps, be set aside as not pertinent, on the ground that the rlotoua miners are not typical Americana, but Ignorant for. elgners an assumption not easy to sup port, since a large proportion ot native born Americans are among them and an other large element has lived in the region long enough to have Imbibed something ot that finer civilization of which we boast. But, otn'ttlng them from the discussion, what Is to be said of coal operators, trans portation companies and retailors who, re. gardleas ot the sufferings and needs of mil lions of their follow-creatures, have, amonf them, placed what Is In many Instances a prohibitive price on one of the necessities of life? Not content with a fair and honest profit they have taken advantage of an unusual situation to exact exorbitant prices for the product of the mines, have placed unnecessary difficulties In the way of pro. curing sufficient supplies of the fuel and all over the country are grinding the faces of the poor. Whatever the miners them, selves may be, these mine operators and owners, these railroad companies, these speculators, these retailers, most assuredly do represent the average Intelligence, the average humanity and the prevailing Chris tlan sentiment' of the country. They are educated men, some of them cultivated men, so far as the schools go; some of them are professedly religious men, and all of them have had the full benefits of the religious and moral instruction and Influ ences which, we so proudly assert, tend to place our civilization on a higher plane than was ever , reached elsewhere In the history of the world. Yet, for greed of money, those types ot the highest Christian civilization ignore the instincts of the com. monest humanity. For a multiplied per. centage of gain they trade on the necessi ties and sufferings of their fellow-beings and apparently divorce themselves from, sll sense of moral responsibility. Gome of these very men were loudest to complain when the exactions of the "beef trust" caused an Increase In their butchers' bills, but high-priced beef and high-priced fuel are evils not to be compared. There are satisfactory and procurable substitutes for beet; there is no substitute for firs when the mercury Is at sero. POLITICAL DRIFT. Eider Smoot Is Justified In restoring the "h" to his name. W. J. Bailey was Inaugurated governor ot Kansas without a matrimonial halter. It took several years of litigation tn in. duce the register of deeds of Milwaukee. to luuBtru mm grip on ii,uuu omce rees. The supreme court save the n.rnr ini mr.A the money dropped into the publio treasury. Samuel Gruell of Wells countv. TnAUn. one of, the oldest democrats in that mtui claims he originated the rooster as a party emDiem ny anting to an Indianapolis edi tor to "cheer up" and print a rooster in his paper. Sixty-day passes do not sua current with the Montana legislature. "Annuals or none is the slogan of the natrlntin .oinn. Annuals they will have or the nn,.r department will accumulate several bunches oi irouDie. The Pennsylvania republican legislative caucus nas. adopted a resolution for final adjournment of the legislature on April 16. If that resolution Is adhered to It will as sure the shortest session since biennial sittings have been held nnder the present Pennsylvania constitution. The republican majority In the New York legislature on Joint ballot Is 84 votes. In Pennsylvania It is 144. There are no republican in the legislatures of Louis iana, Mississippi and South Carolina and only one republican representative In the legislatures of 'Florida and Texas. An enterprising promoter In Ohio pro poses to swell the 1904 campaign fund of the democratic paily through tlio Medium of soap. For every gross of bars sold tha house wni pay into the treasury 81.20. The proposition is a happy one. It ought to In. duce the great unwashed to get busy. Managers of the democratic cartr in Phil. adelphla thought they had done a good day's work when they nominated John Cadwalader tor mayor, The Cadwaladers were among the first settlers of the loralltv rivaling the Penns as pioneers. Ancient lineage was regarded as a fine asset by the minority, but jonn spoiled aa calculations by refusing to run. The New Hampshire constitutional con vention has adjourned after agreeing to certain amendments to the organic law of that state for submission tn h. The last addition to the New Hampshire constitution was made in 1889 and the one prior to that in 1842. Rnh.t.ntt.iw ,. constitution is the same as when sdopted In 1782. In New York City there are 7,606 police men and 10,000 saloons: In PI ttahnro Sin. neapolis, Providence and St. Paul the pro portion between the two (three policemen to four saloons) Is the same. There are in St. Louis 1,300 policemen and 2,100 sa loon". 600 policemen in Cincinnati to 1,700 saloo-ia and 300 policemen In Milwaukee te 1.700 saloons. Boston has 1,200 policemen for less than 1,000 saloons. The republican leaders of Philadelphia have about agreed to the nomination of District Attorney John Wnn .. ... candidate for mayor at the February elec- lu' 7sr. ine term of Mr. Weaver as district attornev January. 1906. The salary of that office is . year. The salary of the mayor of Philadelphia Is 812.000. Philadelphia holds Its munlclDal election in b-.ko.. and the mayor chosen at that time enters uuioe in April. THE WHY AND WHEREFORE Of the present opportunity to buy the finest of clothing at the lowest of pricoH, is to be found in the fact that the ma jority of our lines are badly broken and we want to see them entirely disappear. We are already making ar rangement to receive our spring shipment, and if price is an object, and you are in need of a heavy weight uit or overcoat, you will never have a finer chance than now"to find one to your entire satisfaction. " No Clothing Fits Like.Ours" KEMEMI5EH One more day to make your selection of summer clothes for the small boyn providing you want to take advantage of our sample showing of washable and light weight wool fabrics. . R. S. WILCOX, Manager. (Store closes at 0 p. m., Saturdays. PHOSPERITT OF WAQR EAHEHH. Gains In tVnaes More Permanent Than Gains la Prlcvs. Snn Francisco Chronicle. An Insatiable home demand for staple commodities is . gradually raising their prices In spile of the counter effect of econ omies reducing the cost of products. This rise of prices, however, la by no means so great as social agitators would have us be lieve. Inrressed expenses'of households ll mainly accounted for by the satisfaction of more costly desires. Few are now satisfied with what would have contented them a de cade ago. But while prices are rising they do not yet even approach the level of twelve years ago, when all were happy and social agitators had not got fairly to work In the United States. On October 1, 181)0. Brad street's index number Indicating the rela tive range of prices was 105.976. On Octo ber 1, 1!02, It was only 87,422 a difference of 18,572 points. It Is only by comparing present prices with those of the lean years ot the middle '90s that w discover a rise. On April 1, 1895, the Indext number was 66, 873, a fail of 39.124 points from the high water mark of 1880. Since those dark days, when labor was unemployed and com modi, ties were sacrificed at any price which would bring money, rommodles have gained 20,550 points. And they ought to have gained. It Is not to the Interest of society that men should do business at a loss. The one commodity which has risen to the price level of the early nineties Is labor. According to Carroll D. Wright, United States commissioner of labor, and our most reliable authority on labor stat istics, wages in nearly all industries are higher than ever before hlghor, ven. than at the high water period ot 1802, for In the early nineties wsges continued to rle even after commodities begsV to decline. Indeed, during the hardest times, day wages did not fall In unison with commo dities. The trouble was Isck of employ ment at any price. Now. not only re wages higher than ever before, but labor was never so constantly employed. The annual receipts of the avcragn working man must now be nearly double those of 1895. There was never a time In the his tory ot any nation when the worklngraan could get so much comfort for his yesr's wages as he can get today. He gets more money than he got even in the early nine tics, and for a given amount ot money he can buy far more than he could buy then. The gains in wages are more permanent than gains In 'prices. They come rather more slowly, but they last much longer. They do not fluctuate like the prices of commodities. When worklngiqcn suffer It Is not so much from a reduction of Vases, as from the inability of employers to pro vide work. The" prosperity of the work ingmen is, therefore, bound up with the prosperity ot the employer. When em ployers make money on their output they employ alU the labor which they can get. When prices are low they discharge all who can possibly be ' spared. Society should therefore rejoice in that general prosperity, which Induces strong demand, which causes prices to rise, which en courages all employers to employ all the help they can get and pay high wages for the service. PASSING PLEASANTRIES. "Johnny," said the teacher, "what Is Morocco famous forT" "For a certain kind of kid leather made from dog akin in i America." Drooklyn Eagle. , "I see that the war between the rival base ball factions Is ended." "Wonder what they will do nowT" 'Take It out of the umpire, perhaps." Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Soma people," said, Uncle Eben.' "gits sech a reputation as kickers dat. if dey trys to bo pleasant, ' folks takes It foh granted dat it's sarcasm." Washington Hesd Clerk It seems to ma that old Joblota la beginning to lose his grip. Bookkeeper Well, I don't know but you are right. He went out and bought an umbrella yesterday. Somervllle Journal. Caller I've found that there dorr that y'r wife Is advertleln' 15 reward fer. Gentleman you have, ehT Caller Vep; an' If yeh don't give me $10 I'll take It to 'er. New York Weekly. "My friend," said the fakir at the street comer, "I can sell you a salve for 10 cents that will cure that big wart on the back of your hand." "I don't want it cured," the hollow-eyed man in the crowd responded. "The baby uses It to cut his teeth on." Chicago Tribune. "Your boy," said the college president, "has been very wild, the worst boy In his class In fact" "Indeed I" exclaimed the father, "and will you withhold his diploma on that account?" "Oh, no! But it really should be a black sheepskin." Philadelphia Press. MORSE ACROSS THE TABLE. New York Times. She taught me the code of telegraphy. The girl who alone haa my heart. And over the table at dinner I'd pass (By drumming with finger on plats or on glass) What message I'd wish to Impart But that which I best liked to say to her, ler, Id unguesoea oy wnoever was nign, Was a sentiment which In three words condense. Beginning, as sentences often commence, With the personal pronoun The next word In order that followed it Must have come from Olympus above; I found it not eauy my feellntr to curb While I was transmitting that beautiful verb: No need to explain It was In the third word, and last, of this triolet Intenseet devotion I threw. By all unsuspected at being so bold, Clear Over the table my ardor I told As I rapped out the little word t