Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, April 01, 1905, Page 10, Image 10
10 TITE OMAHA DAILY BEE: SATURDAY, APRIL f. 1903. ! I l t f 1 I Tiie Omaha Daily Dee E. H03EWATER, EDITOR. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNINO. TERMS OP SUBSCRIPTION Da;ly Bee (without Sunday), one year. ..MM Daily fon and Sunday, otio yar W Illustrated Bee, one year 2 "0 funday Bee, one year 2.M Saturday Bee, one year 1 50 Twentieth Century Farmer, on year... 1.00 DELIVERED BY CARRIER, pally Bee (without Sunday), per copy., in. Dolly Beo (without Sunday), per Week.. .120 Dallv Bee (including Sunday), per week.. 17c livening Bee (without Sunday), per week 7c Evening Bee (Including Sunday), per week 12o Sunday Bee, per copy 5o Complaint of Irregularities In delivery should he addrttsed,to city Circulation De partment. OFFICES. Omaha The Bee Building. South Omaha City Hall building, Twenty fifth and 21 streets. Council Bluffs 10 Pearl street. Chicago 1640 T'nlty building. New York 2.12S Bark Row building. Wf shlngton 6ul Fourteenth street. CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to news and edi torial matter should be addressed: Omaha Bee, Editorial Department. REMITTANCES. Remit by draft, express or postal order, payable to The Bee Publishing Company. Only 2-cent stamps received In payment of mall nccounts. personal checks, except on Omaha or eastern exchanges, not accepted. THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY. STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION. State of Nebraska, Douglas County, ss.: Oeorge B. Tzschuck, secretary of Tho Bee Publishing Company, being duly sworn, says that the actual nrmber of full nnd complete copies of The Dnlly, Morning, Evening and Sunday Bee printed during tho month of March. 1905, was as follows: I 27.U20 17 28,0O 2 2T.BTU 18 ;iO,TM 8 28.OK0 19 30.JMM) 4 30.T0O 20 27.HHO B 30,OMO 21 JW.lOO 6 2,OTO 22 27,M!0 7 27.CSO 23 27.JW1 S 20,M 24 JSS,5!M 9 27,KO 25 ,11,MN 10 20.HBO 26 31,010 II 30,810 27 27,8M) 12 8t.OM 28 28,Ot0 13 27,W 29 28,020 14 2NH20 30 28, KK) 15 2T.0&O 31 2H,tHSO 16 27.S40 Total S5,OMr t.ess unsold copies 0,845 Net total sates ; 885.235 Dally average 28,B5ti GEO. B. TZSCHLCK. Subscribed In my presence and sworn to befora mo this 31st day of March, 1905. (Seal) M. B. HL'NUATE, Notary Public. That binding twine bill got through, but only with a string to it on which It may yet trip up. The telephone lobby hns achieved a famous victory at Lincoln and will now return to Omaha to resume business at the old stand. In unearthing a valuable fossil in Nevada California scientists have prob ably discovered the real reason why that country was created. Three new eouucllmen and one va cancy la the council to be filled all at M.500 a year. Who is willing to serve? Don't all speak at once. The only wonder is that under the loose methods pursued by the late dem ocratic county board the overlaps In the different funds are no greater. One thing the lamented legislature has forgotten. It failed to provide for in enlargement of the political cemetery where all good bills are buried. The last legislature, like the last city council. Is always the very worst we ever had, even though Its predecessors have been as bad as they could be. The remstvos of the EQuitable Life are gaining a little on the zemstvos of Russia, but In neither case have the officials fully defined their powers. .When the club women of the country have all joined the union there may be hope of arbitration between the domes tic servants' union and the Browning Research alliance. If the Auditorium management really got the best of the grand opera finan ciers it deserves special credit. The operatic lmpressurlo proverbially drives the sharp bargain. , District Attorney Jerome will try the "conspiracy" law on Nan Patterson. This charge is almost as valuable to the prosecution ns the "alibi" is to the pro fessional criminal. Judging from the latest Nebraska case Mrs. Chadwlck made the fatal mistake of not being committed to an Insane asylum before beginning her campaign for "easy" money. The Douglas delegation will not be met at the depot with a brass band and a wagonload of flowers, but wo do not know of any members of the delegation who expected such' a demonstration. With $1,500 a year members of the council ought to be able to weather the storm and lay by a small nest egg for hard times when they are compelled to Join the army of statesmen on the re tiled list. The sultan of Morocco would probably appreciate the promise of preservation of the independence of hls,eountry more highly had it come from the premier of France rather than from the emperor of Germany. Boulevards are all right in their way, but to change the name' from street to boulevard Just to enable abutting prop erty owners to escape special assess ments for the improvements U going pretty strong. The World Herald has at least found one act of Governor Mickey's that it is willing to commend namely, bis veto of the anti-Chrlstlun Science bill. It must havo hurt It, however, as much as pulling a tooth. When Governor Mickey appends his autograph to the new Omaha charter the Advisory board will have no moro advice to give and the Board of Public Works will have no more paving con tracts to quarrel over but the people of Omaha will not mourn. INVESTIGATING PRIVATE CAR USES. It Is announced that within a fen weeks the Investigation of the private car line abuses will be resumed by the Interstate Commerce commission. In quiry by the commission was begun last fall, but the results at that time were not altogether satisfactory, though the information obtained was sufficient to warrant the belief , that the private car companies are to a great eitent reiou slble for the system of rebates of which there Is such general complaint and which Is regarded as perhaps the most serious phase of the railroad problem. The private car line abuses are ad mitted to be an injury to the railroads as well as to the public, upon both of which the companies controlling these lines make exactions that are extortion ate and utterly Indefensible. The rail roads claim that they are compelled to submit to this and necessarily the public is at the mercy of the private car com panies, which of course are concerned only with the question of satisfying their own greed. These companies take the position that they are not themselves common carriers and are not engaged in Interstate commerce, and therefore are not amenable to the law against un reasonable rates, rebates and discrimi nation. Thus between the plea of the railroads that they do not own the cars but pay a fixed contract rate for their use, and that their own charges ore reas onable and without discrimination or re bate, and tho plea of the private car companies that they are not subject to the law, the shipper finds himself the victim of extortion or of an unjust dis crimination and apparently without re dress. While the investigation mode by the commission last fall did not conclusively prove the charges against the private car lines, a good deal of evidence was elicited In support of the allegations and it Is presumed the commission Is in pos session of more such evidence or knows where It can be obtained. It Is mani festly of great Importance that the In vestigation be continued and that all the facts ascertainable be brought out, so that the next congress may be fully In formed on the subject If it should con sider the question, as very likely It will of providing for the regulation of the pri vate car companies. It is presumed that in prosecuting its investigation the com mission will have the assistance of rail way officials, who very generally com plain of the exactions and extortion of the private car companies. A SOUTH AMERICAN IMBROGLIO. There Is trouble between Colombia and Venezuela, those two unfortunate so called republics which are almost con stantly Jn the throes of internal disturb ance and are liable at any time to get Into external complications. Among the South American countries these two are the most Irresponsible, as the United States has learned in its dealings with them, and It is not surprising that they are now threatening each other. It 1b needless to go into the details of their present quarrel, which can have little interest for any but their own people. The relations between the two govern ments have not been friendly for some years, or since Castro became president of Venezuela, and Colombia has been ex cluded from trade privileges with some of the Venezuelan ports. It appears that while the Colombian government is desirous of resuming dip lomatic and commercial relations the ob durate Castro persists in rejecting all overtures to this end, although some of his own people, whose Interests are In jured by present conditions, want an am icable settlement of differences. The sit uation at latest advices was beginning to take on a warlike, aspect and a con flict Is possible, though neither country is well prepared for hostilities. Both are practically Impoverished and neither could obtain any money beyond their borders, while their own people are able to furnish very little. A war between them would doubtless be as farcical a performance as are conflicts generally between South American states, yet It might be not entirely without good re sults. If a war should effect nothing more than to place the two governments In the hands of a new set of men who would administer affairs judiciously and honestly it would be worth all it might cost. As so-called republics Colombia and Venezuela are about the worst gov erned countries In the world. THE EXCLUSION POLICY. Outside of the Pacific coast there ap pears to be no sentiment favorable to applying the Chinese exclusion policy to the Japanese and it is by no means cer tain that on the coast the feeling that this should be done is by any means unanimous. The San Francisco Call says that by the terms of the commercial treaty with Japan the' Japanese iu this country are upon an exact equality with immigrants from any other country, and a like equality U bestowed upon Ameri cans in Japan. It says the interpreta tion of the treaty has been already dis cussed by the two governments and it is well understood to mean that whatever laws we pass applying to all immigra tion and to all foreign laborers shall ap ply to Japan. If we want to exclude the Japanese, observes that paper, It will be necessary to have the treaty amended, as was done with China. The Japanese government has already let it be known that it will not assent to any treatment of its sub jects different from that given to the people of other nations. In other words, it adheres to the equality of treatment secured in the commercial treaty. "To advise that we proceed 'against Japan with that treaty in existence is to ad vise mischief," declares the Call. It ap pears probable that an effort will be made to bring this exclusion question before the next congress, but lu the light of present conditions, and prospects It may reasonably be doubted if the advo catea of Japanese exclusion will obtain much consideration. That the appreben ion of any axteaatfv Immigration from Japan Is not well founded we think a practical view of the matter will quite conclusively show. Not only will that country need all her able-bodied men after the war for developing her Indus tries and commerce, but she will seek to distribute her citizens In Corea and China and undoubtedly will offer Induce ments to have them go to those countries rather than to any western nation, where they could be of no value in promoting Japanese interests and ideas. The policy of that government, therefore, will be to keep Its people at home. The danger of any considerable number of them com ing to this country Is very small and there Is no reason for the professed alarm on this score. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY MERGER For more than ten years The Bee has advocated the consolidation of the city and county governments with a view to simplifying the assessment of property and imposition of tuxes, and faciNtatiiig the collection and disbursement of pub lic fund. An amendment to the state constitution was introduced nt the in stance of The Bee In he legislature of 1SU5, but defcatexl through the Influence of public utility corporations who were then enjoying an extremely low rate of taxation. The subsequent creation of the office of city tax commissioner and the decision of the supreme cotlrt requir ing the assessment of public utility cor porations on the basis of their capitali zation removed the Incentive for further opposition on their iiurt to the merger of the city and county governments. While a complete consolidation that would enable us to create one govern ment for Douglas county nnd the city of Omaha cannot be affected without an amendment of the constl'ution, the first step In that direction has been taken by the legislature, which has just closed. Tho new charter for cities ' of the metropolitan class and the supple mental legislation to carry out the scheme for merging the assessment nnd tax departments of city and county will do away completely with double assess ments and duplicate treasuries, when the terms of the present city treasurer and city tax commissioner shall have expired In the latter part of May, 1000. How much of a saving in dollars and cents will be effected by the change will not bo known until after the experiment has had a fair trial. A conservative esti mate places the saving at anywhere from $ir,X0 to $20,000 a year. By the time the cogs and wheels of the new machinery have been properly adjusted it may exceed $25,000 a year. Had the legislature passed the act creating the elective office of county comptroller and abolishing the office of city comptroller, a saving of at least $."5,000 a year more would have been effected. Now that we have entered upon the Inevitable merger of the county and city governments we shall stop nothing short of a complete merger. Gradually but surely each succeeding legislature will follow in the footsteps of its predeces sor until the Greater Omaha, covering the towns and villages within a radius of ten miles, shall have been Incor porated Into the County nnd City of Omaha, modeled on the lines that have been adopted by other metropolitan cities whose municipal affairs are man aged on business principles with the least friction at the lowest expense. The Independent telephone people promise now to carry their fight before the people of Omaha by asking them for a franchise. That is their privilege in fact that Is where they ought to have directed their appeals all the time. Why should the legislature give away valua ble franchise rights In the streets of Omaha without so much as asking by our leave or allowing us to exact ade quate compensation? The report of the army and navy board says the science of war hns ad vanced to such a point that personal en counters in the dark are to be expected more frequently than formerly and that "cold steel" will return to the position It held hundred years or more ago. Walt until the portable searchlight Is perfected by which soldiers may be able to turn night into day. After trying its best to hold on to the division headquarters of the rural free delivery, Kansas City says it yields, to Omaha because it does not need it. If that's the case, just send us up a few more of the government bureaus located down at Kansas City. Omaha will gladly take care of them all. Messrs. Gaynor and Greene are still doing their share to point out the defects In the extradition treaty between the United Stntes and Great Britain, nnd if the lesson is learned they will be the last of their kind to obtain such a long delay before arraignment. The president of the latest Ohio bank to fail wants It understood that Mrs. Chadwlck had nothing to do with the closing of the doors, even though the late Mr. Bockwlth was once Its presi dent. He doubtless thinks that a scape goat can be overloaded. The legislature has authorized the use of 'voting machines In future elections In Omaha and the arrival of the votlug machine promoter to open a school of instruction In the city hall may be looked for within the next ten days. The address of President Mellen to the Connecticut legislature indicates that the New York, New Haven & Hart ford was not one of the roads responsi ble for the recent remarks of Mr. Eckels on the subject of rate regulation. Japaursv and Ilia Open Door. " Ban Francisco Chronicle. The Omaha Bee say a It does not believe there would be the least danger to the open door from Japanese success In the wur, but. rather, that it would insure tho maintenance of that principle. The Bee will be confirmed in Its belief by the result, but unless we lira greatly mistaken few American manufactured good wtli go through the open door. The Japanese will attend to that rnrt of the business In future. Great Imlneementa to Diggers. Washington Post. The Panama Canal commissioners want about oO.uoo men who are willing to go to the Isthmus, take chances with tropical fever and work for $12 a month less than they can earn at home. Inducements like that make tne transcontinental railway lines shudder at the prospect of a speedy completion of the canal project. Man Without an Knemy. St. Louis Republic. Tou have no enemies? Then you have never dared to stand up for the right against wrong, vou hnve never protected the weak against a bully, you have never even dared to defend your own rights against oppression. Had you done any of these things you would have mnde enemies. Even if you had done none of these things, but simply achieved a little more success In your business than did your neighbor, you would have an enemy, for fnllure al ways hates success. The man who has no enemies should be ashamed of It. Clone Watch on Senntora. San Francisco Chronicle. The attitude of t'nited States senators on the subject of railway rates will be nar rowly watched by the people when the mat ter comes up for discussion In the fall, and a possible result of the scrutiny may be an improvement of the character of the men chosen to the upper house of con gress in the future. The corporations have had their own way In tho senate for a long while, but they cannot retain It If the people rise In earnest, for when they do they can compel legislatures to act in their Interests and not as slaves of the trans portation corporations. Nothing: Succeeds Like Sneers. Springfield Republican. The applications in this country for por tions of the Japanese loan, which was of ferred to Investors in New York the other day, mark a new era In Japanese finance, so far ns America Is concerned. The rush Is notable, it Is said, among small investors scattered over tho land. The big life insur ance companies alono will take $15,000,000, and $20,000,000 or $26,000,000 more will prob ably go to a few large banking houses for distribution among regular clients. The total amount to be taken here Is $T5,000,000, and there are heavy applications from France for some of that sum, showing that French Investors are tired enough of backing the nation that suffers steady de feat. Half-Daked Reformers. William M. Daniels in the Atlantic. Of all drawbacks to political reform there is none to compare with the half baked reformer. To the intelligent worker for progress he is a scourge, nnd to the godless spoilsman he is a blessing, a very present help In time of trouble. This type of crude enthusiast always has some Cheap John device to "transmute leaden instincts Into golden conduct," some quick remedy that cures all the ills that mortnl flesh is heir to, some claptrap notion that is to precipitate the millennium tomorrow. His crotchets repel the hardheaded voter, and confirm the cynic in the belief that evil is a Burd In the sum of things that defies elimination. Today It is the refer endum or the Initiative. Tomorrow It is what is termed the "recall" an Ingenious device whereby, on the petition of a cer tain number of electors, any public officer, on penalty of forfeiting his office, must Immediately stand for re-election. I have no doubt that ostracism In Athens was lauded1 to the skies by this class of nos trum fakirs, and that they sincerely be lieved that the perpetual oyster shell was tha price of liberty. THE SEW ROOSEVELT. "A Broader, Stronger, Clearer-Headed and Better Man." Leslie's Weekly. In the new presidential term there Is a new Roosevelt. A broader, stronger, clearer-headed and better-balanced man was Inaugurated on March 4, 1905, than was inducted into office on September 14, 1901. He Is showing more poise than was predicted for him. Ills Judgment is saner than was expected, and it is usually saner than that of the leaders of bis party in the cases in which they disagree with him. He has a firmer grasp on public opinion than they. He is in closer touch with the people than any president since Lincoln, and the hostility aroused against him in his party on any issue has been far less Intense than was that which beset Lincoln in several crises. In all his public utter ances President Roosevelt's appeals are for the people and to the people. The new Roosevelt has the people behind him in a far greater measure than did any of his predecessors. His 2,500,000 plurality in November, 1904, would be 3,500,000 or 4,000,000 if the election were to take place in April, 1905. The Roosevelt of 1906-09 Is not only a wiser and more sagacious man than was the Roosevelt of l!)ol-05, but he Is likely to live In history as one of the country's clearest-brained and greatest presidents. Some of the papers are attach ing too much importance to his differences with congress. His differences, it must be borne in mind, are with the senate only. The house has been on his side almost from the beginning. Every president has had trouble with one or both branches of congress. .Even Washington did not es cape it. Madison, It was charged at the time, was coerced by Clay, Grundy, Crawford and others of his party into an acceptance of tha war policy In 1812, as the price of his renominatlon for president. With senate or house, and sometimes with both simul taneously, Jackson was In almost constant collision. The whlga in both senate and house on the bank issue repudiated Tyler, his cabinet abandoned him and he was read out of the party. Douglas rose in revolt against Buchanan in the Lecompton constitution fight in Kansas, and he claimed, in his contest for re-election to the senate In 1S58, In which he had Lin coln for an antagonist, "I have two nets of opponents in this battle, the black re publican party and the democratic admin istration at Washington." Benjamin F. IVade ana Irenry Winter Davis, the republican leaders, respectively, in the senate and house, denounced Lin coln violently In a letter to the New York Tribune In NSW for his pocket veto of the republican party's reconstruction bill. Grant, in the Santo Domingo annexation and other issues, was opposed and baffled by an element in his party. A powerful faction of It joined the democrats In 1872 against him. Not until the last half of Hayes' term did he get the support of the Cdtikllng faction of the republicans, and their favor even then was rather con temptuous. Garfield's fight with Conkllng split the republican party for the time, elected Cleveland, broke the spell of re publican invincibility, end fur the moment changed the current of American history. Neither Harrison nor McKlnley had tha unanimous support of their party In con gress through all their service. Mr. Roosevelt has fared better than most of ills predecessor in his dealings with congress. The house has been with him on every important Issue except Cuban reciprocity, und on that question it was quickly won over to Ids side. His differ ences with the senate have been lews sig nificant than appeared on thu surface of things, and have not altered his policy in any perceptible degree. The senate Is dis covering, as the house did two years ago, that where It differs with Ilia president tha president la apt to be right. Ha has unquestionably tfce peopla on bis aid. OTIIF.R LANDS THAI Ol H. In spite of the fact, or possibly because of the fact, that the Japanese, so far from being a nation of horsemen, hnve probably mnde less use of horses than any other even moderately Important race not much below them In Intelligence and c lviltaatlon, they have felt and yielded to an Impulse to honor with nn elaborate public funeral the not very large number of these animals that have given up their lives In the Japa nese service; since the war with Russia began. Judging from the brlrf reports of the ceremony at Yokohnma It was of a character distinctively Buddhist and In cluded the bestowal of posthumous names upon these unhappy victims of a struggle certainly not their own. Just as i done for the human dead by the practitioners of thnt gentle cult, but the affair was evidently much more Japanese than Buddhist, and It Is very pleasant to see that the men who are fighting with such desperate and effect ual rou rage against a colossal antagonist can find time for paying grateful honors to humble, allies thnt never received any such recognition In the occidental countries where their military assistance has been much longer utilized and to a much greater extent. A consular report a few months ngo re ferred to a co-operation experiment in slate quarrying In Wales, assisted by con tributions from labor organizations all over the country, and Intently watched by min ing and Industrial Interests generally, as Its success might revolutionize present methods of conducting large enterprises. The latest reports forwarded by the consul at Nottingham state that the hands em ployed at the co-operative quorry have been gradually dismissed, till now but three-fifths of the total number originally engaged are at work. The outlook for the undertaking Is very gloomy. No Interest has been paid to the shareholders. The entire capitnl, amounting to about $12i,000, was subscribed by co-operative societies and trades unions, and has been exhausted in acquiring and developing the three quar ries belonging to the society. There is no money on hand to proceed further, and, worse still, appeals to the trades unions and co-operative societies for more capital meet with no response. Unless money Is forthcoming very soon the undertaking will fall to pieces. As a result, the consul states, co-operation in large industrial en terprises has had a material setback. Public attention in Great Britain Is be ginning to bo diiected toward the improve ment of the canal system. In an important paper read the other evening at the Royal United Service Institution in London a prominent engineer advocated the national ization and electrification of the canals. He said that If the 3.DU0 miles of the system could be bought at two-thirds of the orig inal cost of construction, say 2,300 per mile of length, then the capital required would be 8,225,000. Calculating at 500 per mile for the cost of standardizing tho locks, and 2,000 per mile for the electrifi cation of the canals, then the total amount required would bo 16,975,000. Allowing 3,000.000 for working capital, he thought that a round sum of 20,000,000 would se cure for the state a splendid transport property. He then proceeded to argue that Inasmuch us more that 60,000,000 had been expended In tramway systems in the coun try and that over 300,000,000 had been ab sorbed in municipal work, the government might surely be permitted to beoome the owners of ah efficient, electrified, navigable Inland water service. The electrification of the canal system would provide a cheap Bupply of electric power for transport service, as well as for pumping. Irrigation, plowing, churning, milling and vegetable and flower growth, while the revival of the inland navigable waterway system would go far toward Befcurlng a new era of agri cultural prosperity. Some of the feeder canals, he suggested, might be converted profitably into motor or cor ways. Only state ownership, he maintained, could re store the canals to general usefulness, Ttte area of Venezuela Is 534,000 square miles, after deducting the 40,000 miles awarded to Great Britain by the arbitra tion proceedings In 18S9. This Is approxi mately twice the area of Texas, and con siderably more than ten times that of the state of New York. Its population, not accurately known, approximates 2,500,000. Its capital, Caracas, is a city of about 75,000 people. Racially, the people of the country are a mixture. The native Indian population exceeds 300,000. Foreigners are estimated at a little less than 50,0u0, about one-quarter Spaniards, one-fifth Colom bians, one-eighth British, with 2,500 to 4,000 each of Dutch, Italians and French. This misgoverned medley of white, brown, black and Indian occupies one of the richest areas of the parth's surface. It Is a land of fertile soil, vast and virgin forests, and. probably, endless mineral wealth. Between 18K4 and 1899 the Callao gold mines alone yielded $23,000,000. A British firm has Just constructed a huge crane, having the largest radius of any built, to be used In extending the harbor at Capetown. Its working load will be forty tons, which is not an unusual power, but Its radlua extends to 115 feet, und at that distance from the center of Its travel ing carriage the crane has been tested with a load of fifty tons. The height of the crane from the ground level to the. house roof Is fifty-one feet and to the crab rails thirty-six feet. The lifting speeds are eight feet per minute with the full test load of fifty tons, and fifty feet per minute with ten tons. The full load has to be com pletely revolved In three minutes, and the whole structure with Its maximum load has to travel fifty feet per minute. All these speeds were exceeded at the test, Tha great power required to work the crane may be gathered from the fact that tha weight of the crane Itself, exclusive of bal last, is 425 tons, about 300 tons weight being In the superstructure and tho remainder In the carriage. To this the ballast and test load added about 1M, so that the total weight to be propelled Is about 600 tons. The missionaries in the orient express gratification over the success of Japan In the war with Russia, and that feeling is highly creditable to the Japanese. They have allowed the missionaries to pursue their work without molestation, and there la fair reason to hope that Japan will yet become a Christian nation. General Kurokl and General Oku are members of the Pres byterian rhurrh, and Field Marshall Oya ma' wife Is an ardent Christian. There are 60,000 Christiana In Japan and they are said to be rapidly Increasing in number. Japan will see that the missionaries are protected In Corea and will have great In fluence In securing them Just treatment In China. Russia, with her state rhurch, does not tolerate missionaries and Is to a large extent against religious freedom. Under the circumstances Japanese control will ac celerate missionary wqrk. Private letters received In I-ondon report that India has been experiencing a most re markable winter tills year. At Allahabad, within three degrees of the tropical line, the mercury has several times fallen below the freezing point, and on one night at least in February touched 18 degrees. For the first time wlthH) living memory lee has been seen In the capital of the Punjab, and at several placesln Rajputana and all over northern Indiu "lowest on record" tempera tures have been the rule. At Blmla. tha mear temperature of which Is 63 degroes, the cold was severe enough to freest the atrtat hydranta a condition tha waterworks officials have oaver encountered bafore. POLITIC L DRIFT. Tom Lawson Is now talked of as a re form candidate for mayor of Boston. Chicago vote. for city officers next Tues day. Both sides are claiming everything. Cap. Anson of base bnll fame Is trying to make a heme run for an alderman's seat in Chicago, A messiey reformer in the Maine legis lature had the nerve to Introduce a bill prohibiting members of the legislature from collecting mileage when they travel on pnssea. Well, they didn't do a thing to him. The Philadelphia North American DrlnlJ the picture of a member of the legislature j resting from his labors at a distant sani tarium on the day he was recorded as voting on the passage of a bill nt Harris burg. Fearing lest the prayers of the preachers would have some effect on Mayor Weaver of Philadelphia, a bright statesman has Introduced In the legislature a ripper bill depriving tho mayor of appointive power and placing it In the hands of the select and common councils. A bill pending in the New York legisla ture proposes to give old age pensions to all employes of New York City on their own application nftrr twenty-five years' service, or at the discretion of a retiring board after twenty-one years service, or for physical disability after ten years' service. Massachusetts lias been piling up a state debt for years at a rate that hns caused Its public men great uneasiness. Governor Douglas, like his predecessors, cries for retrenchment, and the figures Justify his demands for reform. The present debt, ac cording to the figures quoted by the gov ernor. Is nearly $loo.000.0oo, of which $30,SOO, XK is of the direct debt and $65,0n0.000 is the contingent debt. Houston, Tex., is about to try the Gal veston experiment government. A bill which hns Just bicn signed by the governor of Texas legislates out of existence the officials of Houston elected at the last election and gives all municipal power to a commission of five, who will proceed to transact the business of thP city ns though it were a private corporation. The new measure seems to have the general support of the taxpayers and business men of the city. , fifty Years the Standard THE MOW SIMirKH XATIOX. America Dlntanrri the World In Number of Publications. New York World. The number of periodical publications of all classes In the United States Is computed by Ayer's Newspaper Annual for 1905 at 22,312. Canada has 1,168. Nearly 90,000,000 persons In English-speaking America havo therefore one periodical for every 3,400 individuals. Scholarly Ger many, which publishes more books than we do, has but one periodical for 7,500 persons. All Europe, the center of the world's his toric culture, hns for nearly 400,000,000 per sons fewer such publications than tho United States alone. Tho character and the geography of this great press output are Interesting. The newspaper press, from the tiny country weekly to the great daily, and the popular magazines are most familiar. Our schol ars' magazines and reviews, published usually In connection with universities nnd discussing every phase of learning, far sur pass those of England nnd Germany In number and Importance. It Is In part be cause of this fact, usually so little appre ciated, that Prof. MunsKrberg, In his work upon "The Americans," prophesies that it will not be long before Europe will experi ence a surprise because of American ad vance In the Intellectual sphere similar to that caused by our rapid commercial de velopment. New York state has nearly one-tenth of the publications of the country. The New England states hns one-seventeenth, less than their proportionate share for one-thirteenth of the population. Western states have considerably more than half he pub lications of all classes from the dally up to the weekly, but less than half of the maga zines. Thirteen states have one-fourth more weeklies, but one-fourth fewer dallies tha.i New York and New England. Hawaii has one periodical for every 4,000 inhabitants, Porto Rico one for every 40,000, the Philippines one for every 250,000. Tho home territories have one for every 1,720, or about twice the proportion for the whole country. Oklahoma alone has ten times as many papers as the Philippines for a pop ulation which was at the census period less than one-twentieth as great. PARCELS POST. Postal Advantages Gained by Treaty but Denied by Law. New York Tribune. We are really at last to have a parcels post service between this country and that other country with which we need it most. Great Britain. The arrangement, which should have been made long ago. Is at last complete. After this week it will be about as easy to send a small packet of merchan dise to England as to send it from one part of this city to another. Indeed, It will actually cost a little less In postage fees, while In respect to weight and size and other details the service will be fairly generous. This is a great gain. But It Is a step, and nothing more. It Is not a finality. There is most need of a parcels post with Great Britain; but there Is much need of such a system between this country and every other civilized country under the sun. We shall not be satisfied until there is a parcels post on liberal terms with every member of the international postal union. There Is urgent need that this Bhall be effected, a need that Is growing every day. For the Importance of such postal facil ities Is Increasing. Telegraph and telephone have not supplanted the mail bag. They have taken away some of Its business, but they have actually developed and created more than they have taken away. If people often use these newer and more rapid methods of communicating their thoughts, they have all the more need of the older methods of Interchapglng material objects. The more telegraphing and telephoning there Is, the more goods will be ordered and the more need there will he of a method of transporting them promptly, safely and cheaply. We may talk by light ning, but we cannot thus convey goods. For the latter purpose the parrels post la needed and every atep toward the com plete aatisfaction of that need is cordially to bo welcomed. A Hint Worth lleedlnar. Inlianapolis News. In indicting a Beef trust representative for endeavoring to Influence a witness, the federal grand Jury at Chicago evidently takes the position that the law of self preservation Is' not applicable to the pend ing cane. Hade, from pure cream of tartar derived from grapes. SMI!.!N REMARKS. Mrs. Perk (contemptuously) What are you, anyhow, n man or a mouse? Henry Peck (bitterly) A man, nn dear. If I were a mouse I'd have ymi up i: that table yelling for help, right now '. i 'lev , land Lender. Goodman Gonrong No use to call at dla house? Why not? Tuffolrt K i i 1 1 1 1 I stopped yere wunst an' axed dn woman fur a handout. She guv me wot she said was n oyster cocktail. I tuck de oysters out nn' t rowed 'eni away, and den I foun.l It wasn't no cocktail at all. Chicago Tribune. "Don't yon think the trusts are assuming too much Importance?" "A trtist," answered Senator Sorghum, "doesn't have to Hssttme importance It has importance thrust upon it." Washing ton Star. Piker It would be Interesting to trace the origin of some of the common remark of the day. For Instance, I wonder who orlgintinl the expression: "It never rains but It iours." Wlseinan Nonh, very probably. Phila delphia Press. "Novelist Henrv James savs that tha American girl Is attractive, but she lacks eluslveness. "What does that mean. Henry?" "Guess it monns you can t lose her Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Mrs. Nagget," said the doctor, "your husband needs a rest. He must go to Eu ro;"" for three months." "Oh, splendid:" she exclaimed, "I'll be delighted to go there." "Very good! You can go for threw months after he conies bark. That will give him six months' rest." Philadelphia Ledger. "Does the innocent prattle of children nnncr vou? "No." answered the old-fashlone 1 rlt'1 zen. "Prattle would tie a relict, nut rr. dren nowadays correct your grammar am sk vou oucHtions about geology." Wash ington Star. "H ATT Kit VP! PLAY I1AI.I.!" James Barton Adams, In Denver Tost. Hatter up! Play ball! X'... u,,nn ti.tll i-imr Ihfl UiMilKiillin iTV. And from cue h eager router s eye iixpeciani lire win in rcriy u" in sort of incaiidescnu glow: The pphere will trom the pitci.er shoot. The baiter swat It in the snoot, And men will pound their hands and yQ t ii.. I,,., ,.i r, a.xl itum lAhetu!k XjinC Ut'lllwilB ju.-.v . .,... ....... v- And faces will Ily out ot phapo With wild excitement, nil an ape Would look around with social grin And feel that he was 'mong his Kin. He'd better quit! , He couldn't hit A balloon. Or the moon. With a slat For a bat! (InriH ee Vni ! That's what 1 call Ball. By gol! Je-ru-sa-Ium! But that throw was bum! Say, that was a bird! Got 'im on third! Whoo-ray! Yll! Yeouw! That was a play For yer whiskers! Now, Bobbv, old socks, it's up to you! Show' what you can do! Woo-oo-oo! Run! ' You son, of a gun! Another three-bagger! No, By Jo! It's a homer!! Hoo-ray!!!! Give me room!!!! Git away!!!! Whoop!!!! Wow!!!! Ylp!!!l Yow!!!! (Faints.) Same old rooters! Same old cranks Holding down the blistered planka, Snme old rubbernecking sports Giving vent to angry snorts When a play Don't go their way; Same old luke-warm soda slop, Same old crispy corn do pop. Same old sourdrops. same old gum. Same old tnffy. yummy-yum! Same old cushions, full of germs Same old peanuts, full of worms; Same old umpire cussers, nnd Same old we'uns In the stand. Batter up! Play ball! COCOA la distinguished from all others by i us tun navor, delicious quality and I auboiuic puniy. Th Loiciiry luctipt Book unl FRgg. Tha Walter M. Lowney Co,, Boston, Mm, House of Quality and Right Prices We don't believe you helie.re what we say is not so advertised? Vos, seme by ourbelves. Considerably by our competitors, tiplendlly by our customers. Wo work (or wfuired results. I'rice U a aeoondary matter. Wo havo l?ot and want iiudhtij trade it paya ua, it pay them, (jive ua your con fidence; we will see that you profit by it.