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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 1905)
TIin OMAITA DAILY HEE: SATURDAY, "AUGUST R, 1003. Tiie Omaju Daily Bee. B. ROSEWATER, EDITOR. 0 ' PUBLISHED EVERT MORNING. TERMS OK SUBSCRIPTION, pally Bee (without Bunday), one yar..$4OT Inlly Hee snd Sunday, on year J W Illustrated Be, one year ? funitT'B, one year. Paturday Pf, one.jear.., J Twentieth Century Farmer, one year.... 1.00 DELIVERED BT CARRIER. Dally pee (without fun-lay), pr ropy...- ? Ially pea (without Sunday), per week...o Dally Bee (Including Bunday), per week lie Krenlng Bee (without Bunday). per week 70 Evening Dee (Ineludlng Bunday). per week '3 Sunday Pee, per copy P0 Complaints of ' Irregularities In delivery hould be addressed to City Circulation De partment. orncES. Omaha The Pee Bulldlag. Bouth Omahs-?Uy Hall Building, Twenty-fifth and M streets. Council Fluff-10 Pearl atreet. Chicago 140 t'nlty Hulldlng. New Tork 15uQ Home Life Insurance Building. Washington SOI Fourteenth atreet. CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to newe and edi torial matter should be addressed: Omaha Bee, Editorial Department. REMITTANCES. I nemlt hr draft, express or postal order. ayabla to The Bee Publishing. Company. )nly J-oent stamps received In payment of I mii p.nnn.i rherks. except on Omaha or eastern xchangs, tvt r?r,lT'- I TUB BKB PUBL1BHINQ COM PANT., STATEMENT Of CIRCULATION. , c!'xZ$Z,?wTKVi rubiishtng company, wing o"'r ! says that tbe actual nurobet of full and complete eopjee of The Daily, Morning, JS!lft&iK&t&!Kt i : nijuc t Tn,2tn I o,ew , t . ao.Tno ,o 7 .-..... 8K,m S .. BO.OOO J... ia....;.. 3H.OOO II. ..., SM.040 11 8,4IOO 18 SH,M 14 as,To 15 ao.Bno it liH.ino IT w.m l jf?Kt2 ....... . . n. ........... JW.aoo 22. ........... SSO.B70 I ... isjioo BH.OTO I 24 j,ito 2". n." 2!io 29 ,400 st inn I .etoa.itao Lasa unsold copies P.Hltt Net total sales 8SH.415 Dally average 88,465 C C. HOBEWA1HK, Secretary. Subscribed In my presence and aworn to before hie una am day ui juiy, h (Seal) M. B. HUNQATE. K ' Notary PublU WHEN OUT OP TOWH. flakMrlbers lcmvlaC tk city team purarlly ahomlal hae The Be mailed. them. It ia better than dally letter frea home. ' Ad dreaa will be ehaaged aa often reqaeated. Hayti'a seizure of the customs receipts may foreshadow the next movement of the "big stick." Another Souiii Omaha industrial en- terprise has been abandoned. Thla time It is the rock pile. Where wus ine iteal Estate exchange when the council fixed that 13-mlll levy for the coming year? I In place of. becoming' panic-stricken, people of the south should keep a cool head and a steady hand on the oil tank, . Sq far. the jeliow tew proves moreiiumi becoming more and more excited, effective than striking telegraphers in topping trains. Score another victory for the mosquito. . The backbone of a strike Is some- tmng like trie DackDone or winter. it ometlmea gives a false Impression of having been broken. Former Captain lUrkmun will have to get his book on the market soon or that Indiana divorce ase Will take all of the novelty out of army scandal stories , The general attorney for the Wood men of the World and the attorney gen eral for Nebraska do not quite agree n the interpretation of our revenue laws. . When Nebraska wheat which grades No. 1 reaches Minneapolis It is. hardly probable that the millers ask whether it comes through "regular" or irregular" dealers. The fact that Mrs. Chadwick's estate will pay 7 mills on the dollar shows that be waa not as expert in biding ber re sources as some of the other frenzied financiers. Members of the Northwestern Hotel Men's association have decided to favor being that the names of mining engi Omaba next year with their complimen- neers connected with that service are tary patronage, and Rome Miller has I greed to foot the bill. The Lincoln Star wants to know bow touch longer it must wait for some news- paper fakir to have another interview With Pat. Crowe. Look for reply In Omaha't aenlor yellow. -Ferhaps the L'hlneee boycott will not aasume such fierce- proportions if the Unitea bttes nm stops tne -noia-up methods ald to prevail among some of the Inspectors In China. ' Prtdlctions are made that the Omaha ft Beatrice Intemrban will be completed from Omaha to Papllllon before the fall election consummation devoutly to be wished but, we ehaU see what we shall see. The story that it is part of M. Wltte'a mission to look tin the American market for Russian bonds la Interesting, desnlte tts dehlal, and may our Wall atreet plutocrats an opportunity to strike an effective blow for peace. There will probably not be so much secrecy about the meeting of King Ed- ward, and Emperor William aa there was about the emperorS meeting with the ciar. But the conversation wlU cause a tremor of nervousness at Paris Just the same. ' - Mf. Moody's characterisation of work In the Agricultural department as the "personal house-cleaning of .the admiirk - tratJon" should be a warning that It will not end with the department tinder fire at thla time.. No good housekeeper con - fined bar biw-clenlnf to ent room, ' . TDK BECirHUCITT QVESTIOX. what position the administration will take on tbe reciprocity question Is at present uncertain. Aceordhig to reporta from the national capital a umrkod di vergence of oplnlou la growing more and more manifest every day between dif ferent members of the government serv ice to the future of the reciprocity situation. It la atated tliat the trensury officials especially feel a lark of sytn pathy with the whole Idea of reciprocity and generally predict that there will be no results whatever from the agitation now In progreag. Oue report quotes an Influential officer of the government na saying. that the administration as a whole haa no disposition tj favor reci procity. Still It ia understood that the State department ia looking into the mat ter from a serious standpoint, particu larly In regard to what can be done about getting terms from Germany fa vorable to Ajnerlcan products. Of course If the administration ia not in favot of ihe negotiation of reciprocity agreements the agitation for them will futlje. jt j, possible, however, that ' trie waaninffton renona reDresem me vIpws if twrsruis who hnva ho nuthorltv viewa 0l persona do nae no auiuoruy to speak for the president ana tne coun ... -in walt toT onie utterance from him on the Important subject instead 0f accepting as conclusive the opinions , : . " , , ,. ... 0f offlciuls who perhaps have not the 8hte.t knowledge of Mr. Wevelt's rlewa. It is not unlikely that arter the Cutcn8 conference the president will indicate hla position on the question. It is well known that he is exceedingly de , , rnmnt th crnnmlnn of Amer. ' " I .. a .1 is 1 .. 1 . ...1.1 .... . 1. lean LrHut; uiiu u ue buuuju wuviuuc turn this can be done through reciprocity agreements be will not hesitate to advo- cate that policy. It can be confidently assumed that the president will give the h"' -'-""" its Importance demands and that in due time his views regarding it 'Mill be com municated to the country. Meanwhile public discussion of the subject will serve to develop what the general senti ment is. It Is evident that the reciproc ity question is coming into greater prom inence than ever before and may have a decided influence upon the future of political parties. The extensive business interests and organizations that are be hind the present agitation may be ex pected to carry 'it on with persistent vigor. SHVTTWQ OFF COMMERCE- A complete shutting off of commerce is threatened by the notion of some of the country districts of Louisiana. One of these has cut itself off from all out- Blae intercourse, wnne in oiuer cuses rndl, l limitations have 1-een placed upon traffic. A New Orleans dispatch sug gests tnat tnese extreme measures may bring the fedcrul government into the fever situation in the south. In connection with other conditions they certainly cre ate a situation which seems to demand the interposition, of the general goveru- ment With tlie arml militia of two states facing each other, interstate trade being blocked and the people of Louis- there appears to be every reason why federal authority should step in, as it mn justifiably do under the law, and make and enforce such regulations as vtti rrmedy the existing conditions. There has been no intimation as to what the Washington authorities think of the matter. Perhaps they are too much pnfrrnssral with other affairs to . lt nttntlo but tnpr, , BnM, rpu. Bon tQ b)eve that w, hav t0 sooner or later and probably very soon. Referring to what has already taken place, the Philadelphia Ledger remarks that "the effect of this experience should be to strengthen the bands of the na tlonnl quarantine service and to compel it, with universal approval, to exercise the ample powers conferred by statute, brushing aside the Incompetent local au thoritles and establishing such a national and scientific quarantine as will give protection to life and health" without paralysing trade or allowing the country to lapse into barbarism." Undoubtedly th,s U the P-tlcallr universal view, STILL FINDING WHKQULARITIES. Almost every day there is disclosed some Irregularity in the government service. The latest discovery relates to the geological survey, the allegation I used to boom worthless stocks In fake I mining scheme. It is stated that this practice has been going on for years and the thing complained of is the improper use of their official positions . by these engineers to promote private enterprises, with the result that many persons have been bitten by promoters of ' valueless mining stocks bearing the indorsement 0f eugiueera In the government service. It appears that it lias, been the custom of wners of mines to engage engineers 1 0f the geological survey to examine and report upon their properties. It is not charged that the engineers deliberately misstated conditions and reported favor ably on mines that were worthless, but usually the ore deposits were described in the most glowing terms the facts per mit, which would be sufficient for the purposes of the owners. , Investigation of this is to be made by the commission appointed a short time ,OOK tne metnooa ana regu.a- lMMW 01 UJB uep-nmrui. uu uureaus, with particular reference to the arrange ment of alariea and promotions. It ap pears prooaoie iuoi iuia commission win have still more work to do,,for there Is no telling when or where the dls-overy of irregularities will stop. Tbe fact that Attorney General Moody shortened his vacation and la back in Washington may 1 not unreasonably be construed as an indi I cation of some development of uncom mon Importance requiring the attention I of tbe head of the- Department of Jus I tlce. Tbe disclosure of irregularities al 1 ready' made naturally creates suspicion that there may be others, but does not I warrant the assumption of the opponents 1 of the party In power that wrongdoing land the betrayal of lruat are general in the public service. Dishonorable and unscrupulous men have found their way Into the service, but the very great ma jority of those who are serving the gov ernment are honest and faithful. The assurance Is that the administration will spare no effort to purge the public serv ice of the former class and to punish such as may be found amenable to the laws t.V EXCtSSrC TAX LETT. When the council levied an 11.5-mlll tax last year, taxpayers were assured that the dose would not be repeated, in asmuch as the prospective income from the scavenger tax sales would enable the city to pay off the floating debt created the previous year and place it in position to get along with a 10-mill levy, including the flOO.000 water tax. Assurances were also given out by the Hoard of Education last year that the excessive levy of 1IK4 would not be re peated in 1JXX) because yie board would be able to take up its outstanding war rants and meet the demand for current expenses, interest on tKtnds and sinking fund payment by enforced retrenchment. But fine promises butter no parsnips. With an increase of nearly $5,000,000 in the aggregate assessed valuation and more than a quarter of a million placed at the disposal of the city council and school board through the operation of the scavenger tax lav, a levy of 13 mills has been ordered by the council for the fiscal year J9O0. The only excuse for this excessive levy Is that we need every dollar for the maintenance of municipal and school government, and if, per chance, the additional income from fu ture scnvenger tax sales shall leave a large balance in the treasury, the prom ise is held out that the surplus will be used for the redemption of outstanding bonds that will come due next year. We apprehend, however, that there is not the slightest dangej of any balance being left over. There never was a time when the council Could not spend every dollur at its disposal either by creating new sinecures, or by undertaking Im provements to absorb the surplus. But even if we had a guaranty bond that there would be" a large surplus next year with which to redeem outstanding bonds, that assurance would afford no consolation to tbe average taxpayer. Tbe credit of the city of Omaha is good and Is Improving from year tea year. The city will And no difficulty in floating a 4 per cent refunding bond, providing the policy inaugurated this year in setting apart a qunrter of a mil lion a year for tbe sinking fund shnll be maintained. Most of the taxpayers of Omaha, we feel sure, are not able to get 4 per cent money and would prefer to take the risk of making their money enrn more than 4 per cent rather than pay it into the city treasury to take up maturing bonds. With a 13-mlll levy confronting the taxpayers of Omaha, it is to be hoped the county lonrd will compress Its levy to the lowest limit. There has been a marked Improvement in county govern ment within the Inst year by way of re trenchment and business administration and unless the board gets into the old rut a great deal of saving should be ef fected during the coming year. It is useless, however, to effect savings at one end and pour the surplus Into rat holes at the other. The way to save the money Is not to levy the taxes and not to incur the liability. The democratic oracle "of these parts derives rauch consolation from the re cent disclosures of graft in republican Philadelphia and in the Department of Agriculture, manned by republicans. Looking backward, the oracle points with glee to the times "when republican audiences used to cheer when that dis tinguished proponent of republican doc- ftrine, Robert G. Ingersoll, w'ould tell them that while every democrat was not a horse thief, every horse thief was a democrat." As a matter of fact, that proponent was Horace Greeley and not Robert G. Ingersoll. And Horace Gree ley was honored for possessing the cour age of his convictions by being made the candidate of the democratic party for president of the United States. The Real Kstate exchange has ap proved the planned system of boule vards and gone on record es. peclally in favor of the boulevards planned for higher grounds in the city, This is all very well, but what does the Real Estate exchange have to say about taxing the whole city for building the roadways on the boulevards nd ex emptlng the owners of the property im proved from the burden, excepting their share of the ordinary tax Imposed on all taxpayers, whether they own real estate or personal property. Why should not owners of lots adjacent to boule vards be obliged to pay for the grading Bud paving without the aid of enforced tribute from other property owners? While the Fontuuelle pipe dreamers who unbosom themselves through the local democratic organ were giving vent to their fears that Congressman Ken nedy might prolong bis tour of Europe until after tbe primary election and "thus avoid dropping his mask," that distinguished traveler had already re turned and resnmed business at the old stand, Plans and specifications will now have to be revised. The leauties of divided authority in municipal government are about to be graphically demonstrated. Ask a coun cllnian who is responsible for the in creased tax rate and he will point to the school board; auk a school director and be will lay it to tbe Water board ask a water commissioner and be will put It on the council. And the taxpayer foots the bill. According to the learned medicine men who have made yellow fever a pro found study, the infection of yellow fever is carried by mosquitoes and by no other means. Persons take the dls ease by being bitten by mosquitoes that have previously bitten a yellow fever patient, and a mosquito to become in fectious must bite a yellow fever pa tient during the first three days of his attack. How a patient who has the yel low fever before he Is bitten by a mos quito came by the disease Is not yet dis closed. In the language of Hamlet: There are more things between Heaven and Earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Secretary Wilson's determination to take no vacation while the Investigation of the Agricultural department "grafters" is in progress shows that the secretary is becoming Interested in the matter to degree not always shown by heads of departments where irregularities are un covered. Report of the damage of a Japanese scout ship in , the fight of the sea of Japan has Just reached America. In the course of time the real story of the Rus sian defense may be told, but probably not until Japan feels safe to admit its losses. Difference ia Methods. Detroit Free Presa. Study of the municipal methods employed In England shows that over there the gov ernment uses the politicians and here the politicians use the government. China's SnrarUlna; Nerve. Chicago Chronicle. The spectacle of China shouldering Its way into the Russo-Japanese negotiations with a demand for Indemnity from both parties la calculated to excite world-wide amazement and amusement. We have so long been accustomed to regard China as an Indemnity payer that Its appearance in the opposite role is startling. Sadness aa a Mask. Brooklyn Times. Baron Komura is certainly a despondent looking gentleman. One would think that he were about to represent the defeated nation in the coming peace conference. Tt M. Wltte look out. Perhaps the sad domeanor is put on to make the Russians think that Komura hates to let them off so cheaply when he asks for only one billion of dollars. Model Common wealths. Philadelphia Record. The governor of Nebraska, like the gov ernor of Indiana, ia determined retain in office no man who drinks or swears, and we presume the embargo Includes ciga rettes, which have been prohibited In the latter state. Pennsylvania looks on in admiration, and wonders If lt will ever attain such a moral level; at present the most. It hopes for is to get fid of the men who steal. y Shot Full of Holes. Portland Oregonlan. "Nver will I conclude a shameful peace or one unworthy of great Russia," says the Czar. All of which has a lofty and high- minded air about It, but, to get down to facts and conditions as they exist, the Czar may have to accept any kind of peace that Japan offers. There Is nothing very "great" about Russia these days except its grle- lous blunders. These have proved the won der of the world. The Chinese Boyeott. New Tork Commercial. That Chinese boycott of American goods s not an Idle dream of alarmists In the Orient. It is a living, rasping reality. This cablegram to Mr. Louis Gets, presi dent of one of the largest exporting and Importing companies ' In Ban Francisco, from its correspondent in Shanghai, has nothing of a myth about lt: "Cancel all orders. Boycott of American trade ef fective among Chinese merchants. All business entirely suspended." This means simply that the Chinese will not receive or pay for any more American goods If they can substitute others for them. Job of Counting Money. Baltimore American. Counting a billion dollars Is no mean task. A billion Is easy to say, but lt is simply unthinkable to any finite mind, and while not uncountable, lt draws largely upon time when the count Is to be made, The count of the actual cash In the United States treasury at Washington began on Monday afternoon, preparatory to the sue cession of Morgdn H. Treat to Ellis H. Roberts as treasurer. The entire amount to be counted Is $1,162,818,725, and lt is estl mated that It will take sixty-three clerks three months to do It. If John D. Rocke feller Is really worth a billion of dollars, he Is lucky In being able to employ others tg count his cash for him. Regulation of ICxpreee Companies Springfield Republican. The Interstate Commerce commission has lately ventured to assert a regulative au thority over transportation by private freight and refrigerator cars, and this after vainly appealing to congress for enact ments to cover the case, as If the present law were not adequate. Bo, it would seem, the commission might assert itself in the matter of the express companies, following the precedent now made by the Kentucky commission. Such a step at least would serve to force the question upon the atten tion of the country and congress. Logic- lly the railroads should conduct the ex press -business themselves, as their other freight business Is conducted; and this principle should be extended to the point also of eliminating the private car and its subterfuges to gain special favors. Let the railroads be made common carriers in fact as well as In name. FROM BAR TO I'KLL. Effect of Commercialism oa the Lawyen of Kew York. PlUladelphla Press. In New York City sixteen lawyers are under Indictment and in the state 193 are now In state prison, while 3S3 have served penal terms In the last twenty years. This appalling record is a natural. In. evltable result of the lax discipline en forced by the courts, the low standards of the bar and of bar associations and the readiness with which lawyers In good standing condone rascally conduct and sometimes practice lt themselves without losing their "good standing. V The bench Is, however, the worst of fender. Judges are timid. They will not use the summary power they possess to disbar. Whan In some flagrant case bar association summon the courage and awake professional conscience to bring charges. those who lead In the matter know that the courts will only act In cases close to the criminal law. Judges should be ready to act on their own account and without charges. But they hesitate. They have been lawyers themselves and sometimes ex pect to be again. One ex-Justice of the supreme court U under indictment in New Tork now. The "corporate spirit" lrttrong In cases of sharp practice and dubious dealing the bar and bench are too often in an apologetic mood. A lawyer's work la liable to blunt his keener moral sense. Worst of all, the higher standards of the bar are not main. talned. Men in good standing fellowship legally with men whose record will not bear examination. For- a generation past. in which the lawyer from the day of David Dudley Field and the Erie scandal has been "commercialised," the bar has cop to be less of a profession aud more ef a trade. OTHER LAUDS TH AM OIHI. The Transvaal appears to be Just now the black sheep of the British South Afri can colonial family, a family which la far from a happy one on many accounts. Na tal In particular Is kicking vigorously against the excluslveness of the policy of the Transvaal administration, which favors the foreign port of Delagoa bay to the prejudice of Natal's port of Durban. Natal, unlike Cape Colony, allowed the Chinese coolies for the Rand mines to land and pass through Its territory, and In return the Rand mlne owners Import all the sup piles for the coolie compounds through he Portuguese port. The Natal Witness goes so far as to say that the Transvaal ways and methods are smothering the British Instinct of fair play and sense of patriotism, and that there Is less friendli ness shown by the Transvaal to the rest of South Africa now than when It was under the Boers. The commercial depres sion throughout South Africa, It says, has not been lightened by a hair's weight, for all the Chinese that have been Imported; and It calls on the Natal government to assert Its Independence of Transvaal fa vors and demand Its rights in regard to commercial and railway matters. The dif ficulties thay have arisen It would rather hae settled amicably on the spot and not referred to the imperial government. - The recent disasters to English and French submarine boats have been the cause of much public discussion In both countries, and the newspapers are filled with suggestions of various plans by which such an accident might be prevented or rendered less fatal. Most of these hints are pronounced by expert engineers to be Impracticable, but there is a wide agree ment of opinion that some radlcal'changes In design must be made If the submarines are to possess a reasonable measure of stability and thus Inspire their crews with confidence One of the features in their construction that has attracted very gen eral attention Is the failure to make pro vision for salvage In the case of disaster. There Is no chance of escape for the men Inside even should the craft come to grief In moderately shallow waters or any ar rangement for facilitating the work of rais ing the sunken hull. The Idea that all sub marines should have some sort of external projection, such as hoops or rings, to which chains and hooks could be attached easily by any floating derrick has occurred to many. It Is understood that the British naval engineers are engaged anxiously upon these problems. . The English Garden City association, whose efforts are directed against over crowding In large cities and the consequent depopulation of the rural districts, have good cause to congratulate themselves on the progress of their scheme. It consists In the developing of new Industrial and res ldentlnl towns surrounded by belts of agri cultural land; the unearned Increment being retained In each case for the benefit of the Inhabitants after payment of 6 per cent per annum on the capital. The first step to. ward practical realization was taken In 1903, when a Joint stock company (the Gar den City Pioneer company1, limited) was started with a capital of S,000,000 to de velop an estate of 3,850 acres situated be tween Hitchln and Baldock. During the last two years building, roadmaklng and other operations have been carried on with vigor, applications for small holdings and for residential and factory sites have come in with greater and greater frequency, and there is reason to think that, before the close of 1906 the first Garden City will have risen on what a short time back were only the opon fields of Letchworth. The exhibi tion of cheap cottages, which Is to be held on the estate from the end of July till Oc tober, may be counted on to add to the pop ularity of the undertaking and to Increase still further the demand for sites. The German campaign in Southwest Africa Is proving costly, both In men and money. Their force there In January, 1904, numbered forty-two officers, seven officials and 773 men, together with 800 horses. Since then reinforcements to the number of 66S officers, 19$ officials and 13,653 men, together with nearly 12,000 horses, have been sent out. The total losses in action up to date amount to forty-one officers, eighty-three non-commissioned officers and 306 men killed or missing, and fifty-three officers, 109 no- commissioned officers and 303 men wounded; or a total of 894 officers and men of the reg ular corps killed or wounded in action. The deaths from disease or In consequence of accidents Include those of eighteen offi cers, sixty-three non-commissioned officers and 893 men, a total of 474. In addition, 119 officers and men of the colonial reserves also fell or were wounded In action. More over, murder, disease and accidents have accounted for one officer of the local re serve and 127 men who were either farmers or renervlsts or both. Thus the rising has so far cost the lives of some 1,100 Germans, and 612 men have been wounded In action. The total percentage of losses In killed and wounded amounts to 8 per centeof the offi cers, and 19 per cent of the non-commls-slonad officers of the force. No fewer than fourteen officers and 341 men, or nearly 4 8 per cent of the average strength of the force, succumbed to typhoid fever. The total cost so far Is estimated at between $60,000,000 and 870,000.000. Japan's shipbuilding yard at Nagasaki, giving employment to 7,000 men, Is by far the largest shipbuilding yard In the far east. It was started in 1864 for ship re pairing, and Its dry dock was not built till 1871. Since then It has been( and still Is, the nursery of the Japanese navy. This la the description given by an enterprising Russian, M. Krazheffskl, who, over the signature of "Mr. Palmer," describes the yard in the Russkoye Slovo. Since 1K98 the yard has built eight steamers, each of 6,000 tons or more. Out of the 7,000 workers only, six are foreigners, but all the engineers and all the mechanics speak English, having received their techlncal training In England or the United State. "Now we train our own foremen on the spot at home," said the Japanese engineer In charge. In the yard Is a museum con taining models of all the best ships In the world. England supplied the main equip ment of the yard, but the electrical ap paratus In use was manufactured in the United States. At the very moment when one of the Russian officials Issues a statement that the crops are poor In only a few prov inces and that they are from good to ex cellent In the greater pf rt of the country the central statistical committee, which Is a governmental bureau, announces that the harvest Is a complete failure in forty one out of sixty provinces In European Russia, and in five provinces failures are laterspersed locally with barely sufficient crops. In many other provinces the re sults are slmllary mixed, and good crops are expected only in six Polish and four Russian provinces. The prospects for the coming winter, therefore, are appalling. Russia la likely to suffer more from famine at home than It can possibly suffer from Japan on the other side of the world. The Rash for Land. St. Louis Republic The migration of American farmers Into the frost-bitten regions of western Canada, the eager push for the few homesteads of the Uintah reservation and the cheap lands, fit mostly for grazing, offered for sale by the Slate of Texas, show that the pioneer ing and land-grabbing spirit is aa strong a trait of American character as ever It waa. But none of our neighbors have muon good land to b grabbed, POLITICAL DRIFT. Ohio voters will ballot this fall on sn amendment to the state constitution chang ing the biennial elections from the odd to the even years. Former Senator Billy Mason of Illinois enlivens the good old summer time by nominating Joseph Benson Forsker of Ohio for president In MM. District Attorney Jerome of New Tork City proposes to run Independent for re election. Then the rival machines will get In their fine work on Mr. Jerome. Mayor Woodward of Atlanta. On., hns declared against the clawhammer habit and proposes to stick to plain clothes. Any function requiring the splketall will be cut off the mayor's visiting list. City Clerk Aaon of Chicago Is abroad with a stout bat urging a tax on cats, of which there are 200,000 in town. A threat Of II a head doesn't agitate Tommy's whis kers and It Is doubtful If Anson can get on to his curves. The proposition to run John D. Rocke feller for mayor of Cleveland against Tern Johnson Is seriously made. Should oil and electricity get Into a political mlxup. as courageous, a person as Ida Tarbeli would scoot for timber. A police canvass of the voting lists of Philadelphia developed nearly 32,000 bogus names on the registry. A subsequent can vass by unofficial people produced a total of 70,000 spook voters. The Impression Is quite general that Philadelphia's vote will suffer a severe shrinkage next fall. Carter H. Harrison, former mayor of Chicago, Is said to have an ambition to become congressman from the First Illi nois congressional district and thus fur ther emulate the example of his father, who was mayor of Chicago and was also a member of the house of Representatives. The Humboldt Turnvereln of St. Louis was not permitted to tap five barrels of beer on a recent Sunday. During the en suing thirst the members dryly resolved that Missouri would be benefited If Gov ernor Folk returned to his rratlve statC, Tennessee, and stayed there. Aa evidence of good faith and good will, the members pledged the governor free transportation. A C11IMCSU REFORMER. Former Minister to the Vntted States Stirs the Celestial Kingdom. Philadelphia Press. When Minister Wu Ting-fang, the Inimitable, departed from these shores, leaving behind him a void that yawned, there were those who said that his pol ish and his progressive views and his general out-Tankeelng of the Yankees would be left behind him on shipboard, and . once again upon his native soli he would become "a heathen Chinee." All such base and slanderous prophecies have been set at rest by the news from China. The rapler-wltted Wu. with his full quiver of satire and cynienm. Is a reformer sound to the core, as well as discreet enough to save hla own head, besides manifesting the great American characteristic of being able to bring things to pass. Word has reached this country of two monumental reforms recently established by the Emperor of China. at the suggestion of a commission headed by Dr. Wu. The first Is an edict abolishing cruel forms of pun ishment, and the second edict does away with the use of torture In courts of law. Three delicate attentions which Chinese law haa long bestowed upon Its victims are dismemberment and disemboweling exposure of the head and beheading of the corpse. Now, thanks to the wise Wu, these have, at a stroke of the Emperor's pen, been made obsolete. For them has been substituted the more merciful method of immediate decapitation. True, this is not altogether as up-to-date as elec trocution, but lt la progress. Crimes that formerly Were punished by decapitation are henceforth to be visited with the pen alty of immediate strangling. Ef.lll further the reform goes and remember, this Is China. The penalty of branding has been absolutely abolished. That terrible engine of official grafters, the use of torture In securing evidence, has also been sent into limbo. No more will the system of whipping by light and heavy bamboos be practiced. All the barbarous practices that have been proverbially asso ciated with the farcical. "Justice" of China are to be ended, so far aa the Imperial power can, end them. The canny statesman who was so quick to discern the hiatus between theory and practice In American Institutions lias Included a vigorous warning in the edict, which has also been widely published, for the information of the people generally. It calls upon viceroys and governors to be diligent in making sure that their sub ordinates carry out the provisions of the reform. There Is the right ring about this: "Should any be found who. while outwardly observing, are secretly disobeying the edict, treading the old path of malpractice, let them be at once lmpehched. There must be no shielding of them, nor any attempt to save their faces." Our old friend Wu Is to be congratulated upon China, and China Is to be congratu lated upon her eminent servant, Dr. Wu. I'nrle Sam Host. Brooklyn Eagle. The president has received the Russian ambassador as formally and courteously aa he received the Japanese ambassador, and he will receive the Russian peace plenipo tentiary aa formally and courteously aa he has received the Japanese functionary for that purpose. Our government will be the host of the plenipotentiaries. It will be a courteous and an Impartial host. Our peopleicannot be so Impartial as their gov ernment, and are not expected to be. But none need think that the government will be wanting In any of the requirements of equity or of etiquette. Browning, Ming &. Co CLOTHING, rURNISDINCS, AND BATS August Clearing Sale 'In clothing his body eaid Beau Brummel. Hlteenth and j Douglas Sts. BnUwsy at IXW Street NEW OOVKRSMFST I.ASD I.OTTEBT. Scramble for the Prises on the t lalah Reservation. , Philadelphia Press. Although lotteries are not regarded aa legitimate In the United States, the federal government, by virtue of necessity, has been obllged to distribute public lands open for settlement by lot, and may shortly offend the sensitive who regnrd all chance ventures as Immoral and demoralizing. Over 1. OiO.OeO acres' of the Uintah reserva tion. In northwestern Utah, are to be thrown open for location and entry on and after August "8. By proclamation of the president authorized , by congress, regis tration for the right to select sections in the reservation In rotation, to be ascer tained by lot, began on August 1 and will end on August 12. In some of the former distributions of the publto lands there was a mnd rush at the appointed time and the struggle for the possession of the best tracts became a riot. The only way to pre vent the recurrence of such violent scenes was to assign the choice of location by lot. The government makes nothing by this singular lottery. It Is adopted only aa a convenient method of distribution; but those who draw the early numbora will be able to secure an Immediate sale of the choice for a mu-h greater sum than the amount Invested, $1.25 an acre, which may be regarded as the cost of the lottery ticket. It Is said that a mining company, de siring to exploit certain promising terri tory, lias a stnndlng offer of triO.OOO rash for the first right to locate drawn. This Is considered the grand prize in the drawing, and this Is where the gaining character of the transaction IS In evidence. There are 1,800 farms, or prospective farms', to be distributed, of varying degrees of productiveness. It Is predicted that 50,000 persons will register for the drawing, principally farmers and wage earners. More than 48,000 will be disappointed and remain landless. Three-fourths of the ter ritory Is said to be without present value for cultivation, but there are mining pos sibilities and enough uncertainty in tha venture to Induce thousands to travel far and to submit to Incredible discomfort to take their chances In the rush. Some of the places appointed for regis tration are 1W miles from the nearest rail road station. They are reaehed by rugged mountain roads or trails, but this la a slight obstacle for the man who can buy land for $1.25 an acre, with the chance of selling out at once for a snug Utle for tune. Under the federal homestead law any American man or woman, native born or naturalized, over the age of 21, who has not appropriated land under the home stead laws and is not the wner of 160 acres, can participate In the drawing. POINTED REMARKS, Borem Well, I've got a right to air my opinions, haven't 17 Knox O! of course; they're so stale and musty they certainly need something of that sort. Philadelphia Press. "Old Hunks is too mean to live." "O, I don't know. If ho thought he could spite more people by dying he'd die." Chi cago Tribune. "Are they rich people?" "They must be. Each member of the family has an automobile, and the cook goes to early church on a motorcycle." Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Is your son working?" asked the neigh bor. "Not yet," answered Farmer Corntoasol. "Can't he get a Job?" "He ain't satisfied with a Job. He wants a position." Washington Star. "I tell you," the landlord was saying, "It takes a good deal of skill and management to run a hotel. A man has got to know how to put two and two together." "Well, you can do that, all right," said the guest. "In convention times 1 ve knowji Tom to put two and two together In a room ust big enough for oiw,"-M.'pl.n Tribune. "They say that sneaky-looking man across from us is two-(aced!" whispered the first boarder. "Well, I hope he Is, for his sake," said No. 2, generously. "It would be too bad to be reduced to the one he has on, wouldn't It?" Detroit Free Press. Baity More Did you ever know a man to lose his entire fortune In one fell swoop? Calvert, Jr. Yes, but I have seen more men lose their all in one fool swap. Balti more American. "Would you allow your name to go on the payroll of a corporation?" "Never," answered Senator Sorghum. "Anybody that needs the benefit of my counsel and support hereafter will have to come around with the cold currency, in a lump sum." Washington Star. RIP'S LAST SLEEP. James j. Montague in the Cosmopolitan. The purplo shadows lie along The Calskllls. as they did of old; The robin sings his even-sons. The sky Is rimmed with red end gold Past shining lake and somber hill The silent footed twilight creeps; The stars light ono by one and still Old Rip Van Winkle sleeps. It Is no slumber of pretense That wraps the wandering Idler now No wonder whispering audience Walts on to see the silvered brow And tottering form and vacant stare When, with the dawning of the day. The spell dissolved, old Rip snail rise And take his homeward way. Not one is left to Jeer and flout. Among the chattering village folk. And greet his looks of fear and doubt No frlsnds, grown gray with time and trial. No children, changed to wrinkled met Will tap their heads and slyly smile When he halts home again. For, while he sleeps the stars will fade, The earth will moulder and decay. And all things that men have made Will pass In crumbling dust away. And when he wakes ah! would we knew Before that far-off morning breaks. If kindlier, friends he'll Journey to When Rip Van Winkle wakes! Too good for the price. That may not oiigitl reasonable, but Judged by ordinary prices of men's clothing 'round town it ia true enough of our suits. You will And more stylish and more serviceable gar ments here than anywhere else and you -won't pay as much aa you will for Inferior 1 suits elsewhere. Every suit In our store is reduced from 25 PEK CENT TO 50 PEIt CENT. ANY STRAW HAT IN THE HOUSE DO CENTS. NONE KEKEUVED. one must use hla head,' , OMAHA NED. YORK Factory. Cusst M 7