Nebraska Newspapers

    THE OMAHA DAILY BKE: FRIDAY. JANUARY 5, 1906.
4
The Omaha Daily Ite
K. ROBEWATKR. KDITOK
PUBLISHED EVKRY VORN1NO.
TERMS OF fllliSi'RIPTION.
Jially (without Sunday), on year
Dally JVe anil Hundsy. one year
Illustrated Ree. nn year
Bunday Bee. on year
Saturday Bee. one year
"
Mil
2 V)
l.ao
DELIVERED BT CARRIER
Dally Ree (Including Funds)) per week.. I,c
Daily Bee (without mmflayi. per wwk..l.c
Kvenlng Ree (without Bundayl. per week.
Evening Br (with Sunday), per week..loc
Sunday Be, per ropy '."'V
Address complaints of Irregularities In de
livery to City Circulation Department
OFFICES.
Omaha The Bee Building.
tnuth Omaha CltT Hall Building.
Council Bluffs-10 PcHrl Street.
Chicago 6 Unity Building '
New Tork-15f Home Life Ins. Building.
Washington V1 Fourteenth Street.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Communlrationa relating to ncwa and ed
itorial matter ahould he addressed: Omatia
Bee, Editorial Department.
REMITTANCES.
Rem't by draft, express or postal order,
payable to The Bee Publishing Company.
tmiy z-ceni stamps rwrivm n ij - -
SmahiTrern
THB BEE PUBLISHING COMPAM
STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION.
State of Nebraska, Douglas County, st i :
C. C. Rosewater. secretary of 1h Bee
Publishing company, being duly "worn,
ays that the actual number of full and
complete copies of The Dallv. Morning,
Evening and Sunday Bee printed during
the month of December,
Iowa:
1906, waa aa ful-
J 81,040 17...
1 2,740 IS...
t 30,0-M 19...
4 3t,B!H 20...
t 31.7NO
31.IWO 22...
7 32,1.10 S3...
S ni,r.O 24...
32,o4tt 23...
19 8o,i5o :...
. :.:u.o2i
...31.H20
770
,M,0!10
...;vj,ioo
...iVi.WMO
...ao,o5
...31.7S0
...!Vi.2IO
.. :w,oio
...aa.ooo
...ai.sno)
11 81.H40
II 8I.THO
13 8i,oao
14 31, MM
It 81,730
14 IW.TIO
Total
Less untold copies .
1!8
?9
30 an.io
31 no.ino
. .nwi.n-to
.. 10.S08
Net total sales t71.w:vi
Da4ly average......... 31,319
C. C. ROSEWATER,
Secretary.
Subscribed In my presence and sworn to
before rue tills fflsi day of December, IDOi.
(Seal) M. B. HLNUATE.
Notary Public.
WHEH OfT OF TOWJI.
Snbacrlbera leaving; the city tem
porarily should have The Be
mailed to them. It la better than
a dally letter from home. Ad
dress will be changed aa often as
requested.
The new motor car shops of the
Union Tactile cannot be built too large
and too soon to suit Omaha.
M'lth the famine in the northern
provinces Japan Is learning the lesson
repeatedly taught to other nations that
even the victors may pay too high a
price for war.
The plans of the Omaha, Beatrice and
Lincoln Interurban trolley line are not
ready to be made public Just yet, but
they furnish niuterlal for an Immense
amount of hot air.
If the TJuited States senate fioesn't
hurry with the Santo Domingo treaty it
will find that the party of the second
part has moved to New York to be
close to the trust funds.
With the Inauguration of a new police
Judge some reforms suggest themselves
that might profitably be Inaugurated In
the police court. The first of these is
the refusal of straw bonds.
Now that Senator Spooner and Sena
tor "LaFollette have walked down the
aisle together Senator Smoot may hope
that the courtesy between members of
the body will extend as far as Utah.
It Is proof of appreciation on the part
of Virginia that at the time it Is prepar
lne; to celebrate the two-hundreth anni
versary of the settlement at Jamestown
It should offer to care for a number of
the poor of England.
.In selecting a general superintendent
of a railroad company to prepare statis
tics upon which the new revenue law of
Minnesota Is to be based officials of that
state are proving their value to their
masters if not to their constituents.
In overruling demurrers In land fraud
cases District of Columbia courts seem
disinclined to let the wild west settle its
own problems, and one can but wonder
how the wheels of Justice will turn
tinder the eye of the secretary of the
Interior.
With the formal ending of the Rus
sian Insurrection statesmen In the em
ploy of the czar may have an oppor
tunity to show Just what they have done
In the way of helping him to carry out
liberal promises made Just before the
jams began to roar.
The city of Omaha has a law depart
merit, consisting of three lawyers; tbe
Board of Education pays for a special
lawyer, aud the Water board pays for
two special lawyers. The wouder is thut
the Park hoard and police board do not
also keep special attorneys ou their pay
roll.
Omaha coal dealers appear to have
very little show before the State Board
of Purchases and Supplies. That fact
within Itself would merely be suggestive
of discrimination were it not also for
the other fact that the preferred dealer
had achieved a great deal of notoriety
In connection with former coal scandals
lu state Institutions.
Fewer women are taking examina
tions for teachers for positions In the
grades and in the high school lu
Omaha this year than for many
years past, which Indicates that
a matrimonial epidemic has Invaded
the ranks of the schoolma'ama, or that
they arc able to earn more money In
other lines, or that their fathers and big
brothers are able to take rare of them
elvea without their upioit.
to HKAr Tffr niiLtrnsr.s
The Mil rfHlurliiK tlio tariff on riilllp
plin' sutrnr and tolnr to 2T i-r -pnt
of tlio IHiikIoj- rates and admitting froo
nil other pHHlii. t- of the inland, was
taken up in tli' liouso nf roproaoTitatlve
jfHtcrdiiy. ltlnto on the nuaenro will
pmlutlily be r.itinioil, ns It will 'U
ountcr. as now intlWntoil, a strong;
opposition. The groini'l of this la that
th' propoHpd reduction on supur and
tohacco will, if nindo, Inevitably operate
to the injury of the domestic sugar and
tolmeeo Industries. It will be urged
that with the added competition of
Philippine sugar, produced with the
chenpost labor. It will not te possible for
the beet sugar industry to grow and it
would not very long survive. In regard
to tobacco It is declared by the repre
sentatives of that interest that it would
certainly suffer from the Importation on
a considerable scale of the product of
the Islands.
On the other band it N nrgued that
of the domestic interests has
anything to fear from a reduction of the
tariff on Philippine sugar and tobacco.
This Is the position taken by Secretary
Tnft and the president made nn earnest
presentation of It in his annual message.
He recommended such legislation as is
proposed In the pending bill and said:
"So primitive are the methods of agricul
ture in the Philippine Islands, so slow is
capital in going to the Islands, so many
difficulties surround a large agricultural
enterprise In the islands, that it will be
many, many years before the products
of those islands will have any effect
whatever upon the markets of the
Uulted States." He expressed the
opinion that the legislation recommended
will aid the Filipinos without Injuring
interests in America. It Is the under
standing that most of the congressmen
who accompanied Secretary Taft to the
archipelago returned with the conviction
that the tariff on sugar and tobacco
should be lowered and other products
of the Islands admitted to the United
States free of duty.
This has had a good deal of Influence
upon public opinion here, which un
doubtedly is at present less adverse to
legislation Intended to aid the Filipinos
Industrially and commercially than It
was a year or two ago. The very earn
est work done by Secretary Taft for
tariff reduction has also had a great
Influence. The sincere Interest taken
in the matter by President Roosevelt,
however, has been the most influential
factor in shaping popular sentiment, it
lelng recognized on all hands that he
would not recommend legislation which
there was reason to think might en
danger an American interest. The prob
ability Is that the bill framed by the
ways and means committee will pass
the house without any Important change
In Its terms. Doubtless an effort will
be made to have the tariff reduction
on sugar and tobacco placed at 50 In
stead of 25 per cent of the Dlngley
rates, but It Is not likely to be success
ful. What the fata of the measure will
be In the senate cannot be predicted
with any degree of certainty. Both the
sugar and tobacco interests of the United
States have strong friends In the senate
and It Is very probnble that they will
make a determined and persistent fight
against the proposed legislation. .
RKSTRICTISO TBA T K-
The Indictment at Cluclnnatl of a
score of the representatives of leading
coal companies, on the charge of "con
splracy in restriction of 'trade," is an
event of general interest. The Indict
ment charges that these companies or
their representatives hae associated
themselves together to fix And estubllsh
prices of coal and that the price to the
consumer wus controlled absolutely by
them. It Is of general Interest for the
reason that such combinations exist
throughout the country and if the Cln
clnnatl companies can be convicted of
conspiracy in restriction of trade It will
put an end to similar conspiracies every
where.
That they can be convicted there is
very good reason to believe. Warrant
for so believing is to be found In the
decision of the supreme court of the
United States in the pipe line case. The
agreement entered Into by the coal com
panics at Cincinnati, by Which they
established a monopoly and fixed prices,
was unmistakably a restriction of trade
and renders theni amenable to the antl
trust law. The result of the prosecu
tlon of these companies will be lnv
portant and their conviction would be
most salutary.
dT IMP ORTAST COSrKRFXCK.
The conference soon to be held to
pass upon the Issue between Germany
and France regarding Morocco appears
to be looked forward to by some of the
European governments with anxiety, if
not apprehension. A Loudon dispatch
says thut official and unofficial circles
there do not consider the Franco-Ger
man situation serious, but from the
same quarter comes the intimation that
a rupture la possible. For a week past
the foreign reports have told of the
existence of a feeling of pessimism as
to the political outlook and leading
English papers have been quoted In
evidence of this.
The cause of the anxiety and appre
hension is suspicion respecting the pur
poses of the German emperor, whose
name seems to be regarded lu England
and France as a synonym for danger to
the peace of the world, notwithstanding
the fact that he has repeatedly declared
himself the earnest friend of peace. A
London correspondent says that Em
peror William is distrusted profoundly
by the masses of Britain, France and
Spulu. Nothing Is heard more fre
quently among the people of England
than a straightforward repudiation of
belief In his theatrical declarations that
his first and chief desire is peace. This
sentiment Is even stronger lu France,
where it Is declared the government
and peopjo are not misled by the kaiser's
private pacific utterances. It 1 ex
pected, of course, that tiermany will
oppose France's position at the Moroc
can conference, but there is only the
remotest chance or possibility of a
rupture resulting. Neither the dynastic
nor commercial interests of Uermnuy
would be served by a war at this time
and should the emperor provoke n con
flict he would have the most of Europe
against him. No doubt tie will adopt
an aggressive attitude In the Morocco
conference, but if the decision of the
representatives of the powers that will
meet there Is against him he will accept
the verdict.
rut RKSPuysmtmr rixev
The decision of the state supreme
ourt in the Jorgeuson cose affirms the
principle that the police board has the
right in the exercise of Its discretion
to refuse a license even where no pro-
est has been filed. This decision puts
the responsibility for licensing disor-
erly resorts and resorts that are o-
oriously dejendent for patronage upon
the vicious and criminal classes upon the
police tKjard, where It properly belongs.
Inasmuch as the loard has it within
its discretion to grant or refuse a license.
whether there Is a protest or not. Its
manifest duty is to exercise that discre
tion in the interest of good government
and not in the interest of tolerated vice
and crime. And Inasmuch as the gov
ernor, alone, is vested with the authority
to appoint, and remove the police com
mission, he is responsible for the policy
they pursue. From that he cannot es
cape by any fiction or assumption that
he Is not expected to Interfere In the ad
ministration of local government.
The very fact that he exercises police
powers in metropolitan cities carries
with it the responsibility for the proper
exercise of police powers, and that
means that he is responsible for the acts
of Ills agents Just as much as the police
board Is responsible for the conduct of
the police force.
THE HWDflS HAND.
A member of the Douglas delegation
to the last legislature makes bold to
assert that the move to enjoin City
Treasurer llennings from turning over
the public funds in his custody to
County Treasurer Fink, in conformity
with the law enacted by the last legis
lature, was instituted In the interests of
the paving contractors, with a view to
reinstating the old board of public works
that had been abolished by the new
charter. It Is furthermore alleged that
In order to screen themselves the con
tractors have enlisted the attorney of
the Board of Education, and through
him have trumped up a pretext for the
Injunction on the plea that the new
charter being silent with regard to the
turning over of the school moneys, the
school board is obligated to Intervene
and prevent the turning over of moneys
until the supreme court shall decide
whether the merger law Is valid. This
version has, to say the least, a great
deal of plausibility.
It is a matter of notoriety that the at
torney of the school board caused a
great deal of unfavorable comment by
his lobby work at the legislature. It
was an open secret that while pretend
ing to be there solely to secure legisla
tion desired by the board and prevent
legislation not desired by It, he was in
reality plugging for the contractors and
intervening for the brewers, distillers
aud liquor dealers.
The merger of the city aud county
treasuries had been publicly discussed
and was not openly opposed by any
body. If the attorney for the Board of
Education had given half the attention
to the charter. Insofar as It affected
the Board of Education that he gave to
provisions that concerned the Board of
Public Works, or had given the subject
the same attention that he did the pro
posed amendments to the Slocumb law,
there need have been no defect In the
charter that could be construed as bar
ring the city treasurer from turning the
school funds into the custody of the
county treasurer.
Very naturally a well grounded sus
picion exists in the minds of the mem
bers of the late legislature that the hid
den hand of the contractors is behind
the attorney of the school board, as well
as behind Attorney Cathers in the at
tempt to block the treasury merger, de
signed to simplify the collection of
taxes and the disbursement of the
municipal and county funds.
According to the fire Insurance record.
fire losses In Nebraska for 1906 have
not been as heavy as In 1904, the de
crease being particularly noticeable In
the larger cities. On an estimated total
of $3.0i0,0oo paid in premiums for pro
tection, the loss to both stock aud mu
ttuil companies is estimated at $.0,0O0,
aguinst $1,008,000 for the preceding
vear. This wouiu indicate a net prom
of over $2,150,000, exclusive of commls
slons to agents and other incidental ex
penses. Assuming these to be equal to
20 per cent of the premiums collected,
there still would remain $2,500,000 for
dividend. With such a showing the
suggestion may not be Impertinent that
a material reduction in fire insurance
rates would be in order In Nebraska,
especially in the large titles.
The decision of the United States su
preme court. Just rendered In the Peoria
gas cases, will have some bearing upon
the decision of the court of apieals in
the Omaha Water Works case, lu the
gas cases the supreme court holds that
a city has no right to reduce the rates
charged by any public utility corpora
tlon below the rate embodied In the con
tract between the city and that eorpor
a Hon. It naturally follows that if the
court of appeals shall recognize the
validity of the contract between the
city of Omaha and the water company
the maximum rate, embodied in the
original ordinance, which constitutes
the contract, could not he reduced dur
ing the life of the contract, except by
mutual consent. The only divergence
from this view by the United States su
preme court was In the Frecport Water
Works case. In that case the court
held the statute of Illinois, which
authorised cities to regulate water
works, was In effect at the time the
contract was made, and the water com
pany was bound to take notice thereof
and govern Itself accordingly, but this
position was not concurred in by four
out of the nine, who held that the con
tract could hot be abrogated by the city,
even If the statutes of Illinois authorized
water rate regulation. Inasmuch as no
such statutory provision existed when
Omaha made Its contract with the water
company the decision hardly applies to
the local aituatlon.
City Electrician Mlchaelseu asks for
an assistant inspector and In support of
his demand' points to the fact that the re
inspection of old buildings, directed by
the charter to be done once a year, has
been neglected because of the great de
mand of outside construction work, in
cluding the underground conduit system.
The request of the city electrician would
seem reasonable. The question that
suggests Itself In this connection is.
however, whether inspection inspects.
When Mr. Micheelsen came Into otflee
a great many reforms were promised
In the Inspection line, but for reasons
unexplained they have not materia lired.
Now that the supreme court has
reiterated it former decision that the
proper basis of value for taxation of a
franchlsed public utility corporation Is
aa a going concern, gross receipts and
tangible property, being taken together
and not separately, there should be no
further -contention on that score.
The house of representatives has
adopted a resolution requesting lnforma
tioii as to members who may have
abused franking privileges. As this Is
done while weighing is in progress in
the fourth division it may mean less
mouev for railroads on postal contracts
in the west.
In deciding to take action against the
secretary of state. Who Is alleged to be
short In his accounts, the governor of
Indiana exemplifies his belief that one
of the duties of the chief executive Is to
protect the people 'from dishonest offl
cials something apparently never
learned by Nebraska, governors.
Now that Secretary Wilson has been
asked to take tip the fight against fruit
pests In Nebraska he Is probably willing
to admit that his Information regarding
tha western bank of the Missouri river
was . sadly deficient when he first be
came secretary of agriculture.
In asking taff'c and sane Insur
ance laws Governor Hlgglns seems to
ibe anxious to secure something which
will satisfy popular clamor and at the
same time run the gauntlet of a court.
one of whose Judges Is an Investor In
Fads and Fancies."
Qolrk to Absorb Impressions.
Washington Post.
Governor Pennypacker is urging mem
bers of the Pennsylvania legislature to re
form the election laws. The governor is
quick as any man In the country to see
thing after it happens.
Misery Lores Company.
Tortland Oregonlan.
Two men were arrested In Omaha Satur
day, charged with complicity In homestead
land frauds. "Progressive citizens" In
other commonwealths than Oregon are also
stopped from "helping the state."
Despicable . Kraft.
Philadelphia Record.
Passes to politicians have' disgusted the
people not only because they put legislators
and officials under obligations to the men
who Issue the passes, but because the men'
who get the passes also collect mileage.
Many congressmen are reported to have
returned to Washington before the expira
tion of the reeeas In order to use passes
that expired December 31. but they will
collect their mileage Just the same.
American Kqaallty.
Chicago Chronicle.
It Is safe to say that this was the only
country on the globe In which 9,000 of the
people without the slightest regard to race,
class, wealth or previous condition of
servitude shook hands with the chief execu
tive of the nation on terms of perfect fa
miliarity and equality. The scenes at the
White House last Monday were enough to
make the enlightened people of Europe re
flect that somebody must be living on the
wrong principle there or here.
Island Kingdoms (or Sale.
Boston Transcript.
Imperialism in distress at last! Too many
Islands are In process of assimilation, with
the result that a Job lot is now thrown
upon the market. For proof see the adver
tisement in a Ban Krancisco paper offering
for sale Fanning and Washington Islands
In the southern Pacific, under Instructions
of the registrar of the British high com
missioners' court for the western Pacific
ocean. Heal islands advertised In the news
papers: Where will this thing end?
Dentin- with the ladlnn.
Portland Oregonlun.
Indian Commissioner Leupp is opposed
to the system of educating the Indian and
in favor of permitting him to live out his
own life, assisted only by harmonious sug
gestions from the white man. This solu
tion of the Indian problem will hardly be
agreeable to those who have been endeav
oring for generations to make a white man
out of the red brother. At the same Urns
there Is merit in ths suggestion. In most
cases the Indian receives Just sufficient
education to awaken in him a desire for
something better than hs has known. With
this desire comes a realisation of the lnv
possibility In his short lifetime of atuin
Ing equality with the paleface. Ths result
Is an educated, dissatisfied Indian, who is
of less value to society than a, satisfied,
uneducated member of ths race. Genera
tions hence ths Indian problem will be
worked out by assimilation of remnants of
ths race by the whites, the "squaw man
of ths reservations, detestable as he may
be, having already begun the work. Mean
while education has probably brought more
trouble and sorrow fur the Indian tMin
ran be counterbalanced by the good thut
has been accomplished.
ROtAD AtlOl'T SEW YORK.
Ripples on the Current of Life
In the
Metropolis.
The gloom in Tammany Hill Is thiik
enough to rut with a cheese knife. Not a
scrap appears on the pie counters. The
hraves of other days wear a lean and
hungry look, which accurately reflects their
cnnHltlnn H'..n -. , . . 1. 1 ,1
fiance of a month ngo. and haughty alia I
have been transformed Into funeral mel-
ancholy. The tiger has been chained and
... ... .. .. .
inniier inruwn into xne oay. v nancy i
Murphy sulks In his Iong l.land castle, a
dethroned boss. What makes tho agony
hird to bear ift thnt It la handed to the
biaves by a brother member. Mayor Mc
Clellan. formerly esteemed the brightest
Jewel on the pie counter. Mcflellan's ap
pointments are the hardest blow ever dealt
by friendly hand to the organization. Hut
the rest of the town rejoices and rudely
mocks the wrath of Tammany.
Things do not wear a bright aspect for
the mayor. Though Installed for a four
year term, thtire appears some trouble In
store for him, which may shorten his ca
reer aa mayor. The Hearst crowd, allied
with republicans, have organised the city
council and have instituted a contest for
the seat of borough president, which will
enable them to pry up the lid of hnllot
boxes In Manhattan, and In doing so look
Into the vote cast for mayor. With the
Tammany members of the council Indiffer
ent to the mayor's fate, It is easy to foresee
what course the Investigation will take.
McCiellan ia between two rebellious polit
ical camps, one eager for his scnlp, the
other secretly reaching for it.
The new chief of police, Oeneial Theo
dore A. Bingham, talked in a breezy fash
ton to his subordinate chiefs. "I'm here
to do a certain work." he told them. "and.
by Jovo. I'm going to do it if It can be
done. And you've got to treat me on the
squure, as I Intend to treat you. I want
to start out fairly, without any watching
or spying. There'll be no spying. If you
are manly men. why, treat mo right and
I'll treat you light."
These offhand remarks he emphaxtxed by
genteel exclamations. "By the nine gods
of war," ho declared, "if you do not uct
on the level, off goes your star."
There Is a decisive and a soldierly di
rectness about General Binglmm which has
often been mistaken for abruptness or
brusqueness, but that mistake was usually
made, by some one who had given cause
for the exhibition of tho military side of
his training. It is related of him that on
one occasion, when there was a social
function of Importance at the White House
and a largo number of guests were pres
ent, one of the guests, a well known sen
ator, began the narration of a story In a
tone which attracted attention throughout
the room. Colonel Bingham saw that the
president was annoyed. Without waiting
for anything further he stepped up to the
senator" and said:
"The president desires to have quiet."
The senator was extremely wroth, but it
mado no difference to Colonel Bingham.
He had merely noted and stopped a rude
interruption of what waa going on.
Tall and strongly built, a limp which a
serious accident caused some time ago does
not detract from the general's soldierly
carriage. He has gray eyes, wears a mus
tache, which ia blonde, like his hair, has
full regular features and would be de
scribed as a fine-looking man. He appears
ten years younger than the 47 years he ad
mits, and has a son 21 years of age.
The cynical and picturesque Big Bill
Devery. former chief of police, could not
resist "taking a hand In the game" as it
affects the cops. "They tell me," he said
in an interview, "that this man General
Bingham, from Conectlcut, who Is going
to run the New York police department,
had hlB leg cut off a couple of years ago
by a derrick fallln' on It. I ll bet ho re
garded that there accident as a great mis
fortune at the time, but ho will find before
he is in his new Job very long that a
derrick ain't a peanut shell to what falls
on the police commissioner of New York
every day.
Mr. Devery naturally doubts the ability
of a man without police experience to run
the police force of New York City. He Is
outspoken In his opinion that the heud of
the department should be a policeman who
has risen from the grado of patrolman.
In this connection he waa told that General
Bingham and organized the park and White
House grounds police force at Washington.
"That may help him some," agreed Mr.
Devery, "but a Washington cop, whose
duties are confined mostly to plckln' up
. T- T' ,iZ " . V. BruH'
cop. The New York cop is In a class by
himself. No other policeman Is like him.
His work Is different from the work of
any other class of men In the world, be
cause this city is different from any other
city In the world.
"I don't want to bo glvln' General Bing
ham any advice unless he asks for It. If
ho chirps to me I'll go down there and
put him wise to some of the corners and
curves of hts Job. He may make good,
and I wish him al the luck in the world.
But If I was makln' a book I'd give you
odds that they'll be bouncin' roasts off of
him before he's In office six months. If
he does all the newspapers and citizens ex-
j pect him to do with the police force he's
more man numan. ir ne tries to do too
much at the start he will queer himself.
and when a man queers himself at the head
of the police force once his middle name Is
Q-u-e-e-r-e-d unless they put an egg In his
shoe and tell him to beat It."
A MODEL INVESTIGATION.
Inquisition Into Life Insurance
Methods Worthy of Emulation.
New York Tribune.
It will be Impossible for some time to
come to measure the full value of the In
surance Investigation in practical results.
There Is a mass of testimony to be sifted
and analysed before the committee can
even make Its report to the legislature.
and it will be no easy task, notwithstanding
the vlvd light which has been poured on
manifold abuses, to devise and apply effec
tive remedies. The public unquestionably
and Justly demands enactments which will
not merely prescribe but compel better
protection tor policyholders, and we have
no doubt that both parties in the legislature
will be disposed to act promptly and vigor
ously. Agreement upon a general scheme
of Insurance regulation, however. Is nut
likely to be, and should not be, reached in
hast.
But it is not too soon to express pro
found respect for the manner In which the
Investigation has been conducted. The com
mittee has pursued Its laborious and compli
cated task with unswerving fidelity from
ths first day to the last. It has resisted
the immense pressure of interests solleltlous
to beguile It from the straight path of duty,
whether for protection of for persecution.
It has unfalteringly sustained its counsel
In a resolute and at the same time a per
fectly dispassionate purpose to expose all
the serious abuses of a perverted system, in
order to lay a safe foundation for remedial
measures. There has been no attempt or
desire to create a sensation, to excite publio
prejudice or to further any personal end.
No unfair advantage has been taken of a
single witness. The truth has been sought
candidly and courteously, without fear or
favor. The Investigation has been a not
able example of skill and rectitude applied
on a large scale to the service of the stats.
ECRFT RETAINERS FOR I.AWVF.RS.
IHnrreriltntite I'mrtlrr Revealed
by
New York Tribune.
Ixihhylng is a legitimate buMnes If legiti
mately conducted. There Is no reason why
a lawyer should not appear before a legis
lative committee or prem-nt arguments to
v Individual Uw-maker In bohulf of a client
't-re,tcd In a pending measure, prox iflea
h," 11 , rn,- confines himself to
,h" ,r"'-r UM' 'f l-rmwalvr powers.
K dence taken before the Armstrong com-
j mltteo has shown, however, that many
i members of the bar by no means thus limit
the scope of their activities. Instance after
Instance has been brought to attention of
the employment of lawyers under secret re
tainers to serve Interests to which they ap
parently owed no alleglnnce. Gentlemen,
under the guise of dlslntert sted citizens,
wrote articles and appeared before commit
tees In the endeavor to manifest an ap
parent weight of public opinion with refer
ence to certain subjects, when they were
really paid agents trying to advance the
Interests of an employer.
Such methods arc a fraud upon the legis
lature and upon the public, and they are a
discredit to the legal profession. The old,:
and noble conception of the lawyer waa thnt
he openly represented a client and pleaded
his case before the courts. The man who
belonged to the profession, true to that
high mission, would have scorned to make
himself the agent of a secret Intrigue. He
was neither a detective nor a hired servant,
but a self-respecting minister of Justice.
When a lawyer lends his professional tal
ents and reputation to underhand schemes
he puts aside all these old standards and Is
false to his trust.
In Massachusetts and Wisconsin, we be
lieve, no person Is permitted to go before
a legislative committee or undertake work
as a lobbyist without entering his appear
ance, truly stating the Interest which he
represents. In .view of the recent dis
closures, there Is apparently need of simi
lar restrictions In this state. And they
might go further. New standnrds might
well be prescribed for the bar In general.
We have done away with the old laws of
champerty and maintenance, with the Idea
of making Justice easier to the poor, and
there are those who defend this letting
down of the bars which formerly hedged
about the practice of the law. It would
be well to consider If we have not cone
too far and made law too much of a
speculative business. It would . be well,
also, to consider forbidding secret retain
ers of any kind. Many corporations In
this way attach to their interests promi
nent men in all parts of the country who
really render theni no purely Itgal service.
They are simply depended upon to use
their Influence as politicians or citizens ns
the Interests of their employers niRy
direct. If they were the open agents of
the employer the public could nppralse
at Its proper value their persuasion, but
when they disguise their paid work under
the clnak of disinterested citizenship they
not merely misuse their profession, but
they wrong their country; for our Institu
tions are founded on the theory that each
man's opinion as It goes to determine pub
lic policy will be honestly his own and not
purchased. The man who sells his voice
ns a citizen in the public councils Is Just
as false to the state as the man who
sells his vote.
Members of the bar should be forbidden
to do any sort of professional work under
false pretenses, and, whether or not they
should be forced in all cases to reveal
the Identity of their clients, they should
be compelled In all their transactions to
let It be known that they are acting under
retainers. This reform Is one Inevitably
suggested by the Insurance Inquiry, and
measures to accomplish It might naturally
come along with those which will be looked
for to cure the abuses more specifically
connected with Insurance administration.
PERSOX!. XOTRS,
A Missnurlan has been selling a course
In agriculture by correspondence to Kansas
farmers for HI a course. Agricultural
prosperity makes everybody happy.
England has seven new peers. Not know
ing how many of them are married, how
ever. It Is difficult to say whether America
Is sooner or later likely to have tho same
number of new peeresses.
Kxtenslve preparations are being made
by Swedish residents of Boston nnd vicin
ity for the entertainment of Dr. Utto Nor
denskjold, the Antarctic explorer, who will
visit and lecture In the city on January II.
Thomas Price, the new premier of South
Africa, was born in North Wales In 1S53
and was brought up to bis father's calling
i as a stonecutter. Curiously enough, ho
worked on the Parliament house In which
ho now sits as premier.
Senator Mclaurln of Mississippi had
very limited opportunities for an early edu
cation, having been raised on a farm and
attended the neighboring schools occasion
ally, until 16 years old, when he Joined the
confederate army as a private.
J. Plerpont Morgan's private library will
be assembled and the thousands of valuable
volumes gathered by him and his agents
will be In their places on the shelves by the
first of the year. Mr. Morgan's representa
tives are still scouring Europe for rare
volumes.
Sarah Bernhardt nearly always Is ready
to talk with newspaper men on subjects
which Interest her, but with equal regular
ity refuses to discuss topics which she dis
likes. In the bitter case she makes puzzling
replies, forcing the Interviewer to choose
another subject. On one occasion a re
porter was sent to find out what colors,
food and wine she preferred, what hours
she slept and so on. The tragedienne
talked freely until sho was asked as to
food. This was a subject too gross for
madame, who said: "I sometimes eat more
than I do at other times, but never less."
Coal. Wood.
W. sell the brat Ohl. and Colorado Coals -cl.an, hot, lasting:
Also th. Illinois, Hanna, Sheridan, Walnut Block, St.am Coal, Eto.
For general purposes, us. Cheroke. Lump, f 9.50; Nut, f 5.00 per ton
Missouri Lump, $4.75; Largs Nut, S 4.50-mak.s hot, quick fir..
Our hard coal Is th. SCItANTON, th. b.st Pennsylvania anthracite.
W. also sail Spadra, ths hardest and elsansst Arkansas hard coal
All our coal hand screened and w.lgh.d ov.r any city seal. a d.alr.d
COUTANT & SQUIRES
ff Orchard & Wilhelm Carpet Co.
ft EXCLUSIVE AGENTS At
H C9i Every business man should investigate the Ver- M
D s$Lr tical Filing Svstem or letters, documents, etc 1
X rlf ' 17 'T CLOBE-WERNICKE
tiTrv UprUht Unlt A
I TT ' - 1i ? v.nics.1 rite ' 1
I I n I h X :i; k C 8reatest and H
i," device of the
KM) OP GRAFT.
Kill Tendencies llnnlsheil by the
Thrills of Slnnlfnl Music.
Chicago Tribune.
At last the problem of graft has been '
solved. All thnt Is needed Is music. Shakes
peare knew thnt the unmusical man was
not to he trusted, but s more recent
teacher lias discovered that a love for
music may he cultivated in the most un
promising sell and thnt the result will
he the elimination of graft and all material
evils. If such results have not already been
attfilned It Is because music has not been
properly taught. If steel manufacturers
are not rendered more spiritual by the
melodies that burst from the lips of
shapely chorus girls. It Is because the
music is bad. or else because their souls
have not been trained to feel the regener
ating power of music. The high morality
and severe serenity of gypsies and other
musical races Is a proof of the Inner evo
lution of the higher life which always ac
companies a love for music.
The enthusiastic music teacher does not
give the delnlls of the application of hts
theory. The importance of the matter de
mands immediate action from congress or
the legislature. A commission should be
appointed to draw un a project of law.
The commission should have the power to
compel the attendance of 'witnesses, and
first of all should secure from the profes
sor a list of the tunes which he considers
most condue've to the higher life. Then
from the confessions of eminent men and
Inmates of the Jails additions can be made
to the list and at the same time a new
list prepared of tunes which have a power
for evil. No man shall tie eligible to pun.
llo office unless he gives unmistakable
signs of being affected by the strains of
the approved nlrs, and it shall be consid
ered Important evidence lu a criminal trial
whether the defendant is fond of music or
not. A convicted gi after shall be sen
tenced to take music lessons and all ld
accomplices shall be compelled to listen
to Ms practicing1.
Tim unselfishness and freedom from Jeal
ousy which Is characteristic of miislcHl
artists Is now accounted for. All that Is
needed Is so to diffuse musical culture that
the golden ace will return spontaneously.
The composer who sighed for the privilege
of mnklng his country's songs erred In
leaving to others the power of making Its
laws. Ho should have snid: "I.et me teach
the children music and there will be no
need of laws."
I.At f.IIIMl ;A.
"I can't understand why they culled
Henry VIII "Bluff King Hal."
"Well, why not?''
"A inn n with sl.t querns doesn't need to
blun'." Cleveland leader.
"Have you made
political economv?''
ny especial study of
"Not yet." answered Senator Sorghum
'but If the corporations hold out In their
resiilutiMis not to contribute to enmpaign
funds 1 suppose 1 11 have to." Washington
Star.
McJIgger I wonder if there's nnv truth In
the statement that cigarette smoking drives
people Insane?
Thingumbob It looks thnt wnv ti,
handsome villain In the plav. for instance,
smokes cigarettes, and see how crazy aliout
nun uie matinee girls are. Philadelphia
Ix-dger.
"I don't suppose 1 II get a chance to make
a speech for a long time," said the new
member of congress,
"Maybe It s all for the best," answered
his eminently praci.cal wife. "Manv a
man's chances for re-election have been
Improved by silence." Washington Star.
"I thought she and her husband were
golm: to separate?"
"They are. But she thought she'd better
put It off until she could give a ball, two
eceplluns and four bridges." Philadelphia
Press.
"I was marled to that man once," said
the first society woman.
To Mr. De Voss? The Idea! why so was
I." said the second ditto.
"Well, well! You don't say? Were vou
berore or after me?" Philadelphia Press.
8qulre (helping the odd Job man to a
whisky) Ah, Pat. I fear this is putting a
nail in your coffin.
l'ai Well, sorr. ye might as well put an
other wan In wholle ye have the hammer
In ycr hand. The Taller.
GOOD ITEXT10.S.
S. W. Gillilan In Baltimore American.
Old Nick sat below and he chortled with
glee
As he listened to sounds from above.
"They're having hot times on the earth,
too. Just now,
A-seeking themselves to Improve.
Now listen, my Imps; you can rest for
awhile.
Your time and your labor be saving;
Good-Intention foundries are working
o'ertlino
For our annual, manual paving.
"They're making big bricks of the best
looking straw.
And loading them up by ths ton;
Be sure to have furnaces down here red
hot, To heat them tip well when they're done.
And really so hard are these mortals at
work
That, despite the rule now In high favor,
I'll give some a pass o'er the road they
have made
With such wearisome, drearlsome labor.
"The great, brilliant deeds they are going
to do.
The big sins shut down upon hard,
Will make splendid blocks in their beauty
and si io
For our much-needed new boulevard.
Tho moderate resolves will do for our
trade streets.
If their style with last year's fairly tal
lies. And toe mean little skimping, the halting
and crimping.
Do for duty and perky back alleys."
"Yes," said Old Nick again, and ha laughed
out so luud
The cinders flew out on the gale.
Till It looked like a Fourth-of-July fire
works aiiow.
And made the big furnace turn pale.
" 'TIs the first of the year good-Intention
crop time;
On th smooth downward path I am sav
ing; From urth to mv portals these well
meaning mortals
Are doing and rue-lng my paving."
Coke. Kindling.
1406 FAR NAM
Phon. 830.
s