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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1906)
THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: Fit IDA Y, FEBRUARY 16, 1900. Tim Omaha Daily Kef 1 , E. noSEWATKR. KDITOK. PUBLISHED EVKRY MORNING. TERMS OF BIBSCR1PTION. Dally Be (without Sunday), one year. .14.00 Dnlly He and Sunday, one year "0 Illustrated Bee, one ear i-SO Sunday on ywr J-J"1 Saturday Bee, one year 1.50 DELIVERED BY CARRIER. Daily Re (Including Bunday). pr week.. 173 1hIIv. Bee (without Hundayi. por week.. Kvenlng Fe (without Bunday), per week Evening Bee (with Sunday), per week. .10c Sunday He, per copy be Address complaints of Irregularities tn de llery to City Circulation Department. t OFFICES. Omaha The Be Building. South Omaha City Hall Building. Council Bluffs 10 Penrl Htreet. Chlcaao-1640 Unity Building. New York 1BS Horn Life Ins. Building. Washlngton-oJl Fourteenth Street. CORRESPONDENCE. Communication relating to new and d Itnrlal matter ahould be addressed: Omaha Bee, Editorial Department. . REMITTANCES. Remit by draft, express or poatal order payable to The Be Publishing Company. Onlv 2-cent itampi received a payment of mall account. Personal cheeks, except on Oirnha or esstern exchanges, not accepted. THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY. . STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION. Stat of Nebraska, Douglas County, rs.: C. C. Roeewater. secretary of The Pee Publishing company, being duly awnrn. aava that the actual number of full and complete crmles of The Pslly, Morning. Evening and Sunday Bee printed during the month of January, 190K, waa aa follows: I rvfl.Mo it attw 2 31,07 18 Sl.TTO a ni.TWl 19 3t.45l 4 81.T70 SO 82,a4 5 .11. wm Li ao.irtn 6 ... M.tMIO 22 , 81.4 7 no.ino 2S i.w .TC i 31.47 ft 31.mO a 31,57 10 rtJf.OOO S 81.410 II 3l,ft:W 27 .12.3XO 12 .)!... 3110 28 80.0M) 13 32.440 28 8I.BSO 14 21.l:x 30 3t,3tt U .' 31.H70 81 81.RCO 16 31.T70 Total 1 ,003,400 Ia-ss unsold copies , U,o:iM Net total sales.......... 0a.4M Dally average... C. C. ROSE WATER, Secretary. Subscribed In my presence and sworn to before me thta 31t day of January, 190. (Seal) M. B. HUNGATE, Notary Public. ''" , , . WI1E OVT OF TOWS, Subscribers leaving- the city tem porarily should have The Bee mailed. o them. Addreaa will be rhansed aa often aa requested. Is not the jollification of the Demon ian Tammanyltes a little premature? On the ship subsidy bill, the two Ne braska senators harmoniously diverge. . Mr. Rockefeller In not so far away that he cannot connect with the divi dend Just declared by tlie Standard OH company. Now hat the Pennsylvania legisla ture ban' adjourned! tlie, courts may de cide bow much of its reform legisla tion waa really enacted. Woman suffragists have moved upon Washington. ?The Smoot case hearings should be rosuinud, as that is about the most widely known product of equal suffrage la. l?tah. ' . . The double shuffle song and dance of the hyphenated on tbe double service telephone still continues. Now you see It md tow you don't. Everybody lemonade to the bar. That increase of 1 per cent iu the an nual dividend of the Union Pacific ought to be sufficient proof that that road could easily pay Its taxes without going into bankruptcy. I ' , Governor Cummins will not serve on Tom Lawson's Insurance proxy commit tee. The Iowa governor in his quest for a third term has plenty of work at home to keep biro busy. Since, Mr. Balfour has accepted the Chamberlain Idea It Is just possible Colonel Bryan and Grover Cleveland may be fighting shoulder to shoulder before tbe end of time. The .ostracism of Major Gillette at Savannah while he was discovering the crooked work of Captain Carter causes oue to wonder if that "jiollte society' of tho south is also a myth. Tbe 'recent visit Of Louisiana spe cialists to Ceutral American ports Is expected to result In an embargo on the tropical mosquito, but it will still be safe to trust to fumigation and oil. Now that tbe socialists have decided to nominate candidates for municipal offices, the bustle and Jostle at the free- for-all primaries will be Intensified and tbe political pot will bubble and boll over. From the number of railroad offl clala preneut at the conference between the mine workers and anthracite mine operators it would seem that tlie rail road question Is broader than Givfu rale making. The failure of Tat Crowe to go on the wltuoss stand lu bis owu behalf Indi cates that the talkativeness of the fa pious bandit is exclusively for news paper notoriety and is manifested only wheu ho 1 not. under oath to tell the truth. , V While studying tbe questlou of the suppression of contraband traffic In arms delegates at Algeclras might learn something from American Influence In Santo Domingo, where revolutionists have been compelled to quit at the end of a week because tbey ran out of powder. Why should the leudlng organ of democracy distress Itself about the pos sible ineligibility of State Treasurer Mortensen to become tbe next governor of Nebraska. If Mortensen should prove to be Ineligible after election, John II Mickey would bold over, and the gov rnment at Lincoln will still live 77 E CtnSESK SITVATIoX. Tin opinion of Mr. Conger, former minister to Cliinii, In regard to exist In; conditions In that country ami the expediency of our government taking precaution against threatened trouble, la likely to liave weight nt Washington. Mr. Conger's long service In China gave him a pretty thorough knowledge of the people and when he expresses the be lief that the present situation is really serious it is entitled to consideration. Hint the administration views the mat ter with no little nnxlety is attested by trustworthy rcjwrts from Washington. It Is said that the State department boa become convinced that the Chinese government la not only failing to take the proper step to put down the threat ened uprising against foreigners, but that it la actually fomenting It. This Information, it is stated, lias reached the department from what are regarded as authoritative sources In China and also through foreign governments. The situation Is represented to bo very simi lar to that which preceded the Boxer uprising and Is regarded as even more serious because of the undoubted awak ening of the Chinese people and the rapid strides they have made since 1000. The latest information is to the effect that the lioycott against American goods Is growing, which doubtless means that hostility to citizens of the I'nlted States is also increasing. It Is noteworthy that thus far only Ameri cans have been the objects of hostile demonstrations. Other foreigners in China huve not been troubled, nor have the goods of any other country lieen boycotted. What cam bo done to pro tect our citizens and our Interests is a question thnt may well perplex the president and bis advisers. If the efforts of diplomacy fail, and thus fur they appear to have been futile, shall our government adopt aggressive measures? It would seem to be the view at Washington that this may have to le done. A Washington report says this government is willing the Chinese government and people should know that It is alive to the situation and Is prepared to send an expedition to China In the event of an uprising there which might affect American Interests. FISCAL ISSUE STILL ALIVE The overwhelming victory of the British nigral party did not kill the Issue of fiscal reform. It was not ex pected to by those familiar with the fighting qualities of Mr. Chamberlain. Although the general popular verdict was so strongly against him, his Bir mingham constituency stood by him and this support was sufficient to stimu late him to continue the contest for a change In Great Britain's fiscal pol icy. Now the former premier, Mr. Bal four, still recognized as the unionist leader, has got upon the Chamberlain platform and he should give some strength, though perhaps not a great deal, to,, the reform propaganda. Jn a speech a fpw'days tigo be said that the results of the general election could not be accepted as a final verdict against fiscal reform and that while reform must bo delayed some years It will come. He Is now declared to be in full accord with Mr. Chamberlain and may be expected to take an active part thenceforward in advocacy of reform However, as the liberal party Is be lieved to be secure In power for several years there is no immediate danger of any disturbance to the world's com- merclol relations with Great Britain through change of the latter' fiscal policy. Should British trade decline In the meantime and industries suffer the Chamberlain plan may gain adherents, but not otherwise. THE MERCHANT MARIXE BILL. The passage by the senate of the mer chant marine bill, which received the support of all but five of the republican seuators voting. Indicates that the tneusnre will become law at the present session. It will undoubtedly have some republican opposition In the house, but there is reHson to believe that it will be supported by a large majority. The bill has two distinct forms of aid and encouragement for our ocean ship ping and ocean commerce. One Is in the form of new mall subventions to ten specified lines to be established from Atlantic and gulf ports to ports In South and Central America, Cuba, Mex ico and South Africa, and from Pacific ports to Jupan, China and the Philip pines. Thus the purpose of the bill Is to establish steamship lines which will de velop our trade with countries In the southern part of this hemisphere and with the far east. The Importance of enlarging this trade Is generally recog ulzed bad It Is also very generally un derstood that this can lest be done by having direct steamship lines between our Atlantic and gulf ports and the ports of the southern and oriental coun tries. It has been very conclusively shown that so far as South America is concerned we are at a decided disad vantage In uot having American lines running directly to the principal south ern ports. Our dependence upon for eign ships has operated to our detriment commercially. It la certain that we shall experience a like disadvantage in tbe oriental trade if American steamship lines are not established between our porta and those of Japan and China. We shall have to meet a vigorous competi tion for this trade and we cannot do so successfully if we must depend upou foreign ships for tbe transportation of our products. The bill Is the most conservative, la regard to the subventions provided for, that bus ever been presented to con gres o conservative, indeed, that Coubt has been expressed whether It will Induce the establishment of the pro posed lines. The subventions are to con tinue for ten years and It la estimated that the total cost to the national trees ( ury will be a little la excess of HO.OOO.- nm, or an average of about f4.00O.OtX) annually. We should then have. If the purpose of the bill is realized, a new tonuago of 1,500.000 registered for over scos carrying, with an lucrenso in our southern and oriontol commerce of great value to industrial and agricultural in terests. The question Is a purely prac tical one a matter of business. Wc are reaching out to all parts of the world and every year the necessity fqr ex panding our markets in order to dispose of surplus products of our Industries grows more Imperative. Our competi tors have an advantage in possessing adequate transportation facilities of their own. in this respect we must fol low their example if we would secure our share In the struggle for trade. A C AX DID A TE WITH A RECORD. The political career and official record of every man who presents himself as a candidate for public office Is a proper subject for public discussion. The can didacy of William J. Broatch for the office of mayor naturally recalls his political career to citizens of Omaha who are familiar with his antecedents in public life. There are, however, thousands of newcomers In Omaha to whom the record of W. J. Broatch is a blank. For tbe benefit of this class, as well as for those whose memories ninst be refreshed, a retrospective glance will uot be out of place at this time. When William J. Broatch became mayor of Omaha for the first time he was also n member of the Missouri River commission at a salary of $2,500 a year. It was expected that he would make way to some worthy republican as soon as he was placed on the pay roll of the city, but If that Idea had ever entered his head he did not manifest a disposition to carry it out. but he con tinued to draw two salaries of $2,500 a year during his entire term as mayor. As mayor of Omaha, Broatch rode rough-shod over subordinates, played fast and loose with the taxpayers and played Into the bands of tlie public utility corporations. A sample brick of Broatchlsm was the signing of an order to the city attorney to confess Judgment for a $45,000 gas claim then pending in the courts, to which, accord ing to eminent attorneys, no Jury would have aworded $5,000. The order to pay this bogus claim was signed only a few minutes before midnight and was the last act of Broatch ns mayor during his first term in 1SS". When Broatch was again elected in 1805 as an outcome of a frenzied anti- Cathollc crusade, Broatch resumed his odious methods, and his last act as mayor for the second time was the signing of a midnight contract with the electric lighting company for arc lights at an extravagant price. Like the $45,000 gas claim order, the electric lighting contract was railroaded through during the last half hotir of an expiring council and a dismantled mayor. , The most rank and Indefensible ac tion of William J. Broatch, acting In an official rapacity, was the appraise ment of the chattels of the lessee of the state penitentiary. A bill ap propriating $.15,000 for this purpose waa log-rolled through tlie legislature by the penitentiary gang and Broatch was ap pointed as one of the three appraisers, The chattels consisted of several pair of spavined old mules, four or five old wagons, n Job lot of convict clothing and supplies, and some worn out ma chinery and tools. A most extravagant estimate of the value of this aggrega tlon of brie-a-brac was $5,000, but Broatch and his two associate" ap praised the chattels at $.T1.000. voting themselvea $500 each for one day's In spection. and leaving $500 In the treas ury as a balance. It took several years for Broatch to outlive this scandal, but it can never be atoned for. The career of Mr. Broatch tis mem ber of several police commissions Is so well known that comment would be superfluous. The point that has lieen raised as to the Ineligibility ' under the Nebraska constitution of one state officer for an other state office during the term for which be may have been elected throws a new light on one little chapter in our political history. In 1S02 tho name of Thomas J. Majors was substituted for that of the regular republican nominee for lieutenant governor, the duly noml nated candidate having been forced to resign from the ticket because Ineligible from not having been a citizen of the state the required length of time. Two years later Thomus J. Majors became the republican nominee for governor and made the race, being defeated nt tho polls, by Silas A. Holcomb. If the constitutional prohibition upon a lieu tenant governor seeking the governor ship holds now, It must have held then, and Majors would have been Ineligible to occupy the executive chair even had be received a majority of the votes cast at the election. The sranp;e part of It Is that during the campaign of JSft4 which was the most hotly contested In the history of Nebraska, no one ever thonght to question the eligibility of Majors for the place be was seeking. Omaha has expended more than $15, OOO.ono for public Improvements within the past thirty-five years. This, of course, includes the wooden block pave ments and other perishable makeshifts which created an imperative demand for the scavenger tar law and a gen era! clean-up. What portion of the $15,- 000,000 expended for permanent lin provements can be considered as a municipal asset at this time Is prob lematical. According to the city engineer's re port, the municipal asphalt repair plant bas effected a saving of SS per cent in the cost of repairs of asphalt paved streets. But the greatest benefit da rived from the municipal asphalt plant has been the ability to get action w ith out waiting for the aid or consent of contractors, who always put off to the next day what should have leen done on the previous day. ' The clause of the Nebraska state con stitution relating to the Ineligibility of an executive officer to another state of fice reads as follows: None of the officers of the esecutlvs de partment shall be eligible to ny other stale office dutina; the period for which they ahall have been elected. There may be some question as to Just what the legal effect of this de claration may lie, but there Is no ques tion that it is flagrantly nngrammatical. It Is now a foregone conclusion that South Omaha will add another quarter of a million to its bonded debt on the strength that the nonresident property holder will pay most of the taxes and most of the nonresident taxpayers hail from Omaha. Pesnlte their political differences It Is probable that Senator Elklns fully represents the views of his distin guished father-in-law on the subject of railroad rate regulation. Here demo crats can rally to the standard of 1904. Fcrharm after the imperial commis sioners return home they may convince Chinese merchants thnt the boycott is a mistake, but so far they have shown no disposition to make tbelr conclusions known In America. Now that Admiral Itojestvensky has denied the existence of submarine boats In the fisjht of the Sea of Japan am bitious inventors may know that they have practically nn undiscovered field in which to work. Worries of Statesmen. Chlraao News. Brmc statesmen In Washington would rive their eye teeth If they could know to a certainty that the antl-pasa bill ta going to paas- I" that event they could make an Impressive display of activity in sup port of It. Incentive to Goodneaa. New York Post. Two hundred young men applied for con version yeaterday at the revival meeting of the John D. Rockefeller. Jr., Bible class This followed the report that the stock of Standard Oil was to be more widely dls tributed to make the corporation popular. Scientific Rate Maklna. Chicago Kecord-Herald. The beat aample of freight rate making by a railroad conies from Panama, where, prior to American control, bricks were cluaslfled as "crockery, uncrated," and compelled to pay tlO a ton freight for a few miles haul. A railroad man, former Engineer Wallace of the canal, tells the story, and the funny part of it is he seems to think It a Joke. , . Olve Them Room. Portland Oregonlan. Senators Aldrlch and Polllver announce that in dismissing , the freight rata bill, each Intends to say to the other exactly what he means la plain NortU American language that .cannot be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Oo,4t, Nelson: go it, Jona than. The country .will enjoy the spectacle of your smashing' the traditions of your august and honorable body. Better Go Slow. Springfield Republican. An official of the anthracite coal asso ciation estimates that the primary selling companies have a stock of 10.000,000 tons on hand, and additional there to ia an "im mense stock" tn the hands of wholesale and retail dealers. Furthermoie, the mild winter will leave consumers unusually well supplied at the end of the aeaaon. This la a situation . hardly .aa favorable for the success of a strike as the United Mine Workers might wish. Reservation Land Openings. Portland Oregonlan. The government will order "openlnga" thla year of a total of 506.000 acrea of In dian reservation landa. Bills providing for these have passed the house. The landa covered are In Oklahoma, being portions of the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache reaerva. tions. The usual provisions were made for the platting and sale of town site. The area of reservation lands Is still great, and aa the Indians are 'steadily diminishing In numbers, these land openings are likely to continue for many years. They will. Indeed, and should, continue until each Indian has a fair allotment and no more, Good arable land, lying uncultivated through sentiment, will not be the order In thla country half a century hence. AS IMPORTANT COFEREJICK, Meetlnac of Coal Mine Owners and Leaders of (ho Miners. Baltimore American. It is greatly to the credit of the anthra cite miners and operators that they have decided to meet together In friendly con ference In the city of New York for the purpose of attempting to adjust their dif ferences without a strike or a lockout. Of course, each side will have to yield some thing If suoh a friendly settlement Is to be made, and It is hardly to be expected that either will be so generoua as to give up all that la claimed by the other. If they cannot come together, however. It Is sincerely to be hoped, for the welfare of all concerned, which also includes the consuming public, that the points which cannot he determined will be submitted to arbitration, and that work will proceed without suspension while tho matter Is under discussion. The Inter ests of the public should be considered aa well as those of the miners and operators. It ia a tremendous duty tbey owe to their matrons to hold the rights of the lat ter in view as well as their own claims agid counter claims. It would seem that a simple footing up of the expense of a strike would be suftl cient to Impel each other to yield here and there a little, rather than evoke such enor mous loss to workmen and employers, to aay nothing of the suffering and Inconven ience entailed upon the public. Taking it In its best effocts. a strike Is a catastro phe and an affront to sensible economy. If Injustice la being done either party to the contract, publio sentiment can usually be depended upon to enforce the right and mutuality and twentieth .century in telligence should always enable the parties to a controversy to get together on common ground of friendly Intercourse and sincere regard. Such a conference as this has not always been possible, and is an encouraging sign when It Is possible. Too often there Is an Insurmountable bitterness from the outset, both sides 'sparring for advantage." this uncomfortable temper growing by feeding upon Itself until friendly agreement Is Im possible. Thla sentiment appears to be wholly wanting in the correspondence of the mining leaders and operators, and the mil lions who burn coal will hope that the kindliest of eounaels will prevail to the end and that tbe end will be a friendly and dinined composition uf all differences. ROIKD AROIT SEW YORK. Ripples on the Correal of I.lfe In the Metropolis. A philanthropist of a type rarely seen In the limelight of publicity, but whose deeds are shrined In the hearts of thou sands of strangers In a strange land, died In New York last week. For twenty years or7 more Patrick McCool represented the Catholio church as Immigration agent at the port of New York. Irish Immigrants were his principal care, particularly un married Irish girls. In a score of years he assisted st the landing of (115,000 Irish Im migrants of whom 9X1.000 were Irish girls. He advised them, helped them to their destination and aided to get work. He and Miss Alma Matthews, representing the woman's home missionary society of the Methodist Episcopal church, many years ago agreed that If they were to achieve their full measure of usefulness It must be In the line of practical assistance to arriving Immigrants. 'They were to be safeguarded on arrival and sided on their way. Tracts and moral lectures were subordinated to this end. Religion came before and after- .wards, but not at the moment of landing. If a ship arriving late at night found Miss Matthews at the station, and Mr. McCool was not there, it was no unusual thing to see her take with her to her mission home a party of Irish Catholic girls who were given a clean bed and a good supper, and In the morning sent to Father Henry's mission next door. If McCool was there snd Miss Matthews was not, the same thing happened. Due mainly to the In fluence of these two earnest workers, the Immigrant missionaries forgot their creeds, snd Jews and Christian united In the work of helping materially all the souls temp orarily In need of their care. Police Commissioner Bingham reported the number of men enrolled In the police force on January 1, with their pay. In his recent appeal to the aldermen for an ap propriation, as follows: Total. Title. Palarles. 1 commissioner of police f T.WX) t Inspectors of police at SS.Omi.. lO.ooo S deputy commissioners at $1,000. 12,000 J4 Inspectors of police at H500. ... 49.0"0 S5 captains of police at $2,7fiO 233,71 4U srrgeanta of police at $2,000., R22.000 2M detective sersreants at $2,000... 502.000 57 roundsmen, at $1.500 sfi7,000 MS patrolmen at $J0 772,nno 41B patrolmen at $900 873.500 729 patrolmen at $l.ono 729,000 4M patrolmen at $1.150 4W.100 24 patrolmen at $1.260 307.500 1 patrolman 1,.Y0 patrolmen at $1.850 10.sit0 4.4SJ patrolmen at $1.400 6.197.R00 1M doormen at $1.000 W 000 (6 matrons at $l,ooo fiS.nno SI surgeons at $3,500 80.500 1 superintendent of telegraph... 4,000 1 assistant superintendent of telegraph 3.000 1 assistant superintendent of telegraph 2.700 1 chief lineman l.BOO linemen at $1.200 7.200 2 boiler Inspector at $1.300 2.600 Of these, a sergeant, two roundmen, and sixty-eight patrolmen are paid out of the health department appropriation, compris ing the sanitary police, and eight patrol men aslgned to duty under the tenement house commission are paid from its appro priation. The cost of advancing patrol men to higher grades In 1908 will be $297,000, At one of of the regular devotional meet, ings held recently In the Bowery branch of the Young Men's Christian association, at Broome street and the Bowery, relates the Herald a clergymen delivering the sermon to the motley assemblage of human derelicts who had drifted In more for warmth and shelter, perhaps, than for spiritual consolation, had occasion, Incon gruously enough, to use a Oreek phrase. The word had hardly passed his lips when one of the company, a young man, neces sarily shabby and unkempt, or he would not have been there, arose and in a well chosen speech prefaced, with an apolory for his Interruption, called the attention of the preacher to the fact that he had mlsauoted the ancient poet from which the Oreek sentence had been chosen. Inspired by curiosity to know how a man of such unmistakable education had fallen to so low a level, a Herald reporter made Inquiries, and the result was the amazing Information that fully one-fourth of the "tramps," "unemployed," or whatever may be the fitting term, who apply to the Bowery branch of the association for aid In the course of every year are college bred men, and In many cases graduates of some of the best Intltutlons of learning In the world. This Is borne out by the recorded statistics of the branch, and It was emphasised a few days ago In a state., ment from H. W. Hoot, the secretary. In an appeal for funds to aid in the erection of a larger building. The condition has pre vailed throughout the eighteen years of existence of the branch, but has become more marked in recent years, in conse quence of circumstances which will be set forth presently. In the books kept by Mr. Hoot the In mates of the house are classified under the heads: University, Collegiate, Academic, High School and Common School. In the year Just closed the total number of men aided was 8,228. Of these seventeen were placed in the first category, 1S4 In the second, seventy-one in the third and 417 In the fourth, making an aggregate of 63S who had received better than a common school education. In 1904 the total waa 646. In the order of eta-ht. 139. 16J snd SS7, the num ber of those of alt classes received In that year having been 2.S12. According to the annual report of the Bowery branch to the parent organisation, the proportion of men helned who had en loved the ad van. tsges of university, college, academic or high school education was 26 per cent last year. Perhaps no Judge In the metropolitan district has Incurred the hatred of more criminals than Judge Asplnall, of the County court in Brooklyn. He has always been severe with confirmed crooks, and es pecially with brutal ones. More than onco a prisoner has made open threats In court to "do up" the Judge when he gets out of jail. Several of these men have even threatened to kill him. A friend of the Judge asked him the other day If anything had ever come of these threats, The Judge smiled and said: "The long sentences these men have re ceived usually have taken ail desire for revenge out of them. I have never been assaulted or harmed by any of them after tbelr sentences have expired. I have re ceived scores of letters with threats. It Isu't exactly nice to get pictures of hearts with daggers in them and blood dripping from the wounds I have received many such but I am convinoed that there Is nothing like a long term In prison to cure that tendency to a criminal." Lodging houses for men are no novelty in New York, but a boarding house In which only this sex Is entertained is some thing new. Such an establishment exists and flourishes, however, lit an uptown street, and the only women who ever en ter Its doors are members of the landlady's family or her servants. So decided Is the rule of the house that men may not Invite their woman friends to dinner, even on Bunday. There Is never any lack of guests, and the landlady declares that half the troubles of her lot are obliterated along with the women. Their absence seems to have no discouraging effect on the men, who are all eager to remain In the house in spite of the monotony of seeing only tbelr own kind there. KNOX Bll.l. 11 HKSKRVK. feana)lnnla Senators 11 an of Rate Kearalat Ion. Kansas City Star. The president has been careful not to "father" any particular rate measure be fore congress. Ills general rate policy has been well defined, and both the Polll ver snd the Hepburn bills, which nre sim ilar, conform pretty closely to that policy. But the president has not directly dic tated either of these measures. But in view of the fact that the Hepburn bill, which has already passed the house, has been criticised by friends, of rate regula tion, and the further ract'thut this Is the bill to be advanced In the senate, snd which the frlenda of the railroads proposo to amend radically, the president has di rected a reserve bill to be di-jrtrd by Sen ator Knox. It is well known that 8rnator Knox, even since he left the cabinet, haa been one of Mr. Roosevelt's chief advisers in the consideration of the problems that are put up to the chief executive, more espe cially those Involving linn law points. It is admitted that the rate hill demands the very beat of legal talent If It is to with stand the assaults that surely will be. made upon It. The Hepburn bill, although clear enough in Ita Intention, Is ambiguous In several points of construction. It assumes that tv.s courts have full power to review all acts of the Interstate Commerce com mission, and while this power Is manifestly Inherent, It Is deemed wise to embody a provision for such review In the bill. And this, it Is said. Is one of the main points of the Knox bill. The right of an Individual or a corpora tion to appeal to the courts from the de cision of any administration or legislative decree is inherent In the fundamental law of the land. But Senator Knox would have the rate law point out that the ship per and tho railroads alike would have the right to appeal from the decision of the Interstate Commerce commission. To deny this right would make the law uncon stitutional. To leave It undefined might In some way weaken the bill. The uttempt to limit the scopt of Judicial review might have the same effect aa to deny such re view. Mr. Knox, in his Pittsburg speech in November, defined the point in this way: That the original making of rates should be left with the railronds; that the newly empowered Interstate Commerce commla nion should act only on complaint from the shippers; that being an Impartial and expert board, the commission shoudl have the right to annul a rate and substitute for it a new rate believed to be reasonable and to put the new rate In effect, and that the shipper and the carrier should then have equal rights to appeal to a higher court from the decision of the commission. This takes away the Idea that the commis sion would become the "rate-making power of the country." It would also put the chief burden of appeal on the railroads rather than on the shipper, for the pre sumption would be that the shippers would, as a rule, be much more ready to abide by the decisions of the commission than the railroads would be. A REFORMED REFORMER. Senator Elltlna "Conversion" on. tho Rate Question. Kansas City Star. Senator Elklns, In his political capacity, has "professed religion," That Is to say, he has declared that he Is for the presi dent's rate policy. There might be great rejoicing among the righteous over the return of this one sinner but for the fact that Mr. Elklns declares, also, that he al ways has been for the president's policy. A profession and a falsehood do not go well together. It is possible, of course, that Mr. Elklns ha really experienced a change or heart on this Issue and that he may have deserted the goats for the sheep. But he has not been a sheep thus far, unless he has been wearing a very bad dis guise. The country has not forgotten the rate hearing last year by the senate com mittee, over which Mr. Elklns presided, to say nothing of his general attitude on rate legislation heretofore. But that the senator from West Vir ginia should assume a virtue, even if he has It not, looks rather plausible. In the latter part of his statement there Is a "key" to the situation. "The ' people of our state," he says, "should be slow to believe the exaggerated reports that reach them from Washington through hostile sources about our senators and members of congress." Clearly Mr. Elkins is con cerned about what "our people" may think of him. This is something new. It is an anxiety that he never manifested be fore reform sentiment took hold of West Virginia. And even now he might not be disturbed but for the fact that his term of office will expire next year and that there is abundant evidence that any man who hopea to retain himself In power through machine organisation in Weat Vir ginia, now or In the near future, will have a mighty hard fight with the reform ele ment. The state administration Is turning things over and Is making progress against those corporations that have oppressed tbe state. Elklns' seat Is insecure. The tide Is against the bosses, more especially against the bosses who are also corporation mag nates. But will It help Brother Stephen to "profess" without also "confessing?" FROM FRYING PAX TO FIRE. Lawson's Moves to C'oatrol Life In nranco Companies. Springfield (Mass.) Republican. Thomas W. Lawson believea he holds proxies enough from policyholders of the Mutual and New York Life companies to control the next annual electlona of officers for those companies, and Governor Johnson of Minnesota, who has looked over his fig ures, entertains a similar belief. If thla Is true, and If Lawson were to exercise his control In his own Interests, the fact would be disturbing. To be sure, the big New York companies are even now pretty closely allied with large speculative Wall street interests and Lawson control might prove quite as honest ss has been the recent con trol of the companies: but the prospect of having these vast bodies of trust funds al lied to a speculative plunger of the Lawson type Is perhaps even a little less alluring than their alliance with the Harrlman, Ryan and Standard Oil Interests. But Law son disclaims any purpose to exercise con trol himself, and he seems to be acting in good faith when he offers to place his proxies in tbe hands of a committee com posed of Governor Cummins of Iowa, Gov ernor Johnson of Minnesota and several other men of like prominence. It Is now reported that Cummins and Johnson will accept his invitation to act, and the may possibly be trusted to make as good a s. lection of managers aa the New York Inan clal interests now dominant In thin big Insurance companies. Anyhow. tr.t.r la no Immediate cause for panic anion the policyholders. Coal. Wood. Coke, Kindling. W. th beat Ohio and Colorado Coals -el.an, hot, laatlngi Also tho Illinois), Harms, Shsrldan, Walnut Block, St.am Cost, Eta. For gsn.rsl purposes, us Chsrokso Lump, f 5.50j Nut, $8.00 psr ton Missouri Lump, $4.75; Lsrgo Nut, 4.S0-maks hot,4quk fir.. Our hsrd coal Is ths 8CAANT0N, ths bsst Pennsylvania! ,'stithraelta Wo slso ssll 8padre, tho hsrdsst snd elssnsst Arksnsss hsrd eoal All our cost hand serssnsd snd wslghsd ovsr sny elty seslss doslrsd COUTANT O. SQUIRES "X.'.in,W PUGGING FOR REBATES. tallforala Frnlt Shippers Row Call Them "l)mi." Sun Francisco Chronicle. It is stated that the claim agents, or whatever they call them, of the Southern Pacific and B.uita Fe railroads, have dis covered that Immediately upon the Issuano of the Injunction forbidding the payment of rebates on freight rates, the shippers of fruit began promptly to put In what are alleged to le enormous unfounded claims for "damages'' to fruit In transit which, the rnllrnnd authorities state, they virtu ously refuse tn pay. The implication la thst the fruit men sre determined to retain ths Improper advantages to which they have been accustomed' and are taking this method of getting them. There has not, that we know of, been any injunction forbidding the private refrigera tor car lines to give rebates. These lines claim to be wholly Independent of federal Jurisdiction under the Interstate commerce act and the courts have, not yet settled the question. In fact, a Santa Fe official was recently reported as testifying that rebates on fruit shipped under refrlgerstion wers. st the time of giving the testimony, being paid right along.. j The Armour and Santa Fe lines have recently' announced a reduc tion of refrigeration, charges for next season with the statement that they will never, never give rebates any more. It Is quite possible that this public announce ment of refusal to allow damage claims, which are really rebate claims, may be only an Incident In a wrangle over actual damage claims. There can be no doubt, however, that If the large shippers of fruit are really to get no more rebates under that name they will leave no stone un turned to get back the same money under some other name. The real root of the evil Is the determination of large shippers to get better rates than their smaller competi tors, and they force concessions by concen trating their shipments on one line until the other lines come to terms. It would be well If more attention were given to the rascality of the shippers In this matter. The railroads are often more sinned against than sinning. It remains to be seen whether unjust advantages to large ship pers can be prevented by any legislation. Shippers will certainly sttempt to force such concessions by diverting freight from roads which refuse them. rEHSOXtL XOTKS. The Swedish - American residents of Chicago are planning a "John Ericsson day" for March 9, celebrating the victory of Ericsson's Monitor, over the Merrlmao In the civil war. A man who committed murder In New Jersey three weeks ago has been tried, condemned and la to to be hanged Febru ary 23. Yes, there are some good points about New Jersey, The National Society of the Daughters of the Empire State has made Alice Roose velt a wedding gift of membership In that organisation, with a badge of beautiful de sign to symbolize the compliment. Mr. Stuyvesant Fish, president of ths Illinois Central, calls attention to the prac tical defeat of one of the provisions of the charters given to great corporations in the practice of delegating the powers of a large board of directors as fixed by the charters to small executive committees. Senator Knox of Pennsylvania, In con versation with a friend the other day, laughingly observed that If he had any Idea as to the amount of work he would have to perform, he would never have taken a Job as a member of the United States senate. He is compelled to answer, on the average, 125 letters per day. . No member of the British Parliament is permitted to say bluntly and directly that another la drunk, ' but He' 'may 'hint at the tact in paraphrase, as when Mr. Gladstone, replying to an unconventional speech of Disraeli's remarked: "The right honorable gentleman has evidently had ac cess to sources of inspiration that are not open to me." LAlHIU CAS. "I don't see," said the pretty daughter of the pretty widow, "where I stand much chance of getting married. If mamma doesn't like the man I choose she won't let me have htm. If she does like him. she's Just as likely as not to marry him herself !" Cleveland Leader. Uncle Joslah First time you ever milked a cow. Is It? Well, you do It a thunderln' slKht better than most city tellers do, Visiting Nephew It seems to come nat ural, somehow. I've had a good deal of practice with a fountain pen. Chicago Tribune. "Boss," began the beggar, "can't you help me? 1 ain't ate nothln' for three days." "Oh, I see!" exclaimed Crabbe, "trying to make a record for fasting, eh? Well, I'll help you nil I can. Don't let me tempt you to eat. Good-day." Philadelphia Press. "Say, paw." "Well, sonr "What's a oritic?" "A critic, son, Is an artistic knocksr." Milwaukee Sentinel. "Say. old boy, I scorched a hit in my new auto, and now I find myself in hot water." "What can I do for you?" "Why, ball me out." Baltimore Amer ican, . "Do you think that spiritualistic medium waa really controlled by the eminent finan cier you wished to consult?" "Yes. I recognized his methods. She In sisted on getting the money first and mak ing me take all the chances." Washington Star. "They say he gambles." "Yea, but he does It in a perfectly hon orable and gentlemanly way. lis Invaria bly loses." Chicago Tribune. "Talking about nitrate kings, I know ons." "Who Is he?" "The cabman." Clevelond Leader, w'EI.1., I DO.VT KNOW. New York Press. They say that money cannot buy The sweetest things in life . Health, heaven, friends, respect, content, Or e'en a loving wlte. They say that money cannot buy These things for me, alas! But I Well I don't know! What bought my private car? Just wealth. What bought my lovely yacht. Which sails me to the lands where health Is found on every spot? What pays my specialist, dear Jim, To keep me In such perfect trim? Well I don't know! What bought the most delightful wife A man could hope to win? What buys her every wish In U'e The clothes she dasxlea In? And If her heait beats not for me, " And I am not adored, von see, Well-I don't know! And heaven? O, of course, I don't Expect to get In free: ' But If the Lord meant what He said' Concerning charity, , The tithe 1 11 give beore I die Will slip me through the needle's eve.. Or, I don't know. For happiness? Well, money bought This -cer.t cigar; It bought this chair In which I loll. It bought this private car; It bought this cognac and, I guess, .( If sll this is not hauDlnesa, Well-1 don'( know! I
