THE OMAHA DAILY UEE: Fill DAY, FEBKUAKY 22, 11)07. Tire Omaha Daily Dee FOUNDED BT EDWARD FOSEWATER. VICTOR ROSE WATER, EDITOR. Entered at Omabt postofflce aa eecond clan matter. ' TERMS OF 8UBFCRIPTION. Fatly Bee (without Sunday) one year M M I 1 1 y bee and Hunday, one year Sunday Bee, one year JJJ Saturday Dee, one year DELIVERED BT CARRIER. lely Bee (Including Hunday), per waek ISo lally Bee (without Sunday), per week ICe Evening Bee (without 8unla). por week. e .. Evening Bee (with Sunday), rer week 10c Address romplalnta of Irregularities In t delivery to City Circulation Department. OFFICES. Omaha The Bee Building. South Omaha City Hall Building. Council Bluffs 10 Pearl Street. Chicago J (40 Unity Building. New Tork 1801 Home Ufa In"- Bldg. Washington 601 Fourteenth Street. CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to new an1 editorial matter ahould be addressed: Omaha Bee, Editorial Department. ; REMITTANCES. Remit hr drnft express or postal ordor. payable to The Bea Publishing Company. Only J -cent stamps received In payment fit mall account. Personal checks, except on . Oms ha or eastern exchanges, not acceptad. ; THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY. STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION. State of Nebraska, Douglas County, as: , Charles C. Rosewater. general manager j ef The Bee Publishing company, being dul aworn. says that the actual number of full and complete copies of The Dnlly. Morning, ' Evening and Sunday Bee printed during the i month of January. 1907, was aa fpllows: I IP.... 30,900 17 1,T0 K 1 32,680 II 31,990 31.970 It 31,700 4 31,960 JO.. 80,300 ...31360 . 11 31,900 30,600 22 33,050 '.....31,950 Jl 31.640 33,300 ' 14.., -..31,780 V t 39,100 It ,..31.700 " 19 33,040 ! 31,820 i 11 31370 17...- 30,800 .,11........ ..33,040 11 31,830 II 30,400 1 31.653 - 14 31,730 10 31,300 II 31,930 ' II 31.630 II 33,180 ToUI 983,483 Less unsold and returned copies.. 9,134 Net total 1 973,346 Dally average ,; 31,396 CHARLES C. ROSE WATER. . Oeneral Manuger. Subscribed In my presence and aworn to before ma this list day of January, 1107. (Seal) ROBERT HUNTER... Notary Public. WHES Ot'T OF TOWS. . Babaerlbera learlasr the city tens orarlly ahoald have The Bee ana lied to thea. Addreaa will he ehaagred aa aftea aa requested. Senator Smoot's opponents will be Blow to forgive him for having only one wife. The sale of mileage books at higher rates Is likely to go slow until the 2-cent ra,te law becomes a certainty. It la to be noted that the train tup n who la killed Is usually shoujderod with the responsibility for the . wreck. Only 1,362 new novels were pub lished last year. Cyrus Townsend Brady must have been Indisposed part of the time. Senator Bailey'says he advised tho Standard OH company to keep out of Texas. ' Doubtless he wishea they had followed his advice. In the lapguage of -Mayor "Jim," Lieutenant Governor Hopewell ought to stand ace high with the woman's suffrage brigade from now on. The designs on gold coins are to be changed by order of the president. No order from Washington can change the designs we all have on gold coins. - President Roosevelt informs Massa chusetts revisionists, in effect, that the tariff pitcher is to be carried to the well again in the campaign next year. Champ Clark of Missouri says the democrats are beginning to sit up and take notice. Heretofore they have been satlsed to sit ud and take their medicine. Congress has authorized two battle- ihlps of the Dreadnaught type, so It will be difficult to convince ship ; builders that the 'Japanese war talk ; did not serve a purpose. "A wife must train her husband and keep htm trained. Just as one trains a young mule," says Mrs Carrie Chan- man Catt We take it for granted thnt Mr. Catt was properly lriluel. A St Louis Judge says the law has nothing to say about how or when n woman shall spend her husband's money. Even " Judges occasionally realise the Impotency of the law. It Is asserted that the Investigation 6)1 senator uailey a record will cost tho atate of Texas $50,000, but the senator should not be blamed. Ha did everything possible to prevent It. i . The Nebraska editors cut the name , of Third Assistant Postmaster General Madden out of their resolutions, but he will have no difficulty in Identify lng "himself as the man referred to. A new telephone directory Is. being distributed to patrons' of the Omaha exchange, but the telephone by which ; Police Commissioner Droatch Is reached at his home is still scheduled under the name "Molse." Chief Engineer Stevens reports that dirt Is being removed from the Pan ama canal at tho rate of 200,000 cubic ' yards a week. If the Authorities -wrangle over the contract a little ' longer Mr. Stevens may have a chance 1 to complete the Job. Former Stat Treasurer Mortensen has som pretty sturdy Ideas as t,o ' how public money should be handled. His demand that the same safeguards 'surround all funds whether spent for tho State university or for the State "Uaform school Is entitled to attention. ox a lriir Tack. Tho paid lobbyists and hired tax agent of the Nebraska railroads, who are opposing terminal taxation for the piiTore of enabling tire roads to con tinue to shirk their city taxes, have taken a new tack. They started out by declaring that terminal taxation would 1'icrely divert to the cities taxes iiotv pair! throughout the state, but when cornered were compelled to ad mit that no county, school district, township or road district would lose 1 irent of mil road taxes now enjoyed, but that, on the contrary, the railroads would he compelled to pay city taxes dn their terminal property over and abovo what they are now paying on that property under pretense 'of dis tribution. Having failed to hold their ground on this point, the railroad spokesmen have fnced about. They are endeav oring to'prejudloe legislative member", by asserting that the proposed termi nal taxation for city and village pur poses is only a step toward breaking down lh unit system of assessing railroads for state and county pur poses, end that to protect the unit system of assessment no deviation must be allowed with reference to the taxation of railroad property within the corporate limits of cities and vil lage?. A moment's reflection by any Intel ligent man will show how ridiculous thlrt contention Is. Even If the cities which might possibly gain by terminal taxation wanted to attack the 'unit system 36 applied to state and county taxation, they could not for the reason that tholr representation in the legis lature la but a fraction of the mem bership of that body and by no possi bility could they contro' a majority for any proposition not absolutely fair to every part of the state. Thrj fact Is. the railroad hirelings are becoming desperate through ex posure of their frauds and deceptions. Their opposition to terminal taxation Is grounded solely on a desire to save their corporate masters from paying c'.ty taxes Justly due from them, and to make a showing that will convince their employers that they are still adept at legislative smooth work, and that their usefulness as lobbyists Is not ct at an end. MORE PAY for postal clerks. The postofflce appropriation bill passed by the lower house of the con gress contains a provision which af fords deserved relief to about 25,000 overworked and underpaid clerks in the postoffices of the ' country. The development of the postal service In the last decade, particularly In the ex tension of -the rural free delivery ser vice, has caused a continual and per sistent' demand for greater compensa tion, for employes charged with the rduty of delivering the mails by rail ways and on suburban routes. Con gress has yielded to pressure for more pay for the' railway mail clerks and the city and rural, delivery carriers, but until now has failed to recognlzo the claims of the loyal workers in th.e clerical departments of the postal ser vice. Attention was called by The Bee more than a year ago to this unjust discrimination against the postofflce clerks, with an urgent appeal for a recognition of their services In keep ing with the treatment accorded em ployes In other branches of the postal system. By an order of the postofflce department, employes are prohibited from working, through any organiza tion for Increased emolument and the maintenance of a lobby at Washington la strictly prohibited. The movement started In Omaha for the relief of the postofflce clerks attracted attention throughout the country and the In creased pay provided for them In the pending bill Is undoubtedly due to the campaign of publicity In behalf of a merited claim. By the terms of the bill whichhas passed the house, clerks in postoffices of the first and second class are to be divided Into seven grades with salaries ranging from $600 to $1,200 per an num. The present system of pay cov ers about the same range, but the plan of promotion Is so restricted that bul a very few clerks In the first class of fices have any prospect of receiving more than about $800 a year. , The proposed law will permit the advance ment In offices of the Omaha class, In the course of a few rears, until the average pay of clerks will be about $1,000 a year Insi id cf $800 as at present. Under conditions heretofore existing competent clerks, necessary to tho proper conduct of the postal work, have been drawn from the service bv tetter offers from private concerns or have remained In tho. service 'with a Justifiable feeling of beins underpaid. The postofflce clerks are to be con gratulated and congress congratulated that a scale of salaries and a system for their adjustment has been devisc.l that will place the question of com pensation ro? cjerfcs on a more, satisfactory basis. . . KXD THE JAIL FkKDI.XG GRAFT. The bill introduced in" the legisla ture by Representative Tucker to end the Jail feeding graft In Douglas county ought to be passed by the leg islature without opposition. The bill provides simply that In counties hav ing more than 100,000 population the board of county commissioners shall advertise tor bids for supplying meals to the prisoners in the county Jail ac cording to definite specifications set forth In the advertisement and let the contract annually to the lowest and best bidder. v Tho enactment of such a law -uld enable this county to save from 30 to 50 per cent of what the Jail feeding has cost the taxpayers In the past. It would destroy the sheriff's monopoly of e Jail kitchen and require him, if he is to continue as caterer, to do it on the score of being the lowest bid der. The bill, however, will have the strenuous opposition of the present sheriff, who Will be loath to let go of this most lucrative perquisite of h's office. His main contention will be that, being elected as a republican, b should not be deprived by a repub lican legislature of such a good thing as Is afforded by the Jail feeding busi ness. This is the same argument that was urged when the bill was up to stop the fee graft of the clerk of the district court. There la no assurance, however, that the office of sheriff Id Douglas county will be filled perpetu ally by a republican, but whether filled by a republican or a democrat, the sheriff should be held to definite compensation and the Jail feeding handled on a business basis under contract. We cannot see how any one In tho legislature can defend and champion this graft, unless there were some thing in It for him as well as for the sheriff. r-VfMJT HOLDS HIS SEAT' The senate of the United Stated in exercising its right to pass upon the qualifications of Its membership has de cided that Senator Reed Smoot of Utah shall not be deprived of his seat simply because he Is a member of the ruling body of the Mormon church. The vote for his expulsion fell far short of the two-thirds necessary for that con summation of the wishes of petition ers, nearly 1,000,000 In number, who have wazed a most persistent cam paign against htm since his selection by the Utah lopi!ature in 1903. Much misinformation has been printed throughout the country In con nection with the Smoot case. The general impressi.iu has been given out that Smoot hlms-lt Lis been guilty o' plural marriage when, as a matter of fact, his most bitter opponents have not made that charge against him and the committee of the senate whlc!; reported In favor' of his expulsion stated specifically th.tt no such charge had been made and that "the senator Btands before the senate In personal character and bearing above criticism and beyond reproach." The only question before the senate was whether Smoot, as an apostle and a member of the governing body of the Mormon church, had given aid and support to thnt hierarchy In Its defi ance of the laws of his own state and of the government, . It was urged by Smoot's opponents that his Vendowmenf house" oath was Incom patible with his oath as a United States senator. This charge was not strongly substantiated as there was but little testimony offered as to the nature of the oath. Mr. Smoot de clared before the committee and in his address before the senate that the "en dowment house" oath does not bind him to any obligation Incompatible with his oath as a United States sen ator, but that he could no more dis close the wording of the oath than conld a Mason divulge the secrets of his order. After a hearing extending over two years,' in which every, effort was made by the advocates of expulsion to make a case against Smoot, the senate has decided that it has no ground upon which to base his exclusion except tho fact that-he is a member of the Mor mon church. The vote on the motion to expel Smoot Is simply a notice that the senate of the United States will not allow religion to be considered among a senator's qualifications for membership. , POPULUR QOVKRKMEST IN OERMANT. Emperor William's address to the new Reichstag is at once congratula tory and conciliatory. The results of the election assure him that his co lonial policy will stand, as the Issue In the campaign hinged on that prop osition, the former Reichstag having been dissolved because it refused to vote supplies for the army In South west Africa. The overwhelming de feat of the socialists, who secured the defeat of the army budget, was suf cient cause for the self-congratulatory note in the kaiser's speech from the throne, but, according to the cabled reports, he made no effort to urge the victory as a vindication of the auto cratic idea of government, going, instead, an unusual step In the other direction by bespeaking and in viting the co-operation of the Reichstag in support of the national sentiment and the common welfare of Germany. The German people have been growing more aud more restive under absolutism, coupled with mlltartsm and paternalism, and the kaiser ap parently has a keen appreciation of this feeling. In most diplomatic terms, In his address to the new Reichstag, he put in a word for his constitutional right and" promptly followed It with an expression of con fidence In the popular branch of the government, represented by . the Reichstag. "Just as I am willing," said the emperor, "to observe con scientiously all my constitutional rights and privileges, so am I confi dent the new Reichstag, composed of intelligent men, will acknowledge that Its highest duty Is to preserve and strengthen - our position among civilised nations." The Reichstag Is about the only heritage the democratic government of 184 8 left to Germany. It represents the voice of the people of the empire as expressed by secret ballot and man hood suffrage, although its powers in legislative matters are not large. The body has been dissolved four times by the present emperor for failure to sup port his policies, and In each of the three cases previous to the recent election the new Reichstag has done the . emperor's bidding. With each election, however, the Reichstag has Improved Its standing as a parlia mentary body of power and has be come more fairly representative of the peopje. The kaiser evidently appre ciates this growth and recognises thnt In order for him to push on in the path he has marked out he must com mand the support of the Reichstag for bis policies and purposes. The Introduction of a bill Into the Nebraska legislature for a maximum rate on express company charges sug gests another abuse that should be remedied by law. Express companies should be required, when they accept prepaid packages, to deliver the same without extra charge to the place of address anywhere within the limits of the municipality In which the party resides. The present practice is for express companies to deliver packages only within a narrowly circumscribed area and to notify people outside of that district by telephone or postal card to call and get the package which the sender had paid the com pany to deliver. In other words, the exprens companies should be prohib ited from collecting at both enda for the same Bervlce. Members of the legislature should remember that they are all pledged to keep the appropriations within the lines of the most Economical adminis tration of the state government and that this pledge of economy extends In spirit, if not in letter, to the whole sale raising of salaries cf public offi cers state, county and municipal. If the state were out of debt and had a good surplus In the treasury, a sal ary boost all around might be excusa ble, but under the circumstances, with a special levy needed to make good the deficit caused by successive overlaps, it should require mighty good reasons to Justify salary raises at the hands of our law-makers. -. The appearance of a delegation from South Omaha before the legisla ture in behalf of consolidation must have opened the eyes of some of the outside statesmen to the fact that there Is a healthy annexation senti ment In South Omaha among those who have the substantial interests of the city at heart and at the same time tend to confirm the statement that the great majority of the "antls" rep resent the Influence of the office hold ers, present and prospective, fearful of being pried loose from the payroll. Our rope-throwing mayor has now constituted himself a moral censor for the community, trying"to determine by personal Inspection . whether a di vorce court with a salacious trial in progress is a proper place of amuse ment for the populace. Mayor "Jim's" verdict as handed down is as followsr "On seeing the crowd -which Is in here at present I have Just about changed my mind. It would take a pretty heavy Jolt to fease that bunch." No danger, certainly, of any divorce trial teasing our cowboy mayor. The proposed law making members of the Omaha Police commission In eligible to run for other offices during their terms on the police commission, which seems to be on a fair way to the statute book, may relieve the pressure somewhat for future police commissioner appointments. Activity of Noise Makers. Chicago Record-Herald. Three hundred thousand planoa were made In thla country last year, notwith standing the fact that aocietloa for the suppYeaslon of useless noises were organ ised in several places. SpotMa;htlnar the Troth. K Et. I.OU1B uione-uemocrat. Oeneral Kouropatkia lias told us what was behind all of the Russian defeats In Man churia. Aa we recall those stirring- events, the Japa were always behind, and very close behind, every one of them. I.ese Msjeale. Baltimore American. The Pennsylvania house of representa tives actually made merry over the mea saee aent It bv Mr. Baer of "divine riant" fame. Thla act of audacity la apt to give a sudden boom to the popularity of lese mnjaate throughout the country and vastly to stimulate Its commission. The I sunt IMerovery. Chicago Record-Herald. A Connertlcut bank failed a few dsya ago, and tbe bank examiner has just made the discovery that It did business In an Irregular manner. Perhaps the examiner farclea tbat his report will be comforting to the people who woitkl have taken their money out l( they could have heen ap prised of the bunk's unsoundness before the collapse came. State Ulrri In Boose Baalaess. New Tork Tribune. The South Carolina legislature has abol ished the state dUpensary. Lack of confi dence In the expert knowledge and busi ness capacity of the dispensary board was followed by lack of confidence In the tonic quality of the fluids It dispensed to the public. Now every county la to bave Its own board If It wishes, and local Ideas and prepossession! are to triumph against cen tralised taste and management. A Sensible thaase. Kansas City Star. The bill Introduced by Representative Champ Clark which provldea that 10 cents' worth of any kind of American stampa placed on a letter in addition to the 1 cents postage will guarantee Ita delivery by special messenger If the words "special delivery" are written on the envelope. Is a sensible one. There la no good reason why a particular style of special delivery stamp ahould be required any more than there Is reason why the government should Insist that W cents poets ge ahould be evl. denied by a 10-cent postage stamp rather than five twoe. The bill baa paased the house without objection and It la to be toped that the aenate will not huut around for a reason to defeat 1L I.KaaoSS OP WASHISttTOJ'S I.I FK. Sabllaae Character ef Americans atloaal Here). The eloquent and scholarly "grand old nian" of Massachusetts, the late Senator Oeorgre Friable Hoar, delivered an address on the virtues of Washington before the fnlon league club of Chicngo some ten years ago. Few addresses of like charac ter approaches It In lofty patriotic senti ment, beauty of diction and analyrla of the virtues which ennobled the life of America's national hero. It la Inspiring and appropriate reading for the "day we celebrate." It follows. In part: "There la one unerring test of true great ness, whether In literature, or In science, or thought, or action, or character. That Is, that It ems to be cotemporaneoua with all the generations. The Hebrew Scrip tures, the essays of Bacon, the plays of Bhakeepeare. Homer and Virgil and lante, the character and glory of Alfred and Lin coln and Franklin. Plato and Socrates and Cicero, and the Declaration of Independ ence, speak to ua today, freshly, and with out loss of effect by reason of remoteness of time. They would have made a like Im pression In the time of the Hebrew or the Greek, or the Roman commonwealth. They will apeak with like effect hereafter In all ootnlng time to any generation that hath ears to hear. "That la conspicuously true of Washing ton. If you were to read of him In Plu tarch there would be no sense tbat he waa out of place. He would still be the most perfect of Plutarch's men. If you were to read of him In the page that telle the sWy of Alfred or the Bruce, of St. Loula of France, or the greatest and best of the men of the Hebrew commonwealth, there would be no feeling that he did not belong to his age, but only that there was a better and purer Alfred or Bruce or St. Loula or Hebrew monarch. Bo I believe there never will be a period In all coming time when a character like that of Wash ington will excite a sense of incongruity or of antiquity, but only the natural feeling that a chare-cter of supreme excellence has been bestowed by God upon man. "It Is the great good fortune of the peo ple of America, especially of the youth of America, that we have for our national hero a character whom they can take aa a model of behavior In every condition, every transaction, every occupation, In life. I cannot think of any question of morality, of courtesy, of noble and elevated behavior, of expediency In the conduct of doubtful and difficult affairs, which a young man or an old man could not safely answer by asking himself and telling himself what George Washington would have done In a like case. I do not know of any other na tion on earth that possesses such a model. "Think how poor were Washington's re sources. During a large part of the time when he waa besieging the British army In Boston he had scarcely powder enough to Are a salute. His few cannon had been dragged by oxen across New Kngland from Tlconderoga. He had no money to pay hia soldiers; no drill officers to teach his raw recrulta military discipline; no military text bonks for hla engineers. His life waa al most a eolitud amid the Jealousies and strifes which existed In that day In quite aa large degree as now, among his gen erals and officers, and (what has happily passed by now) among the troops of the different colonies. The Inexhaustible pe cuniary resources of England promised an Inexhaustible supply of troops, native or mercenary. His great antagonists had the support of a powerful navy. I would not undervalue the navy of the Revolution, whose great sen-Ice to the cause of ln pendenee has been ao much overlooked. Indeed, It Is doubtful whether without - the war for liberty could have been brought to a successful close. But Its chief service waa In the destroying of English -com merce and not as an aid to our military operations. ' "So, in the time of framing the constitu tion and In administering the government for the first eight years, Waahington had nowhre to look either for example or for Instruction. All the paths he trod had to be broken out by himself and his great companions and associates. We who find our path broken, macadamized, leveled, biased by the sure and safe preoedenta of 126 year can hardly understand the diffi culties which beset Washington. And yet. In hla whole life, from the time when, but a youth of 24, he gave his wise tout vain counsel to General Braddock, and brought home all the laurela of that most disas trous expedition, to the time when, full of years and honors, he left to his country men his farewell address that almost In spired political bible, the adherence to which ever haa brought and ever will bring to us safety, prosperity and glory, the de parture from which Is the path to danger, ruin and shame he never made a mistake and never gave unwise counsel to hla coun trymen. ... 1 "There are some charactera. unhappily few, of whom we nearer think as atruggllng with or conquering temptation. Sin did not beset them. I suppose this was never yet literally and perfectly true of any man or woman. Yet It was aa nearly true of George Washington as of any man or wo nan. Integrity, unselfish and unambl- ! tloua service, Industry that Bought no re pose while It remained to be done, unhesi tating lf-aacrlflce. purity not only unsul lied but untempted, were all hla. The temp, tatlon to evil never seems to have beset that lofty nature, nor besieged that Im pregnable fortress. The devil Is an ass. But he never waa such an asa as to waste his time tempting George Washington. Washington's virtues were the cornerstone virtues. They were the virtues which lie at the foundation of all civil society as well us of ncble Individual character. The vir tues' of .Washington are the virtues which we ascribe In our humble. Imperfect and faraway conception to divinity. Think of his abaolute veracity! He con ducted with his own hand a vast corrw apondence. enough to tax to Its uttermost the strength of mind and brain and body of an athlete even if he had had to bear no othtT burden of public care. Hla pub llshed correspondence nils many lare volumea, and there Is a great deal, I sup pot, still unpublished But there Is not a trace of duplicity, of concealment, cf Bay ing one thing to one man and another to another, of assurances of respect or good will, that no doubt come from the heart, bucu as I am acrry to say, disfigure tho correspondence of some of his famous and honored contemporaries. The, little fable Invented by Weems, hJs enthusiastic biogra pher, bar become the standing Jest cf many a generation of Irreverent boys. But no body ever doubted or ever will doubt that George Washington could not tell a lie. could not act a He, could not think a lie; that a lie could not live In bis presence, or thnt all falsehood and dissimulation would allnk abashed and confounded from the gase of those eyee and firm that per. feet wlrness. V He had a weighing and balancing mind. His Intellect was like a pair of accurately adjusted scales. He did not often, espe cially In clvjl affairs, urlgtnatp the policies upon w hich he acted. But he. listened care fully and patiently to every counael from which he could get Instruction, and then brought It In the end to the sure teat of his own unerring Judgment. He weighed the advice of hla great counsellors, the claims of contending parties, and of Jeffer son and Hamilton and Adama and Picker- lng. In a balance aa Infallible aa the golden scales which the eternal hung forth to heaven. Betwixt Astrea and the Scorpion atgn. In which, according to Milton, the arch rebel read and knew his fate. But after all, Washington has but one lesson for us, one lesson for the country, one lesson for each of his countrymen. It Is the old leswon. older than history, old aa creation. That Is that Justice, veracity, unselfishness, character, He at the foun dation of all national and all Indlvdual greatness. Justice and freedom are the parents of fate. To the larger and surer virion there Is no such thing as fortune. Where these are we have .no need to con cern ourselves with what the day may bring forth. The product of the eternities will bo secure. The coetnlc results will be the same, whatever the dally event may be. It la to this that the story of George Washington la a perpetual witness to his countrymen. It will be their fault If they do not make their country Ite perpetual witness to mankind. RAILROAD PROSPERITY. flroae Rarnlnaa foe lMt Year Shew Tremendous laerean. New York Financial Chronicle. The year 1906 adds another to the long series of years recording large and con tinuous gains In railroad earnings. And, as It happens, the latest year In the magni tude of Ita further Increase vurpaasea all Its predecessors, furnishing a fitting climax to the series. The amount of the Improve ment In gross revenues would Itself be sure to attract attention, but, added to the note worthy gains of previous years. It fur nishes further testimony to the marvelous Industrial expansion experienced In thla country during the laat decade, to which the railroads themselves have so largely contributed and In which they have been the most Important single agency. Our tables. Just as they stand, show an Increase for the twelve months of $221. 0R2.462. The totals are of huge proportions, the aggregate for 1906 being .131.t.S9 and for 1905 tt,907.4.247. And yet this does not cover absolutely the whole rail road system of the country. The mileage represented, embracing alt the roads In the country from which we have been able to procure returns, la 186,687 miles. As there were probably about 210,000 to 115.000 miles of road In operation during the twelve months, this leaves 26.000 to 10,000 miles unrepresented In our tables. Tho earnings for much of this mileage It will not be possible to get at all for the calen dar yenr, and the returns for the rest will not be available for some time to come. We should Judge that If we could get re sults to cover the whole railroad system of the country the increase for the twelve months would be In the neighborhood of C40.000.0CO, of which 1136,000,000 was made In the first six months and $105,0(0,000. In the laat six months. Let the reader ponder well what such an addition almost a quarter of a thou sand! million dollars means. Let him re call further that In 13C6 we put the Increase for the full mileage at $180,.000 and that In the same way we estimated the Increase for 1904 nt $10,000,000. Furthermore, that previously we computed the gain for 103 at $210,000,000, for 1902 at $ios.oooro. for l1! at $155,000,000, for 1900 at $120,000,001, for 1P99 at $140,000,000. for m at $90,005,000 and for 1P97 at $75,000,000. It will be seen that we have here an agregate Improvement for the ten years from 189(1 to 1900 In the prodigious sum of I1J25.000.O00. In other words, aprsxe gate gross earnings of United States rail roads for 1906 ' were $1,235,000 larger than they had been In 1S9G. the year of trade prostratlcn and of' the, sliver campaign,- PR R SOW A L XOTE9. , . ' A 'New York policeman has been ! dis missed for dubbing Inoffensive cltlie'n de spite the plea that he 'was drunk at the time. Thus is more, unhapplnesa projected Into the life of the copper, ' Samuel Brooks of Annapolis, Mdi, , re cently concluded his fiftieth year of con tinuous aervlce In the state house as mes senger to the governor. During- his term of office Mr. Brooks, who recently cele brated his seventy-sixth birthday, has served under sixteen governors. Ivan Panln, who came to this country from Russia a dosen or more years ago with strong nihilistic tendencies, graduated from Harvard and gained aome literary distinction, .haa not been much, heard from of late. He Is making addresses In nopn day prayer meetings In New York. Lester Leamon, a republican member of the legislature from Jaaper county, Illinois, Is rather proud of the fact that he Is taller than Abraham Lincoln, -for whom he en tertains the' most profound admiration. According to the beat authorities the mar tyred president stood feet 4 Inches, but Mr. Leamon la 6 feet 7 inches Ip hla stock ings. After March 4th there w ill be two gradu ates of West Point In the senate, Mr. Du Pont of Delaware, and Mr. Brlgga of New Jersey. Mr. DuPont was graduated at the head of his class In 1861 and aaw consider able service In the civil war. Mr. Brlggs. who Is thirteen years younger, did not graduate f npm the academy until 187$. He waa attached to a cavalry regiment for several years. , . John Armstrong Chanler has conveyed a deed to the University of Virginia for hla Merrle Mills estate near Cobham, Va., containing 400 acres of land, residence, paintings, statuary, books, etc The con veyance la Bubjeet to the right of Mr. Chanler to continue In ' possession during his lifetime. The purpose of the convey, ance la to secure eventually a home for such retired professors of the university aa the rector and visitors may designate. ONE PRICE ON PIANOS It's pleasant to visit the A. Iloape Co. Piano Rooms with its world famous Pianos In their most beautiful housings. The fine veneers of great variety from many foreign lands, with the finish such as American Piano manufacturers only know how to apply. ' Then to feast eyes on the fine art styles, the mlgnon and noaparell grands, the bahy and parlor an well as concert grand Pianos, not to omit the cabinet upright grands, together with the boudoir styles In the most unique tints in natural woods and designs. -, Most gratifying to tho anxious customer. U tbe matter of the' tags hanging on the Instruments In plain view, on each showing In plain figures the price Its one price tbe one asked ant) the one we sell it at. This Is putting the Piano business on a par with other lines of com merce. One price whether you buy for cash or on time payments, and our time payments are a easy as tho price Is low. . A little cash and lots of time buy standard Pianos at the Hospe Piano Store. Your selection can be made from the f 190 Piano to the $500 Knabe Cabinet Grand Upright Pianos cash or time. Our leaders are tbe Knabe, Kranlch ft Bach, Kimball, Bush ft Lane, Hallet ft Davis. Krell, Hospe; Mathusek. Need ham, Whitney, Helns, Cable-Nelson, Cramer and others. 1 A. HOSPE (Tfll 151MS Doenlas St. A Good Place to Buy m Piano and the Angelas Player. ' BLOCKED FOR A TlWR. BUI rattla Oat Watered Stork aa a Rate Nsklig Asset. Philadelphia Record. A a is well known, a darling project of Senator LaFollette, Is so to amend the railroad 'bill aa to empower the Interstate Commerce commission to fix "reasonable" freight ratea on the basis of the actual value of the capital, and not on the watered stock of a carrying company. His bill for thla purpose hns been slumbering In the Interstate commerce committee of the senate since last session. At length the bill was called up In committee last Friday, when nine senators were present, five of whom voted for reporting It favora bly. But when two senators, Messrs. Till man and Clapp, left the committee room the vote waa reconsidered, and the bill Is where it wae before. It makes no differ ence, however, whether It had been favora bly reported or not, as there was no pros pect of Its passage In the brief remnant of the present congress against a powerful opposition. In the next congress this measure of so much Importance to most of the railroad corporatlona will be brougf". up with the strong approval of President Roosevelt and Mb Interstate Commerce commission. 8MILIXG Lll9. "Nrw designs on gold coins, eh?" sniffed Pmythe, laying down his paper. "Well, I don't care. A fellow with some of the old designs got mine." Philadelphia Ledger. "I wonder they don't elect humorists more to legislatures." "Why so? ' They would come In so handv for the Jokers In the bills." Baltimore American. "He's perfectly wild over hla new auto." "Huh! You should see him under it.' Milwaukee Sentinel. "Did that speech of yours convince any body ?" "Certainly," answered Senator Sorghum: "It convinced my friends Out home that 1 am atill an able orator." Washington Star. "Now that you are married, my son. listen to me." "What Is It, dadT'1 "Try to be a husband, not an ex-bachelor." Washington Herald. "So your son is going to apply for ad mission to the ar? I didn't know that he had ever read law." "He hasn't. It Is the Intention to prac tice the unwritten kind. There seems to be considerable doing In that line lately." Chicago Record-Herald. "Ixwk here!" demanded the drummer who had Just descended from the train at Lohetockvllle, "what Is that hotel you are calling? I never heard of It before." "Why, boss." replied . the colored porter, Hotel Hungerford, nee Occidental, yo1 know, sail.' Puck. WASHISUTOV. From . "Under the Elm Tree." by James Russell Lowell. Soldier and statesman, rarest unison; . High poised example of great duties done Simply aa breathing, a world'a honors worn As life's Indifferent gifts to all men born; Dumb for himself, unle.a It were to Ood, But for his barefoot aoldiers eloquent. Tramping the enow ot coral where they trod. Held by his awe In hollow-eyed content; Modest, yet firm as nature'a elf; un- blamed r Save by the men his nobler tempor shamed; Not honored then or now because he wooed The popular voice', but that he still with stood; .I.-..' Broad-minded, hlgh-souled. there la but one Who was alt this? and ours, and all men's Washington, --,. Minds strong by fits. Irregularly great. That flash and darken like revolving lights. Catch, more the vulgar eye unschooled to wait . On the long curve Of patient days and nights. Rounding a whole life to the circle fair Of orbed completeness;, and thla bananced . soul t , So simple In. its grandeur, coldly bare OfdTttperleS thearritv 'standlnr there fa perfect symmetry of self control, ; Beems not so- great at first,, but greater grows r Still aa we look, and bv experience learn How grand this quiet it how nobly stern The discipline that wrought life-long throes This energetic passion of repose. A nature too decorou and severe, -Too self-respecting In Its griefs and Joys For ardent girls and boys, Who find no genius in a mind so clear That Its grave depths seem so obvious and near, . , - , Not a soul great that made ao little nolae. They feel no force In that calm,' cadenced phrase, The habitual full-dreaa of , hla well-bred mind. That seems to paco the minuet's courtly mase And tell - of ampler leisures, rsomler length fit days. His broad built brain, to self ao little kind That no tumultuary blood could- blind. Formed to control men, not amaie; . Looms not Ilka those that. borrow height of hose: It was a world of sta trier movement then Than thla we fret In, he a denlsen Of that Ideal Borne tbat made a man for men. , , Placid completenesa, life without a fall From faith or highest alms, truth's breach. less wall, Surely If any fame can bear the touch, Hla will any "Here!" at lust trumpet's call. The unexpresslve man whose life ex pressed ao muck.- Office Furniture SjTSttl atlilnp pcvlccs .. Desks.. This eae, solid ak-Catlrr naVe-IO inches longr MO" trade, speelal-25.50 a Us for Complete Cffloe Outfits Orchard & wilhelm Carpet Co. i i t ! i ! V 7