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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1908)
THE OMAIIA DAILY BEE: SATURDAY, DECEMHER 12, 1908. Tiie Omaiia Daily Dee, FOUNDED BT EDWARD ROBEWATER. VICTOR ROSBWATER, EDITOR. Etitred at Omaha poetofftee m second flaaa matter. , TERMS OT SUBSCRIPTION. DllT He (without. 8traday), T".4.00 Ially Bee and Sunday, on year. W DELIVKHJtD BT CAJUUER. Dally Be (Including Sunday). pr wek..1Sc Dally Bee (without Bundsy). per week..loe Evening Pfa (without gunriay), per week c Evening Bee (with Sunday), per week. lOo Bundsy Hn, on. year I2-60 Saturday Bee, one year 1-M Addreas all complaints of Irregularities In delivery to City Circulation department. OFFICES. ' Omaha The Bee Building. South Omaha Twenty-fourth and N. Council Bluffa18 Scott Street. Uncoln 618 Little Building. C'hlcago-1648 Marquette Building. New York-Itooms 1101-1103 No. 84 West Thirty-third Street. Washington 725 Fourteenth Ptreei. N. W. CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to news and edi torial matter should be addressed: Omaha Bee, Editorial Department. REMITTANCES. Remit by draft, express or postal order payable to The Bee Publishing Company. Only l-cnt stamps received In payment of mall accounts. Personal checks, except on Omaha or eastern exchanges, not accepted. STATEMENT Of CIRCULATION. State of Nebraska, Douglas County, as.: George B. Tsschurk, treasurer of The Bee Publishing company, being duly sworn, says that the actual number of full and complete copies of The Dally, Morning. Evening and Sunday Bee printed during the noma or November, 1808, was as ioiiows 1 44,000 , 2 SB.10O 1 48,860 4 64,680 t ; .49,860 t,eao 1 118,380 t ......... . 37,400 37,40 10. . .. ... t .17,810 II 37,730 11 17,880 If 37,890- 14 37,580 II 38,000 Total .1,181,370 Less unsold and returned copies. 11,187 1 37,960 17.. fc 37.190 1.. ...38370 lt..... 38,890 20 37,310 21 37,000 22 37.000 2t 37,010 24 37,090 25 37,070 2 38,940 27 37,140 2 3890 29 38,700 30 37310 Net total. 1,180,103 Dally average 38,336 OEORdS! B. TZSCHUCK, Treasurer. Subecrfbed In my presence and sworn to before ma this 1st day of December, 190S. (Seal) I .1 ," M. P. WALKER. Notary Public trmcif -out of towir. tabaerltwra leavlag the city ten Borarlly ahoald fcave The Be mailed to thesa. Address will ha ehajtced as aftea aa - reaestd. ,' i : The Hay t ten outlook ; Is still dark. Prepare, your tiong early. Now i Year's resolu- No one 'objects to. Santa Clans do ing a night-riding stunt. Anyway, Senator Foraker baa not been "mentioned" for a cabinet position. Mrs. Carrie Catt has ; got." her back up, and catted the president a tree toad. . ... . .v..- ........ . Venesuela without Castro would be another cas4 of- t,he omelet with the egg ellmlnatjwU .! Jay Gould, jr.; is taking a course In aeronautics. .Most of,' the Goulds have had experience In taking fliers. Conditions In the far east may be different when China gets strong enough to open or close its own door. There are 116 vacancies In the ca det ship at West Point.; The army service does not appeal in times of peace. If Castro really has $60,000,000 and la looking' tor a home he would be welcomed by congenial ' spirits In Wall street. ) a. , . . If Mr. Cannon baa his way there will be standing pat room only in the house when the, , tariff revision bill comes up. western Nebraska. The letter from western Nebraska published In The Bee is not only perti nent, but one that deserves careful consideration. The writer of the let ter, who signs himself "A Citizen of the Unorganized Territory West of Lo gan County," is a man not only of prominence and Influence in that sec tion, but also well known throughout the state, whose name Is permanently fixed to the history of the state as the author of some of its best laws and to whose utterances heed should be paid. It is much to be regretted that such feeling as Is expressed In the letter should exist In any part of Nebraska, and yet the ground for resentment felt by the people who have built up the empire west of the hundredth merid ian la natural. Many times in the past The Bee has called public attention to the injustice of continuing certain con ditions that were established In Ne braska at a time- when practically the whole state west of North Platte was "unorganized territory." In the matter of legislative appor tionment alone this injustice is most glaring. Representation In the legis lature of Nebraska at present is based on a census taken in 1885. The popu lation of Nebraska has not only in creased many fold since that date, but its center has shifted and there is no fairness in the continuation of the fe- sult of that census. The constitution of the state provides that the legisla tive apportionment can only be made after a census has been taken, and that a census can only be taken by the state on the half decade year. Four opportunities to make this apportion ment have been neglected by the leg islature, and It Is impossible that a remedy can be applied by the coming session. So the people of western Nebraska will be compelled for at least two more sessions of the general assembly to pa tiently bear the wrong of which they complain. But they must not think that this condition voices the attitude Of the people of the eastern part of the state. .The general interests of Nebraska are the same from the Mis souri river to the Wyoming line and from South Dakota to Kansas, and there should be no division of opinion along geographical lines. The tradi tional North and South Platte separa tion has beert the occasion of a tre mendous amount of political mischief in Nebraska in the past and it should be wiped out. A man should be se lected for office, not because he cornea from a particular section of the state, but because he is qualified for the po sition to which he aspires or Is ap pointed. The interests of the people of the ."unorganized territory west of Lo gan county" in Nebraska are Identical with those of the people of Omaha or any, other community along the river. Taxes are levied against property through the same means and are ex pended by officers in whose choosing all of the people have had a voice. The government of the state exists for all alike. The danger of the segregation of the "panhandle" of Nebraska, or the secession of its inhabitants is remote. It is absurd that a senator of Nebraska should not know of the wonderful progress that has been made In those counties that were considered impos sible twenty-five years ago. The vlg orous and energetic citizenship of whom the writer of the letter referred to is a splendid representative, has wrought wonders ' in that region and deserves the utmost credit. The Bee congratulates these people on their achievement and believes that at the proper time justice will be done to them. It must be remembered, always that Douglaa county suffers equally with the "unorganized territory west of Logan county" because of the pres ent unfair apportionment for legisla tlve purposes. atlon to the house in the next congress. That committee may decide upon a bearing of its own. In any event, the bill prepared as a result of the pres ent hearings will be subject to amend ment when It is reported to the house and may be changed entirely. The promise is, however, for legislation that will scale down 'the duties that are too high, reduce the protection no longer needed to prosperous Indus tries and fulfil the obligations of the party to the people, as promised In the Chicago platform. It may be noticed that, all .of the opposition to-Mr. Bryan being a can didate againin 1912 la being shown by democrat!. Champ Clark is certain to make a record aa the minority leader in the house at Washington, Champ is a natural Insurgent. The congress that devises a plan for turning a, deficit Into a surplus la going to have a first lien on the sup port of the people.' "Navy men are "never fluent: speak ers," aays Admiral Evans. That's equivalent to declaring that Hobson is Dot a navy man. Mr. Roosevelt's assailants In the Panama canal case will observe that he did not use up all' his ginger In the presidential campaign. "Kissing will remove freckles." says a physician. . Possibly, but the fact holds no encouragement to those of ua who are not freckled. "Why do hens 'quit laying when egga are 5 centa a dozen?" asks a Brooklyn paper. Probably because egga are S5 cents a dozen when hens quit laying. A London paper refers to the kaiser as "a dashing young man." Since bis experience with the Reichstag the kaiser doubtless feels . more like a dashed young man. A Georgia man says he has Invented a nonintoxlcatlng beverage that tastes exactly like beer. ; still, you never think of a Georgia colonel as having en appetite for beer. I Secretary Straus of the Department of Commerce' and Labor calls atten tiou to the fact that our foreign-born population is not increasing as rap idly as th patlva .population. The American stork Is not on a' strike. THE CONVICTION OF BVEF. The conviction of Abraham Ruef. a political boss of San Francisco, on a charge of bribery, marks the first step toward success In the ending of the corrupt ring which has held San Fran cisco in its grasp for many years. The fight against Ruef and his associates has been the most sensational in many years in the history of attempts at municipal reform. The defendants have hid resources which .apparently extended to every class of citizens In San Francisco. This influence was shown in many ways, in Jurors who admitted that they bad been bribed, In officials who pleaded the constitu tional privilege as excuse for falling to answer questions in the courts, in personal attacks on the men prosecut ing the cases and in decisions setting the accused men at liberty after they had entered pleas of guilty. How much truth there may be in the report that many of the men who have been most active In the prosecu tion of Ruef and bis associates have themeslves been connected with cor poration cliques for the looting of the city does not enter Into the case at present. The conviction of Ruef is only Incidental to the existence of a red-hot public sentiment against grafting and corruption in high places which has been created in San Fran cisco and which promises to ulti mately result In a much-needed, al though long-delayed, municipal house cleaning. made by Auditor Searle that the state debt, which was piled up under the former popocratic administration of Nebraska affairs, will be wiped out by July 1 next. This will give the demo crats an opportunity to throw them selves again. While the corn show Is getting Its share of attention in Omaha the fruit show at Council Bluffs is not being neglected. A wonderfully fine array of fruits is on display across the river and prizes are being competed for as eagerly by the orchardiatu as they are in Omaha by the field farmers. Nebraska farmers are to have a ser ies of lectures by experts from the ag ricultural department and these ex perts" will find the Nebraska farmers eafffr to listen and ready to assimi late any new ideas, for farming In Ne braska is rapidly rising to the condi tion of a fine art. According to Mr. Harrlnian's figures the reduction in the revenues of the Union Pacific as a result of the "panic" was so small as to be entirely negli gible from the standpoint of a man to whom an item of some $7,000,000 was a trifle. A Boston man has sued the minister who performed the marriage cere mony for him for a return of the por tion of the fee, alleging that "the service was not worth the price." Wonder what his wife thinks about It? Adlat Stevenson is going to make a contest of the gubernatorial election n Illinois. He is probably anxious to keep his name before the public as a preliminary to making a fight for the nomination for vice president In 1912. - FOB REAL TARIFF" REVISION. Mr. Taft's public statement that, after a conference with Mr. Cannon and other republican leaders in con gress, he is convinced that the special session of congress, to be called in next March, will pass a bill which shall provide for a thorough revision of the tariff on the basis of the plat form of the republican party, will be cheering news to the whole people. The statement is an assurance that no matter what influences may attempt to interfere with the action of the next congress, Mr. Taft is going to do his utmost to fill the pledges made by the republican party and endorsed and intensified by him. Mr. Taft's policy on the question of tariff re vision was enunciated long before be was a candidate for the presidency and he Is. clearly determined to make good on his promises to the people. Mr. Taft will have a distinct ad vantage when the tariff revision pro gram lr called for consideration in congress. He Is in position to demand that the party's pledges be made good, and failure to respond to that demand will rest upon the congressmen who will have to report to their people in the middle of Mr. Taft's administra tion. The present mood of the coun try Is emphatically in favor of a real revision of the tariff and even the most ardent standpatters la the senate and house must appreciate this fact. Speaker Cannon and some of bis inv mediate followers In the house under stand the public sentiment on the question and are already showing a disposition to co-operate with the president in carrying out the pledges of the party platform. Few congress men will care to go home and face an election with the brand of treachery to party promise burned into their records. The "reactionaries." so called, know this and are showing' that they know it. The hearings now being held by the ways and means committee of the boute will only serve as a recommend- THE PANAMA CANAL SCANDAL. William Nelson Cromwell has com pleted the work of President Roose velt in cutting short, tleing up and putting away on the shelf a most un pleasant and disgraceful rumor to the effect that ' certain officials of the American government were parties to or cognizant of a deal by which sev eral millions of dollars of the amount paid to the French company by this government In securing the transfer of rights, franchises and holdings in the Panama canal property from the French government and French com panies were distributed among the members of a syndicate formed for the purpose of handling the deal. Mr. Cromwell denies explicitly any such syndicate ever had an existence, and be denounces as wholly false all of the charges made by the newspapers concerning corruption in connection with the deal. It should be remembered that the entire Panama canal question was In vestigated by a senate committee, in 1906, under the direction of Senator Morgan of Alabama, a bitter opponent of the Panama route, it was devel oped in that inquiry that the United States made the offer of $40,000,000 for the property and franchises of the French company. Of this amount $25,000,000 was paid to the old Pan ama Canal company, $12,000,000 to the new French company and $3,000, 000 held awaiting final disposition, the method of which was In litigation in the courts of France. The testi mony before the hearing also showed that Mr. Cromwell had received a fee of something near $1,000,000 and that J. Pierpont Morgan. & Co., act ing as fiscal agents of the French gov ernment and the French Panama com- pany, received commissions amount ing to about $35,000. There Is no record or even tangible hint that any other person or firm in this country received any money or emolument whatever for the transaction. For the sake of keeping the record clear, President Roosevelt and Mr Cromwell have performed a distinct service in properly branding as false the loosely drawn charges against the administration's part in the Panama canal enterprise. Every document connected with the enterprise, from its inception to the present day, Is on file In Washington, open to the Inspec tion of any American citizen and. this record presents a showing of which all Americana should be proud. The implement men of South Da kota have resolved that the news papers are the best of advertising me diums. It only remains now for the implement men to put into practice the precept endorsed. Douglas county pioneers move along In an unobtrusive way, but their mod esty will not prevent them, from com ing under public notice. The early settlers of this country deserve all they are likely to get. Mr. Bryan says he has never cared much for foot ball. Still, it might have helped him, as the game teaches its participants how to run. It is too late to be an early Christ mas shopper, but It Is still possible for you to get Into the near-early class. Yea Won't Be Lonesome. 1 Baltimore Sun. ' Says Taft to the south'. "Come on In; the water'B fine." Chose an Idle Moment. Cleveland Plain Dealer. That counterfeiter who surrendered to the United States authorities by telephone no doubt would have been greatly annoyed If told the line was busy. The Dig Corn Show. St. Louis Globe Democrat. The National Corn exposition at Omaha will be open until December 19. More than half the states are represented and the others will be sorry for themselves when they discover the extent and Interesting nature of the big show. Potent Uuarantee of 1'eare. New York Tribune. A little while ago relations between America and Japan were said to be the chief menace to the world's peace. Now they are declared to be Its most potent guarantee. We are inclined to think that the latter estimate Is far more accurate than the former. Ananias Candidate Balks. , Indianapolis News. From It all we conclude that one Is not compelled to accept an election to the Ananias club, and that unless there Is an acceptance, express or Implied, the elec tion does not become effective. It is well that It should be within the power of the citizen to decline so distinguished an honor. ROYAL BAKING POWDER ABSOLUTELY-PURE Healthful cream of tartar, de rived solely from grapes, refined to absolute purity, is the active principle of every pound of Royal Baking Powder. Hence it is that Royal Baking Powder produces food remarkable both in fine flavor and wholesomeness. ROYAL BAKING POWDER CO.. NEW VOflK. I! Economy Moat Be Practiced. New York Tribune. That the "national administration appre ciates the temper in which the budget mak ing should be approached la Indicated by the Instructions to various departments against salary raising. Congress should exhibit a similar spirit. The results of the last national election were much more favorable to the republican party in general than to the party in congress. The public is likely to be unusually critical of Its work In pro ducing this year's budget, for the need of economy Is vividly before the minds of the people by reason of the cutting down of I expenses that business has had to resort to, and of the attention that has been at tracted In the wastefulness of municipal government. OTHKIl LAM DS THAN OVIIS. The liberal ministry .of Great Britain at the present moment la In a pitiable plight. Coming Into power with an overwhelming majority, the party has striven manfully to redeem Its pledges to the people. Many measures of practical benefit have passed the Commons, but comparatively few have received the sanction of the House of Lords. Only two measures of general Im portance received the sanction of the peers the old age pension bill and the Irish National university bill. The liquor license reform measure, on which the ministry staked much, was recently rejected by the peers with peculiarly defiant emphasis. The second education bill, designed to secu larize national Br.hools throughout the king dom, failed to secure sufficient support tc Justify pressing it to passage, and It was withdrawn. These measures constituted the mlnsterial legislative program for the present session, and their defeat leaves only routine measures for consideration. Prom a party standpoint, the situation is de morajlzlng. Failure to redeem pledges shakes public confidence to an extent that most observers think an appeal to the coun try on the rejected measures would result In defeat. The liberals have gained so heavily at the general election that It could forego much of Its advance without n,ifinrnrinir lt normal strength. Scores of bye-electlons, supposed to reflect public sentiment in spots, went against the lib erals. Each local victory stiffened the backbone of the peers, so much so that the dominant tory majority give scant con sideration to liberal party measures and boldly challenge the ministry to a test of public sentiment by a general election. There Is no indication that the Asqulth ministry will accept the challenge. Mean while, falling to produce expected results, the various factions of the party are drift ing apart, and accentuating the embarrass ments of the ministry. The divine right of the German emperor promises to become a magnificent lift. Five proposals are pending in the Reich stag, each aiming to secure such constitu tional changes as will result in ministerial responsibility to Parliament. The vital feature of the proposed amendments would divest the emperor of supreme power and vest It In the ministry created by and re sponsible to the Reichstag. The present constitution was made by Bismarck In 1879. and with the exception of three amend ments In 1873 and one In 188S It remains to day precisely as he made it. So far as it relates to ministers it creates no imperial cabinet. The only federal or imperial mln ter is the chancellor. He has subordinates, but no colleagues. He Is not responsible criminally, and he is responsible politically to nobody but the sovereign. As for amend ments to the constitution, they may be proposed by the Reichstag, but must be actually made by the Bundearath. In the latter body the negative vote of the seven teen Prussian representatives consUtutes an absolute veto upon any change In the constitution, and those seventeen members are appointed by the emperor, or by the king of Prussia, and their votes are all cast for them by the chancellor precisely s he pleases. In brief, any change In the constitution or In the Imperial laws relat ing to the army, the navy or taxation Is utterly Impossible without the assent of he emperor. "It is. of course, possible." says the New York Tribune, "that if the Reichstag should by a substantial majority present a request for a constitutional amendment establishing a responsible mln-Istry-it has never yet thus made any re quest for a constitutional amendment of ov. Vind-the Bundesrath would grant it. But It Is obvious that such a grant would in fact a personal grant rrom ma eui peror, Just as much aa the grant of a con stitution by the czar, the sultan or the shah." AMERICA'S MINERAL PRODUCTION. The annual report of the geological survey for tho fiscal year ending with June, 1908, contains some surprising information concerning the produc tion of precious matals for that pe riod. Compared with 1907 'there was a decrease of $4,000,000 in gold, $1,000,000 in silver and $4,000,000 In copper. While there was a falling off in the production of the money metals, an Increase was shown in every other line of mineral production. The increase in pig Iron was $24,000,000. Tho coal production was $103,000,000 above that of 1907 and the oil output was $18,000,000 greater. The total value of metallic and non-metallic products in 1907 was In excess of $2,000,000, 000, which added to the $8,000,000,- 000 produced on the farms furnishes a healthy showing of $10,000,000,000 added to the nation's wealth during the year. One Prof. Slmkovitch declares that Robert Burns did not write "Auld Lang Syne." That will ba about all for Prof. Slmkovitch, who evidently wants the advertising. The democrats can look with con siderable Jubilation on the promise PEJIHONAL, AMU OT II EH WISE. iRichard C. Kerens of Missouri spent So9,570 in his campaign for the United States senate at the November primaries. He got left besides. Even in the excitement of congress and other untoward events, It' Is worth while to notice that the government has con victed a land thief. President Roosevelt has accepted honor ary membership in the Chicago Historical society and a portrait of the president, painted by A. Benzlnger, has been pre sented to the society. In a recent speech Mayor Hlbbard of Bos ton declared that the city is giving away annually to public service corporations, without anything tangible in return, J1.000. 000 worth of privileges. H. P. Ingalls, said to be the last of the group of old-time showmen that Included Barnum, Forepaugh and John Robinson, the elder, died at his home in Huntsville, O. He was 82 years old. Infirmities of age caused his death. One of the most Interesting characters at the American Mining congress was Mia Nellie Vpham of Colorado, who. through a special dispensation, represented the Dis trict of Columbia, where she formerly lived, and where her husband. Dr. M. S. Upham, still lives. The only woman who ever ran for office In Florida, Mrs. 8. F. J. Linn, the aoclallst candidate for state superintendent ' of schools, received nearly 4,000 votes, fclie had 1,5:5 votes more to her credit than the candidate for governor on that ticket, ac cording to the Florida Times-Union. be chosen by the entire body of the peer age. This would transform the theoretical constitution of the House of Lords, but would leave Its actual personal composition little changed, save by the formal exclusion of a great many peers who are now entitled to sit, but beldom exercise that privilege. The proposed new body would include all the best of the present members with some Infusion of new blood. Tho political com plexion of the body would not be altered. It would leave the Liberals, aa at present, hopelessly In the minority, and the so called "Interests" fortified against radical reforms. It is apparent the present min istry will not challenge the country on the old Issue of "ending or mending" the upper house, and should the mending come at all It must come from within. Carrie Nation's advent into Great Britian Is peculiarly well timed. The petticoat warrior of Kansas scents trouble from afar, and when she cannot conveniently butt Into trouble started by others, she starts a bunch of trouble by herself. Evidently she scented the reaction In England and saw an opening for fresh notoriety. Unfor tunately for her reputation as a smasher, she is hopelessly outclassed In youth, beauty, vocal power and scrappy talent by her English sisters. The recent affair In the House of Commons, where auffra gottes chained themselves to tho gallery grill and hooted the members, and lately at Albert hall, London, where they howled and groaned at a representative of the ministry, attacked policemen with whips, and started a "rough house" surpassing the best record of Topeka, clearly puts tho Kansas smasher In tho kindergarten class. Carrie Is a gentle May breeso com pared with the suffragist cyclone. She la learning new tricks for her trade. On of tho notable legislative triumphs of the present British ministry was the solution of the university education prob lem in Ireland, whereby several existing colleges ware formed into great groups, ad ditions authorized and treasury grants mado for their support. Tho Catholics con trol one, the Presbyterians the other, leav ing Trinity of Dublin, now, as heretofore, representing the interests of tho estab lished church. Royal letters patent have Just been issued giving practical effect to legislation which ends an acute educational grievance and puts a large score to tho credit of Irish nationalism. expecting a batch of bills from some of those dogs of tradesmen." Philadelphia Ledger. Intelligence Office Manager I have a servant here now, madam, but she a dumb. Madam Oh, a dumb girl wouldn't answer at all. Boston Transcript. TOVLAMJ DAIS. Detroit Free Press. Treading lanes that lead today Into Toyland, wondrous fair. Hand In hand we go our way To the home of Teddy bears; To the land of Noan s ark. To the camps of soldiers tin. Where no day Is ever dark, And where only young get in. Young of heart and young of years Hand In hand together stray. Vanished are all cares or fears, This the season of play. Now we dance adown the lanes, Filled with laughter and delight, Naught of worry here remains, Toyland daya are always bright. Where the china dollle dwells, Now a-visltlng we go; Laughter sweet as chime of bells Bets our pulses all aglow. Eyes are bright and open wide. Lips are always smiling there; Love, the boy who acts as guide, Leads us into wonders rare. Now we wander in and out Lanes of tinsel and of paint; Here are brownies strangely stout. Here are little ladles quaint; Here are dolls of wondrous size, Wooed by soldiers gay and bold; Here's a land of great surprise. More than ever could be told. Little laughing boy of mine. Soon, too soon, you'll older grow. And these Journeys you'll resign; Toyland never more will know You again, or hear your shout Till the day a baby hand Steals In yours to lead you out To the Joys of toy-shop land. FRAGMENTS OK FUS. "I wish my dentist wasn't so realistic," said Mrs. Jenner Lee Ondego. "He calls his dental parlor his drawing room." Chicago Tribune. "What shall be done with out ex-presl- dents?" "This continent has problems enough of Its own," aald the statesman. "Let Africa worry about that for a while." Washington Star. "What is Pegasus?" "The only horse In the world," an swered the poet, "that can live without oats," Louisville Courier-Journal. Indignant Citizen Your boy Just threw a stone at me and barely missed me! ir. urown-tou aay Indignant Citizen That's he missed you? lat'a what I under stood myself to remark. Mr. Brown Then It wasn't my boy. St. Louis Times. The youthful George Washington bad just declared that he couldn't tell a lie. "How would it look," he said, "for a futere president of the United States to be eligible for membership in an Ananias club?" Thereupon he trimmed the cherry tree he had cut down, and proceeded to make a big stick out of It. Chicago Tribune. "Any mall this morning" ashed the shah of Persia. "Only a notice that the people have sen tenced you to death," replied his faithful secretary, "but nothing worth mention ing." "Qood." exclaimed the shah, his uiMk. face breaking Into a smile. "I had been Weather conditions are not often classed as factors in the peace of the world. Just now tho weather Is applauded as practical peace-maker. Winter baa turned loose in the Balkana with sufficient force to effectually chill the ardor of warriors sobbing for gore. Meanwhile, diplomacy Is energetically at work striving for a satis factory solution of the problem. Everx day that passes without a border conflict makes for peace, but within the past week there has developed a much more positive force making for an amicable adjustment. Rumors from Vienna of a restraining hand held out by the old emperor upon his turbulent heir and ambitious foreign min ister have become more and more definite, until It Is generally accepted In Europe as a fact that the Austria-Hungarian polioy has suddenly become a pacific one. Not only was the threatened withdrawal of the Austrian ambassador from Constantinople forgotten, but still more significant Is tho announcement from the Vienna Foreign office that there are no insuperable diffi culties in the way of a settlement, and that Austria Is only awaiting the framing of the formula upon which all powers are to agree upon a conference. Kmperor Francis Joseph wisely exerts every avail able Influence to avert a conflict which would sudden and shadow the December of his life. y The commission appointed by the British House of Lords, for the purpose of consid ering changes In that body, proposes radi cal reconstruction of the elements of its make-up. Most Important of the changes recommended Is the abolition of the prin ciple that all noblemen of certain rank have an hereditary right to sit In that house and to make the majority of the house elective for a single parliamentary terra. Of the remainder of the house the majority would consist of life peers selected by the crown for distinguished services and quail, firatloni. There would also be represen tees of the chief colonies and a few spiritual peers. The elected' peers would EXPERIENC Years ol Experience Are at Your Com mani Successful experience hfi been ours and we want everj body who has cause to fee that there is any thing th matter with their eyes at al to call and have us give then i proper tests. We are grinding in ou own shop the improved Id visible "Kryptok" bifoca lenses. There Are No Charges for Examination HilTESON OPTICAL G 213 South I6th Street. Pre-IiTOntory Sale Do not miss this opportunity to get an overcoat or suit for less than cost. While we sold a good many of these broken lines yesterday you will still find a good assortment to select from, and your size is here. These suits and overcoats are all made by Browning, King & Co., so style and fit are guaranteed. We take stock January 1st and must dose out all these broken lines so have made these low prices. Our loss your gain. Suits and Overcoats that sold from $18 to $25, now Overcoats that sold from $30 to $45, now You can afford to buy and hold for next year. "BrQwning.King f& Company Cor. 15th and Douglas. R. S. Wilcox, Mjjr