TTTE BEE:
OMAHA.
MONDAY. MAY 24. 1900.
Tire Omaha Daily Dee,
FOUNDED BT EDWARD ROSEWATER.
VICTOR ROSEWATER, EDITOR.
Entered tt Omaha poatoffflce second
riant matter.
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STATEMENT OF CTRCTDATION.
ttate of Nebraska. Douglas County, aa:
George B. Tsschuek. treaaurer of The
lee Publish Inn company. being duly
worn, say that the actual number of
full ar.d complete copies of The Dally.
Morning, Kvenlng and Sunday Bee printed
during the month of April. list, aa
(OllOWi
I ss.am
t S3 .000
I ,490
I 7,S0O
1 41.300
44,540
J 41.M0
1. 41AM
1,S0
19 41,400
II 17,900
ii 4i,aoo
It 41.440
14 .'. . 40,890
17 41.W0
It T.1
1 40,380
19 40.800
21 40,410
2S 40,400
I 40400
14 .40
1 40,400
21 404M
IT 40,590
21 404M
II
10
1 40,00
i vUSO Total.. 1436,410
returned copies. ...... ,. 11403
Net total ui,i
I'Hiiy average 49440
GEORGE B. TZ8CHUCK.
Traaau ,er.
jubmrlbed In my presence and sworn to
' .ifir ma thla let day of May, lies.
M. P. WALKER.
Notary Publio.
WHEH OUT or TOWN.
Sobaerlbera leavlaa; tha city tena
.lorarlly shoald have The Be
mailed to them. Address will ha
ha aged aa oftew aa requested.
Atlantic City la to have a church
for men oniy. The real ahow, how
ever, will still be down on the board
walk.
A Chicago glrj- who sued for breach
if promise got a verdict for 50 cents.
Evidently the Jury concluded that she
vild not lose much.
That 30 per cent Increase In com
parative weekly bank clearings, which
is recorded by Omaha, la "something
not to be sneezed at.
One of the Lincoln papers corrects
another Lincoln paper by insisting that
Lincoln is not JjaakVupt. We did not
believe It in the first place.
The Nashville Tennesseean inquires
"What shall we eat?" After July 1
the pertinent inquiry in Tennessee will
be "Where can I get a drink?"
The Wright flying machines are to
be sold at $7,500 each. Flying ma
chines will ultimately be within the
reach of . all when they work all
right.
A Jersey City minister has organ
Ized a base ball nine composed en
tirely of preachers.' Presumably the
secular manager will have to do all
the talking to the umpire.
A new record price of wheat has
teen made at Chicago of a shade over
$1.31 bushel. Now; if silver and
wheat were only linked together, as
Mr. Bryan used to tell us.
George Bernard Shaw is out with
an appeal for a religion which "Fits
the facts." A religion which would
Ht some of Shaw's delineation facts
would be decidedly risque.
James J. Hill says all eyes are
.'.irned on congress. Mr. Hill is mis
taken it is the score board they are
watching unless they are out at the
game witnessing the real thing.
Someone says marriage is a game
of base ball. From the divorce court
record it would appear that a large
number of would-be players never
irake good beyond the training seasoni
Stealing women's bats Off their
beads will never be a successful in
dustry. Its great drawback is the dlffl
tulty In getting away with the plunder
unless the women first reduce the size.
German experts are having races
with dirigible balloons. There is one
;:tlnt where they have the advantage
over track racing, there la no need for
crowding on account of lack of room.
' The adverse decision on the- Mis
souri 2-cent fare law Is to be appealed
uu to tha United States supreme court.
In the meantime anyone with the price
can travel all over NeDrsska for 3
cents a mile.
Testimony before the State Railway
commission brings out the tact that
there are 186 milling towr.a In Na
' racks' converting wheat Into , flour,
Nebraska Is pre-eminently an agrtcul
tural state; but Its manufacturing In
terests are growing all the time.
' The Washington correspondents
have commenced to figure out what
congress will have to do at the regu
lar session which commences In De--rmber.
. Th congressmen themselves
having plenty to think about In
me Impending tariff bill without bor
row lag distant trouble. .
Joint Bate Decision.
The recent decision of, the Inter
state Commerce commission on the
question of .Joint rates by the rail
roads reaching the Portland gateway
involves a moat Important principle.
The commission takes cognisance of
the right of a railroad so to arrange
Ita ratea and route its business as to
preserve to Itself the long or more
profitable haul under certain condi
tions, but it puts Important and de
cided limitations upon the practice.
It decides, in fact, that the con
venience of and service to the public
are paramount and that where a show
ing can be made that a substantial in
convenience to the traveler is entailed
the railroads will not be allowed to
put up an artificial barrier to give one
road the long haul.
In making thla ruling the commis
sion has followed along the lines of
others affirmed by the courts assert-
ng that the railroads are public serv
ants and aa such must grant through
rates, through checking of ba stage
and other facilities for the traveler to
take the most convenient route. In
view of previous decisions of the court,
it is reasonable to believe that the rul
ing of the commission Is enforceable In
law, although appeal to the courts is
already threatened. While it Is right
and proper that the railroads should
be protected in their traffic to the ex
tent that legitimate revenue be earned,
the commission reasserts the principle
that artificial barriers which are In re
straint of trade or which work a sub
stantial hardship upon' the people are
not Justified.
Out of the many discouragements of
the early attempts at railroad regula
tion have been evolved certain and
accepted well-defined rules, of which
the commission Is now taking advan
tage and which are rapidly correcting
the abuses of railroad management
without serious detriment to the roads
themselves. Ultimately a fair Inter
change of traffic at all points de
manded for the accommodation of
travel will redound to the benefit of
the roads themselves and the losses
which they occasion at one point will
be made up at others.
Starting on Economy.
The administration' at President
Taft has made a commencement on
the work of cutting down the appro
priations to be asked of the next con-J
grees. The) Navy department is the
first to prepare Its estimates which
will be submitted at the regular ses
sion In December and It 'Carries-a re
duction of $10,000,000 from the, fig
ures for the current year.. , This has
not beeA secured by the simple lop
ping off of a few large1 Items for the
sake of show, but is the result of care
ful scrutiny of all the many items con
tained In the estimate, the taking off
of a little here and some more at
other points, holding each bureau and
section of the service to actual- re
quirements instead of permitting eaeh
to scramble for all it might reach.
The secretary of .' the navy . h&B
visited several of the navy yards and
Is making himself thoroughly familiar
with the needs of the service. ' As he
is finally to pass upon the estimates
of his subordinates, the- knowledge
thus gained should enable him to
carry out the plans for economy in
telligently without working an Injus
tice to the service as a whole or to
any branch of It .
Other departments of the govern
ment are working along the same
lines, and If congress will do as well
In resisting pressure for large appro
priations there can be no question
that a substantial reduction can be
made in the annual expejise bill with
out Impairing the usefulness or legiti
mate activities of the federal govern
ment. If the curtailed revenues shall
prove effective fn stopping wasteful
and excessive appropriations, it will
not have been an unmixed evil. Dur
ing the years of great prosperity and
excess revenue there can be no ques
tion that the tendency lay always
toward lavish appropriations. Presi
dent Taft announced himself as for
economy and a businesslike adminis
tration and he and his department
heads are setting about it in a spirit
of fairness which at the same time
promises results.
Versatile Railroad Men.
If there is any man on earth more
versatile than the railroad rate man
it is the tax agent of the same corpora
tion, He Is not only ambidextrous,
but the Insulation between his right
hand and his left is perfect, so that
the left hand In Nebraska has no
means of knowing what the right hand
la doing over In Iowa. Ho has one
set of figures fnd one method of
elaboration which will prove poverty
in Nebraska, but If they do not fit the
Iowa conditions he can evolve another
set for service across the . Missouri.
No matter where he starts he will land
his company Just Inside the Une of
solvency. The representative of the
Omaha road has evolved a system
which when applied to Nebraska condi
tions shows the actual value of the
compan-y'1 line to be $37,542 per mile,
while the same method of reasoning
under Iowa conditions would make the
lines In that state worth $121,970 per
mile. As the assessment in Iowa Is
much below this figure there Is bo
probability that the company's tax
agent will spring the Nebraska logic
oa lk Iowa' board.
If the public coQld only realize what
a brilliant display of mathematical
legerdemain Is afforded by the tax
agents before the 8tate Boards of As
sessment the attendance upon the
meetings would be largely increased.
Nothing like It is to be seen anywhere
else except when a ranro'ad rate case
U up In court. Tho (are is only 2 ceati
per mile now snd It Is worth the
money to go down and see the show,
especially If you, take along a good
resume of the performances In other
statps or watch how the scheme which
fits the case of one road falls to work
out on some other and a substitute
"Just as good" Is offered.
Law of the Sidewalk.
The city of Lincoln has been getting
supreme court decisions recently on
several points affecting the powers of
their city government which may be
applied to all municipal corporation!
In this state. A little while ago 11
had the authority of the mayor and
council to levy an occupation tax on
the public service corporations using
the streets confirmed, and now It has
secured a ruling upholding their right
to prohibit abutting property owners'
from leasing or renting' sidewalk space
for their own profit. The particular
case which went to court turned on an
attempt of the lessee of a store roorr
to rent to a third party a five-foot
strip of the sidewalk space adjoining
for $50 a month In violation of a city
ordinance prohibiting the use of such
space in that way. The law of thf
sidewalk Is laid down by the court as
follows:
Whatever space In a public street of a
city Is get apart for the use of the public
as a sidewalk the public have a right to
use In Its entirety, free from any and all
unauthorised obstructions, and It la the
duty of the mayor and city council to see
that It is kept In that condition. It Is no
defense to a party who Is being pro
ceeded against by the city for unlawfully
obstructing a sidewalk that others are
obstructing- the walks In like manner, nor
Is the city estopped by reason of its past
failure to enforce its ordinance against
obstructions of sidewalks from subse
quently removing all obstructions there
from.
This Is plain enough that the side
walk space belongs to the public and
not to the, abutting property owner
and that while sidewalk obstructions
may be tolerated they can never be
maintained as of , right. If the city ol
Omaha ever gets ' ready to clear its
sidewalks of boxes, showcases, curt
posts, or extension signs, Its powei
and legal authority to doso cannot be
successfully challenged.
The Seattle Exposition.
The exposition magnet for the year
1909 will be located In Seattle, where
preparations are almost completed for
opening the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific ex
position next week. The exposition
habit has a strong hold on the Ameri
can people and Seattle will have a
field to exploit that has never' before
been brought to public attention in
this way. The marvelous progress al
ready made in the far northwest and
the vast natural resources yet to be
developed along the north Pacific and
including Alaska afford material for a
great object lesson.
There is no reason why Seattle
should not make a hit as an exposi
tion city. Its enterprise has carried
this big project along and its hospital
ity may be depended on to see to it
that all visitors are well cared for
and properly entertained. . The ex
position is bound to bring Seattle into
the limelight and attract notice to Its
wonderful growth and prosperity.
The one handicap which the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific
exposition has to meet
Is Its great distance from the east,
to whose people it la chiefly Intended
to appeal, but it has a large Pacific
coast population to draw from and
ought to achieve an all-round success.
By favar of the Minnesota supreme
court our old frlund Clarence H. Ven
ner has gotten an extension, on his
suit to force the dissolution -of the
company formed by "Jim" Hill to takt
over the Great Northern ore holdings
Evidently Venner and his methods are
not as well known up in Minnesota as
they are In Omaha, where he has oc
casionally operated In the past.
Iowa wants $108,000 out ofthe
Pullman company for filing its arti
cles of incorporation. If Iowa can get
the money It will do more than even
the porters have been able to accom
plish with the Pullman company, and
their record for getting money is un
approachable up to date.
The wife of Banker Morse insi.its
that if her husband had been per
mitted his liberty he would have paid
all of his debu before this. It is not
good form to chide the poor woman,
but the suggestion Is pertinent" that
If Mr. Morse had been honest he
would have had no trouble paying his
debu and also keeping out of jail.
Iowa club women are enlisting, in a
movement for "civic betterment of
cities." Our Omaha club women have
been enlisted In this movement ever
since they organized their club and
have several successes to their score.
Omaha school men will shine on the
program of the National Educational
association at Denver. What's the
matter with getting the N. E. A. tc
meet in Omaha In the not too distant
future?
Kaerptleaa to Kvery Rale.
Bt. Paul Pioneer Preaa.
An Iowa editor haa just celebrated his
94th birthday anniversary. BtlUVhere are
fhoae who Insist that the good die young.
Wars the Heal Foa Begins.
Baltimore American.
The next congress will have presented to
it a petition with a million algnera aaklng
that women be given 'he right to vote. But
the real fun will come when Attachments
of the million will move on Washington In
person to see if congreaa la reading tha pe
tition and the namea.
The Oklahoma Hoara .
Kanwi City Times.
It is announced from Washington that
the case against Governor Haskell of Ok
lahoma la to proceed, notwithstanding the
assault made upon the government attor
neys by Mr. Haskell. Perhapa the depart
ment of Juattca figures that It would be
difficult 10 alecl Uayerg te prosecute the
case who would be entirely satisfactory
to the governor. And besides, It miy en
tertain the curious notion that the char
acter of the federal attorneys has nothing
to do with the guilt or Innocence of the
distinguished defendant.
plked Their (ism.
Wall Btreet Journal.
Any democratic pronouncements on the
tariff question In the congressional cam
paign neit year will have a hollow and In
alncere sound. On the ultimate moral or
temporal welfare of our people the result
of the collapse of the party on a point of
principle may be more serious.
neaeflclarle of Crime,
Philadelphia Record.
The Vnlted 8tates circuit court of ap
peala lias decided that an Insurance com
pany must pay a policy on the life of a
man who was hanged for killing his wife.
Other courts have held differently, it has
been held that It Is against public policy
to enable a murderer to leave the proceeds
of a life Insurance policy, although the
punishment in such a case falls not on the
man who has been hanged, but on hla fam
ily. In Nebraska a life Insurance company
has been compelled to pay to a widow the
Insurance on the life of her husband, whom
she had been convicted of murdering, but
who had been released from prison on a
pardon.
Commendable Discrimination.
Springfield Republican.
That feature of the British budget which
provides an exemption In the Income tax
of toO for every child under IS years of
age represents a growing tendency to favor
the heads of famillea In taxation at tho ex
pense of bachelors or married men who are
childless. It Is, of course, a "socialistic"
tendency, but Its soundness Is easily ap
parent. Ordinarily large famillea of chil
dren nowadaya benefit the state, in a ma
terial way, much more than they do the
parents; and parents who bear the burden
of rearing several children deserve the In
come tax discrimination in their favor,
which the British government now Intends
to impose.
Limitations on Skyscrapers.
' Springfield Republican.
Realty owners who claim the right to
do what they will with the space above
their land clear to the top of the sky, no
matter how it affects the health or com
fort or reasonable Interests of others
these persona will be much grieved to hear
of yesterday's decision of the l.'nited States
supreme court sustaining the supreme
court of Massachusetts in upholding the
validity of a state's power to Impose lim
itations on the heights of buildings or to
grant similar power to municipalities. This
la a matter coming clearly within the po
lice powers of the state, and there is no
taking of property without due process of
law when the state pre-empts for the pub
lic welfare the upper sections of a land
owner's "property" In the atmosphere.
Activity In Steel Mill.
Springfield Republican.
So rapidly is the iron and steel Industry
recovering from the recent depression that
the Independent concerns, which cut wagvs
10 per cent on April 1 or thereabouts, have
notified their employes of a restoration of
the same on June 1. This Is at least true
of the Republic Iron and Steel company.
Jones & Laughlln of Pittsburg and several
smaller companies which participated In
the reduction. The radical cutting of prices
which took place two months ago has
proved quickly effective In starting a re
vlvalof steel consumption, and many de
partments of the Industry, now have about
all the business they can handle. Thua the
Carnegie Steel company, subsidiary of tha
United States SteeL corporation, Is operat
ing 8Q per cent of. all capacity, while 90
per cent la reported for several of the
Independent concerns. .About ffi.noo men
were Involved In tjie April wageTeductlons
and will have them restored next month.
CRIMINAL LAW GROSSLY FAILS
Government and Society Menaced by
Jadlrlal Technicalities.
. Springfield (Maes.) Republloan.
The attention of many readers must have
been arrested by the statement In recent
news that the two years' penitentiary sen
tence of Fred Warner, formerly a mem
ber of the St. I.oul9 house cf delegates,
convicted of bribery, had been reversed and
remanded by the' Missouri supreme court.
inere was no doubt about the guilt of the
man, It would appear, but he gets an
other trial because the Indictment Is de
clared defective. We are bound to sup
pose that something mighty serious had
been discovered, and pray what is It?
Warner's offense, as set forth, was
"against the dignity of state." The learned
court holds that the phrase should have
been "the dignity of the state." and that
beoause the last "the" was omitted this
unfaithful lawmaker had been Improperly
convicted! Great Is the criminal law and
its amastng technicalities, and mighty
helpful to rascals. Nothing better calcu
lated than thla case to arouse popular
contempt for the courts could be con
ceived. In this connection It U Interesting to
note that the "absurditlea of the criminal
'law' " are frankly admitted by Justice
Robert Mayes of the Mississippi supreme
court. He tells by way of illustration of
a murder case In his state which had been
appealed. The defendant was charged with
killing his man, and the Indictment alleged
that the victim "did then and there lan
guish for a period of twenty hours and
then died." The supreme court reversed
the case because it was only alleged that
the victim "did then die." If It had been
set forth In the Indictment that he 'Mid
then and there die," no second trial would
have been required. In anether rase the
man who drew the Indictment alleged tbat
the defendant "did then and there wilfully
and felonloualy set fire to and burn" a
barn. The supreme court ordered a new
trial because the Indictment failed to
charge that the burning was "malicious."
When Justice Mayes. In his addreaa at a
recent meeting of the Mississippi Bar as
sociation, said that "I condemn in un
equivocal terme a law 'that maka auch
decisions necessary ' and ' makes a farce
of Justice," he voiced popular feeling.
Laymen will be interested In .the ex
planation given by this Mississippi Judge
of the survival cf such absurdities In the
criminal law:
"If property rights were to be made to
depend upon such farcical technlcalltlea
as Is the life, the peace and tranquillity
Of the cltlsen, auch law wnuld be torn up
root and branch. Society feela that it haa
a direct Interest In the law which controls
civil rights, consequently there has been
a steady development of this branch of
the law, but society does m t feel this di
rect Interest in the criminal law, and for
thia re son there haa been little or no Im
provement aince the t'nlted States became
a nation."
Thla 'explanation does not explain. It
will not do to hold "aoclety" responsible
for the Infinite folly crmplalned of. What
are honorable lawyers and bar associations
for If not to help (rak their profession
and the courts efficient and entitled to ths
popular respect? Greatly to be despised
is the cfiminal law, in the light of such
manifestations, and the lawyvrs are te
blame (or IV
Washington Life
hart Bketohea of Isold eats s.aa
Bplo4e that Stark the Progress
of IniU at tha VaUoa'a Capital.
Senator Smoot of I'tah and Senator C'um
mlna of Iowa have attracted more than
average attention In the aenate since the
extra sessloti began. On the pending Issue
of tariff revision they are ranged In op
poring eamr. Senator Smoot supports the
crmmittee measure, while Senator Cum
mins rsnks as an "Insurgent republican"
who Insists on genuine revision downward.
The Washington correspondent of the
Brooklyn Kagle calls attention to the
prominence of both In legislative matters
and sketches their characteristics in a
friendly spirit. According to the writer.
Senator Smoot has. shaken pff the depres
sion occasioned by his long fight to retain
his seat, and haa become a right-hand man
for Senator Aldrlch in the tariff battle.
"Smooth has been a revelation, and not
one of the Endowment house kind, either,"
said a republican senatcr. "During the
hearings on the tariff he amnxed us by
the breadth and depth of his knowledge.
A man- came before us the other day with
some samples of cotton cloths. Smoot took
them and felt them critically with his fin
gers, and told the man offhand the nimber
of threads per square inch, cost of manu
facture and other details that only cotton
experts would be expected to know. He
has done the same kind of atunt with
many other articles, and haa been a con
stant source of wonderment to us."
The secret of Smoot's knowledge then
came out. It seems that he has been a
wool grower and a woolen manufacturer.
He has been a banker and a practical
buslneas man. He was the principal buyer
and at one time the main superintendent
of the great Institution in the Mormon
church, the Zlon Co-operative company,
handling hundreds of thousands nt dollars
worth of goods every month. Ho Is a
verltablo Jack-f-all-tradt-s. Smoot made
the oldlimera' eyes oyen, too, with his
willingness to work.. He has put in in
average of twenty hours a day for weeks.
He haa lost much weight by his devotion
to work. .
Aldrlch deserted tho field on the sec
ond day of Dolllver's vicious attack on
cotton and woolen goods schedule. He
left Smoot alone to defend. The latter
was also required to carry the main bur
den of defense against Cummins' on
slaught on the steel schedule. The same
meekness and humility which marked
Smoot's demeanor during the days of the
fight fo- his teat is still present, but
in less degree as he champlona the Ald
rlch bill. He haa an endless array of
definite facts at his command about the
cost of production, wages, profit, ' trans
portation charges and other details. He
has an embarrassing way of quoting fig
ures . and asking pointed questions. Ho
was breaking dowr. Cummins' speech the
other day by injecting statements which
didn't agree with those of Cummins.
"I refuse to be interrupted further, tes
tily exclaimed Cummins, and I auk the
senator from Utah to take his seat."
Senator Cummins has made two speeches
since coming to the senate. First he talked
about an Income tax. It was Interesting
to note how the oldtimers watched Cum
mins In his first trv nut AMIK U., I..
Lodge and the rest looked upon him with
suspicion aa a trouble maker, jand they
wanted to see how he handled himself In
action. They paid him the great compli
ment of sitting as still aa Images In their
chairs, screwed around bo as to keep their
eyes glued to the far left-hand corner
of the chamber and heard him to the fin
ish. Cummins' bold speech shocked his
colleague, Mr. Dolllver. into the first real
activity he has shown In years.
"Cummins has the ' same Chautauqua
style of oratory that so many of these
new western senators have." remarked
a man In the gallery. "He hisses his a s,
bites his words In two at one point and
aing-songs them at another."
You are always aurprlsed on seeing
Cummins after reading his military rec
ord. He's not the kind of fighter that
Champ Clark or Bob LaFollette Is. Clark
believes in the bludgeon and the battle
ax and friendship with his foe is Im
possible when the fray is over. LaFol
lette Is much the same kind of a bel
ligerent. Cummins, on the other hand,
fight fiercely while the battle la on,
but being thoroughly human, la willing
to concede something to his enemy and
shake hands after It is all over. He la
a good mixer and at a dinner can laugh
at a political foe's Joke or tell a story
Just as well himself. Already he Is
popular with that aet in Washington
which enjoys dinner giving, and Is en
tering largely Into the social life of the
capital.
Major Alexander Me.Domell, clerk of the
souse of representatives, Is the president
of a thrlylng bank up- In hla home town
of Sharon. Pa. In his younger days he ran
a country n wfpai r. A party of friends
ware sitting In his office recently when one
of them asked:
"Major, how did you become a finan
cier?" "Well." said he "when I was a boy and
went to Sunday achoil they gave Ua a red
ticket for every hundred versev of the
Bible we memorised. For ten red tickets
wo got cne blue ticket and for ten blue
tlcketa we got a nice, leather-bound Bible,
It was hard work for me to commit veraea
to memory and after I had learned a few
hundred of them I found thlt by shooting
accurately with a marble I could accumu
late more 'blue tickets than I would earn
by memorizing In a lifetime. 80 I let the
other boya get the tickets and then I
played marbles for them. I had more Bibles
than any other boy in town."
"But what did you do with the extra
Bibles?"
M tr!"1'''1 them ,or mBrh''." aaid the
Waxlnar Fat on Hay.
Boston Transcript.
The recent exploitation of "alfalfa muf
fins" at an agricultural convention In Kan
saa aeema to have taken nr.iin.i
, ' 1 . v t. I 1 1,111 H I
Creighton unkvcrslty In Omaha, where a
numDer or the studenta have organised
themaelvea Into the "Alfalfa Hay club"
their purpose being to demonstrate ths
value of thla product for human hi.i n-,
It. when properly prepared, are made geroa.
muirins. musn, and pancakea, Snd the
green meal for aom numm.. i ...
through a bleaching procesa which makes
11 agrees!. le to tne eye as well. as to the
palate. Many fanilHea in that rli'v i
making the experiment. If found aa satis
factory as tne rirst reports would Indicate,
there need be no fear of famine in that
section of the country, since the alfalfa
can be raised in large and unfailing quan
tlttee on Irrigated land. At present, how
ever, the alfalfa flour costs about as much
as wheat.
Too Mat-h Johaaoo.
Kansas City Btar.
What Senator Bailey says In denunciation
of Governor Jrhnaon of Minnesota makea it
clear that Mr. Johnson is not Standard
Oil's candidate for the democratic presi
dential nomination in 1111
WAYS OF SECRET SOCIETIES
How the lllark Hand. Mafla. rem
mnrrm aod Other f'rlaelaal Or
When a new member Is admitted to the
"Black Hand" society he first of all smesrs
a small figure of his own favorite saint
with hli own blood. The figure is after
ward set on fire, and while It Is burning
the candidate repeat the oath of the as
sociation as follows:
"I swear on my honor to be faithful to
the brotherhood As this saint and drop
of my blood are destroyed, so will I shed
all my blood for the fraternity; and as
these ashes and t ht-t Hood can never be
restored, so can I never become free from
the brotherhnnd."
Then the initiate has to draw a revolver
snd shoot at a cruciflc to show that he
would be willing at any tlm to kll his
nearest relation or most intimate friend If
commanded to do so.
He Is then A full member, and Is said to
be a wearer of the "red antle." His namo
aa a member is not entered in any books,
but Is duly forwarded to the headquarters
and then It is communicated by word of
mouth to all the other members of the
district where he lives.
The Commorra of Naples are much like
the Maffia, Those who Join have to swear
a horrible oath of secrecy, and even so
It Is. not until they have been tried and
found true that they are accepted for full
membership.
The new member Is given two daggers.
On the hilt or each Is graven the mystic
sign of the organisation. The sign Is.
however, changed from time to time. The
Commorra have a strange form of greet
ing. When the Commorrlst believes any one
he meets to be a member ho grips him by
the throat with his left hand, and with the
right draws his knife from his sheath. The
other, if member, at once gives the pass
word, and shows both his knives, after
which the pair empty the contents of their
pockets In a heap, and share and share
alike.
.Amongst the most notorious criminal so
cieties of the present day, evldance of
"" srewsome activity appears In the
i)iiei mi rrequent Intervals, are the Rox
era In China, the Hatchet Boys In Cali
fornia, the Apaches in Paris, the Hip Sings
in San Frnnclsco and Lcs Freres de la Cote
all over France.
Most of the Chinese secret societies al
though their objects are aa bloodthirsty
aa any other, have more peaceful passwords
and signs, and they are generally asso
ciated with the national pastime of drink
ing tea.
Thua the Hip Sings of San Francisco,
when drinking tea In a Chinese restau
rant, communicate with unkhown members
by the way they handle their cups, which
they place In a certain manner, and by
giving a peculiar direction to the apout
of the teapot.
The Tentschsklsts. an Armenian secret
aoclety. which haa terrorised the Armenian
communities in all the big cities through
out the world, has had its headquarters
established In London for many years, first
at Shepherd's Bush and now at Peckham.
London Answers.
THE PRESIDENT AT PETF.RSBl'RG
Amot Perfect Speech" on
Famous Battlefield.
Indianapolis News.
President Taft made an almost perfect
speech at the 'Petersburg battlefield. The
perfect speech of this kind has been made
once-and all the world has conned it
since., So any one that comes to any oc
casion of thla gort labora under a disad
vantage that varying circumstances do lit
tle to remove. There la In the unveiling
of monuments the story of valor on both
sides, each enhancing the other, to be told,
with reflections on a united country., And
no year goes by that the theme Is not
illustrated many times over, so that to
come to it with worda that shall arrest
attention, with thoughts that shall find
place in the memory Is to do an unusual
thing. This the president did In his Peters
burg speech. " It Is iot long. Like all of
his outgivings it haa the quality of brevity
which ia the aoul of wit. We trust that
it will be generally read, for every rend
ing of it will make a better cltlxen of the
reader.
The president has had the good fortune
to call up, in a few words, a graphic pic
ture of what made this spot "the center
of the bloodiest and most critical opera
tions of the last year of the war." Possi
bly it is this that glvea to his words their
unusual weight. Every one knows that has
read the hlatory of the war-that, aa this
last year began, and with Grant and Iee
locked in their bloody embrace, it was
war, indeed. There had been fields of
carnage, many of them, . whose story will
rank with the world's saddest stories of
lh!i kind. But In that last year, after
three years In the making, two arml.s
confronted each other that were probably
the equal In valor, discipline and high
fighting qualities of any that the world
haa ever seen. An the "volunteer" quali
ties so beautiful, and often so brilliant
in many things, had been hammered out
by the long ,-irife and in their place the
veteran quality had been hammered in.
And one can not read the awful story of
what followed from the Wlldf rne.-s to Pe
tersburg without a sense of horror and
helplessness, of looking at the workings
of fate, of realising that the nations of
the earth, are but as dust In the balance
before the Almighty.
It may be this background of life of
the imagination that gives to President
Taft's worda an apposlteneaa unusual as I
a Jeafa DrosDeritv lies in the ear tha?!
a jest s prospemy it's in the ear that
hears It rather than the tongue that utters !
It. Bo thla as It may, hla words met the
occasion with a completeness, a force, a
, . , , 1 1 , , I
. . . . . . . . ...... , u a . 1, lliv vyim 1 1 mill . 11
la hla added good fortune that this is so.
Ralslaar (be Maine Wreck.
Philadelphia Ledger.
Admiral Slgsbee. who commanded the
Maine when it waa blown up in the hirbor
of Havana, has been expressing himself
aa opposed to an attempt to ralae the
wreck. He thinks that it is not worth
while, (lrst. betauae the wreck is not a
very serious obstruction 10 the harbor,
and secondly, because it would b Impossi
ble to raise the battered battleship In its
.nllr.lu ,.H If I, !... l., ,
" i' "'-;
we ahould be accused of trying to coneeul
something. He believes that the Board of
Inquiry reported correftly that the ex
plosion waa from an external mine and
that that conclusion should be considered
final. One answer to this Is that It Is
not so considered ' universally, w hile the
desire of "concealment" actually haa been '
suspected from the refusal to attempt tho
raising of the wreck. Admiral Luce and
Admiral Chadwick. both alio members of
the board, have urged that the wreck
should he removed, both In the Interest
of historic certainty as well as of Interna
tional comity.
Wrbraakaa Off for Karope.
CHICAGO, III.. . May ?3. -(Special.)
Among the cabin paasengera who aailej
for Kurop from New York Saturday on
the new Hamburg-American I In steamer
Cleveland wre the following from Ne
braska: Mr. and Mrs. Frank Johnel. Mrs.
C. Bowln of Kearney, Neb., and Mr. and
Mrs. Olaf Hanson of Omaha, Nb.
TE5E0NAL NOTES.
Great Is the wireless: A PhlladelrMan
Suffering from indigestion used tlie w re.
less t.i consult hls.fiirlly physician on sn
ocean liner an.1 received a prescription that
promptly proved helpful.
Roger 1. o'Kelly. a negro of Kalrtgh. V.
C. who was botn deaf and dumb anil has
only one eve. the other having been re
moved hecmise ef an Injury itistalned while
tiUvIni foot hall hna heen admitted to the
bar. "
In a fight between two shopgirls and tha
proprietress In a bakery hi New York City
the combatants threw brfnd at each other
as the upshot of a discussion of social su
periority. The result as t tin t each of ths
combatants succeeded In breaking through
the upper crust.
When L. J. SatterfMd of Mllford. Del.,
mnde an Investigation to see why a cigar .
that he was smoking would hot draw, he
found a diamond, estimated to he worth
over WW. Imbedded in the filler. It Is sup
posed that the Jewel was dropped Into tha
tobacco by a packer befrre the cigar waa
made.
Mrs. Marion Crawford, widow of the late
novelist, has removed to Naples, where she
will reside with her married daughter.
Slgnora Pletro Hoeea. Under the terms of
Mr. Crawford's will 'his library and his
rnanusrrlpts go to his son. Harold. His
son, Bertje, receives the greater part of
the estate, nnd will devote himself to com
merce. Matthew Wilson of Pyssrt. Is., claims lo
have Invented a process of welding rorper
and steel. He also says he has weWed two
pieces of copper as solidly a If they were
molded. He exhibits 1n his shop here a
hammer, the handle of which is of copper
and the face eft steel. He can he seen
pounding an anvil any day with this ham
mer. He says his process of welding Is the
first In the history of the world to prove
successful.
One of the most notable instances of lon
gevity In modern times Is that of Mr. Sam
uel Salyers, now residing near Norton. Vs.,
at the advanced age of 117 years, aaya Lea
lie's Weekly. He haa been living In a little
! log csbln for thirty-five ears In surces
sion. Mr. Sslyers was justice 01 me. pen
for twenty-five years In Wise county, and
served In that capacity after he had passed
his 100th birthday, being. It is believed, the
oldest Incumbent on record of such an of
fice. CO!W ER.MXU CASHED GOOD".
Very "mall Peroesttaja Carry , Adnl
teraata.' Cleveland rialrr lealer.
Chief Wiley of the government bureau of
chemistry, comes to the aid of the Amer
ican canners and, gives their goods a rec- .
ommendation for purity that, ought to ba
of appreciable value both to them and to
the public. In some quarters an Impression (
persists that supplies bought In 'ce-ns aro
likely to contatan adulterants, if not active .
poisons, and that one who would preserve
his health had better forswear the
brightly labeled tins and stick to food In
the forms recognized by his fathers.
This Is all wrong. Chief Wiley aaye so.
Having personally conducted various poison
squads and been actively engaged In seeing
that the pure food law was obeyed, the
chief ought o know. People will generally
acknowledge that he does know.
The Wiley pronunclamento In favor of
canned goods is contained In a letter to the
chairman of the executive committee of the
national organization of canned goods men.
"Taking the whole matter of canned goods
together ,' he' saya. "only an ex
tremely small percentage of them ever con
tain any added substance whatever, except
food and perhaps a little salt or Sugar."
Again: "I am, as you know, a believer In
canned goods and in the canning process. I
think it Is a blessing and a blessing which
Is not in disguise."
Food products in caaa nnter Into, the
dally consumption of practically every fam
ily in the land nnd It Is a matter of com
fort to be thua assured thst the puhlic is
not being cheated or poisoned. It is well
for people to know that the canners are
not engaged in a conspiracy for breaking
down the public health; well to understand
that canned goods are . Kerienilly whole
some and may he crnsumed without fe.ur.
POINTED PLEASANTRIES.
"You say lre that the police 'hustled'
the prisoner to JhII." remarked the copy
reader, poising a large pencil.
"I've been saying that for twenty years,"
replied the reporter.
"Well, It doesn't go In this town," waa
the reply as the pencil fell. "The records
prove that our police are not hustlers."
Philadelphia Ledger.
''Suppose, I run in a foot note here and
there." 1
"Can't you hold your reader's Interest
without police methods?"
"Police methods! What on earth do you
mean?"
"Don't you 'run in' the foot notes to ar
rest attention?" Baltimore American.
Doctor (to lawyer going through the
medical museum Your profession doea
not offer any opportunity for the collection
of professional relies.
Lawyer. I am not so sure about that.
1 have a unique collection of family
skeletons at my office. Puck.
She What did papa fay when you asked
for my hand? r
He Why, he couldn't shy 'a worfl.
She-He couldn't? . ,
He No; your mother.' Was- there!
Yonkers Statesman. ' "
Dolon Ho Casey was running me down
an' e stood up for me? .
t'alahan Ui did, Ol els to him, "Casey,
ye're no coward and work hard an'
pay yer dibts an' ye dn't get drunk an'
lick yer wolfe but in other respects ye re
no better than Dolon:" Judge.
First Younk Turk: "How toon are we ta
Jump on the new miltan?"
Second Young Ditto: "Not until he has
time to hide away a pot of money."
Cleveland Plain Dealer.,.
' .
"In thls matter of quick thinking. said
,he base ball umpire, "all the bouquets go
the players; and yet we fellows have to
think as quick as they Ho. If not a little
quicker. If a player wmka his thinker too
aillW UU IIC KIM. II" OH ' ' il VJ.. II. 4
get a
pop bottle. Chicago iriDune,
"What will you say to the consumer
when he demand an explanation?,'
"The usual thing." answtrred Mr. Dustin
Stax. :'
What Is that?" .. '-
" 'PUase remit.' " Waauluaton SUr.
HIS FATHERHOOD.
- Coventry Psmore.
My little son, who look'd from thoughtful
eyes.
And moved and spoke In quiet grown-up
wle.
I . I , . I. . ...... n . U 4i.'nt....r.jl
MII1B J ' "-J-i,i iiino u...r,,Ul
I struck him. and dlsmlss'd
With hard words and unkiss'd
His mother, who was patient, belrwr dead.
Then fearing lest his grief should hinder
sleep '
I vlilei his bed.
But found hltn alumterlng d'-op.
With darken d eyelids, and their lashes yet
From ills late sobbing wet.
Kissing away hta tears, left others of my
Anil I, Willi loiiaii.
ow n.
For. 1111 a table diawn lnlile his head.
He bad put within his reach.
A box ofroonters an I a red-veined atone,
A 1 iece of gluts abraded by the beach.
And or t-ven shellii,
A ixittle Willi bluebells.
And two French ropiwr -ilns. ranged there
To comfort hia sad heart.
So when that niKht I pray'd '
Te O01I. I wept and aaid:'
"Ah. when at Ut wre lie with tranced
bnath.
Not vexing Thee In death.
And thou remenibrest of what toya
W made our Jo s.
How weakly nnd miond.r
Thy great cimmnnded good.
Then, fatherly, not lens
Than t, whom Thou hast moulded from
the clay,
Thou It leave Thy wrath and say, -'I
will be sorry for thy chlldlshnees.'