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diff --git a/old/67797-0.txt b/old/67797-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 71fa634..0000000 --- a/old/67797-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13384 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Watson's Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 2, -April, 1906, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Watson's Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 2, April, 1906 - -Authors: Various - Thomas E. Watson - -Release Date: April 7, 2022 [eBook #67797] - -Language: English - -Produced by: hekula03 and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images - made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON'S MAGAZINE, VOL. IV, -NO. 2, APRIL, 1906 *** - - - -[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN] - -was the radical of his day. Many of the views expressed in his letters -and speeches would strike a “good Republican” of today as extremely -radical. - -ARE YOU ACQUAINTED - -with the great commoner’s views on political and religious liberty, -on alien immigration, on the relation of labor and capital, on the -colonization of negroes, on free labor, on lynch law, on the doctrine -that all men are created equal, on the importance of young men in -politics, on popular sovereignty, on woman suffrage? - -All of his views are to be found in this edition of “LINCOLN’S LETTERS -AND ADDRESSES,” the first complete collection to be published in a single -volume. Bound in an artistic green crash cloth, stamped in gold. Printed -in a plain, readable type, on an opaque featherweight paper. - -For $1.95, sent direct to this office, we will enter a year’s -subscription to WATSON’S MAGAZINE and mail a copy of LINCOLN’S LETTERS -AND ADDRESSES, postage prepaid. This handsome book and Watson’s -Magazine—both for only $1.95. Send today. Do it now. - - TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE - 121 West 42d St., New York City - - - - -WATSON’S MAGAZINE - - -THE MAGAZINE WITH A PURPOSE BACK OF IT - - _THOMAS E. WATSON_ _Editor_ - _JOHN DURHAM WATSON_ _Associate Editor_ - _RICHARD DUFFY_ _Managing Editor_ - _ARTHUR S. HOFFMAN_ _Assistant Editor_ - _C. Q. DE FRANCE_ _Circulation Manager_ - _TED FLAACKE_ _Advertising Manager_ - -April, 1906 - - _Frontispiece_ _W. Gordon Nye_ - - _Editorials_ _Thomas E. Watson_ _161_ - - _Sam Spencer_—_The Ungrateful Negro_—_An Indignant Wisconsin_ - _Editor_—_The Man and The Land_—_Random Comment_ - - _Machine Rule and Its Termination_ _George H. Shibley_ _193_ - - _A Basket and a Fortune_ _Louise Forsslund_ _201_ - - _Control or Ownership_ _Charles Q. De France_ _209_ - - _The Sacrifice_ _Jack B. Norman_ _212_ - - _Our Civilization_ _Count Lyof Tolstoy_ _218_ - - _A Coal Miner’s Story_ _Charles S. Moody, M. D._ _219_ - - _The Pessimist; His View-Point_ _227_ - - _Those That Are Joined Together_ _Charles Fort_ _228_ - - _The Money Power_ _L. H. B._ _240_ - - _The Russian Apostle of Populism_ _Thomas C. Hutton_ _241_ - - _Lucianna’s Keep_ _Elliot Walker_ _244_ - - _Who Pays the Taxes?_ _William H. Tilton_ _253_ - - _Letters from the People_ _258_ - - _Educational Department_ _Thomas E. Watson_ _275_ - - _Home_ _Louise H. Miller_ _277_ - - _Books_ _Thomas E. Watson_ _290_ - - _The Easter Hope_ _Cora A. Matson Dolson_ _300_ - - _The Say of Other Editors_ _301_ - - _News Record_ _306_ - - _Along the Firing Line_ _Circulation Manager_ _318_ - - Application made for Entry as Second-Class Matter, February 17, - 1906, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of - Congress of March 3, 1879. - - Copyright, 1906, in U. S. and Great Britain. Published by TOM - WATSON’S MAGAZINE, 121 WEST 42D STREET, N. Y. - - TERMS: $1.50 A YEAR; 15 CENTS A NUMBER - - - - -[Illustration: The Mockers of the Law and Despoilers of the People Have -in Their Pay Vast Numbers to Vent Spleen and Venom on the Man that Dares -to Speak Truth.] - - - - -_WATSON’S MAGAZINE_ - - VOL. IV APRIL, 1906 NO. 2 - - - - -_Editorials_ - -BY THOMAS E. WATSON - - -_Sam Spencer_ - -Not long ago the Voting Trustees of the Southern Railway Company wrote to -Samuel Spencer, President of that robber combine, in the following terms: - -“We congratulate you upon the success achieved in the extension and -operation of the property which have resulted in nearly doubling the -extent of its lines, trebling its gross earnings, and increasing its -net earnings above fixed charges, _over five hundred and twenty-five -per cent._ in the period of eleven years which have elapsed since its -formation.” - -Bully for Sam! - -He set out to please the men who bought him, and he has done it. - -The Wall Street rascals who grabbed up the railroads in the Southern -States knew very well that they themselves could not do the work which -was required for the success of their schemes. The Belmonts and the -Morgans could not in person approach the editors, the politicians, the -legislators and the federal judges. - -Strategy requires that local men be used in the looting of any given -state or section. One traitor inside the citadel is worth ten thousand -soldiers on the outside, when the object is to take the citadel. To bribe -somebody from within to open the gates is far more effective, vastly more -to be desired, than to attempt to breach the walls or batter down the -gates. - -Consequently when Western states are to be plundered, the Wall -Street corporations use Western men as their tools. Local Western -corruptionists sell out to Wall Street, and do in Western states the -dirty work of their Wall Street masters. - -So in the South, the Wall Street robber-gangs do not operate in person; -they act through Southern agents. - -In pursuance of this subtle policy, the Wall Street corporations, who -gobbled up the various lines which now compose the Southern Railway -System, put at the head of it a Southern man, a Georgian, of the name of -Samuel Spencer. - -They chose wisely. They generally choose wisely. The expert workman does -not better know how to select his tools than such men as Belmont, Morgan, -Ryan, Rogers and Rockefeller know how to pick out the men who can do what -Wall Street expects. - -The Wall Street rascals had faith in Sam Spencer, and Sam has justified -that confidence. - -Never did any robber-chief have an abler lieutenant than Belmont, the -Rothschild agent, has had in Sam. - -The task to which they set him was hard. It demanded that he freeze his -heart and stifle his conscience. It demanded that he shut out from his -view of life every other purpose whatsoever, save the heaping up of -dividends for a ravenous gang of Wall Street rascals. - -To make his work seem good in the sight of the men who had bought him it -was necessary that he combine railroads which the law said should not be -combined, that he destroy competition where the law said it should live, -that he charge excessive rates to shippers and passengers when the law -said the rates should be reasonable. - -He has done this in spite of the law, in spite of the people. - -How? - -[Illustration: “One traitor inside the citadel is worth ten thousand -soldiers on the outside.”] - -Editors have been bribed into collusion or silence; politicians have been -softened with boodle; lobbyists have been kept in clover; legislators -have been duped or corrupted. Railroad Commissions have been seduced or -defied, federal judges have been mellowed with favors, blandishments, -indirect temptings which poor human nature can seldom resist. - -Bully for Sam! - -He is victorious all along the line. From Washington City he rules the -South. In his native State of Georgia he is monarch of all he surveys. -He made Terrell governor, and he means to make Howell governor. He -controlled nearly all the daily papers, but he wanted another—so he had -Jim English to cut the ground from under the feet of John Temple Graves -and scoop the _Atlanta News_. - -Hamp McWhorter is his hireling, and Hamp keeps the mechanism of -corruption oiled. Hamp keeps the Legislature in pliant mood. Hamp jollies -and greases the local politician. Hamp peddles the free passes. Hamp -picks and chooses the “local attorneys.” Hamp “sees” the editor who -appears to require “seeing.” - -But the Brain and Will of the whole plot are those of Sam Spencer. - -For eleven years that God-given brain and will have been concentrated -upon one purpose, only one—to heap up riches for Wall Street rascals! -Great has been the result. Sam Spencer’s masters are so highly pleased -with his work that THEY congratulate HIM! - -How interesting! It seems to me that _they_ are the fellows to be -congratulated. Sam has doubled the amount of their property, he has -trebled the gross income from that property, and has increased their -_net_ revenues _over 525 per cent_! - -Colossal profits these. _How were they made?_ - -By such a system of dishonesty, extortion, law-breaking, and reckless -disregard of human life as has rarely been known, even in the history of -modern commercialism. - -The merchants and farmers throughout the Southern States have been -ruthlessly robbed. The melon growers, the fruit men, the truck gardeners -have, in thousands of cases, been so hounded and harried and victimized -by excessive charges, secret rebates and discriminations in favor of -other shippers, that they have been literally driven out of the field, -broken and despairing. - -Roadbeds, bridges, safety appliances, have been so wantonly neglected -that almost every mile of the Southern Railway System from Washington -southward has known its tragedy, where men, women and children were -dashed to sudden, horrible death. - -It was not the hard necessity of poverty that drove Sam Spencer to a -policy so heartless as this. He had the means wherewith to put his roads -in first-class order, had he wished to spend the funds in that way. It -was not necessary for him to rob the men who were obliged to patronize -his roads. If a fair, legitimate profit upon actual investment was -all that he sought, he could have got it without doing the slightest -injustice to any human being. - -But he wanted more than that. A reasonable return upon the actual -investment was not enough. So, he neglected the bridge until it fell, -with its sickening horror, its shrieking mass of passengers doomed to -frightful death. He neglected the safety appliances, and the full force -of workmen, until some rotten crosstie, or defective rail, or open -switch, or telegram which the dulled brain of an overworked engineer -failed to comprehend, brought about derailments and collisions, with the -heartrending consequence of crushed and burning cars, of crushed and -burning men, women and children. - -[Illustration: “The merchants and farmers throughout the Southern states -have been ruthlessly robbed.”] - -Had the same proportion of the earnings been used to improve the -property, as is the universal custom in Europe, there would have been the -same security to the passenger that there is in Europe. - -But the net profit to Wall Street would have been only a fair return upon -the money actually invested—as it is in Europe. - -Wall Street demands more than that. Sam Spencer’s task was to get what -Wall Street wanted. - -Have I not already said that Wall Street knows how to pick out its man? - -It never chose a better tool for its purpose than Sam Spencer. - -He has doubled the _amount_ of their property. - -That is good. - -But he has done better than that. - -He has trebled the gross earnings. - -And that is good, too. - -But he has done still better than that. - -He has increased the NET earnings more than FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE -PER CENT! - -Good, _better_, BEST. - -That enormous profit had to be made out of somebody. - -Freight rates and passenger rates are taxes which the transportation -companies levy upon freight and passengers. When Sam Spencer added 525 -per cent. to the net revenue of his masters, he had to tax it out of the -people who patronized the Southern Railroad. - -Who were these people? Mostly, Southern people. The tax was levied upon -the South, and paid by the South. - -Sam Spencer is a Southern man? - -Bless you, yes! - -Wall Street hired him to systematize the robbery of his own people, and -he has done it. - -[Illustration: “We lost fewer lives to the invading host of Sherman than -we have lost to the railroads under Sam Spencer.”] - -During the eleven years of his rule he has plundered his own people of -more money than they lost by Sherman’s “Marching through Georgia.” - -The people of the South have lost more to the Wall Street railway -corporations than they lost to the whole of Sherman’s army. - -The battles of the Civil War were bloody, for it was Greek meet Greek, -and it was, in truth, the tug of war. Especially were the battles bloody -when Sherman came down against us, for he brought Western troops—the best -that the Union had. - -But we lost fewer lives to the invading host of Sherman than we have lost -to the railroads during the eleven years that Sam Spencer has been one -of their most relentless and unscrupulous lieutenants. - -He and his allies in plunder and crime killed and wounded, last year, the -staggering total of 92,000 human beings. - -The ghastly record grows bloodier every year. - -Human life is nothing; dividends are everything. - -_Five hundred and twenty-five per cent!_ - -And Sam Spencer’s bosses pat _him_ on the back and congratulate _him_. - -Ah, yes; they were feeling good. They expanded. They bubbled over. - -As who should say: “Sam, you are a trump. When we bought you, we believed -we had bought a good thing; now we know it. You have been tried, and you -have proven true. We set you to the task of plundering your own people, -and you have not flinched from the job. You have skinned them to the -queen’s taste. You have doubled our estate, trebled the earnings, and so -squeezed the train-crews, the section hands, the roadbed, the shipper and -the passenger, that you have swelled our profits more than 525 per cent. -We congratulate _you_—and, WE pocket the money.” - - -_The Ungrateful Negro_ - -_From a Newspaper_ - -THE AMERICAN FLAG INSULTED BY NEGRO BISHOP IN MACON. - -DENOUNCED GLORIOUS EMBLEM AS A CONTEMPTIBLE RAG AT THE STATE NEGRO -CONVENTION. - -MACON, GA., Feb. 16.—In an address before the five hundred delegates -attending the convention of negroes in this city to discuss racial -problems, Bishop H. M. Turner declared the American Flag to be a dirty -and contemptible rag. He further said that hell was an improvement on the -United States when the negro was involved. - -In closing he said: - - “I have heard of both white and black men perpetrating rape - upon innocent, angelic women, but no negro in this country has - been tried by the courts and found guilty of the heinous crime - of rape in fifteen years. - - “I know that bloody-handed and drunken mobs have said so, but - what Christian people would accept what they say? Yet there - are millions of men who pretend to be moral and claim to be - sensible in this country, who go to these drunken mobs to get - information relative to the conduct of colored men.” - -How it came to pass is a question which human wisdom may not solve, but -in the earliest dawn of history we find the races of men separated by -color and by characteristics, very much as they are at this time. - -In spite of all the comings and goings, the migrations and conquests, -the discoveries and colonizations, the world is pretty nearly the same -old world, so far as the distinct races of men are concerned. The Jew is -still the Jew, the Gentile still the Gentile. All the currents of the -ages have not washed the yellow man white, nor turned the red man yellow, -nor the black man red. The hot sun of the tropics pours down upon the -heads of the sons of men as fervidly as in the days of Abraham, Isaac -and Jacob, but it has not been able to kink the hair, flatten the nose, -blubber the lips or blacken the hide of a single man, woman or child of -the Aryan race. The Chinaman, racially, is what he was in the time of -Confucius; the Hindoo is yet the dark man whom Khrishna sought to lead to -the higher life. - -In Africa, the home of the negro, there has been a monotonous repetition -of the same old facts which historians learned from monumental -inscriptions and indestructible tablets thousands upon thousands of years -old. - -The African negro has always been a distinct type, an inferior type, -a savage type, a non-progressive type. Left to himself, he wore no -clothing, built no houses, had no commerce, systematized no production -of any sort and never had the faintest conception of doing anything to -improve himself or his condition. He killed for the day the game he -needed for the day. For the future, he made as little provision as the -Indian and the Esquimau. - -Beyond the herding of cattle he had no instinct for accumulation. His -normal state was that of warfare against some other black tribe. His -religion was the grossest superstition. He offered up to his heathen gods -the sacrifice of the negro child; and when his appetite for four-legged -animals was sated, he changed his diet by cooking and eating another -negro. - -Where the sexual relations of the men and women were not promiscuous, -they were polygamous. Strictly speaking, there was no such thing as -morals known among them. Property rights which certain men had, or -claimed, in certain women might be respected, but the conception of -virtue was not reached. - -They never evolved an alphabet. They never advanced beyond the crudest, -rudest, most brutal tribe-life. - -They had chiefs, or kings; and these kings exercised, despotically, the -power of life and death over their ignorant subjects. - -They had conjurers and witch doctors, and it was one of the time-honored -customs that the witch doctors should “smell out,” for death, the -wretched creatures whom the king wanted to kill, or whom the witch -doctors themselves wished to put out of the way. - -Thousands upon thousands of years ago, negro warriors sold their negro -captives into slavery. Negro husbands would offer their wives and -daughters to foreign travelers. Negro fathers would sell their children. -In some of the oldest monumental inscriptions of the human race, the -negro appears as the chained slave of foreign masters. - -Anybody on earth who wanted to buy him could do it. His king was ready to -sell him; his father was ready to sell him. The Egyptian, the Greek, the -Roman owned black slaves as far back as the records go; and the historian -Gibbon did no more than express the universal experience and opinion of -the ages when he wrote that the negro was a distinctly inferior race. - -[Illustration: “His normal state was that of warfare against some other -black tribe.”] - -Of all the negroes that have ever lived Tchaka was the greatest. He ruled -in Africa, in the eighteenth century. - -He was a man of immense natural power. His ambition was boundless, his -soul untroubled by fear or scruple. Absolute master of a strong tribe, he -hurled it against other tribes, one after another, until he had conquered -and devastated an imperial territory. In his march to dominion, it is -estimated that he caused the slaughter of a million human beings, all of -whom were his brothers in black. But he never built a city; never put a -ship on the sea; never made two blades of grass grow where one had grown -before. He founded no institutions of any kind. He was densely ignorant -and superstitious himself, and he had no conception of anything higher or -better. - -To kill, to conquer, to feast, to indulge bestial lust, to inspire -terror, to exploit and mercilessly abuse the abject servility of the -negroes over whom he ruled were his “pleasures of living.” - -It was believed that he caused the death of his own mother; it is _known_ -that when he buried her he buried fourteen young negro girls with -her—_buried them alive_! - -It is _known_ that, during the “period of mourning” which followed, he -caused the death of some thousands of maddened and helpless negroes. It -is also known that his sisters got his brothers to assassinate him. Then -one of these brothers murdered the other, and so became king of that -happy land. - -In Africa where the negro is still to be seen in his natural state, you -can still buy negroes from negroes. Husbands will yet sell wives, fathers -will yet barter daughters and sons. The buying and selling of negroes -goes on now just as it did in the days of the Pharaohs. There is not -so much of it as there used to be—to the regret, doubtless, of African -chiefs who have negroes they would like to sell. - -[Illustration: One of the San Domingo Nobility.] - -Not long ago there was a story which went the usual rounds. An English -traveler was about to set out from a certain coast town of Africa upon -a journey into the interior. He expected to be gone for several months. -In fitting himself out with camp equipage, he bought a negro girl to -carry along—to serve as his mistress. Her father sold her, and the -only surprise that was caused by the transaction was the amount paid. -The Englishman gave about one hundred dollars for the girl and it was -generally considered an extravagant figure. As to the girl, she seemed -proud to have been selected, and gratified at having been sold so high. -When the Englishman had finished his trip, he probably sold her at a -discount to some other white man who desired a complete camp outfit. - - * * * * * - -Excepting those portions of Africa wherein the white man has set his -foot and impressed his will, the negro is at this day the same lustful, -brutal, besotted cannibal and voodoo slave that he was thousands of years -ago. - -In Jamaica, the white man has to steer for him, and control him. - -He did not even know what to do with bananas till Col. Baker, a white -man, came along and taught him. - -In Liberia, he has gone back to heathenism and savagery, because the -white man’s strong hand is not there to guide and control. - -In San Domingo, he had—as a starting point—one of the fairest -civilizations the world has known. Aided by the yellow fever, the black -man drove out the white; and now he has gone back into chaos, voodooism, -cannibalism and imbecility. - -In the United States, negroes can run a bank, for they can see white men -running banks all around them and they are quick at imitation. - -How is it in San Domingo, where the black man rules the white? - -Apparently there is not a bank in San Domingo. If there is, it cannot be -trusted. Why do I say this? - -Because that portion of the San Domingan custom-house receipts which was -to be paid to the creditors of the negro republic had to be deposited in -a New York bank for safe-keeping. - -In the United States, the negroes can run colleges, manufacturing -establishments, automobile street-car lines, newspapers and magazines. -Why? Because they see how the whites run colleges, manufactories, and -automobiles, newspapers and magazines. - -In San Domingo there is no Tuskeegee, Hampton or Howard. In San Domingo -there are no flourishing manufactories created and operated by negroes; -and no up-to-date automobile street-car lines, such as the negroes -started in Nashville, Tennessee. - -The negroes of San Domingo ought to have a commerce—one of the most -profitable in the world; but they haven’t. Their navy is a myth, -and their army a joke. One revolution chases after another with such -confusing rapidity that when our Senate meets to debate the ratification -of the San Domingan treaty which Roosevelt had arranged, the “President” -with whom Roosevelt had made the treaty is a fugitive, whose “Cabinet” -has compelled him to take to the woods. - -There used to be an “Order of Nobility” in San Domingo, with its Marquis -of Lemonade and its Duke of Marmalade; but as these eminent Noblemen have -failed to show up in the later turmoils I fear their titles have become -extinct, or that the “Order of Nobility” has been abolished. - -Which is a pity. It would have been something worth living for to have -seen the Duke of Marmalade paying a visit to this country, receiving the -adoring attentions which New York’s “Swell Set” pay to all “noblemen” -whomsoever. - - * * * * * - -Nowhere else in the universe is the negro treated so well as in the -United States. - -He was once a slave, but his own people sold him. Either he was a captive -in war who would have been slain, broiled and eaten, if the English or -Dutch sailor had not come along and offered to buy him; or he was in the -power of his chief, his father or his brother, and was by them offered -for a price. - -Some of the blacks who were brought to this country may have been -kidnapped, but, as a rule, there was no need for kidnapping. Negroes -could be bought for a song all along the Coast and all through the -interior of Africa. The most successful “kidnapper” was New England rum. - -Yes, it is a literal historical fact that the negro was sold into slavery -by his own people, just as Joseph was sold by his brethren. - -In the long run what was the consequence to the negro? - -He was changed from a savage into a semi-civilized man. - -In his native land he had been an ignorant serf whose life depended upon -the temper of a despotic brute—his chief. - -He exchanged a slavery for a slavery; and the slavery to which he was -brought lifted him from a brute into a man. - -We taught him how to work; we taught him how to read; we taught him how -to think; we taught him how to live. - -To free him from the bondage into which his own brethren had sold him, -a million white men rose in arms. There were four years of terrible, -horrible strife; half a million white men fell in battle; six billions -of dollars were devoured in the flames of Civil War; and over all that -period of strife, and over the host which finally triumphed, waved the -flag which the freed negro—freed at such frightful cost—now safely -denounces as a dirty and contemptible rag! - -When the “Brothers’ War” was over and while the former owner of the -slaves was prostrate, those who had fought that the black man might be -free, clothed him in the garments of citizenship, giving him the ballot, -giving him office, giving him power, at the same time that tens of -thousands of white men were outlawed. - -“Show to the world that you are capable of government,” said the white -philanthropist to the blacks; and the result was a hideous carnival of -mismanagement, incompetency and gross rascality which at last made even -the professional white philanthropist sick and ashamed. - -Taking out of the hands of the blacks the political power which he had -shown himself unfit to wield, the whites have ever since occupied toward -him the attitude of a guardian over a ward, manifesting for him a helpful -sympathy, aiding his advancement with substantial contributions, leading -him upward and onward by precept, example and wholesome control. - -Schools were established for him. Churches were built for him. White men -and white women devoted their lives to lifting the black man, the black -woman, the black child into the nobler, purer paths. White men taxed -themselves to put an end to the negro’s ignorance and superstition. The -white man opened his purse to endow colleges for the negro’s special -benefit. The white man opened the door of opportunity to the black, and -gave him a chance in every field of human endeavor. - -[Illustration: “We taught him how to work; we taught him how to read; we -taught him how to think; we taught him how to live.”] - -Not for one month could the negro prosper in the United States, if the -white man became his enemy. - -In one month, we could by concert of action, so smite the negro that his -mushroom growth would wither like the severed gourd-vine. The maddest -thing, the most suicidal thing that the black man could do would be to -arouse the enmity of the whites. - -When that day comes, if it shall ever come, the white man will not any -more stop to count the cost of annihilating, or of driving out the -blacks, than Spain halted to count the cost of smiting and driving out -the Moor. - - * * * * * - -In the United States the negro is seen at his best, because of the -constant example, guidance and control of the whites. - -Nowhere else on the planet has the negro the religious establishment -which he has copied from us, with our earnest help. - -Nowhere else has he the educational system which he has patterned after -ours, aided at every step by us. - -Nowhere else has he the banks, manufactures, newspapers, magazines, -modernized farms, elegant professional offices which he has fashioned -upon our models, amid our plaudits of approval and encouragement. - -By the hundreds, by the thousands, the negro has been admitted to -positions of honor and trust. He has been in the Senate; he has been in -the House of Representatives; he has been in the State Legislatures; he -has served on juries; he is in the army; he is on the police force. - -In the proud, aristocratic city of Charleston doth not the redoubtable -Dr. Crum, a negro, sit at the Receipt of Customs, drawing a fatter -salary than was ever enjoyed by Matthew, the Apostle of Christ? - -[Illustration: “To free him from bondage half a million white men fell in -battle.”] - -There are no Dr. Crums in Africa or Liberia. And in San Domingo it is -the white man who sits at the receipt of customs—nobody being willing to -trust the negro with his own money. - -Hath not our Roosevelt declared that when Judson Lyons, Register of the -Treasury, goes out, another negro shall take his place? _Thus it shall -continue to happen that Uncle Sam’s paper money will not be good in law -until a negro has set his name to it._ - -Once upon a time, a white man, in the United States, gave a negro school -a million dollars in a lump. Doctor Booker Washington got the money. I -wonder how long the learned Doctor would have to live in Africa, Liberia, -or San Domingo before he could get a million dollars with which to -operate a school. - -Really, it sometimes occurs to me that if such negroes as Bishop Turner -are honest in their denunciations of the United States, they would pack -up their belongings and go right back to dear old Africa, the home of the -race. Nothing on earth prevents their doing so. - -Rather than go to hell _I_ would go to Africa; and if I believed I was -living in a land which was worse than hell, I would even try San Domingo, -for a change. - - * * * * * - -What _bosh_, nonsense and self-assertive insolence is embodied in Bishop -Turner’s denunciation of the Flag and of the Government! - -Poor, down-trodden negro! - -What a doleful howl he sets up when he is asked to ride in a separate -car; and when he is told that separate churches, separate schools, -separate hotels, and separate social life is best for both races. How he -raves and froths at the mouth when we tell him that for his own sake, as -well as ours, we who have, with desperate difficulty and hardship and -sacrifice, built up our civilization, cannot afford to allow it to fall -into the power of the inferior race. We have seen what they did with -this same Civilization in San Domingo when the French Revolution, most -unwisely, entrusted it to the blacks. - -Reconstruction days taught us that the San Domingan experience would -be repeated here, if the negro rule continued. To save ourselves from -such a calamity, _and to save the negro from himself_, we put back into -the hands of the whites that civilization which had been the outcome of -centuries of effort on the part of the whites. - -And when the Negro Convention of today has not met to howl but to -brag, what a beautiful, brilliant picture their orators can paint, as -they proclaim the progress and prosperity of the negro. What wonderful -statistics they use to prove that the negro has advanced in knowledge -more rapidly than the whites of Russia, of Hungary, of Italy and of -Spain! What a glittering array of accumulated millions do they claim, in -lands, chattels and hereditaments! With what vociferous gusto do they -“point with pride” to their farms, their stores, their banks, their -newspapers, their magazines! To listen to them when they have assembled -to jubilate instead of to howl, you would suppose that, so far as the -negro was concerned, the horn of plenty was full, the land flowing -with milk and honey. Even Bishop Turner, with an amazingly unconscious -inconsistency, fills his letter of so-called denial with boastings of -the handsome homes in which the negroes live, the furniture which the -white man just ought to go and see, the “library” which would delight the -scholar, the piano music and the organ melodies which, in negro homes, -soothe the ear and charm the sense. - -Let us admit that every bit of this bragging and boasting is founded upon -solid fact. Then, in the name of common sense, let me inquire: “_Where, -oh, where, is the negro race doing all these marvelous things?_” - -In what country, under what flag, is he piling up these millions of -money? Under what government is he outstripping the Russian, the -Spaniard, the Austrian? Where is it that he has bought so many farms, -established so many banks, built such fine houses, secured such -attractive furniture, and gotten an organ for ’Liza Jane and a piano for -Susan Ann? - -Is it in Africa? No. In Liberia? _No._ In San Domingo? No. - -The negro is doing the splendid things to which he “points with pride” -_in that country whose flag is a dirty rag, in that land which is worse -than hell_! - -Poor, down-trodden negro! - -He makes an idle wager in Baltimore that he will kiss a white girl, in a -white hotel; and he walks up to her in the public dining room, puts his -hands upon her and kisses her! - -In Chicago, he sits down in a white restaurant, and beckons a white -woman waitress to come and wait upon him; and when she refuses, he goes -straight to a magistrate, swears out a warrant, has the girl arrested, -and sends her to prison! - -Poor down-trodden negro! In New York City, and perhaps in other cities, -negro men hold white women in a state of slavery, _to minister to their -lusts_; and the political power of these negroes is so great that the -lawful authorities have been utterly unable to free these white slaves -from the bestial degradation in which they are held by their black -masters. - -In Washington City—but that would require a chapter to itself. If there -is a Paradise on this earth, a Garden of Eden filled with ceaseless joy -for the non-producing, insolent, self-assertive blacks, it is our Capital -City of Washington, where more than two thousand negro men and women draw -Government pay in federal offices. - -Oh, that Bishop Turner had described to the Macon Convention one of -those “Receptions” at the mansion of Judson Lyons, Register of the -Treasury—such as Judson often held. Oh, that the Bishop had told the -Convention how many of Judson’s colored guests came in automobiles, -which were left lining the sidewalk and obstructing the street. Oh, that -the Bishop had described to the Convention the similarity between the -negro “Reception” at the mansion of the Register of the Treasury and the -white reception of the President of the United States! - -[Illustration: “Poor down-trodden negro!... he is sometimes compelled to -take dinner with John Wanamaker and lunch with Theodore Roosevelt.”] - -Poor, down-trodden negro! In this land which is worse than hell, it -actually happens that he is sometimes compelled to take dinner with John -Wanamaker, and to lunch with Theodore Roosevelt! - - * * * * * - -The amazement within me grows as I dwell upon the black man’s woes, and -I marvel that Doctor Washington, Judson Lyons, Bishop Turner “and others -among ’em” do not pack right up and go straight back to dear old Africa. - - * * * * * - -And to think that the man who declared this country to be worse than -hell is a “negro preacher.” I had supposed that if there was any human -being who found the United States an ideal abode, it was the “negro -preacher.” He is the one incumbent whom I had been led to believe had a -mighty rich thing in salary, and a still richer thing in “_perqueesits_.” -If I had been asked to go out and find the man who could unreservedly -indorse the proposition that life _is_ worth living, I should have struck -a bee line for the nearest negro preacher. - -Of course, if I had been unable to find _him_, my next choice would have -been the negro school-teacher. - -The army of negro preachers is a shining host, waving palms of victory, -and apparently happy; the army of negro school-teachers is another -shining host, waving palms of victory, and apparently happy. - -The white man’s money, directly and indirectly, supplies the sinews of -war to both these shining hosts—a fact which it did not suit the purpose -of Bishop Turner to mention in the convention which had met to howl, and -which, consequently, was bound to howl. - -In Africa, in Liberia, in San Domingo, negro preachers have not -flourished, increased, or put their hands upon so many good things as -they have done in poor, little, old North America. And the shining hosts -of negro school-teachers, flush with the white man’s money, do not wave -any palms of victory beyond the limits of the country which is worse than -hell, the country whose flag is a dirty, contemptible rag “where the -negro is involved.” - - * * * * * - -Take out of your pocket a five-dollar or one-dollar treasury note, or -certificate, and look at the name signed to give it validity. - -“_Judson W. Lyons, Register of the Treasury._” - -Do you find it? - -Well, that name has been a legal necessity to every treasury note issued -by the Federal Government during the last eight years. - -Judson W. Lyons is a negro. - -For the last eight years he has been holding the high, responsible and -well-paid office of Register of the Treasury of the United States. - -Nevertheless, this Judson W. Lyons went down to Macon, Georgia, to attend -a convention of negroes, and in this convention he heard Bishop H. M. -Turner, a negro, denounce the flag of his country as “A CONTEMPTIBLE AND -DIRTY RAG;” and Judson did not open his mouth to protest. - -He also heard this ungrateful Bishop declare that—“_Hell is an -improvement on the United States when the negro is involved_.” - -Still, Judson W. Lyons sat there in apparent acquiescence—he an officer -of the Government! - -Now when you are told that every blessed son and son-in-law of Bishop H. -M. Turner was appointed to office under President Cleveland, and when you -bear in mind that Judson Lyons has so long been in the enjoyment of a -Federal office which pays him $8,000 per year, you can form a fair idea -of a radical defect in negro character. It is _Ingratitude_. - -Bishop Turner has been treated with the utmost consideration by the -whites. He enjoys a larger income than he could hope to draw as witch -doctor in Africa, or as voodoo man in San Domingo. He lives on the fat of -the land, grows juicy himself, and yet runs no risk of being hot-potted -by hungry brethren—as he would in his native land of Africa. He dresses -in a manner which would have stunned King Tchaka; and to see him take his -ecclesiastical ease in a Pullman car is a sight for the sore-eyed. - -_What is the Bishop angry about?_ - -Apparently for the reason that “drunken mobs” in the North, South, East -and West diabolically persist in accusing the negro of committing rape. - -The Bishop says that the negro is innocent. Being innocent, he is -necessarily as innocent as a new-born babe. The Bishop declares that “no -negro has been tried by the courts and found guilty of this crime of rape -in fifteen years.” - -This statement makes the other twin for Booker Washington’s assertion -that “not more than six” graduates of negro colleges have ever gone -wrong. A more precious pair of Siamese-twin lies have not been put in -type since the decease of the late lamented Baron Munchausen. - -My opinion is that Bishop Turner, if he continues to cultivate the evil -spirit which broke loose in the Macon Convention, will some day know, -by experience, whether hell IS an improvement over the United States; -but, before that time comes, I would suggest that he step down to San -Domingo and soak himself in the luxuries of that region for awhile, as a -preparation for the other place. - -[Illustration: “In New York a negro is at the head of the white slave -traffic.”] - -_Note._—Public opinion expressed itself so hotly concerning his attack -on the flag that Bishop Turner felt driven into a perfunctory and -involved denial; but having read this so-called denial I am convinced -that the bishop did use substantially the words reported, because of -the significant fact that his so-called denial contains language quite -as offensive, quite as insulting, as that which he surlily pretends to -disclaim. Had this been the first time that Bishop Turner had denounced -the Government that has done so much for his race, had it been the -first time he had outrageously vilified the people among whom he lives, -there might be room for doubt concerning the Macon speech. But Bishop -Turner has for years been speaking and writing in precisely the vein -which appears in the reports that went out from Macon. He has become -conspicuous as a chronic assailant of the whites. Therefore I have not -the slightest doubt that he used at Macon in substance, if not in the -very words, the reports as telegraphed all over the country. - - -_An Indignant Wisconsin Editor_ - -Mr. John L. Sturtevant, whose card informs the interested universe that -he, the said John L., is editor of _The Waupaca Post_, of Waupaca, Wis., -flew into a passion when he read the February number of this Magazine. - -The why and the wherefore of his sudden rage are best explained in a -red-hot letter which I now give in full, just as it came sizzling from -the frying pan: - - Feb. 17, 1906. - - _Thomas E. Watson, New York._ - - DEAR SIR: In the February number of your magazine, on page 400, - under the caption “Best on Earth” you state: “The big Milwaukee - First National Bank burst and the people lost $1,450,000.” The - statement is absolutely false. F. G. Bigelow, president of the - bank, appropriated that amount from the bank’s funds to his own - use, but the bank did not burst nor did the “people,” in the - sense in which you use the word, lose one cent. The loss fell - upon the stockholders and was fully paid from the surplus which - the bank had accumulated during an honorable and successful - career. Your magazine is full of just such reckless and - libelous statements as this, which make thoughtful readers look - with distrust upon the few truths it contains. Intentionally, - or otherwise, you constantly do grave injury to many people and - the pity of it is your readers who do not think or reason are - led along the paths of populism, socialism and anarchy. - - Sincerely yours, - - J. L. STURTEVANT. - -Touching the falsehood to which the furious John L. refers, I have this -to say: My article was based upon a “special” sent out from Chicago which -went the rounds of the Press, and which was not contradicted. - -The “special” from which I took the facts, appeared, on December 19, -1905, in the _Augusta Herald_, one of the most reliable and conservative -Democratic daily papers in the United States. - -The indignant Sturtevant does not deny that the bank was looted of the -sum stated by me, but because I said that “the people” lost the money -he charges me with having made a statement that was “absolutely false.” -Sturtevant alleges that the money was not stolen from “the people” but -from “the stockholders!” - -He is equally indignant because I said that the bank “burst.” He alleges -that the stockholders were able to stand the theft of nearly a million -and a half dollars, and that the bank didn’t burst. - -An Editor of a Magazine is at a disadvantage when compared to the Editor -of _The Waupaca Post_, of Waupaca, Wisconsin. Sturtevant evidently stands -at the head-waters of information, and gets his news fresh from the -spring. That’s one of the luxuries of living and editing at Waupaca. - -A poor devil of a Georgia editor, like me, has to take his information -second-hand. In spite of all that I can do, it is impossible for me to be -there, all over the world, when things are happening. - -Sturtevant was close to Milwaukee when Bigelow looted his bank, and -therefore, knew at first hand what the facts were. On the contrary, I -was thousands of miles off, and had to rely upon telegraphic despatches, -published in reputable newspapers. - -In the “special” from Chicago which appeared in the _Herald_, of Augusta, -Ga., December 19, 1905, this language appears: - -“The three big bank WRECKS which are still fresh in the public mind on -account of their size and recent date are: the Enterprise National Bank -of Allegheny, Penn.; The First National Bank of Topeka, Kans.; the FIRST -NATIONAL BANK OF MILWAUKEE, WIS.!” - -Then in a tabulated statement, the “special” gave sums which were -classified as “losses.” - -In this separate list of “losses” occasioned by “THE BANK WRECKS,” the -First National Bank of Milwaukee, heads the table with $1,450,000. - -Therefore, instead of my statement in the Magazine being reckless and -false, it was carefully based upon a “special” sent out from Chicago -in December, which at the time my paragraphs were written had gone -unchallenged for more than a month. - -Even when corrected by Mr. Sturtevant, how much good is done to the -National Banking system whose claim to be “the best on earth” I was -ridiculing? My point was that the lootings of this boasted “best system -on earth” were so frequent and so colossal that it was absurd to claim -that the system was “the best on earth.” How does the Waupaca Champion of -looted banks improve matters by explaining that the president of the bank -merely stole a million and a half from _the stockholders_? - -How does he weaken my attack by saying that the bank was able to stand -the huge robbery? - -Is bank rottenness saved from denunciation because the looted bank -happened to be rich enough to survive the blow? - -Is bank gutting made respectable because the stockholders alone were -gutted? - -Suppose the stockholders had not been rich enough to make good the -loss; suppose the bank had not possessed “a surplus” of that immense -size—wouldn’t “the loss” have fallen upon “the people,” and wouldn’t the -bank have “burst”? - -Ah, Mr. Sturtevant! When you say that a National Bank has gained such -tremendous profits out of the privilege of creating money and lending -it to the people at high rates of interest that a robbery which runs up -into the millions does not stagger it in the least, you simply convince -the intelligent reader that National Banks reap far greater gains out of -Special Privilege than their champions are in the habit of admitting. - -As to the “other” reckless and libelous statements which the Waupaca -Editor says I have been making in the Magazine, I can only invite him to -name them. - -The Magazine is here to stay, and it is not conscious of having made -reckless and libelous statements. - -The columns are open to brother Sturtevant, and to all others, who wish -to challenge any statements made therein. - -Whenever I am shown to be wrong, I will gladly make correction, and, if -need be, apology. - -If, on the contrary, the other fellow happens to be wrong, I will -endeavor, in a mild, conciliatory but earnest spirit to show him his -error. - -Brother Sturtevant, of Waupaca, asserts that I am constantly doing grave -injury to many people. - -I appeal to Sturtevant to furnish me a list—a partial one, at least—of -the people whom I am constantly injuring so gravely. - -If he can establish the fact that in the 200,000 words or more, which I -have written for the Magazine, a grave injury has been inflicted upon any -man, woman or child, I stand ready to make the fullest amends. - -_Make good, brother Sturtevant!_ - - -The Man and the Land - -Certain good friends of mine were shocked, a few months ago, when they -learned that I was one of those monsters who believe in the private -ownership of land. - -Some of them deplored my ignorance, and urged me to go straightway and -read “Progress and Poverty.” Well, I had read Henry George’s book soon -after its publication, and had once had the precious advantage of serving -a term in Congress with the great Tom Johnson; yet I never had been able -to see the distinction, _in principle_, between the private ownership of -a cow and the private ownership of a cow-lot. - -Some men are just that stupid, and when Ephraim gets “sot” on a thing of -that kind, even Louis Post, of _The Public_, has to let him alone. - -Certain other friends made the point on me that I did not understand -Count Tolstoy. That is possible. In his various ramblings into various -speculative matters, Tolstoy, like our own Emerson, gets lost, sometimes, -in mazes of his own making; and he uses language which may delight -professional commentators, but which is sorely vexatious to an average -citizen who really wants to know what the philosophers are driving at. - -Tolstoy is careful to avoid _History_. The flood of light which might be -thrown upon the land question by the records of the human race is shut -out altogether. - -And _this_ is the weak spot in the armor of every champion who enters -the list against the Private Ownership of Land. If History makes any one -thing plain, it is that a Civilization was never able to develop itself -on any other basis than that of Private Ownership. - -Like other champions of his theory, Tolstoy forgets the elemental traits -of Human Nature. He forgets how _unequal_ we are by Nature; how we -differ, in character, capacity, taste and purpose; how few there are who -will labor for the “good of all,” and how universal is the rule that each -man labors, first of all, for _himself_. - -He forgets that every beast of the field has its prototype in some -members of the human family; he forgets that the _man_-tiger is now more -numerous than the four-footed sort; that the _man_-fox is more cunning -than his wild brother; that the _man_-wolf hunts with every human herd; -that the _man_-sloth is marked by nature with her own indelible brand; -that some men are born timid as the deer are; that some are born without -fear as the lion is; that the human hog grunts and gorges, and makes -himself a nauseating nuisance, on the streets, in hotels, in the Pullman -cars—in fact everywhere, but most of all where people have to eat and -sleep. - -This is the fundamental error which doctrinaires are prone to make. _They -forget what Human Nature actually is, always has been, and perhaps, -always will be._ - -They argue about ideal conditions, unmindful of the fact that ideal -conditions require ideal men—and that we haven’t got the ideal men. - -Every society, every state, must from necessity be made up of the Good, -the Bad, and the Indifferent and the law-makers of that society, that -state, will from necessity be compelled to frame laws suited to _that_ -community. Hence, the laws will not be absolutely the best, considering -the question as an abstract question, but they will be the best which -_that_ community is capable of receiving. - -All legislation, like all Society, is a compromise. - -In a state of Nature I would be absolutely free. But I would be alone. To -protect myself in person, property or family, I would have to rely upon -my individual arm. My absolute freedom would be an absolute isolation and -a relative helplessness. - -I would find that I could not endure such a life. I would therefore seek -companionship among other men who felt the same needs that I felt, and we -would come together for the “good of all.” One hundred families coming -together in this way form the nucleus of Society, of the State. Each man -gives up a portion of his individual freedom when he enters this union of -families which forms such a nucleus. - -Why does he surrender a portion of his wild, natural, individual freedom? -Why does he agree to be bound by the will of the Community instead of -his _own_ will? Why does he consent to be _governed_ by the public when -he had previously been his own ruler? He does it because it is to his -interest to do it. He finds that, while he has surrendered much, he -has gained more. _The Community_ throws around him the protection of a -hundred strong arms where previously he had but his own. - -_The Community_, in a hundred ways, ministers to his wants, his -weaknesses, his desires, his prosperity. - -In other words, the Community gives more than it took. - -Association which improves the Community tends to improve each member -thus associated; and from this association come all those blessings which -we call Civilization. - -Resolve the Association back into its elements; let each individual -separate from the mass; let each one say, “I’m my own man,”—and what -becomes of Civilization? - -It perishes, of course. - -Now where will Tolstoy find the basis of Society _in Nature_? - -In the human instinct for _getting-together_. And that instinct seems to -grow out of our hopes, and our fears, our profound belief that we _need_ -our fellow-man, and that we are not strong enough to stand alone, _no -matter how much we would like to do so_. - -Deep down in your heart you will find the primeval, natural craving for -independence, individuality, separate living, separate doing. With the -great common mass of humanity this tendency has been weakened by disuse -until it is not an active principle. It is like a muscle which has lost -its strength from inaction. Hence, the common man goes with the herd, -just as a flock of sheep follows the bell-wether. - - * * * * * - -Society, then is a matter of convention: _Nature_ did not frame it. - -Nor does _Nature_ impose upon us the relation of Husband and Wife. - -Why do we adopt the present marriage system, which differs in so many -respects from Nature, and from former practices of the human race? - -Simply because we believe it to be _an improvement_. We _know_ it is -better than the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes: we _believe_ it -to be better than Polygamy; we _hope_ that it will some day be a more -radiant success than the Divorce Courts would seem to indicate. - -Now as to the land. - -Undoubtedly, the earth was given to the human family as a home for the -family. Undoubtedly, Nature teaches that the earth belongs in common to -the entire human race. - -Thus it was in the beginning. But, just as the wild horse became the -property of the bold tribesman who caught it and tamed it; just as the -natural fruit of the forest belonged to him who gathered it; just as the -cave or hollow tree became the dwelling of the first occupant, so the -well in the thirsty plain became the property of him that had dug down to -the waters; and the pasturage which one had taken up might not be taken -away from him by another. - -Mine was the bark hut which my labor had built; mine the canoe which my -hands had hollowed out; mine the bow and arrows which I had fashioned; -mine the herds and flocks, the goats and asses which I had tamed and -reared and cared for till they had multiplied. - -Should the idler, or the thief of the tribe, take from me that which my -labor had produced? Must _my_ canoe belong to the whole tribe? Must my -garment which I had made out of the skins of the wild beast belong to the -sloth who loafed in the tent while I risked my life in the woods? - -_Nature said_, NO! - -Nature, speaking through elemental instinct said: “That which _your_ -labor made is _yours_.” - -Yours the hut, yours the canoe, yours the garment of skins, yours the bow -and arrows—and that was the beginning of _Private Property in Personalty_. - - * * * * * - -But look again at the ways of Nature and of the tribe. - -Pasturage failed after awhile; natural fruits were no longer sufficient -to sustain life; game disappeared from the forest; fish grew scarce in -the streams. Something had to be done to make good the shortage. The -soil was there, suggesting cultivation. The products of Nature must be -supplemented by human industry. But before the soil could be cultivated, -the trees had to be cut away; cattle and wild beasts had to be fenced -out; the virgin earth had to be made the bride of toil before the -fruitful seed would bring forth harvests. - -Now _who was to do the work_? - -The Idler wouldn’t; the Feeble couldn’t; the Hunter didn’t; _the strong, -clear-headed Laborer made the farm_. - -Those who assail private ownership of land say that “the man who makes a -farm doesn’t make it in the sense that one makes a basket or a chair.” -They see clearly that, if they admit that _the pioneer who goes into the -wilderness or the swamps and creates a farm, is to be put on the same -footing as the man who goes into the woods, gets material and makes a -canoe, or a chair or a basket_, it is “farewell world” to their theory -about the land. Therefore they say that THE FARM WAS ALREADY THERE, -waiting for the farmer. All the farmer had to do was to go there and -tickle the soil with a hoe, and it laughed with the harvest. - -How very absurd! You might just as well say that the willows that -bent over the waters of the brook _were baskets waiting for the tardy -basketmaker to come and get them_. You might just as well say that the -hide on the cow’s back was a pair of ladies’ shoes waiting for the lady -to come and fit them to her dainty feet. - -Must we get rid of our common sense, our practical knowledge, before we -can argue a case of this sort? Do not these doctrinaires know that they -are denying physical facts, plain everyday experience, when they say -that a piece of wild land in the desert, in the swamps, on the mountain -side, or in the woody wilderness _is a farm waiting for the farmer_? -Sheer nonsense never went further. But they are compelled to this extent -because of the necessities of their case. They see at once that if ever -they admit my position that _the laborer takes raw materials with which -nature supplies him, and out of those raw materials creates something -that did not exist before_, then the laborer is entitled to that which -his labor creates. - -Now, do you mean to tell me, that for thousands of years there were farms -waiting the pioneers here in North America? Consider for a moment what -the New England, or the Southern, or the Western farmer had to do before -he had _made a farm_. He had to go into the woods with an axe in one hand -and a rifle in the other. Very frequently he was shot down before he -could make his farm, just as Abraham Lincoln’s grandfather was killed. -Very frequently he died from the fever engendered in the woods before he -had made his farm, just as Andrew Jackson’s father did, in the effort _to -make a farm_ in the wilderness of North Carolina. Supposing the farmer -was able to snatch up his gun quick enough to shoot the Indian who was -trying to shoot him, and supposing that his constitution was strong -enough to resist the malarial atmosphere in which he had to labor while -creating that farm, what was the process through which he went _in making -that farm_? He had to cut off an enormous growth of timber. He had to -grub up stumps and roots. He had to plow and cross-plow the soil until it -had become a seed bed. He had to inclose the farm to keep out the wild -animals which would have devoured his crop. If in a rocky section, he had -to remove the stones which encumbered the ground. If in a damp, swampy -section, he had to exercise skill, as well as labor, in draining the -soil. After four or five years, the laborer _had made a farm_—something -_as different from the wild land which he found in the woods as the pine -tree is from the lumber which lies upon the lumber-yard_; as different as -the wool on the sheep’s back is from the coat which you wear; something -as different as the willow and the bamboo are from the chairs and the -baskets which are made from them. - -Now, the doctrinaires say that it would be a sufficient reward to that -laborer _to give him the crop that he made on the land_. Would it? For -what length of time will you give him those crops? If you ask the -laborer, he will say, “_I made this farm_; I risked my life in the work: -I shortened my days by the labor, the exposure, the drudgery of making -this farm. I never would have gone to this amount of toil if I had not -believed that society would secure me in the possession of the farm after -I made it.” - -Having established him in his security of possession, which I say is -tantamount to title, suppose that laborer wants to change his farm for -a stock of manufactured goods, or for silver and gold, or for horses, -or for another piece of land, do you mean to say he shall not have the -right to do it? If so, you limit his title, and you have not the right -to do so. _That which he made he ought to have the right to dispose of -on such terms as please him._ His title having originated in the sacred -rights of labor, you should not limit his enjoyment or his disposition -of that which his labor created. If you recognize his right to exchange -one product of his labor for another, you recognize his right to exchange -all products of his labor for others. In other words, by plain course -of reasoning, you arrive at the principle that the bargain and sale of -lands is founded upon the right of the laborer to exchange the product of -his labor with those who may have product of labor which he could use to -better advantage than he can use his own. - -Now, let us see. The laborer who made the farm dies. What shall become of -it? Away back in the origin of property, OCCUPANCY was the first title -recognized. As long as one individual, or one tribe, occupied a certain -spot their right to use it was recognized, but no longer. When possession -was abandoned, the next individual, or the next tribe who occupied that -spot, had the right of possession. When tribes ceased to wander about, -the occupancy of the spot which the tribe had taken possession of became -permanent. - -Therefore, the title to that spot grew up in the tribe along with -permanent possession. _No civilization was ever created by wandering -tribes._ It is only when the tribe fixes its permanent residence in -some particular spot, recognized as exclusively its own, that there is -any such thing as law and order and civilization. It is clear enough -when we consider one tribe in its relations to other tribes. Let us -consider the tribe in its relations to its members. Each individual in -the beginning had a title _by occupancy_ to the spot which he cultivated, -and this security of possession lasted so long as the occupancy lasted. -If the tribesman abandoned his spot of land, with the intent to surrender -the same, then the next fortunate tribesman who came along could take -possession of it and hold it. But, in the course of time, this created -great inconvenience, because, as favored spots became more desirable, -the competition to get them was fiercer. Hence, there were feuds, bloody -struggles, disorders in the tribe. Consequently, by natural evolution -society was forced, first, to recognize the right of the individual as -long as he wished to occupy the spot which he had taken possession of; -second _to provide for the succession to that title when the spot became -vacant_. - -The learned men tell us that, at the death of the occupant, his own -family, _his own children_, being naturally the first who would know that -he was dead, _were naturally the first who would take possession after -his death_. Therefore, the sons of the deceased tenant always became -the first occupants of the vacant land which had been left vacant by -the death of their father. This succession of the sons to the fathers -becoming universal, was finally recognized by the law of the tribe; and -in the course of time it was recognized further in the law which allowed -the tenant to make a will and to say who should take his property after -his death. - -Thus by slow and almost imperceptible degrees, the tribe recognized, -first, the right of the man who had made a farm to hold it as long as -he lived; second, the right of his children to follow in his footsteps -and to receive the benefit of that which their father had created by -his labor; third, and last, came the law of wills and testaments which -allowed the tribesman to say what should go with his property after his -death. - -If the occupant died without heirs and without having made a will, the -land went back to the tribe, or the state, to be disposed of as public -property. This principle is recognized to this day in the doctrine of -escheats. - -Property in land differs in nowise from property in horses and cows. -The law of property is the same naturally in real estate as in personal -estate, and I can conceive of no revenue in any community which is so -just as that which lays itself with an equal burden upon all kinds of -property in proportion to the amount thereof. In the beginning, one -tribesman, like Abraham or Lot, might have his cattle browsing upon a -thousand hills, while another tribesman might have made a little farm -in some secluded valley, or upon some thirsty, rocky mountain-side -where vines were planted, or where olive trees bore their fruit to the -industrious citizen who had year in and year out watched and tended their -growth. Would there be any justice in compelling those little farmers to -supply the revenue for the common purpose of the tribe, and not compel a -contribution _pro rata_ from the men who owned “exceeding many flocks and -herds”? - -The trouble about these doctrinaires is that they start at the present -day and reason backward, while I start at the fountain head and reason -down. I take things as history shows them to have been; they take things -as they think they ought to have been. - -The doctrinaire further says that if the tribesman who made a farm had -been satisfied to fence in his farm, only, _the common_ would have -remained after all had been supplied. In this country, we have millions -of acres of “commons” now waiting any one “member of the tribe” who wants -to go and take his share. The truth of it is, the doctrinaire doesn’t -want to go out into the wild land and _make a farm_. He wants to stay -where he is, and _take one that some other fellow has made_. Especially -doth he crave a slice of the Astor estate, which doctrinaires have -talked of so much that they can almost identify their shares therein. - -One of the doctrinaires quotes the following from “Progress and Poverty”: -“If a fair distribution of land were made among the whole population, -giving to each his equal share, and laws enacted which would impose a -barrier to the tendency to concentration, by forbidding the holding by -anyone of more than a fixed amount, what would become of the increased -population?” - -I do not consider it any part of my task to assail the position taken -in “Progress and Poverty,” but I think it a satisfactory answer to the -foregoing question to say that in the very nature of things posterity -must be the heirs-at-law of the conditions of those who went before. To -say that we can so frame a social fabric as flexibly and automatically -to give an equal share of everything to every child born into the world -hereafter, regardless of whether that child’s parents were thrifty, -industrious, virtuous people, or, on the other hand, were thriftless, -indolent, vicious people, seems to me to be one of the wildest dreams -that ever entered the human mind. No matter how equal material conditions -might be made today by legislation, the inherent inequality in the -capacities of men, physically, mentally, spiritually, would evolve -differences tomorrow. There is no such thing as equality among men, and -no law will ever give it to them. What the father gains the children -lose; and the grandchildren may regain. While one man runs the race of -life and wins it; another man, equally tall and strong will run the race -and lose it. Just why, it is, in some cases, difficult to tell. - -Some men naturally lead; some naturally follow; some naturally command; -others naturally obey: some are naturally strong; others are naturally -weak. The law of life to some is activity; others say that they were -born tired; and there is a certain pathos in their excuse for indolence, -for they _were_ born tired. One man is naturally brave—physically, -morally—and he will venture. Another man is naturally a coward—physically -or morally—and he will not venture. A dozen different traits, or -combination of traits, make failure or success in life, and to say that -success or failure, vice and virtue, good and bad, are the results of -environment and social conditions, is as misleading, _as a general -statement of fundamental facts_, as to say that the dove and the hawk, -the tiger and the sheep, the rattlesnake and the harmless “black runner” -are the results of environment. Nature in its act of creation made the -difference between the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, the -fish of the sea, the men and women who inhabit the earth. From the -remotest ages, of which we have record, human nature has been the same -that it is today. Paganism presented precisely the same types of man in -its savagery and its civilization that Christianity now presents in its -savagery and civilization. “There is nothing new under the sun,” and the -very theories which the doctrinaires now think are matters of modern -discovery, unknown to our ancestors, and which would have been adopted -had our ancestors been as wise as we, were discussed in the days of -Aristotle and had the very best thought of the sages of antiquity. - -Let it be remembered, however, that I have always qualified the Private -Ownership of Land by acknowledging the supremacy of the State. The tribe, -the community, the State, the Government holds supreme power over the -life and liberty of citizens, and over the ownership of the soil. The -State calls for me to give up my individual pursuits, my individual -liberty, my individual preference, and to take my place as a soldier in -the ranks of the army. I am compelled to obey; that is an obligation -which rests upon me as a member of society. Thus the State can demand -my life of me whenever the State declares that it is necessary for the -defence of the State. In like manner, the State can restrain me of my -liberty. For instance, in times of epidemics, we have shotgun quarantine -which destroys my liberty of movement. I would be shot down like a dog -if I sought to break through the lines of quarantine, although to make -such an escape might mean my individual salvation, whereas obedience to -law amounts to sentence of death. In this case, as in the other, the -State practically demands my life as an individual as a sacrifice for -the good of the greater number of citizens. So, as to property, no man -holds an absolute title to land as against the State. The Government, -acting for all the tribe, for all the people, can tear down or burn my -house to stop the spread of fire. It can confiscate my property for -public purposes, when the public need requires it. It can take my land -for public buildings, for canals, for railroads, or for new dirt roads -through the country. My rights in the premises would be recognized in -the payment to me of damages. My individual rights would be assessed in -so many dollars and cents. Thus my home, which might be almost as dear -to me as my life, would be coldly valued in money, and although I left -it with bitter regrets, even with bitter tears and a bitter sense of -wrong, I would have to surrender my individual preference to what is -supposed to be by constituted authorities the necessity of the State. -This right of the public to take away any portion of the soil from the -individual, and to dedicate it to the use of the public, is called -the right of Eminent Domain, and is a remnant of the old system which -recognized that the title to all the lands was in the King. Of course the -King stood for the State. Centered in the personal sovereign were those -sovereign rights which belong to the people as a whole, and the people -as a whole, represented by the King, were admitted to be the owners -of the ultimate fee in the land, and could compel any individual to -surrender his individual holdings for the benefit of the entire people, -just compensation having first been paid to the individual. It is in that -sense that I say private ownership of land is just as holy a principle, -just as equitable, as private ownership in the basket which I made from -the rushes I gathered along the stream, or from the splints which I rived -out from the white oak; just as sacred as my right to the boat which I -hollowed out from the forest tree, or the bark hut, or the hut of skins, -which my labor erected to shelter me and my family. - -The doctrinaire asks: “Could he not be as secure in his possession if the -land were owned and exaction made by all the people?” Certainly. That is -my contention. The whole tribe _did_ exercise dominion over the land, but -to encourage the individual member of the tribe to improve a particular -portion of the wild land, the tribe agreed to protect the individual in -that which his labor had created, namely a _farm_. My contention now is -that the ultimate ownership of the land is in all the people; but society -had a perfect right to divide it on such terms as were thought best and -to guarantee to each individual “security of possession,” or _title_, to -that which he had produced. The great trouble with Mr. Doctrinaire is -that he does not begin at the beginning. If he would study the condition -of the human race as it gradually evolved from the patriarchal state, the -tribal state, the nomad state, into that fixed and complex status which -we now call “Christian Civilization,” he would readily understand how -private ownership of land was the axis upon which the improvement of the -conditions of the individual and of the State turned. As long as tribes -wandered about from province to province, with their herds of goats, or -sheep, or cattle, nibbling the grass which nature put up, and moving -onward to another pasture as fast as one was exhausted, there could be -nothing but tent life, nothing but personal property. The house had to -move every time the family moved. Therefore, when the herds devoured the -grass in one place, and the tribe had to move to another, tents were -struck, the few household goods were packed on the backs of the wives, or -on the backs of other beasts of burden, and the family moved. When man -and beast multiplied to such an extent that nature no longer supplied a -sufficiency of food, it became necessary for the tribe to settle down, -and to divide the territory upon which they settled among the various -members of the tribe. That was done in Germany, as well as in various -other countries, but I take Germany because the German tribes were our -own ancestors. They divided the lands every year. It was seldom the case -that the same tribesman occupied the same home for more than one year. -Like the Methodist preachers of today, their homes were always on the -go. The farmer’s home in those days was precisely like the Methodist -preachers’ homes today—a matter to be fixed at the annual conference. -The Methodist preacher who today is preaching in the town may next year -be sent into the remote rural precincts: the mountain parson may next -year be sent to the seaboard. The church is fixed and the parsonage is -stationary, but the preacher and his wife and his children are forever -moving. Now in precisely the same manner the tribesmen of the German -tribes used to be going from farm to farm, and there were no considerable -improvements made while that state of affairs existed. Why? Because we -are just so constituted that we do not care to build houses for other -people to live in, if we know it. When we start out to beautify a home, -we may never enjoy it, but we expect to do so at the time, and without -that expectation there would be no beautiful homes. - -Mr. Doctrinaire thinks because each tribesman would try to grab the -best piece of land, there was original injustice in allowing private -ownership. If he will think for a moment, he will realize that the native -selfishness of man does not make against the private ownership of land -to any further extent than it does to the private ownership of personal -property. When the tribesmen went out to hunt, each hunter sought -to bring down the finest stag. Each hunter naturally wanted to hunt -where the best game was to be found. Hence those eternal wars between -the Indian tribes which brought down the population on the American -continent. Hence also those feuds and tribal wars which desolated the -East in the times of nomad life. - -We find Abraham and Lot in a bitter dispute over a certain pasture; but -as to the well which Abraham “had digged” there was no resisting his -claim, that _well was his property_. Why? Because in the quaint language -of the Bible, “He had digged that well.” In other words, while nature put -the water in under the soil, and while nature made the soil itself, it -was Abraham’s judgment which selected the place where he could find the -water, and it was Abraham’s labor that removed the earth which covered -the water. In other words, Abraham _made the well_, in precisely the same -sense that the pioneer in the wilderness _makes a farm_. - -But, as I said, the competitive principle, each one wanting to get what -is best, reveals itself in all directions. Every fisherman has always -wanted the best fishing grounds. Nations have been brought to war by this -cause, to say nothing of tribal disputes and individual contests. - -Nowhere have I contended that it was private ownership of land that -made it possible for the laborer to claim and retain the product of his -labor. I could not have said that because I know quite well that personal -property preceded property in land. In other words, the laborers acquired -a full title to the rude garments in which they clothed themselves, the -rude implements which they used in the chase, their weapons, canoes, -etc., long before they ever made farms. This has been explained fully -elsewhere and does not at all antagonize the statement that _after_ -a tribesman has acquired by his labor an interest in the land, _the -government of the tribe may be so arranged that the produce of the -land will be taken away from the land-owner as fast as he produces -it_. Instead of robbery by taxation in land—products preceding private -ownership in land—the reverse is the case. To fleece the laborer of what -he produces on his farm was the after-thought of those who governed the -tribe. - -This is shown by the wretchedness of the peasant class in Russia today. -Historians tell us that the Russian peasant formerly owned a very -considerable portion of the land, just as the French peasants did, -and in addition to the individual ownership which was in the Russian -peasantry, there was a large quantity of communal land which belonged -to each community of peasants as a whole. In the process of time, the -ruling class in Russia put such burdens upon the peasant proprietor that -he gradually lost his land and became a serf. Of course, Mr. Doctrinaire -recalls that in 1860 the serfs of Russia were freed, and they were given -a large portion of the land which had been taken away from them by the -Russian nobles. They also held the communal lands. What has been the -result? The ruling classes have put such heavy burdens in the way of dues -and taxes upon the peasants that their ownership of the land, communal -and individual, has brought them none of the blessings which they -anticipated. Thus we have a striking and contemporaneous illustration of -the great truth which I have sought to emphasize, namely, that the mere -ownership of land does not emancipate the people. - -Arthur Young, the famous “Suffolk Squire,” rode horseback over the rural -districts of France, just before the Revolution broke out. He found -that the French peasants owned their own farms. He made a close and -sympathetic study of their condition. - -And what was that condition? - -Wretched to the very limit of human endurance. The king, the noble, and -the priest were literally devouring the Common People. Privilege, Titles, -Taxes, Feudal dues were driving the masses to despair, to desperation. - -Yet the French peasant had “access to the land.” - -In England, at that time, the peasants did not own land, and yet their -condition was incomparably better than that of the French. - -Why? Because they were _not_ ground down by Taxes and Feudal dues. - -Could you ask a more convincing illustration? - -Mr. Doctrinaire makes the point that when one member of the tribe decided -to undertake the arduous task of making a farm out of a few acres of the -millions which belonged to the tribe, this industrious member of the -community “robbed” all the others when he claimed as his own that which -his hands had made. I can see no more “robbery” in this case than in that -of another tribesman who went and cut down one of the millions of forest -trees which belonged to the tribe, and with painful labor hollowed out -this tree and created a canoe. At the time the one tribesman made the -canoe, every other tribesman had the same chance to do the same thing. -At the time the one tribesman went into the woods and made a farm every -other tribesman had the same right. If Mr. Doctrinaire thinks that the -first occupant of any particular spot did not have the right to locate a -farm, he might as well say that the first finder of the cavern, or the -hollow tree, did not have the right to occupy that which he had first -found, and yet he knows perfectly well that this right of discovery and -occupancy was always recognized from the beginning of time and that -from the very nature of things it had to be recognized to prevent the -bloodiest feuds in every tribe. (A curious survival of this Right of -Discovery is to be seen even now in the claim to the “Bee Tree” by the -first to find it.) - -Mr. Doctrinaire says, impliedly, that if the tribesman had fenced in no -more than the spot out of which he had made a farm, injustice would not -have been done to the tribe: but he says the tribesman went further and -fenced in a great deal more—“vast areas,” which he could not use, and -also “claimed” these as his own. How does Mr. Doctrinaire know that? -I did not state anything of the sort. Nor does the historian state -anything of the sort. I was tracing title to land to its origin, and -I contended that the origin of title to land was labor. Consequently, -my contention was that the tribesman fenced in that which his labor -had redeemed from the wilderness—his original purpose in fencing it in -being _partly_ to identify what was his own, _partly_ to assert his -exclusive possession, _but chiefly_ to protect his crop from the ravages -of the wild animals that were still roaming at large in the forest. Mr. -Doctrinaire must remember that the fencing of the farm was one of the -most tremendous difficulties that the pioneer met with. _He_ had no -barbed wire; _he_ had no woven wire, _he_ had no convenient sawmill from -which he could haul plank. No; _he_ had to cut down enormous trees, and -by the hardest labor known to physical manhood, he had to split those -trees into rails, and with these rails fence in that little dominion -which he rescued from “the wild,” that little oasis in a great desert of -savagery. - -To put up the fence was heroic work. To keep it up was just as heroic, -for forest fires destroyed it from time to time, and the pioneer had -to replace the barrier against the encroachment of animal life and the -inroads of savagery with as great a tenacity and as sublime a courage as -that of the people of Holland, who tore their country from the clutches -of the ocean and barred out the sea with dikes. Tell me, that after the -pioneer had created this little paradise of his—rude though it might have -been—amidst the terrors and the toils and sacrifices of that life in the -wilderness, _it should be taken from him by the first man who coveted it, -and who said, “HERE, TAKE YOUR CROP, THAT IS ALL YOU ARE ENTITLED TO: -TAKE YOUR CROP AND GIVE ME YOUR FARM!”_ Would that have been _right_, at -the time private property was first recognized by our people in Germany? -Would that have been right at the time our pioneer farmers in New England -and Virginia created their farms, endured difficulties and dangers which -make them stand out in heroic outline on the canvas of history? No, by -the splendor of God! It would have been robbery and nothing less than -robbery for the tribe to have confiscated the farm which the pioneer -of America had made—partly with his rifle, partly with his axe, partly -with his spade—and throw it into the common lot where the idler and the -criminal would have just as much benefit from it as the pioneer _who had -made the farm_. - -As to _the abuse of land ownership_, that is an entirely different -question. I agree that there should be no monopoly of land for -speculative purposes. The platform of the People’s Party has constantly -kept that declaration as a part of its creed. The abuse of land ownership -is quite a different thing from land ownership itself. I am not defending -any of its abuses. I am simply saying that _the principle_ is sound. All -those things which belong to the class of _private utilities_ should -be left to private ownership, because I believe in individualism; but -all those things which partake of the nature of public utilities should -belong to the public. - -Mr. Doctrinaire says that railroads have their power based in the fixed -principle of private ownership of land. I deny this utterly. It was -always necessary for the civilized community to have public roads. -Even the Indians had their great trails which were in the nature of -public roads. A public road never of itself did anything injurious to a -community. The taking of land for a public road confers a benefit upon -the entire community. It is for that reason it is laid out. The amount -of land which is taken for a road, whether you cover it with blocks of -stone, as the Romans did, or whether you cover it with iron rails, as -modern corporations do, can inflict no injury whatever upon the community -_unless you go further_. For instance, if you erect toll gates on the -public highways and vest in some corporation the right to charge toll -on freight and passengers at those toll rates, then you have erected a -tyranny which can rob the traveler and injure the community. In that -case, you can clearly see it is _not the road_, it is _not the land over_ -which the road passes, that is hurting the individual and the public. -_The thing which hurts is that franchise_ which empowers the corporation -to tax the citizens and the property of the citizens as they pass along -that highway. In like manner, the road which the transportation companies -use could never have inflicted harm upon individuals or communities. _The -thing which hurts is the franchise_ which empowers the corporation to rob -the people with unjust freight and passenger tolls as they pass along the -highway. - -Mr. Doctrinaire mires up badly in trying to evade the point which I -made about Italy. I contended that while it was true that great estates -were the ruin of Italy, there had to be some general cause at work, -injurious to the average man, before the soil could be concentrated into -these great estates. This is very obvious to anyone who will stop to -think a moment. Mr. Doctrinaire thinks that the great estates in Italy -were acquired by simply claiming the land and fencing it in, by “each -individual claiming far more than he could use.” If all the land of -Italy had been claimed and enclosed, the power that these land claimers -had over subsequent comers is obvious; but _how_ did “the claimers” get -the lands? The most superficial knowledge of Roman History ought to -convince Mr. Doctrinaire that _Italy was cut up into small holdings_ -until one branch of the government, the aristocracy, represented by the -Senate, gathered into its own hands by persistent encroachment all the -powers of the State. After that had been done, they fixed the machinery -of government so that the aristocracy were almost entirely exempt from -public burdens, whereas the common people had to bear not only their -just portion, but also the portion which the aristocracy shirked. -The ruling class, the patricians, not only escaped their burdens in -upholding the State but they _appropriated to themselves_ the revenue -which the Roman State exacted from the lower class, the plebeians. The -result was that the Italian peasant found himself unable to sustain the -burdens which the government put upon him and he abandoned his farm, -just as the French peasant quit the land, for the same reason, prior -to the French Revolution. In other words, _the small proprietor had to -sell out to the patrician_, and the patricians got these great estates -in the same manner that Rockefeller, for instance, got the estate -which he now holds at Tarrytown. The Standard Oil King did not simply -stretch his wires and “claim” land. He bought out the people who found -themselves unable or unwilling to hold their lands. Rockefeller stood -relatively on the same ground of advantage held by the Roman patricians. -Governmental favoritism, and special privilege, the power of money which -he had attained through unjust laws, made him more able to buy than the -individual owners around him were to hold. _Therefore he absorbed the -small estates_, and his estate became the “great estate,” just as such -great estates were created in Italy. - -Mr. Doctrinaire can see the process going on around us. He can see how -great estates absorb small estates. Our legislation for one hundred years -has been in the interest of capital against labor. A plutocracy which -enjoys the principal benefits of government, and contributes almost -nothing to the support of the government, has been built up: charters -have been granted by which large corporations exploit the public; and in -this way great estates, whether in stocks or bonds, or gold, or land, -have been created. - -The same principles, the same favoritism, the same privilege, working -in different ways, brought about the same results in France before the -Revolution, in Rome before its downfall, in Egypt, in Persia, in the -Babylonian Empire. If there is any one word which can be appropriately -used as an epitaph for all the dead nations of antiquity, that word is -“_privilege_.” The government was operated by a ruling class for the -benefit of that class, and the result was national decay, national death. - -Mr. Doctrinaire asks me: “How did the ruling class at Rome come -to control the money?” I might answer by asking him: “How did the -controlling class in the United States come into control of the money?” -He would certainly admit that they have got control of it. How did -they get it? They took into their own hands, in the days of Alexander -Hamilton, the control of governmental machinery. They erected a tariff -system to give special privileges to manufacturers. Out of this has come -the monopoly which the manufacturers enjoy of the American market, and -the natural evolution of the tariff act which Alexander Hamilton put upon -our statute book more than one hundred years ago, produced The Trusts. - -Again, the power to create a circulating medium to be used as money and -to expand and contract this circulating medium, thereby controlling the -rise and fall of markets, was a vicious principle embedded into our -system by, Alexander Hamilton, more than one hundred years ago. - -Again, the granting of charters to private companies to exploit -public utilities is another means by which our patrician class has -secured the control of money. Now at Rome there was a similar process. -Instrumentalities were different, the names of things were different, -but the ruling class at Rome had the power of fixing the taxes, and they -appropriated to themselves the proceeds of these taxes. They had the -power of legislation in their hands and exploited the public for their -own benefit. In this way they secured, of course, the control of money. -The one advantage of paying no tax themselves and of appropriating to -themselves the taxes which they levied upon the plebeians was sufficient -to give them not only the control of money, but the control of the land -and of the man. In fact that tremendous power, to fix the taxes and to -appropriate the public revenue, is all that the ruling class of any -country need have in order to establish an intolerable despotism over -the unfavored classes. - -Mr. Doctrinaire has the fatal habit of crawling backwards with his logic. -He says that the Roman Patrician could not have controlled the money -until he got control of the land. The slightest reflection ought to -convince him that this cannot be true. No class of men ever secured the -control of money by merely controlling the land. Just the reverse is the -universal truth. Without any exception whatsoever governmental machinery, -the taxing system, usury, expansion and contraction of the currency hold -the land-owner at their mercy. The land-owner, as such, never had them at -his mercy and he never will. - -Another instance of the crawl-backwards method of reasoning is given -when Mr. Doctrinaire says that _usury grew out of land monopoly instead -of land monopoly growing out of usury_. When a man gets himself into -such a state of mind that he can deliberately write a statement of that -sort for publication, he is beyond reach of any ordinary process of -conviction and conversion. My statement was that usury is a vulture that -has gorged itself upon the vitals of nations since the beginning of time. -Mr. Doctrinaire says this is not true. On the other hand, he says that -land monopoly came first, and _then_ usury. If the rich people got all -the land first, so that they had a land monopoly, upon whom did they -practice usury? _How could they fatten on those who had nothing?_ If Mr. -Doctrinaire is at all familiar with the trouble between the Russians and -the Jews in Russia he knows that one of the accusations brought by the -Russian against the Jew is that the Russian land-owner has been devoured -by the money-lending Jew. If he knows anything about our agricultural -troubles in the South and in the West, he knows that the Southern and -Western farmer complains that he has been devoured by usury. If he -knows anything about the history of the Russian serf, he knows that the -money-lending patricians made serfs out of the small land-owners by -usury. If he will study the subject, he will find that in Rome, Egypt and -Assyria the small land-owner was devoured by usury, had to part with his -property and thus surrender to those who were piling up great fortunes by -governmental privilege and by the control of money. - -Take the Rothschild family for an example. Did they have a land monopoly -which made it possible for them to wield the vast powers of usury? -Theirs is a typical case. Study it a moment. A small Jewish dealer and -money-lender in Frankfort is chosen by a rascally ruler of one of the -German States as a go-between in a villainous transaction whereby the -little German ruler sells his subjects into military service to the -King of England. These soldiers, who were bought, are known to history -as the Hessians, and they fought against us in the Revolutionary War. -This was the beginning of the Rothschild fortune, the transaction having -been very profitable to the Rothschild who managed it. Later, during -the Napoleonic Wars, the character of a Rothschild for trustworthiness -became established among princes and kings who were confederated against -Napoleon and many of the financial dealings of that day were made through -him. Of course, these huge financial transactions were profitable to -the Rothschild. Again, a certain German ruler, during those troublesome -times, entrusted all of his cash to the safe-keeping of a Rothschild, -the purpose being to put the money where Napoleon would not get it. For -many years the Rothschild had the benefit of this capital, and he put -it out to the very best advantage in loans and speculations, here and -there. By the time Napoleon was overthrown at Waterloo the Rothschild -family had become so rich and strong that it spread over the European -world. One member of the family took England, another France, another -Austria, another Belgium, the parent house remaining in Germany, and to -this day the Rothschild family is the dominant financial influence of -the European world. In other words, _by the power of money and the power -of usury_, they were able to make a partition of Europe and they are more -truly the rulers of nations than are the Hapsburgs, the Hohenzollerns, -the Romanoffs, or any other one dynasty which nominally wields the -sceptre. - -Now, can Mr. Doctrinaire ask for a better illustration of the truth of -my statement that the power of money is not based upon the monopoly -of land; and that the monopoly of land is the fruitage of the tree of -usury? Originally, the Rothschilds owned no land. It was only after they -had become so rich that they were compelled to look around for good -investments that they began to buy real estate. Their vast fortune, -which staggers the human mind in the effort to comprehend it, was not -the growth of land monopoly, but _was the growth of usury_. What the -Rothschilds have done in modern times, men of like character did in -ancient times, and just as the modern world will decay and collapse if -these evil accumulations be not prevented, so in ancient times people -went to decay and extinction because no method of reform was found in -time to work salvation. - -Mr. Doctrinaire asks me what is the cause of the Standard Oil monopoly. I -thought that if there was any one thing we all agreed about it was that -the Standard Oil monopoly had its origin in violations of law, in the -illegal use of those public roads which are called transportation lines, -the secret rebate, the discriminating service, the favoritism which the -transportation company can exercise in favor of one shipper against all -others, to the destruction of competition. You might end land monopoly, -but as long as the railroad franchises exist, the Standard Oil monopoly -will exist, if they can get the favored illegal treatment which they -got in the building up of their monopoly and which they still have in -sustaining it. The power of Privilege in securing money, and the power -of money in destroying competition, was never more strikingly evident -than in the colossal growth of Standard Oil. Mr. Doctrinaire might own -half the oil wells in America, but unless he made terms with the Standard -he would never get his oil on the market at a profit. The Big-Pistol -is not the ownership of the oil-well. The Big-Pistol is the mis-use of -franchises. - -With all the power that is in me, I am fighting the frightful conditions -which beset us, but I know, as well as I know anything, that the -principle of the private ownership of land has had nothing whatever to do -with our trouble. - -Repeal the laws which grant the Privileges that lead to Monopoly; -equalize the taxes; make the rich support the government in proportion to -their wealth; restore public utilities to the public; put the power of -self-government back into the hands of the people by Direct Legislation; -restore our Constitutional system of finance; pay off the National debt -and wipe out the National banking system; quit giving public money to -pet banks for private benefit; remove all taxes from the necessaries of -life; establish postal savings banks; return to us the God-given right to -freedom of trade. - -With these reforms in operation, millionaires would cease to multiply and -fewer Americans would be paupers. Trusts would not tyrannize over the -laborer and the consumer, Corporations could not plunder a people whose -political leaders they have bought. Some statesman might again declare as -Legaré declared twenty years before the Civil War: “WE HAVE NO POOR.” - -English travelers might have no occasion to say, as Rider Haggard said -last year, that our condition was becoming so intolerable that there must -be reform or revolution. On the contrary, the English travelers might say -once more, as Charles Dickens said in 1843, that an Angel with a flaming -sword would attract less attention than a beggar in the streets. - -And with these reforms accomplished any man in America who wanted to work -a farm of his own could do it. - -I cannot promise that he would get one of the corner lots of the Astor -estate, but I have no doubt whatever that if he really wanted a farm, -and were willing to take it a few miles outside of the city, town, or -village, he could get just as much land as he cared to work. - - -Random Comment - -Sir Walter Scott used to say that he had never met any man from whom he -could not learn something. No matter how ignorant the humblest citizen -may appear to be, the chances are that he knows a few things which you do -not know; and if you will “draw him out” you will add to your knowledge. - -The Virginia negro who happened to pass along the road while the Chief -Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States was puzzling his brains -over the problem of mending his broken sulky-shaft, knew exactly the one -thing which John Marshall did not know. - -The great lawyer was at his wit’s end, helpless and wretched. How could -he mend that broken shaft and continue his journey? He did not know and -he turned to the negro for instruction. - -With an air of superiority which was not offensive at that particular -time, the negro drew his pocket-knife, stepped into the bushes, cut a -sapling, whittled a brace and spliced the broken shaft. - -When the Chief Justice expressed his wonder, admiration and pleasure, the -negro calmly accepted the tribute to his talent and walked off, remarking, - -“_Some_ folks has got sense and some ain’t got none.” - - * * * * * - -That little story is a hundred years old, but it’s a right good little -story. A school-teacher, whom I loved very dearly, told it to me when -I was a kid. He was the only man I ever knew who had it in him to be a -great man, and who refused to strive for great things because, as he -said, “_It isn’t worth the trouble_.” - -He was naturally as great an orator as Blaine or Ben Hill. He was far and -away a loftier type than Bryan, for he had those three essentials which -Bryan lacks—humor, pathos and self-forgetful intensity of feeling. But -after one of his magnificent displays of oratory he would sink back into -jolly indolence, and pursue the even tenor of his way, teaching school. -“It is not worth while. Let the other fellows toil and struggle for fame -and for office, I don’t care. They are not worth the price.” - -Few knew what was in this obscure teacher, but those few knew him to be a -giant. - -Once, at our College Commencement, the speaker who had been invited -to make the regular address was the crack orator of the state. He was -considered a marvel of eloquence. Well, he came and he delivered his -message; and it was all very chaste and elegant and superb. Indeed, a -fine speech. - -He sat down amid loud applause. Everybody satisfied. Then the obscure -genius to whom I have referred rose to talk. By some chance the faculty -had given him a place on the program. - -I looked at my old school-teacher as he waddled quietly to the front. I -saw that his face was pale and his eyes blazing with fire. I felt that -the presence and the speech of the celebrated orator had aroused the -indolent giant. I knew he would carry that crowd by storm—would rise, -rise into the very azure of eloquence and hover above us like an eagle in -the air. - -And he did. - -Men and women, boys and girls, laughed and cheered and cried, and hung -breathless on his every word, as no crowd ever does unless a born orator -gets hold of them. Actually I got to feeling sorry for the celebrity -who had made the set speech. He sat there looking like a cheap piece of -neglected toy-work of last Christmas. - -The faces of the leading people after my old teacher had sat down, were -a study. The expression seemed to say, “Who would have thought it was in -him!” - -I don’t think he ever made another speech. - -The brilliant eyes will blaze no more. The merry smile faded long ago. -The great head, that was fit to bear a crown, lies low for all the years -to come. - -He left no lasting memorial of his genius. Only, as through a glass -darkly, you may see him, in a book called “Bethany,” written by one in -whom he, the unambitious, kindled the spark of an ambition which will -never die. - - * * * * * - -There being no smokers in the “smoker,” I went in there to stretch out. -The Florida East Coastline train was working its way down the peninsula, -and was doing it very leisurely. - -Into the “smoker” came a young fellow with whom I opened conversation. It -turned out that he had been pretty much all over Europe. He had toured -Germany several times. On the Sir Walter Scott principle, I sought -knowledge from him, and he told me several interesting things. - -One evening he had been at Heidelberg when the soldiers mounted guard. -This being a regular function many civilians had assembled to see it. - -An officer was putting the men through some of their exercises, when, at -the order to “ground arms,” one of the privates let his gun down too slow. - -The officer flew into a rage, rushed up to the soldier, slapped his jaws, -kicked him repeatedly on the shins, struck him with the flat of his -sword, and _spat time and again in the man’s face_! - -Of course the officer was cursing the private for every vile thing he -could lay his tongue to, all the while. - -Said my informant, “He not only spat in the man’s face once, but he did -it four or five times.” - - * * * * * - -I asked, “Was there no murmur of disgust or indignation in the crowd of -citizens who were looking on?” - -“None whatever,” he said. “The people took the occurrence as a matter of -course. It happens so often.” - -Then the young man rose up in the smoker, and showed me how the private -had stood in his place, rigid, staring straight ahead, not daring to -change his position or expression while enduring the kicks and spits of -the officer. Not a word of protest or complaint did he venture to utter. - -_That’s Militarism, gone crazy._ - -Not long ago one of our high-priced city preachers declared publicly that -we Americans needed an Emperor to head our army. - - * * * * * - -Do you recall a story which went the rounds of the newspapers a few -years ago? In substance it hinted that William Hohenzollern, Emperor of -Germany, had compelled one of his young officers to kill himself. - -My traveller related to me the particulars as he had learned them in -Germany. - -The Emperor was holding a banquet, a revel, on board his yacht, the -_Hohenzollern_: wine had been drunk freely; loose talk was going on. The -Emperor made some insulting reference to the mother of a lieutenant who -was seated near him. - -Upon the impulse of the moment, the brave boy did a most natural thing—he -slapped the brutal defamer of his mother in the mouth. - -Consternation paralyzed the Emperor and all his guests. - -The lieutenant left the yacht; no one tried to stop him. Going ashore, -he made ready to quit the world; and next morning he rode his bicycle -deliberately off a precipice and fell headlong to his voluntary death. - -And the high-priced, city preacher declared that _we_ needed an Emperor! - - * * * * * - -Frederick the Great was really a great man. - -Riding along the streets of Berlin one day, he saw a crowd looking up at -a placard on a wall, Reining his horse, the old King inquired, “What is -it?” - -He was told that the placard contained a lot of violent abuse of himself. - -“Hang it lower, so that the people can read it better,” ordered the King, -and he rode on. - -The pompous despot who now sits upon the throne of Frederick the Great -puts girls and old women, as well as boys and men, in jail if they dare -to say, or to write, anything disrespectful of _him_. - - * * * * * - -Is democracy gaining ground anywhere? Are not those historic allies, -the Church and the State, encroaching steadily upon the masses? Are not -the High Priest and the War Lord constantly putting a greater distance -between themselves and the Common People? - -Does not _the individual citizen_ have less power and recognition now -than at any other time since the founding of our Government? - - * * * * * - -Poor General Wheeler! After all his efforts to please Northern sentiment, -they would not permit him to be buried with the Confederate flag in his -coffin! - - * * * * * - -_The Nation_ is a mighty good paper, but it ought not to class General N. -B. Forrest as “a scout” and “guerrilla.” - -General Forrest was named by General Lee, during the last year of the -war, as the best soldier that the Civil War had developed. - -Forrest was greater than his commanding general at Fort Donelson, at -Murfreesborough, and at Chickamauga. He finally swore that he would not -obey any more fool orders from blundering superiors, and he struck out -for himself. During the short time that he held independent command his -achievements, considering his resources, rivalled those of Stonewall -Jackson in the Valley Campaign. - - * * * * * - -Nor should _The Nation_ be too hard upon the West Point officers who -followed their native states out of the Union. Justice to those officers -requires one to remember that they were taught at West Point that the -States had the right to secede from the Union. - -If _The Nation_ will consult the text-book from which Generals Lee, -Johnston, Beauregard and Wheeler were instructed in Constitutional Law, -it will discover that these young officers simply put in practice that -which their teachers had taught them to be their right. - -The book to which I refer is Rawle’s work upon Constitutional Law. - - * * * * * - -After General Wheeler had tried so hard to win the heart of the North, -_don’t_ you think they might have allowed the Confederate flag to rest -upon his folded hands? - -_That_ was the flag which he had followed in the storm of actual war. -The Cuban business was nothing. It was child’s play, and pitiful child’s -play at that. But the Civil War was real, was colossal, rent a continent -asunder, and shook the world. It was the Confederate flag which had led -Wheeler to his fame. His youth, his first and best, had been given to -_that_; of all the banners on earth none could have been dearer, holier -to him than _that_. - -To look upon it was to bring back the years and the deeds which had -brought him glory. It associated itself with the heroes who had listened -to his battle-cry, and who had sanctified their sacrifice to duty with -their blood. It spoke to him of the hopes and the griefs and the despair -of his home, the South; it recalled the enthusiasm and the heartbreak; -the splendid devotion of noble women, and the resignation of conquered -men. - -Surely, surely the Confederate flag must have been the dearest emblem of -Duty and Sacrifice to General Joe Wheeler. - -_Don’t_ you think that Charity might have softened the heart of the North -to the old warrior who was dead, and that they might have let him rest -under the “Conquered Banner?” - -[Illustration: _The House: I give you warning, old man; it’s loaded!_ - - _Bart, in Minneapolis Journal_] - -[Illustration: _If George Washington Came to the Capital Today_ - - _Morris, in Spokane Spokesman-Review_] - -[Illustration: _The Stirring War Drama Entitled: “Chased By the Enemy; -or, Curfew Shall Not Ring This Evening”_ - - _Opper, in N. Y. American_] - - - - -_Machine Rule and its Termination_ - -BY GEORGE H. SHIBLEY - -_President of the People’s Sovereignty League and Editor of the -Referendum News._ - - -Underneath the existing political and legislative evils in this country -there is found a common cause—the rule of the few through machine -politics. The powers of sovereignty are exercised by the few. Proof of -this is the fact that the evils complained of are banished, or are in -process of disappearing, wherever the people have established their -sovereignty—have established the right to a direct vote on public -questions. This system is the initiative and referendum. It is exercised -in combination with representatives, and the system as a whole is termed -Guarded Representative Government—the people’s sovereignty is guarded. - -This improved system of representative government is an evolutionary -product, and being such it will gradually extend throughout the world. A -practical question is: How best can its spread be promoted? To arrive at -an answer, one must study the methods whereby the improved systems came -into being. - -We find that the forerunners were third parties and non-partisan -organizations. The first declaration by a political party in this country -was the Socialist Labor Party in 1889. Next came a declaration by the -Knights of Labor in 1891. The same year there appeared “The Referendum in -America,” by Ellis Paxton Oberholtzer, Ph.D. The next year J. W. Sullivan -published his book, “Direct Legislation.” During the year the National -Direct Legislation League was organized. There was also published, -during 1892, “Direct Legislation by the People,” by Nathan Cree of -Chicago. - -On July 4th of the same year, 1892, the newly organized People’s Party -commended “to the favorable consideration of the people and the reform -press the legislative system known as the initiative and referendum.” -And state conventions of the People’s Party and the allied parties also -paid considerable attention to the initiative and referendum. During the -Autumn the American Federation of Labor gave its emphatic endorsement -to the initiative and referendum by commending “to affiliated bodies -the careful consideration of this principle and the inauguration of an -agitation for its incorporation into the laws of the respective states.” - -The same year the National Grange adopted a resolution recommending to -the state and subordinate granges the Swiss legislation method known as -the referendum and the initiative. - -The following year the People’s Party, wherever it was in power, -endeavored to submit to the people a constitutional amendment for the -initiative and referendum, but as a two-thirds vote was required there -was a temporary failure. - -In 1896 the People’s Party at its national convention came out strongly -for the initiative and referendum, as also did the National Party -convention, composed of 299 delegates who seceded from the Prohibition -convention. The Socialist Labor Party also reaffirmed its people’s -sovereignty plank of 1892. - -The first legislation in this country for the initiative and referendum -was by the People’s Party in Nebraska, 1897. The voters in municipalities -were empowered to petition for the adoption of the initiative and -referendum system for local affairs, and the system was to be adopted -if approved by a majority of those who should vote upon the question. -Hon. John W. Yeiser was chiefly instrumental in securing the law, and he -endeavored to secure its adoption in Omaha, but without success. - -The same year, 1897, the People’s Party representatives in the South -Dakota Legislature combined with the Silver Republicans and Democrats to -submit a constitutional amendment for the initiative and referendum. Most -of the Republicans in the Legislature fell in line and voted with the -promoters of the reform. At the next election, 1898, the voters adopted -the system. Afterward the Republican party, which then had a majority -in each house, enacted the statute to put it in operation. Since then -two sessions of the Legislature have been held and the effects of the -referendum (the people’s veto) have been splendid. The following words -are credited to the Republican Governor, Hon. Charles Herried, by a -member of the Toronto Parliament: - -“Since this referendum law has been a part of our constitution we -have had no chartermongers or railway speculators, no wildcat schemes -submitted to our Legislature. Formerly our time was occupied by -speculative schemes of one kind or another, but since the referendum has -been a part of the constitution these people do not press their schemes -on the Legislature, and hence there is no necessity for having recourse -to the referendum.” - -The initiative in South Dakota was crippled by inserting a “joker”! The -system provides that five per cent. of the voters may propose bills to -the Legislature, “which measures the Legislature shall _enact_ and submit -to a vote of the electors of the state.” - -The year (1898) that the voters of South Dakota balloted upon the -question of adopting the improved system of representative government, -the People’s Party, Silver Republicans and Democrats in Utah submitted -to the voters of the state the question of adopting a constitutional -amendment for the referendum and initiative. At the next election the -voters adopted the system; but the Republican party gained control of the -Legislature and refused to enact a statute for putting the constitutional -amendment into operation. Two years later the same thing occurred. - -The same year that the Fusionist Legislature in Utah submitted the -amendment a similar thing was done by a Republican legislature in -Oregon. A proposal for an amendment in Oregon has to pass two successive -legislatures; therefore the question was a live issue in the next -campaign—1900. The People’s Party, the Democratic and the Republican -state platforms each pledged that, should the party be placed in power in -the Legislature, it would permit the voters to ballot upon the question. -The Republican party secured a majority in the Legislature and submitted -the question. In the next campaign, 1902, the question was again a live -issue, for it was to be balloted upon by the voters; and again all the -parties declared for the improved system and advised the voters of the -state to adopt it, as also did the Granges and Organized Labor, likewise -both the United States senators and the Republican governor, and nearly -all the prominent men in political life in Oregon, together with most of -the newspapers in the state. All advised the adoption of the system, and -the vote of the people was 11 to 1 for the system. - -Governor Geer’s advice to the voter was: “If the referendum amendment is -adopted by the people and made use of after adoption, it will be helpful -all around as a restraining influence over careless legislatures. Even -if not often brought into requisition, the fact that it is a part of the -state Constitution, ready to be used as a check against ill-advised -legislation at any time, will justify its adoption. It may not be needed -now any more than it was 100 years ago, but there have often been times -in the past when even ‘Our Fathers’ could have been wisely checked by -this wholesome reservation of the rights of the people.” - -In Nevada, at the legislative session of 1901, the Fusionist party had -a majority in the Legislature and voted to submit to the people the -question of adopting the referendum. The next Legislature gave its -consent and submitted a constitutional amendment for the initiative. -At the following election the voters adopted the referendum, but the -Legislature elected was Republican and it refused to consent to the -submission of the constitutional amendment for the initiative. - -The same year in Illinois, 1901, a Republican Legislature and governor -established the advisory initiative in municipalities and in state -affairs. Through this system the voters in Chicago have voted three times -for municipal ownership of street railways and the instructions are being -obeyed. - -The Republican senators from Illinois, Cullom and Hopkins, are both on -record as favoring the initiative and referendum. - -Since 1901 the progress of the initiative and referendum has been through -the systematic questioning of candidates by non-partisan organizations. -The start in this direction came from the successful experiences of -Winnetka, Illinois. These experiences began in 1896 and continued from -year to year with unvarying success. - - -THE WINNETKA SYSTEM - -Winnetka is a suburb of Chicago, peopled largely by bright and active -business men. Certain would-be monopolists proposed to the village -council that it grant them a forty-year franchise for a gas plant. This -was opposed by the citizens, for they wanted public ownership of city -monopolies. They possessed a publicly-owned waterworks system and aimed -to keep themselves from the clutches of private monopoly. Fortunately, -at the time the gas franchise was asked for, there was being held each -month a public meeting to consider public questions. It was called the -“town meeting.” At the next town meeting, after the gas question came -up, a resolution was adopted asking the village council to submit the -question to the people. A deputation of leading citizens called upon the -city council at its next meeting and Mr. Lloyd was accorded the privilege -of speaking. After a warm time the council reluctantly agreed to submit -the question to the voters and abide by their decision. The polls were -opened and the proposed franchise received only 4 votes, with 180 against -it. - -This settled the gas franchise and it did much more, for at the next -caucus for nominating village trustees it was proposed and decided that -only those men should be nominated who would stand up before their -fellow-voters and promise, if nominated and elected, to submit all -important questions to a vote of the people and abide by their decision. -This was agreed to by the voters present, and each nominee for village -trustee stood before his fellow-citizens and promised. - -Thus was the system installed, for there were no competing nominations. -The casting of ballots on election day was a mere form. - -From that day until the present time the people of Winnetka have been the -sovereign power as to ordinances. They are a Self-emancipated People. - -Reviewing the foregoing, it is seen that the pledges for installing the -referendum system were secured by questioning candidates, while the -system itself is through rules of procedure, which may be incorporated -in the rules themselves or in an ordinance or statute. The system is -the advisory referendum, the candidates being pledged to carry out the -people’s advice. This they have done in Winnetka and elsewhere, as we -shall show. But the system is intended for use only until the usual form -can be installed. In fact, it is through an advisory initiative that a -change in the Federal Constitution is to be secured, and in the near -future. - -Immediately after the election in 1900 the writer, who was a delegate -to the People’s Party National Convention of that year, withdrew from -the Bureau of Economic Research and began devoting his entire time and -energies to spreading the news concerning the Winnetka System, the -primary aim being to help establish the people’s sovereignty in national -affairs and to do so without waiting to change the written words of the -Federal Constitution—a practically unalterable instrument until such -time as the advisory initiative is installed. The following July the -second social and political conference at Detroit approved the Winnetka -System—the advisory initiative and advisory referendum—as also did the -National Direct Legislation League. - -And Prof. Frank Parsons, president of the National Referendum League, -said: “The Winnetka System is clearly great in its possibilities—a bridge -ready for immediate use to the promised land.” - -Mr. Eltweed Pomeroy, president of the National Direct Legislation League, -wrote: “I am also glad that you demonstrate that direct legislation -is not only a great scheme which will be of inestimable value in its -entirety, but that it is more than that, and can be applied on a small -scale here and now, and that almost anyone can exercise influence enough -to secure a first step.” - -Mr. Louis P. Post, editor of _The Public_, visited Winnetka during -August, 1901, and in his paper of September 7 described the system, -saying in conclusion: - - This Winnetka Plan of securing the advantages of direct - legislation without waiting for party action, has special - merit. It can, for one thing, be easily made the subject of - effective non-partisan organization. For another, if the - organization were to become influential, it would completely - effect its purpose. Meanwhile, here and there locally the - purposes would be effected even though balked and delayed - in the larger government divisions. Moreover, the plan has - been for years in actual and effective operation at Winnetka. - Finally, it contemplates a spontaneous command from the people - as to public servants, not a petition from them as to public - masters. - -The Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor, at a meeting -in Washington, D. C., September 20, 1901, considered briefly the Winnetka -System, and the following is the published report: - - It was decided to issue an address to all affiliated - organizations, requesting them to endeavor to secure the - passage of local ordinances and laws for the initiative and - referendum _on measures relating to local interests_, and thus - to secure the beginning of this system of direct legislation, - _with the view of subsequently enlarging the scope of that - method of enacting laws in the interests of the people_. - -Thus the new system—the systematic questioning of candidates for the -establishment of the people’s sovereignty—began and was endorsed -throughout the land. During the four and a half years that have since -elapsed the system has made steady and rapid progress. - -In December, 1901, President Gompers, of the American Federation of -Labor, in his annual message recommended the system, and the convention -ordered that it be explained in the _American Federationist_, “in -order that Trade Unionists may be able to study it as carefully as it -deserves.” Accordingly it was published in an eighty page extra number -and 20,000 copies were circulated in addition to the regular mailing list. - -Gov. Altgeld wrote concerning this extra number: “It presents the subject -of the initiative and referendum and representative government in the -most lucid, striking, and comprehensive manner that I have ever seen.” -He added: “Through the agency of the labor organizations it ought to get -into every neighborhood, and in time it will create a sentiment that will -be irresistible.” - -Gov. Altgeld’s prediction is correct. The very first year after the -issuance of the extra number of the _Federationist_ the Winnetka System -was established in Detroit, Mich., Toronto, Canada, and Geneva, Ill.; -with the pledging of the Missouri Legislature for the submission of a -constitutional amendment for the initiative and referendum; also the -systematic questioning of candidates by organized labor in several other -states, and the questioning of candidates as to the initiative and -referendum by the granges in the state of Washington. The net result -of questioning candidates was a majority vote for the initiative and -referendum in six legislatures; also the pledging of nine of the sixteen -congressmen of Missouri for a national system of advisory initiative -and advisory referendum, and the pledging of the United States senators -elected from Missouri and Illinois. During the course of the campaign -the actions of four state conventions of the two great parties were -reversed—the Republican state conventions in Missouri, California and -Montana; and the Democratic state convention in Montana. The states where -the majority vote in the legislature was secured were Missouri, Colorado, -California, Montana, North Dakota and Massachusetts. In Illinois there -was a two-thirds vote in the House, but the Senate refused to act. This -Illinois vote was caused by an instruction from the voters through an -advisory referendum taken under the 1901 act of the Legislature. The vote -of the people was 5 to 1 for the establishment of the improved system. - -Before the meeting of the legislatures, after the autumn elections, the -American Federation of Labor at its annual convention established a -national system for the questioning of candidates, the interrogatories to -apply to such measures as the organization should deem most important. - -The next year, 1903, legislatures were elected in but ten states and, as -organized labor in these states had not yet been educated to the use of -the questioning system, except in Massachusetts, little was accomplished -for the initiative and referendum. In Massachusetts the labor people -found themselves almost alone in demanding the people’s sovereignty, and -during 1903 were quiescent. But in Kentucky Hon. J. A. Parker did valiant -work. Through his paper, _The Home Tribune_, he called for workers for -the referendum in Kentucky. At a joint state convention of the Allied -People’s Party and the United Labor Party, a platform was enunciated in -which existing political and legislative evils were outlined; and it -was pointed out that the remedy is an improved system of government—the -establishment of the people’s sovereignty through the initiative -and referendum, to be exercised in combination with representative -government. _The proposed change, it was declared, was the open door -through which all the desired legislative reforms would come._ It was -further declared that candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties -should be questioned, and wherever a reliable candidate would pledge in -writing for the improved system of government, no opposing candidate of -the Allied Party should be nominated, and that every possible effort -would be made to help elect the pledged candidate. The result in Mr. -Parker’s own words at the close of the campaign was as follows: - - In all my work I found but little antagonism. The one obstacle - was the bitter, unreasonable campaign carried on in this state, - in which all principle was lost sight of, and the issue made on - the hanging of Caleb Powers. The election was a riot of fraud - and dishonor, and showed too clearly what little hope there can - be in partisan action. The last election, not only in Kentucky, - but all over the nation _has shown that to gain any substantial - reform we must concentrate all effort on pledging candidates, - AND IF THIS EFFORT IS SUPPORTED BY INTELLIGENT LOCAL EFFORT - WE CAN WIN IN ANY STATE._ An instance of this is found in a - senatorial district in this state, where Dr. J. S. Dossey - had enrolled perhaps 300 volunteers for Majority Rule. The - Republican signed our pledge, and, the Democrat ignoring the - matter until after the time fixed as a limit, I wrote letters - to our workers stating the situation. Within forty-eight hours - came the Democrat’s pledge with a strong letter to support it, - declaring that if elected he would give our bill his hearty - support. - -The following year, 1904, the Presidential contest absorbed a large -degree of attention, yet the people’s sovereignty cause was triumphant -in four states—Montana, Nevada, Texas and Delaware—with considerable -progress in many others; and a 33⅓ per cent. increase in pledged -congressmen in Missouri, i.e., twelve of the sixteen are pledged to the -people’s sovereignty in national affairs through the advisory initiative -and advisory referendum, as also are five of the Chicago congressmen, -and scattering ones throughout the country. The Pennsylvania granges, -which are very strong, established a magazine of their own and questioned -candidates for the initiative and referendum and other measures. - -The next year, 1905, like 1903, was a year in which few legislatures -were elected, yet one state and probably two were rescued from machine -rule—Ohio and possibly Massachusetts. In Ohio the required three-fifths -of the Legislature are pledged to the submission of a constitutional -amendment for the initiative and referendum; and in Massachusetts it -is hoped that an advisory referendum system will be established. The -Ohio campaign is especially noteworthy in that most of the Republican -candidates refused to pledge, while the Democratic candidates pledged -universally, the initiative and referendum being part of the state -platform. Election day was a surprise to every one, for many of the -people’s sovereignty candidates were elected where it was supposed they -were hopelessly beaten. The Democratic gain in the Senate was 47.5 per -cent.—an unprecedented landslide. The change was not caused by the -Anti-Saloon League’s work, for the Republican candidates were pledged -to its cause. The change was due to the independent voters, who had -been apprised of the attitude of candidates through the publication of -the answers to the initiative and referendum question. Early in October -the State Federation of Labor at its annual convention instructed that -all candidates for the Legislature should be questioned as to the -initiative and referendum, and the replies published. The Woman’s -Suffrage Association also questioned candidates as to the initiative -and referendum. Referendum Leagues were active, and years ago the Union -Reform Party had specialized on the initiative and referendum, thereby -instructing the voters—a lesson which they evidently did not forget. - -This same year the State Federation of Labor increased most materially -their activity for the people’s sovereignty. The Pennsylvania Federation -of Labor set the pace. At its annual convention it provided not only for -the questioning of political candidates, but took steps to provide for a -people’s sovereignty committee within each union, and arranged in other -ways for an educational and non-partisan campaign for the initiative and -referendum. A fraternal delegate was received from the state grange, -which also is working for the people’s sovereignty. Later in the year the -New Jersey State Federation of Labor adopted the Pennsylvania program, -and a few weeks afterward the New York State Federation did likewise. At -the annual convention of the American Federation of Labor, representing -one-eighth of the people of the United States, the executive council -report recited the rapid spread of the people’s sovereignty cause through -the questioning of candidates, and said: - - The systematic questioning of candidates, to which reference - has been made, is gaining in importance each year. More and - more our state branches, central bodies and local unions are - realizing the system’s usefulness. It enables our people to - prevent the evasion of issues by party machines, and the - self-interests of candidates cause them to answer favorably in - most cases. And the success of organized labor’s political work - without engaging in party politics strengthens the union in the - sentiment of its members and increases their number. - - Co-operation is also advanced with other interests, such - as organized farmers. In Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Indian - Territory and Texas the organized farmers, with organized wage - earners, are questioning candidates as to the establishment - of the people’s sovereignty in place of machine rule. This is - accomplished without a formal alliance. - - We recommend the general use of the questioning-of-candidates - system. - -The state Granges in sixteen commonwealths have declared for the -initiative and referendum. These states are: Oregon, Washington, -Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, -Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode -Island and Maine. - -The Farmers’ Union, a rapidly growing organization (described in WATSON’S -MAGAZINE for February) has adopted the initiative for use within the -association. The National American Woman’s Suffrage Association declared -last year for the initiative and referendum, and this year’s convention -has urgently requested action by the state associations. Last year in -Ohio the Woman’s Suffrage Association questioned candidates as to the -initiative and referendum, and this year it is likely that the suffrage -association in every state will apply the system. The Referendum Leagues -are also questioning candidates. - -All these organizations have learned or are learning that the questioning -of candidates immediately terminates the machine’s power to sidetrack -the live issues, provided there is an organization to take the case to -the voters. One individual in a state can easily co-ordinate the forces -for the questioning of candidates, and thereby secure the immediate -termination of the machine’s power to evade the live issues. One person -in a state has repeatedly secured this result; in fact, every reform -within a state is largely due to the engineering tact and skill of some -one individual. Today, as never before, it is easy and practically -costless to terminate machine rule by establishing the initiative and -referendum. - - -A NEW THIRD PARTY - -Heretofore the essential element in questioning candidates as to people’s -sovereignty has been a State Referendum League, in order that the -business and professional interests shall be represented. But in January -a new departure occurred in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Referendum -League changed its form of organization to the REFERENDUM PARTY OF -PENNSYLVANIA. The platform is as follows: - - The Referendum Party urges the following legislative action as - the only certain peaceable means of forever eradicating the - gigantic evils that have gradually crept into our system of - government: - - 1. The calling of a constitutional convention to revise the - state constitution. - - 2. Granting to the people the right to veto unjust laws or - ordinances by direct vote; this right to be exercised only if a - vote is demanded on any law or ordinance, by petition signed by - two percentum of the voters of the state or locality affected. - - 3. Granting to the people the right to enact, by direct - majority vote, needed laws which their Legislature fails or - refuses to enact. - - This is known as the Referendum System. Wherever it has been - in operation it has effectually stamped out bribery, graft, - bossism and ring rule, and has made “government by the people - and for the people” a practical reality instead of a mere - theory. - - The Referendum Party invites the co-operation of all who favor - this action. - -The members of the preliminary committee on organization are: - - Clarence V. Tiers, Chairman, Pittsburg, Pa., - Clement V. Horn, Wilkinsburg, Pa., - H. F. Lea, Bellevue, Pa., - H. W. Noren, Allegheny, Pa., - Walter Becker, Allegheny, Pa., - John C. Innes, Pittsburg, Pa., - George D. Porter, Philadelphia, Pa., - John E. Joos, Allegheny, Pa., - Nathaniel Green, Swissvale, Pa., - J. Ludwig Koethen, Jr., Pittsburg, Pa., - Hon. W. F. Hill, (Master State Grange) Chambersburg, Pa., - James Wm. Newlin, (Member of Constitutional Convention 1873) - Philadelphia, Pa. - -Reformers will watch with great interest this new experiment in third -party politics. By limiting the demand to a constitutional convention -and the initiative and referendum, and proposing to endorse such of the -reliable candidates as pledge for the people’s sovereignty, the program -is largely that of a Referendum League, plus the possibility of making -an independent nomination. But a league can circulate nomination papers; -in fact, every league impliedly stands ready to do so, if necessary. One -thing is clear; that the _Pennsylvania situation was such that the change -to a Referendum Party put life and vigor into the referendum movement_. -Not only were hundreds of enthusiastic offers of support sent in, it is -said, and from every quarter of the state, but leaders in the minority -party and in the Lincoln party were brought to a point where they found -it desirable to take immediate notice of the organization. - -One reason for this is that the granges in the state, large in number and -strong in membership, and organized labor, have not only declared for the -initiative and referendum, but are systematically questioning candidates -and publishing their replies. All that is needed to give great political -power to these voters is an organization that stands ready to nominate -referendum candidates. The mere existence of such an organization will -accomplish most of its purposes. In this connection the experience of Jo -A. Parker, in Kentucky, described above, should be borne in mind; also -the fact that the People’s Party Conference of 1902 at Louisville almost -adopted the program which Mr. Parker applied in Kentucky the following -year. But in states where the minority party is under progressive -leadership it is probable that a State Referendum League is the best -possible instrument. - -Isn’t it clear that the thing for the People’s Party to do is to complete -at once the establishment of the initiative and referendum in America by -going at it through the Kentucky or Pennsylvania program? Or that the -workers in a state should organize an Initiative and Referendum League? - -If we review the foregoing pages several things become clear: - -1. That machine rule can be terminated and the people’s sovereignty -re-established without waiting to change the written constitution. All -that is required is a majority vote in the city council, legislature -or congress. By this means an advisory-vote system can be established -and then the candidates for public office can be pledged to obey the -will of their constituents when expressed by referendum vote. This is -merely the re-establishment of a direct vote system for instructing -representatives—a system as old as representative government itself. The -President of the United States is selected through an advisory vote by -the people and public questions are also being determined by advisory -vote; for example, municipal ownership of street railways in Chicago. - -2. The basis of machine rule is an evasion of vital issues by both the -leading parties. This power can be terminated at once by the systematic -questioning of candidates as to vital issues, provided an organization -or candidate stands ready to take the case to the people. Another way -of stating the reason for questioning candidates is that the people are -entitled to know how the candidates will vote if elected. - -3. A third party organization can question candidates and declare that -unless there is within each district a clear-cut written pledge by a -reputable candidate, it will place one in nomination. - -Or the program can be to place on the third-party ticket some of the old -line party candidates, except in those states where fusion is prohibited -by law. - -4. The People’s Party during its palmy days was a leading factor in -popularizing the initiative and referendum, and in securing its adoption, -and today, by centering its effort on the termination of machine rule -through the establishment of the initiative and referendum, it can at -once complete the rehabilitation of the American system of government. -Not only can the remaining states be redeemed within the next two years, -but it is thoroughly practicable to exert in national affairs this year -an influence that shall result in a pledged majority in the national -House and Senate—the pledges to be for the advisory initiative and -advisory referendum. The entire body of organized labor is centering its -efforts in this direction, the referendum leagues are demanding it, and -all that is needed to secure immediate victory is a political party that -stands ready to put up candidates. The mere existence of such a party -will win the day. How best can the desired end be attained? - - - - -[Illustration: A Basket And A Fortune - -By Louise Forsslund] - -AUTHOR OF “THE STORY OF SARAH”, ETC. - - - The Old Men’s Home, Indian Village, Long Island. - June 10, 19— - - To the Matron of the Old Ladies’ Home, Shoreville, Long Island. - - Dear Miss: The writer of this letter has had a windfall and - he wants one of your woman-folks to have a share in it. He - has lived in an old folks’ home himself for ten years, hand - running, and he has a feeling for them others. My cousin - Obadiah Hawkins died up to Lakeland last week. He never would - so much as lend me a penny whilst he was living, but now he’s - dead, he’s left me ten thousand dollars in ready money and a - house and a home. There’s a pump in the kitchen. He never was - no hand for investments and the money was all in an old silver - water pitcher. It’s all good and the matron here has counted - it over. I always wanted a home of my own and never was able - to afford one. I always wanted a wife of my own and never - could get up gumption enough to ask any woman to share my bad - luck. Now the luck has turned. I got the home. All I need is - the wife. I be going to drive over this afternoon and see if - you got anybody that’s willing. I put it that way ’cause I - ain’t much account if I have come into a tidy little fortune. - I wear a wig and have spells of lumbago. It’s the lumbago what - brought me here. There ain’t a lazy bone in my body. As for the - requirements of the lady. She must be under seventy years old; - she mustn’t wear a wig or dye her hair. I want one respectable - suit of hair between us. She mustn’t squint or take snuff, - and if she is sot on keeping chickens—some women be—she must - keep them in the coop. I’ll build the coop. And she must love - flowers and garden sass. - - Expecting them to be on deck this afternoon at three o’clock, I - am, - - Yours most respectfully, - - Samuel Jessup. - -A moment’s intense silence followed the matron’s public reading of this -letter in the large hall which served as the community room of the Old -Ladies’ Home. The matron, her young gray eyes twinkling and shining, -looked from one old face to the other. Some were broadly grinning under -their crowns of gray hair, some were hurt and scornful, some were only -puzzled and amazed—these belonging to the old ladies who had held their -shriveled, shaking hands as trumpets before their ears during the reading -of the letter. And some faces were marred by a shrewd, keen, calculating -look as if to exclaim: “I wonder if—!” The matron looked at them all, her -smile slowly growing broader, then quickly she looked down at her desk -and said with business-like briskness: - -“That is a very honest letter. I wish you could all give it your serious -attention. There is no fraud in it, for I have telephoned to the Old -Men’s Home, and Mr. Jessup is a noble, straightforward character. Now, -are any of you willing to see him this afternoon? I suggest that all -those who can not or who will not give Mr. Jessup a chance for their -hands this afternoon, leave the hall.” - -There was a curious reluctance on the part of the old ladies to move. -There was much wagging of heads, much nudging of elbows, whispers and -winks and murmurs from every quarter, but no one stirred. Those who -really had no personal interest or legitimate right to an interest in Mr. -Jessup’s quest for a wife stayed to see what the others might do. The -matron repeated her request. Then old Mrs. Smith, bent and humpbacked, -took up her cane and hobbled slowly toward the stairway. - -“Ef he wanted me,” she declared with mock asperity, “he should oughter -come twenty year ago. Ye notice,” she added, looking over her shoulder -with her sharp, shrewd peaked face, “he didn’t tell how old _he_ was.” - -“He’s sixty-nine,” laughed the matron. “Most men of his age would have -insisted on a wife of eighteen.” - -There was a scurrying sound among the group of old ladies and suddenly -there darted across the hall a younger, slimmer, straighter figure than -Mrs. Smith’s. - -“Miss Ellie!” protestingly called the matron, “where are you going?” - -Miss Ellie paused, her face flushed with shame to think she had not fled -from the hall before. She paused and looked at the matron. However old -she was, Miss Ellie did not look more than fifty years. Her hair was -luxuriant, half silver, half gold, faded, yet giving a curious effect of -a halo of moonlight. The flush mounted higher up the spinster’s cheeks -until it crept over her forehead to the edge of her hair. For a moment -she stood thus, looking at the youthful matron. Then, with a world of -reproach in her tones, she said simply: “Miss Jessica!” Then she went up -the stairs with quick and trembling limbs, but with an air of dignity -that acted as a rebuke upon those lingering the hall. - -“Proud Miss Ellie!” murmured Jessica, herself feeling ashamed. - -“I do think,” began Mrs. Honan in a loud, strident key, “I do think -myself that the man didn’t show very fine feeling. The idea of him -a-spectin’ a woman ter jump at his head. Ef he wanted a wife, why didn’t -he come a-lookin’ around modest an’ quiet-like in the good, old fashioned -way?” - -With that she swept out of the hall. She was down on the register as -having passed her seventy-third birthday, and anyway, she mused, she -had always preferred a yard full of chickens to a yard full of flowers, -because chickens are more lively. They keep you better company, she -said. Then, with or without verbal excuse, one woman after another left -the hall. There were two with the deplorable squint, several far on the -shaded side of seventy, some who wore honest wigs, and some too honest -to proclaim either that they did not dye their hair or that they had -never sniffed at the contents of a snuffbox. Then there were the dear -old ladies loyal to their dead husbands, the old ladies who did not care -to give up the serene, uneventful security of the Old Ladies’ Home for -a house shared only with a man afflicted with lumbago and very decided -notions. However, ten remained, openly ashamed, yet not sufficiently -ashamed to reject Samuel Jessup’s hand before they had seen him. - -“It don’t mean that none of us promise to take him, oh no!” said Mrs. -Young, a woman living in the memories of her long reign as a belle. “It -only means that we’d like to get a good look at him. We’ve had plenty of -chances all our lives. We ain’t none of us here because no man wanted -us—neither us widders nor us maidens. We’re here from ch’ice, Miss -Jessica, from _ch’ice_! But still if there’s another ch’ice open to -us with a real, kind honest man—his letter shows he’s that, bless his -heart!—we’d each of us ten like to have one tenth of a show at him.” - -Then, greatly flustered at having spoken with such unmaidenly freedom -on such a subject, Mrs. Young moved away from the desk across the hall -and out of doors, where she could take a good long breath. After she had -gone, one of the nine remaining candidates wondered aloud how Mrs. Young -would look without her false front, for of course no one would deceive -Samuel Jessup as to her quantity of hair. - -“But the rest of it?” whispered another. “You can’t wash all that dye off -in one day, can you?” - -“Waal!” retorted a third, coming hotly to Mrs. Young’s rescue, “a man who -wears a wig hasn’t no right ter be so particular.” - -Said the first one firmly: “She shouldn’t deceive him.” - -Answered a third: “Deceive him all she wants ter as long as it’s in -somethin’ no man would have wit enough ter find out.” - -At three o’clock to the minute, Samuel Jessup appeared, emerging from a -closed coach together with a plump middle-aged woman who carried with -extraordinary care a large market basket covered with a red tablecloth. - -“Good gracious!” exclaimed Mrs. Young, peeking with half the household -from the upper hall windows. “He’s been an’ picked up a wife on the road -an’ come to offer his apologies.” - -She laughed merrily at the possible joke against them all. And yet what a -pity that would be, too, for Samuel was a pleasant, self-reliant looking -little man with his head hanging sideways as if he had never lifted it -from a one-sided attack of the mumps. Somehow this attitude made him -appear younger. But the wig! That was too much in evidence and they all -decided that it must be clipped at once. Samuel did not scan the house -with lover-like eagerness as he came up the steps. Instead, he watched -the basket with intense interest—so intense that he stumbled on the way. - -“I bet he’s got a dog in it!” cried one of the candidates. “I will not -stand no leetle measly pet dog around the house, a-sheddin’ hair all over -the parlor sofy. I ain’t agoin’ downstairs!” - -But she went with the others and met Mr. Jessup. The woman with the -basket was nowhere in sight, having been relegated to the dining-room. No -attempt whatever was made to explain her to the old ladies. Samuel Jessup -was immediately enthroned by the matron in her private office; and one -by one in alphabetical order of their names, Jessica sent the candidates -to him, thinking that this would be more delicate than to have them all -face him at once. Delicacy in this affair did not seem so difficult after -coming face to face with little Mr. Jessup. Very modestly, and with his -head more on one side than ever, he told the matron that she must convey -to the ladies his doubts as to any one of them accepting him. He thought -it was very kind of them to receive him anyway, and—this with a quick -keen look into Jessica’s wise and bonny face—he hoped that they would not -laugh at him. - -The first five filed out of the room after only a few moments’ -conversation, each briefly explaining in her turn why Mr. Jessup “hadn’t -took” with her. One did not like the way he held his head. One never -could stand that wig. She knew that it got askew every time he took a -nap. One thought him too much like her dead husband. One thought him too -unlike her departed John to make a happy union possible. One said she -never could bear a pump dribbling water in the kitchen; and he was too -stubborn and “sot” in his ways to take it out. Then went in the sixth—she -who had not rebuked the deceit of Mrs. Young’s dyed hair and she who -hated pet dogs. After a longer period, she came out and with customary -candor bluntly declared that she would have had Samuel Jessup in a -minute, but she saw that she did not take with him. - -“The woman that gits him will be lucky,” she declared, “basket and all.” -Nothing more would she tell. Then into the private room went the seventh -old lady. She immediately demanded of Samuel an explanation of the woman -and the basket; whereupon Samuel said that he refused to be questioned by -any woman and he knew that they could not get along well together. She -came out sniffing contemptuously, and vowed that in her opinion there -was something very mysterious about this man. Number Eight went in even -more eagerly, on tip-toe. She had read romances all her life. She loved -mysteries and she was so sensitive about living in an Old Ladies’ Home -partly on charity that she would have married any man that asked her. -Almost any man—but not quite. She and Samuel Jessup talked together for a -long time. - -“I am sure we would git along,” said Samuel at last, his heart stirred -to sympathy for one who hated a Home of this sort with the same proud -hatred that he had borne. “But,” he went on, “before I let you decide, I -be agoin’ to take you into the dining-room and show you the basket. What -belongs in the basket belongs with me an’s agoin’ with me. I ain’t much -ter git, but come an’ see the basket!” - -Her romantic old heart beating high with excitement, Miss Ruby tip-toed -ahead of him, across a tiny, dark back hall into the dining-room. On the -very threshold she paused, her eyes popping out of her head as she looked -within; then she uttered a faint scream and went scuttling into a corner -among the shadows of the dim passage. - -“Good-bye, Mr. Jessup!” she called tragically. “Good-bye!” and there -ended Samuel Jessup’s affair with Miss Ruby. - -A humorous light twinkled in the old man’s eye as he went back into -Jessica’s office and waited for the ninth candidate. She was a woman -famous in the Home for always managing to find some one to wait upon her, -and she wanted a house of her own with several servants, an unobtrusive -husband, and stained glass windows in the parlor. - -“I kinder fancied stained glass winders myself,” said Samuel. “But you -can’t be keepin’ a hull passel o’ servants. One servant gal—that’s all I -agree to, ma’am.” - -She thought that one servant might do if they put out the washing. Samuel -looked dubious for a moment, seeing himself a henpecked husband, and then -that twinkle came again into his wholesome eye. - -“Before we decide, m’am, I want ter show you what I got in that there -basket. Me an’ the basket be inseparable.” - -She preceded him into the dining-room, her shoulders high and her nose -uplifted. She stood for some moments staring at the contents of the -basket, the basket’s owner, and the basket’s guardian staring at her. -Slowly her face grew rigid. She shook her head once. She strove to speak, -swallowed hard and then gasped; - -“How dast you presume, Samuel Jessup!” - -Samuel winked at the guardian of the basket and chuckled soft and low. -But then he realized that he really wanted a wife, a companion in his -old age, a mistress for the snug little home, and now there was but one -candidate left. To be sure he might find some one outside the Home, -but he had wanted in truth to share all that he had—the basket not -excepted—with one who had tasted as he had the well buttered bread of -charity in an old folks’ home. Soberly he went back to the private room, -and Mrs. Young came drifting leisurely in to him. She congratulated -herself on being the last. She wanted never to be twitted with having -failed to give the others every possible chance, and she knew that had -she entered the private room first the result would have been the same. -She would be the wife selected by Mr. Jessup if she wanted him. A woman -with real charm for old men, a woman who could have graced many a home in -her lazy, yet pleasingly frivolous ways, she felt that Samuel could not -resist her if she chose to throw her charm around him. - -“This is a very ridiculous position,” she began, with a quavering little -trill of laughter. “I never went a-seekin’ a man before. They always -sought me.” - -This was more than Samuel’s natural gallantry could withstand. He took -her small lean fingers in his and drew her down beside him on the couch. -Her fingers twined around his hand. She wore jewels—relics of bygone -splendors—which seemed pitifully out of keeping with her present state. -To Samuel they told a long, familiar story, and sent a feeling of pity -out from him to her. - -“Mis’ Young,” he said gently. “I am jest as much obliged to all of you -folks fer seein’ me as I kin be.” - -“To us _all_?” she asked and lifted her eyes. - -They had been very fine blue eyes once and now they were bright in spite -of their puffy lids. And her thin hair, parted simply in the middle, was -more becoming than the false front had been. He wondered that she had no -gray hairs, but was too straightforward himself to suspect the deception. -What a very pretty woman she still was, and, with that not displeasing -girlish attempt at flirtation, how exceedingly feminine! - -“Obliged to us _all_?” she repeated, her eyes still uplifted, her hand -still clinging to his. She remembered how eloquently hands can speak and -so did Samuel, but of a sudden he felt that his horny old hand had become -tongue-tied. He knew that she wanted him to say: “I be obliged to _you_ -in perticular, Mis’ Young.” - -And he did stumble through some such gallant speech, but all the while he -was thinking: “So I have got to take this! This frivolous old lady with -a spot of red paint on either cheek and a pair of penciled eye-brows.” -Why had he not mentioned rouge in his letter? Mrs. Young still looked at -him, still held his hand, remembering of old the value of long looks and -of silence. Of a truth many and many a man had she captivated in this -way in the days of long ago and once again in her mind’s eye she could -see suitor after suitor at her feet. She had refused them all, after the -first one had given her his name and then gone into the unknown world. -Even after coming into the Old Ladies’ Home, she had refused offers of -marriage, and yet, now of a sudden, she wished to share the good fortune -and the ill fortune of Samuel Jessup. She laid her free hand on his -shoulder and murmured a line from her favorite Browning—Browning who was -a mere name and scarcely that to Samuel: - - “Grow old along with me, - The best is yet to be.” - -Samuel was embarrassed. He pushed his wig back from his brow and, going -opposite to the natural, sidewise slant of his head, it gave him a rakish -expression, delightful to Mrs. Young’s eye. Then all of a kindle with the -light of an eager hope went Samuel’s own brown orbs. - -“Yes, yes,” he said glibly, “but the best ain’t _ter be_. It’s here, -right now, in the dinin’-room. Come along with me.” - -He was so mixed as to his own desires and emotions that he half hoped, -half feared that she would stand the test, but when she saw the basket -and its contents, first horror crossed her face, then the shadow of -a deep disappointment fell among the wrinkles and the rouge and the -penciled eye-brows. Sadly she faced Samuel Jessup as if certain of his -answer before her questioning: - -“And you insist on a-keeping it?” - -“It’s mine. It belongs ter me. I had it jest half a day, but now all the -women in the country couldn’t make me give it up. I don’t want ter be -imperlite,” added Samuel in a milder tone, “but them’s the facts. Me an’ -the basket, or ‘Good-bye, Samuel.’” - -She interpreted him literally. Holding out her fragile, jeweled hand, she -clasped his warmly, yet with honest sadness and compassion: - -“Good-bye, Samuel. If it hadn’t been for the basket—.” She paused, slowly -withdrawing her hand, and then went on again: “You’re makin’ an awful -mistake. Who’d a thought it of a man o’ your age! I shall never forget -you. Good-bye, Samuel.” - -With one swift, half hungering, half frightened glance at the basket, -she slipped out of the room. Samuel did not laugh and his eyes did not -twinkle as he went up to the matron’s desk. - -“Miss Jessica, they’ve all practically refused me. What shall I do?” He -had a vision of an endless quest of an eligible, willing old lady from an -old folks’ home. - -Miss Jessica thought a long while, biting the end of her pencil, and at -last she said slowly, half reluctantly: - -“There is one more—who—answers your requirements, but she was too proud -to enter the lists.” - -Samuel’s face lit up. Proud women can be very tender and only a tender -soul could accept the basket. Moreover, a woman with sufficient spirit to -resent his action today was a woman after his own heart. He lifted his -head from its sidewise slant and, throwing back his shoulders, looked -Jessica square in the eyes: - -“What’s the woman’s name?” - -“Miss Ellie Smith.” - -“Waal, I be goin’ ter change it!” vowed Mr. Jessup. “Whar be she?” - -The matron hesitated, wondering whether she could play the part of the -traitor to dignified, self-reliant Miss Ellie, but Jessica was very -young. She looked down the long years that these two had traveled, and -seeing how dusty and stony and hard the road had been, wondered why they -should not come into a restful, fragrant garden at last. Ellie, she knew, -even yet, with the help of the right man, could make the garden. And now -as she looked keenly into Samuel Jessup’s eyes—eyes shaded by iron-gray -brows, but deep, dark brown eyes, limpid, sparkling, full of tenderness -and an appealing hunger for tenderness—she felt that Samuel could play an -all-sufficient Adam to Ellie’s Eve, in the garden. - -“Miss Ellie’s all alone in the kitchen, hulling strawberries for supper,” -she said very low. Then bending far over her desk, as if completely -absorbed in her books, she went on: “It’s the south dining-room door. Go -right in, take the basket with you—no, no, not that woman, too—and ask -Miss Ellie if she won’t take charge of your basket for an hour or so.” - -Samuel grinned. He wagged his head back and forth until his wig shook -in sympathetic anticipation. Years and years seemed to fall from him, -until with his small, thick-set figure and his sparkling, youthful eyes -he looked like a boy getting ready to steal apples. With short, firm, -quicksteps he entered the dining-room. No one would have thought him a -victim of lumbago from his gait now. Then of a sudden, Miss Jessica, no -longer able to contain herself, went into her private room, where he had -consulted with the ten, and danced around with glee. - -“Miss Ellie, you darling!” she whispered to herself. “I know you’ll do -it!” - -Miss Ellie, in a prim, dainty blue gingham dress, with a great bib apron -enveloping her slender figure, sat at the south kitchen window hulling -berries, the basket of red fruit on the table beside her, a yellow -earthen bowl in her lap. Her silver-gold hair caught sunbeam lights from -the window until each single thread danced and twinkled. Little curls -of silver gold nestled against the nape of her slender neck. Her face -was that of an April lady’s—first the clouds chased across it, clouds of -contempt, of anger and of regret; and then it took on a soft blaze of -tenderness and of passionate longing. - -She did not want Mr. Samuel Jessup or any other man. She scorned the -woman who might take him today for his home and that little sum of money; -but why—why had she with all her power of loving and of attracting love, -all the unspent passion of motherhood that had been her ruling passion -since the doll-baby age—why had she come to see sixty-one without finding -Mr. Right? Lovers in moderate numbers she had had in the days of long -ago, and old people do not forget the loves of the springtime, but all -the while—all through the spring and the summer and this swiftly passing -autumn—or was it really winter-time?—there had never come to her one -whom she would rejoice to call her mate! Him she did not regret so much -nowadays, or she regretted him with a vague, indistinct feeling. He -might have liked strong drink and smoked a strong pipe indoors. But the -children! Ah, the children that had never come! - -She had outlived all her people. There were no nieces, no nephews, no one -in all the world whom she could call her own, and there had never been -and never could be a little grandchild to pull at her skirts. - -“Dran-ma! I love oo, dran-ma!” Only yesterday she had heard a little -child lisp this into the ears of Mrs. Young. - -“Dran-ma, I love oo, dran-ma!” whispered Ellie, bending far over the -berries with the hot gushing of tears coming into her eyes. - -Both the ache of motherhood and the ache of grandmotherhood were upon -her. Never to have felt the touch of her own babe at her breast! And, -now that old age had withered the breast, never to hear the prattle of -grandchildren in her ears! And her ears were still so finely attuned, -unlike the average grandmother! Miss Ellie looked up from her berries at -the window. Her eyes were too dim to see, and wiping the tears away she -looked out of the window again, down the garden. So, young girls stare -wistfully as if they would look to the very end of the world and discover -what, in the very end, may come to them. - -The dining-room door opened. Miss Ellie turned back to her task. She -scorned to look up and ask her fellow inmate of the Home who had won -Samuel Jessup. It was probably Mrs. Homan coming to help with the supper. -Steps came across the kitchen. Ellie bent far over the yellow bowl and -went on with her berry hulling. It needed a great many berries to supply -that supper table. The sunbeam darted down from the top of Ellie’s head -to seek out with its twinkling, gold-shod feet the silver-gold curls in -Ellie’s neck. The steps paused close beside Ellie. Suddenly the spinster -realized that they were not Mrs. Homan’s steps and she looked up. Scorn, -indignation, amazement, and then something more subtle, something which -one sees in faces everywhere all over the world, and something which -makes the world more beautiful, crossed her face. There stood Samuel -Jessup with the huge market basket in one hand. He held out the basket to -Miss Ellie. He looked at her eagerly, almost with piteous appeal, as if -to say: - -“They would have none of it, but—_you_! _You?_” - -The red table cover had been thrown off the basket. There lay the -contents before Miss Ellie’s eyes. A big white pillow and resting upon -it, a baby—a real, live, pink-and-white, wide-awake baby. More than this, -a baby who at first sight of Miss Ellie holding poised in her hand a -huge, red strawberry, struggled up into a sitting position, held out his -two pudgy, dimpled little hands and cried with the softest, most ecstatic -little cry imaginable: “Dranny!” - -The baby’s grandmother had died last week, but neither Miss Ellie nor the -baby knew that, and Samuel Jessup kept a wise silence. - -Trembling, agitated, scarcely able to see or hear for the moment -following the baby’s cry, Miss Ellie put down the red berry, placed -the bowl on the table, and then turned to take the baby. She asked no -questions. She simply took him. She knew that he was hers. Even now -again—would her heart burst with joy and her ears lose their power of -hearing!—even now again he was murmuring and mumbling: “Dranny! Dranny!” -Now she knew that she would hear the prattle of one she called grandchild -in her ears and guide with her shriveled old hands the unsteady movements -of these little feet. Samuel Jessup counted not at all just then; but if -he had attempted to take away that baby, she would have fought him like a -mother-tigress. - -Samuel had meant to say much. He said nothing, but simply put his hand -against his throat and looked at her. He saw her devour with eyes and -lips the tender little form—saw her seek out the baby wrinkles in the fat -little dimpled neck—saw her munch hungrily at the baby’s yellow curls—saw -her feel every bone of the little body through the stiff starchy white -dress as if she loved each one more than the other. And then at length he -watched her unfasten the shoes, pull off the tiny white socks and then -adore with the pent-up passion of the lonely years the adorable little -rosy heel of his baby. - -Samuel cleared his throat with a loud noise and walked across the room. -He noticed a red calico curtain at the cupboard door and wondered -whether Miss Ellie had made it. In his mind’s eye, he saw another -kitchen, smaller than this, cosier, but still with red calico curtains -at the cupboard door and crisp white swiss ones—as crisp as the baby’s -dress—at the windows. He knew that Miss Ellie would not want to get -those curtains stained up with tobacco smoke—she looked so dainty—so -he would volunteer to do his smoking on the back porch. If she left the -window open, he could look through and talk to her and the little one. -He came beside Miss Ellie’s chair and stood looking down at her lovely -head and the baby’s cheek pressed against her own. The baby, quieted with -happiness against that breast, was profoundly still. - -Through the open door came a wonderful fragrance—as the fragrance of -youthful love—blown in from the syringa bush beside the kitchen door. -They must plant a syringa beside the kitchen door-step in the new home, -thought Samuel. Out of the stillness, he spoke, his voice very husky. - -“You be a woman arter my own heart—I knowed it when I see you a-settin’ -here a-hullin’ berries. It’s more than I ’spected. I never dreamed it -could be: I was that old. But, Miss Ellie, you be—you be—” He lost his -voice entirely for a space and fearfully, reverently, he lifted in his -trembling fingers one of the silver-gold curls that lay on her neck, -lifted it and immediately let it fall in place again. “You be,” he -whispered, “a woman arter my own heart. I never found sech a one when I -was young. I know it now, fer ef I had, I wouldn’t ’a’ been afeared of no -bad luck fer neither her ner me. I’d a took her an’—” another pause and -then with brave, masculine assurance, “she’d ’a’ took me.” - -Miss Ellie did not move, she did not speak. She felt that his voice was -very far away, away off back in her youth where she had dreamed of the -mate who was yet to come. Closer she pressed her cheek to the baby’s and -so assured herself that baby and the man who had brought her the baby -were real and belonged to today. - -Samuel was speaking again, his hand now on the back of her chair, so that -it brushed against the ruffle that ran across the shoulders of her apron. - -“I allers wanted children, an’ when I got too old to have the hope o’ -ever a-marryin’, I used ter say ter myself: ‘Oh, ef they was only leetle -grand-younguns now!’ Then the fortune come. Says I fust thing: ‘I’ll -have a baby. I’ll be a granddaddy yit.’ Thar wa’n’t much mean about me. -I be sixty-nine, but I wanted my own home, an’ my own wife, an’ my own -baby. But I wanted the baby most of all. So the fust thing I done when -the money come was ter go to that thar Margaret Jane Orphan Asylum an git -this here baby. He hadn’t been there but a week. Jest lost his grandma -an’ his grandpa—didn’t yer, yer pore leetle cuss, yer? He’s legally -adopted. His name is Samuel Biggs Jessup, Jr. Ain’t he a wallopin’ fine -feller!” - -Samuel exploded at the last. His bashfulness, his self-depreciation, -his afraidness, were all gone. He bent over, his hands on his knees, -and looked into the baby’s face. The baby’s face was very close to -Ellie’s. The baby’s face was dimpled and smiling, while over Ellie’s -face there was a flush of joyous young motherhood together with the -proud, all-wondering delight of grandmotherhood, and blending with both, -a sweet shame and shrinking such as no one but a virgin can wear. Oh, -exquisite, young-old Miss Ellie! Your eyes swimming in unshed tears were -so beautiful then with the inner light that Samuel blinked to see them. - -“Miss Ellie,” he whispered. Very still was the kitchen. The syringa -outside the door shook out its perfume just for these two. The wind -murmured through the fragrant flowers—it murmured: - -“Again and again and again! Even for the old, this same old story!” - -“Ellie,” whispered Samuel. “I want you even more than I want the baby. -Will you marry me?” - -Again the silence fell, and after a long while, the voice of Ellie’s -dream-swept, ideal-keeping youth came from within the curves of the -baby’s cheek where her lips were hiding: - -“Samuel, you been a long time comin’.” Her voice faltered and then -gathering a girlish tremor went on, “But, even ef you hadn’t brought the -baby, I should say you was wuth all the waitin’.” - - - - -_Control or Ownership?_ - -BY CHARLES Q. DE FRANCE - - -Few men who have studied the question, and who are free to make a frank -statement of their views, see much hope for a “square deal” in railroad -rates under private ownership. Most of those who really want a square -deal, however, are giving the President their moral support, not because -they expect him to solve the problem with his formula of “control,” but -because they feel that the agitation he has caused and is fomenting will -inure to the benefit of the public ownership and operation idea. His -opponents charge as much—and they are correct. Many of their arguments -against control are valid, too, if we grant that private ownership in -this age of our civilization is best. Of course, we do not grant that. - -It seems certain at this writing (March 4) that the Hepburn-Dolliver bill -will become a law—one of those dead letters, so many of which already -encumber our Federal and State statute books. That it cannot and will not -be enforced, except in a few spectacular instances to fool the multitude, -is as certain as anything in human affairs. The roads will continue to -take all that the traffic will bear, to give rebates, and to water stock -in the good old way. If any doubt this, let them read the intensely -interesting letters in various newspapers sent out each week from -Washington by Lincoln Steffens. Mr. Steffens has, after most thorough -investigation, reached the conclusion that our people are suffering not -so much because of bribery and corruption as from having abdicated in -favor of the railroads and other big corporations. It is not necessary -now for a railroad corporation to bribe a congressman or senator—because -most of these supposed people’s representatives are actually the railroad -representatives, and many of them heavy stockholders. - -Mr. Steffens can lay no claim to a patent on this information by right of -original discovery, for Populists said the same thing (only not so aptly, -perhaps), twelve to fifteen years ago. But he is reaching an audience -that the Populists did not and possibly never could reach. And he tells -the story so well that we must accord him the highest meed of praise. I -cannot refrain from quoting a paragraph concerning the spectacle he sees -in Washington (New York _World_, March 4): - - “We, the people of the United States, are the petitioners. - (For railroad rate legislation). We are coming here asking - through the President that that bill (Hepburn-Dolliver) be - passed so as to relieve us from certain abuses practised - everywhere by our chartered common carriers, the railroads. - And the representatives of those railroads and their allied - corporations sit here enthroned; and they decide upon our case. - They may decide in our favor but—the intolerable fact of it all - is—they decide. They rule; they may be good rulers; but they - rule.” - -That is the deliberate statement of a man who has gained an enviable -reputation for thorough-going investigation. He is not a demagogue or a -writer of penny-dreadfuls. He is on the ground and supports every one of -his general statements with concrete examples. - -Mr. Steffens blames the people for the present state of affairs. I -heartily agree with him. But I believe we should try to reason out where -the first big mistake was made and arrive at a conclusion as to the best -way out of the difficulty, unless, perchance, our people really like the -rule of railroad oligarchy. I believe it is a useless task to chide the -people for lack of civic righteousness, for indifference, for supineness, -for failure to go to the primaries, etc., unless we point out clearly how -complete sovereignty may be secured. It is useless to scold a man for -not filling his lungs with oxygen, if you advise him to stay in a room -overcharged with carbonic acid gas. - -The present state of affairs is due primarily to two great causes, or -really to one cause operating through two different channels: - -(_a_) The private ownership of railroads. - -(_b_) The private control of the issue and circulation of money. - -The latter cause, in my judgment, is immeasurably greater than the -former; but public opinion is now directed toward the former, so that -a discussion of it is sure of a careful hearing. I do not insist that -permitting the private ownership of railroads was an irremediable -mistake; in fact, there is much good argument in favor of the contention -that under private ownership the roads were developed faster and better -than they, in all likelihood, would have been under public ownership. And -we may admit, without at all prejudicing our case, that in the evolution -of railroading, private ownership was best at the start. This is not -capable of demonstration—but we need not quarrel over it. - -A railroad is a highway; and a highway is one of the attributes of -sovereignty. Whoever owns and controls the road is to that extent a -sovereign. And under our aggravated system of _laissez faire_, ownership -and control always go together, except with the slightest modifications. -Hence, with private ownership of railroads, it was inevitable that we -should reach just such a state of affairs as Mr. Steffens pictures. -Why shouldn’t “representatives of those railroads and their allied -corporations” sit here enthroned? - -The owners of those roads are absolute sovereigns over the principal -avenue for the distribution of commodities; and under our highly -developed methods of production, with extreme division of labor, a great -distribution of commodities is absolutely essential. With power to tax at -will all users of highways, their owners can control, in a great measure, -all productive industry. - -I am not a believer in total depravity. I can see no necessity or reason -for calling railroad magnates hard names, or accusing them of unpatriotic -scheming for power—except, possibly, for the purpose of arousing a -lethargic people to a sense of their own wrongs. Being an actual -sovereign, because owning the highways—the real, vital highways—and -possessing the power to tax, I can understand how the railroads were, -in a great measure, compelled to unite _de jure_ and _de facto_ -sovereignty. With non-railroad or anti-railroad men in the legislative, -administrative and judicial bodies, “sand-bagging” and hold-ups were -common. In self-defense (for no man ever lived who likes to be deprived -of power), the railroads bribed and corrupted. They were by no means the -sole culprits. The taker of a bribe is just as despicable as the giver. -But gradually the system evolved to its present state—the union of all -sovereign powers. The Government persisted in its refusal to go into -the railroad business—so the railroads quite naturally went into the -governing business. - -We cannot undo what has been done. We cannot turn back the wheels of time -and begin all over again with public ownership of railroads; but we can, -and I think we will, in not many years hence, take over the railroads -and make them public property, operating them by Government officials. -The union of sovereign powers is now complete: the owners of highways -and “their allied corporations,” by their representatives, are now -enthroned as the actual Government. This is as it should be, except that -the ownership is too limited. _It should be made to include the whole -people._ - -[Illustration: _Will It Come to this at Niagara?_ - - _Morris, in Spokane Spokesman Review_] - -[Illustration: “_What, Doctor, All of This?_” - - _Warren, in Boston Herald_] - -[Illustration: _Puzzle.—Which Way Is He Going?_ - - _Handy, in Duluth News Tribune_] - -[Illustration: _R. R. Magnate: I cannot tell a lie. I am going to do it -with my little hatchet._ - - _Handy, in Duluth News Tribune_] - - - - -[Illustration: THE SACRIFICE - -BY JACK B. NORMAN.] - - -“Don’t think that I ain’t willin’ for you to have the home-place like pa -wanted you to, Indie,” said the thin, tired voice that was fast wearing -into silence, “’cause I am. It’s no more ’n right after all you’ve done -for me ’n pa. The t’others has all got homes o’ their own an’ you ain’t -got nobody to fall back on. But, Indie, promise me you won’t close the -door agin poor Tom if he should come back. Give him shelter an’ welcome -for my sake, won’t you?” - -Indie promised solemnly. Her thoughts went back to one still, tranquil -night years before, when the doors of that same home had been closed -against the wayward son by the father who vowed never to look upon his -boy’s face again. The mother—a frail, submissive, toil-worn woman—had -mourned in secret, but her prayers had been unanswered. - -“You’ve been dreadful good to us,” the dying voice murmured; “I hope the -Lord will make it up to you somehow, Indie. Do you reckon the girls will -git here ’fore I die?” - -“Yes, Aunt Viney, I really b’lieve they will. But you go to sleep if you -can. I’ll wake you as soon as they git here.” - -By and by the sick woman fell into a gentle doze that deepened into the -sleep that knows no earthly waking. The married daughters came too late, -but if they were greatly grieved over their mother’s death they made -little outward sign. They stayed at the home place for two days, during -which the will was read. It deeded all that remained of the Pasely farm, -that had been divided and subdivided to supply marriage portions for -four, to Indie, in consideration of her faithful services for the old -folks. - -“Maybe you can ketch Lem Powers with this bait,” was Louise’s spiteful -comment, after the reading was over. “Everyone knows you always wanted -him bad enough.” - -Mary, the eldest cousin, laughed dryly. “Indie can’t complain of the way -our folks treated her,” she said with ill-concealed bitterness. “This -farm is worth a thousand dollars above the mortgage money. It ain’t many -poor relations that has property like this left to ’em.” - -“I guess Indie knows that she didn’t come by it plum honest,” the third -cousin remarked. “She knowed how to work around the old folks so’s to git -’em to leave her what they had. Well, we ain’t the kind to make trouble -even if we _have_ been wronged.” - -When they had gone, Indie abandoned herself to a passion of helpless, -piteous grief. She recalled one cruel hour long ago when her cousin -Louise had accused her of caring, unasked, for friendly, pleasant Lem -Powers, whose off-hand calls on the family stood out in Indie’s memory as -the brightest events of her lonely, toilful life. Indie was twenty-three -and plain, for the flower-like prettiness of her early childhood had long -since succumbed to the triple blight of care and drudgery and loneliness. -It had been known among her neighbors and acquaintances that Indie, at -the age of eighteen, had never been “spoke for,” wherefore she had meekly -accepted the stigma of spinsterhood that comes very early to the Southern -country girl and had withdrawn from the mild frivolities of youth to -become a household drudge in her uncle’s family in order that her cousins -might have more leisure and freedom. After the death of her hard-working -uncle, she had stayed with her ailing aunt while the girls married and -left her. - -“I wisht I’d died instid of Aunt Viney,” Indie sobbed in utter loneliness. - -For two years Indie lived quietly and comfortably in the old home, paying -her simple expenses by raising garden truck for the town hotel. Then a -letter came from Tom’s widow imploring his people to send her enough -money to defray Tom’s funeral expenses to avert his threatened burial -in the potter’s field. It was a pathetic appeal, involving the brief -story of Tom’s struggles, how he had worked his way with his little -family from Texas to the old home state, where he had obtained employment -in a factory. He had met his death through a boiler explosion the day -before the letter was written. Tom had always hoped for a reconciliation -in spite of his father’s unyielding hardness, the widow wrote. In -conclusion, she begged his people not to allow his body to be consigned -to a nameless grave. - -Indie went straight to Mr. Griggs, the real estate agent, who held the -four-hundred-dollar mortgage on her farm, and asked him to lend her a -hundred dollars. He refused gently but firmly. - -“Why, Indie, by the time you sell that farm it may not be worth five -hundred dollars in all,” he said. “The interest on the mortgage is about -due now and here you are wanting to borrow more!” - -“It’s for a particular purpose that can’t wait a day,” Indie told him -anxiously, trembling in every nerve with the fear of disappointment. - -“I can’t help that. Business is business you know, and every man must -look out for his own interests. There is only one way to get that money -and that is to sell the place as it stands before the debts eat it up -completely. I know a party that would buy, probably.” - -“Oh, I couldn’t sell the only home I’ve got,” Indie said piteously. - -“It’ll come to that in the end, anyhow,” Griggs answered indifferently. -“My advice is to get rid of it now, while there is a few dollars in it -for you. Anyway, you can’t raise that hundred you want any other way. If -I was in your place I’d sell and go down to Birmingham and get work in -the factory, where you’ll make something besides a mere living.” - -Indie’s heart almost stopped beating at the very thought of leaving the -old familiar haunts for a strange city. Yet, Tom must have a decent -burial at any cost to herself. - -“What could you get for the farm?” Indie asked huskily. - -“Eight or nine hundred I reckon.” - -“Could you let me have the hundred right now if I agree to sell the -place?” she asked. - -“Yes.” - -“Then I’ll sell—because I’ve got to have that money right off.” - -Indie hurried home and began to put things to rights. She packed up her -personal belongings and moved all her humble furniture into one room, -where it could be easily got at in case she should send for it a little -later, if she were fortunate enough to secure steady work in the factory -which Mr. Griggs had referred to. He had even given her a clipping from -the Sunday paper containing an advertisement calling for twenty new -hands, “experience not necessary.” - -Indie was sweeping the back yard when some one strode up the pebbled walk -with brisk, business-like steps, which she mistook for Mr. Griggs’s walk, -for he had promised to stop in on his homeward way. But it was not the -agent. It was Indie’s old friend Lem Powers, whom she had so timidly -avoided for years. His broad-brimmed hat was turned up squarely in front, -framing his dark, strong, sunny face in a sort of a rough halo. - -“Evenin’, Indie,” said he, with a tug at his up-standing hat-brim. “Do -you happen to have a wrench about the place? My buggy wheel’s locked an’ -I ain’t got no tools with me.” - -Indie shook down her sleeves hurriedly, keenly conscious of her -unpleasing appearance. “Won’t you set down while I hunt up the wrench?” -she asked, nodding toward the veranda bench. “I’ve done packed up -everything, but I can find the wrench easy’s not.” - -“Packed up!” the young man echoed in blank astonishment, with a sweeping -glance at the denuded premises. “Why, you don’t aim to move, do you?” - -“I expect to leave Shallow Ford to-morrer mornin’,” Indie answered -solemnly. - -“You don’t say so? Goin’ to live with your cousins?” - -“No, oh no,” Indie answered quickly, with a dry smile. “None of them -ain’t never asked me to live with ’em, and even if they had I wouldn’t -go.” - -“I didn’t know you had other kin.” - -“I ain’t. I aim to go to Birmingham to work in the factory. I seen a -advertisement callin’ for twenty new hands and I thought it would be a -good chance to get started.” - -“Whatever put that idee into your head, I’d like to know? I don’t b’lieve -you’ll like the work one bit, Indie,” the young man said with grim -conviction. “It ain’t healthy, to begin with. Don’t you rec’lect how pale -an’ peekedy them Baldwins looked when they come back here on a visit -after havin’ worked in the thread factory down at Birmingham? They didn’t -have the sperit of a jack rabbit between ’em, an’ their ways was plum -changed too—sorter forrard like. You won’t like the sort of company they -keep, Indie.” - -“I’ve got to go now,” said Indie, doggedly, “cause I’ve done put the -place for sale. Mr Griggs thinks he can sell it without any trouble.” - -“He may. Indie, is it on account of the mortgage you’re leavin’?” - -Indie shook her head. She could not tell Lem her real motive. - -“’Cause if it is,” said Lem, earnestly, “I’d be only too glad to stand -good for the debt if you’ll let me.” - -Indie’s pale face reddened painfully, and her head went back an inch or -two, for she had her pride in spite of her helplessness. “I couldn’t ever -raise enough truck to pay off the debt, anyhow,” she answered coldly. - -“You could rent the place an’ pay off that way. I do wish you would let -your old friends do a little something for you, Indie,” he pleaded, -growing red and embarrassed under her increasing coldness. - -“It’s too late to rent now, ’cause it’s way past corn-plantin’ time,” -Indie objected, “an there ain’t nothin started but two acres o’ roastin’ -ears an’ some garden truck.” - -“I should think you’d hate to leave the old place,” Lem observed, letting -his bright gaze wander over the green pasture strip and the narrow creek -bottoms where the young corn waved idly in the evening breeze. - -Indie’s thin face clouded with the shadow of regret, but she made no -reply, for she would not have admitted, on pain of death, that her heart -ached with the pathos of renunciation. - -“Ain’t there nary thing I can do for you, Indie?” Lem asked, after -an awkward pause, in what seemed to the listener a very off-hand, -indifferent voice. - -“No thanky. There ain’t a thing to do but to take the cow over to board -with the Bankses. Seems like I can’t bear the thoughts of sellin’ her -to out-an’-out strangers, so I thought I’d board her till some of the -neighbors gits ready to buy her. Miss Clayton’s goin’ to keep Billy for -me till I get settled, so’s I can take him.” - -Billy, the big tortoise-shell cat that purred on the door step, lifted -his head at the sound of his own name and blinked contentedly, whereupon -Lem stooped and stroked his glossy fur. “I guess Billy’ll miss you if no -one else does,” he remarked dryly. - -Then he rose and held out a big brown hand. “Well, good-bye, Indie, an’ -good luck to you,” said he. “If ever I can do anything for you, let me -know, will you?” - -“Good-bye,” said Indie gravely. - -Indie went away the next morning—a morning full of balm and peace. Fresh, -fragrant winds scattered the rose petals thickly over her shoulders as -she hurried down the garden path to meet the stage. She did not trust -herself to glance back, for some strange, dumb emotion tugged at her -heart-strings and soundless voices called to her out of the sweet silence -that enveloped earth and sky. - -She shivered as she entered the hot, sultry, dust-laden train with its -burden of dull, spiritless travelers. “It must be the air,” she murmured -to herself as she sank into a seat. “These cars is awful clost with the -sun beatin’ down on ’em an no air stirrin’. Now, if a body was at home -they could open the doors an’ winders an’ set in the shade.” - -“Home! Home! Home!” said the swiftly revolving wheels that bore her -relentlessly away from the old, sweetly familiar scenes toward an -unknown, lonely future. She watched the green fields and woods that -whirled past the windows until they grew less and less frequent, with -dingy little stations squatted between them. The landscape changed and -the car grew hotter and the smoke thicker, for the train was approaching -the factory district of Birmingham, the Alabama metropolis. Children, -with unclean, pallid, faces, stared up at the car windows as the train -pulled through their grimy quarters, and men in blackened, greasy clothes -lounged along the tracks in the occasional shade of a sweltering brick -wall. - -Indie found the squalid home of Tom’s widow after much patient wandering -about the uneven, unswept streets. Many minutes passed before her ring -was answered; then a white-faced woman opened the door a very little way. -Yes, she was Mrs. Pasely. Did anyone want to see her? - -“I am Tom’s cousin, Indie,” the caller announced simply. “I’ve brung the -money for Tom’s funeral.” - -The widow cried a little at first while she told Indie of Tom’s tragic -death, but her mind was too absorbingly occupied over the funeral to -permit of the luxury of self-pity. She dressed hurriedly and went out -to communicate with the undertaker, leaving Indie with the children, -three little, frail, colorless, old-young beings, who reminded Indie of -cellar-grown plants. The widow was not long away; late that afternoon the -two women and their three charges followed Tom’s remains to consecrated -ground. - -“I never can tell you how thankful I am,” was all Mrs. Pasely said to -Indie concerning her sacrifice, “for now I feel at rest about poor Tom -bein’ laid away like he ought to be. If the baby was just well I’d try -to start out an’ make a livin’ and do my best without Tom,” she added -mournfully, “but it seems like I ain’t got no heart to do nothin’ while -he’s so weak and puny. He ain’t been to say real well since we left -Texas, where we lived right out in the country. I’ve tried everything I -could think of but nothin’ don’t do him no good as I can see. The doctor -says he won’t never git well till I take him back to the country, an -maybe not then. Me’n Minnie’s got promise of work in the factory next -week, but if little Tom ain’t no better I can’t leave him with jest Jim -to look after him. If we only could git back to Texas agin we’d all git -well an’ stout, an’ I wouldn’t care if we _was_ poor. All I care about is -for little Tom to git well.” - -Oh, if she could only take them all back to the farm with her, thought -Indie. A great wave of home longing surged through her heart as she -thought of the peace and beauty of the deserted home. She knew just where -the shadows of noontide lay darkest over the old rose-bordered yard—knew -that the back veranda where she always ate her simple midday meals with -Billy purring at her feet was just then in the thickest shadow of the -china-berry trees, and that all was still and sweet and tranquil in -that far-off haven of rest. Instead of factory walls there were green, -blossomed hedges; instead of the strident clamor of motor cars and mill -gongs there was a ceaseless chorus of song birds, and instead of the hot, -smoke-tainted air of the city, there was the fine, earthy fragrance of -the good sweet soil that lay fallow while so many weary toilers sweltered -in their city prisons. - -Indie made Tom’s widow understand the whole situation, then she offered -herself in any capacity that could serve little Tom, who had the look -that she dimly remembered in young Tom when she first went to live with -his parents. Indie would take work in the factory as she had planned to -do and board with Tom’s widow to help along all she could, or she would -take them all back to the farm and work very hard to make a mere living -while little Tom had a chance for his life. - -“Why, I’d be willin’ to work day an’ night on a farm!” the widow answered -earnestly. “I’m jest plum certain Tom will git well way off there in the -country. Oh, do take us back with you! Me’n Minnie an’ Jim can make a -real good crop between us. You’ll see!” - -That was what Indie wanted. She would sacrifice the last thing that -remained to her—her pride—and ask Lem to help her by standing good for -the hundred-dollar note, and far the rest she would work as she had never -worked before. - -“We’ll go tomorrow,” Indie announced. “You git right to work packin’ up -what you want to take.” - -The world was aflame with the splendid fires of sunset when the little -party alighted before the farm gate on the following evening. “I’m real -glad it’s light enough for you to see the flowers an’ things,” said -Indie, as she led the way up the rose-bordered walk that seemed to greet -her with sweet familiarity. “Good thing I left the key under the porch -steps right where I could find it handy. There, now walk right in an’ set -down, while I kindle a fire an’ git some supper.” - -She had bought a few eatables the last thing before leaving Birmingham, -which she speedily converted into a tempting meal. Her guests rewarded -her industry to a gratifying degree, even to little Tom, who seemed to -have acquired a good appetite which delighted his frail, worried mother -beyond bounds. “He ain’t et like that in I dunno when!” she exclaimed -with tears of joy. - -It was close upon Indie’s usual bedtime when her ministration ended. She -slipped out for a quiet rest on the front door-step to enjoy the peace -and loveliness of the perfect spring night, but hardly had she seated -herself when the garden gate creaked rustily and someone strode up the -walk with heavy strides. At the sight of the dim figure on the step the -intruder stopped precipitately. - -“Who’s there?” asked a familiar voice. - -Indie rose tremblingly. “It’s Indie Bright,” she answered. “Did you want -to see me?” - -“Indie!” exclaimed a voice so thrillingly joyous that the listener felt -herself quiver from head to foot with a strange, inexplicable ecstasy. - -“Ain’t it Lem Powers?” she asked. “Has anything happened?” - -“That’s what I’d like to know,” came the surprised answer. “I thought you -was gone!” - -Indie told her story briefly, carefully deflecting all merit from -herself. “I’m real glad it happened that way,” she finished, “for I did -hate to sell the old place.” - -Lem drew a deep breath. “You’re jest five hours too late, Indie,” he said -in a queer voice, “for the agent sold the farm this afternoon at four -o’clock.” - -Indie felt the solid earth recede beneath her. “Sold it!” she echoed -fearsomely. “Oh, Lem, whatever _shall_ I do!” - -“I dunno. There ain’t no use in tryin’ to buy it back, ’cause the man -that bought it won’t part with it for anything, except——” - -He paused and went a step nearer. “Except you’ll give him what he’s -always wanted—yourself. Indie, I never did want no other girl but you, -an’ never will.” - -Indie shrank away, but a strong, warm hand found hers in the shadow, -while the low earnest voice went on to tell her of a miracle that -thrilled every fibre of her being with unspeakable happiness. - -“I aimed to ask you the day you told me about leavin’,” Lem confessed, -“but by the way you talked I thought it wouldn’t be no use, so I bought -the place hopin’ you’d want to come back some day.” - -“Lem,” said Indie, after a long, happy silence, “I never had no idee -that—that you ever wanted me. I thought it was Cousin Louise you wanted.” - -“Louise—after I’d seen you!” Lem cried incredulously. “Why that would be -like chosin’ a bit o’ glass instid of a real diamond. It was Louise as -told me how you’d took a dredful dislike to me from the very first, an’ -of course I couldn’t help but believe it by the way you always acted when -I was around. I tell you, Indie, that made a heap o’ difference to me. -I’d a done anything in the hull world for you an’ would yit if you’d only -let me.” - -Indie drew a deep breath that sounded strangely like a stifled sob. “Oh, -Lem, that’s just the way I’ve always felt about you,” she confessed very -softly and hesitatingly. - -After a long, long while, during which the years and their burden of care -and loneliness and heart-ache slipped away from Indie’s heart like an -wornout garment, she drew her hands away from Lem’s close clasp. “You’d -better go now, Lem,” she said very gently, “’cause it’s gitting late an’ -I don’t want to wake the folks up after they’ve got to sleep.” - -“All right, Indie. I’ll be back tomorrow to see about putting in a late -crop o’ corn for Tom’s folks to work out. We’ll jest let ’em keep the -place free of rent for a while an’ see to it that they make enough to -keep ’em. You can look after ’em all you want to, for it ain’t but a -little piece from our place over here. Good night, Indie.” - -Indie lingered in the soft, starry dusk for a few moments after Lem had -gone, to gloat over her great happiness; and presently something dark and -small scuttled out of the lilac hedge and bounded into her lap with a mew -of welcome. It was Billy, quivering with elation and delight. - -Indie caught her pet to her breast with a cry of rapture. “Oh, Billy, -Billy, ain’t it lovely to be home again!” - -[Illustration] - - - - -_Our Civilization_ - -BY COUNT LYOF TOLSTOY - - -Men say that civilization, our civilization, is a great good. But they -who have this conviction belong to the minority who live not only in this -civilization but by it; who live in ease, almost idleness, in comparison -to the lot of workmen. - -All such men; kings, emperors, presidents, princes, ministers, -functionaries, soldiers, proprietors, investors, merchants, engineers, -doctors, scientists, professors, priests, writers, are so sure our -civilization is a great good that they cannot bear the thought that it -should disappear or that it should even be changed. - -Ask, however, of the great mass of agricultural people, slave people, -Chinese, Hindus, Russians—ask nine-tenths of humanity whether this -civilization, which seems a superlative good to those who are not -agriculturists, is really a blessing or not? Strangely enough, -nine-tenths of humanity will reply in the negative. - -What they need is soil, fertilizer, irrigation, sun, rain, forests, -harvests, and simple farming implements that one can make without -abandoning the agricultural life. As for civilization, either they know -nothing of it, or it presents itself to them under the aspect of the -debauchery of cities, with their prisons and their bagnios; or under the -aspect of taxes and useless monuments, of museums, of palaces; or under -the aspect of duties which prevent the free circulation of products; or -under the aspect of cannon, of armor and of armies that ravage whole -countries. And they say, if that is civilization it is of no use to them, -and that, it is even hurtful to them. The men who enjoy the advantages -of civilization maintain that it is good for all humanity; but in this -case they cannot bear testimony because they are both judges and parties -concerned. - -One cannot deny that we are now far along the road of technical progress; -but what is far along on that road? A little minority lives on the back -of the work people; and the work people, they who serve the men that -enjoy civilization in the whole Christian world, continue to live as they -lived five or six centuries ago, profiting only from time to time of the -leavings of civilization. - -Even if they live better, the breach that separates their lot from that -of the rich classes is rather wider than it was six centuries ago. I -do not say, as many think, that, since civilization is not an absolute -good we should throw out at one stroke the structure men have devised -for the struggle against nature; but I do say that, to make sure this -structure shall really serve men well, it is necessary that all and not -only a small minority enjoy it. No one must be deprived of his due by -others under the pretext that these benefits will return one day to his -descendants. - -The good and reasonable life consists in choosing, of many ways that lie -open, the way that is best. - -Therefore Christian humanity in the present situation should choose -between two things: either to continue along the path of wickedness in -which existing civilization gives the greatest number of benefits to the -smallest number of people, keeping the others in poverty and slavery; or -immediately, without postponing it to a future more or less remote, to -renounce in part, or wholly, the advantages which this civilization has -given to certain privileged ones, thereby preventing the liberation of -the majority of men from poverty and serfdom. - - - - -_A Coal Miner’s Story_ - -BY CHARLES S. MOODY, M. D. - - -The average worthy citizen reclining beside an open coal-grate, reading -the press accounts of the latest coal strike, has little interest in the -matter further than his interest in the probable effect of the labor -disturbance upon the price of his winter’s fuel. When he reaches that -part of the narrative that tells of the troops having been ordered to the -scene of action, the powerful arm of the military invoked to put down -the uprising among the working-men, he heaves a sigh of relief that now -the strike will be of short duration and the price of coal will not be -advanced. Seldom does he consider the matter from the standpoint of the -man who mines the coal. - -Were that one big lump glowing warmly in the centre of the grate gifted -with the power of speech, it would tell a tale that might well harrow up -the feelings of the most callous. Alas! it is dumb, just as the man who -dug it out of the bowels of the earth is dumb. It glows its heat away, -crumbles into gray ash, and the worthy citizen retires to his rest with -mind untroubled by any unpleasant thought of want or penury among those -who go down into the unwholesome deeps of the mine and toil all day shut -out from God’s gracious light that he and you and I may enjoy comfort and -warmth. - -At one time of my life the relentless wheel of Fate in its ceaseless -revolving whirled me to its nadir, and spilled me into the squalid chaos -of a coal-mining town, and, not content with that, hurled me into the -nethermost hell of all that seething vortex of toil and poverty. - -That the worthy citizen may see something of that side of the shield—the -side sable—I will attempt to tell it, not with the graces of one skilled -of pen, but in all its plain, naked, glaring hideousness. - -At this point allow me to crave pardon for the frequent use of the -personal pronoun. I am speaking as a coal-miner, and can tell it better -by using the first person. - -I was raised in the Far West. My life had been spent among the green -mountains of the Pacific Coast, and I knew but little of the land beyond -the Rockies. When ambition came, as it comes to youth everywhere, I -dreamed of other lands where that ambition might find its full fruition. -I left the mountain home, and set out to conquer the world of my dreams. -My journey ended at the little town of Excello, in Northern Missouri. I -was moneyless, and, as I soon ascertained, friendless. Disappointment -glared at me from every door. Every vocation in life seemed filled, and -all the avenues leading thereto were crowded with men eager to push the -possessor of a job from his place and occupy it in his stead. I tried -every possible chance for work, but without avail. Not even a country -district school, with all its manifold possibilities of poverty, was open -to the stranger. - -Not far from Excello, the Kansas and Texas Coal company have opened up -extensive mines at Ardmore. At last, desperate and in absolute despair, I -turned to the coal mines that wait with black, widespread maws to suck in -such flotsam of humanity as I was then. I set out from Excello on foot in -the bleak dawn of a March morning, for the only Mecca left open to me. -A donkey-engine drawing a train of coal-cars soon overtook me, and the -engineer stopped his train and took me on. It was but a trivial act of -kindness to a stranger, but it stands out so distinct and vivid by reason -of its rarity that I must speak of it here. Motives of the most sordid -meanness so completely actuate the principles of those people that the -simple act of one of them giving a tramp a ride glows from out the grime -of greed like a gem. - -The little engine grumbled and rattled its way down the banks of a dirty -yellow stream, dignified by being called a river, until it halted beside -the head-house of one of the mines, and I was permitted to take my first -view of Ardmore, one of the worlds that I had come so far to conquer. Ah, -the irony of it all! What a contrast to the mental picture that the boy -had painted upon the canvas of fancy not so many weeks before! - -First the tall head-house and hoist, with the coal-screens all under -one roof standing black and grimy at the mine’s mouth. Then the long -incline, up which crawled the laden cars from the mine, looking for all -the world like filthy serpents from some subterranean world. Off to one -side towered the culm-pile, emitting its choking sulphurous smoke and -polluting the muddy water of the little stream that wound about its base. -Off yonder, on either side of the same stream, perched a double row of -squalid grimy shacks, like gigantic carrion birds waiting to pounce upon -the filth that flowed down the current of the river. These were the homes -of the miners. Home! What a travesty on the sweetest word in any tongue! -In the distance clustered the offices of the Company and the Company -store, that most powerful tentacle of the giant octopus by which the -Company holds its operatives. - -I made my way down the narrow sidewalkless street, past the rows of -miserable huts with their reeking front yards filled with children in -no less degree reeking, past that bane of all mining towns, the low -doggery, where for a few cents the miner buys the vilest of vile liquor, -on to the town proper. The contrast between the two was startling. The -officials must perforce reside where they collect their tithes, but -they strive to make life bearable. Every house was neatly painted and -every lawn set with trees and smoothly kept. I saw ill-clad women and -low-browed men black with the grime of the mine entering a large building -which I rightly surmised to be the Company store. The offices were on the -other side, and those who entered there did so with an air of the utmost -servility, as though they fully expected to be kicked into the street. - -It is wonderful what an influence one’s surroundings will have upon their -character. Here I had been in Ardmore, only thirty minutes and I caught -myself approaching that office in the same servile manner affected by all -whom I saw enter there. I stood for some minutes hesitating before the -portals where sat enthroned those who held my destiny in their hands. -Cold and hunger are grim and determined drivers, however, and both were -flaying me with their whips. Summoning my manhood I entered, approached -the employment window and begged the right to earn my bread. The clerk -gave me one keen look that swept me from head to foot and tersely -assigned me to servitude in Mine 33, the one I had passed in the morning. -He handed me an order on the store that entitled me to a miner’s outfit -to be paid for out of the first money earned. He also assigned me a -number by which I was henceforth to be designated in all my dealings with -the Company. I became Number 337, and if I differed in any particular -from the man bearing that same number in the Jefferson City penitentiary -I was unable to detect that difference. True, I was permitted to walk the -streets unmolested, but the product of my toil belonged to the Kansas -and Texas Coal Company. I felt relieved. I had passed from the ranks -of the unemployed. Henceforth I was to be a sovereign American citizen -enjoying, as such, the Constitutional right to earn my bread. - -I passed into the store and purchased such things as appeared needful, -using one of the miners as a model from which to deduce my needs. A -coarse pair of heavy shoes, ducking overalls and shirt, a pit cap with -place in front to carry the lamp, the lamp itself, a gallon of lard oil -for the same, a dinner-pail called a “deck” and the necessary picks and -shovel about completed the outfit. - -One of the clerks rather grudgingly answered my question regarding a -boarding-place by informing me that there was a house on the hill that -made a practice of feeding miners. Carrying my bundle, I called at the -designated house and secured board and lodging. The house was slightly -better than those I had passed before and, standing upon higher ground, -was rather less filthy. I soon found that the miner is expected to do -without all the luxuries and generally all the necessities of life. Water -seemed the only article that could be obtained in plenty and for that I -soon had reason to be truly grateful. The table fare was of the coarsest -and cheapest variety possible. It possessed the sole merit of sustaining -life, and that to me at the time overbalanced all other considerations. -The beds were arranged in rows in an upper room. Two people were expected -to occupy one bed. I had assigned to be my bed-fellow a young Cornishman, -and I suspect the landlady selected him for that position owing to the -fact that he was slightly less dirty than her other boarders. - -That evening my “buddy,” that is, the man who was to be my working -companion, called to see me. He was a man of middle-age who had spent -his life in the mines. He had the pronounced stoop that I noticed in all -the miners and which I very soon acquired. His skin was of that sickly -yellow hue characteristic of convicts and coal-miners, brought about by -being shut out from the light of day. It seems that I drew a very lucky -number in having this man assigned me for “buddy.” The other miners told -me that he possessed a “machine.” That is, after years of toil in the -mines he had been able to save enough to buy a drilling-machine that -retails at the Company store for fourteen dollars. Wonderful fortune! -Almost a lifetime spent in labor, and all that he had to show for it was -a fourteen-dollar drilling-machine! We talked long into the evening and -I found him not without ideas that were expressed in a crude way, but -above all, and, what was of vastly more importance to me just then, he -was a practical miner. I do not know what he might have thought about it, -but he had the tact not to hint anything about objecting to a green hand -as “buddy.” Indeed, I suspect that the Company would hardly tolerate any -criticism of their actions in that regard. - -I appeared next morning clad in the habiliments of a coal-miner. My -“deck” was filled and handed me and I followed the long line of stooping -figures headed for the mines. We paused at the mouth of the pit and -lighted our lamps and swung them from the front of our caps. Then, -stooping still lower, passed down the long incline that leads into the -coal vein. Soon the gloom surrounded us, and the flickering yellow-light -from the burning lamp became our only guidance. Once upon the level of -the coal body, the air became oppressive and warm. Used as I had always -been to the free air of the mountains, I paused and gasped for breath. -I was merely one atom of the inward moving black stream and was pushed -onward. I soon grew accustomed to the lack of oxygen and before many -days learned to exist upon a minimum supply of that article just as I -learned to exist upon a limited supply of many other articles that in my -ignorance I had considered essential. - -I neglected to state that I had been met at the pit mouth by my “buddy,” -who escorted me through the mazes of the underground streets of the -mine to the Third West, which was the field of our future efforts for -some time to come. On the way in he conversed very cheerfully about the -condition of one of his children who was ill with pneumonia and not -expected to live the day through. I half suspect that he secretly hoped -that the Death Angel would come, and not only relieve the little one of -her sufferings, but relieve him of one hungry mouth to feed. - -It was over a mile from the surface to where our work lay. It consisted -in “turning off a room”—that is, making an entrance into the bare face -of the coal at right-angles to the direction of the tunnel. This was -necessarily slow work and we accomplished but little the first day. -All day long I sat upon my heels and picked a narrow trench from top -to bottom into the resisting body of the coal. Long ere night came my -cramped limbs refused to move another inch. I was simply racked from -head to foot with pain. There never was a more welcome sound than the -signal at the head of the entry to begin firing. Soon the boom of shots -reverberated down the entry like the sound of cannonading, and the miners -began straying out past us. We gathered up our tools and, placing them -in a safe place, followed them. Ah, the blessed exhilaration of that air -as I reached the surface! It was like being conveyed into another and -better world. I glanced at my “buddy.” He had not changed one muscle of -expression. With dogged, shambling footsteps he was setting off toward -one of the miserable shacks. - -Curiously I watched the miners as they appeared. All nations seemed -gathered there. Italians, Czechs, Russians, Finns, Hungarians, Slavs, -Cornishmen, Americans, yes and negroes. While the colored man was not -permitted to become a miner in that particular mine, he was employed in -various other capacities. I saw children of tender years going from work, -their dinner-pails upon their arms, the stoop already in their shoulders, -the hectic flush already in their cheeks. “Merciful God,” I thought, -“this greedy giant, not content with sucking the life-blood of men, must -rob the school as well to sate its lust!” I learned afterward that there -was a child-labor law on the statute books of good old Missouri, but -that it was openly and flagrantly violated, and that the Commissioner of -Labor was a party to the violation. - -I passed on homeward. Every step seemed weighted with lead. I dragged -myself up the long hill and entered the house. I was shown the wash-room -and my particular washing-tub filled with steaming hot water. The room -was already filled with miners taking a bath. I stripped and found that -though I had been in the mine but a day my body was black with coal-dust. -The next half-hour I spent in trying to remove the grime, with but poor -success. The other miners finished their ablutions and departed. I was -shocked at the manner in which the most of them performed that important -duty. A dash of water on the head and neck, a wet towel over the body, -rubbing off the most evident particles, a brisk scrubbing of the head, -neck and ears, and they were ready for supper. I was so long at my bath -trying to accomplish the impossible that the landlady tapped on the -door and informed me that supper only waited my appearance. I overheard -one of the miners designate me as “that new dude” when I entered the -dining-room. To be cleanly, then, was considered among these sons of -toil as being a species of foppishness. (I soon learned to perform my -ablutions more scientifically, and remove a maximum amount of coal-dust -in a minimum length of time.) I was too tired to eat, too weary to sleep. -All night long I tossed about in that comfortless bed and sighed for the -coming of morning. It came at last and dawned upon another day of labor. - -Today we drilled our first hole and placed the first shot. I had the -satisfaction of loading my first box of coal, affixing my leather tag to -it and starting it on its journey toward the weighing office, thereby -satisfying a small part of the Company’s claim against me for the -clothes I wore. My “buddy” had lost his child the night before, and this -afternoon the little one was to be buried in the graveyard on the hill -back of the town. He asked me, as though requesting a favor, whether he -might attend the funeral! Asked me, almost a stranger, whether he might -attend the funeral of his own child! Heavens, what a system! My heart was -so heavy that I could not work, but he seemed to take it all as a matter -of course. In fact I detected a cheerful note in his voice as he informed -me of the demise. - -During the afternoon I had nothing to do but carry the picks out to the -blacksmith-shop to be sharpened, for which service we are to pay the -smith each a dollar per month. After they were prepared I returned with -them to the mine and employed the time in looking into the other rooms -where the miners were at work. In almost every instance I found them -idle. Inquiry revealed the fact that they were waiting for coal-boxes. -They had plenty of coal to load, but no boxes to load it in. The Company -makes it a practice to allow no man to get ahead. Once he falls into -their grasp the idea is to keep him there. Even at thirty-five cents per -long ton, the price paid, the miner could make fair wages if he were -furnished boxes, but the Company does not intend that he shall make fair -wages. - -Our room advanced rapidly now, and we always had coal ahead to load what -boxes came to us, which were few enough. The most we ever got in any -one day was six, that is three for each of us, and could we succeed in -placing a ton in each one we would have made the munificent sum of $1.05. -Out of that princely wage we were supposed to pay for board, lodging, -hospital fees, blacksmith, and powder. By the way, there is the greatest -steal perpetrated by the coal companies. They furnish the miner with his -powder at a cost to him of $2.50 per keg. Of course they do not say in -so many words that he shall not buy his powder from other dealers at 90 -cents per keg, but if he does do that they see to it that his tenure in -the mine is very short, and they have divers ways of disposing of him -without discharging him outright. - -There are two methods of mining soft coal. The method used in Mine 33 -was what is known technically as “shooting off the solid,” that is, -drilling a deep hole in the solid coal body and blasting it down very -much as rock is blasted in railroad building operations. This method, -while it procures the greatest amount of coal with the least expenditure -of labor, is at the same time very expensive to the miner who must buy -his powder and in addition to his regular blacksmith tax must pay for the -sharpening of all the drill bits. - -It is in these blasting operations that so many men in soft-coal mines -lose their lives. The force of the blast loosening the coal at the same -time jars the slate roof of the mine. When the workman returns and starts -picking down the standing column of “shot” coal the treacherous top gives -way, and, like a deadfall, buries the unfortunate man beneath tons of -slate. Then there are three bells signaled to the top and down comes -the padded car, if the man is not entirely dead, and he is carted away -to the hut miscalled a hospital. The next day some of his friends are -around with a paper and each miner is supposed to contribute a box of -coal to the relief of the injured miner. Should the accident, however, -result in the instant death of the man there is no such ceremony as -calling the padded car. He is simply dumped into an empty coal box and -hauled to the surface with the next trip going out. Once there, his very -existence is forgotten in the mine and work goes on as before. The same -formality regarding the gift of the box of coal is gone through with for -the benefit of his widow and orphans. In all my mining experience I never -knew of a miner refusing to subscribe to a fund of this kind, though they -could ill afford to do so out of the scanty wage they were earning. You -feel inclined to do it, for you know not what instant you will yourself -require like assistance. - -One method employed by the Company in getting rid of an objectionable -miner is so ingenuous in its simplicity that it deserves mention. They -have what is known as a sulphur bell. If a miner loads a lump of sulphur -into his box that is so large that he might be supposed to detect it the -men at the screens pull a rope that rings a bell in the weighing-office -and the unfortunate miner has a check placed against his number. He -not only has that box of coal docked about half, but he gets a demerit -as well. Three of these demerits results in his dismissal from the -mine. Now, let us illustrate. In the first place, there is so much of -the sulphurous mineral scattered through the coal body that it is an -absolute impossibility to remove all of it down there in the half light -of the underground world. There is hardly a box of coal that reaches the -weighing scales that does not contain several pounds of the substance. -That some miners do place lumps of it in their boxes to increase the -weight is perfectly true. A miner becomes objectionable to the powers -that be by reason of talking too much (for some of them _do_ think and -express their thoughts to their fellows) and the powers that be decide -to get rid of him. They could simply call him into the office and hand -him his time, but that is not the policy. The word is passed to the man -at the bottom of the screens to “bell” Number so and so out. The Argus -eye of the man is upon every box of coal that comes sliding down the -incline. He hears this man’s number called and detects a lump of sulphur -sliding along with the descending coal. He reaches up, yanks the bell -rope and that miner is one-third out of a job. It may take several days -to complete the task, but Fate is no more certain than that it will be -completed. Usually a miner who knows himself to be under the ban and sees -a sulphur check opposite his number takes the hint and calls for his -time. Wonderfully simple. Charmingly effective. - -Another and equally effective method is that of slow starvation. The -banned miner finds that he is not getting an equal number of boxes -with his fellows. He complains to the driver and obtains but scant -satisfaction. Things go on until pay-day and he finds himself behind -with the company. He is questioned very closely as to the reason for this -and solemnly warned not to allow it to occur again. Naturally it does -occur again and he is forced to look elsewhere for work. - -These instances are, however, comparatively rare. It is the policy of the -octopus to hold securely every victim who falls into the slimy toils. -Only when a man has the courage to assert his manhood does he become -objectionable to the company. So complete is the system that there are -few such. - -It does not require one skilled in the economics of the labor problem -to point out the glaring evils of a coal-mining system. They are so -evident that even he who runs may read. They are so patent that even the -dull creatures who toil under them feel in a blank way that something -is wrong. Just what, they cannot say. They realize that they are always -hungry, always toiling and always in debt. There are three things that -the strong arm of the judiciary should suppress—child labor, peonage, and -weight frauds. - -I have purposely placed child labor first, for it deserves the first -place. Children of very tender years are forced into the mines, where -they serve in various capacities, some of them even being utilized by -their parents in the actual mining operations. This is done that the -parent may obtain an extra supply of coal boxes by reason of his having a -“buddy,” though the coal is all loaded out under his number. Principally, -however, the little fellows are employed as “trappers,” to open and -close the immense valves that direct the air current down the various -entries. All day long these infants stand in the noisome draft and swing -back and forth those heavy doors. With the strong current of air pushing -or pulling against these valves it is no light task for even a man to -perform. Then the damp air, playing about the half clad figure, induces -colds, pneumonia and consumption. It is a rare thing to see one of these -little “trappers” who is not coughing with some form of respiratory -trouble. The parents lie cheerfully regarding the child’s age, and the -child itself lies just as cheerfully. Poor creatures, they are hardly to -be blamed! The few pennies that are thus obtained help to keep the almost -empty pot boiling at the squalid home. - -The system of peonage is worse far than African slavery ever could have -been. From year’s end to year’s end the miner never sees money. He is -paid in coupon books good at the store for the necessities of life and -that is all he is expected to have, and precious few of them. In almost -every instance the Company has sold to the miner one of the miserable -houses, for which he is to pay a certain sum every month. The Company -proudly boast that their miners own their own homes. The miner is given a -contract to be held in escrow (by the Company) whereby upon the payment -of the purchase price he is to have a deed to the property. It is a very -significant fact that there were only eighteen deeds on record in Macon -County covering these properties. In other words, only eighteen miners -actually owned their homes. It was never the intention of the Company to -allow the miner to secure title to his “home.” If any considerable number -of them showed symptoms of making good on the payments, the Company had -many ways of causing them to default and thus violate the ironclad terms -of the contract. - -The contention regarding weights is one of long standing. The miner is -supposed to mine a long ton of 2240 pounds. In reality he mines nearer -3000 pounds. The scales are hidden from the view of the miner and the -weigh boss cheerfully deducts from the weight of the miner’s box anything -that he sees fit and he usually sees fit to deduct about one fourth. This -systematic robbery is carried on all the time. Could the miner obtain -what his labor actually produces, his condition would be less miserable. -He does not obtain it, however, and he seems powerless to bring about -change. Now we will return to my own personal experiences in the mine. -Our room was a good one, save that the slate top was very treacherous -and we took particular care to keep it well timbered. My “buddy” was a -thorough miner and fully knew the virtue of propping the top perfectly. -The room had been driven up some sixty yards when the accident happened, -that brought home to me the dangers of mining. - -We fired a fourteen-foot hole in the evening, before leaving the mine. -The next morning my “buddy” arrived before I did, and began loading the -box that was standing in the room. Upon my arrival I found the box half -filled, but my “buddy” nowhere in sight. A mass of slate had fallen and I -knew instinctively that my “buddy” was beneath the mass. I called some of -the nearby miners and, after propping the top, we fell to work removing -the debris. First an arm showed; then the entire body was exposed to -view. He had been instantly killed. I loaded the body into the half -filled box and accompanied it to the top. It became my duty to inform -the wife of the misfortune. She, poor woman, took the news stolidly, -as though she had long expected it. Indeed, I think they grow to look -forward to the time when the husband will be carried in, crushed out of -all semblance to a human being. We buried him in the bleak graveyard on -the hill and, as his “buddy,” it became my duty to carry around the paper -that asked assistance for the widow. In her stolid way, I suppose, she -was grateful for the charity, but she never showed it by any emotion of -the face, taking the whole thing as a matter of course. - -It had been a very wet Spring and the falling rain had completely -saturated the ground and, soaking through, had loosened the slate and -soapstone top until falls were of almost daily occurrence. As yet we had -not been visited with any that were disastrous in nature. A few tons of -rock in some of the rooms, a miner killed or hurt, was about all. In -June, however, occurred the fall that imprisoned several hundred of the -miners in the West entries for two days. Down toward the beginning of -the first West an old deserted room caved in, carrying with it the top -above the entry proper. For several days the miners had noted that the -room was “working,” that is, the top was pressing upon the props. This -was evidenced by the collection of fine flakes of slate that covered -the room and the entry when we entered the mine in the morning. With -characteristic negligence the matter was passed up and nothing done but -to remove the iron track from the room. One day I paused at the mouth -of the room, attracted by a peculiar noise. At intervals there was a -sound like the snapping of an overwrought violin string. I afterward -learned that the sound was produced by the bending props throwing off -fine splinters. That evening when we passed out the props were snapping -as they broke under the enormous pressure. A faraway rumbling was heard, -like wagons passing over a covered bridge. The room was certain to fall -during the night, the old miners said. - -It did not, however, for it was still “working” the next morning. -Sometime during the forenoon I heard a sound as of distant artillery -fire. Boom, boom, boom,—the sound came up the entry, causing a current of -air to flare the lights hither and yon. This continued for an hour; then -the room caved. There was a crash of falling stone, a sound impossible -to describe in any other words than terrible, a great gust of wind, and -every lamp in the entry was extinguished. We rushed down the entry to -find that all egress was shut off. The fall of the room had carried with -it the entry as well, and we were prisoners behind thirty feet of solid -rock. The pit boss instantly ordered every man to put out his light and -lie down. Every cubic foot of air must now be conserved, for it would -be hours at least before the pipe could be driven in to supply fresh. -There we lay in the Stygian blackness in that foul atmosphere waiting the -signal from the relief party. Hours passed, and no signal from the other -side. Every minute the air became more foul until at last we were panting -for breath, the sweat running from every pore. Then came the faint tap -that told us the rescue party was driving the pipe. Never a sound came -with such melody to my ears. It seemed an age before the steel-nosed pipe -broke through and a welcome rush of oxygen was forced in by the air-pump. -The pit boss signaled along the pipe that all was well. Then the work of -rescue began. All day they picked out and carted away the fallen rock. -All night the work went on without ceasing. Another day and another night -followed before they broke through the barrier, and we streamed out of -the mine, hungry, thirsty and weary from loss of sleep. - -I was beginning to realize that while in time I might become an -accomplished coal-miner, my chances for living a long life to enjoy that -trade were exceedingly limited. I decided to sever my connection with the -Kansas and Texas Coal Company, fully realizing that the Company would not -mourn much at my loss, and I had no intention of falling on its neck to -weep at the parting. - -The incident that crystallized my half-formed ideas into immediate action -took place in the room one day when I approached nearer the swift current -of the Dark River than I cared to do. By accident the driver shoved a -box into our room (by this time I had a new “buddy”) and we had no coal -with which to load it. A box was so valuable that we could not afford to -allow it to be taken out unloaded, so we cast about for sufficient coal -for the purpose. Sometime since we had shot a small blast on the pillar -and the pit boss, coming in, had ordered us to let it stand as we were -too far to the south. This shot was still standing. The coal was loose -and needed only to be mined off for us to have sufficient coal to load -out the box. That duty devolved upon me, and I shoved the box back and -began mining off the shot. In a short time I had it all cut round save -a small portion that I could not reach with the pick. I returned to the -“face” and procured a long chum drill and with it began to cut down the -standing coal. I was seated tailor-like upon the floor, my legs doubled -under me. When the coal mass gave way it rolled toward me and pressing -the drill across my body pinioned me beneath it. I felt no danger, for my -“buddy” could soon extricate me from the position. I called to him and -he started in my direction. As he did so I glanced up and was horrified -to see several yards of the slate top easing downward. Frantically I -grasped the drill that was binding me down and gave it a wrench. It gave -and another wrench broke it in twain. To flop over and crawl on my hands -and knees out of the way of danger was only the work of an instant. As -I did so the great slab fell, tearing off my shoe soles as though they -were but paper. I owe my life to the fact that the top did not give way -instantly, but broke gradually. So thoroughly frightened was I that I sat -in a stupor for some time. When I had sufficiently recovered to be able -to walk I made my way out of the mine, went to my boarding place, removed -my pit garments and bade Ardmore a lasting and affectionate farewell. - -I have torn a few soiled and tattered leaves from my book of life and -have here given them to you. That the story is not well told I fully -realize. That it is true in every particular must stand its only merit. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_The Pessimist; His View-Point_ - - -Sermons should be practiced before they are preached. - -A reformer’s idea of fun is to spoil other people’s fun. - -No man can fix a clock and at the same time sing a hymn. - -Sacrifices on the altar of foolishness never cease for lack of material. - -I wonder why they don’t charter Polygamy under the laws of New Jersey. - -There are a great many more fools in the world than they have any idea of. - -Sometimes they are editorials, and the rest of the time they are -idiotorials. - -And, oh, if the great problems solved by the graduates would only stay -solved! - -The reason why I am so well is that I have always been too poor to stay -long at a health resort. - -There are two kinds of women who cannot be reasoned with: the one in love -and the one not in love. - -The best way to preserve the beauty of a finely shaped nose is to keep it -out of other people’s business. - - TOM P. MORGAN. - - - - -[Illustration: THOSE THAT ARE JOINED TOGETHER - -BY CHARLES FORT] - - -You are standing on an Eighth Avenue corner, looking down a side street -toward the ugly black streak made by the Ninth Avenue elevated railroad. -You see peddlers, right hands curving at the sides of their mouths, left -hands holding pails of potatoes; a woman with a basket of wash, which -is tucked under a sheet; many fire escapes that look like a jumbling of -giant gridirons, when seen from the corner. You notice the signs over -doorways: a gilded boot; a carpenter’s sign projecting a little farther; -glazier’s sign, of stained-glass squares trying to eclipse signs of -shoemaker and carpenter; tailor’s sign almost obscuring all of them. -In the tailor-shop windows are prints of the latest fashions, labeled, -“Types of American Gents.” American gents, going to work, in overalls and -sweaters, pause to enjoy the very latest in riding, golf, and hunting -costumes, and perhaps go in to order a three-dollar pair of breeches. -The tailor shop occupies the first floor of a three-story frame house—a -grimy-looking house; its grimy clapboards are stained by streaks of rain -dripping from the rusty fire-escape. - -The McGibneys lived in the second-floor rooms. McGibney was log-shaped; -he seemed as big around at his ankles as at his chest, and, though -he wore collars, it was because everyone else wore collars, and not -because his neck was perceptible. Close-cropped hair, a rather sharp -nose, bright, alert eyes, cheeks red and all other visible parts of him -pinkish. Mrs. McGibney was a plump, delicately featured little woman, -who could express most amazing firmness upon her small features. When -she had household cares, she worried; when she had household duties, she -bustled. And it would surely please you to look at Mrs. McGibney when -she worried; left forefinger beginning over the fingers of the right -hand; left forefinger lodging on right little finger, Mrs. McGibney -pausing to look into space, counting up to assure herself that the -butcher had not cheated; forefinger beginning again and dealing with the -grocer, this time; another fixed look into space to be sure the grocer -had not imagined a can of tomatoes or a pound of flour. It would please -you, because you would know that not one penny, worked so hard for by -McGibney, would be wasted. When Mrs. McGibney bustles—ah, now that is -pretty! That means a very keen sense of responsibility, nothing shirked, -nothing that will make McGibney’s comfort neglected. Bustling to the oven -door, opening and shutting it; fingers dabbing at under lip and sizzling -on under side of a flat iron; frying-pan moved back on the stove; quick, -short steps to the table to roll out breadcrumbs; dash to a window to -sharpen a knife on the sill—when Mrs. McGibney bustles! - -Evening! Both of them in the cheerful kitchen. Very cheerful kitchen! -Three conch-shells, like big pink ears, up on the mantelpiece, and four -palm leaves, painted green, stuck in a flower pot, just like a bit of -Florida. The dish-pan, on the stove murmuring; a subdued rattle and -good-natured growling of bubbles forming on the bottom of the pan, and -dishes fluttering on them. The oil-cloth was bright and new-looking, -except in the corner where heavy McGibney sat. There, chair legs had -indented as if someone had beaten around at random with a hammer. And in -his corner, reading the newspaper, sat McGibney, his wife sitting beside -the table his elbow was on, frowning, puzzling, and counting her fingers. -“Yes,” said Mrs. McGibney, “I can keep expenses down to five dollars a -week, but you mustn’t charge on my book what you spend. I don’t think I -ought to mark down the cent for your newspaper, do you? I’m not going to -have my book any more than it’s got to be. I’ll cross off this two cents -for a stamp. Now, you know you oughtn’t to charge me for that; it was for -your own letter—don’t sit like that! How often have I told you you ruin -the oil-cloth?” - -McGibney not only continued to tilt back and dig into the oil-cloth but -rocked himself on the hind legs of the chair; one is sometimes tempted to -torment severe little women when they are too serious. - -“Oh, I don’t care; you’re not harming me. Go ahead, if you feel like -paying for new oil-cloth.” McGibney could not sit straight without some -demonstration to cover his accession; he put out fingers like tongs and -pinched just above her knee. If you are an old married man, you know just -how far from dignified and severe that immediately made McGibney. Then -McGibney sat straight, sat as if he would have sat straight anyway. - -A rap on the door. Mrs. McGibney put away her account book as if it were -wrong to keep account-books; McGibney sat crooked as if it were wrong -to sit straight. No matter what one is doing, one feels that someone -else coming makes a difference. Mrs. McGibney started toward the door, -went to the stove instead, and covered the dish-pan; started again but -paused to twitch a curtain; finally got to the door and opened it, but -had glanced back twice and had motioned to McGibney to put away a bag of -crackers. - -“Oh, it’s you, Clara?” exclaimed Mrs. McGibney. “Why, come right in!” - -Into the room came a stocky person, with a broad, flat, amiable face. -Everything about her seemed to suggest that she was made to work hard -and suffer, usually not complain, but, quite without reasoning, flash -into short-lived rebellion against hardships now and then. Like your -impression of peasantry more than a century ago, down-trodden, without -leaders, should be your impression of Clara. In her heavy arms was a huge -bundle, done up in a sheet, four corners of the sheet hanging loose at -top. She appeared to be carrying a monstrous turnip, all white, loose -ends like white turnip-tops. - -“Why, good evening!” said Clara awkwardly, turning to the right, turning -to the left, with her huge bundle, looking for a place to set it down, -but still clinging to it, her chin buried in the top of it, the big -bundle making her look like a pouter-pigeon. - -“Mrs. McGibney,” said Clara, turning to the right, to the left, still -clinging, “I don’t like to ask you, knowing you ain’t got accommodations, -but could you lend me the loan of your ironing-board for the night? I’ve -flew the coop on him for good and all this time, and tomorrow will get a -room for myself; but, if you can let me have your ironing-board, I can -sleep on it here, on the floor tonight. This is my wash, which I brought -with me, not to leave him so much as a stitch that’s mine. Would it be -too much to ask for your ironing-board?” - -“Why, put down that heavy bundle, Clara!” cried Mrs. McGibney, having -dabbed at the bundle, but missed it; “it’s sopping wet!” - -“Sopping wet!” repeated Mrs. McGibney, as if pleased. And she was -pleased, for here was an occasion for her to bustle around the room. -Very much did Mrs. McGibney like to bustle around a room. And Clara, by -the door, sat at the table at the other end of which McGibney sat. - -“It’s wet because I just took it in off the line, not to leave him -anything of mine,” said Clara. She moved uneasily in her chair. And she -winked, as if in physical distress. - -“I can’t move my line, because the rain’s made it too tight,” said Mrs. -McGibney, “but we can hang up the wash here to dry. Ironing-board? -Ironing-board, how are you!” She pounced upon the huge turnip, seizing -turnip-tops, plucking them apart. “No, but we can make you comfortable -in the front room, Clara.” Sheet spread out and wash in a mound. “And -you’ve carried this with you all the way through the streets? I’ll fix up -lines.” Two parallel lines, rigged up one from each end of the table to -the opposite wall, sheets thrown over them; kitchen looking like Monday -morning in your back yard. Room divided into three compartments: Clara -in one, by the door; middle one, including the table, reserved for Mrs. -McGibney; McGibney isolated in the third. Mrs. McGibney hung wash on the -backs of chairs, and, forgetting how picture frames collect dust, jumped -up at comers of picture frames, with more wash. Then she returned to her -chair, which was in the middle compartment. - -“Not bothering you too much,” began timid Clara. An expression of pain -suddenly shot across her broad face. “Oh,” she breathed, “I guess that -must be the tintypes! Anyway, don’t bother about me. Oh! yes, I’m sure -it’s the tintypes. Tintypes has such sharp corners, even if there is pink -paper frames to them. I had nowhere else to carry my belongings, which -I’d not leave behind, as I have flew the coop on him.” - -Clara stuck one foot out and lifted her skirt somewhat. Untied a -handkerchief from somewhere, though I have heard that the material is -usually more elastic—never mind; in a most matter-of-fact way, Clara -untied the handkerchief. As if it were the most natural thing in the -world to do, and very serious about it, she delved and drew forth an -alarm clock, a comb, shoe-strings, a looking-glass, a tea-strainer, a box -of matches, the tintypes—— - -“It was the tintypes!” cried Clara. “I knew, because they got such sharp -corners and was sticking me, all the way over, most every step I took.” - -Mrs. McGibney and McGibney, who drew his sheet aside, stared at the -astonishing collection on the table and then laughed heartily. Clara, -looking calm and unintelligent, drew forth a can of baking powder. -Nothing to laugh at could she see, but the others seemed amused, so she -smiled sympathetically with them. - -“Yes,” said Clara, no longer timid, for it was her way to be awkward at -first and then feel as much at home as anybody, “I’ve flew the coop on -him forever. I’ve said I meant it before, but this time I do mean it. -And he can be so nice when he wants to be. You know that yourself, Mrs. -McGibney.” - -“He always seemed a perfect little gentleman whenever I saw him,” -declared Mrs. McGibney. - -“It’s a shame you two can’t get along better!” was heard from behind -McGibney’s sheet. “I’ve always found Tommy all right.” - -And Clara exclaimed: “He’s the nicest little man in the world! This time -I have flew the coop on him forever.” She smiled at her sheet, so that no -one within hearing should be depressed, just because she had troubles. - -“I don’t know!” said Clara, with her broad, slow smile, “it’s pretty hard -for a woman to come home from her day’s work, and find the man stretched -on the floor before her sleeping it off. Isn’t it?” she asked, as if by -no means sure and wishing to hear what others thought. - -From behind two sheets: - -“It certainly is hard!” - -Rumbling up over McGibney’s sheet: - -“You hadn’t ought to put up with it! It is hard!” - -“Isn’t it!” cried Clara, as if crying. “There, I was right, after all! -I thought, myself, it was hard, and here’s others thinks the same. And -then, when you’re getting along nice, both working and laying by a -little, and going to buy the brass lamp in Mason’s window, and get a -whole half-ton of coal instead of by the bag, which is robbery, and then -he goes out to change the savings into one big bill which you’d never be -tempted to break, and comes back in the morning without one cent—” Clara -paused. She would not like to be ridiculed for regarding trifles too -seriously. “I don’t think he does right by me—does he?” - -Both sheets agitated. Over both sheets: - -“He certainly don’t do right by you!” - -“Does he!” cried Clara, almost excited, also triumphant, hearing her own -suspicions verified. - -“He oughter be ashamed of hisself!” rumbled McGibney. - -Clara looked up, and there was a slow heavy frown, instead of the slow -heavy smile. - -“There’s worse than him!” she said sharply. - -“I’ll never speak to him again!” declared Mrs. McGibney. - -“You might speak to worse, Mrs. McGibney. I’m sure he always spoke most -kind of you——” - -“How could he speak otherwise of me?” demanded Mrs. McGibney in quick -anger. - -“Now! now! now!” rumbled McGibney, thrusting his sheet aside and looking -warningly at his wife. - -“Not making you a sharp answer, Mrs. McGibney,” pursued thick, slow, -heavy Clara, “he never said nothing but kind words of you. There’s lots -worse than him and he was always a good husband to me, excepting when he -was bad, and I hope I’ll never lay my two eyes onto him again.” - -And Mrs. McGibney looked at the McGibney sheet as if to say, “You’d best -always keep quiet!” and her resentment was over, for she was fond of -Clara and had known her many years. - -“I’ll get a pint of beer,” said McGibney. “Can I leave youse two without -there being a clinch? You like a little ale in it, don’t you, Clara?” - -“Don’t never mind me!” said Clara restlessly. “I just remember I left the -gas burning and him sleeping his buns off. Do you think the gas would -go out and then start up again and not burning? I’ve heard tell of such -cases. Not meaning to go back to him, maybe I’d better go back and turn -the gas out.” - -“Do go back, Clara!” urged Mrs. McGibney, feeling through the sheet for -Clara’s hand and impulsively seizing Clara’s nose, trying again for the -hand, closing fingers upon Clara’s ear, Clara leaning over, with head -near her knees, “Give him another chance. A wife’s place is at home. -Don’t mind what others tell you—your husband is dearer to you than all -the rest of the world. Go back and make him promise to do better.” - -“I don’t wish him no harm,” said Clara, hesitatingly. “This time I’ve -flew the coop on him forever, even if he is the nicest little man in the -world when he has a mind to be—if I thought the gas would go out on him, -I might go back and turn down the gas, anyway.” - -Oh, then, here was a fine chance for Mrs. McGibney to bustle. Down came -everything on the lines, as if it were Monday night in the back yard. -Down came everything from the backs of chairs and from picture frames. -Back into a bundle with everything! Big white turnip again, loose, -sprawling turnip-tops. - -“I might try him again for a week, anyway,” decided Clara. Out and -away and back home with her big white, turnip and its pouter-pigeon -effect, too bulky for her arms to go around, her chin lost in fluttering -turnip-tops; back home with bundle, alarm clock, looking-glass, box of -baking-powder and tintypes taken one almost impossibly happy day at Coney -Island. - -An evening or two later. McGibney out for a walk. Mrs. McGibney up to -her elbows in the washing that had driven him out, for if he had remained -in he would have had to carry boilers of water to the stove from the sink -in the hall. So McGibney had said, “Marietta, I ain’t getting fresh air -enough. I don’t sleep good unless I take a little walk in the evening.” -Mrs. McGibney had to fill the boiler one dishpanful at a time and that -was satisfactory to McGibney. - -Rap on the door. Mrs. McGibney quickly concealed socks with holes in them -and turned to the door. Vain little Mrs. McGibney! She paused to rummage -through the wash until she found curtains. They were very fine lace -curtains. The very fine curtains were placed where a caller would surely -see them and note how very fine they were. Then Mrs. McGibney’s hand did -around and around on the door knob, hand slippery with soap-suds, until -the slipperiness wore off and she could open the door. She exclaimed: -“Why, Tommy! come right in.” The “nicest little man in the world” was an -uneasy, squirming, twisting, little man; bald-headed; Hebraic nose like -a number six inclining at forty-five degrees; chin with a dimple looking -like a bit gouged out of it; very neat; fussy. And a very polite little -man, scraping, bowing, grinning. - -“Sit down, Tommy. You won’t have much room to stir. The old man is out, -but will be back almost any minute. Sit down, but first I’ll trouble you -to fill the boiler for me, if you don’t mind. How is Clara?” - -Tommy seemed to scrape and bow to the boiler, before lifting it, seemed -to scrape with his right foot and bow to the wash-tub as he passed it and -went scraping and bowing down to the sink, filled the boiler, came back -with it, set it on the stove and stood grinning, prepared to scrape and -bow, if given half a chance to, until invited again to sit down. - -“My!” said Mrs. McGibney, “the wash does gather on one so!” - -Tommy opened his eyes wide and wrinkled his forehead to express -profoundest sympathy. Not only with eyes and forehead, but with elbows, -feet, knees and hands, it was his way to show how very attentively he -listened to anyone speaking to him; ready to laugh heartily at anything -he might be expected to smile at; equally ready to commiserate with -anybody. - -“Are you feeling pretty well?”—soap dabbed on a McGibney shirt. “How -is—” laundry-brush up and down where the soap was, which was at elbows; -McGibney _would_ lean on elbows. “Clara? Is she—” up and down with the -shirt on the wash-board—“feeling pretty—” wringing out and dropping shirt -on pile, on a newspaper, “well?” Pile too high and toppling over, top -pieces falling on the floor outside the newspaper. Not a speck on them, -but rubbing over for them, anyway. - -“Oh, yes, ma’am; Clara is very well. I have left her.” - -“You’ve what? You’ve left her?” - -“Oh, yes, ma’am!” said Tommy, head bobbing, shoulders, arms, knees, all -of him bobbing. “I called to see would you keep these tintypes for me? -I’m going to Maddy-gascar, where I hear there’s openings.” - -“Why, Tommy, what’s the matter?” - -“She don’t keep the house picked up—not saying a word against her,” -answered Tommy. “These tintypes is mine, and she can have everything -else; but these is mine, and it was my money paid for them down to Coney -Island, me and her in them, and all I got in the world I care about, and -will you keep them for me till I can send for them from Maddy-gascar?” - -“Why, of course I’ll do that, Tommy; but you know you’d never do such a -thing as leave Clara. That would be very wrong of you.” - -“Oh, yes, indeed, ma’am, very wrong of me! Not saying one word against -her, she lies in bed all day and won’t so much as do any sweeping. -There’s never any cooking, and I’m tired to death of the delicatessens -and rather go to Maddy-gascar and eat spiders, me going in the spider-web -industry there. She don’t do no wash like you, Mrs. McGibney, but just -rinses out in cold water. She’s so lazy she washes dishes by rubbing -newspapers on them. That ain’t so bad as when she does wash them; she -washes clothes in the dish-pan and then washes dishes after them—not that -I’d say one word against her. So, will you mind the tintypes with her and -me in them, ma’am? They’re all I have to care about, ma’am.” - -“Oh, now Tommy—” But how could one possibly argue with Tommy? With eyes -and forehead and elbows and knees, he would most emphatically agree with -everything said to him. - -“Your wife is a very good woman.” - -Of course she was! Best in the city! Best in the whole world! But would -Mrs. McGibney care for the tintypes? - -“It’s very wrong of you, Tommy!” - -Wrong? Shocking! Heartless! Wicked, shocking, heartless Tommy! Of course -he was, and he admitted every word of it; but would Mrs. McGibney take -care of the tintypes until he could send from “Maddy-gascar” for them? - -Tommy left the tintypes on the mantelpiece, hoping he was disturbing -nothing by so doing; imploring Mrs. McGibney not to bother with them -if she thought they would take up too much room, begging her to throw -them in the ashes or burn them, or jump on them if they should be the -slightest annoyance to her; then he went away. - -Back in five minutes. Well, after all, “Maddy-gascar” was pretty far away -and he had heard stories about the Esquimaux there, so he would take the -tintypes back with him; Clara might wonder where they were. Five minutes -later. Back again. Perhaps Mrs. McGibney had better not say anything to -anyone about the tintype matter. Bowing, bobbing, scraping. - -Oh, not a word would Mrs. McGibney say! Rest assured of that! Indeed, she -had quite enough to do in attending to her own affairs. Mrs. McGibney -promised to say nothing, and like a busy little housewife with too much -to do to waste time gossiping, breathed not a word of it till McGibney -came in. - -“It’s all Tommy’s fault!” said McGibney. - -“I’m afraid Clara is a good deal to blame,” said Mrs. McGibney. - -“Oh, yes, always stand up for the man, of course!” - -“Oh, yes, take the woman’s part every time, won’t you?” - -The next time the McGibneys saw Clara, there was no persuading her to go -home. She had no home. - -“Because,” said Clara, “when we found there wasn’t no use in our trying -to get along together, we just broke up and gave away everything in the -rooms and went down the stairs and down the stoop together. We didn’t so -much as say good-bye nor nothing; he went up the street and I went down.” - -“That’s right!” declared McGibney, “when two people can’t get along -together, it’s best for them to part, I say!” - -“You say!” cried indignant Mrs. McGibney. And scornful Mrs. McGibney! - -“Well, I’m entitled to speak, ain’t I?” grumbled McGibney. - -“No!” firmly. “Leastwise, not when you talk like that.” She looked her -scorn and continued: - -“No, Clara, there’s nobody dearer to any woman than her own husband.” -Looked at McGibney as if he were a pile of wash just toppled over into -the ash-pan. “Your husband will be with you when others are far away.” -Looked at him as if he were two piles of wash toppled over into three -ash-pans. “There ain’t any luck in any such advice as he’s giving you. -I know how I love my own dear husband, and you know you’re the same, -and you’ll find what the world is when you’re alone in it.” Glared her -indignation, scorn, contempt for McGibney, who mumbled, with an air of -sagacity, astonishing to himself: - -“Ain’t wimmen the queer things, though!” - -“I’ve flew the coop on him forever!” said Clara, with her broad, amiable, -unintelligent smile. “I got a little hall room for myself, and—me go back -to him? Oh, my! is that a step on the stairs? I wouldn’t wish it, not for -the world, for him to find me here! I never want to see the face of him -again!” Clara looked around for a place to hide; ran to the door of the -front room, and, with her hand on the knob, stood listening. - -“’Tain’t him! It’s someone going upstairs,” she said, smiling her relief. -“I’ll never go back to him.” - -A week later. Clara again. And Clara was out of breath. - -“Oh, Mrs. McGibney, has the man come yet? I thought I saw him over on -Ninth Avenue, and I run clear around the block for fear he’d be after -me and track me here. I was just buying a bit of furniture and going to -start rooms for myself, when I get a few bits together. And is it too -much to ask you to store them for me till I get rooms, Mrs. McGibney?” - -“We’re only too glad—” began Mrs. McGibney. - -“Oh, on your life, don’t stir! It’s him! He mustn’t know where I am, -or he might try to get me back! I don’t never want to see him again!” -whispered Clara. “On your life, not giving no orders, don’t stir, or -he’ll know you’re in and see me here.” - -There was a rap on the door. - -“Oh, my! Look out—would he hear us?” - -Out in the hall: - -“McGibney! Anyone know where McGibney lives?” - -“Oh!” breathed Clara, “that’s all right. It’s the furniture men.” - -And two men from a Ninth Avenue furniture store came in with a bureau. -At least they set it in the hall, and turned to hasten down the stairs; -paused to do little better than that, and rolled the bureau half way into -the room; turned to run back to the store, but, in turning, thrust back -with their heels, and pushed the bureau quite into the room, which was -conscientious enough delivering of goods to suit anybody. - -“I bought that!” said Clara, proudly. The bureau was rolled into the -front room, and she helped, her hands caressing more than pushing. There -was no back to the bureau. The varnish was worn off. Some one had broken -open the top drawer, splintering the wood on each side of the keyhole. - -“It’s mine!” said Clara rapturously. “It took three days of hard -scrubbing on hands and knees, for me to buy that. It’ll be every bit -as good as new, with a few boards nailed on the back, and a little oil -rubbed over it.” - -The bureau was rolled to a corner of the front room, but Clara could not -leave it, hovering over it, stooping and pulling out drawers, one by one, -gazing delightedly at the disgraceful old wreck. - -“Yes!” said Clara. “The other day when I was scrubbing the restaurant -floor, there was customers looking at me, and they says, ‘Look at that -poor woman! Ain’t some got hard lots in life!’ They needn’t of pitied me! -I was earning that! Just a few boards and a little oil is all it needs, -and I’ll get as fine a home together as anybody’s got—what’s that?” - -Clara ran to the kitchen to listen. - -“I’m so afraid he’ll find me that I do be hearing sounds all the time!” -she said. “Ain’t that bureau something elegant? I’ll have my own bit of a -home and never see him again.” Then, as McGibney came out to the kitchen, -shutting the front-room door behind him, she asked; - -“Ain’t that sounds of excitement in the street? Maybe there’s a fire!” -Clara ran to the front room and pretended to look out the window. She had -heard nothing; it was only a pretext to get back to the disgraceful old -wreck. On her own hands and knees she had earned it. - -“Ain’t it nice!” said Clara, ecstatically. “I got my eye on a gilt-framed -mirror I’ll buy next week. It’s nice, ain’t it?” - -Clara went away. Back in five minutes. - -“I guess maybe I left my rolled-up apron in the front room.” Whether she -had or not, she stood looking at the bureau; turned to go; looked again; -moved it to get a better light on it; stepped toward the door; paused -and looked back. - -“I bought that!” - -And she went away, leaving McGibney standing in the front room. With an -expression of deep melancholy he stood looking at the clumsy, broken -bureau. He looked at his best furniture surrounding it—fragile, gilded -chairs, on a big rug better than any other rug in the neighborhood—a -sideboard with French plate glass in it; the very fine curtains. He was -a log-shaped man, and not remarkably æsthetic, but his eye was sorely -offended. - -“Oh, well,” said the melancholy, log-shaped man, “if us poor folks -don’t help each other, who will?” And the eye of Mrs. McGibney was -equally offended; but Mrs. McGibney was not melancholy, for here was an -opportunity for her to bustle. Out with the sofa and around in front -of the bureau! The standing lamp placed where it would help to conceal -the bureau. To hide the bureau was quite a problem, but Mrs. McGibney -rejoiced in it. She bustled. - -The next Saturday night Clara bought a wicker rocking-chair. -Fearful-looking old rocking-chair! Interstices of it filled with white -paint; all paint worn off wherever arms, legs, and backs had rested on it. - -“It’s nice, ain’t it?” said Clara, dreamily, fondly. - -McGibney sat straight, as if he had just dug through the oil-cloth and -feared reprimanding. Then he fell back limply. - -“Yes, ve-ry,” he said, without enthusiasm. - -“It’ll fill out your front room nice, while I’m waiting for it, won’t it?” - -“Oh, ye-es; it’ll be ve-ry nice.” - -“And so comfortable!” said Clara. She sat in the chair and clumsily -rocked it. “Try it, Mrs. McGibney! You ain’t got no idea how comfortable -it is. You sit in it, Mr. McGibney. Just lie back and push with your feet -and see what a comfort it is. My! I can just see myself in it, me with my -shoes off and resting after the day. Such comfort in it! I don’t guess I -ever made such a bargain before. But what do you think? That mirror I was -so set on was bought! That’s mean, ain’t it? I was awful provoked when -I heard it. Just the same, I got my eye on a stove that’s fine and well -worth the four dollars they ask for it. It’s all nickel in front, and -only one of the bricks broken, and can be fixed with five cents’ worth of -fire-clay. It’ll look nice in your front room, won’t it?” - -“Ve-ry nice!” answered distressed McGibney. - -Clara got up to go. Had to sink back and take another rock in the chair, -so comfortable after the day’s work, and one’s shoes off. It was indeed -worth scrubbing for! Up to go. Well, just one more rock—away back and -slowly down again, you know. And you, too, look again at it! My! but what -a bargain! And Clara bought it! On her own hands and knees she had earned -it. Before going away, Clara lingered at the door. Perhaps they would -laugh at her if she should take another rock, but she might look at the -chair for another moment. - -“Ain’t this pretty oil-cloth you got!” Looking only at the chair. - -“I must get a kitchen table like yours.” Looking only at her own -rocking-chair. She left McGibney staring gloomily, but saying, sturdily: - -“Us poor folks must help each other!” - -Mrs. McGibney bustled. - -It was a different Clara when seen again. Her face was flushed; the -unintelligent but soft eyes were like eyes that could not see outward -things, as if they were engaged in the unusual occupation of looking -within at her own mind. Convince Clara that she had a grievance, and -thick, obstinate brooding replaced uncomplaining stolidity. - -By force of habit, Clara’s slow, amiable smile flickered, but her eyes -were as if turned upon brooding within. - -“Someone’s did that a-purpose!” said Clara, slowly, deliberately, -staring, seeming to see neither McGibney nor Mrs. McGibney. “Me that -thought I didn’t have a enemy in the world! Where would I get a enemy, -me always kind to everybody? I had my heart set on that stove that only -needed a little fire-clay. Someone’s bought it, just to annoy me. When -the mirror went, I didn’t think nothing of it, but the stove too, is to -annoy me. They won’t make nothing by that, and bad luck will come upon -them for it.” - -“Why, Clara, it only happened that way,” reasoned Mrs. McGibney. “Nobody -would go and be as mean as that to you, specially as they’d have to spend -money.” - -“It’s tricks done me!” declared sullen, dogged Clara. “Oh, there’s -somebody at the door. Maybe it’s him after me. Say I’m not here, Mrs. -McGibney! On your life, don’t let him find me! I got to work for my -living, anyway, and I’ll work for myself and not divide with no man. -Never—oh, I guess it’s the kitchen table!” - -“A kitchen table, Clara?” demanded McGibney. “Did you say a kitchen -table?” - -“Yes!” said Clara, brightening. “It’s nice! You can put it in the centre -of your front room and maybe have ornaments onto it. It’s a very nice -kitchen table.” - -Door opened; a table thrust into the room; heels flying down the stairs. - -“Don’t you think it’s nice?” Clara asked eagerly. - -“Nice?” repeated honest McGibney. “Oh, is that the table?” - -Scratched legs to it; two plain boards forming the top of it; heads of -nails sunk in the boards, and once filled with putty; putty fallen out. - -Clara shook it to show that the legs were firm. She would varnish -it and cover it with a beautiful table cover she had seen in the -five-and-ten-cent store, though there was one just as good in the -three-and-nine-cent store. - -“Next week,” said brightened Clara, “it’s going to be portcheers. -They’re chenille and grand for a doorway. No room ain’t complete without -portcheers.” She again shook the table to show how firm the legs were and -then went away. - -McGibney and Mrs. McGibney stood out on the front stoop of the -rust-stained frame house, looking at the tailor, who was putting up a new -sign: “Pants pressed, ten cents. Full-dress suits cleaned and pressed, -one dollar.” McGibney thought of “full-dress” suits and looked down the -street, at rags and dirt and ashes. It was Saturday night and they were -going over to Ninth Avenue, to Paddy’s Market. Along came Clara, reaching -the stoop, starting up the stoop, half up the stoop before she saw the -McGibneys. - -“Oh, is it you?” said Clara, with only the beginning of the slow, amiable -smile. - -“The portcheers is gone!” she said, without excitement. “My heart was -set on them—the portcheers has gone. Would you say to me, now, that it -only happens that way, Mrs. McGibney? Is there somebody playing mean, low -tricks on me, or ain’t there? Does three times in succession just happen? -The portcheers was bought last Monday. Was that only accident? Oh, but -I came around to see would you lend me fifty cents? There’s a hat-rack -I want. It’s meant for a front hall, but the mirror in it is nice and -there’s a bit of marble to it, and it’ll look nice in my rooms, where, -to my longest day, no man’ll ever hang his hat on it, unless you, Mr. -McGibney, when you and Mrs. McGibney come and see me. I don’t like to ask -you for fifty cents, Mrs. McGibney, and you just going to do your bit of -marketing.” - -“There’s fifty dollars in the bank that you can have any time you say so, -Clara!” exclaimed McGibney. - -“We’d rather have you owing it than have it in the bank, Clara,” said -Mrs. McGibney, “because the bank might bust.” - -Clara looked embarrassed. “Don’t you want to come look at the hat-rack?” -she asked. “It’ll set your front room off fine!” The McGibneys pinched -each other’s arms, as if saying, “Oh, Lord, preserve us!” All three went -down the street toward Ninth Avenue, Clara preferring one side of the -street; then, thinking the other side was darker, choosing the darker -side so that if they should meet “him” he might not recognize them. - -Torches on wagons, wagonloads of oranges, twenty for twenty-five cents; -pairs of rabbits slung on headless barrels, plump rabbits hanging -outside, furry rags, shot to pieces, inside the barrels; piles of soup -greens and mounds of cabbages; cries of “Everything cheap! Only a few -more left!” Paddy’s Market! Then the second-hand furniture store, with -bed springs and pillows outside it; stoves with covers and legs in the -ovens; rolls of matting; everything second-hand, even crockery and -tea-kettles. Clara went into the store, Mrs. McGibney having paused to -dig a thumb-nail into potatoes to see whether they were frozen, McGibney -lingering with her, because he would have to carry the potatoes. - -Clara came back to the sidewalk. Again her eyes were unseeing. “The -hat-rack,” said Clara, staring at nothing visible, “is sold. I ain’t been -gone from here ten minutes. It’s sold. Everything I got my heart on is -sold. I don’t know who’s doing it, but they’ll never have a day’s luck -for it.” - -“But what could I do, lady?” The furniture man came cringing out to her. -“You know you didn’t leave no deposit. Would you like to look at some -mats for your front hall? You didn’t leave no deposit, so what could I -do? I got a very heavy, rich and elegant mat here for your front hall; -though the number of a house is onto it.” - -“Look here, Jack,” said McGibney. “Who’s buying up all the things this -lady looks at? Is it any particular party?” - -“Come to think of it, it is,” answered the furniture man. “He’s the gent -took the unfurnished rooms upstairs. ‘What’s he look like?’ Well, he bows -most polite every time my wife waits on him and I see his head was some -bald——” - -“Wait for me!” said Clara. “Up on the next floor, you say? Just only wait -one minute for me, Mrs. McGibney, and I’ll only go to tell him what I -think of this latest meanness he’s playing me. Then I’ll be through with -him forever. This is the last trick he’ll play me!” And she went to the -stairs leading to the rooms over the store. - -“It must be Tommy,” said McGibney. - -“And I always took him for such a perfect little gentleman,” was Mrs. -McGibney’s comment. - -“Just wait a minute!” Clara had said; but, after several minutes, -McGibney became uneasy. - -“I’ll go up and see,” he said. “It maybe ain’t Tommy, and Clara may start -mixing it with some stranger that’s got as much right to the furniture as -her.” - -But it was Tommy, for, as the McGibneys went up the stairs, Clara’s -words, plainly audible, told them so. - -“Never!” they heard—“Was it my dying day, I’d never forgive you. It was -too cruel and I’ll never forget it.” - -“Ain’t she the stubborn thing!” snapped Mrs. McGibney. - -“Did I live to be as old as Mickthusalem, I’d not forgive you for it! -Oh, Tommy, how could you go up the street when I went down? To treat me -so! Don’t never mind nothing else; play me tricks and scold me and don’t -do right nor anywheres near right, but how could you do that? Oh, Tommy, -how could you go up the street when I went down? Me expecting your feet -after me every second, me looking back at the corner. You going up, and -me going down! Rob me of them portcheers I see you got there, and play me -tricks with that mirror, and do like you want to about all the hall-racks -in the world, but you never come to find me when I was hiding away! Have -the red portcheers and welcome to everything my heart was set on, but you -never come to me when I was hiding, and how could I tell you where I was -hiding away? Oh, I been so unhappy without you, Tommy; there’s nobody -got any sympathy for a deserted wife, but just a jeer at her and say, -‘No wonder he left, if you take one look at her big platter face’—but my -eyes is nice and my hair is lovely, I was always told. Take away the red -portcheers my heart was set on, Tommy, and I know you don’t love me, -but we belong to each other, just the same, but don’t—oh, if you ain’t -looking to break my heart—don’t never again go up a street when I’m going -down!” - -The McGibneys saw them standing in the centre of the room, arms about -each other, hands patting each other’s shoulder-blades. - -Tommy began to whimper. Arms mothered him. Steady tapping away on his -shoulder-blades. Then Tommy blubbered outright: - -“Oh, Clara, I been missable! I been missable something fierce, living -alone! I ain’t ate nor slept, but been working straight along and got -a good job and doing pretty good, and so much as a day’s work you’ll -never have to do. No! not if it’s your longest day!” A bow and a bob -and a scrape, for he had discovered the McGibneys standing irresolute -in the hall. He continued to blubber and he continued to tap away at -shoulder-blades. - -“But why didn’t you come to find me, Tommy, when I was hiding away? I -told the Finnigans and everybody, so you must of known where I was hiding -away!” - -Clara would not have seen a hundred McGibneys. Clara was tapping most -mightily with both hands upon shoulder-blades. - -“On account of the brass lamp!” blubbered Tommy. A bob and a bow and a -scrape! “I done fierce bad spending our savings that was for the brass -lamp, and I couldn’t go find you where you was hid till I had that here, -in this new home, for you to see, and be complete, and then you’d know -I was sorry and it would prove I was going to do right. But it wasn’t -tricks, Clara! Honest, it wasn’t tricks! Me standing on the other side -of the street, and looking in the store window at you, and no overcoat, -because I needed every cent to show I was going to do right. And you look -at the mirror. I say, ‘Clara likes that mirror. Then Clara must have -that!’ Me standing with my toes all pinched up, as my shoes is bad, and -you looking at them red portcheers. Then Clara must have red portcheers! -Me jumping up and down, like I’m froze, but standing there every Saturday -night to see what Clara likes and Clara’s going to have that!” Bobbing, -bowing, and scraping toward the hall, from Tommy; from Clara, rather a -look of resentment toward the hall. - -A final tap on shoulder blades and: “Why, come in and see where we’re -going to start up again!” - -“Ain’t it strange!” said calm, stolid Clara. “He found me, after all!” - -And from all four of them, and all four meaning every word: - -“In all the world, there ain’t nobody like your own! If it ain’t but big -enough to hold a trunk, there’s no place like your own!” - -“And,” said supremely happy Tommy and Clara, “now we’ll celebrate!” - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: _Will It Keep Them Off?_ - - _Carter, in New York American_] - - - - -_The Money Power_ - - -“All things come to him that waits.” Fifteen or sixteen years ago, when -the Farmers’ Alliance was flourishing throughout the West and South, it -was a matter of common occurrence to hear some old horny-handed farmer, -on a Saturday at the county seat, disputing with his neighbor about -existing conditions. Almost invariably the Alliance man blamed the “money -power” for causing things to go criss-cross. Occasionally the country -merchant or small banker would butt into the discussion. “The money -power,” he would say, with infinite scorn, “Humph! Why, you poor fool, -there ain’t any such thing as ‘the money power.’ Might as well talk of -the agricultural power, or the mercantile power. There are rich bankers -and rich farmers and rich merchants—but that don’t make them a ‘power’ in -the sense you use that term.” - -For a number of years the “money power” has been given a much needed rest -in the West and South. Most of the pioneers there have substituted the -term “plutocracy.” But in the East reformers are just now beginning to -sit up and take notice. One hears the term frequently. “Roosevelt,” said -Jacob Riis, in a recent interview in the _New York Herald_, “is fighting -the greatest tyrant of them all. Slavery affected only the South, but the -Money Power means the enslavement of all human beings and all homes.” -Many an old, long-whiskered farmer said the same thing just as well -fifteen years ago—and the _Herald_ called him an anarchist. - -“The Senate,” says Ernest Crosby in the March _Cosmopolitan_, “is now the -agent of the Money Power—the representative of Wall Street.” Absolutely -true; and no one can doubt the sincerity of either Mr. Crosby or the -_Cosmopolitan_; but when the farmers of the West and South said the same -thing fifteen years ago, they were greeted with hoots and jeers from the -East. I don’t say that Messrs. Riis and Crosby joined in the hooting and -jeering; I am quite sure they did not; but they are accorded a respectful -hearing in making statements for the making of which thousands of -respectable men fifteen years ago were branded as anarchists, wild-eyed -fanatics, lunatics, and so forth. - -The world _do move_. - - L. H. B. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_The Russian Apostle of Populism_ - -BY THOMAS C. HUTTON - - -Fifty years ago a grayheaded prisoner, neglected, gaunt, unbefriended, -died in the dungeons of Schlüsselburg, and today a thousand Russian -cities are ringing with the name of Mikal Bakunin, the apostle of -Populism, one of the many reformers who were stoned by a contemporary -public and sainted by its descendants. - -Russia spurned the impassioned orator; Germany exiled him, after a few -months of toleration, and now his projects are discussed by millions who -seem determined to give them a fair trial. - -“A pack of knout-serving flunkeys,” Bakunin called the German officials -who enforced the frontier-laws in the interest of the Czar, and soon -after a messenger in uniform served him with a copy of the Prussian -press-laws, and a hint at the expedience of making himself invisible. - -His virulent tongue hurt him a good deal, and his popularity was somewhat -modified by his social radicalism; but the long neglect of his revenue -plan is one of the strangest facts in the literature of political -economy. One might as well reject Kepler’s solar hypothesis, because the -great astronomer got a little cloudy on the question of witchcraft. - -And, after all, Bakunin only whispered his matrimonial theories, but -shouted his tax-protests before multitudes who ought to have known better -than to class them with his chimeras. - -Briefly stated, his main reform plan is this: That governments ought to -earn their own revenues as they cast their own cannon and build their -own battleships. - -“Look at your great Government stud-farm of Trakehnen,” said he, in a -speech on the old Breslau market-square. “Model stables, model granaries, -fine pastures, all more than self-supporting, monthly auctions of forage -and surplus horses. Oats are barreled in airy magazines, and, for greater -security, the granary warden breeds cats, and hires two boys to take care -of them. - -“All lovely, so far. But now suppose those boys were to break in a -private cottage and snatch away a poor youngster’s kitten, on the -pretext that the Government might have need of it? At sight of a club, -the little lad would have to let his pet go, but could you blame him -for growling?—Why don’t you get oats of your own? And let my little -kitten alone?—And that is exactly what I am growling about when I see -tax-collectors confiscate a poor man’s last milch-cow or nanny-goat.” - -The orator then described the estate of Prince Gorkas, a semi-independent -land-magnate near Tiflis, in the southern Caucasus. The Prince’s tenants -pay a moderate rent; freeholders keep his good will by buying his cattle -and coal. Free schools, fairly good, and no tax-collectors—a pattern of -what an empire ought to be on a large scale. Foreseeing the eventual -need of money for the purchase of a neighboring estate, the Prince had -a mountain-side planted with plum trees, to sell the dried fruit. His -engineers opened a mine of cannel-coal, and soon had a large market. -Their master hoarded and was thought capable of driving a sharp bargain, -but gossips would have risked the lunatic-asylum if they had spread a -report that Prince Gorkas had broken into the little crossroad store and -helped himself to a share of the old storekeeper’s savings. - -Fruit plantations are also managed by the Shah of Persia, and mines of -vast values by the Russian Government. Prussia and Austria own extensive -timber forests and realize a handsome profit after paying reasonable -wages to thousands of wardens, rangers and woodcutters. - -Saxony operates national mines and large national glass-works. - -Do kings need ordnance? Let them hire foundries to cast it for them. Do -they need gunpowder? Hire chemists to mix it for them. - -Do they need money? Why, let them hire business-men to earn it for them. -Not the faintest ghost of a doubt but it can be done. - -A little more difficult than raising royal race-horses? Perhaps so. But -does that give His Majesty the right to race down a peddler and take his -money away from him? Now reflect, and do not let your verdict be biased -by the idea that might makes right, or that a long-established absurdity -becomes reasonable. - -Why collect revenues by Government highway robbery, by Government hold-up -methods, by harpies in Government uniform, when the test of practical -experience proves that revenues can be raised by Government industries? - -Would you bring the State in unfair competition with individuals? -“Don’t for one moment,” says Bakunin, “believe that lie of lazybones. -Secretaries of Finance find it easier to hire marauders than to hire -skilled mechanics, that’s all.” - -Who is hurt by the great stockfarm at Trakehnen? It could be enlarged -twenty times, and still give private enterprise a chance to raise -prize-horses at a considerable profit. Who complains about Government -forestry? It gives bread to hundreds of thousands; it protects the -fountains of fertilizing streams; it prevents droughts, but does not -prevent individuals from conducting timber-plantations at a profit -exceeding that of grain farms. - -The Belgian Government owns coal-mines, but private mine-owners will -continue to prosper till they exhaust the supply of the mineral. No -glass-worker has ever objected to the Government glass-works of Saxony. -They invite co-operation; the demand for artistic glass products exceeds -the supply. - -If Government mines and factories, why not Government commerce, and, -above all, Government real estate transactions—Government landlordism -to an extent that will hurt no other landlord, and benefit millions of -tenants? - -Found new communities on the plan of reserving a certain percentage of -building lots for state purposes, and lease those reservations for five -to ten years to the highest bidder. If the Government erects buildings, -let them be models of their kind—fire-proof storehouses, sanitary -tenements. - -Government plantations ought to be drained till gnat-plagues are no more; -equipped with improved machinery, with airy cottages; a blessing to all -concerned, and yet an undoubted source of revenue, since experience -proves that wholesale farming operations are the most profitable. - -One tobacco plantation of the French Government yields a yearly net -revenue of 2,000,000 francs, and the only objection is the nature of -the crop; national agriculture could raise profitable harvests without -catering to a stimulant habit. Government commission houses should import -Jamaica bananas, rather than Jamaica rum. - -On the Bakunin plan, national revenue industries should, as a rule, -select their ground where the strain of competition is the least likely -to be felt. After that, objectors should be referred to a chronicle of -such alternatives as trust despotism. - -“No governments,” he asks, “decline to dirty their hands delving for -boodle? Oh, ye prayerful pirates! Lineal descendants of the bushwhacker -princes who preferred clubs to spades! Below their dignity to cut wood, -but did cut purses and throats. Too highborn to clean out a pig-sty, but -did clean out peddlers and often whole caravans. - -“And now the descendants of those beautiful buccaneers, too proud to -mine or farm, but not ashamed to fall upon a poor farmer’s homestead -and confiscate his last horse! Not too dignified to hold up a crippled -huckster and collar two-thirds of his hard earned pennies. Too sensitive -to work the windlass of a silvermine, but rough-handed enough to wring -silver from a consumptive shopkeeper. Our grandiose rulers, I should say, -are in small business when they break in to snatch a widow’s kettle and -cot-bed. - -“Yet that’s done every day in the year. Statistics claim that somewhere -on earth a child is born every second. And at least every minute sees the -birth of a child that will have to die of hunger, because its mother’s -bread has been filched by tax-collectors. - -“Have Governments a right to supply their needs at the expense of widows -and orphans, while thousands of able-bodied young men stand ready to earn -revenue for them?” - -High tariff bullies, says the Russian reformer, are marine highway -robbers. At first sight, the burden of spoliation seems shifted to the -shoulders of foreigners, but, look closer, and you find natives obliged -to buy imports at extortion rates. - -Passengers, waiting to be examined by custom-house officers, says -Bakunin, always remind him of travelers, lined up to be searched by -footpads. - -“How commerce revives,” he says, “wherever those shackles are partly -removed! How would it flourish if they were altogether abolished? -Traffic that now obliges skippers to starve their sailors could be made -abundantly profitable.” - -A hundred years before the birth of Henry George, a revenue system, -closely resembling the “Single Tax” plan, was recommended by the father -of Gabriel Mirabeau, and by the Roget School of French Communists. - -“It _would_ relieve some classes of our wage-earners,” says Bakunin, “but -would burden others, and why harass them, if we can undoubtedly find ways -to get along without direct taxation?” - -Why make land the scapegoat of a sin that might be avoided? - -In 1849 the Russian Government got its clutches on the bold reformer, -and silenced him by the usual argument of despots. The voice that had -entranced mass-meetings in a hundred cities of southern and western -Europe was stifled in the catacombs of Schlüsselburg. - -But Time, the All-Avenger, has made the martyr’s name a rallying cry of -East-European reformers, and America should honor the memory of Mikal -Bakunin as that of a hero and pioneer of reform—a man whose marvelous -gift of intuition had recognized all the ideals of Populism, all its -principles and promises, but who succumbed to the superhuman task of -effecting its progress under the handicap of a monarchical government. - - -_Naturally_ - -KNICKER—There goes a man who would rather fight than eat. - -BOCKER—Soldier? - -KNICKER—No, dyspeptic. - - - - -[Illustration: LUCIANNA’S KEEP - -BY ELLIOT WALKER.] - - -“I’ve got twenty dollars for the rent an’ fifteen more for what’s likely -to come up,” observed Enos Matchett cheerfully, as he put down his -teacup. “There’s nothin’ to worry about this first of month, anyhow. Eh, -Martha?” - -His wife fingered her napkin in a nervous way, usual to her when the -appalling call of their landlord was due, not to mention others who -fished from pockets soiled packages of rubber-banded slips to draw out -tentatively and none too expectantly those alarming accounts marked at -their tops with the discredited name of Enos Matchett. - -Poor Martha. The “Oh! Yes. I’ll speak to my husband about it,” and the -hundred other subterfuges were growing gaunt with repetition. She had a -regular repertory of excuses to apply as conditions demanded. For a first -presentation a fixed and nonchalant smile and a “come ’round next month,” -caused quick riddance of the unwelcome. “Next month,” it was, “I declare, -I guess Mr. Matchett overlooked that little bill. Perhaps, you’d better -leave it so he’ll keep it in mind.” - -From then on, rang the changes of high prices, hard times and -honest intentions until at last came the sharp, bullying threat of -the collection lawyer and the crawling process of paying by small -installments. - -Sometimes she tore up the bills, sometimes they went into the fire, -never, until her last bridge had collapsed, did she worry Enos. - -He worked, hopefully, from morning to night at odd jobs and occasional -bits of carpentry. A fortunate month might fatten their attenuated -exchequer to a bulge of sixty dollars, but the months were not all -fortunate and there was seldom a penny came in that remained over a -fortnight. To meet the rent was imperative. That had to be met. For the -rest—wits, hopes, and a somewhat shattered faith in the Lord’s providence. - -However, when the Lord endowed average femininity with a high scorn of -bills and an abnormal intelligence in the evasion of payment much was -done for man. - -Enos, undoubtedly, would have become as flighty and irresponsible as was -Lucianna, upstairs, had he been obliged to face the shafts which his -worried better half so successfully foiled to the last ditch. - -Now, Martha gazed across the table at him, with the smile of one -temporarily relieved from anxiety. - -“That’s good,” she answered. “It’s queer how we’ve kep’ along.” - -“Ain’t it?” responded Mr. Matchett. “I was consid’rable pestered ten -days ago as to how we’d come out this month, but Miss Joslyn paid me, -an’ I had a week steady on Doctor Bullen’s fence. No one in particular -a-hurryin’ us jest now, I s’pose?” - -“Don’t think of any special tormentor,” returned Martha, biting her thin -lips. Indeed, no obvious projection in the wall of torment occurred to -her at the moment. Their creditors were “lined up,” in equal aggression. -One was as bad as another. - -Enos tugged at his gray mustache—a sparse adornment, getting white at the -ends. - -“Guess we’ll blow a dollar on something for Lucianna then,” he ventured -generously. - -“Guess not!” exclaimed Martha, with decision. “The child’s got -toys enough. Feedin’ her is more to the point. I never see such an -appetite. She’s happy. Let her alone and put your money where ’twill be -appreciated.” - -Lucianna, now a child supposed to have attained twenty-five years, and a -very queer one at that, had employed most of her day in making faces at -such of the passers who did not meet her approval, and smiling at those -who did. These courtesies were accentuated by taps on the window panes. - -The poor harmless creature could be allowed little liberty as she ran -away and sat on doorsteps, proclaiming herself a burglar of kittens. -Given a kitten, or stealing one, Lucianna would go home delighted. - -The influx of kittens became too trying. Enos, a soft-hearted man, would -do no murder. Martha, steeled to crime through desperation, had disposed -of several, really unfit to exist, and found homes for more. Lucianna -forgot them over night. Therefore, it had lately become necessary to -confine her to her room, where she was allowed one kitten during the day. - -This satisfied Lucianna completely. Besides, she possessed six dolls, -toys galore, and when these joys palled there was the window. - -Whatever possessed the Matchetts to make a home for the unfortunate girl -was a mystery to their acquaintances, as she was no kin. Years before, -when life was younger and brighter, with Enos at a paying job, and -Martha ambitious for a servant yet unable to afford a regular domestic, -Lucianna, then a pretty child of about thirteen, had appeared and asked -for something to eat. - -She was well grown and seemed strong, although exhausted by walking and -hunger. - -Martha took her in, and an idea seized the good woman, after certain -questions had been put and answered. - -It was their plain duty to keep this little stranger until somebody -claimed her, and in the event of no one turning up for the waif, why not -train her for service? - -Lucianna was reticent about her past career. Enos thought she lied. -Martha said she was too young to remember. It seemed a case of no mother, -a father who had gone away leaving her with unkind people who did not -love her. - -In corroboration of this last statement Lucianna exposed a plump arm -decorated with small bruises of various ages and colors. - -“Pinches,” she explained, snuffling. This settled Enos, who went down -cellar and split more kindlings than he had ever done at one bout. - -When he came up, perspiring and still glaring, Lucianna had been fed and -put to bed. Martha was washing the soiled socks, and singing thoughtfully. - -“Seems nice to have a child in the house,” she remarked. - -“We’ll keep her along,” returned Mr. Matchett. “Good little thing.” - -“As gold,” affirmed his wife. - -This was the advent of Lucianna. Beyond the fact of her surname being -Crowson, her clothes plain, her eyes blue, her light hair cut short, and -that she bore marks of abuse, the worthy couple knew nothing. - -Neither did they go out of their way for information. Lucianna proved -affectionate, willing and useful, with a passion for cats. - -In a year she had become almost as their own. Enos worshiped her. Martha -did, too, but made Lucianna work, as befitted her position as helper. - -Another year and the girl developed peculiarities that worried them. She -eyed them shyly. She grimaced at Enos most impertinently when he trod on -her cat’s tail. Martha spanked her. Lucianna laughed. - -A few months more and she became erratic, irresponsible and useless, but -always good natured. As Enos expressed it, “Lucianna had gone back to -bein’ a kid.” - -Some money went for medical advice. There was but one opinion. -“Weak-minded. The patient might grow worse, but hardly probable if kindly -treated. With great care under expert treatment she might improve. Such -cases were outside the regular practice. Would recommend a sanitarium, -or an asylum. Of course, if they wished to have her remain at home, no -objection could be raised; but a burden—a burden.” - -“We’ll keep her along,” announced Enos. “We’ve got hands and hearts yet, -hain’t we?” - -“God forgive me for spankin’ her,” wept Martha. “The poor thing couldn’t -help her actions, an’ she never held it against me. Jest laughed, she -did, takin’ it all in good part.” - -“She sha’n’t go to no asylum,” cried Mr. Matchett, rising to the -occasion. “Sanitariums an’ expert doctors ain’t for our pockets. She come -to us for carin’, growed to be our little girl, an’ by Josh! Lucianna -will be kep’ along.” - -She was; and always reported to be “about the same.” - -Ten years of it—ten long, trying, down-hill years, but neither Enos -Matchett nor his wife had ever wavered in loyalty or love to their -charge. Indeed, the worse things got, the more they thought of Lucianna. - -Her daily airing (on the wiry arm of Martha), her whims, her playthings, -were all attended to, religiously. - -If, as frequently happened, she made a bright remark, her devoted keepers -nodded sagely, saying, “She’s gettin’ better.” - -As for the expense, whatever their thoughts in secret, both kept a -guarded silence. Only this evening had Martha for the first time -deprecated the failing of Enos to “blow a dollar for Lucianna.” - -He stared at her, curiously, and grunted. - -“Pooh!” said he, recklessly. “Got fifteen ahead.” - -Martha’s tongue uncurbed at this unseemly boast. Her long nose twitched. - -“Ahead!” she snorted. “You stay in my place tomorrow, Enos Matchett. You -mind the door for one mornin’ and see how much you’re _ahead_.” - -“All right,” returned Enos, his placid features animating resentfully. -“I can spare the time till noon. No need of snappin’ at me as I see. No -sense in deprivin’ Lucianna of a little pleasure, neither. There’s nobody -pressin’ us hard—said so yourself. What’s a dollar, anyway?” - -Alas! to the contempt of Mr. Matchett for the single dollar was due much -of their financial tribulation. - -“I’m going up to visit with the girl,” he added. “_She_ won’t be snappy.” - -This parting thrust rankled in Martha’s bosom, and the supper table was -cleared with rather unnecessary clatter. The improvident, easy-going Enos -always let her have her own way. He turned over his earnings to her more -careful hands, spending very little on himself, and trusted implicitly to -wifely wisdom in all household matters. A real quarrel between them had -never occurred. - -Responsibility, shifted from his fat shoulders to her narrow ones, was -both agreeable and natural to Enos. His make-up was that of the man -who never “troubled trouble,” until cornered. Then he became actually -belligerent and invited war. Up to this rare point Mr. Matchett bluffed -good-humoredly. - -When assailed by creditors on the street he was invariably in a hurry to -perform some important and paying job—a fictitious pleasantry. - -“Can’t bother about that now,” he would grin. “Drop ’round to the house -an’ see Mis’ Matchett. She ’tends to the finances, an’ if she hasn’t -spent all I give her lately, you’ll get something.” - -This ingenious disposition of duns was not meant to be unkind. - -“Martha’ll fix him,” Enos would chuckle, trotting along. “She don’t mind.” - -So the brunt fell on Martha, and it was patiently borne. - -But nerves grow irritable under constant pricking until they are ready -to snap. Martha did mind. Of late she had felt like hiding whenever the -door-bell rang. It took a long breath, a determined effort, a clutch at -her quick beating heart for an appearance of unconcern, and her poor -brain quivered with apprehension at its dearth of successful excuses. - -“Let him have a turn,” she muttered, wiping the dishes. “The rent -collector won’t be ’round ’till afternoon, but there’s a-plenty of others -likely to show up. His fifteen dollars will get melted fast enough. _I_ -could sprinkle it right, but he don’t know how. The first feller will get -it all, an’ then——” - -Martha paused to laugh, dismally. There was another side. How about -future calls from those turned down by Enos? He might lose his temper. -All the worse for her. - -“I’m most hopin’ nobody’ll come,” she faltered. “I ain’t so sure of -gettin’ the best of this.” - -However, the following morning saw her marching off smilingly, with -Lucianna in high feather at the prospect of a long stroll. - -Enos regarded their departure with complacence, expecting an undisturbed -session. At the most, some small bill might be presented. He knew -just how he would pay it; carelessly, with a jaunty, indifferent air, -as if the amount was a trifle. This was his unvarying attitude of -settlement—when he settled. - -With newspapers and a pipe, it would be quite a holiday. He established -himself comfortably, soon forgetting indebtedness in perusing the details -of late murders. - -Shortly after nine o’clock came a ring of the bell—a feeble peal—Enos -went to the door. - -The caller was a stranger to him,—a dapper, gentlemanly man whose -pleasant face bore an embarrassed expression. - -“I—I wish to see Mrs. Matchett,” he began. - -“Out for a walk,” said Enos, a bit pompously. “Any message? I’m Mr. -Matchett.” - -“Well,” the man pursed his lips and hesitated. “I—I wanted to speak with -your wife about an account. Something of her own, you know—er—wearing -apparel. If I could get the money today it would be a great convenience.” - -Enos laughed indulgently. - -“Clothes, eh? You needn’t be modest about that. I don’t rec’lect her -havin’ any new ones for years, but it’s all right, I guess. I’m payin’ -the bills. Trot it out an’ I’ll settle right now an’ glad to.” - -The man looked relieved. “If it’s perfectly convenient?” he said. - -“Perfectly,” puffed Enos. “I’ve got the stuff ready for any little thing -that may come up.” - -He unfolded the paper and glanced at the total under a short list of -items. It was just thirty-five dollars. - -Matchett gazed at the figures, too appalled to change countenance beyond -a drop of the jaw. - -Slowly, he pulled out his precious roll, and counted the money into the -other’s hands. - -“Receipt that bill!” he grunted. - -“I’m ever so much obliged,” said the man glibly, his eyes on the paper as -he signed the long name of a well known dry goods house, “and I wish you -would explain to Mrs. Matchett.” - -“I will,” returned Enos shortly. - -“You see, we’ve sold out recently,” pursued his caller. “We are -collecting all old accounts. This, as you perceive, is very old. We have -never bothered Mrs. Matchett. I hated to come, really I did, but the -present conditions made it imperative. Before your wife purchased the -goods, she went to Mr. Morley—head of the old firm, you know, and told -him so honestly that she couldn’t tell when she would be able to pay, and -her reasons for buying, that it quite tickled the old gentleman. He came -to me—I have charge of the dress goods department—Parker is my name. - -“Says he, ‘Parker, wait on this lady and I’ll speak to the bookkeeper -as to the bill.’ He gave orders to keep it back, so it’s never been -presented. Very unusual and unbusinesslike, of course, but Mr. Morley had -peculiarities. Pity he died. Our new head is a very different sort. Very -strict. So I felt it was my place to see Mrs. Matchett, as I sold her the -goods and she would remember. Ladies are apt to forget their little bills -if not reminded. I think your wife will remember.” - -“I think so,” said Enos. “Well, the thing’s paid and that’s all.” His -voice was steady, but deeper than usual. - -“That’s all. Yes, sir. Sorry to trouble you, and very many thanks. I’m -much relieved to find it was no inconvenience. So many people complain of -hard times. Good day.” - -Mr. Parker skipped down the steps. Mr. Matchett locked the door. - -He went to the most remote room in the house and sat for two hours in -a state of apathetic despair, broken only by short bursts of wrath. -Oh, Martha should long recollect this day! Several times the bell rang -insistently, but Enos paid no heed. - -At last he settled on a plan of action and went wearily down to unlock -the door. - -The two women came in, shortly before noon. In the sunshine and freedom, -Martha had cast care to the winds. Her eyes were bright. In her thin -cheeks played a faint color. Lucianna had behaved beautifully. Now, she -giggled at sight of Enos, and clamored for dinner. - -“We’ll have some soon,” said Martha, stirring about. “Had a quiet -morning, husband?” mischievously. - -“I ain’t seen a bill against me,” replied Mr. Matchett, calmly. “I’ve -set still till I’ll be glad to get into the air. Let’s eat, an’ I’ll be -startin’.” - -The eye-brows of his wife lifted in wonder. After all, she was glad of -the news. It would have been too bad to have Enos upset. - -He ate in silence while she chatted volubly of her outing, not remarking -his lack of attention. - -“Through?” he asked, as Martha rolled her napkin and sat back. - -“All through,” she smiled. - -“Well, _I_ ain’t,” said the man, leaning forward, his eyes stern and -reproachful. “Nor you, neither. We’ve a bit of dessert to chew on, -Martha Matchett. I told you I hadn’t seen a bill against _me_. I’ve seen -one against you, an’ I’ve paid it! Yes, marm. Paid it! Here!” he thrust -the paper at her. - -“Dear God!” moaned the woman, after a lightning glimpse. “It’s come on -to me at last. Oh! Enos, husband, don’t look so at me. It was for Cousin -Minna’s weddin’—four years ago;—I wanted to go. I didn’t have no dress, -nor fixin’s. You was away. I went to Mr. Morley’s store an’ had ’em -charged. He said I could pay when I had the money. I’ve never had it. The -dress I’ve never worn since. I—I hid it away till I could pay for it, -Enos—oh, dear, oh, dear.” - -She sobbed, piteously, staring wildly at him through her tears. - -“An’—you—paid—it,” came her horrified gasps. “Every—cent—we had.” - -“You can attend to the rent, Martha,” the voice of Enos was unmoved as he -arose. “I’m goin’ to rake lawns.” - -He went out without another word or look, leaving her weeping and rocking -to and fro. - -From the outside he gazed at the house. It was a pretty cottage of a -cheap kind. They had lived there for three years, and Martha’s vines -had grown. Her flower bed, so carefully tended, how pretty it was! On -the opposite side of the road lay a great vacant lot—a pasture on the -city outskirts. Trees were there—and cows. In summer, children played -among the grasses. In winter, they coasted. It was just the place for -Lucianna—for Martha—for Enos, too. - -“Got to leave it,” groaned the man. “No use talkin’. It’s pay or get -out. Plenty wants it—and old Craddock won’t wait again. Third time we’ll -have moved. Confound Minna’s weddin’ an’ a deceivin’ woman. If I’d known -it—oh! if I only had—but I said I’d pay an’ I did. Now, _let_ her do some -payin’.” - -Lucianna tapped on the window and beamed at him. His answering smile was -a ghastly farce. Tears were on the round cheeks of Enos as he hurried -away. Last night he had been so confident and happy. He stumbled, walking -on. - -No suspicious moisture showed on Martha’s cheeks, as she marched over her -doorsill twenty minutes later. Her tears had dried. A hard determination -glittered in the black eyes. Under her hastily arranged bonnet, Mrs. -Matchett’s face, strained and set, was tense with resolve. - -Lucianna did not witness her departure, else there would have been -wailing and much pounding on the window. Fortunately the girl had fallen -asleep. Only on occasions of great moment was she left alone. This was -one of them. - -Martha hastened along. - -The old sign of “Morley, Cowperthwait, Rensellaer and Company” still -remained over the entrance of the great department store—but the kindly -old founder was gone. - -Martha knew that—she had read of his death, and the passage of the -business into new hands. But that old bill wouldn’t be a worry. She had -a whole string of excuses and explanations for the lingering liquidation -of her debt in the case of the resurrection of this buried but haunting -ghost. Now, Enos had “gone and paid it,” to the ruin of them all. - -Through the throng she pushed and elbowed. How changed everything was. -How busy and big. Martha had not entered that growing emporium since the -date of her reckless purchase. - -For a second her heart failed at the enormity of her mission. Then she -clenched her teeth and grabbed a passing bundle boy by the shoulder. - -“Say!” she exclaimed, hoarsely. “I want to see the head of the firm, the -man who is attendin’ to Mr. Morley’s work. Where is he?” - -The startled lad pulled away, blinked and grinned. - -“Guess not,” he retorted. “He’ll take yer skelp off. He won’t talk to -nobody this time o’ day.” - -“It’s important, I tell you,” cried the woman, fiercely. “It’s a money -matter an’ I _will_ see him.” - -“Gwan ter trouble, then!” said the boy, pointing a mischievous finger at -a closed door marked “No admittance.” “I’ll call de ambulance. He ain’t -no Mr. Morley. I see you come out a flyin’ in jest two seconds.” - -But Martha was past him, her grasp on the knob, and the door closed -behind her as he stared. - -“Here! Here!” ejaculated a stout, bald man, turning impatiently from his -desk with a twist of his revolving chair. “You’ve made a mistake, madam. -Go right out, please.” - -“I won’t,” said Martha. “I’m here on important business—an’ I’ll state it -before I move one step. You’ve taken Mr. Morley’s place. You’re the head -of things, an’ I’ve come straight to you.” - -A queer smile crossed the broad face. The man took out his watch. “I’ll -give you just one minute,” he said, coolly. “What’s the trouble. Talk -fast, now.” - -Martha talked fast. - -“I got thirty-five dollars worth of stuff here most four years ago,” -she began, excitedly. “Mr. Morley said I could pay when convenient. Now -you’ve sent to my house when I was out, an’ my husband paid it. I want -that money back.” - -Her listener laughed outright. - -“Why! Why!” he coughed. “My dear woman, you have a very accommodating -husband; that’s evident. Four years! What were you thinking of? Madam, -the account should never have run so long. You owed it. It’s been paid. -The transaction is closed. We cannot give you back the money. What a -ridiculous request!” - -The woman drew in her breath, shudderingly. - -“People must settle their obligations, you know,” pursued the man patting -his fat leg. “That is the rule of business. If _I_ owed you anything I -should pay it. If you owe me, you have to pay also. Such a demand as -yours is absurd. Can’t you see that?” - -“I can see me an’ Enos turned out of our little home.” Martha’s voice -was stony. “The money for that bill of mine was every penny we had. The -rent’s got to be met before night. My husband’s an honest man—too honest -to have any credit. I can see him growin’ old an’ gray in some shanty. I -can see a poor half-witted girl cryin’ for the room she loves. These are -the things I can see. Yes, sir, that’s the worst of it. Lucianna won’t -understand——” - -“Eh!” interrupted the merchant sharply. “Who?” - -“Lucianna, sir. Not our own daughter, but most the same, poor thing. -We’ve been glad to have her, an’ make her a home, an’ never minded the -cost. She was so little when she came to us for shelter, smart an’ bright -as anybody with her blue eyes an’ yellow hair, winnin’ us like she was -our born baby. ’Twasn’t her fault she got queer. We wouldn’t put the -child where she’d be abused again, so we kep’ her. Now, to root her out -from comfort into the Lord knows what—I can’t bear to think of it. Me an’ -Enos might get along somehow, but there’s Lucianna. I want that money -back!” - -Martha’s tone became sharp as she remembered her errand. Tears had -blinded her eyes during the rapid explanation, quite forgetful for the -moment of all save the coming deprivations of her loved ones. - -Now, she winked them away to glare at the man in the chair. His ruddy -face had gone to a dreadful whiteness. His hands were working. A strange -sound came from the thick throat before he stammered feebly: - -“I—I—lost—a little girl. Her—this—one—do you know the last name?” - -“I’ve most forgot—she’s had ours for so long.” Martha began to tremble. -“Let’s see? Yes. Say, it can’t be, your name is Crowson? That’s hers, -Lucianna Crowson.” - -“My God!” the stout man sprang up. “It is! It is! Everything points to -her being the same. It must be so.” - -He seized Martha’s hands with such vehemence that she recoiled with a -startled, backward step. - -“Don’t act so crazy!” came her alarmed exclamation. “You let go an’ be -careful. The blood’s clean to the top of your head. Set down an’ behave.” - -“Yes! Yes!” cried Crowson, releasing her, to pace the small room with a -broken laugh and a fierce curse. “Wait! I’ll be myself in a minute. She’s -my girl—I tell you. They wrote me she was dead—the people I left her -with—after the child was cured. I’m her father, my dear woman. Don’t mind -me, I’ll pull up directly. Wait!” - -Martha shrank against the wall, as he laughed wildly and growled -imprecations. - -Presently he steadied, tightening his muscles and breathing deep. - -“I’m all right,” said he, huskily. “You must excuse this, Mrs.—Mrs.—” - -“Matchett,” answered his caller. “Certainly! ’Tain’t no wonder you felt -shook up, if you’re really Lucianna’s father.” - -“There is no doubt about it;” the man sat heavily in his chair. “Listen! -She was eleven years old when she fell off her pony and injured her head. -I was a comparatively poor man then, but I got the best surgeons. For -months my little one lay in a hospital. We had no settled home. My wife -died long before. Business called me away. When I returned Lucianna was -pronounced cured. At least it was deemed safe to place her with some -family where she would have every care, and no excitement. Should the -trouble recur, an operation would be necessary. - -“I found a home for her. Matters were arranged. Again I went West. -Letters reached me regularly for many months. All seemed to be going -well, in fact so satisfactorily that I, immersed in the starting of -a business, ceased to worry. Yes, it must have been two years before -I stopped my remittances, although those crafty letters had grown -infrequent. - -“I wrote the Harpinsons that I would be East soon and intended to take -the child back with me. - -“Then I received the shocking news of her death. Diphtheria, they said, -and very sudden. A malignant case, and—well—the burial had been at night. -Everything was done as if she belonged to them. As soon as quarantine was -over they were going to move and would inform me of their location.” - -Martha stood with her mouth open. - -“Did they?” she hissed. “We must have had Lucianna for a good while -before those critters said she was dead.” - -“Yes,” said Crowson, frowning. “They bled me as long as possible. -I received one more letter, postmarked Boston—a few details of no -importance, but I had no suspicions. Since then, my letters have come -back stamped, ‘no such party at address.’” - -“But—” broke in Martha. - -He held up an appealing hand. - -“I know, I know,” he interrupted. “I should have gone on at once. Yet -what could be done? The quarantine—the detention from business—the added -grief. My child was gone. All was over. Nothing seemed left to me save -strenuous work and the making of money. I own three stores like this, the -result of losing Lucianna. Now I have found her, I’ll not work so hard.” - -“She won’t know you from Adam,” said Martha, jealously. - -“Perhaps—in—time,” replied Crowson, stroking his forehead. “Thank God! -I’ve the means to find out.” - -“Have we got to give up Lucianna?” quavered the woman. “If—if it’s for -her good, I s’pose I could stand it, but what will Enos say? She won’t -want to go, neither.” - -The man turned his head suddenly, and coughed. - -“We will fix everything right,” he said, gently. “I’ll take no step -without your consent. Let’s see! To get back to business—” he smiled, -whimsically. “You mustn’t think a personal matter can influence our -regulations. That bill of yours must be settled.” - -Martha jumped. In her excitement she had quite forgotten the landlord, -the house and the gravity of the Matchett situation. - -Speechless, she drew herself up. Could this hard-headed man be so devoid -of humanity, after what had happened, as to refuse her assistance? - -“Still,” he went on in his matter-of-fact tone, “I’ll give you a little -more time on it. Till next week, say. Here is the money, but say nothing -about it. Quite against rules, you know.” - -He pulled out a wallet and handed her four bank notes, three tens and a -five. - -“Thanks!” said Martha, counting them mechanically. “I s’pose you want -this;” she held out the receipted bill. - -“Oh yes—I must have that.” He put it carefully in a pigeon-hole. - -“I’m ever so much obliged,” murmured the woman, “an’ I’ll try to scrape -up something by next week. I s’pose you’ll be ’round to see Lucianna—an’ -talk with Mr. Matchett.” - -“Very soon.” Crowson’s mouth trembled at the corners. “How long have you -had Lucianna?” - -“Twelve years come Saturday. Enos was sayin’ so night before last. We -call it her birthday, an’ most always give her something. Not this year, -though. Can’t afford it.” - -The merchant figured on a pad. “Twelve. Six hundred and twenty-four,” he -whispered. Then aloud. “The Harpinsons charged me ten dollars a week for -Lucianna’s keep. It was none too much.” - -“They skinned you,” said Martha, adjusting her bonnet. She felt dazed -and tired; quite bewildered at the prospect of losing Lucianna, uneasy -regarding Enos, yet thankful for the temporary financial respite. - -“I’ve got to hurry home,” she announced. “There’s nothing more to say -except that I’ll do my best to settle my bill and I’m obliged to you. I’m -mighty glad for you, sir, but the thought of what we’re losing makes me -fairly sick. It ain’t right to say so, but I most wish I hadn’t come.” -She turned with a choke. - -“One moment,” said Crowson. “I want your address. What is your full name, -Mrs. Matchett?” - -“Martha.” - -“Any middle name?” - -“Hum! Lupkins,” returned Martha reluctantly. “We live at 462 Goodland -Avenue—used to be Squash Street. You’ll find us easy enough—good day.” - -“One thing more. It will take only a minute. You have arranged your old -account. There’s another you seem to have overlooked.” He touched a -button on his desk. - -“There ain’t another!” declared Martha, defiantly. “I don’t owe a cent -here besides this.” - -The door opened quickly. A young man bustled in. - -“Hinkley,” ordered Mr. Crowson, and his eyes twinkled, “draw a check at -once to the order of Martha L. Matchett for six thousand two hundred and -forty dollars.” - -When Enos crawled into supper, he was a weary, conscience-smitten person. -His anger had dissipated. What should come he knew not, but Martha’s -feelings must be considered, first of all. He pictured her in the depths -of despair—forlorn, distracted, possibly “packing.” - -An appetizing odor filled the house. Enos sniffed. - -“Beefsteak an’ onions an’ coffee,” he commented, gratefully. “Jest my -likin’s. She wants to make up. Where did she get the meat?” - -Drawing his chair to the table, Mr. Matchett gazed at his spouse with a -dismayed visage. - -Surely there was something wrong here. The display of luxuries, Martha’s -unnaturally bright eyes, her compressed lips, the new black dress, her -air of superiority. - -“What’s the matter?” said Martha. “Pitch in. I’ve got a nice supper an’ -dressed up to show you how smart I can be under afflictions.” - -Enos took a mouthful. - -“I—I guess Craddock didn’t come for the rent,” he essayed. “Never knew -him to skip us before.” - -“He come,” replied Martha, loftily. - -“An’ you—” the man’s fork shook against his plate. - -“Paid him, of course,” said Martha, airily. “You told me to attend to it.” - -Her husband half rose from his seat. “You ain’t right, my dear,” he said, -soothingly—“what’s affected you?” - -“Set down!” commanded the woman, laughing. “We’ve found a friend, an’ our -girl’s found a father. It’s all straight, Enos. In case you want a bit of -spendin’ money, I’ve endorsed this over to you.” - -Mr. Matchett did sit down. His countenance underwent many changes as he -fingered the check. “Wh—what’s it for?” he stuttered. - -“Lucianna’s keep,” said Martha. - -On the pleasant days, when the roads are fine, an automobile stops before -the Matchett’s door. Presently it rolls slowly away. Martha sits very -erect by the side of a golden-haired companion, and an Angora kitten -nestles between them. There is a good deal of laughing and talking, and -sometimes passers stare, but no one in the big car minds. The stout man -in front with the chauffeur turns, smiling at the women. - -“Pretty distressing for us all, the removal of that lesion,” he says, -“but she’s reading little books, now.” - -And when Enos asks a question with his eyes, upon Martha’s return from -these trips, he gets the same old words: “She’s gettin’ better.” - -[Illustration] - - - - -_Who Pays the Taxes?_ - -BY WILLIAM H. TILTON - - -The residents of a small New Jersey village were recently called together -for the purpose of considering the advisability of incorporating the -village into a borough; and the Philadelphia newspapers reported that -an application for incorporation had been signed by a large number of -“taxpayers and citizens.” What is meant by this dividing of the people -into two distinct classes? This question becomes of more than passing -importance in view of the fact that the case cited is not an isolated -one. For instance, during the political campaign of 1905, in New York -City, a prominent newspaper spoke editorially of the candidacy of William -R. Hearst for Mayor on a municipal ownership platform as an “appeal to -the _untaxed_ and an attack upon the _taxpayers_.” - -The Secretary of the National Reciprocity League, in an address at -Chicago, is reported to have said that “Municipal ownership and operation -of street railways had become a craze; that people who do _not pay_ taxes -are the most enthusiastic supporters of the craze, as those who _pay_ -taxes are opposed to the idea.” - -The late Charles T. Yerkes, in reference to the election of Judge Dunne -as Mayor of Chicago on a municipal ownership platform, said: “The city -will run heavily in debt. Will the poor man suffer? No; because the poor -man does not pay taxes. Men with property pay taxes; these will suffer.” -Mr. Yerkes did not say just what kind of _property_ was meant; but as -the returns of personal property in Chicago are said to be less today -than they were twenty years ago (although the city is three times as -large, with six times the wealth), it is evident that the owners of that -kind of property—stock-owners of that kind of property—stocks, bonds, -mortgages, paintings, jewelry, silver services, etc.—are not going to -suffer to any great extent if they can help it. Then it must be the real -estate owner, again, who is expected to do the suffering, because of the -increase of taxes, should there be any such increase. - -Day after day we read in the newspapers communications in reference to -public questions which are signed “Taxpayer,” or “Property Owner,” as -if that fact should give more weight or influence to their opinions or -suggestions. Others go still further. A Pittsburg preacher in a recent -sermon denounced universal suffrage, saying, “Only property owners should -vote and all others should be disfranchised.” Numerous other instances -could be cited which tend to show a growing tendency to consider the real -estate owner as the only person who pays taxes. - -Now the great majority of our people have probably not looked upon these -signs of the times with any apprehension as yet; but “great oaks from -little acorns grow,” and this increasing disregard for the rights of men, -as men, this creating of class distinctions with a tax-bill as a line -of demarcation, on the theory that one small class pays all the taxes -and is, therefore, entitled to rights and privileges that are denied to -others, is dangerous and contrary to all principles of Democracy. - -Owing to the inherent defects of human nature, no doubt there will always -be those among us who will expect and demand more than they are entitled -to, but the average American is satisfied with a square deal. When -deprived of what he considers his just rights, however, he is, like most -other people, inclined to become indifferent to the rights of others. -Sooner or later he helps to swell the large army of the discontented; and -history teaches that discontent is not only the mother of progress, but -the mother of trouble. “On the contentment of the poor rests the safety -of the rich.” - -It is not intended to discuss in this article the justice or injustice -of any particular tax, but simply to consider the question of taxes—how -they are paid and who pays them—in the hope that we may thereby the more -intelligently render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s. - -Let us consider first the tax on real estate, one of the most important -illustrations of the so-called “direct” taxation which Mill has defined -as “that which is demanded from the very person who, it is intended or -desired, should pay it.” Now it is, of course, true that this tax is -levied against the property and the tax-bill is rendered in the name of -the nominal owner, who is, naturally, expected to pay it; but whence -comes the money with which he discharges this debt against his property? -If the premises are rented or leased, are not the taxes, insurance, cost -of repairs, interest on investment, etc., all added to the rental which -is asked of and paid by the tenant? There are leases drawn today which -contain a clause providing “that any increase in the taxes shall be -added to the rental.” And yet, during the late struggle in Philadelphia -over the attempted lease of the gas works to a private corporation for -seventy-five years, a gentleman appeared before the committee of councils -on behalf, as he said, of the taxpayers _and_ rent-payers. - -During the passage of the mortgage bill through the 1905 session of -the New York Legislature, a member of the committee appointed by the -real-estate owners to oppose the measure said: “The result, should the -bill pass, will be for the real-estate owners to raise the rents. It is -the public who will have to bear the burden, not the real-estate owners.” -So we appear to have very relevant testimony to the effect that the man -who receives the tax-bill, the man “on whom the tax is levied and who -is expected to pay it” really acts as an agent, collecting the tax from -his tenant and passing it on to the authorities. Is the tenant then a -_taxpayer_ or a _citizen_? As more than eighty per cent. of the people -of the United States occupy rented houses, the sooner this question is -satisfactorily answered and each of us understands his own individual -responsibility, the better for all concerned. - -Would not the rent-payer hesitate to cast his ballot for corrupt -municipal government—with its accompanying reckless and dishonest -expenditures of the public money—would he not hesitate to strike or riot, -if he knew that the expenses (the teamsters’ strike in Chicago, in 1905, -is said to have cost the city $100,000 a month for special policemen) and -losses would eventually have to be paid by increased taxes _added to his -rent_? - -The United States Steel Company is said to have done much to eliminate -strikes at its different plants by selling a portion of the capital stock -of the company to its employes. Every man who owns even one share now -feels that he is a part of the organization, that its interests are his -interests, its losses his losses; and he is not inclined to do anything -that will injuriously affect himself. When property owners understand and -admit it, and rent-payers realize that they are a part of the municipal -corporation, of the state and of the republic, that the public interests -are their interests, the public losses their losses, that we must all -rise or fall together, a great deal will have been accomplished toward -the creation of better feeling and a consequent improvement in existing -conditions. - -Adam Smith says of taxation that “the subjects of every state ought to -contribute toward the support of the Government as nearly as possible in -proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the -revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the states.” - -Montesquieu defined taxation as “that portion of a person’s property -which one contributes to the state in return for protection in the -enjoyment of the balance.” - -Both these eminent authorities look upon the payment of taxes as a duty -which the citizen owes to the state in return for something which he -receives from the state; but neither says in just what manner that duty -must be performed, and there are undoubtedly numerous ways in which the -obligation of the citizen may be discharged. - -A very important phase of the tax question to be considered here (owing -to its being the source of almost the entire income of the United States -Government) is what is known as “indirect” taxation, or the tax on -commodities, processes, etc. This is more easily collected than a direct -tax, because the consumer hardly realizes that he is being taxed when -paying for articles which he may use his own discretion about purchasing; -but it bears most heavily upon the poor, as only articles in general use -will yield the necessary revenue. - -For instance, the tariff on imports, for the fiscal year ending 1905, -produced more than $260,000,000. This enormous amount was, of course, -paid at the custom house by the importer of the goods, but it was then -added to the cost of the goods and finally paid by the consumer. This tax -is great or small, depending entirely upon the necessities or desires of -the people. - -The higher the social and economic development of a people, the greater -will be the burden of this tariff tax; as what were once considered -luxuries eventually become necessaries of life, and a larger proportion -of income is consequently expended for food, wearing apparel, household -goods, etc. Under such circumstances, a man who is in receipt of a -fair-sized income (even though possessing little or no taxable property), -if he buys freely for the wants of himself and his family, may -contribute more toward the support of the Government than his wealthy -landlord, who buys sparingly, swears off his personal taxes, and collects -his real estate taxes from his tenants. - -The internal revenue tax on spirits, fermented liquors and tobacco -produced in 1905 about $230,000,000, which, while also paid primarily by -the manufacturer or distiller, is then added to the cost of production -and included in the selling price, which is paid, of course, by the -consumer. Not only the man who smokes or drinks, but everyone who uses -spirits in the manufactures or arts, in patent medicines or drugstore -prescriptions (many of which contain large quantities of liquor), is -contributing a share of this tax. Oleomargarine produced during the same -period over $600,000, and playing cards about $425,000. - -Another very important source of income, levied in times of emergency, as -during the war with Spain, is the stamp tax, which produces millions of -dollars. The man with a small bank account pays as much for a stamp when -issuing a check for one dollar, as does the man who issues a check for -$100,000 or more; and each pays the same when purchasing an article of -manufacture which is sold under a stamp. - -Again, we should not overlook such items as license fees, financial, -mercantile and franchise taxes, which, while levied by the city, state or -national governments upon some particular person, firm or corporation, -are really added to the cost of production or operation and ultimately -paid by the general public. For instance, during the political campaign -of 1904 in New Jersey, when equal taxation of railroad property was the -burning issue, the Republican candidate for governor, in a speech at -Trenton, stated: “No matter how high the tax on railroad property is -made, the people who pay the freight rates and passenger fares will, in -the end, pay it.” As a railroad director, he undoubtedly knew whereof he -spoke. Like the salesman’s expense account—which included an overcoat, -although it didn’t show—the freight and passenger rates also include the -franchise taxes, which tend to increase the cost of everything we eat, -everything we wear, every article of use or adornment in the home, every -portion of the material required in building the house, which ultimately -has its effect on the rent the tenant must pay. In the light of these -facts it would seem that, instead of there being question as to “who pays -the taxes,” the problem is to discover the man who does not pay taxes in -some form. - -Again, there are thousands of Americans who do not own one dollar’s -worth of real estate, and many of them very few household goods, but who -have a birthright in this free land by reason of descent from the heroes -who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for the -liberties we now enjoy; who fought and bled and died for the principle -of equal rights, no taxation without representation, and who established -upon this continent a “government of the people, by the people, for the -people.” - -And the men of ’61! Have they not as much right to a voice and vote in -the affairs of the nation as those who remained at home and laid the -foundations of a fortune during that critical period? Had the soldier -remained at home, perhaps he too might now be a heavy taxpayer, or -tax-dodger. But he answered the nation’s call in the hour of need, he -sacrificed his opportunities and offered his life upon the altar of -his country. And, if he escaped with his life, he returned home, after -years of privation, suffering and hardship, probably ruined in health or -crippled for life, compelled to make a new start. Has he not discharged -his obligation to his country? - -Who are the men who would rob an American of his birthright, who insist -that none but property owners should vote or hold office while all -others—the payers of rents, of the tariff, of the internal revenue, of -franchise and stamp taxes, etc.—should be disfranchised? Can they show a -better title than the men, or their descendants, who do the work in time -of peace and the fighting in time of war, but who may not have been able -to secure any real property—honestly or otherwise? - -The Constitution of the United States provides that no man shall be -deprived of his right to vote on account of race, color or previous -condition of servitude. What right have we to attempt to deprive any man -of that privilege because he does not own property and pay “direct” taxes? - -Mettius Curtius said that “Rome’s best wealth was her patriotism.” -Yet that patriotism was deadened and destroyed by privilege and class -distinction, and Rome fell. Patriotism is unquestionably the best wealth -of any nation; but it cannot be aroused or fostered in a republic by -dividing the people into classes, the rulers and the ruled, on the basis -of ownership of property. - - Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, - Where wealth accumulates and men decay. - -The success, progress and safety of this republic rests upon the -contentment of the _whole_ people, and that contentment depends upon -justice and fair dealing. And every citizen, “unless he goes naked, -eats grass, and lives in a hole in the ground,” is a taxpayer to a -greater or less extent, according to the benefits he derives. He has -the same interests in the national welfare; the same responsibilities; -is entitled to equal rights and privileges before the law; and when we -have fully realized the fact we will have established a higher standard -of citizenship, we will each have more respect for ourselves and for one -another, and a deeper, truer love and higher regard for our country and -its institutions. - -[Illustration: _Their Joke on the President_ - - _Davenport, in N. Y. Evening Mail_] - -[Illustration: _Our Uncommon Carriers_ - - _Bart, in Minneapolis Journal_] - -[Illustration: _Sick ’em!_ - - _Macauley, in N. Y. World_] - - - - -[Illustration: _Letters From The People_] - - -Our readers are requested to be as brief as possible in their welcome -letters to the MAGAZINE, as the great number of communications daily -received makes it impossible to publish all of them or even to use more -than extracts from many that are printed. Every effort, however, will -be made to give the people all possible space for a direct voice in the -MAGAZINE, and this Department is freely open to them. - - * * * * * - - _J. D. Steele, Charleston, W. Va._ - -I have been a reader of your Magazine since its first issue, and while -I partly agree with Mr. George H. Steele, Rockham, S. D., that none of -us are perfect, I admire you for having the courage of your convictions, -and it would be impossible to estimate the good your publication has all -ready done. - -As a remedy for the evils existing, as set forth by Mr. Bert H. Belford, -Widners, Ark., I would suggest that our poor, ignorant, down-trodden -farmers in the South get posted. There certainly is no reason for any -grown up man of the present generation not being able to read, and almost -every daily and weekly newspaper would put the most ignorant backwoodsman -in possession of the facts which Mr. Belford states the farmers are -ignorant of. - -I believe I have never seen a letter from this state, but West Virginia -hasn’t waked up yet. She is always behind in everything except graft. - -May you live long and continue the good work you have undertaken! - - * * * * * - - _A. J. Jones, Parlier, Cal._ - -TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE is one of the greatest educators of the age, stands -prominent in its class, is fearless, bold and decisive, is just what -the people want. Every Populist should read it and give it the widest -circulation possible. - -Watson’s editorials are great and to the point. The Letters from the -People are very interesting. Would be pleased to hear from our workers -throughout the United States every month through the columns of TOM -WATSON’S MAGAZINE. In regard to the work in California, we are preparing -our petition for a place on the ballot, and will have a People’s Party -ticket in this State this coming election. Our slogan is: “The middle -of the road now and forever!” We take no part in any other party in -existence, or coming into existence. Let us profit by past experience. -The people here, regardless of party, are ready to accept our -principles. You may hear something drop in California in 1908. We have a -press ready to join us at once. Let us get busy at once. Brothers, the -fields are white for harvest. - - * * * * * - - _G. S. Floyd._ - -The lucid manner in which you expose the evils of our banking system -should convince any one not blinded by ignorance or prejudice of the -evils lurking therein, even as at present conducted, but if they secure -the additional special privileges that they seek, what may we expect? - -Brother Starkey of Nebraska who writes discouragingly in the December -number should take heed, as the worm has turned in Pennsylvania and Ohio, -and one may hope and believe that your efforts have helped to produce -that result. - -I was in Kansas in the early seventies when the horde of bogus Greenback -editors, shipped out from New York and New England with rolls of Wall -Street money, bought up the Greenback press throughout the West, -pretending loyalty to the principles until secure in possession, when the -hireling traitors came out in their true colors and the Greenback press -vanished like mist before the noonday sun. - -The President’s eulogy of the pension office is worth no more than his -certificate of character to Paul Morton. To judge from observation and -the star-chamber methods of that bureau one would conclude that it is -run primarily as a factor in politics, and that the only criterion -for the grade and tenure of a pension is the whim or discretion of -an irresponsible official. Evidently the system is rotten and needs -overhauling or revolutionizing. From the nature of the service it is -doubtless true that irregularities are inherent therein, but certainly -there is room for improvement. - -Conventionality, a parent of aristocracy, is responsible for the -misfortune of Midshipman Meriweather; herein we see one of the evils of -militarism; the discipline they recommend so highly is the discipline of -an underling, and this is mainly why they desire it. - -Hurrah for Hearst! - -You give Henry George, Jr., a severe prod in the current number. The -single tax is sprung by the plutocrats when they wish to confuse and -demoralize the reform forces. - - * * * * * - - _Nelson D. Stilwell, Yonkers, N. Y._ - -The non-appearance of the February number of your magazine caused me -genuine concern. I stand by you, every inch, in what you advocate and -teach, and wish the circle of your readers might be extended many fold. I -first had my attention called to the present evil condition of things by -reading Lloyd’s “Wealth vs. Commonwealth,” and that but paved the way for -further reading and investigation until my present condition of freedom -from the bondage of ignorance has been attained. - -I have observed the trend of things for ten years last past and confess -that instead of improvement and reform, I see a steady progress towards -further enslavement. What will be the end of it all? I am beginning to -doubt the maintenance of society and law and order if the entrenched -forces attempt to maintain their control. God forbid that our country -should be baptized again with blood. But upon the heads of these “fools -and blind” men be it, who cannot see the handwriting on the wall. - -Your articles on finance and money interest me and absorb all my -attention and edify me very much. Your Magazine has a purpose back of it, -and no one will give a more ready acquiescence than the writer. - -To be a reformer is to align oneself with the noblemen of bygone days -whose hearts throbbed for the people. No greater example could be found -than Christ, whose kingdom is called “the times of Reformation.” - -Permit me to bid you God-speed. - - * * * * * - - _Horace C. Keefe, Wallula, Kan._ - -I have somewhere said “this is the decade of the three Toms”—Tom Watson, -Tom Johnson, and Tom Lawson. They are each or all likely to leave lasting -footprints on the century, and I’m anxious that my Tom’s shall not be the -least. I say “my” because Tom Watson stands for all that the country—if -not the world—must come to, to have peace and answer the daily Christian -pleadings—that “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”; to be His -will it must embody all that the doctrine of brotherly love contemplates; -that is ideal, that is Populism. The other Toms stand for that part of -the whole they contemplate or are willing to concede from a more or -less selfish standpoint. Your Magazine is startlingly convincing in its -arguments and facts—but, my dear fellow, it lacks that dignity that a -Presidential candidate for a great principle should command. I know your -excuse will be that your appeal to the masses must be in such style—DON’T -DO IT. - -It is the aggressive intelligent few that shapes the destinies of -countries, and that will be so with ours; if the reverse were true, why -does not the labor class have 50 or more, the farmers 100 or more, the -socialists a like number of members in Congress? Such a result would show -intelligence and a hope that something would result. Cut out such queries -as—Why the negro maids? Deductions and conclusions are debatable but not -style. The writer is one of the martyrs for the cause and has been your -ardent admirer and well wisher. There is no question as to the ultimate -outcome—though you and I may not be permitted to enter in. - - * * * * * - - _W. E. Arrant, Alto, Tex._ - -I read and will say that your Magazine is interesting and entertaining -in many respects, and I admire your ability and style in showing up the -evilness and corruption of this age, which no doubt is doing good in the -way of educating the readers thereof on the main cause of the present -economical and industrial conditions that now confronts the whole people -and oppresses the poor that labor and toil that they may share a small -portion of their labor: while the rich revel in riches and the poor live -in poverty. - -I have been a student for several years, studying the economic -conditions, the causes and effects of present conditions. The more I read -and learn of the causes and effects, the more I wonder how and why the -masses of the people have been so completely deceived so long. - -I have been a Populist for several years. Was discouraged and disgusted -with the fusion act in 1896, and since that time I began to read and -study the Socialist doctrine to find out what they had to offer as a -remedy for the whole people. Through this search for knowledge I found -that the Populist Party was only a reform measure dealing with the -effects and only a national movement, while the Socialist Party is -international, and goes to the root of the cause of the unjust system of -exploitation, and means the emancipation and freedom of the whole human -family—a plan and system by which one can not rob another by a plan of -legalized system of robbery. It means a system to be established upon -earth by which one can live for all and all for one. It means that we -shall establish a righteous system by which one nation shall not have its -hands at another’s throat for pelf. It means a system by which it will be -possible for all Christians to live a pure Christian life and practice -the Golden Rule in fact and truth. - -I realize the error of having more than one party representing the -interest and prosperity of the whole laboring and working people; -therefore, judging between the two, the Populist and the Socialist, -have cast my lot with the Socialists, and expect to make the fight for -justice and emancipation for wage slavery in the Socialist Party. - -I appreciate your position and hope that you will accomplish much good -with your valuable Magazine in the way of educating the people. I fail to -see how you can ever expect to help to finally free the laboring people -from economic bondage of slavery, without joining the Socialist Party. -You have asked the people to give their ideas as to what they think about -the existing conditions. I have given my views as I see them. I can -realize no permanent hopes for relief outside of the Socialist and the -co-operative commonwealth. - - * * * * * - - _Harry Partington, City._ - -I took the publication since the first number and today I have in the -house only the December copy, as I want to get everybody to read them -that will and thereby have persuaded several to buy them, and you can -depend on me to continue to do so, and will try and get others to do so. -I look at it that I am in the city and can get it at the news-dealers -with more certainty than as a yearly subscriber. - -What I think of TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE can never be told. I would like -it semi-monthly, but I know I shall have to wait possibly some time -before that comes. Dear sir, believe me, I am a very sincere believer -and practicer of his doctrine and have been since the Democratic party -undertook to carry the 16 to 1 doctrine under the auspices of W. J. B. of -Nebraska. Sorry Billy failed then and 1904. - -Hurrah for W. R. Hearst, but the money power is too strong yet. But -hammer at them and teach us to be steadfast. - - * * * * * - - _David Meiselas, Brooklyn, N. Y._ - -I have at last determined to congratulate you upon the success you have -made with your Magazine. It is, beyond any doubt, good work. In reality -I can hardly think to write all the praise the editorials are worth. I -enjoy them as I would some classic by Shakespeare, or some scientific -work by Darwin. The more I read them, the more I like them. They are -digestible; and talk about brain food—it is the best. - -Yes, Thomas E. Watson should be well considered as a champion for the -cause of the people. Either he is a second Hearst or Hearst is a second -Watson. They are so much alike in their fights for the people you can -hardly tell which is which. - -Over here in New York we are having a grand time, viz: - -Murphy telling things about McClellan and vice versa. The big insurance -grafters howling for more. Mr. Ivins telling things about the “reform -grafter,” Mr. District Attorney, etc., etc. - -Abraham Lincoln said we should have a “government of the people, by the -people and for the people.” I must say we are living up to it, in New -York—nit. We are having “a government of McCarren, by McClellan and for -Murphy.” Great government, is it not? - -If this is not the age of wonder, I don’t know what. But, Mr. Watson, -keep up your steady work; don’t forget the Hon. Platt and Depew, the -former our Chinese advocate and president of the largest express company; -the latter the champion lobbyist of them all. Don’t forget our generous -Senator Knox (with his generous rate bill). There are many more whom you -should prey upon. - - * * * * * - - _G. White, Enloe, Tex._ - -Yes “I will help”; it is one of the very, very few papers and magazines -that I can heartily indorse from the old Liberty Bell to the last sheet -of its reading matter; the gags and brakes that are applied to other -editors, or a great majority, at least, disqualify them as editors. - -The things that we most need to know are suppressed and the reading -public are kept in the background on the most vital questions of the day. -There is a mighty storm gathering in this once glorious republic; its -muttering thunders can be distinctly heard. The glaring, forked tongues -of wrath can be plainly seen over the tops of the distant hills that -hedge in our eighty million people. - -The old ship on which we have sailed thus far is out of repair; the pilot -asleep, or cares nothing for the safety of his passengers; the captain -has bought most of the crew; the breakers are just ahead. - -I know not how my fellow-countrymen may feel over the affair, but for -your humble Texas farmer it’s a sad picture. The light that once burned -so bright not only lit up North America from Alalch Mountain to the -Rockies, but crossed both oceans and gave to the world an object lesson -of what a free people could do. - -The same light guided Prescott at Bunker Hill. It was the never-setting -star at Valley Forge that led Washington to the gate of glory at -Yorktown. Is it true that the territory bequeathed to us (“and it was -paid in blood”) is to be betrayed into the hands of the enemy for the -small pittance of thirty pieces of silver? Is the money-bag of America -to rule or ruin? Or will those who think and yet have a chance to act -demand a settlement? TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE is one that is asking for a -settlement. May the day soon come. - - * * * * * - - _N. M. Hollingsworth, Terry, Miss._ - -I see that you contemplate enlarging and improving the Magazine. I can -see the place for enlarging, but not improving in the subject matter, -except by enlarging and perhaps improving the material, etc. It is as -good as human agency can make it. I only wish it could be read by every -man, woman, boy and girl in the land. It is such an educator as we need, -and it is being read by a great number. - -I was at our county cotton-grower’s meeting last Saturday and was -delighted to find so many reading your splendid Magazine. I secured a -subscriber and have promise of several more which I will forward in a day -or two. I have seen your letter to the _Atlanta Journal_ in which there -is enough exposure of Clark Howell’s perfidy, etc., to consign him to the -garbage heap. - -If you think it worth while in the Educational Department of the next -number of your Magazine, tell us what effect bucket shops and trade -exchanges have on the price of such produce as are dealt in. - -Wishing you and your Magazine all the good that can come to a mortal and -a great publication, I remain your devoted friend and admirer. - - * * * * * - - _S. T. Z. Champion, Sterrett, Pa._ - -I am a constant worker and reader of this great reform movement and have -been for the past twelve years, and have voted the ticket straight till -they got me to straddle W. J. B. one time and I got such a fall I fear I -will never live to get over it. I am getting old. I am one of Robert E. -Lee’s old web-foot boys and stacked my old Enfield rifle at Appomattox -Court House on the 9th of April, 1865. It looks like a miracle to see the -fingers pushing a pen that pulled the trigger 40 years ago, and yet when -I think of the blood that was shed for this great nation’s freedom and to -see it being stolen away from us by those money knaves it makes me feel -like I am just 16 years old. I have nine boys, all Populists. Oh, how I -want us to live to get at least one more vote for that grand and noble -boy, Thomas E. Watson, for our next President. Don’t you all feel me -rejoicing over New York’s election, but I fear they will not let Hearst -have his seat as mayor of New York. I have just read Watson’s answer to -Hoke Smith’s letter. It is a grand reply. - -You can count on me when the last roll is called. I’ll be there. Yours -for reform. - - * * * * * - - _W. H Thomas, Fairhaven, Mo._ - -After spending 25 years in the thickest of the fray I could hardly go -back to the “wallowing in the mire.” No, my brother, I never say die, but -am still pegging away. Yes, I am a Populist. I am a rampant Socialist -and I think that most of my old comrades have followed my example and I -can see no reason why all Populists should not do the same. You know, -my brother, that the Socialists are growing as no other party ever grew -and they are bound to become a dominant factor in politics in the near -future. It is evolution. Reforms do not go backward. The Populists have -done a grand work, but Socialism is inevitable and I would rejoice to -see all old Populists get aboard the band wagon. You are doing a noble -work and to show you that I appreciate it I am going to send you a dollar -for the magazine and 50 cents for that fountain pen, although I can -illy afford it, as I am 65 years old and dependent on my labor for the -support of my family. - -Don’t Teddy, the Trust-buster, make you tired? I think he is the biggest -fraud that ever sat in the Presidential chair. - -Wishing you long life and abundant success, I am with you till the battle -is won. - - * * * * * - - _James A. Logsden, Moline, Ill._ - -I have read with great interest the editorial, “Tolstoi and the Land,” -in the October number of TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE, and while I cannot agree -with you in the position you take upon the land question, I accredit you -with sincerity and honesty of purpose. In common with many others of us, -you are giving of your time, energy and substance, to bring remedial -justice and economic truth to human society. - -Being fair-minded and in earnest pursuit of economic truth and equity, -you will, I am sure, accept honest criticisms of your opinions. - -In the outset you propound three questions, which are as follows: - - “Is it true that the real grievance of the masses is that the - land has been taken away from them?” - - “Will no reform bring them relief until the land has been given - back to them?” - - “Will universal happiness be the result of putting an end to - private ownership of land?” - -To negate these questions you call upon history to bear witness: - - “As a guide to our footsteps the past must always be to some - extent our light, our guide.” - -With this I am heartily in accord. It has been rightly said: - - “History keeps the grass green upon the graves of former - civilizations, and stands as a beacon light to future ones. It - is the ever-living Janus, peering both into the past and into - the future.” - -But history does not prove, as you assert, that civilization exists as a -result of private ownership of land. These are your words: - -In passing upon this and statements appearing in subsequent paragraphs, I -think I shall have fully answered your three previous questions. When it -“became a matter of _self-interest_ for some _individual_ to improve the -land” was it because of his ownership or of his _security of possession_? -When you admit that “as long as each individual felt that his parcel of -land might go out of his possession at the next regular division there -was no incentive to improvement,” you have admitted the latter. “Not -until the individual became assured that the _benefit of his labor_ would -accrue to himself did the waste become a farm and the hovel a house.” -What was his assurance—private ownership or security of possession? That -it was not private ownership is proven by the tenant system in vogue -in every civilized country in the world. Obviously it is not private -ownership that impelled the landless tenant to go upon land owned by -others, clear away the forest and “make the land a farm.” Then what is -his assurance? Security of possession—the knowledge that he will be left -unmolested to enjoy the “product of his labor.” This tenant enjoys his -security of possession because of the _tribute_ he has been compelled to -pay to the owner to leave him unmolested in his possession and enjoyment. -Could he not be as secure in his possession if the land were owned and -the exaction made by all the people? - -Therefore, “if the history of the world shows anything at all, it shows -_this_,” that civilization has developed and progress has gone forward, -not by reason of private ownership of land, but in spite of it. - - “If, what is manifestly impossible,” says Mr. George, “a fair - distribution of land were made among the whole population, - giving each his equal share, and laws enacted which would - impose a barrier to the tendency to concentration by forbidding - the holding by any one of more than a fixed amount, what would - become of the increase of population?” - -Your assertion that there would be no improvement under such a condition -as you mention is self-evident. But this, instead of being an argument -against the Henry George philosophy, is, in fact, an argument in its -favor. - -What Mr. George _does_ propose I shall endeavor to make clear in -subsequent paragraphs when I touch upon your hypothesis regarding the -primitive tribesmen. - -Before passing to this, however, I desire to direct your attention to -your observation that “the right of each citizen to hold as his own began -with the laborer who claimed the product of his labor.” The convincing -power of this statement is lacking, because you have failed to prove -to us that without private ownership of land man can not “claim the -products of his labor.” As a matter of fact, you can not furnish such -proof because it is manifestly untrue. Before the savage, wandering in -the primeval forest, ever dreamed of laying claim to any parcel of the -soil as his own, did he not so lay claim to the fish and game he took? -Did he not so lay claim to the fruits and berries he gathered? Did not -the tribesman who followed his flocks and herds over the plains so lay -claim to them as the product of his labor? Without ever a thought of -the private ownership of the soil, he had produced them as truly as -the stockman of today produces the cattle he sends to market, and he -valiantly disputed the right of any person to any share of them. Most -truly he who labors is entitled to labor’s product, but to say that in -order to claim such product it is necessary to privately own land is to -fly into the face of obvious fact. How many of the wage earners of today -are land owners? How much is added to the wages of those few who are, -by reason of this fact? You yourself raised the point that it is not -necessary to own land in order to fleece the public, laborer, land-owner -and all out of their earnings. If this be true how do you harmonize it -with your former claim that it was private ownership of land that first -made it possible for the laborer to claim and retain the product of his -labor. - -I come now to the case of the “score of tribesmen” of whom you speak. -While the score were fishing, hunting, drinking or gambling, the one -cleared the wild land, fenced out the rest and claimed it as _his land_. -But, in fact, did this make it his land? By virtue of what did it become -his land? You doubtless had this question in mind when you attempted to -answer it in the following: - - “Having put his labor into the land, having changed it from a - waste into a farm, it was the most natural thing in the world - that he should claim it as his own. Why shouldn’t he? _He_ made - it a farm.” - -What was his ultimate purpose in putting his labor into the farm? Was it -not the products which his labor, applied to the land, would bring forth? -You say “he made it a farm.” He found it a farm awaiting his efforts. -You will agree that he was entitled only to the result of his own labor. -In fact, this is the truth for which you are contending. What were the -results of his labor, the farm or the products? Manifestly the latter. -These he enjoyed. Upon what possible ground, then, could he go still -further and claim also the soil as belonging to himself and his heirs -forever? - -Moreover, you will concede that before this tribesman determined to -abandon the spear and the rod and become a farmer, this piece of ground -could have been taken by any of the other twenty men; in other words it -was common. It must be further conceded that in casting about to find -a suitable location for his farm, he chose the site which offered the -best natural advantages relative to fuel, water, fertility of soil, and -proximity to the tribal bartering place. At this point let us carry your -illustration still further and assume that all or part of the other -twenty tribesmen decided to become farmers also. - -In the same manner as their forerunner, they look about for the best -location, and the one offering the best advantages. But it is taken, and -the others must take second, third or fourth place, according to who gets -located first. But these men have equal rights. Why should some of them -enjoy the exclusive ownership and possession of those sites which give -them natural advantages over the others? Manifestly, they should not. But -how can they equalize these advantages? Just to the extent that farmer -number one holds advantage over farmer number twenty-one—just to that -extent should number one compensate the little community as a whole for -the privilege which he enjoys. And so with all the others. A community -is forming, with its _natural_ demand for revenue for _common purposes_. -Here is the _natural revenue_. Here lies the fundamental principle which -political economists call the Law of Rent. Here reposes the very essence -of the law of compensation. Here also is found the basis principle of -economic justice, which, traced to its last analysis, as civilization -advances, is capable of developing the highest expression of human -society. Here is the answer to your question, - - “Will universal happiness be the result of putting an end to - private ownership of land?” - -It was not “just that the twenty idle tribesmen should take away from the -one industrious tribesman that which his labor had created.” Neither was -it just that he should rob the other twenty when they came to exercise -their equal right to the use of the land, as he manifestly would if he -were left to the exclusive use of the soil, or the best portion thereof, -without compensating those he has excluded. - -Let him retain possession of the farm and his products under these -conditions, and you have, not private ownership of land, but common -ownership. - -Another point that you have obviously overlooked, and one that goes to -the heart of the social problem, is the element of land monopoly. Your -tribesman was not satisfied with selecting the best land, and fencing -so much thereof as he could till by his own exertion, but he fenced in -vast areas that he could not use, and also claimed that as “his own.” -By so doing he not only enjoyed the fruits of his own labor, but forced -the other twenty to share their products with him as a tribute for using -that part of “his land” which he himself could not, or did not, care to -use. You may say that they had equal opportunities with him to get first -choice. Even if this were granted, it makes no difference in principle. -The fact still remains that he has the power to wring unwilling tribute -from them. Only one could have the best, and though his contemporaries -may have been justly punished for their lack of foresight—which I do not -admit—there is yet another side to the question. What is the status of -future generations in relation to this proposition? Are they guilty of -sleeping upon their rights when all the land has been taken before they -were born, or are they born into conditions which they have had no voice -in making? - -If your lonely tribesman, for whose welfare you manifest such -solicitation, had been content with the amount of land he could utilize -to good advantage, had he been willing to contribute his just share to -the common expense, and had he been sufficiently just to recognize and -respect the equal rights of his compeers, the common would yet have -remained after all had been supplied. What was true of the primitive -state is true today in our highly organized society. Shifting conditions -make no changes in universal principles. - -“Society” (did not) “as a matter of self-preservation admit the principle -of private ownership of land.” It admitted it because it did not know a -better plan—because it did not know the Laws of Rent and of Compensation. - -You deny that “great estates were the ruin of Italy.” “Before a few could -buy up all the land there must have been some great cause at work, some -advantage which the few held at the expense of the many.” “What was that -advantage?” you ask. No better answer can be given to this query than -to refer you back to your own illustration of the farmer tribesman. Did -he buy the land? You say he “fenced it in and claimed it as his own.” -In like manner did all land pass into private control, each individual -claiming far more than he could use. After all the land of Italy had been -“claimed” and enclosed, or that of any given community thereof, the power -that these land _claimers_ held over subsequent comers is obvious. The -only asset of the individual without material wealth is his labor, which -is only one—the active—factor in production. Under circumstances such as -the foregoing, he is debarred from the passive factor—land—and can apply -his labor to it only by paying tribute to those who have _claimed_ it. - -In the circle of the human family, those endowed with keen, unerring -foresight are comparatively few. It cannot be gainsaid that those few, -knowing that land is fixed in quantity—which cannot be expanded as -population increases, and as demand for it increases—saw in the early -periods, as they see today, what a powerful advantage they could wield -over their fellows by “fencing in” all the available land—by fencing out, -not only the cattle, as you put it, but also their fellow-men. Is it -not plain that this was the source of the power of which you complain? -Was it not this that furnished the advantage you name? Can you not see -the stream of unearned tribute wrung from the hands of honest labor -constantly flowing into the coffers of these land owners? And seeing it, -can you then maintain that great estates were not the ruin of Italy? - -What made the “ruling class of Rome, that had concentrated into their -own hands all the tremendous powers of the State?” What gave them the -power to “fix the taxes” and enact the “infernal laws” which you rightly -contend ought to have been repealed? “Ah!” you say,“they _controlled -the money_.” By what power did they come to control the money? Was it -by a power inherent within themselves, or was it not the power which -they derived from the corner which they held upon the _natural revenue_ -which they diverted from the public treasury into their own coffers, thus -making it necessary to provide for the common expense by unjust taxes -upon the products of labor? - -“They controlled the money.” But what is money? Is it the means or the -end? Is it not merely a labor-saving invention to facilitate trade? Is it -not money only by common consent? Is it not merely a commodity converted -for convenience into a medium of exchange? You make the point that by -controlling the money, they controlled commodities. But if they had not -controlled the land, which is the source of all commodities—even the -money itself—how could they have controlled the money? - -Can you not see that men divorced from the toil and permitted to produce -only on the terms of some other person are forced into the labor market, -to vie with each other in a competition that grows keener and more -vicious as a population increases? - -You say that “the power to fix taxes is the power to confiscate.” The -very opposite is true. The power to confiscate is the power to tax. -Give that power to one class and what more does it want? Let that class -confiscate land values, which you agree are naturally common property, -and you give it the power to rob its victim, not merely to the “limit -of their capacity to pay,” but to literal starvation, if they choose -to carry the principle of private ownership of land to its logical -conclusion. For certainly to recognize the right to private property in -land is to recognize the owner’s right to do with _his land_ what he -pleases. To recognize this is to recognize the land-owner’s right to deny -to the landless either the use of _his land_, or any of its products, -on any terms whatsoever. Thus, in carrying the principle of private -ownership of land to its logical conclusion, and recognizing it as a just -principle, is to sanction literal murder. Can a system that has this for -its ultimate, be other than a vicious system, even though it may never -be carried to that extent? It is by means of this vicious system that -human sufferings are augmented by a thousand fold and the sum of human -happiness is correspondingly diminished. - -Do not the foregoing facts prove to you that your statement that “_usury_ -is the vulture that has gorged itself upon the vitals of nations since -the dawn of time,” is economically untrue? Is it not clear that usury is -only an effect of a deeper-seated cause inherent in land monopoly? - -As proof that the universal condition of inequality is _not_ inherent -in land monopoly, you say that the Rothschilds and other “kings of high -finance” do not “buy up vast domains that they may be served by a lot of -tenants.” But when touching upon this phase of the question, you should -always bear in mind that all land is not farm land. The power of the -coal barons to exploit does not arise so much from the fact that they -own large tracts of land, as from the fact that it bears large deposits -of coal. Nor does their power to exploit affect merely the miners of -coal. Coal is a public necessity, and the ownership by these barons of a -comparatively small area of land places them in a position to place—by -reason of unreasonable prices—a tax upon every user of coal. - -What is the basis of the railroad’s power for unrestrained exploitation? -Unquestionably it arises from its exclusive franchises, inherent in its -rights of way. - -Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan and others of his class do not derive their -unearned revenues from their power to tax. But whence this taxing -power which affects every user of their several products?—Monopoly -of franchises, monopoly of mineral resources, such as mines, -quarries, etc.? What is the source of the Standard Oil monopoly?—Its -ownership of oil land or enough thereof to force independent owners -to sell on the company’s terms, and its consequent power to force -railroad discriminations in its favor? Where did the beef trust and -other industrial corporations derive their monopoly power? Railroad -rebates—“the big pistol”—railroads with their monopoly franchises. And -the railroad monopoly and these other breeds will be extinct in an -instant. End land monopoly and make railroad franchises common property -and the railroad monopoly will be at an end. Had not the Amalgamated -Copper Co. controlled the majority of the copper-bearing lands of the -world, “The Story of Amalgamated” would never have been told. - -Referring again to the railroads, was it not largely the great land -grants donated to them by our Government that were the beginning of -their power? These grants operated in two ways to the advantage of the -railroads. First, they greatly increased the wealth of the railroads, -and, second, they diminished the power of the people by diminishing the -area of land open to settlement. - -“Land is plentiful and it is cheap. The country is dotted with abandoned -farms that can be had _almost_ for the asking.” You say “almost for the -asking.” This implies that he who takes these farms must pay something -to him who has “abandoned” them. Why _almost_? Why not take them, as in -the case of the primitive tribesman, without asking? You state that they -have been abandoned because the owner could not make a decent living upon -them. Then why make the condition of the next owner more hopeless by -levying tribute against him for the use of a worthless farm? - -Make land common property, safe-guard the interests of all by assuring to -each land-holder perpetual use, providing he pay his equitable share into -the common treasury—which in each case would be the increment of value. -Then “_abolish all other forms of taxation_.” This will secure every one -in the enjoyment of his labor’s product, will abolish monopoly and the -individual or corporate taking power, vicious tariffs, and all. This is -all you have demanded. - -Your demand is a just one, but—as I trust you may be brought to see—your -remedy is superficial and cannot be made effective. You must dig in -deeper soil, else your laudable efforts are vain. The abrogation of -offensive legislative enactments and the enactment of other statutes -dealing with effects will avail nothing. Nothing save the rooting out of -the mother of evils can possibly accomplish the end for which you are so -courageously and manfully striving. - -Your work is a noble one, and its power for good is measured only by the -number of people whom you can reach. I admonish you to give the land -question thorough and painstaking investigation. I trust you will bear -with me for what may seem excessive frankness. But you are not looking -for bouquets, but simple, unembossed truth. When I say to you that in my -opinion you have not familiarized yourself with the philosophy you are -attempting to refute, you will accept this criticism in the broad view of -public interest. - -I have gone into greater detail in my comments upon your editorial than -I expected to go in the outset, but it has seemed advisable, in order to -get a clear view of all the points raised by you. However, I trust I have -not gone beyond the limit of the space that may be available. - - * * * * * - - A VETERAN REFORMER HITS THE TARIFF HARD - - E. S. Gilbert is close to ninety years old but uncommonly - well preserved, having been interested in every Presidential - campaign since he was a boy of sixteen, and has acquired a - vast fund of political knowledge, of which he still has a firm - grasp. He has seen and remembers nearly every President from - Andy Jackson down—nineteen of them—and talks interestingly. - He says as he sees things now the political situation is - just as it was in the early fifties. Then two minor parties - were dying, and the leading party—the Democratic—was - undergoing disintegration. Today, as he sees it, Democracy and - Populism are dying, and the Republican party is undergoing - disintegration. The Republican Party sprang up in the fifties, - and he looks for a new, strong party to come out of the present - chaos in a few years. Following is a thoughtful article, from - Mr. Gilbert’s pen, which recently appeared in the _Lincoln - Independent_: - -Editor Independent: Here are a few figures for men who think. - -In the year 1901 there was manufactured in the United States thirteen -billions of dollars’ worth of goods. Authority, Secretary Shaw. - -The average rate of duties upon imported merchandise is 52 per cent. -Authority, Walter Wellman. - -Now, fifty-two per cent of thirteen billions of dollars is -$6,770,000,000, which the present tariff of duties authorizes the -manufacturers to collect of the American people each year, if they can. -It actually enables them to collect a large portion of it—but not all. -The probabilities are they collect about two-thirds. They collect nothing -for goods exported. - -There is honest competition on some classes of goods, such as flour and -the cheaper cotton fabrics, and perhaps some others, that prevents them -from collecting it of the people. So, in order to be fair, we will cut -this sum in halves. - -We then have the sum of $3,385,000,000, which is considerably less -than is probably collected. In order not only to be fair, but to be -absolutely safe, we will cut off the $385,000,000, and we have the sum -of three billions of dollars—three thousand millions—collected by the -manufacturers and paid by the people as the result of the Dingley tariff -bill. - -Bear in mind, that this is over and above what is collected in duties -for the support of government. Bear in mind, this money is paid to the -manufacturers, the capitalist and not to the laborers. Bear in mind that -if this three billions of dollars were divided among the employees of the -manufacturers, it would give to them something less than six millions of -laborers a little over $500 apiece. Bear in mind, that this would pay the -entire labor bill of all the manufacturers of the United States. - -Then ask yourselves: Is this state of things the result of the -intelligence or genius of the people? Or is it the result of -misinformation or stultification? - - E. S. GILBER. - - * * * * * - - _W. F. Short, Eurekaton, Tenn._ - -I am well pleased with the Magazine and think it is superior to any -other magazine that I ever read. It is just what I expected our brave -and noble Tom to get up. Yes, the Magazine is all right. The language -is beautiful, forcible and courteous. I was a subscriber from the first -issue and have sent in my renewal for this year. I have more confidence -in Tom Watson than in any man who has tried to right the wrongs of the -people. I believe him to be so conscientious that he would not sacrifice -principles for any office in the gift of the people, and I do wish we had -one thousand men like our true and honest Tom to battle for justice and -rights of the people. I stand for the principles advocated by Jefferson, -Jackson and Lincoln. - -I can make but one suggestion for the Magazine, and that is to place it -in a better wrapper, so it will not be lost in the mail. - - * * * * * - - _R. Brown, Buck Knob, Ark._ - -I am no writer and no scholar, but I write a few lines to you in order to -congratulate you on your Magazine. I think it the best magazine on earth -and the _Missouri World_ the best paper and the most patient publishers -on earth. I could not have the patience to publish a paper and send it -out among so many prejudiced block-headed farmers and laborers and get -so little return for my labor. I live in the mountains of Arkansas and I -have been lashing with my tongue and knocking at these old Mossbacks with -T. E. WATSON MAGAZINES and the _Missouri World_ for one or two years. -Some of them won’t read a reform paper when it is given to them, but I -give T. E. WATSON’S MAGAZINE and the _Missouri World_ to them all the -same. On some of them the moss I see is loosening. I am going to try to -organize a club in our township shortly. I am for government ownership of -all the railroads, coal mines, oil fields and all manufactures that take -a company to run and government money, and no one man to own more than -one hundred and sixty acres of land and not that unless he lives on and -cultivates the same. I will fight for all this and more as long as I live -and have a dollar that my family can get along without. - -I am nearly sixty-four years old and have eight sons, all of whom will -vote the Populist ticket and all be old enough in 1908 to vote, and will -vote the Populist ticket. - - * * * * * - - _Stephen Lewis, Martin’s Ferry, O._ - -Your article in the January issue of your Magazine in regard to the -high-handed methods of the U. S. _Steal_ trust in obtaining property -from defenceless people has been read with much interest, and I approve -of your bold and fearless manner in attacking unlawful corporations and -lawless promoters. - -That part in your article on the _Steal_ trust where you raise the point -as to whether the men who demolished the widow’s home were union men or -not was noted in particular and I venture the opinion that they were not, -because Pittsburg, with all its much vaunted prosperity is and has been -recognized by union workmen as the cradle from which that disreputable -class of workmen known as _scabs_ have come. Pittsburg harbors more scabs -than any other city in the country, regardless of size. The man who made -the _Steal_ trust possible operated his mills at Homestead with scabs -at the sacrifice of human life and forced a lower scale of wages upon -the men with the state militia. Yet this man is regarded by a great many -so-called respectable people as a philanthropist because he is erecting -monuments to himself in the form of libraries in different parts of the -country. - - * * * * * - - _M. G. Carlton, Zolfo, Fla._ - -I appreciate the Magazine and feel that it is one of the best. I am a -Populist and took great pleasure in casting my vote for you at the last -election, knowing at the time that the chances for success were bad. Yet -I cast the vote with as great pride and satisfaction as if I had known -you would be elected. I know how to sympathize with a defeated candidate -as I myself ran on the Populist ticket for Representative against the -noted Zuba King—the wealthiest man in De Soto County and one connected -with one or more of the best banks of the country, and got beaten, of -course, but I was not whipped but beaten by the money crowd and I believe -as strongly in the principles of the Populist Party as I ever did. I am -just the same today. - - * * * * * - - _W. Scott Samuel, Pawhuska, Okla._ - -Thinking that TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE might like to hear from a locality -where politics “rules the court, the camp, the grove,” I relate this -little incident. A few weeks ago, when the town sites of the Osage -reservation were to be opened for sale and an auctioneer appointed to -sell the lots, the news was published that a certain man, Amos Ewing, -had received the appointment of auctioneer. Now, the reputation of this -man, Ewing, is a stench in the nostrils of every honest man in Oklahoma. -From petty defalcations to embezzlement of trust funds, which he was -forced to disgorge, comes the reputation of the versatile and oleaginous -Amos. And so, when it was known that our great “square deal” bear hunter -had through his secretary named Amos for this promotion of trust and -emolument, it was not long before the mails were loaded with protests -from different localities in Oklahoma where the seductive Amos had -exercised his peculiar grafts. Did it do any good? Alas for the square -deal! When the sale of lots commenced at Pawhuska this creature, Ewing -was in the position that should have been filled by some one at least not -a self-convicted grafter, and _he’s there yet_, and all the protests, -charges, etc., filed against him are as though they never happened. How’s -that for the “square deal”? - -In conclusion, permit me to compliment TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE for its -fearless _exposé_ of moral rottenness in high places. Hoping the good -work will go on, I desire to share in the glory of the time when its -principles shall prevail. - - * * * * * - - _Malcolm B. Webster, Atlantic City, N. J._ - -I have been an interested and delighted reader of your Magazine for some -time past, and feel that I am getting from it a political, social and -economic education such as I should not have known where to look for else. - -While still but very young, I have long felt that I could say upon the -above subjects: - - “Myself, when young, did eagerly frequent - Doctor and saint, and heard great argument - About it and about—but evermore came out - By the same door wherein I went.” - -Now I begin to feel that there _is_ a _back_ door used by the “powers -behind the throne,” and that your Magazine leads one to it to observe the -edifying spectacle of the manipulation of the puppets by the powers. - - * * * * * - - _James Porges, Chicago, Ill._ - -Keep up the good work. You have the support of thousands in your efforts -to awaken the lethargic American public to the fact that they are being -robbed with the aid of our corrupt laws and the special privilege -Government. - - * * * * * - - _T. B. Rogers, Logansport, Ind._ - -I don’t know how to praise that book enough. I think it is the strongest -political document we have. Surely, if we could get the voters of the -nation to read it, we would have reform, for if any reasonable person -reads it he can’t help but endorse those principles. I have been loaning -those magazines I received to my neighbors, and they all acknowledge that -the book tells the truth. I think I can get up a club in the near future, -for those that read them promise me they will subscribe for it. - -As for myself, I don’t need any literature on the subject, for I have -been in the front ranks of the movement ever since 1872. I was a Peter -Cooper man and have marched along in that line ever since. Never voted -for anything else. When I cannot vote the Populist ticket, I don’t vote -at all. There were a few of us that started the movement here in Cass -County, Indiana, and we worked hard and spent a good deal of money. We -had some of our best speakers here to help us. We had the Hon. Jesse -Harper of Danville, Ill., N. H. Motsinger of Sholes, Ind., Judge S. W. -Williams of Vincennes, Ind., and a number of other good speakers, and -the result of our work was that we cast over 900 votes for the Populist -county ticket. We felt very much encouraged, but when the next campaign -came—well, you know what happened to our Party. - -We are right and all we can do is to keep on fighting. I am in favor of -staying in the fight until the last ditch is taken. - -I will close by wishing you great success. - - * * * * * - - _Thomas Knox, Bennett, Neb._ - -I appreciate reading your Magazine. I also appreciate your manly and -courageous way of putting the truth before your readers. My only hope is -that I would like to have the pleasure of knowing that the writings of as -strong a reasoner and clear thinker could enter every home of the common -herd so that reason could displace prejudice or party insanity. We all -regret the disconnection of that able defender of the common people, Mr. -T. H. Tibbles, from the editorial columns of the _Nebraska Independent_. -We hope for his health and his early return to Nebraska, to continue the -battle for us common people. In conclusion I hope for Mr. Charles Q. De -France’s health and happiness. May his labors be a power for good and -light to the people. I also hope Thomas E. Watson’s health and life may -be spared for many years in the good cause. - - * * * * * - - _H. L. Fagin, Kansas City, Mo._ - -Is it not good to feel that the present wave of civic, economic and -industrial righteousness seems practically certain to sweep every thing -before it? There is a quiet, studious earnestness and determination -everywhere existent, that portends certain and tremendous results. The -best part of it is that the masses have largely been educated to the -point where they no longer expect to accomplish everything in a day, but -rather realize that to get even a large share of what they insistently -demand they must begin in the primaries and conduct a continuous campaign. - -You are doing a great work and you have your reward and will have it. -Every honest and ardent spirit everywhere communes with and strengthens -every other such. No more honest, open, fearless man than you is on earth -today. That might be better expressed, but the meaning is there—I will -let it pass. - -The universal spirit of righteousness encompasses and permeates you—you -are surely a part of the divinest essence. Being a man, you must like to -know that other men appreciate and approve—and to the utmost. And that -they do in an ever expanding circle. The days of sophistry, of deception, -of class and special privileges, of municipal, state, and national -corruption are rapidly passing. The people are becoming wise. They know -their friends. They know who is true, despite the tremendous efforts -of a press, largely subsidized to mislead and deceive. But there are -newspapers and newspapers, just as there are magazines and magazines. - -I need not tell you to keep on straight ahead. You couldn’t stop if you -wanted to. Tell the truth just as you are doing, and as much of it as -you have space for, in allopathic doses. I cannot agree with all your -conclusions, nor will any thoughtful student; but in most I do most -heartily concur, and I do know that all your influence is for good. - - * * * * * - - _John McFord, Sheridan, N. Y._ - -I like your Magazine very well, but I would like it much better if you -and your Magazine would come out flat-footed for Socialism. If public -ownership or collective ownership of the railroads, telegraphs, etc. is -a good thing for the people, why not have public ownership, or rather -collective ownership, of the lands, the machinery, etc.? Political -democracy without industrial democracy is futile and amounts to nothing. -I had the pleasure of voting for you in ’92, and it is a matter of -profound regret to me that you cannot see your way clear to step forward -into the Socialist Party, where all true middle-of-the-roader Populists -logically belong. Populism is a compromise, a half way measure. Socialism -is the whole cheese. - - * * * * * - - _John P. Thorndyke, Canaan, N. H._ - -You publish more _real stuff_ than any magazine I have ever read in my -life. I am sixty years of age, and we take seven other magazines, and -without any exaggeration it is but justice to your efforts to say that -there is by far more real, good, well-seasoned, relishable food for the -digestion of the average brain, than is afforded in any other magazine -I have seen. Having practiced medicine for a number of years, I have -sometimes volunteered my diagnosis of the disease troubling some of our -great (?) men and I flatter myself that an observance of that particular -case has proven the correctness of my examination at a distance. For -instance, I think the main trouble with our great Senate is constipation -of the brain, which invariably forbids the entertainment of honest -thought. Now I hope that some one with sufficient “sand” in his gizzard -will see that every member of the present Congress and Cabinet receives a -copy of your very valuable Magazine. It will be worth more to them than a -post-graduate course in the schools of Rockefeller and Morgan. - - * * * * * - - _John B. Bott, Grant, Pa._ - -To a constant and appreciative reader of TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE (purchased -monthly at the Union News Co.’s stands) it does seem strange that so -great and good a man as “Tom” should, under the stimulus of praise and -success or the twittering of a pert maid, really become ashamed of his -familiar cognomen and his old clothes. - -For two days I have been searching, here and there, high and low, for -_Tom_ WATSON’S MAGAZINE: always explaining that “_Tom_” has gone into -“innocuous desuetude” and “_Watson_” has stript himself of his old -clothes and donned _full regulation uniform_, but all to no effect. - -Am hoping the new clothes won’t make _Mister_ Watson too vain, and that -at least his relations, Populist friends and host of well wishers will -not fail to recognize him in his docked designation and fine regimentals. - -I wish to add that it was the “Tom” that appealed to me, above all things -else, when the news agent showed me No. 2 of Vol. I. and asked me if I -had seen TOM WATSON’S. I replied that I had not, but that “Tom” had the -true flavor and I’d take a dose. - -There are, I am sorry to say, Watsons big and Watsons little; Watsons -wise and Watsons foolish; Watsons mediocre galore, but only one “_Tom_” -Watson, and he seems to be, God forbid, going to the bad. - - * * * * * - - _Robert L. Cooper, Savannah, Ga._ - -I have been, previous to the last year, what may be termed a “Tom Watson -hater.” Like a lot of other “pig-heads,” I have heard the other side all -the time, declining to read or look upon with reason anything you wrote -or said. I was prevailed upon to read your “Napoleon.” I followed it up -with “France” and “Jefferson,” together with a number of your speeches, -letters and magazines. I have arrived at the conclusion that of the very -few sincere men of the day, WATSON STANDS IN THE FRONT RANK. - -You have my unbounded admiration and very best wishes for the -splendid fight you are making for improvement of conditions in our -country—especially our beloved state, Georgia. I may add that there are a -great many other young men in this community who are of the same opinion. - -That your books are being read is attested by the frazzled-out copies in -our public library, and the difficulty one has in securing the use of -them even for the short time allowed for the use of a popular book. - - * * * * * - - _Aaron McDonald, Galveston, Ind._ - -I received a copy of the old guard news letter some time back, and was -not in shape to respond at that time, and when I got in shape to, I took -sick and was not able; but now as I am able and in shape I will send one -dollar to help pay expenses of organizing. It seems that through this -part of the country Populists are dead. There are lots that are sick on -account of the rascality of the officers of the old parties, but speak -to them about Populists and you can seldom get a grunt out of them. -It may be a calm before the storm. Hope it is, for I think there are -Independents enough in this neighborhood to cut things short when they do -get at it. The hardest pull seems to be in giving up the old name. They -seem to think that reform must come through their party. I have asked -several how they expect to get reform when Wall Street owns the Cabinet -and Senate. That is like putting the devil in the pulpit to preach the -gospel. - -Hoping you will meet success. - - * * * * * - - _H. B. Paxton, Wheatland, Mo._ - -I am 66 years old, and have been in the reform movement from Cooper to -Watson, except once for Bryan. Everything is being quiet with us—politics -as well as everything else. We had at one time 500 Populist voters in -this Hickory Co., about one-fourth of the voting strength of the county. -As we haven’t any organization in the county, I haven’t much idea what -our strength is at this time, but there are quite a number of true blues -yet. - -Your Magazine is all right. Will send my renewal soon and I assure you I -will try to get others to subscribe. - - * * * * * - - _T. T. Mattox, Hope, Ark._ - -I am still a Populist and read WATSON’S MAGAZINE. Think there are no -words nor figures to enumerate or define the good effect it is having -on the one big National party made up of the new parties, Democrat and -Republican. There are but two National parties now—the Watson and the -Swollen-tails. Good news gone to Canada and the nations of the globe. - -Dear Watson, you are doing more good than if in office. - - * * * * * - - _H. E. Pomeroy, Mason, Ill._ - -I think you are fooling away time and money. Look at William J. Bryan in -the last National convention. See Judge Parker now. This nation is too -wealthy to be ruled by patriots. Wall Street is the government. You can’t -do anything with Wall Street. The masses have no principle above whiskey -and tobacco, and the churches are in the hands of priestcraft. If you -have a copy of Æsop’s Fables read about the fox and the flies. - - * * * * * - - _J. A. Dahlgren, Bradshaw, Nebr._ - -I cannot let this opportunity go by without telling you what I think -of your Magazine. It is undoubtedly the very best reform magazine now -published. Your editorials certainly have the right tone. Your article on -the situation in Georgia gives us Northerners new light on the subject. -While we do not have the negro problem to contend with here in Nebraska, -we nevertheless have the railroad question to fight over from year to -year. We must pay tribute to Harriman and Hill, and other Wall Street -kings, besides countless two-by-four politicians who apparently have no -other aim in life than to serve the railroads and betray the people. I -am glad to see that grand old man Tibbles writing for WATSON’S MAGAZINE. -Before I close I must ask you to give us another story something like -“Pole Baker.” - - * * * * * - - _George Chapman, East Cleveland, O._ - -I am prompted to write you from the fact that I believe you to be the -right man in the right place, and I honestly think that the seed that you -are now sowing will take root and bear fruit, as they are being sown in -fertile soil. - -No party, or parties, can long withstand your bombardments, no matter how -well fortified they may be, as your guns are loaded with facts. - - * * * * * - - _W. S. Stanley, Logansville, Ga._ - -I feel it my duty to express that in my estimation, which I take from a -national and reasonable standpoint, Tom Watson is one of the greatest -Americans living and his Magazine the best I ever read. - -I earnestly hope that some day not far distant, Tom Watson will be our -Commander-in-Chief of our National Government. - -How any honest and patriotic man can oppose the principles advocated by -Tom Watson, I cannot see. - -Tom Watson is a great man. Why? Because he is honest, brave, fearless and -aggressive. Because he is standing for the rights of the great mass of -people at large, leading them onward and upward from a Government of the -privileged few to a Government of the unprivileged many. - -For the last fifty years our Government has been leading more and more -toward anarchy. - -Tom Watson, may you live long to voice the principles of Jeffersonian -Democracy! - - * * * * * - - _J. J. Hall, Hutchinson, Ark._ - -Tom, why don’t you knock that “intrinsic value” rot into a cocked hat? -I think that policy is one of the greatest barriers to progress of the -masses in studying finance. The sooner they learn that value does not -exist in substance but in the mind, the better. This is the first and -most important fact to be learned by the student of monetary science, and -when once understood all the relative facts are easy. Take a shot at it, -Tom. You can make it both instructive and readable. - -Yours for success. - -_Of course I like the Magazine._ - - * * * * * - - _Alfred French, Washington, D. C._ - -I look forward to the arrival of your Magazine every month with a great -deal of interest. Other magazines I give away, but yours I do not care to -part with. - -I shall speak for it, have spoken for it, and very likely shall continue -to stand by it so long as you condemn the discrimination made by -officials in favor of the bankers. I have said for years that the men who -own the railroads and the bankers rule the country. - - * * * * * - - _L. R. Green, Spottsville, Ky._ - -I am proud of being one of the “old guard,” having marched without -halting in the “middle of the road,” without ever lowering our colors or -ever thinking of surrender. - -Am proud of our matchless leader, Tom Watson, and his Magazine, his -two-edged sword. Friends of popular government, let’s give the Magazine a -million subscribers and make its editor President in 1908! - - * * * * * - - _Arthur F. Mann, Brooklyn, N. Y._ - -The Magazine is O. K. The February number is strictly 100%. It would be -cheap at 25 cents. Thank you for the sample copy received today. I’d -already purchased mine of my news-dealer. However, I’ll see the sample -copy is put into good hands and hope it will “work.” Mr. Watson, you are -doing “_us plain Americans_” a world of good. Keep it up. May your life -be spared to us for many years to come! - - * * * * * - - _F. F. Gordy, Richland, Ga._ - -Aside from the fact that both Howell’s and Smith’s friends claimed the -victory at the joint debate, was the further fact that Tom Watson got the -greatest ovation of any. The first half of Howell’s speech brought out -your name, which caused the audience to rise en masse and the applause -shook the building. While I am for Smith, still I am looking beyond him -to something better. - - * * * * * - - _C. Will Shaffer, Olympia, Wash._ - -The Magazine is all right and is on the right track. - - * * * * * - - _M. W. Henry, Waelder, Tex._ - -I am a reader of your most excellent and truly demo-republican Magazine. -Our adversaries assumed the garb of angels to serve the devil in. There -is not a single fundamental principle contended for by our patriotic -democratic-republican forefathers contained in either the democratic or -republican party platforms, but both parties are thoroughly Hamiltonized -and irretrievably committed to the aristocratic British Banking and -Bonding System which financiers know to be absolutely incompatible with -the perpetuity of democratic institutions. All of the enemies of our -free institutions are in one or the other of these parties and their -bosses are engaged in making dupes of the common voters. The interests -of the capitalists are the same whether North or South, and as they have -complete control of both the old parties the people have no reasonable -hope of relief from oppression from either. Direct legislation is -essentially democratic and is what the enemies of our free institutions -most fear. Its triumph will be the triumph of human liberty over -plutocratic despotism. It will restore the Government into the hands of -our people, from whom it has been wrested by the boodlers and grafters, -prompted by conscienceless greed and avarice. A victory along this -line will be a greater victory for humanity than that of Yorktown or -Appomattox. - - * * * * * - - _Thomas S. East, Anderson, Ind._ - -One of the very best magazines that I have ever read. I want to say to -you that the good seed you are sowing will live long after you and I -and others of the “Old Guard” have passed to the other side. And just -as soon as my business matters will permit, I want to send you a large -subscription list and in this way help on the good work. For I truly -believe all who have the cause at heart will at this time lend their -influence to the work, so that Plutocracy and all the attending evils -that flow out from the corrupting influences that spread and grow like -vile and obnoxious weeds in a corn field, may be rooted out. - -Ever yours for the cause of humanity, I am in the fight to the finish. - -I have every number of the Magazine up to date. - - * * * * * - - _Fred Diehl, New York._ - -I am very sorry to hear that you are not well and permit me to send you -all the good health wishes I can give. We need you in our struggle for -progress. You should be preserved for our work in the coming crisis that -I believe will soon take place in the world, especially in this country. - -This article on the Chinese question I send you contains my innermost -convictions on that problem and I believe should be listened to before -we create another problem almost impossible to solve. I do not want to -impose upon your good nature, but if you find it possible to publish in -your Magazine, would you kindly do so? - -If not, then kindly send it back to me. - -My mind is for what is right. I would like to work for the betterment and -right adjustment of all conditions in need of improvement. - -There are, to my mind, many reasons why Chinamen should be restricted -from coming to the United States. The Chinese are not eligible to -citizenship. It is not good policy to encourage immigrants to come -here in great numbers that cannot become citizens. Every man (and let -us hope every woman, in the near future) should bear his portion of -responsibility to the government. Chinamen do not seem to grasp the -idea of freedom as do the people of Anglo-Saxon and Latin origin, nor -do they appreciate our rights and privileges for which we struggled -for centuries. Chinamen would, perhaps could, not use these rights -intelligently nor enthusiastically. - -They bring to us peculiar oriental vices from which we are yet free, but -they would contaminate us and undermine our lives. - -Economically and socially they are impossible; economically, because -they would undersell the American workman and destroy our standard of -living; socially, because they lack the necessary elements to make a -congenial race. It is not true, to my mind, that a race is superior -because it can undersell another any more than a herd of rats is superior -over man or tiger and lions over man because they can overcome man by -numbers and ferocity. The Chinese themselves protected and preserved -their civilization from invaders by building that huge wall around it -thousands of years ago. It was Chin, it is said, the great reformer, -as he was called, that did it and the great land today bears his name. -The Huns invaded Germany and robbed the unprotected peasants. The fact -that the Germans could protect themselves from endless invasions through -fortifications and armed resistance showed the superiority of the Germans -over the Huns. - -I believe I am a friend of humanity and that is the reason I believe in -the restriction of the Chinamen (our brothers) from coming here. One of -the reasons (and I think it is the greatest of all) should be sufficient, -that is that they are in great danger of being massacred through the -economic struggles and competition and the inevitable crash is sure to -come. We had already symptoms of such massacres in the West. The killing -of the Jews in Russia will look mild in comparison. Chinamen coming here -in great numbers would result in greater disasters than we can imagine. -We would create another race problem. Have we not enough with our negro -problem? There is an excuse for people coming here whose homelands are -overpopulated and who can easily and naturally assimilate. China has vast -unoccupied lands with unopened resources and its population, great as it -is, is not actually compelled to seek foreign territory. The Chinamen -should pioneer their own great land. Let them stay at home and open their -unworked national wealth. We cannot blame the ignorant peasants for -coming here. They do not know the possibilities of their own country and -if they did it would do them no good. It is the so-called intelligent, -progressive Chinese that are to blame. The people of China are hampered -and restricted by their own ancient customs fatal to themselves. Chinamen -are coming to the United States to reap the benefit of civilization of -another race with which they have little in common. It does not seem that -the Chinese come here to become actual settlers, and such immigrants are -not beneficial to the land in its present state of development. - -May the time be not far distant when all can go where they wish without -any barrier or restriction. When that time comes we must free first -ourselves and within our own countries. We must not endanger another land -with our own shortcomings. - - * * * * * - - _Joel B. Fort, Adams, Tenn._ - -In your valuable Magazine you hit the “Rascals,” who have combined in -violation of law and good morals to rob the producer and consumer, to -suit me exactly. - -If it should come in the way of your comments, the good people of the -Dark Tobacco District of Tennessee and Kentucky would rejoice with -“exceeding great joy” if you in your inimitable style would hit the -infernal Tobacco trust a _jolter_. This, the most heartless of all, took -possession of this District, composed of about twenty-two counties, and -laid it off in territories and appointed an agent to buy the tobacco (the -only money crop) at his own price. No one was allowed in his territory, -and consequently there was no opposition or competition. They took the -tobacco at two dollars less than the cost of production. The condition -became pitiable and laborers who were unable to support their families -left the country and went to the cities, railroads and mines. The people -became angered, and on the 24th of September, 1904, organized “The Dark -Tobacco Protective Association.” This association controlled 75% of the -tobacco, and in six months raised the price to double the former price. -Now tobacco is selling for more than twice its price under the Trust -rule. We appealed to the law, but had we waited for the law to protect -us we would have starved. We went after the thieves red-hot and for more -than a year hell would have been a good cooling place for them. Any help -you can render us in your excellent Magazine, which is largely read in -this section, would be greatly appreciated. - -Before I close let me pay you the tribute you richly deserve by saying -that any heart breathing the gentle and ennobling sentiment found in -your pieces “In the Mountains” and “A Day in the Autumn Woods” lives -close to his God and fellow-man, and a man who could write the “Widow -Lot” can never die, and is a national benefit. Great men have always had -the misfortune to die before their works were appreciated and admired: -I sincerely hope you may be spared to fight the battle of the people -against Snobbery, Shams, Hypocrites, Grafters, and the Robber Barons of -the Trusts. - -I send you a copy of a speech against the Tobacco Trust; if you have time -to read it you will see why it is that I so eagerly await the issuance of -every number of your Magazine. - - * * * * * - - _James Griffith Stephens, Valdes, Alaska._ - -I am reading every number of your Magazine with great interest. I notice -that you never touch on subjects pertaining to Alaska; have you forgot -that we are on earth? Listen to this tale of woe. - -Alaska cost the United States seven million five hundred thousand -dollars in the year 1867. Since then Alaska has paid into the treasury -the sum of one hundred and fifty million. Note the interest on the -purchase. Still we have no means of representation. There are today in -the District of Alaska 60,000 population who stand in the same place that -our forefathers stood when the tea-party took place. It is a shame that -in this land of the free we are denied ANY means of representation. There -is a mistaken idea that Alaska has a territorial form of government. It -has no voice from the people whatever. We are peoned. And why? BECAUSE -ALASKA AFFORDS ONE OF THE CHOICEST TREES IN THE ORCHARD OF GRAFT. And -its political plums are distributed among the carpetbag grafters who -enforce their presence upon the pioneers who are fostering and fathering -the country. There is not an elective office in the District. Our mining -laws are obnoxious and afford the greatest chance for official graft. Did -you ever stop to consider what a great country Alaska is, and how it is -controlled? If I may, without taking too much of your valuable time, I -will call your attention to the following facts. - -Alaska is one-third as large as the United States. - -It is not an iceberg, but affords future homes for millions. - -Alaska is in the same latitude as England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and -Russia. - -Alaska has the greatest fisheries on earth. These fisheries are -controlled by the beef trust. GRAFT! - -Alaska has great beds of finest anthracite coal, now being gobbled up by -the Pennsylvania coal barons. GRAFT! - -Alaska is covered by fine forests now being taken up by means of -soldiers’ fractional script. GRAFT! - -Alaska has the largest stamp mill on earth. The mine has produced over -$22,000,000 in gold, more than three times the cost of the District. This -mine is not timbered and there is an average of one man killed a day by -caving. GRAFT! - -Alaska has the only fur-seal islands in the world. These islands are -leased to a big corporation. GRAFT! - -Alaska has a navigable river twenty-eight hundred miles in length, a -reservation at the mouth controls the harbor and permits are issued for -warehouses to two big corporations only, so Alaskans again have to stand -for GRAFT! - -I could go on giving cases of graft for a month, but time is limited. An -article by a well informed writer in Appleton’s _Booklovers’ Magazine_, -entitled “The Looting of Alaska,” is well worth reading. - - * * * * * - - _S. C. Le Baron, Smiley, Tex._ - -Three numbers of your Magazine received, for which I am truly thankful -inasmuch as it stands for the principles which have been my political -platform ever since the Greenback party was organised. It is only -financial inability that kept me from becoming a subscriber at the start, -for I felt very certain it would be a powerful educator, and the copies -at hand prove my hopes fully realized. If it could be gotten into the -hands of those who feel the need of a change in conditions but still -can’t be made to understand the cause of these conditions, it would -indeed be a powerful factor in the reform movement. The copies received -are out doing missionary work; there is enough strong and conclusive -argument in any one of them to set an unprejudiced mind to thinking -seriously whether these things are so. I have been in this movement over -thirty years, and having passed my eighty-first birthday, feel that I -am not destined to work much longer, but when I see the circumstances -which inevitably tend to an enthrallment of the masses, I feel like doing -my best to avert the coming disaster. My hope lies in the integrity of -an intelligent citizenship and it is through outspoken literature that -intelligence can be acquired. - - * * * * * - - _E. J. Whelan, Tipton, Mich._ - -I like the way you write and the way you put it, but I am discouraged. -It doesn’t seem as though the rank and file will ever see the point. -The most of them will agree with me about the condition of the country, -but when they come to vote, they vote the same old ticket. That is the -way they do. Some one gets hold of them before election and they vote -it straight. Only a short time ago a friend of mine said to me that he -thought we as a Government were getting right where Russia is, and it -would take the same internal revolution to get rid of the monopolies -and trusts that are holding us down. Now I will venture anything that -that same man will vote with the old G. O. P. and vote a straight ticket -too. Now it makes me sick, but I think if they can stand it, I can, and -have made up my mind to let the whole thing go to the devil. It looks as -though the men with Hon. before their names were thieves. It is called -“graft” now. - - * * * * * - - _F. A. Jeter, Alto, Tex._ - -I am on your side, never have been on any other way and I know that if -the laboring people do not get some relief, and that soon, we are gone. -Your Magazine has done good here. Has changed hot-headed Democrats to -Populists. - - * * * * * - - _A. C. Shuford, Newton, N. C._ - -In a letter some time back you stated that you believed the “Money -Question” to be infinitely more important than any other before the -American people. You are undoubtedly correct in the view you take of the -matter. People take the same superstitious view of money that they do -of religion, and how to reach the reason of the average man through all -this thick covering of superstition is quite a problem. I have thought -over this problem for years and am not much nearer the solutions of it -now than when I first began. I have practiced caution in my contact with -men, and to look back for twenty years I can see quite a change has taken -place in my own neighborhood as well as elsewhere. I have been a great -admirer of Jefferson and have read everything he has written which I -could get my hands upon. His boldness in attacking the church is a marvel -to me. Here is the power which enslaves the minds of the people and keeps -them from using their thinking machines. The result of such methods is -that the average man is afraid to think for himself. No step of progress -can be made until this vast machine is shattered, and yet care must be -used in doing so, because man must have some foundation upon which to -stand. Do not misunderstand me, please. I am a believer in Christian -principles as I understand them. - -The money power and other monopolies are allowed to maintain their grip -through the church largely. How best to expose and open this organisation -to attack is a problem I wish you or some other man would solve. The -average politician knows well how to play upon this feeling which the -Church creates and as long as the organisation is allowed to continue its -process of enslaving the minds of our children, just so long will the -crop of “Grafters” be an abundant one. - - * * * * * - - _Sallie T. Parrish, Adel, Ga._ - -I believe your Magazine is more eagerly awaited than any other -publication extant, and I think the people read what you write first. I -am sure I do. You are the only writer who has ever made politics more -fascinating to me than romance. - -I used to read your paper when I was a child almost as ardently as I read -the Magazine now. Some of the editorials appealed to me so strongly that -I preserved them in my scrap book, not because I understood them then, -but because I felt intuitively that there was something sublime in them. - -Not long since I showed one of those selections—The Highest Office—to -a young man—a Democrat and a teacher in the same school that I was. He -finished reading it just as the bell rang for the morning session. The -moment the opening exercises were over he sprang upon the rostrum, shook -his black hair out of his face and exclaimed: “Children, I have found a -gem! Let me read it to you.” - -Your Magazine is being read by many honest Democrats who a few years ago -thought the Democratic party was all it claimed to be and that you were -wrong. Now they frankly endorse your principles and praise your courage, -honesty and brilliant intellect. - -I must thank you for a clearer knowledge of political questions, public -affairs and economic conditions than I ever would have had had it not -been for you. - -Your “Bethany” I consider one of the treasures of my modest collection -of books. Not long ago one of those reasonable, broad-minded, intelligent -Democrats was telling me how much he liked your Magazine. He said he -read everything in it—“Pole Baker” and all the rest—that he didn’t think -you had ever written an uninteresting sentence in your life and that he -thought you the purest, most upright man in public life today. - -I asked him if he had read “Bethany.” He had not, but when I told him -about it he was anxious to do so. I sent him mine. He is a man near sixty -and he read it with all the intensity and abandon that a sentimental girl -of sixteen would devour one of Laura Jean Libbey’s novels. He and I were -alternate day watchers at the bedside of a convalescent patient—one very -dear to us both—but I had it all to myself that day until late in the -afternoon, when the blessed trained nurse decided to forego a part of her -nap and relieve me awhile. - -I think you have done and are doing the world more good than any other -man in it, and I hope that you may be granted many years of life and -strength to champion the cause of humanity and labor for justice, truth -and equity, and I know that some time your noble life will be rewarded. - -I am very glad you have added the department of “Books” to your Magazine. -I don’t think it could be improved now, unless you were to add an amateur -or young writer’s department. - - * * * * * - - _Mrs. B. C. Rude, Lyons, N. Y._ - -I am getting TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE from the news-stand and like it very -much. It is refreshing to see one man who _dares_ say what he believes. - - * * * * * - - _Halley Halleck._ - -I have read every issue of your Magazine up to and including December -publication. It is certainly the greatest publication of the kind in -existence. As an educator it has no equal. It expresses more opinions and -views and in the most fearless manner of any paper in the world. Long may -it live and reach all parts of the globe! - -The question which you are so ably advocating is taking root and -spreading and arousing public opinion so as to bring the monarchical -money-kings to justice. May God speed the time when they will be handled -as other criminals, to wear the stripes, balls and chains! - -That local state government is no exception I got from that -ex-representative of the Legislature, the King Lobbyist, Hamp McWhorter. -He has an office in the Equitable building, and any senator he thinks he -can use he simply ’phones one of his henchmen at the Capitol, telling him -to send such and such a senator to his office, where he gets in his dirty -work. - -In another instance, when a member a few years ago introduced a -resolution to have the Governor appoint a committee to investigate the -merging of railroads, the vice-president of the Southern Railroad was -soon in a seat beside him, making inquiries as to what would satisfy him. -Well, the member was appointed local attorney at a salary of five hundred -per annum for a number of years. The motion was quickly withdrawn and if -this individual ever represented the road in a case I never heard of it. -However, he drew the salary and rode on a free pass. - -This lobbyist is for suing. He commences with his free pass on probable -candidates. As I remember, at a station a man who was a country merchant, -farmer and mill owner presented a pass to the agent and asked if it was -valid. The agent informed him it was genuine. Sure enough, he was a -candidate and elected as senator the next race. - -Don’t you think the Texas law should be applied, which is that the guilty -party is taken out and given a good thrashing the first time and for the -second offence double the dose? - - * * * * * - - _W. D. Wattles, Winchester, Ind._ - -Permit me to express my appreciation of the February number of WATSON’S. -It is the best Magazine I have seen, and I have seen most of the good -ones. I like your practice of publishing short, pointed articles, -and your cartoons are of the best. Your educational and news summary -departments seem to me to be especially valuable. I shall take it into my -pulpit Sunday evening, and read from your editorial. - - * * * * * - - _D. C. Pryor, Uvalde, Tex._ - -When I was a boy I saw a carpenter place side by side three pieces of -lumber which he was pleased to call “dimension timber.” These pieces were -something like forty feet long and were two inches wide and eight inches -deep. He took iron spikes and nailed the three pieces together until -they looked to be all in one piece. He told me it was “a girder” for the -“warehouse” he was constructing. I wanted to know why he did not use a -solid piece of timber of the same measure. He answered by saying that the -three pieces united together with the stronger part of the one fitting -opposite the weaker part of the others would give the girder a greater -strength in the power of resisting the immense weight that would have to -be borne than if the girder had been made of just one piece of lumber. - -In connection with the foregoing incident I wish to draw a pen picture -of a scene which is passing before my vision: At Washington, within -the shadow of the Capitol, standing side by side facing the west upon -the steps of that magnificent structure, are three of the greatest -men of renown the world has ever known. In the centre of the group -stands the “Immortal Lincoln,” to the right of Mr. Lincoln stands the -“Irreproachable Jefferson,” and to the left stands the “Irrepressible -Watson”—whose mind is the very incarnation of Jeffersonian principles. -Above this scene on either side, hanging toward the centre at half mast, -are our national colors, beneath which is a life size portrait of “The -Father of Our Country.” Above the portrait in raised letters I read -“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” - -Now I wish to impress upon those who may care to read this article and -who are tired of living under the present system of “graft and greed,” -and to those of us who have always believed in party lines and are more -or less prejudiced in favor of our political tendencies, that there can -be no reformation ever made in either of the old parties that exist at -the present time. I therefore believe we should endeavor to secure the -very best “dimension timber” that can be had out of the now scattered -ranks of the Republican, Democratic and Populist parties, and with the -nails of iron and bands of steel bring them together and make of them -a girder for our country that the gods of ancient Greece could not -knock asunder! And why not at an early date advertise this new party -and organize party clubs throughout the land and let the watchword be -“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”? - -I would suggest that we name this “new party” Demo-Re-Polican or so word -the name that each member from an old party may not feel that he had lost -all of his former identity. I have not the least hope of electing as the -chief magistrate of the nation a Southern man for years to come, and it -is useless to put one at the head of the ticket to be slaughtered just to -make a Roman holiday. But Mr. Watson can be our leader, and when we win -“There will be glory enough for us all.” - - “CONCKALOCHIE.” - -(This is an Indian word for encampment, or a bringing together of the -tribes for the exchange of commodities.) - - * * * * * - - _Edwin Hyde Nutt, Dresden, N. Y._ - -I think you are on the right track exactly, and will do all I can to get -you some new subscribers. I live in a land of Gold-bugs, and if there is -a place on earth that needs a missionary it is Yates County, N. Y. We -have lost our interest in Mr. Bryan. How could he stultify himself to -vote for Parker, we can’t see. Think he will have a hard time to make -Democrats out of old Greenbackers. He knows the greenbacks are the best -money in the world. Why does he try to break up the Populist Party? - - * * * * * - - _R. N. Crowell, Rob Roy, Ind._ - -I am on the down-hill of life; nearly sixty-four years old. Have been a -student of history for twenty-five years and would love to do something -to free us from the slavery and tyranny of boss rule. When I go hence I -will leave a posterity behind me and would love to know that I have done -a little something to make our country a free and independent and a -Christian people in deed and in truth. Have traveled in fourteen states, -been through the Indian Territory and have had some opportunity of -learning something of the situation that we now are in both religiously -and politically. - -I glory in the principles of Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and -the People’s Party. I admire Thomas E. Watson because he stands square -to the front for right and justice for the common people against money, -greed and selfishness for place and power. Brother American, wake up and -help shake off the shackles that our money lords are binding us with -before it is too late! - -Yours for liberty, peace and righteousness, for God and a common -brotherhood of man. Let us unite and tear down the walls of sin and -selfishness and bring in the millennial age of peace and righteousness -that we may be called the children of God in deed and in truth. - - * * * * * - - _T. M. Barton, Butler, Ky._ - -You evidently have mistaken me for my deceased brother, William, who was -an ardent Populist, while I am a good Republican “from away back.” I am -not with you in public ownership, free silver, etc., but with you heart -and soul in downing the great trusts, monopolies, etc. Now it seems to -me this can be done in no better way than by standing right at President -Roosevelt’s back. We can hardly hope to find an abler, more courageous -and more earnest champion of the people than he. Personally, Mr. Watson, -as I have measured you, mentally and morally, by your speeches and -writings, I like you, just as I do many a good Democrat and Populist, -without agreeing with them politically. The fact is that the late -elections have given us a great lesson in free thought and free action—in -placing principle and patriotism above party allegiance. As we witness -the aggressive greed, the intolerable impudence, the great power of the -great corporations, we may well remember “Eternal vigilance is the price -of liberty.” - - * * * * * - - _Peter E. Cooper, Dover. N. J._ - -Like very much your arrangement of having only four numbers to a volume, -as four will make a convenient size to handle when bound. Hope you will -continue that feature. - -In making changes, spoken of in January issue, I hope you will not change -the size (you can add as many pages as you like) as present size is very -convenient and, when bound, will look much nicer if of uniform size. - -I am going to have mine bound in full law sheep, as I consider them a -valuable addition to any library. - - * * * * * - - _William Hamilton, Cleveland, O._ - -I am interested in the success both of your Magazine and its ideas and -would be pleased to know how you are coming on and what the prospects -are. - - - - -[Illustration: _Educational Department_] - - -A STORY CONCERNING GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON - -A correspondent, in the course of a private letter, reports a very -interesting tradition which illustrates the character and bearing of The -Father of his Country. - -I give it in the language of the writer: - - “To return to General Washington. Your picture of him makes me - want to repeat to you a piece of tradition that was handed down - to me by my father. - - “My father’s uncle, Governor George R. Gilmer, of Georgia, told - my father that _his_ father, Thomas M. Gilmer, of Virginia, - _told him_ that General Washington was the most extreme type - of the aristocrat that this country had ever produced. That he - had seen him drive up in his coach and four to a country court - house at election time to vote that he would alight, and with - head erect and neither looking to the right nor the left, as - the crowd uncovered, parted and almost prostrated themselves - to the ground, would march up, deposit his ballot, and without - the slightest acknowledgment to the crowd or to any individual, - without even so much as a nod or turn of the head, he would - march in state through the path made by obsequiousness and - reverence and love back to his coach, where he would sit the - picture of rigidity and indifference as he rode away.” - - * * * * * - - GEORGETOWN, PA., Jan. 17, 1906. - - _Hon. Thomas E. Watson, Thomson, Ga._ - - DEAR SIR: Can you direct me where I can get Alexander Stevens’ - “War Between the States”? I would like to purchase this book. - - Yours truly, - - ⸺ ⸺. - -ANSWER - -The book is out of print, but is easily obtained through the old book -dealers. - -The price ranges from $5 to $10. - -Try Joseph McDonough, Albany, New York, or The Americus Book Company, -Americus, Ga. - - * * * * * - - SAN SABA, TEX., Feb. 5, 1906. - - _Hon. Thomas E. Watson, Thomson, Ga._ - - DEAR SIR: I see in the newspapers that Mr. So and So’s seat in - the New York exchange is worth nearly $100,000. What is meant - by that? Why is it worth so much and what do they do? Thanking - you in advance for the information, I am. - - Very truly yours, - - ⸺ ⸺. - -ANSWER - -The New York Stock Exchange is simply an exclusive gambling hell where -very rich gamblers bet on the rise and fall of the stock of the big -corporations. - -The “nearly $100,000” is the entrance fee. - -The reason why the price is so great is because the operations and the -opportunities are so vast. - -Compared to the colossal stakes and winnings of the Stock Exchange, the -gambling which goes on at Monaco, or at Tom Taggart’s place at French -Lick Springs is puerile. Since the world was created, no such gigantic -gaming has been known as the mad speculations in the New York Stock -Exchange. - -Of course, the losses are as large as the gains, but those on the inside -of the Exchange have an enormous advantage over those on the outside. -Those on the inside are generally the masterful fellows who shear the -lambs outside. - -The organized, experienced and expert players within the Exchange have -the same point of advantage over the gullible, unorganized public that -the cool dealers at the gaming tables have over the men and women who -buck against the bank. - -For the privilege of _getting on the inside of the game_, Mr. So and So -pays nearly $100,000. - - * * * * * - - NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 1906. - - _Hon. Thomas E. Watson, Thomson, Ga._ - - DEAR SIR: Will you kindly answer the following questions in - your _Educational Department_? - - (1) What is the difference between Single Tax and Populism? - - (2) Is it true that Grover Cleveland is to receive $12,000 per - year from the “Big Three,” and, if so, why? - - (3) Why was not the Prudential Company investigated? Their - premiums are about the same as the others. In talking with - their agents I find them the same as agents of the “Big Three.” - - (4) Is Paul Morton treating the policy holders justly when he - _takes_ $80,000 per year as his salary? - - Your Magazine is a God-send to the people at large and I trust - it will be read by men and women throughout the country. - Thanking you in advance, I am. - - Very truly, - - ⸺ ⸺. - -ANSWER - -(1) Single Tax puts all the burden of supporting the Government on one -form of wealth, viz.: the value of land. - -Populism equalizes taxation, and would compel each owner of property to -pay in proportion to his wealth. - -The Single Taxer would put all the load on land, leaving money, stocks, -bonds and personal property of every sort untaxed. - -Populists cannot see any justice in taking the value out of the land of -the farmer, while twelve billion dollars of railroad stocks and bonds go -untaxed. - -Carnegie holds about three hundred million dollars in the bonds of the -Steel Trust. Those bonds are as good as gold. They pay Mr. Carnegie a -regal income. Why should my land have the value taxed out of it and -Carnegie’s bonds go free? There is no justice in this scheme. It does not -measure up to the Populist dogma of “Equal rights to all.” - -(2) Yes. To cloak insurance rascality with his respected name. The -robbers who run those insurance companies simply bought the use of Mr. -Cleveland’s name. He consents to play the humble but useful part of decoy -duck for $1,000 per month. - -Gen. Robert E. Lee, just after the Civil War, was offered $50,000 per -year by one of these very companies. He refused to sell the use of his -name. He was a poor man, and went to teaching school for a living. -In this quiet, modest, but noble way “the greatest soldier that the -Anglo-Saxon race ever produced” (see Theodore Roosevelt’s “Life of -Thomas H. Benton”) was supporting his family at the time of his death. -Mr. Cleveland is not a poor man. His income is $5,000 per year, over and -above what silly magazines pay him for occasional articles which are -valueless. Therefore Mr. Cleveland need not have sold his name to the -life insurance rascals. But the $12,000 tempted him, and he sold out. - -(3) Dryden’s Prudential was investigated and very rotten it was shown to -be. - -(4) No. He is simply stealing the money. Calling it “salary” does not -keep it from being loot. - - * * * * * - - CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 1906. - - _Hon. Thomas E. Watson, Thomson, Ga._ - - DEAR SIR: Will you please give me the information as set forth - in the following questions? - - (1) How many years must an alien live in this country before he - can take out his final papers? - - (2) Can an alien, on declaring his intentions to become an - American citizen, exercise the voting franchise before getting - final papers? - - (3) I have been nine years in this country and never bothered - about taking out my papers as a citizen. If I were to declare - my intentions of becoming a citizen now, how long would it be - before I could exercise the vote franchise? - - Thanking you in anticipation of an early answer, I remain, - - Yours respectfully, - - ⸺ ⸺. - -ANSWER - -(1) The conditions under and the manner in which an alien may be admitted -to become a citizen of the United States are prescribed by sections 2 -and 165 to 174 of the revised Statutes of the United States. The alien -may, immediately upon landing in this country, declare upon oath before -a Circuit or District Court of the United States, or a District or a -Supreme Court of the Territories, or a Court of Record of any of the -states having common law jurisdiction and a seal and clerk, that it his -bona fide intention to become a citizen of the United States. He cannot -take out his final papers until after he has resided at least five years -continuously within the United States, and within the State or Territory -where such Court is at the time held, one year at least. He cannot take -out his final papers until the lapse of two years after declaring his -intention. Accordingly, if the alien should immediately declare his -intention upon landing, it would be necessary for him to wait until the -expiration of five years before taking out his final papers. However, -if he had resided three years in the United States before declaring his -intention, then he could secure his final papers at the end of two years. - -(2) The right to vote comes from the state. Naturalization is a Federal -right. In nearly one half of the states of the Union an alien who -has declared his intention has the right to vote equally with fully -naturalized or native born citizens. In the other half, only citizens -vote. - -(3) In your case, living in the State of Illinois, it would be necessary -for you to declare your intentions and take out your final papers -inasmuch as only citizens of the United States can vote in that state. - -In Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, -Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin, an alien who -has declared intention is permitted to vote. In some of these states -additional qualifications are added. For example, in Indiana he must -have resided one year in the United States, not necessarily in Indiana. -In Michigan he must have declared his intention two years and six months -prior to November 8, 1904; otherwise he is barred from voting. In -Missouri, if he has declared intention not less than one year, or more -than five, before election. And so on. In Nebraska, if he has declared -his intention thirty days before election, provided he has resided within -the state six months. And so on, several of the other states having -similar qualifications. In the states not mentioned the requirements -are that voter must be a citizen by nativity or naturalization. In some -of the states there is a provision that the citizen shall have paid a -registration fee of $1, as in Delaware. That he shall have paid taxes -within two years, if twenty-two years old, or more, as in Pennsylvania. -If he can read and write, as in Massachusetts. If he can read or -understand the Constitution, as in Mississippi. If he has paid all his -taxes since 1877, as in Georgia. If he is an Indian, with several tribe -relations, as in South Dakota. - -As was said before, naturalization is a Federal right. The laws relating -to it apply to the whole Union alike, and provide that no alien may be -naturalized until after five years’ residence. Even this doesn’t give him -the right to vote unless the state confers the privilege upon him. On the -other hand, the right to vote comes from the state, but the state could -not confer this right upon an alien who had not declared intention. - - - - -[Illustration: _HOME_ - -_BY Mrs. Louise H. Miller._] - - -HOME DEPARTMENT - -The Home Department welcomes suggestions, recipes, useful hints, brief -articles, short accounts of what women have done in their homes and home -towns, and brief, _true_ stories of “Heroism at Home.” We are all working -together and we want to put into our Department anything that will make -the housewife’s life brighter and more useful. We, all of us, are the -editors of “Home”; let us make it as good as we can. - - * * * * * - -Every month there will be a _prize of a year’s free subscription -to WATSON’S MAGAZINE_, sent to any address desired, _for the best -contribution_. There will also be, every month, a _prize of another such -free subscription for the best true story of “Heroism at Home.”_ These -two prizes will not be given to the same person. - -The names of those contributing recipes and suggestions will be printed -with what they send in, unless they request to have their names omitted. -The names of those contributing stories of “Heroism at Home” will _not_ -be printed unless in exceptional cases. The reason for not printing -the names in this case is that the stories are true and the characters -in them are real people who might be sensitive about having their most -private affairs set forth in type with their right names appearing in -it. If we published the names and addresses of the person who sends in -the story about them it would be almost the same as publishing their own -names. In each number there will be a note saying that such and such a -story receives the prize, but no names will be given. The names in the -story will be left blank or fictitious names will be supplied. Under the -head of “Heroism at Home” are further particulars. - -There is no need to worry about “not knowing how to write.” What our -Department wants is the _facts_. If any corrections are really needed, -they can easily be made. We aren’t trying to be “authors”—we’re just -women trying to help one another. - -The Editors of the Magazine tell me that it will simplify matters very -much if we make a few simple rules for sending in contributions. Let us -see how the following will work out: - -1. _Make all contributions short and to the point._ - -We have only a few pages altogether; there are a lot of us to contribute -and there are many things to talk about. - -2. _Address everything carefully and in full to Mrs. Louise H. Miller, -WATSON’S MAGAZINE, 121 West 42d Street, New York City._ - -3. _Write on one side of the paper only._ - -4. _No letters or manuscripts will be returned._ - -Make a copy of everything you send if you want to keep it. - - * * * * * - -=May Number.=—A continuation of this month’s subject for discussion. - -=June Number.=—Our common ornamental flowers, wild and cultivated. - -=July Number.=—What women can do toward improving and beautifying their -home cities, towns, or country districts. - - * * * * * - -The Department this month is something like! The Other Editors have taken -hold! I knew that I should have to write most of it for the first two -months, until time enough had passed for contributions to come in from -the rest of you. Now the suggestions, recipes, articles, and stories of -“Heroism at Home” have begun to come from all over the country and our -Department begins to take on its permanent form. Every month from now on -ought to be a big improvement over all that went before. - -The letters received have made me very happy, for they contain many -words of praise and good wishes for the Department and prove that the -writers are ready and willing to help edit it and that they _can_. Don’t -misunderstand me. The words of praise are not for _my_ work in the -Department, but for the Department itself—for the plan of having us all -work together for our common good. It is a good plan and, now that you -are actually at work with me, I know we are going to work that good plan -out and work it out _well_! - -Unfortunately, some of the letters did not reach me in time for -publication in this number. They will not be lost to the Department on -that account, however. Also, the final date set for letters on Why Women -Should be Interested in Politics came so soon after the day when the -March issue was mailed out that there was hardly time for many to reach -us. The Magazine was very late last month. The Editors couldn’t help it, -and they are trying hard to get this April number out promptly on time. -After this we will not set any particular date for letters to be in, but -if, for instance, you want to say something in the May number, send it to -me as soon as you can after getting this issue. - -After talking with the Editors and thinking it over by myself I can -see that it will not always be best to publish every letter as soon as -it comes in. For example, an excellent letter has been sent to us from -Nebraska telling how the women of a certain town have organized and done -a great deal for the beauty, comfort and usefulness of their little city. -It came in response to something I had said in the Department. Now this -letter is just the kind of thing we want, but it seems to me better not -to use it in this issue which is devoted chiefly to woman’s interest in -politics. - - -MAKING YOUR COMMUNITY BETTER - -Don’t you think it would be better to devote a whole number later on to -the subject of what women can do for their native towns or districts? -They have organized in a great many places and there are several national -societies devoted to civic improvement. The members either do things -themselves, or use their influence to secure good local laws to bring -these things about. It is surprising how much they accomplish. - -The field is a large one and covers many things—beautifying public -squares and streets, making front and back yards attractive, improving -the schools and school-yards, securing parks for the people, making -better the towns’ sanitary conditions, establishing dinner-clubs for -factory girls, pushing the right kind of legislation for the community, -planting trees, flowers and grass, establishing traveling or stationary -libraries, starting church or public lecture courses, public baths, -hospitals, suppression of smoke and other nuisances such as overhead -telephone wires and ugly advertising boards—oh, there is no end to -what can be done! Of course, no two communities need just the same -improvements and town and country have different problems, but wherever -you live you will find something that can be made better. And we women -can do it! “A revolutionizing power as to all that changes the ‘order of -one day’ lies in feminine hands, through the use of what is distinctly -hers,” says that wise woman who, under the name of “C,” writes those -splendid articles called “Home Thoughts” for the New York _Post_. - -All this isn’t a matter of theory. These things _have been done_ in -many places. And why shouldn’t woman be able to bring about public -improvements? More than half the population of the United States are -women. In many places we can vote. Everywhere we wield a great influence -over those that do vote. And surely we have brains enough. - -To my mind, local women’s clubs organized for some such purpose as this -are a good deal more worth while than women’s clubs organized merely for -self-improvement. Work for the improvement of others—that is the best -way to improve yourself. Be a citizen as well as an individual. Women’s -literary and current events clubs are good institutions when they don’t -try to do foolish things or make us neglect our home duties, but these -same clubs might do the world, and the members, too, greater good if they -would also turn their attention to helping the whole community to better -things. - -But to return to that Nebraska letter. I suggest that we keep it till -our July number and devote that whole issue to the question of women and -civic improvement. I hope that every one of you who has done any work -of that kind, or seen it done, will write to the Department and tell us -about it. Remember that the July number comes out June 25 and that the -letters should reach me about three weeks before that time. Write now. - - -_FLOWERS FOR JUNE NUMBER_ - -June is a month of flowers, how will it do to devote the June number to -them? That is a very big subject, so we’d better narrow it down a little. -Suppose we consider only the ornamental flowers common to our gardens, -woods and fields. Let us all contribute something as to the care and -raising and nature of them. - -We will not “study botany,” as they do in school and college, but, -besides collecting information on planting, watering, repotting etc., we -can get a very good bird’s eye view if what flowers _are_. Nearly all of -us have probably raised flowers or seen them raised, but there are enough -interesting facts about them to fill a hundred numbers of our Department. -Let us try to collect as many interesting facts as possible so that we -can have a broader knowledge when we see them or work with them in the -future. - -We will not include the plants or trees that bear our common fruits and -vegetables. This is a subject by itself and perhaps we can take it up in -some later number. - -Though we are going to confine ourselves to our common flowers and -plants let us get a general idea of where they belong in the vegetable -kingdom—in regard to ferns, mosses, mushrooms, sea-weeds, lichens, etc. - -For instance, which of these is the nearest relative to the asparagus—the -oak, the fern, the lily, the mushroom or the rose? The question isn’t -important to us in itself, but a very little effort will enable us to -understand the general arrangements of the plants so that it will be an -added pleasure all our lives. - -What _is_ a plant? What is it composed of? What does it eat? Drink? -Breathe? What are the leaves for? The roots? The flowers? Why do plants -differ so among themselves? Why does one grow from a bulb, another from -fine roots? Why is the seed of a maple put in that peculiar little case -you crunch under foot on the pavement? - -Oh, there are lots of “whys”! The nice part of it is that it is all very -simple, after all. We can find out a great deal with very little trouble. -There are plenty of easy books on the subject, nowadays, and a good many -people who know about plants. Many of you know all these things, and -more, without asking. - -The things suggested in the last paragraph _are_ important to us if we -are raising flowers. If you raise flowers you are a flower-nurse and a -flower-doctor. How can a nurse or doctor do much for a patient unless she -knows what the patient eats, drinks and breathes, and what the various -members and organs of the patient are for? - -Where did our flowers originally come from? Are they all native to -America? If not, how did they get here? Were they always as they are now? - -How do plants reproduce their kind? Do all plants have seeds? Do seeds -always grow into plants just like the one on which they grew? If so, -have all the many varieties existed from the first? If not, how can you -get another plant like the parent? Do you know what Luther Burbank, the -“California Wizard,” is doing? Has a seed one parent or two? Where is it, -or where are they? It’s easy to ask questions, isn’t it? - -Yes, and it’s surprisingly easy to answer them, if you try. An -encyclopedia will help you, if you consult it. So will an unabridged -dictionary, though it doesn’t say much and is often very technical. Of -course a botany will and there are many “popular” books now that give -you much interesting information. Don’t make a lesson out of it. You may -be able to answer some or all of the above questions without help of any -kind. If not, take a few minutes some time soon and browse around among -some of those books and pick up anything that strikes your fancy. If -there are no books handy, ask your friends. It is as good as a game of -“Authors” any day! If your friends don’t know, you are very lucky. Then -you can do a little observing and thinking on your own hook. That is a -hundred times better than being told or taught. - -There is nothing that can be made more deadly dry and tedious than -“botany”: there are few things that can be made more delightful and -interesting than a commonsense study of flowers! - -Have flowers played a part in history? What was the “War of the Roses?” -What is the fleur-de-lis, the emblem of France and used so much in -decoration and jewelry? Do you remember the story of Narcissus in Greek -mythology? What other flowers have figured in history? Do you remember, -in our February number, what royal family had the broom flower as their -badge? What is the national flower of Scotland? Of Ireland? Of our -country? - -Do we Americans use much taste in making bouquets? What is your idea of a -really beautiful and artistic bouquet? Do you know the Japanese idea of a -bouquet? - -Is it healthful to have many plants around you? How do plants keep the -water fresh in an aquarium? - -Tell us your best remedies for insects that injure plants? What plants -are best for the house in winter? In summer? Do you know how to make good -window-boxes? Tell us anything you know about plants and their care. - -Would your town or district be pleasanter and better to live in if more -flowers and trees were growing in it? What are parks worth to a large -city? But there. I am running into our subject for July! - -Are you supposed to answer all those questions? Bless you, no! No one -_has_ to do anything in our Department. We get work enough in our daily -lives—our Department is to afford us a change and relief from everyday -work. It isn’t any the less play because we can profit by it and learn -things from it. And perhaps it will teach us how to turn some of our -daily work into an interesting kind of game (if we haven’t learned how to -do that already) and yet do it better than we did before. The questions -are merely to suggest things for our June number. Pick out a few that -interest you and find out something about them or tell us what you know -already. Mercy, no! You don’t _have_ to! But you’re likely to find a -little of it amusing and pleasant and to add a bit more interest to your -life. - -If we only know how, and try, we can make our lives _so_ much more -pleasant for ourselves and those about us! It is very easy. And it -doesn’t take much time or brains or money or anything else, except -“gumption” enough to try. - - -_For May, June and July_ - -So for May we will continue our discussion of woman’s interest in -politics; in June, our common, ornamental flowers, wild and cultivated; -in July, what women can do toward improving and beautifying their native -town or district. - - -_Suggest Future Subjects_ - -I have asked the printer to put the above announcement at the beginning -of our Department for the sake of convenience. I believe it will be a -good plan to announce our monthly subjects three numbers ahead all the -time, so that we can have plenty of time to think them over in advance, -make suggestions and send in information. - -Now, what shall we have for the August number? If there is something you -are interested in or want to talk about or hear others talk about, send -it in to the Department. Do this not only for August but for all the -following numbers. I chose the subject for the first few months in order -to get our plan started. Now I have had more than my share of “chooses” -and all the others are for you to select. It may be that I can arrange -to have a special prize offered each month for the best monthly topic -suggested. I’ll try. - - -_WHY SHOULD WOMEN BE INTERESTED IN POLITICS?_ - -There is one answer that is sufficient in itself—Because her daily bread -depends upon politics! - -Is there any particular reason why she should go about her daily work -like a mole and pay no attention to the things that make her life hard or -make it easy? Doesn’t she suffer from unjust laws and bad conditions and -profit by just laws and good conditions as much as her husband does, or -her father, son, or brother? - -Someone objects that politics is for the man to take care of; housework -is woman’s sphere. That isn’t quite a fair statement of the case. The -man’s part in the care of the family is his business: the woman’s is her -housework. Politics is a third question. Why should the man alone have -this to see to? A good many objections will be offered to this, too, _but -all these objections will boil down to just one thing_—because he _does_! -And that isn’t any reason at all. If you were asked why little children -should work in factories and kill their health and youth, would you -consider “Because they do!” a sufficient or sensible reason? - -The men say that when women discuss anything they never get anywhere -because they fail to _define_ the terms they use, and may all be talking -about different things under the same name. I think men make this mistake -about as much as we do, but let’s be on the safe side this time and -define just what we mean by “politics.” - -Politics in our country have become so disreputable that we are likely to -feel that having anything to do with them is bad taste or even degrading. -It is natural to feel that way, but is it silly, nevertheless. It is -bad taste, or even degrading, to have anything to do with a notorious -criminal, but _not if you are making him better_ instead of letting him -make you worse! This is particularly true when it is partly _your fault -that he became a criminal_! - -Now as to the definition of politics. The Standard Dictionary gives this: - - 1. The branch of civics that treats of the principles of civil - government and the conduct of state affairs; the administration - of public affairs in the interest of the peace, prosperity, - and safety of the state; statecraft; political science: in a - wide sense embracing the _science_ of _government_ and _civil - polity_. - - 2. Political affairs in a party sense; the administration of - public affairs or the conduct of political matters so as to - carry elections and secure public offices; party intrigues; - political wire-pulling; trickery. - - 3. A man’s political sentiments, party preference, or - connection. - -The word, then, has three shades of meaning. The third one we need not -bother with, since it merely means any man’s opinion on the things given -under Number 1 and Number 2. - -Now let’s contrast Number 1 and Number 2. There are some large words -there, but if we take it a piece at a time we shall at least see that -there is a tremendous difference between the two shades of meaning. - -In Number 1 politics means the fair and unprejudiced study of how a -nation should be governed, but in Number 2 politics means _How much can -you get out of it regardless of the general welfare_! - -In Number 1 the object is the “peace, prosperity and safety of the -state,” but in Number 2 the object is to “carry elections and secure -public offices”—“party intrigues; political wire-pulling; trickery.” - -It is Number 1 we are considering primarily. True, if our daily bread -depends on politics, we are also interested in “how much we can get out -of it,” but we mean by this how much we can get justly and honestly—our -equal share _along with everyone else_. “Equal rights to all, special -privileges to none.” - -No, no! I’m not advocating the People’s Party principles just because -I quote one of their watchwords. That motto is not theirs alone, but -that of every honest citizen, no matter to what party he belongs. It is -merely an expression of the principles set forth in the Declaration of -Independence. Whatever I may believe personally, it is no part of my -business to plead the cause of any political party in our Department. We -have nothing to do with parties. Our object is to consider how our nation -is governed and how it _should_ be governed—national, state, county, -township and city governments, under whatever names these divisions may -be called in different places. - -We are primarily concerned with definition Number 1. We want to know how -our nation should be governed. After that we will consider Number 2, and -see how it _is_ governed. - -Now, considering the awful amount of writing and talking there is about -politics, the infinite number of questions there are to decide, and the -unending difference of opinion on these questions, we can see at the -outset that we can’t decide it all in two numbers of our Department. Nor -in a hundred. We are not going to try to. All we want is an intelligent -idea of the general situation and of our duty in the matter. - -What is government at bottom? In the beginning there was no government -or organization of any kind, not even the family organization. Each man -or woman lived his or her own life separate from all others. The first -organization came about when a man and woman decided to live together -and raise children. They soon found that when they had a child to take -care of they could not go on independently of each other as they had -before. They had two things to do—to care for the baby and keep it safe -every minute from wild beasts and other people, and to secure food for -themselves and their child. If they both went hunting for food there was -no one to watch the baby; if they both watched the baby, there was no -way of getting food. They saw that they had to have some _arrangement_. -They had to _divide_ the labor. So the woman tended the baby and the man -went hunting for all three. Each of them gave up a little of the former -independence and received a new thing in _return_—help from another -person. Thus the “family” began. It was the first step towards _society_ -and government. They gave up part of their freedom _in return for help_ -from others. - -People lived by hunting animals and gathering fruits and berries at -first. If a man laid by any food for his family, another man was likely -to take it away while he was away hunting. He found it pretty hard to -have to do anything himself and he at odds with other men. Pretty soon -it dawned on him that it would pay to make some “arrangement” with -those other men. He wouldn’t rob them, if they didn’t rob him. Later he -arranged with a few of them to keep their families close together so that -some of the men could protect them while the other men hunted for all. -In some such way began the “town.” Each of them gave up a part of his -freedom _in return_ for help from others. - -When many towns had sprung up these towns began to see they could to -advantage make “arrangements” among themselves (just as individual men -had done) for protection and other purposes. Thus the “state” or country -came into existence. Each town gave up part of its “independence” _in -return_ for help from other towns. - -Thus “society” was formed and grew more and more complex. Of course, -I have only sketched the process in a very general way, but the idea -is there. The one point we have to consider is that no one of these -arrangements or institutions—the family, town and state—would be possible -_unless_ every member gave up part of his original freedom _in return_ -for help from others. A _bargain_ has to be made. For instance, the -different men and their families each made a bargain with the whole -number to give up part of their freedom, time and energy to the band. _In -return_ each was to receive his share of the freedom, time and energy the -others had given to the band or town. Each man made a _bargain_ with the -town. He owed the town something: the town owed him something. - -That was the beginning of government, and that is the arrangement at the -bottom of any government to this day. Every government (town, county, -state or national) is just a bargain between the various individuals and -all of them taken together. Each owes something to all: all owe something -to each. - -The point is, in each case, is this bargain a _fair_ one? Does the -individual give up more than he receives in _return_? - -In olden times the average individual did give up far more than he got -in return. Often he didn’t get much besides protection against some -other government. Yet for this he frequently had to give up _nearly all_ -his freedom, time and energy. A few individuals gained control of the -government and, though they might not contribute as much as the others, -took most of what the others gave for the use of the whole number, -calling themselves kings, or dukes or emperors. The mass of the people -forgot that originally the “government” meant _all_ the people. They came -to consider the few who had gained control of the government as _the -government itself_. That is, they let themselves be cheated out of their -share in it. - -Our Declaration of Independence was one of the things that resulted when, -after centuries of misrule and suffering, the mass of the people began -to wake up to the fact that they had been cheated all that time under a -bargain which had originally been fair. They had been giving more than -they got in return. - -In an absolutely fair government every individual would receive just as -much as he gave and give just as much as he received. A modern government -is so vast and so complex that it would be hard to measure each man’s -share exactly, but the nearer any government comes to that, the better -and fairer it is. England, for example, comes nearer to that ideal than -does Russia; Russia nearer than Afghanistan. - -The chief trouble in Russia is that the mass of the people have to give -more than they receive. A comparative few have gained possession of -the government and each takes a very, very large share of what _all_ -contribute, leaving almost no share at all for the majority. - -Of course it is almost impossible to trace out just what each Russian -peasant gives up to the government, and what he receives in return. -Without a government of some kind he could not produce or hold anything -except by force against his fellows—land, goods, money, family, all would -be _totally_ insecure. As it is, he does get _some_ security in these -respects. In return he gives practically _all_ his freedom, time and -energy. On the other hand, a Grand Duke may give up to his country hardly -any freedom, time and energy, and yet be rolling in wealth. Something is -wrong. It is not a fair bargain. It is not a good government. - -How about _our_ government? Is it a fair bargain? - -Modern civilization is very complex. No two men can really give just the -same amount to the common country, since all men differ in ability. But -the country asks only certain things from its individuals. To be fair -the point is to _ask the same from all_. The country gives only certain -things to its individuals: the point is to _give the same to all_. Our -country doesn’t demand military service in time of peace, as do many -other countries. And, in _return_, it doesn’t give us a tremendous -standing army. If it _did_ demand military service, to be fair it would -have to make the demand equally of _all_ able to bear arms. If it _did_ -give us a big standing army, to be fair it would have to use this army to -protect us _all_ equally. - -If our country taxes certain goods, it must tax them everywhere—not for -one man and not for the next. If there is a tax of one cent on every bale -of a certain commodity, each man should pay one cent for every bale he -owns. If there is a tax of one cent on every dollar, each man should pay -one cent for every dollar he owns. - -Is this the case in the United States? - -If the Government gives certain privileges to a few men, it should give -the same to all. Is this always done in our country? - -Of course all may not always want a certain privilege. It is open to all, -but only a few use it. Is this all that is required of the Government? -Or, since the Government has nevertheless given some of the general fund -to only a few, should these few make some adequate _return_ for what -they have used from the common property? Is this always done in our -country? - -Ask yourself similar questions about every case that comes up. What I -have said doesn’t pretend to “explain politics,” but it ought to give -everyone a test or basis to refer everything back to. Ask yourself -whether any law or custom is a _fair bargain_. You can tell well enough -when you deal with the grocer or the milkman whether you are getting a -fair bargain. Try to in these other matters. - -But to come back to why women should take an interest in politics. One -reason has been suggested—that her daily bread is affected by them. -Another has been hinted at—that it is partly your fault that politics as -practiced in this country are corrupt (definition No. 2). Since we are to -devote the next number of our Department to this same question, we will -do little now in this issue except suggest reasons and ask questions. I’m -not going to do all the expressing of opinion just because I happen to -have the chance all to myself this month. By next month I hope there will -be letters and opinions from a great many of you. - -In some parts of our country women can vote and it is likely that some -day they will do so everywhere. When the country or state gives her -the right to vote does that put her under any obligation to do or give -anything in return for this privilege? - -Who gives women (or men) the right to vote—the city, state or country? - -Is it fair to give it to some women and not to all? Is it fair to give it -to men and not to women? - -Would politics be purer if women took more interest in them? If women -voted? - -In those places where women cannot vote what can they do towards securing -good government? Can they do anything through their husbands, brothers -and fathers? Through their neighbors? Through their own children? Can -they do anything through the church? The schools? Last year, when -Philadelphia threw off boss-rule, what was the method that succeeded in -making the corrupt politicians surrender after all other methods had -failed? - -Can you tell the Department of any instance where the women have brought -about, or helped to bring about, reforms in town, country, state or -national government even when they were not allowed to vote? - -Do you remember the saying that “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the -world”? How much truth is there in it? - -If you had a really intelligent idea of politics as they should be and as -they are, would it bring you into closer touch with the men-folks of your -family? Would it broaden your horizon? Would it interfere with household -duties? Would it make you a better citizen? Could you accomplish real -good by having this knowledge? - -What is the best way of acquiring an intelligent idea of the subject, -it you haven’t one already? Take the opinion of those around you? Read -weighty and technical books and articles? Read first a very simple book -on civics—on the organization of our Government? Would it be a good plan -to read your boy’s school text-book on this subject? - -Can some one point out a few articles in the numbers of this Magazine -which make their point very clear and are easy enough for anyone to -understand? Send the Department the names of a few that appealed to you, -so that some more of us can venture on them. Similar articles in other -magazines which the average woman can grasp without a previous extensive -knowledge of politics or political economy? Books? - -Can you decide a question until you have heard both sides of it? - -Is it safe to believe all you read, or does it pay to consider when you -read it, who wrote it, what personal or party reason he may have had for -writing it? - -Consider your local newspaper. Do you know the difference between the -“set” matter and the “plate” matter and the “ready-print” matter in its -pages? Why is this difference _very_ important in deciding as to the -value of an article in that paper? Who writes set matter? Has he “any -fish to fry” when he writes? Who writes plate and ready-print matter? -Has he any fish to fry? With a little care you can tell these three -kinds of printed matter apart in your local paper. (Ready-print matter -is used only in some country weeklies and dailies and some other small -local papers. It can be “spotted” by noticing what pages of the paper -always have it. Unfold the paper and lay it flat on the floor. If it is -ready-print and has few pages enough to make only one sheet, all of the -pages on one side will be ready-print. There won’t be any local articles -or items in the print. Both ready-print and plate are in different type -from set matter.) If a corrupt man or corrupt men wrote the ready-print -and plate could they wield a vast influence? More than by writing the set -matter? It is well worth thinking about. - -Are there many magazines or papers that are not controlled by political -or business interests? How much can you believe in a publication -controlled in that way? - -The voters of the country are divided into several political parties. -Would it be better or worse if there were no regular parties and every -voter voted independently? - -What is a real democracy? Is the United States a real democracy now? Why? - -What is meant by direct legislation—the initiative, referendum, recall -and imperative mandate? Big words, but they stand for things worth -knowing about and having an opinion on. And they are easy enough to -understand. Would these things tend toward real democracy? Have they been -tried in actual practice? If so, have they proved a success? Why? What -effect would they have on the whole party system? - -There, I think that is enough questions for one person to ask. Someone is -likely to ask me a question in return—_How_ do politics affect our daily -bread? Well, there are several hundred answers to that. Let’s each of us -suggest for the May number one or more ways that politics (according to -both definition No. 1 and definition No. 2) affect our daily living. - -We are not going to try to become experts in politics, but we do want to -have an intelligent general idea of them. It is our _duty_. In our May -number I hope to have many opinions from women all over the country. - - -[Illustration: _THE INTEREST OF EVERYDAY THINGS._] - -We had a glimpse last month at some of the interesting things concerned -in bread and bread-making. The house is full of things we have known so -long that we scarcely think of them except as parts of the daily routine, -but which, if we turn our attention to them, prove veritable mines of -information, history, travel and even romance. - - -_Sponges_ - -A sponge is the skeleton of a very, very, tiny animal, or rather of a -colony of thousands of such animals that live under water. When the -little animals die they leave behind them this network of elastic fibers -that they have built up. For a long time it was thought that sponges -were plants, and even now scientists know really very little about -these little animals. You have noticed how many kinds of sponges there -are. These different varieties are caused partly by differences in -temperature and chemical composition of the water and partly by the fact -that there are more than one species or variety of the animal itself. -There is no need to enumerate all the kinds of sponges from the fine, -soft ones used in surgical operations to the big, coarse ones used for -washing carriages. Nearly all the sponges inhabit salt water and the -best ones come from the Mediterranean, particularly the Levant or that -eastern part of the Mediterranean bounded by Syria, Asia Minor and the -Holy Land and Egypt. Others are found in the waters around Florida and -in those near Australia. The sponges are secured by means of native -divers. In some places these men work all day long from sunrise to sunset -through six months of the year, resting during the winter. The work -is, of course, very hard and few of them reach old age. Often they are -treated with inhuman cruelty by their employers and many are killed by -sharks. Particularly in Florida there have been attempts made to raise -sponges artificially, but though it is easy to secure the spawn of the -tiny animals and succeed in getting them to attach their little colonies -to stones, coral or other objects under water, the sponges never reach -any considerable size and are commercially useless. They have also tried -to propagate them by cuttings or slips, but here arises the difficulty -of making the cuttings attach themselves to other objects, which is -necessary to their development. And the little animals themselves, they -go right on very quietly drinking in water and getting all they need -from it—air, food and drink—whether they are off the coast of Europe, -Asia, Africa, America or Australia or in a little glass aquarium being -looked at through a microscope by a dried-up old man with spectacles and -side-whiskers. And we use the sponges. - - -_Maize_ - -The right name of what we call corn or Indian corn is maize. The word is -derived from the Spanish word _maiz_, which comes from the native Haitian -word _mahiz_. Corn in Europe means what we call wheat. Maize, or corn, -like all our grains, belongs to the big Grass Family and is a native of -America. Most of our other grains come from Europe and Asia, just as we -ourselves did. It probably came from the table-lands of Mexico and Peru -and has always been the chief food of the Indians. It was introduced into -Asia, southern Europe and northern Africa and spread quickly and widely -for a while. However, the climate was not hot enough for it in Europe and -it is not raised there very much now. The English generally consider it -fit only for animals and rather turn up their noses at us for eating it -ourselves. The only time I ever saw any offered to an Englishman he was -very polite about it but managed to avoid eating even a single mouthful -from the nice, tender ears. Other nations are horrified at seeing -otherwise well-bred Americans pick up a roasting-ear and gnaw it off -the cob, and it must be confessed that it does look pretty bad unless a -person is careful to hold it with only one hand and bite it off daintily. -Many Americans who travel in Europe miss it terribly and one woman -confessed to me that her chief reason for coming home was just to get -some real American corn once more. I understand, though, that the English -look on our popcorn very differently. It is said that two New England -spinsters introduced it over there a number of years ago and their little -stand rapidly became so popular that they amassed a very considerable -fortune and lived happily ever afterwards. We use sweet corn not only on -the cob, for fritters, puddings and so on, as corn-meal and for stock, -but extract from it whisky, starch and glucose sugar. Besides sweet corn -and popcorn the common kinds are flint and dent. Sweet corn gets its name -from the large quantities of sugar in it. Popcorn pops because it has -a great deal of oil and this oil explodes when sufficiently hot. Corn -varies in color from white to black, but most of it is yellow or white. -Like wheat, Government experts and other scientists in this country, -Canada and elsewhere have been experimenting with corn for years and by -cross-breeding and selection (about which processes I hope the Department -will receive some interesting contributions for our June number) they -have vastly improved the old varieties and produced many new ones. - -When I was a child I remember being much impressed on being told that -you never, _never_ could find an ear of corn with an odd number of -rows in it. Maybe you can, but I never have been able to, and, as that -advertisement says, “there is a reason.” - -Can someone tell us for our June Department? You may have heard the story -of the Southern planter before the War who offered to give freedom to -any slave who could find an ear of corn with an uneven number of rows. -None of them could, though it is easy to believe they hunted a good deal, -until finally another white man showed one of the slaves how he could cut -a row out of an ear when it was very young so as to leave no mark when he -presented it and demanded his freedom. The master kept his word and the -slave went free. - -[Illustration] - - -[Illustration: _VARIOUS HINTS._] - -It was almost equally hard to award the prize for the best general -suggestion or recipe sent in. After some careful deliberation, it seemed -that, all things considered, the free subscription this month should go -to Alicia E. Storm, of Plessis, N. Y., though we hesitated, especially -between this and Mrs. Richardson. A little later I hope to be able to -send a little souvenir to _everyone_ who sends in a contribution and -doesn’t get a regular prize. In case this plan carries out, as I think -it will, of course all who have contributed before that time will be -remembered. And always there is the gratitude of those who benefit from -your suggestion, and my own sincere thanks and your consciousness of -having helped other women in their daily trials and perplexities. - - -_Home Talk._ - -We have no kitchen cabinet, and we keep a small table set for three in -our kitchen, which is not large. The cooking stove, sink, and cupboards -taking most of the room. I needed a small table to use for work and -mixing table. There was a space behind the stove. I bethought me of the -crate in which my sewing machine came. It is just the thing. The table -is just about the right height, and the shelf below is as convenient as -the top. I find that on baking day it helps very much to get everything -one needs before commencing work. I use an earthen mixing bowl. After the -bread and biscuits, I make pies, as the lard is then cold. Then I make -my cakes and afterward doughnuts. It is a saving of time and fuel if one -can bake a variety at once, as in cold weather victuals keep longer than -in summer. A convenience for storing pies can be made by having several -shelves sawed out large enough to hold your tins. One can use laths (four -of them) for uprights, fastening them well at the four corners of the -bottom shelf; then fasten the others about three inches apart. This gives -more space, and keeps pies from being mussed. - -Did you ever experience the difference between two neighborly calls? Mrs. -A. relates the latest bit of gossip, making up in insinuations what she -lacks in fact. She talks about her dressmaker, criticizes the appearance -and dress of her friends, and gives you an uncomfortable feeling—thinking -perhaps you will be the subject of unpleasant remarks. Mrs. B. is fresh -and cheery. She asks about your plants, and tells of the growth of her -own—of every new bud. She tells of the cunning things her baby has said, -of the nest her canary is building, of the new book she is reading. She -tells, perhaps, of some ludicrous mistake she has made in her cooking, -laughing at the same. This woman may not be intellectual in the highest -sense, but she is charming. Her call will have made you happy all the -day. We leave the effect of our presence—sometimes for long. So should we -act that no sting of uneasiness be left in the hearts of those with whom -we come in contact.—_Alicia E. Storm, Plessis, N. Y._ - - -_Valuable Pointers_ - -Every work is easy and pleasant if you go at it as you go to a picnic. In -house cleaning I fix one room at the time. It takes a week, but I have -the most of each day and I do my work better, as I don’t have to hurry. -No confusion in the regular routine of work; one thorough sweeping and -dusting is enough for one day. If the tablecloth is clean enough for the -home folks, it is all right for company. Don’t try to cook a variety of -dishes each day. You won’t hold out so well, and one or two will do as -well, and change them every day. Sheets, towels and some other things -can be used all right without ironing. If you smoothed all the wrinkles -out of all the rough clothes, you might have the wrinkles in your face. -I read and rest some every day. Prepare two dinners on Saturday, and go -to church and Sunday-school. I do have some trouble and everyone does, -but I am always thankful, and my life-work is a delight to me. Let us try -to do all things to the glory and honor of God. Although in the country, -we have one of the best “teachers.” Our children attend, cold or hot, -regularly. They are taught the Sunday-school lesson at school Friday -afternoon.—_Mrs. E. A. Richardson, Thomaston, Ga._ - - -_To Make Sure of Milk Churning in Cold Weather_ - -Many persons who churn in winter have trouble because butter will not -come if chilled, and are obliged to throw the milk away, or feed it to -the stock. If they will steam, not boil, the milk after milking, they can -allow it to freeze solid and it will churn all right if thawed and warmed -properly. This recipe has been worth many dollars to me, and hope it will -help other women housekeepers.—_Mrs. D. L. Burrows, Gibson, Ga._ - - -_To Polish Nickel on Stoves_ - -Use stove polish. It is the very best thing. Rub a light coating over it -and polish with polishing cloth or brush. The cloth or brush is generally -sufficient. Only give an occasional coat of polish.—_Mrs. D. L. Burrows, -Gibson, Ga._ - - -_To Clean Iron Kettles_ - -Boil skim-milk in it and then wash with good soap-suds. Use six quarts -for an eight-quart kettle, and boil and simmer for twenty-four hours. -This will also prevent future trouble.—_Mrs. E. R. Putney, Kansas City, -Mo._ - - -_To Remove Large Stones From Fields_ - -Make the stone very hot on one side only; pour water on it to make it -crack, and help it along with a heavy hammer. Another way, in the winter, -is to bore a hole pretty well into the stone, fill with water and plug it -firmly shut. The force of the water as it freezes will crack the stone. -Still another way is to make a hole in the direction of the veins or -cleavage of the stone, put in a cleft cylinder of iron, then drive an -iron wedge between the two halves of the cylinder. _L. L. Deweese, Piqua, -O._ - - -_Shoe-Soles_ - -Melt together tallow and common resin, two parts of first to one of -second. Apply hot—as much as the sole will absorb. Neat’s-foot oil is -good also. These remedies keep the leather soft, prevent its cracking, -and make it waterproof.—_Mrs. N. O. Baker, Jersey City, N. J._ - - -_To Clean Wall Paper_ - -Take off the dust with a soft cloth. With a little flour and water make a -lump of stiff dough and rub the wall gently downward, taking the length -of the arm each stroke, and in this way go round the whole room. As -the dough becomes dirty, cut the soiled parts off. In the second round -commence the stroke a little above where the last one ended, and be -very careful not to cross the paper or to go up again. Ordinary papers -cleaned in this way will look fresh and bright, and almost as good as -new. Some papers, however, and these the most expensive ones, will not -clean nicely. In order to ascertain whether a paper will clean nicely, it -is best to try it in some obscure corner. Fill up any broken places in -the wall with a mixture of plaster of Paris and silver sand, made into -a paste with a little water, then cover the place with a piece of paper -like the rest, if it can be had.—_Mrs. B. C. Benton, Denver, Col._ - - -_To Clean a Chimney_ - -Place a piece of zinc on the live coals in the stove. The vapor thus -produced will carry off the soot. - - -_For a Cut_ - -Sift powdered resin on the wound, wrap with a soft, clean cloth, and wet -occasionally with water.—_Miss Anna Paisley, New Orleans._ - - -_To Cleanse Sponges_ - -Wash in a solution of a teaspoonful of ammonia to two quarts of water, -and afterwards in a solution of one part of muriatic acid to twenty-five -of water. Sponges should be thoroughly rinsed, aired, and dried after -every using. Unless they are kept very clean it is not well to use them. -A piece of rough towel or tablecloth hemmed at the edges is much better. -Another way to clean sponges is to steep them in buttermilk for some -hours, then squeeze out and wash in cold water. Lemon juice is also good. - - -[Illustration: _HEROISM AT HOME._] - - -_A PRIZE FOR THE BEST TRUE STORY_ - -Every month the Department will publish a little story of heroism _in the -home_—not any one act of heroism, but the tale of how someone _lived_ -heroically, _lived_ self-sacrifice _in everyday life_. It must be _true_ -and must be about somebody you know or have known or know definitely -about. _It must not have over 500 words._ The shorter, the better. -_Whoever sends in the best story each month will not only have it printed -but will receive a year’s free subscription to WATSON’S MAGAZINE sent to -any name you choose. Tell your story simply and plainly._ - -_Please state whether the names and places mentioned in your story are -real or fictitious._ The Department does not print real names in these -stories. Please do not send in stories about someone rescuing another -from drowning or anything like that—we don’t want stories of single acts -of heroism but of lives bravely and unselfishly lived out. - - * * * * * - -The stories of “Heroism at Home” have begun to come in. We can not -print all of them in this number, but there will be a place for the -others later on. Only one told of a single heroic incident. It was a -brave, unselfish act, but that isn’t what we are going to use under this -head—not things done suddenly, perhaps on impulse or by instinct, but the -kind of heroism that lasts day after day. This one story, too, was told -in verse and though it was good I fear we had better confine ourselves to -simple prose. I hope the writer will send us another good true story in -prose and of heroic _living_. - -The prize this month is awarded to “Her Career.” It was very hard to -decide among several stories that told of some very beautiful and useful -lives, so I got others to help me. I imagine it is never going to be -easy to decide which is the very best of the stories each month. How the -stories are told is not considered at all, but the heroic lives described -are very hard to weigh against one another. But I will do the best I can. - - -_HER CAREER_ - -No, she never wrote a book, nor went as a missionary to Japan, nor won -a degree in college. She never even taught school, nor belonged to a -woman’s club. - -But she has been the inspiration of her family and has radiated blessings -on all she knew. - -Thirty years ago she was a dark-haired, dark-eyed bride of eighteen. -They were poor, but they had health and strength and bright dreams of -the future. They built a small log house on the land they had bought on -credit and began to improve it. Their days were filled with hopeful work -and their nights brought rest and refreshing sleep. - -But soon a shadow fell across the sunlight that streamed on her pathway. -Her husband began to drink. He was soon a helpless victim of the fiery -appetite and could not go where liquor was without getting drunk. - -She was refined and regretted to the very depths of her soul her -husband’s weakness. Sometimes she was righteously indignant, but -she never upbraided him with moral lectures in which she posed as a -mistreated angel, though she often talked it over with him after the -“spree” was over. - -Children came. The “sprees” became more frequent and things looked more -gloomy, but she worked tirelessly and trusted everlastingly. - -At last the county voted liquor out. This did some good; the temptation -was farther away. But even then he would make several trips a year to -the nearest liquor town and always with the same result. If a neighbor -were going to town at the same time she would ask him to look after her -husband. And when the erring man staggered home she would put him to bed -and cook him something to eat—not always ham and eggs and delicacies, but -the best she had. She never slipped anything in his coffee to cure him -secretly. - -And she has almost won. He is not proof against them yet, but the -“sprees” are few and far between. - -Six children call her mother—two womanly daughters well married, another -a lovable and accomplished young woman, a handsome son, with his mother’s -wonderfully calm eyes, who detests liquor, and two young girls at school. - -A neat white house with green blinds has taken the place of the log -structure. She is a model housekeeper and has always done all her -work—cooking, sewing, washing, ironing, scrubbing, milking, churning, -sweeping, poultry-raising and one thousand and one other things. Besides -this she has tied up sore toes and cut fingers, poulticed boils, applied -hot salt to all manner of aches and pains; doctored mumps, whooping-cough -and la grippe; and successfully nursed measles, pneumonia and fever. - -Her face has lost some of its freshness and her hair is turning gray, but -she is still the blessed counselor of her family and she still finds -time to visit and make herself a true, cheerful friend and neighbor. - - -_HER SACRIFICE_ - -Miss ⸺ lives in ⸺, Ohio. She was born on a farm where she lived with her -father and mother and two brothers and one sister. The father became -surety for a friend who failed, and it took the father’s farm to pay the -debt. The family therefore left the farm, and moved to the county-seat, -in the suburbs, and in a small house and two lots began life anew. He -rode the country buying stock for other men, kept cows and peddled milk -in the town, kept forty hens and sold eggs, cultivated the lots in garden -produce, and kept the family together. One fortunate result of leaving -the farm, the children were put into the city schools. Miss ⸺ graduated -in the high school, and obtained a certificate to teach. The two brothers -married and left the city. Then finally the sister married and left. Miss -⸺, at the age of 26, was left to care for her parents in their declining -years. - -She obtained a position as teacher in the city schools and devoted her -wages to the care of the home, and looked after her parents when out -of school hours. There came offers of honorable marriage, for she was -strong, healthy, comely and attractive. She could not consider them. -Her parents could not do without her. They were declining in strength -and looked to her for the care of the household. She taught on, and -with her wages kept them in comfort. Two years ago the good old mother, -weary of life, departed for the better land. Two years longer the old -father lived, kept the house during the day while the daughter was in -the schoolroom and awaited the sound of her footsteps in the evening -returning from the school. In January he lay on the bed stricken with -a fatal sickness, though unknown to him or her, and while they talked -together as she bent over him he ceased to breathe, and she was left -alone in the world, unmarried, without a home, and the prime of her good -life spent in assiduous care of her parents—at the age of forty years! -All hope of a home and family of her own sacrificed to her sense of duty -to her father and mother! What is to be her reward? Many another has made -a like sacrifice, but how is she to recoup the loss of the fourteen years -spent in their service—the loss of her own home and family and children -and all the sweet consolations of the state of motherhood? Was it not -a heroic life? How few would have met it! Only those who know of her -self-sacrifice will know how to honor her. Her fidelity, so unobtrusive, -will be little noted by the world. But how grand and noble the sacrifice -she has made! - - -_QUIET COURAGE_ - -Elizabeth Stanton was born about sixty-five years ago in a beautiful -Southern town. She was the youngest daughter of Judge James Stanton, one -of the ablest jurists of the state. - -Few young ladies had superior advantages to Elizabeth, and fewer still -possessed her amiable disposition and strong character. Being beautiful, -accomplished and wealthy, it is no wonder she married the only son of a -millionaire. A few years after their marriage her husband erected the -finest residence in the state. Although built forty years ago it stands -proudly today without an equal in the state. - -Elizabeth had everything that heart could wish save one—her husband -was dissipated and grew more so as years came on. But no ear save the -Master’s ever heard her complain and she was always cheerful. - -A few years after the Civil War her husband died, leaving his palatial -home mortgaged and his vast estate squandered. Elizabeth was left with -three children and a small amount of money. She gave up her magnificent -home and wealth without a murmur and returned to her old home. In a -few years she married again, a man of fine personality, a scholar and -typical Southern gentleman, one born to wealth and knowing little how to -acquire it. His fortune was like that of most Southern people after the -Civil War. They remained in their native home till their small fortune -was nearly gone. Then they removed to Florida and lived on a homestead, -in a tent with a dirt floor for two years. Elizabeth had never before -lived without servants, never cooked a meal or laundered a handkerchief. -Now she did all her own work, even to the washing, and taught a country -school several months of each year. She found time to visit and elevate -the poor, rough people around her, and never by word did she let them -know she was not of their class. She was greatly admired and beloved by -all who knew her. During these years of hardship she was just as bright -and cheerful and apparently as content as when she trod the marble floors -of her former mansion. She smilingly remarked to me once that she was -glad they had been chastened. It had made her a better woman and was the -means of her husband’s conversion. As fortune always favors the brave, -she did not always live in poverty. In a few years they had a fine orange -grove bearing, and her husband was elected to a high office. - -I have never known a more heroic life of any woman. When clouds have -hovered over me I have thought of this brave, beautiful character and it -has been my inspiration. - - -[Illustration: _RECIPES, OLD AND NEW._] - -From a collection of recipes that dates back almost to “War-Time” we -shall give a few every month. Along with them will be given new recipes -of the present day. - - -_Bread Pudding_ - -One pint bread crumbs, fine, one quart milk, three or four eggs. Season -and sweeten to taste, then bake. Spread a layer of jelly or jam quite -thick or white of eggs a little sweetened, and brown a little. - - -_Ginger Snaps_ - -Three cups of molasses, one cup of brown sugar, two small cups of lard, -four tablespoons of ginger and one of cloves, and enough flour to roll -them out. - - -_Corn Batter Cakes_ - -One and a half pints of corn-meal, the same of milk, one half teaspoon of -salt, five eggs beaten together and put in with the corn-meal and milk, -one and a half teaspoons of baking-powder. - - -_Sponge Cake_ - -Six eggs, one pint of flour, one pint of sugar, three-fourths of a cup of -water, two tablespoons of baking-powder. - - -_Pea Soup_ - -One half peck peas. Take the shells and put on with two quarts of water. -When well boiled take off and put through the colander. Take the water -and pour into it the peas. Let boil until very soft and tender. Take off -and put through the colander again. Take a quart of cream, or cream and -milk, two even tablespoons of flour and less than one ounce of butter. -Put in and let come to a boil. Pepper and salt to taste. - -[Illustration: _CHANGING THE DIRECTION_ - - _Warren, in Boston Herald_] - -[Illustration: _Before_ _After_ - - _DeMar, in Philadelphia Record_] - -[Illustration: “_Sh— Sh— You Blamed Ass!_” - - _Rogers, in N. Y. Herald_ - - April, 1906] - - - - -[Illustration: _BOOKS_ - -_BY Thomas E. Watson._] - -Note: _Reviews are by Mr. Watson unless otherwise signed._ - - - =On the Field of Glory.= By Henryk Sienkiewicz. Little, Brown & - Co., Boston. - -After the reader has finished reading this book he disapproves of the -title. He has been taken into ancient Poland, where the winter snows -lie deep, where the wolves of the forest come with the night to make -danger for the traveler. He has been shown how the upper class lived in -the time of the Soldier-King, John Sobieski. He follows the thread of -a passionate and tender and happily ended love-story. He laughs with -and at the four brothers, the huge, rude, boisterous, but brave and -good-hearted foresters. He feels impressed by the genius of the author -during the whole time, for he knows that this strange Polish world, with -its unfamiliar men and women, is a creation born of the mental processes -of a great literary artist. - -It is not an historical novel in the sense that “Quo Vadis” was. There is -no field of glory at all. John Sobieski does not appear before us as Nero -was made to do in the book just named. - -The John Sobieski of this novel might be any other King. So far as we are -told about his appearance, manners, dress, personal peculiarities, he -might have been Rudolph of Hapsburg or Henry of Valois. - -There are no battles, no sieges, no heroic advance or retreat. As the -book closes, the Polish army has set out from Cracow to Vienna; and -that’s as near as we approach the field of glory. - -With the heroine the reader never gets in full sympathy. She drives away -the man who has always loved her and whom she loves _without knowing it_. - -She then consents to wed her hideous, lecherous, old guardian. More -indignant than the bride, the spirits of the Unseen World resent this -unnatural union, and they prevent it by claiming the groom while the -marriage feast is being eaten. - -With the hero the reader is on good terms from first to last, for his is -a fine character finely drawn. - -When the guardian and intended husband is dead, and the rejected lover -is far away, the hero is subjected to trial and temptation, beset by -dangers, marked for destruction by a lustful brute, neglected and hated -by family connections. It is then that human interest of the deepest kind -centres in the poor orphan girl _Panna Anulka_, whom we had condemned -on account of her readiness to marry old _Pan Gideon_. We follow her -fortunes then with painful attention and we rejoice when she is saved. - -While “On the Field of Glory” is not, perhaps, so great a book as “Quo -Vadis,” its atmosphere is purer, its store of love more tender and its -portrayal of ancient manners and character apparently quite as faithful. - - - =The Strange Story of the Quillmores.= By A. L. Chatterton. - Stitt Publishing Company, New York. - -To write a novel which shall hold the reader with a strong and constant -grip, and yet give him no love-story, is a feat not done by everyone that -tries it. Mr. Chatterton tells no story of love, but I have not read many -books that interested me more than “The Strange Story of the Quillmores.” -Mr. Chatterton’s pictures of life are true to life: his men are the men -who wear breeches—not impossible abstractions who say or do things which -no human beings ever said or did. And his women are as real as his men. - -_Uncle I’_ and his store, where the neighbors buy all sorts of things, -from ham to coffins, and where a group of loafers and tattlers is -generally on hand, are as well known to the reader as if he had been -there. _Uncle I’_ must be a character taken from life. He is full of -quiet humor, homely wisdom, sound common sense, manly courage and loyalty. - -Old-fashioned _Uncle I’_, keeping his old-fashioned carry-all store, -swapping stories and repartee with his old-fashioned neighbors, -struggling heroically with his old-fashioned telephone, and with it all, -living up to the best standards of honesty and usefulness—yes, _Uncle I’_ -is a complete artistic success. - -So is _Doctor Gus_. True, he reminds the reader, in a general way, of Ian -Maclaren’s Scotch country doctor, but _Doctor Gus_ is American, and he is -stamped with sufficient individuality to make him a very live man to the -reader. - -What could be better than the old German woman, _Mother Treegood_? The -chapter in which _Mother Treegood_ comes to visit Uncle I’s wife, who is -broken with grief on account of her dying daughter, is one that is worthy -of Dickens. It has the heart-throb of human sorrow, human sympathy, human -love. - -I don’t know of anything more touching, in its simple unpretentious way, -than the story of how _Mother Treegood’s_ boys, the twins, ran away from -home, and how one of them was drowned in the Ohio River, and was sent -home for burial. - -“My pretty boy was to our house brought, aber no one could him know—he -was in the wasser—de water—so long—_oh das Kalte, Kalte Wasser!_ so many, -many days. I took more of the fever—und go out of my head—und so I never -my Liebling seen again.” - -The cry that was heard in Ramah, “_Oh, that cold, cold water!_” - -Then, later on, there came a little box of tin-iron, “mit a hole cut in -the on-top side.” But let _Mother Treegood_ tell it in her own way: - -“One day there came by the express company a little bundle. When it -was opened—it was an oyster can—a box of tin-iron, mit a hole cut in -the on-top side. The letter was from de other boy—und it say—that his -brudder, who vas ver-drownded, did begin his business life in a hotel -in Cincinnetty, as a bellboy, und he safe his money und put it in the -oyster can. Und in dat oyster box was the shin-plasters, the five -centses, und de ten centses—yoost as he take them in for noospapers and -shoe-blacking—und it was yoost enough, ach mein lieber Gott!—yoost enough -to pay for his grave at Brookfill.” - -Surely this is very effective. It probably happened just that way. To -know that it could, and perhaps _did_, is just the right impression for -the author of a novel to make on the reader. - -Another splendid episode is that wherein a “run on the bank” begins, -as the funeral of Colonel Quillmore is in progress. The chapters which -relate the tragedy, the fire in the Colonel’s laboratory, the wild ride -of _Father Lessing_ and _Uncle I’_; the dramatic climax where _Mrs. -Quillmore_ lashes herself into raving madness; the funeral procession -whose mourners get caught up in the growing excitement of the “run on the -bank,” and leave the hearse to fly to the bank for their money; the nerve -and resource of _Doc. Gus_ in saving the bank, and in saving the cashier -from the would-be lynchers—are chapters which bear convincing testimony -to the power and creativeness of the author. - -The book is so finely conceived and written that one is tempted to scold -the author for a few glaring faults which are well-nigh inexcusable. - -Why paint _L’Oiseau_ so black when he was to be white-washed at the end? -There was no need to have him behave so brutally to the boy, _Lanny -Quillmore_. It was a blunder to make him insult the boy, incur the -hatred of the boy, assault the boy, and drive the boy from his own home. -The lad is allowed to think and believe that _L’Oiseau_ is on terms of -criminal intimacy with _Mrs. Quillmore, Lanny’s_ mother. There was no -necessity for this. If _L’Oiseau_ was brother-in-law to _Mrs. Quillmore_, -and was prompted by paternal interest in paying her such suspicious -attention, and in being out in the woods with her at unseasonable hours -in the night, why permit the lady’s son to torture himself under a -misapprehension? - -What earthly reason was there for keeping from her only son a knowledge -of the fact that _L’Oiseau_ was her brother-in-law, and that her abnormal -physical and mental condition required these unusual and suspicious -attentions from him? - -Again, _L’Oiseau_ was rambling about at night with _Mrs. Quillmore_ when -she lost consciousness, fell by the wayside, was found by the priest, and -succored by _Doc. Gus_. - -What had become of her escort, _L’Oiseau_? - -He had mysteriously disappeared, and _Doc. Gus_ had a right to put the -worst construction upon his conduct. _Father Lessing_ knew the truth; why -did _Father Lessing_ allow _Doc. Gus_ to remain in ignorance? - -But the most serious blunder in the plot relates to the climax—the fire -in _Colonel Quillmore’s_ laboratory. - -_Doc. Gus_ sees the shadow of two men thrown upon the window shade. Only -one of these men is accounted for, and the reader is left not only in -doubt as to what happened, but in hopeless confusion. He cannot adopt any -theory which will explain _all the facts_. - -Now, _that_ is against the rules. Let the plot be ever so complicated, -the mystery ever so deep, the author _must_ either clear it up himself, -or furnish the reader with the clue. Wilkie Collins, in spite of his -bewildering tangles, unravels everything before he quits. In “Edwin -Drood,” the book which Dickens was writing when death interrupted the -story, the author had constructed one of his most involved and difficult -plots. Before he had furnished the key to the riddle, he died. Yet -Edgar Allan Poe was able to tell, with unerring certainty, just how the -story was meant to end. By a keen analysis of the facts which Dickens -had already related, and by a course of reasoning that left no room for -doubt, Poe demonstrated that _Jasper_, the guardian and devoted friend -of _Edwin Drood_, had murdered him; that jealousy was the motive; that -the body of the victim was hidden in the new tomb which the inflated ass, -_Sapsea_, had recently built for the deceased _Mrs. Sapsea_; and that the -corpse was located by old _Durdles_, the drunken workman whose skill with -his hammer was so great that he could, by tapping, tapping, tapping on -the outside or a wall, tell whether a foreign substance, such as a human -body, was inclosed within. - -Poe’s own matchless story, “The Gold Bug,” illustrates the rule which -Mr. Chatterton broke. There are all sorts of mystifications to start -with, but they are cleared up at the end. - -Even in Frank Stockton’s famous “The Lady or the Tiger,” the rule is -kept. The reader is left in a dilemma, but he can clear up everything by -choosing one horn or the other. If he says that it is the lady who is -behind the door which is about to be opened, no mystery remains. If he -says that it is the tiger which is behind the door, nothing is left of -the puzzle. - -But in the Quillmore story there is no possible explanation _which will -dispose of the facts_. If _Colonel Quillmore_ died in the laboratory, -and _L’Oiseau_ did _not_ kill him, who did? What about the _two_ men -quarreling in there at the time of the tragedy? What becomes of that -other man? And how could _Quillmore’s_ son meet him again in Paris? With -the exception of _L’Oiseau_, no one had _the motive_ to kill _Colonel -Quillmore_; and the author made a point of showing that other people were -afraid to go near the laboratory. - -But if the _Colonel_ did _not_ die in the laboratory, how did his false -teeth get into the mouth of the dead man when _Doc. Gus_ dragged him out -of the flames? How did the _Colonel’s Masonic ring_ get on the dead man’s -finger? How did the _Colonel_ make his escape without being seen, and, -_who was it that he quarreled with and killed before he fled_? Nobody -appears to have been missing from the neighborhood. Usually when somebody -is killed, somebody is missed. - -Had Mr. Chatterton refrained from putting another man in the laboratory, -had he left the _Colonel_ dead in the flames, identified by his Masonic -ring, had he left the reader to suppose that the sudden death of the -_Colonel_ and the sudden blaze which broke out in the building resulted -from some dangerous chemical experiment, such as the _Colonel_ delighted -in—the story would have lost not a grain of interest and would have -escaped a flagrant violation of the rules of literary construction. - - - =The Game and the Candle.= By Frances Davidge. D. Appleton & - Co., New York. - -Frances Davidge set herself too difficult a task when she attempted to -make the characters in her novel. “The Game and the Candle,” speak in -epigrams on every other page. The consequence is that the story, with -its really brilliant beginning, develops into a commonplace love-story, -and is only saved from absolute banality by its unforeseen and dramatic -ending. In the field of literature which attempts to picture New York -society the story will not find an enduring place, but it serves its -purpose very well. The novelists are numberless who have sought to -satirize our men and women of wealth and leisure; but few have given us -any books that have lived longer than their allotted span of one brief -season. The big society novel has not yet been written. Miss Davidge -evidently knows a great deal of the foibles, the follies and the manners -of the people of whom she writes, and her career is worth watching. At -present she seems a bit immature and prolix, but there is no doubt as -to her ability to write amazingly clever dialogue and to tell a story -logically and well. Some of her characters are greatly overdrawn. One -wishes that there were less of _Gussie Regan_, the hair-dresser; and -_Emily Blair_, lovable as she is, could never have existed. Altogether, -however, the story is pleasing and will find, doubtless, a large and -appreciative audience. - - H. C. T. - - - =The Carlyles.= By Mrs. Burton Harrison. D. Appleton & Co., New - York. - -In “The Carlyles” Mrs. Burton Harrison relinquishes the modern field -which she has occupied for so long and with such marked success, and goes -back to Civil War times for the scenes of her story. The Reconstruction -period has been covered by innumerable writers. Indeed, it has been so -frequently used by novelists and proven so fruitful a field, that one is -apt to be overcome at the courage of an author who selects it now as the -background for a tale; but Mrs. Harrison brings a certain freshness and -charm to a subject that, it would seem, could inspire none. The opening -chapter, which describes the impoverished condition of the _Carlyles_, -brought on by the ravages of war, reveals the author at her best, and -shows her intimate knowledge of life in Richmond in the ’60’s. The -splendid fortitude of old _Mr. Carlyle_ in the face of his calamity and -financial ruin, and the pride of the aristocratic Southerner are depicted -with faultless art. - -The story itself is the old one of a girl who is unable to choose between -two lovers, one of whom, of course, is a Yankee soldier and the other -a Southerner fighting as a lieutenant-colonel under Lee. The usual -complications occur. _Lancelot Carlyle_, a cousin and lover of _Mona_, -the heroine, is imprisoned at Fort Delaware, and of the long period of -his confinement Mrs. Harrison writes graphically, describing minutely the -terrible ordeal of prison life. Fine as this portion of the novel is, -however, it is in the chapters dealing with quiet domestic scenes that -Mrs. Harrison writes with most force and distinction. The incident of the -Christmas dinner-party, with the unheralded return of _Lancelot_ and the -sudden death of old _Alexius Carlyle_, is handled with consummate skill. -The author has written no finer passage in any of her previous novels, -nor one more certain to move her readers to tears. - - H. C. T. - - - =The House of Mirth.= By Edith Wharton. Charles Scribner’s Sons. - -Undoubtedly no novel during the past season has elicited more favorable -criticism and more numerous letters from constant readers than “The -House of Mirth.” The book had a certain artificial success from the -start, because the impression went abroad that here at last was a book -about Society, meaning the smallest number of the narrowest brains in -any community from Kankakee to New York. On this very account there are -a few millions of people in the United States who would not care to read -it; but in view of the fact that some of the most serious critics have -hailed “The House of Mirth” as a great American novel—only the bookseller -now speaks of _the_ American novel—a good many of the few millions, being -persons of means and intelligence, would be tempted to indulge themselves -in the rare luxury of such a boon. We cannot profess to treat the book as -a true picture of American Society; because while we know how to wear the -clothes and order the things to eat and drink, when we have the money, -we have never, in our best-dressed and best-fed moments, been able to -convince ourselves that we are anything but hopelessly middle class. Yet -we are happy—sometimes; and we are bound to marvel at some of the things -the society people in “The House of Mirth” do. For the most part they act -like those people in New York who are loosely described as Fifth-avenue -bohemians, which means they are people of much money, thoroughly informed -about the decorative issues of life, with nothing to do but bore -themselves and with a taste and intelligence that, in literature or the -theatre, never craves anything more exciting than a musical show or a -third-class novel, written by a man in Chicago, about lords and ladies -of some corner lost and forgotten in Continental Europe. Our marvel that -these society people should seem so underbred is only an exhibition of -our unfamiliarity with a certain social stratum. We would have no right -to make record of it, if it were not for the fact that so many people, of -the better class themselves, have written letters of protest to divers -publications, protesting against the impression that “The House of Mirth” -is a story accurately representing New York society. We quote one letter -from the _New York Times Saturday Review_: - - “I am not a literary man, much less a literary critic, but - I look forward each week to the appearance of _The New York - Times Book Review_ with renewed interest and read the various - criticisms of your readers as to the merits of “The House of - Mirth,” which in almost every instance meets their approval as - a literary production of unusual merit. The writer, however, an - octogenarian, born and bred in New York City, member of one of - its oldest families and presumably familiar with its society, - can but look upon “The House of Mirth” as a gross libel upon - that society, and as an insult to a class as pure, as refined, - and as intellectual as may be found the world over.... - - “That such a condition as is therein described does exist in - the lower strata of New York society, which may be termed - swelldom, composed largely of “newrich” who swarm from other - parts of the country to exploit their newly acquired wealth in - showy equipages, wondrous wardrobes, and loud manners to the - disgust of refined people, cannot be denied; but why a lady - who has the entrée into the best society should elect to open - the sewers of its lowest strata and allow its fœtid airs to - escape through the medium of her pen is beyond the ken of your - contributor.” - - T. R. W. - -For our part, we prefer to depend upon the octogenarian who has just -spoken, and who asserts his membership in one of the oldest families in -New York, for an opinion upon the accuracy of “The House of Mirth” as a -Society novel. As a novel pure and simple it seems to us to be radically -defective in imaginative power, slow and cumbrous in construction, and -wholly ineffective to impose an illusion. We say this with regret because -we have read a good many of the author’s short stories from the time -the first volume of them was issued; and the impression conveyed by her -work in the short story field, as contrasted by the impression of this -novel, makes clearer to us than ever the conviction that to write a short -story a short-story writer is required, and to write a novel a novelist, -and they have always been two persons from Mr. Kipling down and across. -The author’s style is clear, sharp, refined, as before; but the gross -defect of “The House of Mirth” is that the characters are pushed here and -there by the author like so many wooden soldiers on a cardboard field -of battle. They have no more volition than marionettes. In fact they -are merely described names except in the instances of the three chief -characters. One could have borne with the waxlike fibre of the attendant -persons if the figure of _Lily Bart_, the heroine, would stand the gaze -of the naked eye during even half the book. _Lily_ is described by the -author as possessing a fine sense of diplomacy in intercourse with the -people of her set, yet her whole register of action from the first page -reveals her as moving through the comedy without prudence, yet without -conscience, with maneuver, yet without skill; with an under-appeal to -the reader’s sympathy, yet exasperating the reader until in the moment -of tragedy he feels that the heroine deserved all she got and ought to -have got it sooner. But, when one gets away from the book, one feels that -the fault is not the fault of the character, but of the author who has -paltered by trying to make literary academics and psychology square with -life itself and a good story. - -The minor irritations of the book are the absolutely fictional flavor of -the names of most of the characters, the use of English or Continental -idiom, and the mummery of the illustrations. Among the English -phrases which the author so much affects is the word _charwoman_ for -_scrubwoman_. It may be that Society calls a scrubwoman a charwoman, but -we would like to see any society man or woman do it to the lady’s face. - -It is announced that Clyde Fitch is to dramatize “The House of Mirth” for -production next fall and that he will adhere to the construction of the -story as much as possible. The book is worthy of Mr. Fitch’s lofty talent. - - R. D. - - - =Letters and Addresses.= By Abraham Lincoln. Unit Book - Publishing Company. - -Even if there were a man, at this day of awakening in the United States, -who could honestly say he had no interest in politics, providing he had -any intelligence at all and ambition to think, he could not pass over -such a book as “Lincoln’s Letters and Addresses” for the simple reason -that on account of the style alone, the reading of them is a solace and -a refreshment that endures. Of course, most of us are familiar with the -addresses and the letters that have been so widely quoted, repeated, and -learned by heart in school, that they are become as household words; -but in such a book as this, containing infinite riches in little room, -one secures not only the loftiest kind of pleasure but also a strangely -intimate and attractive vision and understanding of the gaunt, unshapely -figure whose genius towers higher as the years are added to the history -of our country. - - R. D. - - - =Contrite Hearts.= By Herman Bernstein. A. Wessels Company, New - York. - -Some books are interesting because of their content alone; some only on -account of the personality of their author: some for the reason that both -the author and the content of his book are humanly valuable. Of the third -distinction is “Contrite Hearts,” a story of Jewish life in Russia and -the United States, by a writer who on occasion before has shown that he -can use an alien language with simplicity and force. He has shown before -also that he can present a picture of the people of his race without bias -and with a due understanding of their defects and qualities. The Jew in -America as presented in melodrama is a creation almost wholly of the -romance spirit of the theatre. It is not to be denied that the prevalence -of the very poor Jews in the lowest ranks of traffickers among men has -provided an obvious type. In sharp contrast to this is the growing -dominance of the Jew in the very highest ranks of commerce. Between the -two must of necessity exist the Jew of the middle class; and all these -varieties of the race have expanded to their utmost in the United States -rather than in any other country. From a purely artistic standpoint, -therefore, there is nothing more evident than that the field of Jewish -manners and customs is wide and rich ground for the novelist. The -transmutation in one generation of a peasant in Russia, with no rights -beyond those of a street mongrel, to a man in the most advanced as well -as the most vigorous civilization of the day, is material too obvious to -be overlooked by the most casual scribe. - -Mr. Bernstein, while not a writer of dramatic quality has that quieter -and more sincere gift native to Russians, whether Jew or Gentile, of -presenting life as an actuality against the artificial background of the -printed page. Many who are called novelists among ourselves, and who have -never talked or written any language but English, could learn a good deal -of simplicity from this foreign-born author. Of course, one runs across -the traces of his birth in certain peculiarities that even constant -practice cannot wear out. These blemishes, however, are never vulgar as -are the strainful phases of an indigenous author who uses his language as -a race-track tout spreads himself with the flashy colors and fabrics that -the clothier and the haberdasher of his station provide. It is rather -interesting to hear what one of the characters in “Contrite Hearts” has -to say of this country. - -“Here in America it is different. All are equal. Everyone is free. -And all roads to success are open to the able, the enterprising, the -persevering. There is no difference here between Jew and Gentile. -People flock hither from all lands, and within a few years the Jew, the -Frenchman, the German, the Irishman, the Italian—all are proud that they -have become American. You ask me about the Jews, about Jewish affairs, -about Jewish institutions—well, we have various kinds of Jews here. -Orthodox Jews—these are the plain Jews like ourselves. Reform Jews—Jews -who imitate the ways of the Christian. There are also Jews here who try -to be both Orthodox and reform at the same time—that is, neither this nor -that.” - -Is this all true? - - R. D. - - - =Politics in New Zealand.= By Prof. Frank Parsons. Edited by - Dr. C. F. Taylor. Dr. C. F. Taylor, Publisher, Philadelphia, Pa. - -This is one of the Equity Series published quarterly by Dr. Taylor, and -contains the chief portions of the political parts of a book entitled, -“The Story of New Zealand,” by Prof. Frank Parsons and Dr. Taylor. The -latter is a large, heavy book selling at $3.00, and is doubtless the most -complete history of New Zealand and exposition of present conditions -there ever published. It is a beautifully illustrated volume containing -860 pages, and includes history, description, the native people (the -Maoris) and their treatment by the whites, the splendid resources of the -country, and, more than all, a full and interesting account of the rise -and development of the remarkable institutions and government of New -Zealand which are attracting the attention of all the rest of the world. - -As Dr. Taylor well says in his explanatory note in “Politics in New -Zealand,” the size and cost of the “Story of New Zealand” prevent it from -reaching the masses of our people, and the political facts, particularly -of that progressive country should reach the mind and thought of our -voters. “It is,” he says, “with a view of placing these political facts -within the easy reach of the masses of our people, that I have selected -the most important of these facts from the large book and arranged -them as you see them in this unpretentious pamphlet.” “Politics in New -Zealand” is now being used in combination with subscriptions to WATSON’S -MAGAZINE. (See advertising pages.) - -The great value of “Politics in New Zealand” lies in the fact that it -gives the workings of many Populistic ideas put into actual practice. In -this country the People’s Party has been obliged to theorize and resort -to an appeal to the reasoning faculties of the people. It has been unable -to point out many illustrations of the actual working of its theories, -except by reference to foreign countries. For example, to sustain its -contention for public ownership of railroads, it has been obliged to use -the lines in Germany and other monarchies as illustrations. The United -States is such a vast domain as compared with countries in Continental -Europe, that considerable discrimination is necessary in order to draw -a fair conclusion. Besides, the European countries are so old that the -habits of the people are a great factor not to be lightly dismissed. In -using New Zealand, however, as our object lesson, the conditions are -more, nearly parallel. It is true that country is much smaller than -the United States, but in point of age and habits of the people, there -is much similarity. Accordingly, New Zealand is without doubt the best -object lesson in the world for proving the soundness of Populistic -theories. - -Those who have either bought or sold real estate in the older portions -of the United States, understand the difficulties and uncertainties -surrounding land titles under the system which is in vogue generally. As -Prof. Parsons points out, it is often necessary to search through many -big volumes of deeds and mortgages, and carefully construe the provisions -of various wills and conveyances in order to follow the title to its -source, and form an opinion as to its validity. And even then the opinion -of the most accomplished expert may prove fallacious, and the purchaser -may lose his land through some defect of title. As early as 1860 the -New Zealanders passed an act to remedy this condition of things by -establishing what is known as the Torrens system of title registration. -The owner of land may give the registrar his deeds and the claims of all -persons interested, and the registrar investigates the title once for -all. He accepts it if he finds it valid, and registers the applicant as -proprietor, giving him a certificate to that effect. The certificate -gives an indefeasible title in fee, subject only to such incumbrances and -charges as may be entered on the register. An independent purchaser has -only to consult the register to learn at once who is the owner of the -land, and what burdens, if any, rest upon it. He is not obliged to trace -the title back to the Government Patent. This system is now in force in -some places in the United States, but its adoption is generally opposed -by those who profit by examining titles—that is to say, the lawyers. - -There were some telegraph lines constructed under the provincial -governments of New Zealand prior to 1865, but nothing was done in a -national way until that year. Then the General Assembly authorized the -Governor to establish electric telegraphs and appoint a commissioner -to manage them. Existing lines and offices were to be purchased, new -lines built, and a national system developed. The commissioner made -the regulations, fixed the rates, and employed operators to transmit -all messages presented. Afterward the telegraphs became a part of the -postal system. This naturally led to government ownership and operation -of the telephone when the latter means of transmitting intelligence was -introduced. It is also a part of the postal system, and as Prof. Parsons -points out, “The Government is ‘hello-girl’ as well as postmaster, -telegraph operator and banker.” - -Mr. Gladstone secured the establishment of postal savings banks in -England in 1861. New Zealand adopted the idea in 1865, and since that -time nearly every country in the civilized world, except the United -States, has followed England’s example. The object of the New Zealand -Post Office Savings Bank Act (1865) was stated to be: “To give additional -facilities for the deposits of small savings at interest, and with the -security of the Government behind it.” Practically all the money order -offices in New Zealand (470 a few years ago) were open under the Postal -Banking Law for the transaction of savings bank business, while there -were but five private savings banks in the Islands. In New Zealand there -is a place of bank deposit for each 1,800 people. In the United States -there is one for each 7,650 people. The total deposits in all sorts -of banks is $110 per head of population in the United States, $125 in -Great Britain, and $140 in New Zealand. Comment seems to be unnecessary. -The postal banks will not receive less than a shilling at a time, but -printed forms are furnished on which stamps may be pasted, one or more -at a time, until the total amounts to a shilling or more, when the slip -can be deposited as cash to the amount of the stamps pasted on it. The -great advantage of postal banking, and in fact all government banking, is -its safety. No postal bank in any country has ever closed its door for -liquidation, or experienced a run on its funds. - -In view of our insurance scandals and the recent investigation, the -chapter on Government Insurance is especially interesting at this time. -In 1870 New Zealand adopted the Australian ballot and a public works -policy, together with a Government Life Insurance Department. As the -author points out, “The philosophy of this new departure was very simple. -The purpose of insurance is the diffusion of loss. Instead of allowing -a loss to fall with crushing weight on one individual, or family, it is -spread out over a large number of stockholders or premium payers. If -it is a good thing to distribute loss over a few thousand people who -hold stock in a given company or pay premiums to it, it is still better -to distribute the loss over the whole community. It is also wise to -eliminate the expenses and profits of insurance so far as may be, and put -the guarantee of the Government behind it, so that it may reach as many -people and afford as much security as possible.” - -The insurance department was popular from the very start. The latest -report when this book was written (1901) showed in force 42,570 policies -covering $51,000,000 of insurance, or practically half the total business -of the Colony. The Government office had beaten the private companies in -fair competition, for there was no attempt to exclude private insurance -companies. It had, in 1901, a much larger business than any of the -companies, and almost as much as all the companies put together. This -refers, of course, to the ordinary life insurance business, for there -were 21,000 policies in industrial societies, which were not included -in the regular life insurance statement. Two of our companies mixed up -in the recent scandal, the Equitable Life and the New York Life, had, -in 1901, been in the Colony 15 and 13 years respectively. The Equitable -had 717 policies in force and the New York Life 139, as against 42,570 -Government policies. - -The people of New Zealand prefer the Government insurance because of -its safety—it has the guarantee of the Government behind it. It is in -no danger of vanishing through insolvency, as ordinary insurance does -now and then. Because of its cheapness, the rates being lower than -any ordinary private companies; and because of its freedom from all -oppressive conditions. The only conditions are that the premiums must be -paid, and the assured must not commit suicide within six months after -the insurance is taken out. As Professor Parsons says, “The policy is -world-wide. The assured may go where he will, do what he likes—get -himself shot in battle, smoke cigarettes, drink ice-water and eat plum -pudding, or commit suicide under the ordinary forms after six months, -and the money will still be paid to his relatives.” Instead of wasting -valuable time and gray matter on devising schemes to prevent scoundrels -from looting private insurance companies, why not devote a little -thought to inaugurating a system of government insurance? - -An unique institution in New Zealand is the Public Trust office, -established in 1872. Its purpose is to serve as executor, administrator, -trustee, agent, or attorney, in the settlement and management of the -property of decedents, or others, who for any reason are unable or -unwilling to care for it themselves; to insure honest administration and -safe investment; to provide for a wise discretion that may avoid the -difficulties and losses incident to a strict fulfilment of wills and -trusts imperfectly drawn; and to give advice and draw up papers, wills, -deeds, and other instruments for the people in all parts of the Colony. - -“In the earlier years,” says the author, “nominations for representatives -were made and seconded vocally at an assembly of the voters of the -district. But since the Act of September (1890) representatives are -nominated by petition in writing, signed by two or more voters of the -district, transmitted with the candidates’ assent and a $50 deposit -to the returning officer, who immediately publishes the names of the -candidates. Each candidate must be nominated on a separate paper which -must be transmitted to the returning officer at least seven days before -the polling day. If the nominee doesn’t get one tenth as many votes as -the lowest successful candidate, the $50 deposit is forfeited to the -public treasury. This shuts out frivolous nominations. The nominations -are usually made some time before the voting day, and the candidates go -about the district and meet and address the electors in all parts of it. -No candidate would stand any chance of election who failed to give the -people he wished to represent an opportunity to get acquainted with him -and ask him questions about his attitude on issues likely to come before -the next Parliament. Seamen, sheep-shearers and commercial travelers are -permitted to vote by mail. Such person gets a ballot paper filled up -by the Postmaster with the names of the candidates in the applicant’s -district, and the postal voter then marks the ballot and mails it.” - -Another Populistic economic theory put in practice in New Zealand is the -Land and Income Assessment Act which abolishes the personal property tax -and establishes graduated taxation on land values and incomes. The avowed -objects of the law are to tax “according to ability to pay,” “to free -the small man,” and, “to burst up monopolies”; and its cardinal features -are the exemption of improvements and of small people and the special -pressure put on the big monopolies and corporations and on absentees. - -All improvements are exempt. All buildings, fencings, draining, crops, -etc.—all value that has been added by labor, all live stock also and -personal property; only the unimproved value of the land is taxed. -Mortgages are deducted also in estimating the land taxes as they are -taxed to the lender. There is a small-estate exemption of $2,500, where -the net value of the estate doesn’t exceed $7,500. So that if a farmer -has no more than $2,500 of land value left after deducting improvements -and mortgage liabilities from the value of his real property, he pays no -land tax. - -Besides the three exemptions mentioned, there is another conditional -exemption. If an old or infirm person owns land or mortgages returning -less than $1,000 a year, and can show that he is not able to supplement -his income, and that the payment of the tax would be a hardship, the -commissioner may remit the tax. Here the custom is quite the other way. -The millionaire swears off his tax. Out of 110,000 land owners, in New -Zealand, only 16,000 pay tax. - -The graded tax begins when the unimproved value reaches $25,000. It rises -from ¼ of a cent on the pound of $25,000 to 16⁄4ths, or 4 cents, a pound -on a million dollars, or more, of unimproved value. This graduated tax is -in addition to the ordinary level-rate land tax levied each year, which -is 2 cents on the pound. Absentee owners of large estates have still -another tax to pay. If the owner of an estate large enough to come under -the graded tax has been out of the country a year, this graded tax is -increased 20%. - -The income tax applies to net income from employment, and net profits -from business. There is an absolute exemption of $1,500, except in the -case of absentees, and companies whether absentees or not, and a further -additional exemption up to $250 a year for life insurance premiums, if -the citizen wishes to spend his money that way. All income derived from -land or from mortgages, so far as they represent realty, is outside this -tax, which affects only income from employment or business. The farmer, -who derives all his income from land, pays no income tax. The same may be -said of a lawyer, doctor, teacher, artisan, or any other person who makes -no more than $1,500 a year. The total number of income-tax payers is only -about 5,600. - -United States Consul Connolly, reporting to our Government in 1894 and -1897, has considerable to say regarding taxation in New Zealand. He says -that country excels in the matter of taxation. That in a very short time -the system of taxation had been revolutionized and the incidence almost -entirely changed, not only without disturbing to any appreciable extent -existing interests, but with the most beneficial results. He says the -income tax was most fiercely denounced as inquisitorial, destructive of -the first principles of frugality and thrift—in fact all the forms of -evil lurked in the shadows of the words “income tax,” and a united effort -was made to resist this “iniquitous tax,” but all to no purpose. And that -in 1897, after six years of experience, the more liberal and fair-minded -of those who opposed the income tax frankly admitted that it is a fair -and unembarrassing tax. “In New Zealand the land and income tax is now -popular; it is accepted in lieu of the property tax; it is a success.” - -In the United States the Government is paternalistic toward banks, -railroads and manufacturing interests. It loans its credit to the -national bankers at most advantageous terms, but has persistently refused -to favor other classes in a similar way. In New Zealand, however, in -1894, there was established a Government loan office which lends public -funds to farmers, laborers, business men, etc. at low interest, and on -easy terms. The security taken is on freehold, or leasehold, interest -clear of incumbrances and free of any breach of conditions. The loans are -on first mortgage of land and improvements. No loan is to be less than -$125, or more than $15,000, and the sum of the advances to any one person -must not exceed $15,000. There are two kinds of advances, fixed loans -and installment loans. The first may be for any period not exceeding ten -years, and the principal is due at the end of that term. The second is -for 36½ years, and part of the principal is to be paid each half year. -Interest in both cases is at 4½%, if paid within fourteen days of the -time it is due (5% if payment is not prompt); and in the case of an -instalment loan, 1% more is to be paid for the reduction of the principal. - -Passing over the chapters devoted to the labor department, the state -farm, the factory laws, the shop acts, the 8-hour day, industrial -arbitration and co-operation, all of which are of intense interest, -but of such a nature as to preclude brief statement, we come to the -Government ownership and operation of the railways. The year 1894 Prof. -Parsons calls “the glory year of land resumption. Government loans to -farmers, nationalization of credit, labor legislation and judicialization -of strikes and lock-outs.” It was in this year that another important -move was made through a vital change in the national railway policy. In -1887 a commission system was inaugurated, under which the roads were -put in the hands of commissioners appointed by the Governor, with the -assent of Parliament. This did not prove satisfactory to New Zealand. The -commissioners managed the roads with a view to making a good financial -report. They were looking for profit. In the Parliamentary debates it -was charged that rates were so high that firewood went to waste in the -forest, and potatoes rotted in the fields, while the people in the -cities were cold and hungry in the years of depression; that goods were -frequently hauled more cheaply by wagon than by rail; that while rates -were reduced somewhat now and then, it was done by reducing wages; that -the pay of the men was cut while the salaries of high-priced officials -were increased, and so on. This is a striking parallel to conditions in -the United States today. - -Prof. Parsons admits that the commissioners were honest, but they -were simply railroad men, running the roads to make money for the -treasury. Finally public indignation became intense. The air was full -of complaints, and in 1893 the abolition of the commission was made an -issue in the campaign, and the people, by an overwhelming majority, -elected representatives pledged to put the roads under direct control of -the Minister of Railways and the Parliament, and to bring the railroads -within speaking distance of the people. - -The result of this change is that the roads are no longer run primarily -for profit, but for service; and the men are treated with the -consideration due to partners in the business. It is announced that the -definite policy of the Government shall be that all profits above the 3% -needed for interest on the railway debt shall be returned to the people -in lower rates and better accommodations. This is in striking contrast to -the facts brought out in the letter of Engineer William D. Marks to Hon. -Wharton Barker, recently printed as a public document at the instance of -Senator Tillman of South Carolina, in which it is shown that the people -of the United States are today paying interest on a fictitious railway -capitalization of something like $7,000,000,000. - -In 1899 the Minister of Railways announced a reduction of 20% on ordinary -farm products and 40% on butter and cheese, etc. These concessions, Prof. -Parsons declares, amount to one seventh of the receipts—equivalent to -a reduction of $150,000,000 on the yearly freight rates in the United -States. That alone would be a yearly saving of almost $2 a head for -the people of the United States. In 1900 Mr. Ward, the new Minister of -Railways, announced a general lowering of passenger fares as the first -fruits of his administration. “The announcement was received with cheers -by the audience—stockholders in the road.” Care is taken in New Zealand -that small men shall not be put at a disadvantage. The State roads carry -400 pounds at the same rate as the ton rate, or the train-load rate, and -one bale of wool goes the same rate as a thousand. No such thing is known -in New Zealand as the lowering of rates to a shipper because of the great -size of his shipments. All the rates are made by the management openly. -There are no secret modifications of the tariff. There may be a variation -on scheduled rates to equalize a long haul, or enable a distant mine or -factory to reach the market in condition to compete with nearer rivals, -but the total charge is never lower than the rate that is given to others -for the same service. - -The State roads are used to advance the cause of education. Children in -the primary grades are carried free to school. Other children pay $2.50 -to $5, according to age, for a three-months season ticket up to sixty -miles. This gives them a possible 120 miles a day for 3 to 6 cents in -round numbers, or 20 to 40 miles for a cent. A child who goes in and out -six miles each day rides 12 miles for 3 cents. - -It is impossible in the limits of this article to more than touch upon -many of the other advances made in New Zealand. The Referendum is now -used to a considerable extent in local affairs, and its use is being -extended. Old age pensions are in force, being a much better method than -maintaining poor houses. Immigration is carefully guarded. The State is -now opening coal mines and engaging in the business of furnishing fuel to -the people. Many other innovations of this character are being considered -and put in operation from time to time. - -Prof. Parsons summarizes his study of New Zealand in some sharp contrasts -and conclusions, from which we quote in part: - -“The United States is in form a Republic, but ... an aristocracy of -industrial power. New Zealand is in form an Imperial Province, but in -fact it is substantially a Republic. The will of the great body of the -common people is in actual control of the Government. - -“In America, farmers organize for agricultural needs, and the working-men -organize for labor purposes, but they do not join forces to take control -of the Government in their common interest, as is the case in New -Zealand. Not only have our farmers and workers failed to get together, -but neither group has learned to use the ballot for its interest in any -systematic way. The farmers divide at the polls and organized labor -divides at the polls. In New Zealand the small farmers are practically -solid at the ballot box, and organized labor is solid at the ballot, and -the two solids are welded together into one irresistible solid.” - - C. Q. D. - - - =BACK HOME. By Eugene Wood. S. S. McClure Co., New York.= - -It isn’t often that an author writes a real review of his own book. Well, -maybe he does, too, but it seldom happens that he writes it as a preface -to the book itself, very seldom that it is an interesting one, very, very -seldom that it tells you what to expect to find in the book, and very, -very, _very_ seldom that he isn’t too much wrapped up in his own private -idea of his story to write a fair one from our point of view. However, -Eugene Wood, being unconventional and other pleasing things, has done all -this in the preface to his “Back Home.” When you have read the preface, -you are glad you did, instead of feeling sorry you wasted time on it and -fearful lest a book by the same author of that preface will be something -of a bore. After Mr. Wood’s preface you know Mr. Wood and about what to -expect in Mr. Wood’s book. You like one, and you know you are going to -like the other. - -It would be the easiest thing in the world for the reviewer to sit down -and write reams of “copy” on “Back Home” and the good things therein, but -it is much more to the point for him who reads to listen to Mr. Wood -himself. If you are human instead of petrified, you will enjoy both the -preface and the book. Both reach for the heart-strings, and the terms—the -term is good. - -Here is the larger part of the preface: - -“Gentle Reader:—Let me make you acquainted with my book, ‘Back Home.’ -(Your right hand, Book, your right hand, Pity’s sake: How many times have -I got to tell you that? Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, -and turn your toes out more.) - -“Here’s a book. It is long? No. Is it exciting? No. Any lost diamonds -in it? Nup. Mysterious murders? No. Whopping big fortune, now teetering -this way, and now teetering that, tipping over on the Hero at the last -and smothering him in an avalanche of fifty-dollar bills? No. Does She -get Him? Isn’t even that. No ‘heart interest’ at all. What’s the use of -putting out good money to make such a book; to have a cover-design for -it; to get a man like A. B. Frost to draw illustrations for it, when he -costs so like the mischief, when there’s nothing in the book to make a -man sit up till ‘way past bedtime’? Why print it at all? - -“You may search me. I suppose it’s all right, but if it was my money, -I’ll bet I could make a better investment of it. If worst came to worst, -I could do like the fellow in the story who went to the gambling-house -and found it closed up, so he shoved the money under the door and went -away. He’d done his part. - -“And yet, on the other hand, I can see how some sort of a case can be -made out for this book of mine. I suppose I am wrong—I generally am in -regard to everything—but it seems to me that quite a large part of the -population of this country must be grown-up people. If I am right in -this connection, this large part of the population is being unjustly -discriminated against. I believe in doing a reasonable amount for the aid -and comfort of the young things that are just beginning to turn their -hair up under, or who rub a stealthy forefinger over their upper lips -to feel the pleasant rasp, but I don’t believe in their monopolizing -everything. I don’t think it’s fair. All the books printed—except, of -course, those containing valuable information; we don’t buy those books, -but go to the public library for them—all the books printed are concerned -with the problem of How She got Him, and He can get Her. - -“Well, now. It was either yesterday morning or the day before that you -looked in the glass and beheld there The First Gray Hair. You smiled a -smile that was not all pure pleasure, a smile that petered out into a -sigh, but nevertheless a smile, I will contend. What do you think about -it? You’re still on earth, aren’t you? You’ll last the month out, anyhow, -won’t you? Not at all ready to be laid on the shelf? What do you think -of the relative importance of Love, Courtship, and Marriage? One or two -other things in life just about as interesting, aren’t there? Take -getting a living, for instance. That’s worthy of one’s attention, to a -certain extent. When our young ones ask us: “Pop, what did you say to Mom -when you courted her?” they feel provoked at us for taking it so lightly -and so frivolously. It vexes them for us to reply: “Law, child! I don’t -remember. Why, I says to her: ‘Will you have me?’ and she says: ‘Why, -yes, and jump at the chance.’” What difference does it make what we said -or whether we said anything at all? Why should we charge our memories -with the recollections of those few foolish months of mere instinctive -sex-attraction when all that really counts came after, the years wherein -low passion bloomed into lofty Love, the dear companionship in joy and -sorrow, and in that which is more, far more than either joy or sorrow, -“the daily round, the common task?” All that is wonderful to think of in -our courtship is the marvel, for which we should never cease to thank the -Almighty God, that with so little judgment at our disposal we should have -chosen so wisely. - -“If you, Gentle Reader, found your first gray hair day before yesterday -morning, if you can remember, ’way back ten or fifteen years ago—er—er—or -more, come with me. Let us go ‘Back Home.’ Here’s your transportation, -all made out to you, and in your hand. It is no use my reminding you -that no railroad goes to the old place. It isn’t there any more, even -in outward seeming. Cummins’s woods, where you had your robbers’ cave, -is all cleared off and cut up into building lots. The cool and echoing -covered bridge, plastered with notices of dead and forgotten Strawberry -Festivals and Public Vendues, has long ago been torn down, to be replaced -by a smart, red iron bridge. The Volunteer Firemen’s Engine-house, whose -brick wall used to flutter with the gay rags of circus-bills, is gone -as if it never were at all. Where the Union School-house was is all -torn up now. They are putting up a new magnificent structure, with all -the modern improvements, exposed plumbing, and spankless discipline. -The quiet, leafy streets echo to the hissing snarl of trolley cars, and -the power-house is right by the Old Swimming-hole above the dam. The -meeting-house, where we attended Sabbath-school, and marveled at the -Greek temple frescoed on the wall behind the pulpit, is now a church -with a big organ, and stained-glass windows, and folding opera-chairs on -a slanting floor. There isn’t any “Amen Corner,” any more, and in these -calm and well-ordered times nobody ever gets “shouting happy”. - -“But even when “the loved spots that our infancy knew” are physically the -same, a change has come upon them more saddening than words can tell. -They have shrunken and grown shabbier. They are not nearly so spacious -and so splendid as once they were. - -“Some one comes up to you and calls you by your name. His voice echoes in -the chambers of your memory. You hold his hand in yours and try to peer -through the false-face he has on, the mask of a beard or spectacles, or a -changed expression of the countenance. He says he is So-and-so. Why, he -used to sit with you in Miss Crutcher’s room, don’t you remember? There -was a time when you and he walked together, your arms upon each other’s -shoulders. But this is some other than he. The boy you knew had freckles, -and could spit between his teeth, ever and ever so far. - -“They don’t have the same things to eat they used to have, or, if they -do, it all tastes different. Do you remember the old well, with the -windlass and chain fastened to the rope just above the bucket, the chain -that used to cluck-cluck when the dripping bucket came within reach to be -swung upon the well-curb? How cold the water used to be, right out of the -north-west corner of the well! It made the roof of your mouth ache when -you drank. Everybody said it was such splendid water. It isn’t so very -cold these days, and I think it has a sort of funny taste to it. - -“Ah, Gentle Reader, this is not really ‘Back Home’ we gaze upon when we -go there by train. It is a last year’s birds’ nest The nest is there; -the birds are flown, the birds of youth, and noisy health, and ravenous -appetite, and inexperience. You cannot go ‘Back Home’ by train, but here -is the magic wishing-carpet, and here is your transportation in your hand -all made out to you. You and I will make the journey together. Let us in -heart and mind thither ascend. - -“I went to the Old Red School-house with you. Don’t you remember me? I -was learning to swim when you could go clear across the river without -once ‘letting down.’ I saw you at the County Fair, and bought a slab of -ice-cream candy just before you did, I was in the infant-class in Sabbath -School when you spoke in the dialogue at the monthly concert. Look again. -Don’t you remember me? I used to stub my toe so; you ought to recollect -me by that. I know plenty of people that you know. I may not always get -their names just right, but then it’s been a good while ago. You’ll -recognize them, though; you’ll know them in a minute.” - - A. S. H. - - - - -_The Easter Hope_ - -BY CORA A. MATSON DOLSON - - - We look across the days of March, - Of knife-keen winds, and barren hills, - To where the skies of April arch - Above the beds of daffodils. - - Oh, hearts of Hope! The hours are long, - While melting drifts o’erflood the rills; - Yet do these winds blow, keen and strong, - Toward those beds of daffodils. - - The Easter promise cannot fail! - The stone will move when God’s hand wills, - And we again our loved ones hail, - Who sleep, as sleep the daffodils! - - -_Explained_ - -MRS. GIVEM—Why are you out of work? - -WEARY WILLY—I was a life-insurance president and made so much money I had -to resign. - - - - -[Illustration: _The Say of Other Editors_] - - -Clark Howell’s politicians and newspaper supporters over the state are -sending up a unanimous wail because TOM WATSON, a Populist, manifests -some interest in Georgia politics. They swear he is trying to break up -the Democratic party and gain control of the state. Well, what about -Major J. F. Hanson, the Republican president of the Central Railway? -He has been active in state politics for a long time, and wields more -influence than a thousand ringsters who are “cussing” TOM WATSON. If it -is a high crime for Populist Watson to take a hand in Georgia politics, -what kind of crime is Republican Hanson guilty of when he joins Hamp -McWhorter and Sam Spencer in a prolonged struggle to dominate the public -policies and politics of Georgia? Will some of the political time-servers -please answer?—_Newnan (Ga.) News._ - - * * * * * - -The fact that Mr. Howell has never replied to the question why he was so -anxious for Watson to call and see him, leads us to believe that he was -after the same thing he accuses Smith of—attempting to get what honey he -could out of the Populist beegum.—_Washington (Ga.) Reporter._ - - * * * * * - -The latest proposition is to put the Quay statue at Harrisburg in -a niche. That would be a good plan provided they wall up the niche -afterward.—_Broken Bow (Neb.) Beacon._ - - * * * * * - -The railroad rate bill was passed by the House by a vote of 346 to 7, -last week Thursday. - -The bill is now up to the Senate. It may stay there for some time before -it passes, if it is passed at all. - -The corporation-ridden Senate is a disgrace to a people who are said to -elect their public servants. The men who made the Senate so far from the -touch of the common people either were short-sighted, or defrauded the -real American citizen out of one of the most necessary needs in this age -of graft and political corruption. - -The Grange favors the direct nomination and election of our United States -Senators, and in due course of time we, the people, shall be electors -in deed and action. By direct vote of the people, making the senators -responsible and answerable to the masses, alone can we inject purity into -our elections and accomplish reform in public affairs.—_Sandusky (Mich.) -Salinac Farmer._ - - * * * * * - -Up to January 16 the _Congressional Record_ contained 2,300 columns -of speeches made so far by congressmen, but it has to record only one -important bill passed. - - * * * * * - -William Jennings Bryan’s costume in the honorable position of a “Datto” -of Mindanao consists of a high hat and a black silk apron. In cold -weather he is permitted to varnish his legs.—_McEwen (Tenn.) New Era._ - - * * * * * - -The members of the lower house of Congress are debating the railroad rate -bill this week. At the end of that time the public will know which ones -are entitled to railroad passes under the new regulation of the companies -that only employees are to receive them.—_Matthews (I. T.) News._ - - * * * * * - -We admire patriotism but we don’t like toadyism. It makes us tired to see -how quick some editors sneeze when a high official takes snuff. And when -the snuff is taken purely and solely for political effect it makes it all -the more disgusting.—_Marshville (N. C.) Our Home._ - - * * * * * - -“This is the time,” says Senator Platt, “when little bosses will find -their level.” And it is also the time when some great bosses are finding -rock bottoms.—_Stanberry (Mo.) Owl._ - - * * * * * - -What’s the difference between a street curb boodler and one that -sells out for a promise of an appointment? Ans.—One gets his money -before voting while the other gets it afterwards, if he does not get -left—principle same.—_Batavia (O.) Democrat._ - - * * * * * - -Why are all the candidates opposing Hoke Smith? There must be some -reason for it. Everyone had faith in him, believed him far superior to a -majority of other people, until he got into the race. Why this change? -Why so many attacks upon him? Is it because he is advocating reforms -which have already been adopted by several of the other Southern states? -It must be because he stands for something, and is not ashamed or afraid -to tell what it is.—_Marietta (Ga.) Courier._ - - * * * * * - -With Clark Howell devoting most of his time to “cussing” out TOM WATSON, -Hoke Smith is sailing smoothly on to the gubernatorial chair.—_Dalton -(Ga.) Citizen._ - - * * * * * - -The New York Sun puts it this way: “If John Mitchell’s statement at the -miners’ convention is not a bluff, there will be either an enormous -increase in the coal bills of the American people or the most costly and -disastrous strike the country has ever seen.” But what do the mine owners -and the striking mine workers care about that, so long as the people -who buy the coal are willing to bear their suffering in silence—paying -without a murmur any price the coal barons put on their product; and -feeling well assured that nothing will be done by the suffering people -to change the laws by which these barons are enabled to inflict this -suffering.—_Waterbury (Conn.) Examiner._ - - * * * * * - -During the last ten years stocks and bonds amounting to $12,500,000,000 -have been floated in this country. This additional capitalization of -the industries and railroads of the country is about equal to the total -value of all grain crops raised by the farmers during the same period. -It is one-third more than the total value of the products of all mines -in the country for the same period. It is equal to one-eighth of the -total wealth of the United States in 1900. That is the way the “great” -financiers absorb the wealth produced by the toilers of the nation. After -studying the above statistics you may realize the force of Gov. Johnson’s -statement that fictitious valuation and the consequent tax on the -producers is the great curse of this country. Ignatius Donnelly used to -tell a story about a hen that laid an egg in a nest fitted with a false -bottom. The egg disappeared, and the hen laid another, continuing in her -vain effort to have an egg show up in the nest until there was nothing -left of her but the feathers. The fictitious capitalization is the false -bottom that takes the products of the laborer, leaving him nothing to -show for his efforts.—_Willmar (Minn.) Tribune._ - - * * * * * - -The Hepburn rate bill now pending in Congress is nothing more nor less -than the Hearst bill with a few loopholes in it for the convenience -of those railroad companies that may desire to side-step its -provisions.—_Globe (Ariz.) Register._ - - * * * * * - -The fact that the congressmen of both old parties are almost a unit for -the railroad rate bill now pending in Congress, should be enough to -satisfy any reasonable man that the people can get their rights only -through a new party. The bill is a miserable pretense engineered by -railroad tools in Congress, and its object is to make the people believe -they are going to get relief through the old parties.—_Chillicothe (Mo.) -World._ - - * * * * * - -Gov. Magoon testifies that men may be put to death in the Panama Canal -zone without trial. It seems to be easier to put them to death than to -put them to work.—_Athens (Ill.) Free Press._ - - * * * * * - -The time has come when we need men that stand for something. The day is -past when our forefathers stood for truth, honor, principle; and all that -was right must be called into play again or this republic will be but an -iridescent dream.—_Marion (Ala.) Democrat._ - - * * * * * - -A writer in a recent issue of a so-called farm paper says the reason -boys go to towns and cities to live is because they long for a life in -which they will be independent of every one else on earth. Then why in -thunder do they go to the cities to find it? A man might as well dig out -gopher holes expecting to find wolves as to go to the cities to find an -independent life. The place to find that is on the farm. Here we are our -own boss, and if any one else does not like the way we do, we are in a -position to tell him to go to—with no danger of losing our job.—_Irrigon -(Ore.) Irrigator._ - - * * * * * - -It now looks like Marion Butler is arranging to take charge of the -Republican Party in North Carolina. We make no prediction about what will -be or what will not be done. Those who know his past record will hesitate -before surrendering entirely to a man who is so thoroughly repudiated by -all classes in this state.—_Asheboro (N. C.) Courier._ - - * * * * * - -The Chicago Tribune asks: “Granting that it will take seven years to -construct the Panama canal, have the seven years begun yet?” That is -rather a hard question, not knowing the personality of the timekeeper. -However, there is one thing in connection with the scheme that we are all -well aware of—the big salaries of the political constructors have begun, -all right.—_Farmington Valley Herald, Hartford, Conn._ - - * * * * * - -According to the _Pantagraph_, Senator Cullom should be re-elected -because he stayed in Washington after the session of Congress of last -winter and did work that he was drawing a salary of $5,000 a year to do. -The statement that his present illness was brought on by overwork seems -preposterous. Who ever heard of a United States Senator overworking, -unless it was to keep himself in office? From present indications, it -seems that the people of the state are willing to give Mr. Cullom a rest -from his overwork.—_Colfax (Ill.) Press._ - - * * * * * - -John A. McCall, late head of a giant life insurance company, is dead, -and, as far as mortal knows, is at rest for the first time for months. -This erstwhile gentleman and master of high finance was “weighed in the -balance and found wanting.” The weighing was done by fellow citizens, -which made remorse all the more keen. Rapid decline followed and -McCall, broken-hearted, deserted and despised, is gone. His fate should -be an example to others who are tempted to do wrong. A half dozen other -luminaries of New York, who were caught dead to rights in the insurance -frauds, are fast following in McCall’s wake, and are even now all but -ostracized by social and business associates. The weight of the common -verdict against them is bearing heavily upon their shoulders, streaking -their hair and furrowing their faces. Their sins are finding them -out.—_Washington (Ill.) Register._ - - * * * * * - -Old political systems are being broken up by the heat of public common -sense and non-partisan movements. The independent American citizen -and voter is going to make himself felt, by gosh!—_Mt. Vernon (Ind.) -Unafraid._ - - * * * * * - -John A. McCall has departed to the great bar of all time. There is no -doubt but that shame and humiliation killed this proud, self-made man. - -Wrong-doing is bound to bring its death sentence to all lives, rich or -poor.—_Milford Centre (O.) Ohioan._ - - * * * * * - -“Some day, we pray to God, there will come a House which will hold tight -the purse-strings, and, on some measure of right, say to our lords: ‘Pass -the bill or get no money. We will go to the country on this issue.’ And -then we will have achieved what the English House of Commons won in 1832, -and our Senate will become the perfunctory body the House of Lords ever -since has been.”—_St. Louis Dispatch._ - -That sounds like it came from way up in the amen corner, and is likely to -have many hearty responses.—_Salem (Va.) Times-Register._ - - * * * * * - -Mr. Rogers, of the Standard Oil Trust, is the last man in the world who -should show contempt for the law. The law which is brought about through -class legislation has enabled him to become a millionaire by robbing the -public, and it is through respect for the law that an enraged public -permits him to hold his ill-gotten gains.—_Rolla (Mo.) Sharp Shooter._ - - * * * * * - -Well, the railroad rate bill has passed the House, with only seven -negative votes—all Republicans. But in the Senate is where the tug-of-war -comes.—_Malad (Ida.) People’s Advocate._ - - * * * * * - -Pure food is once more an issue in both houses of Congress, and the bill -bids fair to be defeated in the Senate, which numbers among its members -not a few who have interests in groceries, fisheries, packing and canning -houses that will be unfavorably affected by pure food legislation. -The clause most necessary to the effectiveness of the bill, the one -providing that all packages shall be labeled to show exactly the contents -of the package whether medicine, food or beverage, and which enables the -purchaser at least to know with what and when he is poisoning himself, is -the very clause that seems in greatest danger of defeat.—_Adams (N. Dak.) -Budget._ - - * * * * * - -And now the assertion comes forth that a large white goat in a New York -town by the name of Rockefeller, while the family heads were bowed -in sorrow, climbed upon the porch and devoured the wreath of flowers -which hung on the door. But, pshaw! that is only characteristic of the -name—swiping all in sight.—_Wrens (Ga.) Reporter._ - - * * * * * - -It is probable that when the Hepburn railway rate bill gets back to the -lower house of Congress that it and its author will scarcely have a -bowing acquaintance.—_Glenwood (Mo.) Phonograph._ - - * * * * * - -The fight in Congress over the railway rate bill seems to center on court -review of the orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Now the -courts have the right under the Constitution to review all orders of the -commission or they have not. Therefore why should the fight be over this -feature of the bill unless the railroads believe that the courts have had -this authority if denied in the measure, we are unable to comprehend. On -the first blush we should say that the courts, if asked, would have this -right, for they have claimed the right to review almost any and every -thing till the Democratic Party was forced to denounce “government by -injunction.” Still, the railroads occupy a peculiar position toward the -people of the country. - -The stockholders in a railroad corporation have not the same rights the -stockholders have in nearly every other corporate body. - -The railroads have been permitted to condemn our land for their use, but -in so doing they incurred certain responsibilities to the public that are -imposed on no other corporation. - -It would therefore seem but just that if railroads can force us to -part with our real estate, surely we, the people, have a right to say -that these roads shall be managed just as the people through their -representatives in Congress desire, and unless such regulations are -confiscatory the courts shall have no say.—_Tarboro (N. C.) Southern._ - - * * * * * - -Having resigned from seventy corporations, Senator Depew must be awful -lonesome when the directors meet and make a noise like declaring a -dividend.—_Schaghticoke (N. Y.) Sun._ - - * * * * * - -Here is what we found in Sunday’s _Constitution_ about the Governor’s -race. - -One article about Hoke Smith and Tom Watson brands them as assassins of -Democracy. In another place is the following complimentary clipping -about Estill: “The weekly papers are giving Colonel John H. Estill the -squarest kind of a deal. The Savannahian is the man to watch and his -following seems to be growing rapidly in all quarters of the state.” - -And on the same page is another clipping from the _Tifton Gazette_, in -which Estill, Judge Russell and Mr. Howell are spoken of as men of the -most sterling integrity, distinguished ability and unflinching honor, and -either of them would do Georgia credit in the gubernatorial chair. - -Is it a wonder that the common people believe that Clark Howell, Estill -and Judge Russell are in a combination to beat Hoke Smith?—_Lawrenceville -(Ga.) Gwinnett Journal._ - - * * * * * - -The old adage “competition is the life of trade” has been transformed -to “combination is the life of trade” to suit the condition of the -times.—_Oakland (Md.) Journal._ - -“Wall Street Is Playing with Fire” is the startling head line in a local -paper. There is no need for alarm, though. Wall Street has plenty of -water to put out any fire.—_Almond (N. Y.) Gleaner._ - - * * * * * - -The great copper war which for years has been waged between Heinze and -the Amalgamated has been ended by what is practically a merger of the -opposing interests. This fight between stock gamblers for the control -of immense properties has for years divided the people of Montana -into bitter factions, has disorganized politics, corrupted judges and -legislatures and had a baneful effect upon all the people of the state. -Now that the contending forces have made peace the public will probably -be the more thoroughly fleeced.—_Warren (Minn.) Sheaf._ - - * * * * * - -Precedent has been found which shows that Henry H. Rogers could have been -legally made to testify. We have been of that opinion all the time, but -it is only another instance where the sword of Justice and the law has -proved insufficient when met by the shield and armor of gold.—_Santa Anna -(Tex.) News._ - - * * * * * - -Congress has decided to investigate the coal and oil trusts. A nice -summer’s job is here cut out for somebody. It is hoped there will be -no Garfield business about the investigation. The miserable failure -Commissioner Garfield made of that Beef Trust investigation should be -enough to disgust even a Roosevelt.—_Seaford (Del.) News._ - - * * * * * - -According to a statement issued by the Bureau of Statistics last -Saturday with reference to the number and value of farm animals in the -United States, there are more cows than any other one domestic animal. -But the horse, while next to the lowest in number, is more valuable. -The mules rank lowest in number and the sheep lowest in value. The -report shows that the total value of all the farm animals to be nearly -$4,000,000,000.—_Hamilton (Tex.) Herald._ - - * * * * * - -The United States Senate, by a vote of 38 to 27, has passed the shipping -subsidy bill. The bill appropriates $200,000,000 of the taxpayers’ -money for the American merchant marine. What a lovely gift! Voting the -people’s money to boost a class of wealthy business men. What a lovely -principle!—_Veblen (S. Dak.) Advance._ - - * * * * * - -While a lot of fellows have been sent to jail for stealing loaves of -bread, hams, shoes and such, none of the big insurance thieves have even -been indicted. Justice is not only blind, but she is deaf as a post, -dumb as an oyster, and she couldn’t smell a fertilizer factory at ten -feet.—_Pennsboro (W. Va.) News._ - - * * * * * - -To judge from the Standard Oil witnesses in the New York investigation, -we shall no doubt hear a demand for the Government to be ruled for -contempt in wanting to know too much.—_Parco City (Okla.) Democrat._ - - * * * * * - -John A. McCall, ex-president of the New York Life Insurance Company, -who confessed that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars belonging -to widows and orphans and used the money as a corruption fund to help -elect McKinley and Roosevelt presidents of the United States, is dead and -gone,—we don’t know where, but if we were dead too, we wouldn’t hunt him -up.—_Granville (Ia.) Gazette._ - - * * * * * - -Members of the lower house are chuckling over the predicament one of -their colleagues finds himself in. It seems the unsophisticated private -secretary of this especial representative forwarded to Washington by -mail three parts of a sectional bookcase, using his employer’s postal -frank. The bookcases contained private books, and one of them is said to -have concealed a miscellaneous collection of kitchen utensils intended -for the owner’s home there. The entire collection was “unfrankable” and -the local postmaster has called on the representative to pay postage on -his property to the amount of $72. The name of the representative is -being kept secret, but that doesn’t soothe his feelings to any great -extent.—_Bowlder (S. Dak.) Pioneer._ - - * * * * * - -President Roosevelt and Secretary Taft are said to favor a lock canal. -If reports are true, that’s the matter with the project now. It’s locked -with red tape and departmental interferences.—_Clifton (Tenn.) Mirror._ - - * * * * * - -Governor Pattison of Ohio signed the Freiner two-cent fare bill which -was accepted by the Senate and it is now a law. It will not go into -effect, however, until thirty days have elapsed. The law provides that -two cents shall be the maximum rate charged in Ohio for transporting -passengers on the railroads of Ohio for all distances in excess of five -miles.—_Winfield (La.) Comrade._ - - * * * * * - -The Senate has passed the corrupt subsidy bill granting $20,000,000 a -year to the steel trust infant industry so that our merchant marine can -compete with that of other nations. Isn’t that satisfactory evidence that -U. S. senators should be elected by direct vote of the people? Remove -the tariff and our ship builders can “compete” without a subsidy.—_Alva -(Okla.) Renfrew’s Record._ - - * * * * * - -There’s one consolation to the poor man when he thinks of John D. -Rockefeller being the richest man in the world; he knows that the devil -won’t let him bring a cent of it to hell with him.—_St Louis (Mo.) -National Rip Saw._ - - * * * * * - -It is just as true today as it ever was that the safest and most -honorable way for a man to secure a competence is to do it little by -little, taking a lifetime for the work. The haste to be rich and make -money fast is the economic curse of America today. Every man wants to -draw a prize in the business lottery and it is seldom indeed that he is -content with small savings and safe investments.—_Headland (Ala.) Post._ - - * * * * * - -Managers of the Hepburn Rate Bill contemplate providing it with a set of -puncture-proof tires when it starts its round of the Senate.—_Alma (Neb.) -Record._ - - * * * * * - -The United States Senate passed a “Ship Subsidy Bill” the other day in -just three minutes. Anything that has “Subsidy” (the proper word is -graft) to it gets through just as soon as some member makes plain the -amount of graft in the measure.—_Smith Crater (Kan.) Messenger._ - - * * * * * - -It is being told that a Kansas man, accompanied by his little son, -visited the Senate while in Washington last week and the boy was -particularly interested in Edward Everett Hale, a magnificent looking old -man. His father told him that he was the chaplain. “Oh, he prays for the -Senate, doesn’t he?” asked the boy. “No,” replied the father, “he gets up -and takes a look at the Senate and prays for the country.”—_Enid (Okla.) -Echo._ - - * * * * * - -The Ohio legislature has passed a law making a uniform rate of two -cents a mile on all railroads in that state. The railroads on the other -hand have decided to cut off all forms of transportation except the -two cent fare. This includes reduced transportation for conventions, -1,000-mile books, all charity business, round trip rates, and clergymen’s -rates.—_Stewartville (Minn.) Times._ - - * * * * * - -Leslie Shaw, Secretary of the Treasury, says that we have the best -banking system on earth. Still in the past few months failures in five -national banks have footed up to almost $7,000,000. Now if these banks -had had out a flood of asset currency, backed only by the assets of the -banks, and no doubt they would have had, the Government would probably -have lost as large a sum, and all of this would have had to come out of -the people for the benefit of the speculators.—_Lansing (Mich.) Capital -City Democrat._ - - * * * * * - -The end of old Steve Elkins, the blocks-of-five-election buyer, he, -who, with the aid of his father-in-law, Gassaway Davis, got control of -most of the coal mines and railroads of West Virginia, is in sight. The -extortions of the coal trust and railroad combine that Elkins organized -have become so unbearable that the Republican governor of that state has -appealed to Senator Tillman to secure an investigation. The Republicans -of the Senate dare not deny it. When the truth comes out that will be the -end of Elkins, for which all the people will give thanks unto God.—_Omaha -(Neb.) Investigator._ - - * * * * * - -They don’t seem to be doing much digging on that great canal, but they -manage to bury a considerable amount of money there.—_Cresson (Tex.) -Courier._ - - -_The Best_ - -She (_indignantly_)—Stop, sir! You shall not kiss me again! How rude you -are! Don’t you know any better? - -He (_cheerily_)—I haven’t kissed every girl in town, it is true, but as -far as I have gone I certainly don’t know any better. - - - - -[Illustration: _News Record_] - -FROM FEBRUARY 8 TO MARCH 8, 1906 - - -_Home News_ - -February 8.—John A. McCall, former President of the New York Life -Insurance Co., is seriously ill at Lakewood, N. J. - - Richard A. McCurdy, former President of the Mutual Life - Insurance Co., plans to leave the United States and make his - home in Paris. - - The New York Life Insurance Company’s “house cleaning” - committee reveal that Judge Andrew Hamilton has received - $1,347,382 from that company since 1892. This is $283,383 - in excess of the total payments disclosed by the Armstrong - Committee. The committee recommends legal action against John - A. McCall for the recovery of the amount. - - Senator La Follette, of Wisconsin, introduces a bill in the - Senate making it an offense for any Government officer, - official or employee to accept a railroad pass or franking - privilege over telegraph lines. - - By a vote of 346 to 7 the House of Representatives passes - the Hepburn railroad rate regulation bill just as it came - from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, and - declared by Chairman Hepburn to be exactly in accordance with - recommendations of President Roosevelt on the subject. - - The House of Representatives passes the General Pension bill - for the year ending June 30, 1907. The bill appropriates - $140,245,000. Congressman Gardner, of Michigan, declares - that when the last pensioner on account of the Civil War has - disappeared from the rolls, $12,000,000,000 will have been - expended. - -February 9.—The Illinois coal operators decide to refuse the demands of -the United Mine Workers for an increase in wages. - - The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passes a resolution - directing the attorney general of that state to ascertain - whether any railroad companies in Pennsylvania are engaged in - the mining of coal, and if so, to proceed against them. - - By reducing the rate of railroad fares to two cents a mile, it - is estimated that the people of Ohio will be saved $4,000,000 - a year, or a sum equal to almost all the taxes paid for the - support of the state government. - - The Senate Committee takes under consideration the Hepburn - railroad rate bill. - - The taking of testimony against Senator Reed Smoot, the Mormon, - ends. Senator Smoot’s counsel will introduce testimony in his - defense. - - The House of Representatives passes 429 pension bills. The - Judiciary Committee of the House begins an investigation to - ascertain whether or not Congress has the power for Federal - control of insurance. - - Secretary Taft appears before the Senate Committee on the - Philippines and says the United States will probably suffer no - reduction in tariff income under the Philippine tariff bill - passed by the House of Representatives. - - Secretary Root proposes to reorganize the State Department and - put it on a business basis. - - Charles E. Magoon, governor of the Panama Canal Zone, appears - before the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals. He declares - the sanitary conditions good, the Supreme Court of Panama - capable and impartial, and advises the coinage of silver money - for use on the Isthmus. - - The differences between President Dolan, of the United Mine - Workers of the Pittsburg district, and the delegates to the - convention are taken to the courts. - -February 11.—Samuel Glasgow, manager of a milling company of -Spokane, Washington, claims to have received Chinese papers from his -representative in China, claiming that a recent speech of William J. -Bryan to Chinese merchants had been used to stir up renewed antipathy to -American goods. - - John Mitchell, President of the United Mine Workers, reaches - New York City to confer with the mine operators on the new - scale of wages demanded by the miners. - - President Baer, of the Reading Railroad, states that the - Pennsylvania Legislature has not the power to interfere with - the vested rights of coal-carrying railroads. - -February 12.—The Senate passes the resolution introduced by Senator -Tillman which directs the Interstate Commission to investigate the -alleged discrimination by railroad companies in the matter of the -transportation of coal and other commodities; as to whether the railroad -companies own stock in coal companies or in other commodities carried -by them; whether any of the railroad officers are interested in such -commodities; whether there is any monopolizing combination or trust in -which the railroads are interested, and whether any of the railroad -companies control the output of coal or fix its price. The Commission -also is directed to investigate the system of car distribution, and -whether there is discrimination against shippers either in the matter of -the distribution of cars or otherwise. - - Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts, makes a speech in the Senate - favoring a revision by the courts of all rates made by the - Commission. This would practically kill the effectiveness of - the Hepburn bill. - - The Pennsylvania House of Representatives adopt a resolution - that the Attorney General be instructed to inquire into the - allegations that the Pennsylvania Railroad, the New York - Central and the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Railroad - companies, and their leased lines, are directly or indirectly - engaged in the mining of bituminous coal, and if it be found - that they are engaged in this business that he proceed against - them. - - Leaders of the United Mine Workers reach New York to hold a - conference with their President, John Mitchell. - -February 13.—F. Augustus Heinze, defeated in the courts, sells his -Montana copper mines to the trust, ending the great Montana copper war. - - John Mitchell and the wage-scale committee of the Mine Workers - are working on the schedule of demands which will be presented - to the mine operators. - - The committee to which Thomas W. Lawson has turned over all his - proxies of the Mutual and New York Life Insurance Companies - agree to employ counsel to aid them in their efforts to oust - the new managements of the two companies. Five members of - Lawson’s committee are governors of various states. - - Attorney General Hadley, of Missouri, who is conducting the - State’s case against the Standard Oil Co., goes to Iowa - and gets testimony from former officers of the Standard’s - subsidiary companies. He states that he has made out his case - against the Standard. - - George W. Beavers, of New York, former Chief of the Division of - Salaries and Allowances of the Post Office Department, pleads - guilty to a charge of conspiracy, and is sentenced to two years - imprisonment. Machen and others have already been convicted and - are serving sentences. - - The Bituminous Coal Trade League, of Pennsylvania, sends - Congressman Gillespie, of Texas, a petition stating that - Senators Elkins, of West Virginia, and Gorman, of Maryland - have caused violations of the anti-trust laws. Former Senator - H. G. Davis, of West Virginia, father-in-law to Senator - Elkins, cousin to Gorman, and Vice Presidential nominee of the - Democratic party in 1904, is also accused of being a party to - these violations. - -February 14.—The “housecleaning” committee of the New York Life Insurance -Co. submits a report to the trustees of the company, showing that -$148,702.50 has been illegally contributed to campaign funds in the last -three elections. The committee recommends that suits for the recovery of -the same be brought against John A. McCall and all other officers who had -anything to do with making the contributions. - - John G. Brady, Governor of Alaska, resigns. - - The House of Representatives passes the appropriation bill for - fortifications. The total amount appropriated is $4,383,993, - $600,000 of this to be spent in fortifying the Philippines and - Hawaii. - - The Senate passes the ship subsidy bill. If the bill becomes - a law it is estimated that $26,000,000, will be taken from - the United States Treasury and paid out in bounties to vessel - owners during the next ten years. - - The resolution of Representative Sulzer, of New York, calling - for an inquiry regarding the sale of the old New York Custom - House to the National City Bank, of New York, passes the House - by a unanimous vote. - -February 15.—John Mitchell presents the demands of the miners to the mine -owners. Committees are appointed to represent both sides. - - Congressman Longworth procures a license to marry Miss Alice - Roosevelt. The President attends Mr. Longworth’s bachelor - dinner. - - James W. Alexander is again stricken with paralysis and is in a - sanitarium at Deerfield, Mass. - - Officers of the beef packers again testify that Commissioner - Garfield promised that no evidence they gave would be used - against them. The testimony brought out these facts: First, - Commissioner Garfield apparently took the word of Armour & - Co.’s general superintendent that the Armour Car Company, - which has been declared the tap root of the Beef Trust, was - not owned by Armour & Co., and had nothing to do with the - fresh meat industry, and made no further attempt to get - information concerning the private car line monopoly. Second, - Swift & Co. gave information reluctantly to the Commissioner - of Corporations, and only after consulting counsel. At this - conference attorneys for the other packers in the trust - were present. The secretary of Swift & Co. contributed the - information that he sought this advice of counsel because he - “wanted it.” - -February 16.—James W. Alexander, former President of the Equitable Life -Insurance Co., is operated on. The physicians refuse to tell the nature -of the operation, but give hopes of Alexander’s recovery. - - Reports from Memphis, Tenn., state that more than fifty per - cent of the Southern peach crop has been killed and the other - fifty per cent is commercially worthless. - - State Senator James Minton, of New Jersey, invites Thomas W. - Lawson, Ida Tarbell and Attorney-General Hadley, of Missouri, - to attend a public hearing on his resolution calling on - Attorney-General McCarter, of New Jersey, to bring proceedings - to annul the charter of the Standard Oil Company. - - Stuyvesant Fish, a member of the “housecleaning” committee of - the Mutual Life Insurance Co., resigns because Standard Oil - interests obstruct a thorough investigation of the company’s - affairs. - - On account of the illness of Senator Tillman, the Senate - postpones the vote on the railroad rate bill until February 23. - -February 17.—Miss Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of the President, is -married, in the White House, to Congressman Nicholas Longworth, of -Cincinnati. - - Justice Rufus W. Peckham, of the United States Supreme Court, - advises the “housecleaning” committee of the Mutual Life - Insurance Co. to bring action against Richard A. McCurdy, - ex-president of the company, before he leaves this country. - - Fire destroys $1,000,000 worth of wheat at Duluth, Minnesota. - - President Peabody, of the Mutual Life Insurance Co., refuses to - give his consent for an investigation of the company’s board of - trustees by the “housecleaning” committee. - -February 18.—John A. McCall, late president of the New York Life -Insurance Co., dies at Lakewood, N. J. His death was hastened by the -recent insurance scandals. The New York _World_ sums up the result of the -insurance investigation as follows: - - John A. McCall, dead, fortune shattered; J. W. Alexander, - mental and physical wreck; James H. Hyde, self-expatriated in - Paris; Robert A. McCurdy, preparing to follow Hyde; Robert H. - McCurdy, preparing to follow his father; Judge Andy Hamilton, - on the Riviera; Thomas D. Jordan, in seclusion; Andrew Fields, - in seclusion; Louis Thebaud, going to Paris; W. H. McIntyre, in - seclusion; George W. Perkins, reputation smirched; Chauncey M. - Depew, damaged in reputation. - - John B. Stetson, the millionaire hat manufacturer of - Philadelphia, dies at Gillen, Florida. - - John Mitchell and his associates, representing the anthracite - miners, complete their demands to the coal operators. They will - be presented in a day or two. - - President Roosevelt prepares to have the frauds in connection - with the Indian affairs in Indian Territory investigated. - -February 19.—Eight suits are begun by the Mutual Life Insurance Co. -against the McCurdys, Louis A. Thebaud, son-in-law of Richard A. McCurdy, -and C. H. Raymond & Co., for restitution of moneys of the company -illegally spent. This includes campaign contributions, illegal salaries, -rebates and illegal commissions. - - President Roosevelt recommends to Congress a lock canal of - eighty-five foot level across the Isthmus of Panama. The lock - canal was also favored by the Canal Commission and Secretary - Taft. A majority of the Board of Consulting Engineers favored a - sea level canal. - - The United States Supreme Court decides that it is illegal for - railroads to sell commodities which they transport as common - carriers. The decision of the Court bears directly on railroads - that own or operate coal mines. - - Congressman E. Spencer Blackburn, of North Carolina, is accused - of accepting a fee for using his influence to obtain action - by an executive department. The offense is similar to the one - committed by Senator Burton. - - The trial of the beef packers continues at Chicago. E. Dana - Durand, chief assistant to Commissioner Garfield, testifies - that the Department of Commerce turned over certain data - obtained from the packers to the Department of Justice. - - Sixteen miners are killed by an explosion at Maitland, Colorado. - - A sub-committee of the House Committee on Interstate and - Foreign Commerce takes action on the Tillman, Gillespie and - Campbell resolution to authorize the Interstate Commerce - Committee to investigate the connection between railroads and - coal and oil companies. All three of the resolutions will be - embodied in one and sent back to the House for passage. - - The Interstate Commerce Commission orders an investigation - of the rates and practices of the railroad carriers engaged - in transporting oil from Kansas and Indian Territory to - interstate destinations. - - Representative Campbell introduces a joint resolution to - authorize the Interstate Commerce Commission to immediately - investigate and report to Congress from time to time whether - any interstate commerce carriers own or control any oil or - other products which they ship as common carriers; whether the - officers of such carriers charged with the distribution of - cars and furnishing facilities for transportation are directly - or indirectly owners of companies interested in oil products; - whether a combination in restraint of trade exists between the - carriers and the shippers of oil products, and whether the - officers of oil companies are officers, agents or members of - the directory of any common carrier. - - Congressman Mann, of Illinois, introduces a bill to make - insurance business interstate commerce. - - Senator Tillman introduces a bill in the Senate to prohibit - corporations from making money contributions in connection with - political elections. - -February 20.—The McCurdys prepare to fight the suits brought against them -by the Mutual Life Insurance Co. for the restitution of money illegally -taken from the company. The McCurdys and Raymond & Co. also charge that -other officials and trustees of the Mutual received rebates on their own -policies. - - Opinions of prominent lawyers show that the Supreme Court’s - decision against railroads owning commodities which they haul - as common carriers will prevent railroads from operating if - not from owning coal mines. Most of the big coal mines in - the country are either owned, controlled or operated by the - railroads. - - Commissioner of Corporations James R. Garfield testifies in the - case of the Government against the beef packers now being tried - at Chicago. He denies that he promised the packers immunity - from prosecution or that all information given him would be - regarded as confidential. - - Pittsburg, Pa., follows the example of other cities and throws - off the yoke of boss rule. George W. Guthrie, a Democrat - supported by the independent factions, defeats Alexander M. - Jenkinson, the Republican candidate of the Frick-Mellon-Cassatt - combination. - - The House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce - recommends a favorable report to the House on the bill for an - investigation by the Interstate Commerce Commission of the - relations between railroads and coal and oil companies. This is - the resolution introduced in the Senate by Senator Tillman, - with a few modifications of the Gillespie and Campbell - resolutions substituted. - -February 21.—President Roosevelt announces that he will not try to -influence the Senate Committee’s action on the Hepburn railroad rate -bill, but intimates that he will veto any bill that does not meet his -approval. - - John Mitchell declares there will be a coal strike in the - bituminous coal fields. - - The Senate passes a pure food bill by a vote of 63 to 4. - The bill makes it a crime to ship from one state to another - any article of food, drugs, medicines or liquors which is - adulterated or misbranded, or which contains any poisonous or - deleterious substances. - - General Grosvenor, of Ohio, is defeated for re-nomination to - Congress. Gen. Grosvenor has been in Congress twenty years. - - The House of Representatives takes up the army appropriation - bill. Chairman Hull, of Iowa, urges the need of preparing for - an emergency, as there is fear of trouble with China. - - John A. McCall is buried in New York City. McCall left no money - and the suits for recovery of money illegally paid Hamilton - will be dropped. - - Because of his stand for an honest investigation of the Mutual - Life Insurance Co., the trustees who fear exposure plan to oust - Stuyvesant Fish from the presidency of the Illinois Central - Railroad. - -February 22.—John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers, has -another conference with several mine operators on a new scale of wages to -be paid after April 1. - - Mrs. Minor Morris, who was forcibly ejected from the White - House some time ago, issues a statement in which she denounces - the President for her treatment. - - Senator Knox, of Pennsylvania, introduces a railroad rate - regulation bill giving the courts the right to review any - order or action of the Interstate Commerce Commission. It is - the intention of the railroad senators to add the court review - clause of the Knox bill to the Hepburn bill. - - In the report to the New York Legislature the Armstrong, - or Insurance Investigating, Committee, makes the following - recommendations. - - Not only should stock corporations be permitted to give - policy-holders the right to vote, but an opportunity should be - afforded for conversion into purely mutual companies. - - The law as to investments in securities should be amended so as - to provide: That no investment in the stock of any corporation - shall be permitted, except in public stocks of municipal - corporations. - - The statute should forbid all syndical participations, - transactions for purchase and sale on joint account, and the - making of any agreement providing that the company shall - withhold from sale for any time or subject to the discretion of - others any securities which it may own or acquire. - - No officer or director should be pecuniarily interested in any - purchase, sale or loan made by the corporation. - - Contributions by insurance corporations for political purposes - should be strictly forbidden.... Any officer, director - or agent, making, authorizing or consenting to any such - contribution should be guilty of a misdemeanor. - - The company should be compelled to set forth in its annual - statement to the Superintendent of Insurance all sums so - disbursed (for lobbying), giving the names of the payees, the - amounts paid and the specific purpose of the payment. - - Limit the amount of new business; prohibit bonuses, prizes - and awards; limit renewal commissions to four years and to, - say, 10 per cent. of the first year’s premiums; prohibit loans - and advances to agents; limit total expenses to the total - “loadings” upon the premiums. - - The companies should be required annually to file with the - Superintendent of Insurance a gain and loss exhibit for the - year in a prescribed form, showing the amount available for - distribution, the amount of dividends declared and the method - of calculation by which they have been determined. - - Section 56 should be repealed and the matter should be left - subject to the general provisions of the Code of Civil - Procedure relating to actions against corporations. - - In addition to requiring approval of the Superintendent of - other than certain standard forms, provision should be made - for the standardization of the new types of policies.... The - issue of other policies than those thus provided for should be - prohibited. - - The committee recommends publicity of names and addresses - of policy-holders and the giving them the right to verify - statements and prosecute for falsity. The committee recommends - requiring statements in elaborate detail covering all - transactions, and favors giving the Superintendent of Insurance - power to examine under oath. - -February 23.—Stuyvesant Fish resigns as a trustee from the Mutual Life -Insurance Co. and will head a committee of policy-holders to fight the -present management. - - Insurance men plan to fight the new laws recommended by the - Armstrong Committee before the New York Legislature, and, if - unsuccessful there, to carry the matter before the courts. - - The Hepburn railroad rate regulation bill is reported by the - Senate committee without any amendments. Through trickery of - Senator Aldrich, the bill will be presented to the Senate by - Senator Tillman as a Democratic measure. - - The House of Representatives passes a resolution ordering an - investigation of the relations between coal and oil carrying - railroads and coal and oil companies. - - Commissioner Garfield again testifies in the trial of the beef - packers at Chicago. He admits that the Department of Commerce - and Labor furnished the Department of Justice with evidence. - - Johann Hoch, the noted bigamist, is hanged at Chicago. - -February 24.—The House Committee on Immigration unanimously agrees on a -bill to amend the immigration laws. The new bill will make naturalization -uniform throughout the United States, and confines the issuance of -citizenship papers to United States Circuit and District Courts, and -to the highest court of original jurisdiction of each state. The bill -further provides that an alien must be able to read, write and speak -English before he can become a citizen. - - Since Senator Aldrich’s trick of having Senator Tillman, of - South Carolina, report the Hepburn railroad rate bill, which - makes it a Democratic measure, Washington despatches state - that the long standing feud between the President and Senator - Tillman will end. - -February 25.—C. Augustus Seton, who is under arrest in New York City, -confesses to forging $4,300,000 worth of Norfolk and Western Railroad -stock certificates. - - Coal mine operators give out statements saying there will be a - strike, as they will refuse to grant the miners’ requests. T. - L. Lewis, vice-president of the United Mine Workers, declares - there will be no strike and that the operators will grant the - requests of the miners. - - Harry Orchard, who assassinated the late Governor Steunenberg, - of Idaho, confesses to taking part in 26 murders. - - Ex-Speaker David B. Henderson dies at Dubuque, Iowa. Mr. - Henderson served two terms as speaker, succeeding the late - Thomas B. Reed. He was elected in 1883 and served continuously - until the end of the Fifty-seventh Congress. - -February 26.—The Missouri Supreme Court hands down a decision which -it is believed will influence the Supreme Court of New York to order -H. H. Rogers to answer the questions asked him in the Standard Oil -investigation. At the time Attorney-General Hadley, of Missouri, was -taking depositions in the case in New York City, Rogers was put on the -witness stand. He refused to answer certain questions and expressed -his contempt for Missouri Courts. Mr. Hadley went before Justice -Gildersleeve, of the New York Supreme Court, and asked for an order -forcing Rogers to answer or be held in contempt of court. The order was -refused on the grounds that the questions involved had never been passed -upon by the Missouri courts. Now comes the Missouri court with a strong -decision which covers every point at issue. - - President Roosevelt intervenes to prevent the threatened coal - strike. - - In accordance with a decision handed down by the Supreme Court - of Texas, the Pacific, the United States, the American and - Wells-Fargo Express Companies, and fifty of the principal - railroads of the state, will have to pay $5,225,000 in - penalties for violating the anti-trust law. The court holds - that when a railroad company enters into an agreement with - an express company which excludes other companies from doing - a business on its lines, it restrains trade and stifles - competition, which is prohibited by the anti-trust law. - - The supposed shrewd trick of Senator Aldrich in having Senator - Tillman report the Hepburn railroad rate bill now has the - Republican Senators embarrassed. The Senate seems to be in - favor of the bill and the Republicans dare not let it pass as a - Democratic measure. Realizing that something must be done, they - appeal to Senator Spooner to draft a rate bill that will suit - all factions of the Republicans and be put through the Senate - as a party measure. - - William Nelson Cromwell, the New York lawyer who unloaded the - Panama Canal property on the United States, and who has since - acted as counsel to the President and Secretary Taft on Panama - matters, appears before the Senate committee. He denies that he - was the cause of ex-Chief Engineer Wallace’s resigning. When - questioned as to his dealings with Secretary Taft he refused to - answer. - -February 27.—Steel Trust officials and George Gould order the bituminous -coal mine operators to make peace with the miners and prevent a strike. - - The Insurance Commissioners of Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin, - Tennessee and Nebraska ask the New York Insurance Department to - co-operate with them in making an investigation of the Mutual - Life Insurance Co. - - William Nelson Cromwell again appears before the Senate - Committee on Interoceanic Canals. He continues to refuse to - answer questions as to his dealings with Secretary Taft and the - amount of his fees. Senator Morgan, of Alabama, produced a - copy of Cromwell’s contract with the French company, or Panama - Canal Co., which gave Cromwell the power to organize companies, - issue stock, bonds, etc., and finance any and all sorts of - organizations to further the idea of selling the canal to the - United States. - -February 28.—It is reported from Pittsburg that the United States Steel -Corporation, through President W. Ellis Corey, has demanded of the -Pittsburg Coal Company, with which it has a twenty-five-year contract -for coal, the minimum for each year being set at 8,000,000 tons, that -there be no strike in the Pittsburg district. At the same time the Gould -interests, so heavy in the West and Southwest, have ordered peace. As a -result there will be no strike of the bituminous miners, who will receive -a satisfactory advance. - - It is reported from Springfield, Ohio, that local militia, - called out to check a race riot caused by the shooting of M. - M. Davis, a brakeman, by a negro, has been unable to stop the - riot. An appeal has been made to the Governor to send more - troops. Early this morning houses were burning in the negro - quarter, and the authorities are powerless. - - Yesterday the President signed the Urgent Deficiency Bill, - which contains an appropriation of $118,000 for New York State - to pay its claim for money to equip Government troops during - the War of 1812. - - Five hundred delegates of the Independence League, guests of - William R. Hearst, appeared yesterday at Albany to plead before - the Governor and the Legislature for the passage of measures in - which the league is interested. - - The Commissioners of Insurance in the states of Kentucky, - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Nebraska have requested the - Insurance Department of New York State to co-operate with them - in an investigation of the Mutual Life Insurance Company. - - It is reported from Little Rock, Ark., that Thomas E. Jordan, - former Controller of the Equitable Life Insurance Company, and - who could not be located during the Armstrong Investigation, is - stopping with his wife at Hot Springs, Ark. - - The debate in the Senate on the railroad rate question opens - today with a speech by Senator Foraker, of Ohio. - - Yesterday, before the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals, - Senator Morgan, of Alabama, in his examination of William - Nelson Cromwell, produced an agreement between the Panama Canal - Commission and William Nelson Cromwell, showing that for a - large compensation the Panama Canal Company contracted to pay - William Nelson Cromwell a large compensation to Americanize - the Panama project. Mr. Cromwell said the enterprise proposed - in the document was abortive and died long ago. Senator Morgan - tried to learn from Mr. Cromwell how much he had received in - fees from the old or new Panama Company and by persistent - questioning deduced the fact that the total payments to Mr. - Cromwell did not exceed $200,000, extending over a term of - years, and giving to him from $10,000 to $15,000 a year. Mr. - Cromwell declined to say what service he had performed for - these sums, admitting only that his clients were satisfied. The - inquiry will be continued. - - At a dinner yesterday at Washington the Republican members - of Congress from New York proposed as the next nominee of - the Republican Party for Governor of New York State, Charles - E. Hughes, the inquisitor of the Armstrong Investigation - Committee. The platform indicated was based on general reform - and municipal ownership. - - The Inter-State Commerce Commission at Washington yesterday - announced its decision in the cases of the Fred G. Clark - Company against the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway - Company and the Waverley Oil Works against the Pennsylvania - Company and others. In these cases the New York, New Haven and - Hartford Railroad Company was the principal defendant. The - commission holds that the combination rates on petroleum and - its product from Cleveland and Pittsburg to points reached - by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad result in - unreasonable and unjust rates, and that the refusal of the - railroad company to consent to participate in through rates - is unjust and the situation is such as to favor greatly the - Standard Oil. In its final conclusion the commission holds - that the act to regulate commerce does not authorize it to - compel the establishment of joint rates or the conditions - of interchange in case the connecting carriers fail to - agree in respect thereto; and it therefore concludes that - notwithstanding that the combination rates are unjust and the - general shipping situation is such as to work a practical - monopoly in favor of the Standard Oil Company, the Commission - is without authority to grant relief in these cases and the - petitions are therefore dismissed. - - Yesterday at Washington the House Committee of Agriculture - decided by a vote of 8 to 7 not to recommend any appropriation - to buy seeds for free distribution by the Department of - Agriculture. - - Special counsel for the State of Missouri will make application - before the New York courts to compel Henry H. Rogers to answer - questions in the inquiry the State of Missouri has been making - into Standard Oil methods. - - In the United States Circuit Court at Chicago yesterday, Judge - Landis gave a decision that the Interstate Commerce Committee - has the power to compel witnesses to answer questions in - the hearing of Street’s Western Stable Car Line before the - commission. - - At Oklahoma City, Okla., yesterday, the assistant - attorney-general began to take testimony in the ouster case - against the Standard and other oil companies. A wholesale oil - dealer testified that he had been instructed to get samples of - oil shipped if he had to steal them; and also that there had - never been any competition between the Standard Oil and the - Waters-Pierce Company in Oklahoma. - - At Albany yesterday, Senator Saxe’s bill to impose a tax on - personal property wherever found, a measure designed to wipe - out tax dodging by rich New Yorkers who establish their legal - residence elsewhere, was passed in the Senate and goes to the - Governor. - - At Aiken, S. C., yesterday, Professor S. P. Langley, Secretary - of the Smithsonian Institution, died of paralysis. - -March 1.—Senator Foraker in the Senate yesterday made a speech, lasting -three hours, in which he attacked the Hepburn railroad rate bill. - - For several hours last evening the city of Springfield, Ohio, - was in the hands of a mob which burned two houses and partly - destroyed a dozen others. All of these houses were inhabited by - negroes. Hundreds of negroes have fled from the city. - - The annual report of the Pennsylvania Railroad shows a net - income for the year 1905 of more than $38,000,000, an increase - of about $10,000,000 as compared with 1904. The operating - expenses were reduced and traffic increased. - - At the annual meeting of the Equitable Life Assurance Society - yesterday the directors were informed that counsel of the - society were definitely engaged in working out a plan of - mutualization. - - Richard A. McCurdy, former president of the Mutual Life - Insurance Company sails for Europe today for an indefinite stay - abroad. - - William Nelson Cromwell reappeared yesterday before the Senate - Committee of Interoceanic Canals and admitted that he drew the - monetary agreement entered into between the Republic of Panama - and Secretary of War Taft. This agreement caused criticism - in the Senate recently because in fact it was a treaty made - without consulting that body. - - At Washington the Foreign Relations Committee finished its - work on the Santo Domingo treaty and reported it to the Senate. - The Republicans voted solidly for the report and the Democrats - against it. - - The Independence League of New York State has decided to - perfect an organization in every assembly district in the - State of New York. In William R. Hearst’s address at Albany - he said: “The fundamental idea of the Independence League is - independence of boss control, of corporate control and of any - party subject to boss rule and corporation control.” - - Yesterday the Senate in executive session ratified the treaty - between the United States and Japan relating to copyrights of - works of literature and art. - -March 2.—It is reported from Washington that the President has been -conferring with Senators, Representatives, members of the Interstate -Commerce Commission and members of his Cabinet on the question of the -Hepburn railroad rate bill, and he is willing to accept three or four -amendments of the bill if they will strengthen it for trial before the -courts. - - At Springfield, Ohio, the state militia charged the mob and - dispersed it. The members of the Commercial Club of that city - met to take action for the enforcement of the law, and said in - speeches that the present conditions were due to politicians - catering to negroes and low whites, and lax police and court - methods. - - John F. Wallace, formerly chief engineer of the Panama Canal - Commission, becomes an employee of the George Westinghouse - Company at a salary of $50,000 per year. Mr. Wallace is to - assist in building electric railways paralleling steam railways - in many parts of the country. - - It is reported from Washington that our Government takes a very - serious and gloomy view of the situation at Algeciras, and - would not be surprised to see the Moroccan conference end in a - rupture. - - The existence of a Mutual Life policy-holders’ movement of - world-wide scope, at the head of which will undoubtedly be - Stuyvesant Fish, became known yesterday through the exchange - of telegrams between Lord Northcliffe, formerly Sir Alfred - Harmsworth, and Mr. Fish. Lord Northcliffe is chairman of the - British protection committee of the Mutual Life policy holders. - -March 3.—John R. Walsh, president of the Chicago National Bank, which -failed December 18, 1905, was arrested yesterday on a Federal warrant -charging him with violation of the national banking laws in making false -reports to the Controller of Currency and with conversion to his own use -of bank funds amounting to $3,000,000. He was released after giving a -bond of $50,000. - - At Meridian, Miss., a tornado swept through the business centre - of the town, destroying $5,000,000 of property and about - thirteen lives. - - Springfield, Ohio, is quiet after two nights of rioting and - incendiary fires. The state militia is still on duty. - - At Chicago, executives of all the Eastern railways in session - failed to settle the differential rate controversy. On account - of the attitude of the Erie Railroad it seems impossible to - avert a rate war. Every line except the Erie voted for the - arbitration of the question. - - The Senate Committee of the Philippines voted to smother the - Philippine tariff bill yesterday. It is said that efforts will - be made to have the measure reconsidered or called before the - Senate. - - Commissioner of Public Works, J. M. Patterson, of Chicago, - yesterday gave his resignation to Mayor Dunne. Mr. Patterson - says he has become a convert to Socialism. - -March 4.—A delegation representing practically all life insurance -companies doing business in the United States will go to Albany on -March 9, the day set for the hearing of the bills that the insurance -investigation has presented, to state the case of the companies before -the Legislature. - - Ex-Governor James Stephen Hogg died yesterday at Houston, Tex. - at the age of 55. - -March 5.—It is reported that on the evening before his death the late -Ex-Governor Hogg said: “I want no monument of stone, but let my children -plant at the head of my grave a pecan tree, and at the foot a walnut -tree, and when these trees shall bear, let the pecans and walnuts be -given out among the plain people of Texas that they may plant them and -make Texas a land of trees.” - - At St. Augustine, Fla., yesterday, Lieutenant-General John M. - Schofield, retired, died of cerebral hemorrhage at the age of - 75. - -March 6.—In the House of Representatives at Washington, John Sharp -Williams attacked the President and the Attorney-General and introduced -a resolution, which was passed by the House, inquiring whether the -Department of Justice had instituted criminal prosecutions against any -of the individuals or corporations adjudged by the Supreme Court of -the United States in the Northern Securities case to have violated the -anti-trust laws. - - The Enterprise Transportation Company, carrying freight between - New York and Fall River, Mass., appeared before the Interstate - Commerce Commission in New York City, complaining that the - trunk lines out of New York refused to make through freight - rate arrangements with the Enterprise Transportation Company. - Lawyers representing nearly all the big railroads were present. - -March 7.—Andrew Hamilton, who was legislative agent for the New York -Life Insurance Company at Albany, returned yesterday to New York. On the -steamship he was registered as “H. A. Milton.” - - The suit of the State of Kansas against the Standard Oil - Company was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Kansas on March - 5th. This ends, so far as present litigation is concerned, the - movement begun a year ago by Kansas against the Standard Oil - Company and re-establishes that corporation in the position it - held previous to the effort made to exclude it from the state. - - Yesterday District-Attorney Jerome of New York City appeared - before the grand jury and asked that indictments be found - against the despoilers of the life insurance companies. - - In the 20th annual report of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, - published yesterday, it is pointed out that Boston has become - re-established as the second port of the country. - -March 8.—W. H. Moore, Municipal Ownership candidate for Mayor of Seattle, -was elected on a platform pledged to municipal ownership of public -utilities. - - All over the Dominion of Canada the banks are collecting - American silver money and shipping it to Montreal, whence it - is shipped to Washington and changed for gold. The removal of - American silver from Canada will be a good thing for the banks - and profitable for the government. The banks will be paid of ⅜ - of one per cent for collecting it and the government will bear - all transportation charges. It is estimated that the government - will clear at least one-half of a million dollars. - - It is reported that Andrew Hamilton, the legislative agent for - the New York Life Insurance Company, who has just returned - from Paris, consulted with District-Attorney Jerome before his - return to find out just what his chances were with the law. - - It has been learned that the National City Bank and the Hanover - Bank were the only two New York Banks who received yesterday - their allotment of a special deposit of $10,000,000 of - government funds which Secretary Shaw last week announced. The - news has caused much talk and criticism in banking circles. - - In a special message to the Senate and the House the President - said that the action of both houses in passing the resolution - directing the Interstate Commerce Commission to investigate the - subject of railroad rate discriminations and monopolies in - coal and oil was hasty, ill-considered and ineffective. - - -_Foreign News_ - -February 9.—Mutiny is said to continue in the Russian Black Sea fleet. -Admiral Chouknin is wounded by a woman at Sevastopol. Siberian plague has -broken out among the Russian troops in Manchuria. - - Professor Cattier, a prominent Belgian, publishes a book - stating that King Leopold has received $15,000,000 graft from - the rubber trade of the Congo Free State. - - Passengers from Venezuela say President Castro is actively - preparing for war with France. The people do not agree with the - President’s views and a revolution may follow. - - The negro inhabitants of the Transvaal and Orange River - Colonies, South Africa, are demanding of England all the - political rights enjoyed by the whites. - - The Colonial Minister of France presents to the Council of - Ministers, a plan for the political, administrative and - economic reorganization of the French Congo. - - Because of recent disorders, King Charles dissolves the - Portuguese Parliament. - - Fifty-five miners are drowned in a gold mine at Johannesburg, - Transvaal. - - The foreign representatives unite in demanding that the Shah - investigate conditions in the Province of Shiraz, Southern - Persia. Reports from other parts of Persia also show strong - feeling against the Shah. - -February 10.—A bomb kills four gendarmes at Warsaw. Assaults on police -continue throughout Russian Poland. - - The English garrison at Tibet is reported surrounded by hostile - tribes. - - The Irish members of Parliament again elect John Redmond - chairman of the Irish Parliamentary party. - - An armed expedition is sent against the religious fanatics of - Natal. - -February 12.—The general opinion at Algeciras is that France and Germany -will reach an agreement on the Moroccan question. - - General fear of another uprising and massacre in China is - expressed by despatches from different parts of that country. - - A proclamation is issued by the Governor-General at Odessa - declaring the Russian Government will put to death any one - found with deadly implements. - - Ex-Premier Balfour, of England, declares his policy to be one - to build up British industries by maintaining a larger foreign - market for manufacturers. - - The Imperial Protestant Federation sends a petition to King - Edward, of England, asking him to refuse consent to the - marriage of Princess Ena to King Alfonso of Spain. - - The new railroad over the Andes Mountains between Santiago, - Chili, and Buenos Ayres, Argentine Republic, begins operations. - -February 13.—Another revolution is started in Santo Domingo. - - St. Petersburg police save one of the Government banks from a - mob of revolutionists. Another armed revolt is frustrated at - Kharkoff, Russia. Many political prisoners are being sent to - Siberia. - - Reforms are being agitated in Persia which may result in that - country’s being given a constitution. - - Despatches from Algeciras state that the United States will - finally settle the dispute between France and Germany over the - Moroccan question. - - Venezuela offers to arbitrate her differences with France. - - The British Parliament meets preliminary to the formal opening - on Feb. 19. - -February 14.—Balfour and Chamberlain agree on a protective policy for -England. This will have no effect at this time, as a new Parliament -overwhelmingly in favor of free trade has just been elected. - - Despatches from Algeciras indicate that the American delegates - to the Moroccan conference are gradually bringing France and - Germany to a settlement of their dispute. - - The secret has leaked out that America, England and Japan have - had a secret agreement concerning China since the close of the - Russo-Japanese war. - - A monument at El Caney in honor of the Americans who lost their - lives during the siege of Santiago is unveiled. - -February 15.—Fearing an outbreak in China, two of Admiral Sigsbee’s -cruisers are sent to reinforce the American Far Eastern fleet. - - St. Petersburg reports show that the Russian Terrorists hire - boys to throw bombs. - - The situation at Algeciras is unchanged. - -February 17.—The Czar of Russia prevents a disruption of his Cabinet by -bringing about peace between Premier Witte and Interior Minister Durnovo. -General Linevitch turns over his command of the Russian troops in the far -East to Gen. Grodekoff. St. Petersburg police arrest a band of Terrorists -and discover enough poisons to kill half the population of St. Petersburg. - - It is discovered that China has placed orders with German - manufacturers for 1,000,000 small arms and 100 cannon. - - Venezuela completes all preparations for war. The Venezuelan - Government appoints Guzman Garbiras to succeed M. - Veloz-Goiticoa as Minister to the United States. - -February 18.—Clement Armand Fallières, recently elected President of the -French Republic, assumes his duties. - - The Russian Government orders the Governor General of East - Siberia to prevent Capt. Einar Mikkelson from hoisting the - American flag on any island which he may discover in the Arctic - Ocean north of East Siberia and between Wrangel Land and the - Parry Islands. - - The body of the late King Christian IX of Denmark is entombed - in Roskelde’s cathedral, Copenhagen. - - A despatch from Shanghai, China, states that nothing is known - there of conditions requiring the sending of United States - troops to that Country. The Methodist Foreign Missionary - Society receives reports from its head missionaries at - different Chinese cities stating that there is no danger of - disturbances. The Southern Baptist Missionary Board, through - its secretary, cables its missionaries to take refuge in the - nearest seaports, where they can be under the protection of - foreign consulates. - - The King of Hungary prepares to dissolve the Diet when it - assembles today. - -February 19.—The Hungarian Diet is dissolved by armed troops and police. - - Another anti-Jewish riot occurs at Vietka, Russia. Most of the - city is burned, but no deaths are reported. - - The “General Memorandum” issued by Admiral Nelson to his - captains at Trafalgar is found at Merton. - - The mutineers of the Russian battleships _Kniaz Potemkin_, who - were sentenced to death, have had their sentences commuted to - imprisonment. - - King Edward opens the newly elected English Parliament. In his - speech the King expresses a desire that the government of the - country shall be carried on in a spirit regardful of the wishes - of the Irish people. - -February 20.—Germany rejects the final proposal of France for a -settlement of the Moroccan controversy. The points in dispute will now -come before the delegates of all the Powers. - - A company of British mounted infantry and three officers are - massacred by fanatics in Sokoto, Northern Nigeria. - - A despatch from Ekaterinodar, Ciscaucasia, states that a fight - is in progress between a detachment of Russian soldiers and 600 - mutinous Kuban Cossacks. - - Members of the Hungarian Diet decide to accept the dissolution - of that body without protest. - - The British House of Commons records its determination to - resist any proposals which will create any system of protection. - - The Russian Government is trying many prisoners for - participating in a movement to overthrow the Government. The - political dissatisfaction throughout the Empire seems to be as - great as at the beginning of the late revolution. - -February 21.—Ambassador White, head of the American delegation to the -Algeciras conference, expresses the opinion that France and Germany will -reach an agreement on the Moroccan question. - - Attacks upon Catholic missions are made by Chinese in several - of the southeastern provinces of China. - - The British House of Commons pledges a system of intelligent - self-government for Ireland. - -February 22.—German Reichstag passes a bill to extend reciprocal tariff -rates to the United States until June 30, 1907. - - Fear that the Algeciras conference will end without France - and Germany reaching an agreement on the Moroccan question is - expressed by the French press. - - People returning from China declare that the situation is very - critical and a revolution is feared. The feeling against the - present government is strong and the boycott of American goods - is rigidly enforced. - - Religious fanatics destroy a French post in Sokoto, Central - Africa. - -February 23.—The American Minister to China states that he sees very -little reason for apprehension over China’s affairs. Wu Ting Fang, former -Minister to the United States, says China is passing through a crisis. He -justifies the boycott of American goods. All missionaries are advised by -Assistant Secretary of State Bacon to move to places where they can be -protected. - - Despatches from Algeciras state that the fear of war over - Germany’s rejection of France’s proposals on the Moroccan - question is growing less. - - Bills providing for general suffrage are introduced in the - Lower House of the Austrian Parliament. - - Reports from St. Petersburg state that Count Witte has not - resigned. - - A revolt against the Turkish Government is reported to be - spreading in Yemen, Turkish Arabia. - -February 24.—W. K. Vanderbilt, Jr., is attacked by a mob near Pisa, -Italy, after his automobile runs down and injures a boy. - - Active preparations are being made at Manila for any trouble - with China. - - Director General Ivanoff, of the Vistula Railroad, is - assassinated at Warsaw, Russia. - - The Spanish Government distributes money in the famine stricken - provinces to relieve the sufferings of the people and prevent - disorders. - - The German Foreign Office states that there is little danger - of war between Germany and France over the Moroccan question. - French despatches say about the same. - -February 25.—More riots occur at Warsaw and Odessa, Russia. Six persons -are killed and 15 wounded. - - The customs war between Austria and Servia ends. Servia agrees - to Austria’s demands. - - Secretary Root says the United States has no right to interfere - with conditions in the Congo Free State, Africa. - - President Castro, of Venezuela, declares he will clear his - country of all foreigners, break up the Monroe Doctrine and - humble France. - - Canada will appoint a commission to investigate life insurance - business in Canada. - - Two packages of dynamite are found at a gate of the Forbidden - City, Peking, China. - -February 26.—Despatches from Shanghai, China, tell of the murder of -missionaries at Nan-Chang. Six Jesuits and two members of an English -family are reported murdered. The remaining foreigners escaped to -Kiu-Kiang in boats. Several missions at Nan-Chang and Kiang-se were -destroyed, among them the American. - -February 27.—The Americans who escaped the Nan-Chang, China, massacre are -reported safe at Kiu-Kiang. - - Cossacks knout several prisoners to death at Odessa, Russia. - - Ex-Premier Balfour is elected to the British Parliament from - London. - - Duchess Sophie Charlotte, of Oldenburg, and Prince Eitel - Frederick, second son of the Emperor of Germany, are married at - Berlin. The Emperor also celebrates his silver wedding. - - France asks the Czar of Russia to use his influence to get - Germany to agree to France’s terms on the Moroccan question. - - Premier Witte reopens negotiations to determine the extent of a - proposed agreement with England. - - Japanese officers assume control of the Imperial War College - and the Trade and Commercial Schools at Canton, China. The - United States English and French war vessels sail for different - Chinese ports to protect foreigners. - -February 28.—Duchess Sophia Charlotte Oldenburg, the daughter of the -Grand Duke of Oldenburg and Prince Eitel Frederick, the second son of the -Emperor of Germany, were married yesterday in the chapel of the palace at -Berlin. - - President Caceres, of Santo Domingo, in a message to his - Congress, recommends the revision of the Constitution, of the - import and export duties, the improvement of the ports and - public roads, the enactment of laws benefiting agriculture, the - free administration of justice and other improvements becoming - a civilized nation. He recommends to Congress also the study - of the treaty now before the United States Senate and declares - that it is necessary to the welfare of his republic. - - The leading papers of St. Petersburg evince no satisfaction - over the announcement of the date of the meeting of the Duma. - It is said that the Duma will be prorogued almost immediately - until autumn. - - Premier Witte has become an advocate of an Anglo-Russian - understanding and it is reported that negotiations are about - to be opened in London to determine the extent of a proposed - agreement. If they are successful the new grouping of the - Powers will check Germany’s ambition. - - It is reported from St. Petersburg that Russia is using all her - influence at Berlin to prevent a rupture between France and - Germany. - - The French officials at the Moroccan Conference at Algeciras - do not look favorably upon the Berlin report that Germany will - make concessions if France will also yield something. The - French say that they have made concessions to which Germany has - not responded. - - It is reported from Manila that Japanese officers have - assumed control of the imperial war college and the trade and - commercial schools at Canton, China. - - The battleship _Ohio_, flagship of the American fleet at the - Asiatic station, has sailed for Hong Kong, where it will dock - and make repairs, so as to be ready for possible emergencies. - - A telegram from Odessa states that in the village of Ivanislaw, - in the Province of Kherson, 50 Cossacks and 70 gunners appeared - a few days ago under orders from a police official and knouted - 13 peasants. One of these peasants went mad and others are - dying. A schoolmaster became insane after witnessing the scene. - The sole offense chargeable against the villagers was their - re-election of communal representatives which was in conformity - with the ukase of Dec. 24 last. - -March 1.—The reactionary policy of Interior Minister Durnovo received a -setback yesterday when the action of the St. Petersburg police in closing -the central bureau of the Constitutional Democracy was disowned by the -Government. Permission was given for the reopening of the bureau. - - A dispatch from St. Petersburg says that the financial - embarrassments of Russia are increased by the necessity of - paying Japan for the maintenance of Russian prisoners. - - The new general tariff and conventional tariffs between Russia - and Germany, France, and Austria-Hungary go into effect today. - -March 2.—It is reported from Shanghai that the Chinese Government has -decided to instruct its ministers abroad to assure the Powers that there -is no cause for uneasiness in the present situation in China and that -there are no signs of an anti-foreign movement. - -March 3.—As the result of a series of special councils composed of forty -high dignitaries presided over by the Czar, the main guarantees of -liberty have been granted to the Russian people and a manifesto is to be -coded and incorporated in the laws of the empire. - -March 4.—A terrific cyclone swept over the Society and Cook’s Islands -in the Pacific Ocean on February 7 and 8. It is said 10,000 persons -perished. The damage to property is estimated at a million dollars. - -March 5.—At Tokio a bill was introduced in the Diet providing for the -nationalization of the railways, and authorizing the government to compel -companies to sell out to it at a price based on the cost of building plus -twenty times the average profits for the last three years. - -March 6.—It is reported that the Germans have refused any concessions at -the Moroccan conference at Algeciras. Russia proposed that France and -Spain control the policing of Morocco. France was willing to accept the -proposition, which was indorsed by Spain, Portugal and England. Herr von -Radowitz, chief German delegate, opposed the proposal. - - The editor of a Barcelona (Spain) daily paper was sentenced to - eight years’ imprisonment for printing an insulting dispatch - concerning King Alfonso. - -March 7.—An imperial manifesto has been published setting forth the -decisions of the imperial council with regard to the execution of the -Czar’s manifesto of last October. The manifesto reveals the purpose of -the government to keep a firm check on the Duma. The imperial veto is -absolute. The Czar controls the upper house; and the ministers have power -to legislate when the parliament is not sitting. - - The Rouvier Ministry of France is defeated in the Chamber - of Deputies by a combination against the Anti-Clericals and - immediately resigns. - -March 8.—Reported from Berlin, intense indignation and mortification are -shown at Russia’s action in throwing off her reserve and standing by -France in the proposition that the control of the police of Morocco shall -be entrusted to France and Spain. It is said that no more concessions can -be obtained and that Germany must now show her hand and back down; that -Von Radowitz, representing Germany at Morocco, will be sacrificed. There -is also talk of Von Buelow’s resignation. - - - - -[Illustration: _Along The Firing Line_ - -_BY The Circulation Manager_] - - -January was our best month for subscriptions at the time I wrote for the -March number, but I guessed that February would be better still—and I -guessed correctly. Although January had 27 business days, as against 22 -in February (Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays cut in on the little, -short month), yet we received nearly fifty-one per cent more renewals -and new subscriptions in the latter month. And if we may judge the March -business by the first three days (I write this March 4), the stormy -month will bring more subscriptions than January and February combined. -It may possibly be a case of “coming in like a lion and going out like -a lamb”—but I do not think so. Our subscribers, agents, and clubbing -newspapers are showing a much greater interest than formerly—and as the -list grows our field of opportunity broadens. - - * * * * * - -One would naturally suppose that every subscription received would -narrow our field—but it doesn’t. On the contrary. I can imagine a state -of affairs—a list so large—that every subscriber secured would make it -harder to get another, for we can’t expect every man, woman and child to -take any one publication. But no magazine ever reached that dizzy height. -Practically every subscriber we get is a missionary who brings in at -least one convert within the year, and many of them send in dozens of -new subscriptions. I need hardly use space in saying that we thoroughly -appreciate these kindnesses and endeavor to show our appreciation by -making WATSON’S MAGAZINE better and better each month. That’s a foregone -conclusion. - - * * * * * - -Temporarily, however, we are embarrassed by the great influx of -subscriptions, and for a little while we ask the kind indulgence of our -friends. Everything shall be taken care of, but for a few weeks there may -be some delays. It takes time to train new subscription clerks. - - * * * * * - -Our one weakness heretofore has been lack of proper organization to keep -in touch with and look after the interests of the news-dealers. This has -been remedied by placing a thoroughly competent man in charge of the -news-dealer circulation. A complete roster of the news-dealers is being -made and every effort will be put forth to increase news-stand sales. -The tens of thousands of booksellers and news-dealers throughout the -United States, supplied by the American News Company and its branches, -constitute an army of distribution which has taken many years and an -immense sum of money to raise and equip. We want to make use of that army -to the best advantage of our patrons, the dealers and ourselves. Probably -more than one-half of the reading public buys regularly of news-dealers, -and a much larger percentage buys occasionally. Wherever our friends -prefer to buy of the dealer, we earnestly wish them to do so; and if at -any time there is any difficulty in securing Watson’s at the news stands, -write us about it. We are now equipped to take care of all complaints of -this character promptly. - -There is, however, an immense reading public receiving mail on R. F. -D. routes—yet it is only thirteen years ago that Mr. Watson, after a -hard fight, secured a small appropriation in Congress to be used in -experiments with rural free delivery of mail—real “rural” delivery, not -the kind Mr. Wanamaker had tried in the small towns previously. But even -after Mr. Watson got the appropriation, Cleveland’s Postmaster-General -refused to use it. “Scandalous use of the people’s money,” he doubtless -argued, “and, besides, it might develop into something which would hurt -the express companies.” To Mr. Watson is due the credit for securing -the first appropriation for rural free delivery. He is the father. But -we must give the devil his due—the Republican Party built up the system -Mr. Watson originated. Well, that party never was afraid to spend the -people’s money. - - * * * * * - -Now, these R. F. D. patrons get mail at their respective doors every -weekday. They need not, and do not, go often to the nearest village or -town. Hence, they cannot so well depend upon news-dealers for WATSON’S. -They are best served by subscribing and having Uncle Sam’s mail-carrier -bring it to the door. - - * * * * * - -The news-stand buyer pays thirty cents a year more for WATSON’S than does -his rural brother—but he invests a much smaller amount each time, so the -two sacrifices (but it isn’t exactly correct to call buying WATSON’S -a “sacrifice”) are about equal. This calls to mind a suggestion, that -has been made several times, to allow taxes to be paid in instalments. -Cold-blooded figures say that it is exactly the same whether one pays a -$24 tax in one payment, or in four of $6 each, or in 12 of $2 each; but -actual experience says, No; there is a difference. - - * * * * * - -Funny, isn’t it, how the Republican Party denounces some proposition as -a Populistic vagary—and then turns ’round and does the very thing it -has denounced! In 1896 we were told that the people would have none -of silver—those “fifty-cent dollars”; yet between 1897 and 1903 the -Republican Party coined more silver than in any other seven years of the -country’s history. Not “free coinage,” of course, but that Sherman silver -which was stacked up in vaults, and which no one wanted. - - * * * * * - -Public ownership was denounced as “confiscation,” anarchy, socialism, -paternalism, and so on. But Teddy and Uncle Sam went into the railroad -business down in Panama, and only recently that fat boy, Taft, bought -300 acres of coal lands at Batan, Philippine Islands, for $50,000, -money voted by Congress for the purpose, and it is given out flatly -that “it is the intention of the Government not to relinquish title to -the mines.” They will be leased to competitive bidders. The Secretary -of War is drawing a bill to provide for this leasing, and says, oh, ye -gods, listen: That the Government will regulate the price of coal in the -Philippines! - - * * * * * - -Didn’t we hear something about the impossibility of doing such a stunt -as “regulating prices” away back in 1896 and later? Couldn’t regulate -the price of silver by letting it into the mints at $1.39 plus an ounce. -Oh, no! Seems to me we ought to have an “International agreement” on -the price of coal. Otherwise, what’s to prevent those disreputable -“furriners” from dumping their pauper-mined coal into the Philippines, -and carrying away every ounce of our gold? - - * * * * * - -Who said the People’s Party is dead? Out in Coal City, Ill., the -Populists recently nominated the following village ticket: - - The People’s Party met in Borella’s Hall and made the following - nominations: For trustees, two years, John McNamara, Peter - Bono, and Axtel Anderson. For village clerk, Edward Fulton. For - police magistrate, Frank Francis. For library directors, James - Leish and Walter Palmer. - -Some call it the decadence of party spirit, but others believe it a -recovery from partisan insanity—this independent attitude of men who -formerly wore a party collar with meekness, if not with actual pride. A -year or more ago Dr. Engelhard, of Rising City, Neb., expressed it in the -picturesque language of the West, thus: “I am now a political maverick.” -At a recent dinner of the Wisconsin Society of New York, Representative -Henry C. Adams, of the Badger State, pleading for the “insurgents” -who are in rebellion, not “against good government but against bad -government,” graphically described the political situation of today as -follows: - - “Party feeling has run to the lowest ebb ever known in - American politics. It is hard work to tell a Democrat from - a Republican. The South is swinging toward protection. New - England is flirting with free trade. Pittsburg goes Democratic. - New York City barely escapes the rule of a Socialist. - Missouri sends Republicans to Congress. Folk is cheered by - Republicans. La Follette is voted for by Democrats. The House - of Representatives votes almost unanimously for the President’s - rate bill, and a Republican committee gives it in charge of a - Senator from South Carolina to report to the Senate.” - -In Mr. Edgerton’s excellent article on “Farmers’ Organizations” (February -number) he failed to mention a very strong one in the grain belt—the -American Society of Equity, with headquarters at Indianapolis. It claims -a membership of over 200,000 farmers, and its president, J. A. Everitt, -asserts that its members will hold their wheat for $1.00 and other -cereals correspondingly—and that they expect to win. Let’s hope they may. - - * * * * * - -But let’s think a little. That won’t cut down railroad dividends, or -make kerosene and rent any cheaper; and it _will_ make bread higher. So -suppose the Farmers’ Union, down South, pushes cotton up to 15 cents; -and the American Society of Equity pushes wheat up to a dollar; and the -“Big 6” here wins its fight for an 8-hour day at 9 hours’ pay—won’t all -these wealth-producers, after matters get readjusted, be about where they -were before? I’m not throwing cold water on the efforts of any of these -organizations, for I glory in their fighting proclivities—but I can’t see -any permanent advantage accruing to any of them so long as the railroads -and the banks are armed with letters of marque and reprisal, and legally -empowered to rob every actual producer and every consumer. Each of these -organizations carefully avoids politics. Is that wise? Possibly; but I -can’t see it that way. - - * * * * * - -“How shall I remit for subscriptions?” ask a number of agents. Well, most -anything that will bring the money will do, but we have this preference: -A United States Post Office Money Order, made out to TOM WATSON’S -MAGAZINE. That will give us your name on the order, making it easy to -trace errors—and our bank charges no exchange for handling. But we never -refuse cheques, drafts, express orders, currency, or postage stamps, if -sent us in good condition. - -“But,” I hear a chorus of voices saying, “we thought you’d changed the -name, and just now you said ‘Tom Watson’s Magazine.’” Just so, I did. -That is the name of the corporation which publishes WATSON’S MAGAZINE. -The corporation known as Tom Watson’s Magazine has not changed its name. -It has five offices: President, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and -cashier. These offices are held by three Populists, as follows: - -_President_, Thomas E. Watson. - -_Vice-President and Treasurer_, H. C. S. Stimpson. - -_Secretary and Cashier_, C. Q. de France. - -I need not introduce Mr. Watson. Mr. Stimpson is secretary of the -People’s Party in New York State; and I am secretary of the National -Committee. - -Don’t make your remittance payable to any of the officers, but simply to -the company, Tom Watson’s Magazine, and address your communications to -the Magazine—not to individuals. - -[Illustration: _C. Q. de France_] - - * * * * * - -Of Vital Importance to Patriotic Citizens - -National Documents - -a collection of notable state papers chronologically arranged to form a -documentary history of this country. It opens with the first Virginia -Charter of 1606 and closes with the Panama Canal Act of 1904, and -comprises all the important diplomatic treaties, official proclamations -and legislative acts in American history. - -Settle All Disputes Intelligently - -You can trace from the original sources the development of this country -as an independent power. Never before have these sources been brought -together for your benefit. The volume contains 504 pages and a complete -index enabling the reader to turn readily to any subject in which he may -be interested. Bound in an artistic green crash cloth, stamped in gold. -Printed in a plain, readable type on an opaque featherweight paper. - -[Illustration] - -_As a Special Offer to the readers of WATSON’S MAGAZINE, we will send -this book postpaid and the Magazine for one year for $2.20._ Your order -and remittance should be sent direct to =TOM WATSON’S MAGAZINE, 121 W. -42d St. N. Y.= - -[Illustration] - - * * * * * - -_The Reliance Shoe._ - -$6.00 - -SHOES For $3.50 - -For MEN - -In Fractional Sizes at Factory Price. - -415 Patent Colt Blucher, $3.75 delivered - -We fit you perfectly and save you the jobber’s and retailer’s profits. -The sole of a Reliance shoe is made of oak bark-tanned leather, tough -and durable, and costs as much as the sole of any $6.00 shoe. Every -piece of leather in every Reliance shoe is up to the same high standard. -The workmanship is the product of the most skilled shoemakers. Reliance -shoes are made on custom lasts and handsomely finished. In wear and -shape-retaining qualities, foot comfort and style, we guarantee the -Reliance at $3.50 equal to any $6.00 shoe made. The graceful curve of -the heel prevents slipping up and down, and the narrow shank properly -supports the weight and gives the foot absolute comfort. If you’ll -investigate Reliance shoes, you’ll wear no other make. Be fair to -yourself and do it now. We fully satisfy you in every way or return your -money. - -Write for our free stylebook and measurement blank. Delivered, express -prepaid, =$3.75=. - -Reliance Shoe Company - -40 Main St., Friendship, N. Y. - - * * * * * - -The Improved Boston Garter - -WORN ALL OVER THE WORLD - -REFUSE ALL SUBSTITUTES OFFERED YOU - -The Name is stamped on every loop— - -The _Velvet Grip_ CUSHION BUTTON CLASP - -LIES FLAT TO THE LEG—NEVER SLIPS, TEARS NOR UNFASTENS - -Sample pair, Silk 50c., Cotton 25c. Mailed on receipt of price. - -GEO. FROST CO., Makers - -Boston, Mass., U.S.A. - -EVERY PAIR WARRANTED - -ALWAYS EASY - - * * * * * - -DENTACURA - -_The Tooth Paste_ - -_The Ideal Dentifrice_ - -A chain of testimonials from dentists in practice attests the unequalled -excellence of Dentacura Tooth Paste. It cleans the teeth, destroys -bacteria, prevents decay. It is applied to the brush without the waste -attending the use of powder. That you may know by experience its value we -will send you free a sample tube of Dentacura and our booklet, “Taking -Care of the Teeth.” Write at once. Offer expires May 15th, ’06. - -Dentacura may be had at most toilet counters. Price 25c. If your dealer -does not have it we will send it on receipt of price. - -DENTACURA COMPANY, 192 ALLING ST. NEWARK, N.J. - - * * * * * - -MENNEN’S BORATED TALCUM TOILET POWDER - -Pure as the Lily - -—healthful and refreshing; that is why MENNEN’S is always used and -recommended by physicians and nurses. Its perfect purity and absolute -uniformity have won for it universal esteem. In the nursery it is -supreme, unequalled for =chafing=, =nettle-rash=, =chapped hands=, etc., -it is soothing, sanitary and healing. MENNEN’S face on every box—see that -you get the genuine. _For sale everywhere or by mail, 25c. Sample free._ -MENNEN’S VIOLET (Borated) TALCUM has the scent of fresh cut violets. - -GERHARD MENNEN CO.—NEWARK, N.J. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON'S MAGAZINE, VOL. 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