New-York tribune. [volume], January 06, 1901, Page 2, Image 16

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CIVIL HISTORY OF THE WORLD.
TWO WORDs. CONSTITUTIONALISM AXD NATIONALISM
BEST EPITOMIZE IT.
Twp awkward morris give in epitome the civil
history of the world at large In the nineteenth
century. They are "Constitutionalism" and "Na
tionalism." They stand for two great principles,
cognate and proceeding par! passu in the evolu
tion of the best tyoe of the modern State. There
have been. It Is true, constitutions without na
tions and nations without constitutions. But
these either have been insecure and ephemeral
or have failed to realise the reasonable ideal of
a civilized community. At the beginning of the
nineteenth century the constitutional theory of
government and the national idea In the forma
tion of sovereignties were still in embryo. To
day they dominate the world. And toward this
consummation the wars, the revolutions and the
great public movements of the century, peaceful
or violent, have unerringly made way.
The_year 1801 saw the constitutional principle
firmly established in the United States, but the
national tea* by no moans well developed. The
story of this country Is. however, dealt with in
detail elsewhere in those columns, wherefore,
with a mere reminder of its example to and in
fluence upon other nations, our present atten- ,
tion Is turned elsewhither. The United King
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, which came
into betas; en the first day of the century,
showed- forth the constitutional sad national
principles more fully than any other European
land. Tot even there some vestiges of abso
lutism survived, and the popular feeling was
rtill more clannish and feudal than national.
The wars of the first two decades, the reform
and emancipation laws, and the vest extensions
of the franchise and of local ovemment in
the last two decades of the century, have con
sistently and effectively made for perfection of
the British Constitution an* for the best de
velopment of a truly national spirit.
GROWTH OF EUROPE'S NATIONS
As for Continental Europe, the initial year of
the century saw scarcely one consistent nation
of important rank, and only here and there a
faint foregUmmeri&g of constitutional light. '
Italy was a "gecsraphtcal expression." The
Teutonic States were still nominally within the j
reactionary and decadent bonds of that Holy
Roman Empire which has well been described
as neither holy air Roman, aor yet an empire-
The frenzy of the French Revolution, with Its i
visions of a constitution, had subsided Into the ;
absolutism of Bonaparte, under which constitu- <
tional liberties and national aspirations were |
ruthlessly crushed. The Iberian kingdoms were
still mediaeval. Th- Scandinavian. States had
been shorn of their earlier importance. And the
eastern part of the Continent was In the grasp
of two great despotisms, the Muscovite in th?
north and the Ottoman la the south.
The fall of Bonaparte was followed by a period
of apparent or superficial reaction, under the
malign portents of the Ho'.y Alliance. Beneath
the surface, however, a potent leaven was at
•work. The constitutional idea had taken root
In France and elsewhere, and was not to be
extirpated. The restoration In great measure of
the status o.uo ante In boundaries and sovereign
ties promoted the spirit of distinct nationality. ;
Peoples which had suffered overrunning and
arbitrary alien domination under Bonaparte be- '
gan to prise the national integrity which had
been violated and then restored to them. The
result was that by the end of the first quarter I
of the century the Continent was ready for '
revolutionary— or. rather, evolutionary—
ments of bleb Import. Such movements began
In the small States, on tbe borders. Greece
struck first for rehabilitation of her national
status and for Its confirmation under a con
stitutional system. Reactionaries, of the Met
ternicb school looked with disfavor upon such
aspirations, and Russia was Inclined to join
hands with Turkey in suppressing them. From
"Western Europe, and. especially from Great Brit
ain, came aid and comfort, however, and at
length the independence of recce, upon a na
tional and constitutional basis, was achieved.
Almost simultaneously the national -spirit as
serted Itself in the Southern Netherlands, and ;
the new constitutional sovereignty of Belgium
came Into being.
HO LEAVER OF REVOLUTION.
France, too. felt the generous Impulse, and in
a brief but decisive revolution replaced reaction
ary absolutism with a liberal constitutional mon
archy. Meantime a vigorous national spirit had
begun to assart itself la Egypt, and all the
States of Central and South America had repu
diated tbe dependent colonial status for that of
Independent commonwealths of national dignity.
Such progress was effected In the first third of
the century.
These things, however, were only the foremut
terings of tbe storm which a few years later
burst with full force upon the Continent In the
revolution year cf Ital In that epoch of flux
there wore both progress end reaction, felt in
almost every land of Europe. The Immediate
result was. upon the surface, repression and re
action. German Liberals were driven into exile.
Hungary was crushed by Austrian absolutism
with Russian aid. and even France bowed her
neck to the yoke of a pinchbeck despot. The
word "constitution" was. however, writ large
and bold la bloodstained letters across the Ger
man Confederation as a sure omen of the future,
while Charles Albert of Piedmont and his son.
II Re Galantuomo." set up a standard for the
nations la the "Statute" which neither the cajol
eries nor the menaces of Austria could prevail
upon them to rescind.
Thus tbe leaven continued to work. Despot
though he was, Louis Napoleon professed a de
votion to th* doctrine of nationalities; and
though he more than once violated that doctrine
he also promoted it. Four strangely assorted
and discordant figures worked strange'y together
to transform a "geographical expression" into a
constitutional nation — Mazzini, the visionary
agitator; GarlbaM: the heroic free fighter;
Cavour, the far sighted statesman, and Victor
Emmanuel. the honest and heroic King. With
the unlameated fall of "Bomballno" the new
Kingdom of Italy was all but complete, a na
tion with a free constitution. Meanwhile in Ger
many the tread of events was unmistakable.
Otto yon Bismarck expressed contempt for par
liaments c: * constitutions, yet i:. developing •>.
puissant sovereignty and paramount;.- of Prus
sia he was, whether consciously or unconsciously,
at the same time developing a national spirit
that would make a constitution a necessity. In
the war of l£G6 he overrode most ruthlessly
some minor nationalities, but in so doing he
merely opened the way for the establishment a
little later of the immeasurably greater national
ity Of United Germany. Nor was Hungary to
have her aspirations perpetually denied. The
penius of Deak succeeded the meteoric zeal of
Kcssuth, and, find.ng sympathy and co-opera-
Uon in Beust, where MetternJch would have
given only resistance and scorn, finally erected
ihe trans-leithan land into a sovereign and con
stitutional nation. In France Louis Napoleon
found himself constrained through sheer Feififu
apprehension to move toward constitutional lines
of government, while In Spain and the minor
States of the Continent th* same course was per
forco pursued.
A GLORIOUS CULMINATION .
Ths culmination of these processes in all but
univerral constitutionalism and nationalism was
" reached in the last third of the century. The
Titanic conflict between France and Germany
had a far rr.ort important result than the defeat
of the one and the success and aggrandizement
of the other. In the abo'Uior. of Bonapartism
and thfc establishment of in enlightened an 1
progressive republic, which has now considera
• bly o:ulaßt<»d any other regime of the century,
France rained that for which even the fearful
losses of tie Terrible Year were scarcely too
great a price to pay. As for Germany, her
>.'a:ri«, too. were, vastly more than the two prov
inces and the five milliards of francs. The war
transformed a congeries of twenty-five kin^
>.'iUi? principalities, grand duchies, duchies anil
r-. to"»*ns into a single harmonious andsunited
nation, under an enlightened and progressive
constitution. At th« same time the ivork of
Italian uni.lca.tlon was immeasurably advanced
fry the occupation of Rom* and the re-establish
ment Of the national capital in that historic
oity. A few years later Spain ended a r v. .!'.:•
nonary epoch ivilh the restoration of her an
cient Ha« of sovereigns upon a const'tutional
and comparatively liberal basis. Portugal,
largely under British Influence, bad adopted a
liberal constitution early In the century. The
¦¦¦•¦¦¦' ¦¦¦¦¦: kingdoms revised their constitu
tions in accord with r.ouular r^Dresentative «roy
crnment in the last third of the century. Swit
zerland, too, always democratic, made from time
to time material advances into- still greater lib
erality, and Austria and Hungary, the citadels
of conservatism, put themselves In line with
constitutional, parliamentary and popular Insti
tutions.
Within a decade after the colossal changes In
France and Germany, another great alteration
In the map of Europe was effected, in the south
eastern corner. The early success of Greece in
throwing off the Ottoman yoke and the occa
sional raids of Russia into Turkish Territory in
spired the non-Turkish peoples of the Balkan
Peninsula with the desire for free national Inde
pendence. Various successive steps In that di
rection culminated in the great conflicts of 18.4
•7B. which resulted in the partitioning of the
bulk of the Turkish Empire in Europe. The
principality of Montenegro was enlarged and
made independent. Servia became a minor but
sovereign kingdom. The Danubian provinces
Of Wallachia and Moldavia were raised from the
rank of a dependent principality to that of the
Independent kingdom of Rumania, now ranking
almost among the great Powers. The Bulgars
rf Bulgaria and Easfern Rumelia had their na
tional aspirations gratified by erection into .an
autonomous and all but independent principal
ity, and. fina'iy. Bosnia and Herzegovina were
practically added to the heterogeneous congeries
of tribes ar.d nations and fragments of forgotten
peoples which compose the Austrian Empire.
The closing years of the century saw the
Immemorial!*- vexed Island of Crete at last in
vested with a liberal constitution and made sub
stantially an autonomous nation.
EUROPE IS CONSTITUTIONAL.IZED.
Thus?, while in 1801 there was scarcely one free
constitutional nation in the whole continent of
Europe, the clcse of 1000 saw practically every
land west of the Baltic, the Vistula and the
Pruth enjoying that status. There are, it Is true,
Italia Irredenta and Rumania Irredenta, and
some ungratincd national aspirations in Bo
hemia and Croatia, an Irish faction would undo
the union of a century ago and Albania. Mace
donia and Thrace are still subject to the Otto
man horde. But these are insignificant details.
Europe has. as a whole, in these hundred years
become nationalized and constitutionalired west
Of the Baltic, the Vistula an.l the Truth. East
Of that line of demarcation, however, the genius
Of the nineteenth century has been Impotent.
Alexander of the Holy Alliance was no more
resolutely opposed to constitutions, and no more
regardless of national aspirations than Nicholas
of the Peace Congress. The opening years of
the century saxv Russia's boizure of Finland and
confirmation of her grip on Poland. The mid
century saw her extinguish the last remnant of
Polish nationality. The end of the century paw
her arbitrarily annulling the Finnish constitu
tion and destroying all that was left of Finnish
nationality. "Republican or Cossack." said
Bonaparte: or he is said to have said it. Re
publican and Cossack is the fulfilment of the
prophecy. West of the Baltic, the Vistula and
the Pruth art: nations with constitutions. East
cf that lin? is a Czar.
COLONIES GROW TO NATIONS,
Elsewhere in the world national forces have
been enhanced and constitutional influences ex
tended. Through alternations of anarchy and
empire Mexico has become a great republic. The
benevolent constitutional empire of Brazil
has likewise been democrat cal'y transformed.
Scattered and jarring British colonies In North
America and some wastes of untracked wilder
ness have been erected into a nation as great as
the United States was a century ago. Australia,
little known save to explorers In ISOI, has entered
1901 an autonomous nation under a constitution
largely copied from our own. South Africa was
a century ago all but an unknown land, pave
within gunshot of Simon's Bay. while to-day it
Is a cluster of populous and wealthy States, soon
to be united In national dignity. Perhaps most
striking of all has been the marvellous develop
ment of Japan, which began the century an un
known hermit land, which In mideentury re
luctantly opened its doors and revealed itself far
more archaic than our legends of the Middle
Ages, and which clones the century in the fore
front of modern civilization. constitutional-
Ism and popular sovereignty. It has compressed
into a century that which to the rest of the
world required a millennium.
Such In brief outline has been the story of
the world in the nineteenth century. The vast
bulk of the civilized part of the human race has
been divided Into nations, according not to the
selfish ana arbitrary caprice of deepens, but to
the natural classifications and predilections of
the people, and those nations have been en
dowed with constitutional governments. In such
achievements, such progress and such benefi
cence to the civil welfare of mankind the nine
teenth century stands alone, unique and unap
proachable. In that respect it Is to be compared
—Ob has well been said of it In other respects—
not with any one other century, but with the
sum of all centuries of the Christian era. If not.
indeed, with the sum of all eras of recorded
time. w. FLETCHER JOHNSON.
BENEFITS OF ELECTRIC TRACTIO.X.
O. T. Crosby, In The Street Hallway Journal
Taking Our * n lour t of work to be done as this—
tne transport °. a sixteen foot car over a distance
or one mile, wltnout regard Just now to eneed of
mission— we find, as nearly as can be cal
culated, that of such car miles three million are
r;aor: every day in the year in the I'nitod Slates,
and that the coat of each car mile is actually by
electric power, say, 12 cents, and would be by horse
power, say. 18 cents. Hence, every day there is a
caving in actual daily expenditure of $180,000 on this
Item of the Nation's movement. Without here de
tailing the investigation, necessarily limited. lead
ing to th« particular figures. I shall assume on«
mile as the average haul, and four miles an hour
as the average difference, i c. between six mileß
per hour and ten miles per hour. The total number
Of passengers carried by eie.tric cars is about
twelve millions per day. At six miles per hour each
passenger would be on the horsecar ten minutes;
on the electric car at ten miles per hour, cix min
ute*, or 0.1 of an hour. The total economy Is.
iJnererore. 0.066 hours per passenger or a total of
«32 000 human hours per day.
The persons engaged in what the census reports
call gainful occupations" constitute about So per
cent of the total popu'atiOi'. or 4% per cent of all
those over seven years old. The average dally
page, as given by Atkinson, Is abort 50 cents, and
if the average dally duration of work be eight
hours. we may say that the money value of a man
pour is 6.2* cents, using the term man hour as cov
ering only those human beings capable of work.
In the 752.59& human hours per day above stated
thero are. it appears therefore. 45 per cent of man
hours— a total of 358.400. These figures at 6 IT, cents
per hour give a daily money value In time saved
by electric over horse cars of $22,275.
By adding the money saving in time of the work
ers on the average one mile ride basis, to the
iav!ng in operative coet. we have a total of ;??2,273
par day. But against this must be set ovv.r !n'»sre3t
charge on an Investment much greater than wouM
he tequlred for horsecar service. This exerts ot
Investment Is approximately JIO.OtK) per mile, 'there
are approximately 17.9«9 mllos of electric service.
The total excess becomes $179,690,000. on which the
daily Interest charge at 4 per cent per annum Is
very nearly $19,600. Subtracting this from the sum
above given, we have a net daily saving of $182,676.
The total daily wage of th 9 Nation, assuming
twenty-five million workers and 50 cent* per day at
eight hours, is about 512.500.000. The dally saving
just deduced Is nearly !.5 per cent of this total
daily wage. Herce. by virtu* of tne electric motor,
and assuming the movement actually made as
necessary to be made. it -appears that every Amer
ican worker could stop his dally work 7.2 minutes
earlier without oiirinution of the total c*-"er;il
output, as compared with that which would b«
possible if the same movement were made by
hones. If this sun of leisure were taken by In
dividuals. each at eight hours per day,' It appears
that 575.000 workers might be withdrawn from the
i "army of occupation' without lessening the bread.
i coats, tables, books, pictures, bouses, " etc.. that
are produced and divided among the people.
j WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.
Arthur V Abbott, U. The Electrical World and
Engineer.
Wireless telegraphy is only a few years ' Old; and
In the natural course of evolution may. develop as
usefully as the telegraph or telephone. As electric
waves differ only in speed and amplitude from
others, they obey the same laws of reflection and
refraction. Therefore it should be possible to con
centrate them and Droduce an electric beam by
means of proper mirrors or lenses, in the same
manner as a searchlight ray la obtained. It seems
possible that the circuits In the receivers and
oscillators could be so adjusted that they should
only mutually respond to each other, like a pair
of sympathetic tuning forks. Theoretically all this
is within ._., nature of things, and 'if achieved
would go tar toward removing the present JUu
practicabilities. Mr. Marconi claims, it 13 said,
to have solved these problems, and to have pro
duced a yyntor.lc receiver and transmitter thru only
respond to the particular waves emitted by the
on<*. and that are intended for ti.e- other. He also
It la claimed, has produced a projecting apparatus
that emits 1. well defined electric beam, and has
replaced the vertical receiving masts by an equally
efficient and more compact collecting cylinder As
yet, however, these are nothing but the merest
rumors, unless a very Indefinite letter from Pro
f<**Qi Fleming may ••¦ regarded, as confirmatory
evidence. Possibly the first year of the new cen
tury will reveal some discovery that may be a pan
acea for all of the "111? which Hertzian slenallint.'
la heir to." but from the cold and' calm standpoint
of present facts the way appears to be tedious, th«
. road hard and difticult and tin goal a lons way in
' the future.
NEW-jTOEK DAILY TRIBUNE. SUNDAY. JANUARY 6, 1901.
PROMINENT FIGURES IN THH DRAMA OP THE LAST CENTURY.
A CENTURY OF THE DRAMA.
VAST (rf/nW/n nF THE THEATRE-CnLXG PUBLIC HAS RE
VERSED THE STAGE'S KARIr STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the
American stage was en Institution of but slight
impoitance. It had existed, under many difficul
ties, for about fifty years. The principal theatres
were situated in Philadelphia, New- York, and
Boston, while minor theatres led a precarious j
life Ip Albany, Hartford. Providence, Washing- ]
ton. WiDiamsburgh. Annapolis, Baltimore, and '
Charleston. The dramatic field was narrow and
the actors were few. The total population of
the United States did not much exceed 4,000.000.
The city of New-York, as late as ISO 7, con
tained only about SO.OOO inhabitants, while Bos
ton contained about 36.000. The reigning theat
rical potentates were Wignell. in Philadelphia.
Hallam, in New-York, and Powell, in Boston.
Communication between the towns was main
tained by means or stage coaches, and profes
sional excursions were occasionally made by two
or three stock companies. The starring system.—
which is said to have been introduced by Fennell
(ISOG).— had not then been established. The chief
playhouse ot New-York was in John-st., and
it was designated, simply,— for those days, ,
sufficiently.— "The Theatre." Hodgkinson,.
Cooper. Ilarwood. Holman. Bernard. Fennell,
Jefferson (grandfather of the Jefferson of to
day). Warren, Twaits, BUsset. Wood, Mrs. Mar
shall,—whom General Washington had admired,
— and- Mrs. Merry (Anne Brunton). were among
the conspicuous players of the time.
The average salary paid to acton, of every
rank, was about twenty-five dollars a week. The
plays customarily offered were such as had al- j
ready been well received in England. The actors,
on some occasions, would go from house to house,
soliciting patronage and selling tickets to their
performances. The pross derived no material
benefit from theatrical advertisement and gave
but little attention to the theatre,— its com
ments. Of general, being perfunctory and pon
derous. 1 The social status of the actor was.
comparatively, low. Barrooms were often as
sociated with the theatre, and not only then
tut for many years afterward, females engaged
in vice as a vocation were allowed access to a
certain part of it. Most things were provincial.
The standard of taste, however, as to Intellect
ual natters, was high. The audience, In gen
eral, was fastidious; the tragedies of Shake
speare and th* comedies of Karquhar, Sheridan.
Colman and Goldsmith were popular; and the
art of acting was earnestly practised and se
riously viewed. Many of the actors Of that
period were men who had received a classical
education. The dramatic tide, of course, flowed
out of England, as it had done from the firs;.
It has long been customary to descant on "the
public tacts'* as an inherent force, and to inti
mate that conditions ensue upon fluctuation In
that faculty; but, as a matter of fact, "the pub
lic taste" Is fortified and led by external influ
ence! In theatrical history periods have always
been dominated by exceptional and redoubtable
Individuals. In the sixteenth century Burbas<\
Lowin, and Tarleton appear to have set the
fashion. In the scventceth century Betterto:i
and Mrs. Bract-girdle reigned supreme. In the
eighteenth century Garrick, Barry, Wilks, Peg
Wofrlngton and Mrs. Cibber overshadowed
everybody »lse, and led the world captive. At
the beginning of the nineteenth century, and
when the scene had been newly, set In America,
Hodgkinson and Cooper were In the ascendant,
as tragic actor*, and Jefferson. Bernard, and
Warren as comedians. George Frederick Cooke
and Mary Duff came In 1810. and Edmund Kean
in IS2O. and their influence upon our stage, pre
served and transmitted through a long profes
sional lineage, is still potential. The year 1832.
so fatal to renowned persons, caw the death of
Warren and Jefferson, and by that time Anne
Brunton and almost all the shining dramatic
lights of the period had been extinguished.
Cooper had retired from the theatre. Mary Duff
was» in her decadence. Cooke died In 1812; Kean
In 1833. The American career of the elder Wal
lack began in ISIS; that of the elder Booth in
1821; that of Edwin Forrest in 1826; and the sec
ond quarter of the century was Illumined by those
three actors,— a chieftain In his peculiar do
main, and each potent to diffuse the abiding
force of a fascinating and Irresistible example.
Wallack was the most accomplished and the
most iridescent 'of comedians, in the higher
walk— playing Don ITeiix. Benedick. Rover. Dorl
court and Massaroni as nobody else could ever
play them. Junlus Brutus Booth was the poetic
Insanity of dramatic genius Incarnate. Forrest,
with a spark of the divine fire, was the most
splendid animal force that the stage has seen;
he had all the vigor of Salvlnl. and a finer'
voice. Booth di^d In 1852: Wallack in 1864.
Forrest, reaching his zenith and passing It. be
tween 1886 and 1556. began then to decline, till,
worn out with trouble, sorrow and bitter men
tal conflict, he died. In 1872. Meantime Edwin
Booth, born In 1533, had served a bard novitiate
in California, and about 1857 his superb genius.
Intellectual and spiritual as well as humanly
sympathetic and winning, burst like a diamond
sunrise on the Eastern cities, and thereafter,
for well nigh thirty years, and throughout a
period remarkable for fecundity of dramatic
enterprise, wealth of diversified contemporary
ability, and splendor of dramatic achievement,
he led the stage and was the standard of his
time, in tragic art: an.: his time was adorned
with such names as James E. Murdoch. E. S.
Conner. Charles Kean. Charles Fechter, .1 W.
Wallack, jr., Edwin Adams, C. W. Couldock.
G. V. Brooke. James Stark, E. L. Davenport.
Charles Mathews. l.awrene Barrett, John Mo-
Cullough. William Creswlck, Davison, Sonnen
thai. Haase. Rossi and Salvlnl. together with
Charlotte Cushman, Ellen Ties, Emma Waller,
Charlotte CramDton. Julia Dean. Matilda Heron.
Fanny Janauscbek, Sarah Bernhardt, Adelaide
rcellson, Helena Modjeska and Mary Anderson.
Booth died In 1893. at the age of sixty— "and
hath not left nis peer." Among other actors,
native and foreign, but mostly of the latter
class, who deeply impressed the public mind. In
the course of their transit, and who largely
contributed to the moulding of the stage and
the establishment of popular views as to that
Institution, were Augustus A. Addams. who be
gan his career in Boston in 1823. appeared in
-York in 1830. and died in 1651— man of
extraordinary genius; Henry J. Finn, a great
comedian, lost in the Lexington, in Long Island
Sound, in 1840; W. C. Macready. one of the
greatest of actors. 1820; Aim*. Vcstris. who first
came In IS2S, and who came again, as the wife
of Ch3rie* Mathews, in ISSS; Tyrone Power.
ISP.3; John Reeve. 1835; Mr. and Mrs. Keeley.
1886; Chippendale. ISoG; and J. B. Buckstone.
1840. The first of the "society actresses"— a
painful lot— was Mrs. Mowatt. 1543. Among the
great singers of old days, who visited Amer
ica, were Charles Incledon. 1817; the enchanting
Malibran, 1525. and the incomparable Jenny
Llnd. IS.V>.
The plays produced during these successive
periods, have been, in the main, such a* leadinir
actors deemed best adapted for tr-eir personal
display. A hun 'red years ago the sentimental
comedy still had its exponents and its admirers.
Shak>speare has always held his place." The
first regular dramatic performance given in
America,— a bui'ding in Nassau-St.. New-
York. March 5. 1790. — was a performance of
'•Richard III,'- as adapted by Cibber; and from
that time on*vard the chronicles teem with men
tion of the best of all dramatic poets. Cooper,
Cooke, X in, Forrest, and indeed all the tra
pe lana of the century, acted Shakespeare,
though not to the exclusion of everything else.
Forrest gained the bulk of his great fortune
with "Metamora" — a play that he abhorred, but
on* that he had taught his public to like, end
one In which he appeared to great advantage.
Musical plays, such as "Guy Mannering." were
much favored. In the early part of the century,
when such actors and singers as Mrs. Richard
son (Elizabeth Jefferson), Charlotte' Cushman.
Pater Richlngs. and Henry Placlde. were ex
tant to interpret the.m. Melodrama was very
popular about the middle of the century: no
such acting, In this particular line, is ever seen
now, as that of Charlotte Cushman in Nancy.
J. W. Waliack. jr.. in Fasln. and Peier Richlngs
or E. L. Davenport In Bill Bikes, The greatest
dramatic genius of France, the incomparable
Rachel, via. ted America in 1655. and cast upon
many minds a magic spell, of which the glamour
has not yet wholly faded. The decadent drama
of France was first introduced on the American
stage about the same time, in an English form, by
Jean Davenport.— now Mrs. Lander —who nrst In
this country. 1852-1853, acted the art of CamlUe.
Matilda Heron, a woman of 'istonisnlng genius,
splzed on that part iv 1855-7. and, in the
nimble phraseology of her Hibernian manager,
"..•hitched the dramatic diadem at a bound."
All sorts of things have arrived since then (the
mere mention of th*m would fill columns), and
every species of influence has been liberated in
the theatre. The last quarter of the century
presents much to Vie deplored, but much also to
be admired and extolled. Joseph Jefferson. act-
Ing Rip Van Winkle, has diffused happiness all
over the land, and at the same time has exem
plified the perfection of the comedian's art.
Lester Wallack (1820-I SSS), closing a career of
exceptional and sustained brllliapcy, has ex
ploited the treasures of old English comedy, and
has left precious memories that will ions survive.
Adelaide Nc-ilson. that wonder of gtnius and
beauty (early and most cruelly and sadly blotted
out of life), has ftlled the stage with Images of
loveliness and pathos that can never be forgot
ten. The noble an 1 stately Mary Anderson has
splendidly exemplified some of the highest ideals
of poetry, and therein has dene much to endear
the theatre to the best minds of her time. Au
gustin Daly, making a superb battle for Intellect,
beauty, and reftnemart In the contemporary
drama and in tins conduct of the stage, and rais
ing the American theatre to conspicuous dignity
and renown, has blessed the age with many joys
an I dowered it with the glory of a shining ex
ample; his theatre wus started In ISOO. and in
IS9O he died. The fame of Ada Rer-an as a Shake
spearian actress has been (Irmly established and
widely diffused. Richard Mansfield has won
great distinction and favor. Minnie Maddern
Flske has deservedly gained an honorable and
auspicious eminence. But the most potent
Influence of all, within the last twenty years,—
affecting the stage in every department, and
affecting society in every tank.— has been. that
of the famous English actor Henry Irving, whose
several visits to America, since 18.53. with that
rare, imaginative, enchanting actress. Ellen
Terry, and with their Louden Lyceum company
and theatrical productions, have . exhibited dra
matic art in surpassing excellence, and the
atrical embeTshment In unprecedented and un
rivalled completeness and splendor. The Irving
productions. In particular, nave Illustrated and
enforced the wisdom of scrupulous attention to
every detail, and Ir/ing. like Booth, has de
voted his life to great subjects, giving to the
public, not what they are supposed to want but
what they ought to have. In comedy the
American stage has seen the best that could be
shown, and the names of Charles and Fanny
Kemble, John Barnes. W. R. Blake. W. F. Gates.
Dion Bouclcault, John Brougham. William E.
Burton. James H. Hackett, John E. Owens,
Charles Burke. John S. Clarke. John Gilbert,
Charles F. Coghlan. Mr. and Mrs. Kendal, and
that exquisite artist, John Hare, have been writ
ten on the age In letters of light.
As the century close* the. field of the drama
extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and In
clude" the vast population of 70,000.000. There
are more than 3,1W)0 theatrical towns in the
United States, and more than 5,000 theatres,
and there are at least 600 travelling companies
in continual activity. At this moment,— much
to the injury of the dramatic profession, and
much to the discredit of most of its leaders,—
the stage is girdled with the tentacles of an oc
topus, having Its head In this capital and Its
limbs extended throughout the land. A Theatri
cal Trust has been formed, and. under its sordid
and ruthless tyranny, the theatre has been
turned Into a sort of Department Store The
motive of this ring is mercenary and the tone
of It Is vulgar. Such an influence must, la th
nature of things, make everything that It
touches commonplace and mean. One of the
blessings most to be desired, at the beginning
of the new century, is the destruction of this
syndicate of speculative corner-grocery traders
In the arts, and thereupon the restoration of a
fair competition in "business. The stage can -be
preserved only by the preservation of Its charm
To make it common is to Injure Its ruin, in rh,.
Immediate dramatic prospect there is but little
promise of fine achievement, but. In the domain
of the stage, as In other-domains, there an- al
ways salutary and noble forces working beneath
th- surface,* an.l the hepe should be encouraged
that, in this, as In all realms of human activity,
evil will ultimately bo defeated and - od will
connu.r WILLIAM WINTER.
EVOLUTION OF THIS NATION.
A CENTURY OF EXPAXSIOX AXD IXIFICATIOX—HOW OCR
GOVERNMENT GREW STROXG AXD ENDURING.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century •
the United States had an area of 527.544 square
miles and about 5,500,000 people. At the close
it has a continental area of 3,501.000 square
miles, with more than 76.000.000 inhabitants,
together with Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Phil
ippines, comprising 130.000 square miles, with
a population of about 9.000.000. In 1801 it was !
a loosely knit and dissoluble confederation of
mutually jealous States. To-day It Is a com
pact Nation, organized on a federal basis, but
possessing, nevertheless, power to perpetuate
itself, to enforce its- authority everywhere at
home and to meet its responsibilities every
where abroad. The wonderful material prog
ress of the American people, who have con
quered and transformed a continent and are
now just beginning to comprehend their possi
bilities of worldwide commercial dominion, has
been accompanied by a no less remarkable po
litical and constitutional growth. -
Th? two most striking characteristics of the
United States In the nineteenth century are Hi
expansion and its nationalisation. Through all
the changes of parties, in spite of Adminis
tration? seeking* contrary results, the pressure
of the country's fate has been working toward
the establishment of the supremacy and Inde
pendent vitality of the general Government
UNIONISM GREW SLOWLY.
The idea that this Government was something
besides the creature of the individual States,
and that It could not be broken up at the con
venience of those who joined to create It, took
root slowly. The doctrine of a terminable con
tract was not in essence partisan or sectional.
The Virginia and Kentucky Republicans of 17SS.
the Essex Junto of ISOO, the Hartford Conven
tion Federalists of 1814. the South Carolina
Nullifiers of 1832 and the Confederate Seces
sionists of IS6I alike failed to grasp the fact
of American nationality, which. In spite of the
disintegrating tendencies prevalent for years
previous to the Civil War. had become firmly
fixed before it was attacked in force. Yet if
the conception of a nation and not a league had
been fully understood by the framers of the
Constitution it probably would not have been
ados ted.
The Constitution, though written. is a living
thing which adapts itself to the growth of the
country and reveals new meanings as the Gov
ernment faces new problems and needs to ex
ercise new powers. This is its unique glory
among written constitutions— that it can pro
vide a scheme of government meeting the re
quirements and suiting the conceptions of peo
ple a century apart, with greatly differing ideas
as to the nature and scope of that government.
BUILDED BETTER THAN HE KNEW.
The century opened with the apparent triumph
of th« disintegrating over the fusing policy.
Twelve years of work under Washington. Ham
ilton and Adams in building up a centralized
power culminated In the election of Jefferson,
who doubted the constitutional right of the
United States even to build a lighthouse for the
protection of commerce. Yet. curiously enougn,
Jefferson was fated to do more than even Hamil
ton for loose construction of the Constitution
and the growth of a consolidated American
empire. in l»03 he purchased Louisiana, more
than, doubling the area of the country and
opening the door to an expansion utterly chang
ing its character. He regarded this act as
extra-constitutional, but put aside his scruples
because 01' the manifest benefit of the cc- !
quisition. Then, with the aid of Congress,
he established the doctrine of the plenary
power of the United States to govern sub
ject territory by setting up a civil adminis
tration In New-Orleans which had no specific
warrant in the Constitution, and denied to the
people some cf the personal rights guaranteed
by that instrument. Jefferson also sent out
L>.'wls and Clark to explore ami preserve to Urn
United States the Oregon country, and thus took
the first step toward American domination of the
Pacific Ocean.
The War of ISI2 was a piece of rashness and
an outbreak cf blind rage. France had treated
the United States if anything worse than Eng
land. Both had been Irritating and insulting
beyond endurance, and the spirit of the young
West. led by. Henry Clay, must needs strike
back at somebody, regardless of prudence. The
country was 111 prepared, and the campaigns
v.-ere wretchedly managed. The direct objects
of the war were not gained, but its Indirect
benefits were worth all it cost. It taught Europe
that ths new democracy was not to be despised,
that It would risk war in a just cause even with
the strongest nation. It extinguished the last
remnant of colonial reeling or special French or
English bias as a partisan division among Amer
icans. The war stimulated the growth of a real
national character among those who had before
been provincials In combination, and left a
united country, except for the then Insignificant
slavery question, which was soon to open a new
gulf and put nationality to its greatest trial.
PERIOD^ OF INDUSTRIAL. PROGRESS.
Immediately fol'owlng the War of 1812, how
ever, camp a period of quiet, in which the people
made great industrial progress and the Govern
ment gathered strength for coming contests.
Chief Justice Marshall was interpreting the Con
stitution and cot firming tue Federal Govern
ment in the exercise Of truly national powers.
The nssds of the growing country for internal
improvements transcending State limits-, became
apparent, anil though Jefferson. Madison and
Monroe vetoed improvement acts as unconsti
tutional, and thought they had settled the ques
tion. Clay's view of the fundamental law, as
expressed la the question. "Are the narrow,
limited necessities of the old thirteen States
; frrever to remain a rule of its interpretation
lo the end suited all parties better, and by gen
eral consent the old doctrine was abandoned.
A tariff for protection, tried under Hamilton's
lead at the formation of the Government, was
»130 adopted as a settled policy at this period,
and laid the foundation for our great manu
facturing industries. In ISID Florida, with an
area of 50.268 square miles, was added to the
Union, and in establishes a civil government
for the territory Congress again took occasion
to assert sovereign powers, and Andrew Jack
son, as Governor, proceeded to exercise them
without regard to the Constitution. The next
year the slavery question first became serious,
but a truce was arranged in the Missouri Com
promise, recognizing the power of Congress to
exclude slavery from the Territories.
MONROE DOCTRINES BIRTH.
From 1817 to 1329 John Quincy Adams, as
Secretary of State and President, was the dom
inating force in the control of the American for
eign policy. He wanted the world "familiarized
with the idea cf considering our proper dominion
to be the continent of North America." In Isl3
, be was ready to ask Great Britain for Canada as
a matter of mutual convenience, he negotiated
the Florida treaties, he repeatedly proclaimed
Cuba indispensable to the Union, and In July
1523. speaking of Alaska, said to the Russian
Minister: ''The American continents are no
longer subjects for any European colonial estab
lishments." This was the first promulgation of
the "Monroe Doctrine." In the December fol
lowing President Monroe announced that policy
I in his message, and assumed for the United
, States the position as arbiter of American desti
! nies, which Europe, however much It has since
! grumbled, has not cared to dispute.
I Another notable Incident in the growth of
| National sentiment was the Wenster-Hayne de-
I bate of 1830. in which the South Carolina nulll
[ fixation doctrine was promulgated nnil popular
; loyalty to the Union received its greatest In
1 tellectual stimulus. Two years later the overt
! act of nullification was precipitated by the tariff
. and the resolute attitude of President Jackson
"compelled for the time being obedience to the
: Federal Government, but not an abandonment
of the secession theory.
. The next step in expansion was tb* anhoxntlon
of Texas, in ISIS. This added 370.163 square
I mile* to American territory and opened to slav
ery, the prospect of Indefinite extension of its
pnwtr. hut in fact -paved the .way far its down
fall >•> stimulating It to neu- pretension? Th,'
Mexican War foiled, and with it. in IS4S the
acquisition of 543,(53 square miles in California
and Xew-Mex.co. to be rounded out In 1833 by •
the Gadsden purchase of 44,004 square m.lee. *
THE SLAVERY CRISIS.
The problem cf gov^rnlr.s this new territory
1-1 to new constitutional debates, and -, the
slavery crisis. C&lhoun developed Mi ;i.eorv
of the extension of the Constitution to the Terr!- >''
tortes. protecting slavery in them as i a the
States, while Webster and Benton asserted the
right or Congress to exclude It. Calhona wished
then to force the issue to actual dlsnnlon. "a?
wisely from his point of view, for all the time
party prepared to defend the title of the Unite*
States to be a nation vrag growing stroni«r
Clay's Compromise of IS3O seemed a sinful thir£
i tO . ¦: J right to support .:. for the great Union '
Ist. did right to support it. for I: gave ten yem i ~
for the maturing of the union spirit" and th?
time was needed, sinca the Influence of the silt
cry agitation had been decentralizing in «,*
North rs well as in the Eocth. Sleaawhße. c2S
and Douglas developed their notion of "saua'vS
sovereignty- as a substitute for National «a
thority. thereby giving mob rc!a a faracW •
theory of legitimacy " " a *"°<»
The Supreme Co ••• la ISol ty the Dred Sect*
decision s-ugtt to direst the National OovS'
m.-;.- of the esa?nc2 of 1:3 sovereignty aid ""J"
lish as the rnla cf constitutional tsterpreta^mi
the extreme Jeffencatta doctrlr-* c' r *i^
••••'¦" -:-s. which Jc.Tera ¦ .- '""n oW* J2 ...
abandoned " c t4d
THE WAR OF SECESSION.
Then came the war 3 f sscassion. The dispute '
was about slavery, oct the vital <;aes:<on at
issue was whether the United States was a
Nation able to enforce Its laws In a.. placet «l
Its dominion or a helpless association depend
ent on the will of each cf its parts. It was on
this issue that Abraham Lincoln pros- ¦¦¦ T th»
war. greatly to the chagrin of matr*-.^
slavery men. and the defeat of the secession
movement not merely abolished slaver; Tret M
tablished beyond dispute that the American
people had grown- ua to Hamilton's and Mar
shall's conception cf their ' Constitutes as fur
nishing them a government »i to make th«
American empire equal in essential power and
freedom of action to any la the world.
At tha.cr.d 3 f the war Secretary Seward mad»
a practical application of the Monroe Doctrine
and forced France to abandon the Cave—: i~<>n
she had set up tn Mtmiff*. He wuaawiCß
.V- 4 0 sauare miles of Alaska frcm Russ'a In
lib«. thereby adding- to this conatry Ita first
considerable tract cf non-cor:tl?rnon3 territory
acquired wit! : any intention cf ultimately
making it a State. Ha also planned ta seoirs
for the United States ascendency In the Carib
bean Sea, and negotiated the pwrchis- of the
Danish W-s: Indies, bet the c .r:rv was no'
yet -ready for this project. Nor did Presides:
Grant's proposal to annex San D.r.: - 5 : la 1870
meet with favor. The people were devated Pl
Internal development en a vast sca!e, a~i thea.
had little care far the extension cf their i. ties!
or commercial Influence.
In ISO 2 Hawaii, civilized and largely mmm
by Americans, prayed for annexation but Presi
dent Cleveland en taking office withdrew tfc»
treaty of acquisition from the Senate, and ti
was not until 1533 that American sovereignty
was extended over those Wanda. Mr* Cleveland
had occasion in 1885 once more to mm our
adherence to the Monroe Doctrine and our at
willingness to tolerate any posslMe Enrope*z
&Sgress!on In this hemisphere. The result was
the settlement of the Britlsa-Veaasuataß feaajsv
dary dispute by arbitration.
RECENT ACQUISITIONS.
The intervention In Cuba, which American,
statesmen had for three-quarters of a century
foreseen as sues day inevitable, -was* forced
upon the Government in 1396. In a moment el
forge tfulness of the settled conrtctloa of Ad
ministrations of all parties that ultimate control
of the Island was necessary to our peace and
security. Congress pledged itself to the iade
pendence of Cuba. So we are now confronted
with the difficult problem of setting up an inde
pendent government there, as in duty bound,
and at the same time guarding against the Isl
an.l h»!a;; made the foothold of an enemy at ocr
door. Another result of the war with Spate
was the acquisition of Porto Rico sad the
Philippines, and the Question now at issue con
cerning the power to rule these outside pos
sess ions puts to a new test the status of the
United States «s a Nation equal to other na
tions, able to hold territory as its expaadi&f
political and commercial relations may require.
without Incorporating those chance holdings
into its own system.
The story of the United States In the Hss
te- nth century is the story of the evolution of
a confederation into a full fledged nation, sad
the last step in that constitutional development
Is coincident with the commercial and industrial
triumphs which promise American predoaai
nance among civilized peoples, and call for its
means to promote and maintain it.
ROSCOE C. E. BROWS.
OUR ULTIMATE COAL PRODUCTION
F. W. Saward. in The Coal Trade Journal. . . -;i
The British coal output having now reached a
tot-ii of 220.030.300 gross tons, from an area of asset
v j square miles. . tho opinion is prevalent that the
maximum output of that country is within sight.
This being the case, the Question naturally arista.
How does the situation in the United States ess
pa re with this, and what will be our mil—n
tonnage? Our coal areas of the United States com
prise upward of ls\u«J0 square miles, so that so tar
as area is concerned we have fifteen times as mach
coal land as Great Britain, and the Impraaslns
might prevail that in due time the United States
might produce tea times, at least, as much coaL
Yet this Is subject to marked modification, al
though thlrty-nve years ago the total coal produc
tion of the United States did not exceed 25.005.05)
tens. an] to-day It is at th* rate of U0.059.0M tons
per annum. Pennsylvania now produces at the saw
of 13a.000.0M tons per annum. It is very doubtful £
the output will ever be more than twice as modi
as it is now. or. let us say 230.000.000 tons. Illiaoia,
too. has an ultimate output of 60.000,000 tons, or
two nnl one-half times the present tonnage. W«et
Virginia may in time produce three times Its pres
ent output. For Ohio a total output oi 33.000.010 la
ail that can be expected. Alabama we shall ester
as 70.f00.0fr) tons. Indiana may produce M.fIOiHSI
tons fifty or seventy- five years hence, but at that
time Maryland may be worked out. or nearly so.
and if we continue that State at Its present Rgora
we shall be generous. Let us put down M.OM.I™
tons for lowa, and the same for Colorado. Ken
tucky will be a larse producer, and 13.G00.CC0 toss
may come thence. Kansas and Missouri will prob
ably not increase so much. Ten millions for the
two is our estimate. Tennessee will Bro*aSly ste
el nee as much as both, and so will Wyoming, nr
Washington and Virginia we may set down IMMs)
ton* each. The Montana output may be run up *»
the same figures, and the Indian Territory aad
Arkarsas tonnages mar reach 5 000.000 tons anasce.
X.w- Mexico may produce 4.000.000 tons per annost
in tiro*, so also with Texas «n<l Utah MlcMgaa
v. in probably never exceed 3.000.0001 and 1.000.000 tjr
oeorr'a is • liberal estimate. California. Nona
and South. Dakota. Oreroc North Carolina. 2ff
pn»»«T» and Rhode Islam* way all be iolntlT esasV
ltf>d with a product o * l tt)a<n> tors. Fore ti«a *c
have a total of M9.080.0w ton 9 as the ultimate Saa#
mum output of the coal mines of the United Mas
| vo.v7-.u-s FIRE DZTECTn'Z -ire.
! . The North German Lloyd ¦bbbSbslb] OBSBfOji
j have closed a contract with the Xoataak sM*
phase Cable Company for the lastauation cf tielr
nra detective system on tho new piers and MSBBsI I
contemplated la Hobokoa to isulaue those tsMsi
down last June. One building, Ms foot Ion?. *-}
face the river, and others, each *» feet S3 ¦"U 1
house the three piers. Very elaborate anaLliuiSlsss
call for the complete eoulpcent oi the entire prop
erty with the MontaaTt f.ro detecting wires. BesWe*
the permanent installation, portable reels «H «*•
tribute the over merchardiso en t»e Hess. _
Th* Montana system has been applied to the £r.e.*t
residences In New-Tork, and has already save.
ainy , lives and much property. It has also tee
installed m numerous stores, mills and factorw*
and the United States Government, always o»|HH'
to costly experiments with untried inventions, iss.
after Investigation, so far approved the principle*
and workings ot the system as to completely esslo
. with its visilant. w.:-» s the cix'ser Atlanta.
'; ' OUR GROWIXG EXPORT TRADE. '¦
¦ Frcm Eoots and Shoes Weekly.
In all probability the year 1300 will sha*v the lug
est erports In the history of the forsi;n commari*
of the United States. Tho total exports dnrir:* t-}-»
month oi October -were $i$3.eiKXS37. cr practically
dot:blo the exports of October IS4. Thi> total for
the ten months ending OctSosf. Ml Is luSnMMk
or practically double test of the ten months er.i'."'
with October. ISW. Our- erpcr:=i innlil our las
ports tti:rinc the itn months ending with Octot-irfc"
nearly J."<il, i >v>.Ci>\ -whil-i in th,» correspomiißS tea.
months of ism the Imports exceeded ta- exports by
«K,fi>33.Of»\ Trie ye.ar I3i\) vr!l'., for th>» rTrs; time in
the history or our cornmf rce. show exports cf ts-*
values of more than .JiOO.r«X).'>JO for every- cicr.tfc in
tho year.
! TWO Or TUi: EARTITS DUIEXSIOXS. :
From Popular Science.
After nearly thirty years of constant ffort «- 4
!<rrat expenditure. It la ascertained that the «*rth
diameter through .the • euuator is 7.92* tnllsi; •-¦
' height from pole to pole. 7,399 miles. I
i m