New-York tribune. [volume], February 10, 1908, Page 6, Image 6

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Amuscmenis.
ACADEMT OF MCSIC-s:ls-The Girl cf th. OoMen
TV-st.
»uiAMi-r.'. —2— v» u<j*ti;i».
Aaron >:«-Irci.<. W>ch«Hey. ,_,.„,
JiKl^A.*"" ?:ID— TV.c Warrens of V.rrsn.a.
BUOL- *:2O— Th«- Ccmpt.
BUXEFS- «:ls— Th« world Aschwt H«r.
RROADWAT— «:IS— A Walti Dream.
CASINO— *:Ii— Top c th' World.
001/OXlAtr— 2— S— Vatrievtlle. U.2)i
< -RITKRION H«U ot Ho, land
IMI.VS *•—! AWRkfnir.*.
rtEVVKY— 22 — — V«;d*vtKe.
BURN VI sr.K Th" World in a*.
EMPIRE— S:2t>— The .lift":"* -^,
«AKRU-K * •■■• ■■■•■ lUtea from BoS ' rr -
OEEMAX- 8:=O— ">-..• \V;tchln» Hour
SIA« : KETT— S:3O— The IVitchln* Hour
fHEiIS^HH?AS'S
£»•«*«, and Winter Carnival.
1 -H^^^4-*^-T he T We r.
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Vr?TV nnVLE-":l.V-^n«om» Town.
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Index fn Advertisements.
4 TO uf-merT S 1= *-«iHrtp Wwted • ••
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MONDAY. rrr.RVABT 10. HH
This •r-r* p r A prr i* owned and published W
Tfte Tribune Association, a Xcw York corpora
tion; olfrrr av4 principal place of business. Trih
pmj Uvudtvff, ¥•. 15} Ifwmmi ttrcet, Vme York;
Vgdcn Mills, president; Xatltanicl Tuttle, sec
retary and treasurer. The address of the off.
terg is the office of this ncivspapcr.
THE vrTr.s THIS UOBXK'G.
FORElGN.— Advices from Lisbon pay that tbe
republicans ari active, and that there are mm.
. cations of an attempt to overthrow the govern
ment • many conspirators have been arrested at
Opart* * The transatlantic lines' agreement
cndiup th« rate war will provide for the aboli
tion of- rebate.* on return tickets, a uniform
minimum cabin rate during the year and an in
rrcase of fares in the first and second class.
Th*> shipbuilding syndicate of Sir James
I^aln? A- Sons, employing five thousand men. has
*usp»nded. - " Further financial trouble In
P'nrnark has been averted by the government
end leading hanks of Copenhagen uniting to
puarantee obligations. -=-= The Austrian gov
ernment denied that Russia had recalled Am
bassador Prince Ourousoff. and added that the
report of strained relations had been exagger
«ied. r=r The American battleship fleet was
reported at 6 o'clock on Saturday evening twelve
miles cast of Cape Pilar: the weather was
.rnr>-. ■ — Mail advices from Cuba say that
JltUe interest is shown In the coining elections,
< d that many of the natives would welcome a
continuance of American rule.
DOMESTIC. —In answering a letter from
"William Dudley Koulko, ex-Civil Service com
missioner, regarding the cnarge? that he has
mad* federal appointments with a view to fur
thering the Presidential candidacy of Secretary
Taft. the President characterized the accusation
a? "false and malicious." and added that he ex
pected others of ■ like character. ===== Sup
' pnrten of Mr. Taft [or the Presidential nomi
nation predicted at Columbus a. sweeping victory
at the county primaries in Ohio to-morrow, with
the state convention possibly unanimous in his
favor. ■ A s-hortage of serious proportions
m the receipts from the pale of stock transfer
lax stamps was reported by State Controller
gsjruu In a statement given out from bis office
• In Albany. z== Harry K. Thaw received visits
from his mother and A. Foster Peabody and
Daniel O'Reilly, his lawyers, at the Matteawan
■toft Hospital. === - Mayor George W. Guthrio.
of Pjttsbtirg. caused criticism, especially among
poor, by ordering the stopping of sledding on
Sunday. -'— Plans for an arbitration and
-,^.. conxrreys to be held in Wilmington. K. C.
oariv in May were announced at Washington.
■ The annual report of the State Board of
Tax Commissioners was made public at Albany.
r= John Williams. Slate Commissioner of
3^»b«r. issued a hopeful statement at Albany.
„ -.; CtTT Otto C Hehme said his firm had no
BUfta la View against Charles W. Horse. =
Fcrmons in about forty of the city's churches
e»i>i<-k«»d racetrack gambling. = = - It was re
ported thai Conried would resign as director of
\hf Metropolitan Opera House to-morrow night.
r=^^ Thr«> Italians opened fire on a milk wagon
in WiJlSamsburp. causing panic in a streetcar
»md among pedestrians. ===== River and harbor
tr..fT- was partly blocked by the ice. - — Men
ial ' aline by the churches wocld soon be tried
lirre. It vas said. == It was announced that
tTvo hundred pickets would be placed on duty to
i xrevent the city being swindled by the snow
rfmoverF. == * John W. Oliver, the veteran
fc^«-<3Uor of "Th«» Yonkers Statesman.' died. - - -
Pa'J"h« Public Service Commission paid in it" re-
BrjK»rt that tli- steam roads should relieve the
pr street lines. ■■ ■-— Chancellor Day. of Syracuse
Vnivertity. wrote a letter to the women teachers
of the city upholding the equal pay proposition.
f* The Central Federated Union adopted res
t olutions calling on unions to unite in a big labor
1 parr. : Much speculation over the situation
• v; '■<-rar'i to the Uorough President's office kept
' Queens warm.
THE WEATHER^ — Indications for to-day:
Fair and varmer. The temperature yesterday:
Jlijrhe -i. 22 degrees: lowest, 6.
ICY STREETS.
It is rej»or;e«l that in a single day last week
In this city nearly two hundred persons met
with aivi-'Jpm^ on slippery streets and suffered
' injuries <uffi«iontly serious to call for the atten
tion af the poileo. There is little doubt That at
I*-.--! as msny more. and perhaps several times
.-1- many, bad painful and potentially serious
falls which were not seen by nor reported to the
iVblkr. In such a rworri for a single day there
is suggested I somewhat disquieting possibility
of damage BUtt* aggregating an enormous sum.
Wo j-bmjld hesitate to estimate, moreover, the
rtmiiher of horses which have, daily fallen upon
the Icy streets, Bfitb the result sometimes of
death, always of suffering, and usually of con
siderable obstruction of trafli--.
Such occurrences, day after day and whiter
itftcr winter, are discreditable either to our
humanity or to OUT ingenuity, or to both. In
ihe case of the horses a large part of the blame
doubtless rests directly upon their owners or
drivers for not having them shod in a way
whlcb would prevent their slipping, or not gnld
lug them more carefully on portions of the
street which are not slippery. The testimony of
mmiy practical horsemen, fortified by observa
tion. Is that there are such methods of shoeing
which arc practical and effective. To say that
no snch lbiuz could be devised would be to im
peach inventive ingenuity. But this placing of
Manx- does not !>y any means exculpate the mu
nicipal authorities..
In ihe case of ixxlestriaus many doubtless
!•...■ and '. '.. through !..-,-i!'.-- But in, the
majority of ■:;<»-- the 'lame is properly to lie
l>iai»-d upon the condition of the sidewalks and
crossings and up-« :i those responsible for that
«*mdltlon. y«-sterdny. for example, there were
mijos of icy sidewalks in the Borough of Man
hattan alone upon which it was practically iiu
pos*il)le for anybody to walk without constant
danger of slipping and failing. In the great
• majority of <-as*"S this condition .•-« .■. ■ j.-.i be-
GBUgc of wilful uegloct '<) clean off til" Jast
fall of stjow. There is an c-rdiij;ii»c<- requiring
kik-w .'■■■ be removed promptly from all
> id^walk!?. But it is not enforced. The average
*ulictinau on his Jxwt •- ■■•< many violations of it.
Vet in the very nature of the case it is one of
the very easiest ordinances to detect violations
of. and it should he one of the easiest to enforce.
It is ■ civic disgrace that in a single day hun
dreds of citizens should puffer actual Injury and
that tens of thousands should suffer discomfort
and danger because people neglect to obey and
the authorities neglect to enforce an ordinance
of elementary importance.
SUBWAY Bl'lLDiyO.
With the preparation of its plans for the
Lexington avenue subway the Public Service
Commission has done the utmost it can to pro- |
vide for new traction facilities. If no additional ;
subway is built the fault is with the municipal
administration, which has gone ahead making
provision for all sorts of minor works, involving
expenditure within the next couple of years of
1300.000,600, and failing to keep in mind the
city's imperative need of additional traction
lines, or it is with those ardent friends of the j
people who were fo determined to protect the i
city against the exactions of private capital |
that they procured the enactment of laws mak-
Ins construction of subways by private capital
practically impossible. If the proposed Lexlng- ;
ton avenue line is not built, or if there is undue
delay about the construction of it. the public
must put the blame where it properly belongs.
To* Public Service Commission cannot compel
the city administration to change its opinion
about the relative importance to the city of
adequate traction facilities and of tbe odds and I
ends of ventures to which tbe city is already
commuted by the Board of Estimate and Appor
tionment, nor can it take capital by the neck
and compel It to enter a field that has been
made unattractive by unwise legislation.
Controller Metz is quoted to the effect that the
city has no money to spend on subways* There
are, unfortunately, pood reasons for believing
that he does not overstate the case. It is prob
ably true, as the Controller says, that if he had
not canned the stopping of work on $125,000,000
worth of <"outracts last fall the city would soon
be carrying on undertakings involving expendi
tares in extern of tb<* debt limit. At the end
of the year the actual margin of the city's
credit was about $35,000,000, and the assess
ments for this year Increased this by between
$40,000,000 and $45,60\000, so that the appar
ent margin is about $80,000,000. Of this sum
$50,000,000 will be used up by the coming bond
issue, and the pros<>«-ution of the various cuter
prises to which rhf> city is already committed
will call for all til-- remainder^ if not. more. if
tb»» public believes that the subways should be
built with the city's credit let-It place the blame
for the lack of <ity funds to construct them
where it belongs. on the «'iiy administration,
which has used the city's credit extravagantly
on all sorts of projects, ignuring the nerd of
traction facilities, although i* was aware of
the practical impossibility under the exist
ing law of building new linos except with city
money. Out of the millions at its command
— considerably over $100,000,000 spent, in its
first two years, with plans calling for the ex
penditure of nearly $200,000,000 more in its
last two — the administration could, had it been
so disposed, have provided for new subways.
Various ways are suggested for the relief of
the situation in which the administration baa
\ left the city. Of these the quickest seems to be
: a change in the law so that private capital may
i again enter the field. The Klsberg law has
demonstrated that it is injurious to the cify's
Interest, operating In just the same way as have
similar laws in England, where the restriction
j of leases or franchises for public utilities to
| twenty years has invariably checked develop-
I incut. Capital insists an a longer period to !>e
j sure of its returns. The Ifflribfiil act should be
; s«. amended that capital will be attracted by the
I opportunities of subway construction. No such
abuses as once formed a just ground of com
; pifiiit against t!. > privately owned and managed
traction lines can result from this policy, for the
Public Service Commission has The power and
j the will to compel good service from any coin
! prny it authorizes to build subways.
THE MAIXTEXAXCE OF EMPIRE.
The rethrasliiug of old straw is a common
enough practice in both public and private life,
though it is seldom profitable or edifying:,
especially when the original thrashing and
winnowing were as thorough as they were at
The Hague last year and concerning the con
ference there throughout the world. Yet we
must make a notable exception to this rule, as
now and then we must to many another rule.
The proeoss was resorted to last week in the
British House of Commons, probably for
chiefly partisan purposes. Its result was to
call forth from the Secretary for Foreign Af
fairs a speech more weighty and impressive
than even his usually are. The government
had been subjected to criticism for having op
posed, and thus having compassed the defeat,
of the proposal to exempt private property at
tea from capture in war. the same as similar
property on land, and Sir Edward Grey spoke
in vindication of the government's course.
It is assumed that the opposition hoped by
raising this controversy to develop a certain
rift within the governmental lute and to get
the Foreign Secretary to express some dis
sent from the policy of his colleagues concern
ing naval expansion. With that phase of the
incident we need not occupy our attention; it
is a matter of British domestic policy. Neither
would It be pertinent or profitable to split
dialectic hairs over Sir Edward Grey's logic.
His view is that the exemption of private prop
erty at sea might and probably would operate
to the disadvantage of Great Britain or to the
advantage of her foes in case a naval war
went against her; or that It might increase the
danger of a war going against her. It is.
of course, conceivable that such would be the
case, and there can be little dispute that if
there were a prospect of its being the case the
British government would be fully justified In
withholding its assent from the proposal in
question. On the other hand, many will argue
that it would be to Great Britain's advantage
to ' have her vast mercantile marine, and
especially her food carrying fleets, exempted
from capture, and thus not in danger of deten
tion or in need of protection. But that, too,
is a matter for Great Britain to determine for
herself.
What Sir Edward Grey made plain as the
chief burden of his earnest remarks, and what
li<j himself doubtless considered of chief im
portance, was the fact which Tennyson made
the keynote of one of the most spirited political
lyrics of his later years, that "the fleet of Eng
laud is her all in all." That should ha entirely
obvious without a word of any .statesman's
oratory, bat it is so essential and preponderant
a fact as to deserve the reiterated emphasis of
the most authoritative. It is her command of
the sea which gives Great Britain security. The
fact was appreciated in Drake's day and in
Kelson's, and that is why Trafalgar is esteemed
above Blenheim or "Waterloo. That command
once lost, no immunity of private commerce
could save the kingdom from invasion and
from danger of conquest. That is the consid
eration Which makes thoughtful fetatosmen like
Sir Edward Grey Insist that, whatever else is
done or ■ left undone, the British fltet shall
l»e made Bad kept strong enough to hold the
tee against any hostile combination that may
be formed. ,
That doctrine, 100. is of chief interest to
the British government and nation. But in
connection with it the sneaker gave utterance
to another thought which is to he commended
to the mind of every nation Of large and widely
distributed interests. That is, that the nation's
pwatnass imposes upon the government obli
gations and resj)onsiliiliti< wnimensurate with
that greatness, for its safeguarding and unim
paired transmission' to succeeding time: and
NEW-YORK DAILY TRIBUNE. MONDAY. FEBRUARY 10. 1908.
nlso thnt in some contingencies, the possi
bility of which must never be ignored, the
greatness of those Interests may constitute a
commensurately greater tpm?>tation to alien at
tack. Precisely the sntne principle which dic
tates to Great Britain the necessity of main
taining her seaward protection of her coasts
and of her rommrive bids every other nation
to Lave similar regard for the security of !t*
eaountmi luten-sts, re<-konins the cost of so
doing as notJbiiur more than a businesslike pre
mium paid upon a national insurance policy-
'- AD INTERIM. PRESIDENTS. ;
We publish la another column of this issue I
letter from a reader in Washington in which
the claim, asserted recently la various news
paper publications, that David R. Atchison, of
Missouri, -was for one day President of the
United States is exploded- by a quotation from
the executive Journal of the United States
Senate. The origin of the Atohison myth is
simple enough. It is based on the sound
enough contention that the Senate is a continu-
Ing body, and on the further altogether unsound
contention that an officer named .as president
pro tempore of the Senate must exercise eon
tinuing functions, and therefore, in any Interval
elapsing between the expiration of the term of
one President and Vice-President and the In
auguration of a new President and Vice-Presi
dent must have been, under the old system of
succession, virtually and legally ad interim
President of the United States.
This, of course, is fantastic theorizing. There
have been several occasions in our history
when. March 4 falling on Sunday. Presidents
elect have waited until March 5 before taking
the oath of office. That was what happened in
1849. President Folk's term expired on Sat
urday. March 3. President Taylor was not in
augurated until Monday. March 5. Mr. Atcbi
sou was president pro temper* of the Senate
for the session endinc: March 3. 1849. There
fore it has been contended that between March
3 and March 5 he was at least constructively
President. It happens, however, that* Mr.
Atchison'3 own term as Senator expired on
March 3, and before he was re-elected presi
dent pro iempore of the Senate on March 5 he
bad to qualify under bis new credentials. He
was therefore just as much or just as little a
Senator ~ on March 4 as General Taylor was
-President and Mr. Flllmore Vice-President
His qualification as president pro tempore of
the Senate preceded by only a few minutes the
qualification of Mr. Fillmore as Vice-President
and General Taylor as President. It would
be just as valid to say that. Mr. Fillmoro. was
President for an interval of time on March 5
because be took the oath of office before <*en
oral Taylor did. as to say that Mr. Atchison was
similarly President because his installation
preceded Mr. Fillmore's by a few minutes.
But even If Mr. Atehisou'a term had not ex
pired and If the Senate had previously elected
him president pro temporc—ati it. had not— for
-, period long enough to cover the interval be
tween the two Presidential terms, be would
have had no valid claim to be recognized as
President in c.«*c. He would have been Presi
dent in pr.ssc 80 long M be was president pro
tempore of the Senate, but no more on one
March 4 than on any other. The old succes
sion law qualified him to succeed to the Presi
dency on the removal, death, resignation or in
ability of the President and Vice-President. But
on March 4. 1549, both a President and a Vice-
President were on hand, qualitied to assume of
fice and no vacancy tillable by a substitute
third in ranking order existed. A President
is legally President from the time his term
be-ins, although until he takes the oath the
Presidential functions are temporarily sus
pended He can assume office at his con
venience without in the mean while creating a
legal vacancy.
James Monroe was inaugurated for the sec
ond time on March 5, 1821. Before deciding to
postpone taking the oath for a day he con
sulted with the justices of the Supreme our .
and they put on record informally, through
Thief Justice Marshall, their opinion on the
tegalWy of this procedure. The letter, dated
February 20, 1821, Is highly interesting. It
reads as follows:
\s the constitution only provides that the
;.*■ 1 a t hiirh officer. There ifl a,, obvkma pro
priety In taking the oath thereby shortening tho
eniently be taken and thereby shorten ng the
interval in which the executive power .is sus
pended. But some interval la inevitable. The
time of the actual President will c*e *V Ut Up ?n th
of the President-elect commence at twelve In the
night of the 3d of March. It has been usual to
take the oath at midday on the 4th Thus there
has been uniformly and voluntarily *n interva
of twelve hours during which the Executive
power could not be exercised. This interval may
be unavoidably prolonged. Circumstances may
prevent the declaration of the person who is
chosen until it shall be too late to communicate
the intelligence of his election until after the 4th
of March. This occurred at the first election.
Undoubtedly, on any pressing: emergency the
President might take the oath in the first hour
of the 4th of March; but it has never been
thought necessary to do so, and he has always
named such hour as he deemed most convenient.
If any circumstance should render it unfit to
take the oath on the 4th of March, and the pub
lic business would sustain no injury by its be
ing deferred till the sth. no impropriety is per
ceived in deferring It till the f.t{i. Whether the
fact that the 4th of March comes this year on
Sunday be such a circumstance may perhaps
depend very much on public opinion and feeling.
Of this, from our retired habits, *here are few
perhaps less capable of forming a correct opinion
than ourselves. Might we hazard a conjecture,
it would rather be in favor of postponing the
oath till Monday unless some official duty should
require it? being taken on sunday. But others
who mix more In society than we do, can give
conjectures on this subject much more to be
confided In than ours.
By fiction and custom March 3 has been
latterly construed to end at noon on March 4.
But any President could postpone taking the
oath now just as well as in Marshall's time
without in the least making some one of his
designated successors an ad interim President.
MACMtVE MADE BASEBALL.
The industrial revolution caused by the in
vention of labor saving mMMuery is still going
merrily on. Having spread through all trades
and industries and reduced the working hours
of laboring men so greatly that the humblest
factory employe can now find time to enjoy,
actively or passively, a baseball game at least
once a week, tbe revolution is nt last breaking
out in tbe field of sports, and, as ironical fate
will 'have ir. works its ravages tlrst in the
great national game. From Cambridge COBBM
the report t hat an automatic pitching machine
has been installed In the Harvard baseball cage.
This device, for which, though it is not an ab
solute novelty, great, and origiuul merits are
claimed, resembles a breech loading gun on a
stand, burls baseballs at auy desired velocity by
COfnoreußad a ' r H "d can deliver a perfect "in."
"out," "drop" aud "up shoot." The human
pitcher is relegated to the r;mk of gunner: no
longer waving Ills sums in serpentine frenzy and
dancing about within the narrow confines of bis
"box." be now squints along the eights of his
deadly weapon, touches .i lever here and there,
pulls the trigger — and the game begins.
To be sure, the inventor of fbl* diabolical
contrivance bsbhsuj everybody that it is designed
merely to relieve pitchers of the unnecessary
strain of training BBtBttMB, but the pessimistic
"fan" understands this subterfuge and knows
what will happen. 80888 day a malinger will
find his loam Up against a "crack" rival and
his pitching btaff demoralized : BUB of the "subs"
will be iesUßßl to work the pitching machine;
the rhrej team v.ill be crushed to tin* tune of
17 hi <» tad twenty seven strikeouis, mid the
revolution in sports will be on. The "faus"'
will raise funds u> equip their mßpective home
teams with the latest model of twirling artillery.
In vain will conservative "rooters" hold peace
conferences to urge universal disarmament. At
best they will succeed only In preventing un
necessary cruelty In the new warfare. Arbi
tration committees will fix the maximum press
ure in the compressed air tanks of the pitching
machines, while the men behind the guns will
be heavily fined for throwing "dead balls. But
there will bfe no return to hand made curves;
on the contrary, it is far more likely that bat
ting machines, automatic back stops and electri
cal first bases will be invented to cope with the
Harvard terror. Does not the history of naval
development warrant this prophecy?
Naturally the older "rooters" will not find the
heart to shout themselves hoarse over machine
made baseball. Twas over thus at every stage
in the industrial revolution; there still live men
who firmly believe machine made shoes and cra
vats to be an abomination. The younger gen
eration, however, will argue that baseball is no
more mechanical when the ball is pitched by
compressed air than when hurled by dollar
power. The widely separated points of view of
the passing and the coming generation make
agreement upon this matter impossible. There
ought to be no- disseusion. however, over the ad
visability of Installing mechanical umpires. A
well built umpiring machine would add greatly
to the enjoyment of the spectators by encourag
ing them to express their disgust at decisions
more freely through the medium of bricks and
dead cats than the police now permit.
MOXEY AXD BUSINESS.
Discussion of the coming Presidential elec
tion has become general In Wall Street much
earlier than usual, owing to the, dulnesa of the
security market and the lack of Important de
velopments in financial circles. The appear
ance of Mr. Bryan downtown on Thursday also
increased political talk. Efforts to arouse pub
lic interest in speculation were abandoned last
week, and it looked as though the market lead
ers had decided to encourage the extension of
the professional short account. The subsequent i
aggressive celling depressed prices of the active j
issues, although the net decline In the average
of sixty railway shares was only about $1. and
total transactions fell to a very low figure. As
usual In a dull market, the value of a Stock Ex
change membership declined, one transfer be
ing made at $59,000. against $63,000 a few weeks
ago. The last sale was $38,000 below the high
est point on record. Meanwhile the bad news
seems to be about all out. and latest weekly fig- |
ures of railway gross earnings make slightly
less unfavorable comparisons with last years
returns, despite the interruption of snowstorms,
while reductions in operating expenses encour
age expectation of somewhat better exhibits
of net earnings. In view of these developments
it may be found desirable' to start a campaign
against the short account In the near future,
-which should produce higher quotations, at least
temporarily.
Money accumulates in the banks, the small
demand in speculative channels holding call
rates at 2 per cent or less, and time loans can
be secured at 6 per cent for twelve months.
There is still some discrimination against com
mercial paper, especially by local banks, but
outside institutions purchase well known names
at 5Vi per cent. Under the new system of bank
reports it will be possible to make intelligent
comparisons for the first time, although the fig
ures are of little 'value at the start because simi
lar returns are not available for earlier dates.
The abundance of the cash supply is evidenced
by the official statistics of money In circula
tion on February 1, when all records were far
eclipsed both in the aggregate and per capita
allowance. Gross gold in the vaults of the
Treasury has steadily risen until $990,000,000 Is
the new high-water mark. Gold imports have
ceased, and the only outgo was a small ship
ment to Argentina. This movement is usually
moderate, representing settlement by {few York
for part of London's grain imports. Although
the wheat shipments from South America prom
ise to be unusually large this season, there Is no
reason to expect heavy drafts on this money
market because this nation Is piling up cred
its by the abnormally favorable merchandise
movement. Government deposits in national
banks are gradually reduced, and the abundance
of available cash in circulation is causing bank
note redemption at an unprecedented rate.
Trade reports are so conflicting that it is im
possible to discern any net change in the situa
tion. At a few interior cities there is a definite
increase in the volume of business, bank ex
change at Minneapolis and Kansas City show
ing gains in comparison with the corresponding
week last year, but in most instances there is
the usual loss of about 15 per cent. Snow and
severe cold became widely distributed, stimu
lating retail sales of seasonable merchandise,
but wholesalers and jobbers complain of
the reluctance with which dealers prepare
for the spring trade. It Is evident that cash
or confidence is low, but the consequent de
pletion of stocks promises ultimate revival of
demand from primary markets. Meanwhile
manufacturers restrict output and there is no
burdensome accumulation. This condition makes
the statistical position strong, but curtails the
1 purchasing power of those who are no longer
fully employed. Extravagant estimates of the
| number of idle wage earners have been circu
lated for speculative effect, but no figures on the
subject have been compiled that are even ap
proximate. It would be far from accurate to
take the number of unemployed at a few plants
and apply the same ratio to all industries, as
widely different conditions exist in the various
branches of business and even in the same occu
pation at different cities. Yet reports of this
nature receive credence. Moreover, figures com
piled at the beginning of this month would not
apply to-day, one week having brought resump
; tion at numerous mills and factories.
' Option trading in cotton became very dull and
j almost wholly professional, the outside public
j awaiting more definite information regarding
the current yield and probable consumption.
Thus far foreign mills have taken raw material
freely, last week's exports being almost identical
I with those of the same time in 1907. notwith
standing the higher prices now prevailing, but
frequent rumors of preparations for short time
I at Lancashire have effect on trading. Cotton
| comes into sight a little less freely than a year
| ago and Northern spinners buy conservatively,
but Southern mill takings are well maintained.
Quiet conditions have also - prevailed at the
I {Twain exchanges, although prices recovered part
of the previous week's severe decline. While
| some reaction was to be expected from an over-
I sold market, especially when receipts of wheat
I at primary markets were decreasing, there is
little evidence of interest except when cables
are received from Argentina. The exportable
surplus of that nation is now the dominant
| factor in tha wheat market. An element of
strength was the report that Russia was buying
Argentine wheat In Liverpool, an almost un
precedented occurrence. Even if the Argentine
surplus Is 150,000,000 bushels, it cannot make
j up .the deficiencies of importing nations and
| spare much grain for countries normally ex
j porters. Shipments from the United States con
tinue to surpass those of the same week in re
cent preceding years, and Northwestern mills
i are producing more Hour than at this time in
I 1007. These figures promise to reduce stocks at
the end of the season, which turns attention to
the next crop. Recent heavy snowstorms im
prove the- condition of winter wheat, although
the prevalence of insects has begun to occasion
some uneasiness. The fact that quotations have
not receded in the same proportion aa other
commodities should stimulate planting of spring
wheat very largely this year, yet there la no
evidence of fear that prices will be depressed,
deliveries next July and September being pur
chased in tIJ« Chicago option market at over 90
cents a bushel. •
Can it be because of Mr. Lawson's lately pro
claimed opinion that the people are all fools
that Mr. Bryan, who has not hitherto found
them so. wished to hold a consultation with th<»
Boston thinker?
It is reported that. In a damage BUH h«BU#hl
by a Harvard graduate against an BBfllßl com
pany for the ions of his medical diploma. Presi
dent Eliot and Harvard professors testified that
"a diploma has only a sentimental value." This
deposition apparently wplalns why students are
allowed to earn diplomas by pun-uins studies of
sentiment^ value. Economically a UlilBJI di
ploma is thus made a quid pro q<m "in kind '
for courses in Mesopotamlan Mezzotints and thi
Esoteric Mental Calisthenics of Hegel'antsm.
Once more it is announced that China and
Russia have come to terms en the Manchuria n
boundary and that China i« to h» permitted to
establish her regular customs amahs aloni? that
line. Let M piously hope that this time the re
port is true, and that th" custom hemms v
actually h« opened this tine, ss that Russia 1 -!
goods will pay the f ams import iullss that MISOS
do from other lands and there will be on further
reason for not establishing the sam- SfUBSBI at
Tairen and elser.here.
In declining to row against Cornell's Junior
eight at the Memorial Day regatta, do the oars
men of Columbia University indicate a fear that
the wily Ithacans may repeat the trick they
played »o successfully when they put a young
woman on their debating team?
Having banqueted in merry communion, the
first and second Thaw Juries organized a per
manent "Association of Thaw Juries," and re
solved to hold an annual dinner. The new so
ciety will prove a stern training school for past
mastication speakers. Any member who can
arise, at any banquet after the third annual one,
and say something at once witty and relevant to
the occasion will be a word wizard. The Society
of New Yorkers Who Dote on Lobster or the
Union of "Tim" Sullivan's Beneficiaries can find
more themes of common interest to discourse
upon with wit and wisdom than the Thaw Jurors
can.
The news that the Deputy Commissioner of
Street Cleaning had found that snow removing
cartmen had a trick of getting their cards
punched twice for each load they dumped comes
in. unfortunate juxtaposition with the announce
ment that "the CUh District broke all enow re
"moval records last week, the cards showing
"that 6.650 load^ had been dumped."
THE TALK OF THE PAY.
"The Buenos Ayres Herald," rejoicing over th»
adoption of the white helmet for Its police force,
cays: "The local -Robertus.' or more familiarly
'Bobby,* has at last got a white helmet, bless Mi
little crlollo heart! And some people, of an in
quisitive turn of mind, are asking why thi3 becom
ing and seasonable headgear should not have been
accompanied by a corresponding chromatic varia
tion In the rest of the uniform." The writer com
plains in th« same article about the injustice of
the city Jaw which compels policemen to wear dark
woollen clothes in hot weather. The Inspectors of
the force are worse off than their men. for they,
in addition to heavy uniforms, must wear also
"huge riding boots, and have not the saving clause
of the whit© helmet." The paper advocates "tho
abolishment of all collars, cuff?, close fitting cloth
ing, hard hats, gloves (gloves In this weather!), and
the institution of a wide, easy and flowing civic
costume that, while uniting all the demands of
'culture,' would afford a rational garb In keeping
with the climatic surroundings." This criticism of
existent customs will surprise many persons who
fancied that the problem of comfortable clothing
had been solved In South America.
"The time, the place and the girl. How seldom
we see them together."
' "Fiddlesticks! What we seldom find in conjunc
tion is the man. the thirst and the price." — Louis
ville Courier-Journal.
Along the Hudson River, where more ice Is har
vested than in any other section of the country,
electric motors are being extensively used !n hand
ling the crop for next summer's trade. Out on
the surface of the river the Ice Is being marked
and cut with "ploughs" drawn by horses. The
cakes are spudded off by hand and floated to the
electrically operated chain conveyors, where they
are automatically hoisted from the water and hur
ried to the Ice houses. A3 the cakes pass aloner
on the conveyors they go through the various
finishing machines. One device trims the cakes
to the proper size: another shaves the top of each,
because passing trains and the smoke from nearby
cities have left a sediment of soot on the surface of
the ice. Thin machine also trims off all snow ie».
which does not keep well. The ico is hoisted and
carried to the most remote corners of the nrreat
Ice houses entirely by electricity. The packers
only have to shove each cake Into Its place as fast
as It comes.
Dennis— Goin' f ehpend th' wake-end at Calla
hans are yez? An' phwat do yez call th' wake
end?
Terence— Share, thot's Sathurday notn'ht frurr. th'
tolme yez dhraw yure pay till th' saloons close.—
Judge.
One Sunday recently there- was a e^rvlce In the
Amherst College chapel at which there was no
choir to lead the singing. It appears that there
was something like a Etrike or a boycott on the
part of the student singers. The college catalogue
says: "The duties of the choir are to lead singing ;
daily at morning prayers and at the Sunday morn
ing service. Students may become members of the
choir whenever there are vacancies. They receive
remuneration for their services." "The Amherst
Student." the college paper, thus comments: "The
remuneration clause is somewhat Indefinite. In
spite of this, it has been learned that the «1!3
penser of funds has been most generous. For in
stance, one member received remuneration for
singing at chapel and church at the rate of
8131-1000 cents a day. The maximum dally pay
for one individual was 10 43-100 cents. Furthermore,
It has not been the custom to subtract one-third
for tardiness. With such magnanimous liberality
we see no reason for dissatisfaction."
Employer— Did you tell Mr. Boreham who called
that I had gone to America?
New Office Boy— Yes; sir; I told him you had
started this morning .
"Good.- What did he say?"
"He wished to know when you'd return, sir, and
I told him I did not think you would bo back until
after luncheon."—
At a recent meeting of the corporation of Har-
I yard it was voted to establish twenty-five addi
, tional university scholarships, with a stipend of
$150 each. These will be assigned each year to
seniors in Harvard College and in other colleges,
who will study In the Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences in the coming year, regard being paid In
the assignment _to the geographical distribution of
the applicants. This addition will make a total
of 121 fellowships and scholarships. As the gradu
ate school has four hundred students some sort
of aid I* now provided for nearly one-third of the
total number.
Small Boy— Do your glasses magnify ttiingn.
Grannie?
Grannie— Oh. yes. dear.
Small Boy — Then I wish you wouldn't wear them
when you help me to Jam. I don't axually get a-»
much as you think. — Punch.
TO PENSION FOUR-FOOTED SERVANTS.
From The Boston Transcript.
The Committee on Cities gave a hearing on
Mayor Hlbburd'3 petition for legislation to permit
heads of the lire. police, street, sanitary or other
department if the city of Boston to transfer to KeJ
Acre Farm at Stow any horses used In tneir ue
partments which have become unfit tor uso by rea
non of either disability or disease. Xit »• Commis
sioner Wells spoka in favor of the bill, saying thai
one of the most unpleasant duties of th.* commis
sioner is to condemn these horses untl compel their
sale by i"il>li> ¥ auction, as Is now done Fire lior^f ■«
aro selected la part for their intelligence, and after
ten or twelve years' ua»ocl»tion with the intn of
the department an attachment springs up. and It
seems almost inhumiin, after they have had Ike
best of car« and food for so many years, to send
them Is mi auction to ko no one news where.
Henry C Merwln. representing the farm, ■ I! th .•'
ara at present accommodations for twenty-tlvo
horses, but it is proposed to Increase tha number
of stalls. He bald no horses are soM or let for
hire, aai they are clven lha \is»l tt treatment.
There wa» no opposition
1 PEERS OUT OF WORK.
Ex-Viceroys in Retirement — Inde
pendents and Confederates.
\ London, January St.
Ex-viceroys are* less superfluous than «
:.-]ents in America. Ordinarily there in llttl ?
! difficulty in their readjustment to the exigencies
:of public life. Lord Lansdowrw after distin
guished service in Canada and India found
i employment worthy ol his talents and expert
' once in the War and Foreign offlcea. and t>«
1 came the leader of the Unionists in the upper
' house. lAd Dufferin. released from India.
: rounded out his career In the diplomatic service
and died of a broken heart because stock pro
moters practised upon his credulity and mad«
I use of his reputation and attractive personality. '
, The majority of them ar* chosen because they
have hiKh rank, and titles are conferred upon
thorn if they lack it; and consequently when
; they return to Kngland they have their seats
! among the privileged legislators, and are not
condemned. to the obscurity or retirement. llk»
the First Xmerican Citizens when their tern*
of residence in the White House expire.
!f Lord Curzoa has not shared th» usual «
perience of viceroys since his retirement frora
India it has been because of his own notion
the door had been left open for tl3 return to
! the Common?. A3 th» heir of Lord Scarsdala
he was* destined to close hLa career In the up
per chamber, and. young as he was and an ef
fective debater in the representative House, ho
i did not wish to cut himself oft from the more
! invigorating experiences of public life. Conse
; quently an Irish title was artificially provided -
for him for his convenience in conducting func
tions with the Indian princes, and whan his
term ended ho came back to England with th«
latch key of the Commons in his pocket. Why
he did not use it he has not explained. Possibly
it was because he was not en good terms with
Mr. Balfour, whom he held responsible for nlo
premature retirement from India In consequenca
of controversies with Lord Kitchener. He -.-■..
not have found It practicable to set a safa seat
at a by-election, and certainly he could not hBJ »
stood for any constituency without break:"?
silence on the tariff question, and this he was
reluctant to do.
Capricious a3 men of genius often are. Lori
Curzon has not tried to enter the Commons, but
has blamed the Liberal Prime Minister for not
opening the door of the -.::•■ house, aad has
gone in himself by the window looking out on
Dublin. The ladder has nearly broken under
him, for in the- election of a representative peer
for Ireland two ether candidates. Lord Ashtown
and Lord Farnham, have each polled nearly as
many votes as he has obtained. If he be really
within the gilded chamber, which he --■■■■- .
regarded as a prison vault for aspiring states
men in touch with the country, he will hava th»
j privilege of locking up his secret in his heart.
for it will not be necessary for him a3 a repre
sentative Irish peer to discuss economic qaea
j tlons. His associates. Lord Cromer and Lord
' Milner. have been so indiscreet as to commit
j themselves outside Parliament, one to Fre*
I Trade and the other to fiscal reform. Places of
' honor are reserved for them at the banquets
! on each «ide and they can rehearse the articles
! of their economic faith before- sympathetic abs
■ ences, but it Is doubtful whether their speeches
are read or have marked Influence. Lord Cur
i zon. bo long as he remains silent on this test
! question of Unionist policy, will have the unique
distinction of a mystery man. Ha will be the
only member of the upper house who has not
declared himself either as a Free Trader or as
; a Balfourist.
Notwithstanding Lord Curzon's ir.3cratabl»
preference for the House of Lords and th»
I prominent part taken by Lord Croiuer anl Lord
Milner In economic discussion. It Is evident that
1 the House of Commons 13 the forum whera th»
great questions of the day are effectively de- ,
j bated. Under a system of representative gov
ernment there must be a sense of responsibility
for political opinion and action, and this Is felt
! in the lower house, where the members are In
i touch with the electorate and are forced to
! retire when they misrepresent their constituent*
! The questions now uppermost in English pol
itics affect primarily and deeply taxpayers and
consumers. The development of sea po^er in
consequence of foreign alliances and Increased
national prestige, . the financing of social re
form?, which organized trades unionism im
pressing upon the attention of Parliament, m- ■!
changes in the fiscal system by which Imperial
| federation will be facilitated are matters of
profound Interest to th'" 1 main body of fncom*
taxpayers arid working people. The ultlmsio
decision in these questions of financial policy
rests with the general electorate, and the House
of Commons Is armed by It with fall responsi
bility. Lord Cromer and Lord Mllner would
speak with increased authority if they xrerw
great Commoners. Lord Curzon's Intervention
In fiscal policy whenever it comes will be less
effective from the upper chamber than It would
have been If he had waited for the general elec
tion and Etood for some borough or county di
vision.
As England grows more democratic and in
terest In financial and economic Issues becomes
paramount membership In th<* upper hoos»
will be an increasing source of embarrassment
to men of political talent. The Prime Minister
I understands this and, while broken In health
i and overstrained by official labors, is c!in?in2
j desperately to his seat in the Commons. An act
enabling members of the House of Lords to re
j linquish their privileges at their own option and
j to stand for election to the Commons would
be welcomed by Lord Rosebery and other peers
who know where the real centre of political
power and Influence lies. A man of genius tor
political life, as Lord Curzon unquestionably is.
may find retirement more absolute within tie
I privileged chamber than outside Parliament.
Tho younger sons of titled famines do not
» have a refuge in the upper house. bat are forced
IB adjust themselves to political conditions or
to remain out of public life. There U Lo'*
■ugh Cecil, for example, a man of force and or
| brilliant capacity for debate, who has appar
ently ended his career before he ha? fairly *•*
| gun It. A Conservative of the most uncompro
: mising sort, he Is ■ Free Trader and unprepared
to accept tariff reform as a party policy. A
[ band of resolute Chamberlain men. satirized b3
their enemies as -wicked moonlighter?. *> ut
} known among themselves as Confederates, fca*
I determined to keep him and other "Free Foc«*
I ers" out of Parliament by preventing their nor
n ination as* Conservative candidates. The Con-
I federates Justify their hostility and intolerance
1 by the assumption that the Conservative is**
Jortty In the next Parliament cannot In tB»
most favorable circumstances be large. and that
a minority faction of twenty men lik* L*>
Hugh Cecil would be in a position to defeat
tariff reform and Imperial federation. The»«
independents cannot adjust their prejudice*. *■
| Mr. "Winston Churchill has done, to member
ship in the Liberal party. and the door.i of the
i Commons are closed against them a3 Conserva
tives reconciled to the first article ofßalfour
i ism. Some el them would be delighted to «•* s
Into the House of Lords by the back way.
I. n r.
' HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY BETTER
Howard Chandler Christy, the illustrator. *&»
has been ill with pneumonia at h!a homo. »
Broadway and 136 th street, was said last evening
by Mm. Christy to have passed the .•-.-'■' *>*•
Walter N Sedswick. of No. I "■> West 136t " %tT^L
who has hum attending Mr. Christy, said tM»
j if no complications sot la kU »*U*ftt wo»» ■•
> •rouu& ib two weeks.