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The Age-Herald W. BARRETT.Editor liosr C.SMITH.IlMln™ Mann;* Dally and Sunday Age-Herald. JS.OO Dally and Sunday, per month. -70 Sunday Age-Herald, per annum. 2.00 Weekly Age-Herald, per annum. 1.00 Subscriptions payable In advance. A. D. Glass, W. D. Bankston and R. L. O'Neal are the only authorized traveling representatives of The Agc-llerald in its circulation department. No communication will be published without its author's name. Rejected manuscripts will not be returned unless stamps are enclosed for that purpose. Remittances can he made by express, postofflce money order or draft at current rate of exchange. The Age-Herald will not be responsible for money sent through the mails. Address THE AGE-HERALD, Birmingham, Ala. Eastern business office. Tribune Build ing, New York city; western business of fice. Tribune Building. Chicago. The S. C. Beckwith Special Agency, agents for eign advertising. Washington Bureau Age-Herald, 1421 G Street, N. W. THE CULT DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ALABAMA So weary with deserters, tugg'd with fortune, That I would set my life on any chance To mend it, or be rid on’t. —King Henry VI. Cuts in mill wages. Because goods prices do not quickly respond to the advance In the price of raw cotton the cotton mills in the southern part of New England, where about 50,000 operatives live, have an nounced a cut in wages of ten per cent. The present wage scale has stood about eighteen months, and the cut in prices carries them back to the old level. Forty mills are combined in the present effort to reduce wages ten per cent, and it looks as if the re duction would be accepted by the members of the textile workers’ union. No strike has at any rate been ordered and an impression prevails that the union will make the best of an un favorable situation. The trouble no doubt lies against the consumers, who have not) become accustomed to higher prices for cotton goods. When all see that consump tion is outrunning production in the world at large, and that ten cent cot ton has come to stay, they will buy cotton goods as readily as they did when cotton was worth but six or seven cents. An education of the people is need ed in the matter of demand and sup ply. The burden of the commercial cotton crop is thrown upon this conn- | try, aided but little by Egypt and In dia, and the cotton states In this coun try are unequal to the task of cloth ing the world. England and the entire continent want cotton. Even Russia i Is a free buyer although she bravely 1 and perseveringly tries to produce enough of the staple for home use. In the end, however, all turn to this country, and our labor and our soil are overtaxed. When the consumers | understand the situation they will buy goods as before. At present they are holding off, and this is why the mill men in New England Insist upon a cut of ten per cent in wages. If they had held out a couple of months a cut In wages would not have been necessary, but they saw an opportunity to force wages dowu, and they quickly took ad vantage of It. The opportunity is thus explained by the Fall River correspondent of the New Yon. Journal of Commerce. Spot cotton In New York was quoted at the close yesterday nt 11.05 cents. Allow 20 per cent for waste and the Incidental cost of getting the staple to the mills, a pound nf cotton 111 cloth will cost 13.37 cents. The labor cost today Is 7 cents per pound and the cost of supplies and mis cellaneous charges per pound runs up to about three cents, making a total charge on the mills of 23.37 cents per pound for regular goods. They arc selling today (on the basis of 3(4c a yard) at 22.73 cents a pound, or a figured Ions of G2-100 of a > -ent a pound. Enforcement of Law. Before the state association of chiefs ef police, sitting at Decatur, ex-Chiof Austin first assailed the gamblers, and ! then he discussed homicides, when he said: "Murder Is getting to he very common among both black and while. The white man, if he has a little money and friends. Is either turned Scot free, or given a small sentence; the negro is hung. Why Is this? Our jury system is rotten to the core. And a good many people have no more regard for an oath than a wild Arab. Perjury Is another crime that the officers of the law should give their attention to. Persons swear falsely. In our court houses every day and go unpunished. Paid witnesses are very common, nnd when one of these gentlemen Is caught, he should bo taught a lesson that all others would remember.” Birmingham’s ox-chief of police is not an idealist—not a bit of it. He speaks from long experience iu the pursuit of criminals, and their prose cution afterwards. From the depths of his knowledge he draw's a picture of Alabama courts, and it is not a natter ing Illustration. But no amateur, no mere spectator, can say that there are untruthful lines in it. All know in point of fact that a white man who can command money and friends, or either for that matter, is not as a rule Bunlshed. Now and then there is a flagrant Hawes or an alien Duncan, but the average, quarrelsome, quick on-the-trigger murderer, if white and heeled, is not hung. Mr. Austin attributes this distress ing and demoralizing condition to the rottenness of our juries, and to per jury, and our coming lawmakers should endeavor to find a remedy for these twin evils. No one needs to be told that w'hite murderers are not as a rule hung in this state, and no doubt Mr. Austin shows why they are not. But, after all, water cannot rise above its source. A petit jury Is but public sentiment, and if our juries are rotten and our courts full of perjurers then indeed something must be wrong, not in Denmark, but in Alabama’s gen eral citizenship. When public senti ment ceases to countenance rotten juries and perjurers, there will be few or none of either. Mr. Austin’s indict ment lies therefore against the people of Alabama, and if it be well founded it is high time steps were taken to wards a general reformation of the body politic. Committee Assignments. Senator Gorman is to go on the ap propriations committee in the senate, and Mr. Underwood is to become a member of the house appropriations Committee a committee in which Mr. Taylor of the First district has long held a place. The transfer of Mr. Un derwood from the rules committee to the appropriations committee will prove exceedingly gratifying to the people of Alabama. The rules com mittee is highly honorary while the ap propriations committee is highly prac tical. Mr. Underwood can serve his state and district much better in the rooms of the latter and the change will be approved at home. While Messrs. Underwood and Tay lor are members of the appropriations committee, and Mr. Bankhead a vet eran member of the rivers and harbors committee, and Mr. Burton of Ohio re tains the chairmanship of the latter committee, Alabama will be in fair way to get her deserts. Alabama is a river state, and after the Warrior is opened she will ask the government to open the Coosa and the Tennessee. The members from Tennessee should however, attend to the last named task. The assignment of Mr. Underwood to the appropriations committee will not lessen his work on the floor when ever ho desires to be heard. His posi tion in the house is fully recognized, and he will he heard from whenever great questions conic up. He will stand by Messrs. Williams and Do Armond and what ho does not do Champ Clark will do, and the demo crats of the house will be heeled for warm and telling contests. It. is not yet known when the house committees will be announced, beyond the appointment of the ways and means and rules committees. No doubt Speaker Cannon is becoming ac quainted with the new members, about one hundred in number, and he is per haps finding some difficulty in fitting the supply of good committee assign ments to the demand for them on the part of new members. In North Alabama The Age-Herald has had a represen tative along the railroad that connects ; the Decaturs with Birmingham a week i or more, engaged in presenting the advantages, resources and possibili ties of the towns on that line. This he has done without fee or reward, with out the promise of an advertisement, or even of a subscription. It is the hope of The Age-llerald to awaken interest in the counties that lie north i of Birmingham to the end that immi gration and capital may flow in, and both they and it may be materially benefited. A like work will at once be under taken in the Tennessee valley—that groat valley which bends rainbow like into Alabama, giving it a most produc tive and promising section stretching well-nigh acYoss the state. The possi bilities of this rich valley in Alabama have never been adequately presented, and The Age-Herald will undertake in the next thirty days to write the story of this valley, sparing no effort, and striving to present the situation sat isfactorily and truthfully. The naked truth in the Tennessee valley is glo rious enough. It is a valley in which every crop known to this country can be grown, and it has water powers enough to turn a thousand wheels. The river itself will soon be opened to navi gation the year round, so that fuel can be brought in at water rates from the mines of East Tennessee, and trade can flow at like rates to and from the mighty Mississippi valley. Such a valley should be fully portrayed, and this the Age-Herald will faithfully en deavor to accomplish. The battleship Maine has been or derod to Colon, and if the administra tion be not checked our whole navy will be concentrated at either Colon or Panama. Colombia’s interest in that $10,000, 000 canal money grows less day by day, and it is nearly down to zero at present. Alabama’s new constitution will be examined by the United States Su preme court next January, or rather the registration section of it will be. It Is not In great danger, although Plaintiff Giles is full of political en ergy. In the lottery for seats in the house of representatives Alabama was not lucky, but her representatives can make themselves heard and felt even from the rear of the chamber. The big Olympic mill of Columbia, the largest in the world under one roof, is in course of reorganization, and no receiver is needed. It will be put on a sound financial basis. Mrs. Molineux did better than Mary MacLane. The latter wrote a book while the former caught a second hus band as soon as she was divorced from No. 1. The Emperor William may escapo the physical taint that violations of natures law have left in his family, but the chances are ho will not. John D. RocKefoller has a grand daughter, and he may have to raise the price of oil in order to properly commemorate the event. The revolution saved forty citizens of Panama condemned for execution. They were enlisted at once as soldiers of the republic. Panama has shown the rest of South America how to organize revolutions of the instantaneous, if not spontan eous sort. William Jennings Bryan is a demo crat first last and always. He says ho will stay in the harness twenty-five years. The conscience of the nation over the Panama matter is not up to the old Puritan standard to say the least. Wages of cotton mill operatives in the north are coming down to, or at least towards, the southern level. All nations have deserted poor old backward and unprogressive Colombia. She is sharing the fate of China. Colombia does not seem to have heard the news from Panama or else she is unaule to assimilate It. The lynching of a white man in Arkansas goes a short ways towards evening up a long account. As soon as Panama revoluted a new flag sprang up by magic as if from the soil itself. As iron goes down coal oil goes up. Rockefeller Is bigger than any old demand. The transcontinental railroad lobby is sawing wood and sayin’ nothin’. Uncle Joe Cannon’s face is no index of what he has up his sleeves. The McClellan presidential boom has been withdrawn. A BIT OF A LAUGH. | - _ri - -,r.r_. - r - - - j Her Retort. From the Chicago Tost. Tie was explaining why he didn't get home until an early morning hour. "The fact is," he said, "an old college chum—a stranger in the city—came to the office, and I felt if 1 ought to en tertain him a little-” "Oh, it was charity!" she interrupted. "Why, yes," he returned, brightening at the suggestion, "you might call it charity to spend a little time and money on a lonesome-" "But charity,” she interrupted again, "begins at home." Then he gave up the explanation busi ness. * • * A Labor Question. Frcm Lippincott’s. “What are you feeding to those hogs, my friend?” the professor asked. “Corn, professor,” the grizzled old farmer, who knew the learned gentleman by sight, replied. “Are you feeding it wet or dry?” “Dry.” “Don’t you know if you feed it wot the hogs can digest it in one-half the time?” The farmer gave him a quizzical look. “Now, see here, professor,” he said, “how much do you calculate a hog’s time is worth?” * * * Woman’s Economy. From the Philadelphia Tress. Lena—May Skorcher is nothing if not fashionable. There sho goes in her new automobile. Rena—Nonsense! That isn’t a new au tomobile. It’s merely her last month's machine painted over. • * * Lack of Judgment. From the Chicago Post. “Was you really plannln’ to run away with the hired girl?” asked the old farmer disgustedly. “That’s what I was thlnkin’ of doin’.” admitted his son. “Aain’t you got any sense at all?” de manded the old man. “Don’t you know that hired girls is harder to get than daughters-in-law ?” Lovering Tries Again. Washington. November 12. —Representa tive Lovering of Massachusetts today re introduced his bill of last session to make the currency responsive to the varying needs of business. REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR. From the New York Press. Mormons exist to prove that men never learn anything from experience. A woman always has an idea that the reason she doesn't understand business is because Bhe knows how* to sew so well. Nothing makes a woman so suspicious as to have her husband give her an extra allowance when Ills business is keeping him at the office. To the last day she lives a woman can never understand how a man can worry about money matters when the children are doing so well at school. IN HOTEL LOBBIES Good Horses. Eugene Fies, the well known horseman, who was largely interested In getting Dan Patch to Birmingham for the trial against the world’s record, said yester day: "Every time it is possible to get a great horse to Birmingham, whether it be a runner, pacer, trotter or a show horse, it arouses that much more interest in line animals here, and therefore helps the city. “A city where good horses are owned and appreciated is a city where higher culture exists, and where the people are refined. Birmingham is rapidly getting to be a city of good horses and the im provement in the past three years has been more marked here than anywhere else. •'There are a number of men in the city who are working constantly to get good horses to Birmingham, and we were suc cessful in this instance. We hope by next season to be able to get many of the best runners, pacers and trotters to Birmingham and to have a meet here that will equal any held in the south. It would mean a great deal for Birming ham.” Alabama Cement. “The reason contractors do not use Alabama cement in the lock and dam work on the Warrior river,” said Capt. W. E. Craighlll, U. S. A., “is that the Alabama product lacks the necessary uni formity. “The Alabama cement mills work to • full capacity all the time, and yet they j are not able to supply the demands for ! their product. In a great deal of work it is fully equal to the Portland cfement ijiade at some of the eastern mills, and for that rqpson it always has ready sale. “The finished work done with Alabama cement Is just as good as that done with genuine Portland, but the chief trouble j lies in the fact that it does not harden ' uniformly. One barrel of it will in many j cases harden an hour sooner than an other. “You can readily understand that in a work of such magnitude as the building , of a big lock it is absolutely necessary j that the cement harden uniformly. Thus ■ if a barrel were placed in one of the walls which would not harden until an hour af ter the cement adjoining it, it would prove disastrous to the strength of the wall, and bad cracks would certainly result. “As the demand for the production of Alabama mills decreases or other mills are built to assist in supplying it, the mills will be able to give more attention to turning out cement that is absolutely uniform and will stand the government tests. They do not need to be so careful about this now. because, as I said, they are unable to supply the demand for the product that Is now turned out.” Baldheaded Men. “Manufacturers of hair restorers assure j us that baldness is becoming more preva ! lent every year,” said a druggist. “Al though I did not say so to the prospective I customer, I doubted this statement until j I began to notice uncovered heads in audiences. Out of fifty men you will find that more than half are bald. I do not mean that every pate is absolutely bare, but I Include young men who have that first little spot which is a forerunner of the more advanced stage. Specialists have tried many times to tell us the rea son for this, but their explanations al ways seem more scientific than convinc ing. The main thing is to get a remedy, but when that is mentioned we are greet ed by a wise shake of the head and the announcement that our case is just about hopeless. Of course we are not told this by men who sell hair fluids, but disinterest ed persons dole out the dispiriting news with quiet satisfaction. “I do not suppose that Birmingham | men are any more bald than men in other cities. I have Just noticed it here for the first time. They say that bald ness is a sign of a hard worked brain and in that case ever£ man can see the cause of his pate without any trouble. At any rate lack of hair has become so common nowadays that even a young man with a scant poll is not conspicu ous.” Stage Fore© at the Jefferson. “The stage fore© of the Jefferson thea ter broke another record tonight." said a local theater man last night after the performance of “The Silver Slipper," “and by their clever work did a lot toward i maintaining their reputation as one of | the best set of stage employes in the country. In the second act they accom plished the ‘dark change’ from a midway scene at a street fair to a beautiful in terior ballroom in the remarkably short time of eight seconds. The management of the show said the best previous rec ord was ten seconds, and I heard that the boys won a nice little sum betting they would break it. This same force last winter broke all records at one of the “Ben Hur*’ performances by mak ing one of that show’s celebrated quicK changes in three seconds.” Joe Jacobs. Joe Jacobs, the well known druggist, who is proprietor of a string of the largest drug stores in Alabama and Georgia, was in Birmingham yesterday looking after his interests h£re. His j brother. Eugene J. Jacobs, is in charge j of the store in Birmingham. From Birmingham Mr. Jacobs goes to . Montgomery, where he has recently opened a large store, and from there to Macon and Savannah, in/ each of which places he has stores. He found the Bir mingham store in excellent condition. Steel Prices. Tn speaking of the iron and steel con j dition and of the United States steel trust, a New York man said yesterday: “In every quarter where economies can be introduced the officials of the subsidiary companies will be instructed to make them. Men who have been drawing high salaries will have to accept lower sala ries. “It Is regarded as altogether likely that a sharp reduction in the wages of the employes of the Carnegie company will be arranged, and that this reduction will go into effect on January 1.” "The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers nlso will be treated with next June for a reduction of wages. The non-union mills, with the employes of which there are no wage contracts, will undoubtedly be kept running, but with the wages of the men reduced or read justed. The union mills where there are wage contracts such as exist with the members of the Amalgamated Association will be closed so far as possible. This plan may be adopted so that the steel trust will live up to the contract of not reducing wages during the life of the con tract with the men. “In Stock Exchange circles the cut in the price of the materials was not accept ed as the whole explanation for the heavy selling of the steel stocks yesterday. It was pointed out that the cutting of the price of billets, amounting to $4 a ton, may have started some liquidation. In a great many quarters the disclosures in the United States Shipbuilding Company scandal, and the connection of the former president of the trust with the shipyard company, were believed to be the factors which precipitated the widespread liquida tion. Practically all competent authorities said the liquidation was general, and that there was a general disquiet regarding the future of the company. “It was also learned that a meeting of the steel rail pool will be called to recon sider the question of the price of steel rails. This meeting will take place either on Friday or Monday next. Yesterday the officials of all the subsidiary compa nies of the United States Steel corpora tion were in Pittsburg, where they met Mr. Corey, who left New York on Satur day, and other of the higher officials of the holding company. At this meeting the whole question of retrenchment, it was stated', was gone into most thor oughly, and it is expected some reduction in the wages of the employes of the cor poration will be announced.” About Persons. Thomas H. Dickinson of New York is registered at the Hillman. • • • A. T. Smith of Talladega was one of the Morris’ arrivals last night. • • • A. Hill of Atlanta is stopping at the St. Nicholas. • • • Allen D. Primrose, advance agent Rlng Ilng Brothers’ circus, is stopping at the Metropolitan. * • . W. H. Kennedy, Jr., of Dalton, Ga., was one of the Florence's arrivals last night. • * • G. D. Gray of Atlanta, advance agent of the Rice Star Lyceum bureau, Is at the Morris. Mr. Rice said: "I have per fected the arrangements for a lecture to be delivered hy Colonel Jack Crawford, the famous scout-poet lecturer, at the Jefferson within the next three weeks. The lecture will be delivered under the auspices of the First Christian church. Colonel Crawford is a noted Indian scout and a most pleasing speaker. He also enjoys the distinction of being a mem ber of the New York Press club.” * * • If. M. Spltlz of Atlanta Is registered at the Hillman. • « • M. S. Stickle of Brookwood was one of the St, Nicholas’ arrivals last night. * * * Thomas M. Rlolley, manager of the Silver Slipper company, is registered at the St. Nicholas. • * • W. T. L. Cofer of Cullman, ex-member of the constitutional convention from Cullman county, was one of the Morris’ arrivals last night. • • • R. L. Little, a prominent citizen of Jasper, was one of the Hillman’s late ar rivals last night. * • • Dr. G. E. Spruill of Agnes is registered at the Metropolitan. • • • V. IT. Hanson of Montgomery was one of the Hillman's arrivals yesterday. * * * Ed Reynolds of Blocton is stopping at the Morris. • • • W. A. Meglemry of the Louisville and | Nashville railroad, with headquarters at Louisville, la at the Metropolitan. HORSE DOES CAKEWALK. From the New York Herald. El Padre has a degree of intelligence that some persons have not. He learns his lessons carefully and never forgets them. El Padre means “The Priest,” and while that name may seem an inappro priate name for a horse that cakewalks, twosteps and waltzes, and fetches and carries, it comes from El Padre’s early associations. El Padre is a handsome Kentucky stal lion owned by Lieutenant II. T. McGienty of the Seventh cavalry. During the year of inactivity at Chick amauga the horses, as well as the men of the Seventh cavalry, have had an op portunity to* become well drilled. El Pa dre has had careful training, which he appreciates, and shows >ty the love he bears for his master. He has learned to do many tricks, which Lieutenant Mc Gienty exhibits In the presence of select friends. The strains of the band in a cakewalk, march or dance And immediate response from the horse, which Is full of grace and ease in every movement. THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET. By Samuel Woodworth. How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, When fond recollection presents them to view! The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tan gled wild-wood, And every loved spot which my infancy knew! The wide-spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it, The bridge and the rock where the cataract fell, The cot of my father, the dairy-house nigh it, And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well— The old waken bucket, the iron-bound bucket. The moss-covered bucket which hung in the wtli. That moss-covered vessel I hailed as a treasure. For often at noon, when returned from the field, I found it the source of an exquisite pleasure, The purest and sw’eetest that nature can yield. How ardent I seized it, with hands that were glowing, And quick to the white-pebbled bottom it fell; Then soon, with the emblem of truth over flowing, And dripping with coolness, it rose from the well— The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, The moss-covered bucket arose from the well. How sweet from the green mossy brim to receive it, As poised on the curb it inclined to my lips! Not a full blushing goblet could tempt me to leave it. The brightest that beauty or revelry sips. And now far removed from the loved habitation, The tear of regret will intrusively swell. As fancy reverts to my father's planta tion, And sighs for the bucket that hangs in the well— The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, The moss-covered bucket that hangs in the well! COMMENTS ON MEN AND MATTERS OF THE WORLD AILROADS are debating the ques (C|/ tions of reduced transportation to ■ ^ St. Louis during the fair. As ticket scalpers will flock to the exposi tion in great numbers in order to traffic in ^return portions of tickets, the railroads hesitate to place themselves at the mercy of such sharpers by offering low rates. The action of the railroads will have much to do with the success of the fair, therefore It is hoped that some arrange ment may be made to outwit scalpers. New York lines are especially interested, from the fact that Injunction proceed ings against ticket brokers have been overruled by the state courts. For weary years railroads have been harrassed by these men but they have never yet ob tained any substantial relief. The scalper continues to flourish In spite of all ef forts to overwhelm him. The co-oper ation of all railroads and the public has been asked during the fair so that as much protection as possible may be af forded. Yet it is very certain that scal pers will do an enormous business at St. Louis, whatever may be the steps taken to defeat their schemes. Just now a live topic of discussion in the papers is the Roxburghe-Goelet wed ding. Opportunities to be sarcastic are many and they have been greedily seiaed upon by paragraphers. In the first place there was the mob of Insane females who stormed the bridal carriage In spite of the efforts of 100 policemen, who show ed remarkable forbearance in not using their clubs. After such extensive adver tising given the affair and all persons interested it was but natural that many people should have a desire to take a peep at close range. Shorn of the wealth and the glamour which it spreads around them the Goelets would no doubt be very commonplace I Individuals. In fact it Is doubtful if the younger members of the family would be able to make a comfortable living by the sweat of their brow if they should he turned adrift in the world. As for the "Dook,” he was such a painful back number that he can be passed over' in silence. 1 The second item that has exercised edi torial writers was the fact that *1,000,000 worth of wedding presents were given to the bride and groom. Some one wisely observes that *1.000.000 is a large sum of money, therefore, it is a great waste to spend so much on jewels and baubles. But whjn all is said no one outside of the family really has any legitimate kick to make. So long as the Goeiet wealth enables them to Indulge in such extrava gance the public will have to grin and hear It. Poor King Peter has received another snub. He has been given so many here of late that he Is probably becoming cal lous. It is stated that the British charge fl affaires at Belgrade refused to receive the congratulations of the Servian mon archy on fhe birthday of King Edward. The English government seems determined to give Servia the cold shoulder at every opportunity, while the miserable little kingdom is powerless to resent such treat ment. It Is even said that King Peter will appeal to Russia in the hope of persuad ing England to relent In her policy to ward Servia. It will be many a day be fore the world forgets what happened in the palace at Belgrade, even though the bloody drama Is no longer discussed in the public press. .J President Roosevelt^s being compliment ed on his recent message to congress. For one thing it was short, and thus printer*, telegraph operators, newspaper men, read ers, and all others concerned were made glad. It is no easy job to wade through an average presidential message, espe cially if the style of composition is Cleve landesque. About the only topic touched upon in Mr. Roosevelt's message was Cuban reciprocty. Although the question is a live one, there are others which will no doubt come up for consideration. How ever, the executive very wisely fought shy of such ticklish problems, although the situation in Panama is far more absorb ing than a mere matter of trade could ever be. Charles T. Yerkes, the great traction magnate, has come over from London on a visit home. He talks very enthusias tically of his plans in regard to the un derground railways in London. The mem orable war Yerkes waged in Chicago has not yet been forgotten, and his name is synonymous with all that is powerful in great commercial enterprises, especially those concerning street railways. Although Yerkes suffered partial collapse in Chi cago, he seems to have won back hls prestige in London, where work on the underground railways is progressing most favorably. Evidently former Mayor Van Wyck ol New York has lost nothing by giving up his political office. It is reported that he has picked up $2,000,000 in Wall Street within the past nine months, while several of his friends have made enormous sums by trailing along after him. Mr. Van Wyck conducted his operations on the short side of the market. He Is said to be a particularly daring speculator. His dealings, at least, were on a large scale. From this It would seem that speculation Is almost as lucrative as politics, if on* only knows how. But that Is the trouble. Both are fickle and no man knows just when he Is going to come out on the bot tom, whether it be a matter of wheat or a mayoralty. Uncle Russell Sage received an unex pected fall the other day which nipped him of $2500. It seems that the aged finan cier was dickering with the brokerage firm of the Roberts Company of New York for the sale of some stock of the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railway. The plaintiff claimed that Mr. Sage promised to sell at a certain figure and then re fused, while the financier says he did not sign his name to any documents which would hold him legally responsible. The jury evidently did not look with favor or the plea of Mr. Sage, for a judgment ol $2500 was given against him. As the finan cier merely hesitated because he feared the brokers would make more out of the deal than himself, he can now count up how much additional the little transaction really cost. Uncle Russell Is wise, but justice sometimes manages to see very well, in spite of her bandage. GRAVY SHORTENS LIFE SAYS SENATOR PETTUS Special to the New York Worlil WASHINGTON. — “Young man." said Senator Pettus of Ala bama, aged eighty-three, “the reason people get fat is because they eat too much gravy with their meat. Ob serve me. The Congressional Directory says I am eighty-three. Maybe I am, but I don’t feel that old by forty years. J I have never eaten much gravy. I was raised on a plain diet, and I have livfd on it all my life. In this day gravy Is called sauce, I know. It's a French word that means gravy, and if It had not been given a French name by the English-speaking races I daresay not so much of It would be eaten. It Is short ening the life of the race, just like so many other French abominations are, and the sooner we banish It from our diet the better will be the health of the generation of young men and women coming on to take our places. “Now, mark you, I don’t object to a little gravy on my meat, but Just a lit tle—Just enough to aid deglutition. It does not aid digestion at all, you know; on the contrary, It harms It—first, by In terfering with the functions of the sa livary glands, then by preventing the gastric juices from doing their perfect work, and finally by neutralizing the ac tion of the alimentary juices. So I tell you to quit eating gravy on your meats If you prefer to call it sauce, all right; but, by whatever name you designate it, by all means stop soaking your meats in it before eating them. “A little of the natural juices of the meats, even if occasionally thickened with flour to give the gravy consistency, is not harmful, but, since the race ii running to sauces, I am loath even to hint at the harmlessness of this.” “But, senator,” the young man pro tested, ‘‘maybe it’s your habits that havo preserved you in perfect health to such a ripe old age. Haven’t your habits been always regular? No late hours, and all that sort of thing, eh?” “My habits, young man,” replied the fine old Alabama statesman with a snort of rage and defiance, “have always been like the verb—regular, irregular and de fective, begad, sir!” AMERICAN REPUBLIC TO APPEAL TO A MONARCHY From the New York American. WHAT sort of American policy is it that drives an American re public to appeal for protection | to Germany? The Kaiser will not, of course, accept the alluring offer of territory on either side of the Isthmus in exchange for his interposing the stfength of Germany’s army and navy between Colombia and the power of the United States of Am erica. Germany is not ready for war with us, and war is w’hat it would mean; but the mere fact that the people of Co lombia should appeal to a European gov ernment marks a melancholy era in the history of the western continent. The Monroe doctrine is a notice to the word that American territory is not sub ject to European colonization. It was promulgated at once for our own protec tion and the protection of the weaker re public of this continent. What a travesty it is that this country should have to invoke it to prevent an American republic voluntarily placing itself under the pro tection of a European power! The United States would not recognize the insurgent government of Cuba that had maintained itself by force of arms for three years against Spanish domina tion. But it recognized the Panama republic twenty-four hours after it had been de clared, and not only recognized it, but served notice on the Colombia^* federals | that they would not be permitted to I crush the Panama rebellion. There never was a plainer example of the oppression of a weak nation by a strong one than President Roosevelt has given by his course at Panama. And it is as unnecessary as it is brutal. Congress ordered the President to turn to the Nicaragua route in the event of the failure of the Colombian negotia tions. The President has seen fit to ignore the instructions of congress and to countenance, if not actually to fo ment, a rebellion in a county with which we are at peace. Apparently the “get-rich-quick” spirit of Wall street has infected the admin istration at Washington, for the dis closures in the shipbuilding trust and the asphalt trust do not reveal a more cynical disregard of ordinary morality and justice than does this governmental departure from international ethics. What will congress do about It? It is a republican congress, but the is sue is not partisan. The President has compromised the honor of the country, and the American hopes that the majority in congress wil! place loyalty to principle above loyalty to the administration, and give us back our self-respect. Colombia’s greed does not excuse rapac ity on our part. If Columbia has turned blackmailer, that does not justify the United States turning pirate. And Now They Don’t Speak. From the New York Times. ‘They say that Broek, a little town in Holland, is the cleanest town In the world,” said the New York girl. “Do you suppose that’s true?” “I know it’s true, from personal ex perience.” answered the Chicago girl. “Some girl friends of mine in Chicago and I were there not long ago, and they wouldn't let us go into any of the houses without taking off our shoes.” “Yes, I suppose the houses there are rather small," mused the girl from New ( York. I