The Leon reporter., December 28, 1899, Image 5

About The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930

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$f. CHAPTER VI.
Ji-'.'.fit is very awkward, but then it is
|2V J"*t exactly what one might have sup
posed weuld happen." Lady Howard
Pfe^apoke in a Btrangely perturbed tone.
"i.Wor the past few minutes she had been
-occupied in reading the London pa
4:v®®p, but the remark, which was ac
^rfompanied by a faint sigh, was evi
*'•. flently the outcome of a previous con
vversation. "If one has a particular
^..antipathy for a certain individual, one
|~taay be quite sure that, as ill-luck will
have It, one will be brought in con
'tact with that very individual at every
E^fei'.^uni and corner and it has just been
"ith Major Brown. During the past
fetour or Ave days we must have had oc
®aslon to speak to him at least a
j." flozen times. What with lending us
jPjfe ""s
um^re"a
iMjm
M&l
Pr
lifefe
y§.
0m
on the day we were caught
i^ln that thunder shower, helping in the
^search for Sambo when you lost him
other morning, and to crown all,
rescuing you almost from under the
.^hoofs of that tiresome horse upon the
sg#hore yesterday, we seem to have pass-
•M-jthe
our
time in saying nothing but
•*thank you/ to him. Really every
thing has happened as awkwardly as it
^could. Of course accidents are con
stantly occurring still I cannot imag
ine how you managed to get under
"the hoofs of that horse."
'Well, yes—it was troublesome of
Jin®. It would have been almost bet
'ter if it had killed me outright," was
^Evelyn's answer from the deep em
brasure of the window, where she was
jaitting before a small writing tabl,e
jvhuslly scribbling off several notes.
"But, anyhow, we were under an ob
ligation ?i|fhim for getting wet through
on our a||punt the other night, when
in that pfaring rain he found us a cab
after the theater. After that, we were
obliged to be polite to him."
"Yes—polite of course," agreed her
ladyship, twisting her rings somewhat
'"^thoughtfully round and round upon her
fingers "but you have to be more than
Mb,
•||h
mm
IWIl My-'1
IS
iPilb"
ordinarily polite to a man who has
saved your life."
"Yes—that is it," said Evelyn lugu
briously.
"It is very annoying—the whole af
fair has been so unfortunate," pro
ceeded Lady Howard with emphasis.
"If it were absolutely necessary that
you should be rescued by somebody, all
well and good but there is not an
other person in the hotel whom I
would not have chosen to undertake
the task in preference \o that man."
Evelyn received the information in
silence. Leaning her elbows on the
edge of the table, she let her chin
sink slowly into her two palms and
gazed out reflectively through the
open window.
"Still there is nothing really against
him," she suggested at length, with
slight though perceptible diffidence.
"He—he is very nice to talk to. The
only objection is that nobody knows
"who he is, and that his name is
•Brown*—plain common 'Brown'—with
out even an 'e' to add a little elegance
to it. Andxof course one generally
considers that,-an officer is at least
a gentleman."
"An officer? Nonsense, child! Be
cause he calls himself 'Major Brown,'
Bo you suppose that is any criterion of
his position in society?" Lady How
ard spoke quite disdainfully. "He niay
be an officer, certainly—he has the ap
pearance of a soldier—but it is far
more likely, since nobody can discov
er what regiment he is in—and there
|s no such name in the retired Army
:'-Vst—that
THRUSTING IT INTO HER WRITING CASE, LOCKED THE KEY.
he is merely a major of vol-
liteers In an obscure country town,
following a vulgar but honest trade
Is soap boiler or sugar refiner."
"Ha may be, of course. Pigs, I be
lieve, may fly," returned Evelyn, nib
bling the end of her pen with a per
fectly unconvinced expression. "But
isjffiert Is nothing suggestive of' either
~poap or sugar about Major Brown."
No—I'do not say that there is but
||l dislike making promiscuous ac
quaintances. Mr. Falkland was talk
ing about him only this morning, and
le seems thoroughly to understand my
peelings upon the subject."
"Yet a month ago Mr. Falkland was
^ignite as promlscouous an acquaintance
imself. It was only by chance we
.K^feot to know him and in his ease he
£§!5phadnot even done anything for which
were under anyobligation $o-him,"
PP warEvelyn's prompt reply.
[y dear child, what are you talk-
Ink abdat?" Lady Howard's tones were
slllhtly Impatient "Mr. Falkland's
re
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should have been just as reluctant
to have anything to say to him as I
am about this other mp.n if we had
rot discovered in him an old friend of
both my husband and your father. At
the same time I must say I never met
anybody before in whom I could place
such complete confidence. He is so
different from the general run of young
men, who can talk of nothing but their
shooting, their horses, and their dogs."
"Oh, yes—he is very nice, of course
but"—Miss Luttrell paused for a mo
ment—"he is not exactly a young
man!"
"Possibly not." Tho touch of impa
tience in her ladyship's tones was su
perseded by one of distinct annoyance.
"Neither," she added, "is this myste
rious individual with whom you have
struck up such a warm friendship. I
should Imagine there are only a very
few years difference in their ages."
"Now, Aunt Lydia, do not talk non
sense! Major Brown may be as old
as Methuselah for all I care! And,
as for saying that I have struck up
a friendship with him—well, that is
really mean of you!" Evelyn pushed
back her chair, advanced to the mid
dle of the room, and with her hands
clasped behind her, gazed serenely at
her aunt. "You surely know that you
did more towards making that ac
quaintance in the ten minutes when
you talked to him last evening and
overwhelmed him with thanks for res
cuing *tae than I could have done in
a whole year! Why, if I had not known
to the contrary, I should have thought
he was the one person in the hotel for
whom you had the greatest respect!"
"Yet, what else could I do, when,
but for his timely aid, you might at
this very moment be lying lamed for
life or even dead?" returned Lady
Howard, with a little shudder.
"Oh, no! You did quite right, of
course!"| said Evelyn thoughtfully.
Perhaps nobody realized more fully
than herself how much she had to be
thankful for. "But do not
made.
is
iay
it
my fault if he—well, if for thi future
he does not merely take off his hat
and pass on with a distant bow when
he chances to meet you!"—laughing
lightly.
No the distant bow was quite
thing of the past, their acquaintance
was on a totally different footing now
—a state of affairs to which Major
Brown himself was thoroughly alive
when, half an hour later, he chanced
to meet Miss Luttrell in the garden.
He welcomed her warmly, persisted in
showing her some new plans for a
projected golf course, and was still
walking by her side when a turn
the path brought them face to face
with Gilbert Falkland.
"So there you are, Miss Eve!" he
began by way of greeting, utterly ig
noring her companion.
"I
was just
wondering where the bird had flown."
The words were Bpoken lightly, in
the same familiar half-patronizing
strain which Mr. Falkland usually
adopted towards the daughter of his
old friend. "Five minutes ago, when
I was passing along the verandah I
noticed that the window of your sit
ting room was wide open, that the
apartment itself was empty, and that
a check book was lying on the ta
ble."
"A check book?" Evelyn rodded.
"Ah, I dare say it was mine."
"So I suspected," observed Falkland
calmly. "Are you aware, though, that
it is a most dangerous practice leav
ing your check book about like that?"
"Dangerous!" Evelyn laughed. "Well,
yes I suppose ,that it would be con
sidered dangerous by some people who
go on the principle of locking up ev
erything, from the wine cellar itself
down to such trifles as penny stamps
and halfpenny post cardB."
"Yet check books, I should imag
ine, scarcely come under that cate
gory," remarked Falkland with quiet
sarcasm. "But perhaps you have for
gotten our conversation of a week
ago?" he supplemented, with a signi
ficant glance from Evelyn to Major
Brown, who was standing silently pass
ing his stick along the edge of the
gravel path, an edified listener to the
discussion.
At his words the hot color rose
quickly to Evelyn's cheeks, mounting
to her forehead and. spreading over
throat Wd ears. Like lightning her
thoughts had gone back to that morn
ing when her first encounter with Ma
jor Brown had taken place and, as
she realized to what Mr. Falkland
was alluding, a feeling of the utmost
But worst of all was the knowledge
that Major Brown had raised his head
and was wonderingly surveying the
crimson hue of her cheeks, and prob
ably even divining the cause of her
confusion. This last thought was too
much for her. Without another word,
and giving Gilbert Falkland only «ne
flash of her angry eyes,-she suddenly
turned away and walked off indignant
ly towards the house.
'The wretch!" I hate him!" she mur
mured a moment later, as she stepped
through the open window of Lady How
ard's sitting room and threw herself
into a low chair.
One contemptuous glance she gave
at her check book as it lay open on
the table by her side, and then, as
though annoyed by the very sight of it,
she took it up, and, thrusting it into
her writing case, locked the key an
grily upon It.
CHAPTER VII.
It was two days later—a soaking
wet afternoon. Ever since early morn
ing the rain had been descending in a
steady persistent downpour, beating
upon the scorched grass, dashing to
pieces the rows of stately calceolarias
and geraniums, and converting every
path and flight of steps into as many
miniature streams aud turbulent cas
cades of seething waters.
Major Brown, driven almost to des
pair b" the depressing prospects o£
the day, wandered aimlessly from
billiard room to smoking room, from
smoking room to library, and at last
iat down before one of the writing
tables and hastily dashed off one or
two unimportant letters. His corre
spondence completed, he directed and
sealed the envelopes, and was leisure
ly affixing the stamps, when his at
tention became suddenly arrested by
something on the sheet of blotting pa
per before him.
What was it? With the exception
tf a number of indescribable hierogly
phics and the impression of a line of
more boldly written characters, which
had evidently been hastily blotted, the
surface of the pink sheet was perfect
ly blank. Putting up his eye glass,
he scanned them for at least a couple
of minutes in absolute silence, and
then, giving a cautious glance round
the room, as though a sudden thought
had struck him, he advanced, blotting
book in hand, towards a fantastically
framed mirror which stood above the
marble mantel. This further scrutiny
was, to all appearance, even more suc
cessful, for, as Major Brown held up
the strangely interesting sheet closa
to the glass, a smile of satisfaction
immediately lit up his face.
(To be continued.)
Analyst* of Instinct.
An English traveler in northern
Russia, telling how he made his way
through a forest after a fall of snow
simply by keeping that side of the tree
to which the snow clung always in the
same relation to his course, is led to
examine how it is that a savage gains
the instincts of his race. We often
hear of "the instinct of direction," as
we may call it, possessed so marvel
ously by savage races. People profess
to explain it in one of two ways. It is
either said that the Indian actually
does take note of the sun, the wind,
the lay of the land, or the course of the
streams,—which, as a fact, it is often,
in the dense forest, impossible for him
to do,—or else it is set down simply as
"instinct," and this, although it is
nearer the mark, is, in a sense, to beg
the question. Instinct, however it
may be in the case of animals, is here,
no doubt, hereditary experience. The
sun, the wind, the streams are influ
ences, but only that. The Indian does
not consciously observe them. Just as
you, using an experience gained in
daylight, can follow without hands in
the dark a winding staircase between
the baluster and the wall, so with the
Indian in his forest. His "observa
tion" is entirely subjective, an un
conscious impression, the sum of small
influences, to which, by heredity, his
senses are alive, as the retina to light
pictures. In the same way I had not
consciously remarked the lay of the
snow on the trees, yet the fact kept me
from going astray.
Tiro Happy Thoughts.
From far-away Ceylon comes a
funny little story. A tea planter who
had a glass eye was desirous of going
away for a day's shooting with a
friend, but he knew that as soon as the
natives who were at work on the plan
tation heard that he was going they
would not do a stroke of work. How
was he to get off? That was the ques
tion. After much thought an idea
struck him. Going up to the men, he
addressed them thus: "Although I my
self will be absent, yet I shall leave
one of my eyes to see that you do your
work." And, much to the surprise
and bewilderment of the natives, he
took out the glass eye and placed it
on the stump of a tree and left. For
some time the men worked industrious
ly, but at last one of them, seizing his
tin in which he carried his food, ap
proached the tree and gently placed It
over the eye. This done, they all lay
down and slept sweetly until sunset—
Waverly Magazine.
The Parrot Gave Htm Away.
Victor Chevalier, a clever criminal in
Paris, was run down in a shrewd way.
He was known to be exceedingly fond
of a pet parrot, and the police were in
structed to look for a loquacious bird
of this kind. After a few weeks' search
the talkative parrot was discovered in
the Moritmartre district The police
kept a close watch on the house, and
in time the criminal appeared to have
an affectionate chat with the bird.
Strong Glasses.
Mr. Stubb—Can Sally see good
through her new glasses? Mrs. Stubb
—Yes, John, but she says they exag
gerate. Mr. Stubb—Exaggerate, Ma
ria? Mrs. Stubb—Yes, outrageously.
The other night she declared the moon
had a golden rim, and then she found
out it was her glasses that had a
golden rim.
Grounds for It.
Qulnn—I wore one of those new rub
ber collars to save laundry bills. De
Ponte—Was it a success Quinn—No,
I had to throw it aq^^^Every one
met yelled "Rubbe:
Spain's
Sa all Spain'
cliiliircn In tbej
Ion of her.
Taken In 1896.
ily S,230
ola.
^^•"v-
THE LEON* REPOKTEK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1899.
AS TO CHEAP MONEY.
COLD MINES ARE CONSPIRING!
AGAINST REPUBLICAN PARTY.
The Influx of Yellow Metal, Though a
Mere Drop In the Uncket, Proves the
Righteousness of Democratic! Stand
From the remarks of a correspondent
of the Springfield I.^.mblican, we judge
that the people are opening their eyes
to the true reason of our present pros
perity, and to the real relations which
the money question bears to the next
campaign.
"The Democrats demanded more
money and higher commodity and la
bor prices the Republicans said, not
more money, but a one-hundred-cent
dollar not higher prices, but stable
prices.. But what has happened? God,
to defeat Satan's pet proposition, a
cornered dollar, has directed men to
the bowels of the earth, where gold
was on deposit, and they have brought
forth more yellow dirt in the last
three years than the Democrats hoped
to see come of both gold and silver, so
that in spite of Sliylock's wish and de
sign, we have had more money, and, as
was foretold, we have had rising prices
(not altogether due to the increase of
the gold output, it is true, but largely
so), labor is more fully employed and
better paid, and the Republican politi
cians are howling, 'Behold our prom
ised prosperity.' But they fail to add,
made mainly on the Democratic formu
la of three years ago."
This is pretty straight talk, and it
means something. It cuts right down
into the bowels of the situation, as
you may say. If the correspondent
had felt inclined to go into particulars,
he might have added to his remarks
about the new supply of gold, the fact
that the war with Spain has put into
active and actual circulation a vast
6um of money that has been hoarded
in the banks or in the treasury, that
the increase in the price of wheat as
the result of European demand has
made large additions to the actual cir
culation, and that the gradual rise in
prices has added to the volume. Thus
while the money supply has not been
largely Increased, the volume of circu
lation has grown larger and larger,
the money coming out of the bank
vaults as the result of the demand for
it. This increase in the actual cir
culation hai not only enhanced prices,
but the Increase in prices has added
to the circulation, the movement be
ing one In which cause and effect are
interchangeable and alternating.
No doubt our readers will remember
the ponderous essays devised and put
in circulation by our gold standard
friends in which they solemnly pre
dicted that in the changed relations
and conditions of business we had seen
the last of high prices. Such a conclu
sion was Inevitable from their conten
tion that the gold standard would give
us a "sound and stable currency." Thi3
phrase meant, If It means anything,
that the purchasing power of the dol
lar was to remain fixed and stable, an
invariable quantity in its measurement
of the value of commodities. A dol
lar, to be a Bound dollar, must have
fixed relations to the commodities for
which it is exchanged these relations
must be invariable, otherwise the dol
lar is not a "sound" dollar, and the
currency which it stands for is not a
"stable" currency. If not soundness
and stability were mere meaningless
phrases when applied by the writing
contingent of our gold standard
friends.
We think, however, that these writ
ers will admit, if they are pushed
closely, that they did mean that the
gold standard would result in fixed and
stable values and prices, and that the
purchasing power of money would
cease to fluctuate as compared with
the value of commodities. Some of
them will no doubt take refuge in the
superficial statement that while prices
have risen, the value of the gold
dollar has remained the same. But
the only real value that the gold dol
lar can have as a piece of money, Is
its purchasing power. One man buys
these gold dollars with cotton because
he wants to buy iron another buys
them with iron, because he wants to
secure cotton, or cotton cloths the
wage-earner buys them with his labor
because he wants to purchase food and
clothing and comforts for himself and
his family and so on through the
long and multifarious lists of human
wants, desires and ambitions.
When prices rise from any cause
whatever, the value of the dollar de
creases in proportion. Three years
ago the owner of money could purchase
a ton of iron for $8. Has he not lost
some advantage, has not his money
shrunk on his hands when he finds
that he must now give $23 or $24 for a
ton? Under such circumstances, we
think he would be glad to have the
60-cent dollar which he protested so
loudly against in 1896, for then he
would have to pay only $16 a ton.
We are truly glad to see our gold
standard friends so enthusiastic over
the present conditions of prosperity.
This enthusiasm we can enter Into and
enjoy most heartily, and the more so
because prosperity has come as the
result of a more active circulation of
money and higher prices. This re
sult was predicted by the Democrats
as the outcome of just such conditions
as have recently prevailed. More
money in circulation, cheaper money,
higher prices and prosperity. These
things go together. Under all the cir
cumstances, do our gold standard
friends persist In claiming that we
have a "stable" currency?—Atlanta
Constitution.
AS TO "CHEAP MONEY."
A Republican exchange, In dealing
with future events, says that it Is In
cumbent on gold Democrats to "vote
the Republican ticket,
BO
(-»v* 1'"
as to make
more crushing the cheap money
forces."
The cheap money forces! Really,
these Republican editors seem to be
blind to the conditions all around
them. They close their eyes to all
the information contained in their
dally market reports. They put their
fingers in their ears and refuse to
listen to facts. Compared with thq
most Important of the world's co:
modities, money was neveV cheaper/fn
this countra than It is tpday. TTyg ie
reclated gAeenbac
torn*'
in 1870 more iron than the gold dol
lar commands today. Thus, as com
pared with 1894, we have a fifty-cent
dollar with respect to cotton and with
respect to cotton products, and a thir
ty-cent dollar with respect to iron.
In the face of conditions plain to all,
the Republican editors go on denounc
ing "cheap mcaey" in one breath and
applauding its results in the next.
"Cheap money is a delusion!" they cry,
and then add, "Behold the prosperity
of the country."
Wall street recently took up what
has been called "the Coxey yell" and
demanded more money because they
didn't want to see the stock market
collapse under the influence of low
prices.
"The Coxey yell," it seems, is a
horrible, an alarming affair, when
heard in the south and west, or among
the common people, but when the
speculators, the gamblers and the
traders take it up, it becomes patri
otic and fashionable. Not only so, the
editors take it up and remark that
the situation is critical, and the con
servative financial writers who make
it a point to denounce the demand
for more money when it is uttered by
the people, begin to make gloomy com
ments on the "monetary stringency,"
and say that they confidently expect
the government to come to the relief
of the market.
It is treason for the people to ask
their own government to come to
their relief, but, as we have said, the
Coxey yell becomes the rallying cry
of patriotism when it is uttered in
the sacred domain of Wall street. And
the government always responds. Re
cently It issued gold certificates still
more recently it announced its readi
ness to redeem $25,000,000 worth of
bonds, paying 112 7-8 for bonds that
Cleveland sold for 103 and 104 and
when expanding business conditions
in the interior drain Wall street again,
we shall hear the same Coxey yell,
and see the same demonstrations of
politeness and consideration on the
part of the government.
JOHN J. INGALLS ON TRUSTS.
"Dividends Paid on Fictitious Capi
tal by Methods that Make Larceny Re
spectable," by John J. Ingalls, in the
New York Sunday Journal: "The trust
issue is so simple and plain and clear
that the wayfaring man, though a fool,
may not err therein. In the deep and
troubled unrest of these times there is
no hostility to wealth honestly ac
quired and honorably enjoyed, for all
are striving to better their own con
dition. Neither is there any hatred
of corporations. They are recognized
as the ministers and agents compara
tively demanded by our new civiliza
tion. All this empty chatter about the
antiquity of trusts and their benefi
cence in cheapening production de
ceive no one. In one breath we are
told that they have existed for many
centuries, and in the next that they
are the result of modern industrial
methods, and have come to stay.
"If manufacturers and producers
combine in partnerships, or corpora
tions, or trusts, to diminish expenses
and make larger gains on a narrower
margin, so long as competition is open
and free, no one can justly complain.
The fittest must survive the weakest
must go to the wall. But the apolo
gists and allies of the trusts confound
the issue. The irresistible tendency to
co-operation both of capital and labor
is admitted. It is not denied that in
many instances they are benign. Of
such the people do not complain,though
they are not misled by the amusing
pretense that even these are purely
philanthropic and conducted solely for
the amelioration of the condition of
the poor. It is only when they con
tain exclusive control of products de
signed for the benefit of all, putting
an end to competition, destroying op
portunity, reducing labor to the condi
tion of involuntary servitude, making
the public victims of intolerable extor
tion, that they become the objects of
popular execration.
"What the people are determined to
crush in whatever guise, in whatever
ambush, or under whatever name it
may masquerade, is monopoly, and if
any man or any party supposes they
lack either the inclination or the
power, the mistake ultimately will be
apparent, and perhaps sooner than it
is anticipated.
"At this moment there is a coal fam
ine in the United States which is seri
ous and may be acute. With a sudden
cold wave would come suffering and
detriment to half the inhabitants of
the temperate zone. Railroads, fac
tories, electric light and power plants,
the palaces of merchants, the kitchens
of laborers, are on short allowances.
Without coal, civilization would be im
possible and society would disinte
grate. Billions of tons are stored in
nature's treasuries. Thousands of
workmen wait to bring it to the sur
face, but the supply falls far beneath
the demand for this commodity, which
is as necessary to man as water, light
or air.
"Scarcity is followed by increase of
price, though the cost remains the
same. As the mercury goes down,coal
goes up. From Peoria comes the an
nouncement that the Central Illinois
Soft Coal association has decided in
conference to raise the price from seven
cents to fifteen cents, an increase of
more than 100 per cent. This is the
same association that kept Illinois in
a state of civil war nearly all summer
to prevent miners from digging coal, in
order co despoil the people at the ap
proach of winter by declaring that the
supply was not equal to the demand.
"A few weeks ago the philanthro
pists who have monopolized the pro
duction of window glass suddenly
closed their works, discharged 10,000
laborers, and raised the price 60 per
cent for the benefit of the poor. In the
past year wire nails have been raised
200 per cent, with but slight increase
in the cost of production. The impu
dent falsehood that trusts and monop
olies cheapen products and benefit the
consumer is disproved by the fact that
the prices of wall paper, rubber goods,
food products, furniture, fence wire,
agricultural implements, coal, glass
Innumerable other commodltiei
pjp
controlled by these monsters have been
arbitrarily increased for no cause, ex
cept to pay dividends on fictitious cap
ital by methods that make larceny re
spectable.
'They create the scarcity which they
make the excuse for their extortion.
They destroy competition, which, left
free, would equalize demand and sup
ply. They deprive the young and poor
of equality, of opportunity, which is
the underpinning of our political sys
tem. They degrade labor by impairing
its independence. They are public en
emies and their existence is a reproach
to civilization. If any political econo
mist, or Interested shareholder, or par
ty boss, or timid opportunist, supposes
that American people do not hate this
issue and do not intend to deal with
these brigands, he Is listening with
credulity to the whispers of fancy.
"The history of our race has been
a succession of such contests which
have had but one result. We are peace
able, patient, long suffering and slow
to anger, we have made incredible sac
rifices for liberty, regulated by law. We
know what we want, and sooner or
later we always get it. We prefer
charters to ultimatums, but when it
was discovered in 1861 that the con
stitution was defective, the people
amended it with the sword."
Poison in the Nation'* ISlood.
Lncroit Free Press: So long as this
nation kept within the spirit of which
It was born it was conceded the safest
of all the great powers. It has no in
sular territories to defend. Its pos
sessions were all in one continent and
it in control of that continent. The
military wisdom of the world con
curred in the opinion that attempted
invasion of this country would have
even less chance of success than the
disastrous attempt of Napoleon to pen
etrate the interior of Russia. We were
responsible for no remote territory al
ways at the mercy of a stronger hos
tile fleet.
There was the universal testimony of
all other nations that we of all were
the one least liable to attack. We were
aloof from the jealousies, bickerings
and struggles of the older hemisphere
and held undisputed a virtual dic
tatorship on this half of the globe,
made the more respectable and Impos
ing because it was based upon the
principle of universal freedom and
equality.
But we were innoculated with the
poison of territorial greed. We aban
doned the safest anchoring ground that
a nation ever had and gayly sailed
away to defy to fate that is warned
against by history. We repudiated
our governmental maxims. We delib
erately arranged to expend hundreds
of millions for tropical dominions,
which are always a losing investment.
We faced the necessity of maintain
ing a supreme naval power in the
Caribbean sea as well as the Pacific.
We entered the arena of old world
conflicts and we voluntarily made our
selves vulnerable, though the world
had acknowledged us absolutely in
vulnerable.
A Side Remark.
From Atlanta Constitution: Editor
Watterson, taking a long breath after
his remarkable experience with tha,
Goebel boomerang, finds time to re
mark:
"If our 16 to 1 friends have any of
that 5 cents cotton with which they
said the south would be blighted in the
event of free silver's defeat in 1896,
they can make a good thing by taking
it to market now."
What is extraordinary about this re
mark is the fact that Editor Watterson
fails to perceive the true inwardness
of the situation. The Democrats, de
ceived by the protestations of their op
ponents, thought that the gold stand
ard would really fix the value of the
dollar and make it stable. The pur
chasing power of the dollar during the
campaign was so enormous that $20
would buy a bale of cotton, and the
Democrats knew that if this remained
a fixed fact, the cotton growers would
be ruined. That our gold standard
friends deceived themselves, too, is
shown by the arguments they made to
the workingmen about the danger of
high prices, and by their efforts to pre
pare the public mind for a long period
of low prices.
But behold the result! The value
of the gold dollar has depreciated un
til it requires $20 to pay for a bale of
cotton that $20 would buy three years
ago. As compared with the gold dol
lar, iron has trebled in value in other
words, the gold dollar has depreciated
to such an extent that the amount of
iron it would buy three years ago can
hardly be bought for $3. We have
cheap dollars and prosperity. But
where is the "stability" which our gold
standard friends set such store by? It
has gone glimmering!
Oar Slave- Holding: Foasesslons.
Springfield (Mass.) Republican: The
administration has hedged regarding
slavery in the Sulus. Secretary Root's
annual report, published thia morning
makes the interesting announcement
regarding the Bates' compact that
Gen. Otis has been directed to Inform
the sultan "that the approval of the
agreement was not to be deemed to
give the authority or consent to the
United States to the existence of slav
ery." Just how this message to the
sultan is to be Interpreted is puzzling.
It does not follow at all that the gov
ernment will take measures to stamp
out slavery. But whatever the admin
istration may say It is immaterial in
the face of the compact itself, which
is in black and white.
The truth is that it recognized slav
ery, by making stipulation concerning
the purchase by staves of their own
freedom. When congress gets hold of
the compact this fact will appear. Sup
posing, however, that the administra
tion proposes not to tolerate slavery,
in view of the express prohibition In
the thirteenth amendment, the Imperi
alistic apologists of slavery in the Su
lus will be left high and dry with their
ingenuous arguments that slavery
should not be interfered with until the
Sulu people are more highly civilized.
The wood of the redwood tree npver
decays, it is said, and fallen trunks
wjiictr have been overgrown by old
forests are as solid as the day they
fell.
vr--%
OUE BUDGET OP FUN1
SOME GOOD JOKES ORIGINAL
AND SELECTED.
A Variety of Qnlbs, Gibes and Ironies
to Cause a Smile Flotsam and
Jetsam from the Tide of Humor—
Witty Sayings.
Then and Now. i-''-...
I wish I
had
been grandpa's child.
That I could have had the Joy
Of fishing In those good
old daya
When father was a boy.
For then the fish grew bigger fflx
Than they do nowadays,
And literally packed the stream*—
At least, so father says. I
They never caught a sucker
In hundreds from our bays,
And shad ran up the banks
Too EM
Mr. Newlywed (explaining poLer)—
Now, if you get a poor hand you want
to bluff, and if you get a good hand
you want to make a bluff that you're
bluffing. Now, there are two ways of
bluffing one is to bluff, the other is
not to bluff. If you're a regular bluff
er you can often bluff by not bluffing,'
and
Mrs. Newlywed—I see, John but
that game is too easy! Let's play tid
dle-de-winks!—Puck.
To Match.
"Lobelia," demanded Mr. McSwat, as
he stood, hat in hand, waiting for her,
"are you going out walking with that
bicycling dre6S on?"
"This is my rainy-day skirt," replied
Mrs. McSwat, "and I certainly am go
ing out walking in it"
"Then wait a minute," he said, "and
I will turn up my trousers."—Chicago
Tribune.
Not Easily Passed.
Bramble—The boys had a political
rally last night, and it took the pro
cession three hours to pass a given
point.
Thorne—It must have been a long
one.
Bramble—Not very. The given point
happened to be a saloon.—New York
Journal.
Satisfied AH Around.
Governess—I'm very sorry—tell yonr
dear parents—very sorry, indeed, that
I can't accept their kind invitation.
Freddy (anxious to ease the lady's
mind)—It doesn't matter a bit y'know.
Ma says she only asked you out ot
compliment!—Ally Sloper.
Lait LangU Is Ever the Best
"She married him in order to be re
venged on her rival."
"Ah! Then vengeance was hers."
"No. It only took two months of
married life to convince her that
vengeance was her rival's."—Chicago
Post
Subtle Flattery.
She—Of course, if I go to the thea
ter with you I shall have a chaperon.
He—Why, didn't suppose that was
necessary.
"Mamma says it depends upon th*
man."—Brooklyn Life.
Ferhaps So.
Larry—Be hivins, Dlnny! That ould
bin is atin' sthray tacks.
Dinny—Maybe she is goin' to lay a
carpet Who knows?—Chicago News.1
Beformed.
Rejected Suitor—Tour daughter, air.
is the only girl I ever loved, and I caa
never love another.
Father—I congratulate you on shak
ing off a troublesome habit so easily.
v:v sfrg--
Poor Consolation.
"Stone walls do not a prison make."*
quoted the prison visitor,
"Mebbe not," said the convict, "bnt
they make it darned hard fer a feller
to get out"—San Francisco Examiner.
1
then
That didn't weigh a ton,
And pickerel were longer than
A modern Armstrong gun.
They used to yank out halibut
to
At least, so father says.
bite-*
They never thought of using bait
To lure the wily trout
They reached a bushel basket down
And simply yanked tliem out.
And In about an hour or two
They'd fill up several drays
And show them through the neighbor*'
hood—
At least, so father says.
Go down a yard or two.
And not an angler failed to come
Home loaded in those days—
A hc.bit father still pursues—
At least, so mother says.
—Cornish
rt
1
In short, they caught so many fish
That 'fore their sport was through
The stream where they were fishing would
Telegraph.
Ate Everything on It
Owen Still—Say, Bill, what trade did
you uster work at?
Bill—Table finisher.
a
•5"
1
Two Views ot It. 'i Z,
"Don't you think a woman o«£fct to
marry a man she out look «y tof*
"Yes. I hate to see a maa shorter
than his wife."—Philadelphia Bulletin.