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THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER Tuesday, October 28,Lxii. GENERAL NEWS OUR WASHINGTON LETTER. News About the Coal Strike and the Political Situation. Editor of The Progressive Farmer: The great coal strike of 1902, which began on May 12 and ended on October 21, and which advanced the price of anthracite coal from $5.35 to (in some instances) $25 per ton, was declared off by the Convention of the Mine Workers of America on Wednesday and with characteristic energy the President has summoned the arbitrators whom he appointed to meet in Washington to-day. They will perfect their organization, rind then proceed to the White House to receive their instructions. The case of the miners will first be pre sented by President Mitchell and such assistants as he may choose, and it is probable that most of the early sessions will be held in the mining district, after which, the board will adjourn to meet in either New York or Philadelphia, and there take the testimony of the operators. The testimony will be printed and the board will adjourn for a sufficient period to permit a thorough review by the individual arbitrators, and the board will again meet to formulate a report which will be m n d- tnc President. '''HE SAMOAN OA8E Your correspondent learned yes terday at the State Department that the important Samoan case which in volved the right of the United States and Great Britain to land troop, etc., at Apia, Samoa, for the purpose of putting an end to the Samoan revolution, which right was contest ed by Germany and was submitted to the King of Sweden and Norway as a single arbitrator, has been de cided adversely to the claims of this country and Great Britain. In addi tion to the conviction of having vio lated international law, this decision involves the payment of damages to an amount not yet adjudicated, but estimated at $300,000. No official statement has yet been made by King Oscar, but it doubtless will be made immediately, now that the facts liave leaked out. TI1K COMING ELECTION This country is on the eve of an important election. The entire com plexion of the House of Representa tives and twenty-four seats in the Senate are dependent on the results of these elections and the campaign managers are amazed and perplexed at the general apathy which exists throughout the country. Represen tative John Sharp Williams, after a campaign tour which has extended ' from Mississippi to New Jersey, ar rived in Washington yesterday and brought a story of extraordinary and discouraging apathy. Mr. Williams makes the usual claims for Demo cratic prospects and says that the Democratic meetings are more large ly attended than the Republican, but he describes the receptions given all political speakers as "a frost." A gentleman at Democratic headquar ters is authority for the statement that in one town visited by Mr. Wil liams he addressed an unenthusiastic meeting of 40 persons where usually audiences of several hundred turn out.- Mr. Williams returned to his hotel disheartened, but was consoled by the landlord, a Republican, who told him that the week before a Re publican spellbinder had a still small er audience. "There was only 38 men went to hear him," said the host. Another veteran campaigner who returned to Washington the same day is Delegate Dennis Flynn, of Ok lahoma. Mr. Flynn is a Republican, and has been stumping several States but he brought the same story of general apathy and indifference. He says the people turned out well enough, but they did not seem to lis ten to what was said to them nor to take any interest in the issues. "They listen in a half-hearted way," said Mr. Flynn, "ask few, if any ques tions, and then go away from the meetings without appearing to have understood or cared to understand what had been said to them." GENERAL POLITICAL APATHY Reports received from Ohio indi cate that the people desire chiefly to be entertained. They floctg-Jgj" Tom JohnsonnSsee his big tent JTUSIJtomobile, but that seems to be all there is to it. The same is true, according , to report, of Montana, where Mr. F. Augustus Heintze is going about with a big vaudeville troupe. "It is a great show," they all say, but that seems to occupy all the attention and leaves no room for political thinking. Delegate Flynn attributes the general apathy to loss of respect for the public men of the country, but there are others who say that, while the people say little, they are doing lots of thinking, that they are weary of the old parties and the old partisan lines, and that the situation portends the- organization of new parties and the inauguration of new issues. Your correspondent was present the other evening, in company with a newspaper man who has been travelling from one politi cal center to another all fall, at a banquet of Canadian Railway Pas senger Agents. President Roose velt's name was proposed for a toast and the agents cheered it to the echo. "That was a greater exhibition of enthusiasm than I have seen any where in the field," remarked the newspaper man afterwards. A. B. M. Washington, D. C., Oct. 24, 1902. Perhaps we are coming to railways without rails. Several automobile owners in New York are planning to construct on Long Island fifty miles of road, to cross other roads above or below grade, so that they may have a free course on which to speed their machines. From running a single motor car on such a road to attach ing one or more "trailers" is a short step, and the next leads to passenger and freight service. Even if special roads are not built for their accom modation, it is probable that automo bile coach lines will be run as feed ers to the steam or electric lines in districts where it would not pay to lay a traok. Youth's Companion. Candidates for Congress. - Washington, Oct. 25. For the 378 members of the House of Represen tatives to be elected November 4th, (8 in Maine, Vermont and Oregon having already been chosen) the Democrats have made 370 nomina tions, the Republicans 333, the Pro hibitionists 96 in 16 States, the So cialists 69 in 16 States, Socialist La bor 12, Socialist Democrats 10, Labor 1, United Labor 4, Peoples' Party 8, Populist 7, Anti-Trust 1, Third Par ty 3 (Missouri), Unionist 9 (in Penn sylvania), and Citizens 3, (also in Pennsylvania). The Democrats made no nominations in two New York districts and in four Philadel phia districts, while the Republicans put up no candidates in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Car olina and in one district in Arkan sas, one in Kentucky, one in Louisi ana, two in New York, three in Illi nois, three in Tennessee, five in Texas and two in Virginia. In one district of North Carolina both par ties agreed upon one man, Robert N. Page, who, although a Democrat, secured the endorsement of the Re publicans because he voted for Mc Kinley, and injtlie- Tenth JPennsYly-a- YZu district Wm. Connell, the present member from the Scranton district, Republican, received the endorse ment of the Democratic bolters, the regular Democrats nominating George Howelly, a Republican, who also received the endorsement of the bolters from his own party. Two wo men are numbered among the candi dates, Mrs. Mary Burkhart being the standard bearer of the Prohibition ists in the Tenth Kentucky district, but will be unable to vote as will Miss Ida Hazlett, the Socialist candidate for Congress at large from Colorado. The Future of Cuba. Good men throughout the United States, without regard to party lines, cannot fail to resent the unscrupu lous dealing with Cuba which the controlling spirits in the sugar trade are trying to force upon our govern ment. Their program is simple enough, but appallingly cruel and selfish. In the demoralization imme diately following the war they bought, or secured options upon, a very large proportion of the sugar lands of Cuba. This was not for the immediate development of these lands. Their next step was by fair means or by foul to defeat the move ment toward reciprocity or tariff concessions in favor of Cuba. The object was to wreck the business of the native sugar producers, who without access to the American mar ket are helpless. They have very nearly succeeded in this too; it is only a matter of time. The final ob ject of it all is now becoming appa rent. They will buy up the rest of these sugar lands at bankrupt prices. Then a campaign for annexation will be inaugurated, the island will be come a part of the United States, sugar duties will be abolished, and presto! their holdings become enor mously valuable and productive. Such a plot is an outrage on dvili- zation. It sells the very blood of our boys who died to free an oppress ed people, and will bring upon a war we waged for humanity's sake the . scorn of the world. In a general way we have not much to say for reci procity in tariff. It is a cheap make shift. But in this case, if for noth ing but to defeat these srreedv mo nopolists, and to do honor to our dead President, whose last public ut terance was in advocacy of this pol icy, we say, Let Cuba have the ben efit of every possible concession.- Nashville Christian Advocate. Official Corruption in St. Louis. In St. Louis an energetic prosecut ing, attorney has been- spreading dis may among bribers and takers of bribes. He has forced a confession from one of the latter company. A number of dishonest legislators are in jail or have confessed by flight. Also there is dismay in the places where the managers of corporations gather, and several "leading citizens" expect to extend their vacations in definitely. As usual the scandal is connected with the grant of public franchises, a source of dishonesty so prolific -that-it is no wonder many men who would resent the name of Socialist are beginning to- think that these rights never should be permit ted to pass to private ownership. Nine-tenths of the corruption of pub lic bodies is traceable to the corpo rate control of public property. Whether this is true of America alone, we are not prepared to say. But the fact is worth notjng, tat the industrious gentleman who or ganized corruption in a Western City Council and a Western State Legis lature has gained control of excep tionally valuable franchises in a for eign capital where the integrity of public officials is supposed to be above suspicion; and this inspite of the fact that his interesting career included a short stay in the peniten tiary. Has the promoter changed his methods, the leopard his spots? Or is the granting of franchises the same ugly business, inviting the same sort of vicious enterprise everywhere? Collier's Weekly. Authoritative announcement has been made that the. Southern Tex tile Company, better known as the Fries mill merger, will become ef fective on December 1. John Fries, who is the active mover in the plan, says that about ,135 mills have ap plied for admission, hut that the adaptability and needs of each of these will be carefully scrutinized be fore any are accepted. That there will be over .70 mills in the merger appears certain, and "the capitaliza tion will go beyond $30,000,000: The -Arbitration Court in the Pious Fund Case has condemned Mexico to pay the United States $1, 420,682.67 in Mexican currency. The decision of the court was unanimous. . Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the famous advocate of woman suffrage, died in New York, Sunday, 26th. Frank Norris, the novelist, died in San Francisco Saturday. .