Newspaper Page Text
■
Jeffersonian
VOLUME THREE
NUMBER FORTY-SIX
V ummary of Ebents as They Happen
By Tom Dolan
Nothing more shocking has in years
transpired than the shooting affray
in Nashville Monday afternoon,
whereby Ex-Senator E. AV. Carmack,
Tennessee’s brilliant son, was al
most instantly killed. Last spring he
campaigned for the gubernatorial
nomination on a statewide prohibition
issue. In this he was defeated by
Governor Patterson. Out of the rival
ry springing up then and by reason
of certain caustic editorials in The
Tennesseean, a paper edited by Mr.
Carmack, grew up much bitter feel
ing between him and Col. Dunean B.
Cooper and his son, Robin. When
the three men met there was an ex
change of shots and the pall of death
now covers a career that might have
been of inestimable service to his
country.
It is all so infinitely pathetic, be
cause so utterly unnecessary. A man
ly spirit of give and take would have
avoided it all. The editorial which
so enraged the Coopers does not to
the casual eye present anything in
the nature of vilification or insult —
just a piece of flashing sarcasm, to
which reply in kind might have been
made and the honors been even. As
it is, the hand that penned it lies
cold in death —beyond the touch of
any further earthly pain or triumph,
while an innocent wife is left to wail
her dead, and relatives and friends
of slain and slayers alike must mourn
the awful tragedy.
The Kansas City Mexico and
Orient Railway, which passes through
the richest agricultural sections of
Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas into
the best farm, mining and, timber sec
tions of Old Mexico, is nearing com
pletion. Starting from Kansas City,
Mo., it will extend to Topolobampo,
Mexico, on the Pacific coast. It is
said that Mexico and the States of
Chihuahua and Simoloa have grant
ed subsidies to this enterprise
amounting to nearly four million dol
lars, while Kansas, Oklahoma, and
Texas have already contributed a
million. It is claimed to be one of
the very few roads not financed by
Wall Street.
The American Paper and Pulp As
sociation has had the gall to issue a
circular letter to its members prais
ing the recent Republican Congress
for refusing to remove the duty on
paper and pulp. The entire Ameri
can press has to be robbed annually
for the benefit of this American Pa
per Trust. The public, of course,
foots the bill, and education and civ-
A Weekly Paper Edited by THOS. E. W A TSON and J. D. WA TSON
ilization itself is retarded because of
the unnecessary high price on pa
per.
There has been another uprising of
Yaquis in the Province of Sonora,
Mexico. There seems to be an invet
erate feud between the neighboring
tribes of Papago and Yaqui Indians,
but quiet is hoped for through a
treaty favorable to the Yaquis which
will be signed this week.
President Hadley, of Yale, has re
cently made the sapient observation
that the reform of newspapers and
of the Government should begin with
newspaper readers who ought to
learn how to weigh evidence. This
suggestion is about as helpful and
practicable as the saying that to
make a srentleman, society should be
gin a hundred or so years before his
birth. “Weighing evidence” is the
most difficult matter confronting the
wisest judge on the bench, and to
imagine that a partisan, and too oft
en a subsidized, press is going to
give any true evidence for a diligent
reader to consider, is practically out
of the question. Eew people, unfor
tunately, care to bother their brains
with truth seeking, and those who do,
generally find something more relia
ble than the average Metropolitan
sheet.
The people of Missouri last Tues
day voted upon the adoption of a
Constitutional amendment for the
Initiative and Referendum which
was carried by an overwhelming ma
jority. Hereafter the citizens of Mis
souri will insist more strenuously
than ever upon being 1 ‘ showed. ” It
is gratifying to note the march of
this principle of true self-government.
Gradually the States are falling into
line. While many things nationally
point to the complete downfall of
our Republic, there are still a few
sporadic hopeful signs that the people
are yet fighting to preserve the heri
tage so dearly bought in the Revolu
tionary war.
The new “reform” bill to be in
troduced in the Reichstag shortly
aims to produce revenue for the gov
ernment, out of the German people,
by additional taxes upon the follow
ing rather curiously grouped arti
cles: All forms of liquor, tobacco,
electricity and gas and advertising.
Reform might possibly be applied to
a law increasing the duty on booze
and tobacco, but how it can legitimate
ly cover a restrictive tax upon light
Atlanta, Ga., Thursday, November 12, 1908
and advertising is one of the myste
ries that only a sorely perplexed gov
ernment could explain. It would
seem that the tax-cursed people of
the Fatherland might at least be
spared the privilege of burning some
form of midnight oil at a reasonable
expense. As for the curtailing of
ads, perhaps it was thought there
would not be light enough available
to read them by, so they were put
under the ban of an increased cost.
Can a Mayor-elect be “im
peached”? Or is there any way
whereby he may be prevented from
taking his official seat? That is a
question which is rather agitating the
citizens of Atlanta relative to the
tumble of “Jim” Woodward from
the water-wagon.
The proposed monument to the
Women of the Confederacy has been
a long time coming, but it appears
to be nearer in sight now than ever,
since the re-union of the Veterans of
the State last month. Borne fitting
and substantial memorial should be
erected. No patriotic enterprise fails
to receive the co-operation of our
women, when, indeed, they do not
initiate it; the beautiful Memorial
Day observed throughout the South
and the North was born of the ten
der thoughtfulness of a woman of the
Confederacy. So it is more than ap
propriate, it is imperative, that
among the marbles carved in com
memoration of the heroism of the
Sixties one shaft, at least, should be
reared to those who had the harder
part—the waiting, the suspense and
most of the heartbreak.
Germany and France are trying to
stir up some difficulty over the
Casablanca incident, which, in brief,
was the protection by the German
embassy at Casablanca of certain
former German subjects who had
joined the French army and later de
serted therefrom and the forcible ar
rest of the deserters by French offi
cers who, in the effort, roughly han
dled members of the German Consu
late. Germany demands that France
apologize for the mishandling of her
subjects and France is evidently un
prepared to admit that the French
officers much exceeded their duty in
making the arrest as forcefully as
they did. So the papers of both
countries are discussing the possibil
ity of war over the affair, while each
clearly sees the folly (on the part of
the other nation) in not taking the
necessary graceful steps to avoid it.
And now the “Senator Bryan”
stampede has received a dampener.
When it was seen that the Nebraska
Legislature would be a Bryanite
body, the Senatorial toga was in
stantly thought to be the very thing.
Now, however, it develops that no
senator is to be elected at the coming
session and that an entirely new r leg
islature will have been chosen before
the determination of a Senator from
Nebraska becomes necessary.
Cuba, next Saturday, will hold gen
eral elections for President, Vice
President, Senators and Representa
tives in the lower house. The party
forces known as the Conservatives are
running General Mario Menocal, and
Dr. Rafael Montoro, while General
Jose M. Gomez and Alfredo Zayas
head the Liberal party. It seems to
be a struggle between men and fac
tions, rather than issues. Cuba is
too young in her attempts at self-gov
ernment to have evolved any widely
differing ideas on national policies.
All citizens are anxious to preserve
their Republic, and to enjoy the
rights and privileges which a true
Democracy alone can give.
It will make the average housewife
gasp to learn that, by order of the
Collector of Customs in New York,
1.052 cases of egg yolk were thrown
into the ocean, as being inadmissible
under the Pure Food law. And eggs
so dear!
Over two thousand people joined in
singing “America” on October 31 in
Boston, where the 100th birthday of
Rev. Dr. Samuel Francis Smith, the
author of the immortal hymn, was
celebrated.
An entire Hindoo Colony consisting
of more than two thousand people is
to be removed from British Columbia
to British Honduras. This affords an il
lustration of the complete separation
of two races which can’t mingle and
therefore could not thrive together.
The future of the colony in a climate
to which they are by heredity more
adapted than to that of Canada will
be watched with interest. They go
willingly it is stated, this removing
all the painful features that usually
attend an enforced deportation of an
alien race.
Our fleet, after having a gala time
on the shores of Japan, and receiv
ing enthusiastic assurances of wel
come, has resumed its tour around
the world.
Price Five Cents