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The Semi-Weekly Journal
Knterxd at the Atlanta Pcetofhee »• Mail
Matter of the Second Clare.
The Semi-Weekly Journal la rubltah
ed on Monday* and Thursday*. and
maKed in Ume for all the twlce-a
veek star route mat’s It ror.talaa the
naara from all parte of the world
brought over a special leased wire tnta
The Journal office It has a staff of
Cattaculahed contributors. with etrong
Agricultural Veterinary. Juvenile.
Home. Book and other departments of
ep< ria I value to the borne and farm.
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!* the South
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MOTTCtf TO THI PUBLIC.-The
only traveling repreaertatlves of The
fesnal are C. J? O' Parrell. J. A
Bryan and Jas. Callaway Any other
who represents himself as connected
with The Journal as a traveling agent
is a fraud, and we will be responsible
only for money paid to the above
naased representatives.
THI'RBDAT. JANUARY 23. I*K.
Tammany at least escaped responsibility
tor that tunnel horror by going out of
power in tima.
The average congressman is now making
a quick touch on his constituents with
free garden reed.
There is a general fear lest some of our
army of lecturers may take the Schley
can* as a subject.
They have a Chinese telephone system
in San Francisco. How d you like to be
the Chinese “CentralY*
Owing to the intemperance of the people
* it is said that rhe birth rate of France
has become stationary.
That new tnter-oceantc canal proposition
is more likely an effort to draw off at*
tention from Nicaragua.
Still, there are a great many congress
men who manage to live on their present
salaries by Indorsing patent medicines.
In order to save $W 000 Chicago has
closed its night schools. Education is
considered one of the luxuries in Chicago.
If the government is going to sell its
transports it is to be hoped It will not get
as badly cheated as when it bought them.
The Panama canal people might do well
to follow the example of others who have
something they can't sell, and raffle it
off.
A North Carolina man aged 88 eloped
• the other day with a woman aged 82.
Their great-grandchildren objected to the
■Batch.
A woman is suing Russel Sage for $75.-
OQS. We hope she was cautious enough to
take out a homestead before tackling
Uncle Russ.
If Emperor William wants to make him
self thoroughly popular with the American
people, he will try to lift the America’s
cup and fail.
Admiral Schley is gunning for deer on
the Georgia coast, but will hardly find
them as easy a mark as was the Spanish
fleet at Santiago.
First in production, firs, in wealth and,
last tn Indebtedness is a classification of
the United States on which all the year
books for T9K agree.
The house committee on the revision of
the laws has just decided that the
United States "is.” Thus the constitution
gets another call-down.
* It was rye that broke “Corn King" Phil
lips this time. Which shows that, whether
rye or corn, either will get a man if he
sticks to It long enough.
Phillips, the deposed corn king, is an
impressive warning to all young men who
believe that a business can be
done on a capital of $41,000.
Are these rumors about the railroads
not accepting the state's offer to build a
depot put forward merely to keep the
Hon. Joe Hill Hail amused?
An lowa man who lost an eye has been
supplied with a rabbit's. The Chicago
Tribune thinks henceforth he ought tn
have a great eye for turnips.
Directors of the Amalgamated Copper
company may have to go to Jail for con
tempt of court. This would indicate that
they have really lost everything.
We sincerely hope there ix no connec
tion between the Schley festivities and the
fact that Editor Stovall made a sudden
plunge for the Estill band wagon.
When Prince Henry reaches America
he will no doubt be surprised to see how
many Germans have come over and man
aged to brgw up with the country.
Advices from Washington would seem
to indicate that Senator Hanna is not yet
reconciled to the new administration to
the extent of getting a Roosevelt hat.
The empress dowager of China says that
she prayed for the safety of the legations
during the Boxer troubles in Peking. That
old woman Is evidently a bom politician.
It is now insinuated that King Edward's
private secretary wrote the speech which
the king read to parliament. A private
secretary has to stand for a good many
things.
A Detroit woman who is a spiritualist
was married the other day to the spook
of a man who died 500 years ago. And yet
some people argue that there is no future
punishment.
It is announced semi-offlcially that Sen
ator Depew's new wife will keep him
away from banquets this winter. This
will give Cha nn erf time to get up a new
Joke for the spring.
Nixon, the new leader of Tam
many. announces that the cornerstone of
the new policy will be honesty. Wonder
if Croker will be Invited to the laying of
the dew cornerstone?
Mr. UriHnpacker. of Indiana, has intro
duced a bill in congress making it a capi
tal offense to'conspire toward or partici
pate in the lytk-h'.ng of an alien. This is
an unjust discrimination.
I-ewis Nixon's continued promises of an
hone«t, administration in Tammany hall
has probably set a good many of the
crowd to wondering if the game is going
to be worth while in future.
Memphis has abandoned the annual
Mardl Gras carousal. She Is evidently
unable to see why one day should be dis
tinguished above another in that respect
so far as Memphis Is concerned.
The Washington Star thinks there are
still a few people left in Maryland who
will refuse to subscribe to the theory that
German's triumph is an example of how
truth crushed to earth will rise again.
Professor Atwater, tn a lecture at Har
vard the other day. declared that Intem
perance in food is as injurious to human
ity a* intemperance in drinking. Rut he
fails to reflect that the price of provis
ions tefely regulates Intemperate eating
Just y>w. »
I
GREAT IS TEXAS.
The first anniversary of the discovery
of oil in Texas which occurred last Fri
day has been made the occasion of much
Jubilation by the newspapers of that
state over the prospects' of the oil fields
In particular and the development of the
state's resources generally.
The story of Texas oil reads like ro
mance.
Only a little more than a year ago those
who insisted that the state had this
source of wealth were generally regarded
as visionaries and cranks.
But it has been demonstrated already
that Texas is richer in oil than even the
most enthusiastic of these theorists dared
to believe.
There are now no less than one hun
dred and forty gushers in the Immediate
vicinity of Beaumont. Their total yield
is immense and every few days we hear
of an increase in the number of oil wells
there.
An enormous amount of capital and
thousands of Investors have been attract
ed to that region from all parts of the
United States and even from Europe.
The transportation facilities. though
they are being increased ws fast as possi
ble. are quite inadequate to the demands
upon them. Five great pipe lines are in
operation and eight more are being con
structed.
Several refineries have been completed
and plans are arranged for building oth
ers. Nearly 2.0001.000 of oil have
been shipped and there are 2 Wo.otwi tn stor
age.
Beaumont was a scanty village a year
ago. but since that time more than 10.000
people have been added to its population
and over $1.0000.0*0 has been put Into build
ings. It is predicted that the growth of
the population will be far greater this
year than it was last and that the
amount of investments in buiknngs will
be more than doubled.
The discovery at Beaumont has caused
a search for oil in many other localities
in Texas with very profitable results'in
several instances..
There Is increased industrial activity in
many other directions.
Texas is surely increasing at a remarka
ble rate both in population and wealth.
In 1850. the first census after its admis
sion to the union, showed Texas to be the
twenty-fifth state fn population. In IMO
it was the twenty-third; in 1870. the nine
teenth; in 1880. the eleventh; in 1880, the
seventh, and in 1800. the sixth.
Texas will have even higher rank In the
next census and some of her citizens are
boldly claiming that it will within the
next ten years have more people than
any other state of the union.
Texas is big enough to contain com
fortabjy more people than there are now
in this whole country.
It is wonderfully rich m natural re
sources and is developing at a rate which
naturally makes Texans very proud.
A PROJECT THAT*”AfILL FAIL.
There has been something like an epi
demic of state constitutional conventions
during the last four or five years.
In no less than five states of the south
new constitutions have been framed and
adopted and several northern and western
states have substituted new constitu
tions for their old ones.
Now there is on foot a project to call a
convention for a general revision of the
federal constitution.
The present constitution provides that
“on the application of the legislatures of
two-thirds of the several states" a con
vention may be called "for proposing
amendments." which, "when ratified by
the legislatures of three-fourths of the
states." shall be no less "valid" than the
original articles of federation.
The advocates of the proposed conven
tion are encouraged by the fact that the
scheme is assured of the support of six
states, namely. Michigan. Oregon, Color
ado. Montana. Idaho and Nevada.
But these states constitute a compara
tively small part of the whole country
and at least thirty states must join in
the application for a federal constitu
tional convention before one can be or
dered.
Where are twenty-four other states to
be found that will take part in this move
ment?
We do not believe that a single south
ern state could be induced to do so and
it is probable that the north would not
furnish one either.
Several western states, in addition to
those already might favor the
calling of a convention, but there is not
the slightest possibility that the attempt
to go Into a general revision of the con
stitution of the United States will suc
ceed for a long time to come. It may be
that the constitution will require amend
ment from time to time, but when such
changes have been considered necessary
they have been effected without a conven
tion.
The plan under which sixteen amend
ments have been added to the original
constitution is quite adequate to all the
needs of revision that may arise.
There is among the masses of the peo
ple a wholesome conservatism which
makes them very reluctant to have
the organic law of the union tampered
with.
A FRIGHTFUL DEATH RATE.
The statement is made in the Pittsburg
newspapers, on the authority of Mr. Alex
ander Nuber. the local consul of Austria-
Hungary that more than one thousand
Hungarians and Slavs lose their lives
every year in the industrial establish
ments in and about that city.
Consul Nuber is so confident of the cor
rectness of this assertion that he has em
bodied It In an official report to his gov
ernment. ,
He makes it also the text of an indig
nant condemnation of what he terms a
reckless disregard of human life and de
clares that the Emperor Franz Joseph
will demand redress for this sacrifice of
the lives of his subjects. This Is a silly
and insolent threat.
The death of such a large number of hu
man beings from accidents manufac
turing establishments Is deplored, of
course, by all right-minded persons, but
the idea that it is a enatter that calls for
the assertion of the authority of the
Austria-Hungarian government is prepos
terous. The Hungarians and Slavs who
suffer this terrible death rate came to
this country of their own accord and en
gaged voluntarily in the occupation that
has proved fatal to so many of them. The
fact that the death rate is so much high
er among them than it is among the
American employes who work beside them
shows that they are not so careful as the
latter. They are of a class of cheap la
bor which is lured by good wages into the
attempt to displace workingmen of our
own race and nationality, and rushes in
where it is not properly prepared by na
tive endowment or industrial training to
go
The report of Consul Nuber thrbws light
upon the fraudulency of the protection
ist cry that high tariff duties are laid
for the benefit of American labor.
There no protected industry in this'
THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1902.
country that does not buy its labor at
the lowest market price, whether it be
the labor of our own people or foreigners
who come here for the purpose of under
bidding them.
There are many great industrial estab
lishments which encourage Hungarians.
Siavs and other foreigners who are used
to low wages and willing to work for less
than the American working man is ac
customed to expect and which he honest
ly earns to flock to our industrial centers
and cut down the price of labor.
And yet these concerns when it is pro
posed to reduce the bounties that are
collected by our tariff laws for their ben
efit exclaim that a blow is being aimed
at the dignity and prosperity of American
labor.
Consul Nuber's report and threats are
ridiculous in one sense, but in another
they are very impressive and suggestive.
TO COIN MORE SILVER.
The silver question is coming up at the
present session of congress, but in away
that does not threaten the integrity of the
currency, to disturb business or revive the
> defunct issue of the free and unlimited
coinage of silver. The only silver bill
that the present congress will consider
seriously is that of Representative Hill,
of Connecticut and It relates only to sub
sidiary coinage of the w’hite metal.
The house committee on coinage,
weights and measures has reported the
measure favorably by a vote of ten to
four.
The bill will be pressed for early pass
age and will probably become a law in
the coming spring.
It provides for the coinage of the silver
bullion now in the treasury vaults into
subsidiary coin as the public necessities
may require.
After this stock of bullion has been ex
hausted any further need of subsidiary
silver will be supplied by recoining silver
dollars into coins of the desired denomi
nations. The passage of the bill, which
now seems certain, will repeal the provi
sion of existing law which limits the
amounts of outstanding subsidiary coin.
It would obliterate also the act that com
pels the coinage of only a portion of the
bullion purchased under the Sherman act
of 1900. Secretary Gage thought highly of
the Hill bill and his successor at the head
of the treasury is said to be favorable
to it also.
It reaffirms the gold standard and plants
our financial system on it even more firm
ly than it stands already.
THE VETERAN OF CONGRESS.
Senator Allison, of lowa, is one of the
few men who have been honored by six
consecutive elections to the United States
senate. If he shall live to complete the
term for which he has just been chosen
he will have beaten all records. He is now
past 72, but is so well preserved that it
seems probable that he w’ill be active in
politics for years to come.
Senator Morrill, of Vermont, lived far
past 80 and up to ills last few weeks was
one of the most regular attendants upon
the senate's sessions and a remarkably
lively member.
If Senator Allison should serve out the
term which will not begin until the 4th of
March, 1908. he will then be two years
younger than Senator Peitus. of Alabama,
is now.
About a year ago Senator Allison de
clared that he waw already too old to be
considered a presidential possibility, it is
true we have had no president who had
reached the age of 70 at the time of his
election or while he was in that office.
The oldest/of them, William Henry Har
rison, was not 68 when he was inaugura
ted, and he died just one month after
that event.
But there are few senators more vigor
ous than this wise old man from lowa.
He has been before the country longer
than the average life-time of a genera
tion.
It was 40 years ago last December that
he entered congress. After eight years'
service in the house of representatives he
was for two a private citizen, but in 1873
entered the senate and has been there ever
since. Unless he should insist upon retir
ing he will surely be there the rest of his
days, though he should live to be a hun
dred.
lowa is justly proud of Allison and his
well earned fame as one of the ablest, best
equipped and cleanest men In public life.
His life and record are such as to com
mand the respect and horor of the whole
country.
LEE’S BIRTHDAY.
About twelve years ago Georgia set
apart the birthday of Robert E. Lee as
a legal holiday. Five other states have
followed the lead of Georgia.
It was predicted in some quarters that
this anniversary would never be notably
observed, but the passing years have
shown how little they who made that
prophecy knew of the people of the south
and their devotion to the. memory of
Robert Edward Lee.
The celebration of his birthday is be
coming steadily more general and more
enthusiastic. In Atlanta it was at first
left entirely to the Virginia society of this
city, but every recurrence of it finds an
increasing number of organizations and
greater numbers of people of all classes
honoring the memory of this greatest sol
dier of the civil war. In fact. Lee cele
brations have been going on for several
days in Atlanta. They occurred in our
public schools and In several private
schools last Friday. On Saturday several
societies paid their tribute to Lee. Sun
day his life and character were the
theme of several sermons, one of which
was addressed especially to the Confed
erate veterans.
As the nineteenth of January fell on
Sunday this year, many of Its observances
occurred Monday.
The Daughters of the Confederacy will,
have impressive exercises at the capitol.
at which a large number of Confederate
veterans will be decorated with the bronze
cross.
In every city and in almost every village
of Georgia the anniversary of Robert E.
Lee's birth is being celebrated and in ev
ery other southern state the people are
honoring the memory of that splendid
man In doing so they honor themselves.
LIGHT IS CALLED FOR.
The resolution introduced by Senator
Hoar a few days ago for the appointment
of a senatorial commission to investigate
conditions in the Philippines should be
passed promptly. The country desires th?
information which such a commission
would make public and the many misrep
resentations and conflicting statements
that have come to us from official and
other sources lead to the general belief
that we cannot expect satisfactory in
formation as to the Philippines unless the
facilities for obtaining it shall be im
proved.
The government is now maintaining in
those islands an army of 70.000 men at an
expense of $100,000,000 a year, and our peo-
ple generally know very little about what
w e doing there.
Who now has any idea how far the
pacification of the Filipinos has progress
ed. or what are the prospects of the sup
pression of their constant warfare upon
the authorities of the United States?
Congress cannot legislate for the Fili
pinos intelligently with the light now
before it. Justice to our own people and
to these millions of islands alike demand
that a better understanding of the case
should be had at as early a day as possi
ble. >
The Hoar resolution is timely. No good
reason for rejecting it can be given and
in its appointment the opponents, as well
as the advocates of the policy of conquest
and expansion should be fairly repre
sented.
CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN.
Though the great amount of effort and
the vast expenditure of money that have
been devoted to the Christian missionary
work in .China for many years past have
produced very small results, there Is rea
son to believe that the attempt to propa
gate the Christian religion in Japan will
be far more successful.
Enthusiastic accounts of the progress of
their work in that country come from
many missionaries and officers of mission
ary organizations various churches.
Some of them declare that the religious
transformation of that country has been
quite as remarkable as the political, and
that even the missionaries themselves
have been surprised at the abundant
fruits of their labors.
The Japanese press pays much attention
to the Christian movement and admits
that ft is growing wonderfully. The Budd
hist papers hold up the Christian mission
aries and evangelists to the Buddhist
priests as shining examples of zeal w-hich
they should imitate.
Rev. James H. Pettee. of Okayama, one
of the leaders In this movement, writes as
follows:
Japan has never before seen such a sys
tematic use on a large scale of the well
approved methods and machinery of
evangelistic campaigns. Beginning with
the first series of meetings last April in
Kyobashi district. Tokyo, the twentieth
century movement has spread all over the
capital and thence the leading cities and
towns throughout the land. Among the
scores and hundreds who have been con
verted are many "hard cases,” drunkards,
gamblers, and society outcasts.
Interdenominational and International
have been written all over this forward
movement. Christian Endeavor and sim
ilar organizations are much In evidence.
Even the Russo-Greek church, of which
that remarkable missionary, Father Ni
colai. one of the great religious heroes of
the age, is the head and sole foreign cleri
cal worker in this land, and the Roman
Catholic as well, feel the thrill of the new
Christian life that is surging through Ja
pan. Foreigners vie with Japanese in sus
taining and extending the movement. It is
4 unique opportunity for the wise use of
larger means and more workers.
The difference between the intellectual
and social habits and susceptibilities of
the Japanese and Chinese has been shown
in many ways, not the least striking of
which appears in the results of Christian
effort in the two countries.
* * Uncle tfoe” Cannon,
Watchdog of Treasury
WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 17.—The
most contented person in the fifty
seventh congress is Hon. Joseph G. Can
non’. member from Illinois. Why is he
the most contented person? Because he
has served straight away in congress
since the forty-third session, is likely to
serve there until he wears completely
out: he has transplanted nearly the en
tire population of Danville, 111., to the
various departments of Washington, and
he beat a Prohibitionist who coveted his
seat at the lart election to the sweet
tune of 30.633 to 1,039. Who would not
be content?
Mr. Cannon is a Republican, too.
Often when the house is deep bent on
listening to flights of oratory by the elo
quent members, the member from Illinois
will rise to his feet, as if to ask a ques
tion, but he only wags his head, smiles
broadly and resumes his seat, where he
sits for hours shaking hands with himself.
Then it is observed that his mind is as far
from the question under debate as Samp
son was from the battle of Santiago.
“Why are you smiling so blissfully?”
asked a fellow member one day.
“I am thinking of that prohibitionist.”
Mr. Cannon replied. "Did you ever ob
serve how many people in Washington
have the Danville accent?"
Sometimes, though, this most contented
person really does ask a question when
he arises to his feet in the midst of elo
quent oratory. When he does it usually
sounds like this:
“Does the gehtleman know our treasury
is nearly depleted?
For this habit he has become known as
the watch dog of the treasury, and the
best informed congressmen assert that he
is as capable In his service as ever Hol
man was.
Mr. Cannon is long, and lean and hungry
looking, indeed. When he walks he
sticks his hands in his pistol pockets, for
all the world like a Kentucky colonel
reaching for his shooting irons. He
wears the Abe Lincoln style of whiskers
and is nakejl on the top of his head.
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR.
New York Press.
Only to the old is youth a precious jfcwel.
Our honor is something that is hurt when
we get found out.
A cat dare look at a king, but a king dare
not pull a cat's tall.
Being a bachelor day in and day out Is
what makes a lot of them break their good
resolutions. *
There are mighty few women who don't
rehearse privately how they would act at
their coronation.
You can never make a woman understand
that It Isn't cold-blooded for her husband to
insure her life.
A man likes to have his children look like
him. but a woman would a darned sight rath
er have them handsome.
No man can ever make a woman believe he
loves her unless he will put his head in her
lap sometimes and tell her it rests him.
A woman's Idea of a good photograph of
herself Is when a friend looks at It and says,
"What a beautiful woman! Who is she?”
When you have tried everything else on a
woman and, it has failed tell her you are
puzzled to know why it is she always re
minds you of the Faubourg St. Germain.
OF GENERAL INTEREST.
The authorities of Aix la Chapellc recently
sentenced to two weeks' imprisonment a man
who carelessly threw awa# a lighted match
in a forest near that city, although no damage
was caused by the act.
The work of strengthening the foundations
and structure of the Parthenon has been mak
ing progress. The king of the Hellenes fre
quently visits the temple, and shows the keen
est interest tn what is being done.
For the first time In the history of exposi
tions a separate building for educational ex
hibits will be provided at St. Louis. Under
one roof will be collected a comparative dis
play of educational systems and agencies front
all the leading nations of the world.
Sir Wilfred Laurier will be unable’to reach
London before the beginning of June and will
probably be the latest arrival among the
colonial prime ministers who go to London for
the coronation The royal visit has delayed
the course of public business in Canada and
the next parliamentary session will be a little
later in its sittings in consequence, keeping the
premier In Canada until the last moment be-,
fore the coronation. {
PANAMA OR NICARAGUA?
• ■ll It 111 It <!♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦»» 11 111 I !*♦♦♦■
The fact that the Isthmian Canal commission has decided in favor of the Panama route makes the following scie
tific and comprehensive comparison of that with the Nicaragua route very interesting. The Hepburn biU, wuc as
passed the house, specifies the Nicaragua route, but the senate is yet to act. What effect the recommendation of tne com
mission will have remains to be seen.
Scientific American.
Nicaragua.—The first actual survey for
at Nicaragua was made by an
American. Col. A. W. Childs, in 1850 to
1852. The project as outlined by him has
been the basis for all subsequent loca
tions; the route selected in his survey
differing indeed but very little from that
which is now recommended by the Isth
mian canal commission. Childs recom
mended a summit level, in which was in
cluded Lake Nicaragua. 108 feet above sea
level, this to be reached by twelve locks
on the eastern side and thirteen locks
on the western side. The canal was to
have a depth of 17 feet and a bottom
width of 50 feet, and the total cost was
to be $31,538,319. Then followed a survey
in 1872 under Commander E. P. Lull.
United States navy in which the lake
was to be held at minimum summit level
of 107 feet, reached by eleven locks on the
western and by ten locks on the eastern
side of the summit. The depth of the
canal was to be 36 feet and the cost was
estimated at $65,722,137. Eleven years later
another survey was made, this time by
A. G. Menocal, civil engineer United-
States navy, the object of the survey be
ing the relocation of the Lull survey
with a view to cheapening the cost. The
principal changes consisted of the crea
tion of a summit level, which extended
from a dam In the river west of Lake
Nicaragua to a dam some 65 miles down
the San Juan river from the lake. The
canal was to leave the San Juan just
above this dam and be carried by a short
cut through the hills to the Caribbean
sea. The Maritime Canal company was
formed tn 1889 to construct a canal on
the lines of the Menocal survey. The to
tal estimate for this canal with a 28-foot
depth of water was $67,000,000. After doing
more or less work the Maritime company
ceased operations in 1893 for lack of funds.
In 1895 congress appointed the Ludlow
commission to examine the report on the
Maritime Canal company's project. This
commission reported that the difficulties
of building the canal had been underesti
mated; and they submitted an estimate
oft Weir own which placed the cost of com
pletion at $133,472,813. At the same time
the board suggested a more thorough ex
amination of the locality. In response
to this recommendation the Admiral
Walker commission was appointed; and
in due course it reported that the canal
would cost a maximum sum of $140,000,000.
It was about this time that the govern
ment awoke tardily to the realization of
the fact that the canal tjpestion was a
wider one than that of Nicaragua alone,
and a new board, known as the Isthmian
canal commission, was appointed to in
vestigate every possible route across the
isthmus and definitely determine which
was the best.
Panama.—it will lie a surprise to many
who believe that American interests are
necessarily and exclusively identified w ith
Nicaragua to know that the Panama
route was surveyed by Commander Lull
in 1875. that he recommended the con
struction of a 26-foot canal with a sum
mit level of 124 feet above mean tide level,
and that this route was located very much
on the same route as that adopted by the
present isthmian canal commission. He
estimated the cost of this canal at $94,511.-
360. In 1879 an international congress met
in Paris and recommended the building
of a sea level canal from Colon on the
Atlantic to Panama on the Pacific, the
work to be completed in twelve years at
a cost of $240,000,000. Work was begun in
1881. An enormous amount of plant was
purchased, 15,000 laborers were Imported,
and with the most incomplete data to
work upon, the De Lesseps people rushed
into the most stupendous engineering un
dertaking of the age. Yellow fever, floods.
Incompetence, unparalleled fraud and dis
honesty, coupled with the impossible na
ture of the v ndertakin S itself, soon
brought about the Inevitable disaster, and
in 1889 a receiver was appointed, who
found that securities to the amount of
$435,000,000 had been issued and $246,000,000
had been squandered. In 1894 a new com
pany was formed for the purpose of com
pleting the canal. They determined to
abandon the scheme for a tide-level canal
and. instead, adopted a plan for a canal
WHO WILL LEAD IN 1904?
BY F. H. RICHARDSON.
A LITTLE more than two years
hence the two great political
parties will be lined up for
their quadrennial battle royal.
It seems to be taken for granted
that President Roosevelt will receive
the Republican nomination, if not by
acclamation, certainly without any
considerable opposition. Present
prognostications as to the Re
publican vice presidential nomination
point more to Senator Dolliver and ex-
Governor Shaw. the new secre
tary of the treasury, both of lowa,
than to anybody else. They are both
said to covet the honor. It will cer
tainly go to the west.
A year ago Senator Fairbanks, of
Indiana, was looming large as a pres
idential possibility, but since the prov
idential accession of Roosevelt, the
Indiana aspirant has been little dis
cussed seriously in connection with
the first place on the next
Republican ticket. If. however,
he should put in for this honor
he would be formidable, for he is an
adept in politics. shrewd, cool and
able, and has fine geographical vantage
ground. His notable leaning toward
lower tariffs would be mightily in his
favor if. as now seems probable, his
party should modify decidedly its pro
tective policy.
Besides the three men just men
tioned one rarely reads or hears at
this time of any other probable run
ning mate for Roosevelt. Some of the
admirers of Fairbanks affect to be
lieve that he would not accept second
place on the ticket, but this may be
set down as a bluff of cheap order.
When we try to discover pointers as
to the Democratic leadership in 1904
we find as wide a field for conjecture as
could well be presented at this stage
of the game.
There is absolutely no evidence of a
general turning, of the Democratic
masses toward anybody as their most
available presidential candidate. Mr.
Bryan has had two successive trials,
anil every day it becomes more cer
tain that he will not be seriously con
sidered for a third.
Whom. then, do we find standing
conspicuously in the public gaze as
candidates for the captaincy of the
Democratic hosts for the fight they
must make not many months hence?
Three men, not one of whom can be
said to have any decided lead or great
degree of general popular enthusiasm
-David B. Hill. Arthur P. Gorman and
Carter Harrison.
Hill had a far larger following for
Jie nomination in 1892 than anybody
else, except Cleveland, and two years
ago the Kansas City convention made
a hero of him. The nomination for
vice president was practically laid at
his feet and he was besought to pick
it up. He had no heart for the fight,
was at war with the great majority of
his party on the silver question, and
foresaw clearly the crushing defeat
that the re-affirmation of the wild
Chicago platform tnade inevitable. HUI
strove desperately to turn the conven-
Uou froW' a repetition of the folly of
29 1-2 feet deep with a summit level of
97 feet, a second level of 68 feet ‘and a
third of 33 feet above the sea. The Cha
gres river was to be controlled by means
of a dam at Bohlo. forming a navigable
lake in the valley of the Chagres, and an
other dam further up the Chagres river,
which was to supply water to the summit
level. An international technical commis
sion of engineers examined the plans of
th 3 new company and pronounced them
perfectly feasible, the estimated cost of
completing the canal being set down at
$102,400,000. Ou- own Isthmian Canal com
m.sslon propose a 35-foot canal, with a
90-foot summit level and three locks,
which they estimate can be built for $144.-
233,358. The latest step of importance con
nected with the canal has been the offer
of the Panama company to sell its prop
erty for the sum of $40,000,000.
Canal from the Engineering Standpoint
The report of the Isthmian canal com
mission has swept away from the whole
canal question a mass of misconceptions
and misstatements with which it has been
hitherto clouded. After a careful perusal
of the report one is impressed with the
conviction that the physical obstacles to
the construction of a canal either at
Nicaragua or Panama have been master
ed: and the uncertainties have in a large
measure disappeared; and that, judged
from the standpoint of construction and
subsequent maintenance and operation,
Panama offers decidedly the better route.
1. In the first place, the Panama region
is much better known and understood; the
observations extend over a longer period;
the surveys have been considerably more
elaborate and complete; the climatic con
ditions are, better known; and work hav
ing been opened up along the whole route
and prosecuted with more or less energy
for twenty years, the nature of the soil,
its action when exposed to the weather,
and in the process of handling is, by this
time, well understood.
2. At Panama there is a well built rail
road throughout the whole length of the
canal, terminating on each ocean with a
good harbor with ample wharf and dock
age facilities. Should the United States
determine to build this canal, contractors
could go down and commence work at
once, for good housing accommodation is
already on the ground for an army of
from 15.000 to 20,000 laborers. At Nicaragua,
on the other hand, two entirely new har
bors would have to be created, at a cost
of $3,750,000. and 100 miles of double track
railroad would have to be constructed at
a total cost of $7,575,000. In fact. two
years’ time and $11,000,000 of money must
be expended before the actual construction
of the canal itself could be commenced
on any adequate scale.
3. At Nicaragua the work would be
spread out over 183 miles of distance,
whereas at Panama it would be concen
trated within a distance of 49 miles—a fact
which would conduce greatly to facility
and economy of construction.
4. At Panama the plan of control of the
flood waters and of maintenance of the
summit level Is very much simpler than
at Nicaragua. At Nicaragua a 3,000-
square-mile lake and 60 miles of canal
ized river have to be maintained at a
predetermined level, alike in periods of
drought and heavy rainfall; while a flow
of 200,000 feet per second of water has to
be controlled in the San Juan and San
Carlos rivers. At Panama, on the other
hand, the problem Involves the control
of a single river, with a maximum flow
of 75,000 cubic feet per second, and by the
erection of a single dam the flood waters
of this river are conserved in a summit
lake, the conditions of whose regulation
are accurately determined. At Panama
the problem, is relatively far less stupen
dous. and tne engineering and general hy
draulic data are better known.
5. At Nicaragua there is a 110-foot sum
mit and seven different levels, involving
the construction and operation of eight
widely separated locks, whereas at Pan
ama there are but two levels and three
sets of locks, and the summit level is 20
feet lower.
6. The total length of the Nicaragua
canal is nearly four times that at Pana
ma, and the time of transit is longer by
about 22 hours, the respective periods be-
1896 and almost succeded. By that
effort he won the confidence and admi
ration of many who had never be
lleved in him before.
But. is Hill as strong now as he was
then?
Probably he is not. What he may
do between now and the summer of
1904 nobody can foretell, but it is con
ceded that he has made up his mind
to discover for himself and to show
the country. Unless he has been
grossly misrepresented he is as much
a candidate now as he was when he
attempted to stay the Irresistible pop
,ular demand for Cleveland's third nom
ination.
Gorman’s actual and active candi
dacy is quite as far beyond doubt. His
present case of presidential fever de
veloped in the scheme to reconstruct
the constitution of Maryland so as to
eliminate the bulk of the negro vote
and thus seal the state to Democracy
for an indefinite time to come. That
accomplished, his return to the senate
was easy and now all he has to do is to
convince two-thirds of the delegates
to the next Democratic national con
vention that he is the man to win
with in the next national contest. It is
a big job, for Gorman has never had
a strong hold on the Democratic heart.
He Is. however, a politician of consum
mate skill, and indefatigable energy.
His recent triumph has restored much
of his lost prestige and he has a co
terie of influential friends both in con
gress and in the ranks of the local
political workers of his party, who will
have much to do with the election of
delegates to the next general Demo
cratic conclave.
Carter Harrison, tne third of the trio
now most prominent in the competi
tion for the Democratic leadership, has
impressed the Democracy and the
whole country very favorably by the
courage and ability he has displayed in
his battles and victories for the rights
of the people. He has become the most
famous mayor in this whole land and
one of the most famous political lead
ers of men.
He is invincible in Chicago, where
millions of dollars have been spent to
uefeit him. and where he has won
three- times successively over such
combinations ot corporate power as
probably no other man ever encounter
ed and defeated in municipal elections.
That he is a man of great force; that
he Is incorruptible as well as able;
that he would be a leader of men any
where. cannot be doubted for a mo
ment. He is the best known citizen of
Chicago, both at home and abroad, but
has mingled little with the people out
side of bls own city. His coming -visit
to the south.for which he has arranged
an itinerary Including Atlanta.
Charleston and several other centers of
population influence, will en
large his popular acquaintiAice great
ly and may increase his already great
popularity.
Carter Harrison is certainly a man to
be reckoned with when the Democratic
leadership of the future is considered.
Still, it must be admitted that there is
before us the most open race for the
party's presidential nomination that
has been on in years.
♦**u >l ll ll l l l ♦ 11IMMM I o
> An Expert Estimate of the Value • •
( of the Two Route*. «'
*»»»»♦♦!!1 1II I III ’
+-F+ »
ing 33 hours for Nicaragua and 11 hours
14 minutes for Panama, and although this
difference is offset in the case of voyages
between certain ports by the fact that
the distance from port to port by Nica
ragua is less than it is by Panama, it
must be remembered that a ship when
sailing in deep water is undergoing fewer
risks than when she is navigating a tor
tuous and shallow artificial canal.
7. The risks of operation are consider
ably less at Panama, for the reason that
vessels will spend far less time within
what might be called the "danger zone."
this last being that portion of the canal
whlcii is above tide level. The danger
zone at Nicaragua will be 176 miles in
length; at Panama, on the other hand, it
will extend for only 23 1-2 miles. This is
a most important consideration for ves
sels of the merchant marine, and it has
an even more important bearing upon the
interests of tne navy.
8. Finally, while the time for the com
pletion of the two canals is the same, the
cost of Nicaragua, now that the Panama
company has offered to sell its properties
for $40.0C0.0w, is $5,630,700 greater. To this
must be auued the fact that a canal at t
Nicaragua would cost $1,300,000 more every
year to maintain and operate.
Canal from the Standpoint of Common
Sense.
The great isthmian canal problem has
reached a stage at which it needs only
the exercise of a little common sense for
its satisfactory solution. The question of
th£ proper location for the canal is flrsr
and last ot*j of engineering. In consider
ing it, the American people should re
member that whatever of sentiment,
whatever of prejudice, whatever of so
called patriotism or national prestige has
been allowed to entangle itself in this
question ought to be entireTy'swept away,
and the problem looked into, weighed.
Judged and a final decision reached pure
ly on the physical and engineering facts
as they have been determined by our gov
ernment engineers and presented to the
American people for their decision in the
recent most able, comprehensive and
easily understood report.
We have no hesitation in saying that if
anyone who is interested in the isthmian
canal problem will read the digests and
analysis of this report as presented in the
current issues of The Scientific American
and Supplement he will come to the con
clusion that Judged on the grounds of
practicability of construction, security*
permanence, convenience and ease of oper
ation and cheapness of first cost and
maintenance the Panama canal as de
signed by our engineers is by far the bet
ter scheme. Having said this one has
said it all. but if it be suggested, as has
lately been frequently done, that Nicara
gua has exclusive claim upon our national
interest and sympathy, it must be replied
that the first complete survey at Pana
ma was made, as we have shown else
where. by an American naval Officer for
the American government, and that over
half a century ago this country concluded
a treaty with New Granada (now the
United States of Colombia! guaranteeing
the perfect neutrality of the isthmus at
Panama as a highway from the Atlantic
to the Pacific. The solemn stipulations of
that treaty have remained in force ever
since, and only within the last few months
our government, acting under the stipu- •.
lations of this treaty, landed troops for
the protection of the Panama railroad.
Congress has grown so used to consid
ering Panama as a French undertaking
that it is only now beginning to realize
that if we take hold of the. Panama
scheme under our own terms of purchase
it becomes as truly an American enter
prise as would the construction de novo
of a canal at Nicaragua. 7
Although the Hepburn canal bill has
been passed in the house by a practical!'
unanimous vote, it is significant that an
amendment authorizing the president to
negotiate for the Panama as well as the
Nicaragua route was lest by 102 votes to
170. This result would indicate that ts the
senate should send the bill back to
the house, amended so as to provide for
building the canal on the Panama route,
the house would accept the revision.
I New issues, newly risen men, many '
1 events and many accidents may In the
near future upset all calculations that
are now being made. Several times in
the history of the republic its next
president .was far less prominent at
this distance from the election than
Hill. Gorman or Harrison, and to hit
fondest friends seem«*d to have much
less prospect of reaching the white
house than any one of these thre-s.
lAiokout fcr the unknown man of the
future fcr whom all good Democrats
may toe throwing up their ha£r and
yelling themselves hoarse in nw. I
Men rise and fsl! las*t in this land of
popular politics. There is plenty of
time between now and the time to put
I out our national candidates for the ap
| pearance of new leaders whom we mat
I prefer to any of those we arc now look
! mg to for guidance.
POINTED PARAGRAPHS.
I Chicago News.
Pewtons—The stiver linings of war clouds.
! Many an embalmed thought has been buried
I in the waste basket.
I A business man takes no note of time—if he
I can get spot cash.
I Charity is but one of the many things that
• should begin at home.
! Domestic quarrels are the coupons torn from
. the bonds of matrimony.
I Opportunities that have passed seldom come
J back to the man who waits.
It is not so much what a man knows as
! what he does not tell that counts.
I If Cupid can only puncture a man's brain
1 with the first shot the rest is easy.
Poor Jonah must have felt considerably down
in the mouth after being taken in out of the
wet.
Nothing takes the conseit out of a'
like bumping up against a masculine heart that
is unbreakable.
It does not harm you any to listen to people
who tell you things for your own good—and it
affords them a lot of pleasure.
I When two young men are suitors for a girl s
hand the one who thinks he gets the worst of
it often lives to realize that he got the best
of it.
POINTS ABOUT PEOPLE.
Emi>eror William, among a variety of new
subjects engaging his attention, is looking
into the relations of the German workmen s
productiveness and the use of beer during
working hours.
John W. Cavanagh of Watertown, N. Y.. on ,
Christmas last celebrated his tilth birthday.
He is a tailor and when living in London
made clothes for King George 111. and King
George IV.
Princess Vruson. the wife of the Russian
ambassador in Paris, has written to the pa
pers warning travelers against the organised
system of robbery to which they are exposed
on Italian railways.
William F. Glenn of Atlanta. Ga., in *
contest, wrote 12.05 T legible words on a postal
card, consuming seventy hours in the task.
The record before this feat was 5,200 words.
The writing was in ink and no lines crossed
each other,
M. Hamard. the French sculptor, has just
completed, at Paris, the model of a statue of
Marshal Rochambeau. to be presented to the
Citv of Washington as a companion to the
statue of Lafayette. It will be ready to send
to the Vnited States next April.
Old Blackbird’s grave in Nebraska is to be
marked with a suitable monument'- ts re
place the rotted pole which now calls the
traveler s attention to it. The Indian chief
received a medal from President Van Buren
for his valor in the Blackhawk war. and was
known throughout the Northwest In pioneer
i davs as the ’ white man's friend."