Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, March 02, 1909, Page 4, Image 4
4 Ihe Semi-Weekly Journal. Entered at tbs Attests Psatoffic* aa Mall Mat tar of tka Second daaa. JAMES R. GRAY, Editor and General Manager. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE. Tw*lre month* Ml gj Three months “ Ths Semi-Weekly Journal to pnbltobsd on Toeoday sad Friday, and to mailed by tbs abort eat rests* for early deltrery. It contain* m»« from all near tbe world, brosgbt by *pectal leased wire* tato oor offlo It baa a staff of dtotlsgutobsd contributor*, with strong department* of special »ahi* to tbs teeoM and tbe farm. Agents wanted at erery postoffice. Liberal commtselca allowed. Outfit free. Tbe only tr* reting represents tivs* we ~ba™ ate i. A. Bryan. B- F. Borton. C. C. C °F**; M. ft. Gil ream and I. H. Rambert. W* wtu ke rsspooatM* only foe money paid to tbe above named t reveling repreeentativea. - ♦ NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS* ♦ Tbe label used for addressing ♦ ♦ your paper shows the time your ♦ ♦ subscription expires. By renewing ♦ ♦ at least two weeks before the date ♦ ♦ on thia label, you insure regular ♦ ♦ service. ♦ ♦ In ordering paper changed, be ♦ ♦ sure to mention you old. as well as ♦ ♦ rout new. address. If on a rural ♦ ♦ route, please give the route num- ♦ ♦ ber. ♦ ♦ We cannot enter subscriptions to ♦ ♦ begin with back numbers. Remit- ♦ ♦ tance should be sent by postal ♦ ♦ order, or registered mail. ♦ ♦ Address aS orders and notices ♦ ♦ for this department to THE SEMI- ♦ ♦ WEEKLY JOURNAL, Atlanta, Ga. ♦ TUESDAY. MARCH 2. 1>« gu==: ■ ■' Gomes to Cuba—At last, darling, we are alone. After July, which city will act as Chat tanooga a Chattanooga? According to local police records, the world Is not growing better. It was bad enough when eggs went up. but now 'possum is U a pound. With Roosevelt in the Farmers* union, the boll weevil had better look out. Persimmons, 'possum, potatoes and prosperity seems to be the bon mot just now. Roosevelt and Taft each having written about tbe other, which is which's Bos well? The brown-tail moth will soon divide honors with the boll weevil as a distin guished invader. Arkansas having adopted "Arkansaw" ns the official pronunciation, what Is the matter with Kansaw? Now that Unde Sam has left the is land. Cuba will take things easy with eock fights and other old-time diversions. It la going to be a misdemeanor to give a worthless check. But what about giving them on the eve of a legal holi day? | The time is short before President Roosevelt retires, but there is still time to receive applications to the Ananias club. Teacher—What is the difference be tween a politician and a patriot? Scholar—A patriot does something for his country; a politician does his coun try. Ts a boy is bad. don’t hand him a ser monette to make him good; beat him."— Dr. M. V. O'Shea, of the University of Wisconsin "Spare the rod. spoil the child.”—Solo mon. Thus are two noted authorities agreed. ROOSEVELT’S TRIBUTE TO TAFT. The most striking feature of the Inaugural Souvenir, which has just come from the press to be distributed during the inaugural ceremonies, is the sketch of the life of Judge Wil liam H. Taft written by President Roosevelt Whatever may be the personal es timate of Nr. Roosevelt at this time. It cannot be denied that he has had abundant opportunity to know and estimate his successor in office as no other man can, perhaps, and this tribute to him constitutes a strong recommendation which the people of the south are ready to ratify, so far as Mr. Taft’s personality is con cerned. The keynote of the president's sketch is to be found in the statement that “no man of better training, no man of more dauntless courage or common sense and higher character has ever come to the presidency than William Howard Taft.” The sketch of bls life, as written by the president. Is concise and to the point, but interwoven with the record of his service are observations on his personal fitness which are* highly gratifying. One week from today the presi dent-elect will assume the duties of his high office and the strenuous president who has occupied the white house for almost eight years will retire to private life. It is a time when the American people are anxious to secure ever)* sidelight on the personality of the man who is soon to be their chief executive. Mr. Roosevelt’s candid tribute is •»-yt the least important of these aids to a better understanding of the man behind the smile. Value of Swinburne Volumes Once again Mr. Swinburne, while still in his lifetime, is on the list of rare editions. At a library sale in New York the other day a copy of his "Rosamund" brought the record price of four hundred dollars. At the same sale Shelley. Thackeray and Oscar Wilde were shown tn precious copies, but Mr. Swinburne was practically tbe only living author whose volumes commanded extreme prices. Some of the rarest volumes in this sale were those of Charles Latnb. to whom the poet dedicated his recent volume of criticism. “The Age of Shakespeare.” and to whom bis devotion is aa fervently characteristic as hto devotion to William Blake—who by the way. Illustrated Lamb's “Tales from Shakespeare.” this volume also, by rare coincidence, being on view at the same sale. ttossetlmes a grafter to s man who got wbat Am crl.ica were seeking. THE PASSING OF ROOSEVELT', On Thursday at noon Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth president of the United States, will retire from the office of chief magistrate, which he has filled since the twentieth century was nine months old. It was on November 4, 1900, that he was elected vice president of the United States, after a nomination which he was undoubtedly sincere tn wishing to decline, since no man knew better than he the helpless and hopeless oblivion and inactivity to which that position, in the ordinary course of events,* consigns the occupant of it. On September 14 of the following'year—eix months after taking the oath of office coincidentally with the second inauguration of President McKinley, the genial and kindly chief executive who had guided us safely through thp perils of the Spanish-American war and had bound together the various sections of our common country more closely than ever, died of the wound Inflicted by an assassin at Buffalo, and the cowboy colonel found himself called to the highest position in the gift of the American people. Pledging himself to a continuance of the policies which the martyred president has set on toot, and manifesting great activity in the interest of the people as against corruption and corporate abuses, he soon won the admiration and affection of the American people. His tireless energy, his repeated assurances that "malefactors of great wealth” should be prosecuted, civilly and criminally, the reiterated homilies which bad not yet become as tedious and as obviously empty as they afterwards proved to be, all contributed to increase his popularity, and in 1904 he was elected president by the largest popular vote ever given a candidate for that exalted position. The beginning of the second term saw but little decrease in his popularity. Men wondered that no "malefactors" were sent to jail and that proceedings against corporate abuses were allowed to drag, but they hoped on and continued to lend him their moral support. \ But as the years went by, and he became more accustomed to place and power, the real nature of the man began to manifest itselt. Eccentricities which find no explanation except in his absorbing vanity and egotism made tbe groundlings laugh while the judicious grieved. His arbitrary conduct found one of its most offensive expressions in his effort to centralize the powers of the general government at the expense of the states. He began to play a role between that of a political dictator and an irritable pedagogue. He lectured courts and congresses in a manner which reminded one of Lord Holland's remark: I would like to be as cock-sure of anything as Tom Macaulay Is of everything. He was firing special messages to tbe national legislature at the rate, sometimes, of halt a dozen a day. He was assuming executive powers of which no preceding president had ever dreamed. Much of the prestige he had enjoyed was already lost, months ago, and yet it remained for tbe close of his administration to bring him into the positive contempt of the American people. ’Never before in the history of this country, perhaps, has an administration which opened with so much promise closed in such bitterness and such complete revulsion of sentiment. The unseemly haste with which the president consigned to member ship in the Ananias club every man who took issue with him created a feeling of resentment long ago. It became acute when he accused Judge Parker of falsehood in charging that corporations had contributed heavily to the Republican campaign fund four years ago. Ihe confessions of the insurance companies that they had done so, and the inside facts as to Mr. Harriman’s tat-frylng. at the president s sug gestion, convicted the president of the very mendacity of which he was so ready to accuse Judge Parker. The real climax of his mischievous conduct, however, began with his assaults upon Mr. Bryan and bls active participation in the Republican campaign. In theory, at least, the president is the president of all the people, and not merely the successful candidate of a party. Once In office he should take no part in partisan politics. This had become a strong conviction on the part of the American people. The "pernicious activity" which was forbidden to minor employes of the government was all the more important in the chief executive, and yet he insisted upon acting the part of a ward politician while enjoying the honors and emoluments of the highest office in the gift of the people. During the past few months he seems literally to have thrown to the winds every consideration of dignity, justice and patriotism. He has become not only an intermeddler but a common scold. If he had deliberately made up his mind to flout and Infuriate the people as the climax of his administration he could not have gone about it more effectually. His conduct in permitting and tacitly encouraging the violation of the Sherman anti-trust law by the United States Steel corporation is now known to have been a flagrant piece of conduct which was not even justified by an alleged emergency. The curt Impudence with which he replied to the senate Inquiry on the subject aggravated the situation still more. His assault upon the members of congress who voted to restrict the use of the secret service within their legal province, practically charging them with seeking immunity from investigation and complicity with crime, outraged the amenities due from one branch of the government to another. His message to congress, assailing Joseph Pulitzer and other editors, was the most Infamous state paper ever sent to a congress ot the United States, It dripped with gall and wormwood. It was Inspired solely by personal venom and wounded vanity. He has deliberateli made himself a party to an attempt to revive the methods of the star chamber and to throttle the free press of the country. In short, he has done more to undermine the structure of our governmental institutions than all the enemies of this republic since George Washington was offered a crown. Were It not for the reaction which his awkward efforts have brought about he would have laid the groundwork of despotism in the heart ot the republic. Noisy, vain, self-centered, he has been, during the past few months, like a bull in a crockery shop, and throughout the length and breadth oi the country there will be a sigh of relief on Thursday afternoon when it is realized that tbe imperious charlatan is no longer at the head of After which he will "sink to silence, like a tavern brawl." the government. DA VIS' NAME RESTORED. The action of the secretary of war in issuing orders that the name of Jefferson Davis should be restored on the tablet affixed to Cabin John Bridge Is an act of tardy justice which the whole country fully appreciates. Whatever agency may be chiefly responsible for this step, it is the logical outcome of that spirit ot tolerance and good will, rising superior to all sectional passion or prejudice, which has made this step possible. The order tor the erasure of his name was given at a time of violent feeling, when the country was engaged in dtvil war. It was unworthy of the government of a great country, but while it may not be condoned it can be understood, when all the attendant circumstances are borne in mind. Whatever malice lay behind it, whatever purpose there may have to bury the name of Davis tn oblivion, only defeated their own ends, so The Caesar * pageant, shorn of Brutus’ bust. Did but of Rome's best eon remind her more. This disfigured tablet, the absent name, was a more enduring monument, a more conspicuous inscription, than If the name had been left undisturbed. The thanks of the country are due to the organizations which have been active in securing the restoration of the name of Davis. His Is a name which will always be Invested with a peculiar pathos when the story of the Confederacy is recalled. The severest penalty visited upon many of the participants in that great conflict was death on the field of glory or the consciousness of defeat in the end. But the president of the Confederacy was in many respects made a vicarious sacrifice for the whole south. Chains and dungeons and the petty detractions of little minds stung him and humiliated him and bowed him to the grave. It is gratifying to reflect, not merely that the government which obliterated his name from a piece of work constructed while he was a member of the cabinet has at last restored it to the memorial tablet, but it is also pleasant to realize that such an act of restitution, tardy though it be, is only in keeping with the fraternal spirit of the times. EXTENDING THE STATE ROAD. The Columbus Ledger of February 21 takes up the question of the extension of the Western and Atlantic railroad and discusses it with earnestness and deep conviction. In this editorial, which we reproduce in another column, the Ledger points to the fact that this extension was a part of the original purpose of the state's ownership, and that unless this step is taken the value of the property as it now stands will be seriously impaired. The Ledger naturally takes a keen interest in the extension of a branch line to the Chattahoochee river and Is doing its full part towards stimulating local Interest in securing such extension. Efforts are now being made to build a system of dams and locks on the Chattahoochee for a regular six or eight-foot slack-water navigation to some deep-sea port on the Gulf of Mexico. The people of Muscogee, and we may THE ATLANTA SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1909 assume of the ehtlre western section of the state are anxious that this deepening of the Chattahoochee shall go hand In hand with the extension of a branch line to Columbus. They recall that such an extension would be only half as great in length as an extension from Atlanta to the Atlantic seaports. We feel sure that the special commission appointed to investigate the plan of extending the road will take into consideration the claims of Columbus as well as of the Atlantic seaports, and there is no reason why there should be any conflict of Interests. The extension of the Western and Atlantic railroad to the Atlantic ocean is a logical necessity.. Indeed, it may be said that such a course is the main end to be kept in view. It will open up a more direct route for shipping to European ports, and will facilitate the distribution- of commodities from the west to all that eastern section of the state. But there is no disposition whatever to overlook the claims of the western section of the state. The building of the Panama canal would alone furnish a reason for extending one branch of the road to the Chattahoochee, which connects directly with the gulf ports. We do not hesitate to say that the work ot extension would be decidedly incomplete unless this branch was extended to Columbus, and the citizens of lhat prosperous city—the people ot all western Georgia may depend upon it that their claims will not be overlooked. These are details which will work themselves out. The one great aim to be kept constantly before the people of Georgia Is that the state road must be extended. As the Ledger says, the value and usefulness of the road as it now stands will be practically destroyed, after the expiration of the lease, unless the line is extended, and this fundamental fact is to be kept clearly and constantly In view. We must make a determined and united effort to secure this extension and to that end we need the hearty co-operation of every section and every interest in the state. NATIONAL CAPITAL NEWS AND GOSSIP By Ralph Smith WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 27.—When the senate is reorganized after March 4th, Senator Owen, of Oklahoma, will give up his present seat on the back row, and claim the fourth seat from the center on the first row—the seat occupied by Jeffer son Davis, when he was a senator from Mississippi, prior to the civil war. The same desk that was used by the president of the beloved Confederacy still occupies its old place, and Senator Owen will retain it for his own use. The desk has a history. It is the only piece ot furniture in the senate chamber that is not perfectly immaculate, and except for a partly hidden scar on its face, it ia like all the others. The scar represents the malicious work of a Yankee soldier, who, at the close of the war, rammed his sabre through the desk as an evidence of his hatred for Jefferson Davis, who once decupled it. The scar has. of course, been patched and put tied, and is barely discernable even £t close range. Senator Owen is a native born Vir ginian, and when he takes the old Davis teat it will bring three Virginians in a row. Senators Daniel and Martin occupy seats on the front row of the chamber. The Banner State. Mississippi is tfie banner state of the union in so far as native son representa tion in the United States senate is con cerned. Besides Senators Money and Mc- Laurin, both natives of the state they rep resent, there are, or will soon be, five oth er senators who were born in Mississippi. Senator Gore, of Oklahoma, is a na tive of Webster county, Miss. Sea at or Bailey, of Texas, was born in Copiah county. Senator Newlands, of Nevada, is a son of 'Adems county. Senator Clarke, of Arkansas, claims Yazoo county as Ms birthplace. Governor Chamberlin, of Oregon, who will become a senator on March 4th, was born in Warren county. Champ Clark as a Leader. •'Champ Clark is making a very sat isfactory leader,” 'said a member of the minority the other day. and he express ed the view entertained by a vast ma jority of the Democratic members of the house. The Missourian has made good. There is a vast difference between the method of leadership followed by John Sharp Williams and the method being re sorted to by Mr. Clark. Mr. Williams was in many respects an excellent leader. As a debater he has few equals in the house, and his knowledge of public ques tions is large and diversified. He can, and he did, cope with the best of them, but Mr. Williams was not. and is not-, as popular with the entire membership ot the minority as is Mr. Clark, not that anyone lacked confidence in the Mississip pian, but that a number rebelled at some of his tactics. Mr. Williams rather challenged, or in vited hostility in certain quarters, where as Mr. Clark seeks, and has thus far suc ceeded in harmonizing the warring ele ments of the minority. In a word, he is more politic, it seems, than Mr. Wil liams. and he is thereby enabled to get more work out of the members, both on the floor and in the committees. The Blakely Postoffice. Although many of the leading citizens of Blakely are • urging the confirmation of the appointment of Mrs. Mamie Fryer Smith as postmaster at the Early county site, it is being held up in the senate at the instance of Representative Griggs, in whose district Blakely is located. Mr. Griggs insists that Mrs. Smith be not confirmed, and his emphatic stand is suf ficient to hold the appointment for some time. As has been frequently explained in these dispatches, It is. and has ever been, the invariable practice of the senators to respect the wishes of the representa tives relative to postofflee appointments, and so long as Mr. Griggs fights Mrs. Smith the Georgia senators will have to hold up the confirmation. An Error Corrected ANDERSONVILLE. Ga.. Feb. 17, 1909. Atlanta Journal. Atlanta. Oa. The dispatch in The Journal of 18th instant, reading, “The senate vesterdav afternoon pass ed the Foraker bill directing the secretary of war to accent the Andersonville, Oa., ceme tery from the Woman's Relief Corps, with a view to eventually converting It Into a na tional park, is so inaccurate and misleading that it requires correcting; more especially as It has. doubtless, gone Into the columns of hundreds of newspapers all over the country. The national cemetery at Andersonville, On., where are burled all those who died prisoners of war at this place during the summer of 1864, numbering about 12.872. has been the propertv of the United States since July. 1865, and has been improved and beautified from year to year ever since. The bill of Senator Foraker relates entirely to a different piece of property, and which tin to the present time has had no connection whatever with the cem etery mentioned. The old prison grounds situated about a half mile south of the cemetery was for a number of years after the war closed the prop erty of a negro named George Kennedy Some twenty years ago the Grand Army of the Re public. departments of Georgia and North Ca rolina. to prevent this soot of ground falling into the hands of those desiring it for specu lative purpose*, bought it. They could, how ever. make no improvements on it for want of the necessary funds, and. therefore, they ‘endered it to the national encampment of the G. A. R.. but that organization having their hands full, and no money to spare for the improvements that would have been called for had they accepted the tender, refused the gift. Finally the Woman's Relief Cores acceptd the property, and have expended thousands of dollars In improvement!. Including the erec tion of a handsome cottage, grading, eto. Recently the W. R. C. saw that the con tinuous drain on their resource* on account of this property would in time bankrupt th»lr treasury, they tendered the property to the United States, and the bill Introduced by Senator Foraker and which has just passed the senate is to bring about that result. Wisconsin. Rhode Island. Massachusetts Ohio and Michigan have erected fine and co*tlv monuments within what was once the prison grounds, and It was to provide suitable care and protection for these as much as anything else that brought about this move ment. , There hae been no idea in the mind of those favoring this transfer to create a park at Andersonville. Possibly such a thing may be done in the futu*a. depending upon clr cumatances and conditions not possible at present to foresee. This Is a short, condensed account at the whole transaction. J. M. BRYANT. STRONGL Y IN FA VOR OF PROPOSED EXTEN SION OF STATE ROAD Columbus Ledger. In a short few years the present leas*, of the state railroad will expire. Realiz ing this, Governor Smith, when he was campaigning for election, and after hU election, made a vital issue that the state road should be extended, one view being that without this extension, the road from Chattanooga to Atlanta would be bottled up, and this magnificent prop erty of the people would thus become practically worthless. It was part of the plan in the original ownership of this road by the state, that its real useful ness and value to the people of Georgia would depend on its extension and con necti<*ns with navigation to tidewater. Whilst no one in a very rational way, except for private conflicting Interests, can oppose public ownership to any ex tent that is limited, and which may be rendered most expedient in a given status of local conditions, the extension of the state road is urged on one ground, and which alone ought to suffice, namely, that unless the state road is extended, an im mensely valuable asset and porperty be longing to the people of Georgia would be reduced to a condition of utter worth lessness, and would involve the loss, ot enormous shrinkage in the value and use fulness of the property at the expiration of the lease. Wtih Governor Smith’s ardent support, the last general assembly provided for a commission to report at the next legis lature on the proposed extensions. It was left for the governor to appoint a certain number on the commission, besides those composing it from the senate and house of representatives of Georgia. There is no member on this commission from Colum bus, nor from western Georgia, although the governor was strongly petitioned to make, at least, one such appointment. Hon Hooper Alexander is on this com mission. His advocacy of extension ha« been insistent and lie has sustained his championship in, a spirit of patriotism whch includes in the purposes to be accomplished a great and lasting good to the people of Georgia, for results that would help, materially help, toward the solution and regulation of freight trans portation. In all these striking- and per manent benefits, which Governor Smith. Mr. Alexander and others are prepared to demonstrate, will accrue, and which will be embodied in an appeal to the people to authorize the extension from At lanta to Savannah and Brunswick, are not these reasons and inducements just as cogent for one extension to be brought to the head of navigation of the Chatta hoochee river at Columbus? We are work ing for (and expect the work to be com menced before one branch of the state road could be built to Columbus) a sys tem of locks and dams on the Chatta hoochee for a regular 6 or 8 foot slack wa ter navigation to some deep-sea port on the Gulf of Mexico. A branch of the state road would be much less than half the distance for the extension from At lanta, to any place on the Atlantic sea board. Furthermore, in reaching the Gulf of Mexico and the Panama canal with an extension via Columbus and thence down the river, the distance would be 500 or 600 miles shorter than via any port on the Atlantic coast. Moreover, if it were known that wo were to get an extension of the state road to Columbus, or were equally chanced to get it, with its extension to Savannah. Brunswick, etc., this would be a potent factor in our getting locks and dams for regular slack water navigation from Co lumbus to the gulf. In the extension to Columbus, who would be benefited? The city of Columbus, of course; besides all the territory along the line between At lanta and Columbus, and every county bordering the river between Columbus and the gulf. None of those sections in the western part of the state would be, in the least, benefited with the one extension now con templated from Atlanta to the Atlantic ocean. Recognizing this exclusion, the Board of Trade of Columbus, on behalf of its own city and county, and all other parts of western Georgft. to be affected, and who would be so grossly neglected, already shivering with apprehension of that cold wave heading. this way, and brewed by the present purposes of the commission on the state road to make only one extension, have gotten in corre spondence with Mr. Alexander. Mr. Alexander, speaking personally, concedes the right of the board of trade to be interested, and that the western part of the state in question should have an extension. But the vital point is, and it is the point, where Columbus and the western part of the state should very erectly sit up and take notice, he does not say that this extension will be allowed or recommended, to be built at the same time with the commencement of the work from Atlanta to the Atlantic seaboard. Without the slightest reflection off those who wish for the greatest good to the greatest number, in the extension of the state road, it’s self-evident that if our right to an extension is only to be ex pected after the one to the Atlantic ocean is started or finished, this would be too late for us to use the power to get it, which we can now exercise on a propo sition of giving and taking and which is the true policy for securing those advan tages which result In the understandings and mutual concessions in all matters po litical. If the board of trade and aider men and people of Columbus don’t “get busy.” an extension from Atlanta to the Atlanflc may be recommended and pass the legislature, and after which, we, of the western part of the state, will be asking for bread, but will receive a “stone’—a dietary treatment in the mat ter, producing a painful and permanent inanition in the sufferings and disappoint ments of which we will have no one to blame but ourselves. Saw a Reason Wifie: Several men I rejected are now wealthier than you. Hubby: That’s why they are. *5 The Regenerative of Forces -y Working In A Rising Republic 5 *J BY BISHOP WARREN A. CANDLER. 34 ■W < iraßr MEI ■ WW RUBBER FACTORY’ IN MEXICO View of crude rubber made from Guayule plant, Tarreou, Coab, Mexico. In former letters I have b£en writing The Journal concerning the marked progress which the Republic of Mexico is making. I do not hesitate to say that it is the most stable and progressive government among the Latin-American nations. Much of the good which prevails in Mexico is attributed to the very great ability and unquestionable patriotism of such men as Benito Juarez and Porflrio Diaz. It is now twenty-five years since Presi dent Diaz came to office the second time, after the sorry administration of Manuel Gonzalez, which ended in 1884. He has made effective the constitution devised by Juarez in 1857, and he has established the government of Mexico upon a firmer basis. The industries of the country have been encouraged by him, and its agricul tural and mineral resources have been de veloped. Railroads and telegraph lines have been established, which have quick ened the productive powers of the nation and promoted its complete pacification. With the republic penetrated in every part by great trunk lines of railway, the days of factions and revolutions can never return. The only fact to give anxiety about the future of Mexico Is that President Diaz is now an old man, and no really great man is in sight to succeed him and carry forward, when he is gone, his wise and beneficent policies. But a weaker man can succeed now with greater ease than could a strong man thirty years ago. The railways have recently been taken over by the government, and this puts into the hands of the federal authorities at the capital an Instrument with which to preserve the tranquility of the coun try which the most skillful and daring of revolutionists could not easily over come. The nationalization of the rail roads of the United States by our gov ernment would be a most doubtful, not to say dangerous, experiment; but the case of Mexico is very different from ours. Government ownership of railways in this mountainous republic, where the habit of revolution continued so long and where the people are scattered over so extensive an area, will doubtless yield the best results. It means peace, progress and prosperity. * But the material enterprises of Mex ico, which are advancing so rapidly, are not the main things upon which to build hope for its future. Society is being per meated by the forces of a new moral and Intellectual life. The public school system is firmly established and steadily improving. In my last letter I set forth the work of education which is going on in the state of Coahuila under the leadership of jTon. Andres Osuna. In the adjoining state of Chihuahua also the most marked progress is being made, although that state has no such man as Osuna to lead its educational forces. The amount which Chihuahua has appropriated to public education for the year 1909 is 1512.000. This state expends about 45 per cent of its income on education. The following fig ures show how the state has progressed in the matter of Its educational expendi tures since 1888: Y ear Amount. Ittfic .... ... ... 5,604.19 1900 : 1901 •**•• ******** ••****•**•••••••• 109»416.77 1902 •• •*••*•• •***•• 196,512.61 vqao 195,961.17 1904 240.269.09 •••••••••••••• • •*• 348,146.00 It is a more populous r<ate than Coa huila. and yet it is very thinly peopled at compared with the Southern. Middle, and Eastern states of our Country. Besides the public schools of Mexico there are many good private schools and not a few excellent institutions conducted by the churches which are at work in the republic. All these enlightening and el evating agencies are bringing to pass the most marked and admirable results. The moral tone of the nation is conspicuously improved. A few things somewhat symp tomatic of the healthier public sentiment may be mentioned. It is now unlawful for any teacher or pupil in the public schools of the stale of Coahuila to attend a bull-fight. This reform was recently secured on the peti tion of Andres Osuna end his enlightened constituency in that progressive state. Effort will be made soon to secure the same reform in other states. Public schools and the bull-ring c»n not exist together in Mexico much longer. It is certain the public-school has come to stay, and it is equally certain that eventually the bull-ring must go. This means much to Mexico—and in the end it means much to all Latin-America. The beginnings of temperance reform are also visible. All the pulque shops— the shops in which are sold to the con mon people that most infiamatory in toxicant called "pulque”—are closed promptly at 6 o’clock every day. On Sundays all the liquor shops are closed Mexico City is more orderly and tem perate than either New York or Chicago. On April 1, 1909. scientific courses showing the destructive effects of drinking intoxicants, will be introduced into all the public schools of the Fed- Disirict nt Columbia in the United States. The law requiring this has been secured already, and its enforce ment will begin within the next forty, days. The final outcome of such in struction in the public schools will be e far-reaching and irreslstable temper ance reformation. It cannot be other wise. Now, the problem of government is how to make a body of citizens who are ruled by reason and conscience and uncontrolled by passion and appetite. The use of intoxicants strikes good government in its very vitals; for it de thrones reason and enthrones passion. It therefore inflames every form of disor der and enfeebles all the forces which make for order and tranquility. The thoughtful and patriotic men of Mex ico perceive all this as clearly as do the wisest leaders in all the enlighten ed nations of the world, and they are taking steps to improve the sobriety of their people that they may promote the peace and prosperity of their be loved country. This reformation which ly. but it will not go backward. The enlightening and regenerative forces which are working in the Mexican republic will not fail. A new and nobler Mexico is slowly but stlrely emerging. Prejudiced and superficial observers' may I deny this, but I am in position to know that it is true. During the last ten years I have made five visits to the republic, ' and I have seen striking evidences of im provement with each successive visit. There is no country in which a traveler is more safe, and none presenting more interesting features for study. If “night riders" were to begin their operations in Mexico, President Diaz would htCVa speedy and numerous executions, and the night-riding business would come quickly to its end. It will not do to trifle with him and his government. Many people are finding out the pro gress which is going on in this rising na tion, and multitudes of our own people are making investments here. It is said by those who claim to know that there is nearly a billion dollars of American money invested in Mexico. The English speaking people in the City of Mexico alone number about 12,000, and very many more are scattered throughout the repub lic. They are not without their influence, both for good and evil. They are affect ing even the Spanish, which is spoken in Mexico. For example, the word "Inter viu” for "interview” has been adopted by the papers. "Sufraguita” for “suffra gette,” and “mitin” for “meeting” are words of common use. The familiar “five o’clock tea” is made into oae word, “faivoloquete,” and for “beef-steak” the word “biftec” is used. It is much to be deplored tnat many of our country-men in Mexko by their misconduct dishonour the land from which they have come and damage the country in which they have taken up their residence. They support the bull fight and practice other irregularities and dissipations. Among this class there is current a flippant and blasphemous say ing to the effect that "wa left God on the other side of the Rio Grande.” It may be added that they left decency also behind. But there are others who maintain their Integrity and lead here, as they did in “the states,” spotless Christian lives. Their moral character is not a matter of climate and geography, and their piety is of the sound sort that bears shipping without deterioration. They are worthy of all honour. To a congregation of Americans , of this noble type I have been preaching every night since last Sunday (February 14) and their spiritual interest has been most pronounced. Such men and women honour their native land and bless the people among whom they dwell. They have not put God and goodness behind them, and a Christian gentleman can as sociate with them without shame or em barrassment. * * W. A. CANDLER. February 19, 1909. ♦ WHERE THEY’RE BUILDING ♦ ♦ 1.000-FOOT STEAMERS ♦ »♦♦♦»♦♦♦ BELFAST.—DurInr a trio through the ship yards in this city, where the world’.! two big gest ocean steamshtos—each 1.000 feet long— an being built, ths e\s Is first caught by an amasine structure, a webwork of stes! ginfdrs nearly 300 feet high. 300 feet wide, SM feet long, and costing 81.250.000. It extends over the length and breadth of the two great berths whereon are being laid the keels or the coming vessels, two berths that have oeen formed out of three berths whereon such ves sels as the Adriatic. Baltic and Celtic have been built. The foundation of these berths has had 10,000 extra piles driven into it and ferrt concrete, at the rate of 2.000 ton* each 24 hour*, is be ing laid, in order that the floor may bear be- Ins depressed unevenly bv a weight of 7iOUO tens Vast as the prertminarv oztlav Is, the Olym pic and Titanic could not come into bring without It, for they simply dwarft all that have ever gone before, even those marvrious vessels, the Lusitania and Mauretania. As to the Great Eastern, leviathan born out of due time, since even now she dominates the imagination of manv. compare her principal dlmenslona with these latter day wonders. She was 25.000 tons displacement, they 60.000 tons- she drew wnen laden 30 feet, they 3/ I feet; her length was about 600 ieet, theirs between 900 and 1.000 feet (exact figures are not available in this particular!: her combined horse-power was 300. theirs 50.000—for they ar* not to be considered fast ship*, only they wiU not steam less than 21 knots. Thev will. each have four tunnels and one mast. Tbeir stern frames, cast in one vast forging, will each weigh 309 <>ns, the rudders each 100 tons 15 hundred-weight, and, for a ■wist transition, the main dining saloon wifi seat 600 diners at once. He Was in Bad "I telephoned my wife an excuse to stay down town ' "Did she believe it?” “Yes, blame it, she did. Now I’ve used up my best excuse, and I really wan* to go somewhere tomorrow night.” Her Query * “This, Bessie, is a tomato plant.” "And how soon, mamma, before the cans begin to sprout?” A RHYME OF DOTING PARENTS By Don Marquis. El Little Heinie Hlnkledepper Filled his Auntie's eyes with pepper; Mamma said: "O, stop it, please, Heinie, ’fore it makes you sneeze!”