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BY FAVOROFSPEAKER
CHOICE COMMITTEE PLACES ARE
I> URGENT DEMAND.
CUMMINGS ON THE VACANCIES
Jlott (arlfsle anil Rffd Both Broke
the Rnle of Seniority of Service In
Pilling Important Chairmanship*.
William Jennings Bryan's Lucky
Assignment to Ways and Means
When He First Came to Congress.
Weaving the Legislative Set.
Washington, Dec. T.—Nets enmesh
ing legislation in both Houses are the
committees. They are the real law
making power. Nothing can pass
House without consideration in
committee. Their chairmen are the
l-ulers of legislative principalities. The
Senate weaves its own net of legisla
tion. but the House delegates this work
■to its Speaker. And thus 1t is that
T>avid B. Henderson, a representative
from the state of lowa, is now sitting
!n his room in the fourth story of a
fashionable Washington hotel acting
as a crochet needle for the House of
Hepresentati ves. There are many
meshes in his great net. It catches
everything, great and small. In the
way of legislation. David’s power is
absolute. From it there is no appeal.
He simply announces the committees,
and that Is the end of it. If a member
is dissatisfied, he either smothers his
chagrin or curses the Speaker and asks
to be excused. Heartburnings innum
trable are sometimes caused by the
assignments. John G. Carlisle once
mortally offended Andrew fS—-Cctrtfrt
by dropping him from the chairman
ship of the Committee on Foreign Af
fairs. substituting Perry Belmont. It
waa a change that astonished the coun
try and caused much indignant com
ment. It struck Got'. Curtin to the
heart. Retiring from Congress not
long afterward, he died protesting
against the injustice. It must be con
fessed, however, that the grandson of
Commodore Perry made an excellent
substitute. While chairman of this
committee he subjected James G.
Blaine to an examination so close,
searching, and brilliant that It became
historic.
When Thomas B. Reed succeeded
Carlisle as Speaker he made a break
nearly as bad. He transferred Alfred
C. Harmer of Philadelphia, from the
Committee on Naval Affairs to the In
dian Committee. The veteran con
gressman had been a member of the
Naval Committee for many years and
was wedded to its duties. His removal
incensed his friends and created much
bitterness. What made the change pe
culiarly significant was the fact that
Harmer in caucus had been a stanch
supnorter of William McKinley against
Reed in the struggle for the Speaker
ship. Aside from this, by his failure
to vote for the caucus candidate for
chaplain of the House, he had aided
In the re-election ,of the celebrated blind
preacher, William H. Milburn, renom
inated by the Democrats. Nor was he
alone in this. Six other Republicans,
including Ben Butterworth, followed
suit. In the Fifty-fourth Congress
Reed apparently tried to mollify Har
mer by making him chairman of the
Committee on I.ibrary, but to the day
of his death the genial old Quaker re
sented his treatment.
While weaving his legislative net it
Is not probable that David B. Hender
son contemplates any such abrupt
changes. Seven of the chairmen of
committees in the last Congress failed
of a re-election. One. Marriott Brosius,
of Pennsylvania, died after re-election.
This leaves eight vacancies to fill. Bro
sius was Chairman of the Committee on
Banking and Currency. As the com
mittee stood when Congress expired,
Charles N. Fowler of New Jersey, was
the ranking member. If he seeks the
promotion and the speaker follows the
unwritten law, he will get It. Two
terms ago it was a committee of great
importance. Joseph H. Walker, of Wor
cester, Mass., was then its chairman.
Its members were continually in hot
water and were unable to agree. Its
jurisdiction was finally hogged by the
Ways and Vein*, i'nder the watch
ful care of Brosius, who, by the way,
was another Quaker, it became sedate,
ornamental, and useful. Although rep
resenting a Jersey district. Fowler was
born in Illinois. He graduated from
Yale College twenty-five years ago and
afterward took a course at the Chicago
Ijiw School. In a tilt with Mr. Lit
tlefield of Maine, last year he display
ed signal ability. He is an active
man on the fioor and is said to have
made a specialty of banking and cur
rency.
There are two vacancies tn the
chairmanships of the three Committees
on Elections. Walter L>. Weaver of
Ohio, and William S. Mesick of Mich
igan. passed into the dread hereafter
in the congressional elections of 1900.
Precedent calls for the appointment of
Marlin E. Oltnsted. of Pennsylvania,
and of Ernest W. Roberts of Massa
chusetts. as their successors. Assign
jnents to these committees, however,
are not particularly desirable. They
are regarded as a sort of Congressional
Botany Bay. In the old days, before
the single committee was split by
Thomas B. Reed, the chairman was se
lected from among the brightest men
in the House. The seat of Speaker Car
lisle was contested in the Fiftieth Con
gress by Cleorge H. Thohe, a labor
candidate. There was a strong impres
sion that Thobe was entitled to it. it
was alleged that on election day he
went on a still hunt and caught the
mountain friends of John G. napping.
Supposing there was no question of the
return of their favorite, they did not
take the trouble to vote and disaster
followed. Mr. Carlisle, however, re
ceived the certificate and was re-elect
ed Speaker. As hi< seat was contested,
he refused to appoint the committee to
which the reference would be made.
Each political parly chose Its members
In caucus The Democrats named
Charles F. Crisp for chairman. He sac
rificed the chairmanship of the Com
mittee on Pacllic Railroads In obedi
ence to the request of his party. It was
thought at the time that he had made
a great mistake, but In the enft it made
him a recognized leader and elevated
him to the speakership. Thobe made
an eloquent appeal tn his own behalf,
but Carlisle’s title was confirmed after
a four days' fight. The Republicans
refused to vote, thus leaving the House
without a quorum.
There Is also a vacancy to fill In the
Committee on Pacific Railroads. Its
chairman for the last six years. Judge
Powers, failed to return to the Cap
itol. William B. Shattuc of Cincin
nati is regarded as his legitimate suc
cessor. He was for thirty years a
railroad man. and he ought to be thor
oughly qualified. Ths contrast between
the two men Is very striking. The
Vermonter Is as grave and sedate as
a horned owl, while the Buckeye is
as pert and chipper as a starling
Shattuc has served only four years in
the House, but in that time he has
had more than the usual percentage of
enjoyment A good talker and of fine
presence, his geniality nukes him uiu
usually popular among his fellows, iff
the war for the Union he was an offi
cer In the army of the frontier, and
he Is now only s little over 60 years
old. In the last session he was chair-
man of the Committee on Immigra
tion and Naturalization. Possibly, but
not probably, he would prefer the old
place to the new.
The Committee on Patents presents
another opening. The chairman of last
year. Winfield S. Kerr of Ohio has re
tired from public life. Walter Reeves
of Illinois is next on the list. There
is certainly no reason why he should
be jumped by those below him. A man
of weight and influence in the House,
he came very near being the Republi
can candidate for Governor of Illinois
not long ago. Reeves is trim In phy
sique and attire and diffident in man
ner. He is long and well knit and has
light hair and complexion. Although
“low in movement, there is every in
dication that he will reach the United
States Senate before either Joe Can
non or Albert J. Hopkins. This is his
fourth term in Congress, and in age,
appearance, and experience he is well
fitted for advancement.
Another vacancy worthy of the atten
tion of Gen. Henderson is found in the
Committee on Manufactures. George
W. Faris of Indiana, its late chairman,
has disappeared in the smoke of battle
and has beeen followed by William B.
Baker of Maryland, and Joseph E.
Thropp of Pennsylvania, the next in
line. This leaves an opening for John
K. Stewart of New York. He has own
ed knitting and paper mills and is now
the sole proprietor of a hosiery mill.
He is also a director in a bank and a
gas company, and was one of th 4 orig
inal sewer commissioners of the city of
Amsterdam. With such qualifications
there can be little doubt of his appoint
ment. Twelve years ago this commit
tee was a prominent feature of the
House. Of late years it has fallen off
in importance, and now presents very
little business for consideration. Stew
art is forty-six years old. He is just
beginning his second term in Congress,
but this will hardly handicap him in
the eyes of the Speaker.
And now, facile and silent, Burleigh
sljdes to the front. Although only four
years a Congressman. tEe~3bor oF the
Committee on Militia is yawning to re
ceive him as chairman. That unique
figure from Illinois, Gen. Benjamin F.
Marsh, has retired, leaving a vacancy
not only in the committee, but in the
House. His voice will be missed by
his old associates. It was used on the
slightest provocation. To hear him in
the throes of discussion was like hear
ing the subdued roaring of a lion while
crushing the bones of a fresh quarry.
Having spent seven terms in the House
he always seemed to feel as though he
was on his native heath. Burleigh is
far different. He is as smooth as the
oil from the jaw of a porpoise and
equally as soothing. Representing the
old Augusta district In Maine, he has
all the political acumen of a James G.
Blaine. Like Blaine, he dabbles in
journalism, but he lacks Blaine's ex
uberance of temperment and volubility
of speech. Fifty-eight years old, he
carries weight for age. Three years
governor of his native state, he is said
to be about the slickest statesman
evolved down East for many a year.
You may be sure he is destined for
higher honors.
The most intricate of Speaker Hen
derson's work is to dovetail the new
members into acceptable places. Nearly
all are looking for perches on promi
nent committees. Old representatives
are burdened with appeals to use their
tnflence with the speaker to aid them.
They are waylaid at every turn, and
Henderson himself Is dogged night and
day. Some cast longing eyes upon the
appropriations, where there are three
vacancies. Every possible wire in the
political subway is being pulled to se
cure them. Two Republicans and one
Democrat oozed from this committee
into private life at the last election.
Rarely do new birds attain such lofty
perches. Yet there is one remarkable
exception. William J. Bryan flew to
Washington from the prairies of Ne
braska in 1891 and folded his wings
on a perch in the ways and means. It
was shrewd political play. He voted for
Crisp at, a critical period in the fight
for the speakership and was not forgot
ten. There are no such exigencies to
day. and adventurous fowls will un
doubtedly be compelled to settle on
lower limbs. The older birds invaria
bly assert what they claim to be their
rights, and they usually secure them.
In the last Congress the states
south of Mason and Dixon's line re
ceived only two chairmanships out of
sixty-five. In the Fifty-fifth Tom Reed
allowed them three, and in the Fifty
fourth the same number. There are sad
sighs in the minority for the days of
yore.
As for committee assignments in the
Senate, the Vice President is power
less. The committees are formulated in
caucus. The minority are allotted a
fair percentage and select their own
men. Precedent rules. Senators climb
to power according to their rank in
committee The President would un
doubtedly be pleased to have Henry
Cabot Lodge the successor of the late
Cushman K. Davis as chairman of the
committee on foreign relations, but
Senator Cullom precedes him on the
committee and that settles It. Prece
dent wins. Amos J. Cummings.
(Copyright, 1901, by Amos J. Cum
mings.)
qt EEIt WILLS OF THE RICH.
Some Wealthy Men llaif Made Mnnv
Kxtrawrilinary Bequests.
From the Chicago Chronicle.
It does not necessarily follow that
because a man has been shrewd enough
to amass a great fortune he Is wise
enough to dispose of it. it) a sensible
manner. The records of the probate
courts show that bequests fraught with
onerous, even impossible, conditions
are not uncommon. It Is as though the
testator, resenting the scramble for his
property which he foresees will follow
his death, desires to make the lot of
his heirs as hard as possible.
Within the last few months there
have been several of these eccentric
wills. A brothe.r left his sister $25,000
under the express condition that she
should neither marry nor become a
nun. In default of carrying out the
stipulations the money is to be dis
tributed among the other relatives.
Very different toward marriage was
the attitude of a wealthy Italian who
died recently. To each of his tree
daughters he left $590 a year If they re
mained single and five times as much.
$2,500 yearly. If they married.
A member of the English parliament
Just deceased bequeathed to his two
daughters his entire estate $720,000,
with the provision that they can only
Inherit If they attain the age of 36
without wedding either a Hebrew or a
citizen of the United States.
•A curious evidence of the foresight
of Benjamin Franklin Is furnished by
one of the Items In his will. A small
sum of money, was left with the provi
so that it should not be used until the
twentieth century, and that meanwhile
the accumulating Interest should be
added to the principal.
The gift has now become available,
with the result that the trustees of
the Franklin fund have to their dis
posal $375,000, which will be used to
erect a Franklin lnstitue in Franklin
square, Boston.
More singular even than any of thee
odd bequests was the obligation that
Lord Bute Imposed on his heirs. As he
lay dying he expressed the wih that
his heart should be taken to the holy
land and burled there, adding that un
less this waa done his relatives would
never rest happy In possession of his
estate. Bo strong was this appeal that
Lbs order waa carried out to the letter.
SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. DECEMBER 8. 190D
NEW YORK TOPICS.
DRIFTS AND UNDERCURRENTS OF
THE METROPOLIS.
The Horn* of Colonel Partridge’s
Dilemma Understood by No One
Better Thau liy Tammany—Lesson
to Police OUlcers in the Case of
Captain Diamond—Fake Invest
ment Companies Thriee Contin
ually In NX oil Street—Yerkes, the
Millionaire of Simple Tastes, Back
In New Y'ork—Gamboling! of the
Balls and Bears.
New York. Dec. 6.—When a month
hence, the new administration comes
in, the man with the hardest job on
his hand is going to be Col. Partridge,
the new Police Commissioner. Two
very formidable mill-stones are wait
ing for Col. Partridge, and if he comes
out from between them, unpulverized,
it will be by virtue of an unexampled
ability in getting out of tight places.
One of these mill-stones is the law;
the law which declares that all gamb
ling joints and disorderly houses must
be closed. The other is public senti
ment; the public sentiment which
elected Low as a protest against
the public corruption fostered by Tam
many Hall, but which demands, never
theless, that the city shall not be “tight
shut.” If Col. Partridge fails to en
force the law, he is liable not only to
dismissal but to indictment- If he en
forces it rigidly there will be a howl
of protest to affright a wooden Indian
from his pedestal. His own party is
for a liberal interpretation of the law;
District Attorney-elect Jerome has
said so openly, Mayor elect Low- has
said so by implication. Probably four
fifths of the voting population takes
this view. A ttghi-ciosen city woutd
mean overwhelming victory for Tam
many Hall next election. Herein lies
Col. Partridge's dilemma, and Tam
many Hall’s opportunity.
Observe, now, how beautifully the
thing works out for Tammany. The
new Police Commissioner calls his
captains together (Tammany captains,
most of them) and bids them enforce
the law. Either they try to obey this
order literally, and temporarily close
up every illegal place in which case
an avalanche of unpopularity will
overwhelm the present administration:
or they don’t do it and all efforts to
make them do it fail, in which case
Tammany says "Behold how impossible
it is to wipe out these places You
blame us for not doing what your own
administration has failed to do.” The
reformers have made the mistake of
declaring that only the higher officials
of the Police Department are corrupt:
that the rank and file would be straight
if they had a chance Tammany knows
better. It knows that the whole force
is saturated with corruption and that,
so long as the man on post stands with
his hand behind his back and his palm
upward, so long the worst kind of dives
will flourish in every precinct.
Charles T. Yerkes, the multi-mil
lionaire street railroad man. who has
recently returned from London, where
he is putting in the new underground
railroad system, is far more of a pub
lic figure in the metropolis of the Old
World than in the metropolis of the
New. There, as head of a mighty
public enterprise, he must figure largely
in the public eye; deliver addresses,
respond to toasts at banquets, and sit
upon the conspicuous platform. Here
at his own home he may live as he
pleases, and he pleases to live quietly,
amusing his leisure hours, which are
few, in his suoerb picture gallery,
containing the finest collection of mod
ern painting in this country, or be
hind his fast horses. Few people know
that Mr. Yerkes is a. Quaker, but such
Is the fact. He was brought up in
the strictest environments of the
quaint gray sect, and its influences
abide with him still. He occasionally
walks soberly down, of a Sunday, to
the church where the Friends meet.
In one of the old and once arist* itic
parts of the city. Always, in cate
with his own family, he uses the af
fectionate “thee” and "thy” of his
boyhood. And, though it may seem a
strange thing to say of a man who
lias fought his way to the mastery of
the great Chicago street railway sys
tem and the ownership of nearly a
hundred million dollars, his tastes to
day are for the most part quiet and
simple. Mr. Yerkes is nearly sixty
five years old. but no stranger who
met the sturdy, square-shouldered man
with the atmosphere of vigor, health,
and the enjoyment of life, and the
keen, clear eyes In the unwrinkled
{ae, would set him down for more
than fifty. In the generation of soured
and nerve-broken millionaires who
have bartered health, temper and the
savor of life for their fortunes, the
street magnate stands apart and al
most alone—l have heard him express
the hope that when he began to break
he would go quickly. But there Is no
sign of that beginning yet. Perhaps
It Is the calm and self-restraint of his
Quaker boyhood that is bearing its
fruit now In a vigorous and active
age. after a. lifetime of battle.
To the grafting policeman the sen
tence In the case of Police Captain
Diamond Is a bright rift In the clouds.
Diamond, it will be remembered, was
indicted for neglect of duty in failing
to suppress a disorderly house main
tained by a woman named Schmidt in
his precinct. His wardman, Bissert, is
now under sentence for receiving brib“s
from the Schmidt woman. On the
ground that he could not get k fail
trial in New York, the accused cap
tain got a change of venue and his
case was tried before Judge D. Cady
Herrick and a jury of farmers at Al
bany. That the Jury should have found
him guilty was no great surprise; the
surprise came later when Judge Her
rick made a speech to the defendant,
In which he declared that the ofTence
was one of which any police captain
in New York could be found guilty,
an.d which he terminated by fining
Captain Diamond SI,OOO. In the course
of the speech, which was apparently
designed to forestall criticism of hi*
action, the learned Judge said that the
outcome would "prove a lesson to
police officers.” It will. And the les
son Is a plain one. It Is that they will
find It good business to “fall to sup
press” disorderly house, and. when
put on trial therefore, get a change of
venue to Albany. It is a. simple finan
cial proposition. "Falling to suppress”
a disorderly house Is worth to a police
captain anywhere from S6OO to $5,000 a
year—as an expression of the grati
tude of the proprietor. In the "fat”
precincts, where these dives average
one to a block, the “failure to sup
press" Income of the captain is such
that fcn occasional SI,OOO fine Is a mere
bagatelle. And Captain Diamond Is
still on the force.
In prosperous times the financial dis
trict teems with fake Investment com
panies. That anyone should be be
fooled by them seems almost Impos
sible, as their methods are as crude as
thoe of the knights of the walnut
shell, and the pea at the country fslr;
nevertheless they reap a fat harvest.
The career of the latest of these con
cerns to come into the grip of the law
la typical of all the rest In Ita mrin
features. Two young men named Dil
lon and Barrett seem to have been the
nucleus out of which no less than thir
teen firms grew, each appearing as
soon aa tta predecessor found It ex
A DREAM OFjtgMMM
HAPPINESS gßfegMl
That May Yet be Realized by
Blood Poison Sufferers. il fiPi
It is the‘hope of every man to some day establish a home of ‘
his own where he can enjoy the sweet companionship of a loving wife
and bright, happy children; and many times in the quiet and seclusion | ’X
of his bachelor quarters his imagination paints beautiful pictures of ifeLap.it?. 7 >*i}’
domestic happiness, and he sees in fancy a peaceful and contented little
family circle, into which the cares and worries of the outside world are mm|||||| Vi
Poverty keeps many from marriage, but their number is small —ggg* 3 —il* wHf ".wit \**v
compared to that mighty host of unfortunates who are victims of that
heinous disease, Contagious Blood Poison, and shut out from the enjoyment of matrimonal happiness. Riches in plenty.
social position, and the highest honors may have been won, hut all these would the unhappy lover exchange for health ana
the assurance that no symptoms of this loathsome malady would ever come back; that no taint of this black sin remained
in his blood to be transmitted to posterity or blight the life of the one he has promised to love and protect.
Contagious Blood Poison has brought more misery into the world than all other diseases combined. There is no limit
to its powers for evil; happy homes are broken up, and confidence and affection turned to distrust and hatred b” this slimy,
hissing serpent. So highly contagious and treacherous is
‘•his disease and so surely transmitted to others that those Parents Responsibility Great
whose blood has been polluted by this awful virus may well „ r
pause and consider—is it safe for me to venture? Will my marriage bring happiness, or degradation, suffering and shame?
Often-times all evidences of blood poison disappear and marriage is contracted under tbe mistaken belief that all
danger of contaminating others is past, but your dream of happiness is rudely disturbed when you behold the return of the
disease, and the pure and innocent wife must share your shame, and the weakly little infant bear upon its body the marks
of this loathsome malady.
Whoever relies on Mercury and Potash as a cure for Contagious Blood Poison takes desperate chances, for these drugs
rover up and mask the symptoms but drive the poison deeper into the blood and system, where it feeds upon some vital organ
•nd periodically breaks out upon the skin. The effect or Mercury and Potash upon the system is simply terrible. They
-at out the lining of the Stomach and destroy the gastric juices, producing a bad form of dyspepsia. They also penetrate
the bones and muscles, when Rheumatism and offensive sores are the result. Salivation often follows their use, and the teeth
and gums become so sore that solid food cannot be taken,-and the body wastes away for want of nourishment. We have a
standing offer of SI,OOO for proof that S. S. S. contains one single mineral ingredient. It is a combination of vegetable alter
atives and tonics that make it beyond all question the purest and safest of all blood purifiers. For many years S. S. S. has
been recognized as a Specific for Contagious Blood Poison, and a perfect antidote for the virus
that makes this disease so terrible and far reaching in its effects upon the human system.
S \ So thoroughly and completely does S. S. S. cure this disease that no recurring
symptoms are ever seen, and the blood is made as pure and strong as before the taint of
Ik 1 1 y J this fearful curse entered. It will cure you and remove all danger of transmitting to future
those you have unwillingly infected, and your home he made as bright and cheerful as
heart could wish, and your dream of happiness becomes a living reality.
We will gladly help through our Medical Department those who write us about their case. Our physicians have had
large experience in treating Contagious Blood Poison, and you can have the benefit of their skill without charge. Self treat
ment book, containing valuable information about this disease, will be sent free.
The Swift Specific Cos mo any, Atlanta. Gn.
pedient to drop out of public view.
The partners would hire an office, send
out specious and alluring circulars,
alleging that they had inside inform
ation on the stock market and could
guarantee big profits to their clients,
and wait for "suckers.” They never had
to wait long. From Bangor, Me., to San
Jose, Cal., the easy money come pour
ing In. The firm simply absorbed it.
When Inquiries from disappointed “in
vestors” become too pressing. the
precious pair changed their, firm name
and address and sent out a brand new
batch of sucker-catcher circulars from
the new quarters. It is estimated that
they took in about $1,500 a month in
this way. Up to this point there is
nothing original about their procedure;
it has been done for years. But one
of them seems to have had a spice of
humorous ingenuity in his make up.
for he conceived the beautiful idea of
becoming a private "detective agency,
and sending circulars to all the dupes
offering to trace up any losses they
may have suffered through bogus fin
ancial concerns, for a small per rent
age of what might be recovered. Many
of the victims responded. The "detect
ive agency” directed them to forward
all proofs. This was done. All that
remained for the swindlers was to burn
the proofs and their record was clear,
so far as those particular cases went.
Other dupes, however, sent their com
plaints to the police, and, after a glor
ious career of nearly two years, the
game is stopped. But though under
arrest, the men are not yet convicted,
and past records show that it is ex
tremely difficult to get satisfactory ev
idence in such cases. The organizer
of the biggest out-and-out swindling
concern that Wall street has ever
known is still at liberty though it is
more than two years since the author
ities rounded up the whole firm. An
occasional arrest does not stop the
other bilkers. The returns are too
great and the risk too small. There
are undoubtedly to-day fifty firms in
and about Wall street which do an al
leged investment business on a basis
of pure fake.
The trouble In Wall street Just now
Is that there are bears and bulls but
no lambs. The bears put stocks down,
but failed to make the lambs sell. The
hulls put them up, but there is no rush
of outsiders to buy. The result is that
the situation to-day remains just about
what it was three weeks ago, when
the bulls were advancing stocks only
to send them off at every attempt to
take profits, and the bears were un
able to cover their sale* without ad
vancing the price on themselves. The
event of the last two weeks has been
the decline in copper. Up to the be
ginning of that movement it IcSbked as
If the market might be generally ad
vanced by tbe method adopted, that
of putting the price of stocks by
groups. It had not succeeded and
the crash In copper ended all hope for
a while. And with good cause, since
a thoroughly bad state of affairs In the
copper industry is the Justification If
not the cause of the decline. The Im
mediate cause Is said to he an attack
by ati enemy of the Amalgamated
Copper Cos., who "went gunning for a
certain long Interest.” Duane.
—There Is a man in Boston who when
awake 1* the soul of honor and prob
ity, and who has a consideration for
the rights of others ths: Is a 1 mist ab
normal. And yet In his dreams his
whole nature is apparently changed,
and his chief diversion is the wanton
destruction of property. Nothing af
fords him so much satisfaction as to
enter an apothecary ho > end without
the slightest provocation and from pure
maliciousness destroy with his cane
the showcases, glass jars and bottles.
—California was credited with 4,000,-
000 barrels of petroleum last year, and
several authorities estimate the pro
duct of 1901 at 7,000,000 or 7,600,000 bar
rels. But W. J. Young tells the En
gineer's and Mining Journal that. In
his opinion, even the latter figures 'are
much too low. If thla development
continues long, not merely Texas, but
Pennsylvania and West Virginia also,
will be In danger of an eclipse.
JEROME GOTHAM’S ARBITER.
HIS rOLICY WILL BE A DETERMI
NANT FACTOR IN THE ME
TROPOLIS.
As Has No Political Ambitions
He Will Conduct the District At
torney's Office Without Fear or
Favor—He Favors a More Liberal
Excise Law, and as for Gambling,
••I Do No* Consider It a Pnrnmoniit
Crime.” lie Says—As a Judge He
Has Shown Himself a Man ot
Rrond Sympathies, Striving to Get
at the Right Underlying Eneh
Case. Rather Than the Striet In
terpretation of the Law—He Is
Determined, Coarageons, Outspok
en and Independent in All Mat
ters—Campaign Has Aged Him.
hat He Has Plenty of Vigor Left
to Live a Llsely Administration.
New York. Nov. 6.—More than
any other one man William Travers
Jerome will determine what manner of
place the metropolis of the country*
will be after the first of Januray. His
policy as District Attorney of the
County of New York wil affect more
millions of persons, both citizens of
New York and visitors to the city, than
could the policy of any other man in
this country except a few who hold
high places in the national government.
It is his to say whether the city is
to be "wide open" or “tight as a drum.”
It is his part to check and control the
social evil—that vice which can never
be exterminated, only regulated. On
Che district attorney-elect's plans de
pends, to a great extent, the license
to be permitted to saloons, poolrooms
and gambling houses. Ho-w great or
bow little the amount of blackmail
levied by the dishonest police officials
Is to be. his official activity will de
cide. The amusements usually classed
as “innocent" may be suppressed by
him If he concludes that they do not
merit that term. He may close a thea
ter or shut up a dance hall or put a
stop to the business of a restaurant.
It is not likely that he will do all that
he might do; it is certain that he wilt
do much. Just what that much will
be is the most interesting question
of the day to many thousands of peo
ple.
If the district attorneyship Is so
potent an office, why nave not former
Incumbents cut a greater figure in
the public eye? The answer is not far
to seek. With the exception of the
present holder of the office, who only
fills another's term, every district at
torney for many years has been hamp
ered by political ambitions. Judge
Jerome says he hasn't any political am
bitions—-a common asseveration among
successful candidates—but he is unique
in this, that he acts as if he meants It.
Although a Democrat, he is an anti-
Tammany man. Although elected on
a Republican-Fusion ticket, he bitter
ly assailed the leader of the Republi
cans, Senator Platt, a few days before
election. Now that he 1s elected, he
proposes to do whs* seems best to him,
unhampered by political considerations,
unconsidcring of punishment or re
ward. That is why he is in public an
ticipation the most important figure
in the municipal life of the city of New
York.
Judge William Travers Jerome has
as many sides to him as most men. but
e>sch side so to speak, is always fac
ing you. Whether he likes you or not,
whether he Intends to befriend or to
annihilate you, the Judge looks you
straight in the eye. I doubt if there is
another man In this great city to-day
who is in greater personal peril than
the district attorney-elect both be.
oause of his Intimate and detailed
knowledge of the criminal conditions
In the city (much of there unknown
e- -* ••"-u-’pected even by its life-long
residents) and because the office ta
which he accedes is, under an honest
and efficient official, a sword imminent
above the heads of wrong-doers, offi
cial and unofficial. Judge Jerome stands
absolutely alone in one respect; 'there
are no rewards to bestow for political
Services in his new office, because there
is no tiger behind him threatening his
integrity for private gain. The loyal
admirers, the decent fellows who
wanted him elected because they were
swayed by the energy, the vitality of
the man, stand around and admire him
In the intervals of his duties on the
bench of the Court of Special Sessions
they wait, holding on tightly to their
own integrity of purpose as they look
nto his face, lest they might yield to
the old political system of asking a
favor —and || hereby be forever cast
out of Jerome’s good books,
Jerome has a radiant smile, an un
mistakably sympathetic personality,
but it is not the sympathy of the sen
timentalist. It is the wisdom of his
mind thait clarifies thing about him,
and it is more far-reaching than mere
sentimental sympathy. I spent the first
day after his election in the Specia.
Sessions court room with him, sur
rounded by Ignorance, misery, vicious
ness, suffering and all the mistfortunes
of a criminal atmosphere. His honor,
being the presiding judge, sat between
his two assicoates, in tne gorgeous silk
judge's gown, which he wore more
unconcernedly and with less pomp and
owlishness than either of his associates.
He conducted the examinations very
often personally, and when he spoke
it was so clearly, with so much steam
behind the words, that every accent
was distinctly heard throughout the
room. The cases were not important
in a news sense, but it was noticeable
that whereas his associates were in
terested in the law of the matter chief
ly, the cold, stern letter of the law,
Judge Jerome was keenly alert to the
human side of prisoners and witnesses.
For instance, a 'longshoreman with
a big face, a small, close-cropped
bullet head in the witness chair felt
no restraint in giving his testimony, but
talked colloquially, Intimately with
the judge after the latter had said to
him in his peculiarly democratic
fashion;
“Now, then, Foley, tell us all about
this fight, and what you saw of it.”
and settled back in his chair, com
fortably attentive.
“A Judge who has no heart has no
buslnes to be on the criminal benach."
he said to rnejone day in his chambers
as he signed la bail bond that was
none to solid, releasing a poor woman
he had previously committed for steal
five cents.
But It is not on that side of his
nature that I wish to dwell, for as
public prosecutor of the city of New
York his duties will be to press for
punishment, to cleanse the city of its
criminal elements. The word “vice” as
a word is too squeamishly evaded by
the respectable element of a great city,
and it is rarely that ita conditions are
explained to any community. 1 think
it is Jerome's battle with the insinuat
ing villlany that most men deplore, but
are afraid to touch, that has given
hire an almost national reputation as
a reformer.
“I do not believe that the form of
government in municipal control is so
Important,” said the judge, "as the
personality of the men who conduct
the affairs.”
"Vice In men is subject to moral
suasion, you think!" I suggested. "Vice
Is the opposite of virtue, and In bad
men usually slinks ;ray when he is
pointed out. There is always a flicker
ing spark or awe of the ten command
ments, In man’s nature, no matter how
black that nature be. You know it is
quite possible to exaggerate wicked
ness, to be puritanical, narrow In one’s
estimate of human nature. No man
is all devil; In fact, the law provides.
In its decisions for a reasonable doubt,
al ways in favor of the accused, some
what, on this account.”,
"But the law has no sentiment,” I
ventured,
“The law allows you most positive
ly to look at the sentiment In any
motive for crime. A Judge must al
ways take these things Into consider
ation.”
“And a district attorney ”
Jerome smiled pleasantly as he threw
his head back, to stake off, perhaps,
the judicial atmosphere, and then
said dryly:
“That's a fearful job. the district at
torney’s office.” Then, as he flicked the
ashes of his cigar away, his strong
faws snapped tightly for a moment be
fore he continued.
“I am fond of work, lots of it. espec
ially in a direction that is honest and
beneficial, and I look forward to the
duties of my office with a certain
pleasure, although I do not wish to
give the impression that I am going
to reform the whole town. I have cer
tain ideas about the requirements, the
ntcessities of the man and woman who
is a wage earner in a vast struggling
community. One of these notions con
cerns the Sunday liquor law. The speed
and pressure of business life in New-
York in every capacity is a nerve rack
ing,one, and I sympathize with a man
who is compelled to sneak into a side
door to get a drink of whiskey be
cause he needs it and because he can
not get it any other way.’’
“You wiil endeavor to amend the
excise law!” I suggested.
“In so far as it wil permit the sale
of liquor during certain restricted
• hours, openly, on Sunday.’’
"This will include the Raines law
hotels?”
"Something. I feel, should be done,
to amend the regulations governing
these places They are snares of vice in
New York, more dangerous than any
other.”
"Are you going to investigate the
police system of the city?”
T have said frequently before that
I believe the rank and file of men in
the police department at present to be
honest, hard working men with good
intentions, who. on the whole, are anx
ious to do what is required of them by
citizens, and therefore. 1 see no reason
why. the decapitation of John
Does and other official incumbrances,
v hich the people of this election have
shown they desire, that the police de
partment of New York city should nor.
become an example of other large
cities, or at least as good as the best
of them."
"The district attorney’s office, under
your direction, will alter the conditions
that have -so long influenced gamb
ling?”
ling!" I suggested.
”1 do not consider gambling a para
mount crime. I believe that very few
public gambling houses are now on the
square, although there may be one or
two instances. The principle evil in
these organizations, however, is the
tempation they offer to squander
money. 1 believe in protecting a com
munity from such temptations: that
Is the most active form of Improved
principles. I want the decent, self
respecting residents of the city to get.
a chance to live up to ihe standards
they have established in their individ
ual lives, an opportunity they have
not had under Tammany government.
These people have rights, but they
have not been able to get them, not
because municipal officials were Demo
crats or Republicans, but because they
w-ere thieves!”
It is the man and not the politic*
that counts in municipal control. Judg
Jerome thinks, and the recent election
in New York endorses him.
The fight that he so brilliantly won
has had Its effect on him. He is per
ceptibly older; there are lines tn hi'
face that were not there before and
his hair shows a touch of the ash
that marks the burning of the candle.
But there is plenty of vigor and energy
left to make District Attorney Je
rome's administration one long to be
remembered.
Pendennl*.
—The King of Italy's cousin, Prlncfi
Louis, Duke of Abruzzt, who hsa
achieved fame as an Arctic explorer
and who holds the record of "furthest.
ne-t v ' ” heide having been the first
to make the ascent of Mount St. Ellas,
will be much in the United States dur
the fi*u end coming winter. He has
just been appointed second In com
mand of the Italian cruiser Giovanni
Bauaan, which Is shortly expected In
American waters.