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On to Panama.
The congressmen who recently vis
ited the Panama canal return convinc
ed that there must be a steamer line
from a gulf port to Colon to handle
the Mississippi valley trade to the
Isthmus.
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They Are Guilty.
The army court martial that acquit
ted Major Penrose of neglect of duty
in the Brownsville riot case, expressed
its judgment that the negro troopers
actually are guilty of the shooting up
of the town.
Another Negro Lynched.
Cleveland Harding was shot to
death by the husband and friends of
Mrs. Ben F. Rice, whom he confessed
to have criminally assaulted. They
tell us that “lynching is never justifi
able,” but we scarcely think any one
will be able to disturb the verdict in
Harding’s case.
Teddy Leads in Michigan.
A poll of the Michigan legislature
shows that its members are two to
one in favor of the renomination of
President Roosevelt. He ought to
have Loeb at once forward to each of
the seventy-five solons who voted for
him one of those neat “Nay, nay, Paul
iile” letters.
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He Scorned a Pardon.
Ex-Convict Burton, former United
States senator from Kansas, says he
scorned a pardon that President
Roosevelt offered him. If he did, the
fact of the pardon in Burton’s case
being considered at all is more dis
creditable to Roosevelt than its re
fusal is creditable to Burton.
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Zelaya Bests Bonilla.
In the little barefooted war that
President Zelaya, of Nicaragua, and
President Bonilla, of Honduras, shap
ed up between their respective repub
lics, the former has won out. Bonilla
is in flight and the war is over, it is
reported. But if it isn’t, our Teddy
promises to knock it in the head with
his big stick.
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The Chain Letter Cranks.
The postal authorities are seeking
away to stop the idiotic people who
are sending the fake Bishop Lawrence
prayer chain letters through the mails.
It is a puzzling job to head off such im
beciles. Better let them spend their
postage stamps and wipe out the pos
tal deficit. Uncle Sam needs the money
and the cranks do not.
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Three-Fourths Verdicts.
The new constitution of Oklahoma
provides for verdicts by three-fourths
of the jury in all civil cases and crim
inal cases below the grade of felony.
It will be three times harder to hang
a jury in that state than in any other
in the Union. The experiment will
be watched with great interest by law
and jury reformers.
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Liability Act Upheld.
Judge Emory Speer, of the United
States district court for Southern
Georgia, upholds the constitutionality
of the employer’s liability act passed
by the last congress. The question
will have to be finally passed upon by
the supreme court of the United
States, to which several appeals have
already been taken.
Josiah Quincy’s Assets.
The creditors of Josiah Quincy, ex
mayor of Boston and ex-assistant sec
retary of state under Cleveland, have
been holding a meeting to see if they
can get anything tangible from his as
sets. They very wisely did not in
clude his Democracy among his as
sessable effects.
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Wall Street Shaking.
On Monday Wall street speculators
got into a fresh stampede and the
prices of stocks went down the tobog
gan like greased pigs. But London,
Paris and Berlin bought at every new
decline and “our fool friends” in the
street are feeding the money hogs of
Europe in a most fattening way. But
we suppose high finance understands
itself, we don’t.
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A New Racket Minister.
The new postmaster general, George
von L. Meyer, is a nonpareil player in
the tennis court, and consequently has
been included with his racket in Presi
dent’s Roosevelt’s lawn tennis cabi
net. Nobody who fears to split his
white woolen pajamas in that scheme
of horse play is persona grata now in
the backyard of the palace of his
strenuosity.
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Walsh Shows Great Gall.
John R. Walsh, gambler, newspaper
owner, bank and railroad wrecker,
awaiting trial for his crimes in Chi
cago on an indictment with sixty-five
counts, has the gall to sue the “Chica
go News” for libel. He asks for sl,-
550,000. Which would indicate that
the more rotten John R.’s reputation
is the more he esteems it.
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Burton’s Bum Bravado.
Ex-Senator Burton, released convict,
has returned to Kansas, fired a public
tirade at those who caught and con
victed him of the criminal use of his
senatorial prerogatives, and threatens
to start a newspaper. That puts it up
to the editorial fraternity and the
clean people of Kansas to show Bur
ton that the post of propriety for him
is away back in a rear seat with a
muzzle on.
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He Skipped the Coop.
The friends of James W. Alexander,
ex-president of the Equitable, quietly
sneaked him out of this country last
October, and be is now having a good
time over in Bombay, India. When
asked when Mr. Alexander will return
to this country his closest friend said:
“I could not venture a prediction.”
The policy holders can probably do
better by taking the word from the
mouth of Poe’s raven.
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Hoke Smith in Demand.
Governor-elect Hoke Smith, of Geor
gia, made a notable speech in Cincin
nati that opened the eyes of the mul
titudes upon the people’s rights over
railroad management and operations.
He has now been invited to New York
to speak at one of the Jeffersbn day
dinners. It is being recognized that
he will figure large in the national
eye before very long.
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Delmas, the Defender.
Delmas, the counsel for Thaw, is to
be recalled to San Francisco, it is
reported, to defend Abe Rues, the mu
nicipal grafter. Perhaps Abe wants
to plead paranoia and thinks Delmas
can pull off an acquittal for him. The
chance for Delmas is immense. If he
can find that plea workable with ju
ries he will be in demand in every den
of theives in America.
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A Setback to Socialists.
The plan of the Socialists to com
mit Wisconsin to government owner
ship of railroads was killed in the leg
islature last week. The Socialists
have yet to learn that the people have
not despaired of themselves. When
ever things reach the point where the,
will of the people cannot be enthron
ed, then Socialism cannot be en
throned. As long as we can hope in
Democracy we will have no need for
Socialism.
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Every City Its Own Banker.
Mayor Weaver, of Philadelphia, ad
vocates the establishment of a mu
nicipal bank to handle the $13,000,000
to $20,000,000 of city deposits annually
carried by the banks at only 2 per
cent interest. By his plan the city
would receive at 6 per cent on its own
loans, some $900,000 a year interest
instead of the $300,000 now obtained.
But obedient servants of the banks in
the council shelved the mayor’s recom
mendation.
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Inland Waterways.
The president’s new scheme for im
proving our inland water ways has
the merit of justice and a continuous
increment of competition between rail
and water routes. A fixed policy of
developing all over the country
available navigable waters for the
people’s defense against railway mo
nopolies will certainly be welcomed,
especially in the south, where our
share of river and harbor work in the
past has been consistently scarce.
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Governors at the Home Plate.
President Roosevelt has been call
ing governors of states to come to
Washington and talk over railway
rate legislation with him. As none of
the governors will tell what passed
between them and the president, he
must have talked real fierce to them.
Isn’t it about time for some governor
with a backbone not made out of lainp
wick to rise up and to publicly say
what he wants, so every citizen can
hear him?
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Cleveland Butts in Some.
Grover Cleveland, in an interview,
bluntly tells the people they are in a
delirium of revenge upon the rail
roads. He expects “the craze of de
nunciation will soon pass.” This obese
old friend of Morgan, Belmont & Co.,
is always long on defenses of their ine
quities, all of which he winked at and
many of which he ailed and abetted
as president of the United States. G.
C. is one of those figures of malodor
ous history who looks handsomest
and least aggravating with his mouth
shut.
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The Tragedy at Tom Taggart’s.
The legislature of Indiana has pass
ed a bill authorizing the sheriff of
the county to destroy all the opulent
gambling furniture seized last year
in the raids on the French Lick joints
run by Tom Taggart, chairman of the
national Democratic committee. It
will be a long time before the Demo
cratic party fully recovers from the
odium of putting “the boss gambler of
America” at the head of its affairs for
four years. Suppose Parker had been
elected under the leadership of such
a man!
To Enjoin the State.
The railways operating in Alabama
will apply for injunctions against the
recent railway rates enacted by the
legislature in that state. Gov. Comer
is not worried by the action of the
roads. He will fight them to the last
ditch, and the great issue of the power
of a sovereign state to control its in
ternal commerce will be either upheld
or forever knocked into a cocked hat.
It is well that the naked issue should
be thus tried out. We want to know
once for all whether we are yet free
men or the fiefs of railroad Franken
steins we have created?
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Why the Difference?
On Sunday the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe railroad operators pro
duced a head-on collision at Los Ange
les. They killed four innocent people
and mangled seventeen others. A few
years ago a contractor who built rick
ety tenements that fell down and kill
ed some people was convicted and sen
tenced to a term in Sing Sing prison.
Why should not railway managers be
given the same penalty, or worse, for
criminal carelessness in operating
their dangerous mechanisms?
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Another Railway Judge.
President Roosevelt has appointed
F. S. Dietrich, of Pocatello, to be
United States district judge of Idaho.
Dietrich has been for years chief coun
sel of Harriman’s Oregon Short Line
railroad in Idaho. The appointment,
coming right after Harriman’s visit
to the White House, looks bad. It
smacks of the Harrison and Attorney
General Miller and the Cleveland and
Attorney General Olney appointments
of Rock Island, Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe and Missouri Pacific railway
attorneys to be federal judges in Mis
souri, Kansas and Oklahoma Terri
tory. When the railways fix the
courts, who is fool enough to expect
them to obey the laws?
Christian Science Recognized.
Recently in Brooklyn a government
official was absent from duty on ac
count of illness. He tendered the
certificate of a Christian Science heal
er in order to save the docking of his
salary. The supervisor refused to
recognize the certificate as that of a
regular practicing physician, as the
law requires it should be. The em
ploye appealed to the department at
Washington and the decision was in
favor of his certificate, and he got his
pay. Thus by recognizing that sick
ness is a real fact Christian Science
obtains recognition by the national au
thorities. Sounds queer but we reckon
it is all right.
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Education in the South.
The next conference for education
in the south will be held at the Caro
lina hotel, Pinehurst, N. C., April 9,
10 and 11. There will be a large at
tendance of northern and southern
educators at this tenth annual confer
ence. The executive committee is
composed of southern men only, In
cluding S. C. Mitchell, of Virginia; W.
H. Hand, of South Carolina; P. P
Claxton, of Tennessee; George J.
Ramsay, of Kentucky; Harry Hodg
son, of Georgia; Sydney J. Bowie, of
Alabama; Paul H. Saunders, of Mis
sissippi; James H. Dillard, of Louisi
ana, and John H. Hineman, of Arkan
sas. The program will be most inter
esting, but the practical benefits of
these conferences are yet to be dem
onstrated.