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Nelvs and Vie Ins From All Around A HOPELESS PUZZLE. (Long Branch Record.) The New York World has revived discussion of the state question, “What is a Democrat?” The World frankly admits that it is puzzled. It is entangled in a mesh of questions. “What is a Democrat in this par ticular year of the Lord?” it asks. “If Mr. Bryan is a Democrat, what is Mr. Cleveland? If Mr. Cleveland is a Democrat, what is Mr. Hearst? If Mr. Hearst is a Democrat, what is Judge Parker? If Judge Parker is a Democrat, what are Murphy, Con ners and McCarren? If they are Dem ocrats, what is Woodrow Wilson? If he is a Democrat, what is Tom Tag gart? If Taggart is a Democrat, what are Daniels and Rayner and Culberson and Morgan and John Sharp Williams? And if they are Democrats, what are Ryan and Belmont?” There is not one person in a thou sand who can go over this list with out getting dizzy. The word Democrat is used to cover such a multitude of sins that anyone willing to take the risk can thus des ignate himself. AN OLD-FASHIONED COURT. (Cordele Rambler.) The supreme court of Florida thinks that a railroad, before it pays out any dividends to its stockholders must first give the public a safe and com fortable mode of traveling. We hope that this decision will be made the basis of all railroad decisions of the courts, even of different states, but so many of our judges have been cor poration lawyers and feel that the railroads owe their first duty to its stockholders, even to declaring divi dends on watered stock, that it will be hard to get this decision generally ac cepted by our courts. THAT COMMODITY BANK. (Florida Times-Union.) When the farmers asked that the treasury come to their relief, the Re publican orators and journals scouted the idea as destructive of all law and every principle of political economy. But since then an agricultural bank has been providd to lend funds to Fili pino farmers, and the treasury has made a practice of “going to the relief of Wall street” so that whenever a speculator is “pinched” he promptly indites a prayer that is heard in Wash ington. The farmers could not have the use of the money they paid in, al though they offered good security, but the aliens and the speculators can have it “on tap” as well as on time. HAS A RAILROAD MIND. (Cordele Rambler.) They say that Mr. Crawford Wheat ley made a speech over in Americus the other day and said that those people who were agitating the subject of railroad legislation were dema gogues if they were against the roads. We suppose he feels that that crowd who believe that the railroads should get all they ask for are the real pat riots. Mr. Wheatley understands these things, he having been a state senator. UP-TO-DATE. The New York Herald thinks that when the devil was sick the devil a monk would be, but when he got well he resumed his job as president of the Styx and Sheol Railroad Company. USING UP THE COAL. (American Review of Reviews.) Edward W. Parker, the govern ment’s coal expert, has shown that if the coal areas of the United States were simply spread out in a layer six and one-half feet thick, which he con siders a fair average, we should ob tain 7,000 tons of coal per acre, after leaving enough coal underground to support the roof. Our 400,000 square miles of coal ter ritory at this rate would give us a supply of 1,500,000,000,000 tons in all. We used up 393,000,000 tons of coal in 1905 and 425,000,000 last year. In all we have used so far 6,000,000,000 tons —that is, we have worked out a little less than a million acres of coal up to the end of 1906. Os course, at the rate of production during the last year or two, our coal supply would last (as nearly as we can estimate) between 4,000 and 5,000 years. But we produced as much coal in the last ten years as in all of the previous years since the United States has been a nation. The entire coal product has doubled even ten years. If that rate of increase were to con tinue, the total supply would be ex hausted in the next century. Even at the present rate of production the an thracite areas of Pennsylvania will be exhausted in the next 75 or 100 years. IN THE RECENT SLUMP. Alfred H. Curtis, president of the New York State Banking Association, said: “I heard of one instance where a man lost more than $1,000,000 an hour between the hours of the opening and closing of the stock exchange. At the beginning of the day he had a credit of $7,000,000 with his brokers. When the market closed at 3 o’clock it had been reduced to $750,000. Still a rich man, you say, but in his own mind doubtless a veritable pauper. Things that he could do a couple of days ago are now impossible, unattain able. Luxuries that he regarded on Tuesday or Wednesday merely as the necessities of life are now only things to dream about. And this $6,250,000 loss is only one instance. There are hundreds of other men who have part ed with amounts ranging from SIOO,- 000 to $1,000,000. TAXING FRANCHISES. The attorney-general of New Hamp shire has given an opinion of the le gality of a tax on corporate franchises, and finds such a tax constitutional, “subject to such limitations in regard to double taxation as are imposed by the constitution.” The Boston Herald says of this opinion: “If this is fol lowed by a carefully drawn franchise tax law, the state of New Hampshire will have laid its hand on a very fruit ful and very proper source of revenue —not as a penalty, but only as a fair contribution toward the needs of the state.” THE ENTERPRISING EMIGRATE. The Illustrated London News says that Canada’s excellent land and en terprising advertisements will doubt less tend still further to diminish Great Britain’s agricultural popula tion, and after a time leave nothing at home but the very young, very old, or very stupid and unenterprising sec tions of the rural dwellers. THE SPINDLES ARE COMING! The south might coax a few more spindles to settle there, too, and get busy, with advantage. WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. THE BATTLE SHIP GEORGIA. Mr. E. W. Hyde, of Bath, Me., who is a member of the noted shipbuilding firm that has turned out so many staunch vessels both for war and com merce, said to the Washington Herald: “While at Newport News recently I was gratified to get a look at the bat tle ship Georgia. This gallant craft was produced in our yards, and it is no exaggeration that names the Geor gia the queen of the American navy. She is the fastest and most attractive of them all, and I think if ever the oc casion is presented she will give a glo rious account of her ability as a fight ing machine.” DOES IT OWN THEM? The Chattanooga Times says that Senator Cox has introduced a bill in the legislature to the effect that the Louisville & Nashville R. R. hasn’t any right to be publishing a daily news paper in Tennessee. The senator probably expects his bill will not pass but he might accomplish some good purpose if he can and does show up just what papers are owned and con trolled by this railroad, if any. CHILD LABOR IN ALABAMA. Marion Standard says that the man who invented and put in operation thq swindle that deprived the poor cotton mill children of Alabama of the sore ly needed protective legislation may be some day forgiven, but not until the manhood of the state has rubbed his political nose in the dirt, and forced him to recant his hypocrisy and money grasping idols. MADE THE PRESIDENT ROAR. Representative Gardiner, of Massa chusetts, son-in-law of Senator Lodge, and a friend were trudging along Pennsylvania avenue to the White House the other day when there were two sharp, short claps of thunder. “What was that?” inquired the friend. “Oh, nothing!” said Mr. Gardiner. “The president has just taken another railroad president out in the White House lot and shot him.” When Mr. Gardiner reached the White House he told the story to the president, who laughed uproariously and seemed to enjoy the joke. EXPRESS RATES FILED. The Southern Express Company has filed with the Alabama railroad com mission a partial schedule of its rates, as required by an order of the com mission at its last meeting. The new law gives the commission authority over the express companies as well as the railroads. The ruling with reference to express companies is new. It is said the South ern Express Company has 131,000 rates in Alabama. Heretofore none of these rates were distributed to the public. SCHLEY NOT A CANDIDATE. At Wilkesbarre, Pa., a few days ago Admiral Schley said that under no cir cumstances could he be induced to ac cept the Democratic nomination for vice-president. The admiral was the guest at a Masonic banquet. LICENSE IS NO ASSET. It has been finally decided by the United States supreme court that a liquor license is not an asset and that it can neither be assigned, attached, sold nor transferred in bankruptcy pro ceedings. HENRY CLEVELAND DEAD. From Louisville comes word that Rev. Henry Whitney Cleveland, died there recently, aged 71 years. He was a native of Georgia, was pri vate secretary to Hon. Alexander H. Stephens; chaplain of the Fifty-fourth Georgia during the war and served in President Davis’ secret service. Rev. Mr. Cleveland was a relative of former President Grover Cleveland. MORE TRUTH THAN PICKLES. (Brockton Tinies.) As soon as the 57 varieties of Demo crats discover a successful method ot merging they will elect another presi dent. This may seem indefinite, but it is as definite as the conditions jus tify. MOVING IN A VICIOUS CIRCLE. (Providence Tribune.) It would seem to be hardly worth while for Mr. Rockefeller to devote millions to educational purposes if he must so increase the price of oil that only the rich can afford to read and study. MONUMENT TO COLUMBUS. Congress passed a bill appropriat ing SIOO,OOO for a memorial to Christo pher Columbus, to be erected in Wash ington. CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK. (Philadelphia Ledger.) San Francisco has gained promi nence even among American cities by the utter depravity of its municipal ad ministration. THE FAILURELESS PANIC. (Kansas City Journal.) The financial panics are always bad, but the failureless panic is obviously preferable to the kind that wrecks and ruins. INTERESTING ITEMS. It is estimated that London’s laun dries use more than 750 tons of soap a week. Charles Law Watts, a sixteen-year old boy of Kent, England, weighs 373 pounds and is still eating. Each day there drop into the coffers of the New York elevated railway 27,- 500 nickels, to say nothing of the other coins and bills. Shipload after shipload of railway sleepers and cold storage products is arriving at Manila and other Philip pine ports from various Australian ports. Out of a fortune of $775,000, Mrs. Henry Todd of Oakwood, Hastings, En gland, left $5,000 for distribution by her executors to homes for cats and dogs. Benjamin F. Hamilton, of Saco, Me., claims to be the first storekeeper in New England to empoly women clerks. He recently passed his eighty-eighth birthday. It is announced that a Scotch com pany is about to manufacture by a new process seamless iron and steel tubes for boilers, which it is said will not cor rode. Os the tuberculosis patients treated in Pennsylvania’s “Camp Sanatorium,” which was established with the aid of the state, 75 per cent have either re covered or been greatly improved. A Reuter telegram from Athens an nounces that excavations at Thebes have brought to light the ruins of what is believed to have been the palace of King Cadmus, the legendary founder of Thebes. a week. 3