Gomez must be an American

Gomez must be an American after all. Nowhere else could his aldermanic demands for "boodle" become so magnificently developed as in this same "land of the free and home of the brave." -Courier. Yes, and a native of Ohio.

Spanish evacuation of Cuba is at last complete. On Tuesday the last captain general, Gen. Castellanos, and what few Spanish soldiers there were departed for Spain. It is a long time since the Spaniards first came to this hemisphere but they have now gone forever.

The German Kaiser and his Washington representative talk very pleasantly about the good will and good intentions of the German government relative to the Samoan troubles, but in the meantime the breach widens between the German officials there and the American and British consuls. The latter have demanded an apology from Dr. Raffel, the German president of the Municipality of Apia.

Why all this commotion, gentlemen of the republican press, over the duty in Canadian print paper and pulp? Doesn't the foreigner pay the tax? Think of the barrels of ink and car loads of paper you have used in instilling this beautiful doctrine into the dear people that through the protective tariff a method had been discovered by which the foreigner is made to bear our government burdens. But now comes the Adrian Times and avers that this duty on paper and pulp is a "tax on education and intelligence and relief is urgently demanded. This is rank heresy.

It is stated that Governor Pingree in his search for something to tax which does not now come forward and liquidate its full obligation to the good state of Michigan, has had his eagle eye attracted by certain mining stocks of the upper peninsula. He will probably find this a fertile field to cultivate provided he plows deep enough. Of course the mining companies pay a tax on their property now, but the same reasons would seem to apply as are applied to banks in the taxation of their stock. If there is any property in these mining concerns which does not bear its share of the expenses of the state government, and there is a general impression that there is a large amount of such property - then it should be added to the list at once. Any work of this kind which Gov. Pingree accomplishes will be duly appreciated and credited up by the majority.

Admiral Dewey is easily the hero of the Spanish war and he is as modest as he is brave. When he was forced from Hong Kong by the English neutrality proclamation he was in a position probably that no other naval commander ever duplicated. He was 7,000 miles from the nearest home port with a fleet of steam vessels not one of which carried a sufficient coal supply to cover the distance. Imagine what he had at stake therefore, when he headed his fleet for Manila Bay. What must his thoughts have been? His task was to destroy his enemy or be destroyed. He had to win a battle and capture a base of supplies, or failing in which all was lost. He was equal to the task. The circumstances under which he wrought and his accomplishment combined to make him the greatest naval hero of the world. Yet, he is so modest that he is afraid to come home and meet the commendation of his countrymen.

Eugene V. Debs in his lecture Tuesday night said that last week's business was the largest in any one week in the history of the country.

Imagine our new citizens of the Philippines, clothed in a scant assortment of fig leaves and armed with bows and arrows, confronting the American regulars and their artillery. Ye gods!

Reports from Washington say that a court of inquiry is to be appointed to examine into the case of Gen. Miles. The investigation will be directed briefly to the reported sayings of Gen. Miles relative to "embalmed beef."

Now it is said that the cause which led the Filipinos to attack the Americans at Manila was the seizure by Admiral Dewey of a schooner loaded with a supply of arms for the insurgents. The Filipinos claimed this was an unwarranted interference with their shipping. It transpires that the vessel was owned by an American instead of a German. But whatever the cause of the outbreak, there is but one course open now to the Americans, they must push the insurrection to a finish right quickly. If possible the Filipinos should be crushed before their forces disintegrate and take to the mountains. The difficulties of the task will be enormously multiplied if they are permitted to do this. The crushing of the insurrection at the present stage of the game, has no dependence upon the future policy of this government relative to the Philippines.

It is a curious trait of our common nature, this fanatical devotion to our own private opinions. In thoughtless moments we concede that human judgment is fallible at least; but let some brother dispute our favorite opinion and we forthwith put him into outer darkness. In the lesser matters of dress, diet, make of bicycle, literature or whist, some of us grow broad enough in later life to tolerate a considerable heresy. We still believe, of course that our own views are the only right ones; but we will cheerfully let our dissenting brother wallow in his ignorance and bad taste until he grows intelligent enough to see things as we do. But in morals or politics we will stand no nonsense. The man who disagrees with us takes an unwarranted personal liberty. He is an enemy to society and needs looking after closely. And when, as not infrequently occurs, a very large number of our brothers disagree flatly with us, there is just one way in which to maintain our dignity; it is to prophesy chaos; to declare that the foundations of society and government are crumbling. That is why the role of Cassandra is so popular. Yo can find them in corner saloons, in clubs, in crossroads grocery stores, and alas! in congress. --Puck.

The Kalamazoo Telegraph, edited by a son of the late Congressman Dingley, of Maine, has this to say on present conditions and needs:

"The next century will see a great change in the social condition of the people of this country. The whole system of the distribution of wealth will be changed. Legislation will be radically socialistic. The reformers of today will not be called cranks and demagogues. There will be an opportunity for every man to gain a comfortable living. Poverty will be minimized. Tax dodging will be unknown. The struggle for existence will no longer be fierce.

"There are many grave and serious problems, outside of protection and sound money, for the republican party to solve. They involve the very life of the individual struggling for existence. They involve the perpetuity of the home and therefore the very existence of the nation itself. It will not do for thoughtful men to let well enough alone and leave the masses to struggle on. Nero fiddled while Rome burned ; but the emperor died a victim of the wild incendiarism his wicked indifference had created.

"It is not necessary or desirable to be an alarmist. It is necessary, however, to view the situation as it is and face the problem. The solution is not in free trade or 16 to 1 ; it is along the lines of more equal and just taxation and an enlargement of the opportunities of the masses by means of state aid. These are the social tendencies of the times."

Nothing said by Eugene V. Debs in his recent lecture in Ann Arbor was more radical, socialistic or communistic than these utterances. Are well balanced, intelligent, thoughtful men thinking such thoughts? Are there real reasons in the signs of the times to warrant?

The millionaires' club, otherwise known as the United States senate, has been broken into this winter by several men who, according to all reports, are good men, of more than the average ability of senatorial timeber and yet not millionaires. These are Quarle, of Wisconsin, Beveridge, of Indiana, and Scott, of West Virginia. There are serious objections to having many men of enormous wealth in the senate. There is a large element of truth in the statement that men possess political power in proportion to their economic power. Millionaires in the senate as a direct result of their wealth have power and influence which their ability and knowledge of statesmanship in no wise entitle them to. But having power, it is but human to use it and there is no man but what will at times use it wrongfully. The old idea that the possessor of great wealth is a safer representative of the people's interests than the man of moderate means; because, having abundance, there will be no occasion to use questionable methods to get more, is fallacious. The amassing of wealth is an appetite and constantly becomes more insatiable. The of great wealth are, therefore, subject to the same temptations as other men and have in their hands vastly more power for evil because of their money. Again, such men are so far independent of those matters which necessarily engage so large a part of the time and attention and thought of the great mass of people that they have little sympathy with the aspirations and ambitions, wants and needs of the masses. Hence the spirit of the expression alleged to have emanated from one of them, "The people be ------. " If the millionaires in the senate were proportioned to their number in the nation, there would be little objection, but they are not proper representatives of the masses of the people.

In the controversy which Gen. Miles has stirred up, his lieutenant-general's commission has undoubtedly gone a glimmering, but if he has the cards up his sleeve which he says he has, he can still make it mighty interesting for the politicians and contractors who are determined to ruin him. It would seem to be safe to assume that General Miles has strong evidence in support of his charges, otherwise he is putting up the most colossal bluff in our military history. But it is difficult to understand what compensating advantage he can hope to receive for the losses he will sustain, in that case. The pack that is yelping at the heels of Gen. Miles does not strengthen the case against him. It is the meaner and more partisan papers which are being used against him That there are those in high places who would undoubtedly be pleased to have Miles thrown down is evidently true, but the president can order a court of inquiry any time he wishes. That he does not, has its significance.

General Miles rose from the ranks to his present position at the head of the army. He was a good soldier in the rebellion and he has shown himself a magnificent Indian fighter since and his reputation in all respects has been high. Can it be possible that in the few months since the beginning of the Spanish war his character which he has been a lifetime in making has undergone a complete change? He is charged with a fondness for strutting about in gold lace, a love for social functions and a jealousy of his brother officers and sidetracking them for his own glory. But these have never been characteristics of his in the past. That there was a well defined plan to hamper him in the direction of the war and to belittle him in various ways is believed by many. Then his expose of the commissary department and the weakness or worse of the high officials who permitted the consummation of this outrage upon the army have brought down the wrath of the jobbers and the politicians upon him. The combination against him is certainly a strong one, nevertheless he evidently courts an inquiry.