Englnnd fevors arbitratieu with the TTni...

England favors arbitration with the United States but not with the Transvaal Republic. Why is this thus?

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   Now that all the preliminaries are out of the way let's have the paving of Washington st. pushed right along.

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   The bill for the establishment of a homeopathic medical college in Detroit is dead.  Peace to its ashes, if it will only stay dead.

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    Immigration which almost ceased during the years of the panic, has again set toward this country and the present fiscal year will see land on our shores 400,000 immigrants.______________________

   The only feeling which Gen. Maximo Gomez seems to have aroused in Cuba by his farewell manifesto is a suspicion that he don't mean it. If the people were only sure he was going to quit, suspicion would be replaced with joy.

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     It is said that Aguinaldo has sent the Fiipino congress home and declared himself Dicator. Well, he won't do mach dictating without the consent of one, Gen. Otis, who has set himself up in that capacity about that neck of the woods.         ________________________

    The Michigan congressmen were a little slow in getting into Gen. Henderson's speakership band wagon. In reply to, their telegram offering support, he informed them that while he didn't need their votes, still he was glad to have them in his wagon. They are accordingly a little fearful that they may not get the good committee appointments they have been hoping for. ___________________________________

   On June 1st his excellency executed a sudden and totally unexpected flop and appeared in the roll of an economist. He played this part for four days and then he sagged back into the old lines again declaring he had done his duty. Great are the consistency and fixity of purpose of Hazen S. Pingree. Apparently, however, he is going to keep one of his promises and treat all appropriations alike, that means now, of course, that he will sign them all. _______________________________

      France is not through with the Dreyfus matter yet. The court of last resorts has decreed that he shall have a new trial and the prisoner is on his way back to Paris. But all this has frenzied the Jew baiters and they are determined to make all the trouble possible, even to the overthrow of the republic. A new trial means, in all probability, acquittal and an acquittal is sure to bring down the wrath of public opinion on the plotters in the army, if not upon the army itself. Those who were responsible for the monstrous conspiracy against Dreyfus would go to any length to prevent the reversal of the judgment which condemned him. The government appears, however, to be on the alert and Dreyfus will be properly protected when he. lands. __________________________________

    Just and proper taxation of such property is far better than public ownership. As public property is not taxed, public ownership of these valuable corporate properties would remove an immense amount of property from taxation and our constantly increasing tax levy would have to be spread upon a narrower basis than now. It is not the attractiveness of the principle of public ownership itself, which leads to its advocacy, as much as the abuses of the corporations. The people have come to think the only way to escape these abuses is to own and operate the franchises themselves. make the wealthy corporations pay their just taxes on the valuable franchises and hold them to a strict accountability to the people in the matter of traiffs and no doubt the socialistic principle of public ownership will vanish. ____________________________________

    The first step toward a more equitable distribution of the tax burden has been taken in the Empire state in the enactment of the Ford Franchise Taxation law. lts passage, in spite of the powerful corporations which have here to fore had their property in franchises exempted from taxation, is due to the hard headed young Governor Roosevelt. It is an accomplishment which will add materially to his constantly expanding reputation. The officials and attorneys of the corporations have  had the usual "spells" of predicting ruin and have  indulged in the usual vaporings about " confiscation," the "crime of wealth," etc, but the corporations still  live and the shares of the local traction companies in New York, according to the Tribune, have actually advanced four points on the stock exchange since the passage of the law. The fact is the corporations are not kicking on the amount of the tax so much as the fact that they are taxed at all. They are opposed to taxation on any terms.

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   Through the figures recently brought out in the municipal ownership question in Detroit, it was learned that the franchise possessed by the street railway corporations were valued at $10,000,000 while all the other property possessed by those corporations was valued at $7,600,000. In other words the franchises, notwithstanding the fact that they have only sixteen years to run, are of greater value than all the other property. The Ford law is correct on the general proposition that franchises are valuable things and should, therefore, be taxed. And as great as are the value of these franchises in many instances, they have generally been given away and have cost the corporations nothing. All the rights these corporations have in the streets of our great cities they exercise by permission of the people and they should pay for them. Unquestionably the passage of the Ford law introduces a new principle of taxation and it will be accepted elsewhere. __________________________________

   When the fourth of a mill bill received Gov. Pingree's signature on Wednesday, a most important accomplishment was placed to the credit of Senator Ward. There are those in Ann Arbor who are narrow and illiberal enough to try to belittle the work of Senator Ward, claiming he did nothing but what anybody in his place could have done. But this view is not held by those acquainted with the facts. In university circles the amount of labor Senator Ward has put on the measure is well known and appreciated. Prominent republican politicians have said to the Argus that Ward has shown much tact and energy and ability in getting this important measure through. Those close to the situation assert that the action of the senate in refusing to recall the bill from the governor was one to his timely and energetic work more than to any other person. There are various others, of course, who aided the good cause greatly, but Senator Ward on account of his position and duty, was the chief push and is entitled to due credit. His record has been much above the average throughout the session. He has shown marked capacity for legislative work. While holding well defined views on the issues which have been before the legislature, and belonging to the minority party, he has so handled himself as to antagonize no one and hence has been able to accomplish much. The tenth senatorial district made no mistake in sending Chas. A. Ward to the senate.