Why Not?

We lmve seventy niillioas of active, enterprising and industrious people. We have fertile acres eapable of supportmg five hunilred inillions in comfort and plenty. We have nexhaustible resources of almost every kin and descrlption for the c'reatiou ■■' wealth. üiider normal conditions, wc are estimated to produce we.ilth to the value of twenty billions annirally. Were ir posslble, with :ill tb-.'se a.ivantages, to fuliy oceupy the time oí al! of the able-bodied men in the country in useful inclustry, the value of their production fór a perlofl of ten years could seareely be estiniateU. The surplus would far exeeed the total valuation of all tlio weaith exisiing upon the western continent today. With these facts in view do sane man will for a moment contend thai the stagnation of business and the social (lisconteiit which chreatens further disaster, resulta from natural causes. We are told on the one hand tna-1 we are not prosperoua beca use wi are taxed too mucli- we are told on the otlier that ndustry Ianguishes because we are not taxed enougii. i'ei those wlio dig below the surface of things must know that a difference in slight degree in taxation- iliat even the total exclusión or the unrestricted admission of a foreign commerce thal is to our dome%tic trade as one is to twenty, will not make or mar rne prosperity of a people who are otherwise upon a healthy economie basis. When al! of rhe romanee and sen:ïr.ent whicii attacb.es itseli to pa-rty tradltions and the clash and clamoü of partizan strife lias been wiped out by bitter experience, we will know that there are two grèat evils interuuveii in our complex social Bystera which serve to discourage indostry by an inequitable distributi-ou of the producís of labor. The one is the measurement of values by a constantly increasing stamlanl of value- thu other is the monopoly of natural opportunities by the to the exclusión of the many. The .sfiiL)lis!in ent oí i honest system of iinance and the destruction of that speculation in lauds which prevenís its l'ullest use are the two reforma most needed to (naiieipate industry. Wltfc those reforms effeoted, we can burn the eustom houses or erect a ciiinese waïl aiioiü. rhe country without causing g ripple upon the surfaee of business. .Tust how the city eouncll can coui1 el a property owner to go out iuto the street and construct an extensión to a main own-?d by the gas or Tvater iinpany, for whicii said property owner has no preáent or prospective use, doos not appear on the record. The property owners along Packarfl street. betweea the old motov junction and the city limits, feel that tliey have canse for eomplaini froui the fact that Packard street has been graveled up to the juuction u4 notliing has been done frora that point to the city limits. These people were taken into the corporation severa 1 years ago aj,ainst their wisl'.es and their taxes were tl.ereiby iinivaseil. In lieu of these tax-s they have u yet hadi neitliei1 pólice protectiou, water, light or street improviiftients, and they think ir is .-bout time thei.' contributions to the city's exclidcquer brought soine rec-og'nitiou. Advices from Constaniinople .nive goocl cause to fear an ouibreak in the cast. The porte has Jecided :iot to yieid to the powers. In reply to th-Mr üote, notice is served that Turkey will oeeupy all of Thessaly north of Salambria river, making that streatn the southem boundry of Turkish terr:torjrThe sultan has taken this stand againat coaibined Kurope adviseilly. He belleves the powers can never agree lipón a plan of coerción, and that none 01' tliein 'aas sta mina enowgh for a wai'. It is beüeved. however, that England and rr..nce. ::t least, are prepared to take active steps to enforee their demands for the evacuation of Thessaly. Here is Gov. Finniees opinión ol the duty on ludes. It needs no comment: "Our House of Lords has raised the tariff on hides and the leatheiTvakeis have taken advantage of that fact to push up the pric? of sole leather three cents a pound. I asked thein if theye was any big demaud for leatlier - if anybody was usint: any great amount of it- and they sa:d no. but that made no difference. Annour has had the duty on hides raised and boosted the pnce up to lOVa cents. Theu I inet another f ello w over in Newark. X. J., who "was also feeling good. He has had a boost from the House of Lords. He is a manufacturer of patent leather and the duty on that has been raised, so he has raised the price of tae leather. It has now bccome a questio'n v.-hich of the two porties, Turkey or the powers, wil! recede froni the demanda wh'ch have been made. Senator Quay luis been seTving the public f'or a long time, ímt he is QO1 tired of his job yet and announeés tliat he is going to hang onto it if the people oí Pewnsylvania will let hlm. The cty of fJansLng matea the ow.ivacant property keep the noxIpus wee.is growing thereon cut. Tlii.s cegulation could be observèd to advantage in -Vnn Aftoor. It had to come somier 01 later, büt the country will be surprised to learn that iii1. MeKinléy's silent partner, the i Ion. Marcuá Aurelios Hanua, has moved info the white house and taken possession oí the polltlcal asgeits befare. the ftrsi ye.u-'s business s tinished, yet a Washington dispatch assures iis that sueh is the case. Seward Oramer, the fough and ready architect of the ïpsilanti end ei' ïho Tiiiies. lias been gradaally rexnódeüing his mode of life for .-.ome moiHhs. a reacflon lus friends could not account Cor, but wlien it s knmvn thai the young man has been on a steil hum for voorns for light housekeeping everything is as plain as the uose on a pigs face. The new city editor of the Evening Times starts out well. If he keeps up his "lick" he will not only üll IV.: r-;n's shoes, but the shoes of the whote office foree down to the devil hims.-lf - with cold suveaf. The Times office was bombarded yesterday by a Ch-imanran, two gnass widows .: ! one aneient maiden and the suave apologies oí' the managlng editor were necessary to beat the coroner out of a job. Mark Ilanna aays the bost lawyers ii. the senate claim it is impossible to frame a stronger an-ti-trust law than the Sheni'.an act. Secretary Sherman ('.istinctly stated in his famous New Ycik interview thai the law of which he was tiie a ut hor was not strong enough aud should be amended. Here we have a difference of opinión between Eteputlican leaders. Shermaii probably kntjiws whnt üe is talking about. The at tent ion ot The Demoerat is caJled to thé icoréhing that is being ('me by bicycle riders apon the campus walks. li has been the custom to allow wheels the free use ■! these walks, and they have been a favorite place for ladies and children to spend a pleasant evening hour. But the feilow wlio thtnks he is not in it if he is not ying on the bandle bars of his machine and pedalling at the rate of :;n miles a;i hour, has made his appearance t lic re and that nieans the exciusiou of those who would use the walks in a decent manner. Here is another opportualty for the fooi killer. Evryone who knows anything about the subject admits that there are inequalities and injustice in our protective tariff systeni. There is only one way to correct these evils ainl place every industry upon an equal footiiig and that is to abolisii the tariff altogether, Then the manufacture)-, tiie farmer, the mercliant. th" producer and the consunier meet upon i common ground. Abolish the tariff, removí' every restriction fraai trade and coiiiinerce and Ievy the cos! of govermment apon lard values- 'those values which are created iiy aociety as a whole- and you will have settled mere social evlls than have been sc;tled since the iawn ef the Ciristian e':'.. John J. Enright, the professional wind .ainmei-, who by the gr&ee of God and (rover ('hveland has bei th" vhote thing in the Detroit pos! office f'or noarly four years. would uot object to drawin.ir the salary for four years more. and to that end is nsing ta -fies in which all disciples of the great ex-joss are well drilled. Fellows in different quarters of the city are employed to write juicy letters to the Detroit Free Press over such titles a;; life lons Kepublican. Sound Monfty K(iublican. etc, derailing at length the services of the apostate Jolm ,T. to the AicKinley cohorts last. fall, enlargrag upon his alleged virtuas and ending by susgesting t lint Cona man OorliSS rec-nnmend his rea;pointment. There are too many clean ■ Kepublicans, liowever. who will sacrifiee their time and talents io the service of the people for $.'{.500 a year for this little söheme to work. Slowly but surely the renegades are flnding out that the Uepublican le.idei-s took thetn at. their word when they aid they voted for McKinley froni purely disinterested motives. í'ivic Courage is some wimt. some 33Ugwump jourunls are pleased to arm the ir ldiosynera&lea. There are people vho cali the same stalï cï;ofisiu. The Late House at Whitmore is .!'j;iys a pleasant place to stop at. Laxullord Stevens knows how to mak-ï things pleasant and comfortable for his summèr guests. Vpsilanri's marshal 's auffering froro a bad case ot' inflatiOD of bis own irnportance. Mayor Harding slioaiil take a horse syringe and .-ulniin : ;i hypodermlc Injection of eomnion sense. '"nf public as well as the patiënt wouM be relieved. We are highly entertained by reading the numerous "death kuells" uL silver tliai appear in the columns oL riic Lansing Repuiblican. Yet somelu.w other the "silver eraae7 seema to thrh'c on a diet of death kneHs liko an uuilcnakcr during an epidenaie. Only c'J2 miles ol" railroad track were laid in t'nis country diiring the iirst half of 1S!)T. This is less th-in baa been laid during a similar períod since 1s7" viiili the exception of 1894, when only r,2r miles were laid. Our raltoad friends d'iu't seem to display their "confldeace" by preparing 10 h.andle the proapérity show when it arrivés.