LEO XIII.

LEO XIII.

In the death of Leo XIII one of the notable characters of earth has joined the majority. He was a man of large capacity, a good man as well as able, and a pope who thoroughly understood the duties and prerogatives of his office. His greatness depended more upon the loftiness of his predecessors and less upon the place he held as the wearer of the triple crown. Before he came to the pontifical throne the pope had lost his temporal power and was out of touch with most of the great nations of the earth because of their refusal or unwillingness to make up the quarrel with the Italian government for the restoration of that temporal power. Leo XIII has strenuously maintained the inherited quarrel with the Italian government over that issue, but has made no headway toward restoration of papal authority over the former States of the Church. His relations with the nations have been in some respects improved, but he passes from earth with less probability of the possible restoration of the temporal power of the papacy than when he came to the throne. In fact that question is practically removed from the sphere of possibilities. From a political point of view the church probably exercises less influence in both Germany and France than at the time of the accession of Leo XIII. Nor has it gained anything in England or the United States politically. But the great gain for the papacy during the reign of Leo is in spiritual matters. In fact the papacy's loss in political power has resulted in its gain in spiritual power. Leo has reigned as a great and good head of the church, his victories have been spiritual, they have resulted from the loftiness of his character and his recognized ability in those things which make for the moral uplifting of men. He has undoubtedly been a greater influence for spiritual good than many, or possibly any, of his predecessors and he came to the last of earth admired and respected by millions outside the great organization of which he was the head. It is conceded by churchmen of other denominations that he was a pure and saintly character, worthy the admiration of all who believe in a life of rectitude. Even by those who profess no faith he was held in high esteem as a man who lived as one should live who professed his faith. In fact Leo XIII has set an example to the world of what a pope should be, by which example future heads of the church will in no small degree be measured. In loftiness of character, in broadmindedness, education, liberality, purity, spirituality, gentleness, he was probably as good an ideal king of the church as the world need look for in the present time. His influence for good will live after him.

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WIlliam Jennings Bryan continues to belittle himself from time to time by making ex-President Cleveland the subject of a goodly part of every speech he delivers. He is so bitter in his enmity toward the only democrat who has occupied the presidential office since the war that he has become a common scold on that particular subject. This characteristic of Mr. Bryan is certainly no indication of greatness and is convincing many that Mr. Bryan lacks something of the presidential stature. If Mr. Cleveland were an issue, it would be a different proposition.

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Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Bristow recently issued an order that rural routes must have at least one 100 letter boxes and should have 3,000 pieces of mail matter a month. This order has raised something of a tempest. But surely these routes were established, or should have been, to accommodate people who get mail. They should not be established where there are no people who receive mail. One hundred patrons would seem to be a small enough number to lay out a route for.