Many Are Willing

MANY ARE WILLING.

Grover Cleveland is talking in enigmas when he leaves Princeton and gets among the people. David B. Hill sits in Albany and hopes and watches Judge Alton B. Parker, who, just as hopeful, sits a few miles further down the Hudson. Thomas L. Johnson is trying to get credentials, in his present fight for the governorship of Ohio, to go before the convention with a claim that will be regarded. Bryan is helping him in order to control the Ohio delegation to the convention, not for himself, but for his man. Arthur Pue Gorman is directing the state campaign in Maryland and has his ear to the ground waiting for the call. William Randolph Hearst is organizing Hearst clubs in all parts of the country, carrying parties of representatives in congress through the southwest on private trains, and booming himself in his newspapers,. General Miles has many newspaper clippings that proclaim him to be the logical man to nominate in opposition to Mr. Roosevelt. Judge George Gray of Delaware smiles, but says nothing, when he is told that his friends are working for him. The little-known Judge Clark of North Carolina, who flashed when Mr. Bryan named him in his "Commoner," has settled down to wait. Richard Olney has a few persistent friends. Many of these men think they can be nominated. Mr. Bryan says no man can be nominated unless he was "regular" in 1896 and 1900; that is, supported Bryan. It requires a two-thirds vote to get a nomination in the democratic national convention. Mr. Bryan still has many friends. If he gets the balance of power, as he undoubtedly plans to, many hopes will be blasted, for most of the men who are now candidates, or think themselves so, do not fit the Bryan specifications. So far, as nearly as can be judged from the talk, the West thinks well of Parker, the Middle States like Gray or Gorman, and the East has little choice.--Collier's weekly.

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The report of the receiver of the United States Shipbuilding company alleges frauds of the most gigantic proportions and recommends that suit be brought against all persons who received stock without paying full value therefor, including the promotors and Chas. M. Schwab, in order to recover sufficient to pay the debts of the concern. The report alleges willful misstatement, falsification and swindling. Schwab seems to have been the evil genius of the concern. This gigantic swindle appears to be a fine illustration of the spirit which too often actuates very rich men, a spirit of superiority to all law and a disposition to submit to no restraint in their dealings with their fellows. Paramountcy in the thing which engages their attention and the realization of this ambition leads them to subordinate everything to it. With such men neither statutory nor moral law are apt to have very much consideration. The doing of their own will unrestrained is the all important consideration.

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Congressman Littauer is said to have called upon the president recently with counsel and asked the president to take up the charges against him (Littauer) in connection with the army glove contracts and pass upon the same as to the merit of the charges. He seems not to be pleased with his escape from prosecution through the statute of limitations. If the congressman be genuinely sincere in this wish his position in the matter is to be commended. He may be wholly innocent in the matter of these contracts of any intentional wrong doing, there seems to be no charge that the price paid for the gloves was unreasonable, but there certainly appears to have been a plain violation of the law, and in this day of graft the congressman, if he desired his name as a member of congress to be kept from suspicion should have obeyed the letter of the law as to government contracts.

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For altogether proper reasons the athletic authorities of the University are keeping quiet relative to the treatment received by the team in the recent game at Minneapolis, but there is evidently a great amount of suppressed feeling over the matter and the end is not yet. Whether this will result in no more games with Minnesota may not be said, but such a result is within the possibilities. Football is a sport, not war nor pugilism. Slugging and twisting of arms and legs are no part of the football sport. Unless the game can be played with less danger than is involved in warfare, it can scarcely be denominated sport.

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A recent speech by Senator Gorman of Maryland in which he referred to the alleged purpose of President Roosevelt to bring about social equality between the negroes and whites is supposed to indicate that the democrats are considering making this an issue in the approaching presidential campaign. This may be good politics, but it is certainly a bad move from every other point of view. There are questions of the greatest interest to the people which should be taken up and considered on their merits, but there is nothing to be gained by raising race hatred as an important issue in the coming campaign. There may be some votes made and lost by making this an issue, but what real gain to the nation can there be in such an appeal?

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The supreme court of Michigan has affirmed the judgement of the lower court in the case of Former City Attorney Lant K. Salsbury, of Grand Rapids, and he is therefore, likely to have to serve another term in prison when his sentence by the federal court expires, as it soon will. Salsbury is said to feel deeply over the situation and even weeps bitterly over the prospect of another term in prison. It is a hard outlook, but just such lessons are needed in this day of exceeding easy conscience among public officials. Men who commit criminal acts to advance their financial interests and are willing to go to almost any lengths to get rich quick, go into such schemes as did Salsbury clearly understanding the nature of the criminal transactions are entitled to little sympathy when they are called to answer for those acts.

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Some time ago a tremendous effort was made to interest the people of the country who are thrifty and hid some savings to invest their money in steel trust stock. The effort was successful as it was prompted by men who are past masters in the business. The natural supposition was that this money would be used in developing the steel business, but this was not the intention of the promoters. A gigantic scheme was on foot, no less a one than the consolidation of the Frisco, Rock Island, Pere Marquette and Seaboard Air Line railroad systems. This merger is supposed to be the work of promoters of the steel trust and the thing into which the money got from the people for steel trust stock is being turned. The individual who conceived this business is a genius, even if an evil genius. One almost loses himself in wonder over the vastness of the project, but he should not let the bigness of the undertaking blind him to the dishonesty of the thing. When the bubble breaks the wrath of those who have been fleeced will probably be equalled only by the wonder now engendered by the stupendous plan. The people will do well in this connection to make a deep and thorough study of the recently wrecked shipbuilding trust. From this study they may be able to abstract some knowledge which will serve as a deterrent from investments in such fraudulent and dishonest, though gigantic schemes.