How Hath The Mighty Fallen?

And has it come to this ? Torn Applegate, the stanch ; Applegate, the war horse of the Republican party ; the defender of the faith ; the writer of editorialsagainstfreetrade; the old memberof the Republican state central committee ; actually wants free trade in type! e know from sad experience that the price of type has gone up, while the prices for job work and printing generally are going down; henee, the publisher and job printer must suffer loss or cut wages. But we never supposed that editor Applegate of the Adrián Times would break out for free trade as follows, as he did in his last number : " A dispatch to the daily papers announces that the type founders of the United States are going to forin a ' trust.' They have long had a sort of ' combine,' which has proved onerous pnonirh : now thev propose to make the thinga little-harder to bear. The announcement is also made that the pnce of type is to be at once advanced, but practically this was done more than ten days ago. " There are probably not to exceed a dozen type founding êstablishments in the United States, but the effect of the foundation of their ' trust ' will be feit by every person who purchases reading matter in this country. " "f, what member of congress will imuiortalize himsell, and earn me ïasiing thanks of the whole people, by ïntroducing a bilí, it need not be more than ten lines, taking the duty off type, and thus protect the people against the greed of a dozen cormorants who propose to still further increase their robber gains. The type founders' pusillanimous little ' trust' should be promptly smashed. " Which of all the patriotic members of congress will be the first to catch the speaker's eye, for the introduction of a little bilí Bmashingit?" Mr. Applegate is mistaken in saying that every person who purchases reading matter in this country will feel the effect. It will make no difference to them , unless publishers combine. There is not likely to be any such combination, because there are too many publishers. Will Mr. Applegate charge more for his paper or for his printing than he would without this 'trust?' Of coursenot; competition will keep him down to the old prices. The protectionist doctrine must be applicable to the type founder if to any one. How can Mr. Applegate ask that there be protection for all industries except that of making type? Steel rail men get a higher price for steel than they would without the tariff, and some people don't like it any better than Mr. Applegate likes the tariff on type ; but the theory of protection is that the benefits on the whole more than balance the disadvantage of paying higher prices. The editor of the Adrián Times should stick to his logic and not "kick" ust because protection seems to be bearing on him a little severely. The printer working for weekly wages can readily see in this tariff on type something which tends to lower his wages. However much the tariff keeps wages up, as is claimed, it doesn't help the printer apparently. Alpheus Felch, a remarkably wellpreserved man at 82 years, certainly gives dignity and aid by his mere approval to anything which he espouses ; but with all due deference to his white hairs and ripe experience, we must suggest that his speech of Saturday evening cannot help the Democratie party much. We can 'understand how many people who are desirous of tariff reform or of free trade, may think they can bring abouttheircherished ideas sooner by working'with the Democratie party ; but how any man, of northern training, no matter what his party affiliations have been, can glorify the record of the Democratie party without making any exception, even of the " peace convention," is a mystery. The Republicans are blamed for mentioning the past record of the Democratie party, and yet old Democrats will applaud the entire record as though there had never been anything treasonable in it. History will contradict Mr. Felch, and will place a stigma upon the Democratie party for its cowardly and treasonable utterances just when our armies most needed sturdy support. The Register, in the hope of encouraeing home industry (our subscription list included), will print a story next week, or the week following, written by a young Ann Arbor girl, and entitled, " Xellie's Uncle." It is a tender story of a tender Junior's first love, and incidentally some student life is thrown in, with comments on how girls study. We shall leave our readers to judge whether the young miss bas correctly interpreted a young U. of M. Junior's feelings and actions in such an interesting episode. As to the young writer's opinión of the way girl's study, we shall be equally discreet and not venture an opinión, for fear of offending the young women in the U. of M. and of injuring the cause of co-education. The Supreme court have again made a big gash in the new liquor law by deciding that brewers can become bondsmen for saloon-keepers. They say : " The right to sign a bond cannot be made to depend upon the business in which one is engaged." ■