Morning journal and courier., 1889-04-20
EDITORIAL NOTES.
A very good Friday.

It is related that the Womans Christian Temperance Union of Chicago recently issued cook book, which it was obliged to sup press because it was discovered that in recipe for mince pie cider was prescribed.
 Some of the Democratic and assistant Democratic papers are finding much fault with the President for appointing Robert P. Porter to be superintendent of the census. They profess to think that he is too much of & protectionist to make figures correctly. They will find, however. that he will do his duty, and do it well.
 Both branches of the Minnesota legislature have passed a bill making drunkenness a crime, and it now awaits the governors sig nature. The penalties prescribed are severe enough and are, for the first offense, fine of pot less than $10 nor more than $40, or i'm prisonment for not less than ten nor more than forty days; second offense $50 to $50 fine, or thirty to sixty days imprisonment.
 The whipping of criminals is again pro- posed in parliament. Fifty strokes for an adult offender and twenty-five for boy is the limit, though sentence may provide for several whippings. The offences for which grown-up people may be logged, un der the bill, include the discharge of arms, etc, to injure or alarm the Queen; robbery, assault with intent to rob, burglary. etc.. where the offender is armed with any dan- gerous or offensive weapon, garrotting, etc.
 The report of the majority of the railroad committee finds approval out of the State as we'll as in 1t. Thus says the Springfield Re. publican: A parallel road within mile of the Consolidated tracks would afford the public no more facilities and advantages than can be obtained now from existing lines, but instead would impose upon the people 8 needless and costly burden which they alone would have to support. Unlimited competi- tion as a remedy for monopoly has too often been demonstrated failure in the case of this view of the case the minority of the committee have nothing to say.
 James McArthur, 8 well known railroad contractor, has spent several days on the Isthmus of Panama looking over the great ditch. His verdict is that the canal is a stupendous failure. MT. McArthur went over the whole of it, saw some of the ma- chinery at work, and pronounces the whole thing "a monument of incompetency, both in its design and execution" The only work that looks like business was done by Ameri- can contractors at the east end of the line. A large amount of valuable machinery, brought from France and Holland and never used, is rusting out and going to ruin, and the whole scheme appears to have been car- ried out in the most wasteful and extrava- gant manner. MT. McArthur says that the original plan of an ocean level canal was al- most physical impossibility, or, if possible at all, would bankrupt France to carry it through. The change to canal with locks was more sensible, but there was no water to supply the canal at the summit, except by
 pumping it from the ocean. Such scheme
 would cost more than the possible revenues of the canal would amount to.
 Twenty-eight years ago, when Charles Dickens was invited to stand for Finsbury
 he replied that .'nothing would induce hin | to offer himself as a Parliamentary represen
 tative of that place, or of any other unde \ the sum-" adding, tI declare that, as to al