The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-03-01
New Magazines

i
The March Popular Science .NOnthh
/ is now ready at the newsdealcrS, and
is an excellent number. Among the
more important papers are IA contln-
nation Of President Whites Com.
parative Mythology" "The Mission of
Educated Women" absolute Polti-
cal Ethics, by Herbert Spencer, as
Scrting the practical value of the
highest possible standard for political
action; 1.-THE Psychology of Preju-
dicc;' Origin of Land-Ownership:'
The Gross and Net Gain of Rising
Wages DelSartians, perhaps, will be
interested in "The Physiognomy Of
the Mouth" lllustrated), explaining
the different expressions which the
mouth takes on, etc.
The contents of the March Hupe,
now ready, includes:-"The Army Of
the L. S." by Gen. Merritt; How to
Listen to Wagner's Music" "Nene-
tan Boats" "J0hn Ruskin,' Ma
nilla;' Il new story by W. i. howells,
"The Shadow Of a Dream" poems by
Gerald Marssy, JOS. b. Glider, Chas.
w, Coleman and Florence uepniker,
short stories, and some charming per-
SOnal "reminiscences Of Robert BrOun-
ing by Geo. VIM. Curtis in the Easy
Chair The essays of Mr.. Curtis are
not the least attractive features of the
HuTper, and the reader who SkipS the
Easy Chair loses what to many minds
are by far the finest morsels OF the
number from month to month.
There is, by the war, a thought in
the essay of the Easy Chair this
month, on "A Modern Municipal
Problem in the New World" that is
worth repeating. The Easy Chair
says
Even the Pan-Americans protest
that the streets Of New York are
dirty. 1t is very comical, but it IS
true, that all our marvellous prospect
ty, our genius Of invention, our quick
ness of wit, and profusion Of resource:
all our patriotism and pride, our
great traditions of liberty and hero
ism, our free soil, free speech, and
free press; and all the force and intel
lIgence of our free goyernment-can-
not keep the streets of New York
clean. Miss Edwards, the most c0ur-
teOus and friendly Of visitors is com
PEELED to say: i found on all sides
nothing but holes of mud, cutters,
and dirt piles, an endless rush and a
block of street traffic, There are so
many dangers and the state of the
highways is such as to make 1t in
to English people that
enterprising Americans would long
endure it, 1t is absurd, as
the boys say, to blame this situation
upon somebody else-some street COM
or scayenger, or other OIL
Ger. or emCloye. Nobody is ever
guilty of misrule in this country but
the rulers. and the rulers are the peo-
pie. The citizens of New York elect
the city officers who are to do the city
work which the citizens pay for. They
give some of those officers authority
TO dismiss others who are derelict in
their duty, and the Governor can deal
with the chief officers who do not obey
the command of the people. If the
taxes are outrageOusly heavy, If the
money is squandered, if the streets
are dirty and city government a farce,
nobody is to blame but the citizens.
They have as good a government as
they choose, and the kind OF govern
menu tney ueSlTe.
''Then they desire dirty streets?
Certainly. That is to say, they don't
desire clean streets strongly enough
to secure them. Then popular gov
eminent has failed in cities? Rather
there are some things in cities in
which popular government is not es-
pecially interested. If there are 80
600 voters in the city of New York,
how many of them really care enough
for clean streets and proper municipal
to spend time and
trouble to secure them?'
1t wouldnot require a serious strain
ing of the imagination to adapt the
quotation to our own use at home or
to apply it to that vexatious problem,
1.-The road question"