davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
LODGES STATISTICAL yAGARY.

1t may not have been intended that way,
but Hon. Henry Cabot Lodges article in
the last number of the Century seems
more calculated to afford amusement than
instruction. His plan is that of counting
up the number of men who have been dis
tiuguished by notices in encyclopedias of
biography, of also calculating those who
are honored by large or small portraits, as
well as the theory of taking those who
have had towns named after them, or
whose portraits adorn the newspapers or
the bill boards, and deducing therefrom
statistical data as to the ratios of ability
among different nationalities or different
States. This is an exhibition of the sta
tistical in light that approaches the
grotesque.
Mr.. Lodge acknowledges at the outset
that the foundation for his statistics is in
accurate But he seems to think that the
statistical methods of calculation can be
governed by rule like those of
algebra, which make calculations
with negative values produce posi-
tive results, and therefore pro-
ceeds upon the assumption that an aver
age of inaccuracies will produce accuracy.
By this method he proceeds to deduce GER
tain proportions showing that one State
exceeds another in the ratio of its able
men to the total population, or that one
race falls below the others in the same re-
spect. 1t is not worth while referring to
any of the conclusions. They are utterly
worthless, as can be shown by another
statement of their foundation than that
already made.
= What Mr.. Lodge assumes to be indices
of ability are really mdices of something
entirely distinct. Without taking into
consideration those biographical publica-
tions which represent the ability of promi-
nent citizens to pay for leading place in
their pages, or the inability OF the subjects
to resist the wiles of the canvasser, it is
plain that the quality shown by place in
biographical encyclopedias Is notoriety,
or, to use term free from an offensive
flavor, of prominence. To assert that
prominenceissm q measure Of ability is equiva-
lent to saying that Mrs. Lydia Pinkham
and Harriet Hubbard Aver are the expo
nents of ability among American woman
hood. 1t was a frequent assertion that
the brains Of the Cleveland administration
were lodged in the heads of Daniel Mann
ing and Daniel Lamont. It is unnecessary
to either support or deny that claim; the
mere assertion Is sufficient to show the
distinction between prominence and
ability.
This difference is the more vital in such
a connection as that treated by Mr.. Lodge,
because for his purposes prominence may
be produced by condition the opposite to
what Mr.. Lodge assumes That gentle
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
ENGLAND FEARS RECIPROCITY.
She Has Nothing to Offer and Has There.
fore Become Its Deadly Foe.
Traplr aulia,a Waatlv

She Has Nothing to Offer end Has There
fore Become Its Deadly Foe.
Frank Leslie's Weekly.l
Great Britain fears American reciprocity
more than it does the American protective
policy. 1t proposes to fight as hard as it
can against any extension of our trade that
threatens to jeopardize British interests
The reciprocity agreement effected under
the operations of the Mckinley bill between
the United States and the Spanish Govern
ment gives us a great advantage in selling
agricultural products, lumber, coal, and
many other commodities in Cuba and Porto
Rico. This we gain in return for the privi-
lege extended to these Spanish possessions
of finding free market for their raw sugar
and coffee in the United States. The British
Government now makes the claim that the
Spanish Government has no right to dis
criminate in favor of the United States. be-
cause its treaty guarantees that It will give
equal privileges to Great Britain that are
offered by its treaties with "the most
favored nations"
But we are in a position to offer Spain what
Great Britain cannot offer, namely, the re-
moval of restrictions on imported sugar.
Great Britain, free trade country, has
nothing to offer in return for reciprocity
with Spain. 1t is. therefore, not. on an equal
footing with the United States Our barrier
of protection gives the United States q
special opportunity to secure reciprocal
trade advantages in return for a removal,
in part or in whole, of the tariff upon pro-
tected commodities. The splendid ad-
vantage to us of this compensating CONNER
cial system. as the facts are comprehended,
will be fully appreciated by the American
people: and when Great Britain comes to
understand them it will see that its most
favored nation" treaty clause is of no ad-
vantage in this controversy. For the first
time In n commercial controversy Great
Britain has met her master. ....
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
PITTsBURG, SUNDAY, SEPT. 6, 1881.
FACTS ON TIN CANS.

The utter Stiffness of the hue and cry
INDUCED in for the past year on the SUBJ
ject Of tin plate and the price of tin cans,
as affected by the tariff, is fully illustrated
by the facts stated in our local columns
After all the outcry that has been heard
on this subject it is q lame and impotent
conclusion to learn that the wholesale
price OF tin cans has not advanced more
than was to be expected as the natural re-
suit of the large demand caused by the
plentiful crop of articles for canning
That the advance is wholly due to that
cause and not to the tariff is shown by the
similar advance in glass jars used for the
same purpose. Beyond that is the crush
ing fact that the advance in the wholesale
price Of tin cans is SO slight that it cannot
affect the retail price of canned fruits and
vegetables.
This affords conclusive evidence of what
has been plain enough all along: That our
free trade friends have been committing
the vital blunder of shouting over a mares
nest on the tin can question They have
really rested their cause on the assertion
that the increase in the duty would impose
a material addition to the cost OF canned
fruits. Having preached that doctrine for
nearly year, the cry proves to be BOOM
erang on the plain appearance of the fact
that no such increase of prices is to take
place. The lesson will teach our friends
the enemy little discretion in their hue
and cry against the tariff for the future
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
GOLD COMING OUR WAY.
The Shipments Are Surprise and Sign of
Good Times.

The Shipments Are a Surprise and Sign OF
Good Times.
Grand Rapids Telegram-Herald.1
Gold is on the way from England to the
United States. First, the surplus grain of
this country is going TO Europe at the rate
of /, 200, 900 bushels per day. Second, we have
a reserve of corn amounting to 400, ,O00, COO
bushels. and if people abroad get hungry
and know what is good, they will want q
vast amount Of this excellent and practically
exhaustless food supply. Third, the credit
of the United States stands high in every re-
spect Wall street standings drain of $50, ,OO0, :
OG0 in gold has been q wonder to the other
money centers. The way the American Sc
curities sent over when times were panicky
in London were taken and paid for gave
them golden reputation.
There is not an English capitalist who has
not got this in mind, and there are heavy
orders for our stocks. The President said,
in terms as plain as he could make them
consistent with politeness and the proprie-
ties, that he would veto the free coinage of
silver bill if such a measure came before
him That puts aside the silver standard
peremptorily for more than two years, and
the fair presumption is forever. The crops
are too much for the Ku Klux of Kansas
The Democratic hew-gag has a mournful
tone, and the tom-tom of the calamity sales
men is sounded softly. There Is not as great
sorrow as there was IN the circles of the
Democratic reformers about the passage of
the surplus. Several people show up who
despair by the Mckinley tariff law. The
coming of gold is sign, and indeed the as
surance of good times. We expected it. but
not so early in the season.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
THE ROAD QUESTION.

The last Legislature managed to muddle
the movement In favor of good country
roads so that at present nothing partic-
ular appears to be left of it. But it is
hardly possible that the agitation of the
subject, the proofs of the need for better
country roads, Of their value to the CON-
munity, and of the practicability of a
general Improvement can be wholly lost,
even by legislative stupidity
A contribution to the stock of public
information On the standard of road
making in Europe is made in the last issue
of the Engineering Magazine The writer
says;
in France, you may drive from Paris to
Orleans, TO Bourges, 10 Nevers, and across
the Jura mountains into Switzerland. You
may journey through Switzerland, behold
ing all her marvels of scenery, and you may
continue on into Germany and follow the
Rhine and its valley of legends until you
reach the shoals of the North Sea. You may
vary this journey in whatever way your
inclination may urge; you may travel the
roads Of Scotland, Italy, Austria, Belgium,
Baden, Spain or Scandinavia, and you will
everywhere find that the public hand has
been industriously directed to the care and
keeping OF the common roads.
In all these countries a special depart
ment of the Government is devoted to the
care and maintenance of roads and bridges,
and the result is perfection of highways
such as is unknown in this country. There
may be certain fidelity to the democratic
theories in the perfection of local self
government which leaves every COM
munity free to keep itself in the mud If it
prefers. But when the result is execrable
roads for nearly all sections, the inquiry
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06

WE regret to hear report that John G.
Warwick, who defeated Mckinley for Con-
gress last fall, is making an exposure of
mental deficiency in connection with the
West Point cadetship. The statement is
that, having thrown the appointment open
Co competitive examination, he refused to
appoint the youth who won in the cxamina-
tion because the boys father is a Republican
and opposed Warwick's election. This is
not creditable to Warwick. It was open to
him to make the appointment one of the
spoils, although intelligent Congressman
abandoned that practice, even before the
days of civil service reform; but having de-
clared that 1t should be awarded by COM
petitive examination, Mr.. Warwick cannot
creditably nullify that position. He shoulu
make up his mind to be either a statesman
or q spokesman and stick to 1t. Consistency
is a jewel; and even the fact that Carlyle de-
clared it to be the virtue of fools does not
lessen its importance to Mr.. Warwick
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06

man undertakes to draw conclusions con-
corning the distribution of ability In vari-
Gus sections from the number of people
who have been prominent enough to get
into the encyclopedias Butany such con-
clusion is vitiated by the fact that in Sec
ton where low attainments are the rule
the man may attain prominence with cult
ure and ability that would only make him
an average citizen in a community Of high
popular attainments. In community
where illiteracy is universal the few men
who can read, write and cipher will rise to
the rank Of leaders; in one where adj
vanced education is general they would
fall below the average of intelligence.
One suggestion is pertinent to Mr.. Lodge
against the next time he is tempted to
draw deep statistical conclusions on this
subject If he will base his studies on the
prominence afforded by the newspaper ad-
vertisements, he will at least have relia-
BILE indication of the distribution of mer-
camille ability.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
INDIAN RUNNERS.
They Are Employed in Mexico to Carry Mail
Over the Mountains.

They Are Employed in Mexico to Carry Mail
Over the Mountains.
San Francisco CALI
The Indian runners are familiar figures in
Mexico. They are employed by the Govern
ment to carry the malls among the Sierra
Nevada Mountains and make better time
than any animal that could be employed.
A runner will carry from 20 to 30 pounds OF
mail and never be delayed by washouts or
swollen streams. He is always on an easy
run, that must carry him along six or seven
miles an hour at least. He is nearly always
dressed In white cotton cloth, which makes
him conspicuous figure against the somber
green and black tints of the high mountain
levels, and which, late in the evening, causes
him to look like a ghost or specter fitting
among the pines and frs and moss-covered
boulders strewn along the trail
The trails, on the steep places. wind back
ward and forward in stretches from soto IS
yards in length, In order to find grade up
which heavily laden pack mule can make
his way. But the athletic carrier does not
run the whole length of these wfndings in
descending HILL He cuts of the corners al
each bend by placing his hand on the edge
of the trail and vaulting to the lower level
whenever the two levels are not more than
six or seven feet apart. All this time he
never gives up the little dog trot that is car
The carrier will in half an hour go down a
mountain side that.wOuld take the best mule
in q bullion train or the f1eeteSt one ridden
by the little Mexican caballero, the best
rider in the world, half a day to accomplish.
In ascending, too, the carrier has methods
so as to gain time and distance at every
turn
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
ANOTHER RESCUE NECESSARY.

The most positive achievement of Arctic
expeditions is that of getting into posi-
ton where another expedition is required
TO rescue them from starvation. The
Peary expedition which started north this
year has become an early illustration to
the rule. 1t has hardly got well started
on the work of exploration mapped out
before word is sent back, that unless fresh
supplies are forwarded early next year
the starvation of the entire party is prac-
tical certainty.
This only adds another to the long list
OF cases which prove that the dangers and
loss of life incident to Arctic exploration
far outweigh any gain to the stock of the
worlds knowledge that can be secured
by such sacrifices. 1t has already been
clearly shown that the Polar region is i'm
passable and incapable of sustaining life
The world should be content with that
knowledge, and while recognizing the
courage of men ready to hazard their lives
in further explorations, should discour-
age any more such useless and costly at
tempts.
OF course, the relief needed for Peary
and his party should be organized and sent
north early next spring. Those who were
responsible for sending out the expedition
with supplies that have so soon demon
strated their insuficiency should recognize
the especial obligation laid upon them to
do all that may be necessary to rescue the
party from the slow death that threatens
them. But with this expedition relieved
and brought back to the habitable regions
of the globe, social and scientific organiza-
riOns should take positive ground against
the sending out of more expeditions which
viii require additional rescues.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
A NEW MINING CAMP.
1t Has Already Eight Hundred People, and
More Are Going There.

1t Has Already Eight Hundred People, and
More Are Going There.
Salt Lake Sentinel.l
La Plata City is anew mining camp located
near Ogden, Utah. Discoveries were recent
ly made in the mountains neaf there, and the
camp now has q population of about 800 peo-
pie nearly all living in tents. The entire
country within circuit of five miles has
been taken up with mining claims, and every
man is a prospective millionaire. The town
is situated in a narrow gulch, and on both
sides of it the mountains rise in steep slopes.
The claim from which the town is named is
in the bottom of the canon, and even the
sand Of the stream contains mineral, and is
being sacked for shipment.
Business of all kinds in the way of sup
plies and provisions is rushing, and hack
lines are doing a land Office business carry
ing spectators and miners into the camp. A
newspaper Is being talked of. The signifi-
cant sign "Chinamen, Take d Sneak is post
ed conspicuously on the outskirts of the
town, and thus far has been obeyed to the
letter. A survey of the country is now in
progress to determine lines and boundaries.
Ogden and Logan are counting the new town
in every possible way to catch its trade, but
up to date honors are evenly divided.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
RUSSIA SQUEEZED TURKEY.

THERE is an impression that Russia may
repeat the Crimean war rather than permit
England to hold Egypt without compensat-
ing the Czar-SyEoouse Herald
IT is unlikely that the other parties in the
treaty of Berlin-England in particular
will permit the concession granted to the
Gar to stand Chicago Times.
THE acquiescence of Turkey in privileges
to Russia not accorded by treaty TO other
powers is so serious q matter that already q
commotion has arisen, and there is liable to
be trouble Oshkosh Nortt'ceste'7er.
THE Sultan of Turkey has dismissed his old
ministers and appointed new set. This, In
connection with the Dardanelles incident
tends to confirm the belief that he is adopt
ing more friendly attitude toward Russia
BuGdto Erpress
IT was for Turkeys interests to concede
the Russian demand, and as 1t is not likely
it would have done so without consulting
the treaty powers it's action can hardly be
taken as likely to precipitate trouble.-Chf-
cd0o Tribune
OF course France will not protest against
the aceof the Sultan. England has lost her
Disraeli and much of her old time bravado,
IL not plnck, and she is not likely to do any
thing more serious than to let her lion
growl. He will remain couchant.-M Y.
Nail.
THE. ever-menacing attitude of Russia
compels Great Britain and some of the other
European powers to stand by Turkey, and
that easily accounts for the defiant attitude
OF Turkey in resisting the Servian-Russian
demand for war indemnity or territory
made upon Bulgaria. -Brooklyn C1tzen.
The remarkable feature of this business is
the quietness with which England submits
to It. Fifteen years ago such q step on the
part of Russia would have been followed by
a declaration OF war from Great Britain.
Now Lord Salisbury laziIy turns to Ger
many and asks: "How far will you allow
Austria to go in compensating herself for
this outrnge?"-NesD York Sun.
WHILE the other powers have been iudulg-
ing in magnificent masquerades on land and
water Russia has squeezed Turkey with the
threat of taking territory in liquidation Of
the war indemnity still unpaid since the
struggle in the Balkan peninsula, and Tur-
key, mther than lose a foot of subject soil,
has left the Triple Alliance and England to
wonder what she is going to do next.-CAf-
cdgo Herald.
Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-06
A RADICAL REFoKMER.

Earnest reformers are constantly max
ing their appearance; but we rarely meet
with reformer more earnestly convinced
of the necessity of his platform, or more
radical in the remedy he advocates than a
Brooklyn citizen. This gentleman thinks
the unbridled and licentious press affords
the most crying case for reform in this
country. The esteemed New York Post,
which Is emphatically of the opinion that
nearly all newspapers except itself are
very obnoxious articles, affords the
medium for his public arraignment of the
press and his exceedingly drastic remedy
for its reformation In the following form:
"a few newspaper proprietors shot down,
as l have frequently known In the south
west, would have a most wholesome in
fluence."
As this Brooklyn critic of the press OBJ
jects to the English as well as the morals
of the current newspaper, 1t is fair to take
his proposition on the rule District gram
matical construction. With that construc-
ton it is necessary to except to his asser-
ton that newspaper proprie tors when shot
down will exert wholesome influ-
advanced Spiritualist view to believe that
the mental and moral parts of the news
paper proprietors can exert a wholesome
influence in the affairs of this world, after
they have been divorced from the body by
the rude interposition Of the shotgun.
As to the part of the newspaper pro-
prietors which would remain on earth
after they had undergone the reformatory
process of shooting, 1t is evident that it
would be the reverse of wholesome
Newspaper proprietors are not composed
of such different flesh and blood from the
rest of mankind that the decay of their
material parts will have any more whole
some influence than that of the average
corpse.
But, supposing that this savage news
paper critic fell into the vice he criticises,
Of using loose English, and that he
meant that the shooting of few news
paper proprietors would have whole
some influence, there is still room for
argument as to the complete virtue of his
very radical specific for the errors of jour
nalism. He states that he has frequently
observed the application of this remedy in
the Southwest in which case, on his
theory, Southwestern journalism should
present the mirror of newspaper accuracy,
strictly reliable assertions, and abstinence
from anything like personal malice or
inlegant diction. Yet, somehow, there is
room for doubt whether the adoption of
the Arizona Kicker as the model of
American journalism would rid it Of all
the faults of which our critic complains.