Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1895-06-08
WASHINGTON LETTER
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE. |

OOurt VI Tue oHlltu DtuteS ueclueu
the Geary Chinese Exclusion act to he
constitutional and incidentally af-
frmed the general right of the United
States to exclude aliens Of all kinds
The question came up in the case OF
Lem Moon Sing on appeal. Sing
transacted business in San Francisco
for years, and in 1894 went on tenn
porary visit to China, with the inten-
ton of returning and continuing his
residence in the United States. Dur
ing his absence the Geary law of 1894
was passed. Justice Harlan delivered
the opinion of the court In
it he says: els Il statute passed
in execution of that power
any less applicable to alien, who has
acquired a commercial domicle in this
country, but who, having voluntarily
left the country, claims the right,
under some law or treaty, to re-en-
ter it We think not. Tho words OF
the statute are broad and include
every case of an alien, who, at the
time Of its passage, is out of this coun.
try an d seeks to come back. He is
none the less an alien because of his
having IA commercial domiclle in this
country"
GAME OF JAcKBONRs-It will doubt
less interest the democratic country
editors who have been listening to the
weighty words of Controller Eckels on
the subject of finance to know that,
when that exceedingly clever young
man is at home and at leisure, he de-
votes himself with marked enthusiasm
to the game of jackstones. Almost
any night you happen up atthe Eckels
house ! GU will find HIM on the floor
with the babies, INDUCING in the fas-
cinating amusement. 1t is really his
only recreation. He never took to
outdoor sports, has a distaste for
cards, never smokes or drinks, and
altogether is asdomestic an individual
as a well.ordered father of family
ought to be nowadays seldom liz.
EcIels is an intellectual wonder.
When he became controller of the
currency two wears ago, he had
never read the National Bank
act, but within three months he
had as firm grip on the details
of the Office as any man who ever held
the place, so that when the big crash
came that summer he was as much at
home as an expert swimmer in water
Eckels has had more troublesome
bank cases on his hands than all his
predecessors together, and he has
managed them all with skill. Only
about 5000 national banks have gone
into the hands of receivers since the
establishment Of the national banking
system thirty years ago, and Eckels
has had over half that number in his
short term, to say nothing of the insti-
tutions he has wound up and set going.
During all the panic Of 1898 he tells me
that he never failed to finish up every
days work before the time came to
close the Office at night, and he never
carried any of his Office work home.
He was getting kilograms every hour,
day and night, during those times
with reference to the affairs OF embar-
rassed banks, but he never received a
dispatch at night which he could not
answer on the spot, without waiting
for the Treasury to open the next
morning to consult the books. So
jackstones may be an intellectual
tonic, after all.
LIBERTY TO ALL-The decision in the
Debs cases does not mean that there is
to be all end to all labor unions, il
means that force and violence must
not be used to carry out the objects OF
such organizations. Labor unions,
like all other associations, must be
law-abiding and they cannot be per-
mitted to carry ont their purposes by
intimidation and force Men may
strike and refuse to labor, but they
will not be suffered to prevent others
from working in their places. To
this extent only the decision
goes. 1t does not break up
labor unions nor in any way in
terfere with their legitimate objects.
In truth it conserves them and makes
them more than ever indispensable to
the workingman. Labor must still
associate and combine, but must ac-
cot1plish its ends by diplomacy and
the arts of civilization. The decision
is more than the mere relegation of
Debs to Jail with notification that he
must stand trial on al indictment his
LAWYERS have said was found without
warrant Of law, but which the supreme
court upholds. 1t is Il notice to all
anarchists and other dsturbers of the
public peace that the hands of the
general government are not fettered
when it is dealing with questions
which are under its exclusive control.
LEE RIFLE ADOPTED - The Lee
magazine rifle has been adopted for
use in the United States navy, in ac-
cordance with the recommendation OF
the small arms board, which has been
engaged for several weeks at Newport,
r. l., in testing the sever4 mechan-
islns submitted in competition. Capt.
Sampson, chief of the bureau of or.
dinanoe and Secretary Herbert have
Just approved the recommendation
OF the board. The new rifle pos
sesses advantages, which, it is
said, make it much superior to
the Crag-Jorgensen rifle, Swedish
invention, with which the United
States army is supplied. Naval ex-
perts regard the small calibre OF the
new navy arm as one Of its best feat
ures, the diameter of its bore being
only six millimetres 70. 236 inches) one
of the smallest calibres in the world.
The new rifle will possess many nov
elites. Some of its parts are to be
made of aluminium, in order to econo-
mize in the matter of weight, and the
arm will be convenient one to han
die. A barrel made of steel, contain
ing IL per cent of nickel, after be-
ing fired 1000 rounds, was still eff
cient, and will be used for the new
rifles.