St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-02

XVI
reduced to degree that demonstrates
that one more triumph has been
achieved by medical science over dis
ease. The removal of the tax on i'm
ports Of wool and the reduction of the
tax on imports Of clothing have given
the people better garments at lower
prices, increasing their comfort, pro-
tecting their health, and, by the say
ing, increasing their wealth.
In the industrial and commercial
world what is there that marks adj
vance? Natures bounty has been be
slowed upon the Northwest in liberal
measure. For many year to come
the crop of 1895 will remain the stand
ard of a season of plenty. The
march of electrical application
to industry was signalized by the
installation Of the plant that util-
ICES a small portion Of the tremendous
energy of Niagara, and converts it into
electric energy to be made the servant
of industry. The application Of some
W
the production Of aluminium, reducing
the cost of this metal of the future,
is another achievement following the
"harnessing of Niagara" Again, the
year is marked by the discovery of an
electrical process for producing that
new illuminant, acetylene, that prom
ises to our homes release from the
burden of gas charges. The opening of
the Kiel canal brings a change in the
delicate adjustments Of commerce
whose slightest variations are felt
throughout the whole commercial sys-
TEN. Allied is the successful use of
electricity in propelling boats on the
Erie CANAL increasing speed and car
rying capacity and diminishing cost,
and, relatively the distance of trans
port. The increase in the speed of
Atlantic steamers, at a time when
hours count big in the transactions of
on our railways, foretelling yet more
rapid transit, must be noted as among
the material advancements of the
year. Best of all is the revival Of COM
mercial activity, which first recovered
fully from the disasters Of 1893 during
the year now closed.
Whatever makes for peace between
nations is related to commerce. The
disputes that once bred war by arbi-
tration is a feature Of the year. If
the rendered good offices Of this coun-
try could not prevent the China-Japa-
nese war, they had much to do with
it's early termination; while President
Cleveland has been the arbiter decid
ing boundary disputes between France
and Brazil and Brazil and Argentine
Should his position that the English
Venezuela difference must also be set
tied by arbitration be sustained, a
precedent will have been established,
for the Western hemisphere, at least,
that will further promote commerce by
preventing war Within our bounda-
ries the year has marked the final
extinction of that sectional hatred
which followed the Civil war like a
pestilence. The dedication Of Chicka-
manga, the fraternizing of the Blue and
the Gray at Louisville, the erection in
a Chicago cemetery of a monument to
the Confederate dead, emphasized by
the general rebuke of the protests Of
a few bigots against the latter, and the
of Il; of
the Confederates, all indicate and
mark the passing away Of the feelings
that once divided us. For the first
time since the anti-slavery agitation
began, we are a united nation.
Good government is what humanity
is painfully toiling to attain. What
gains for the toll does the year bring
us? In the nation the extension Of civil
service reform by President Cleveland.
The great printing house of the nation,
with it's thousands of employees, the
last refuge Of the spoilsmen at the
capitol, is placed under the protection
of the reform. The printers and press
men in the executive departments fol-
lowed. Then came the inclusion of the
internal revenue and customs Offices
within the rules Of the new method.
The growth and effective work of Good
Government clubs, Of Civic Fedora
tons, the initiation of the Torrens
land title system in this country, the
assault on and overthrow. of misgov-
eminent in the police force OF New
York city, with it's demonstration that
law can be enforced, the increased
progress made iii the movement to
apply civil service principles In the
states and cities, all are events denot-
ing substantial progress. AS MAX
ing for good government, the
elections Of the fall are encouraging
in one aspect. If in one party they
served to make firmer the grasp OF
the mere manipulation, In another they
taught men the needed lesson that
their party expected its commands to
be obeyed and would punish disobed-
ience with degradation. In a larger
way the same lesson was taught te
the Fifty-third congress for Its failure
to redeem pledges made and Its In
ability to unite in the support ct need.
ed financial relief They emphasize the
significance Of those OF the previous
year. which showed tho 6ecadencs OF
Populism as political foyos. and dam