The record-union., 1896-01-27
NOTE AND COMMENT.

/ With our rivers choked by newly
| formed bars of fine sediment sand.
slickens and mining gravel washed out
of the canyons in which they have been
| deposited from mines; with these bars
now backing up the waters of the over
| charged rivers, resulting in such flood
| ing of valley lands as has not been
known in many years; with levees
broken, defenses washed down, the
| streams leaving their channels and
tearing across country, it is fine time
for the San Francisco "Argonauts to
shout, as it does, that the debris must
be restrained from doing injury; that
| 1t must be impounded, for hydraulic
mining must go on. The difficulty with
/ the "Argonaut" is that it does not know
the conditions. 1t is informed by second
| hand. 1t is not witness to the truth.
| 1t must learn that no dam yet con-
| structed has retained; that lit is not
claimed for any projected dam that it
Will retain; nor has it ever been even
suggested that any dam is possible
that will stop the finer matter; the mat
ter held in suspension in the water at
first, from coming down from hydraulic
wash. 1t is this lighter sedimentary
matter that passes the dam in its over
flow that most and soonest fills the
streams, destroys channels, and causes
the greatest damage to those who are
innocent of putting it into the rivers.
THE insurgents have been over
thrown and are driven out of their ap-
proaches to Havana" "The Spanish
troops have met with signal defeat and
patriots are closing their coils around
Havana" Gomez has been wounded
and his troops are in disorder" 'The
new commander of the Spanish forces
in Cuba reports that the successes of
the crown arms are such that the re-
bellion will be suppressed completely
within a few weeks after the arrival
Of the new battalions now en- route to
Cuba" Something in that order run
the dispatches from Cuba day after
day. you pay your money and take
your choice" as the old saw has it.
1t is telegraphed that Emperor Will
lam of Germany has said that in his
opinion Cuba is lost to Spain 1t is to
be hoped that Williams opinion has ssub-
stantial basis. 1t would be an excellent
thing for Spain to suffer such loss.
After all, is not the Turk true to his
religion, consistent in attempting to re-
alize upon his belief by slicing the
throats of Christian Armenians? For
does not the prayer go up in his
mosques five times daily, and is it not
uttered from the minarets and in the
market places, "Oh, Allah, make the
children of the unbelievers orphans,
and give them and their wives and
their possessions to the faithful?
The Civics Club has been discussing
the question, What is public opinion?"
The aggregated judgments of those who
come to conclusions in studying that
question will be that public opinion is
the judgment reached by the majority
of community, State or nation. The
statement that it is the average of the
judgments of men, which is Bryce's an
swer, seems to US to be insufficient-not
sufficiently comprehensive.
Stockton has a new weekly paper
called 1.-THE Graphic" The first number
shows a good deal of originality and
vim. 1t is published by the Graphic
Publishing Company, and the an
nouncement is made that 1t will be
paper for the home circle. It's articles
are all short crisp and to the point.
The Santa Monica Outlook" one of
the best of the small papers of Southern
California, has entered upon its tenth
volume, with everys evidence sof vigor
and prosperity