The record-union., 1897-12-07
VOICE OF THE PRESS.
EXTRACTS FROM EDITORIAL
EXPRESSION.
State and Coast Opinions on Sub
iects of Living News
Interest.

Oakland Tribune: Secretary Long
suggestion of an additional battleship
! for the Pacific Coast is a good one. We
| have lots to protect out here, and as it
would take months for any of the At
lantic squadron to reach us. we should
| not be left practically defenseless. If
! the views of the Navy Department are
carried out the Mckinley Administra-
ton VIII have proved to be a protective
| one in every particular
DEATH FOR TRAIN ROBBERS.
STOCKTON independent: Laws making
| train robbery capital offense have
now been declared constitutional under
State and National Constitutions. Those
passed by Territorial Legislatures in
New Mexico and Arizona have been
tested and pronounced in conformity to
the organic Act and the Constitution,
and the Supreme Court OF California
has sustained the law in this State.
1t now only remains for juries before
whom train robbers are tried TO do
their duty. Juries are generally too
tender hearted and too weak-headed to
do perfect justice to that class OF ruff
fans unless some person is Killed out
right by the robbers. They forget that
every train robber and nearly every
burglar is prepared to commit murder
and does not hesitate to take life When
resistance is offered.
l. ANOTHER SOCIALISTIC FOLLY.
Portland Oregonian: Argument for a
civil pension list has lately been revived
and given some standing by the in
y Cpr7r a rIy nj
the Treasury There is no sound
foundation for this argument. 1t is no
doubt true that the departments are
numbered by old and relatively inef-
ficient employees. who, though having
receive ed fairly good salaries for years,
have yet utterly failed to provide them
selves with the rainy-day fund of pru-
dence. But these are entrenched
against want by civil service rules
which are in effect provisions for pen
Sions, and no further special legislation
| is required to shield them in age from
| necessity's sharp pinch, even granting
that it is the duty of the Government
| to do so. 1t is generally admitted that
| frugality is not a characteristic virtue
of the public employe.
WHAT DOES SHE PROPOSE?
San Diego Union: Laurier, the Cana
dian Premier, who was recently in
Washington, is quoted as saying that
there is no intention whatever Of ne
gotiating any reciprocity treaty that
would interfere with or affect Canada s
| existing British preferential tariff" If
| this means what the words indicate, the
question may we'll be asked: What does
| Canada propose to give for concessions
| from the United States? AS it is, there
| is strong sentiment in this country
against opening our agricultural mar
kets to Canada, even though our man
ufacturers gain by the arrangement.
But if the Dominion does not propose
to concede most favored nation" priv
| ileges, there would not seem to be much
| basis On which to negotiate a reci-
procity treaty.
GOVERNMENT AND WATER.
| Redlands Facts: We now have sub
! stantiated reason for the hope that the
Government will soon take a hand in
| the development of water for irriga-
| ton purposes. Colonel Allen, Super
visor of Government Forestry Reserva-
| tions in California and Arizona, has
| lately been making personal inspection
| of the mountain water sheds. He states
that "the Government has interested
| itself in the water supply of this coun-
| try" and his labor has been prelimi-
nary to official action. That is good
news. There is an abundance of wa
| ter In the natural mountain reservoirs,
and as the property belongs to the Gov
ernment the responsibility rests upon ii
| for comprehensive system of develop
ment
DOING ALL IT PROMISED.
| Riverside Press: The Dingley law is
doing all that its trainers promised for
| it up to this time. The November re-
ceipts viii average nearly one million
| dOllare per day for each business day
| of the month. All of this is accom-
| plished without any material revenue
from the duty on sugar, as the import
ers are now using up their large stock
of that article which was imported be-
| fore the new law went into effect. 1t
is estimated that the revenue from the
duty on sugar when the present stock
| is exhausted will average $1,000, 600 a
month, which of itself will be sufficient
| to bring the revenue up to a sum equal
| to the ordinary expenditures. With
| tuC llctCdSe WHICH VIII cOiIe from OL0-
er articles, such as wool, wooden goods
and other manufactures with which the
| country had been filled, it is now per-
| fectly apparent that the revenue pro-
| duced under this law will be ample
| not only to cover all the expenses of
| the Government. but replace the losses
under the Wilson bill law.
| LUMBER GOING UP.
| klamath (Or) Republican: The phe-
momenal demand for lumber has de-
plete1 the yards at San Francisco, and
many firms have been obliged to re-
! fuse orders, although mills are running
| full blast. In consequence, the price
| has advanced from SO a thousand two
months ago to S13 at present. Shingles
are in great demand east of the Rocky
Mountains, the average Eastern ship
ments being 1900 carloads month.
| The price of shingles has recently ad-
vancad from 81 a thousand to 81 80,
with prospects of a further advance.
And yet we are told that idle men
are not finding employment Are we
to understand from the Popocrats that
| this phenomenal demand, like other de-
mands, will not result in a demand for
| laboring men? An advance in wages
viii surely follow. AS the demand for
! products results in better prices for the
producers, so, also, will the demand for
| labor result in better pay for the wage
| earners
KINGS RIVER CANYON.
Salinas Index: 1t is said that the
Kings River Canyon, which will be
/ ppnr..5 m the r1,hIfa uaxt simmer ic