The record-union., 1897-02-22

| HAS Deen TldQ IN New OTk
that has taken all work out of
! the prisons and with nothing on earth
! to do day after day and week after
week for months and years Insanity is
sure to develop with tremendous rapid
| bty. There are 5000 men in Sing Sing
| begging to be employed at something,
and many cases of madness have al
ready developed for want of something
| to do. Than to do this it Were more
merciful to range the prisoners up in
line along the prison wall and shoot
! them down as suspected persons were
shot in the days of the Paris communs
and the reaction from this barbarity
| Will result in setting all prisoners at
work at profitable employment. There
is reason in all things except the main
| tenance of able bodied men and wo
| men in idle ness, and in that there is
neither reason nor humanity.
STATE ROAD SYSTEM.
! Stockton Independent: State legisla-
/ tom seems to afford the only hope
of uniformity in road Improvement.
| The recent defeat of proposition in
Tuolwmne County to secure a good
road from Sonora to the eastern line Of
! 'LIHC tUuIlly, dll pION tHlleLl SISdliy
needed shows that there is no room
| for hope of any general improvement
by the action of counties. Tuolunne is
NOT alone in this opposition to improve
ment. 1t is because ut has an element
of population that is ahead of other
citizens and other counties that the
! proposition was made. The defeat
serves to show the need of State ac
tion and though experience may show
defects in the pending bill, if it be-
comes a law, it is best to accept it and
learn from it, If it were so amended
as TO leave to the discretion of the
Boards of Supervisors the imposition of
the tax, as is proposed in those coun-
ties that profess to have made plenty
of good roads, those that have not done
so would take advantage of the dis
cretionary clause to do nothing. If the
law does not work we'll during two
years it can be easily amended as ex-
perience dictates and perhaps be made
perfect, but an imperfect law is bet
ter than the present system, or rather
lack of ut, which is intoleralble and al
most any change would be an improve
ment.
THE TARIFF AND WOOL.
Los Angeles Times: The Eastern
wool growers want a new tariff enacted
and are modestly asking for 16 cents
per pound which is , cents per pound
higher than what was paid under the
Mckinley bill. This is not what the
people voted for in November. They
voted for Mckinley because they want
ed mis- tariff and the good times which
prevailed under it. They did not vote
for a prohbftory tariff. nor did they
want to exclude any article so valuable
that its importers could afford to pay
i reasonable duty thereon. Nothing
was further from the minds of those
who nominated Mckinley at St. Louis
than to frame a tariff that should cut
off all revenue through the Custom
houses.
THE IMMIGRATION BUREAU.
Woodland Mail: The land frauds
perpetratad during past years, as point
ed out in Queen Victoria's s recent warn
ing to her subjects, FASTENED this ac-
ton A Commissioner, the State Board
of Trade thinks. would prevent this
and keep the State from ill-repute
1t is to he hoped that the Governor
will see fit to act upon the suggestion
Of these gentlemen, as il would have a
strong tendency to restore the conf
dence we have lost through unscrupu-
lcu5 land sharks, several of whom are
countrymen. Only recently one of these
fraudulent English land companies.
which has been selling town lots on
the MohaVe Desert. was exposed.
TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT.
Santa Rosa Democrat: More than
1,5o0 bills have been introduced in the
Legislature so far this session. A large
percentage Of these will fail of enact
ment. But among those which will
finally pass into the statutes will be
many in-considered, loosely framed,
untimely, unnecessary or vicious acts.
by which The people will not be pro-
tected i'm the enjoyment of their rights
Of life, liberty and property. Any law
which fails Of this end must be set
down rs Improper, injurious AMI
worthy Of NO acceptation. The great
mass Of ill-digested. Improbable and
unneeded legislation which is inflicted
upon the country annually or semi an
nYally in the several States is an evil
OF growing magnitude, for which the
referendum" increasing in popular
favor, is suggested as a corrective.
There ought to be wisdom enough in
the legislative bodies to avoid furnish
ing reasons or pretexts for revolution
ary reforms.
ROAD LEGISLATION.
San Diego Union: There are hopeful
indications that the present session OF
the Legislature will not close without
the enactment of needed road legisla-
ton. The subject has been canvassed
10 a very considerable extent by the
joint committee on roads In conference
with members of the State Bureau Of
Highways. and the probabilities are
that a full agreement as to what meas
ures shall be supported will be reached
in a few days. Good roads legislation
is being enacted in various States. and
the general feeling here is that Caifor-
MIA should join the procession 1t
would certainly be unfortunate If there
should be a failure to take action at
this session, as in that case the be-
ginning of real road reform in this
State would be deferred for two years.
STRANGE COINCIDENCE.
San Bernardino Times Index: Mr..
SearIes gave the beautiful Hopkins