davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27

| new torpedo boats, three Of which were de-
| stroyers, Of the 3O-knot class. Here. again,
accordingly, we have q vastly greater add.
tion than Is proposed now.
On the other hand, the Navy Department
is anxious to lay out largo sums In new dry
docks; and this fact, together with the
need Of heavy installments for ships still
under construction, the condition OF the
Treasury, not favorable yet to large expen-
ditures, and, finally, the armor plate
problem, still not settled, perhaps justIhes
Mr.. HALE, who follows Secretary LoNe's
views, In not asking for more h one new
battleship at this time. Il should be ro-
membered, however, that these great naval
structures cannot be extemporised, and
that q ship begun now can be used only two
or three years hence. Accordingly, though
our foreign relations may NOT now DO dis
turbing, 10 IL really the possible future
rather than the present that we must con-
slider, while . like view suggests that. be-
fore most Of the payments for vessels now
authorised had come due, the country
would be better able to meet them. Hence
we should say that, II two battleships wero
authorized instead Of one, the addition
would not be excessive.
Mr.. HALE proposes to have the battleship
built on the Pacific coast. provided this
can be lone OF n fair cost. The reason 10
that the Oregon Is our only battleship
there, whereas we have the Iowa, Indiana,
Massachusetts. Kearsarge, Kentucky, ILL
nois, Alabama, Wisconsin, Maine. and
Texas. either built or building, on the At
lantic. For an analogous reason he would
nave two Of the torpedo boats and one de-
stroyer built on that coast. But II at the
same time q battleship were authorised for
tho Atlantic, tho question Of flair cost"
might be somewhat more easily determined
by the competition, since thus far only one
Pacific coast firm has built steel warships
other than torpedo craft.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27
Will England and Japan Cooperate
in tho Pacific?

According to q telegram from London.
Great Britain and Japan have informally
agreed to cooperate In the far East, and
the British and Japanese warships are to
meet at q preconcerted rendezvous. This
agreement may put an entirely new face on
the Chinese situation. 1t does not neces-
sarily follow that the partition of China
will not go on, but this, at least, is certain,
that there will be five instead Of three par.
t%itioners.
From a military as we'll as naval point of
view, Great Britain and Japan are stronger
OF the eastern coast of Asia than Russia,
France and Germany combined. This will
not be the case when the T~rans.Siberian
Railway is completed, but for the moment
1t Is undeniable. With the command of the
sea assured to him, the Mikado has It In his
power to place on the Chinese mainland q
force altogether superior to any that the
Gear could array against him under pres
emit circumstances He could count on such
maritime ascendancy. for all the war
ships that Russia, Germany. and France
now have, or are likely to have, In the
Pacific would be unable to cope with the
Japanese and British fleets. This was as
patent on the date of the treaty Of Shimo-
noseki as 1t is to-day, and the British
Foreign Office must now regret that 1t
did not earn the fervent gratitude of
the Japanese by encouraging the Mikado
to repel the revision of that treaty,
upon which Russia, Germany, and France
insisted. Had the treaty stood In its origi.
nal form we should now hear no talk of
partitioning China; there would be NO
Germans at Kiao Chou Bay, and no Rus.
slams at Port Arthur. On the contrary,
the Japanese would now be In possession
of Corea, of the Llau Tung peninsula,
and of the intervening strip Of Chinese
Manchuria. and. with the two naval
fortresses of Port Arthur and Wei Hal Wei
in their hands, they would be absolute
masters of the Gulf Of Pe-chi-li, 80 long, OF
course, as the British and japanese fleets
should act together. With such advan'
tages Of position, the two cooperating pow
ers could not lave failed to dominate the
Pekin Government. and would have beer
quickly recognized as the protectors of the
Middle Kingdom.
1t was, indeed, a precious opportunity
which England missed In April. 1895. and
it would never have occurred had Germany
and Russia deferred the execution of theil
designs upon China until after the Trans
Siberian Railway was finished. Luckily
for England's future interests in the fal
East, the German Kaiser could not restrain
his impatience, and seized Kiao Chou Bay
thus compelling the Russians to occup!
Port Arthur lest the Japanese should tax,
it.. Their Is a report that the Russian
are prep ring al Port Arthur temporar,
quarters for ten thousand soldiers, but the,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27
uhe Governments Biggest Banking
Business.

The one great argument Of the opponents
Of Government paper currency Is, that the
issue Of demand notes to serve as money Is
banking. Consequently, the cry Is; "The
Government must go u OF the banking
business r. The fact Is disregarded that In
che older civilized countries, no banks. other
than a few that are Government agencies,
ara permitted to issue circulating notes,
and that their issue is not an essential part
of the business of banking. The u%surpation,
by our American banks, Of the Government
function of supplying the people with a
circulating medium has been permitted for
no many years, that it has, In the eyes OF
bank officers, become not only a vested
privilege but a vested monopoly.
At tho same time, the champions OF the
banks against the Government completely
overlook a case OF the performance, by the
Government, of real banking functions on a
!. colossal scale. The banks in this city COM
plain Of interference with their privileges
BY the trust companies, and, at various
bank conventions the competition OF ex-
press companies and telegraph companies
in making remittances OF money from one
point to another has been denounced as un-
khiIs ia okatltob VIC OAhoA shiSNS
of the Post Office in selling, in the form
Of money orders, what are equivalent to
bank checks and drafts, not q word has yet
been uttered.
The Money Order Department Of the
Post Office handles, in the course OF a year,
R400, 600, 1000, and in SO doing 1t issues and
redeems 80, 1000, 900 pieces Of paper. Not
only does It transmit money for the pur-
chase of goods, the payment Of debts and
the making Of gifts, but travellers resort
to its agency to provide themselves with
funds at the various stages of their jour
neys, in preference to using bank drafts
and letters of credit. Great as the volume
of the business is, 1t Is still growing, and
Postmaster . General GARY proposes to
double Il the coming year, by adding a
thousand o month to tho money.order Of
fees already in operation.
II the Government Is togo out Of the
banking business it must begin by abolish
Ing the Post Office Money Order Depart
ment. Then, on the Same principle. It
should go out Of the express business and
cease to carry merchandise In the mails.
Next, 1t should stop coming metal, run
ming its own printing Office, and doing its
own engraving and printing. Finally, IL
should cease maintaining it's navy yards,
docks, and all other national establish.
: ments, the operations Of which Interfere
whit profits Of private enterprise.
It Is time that the talk about tho Govern.
ment's going out of the banking bust.
ness" should end. 1t is illogical and absurd.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27
Tho Alphabet Of Great Americans.

Tho Alphabet OF Great Americans.
We have already spoken Of Congressman
DALzELL's bill to reform the street nomen-
clature Of Washington by bestowing the
names Of distinguished Americans upon the
thoroughtares low sridly and harshly dis
tinguished by the letters Of the alphabet.
The Senate has also gone into the busi-
ness Of remaining the Washington streets.
Senator MCMILLAN Of Michigan has intro
duced two bills dealing with this inter
esting subject. The FIRST measure provides
that there shall be no repetition Of street
names in the city or in the District; that
the minor streets or alleys now bearing
Objectionable or cacophonous names shall
receive new appellations, and that the
names Of distinguished Americans shall be
preferred, living worthless being barred
from consideration.
The second Mcmillan bill presents a &C.
lection Of names which differs in many
respects from Mr.. DALzELL's scheme.
Many of the names chosen vary from Mr..
DALzELL's list, and while DALzELL ran the
same name both North and South, MoMIL-
A distinguishes between North and
South and furnishes two lists. Many
readers of THE SUN will be interested In
comparing the two lists, and in studying
them to ascertain whether the Representa-
tive or the Senator has made the moro
judlcious selectiou:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27

A weekly newspaper published In Bos-
ton contains this urbane and tolerant explana-
ton Of the municipal election in that city:
"Tho MAyoralty election In this town has simply
proved. counting RnEY's vote and oUINcy's plurality.
that there are seven thousand more ignorant voters
In Boston than there ara honest. educated. represen.
tative American citIzenS. The election proves moth.
Ing more or less"
We should have liked to see the Hon. EDWIN
UPTON CURTIS, Republican. elected Mayor
Of Boston, but we hope and believe that there
are mighty few men in Boston or anywhere
else SO narrow. mean. and foolish as to as.
sumo that all political virtue dtells with them
and that ignorance wins when their side is
licked. The Mugwumps ought to DO allowed to
monopolize that sort Of thing.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27
Tho Next Group of Ships.

The regular annual appropriation bills
originate In the House Of Representatives,
and the annual provision for the Increase of
the navy. which has been going on for moro
chan o dozen years. invariably forms a part
Of the Naval Appropriation bill. Never
theless, the Senate repeatedly has initiated
. naval increase bill of Its own, as a sepa-
rate measure, and sometimes, we think, has
debated and passed 1t, Just as II 1t were not
certain to be %supplanted by tho regular
provision in the House supply bill.
Following this treasured Senate priv.
ilege of at least introducing a navy Increase
measure, Mr.. HALE has brought forward a
bill which is very sensible, in the main,
and may we'll serve as material for making
mp the real provision, which will originate
In the House. 1t adds one battleship, to
displaee not less than 1880 tons and ia
cost, without armament, $3.50, 900; six
torpedo boats Of about l75 tons, to make
not less than 81 knots at the maximum,
N to cost In the aggregate. including
armament, not over 81, 125, 900; finally
three 30-knot torpedo boat destroyers, tc
cost, with armament. not over 5000, 900.
This cannot be called an excessive pro
vision. More than once a session has au
thorized three first-class battleships, In ad
dition to other vessels. The act OF Jrne 30
1890. for ex, m pie, auth IriEeI Ii, Indiana
Massachusetts,, and Oregon, and IN addi
tion the big cruiser Columbia, which cosl
more than all the nine torpedo boatl
in Mr.. HALE's bill would cost. In addi
tion, that act authorized the Ericsson
Again, the act of une 10, 1895, author
ized the Illinois, Alabama, and Wisconsin
of IL 1925 tons displacement. that is, of tn,
same class to which the single new on,
would belong. That same act gave US tel
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27

could not collect there even that number
without the utmost difficulty, should they
lose tho control OF the sea, rs they arc Ger
tain TO do II England and Japan assume q
hostile attitude. It would be far harder to
march troops from the present terminus OF
the Tr~ans~Siberian Railroad or from Vladi-
yostock than IL was to march troops to the
Crimea, and that undertaking brought the
Russian Empire to Its knees.
What Japan would like to secure through
England's cooperation Is sufficiently clear.
She would like to zee reasserted the treaty
Of S~hlmonoseki In its original form, for her
people view with evaporation the spectacle
of Corea and Of the Liau Tung Peninsula
dominated by the Russians, who are reap
ing where they have not sown. But Russia
would hgbt desperately TO yecuro an ice-free
port In the Pacific, and even English public
opinion would no longer sanction an at
tempt to Illustrate that reasonable wish.
Some way, therefore, must be found Of rec
onciling tho conflicting interests Of Russia
and Japan, and 1t seems hard to devise one
which will not involve q further dismem-
berment Of the Chinese seacoast. The Gear
might be prevailed upon to let Corea be
occupied by the Japanese. who might, In
the course Of time, restore IL to It's ancient
prosperity but II he himself retaiLs Port
Arthur. he annot with any show Of de-
cenoy refuse to support the German claim
to n similar concession. France, however,
as we'll as Germany, backed Russia in de-
manding a revision Of the Shimonoseki
treaty. It follows that II Germany must
now have compensation, Russia's ally.
France, Is also entitled to reward.
On the whole, It looks as II China could
not escape further mutilation, for England
and Japan could not, without q war, re-
store the state Of things contemplated by
the Shimonoseki treaty. But one thing
they can easily do. Such Is their present
preponderance on land and at sea In the
far East that, without recurring to HOSTILE
ties, they an, undoubtedly. secure conces.
sions equal, or more than equal. to those
gained, or expected, by Russia. Germany,
and France.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27
CURRENCY BASED ON BANK ASSETS.
a WARNING from tho FaIIure or the Chestnut
Street Bank In NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Talk
from tho Comptroller OF the Currency.

a warning from the Faiiure or the Chestnut
Street Bank In Observation-Disclosures Talk
from tho Comptroller OF the Currency.
To THE EDITOR OF THE suN-Sir: A bank
director told me to-day that Mr.. Singerly had
borrowed $65O.ooO from the Chestnut Street
National Bank, of which he was President. and
had then borrowed a lot more from the Chestnut
Street Trust and Savings Fund Company. Of
OF the stock Of the Chestnut Street National
Bank, out Of which he had already extracted
all the wind.
or Gage plans of currency based on assets"
has LOST Sound money this. indeedi
I SEQ by the Washington correspondence Of
the Inquirer of this morning, that Comptroller
Eckcls is reported to have said yesterday. that
the condition OF Singerly's National Bank is
now so per cent. better than II WAS two years
ago an ,ae %eiey yst II R %ss t onl an. ID a nat th t w oa Ys sot
have done to have lad a bank failure at that
time;" thus admitting that, Il fact. no has
tnow " t tRs b sMH y'Tffhs r.. P %ress th hepG psI,l%SH r' E sopsi,
as spying. that there Is not the slightest sus.
picion Of wrong doing on the part OF any one
s sSnnsp' 9 ~, MN pr tGi is%ne 81 ,S Sed N saiis 8 nG' sanf
act. which distinctly forbids the loaning of
more than, 10 per cent. of the capital of a ma
tionai bank Nc to any one person or co r, Pr
bank. for his own uses, not only Its entire capt.
Ia, but $l5O.0OO more than its capital
If Mr.. Eckels Is going, to, run the Chicago
President. upon this view OF right and wrong
doing in national banking, his bank will proba-
bly, fail as disastrously as Mr.. Singerly's. which
business is known TO be impossible. j.
PHILADELPHIA. Dec. "a. 1897.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27
JudRo PaIaon.

There is a great hullabaloo among the
gentlemen who live at ease by representing
labor" for an Appropriate stipend, over the
proposed nomination Of the Hon. EDWARD
M. PAxsoN Of Pennsylvania a Chairman Of
the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Mr.. PAxsoN Is guilty Of having been
Chief Justice OF Pennsylvania, and conse-
quently has that unfortunate prejudice in
favor Of law which is 90 common among
Judges. When he was Chief Justice he
charged aGrand Jury In the cases Of the
Homestead rioters that "the n great
question which concerns the people of the
country Is the enforcement of the law and
the preservation Of order" and he used this
language, which pains the "labor repre-
sentatives" and must excite deep indigna-
tion in the bosoms of the believers In the
Chicago platform:
"The law has no quarrel with labor associations 90
long as they act peaceably and respect the rights Of
others; on the contrary. while they keep within tho
law. they have the sympathy Of all good cltisens In
every honest. manly EFFORT to improve their CON.
ditions.
"But the State of Pennsylvania will not permit
these or any other organizations TO trample upon tho
law and deny the right OF other iaborers, not mem-
bers Of such associations"
Judge PAxsoN is also guilty Of knowing
something about railroads. He is receiver
of the Reading. Managers of great railroad
enterprises rant him appointed. Therefore,
heshould not be appointed. Why should the
President of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission be an expertf What the "labor
representatives" want is a'Commissioner
who knows nothing about tho railroad bust.
ness, but who can DO depended upon to
bleed at the nose every time the word "cor.
porations" Is mentioned. They want an
Interstate Commerce Commission that will
cripple the railroads as much as possible.
TILLMAN, DEBs. and SOVEREIGN would
make this kind Of commission.
We don't know whether President Mo.
KINLEY intends to nominate Judge PAxsoN
or not. Geographical considerations may
have to be taken into account. But the
objections that have been made against
Judge PAxsoN arc 80 many compliments to
his fitness for the post.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27

To THE EDITOR OF TIRE suS-Str: Under the head
"Three Is Together In skillless.' YOU print to-day q
letter from " F. r. L." J~ustirying that spelling. find
in the Standard Dictionary that two Is are the correct
number used to get the best result In spelling the
word In question. W. q.
NEW YORK. Dec. e6.
Webster's Dictionary. 1t 10 true. prints tho
word skill-less, but az a compound word, which
bars It QUE of the present inquiry. Web3ter's
gives Shakespeare as authority for this form.
The adjective occurs four times In Shakespeare.
In some editions 1t is printed occasionally as
skill-less; generally. however, as skilless. In
the nrst folio. of 1928, 1t appears invariably as
skillesse.
The English word. therefore. which contains
thrice in succession the same vowel or conso.
nant. az in Hawaiiism. were there such a word.
has yet TO DO produced in answer to the CUES.
tIon OF our correspondent. "R. g."
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27
In His Own Place.

According to the Ne,p Fork Tribune, IL
the personality or the methods Of the men
charged with the routine management Of
the necessary organization of . party offend
the prejudices Of a faction In the party, It
is laudable for the faction to betray the
party at the polls. The party, It says, team
endure defeat" but the ~malcontents should
not submit to miscarriage of their schemes
to rule It; or that is in substance the argu-
ment of the Tribune.
That Is the course which was pursued by
WHITELAw REID in the late campaign, and
which he 10 plotting to continue In the
campaign Of next year. Members Of tho
treacherous faction of which he 10 the ma
lignant spirit declare openly their determi.
nation to divide and beat the Republican
party In the momentous contest of 1898.
He and they are not Republicans from
any principle, but only If the personality Of
the leaders Of the organization suits them.
That is, they are Mugwumps. 1t is with
them a question Of men and not principles.
They did not conspire with their follow
Mugwumps to beat the Republican party in
the late campaign because of any incon-
sistency between the Republican platform
and the established principles of the party.
They could not find n fault with the
ticket nominated, for 1t was irreproachable
in Its composition, but they combined with
the Mugwumps to defeat it solely because
the managers Of the party organization did
not suit them; n the article in the
Tribune to which we have referred gives
notice that they intend to continue to graf
lily their personal revenges in efforts to
maket the party "endure defeat"
1t is well that this deliberate purpose
conceived by the malIgnity of WH1TELAw
REID, aroused because of his chagrin and
modification at not getting the Office he
is after, has been exposed thus plainly to
the Republicans of this State Inc the Union
generally. They are Republicans because
they believe in the principles of their party;
are men Of honest and sincere political con-
victiona, and they use the party organize
ton simply as a means to an end. So long
as 1t is Republican and loyal to the
principles of the party they stand by 1t
as necessary to the consolidation of their
political strength. Even II they are not
altogether satisfied with 1t, they do not set
out to get rid of 1t by treacherously stabbing
their party. A Roman Catholic would not
strike down the Church simply because he
preferred another man for Pope. There are
no Episcopalians In this diocese seeking to
destroy the Episcopal Church because OF
dislike of Bishop POTTER.
WHITELAw REID. however, is trying to
incite Republicans to betray their prin.
ciples by defeating their party, simply
because Senator PLAT is too big q mar
for him to use. REID Is a poor creature,
a played-out politician. an unsuccessful
editor, and a bitterly disappointed office
seeker, who is incapable of understanding
that men of honesty Of political conviction
are influenced by higher onsideration
than personal malignity. He has gone tc
his own place, and it is In the ranks Of
the spiteful Mugwumps.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27

There are some wise and prudent men in
the Illinois Legislature. The House Revenue
Committee has reported. with q recommends.
tion to pass, q bill (which makes an onslaught
on all corporations organized under other laws
than those Of Illinois. providing that the CAPT.
tai stock of such of these companies al do bust.
ness In Illinois shall DO assessed by tho State
Board Of Equalization the same as that
Of companies existing under Illinois laws
The same COMMITTEES has reported favora-
bly, Q bill levying q tax of 9 per cent. on the
gross receipts of gas and electric lighting com.
panies. However. Q per cent. Is considered In.
sufficient, and a strong contingent favors an In.
crease to 5 per cent" Two per cent. 10 ridicu.
lous. Imagine tho Hon. RIcHARp TURIN
stopping a coach on Hounslow Heath and beg.
ging the occupant to oblige him with Q couple OF
shillinRsi
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-27

derrick. @Sas an anstpous old town cersioana isIU
GalussFon NetOS.
This 10 not a subject for mirth. All Christmas
Day the Hon. ROGER QUARLEs MILLS, the Corsi-
cana Golden. sat in moody silence. He frown d
1t his turkey as II 1t were a Custom House.
He scowled at his plum pudding as II
IL were a plutocrat- What is Christmas to .
plutocrat-hunter who owns a fat alice OF oil ter
ritoryI How can no spout when his oil wells
arc spouting In oppositioni The more oil In
CorsicanA. the moro vinegar In the once sugared
soul OF ROGER QUARLEs MILLS.