davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
ComnuIsorr Voting.

From the Chicago Chronicle
As yet there has been no modification or
explanation of the original statement of
the ground upon which the Missouri su-
preme court declared the compulsory vot-
ing law unconstitutional. According to
that statement the court used this Ian
guage: who can estimate the money
value to the public of a vote? 1t is de-
grading to the franchise to associate ii
with such an idea. The ballot of the hum
blest in the land may mold the destiny of
the nation for ages" Thus because of the
vast possible potency Of a vote for good or
evil the court held it unconstitutional to
urge every man to cast his vote by fining
him $3.50 for neglecting to do so.
The decision Is remarkable chiefly be-
cause it is put upon this ground. The law
evidently aimed not to put n money value
on vote. but to compel every man to dis
charge what il assumed to be his duty. The
real objection to the law-which. by the
way, was to be applied in Kansas City
only, under charter provision-was that
1t attempted to make u legal duty out OF
an act which is at best only q moral duty.
The elective franchise. as the term i'm
pies is Il privilege. This privilege may be
regarded as a right insofar as its exercise
may be necessary in order to the defense
OF natural rights. Its exercise may or
may not be Il moral duty To attempt TO
make 1t n legal duty would be tyranny. 1t
would be an unwarranted invasion of in
dividual liberty.
This franchise is essentially for the
benefit of the grantee. not of the grantor.
1t is not granted because it is supposed
that the vote of every elector is essential
or even conducive to the public welfare.
but because it may be essential as a
weapon for the defense of his own rights
1t Is not the moral duty of every man Ia
vote every time anybody or anything is to
be voted for, and when he has no special
reason for desiring one result rather than
another, any more than it is his duty ia
walk in the public highway q mile or tive
every day because he has a right to wall
there.
There We're multtudes of electors who
had not formed and could not form an in.
telligent judgment about the great cur
rency question which was at issue durins
the last campaign. 1t Is simply prepos
ferrous to say that it was their duty tC
vote on that question and that those whC
did not vote, including. of course thos,
who did not vote wrong, deserved to bt
fined That would amount in the end Il
saying that if half i dozen men didn't
vote when their votes would hay,
changed the result and cost the country
its credit and thousands of millions of dol
lars they deserved to be fined for not ex
ercising their ignorance to the ruin of theil
country.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
Picknninny Jim,s IdenI.

Is hyuhd 'em tell bout Solomon,
An all de t'ings he knew,
But bet I knows a gemman
Dat kin beat i'm: easy. too.
Hit ain no use ter ahgufy,
De questions settled, cause
De smahtest man dat evuh lived
Is Mustuh Sanity Claus.
He knows de chilluns names, he does.
An whah dey's livin' at,
He nevuh gives de boys no dolls,
Ner gals no ball and bat,
An when he travels. he doan' make
Mistakes, an halter pause,
1 wished knowed my joggerfy
Like Mustuh Sanity Claus.
Is hyuhd dat he makes happiness
Ter mingle wifi de tears;
An brung de gladness ter de face
Dat hasn' smiled in, years.
He doan' git out an preach an shout
Bout taxes an dc laws;
But de smahtes' man dat ebber lived
Is Mustuh Sanity Claus.
Washington Star.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
The New Political Geography.

From the Boston Herald
Senator Lodge presents in the January
number of the North American Review
some interesting facts and figures bearing
on the result of the late election. These
Include tables showing the percentage OF
liliteracy, of foreign born inhabitants and
of wealth and population in the twenty
three states that went for Mckinley and
the twenty-five that We're carried for Bry'-
an Taken in connection with the study
naue by Secretary Morton of some general
characteristics of the two divisions of
states, fairly comprehensive idea may
DC obtained of the material, social and
economic conditions which distinguish the
communities broadly separated by the at
titude they maintained toward the issues
OF the election. Mr.. Lodge rightly insists
on the magnitude of the victory represent
ed by the election of Mckinley. He dis
poses of the idle computations of how
many thousand votes would have su!iced
to change the result with the statement
that 1t is more difficult to change votes
when the margin is narrow and political
lines tightly drawn than when the mar
gin is wide and party ties loose Moreover
while at the last four presidential elections
the candidates elected were in n minority
of the popular VOTE ranging from Cleve-
lane's $4,000 in 1884, to Cleveland's 9455O)
in 1892, Mckinley received the largest plu-
rality and the largest majority ever given
W
defeated Greeley
According to Senator Lodges tables the
average percentage of illiteracy in the
twonty-three Mckinley states is 40. while
in the twenty-five Bryan states it is 2OO3
According to Secretary Morton of the
100000 of illiterate white people of the
country, 59.S per cent were in the latter
ulVislon, and A0.7 per cent in the former
M Lodge shows that 3099 per cent of
the population of the Mckinley states is
foreign born, while the proportion in the
Bryan states is 20.29 per cent. Taking the
estimate of the present population of the
United States as 70,360, ,000 the states car
riei for Mckinley have 45OOO,OOO and those
for Bryan only %, 600. which agrees very
closely with Mr.. Morton's computation on
the basis of the last census that the Nc
kinley states have 63S per cent and the
Bryan states 36.2 per cent of the popula-
ton. Mr.. Lodge places the wealth of til,
MCKINLEY states at SIG. 7S9 900, 900. and that
of the Bryan states at S17094, 600 OOO
while Mr.. Morton. dividing the same
census figures into their elements of
real and personal property shows that
the Mckinley states owned 6SS
per cent of the real and 761 per cent of the
personal property of the country Still
more significant. perhaps, is the fact that,
| of the silver product of the country. 2.3
per cent only is yielded by Mckinley
| states, the remaining 97.7 per cent coming
IRON the states that went for Bryan.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
Best Specimen of ReportorIa1 Work.

F. S. Pixley in Chicago Tines-Herald.
Charles a. Dana once said that the de-
scription of the chariot race in Ben Hur''
was the finest specimen of reportorial work
in the English language.
1t would be more difficult to pick out the
finest specimen of reportorial work in mod
ern journalism, of course, but competent
judges have agreed that the description Of
''the gas house murder" printed several
years ago in the Cincinnati Enquirer. de-
serves TO live as the best instance of repor-
torial work that ever graced a modern
newspaper. The circumstances under
which that wonderful story was written
are interesting.
1t was a red-hot night for news. One aft
er another all the star members of the
staff had been sent out on assignments un-
til the city room was practically vacant. \
rough, uncouth. queer-looking tramp saun-
tered in and asked for a job. The city ed
itor told him there was nothing for him
and turned to answer the telephone. Over
the wire came the information that evil
dences of murder had been discovered at
the city gas works. The caller was just
shuffling out of the room when the city ed
itor hung up the receiver and called out:
Wait a minute, Go out to the city gas
works and see what's the matter there.
Come back as soon as you can"
The stranger was back again within an
hour. ITS a murder he said. and went
into the reporters room. \ half hour later
when the city editor entered the room he
found the new reporter lying full length
upon the top of long table. while the
blank paper was held close to his face be-
cause of an affection of the eyes which preA
vented the eyeballs from turning in their
sockets. Picking up a few pages of the
| manuscript, which was beautifully written
and had the tineness Of copper-plate, the
editor read it carefully and then laid his
hand gently on the writer's head. This In
stantly ELECTED Il snarl like that of wild
beast. ITS all right remarked the edit
or. Keep your temper. You may give us
all of that stuff you can write"
The stranger continued to write until long
after midnight and his matter filed three
columns. 1t gave all the details of one of
the most horrible murders in the history OF
modern crime-the killing of an official OF
the gas company by an employee, who dis
membered his victims body and cremated
the fragments in coke furnace.
The description of this crime had all the
fascination of Edgar Allen Poes gruesome
tales. and the story Of the gas house mur-
der became a reportorial classic. The un-
known who wrote it never had been heard
| from before that time, though his name
afterward became we'll known TO lovers OF
American literature. 1t was the initial ap-
| pearance in newspaper work of Lafcadio
| Hearn.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
A Magnanimous Pop Governor.

From the Boston Herald.
Let us do justice TO the incoming Pop
ulist government of Kansas! During
the campaign it was announced that
one /of the first things the Populist can
didhte for governor would do IL he was
elected. would be to order the removal
of the handsomely appointed bathrooms
I'm the state capitol. This issue was
taken up by the opposing forces. and
there was hot discussion as to whether
the bathtubs should go. Having won the
fight, the PopuIist governor-elect now
magnanimousy announces that the bath
ing accommodations will be permitted to
remain, but that they will not he thrown
open for the use of anybody and everybody
who wishes to use them, whether he is
state official or not. But the flesh powder
Florida water, cologne and Turkish towels
must CO. The Populist Eovernor-elect Is
against these luxuries. He also draws tho
line against perfumed soap. Just a plain,
ordinary bath will have TO do under Popu-
list rule in Kansas.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
PEFEER.s SPEECH.

The monotony of the senate was contin-
ued last Tuesday by an address from Sem
ator PETER, of Kansas, upon the novel
subject mentioned in the dispatches as the
monetary question" Mr.. PETER, as is
well known, is an expert in finance, hav-
ing since his official career began intro
duced large number of bills for the i'm
mediate issue of vast sums of money from
the mints and the printing presses of the
country and the distribution thereof among
the needy citizens of the republic. In har-
mony with his well known fiat views Mr..
PETERS speech was committed to paper
and read from the manuscript to such as
chose TO remain.
The remarks were based upon Mr.. Pef-
fer's pending resolution, which resolves
that "the result of the recent election did
not show a majority of voters favorable to
any one monetary policy" and calling for
the appointment of commission of five
grave and reverend senators TO investigate
the whole money question and report with
in n year. Then the Kansas statesman
plunged into his subject. not with impas-
| stoned eloquence. as some gIddy or vocif-
erous senators might have done, but with
every word well weighed and delivered
with all the soemnity due TO the occasion
| and the theme.
When the last word of the last line of
the last sheetof his speech echoed through
! out the senate chamber the usual course
was taken with Mr.. PETERS financial eff
forts. 1t was referred to the finance COM
mittee, where it will slumber. probably.
| with his celebrated bill to provide for the
| immediate issue of fifteen billions of dol
lars for the speedy relief of impecunious
| Populists and people hard up. until the
! janitor eventually carries it out in the
| waste basket.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
A GREAT RECnRn.

That prominent citizen Of Minnesota who
boasts OF holding office for forty years
should be a contented man. Nearly half a
century engaged in the pleasing occupation
of drawing salaries or fees at the public
crib and all the time as Republican, is
enough TO crown the existence of any
patrfot with Joy. Think of it. Forty years
tic recipient Of the confidence and trust of
opc's fellow citizens. with scarcely break.
on some rare occasions he was turned
down by the opposition. but he was never
discouraged. was at the convention the
next time and generally knocked the per
simmons.
puring this long period of Office holding
tie Fcntloman in question filed many po-
,iuons Of trust. among them being register
Of deeds, county attorney, county surveyor,
county clerk, probate judge; he was .
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
Now York Press.

Tip in New York Press.
When | was iourneying to St Louis to
attend the Republican convention my at
tention was attracted to a Pennsylvanian
who occupied n berth in my car. He was
unusually tall and seemed to be about the
same size all the way up. He looked over
six feet two inches. and had square shoul-
ders, not broad. His face was pleasant.
His dark hair grew low down upon his
rather sagacious forehead. His nose was
straight and not too sensitive. His mus
tache. heavy and dropping, half hid what
appeared to be an agreeable mouth, with
lips thin enough to suggest dam of
thought instead of a flood of eloquence.
There was n coolness and reserve about the
man that told me he was strong of mind
and purpose and generally hard of head.
Men spoke TO him. bu. he uttered not
word in my hearing all the way. At every
station he was out on the platform. walk
ing thoughtfully up and down. / asked
who he was, and a Philadelphian replied:
That's Penrose; Quay's man.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
Suicidal sIania Among Physicians.

From the Chicago Tribune.
The record of suicides for the year 1896
does not show any abnormal spread of the
mania, the total number, $50, maintain
ing only the usual ratio of increase But
one fact appears in the statistics again
that is not explainable by any previously
known laws of probabilities Forty-five
physicians took their own lives in 1884, in
1895 there were fifty-nine. and in 1896 there
We're forty-seven. and In each of these
years the number was far in excess of the
total number of suicides in the ranks of
all other professions combined. In any
one year this strange disproportion might
be credited to some accident of fate but
now that the condition has prevailed for
three years in succession. and possibly in
many other years when no record was
kept, it inspires a belief that there must
be some definite cause for it other than
coincidence.
The physician is the last person in the
community who would be expected to yield
to any of the ordinary impulses to self
destruction. His association with his fell
low-beings is so intimate and he becomes
such an essential factor in so many lives
that 1t would not be supposed he could
harbor q thought of suicide. His mniStra-
tions to the Affections of humanity arouse
in their liveliest manifestation his sympa-
thetic instincts, yet held in subservience
to his professional skill. and the sense of
responsibility thus inspired would be ex-
pected to divert his mind entirely from
any morbid introspection.
Yet. in spite OF all these activities in his
life. which should make his life more pre-
cious to himself than that of the average
mortal he is the one above all others in
otner professions who have been impelled
most frequently to give up the battle. A
possible explanation may be found in the
fact that many physicians are not able to
subject their sympathies to the professional
point of view. and that the constant con-
tact with all forms of human suffering,
instead of hardening their sensibilities, only
seems TO strain them. 1t can be imagined
how morbid frame of mind might be en-
gendered by this continuous drain on the
emotional nature. resulting at last in u
form of insanity that would make suicide
possible. But this is not a convincing rea-
son for the preponderance of physicians in
the list. but only reason why physicians
figure in it at all to any considerable ex-
tent.
Other professional men. notably lawyers,
are subjected to a mental strain of a diff
ferent sort, but perhaps more severe, which
would be expected to result more often in
mental collapse and probable suicide. It
remains for some psychologist to solve
this unique problem. which seems to battle
all the ordinary methods of reasoning.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
MIR. cAMERoN,sls SUCCESSOR.

Mr. A. Boise Penrose, who has been Sc
lected by the Republican caucus of the
Pennsylvania legislature to succeed Sem
ator Cameron, is gentleman in the prime
of life, lawyer of distinguished ability
and a man of the highest integrity. He
has had some experience in legislative
matters. having served in the lower house
of the state legislature and afterwards two
terms in the state senate. The large vote
he received in the caucus is an indication
of the confidence reposed in him by the
Republicans of Pennsylvania, and he will
dovltless bring to the discharge of his new
duties the sound sense and good Judgment
with which he is credited at home.
The selection of Mr.. Penrose. in addition
TO being high personal compliment,
shows the continued dominance of Mr.
Quay in Pennsylvania politics. The only
other aspirant for Mr.. Cameron's seat was
John wanamaker, one of the most distin-
guished citizens of the state, noted the
world over for his sagacious business quail
ifications. n gentleman of great wealth ac-
quired by honest means and worthy in ev-
cry way TO wear the senatorial toga. But
Mr.. Wanamaker. with all his uualifica-
tons, and supported as he was by the busi-
| ness men of Philadelphia, received the
votes of only seventy-fve participants in
the caucus. He was opposed by Quay, and
against the generalship of the best polf-
ticlan in the United States he had no more
| show for victory than did Bryan in the last
| heated controversy over 16 to 1.
! 1t is said that wanamsker thirsts for re-
venge and that he viii organize his forces
for an onslaught upon Quay when the lat
ter's present term expires and endeavor to
prevent his reelection. He maysdo so. but
such contests are not congenial to his ma
ture and doubtless the mood will wear of!
by 1889.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07

member of the legislature for three terms,
and for six years was mayor, to say moth
ing of postmaster and minor offices, the
titles of which have been lost. In fact, this
distinguished Minnesotan seems TO have
left nothing untried in the way of modest
offices, but gathered them all in with cheer
full resignation TO the onerous duties i'm
posed upon him by his neighbors.
The only thing peculiar about the story
is that these various and numerous eleva-
tions of Republican to office occurred in a
county which was normally Democratic,
the Bourbon majorities being abnormally
large, and still for forty years they bolted
the ticket in order to elect a Republican!
1t may be so, but 1t doesn't look reasonable.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
Mhnt Figures show.

From the n. Y. Commercial Advertiser.
The Wilson-Gorman tariff went into ef-
feet on August 2s, 1894, and with December
81 last the second full calendar year of the
existence of the law closed. The latter
date constitutes an excellent vantage point
for Judging of the qualities of this act as
a revenue-producing measure. What is the
record?
During the twenty-eight months of its
operation the receipts of the present tariff
have amounted to S714.670,761. In the first
twenty-eight months of the Mckinley tariff
the receipts were $50. .937. .226. Under the
Wilson-Gorman tariff government expendi-
lures have amounted to 1856, ,625. III. Under
the Mckinley tariff government expendi-
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
lures for the corresponding period of time

lures for the corresponding period of time
were SS31 .972 i29.
To state the case otherwise. receipts un-
der the Republican tariff exceeded those
under the Democratic tariff for the first
twenty-eight months by Sl2S 266. .i65, while
government expenditures under the former
were only $3.652 7sS less than under the lat
ter. Expressed differently. the Mckinley
tariff yielded a surplus of $10e64. 7az during
the first twenty-eight months of its exis-
tence; the Wilson-Gorrnan tariff produced
a deficit of S119 95i i56.
These figures require TO elaboration.
They carry their own comments. They out
weigh bales of free trade fustian. 1t re-
mains TO be seen whether the defenders of
the tariff of ''perfidy and dishonor" will
still have the audacity and mendacity TO
insist that what the government needs is
'retrenchment'' instead OF revenue.
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
KANSAS TOPICS.

In its remark that certain schoolma' am
of the vicinity went down into her jeans
and paid the expenses of the Christmas
party the Augusta Journal is recording
the fact that dress reform has reached
Butler county in its most horrible form. or
else that its figures of speech are trihe
awkward.
Two well known citizens of Coffeyville
rushed up to one of the clergymen of the
town the other day and asked him to settle
n disputed point in grammar. He rendered
his decision with considerable pride and
qualification in the knowledge that he
should have been selected as person quail
flied for such Il service, but imagine his
surprise and horror when one of the citi-
zens turned to the other with ehe eXultant
remark: Now, Jim, that case of beer is
on YOU
Again We must remark that wherever the
Kansas man may wander he comes TO the
front with remarkable celebrity. 4 short
time ago F. NJ. Warner left Cherokee and
went TO Washington state, where he started
a country newspaper. Inside of three
weeks he had n libel suit for $4,000 on hand
and no less than three men were laying for
him with cowhides.
Ex-State Superintendent II. n. Gaines is
announced as n Candldate Tor secretary of
the coming senate. Before he is elected n
bond should be extracted from him either
to stop praying or quit swearing.
The announcement from San Francisco
that California is about to send a United
States senator who is owned body and
breeches by the sugar trust ought to palIi-
ate the feeling of loneliness which is op-
pressing Senator PETER.
Fred Whiting tells about little girl at
| Osawatomie who got out her play iron on
| Sunday and began ironing her dolls
clothes, and who was reproved for it by
| her mother. We'll, mamma. responded the
little one. don't you 'spose God knows
| this iron is cold?''
The day after he is succeeded by his
! PopuIist successor State Auditor George E
| Cole will. by special arrangement. enter
| the Santa Fe hospital in Topeka and sub.
nit to an operation upon his injured hip
| Twenty-Five years ago Mr.. Cole, who wa:
then a farmer boy, was thrown from
horse and received the injury. From that
| day TO this the wound has never healed
and there has been scarcely an hour wher
| he was not in pain. The surgeons do no
4 promise him the use OF his limb. but they
| believe they can remove portions of tn,
1 bone, heal the wound and remove the pain
| a remarkable coincidence exists III the fac
| that Mr.. Coles brother. Irving. who II
bond clerk in the auditors Office, wa,
| injured in precisely the same manner. be
| ing thrown from Il horse on the same farm
However the surgeons removed his limb a
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
Ocular Evidence.

From the Washington Evening Star.
zone of the great objections to whisky"
said the man of abstemious habits, lis the
fact that in this era of adulteration it con-
tains so many foreign substances
Young man." replied Colonel StillwelI,
"yoh have just given utterance to one OF
the most impressive truths that 1 know Of
Why. sub, last night saw man pouring
watah into it,
Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07

to sections where the private banks are few
and too young and poor to inspire much
confidence.
With these reservations, the present at
tempt at creating a public demand gener-
al and loud enough TO induce congress to
pass postal savings banks bill may be
commended even by the most strenuous
obJectors to paternalism and the assump-
ton by the government of business func-
tionS,