davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The herald., 1898-01-29
BIG STEAL PREVENTED

For a second time the proposition to
reserve from entry the gilsonite lands
embraced within the four Indian reser-
vations in Utah has been defeated in the
house, and we trust a final quietus has
been put upon the scheme.
1t is matter about which the general
public is but meagerly informed.
Gilsonite is a new mineral substance,
thus far found only in Utah. and named
for it's discoverer, Major ellison of Salt
Lake City. For paving purposes it is
said to excel the best asphaltum import
ed from the island of Trinidad. 1t is
known to exist in great quantities in
the section named.
A bill has been pending for more than
two years, providing for the allotment
of lands in severalty to the Indians. 1t
of gilsonte that suggested a treaty with
the Indians. Whenever anything valu-
able is found on Indian lands the white
man somehow manages to euchre them
out oft. Nevertheless, tits right to divest
them of title to that which they will not
develop.
But in this case it has been proposed
to take the. gilsonite lands from the
red Indians and hand them over to the
white Indians, for syndicate of specu-
lators stands ready to absorb these val
uable deposits, monopolize the produc-
tion of asphaltum in this country run
the Trinidad trust out of the field, and
then of course, put the screws to every
municipality standing in need of paving
material.
At this session of congress the gilson-
ite steal was incorporated in the Indian
appropriation bill. and the schemers
were almost successful in putting the
measure through with that provision, it
having been stricken out just before
the final vote was taken on Thursday
The gilsonite deposits when title to the
lands in which they are found is again
vested in the United States, should be
subject to the laws governing the ioca-
ton and patenting of all other mineral
lied lands, to the end that they shall
not be gobbled as a whole by syndi-
cate or trust. Opened up and developed
by private individuals and companies,
and their product subjected to a COM
petitive market, the selling price can be
kept within bounds and the benefits of
the discovery widely distributed
throughout the country.
In this wise disposition of the lands
Los Angeles will be benefited in proper
ton to its future needs of paving ma
terial. 1t hopes before many years to
them.
The herald., 1898-01-29
phone; Adams on teachers and Poor
on his poor relations. Each of the
Solid Six had some little hatchet to
grind. So it seems.
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP COMING

/ The Populists have been reviled and
pal ownership of public utilities and the
government. ownership of the means of
transportation.
Municipal ownership of public utili-
ties is close at hand, and from the way
the agricultural department is taking
hold of the good roads proposition, it
may not be long before the much
despised Populist may say II told you
So"
Secretary Wilson and General Ray
Stone, who has charge of the good roads
movement, both advocate laying steel
rails in the western states, where mud
bothers, so that the farmers may get
to market during bad weather as well
as in good.
If it is good policy for county or
state to lay steel rails for wagons to
run on is it not better policy for Uncle
Sam to guarantee that when the farm
ers get to the railroad they should have
fair treatment? To guarantee that they
snail not De required TO pay rates DaSeQ
on matured stock: that the large ship
per shall have no advantage over the
smaller one in the way of rebates: that
the courts shall insist that if differ
ence arises between a corporation and
its employees the difference shall be SUBJ
mitted to arbitration?
What good would it do the farmer if
he had good roads to the railroad when
the railroad company can charge him
what it pleases when he gets there?
If it is profitable for community to
lay steel rails for wagons, why not ar
range them so that an electric car could
rum on the traek'if need be, instead of
letting a private company build road,
water the stock and then charge all the
traffic will bear? What we need is busi-
ness sense and business legislation for
the people, not for and in the interest of
the corporation. We want justice and
fair chance.
The herald., 1898-01-29
The Loud Bill

To the Editor of the Los Angeles Herald:
For nearly quarter of a century have
been a publisher of books and periodicals
in the United States. What | am about to
say of your remarks anent Mr.. George 7.
Bruce's communication is therefore not
without experience and opportunity Tor
observation.
If your paraphrase of the Loud bill is
correct, unhesitatingly say that the meas
ure is patriotic and most just.
Mr. Bruce is wrong when he states that
If the bill became a law 1t would shut out
weeklies and monthlies from the privilege
of the second class matter rate. 1t would
close the mails at second class rates to the
most pernicious of literature published
the cheap libraries. Not one of these So
called periodicals has or ever attempts to
obtain a bona fide subscription list. These
paper covered trashy publications are
books and are not and never were
periodicals. 1t was ruling or a
former postmaster general who was
not averse TO the Establishments and
fia;tery of the American News company S
representatives that changed in the twink
ling of an eye paper-covered Billy the
Kids" and Jesse James" books into peri
odicals. The law plainly debars books
from the one-cent-a-poundr rate, and right
ly. Only persons like myself. who have
shipped via Uncle Sans stupid generosity
hundreds of carloads of the aforesaid pc
riodicas" (O can appreciate the alb
surdity of granting a second-class rate
privilege to books. j once tried to convince
Don NJ. Dickinson, then postmaster gener-
al, of the criminal folly of the ruling which
permitted 1.-The Duchess" Bertha NJ. Clay
and others in paper covers to pass al one
cent a pound, when'the revised Holy Bible
and books like Homer's ''Iliad," Don
Quixote," etc, substantially bound in CLOTH
and then sold throughout the United States
at prices ranging from cents to 10 cents
were made to pay cents a pound. The
Hon. Don NJ. Is a politician-at least he
was then. A representative of the Amer
lean News company talked ten minutes to
the committee of the house. and the bill
duplicate of the Hon. Loud's, Is still
gathering dust and cobwebs. May Loud
be like Caesars wife, for the most heart
less of corporations has an anaesthetizing
way with it that puts bills like "his'n' to
an eternal sleep.
There is nothing to initiate against this
statement that 80 per cent of the pub
fishers of books would gladly welcome the
removal of second class rate privileges on
paper covered books. the so-called peri
odicals" which are now the greatest cause
of our yearly deficit in the postmaster
generals reports
r. ]. BELFORD.
San Juan Capistrano, Cal.
The herald., 1898-01-29
Mckenna's Ignorance of Law
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The president has brought 1t about so
that his late attorney general, Joseph S.
McKenna, is to fill the place on the SUI
preme bench of the United States made
vacant by the retirement of Stephen ].
Field.
From a legal standpoint, the difference
between the two men is vast. Field Is one
of the most profoundly learned lawyers
of the age McKenna's deficiencies are
known to every lawyer at all conversant
with the man.
Perhaps story which is being repeated
among the lawyers of the state will best
illustrate how good grounds there are for
not putting McKenna on the supreme
bench.
For the benefit of those not read in the
law. it may be as well to explain that in
the old days of English jurisprudence. no
civil court could try clergyman for any
offense. When the ecclesiastical courts
dealt too leniently with their brethren, the
civil courts insisted on trying clerics. but
after convicting the culprit, he was turned
over to the bishop for punishment. All
degrees of clergy and all the clerks of the
church and all scholars, crept in under
this benefit of the clergy" clause, as 1t
was called. And finally anyone who could
read took refuge under its broad wings.
As a rule, only "churchmen'-tha is. some
grade of clergy or clerk-could read in
those days. Indeed, clerk" comes from
the word clergy, and Henry ii of England
was surnamed Beauclerc. because he
could read and write-an unusual accom-
pishment for king.
This exemption from punishment at the
hands of civil courts, as a special privilege
of the clergy, known as benefit of cler-
gy," was much abused and when parlia-
ment wished to make capital punishment
binding and not to be escaped, the clause
was added to the law, without benefit of
clergy
If a story which seems to be accepted is
true, Judge McKenna knows neither the
meaning of the phrase. nor that the prin-
ciple. now obsolete in England. never had
any force in the United States
Any student of history, though not
lawyer. knows both.
The story is that when McKenna was
on the bench of the circuit court in San
Francisco case is said to have come be-
fore him where it was his duty to pass
sentence on a criminal. In looking up the
law as practiced in the United States
courts, where old forms of English COM
mon law, and even statute law, abound.
many of which are obsolete, McKenna
found that it was laid down that the sem
tence must be passed on the man with
out benefit of clergy" He solemnly con-
suited more than one of his associates upon
the severity of this clause, and upon fur
ther discussion these judges discovered
that Mckenna construed ii to mean that
the criminal was to be deprived of the
comfort and consolation of religion as de-
rived from the advice of a clergyman. Ii
is hardly an eXaggeration to say the other
judges We're confounded at such gross ig-
norance of the very alphabet of the law.
The herald., 1898-01-29
A Blessing in Disguise

1.-The big floods in the Mississippi last
year overtiowed two cotton plantations of
mine down in Mississippi and my tenants
thought they We're everlastingly ruined"
said Calvin Mutt of Maryland at Cham
berlins.
Il thought so, too, as one of the choicest
was ten feet under water and the other
from four to eight feet. | was down there
not long since to collect rents from my
Senegambian tenants, and they paid me
dollar for dollar. having produced on those
flooded farms the biggest crops of cotton
on record. They had paid their debts to the
local merchants, too and still had more
cotton left in the fields than they had
gathered. You never saw happier lot of
Sambos in your life. The overflow was
blessing in disguise to hundreds of us. 1t
left my lands in far better condition than
before the rise, for the waters deposited
on them layer of silt that added i'm
mensely to the fertility of the soil'-
Washington Post.
The herald., 1898-01-29
LAYS ASIDE THE MANTLE

President Mckinley has broken his
dress to the manufacturers, at their an
nual banquet, he has said some things
that help us to a better understanding
of his present attitude upon questions
of national concern.
The first suggestion to attract atten-
tion, and one that cannot but be re-
garded as superfluous, was that "recoV-
cry will be slow" We We're promised
that recovery would be instantaneous:
that it would follow at once upon the
heels of his election, then, that it would
come Immediately after his inaueura-
tion, and finally, that there was nothing
in its way but a revision Of the tariff
schedules; but surely the people would
not expect anything until the law was
in force?
But let that pass. A year has gone.
and in IA circumscrihed section of the
country, not nearly SO large as the state
of California the doors Of the mills are
slammed and barred, with no hope of
their being swung open until congress
shall provide for constitutional
amendment and enact that laborers in
southern cotton mills shall work no
longer hours than are prescribed by the
trust-protected manufacturers of New
England, whom the president has lust
addressed with so much of plattudinous
eloquence.
The next significant thing he said was
that 1--WE must know just what other
people want before we can supply their
wants." which we cannot but regard as
The herald., 1898-01-29
Good Place for Him

To the Editor of the Los Angeles Herald:
Why don't they arrest Rev. c. o. Brown
on the charge of adultery and send him to
the penitentiary? BY so doing, the public
may escape his street preaching outrage.
He has been living in luxury for a great
many years on money collected from the
public, and it might be well to make him
work for the government awhile. Besides,
1t would be such fitting place for a gen.
tleman of his character and 1t Is time
such people were made public example.
N. W. MENTH.
Los Angeles, January 28, 1898.
The herald., 1898-01-29
ALL GONE

Whar's my Adam nd Ebe?
Make Gle niger bliebe
Warn't none? Preacher man say
STORY all done away
o my lamD
Whar's my apple so red,
Turned po' Missy Ebe's head?'
Nd de ole sarpent? "All lies"
So say de preacher man, wise.
o my lamb!
Whar's my Jonah, dat groan
In de whales belly all lone?
Couldn't be done dat way
So de new preacher man say.
o my lamb!
Dey take my apple, take my Ebe,
Take my Adam md snake dat decide.
Take my jonah. take my whale.
md bust my 'lijion. Po' nigger wall.
o my lamb.
lone l.. Jones in Puck.
The herald., 1898-01-29

to supply this country with sugar. the
total number of factories required to be
built each year would be so. plus 80, or 50.
AS meantime increase of consumption
would likely continue in about the same
ratio the number (S2) should be increased
about per cent to provide for that. so
that We have a grand total of Sc factories
TO be built annually for ten years before
this nation can grasp the often quoted
sl00 100000 we are spending every twelve
months for sugar. j.
Los Angeles. January %.
The herald., 1898-01-29
FEELING THE PUBLIC PULSE

The San Francisco Examiner of jan
uary 81 contains an article that is, in
the main. fair summary of the water
controversy in this city. 1t is in this
respect in direct contrast with the ma
lciously false publications of the Call.
The Examiner, however, in The Her
aids opinion, errs in one very important
particular 1t intimates that when the
lease of the water company expires next
July, "the water company will try to pre-
vent the city from taking possession of
the water plant until its price is paid"
and that it will then be necessary for
plant"
The Herald does not understand that
there is to be any "bloody brides" busi-
ness about the matter. 1t has heard noin-
timation that the water rcompany desires
to retain possession of the plant after
the expiration of its lease, nor has there
been the slightest Indication that it de-
slres a new lease. What the Water
company is after as The Herald under
stands it, is to get as much as possible,
under it's contract, for the improvements
it has made during the time it has had
possession of the property. The city
can demand possession of the plant at
the expiration of its lease, and the courts
have ample authority and power to
~, .io.l,t re of hnt
will be no acts of piracy permitted by
either party.
The Examiner, with force of thirty
men, has been taking a popular poll on
three questions germane to the water
controversy. 1t says:
The voters were to state whether they
favored the city's ownership of the
water works, and whether they in
dorsed the former policy of the city
council or that of the mayor At the
same time a corps of reporters WAS
started out with orders to interview
people of all classes in the same gem
eral interrogatory. The interviews
show that the vast majority is now of
the opinion that strict business and
legal methods should prevail.
The Examiners first question was SUI
perhuous, except in so far as it contrib
uted to the general result. 1t is vel
understood fact that the people of Los
Angeles are practically unanimous il
favor of municipal ownership. on this
poll the count showed 2459 in favor OF
municipal ownership and 81 against it
had not been completed; but the Ex-
aminer says: 'As far as the count haC
gone on the other two questions, the re-
suit showed a fairly even outcome"
The Herald believes that the sober
better sense of the people of Los Angeles
will prevail in determining the policy OF
the city on the water question. There
would have been little difference of opin.
ion today had not designing agitators
for their own selfish purposes, sought tt
instill the idea that a conspiracy was or
foot to steal the waterworks bodily ant
convey them to the water company. AS
the facts are learned, as it becomes evi-
dent that the city is to be fully protected
in its rights, the influence of the agita-
tors becomes smaller and smaller.
Bartlett on pianos; Webb ON janit-
ors; Mathis on life Insurance.; McIn-
The herald., 1898-01-29
Not Hopeful

IF I were you" said the man who has
bought an encyclopedia and several sets of
biography. Il would call on the man in the
next room."
rs he fond of good type and fine pic
tures?" inquired the book agent.
Il don't know about that. But he is a
great reader. He spends all the time he
can get perusing his books
We'll, I'll go and see him. But | don't
expect much. When man get rights down
to reading his books instead of merely col
lecting them, he generally feels that he
has about all he can attend to without
buying any more. Was shington Star.
The herald., 1898-01-29
STILL IN THE TOLLS

Technically speaking, Walter L.
Webb has been acquitted of the charges
brought against him in the board of ed
ucation. His 'vindication" there ana
in the courts was based upon the ad-
mitted fact that Adams and AXtell, who
gave the direct testimony for the pros
ecution, were self-confessed perJurers.
That does not tell the whole story.
Adams was a member Of the Solid Six,
the combination for profit organized by
Webb and ruled by him with an iron
hand. Adams was Webbs abject slave
Axtell the superintendent of buildings,
though not a member of the board, was
no less the tool of Webb. The arch
conspirator did not disdain the services
of these two men so long as they wrought
for his benefit. So long as they were sub
servient to his wishes, they were good
enough to do the work of the solid SiX.
1t was only when exposure came that
Adams and AXtell were discarded by the
"Solid Five" 1t was only when Adams
and Axtell testified that they had per-
jured themselves before the grand jury
in the vain effort to protect their fellow
manipulators that they We're discredited
by the very combination they We're try
ing to SHE'D. When they appeared before
the grand jury and perjured themselves
they were "all right" in the eyes of the
"Solid Five
What of the "Solid Five?" What of
the future? The sword of Damocles is
hanging over them still. Webb is, as be-
fore, the Dictator the boss with the iron
. clutch. So long as his intimates on the
board of education work his will-so long
as they act in his interest-so long will
they be safe, as far as he is concerned.
But the moment they do not so act-the
moment that Webb's interests will be
better served without them-the moment
it becomes necessary to sacrifice them,
in order to save himself-they will be
cast adrift without mercy.
Webb has been formally acquitted. but
the claws of the combination have been
clipped. The past cannot be wiped out.
The people are on their guard. The
"Solid Five" cannot continue the work
of the "Solid Six" The subordinate
four have sold their official birthrights
for a mess of pottage. They are not to
of pity is denied them.
The herald., 1898-01-29
Temporary Lapse of Memory

II shall ask you this morning, brethren,
said the Rev. DR.. Fourthly. ito be liberal
in your contributions. The purpose for
which this collection is to be used is one
that deserves your hearty encouragement
and support. The money will be carefully
disbursed and every cent accounted for
By the way. Brother Griffith" continued
the good man. turning to the Sunday
school superintendent, will you kindly tell
me again what the collection this morning
is for? find l am unable to recall it at the
nt."-Chcago Tribune
The herald., 1898-01-29

If Axtell had not first done little
crooked work on his own account he
would not have got under the thumb
of Webb. If he had not done Webb's
crooked work he would not have been
hailed before the grand jury. If he
had not gone before the grand jury he
would not have perjured himself. Ak
tell is disgraced and dismissed. Webb
is whitewashed.
The herald., 1898-01-29
Cold Shoulder for the Veterans

A party that declared in 1888 that 1t would
sacrifice the entire internal revenue sys-
tenn rather than abate one jot or little
of protection will not hesitate to choose
between the old soldier and the fat-render-
ing manufacturers. The old soldier might
as well make up his mouth for the inev-
liable dose of bitter medicine.-St Paul
Globe.
The herald., 1898-01-29
Will Bear Watching

We trust that Mr.. Spreckels' intentions
are honorable in the matter of the Los
Angeles water works. We may assume
that they are but his attitude in the mat
ter of the school board corrution in that
city and his opposition to the League for
Better City Government puts him at least
under grave suspicion. 1t is reported,
moreover. that he has some water works
that he would like to sell to the people
of San Diego, and altogether his plans in
the southern country will bear Watching
San Francisco Examiner
The herald., 1898-01-29
Slight Error

I'm very sorry, Mr.. Peck" said the ed
itor that in giving our account of your
silver wedding we should have said you
had been 'harried' twenty-five years. OF
course we meant to say married. "
oh" answered Mr.. n. Peck, "I guess
you didn't miss it to amount to anything"
indianapolis Journal.
The herald., 1898-01-29
In Adams's fall
They sinn-ed all.
But five there be
Who go scot-free.

The interstate coal operators, in view
of their concession of 10 cents a ton to
the diggers, have advanced the price of
fuel to consumers 25 cents ton. There
is nothing remarkable about this but the
modesty of the coal barons.
The herald., 1898-01-29
Not Up to the Old Cure

A French scientist has discovered tnat
the sting of a hornet is perfect antidote
for sanke bite. All the man has 10 90
when bitten by snake Is to run INTO d
hornets nest This is not calculated to
make whisky less popular for the pur-
pose.-Sioux City Tribune.
The herald., 1898-01-29
Mckinley Republicans Scared

The resurrection of ex-senator Tabor OF
Colorado as postmaster of Denver SHOWS
not only to what lengths sentiment can go.
but it also demonstrates that Mchnhiey
Republicans in Senator Wolcott's state arc
hardly numerous enough to go around
Minneapolis Tribune.
The herald., 1898-01-29
THE PUBLIC PULSE

(The Herald under this heading prints
communications, but does not assume re-
sponsibility for the sentiments expressed.
Correspondents are requested to cultivate
brevi:y as far as is consistent with the
proper expression of their views.)
The herald., 1898-01-29

The Solid Five claim it would be an
outrage to convict Webb of extortion
on the testimony of two confessed
liars. But who was the confederate of
Adams and Axtell when They were do
ing their crooked workp Who re-
ceived the extorted money!
The herald., 1898-01-29

If the Chinese have killed four German
sailors, as reported in our dispatches
this morning. and the outrage is settled
for on commercial basis, as in the case
of the missionaries, the kasers possess
ions in the empire will develop into
something like magnificent proportions,
providing the same valuation is placed
upon the lives sacrificed