The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-01-07
VOICE OF THE PRESS.
EXTRACTS FROM EDITORIAL
EXPRESSIONS.
State and Coast Opinions on Sub
jects Of Living News
Interest.

v
good directions, whatever it may be in
its ultimate effect. There was good
jury of sensible, reputable and repre-
sentative citizens. They were neither
venal nor mawkish. They were not af-
fected by the theatric efforts, nor i'm
pressed by the roasting of witnesses
by attorneys for the defense. Their
| judgments were not warned by black
guardism and abuse. The sophistries
and diversions familiar arts of lawyers
in weak cases, did not cloud their
minds. The Judge was neither weak
| nor craven-nor yet was he vindictive.
To all appearances the accused had a
| fair show and enjoyed every doubt.
The conviction must be accepted as a
sign of a return to wholesome justice.
AN EPIGRAM.
| Berkeley Gazette: 1t is not the man
who makes the most fuss who achieves
the greatest labor. The persistent, COM
posed and persistent worker, with meth
Cd and prompt application, gets to the
end Of a task most satisfactorily.
TIMBER ARSON.
| San Diego Union: The Federal Grand
Jury at Los Angeles has just indicted
two men, who are charged with setting
fire to timber on Government land In
San Bernardino County With this an
nouncement comes the statement that
the United States authorities propose, to
prosecute these cases vigorously. 1t IS
high time such action were taken. The
men who fires a building, entailing only
slight loss, a few hundred dollars per-
haps, is commonly caught and sent TO
the penitentiary. The fellow who kim
dies blaze that causes the destruction
of many acres of timber, is rarely pun
ished. Yet the loss, direct and result
tant, from the latter's act can hardly
be computed. The value of the timber
actually consumed is only fraction
of the loss The lessening Of the timber
supply may cause damage for years to
come. The Federal authorities should
act with vigor in this matter. In no
part of the country, probably, are for
est fires more serious menace to ag-
riculture than here in California. The
conviction of a few timber-burners, and
the imposition of severe sentences,
would be a lasting boon to the farmers
Of the State.
| AN AUTHORITY.
Los Angeles Herald: Andrew Carne-
gle objects to the policy of Philippine
acquisition because it casts away the
doctrine that governments derive their
just powers from the consent of the
governed 1t substitutes. he says. the
purchase Of eight million of people at
So. 80 per head" Mr. Carnegie is sure
| ly an authority in commercial values,
and we think he is justified in Directing
to the rate that United States has con-
tracted to pay for the Filipinos. Judg-
ing from all accounts about the prop
erty we should think an outside figure
for Filipinos would be two for nickel.
LATER DAY JOURNALISM.
Tacoma Ledger: The funniest part
of later day journalism is the attitude
of one Of the yellow journals in New
York, which is throwing bouquets at
itself for its consideration" in the
| treatment of recent scandal in
Gotham in which the pastor Of a prom
inent church figured. The real facts
are that the paper in question treated
the matter very lightly with what it
is now pleased to call consideration, in
stead of making the usual sensation
of it, because rival yellow journal Sc
cured a clean scoop" and published
the story in advance of all other sem
sation seekers. Hence these Pecksnif-
| han self Congratulations.
| AN EXPLANATION NEEDED.
Fresno Republican,: When the prop
! csdtion was first made to the Super
visors of this county to enter into
contract with certain San Francisco
law firms to give them contingent fee
of half of all sums they could recover
from the State of certain sums alleged
| to be irregularly collected, this paper
entered a vigorous protest. We charac-
terized the proposal as unprofessional, in
the first place, and Improbable to the
county in the second. For, suppose the
claims in question are legal and can
| be recovered. The State needs all the
money it is now receiving, and If any OF
| it is returned to the counties the tax
payers will be assessed to return just
| the same amount in extra taxes. If
this county RECEIVERS 100000 it will re-
ceive $4,000 and the lawyers like
sum, and then will promptly pay back
| the hundred thousand out Of the pock-
cts Of the taxpayers. 1t is simply offer
ing to pay a man so cents to take
dollar out of one of your pockets and
put it in the other.
| Newspapers all over the State made
the same warning, reinforced by the
same arguments, but their counsel fell
| on deaf ears. Forty-two counties in
the State of which Fresno is one,
have quietly entered into contracts with
the lawyers in question, or with others
on the same basis, and propose, collect
lively, to pay these lawyers 100000 for
getting them the privilege of carting
81, 10000 from the State Treasury and
back again.
SOPHISTICATED POLICY.
I Colusa Sun: 1t is the most short
sighted policy in the world for Demo-
cratic leaders to be jumping in at this
time, when no man has any knowledge
of what is to come. trying to make a
Democratic foreign policy. 1t is not
| the one who first makes policy that
wins, but it is the one who makes cor
rect policy. This is one of the advan-
tages that the outs have over the ms.
The ms must keep ON acting and in lay
| ing out new roads over untrodden fields;
they will make mistakes and the outs
ought to be in a position to take adj
vantage of those mistakes. But some
leaders" are not built that way-they
must talk. There are some good talk
ers with no judgment whatever, and
some of our Democratic leaders seem to
! be of that class. The Sun has want
ed to choke several of them. Mckinley
has the panther by the tail and some
of our leaders seem to want to relieve
him Of the esponsibility-they want to
get hold with him. Now they ought to
see that whatever virtue there may
have been in getting hold of the animal