The record-union., 1899-07-10
VOICE OF The PRESS.
EXTRACTS TKo1t En1ToRIAL
zsxYRzssioAx 4
State and Coast Opinions ON SUBJ
jSetss of living News
1aterest.

/
an assessment of some $32, 10000 all
the taxes We're paid except on a few
| odds and ends assessed principally to
unknown owners, the entire amount OF
delinquent taxes being less than $3.50.
This is a showing OF which any local.
ity might well be proud and can be
taken as the best index of the general
prosperity of Sacramento. San Joaquin
County. makes very small showing OF
delinquency, but still it cannot compete
with this remarkable record of Sacra,
! mento.
FORESTRY REFORM.
Riverside Press: w. HI. Mills of the
Southern Pacific is putting some we'll
directed thought into the matter of
forestry. Mr.. Mills suggestions are
that we should have a forestry system
which would require numbering under
Government supervision and the cut.
ting Of only the largest trees. That
is the practice where forestry preserva,
ton is the best understood, and would
apply admirably to the high Sierras
What we. of Southern California want.
however, is Forestry Commission that
will punish the setting of mountain
fires, and a patrol force Of sufficient
size to protect our mountain forests
from the devastating sheep men and
careless hunters and campers, who do
| incalculable damage through the set
/ ting of fires
TO BE BORN AGAIN.
| Los Angeles Times: Mayor Sam
Jones of Toledo, o., is of the opinion
| that 1.-The Democratic party may be
born again and is to be inspired with
a moral purpose to lead the people out
OF the distress of present social condi.
| tions." It is morally certain that il
the Democratic party is going to do
any leading in a right direction it win
! have to undergo new birth, for up to
| this writing that party has done no
leading except into civil war, into tar
| iff reform" that does not reform, but
! destroys; into the bog of free silver
in which it still founders, and into all
sorts of political cesspools. If the D. p.
is to have new birth the first hard
work it ought to do is to get rid of
that incompetent wet nurse, Colonel
William Jennings Bryan.
| TEXAS MOB LAW.
Fresno Republican,: The mob" law
of Texas has been declared imperative.
because its language is so muddled that
no man, lawyer or layman can UNDER
stand it. There are hundreds of such
statutes in all the States, and there
ought not to be one. There would be
none If we would not elect ignorant and
| stupid men to make our laws. But
since that is a habit in which we seem
to be ~fncorrigible, we ought at least to
find way of getting the laws proposed
by our representatives rewritten into
ineligible English before being put on
their passage. There are intelligent
men in every Legislature, and If there
were not a permanent staff of intelli.
gent legal attaches could be had Ev-
cry bill should be required to go
through a committee or commission OF
intelligent men before being put in its
final FORM We should then at least
be spared such spectacles rs this Texas
law, which mo man can understand OF
the California Morehouse law, the very
4 mover Of which was ignorant Of it's
contents until after 1t had tecome a
law, and is ashamed of them now
LITTLE GEMS"
Marysville Appeal: The Fourth of
! July orators this year. as they wax
eloquent concerning the sturdy pa
triotism of our forefathers in fighting
for their independence should be care
full to avoid any embarrassing al1usions
to the Philippine war.-Riverside En-
terprise.
| 1t is little gems like the above which
cause that tired feeling to pervade our
4 midst and make us wonder at our anti
Expansion friends who strain at gnat
and swallow camel. There exists no
reason why the Philippine question
should not be discussed on the Fourth
of July or at any other time free from
embarrassment. The American nation
tRas nothing to be ashamed of in this
}co0nection. On the contrary the growth
land expansion of our country should
be. and is to, vast majority of the
people, source of pride. The Philip
pines passed into our hands as the re-
suit of the Spanish war, and to make
our title good beyond question we paid
$2O,OO0.O00 to the conquered country
for a quit claim deed. It would be
business proposition, indeed, to with
draw from the islands now and leave
1t In the possession of the semi-civilized
Filipinos! And that is really what the
antis would have us do.
NATURES BALANCE OF POWER.
Portland Oregonian: Since the acct
dental introduction of the gypsy moth
into America, the commonwealth Of
massachusetts alone has spent more
Ethan 100000 in fighting it. Many
persons we'll informed in the matter
consider the task Of exterminating the
pest hopeless. one. but Massachusetts
at least is going to keep up the fight,
an appropriation of 100000 having
been made last year for that purpose.
There are many instances of the ex-
change effected by commerce between
different countries of their injurious
animals and plants. An example of
this is found in English orchards in the
pest called the American blight" and
| which is due to the importation of the
woolly aphis from this country The
Canadian water weed is also causing
much trouble in England, impeding by
It's exuberant growth the canal and
river traffic of the mother country
/ Numerous possibilities in this line lie
In the acquisition by the United States
OF tropical islands. Problems which
were formerly of interest mainly to the
botanist and zoologist are likely to be
presented for solution to a much wider
class OF cur people within the next few
years. An Illustration of what may
happen in this line is furnished through
the Introduction a. few years ago into
! Jamaica of the. meHgoose for the pur-
| pose of killing of the rats which de-
stroyed the sugar cane. The mongoose
Killed the rats and also exterminated
the snakes of the island. 1t also kills
the poultry of the negroes and DESTROYS
certain birds that are depended upon To