Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1899-04-20
THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1899
Mai Cen Wm. K. shafter was the

Mai. Gen. VIM K. Shafter was the
guest of ex-senator Patton in Grand
Rapids Monday stopping over for the
day while on his way to San Francisco.
Gen. Skaters post is now at San
Francisco, where he is In charge OF
the department of the West, and he is
directly interested in the recruiting
OF soldiers for the Manila campaign.
He has been before the "Embalmed
Beef investigating commission. In
speaking OF the matter he said: There
wasn't IA word said about bad food In
the army until after the war was over.
NV position is like that of ninety. nine
of every hundred men in the army. |
was asked by the commission IL l re-
ceived complaints OF the food being
bad, and | responded that il the food
was bad did not admit that 1t was
the men would not have complained.
They knew there was no way OF
remedying the condition, il it was bad.
There was plenty of food. Over three
fourths could have been destroyed. |
think that the members OF the COM
mission are perfectly satisfied of the
results. They knew more about the
situation than was generally supposed"
When asked for his opinion OF the
Philippine question, he said he did
not like 20 express himself on that
question because he did not fully un-
derstand the condition OF affairs over
there. However, he said, IF Gen.
Otis has concluded to withdraw his
troops and give up a portion OF the
captured territory | am sure it is
wise move and he has reasons for do
ing so. He said the number of men
and time it will take to subdue the
islands are both uncertainties. "Much
depends on the stage of civilization
the natives are IN. If they are SO un-
civilized that they can subsist in the
wilds of the mountains and live on
what they can pick up, the war will
simply be interminable. But if they
have reached that stage Of civilization
which makes such living unbearable,
why then they can be quickly sub
dued. ~
The western press heralds the pass
ing of the Klondike. A large proper
tion of the Turing stories of wealth and
riches given to the public was, it seems,
fraud to induce people to join the
mad rush TO the Klondike country
Captain Patrick Henry Ray, U. S. A,
has just made report in which he
takes this view Of the case, and says
that there is nothing in Alaska to justi
~ such migration. The boom was
an Internal fraud, he thinks. People
were warned from the very start not
to attempt To- go there unless they had
sufficient means to bring them back.
Not few needed the warning and are
today thankful to those who gave it
Others, however, took their chances,
and in doing so took their lives in
their own hands, and lost them, too, in
many instances, While the report Of
Captain Ray comes rather late To act
as warning, it is still of sufficient
force to prevent new ventures in that
direction. At all events it will practi-
cally kill all the fraudulent speculation
which has been attempted by unprin-
cipled persons in Klondike mining
properties. No discoveries of extra
nrl Manu- IL oh nago bava haon mod ap1
while the whole country has been
staked, it was done largely to catch
dupes in the east, "a heavy and valu-
able crop OF which appears to have
been harvested.
~.
In taking the next census the enum-
orator, besides questions as TO age and
color, will ask you whether you are a
male or female; married, single,
widowed or divorced; whether married
during the census year; whether a
mother, and If so, Of how many chill
dren; how many of these are living;
place of your birth and the birth of
your parents; number of years in the
United States; whether naturalized
and If papers have been taken out: your
profession, trade or occupation; the
number of months you have been un-
employed during the census year; your
attendance at school during the census
year; whether you are able to read or
write; whether you can speak English,
and if not what language; the number
of families and of persons in your house
and the number of persons in your
family. This is the population schedule
so far as decided upon at present, and
when he gets through with you he will
have sufficient information to write
your biography. The new law pre-
scribes that ladies who refuse to tell
their ages or who indulge in inaccurate
statements thereof shall upon convic-
tion be fined 800, as shall all other
persons refusing to reply to questions
or making false statements.