The record-union., 1899-09-23
VOICE OF The PRESS.
EXTRACTS FROM EDITORIAL
EXPRESSIONS.
State and Coast Opinions on SUBJ
jects of Living News
Interest.

q SRI, or a girl and a boy, a question
always in dispute, violate the law the
girl possibly being older than the boy,
ana the boy is tried for violating the
law Of consent, the State prison stand
ing open before him, but there is no
law of consent under which the girl
can be tried. The law of consent must
nave been passed to protect girls
against ScoundrelS among men, and not
] against boys, for why should there be
a law based on sex among minors? The
hung jury that came into court in this
city Saturday must indicate, by their
divided verdict, to the law makers that
an amendment to the law of consent
is ecessary-that the people will not
sustain law that is based solely on
age and applicable to girls.
STILL SNEERING.
Ukiah Republican, Press: Some of the
lower class Democratic organs still
sneer at the Dingley tariff, but the
leading party organs preserve a wise
silence. There is little that can be
said against a statute which is bring
ing in an average of 100000 in rev.
enue every day, and has been doing it
for the past six months. The Wilson
tariff, in a corresponding period
brought us one-fourth less revenue.
And when one contrasts the present
prosperity of our people with the dis
tress and trade stagnation which pre-
vailed while it was in force, he is not
| inclined to listen to Democratic criti-
cisms Of the protective policy.
ENEMY OF THE STATE
Stockton Independent: A Southern
Pacific train was derailed Wednesday
at Milbrae, caused by a broken fange
on a baggage car wheel. The injuries
| comprised a couple of bruises and
broken finger. All the news, including
the details, We're told in half a dozen
lines of telegraphic copy. But the ac-
cident that scarcely deserved mention
and would not have been mentioned in
the Eastern press had it occurred on
an Eastern road, was on a branch of
the Southern Pacific system so the
I Examiner devoted three columns of
its front page to the incident, with an
illustration, misleading headlines and
usual abuse of the railroad The same
| day there were two wrecks on Eastern
roads, at both of which there were lives
lost, and the Examiner" grouped
these together in an obscure corner
/
only a few inches Of space to both
wrecks.
! The tactics of the Examiner in
these matters is shameful It is trying
| to injure or blackmail the Southern
Pacific railroad, but is in reality injur-
] ing the State. It's disgraceful and SEN
| sational attacks should arouse an hon.
est people to resentment. It is prevent
1 to- @r1
1 but can expect to deceive strangers
| alone. Residents of this State know
that the Southern Pacific whatever
may be its other faults, takes unusual
pains to safeguard its passengers.
| Travel is as safe on the railroads of
| this State as in any part Of the coun-
try. This is well known by the "Ex
aminer'' and by all citizens. To try
and deceive visitors and the outside
| public into believing otherwise is to
work against the interest Of California.
Tt is time the people of California be-
| gan to consider how many settlers, in
vestors and visitors the metropolitan
papers, and particularly the Exam
iner," are annually driving away from
/ California. They fill their columns
daily with denunciations of the rail-
road, create fancied dangers, manu-
| facture alleged extortions, corruptions
and burdens, until it must appear to an
outside observer that there is no safety
| in the State to life, character or prop
erty. And yet there is not in the State
to-day a single resident that ever hesi
tated about taking a trip over the rail-
road because of any supposed peril to
life. When will the people wake up
to the real situation and punish the pa
pers that, through spite or efforts at
blackmail, are doing incalculable harm
to the commonwealth?
RACE PROBLEMS.
Fresno Republican: North Carolina is
in the throes of a constitutional cleo
tion, the purpose of which is to do in
directly that which the Federal Con-
stitution says shall not be done at all
disfranchise a portion of it's citizens
on account of race, color or previous
condition of servitude. The proposed
constitution provides for an education
al qualification, which shall exclude
from the franchise all illiterates except
those who are lineal descendants of
men who We're voters in the United
States prior to 1867 This includes
practically all the white men in the
State, and is intended to do so.
The provision is a shade better be-
cause a shade franker than the pro-
visions in the constitutions of Missis-
.sippi, South Carolina, Florida and
Louisiana, which give the precinct
detection officers arbitrary power to en-
franchise such illiterates as they
please, but all such provisions are bad
enough. The subordination of the
black race, as a race is not a theory,
| but a fact, which no law made, and
no law can unmake, but the right of
the individual black man to take such
part in public life as he is capable Of
and the need of the individual white
man to be excluded from participation
which he is not capable of, are also
substantial and not theoretical. I'm
/ til the States which have race prob
! lem recognize this fact, and impartial
| " exclude the ignorant white man as
well as the ignorant black man from
| the franchise, they will not have made
a beginning of a right solution to the
race problem. Our new political en-
vironment, which brings us in contact
with other race problems beyond the
sea, will clarity immensely the race
problem at home, and not in the man
ner predicted by misanthropic pessi-
mists, either. Nature will see to it,
/ in both cases, that the superiority of
! the superior race is preserved and rec
| ogniZed, but government must see to it,
beyond the sea, at least, that the infer
! ior race be trained in self-government
under it's own leaders