The times., 1899-08-31

ing Commission" of political peace med
dlers, we will quote again from the Rev.
Peter McQueen's San Francisco interview.
In it he is represented as saying:
The much lauded Peace Commission the
worst farce Imaginable Volume after volume
of reports Of that Commission will be printed;
the expense Of the Commission amounts TO man!
thousands of dollars, and il did not do ten cents
worth Of good The members of the Peace Com
mission established themselves in comfortable
palace in Manila and invited the tlllplhos 70
come in and talk to them Day after Gay, week
after week. they sat there and listened to plat-
tudes and fairy tales as to the wishes of the ma
tives recited by marionettes and enissaries sent
in by Aguinaldo.
No one impeaches the honesty of General Otis,
but he is conceited and loves power. He has
established himself in beautiful old palace in
Manila and his lax methods encourage loot and
bribery among subordinates The custom house
is notorious and the corruption Is matter OF
general comment
The custom house staff includes men with po-
litical pulls and they not there "for their
health 1t is conducted according to military
regulations and il is almost Impossible Tor those
not in the ring TO get merchandise through. One
merchant sells goods at less than the custom du-
ties and it is generally known that he buys
condemned Government supplies Just why those
goods are condemned and sold to civilians one
can only infer.
Indeed zone can only infer" why Otis
and DENLY were not brought home for in
vestigation weeks ago! There is a gorgeous
scheme of golden rottenness in the game
somewhere We do not for a moment sus-
pect that the President has any inkling of
such thing. If he had, his moral nature
would rise like quills upon the fretful
porcupine, and fresh Commission would
H. ed ~
But, innocent of knowledge as he is, ne
must not continue his blind confidence in
persons who sapping the foundations
of his hold upon the voters of the Unionl
He may shrink from interfering with mag
nificently remunerative speculations in
which old friends and supporters are en-
gagged, BUT he has himself to think Of
His delicate situation is calculated to
recall the position in which, it is said,
&c -iaSae Gen. Judson Fitzpatrick was caught
c.--I Chattanooga during the Civil War.
The general, with his cavalry division, was
outside Of the Federal lines on a little
raiding business. Being hard pressed by
the Confederates, it was necessary for him
to ford the Tennessee River in order to
escape. He knew there was ford, but did
not know where to find it. Riding up to
plantation house, he saw a fine looking
old gentleman, with the ladies of his fam
lily, sitting on the verandah. He at once
| demanded that the venerable planter should
| lead him to the ford, which the latter
positively refused to do. Thereupon Gen
eral Fitzpatrick told him that unless he
complied with the request he would be
shot in about a minute. At this, one Of
the ladies exclaimed Indignantly: Gen
eraI. have you a father" Fitzpatrick re-
piled: "Yes, have, and a mother, too
and they have boy; and that boy is il
a id tight placei"
The moral of the tale is in the applica,
tion thereof. Otis and DENLY will have tc
be sacrificed, lest worse shall comet