The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-03-08

take on the remaining SIX months OF
the sentence. You are free. but don't
write any more bad letters" Judge
asked the District Attorney. with a
tone OF sarcasm. IF there had been
another child in that family to receive
ne iathefiy attention OF the prisoner,
what would you have done?" Mr..
District Attorney replied the court,
with instant appreciation of the situa-
ton. Il would have sent YOU to fail
for six months for prosecuting him"
The Presidents Lincoln Story.
Washington is an interesting center
for news and gossip. but it is the worst
place in the country for the formation
Of an opinion of public sentiment. II
is VIGOROUSLY uncertain in that re-
spect A Washington correspondent
wrote to his editor that sentiment in
Washington pointed in a certain direc-
ton. The editor wrote back that senti-
ment in Washington meant nothing.
The President is not making the mis-
take that some OF his predecessors
have. that the drift in Washington in
.dicates the conditions in the country
at large. He goes through a great
many letters that come from the peo-
pie. more than any other President
ever took the time to read. He has a
selected list OF newspapers representing
all parts of the country and both politi-
cal parties. He reads for himself. The
other day a public man was at the
White House and undertook TO tell the
President something about the opin-
tops in Washington upon a certain
point. In reply the President told his
story Of Mr.. Lincoln and Leonard
SWEET. The latter arrived from Illi-
nois at a critical period. and when he
appeared AT the White House Mr.. Lin
coin asked him when he had reached
Washington. Mr.. SWEET replied in a
general way. Mr.. Lincoln repeated the
question in such a manner as TO bring
out the exact hour OF Mr.. Swett's ar
rival. Mr.. SWEET said he had come in
by the latest train, about an hour be-
fore. oh" said Mr.. Lincoln. THAT
is all right. How are things? II you
had been in Washington all day
wouldn't ask you. You would have
heard so much your opinion wouldn't
be worth anything" The national
capital or a state capital is a bad place
to form proper estimates OF public
sentiment. You can hear too much"
was the Presidents moral OF his story.
The Oriental Habit of Mind.
The Filipinos must be shown. They
are Orientals. 1t Is characteristic of
the Oriental mind that it grasps ideas
with a difficulty incomprehensible TO
the Caucasian, but absorbs the results
of an object lesson with inexplicable
rapidity. This truth has a place in
the political and civilizing regeneration
of the FilipinOs. Proclamations will
not do. The people who have come
upon this country as charges through
the fortunes of war must be shown
they will learn. All OF the telling and
teaching without the object lesson is
wasted effort. Senator Beverage ask
ed a wealthy Filipino who had 5000
people on his place, and who said he
was for universal suffrage. IL he
thought it would be safe to trust the
ballot TO these people. why, certain
ly," said the wealthy Filipino, they
would all vote as told them" But.
suppose some OF them didn't vote as
you wanted them to-" argued the Sen
ator. why" replied the Filipino,
they would be shot" He said Il Sc
riously, as If that was his idea OF self
government. All of the talk fails to
convey TO the Oriental mind any con-
ception of what home rule means. II
will be only when the Filipinos are
conducted through all of the political
methods that they will realize what
self-government means. The mineral
ogist, Prof Walter p. Jenney, tells a
story which illustrates this popularity
of the Oriental mind. Out In a Rocky
Mountain mining camp with which the
professor was connected a new Chinese
cook had been employed. So far as
his intelligence went he was a great
acquisition. But one day soon after
John had been installed he came TO
Prof. Jenney. holding two cans iTr his
| hands. One can, as the picture on the
outside showed, contained tomatoes
and,the other. by the same token. was
peaches. John held out the cans help
lessly and said: "Tomatee. soupee?'
He wanted tomatoes for soup and
didn't know which was the right can
The professor pointed TO the picture
and said "tomatee," then to the other
and said "peachee." The Chinaman
shook his head slowly and said: me
no sabe." For fifteen minutes the
professor tried to get into the China.
mans mind the idea that the picture
on the outside indicated the contents
mo sabe," replied the cook, helpless.
ly. Finally the professor took the
Ratchet and chopped of the top OF the
tomato can. He pointed to the toma.
toes inside and then to the tomato pic.
ture outside. repeating the word. He
did this two or three times. Slowly the
face of the Chinaman lighted up. He
pointed to the inside. "Tomatee," he
said And then he pointed to the pic.
ture. "TOmatee," again he said. and
then, "Ahl me sabe, me sabe." VI was
never necessary to repeat the lesson
The association of picture with con-
tents was fixed. w. Il. 5.