The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1900-01-15
ENGLAND'S SIDE
A Correspondent CriticiSeS Sbesrman'S s
Statement Of the Case.
Thinks II a Weak Showing Of the Brit
ish Reasons for Going to
War.

|
the rransyaal government must be wea
indeed II the strongest presentation of
is the one published Saturday, writtel
by Thomas g. Shearman, the noted Ne,
York lawyer; the Oregonian pro
nounced tia powerful presentation o
the British side OF the controversy.
. It is divided into 20 paragraphs, evi
IDENTIFY to give the impression that i
contains that number Of different point
against the Beers; hut the 4th, 9th anc
9Th are all on one subject, as are ais,
the sth and 9th; and the 18th to Tn,
2Bth inclusive are all on one point.
The first indictment is that Paul Kru.
ger was poor in 1884, and that his hote
bill in London was paid "by generous
Englishman," which last is probably q
he.
"Second-Mr. Kruger aitorward sold
one OF his own farms 10 Englishmen fol
5000, 900, paid in gold" Great Heavens
What an awful thing that was And
"hs friends and neighbors have sold
other farms at even greater prices -
Too bad, too bad Such barbirous de.
pravity; TO sell South African farm 10
an Englishman for $4,000, and then
take it in gold And then to edo il
again"
In the words OF the old nursery
rhyme:
at is enough to cause man to shake
his head and think"
OF course the Englishmen haven't dug
any gold out OF those farms.
"rhrd.-These foreign settlers pro.
duce every dollars worth Of wealth
which can be exported from the Trans
vaal." What is this wealth." Gold.
II has been produced" by digging it
out OF the ground-ground belonging to
the Transvaal, and from which no one
has any more right 10 take the gold,
except under conditions fixed by the
government, than he has to do the same
thing on the Klondike.
Fourth-The taxes levied annually in
the Transvaal have exceeded t20,OO0,.
600 Nine.tenths Of this amount have
been collected from the foreign settlers,
whom MIR. Kruger invited into the cOun.
try.
Poor things Why do they stay
there? Is II not because for every cent
they pay in taxes they are making dol.
lars OF clear profit in digging gold'from
this land belonging 10 the Beers TO
which Mr.. Kruger so kindly invited
them
"Fiith-No appreciable part OF these
taxes is expended for the benefit II the
foreign settlers.
This is silly on the face of IT, for the
foreigners have the full benefit Of the
government supported by these taxes
without which there would be- anarchy.
The sixth count is that Kruger and
some of his relatives have made a Tor
tune since the discovery Of gold in the
Transvaal.
IL that proof Of moral turpitude aud
uniltness to govern Look at the "sec.
ond' paragraph, above, for partial
explanation. How much has Cecil
Rhodes accumulated In the same time?
"Mr, lIillegas has house costing $3.50
900" Mr. Rhodes has one costing over
81 10000 II no Beers had made any
thing while gold was being taken from
their country 10y the hundreds Of mil
ions, then We might consider them
unfit for seligoyernment. How long
has il been since our own Cleveland
went into office poor man and came
out millionaire9
Seventh and seventeenth is an &c.
ousation OF bribery among Boer officials,
this might have been damning charge
against the Beers at one time; but
what nation ON the lace OF the earth to-
day can take that view OF the case with
out rank hypocracy. With the highest
Of the English nobility acting as stool.
pigeons for the quilting OF their country.
men in wildcat swindling schemes
with the soon.to-be ruler Of the British
empire the boon companion OF gamblers
and married prostitutes; with our own
Mark Hanna sitting in a seat h which
he bribed his wayi with Quay carrying
lne of the greatest states in the Union
In his vest pocket with embalmed beef
still stinking over the graves OF our
poisoned volunteers; with our own
brother Abner" still At large; are We
willing TO take the position lhata ease
)i corruption in high place proves a
peoples unttness for self government?
OF course two wrongs do not make
right; neither should the pot call the
kettle black.
Eighth aud Nmth--the Beers would
not allow autonomy To the foreigners in
johannesburg, Under the circum.
stances they we're rights aud their ac-
lion calls for no excuse. Americans
say thai Johannesburg is the most or
ierly aud wellgoverned mining town
IN the world Americans also say that
II all the taxes collected by the British
,n the klondike not 5000 has becn spent
IN public improvements.
Tenth-The foreign settlers in the
rmnsvaal were denied the right t0l
Rear any arms, while every male Beer,
rom l6 years old upward, is heavily
armed and drilled, at the expense Of
he foreigners.
The Jameson raid proves the wisdom
md Justice OF this.
ElnNenih TMnllih md rhirInanth