Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-09-12

vestiEation Talked Of-Trusts Have
Need For Press Censorship-Inde-
pendent Papers Tell Some Truths.
Coming Session of Congress Likely
to BE Very Lively-1Iatters Mixed
In MISUNDERSTANDING Bnrbarity In
South Africa - Roosevelt Working
For the Presidency - Spooner a
Presidential Possibility.
Especial Washington Letter.l
Spain tried for 300 years to subju-
gate the Filipinos and utterly failed to
do so. With astounding idiocy we paid
Spain $15,000,000 for q quitclaim to
her unending war. Sydney Smith once
said, Doubtless God could make bet
ter berry than the strawberry, but
doubtless God never made a better
one.'' 1t may possibly be that some
time in the 5000 years that humanity
has been perambulating the earth some
people somewhere did more foolish
thing than we did when we took the
job off the hands of Spain. but history
gives no record of it. The st. Louis
obe-Democrat is one of the most
rantankerous of all jingoes and always
makes as good a showing as possible
as to our operations in the Philippines.
That being the case, a sensible man can
guess reasonably well at the new con-
dition of affairs in the Philippines
when The Globe-Democrat is willing
to publish such a Iugubrious dispatch
as the following:
MANILA, Aug. 25.-In the city of Manila there
are less than one thousand effective soldiers,
and it has been decided to increase this number
by four companies of infantry. The official reason
for the increase is that the guard duty is too
heavy for the present force.
As matter of fact, however, there is feeling
that, although there is no apparent prospect Of
trouble, nevertheless in the event OF an uprising
in the future, such as is always possible among
the Malays, it would be better to have sufficient
body of troops available.
The Danish West Indies.
The indications are that sooner or
later the United States will buy the
Danish islands, st. Croix, st. Thomas
and ST. John. These islands are not
worth very much and ought to have
belonged to US from the beginning. As
a matter of fact, we ought to have all
of the West India islands and all the
Bahama islands-in fact, all the islands
in the Caribbean sea. They are close
to our shores and command the gulf OF
Mexico. | have no doubt that sooner
or later we will own them all. Cuba
:4c+o 4r. <Nf L.
ton. Whenever she gets ready to come
in we will welcome her into our sister.
hood of states. We ought to have the
British West India islands and the
Bahamas, and we will have them. We
will either trade England out of them
or take them away from her by main
strength Indeed if President McXin-
ley wants to make himself the most
popular man since the days of Andrew
Jackson he can do 1t by swapping off
the Philippines for the British North
American possessions and the British
West India islands and Bahamas.
There is some loose talk to the effect
that General Shafter will demand q
court of investigation, which God for
| bid. There has surely been enough
scandal growing out of the battle of
Santiago. The lid ought to be shut
down close Oh that cesspool hereafter
or every American citizen ought to be
furnished with some sort of patent
clamp to put on his nose.
AIger's Book.
%J,o tee, ,N,.i,, ,+,>J
most probably General Russell A. AL.
ger of Michigan, late secretary of war
will have placed his book on the mar.
ket. If he wrote in the same frame of
mind in which he left the war office
the chances are that lie will make the
| jawing match precipitated among ar
my officers from Lieutenant General
| Nelson A. Miles down to the youngest
| subaltern who wore a shoulder strap
The corned beef scandal will be re-
opened, and heaven only knows what
other nauseous doses the public will be
called Oh to swallow. Alger has abso.
| lutely nothing to lose, and while he is
as mild hammered a man as ever took
pen in hand he has the reputation OF
| being such good hater that he would
have delighted the heart of old Dr.
| Samuel Johnson could the Ursa Major
| have formed his acquaintance. There
will be a decidedly hot time in the old
| town of Washington over Alger's remi-
niscences.
PrcsR CensOrshfn
| 1t must be clear to the unclouded in
tellect of the average citizen, even
though Republican, that the only
way to maintain the trusts and the
| high tariff as it now exists is to estab
! lish a rigorous press censorship. Per.
haps those New England functionaries
who suppressed an entire edition of
The Irish World because it made a
more or less sarcastic allusion to i'm
perialism might be intrusted with the
censorship. 1t may not be inapro
| pos to suggest 70 Hon. Serene T.
Payne, Hon. Julius Caesar Burrows
the American Economist, and other
| squelchers of Babcockery that it is not
only the Democratic press which needs
censoring. but the Independent press
also. In fact, the latter is kickin;
against the extortions of the trust
more vigorously than the former. Fo
instance, the Washington Post, inde
pendent, quotes approvingly the fol
lowing editorial from the Boston Her
aid, also independent:
American steel manufacturers are offering wir
rods delivered in Manchester for $29.S9 tor
| For the same thing the price to customers in thi
country is $50 ton. That is to say, the Ameri
protective tariff, preventing free competition
Enables the American manufacturer to charge S3
TO Americans for what he sells to Englishmen fo
| $3.50. after freighting the goods across the Al
lantic. Either the American producer makes
j profit by selling his wire rods to the Englishme
| at 5000 ton or he does not II he does no
| make profit on the foreign business, the unfol
! tunate American customer is forced to pay
| price SO excessive that the missionary manufae
turer can let Englishmen have them at less tina
cost, which is nice for the foreigner.
Coming Session of Congress-.
The signs of the times all indicat,
| that our friends the enemy are in fo
a regular monkey and parrot time dur
| ing the coming session of congress. l
will be in the nature of q miracle if th,
| G. O. p does not practically go t,
| pieces. The tariff war inside the party
like Banquo's ghost. will not down a