The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-06-17
COMMENT.

ieHl 1dllns anu ne says ne expects DOtn-
ing less than social ost-acism as a con.
sequence of his act. Novelty has .
tremendous attraction for some people
however, n contrary to expectations
he may find himself a lion. a lion with
a dear, delightful. Mohammedan roar
Augusat Chronicle.
Reciprocity Eith the United States
is no longer a V question on the 9TH
er side OF the line. 1t a never beer
a live question On this side. But the
sooner We endow il with life and the
sooner we inaugurate a trade policy
that will attract instead of repel the
Canadians the better. We cannot afford
TO permit the forces that are working
TO draw Canada closer to the British
empire to continue unopposed by us
Minneapolis Journal.
On occasion Colonel wintersmith
met General Custer and a party OF
friends. The general had a watch of
curious mechanism which he had been
showing to his friends and which Colo
mel Wintersmith asked TO see. General
Custer handed MIN the watch, and then
drew it back, with the remark tina he
feared to trust the watch in the hands
of an old rebel. Yes, / understand.
You are afraid 1 might recognize it"
responded Colonel Wintersimth quickly.
Louisville CoUrner-Journal.
Our venerable friend Maxine Gomez
refuses a pension from the Cuban gov
until all the oldiers of the
war with Spain can be paid. This is
magnaminous of Maxine. We could
get UP more enthusiasm over it, how
ever. if General Woods report did not
show that Maxine has had $4,000 per
year during the term of the provisional
government. Almost any one could af-
ford to be self-denying with the big
end of $4,000 in his hip pocket.-Chica-
go Chronicle.
1t has not come so yet that the rich
classes can control the national gov
eminent. but already they are ex-
tremely influential. and events move so
rapidly that pl ophecy cannot keep up
with them. The Roman republic
grew into the Roman empire under
much the same conditions existing now
which governed then. The American
republic nay develop into the most
powerful empire OF the face of the
globe. Republics, it has been said, are
for frugal and temperate people. They
cannot exist under conditions OF ex-
IRENE wealth and luxury. New Or
leans Picayune
A New Hampshire man, Mr.. P. D.
Harrison, is engaged in writing a his
tory of the battlef1ags of this country.
He is giving especial attention to those
carried in what he calls 1.-The Broth
ers' Quarrel" from 1861 to 1865. He
finds" say the New York Times, that
h number of flags now in the GUS
tody of southein states is much less
the those preserved in northern COM
m~onwealths, but he is DESTROYS of MAX
ing a complete list of them ALL" To
write a history of the battlefiags will
be to write a history of the war. 1t
is to be hoped Mr.. Harrison has gone
about his task IN that spirit of liberal
ity that is indicated in his characteri-
cation of the war.-Savannah News.
Necessity may know no law, but mill
tary law knows necessity, and little
else. That was the agreed moral of the
recent discussion in the house of COM
mons of the Cartright case. Here was
a man detained illegally, as it would
seem, in Cape Colony: but if the mill
tary commander asserted thai it was
necessary to detain him. the illegality
vanished. This one doctrine underliesI
all of the repoi Is on. THE Law of Civil
Government in Territory Subject to
Military Occupation" which our War
Department has lately published in a
stout volume. They were submitted to
Secretary Root by Judge Magoon, law
Officer of the division of insular af-
fairs, and cover a wide range of ques-
tionS arising IN Cuba, in Porto Rico and
the Philippines, All of them are opin-
ions, not having the force of law; some
were rendered before the decisions of
the supreme court in the insular cases,
and need modification accordingly; but
all Or fln0n the one nrinnin1a that yuh z
Is deemed necessary under military oc-
cupation must be held legal. But the
necessity must be of a iustifiable sort.
The mere dictum of the mmand
will not suffice. He must show the rea-
sons why What he asserts to be ueces-
sary, really is necessary. Otherwise, the
courts will stec in and give redress to
those who have been wronged in rights
or property by his arbitrary action
New York Post
For more th1n fifty years the Ameri-
a people nave earnestly desired a
ship canal between the Atlantic and the
Pacific. For nalf a century the intel
ligence of engineers, the skill of diplo-
matists, and the money of the people
have been devoted to finding the best
route for such a canal and to clearing
h isthmus Of political obstacles in it's
ANS oSSh AOoAAb. ANoIlC
who really desires a canal doubts it.
The political obstacles have been re-
moved. The people are ready to pro-
vide the money to build the canal.
Their representatives in the house have
voted almost unanimously to build on
the route declared best by all eompe-
tent engineers without private schemes
to promote. The industries and COM
merces of the nation demand immediate
action. Yet what do we see? Three or
four senator's. whose utilization with
transcontinential railway interests is
perfectly plain, still arguing over a
subject whose every detail was LONG
since thoroughly thrashed out, pretend
ing TO have obtained new information,
protesting to d formed new conyic-
tions, bringing forward absured and ex-
ploded projects-and for what? Simply
to delay actien-to thwart for a few
more months or years the peoples will
that the transcontinential railway
combinations nay be left without wa
ter competition and that the STEAMSHIP
trust may have time to extend and per
Il foot if1 afnrt n rnnnonNli-o th4 -