Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-06-19

excerpt from the Boston Advertiser
and be undeceiyed:
Out Of 175.ooo polls In Boston less than
80. 600 was collected this year. In the last
three years alone some 81, 200, 900 has been
uncollected in this city. There are plenty
OF cities in Massachusetts where an UNI
paid poll tax Is the exception. In those
cities the law Ia enforced, and the man
who deliberately refuses to pay his poll
tax has to servo a Jail sentence That
could be done here In Boston, hut the first
few years it would cost moro to enforce
the law than to wink at the tax dodgers.
A close reading of this paragraph
seems to indicate that the Advertiser
is in favor Of '.clapping them up il
they don't pay the poll tax, which is
hard to believe concerning a great
journal Of civilization published In the
Hub. Are we retrograding or not?
Hardly. The chances are that the law
providing for imprisonment for debt
is dead letter. Let us hope SO at any
rate.
The anniversary Of mans birth Is
usually celebrated by his friends If.
celebrated at all, but there is one man
in this country whose sixty-fourth an
niversary of birth will be more thor
oughly enjoyed by his multitudinous-
enemies than by his troops Of friends
That man is Nelson A. Miles, hcuten-
ant general and commander Of the
army Of the United States. This happy
levcnt happens some time in August, on
which date he retires perforce from
active service. Roosevelt. Root, Cor
bin ct i'd genus omne may not clash
the glad cymbals In public on that day,
but they will extract vast amount Of
| Joy from 1t nevertheless. Miles has
long been thorn in their sides. His
last offense was his lurid report on the.
Philippines. For that Root refused to
Invite him to dinner!
IA Doubling Thomas.
While most of the world is acclaim
ing President Roosevelt as the Repub-
lican presidential nominee, there are.
some who prefer the role Of doubling
Thomas. Among these is the Cincin-
natl Enquirer, which sarcastically
says:
There was one acting president-perhaps
l-more than one-who. with his friends.
was confident that he would get the nom-
ination up to the moment of holding the
/ convention, and then he was ruthlessly
overthrow. Possibly. though, Mr.. Roose-
welt Is o different sort OF acting president
Not satisfied with thus throwing cold
water on Colonel Rooseyelt's hopes, 1t
ironically remarks:
Mr.. Roosevelt knows what he wants and
asks for II of the man who has d great
deal of the say about giving 1t. Indorse-
ment in 1903 and getting the nomination
i in 1904 are different things, though. Next
year is the time when the convention will
Ibc held and when the politicians and
managers will be doing the most work
|. Clearly the Enquirer does not like the
president, for it lanibasts him In this
fashion:
The president has been yearning for;
something to do. To him the country is a
.'pcnt up Utica" 1t is too tame and stu
pidly yirtuous. It's contentment with the
i greatness 1t has acquired through the arts
of peace is calling to man OF his war;
4 like spirit. Ever since he was rescued by.
i the colored troops at San Juan Hill he
has been looking for somebody to have a
4 fuss with. He wants the army and navy
/ enlarged and the whole establishment put
i at his command to knock things about.
i u time. is really hanging heavily on his
hands he can hurry home and take a
hand In things at Washington. There Is
really something going nsthcre just now.
As civil service reformer. police commits
sioner ef New Fork. assistant secretary of
tho navy and IN nearly every other public
position he has occupied he has under
taken to be the whole establishment. His
colleagues have been obliged to submit to
being fgureheads or TO being III constant
hostility. There are gentlemen in the post
Office depar.mentwho would. no doubt, be
willing that the president should take the
whole present trouble off their hands.
Twentieth Century Humor.
The st. Louis Globe Democrat gives
unblushingly to the world these sam
pies oftwentieth century humor:
No. LII Massachusetts, positively re-
fuses to send Plymouth rock to the
worlds fair, a search might be started
for the stone on which Captain John
Smiths head reposed when Pocahontas
rescued him.
No. Aft the insurgent brother Of the
sultan of Morocco has been poisoned and
q .'Bcautiful Fatima,n the light OF the
harem, has been decapitated for running
away, we don't know that we want him
OF our worlds fair Ugh. s,ssst '.a
ARalsInss Them. :
To those who know President Roose-
| Yeltss theories In general and his af-
lection for civil service reform In par
ticular II will be no surprise to learn
that he will in his next message -advo-
cate araise'' in the salary Of the civil
service commissioners. OF course there
IRE good many people who believe
that they are getting too much pay
now, but de gustibus non est dispu-
tandum."
mn H.