The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-12-01
CURRENT COMMENT.

OIL the u. =. A.. VIII De ulSCldTStu I
from Fort Leavenworth prison this
week. He was convicted of corrupt
practices in connection with the gov-
work on the Savannah liver, |
where he represented the govern !
ment as engineer in charge. It is
said Carter will proceed to establish
his innocence of the crimes of which
he was convicted. If he can do so, it
is his right. of course; but thousands I,
Of other prisoners lave said the same
| thing-Times-Dispatch.
The suit of First Lieutenant sgd
| ney s. Burbank, of the Sixth United
| States Infantry, against Mrs. Con-
| cepciOn NaSqueZ. a Filipino woman,
| to set aside an alleged marriage, was
| expected to come up for hearing in
| the district court at LeavenWOrth.
Kansas, yesterday. This is said to
| be one of many cases of the same
| sort, and it appears to us that there
| is only one course that should be
| pursued. If the marriage of the army
| officers shall be established with the
Filipino women they ought to be re-
quired either to keep their marriage
VOWS, or secure THEN release by the
great American expedient of divorce.
The think that we cannot understand
is why any American woman should
care to enter into marriage with an
/ OIIltcI WHO Has dllItu IllIlStII III dIlS
way with a Filipino WOman The
FilipinOs must think that we are a
queer set of Christians, to be sure
News and Courier.
There may be some question wheth-
er Professor Bassett, of Trinity col
lege, North Carolina, should be "prac-
tically forced to resign" for saying
tina Cooker Washington is the
greatest mar the south has produced
in the last century. with the sing
exception of General Robert f. Lee"
Professor Bassett is entitled to his
private opinion. The expression of it
was. however, under the circum-
stances. indiscreet. Had he omitted
to express il. those VINO think jack
son. of the older period. and many
~tinanciers, captains of industry, au-
thOrS. poets n statesmen of the
later period superior to Booker would
not have been shocked by his dissr-
ant opinion. Booker Wa~shingtOn'S
merit is not that he has accomplish
ed anything of proved Importance,
but that he has made laudable effort
and has personally risen high above
the average of his race. 1t is. how
ever. unnecessary to make offensive
comparisons. or depreciate other peO-
pie in order to give the educator of
Tuskeegee his due. He has done his
best. and his efforts have prospered
financially because they happened to
be in line with the northern faddistS,
who ave more money than knOwl-
edge of southern cOnditiOns.-Balti-
more sur
Brigadier General Wood. while
Estes G.. RathbOne and others are at
tempting to throw the kibosh into him
in the senate committee on military
affairs. has taken his troops over into
Jolo and sent three hundred natives
into tina section of the happy hunting
grounds where the Moro complexion
is fashionable. We do not know
whether his is particularly calculated
to please the administration or not.
this routing of two thousand troops
by the American army in the Philip
pine archipelago. The administra-
ton so lovingly clings to the pretty
fiction that no state of war exists in
the islands hat we are rather at n
loss to determine Just how his re-
port of battle in which two thousand
armed men resisted the American
flag ever got by the official censor
without getting edited into Il series
of skirmishes with Iadrones and ban
dts. 1t is a great question whether
the powers that be greatly care to
have this much of the trouble stamp
ed out at all if it has to be done 1T
the price of revealing that there ~
still active rebellion in progress in
the islands. instead of desOlutory at
tackS by Il species of highWaymen
who do not have the sentiment of any
considerable numbers of the native
population behind them.-Atlanta
Journal.
Speaker Cannon has had the I'M
happy experience of seeming more
strenuous than the president. In the
conference on the Cuban reciprocity
bill Mr.. Cannon rOundly character
lied the ~postponemenr of the senate
to vote rs unfair treatment of the
president. and. in fact. no better rea-
son has been alleged for deferring
the bill except that the senate wishes
to put the president in Il hole by
showing that the extra session was
su~perfuOus. The president. however,
realizing the possibilities of obstruc-
ton i'm the senate. tOoK his "rebuke"
lying down. and asSented to the de-
lay. His surrender is unfortunate.
for his case was good and clear. Had
the senate proved Obdurate it would
have been clearly in the wrong. and
would have added to that
lating unpopularity from which alone
reform OF its a~ntiquated procedure
will come. In this case. moreover.
delay by the eua is Il kind of per
fdy. That issue should have been
made. Having ratified the Cuban
the7ty. the senate IS. though not
legally. Vet i'm honor bound TO pass
the enabling act promptly Il rs i
Uo0-cOUt"utiouS measure. To acCenp
n" treaty and then hoEEle over the
legislation necessary to make it effeC-
tive i a hi, Of chjli'S play. The case
shows plainly how lightly public Con
>~.Ieratious weigh against the per-
SonaI p~reiUdiceS and small manOeuv-
ring " the upper house. Speaker
Cannon deserves everyhody'S thanks
for being more Jealous than the pres
dent In the presidents fighL-New
York Post