The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-03-01
CURRENT

There is no question of Mr.. Cleve-
lands availability as the democratic
candidate for president at the next
election, and there Is a disposition
on the part of all who really desire
the success Of the national democracy
to insist upon his nomination A dis
tinguished New York politician re-
Gently said il Mr.. Cleveland should
be nominated he would certainly be
elected We YOU carry New York
state without any question He would
carry also New Jersey, Connecticut
and Illinois, and doubtless Indiana,
and other states now counted upon
as invincibly republican would turn
to this strong man as to q tower of
safety.-News and Cour er.
1t is SO curious that Mr.. Bryan
should continue to argue, or rather to
declaim in the face of the facts Those
Of us who were voters in 1896 and
1900 can remember how Mr.. Bryan
and Coins Financial school and the
rest Of them used to give Us long and
~portentious rows of statistics both
reminiscent and prophetic. to prove
that silver, cotton and wheat were in
dissolubly linked together, hat the
price Of one must follow the price
of the other, and hat the alleged de-
monetiZation of silver meant the ruin
of farmer and planter inevitably. Yet,
with silver near its lowest point, wheat
was selling yesterday well above the
dillar a buShel mark, and cotton soar
ing UP in the teens. 1t does seem
hat a man whose theories, premises.
foundations, allegations and predic-
ions are so hopelessly smashed and
so distinctly ~contradicted by the facts
and actual figures of real markets
ought to cultivate a little modest still
ness and humility.-Richmond News
Leader.
There is nothing that can be accu-
rately described as "nobody's bust
ness" The relations of the individual
to the people about him are too init
mate to permit any act to concern
himself alone. The woman in charge
of a messenger office remarks in er-
feet that her conduct Of that place is
nobody's business. A young messen-
ger under her direction is said to have
been overworked to an extent that
may render him a cripple for life.
Possibly if the woman will. reflect
calmly h will conclude that her first
judgment was hasty, and that working
a boy at a cruel and ruinous tension
is very much the business of others
than herself. For instance, the boy is
interested. So are his relations. So
is the public. A boy has a certain
value, and the industrious little fell
low striving to make an honest living
is a useful element in'the community.
The young woman could give the
saying to her conscience, IT'S none
of your business" and noting the re-
sponse.-New York World.
We turn 10Y to the canal. The
world takes note that the American
nQnn1a ora az v-ff1y nn1iotnI ~ T1n na
terprise, and at a time when they are
prepared to do the york. Seven
years or uneMampIed prosperity nave
fattened Uncle Sans wallet materi-
ally. We have the money, the skill,
the inspiration, and the national pride
for the occasion, and we
shall be expected to score a distinct
The job is colossal. We
encounter many difficulties, and
may here and there as we go along
have to readjust u plans. But that
the final result will be a canal, built
by American capital, operated under
control, n contributing to
worlds comfort and progress, Is
open to no question in any quarter
American spirit and perform
ances are known and appreciated
Washington Star.
BY all odds the most trustworthy es-
q I'll I1lS iS SopCSt(
Of the Siberian railway is that of h
Berlin Militar Wochenblatt, the organ
of the German general staff. Accord
ing to this authority, Russia was able
last year to move two brigades of
troops to Lake Baikal at the rate of
only eight and one-haIf miles an
hour. With the road given over sole
ly to military uses. it is possible that
this speed might be increased some-
what, but it would still take between
men into Mukden or V~ladivostok. The
Wochenblatt's estimate Of the actual
number of Russian troops in Manchu-
ria on the outbreak of war puts them
at only 15S,761. Deducting g%arrisons
comparatively small force to confront
the Japanese. Whether the latter are
prepared to take the Wochenblatt's
advice n move directly on Hardin
or not, 1t is now plain that the land
campaign will hardly have reached a
critical stage for weeks to come. II
is not necessary to say months, as did
yesterdays London dispatches, and
there are likely to be outpost encoun-
tiers quite as serious as our battle"
as Las Guasimas in 1898, before long.
Even should Port Arthur be cut off.
the Russians cannot be driven u or
Manchuria until Hardin is captured
or vacated. And Hardin is nearly 400
miles from Seul in an air line-a long
distance for an army to cover while
keeping UP S~eacoaSt communications
as well.-New York Post.