The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-12-20
CURRENT

1t Is held that England missed an ex-
ceuent opportunity to strike a blow at
an enemy h mus finally meet II
deathgrapple, when she consented TO
compromise with Russia on the fishing
fleet incident. Europe is ~sneering at
her big ALI and little do" II Mr..
Balfour had aiken the advice Of lhs
Times-Union at the time, the Wal IN
Japan could have been summary
pure uCsssI q lqSnHl Bvssnd DIN punoM
civilization given a warning IL sorely
needs. And we submit that Our con-
temporary, the London Times, insisted
on the same vigorous policy" Perhaps
the common interests of ruling families
still outweigh the policies OF the peo-
ida Times Union.
Il especially commend to your imne-
date attention the encouragement OF
our merchant marine by appropriate
legislation Thus speaks the president
in his message and that is all he has to
say on the subject. There are many
schemes by which the merchant marine
may be encouraged" but as devised
by the republicans they all involve the
exactfon of tribute from many people
in order TO pay il to a few. The presi-
dent, while approving the proposition
to encourage the merchant marine,g de-
cines to commit himself openly 10 any
of the plans for encouraging it. On
occasions when he chooses to exercise
it Mr.. Roosevelt's agility as a side
stopper is not the least notable Of his
observation-disclosures Journal.
No sympathy IS being wasted on the
officers of the wrecked bank at Ober-
lin. O., whose downfall was brought
about by the Chadwick The
national banking law restricts loans
that a national bank may make to one
Person or n corporation to 10 per cent.
of the banks capital stock; neverthe-
less. these people loaned Mrs. Chadwick
a sum Of money amounting to four or
five times the banks entire capital.
And they did it because h had prom
ised them a handsome rate of interest
for the bank and large bonuses for
themselves. The avaricious, get-rich-
quick spirit vas upon them. They were
willing to take chance for the sake of
the profits they thought they saw.
They gambled, and lost.-Savannah
News.
President Roosevelt is evincing a de-
termination to extend the bounds Of
civil service reform" preserve to in
clude pretty much everything not al
ready corralled. His latest move in
this direction is an executive order in
Guiding 355 subordinate consular posi-
tons in the classified service. If his
order will have the effect of making
the consular service a Sort of training
school, in which bright, efficient and
ambitious young men begin on the
ground floor and by dint of merit
work their way to cOnsulShipS, it will
meet the hearty approval of the mer-
! lean commercial world, which lis ON
stantly being given reason to lament
the inefficiency of the consular service
as a promoter of OUR foreign rade. If
it amounts to little else than a life ten
ure of office for a lot of young partisans
of the present administration, the APP
prevail of the American commercial
world will be considerably qualified,
If the 'merit system is needed any
where for practical results, 1T is in th5
consular service.-Atlanta Constitution
The longer the SmOot case runs the
more entertaining it becomes. The
latest bit of evidence eveal a state
of affairs. however, that will probably
! only amuse those who have a penchant
for the gruesome. The Mormons, it ap
/! thing like the death of one of the par.
ties should be allowed to snap the
bonds of matrimony. Once a husband
always a husband, is the Mormon de.
~trine-unleSS the church says otherwise
Or in other words, they believe tina
the dictum of the church carries NOR;
weight than the han of death. Thus
if a wife dies the mother in law Problem
is not settled for her husband; she :.
still his wife, dead or alive, until tn,
church grants a divorce. We don
care to speculate too deeply concernin;
these matters. out it is evident tina
the divorce problem among the Mo-
mons must offer eve mora sides to III
moralist philosopher h among tn,
rest Of us. One can scarcely conceiv'
of a lady who a recently passe'
away filing a bill of divorce against he
husband or taking the trouble to ans
wer a petition filed by him 1t is like
wise hard to imagine n suing his O
her spouse on the grounds of some 40
ton taken since er or his residence >
the undiscovered bourne. There ar
phases Of the case that trike us a
distinctly unfGir. When a spouse goc
to court against a spouse after the fl
neral, everything is ex p~arte.-Atlant.
Journal.