Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-12-23
orHnR LANDS THAN ours.

important source OF revenue, hereafter, to
the German government. II is purposed to
collect them upon inheritances, on a scale
ranging from to ~ per cent, in accord
ance with the degree Of kindred Of the heir
and the value of the estate. Inheritances
under 800 marks G75) will be exempt from
duty. and the lowest tax in the scale will
be imposed upon inheritances up TO 5000
marks $4,000. After that point, the duty
will be doubled and the highest taxes viii
be imposed upon inheritances exceeding
10000 marks s1&,OOO) in value. When the
heirs are the children, or the husband or
wife of the teststor, the inheritance remains
free of duty 1t is expected that this tax
will yield some 100000 but at least one
third of the proceeds will be reserved for
the federated states in order to compensate
them for the revenue which they have hith-
erto derived from their state death duties.
which they will not surrender in favor of
the empire. The amount of the death du-
ties which will be appropriated by the em-
pire is to be determined from year to year
by the annual finance bill in connection
with the estimates. II viii depend upon the
necessities of the budget after other avail
able sources of revenue have been ex-
hausted. Among these the matricular con-
tributions Of the federated states will be
reckoned but they must not exceed in
amount the repayment which the states re-
ceive from the empire
The new English premier has taken one
step which his opponents describe as dema-
gogic, but which is by no means without
justification in recent experience in the af-
airs of the United Kingdom. He caused it
to be understood that any member of his
quired to resign whatever directorships he
might hold in business corporations. In the
Balfour ministry there were over thirty
men in office holding more than sixty di-
rectorships, and at the time of the Boer
war some of these were unpleasantiy con-
nected with corporations having relations
with the government 1t is. Of course. alb
surd to hold that a good director cannot
make a good government officer, but it will
be remembered that our own law puts re-
strictions of this sort about the Office of
the secretary of the treasury, which the
late A. 7. Stewart was unable to take on
that account. And Sir Henry is very sure
not to be embarrassed by bad directors
II any there be in England-if he declines
to have any directors whatever.
Poland looks TO the Russian douma for
the establishment of what it regards as its
rights. The expectation is that the douma
will legslate for the rights and for the
welfare of all parts of Russia. That, how
ever, is not what Poland wants. It de-
mands special legislation in its behalf
separate from that made for Russia as a
whole. 1t wants to be made independent
of Russia in legislative and administra-
tive affairs, and even in military admin
istration. That was the status which Fin
land enjoyed down to a few years ago. and
it seems likely that it will now be pretty
completely restored to that country. No
doubt such restoration in Finland has
greatly whetted the desires OF the Poles for
a like act of justice or of grace to them,
and to some extent it may have strength
ened the logic of their demands. Yet the
prospect is not particularly hopeful for
Poland 1t is now 1888 years since the first
partition of Poland. 1t is seventy-three
years since Poland, by ukase of Nichols
1, was made an integral part of the Rus
sian empire. 1t is thirty-nine years since
the last political distinctions of Poland as
a kingdom were abolished. 1t is thirty
seven years since the public use Of the
Polish language was imperially interdicted
1t is hardly to be supposed that even Count
Wltte, with all his liberal ideas. would be
willing TO; go back SO far in Russo Polish
history and undo the things that were
done more than a generation ago; espe-
cially with the influence of Germany and
Austria vigorously manifested against such
policy.
All observers seem to have been I'M
pressed greatly by the solidarity and dis
cipline displayed by the recent demonstra-
ton in favor of universal suffrage organ
lied in Vienna by the social democrats.
The leaders had forbidden singing or shout
ing. and. although the host numbered aO,-
600, these orders were obeyed. In the
relghborhood of the Reichsrath building the
paraders almost forebore to speak The
police had no occasion to interfere, as the
commands of the 1900 stewards appointed
by the party leaders were obeyed without
murmur. The immense Karlsplatz, with
the adjoining Naschmarkt, Schwarzenberg-
platz, Loshingerstrasse and Beethoven Platz
were the points selected for the assem-
bling of the different Populations from
the twenty-one administrative districts OF
Vienna and lower Austrian towns. map
indicated the proper place for every pro-
cession. BY 800 a. m, when the head of
the main procession began to move from
the Schwarzenbergplatz the whole of the
immense space covered by the squares and
streets mentioned was black with work.
men in their Sunday clothes and red with
their flags, banners and badges There
after there was a continuous flow of the
human torrent until 8 p. m. The only diff
ficulty experienced by the stewards was
in dealing with numbers much larger than
they had expected.
During the year 1904 the average number
of persons working in and about mines reg
ulated by the Indian mines act was 1918
of whom n510 worked underground and 49,,
s72 on the surface. OF these 1880 were
adult males, 81 SOS adult females and 5,234
children under Il years Of age. Compared
with tho preceding year an increase OF over
4 per cent (5,lS workers) is shown. Apart
from definite figures there is ample evidence
that the demand for labor at coal and some
other mines is increasing, and that Indians
are more willing to work underground. The
only reduction is in the number of persons
employed in the manganese mines. Proper
weight cannot be given TO the fluctuations
in the number OF persons working until
mining becomes recognized as the perma-
nent occupation of a larger class Of labor
and until more reliance can be placed upon
I ~. a..