The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-12-30
BETTER Than EVF9
aEEa CANNON TAlKsIN en-,
ACIERlsTIC vein,
Same pess'm's''c Taxa. ., Dr..
ea' Day v.s In Vogue w.. =.
He Vas . Boy-r,en ana
tions Are Better Tia, ),
GOOD Old Days" '

Washington, Dec. 27.-sno..
MOI non !. was one Of the callers At os ~
White House yesterday. He a - the
simply TO pay his Christmas ,r as;red
to President Roosevelt, but was 'o oS,,
ed to defer them, as the nso' 4ollg.
had gone for horseback ride ''u III
speaker was in excellent sn;r;., Inc
talked with the newspaper mo, ana =
Characteristic way. 'n IN
'They say things are not nov II.
they were in the old days; that ~
are Becoming aristocrats: that 1 INV. We
is no longer honesty in leo;s,a aoie
bodies; that there is no ability at ave
bar; that we are liable to becoms .ue
monarchy; that some strong mon :;
liable to rise up and dominate evo,.
body. way
But I say that there is M f.;.
minded man. who studies the hiut ann
of this country from it's foundatio.
down to the present time and who d.
duces the difference between 8, 600 o0o
people and $4,000, 900, who consiaerS
the telegraph, telephone and the rai ill
roads, who will not say that wa aro
markedly better physically, mentally
and morally than our grandfathen or
even or fathers
House 4 Representative Body.
"Then you believe the house If
representatives is just as Representa-.
tive as it was in years gone by?"
YES, yes, indeed" the speaker re.
piled. "The house is just as repre.
sentative body now as it was when
this country had only 100000 of
people. If you listen to all that il
said you might believe the country is
fast going to the devil, is fast becom.
ing monarchy and will cease soon to-
be republic. Why, I heard the same
kind of talk when / was a boy when
we used to gather at camp meetings.
They used to tell us that things were
not what they were in the good old
days You hear the same things now;
that the country is retrograding; that
every body is corrupt and dishonest,
and that there is wholesale immor.
atty. It do not hesitate to assert
that this country is better today than
it ever was in its history; that the
people are better-more honest, more
moral and less disposed to yield to
temptations that are put in front of
honest men at every turn.
The people are just as mighty now
in the matter Of elections as ever be-
fore, and just as discriminating as to
whether man has done his duty. No
man over gets so big that he cannot
easily be wiped off the political map
And how quickly the people do it, too.
They settle man so quickly that he
is soon forgotten.
Names Wiped Oft the Slate.
81 venture the prediction that few
of the best men Of the country could
sit down today and give off hand the
names Of 100 men who have helped
to make history in the house OF repre-
sentatives. The others were defeated
and forgotten and that was the emu
In the old days there was William D.
Brown, who put through the house
the appropriation of $4,000 to oul,o
the first telegraph line between WASH
ington and Baltimore. He dld the
world an immense service, yet at ens
next election afterwards he received
hardly votes enough to count. Ine
opposition put up a man who rldlcuiea
the idea Of sending messages by hgn,,
ming, and he beat Brown thousanus
Of votes. So it is today, although
mans services are not SO easily iOi-
gotten. L.
Undoubtedly we are better vi
than our forefathers. The mlllenlum
is not here, it list rue. We are ooine
hottAr thouph-o