The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1905-01-15

| ~ ENATOR WILLIAM NJ. STEW
ART Of Nevada, who is popular
~ ly known as Santa Claus" an
who Is soon to voluntarily retir
to private life, signalizes his departur
by introducing a bill to increase tn
salaries of most Of the political big
wigs at Washington. The president
salary Is to be 100000, the vice presi
dents $4,000. the speakers $4,000
and that Of senators and representa-
tives in congress $4,000. But the per
sons interested should not undertak,
to hold their breath until the Stewar
bill Is enacted into law. 1t might Prov
fatal; not that they would not enjoy
drawing the larger salaries. but on tn,
great principle once enunciated by Psi
vate John Allen OF Mississippi-it i.
better to be a congressman on paltr3
$1,000 year than not 20 be congress
man at all. Once upon time lot OF
members were bemoaning the small
pay in the presence Of that wise mar
whereupon he solemnly remarked
"But it is powerful regular an utter
ance which contains much food Sor sc
Fiction.
Speaking of Stewards Dilf, Harper~s
Weekly says, THE president gets along
without known embarrassment on his
present stipend, but we think the pro.
posal to double his salary would be
popular, though the end sought 4night
perhaps be better realized by providing
that all presidents shall have life pen
sions of $4,000"
There it is again. The proposition to
have civil pension list, like Banquo's
ghost, will not down. Retiring federal
judges on full pay for life when they
have served ten years and have reach
ed the age of threescore and ten was
the thin end of the entering wedge. 1t
would be far better to pay the presi-
dent 100000 per annum while in Of
flee than to pension him; then his case
could not be invoked as a precedent for
pensioning all other federal officials.
A civil pension system would be an
outrage on the toilers Of the land, who
create all the wealth and for whom no
pension is in prospect. That they will
grow hilarious over the proposition to
double up official salaries, presidential
or any other sort, is not credible. $.
The principal reason urged for this
increase of salaries is the increased
cost.of living, but it is strange that no.
body ever proposes to reduce salaries
when the cost of living is reduced.
Touching the argument as to increased
cost of living, Harper's Weekly very
pertinently remarks: IF the cost of liv-
ing has Increased SO much that their
have seriously decreased in
power. it becomes them
Senators and representatives in CONF
gress) first to consider whether they
make living somewhat less cost
". Let them carefully con the tariff
schedules and see whether there are
not some Just and reasonable modifica-
lions which would tend to make fixed
Incomes go little farther" That is q
very sensible suggestion to emanate
from a Republican paper, we'll worth
The consideration Of all men.
The Panama Canal. "a. T..
A great many persons. ordinarily "a
donal, have been expecting to see YES
sels sailing through the Panama canal
before the next presidential election,
md villages whose status will not be
,erceptibly changed by the completion
of that stupendous enterprise. have
oeen dreaming of being metamorphos-
I'd into Chicagos, Bostons or Baltl-
nores as sequel to the digging Of the
sthmian ditch. All these hopes and |
aspirations are destined to cruel |
'rost. A row is brewing as to wheth-
r we shall have locked canal or a
lea level canal. 1t is estimated by the !
Engineers that the former will consume i
EN- years of time and $500, 600, 900,
while the latter will require fifteen |
ears of time and $3O0,0OO,OO0 Judg-
ng the future by the past, both esti-
mates should be doubled, even if it /
hould be determined at once what sort
Il a canal we are to have. If that !
question is not speedily settled the
hances are that not one senator or
representative who voted for the canal
will live to be present at the opening
hereof. Hope deferred maketh the
cart sick, and the fortunes based on
anal traffic are in the distant future
Martyr.
Certainly the most preposterous thing
yer undertaken by the propagators Of
ansations is the effort to pose Repre-
sntatiye e. d. Crumpaeker Of Indiana
> a martyr because he is advocating a
Ian to cut down the congressional rep
ssentation of four or five southern
sates by reason of the alleged suppress
on of the colored voters. For several
ears Crumpaeker has enjoyed-I use
lie word enjoyed advisedly-a monopo-
, of the publicity growing out Of that
inject. Recently, however, Senator
homas Collier Platt of New York and
eneral Morrell of Pennsylvania thrust
Iemselves into the limelight by intro
lcing bills of the same sort. 1 predict
that Crumpacker would turn green
it'll envy as soon as he learned of
eir infringement of his patent So it
ems that / am in position to say, II
Id you sor' But he does not propose