davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25

onoe presents itself. II Judge o'suLLI-
VAN is right and Mr.. JEROME and ordi-
nary common sense are wrong, where
does the chain Of criminality end2 First,
the president of the corporation is a
criminal for giving away the company's
money. The campaign managers are
consequently receivers OF stolen goods,
and, indeed, usually the instigators Of
the crime. But the campaign managers
are not the real recipients Of the money
or the actual benefioiaries Of the crime.
How about the candidates for whose
benefit and, presumably, with whose
approval all the other criminals are put
in motion? Should the District Attorney
therefore ask also for q warrant for the
successful candidate or candidates whose
election was brought about through these
criminal corporate contributions?
Many charities are assisted by cor
porate donations. There has never been
any enactment making that special use of
the money Of stockholders or ~policyhold-
ers q penal offence. There Is manifestly
no felonious intent on the part Of
the donors. Nevertheless, is not such
diversion of the corporate funds plainly
~larcenous under Judge 0'SULLIvAN's
ruling, and should not the District At
torney proceed with warrants or indict-
ments in order that the real criminals,
the recipients who got the benefit Of the
theft, shall be brought to justice?
We commend these considerations to
some Of the amateur prosecutors who are
attempting to prescribe Mr.. JERoME's
duties and methods Of procedure for
him while bearing none of the District
Attorneys burden of responsibility under
his oath OF Office. Their attitude and
utterances justify the use OF the word
hysteria. II it is not hysteria 1t is some
thing considerably less respectable than
hysteria which causes them to argue so
falsely from general to particular, and
to c~ritioise as inert or timid or terrified
or unduly influenced the maj who of all
men now living in this quarter Of the
globe is perhaps the least subject to any
of the failings aforesaid.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
PROVINCIAL NEW YoRk.
WhOOp Of a BOstOnihn Who Denies Tia,
"Graham" Is the STAR OF Life.

To THE EDITOR OF THR SuN-Sir' ! read
and wonder at the tales told OF "pTovinchl'
Boston. / doubt not but a Chicagoan would
put your metropolis" In the same category
Constant repetition Of a claim Outlines call,
attention TO its absence. The consumptfya
talks loud and thumps his chest to show hi,
lungs are all right, and the decrcpit old bean
does funny things to prove he is ut. Tia
New Yorker, after spending a short summn,
at Revere Beach. blossoms out as a pseudo.
Hubite, gives IL" to our city "in the neck'
and combines with the continuous creates,
city in the world" to protect New York a,
Boston's expense.
II New York Is "the real thing" why does
II need all thisspunlng2 To us 1t looks as
your modest correspondents had served their
terms in the advertising business. Isn't
II peculiar that so many of your people travel
In Europe each summer hailing from Boston
Mass? What is meant by New York,
Brooklyn. ~Bronxvllle, Harlem. Staten Island
and the other up to date places You annexed
In order to be great? Has any one ever had
assurance enough to claim that anything
decent to eat, drink, wear or smell was to bs
found in these localities? Is It not rather tho
dirty little old town OF Manhattan to which
people flock for a racket" and to enjoy them.
selves as We used to enjoy old "Beefsteak
roundlngs gave the tough, badly cooked old
steak n uncommon flavor?
What Of stupendous excellence has your
village to offer TO any extent outside OF venhl,
uncontrolled governing oflcials. police,
swell mobsme en-" savage. railroad guards
swlndling shackmen. gambling houses and
Oh, yes, New York Is "it"-indeed it is, God
save the mark! Your people cannot get
good coffee, chocolate or graham bread in
Boston at the best restaurants, cant they,
Perhaps not In the diners of Eliot. Dover OF
Cambridge street. where. by the way, graham
bread Ia served at every meal.
Residents find the proper beverag yes almost
everywhere. It's true that graham is not
over popular with us, since when we want
cake we know and call for it. and when bread
is wanted we are silly enough to prefer the
sort Of bread made by the French baker.
even II II is not hot and ggy What The
rustic wants he is sure to get at those places
which cater to him:
We get a great deal OF good natured knock.
ing. and take 1t certainly with good nature.
We are not compelled TO knock" our SUR.
roundings TO appear big. We need no apollo.
Rists, for II your townspeople cannot see our
beauties and virtues We are not to blame for
their brin ging up. their bizarre taste; and we
simply jog their minds by referring 10 the
first class men and women in New York az
well as in the rest of our country as evidence
of the sort of material our city of crooked
streets and its neiRhboring suburbs produce
in spite of its provincial" ways. You cannot
get figs from crab apple trees. nor do they
grow on the rocks. Go thou and do like
wise" DoRCEY,
BOSTON, March "a.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
Alaska w vs.,

The situation and the prospects in
Alaska give weight to the arguments
which are now being used in favor Of
the Lowering bill for a Government guar
antee Of interest on bonds and other aid
to projected railway lines in our farthest
Northwest. There must always be hesi-
tation in advocating the system of sub
vention to such enterprises because OF
the difficulty Of drawing the line be-
tween development schemes of genuine
merit and other schemes which at their
best are purely speculative and at their
worst a looting of the national treasury.
Precedents for Government aid are
numerous, and in most if not in all cases
the result has been benefit which has
repaid the cost to the country.
The mineral wealth of Alaska is not a
matter of guesswork. 1t is known that
in districts which lie two, three or four
hundred miles from any present trans
portation routes there are vast deposits
of coal and copper, rich stores of gold
and thousands Of acres of valley land
susceptible of profitable cultivation. Our
Alaskan Territory is an empire. 1t is
twice the size 6f Texas, and it is prob
ably safe to predict that a day will come
when it will rival Texas in the value of
it's products. The old belief that it was
uninhabitable and almost %valueless, is
rapidly dying out. Its season Of agri-
cultural activity is short, but nature
introduces a counterbalancing influence
by hurrying things along during the
season. 1t is one of those lands in which
there may be developed a vigorous and
hardy race of men whose energies will
always bring them comfort and will
often bring them wealth.
Development by individual initiative
is always preferable, but large interests
sometimes make it inexpedient to wait
on this force. There should be no great
difficulty in asc~ertaining whether this is
or is not the case in Alaska. There is
evidentlyneed for a line beginning at or
near Valdez and crossing northward to
the Yukon River somewhere in the
Tanana country. The doubtful feature
Oh Vic LONSl ulB III 10 VIA ~ 10 BtIcId Ill
and not specific. This plan was followed
in the case Of the Philippine lines, but
other factors than those of commercial
advantage and territorial development
were then involved, In the Alaska
case it seems to US much better to deal
with each project on it's individual
merits rather than by blanket provision.
II aid is to be given, it should only be
given where it will really do good and
where it will do the most good.
The time is ripe for the opening Of
the gates of opportunity in Alaska. 1t
is not to our credit as IN enterprising
nation that we leave that land in the
matter Of industrial progress where
Colombia is to-day and where Mexico
was twenty-five years ago. The Geo.
logical Survey people have covered a
good deal of it, and their maps and re-
ports should give at least a fair idea Of
the possibilities of different districts.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
Mr.. .JerOme,s Duty.

Undoubtedly most of the lawyers and
most of the intelligent citizens in this
community believe with THE sun that
the bestowal of funds belonging to cor
porations upon the collectors or treas
urers of political parties, for use in polit-
ical campaigns, is against public policy
and ought to be prohibited by law. In
order to stop such use of the money of
stockholders or po~licyholders there is a
4 general demand for legislation making
it a misdemeanor and providing a
Sufficiently deterrent penalty for the
offence. both by fine and imprisonment.
Measures designed to effect this greatly
needed reform have been included in
various comprehensive schemes Of leg
islation directed at corrupt election
practices. The evil is recognized by
every committee which has given candid
consideration to the subject. AS the
result of recent disclosures separate
and specific bills to stop campaign con-
tributions by corporations have been
introduced and are now pending both
in the Legislature at Albany and in the
Congress at Washington.
Now, if the mere fact of such contribu-
ton of corporation money for campaign
purposes constitutes larceny, that is, the
theft of money belonging to the stock
holders or the po~licyholders OF the corpo-
ration contributing, and il the contribu-
ton is indictable as a felony even under
, the present law, and without regard to the
presence or absence of felonious intent
on the part Of the person making the
contribution in behalf of the corporation,
what need of any further legislation on
the subject? With the larcenous nature
Of the act assumed rs Judge O'SULLIvAN
seems to assume it, it is unnecessary to
provide any further and more specific
penalization of what has never before
been regarded even as a technical offence
and which has been practised in many
instances not only without thought Of
wrong, but even with VIGOROUSLY good
motives on the part of the contributing
corporations. II the larceny theory
is sound, that is enough. The juris-
consults and the statesmen who have
been trying to procure enactments
defining a new offence and supplying
the means of prevention have been
wasting their time and their minds.
Furthermore, on the foregoing suppo-
sition .$nother interesting question at
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
The Pinquay Weed Debate.

The pinquay weed debate was one Of
the most interesting, dramatic, and
at the same time mysterious that have
occurred in the House Of Representa-
tives since it met in December. Every
body in the Southwest knows the pinquay
weed-how it luxuriates on the mesas
and does nothing else; but everybody
doesn't know that it may revolutionize
the india rubber industry. H. r. 1881
seemed to be a harmless Bill on its face,
but it contained the germ of a scheme
in which there might be millions-who
knows? 1t provided that certain arid
and therefore worthless lands in La
Plata county, Colorado, should be leased
by the Department Of the Interior to
the P. F. U. River Company for three
cents an acre. The company proposed
to establish an experimental station for
the cultivation of the pinquay weed
and to render it into crude rubber.
Mr.. BROOKS of Colorado, who did yeo-
man service in jamming the bill through,
explained about the land and pinquay.
He said:
"This plant is a perennial weed. 1t Is a little
shrub; Il Is pulled up by the roots; there arc small
rootle,s left in the ground, and these roots repro
duce the plant. The period Of reproduction is
about three years. Now. the experiment is to see
II the plant cannot be reproduced from a seed
more certainly, in an improved form, with a larger
and more regular rubber content. and in a quicker
time"
The land was "a high, elevated mesa,
above the line of any irrigation ditch,
beyond the possibility Of any irrigation,
beyond any possibility Of being watered
by artesian wells AS the Indians OF
the Ute reservation we're to get. the
lease money, he could not see why gen.
tlemen were curious or suspicious. Some
pinquay plants yielded 8 and others 10
and even 80 per cent. Of liquid rubber.
Mr.. LIVINGSTON Of Georgia shifted
at the rental. only three cents an
avreP" said he. Il would give it to them
before l would take as little as that
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
Secretary Shaw as a Leader.

Secretary SHAW says that President
ROOSEVELT is not advocating tariff re-
vision at this time, and the Secretary
asks: "Shall l follow my chief, or follow
my Governor" Mr.. SHAW should be
true to himself. II he believes that the
tariff as it stands will insure indefinitely
the continuance of prosperity, and that
the American people would fare better
under it than under a revised tariff, by
all means let him stick to his guns and
60 on firing broadsides at his Governor,
the Hon. ALBERT B. CUMMINs, custodian
and champion of the Iowa idea. And
the Secretary has the courage of his con-
victions, for he says in his Des Moines
speech: mo party can ever revise the
tariff in safety, and the only time to risk
the experiment is at an extraordinary
session Immediately following the in
auguration of a new Administration"
We gather, then, that Mr., SHAW is not
for tariff amendment until after March
Z, 1909. If it is true that no party can
ever revise the tariff in safety it is a fair
presumption that should the Republican
party elect the President and the House
in 1908 Mr.. SHAW would still be standing
pat with infexible resolution. With him
it seems to be a question Of party advan-
tage, not of the interests of the country.
As a matter of fact, it is not true that no
party can ever revise the tariff in safety,
for the Dingley law has been on the
statute books almost ten years.
Il hear professed Republicans" ex-
claimed Secretary SHAW at Des Moines,
declaring, 4 believe in a protective
tariff which only measures the actual
difference in the cost Of production"
If that be treason, Mr.. SHAW may make
the most Of it, for the Republican plat
form in 1904 declared: 1.-THE measure Of
protection should always at least equal
the difference in the cost of production
at home and abroad" The platform
went on to say that disaster would be
invited if the work of revision were to
be intrusted to the Democratic party;
but Secretary SHAW fears disaster if the
Republican party touches the tariff
ergo, it ought not to be touched.
II the President is not advocating
.Sariff revision at this time it is because
rate legislation has the call with him.
Probably he could not be induced to
agree with Secretary SHAW that there
must be no amendment to the Dingley
law until the summer or fall of 1909.
Mr.. SHAW is not really following his
chief, but has lost himself in the wilder
ness of partisanship. If, as he says,
the metropolitan press is assailing the
protective tariff and Republican orators
"are again teaching discomfort, it is a
portent of disaster if the Republican
party follows LESLIE NJ. SHAW.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25

very recent illustration of the old phrase
barking up the wrong tree" is given in the
determination of the Board OF Health to
compel ocean steamship companies in New
York 10 desist from the use Of bituminous
coal and to burn anthracite. The COM
panies lave opposed this order, compliance
with which would do little to abate the
smoke nuisance.
The steamships are not responsible for
the loss to the people OF New York Of the
blue sky. They burn little coal when
locked, and the smoke emitted rarely
offends, for the wharves are nearly all in a
very limited district, far from the chief
residential districts of town.
1t is rather the factories, hotels and 4ob-
noxious trades" as they are officially called,
which offend in the use Of coal without
smoke condenssrs, and such concerns use
coal continually day and night, whereas
the steamship companies use it only when
"the fires are up" which is exceptional
except soon after arrival or before sailing.
1t is not by adopting new orders, but by
enforcing existing ones, that the Board of
Health can effectively abate the continu-
ance, or reduce the extent, Of the smoke
nuisance which deprives New York of one
of its most attractive features as a place
Of residence, namely, the clearness of the
atmosphere,
The announced purpose of the new Anti
Smoke League, TO which many eminent
and public spirited citizens are giving
allegiance, is not to prevent the use Of soft
coal, but to insist on proper firing and the
practical abolition of smoke.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
A GENTLEMAN.
Newman's Description and a Portrait
Filling the Outlines.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-Sir; Newman,
/ believe. did not attempt to give a definition
of the word gentleman but he gives us a de-
scription of a gentleman, and he does 1t witha
masters hand. 1T Is almost a definition Of a
gentleman to say" the illustrious Cardinal
writes, "he Is one who never inflicts pain.
This description Is both refined and, as far
as it goes, accurate. "A gentleman il mainly
occupied In merely removing the obstacles
which hinder the free and unembarrassed 40.
ton of those about him; and he ooncurs with
their movements rather than takes the initla.
tive himself. The true gentleman carefully
avoids all clashing Of opinion. or collision
of feeling; all restraint, or suspicion. or gloom.
or resentment: his great concern being TO
make every one at his ease and at home.
He has his eyes. on all his company. He is
tender TOWARD the bashful, gentle toward
the distant and merciful TOWARD the absurd,
he can recollect to whom he is speaking
he guards against unreasonable illusions or
topics which may ~irritate; he is seldom promi-
nent in conversation. and never wearisome,
He makes light of favors while he does
them. and seems to be receiving when he IA
comforting. He never speaks OF himself
except when compelled; never defends him.
self by a mere retort; has no ears for Islander
or gossip; is %scrupulous not to impute mo.
tives to those who interfere with him, and
interprets everything for the best. He Is
never mean or little in his disputes: never
takes unfair advantage. never mistakes per.
sonalities or sharp sayings for arguments or
insinuates evil which he dare not say out.
From n lonRsighted prudence, he observes
the maxim of the ancient sage that we should
ever conduct ourselves toward our enemy
as If he were one day to be our friend He
has too much good sense to be afironted at
insult: he is too busy to remember injuries
and too indolent to bear malice.
He is patient. forbearing and resigned on
philosophical principles, He submits TO
pain because It Is inevitable, to bereave.
ment because 1t Is irreparable, and to death
because 1t is his destiny. II he Engages in
controversy of any kind his disciplined in.
tellect preserves him from the laundering
discourtesy Of better though less educated
minds. that, like blunt weapons tear and hack
instead of cutting clean and mistake the point
in argument, waste their strength on triles,
misconcelve their adversary and leave the
question more involved than they find il.
He may be right or wrong in his opinion, but
he is too clear headed to be unjust. He. il
as simple as he is forcible, and as brief as h.
is decisive. Nowhere shall we find greater
candor, consid Grafton. indulgence. He throws
himself into the minds of his opponents, he
accoun for their mistakes. He knows the
weakness Of human reason as well rs It's
strength, its province and its limits"
When we shall meet and shake hands with
the gentleman described above. / think the
hopes OF the most enthusiastic patriot will
be fulfilled. HELIos NEo-CRsARIENSIs.
TRENTON, March %.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
New York,s Chinook Wind.

BY way of a final vagary of a winter
that has been noteworthy for its eccen-
tricity New York has been treated to
the unwonted luxury of a Chinook wind.
1t can scarcely have escaped notice that
last Mondays snow has been disposing
Of itself by unostentatiously vanishing
under the sun warmth without leaving
puddles. In effect, the physical process
has been that the sun melted a fake Of
snow and the dry air promptly drank up
the resulting drop of water and carried
1t away for some future need of precipi-
tation.
The proof of this has been graciously
permitted to appear in the records of the
Weather Bureau, possibly because Pro-
fessor WILLIS MOORE did not Suspect that
lay readers of weather signs knew any
thing about sensible temperatures and
the wet bulb Thermometer. These are
the records of humidity of the air, under
whose influence we have had a deep snow
with no entailed consequences of wet
feet or gum boots: Tuesday, IS per cent;
Wednesday, 81 per cent; Thursday, 4s
per cent; Friday, AS per cent.
A climatic rarity in New York or any
where along the eastern seaboard, this
dry evaporation of snow fields is well
coined as a blessing on the ranges of
Montana and Idaho, where it is known
as the Chinook wind. In that region it
is a frequent phenomenon. The moist
winds of the Pacific are squeezed dry in
their passage over the mountains under
the general easterly drift of the upper
air, and by the time they reach the ranges
are ready to dry up the snow banks and
expose the range grasses for the cattle.
The humidity record shows that a SINH
lar phenomenon has been at work in
New York for the last few days. 1t is
an unwonted treat in the way of the
eternal riddle of the climate of New York,
yet none the less enjoyable because
unusual.
We welcome the Chinook to an hon
orable place in our weather.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25

An interesting scheme is under consid-
Grafton in South Africa. About 700 miles
north of johannesburg the Zambesi River
takes it's big tumble over the Victoria Falls.
1t is estimated that a canal. can be cut,
easily and cheaply and without injury to
the beauty of the falls, for the development
of 1000, 600 horsepower at it's outlet.
The Witwatersrand now spends about
SIS, OOO, 900 a year for the power used in its
various enterprises. It's many engines,
run by steam, represent a total Of $50 900
horsepower in actual use. 1t is proposed
to erect a huge powerhouse at Zambesi and
transmit across the intervening 700 miles
all the power that is needed in Johannes
burg. The plan is declared to be entirely
feasible, and a ssventy-fve year concession
has been obtained.
One of these days we may hear that Paris
or London is to be lighted by electricity
generated at the Nile dam at Assouan.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
SnObS.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-Sir. A 40
few people in this world are capable of doing
their Owl thinking. myself included will Won
take up the question in your paper OF whether
God intended men and women to he snohs?
Ninety-nine out Of every hundred women
are snobs. and probably ninety out of every
hundred men would be snobs If they got hall
a chance. but ] think II is simply becansn hey
lack sensible instruction.
1t is sad to see a great people like the AMER.
cans falling into all the errors of Europeans
What is a proper bearing for men and women
to adopt who wish TO act in a sensible. demo-
cratic and "unsnobbish" manner9 ] am
sure we should all be better II We knew how.
BROOKLYN, March "a. SAMUEL HIrFR.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
Great Cities of Germany,

Any city OF more than 1904 900 Inhabitants '' con
sldered a great city. OF these Germany has more
than any other country. namely, forty one.
Great Britain and the United States have thirty
nine each. Then u. is abreak till we reach Russia
with sixteen, France with ffteen, Italy with twelve
Japan and Austria Hung AIRY with eight each
When the present German Empire was founded
In 1871, Germany had only nve such cities, but hy
1900 they numbered thirty three. Five Of 'Hem
have more than half a million population 'h'a'
Berlin, for instance, has moro than 3,OoO,cyo luhaoi
tants. The next largest is Hamburg 5000" "'
lowed by Munich, Dresden and LeipsIc.
In hve years Krupp's town OF Essen has ~lno'cs''d
eS per cent. Cologne, with Its 42o. 900 psop'e b"
had an astonishing growth.