Omaha daily bee., 1906-10-27

France. A maker aud breaker OF cabinets,
be becomes the head and front OF the
diverse factions Of the French congress.
His oft expressed antipathy for Germany
and friendliness for Britain, provokcs exc
pressions OF uneasiness in the former and
qualification IN the latter. II should be
remembered, however, that the opinions
expressed by a political FREQ lance, respon-
sible 70 no one, usually undergoes a radical
change when weighted with the response
bilities Of state. The radical Of today be-
comes the conservative Of tomorrow. Il
Is not unlikely that NJ. Clemenceau, hay
ing reached his long desired premiership, 4
viii adjust his former opinions TO the
necessities Of the state, and follow policies
Of compromise, OF give and take, by which
alone a French ministry may secure an
average duration of life. The appointment
OF General Picquart as minister OF war Is
everywhere esteemed a notable vndlcation
OF the man who dared obloquy and ostra-
cism to secure justice for Captain Drey-
fus. In all the French army Colonel
Picquart was the only man with the moral
courage to espouse the cause Of Dreyfus
He steadily urged his innocence in the
face of military prescription and public
clamor He lost his commission. He was
deprived Of his decorations Up TO half a
gtdA ahU llO sun DOI5 lue DltLeE DuEOen OF
disgrace, punishment and prescription for
his heroic self-sacriflce. The Dreyfus case
was pitched battle against privilege and
race prejudice by the democratic spirit Of
France. Instead of showing the Injustice
of the French people, It was a colossal
triumph OF their inherent sense Of justice,
such as could have taken place in no other
continental country whatever The ap-
polntment Of General Picquart as secre-
tary OF war completes the victory OF equal
ity, law and justice over class feeling and
racial prescription
THE British Admiralty is certainly the
most aggravating body OF experts in the
world" says the New York Post. First
It turns out the greatest battleship ever
seen, with turbine engines and the pheno-
menal speed OF twenty-three knots an
hour, completely upsetting all American
and continental theories that the turbines
were unsuited to warshp use. Not con-
tent with giving the most powerful OF
battleships a speed which will enable II to
distance all but very few Of the cruisers
aioat, 1t suddenly announces that the
! three so-called armored cruisers building
/ on the Clyde are not cruisers at all, but
batteships, with as heavy broadside fire
] 80 NV CAtoNAAAoh6hA dun VI lOuA MINUS
greater speed. Indeed, these three vessels
will actually be seven knots faster than
any American, German or French battle
ships, as a speed of twenty-seven knots is
! confidently expected on their trials Only
lone or two of our battleships can make
\ twenty knots; the bulk Of them avers GO
seventeen under service conditions. In other
! words. the English designers have borne
I out the prophets who have been looking
forward to the day wheTi the distinction
between the armOred cruiser and the bat
! tleship would cease to be. Naturally, there
/ is CONSERVATION among the big navy
maniacs OF other countries our Navy de-
partment, which has been for year plan
ming to Guido the Dreadnought, and will
not get the money for it's monster for
some months yet. finds itself compelled to
readapt it's plans in accordance with the
! designs of the new battleship cruisers"
There are some terrible figures In a re-
cort English blue book in relation 10 sani-
tary measures In india. Under the heading
| of plague 1t is recorded that the number
Of deaths due to this disease from the au-
tumn of 1896 to the end of 1901 reached the
enormous total of 3.2e8,sl0, Of which 2eCs 551
occurred in the British provinces and $751;
out the difficulties which comDlicate the
plague problem in India. the report says:
THE mud huts Of the people favor the
spread Of plague. but they arc built OF mud
because that is generally the only material
the builder can obtain The thorough dis
infection Of such houses is often impossi-
BILE, and the measure Is unpopular because
the inconvenience which it inevitably
causes is so frequently followed by failure
The poorer classes have few possessions,
but the fewer they are the greater the
dread Of their loss or injury, and the keener
the anxiety to keep them in sight and
avoid their being disinfected." The spread
Of plague in India, the report continues.
has been compared, not inapty with the
spread Of a jungle fire; slowly but surely
the margins Of the fire extend, the flames
darling forward where the grasses are
long and dry, and dying down where some
obstacle checks their course, while here
and there sparks are carried to a distance,
where they fall upon combustible material
TO set up fresh foci, whence the hre ax-
tends as in the original conhagratlon
Throughout the report the carrying OF
plague is attributed 10 rats, and the de-
: struetion OF these animals is specified as
; the most important preventive measure.
A Vienna newspaper publishes letter
from ST. Petersburg in relation 10 the ne
gotiations now I'm progress for a CONNER
eial treaty between Russia and Japan
Baron Motono is the japanese representa-,
tive, and he has experienced a steady OPP
position to all his propositions for thC
opening Of the Amur, the Russian objec-
tons. says the writer, being founded on q
profound conviction of the superiority Of
the japanese commercial ability. He de-
clares that Russia is flled with a great
fear and mistrust Of Japan, and that mill
tary officers, especially those who have re-
turned from the far cast are continually
asked, when does Japan mean 70 attack
us?' This fear is founded partly upon the
I considerable increase Of the japanese popu
lation In eastern Siberia, and partly upoF
the frequent arrests OF spies inside the
: V!adiyostok fortfcations. Nevertheless
! the relations Of Baron Motono with the
Russian court have been of the friendlies
nature. on his arrival in st. Petersburg
3 I