davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08

statement OF the conditions which led
up to Brazil's financial disturbances,
which he does not deny. Slavery was
abolished in 1883, AMI in 1889 a repub-
llcan Government was substituted for a
monarchy. This naturally disafranged
the normal orderly procession Of affairs
and resulted in a period Of initiation and
a heavy fall in exchange. Our corre-
spondent then says:
TO stop the prolonsation Of such an unwar.
rAnted situation In 1898 the Government OF Brazil
authorized by Congress. contracted with the bank.
ing house OF Messrs. N. n. RoTHscHILD & Sons a
loan OF clio, 900. ooo. under stipulated conditions. for
tho purpose OF paying the interest on the foreign
debt, for three years, with tho gold bonds of this
loan, at par. bearing 8 per cent. interest, and to
resume payment Of interest and amortization In
gold at the end Of said three years.. e., In 1901"
This is one way Of stating the matter.
For q different statement Of IL we quote
from two sources Of information, both
OF them presumably competent. At the
time Of this transaction Mr.. THOMAS C.
DAWSON was the United States Seore-
tary Of Legation at Rio Janeiro. In his
history of the South American republics
page 500 Mr.. DAWSON says; THE
last act Of PRUDENTE's Administration
was to make an agreement by which the
foreign creditors consented to waive the
receipt of their interest for three years"
Mr.. CHARLES E. AKERs has been for many
years the resident South American CORE
spondent Of the London Times. In his
History Of South America" page 8o6)
Mr.. AKERs says: Cash interest pay
ments were suspended for three years
dating from July /, 1893, and bonds is
sued instead for the amount due"
We made no charge that Brazil had
defaulted in her interest account or that
the national finances were in an I'M
sound condition. We merely referred
to a situation which lie 10 secret-namely,
that the Brazilians are leaping the bitter
fruit Of a period Of imitation and paper
money. We have no doubt that Brazil
will speedily emerge from her troubles,
and that the lesson will be Of benefit, as
such lessons usually are.
We do not altogether agree with our
correspondent-who, by the way, Is a
Brazilian-that his country Is 'the rich
est in the world" but We stand by our
statement that Brazil is potentially "one
OF the richest countries in the world" |
We most cordially hope for her a speedy
entrance into her full inheritance, and
we believe that happy experience to be
amply assured by the ability of her adj
ministrators and the progressive spirit
of her people.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08

Our recent comment on the financial
condition in Brazil brings a reply which
is somewhat too long for quotation in
full. 1t begins as follows:
My attention was drawn to an article, pub.
llshed last week. In one of the morning Issues OF
your valued journal. under the title Financial
Trouble In Brazil 1t was therein stated thai
foreign creditors OF Brazil were asked and con
scented to waive interest on the national debt for
three years
81 beg leave 10 arrm that the above assertion
Is utterly erroneous"
Our well known attitude toward our
neighbors in the Western Hemisphere
should relieve us Of any charge or i'm
plication Of deliberate or careless mis-
statement. which would tend to injure
any of those neighbors. Had we de-
voted a column to the matter instead Of
a few inches Of space, it is possible that
u correspondent would have been
saved the trouble Of making his reply.
Our brief statement was not utterly
erroneous although an elaborate ex-
PLANTATION might have modified the inn
preston left by it.
Our correspondent proceeds with q
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
THE REAPPEARANCE OF MAJOR
RATHBONE.

WASHINGTON. April There are sigrs
| that the case of Estes q. Rathbone is 10 be
added to the list of subjects presented Tor
public interest end Official consideration
Senator Teller some weeks ago introduced
a bill praying for an investigation OF the
case; the Ohio State Legislature has en-
pressed its opinion that the matter should
be heard; one Washington paper prints a
picture of Major Rathbone. and the Wash
ington Post says editorially;
Every one with q heart Of pity for the victim OF
misfortune or injustice, or both. will be glad TO hear
OF a reopcnlns OF tho case OF Estes g. Rathbone.
The trouble with this case Is that Mr..
Rathbone ia a man with a grievance.
1t is true that no was tried and convicted
by a Cuban court, but a situation developed
which debarred him from the privilege OF a
hearing on appeal. He was thus debarred
in spite Of the fact that Mr.. Root, then
Secretary Of War, instructed Gen. Wood
to amend the laws Of Cuba in conformity
with q draft which was sent with the in
structions. BY this order, which went into
effect only on the day preceding the Ameri-
can withdrawal from the island, the SUI
preme Court Of Cul:a was authorizes to act
as a trial court In the rehearing OF such
cases as that OF Major Rathbone. LII tfr
meantime the passage Of an amnesty act
by the Cuban Congress left Major Rathbone
without standing before the courts or the
island. Pardoned by that act, he was de-
clared without ground for appeal.
For nearly four years he has sought and
demanded a hearing in this country OF an
Official investigation Of all his acts in Cuba.
His persistent clanor at the doors OF Con-
gress, the War Department, the Post Office
Department, and even the White HouseI
does not seem like the course which would
be pursued by a man who knew himself to
he a criminal. He has always had many
friends in public life, who have stood by
him, asserting their faith In him. Among
these were the late President Mckinley and
the late Senator Hanna.
An earlier attempt to secure a hearing
by Major Rathbone was unfortunately COM
plicated with the matter Of the promotion
Of Gen. Leonard Wood, and Rathbone went
down in the defeat of Gen. Woods oppo-
nents. The Teller bill for a full investiga-
ton Of this case is now before the Senate
Committee on Cuban Relations. Its pur-
pose, az the petition Gets forth, lie "thatthe
truth may be asoertained and justice done,
and that your petitioner may be relieved
from the unjust aspersions cast upon his
character
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
Nhy Not Trust the Peoplei

To THE EDITOR OF The SUN-Sir; In No
vember. 1904. Theodore Roosevelt trusted
the people. and they elected him.
In November. 1905. william Travers Jerome
trusted the people, and they elected him
against the opposition Of both parties,
Other similar cases might be cited, but
those should be sufficient to convince Governor
Higgins that all he need do is to trust the
people rather than the professional polIti-
clans Of our party.
Why should he lie awake nights seeking
means to please one politician without dis
pleasing another? Why should he hesitate
to veto bills which are, on their face. bills for
politicians and not bills for the people? In
whose hands can he or any elected public
servant be safer than in the hands of the
people? Did not Abraham Lincoln pin his
faith to the people all the time? Do we not
see on all sides men practically unknown
being lifted into high positions solely by the
people?
In these days Of a free press and great
public awakening, no man need depend for
election to places of honor and trust on the
Will and within or the venal cupidity Of any
one man or set Of men.
The so-called bosses are bosses only 80 far
as the people by neglect of duty or indlffer-
ence to duty allow them to arrogate to them
selves such utterly un-American positions.
STALwARr REPUBLICAN.
SCHENECTADY, April 7.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
Sporting Events and the Hen.

1t was eggs against beef, and when
Cambridge outrowed Oxford on the
Thames yesterday every hen from Put
ney to Mortlake cackled a salute to tho
victors. II was a glorious triumph of the
hencoop over the s%tockyard. A month
ago the annual boat race between the
two great British universities looked
like another victory for Oxford. Some
one advised the Cambridge crew to eat
less beef and more eggs. The improve
ment in the condition Of the "Cantabs"
was sudden and sustained. The end
crowned the diet.
We may expect nov that Harvard and
Yale and the crews that will row on the
Hudson in June will carry to their train
ing quarters at New London and Pough-
keepsie their own private coops, filed
with hens guaranteed to lay at least
twice every twenty-four hours. If eggs
can win boat races in England, why
not on the American Thames and the
Yankee Rhine?
Indeed, the possibilities of sporting
victories from the egg diet seem to be
far reaching, We are told that it was
because Birmingham was fed on eggs
that he defeated the great Priam in the
Doncaster st. Leger of 1880. If the
story be true, the way is pointed to a
great reform on the American turf. Let
eggs be substituted for dope" They
are less expensive and less harmful, In
eggs there appear to be the clements of
both power and speed. With one eat
ing eggs and the other munching oats,
who knows but th7t n May j. might beat
n SysOnby?
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08

century, but the racquet was not in use
at Paris until the sixteenth century. The
French received the game, with olives
and other blessings, from Spain, where
the hand game has been succeeded by
that in which a basket work gauntlet Is
used, and the name changed to pelota.
Tennis has been regarded since the
introduction Of the racquets as the best
game played with a ball in a court. Its
first cousins in direct descent are fives,
or handball, racquets and pelota, and the
latter day notifications are lawn tennis,
Badminton and squash. In the United
States a great popularity has been won
for indoor lawn tennis, the nets being
raised and courts marked out on the
drill floors Of armories or similar halls.
This statement of a development that is
still unattained in Great Britain should
be sufficient to justify Americans in the
use Of the term court tennis" 1t is
used solely for better Identification and
not to disparage the antiquity, beauty
or dignity Of the pastime, for otherwise
the winter sort Of lawn tennis might be
COMPOUNDED with the court game.
To the upholders of the kingly recrea-
ton h~ereabouts there was a special
satisfaction in that yesterdays finalists
might both be claimed as New Workers.
From the initial competition in 1893 the
contest, held alternately at Boston and
New York, has been toe often won for
New England. Until Mr.. SANDS won
last year we could not claim a home
bred champion, while FIsKE WARREN
l.. NJ. STOCKTON and JOSHUA CRANE, Jr,,
had been winners for Boston, the latter
on four occasions. EUsTACE H. MILES,
the English amateur, won in 1900. 1t is
true that B.. SPALDING DE GARMENDIA
was the titular champion for New York
in 1894 and 1896, but his supremacy for
30 long in American court tennis and
racquets was due primarily to the skill
In court games acquired as a boy at
pelota when residing in Spain. That
both winner and runner up in this years
play were of New York lineage is a crumb
of comfort in a winter that has wit
messed the success of Bostonians in the
national racquets singles and doubles
championships.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08

From an drtcle on Manual Arts IN tho Schools of Neto
York" In me Educational Rertetp.
As an example may be taken the work In one
third grade room where the story of Hiawatha
forms the centre of effort. The children knew the
story well. and could give II, not only In their own
language. but In the Words OF Longfellow. Around
the room was q %profusion OF well made dimlnutIvo
tepees, canoes. baskets, ornamental headdresSes,
peace pipes. bows and arrows. and other articles
illustrating the Indian life of peace and war. These
were constructed Of various matehAs-bark
paper, wood, &C. On the walls were pictured Illus
t~rattons OF important scenes In the poem. Here the
value OF the previous construction work appeared.
The tepees were drawn with a sense OF their round
ness: the pipes and baskets looked as n the artists
thoroughly understood them The Imagination
was thus not overburdened with problems too dim
cult. but was made free to enter upon the charac-
teristic features OF picture making, the dramatic
intention, the composition. the handling OF pig
ments, and the naive beginnings OF perspective.
Now objects of a more subtle character, perhaps
never observed In reality. such as a mass Of dark
woods, q blazing Are. or a stretch OF sea. were freely
introduced with the natu-"l abandon and astonlsh-
Ing success seen only With genluscs or with chill
dren. II was quite plain, not only that LonRfelloy
had become more concrete and interesting, but that
each child had built for himself with the work Of
his own brain and hands a habitation for Ms mind
more important than any mere appreciation OF
the poem. and moro lasting than any OF the prod
ucts which he had thrown OF In the process.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
Citizens and Americans.

To THB EDITOR or TIE SUN-ISfr: N. r. c.
asks: What is an American as distinguished from
tho person known 10 the law as a citizen OF the
United Statcs1"
The difference is this: During the Spanish war.
while In conversation with a friend. he informed
me that he would defend the United States against
all countries except Germany, the land Of his birth.
In the event Of a war with the latter country he
would take sides against the United states. told
him that | would night for America against all the
world. Germany included, as did my father and
grandfather before me. He is a citizen. and ! am
an American.
Perhaps there are thousands like him In this great
country Of ours. ] hope that the dennitlon Is clear.
NEwBuRoH, April I. G. NJ. MILLER.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
Vesuvtus in Eruption.

Mount Vesuvius from the accounts at
hand is now more violently active than
at any time since1S7?. The ares Of lava
flow seems to be unusually wide. The
main stream, issuing from a new crater
formed to the east Of the old one, has
divided. one branch flowing east toward
Terziglio and the other continuing south
or southwest toward Bosco Trecase.
The two other streams reported toward
Ottajano, northeast OF Yes lvius, and
Tore del Greco, southwest, must come
from separate assures, and If Portici,
due west, is threatened by lava, it must
be from still another opening. The i'm
preston conveyed by the %cablegrams is
Of lava overlooking from every side Of
the crater except the north.
The town Of Bosco Trecase, 10y said to
be buried, had never before been actu-
ally touched by the lava, though the
farms and vineyards Of the district had
been invaded repeatedly. The lava OF
1880, which reached the sea west of Tore
A%nnunziata, passed pretty close to it
but spared Bosco Trecase. Nearly adj
JOINING lne TOWN. 10 tne east lS BOSCO
Reale, where remarkable archaeological
discoveries have been made in recent
years. This is also in immediate dan
ger. Pompeii is three miles away and
the lava has never come nearer to it
than that distance. It's destruction was
due to ashes. As for Naples, it has
little to fear from Vesuvius outside of
earthquake shocks and ashes. The great
est danger from eruption there would
come from the breaking out again of
extinct volcanoes nearer at hand, like
the Vomero hill.
The mountain dwellers are accus-
toned to taking a great many risks on
Vesuvius, but in this eruption they have
good reason for alarm. The volcanic
action in the Tyrrhene basin has been
very destructive during the past year.
The earthquake catastrophe in south
Calabria with its repeated shocks was
followed by a succession Of eruptions
and earthquakes in the Lipari and other
Sicilian Islands, and now seems to have
a climax in Nesuvius more violent than
it has been for a generation at least,
The memory of the Martinique disaster,
too, will shake faith in past experiences
and records and make even scientific
men anxious about what the volcano
NAV do
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
More Songs OF 1870.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SUS-Sir: | renembe
well the election Of 1870, II was claimed tina,
Harrison lived In a log cabin and drank hard cider
and a log cabin was erected In Providence, r, l.,
near my boyhood residence and hard cider uas
dispensed freely. The battle cry OF the Wings was,
Los cabin and hard oidcr'" At most OF the many
great mass meetings held a Glee club would sing
Harrison songs. Here are some frag ments tina,
still lingcr in my memory:
Poor Van was too tender a dandy
To shoulder a musket and go,
while Harrison ba;tIed so handy
AS he did at Tippccanoc."
Here are two lines from another stanza:
Van roasted his shInS in A parlor,
Not lighting like Tippecanoe."
Another ran like this:
"oh, wen sing the Harrison songs by night
And beat his foes by day"
VoLuNTowS, Conn, April 8. Ezra BR1oGa
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08

Some Buckeye potters have beer
chosen by Uncle JOE CANNON to receive
his reluctant confession that the Dingley
tariff is not divine and immutable:
" am satisfied that there will be no tarin revision
at this Congress. but 1t goes without saying tina
the desire for a change, which exists In the com
mon mind. will drive the Republican party, II con
tlnued In power. 10 a tarln revision. | do not wan
It, but It will come In the not distant future
Uncle JOE should talk English. Wher
he uses such a phrase as goes without
saying" the cynical will wonder If his
tariff revision prophecy says without
going" We won't split hairs, however
with a statesman who has so few tc
lose. 1t is impossible not to like a stiff
necksd old bunker who doesn't wan,
tariff revision but admits that most
other folks do.
Common folks, the common mind
Uncle JOE is an mind, but he
needn't have insisted upon his mental
rarity.
And does the Republican party have
to be driven" into a policy like an ass
that mends its pace with beating? Tut
a fig The Republican party leads and
doesn't follow. 1t has been said a mill
ion times. 1t is believed by millions.
Yet Mr.. CANNON, a well known driver
himself, sees his party and himself about
to be driven. He speaks better than he
writes.
The not distant future" When Is
that? Not near and yet o distant.
Even this vague temporal indication
was not intended for publication. Mr..
CANYONS public and official programme
puts off mahana still further:
For the general Interest OF the whole country
revision should be postponed as long as possible
The far, not the near, future.
In this public declaration or defiance
Mr.. CANNON distinctly reads the Massa-
chusetts Republicans out Of the party:
Our friends the enemy insist on an immediate
revision OF the tarin. II a majority OF the people
demand immediate general revision they will elect
n ma oTlty OF tho members OF this House In favor
OF immediate general revision"
In 1905 the Massachusetts Republican
platform said:
We approve the position taken by our Senators
and Representatives In favor OF present action ION
revision Of the tarirl,"
Mr.. CANNON gives the Massachusetts
Republicans notice that they ought to
vote for Democratic candidates for
Representatives in Congress. Probably
the advice will not be taken. Probably
Massachusetts Republicans like to be
kicked, solemnly and publicly.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
THE CHECK.OFF SYSTEM.
To Force Recognition OF the Miners Union
Is the Purpose Of II.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN-Sir: The
demands OF Mr.. Mltchell's committee Include
an agreement with the United Mine Workers
OF America" and the "check-of" system,
The union could not survive without the
check-off system; It Is the backbone Of the
organization.
I wonder how many readers OF THE Sun
understand Just what this system means.
Briefly. 1t means that the employers retain
from the pay of their employees q certain
percentage OF the latter's earnings, which
Is to be turned over to the union. Within the
last few days the committee representing
the workers In District 2 Of the bitumlnous
fields has been In discussion with the opera
tors committee at Clearield, Pa, and among
the propositions submitted to the operators
Is one setting out fully the scope of this check
of system. which. by tho way. is not by any
means new In the bituminous districts. The
oheck-of provision In the miners scale 10 as
follows:
THE system of check-oH for the United
Mine Workers organization to remain in
force and must be observed. The amount
TO be deducted shall be 8 per cent. from all
miners and ? per cent. from all day men, or
any additional assessment that may be or
dered. II shall be deemed Of suflclent au-
thority, when a meeting has been duly called
and full publicity given that. il a majority of
the check-of. II shall be binding upon all the
men at that mine, and all new men employed
az the mine or mines, after a decision Is reached
shall come under this rule, and a list Of those
paying With the amount paid shall be fur
taken from the gross earnings and to have
the, preference over all other deductions,
and this shall be considered ono of the con.
dltlons OF employment at all operations"
In the bituminous fields the union has been
content up TO this to assent silently to the
r r 4 SaRndif St live of s e%pl let liss; tBa ha az not s0 %Gds
should be. ipso ,facto a union man. As a
matter Of fact. the majority Of mine workers
s%ylyania. otherwise known as the Clearfeld
region, are outside the organization. though
following Its lead and submitting to its die
employers this year the workers hold out
fiat footed for the closed shop" None but
9 member of the union in good standing shall
credit of the operators committee be It re-
corded they have refused to accept any, such
condi,ion Of employment. They stand un-
t is Understood that HH'S Sir. n Mitchell and his
advisers. are more anxious to obtain ."recog-
to obtain anything else: and it is a pretty safe
eTeT to sign the Old scale with the United
the, contracting parties, the proposition would
male al sb the pfI tGsy N9 %sr IN ,a a thousand !, years.
sighted man would he be who should pro-
pose recognition OF an organization that
mont every man who exercises his rieRt to
sell his la bor whore and how he may. and who
chooses to be Independent OF a union that
slave. And yet this Is the Kind OF an organi.
2ation which the bituminous operators, year
after year, have succored and fostered By
msdifunH of the Soheci-o5n' system 5a''usn inc
"P4uADR1pEIA LnrIl
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
The Court Tennis Players.

There are few games that so happily
unite strategic complications to stir the
brain end spirited action to render supple
the muscles as court tennis, at which
the schoolbOy JAY GOULD and CHARLES
L. SANDS, who has passed forty, PLAYED
for the national championship yester-
day in this city, To play it well the bat
must at all times govern the pace, plac-
ing and twist of the ball, and to this end
sheer strength and the glory of hitting
hard must be subordinated to the tennis
stroke. This restraint is by no means
easy in the heat of rivalry. II demands
that mind must always dominate the
physical powers, for he who slambangs
is lost. The cut put on the ball by the
proper stroke is equal to the cue power
of a skilled billiardist, who has the adj
vantage of playing on a still ball, while
at tennis the twist must be impaired to
a ball in motion. The finalists for this
years title, the youthful aspirant and
the defender of the 1905 championship,
displayed to the full degree the varied
resources of the game.
1t is a Yankee solecism, our British
cousins say, to call the game court tennis.
They assert that it is better sportsman
ship and better English to entitle it plain
tennis, Now tennis, which is styled in
France la paume and the player "A pau
mier, was, as this indicates, first played
with the palm of the hand. 1t was es-
tablished in France in the thirteenth