The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-07-05

portant part of the business of the
American Tobacco company, has
been investigated by j. c. Mercy
nolds, special counsel for the gov
ernment, and the United Cigar Stores
company will figure in the suit
which the department OF justice is
about TO file against the so-called to-
bacco trust The government will
undertake to prove that the stores
conducted as an auxiliary OF the
American Tobacco company business
are intended to stife competition.
An Optimistic Justice-The saddest
OF Sights Is an old man, faithless and
grabbed, distrustful of his time and
despairing of his kind. One of the
soundest and most respected mem
bers OF the federal supreme court,
Justice ID. J. Brewer, having just
"saled past pier TO-" as Mark Twain
would say, recently made the state
ment that life looks brighter to him
than ever before, and for three rea-
sons; First, because there is a high
eT standard Of character in this coun-
| y
! best sense of that word, is more uni
versal and on more sensible basis
! third, because human sympathy is
! increasing, and the task of human
! betterment is being assumed in Sc
! rious and wholesale way.
! 8attleships on Reserve List-Th
! battleships Indiana and Iowa are to
| be withdrawn from active service,
| and they will soon be joined on the
shelf by the Texas, secondclass, the
first battleship OF the new navy.
While the Iowa and Indiana may be
considered as obsolete, so far as
modern ideas Of construction are con-
cerned. they are still in fair fighting
condition and will be fit for service
for a few years. The keel Of the
Indiana was laid in 1891, and that of
Iowa two years later. Putting them
in reserve at the present time is
made necessary by the shortage Of
officers and men in the navy.
Parcels Post PossbIe-At last the
way seems to be opened for favorable
action in the senate upon a bill for
a parcels post, and it is possible that
the measure may be passed by the
next congress. The parcels post has
little Of that attractiveness which
comes from pomp and splendor, but
il is difficult TO think of an institu-
tion which would do more to ad-
vance the substantial welfare of the
II.
civilized country except the United
States; here it exists only for the
benefit of foreigners. Goods can be
sent abroad by the parcels post, but
not within the limits of the United
States. We use the facilities of the
postonice as we do the Dingley tariff,
to make the cost of living cheap for
foreigners and dear to our own citi-
zens who pay the taxes which sup
port the government.
Lack Of Army Surgeons-The war
department complains that ii cannot
get competent young physicians to
fill the vacancies in the position of
assistant surgeon The number Of
candidates for these vacancies this
year is surprisingly small The army
surgeons say that the explanation is
to be found in the neglect of the
medical department by congress, and
that unless the condition of the corps
Is improved it will be more and
more difficult to fill vacancies. The
profession of medicine today, al
though il receives a large annual in
crease of membership, is more re-
munerative than it ever has been, a
fact easily accounted for by the
progress by the art as well as by the
greatly changed conditions of living.
The field which the army offers for
the active, ambitious and competent
physician is correspondingly less
attractive. Yet nothing is more inn
portant i'm time of war than a we'll
trained medical corps. Japan proved
this to the world more strikingly
than it ever was proved before.
No More Excursion Boat Crowds
Notice has been served on the big
excursion steamer companies that
overcrowding of pleasure boats will
no longer be permitted. AS the re-
suit OF conference between Secre-
tary Cortelyou and Secretary Straus,
the departments of the treasury and
commerce and labor have Joined
hands to do everything to prevent
overcrowding and TO prevent lives
being sacrificed this summer. The
two departments have combined to
strictly enforce the law limiting the
nu mber of passengers that any
steamboat may carry. The matter
was taken up with Atty.-Gen. Bona
parte. who rendered an opihion that
IL was the duty OF these two depart
ments tn do the work. Assistant Sec
setary OF the Treasury James b.
Reynolds of Boston and George Uhler,
supervising inspector-general of the