The National tribune., 1908-01-30
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{ Soldiers Wrecked" Sometimes the WORD
American was inserted before SOL
dicrs. and the name of Gen. Hull was
signed to the headline. Now, If a min
j lister had starved to death because ne
must. it would have been pathetic in
I the extreme: that is, if he had nothing
! and could get nothing. Reading the
item in which Gen HUH exploits the
starving we find that the minister was
a Roman Catholic Bishop, formerly of
! Washingt oI-Bishop Rocker, who was
one time Secretary of the Papal Lega-
! ton here, and who was sent by the
! Church TO the Philippines to restore the
churches there which had been devas-
tated by war.
Gen. Hull, who was the head of the
| board which investigated the circum-
stances back of the claims of the Cath
Ole Church against the United States
for damage done to the property of
the Church by American soldiers, in
! formed the committee that in his opin-
ion, Bishop Rocker died as result of
the life of privation and meager eat
ing he had to lead in his endeavors to
live in Ja-a and make the Church prop
| erty habitable.
THE Bishop" said Gen. Hull. told
me he would like me to visit him in
lara and have dinner with him, but he
added that he was ashamed to have me,
because he had nothing but fish and a
| little bread to eat. This was because
he was spending all his money and all
the money he could find in trying to
make the church quarters habitable and
to restore them to the condition in
which they were before the soldiers
wrecked them.'
| This was the story he told to the
Committee on Insular Affairs of the
House. Now, the story loses its pathetic
feature, because there was no necessity
| for the starving, and it probably isn't
| true that Bishop Rocker starved"
Bishop Rocker was a man eminently
gifted with common sense, and If he
knew anything must have known that
a man in poor physical condition could
serve neither God nor man, and that he
would have been careful thus far. He
needn't have starved, because he had
money to live on. Bread and fish fed
a multitude, once upon time, and they
considered it feast. The combination
might not please an epicure, nor be the
kind of a menu that one would want to
serve to a General In the Army, but il
would keep life in pretty fair condition,
all other conditions being right. In
fact, the very poorest service that one
can give to the Divine Master is that
which comes from a wrecked body and
| 1t is as much the Christian duty to
keep in good physical and mental con-
dition as it is to minister to the physical
| and spiritual condition of those who
need our help. 1t is unfair to try to
manufacture sympathy for the Church
by picturing such conditions, when any,
body who knew Bishop Rocker knows
that he wouldn't have starved himself,
as he very well knew that he could not
then give his God, Church or his peo-
pie the encouragement and assistance
that they needed, if he weakened his
strength by starving himself. The eli
mate was very hard on Bishop Rocker,
as it has been on nearly everybody who
has gone there from the United States,
and physical inirmities finally carried
him off. 1t is incredible that he "starv-
ed'' unless he deliberately set about it
by fasting" and that couldn't be pa
thetic, as it would be his own doing.
At least one of the happiest fathers
in the United States to-day is Capt
Baldwin, Captain of the Police in the
Charles Street Station, New York City.
Capt. Baldwin has five-year-old son,
and on recent trip to Washington he
called upon his old friend, the Presi-
dent, and presented the boy, who is six
years of age and one of eight sturdy
youngsters. After his return to New
York the Captain received from the
President for his boy handsome silver
spoon with a gold bowl, with the sons
name on it. The spoon has been placed
in a special glass case made for it, and
is one of the most treasured objects in
Capt. Baldwin's house. The boy, how
ever. objects to the spoon being put out
of his reach. He says spoons were
made TO eat bread and milk with.
WI IA Tx l.,
all that observation-disclosures
on-the- democratic ticket-Henry-Gas
saway-D Davis. also ex-senator, who is
something above 81 years old, is going
to get married, and his bride-to-be is
only about "a or Whereabouts. Miss
Maude Ashford, the aged swain's sweet
heart. is a very charming young lady of
this city, who for year or so has been
doing newspaper work in a brief way.
She is poor. but proud, and he is rich
and able to please himself. But-and
thereby hangs tale-his daughter,
Mrs. Stephen b. Elkins, objects serious
~ to the marriage. Just what may
happen in case the marriage ever takes
place is problematical, but Senator Da-
Wis does not seem to be much concern
ed about what other people think about
his affairs.
About every other day Bryan is nom
mated for the Presidency on the floor
of the House by some Democrat who
is making record speech for home
consumption. and there is always a
mighty cheer, and then some other
Democrat gets up and makes a speech
and dominates some other fellow, and
there is another mighty cheer. Up to
now there has been no roll call on can
didates for the Presidency in Congress.
When there is the Sergeant-at-ArEas
will have 10 be sent out to round up
enough members to count quorum.
In transmitting to the Senate the re-
port of Provisional Governor Magoon
on conditions in Cuba, the other day,
the President said:
II am glad to be able TO say that we
can now definitely announce that by or
before Feb. /, 1909, We shall have turn
ed over the island to the President and
Congress to be elected next December
by the people of Cuba. Our word TO
turn the island over to its own people
will be scrupulously regarded"
The State Department has received
from the Spanish Government the sum
OF $4,000 in full payment Of the prin-
cipal of the Spanish indemnity claims |
These claims were the result of the !
depredations of Spanish privafeers up
on American commerce and the war
between Spain and her American colo |
MES.
In 1894 Spain agreed to pay to the
United States claimants the sum Of