Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-29

American sympathizers Of the Boer cause
some ten years ago may recall how they
were thrilled by a lecturers recital OF the
heroism Of the warriors Of the veldt. The
lecturer was an American who purposely
visited Dom Paul's colonies during the
early months Of the war. and came home
filled with burning zeal for the burghers
and a desire to promote their cause in the
United States. From the Atlantic to the
Rocky mountains, in public halls and
churches and in public prints. the lee
turer sang the praises of the Beers, rang
alarm bells in the ears Of lovers Of liberty,
and sobbed for the woes of freemen strug-
Cling against the oppressor. A speaker Of
the Fourth Of July stripe he had little diff
ficulty IN reaching the heart chords Of a
sympathetic audience, alternating cheers
and tears as he moved his oratorlcal word
painting from the victories OF the Tugela
and Spionkop and Modderspruit to the
tragedy at Paardeberg. Friends Of the
cause cheered and helped him on his way;
the unfeeling scoffed at his oratory n
jeered at his motives. Here and there II
was charged that the lecturer was in the
pay Of the Boer government. Later on,
when peace cana, the lecturer showed
signs OF unusual prosperity by building
blocks Of apartment houses in his home
town. Then the scoffer scoffed some more
and asked, Where did he get it3" Some
OF the questioners were Mlssourians, but
they were not shown. Not then. Possibly
now. AT least a statement comes from
South Africa by way of London which
squints in the direction of some American
who played the oratorical game for a
bundle OF gold. In a lecture delivered at
Cape Town, recently, and republlshed in
the London Empire, DIR. Reitz, secretary
Of state under President Kruger, and
later president Of the South African re-
public, expressed great admiration for the
United States, but added that when an
American was deceitful he was almost as
slippery as n 'schelm' A~fricander."
sss
The incident related by DR.. Reltz, as
published in London, will help Missourians
and a multitude of others to a keener APP
probation OF the cheers and tears that
responded to the deft touch Of the SPELL
binder a decade ago. About three months
after the commencement of the war" re-
lates Or. Reitz, there came to us an
American. He was so sorry for us, and
so convinced of the justice Of our cause,
and so pious, that we thought-since he
was an eloquent speaker, and known as
such in his own country-we would give
him a good lump of gold to take with him,
so as to enable him to give lectures in
America, to pay for the hire OF halls, and
write in newspapers, In order to induce his
countrymen to intervene or to insist upon
arbitration. When 1 gave him that gold, he
said, without my asking him for It, L
shall give you an account for every cent
OF this and when 1 was helping to pack
the ingots of gold into packing cases along
with koodoo horns, lion skins. and other
such things which 1 had made him a
present Of; he added: 4 trust that the
Lord will bless every grain of this gold
and will help you out Well, that was the
last we saw of it all; and when 1 was in
America shortly after the war, he care
fully avoided coming near me, and heard
that he had suddenly become, in the state
where he resided, a great landed proprie-
tor"
Seumas MacManus, writing in the Travel
Magazine, gives a comprehensive answer
in brief space to the query why ireland
does not take a prominent place either
among the agricultural or Industrial ma
lions of the world. He writes: The British
government raises a revenue Of almost $780,
VVV,OVV III ATelanu ANNUALLY, Wnicn is SHO,UJO,-
900 greater than the revenue of Norway,
$25, 900, 600 more than the revenue of Dem
mark, double the revenue of Switzerland
and three and one-half times greater than
the revenue of Greece. In return for this
revenue, Ireland has not been encouraged
to build up it's industries and reconstruct
the country in a commercial sense. TIT
railways are controlled by British inter-
aSfg and the rarrIaCa 81 Drltg,h uaoa.
through Ireland is at preferential rates,
which preclude competition by Irish manu-
facturers. British goods can be shipped
from London to Sligo, for instance, at
cheaper rates than can be obtained in Dub
lin to the same point, and in the south Of
Ireland merchants at Cork have found it
cheaper to ship through London. AS a fur
ther illustration, eggs can be imported
into London from Normandy, France, at 2l
shillings a ton, and from Denmark at 80
shillings, while the stepchild OF Britain in
Tipperary contributes 95 shillings a ton for
conveying his eggs to London
St
A remarkable instance Of judicial zeal in
defending the sanctity of a religious publi-
cation is reported in Austria. A woman
grocer in Cracow bought a lot of old news
papers to wrop her wares in. Among them
were copies OF the Messenger OF the Heart
of Jesus. An official warning not to use
this paper for wrapping was given her
and every copy she could find was de-
stroyed. Later a policeman found a pack
age of sugar wrapped in a part of the
Messenger. The woman was thereupon
prosecuted for "rldiculing an institution of
the Catholic church." and despite her de-
Tense that the discriminating package had
been made before she had received the
warning. she was condemned to seven
days imprisonment and one days fasting.
An appeal was made against this sentence
to the Polish section of the Vienna supreme
court OF Cessation, on the ground that the
religious figures printed on the outer sheet
Of the Jesuit organ were not eonsecrated
and that the woman herself had not used
the paper with sacraegious intent. The
court nevertheless confirmed the Cracow
sentence in all particulars.
ss |
The American consul at Stockholm, thus
summarized the working of the Swedish
income tax law: The progressive income
tax now in force and apparently working
satisfactorily, took effect in 1908. The value
of incomes taxed that year amounted TO
about $3.50, 100000, while the incomes taxed
in 1907 rose to 100000 900. A total OF 1874, 900
corporations, financial Institutions, banks