, 1913-02-05

crops has been checked by the political I'M
certainties of a transition period, q transition
which. some men fear, may be to very dltter-
ent and not better conditions The pessI-
mists in these matters lose sight OF the great
saving force that hes in the common sense
of the American people. We are stll muss-
ing up the corporations a good deNl, Du0
public opinion is coming to accept that as
being for the general good. 1t cannot De
bad that violators of the law should be call
ed 10 account. Nevertheless, we do seem to
be getting down to rather petty details when
the great powers of the Government are
marsbaled to protect the people against mon
opoly prices of a breakfast food which they
are not called upon to buy, and which has
many rivals. Wall Street hus had its full
share of attention, and the reformers are III
full cry after the Money Trust and the Stock
Exchange. The public up to the present
time is without assurance that the %investl-
cations in progress Will bear fruit in any
well-considered, wise, or satisfactory remedI-
nj lenislation. Indeed, there has been 50
much rather blind cropping after good things
in the past year and earlier that some phlI-
osophers have ventured upon the conjecture
that we must be passing through the tail OF
a comet, perhaps tue tails of two or three
comets at once. That might explain, possl-
bly, excuse, it would hardly reassure.
There have been some changes III the pc
litical aud other maps. Ihe Republic OF
China has come into being, the south pole
has been discovered, and two stars have been
added to the flag Of our Union, representing
Arizona and New Mexico. Within the year
unfortunate Turkey has had TO tight two
wars to n disastrous conclusion, Italy hhs
taken African territory from her and the
four allied Balkan States huve well nigh
completed her expulsion from Europe. How
much European territory she will be allowed
to retain is the question now pending before
the PcQce-Conference in London. For the
stability Of European peace, Tor the interests
of the world, it is to be hoped that the ne
pOtiatious will end III no such act of inter
national immortality as the Treaty of Berlin,
of which it may be said that 1t seemed to
make careful provision for future wars, and
,.hich the Powers who were parties to 1t
regarded so lightly that Austrla's lmpudent
violation of its provisions was calmly assent
ed to.
Here in the United States we have before
us two treaty questions OF moment. Our
treaty with Russia has been terminated hy
our own act. 1T is not known that any ne
gOtlalOnS are III progress lOt IL ne" cohNen-
ton. 1t does not appear that the attitude
of the Russian Government has changed,
and beyond all question the Government
and the people Of the United States stand
where they did n year ago. There is no
possibility that in this country the su8ges-
ton can be made that we should consent to
discriminatory treatment which would imply
chat we recognize two classes of our citizen
ship. BY our own act, too, we have raised
a treaty question between ourselves and
Great Britain, that of the exemption OF our
coastwise shipping from payment of tolls
for the use Of the Panama Canal. 1t is the
belief of a great part of our people, and
among them those of highest authority IN
such matters, that our Tolls act violates fhe
letter an the spirit Of the Hay-Pauncefote
Treaty. Many, if not most, Americans hope
that Congress will prove to be sufficiently
sensitive concerning the National honor to
~retrace this false step. But that and Il null
titude of questions arising out Of the trans
fer of political power from one of our great
parties to the other pass over for adjustment
in the year just be9un.-A. J. Times, JanL