Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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W 1 ^BRflV .^hR?wSw I ?^. rank B. Lord in Nati< +if3g$0it the day, a little more than teu l^Htfiths ago, wlieu William Howard T'aft was inducted into office as President of the United States, there was raging in Washington the worst storm which the Capital City had known for a generation. Those inclined to be a bit superstitious were wont to regard the climate conditions which prevailed as omnious, and to read iu the meteorolyogical chart the signs of an approaching gale which would sweep overboard , the new master of the ship of state and his administrative crew. These unpleasant forbodings are now being realized in tlio events which are daily transpiring, and which have been occuring since me day when the Sixty-first Congress assembled in extra-ordinary session at the call of the President to fulfill the promise which the lit publican party had given in the campaign, to revise tlio tariff law. The ill blowing breeze which was then started has developed into a devastating tempest, and the politncal horizon then begining to cloud has grown blaca as night with overhanging danger. Above the Republican party has broken a storm compared with which the inclement weather ou the fourth of last Maich was as a balmy and pleasant spring morning, and crouch ed and trembling it stands in terror, wondering and fearing what trouble may come next. When Judicial Temperament entered the White House, Harmony flew out of the window, the Harmony which had been maintained by swinging the llig Stick and batering down every head raised in rebellion. Since thru revolt has been rife and all that a peacefully inclined Exe cutlve could do has seemingly not had the slightest effect In restoring party discipline. From had to worse has been tho progress of events in volving the administration until now the divided ranks, each seeking *o annihiliute the other, would seem t:, leave tho Democracy a clear field for future conquest. The political happenings of flu past two weeks have been many, and have placed the administration squarely upon the defensive upon every point. One troublesome situation has followed quickly ui>oH the heels of another until confusion reigns where contentment was invited to dwell. The battle is now on between tho Republican forces an 1 the outcome is awaited with much "? interest and speculation. The long standing controversy between Secretary Hallinger, Mr. Toft's Cabinet ofilcers, in charge of tho Interior Department, and Ex-President's favorite, Mr. Pincliot, in charge of the Bureau of PoresTv has resulted in tho summary dismissal of Mr. Pinehot from the government and along with him his assistants, Mr. Price and Mr. Shav ,. the law officers of the Bureau, both of whom, it is admitted, aided in tho preparation of the so-called Cllavis report to the President upon the Cunningham coal claims in Alaska usiensiuiy, t?'? . r-novai of Mr. PlnchoL by the President w.s for violation of a vny sensitive and delicate tiling?oftioal propriety. Hut the administration leaders are learning as letters and telegrams and newspaper editorials have been coming iu to members of Congress criticising tho action of the Executive, that the people of tho country care less for official etiquette than they do for the preservation of the national resources, of which principle was the leading exponent. When it was found that public sentiment demanded to know the truth about the matter in which the CJeneral Land Office has been conducted under the management of Secretary Dallinger, and whether his policy was promoting tho interests of monopoly or the interests of th^ public, and that tho issue could not be set aside, tho administration leaders counselled among themselves and resolved upon a Congressional investigation < ?* PQ vt.,1 J iiaiiiUKUr, Wild had been afforded nniplo opportuntunity to prepare himself, wrot to Senator Jones "Of Washington, from which State he also hails, and with much ' assumption of righteous indignation, and the air of ono who sought to convey the belief that he had been outraged, urging that the affairs of his department he Inquired into. Such a lettter in defense of himself was read in the Senate, and straightway tho movement for an an Investigation took form, and was made to include also an investigation of the Bureau of Forestry. To di- I k 'ert attention frc .n the real issue, r which is whether or not tho natural resources of the country are being properly guarded under tho Ballinger policy, and what Mr. Ballinger haB done to promote private interests, the Bureau of Forestry was brought into the matter, regardless of the fact that no charges of seeking to advance private interests lie against this branch of the public service and the only way it could he concerned was in what it had done tc thwart the schemes of tho Secretary of the Interior and the General Land Office. BBPW5P tf .- - .. . 'm>. alks the Plank | Dnal Monthly for February X 'Having taken the first oiUcial steps towardB a Congressionaly inquiry which it was hoped would reI suit in a third coat of whitewash for Secretary liallinger, since the ilUIlllUlSUUllOll WlllCll 11 (III I.W ICtS UtCfore "vindicated" him, must be uphold, the prospect seemed bright for a settlement of the Ballinger-Plnchot issue, at least to the satisfaction ol Mr. Ballinger and his friends and tc the end that Mr. Pinchot might* b< forced from the service, and thus al opposition from an official source tc I the Ballinger policy would be elim inated. Then it came to be Mr, Pin chot's turn at the bat and he step ped forth with a letter written tc Senator Dolliver which the lattei read in the Senate setting out ii frank and candid manner the par which his Bureau *had taken in th< Glavis case. He Bought to cover ui nothing but freely admitted that hi: assistants had col a Bo rated with Mr Glavis in the prepartion of his re port to President upon his finding: in connection with the Alaskan coa claims, lie emphasized the fact tha in doing so they had been actuatec by. high motives and had performec a valuable service for the govern ment in protecting the interests o the public. That they had exceedec their authority, oflicially, in doitij so he confessed, but for this the; had been reprimanded, which pun ishment he believed has been sufli cient in their case, in view of tin meritorious work they had perform ed in an extraordinary situatioi where there was grave danger o fraudulent claimants coming int< posession of rich coal lands. This statement of the case lia< been solicited by Senator Dollive from Mr. Pinchot, according to th Senator's explanation, although th President in his letter dismissinj Mr. Pinchot declares that it was th Forester who had induced the low Senator to present it in the Senate However that may be, the main is sue is not involved in this questio: of veracity, and Mr. Pinchot was dis charged for having gone over th head of his superior, Secretary Wil son, in bringing the matter to th attention of the Senate and the conn try by means of his commudicatlo to Senator Dolliver. The President' letter dismissing Mr. Pinchot, be cause of his usefulness has been d( stroye<l by reason of his failure t make bis statement through Secrt tary Wilson, reads strangely besid his letter written to him last sum mer wheh he asked him to continu In the service, and commended hi work in terms of highest pratd Yet by the mere dictation of a lei ter defending tho suh-ordlnates i his bureau, his power to protect th natural resources of the country ha ceased, in the opinion of the Pres; dent. Who decapitation of Mr. Pinchoi however, was not an unmixed joy t those who for months have bee seeking liis otlicial scalp. The wanted to be rid of him, but not i exactly the manner in which his rt moval came about. They wanted t drive him from the service, but di not wish the President to be put t the extremity of dismissing him, 1>< cause of tho public sentiment whic they feared it would arouse. The have had their gravest fears in thi respect realized, for Pinchot out o otllce, removed by tho forces whic have been combatting him, is eve stronger than Pinchot is ofllce ban dicapped by tho necessity of at leas a formal allegiance to tho adminis tration. For weeks before the ac tlon was taloen however, it wa known Hint tho a,1...si v..w .luillllilOU (1 ( IU1I licit turned squarely against the Cliie Forester, and that his days in th service were numbered, although i was not expected that circumstance would force tho President to ac against him until after tho Invest! gat ion had again whitewashed Ha' linger. While the Pinchot excitement wa at fever heat another bomb sh?d burst in the Republican camp. Ai insurgent Republican who had de feated* a regular in the last cam paign went to tho Post Olllce Depart meat ami learned from Postmaste General Hitchcock, the general man ager of the administration's politico machine, that tho recommendation he had made for the appointment o postmasters, had been held up be cause he refused to affiliate with tin Republican organization in th llouso. While this appeared to b news to the particular member am startled him, it hail been knowi I quite generally to other Insurgent; that federal patronage was to b I withheld from thom <13 a CHID tl bring them into the fold. Tho for nial announcement of such a polio; of peanut politics, from a source o authority so high as the Postmaste General, however, has compelled th> administration to show its hand. Thi it has done by cuddling up nloni side of Cannon and his machine it the Honso and Aldrich and his or ganization in tho Senate. No long er is there any doubt where th< President stands, and there is n< concealment of the fact that hni plaoed his destiny and that of hh policies in th'e hands of these react- ar fouarles, and haB cut loose from the is i progressives in both branches of b< Congress. Si Retaliation by the Insurgents for p this political pie was quick aud r< decisive. When the administration's v resolution ofTered by Representative s Humphrey, providing for the Con- t gressi?onal investigation, was brought t up in the House, Representative t Norris of Nebraska, a fearless In- t surgent, submitted an amendment t which took from the Speaker the t power of appointing the House mem- i hers of the joint committee and vest- j ed it In the House itself. Hy uniting their strength with the Demo- ' - crats, they succeed in forcing the ' adoption of the amendment, and for ! ' the first time in the history of his 5 czardom. "Uncle Joe" met a signal 1 defeat, saw himself shown of au' thority and his organization bowled " over. It was this sort of an orrange" merit for the appointment of all committees which Minority Leader * Clark sought to inaugurate at the r organization of the House last March 1 and which ho nearly succeeded in 1 doing. Such a plan would make the ? House its own master, rather than ' in instrument for the mere record* ing of the will of a coterie of boss* eg under the leadership of the " Speaker. Hut the Democrats and * Insurgents went further and pressed 1 their victory to the point when tlie 1 House leaders were forced to stand * up for the dignity of the House and * not permit the Senate by amending their resolution to restore the power 1 of appointment of the committee I to the Speaker. It was the first successful revolt J since the present regime in the House began, and indicates what may be expected in the future. It has thrown the leaders in to a state of confusion and fear. Insurgency developed in places where nothing but loyalty had bovn expected. It was the first breakdown which the machine has experienced in years, and * is taken as an indication of its imr pending (dissolution. Every effort e is now being put forward to repair R the broken mechanism, but the power K of federal patronage having failed, e the campaign has now been begun !l in the open to defeat at the fall ' elections, all those Republicans who have refused to submit to the dicII tates of the present House lead rship. 0 ' A list of these undesirables has been prepared and into their dis? trlcts thie fight is being carried. Varl~ ions methods, well known to these 11 clever politicians, are being employs ed. First, there was adopted the plan of taking all Insurgents off the Important committees wherever It ? was thought prudent to do so, and relagating them to unimportant pkise itions. Another scheme being employed is to got them in bad at (! home by using the power of the (S House organization to defeat, bv infection in the committees, or objection to unamimous consent in the n House, the local measures which ( concern only the people of their ' own districts, but which are import1 ant to them. Often a member's renomination or re-election may dopend upon his ability bo get through ? such a bill. Tile idea in defeating n such minor legislation is to convey y to the member's constituency that it 11 would ho bettod for their Interests to send to Con Kress a man who n stand in with the House organizad tHon, and could get what was wanto ed in the legislative log rolling. The Republican Congressional 'l Cominitteo is hard at work seeking y to defeat the re-nomination of Insur8 gent members, and in the event of '' their renoinination it intends not on'> ly t)o aid them in re-el ction, but a to welcome the success of Denio" crats in such districts. In fact their t entire battle just now is directed toward Insurgent R-'publicans rather - than against Democrats. They have 8 expressed open preference for the [1 election of Democrats rather than f Insurgent Republicans. Of course, ^ all this is very encouraging for the t election of a Democratic House this 8 fall. Inasmuch as every House In* 1 surgent professes alliance to the - President's progressive policies, it is - plain to lie seen that the administration's attitude in withholding pats ronage from them is not to win them 1 to the support of any administrai titon measure, Imt for the purpose - of helping out the Cannon machine. - It proves beyond question that the _ President is lined up squarely with r Cannon and that lie has entrusted . all that he hopes to accomplish' in 1 the hands of the reactionaries. s A somewhat different, but equally f troublesome situation, confronts the - Republicans in the Senate. There e the Progressives have at last turne bled to the fact that the President i? 0 not the good Progressive which they 1 believed him to bo. Tli -y had evir? dence which tended tb shake their faith when he yielded to Aid rich and e Signed th- tariff bill. The censure 0 which he passed upon them for vot ing against the measure aroused their y feeling, but it was not until he sent f in his railroad-federal corporation* r anti-trust message that they decided e to cut loose and become rebels in s real earnest. The center of opposi; tlon to the President and his policies 1 in respect to these measures will - rest in Senators LaFallette, Cum mins, Brlstow and Clapp. Just how 3 Senator Dolliver, another Progresi sive who voted against the tariff j bill, will go with them, is not quite i certain, but the breach between him A* id Senator Aldrlch, now the admin- ^ tratron spokesman in the upper ady is wide, and the senior Iowa % enator who is one of the ablest Re- -> > ultlicans in the Senate* is likely to X pmain an Insurgent. Beveridge, 4 rhlle continuing to be a Progres- % ive, will not seek an open rup- *' ure with the President because of $ he effect which it might have upon ^ lis already slim chances of re-elecion.. Senator Nelson, who bolted he tariff bill is not counted upon 10 go with the radicals on the other ssiks. but there are other near pro- a ;ressives who may be won over. t Whether they are or not, however, t the four anti-adininistration Itepub- ' licans mentioned, intend to fight to tho last ditch against the present ad- I ministration railroad rate bill and i Federal incorporation scheme. Worse ? than tho fraud perj>etratod in the i tariff bill is the way they character- ] ized the administration's plan to I amend the interstate commerce law. j Through its operation, they declare instead of tho measure granting additional powers to the Interstate Commerce Commission, the railroads would bo able to get, under the pooling arrangement, just about what they have been contending for many year. One part of the President's railroad program is remarkable in view of the recommendation made by the commission which he appointed last summer to investigate the subject. Foes Minute Hut Formidable. It is the little wastes that count, in the aggregate more than the occasional large extravagences. It is the vermin of the earth that destroyes more wealth and that wage more effective warfare upon the wellbeing of mankind than do all the raging lions and stealthy tigers ?of the wilderness, says the Washington Herald. The productiveness of civilization pays its heaviest tolls almost within its own threshold. Where the cobra strangles its hundreds of lives the despised rat destroyes its millions in values created by 'human effort. The pest, according to the estimate of the department af agriculture, caused a loss in the United States last year in grain alone, of one hundred million dollars; while the total dajutage it wrought may reach thrice that sum or nearly n million dollars a day?exceeding the total fire loss. It is true tl iat the rat is to some extent a fertll izer and a disintegrator of soil; but modern appliances have rendered, that natural service to the farmer far most mostly than machinery. 'Mankind continues the old struggle for existence even if civilization has progressed beyond the ancient battle with the beasts of ilcld and forest. The war Is not the less real because It is with the minute; the foe may bo contemptible, but it can not bo Ignored. The ravages of the rat are only an example. Myriads of smaller foes, in all the gap between the grub and the insect, prey upon the sub stance produced l>y human toll anil make war upon health and life. In Its fight against these wastes as well as against the microbes of disease, civilization wages the war that knows no truce; but It must maintain the upper hand for its own rhalntain ance and progress. In this struggle the observations of the naturalist make a contribution to the conservation of life and property that is as far beyond estimate as it is removed from popular appreciation. They reveal foes that are not to be despised because their attacks are insidious. Ho mciuario Philosophy. The d ainty girl whose summer clothes a re all ready for the trunk, wonders which dress is strictly proper. Poct girlie, a minister might give her the code. Some people are so constituted that they must insist 011 sotting up a privat e tribunal in their own breasts 1 before which all men must he tried. It is useless to show that one conscience is as good as another, and that, nothing but anarchy can follow U"he assertion of supremacy ror tlie .individual conscience?under this civilization falls to pieces, governments crumble and the family dissolves? the only brand of righteousness is that which retires to the deserts u.nd caves to worship Self, as did the saints of the Middle Ages, and as do the Fakirs of India. When the supreme court decided that the South wf.s in the right and the North was in the wrong in days gone by there was an immediate revolt against the law, and loud invocations of something assumed to be better without regard to agreements and pledged faith?even the Bible was to be cast aside with the constitution and the Hag rather than tiflmii * u ? 11 v. nifsu in orisis were wrong. What is the use.of going through life with glum countenance and melancholy voice? f'.tad never meant tha.t any man should do that. The sunny smile, the cherry word and t ne capacity to always look on the 1 bright side are what Is needed for 1 ono's food and that of tho world. 1 Tho man who quits when he has ' earned all ho gets Is forever getting no more than he earns. 1 ) Science and By Julian Chase I That education should follow three 11 iaths: first, the imparting of kuowl- s dge; second, repetition for practice; a ind third, the development of ability t o reason, is the contention of Julian i fiiase Smallwood, writing in Cassier's a dagazine tNew York. November) J( rhe first, he says, is satisfactorily v landled, while the second is insisted upon only by the most clearseeing ( educators, and the third is scarcely i lttempted at all. Starting from these t premises, Mr. Smallwood arrives at t the somewhat unexpected conclusion ( that the use of text-books should b" j permitted in examinations. lie j writes: i "During his education the modern ( schoolboy is like a keg with a funnel In its bung-hole to receive the liquid j poured into it. lie is in a passively , receptive state, taking no active part in the proceedings, excepts that he supports the funnel. Thi* consti- , tutcs our teaching of knowedge. lie is made to remember facts. When ( he has passed his examination, more facts are poured in. often largely displacing the old ones. "So much 1 think, will be granted, and so much is necessary and good. Now, how about the practise? How" many technically trained men can arcuratMy add six columns, of s!x figures each, at the iirst attempt? Howmany men who have passed a rigid entrance examination in English can write a page of correct English? The porportion is deplorably small. Yet the practise obtained in schools is* supposed to teach those things. it is the same in the more advanced studies. in alg -bra, calculus, etc., it is customary to solve many problems; but our methods of instruction do not enable the study to do so accurately and feel sure of results, in many eases lie knows the answer and obtains a number of incorrect ones before the right one is reached? sometimes by an erron ous process. "We come, then, to the third branch of education, which, to my mind, is the most important. Tlii* should train the student to think independently and develop or create habits of mental investigation and anaylsis. It is astonishing to 1110 that, with rare exceptions, our tecb- [ nical schools almost entirely dtsro- ( gard this branch in the ordinary courses of instruction. Perhaps the, closest approach to it is made in the laboratory courses in analytical chemistry; for such courses consist of a series of real problems, to solve which it is essentially necessary that the student use his reason. Moreover, he can not let lack of confidence in his ability control his judgment to the same extent as in other studies, since he can have 110 foreknowledge of the answers. "Every one who lias been graduated from a technical school has witnessed the wide variations in the successes of his classmates in practif?211 U'nrb Tn *l- ? * ... i.M-ij mere is at least one man Rifted with an exceptional memory, who with little ek fort satisfies the requirements. I know such a one as a classmate who, by subterfuge, attended not more than one-fourth of the houses prescribed and 'crammed' for each examination only the night before, lie was graduated well up iu his class, but knew practically nothing of engineering. "Is it not a crying shame, then, that such men should be vouched for on parchment as engineers? Is not the only conclusion possible from these obvious facts that there is something wrong with our educational system? if so much is admitted, it will then be asked, 'What can be done about it?' If we aro prepared to recognize the fact that we mak" as great a mistake in ladling out education without discrimination regard to individual needs as we should were we to attempt to nourish all children with ? ?*?*? ' 1 ' ' ...... . oiuiiu I i>UU t W t1 Sllil I f begin to reach a solution of the probh in." Thus Mr. Sinnllwood leads up t<> two faults in our present regime which ho desires to emphasize; Mrs' the lack of consideration of the ability to reason; and second, the tendency to treat men's minds "as a machine for carving wood treats the rough product fed to it, without regard to grain and texture. ' The remedy for the latter fault, 1 e says, iies largely in discrimination on tiu part of the instructors. To quote: "Far more individual attention should be given students and a process of segregation should he cautiously followed. That is, sfu l- nts iii cwi.-ij course suouia i?o classed according to their abilities and ih? quality of their minds, and each class or squad taught s> pera* oy. in this way only may thos > ,vho are less i quick i)C kept from fading hope'.er?- ; ly behind and those In gh .*r ones he saved from retardation. Hut the i important object is to .leal wi h each mind in the way best ca! rmnte ? develop it. Minds can no more I | nourished with indiscriminate feeding < or monotonous diet than can bodies. In accord with growth instruct'on < should he changed, not only in quan- ( tlty hut in kind. "Regarding that, other fault of our < present methods, the retuedy is nlf- j mrnm* Invention | Shallwood. ^ cult to apply. It will be argued that ludents are too much burdened with cquiring knowledge to be further ixed to work independently. Better, hen, to decrease the 'book learning/ * 'he method of instruction in prep ratory schools should be changed so is to train tnimls to be receptive of chat is to come. **1? ? ?* in me university, as in ilio prelaratory school, there should never ie required a demonstration of a heoreni or repetition of text; but he process of thought by which such lcmunstration is made should he rigdly exacted. Again when a formula is to be deduced, the student should never be required to repeat the deluction, but to give the process invotved. If the process by which a generic principle is deduced is 1111ilcrstood, that process may readily lie applied to a specific example. "In conclusion, 1 would strongly advocate the universal removal of the ban on the use of text books in examinations. This may startle some of my readers, but a reflection will show that the plan is entirely practicable. in scientific subjects questions should be framed to appeal to the intelligence and not to the memory of the student. Instead of asking him, for example, what are the advantages of a certaiu type of a machine, he should be questioned concerning the best type to be selected to satisfy given conditions. He will be obliged to use his judgment as well as knowlege to answer such a question, if he has no judgment, he can not answer it with a carload of books at his elbow. If he has not knowledge, the element of time forbids his gaining it in the examination room and also answering the question satisfactorily. lie should be free to consult his references in the examination-room as in the practice of his profession. "The effect of the system 1 suggest will be twofold. First, the classroom work will develop independence of thought, impress upon the mind the knowledge that it is necessary that the student gain in a way least taxing to his enemies for tho result obtained, and give him that reliance upon his own judgment which ho must have to become an engineer in the true sense of the word. It will, as well, absolutely disqualify those men whose mental attributes render them incapable of becoming such. Second, the timelimit system and use of reference books will break the hide-bound dependence upon text-books, and at tho same time actually test the student'3 fitness for his future work." The real prosperity of the business man is the prosperity of tho workinginan, and the merchant, and the professional man. In other words, whether wo would or not, we are our brother's keeper. The thought that is uppermost in this day and age of the world?call it sentimental, or call it what you will ?is the brotherhood of man. Wo are one. Nature and civilization, industry, commerce, everything today teaches that our interest are one and that our destiny is one. Wo must suffer and rejoice together, and that is the spirit of this message. It is an easy thing for men to find fault. Alas but fe?v ?if have Rot the stnfT of the erii Legislation is too much talk. Too few men there are willing to remove the hcum from their own e.ve in order that they may see clearly remove the mote that is in their brother'-#*?PVo. The fact is that the great criticism upon this mighty, patriotic, advancing, and leading people of tlie world is its love of money. Help to I tea lit il'y the Town. The ' eternal appearance of a city will reveal the character and tastes of its people Jest as stlf. iy .is the external and int inal appearance i.f a dwelling betrays the charade- and tastes o the family that oe npies it. A hottso whose e.vt nor is d< liipidnt' d and whose in' nor cerresponds, reflects the thiiftl??n and slovenly character of its inin ?t while tile family that is tie it, last f it 1 tnd thrifty displays then <|iialiti>s in its home. There i.: no iiuestion as to which family make tn<? most favorable impression npo i '.ho neighbors. So the pride of ltoin . ;? love for the beautiful, and a sense of refinement ought to impel the citlens of I'Vnrv Innrn i.....l... s? __ t, vv/ ? II I ?; III (IIV' ' 1 I ilt" tractive anil a >od exainpt*' for other towns to follow. lUt.xix i.i:.\ks. A bore is a man who Insists upon talking '< bout the north polo wii.n you want to talk about th tarilf. '* The best strike breaker is arbitration. The average girl learns to bake a fancy cake long before she learns to bake good biscuits?and too many >f them stop at the fancy cake Our real friends gently tell us cf >11 r faults?and then we no longer tonsider them our friends When you l>ogin forgetting the lay of your birth it is a sign that rou are growing old.