PEACE PLENIPOTENTIARIES AND REPORTERS.

HERE has been a great deal of unusu

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ally free and easy talking by men in high authority about the probable actions and outcome of the Russo-Japanese peace conference at Portsmouth. The Baltimore American believes that they "are having altogether too much to say in advance;" and especially so when it is remembered that there was a time when the diplomat and the special plenipotentiary knew the value of a closed mouth," and when it was thought to be common international etiquette for envoys to await parley before having anything to say to the general public." Naturally there is much speculation by the press on what it all means, for, as the Boston Transcript sententiously remarks, "diplomats are never talkative save to serve their immediate purpose or to conceal their thoughts."

The first intimation which the public had of the course of coming events was contained in an apparently trustworthy report issuing from Oyster Bay, which said, in effect:

"While the President has not been informed of the nature of the instructions given by their respective governments to the envoys of the two nations, it is believed that Japan's terms will not be drastic, and that Russia will agree to almost anything that will not greatly humiliate her."

But the world had barely adjusted itself to this hopeful view of the situation when Mr. Witte, the recently appointed Russian envoy, invited to his home in St. Petersburg a representative of the Associated Press and gave him a carefully worded interview, the most significant parts of which are these:

"The ultimate decision remains in the hands of the Emperor, and it is for him to decide the destinies of Russia. The Emperor is the friend of peace and desires peace, but I very much fear that the Japanese terms will be such that we will be unable to reach an accord.

"Secondly, the world should disabuse its mind of the idea that

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This was on July 17, and the next day Baron Hayashi, the Japanese minister at London, took occasion to reply in such a blunt and public manner that the New York Tribune declares that he called " Mr. Witte's "hand." The Baron expressed his doubts as to the sincerity of Russia's intention, and asserted that "after the events of the past eighteen months, Japan puts faith only in accomplished facts." He reminded his interviewer that "practically the entire sum realized by the last two loans is unexpended," and then intimated that Japan is willing and ready "to continue the war unless she gets suitable terms." When it was suggested to the Baron that it was generally believed that the Japanese terms would be moderate, he displayed. considerable irritation and surprise, and defiantly replied:

"I can not see where people get such an idea. The public evidently mistakes the Japanese for angels." The next incident of note was the meeting of the Kaiser and the Czar off the island of Bjoerke on the Swedish coast on July 23. The public has been regaled with very little news about this meeting that can be called authentic or reliable. But a daring correspondent for the New York papers, in speculating upon its cause and purpose, ventures to remark :

THE BONE OF CONTENTION BUTTS IN.

THE DOGS "What has the bone got to say about what we do with it?" -Bartholomew in the Minneapolis Journal.

THE ROAD TO PEACE.

RUSSIA "Hey, there, you-this is the road!"
JAPAN-"Yes, I know, but I'm taking a short cut."
-Hager in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

is a disposition to suspect the German Emperor of trying to bring about an alliance between Germany and Russia, not only to block the attempt which Great Britain is believed to be making to isolate Germany through her understanding with France and the latter, perhaps, through an understanding with Russia, but for the mutual protection of the monarchical system. Emperor William is said to be fully alive to the fact that the revolution in Russia could easily be communicated to Germany, and it is reported that he is anxious for that reason to see that reforms are granted which will restore tranquillity in the territory of his eastern neighbor."

When Baron Komura, foreign minister and chief plenipotentiary of Japan, arrived in New York on July 25, he also condescended to make a few additions to the public store of information on the outcome of the peace negotiations. An official interpreter representing the Baron freely discussed the whole Eastern situation to a New York Times reporter, and told him that Japan was anxious for peace, but would keep Saghalien and require $700,000,000— the cost of the war to date-as an indemnity. He further disclaimed that Japan has any desire to take the Philippines or to combine with the Chinese against the world, and he took particular pains to assure the public that his country would always entertain the most friendly and peaceful feelings toward the United States. In summing up Japan's position and plans in the Orient he said: "In Japan we have a strong feeling of gratitude toward the American people, who have done so much for us. England is our ally, but we regard the United States as an ally without a treaty. There is no chance of any difficulty arising between your country and ours."

Such is the apparently unguarded manner in which two of the plenipotentiaries and other men whose influence is strong for peace or war are represented by reporters and newspaper correspondents as talking in advance about the results of the Peace Conference. What it all means nobody knows, but as the New York Evening Post remarks:

"There is too much of this sort of talk. It is perfectly understood that when the plenipotentiaries exchange ideas at Portsmouth there will be a wide gap between bid and asked, but meantime there is no use in anticipating and perhaps compromising the inevitable bargaining by vague controversy."

CAMPAIGN AGAINST GRAFT IN MILWAUKEE.

MILW

ILWAUKEE just now holds the attention of the press by its energetic exposure of graft and bribery in its municipal departments. "The slogan of what made Milwaukee famous is likely to need revision," says one paper, 'and the word 'graft' substituted;" and the Jacksonville (Fla.) Times-Union remarks that "Milwaukee will have to enlarge her jails to accommodate her grafters, until they equal her breweries in size." This campaign against graft has been going on for about two years, and a large number of officials and others have been indicted. In all, about 250 indictments have been returned, implicating 100 perThe grand jury now in session has returned 128 of the 250 indictments, involving 33 persons, and more are expected. What seems to attract the most attention in the Milwaukee, press is the fact that the local fire department has been dragged into the exposures. Thomas A. Clancy, chief of the fire department, W. E. Hanrahan, secretary of the department, and lesser members, have been indicted on the charge of perjury in testimony given before the grand jury regarding what became of a certain fund, raised by the firemen to influence legislators against a bill at Madison. Chief Clancy was custodian of the fund before he became chief.

sons.

Naturally the Wisconsin papers are wrought up over these exposures. "Where is it all going to end?" asks the Milwaukee Free Press. "Fraud and dishonesty permeate every department of the local government." The Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin remarks that even if the grand jury accomplishes nothing more important than it has already achieved, the remembrance of its sessions will long send chills coursing down the spines of grafters, and will deter many from grafting who might otherwise have been enticed to do wrong."

In reviewing the graft exposures in Milwaukee, the Philadelphia Public Ledger says:

"The epidemic of corruption began some time ago with the granting of street-railway franchises and extended to various public operations and contracts in the form of extortion, bribery, blackmail, and other forms of boodling. The indictments returned

on Saturday are typical of the situation generally. Leading architects are charged with bribing the supervisors in awarding contracts for the new county hospital building. Of the fourteen members of the Committee on Public Buildings and County Hospital, there are only five who are not charged with having made illicit profit out of the operations. Desperate attempts were made in some instances to prevent witnesses from appearing before the grand jury, and indictments were returned against those who endeavored to thwart justice in this manner. Supervisors, State senators, county officials and employees, contractors, real-estate men, architects figure in the prosecutions. Despatches from the scene of the campaign for civic purification say that two courageous and able district attorneys have grappled with the corruptionists, big and little, ‘and just now the battle for civic honesty is being fought furiously.'

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The forms of the Milwaukee graft are familiar, but the activity of the law officers and the grand juries of the jurisdiction, and the effective awakening of the public conscience there against the grafters, have had few parallels in American municipal history. The demolishing assault made by District Attorney Folk upon the Missouri boodlers set the pace."

Another source of graft, which concerns Wisconsin, and which has been exciting considerable attention in that State, is the law which limits the kind of dictionary the State may furnish for use in the district schools to one publication. Therefore, under this law a monopoly of the dictionary supply is given to one publisher. The Milwaukee Free Press, which has been condemning this statute for a long time, says:

“'Why should the State act as an exclusive agent of one dictionary when school officials or librarians may prefer another? Why should the State, by act of the legislature, rule out all competition and create a monopoly in dictionaries, taking upon itself all the work of distribution and collection of the price? The law, in the first instance, was no doubt the result of the work of a skilful lobby, which has been careful to see that it was never disturbed. There is no more reason why there should be discrimination in dictionaries than in any other article of general use, and there is certainly no reason why the State should create such a monopoly. . . School districts, State institutions, and State officers should be allowed to purchase the dictionary they prefer."

LOSSES IN THE CHICago teamSTERS' STRIKE.

THE

'HE teamsters' strike which was called off on July 20 was, "with the exception of the Debs railway strike in 1894, the most serious industrial upheaval in which Chicago has ever been involved." This is the opinion expressed by the Chicago Tribune and agreed with by nearly all the other dailies of the city. From the data collected from the press reports we find that the strike lasted for 105 days, involved 4,620 teamsters, and necessitated the employment of 2,300 policemen and 3,400 deputy sheriffs for strike duty. The cost for this extra protection was $306,500 to the city and $100,000 to the county. Twenty-one persons were killed and 415 injured. The cost to the unions for strike benefits was $350,000, the loss to the teamsters in wages was $700,000, and it cost the employers $2,000,000 to break the strike. The shrinkage in wholesale, retail, and freight business to the city is estimated as high as $6,000,000,

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The strike at the start was avowedly a sympathetic act on the part of the teamsters in behalf of the seventeen locked-out garment workers whom they desired to have reinstated in their old positions. At least so all the labor leaders declared. But the Chicago Record-Herald takes a less friendly view in assigning the cause, and says:

"The strike was begun without justification, was based upon a fraudulent pretense, was spread wantonly so as to injure many firms and persons who had no connection with the original controversy, was carried on as a criminal conspiracy and led to days of anarchy which were marked by the most brutal assaults and cruel murders. It is impossible to feel that any great number of work

ingmen can look back upon the history without regret for the evil deeds and the evil policy."

The Chicago Chronicle believes that the strike was advised and engineered as a blackmailing scheme," and points to the indictment of a large number of labor leaders and co-conspirators to show that "labor unionism in this city was a mass of rottenness," and that “for a little money any strike could be called or called off." The Chronicle, however, has been very severe in its arraignment of the strikers throughout the disturbance. Other Chicago. papers, while not overlooking the evidences of fraud and bribery, go no further than does The Inter Ocean, which says that "the strike was begun without sound forethought and carried on without sound judgment of the situation by its leaders."

no stir.

The end of the strike appears to have caused little or no The Chicago Record-Herald asserts that "its last days were made unpleasant by the fact that it was almost ignored by the employers against whom it had been declared." It had been looked upon as moribund from the early part of May. On the third day of that month violence assumed such alarming proportions that Governor Deneen expected a call for State troops. On the tenth occurred the President's stinging rebuke wherein he notified "Boss" Shea that the Federal troops were behind the militia. About this same time the United States courts enjoined the strikers from interfering with the mail, while the grand jury of the county indicted a large number of strike leaders for conspiracy against Montgomery Ward! & Co. Then Shea made charges of attempted bribery on the part of the employers. These incidents and the scandals which continued to ensue are some of the factors which are mentioned as having helped to distract attention from the main issue and to turn public sympathy away from the strikers. The moral support of the city gradually went over to the side of the employers, who finally secured all the police protection necessary to guard the army of strike-breakers which they imported, and normal business conditions were restored. In general comment upon the situation, and in ascribing a reason for the defeat of the strikers, which was complete and overwhelming, the Chicago Record-Herald, just above quoted, says:

"Then came the scandals of strikes called and settled on payment of bribes. Indictments followed, that will be prosecuted by the Employers' Association to the limit of the law. Among the indicted men is Shea, leader of the strike, the boss who called it and sought to steer it even after the grand jury had probed into his practises and thrown them up to dry in the sunlight.

"With disgrace of this sort thrown upon the leaders, the members of the unions became dissatisfied. Time after time they tried to have the difficulties settled. Failing in this, great numbers of them deserted and took other jobs in order to get food for their families. The extravagances of the leaders and the necessity of engaging legal talent depleted the funds of the unions. No benefits were paid and strikers were turned away from headquarters without the stipend they were entitled to draw to sustain them while on walkout. Matters rose to such a climax that eventually the working members refused to pay their assessments to the strike funds, and the whole walkout of four thousand men was enervated by a lack of finances."

There seem to be no new lessons drawn from the Chicago teamsters' strike. Charles Dold, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, is reported as saying that "the fight has demonstrated that the time is not ripe for the sympathetic strike." Cornelius P. Shea, the president of the Teamsters Union and leader of the strike, claims to extract some satisfaction from the results, as he thinks that hereafter employers will arbitrate rather than fight the demands of working-men. J. V. Farwell, who was chairman of the action committee of the Employers' Association, says, in summing up the situation:

THE

DISASTER.

HE fate of the gunboat Bennington and the facts that have become known since the explosion (considered in these columns last week) inspire the gloomiest forebodings in the newspapers as to the present condition of our navy, both in ships and in personnel. The naval lesson in the Bennington's misfortune, say the dailies, is that we are building a big navy not only at an enormous expense, but, in the words of the Detroit Free Press," at the expense of the efficiency of the war-ships in use." Altho the press, generally, are reluctant, at this time, to place the blame for the disaster, and are anxiously awaiting the result of the naval inquiry under Admiral Goodrich, some of the newspapers are of the opin

ion that the explosion aboard the Bennington, which killed 62 men, was due to the inefficiency of the engineering department of the ship. Much has been said of late about the scarcity of experienced. engineers in the United States Navy, and it is recalled that there is no longer a distinct class of engineer officers in the navy, that class having been eliminated by the personnel act of 1899. It is charged that the Bennington's engine-room was not properly officered, and that there was no one there with sufficient knowledge of boilers and engines. At the time of the accident, the press reports say, Ensign Charles T. Wade, whose service in the Naval Academy and the navy covers about eight years, was in charge, with not even a warrant officer to share the responsibility.

"It is easier to get money out of Congress for showy new ships than for repairs to old ones," says the Minneapolis Tribune, which adds: "It is easier to get money for naval construction that enriches contractors than for increase of naval force of officers and men to take care of them." Admiral Melville, for a long time head of the Bureau of Steam Engineering, in his last annual report (1902), laid before Congress the evil results of the abolition of the corps of engineers; and in 1904 Admiral Rae, Melville's successor, declared that "the present condition of engineering in the

navy is a cause of grave anxiety to all conversant with the subject." The suggestion that there might be some connection between the disaster on the Bennington and the abolition of the engineering corps seems to be gaining ground among naval authorities, and

REAR-ADMIRAL C. F. GOODRICH, Commanding the Pacific station, who has charge of the inquiry into the Bennington affair.

gineers should not stand in the way of obtaining for the service the best officers and. the best men to be had on board a ship of war in the engine- and fire-rooms. It would be absurd to claim that the Bennington could have been spared the explosion which caused such loss of life if the navy were in possession of an engineer corps. No one is in a position to make such an assertion. But it remains a fact which no one will dispute, either, that the service is badly crippled for lack of specially trained naval engineers, whose place is but poorly taken by the so-called fighting engineer."

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The American Syren and Shipping (New York) thinks it strange that the Government, which is so rigorous in its inspection of merchant vessels, should be so lax in regard to the efficiency of its own ships. It says:

"The deplorable disaster on the United States war-ship Bennington could not have occurred on any merchant steamer; it would not have occurred

all sorts of stringent inspection requirements upon merchant vessels does not in its department of the navy exact similar efficiency. One not infrequently hears of a merchant steamer putting back to

port when a day or so out because some flaw has been discovered in the engines or machinery and repairs have become necessary to insure safety, but one never hears in this generation of a boiler explosion."

TROUBLES OF THE CANAL COMMISSION.

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HE frequent changes of officials and employees connected with the Isthmian Canal Commission seem to have inspired the press with an idea that the start which has been made in "digging the big ditch" has not been altogether creditable to the American people, renowned as they are for carrying large enterprises through to an easy and successful termination. The Baltimore Sun (Ind.) attributes the trouble to "yellow jack" and "red tape." Judge James D. Youmans, a former Interstate Commerce Commissioner, openly charges that the bad beginning is due to the interference of the transcontinental railway companies. Interviews with refugees landing in New York indicate that the complaint generally heard in Panama is that the responsible head officers keep away from the isthmus and leave the management of affairs to incompetent

JOHN F. STEVENS,

Who succeeds Mr. Wallace as chief engineer of the Panama Canal. Mr. Shonts says he is not only "an engineer of unquestioned ability" but "a leader of men, a man who knows how to drive, what to expect from his subordinates, and how to enlist their enthusiasm and support."

lieutenants, who do not give enough care to the health and comfort of the men under them.

But President Roosevelt takes a hopeful view of the situation and seems to think that the discouraging news is based almost entirely upon the exaggerations of disgruntled employees, whom, he declares, are no better than deserters. Thus, in his address delivered at the meeting of the physicians of Long Island, he said: "I am happy to say that the work is being admirably done, and I am particularly glad to have this chance of saying it. Now and then some alarmist report will come from Panama. Just a couple of weeks ago there seemed to be a succession of people coming up from Panama,

PANAMA CANAL

each one of whom had some tale or other to tell. "You will always find in any battle, even if it is a victorious battle, that in the rear you meet a number of gentlemen who are glad that they are not at the front; who, if they have unfortunately gotten at the front, have come away, and who justify their absence from the front by telling tales of how every thing has gone wrong there."

DRASTIC MEASURES MAY BECOME NECESSARY TO KEEP CANAL EMPLOYEES ON THE ISTHMUS.

-Maybell in the Brooklyn Eagle.

Some other men connected with the canal work, however, are inclined to believe that the President's application of the standards

of war to ditch digging is a little too severe for this industrial age. They remark that clerks and laborers who do not care to remain on the isthmus will not be deterred from giving up their jobs through the fear of being called "deserters"; and so the belief is growing that something affirmative must be done in the way of attracting and holding an American population in Panama, if the digging of the canal is to be a success. A writer in the Baltimore News, who hides his identity under the title "An Official of the Canal Commission," boldly declares that in order to entice the necessary number of workmen from the United States, the Canal Zone must be made "wide open," with all the social features of life in Western mining communities. His words are as follows:

The suggestion may give many good people in this country a shock, but I do not believe that the construction work on the isthmus will move along satisfactorily until the Zone is thrown' wide open,' in the sense of the term as it is applied to any of the big American towns. The tens of thousands of men who will labor there when the great project is once fully under way will need rec-. reation, as those who are now digging do. There are at present practically no diversions within striking distance, and, as I have said before, the men have too much time in which to think of themselves. I suppose this phase of the situation will adjust itself in due course of time, unless there be an outcry from the moral sentiment here at home, that does not appreciate the necessity of

"We see now why France made such a miserable failure at Panama. She did not meet human nature on its own ground. She provided work and wages, but overlooked the fact that recreation is the great problem in canal work. The establishment of a vast Monte Carlo in the Canal Zone will work wonders. Let there be plenty of saloons, hurdy-gurdies, dives, and other social features of the great mining camps.' Let the Zone be wide open to the cutthroats, gamblers, fugitives, and blacklegs of the world. Would not such a policy attract population? Would not the poor canal-digger find surcease of sorrow with these gay devotees of pleasure? He would, in contempt of question. Not only would he be contented to remain, but others would flock to the free and