Republican pluralities have been narrow, but even in the Congressional elections last year the aggregate Republican vote was about five thousand greater than the Democratic. The confidence professed by the Democrats is based largely on their recent victory in the city election in Baltimore, when National issues were subordinate.

The Press Censorship

Further light is thrown upon the censorship of the press exercised in Manila, against which the correspondents there (both those of Administration and anti-Administration journals) protested so vigorously recently, by a letter to the General Manager of the Associated Press in this country, written at Manila at his request by one of the Associated Press correspondents, Mr. Collins. This letter, it is true, shows a good deal of personal feeling and a strong bias against General Otis, but its positive affirmations would seem at least to make desirable some denial or explanation by General Otis. Mr. Collins asserts that, in the judgment of newspaper men who had worked in war times in Japan, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, and Russia, and even in Cuba under the Weyler régime, the censorship exercised in Manila was much more stringent than any before known to them. It is perfectly evident, as The Outlook has said before, that the test in the control of newspaper correspondence by generals in the field. should be the question whether the matter sent might be used to the disadvantage of our army and the advantage of the hostile forces. At the outset these were exactly the restrictions laid down to the newspaper men, but, according to Mr. Collins, later on the censor repeatedly told correspondents that his instructions were "to let nothing go that can hurt the Administration," and that in the case of the petition of the business men of Manila to retain the existing system of silver currency, the censor said at first that he could not pass a despatch stating the facts "because that would be a lift for Bryan. My instructions are to shut off everything that could hurt McKinley's Administration. That is free silver." The absurdity of imagining that the point in question had anything to do with the

silver question in this country is apart from the fact that such a despatch could not in any way give comfort to the enemy. In the end the despatch was passed. Mr. Collins describes at length the interviews of newspaper men with General Otis, which, after threats that the correspond ents should be court-martialed or put off the island, ended in an assurance from General Otis that they might send any. thing not prejudicial to the interests of the United States. This was followed by some relaxation of the censorship; but afterwards, Mr. Collins asserts, the practice was made as rigid as before. We need not repeat here various assertions derogatory to General Otis made in the letter of this correspondent. He agrees with others that General Otis is perfectly honest, but considers that he is a bureaucrat who should not manage both the civil and military branches of the Government. The fundamental principle which should govern the treatment of correspondents is obviously to allow them to tell the people of this country the truth, except when the publishing of facts might be injurious to the carrying on of the campaign.

The annual report of the Chicago's New General Superintendent of Juvenile Law Police of the city of Chicago gives 77,441 as the total number of arrests made during the fiscal year. Of this number, 508 have been children under ten years of age, and 10,000 under sixteen, while 991 of these youthful offenders have been young girls. That the significance of these figures is being realized by the people of Illinois is shown in the passage by the last State Legislature of an act designed to regulate the treatment and control of dependent, neglected, and delinquent children. This new law, which has been in effect since the first day of July, provides for a separate court, to be known as the Juvenile Court, in all counties having over 500,000 population, with a special court-room, and a Judge whose duty it shall be to hear all cases coming under this act. The new law forbids the commitment of any child under the age of twelve years to a jail or police station, or, when sentenced, to confinement to any institution to which adult convicts are sentenced. In addition, the law-known as the

Juvenile Law-provides for the appointment of probation officers, whose duties, technically defined, are to make such investigation as may be required by the Court, represent the interests of the child in court, furnishing the Judge such information and assistance as the Judge may require, and to take such charge of any child before and after trial as may be directed by the Court. Thus a much-needed reform has been inaugurated in the handling of youthful offenders. The child must be protected, both while waiting and after trial, from the contamination of adult criminals; he is insured a speedy hearing, and he has the assistance of a disinterested friend. It seems almost incredible that 508 children under ten years of age, in one year, should have been arrested and locked up in cells, having for their companions the dregs of society of a great city, yet such is the hard fact; and when one remembers that the time of confinement varies from a few days to weeks and even months, and that the charge is often but a trivial one, such as jumping on moving cars or truancy, one no longer wonders at the figures of the Superintendent of Police. The new law, ethically considered, is ideal; whether it is practicable remains to be seen. The fact that, while the Court has authority to appoint probation officers, the law declares that they shall receive no remuneration from the public treasury, would seem to indicate a faith in the disinterestedness of workaday people on the part of Illinois's legislators which experience has not always warranted. At the present time but two probation officers have been appointed, both women-Mrs. A. P. Stevens, of Hull House, and Mrs. Edna Sheldrake, representing the Northwestern University Settlement.

News has come by The Peary Expedition way of Newfoundland of last year's work of the Arctic expedition led by Lieutenant Peary. The steamship Windward has just arrived at Brigus in Newfoundland, and will be followed by the Diana, the other steamship which has been engaged in forwarding the work of the expedition. From October, 1898, to August of this year, Lieutenant Peary has been engaged almost constantly in leading sledge parties for the purpose of exploration. In this way

he journeyed over more than fifteen hundred miles. His parties explored the coast-line in Ellesmere Island, and to some extent the interior of the southern part of Grinnell Land. The geographical discoveries and filling out of blank space on the current maps of these regions in all amount to a considerable scientific achievement. No serious attempt was made during this time to push an expedition far toward the Pole; it is probable that this will be done next season, if circumstances permit. The chief disaster recorded in the expedition so far is the crippling of Lieutenant Peary himself by the freezing of his feet on one of the sledge expeditions. This necessitated the amputating of several of his toes, and prevented him from carrying out further expeditions he had planned for this year. In other respects the members of the expedition are well, and have stood the extremely severe winter-perhaps the coldest winter known in the Arcticon the whole without great suffering. The thermometer frequently recorded seventy degrees below zero, but, to compensate, there were comparatively few storms. Among the other expeditions made by the party was one to Fort Conger, once the headquarters of the explorer Greely, in Lady Franklin Bay, and the removal from that place of many relics and articles left by the Greely expedition. Several tons of provisions have been distributed at stations beyond Fort Conger, and other preparations have been made for a forward movement, with the aid of the natives, when next the season permits. The Fram, Nansen's vessel, which is now in charge of Captain Sverdrup, Nansen's former Captain, is reported as having been frozen in the ice, fifty miles south of the point attained by Peary's steamer, the Windward. Sverdrup proposes to push north this summer, land on the Greenland coast, work around its northern extremity, and come down the east coast, much of which has never been explored.

ing with an address by the Hon. Simeon E. Baldwin on the Natural Right to a Natural Death." In the course of his paper, widely commented upon throughout the country, President Baldwin maintained as desirable that, under circumstances of hopeless pain and disease, a patient should. not be kept alive by the skill of his physician. The General Secretary, Mr. Frederick Stanley Root, reported a gain of nearly fifty members during the year, and offered some suggestions relative to the policy of the Association. All of the departments, with the exception of the Department of Health, in which a combination of causes prevented the attendance of scheduled speakers, were fully and ably represented. In the Department of Education stress was laid by Arthur B. Woodford, Ph.D., upon the desirability of some important changes in present methods of educational work, while Arthur Reed Kimball, of the Waterbury "American," noted in picturesque style the functions of the newspaper. In the Department of Social Economy and Finance the topic of expansion was vigorously debated, and at the evening session Alleyne Ireland, Esq., offered a most admirable paper on Financial Administration of Colonial Dependencies. In the absence of General Guy V. Henry, the General Secretary read his paper, recounting methods adopted by General Henry in the administration of financial affairs in Ponce and Porto Rico. On Thursday morning, in the Department of Jurisprudence, Henry Wade Rogers, LL.D., President of Northwestern University, developed with great ability the constitutional aspects of territorial acquisition, and a vigorous discussion followed, participated in by St. Clair McKelway and other members of the Association. At the evening session F. B. Thurber, Esq., of the New York Bar, read a paper on "The Right to Combine," which bore very strongly in the direction of emphasizing industrial combinations, not only as a manifest economic tendency, but in themselves considered under certain circumstances as ethically defensible. new and important function of the Association meetings was the adjustment of the relations between the Association and the National Institute founded under its auspices. It was also deemed desirable to hold the next meeting of the As

A

sociation at Washington, D.C., the second week in May, 1900, although for a quarter of a century the Association has met in Saratoga.

The American Bankers' Association

Last week the American Bankers' Association held its annual session at Cleveland, and unanimously adopted the following resolutions:

The bankers of the United States most earnestly recommend that the Congress of the

United States at its next session enact a law to more firmly and unequivocally establish the gold standard in this country, by providing that the gold dollar, which under the law is the unit of value, shall be the standard and measure of all values in the United States; that all the obligations of the Government and all paper money, including the circulating notes of National banks, shall be redeemed in gold coin, and that the legal-tender notes of the United States, when paid into the Treas ury, shall not be reissued except upon the deposit of an equivalent amount in gold coin. Those who believe that we already have the gold standard may be content with that provision of the Act of 1873 by which "the gold coins of the United States shall be a dollar piece, which, at the standard weight of twenty-five and one-eighth grains, shall be the unit of value." On the other hand, the bankers, who are responsible for the safe-keeping of more than five billion dollars, contend that we have not yet the gold standard unequivocally established. They believe that the unit of value should also be the standard and measure of all values in the United States. If the Republican party is able to promote the legislation outlined by the Bankers' Association, it will appeal to the great body of business men represented by those bankers. Furthermore, a law will be upon cur statute-books which cannot be repealed unless Congress is changed by the voters, and which cannot be evaded by any President. Strange as it may seem, to many the legal existence of the single gold standard is still a doubtful assertion.

station on the Pennsylvania lines east of Pittsburg has shown a marked improvement in the amount of traffic handled. The fact that the improved condition of business was not confined to a few lead ing articles, but was general in its character, also seemed to justify this conclusion. Mr. Joyce adds that, while their business is considerably in excess of last year, railways in general have not yet received a proportionate benefit from the improvement in trade: first, because of prevalent low rates of transportation, and, second, from increased expenses, due to much higher prices for all kinds of railway material. Mr. E. R. Newman, Assistant General Manager of the Wabash system, says that, during the past six months, Western roads delivered in Chicago the largest number of carloads of grain, with one exception, ever delivered, and that freight traffic between the Mississippi River and the East is limited only by the capacity of the roads. The Chicago freight agent of a yet larger system has sent figures to us for the business of four recent weeks, showing a gain of no less than four hundred per cent. over the corresponding period a year ago. The statement that every railway entering Chicago needs more cars to meet shippers' demands thus excites no wonder. Both the report from Philadelphia and that from Chicago mention the fact that present prosperity is due to the growth of all kinds of traffic. As to the New York Central system, Mr. W. L. Kingman, General Freight Agent, informs us that during July and August its movement of freight was larger than at any similar period of its history.

The Outlook has alPublic Art in Belgium ready called attention to the movement in England, started by Mr. Watts, to bring art to those who do not or who cannot come to it. A few years ago a similar movement arose in Belgium. The first direction which it took was to bring about an improvement in the asthetic merits of street signs. In Belgium, as everywhere, there was a lamentable lack of artistic perception in the arrangement and advertisements of shops. In 1896, therefore, the Euvre Nationale, as the movement was called, arranged for a competitive exhibition of signs. The re

sult is that now, three years later, the streets of Brussels, at least, have been somewhat transformed. King Leopold took a personal interest in this exhibition, and thereby gave it immediately a prominent standing in the community. All classes of commercial people were then anxious to court royal favor by ordering new signs to be painted or gilded or engraved from the original designs shown at the exhibition. The exhibition offered prizes amounting to three thousand dollars for the best patterns and models, and many of them were of exceptional merit. The promoters of the movement then held an exhibition of designs for façades for shops, private dwellings, and groups of workingmen's houses. In 1897 the Belgian Government, wishing to engrave a new stamp, added this competition to those already instituted by the promoters of the Euvre Nationale. The next exhibition was one which offered prizes amounting to two thousand dollars for the best designs for gas and electric light fixtures. Another exhibition was historical in character; it was a retrospective view of what ancient and modern times have produced in favor of popularizing art, and included models for lanterns, lamp-posts, bells, door-knobs, knockers, keys, hinges, gates, windows, chairs, benches, tables, flags, banners, tablets, and commemorative monuments. More than one celebrated name was found in the list of objects exhibited, which included models of the well of Quentin Matsys and the gates of Benvenuto Cellini. next step of the society was to hold a congress in which discussions were held as to the best method of intervention by the State in matters pertaining to public art, and also as to the methods of encouraging art in the interests of social culture and regeneration. The practical influence of this new movement has been so gratifyingly evident in other Belgian cities, as well as in Brussels, that the movement has been imitated in Germany, Italy, and France.

Yellow Fever

The

A dozen or more cases of yellow fever appeared in Mississippi City last week. One case has appeared at Jackson, Miss., which suffered from the disease last year. In Key West there have been over a hundred cases, most of them of a mild type.

France's Infamy

It has long been suspected that one or more members of the General Staff of the French Army have been dishonestly eking out their insufficient salaries of one to five thousand dollars. It now seems certain that this has been done by the systematic selling of army secrets to military attachés of the foreign embassies in Paris. Whether certain members of the Staff themselves actually communicated secrets, or protected those who did, their guilt is the same. In 1894 a bordereau, or memorandum, of treasonable papers was discovered by a French spy at the German embassy. It then became immediately necessary for the guilty chiefs to save Major Esterhazy, the agent who had delivered the bordereau. Accordingly, they denounced, as having committed these crimes, a young artillery officer, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, also a probationer on the General Staff. They made this selection, knowing that the special fury of the anti-Semites and Clericals would be visited upon him. In this they were not disappointed. Apparently all France was united against Dreyfus. Toward the end of 1894 he was tried and convicted on secret evidence which neither he nor his counsel were permitted to see or know anything about. Early in 1895 he was degraded and sentenced to banishment for life at Devil's Island, off the coast of French Guiana, where he remained until summoned to a new court martial, by which, despite overwhelming evidence proving his innocence, he has just been recondemned.

Recondemned! We rub our eyes to see clearer, but we are still living in modern, not in mediæval, times, as such monstrous injustice might indicate. It seems incredible that this defiance of conscience, reason, and justice could take place in the last part of the last year of that century which we are fond of regarding as the most civilized of all epochs. If there were recondemnation, there was no real conviction, by the court martial. Instead, the twenty-seven sessions at Rennes am ply vindicated the prisoner's assailed honor, and he needed no ridiculous insertion of "extenuating circumstances" in the verdict. Either he was guilty or he was not guilty of such a crime as that of treason.

Cheered by the moral vindication, the struggle to free him will now be carried forward with redoubled zeal by his heroic wife and the devoted friends of his cause.

After all, it was natural that there should have been hostility to the accused on the part of the judges at Rennes. All of them were of lower rank than the guilty generals to whom they were bound in obedience, first by their oath of allegiance, but also by every military tradition, by the habits of a lifetime, and by the ambition for preferment. Hence, to save these generals, already convicted of stealing, lying, and forgery, the judges again condemned an innocent captain. Rank tells in 1899 as it did in 1894. The judges had their earlier oaths uppermost in mind; not those of the other day, when they swore to judge according to evidence bearing on a single question. Instead, they admitted evidence on many questions, excluded the most important testimony on the only matter properly before them, and then arbitrarily condemned where they could not convict.

The five men who voted "Guilty" are either imbeciles or perjurers. Instead of convicting Dreyfus, they have convicted themselves. Expediency, not evidence, conquered them. To please the majority of Frenchmen, and to please the army, the judges yielded more even than did Pilate himself; they crucified afresh an innocent victim.

"If

As to the effect on France of this fatal yielding to expediency, it will react, not only as an ultimate political blunder, but as definitely committing the country to a policy of moral cowardice. If there were some excuse for a national pusillanimity and apathy in 1894, there is none in 1899. Retribution will come: it may not be swift; it will be none the less sure. they condemn this man, we will turn France upside down," said M. Jaurès last week. Nor would France be so pitiable in the world's eyes as now if she were plunged in civil war. The French army, not one of its captains, has been on trial. The already discredited General Staff has had a last chance, and it has thrown that chance away. Who are the Staff's apologists ? We Republicans may well be startled to find that they are anti-Republicans. They are Royalists, Imperialists, Clericals, antiSemites, and the so-called Nationalists.