XOT PERSUADED.A -correspondent who asks thai nis

name bo withheld in connection with hiscommunication inquires why 90 littlenotice has been paid to the ninth inter-national Zionist congress, at. Hamburg,Germany. 'There is a comparativelysmall number of American Jews," hesays, "who are opposed to Zionism, and"they may have persuaded some of the"Jewish publishers of this city and the"Jewish directors of The Associated Press"that the strivings for a national centre"for the Jews in Palestine did nor eon*•'corn the Jews of the United States."

The Tribune has devoted a considera-ble amount of space, both in the newscolumns and on this page, to formerZionist conventions, national and inter-national, because the question was one inwhich nearly 30 per cent of New York'spopulation was interested. Bui themovement created by Msral seams tohave assumed an aspect of decadence.ben the Zionists assembled in interna-tional convention at The Hague in 1907the Federation of American Zloui«ts sentto The Tribune for publication "somefacts" in regard to the work done, ,n, nwhich It was. Mil thai the aim of theettus| was the establishment in Palestineof -a legally secured, publicly recognizedborne." At that time, in now. it \\Sifiurged thot 1 "comparatively small nuiu-"her of American Jews were riot, in ijmpath] with the cam*,'1 and it ivhb true

then, us It is now. But while the greatmajority on the Zionist side includesmany uhjp, worthy and sincere enilmsi-\u25a0Aiitf, the lar;e bod] 1- made un of the

AMOUXT AXDKIXDOF SCHOOLIXG.Among the many interesting and prof-

itable utterances of last week on educa-tional topics two, which wore made atJilmost the same time though in widelydifferent places, were especially note-worthy as a crystallization of two dif-ferent phases or views of a single ques-tion which Is perhaps the most impor-tant of all the educational problems ofthe day. On the wise old principle thatif we take care of the cents the dollarswill take care of themselves it may beassumed that if we solve the problem ofprimary. education for all the people theproblem of higher education for the few,if not self-involved. will prove compara-tively easy of solution.

Dr. Ayres, of this city, addressing theSocial Education Club of Boston, calledattention to the small proportion of chil-dren who complete the primary schoolstudies and enter or are fitted to enterthe high schools. In not one Xew Eng-land state do as many as three-fourths ofthem complete the courses of the lowerschools. In Maine the rating is highest,but-, there only 72 per cent of the childrengo so far as to prepared to enter the highschools, while in Connecticut only 49 per-c'4nt do so. Now. argues Dr. Ayres, thevwhole amount of education furnished byour common schools is the minimumwhich may safely be allowed to-the_.f.ut-ure citizens of the Republic, and as manyif the pupils, ranging from 28 to 51 percent in New England, fail to secure eventhat .minimum, the schools are failing todo their duty to the state, and the tax-payers are being cheated, since they payfor eight grades for all children and geton the average only five or six.

Governor Fort of New Jersey, address-ing the State School Teachers* Associa-tion at Atlantic City, recognized the factthat at least two-thirds of the children inthe public schools end their schooling,though they may not complete the ourrie-uiuni. at fourteen years of age or young-

;er. The question therefore arises, Whatshould they be taught in that brief time?If they are thoroughly taught a reason-able amount of reading, spelling, writing,grammar, .arithmetic and geography,there will lie no time for such other(studies as cooking, music and drawing.Latin and Greek, astronomy and psychol-ogy. The natural conclusion is. then,that the schools should make sure ofgiving an adequate amount and qualityof instruction in the former essentialstudies, leaving the .latter for nightschools or special schools or for thosechildren who can go on to high schooland college.

We are inclined to think that GovernorFort's conclusions come pretty close to'< answering the question raised by Dr.Ayres. ii is probably Impossible to se-cure anything like universal entrance tothe high school or even preparation forit. The average time in the lower schoolmay continue to be only five or six years.instead of eight. But if the five or sixyears are judiciously devoted, undercompetent teaching, to study of the fun-damental branches of learning, the workOf the school will riot be in vain, nnd therising generation willnot be until forcitizenship in the Republic.

That ip Mr. Balfour's argument, andit is unquestionably adroit and forceful.It willappeal strongly to the many Eng-lishmen who are not irresistibly boundby party ties, who wish to see the prin-ciple of an efficient upper house main-tained, and who would like to have theexisting House of Lords "mended' .is

it should be as promptly as possible andwith the least possible disturbance andarousing of factional passions. Ofcourse, the ready reply of the Liberalswill be that for the House of Lords tobe recast by its party friends wouldmean a perpetuation of some of the veryqualities which it is desired to eliminate.In naming no new peers the Liberalgovernment has kept itself free and uri-f-mb;irrassed to make its answer to Mr.Balfour, and we may expect the tide ofpopular discussion and appeal to risethis week to its full height, in prepara-tion for next week's pollings.

iheir own theory, they would not haveeren a suspensory "veto power upon whntthey regarded as \u25a0 vicious measure.

Mr, Balfour, also, has acted withshrewdness in following the recent sug-gestion of Lord Rosebcry in definitelycommitting himself tof" policy of"mending" the House of I. ds in easehis party is successful at the pollings.H is generally conceded by both partiesthat there must be some change in theconstitution of the House of Lords. TheQuestion arises. By whom Is that exceed-ingly difficult and delicate task to beperformed? Obviously, it cannot bedone by anybody without the consent ofthe Lords themselves, unless there is tobe a. more violent revolution than any

sane man desires, If the Liberals winand control the new House of Commons,they will be politically antagonistic tothe Lords, and the latter will almost <•."•-

talnly resist and refuse any plans ofreform which may be offered. The re-sult will be much wrangling and nseries of deadlocks between the twohouses, and in the end nothing done. Onthe other hand, if the Unionists win. theplans for remodelling the House ofLords will bo made by those who arein political accord with that house, andthey will doubtless be accepted and thegreatly desired change willbe smoothlyeffected. ,

Our apparent balance of trade in, 1909amounted to approximately $2Q9,00(M)0Q

l

the lowest in ten year?. The total ofIj'iiports and exports in the year wasabout 8 per cent more than the averageof Ihe three preceding years, but thegain in 1909 was made up entirely ofimports, which, of course, served toweaken the country's position in theinternational exchange market. Pricesfor commodities here are so high thatthis market is a better one in which tosell than to buy. no stronger reflectionof which can be found than in the fig-ures of foreign trade. Domestic trade issound and the outlook for the new yearIs unusually promising, especially in themetal industry, in which expansion Isparticularly encouraging, owing to thefact that activity in this line reflectsgrowing prosperity in all departments ofbusiness. New orders for finished steelproducts are developing at an unprece-dented rate, and even in copper, whichin the last year failed to share in thegeneral industrial progress, current indi-cations appear to assure a decided re-viva! In the demand from consumers.The inquiry for pig iron is increasing asa consequence of the recent concessionin prices, and buyers are endeavoring tomake contracts extending into the thirdquarter of the year. Pig iron productionIn 1009 was approximately 25,800,000tons, against 15,036,018 tons In (906 and23,781,361 In 1907, though in the lastquarter of 1909 the- output was at therate of 31.000.000 tons a year.

In the drygoods market retail trade inthe last two weeks of the year washeavy in volume, and merchants wereunanimous in predictions of a biggerbusiness and better profits in 1910 ascompared with the satisfactory record of1009. Wholesalers report an active de-mand ft.i- cotton fabrics, notwithstandingthe high prices prevailing, the Inquiriesfrom the agricultural section of thecountry being especially pronouncedWool remains expensive, but high priceschedules established by the leading con-cerns foil to embarrass the trade, as re*tail houses are buying extensively mid

"

regardless of cost. Hecent •speculative

sellers of cotton have readjusted ti, |rposition, owing to the strength of thespot situation In the South, and at themoment there appears to be IKtle cliHir-of a speedy return of prices to * ina°teriajly tower level. mihm Mr, ..am,

"

cotton •"\u25a0) m iv the market for s,Jr,pl"vl Cotton futures *oid hi ,„.,..hichrecords for the season last week, vihli

Investment operations are light, notbecause of any uneasiness over under-lying condition?, but owing to th«scarcity of securities that can be securedto return a satisfactory income yield.Many new capital issues willcome uponthe market in 1910, and it is quite prob-

ahle that better opportunities will beoffered for investment buying in thisclass than in existing stocks and bonds,though it may he well to bear in mindthat under prevailing money marketconditions and in view of the soundposition of industrial affairs new secur-ities will not be put out at bargain fig-

nrea. A Kuropean demand for our in-vestments promises to he a factor in thestock and international money marketsin the current year. Menof rates hard-ened at thr close of 1009. call fundsmaking a high record for the year at 7per cent, the movement being ivhoUy inlino with normal conditions, while ster-ling exchange rates, wln'cn for many

weeks had ruled at abnormal figures, de-clined to a natural level, without, how-ever, the promise of the development ofextreme cape. Indeed, unless markedimprovement takes place in our outwardmovement of merchandise the demandfor remittance against increasing im-ports and local financial obligationsabroad may bring about further exportsOf gold.

MONEY AXD BUSINESS.Stock market prices averaged a higher

level in the year just closed than Inany

preceding year, with the exception of

1908, and at the end of the twelvemonthperiod of 1900 presented an average only

a trifle under the high point recorded lastAugust. The leading railway issues arenow at an average of 130.50, and the

chief industrials at 00.2."), these pricescomparing with 119.7." for the railroadsand 87 for the industrials at the close of1908. In recent weeks the general mar-

ket has been without the support of pub-

lic interest, and, though active efforts

are being made by the Wall Street ele-

ment to attract an outside demand, indi-cations at the moment do not Buggest

the probability of an immediate resump-

tion of buying for this account, despite

the belief that current prosperous condi-tions are likely to continue in the pres-

ent year. Promised favorable develop-

ments are already represented in theprices of most securities. This factorappears to he generally recognized

throughout the country, but large hold-ers of speculative stocks are confident,nevertheless, that a manipulated Janu-ary rise will induce public purchases in

volume large enough to relieve the con-

gested securities situation in the finan-cial community.

The Zionists of the State of New York,

which includes the lafftsi Jewish com-munity iv the world, have been repre-

sented at Hamburg by Mordecai Hrodski.[aaac Allen. B. Kaioliuiski. R. Friedeu-

•.vMld and A. Aaronson. Inasmuch as the

public has uot been informed fully as to

the proceedings, the delegation's report

will be looked forward to with interest,

and when it is delivered Ihe notable

facts will he hrought to public notice.

recently immigrated, the resident? of thecrowded districts, the refugees from Rus-

sia and Austria-Hungary, ho look tow-itid the -rehabilitation of a Jewish statein Palestine through eyes not yet ac'f'us "

tomed to the light of freedom.At that time, us now, the "compara-

tively small number" frowned upon themovement, which, divested of Herzl's di-recting power and his infectious enthusi-asm, lost ground which had been wonwith difficult}-. Desertions to the ranks

of the minority took place in great num-bers when Zangwill injected business IntoZionism iui'l. casting aside the sentimentwith which Herzl hod conjured, declaredthat Hie Jewish state need not be inPal-(•siinc. but might he anywhere.

The newspapers have not been "per-suaded," and the answer, to our corre-spondent's query might he found ii) thisextract from Irecent article in "The

American Israelite": "Zionism is prac-

"tic-ally dead in England, decadent every-

where outside of Russia, aud even in

"the .United States, with its large Rtis-"sian contingent,* it has become a negligi-"hie quantity." Two years ago Mr. Jacob

11. s.-hiff. who Is.one of the "compara-

tively small number," said:

"We do not need, in those United States,

to have held out to us a hope of the r>-

establishment of a Jewish nation in Pal-estine, in the dim, far away future. NotIn distant lands hut her« among us weneed' centres from which to draw lovefor and attachment to our religion, for

the inspiration it gives to make the Jewa better man. a better citizen, whereverhis home may be.

Pr Meff. Philadelphia* Pirector*. ofHealth, ha? Stirred up a tine hornet nestamong the medical men of Quakertown bydeclaring that, "hard as it la to believe,there are sesas physicians who will notlive antitoxin in diphtheria casts] nor nd-minister It as a preventive in houses wherethere Is diphtheria, because it willeuro andprevent disease, and so render visit! frumthese physicians unnecessary and ke»»pthem from tuking In additional .\u25a0'•••;,;

fe<^»." W <>« ! What a rumpus there laijqw; \. \u25a0! there was not trouble enoughover th»- director"*; general charge, his eht«(

medical Inspector. Dr. Cairns, hud to comasieal with * tank of kerosene to add to

1903.Go ahead, old Nineteen Nine

—ftnd the snowdrifts down the lint-1

Spread your clouds across the sk%'

Let your frosty arrows fly,Pinch our ears and numb our toe&,Kedden each obtrusive nose,S*t us shivering as you will,"With the north wind's blusterinr chiliGo to it • . ' "

And got through it:l^t tho chmßte quite exhaustAll its store of wind and frost.So that when young Nineteen TenGreets us, earth may »mile again'Like some garrulous old scoldYou will shout until you've toldTo the last your tedious tal".We must wait and let you wait.

Go to ItAnd get through it:—

Washington Star.One of the public schools at Oakdale,

Pcnn., had to be closed because some boys,dissatisfied with the decision as to theduration of the holiday vacation, took re-venge by placing Limburger cheese in theradiators. The odor did what the authori-ties failed to do. On last AprilFools' Daysome boyr- at a boarding school near NewYork made use of the same fragrant ma-terial. A small particle was put on all thedoorknobs throughout the building, with aresult which was highly satisfactory onlyto the perpetrators of the joke.

"Does you believe it's lucky to see denew moon over yoh right shoulder?""Bho 1 does." replied Mr. Brastua Pink-riey. Dese it-re stormy days you's luckyto see any kind of a moon any wav "—.Washington Star. ]\• -.'

Writing about the family of King Albertof Belgium, a correspondent of the "lfor-genpost" of Berlin says; "Little PrinceLeopold Is making rapid progress as aviolinist. He displays no phenomenal tal-ent, but holds his instrument an.lwieldsthe bow in a manner to give his instruc-tor encouragement. The music teacher hasa painstaking and Intelligent assistant inQuern Elizabeth, who is an accomplishedviolinist, and does more for her son's musi-cal education than the paid teacher \picture which was recently taken showsthe Queen In a plain black skirt and awhite shirtwaist, with not the smallest or-nament visible, standing in a plainly fur-nished room, violin in hand, teaching thelittle prince. It is the kind of picturewhich Will go far toward winning the re-.•'pert and esteem of the people."

H^mlock^"* Cook." be *an Uncle Goahali"Oh. let up "iithe North Pole.""Idon't blame him about the North l-'ni-part of it. hut Ido blame him for scatter!ing around a lot of low temperature H.ure.s and putting all our local remindcences on the hum."—Louisville Courier

Journal.

Phyllis ("P. from the eountry>-But Dickv.thte.ls just like the last piece you brought

.^Dick-My dear PhyHig. -don-t. h« absurd•This is "The Naughty Girl or Nice55 andthe other was -The Grasse Widow"bureJy you know that Nice and Oraaaaare two entirely different placcs."-Puneh?

Entering a Tenderloin saloon where'forty rod" is "the best In the house" acustomer called for whiskey. He drank itand gagged and gasped. "or me anotherand let me take a whisk broom." he said tothe bartender.

'•Wot d'ye want of a whisk broom?" de-*

manded the "mixologist.""I want to dust a clean place on thefloor where Ican have a fit." was theanswer.And then somebody went out on his

head.

A number of tho newspaper men who"cover" Police Headquarters employ asmessenger a youth quite unlike the gen-eral run ef shurp, gamin-like ofhVe boysOf New York. As one Irish psUstSJaaasays, lie's -'so grane its a wuuder thehorses don't cat 'lm up.11

The other night,when things were dull, one of the repor'-ers ordered Tommy to "take this pall andgo over to the Bowery and set 10 centsworth of compressed air for the 'copy'tuben." Aud Tommy trotted off on the er-rand.

THE lALK OF THE DA V.

"A good Republican is as good as abad Democrat," said Mayor Gaynor theSttosr day. Tl.is is an example of t^ach-iU£ in season and out of season, like, aCato. that national political considera-tions have no place in municipal affair?.

The Director of the Census reportsthat he has hard work getting men toaccept appointments as enumerators.The compensation is $00 for two weeks'to four weeks' work. There are evi-dently not many unemployed left in therelatively unskilled labor class fromwhich census enumerators are drawn.

Chili's adoption of Eastern standardtime, in the .same time belt as NewYork and New England, Is a reminder ofa geographical fact which is sometimesforgotten: that South America lieschiefly to the east as well as the southof our own continent. Chili is on thewestern edge of the austral continent,yet its longitude is that of New Eng-land. Santiago corresponding with Hart-ford. Argentina Is due south from NovaScotia; the extreme westernmost point ofthe South American Continent is nofurther west than Cleveland, while itseasternmost point Is much nearer thelongitude of London than that of NewYork.

Mr. Zelaya probably wishes that hehad received and acted upon some .ofPresident Diaz's fatherly advicr long

a.TO. The Chief Executive of Mexico hasbeen called a dictator, but he is at leastone' v, ho dictates 'government for hiscountry's good.

The suggestions that France and othercountries should co-operate with theUnited States for the suppression of the"white slave" traffic are reasonable? andpractical, and will probably be actedupon. Different lands have differentcodes of social morals, and j»om«^ of themtake different views from America ofwhat is euphemistically called the "socialevil." hut upon this particular businessthere should bo, and we believe there Is,

no important difference. ItIs not a mat-ter of morals but of humanity.

New York's success in outstripping allother American citiP3 in the accumulationof municipal indebtedness has not beendue. it may be said in fairness, to neglector lack of diligence. of the political ringsof other municipalities. Almost withoutexception they have done their best tobreak all existing records of municipaldebt, and their failure to keep the pace F«tby New York has been due entirely to cir-cumstances beyond their control.— New Or-leans Times- Democrat.

We hope that a belief that circum-stances are not "beyond control" in thiscity willnot induce an invasion of poli-ticians downed by circumstances in theirown less promising fields of operation.

If.Weston is not careful Mayor Gay-nor twill rob him of his laurels.

an advancing tendency marked r. thecourse of -grain and provisions. •

W. J. BRYAN ON WAY TO PANAMA.t.olon. Jan. ivtiiiam Jennings ~»ryar.

arrived her* thb morninr on the st«axs«rMitgdalena. 11- Immediately took-% tralator r»n»m».

Drastic J^e forms Needed—Bal-ance Sheet* and Auditing,

London. D«v »mb<r 22.Lord RuikM of KWlovren. astute 'as >*

waa. left th*- reform of th«» Companies

Acts unfinished. The fate of the LawGuarantee and Trust Society; which ha*recently ion*- into voluntary liquidation.la a convincing proof that radical chang

Jr. bookkeeping and auditing ar Indis-pensable In the management of great

companies. This was peculiarly a law-yers' company. in which learned Jutlge*.eminent barristers and experienced andwealthy solicitors had Invested their sav-ing*. It started off with every •vid*nc*of.prosperity, and conducted an Imrhensaand profitable business in insuring orguaranteeing mortgages and debenture*.Ten per cent dividends were declared

•yoar after year for the enrichment ofordinary shareholders, who had paid onlya »mall fraction of their subscription.

As late ag 1995 there us a dividend,

which «as apparently Justified by th<»annual balance «he«t. Instead of a sur-plus tii-r- is no*' art estimated loss of£1,500,000: the. paid up capital of 1.-203,962 with th" preference shares fca*been wiped out; there is a deficiency of£195.94Dto be met out of capital still un-paid, and voluntary liquidation ia th*only alternative for drastic compulsory.processes. y

There is not the slightest suggestioni of fraud or dishonesty In the manage-

ment of this unfortunate company. Itadirectors were men of unblemished rep-utation, and Its shareholders includedthe flower of the legal profession inKngland. There may have en lack ofcaution in the guarantees on theatres,hotels, metropolitan and suburban..' flatsand public houses when a. general de-cline in the values of house and otherproperties was impending. Culpabi*mismanagement is not alleged by themost excitable shareholders, who hay«

i been compelled to make up losses bypaying up their holdings nearly in full.An unprecedented decline in real estatevalues partly accounts for a. loss ofabout £300.000 on outstanding risks oZ

•\u0084>.;.«\u25a0» on suarantees. *o_'The chairman's explanation is

-\u25a0-«

comprehensive. He has asserted that*the company had gone Into an Illegiti-mate and unsound oranch of Insurance

: business, and was forced to pay the pen-; alty when there was a widespread de-

cline in values. When Investors werealarmed by the trend of general busi-ness or political affairs they obtained,

! guarantees of debentures or mortgages

I from the company, v.hlcn were unsaferisks.

The business of guaranteeing mort-; gages may not be so insecure and-hazardous as the chairman has state-!.! That is a. controversial matter, withj much to be said on both sides. What 13

undeniable i.-:- that the honorable meni acting as directors :and the emineti:

judges and lawyers holding the ordinaryI shares did not know the actual state ofaffairs when they sanctioned or drew BBWlast dividend. They had "he printedbalance sheet, which had been audited

;. by expert talent; but it -a as impossiblefor them to determine from, the figures

i-whether there -was an .actual surplus o?: an,enormous . deficiency of - assets fef\ meeting- .liabilities. .. ;. __»

--±ii*-

There «va~s nothing 1 exceptional "ettliet

J in the 'bookkeeping' or in the auditing.Ordinary rules of procedure- had -beer,

followed.jarid no attempt had been triadsito a at.; Joun the assets approximatelyj to thy*.level which they were likely toI reach in open market. The balance sheetjwas thoroughly misleading, because ther*

1 was nothing like Isystematic revalua-! tion of the assets.-

"Yet the bookkeeper^

j and auditors had merely done what the:-\u25a0 had often done before, and were justlfle1i in every respect by current practice.; Shareholders, directors and the public• were- deceived without premeditated ef-: fort or ct'lpable neglect on the pa of

anybody responsible for the management

J of th«? company's business.Neither the balance sheet nor to*

j auditor's certificate proved a safeguard'\u25a0 for the interests of investors in the mar-

agement of this company, in which thej Lord Chief Justice. Sir Edward ClarkI and many other conspicuous ornaments

of bench an.l bar were shareholders.The revision of the companies acts ha »left the system vulnerable at these twopoints. "The Economist" in. its hole-some comments upon this amazins:financial disaster indicates the reformswhich are necessary for the protection

i of investors. One is the conversion ofI a balance sheet into a trustworthy rec-

ord of the position of the company, andthe other Is the enlargement of th?

i auditors* functions #0 that they can in-sist upon having th» realizable, value ofthe assets brought out and questionableestimates of such doubtful resources usthe goodwillof th<» business, eliminated.

•What la needed Is not a record ofprevious expenditures of capital, but a

j record of market values of the assets, 50! that investors and shareholders

• canknow what their property is really-

worth. Window dressing for annualmeetings would speedily be«- •\u25a0\u25a0•- dj*-

! creditable and suspicious i'directors and, auditors were under obligation to com-\ pel the managers and bookkeepers to1 estimate what th" assets would fetch tn

open market Balance sheets might notbe so decorative as they are now, butthey would be less misleading. Tn*

j credit side would represent real values;every one concerned would know »*»

*-\u25a0«

the companies stood; there could be anadequate allowance for depreciation ofproperties and securities, ami auditor*would be custodians of mercantile honorrather than bookkeeping experts draw-ing large fees for perfunctory service.

Reforms so drastic as these will re-quire the propelling power of an im-perious will like Lord Russell's, Cus-tom has decreed that the assets shall b*rated as favorably as possible In an-

, nual statements and that the auditors, shall mechanically foot up the accountsand not be too Inquisitive about th*values of securities.

"A reformation of bookkeeping methods

and auditors* moral obligations cannotb brought about without an arduousstruggle, yet Itis plainly nece*»ary evenIn a country which deservedly plume*itself upon it* reputation for good faithand hlghminded integrity in commercialaffairs. The fate of the Law Guaranteeand Trust Society Is a warning againstoptimistic balance sheets and uninquisl-tive auditing. Th« directors would; 'hav«»learned the truth about an unsoundbusiness long before they did ifan actualdeficit had not been converted iato a.substantial credit by gro.-s overvalua-tions of assets.

__INF

COMPANIES ACTS

ANOTHER YELLOW PERIL.From The Rocheeter Demoerßt and Chron-

icle.,'^ "'yellow peril" i- * very real thing'

\u25a0 Paolrl. i-...,5t Jual nov. Hugs from1.JVLn"- offered at 10 cents a dozen ha\-sV mpl*teiy demoralized a market In which•-•cents hurt i^^,,thft-mltnc prlc", ami'\u25a0'"' <:O|lW not be very particular about*n« matter of quality even at that figure.

FOUND AT LAST.'From The Geneva News;

Democracy should migrate to IM NorthIole. In that 'an.l there .-i no north. n»east or no west. Nothing but the "solidsoul

"

FIXING RESPONSIBILITY.From The Brooklyn Eagle.

It Is a somewhat singular proceeding tohold up payments to contractors againstwhom there is no allegation of failure tocomply with the term* of contracts for thepurpose of dotermintng the durability oftheir work. Yet this Is apparently whatJustice Howling did in the application foran Injunction restraining the MH\..r thecontroller and the Chamberlain trbm pav-ing the reansylvanla. Steel Company sis 3

-000 due on its contract for bulldtnr theQueonsboro Bridge.

The bridge is» not so stron* as it wasoriginally intended to te made The fault\u25a0•eSM to I"" with the plans. There la nocontention that the company has not de.livercd the material it contracted to de-liver, nor that It has not do:.,- the workrequired to be done. There la, however aquestion- of responsibility Involved, inwhich'•\u25a0\u25a0 contractor la concerned. .m<l the pro-ce»illni;* seoni to bo necessary to try thatquestion out. In the. mean time, the> sug-gestion If thai the bridge la pretty near afailure and can be rescued only by furtherwork and further expense.

ONE MORE STAB AT "BRITISHTo the ICditor of The Tribune.

Sir: The letter of "Britisher" in Tues-day issue of Th- Tribune, while it nodoubt expresses to a "T" th«» opinion ofthe vast majority of Englishmen th«world over, far from hits the nail on thehead from an Irishman's point of view.What he wants is not British statesman-ship or British gold. both of which hecan do well enough without, for the brainsof Ireland are as fertile as her soil, putthat which for three centuries or morehe has been clamoring for

—liberty:

If"Britisher" was as much an Irishmanas he is an avowed Englishman he wouldtefore now have been aware of such athing as memory, a past vividlydepletedthere, a sense of wrong never to beforgotten. If oppression In Ireland nolonger exists it is to the. strenuous effortsof the Illustrious Mr. Gladstone that itsfall is due. Until their dream of "Irelandfor the Irish" is realized. O'Conncll willhave lived and Emmet died In vain.

ERIN GO BRAGII.New York. Dec. 20. 1900.

-

Usually the commissioners of appraisal

are appointed' by justices of the Supreme

Court sitting in counties up the state wherelands are being taken for Htm York City

watershed purposes, and if the news ofsuch appointments appears in the metro-politan press at all it is in the form of aparagraph hidden away in some obscure

corner. If the searchlight of the presswere to he thrown on the occupation,standing aria;;qualifications of these mentin effect would be to make the judgesmore carefut in their selections.

No justice cares to have the fact adver-tised that he' has appointed some politicalhanger-on or somebody's private secretaryor brother-in-law. On the other hand, ifthe appointments were good, as they are inmany instances, credit would be placed\u25a0where it belong?, and the entire bench\u25a0would not share the odium of naming themen who prolong these proceedings.Iam of the opinion tliut, after all. th*

judges would be much better off withoutthis condemnation and watershed patron-age, as too often it serves to form a bendbetween them and the political bosses.

New York, Dec. =0. IW. B.

THE BENCH AND PATRONAGE.To the Editor of The Tribune.

Sir: After" reading your excellent edi-

torial•''

this "morning, entitled-••Condemna-tion Extortion?-' Iam of'-the ©pinion that

there Tvo'ulct be much lens complaint aboutthis form of graft if the newspapers wouldSlve:mafe pii''iictty to the appointment of

the conimisJionera named on condemnationproceeding:*.-

WOULD CHECK "OSPREYING'

To the Editor of Th*» Tribune.Sir: A paragraph Inyour issue of Decem-

ber 15, headed •'Hun Down by BSSSfSAuto." provokes a few suggestions. We

arc in need of a finglc word to tell of suchoccurrences. We might look upon the ma-

chine coming down upon Us victim as a

bird of prey, and say that Lawrence Tul-ley was "ospr«yed." for the- oeprey Is the"bone crusher." Possibly the be3t wordto coin would be "autoed." using the Greek

part of the hybrid "automobile." It con-notes a good deal of selQahness. "Law-

rence Tulley Autoed". would be brief andtell the whole story. ;:':'l-

"Mr. Rosa said he would, let Royas spend

the night in a cell as a lesson to him."

Would it not he better, to teach recklessdrivers a lesson, to have an ordinance\u25a0whereby the magistrate could impose upon

the chaufTeur the penalty of driving'his

machine at a speed of six miles an hour

for two days of ten hours each over a

designated thoroughfare, withno allowancefor repairs or break-downs?.. This wouMallow him time for practice, patience andreflection, and. what is equally desirable,

it would deprive the owner of the machineof Its use for the hours of punishment. It

might be well to place upon th« machine a

card with the words, in large letters. 'laPickle."

A possibility that their machines wouldbe tied up.by the hands of the court mign*

cause owners to be more careful in select,

ing men and to exact bonds ;from them.This would be to the advantage of good

drivers, for they would be Justified In de-manding higher wages, and they would Mpretty sure not to be put on the road for

meditation. .... SKOOKUM.New York, Dec. SI, Haft

SONGS AND SECTIONALISM.To the Editor of The Tribune.

Sir- What la *U this pother, about the

Popularity of "Dixie" and"Yan^9

Doodle"? Although Iserved under tne

"Ola Flag" an.l have many times while on

the march felt encouraged and Inspired

with new strength when -Yankee Doodle

Ma.? played, the same feelings were domi-nant when "Dixie" was played. laying

aside the sentiment of our difference?, I

think*

"Dixie" Is far more popular than"Yankee Doodle. 1 for the reason that It

is a Quick, dancing sons and the chorus Si

such as is enjoyed by all.Those who never smelted Ssmoke arc often

the most bitter ajrainU th* South. They

seem to fail to understand that if they hadbeen born and educated In the South, they.

too. would have been "rebels." The"hatchet" should be buried and all shouldJoin hands in making: this the grandest

IIalgaltin I\u25a0\u25a0 sympathetic and charitably

people in the world. IfW« do that, then we

willsurely be not only tho greatest, but alsothe happiest of all nations. .

C. K. STEVENS.(Of Company K. 29th Maine V. V., 1533-63.)

Brooklyn, Jan. 1. IDIO.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

!the bonfire, -fhave a record of diphtheria

Icases." \u25a0aM Dr. Cairns, "which will*wow: the disastrous result 3 that have followedI the neglect to mak. u« of antitoxin. Much

of th* opposition to the use of antitoxinhas coino from the homoeopaths. Ido not

say this In order to stir up a controversy,

but \ my observation shows that it in a'

fact." Now allopaths, homeopath* and nil

the other "path.. with one accord, ru^hIn to demand that ti"-lr two official breth-

! ren mnko good.

"Who si that feline• *• '-*9

°' \u25a0 \u25a0*

h^^^^hr^^^l, Your OwnCanoe' "—Cleveland I.<»a<?'t.

NKM-^nR DAILY TRIBUNE, MONDAY. .lANIARY 8, into.

Amusemenii.'ACaPEMT OF MUSIC—V:IS—The Ea»ie«it

Way. * \u25a0

AIHAMFR*-:-S-VM(lni!>.»PTOP. —»> -B*v«n Dim.

BEX^ASCO—

S:1R—

Is ilatrimonya Failure?BIJOI*

— —The Lottery Mar

BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC——

.\u25a0 .M«»i«tro d; Cappells.CASINO—'B:I5

—The Chocolate Solder. .

COIXSSIAI.—

2—2—

S—

Vaudeville.COMEDT-$ 30— Affinity.

CRITERION—«:ro—

The:Bachelor* Bahy.HALTS

—8:15

—The Felle of Brittany.

F.DEX MUSEE—

The World in Wax.rvrißE

—What Every Woman Know*.

FIFTH AVENUE—C—B—Vaudeville, s :,CATETT

—-»0

—The Forture Hunter.

OARRICK—R:I5—

Tour llujnbJe Servant

GRAND CENTRAL.PALACE—IO a. m. to 11'p m.

—Automobile Show.

MAfKETT—S:I5—

Cim'o Kirb .HAMMKriSTEIS"? 2:1»

—8:1R

—Vaudeville..

HERAt.D SQUARE— —

Old Dutch.-HIPPODROMTC

—22—

SS—

A Trip to Japan: In-or i. Earth: the Millet of Jewell.

HUDSON— S:I5—

Th<» Next of Kir..

IRVING FLACK—

IS '<>*'\u25a0 Floh im Ohr.KNI«*KERBOOKER-B—The Dollar rr(nre»»

LIBERTY—S 15 Th« Fires «f Fate.LYCEUM—3—Mies Kitty Ckeatlmm

—S:80—

P»-ue!opeT.TRIC—S:IS— The City.MANHATTANOPKRA HOUSE— S—Thais.MAXINE ELLJOTrS THEATRE—1:80—

rmf'ri .-' the Third Floor Back.Mr.TROPOLITAK OPERA HOUSE— S—Orfeo

'\u25a0\u25a0d Euridlce. ' • '".-.v r-n- \VSTF.RPAM

—S. lß—The Silver Star.

NEW THEATRE—S:ls—Don.NEW YORK

—8:15

—The. Man Who Own*

\u25a0pi-cad-way.SAVOT K:lß—Tsi« Commanding Officer.PTT'TVrpAKT O-.l.'.—The Lily.

Al.lK>nr-ASTORIA -h-I.ondnn Assurance.WALLACITS

—S:l3^-A- Little Brother of th«

r.jcii.''TF.BER'S

—5:15

—The OodcJesn of Liberty.

tits; END—S:I5—

The Midnight Sons.

Jndex to AdvertisemewU.

rVTeio-IJorft (Ttibimc.

- -\u25a0 . I*aj:e.CoU

'"jj-.. race.Col.

Aimjfcmcnls .14 3-7jMe«tias> .1" *-Auction Sal's. .11 IMiscellaneous ...11 «T-'tr: A. Hoonj^.U OiMortgaß« Loans. .ll '*•Biis in c « « !Proposals 11 •"•

Chances 11 6:Public Notice*. .11•

OrpWO^aainK.ll 71 Heal Kst*te It *Co par tCfTship 1Resorts ...11 »

Nctlcp-s 13 SiSavin^s Ranks.. .l3 3-*Drake »nd Offie* 1School Ar»nci«*..ll 5

v^irnitur* ... 11 4l£peeial Notices... 7 ;.\u25a0-.' •r»ividen-J Ko- ;Surrof»t«'i» No-

tices .13 5-7 ttcew 11 fI>f«r.<s*tj<: fiitua- IThr.p Tables 11 «-«

lions Wanted. ll ITo I.«t for Basl-Kl'SftinnN<nic"ts.l.*, 6 ness Purpose*. .11 *T"iTjam-U»! V.' I«!Tribune Subscrip-Vore c!<» a urr I• tion Rates ... 7 7

.-ale* 11 4'Trust CompanyVoi S«1» 11 « nfport* 13 3-4IJrip Wanted ...11 1-51Unfurn I6h«4Ir.rtrurtl<>n II Di Apartments toboat ItaDkbpoki>.ll t»i L*t 11 *Mstriaß^s and IWork Wanted ...11 S

Deaths 7 G 7.

MONDAY. IAXCAAT 3, ima

This vc.cspaper {3 owned and pub-lished hy The Tribune Association, a. \rr York corporation; office and prin-tipal place of business. Tribune Build'tug. .*• « 154 Xassav street, Xew York;,Vg6fn Ifills. freft<fe«<; Henry W.*ackrtt. tccrcierv: James M. Barrett,

T treasurer. The address of the officer* .athe office of this uetcspeper.

-FOREIGN*.—

English peerp are showingf^verHh anxiety as the time approacheswhen they must cease their electioneer-ing:. ==

The negotiations betweenChina and Portugal over the Macaoboundary failed and China notifleiPortugal to evacuate all the territory indispute except the city of Macao. .The Archbishop of Mi-lines. Belgium, is-sued a charge inviting the prayers of "all£f>9d Belgians and fatholles" for the lateKing Leopold. --....-\u25a0 The MilitaryLeagueol Athens demanded the abolition of allOreek legation? except that at Constan-tinople. The German Emperor con-sented to the betrothal of his cousin.Prince Friedrirh Wilhelm, arid Princess.A^athe yon Ratibon and Correy. -\u25a0\u25a0 \u25a0

Twelve sailors lost their lives as a re-sult of a. collision between the steamer*-Ayrshire and Arcadian., the men return-ing to the latter Fhlp. which was sinking,to secure their money. =r=^= Two earthtrrniors Were -recorded at Kingston,Jamaica,, Imt.thejvcau6ed.no damage oralarm.. :•„;'__;

X>OM.ESTJC._~Ix wag announced atTVashingtph '.ihai.a conference on'iiiter-*-tat?' commerce law changes would behdd at -the" White House to-day betweenPresident Taft and presidents of severalbisr railroad companies. \u25a0\u25a0-\u25a0: : Judge

ra.ee H. Lurton. who takes oath asJustice of the Supreme Court of theI'nited States to-day, arrived in Wash-ington vfth his family; President Taftesllrvi on the judge- \u25a0 , The Senate•\u25a0ommitteo which has been inspecting the

Panama Canal returned to Washingtonon the dispatch boat Dolphin. ===== A«cttage system for the Xew T*ork StateTraining School for Girls at Hudson isfavored in the annual report of the Stat-Hoard of Charities.

——- Two persons\u25a0 ere injured in iho wreck of the Knick-

.<\rfcockcr Limited on the Big Four rail-way, near Aneonja, Ohio. —-^

—Three

PUWNU were killed in the wreck of aGreat Nnrtliern-Burlin&t^n transconti-nental passenger train at Oxford, Mont.

CITY. Mayor Gftynor made announce-ment of h partial list of his appoint-ments, leaving *«>veral in doubt. —=^-

3Charlcs W. Idorm started in the custodyof ItaMhal Hrnkoi and two deputies forAtlanta to serve his fiftcr,-year sentence*.n :h<- Federal jail there. ;—;

—:—:—

It*>'%* announced that a conference h£'l\u2666>'-*n hsd wtth Governor Hughes -lookingto many changes in the pharmacy law\u25a0nd the probable abolition of the StateHoard of Pharmacy.

---—--Shirtwaist

*triUers pnrj their sympathizers held an>tsif«:. Tweeting in Carnegie Hall.

— -A

meetjjip in the interest of the laymen'sinis'Sioriary. movement will bo held in'»nA Around New York for several weeks

THi: WEATHER.— lndications for to-day: Unsettled. Tlie temperature yes-toniay; Blfhaat. *? degrees; lowest, 34.

77//; XEWS THIS UORXIXG.

\u25a0 BOSTOX OX mia i..Roeton is wrestling with a municipal

flection and has on its hands again, as>• consequence, the one and only "Fit/..""Fitx" ie a Joffersoniau statesman whoun John 1". |r jtr.jr«»rald used to represent

the New England metropolis in theHouse of representatives. cooing back•«• Boston, he became its Mayor, and

ling hie incumbency of that office an. admiring public affectionately rechris-BHMd him !1';-."' One of his servicesto the community was to popularize themethods of government which Tammanyhat; applied in this city withsuch markedMiecefcs. He wag a liberal spender, who1-rlieved that a high bid put in by afriend of the administration was pref-erable to a low 1

-;<] made by some un-

sympathetic outsider. Alliras well untila commission investigated the city's ac-counts. it brought in \u25a0 report whichtemporarily impaired "FitzV availabil-ity as \u25a0\u25a0 administrator and jolted himinto private life.

But Istatesman as buoyant and im-perturbable as "FJtz" is not easily sup-Ines "i He is running again for MayorIn the present free-for-all, non-partisanmix-up, nnd has found a morn] l^fuewhich exactly Hi his situation, it !sthis: "Is thcic no statute of limitations•on calumny, or shall a vilified states-."roan suffer tillthe end of time?" In amagnificent address in Tremont TempleJbe other day "Fitz"struck \u25a0 nofe whichmust bare toueb.'-d the heart of BostonHe eafd:

It!s z\ver\ to men who s«rv« the public'• be vilified and calumniated, not alone'• this »**,but Ithas be*n 1.0 tince the«orld began. No one who has read th*history of the world can- doubt it but itU a trulem that th« world 'generallyrights the? wrongs; that it is h long Janethat list no turn: that calumny »nd vili-fication and slander die of their ownweight; and Ido not think that historyhas «;v«rr recorded it more fully than it-\u25a0<•;-• the pr.r3e:it time record it in thehearts and consciences of the people ofBoston.'

The people 'of Boston, in "I'itz's"•ffinlon, are actors in the greatest eihibi-

"SIEXDIXG" \u25a0 Tim LORD!?.Mr. Asquitu acted logically and with

practical political shrewdness in omit-ting to recommend to the King thecreation of now peers on .N<mv Year'sDay. lie and his party are making theircampaign before the people against theHouse of Lords as a co-ordinate legis-lative body, and it would seam self-con-tradictory for him to add to the mem-bership of an organization which ho isat this very time seeking to circumseribttand which some of his most conspicuouslieutenants are frankly aiming to de-stroy. Moreover, it would he a hardshipto the men themselves and a depriva-tion of the nation i,, t:«ke several of theablest men from the House of Com-mon*, where their Berrlces are of ".ilii"to the country; and "kick them up-t-tairs" into the House of Jx>rdgi, whereaccording to Mr. Asqulth's own point ofview their usefulness would be largelydestroyed. .Such .him as Mr. Axqultl)blmiiif Mr. Churchill and Mr. Lloyd-George are needed In the Common?,v here thry can. give Hhspe to legisla-tion, and should not bo sliclrrd In I'•\u25a0•House of Lord*, ••!!••. aeeordins: to

The suggestion of our suburban con-temporary is that this land, which meas-ures thousands of acres, should be im-proved, either through forestry or ag-

riculture. it might be transformed intot>. splendid forest preserve, in which aschool of forestry could be conducted.Much of it could be used us a nurseryfor trees for planting elsewhere in thestate. Also there is much which might

be planted in meadows, or even in cerealflops, to the material profit of the city

and without the slightest menace to thepurity of the water. At least two thou-sand acres would be available for suchcultivation, and more than as much nonefor forest or nursery purposes. Thesuggestion is an attractive one and ap-pears on its race to be. quite practical.It involves, of course, just what someother cities elsewhere have done withapproved success. But that is appar-ently not a convincing argument for con-sidering it to be possible hen*, particu-larly under the auspices of our wonder-ful Aqueduct Commission. Itought tobe the most potent of all arguments,however, in the sight of that commis-sion. For the life of that body is to {>»•

limited by the lime necessary for com-pleting Its work, and if it went into for-est growing it« work would never bedone and therefore it would be im-mortal! Even at the risk of such acatastrophe, the suggestion of improve-mentfl for those land* merits thought-ful and practical consideration.

TO IMPROVE «KOTOS LANDS.The reminder is off.-red . y '"The North

Westchester Times"' that there is in theCroton Valley, belonging to the City .if

New York, a considerable area of valu-able land which might be made profit-ably productive, but which. in fact, ispermitted to lie in a condition of use-

lessness and neglect. In fact, in its pres-ent state it Is a source of actual evil,to the surrounding lands if not to thecity and its water service.

-This land is in strips of varying width,surrounding the reservoirs -and border-ing the streams, ;md it was acquired by

the city and cleared of buildings, inorder that it might not -li£ occupied inany manner which could cruise contam-ination of the water.—That was doubt-less a laudable and. indeed, a necessarypurpose, though we must say that itseemed to be carried too far when thetrees which shaded the streams or theirmargins were cut down in order thatthe water might not be polluted by theirfalling leaves. Itwould be of interestto know to what extent Hie flow of thestreams has diminished ns a result ofdepriving them of shade- and of trans-forming mossy and fern covered banksinto arid stretches of naked rock orparched clay. We might also speculateupon the difference, for water storage

and yield, between vast fields, coveredwith forest growth or cultivatedmeadows and the same fields abandonedto be « sunburned wilderness of noisomewood

A PROMISIXG START.Mayor Gaynor's first list of appoint-

ments reveals a high purpose and an in-dependence which will be most gratify-ing to all who wish for him an adminis-tration of worthy achievement. It !sreassuring to those who have been ap-prehensive that the conditions underwhich he took office as the candidate ofTammany Hall, running on a ticket withsome of the most typical exponents ofthe Tammany system of misrule, wouldprevent the exercise of those progressiveand reforming impulses on which hispopular reputation rested. At the outsetMr. Gaynor goes far to set at rest thosefears and show "that he feels under nospecial obligation to Murphy and Tam-many, but appraises himself, at his truevalue as a Mayor, supported by Tam-many not in love but in desperation,who paid his debt fully when ho allowedthe Tammany candidates to make iheirunsuccessful effort to crowd into officebehind him. and is now free to give thecity the best administration possible, re-gardless of their demands.

To an unexpected degree the Mayorhas rut loose from Tammany. Among

his heads of departments there is notone of the usual Tammany figures suchas were chosen as a matter of course inthe days of Grant. Gilroy and Van Wyr-k

and in the first term ofMayor McClellnii.One or two subordinates, like Mr. Keller

in the Charities Department, may becharged up as "recognition" of the or-

ganization, but the principal places haveevidently been filled as the result of in-dependent personal judgment of the fit-Best of the men chosen for the work tobe performed. It is to be hoped that Mr.

Ridder w\ll find it possible to accept theoffer of the presidency of the ParkBoard. Mr. Purdy has made a record inthe Tax

'Department which deserved his

present recognition. Mr.Calvin Tomkinsis well known for his public spiritedactivities. Other appointees whose namesare less familiar to the public are wellspoken of by those who know them. TheMayor makes an agreeable impression by

his first exercise of power, and the moredefinite proofs of the character of. In*administration when in full operation

will be . awaited -with a hopeful andfriendly interest

— possibly in theranks of Tammany Hall.

tion of penitent vindication which theworld has ever soon. They ought to beproud that history has an eye on themand a pencil .read.v. iFit7." says hat hohasn't time enough just now to answerthe investigating commission's slandersin detail. That en wait. The roost im-portant thing is that Boston should bring

in a -vindication While it has a chance.Its humanity is on trial.* "Kitz"• is onhis pedestal waiting tor the coat :of

whitewash. It is clearly up to Bostonto do the rest.

*