Show EDITORS EDITOR'S TABLE TABLE President Roosevelt sevelt has named Dr J. J L. L M. M Curry formerly Minister to Spain as Envoy Extraordinary to O represent the United States at the ceremonies Incident to the coming o oage of age of the youthful 1 Kins Alfonso This action It appears has been taken at atthe atthe atthe the special request of of the Spanish court the Queen Regent availing herself of ot the opportunity to show her good will Wilt toward this country notwithstanding what has p passed sed between the two na na- na- na The accession accession to jow power owr r of or Alfonso Al AI fonso promises to mark t the e beginning o of a new political era erain In Spain Queen Regent Christina Is and always has been Inclined to lI liberalism e while while the boy who will succeed h her r In May will willbe willbe b be under the Influence ce of ot his hIs hIs' brother- brother in law Prince Charles of Bourbon who Is an extreme clerical and reactionary and of ot the unspeakable Weyler who does not conceal his contempt for constitutional constitutional con con- sti government go That being the situation a stormy and perhaps a short reign may be predicted for the coming King His country Is rife rho with republicanism which claims as adherents adherents adherents ad- ad ad ad- nearly all an of the leading writers writers writ writ- ers ers and professional men of the Kingdom Kingdom Kingdom King King- dom as well vell as the the mass of laborers In let the large lars cities With Prince Charles and Weyler In control of or the Government Government Government Govern Govern- ment It should not take long to bring about a a. revolution t Col who will will be he remembered remembered remembered In connection with the affaire Dreyfus has surprised and agitated France by his warning that the nation has come to the end of its military resources resources while Germanys Germany's are on the Increase From these promises he concludes concludes concludes con con- that It will be necessary for France to modify her military system to meet her changed conditions and to seek an alliance or alliances with one or more strong naval powers who would be able In the event of war with Germany to protect the French rear with war vessels and ensure France Francea a free hand on land The foundation of Col sensational warning is to be found In fri the French official census returns Issued January last past Owing to the rapidly declining birth rat rate fate In the country compared with the death rate It Is computed that whereas this year young men men will become available for military duty by 1911 the number will wi l fall off to after wh which ch the diminution will be increasingly rapid In iii 1919 amounting to only oly Calculating on the basis of t the birth rate In Germany Germany Germany Ger Ger- many which Is twice ice that of France It ft Is found that In twenty twenty years there will be two young Germans ready to enter the army for every Frenchman This This 1 Is a serious prospect for the French nation and ard their their Government has been trying for Lor years to find someway someway someway some way way of ot arresting the decadence of ot the population but without avail In the reign o of Louis XVI the French people were the most roost S sturdy and virile folk in Europe but nearly all their males except the aged defective and crippled crippled crip crip- crippled pled were slaughtered in the Napoleonic Napoleonic Napoleonic Napo- Napo Napo Napo- wars That misfortune started the nation nation down down hlll and the Franco- Franco Prussian war wax made further in inroads oads into I Its physical status Absinthe h has s helped the work of destruction and altoS altoS' altogether altogether alto alto- S' S gether erf H the outlook is not encouraging r France may be decadent but still stUl she is ta Isa a gre great t nation in the world world as the Government of ot Venezuela will be apt to find out before long President Castic Castro Castro Cas Cas- tro ti-c has has again r refused fused the demand of the he French Consul in Caracas that the son of M. M lessee of the theCa theLa Ca La Guayra Valencia railway be al allowed allowed allowed al- al lowed to l look ok after atter his fathers father's interests inter inter- ests President Castro has Informed the French Government that he regards the as agents of ot the revolutionary revolutionary revo revo- party now now nowr In Insurrection against his authority and declares that neither of ot them shall enter Venezuela i It is not Improbable that this defiance may lead to drastic action on the part i of MM Loubet and As likely as not the upshot of the affair may may be the appearance of a French squadron at La Guayra and the seizure seizure seizure seiz seiz- ure of that place as security for satis satis- faction It is not presumable that the United States would interfere any anymore anymore anymore more than it wo would ld if It Germany were to proceed to collect oll ct the debts o owing ing to Its citizens by Ve Veri Venezuela zuela vi 1 et annis armis A recent report from our Consul at Brunswick Germany shows that the Importation of American American meats to the Empire has gr greatly greatly atlY tau fallen n off of late In 1893 1899 these imports aggregated a value of In 1899 I and and in 1900 Since the German German German Ger Ger- man prohibitory law which went into effect October 1 I 1 1900 00 the importation of sausages and tinned meats has entirely en- en ceased This condition of ot things is a serious detriment to one of our most Important Industries but there is probably no present help for It The agrarian element which if it could would exclude all American food products products products pro pro- ducts has has practical al power In the Reichstag The Government cannot control It and while the can c'an prevent or modify absolute destructive destructive de de- deI de- I or Insane inne legislation It cannot cannot cannot can can- not Initiate altern alternative measures Public Public Pub Pub- lic lb lic opinion In Germany German Is so strong on the question of Of American m meat mat th that t there is not m much h encouragement In that quarter for producers of ot the commodity commodity commodity com com- unless Indeed our Government Government Government Govern Govern- ment were to consent to a liberal treaty of reciprocity which It Is not apt to do Just now In the present temper tern tem terp- terp p per r of ot C the tariff j England In respect of some of Its laws which have hav survived d from former centuries and ad Which nobody has taken the trouble to have repealed is quaintly and sometimes rl ridiculously peculiar A Afew Afew Afew few years ago a a aman man was placed on n trial In London for an offence which if It proved against him would have re resulted re- re in a a. State prison prison sentence of at atI I least least five or seven years Counsel for forthe forthe forthe the prisoner rose and Informed the Court that his client refused to be e tried by a Judge and jury The Judge on the bench yas as dumfounded and irascibly inquired of or the barrister what he meant by such Impertinence The he latter disclaimed discourtesy to the Court but begged egged his lordship to listen listen haten lis lis- ha- ha ten while he read an statute statute statute stat stat- ute of ot Henry vir VII which provided d that any person a accused of bf the offence for which the prisoner had been indicted indicted in In Indicted and arraigned should have the I option of ot accepting trial tria fn In court or orIn orIn orin In meeting his accuser accuser In In this case case the General Attorney In combat The shrewd antiquarian la lawyer vy r had the Government in a corner and after atter Investigation the case was v J d O AI Another el instance of ot the application of ot archaic law Jaw tl to modern conditions to which It t should not be applicable Is Just n now w exciting interest In the united Kingdom In a statute of George IV it was provided that any person after atter the the commencement of the act becoming a Jesuit should be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor A short time ago a fanatical member of ot the British Protestant Alliance applied to a l Magistrate for summonses against three gentlemen who recently had become become become be be- come members of ot the Order Ordee of Jesus The application was refused on the ground that the law upon which It was based had become obsolete The prosecuting party went to the Court of Kings Bench and there the MagIstrates MagIstrate's Magistrates Magistrate's Magistrates Magistrate's Magis MagIs- decision was reversed and a arUle arule arule rule made compelling hl him to issue the process against the reverend fathers The incident will hot tend to make the fhe he Catholic element which is large large and Influential in the Kingdom particularly particularly particularly enthusiastic for tor the Protestant Government Lord Salisbury might do worse than secure a commission to weed out the old statute books and give Parliament an opportunity to do a whole lot of salutary repealing |