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Show ' " THE BUSINESS Ojt WjIABING Qf I Wt I ASHINGTON. The sen-nto sen-nto of tho United States stands fordlgnlty. Somo- times the dignity Is over-gV'JVT) over-gV'JVT) dono, but on ono occa-Rfijttj? occa-Rfijttj? slon tho senate was undignified un-dignified to the point of striking several of tho older senators with horror. Senator Tillman of South Carolina wns making nothing less than an impassioned im-passioned speech. Ho wns reaching toward tho skies of oratory, when Senator Warren left his seat, unseen by Tillman, and took station behind the South Carolinian. The speaker had both hands high over ills hend directing di-recting tho soaring of his thoughts and words. Warren took a Btep forward. for-ward. His hand atolo to Tillman's side, slipped Into his pocket and camo out again holding In Its clutch a big black bottle. All unconscious, Tllimnn went on with his words of lire. Warren held his And aloft In full view of tho presiding pre-siding ofllcer, of his colleagues and of the crowded galleries. There was a gasp, then a smothered nnd simultaneous simul-taneous gurgle of horror from n hundred hun-dred throats, and then roaring laughter. Tillman turned nnd knowledge of tho awfulness of the situation came to him. For once, possibly for tho first tlmo In his life, ho was staggered stag-gered to speechlessness. He strove for words, but they would not comu. Ills face wns black with comcthlng much like nnger. Then the cloud cleared and a smile broke through. Speech returned, und two words came: "Uoraclc acid." H was boraclc acid, but unfortunately unfortu-nately for Senator Tillman, It had been put Into a black and suspicious bottle. A sore throat was the reason for Its carrying, nnd whllo tho South Carolinian Caro-linian is a man of truth, ho would not let tho matter pass until he had passed tho bottlo and had forced his comrades to smell tho stuff and make clean his temperance record. Senator Uurrows of Michigan, by a graphic prpsentatlon of tho case of MaJ. Seymour Howell, an army paymaster, pay-master, secured nn order on tho treasury treas-ury of the United States for $2,000 to reimburse tho ofllcer for that amount which disappeared In tho Phlllppino Islands. The story as told by Senator Durrows to his colleagues had all tho Interest of a Sherlock Holmes tale, save that for the mystery mys-tery Involved there was no solution. To this day there has been no solution. solu-tion. It Is known definitely, however, that tho pnymnstnr was in no wise to iiinmo tor tho disappearance of tho money. MaJ. Howell, paymaster, was traveling through the Philippines with nn nrmcd guard. Ho had with him a chest containing a largo sum of money with which to pay tho troops at the different camps. The chest was double locked at nil times, and night, and dny a sentinel sen-tinel stood by it with a loaded rlflo in his hands. No ono had koys to the chest savo MaJ. Howell and ho kept them fastened to his person. If ono of the sentinels hnd been dishonestly Inclined ho could not have opened the chest without duplicate keys, and tho originals woro of n kind dlfllcult in tho extreme to counterfeit. counter-feit. Tho guard wns composed of men picked for the pay Journey at tho last moment. Tho trip wns u rapid ono and no possible chnnco was offered for tho making of koys. Money to tliQ amount of $2,000 disappeared from the chest at some tlmo while it was under the watch and ward of a sentinel standing stand-ing so closo to It that ho could reach it with his rifle. Senrch failed to reveal a cent of the mouoy. MaJ. Howell at onco mndo tho loss good by a personal check drawn on his own bank ncount. Tho case la ono of tho army mysteries to this day, and the recital of tho story gave congress an interesting quarter of an hour. Neither sonnto nor Iioubo makes light of pension pen-sion pleas In tho presence of tho galleries, but somo of the would-be pcnslonors play ( comic roles in the committee rooms and corridors. cor-ridors. Claimants who can provo things aro treated as old soldiers and old soldiers' widows wid-ows ought to bo treated decently nnd reverently. Congress In Its weakness has voted pensions on many an occasion, though doubtless knowing know-ing that pensions were unearned nnd undeserved, unde-served, but tho day of that Bort of thing Is passing, If It has not altogether gone. Ono member was asked to uso his Influence to secure se-cure an increase of pension for tho widow of n soldier. Thore woro papers forwardod to him which bora on tho case, and these ho turned ovor to tho committee on pensions after aft-er his bill had been Introduced, Tho widow did not get her money, nnd It was not long before tho wholo house know It. Tho mombor who had espoused tho widow's cnuso had boon in congress for years, nnd the Joko at his oxponso waa too good to keep, and one after another of his colleagues walked up to his desk and congratulated him on tho wisdom shown In tho plen which In written form ho had turned in to tho committee to win the widow's case. It Is perhaps needless to sny that tho mom-ber mom-ber had novcr read the plen. It act forth the fact that whllo tho amount of pension Increase In-crease that tho widow of tho soldier hero usked for was hirgo, it must bo understood Hint sho camo of good family, moved In tho host social circles and was In need of n largo sum of money to keep up nppoarunceB, Upon occasions senators nnd representntlvoa permit tholr constituents to do their talking for them In congress. Petitions como In floods nt times, with tho object of securing legislation legisla-tion by oxternnl pressure. In tho Smoot case and lu tho pure food and canteen matters tho picas of tho pcoplo camo In by tho tens of thouBnudB. Tho members of both houses present these letters, call attention to their Import and thou allow tho petitions to do tho HX JJI rest If they are cCyX?7&sSSiBv jZ? Potent enough. SoMfST Senatr J"- , "fjMiiffirrrin-x ,ncr south Cfc ductlons Isshown 1 fairly well by I " one letter on tho I ijjifrij g" &oo& roads' sub- I Ject received by Senator Cullom. 11P 'S.,hcS. JST loin Pleaso vote for this d d bill. and you will oblige n fool friend of mine who runs nn automobile. Yours more or Icbs sln-i ceroly. ." It waB a Chicago man who wrote this appeal. There were others like unto It. Tho good roada bill still sleeps. There are two things which the house of representatives infinitely would prefer should never como before tho mombers for consideration consider-ation religious matters and immigration matters. mat-ters. Immigration tho house must, of course, deal with directly; religious matters it is forced to touch Indirectly, much to tho In-wnrd In-wnrd discomfiture of many of tho legislators, Wo aro living supposedly In un enlightened ago, and yet religious bodies have not forgotten forgot-ten how to use tho Instruments of coercion. It makes no difference nt nil how utterly without with-out foundation the chargo of bigotry may be It always finds its believer, and tho charged one Buffers personally and at tho polls. An Immigration bill wnich was before tho house of representatives had no bigotry in nny of its provisions, unless It bo bigotry to wish to deny admission to America of a class of people who can work little but Injury to tho. land which they wish to enter. Tho real reason that tho chargo qf bigotry waa on-tered on-tered was because the men mnklng uso of tho accusation knew well that when everything every-thing el so failed tho Insinuation pf narrowness was bound to hnvo Its effect. Tho bill contained a clause which forbade entrnnco to Amcricn to Illiterates, r Unquestionably Unques-tionably It wns not tho desire of the framers of tho measure so much to keep out people who could not read and write as it was to keep out certain disorder-breeding elements nnd ccrtnlti pauperized elements. Most of tho Illiterate and thoso who are likely to become public charges corao to America from certain well-doflned sections of Europe. It would bo utterly Impossible for congress to pass a law saying In plnln words that Immigrants from theso sections woro not to bo admitted. If such geographical discrimination dis-crimination wore mndo mortal offonso would be given to some nations of Europo, and likewise like-wise mortal offonso would bo given to tho peoplo nlready In America who owed formor nlleglanco to thoso nations. The illiteracy prohibition wns put into tho bill aa the best way to accomplish an end without giving of-fenso. of-fenso. As it was, tho mombers of congress whoso duty it wns to press tho measure to a passage woro mado bright and shining marks for thoso who chose to hurl tho "bigot" missile. It was n hard duty which tho friends of tho exclusion mensuro had to perform. They knew that nine-tenths of tho Democrats nnd tho Republicans Republi-cans in the houso were in favor of tho retention reten-tion of the illiteracy cIuubo, but thoy knew also that theso men feared personal criticism and campaign antagonism If thoy voted for tho bill as It stood. Tho measure did not pass in Its original form, but perhaps, it will pass at another session, Representative A. P. Gardner of Massachusetts, Massachu-setts, n mombor of tho house committee on immigration, im-migration, and n roprosontatlvo who favored the passage of tho Immigration bill as It stood, mado a speech in favor of tho mensuro, and stated openly on tho floor of tho houso 'that ho had been ncused of bigotry becauso of hla advocacy of tho educational test. Ho defended defend-ed himself bo successfully against had his answer 3SS dent of tho A m o r I c a n Federation of Labor. He also had petitions from 4,000 local labor unions asking thnt tho Illiteracy clause bo kopt In tho Immigration bill. Thousands upon thousands of theso laboring men who urged the passage of the measure as it stood were foreign born. The fathers of thousands upon thousands more of them were foreign born. Tho petitions effectually ef-fectually disposed of tho chargo that the desire to keep out Illiterates was born of nntlvo American bigotry. As for Samuel Gompers, he was born In England, but his letter, which Mr. Gardner read, n letter written writ-ten to Representative James E. Watson, showed conclusively how tho laboring people represented by Mr. Gompers felt upon tho matter of the admission of Illiterates. The letter was as follows: "Tho organized workers of this country feel thnt tho existing Immigration laws, whllo not without tholr value, aro of trifling effect compared with tho needs and tho Just demands of American labor. . . . Tho Nashville convention of tho Amerlcnn Federation of Labor, by a voto of 1,858 to 353, pronounced pro-nounced in favor of an educational test for immigrants. immi-grants. Such a measure would check immigration In a modornto degree, and thoso who would bo kept out by it nre those whose competition In the labor market Is most Injurious to American workers. No other measure which would havo any important impor-tant effect of this kind Is seriously proposed. . . . I earnestly hope that you will be ablo to procure the embodiment of an Illiteracy tost for Immigrants in tho bill which the houso now has under consideration." con-sideration." pol A Now York reprcsentntlvo had his sneer ready when this letter was read In the house. "I would like to ask tho gentleman," ho said, "If Mr. Gompers represents tho Mayflower or thoso who landed nt Jamestown?" The truth of tho matter Is that the insinuation insinua-tion of tho New York man that tho old-timo native American element wns back of the movement to bar out Illiterates was baseless, and tho houso know It.' Curiously enough, perhaps, the strongest opponents of the illiteracy illiter-acy clniiBO In tho whole land were men who traced their descent back through tho centuries centu-ries to those first immigrants who founded tho nation in America. Theso men, whllo holding that it was tho part of wisdom to keep out tho criminals and tho pnupors of Europe, held also that It was un-American to bur a man becauso ho could neither read nor wrlto. Tho bigotry charge was used solely becauso It Is un ugly chnrgo and becauso It hurts. No man, oven though he is as broad as the sea In his views, over cart clear himself of suspicion when tho accusation once is made. It is not hard, therefore, to undorstnnd why tho men who are opposed to tho Immigration bill used tho weapon that they had In hand, It may, however, provo useless to them on an-other an-other occasion, WHERE THE WOMEN DO THE WORK. Americana nre greatly impressed in visiting foreign countries to find out how hard foreign women toll, often shouldering more than their ' Just responsibilities. This Is certainly truo in southern countries, whoro women are sometimes some-times degraded by hard and menial labor. Nowhere No-where is this mora noticeably truo than in Italy, whoro. tho womon do their own worlt, care for the children, and help support the family. In the north wnges are be- ter and taxes aro lower, so tho bwr- LJ dens of women nre not so heavy. B In Venice, Romo and Naples life means hard toll, 11 Tho women nro forced to earn a vH living, and sd they do whatovcr thoy can put their hands on. They clerk IH small shops nnd stand In the squares selling flowers, Jowelry and plaste jH casta, nut competition Is so great and tho wares so cheap that many are forced to cam a living by harder "H methods. Tho narrow streets aro JH thronged with womon . carrying In-fants In-fants on their arms, hawking tholr fruits nnd (lowers. Others trudge .M along carrying heavy sacks nnd great JH loada on their backs. Many walk for ml)es along the country roads selling their garden product nnd tho flceco Just shorn from the sheep. In Rome and Naples more especial- JH ly tho women do most of their work , out of doors. They aro usually seated boforo tholr doorways spinning, card Ing nnd wnshlng the wool. Others ara hard at work mnklng straw bankets jM nnd cording them of rope. Most o 'H tho poorer homes nro without water, 'H and thcBO women aro often compelled J to trudge miles with heavy copper r Jars In which they get their water They cannot wash their clothes at homo, bo thoy are compelled to us n stream or fountain. When work Is scarce thoy rent a stand near ono of the old wnlls and sell llsh, fruit and bankets. A mother often has a baby In her arms and three or four other children playing about her. The long rows of tone1 incuts simply teem with human life. , It la not unusual to find families of ton or moro crowded Into one room. Somo of them nro so crowded, that tho clothes after they nre washed havo to bo hung out of tho windows, nut this poverty nnd strugglo for JH livelihood docs not mnr tho sunny dl jH position of the Neapolitan. Tired look- . ing women arc heard singing populai fH nlrs as they trudge homo from work-When work-When a pretty Italian girl finishes selling her flowers she often etarti out at nightfall carrying a guitar and serenading strangers, who Increase her small living, nut to make ttac jH best of life Is tho motto of tho Ne polltan. Though many of their farms aro well fl cored for, they aro chiefly cultivated by tho women and children. Many tiny tots nre to bo seen digging potatoes and working with tho fruit trees. It Is not unusual to see mothers currying loads of grain -on their heads nnd ln fants In their arms. .H Tho women make nearly all the clothos for tho family. Their fare is limited to bread, macaroni, cheeso and port wlno. There Is such a heavy tax on salt that to theso poor peas-ants peas-ants salt and moat are a luxury rcsorvod far Sundays and' holidays. Tho Germnn peasants aro tho hardest work-Ing work-Ing women In tho world. They toll out in the fields all day long; thoy do not question their strength, but do whatover their husbands com-mand. com-mand. It Is not an unusual sight to see worn-en worn-en thinly clnd, hard nt work In the blinding; 'H rnln. No loss hard is it for them to work all day under the burning sun. In southern Gor-many Gor-many tho women cultivate tho land way up tho mountains, but their hearts know no fear. Though these women work uncomplainingly. they enjoy fow cpmfoits. Their little houses are almost bare of furnishing, and they are compelled to wash their clothes In the stream. Their children are not idle and thoy holp on H the farms before they are half grown. A 1 Gorman of tho middle class takes It for grant-ed grant-ed that his wife does tholr housework, looks after the homo, anu helps him in his shop. In a bakery a German woman, replying to tho queries of an American woman as to the o H work she did, said: "You havo no Idea how glad you ought to bo that you are nn American. woman you havo such good times. Look at me. I do nil my housework, take caro of my threo children, nnd nm scarcely finished with my work whon my husband says: 'Catherlna, come down nnd walUon-tho, c'uatomors.' Soma of theso men think UlmQ.wo are as strong tie . tIj' t .-.jH |