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Show SUPREME NERVE. Some time ago the government of Spain presented pre-sented to the government of Cuba a claim for the payment of the old Spanish debt, a great deal of which was incurred by attempts to hold the people of the1 island republic under subjection to Spanish rule. At first reports the story was considered a canard, but it subsequently proved to be true. It would be nice to have the Spanish debt paid by the Cubans, or by the United States, but it is not likely such a thing will eventuate. It appears that there is no authority in the treaty of Paris, which was the final scene in the Spanish-American war, to warrant any such claim as that now put forward by the Spanish government. govern-ment. Indeed, the American commissioners at the conference which resulted in the signing of the treaty refused from the beginning to accept such responsibility for the debt. Even if called a colonial colo-nial debt, or even if secured by pledge of colonial colo-nial revenues, the Americans held that, having attained at-tained freedom from Spanish rule, the revenues of the island could not be mortgaged for the indebtedness indebted-ness of Spain, the most of which was incurred by the efforts of the Spanish government to maintain control of the island. Whitelaw Reid, now ambassador ambas-sador to England from the United States, who wa3 one of the American peace commissioners that negotiated ne-gotiated the treaty of Paris, points out that the acceptance ac-ceptance of the ' Spanish claim would lead to the most extraordinary results, as under it, any nation would have the means of subduing the most righteous righte-ous revolt and condemn the people of the colonies to perpetual servitude. The claim has been the subject sub-ject of much discussion, but the most righteous summing up of the subject is that characterization ' 0f "supreme nerve" by a hard-hearted American I who doesn't believe in paying something he docsn t J owe. The advocates of an old-fashioned Fourth ar-not ar-not necessarily opposed to an exhibition of ih?lv, by airships. That suggestion that the ultimate consumer i. a myth would be pleasing if it didn't cost so much. J v The house fly is now recognized as such a very J ? bad thin? that an apology is due the small boy used to delight in snapping his life out wXth a n:,-ber n:,-ber band. ' These are the days when the discomforts f camplife appeal with mighty force to the poor m,. tied down in the office. The fact that President Taft bids fair never t become a golf champion is no reason to regret that he has been elected president. A good many people are worrying about who i--to be the next president, notwithstanding the fact that President Taft is only in his first summer. Bald-headed men may wear wigs, but there is long leap between a wig and a rat. A taste for literature can probably be develop?. I by devouring many books. Even the poor fellow who want3 to ask: "Is it warm enough for you" has been squelched by the weather. While you may be inclined to kick at the heat, please to remember that President Taft weighs some 300 pounds, and that it is hotter and the humidity hu-midity is greater in Washington than in the mountain moun-tain country. . J . It is said the sugar trust will go out of the 7 coffee business and the coffee trust will go out of the sugar business, all to the benefit and well-being 4-. of the masters of the trusts. f V 'W-'4 There seems to be a doubt as to whether it is the proper thing to "come in out of the wet," especially es-pecially in some local option states. Some people prefer the "wet" to the "dry." J The proposition to give names to motor cars has been advanced. The Pullman company ought to get out an injunction, for goodness knows the Pullman company has trouble enough in finding names for its cars, if we are to judge by the results. But then it never gets so hot but that the bleachers are a popular place of resort if the home team wins. . m J Booker Washington advises his fellow colored men to "get the dollar." Is this to be construed as a tip to increase the emoluments of the Pullman porter? And the Society for the Prevention of Unnecessary Unnec-essary Noises certainly will have plenty of think about the next few days. |