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Boers are apparently scattering, and the London War Office seems to think it probable that President Kruger and President Steyn may take refuge in Portuguese territory and give up further hostilities. Reports of this kind have been so common for the past three months that the present one must be received with some reserve, particularly as General De Wet's activity in the Orange River Colony seems increasing rather than diminishing. If Lord Roberts shall soon capture the Delagoa Bay Railroad line, it is hard to see what other course than surrender will be left to the Boers. Seventeen hundred British prisoners were released by the Boers before their retreat began. They came from Nooitgedacht, which is now threatened by General Buller. From Rhodesia great dissatisfaction is reported with Mr. Rhodes's new labor policy, which includes the bringing in of Chinamen under contract to take the place of the costly white and unwilling black labor.

The Election in Cuba

In

As the day of election of delegates to the Constitutional Convention (September 15) approaches, considerable political activity is being shown in Cuba. The parties are the same as those which presented candidates in the municipal election, and the several parties vary in political preponderance in different parts of the island. Havana, for instance, the National party appears to be in superior strength, and has named eight candidates for delegates to the Constitutional Convention. In Santa Clara Province, on the other hand, the Republicans are believed to be in great strength, and their candidates are almost all active revolutionists. A good effect has been produced by the speeches made lately at several large towns in Cuba by Governor-General Wood. These speeches have greatly increased the confidence of the people of Cuba in the sincerity of the assurances of the United States Government that independence should be established. Thus, at Santiago, General Wood said: "Whatever the ultimate destiny of Cuba may be, its immediate future is independence. This is no political move on the part of the United States, but a necessary desire to do what is right." Furthermore, General

Wood constantly pointed out that the delegates must be men capable of drafting a constitution and of providing a sound form of government without party prejudices. As he put it, "I wish to avoid making Cuba into a second Hayti, although I do not think that possible. We want liberty for all, and for no particular party." General Wood told the Cubans everywhere that President McKinley and the people in the United States were surprised and pleased at the satisfactory way in which the municipal elections passed off; and that the calmness and peace with which those elections were conducted had assured the United States that Cuba was ready for the next step. Less assuring have been the utterances of General Maximo Gomez, whom most Cubans consider the inevitable choice as the first President of Cuba. General Gomez has been urging that all delegates elected should be, not only Cubans in favor of independence, but Cubans who actually took part in the revolution. At a distance, nothing appears more certain than the undesirability of electing a Constitutional Convention composed entirely of insurrectionary military officers; and we believe that Cuba will follow General Wood's advice rather than that of General Gomez. A number of Cubans, many of them men of influence and wealth, have been urging the Washington Government to give assurances that the Constitution drafted by the Convention should not settle the relations of Cuba to the United States (as is laid down in the decree calling for the Convention), but that those relations should be established by treaty and agreement between the new Cuba, when once established, and the United States. Mr. Cisneros has presented a

memorial to the President which he asserts represents the feelings and opinions of all Cubans; it urges immediate, absolute, and unconditional independence with freedom in the scope of the questions to be considered by the Constitutional Convention.

The important political news last week was all connected in some way with the issue of direct primaries. The most important event was the holding of the indirect primaries throughout New

Primaries, Direct and Indirect

York State to determine who should be the Democratic candidate for Governor. These primaries, under the new law, were, with few exceptions, fairly conducted, but the fact that the voters could not directly express their choice for Governor, and could only select delegates to a State Convention, kept four-fifths of them at home. As a rule, in this city, only the regular workers and their immediate friends came to the primaries, and as a result the regular machine, whose nominees were not pledged to any particular candidate, had little difficulty in carrying all the wards. In a few, however, opposition candidates, directly pledged to support Mr. Coler, obtained nearly half the votes. Outside of this city delegates who support Mr. Hill in his indorsement of Mr. Coler were nearly everywhere elected, and it is still possible that the Brooklyn machine will join forces with the "up-the-State" delegates and put in nomination the man who would bring to the party incomparably the largest independent vote. Nevertheless, the probabilities are that the machines will sacrifice not only the public interests, but the party's interests, in order to subserve the private interests of their own leaders. With direct primaries the vote would unquestionably have given Comptroller Coler an overwhelming majority over all other competitors. No one can question this who believes that direct primaries would bring out a general vote; and no one can question that they would bring out a general vote who noticed the result of the direct primaries held last week by the white voters of South Carolina. There are only a hundred and twenty thousand such voters in South Carolina, and at the last regular election less than thirty thousand of them went to the polls. At the primaries last week, however, the total vote exceeded ninety thousand. In other words, the vote at the direct primaries was as general as was the vote in Massachusetts, for example, at the last State election. The principal issue in South Carolina was the dispensary--Governor McSweeny and two other candidates championing the continuance of that institution, and Colonel Hoyt advocating the substitution of complete prohibition. At the direct primaries Colonel Hoyt polled approximately 34,000 votes, Governor McSweeny 38,000, and the two remaining dispensary candidates

about nineteen thousand votes together. As no candidate received a majority of the total vote, there must be a second election, at which every one must vote for either Governor McSweeny or Colonel Hoyt; but the emphatic majority given. to the dispensary candidates almost insures Governor McSweeny's renomination. Whatever the outcome of the second election, however, no one can question that direct primaries do bring the voters to the polls.

What Mr. Bryan Could Do

In a recent interview, in answer to the question as to what Mr. Bryan could do, if he were elected President, to break down the gold standard, Mr. Gage, the Secretary of the Treasury, replied:

There is no doubt Mr. Bryan could order his Secretary of the Treasury to make payment in silver of all of the public debt payable in coin, and for all current disbursements of the Government as well, which amount to $1,500,000 to $1,750,000 per day. That he would give such an order, too, is very certain, if he is in the same mind that he was when in 1896, for he was then quoted as saying: "If there is any one who believes that the gold standard is a good thing, or that it must be maintained, I want him not to cast his vote for me, because I promise him it will not be maintained in the country longer than I am able to get rid of it." In answer to the question whether it would be possible to control a sufficient volume of silver to make such payments, the Secretary declared that there would be great difficulty in doing so at once, the Treasury being now firmly established on a gold basis; but he said that the announcement by the Treasury of its purpose to pay silver in settlement of all interest on the public debts not specially payable in gold, and to make its daily disbursements in silver, would stop the inflow of gold and increase payments into the Treasury of silver and silver certificates, with the result that within a short time all the revenues of the Government would be paid to it in silver dollars or silver certificates, and all its disbursements made in similar coin or currency. In this way a circuit of silver out of the Treasury into the hands of the people, and from the people to the banks, and back again through the Custom-House and the collectors of revenues, would be established, and the Government would be practically

on a silver basis. In Mr. Gage's opinion the result would be a run upon the Treasury in the form of presentation of greenbacks which are redeemable in gold, and of which there are $430,000,000 outstanding, against which the Government holds $150,000,000 in gold; and this fund would soon be reduced below the minimum of $100,000,000. When these statements were brought to the attention of Mr. Bryan by a reporter at Lincoln last week, he refused to submit to an interview or to answer any questions. He can hardly afford to leave his purpose in doubt, and the country will await with a good deal of interest his declaration of policy on this subject. He has definitely declared what he would do if he were elected President in regard to the attitude of the United States toward the Philippines; it is much to be hoped that he will be equally frank as to his attitude toward the currency question.

in Delaware

Mr. J. Edward AdPolitical Complications dicks, the perpetual candidate for Senator from Delaware, is making his usual aggressive campaign this year, and three Republican State Conventions, for and against him, have been held lately. It was in 1888 that Mr. Addicks-a millionaire gas speculator, and a newcomer in the State-first made his appearance in Delaware politics by contributing largely to the campaign fund. In 1894, when a Republican Legislature tried to elect a successor to Mr. Higgins, Mr. Addicks, by controlling four representatives, held the balance of power between the Democrats and the regular Republicans, and, by his insistence upon "Addicks or nobody," prevented an election and left the coveted seat vacant. In 1896 he and his followers held a State Convention and sent "Union Republican" delegates to the St. Louis Convention, but were not recognized. In 1898, by another contest in the Legislature, he again prevented an election for Senator, adding this time three Democratic legislators to his list of supporters. Delaware had for some time had a bad reputation as to bribery in elections, and Mr. Addicks gained wide and unenviable notoriety by enlarging and perfecting the practice, so that the better

element of both parties felt it necessary, in framing the new Constitution of the State later in 1898, to enact stringent rules and penalties against bribery in future. They appear to have had little effect, however, and both parties fear the inroads of Mr. Addicks upon the venal vote. He has succeeded, this summer, in marshaling so large a delegation to the Republican National Convention that his delegates were recognized, and the Regulars, refusing to compromise, were turned down by the committee. Mr. Addicks pledged himself, if recognized in the Convention, to carry Delaware for the Republicans on both State and National tickets, but it remains to be seen whether he can perform his promise, since " Anybody but Addicks" has come to be the logical answering war-cry to "Addicks or nobody." The situation at present is that the Regulars, led by Mr. Higgins, having held their State Convention on August 21, refuse to unite with Mr. Addicks upon a State ticket, though they have nominated the same National electors and accepted four of his nominations made at the "snap" Union Republican Convention the week before. The official Addicks State Convention, held on August 23, has placed in the field a ticket made up largely of the directors of Mr. Addicks's well-known "Bay State Gas Company," the nominees for Governor and Attorney-General being closely connected with that corporation. The Regular ticket is of much better type, and the Democrats, at their State Convention in September, hope to take advantage of the situation and make their State ticket of as high a caliber as possible. If this is done, the probabilities are that many Regulars, to make assurance doubly sure, will vote the Democratic State ticket rather than their own. As there are two Senatorial seats for the next Legislature to fill, it is counted among the possibilities that Mr. Addicks may be able to combine with the venal elements of both parties and make a deal which will secure him the seat he has coveted so long. To prevent this the Democrats have made a standing offer of $5,000 for the detection of any case of bribery either at the polls or in the Legislature. An independent observer writes us that the Republicans, being united on the National electors, may carry Dela

ware by a small margin for McKinley, but that the Democrats will win on the State ticket; that the coming Legislature will be divided into the usual three groups-Democrats, Regulars, and Addicks men-with the Democrats so much in the majority that, unless Mr. Addicks is able to make some unlooked-for combination, he will be left out in the cold next January.

Bresci's Sentence

The assassin of King Humbert was convicted at Milan last week with hardly any opposition or defense, and, as capital punishment does not now exist in Italy, was sentenced to imprisonment at hard labor for life. The expectation of some persons that sensational scenes would be enacted during the trial was disappointed; the accused, Bresci, acknowledged the deed, but denied that the crime was plotted either in Europe or America, or that he had any accomplices. It is stated that Bresci displayed callous cynicism on the stand. The defense was limited to evidence going to show that Bresci had borne a fair character before the deed, although the attorney for the defense, who is said to be a theoretical rather than a destructive Anarchist, made some slight attempt to defend the theories of Anarchism, but was compelled to desist by the court. Bresci's final utterance was a declaration that Italy would soon see a revolution. This, of course, is quite possible, as revolution may occur in any country, and the condition of the lower classes of people, and particularly of the agricultural people, in Italy is shocking and depressing in the extreme, and appears to be growing worse rather than better; but, whatever may be the possibilities of revolution, certainly nothing will be accomplished for the people by aimless and senseless assassination, such as that of King Humbert.

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of a pessimist. A man of brilliant abili ties and of abnormal mental activity, Nietzsche was practically insane for many years before his death, and had been entirely insane since 1889. During his student life at Bonn and Leipzig his unusual ability attracted attention. He planned at one time to enter the ministry, but renounced it, made a specialty of Oriental languages, and secured the appointment of Professor of Philology at Basle. About this time he fell under the influence of Wagner, and became a passionate partisan of the great composer. In 1876, while listening to the performance of Wagner's operas at Bayreuth, he suddenly changed his attitude and became as bitterly opposed as he had previously been enthusiastically devoted. At the time this change was considered inexplicable, but it was later explained by his mental disease. He published a book in which he denounced almost without measure Wagner's theory of life and his principles of musical composition. His later books pressed the doctrine of pessimism to its furthest limits. He proposed not only to abolish hospitals and philanthropic associations of all kinds which looked to the relief of the weak, but to restrain physicians and surgeons from interfering with what he regarded as the natural processes of nature, the end of which was to destroy by pitiless evolution all save the strongest. Life was to him simply a struggle for existence. He regarded religion as superstition, moral ideas as faint shadows of religious conceptions, and society as largely an interference with the operation of natural laws.

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age of twenty-two he was imprisoned for the part he had taken in the democratic revolution of 1848-to the failure of which America owes the intellectually finest part of her German-born citizenship. While an exile in England, after his imprisonment, he embraced the social philosophy of Marx, and on his return to Germany in 1862 he at once became an influential writer for advanced democracy-industrial as well as political in the columns of the North German Gazette." When this paper became a Bismarckian organ, he established another; and when this had been suppressed and another imprisonment endured, he again re-entered the lists. Soon thereafter he was elected to the Prussian legislature, and his legislative and parliamentary career has since been interrupted only by his imprisonments. Without pre-eminent intellectual ability, his overmastering faith in Socialism as the cause of humanity made him a power throughout the German Empire. Even beyond the national boundaries his influence was felt, and his funeral was attended by representatives of the Socialists of all the countries of western Europe. "The funeral," says the Berlin "National Zeitung," "was a great popular demonstration." Six thousand men from Liebknecht's election district led the procession, and over twentyfive thousand more from other districts followed, while the streets all along the nine miles over which the procession passed were lined with sympathizers. The poor of the whole city seemed to join in the mourning over the dead politician.

Adolph Harnack

The election of Dr. Adolph Harnack as Rector of the University of Berlin, at the age of forty-nine, and in the face of the strong opposition of the orthodox party, is a just recognition of his eminent services to Christian scholarship, the influence which he exerts among scholars in all parts of the world, and the affection in which he is held by his old pupils. It has been said of him that, more than any other living man, he has made Church history popular. This is due to the fact that, being charged with vitality, he vitalizes every subject he touches. Church history

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is not to him a record of ecclesiastical happenings; he penetrates the fact to the vital force or the spiritual quality behind it. Moreover, he has kept his scholarship fresh by continual contact with the original sources of knowledge in the departments of church history and of dogma, to which he has devoted his life. His range of information in these spheres is co-extensive with their boundaries; and whatever he knows he possesses. Students in his lecture-room are drawn from all departments of the University; they are not only students of theology, but also of law, medicine, the fine arts, and the sciences. His vitality, originality, and religious spirit stamp him as one of the creative men in German scholarship today; and his election as rector places at the head of one of the greatest universities in the world a scholar who represents the best in German intellectual life.

The House of Savoy stands Pope and King for two great traditions in Italy: constitutional government and “a free Church in a free State." These traditions were faithfully preserved by Victor Emmanuel and by King Humbert, and there is good reason to believe that Victor Emmanuel III. will consistently maintain them. His earliest utterances show that he has them clearly in mind, and that, in spite of the report that he has been under clerical infiuence, he intends to remain loyal to them, in accordance with the tradition and with the policy which the Papacy has maintained ever since Italy became united and Rome its capital. The Pope has addressed a letter to the Catholic Governments of Europe, declaring that he does not recognize Victor Emmanuel as King of Italy, but as King of Sardinia, reaffirming the Papal claim to sovereignty over the States formerly held by the Church, and appealing to the Catholic Powers for relief from the position in which the Papacy has been placed for three decades. The new King will maintain the traditions of his family, and Leo XIII. the traditions of the Papacy; accordingly, the breach between the Vatican and the Quirinal will not be healed. The Roman Catholic Church has almost unlimited ability to wait, and it has seen many things come to pass which would

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