Life — February 2, 1899 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Life there's Hope.” RY 2, 1899. No. S44. est St., New YORs. hed every Thursday, $5.0 a year In ad- Postage to foreign countries in the Postal 1, 8104 a year extra. Sinule current coptes, Hack numbers, after three months from date of publication & cents No contribution will be returned unless accompanied by stamped and addressed envelope. The illustrations in Lire are copyrighted, anil are not to be reproduced without special arrangement with the publishers, Prompt notification should be sent by sub- soribers of any change of adiress. OME inquisitive persons in Phil- adelphia have been overhauling the workshop of the late Mr. Keely, and have discov- ered tubing, wires and other conveniences under the floors and in the walls. By means of these, they think, compressed air or _— electricity might have been used to produce the interesting mechanical ef- fects with which from time to time Mr. Keely edified bis visitors. These discoveries indicate that Mr. Keely was a more practical person than was generally supposed, though it is true that there have long been those who have insisted that he knew perfectly well what he was about. But even if all istrue that is suspected, it is not the first case where a force that was supposed to be ideas turned out to be merely wind. Folks who have believed a little in Keely but have not bet oo their belief are ahead of the game, be- cause faith is a pleasanter condition thin distrust, and to believe, in moderation, in improbable things helps to make life interesting, and is therefore an advan- tage so long as there are no adverse prac- tical results. But. of course, if there is anyone still alive who paid good money for Keely motor stocks, these tales of tubes and wires will cause them chagrin, If one has to part with one’s money, LIFE there is considerable choice of ways, aud philosophy is better able to console us for losses that even a prudent man might bave sustained, than for such as scem reserved for greenborns and geese. o$ SGy $ Go OMETHING seems to be amiss about Samoa, but Mr. Stevenson is dead, and no one else has ever been able to make Samoan politics seem exciting to readers in this country, so the State De- partment will have to worry along with the present difficulty without much pop- ular help. We, the people, have a great deal on our minds nowadays. There is the stock market, which daily demands its share of attention, and the army beef question, and the Philippines question, and the question of ratifying the treaty, and the Nicaraguan Canal matter, and the new army bill, and the cternal Drey- fus case, and a whole lot else. As if all that was not enough, young Mr. William Vanderbilt bas seized upon this time of general preoccupation to get himself en- gaged to be married. It seems a pity, for Mr. -Vanderbilt has by rights two years more to spend in college, and, if be had been content to wait, we might pres- ently have had more time to devote to his matters. It would serve him right if we neglected his affair altogether, but as it is, his engagement is getting the care- fulest attention, His educational inten- tions have been a subject of the most careful inquiry and surmise. His move- ments and hers are closely watched and chronicled; we know what house he has hired and when he is likely to live in it, and many other interesting pieces of in- formation. Of course the public atten- tion cannot be engrossed hy an indefinite number of interests at the same time, and it would be no more than young Mr. Vancerbilt deserved if he were left to conduct his courtship unaided, while the public mind busied itself with public affairs. rs __ — [* spite of General Eagan’s confidence that the embalmed beef was all imaginary, it seems that some embalmed beef was furnished to the army. Major Daly bas made an analysis of refrigerated beef from the transport Panama which establishes that fact. Nosensible person could have supposed that General Miles’s testimony to that effect lacked a basis of truth. The public, however, will be slow to believe that the matter of the embalmed beef was one of vital importance, It does not appear as yet how much of it there was, and the responsibility of ‘the War Department for it is not clearly fixed. That Chicago packers furnished any “embalmed ” beef has not been proven, though there does seem reason to believe that some mighty poor stuff got into cans which were supposed to contain roast beef. The inability of the War Department to handie in a proper manner the beef that it bought seems enough to account for much of the bad meat the army suffered from. It was a very difficult job to supply our army in Cuba with fresh meat, aud, when the late war began, the staff organization of the army was by no means well qualified to do difficult jobs well. Would that there was a better prospect of such a reorgan- ization of the staff as would make it respectably efficient. General Eagan has done something to facilitate it. The coun- try owes him a considerable debt for his opportune disclosure of the temper and personal qualities of at least one official of high rank and responsibility in the War Department. 666 666 S Lire goes to press, it is still an open question whether Senator Quay will serve his next term as Senator or convict, The impression prevails very widely that if the charges on which he bas been indicted are duly pressed and a fair trial is given him he will be locked up. That impression has availed to convince about one-third of the Republican members of the Pennsyl- vania Legislature that they ought not to vote for him as Senator, and without their votes his return to the Senate is impossible unless the Democrats help him out. It is a great fight, which all the country watches with lively interest. Bad men have been sent to the Senate before now, but a bad man who has been ¢o far found out us to have a band- ful of indictments hanging over him is unusual Senatorial material.