Life — November 9, 1899 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

While there is Life there's Hope. VOL. XXXIV, NOVEMBER 9, 1899, 19 West TuiKry-Pinsr St., New York. 95.00 & year in ad~ jantries in the P.stal extra. Single current coptes, ack numbers, after three months from ‘publication, % cents, No contribution will be returned unless accompanied by stamped and addressed envelope. The illustrations in Live are copyrighted, and are not to be reproduced without special arrangement with the publishers, Trompt notification should be sent by sub- scribers of any change of address, HE distribution of the estate of the late Mr. Cornelius Van- derbilt bas drawn so heavily on the time and attention of the general pub- lic that it has been hard to keep fully upwithalltheother goings-on in the world. If the job has been success- fully accom- plished it is a credit to us all, for we have all worked hard over it, and have been free with our conjectures and later with our comments and advice. If we finally succced in getting all the young heirs in possession of their several inheritances as provided by the testator and subsequently modified by the heirs and the lawyers and us, without a quarrel, we shall be very much gratified and nota little proud, Wills are dangerous things, and so many of them are warped in the making and cause unnecessary trouble that it is a wonder we continue to give testators so much latitude in distributing their effects, French law, which it is our pleasure just now to scoff at pretty freely, limits testa- mentary privileges much more straitly than our law, and directs that a certain proportion of every man’s property shall go at his death where, in the opinion of the law, it will do the most good. We may yet learn something from the French if France outlives militarism and we outlive expansion, puey are telling us now that the war in the Transvaal was an irrepressible conflict that had to come, and that it is of no particular conse- quence whose immediate fault it was that the negotiations for a peaceful settlement fell through, A candid British nobleman named Selborne has been saying in the House of Lords that it is simply a conflict of ideals, both honorable, but incompatible, and that two. peoples who ought to be friends are fighting, because neither is satisfied with the other's way of doing things. No doubt that is the gist of it. It should be a warning to us all when we take to the woods and ask only to be let alone, not to camp out over a gold mine. The war in the Transvaal is a man’s war, Wo watch its progress with deep interest. It is hard for an American to take sides very positively, for whatever his head decides, his heart beats double. We are proud of our Dutch as well as of our English in this country, and especial- ly in this State. We sympathize with the Bocrs because they got the country first and are defending their own, We sympathize with the British because we believe they stand for progress and a better government than the Boers have yet provided. The ethics of such fights as this in South Africa and ours in the Philippines are far from simple. What are we to go by? There is the Golden Rule, but the same scripture that pro- claims it tells us that to him who hath shall be given, There is another rule, not golden, nor very highly esteemed of moralists, which, nevertheless, scems not to be losing any of its authority in this world. If our British brethren are confident that Destiny is on their side it is doubtless — because the good old rule Sufficeth them ; the simple plan, ‘That they should take who have the power, And they should keep who can, It is to that that they have appealed in South Africa, and evidently the Boers understand it. British success may be for the interest of civilization. It is certainly for the interest of gold-mining and will make for the enrichment of the already affluent. However we feel about it, we are bound to honor the spirit of stubborn men, who are willing to die for their independence. When the news- papers say the Boers are putting up a great fight we want to read all about it to the last line, and yet we can’t but sigh when we read the lists of British dead, T is a satisfaction to know that the Philippine Commission, of which Admiral Dewey is a member, has been sitting for ten days in Washington. Here’s hoping that it may hatch out something that will do it credit and case our minds. We believe that the Admiral could have handled the Filipinos at the start to our satisfaction and theirs. We still hope for great good from his presence in Washington, though handling the milk while it is still in the jug is a different matter from picking it up when once it has been spilt, EEP an eye on Kentucky. The political campuign there has been the liveliest in the country. The Goebel men mean to steal the State if they can- not win it otherwise, and a great many very good Kentuckians insist that it shall not be stolen, Perhaps the fight will be fought out before election day ; perhaps the hottest part of it will come after. Goebel appears to be absolutely unscrupulous and very bold. He and his gang control the counting of the votes and intend to count according to the necessities of tho case. T football Columbia beats Yale, Cor nell beats Princeton, and Chicago tles Pennsylvania, How are the mighty fallen! The younger universities arc getting firm and fleet upon their pins, and the transplanted Columbia shows the virtue of the new soil. All these important games were played through without slugging or bad temper, or serious disputes, Football ia clean this year, Keep it sol comicbooks.com