attach a fundamentally different interpretation than myself to the modifications on the acceptance of which I alone consented to remain in office." Lord Curzon thereupon requested Mr. Balfour, as Prime Minister, to place his resignation in King Edward's hands. Mr. Balfour asked Lord Curzon to reconsider, but, in a final despatch, the latter declared: "The main question is not the choice of an individual, but of the principles underlying our administration. I am reluctantly driven to the conclusion that the policy of his Majesty's Government is based on principles that I could not conscientiously carry into execution." These principles have to do with the supremacy of civil government in India. The question is as to whether the Viceroy shall be supreme or the Commander-in-Chief. On the mere technical question of Lord Curzon's efforts to limit the freedom of the British Cabinet in its choice of a Military Member of the Indian Council, the Ministers were, perhaps, obliged to accept the Viceroy's resignation. But that seems no reason why the army should be entirely withdrawn from civil control, no matter how magnificent the military qualities of the present distinguished Commander-in-Chief. that England still thinks military control more important for India than civil government, presumably because of Russia's strategical advantages along the Persian and Afghan borders. Lord Kitchener recently stated that Russia, even while grappling with Japan, was pushing forward her preparations for a contest in which the British Empire in India would have to fight for its existence. Mr. Balfour has now responded to this warning by giving to the Commander-inChief practically a free hand.

Cuban Finances

The event shows

Last week President Palma signed the bill providing for the payment of $28,500,000 to the Cuban soldiers who took part in the war against Spain which resulted, through the interposition of the United States, in Cuban independence. This is only part of the entire amount devoted by Cuba to this purpose, the rest having

already been provided. While it certainly seems a large sum and a heavy debt for a struggling young republic to undertake, it must be remembered that patriotic sentiment in the island made liberal treatment of the old soldiers an absolute political necessity, while the difficulty of deciding justly and accurately as to the merits of individual claims may easily be understood by the citizens of the neighboring republic which is paying so many millions of dollars yearly in pensions to the soldiers of a war ended forty years ago. The Platt Amendment, which forms part of the treaty between Cuba and the United States, provides in effect that Cuba must not contract excessive public debtsuch, that is to say, as cannot be cared for as to interest and reasonable sinkingfund provision out of the ordinary revenues, and after current expenses are paid. It has been urged in this country that the bill just signed by President Palma carries just such an excessive expenditure as was forbidden by the Platt Amendment. The repetition of this charge has brought out a response from the Cuban Minister at Washington, Señor Quesada. The most pleasing and satisfactory part of this statement is that which deals with the growth of Cuban prosperity. Señor Quesada points out that there was a surplus of about twenty-two million dollars in the Cuban treasury just before this law was passed; that commercial and agricultural conditions have improved beyond the hope of the most optimistic; that production and investment are increasing at such a rate that the wealth of the country must be doubled within a few years; and that the notable sanitary revolution in Cuba has had a wonderful effect in attracting, not only pleasure-seekers, but business men and industrial investors. Appropriations for public works and improvements have been made on a large scale, and will not be hindered by the payment to the soldiers. On the other hand, the method now chosen for clearing off the perplexing financial problem of meeting the soldiers' claims will keep those claims from falling into the hands of speculators and usurers. Altogether, to judge from Señor Que

sada's statement, the Cuban Government cannot be accused of reckless financiering, and is not in danger of being unmindful of its national and international obligations.

Panama Plans

While the work of preparation, organization, and sanitation is actively going on at Panama, the question as to how the actual digging of the canal shall be done is not to be forgotten. Everything that is done now and that will be done for a year to come will be of exactly as much use whether the sea-level plan is or is not adopted, and some engineers say that the final decision may properly be left open for a much longer period of time. Meanwhile it will be remembered that when the present Canal Commission was appointed there was appointed also an international body of expert advisers. This body will meet in Washington next week and compare and weigh a vast amount of material already gathered for this purpose. It is reported that the members of the board differ radically in their present beliefs as to the construction of the canal. They will take up the questions involved, not as partisans, but as experts engaged to reach definite conclusions by thorough study and judicial attitude of mind. If necessary, the board will make a visit to the Isthmus of Panama and look into some of the problems on the ground. The question of cost will be carefully scrutinized from data furnished by accountants and financiers. No one can tell what the result of this investigation will be, for the members of the board themselves do not know what it will be and cannot know it until the several propositions have been exhaustively examined and compared. The constitution of this board of advisers is such that practical results seem certain. Its chairman is General Davis, formerly Governor of the Canal Zone, and among the eight American associates are such renowned engineers as Mr. William Barclay Parsons, of New York, Professor William H. Burr, of Columbia University, and General Henry L. Abbott. In addition, the British, German, French, and Dutch

Governments have each designated one distinguished engineer to serve on the board.

Little by little there Senatorial Primaries in Virginia seems to be developing a constitutional change in this country not unlike that which affected the Presidential elections in the early days of the Republic. Virginia has joined that group of States in which, without any alteration of the written Constitution, United States Senators are practically chosen by the people. Last week the very active and at times acrimonious contest between Governor A. J. Montague and Senator Thomas S. Martin for election as the Democratic candidate for United States Senator culminated in the popular primaries. Senator Martin was successful. Strictly, of course, the vote was a recommendation to the Legislature to re-elect Senator Martin. This recommendation the Legislature is at liberty to disregard, just as the Presidential electors are free to disregard the wishes of the party which has chosen them. As a matter of fact, however, not only is the party contest ended, but the State contest is practically over. The Legislature being overwhelmingly Democratic, Senator Martin is virtually elected United States Senator as truly as Mr. Roosevelt was virtually elected President, not in February, but in the preceding November. In this case the machine candidate won. Senator Martin is an organization man. Popular primaries do not cure all political ills, but do put the organization under scrutiny. Senator Martin has been forced to appeal to the people for approval as he never would have done if the choice had been left only to the Legislature. Governor Montague has performed a public service in bringing the issues involved in the Senatorial candidacy before the people. ginia may have decided wrongly, but it has not been forced to submit to the decision of an irresponsible machine. At the same time the Democratic nomination for Governor was made, and resulted in the choice of ex-Congressman Claude A. Swanson. This year the contest for Governor has not been ended by the nomination of the Democratic

Vir

candidate. The United States District Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was recently nominated for the Governorship in convention by the Republicans. Judge Lewis, as he is known from his former position on the State Bench, is a man of high position in the State. He is Republican by tradition, for his fathers were strong Federalists. By his nomination the Republican party of Virginia has moved further than ever before from its Reconstruction connections. It is not unlikely, therefore, that the race question, which for so long has furnished political shibboleths, will be less conspicuous than ever in the campaign this fall. State issues of practical import promise to have more than usual weight, and it is not unlikely that voters in Virginia will feel freer than before to divide according to real party preference. There are thousands of thoughtful Virginians who would welcome such a state of affairs if it should come to pass.

Progress of the Equitable Suit

The Equitable Society has filed its answer to the suit brought against it, as codefendant with the members of its old Board of Directors, by Attorney-General Mayer. The Society, as at present constituted, unexpectedly joins the State in its prayer for relief, admitting many of the allegations brought forward in the complaint. The claim is made, however, that the responsibility for the various transactions rests, not on the entire Board of Directors, but only on certain individual members, especially those who were formerly officers of the Society and who composed the important committees of the Board. The answer is verified by Mr. Paul Morton as President. In a significant final paragraph it recites that, while the Society is imperfectly informed as to many of the matters set forth, it believes that the Society has been materially damaged by the "negligent conduct and improper and unlawful acts" of some of the defendants in the exercise of their official duties. The answer takes exception to the statement in the complaint that the surplus in the treasury of the Society belongs to the policyholders and should be distributed to

them after deducting enough to cover all outstanding risks and other obligations. It is stated that the vexed question of the surplus is being investigated by the proper officials of the Society with the aid of counsel, and is now pending for adjudication in an action before the Supreme Court. The action of the Society in distinctly separating itself from those who formerly controlled it, and asking for relief from the effects of their acts, is a very encouraging sign. As time goes on it becomes increasingly clear that there is a new Equitable, anxious to undo the wrong-doing of the past, and acting on the principle that the money of its policy-holders is a trust to be administered primarily for their benefit.

Arbitration as Viewed by the Lawyer

Last week at Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, the Ameri

can Bar Association held its twentieth annual meeting. The Committee on International Law, of which Everett P. Wheeler, Esq., was chairman, made a report which covered two important subjects-the constitutionality of a general arbitration treaty, and the position of neutrals as affected by the Russo-Japanese war. On the latter subject the report indicates clearly the danger that lies in the policy which France has pursued, and makes clear the advance which the United States has made by its action. It is because of its treatment of arbitration that the report deserves attention beyond the confines of the Bar Association. Although all the members of the Committee did not agree to all the arguments contained in the report, it is significant that the majority of the Committee record their agreement as to the conclusion-namely, that a general arbitration treaty is constitutional. It is pointed out that the Constitution does not explicitly or implicitly limit the nature of treaties which may be made by the President with the consent of the Senate; that a general arbitration treaty, if adopted, would be a part of "the supreme law of the land," and for its enforcement as such the President would be performing an executive function in making special agreements; and that so

far from its being beyond the President's powers to negotiate such agreements in pursuance of a general arbitration treaty, the courts have decided that regulations made by even the President's subordinates, if they are made in pursuance of a general act of Congress, have the force of law. The chief value of this report lies in the conciseness with which it presents lawyers' arguments in support of a general arbitration treaty.

Discussed

Among various bodMunicipal Ownership ies organized in this country to promote civic progress, the League of American Municipalities is distinctive in that it is composed of municipal officers. In its sessions last week at Toledo, Ohio, the subject which overshadowed all others was that of municipal ownership of public utilities. This was due to two causes : first, to the general interest in the subject, which is manifest throughout the country, and naturally found expression in this meeting; secondly, to the fact that one of the speakers was Mayor Dunne, of Chicago, who was elected to his office on the issue of municipal ownership of street railways. Mayor Dunne's address may be divided into two parts. In the first part he considered the general subject of municipal ownership. He called attention to the fact that for the past fifty years it has been applied mainly to water supply, sewage systems, parks, and, in some cases, bathing-houses. More recently, however, it has been applied to such public utilities as lighting plants, telephone systems, and streetcar lines. "Municipal ownership." he clearly showed was no new and untested device, although it has been characterized as such when its application to enterprises in the control of powerful corporations has been proposed. There is nothing horrible in the thought of a city supplying water to its inhabitants; there seems to be something dreadful, however, in the idea that a city should supply its citizens with transportation. It is in the municipal ownership and operation of street railways that Mayor Dunne naturally is chiefly interested. He referred at some length to the

experience of European cities, and found it favorable to municipal ownership. The second part of his speech he devoted to a detailed explanation of the method by which he proposed to hasten municipal ownership of street railways in Chicago. Under the Illinois law enabling cities to own their street-car systems, the process of issuing certificates to pay for car lines, and the process of calling for bids and issuing specifications, both involve delay, especially when invoked by the powerful corporate interests opposed to municipal ownership. To secure to the city, therefore, an option on the lines which would be practically equivalent to ownership, Mayor Dunne proposed a plan of organizing a private company which, by the terms of its charter, would be under the control of the City Council. The dividends on the capital stock, the salaries of the employees, and the expenditures, contracts, and specifications for building entered into by the company would all be subject to determination by the Council, and the methods by which the property could at any time pass into the hands of the city would be explicitly stated in the act of incorporation. A little more than half of the mileage of car tracks in the city is, or in the next two years will be, at the disposal of the city. Mayor Dunne believes that the lines included in this could be made, if operated by the city, immediately remunerative. It has been objected that if the trackage of the city should thus be divided between private companies and the municipality, the citizens of the city would be deprived of transfers which they now have and would be required to pay double fare. This is a practical objection that will carry weight with a great many people. Americans are slow to submit to inconvenience even for a great good. We seem to prefer to pay big taxes indirectly rather than little taxes directly. Nevertheless, the sentiment for the municipal ownership and operation of such public utilities as street railways is undoubtedly growing. The fierce and unreasoning vituperation with which it is frequently opposed is an indication of the extent to which it has already spread.

Strong hopes that the

Situation

the yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans were expressed at the end of last week by Dr. J. H. White, who is in charge of the work of the Marine Hospital Service in the afflicted districts. The figures for the week do not tell the whole story. So far as actual deaths are concerned, there has been, statistically speaking, a slight change apparently for the worse; this, however, was expected, and was really inevitable when one considers the headway previously obtained by the disease. The decrease in new cases at the end of the week is the really significant thing. The total number of cases in New Orleans up to Saturday last was 1,743, and that of the total deaths, 275. Outside of the city the number of cases reported increases, but, except in two or three localities where sanitary conditions are very bad, it is believed that the epidemic can be held in check. In the exceptional cases it will probably continue to be dangerous until frost comes, and the physicians now think that in New Orleans itself it cannot be hoped that yellow fever will be entirely eradicated before that time. Serious charges have been made informally against the city health officer, Dr. Kohnke, for allowing the epidemic to get a positive lodgment without taking measures to stamp it out. Later on an investigation will doubtless be held as to the circumstances attending the early stages of the epidemic; at present the one thing to do is to fight its spread. A correspondent of the New York "Tribune" who has just visited the infected district in New Orleans gives the following description of the conditions against which the authorities and doctors are struggling :

A few blocks below Canal Street brings one into the infected district. As there are no sewers, the sanitation, even of the streets, is miserable. Water lies in the open gutters, and mud oozes from cracks between the wide, stone paving-blocks. Some of the streets are not paved at all, and are as full of chuck holes as a lumbering town in the Puget Sound rain belt. The buildings in the district are old, some of them over one hundred years. The architecture is a curious mixture of Spanish and French, modernized where repairs have been absolutely necessary.

ment-houses of New York's East Side. Most squalor than prevails in the crowded teneof the houses are built about courts, which are paved with flat blocks or cobbles, and reek with accumulated filth, mud, and stag

as

nant water. The courts often serve stables for the horses, as well as playgrounds for scores of children, many of the smaller ones running naked in the very hot weather.

cion that the summer would bring an epidemic, the Women's League of New Orleans started a campaign of education on the subject of mosquitoes-the first work chosen by Mrs. W. H. Behan as chairman of its department of Home and Education. Several of the members resolved to set the example of screening cisterns, and did so this as a preliminary to a movement to secure the completion of the city's water system, and thus abolish for all time the thousands of cisterns which year after year have menaced the town as breeding-places. At a meeting last week the women determined to press the fight for the water system with all the force which the death-rolls of July and August have added to the argument, and in that way to bring a permanent good from this season's travail. But the Women's League is pledged to an even more searching reform. The revelations that people have been forced to accept as to the housing conditions in "Little Palermo" ought to help mightily toward hastening the coming of a better day for all the poorer dwellers of the city. The President of the Women's League is Miss Eleanor McMain, a young Southern woman who, in Kingsley House, on Annunciation Street, is doing for a great river neighborhood what Jane Addams has done for the Halsted Street district of Chicago. This summer the Settlement has been used as a home for the nurses who are fighting the fever. The neighborhood women of its mothers' clubs were among the first to attack cisterns and gutters. The President of the Kingsley House Board is the Rev. Beverly Warner, superintendent at Central