SKETCHES FROM AMERICA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 86

SKETCHES FROM AMERICA.

By Maorilanda. (For the Witness.)

President Rcofevelt's official ultimaium tljtit under no circumstances will he ba a eiiididate or accept another nomination foi a further Presidential term has cleared the ground considerably, and now friends and toes are coining out into the open with a'acihy. It is believed chat the date of the issuing of the statement w.is determined by the actions of certain political leaders of the South, who ha -re been lounding up those sections of their States that appiove the President's protective policy, in third term j niterests, ■■nt ending, in the end, to swing the organisation to the ■ help of another candidate of their o? ii choosing. Now Thecdoie Roosevelt's rarae 2a n no longer be u^ed as a draw, and the} must work openly. It is felt by the group favouring Taft that though p+ first sight Mr Roosevelt should ha\e delayed such an announcement, in the interests of the Secretory, until hit return ie America, in reality the premature publication has done the cause good, inasmuch as it ss hows the people who feaied that Mr Roosevelt would remain the controller of affairs, should ilr Tait be elected, that every move is to be above t>card. and that Mr Taft will not have secret political Influence exerted in his Ttivour. There is little doubt that Mr Roosevelt really means what his words say, and this is the univeisal feeling. There are, however, vet a few who shake their heads and say : "Xo American citizen ever refusec a Presidential nomination/ and '" Should there be a Republican stampede in the convention he would accept withouu demur." The Democrats are jubilant, or pretend to be so, and are shouting "Bi\an in a w.vlk." New York alone has found time to declare that it simply means the advancement of ~Mr Hughes in the public eye. Of course, for we^ks cr ev3."> months past the question of the hour lias been t.be securing of the convention, and hot ;s; s the competition, for conventions bring in their train an impetus to trade. It means that the hotels in the chosen cicy will be filled tr overflowing, and that many dollars will be spent by the delegates and their wives who come from ata_\ In addition to the commercial side of the pictuie, there is also a political ; lion;e active bidding has been the order of -J-.e day The financial stringency has somewhat checked the stream of usual o&'eiiigs towards the expense list, but Demer came out boldly with a frank offer of 100,000dol, and if doubt had not been cast upon her ability to pay, might easily have secured the coveted honour. As matters now stand, though either Kansas or Denver will secure the Democracy, a Chicago telegram at the eleventh hour converted the Republicans. Already the various States are hastening to secure accommodations fo.* their delegations at the leading hosLelries, and arrangements foi the hire of the biggest hall in the place with seating capacity for 14,000 have been made. Hotel possibilities are one of the gravest problems for the consideration of the great parties. Before I now delegates have been almost compelled to apply for lodgings at the police stations! Such experiences have made them wary, and the political organisations are now required to state the number of room? that can be counted upon. Everything is always crowded in America. At present that famous prison, the Tombs, it- so overfull that the prisoners are obliged to sleep in shifts! '"Conventions"' are a pet fad in America. Every line of business and every petty trade holds peiiodical gatherings, dignified by the title, to wliich men come from all the States in the Union to talk over pi ogress, lay plans for the future, and sec what '" the otlun fellow " is doing. In some instances " conventions " have been held by one colossal firm by calling together the'managers of all their branches as well as the travellers — and some American firms have as man} as 250 of the latte* on the road at one time. This, at a z average expense rate of 25s a day, in addition to salaries, will show what enormous concerns: such companies are. Not long since one of these held its convention. and to il came representatives from far-away countries. Several journeyed from England, one from India, others from China and various different lands. They came for the sole object of attending lectures on business advancement, exchanging ideas, and examining the model equipment of the latest plant. It is not surpiising that American business is continually upon the inciease when such methods are in vogue. Now an amplification of the same project is being formed, and a National Council of Commerce has been called into being. Over 30 business leagues have already been enrolled as members of the new organisation, and the first meeting has been held m the office of the Secretary of Commerce and Labour. The immediate a-ni of the new body is to keep the State depaitment oi C'ommeice and Labour infoimpd of the needs and dcsiies of the business woild as understood by responsible oig.imsations regaiding trade in all it." branches. There are to be two bodies —a National Council and an Achi&ory Oommittoe. The fiiot is to act on the ■■jpoi ; s of the Advisory Boaid. n\luJi in turn is to solicit reports and lnfoumtion from the entne business section of th-° country. Information 'will then be leady for the State department whenever necessary, and the officials will be kept in direct touch with all the industries. Matters have almosL reached a cii^is at Goldfield (Nevada), to which pl.tcs nine companies of infantry, carrying two machine guns, have been ordered in compliance with directions recehed from the War Department. The mine-owners have issued a statement in which 't is said that they are determined to free Goldfield of union domination. The mines aie to Us. opened shortly with non-uiuou la-bour. |

One camp for the Federal soldiers has ' been formed within 500 yards of the chief mill ; another is a. mile and a-half from the mines. It is not known whether they are to patrol the mines when the first attempt, to open them is made. The Western Federation of Miners is furious at the importation of the soldiers, imd Fees in it a desire on the part of the Minc-ownerfe' Association to duplicate the scenes en;.ct2d at Cripple Creek tome year or so ago. An attempt was recently made to wieck with dynamite the electric power line w Inch furnishes light and power to Goldfieid. 'Ihe percussion caps were exploded, but the powder lefused to ignite — it froze owing to the extremely low temperature. j Such an extiaoidinary wave of reform has swept over the country concerning a strictly Sabbatarian Sunday that no good Ameiioan quite knows whether he it, obeying the law or not il he permi+s himself* a little relaxation on ths seventh day. New York is feeling ii;e effects of the j untoward morality mo< keenly, but Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana are also affected. On s recent Sunday in New . York there was no theatre or a dime show to be found with open doors. D-ance halls ( and '" academies " were also s'nit, as were the skating rinks. Even the entertainments given by the Education Alliance to the east-side children were stopped, while j the Y.M.C-A. decided to eliminate its customary Sunday attractions to be sure of keeping within the letter of the law. ' Were not 6000 lynx-eyed policemen strolling about intensely zealous to enfoice the ordinance no one quite understood, j The streets swarmed with people search- ' ing for amusement, and theatrical and concert managers stood on the steps oi their theatres and halls and cursed as the dollars drifted by. In another city an attempt was made to go against the law, . a-jd some h ;lf do<en theatres opened. The six entire companies, from managers to call-boys, were arrested ar.d hustled off to the police station so speedily that the p^.int was still upon theii cheeks, and their costumes v, ere most curious when uhey appeared in court. A curious little fact illustrating the polyglot state of American has been given recently — and likewise a capital advertisement for Esperanto. The entire village of Jascnville (Indiana) is engaged in studying that language, having found intercomsp without such aid absolutely impossible !