The Daily News TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 1905. NOTE AND COMMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7756, 7 March 1905, Page 2

The Daily News TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 1905. NOTE AND COMMENT.

One of the most remarkable papers that have appeared of LAWLESS late in 'the American AMERICA, periodicals is that from the pen of Mr S. S. McCluro in the Christmas number of McClure's Magazine. Mr McClurc opens with five pages of quotations from American journals lamenting the rapid increase of criminality and anarchy which is everywhere observed. He then proceeds to examine statistics. In 1881, with a population of 51 millions, there were 1266 murders and homicides in the : I'njtud States. In 1902, with 79 millioris population, there were no less than 8834. The normal number, allowing for increase of population, would havo been 1952. In 1881 there was one murder per 40,53-1 inhabitants ; in 1902 one per 8955. How lightly murder is regarded is shown by another column. In 1881, with 1206 murders, there were 90 executions ; in 1903, with 8976, there were 124 executions. About half the murder* result from quarrels and brawls. The increase in self-murder is even more astonishing. In 1881 there were only 605 suicides in the country ; in 1903 suicides had risen to the astonishing number of 8597. It is worth while quoting some recent American news-* paper comments : There is something very like civil, or, worse yet, social, war in Chicago. Men have been brutally beaten the police have been quarrelled with fpr trying to maintain order, and on Saturday a man was killed. Last week there wns> a shameful negro burning in Georgia. There have recently been labour riots in New York' City. We all know of war on law and order in Colorado. . . . And

we have just had a touch of anarch. 1 * in the army." "The fact that 222 homicides were committed in South Carolina during the year 1903 has been published. Captain Charles Petty," 5.0., was asked the other day what in his opinion were the causes leading to such a record. He replied : 'Our own citizens were less shocked by the bloody record than those of other States, for we have by degrees got accustomed to homicide.' " "For a fortnight there has been one robbery in San Francisco for every day. Since Oct. 1-1, 1898, 114 murders, exclusive of Chinese killings, have been committed in this city, but at this writing no one has been sent to the gallows. There have been 47 murdens for which no one was arrested. lt» twenty-eight instances the accused havo boon acquitted. Four are awaiting sentence of death, fifteen have been sentenced to life imprisonment, and six for terms less than life, ten committed suicide, and four cases are pending." "Lawlessness pervades the land, unrest and discontent breed over-appar-ent prosperity. We have become the money centre of the world, but it has bred a feverish appetite for gold with all its vulgar accompaniments." ■Wha't is the cause of this unnatural state of things ? Mr McClure puts it down to the wholesale degradation of American life. The country, he says, is governed by on oligarchy consisting (1) of saloon keepers and gamblers; (2) of contractors and capitalists who flourish by bribery ; (3) of politicians who seek and accept office on the terms of the two aforesaid classes—"These men—bribers of voters, voters who are bribed, bribers of aldermen and legislators, and aldermen and legislators who are bribed, men who secure control of law-making bodies and have lawspassed which enable them to steal' from their neighbours, men who have laws non-enforced and break laws regulating saloons, gambling houses, and, in short, all men who pervert and befoul the sources - of law—these men «e have called Enemies of the Republic. They arc worse—they are enemies of the huuiuo race. They are destroyers of a people. They aicl murderert of a civilisation." Jinnijgration from Europe is in no way responsible for American criminality. In every country but one which sends its emigrants to America murder is much less coimnon than in the I'nited States. "Foreigners," ,says Mr McClure, "acquire most of tliwlr disrespect of the' : : law after they odium among us,"

Mr Carl A. Anderson, thp head expert on the stall of

JIAIUY the "Crown" Crcani I'KOSI'EUTS. Separator Company of Stockholm, Sweden, is at present in Christchurch. This is not 1 his first' visit to New Zealand. He left here about a year agp, after having spent some eighteen month.!! in the colony. On his ret 'i to Sweden, he visited the Argi'Hiu.r and Brazil. The only thing required in the Argentine, he told an interviewer, to makef dairying a great success is population. The fiovernment is fully aware of this, and is doing nil it can to induce immigration. Land Js so plentiful that free grants of extremely tortile land aro quite easy to obtain. 3Hr Jteynolds, formerly of Auckland, is coiir ducting a large factory, and is doing well. "Since ray last visit to NewZealand," said Mr Anderson,/ "dairying has gone ahead a great deal in some places, especially in the North Island, f notice that farmers are going in for milking sheds. The butter produced here appears to me to, he equal in 'quality to any ScniuiJiuuvian butter, thanks to the wjsc acr tion of the Government in adopting the grading system, and to the large start of experts employed," "If New Zealand butter is as good as Scandinavian," remarked the inter-1 viewer, "how do you account for the higher price fetched by the'latter ?" "Well, you must not forget," replied M> Anderson, "that Scandinavian butter has U,n?n on the English market for 20 o? 33 y<«ir.fi, and that it is, therefore, much fodjtef known, and consequently in greater demand. There is always a, prejudice against something- new and unlr)ed, <lnil when New Zealand butter becomes bi<Ui>r known it will fetch quite as good a price as Scandinavian butter does. As a dairying country I don't think New Zealand can be beaten. Every futility' an regards climate, feed, water, legislation is to be found here 4n favour pi dalry/risr, and under the utile direction of Mr Kinsella the dairying industry sltoujd go abend."