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The Quiet Observer ;l THE ESSENCE OF PARTY POLITICS. Ven. OR .<Ocdy, former member of the legislature for X. E. Toronto, has been expatiating <xu the merits of the two party system, and pointing out how much more desirable it is than having a nvuUipllcity of parties, or government by coalitions or combina- tions of parties. There will prob- ably be little disposition to disagree with the venerable gentleman on the abstract question. The two party system, whether it be of th ins and tli outs or of some more particularly designated diversity of opinion Is a fine old British institution, originat- ed when the Barons took one side and King John took the other. The two parties have been modlfteid tn var- ious particulars since the days of King John. There were Yorks and Lancasters at one time and Cavaliers and Roundheads at another, and they were replaced by Whigs and Tories and these by Liberals and Conserva- tives and these again by Radicals and Unionists. These changes are go- ing on all the time and sometimes a partisan observer does not perceive all that is happening. Moreover tie public ha been standing more and more aloof from the parties as > got more influence and' authority. The public, when King John *nd the Barons had their spat did not count. King John thought he was the pub- lic. The Barons thought they were it. . The public had to He low like B'rer Rabbit. After eight hundred years the party consciousness atill tends towards the exclusion of tht public, and still the pnblic stands more or less apart from the parties aail has In some cases and in some measures begun to form a pwty "' its own. This te what Dr. Cody de- plores. Th public should no: fora a party of ta oma * nt s honW J in on " cf the old parties. This would make everytfctag match pleasanter and would cave a great deal of trouble. Bat the difficulty, of course, is that Ue obstinate public has actually gone off and formed two or three new parties tn addition to the two old ones. There te a soldiers' party and a labor party and a farmers' party. nd perhaps other*. They all want something or other that the two old parties are unable or unwilling to give. The public in the Utter caae provides an incentive to partisanship tn the rihaipv of new organizations which promise what is wanted. The public does not wa*it a party whic* says: "Tou must take what we tth-mk you should have." The public wants a party that will give what it desires. And it wants a party that will be clean, honewt, efficient and progressive. The public Li becom- ing o tateiligent that mere preten- sions to virtue are not sufficient. It ta the party that does these thing* x Chat will 'be successful. It matters not whether there be two or a dozen inrtiea the party that works for the public will -win. t WEARING SILK BY MERIT. Whatever may be thought of (he Drury Government It must be ad- mitted that tt to doing things which toave been advocated by both the old- er parties tor years, but whk*> either occasion or courage was wanting to carry out. The new rule as to the appointment ot K. C.'s is a case In point. The appointment of these gentlemen it .Is universally admitted, should not be mad? a matter of party preference. 61r James Whitney rec- ognized this so far as to at-cept the reconrmendafikm-8 made by the op- position, hut tt was not claimed that All appointed really merited the dis- tinction. No general appointments bave been made for a good many years, and th Attorney-General ex- pressed his unwillingness to assunw the responsilblHty of making a list. It few) been decided to leave the recom- neuftwtloRB to the Chief Justice ot Ontario an* ether legal luminaries representing All sides of p-Utlcs. the understanding kelng tli 1 ' distinc- tion win he conferred !< "ierit and Ability alooe. I* is ;cvable that there may tee obje"""i to this plan from thoae who regarU all pro- motions ard distinctions as the prop- er reward for political activity alone irrespective of capacity or talent. Th better feeling of the community will favor the conferring of distinction* (or merit alone. The Ontario bar .already baru a high, reputation, aad the course now adopted is on that will unquestionably enhance this es- timate. EARTHQUAKES IN DIVERS' PLACES. A tremendous eartftquaxe, second only in recent year* .to that which wrecked San Francisco In 1906 at- tracted the attention of the scientific world on December 18. It was thought at firt that a submarine field hid be*u Ui area of the shock somewhere welt of tt> South America coast, but reports came in a few days of the destruction of several towns on the Argentine slopes of the Andes. An Jrish reporter nwst Jiave been on the scene aa his despatch read: "Not a* single house was left standing, and those not destroyed were left in a badly damaged condition. ' At all events the disaster was complete and many were killed. Italy also had a shock with fatal results at the same time. In so far as the outer phe- nomena are concerned much more is known about earthquakes than was formerly the case. The old idea that volcanoes brought about earthquakes has been given up, and indeed re- versed. Volcanoes are usually the result of earthquakes. Chemical de- posits influenced by the presence ot water which gains admission through fissures wrought by earthquake ac- tion lead to volcanic action and ex- plosions. Gases liberated in con- fined spaces and ignited produce tre- mendous explosions. Earthquakes occur as the result of wrigling or wave-motion in the crust of the earth, due sometimes to planetary or solar attraction, and sometimes to the pres- sure of the earth-crust itself. The Andes with the Central American range and the Rocky Mountains ex- tend through the Western Hemis- phere and thence into Asia joining the great rock-ribs of the northern peninsulas and joining the Manchur- Un and Tartar ranges down to the Tibetan and Himalayan heights, all these constituting a kind of spinal system or back-bona of the earth. Through the Afghan and Persian ranges this connects with the Caucas- ian, and BO by the Carpathians with the Alpine system. Spurs and branches off this main mountain sys- tem seem to be most frequently pro- ductive of earthquakes, though like the present shock they are frequent- ly contiguous to it. Certain districts have been found which present evi- dences of a crack or fault or fissure in the earth's .jrust, the two edges of which may slip past each other. This" was the case In the San Francisco earthquake. What Is called Logan'^ line, after the eminent Geologist. Sir William Kdmoiit Ltfgan (1798-1873). is a fault of this nature running south from Ungava and Quebec into New York and Pennsylvania, and he fore- told earthquake shocks in this region. I'aion shocks have been felt, but for- tunately so far none of serious conse- quence. An interesting view held In the Bas: about earthquakes is akin to th> tnditiou of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha and is founded on the principle that all nature, mm included. Is one whole. What af- fects one affects all, and man's in- iquities and perversity, reacting upon nature^ generate condition? wtoicli precipitate earthquake and other ca- tastrophes, bringing thereby upon man his own retribution. If all the evil of the world is to be recompensed in earthquakes we have a desperate fate ahead of us. THE LUXURY TAX AND TAXATION. Hemoval of tiie luxury tax may have quite as unexpected effects as its Imposition. It was intended to check extravagance, but It is doubt- ful whether the purchase of too cheap articles which do not wear as long as one good one at a price less than Is paid for the. two can be re- garded a* enconomy. The general j effect of the luxury tax as appears to | liave been officially omitted .vas to I restrict sales, which had not been ir I t< r;dec' at all. There is no more I tluray problem in government than | taxation. In fact It Is government; and sums up everything in its prin- ciples. A p?ople satisfied with its taxation methods is a well-governed people as a rule, for sooner or later the expenditures will govern the ex- actions and call attention to defects of administration. The luxury tax was not producing revenue as antici- pated and itra obstructing business. Naturally tiie course to pursue was to abandon it. The increase In un- employment has in some measure be*n atflVSCnj ? the tax, purchas- ers holdS* off wlC. e prospeeta of it* removal, and thte 'jausing factor- ies in a number of in !3MW tt close down. The lose of revenue will have to be made up in some way, or eerere retrenchment will l>e neces- sary. The budget is already re- stricted cotnmendably and there are ditTk-ul' problems ahead for those who plan further economy. As a source of revenue the income tax ap- pears to be growing in favor, al- though aot with the tax-payer. The chief objection ie to the unfair man- ner of Its Incidence, fia proportion to his means the man wiVb u.<wll tnecMBi always ha* much more to pay than the man with large income. T!ii levy Ie made on income instead o' on mar- gin of available income, and tills prin- ciple must be recognized tf the in- come -tax is to be popular. Et i* quires a certain minimum asv><ss '-a HOME SWEET HOME bsr Earl Hurst NOW DO TD.L ME' ALL ABOUT VOUQ TBIP ETC-ETC- AND THEN WE STAVED AT MT OOZO INN FOQ JUST one. ww t" BUT THE ALTITUDE WAS SO HIGH WE JUST COULDN'T STAND IT. . I I ,*A~j AWI-UL - .1^.1' IVHI.IM. WE POT UP TOO - BUT Hi* HUSBAND NEVER COMPLAINS ABOUT THE COST OF ANY- THING- HE'S SO NICE THAT WAV. maintain a household and this de- pends on tie number of persons in it, children, and so forth. The man in lodgings has a larger margin or sur- plus than the man who keeps house and raises a family. It is the size of the margin that any man has avail- able that should determine his tax- able income. Essential expenditures should be recognized in calculating this margin, such as insurances up to a reasonable amount, and capital should be treated on a separate basi:? thaji revenue. An effort should be made to encourage honesty, to put a premium on frankness and fair deal- ing, and if it be right for salary lisis to b* turned over to assessors it should be equally right to have divi- dend lists, coupon returns. and bank deposit interest returns turned over to the same authoritiy. The rich man should be too proud to ask favors not extended to the poor man. Considering the international char- acter of capital iuvestment there are many problems in taxation the League of Nations may have to solve. THE MAELSTROM By FRANK FROEST. Late Superintendent of the C riminal Investigation partment of S Gotland Y aid. FALSE PRIDE; FALSE SELF-RESPECT. Learning that there were many thousands of I41e workingmen iu De- troit. Mayor Couiens offered a thous- and John at street cleaning and other municipal labor at what used to be a fat wage. Here is Couzens 1 report: "Of 285 jobs at street cleaning, p.jying $6 per day. aad garbage col- lecting, paying $6.50. which the city offered, only pigiu wi-re accepted. The unemployed apparently don't want jobs; thpy want positions, while the Detroit editors conclude that, after Mif;.i w.iges in automobile factories. Detroit's 73.000 unemployed are "too proud' 1 to do o.-dinary public labor. \VNiereat a KT*it editor, wltto the city slant <m Lhinga wrote: "It Is well for mankind that men, who ft rnn'il a mighty army in a great factory, associating with better fel- lows than ever before, standing high w socially and in their ovm self-re- spect than ever before Jhould rebel in pure pride against rolling a gar- bage can or chasing street refuse In a gutter for Vi a day, or any otier wage." And yet the farmer dot* enetiy those same thing* every day la his barn and his feed lot. and in his fields, j | and he due* them with pride and alf- I respect. Would It be well for man- kind if the farmer refused to clean out the cattle stall every day or twice a day? Would It be well for mankind If the fanner, through pride, refused to trudge in mud and dirt behind the plow and cultivator, following the ex- ample of the city workmen who de- clined ;o work on tfr streets? It would not bi j*z.\ for mankind; . mankind would starve from the face j of the earth. The troubie is Urn there is too j macii faise prid? and too much false self-respect among all the other falsa I things in our cities. Hauling gar- bage to the incinerator and cleaning the streets is a good d^-al more Im- portant work, so far as humuaity Is concerned, than working Is tt auto- mobile factory, and thp men wuo do j those, jobs s:ios_-j b/>i pride in the j knowledge that they ^.^ -.ae-"! disk ing the TMMMK? ^ """ "'Oft* people. BREAKFASTING FOR EFFICIENCY Men and women in bsslneas well that if breakfast is well prepar- ed, well served and eaten under nor- mal conditions, they may rise from j the table knowing they are prepared far whatever the day may bring forth. And they know, equally well, that If breakfast is badly prepared, poorly served and partaken^f un- der unhappy conditions, Uiy go forth to a day of vexation, worry and tip- j moil. In man/ w*>a breakfast is ( the most important nee! c* the d*r It helps as to 1^1 1 f 4AT well, tu gives us .(.ho right start, Jt jNQKpC us to meet with philosophy thingb that would worry us If we did net have the good start. One pound of sugar distilled in the human body produces .42 (nearly half a PJUUO i ot aicouol in the system. CHAPTER I. Out of the Fog. Hallett blundered into aii unlit lamj-pobt, swore with fervor, and stood for a second peering for some identifiable landmark in the black blanket of fog that swathed the street. Where he stood, a slug- gish dense drift had mllected, for following the treacherous habit of London fogs, it lay in patches. About him he could hear ghostly noises of traffic muffled and as from afar, but whether the sounds came from before or behind, from right or left, was more than his bewildered senses could fathom. For the lust ten minutes he had been walking in a spectral city among specters. A by-street had trapped him within his limited area of sight. He '.ifted his hat and rubbed his head perplexedly as he came to the con- clusion that he was lost. (t was an though Lontlu:: had set out to teach the young man from New York u. les- son. Tile fog had .inn beat. "Guess I shall feicii up somewhere, sometime," lie muttered, and strode : on. He hud gone perhaps a dozen yards when trim ahead a quick burst of angry voices broke out. Then there came a running of feet on the sod- den pavement. ILalleti came to a stop, listening. Tim fog seemed to thin a trifle. Out of the thickness the outlines o! :L woman's figure loomed vaguely. Sii was running swiftly and easily lithe grace. As she noted the figure of a man, she swerved tow.ird him, and he caught Uie hurried pant of her breath caused rather, he judged, by amotkm than by exertion. v She halted Impetuously as she came opposite to him and he caught a glimpse of her face the mobile fa-ce of a girl, with parted lips and 'ir- restiug blue eyes. She was hatless, and ttaough iU! ft: could not have described her attire, he got an im- prvj-siou of some soft black stuff, clinging to u ulirn figure. She sur- veyed him in a quick, appraising glance, and before he could speak had thust something Into his baud. "Take it run!" she gasped, and tore forward into the fog. It had all happened in a fraction of time. She had checked, rather than .lulled in her fight. An exclamation uurst from Hallett's lips and he was most startled iuto obedience of the hurried command. Then heavier footsteps thudding near brought him to himself. He moved to interrupt the pursuer. As a man caine Into view, Hallett's hand fell on his shoul- der. "One moment, my friend '' An oath was spat at him as the' man wrenched himself free and was blt>U3d out in gloom. HaJlett shrugged his .houlders pliilosophic.^- ly. and made no attempt at pursuit. 'Alarums and excursion?,' 1 he mur- uutred. ''\Vuuder what i|fs all about? " In nine and twenty years of life. Jimmy Hulleit had acquired some- tiling of a philosophy that made him conU-nt to accept tilings as *.hey ware, save only when they affected his per- sonal weU-being. Then he would eit up and kick with both feet. His lack of curiosity was almost cold-blooded. There was, indeed, a certain inoffen- sive arrogance in his attitude toward ihe ordinary affairs of life. He was the sort of "n. who would not cross the road V t '"I 'ojc-flght. ^ Yet he always had a zest for ex- citement, providing it had novelty. A man who has scrambled for a dozen years In a hotch-potch of vocations retains little enthusiasm for common- places. When Hallett senior had gone out from the combined effects of a Wall Street cyclone and an attack of heaa-t failure, his con and heir had found himself witft a hundred thousand dol- lars less than nothing. Young Hal- lett w<mt to his on'.y surviving rela- tive an elderly uncle with a liver and, with the confidence of youth, re- jected the offer of a cheap stool in that millionaire's office. He believed he could get living as an actor but. a five weeks' tour in a fortieth- rate company which finally stranded in the wllda of Michigan convinced him of the futility of that Idea. Thereafter he drifted over a wide area of the United States. Farm-hand, railway-man, cow-puncher, prospec- tor, and one very vivid voyage as a deckhand on a cattle boat. It was Inevitable, of course, that he should uvuuiuaiiy drill mu mat last retuge of the unskilled inte-llectual classes- journalism. Equally, of course, it was inevitable that fate, which delights to take a hand at unexpected moments, shoulj interfere where he showed signs of making a mark in his profession. His uncle died intestate, and Jimmy leap- ed at a bound to affluence beyond his wildest dreams. He stayed long enough in New York after that to realize how extensive and variegated were the acquaint- ances who had stood by him in ad- versity. They took pains that he should not forget it. And forthwith he had taken counsel of Sleath. the youthful-looking city editor of the Wire, who breathed words of wisdom in his ear. "Go to Europe, Jimmy. Travel and improve your mind. Let the sharks forget you.'' So Jimmy Hallett stcoil tot In a fog, somewhere within hail of Picca- dilly. Circus, with an unopened pack- age in his hand and th memory of a girl's voice in his mind. A less observant man that Ha.lett could not have failed to perceive that the girl was of a class unlikely to be in- volved in any street broil. The man flattered himself that he was not im- pressionable. But he retained an linpressiou of both breeding and looks. He dangled tiie package it was *m:UI and :igiu-on his finger, and moved forward till an electric stan- dard R;ive lrim~ari opportunity of ex- amining it more closely. It was closely .sealed at both ends with red sealing-wax, but tile wrapping itself had apparently been turn from an or- dinary newspaper. He hesitated for a moment and then tore it open. He could scar- cely hive told what he expected to find. Certainly not the thirty or forty checks that lay in his hand. One by one be turned them slowly ove.r as though the inspection would afford -.'in,- indication of why they had been so unexpectedly thrust upon him. A bare possibility that he hud been MI ,>!. an unwitting accomplice in a theft, was dismissed as he no- ticed t-i.i: the checks were dead they all bore the cancelling mark of the bank. Why on earth should the girl have been running away with Uie use>ss checks? And why should she have so impulsively confided them falling into the hands of bur head-long pursuer? Not that Hallett. would have wor- ried overmuch abo-.'t these problems had the central figure been plan or commonplace. She had interested him, and his Interest, once aroused in any person or tiling, was always vivid. Keen-eyed, he scrutinized the checks in an endeavor to decipher the signature. They were aT. open checks made out by the same person, and payable to "self." The name hi> read a-s J. E. Greye-Stratton. '.Vho- ever J. E. Greye-Stralton was. ho had drawn within three months, in sums ranging from fitly pounds to three hundred pounds, an amount totaling Hallett reckoned in United States twins more than fifteen thousand dollars. He stuffed the checks Into his pocket a.s a:i idee, materialized in his mind. An opportune taxi pusJied its nose stealthily through the wall of foe and halted at his hail. "Think you cm fetch a post-office, sonny?" he demanded. "Get you anywhere, sir,' 1 assented the drivor cheerfully. "Ftnd your way by the stars, I sup- pose," commented Halle tr, the tingle of tog still in his eyes. Nevertheless, the driver justified him boast, and his fare way shartly eujcrossed with the letter "G'* in tiie London directory. There was only one entry of the name he sought, and be swiftly transcribed the address to a telegraph-blank. "Greye-Stratton. James Edward, Thirty-four, Linstarje. Terrace Oar- dens, Kensington, W." Shortly the cab was again crawling through the fog, sounding its siren like a liner in mid-channel. All that the passenger could make out was a hazy world, dotted with faint yellow specks, which now and again trans- formed themselves into the lights as they drew near. Later the yellow specks grew less as they swerved off tie main road, and in a little the car hw *o a halt. The tirtrer iadicated the house op- hite which they were standing, with ;"..-k of bis thumb, as H*iitt 4e- It was little that Hallett could M* of the house, sav that it wan a. Mg, old-fashioned building, with heaiy bow windows, and a basement p*- tected by wrought-iron raila. There was no light in any part of the house, not even the ball. Twice the young man wielded tb* big brass knocker, arousing nothing, apparently, but an echo. Aa to raised it a third time Uu door was thrown open with dlscernting sof- denesti, and he was awar of some one standing within the blackness- of the hall. Hallett could distinguish nothing of his features. "I wish to see Mr. Greye-Strattra," said Hallett, and tendered a card. The other made no attempt to taka it. "He won't see you," he declared with harsh abruptness, and onJy a sudden movement of Hallett's tout prevented the door being slammed in< his face. His teeth gritted together, and b ihrust the door back and himself over the sill. He was an easy-tem- pered man. but the deliberate dis- courtesy had roused him to a cold anger. "That will do, my man." h said, clipping off each word sharply. "I want ordinary civility, and I'm going to see that I get it. My name is Hai'jett James Hallett of New York. Now you go and tell your maater that I want to see him about certain property of his that has come into my hands. Quick's the word." There was a pause. When the man In the hall, spoke again his tone had changed. "I beg your pardon, Jtr. Hallett. It is dark I mistook you. for some one elsa. I am sure Afr. Greye-Stratton would have been hap- ply to see you. but unfortunately he i ill. If you wi^j leave whatevar you' have, I will see that it reaches him. Buy the way, I am not a servant; I am a dacto % . Gor is my name." ILaJlett thrust his hand in the- pocket :ii .-. contained the checks. He- huil no intention of handing them over without some information about, the girl in b'.ack. And be fancied he detected a nate of anxiety in the doctor's voice as though, while forced In a way to civility, he was anxious for the visitor to go. "I quite understand. Dr. Core.** he said coldly. "I will ca,U at some other time. I should like to return the property to its owner in person for a special reason. Good night" "Then you will not entrust what- ever you have to me?" "I wuuld rather see Mr. Greye- jtrattou at some future time." H lalf '.urned to go. "One moment/' The doctor IaW a detaining hand upon his sleeve. "I did not v/Lsh to disturb my patient mneces&aiily, but if you insist I wil> arrange you shall see aim. Will you come with me? I am afraid it l rather dark. The Mertrip litht fcas uo wrong f.-ightluiiy awkward. Hallett groped his way after lii' guide, his brain busy. it was queer hat tiie light should have given out- queerer stiU that no apparent -U euipt had betu made at illumination either with oil cr candles. The place was deadly quiet, but hat was only natural with a sick man u tne house. He wondered wjiy some servant had not answered the door. A man of les hiHoTd t^ad would have Iet ntrvoua. The doctor's footsteps falling with lu.sr.y softness on the carpet ill front of him ceased. "Here we are. Mr. Hallett. Keep to your left. This is the room. If you will wait here a second. I will see If 1 can get a light. Where are you? Oive me your hand." Slim, delicate fingers gripped Hal- Jett's baud aa h followed the direc- tion. Hv passed through a doorway and for u moment bis back was turned toward the doctor. He heard something whirl in the air and a blow descended with crushing force- on his right shoulder. He wheeled with a cry. but there was no ques- t.lon uf reaiHtauce. A second blow- fell, this time better directed, and a million .-urs danced before nls eyes. He drupped like a felled ox. (To be continued). POEMS Joseph Bin n- Wihlte was born of. Irish parents iu Spain, July 11, 1776, and died in l^>ndun in May, 1841. 'lie (|uit his father's counting house to become a priest in 1796. Because of p>litica'. disturbance in his native land he \\vr.t to London ivnd devoted himself tu literature. NIGHT. Mysterious Xight. wlien ouv first parent, knew Thee frum report divine, anil heard ty name, Did he not tremble for this Jovely This glorious canopy of light and blue? Yet 'neatii a curtain of translucent hue. Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame, Hesperus with the? host of baven came, And. l<>- creation widened in man's view. Who would have thought such darkness lay concealed Within thy beams, Sun! or who- could find. Whilst flower and leaf and insect stood re-vealed. That to such countless orbs than niiid'st. us blind? Why do we then shnn death with anxious strife If light can thus deceive us. where- fore not life? Joseph Blanco While. A model coffin was the most useful piece of furniture exhibited at a fair <at Shreveport. La. A negro boy of sixteen, who works in a undertaker^ establishment attends a high school were he made a number of model cof- fins in the manual training depart- ment. He exhibited one at the fair and won three dollars for the moelf useful article ot furniture shown. "That's the place sir." are magnttteent. en- t:ir> especially trpert IB