tion has not yet been held. The electors must meet in their respective States on the 14th of the present month of January. The full list of the 447 gentlemen who were chosen last November as Presidential electors, and whose constitutional function it is to choose the President and VicePresident for the next quadrennial term, will be found printed in another part of this issue of the REVIEW, together with some account of the history and working of the peculiar system under which our Presidents are chosen. We also pre.

sent, in our Record of Current Events," as perfect returns as could be obtained of the vote for Presidential electors of all political parties, as now shown by the official count, and kindly furnished us by the several secretaries of state.

Some Election

Heretofore, we had been unable to

comment upon the votes cast for the Aftermath. candidates of the smaller parties, because of the lack of reliable data. In former elections, there has sometimes been complaint on the part of representatives of minor party organizations that their votes have not been accurately counted and returned. In this last elec. tion there was comparatively little tendency anywhere to support any other than the leading candidates, McKinley and Bryan. The slimness of the Populist column in our table on page 27 is obviously due to the fact that most of the Populists voted for the same set of Bryan electors that the Democrats were supporting. The small Populist vote of most of the States was for the socalled Middle-of-the-Road" electors, whose candidate was Mr. Wharton Barker. Most of those extreme radicals who were unwilling to vote for Bryan preferred to vote either for the Socialist Labor ticket or the Social Democratic ticket,-the candidate of the first of these being Joseph F. Malloney, of Massachusetts, and that of the other being Eugene V. Debs, of Indiana. As our table shows, these two rival Socialist tickets ran almost alike in New York, and together received more than 25,000 votes. Elsewhere, as a rule, the Debs ticket was much stronger than the Malloney ticket. The Union Reform party, whose candidate was Seth H. Ellis, of Ohio, has for its object the advancement of the system known as the initiative and referendum. We do not find that it ran electoral tickets in more than five States. The United Christian party, with Jonah F. R. Leonard, of Iowa, for its candidate, seems to have secured only about 500 votes, these being in the two States of Illinois and Iowa. The strongest of the minor parties is the Prohibitionist, whose candidate was Mr. Woolley. The results would hardly seem to justify the Prohibitionists in working henceforth as a national political party.

It would seem to be wiser for them to confine their political work to the several States, and to cities, towns, and villages. They are not, however, a band of people who are easily discouraged. They can, at least, claim that their vote in 1900 was 73,000 larger than in 1896, the figures standing 205,000, as against 132,000. The total number of votes polled for President was scarcely larger than in 1896, although the growth of population shows that the number of men of voting age had increased by at least a million. In New England, the percentage of abstentions was unusually large. This has been interpreted as evincing dislike of Mr. McKinley's Philippine policy. But, on the other hand, the stay-at-home vote of the South was far greater; and this is interpreted to mean a disapproval of some of the views represented by Mr. Bryan. By the way, Mr. Bryan's friends call attention to the fact that the official count now shows that Mr. Bryan did not, as was at first reported, run behind the State ticket in his own State of Nebraska, but ran ahead of it about 1,000 votes. Mr. McKinley's plurality in that State turns out to have been 7,822. Mr. Bryan announces that he will edit a weekly political paper to be called the Commoner.

The Ship Canal

The Isthmian Canal Commission's reCommission's port confirms the long established Report. American preference for the Nicaragua route. The people of the United States have made it clear that they wish to proceed with the construction of an interoceanic canal by the Nicaragua route that shall be American in every sense of the word. The efforts of the State Department to force upon the country a policy wholly different from that which a whole generation of discussion has made the accepted American plan could not possibly succeed; but it could, of course, avail to thicken the difficulties and to delay the beginning of the actual work. Whoever may have been responsible for requiring our isthmian canal commission to investigate the Panama and all other alternative routes, it is probable that the additional expenditure of money and time has been justified in the results. We have a commission of the highest character and engineering ability, and it has made a preliminary report the conclusions of which it will be fruitless for any one in the United States to question henceforth. This report was transmitted by Mr. McKinley to Congress on December 4. From the purely engineering and financial standpoint, the commission reports that it would cost more to buy out the Panama company and complete the Panama Canal than to build the Nicaragua Canal. But it finds no evidence that the Panama company could

be bought out advantageously. The conclusion of the commission is that the most practical and feasible route for an isthmian canal, to be under the control, management, and ownership of the United States, is that known as the Nicaragua route." The commission includes civil engineers, like Mr. Noble and Professor Haupt, of the greatest eminence. There is to-day no group of men in the world, perhaps, so competent, from every point of view, to construct a great ship canal as these men who have represented our Government in examining the subject in all its bearings. The condition of the public treasury justifies the work, and there is no longer any good reason for its postponement.

Hay-Paunce- On the afternoon of Décember 20, in fote Treaty, secret session, the Senate completed

Amended and

Ratified. its protracted discussion of the HayPauncefote treaty, and, after adopting amendments which completely transformed it, ratified it by a vote of 55 to 18. The late Senator Davis, who was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, had proposed an amendment which secured to the United States the right to take such measures as it might find necessary to secure by its own forces the defense of the interoceanic canal. To this amendment the Senate had already agreed on December 13; and it alone would have completely changed the character of a treaty which in its original form as drawn up by Mr. Hay compelled the United States, in time of war, to give an enemy the unrestricted use of its canal. Two further amendments, which were introduced in Senator Foraker's name, and which were adopted on the 20th, were also of great importance. One of them specifically declares that the Clayton-Bulwer treaty is superseded. The other one strikes out Article III. of the original treaty, which required that it should be brought to the notice of the other powers after England and the United States had adopted it, in order that these other powers should become parties to the agreement.

If the proper representations are made A Satisfactory by our Government, so that the situa Solution. tion may be understood in England,

there can be no reason to doubt the prompt acquiescence of Great Britain in the treaty as amend ed. It leaves the United States at perfect liberty. so far as England is concerned, to build, own, operate, and control the Nicaragua Canal, we on our part agreeing to throw it open on equal terms to the whole world, both in war and in peace, retaining, however, the right to take such measures as we may find necessary in the contingency of an attempt on the part of a naval power to use

the canal in hostility to us.

As it was drawn, the Hay-Pauncefote treaty put the canal under the control of all the great powers, forming a concert for that purpose in which we should have stood in a minority of one. As amended, the treaty leaves us in responsible control of our own enterprise. Mr. Hay had sacrificed the Monroe Doctrine absolutely. The Senate has, by its amendments, endeavored to safeguard our wise and traditional policy, and with tolerable success.

New York

Reform

Under the fostering protection of a Tammany Hall municipal government Movements. and police system, certain forms of vice and disorder would seem during the past year to have become more bold and flaunting, while also more pervasive and harmful to the rising generation than ever before in the history of the metropolis of New York. Religious workers under his jurisdiction in the tenement districts of the East Side had brought this condition of things to the notice of Bishop Potter last summer. Early in the fall he presented the matter at the convention of the Episcopal Diocese, with especial reference to the complicity of the police. Great public indignation was at once aroused, and it became known that Bishop Potter would lead in an effort at thoroughgoing reform. For sufficient reasons, however, it was decided to defer action until after the November elections. On November 15 Bishop Potter laid certain instances before Mayor Van Wyck in a letter of extraordinary power and eloquence. Every wellknown newspaper in the city, regardless of politics, was now supporting the Bishop and attacking the Tammany police. Richard Croker and his associates became thoroughly alarmed and decided to institute a vice crusade on their own account. Mr. Croker was about to depart to his English home for a long sojourn, but just before sailing he secured the appointment of a committee of five prominent members of Tammany Hall to investigate conditions and promote reform. As was to have been expected, there resulted at once a marked improvement in surface conditions, although the Tammany Hall movement was generally regarded as a sham. The Chamber of Commerce held a meeting on the subject on November 27, and a committee of fifteen was appointed to cooperate with all reputable reform movements having kindred objects in view. This committee, which has been organized under the chairmanship of Mr. William H. Baldwin, Jr., president of the Long Island Railroad Company, and is composed of men of the highest standing and efficiency, represents no merely emotional or spasmodic impulse to improve the moral environment in which the masses of plain people

of New York must bring up their children. The determination to have a decent police system, under some headship at once honorable and effective, was never before so strong or so gen eral in New York as at present. This move

MR. W. H. BALDWIN, JR.

ment will come to a focus in the great municipal campaign of the present year 1901 for the election of a mayor and other municipal officials. Meanwhile, the Tenement House Commission, and the Charter Revision Commission, both of which were appointed by Governor Roosevelt last spring, have virtually completed the work assigned to them, and their recommendations, if adopted by the State legislature this winter, will greatly aid in the achievement of better conditions of government in New York City. Among other recommendations, the Charter Commission advises that throughout his four years' term the mayor should have the absolute power of removal and appointment of the heads of departments. It advises the creation of one large and powerful board of aldermen to take the place of the two ineffective chambers that now exist. It abolishes the bipartisan police board of four members, and substitutes one police commissioner, and it treats several other boards in an analogous manner. It enlarges the functions of the subdivisions of New York known as the boroughs, and upon the borough presidents it confers important new powers, making them members also of the board of estimate and apportionment, which practically controls the finances of New York. These recommendations and various others are almost

precisely in the line of the opinions expressed in this REVIEW when commenting in 1897 upon the charter under which the Greater New York was established.

Obituary Notes.

It

The death of the late Cushman K. Davis is a great loss, not merely to the State of Minnesota, but to the people of the United States. He was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate. He was a man of brilliant intellectual qualities, a very eminent lawyer, a student of literature, and a statesman of the class still represented in the Senate by Mr. Hoar, of Massachusetts. was not, however, Mr. Davis' brilliant intellect, his profoundly analytical mind, and his devotion to public work that made him most useful as a public man: it was his high sense of responsibility and his intellectual and moral courage. We publish in this number a sketch of the career of Senator Davis, from the pen of the Rev. Dr. Samuel G. Smith, of St. Paul. In our obituary list will also be found the name of Mr. Charles C. Beaman, a distinguished New York lawyer and public man, for a long time a leading member of the firm of

THE LATE JOHN ADDISON PORTER, OF CONNECTICUT.

THE LATE OSWALD OTTENDORFER, OF NEW YORK.

Evarts, Choate & Beaman. Mr. Oswald Ottendorfer was for many years the editor of the Staats-Zeitung, one of the most important German papers in this country. He belonged to that group of Germans, of which Mr. Schurz is the best known, who were active in the revolutionary movements of 1848 and took refuge in this country. William Wirt Henry was a grandson of Patrick Henry, and a well-known Virginia lawyer, philanthropist, and author. Mr. John Addison Porter, formerly secretary to President McKinley, was long prominent in Connecticut politics and journalism, though still a young man. Sir Arthur Sullivan was the foremost English musical composer of our times.

PROCEEDINGS IN CONGRESS. December 3.-The final session of the Fifty-sixth Congress begins; the President's annual message is read in both branches... Army reorganization and reapportionment bills are introduced in the House.

Copyright, 1900, by E. Chickering, Boston.

MR. GEORGE VON L. MEYER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. (Newly appointed ambassador to Italy.)

December 4.-The ship-subsidy bill is taken up in the Senate; Mr. Dolliver (Rep., Iowa) is sworn in....The House Committee on Military Affairs reports the army reorganization bill.

December 5.-The Senate begins consideration of the Hay-Pauncefote canal treaty in executive session.... Consideration of the army reorganization bill is begun in the House under a rule limiting debate to four hours. December 6.-The House, by a vote of 166 to 133, passes the army reorganization bill, three Democrats voting with the Republicans for the bill and one Republican, Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts, voting with the Democrats against it; the amendment prohibiting the sale of liquor in army posts is adopted by a vote of 159 to 51. December 7.-The House, by a vote of 198 to 92, passes the Grout bill taxing oleomargarine 10 cents a pound when colored to imitate butter or cheese.

December 10.-In the Senate, Charles A. Towne (Sil. Rep., Minn.) is sworn in as successor to the late Senator Davis....The House passes the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation bill ($24,496,408) after less than ten minutes' debate.

December 11.-In the Senate, Mr. Clay (Dem., Ga.) speaks in opposition to the ship-subsidy bill....The House begins debate on the war tax reduction bill.

December 12.-The Senate and House participate in the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the establishment of the seat of government at Washington; no business is transacted.

December 13.-The Senate, in executive session, adopts the Davis amendment to the Hay-Pauncefote canal treaty by a vote of 65 to 17; in open session, Mr. Hanna (Rep., Ohio) speaks in favor of the ship-subsidy bill.... The House continues debate on war-tax reduction.

December 15.-The House passes the war tax reduction bill and the pension appropriation bill ($145,245,300). December 18.-The Senate ratifies treaties extending until March 4, 1901, the time for ratifying the HayPauncefote treaty; extending for one year the time within which the commercial treaty with Argentina may be ratified; and extending for one year the time within which the Jamaican reciprocity treaty with Great Britain may be ratified; and the new extradition treaties with Chile and Bolivia.

December 20.-The Senate, by a vote of 55 to 18, ratifies the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, with amendments striking out Article III. and declaring that this treaty supersedes the Clayton-Bulwer convention.

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT-AMERICAN. November 21.-Secretary Gage announces that treasury refunding operations are to be discontinued after December 31.

November 22.-The Cuban constitutional convention decides to hold public sessions....Governor Thomas, of Colorado, directs proceedings to be taken against the persons engaged in the burning at the stake of Preston Porter, Jr., at Limon, in that State.

November 24.-Señor Mendez Capote is elected president of the Cuban constitutional convention.

November 27.-The Georgia Supreme Court decides that Congress has no power to prescribe rules of evidence for State courts....A meeting of New York citizens orders the appointment of a committee of fifteen on the question of police complicity with vice.

November 29.-Senator Hanna (Rep., Ohio) announces that he will never again be a candidate for a public office. December 1.-The report of the commission to revise the New York City charter is made public.

December 4.-The Isthmian Canal Commission's report favors the Nicaragua route....In the Haverhill, Mass., city election the Republicans defeat the Social Democrats, who have been successful in the two preceding elections.

December 6.-Charles A. Towne, Silver Republican, accepts Governor Lind's appointment to the seat in the United States Senate made vacant by the death of Cushman K. Davis, of Minnesota.

December 7.-President McKinley nominates Col. John F. Weston to be commissary-general of subsistence of the army.