Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 March 1900 — Page 4 Advertisements Column 2 [ADVERTISEMENT]

The exposure of corruption in the offices of DeKalb county and the punishment of guilty officials has resulted in dean officials and honest management. The county is now free from debt, as shown by the last statement of county commissioners, and has a balance of $7,062 in the treasury. —Indidianapolis Press. The experts who have been investigating the county records of Wells county, covering a period of 13 years, nave filed their report which shows the following shortages: Ex-County Clerk J. H. Ormsby $ 33 25 Ex-County Clerk A. Oppenheim.... 186 49 Ex-County Clerk R. F. Cummins... 4.849 53 Ex-County Sheriff G. W. Huffman. 960 40 Ex-County Auditor G. Studabaker.. 318 60 Ex-County Treasurer J. P. Dean... 250 16 Ex-County Treaaurer J. B. Sturgis.. 3,526 75 Ex-County Treasurer Wm. Cover.. 2,483 69 Ex-County Treasurer B. F. Kain... 886 09 Ex-County Recorder John Stine..,. 785 55 The Republicans have discovered that expansion is not quite so nice as they expected N It now seems that Europe is pressing for the open door in the Philippines in return for Mr. Hay’s much lauded achievements in China. But the open door in the Philippines means free trade with the United States via Manila, if the Philippines are held to be part of this country and to be therefore entitled to free trade with it. So the Republicans are in-the quandary of having to deny the Constitution to the Filipinos—if the Supreme Court will let them—or of inaugurating free trade with the world. As the Democrats insisted long ago, expansion and protection are irreconcilable.

Quite a number of our exchanges have been publishing the statement that claims for exemption from taxation under the mortgage exemption law of the last legislature, must be made between the first day of March and the first day of April, while a few —including the Rensselaer Journal and the Official Apologist —say that these claims can ouly be filed during the month of April. The act itself says: Sec. 2. Any person desiring to avail himself. or herself, of the precisions this act shall, between the FIRST DAY MARCH and the FIRST DAY OF MAY of each year, file with the auditor of the county wherein said real estate is situate a sworn statement of the amount of such mortgage Indebtedness existing and unpaid on the first day of March of that year, giving the name and residence of the mortgagee, and shall also give the name and residence of the assignee or bona fide owner or holder of said mortgage, if known, and if not known, said person shall state that fact, and shall also state the record and page where said mortgage is recorded, and a brief description of the real estate upon which such incumbrance exists. If anyone lias other authority than this let them produce it.

We shall not be surprised should many Republicans from now on feel disposed to confess thtft a grave mistake has been made in taking the Philippines. It is probable that there will be a growing demand for a correction of that mistake as speedly as possible, for our own sakes. It will be argued that since the retention of the islands involves us in so many difficulties, moral, constitutional and political, and that as the relinquishment of the islands to their inhabitants would emancipate us from all these difficulties, the strongest self-interest enjoins the latter course. If pride is to be consulted, surely that would be hurt less by making the Fillipinos free than by enslaving the Puerto Ricans. If commercial and military advantage is to be determinative, the advocates of retirement will urge that in return for protection against foreign aggression, such as we gave to Hawaii before annexation, we can have coaling stations, and commercial privileges for the asking from a grateful and friendly people. It will nlso lie contended that if we hold on to the Philippines the time will inevitably come when out of pure weariness of the task of governing 1,200 distant islands, peopled with tribes alien to us in blood, customs and ideals, we shall let them go and give them the privilege of working out their own destiny.—Philadelphi North American.