government of Macedonia was greatly in need of reform, and that officials of some small power, such as Switzerland or Belgium, should be chosen to bring about the needed reformation. Finally, the great powers were induced to join Austria and Russia in their demand for better government for the Christians, in the Sultan's empire. The administration of the affairs of government in Turkey is most wretched. The officials, in the first place, are venal, as they rarely get salaries for services rendered. The besetting sin of the Turk is his great aversion to any sort of physical disturbance. He is an enemy to modern civilization. And the Christian subjects of Turkey, the Rayahs, are not much more progressive than the Turks; perhaps they would be, if an opportunity were given. At present, however, the Bulgarians are the cause of the trouble in Macedonia. They style themselves a committee whose avowed purpose is the liberation of Macedonia from Turkish rule. With them the end justifies the means, and so these Bulgarian brigands are plundering, robbing, stealing, blackmailing, and committing all sorts of depredations in Macedonia, in hopes that a war may be brought on, and Europe be compelled, for the sake of peace, to intervene and give Macedonia over to Bulgaria. It was these same Bulgarians who kidnapped Miss Stone, and compelled the American people to pay a heavy ransom. One cannot resist the wish that the Turks might be given a free hand in punishing these Bulgarian Christians.

Of course, the Sultan promises the reformations which the powers have demanded. All the world is looking on to see whether the reformations will be carried out. And now it really looks as if some of the great powers were blackmailing Turkey, by following up the demand for governmental reform by demands for franchises and concessions, which will result in the enrichment of certain European powers, as well as a hold upon Turkish territory. Germany is anxious to have her railroad completed through Asia Minor, and the valley of the Mesopotamia, to Bagdad; Britain wants certain ports, on the Persian Gulf, that would give her control over southern Arabia; and Russia is pushing her demands for railroad concessions, through Persia and Asiatic Turkey, to the Persian Gulf. It may be that the Sultan in this way can buy off all the great powers, and thus escape what seems to be the

impossible-the betterment of Turkish government. In the end, commercial interests will dominate Turkey, and commercial interests will be the strongest factors in the improvement of conditions in Turkey. The poor Turk himself is as much in need of reformed conditions as the Christians themselves, in that country.

A New Way of Proselyting.

On the east side of New York are found the densely populated centers of Jewish life, called the Ghetto. Recently, Christians have been making every effort to Christianize the Jews; and the Jews, in turn, are now resisting and resenting the efforts. A writer from among the Jews says: "Christian settlement houses, nurseries, clubs, schools, and kindergartens, are attracting our children by the hundreds, aye, thousands, under the cloak of nonsectarianism." "These missionary agencies," he says, "have been unsparing, even to the point of extravagance, in the distribution of toys, dolls, candies, and the like. The little ones come home from the kindergartens singing songs of praise to Jesus." Another writer complains that there are too many Jews who observe Christmas, that the Christmas tree is too much in evidence, and that Santa Claus is too familiar a character among Jewish children.

The Motor-Bicycle.

The great success in the construction and operation of the automobile has led to the application of motor power to the bicycle. The hard work required in running the bicycle has confined its use to the young who are possessed of good muscular powers. The invention, however, of motor apparatus for running the bicycle will make its use very much more general, and increase very materially its speed. In Great Britain, the motor-bicycle is growing very rapidly in use. It is somewhat heavier, however, than the ordinary wheel. As a rule, its weight with all apparatus attached is from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds, though some of sixty-five pound weight have been constructed and are in use. The cost of the new motor machine is from two hundred to three hundred dollars. It is not at all unlikely that its use in this coun

try will become quite general during the coming bicycle season. Inventions are the order of the day.

A Curious Discovery.

The value of blood as a food for cattle and horses has been discovered, and this waste product of the slaughter-houses is now turned to new economic advantage. The slaughter-houses of the world would furnish a fairly good-sized river of blood which has been regarded as a waste product.

In Germany, experiments have been made with a view of determining its use as a food product, and now comes the announcement that a factory has been established for the preparation of what is called in that country "Blut-Kraft Futter" (blood-strength fodder). This fodder consists of a mixture of blood, chaff of grain, the husks of peanuts, and molasses. The blood, of course, is sterilized and steam-dried.

To the milch cow, three pounds a day are fed, and for fattening, seven pounds a head per day. It is said to have excellent effect upon horses, and is cheaper in Germany than the food ordinarily given to cattle and horses. In the feeding of a horse with this mixture, eight cents per day are saved, and ten cents in the feeding of a milch cow. It is believed that the government will make use of the new discovery for their cavalry horses. Science is making wonderful contributions to the economic conditions of life.

EDITOR'S TABLE.

CONGRESS AND THE "MORMONS."

The Fifty-seventh Congress, which has just adjourned, has to its record many substantial achievements for the public good. It provided civil government in the Philippines; a permanent Census Bureau; created a new Department of Commerce and Labor; gave government irrigation to the arid land in the West; and provided for the building of the Isthmian canal; and in its trust program provided for an anti-rebate law, for expediting suits brought under the Sherman anti-trust law, and for the appointment of two Assistant Attorneys-general. A law establishing a national militia was enacted, and a general staff was created for the army; the Spanish war revenue taxes were repealed, a new bankruptcy act was adopted; the gold standard was extended to the Philippines, where, also, a system of currency was provided for, while three millions were given to relieve distress in the islands; the personnel of the navy was increased, and five new battle-ships were provided for; the Alaskan treaty was ratified, and a host of other laws were enacted not forgetting the record-breaking appropriation acts which aggregate over a billion, five hundred million dollars.

Many important measures failed, and the President called an extra session of the Senate to ratify the Panama canal and Cuban reciprocity treaties. The swearing in of new senators at this extra session, among whom was Utah's new senator, Hon. Reed Smoot, as well as the discussion of the omnibus statehood bill, brought prominently before the country the "Mormon" problem, so called.

Notwithstanding the many important measures considered, and the many others that failed of consideration, the senators found time to spend days in discussing the alleged danger there is

to this country in the spread and growth of the Latter-day Saints. Almost every feature of our belief and spiritual and temporal practice was handled for and against. Pages of the Record are full of discussion and long quotations from the revelations and from our history, may be found, including the articles of faith, as well as many stories true and false concerning us. Undoubtedly the underlying motive in much if not all of this talk was political. It was desired that the statehood bill should be killed; and it was evidently considered that no question could so divert the people, and at the same time serve as a splendid time-killer, and excuse for delay, as discussing the "Mormons." One pleasant feature, however, showing that a more favorable view of us is being taken by the intelligent leaders of the nation, was the tendency to view the evil and exaggerated charges of church domination and polygamy with a spirit of mock-earnestness. This was evident even in the language of our most unreasonable opponents. Another point was the favorable words from senators who appeared to be the most earnest in advocacy of the statehood measure, and who transmitted that earnestness to their remarks about the Saints. Senators Stewart of Nevada, Teller of Colorado, Warren and Clark of Wyoming, and Dubois of Idaho, were especially and in all truth, complimentary. A few truths from the first named must suffice here:

Here is the "Mormon" church. Its founders constituted a devoted band. I have been familiar with them for more than fifty years. I have visited repeatedly in their homes. I have traveled through their territory. Whatever may be said of them, they live more closely to their own creed and their own ideas of morality, and maintain them with more rigidity than almost any other people I ever saw. As they understand morality, they have always been moral. They have their own religious sentiments. They have their own creed which they observe and believe in as fervently as do the adherents of any other church. They attend divine services regularly. They have their Sunday Schools. They have their means of disseminating religious information, and they have dropped the one thing that the American people condemned as immoral.

Now, there is another thing about the people of Utah. I do not want to sit down until I have borne my testimony to the great good that they have done to this country. Those people went to Utah on account of their religion. They went to a country where irrigation was not known. The Anglo-Saxon had never prosecuted agriculture by irrigation. It never had been done. We came from a country where we relied only on rainfall. The "Mormons" went to that great desert region and they suffered hardships which can scarcely be described until they worked out the experiment of raising crops by means of irrigation.

I was at an irrigation convention at Salt Lake City some ten or twelve years ago, and President Woodruff and Mr. Cannon stood in the rear of the audience,