826 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Is it not about time to 

 insane? hear from our esoteric 



brother George Francis 

 Train? The world seems dull 

 without some sign of his existence, 

 however paltry. We miss his 

 fervid monologues and fierce 

 denunciations. Since the World's 

 Fair he seems to have lapsed into 

 peaceful oblivion and the rever- 

 beration of his thundertones is 

 all that remains to us to recall his 

 memory. Hush! If one madman 

 can be silent, let well enough 

 alone. Others will afflict us soon 

 enough. "Let us have peace!" 



Yet there is a very touching side 

 to this man's character his love 

 of children. To have seen him 

 seated bare-headed in Madison 

 Square on a midsummer's day sur- 

 rounded by troops of happy little 

 ones, is something to remember. 

 The world's fate trembles in the 

 balance, the universe itself is 

 merging in chaos, and it is his 

 alone to save do not the journals 

 strewn at his feet call upon him to 

 deliver mankind? But to the 

 children peanuts And popcorn are 

 the only vital issues. Earth may 

 be rent asunder; it matters little 

 so that their genial benefactor 

 remain, for they have no home 

 save in his generous heart. The 

 scene forms a curious psycho- 

 logical study perhaps the sweet- 

 est and tenderest feature of 

 Gotham life. 



The Real 

 Uitlander. 



A work recently issued, 

 "The War in South 

 Africa," by J. A. Hob- 

 son, (Macmillan) throws new light 

 upon the remote causes of the con 

 flict. In a word the writer con- 



tends that an anti-Jewish crusade 

 is the fundamental motive of the 

 struggle. The writer asserts that 

 Boer distrust of the " Uitlanders "" 

 lies in the fact that a large number 

 them 15,000 in Johannsburg alone 

 are Jews, chiefly Russians and 

 Germans, who have become natura- 

 lized British subjects by a short 

 residence in England. 



All the great mining, ^financial, 

 liquor and gambling interests are in 

 their hands, and their methods and 

 management have been such as- 

 would inevitably alienate the' 

 sympathies of the sturdy and Puri- 

 tanical founder of the republic. It 

 appears, th eref ore, that the hostility 

 of the Boers is only another mani- 

 festation of the widespread anti- 

 Semitic agitation which for cen- 

 turies has convulsed the Christian; 

 world, and in^recent years has led 

 to drastic measures of deportation 

 in Russia and indirect [ostracism 

 elsewhere, especially in France. 



This state of affairs, this race 

 antagonism, according to the writer 

 largely explains the attitude of 

 Continental nations towards the 

 struggling republics. Among the 

 ruling classesCthere is nothing but 

 sympathy for them; whereas in 

 England, anti-Semitism never hav- 

 ing been pronounced, the short- 

 comings and ulterior designs of 

 the "Uitlanders" are regarded 

 with leniency, not to say with 

 mercenary favor. No one ap- 

 proves of fanaticism; yet there 

 seems to be a chapter in Boer 

 history, now written, which de- 

 mands careful study and should 

 modify our impressions of the 

 difficulties under which these 

 Dutch patriots -have labored. 



