reece is almost
forgotten.

It is said that war will break out in the Balkan provinces in the
spring, a war which will involve both Turkey and Austria.

The Balkan provinces are Servia, Roumania, Bulgaria, and Montenegro. If
you look at your map, you will see that they lie between Hungary and
Turkey.

The Sultan of Turkey is so convinced that such a war cannot be avoided,
that he is doing everything in his power to raise money for it.

He has given orders that the taxes must all be collected by the new
year, instead of May, in which month they are generally paid.

To accomplish this the unfortunate people, particularly the Christian
population, are being very roughly dealt with.

It is stated that the Sultan will not recall his troops from Thessaly
until the war indemnity has been paid, and that Germany is upholding him
in his determination.

* * * * *

The reports of the various officers of our Government have followed the
Message of President McKinley.

Every one is somewhat shocked to find that the tariff bill, which was to
put such a lot of money in our treasury, has fallen far short of the
expected results, and, indeed, has not produced enough revenue to pay
the expenses of the Government.

If the receipts from customs are not larger during the next few months
than they have been during the last, the country will be $65,000,000
behind at the end of the year, and Congress will have to devise some
plan for raising this sum of money.

This means that some new tax will be imposed upon us, for the Government
must have the money it needs, and the people must help to make up what
is lacking.

The friends of the Dingley Bill hope that the custom receipts will
increase, and think that the reason they have been so small is that the
merchants brought so much stuff into the country before the bill went
into effect, that they have not needed to get fresh supplies so far. In
short, they claim the Dingley Bill needs a longer trial.

The enemies of the measure point out that, as a means of providing an
income for the Government, the Dingley Bill has been a failure.

We told you about the discussion as to the exact hour at which the bill
became a law.

The question is not as yet settled.

The importers, if you remember, declared that the bill only became a law
from the exact hour it was signed; the Government insists that it was a
law from early morning of the day on which it was