The Evening Star TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29. 1908.

Evening Star, Issue 13145, 29 December 1908, Page 4

The Evening Star TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29. 1908.

I JouuNAUSTS iii the British Dominions j Beyond tiio Seas may i Imperial perhaps bo tempted to S Press exaggerate the signifiConferenc*. canee of the Imperial Press Conference to be held in London next June; but, even after allowing for a natural partiality, it will bo generally admitted that the Conference is likely to be an important feature in the development of Imperial j solidarity. On the first thought a visit paid by about threescore colonial prossI men to the heart of the Empire may I appear a comparatively slight matter—i interesting to the selected representaI tives, but more or less negligible on the part of the communities among whom their daily work is done. And yet a I little further consideration will show j this to be a merely, superficial view. I We have no desire to enlarge upon the I widespread and multiform influence exercised by the Press in these days, or upon the close relationship existing be- ' tween newspaper enterprise and politij cal and social progress. Truth to say, j such appreciations, coming from journalists, are not devoid of a slightly invidious element. Nor are they free J from a taint of commonplace and plati- | tudo. After all, our readers do not j need to be told or reminded that withj out a freo and fearless Press liberty ; and general advancement would soon be things of the past, or that the newsj papers of the Empire have been more ; effectively instrumental even than the j statesmen of the Empire in furthering ) comity, mutual understanding, and ac- ( tivc intercourse between the people of ! the British Isles and the dwellers in the j Oversea Dominions of tho King. Any j agency that helps to extend and strengthen this special influence must be of genuine importance not only to the Empire as a whole but to each local community within its far-flung lines, and wo cannot doubt that tho Imperial , Press Conference of 1909 will be fraught ; with effects of signal usefulness—indirect and impalpable, perhaps, but none the less real—to all the lands from which the representatives gather. An article which appeared in ' The Times' on November 19, and which wo reproduce in another column, shows the light in which the coming event presents itself to the leading newspaper in i the Empire. The visiting journalists, i it will be seen, are to ho the guests of their Home brethren from the hour of their departure to the hour of their ; return. The Imperial Government will ; bo associated in the recognition of tho I Conference, at which discussions will ! take place on special subjects of inter- ! eat and moment, arid (to mention a single point) there is reason to hope that the pressing question of cheaper cable rates will be materially advanced by the deliberations and representations of the assembled pressmen. ' The Times ' pro--1 nouuees the Conference to be "unique " in its conception and varied in its " po3sit»iiities,* f and (emphasising tho

fact that the majority of colonial newspapers nowadays are directed and written by men who have never lived and worked in the Home Country) declares that one of the main objects is to "bridge existing gulfs, to provide a " common meeting-ground, to afford an " opportunity for intimate acquaintance " and the interchange of ideas." Apart from public considerations, it is hardly necessary to say that colonial journalists as a body will sot a high value on the compliment—no shadowy or uncostly one—paid by the brotherhood in the Old Land, and the selected representatives will have the sincere goodwill and hearty congratulations of the fellow-workers they leave behind. "We understand that Dunedin will send two leading journalists to the Conference: so that the interest of the local community in the discussions and the general results will be of a direct and immediate kind.

Mn Claus Srn eckei.B, the millionaire sugar refiner, Flap and Death of property owner, has passed 3lr C. Spreekels. away at the of eighty. He died in that citv and State for which, throughout a long and strenuous career, he had done 60 much. California and San Francisco have for a generation been inseparably associated with tho name of Spreckels. What that great city was to the Pacific Coast and to the Far East was, in a large measure, due to the tirele&s energy, tho boundless resource, the unshaken confidence of Mr Claus Spreckels. Thero are millionaires and million aires. There are those whom President Roosevelt cla.'sc6 as the plutocracy, the men who would convert the United States into a Tyre or Carthage, the exploiters and worse than anarchists, the men who live but to batten on their fellows, to waste their own lives and gains in purposeless material gratifications, and who die unmourned and unloved. Of such, possibly, are many of the men whose names figure frequently in the newspapers, and whoso fortunes have been e;iraed on Wall Street or as the result of a successful "corner." Certainly it is this class of person who represents to the outside world tho typical American millionaire. But the world is only partly right. There is no sin in being the possessor of great wealth, and there is not necessarily any connection between criminals and millionaires. This a bo is piTt of the Roosevelt doctrine, which, after all, is - the doctrine of common sense. The late Mr Claus Spreckels earned hi* millions fairly. They were not the reward of cheating and beggaring his neighbor-. Nor were they represented solely by rolls of scrip and stocks and shares. He used his wealth to create more wealth. I [is tens of thousands were converted into tens of millions, not as the result of some questionable coup on the open market, but from profits made on industrial investments in which scores of hundreds of hands were employed on land and sea, and out of which many modest competencies were acquired by the humblest and most ordinary of workers. After ten years f?p?rit in New York, we think as a laborer and corner grocery ' assistant, Mr Sprocket in 1856 went to San Francisco, and opened a small store. From this lie grow to a maltster and owner of a small brewery—there is y. not improbable story that he and Mrs Spreckels drove a cart and delivered their own beer —thence to a sugar refiner, the inventor of a new process of refining, the owner of sugar plantations in Hawaii, of a beet sugar farm and factories in California, the euccevsful opponent of tho American Sugar Trust who sought to crush him, the founder and director of shipping companies, of banks and commercial houses, and the owner of largo blockfi of buildings. Tho name of Spreckels was one to conjure with. Illiterate, plain spoken, of medium physique, tho young, penniless German worker became by sheer native genius the "Sugar King," and a man whoso word was accepted without demur, and whose name figured in connection with nearly every big industrial enterprise. Nest to Mr Carnegie, Mr J. D. Rockefeller, and Mr Pierpont Morgan, tliero is no name among the list of United States multimillionaires that is better known to New Zealanders-. This, in part, is duo to the ■intimate association of the late Mr Spreckels with the Oceanic Steamship Company and passenger line, which so long conm-cted Hawaii, Australia, and the Dominion with the great Republic. For some years, however, he had taken no part in the active nianu.gem-c.nt o£ tho shipping and. suguT enterprises that Ivo had ltelped to build up. These wero passed on to his sons, who have ably carried on the vast undertakings committed to tlieir care. It is i worthy of parsing noto that it was due to the unstinted expenditure of money and unsL'lfcsh devotion to the public weal on the part of Mr J. D. Spreckels that the liuef-Schmitz regime of " graft" that held San Francisco at its mercy was expend and overthrown The career and record of Mr Claus Sprocket are by no means rare or confined to tho United States. Germany and England atford many almost identical stories of amazing transformation. And in each country it will be found that the 'character that has enabled these men to attain much marvellous rewards is much the same. For it is character that tells. There is no greater fallacy than to class millionaires together in an undistinguished ma.-s and to label them rogues. When Sir Joseph Duveen, who had worked his way from a keeper of a small curiosity shop in Hull to a millionaire dealer in art, died at the early age of sixty-four, the London ' Times' said : His career offers perhaps the most remarkable example of rapid and unchecked succesM that is to he found in tho annals of art dealing. It is an object lesson in modern methods, such us has been possible only since the rise of the mult'-millionaire cJsips, and a further proof, if any were needed, that suceevr*" in a business of this kind is to be won only by a rare combination of courage, foresight, and resource. And what was said of Sir Joseph Duvoen can also be said of the late Mr Claus Spreckels. These men are not aa the public imagination is too apt to paint them. They are a distinct gain to the race, not primarily or chiefly because of the greatness of the prize that was! theirs, but for the'character that was evolved and fashioned to enable them to reach their goal, and for tho object lesions they are privileged to leave, both as warning and encouragement. I

Edward Devine, popularly known as ''Cabbage-tree Ned/' died at Ballarat this month. He had been nn inmate of the Benevolent Asylum there for four years. Devine was well known in OtdgO as one of the best coach drivel's in the; days when Cobb and Co. did practically-, all the passenger traffic to the interior. He used to be on the Dunedin-Palmerston run. An instance of Devine's resource as a driver is related by Lieut.-Colonel Sleep, when "Ned" was in his prime. He invited the colonel to accompany him for a drive on the box scat. As the ponderous vehicle, with its team of . eight horses, was descending a steep and winding' hill near Buninyong the brake sud-' denlyfailed to act. The coach quickly gained speed, and would soon have overrun the horses had not Devine whipped them up and urged them at full pace down the hill, having first taken the precaution to warn passengers inside to "hang on." The descent was safely negotiated, and the horses came to a standstill halfway up the next slope. It was then that the passengers learned the reason for what seemed reckless driving. Tho Dunedin North election petition may come before the Court before the end of the vacation. The number of passengers who travelled by train to the Wingatui races yesterday totalled 1,519. For the two . days the figures show an increase of 452 on the total for the same two days last year. The last English mail JLfings a copy of the London reprint of Mr Alfred Hill's song 'Waiata Poi.' Chappell's firm own the rights of this song for all countries except New Zealand, and it is interesting to observe that the English reprint practically reproduces the Dunedin edition in regard to Mrs M'lndoe's pictorial title page and the general plan of the work. A slightly wounded homing pigeon alighted at Mr R. Harkness's house at Sawyers Bay yesterday evening. The bird had" a metal ring and a rung ring round its leg. The former was inscribed J.A.F.C, 2828. and the latter N727. At the Port Chalmers Court yesterday afternoon before Mr E. G. Allen, J.P., Joseph M'Keon was fined ss, in default twenty-four hours' imprisonment, for creating a breach of the peace in Beach street by fighting with Robert Owen. Owen having only fought in self-defence, the charge against him was dismissed. This forenoon Messrs D. A. De Maus and J. Wauson, J.P.s, granted a prohibition order against a young man on the application of his father. j It is worth while to call on H. Sanders, 121 George street, when you wank reliable furniture.—[Advt.] For watch, clock, and jewellers' repairs A. I J. Shaw, 13 Rattray street, is recommended. ! Absolutely the best in J The Railway Department is issuing excursion tickets for the Tuapeka races, which are being held at Lawrence on January 6 and 7. A. W. Marti*, rupture specialist, can now be consulted at Stokes's Buildings, 91a Princes street, Dunedin. AU sufferers should make full inquiry regarding Br Sherman's method of treatment, which lias cured hundreds in New Zealand. Fourteen days' trial of appliances free. Consultations free. Hours, 10 a.m. to 12, 2 p.m. to 5. Extra hours: Friday evening, 7 to 9; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Send for two booklets.—[Advt.] Wilkinson and Son, chemists, stock Dr Cathcll's remedy for corpulency and obesity. ! In boxes 5s 6d, by post 3s 9d.—[Advt.] ! On New Tear's Day on express train will i leave Dunedin for Oamaru at 7.30 a.m., re- j turning leaving Oamaru at 7 p.m. This train ! is very convenient for those wishing to visit j tho Oamaru Caledonian sports by rail, and is j becoming more popular each year. A glass of Speight's beer at lunch and ' sapper is better than all the tea in China.— [Advt.] The superb productions in art photographs which are attracting such attention to the Acme" Photo Co.'s, George street, are the results of exceeding attention to detail by Mr J. Steadnaan, manager.—[Advt.] The fortnightly meeting of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners will be held in the Trades Hall, Moray place, tomorrow, at 7.30 p.m While it is generally recognised that the portraiture by Morris is about the best in New Zealand, many people have the idea that only the most expensive work is executed. This is a mistake. Mr Morris will give you the best possible photos at one guinea per dozen.—[Advt.] Big prices in photography are gone. I make finest photographs in colony, 12 threequarter figure or full length, with enlargement, for IE-s. inspect work; you will be sat : .s£ed. If inconvenient during day, " Eleetrographs" taken evenings by appointment, Bame prices. Frost, " Electrograph" Studio, 78 George street.—TAdvU