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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 1895)
! - THE 3IOB2sTEN"G- OREGOmAJZ, TUESDAY, JjLKTTABY 3. 1895 Catered at the PeetoElce at Portland. Oregon. is second-class matter. REVISED SUBSCRIPTION BATES. By Mall (postage prepaid) In Advance. Dally, -with Eendar. per raeath.. ...$ 1 00 Xai!r, Sunday excepted, per year..... 10 00 UaJIn xeith Ptmrta-r nw -vpor .. 12 00 Sunday, per year... ...... .. ........ W The "Weekly, per year. ZTbe Weekly, three meattus 150 60 TO CITV SUBSCRIBERS. 05aJly. per week, dullrered. Sonday cxceptcd-.2oc Daily, per week, delivered. Sunday lnduded..39c News or discussion intended for publication in The Oregonian sfeould le addressed invariably "Editor The Oresootan," not to the nane of any Individual. letters relating to advertising lubscrtfrtJon or to any business matter should be addressed simply "The Oregonian." The Oregoalan does not bey poems or stories from individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn aay manuscript sent to it without solici tation. No uampa should be inclosed tor this jmrpoee. DAILY METEOROLOGICAL REPORT PORTLAND, Jan. 7. S P. M. Maximum temperature. 42; minimum temperature, 32; ight of river at 11 A. M.. 11.3: change In the 1 at 21 hours. 0.5; precipitation today, .00; precipitation from Sepetmber 1. ISO (wet sea son), u date, 15.V8; average. 22.00; deficiency, 0.1A. WEATHER SYNOPSIS. ince tle barometric pressure is decreasing f v er the western portions of "Washington and Orogon and northwestern portion of California, t has the appearance ef an approaching storm, iuin has commenced In the northwestern por- 10ns of Washington. East of the Cascades the " "mperatures are cool, ranging from 22 to 2S lgres. and in the Dakotas and Montana tem peratures ranging from sere to 18 degrees below are recorded. WEATHER FORECASTS. forecasts made at Portland for the 21 hours tuning at midnight January 8: Y'T Western, Washington and Western Oregon - Rain or sewwind warmer, -with fresh fcouth tily winds; gales on the coast. For Eastern Washington. Eastern Oregon and IdahoFair weather and slightly warmer, with Jlght to freeh southerly winds. Tor Portland Rain or snow and slightly "warmer, with fresn southerly Rinds. B. S. PAGUE. Local Forecast Official. PORTLAND. TUESDAY. JANUARY . NOT OK LO'G DCRATIOX. Theo? is no silver craze east of the Mississippi river. To find It, one must rome West, to the region where, in one way or another, the vitality of the craze depends upon its connection with the interest of persons who live by sil ver mining. Among these are desper ate speculators who have blown every thing into silver mines; and these be tome political desperadoes, who, hav ing nothing more to lose, take the lead in absurd enterprises for recovery of their fortunes through political action. They play on the cupidity of other politicians, and on the ignorance of a mass of people who feel the stress of hard times; and thus silver fanaticism goes howling through the land. It -wilt not "be of long duration. Even in these Western regions, where a com bination exists consisting of men who have blown everything into barren sil ver mines, of political demagogues who would renounce and abjure any prin i iple for the sake of ofllce, and Of popu lar ignorance, which thinks that, there is some magic in local legislation that tan make values and sustain them against the general values of Che world, weariness will soon result from efforts tu compel the Impossible. The law of -values, the law of financial economy, like the law of gravitation, never Krows tired. Men may wear themselves out in lighting II, but it remains as fresh as ever, from year to year and from age to age. In our older states of the East, "where the people are in closer contact with the world of business and affairs, this folly Is not acute, and indeed has little standing. Here, it is more preva lent; but even here it is not in the as cendant. After all, there are few per sons of pabsable intelligence who really believe that silver, which can be bought anywhere on earth atthe rate of 00 cents an ounce, can be made worth 51 29 an ounce by an act of congress; or that the world's market ratio of sil er and gold, which is 32 to 1, can be snade 16 to 1 if we will it and send to congress men who will to declare it. It would be a stupendous undertak ing to dam the Columbia, or Niagara, "but a slight undertaking in' comparison with an effort to resist the world's law of Values. The time is not distant when anybody laying claim to Intelligence aill be ashamed of the effort. A TOP-HEAVY SYSTEM. General Schofield, who is now at the liuad of the army, will retire next Sep tember, having reached the age of 64. If no ohunge is made in his rank, he will retire on a salary of $5623 a year. If the president's recommendation that the grade of lieutenant-general be re- Mvod for the benelit of General Scho field preail, his pay will be materially increased, as the salary of that position is $11,000 a year, with no deduction on leliremont. General Schofield is the Ighteenth general-ln-chief of the army of the United States, only four of whom Washington, Scott, Grant and Sheri dan had the title of lieutenant-general, though Sherman had the title before he was made general-ln-chief. This distinction is urged in General Soholleld's case in view of his distin guished services. Since these have been gratefully acknowledged and am ply rewarded, both In bestowal of hon ors and substantial pay during the ears of his active service, the country can hardly be said to be further in debted to him. Theie is a too great tendency to put a money value upon patriotism and patriotic service for the tredlt of a nation that presumes its citizens patriots from principle. The wholesale pension idea which 'has been pushed to such excess cannot be con sistently opiosed by thoe who favor the bestowal of an additional title upon the commander-in-chief of the army for the sole reason of doubling his pay upon retirement. The pension system, broad as it is, 5s even now top-heavy, and it must be pruned judiciously from the top before its rank growth can be materially checked. No heavy pension under the gute of added honors and increased iwy after the age limit of retirement nas beeti reached should be allowed to add lus weight to the already sorely burdened system. A man who has for something like a generation drawn the pay aad enjoyed the perquisites of a major-general in the army bbould be omfortably well off at the age of 64 year. And since by that time it is reasonable to suppose that his family has been reared and educated, he should And It easy to live, and live in luxury, upon the ijy of a retired ofilcer of his rank. His patriotism, being of an un purcJiHsaule quality, is above mer cenary pwrd, and his military fame can gain nothing by an added title routing at least that the country should be required to pay for. A man of Gen eral Schofield attainments in his coun try's service is able to stand upon his record and live upon his legitimate pay. This is common sense, common justice, common patriotism three com mon virtues that should guide a republic NATIONAL AND STATE BANKS. It is one of the discouraging features of current financial discussion to find so many of the arguments of persons without knowledge and experience re peated in different forms by persons who know better, but who think they see chance for profit for themselves in unstable currency and insecure bank ing. There is a large party among bankers and well-instructed students of finance in New York and New England, which desires to substitute state for national banking, simply because it is more profitable to the banker. These Eastern bankers do not mean to abuse the state bank system and swindle noteholders themselves, but they know that this will be done In newer and less carefully guarded communities. This is proved by their instant protest against the features added to the Bal timore plan by Mr. Carlisle, putting the credit of all the banks behind the notes of every one. This is confession that the sj'stem is insecure; yet many bank ers of high standing advocate It be cause they can make greater profit upon circulation under" it than under the national bank system, which is ab solutely secure for everybody. The views of these selfish fiankers sift through the columns of general and financial newspapers of equally h'gh standing, like the Springfield Re publican and the Financial Chronicle, which attack national and advocate state "banking in arguments which, were the style muddier and the epithets coarser, might emanate from Western populists. Here is the Financial Chroni cle, perhaps the highest special author ity on finance in the country, summar izing Its previously reiterated argu ments against the national bank sys tem thus:- First A special issue of government bonds for use as security for bank notes would be wrong In principle, would be in opposition to public opinion, and we can not think it will ever receive the sanction of any congress. Second Even If done it would be but a temporary provision, and could not be the basis of a permanent system, for an increasing demand for banks, and hence for the bonds, would enhance the market price until it became unprofitable to re tain the circulation, and the notes would be given up and the bonds sold a process of which we have had an illustration during recent years. Third Bank notes so secured cannot be elastic or the volume afloat be made in any degree to conform to the volume of commercial transactions, and consequent ly would not relieve our present embar rassment In the least. Fourth A currency with a government bond back of It calls for the locking up of an equal or larger amount of capital to secure it, so that the operation is of no advantage but a disadvantage to the pub lic. This Is a strange place to find that fatally foolish assumption of the popu list that government bonds are to be Issued for the special purpose of fur nishing security for bank notes. This paper should know, if the populist does not, that legal TShaers df e' "not money, but a demand debt, which ought to be wiped out at once. It is to pay this due and pressing debt that bonds should be sold. That the bonds, once in hands of the public, will furnish ba sis for a safer currency of bank notes is only a fortunate accident. Issue of national bank currency would not have become unprofitable had the govern ment devoted surplus revenue to the legitimate purpose of reducing its de mand debt, instead of running up the price of bonds by buying them at a premium, while constantly pouring more treasury notes into circulation. Bank notes have been crowded out by government credit money. Wipe this out and bankers will find it profitable enough to issue n6tes under the present system. The objection that a national bank currency is inelastic is imaginary. Elasticity is a fiction. No safe cur rency is elastic, because .notes come in for redemption only when holders doubt their soundness. It is not true that the national bank system locks up the capital of the country more than it is locked up already, in government bonds. It locks up the special capital of the bankers, but they are compen sated by payment of interest, as well as by the privilege of circulation. Notes issued without locking up capital to secure them, as under the old state bank system, are not a safe currency. These objections of bankers and of banking journals to the national bank ing system simply mean that some bankers want to make larger profit on circulation than is possible under this system and are willing to sacrifice the security of noteholders to do It, One of the strongest proofs of the superiority of national over state banking, for the noteholder. Is the willingness of the banks themselves to make the change. Engineer Schuyler's letter, printed to day, offers the excuse for the broken reservoir in the park that he did not make the hill; that the place was se lected for the reservoir before he came to the work; that he did the best he could with It, but did not guarantee it; that no slip of the hill was detected last winter and none could have been foreseen; that lie was hurried too much with the work, but believes it can be made good without very much expense. Of the other broken reservoir, at the foot of Mount Tabor, he says nothing. The damage there. Indeed, Tis not seri ous, and can easily be repaired; but the work certainly was done imper fectly, since the bottom where the ma terials were disturbed, or where filling was done, was not properly tamped, and was not puddled at all. It will be Interesting to learn what excuse Mr. Schuyler has to offer for this oversight. If there Is a wretched creature living whom death has, in cruel unklndness, too long passed by, that creature is Sarah Althea Terry, now and for some time past an Inmate of a California asylum for the Insane Having proved by calling out public odium, such as has fortunately fallen to the lot of few women, the utter futility of the attempt to ride, by sheer force of will, over the barriers of custom and decency in which society has entrenched itself; having failed in open contest to van quish a shameless roue, who had noth ing but his money to lose and was crafty enough to secure that; having passed through strife and degradation and Infamy, and finally stood side by side with tragedy that bereft her of a friend surprisingly raised up la her de- fense, it would seem that fate might have kindly relinquished her to death Instead of cruelly consigning her to insanity, to be further preyed upon by designing and mercenary men. Since her name cannot recall anything that Is honorable or worthy, either in her own behalf or in that of those most Intimately associated with her, it is a pity that it should be from time to time paraded before the public LIQUOR AXD THE LAW. One hears very little in the reports of the Lexow committee's work or of other manifestations of the moral uprising in New York city, about the part the liquor-dealers are playing in the history of this epoch. This more recognizedly buslness portion of the classes Tam many has blackmailed represents in a way the whole quasi-outlawed com munity of ordinance-breaking saloons, gambling dens and houses of prostitu tion. Of all these, the liquor-dealers are the only ones who are- accorded, and justly enough, too, a standing of re spectability before society and respon sibility before "the law. As individuals and through their organizations and trade publications they have rendered material aid to the unraveling of the disgraceful blackmail regime which the police have imposed. They were very sore and restive under the exactions, but put up with them as long as protection was forthcoming. When this began to flag, they rebelled, and have been of very great assistance to the Investigations. It needs to be pointed out that the principal in the municipal crime is not the "protected," but the police. The book-agent Is nothing at all as culpable as the public official who sells out to him; and the saloon man, gambler or unfortunate woman, though accessory to the. crime of municipal corruption. Is more to be pitied than condemned. The head and front of the offending- is in the corrupt police department which levies blackmail under the guise of pro tection. Liquor-selling has some sort of legitimate function; but the saloon as it exists panders in a way to vicious ness and immorality precisely as do the gambler and bawd. Nobody recognizes this more cheerfully than the saloon keeper himself, and he Is always ready and willing to pay a stiff license fee, even if his next-door neighbor, the grocer, pays none at all. Yet he should be fairly treated. There is no justice in robbing or blackmailing him. Common justice is all the liquor dealer wants; and nothing else should be given him. But this is denied in about equal degree by the Tammany and the Parkhurst Idea. One is inter ested in the liquor-dealer only as a source of a possible corruption fund; the other as something to be accorded nei ther justice nor toleration, nor charity. With neither of these theories has the ' law, proper ly conceived and administered, anything in common. Liquor-selling should bear all the burden of municipal machinery iucan stand without oppres sion. This it is always willing to shoul der. Every cent of this levy should go into the public coffers, and Its protec tion should be provided and paid for altogether by salaries to public officers. To this end a system of high license is the means most approved by experi ence. GOOD PROSPECTS FOR. THE CANAL. It 'is evident that the project for the canal at Nicaragua has great strength in congress. Opposition to it is con fined to a very small number, though doubtless there are many who have not yet fully awakened to the fact that the canal must be built, and must be built by the United States. It is be lieved that the violent attack, on the project by Senator Turple, of Indiana, will find scarcely a second in the sen ate. Of course, on a measure of so much importance, no vote can be reached till after many speeches are made, and probably the present session will not afford time for exhaustion of the oratory; but we fully believe that the bill, If not passed by" the present congress, will be passed Tjy the next. An encouraging fact Is the active sup port of many great newspapers. We note scarcely any dissent on the part of the great newspapers of the coun try from the demand that the United States shall build the canal, while most of them strongly urge It. We have re printed many such articles during the last two or three months from journals North and South. Some urge immedi ate action. The New York Times makes an earnest appeal against further de lay. It says this canal Is to be built, and to be built by our government, and there ought to be no difficulty in bringing congress to definite action. "The two houses of congress," con tinues the Times, "ought to agree upon one of the pending bills, or a measure upon the same lines, providing for con trol of the canal in return for the guar antee of the bonds necessary to raise the needed capital. There has been too much delay already, and more delay may hive serious consequences by in viting capital and resulting complica tions from abroad." It is believed that if a vote can be reached in the senate not one-fourth of the senators will vote against the canal. The American Book Company is un der the same fire in other states that it has had to face in Oregon and Wash ington. An article printed in another column gives an account of Its doings in Alabama. In Virginia the Norfolk Pilot has created a stir by charging the superintendent of education with accepting a bribe from the American Book Company, and asserting that the other members of the board of educa tion, the governor and the attorney general, have allowed themselves to be Imposed upon. The legislature has taken the matter up, and an Investiga tion Is ordered. The frequency of the charges against this company almost creates a doubt whether, after all, it is chaste as ice and pure as snow. The office of superintendent of public education Is not a necessary office, but it Is a costly one. It could be abolished without the least detriment to the pub lic schools. The office of attorney-general is not a necessary office. The state has no interests that cannot be protected by the district attorneys. Formerly the district attorneys did this duty, and they can be required to re sume it. Every office not absolutely necessary should be cut off, and we should return in all our affairs to the simple economies of the early times. The voting and speaking in the house democratic caucus indicates that the Carlisle banking bill cannot posslbly pass tllg house. Out of 220 democratic representatives, only 152 attended the caucus, and of these only SI voted for the Carlisle bill. This Is less than one- fourth of the house and little more than one-third of the democratic representa tives. In the caucus 59 voted against the- bllL These, with the 125 republi cans and 11 populists, will make a ma jority of about 20 against the bill, even if the 75 caucus absentees all vote for it The probability is that -most of them will vote against it. It must be remembered that party screws cannot be put upon a question like this, which is economic rather than political, and upon which the ruling party is frankly divided. Such a bill as this gets nearly as many votes in caucus as it can hope for in the house. Traffic on all railroad lines centering in this city and upon street-car lines has been resumed; the streets have be come fairly passable, the downpour of rain, which threatened a flood, has ceased, and the most delightful weather has succeeded the brief reign of winter. While first reports of great damage to fruit trees in the section visited by the sleet have unfortunately been verified, it is probable that careful pruning and a year's growth will remedy much of the apparent destruction and reduce the damage to the "minimum. The story now is that German exclu sion of American cattle and meat Is a bid by the government for support of the agrarian party In Prussia. But the government never would have ven tured upon such a step had not the reciprocity clause of the McKinley bill, which armed our government with power to retaliate, been repealed. It was under that clause that Phelps in Germany and Reid in France obtained abrogation of the old customs regula tions against American meats. The democratic caucus demonstrates that there will beno financial legisla tion this session. This is because the democratic party is incapable of legis lation or government, and the issue does not take such form that republi cans can come to the rescue, as they did in the case of the silver law repeal. Next spring the president will call an extra session and the republicans will help him carry out a rational plan of currency reform. From the time of Cataline the ruined gambler has been a danger to the state The noisiest clamor for free coinage of silver comes from desperate gamblers, ruined by reckless speculation in silver mines, who now plot financial revolu tion as Cataline plotted political revo lution in the hope either to retrieve their own damaged fortunes or to drag all others down to .their own level and involve the whole community in com mon ruin. It was more candid than politic of the president to publish his letter to the commissioners of the ex-queen, Lilluokajani, in which he declared that he had done his "best to restore the monarchy in Hawaii and only aban doned his purpose when he had ex hausted his constitutional powers. It Is thought that a test vote on the Carlisle bill will be had in the house this week. But this will be only the beginning of the struggle over it. The history of the silver repeal and tariff bills proves that. THB SENATORIAL ELECTION. The Senator Muit Not Re a. Silver Mb nam eCall s f 1 Klamath Falls Express. The principal work of the Oregon legis lature this winter is the selection of a United States senator to succeed Senator Dolph. The democrats will have but lit tle to say about this, but if the republi cans will send a man to represent Ore gon in the upper branch of congress who is in favor of honest money, they will command the unpualifled respect of both democrats and republicans. IE makes but little difference what views Senator Dolph's successor may entertain on other subjects, If he is sound on the money question. It will be the great problem for the 51th congress to solve, and It Is the earnest hope of every friend of honest money that such men only will be Intrust ed with Its solution as will do their duty earnestly and well. No advocate of "the unlimited coinage of silver, 16 to 1, with out the aid or consent of any other na tion on earth," will do. No advocate of the free coinage of American silver will do. No one who advocates that 49 cents in silver should pass for as much as 100 cents' worth of gold, which must even tually reduce us to a silver basis In the event of free coinage, will do. The next senator from Oregon should be a man of broad views on the financial question, one with experience who will command respect and attention at Washington, and a bimetallst, not a sliver tnjfnftietal ist, believing the nation's credit should be upheld and maintained against all as saults of the Inflationists. Salem Statesman. It is growing to be more generally under stood that a person may be a friend of sil ver without being compelled to argue that twice 16 are 16 worse than claiming that black Is white, for there are opti cal delusions and color blindness, while figures will not lie. A great many of those accounted gold-bugs by these 16 puzzled and befuddled cranks sincerely deslre the largest possible use of silver. Senator Dolph is one of them. He has repeatedly stood up In the United States senate and proclaimed this friendship. Every consideration of patriotism makes him a friend of silver, and anxious to see the largest possible use of that metal, more especially the product of American mines. He has often said in the senate that he would be glad to help further a financial scheme whereby the entire American product of silver might be used, and he has expressed hopes of see ing such end attained by wise legislation In this country, assisted by an Interna tional agreement, which every republican in both houses -of congress has favored for years. The time Is past when any man who will not fall down on his face and worship the silver-mine owners, and devoutly declare that twice 15 are 16, can with effect and impunity be branded as a robber, plutocrat, gold-bug, etc., by the servants of these bullion monopolists and the unreasoning ignoramuses who are led and carried off their feet by the noise of their claquers. Portland Commercial Review- This paper, In Its issue of tomorrow, will say: "The term of the best senator Oregon has had is nearly finished and an other is to be elected. The present incum bent, J. N. Dolph, in the ordinary course of events would be returned, but this is no ordinary time. The next congress wijl be organized and governed by republi cans and, that being the case, the state that has the most experienced legislators will get first pick. Senator Dolph has done more for "this st$te in the last few years than any other"ftiree men, hnd'ndw, when we ought to show our appreciation, we talk of substituting, one for him ,who cannot do an eighth part of the good Senator Dolph, if lt alone, could do. Oregon's history Is full of the most stu pendous blunders- ever wrought by man; we certainly hope there will be none this time. This senatorial contest is like the business man who had taken particular pains to promote and educate a clerk to a position of great trust; after so fitting him for the position a young man comes along to whom the business man thinks he Is Indebted, the young man asks for this position of trust because It will give him a little more social prestige, but it is not given htm. In this parable the business man Is the state, the clerk is Senator Dolph and the other Is ?" A SLANDERER. ROASTED. Nebraska's Poverty In. Contrast With Oresron's Prosperity. LEXINGTON, Neb., Jan. 2. (To the Editor.) In the Dawson County Pioneer, printed at Lexington, Neb., there appears a two-column letter, "A Breeze From Oregon," which Is written by a man for merly from Nebraska, but now residing at Salem, Or. There being about one hun dred families from this state (Nebraska), and from Dawson county In particular, that have moved into Yamhill county. Or., I deem It the duty of some one to notice this attack on the fair name of your state. This man, William McDonald, who is now seeking to harm you all he can. Is, or had been up to about six months ago, a resident of Nebraska. When he left here, he left for the reason that he was "tired of such a country as Nebraska." Now that he has left, all he has to do is to saj : "Give Oregon a wide berth." All the families that left this state for Ore gon, and who all reside in Yamhill county, are perfectly satisfied with the change. The writer had the pleasure of visiting your city and state during April and May 1S94, and I have the warmest feeling for your fair state and your good citizens. This McDonald calls Oregon "A fraud with a big F." What is Nebraska but a place for men of this man McDonald's caliber and the rich? A poor man in Nebraska must work hard in the present times to get even enough to keep soul and body together, and then call for "Aid with a big A" to help out until spring. Ho says Oregon fruit Is "no good." Well, our Dawson county fruit, which has been planted for over 20 years, Is no good, either, for it would take all the fruit raised In Dawson county to make one meal for one only; so Oregon is far superior in fruit. McDonald says "Oregon is the worst state in the Union for a poor man." Well, he is not classed with the poor, as he left this county with an iron safe full of money to loan to the poor man of Ore gon, and to teach the Oregonlans how to make money. But he finds out that there are common farmers in Oregon who have more money in their homes than he is possessed of. He says Chinamen work for To cents per day, and get their meals for 4 cents each. I can find you 10,000 men in Central and Western Nebraska that will work for 73 cents per day, but they can't get work even at 50 cents. As to Chinamen's board, here McDonald "takes the cake." I will get 500 citizens of Dawson county, Neb., to make oath that McDonald kept a "shaving shop" in this city for about 20 years, and In that 20 years he only took one square meal each Sunday noon. The balance of his meals did not cost hint to exceed 4 cents per day. I mean per day, not per meal; so he has no "edge" on the Chinaman; and I will almost wager that it does not cost him now to live in the city of Salem to exceed 4 cents per meal for himself and family. Just "have a reporter go to Day ton, Or., and have a personal visit with the Nebraska folks there. Then go and see this man McDonald at Salem, and see if all is not as I say. I think the best thing for you Oregonians to do is to keep" McDonald In Oregon, and the more he says about poor people and cheap living the better it is for your state. F. P. KREITZ. It should be added that Dawson county, Neb., is one of the most destitute counties of that state, and the people are much In need of help to carry them through the winter. The same letter that enclosed McDonald's slanderous statement about Oregon contained this clipping, viz.: MACON, Mo., Jan. 2. A committee which has been appointed to solicit cloth ing and provisions for destitute farmers at Lexington, Dawson county, Neb., has collected a large quantity of goods and will ship them immediately. SENATOR COGSWELL. He Has Not Ceased" to Be a. Resident of Lake County. To the editor of the Klamath Star: A correspondent of The Oregonian com plains that Senator Cogswell Is no longer a resident of Lake county, and he Is greatly worried thereat. His worry, of course, is thus yelled for effect on the legislature, but somebody will be just mean enough to spoil the effect by ex plaining the truth that Senator Cogs wtll's property Interests are all still in Lake county, and that after attending to the duties of schooling his children in Portland this winter, he will go straight home to his law practice. It may even be shown clearly that the citizens of this senatorial district have no reason to com plain either of Mr Cogswell's temporary absence or his services on this, his sec ond term. Will The Oregonian please copy? VERITAS. PERSONS "WORTH KNOWIXG ABOUT. Colonel John H. Bass, the car-wheel manufacturer, of Fort Wayne, Ind., Is said to be the wealthiest men in the state of Indiana. Charlotte Fowler Well3 was the first woman publisher. She has been In busi ness since 1814, and Is still at it in New York. She says she is too busy to think how old she Is. Camllle Flammarion and three other French astronomers will make for the Paris exhibition in 1900 a model of the moon a model on such an enormous scale that balloon journeys will be made around it. General E. C. Walthall, of Mississippi, who resigned his seat In the United States senate on account of ill health, Is at Memphis, Tenn., very much improved. He says he will resume hi3 seat in 1SS5 If his health remains as good as at present. The income of John D. Rockefeller is a matter of some concern to the local col lector of Internal revenue at Cleveland. The government agent expects to get $173, 320 worth of Income tax out of Mr. Rocke feller on an assessable fortune of $3, 6W.O00. The Japanese mikado is a man of great personal magnetism. He is in fine phy sical condition and Is naturally extremely vivacious. His eyes are brilliant, his teeth white and regular, and his smile at tractive. He has been a great reader and is especially well informed regarding French literature. President H. W. Cannon, of the Chase National bank, and President Baker, of the First National bank, New York, have received from James J. Hill, president of the Great Northern railroad, Christmas presents of two magnificent specimens of bull buffalo heads from Mr. Hill's game preserve In the Northwest. Richard Watson Gilder, editor of the Century, spent his Christmas evening in the Bowery. Mr. Gilder has been Intensely interested in the subject of tenement and lodging-houses, and his Christmas even ing investigation was only one of many midnight tours he has made with the ob ject of determining by personal obser vation how the poor of the city, the ten ement dwellers, the tramps and the home less are sheltered at night The poet was accompanied by Mr. Reynolds, of the university settlement, and a-detectlve. Josef Hofmann, Rubinstein's last pupil, gave a concert In London just a few hours before his master died. Some days later he gave a memorial recital at Chelten ham. One of his numbers was Chopln'a B minor sonata. When he reached the funeral march, the entire audience rose as by a common Impulse and remained standing till the movement came to the end. c CLEAN THE STREETS. The City Asked to Remove the Great Plies of Snow. PORTLAND, Jan. 7. (To the Editors Most surely you spoke the truth the oth er day when you said that "after a fall of snow Portland just lay down on her back" and did nothing. The business streets in their present condition are a disgrace to any place and could not be In a worse state if we weie in some little bit of a village instead of a well-regulated city. Take Washington street and Third street at their crossings, and there are piles of snow in the street eight feet high. Most of the citizens have cleaned off their sidewalks, and there Is apparently hardly a roof that does not need to be cleaned off. All this accumulation of snow has to go Into the street, to melt or remain, as the weather may permit. It does not seem right that individuals should have to take this snow away, yet It ought to be removed at once. What are the mayor and council, with their street superintend ent, for, if they don't see to these things? They surely come under the head of city government. If they have no ordinance allowing this to he done at the public expense the council should pass one and put men to work. There la any quantity of idle men In the city who would be only too glad of the small amount that would have to be paid them to shovel the snow into carts, of which the city has plenty. If they were hired under the superintend ent of streets the business portion of the city would be cleaned up and a great many deserving men 'now out of work would be benefited. I don't mean for the city to go In for any charity, but sim ply that men can now be hired cheaply to do this very necessary work. Let the city take hold of it in a proper, systematic way, and It won't cost very much, and I am pretty sure that no taxpayer will ob ject to the small amount. The snow can be carted off and dumped into the river, and it. would not take long to make the fatreets as far back as Sixth or Seventh, and further on some of the streets where necessary, passable. If the city cannot or will not do this (it can if the officers take hold of it) perhaps the city board of charities will, but I think It is the place of the authorities to do the work. INDIGNANT CITIZEN. Snow ought to be cleaned off the streets, but it should "be done by property-owners, not by the city. The heaps of snow of which this writer complains, have been piled up by owners of buildings cleaning off their roofs, on one side, and by the street-car companies 'cleaning their tracks on the other. Neither of these should be allowed to encumber the streets. Both should be obliged to cart the snow off, when they remove it from their own property or right-of-way. But this is a small thing to make a fuss about when snow lies untouched, except as It has been trodden under foot, on four-fifths of the sidewalks of the city, nearly a week after It began to fall. THE BOOK TRUST IN ALABAMA. Montgomery letter to Louisville Courier Journal: The legislature of Alabama Is likely to get seriously mixed up with the American Book Company, widely known as the School Book Trust, or the indica tions are all wrong. .This, state has -no statute regarding school books, and the book trust, taking advantage of the situ ation, has been Imposing upon the people most outrageously, but a day of reckon ing Is coming, and that very speedily Some time ago this great monopoly formed a combination with the Univer sity Publishing Company, of New York, and Hansell & Brother, of New Orleans. Tnis entirely removed these popular Southern corporations from the rank of competitors. The Book Trust then pro ceeded to make a deal with the Alabama Book Sellers' Association, containing in Its membership the most prominent book firms in the state. It was then in beau tiful shape to squeeze the people as it pleased, and It ha3 been doing so in a manner almost beyond belief. School books that can be purchased In other states for 75 and 80 cents, retail in the cities of Alabama at 51 23 and $1 50, and in the country at even higher prices; and this monstrous combine supplies 90 per cent of the books used In the public schools. For several years repeated attempts have been made by the friends of edu cation to induce the state legislature to pass some measure that would relieve the people of this burdensome school-book tax, but the Book Trust and the book dealers would not have It so. Through skillful lobbying, every effort in that line has been killed, and the exorbitant prices have continued. In the present legisla ture a local school-book bill was recently Introduced. Not being acceptable to the Book Trust, because it would open up competition, it was vigorously jumped upon. Some of the lobbyists, in their zeal to serve the trust, were indiscreet. In consequence of this, the true inwardness of the opposition leaked out. When the bill came up In the senate they could get only one man to vote against It. This knock-out was. bad enough in it self, but there is still greater trouble ahead. Some of the members of the leg islature are now fully informed of the infamous purpose of the Book Trust and dealers to block legislation, and it is morally certain they will be able to com mand very few votes against the general book bill now in the legislature; and their compact Is likely to become the subject of legislative investigation. No special interest ever successfully resisted the will of an injured people. The citizens of Alabama have been wronged by the School Book Trust, and they know it. and they are now demanding and will obtain from the legislature a proper law for their relief and protection. The mem bers of this general assembly will not be controlled by the paid lobbyists of a cor rupt combination. Foreign Capital "Withdrawn. United States Investor. The silly chatter, of which so much Is heard from populists and silver extre mists, that the United States are strong enough to Ignore the fundamental laws of finance and adopt a policy of their own, independent of that of other nations, is naturally bearing Its ripe fruit in the withdrawal of foreign Investments from the United States and the demand that our indebtedness to European capitalists shall be promptly settled in the only money of International exchange gold coin and bullion. o All Authority Cited. PORTLAND, Jan. 7. (To the Editor.) In, re discussion now carried on in your columns as to the taxing of property of ecclesiastical and eleemosynary institu tions in which the old statute of mort main is being diseussed, I beg leave to intervene "for the purpose of this con tribution only," by stating, while rum maging through some of the monthly revlews of current law literature, I ran across what may prove an Important ref erence, being an exposition of said statute by Hon. William Gilbert Davies, which the disputants may not have seen. It can be found in 4th counsellor, page 35. CHARLES J. SCHNABEL. NEWS OF THE NORTHWEST. Okkob. Eugene is not without hope for a shlrS factory. . - The dlamqnd drill at Newport will ba given a new start this week. Medford hopes to be with the other con trlbutora.to.the Nebraska sufferers. Col lections are now being successfully made" there. James H. McKee committed suicide at Lakevlew Monday of last week by taking an overdose of morphine. He had been drinking heavily. News Is brought to Medford from Hanp ton & Lewis mines on Tom East creelc that the recent clean-up at the mines netted the neat sum of ?27,000. The number of steam vessels arriving at Coos bay during the past year was 155 and departures 156; sailing vessels arriv ing, 84; departures, 86. Total. 479. C. Marsh, who left his home in Eugene two years ago to do missionary work In India, was recently married to Miss Mc Neil, of Prince 'Edward Isle, also a mis sionary , stationed near Mr. Marsh. More rabbits were killed on Tick ridge last Thursday and Sunday, says the Lake- view Examiner, but not so many as on the previous drives. About 1500. however, were laid low In the two drives. A. large number of people went out from the town to help In the drives. William Nichols was seriously hurt Mon day of last week by an accident at the Coos river quarry, and Superintendent Schwatka was also Injured. It seems they were In the box used to transport rock from the quarry to the scow, when the cable broke, and the block, weighing 600 pounds, fell from a height of 30 feet, striking Nichols a glancing blow, and crushing him against the side of the box. Washington. The first issue of Alki, a woman suffrage paper, has been published at Puyallup. The management of the Tacoma the ater has been turned over by John W. Hanna to S. C. Heilig and E. W. Lessten The grain buyers of Lincoln county will meet at Davenport today to consider means of securing reductions on wheat to tide-water. William Wirt Saunders, recently par doned by Governor Pennoyer. Is now lo cated at Spokane. He says he has no ex pectation of marriage at present. James H. Ross, formerly a bookkeeper4 In the Northern Pacific carshops at Edi son was arrested in Seattle Sunday, charged with robbing E. V. Buckner, vn ex-machlnlst, of $1000. Christmas day. Loggle & Evans, formerly of Snoh6mlsh. have closed down their large saw and shingle mill near Port Angeles, because of a decislor In the United States court at Seattle that they could not maintain a tramway across the river. Frank King, of King's landing, and Will Lawhorn, of Fairview, were out deer hunting recently. King was accldentally shot by Lawhorn, the ball penetrating just at the edge of the right shoulder blade. While the wound Is serious, hope is entertained for King's recovery. Nine Important cases will be begun at the North Yakima land office the 19th instant. They are the Roslyn coal claim cases. The question at Issue will be whether or not the claimants acted as agents for the Northern Pacific Coal Com pany when they made their entries. Several young cattle belonging to C. D. Morgan and a saddle horse belonging to Joe Westerman slipped through the Ice in the river just abvoe Morgan's ferry, while trying to drink, and before assistance could reach them were either drowned or so badly chilled that they died a few minutes after being taken out. Governor McGraw has proclaimed the adoption of the amendment to the consti tution ratified at the recent election. It amends section 5 of article 16 so as to read: "None of the permanent school fund of this state shall ever be loaned to private persons or corporations, but it may. be -invested in national, state, county, municipal or school district bonds." D. T. Denny, J. B. Denny and Thomas Denny confessed judgment Saturday In the superior court In Seattle In the sura of $302,609 21. Of this amount $17,355 24 Was by D. T. and J. B. Denny to the Puget Sound National bank; $125,295 92 was by all three to the same bank, and $159,977 95 was by all three to E. T. Blunck. The suits filed on which the confessions were made were for promissory notes secured by the bonds of the Consolidated Street Railway Company. W. F. Jones, of North Yakima, had a streak of tough luck last Wednesday. First, a valuable Glen Dudley colt died oC distemper; then a 1200-pound Percheron colt was found with a heavy piece of greasewood forced Into Its hip to the depth of four Inches; and then a 2-year-old colt by Venture, which he had been ridingandhadhltched In front of theMoxee schoolhouse, was caught in a barb-wire fence and came near bleeding to death before the Injury was discovered. PARAGRAPHERS' PLEASANTRIES. Teacher Now, Charlie, tell us what you know about Croesus. Charlie Dudes wear 'em In their pants. Harlem Life-. Sing Sing stripes as a substitute for police service stripes will not become pop ular, but are too well deserved. New York World. "But didn't you promise when we were married that I should smoke In the house whenever I pleased? "Yes, but you never please by smoking in the house. You dis please me." New York Recorder. "This old fellow," said the teamster, fondly patting his horse on the neck, "has been hauling for the city for 25 years." "Got a pull, I suppose," sneered the mug wump gentleman. Indianapolis Journal. Sparhawk I thought the authorities in your city didn't allow prize-fighters to giVe exhibitions. RIngrope They don't. But since the fighters begun to kill each other the law hasn't been enforced. South Boston News. "My husband and I never have the slightest trouble or misunderstanding about the suitability of our Christmas gifts." "Indeed! How do you manage it?" "I always buy him a lovely new dress and he gives me a box of good cigars." Wash ington Star. A certain judge took occasion recently to warn his people from coming into the coirtroom drunk In these words: "I wish to put everybody on notice that If they come Into this courtroom while I am sitting on this bench drunk they had bet ter look out." Hamilton (Ga.) Journal. "De gret trouble wif dese times," said Erastus Plnkley, "am dat 'nuff folks doan un'stand'de ta'hlff question." "Dasso," re plied his companion. "Foh instance, you an' me wants free ror material." "Does we?" "Sut'hy. Spose'n de 'ysters as dey is brung Turn de bay didn't cost nuffln'. Dan you'd hab de freest kin ob rorest material, an de intiah profit ob de 'yster bus'ness 'ud go ter us gemmen wha does de shuckln'." Washington Star. Obstructions In. a. Great Harbor Are less easily removed than obstructions of the bowels are by Hosteler's Stomach Bitters, Infinitely more effectual than vio lent purgatives, and which never gripes, convulses and weakens as they do. The Bitters also removes malarial and rheu matic complaints, biliousness, sick head ache, nervousness and dyspepsia. Give this deserving remedy a fair trial and ex pect the best and most complete results. A Pertinent Inquiry. MARSHFIELD. Jan. A (To the Editor.) In The Oregonian of the 29th ult, Arch bishop Gross Is quoted as saying, "The first principle Is that a member of the Catholic church cannot have any secret which the church cannot know." I would like to ask the archbishop, through the columns of The Oregonian, If that includes the secrets of the grand jury room? S. B. CATHCART.