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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 1902)
THE . MORNING OREGO&IAN, TUESDAY, 'AUGUST 26, 1902. He vz$cniixn Xntered st the Fostofflce at Portland, Oregon, as second-class matter. REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mali (postace prepaid. In Advance) Dally, with, Sunday, per month... $ 85 Dally, Sunday excepted, per year .7 SO Dally, with Sunday, per year 9 00 Sunday, per yar.. 2 00 The "Weekly, per year - 1 5 The Weekly. 3 months N To City Subscribers Dally, p-r week, delivered, Sunday excepted,15c Dally, per week, delivered, Sunday" included.20c POSTAGE RATES. United States, Canada and Mexico: "10 to 14-page paper 14 to 28-pago paper 2c Foreign rates double. Eastern Business Office, 43. 44. 45, 47, 48. 40 Tribune building. New Xork City: MO-11-12 Tribune building. Chicago; the S. C. Beckwlth Special Agency. Eastern representative. For sale in San Francisco by I E. Lee, Pai e Hotel news stand; Goldsmith Bros., 236 Sutter street; F. W: Pitts. 1008 Market street; J. K. Cooper Co.. 740 Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Foster & Orear. Ferry news land; Frank Scott. 80 Ellis "street, and N. IVheatley, S13 Mission street. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 209 South Spring street, and Oliver & Haines, 805 South Spring street. For sale In Kansas City. Mo., by Rlckseccer Cigar Co.. Ninth and Walnut streets. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. 217 Dearborn street, and Charles MacDonala. W. Washington street. For tale In Omaha by Barkalow Bros., Ifil Farnam street; Mrgeath Stationery Co.. 13U3 Farnam street. For sale In Salt Lake by the Salt Lake ews Cd.. 77 West Second South street. For sale In Minneapolis by R. G. Hearsey & Co.. 24 Third street South. For sale in Washington. D. C by the Ebbett House news stand. For sale In Denver. Colo., by Hatnlltos & JCendrlck. 900-012 Seventeenth street: Loutban & Jackson Book & Stationery Co., loth ana Lawrence streets; A. Series. Sixteenth and Curtis streets. f TODAY'S WEATHER Partly cloudy and ellghtly cooler, with westerly winds. TESTERDAT'S WEATHER Maximum tem perature, 80; minimum temperature, 48; pre cipitation none. PORTLAND, TUESDAY, AUG. 20, IPOS. A PORTENTOUS PROBLEM. It is difficult to see what Congress could do to settle the dispute in the anthracite coal region; though the Pres ident doubtless would call Congress'to gether In special eesslon, if he could see a way. It was a great error to per mit the coal supply of the country to go into private hands; but how to dis possess those who have been permitted to assume the ownership is a mighty hard problem. Yet the whole country Is awake to the fact, now brought into strong relief, that half a dozen men monopolize a coal supply that Is indis pensable to tens of millions. Is Govern ment, through its power of eminent do main, to take possession of the mines and operate them, paying what it thinks flt and Just? for it never would pay the valuation set upon them by the monopolist possessore. The Phila delphia North American states the case against the greedy monopolists In this way; and great numbers of journals throughout the country, are presenting similar .statements: All the enormous damage to anthracite mines is due directly and solely to the obstinacy of the operators In holding the false theory that the coal measures ot Pennsylvania are theirs to do with as th&y please, and that they have no public obligations. These men have said that the coal stored by nature for the use Of man shall not be taken from the ground, ex cept on conditions fixed by them. Coal has come to be as necessary as air and water, and the right of society to take It for the benefit of all Is as clear as the right of access to water supply. Private ownership of coal In the ground Is tolerable only so long as the special privilege constituting the sole basis of ownership Is not abused beyond the limits to which society Is accustomed and assents. The permanent closing of mines Is an abuse of privilege which cannot be tolerated, even If the suspension of production for some months Is to be regarded as an exercise of legitimate rights. It is objected, of course, that this would start the Government In the di rection of socialistic experiment, in the ory and in fact, and on a great scale. The country will hesitate; but the ques tion Is whether the existing abuse la. not worse than any possible result of socialistic experiment could be. It la intolerable that a few men, utterly in sensible to their public responsibilities, should eo continue to abuse their power; and if they find they have set in motion a revolution that will strip them naked, it may be hoped they will have the leisure and the disposition to reflect that it all came about through their own boundless avarice and their own. utter .insensibility to the obligations of Individual and social Justice. The mo nopolists of the country are doing more to push socialism to the front in our time than all theorists could accom plish through all time. MARRIAGE OR ILLEGITIMACY. " Dr. Arthur W. Wilcox, an English in sanity expert, discussing the subject In the "Westminster Review, holds that the diminishing rate of insanity reported for England and Wales in the last ten years might be made continuous if an hereditary tendency, to insanity was made a bar to marriage, or at least divorce was allowed where insanity is contracted after marriage. Dr. Wilcox commends the example of our states, Arkansas, Idaho and Florida, where permanent insanity after marriage is made a cause of divorce. In England, In Europe generally, and in most of our states, a marriage cannot be dissolved because of insanity after marriage. Washington and North Dakota should "be added to those cited by Dr. Wilcox. Dr. Wilcox also refers to the bill re cently Introduced into the Colorado Legislature providing for a board of t medical examiners to decide on the fit ness for marriage of all applicants for marriage licenses, and naming certain diseases and defects in family records es bars to matrimony. In Minnesota likewise a bill to prevent the marriage of the unfit has been proposed. This proposed legislation Dr. Wilcox com mends, since it would jbX least prevent the marriage of persons with a well marked history of actual insanity. While the purpose of this legislation is sound theoretically, practically it would doubtless be as ineffective as the law which forbids in many states the marriage of whites and blacks. When people who are notoriously unfit to marry insist on entering the married state, they are dangerously likely when they cannot live together legally to live illegally. People debarred from mar riage aa "unfit" in Colorado and Minne sota would emigrate to some state where there was no legal bar to their uniori. or if they did not do this, they would probably do worse, Daws look ing toward stirplculture might be en forced in the Oneida community, or among the Mormons, but not in ordi nary American life. In the mater of making permanent Insanity after marriage a cause for a divorce, there Is one evil result of the perpetuation of marriage bonds with an insane person. Sometimes the Insane person is so much Improved as to be returned to the family and after a few months suffers a relapse and goes back to the asylum. In the meantime the convalescent lunatic has been given an opportunity to increase the number of children 1 the family, not a desirable thing unr the circumstances. Dr. Wix)x approves the policy of our states, all of which save ten allow di vorce for habitual drunkenness. The present inebriates act of Great Britain provides for the detention of convicted habitual drunkards for not more than three years In a certified inebriate re formatory. ,Dr. Wilcox would make such sentence to confinement ground for divorce In case of either husband or wife. WHY RECIPROCITY FAILS. Representative Tawney, of Minnesota, 13-an able and reputable man. His ex cuse for acting with the "Insurgents" on the Cuban question cannot be set summarily aside. He says that what he and those who acted with him ob jected to was not the 20 per cent reduc tion on Cuban sugar, but the singling out of that one article as the basis of commercial reciprocity with one coun try, while obstinately shutting the doors to reciprocity with all other countries. What they wanted was to force the adoption of a general scheme of reci procity which would open the markets of other countries to Ndrthwestern products, and more especially to compel the ratification of the reciprocity treat ies before the Senate. Good a man as Tawney is, and trust worthy, this explanation must be some thing discounted as an after-thought. Some portion of this idea may indeed have been in his own mind, but the excuse is chiefly valuable as indicating what Tawney believes is the most per tinent defense of the Insurgent action before the bar of public opinion. As such let us regard It, and, so regarding It, let us admit at once that it has considerable force. Is It not a thing to excite distrust in a fair man, to pro pose to attack the tariff by singling out a particular Industry and a particu lar country? Observe, however, that Mr. Tawney's objection, if it is valid against -Guban reciprocity, is valid also against the French treaty and the Argentine treaty, and the treaty with Jamaica, the treaty with British Guiana, the treaty with Barbadoes, the treaty with Bermuda, the treaty with the Argentine, the treaty with Brazil. Why cannot every Indus try menaced by these treaties protest to Congress, as they did protest, and thus defeat, as they did defeat, the proposed concessions? Why may not other nations discriminated against by concessions to the powers named In these treaties, protest and then retali ate? The simple truth about this whole reciprocity business is that when Con gress flies from the strait and narrow way of tariff reduction to the indirect and precarious trail of reciprocity treat ies. It. forthwith becomes involved in a multitude of difficulties. Why reciproc ity falls is doubtless because of an in distinct but deep consciousness of its inherent awkwardness and injustice. That reciprocity is technically consti tutional may be conceded; yet the doubts that have been expressed con cerning the proposition reveal a serious question of what we might call Its moral constitutionality. For example: The assertion that no part ot the Legislative power can be delegated by Congress to any other department of the Government, execu tive or Judicial, Is an axiom In constitutional Jaw, and is universally recognized as a prin ciple essential to the integrity and mainten ance of the system of government 'Ordained by the Constitution. The Legislative power must remain In the organ where it Is lodged by that Instrument. We think that the section in question (reciprocity section of McKlnley bill) does delegate Legislative power to the execu tive department, and also commits to that de partment matters belonging to the treaty-making power. In violating paragraph 2 of the sec ond section of article II of the Constitution. These are the words of no less acute thinkers and able Jurists than Chief Justice Fuller and Justice L, Q. C. La mar, of Mississippi. Technically the ut terance is negligible. It was a diEsent lng opinion, and the Senate has recog nized the privilege of the House to participate In "reciprocity ratifications. But the conception at the bottom of the Fuller and Lamar opinion, namely, that tariffs are for direct and regular Con gressional enactment. Is likely to find response and approval Jn the popular mind. The demand for just and wise tariff revision Is not to be satisfied with rati fication of the pending reciprocity treat ies. It is not just to Great Britain, whither most of; our foodstuffs go to a free-trade market, to give preferences over her to France or Germany. It is not just to our knit goods and jewelry men to sacrifice duties on wares now Imported In competition with them, in order to buy easier entrance into for eign markets for steel and machinery already exporting a surplus and offer ing to forego none of their large meas ure of protection. It is not fair to buy more foreign markets for protected shoes with free hides. It is not fair to buy more markets for protected cloth ing with free wool. There are thirteen of these treaties, dealing with as many countries and affecting a very great number of American productions. The proper method of determining the tariff on these productions is in the regular procedure of Congress, and not through a commissioner or a treaty. The pend ing treaties are a dishonest and clumsy subterfuge, offered by the Republican leaders as a pretense for escape from the plain duty of tariff reform. INHERENT IN THE SYSTEM. The Tracy-Merrill incident has accom plished one good thing, namely, it has brought the attention of the state to the practical faults of a prison system founded upon a wrong plan and admin istered as a personal and political privi lege. The custody and discipline of convicts is serious business, perhaps the most serious when moral responsibili ties are considered, that falls to a state administration. It Is Telated to the wel fare of society In many and direct ways,, for a prison may to a very con siderable extent be made an agency of reform cn the one hand or a nursery of crime on tlie other. Prison manage ment is essentially an expert business, calling for high qualities and perhaps most of all for experience .in dealing with criminals. Good general abilities, high personal character, honest intent these are essential in the administrative head of a prison, but they will not of themselves make a good prison superin tendent or warden, for a man may have them all and still be a child in his deal ings with a class whose craft quickly discovers defects either in character or experience and falls cot to make the most of them. There was no recognition of these truths on the part of those who laid down the rules under which the State Prison of Oregon is and has always beea organized and administered. To the Governor of the state is given the general oversight of the prison, with the appointment of a superintendent, who in turn Is authorized to appoint his whole staff. In other words, and as politics go, the Penitentiary is the spe cial perquisite of the Governor, and from the beginning of the state government until now it has been so regarded. One of the earliest acts of each new Governor is to make some close political friend the superin tendent of the prison, and with more or less haste to fill up its service with personal dependents and political adher ents. In no Instance that we can recall has there been any thought of choosing for the executive head of the prison a man qualified by special experience in dependent of politics for the work to be done. And if any Governor bad been so disposed he would not have found the project practically an easy one, for the public In general and- his political friends in particular have expected him to organize the prison on the basis of personal privilege, and men do not as a rule find it easy to be better than they are expected to be. Need there be surprise that under this system our State Prison, broadly speak ing, has been a fortress of personal poli tics, that Its leading posts have been filled with political favorites, brothers-in-law and other dependents, that Its administration has been crude and un skillful, that Its discipline has tended to make It a place of refuge rather than a terror to evil-doers, that its whole career has been marked by extrava gance and relative inefficiency? And it is realiy no reflection upon any state administration that the conditions have been as here described. Public and po litical expectation, as we have said, has forced upon successive Governors a weak and essentially personal policy; no man of them all has been exempt from the demands which the system has put upon him, nor Justified in calling professional skill to prison manage ment. Systems long enforced and sup ported by -public expectation are commonly stronger than Individual pur pose. The fault Is in the system, clearly so; and our State Prison will continue to be the football of politics, with all the evils Implied in that con dition, until we shall supersede It with some better scheme of organization. The prison service, from the superin tendent down, should be established on a professional basis, with appointments and promotions for qualification and personal merit. It will be ridiculous, or something worse to change the whole prison force next Winter, when Mr. Chamberlain shall succeed Mr. Geer In the Governor's chair, and yet this Is precisely what the system looks to and what will probably happen. The change will put a burden upon Mr. Chamber lain, as it did upon Mr. Geer; while working direct Injury to the service to the extent that it shall supplant ex perience with Inexperience, it will in volve the new Governor in an embar rassing deal with small politicians. It Is high time a system so al fault should be changed. j NAVAL POWERS OP THE FUTURE. The naval maneuvers which have Just terminated off the coast of Massachu setts have a special interest at this time, when the most recent book on "The Future of War," "by Jean de Bloch, de clares that the United States and 'Great Britain are sure to be the only great naval powers of the world under the changed and rapidly changing condi tions of modern warfare. Mr. Bloch grants that Russia needs vessels for coast defense; perhaps also for cruis ers; but he Insists that it was folly to attempt . to create a fleet of battle-ships. In event of a war with Germany, if the Russian fleet was Inferior to that of Germany, it would either be captured or shut up in harbor, and if It was superior to that of Ger many, Russia would be no better off than France was with her superior fleet in her war with Germany in 1870 7L The French fleet was so useless that the Ironclads were laid up In harbor and the crews sent to Paris. Germany struck at the heart of France when she struck at Paris, and the superiority of the French fleet could not possibly cre ate any diversion of the Germans from fb.e capital. When In 1870 the possibility of a French expedition to the shores of the Baltic was discussed, Moltke said he would welcome such an expedition, be cause any diversion of French forces from the point where the decisive blow must be delivered would Increase the German chances of success. The same reasoning would make it an act of folly for Germany, in event of war with Russia, to land an expedition on the Russian coast It would be slashing at a giant's toes while he was striking at your heart. Russia, therefore, would have no reason to fear any attack by sea. In the Crimean War of 1854-56 the English fleet could make no Impression on the Russian coast. For Russia to build battle-ships Mr. Bloch thinks Is a waste of money that were better em ployed upon Improving the army. The contest between Germany and Russia would be settled on land. Austria In 1866 defeated the fleet of Italy at LIssa, but the fate of Austria was decided at Sadowa, But Mr. Bloch points out that there Is a decisive difference between Russia and countries like England and the United States, the commercial and financial capitals of which are ap proachable by a fleet. Great Britain does not grow food enough on its own soil to feed its peo ple three months, and if she does not command the seas she cannot bring to her markets the food of the world. The United States Is under no such pressure as Great Britain, for we not only raise our own food, but a vast surplus which we sell to Europe, and yet Indirectly we would be compelled to strengthen our Navy if any great war between Great Britain and one or more of the Continental powers threatened our vast trade with Great Britain with destruc tion. Furthermore, on our seacoast there are a large number of rich cities, which are approachable by naval at tack. The United States next to Great Britain needs to be a strong naval power. Russia no more needs to be a great naval power today than she did when Napoleon moved on Moscow. France then had no navy, for it had been destroyed by Nelson,- but even if France and Russia had both been strong naval powers, 'it would not have affected the result A Russian navy could not get To Paris cor a French navy to Moscow. The contest was set tled on land, and it would be settled similarly today in a fight between France and Russia. The French navy In 1870-71 did not help France on her march on Berlin, any more than the Austrian navy helped Austria In 1866. France as the hereditary enemy of England probably expects some day to go to war with that power and in that event needs a large navy to cover the landing of an army on the English coast, but with the exception of France, no Continental power of Europe can afford to waste money on expensive battle-ships. The British fleet counts twenty-nine first class battle-ships completed, as against seventeen for France and Russia com bined. England has forty-one flrst class cruisers built and building, as against thirteen for France, fifteen for Russia and sixteen for Germany. Great Britain and Japan together have forty seven armor-clads of , the first class, against forty-four for Russia, France and Germany. Leaving out the United States, Great Britain Is today strong enough to meet any coalition. If the present plan of enlargement Is carried out, Germany will be the second sea power In the world by 1910, but In face of Mr. Bloch's argument It Is not easy to understand why the millions em ployed to create these battle-ships will not be wasted. So far as any Continental foe Is con cerned, Germany no more needs a great navy today than she did In 1866, when fighting Austria, or In 1870-71, when fighting France. How powerless In war a great navy may be Is Illus trated by the fact that during the Boer War the only help the navy could afford was to send a naval battery by rail from Natal to Ladysmlth. A great navy of battle-shlpB Is of no value pro portionate with its cost to Germany. England destroyed the naval power of France in 1805. and yet Napoleon with out a fleet marched all over Europe, en tered Madrid, Berlin, Vienna and Mos cow, and the failure of the Russian ex pedition was not due to the loss of the French navy. In other words, unless the commercial and flnariclal capital of a great state Is approachable by the enemy's fleet, the decisive fight will be a land battle, as it was between Napoleon and the pow ers of Europe, as it was between Prus sia and Austria, as It was between Ger many and France. As Mr. Bloch points out, countries like Great Britain and the United States, whose commercial and financial capitals are approachable by a fleet, must continue to maintain their rank among the naval powers of the world. Senator Piatt, of Connecticut'. In the current North American Review, ob serves that Washington Is about the poorest place in the country to learn what Is the public sentiment. A Wash ington dispatch soys that "unless re ports that come to Washington from all parts of the country are misleading, there 13 no great popular Interest In the Cuban question and no demand for Cuban reciprocity." And then some one, whose name is carefully suppressed, is quoted as saying that there is no senti ment In the country calling for Cuban reciprocity. The New York Journal of Commerce pertinently "inquires, What are the platforms adopted by six or eight Important Republican states but expressions of the people In favor of reciprocity with Quba, and with other countries also? Of course, there Is no popular excitement over the thing; the pulse of the people is not roused; this Is not a war question, or a question of slavery, that there should be great mass meetings and heated speeches. The people at home have their business to look after, and they choose Sena tors and Representatives' to look after such a matter as this. But only a very strong public sentiment In favor of Cu ban reciprocity will explain the resolu tions of several Republican state con- ventlons, especially in Nebraska and Minnesota and Iowa, where Senators and Representatives of those states sought diligently to secure a different expression of opinion. Last week's ac tion in Idaho Is a timely reinforcement of these resolutions. Vermont holds Its - biennial election for Governor, Representatives in Con gress and Legislature on September 2. Under the constitution of Vermont a majority over all Is necessary to an election. Falling In this, the election of Governor and other state officers Is made by the Legislature. Clement, the independent license candidate for Gov ernor of Vermont, claims his election by a majority over all of at least 1000 votea He expects to receive 75 per cent of the Democratic TOte and from 33 to 75 per cent "of the Republican vote, ac cording to locality, his largest vote com ing from the larger towna As the small towns are disproportionately strong In the Legislature, he does not expect to carry that body, and if elected will have to be by the direct vote. Maine will hold its election September 8 for candidates for Governor, Repre sentatives In Congress, Legislature and local offices. Maine has not failed to give a Republican majority for Gover nor 6lnce 1880, when It elected a green backer by a small plurality. Since then the lowe3t plurality was given in 1882, when the Republican candidate for Gov ernor had 8872 more votes than his Dem ocratic opponent and the largest was given In 1896. when the Republican can didate for Governor -polled 48,377 more votea than his Democratic rival. In September, 1900, the Republican plural ity was 34,132, and In 1898 the plurality was 24,769. Secretary Wilson is undoubtedly cor rect in his doctrine that the big corn crop Is an indirect but certain pro moter of cheaper beef. Another potent influence i3 to be the fact that high prices have brought into being the larg est number of calves ever contained in the United States at one time. No meat trust can permanently nullify the oper ation of these natural factors. The col lapse of the corn corner proves It In Iowa they have- an "old toper's law," under which chronic drunks are locked up for an indefinite period. It is said to be working wonders. Maybe some courageous member of the Oregon Legislature will undertake the task of putting such an act through to passage. It deserves credit for Its unusual hon esty In recognizing the responsibility of a class that Is too often treated as vic tims rather than offenders. Five years ago an automobile was looked upon as a curiosity In the United States. - Last year there were 2000 ma chines In New York City alone, and to day it is estimated there are not less than 12,000 automobiles In use in the United States, with the prospect that by the end of 1903 this number will be doubled. Having been appointed with superior odds, the defending blue squadron takes the attacking wnlte squadron Into camp with technical total destruction. For eign powers will please take notice and get geared themselves accordingly. "WALL-STREET MORALITY." ' New York Evening Post In cross-examination at the hands ot Mr. Guthrie last Friday, one of our latret "young Napoleons of finance" wa3 forced to confess to something very like a false hood and something, very like a fraud. The lawyer asked him gently, though somewhat Irrelevantly, If he considered such cdnduct moral. "Yes," was the re ply, "according to the standard of Wail street morality." Mr. Guthrie protested that this was far too general a moral definition, and insisted that what the witness really meant was his own Wall street morality. Into these nice personal distinctions we cannot enter; but everybody Is interested in the question whether there is. in fact, such a thing as a separate code of moral ity for Wall street Pascal said that legal standards changed with every three de grees of latitude; do our moral standdrda here In New York vary with every three blocks? In passing from Liberty street to Wall street do we, as our audacious young speculator maintained, pass from honor to dishonor, from truth to lying, without knowing it ourselves or having anybody remark It? "What do these peo ple believe?" was a question which Arch bishop Benson used to ask In bewilder ment when he first got to know a certain form of luxurious society in London. A timllar wonder, not as regards religious belief, but the very foundation of morals, has possessed many minds as recent stories o'f plot and counterplot scheme and charier and consolidation, in the world of. hundred-million finance, have been laid beforo the public Are the morals of these magnlncent manipula tors quite topsy-turvy? Is piracy legiti mized in Wall street after having been driven from Tripoli and the Spanish Main? Is the Stock Exchange subject to the descent of privateers? People who ask these questions are sometimes- told, with a severe aJr, that there is no place In the world where the standard of commercial honor is higher than in Wall street. Millions change hands on a verbal agreement. Vast trans actions are effected by telephone, by ges ture; and no broker could retain his seat on the exchange for a day who did not live up to the obligation of his word as scredly as If it were a sealed bond. But all this, of course, relates only to the machinery of speculation the minor mor ality of Wall street Without this strin gent system of external good faith, ope rations could not go on for a day. The dishonest speculator depends upon It as completely as the great mass of reputable brokers. We have to go deeper If "we are to get an answer to the question. "Has Wall street a morality all Its own?" It is not a question of methods so much as of spirit. Dominant temper more than specific acts must be the touchstone of any code of morality, and of Wall street's, too. What we want to know Is It there exists, behind the correct exterior and the scrupulous fulfillment of obligation, a dis position to deceive, to hoodwink, to play madly for huge stakes, to prey upon the innocent and unwary, to take advantage of power In order to trample upon the. rights of the weak In short, to produce financial Intrigue after intrigue of the sort that has lately been unveiled? They are within the recognized technique of Wall street They may be within the lct tor of the law. But they are, at best, pious frauds of the kind that Lord Hol land had in mind when he said: "I per cleve the fraud, but not the piety!" Now we would not for a moment Imply that the men who do business in Wall street are sinners above all that dwell in New York. They have simply had to en dure, of late, the stigma which comes from bad associates. What the public has fastened Its eye upon Is the extraordinary collection of swindling promoters and blackmailers who hover about the Stock Exchange. They are. we know, only what may be called the parasites of great finance; but they have been so uncom monly numerous. In recent weeks, and so extraordinarily insolent and annoying, that plain folk may be excused for think ing the whole street Infested by them. There seems to have been almost an or ganized band of conspirators, ready to make their piratical raids, now In this sea", now In that. They proceed, by pref erence, not so much In the way of rumor and Insinuation and canard the old style of stock-jdbblng as in the use of desper ate resorts, fraudulent or collusive suits at law, and necessarily cast suspicion and a malign shadow over the whole area of their operations. Wo understand perfectly with what in dignation and sincerity the leading bankers-find brokers repudiate all connection with this black-horse cavalry of the financial world. Their morality Is not of that brand. Agreed, and yet the question remains whether, after all. there is not a kind of tacit cardinal virtue of Wall street which accounts for. If It does not excuse, the unblushing schemers who hang upon the flanks of legitimate enterprise, is not the chief morality of the street to be successful? Does It not too generally go over to that "item in the bitter list," which Lowell wrote of to George William Curtis And gold, however got, a'tltle fair To such respect as only gotd can bear. Take the case of that swaggering young Lochlnvar of speculation who came out of the West But a short time ago he was to the solid men In Wall street as much a figure of loathing as of dread. He was regarded aa little better than a high wayman, in either breeding or methods. But he held up one rich traveler after another; he heaped up his plunder by one midnight foray after another, un til at last his weapons became so for midable that respectable firms allowed him to loll, ostentatiously In their offices, from which a year ago the porter would have kicked him out And to crown all, this triumphant buccaneer, this successful gambler. Is now gravely sought out by newspapers, and his views on business' and the markets, yes, and on education and the bringing up of children, printed by the column. That is the sort of thing the worship of success, the brute recogni tion of brute money which Is the worst product of Wall street, and which gives too much occasion for the belief that there Is a kind of "Wall street morality" not to be distinguished from a pervasive Immorality eating Into our commercial life like a cancer. President and General Smith. Army and Navy Journal. A correspondent, Mr. Franck Taylor, writing from Bristol, Tenn., Aug. 20, 1902, says: , "Will you allow me space In your col umns to say that every man with whom I have talked, or have written to, agrees with you In your opinion regarding the retirement of Brigadier-General Jacob H. Smith. For Instance, an old resident of Wisconsin who marched with Sherman to the sea a staunch Bepubllcan and a great admirer of the President, says: General Smith should be a Major-General, instead of being made a scapegoat to please a lot ot tramp Hessians', and pro fessional humanitarians.' From no good citizen have I heard any endorsement ot the President's mistake In forcibly re tiring this gallant old soldier, .vho should have the respect and sympathy of every American with red blood In his veins. It Is useless to deny that-the real American loves a fighting man, and that the mass of our people view with silent regret the President's action in this case there can be no doubt By 'the people I do not mean the politicians and newspaper edit ors, who care nothing for the welfare ot our Army." Pleasant Trips for Statesmen. Buffalo Courier. Senators Burton, Mitchell and Foster are about to start on what should bo an agreeable Junket They will visit Hawaii for Investigation of the ex-Queen's claims to crown lands and examination of condi tions in the Islands generally. An Investi gation of the situation-in the Philippine Islands by an Intelligent committee would be regarded by the public as far more im portant but Congress declined to author ize it - THE COST OF LIVING. Kansas City Star. s Harper's Weekly summarizes the re sults of an Interesting investigation of the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor into the cost of living In Massachusetts to day compared with the. cost In 1S97 and In 1872. The bureau selected at random 152 families of wcrfcingmen and secured from them their budgets for the year. Those were compared with the budgets of families of about the same class gath ered by the bureau five years ago and In 1872. The comparison shows that In Massachusetts the cost of living Is lower than 30 years ago, but higher than in 1S37. The station of the families Is shown by the rent paid. For the 152 investi gated the average rent was $105 a year. Their food cost them 11 per cent more than In 1S97 but CO per cent 'less than In 1872. They spent 16 per cent more for dry gocds ami shoes tnan In 1S97 and 41 per cent less than in 1S72. Rent had In creased 52 per cent in the last five years, but was still only .02 per cent greater than 20 years ago. Their fuel was 10 per cent more expensive than In 1S97, but It cost 27 per cent less than in 1S72. It may be doubted whether the decrease In the cost ot living in the last 20 years. Indicated by the bureau's figures. Is so great as It seems. The summary given In Harper's Weekly falls to take into ac count the fact that In 1872 the country was not yet on a gold basis, and conse quently prices measured In greenbacks were abnormnlly high. The issue of the paper currency in 1862 sent prices soaring and things were not back at' their nor mal level until the resumption of specie payments In 1S79. In July, 1S64. when a paper dollar was worth less than 40 cents, the average price of a large number of commodities reported by" the Monetary Commission of 1S9S was about two and a half times as large as In 1860. In 1S72 the greenback dollar was worth between 0 and 90 cents. Prices were consequently atlll Inflated. A report on the eost of com modities for that year takes that no ac count of the inflation Is unsatisfactory With allowances made for abnormal con ditions. It appears that the cost of living In Massachusetts Is somewhat less than In 1S72, but not so much less as the fig ures seem to indicate. The comparison of conditions now with those five years ago Is more satisfactory. Evidently unless a man's wages have In creased by more than 10 per cent he Is not so well off as he was In 1S97 at least in cases where his living expenses about equal his Income. It Is possible, of course, that part of the families pay more than formerly for their living, be cause their mode of life Is better thn before. The Increased rental paid, for Instance, Indicates that they'llve In more comfortable houses than families of the same class occupied five years ago. But In general the bureau thinks that the economic condition of the average family has not Improved since 1S37. Socially, however, the bureau believes a decided gain Is to be noticed, though for Its daro. 4t goes back 20 years. In 1872 a majority of the families Investigated depended in part upon support from oth er members than the head. From a quarter to a third of the Income was from the labor of children. Now only an eighth comes from this source. In 1872 children under 15 furnished from an eighth to a sixth of the Income. Now no children of this age are found contribut ing to the family's support. But at the same tlmo the amount of" Income con tributed by the wife has Increased from less than 1 per cent to more than 5 per cent A larger percentage of families, the bureau finds, have an Income exceeding their expenditures now than In 1872. In some respects Massachusetts Is bet ter oft than the country as a whole. The census figures show that the percentage of women and children working for wages throughout the United States has Increased more rapidly -In the last decade thin the percentage of men employed. The census shows, too, that at the same time the average wage was slightly de creased. The disappointing thing about these statistics Is not that they show that American workmen are not getting enough to live on. Unquestionably they are. But the figures fall to Indicate the increased share ofworkmen in the prod uct of their industry which the country had hoped to see. At the same time it must be remembered that the average home is much more comfortable today than formerly. Good copies of fine pic tures are within the reach of everybody. Magazines are cheap and plentiful, and musical Instruments are common. Fig ures do not show the whole history of a people, and llfo In America Is much richer in every way than it was a gen eration ago. PERSOXS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT. Three natives of Norway have been elected Qovcrnors of South Dakota. Charles N. Her reld, the present Executive, being the third of his line. It la said that more babies have been named after President Roosevelt than after any other Executive of the Nation save Washington and "Jefferson. Mrs. Hannah Sutherland, of .Maiden. Mass.. refused to return flO In change given her by mistake by the conductor of a street-car, and has been sentenced to a year's Imprisonment in the House of Correction. The only wound ever sustained by Lord Kitchener during his long terra of military service was received in the Soudan, where a bullet from an Arab's gun struck him In the cheek. The bullet, after remaining In the flesh for soma time, fell Into his plate at a London restaurant. The centennial anniversary of Louis Kos suth's birth will be celebrated In Hungary on December 17 next. The municipality of Buda Pesth Is making preparations for a solemn celebration. Including a procession to Kos suth's grave, where the foundation-stone of a mausoleum will be laid. James A. Bouty. an American citizen so journing in Brazil, has made a discovery which Is a revelation to the Brazilians regarding the resources of their own forests. He has found a tree called balata, growing near Para and for thousands of miles along the Amazon River, the Juice of which promises to rival rubber In the world's markets. At his own request Rev. E. T. Sanford. pastor of Calvary Baptist Church at Hacken sack. N. J., was placed In a Jail cell, where his photograph was . taken. He proposes to use the picture as an Illustration tor a tem perance lecture he is about to deliver. Mr. Sanford recently was photographed in a sa loon, standing at the bar. He was also pho tographed in the Hackensack courtroom, stand ing at the bar before Judge Zabrlskle. Ex-Governor "Bob" Taylor, of Tennessee, known far and wide as "the fiddling Gover nor," is a candidate for Mr. Bate's seat In the United States Senate. He proposes to move his residence from Knoxvllle to Nash ville. It Is said that ha believes this change will further his Senatorial ambitions. His candidacy, however, is based on the supposition that Senator Bate does not desire a re-election. Should the latter enter the field Mr. Taylor will withdraw. Jean de Resske receives the highest salary paid to a male singer. His contract for IB appearances during his last American tour amounted to 136,000. an. average of J 2250 for every time he appeared on the platform. Mme. Pattl, however, can claim even a better rec ord. For singing at Covent Garden in 1S70 on 16 nights she received $43,000. an average of $3000 for each appearance. But the fa mous prima donna beat this record while on her American tour, for while In New Orleans In the 'fiO's she received as high as $0000 per night. The Happier Life. E. W. -Gillian. In Los Angeles Herald. Forget the ache your own heart holds By easing others' pain; Forget your hungering for wealth By seeking others' gain: And make your life much briefer seem By brightening the years For tears dry quicker In- the eyes That look for others' tears. Heartache fades quickest from the heart That feels another's pain; The greed for wealth dies sooner If We seek another's gain: Life's sands run lightly if we nil With kindness all the years And tears dry quicker la the eyes That lock for others' tears. NOTE-AND COMMENT. -Senator Frye. aetat LXXI, will marry. Kcqulescat, In pace. Since the attacking squadron couldn't shoot, of course it had ,to surrender. Portland Is able to support a. can fac tory, for "can't" Is not in Its vocabulary- If we had back the money we spent on our vacations we would use It some other way. If Improvement of Seventh street has been waiting for a water main how lucky we are! The Tracy and Merrill outbreak was worth all It cost. It opened up the peni tentiary. Would not the city look Just as well without the circus posters now, as be fore the circus? After this strenuous quest for a fair site we shall need a good long rest. This is another reason for hurry. If New England was In such danger In , a sham battle, perhaps Its panic during the Spanish war had cause after all. Morgan refuses to give tips. He rides In his own car. If we didn't have to ride In Pullman's maybe we'd be rich, too. Pope Leo disobeyed the orders of his physicians and felt better for it. His health has not been so good for 10 years. People don't like the occupation tax. Neither do they like any other tax. To tax and to please was not given to man. Taft has advised the Filipinos to quit politics, and work, but they are more civ ilized than he gave them credit for be ing. If the courts cannot decide who was the last to move, Mr. Fair or Mrs. Fair, they "at least know who had the last word. It may not be professional for some doctors to pay the occupation tax. but if patients did not pay debts well, that's another story. Miles will not say what he Is going to do In the Philippines, but when he gets back you may be sure he will tell why he didn't do it. Hanna is trying his level best to get la with tho lahbr unions. Since the moun tain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet goes to the mountain. General Urlbe-Uribe may think he's pretty many, but he's not even twins, any more than was Chief Pio-pio-mox-mox, tho friend of Dr. Whitman at Lapwai. Colonel Watterson says he would not be Governor of Kentucky because he Is too old to turn rascal. Of course. Ken tucky doesn't understand a man like that. It used to be Imperialism' with Miles, to hold the Philippines, but sInce the sands of his military service are running short, he must needs go somewhere to cure his Itch for renown right quick. After all. It would take a great deal of trouble to get a fireboat, and the city could much easier go up in smoke. Ee sldes, the city is in no more appreciable danger than before the last fire. Had John Paul Jones commanded one of the squadrons In the naval maneuvers, he Would have taken the business in earn est and blazed away, just as the elder Booth did who, when playing Richard the Third, attacked his adversary In such furious earnest that nobody but an ex pert swordsman dared to play with him. It remains, however, In spite of all ex planations, that officers and guards at the penitentiary often get appointments through political pull more often than selection of them Is made on the score of actual fitness. And that way of doing business will not end with the present Governor, either. It's Just about as well now to let up on "Hell-Roaring Jake Smith." for tho fact remains that tho whole American people, with the exception of the milksops, sis sies and cotqueans, think as well ot him as his personal friends and neighbors do. who turned out by thousands to wel come his to his home. Tho savages of the Phlllp'plnes owe more to courts-martial for their sporadic successes than to their own prowess. Before Bryan was renominated In tho year 1900, General Miles had some thought and hope that he himself might be made the Democratic candidate for the Presi dency that year. Last time General MIle3 was In Portland ho was arguing that we ought not to keep tho Philip pines. This policy, he seems to Imagine, ought to commend him to the Democrats. He now goes to the Philippines, no doubt expecting to come back loaded with "scuttle" for the demands of 1S04. "The old man eloquent," or, rather, "that old man eloquent," Is a MUtonlc phrase. It was a characterization by Milton of Isocrates, a Greek orator of the fourth century. - B. C. The place of Isocrates In literature Is unique. He In troduced the style of rhythmic and bal anced periods, in which he was followed by Demosthenes.-CIcero also, whose syla is exceedingly like that ot Isocrates. espe cially, used him for a model- Through these two orators Isocrates ha3 molded all the prose of the modern world. PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHERS Breakfast-Table Chat. Alice (finding a roll of bills under her plate) Tou were out awfully late, Arthur. Is this conscience money? Ar thur (timidly, from behind his newspaper No. my dear; hush money! Puck. Minister (to one of his members, a vener able old gardener) You have reached a great age. John. JohnDeed ha'e I. sir. for gin I leeve till the 11th o next month. I'll be an octogcranlum. Glasgow Evening Times. Practical. "And you still Insist that your flying machine Is a practical commercial quan tity?" "I do," answered the businesslike In ventor. "If you don't believe It I can show you the gate receipts." Washington Star. Such Is Life. The Old Man Toung man. when you take my daughter. I trust you with the dearest treasure of my life. No: I couldn't lend you my auto for a little spin. I value It too highly to risk It In strange hands. Harper's Bazar. Temptation Too Great. "What's the charge against this woman, officer?" asked the Po lice Magistrate. "Insulting an officer. Tour Honor." replied policeman No. 9S. "She wanted to know If I had been marked down from $1." Chicago Dally News. Thoroughbred Sport. BUzzer I Just heard that Bllgewater Jumped out of his yacht yes terday and was drowned. Buzzer Shocking! Did he do it with suicidal Intent? BUzzer Oh. no; he was racing, and did It to lighten hl3 boat and thereby win the race. Chicago Journal. They had a dispute, and agreed to leave It to tho military expert. "What bullet." they asked, "do you consider the deadliest?" For several minutes he remained in a brown study. Then he looked up with the air of one who had settled the matter finally and definitely. "The one that bits," he said. Tit-Bits. 1