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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1902)
THE MQRNING OREGONIAN, SATUKDAYj DECEMBER 20, 1902; 11 TRADE WITH CUBA Will Be .Greatly Increased by New Treaty, A LARGE REDUCTION IN DUTY Caba Cats Tariff 23 to 40 Per Ccat and United States Grants Uniform Re daction of 25 Per Cent Senate Will IlHrry Ratification. WASHINGTON. Dec. 19. The friends of the reciprocity treaty recently negotiated between the United States and Cuba have been assured by members of the Senate committee on foreign relations that the treaty will be taken up by that commit tee as soon as practicable after the Christmas holidays. There were several conferences on the subject at the Cap itol today, which resulted in this under standing. The terms of the treaty re quire that it shall be ratified before the 31st day of January, and its supporters appreciate the necessity of expedition in getting it out of the committee in order to avold the necessity of an extension of time." The treaty makes more liberal provision for the importation of American articles Into the Republic of Cuba than has been stated heretofore, there being provisions for reductions in some cases as much as 40 per cent, in others of SO per cent, and in still others of 25 per cent- On all American-grown or American-made ar ticles, except tobacco. Imported Into Cuba and not specified in the 25. 30 and 40 per cent classes, there is to be a uniform tariff reduction of 20 per cent. In return, the United States agrees to a uniform reduction of 25. per cent with out exception on all Importations from Cuba. The new Island Republic does not agree to any reduction on tobacco grown in the United States or in the territory of any of its possessions and Imported into Cuba. The products of the United States which are to be admitted into Cuba at a reduc tion of 25 per cent from the rate of the existing Cuban tariff include pottery, salt lien, copper-made machinery, cast and wrought iron and steel and articles used in manufacturing them, glass, cotton and some cotton goods, ships and boats, whis ky and brandy. The 30 per cent reduction includes cutlery, shoes, plated ware, drawings, photographs, engravings, etc.; materials used in making labels and bands for tobacco, common soaps, pre served vegetables, butter, drugs, bottled beer, etc., mineral waters and articles made of hemp and kindred fibers, musical Instruments and writing and printing pa pers. The list of American importations into Cuba on which a 40 per cent reduc tion Is made Includes watches, umbrellas, knit cottons, preserved fruits, perfumery and woolen and silk goods. There is a specific declaration to the ef fect that the rates fixed for each of the two countries by the other shall be pref erential of each party to the convention as against all other countries. There also Js a provision against a discriminating tax on articles affected in the country of their origin, in case either country changes its tariff rates so as to deprive the other of advantages granted, the oth er country is to have the privilege of ab rogating the treaty. No specific provision is made for a subsequent reduction of the Cuban duty so as to let American goods -tn-et Jowcp: -rates bjt the regulars-methods of legislation rather than "by treaty, but there is a clause under which. If this re duction is made, the Cuban government may reopen negotiations to secure a modification of the treaty. It provides for such a change only in case the Cuban tariff should be so reduced as to make the reduction -unreasonable from the Cu ban point of view.. The treaty is to go Into effect 10 days after Its ratification by the authorities of both countries. GREAT PROGRESS OP CUBA. British Minister Testifies to Effects of American Control. WASHINGTON, Dec 19.-A striking picture of the development of Cuba since the Spanish "War Is presented in a report to his government by Lionel Carden, the British Minister at Havana, a copy of which has just reached Washington. The Minister says: "It is highly satisfactory to note the progress this island has made In the past xnree years, in spue oi tne deplorable condition In which it was left at the end of thewar. The production of sugar has risen from 335,000 tons in 18S9 to over S00, 000 tons In 1901, and probably will reach 1,000,000 tons in this year's crop. "The cultivation and manufacture of tobacco as well as the minor industries show considerable Improvement; the stock of cattle, thanks to Importations, is now upwards of 375,000, compared with 200,000 at the beginning of 18S9, and finally the value of exports has increased from 9, 260,000 to O2.65q.000, and would have reached much higher figures but for the fall In prices of sugar." Trcnty Sent to Cnban Senate. HAVANA, Dec. 19. President Palma sent the Cuban-American treaty to the Senate -today with a message urging that early action be taken. TAX THE FRANCHISES. J. C. Magee Scores Portland's Meth ods in Comparison With. Other Cities. SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 13. (To the Editor.) Please let me thank Councilman Bentley for the very valuable report on the blanket franchise which the City & Suburban Railway is trying to secure, and which he submitted to the adjourned Council meeting on December 8. From reading' this report it Is perfectly clear that the franchise, which this com pany desires, will require careful inves tigation and great care should be taken not to grant It anj privileges which will shut out competition on the city's bridges or elsewhere. On a recent visit to Dos Angeles, I learned that business on all lines has nearly doubled in that city since Janu ary 1, and on inquiring the cause of this remarkable Increase I was told that It was due to the extension of the street car lines into the suburbs. A perfect network of suburban lines have been built, taking in all the suburban towns within a radius of 25 miles and it is pro posed to extend this radius to towns of 100 miles distant. The fares charged are about 1 cent per 'mile for an ordinary return ticket, but books, containing tick ets for ten rides can be purchased for $1 50. Each ticket costing 15 cents is available for a ride of about 25 miles. The business to the company is very prof itable and the 5 per cent bonds of the Pacific Electric Company, one of the new suburban roads, are already quoted at 110, or 10 per cent premium, and the Los Angeles City 5 per cent railway bonds are quoted at 19 per cent premium and none are for sale. I naturally supposed that Los Angeles secured its Increased business at the ex pense of the small towns reached by the new electric roads, hut was assured that these towns benefited quite as much from the Increased facilities for travel as Los Angeles. Hollywood, a suburban town, which al ready has one electric .road. Is endeavor ing to raise a bonus of 10,000 as "-an' In ducement for another electric company to connect It with Los Angeles. It also offers a free right of wayT A central depot, about 200 feet square, is being constructed In the very center of Los Angeles. It will have waiting rooms and every modern convenience, and is to be used by the patrons o the subur ban roads. Numerous gangs of workmen are employed all over the city relaying the tracks with heavy rails and making other improvements. With the possible exception of the Ore gon Water Power & Railway Company the Portland street railway companies have done very little for the tbwn, In the way of extending their systems Into the country. Their business is simply to collect the nimble nickel for which they give the least possible service. Their cars do not begin to compare with those In use In Los Angeles and other Coast cities. In extending the1 franchises, the payments of the Oregon Water Power & Railway. Company should be relatively far less than either -of the other roads, because of its enterprise in pushing into the "country, and no franchise should De granted for a city street unless it con tains a clause fixing the length of time which should elapse between each trip at 10 minutes, that being quite a reasonable time for outside streets, while five min utes should be the time for each trip on inside streets. Broadway in Oakland has a service of every two and a half minutes, while in Los Angeles the cars run les3 than two and a naif minutes apart on the business streets. Portland Is probably the only city of Its size and Importance in the United States that would tolerate a street-car company occupying one of its leading" streets with its tracks, without, using them as the City & Suburban Railway Company is doing on Second street in your city. And In granting an .extended franchise to this company over this street care should be taken to insert a clause compelling them to either remove their tracks from Second street or to give a reasonable service for the special privilege which they desire to secure, and which is certain to become immensely valuable !6ng before the expiration of the 25 years for which they ask the fran chise. I enclose you a copy of the lecture re cently delivered by Washington Dodge, City Assessor of San Francisco, from which I would thank you to publish the extracts which I have marked and in view of the importance of this subject at this time, to your readers, you may be able to find space to publish It complete. Mr. Dodge has materially reduced the assessments on real property In the city, thus adding greatly to Its value. He has popularized real estate as ari Investment, which has resulted In one of the great est booms the city has ever known. All this has been accomplished by. assessing franchises, bank credits, etc., which bear a part of the burden which had heretofore been borne exclusively by real estate alone. You possess climate, soil, resources and everything calculated to make Portland one of the great cities of the world. You have made your foundations broad and deep, but reasonable care must be taken to prevent the creation of a . monopoly that will shut out competition and retard your future progress. J. C. MAGEE. Extract From Dr. Dodge's Speech. Dr. Washington Dodge, of San Francis co read an able paper on "The Assessment of Property for Taxation Purposes." It was as follows: To an organization such as this, having as its object the Improvement of municipal conditions and the consideration of municipal finances, anything bearing upon the question of munic ipal revenues must challenge your attention. Indeed, in view of the rapid growth and the ever-Increasing disbursements of American, cities, the subject of municipal revenues is be coming a question of leading Importance. Rapid as has been the Increase In population of our cities, it has not kept pace with the increase in the expense of maintaining our city governments. Perhaps the chief reason for this condition lies In the fact that our concep tion as- to the dutynd functions of civic gov ernment lias materially changed. Our. citizens now demand expenditures In the Interest of their health and comfort, as well as for the protection of their property, which, a few dec ades ago, would -have been regarded as un reasonable. Numerous disbursements In con nection with municipal administration, which would have appalled our fathers, seem to us not only reasonable, but necessary. With the growth of civilization these expenditures will inevitably still further Increase. As a result of these changed conditions, the burden of tax ation In our cities has necessarily become greater. A few facts In this connection will Illustrate In a most forcible manner this tendency. How Expenses Have Grown. Let us take the City of Uew York as an ex ample. Its population today la about the same as that of the entire United States at the time this .country came into existence. Yet, while the City of New York expends today about $100,000,000 a year, the National expenditures at the time referred to were only about $4,000, 000; and even during the first decade of our National existence our expenditures averaged only about 58,000.000 a year. New York City In 1800, with a population of 60,000 souls, spent a little over (100,000 a year. A hundred years later In 1900 her population had In creased pixty-fold, but her expenses had in creased over one-thoueand-fold, and Jbe same ratio of Increase is observed In other cities. Now, what has been the result In this enor mous increase in municipal expenditure? The result has 'been an ever-Increasing burden of taxation, and as this burden, under existing systems of taxation as enforced, has fallen al most entirely upon real estate, it has frequent ly awakened violent opposition and a clamor ous demand for retrenchment from the owners of this class of property. As our expenses, how ever, are bound to Increase with the ever growing demand of modern civilization. It be comes necessary to distribute this burden on all classes of property alike. The present re stricted field from which our taxes have been gathered, this being chiefly realty, must be enlarged. Property which has heretofore es caped adequate assessment must be listed on our assessment rolls. All American cities are feeling the necessity for such relief, and many have, in the past few years, through special legislation, designed to enforce contributions In the way of taxes from that class of property which had been escaping its JUBt share of- tax ation, found the relief which' had become so urgently needed. The City of New York, for Instance, recently forced through the State Legislature a "bill known as the "Ford fran chise bill," which has added to the assessment roll of that city the sum of nearly (100,000.000, this representing an increase In the assessment valuation of franchises alone. This legislation was prompted by the clamorous demand of the owners of city real estate for relief from their constantly Increasing tax burdens, due to the rapid growth in municipal expenditures. Only a Car. Chicago Chronicle. Tho cakes of Ice In the river yesterday were thin, but thick enough to bear a cat The cat was a tabby. How she got on her flimsy craft was a question, but it was even more a question how she was to get off. The cake was about three feet in diameter, but the cat stood in the exact center and dug In her claws as the current toward Joliet swirled her round and round. She was an object very small, and very pitiful and no one noticed while she glided under the Rush and State and Dearborn Street Bridges. There some bad small boys sighted her and ran along the bank on tho north side, shouting and throwing bard snowballs at her. The balls fell all around and splashed Icy water on her fur coat One struck the cake and split' off a third of It Tabby was reduced to nar row quarters and despair. Just then a tramp dog, a mangy look ing brute that once had een far better days, but now slinking along at the boys' heels, plunged Into the river. The boys commenced shelling him instead of the cat but it seemed to make no differ ence to the dog. He swam out In the stream, nearer and nearer the tabby's swirling raft She spat at him, tried to strike his nose with a paw, lost her bal ance and went under. Instantly the bravo dog seized her In his Jaws and then swam. back. Thte time, however, the boys cheered and aid not bombard. They helped him. up the bank and rubbed him dry. with "their .mittens. The tabby, de posited unhurt scurried off without as much as & thank you. NEW DESDEMONA LIGHT Station will be established next wednesday. Captain Calkins' Inspection Trip ea the Lower RiverFrench Bark Daniel Saves Her Charter. v The lighthouse-tender Manzanita ar rived up yesterday afternoon and .docked at the foot of Couch street. She brought Captain C. G. Calkins, the Lighthouse In spector, who has been inspecting the lights and buoys in the lower river. Cap tain Calkins reports that everything i3 in readiness for inaugurating the new light station at Desdemona Sands on December 24. The station will be provided with two gas engines for running the fog signal, which will be a great benefit to naviga tion In thfc lower harbor, as there is no fog signal at present near the mouth of the river. Two lightkcepers will be on duty there. The quarters, however, are so small that they will not permit of men with families. The Lighthouse Board will soon provide two electric lights at As toria, one on the O. R. & N. wharf and the other on the hill back of the town. These lights will furnish range marks, through the new dredge channel. Some changes In buoys between Portland and Astoria were made necessary by changes In the channel, but no new lights were established. The gas buoy placed at the mouth of the Columbia some time ago as an experi ment, and extinguished during a storm, will probably not be relighted, as such a means of marking the channel is not like ly to b'e a success under the circum stances. There has also been great trou ble with the Bar bell buoy, which was forced over on Its side by the current so it would not workv Captain Calkins was present at the launching, of tho new lighthouse-tender Heather at Seattle. The tender will be finished In April, and will be ready for general service In this district, dividing the work with the Manzanita. She will be employed largely in replacing buoys. Alaska may soon have a separate light house district, in which event one of tho tenders will be assigned there. The Col umbine is novj operated by the Light house Engineers Department SAVES HER CHARTER. French Bark Daniel Arrives at As toria Front San Diego. The French bark Daniel, 1819 tons, Cap tain Bacheller, arrived at Astoria yester day afternoon, after an 11 days passage from San Diego. This good time, how ever, vas made with the assistance of the tug Defiance, the most powerful .craft of her kind on, the Pacific Coast The object of this long tow was to save the bark's charter. The Daniel was engaged some time agq by Balfour, Guthrie & Co. to load wheat for the United Kingdom. As the canceling date was December 31, and the rate secured 2Ss 3d, the vessel's own ers concluded to take no chances with wind and weather, particularly as the rul ing quotation for grain freights Is 10s or more below that secured by the Daniel. Another vessel with a December char ter is the French bark Vllle de St Na- zaire, which sailed from Hobart October 8- She stands a good show of not getting here in time. This vessel was also taken by Balfour, Guthrie & Co. The big Ger man bark Alsterberg, just arrived on Pu get Sound, saved her charter by a quick run around from Montevideo. SECURES DANISH REGISTRY. Egbert Changes Her Flag: So She Can Get Chinese Crevr. SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19. The former transport Egbert has secured a Danish registry, and will no longer Uy the Stars and Stripes at her masthead. The Eg bert Is under charter to the Sperry Flour Company to carry flour to the Orient It is understood that the transfer from United States registry to Danish was made to permit the Chinese crew of the steamer Arab being transferred to the Egbert which under American registry is illegal. This will be done, it is said, by sending both vessels to a point just out side American jurisdiction and there mak ing the change. LAKE STEAMER GIVEN UP. Hope of Safety of the John C. Hall and Crevr Abandoned. HENDERSON, N. Y., Dec. 19. All hope for the safety of the steamer John C. Hall and her crew of nine was abandoned to day when portions of wreckage, which proved to be parts of the missing vessel. came ashore at Stony Point, about 20 miles from Oswego. The John C. Hall went down in a gale on Lake Ontario on December 11. Search for Missing: Schooner. At the request of those interested In the master and crew of the missing seal ing schooner South Bend, United States Consul A. EL Smith, says the Victoria Colonist, has arranged to have the of ficers of the steamer Excelsior make a search of the Alaskan coast as far to the westward as Dutch Harbor in the hope that some news may be received from the missing schooner, as well as the other missing vessels, the schooner Gen eral Slglln, from Behring Sea ior Seattle, and steamer Dawson City, from Nome for Seattle. Much alarm is being felt for all three vessels. Some of those who are hoping against hope that some word will be received from the missing schooner South Bend point to the fact that some years ago tho sealing schooner Mascot, now lying in the upper harbor, was ab sent on a Behring Sea cruise until after Christmas, having been detained 'by heavy weather. The Excelsior Is due from Southeastern Alaska about the end .of the year. Inhuman. Treatment Alleged. The sailors of the German ship Emllle, which arrived recently after a long voy age from Antwerp, complain of brutal treatment by the officers on the trip. They say they were only half fed, and were compelled to subsist on a diet of beans and peas, while the captain and first mate had meat and plenty of supplies of all kinds. The officers, they say, were drunk most tf the time, and never missed an opportunity to abuse the men. Numerous instances of cruelty are alleged, and at one time during a storm, according to the sailors, the captain struck down a youth who was hard at work at the wheel." The sailora have laid their case before the German Consul. I Xnl's Hlg Cargo. The German bark Nal has completed her cargo and dropped down to St. Johns to await her turn with the towboata. She carries 150,157 bushels ,of club wheat, worth (105.U0. The cargo Is dispatched by Kerr, Glfford & Co., and the vessel will sail for Queenstown for orders. With two excep tions this is" the largest wheat cargo cleared from this port by sailing vessel this season. The Austrasia took out 155, 050 bushels, and the Peter Rlckmers car ried 165,838 bushels. Saves an Abandoned Steamer. LONDON, Dec. 19. The British steamer North Point, from Philadelphia December 3 for London, which passed the Lizard to day, signaled that she had Jn tow the steamer Pure Oil, from Hamburg for Philadelphia, which had previously been abandined. Further signals were ob scured by the mist, but It is supposed that the North Point meant to convey the in formation that the crew of the Pure Oil had been saved. Snng Boa at iVoric. The Government 'sgboat'Mathloma, which was not able t stwn" the rapids at Rock Island until the -.waUr fell, made the passage over those rapids last Mon day, and has been hard at work removing snags from the river between Salem and Albany. The boat has had to grapple with some very large ones, brought down by the late freshet, but has successfully removed them from the cnannel. Freight Slip Wrecked. SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19. The Santa Fe Railroad Company's newly constructed freight slip at China Basin, In this har bor, has been wrecked for the second time by the sudden shifting of" some hundreds of tons of material behind the sea. walk which was built on a !mud foundation. The extent of the damage has not yet been estimated. The loss caused by the pre vious accident of a similar character was about $50,000. New Canadian Steamer Service. .NEW YORK, Dec. i9.-It Is stated here, cables the Tribune's correspondent' In Lon- .don. that the Canadian Pacific Railway St Lawrence route next Spring and to establish a. weekly service of cargo steamers from Liverpool, a ten days service from London, and a similar ser vice from Glasgow. Steamship Modoc Floated. TOULON, France, Dec. 19. The seamer Modoc, of the Messagerieres Marltimes, which ran aground on the rocks at the Mourillon Arsenal last evening, has been floated and towed to her dock for repairs Marine Notes.. Tho cargo-ship Toyledale, tho lumber schooner John A. Campbell and the dis abled steam schooner Sequoia are being towed up the river. The Kick shifted from Montgomery dock No. 1 to the OI R. & N. dock at Albina. The Werra moved from the steam to the Portland Flouring Mills, and the Rlver- ilria n-ont frnin Pnliimhln in Trvlntr The administration of the Bureau Veri- j tas has Just published the list of maritime disasters reported during the month of September, 1903, concerning all flags, as , follows: Sailing vessels reported lost 4 American. 13 British, 2 Chilean, 13 Ger man, 5 French, 10 Italian, 10 Japanese, 13 Norwegian, 4 Russian, 6 Swedish; total, sels reported missing. Steamers reported lost 2 Brazilian. 16 British. 2 Dutch. 2 French, i German, 2 Greek, 1 Italian, 3 Japanese, 2 Norwegian, 1 Russian, 1 Swed ish; total, 36. In this number Is Included one steamer reported missing.' Foreign and Domestic Ports. ASTORIA, Dec 10. Left up at 8 A M. Steamer Sequoia and schooner John A. Camp bell. Left up at 11 A M. British ship Foyle dale and schooner Mary Wlnkelman. Arrived down at 11 A. M. Schooner Virginia. Sailed at 2 P M. Steamer Columbia, for San Fran cisco. Arrived down at 3:30 P. M. British bark Matterhorn. Arrived at i P. M. French bark Daniel, from San Diego. Condition of the bar at 4 P. M., very rough; southeast gale. San Dlco, Dec 18,. Sailed Dec 18. British ship Tasmania, for Puget Sound. San Francisco, Dec. 10. Sailed at 11:30 A M. Steamer 3eo. W. Elder, for Portland. Plymouth, Dec 10. Arrived Moltke, from New York for Cherbourg and Hamburg, and proceeded. tilvcrpool. Dec 19. Sailed Taurlc, for New York. London, Dec. 10. Arrived Marquette, from New York. Rotterdam, Dec 10. Arrived Ryndam, from New York. Klnsale, Dec- 19. Passed Norseman, from Portland, for Llverrool. Scllly, Dec 19. Passed Moltke, from New York for Plymouth, Cherbourg and Hamburg. Prawle Point, De, 19. Passed Cymbellne, from Philadelphia. New York, Dec 19. Arrived Lombardl, from Genoa and Naples. Hoqulam, Dec 18.--Salled Steamer Marsh field, -from Aberdeen for San Francisco; 17th, steamer W. H., Kruger, from Aberdeen for San Francisco. Holyhead, Dec. 10. Passed Ping Suey, from Tacoma, etc., via Hong Kong,-; for Liverpool. London. Dec. 19. Sailed Abydos, for San Francisco. Chrlstlansend, Dec 19. Arrived Oscar JI, from New; York. Tacoma, Doc. 10. Arrived Steamer John S. Kimball, from San Francisco; barge John C. Potter, from Alaska. San Francisco, Dec. 19. Arrived S teamen Czarina, from Coos Bay. Sailed Steamer Ar tec, for Tacoma; steamer Geo. W. Elder, for Portland; steamer Mandalay, for Bandon. IT'S TOMMYROT. c. E. Cllne Cites a Legal Decision Against Christian Science. PORTLAND. Dec7T9. (To the Editor.) Some two years ago Rev. C M. Bishop, then pastor of the M. E. Church, South, at Nevada, Mo., wrote, to papers in St Louis an account of the queer doings of certain magnetic healers, operating In that little inland place, whereupon the healers brought suit In the courts against the parson for heavy damages. .The case attracted wjde attention; so much so that a big two-story courthouse in Butler, Mo., the county seat, was broken dowji by the crowd. The healers, It Is said, spent from $20,000 to $25,000 In pushing the suit against tho preacher, bringing carloads of witnesses from Saint's Rest and Ballywhack, who swore, numbers oi them, to marvelous things the healers had done for them, and a ver dict was rendered against the preacher. From this decision the clergyman prompt ly appealed to the Supreme Court of Mis souri, which, by the way, has the reputa tion )f being a very able one. Now, after nearly two years, this court reverses the decision of the lower court Judge Valllant wrote the opinion of the entire bench, which says: "Courts are not such slaves to the forms of procedure as'to surrender their own Intelligence to an array of witnesses testifying to an Impossibility. They are not required to give credence to a state ment that would falsify well-known laws of nature, though a cloud of witnesses swear to It "If a man comes Into court claiming to possess supernatural powers, and brings with him witnesses who swear he has done for them that which we know Is im possible, we are not required to believe such evidence. "If there Is anything in the plaintiffs' business they call magnetic healing, and which was not perceptible, the' burden was on them to show the rationale of It Could anything be more sensible than this utterance from one of the ablest Judges of fact and evidence in the Na tion? Clearly, there is no longer stand lng-room for the mystical and tho ex traordinary; they belong to fanaticism or lunacy, or both. Even so-called re llglon may ask the acceptance of that which the human mind, In the exercise of Its rational faculties, can neither take in nor interpret An irrational thing should not be accepted, "though a cloud of witnesses swear to It The ludicrous side of this subject Is further elucidated In an article In the De cember number of the North American Review, by Mark Twain: A little far Western girl of mine, equipped with an adult vocabulary, states her age,. and says: "I thought I would write a demonstra tlon to you." She had a claim, derived from getting flung over a pony's head, and landed on a rock-pile. She. saved herself from disas ter by remembering to say "God is all" while she was In the air. I couldn't have done it I shouldn't even have thought of it. 1 should have been too excited. Nothing but Christian Science could have enabled that child to do that calm and thoughtful and judicious thing In those circumstances. She came down on her head, and by all the rules she should have broken It. But the Intervention of the formula prevented that, so the only damage was a blackened eye. Monday morning at school It was still swollen shut. At school It hurt pret ty badly; that Is, It seemed to, so "I was ex cused, and went down In the basement and said: "Now. I am depending on mamma In stead of God, and I will depend on God Instead of mamma.' " No doubt this would have an swered, but, to make sure she added Mrs. Eddy to the team, and recited the "scientific statement of being," which is one of the prin cipal Incantations, I judged. "Then I felt my eye opening." Why It was enough to open an oyster. l think It is one of the touchiest things in child history, that pious little rat down cel lar pumping away at the sclentlno statement of belsg. C. E, CLINE. FOREIGN GOODS FAVORED GET LOWER RATES FROM:- SEA BOARD THAN HOME PRODUCTS. Railroads Divide With the Steam ship Companies Progress of the Interstate Commission's Inquiry. NEW YORK. Dec. 19. The Interstate Commerce Commission; met today to in vestigate the railroad rates on Import trade, C. S. Wight, freight traffic inanv ager of the Baltimore & Ohio, presented a BChedule showing the .charges of his company for the Inland transportation of e" shown Imported freight His roaa nas main- In the scneauie since the beginning of the year without variation or concession. The .rates on the ocean steamers he did not believe were fixed In New York. Replying to Commissioner Prouty, Mr. Wight said the rate charged by his road on imports between New York ara Chicago Is IS cents per 100 pounds, where like goods originating in New York paid 65 cents per 100 pounds to Chicago. "There is no discrimination. The 18 1 cents is a proportion we receive of a : through rate from some other place, j while the Co cents is the total cost of through carriage from shipping point to . , destination." j "Your foreign agent works on" commis . slon?" Mr. Prouty asked. "You give him your rate and he charges what he can get With the profit he makes and the commission you allow he has to protect his contracts?" , "That is how I understand it" Mr. j Wight replied. Albert T. Meyer, manager or. tne vul canite Cement Company, testified that the rate per barrel from Vulcanite, N. J., to East St Louis, is 66 1-5 cents, while from Antwerp or Hamburg the through rate Is only 65 cents. Frank Harriot, commissioner of the Im port committee of the trunk lines, said only good faith prevents the different rail- , rds tm making concessions to ship Pers. ne pronusea 10 prepay a state- ment showing that certain kinds of im ports are carried at smaller rates than , the domestic articles. What would be the result in the Port I of New York if Congress should enact a law," Mr. Prouty asked, "that no railway might carry Imported goods at a lower rate than It charges for domestic goods?" "In tho long run," Mr. Harriot replied, "It might be a good thing. Temporarily It would stop trade. The improvement would have to come by an adjustment of freights by the steamship lines." Mr. M. F. Berry, manager of the For eign Department of the American Ex press Company, said his company makes its charges for forwarding goods on the basis of the steamshin charges plus the railroad charges. The company received no concessions below the announced tar iff. Samuel Bettle, of the International Nav igation Company, said he believed the published tariffs of the railroads are ab solutely maintained. "There is no fixed tariff for ocean freights," he said. "There have been times when I would, not touch cement at any figure, and times when I have paid to secure It, because getting the weight that way was cheaper than handling rock for ballast" NEW RAILROAD TO NEHALEM. To Start From Astoria Road-.To Portland Via Grand Rapids. Incorporation articfes of the Columbia River & Nehalem Railway Company wero filed In the office of the County Clerk yes terday by David L. Kelly, Franklin G. Kelly, Franklin G. Kelly, J. M. Long and Alex Sweek, with an authorized capital of 5100,000. The objects announced are to build and operate a railroad and telegraph llnefrom. a pofnt on the Columbia River near Blind Slough Station, on the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad, in Clatsop County, thence, in a southeasterly direc tion to tho town of Grand Rapids, on the Nehalem River; also a railroad from Grand Rapids In Nan easterly direction to Port land; to engage in the business of buying, selling and shipping lumber and coal, and operating coal mines, etc. Messrs. Long and Sweek say surveyors will be put In the field next week, and that the first 20 miles of the projected railroad will be built the coming year from Blind Slough Station to Grand Rapids. Blind Slough Station Is about 10 miles this side of Astoria. Grand Rapids Is but a little south of a direct line between Blind Slough and Portland. From Grand Rapids to Portland the distance is about 75 miles. The reason the company begins opera tions at the other end Is that traffic Is available by the construction of less mile- m jf- THE CHILDREN ENJOY y rrWU ase' omer to get its t K JV'Wrj I " ' I if"- I " w " . 'vrrrc a w a age there. The timber and coal of tKe Ne- ihalem Valley are aimed at.by tal3 newest railroad enterprise. , . FREIGHT RATES TO ADVANCE Eastern Lines Set Example and Western Will FeUovr. CHICAGO, Dec 13. After long confer ences, traffic officials of lines east of Chi cago have determined to make extensive changea In commodity rates, which will amount to a general advance of bout 5 per cent. The new schedules will , be placed. In effect, as soon lis arrangements can be mado after January 1, and by Jan- uary 15, all changes will be operative, The most radical action Is to be taken with reference to commodity rates, for It Is asserted that fully 50 per cent of these are to be taken out and the commodities which they affect placed back In their re spective classce. These changes, however, will not affect 50 per cent of the volume of traffic which now moves on commodity -rates, as the commodities, such as grain, are to, be left where the recent Increases in their rates placed them. Western lines contemplate a material increase In rates January 1. It waa an nounced today that arrangements had been 'completed for a restoration on Jan uary 1 of fully SO per cent of the reduced tariffs which had been tiled since the Is suance of the United States Court injunc tions. MANY LISTED FOR PENSIONS. Union Paciilc Will Retire Men in Passcmgcr and Other Departments. OMAHA, Neb., Dec. 19. A partial list of those who will be pensioned by the Union Pacific Railroad after January 1 was made public today1. The list, which Is still Incomplete. Includes many men prominent in the passenger department, auditing and mechanical departments, who have served this company more than 20 years. In the passenger department several district and passenger agents, located In various parts of the country, are men tioned for the retired list. The auditing department also comes in for several changes, and the shops over the system will lose many of the old employes. At the headquarters in this city, it is said, there will be sweeping reductions, al though the list will not be made public for some time. HILL AND HARRIS IN SEATTLE. Two Railroad Presidents View Pro posed Terminal Facilities. SEATTLE, Dec. 19. President James J. Hill, of the Great Northern, and President George B. Harris, of the Burlington, ar rived here tonight. The mission is to show Mr. Harris the terminal facilities project ed at Seattle, for which a franchise will be granted January L Mr. Hill, in an interview, says Seattle's share of the transport business will be 'increased when the facilities needed have . oeen prepaxea. TRACKLAY5NG HAS BEGUN. Also Roundhouse for Dallas Falls City Line Ih Nearly Completed. DALLAS, Or., Dec. 19. (Speclal.)-Track-laylng on the roadbed of the Dallas-Falls City Railroad was commenced early this for infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always Bought has borne the signa ture of Clias. H. Fletcher, and has been made under his personal supervision for over 30 years. Allow no one to deceive you in this. Counterfeits, Imitations and " Just-as-good" are but Experiments, and endanger the health of Children Experience against Experiment. The Kind Ton Have Always Bought Bears the in Use For Over 30 Years. Life out of doors and out of the g-ames which they play and the enjoy ment which they receive and the efforts which they make, comes the greater part of that healthful development which is so essential to their happiness when grown. When a laxative is needed the remedy which is given to ihem to cleanse and sweeten and strengihen the internal organs on which it acts, should be such as physicians would sanction, because its component parts are known to be wholesome and the remedy itself free from every objectionable quality. The one remedy which physicians and parents, well-informed, approve and recommend and which the little ones enjoy, because of its pleasant flavor, its gentle action and its beneficial effects, is Syrup of Figs and for the same reason it is the only laxative which should be used by fathers and mothers. Syrup of Figs is the only remedy which acts gently, pleasantly and naturally without griping, irritating-, or nauseating and which cleanses the system effectually, without producing that constipated habit -which results from, the use of the old-time cathartics and modem imitations, and against which the children should be so cardfully guarded. If you would have them grow to manhood and womanhood, strong, healthy and happy, do not give them medicines, when medicines are not needed, and when nature needs assistance in the way of a laxative, give them only the simple, pleasant and gentle Syrup of Figs. Its quality is due not only to the excellence of the combination of the laxative principles of "plants with pleasant aromatic syrups and juices, but also to our original method of manufacture and as you value the health of the little ones, do not accept any of the substitutes which unscrupulous deal ers sometimes offer to increase their profits. The genuine article may be bought anywhere of all reliable druggists at fifty cents per bottle. Please to remember, the full name of the Company CALIFORNIA FIG SYR.UP the front of every pack age. In order to get its beneficial effects it is al ways necessary to buy the genuine only. j- week. The large . roundhouse is nearly j completed, anda largo' crew of-carpenters j are rushing it along. A switch has been put In and the section gang Is now at I work on the "Y" to connect the new road with the southern Pacific tracks. A new car for the road arrived here this week, coming from the East loaded with railroad spikes. One of the locomotives for the new road will arrive soon. Work Is beings pushed as fast as material arrives and the weather will permit APPLICATION TO PARLIAMENT. Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Mov ing1 for New Line. OTTAWA, Ont.'Dec. 19. Tomorrow's Canada Gazette will contain an applica tion to Parliament by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway for the construction of a road from North Bay or Gravenhurst to Port Simpson, on the Pacific Coastby the Pine River or any other paas. Applica tion for branch lines from the main line to Winnipeg, Reglna. and Calgary also will be asked for. New Railroad for Christmas. JEFFERSON CITY. Mo.. Dec. 19.Tho White River Railway Company, ' rif"Ai kansas, today filed In the office of the Sec retary of State papers of incorporation in this state, with a capital stock of $2,510, 000. of which 51,365,000 Is to be used In Mis souri. The line is to be extended from the state line to Carthage, to connect with the Lex ington .& Southern division of the .Mis souri Pacific systttn. the length in Mis souri to be 124 miles. This road will give tho Missouri Pacific new line?, from Kan sas City and St Loul3 south Into Arkan sas and Texas. . ; ' Manager for Guatemalan Railroad. PHILADELPHIA Dec. 19. - Charles Otcy Gwatkin. formerly general Eastern gent of the Wisconsin Central RAllrpa'd. has been appointed general manager of the Guatemalan Northern Railroad, with headquarters at Guatemala City. Mr. Gwatk.n Is a native of .Lynchburg, Va.: he entered the railroad service in 1SS0 as agent of the Great Western Dis patch fast freight line, at Bi.nghamtoh, N. Y. Since that time he has held po sitions of responsibility with, yarlous rall-roads- . Control Klondike Traffic. SEATTLE. Wash., Dec. 19. The Times today says: There Is no longer any doubt that the action of the White Pass & Yukon route In transferring its general offices from Seattle to Vancouver, B. C, Is made with the Intention of transferring that property to the control of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and by the transfer placing tho traffic of the Yukon district in the full control of the Canadian line. Donble Tracks for St. -Joseph. ST. JOSEPH, Mo.. Dec 19. The Ga zette this morning says: It Is authoritatively stated that the Chicago. Milwaukee & St, Paul Railroad expects to enter St Joseph frpm Kansas City over the. double tracks which are to be laid between the two cities- This makes the fourth road which has an nounced Its intention , of entering, this city with the double-track system. Signature of fit L CO. is printed on V-lO-! 2J C'lVT 1 41