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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 8, 1903)
THE SCORNING - OREGONIAN. FRIDA.Y, MAT 8, 1903. Eatared at the Postofflee at Portland. Oreces, as second-class matter. REVISED EUBSCRIRPTION BATES. Br Mall (postage prepaid. In advance) Dally, -with Sunday, per month JO.88 Daily. Sunday excepted, per year-... 'J Dally, with Sunday, per year ....- 8.00 Fundsy, per year . - 2.00 Tfce "Weekly, per year Tiio "Weekly, 3 months 60 To City Subscribers . . Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday excepted. 153 Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday Included .200 POSTAGE RATES. United States. Canada and Mexico 10 to 34-pane papr. . . . .. -is 16 to 30-page paper r B2 to At-paga paper .3" Foreign rates double. News lor discussion Intended for publication la The Oregonlan shonld be addressed invaria bly ''Editor The Oregonlan." not to the name or tny Individual. Letters relating to adver tising, subscription or to any business matter should be addressed simply 'The Oregonlan." The Oregonlan does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to it without solici tation. No stamps should be xnelosd Xor this purpose. Eastern Business Offlce. 43, 44. 45, -47. 48. 49 Tribune building. New York City; B10-11-12 Tribune building. Chicago; the a C. Beckwlth Special Agency, Eastern representative. For sale In San Francisco by X E. Lee, Pal ace Hotel news stand; Goldsmith Bros., 236 Sutter street: P. "W. Pitts. 1008 Market street; J. K. Cooper Co.. 74S Market street, xear the Palace Hotel; Foster & Orear. Ferry news stand; Frank Scott. 80 Ellis street, and N. Wheatley, 13 Mission street. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner, 258 South Spring street, and Oliver & Haines. 805 South Spring street. For sale In Kansas City, Mo., by Rlcksecker Cigar Co., Ninth and "Walnut streets. For sal In Chicago by the P. O. News Co., 217 Dearborn street, and Charles MacDonald. C3 "Washington street. For sale In Omaha by Barkalow Bros., 1612 Parnam street; Megeath Stationery Co., 1808 Parnam street. For sale In Ogden by W. G. Kind, 114 25th street, Jas. H. CrockweU, 242 25th street. For sale In Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co., 77 "West Second South street. For sale In Washington, D. C, by the Ebbett House news stand. For sale in Denver. Colo., by Hamilton & Kendrlck. 806-912 Seventeenth 'atreet; Louthan & Jackson Book & Stationery Co.. Fifteenth and Lawrence streets; A. Series. Sixteenth and Curtis streets. TODAY'S WEATHER Showers f south west winds. YESTERDAY'S "WEATHER Maximum tem perature, 57 deg.; minimum temperature, neg ; precipitation, trace. 39 PORTLAND, FRIDAY, MAY S, 1003. FAILURE OF ARBITRATION. The reply of the boss painters to the journeymen's offer of arbitration indi cates that no amicable settlement of the labor controversy is yet in sight It is not improbable that the matter now at Issue namely, the -working of union and nonunion men side by side might have been submitted to arbitra tlon by the boss painters a month ago, if the unions had consented. If they were in this mind then, they certainly are not now, and the only explanation of their change of front is their belief that they have their cause virtually won. While the union offer of arbitra tion, largely owing to the earnest and commendable efforts of Mr. Skemp, re flects credit upon the union's sense of fairness, in creditable contrast to the apparently disingenuousness of the bosses in going into conference with their decision determined upon In ad' vance, it must also be regarded, from a strategic point of view, as an indi cation of weakness. The bosses, at least, are serene in their belief that they will win out on the Issue of no discrimination between union and non union. From the best information obtainable, it must be said that there are many facts going to justify the belief of the bosses that the unions are losing jrround. The truth is most difficult of ascertainment, Inasmuch as each side in the controversy continues to claim everything in sight and deny most palpable facts. The masters especially have been extremely uncommunicative, barring reporters out of meetings to which they had been promised admit tance, and In general declining to an swer questions and treating inquirers with no pretension to civility. Some of these employers seem to regard it as a crime for a newspaper to seek to give a laboring man the opportunity to have his side of the controversy fairly stated to the public. While It Is known that building operations are being resumed very generally In different sections of the city, no definite and trustworthy statement of number of men employed and volume of materials being furn ished can be obtained from any respon sible source. It is not an uncommon thing for the very persons who with hold Information from reporters or give misleadlnc information to complain bit terly that the papers do not get the facts. r Regardless of the. spasms on either side, therefore, the only certainty seems to be that the strike will at length wear to a. close from union desertions and Importations of nonunion workmen. The evident determination of the em ploying builders and painters, encour aged by the mlllmen, is to force the fighting on the point of union and non union discrimination. The unions seem at length Inclined to submit this issue to arbitration; but the bosses don't want an arbitration award. They want a surrender. They are determined to lock out the town until every union in the building trades knuckles under on the union prerogative of striking whenever nonunion workmen are put on a job. For this reason painters are hurled against houses that are not reads' for paint, so as to scare off the carpenters, and electricians are crowded off by nonunion carpenters, as they were yesterday at Sixth and Davis, The millmen are resolved that they will not furnish lumber to any build ing which" is -In danger of being tied up indefinitely by a strike of union men on account of nonunion workmen being put to work with them. In the light of this fixed purpose, it is clear that little would be gained, anyhow, by a settlement with the painters Involving no other unions. Union painters might resume work tomorrow, but the mo ment nonunion help was put on any part of the building, other union work men even the painters themselves might walk out The situation is fur ther complicated by the complaints of the laborers In the plastering and allied trades. Friendly as The Oregonian has been and still is to organized labor, it does not see how the combined mills nnd contractors are to be defeated on this proposition. There are many rea sons, known to every well-informed union man; why this strike has ele ment"! of great weakness. The con tractors will probably agree without much objection to the wages of $3.50 per day; but the point for which the building trades are contending (the privilege of striking when nonunion men are put on) will probably have to be abandoned .sooner or later. This will be a temporary setback, though not a permanent defeat, for the unions dl rectly concerned. Still lees yrlll It be, as the enemies of unionism fondly im agine, a death-blow to organized labor in Portland. THE FIREBOAT. The legislature which passed the bill enabling Portland to provide a fireboat undoubtedly intended that the craft should be available for any and all sec tions of the water front of this city. Such a boat can be constructed with the funds from the special tax for that purpose. It was admitted at the meet ing of the Executive Board Wednesday that the Puget Sound tug which the board proposes to purchase will not be satisfactory at low water for rendering fire protection to that portion of the water front lying between the bridges at Madison and at Morrison streets. Inasmuch as the property-owners in that vicinity will be taxed for the pur chase and maintenance of the fireboat, there would be rank Injustice In provid ing a craft which could be of no benefit to them. Portland had a slight experience in the fireboat line during the big flood of 1894, when Chief Engineer Buchtel loaded a fire engine on a barge, towed it up Front street and extinguished a bad fire at Front and Stark. The suc cess of this impromptu fireboat was sufficient to demonstrate that in a placid stream like the Willamette any kind of a craft strong enough to sup port the pumping machinery could be made available for fireboat purposes, providing she was not drawing too much water. Portland Is now in a po sition where It Is unnecessary to resort to any kind of a makeshift. The opin ion of water-front property-holders and practical marine men Is so nearly unanimous In favor of a light-draft sternwheel steamer, strong enough to carry the heaviest machinery needed, and light enough to reach any part of the water front, that it would seem more profitable to construct a boat of this kind than to purchase a craft that must be practically rebuilt before she can be of any service. The principal argument in favor of the purchase of the Puget Sound tug Is that she can be placed In condition (providing the pumps are ready) in four to five months, while it would require over a year to build a metal hull. As Portland has been for more than ten years making an effort to secure a fire boat of which she has stood in need for more than 20 years, it would seem that the saving of a scant six months now wouldhardly offset the advantage of having a new, serviceable boat In stead of a patched-up affair which will never be exactly what Is required for this harbor. But the opponents of the scheme for purchasing the old Puget Sound tug state that a stanch wooden hull for a sternwheel fireboat can be built and completed by the time the machinery Is ready to be placed aboard of her. The members of the Executive Board undoubtedly acted for what they thought were the best interests of the city, but it was somewhat strange that the only opposing vote against the pur chase of the old tug came from a mem ber who has had many years' experi ence on the docks and along the river front. RELIANCE, COLUaiBIA OR COXSTI TUTIOX While It is still early to pass judg ment upon the merits of the Columbia and the Reliance, nevertheless the re cent and most decisive beating which the old Columbia gave to the new de fender has given us a scare that only the most marvelous work on the part of the newxdefender will restore the shattered confidence. If the story sent out by the designers of the new craft is true, the Reliance was built for just such sailing weather and sea as pre vailed on the day In which she was de feated. If the future showing of the craft is no better than her first then either the Columbia or the Constitution will be the yacht that the third .Sham rock will be forced to defeat It Is hard to believe, taking Into con sideration the character and standing of the men who are financing the syn dlcate owning the new boat that they will again lay themselves open to crlti cism, as they did In 1901, when It was charged that the Constitution was side tracked and defeated purposely in order that the Columbia might defend the cup. Smart yachting critics weeks ago hinted at this possibility, even before the Reliance was ready for launching, Her defeat by the Columbia, coming as it does after all the assurance from her designer, Nat Herreshoff, that the Re liance is an Improved Columbia, cer tainly looks as if some very clever jug gling Is afoot However, It is a long throw from now until August 20, the date set for the first race. There will be many more trials for the Reliance, with the Columbia and the Constitution contesting, and the outcome of these trial races will settle which of the three yachts will defend the cup. For the time being, the Con stltutlon will be held in reserve, but It Is safe to predict that before the August day3 are tolled off the calendar the boat designed as the 1901 defender will be given a chance to show her footing and reach. With three boats in the pre llmlnary and trial races to choose from the yacht selected to defend the cup should be In first-class condition, while Sir Thomas Lipton and two Shamrocks to tune up jthe new boat with should bring the challenger to our shores in perfect racing trim. Nat Herreshoff, In designing the Reli ance, has taken up the Columbia for im provement, while Mr. Fife has gone backward for the design of his third Shamrock. Mr. Fife declares the Con stltutlon to be a faster boat than the Columbia. Mr. Herreshoff says no. and so does Captain Barr. This view is not held by nprreslioff and Barr alone, for In the opinions of many critics and their opinions must be respected it is believed that when the Columbia was designed the limit of yacht-designing was reached, and that the designer of the -old defender reached the limit of perfect yacht-construction when this boat was built Her performances cer tainly show her to be a wonder in yacht-craft construction, and it would not surprise the Eastern yachting world should she again be called upon to keep the Irish Baronet from lifting the cup. The Columbia was at her best two years ago, when she beat the Shamrock II, yet it will be remembered that In the trial races with the Constitution the Constitution's zxfainsail went off badly and that she was handicapped In all weather performances. This fact is admitted by those who were sailing the Columbia, and this Is why fair-minded men are of the opinion that the Const! tution, in spite of Herreshoff and Barrs statement, is at least five minutes faster than the Columbia, and in light winds they figure the margin would be even greater. Mr. Fife, in designing the third Shamrock, has constructed his yacht on his knowledge- of tha condl- tlons existing off Sandy Hook; yet if It is the Constitution that he has to sail against, he will not lift the cup, for the yacht that beats the Constitution in light airs must be a marvel, as she Is conceded to be the greatest drifter ever constructed. This, too, should be a virtue of the new boat That Is, If she Is built as her designers say she Is an improved Constitution. XO ARGUMENT FOR SUBSIDY. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is very much distressed over the fact that there are over a dozen disengaged American essels on Puget Sound and in San Franclscoi It lugubriously calls the attention of The Oregonlan to the fact and says Every one of these disengaged vessels Is an American square-rigger, six of them being ships and one a bark. They are the ships Great Admiral and Henry Falling, lying at Hadlock; the ship Ruece, at Eagle Harbor; and the ships St. James. St. David and S. D. Charleton. and the bark Sea- King, lying at Port Angeles. In San Francisco Bay there are lying Idle the big American ships Henry Hyde, Abner Coburn. Alexander Gibson. Charmer. J. B. Brown. ElwelU Rufus E. Wood and the bark Pactolus." In New Tork the flne old clipper ship Governor Roble has been tied up at a pier ever since she arrived from Cape Town, on June 24, 1002. The opening sentence of the Post-In telligencer's editorial discloses the fact that the editor's knowledge of shipping is insufficient to enable him to distin guish a bark from a square-rigger. This bears out the contention that The Ore gonian has always made, to-wlt, that ignorance alone was responsible for the grotesque utterances which from time to time lend humor to the editorial page ofthe Seattle paper. Corroborative evi- aence 01 tne presence or a large siock of misinformation around the Post-Intelligencer office is found in this addi tional comment: Tet hero we have the spectacle of 16 of the largest and best of the American square-rigged vessels ever engaged In the deep-water trade lying Idle merely because to accept charters at the rates current sow, rates established by the competition of cheaply manned and subsidized foreign ships, would result In more loss to the owners than comes from permitting the vessels to lie idle, deteriorating In value from day to day, and piling up expense bills Instead of earning profits. Here are some particulars regarding these vessels: Every one of them Is an old-style wooden craft of small carrying capacity, but requiring a big crew to work her. The first one mentioned, the Great Admiral, was built In 1869, and registers but 1402 tons, and can carry but 2000 tons. The average age of the entire sixteen mentioned is a frac tion over twenty-two years, and many of them are from twenty-five to thirty years old. They are vessels of an ob solete type, and are accordingly the first to go Into retirement in periods of low freights. Iron and steel sailing ships displaced the wooden sailing vessel over a dozen years ago, and it is only in times of great scarcity of ships that they have been enabled to sail at a profit since. And yet today. In spite of the world-wide depression In freights which has sent Into retirement vessels of all nations In every port on the face of the earth, every modern-built iron or steel sailing vessel flying the American flag is at work on the high seas. Old, worn-out hulks, like the Great Admiral. Elwell. Rufus E. Wood. J. B Brown and others of small carrying ca pacity, should not be classed with such American ships as the 5000-ton carriers W. P. Frye, Acme, Astral, Atlas, Dlrlgo, Edward Sewall and Ersklne M. Phelps, Are the ancient lumber and coal drogh ers suffering any more than the al leged "cheaply manned and subsidized foreign ships"? While the Post-Intelligencer mentions eight of the ancient wooden craft idle In San Francisco, It overlooks the fact that there are forty one British and German vessels on the disengaged list in San Francisco, many of which were laid up as far back as last August and September. All of these foreigners are modern-built metal vessels, and if there were such an enor mous advantage In their favor as the Seattle paper would have us believe. they would be taking the place of the American ships of a similar class on the ocean. The present stagnation in freights is no argument in favor of a ship subsidy There have been similar eras of low freights since the shipping business began, and there will be others as long as the earth lasts. Another point at Issue has an important bearing on the commercial aspect of the situation. Are the thousands and tens of thou sands of Washington producers pro testing against the present era of low freights, which has added 10 cents per bushel to the price of their wheat? Are they willing to be taxed to create a sub sidy which will all go Into the pockets of a few wealthy shipowners? Six out of seven idle vessels mentioned on Puget Sound are owned by the Califor nia Shipping Company. The Oregonlan is not yet convinced that it Is good busi ness policy to tax a thousand producers for the benefit of a dozen or two ship owners. GOVERX3IEXT AT LOXG RANGE The difficulty of governing distant de pendencies without jobbery and the scandals that grow out of it is nothing new In the annals of colonial govern ment Its base Is in the greed of hu man nature and the opportunity for Its development that distance from the seat of authority or the base of supplies en courages. Though- our insular posses sions are, as such, less than five years old, our government has had, some very annoying experiences in this line. The postal stealings In Cuba at a point com paratlvcly near our shores, allegations made in regard to smuggling by Ameri cans in Porto Rico, and the recent order of the Secretary of War of the trial of several military officers In Alaska, who are charged with having sold military supplies to civilians for the purpose of pocketing the money, sharply attest this difficulty. Even little Guam, In its ocean isolation, has contributed its share to the general fund of experience in the art of establishing and maintain Ing government at long range, while from time to time charges more or less. serious concerning financial Irregular! ties In the Philippines have been made, while military scandals, revamped and restamped, haye come hither from Ma nna tnat nave' caused uie war jjepart ment no little vexation. Official vigilance Is the price exacted for National expansion. The United States is both willing and able to pay it But this does not alter the fact that the honest and economical gov ernment of widely detached possessions is a difficult task. Men charged with the duty of administering the govern ment In regions thousands of miles from the seat of authority know that their conduct Is not likely to be sub jected to the searchlight of the Ameri can press, and that the officials at Washington do not turn a ready ear to the babblings of scandal. The temptation to "crookedness" is Inten sified by this knoTrledfe, and, human, nature being what It is. It la not sur prising that men find their way to these remote localities for whom the tempta tion proves too strong to be resisted. The Administration has given abund ant evidence of Its unflinching fidelity to purpose by meeting the difficulties that beset the question of government at long.range promptly and searchingly. In its criticism of Horace S. Lyme's history of Oregon the New Tork Even ing Post Is unfair. It complains be cause the author "compresses the ro mance and drama of Oregon's railroad connection with the East within seven pages." True, Mr. Lyman might have devoted fifty or a hundred pages to railroads, but he would only have pre sented recent annals. Oregon's place In history was secure long before the first transcontinental line was finished, less than twenty years ago. Oregon's motto is, "She flies with her own wings." A considerable commonwealth had been created out here long before the gap between Western Dakota and tidewater at Portland wa3 closed, 18S0-83. The railroad did not make Oregon. It came here because a rich field had been sown in whose harvest it could share. It was a powerful agency in the state s expansion, just as the elevated railroad was in the expansion of New York City. The rapid growth of Oregon and Wash ington from 1883 to 1893 was due in far larger measure .to the building of rail way lines which ramify the agricultural and mining districts than to the East ern connection. Romance does not fig ure In the railroad, and. the only dra matic incident was the sudden collapse of Villard's larger schemes. We had the railroad before he went down. It Is not surprising that the Post IHce the Phila delphia Press, regards Northern Pacific and Oregon as interchangeable terms. Private Wadsworth, of the Eighteenth Regiment of the National Guard, of Pennsylvania, while on guard during" the late coal-strike difficulties, had or ders to let no one approach the house of a nonunion miner which had been dynamited the night before. About midnight some one- attempted to cross the line; he was three times warned to halt but giving no heed to the com mand, the Intruder was shot dead by Wadsworth In obedience to the orders he had received. The guardsman was arrested on the charge of manslaugh ter, and the authorities of Schuylkill Insisted on their right to try him In ttifelr courts. A writ of habeas corpus to release Wadsworth from the custody of the Schuylkill authorities was heard before the Supreme Court of Pennsyl vania, and the decision of the court re leases him. This decision asserts the right of the state to protect itself against .disorder and mob violence. Of course. If Wadsworth were subject for trial for murder for earning out his orders as a soldier, the National Guard could not protect Itself from violence or be expected to protect others. President Roosevelt should be and when It comes to, the test on an anxious November day doubtless will be Im mensely popular In the semi-arid states included in his present Itinerary. He Is an enthusiastic believer In irrigation- systematic, Judicious, well-planned Ir rigationand in his hearty way tells the people so. His views upon this matter are not trumped up for the oc casion. They are not expressed in the stilted language of the set speech drawn from data furnished by an encyclopedia. They represent on the contrary, the President's well-known opinions upon the irrigation problem and its possiblli ties of development, and the language used to express these opinions is his own. When he says, "I look forward to the effects of irrigation, partly as ap plied by the Government and still more as applied by individuals, profiting by the experience of the Government and possibly with help from it, as being of greater importance in the'oiext fifty years than any other material move ment whatsoever," he strikes the key note to the good-will of the people of the Rocky Mountain States. The recent death of David McLough Hn at his home In Idaho places the fatal asterisk of death against a name famll iar in the early annals of Oregon Terri tory and closes the record of the Im mediate family of Dr. John McLaugh lin, chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Vancouver during many prosperous and eventful years. David McLoughlin had not since his early manhood been a resident of Oregon, but he was a child of the far Northwest when its name was scarcely known and Its very existence little more than myth. He was but 3 years of age when he was brought by his parents to "Van couver, and was but a wayward lad when his home was In Oregon City, where the closing years of their lives were spent In the beautiful cemetery overlooking that city of pioneer mem ories they He, a white shaft standing guard over their graves. David Mc Loughlin, their youngest son and the last of their children, has passed on at the age of 82. In the light of such records as these, Oregon is no longer young. Is It possible that there are a few women in this city so anxious to work and who feel themselves so capable of carrying on the work of women In con nectlon with the Lewis and Clark Fair that they are willing to bid all other women desist from legitimate endeavor In this line? Is it true that a few women want all the honor of carry ing forward this work, while leaving Its labors to the unrecognized rank and file? Women, your work In this con nectlon will be empty of all honor un less It Is carried forward In a self-sacrificing spirit that Ignores personal ends and seeks only the success of great undertaking. The sooner those among you who aspire to be leaders In this work or nothing understand this, and either accept, the fact or drop the work, the better for all concerned. The Rev. Dr. R. S. MacArthur, of the Calvary Baptist Church of New Tork City, on his return from a ten days trip through nine of the Southern States, preached a sermon In which he said that most Intelligent Southerners realized that the right motto for the negro is "More education, more wealth. more highly developed character and less politics." Emigration from Ireland last year in eluded. 40,401 persons. In 1841 the popu lation of Ireland was about 8,000,000; the population today Is under 5,000,000. The emigration from Ireland since 1851 has been 3,921,222 persons. Every man should, be allowed to run his own business to suit himself but not, of course, & laundry that defies the combina. GENERAL MILES CONDEMNED. Army and Navy Register. The Judge-Advocate-General of the Army has explained in a communication to tne secretary of War the valuelessness of Lieutenant-General Miles' comments on what appears to be In most instances Idle rumor and unsustalned report Some of the atrocities to which General Miles devotes himself came to his notice in a moat personal' way, and the charges were never backed up by promised writ ten statements, which appear to have been necessary in repeating officially such serious accusations. It seems to us that General Miles has not contributed in any degree to ,tho glory of the Army by mak ing a report of this kind, and It strikes us that he has gone out of the way In a merely verbal fling which invites the sus picion of "persuasion and coercion" by Army officers of witnesses valuable to Lieutenant-General Miles as giving sup port to the sensational and Indefinite charges- he has made As the Judge-Advocate-General says. the- instances set forth in the Miles report have been made the subject of official in vestigation. The Governmental authori ties have don all within their power, ap parently, to trace these charges to their source and to punish the culprits, it there are any. Wo do not believe that ureneral Miles wishes to contribute to the ammunition of the critics of the Army, or that he realized he was aiding the cause of the so-called anti-Imperialists, but the pub licity which has attended his report has that unfortunate effect We have be lieved that General Miles has just cause for complaint on account of some injus tice of which he has been uie oDject cur ing the past few years, but his warmest friends and admirers, among whom the Register would class Itself, must deeply deplore the state of mind and form of ex pression with which the Lieutenant-iien- cral has dealt with this subject. His report will only serve to renew an unpleasant not to say unseemly, discus sion, and it is to be regretted that Gen eral Miles, among tho last acts of a bril liant career, should have been betrayed into such an expression. Read This Ye Skeptics, j Kansas City Star. When Mme. Adelaide Rlstori, the illus trious Italian tragedienne, first played 'Queen Elizabeth" In this country sne was about 42 years of age. She was in the very - flush of magnificent woman hood, and her wonderful histrionic pow ers were, thoroughly seasoned. She gave the play in Italian, but that made little difference tQ the people who found In her marvelous art, her superb voice and her eloquent gestures a complete Interpreta tion of the moving scenes which electri fied her auditors. She has baa various followers In Elizabeth, but none who ever played the part as she did. The drama was written for her, and she made it her own by the force of a genius that humbled the great Rachel of France. It Is high praise for Miss ONell, who is at the Willis Wood Opera-House this week, to say that her Elizabeth recalls more forcibly the great Ristorl than any of the other imitators of the Italian tragic queen have done. In her regal appear ance. In her rare voice and in the In tensity of her passion. Miss O'Nell re sembles much the distinguished actress who first produced "Elizabeth In 'Amer ica, and, when It Is remembered that this young woman Is not yet nearly SO years old, the possibility that she may yet reach, in the personation of the vestal Queen, the full stature of Ristorl, seems most encouraging. Mr. Roosevelt on Roads. New Tork Sun. Like Mr. Bryan, Mr. Roosevelt ad dressed the National and International Good Roads Convention at St Louis. He has sound opinions as to the value of good roads, and his pathetic reference to the girl or boy who "can't take a turn on a 'bike,' even to a neighbor's, because of the road" showed his usual thought- fulness for the farmer and the farmer's family and the bicycle vote. Could we feel safe in differing with an historian of so much distinction, we might question his assertion that "the Influence of the nations which have not been road builders has been evanescent" Were the Jews, for instance, or the Greeks famous as road-builders? But we are far from wishing to make a finical criticism of Mr. Roosevelt's ex cellent remarks on roads. Those re marks, however, suggest a curious reflec tion. "Roads," he said, "tell the great ness of a nation." Certainly roads are one mark of tho material greatness of a nation. In this age, railways tell that greatness much more forcibly than ordi nary roads do. Railroads have a vital connection with the trade and prosperity of the country. Why Is Mr. Roosevelt, whose eye mois tens at the thought of the hired man paddling a bicycle through the mud, so fierce against tho railroads? Mr, Edmunds Forecast It. Leslie's Weekly. The far-reaching decision against the Northern Securities Company sustains the contention oi ex-senator iuimunas, in a recent issue of Leslie's Weekly, that the Sherman anti-trust law would have been sufficient without amendment to accom pllsn Its purposes. In his letter, which was written while a number of anti-ltrust bills were being discussed at Washington. Sen ator Edmunds suggested that the Sherman bill might be rendered more effective If provision were made fcr the prompt trials of actions brought under It This letter waa called to the attention of President Roosevelt and soon thereafter an act was passed by Congress giving precedence In certain Instances to suits brought under the Sherman law. Attorney-General Knox. who has shown eo much vigor and ability in the conduct of the Government s case. pressed the hearing with all diligence, and the result Is a complete vindication of Senator Edmund's statement that the Sherman. act can meet all the roqulre- ents or the situation. It had not proved effective In the past because the prose cution of cases brought under It was weak and wavering. "Othello" as Acted la tne Orient. Singapore Budget Just now in Japan "Othello" Is being played to admiring audiences. The scene Is laid In Formosa. Othello becomes Lieutenant-General Muro; Casslo, Major Katsu-xoshio; the unfortunate Desde- mona, Tomone, and Iago, Lieutenant Iya Gozo. Muro chops up Tomone with his sword instead of smothering her, and is allowed to commit seppuku. Instead of stabbing himself, as does Othello. Bianca is a geisha, Biaki. and all sorts of other changes are made. The result is said to be somewhat ludicrous, as "Hamlet" or any other Western tragedy must almost be sure to prove when attired in Oriental garb and adapted to suit Oriental thought Might Prevent Many FRlIarex. Rochester Herald. The failure of a shipbuilding concern Is said to be due to the neglect of Congress to pass Mr. Hanna's subsidy bllL No doubt Uncle Sam could keep a good many people from falling If he would throw the doors of the Treasury open to them, Nlgkt. Joseph Blanco White. Hysterloos Night, when oar first parent knew Thee frem report divine, and heard thy name. Did h not tremble for tht lovely tnsx. This xlorious canopy of light and blue; Yet 'neatn a curtain of translucent hue. Bathed In the rays of tha great setting- fiatae. Hesperus and tbo hosts of heaven came. And, lot creation widened to man's view. Who would have thought such darkness lay concealed "Within thy beams, O sun, or who could find. While flower and leaf and insect stood revealed. That to such conntless orbs thou niad'st us blind? Why do we then shun death. -wltV asxlous strife? glace Heht can so deceive -m, wfcereftrr set life? THE MYTH OF SOCIAL EQUALITY Chicago Chronicle In his sermon against social equality Booker T. Washington does not speak for a single race. Addressing the Hampton-Normal and Industrial Institute at Fort Monroe, this sagacious and humane Afro-American eald: "The negro is seek ing no social equality. I believe It Is the duty of the white people to try to get in- ! sight Into the domestic, business, moral and religious life of the negroes, and this they can do without introducing the bug bear of social equality." Social equality is one of the unexplained and inexplicable myths. In hla delightful essay entitled "The Queen of the Air." Ruskln endeavors to show that a myth in its simplest definition is a story with a meaning other than it seems to have at first. He classifies myths as historical or natural and finds in the mast enduring not only a literal story of a real person but In most a parallel Imagery of moral principle or an underlying worship of nat ural phenomena. Thus he discovers a myth root In physi cal existence, sun, sky, cloud or sea; then the personal Incarnation of that and lastly the moral significance of the Image which In all the great myths Is "eternally and beneficently true." The great myths Ruskln defines as "myths made by great people." It is not known whore or when the myth of social equality originated. It Is as de void of mythological as of moral or aes thetic worth. It did not arise among a great people; Its Inherent absurdity dem onstrates that Anonymous In parentage it Is a despairing vagrant In the real as well as In the Imaginary world. No literary Ingenuity can Invent phrases to qualify it for admission to any Intelli gent mind. Pyramids of treatises can never actualize it No herald's court can create its peerage. No race, class, family or co terie can boast Its escutcheon. It Is as un known to chivalry as to the' savage. No philosopher or theologian has told or is likely ever to be able to tell what has con stituted or ever will constitute social equality. Tho outer human Integument created by nature and subject to modification by a multitude of causes never created and never can create social equality or In equality. As time advances the theory of evolu tion gains in favor. Influence of environ ment is one of Its most potent factors. By the application of its principle It is conceivable that the color of races as they are found today Js only transitory. In some period of the world's history the whites of the present time may have been yellow, red or black or have shown In succession the various shades and tints to be found In the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Every Intelligent observer sees that what Is called vamielv "complexion" 13 sensitive to even minor and 'brief changes in diet temperature and even to mental states. The phenomenon is not less ob servable in feathered, hairy or furry crea- tures than in the various sections of the human race on which 'climatic influence is so effective. It has been found by milf- tary critics that so slight a difference as that between the proportions of vegetable ana animal rations will be apparent In not only the physiognomy but In the en ergy, endurance and morality of camps, oarracKs and expeditions. Given time enough and evolution re quires practically unlimited time It is reasonable to say that racial color Is sub ject sto change and that In a discussion of quality or Inequality in a social sense the components of a blood corpuscle are logically irrelevant There is an undeniable equality within a limited domain. Human belnsrs must be held equal before the Creator according to jaosajc and jnrlstlan losric. because all are held to be the children of the same creative author and all are held to the same moral responsibility in life to be fol lowed with an Identical reward or iden tical condemnation. ThiB law, ancient as it Is and lotfeal within Its own boundaries, does not create social equality. Nor does any other law thus far known to mankind. Social means companionable. ComnanlnnahiP implies Intellectual, moral and spiritual characteristics of more or less elastic de scription, mngs by Individual inferiority might be unfit for companionship with peasants of individual superiority not withstanding the difference In their con ventional rank and the discrepancy be tween tneir respective capacities for evil or good. Equality before the law Is a fundament al of the form of political government caiiea democratic or republican. Color. race, wealth and povery, creed, sex, edu cation or illiteracy nave no relevancy to mis mno ot equality. It will be well for the whole worM when the social equality myth shall have been . lost to human consciousness and the phrase to literature. Meanwhile the right, of every race and all the members thereof to equal oppor tunity in me struggle ror existence ought to be obvious to every intelligent and hu mane human belnp. Within this nran- tlcally unbounded area of thoueht and action the myth of social equality is a lanxasuc ana oostreperous alien. LcBjfthcnlng: the Lnnclicon Hoar. Boston Transcript Just as Londoners are becoming famil iar with the "quick-lunch" idea, calling it tne very latest American wrinkle, we get reports here from all quarters that the real and only latest luncheon whim with our business men is to make It an affair of more or less leisure. They have learned that "don't hurry" lunching clubs are own cousins to the "don't worry" organizations, and are quite as beneficial to health and happiness. There really never nas been any. reason why a man should put up with inconveniences In tak ing his luncheon that he would not abide in his own home, and yet a popular Im pression has prevailed that he must sub mit to these In order to be considered successful ousmess man one wno gave all his attention to business and hardly tooK time enougn to eat Old-Time Care for Drunkenness. Washington Post unr granaiaxners used to nave a cure for habitual drunkenness, which consist ed In putting an old soaker in a place where he could not get away and then feeding him on nothing but alcohol-flavored foods. There was whisky in his coffee, his beef was smothered In burnt rum, his bread smelt of gin. Nine times out of ten a few weeks of this sort of thing would make the poor creature cravo even starvation as a relief, and hate al cohol with a deadly hatred. A Springtime. William Dean Howells. One knows the Spring- Is comlnjr; There are birds, the fields are sreen. There Is balm la the sunlight and moonlight. A oew in we iwuignts between. But ever there Is a silence, X rapture great and dumb. That day when the doubt Is ended. And at last the Bprine Is come. Behold the wonder, O silence! Strange as If wrought In a night The waited and lingering1 glory. The world old, fresh delight! O blossoms that hang like Winter, Drifted upon the trees, O birds that siwr in the bloHossa, 0 blossoms bunting bees. O green, green leaves on the branches, O shadowy dark below! , O. cool of the aisles of orchards. Woods that the wild flowers know! O air of gold and perfume. Wind, breathing sweet and sun! O sky of perfect axure--Day, heaven and earth Is one I Let me draw near thy secret, , And In thy deep heart see How fared, in doubt and dream In. The Spring that is come to me. Tor my coal Is .held in silence, A raptare, great and dumb, Per tM mystery that Uacere4, The giry that 3 eeeet NOTE AND . COMMENT; - v If the worst comes,, we can rasert to celluloid collars and cuffs. The-same topic last night at the First Congregational and the Marquam. Well; the city might we her to tow scows from the- dredge, if she falls as a fireboat Whatever our troubles have been at the telephone, let us be thankful they won't be doubled. It seems that one team can lose with about the same facility, neatness and dis patch as the other. Lest we forget it may be remarked that it was a fireboat and not a searchlight. we started out to get If Dr. Lorenz comes to Portland, he might with profit operate on the Browns and the Greengages. It may not be too late. The European edition of the Monroe Doctrine is the latest in international diplomacy. They are hearing about us everywhere. Roosevelt Is now in a land of flowers, but he will not see -perfection In the rose he reaches Portland. Our first crop will be Jine y tne ast Of the making of many books, there la much less end now than there was in the days when there was no end to this pastime; but good books that it books worth even the reading are scarcer than hens" teeth. There are never any more like "The Cloister and the Hearth," or "Ivanhoe," and only at rare intervals one that attracts as much attention or Is as generally read as "Mrs. WIggs of the Cabbage Patch": so all lovers of books prick up their ears when they hear of a good book. A man came Into a street-car yesterday with what he said was a good book In his hand. It was In German, but is now being translated into English. The owner explained to a friend that the title of the book was "Jorn Uhl." Uhl Is a family name and Jern Is equivalent to "Jack," so the title might In English be "Jack Robinson." It was written by one Gaston Fensson, a country clergyman, and i3 a history of family life In Northern Germany, and Is the sensation of the day in that country. For some reason the writer lost his church for writing it, but he had the pleasure of writing and teaching about things which he knew something about which was an agreeable change, and ha also made 100,000 marks from the sale of his book, in three months, which was another agreeable thing. The owner of the book, an Intelligent and reputable citizen of Portland, of German birth, read to his friend the opening sentence of the book, which was: "In this book I tell you about trouble and work; all life Is nothing but trouble and work." Jolting along In a crowded street-car is a poor place to get a notice of a new book, but that opening sentence sounds well and will touch the hearts of many. The finishing sentence of the book was also given but indistinctly heard. It was to the effect that no man is likely to amount to much unless somewhere in his Journey through life his wagon hits a place where it is hard pulling it That also sounds promising and when the book fs put into English It Is safe to prophesy that it w'lll be in demand. Soatlx Dakota and Roosevelt. Vermillion (S. D.) Republican Theodore Roosevelt has broken bread and lodged within the borders of our state and passed to and hence. In many respects our president is a wonderful man many sided, transparently honor able, a lover of books, streams, woods, trails and mountains. He has learned that, best of all, honesty the sort which comes to the man who pulls up a blanket about hfa shoulders and far from the habitudes of men Is lulled to sleep by the nignt voices irom. out canyons or forests of pine and hemlocks. We care but little for Roosevelt the politician, but we do love Teddy the scholar.- the woodsman. tne piainsman and that noblest and scarcest work of . God, an honest man. Theodore Roosevelt is a modern Jeffer son, a worthy type of the gentleman In nign place a man who knows the little ness of the big army of politicians and neitner rears tnem nor trusts them. May the Almighty fare our President well. whether we sign his political creed or not. In offlce and out we need the fearless man he who -will spot a rogue in his own party, and to whom ability and worthi ness are more than the color of the skin. Span of Life Lengthening-. Kansas City Star. Everybody who reads the newspapers and who keeps tab on the vital statistics knows that people live a good deal longer tnese days tnan tney did a hundred years ago. There has been, it Is true, a hiatus in Iongeval records since the generations or Adam, nut when a man or a woman dies now at the age of 50 or 60 years, the penalty of dissolution Is not augmented Dy tne.cnarge of senility, with all of the vital extracts which the medical sci entists have evolved, and with the re markable multiplication of hyrfenlo foods which now furnish forth the aver age breakfast table, it. ought to be the rule rather than the exception for per sons of sober habits to live a hundred years. PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHERSf Prospective bettor Is he a good "mud horse"? Jockey Is he! "Why, say! If that horse waa human, he'd play golf in March Puck. He No; all my pictures are rejected. She "What hard lines! AH of them? I am sur prised! And they hang so much rubbish! Punch. "ilarse Bill gone flshln agMnT" "Yes, X hear him say t'er day dat gittln full at home wuz glttin' mighty monofnoua." Atlanta. Consti tution. "Try one of our new sofas," said the man In the .furniture shop; "they're very healthy. Everyone Is stuffed with a new breakfast food." Tonkers Statesman. Holden Burgess says he always says what he thinks. Belden That accounts for It. Saw him at the club last night, and he didn't utter a word the whole evening. Boston Transcript. k "I can't see why so much of my work Is rejected," said the struggling author. "I'm sure it Is strictly original." "Perhaps that is the trouBle," rejoined the sympathetic friend. Chicago JQally News. "I understand' Goodman Is a 'candidate for Mayor of your town." 'tTes, but so is Crook ley.!' "Goodman Is surely better able to fill the place." "Tes. but Crookleys better able to- get it." Philadelphia Record. "How la your youngest daughter getting on with her music?" "Splendidly." answered Mr. Cumrox. "Her Instructor says that she plays Mozart in a way that Mozart himself would never have dreamed, of." Washington Star. "What reason have you for thinking that tho defendant was Intoxicated?" "Well, your honor, when his wife called me over. I found him In the cellar cutting kindling sood with the lawn mower." Cleveland Plati Dealer. Toung wife The minister wants every wo man In the congregation to earn something' for the church by her own labor, and I don't know what In the world to do. Hupband Tou spoke about needing a new dress, end Wife Oh. yes. I never thought ot tha, Til get the dresflHker to pay me so- aucU an hoar whlie Vm bela fitted, aad then she can it the WU.-Jfew To Wetlyt