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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1905)
8 THjS MORNING" OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 1905. Entered at the PortoWco at Portland. Or., as second-class matter. SUBSCRIPTION BATES. INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. (By Mall or Express.) Dally and Sunday, per year .00 Dally and Sunday, six months 5.J0 Dally and Sunday, three months 2.- Dally and Sunday, per month .j Dally -without Sunday, per year Dally without Sunday, six months 8-o Dally without Sunday, three months... . Dally without Sunday, per month...-. -Oj Sunday, pr year tfn Sunday, six months l.wo Sunday, three months BY CARRIER. Dally without Sunday, per week.. - Dally, per week. Sunday Included. ..x THE WEEKLY OREGONIAN. (Issued Every Thursday.) tVeekly. per year Low Weekly, six months Weekly, three months -0 HOW TO REMIT Send postoffice money erdsr. express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The 6. C Beckwlth Special Agency New York, rooms 43-30 Tribune building. 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It mas- seem strange to Mr. Harri .man and his local representatives that open dissatisfaction with his policies and purposes has just now reached such acute form in the state of Ore gon. The reason is not hard to find. Mr. Harriman has said that certain branch lines are projected in Oregon, but he has made his announcements. which are indefinite enough in form, with the air of one who was conferring a boon not deserved upon a people lit tle deserving. That's what's the mat ter. The people have no rights. The railroad has no obligations to them. It may build when, where and how it .pleases, and it may run its railroads to suit itself. The public be damned. But before It is damned let us see how much we can get out of it. Let us take the usufruct of their toll and use it for the Improvement of our railroad lines somewhere else where we have competition, or are threatened with competition. Oregon can wait. If it doesn't like waiting, let it wait any way. Mr. Harriman comes along and gives a banquet. The business community of Portland Is invited. Its object was to place .the great railroad president In more cordial personal relations with the constituency which his railroad lines serve. The railroad diplomats of Portland who arranged, the affair de sired to Bhow the discontented public that Mr. Harriman was not a dreadful ogre. Likely enough they desired also to show Mr. Harriman a people in an admirable condition of docility. It was passed around that Mr. Harriman would very probably have something to say of highest importance. This was all very laudable, and would have been a fine thing if it had been all carried out in accordance with the programme, or rather in accordance with general expectation. What really happened was that Mr. Harriman made a few observations on the railroad situation, and subsided. His legal sat ellites delivered vehement homilies on the shortcomings of Oregon, and they subsided. If Mr. Harriman had said something a little more specific, and Mr Cotton and Mr. Fenton had said nothing at all, the whole affair would have been a great success. The din ner was good, the wine abundant, and the society above reproach. "We recite these things for the pur pose merely of explaining to all whom it may concern some things that have happened since the banquet. We want railroads built in Oregon, and we should like to see something more than promises of building. We should like also to see these feeders constructed on their merits by Mr. Harriman, and not because he fears that somebody else is about to get ahead of him, as at Coos Bay or in the Wallowa Val ley. There is, or has been, no so called anti-railroad sentiment In Ore gon such as has been observed in Washington for a great many years. Our Legislatures have been uniformly friendly. There has been little menace of hostile legislation. To be sure, we once had a railroad commission, which was a joke, and we had a maximum passenger bill, which fixed fares on a scale above the rate the railroads themselves have since voluntarily es tablished; and we have a fellow-servant bill and the Killlngsworth bill which requires railroads to make connections with other railroads; but these have all done the railroads no great harm. The Harriman system has been re quired to station at Salem no expen sive lobby and to contribute to a boodle fund such as has long been In evi dence in (Olympia. To be sure, the Harriman management has done Its share in corrupting the Washington leg islature, but the Oregon legislature it has not troubled so much about. It may be surmised that we shall here after find the Oregon legislature in a somewhat more belligerent frame of mind. The people, after all, have one sovereign power which any legislature may well fear, and 'that is the power of taxation. Other things, too. It may do that may not seem desirable from a railroad standpoint; but. from the standpoint of public interest, they may have to be done. We rather think that the Harriman railroads will have to pay more attention to the next legis lature. ' THE PRESIDENT AT WILKESBARRK. President Roosevelt's speech at Wilkesbarre contains nothing new in politics, ethics or philosophy; but It Is a piece of manly eloquence, direct, fear less, and such as his audience needed and could not help understanding. The people to whom he spoke were miners with their families, and members of the great Catholic Total Abstinence Union. In view of the strikes which many an ticipate next Winter and Spring, throughout the coal regions. It was rather expected that Mr. Roosevelt would discourse upon the relations be tween capital and labor on this occa sion. He did not evade the subject; there is little he ever evades; but it was not his mitin theme. In case of labor trouble he advises both sides "to show themselves willing to meet, consult and treat each other reasonably and fairly." He believes in the duty of capitalist and wageworker to try "to understand tach other's point of view and show each other broad and kindly human sympathy." He also "believes strongly in trades unions," but only when they are "justly and wisely handled," and when the "rightful purpose to benefit the members involves no desire to do Injustice and wrong to others." This is all he had to say about the labor question, but is It not enough? One might sneer at thece homely truths and dismiss them as platitudes; but all the moral law Is a platitude; all the ethics of Christianity are trite. If they are not to be taught by our leading jnon on that account, what then shall a personage like Mr. Roosevelt who sincerely wishes to say something sound, unpartlsan and fundamentally helpful, put Into his speeches? Who has anything better to offer the Wilkes barre miners, or any other audience, as a solution of the difficulties between labor and capital than these truths old as time, admitted in theory by all and wellnlgh ignored by all In practice? They were summed up by One greater than Mr. Roosevelt in a single sentence and announced as a rule of conduct, which would restore to man his lost Eden. We give the precept a beautiful - epithet; It Is "Golden" In our speech. What Is It in our conduct? It has been sneerlngly said from the pulpit that the whole Indictment against Rockefeller, his associates and methods, amounts to no more than the charge that he does not obey the g6Wen rule. With what more damning sneer than this could any pulpit Indict Itself? Let It be said boldly, that If our mod ern world has gained anything over the ancient In the real value of life, such gain has come through the reluctant, timorous and halting steps we have taken toward making this Imperial command of the Great Teacher our rule of conduct We know more than the ancients, we have more varied conven iences, we go about the world more swiftly; but the value of life cannot be measured In terms of knowledge, com fort xr speed. How much "broad and kindly human sympathy" has a man given and received? That Is the vital question. The world hates and despises Rockefeller, not because he has com mitted crimes, but because his existence has been utterly selfish and cruel. He typifies in the popular belief. If not In reality, that cold, relentless, pagan spirit in the modern world, that reac tion against the rule of sympathy. wnicn iresiaent itoosevelt seems to think has brought most of our social woes upon us. Our national disease, as he would diagnose It, Is not dishonesty but selfishness. Hence there is no Incongruity In his discoursing upon labor troubles, the failure of men to attain independence and happiness, the threatening decay of family life, and intemperance, all In the same speech. For the root of all these evils is self-indulgence or self seeking; the greed which robs the wage earner, the indolence which shirks labor for wife and children, the lust for so ciety and pleasure, the sacrifice of fu ture welfare to present enjoyment all these are modes of selfishness. Get rid of this, says Mr. Roosevelt, do your duty to your family and your neighbor as well as to yourself, and things will go right in the world barring accl dents. Even the President, with his superabundant optimism, has to admit that there are accidents. "In the life of labor and effort which we must lead on this earth It is not always pos slble" to ward off disaster. But In the main, he thinks, the golden rule will work. Probably, when we have tried lying and stealing and wrangling to our hearts' content as' world romedles, we shall all agree with him. EYE STRAIN IX SCHOOL. Much attention is given by special istseducational and optical to eye strain in school. The prevalence of this condition is demonstrated, not only in the fact that a large and .constantly Increasing number of pupils In the pub lic schools wear glasses, but that ner vous disorders, of which eje strain Is a symptom or a cause, as the case may be, are exceedingly prevalent among school children throughout the public schools. School authorities have taken cog' nizajice of these conditions and in the construction of modern school build ings, the greatest care is taken, not only that proper ventilation shall be secured, but that the rooms shall be lighted with reference to the seating arrangement. Bad air is a foe to the general health and the eye sight is weakened by anything that Impairs the bods'. Hence the relation between Im pure air. breathed for a number of hours consecutively, and weak eyes. Gradually It comes to the point where the strain upon the eyes must be re lleved by the use of glasses. It is a question whether, as Indicated by the large number of young people who wear glasses, defective vision, due to eye strain m school. Is more preva lent now than It was two or three gen erations ago, or whether the seeming Increase of Impaired vision Is not due to. the development In optics, by means of which greater attention Is given to this important matter. According to one estimate, we are rapidly becoming a race of myopes, because of the strain put upon the eyes cl children by close application to their boo!s. and upon those ot indoor workers, by the electric lights under which -they pursue their vocations. In another view, human eyesight, taken as an average, is as good as It ever was. Increasing demands upon J it have shown Its limits and science has come to the rescue with glasses which proclaim to the public the wear ers' weak or Impaired vlslbn. The Youth's Companion, ever on the alert In the Interest of the young peo ple of the country, says In effect that In the more strenuous preparation for the struggle for experience which Is required of the youth of the present day. the vision may give way and adds: "Occasional effects of eye-strain are vertigo, or other obscure nervous dis orders. When the head Is thrown side- wise toward the shoulder on using the eyes, something Is wrong, whether glasses are worn or not Intervals of rest will permit more work than con tinuous occupation. For example, two hours' study should be divided Into four half hours with three Intervals of five or ten minutes. It Is injurious to the eyes to bend the head far forward so that blood vessels in the neck are. com pressed during near work; to give them hard work within an hour after every meal: to read German text, or use glazed paper. Paper with a brown tint Is better than pure white." These are simple facts known to ob servant people generally, but unknown to a vast multitude among whom arc the chief sufferers from eye strain. Helmholtz long ago pointed out that vision and comfort are at their best with bright daylight (not sunlight), as modified at several feet from a well glazed window. Plain, practical Benjamin Franklin proclaimed, as a discovery of Inesti mable value to mankind, the fact that the sun gave light enough between Its rising and setting for the performance of all the necessary work of the world. This sage and philosopher did not fore see the development of electricity from the kite and key which he employed to draw It from the clouds to the great arcllghts that turn night Into day in our streets and those of less nower. that Illuminate tens of thousands of omes for work, study and amuse ment. Being a practical man, he would not, could he have foreseen this de velopment In connection with the de mands of life In other lines, have asked that all the work of the world be done between sunrise and sunset, though he might still have agreed with Helmholtz that eyesight and bodily comfort are at their best In bright daylight. TAXES AND RAILROADS. Comty assessors are now closing up their assessment rolls preparatory to turning them over to county boards of equalization. In a few counties as sessors have endeavored to make their estimates of valuation more nearly equitable by Increasing the assessments on railroad beds, but In others the val uations remain practically unchanged. It has been many times shown In these columns that the valuation of rail roads per mile Is lower In Oregon than In other Coast states and much lower than It should be. That the railroads have not borne their share of the bur den of taxation Is common knowledge, and from this condition arises the de mand for the enactment of laws pro viding a special system of taxing rail road franchises. The taxation of fran chises Is a problem for the future, how ever, while Immediate relief from in equality is needed. In no way can a fair distribution ot the burden of taxation be more quickly and effectively reached than bv a proper valuation of tangible railroad property under existing laws. The farmer, the merchant, the manufac turer and the laborer who owns his home, owe It to themselves to see that the county assessor has done his duty. Leaving the equalization of assess ments to county boards will not suf fice, as experience has shown. Tax payers generally should take an Inter est In this Important part of govern mental business In order that they may not be compelled to contribute more than their due proportion of the public revenue. It is not enough for the small property-holder to see that his own property Is not assessed too high. He should go farther and see that the holdings of large corporations are as sessed high enough. Before counry boards of equalization have met is the time to Investigate this subject After It has adjourned will be too late. INDIAN'S WATER RIGHTS. A suit to secure water rights to the Indians on Fort Belknap reservation In Montana was Instituted several weeks ago In the Federal Court of that state. A large number of ranchmen were made defendants. It being alleged that they were depriving the Indians of their Just and equitable share of the waters of Milk River by means of Ir rigation. Judge Hunt, after hearing the case, decided in favor of the plain tiffs, it being shown to his satisfaction that the purpose of encouraging the In dians to become solf-supportlng by cul tivating the soil was being defeated by depriving them of the portion of the waters of Milk River that was neces sary for the growth and maturity of their crops. This Is a fair construction of the rights of the Indians under the .treaty by which they were retired to the limits of the reservation Jn 1SSS. Irrigation on a large scale, and according to a spe cific system, was not provided for In this treaty. Very likely It was not thought of. The distinct purpose of the treaty was, however, avowed. In con sideration for the relinquishment and cession of a large area of land by these Indians, the United States agreed to spend annually a large sum of money for the purchase of livestock, agricul tural Implements, seed, etc. the object being to assist their grown-up children to build homes, enclose and work their farms and promote In other ways their civilization, comfort and improvement Judge Hunt very sensibly concludes that this purpose will be defeated, by drawing an undue portion of the waters of Milk River away from the reserva tion lands, and an Injunction of the court was interposed restraining ranch ers above the reservation from so do ing, and allowing the Indians 5000 Inches for Irrigation and stock-raising purposes. This decision in effect decrees that the Indians of Fort Belknap reserva tion shall not be starved out by ranch ers as the Indians on the Yuma reser vauon in Arizona were a lew years ago. In the case of, the Fort Belknap Indians protest was entered and this Injunction secured before starvation on the reservation became an assured fact In the case of the Yuma Indians, who were well advanced In agriculture and homebulldlng, actual starvation was only prevented by an appeal to the government for rations on the showing that white settlers had drawn all the water away from the reservation lands for irrigating purposes, leaving the In dlans' crops to perish from lack of moisture. It is not probable that the government will look on with uncon cern while" private greed defeats an elaborate and costly scheme that It has undertaken for making the Indian self supporting. It has. Indeed, been dem onstrated by the decision. In the case above noted that It will not, if prop erly Informed on the matter permit this prevention of Its purpose. The trouble In Arizona probably originated In the negligence of the United States District ! Attorney who failed to bring the mat ter to the attention of the Federal j Court. The suit In Montana was brought on behalf of the Indians by I the United States District Attorney and relief was granted In time to save, at least a portion of the Indians' crops, from drying up. The "Incident Is one that may be cited In support of the honest Intention of the government to deal honorably with the Indians In pur suance of its purpose to help them to help themselves. Farmers who have brush slashings to burn find It somewhat troublesome to procure permits from county clerks ten days before they wish to start fires, and yet the requirement Is one from which the farmers will secure the most benefit. Though the fire permit law will not prevent devastating fires en tirely, a strict observance of the law will reduce the number and magnitude of the losses by forest fires. Local pa pers throughout the state should pub lish the names of persons who 'secure fire permits, so that owners of adjoin ing property may be advised of the In tention to start a brush fire and may be prepared to guard their own prem ises. The permit system should make people more careful and If It does this It will accomplish enough good to com pensate for the Inconvenience It en tails. The "dry spell" like the "cold snap" is always a condition unprecedented In Oregon, If we are to believe the shal low croaker who lives only to deplore climatic conditions, whatever they are for the time being. The Individual who Is the herald of the worst weather of Its kind ever experienced, does not keep a record, but draws freely upon his too fertile imagination for his state ments. In point of fact the seasons in Oregon from year to year are very sim ilar and all by comparison are as good as the best arid. better than most. A few hot days, moreor less. In Summer, with lack of rain: a fejv cold days in Winter with now and then a flurry of snow and many weeks of alternate rain and sunshine balmy and conducive to health arid work this Is the record of Oregon climate throughout the years. The enforcement of laws against 11 legal fishing near dam3 and fishways must always depend largely upon local public sentiment Where the people of a community consider It a "huge Joke' to steal the nets seized by an officer and placed in the custody of a justice of the peace for safe-keeping, there Is little hope of successful enforcement of the law. Though the authorities must never give up In their effort to secure respect for the laws of the state. It would be but just punishment If the violators of the law should fish a stream out and the state should re fuse to replenish the supply from hatcheries. There is something rad Ically wrong with the public sentiment of any community that oan rogard a flagrant breach of sovereign law as a "huge joke." According to expert opinion, M. Wltte, chief peace envoy of the Czar, Is in a most unenviable position. He will be censured by the war party in Russia whatever his course may be. Briefly stated he will be blamed If he does and blamed if be does not conclude peace. Being between the upper and the nether millstones, he will be crushed by the grand ducal cabal that controls events In Russia. This is a gloomy foreboding and taken In connection with the fact that Wltte accepted the duty Imposed with great reluctance renders him special object of Interest to the civilized world. However, it will be time enough to extend sympathy to the greatest Russian of them all when It becomes apparent that he needs It. The American public will note the close of the active career of Admiral Charles E. Clark with affectionate In terest He Is retired by law, having reached the age of 62. after more than forty years of continuous service in the navy. His most notable exploit was his voyage of 14,000 miles In the battle ship Oregon from San Franclsccaround t;ape .worn, arriving in time to assist in the capture of Corvcra's fleet off San tiago. This remarkable exhibition of energy and devotion to duty made him a popular hero,, but his whole career has been admirable and the nation, re grets that the Inevitable march of time has brought It to a close. A solemn and sad occasion is that of the funeral of a man who has lived many years a life of useful and suc cessful endeavor In the community Equally solemn and infinitely more sad Is the funeral of a young man Just en terlng upon a life of useful endeavor. The first follows a decree of Nature, to which all are subject; the second rep resents the purpose of Nature turned aside by nn event which she permits but does not decree. A striking ex ample In each of these lives has been furnished in this city during the week. The lesson In both cases Is with us. The State Fish Commission has very properly determined to enforce the law which requires owners of dams to pro vide flshways through which salmon may reach the higher waters. It is of little use to maintain fish hatcheries if salmon are to be shut off from their natural spawning grounds and from the streams where the hatcheries must obtain their supply. Max Pracht takes the trouble to de ny that he was prostrated by the sun': heat In Washington and explains that a street car knocked him out Lucky Max. He couldn't have brought a dam age suit against the ruler of the unl verse. News from Portsmouth is most un satisfactory. We are Informed that the Russian plenipotentiaries smoke at .dinner, but the dispatch fails to specify whether it Is cigars, cigarettes or pipes. When he comes to making out Jap an's bill of Indemnity, let us hope Baron Komura will not Include the 52 tips to flunkeys. We observe with Interest another notable, event for Washington County, with Dr. Large attending. OREGON OZONE naif a Dozen Hows. How to be good: Do good. How to be cheerful: Don t worry. How to be loved: Love your neighbor. How to be happy: Make other people happy. How to be rich: Never want what you can't get and don't need. How to be great: Refuse to be little In small things, and watch yourself grow. Lady Blount Is coming over'to America to deliver lectures In support of her the ory that the earth Is flat If she comes across the country from Omaha to Port land, she will find much evidence to sup port her theory, but Mount Hood will give her the snowy stare. Bob Fitzslmmons. just returned from Paris, Is said to have blossomed out In a crop of red hair, to take the place of the absence of red hair for which he has been noted. The pugilist's friends are exceed ingly curious to know whether it Is an artistic wig or a real growth of hair brought out by some Parisian process; but they don't dare to ask Bob which it Is. for he Is still in the ring. The thing to do, in order to settle the question, is to sign" Fitx with Jim Jeffries and let the latter knock his block off. Then If the hair sticks. It's hair. "Some day." says the Unofficial Auto crat, "some sweet day, some doar. de licious, darling day In the far-off, fairy future I am going to happen upon a land wherein I can find a first-class restaurant or hotel dining-room that Is not provided with an orchestra.. Then I am going to ait me down serenely and enjoy one square meal unmolested by the blare of horns and the sob of cornets and the smash and clash of cymbals. I am going to order the whole menu, with a glass of water and a toothpick thrown in. and fhall linger long and lovingly over every morsel, sipping the water to Its ultimate drop, one drop at a time, and chewing the toothpick till It Is a mere pinch of pulp; yes, I shall make that meal last as long as possible, for I know that shall have to return to America and have my eardrums harassed and my soul harrowed and my religion knocked Into a corner and tamped down every day of my life, by the strident strenuous, smashing, crashing onslaught of a brass band In a small room a band that plays loud enough to rattle the riders oft a stake-and-rldcr fence around a barn. I've stood that sort of thing all my life. In the cities andthe upstart towns, without any out spoken protest, though I know full well that at least seven out of eight of us the world over, down. In our candid souls, would prefer to eat without music." A Modern Version. Come Into the garden, Maud; The black bat night is here; Corse Into the garden, love We'll order steins of beer. Oh. come Into the garden. And we'll sit till 12 o'clock. Gobbling sweltzer sandwiches And guzzling pints of bock. A Cob Pipe Dream. Joseph Bowers, Jr.. went home to his light housekeeping rooms on Morrison street partook of his frugal repast and sat down at (he kitchen window to smoke his ok! Missouri meerschaum. Pressing the golden flakes of the Dream Dope Mixture into the bowlf he applied the match, puffed away And then be dreamed a dream. It was a wonderful thing to happen to a roan who was not even a prospector, but the entire ledge upon which he sat. down In the wilds of Josephine County, was solid gold. He scraped the moss off with his pockot-knlfe for a distance of 30 feet and the yellow gleam showed everywhere. To his excited imagination, it appeared that the metnl was coined already, and he counted no less than $1,247,220 on the surface. Prying up enough of the precious metal to fill all his pockets, he hastily replaced the moss, so that his secret was secure. and returned to town, where he Imme diately filed on the claim. No longer was he poor. From the lofty heights of his opulence he looked down scornfully Upon Croesus and Paul Morton. and when he thought of the miserable pit tance of a salary formerly drawn by Charles M. Schwab he laughed derisively; and yet, kind soul that he was. a note of pity pervaded his scorn. He was sorry for such impecunious families as the Vnn derbllts and the As tors; and as to Rocke feller, he said, magnanimously: "Poor old Jack! I'll send him an acre or so of the metal, so that he can hire a new president for the University of Chi cago." The new multlbtllionalre glanced haugh tily at a bit of paper which fluttered from a hook on the wall. "Ha! a butcher's bill. Is It? Six bits? Six bits? What Is six bits? Such an In suit! I shall Ignore It; but, stay. I'll be magnanimous; I'll just sond that butcher my check for J6OC0, for a thousand Is only a mere bit of money to me." Thus chuckling, the magnanimous mag nate felt for his checkbook. "Joe." said the voice ot Mrs. Bowers. In a tone of command. "If you don't go to the butcher shop and order ten cents' worth of pork chops, you'll have to go without your breakfast tomorrow." Mr. Bowers puffed vigorously at his cob pipe, but It refused to respond. The dead ashos fell upon his coat sleeve; ashes of hope, ashes of ambition, ashes of em pire And then he knew that he had dreamed a dream! ROBERTU3 LOVE. When the Owl Blinked. Exchange. At a lecture delivered at Boston by Dr. -Wlllett, the lecturer mentioned disagreeable Incident which occurred to him respecting an owl. It seems that Dr. Wlllett was a connoisseur In bird stuffing, and was in the habit of crit icising other people's bird-stuffing se verely. Walking one day with a gen tleman. he stopped at a window where a gigantic nwl was exhibited. "You see." said the doctor to his friend, "that there is a magnificent bird utterly ruined by unskillful stuffing. Notice the mounting. Execrable. Isn't It? No living owl ever rested In that position. And the eyes are fully a third larger tnan any owl ever possessed. At this moment the stuffed bird raised one foot, and solemnly blinked at his critic, who said very little more respecting stuffed owls that afternoon. On Sundays. Kansas City Times. Now doth the small boy's nickel meant "For heathen In Borgoda Drop la the drat store's till while ha Eats foamlnr tee cream soda. WORK OF RECLAMATION SERVICE IN OREGON Great Value of the Klamath, Mnlhcur and Other Projects Why De lay Have Occurred Heavy Increase In Taxable Wealth I Certain. During the last few dajs the Rec lamation Service has beeri criticised because It has not yet begun actual construction on any project In the State of Oregon, although three years have elapsed since the passage of the National reclamation act Oregon, be ing one of the largest contributors to the reclamation fund. Is entitled to have at least 51 per cent of her con tribution expended In the state, pro viding, of course, that a feasible project can be found therein. By men of engineering training and by the legal fraternity the difficulties which beset the pathway of the Gov ernment in Oregon are fully under stood. At the time the reclamation net was passed practically nothing whs known of the amount of water avail able In Oregon streams with the ex ception of the Umatilla, Malheur and Owyhee Rivers, and for these streams the records were not complete. As such knowledge Is absolutely essential before undertaking construction, the first work of the service was to install system of stream-gaging stations 40 of which are now being maintained to obtain an accurate record of the annual run-off. The Reclamation Service encounter ed difficulties at the very start In the matter of water rights. The laws, where there were any, were made for the dwellers on the navigable streams. In the Irrigation districts every stream was overappropriated and the Govern ment could not safely construct stor age works until these rights were ad judicated. Until the last Legislature there was no way in which the Gov ernment could be assured of its own appropriations. Notwithstanding those obstacles. which retarded the work greatly, the service has proceeded to make recon naissance surveys covering many- thousands of miles; it has mapped a large number of the valleys of Central and Eastern Oregon, and when the in formation Is obtained concerning the water supply, there will be but little further delay either In Initiating ac- j tual construction or in abandoning the projects. Due credit for these extensive works must be given to the engineers of the Reclamation Service, who are young, energetic and thoroughly loyal to SPONTANEOUSGENERATION. A Little Fun Poked at Sundry Scien tific Gentlemen. American Medicine. The annual crop of spontaneous gen eration stories is now In full harvest time. The dearth of Summer news compels the newspaper reporter to an activity which Is at once amusing and pathetic. "When all else falls, he falls back upon the unfailing "Origin of Life." "Life From Nonllfe." "Vital Force Explained," etc. Professor Loeb Is sure to bo on hand, and any number of other professors and scientists. The number of "discoverers" who have set tled the matter in their "laboratories" Is appalling. "What can posterity do with the rival claims? The one who gets the greatest attention in the newspapers and digests should win. it Is purely a question of the greatest number of open mouths and I-toId-ou- sos. Dr. Llttlefleld has solved the whole problem, even better than Loeb. Ac cording to a trustworthy report: Life From Nonllfe and Us Relation to the Doctrine of Homeopathy" was the subject of his paper before the In diana institute of homeopathy. About his laboratory and theories of life there has been much In the newspapers In the last two or three years. The exact title of his paper was "Ablogenesis and Its Relation to the Law of Similars." Dr. Llttlefleld Illustrated his paper with a series of photographs of objects mag nified many hundred times. The photo graphs showed several crystalline forms, a few snake-like creatures, and a creature with many legs running out In different directions like an octopus. Finally, there was a picture of a llsh. Dr. Llttlefleld did not discuss 'he Bib lical story of creation, but he said his Investigations suggested that the story might not be scientific. Dr. Bast lan. of London, is said to have solved the question of the "trans mutation of life;" what that may mean we can gather only from the statement that It Is Just as remarkable as it would be "If a cat gave birth to a sparrow, or a hen's egg produced a. frog." It Is all Just a little unconvinc ing, but possibly this Is because wa are not sufficiently scientific. Thn makers of life out of nonllfe have been slow to take up with radium, whK'h seems to be a veritable king of quacks among the elements. But the oppor tunity has at last been seized, and by cable not from Paris, strangely, but from London were sent last week these startling words: After years of negative experimenta tion on the phosphorescence of cyan ogen, which Pfluger declared to con tain the element of life. Mr. Burke re solved to test It with radium, and placed It In the test tube with steril ized bouillon. After a couple of days cultures were obtained of atoms, which subdivide on reaching a certain size. Placed upon fresh portions of sterilized bouillon, these growths contlne to grow slightly, thus showing that the Influ ence of the radlumls only Initiatory. Professor Sims Woodhend pronounced them neither bacteria nor crystals; but they present many appearances of vi tality and seem to Indicate the possi bility of spontaneous generation. The antispontnneous generatlonists should be frightened, but it is soothingly- added that Mr. Burke doesn't think the discovery Is in the least de structive of God or the belief in God. One breathes easier after that and he may even seek comforting shelter un der the protection of Sir Oliver Lodge's recent utterance In the North Ameri can Review: "This complex molecular aggregato Is capable of being the vehicle of life, but we have as yet no answer to the question what life Itself is. All efforts to generate life have been failures, and Sir Oliver dissents from those who re gard life as being generated from mat ter by any such process as he has de scribed. He regards It rather as a con tact between the material frame of things and a universe higher and other than anything known to our senses." OREGON'S DEACON IIARKS BACK. The harvest's drawln' to a close, The field Is all one glare. An In another month or twe We'll fel the frosty air. The quail's sharp note I hear a-fleld. The China pheasant files Whlxxln thro the yellow blare The sun beats from the skies. But as the days come on apace. An Summer shorter grows. I notls that the flowers la goat The vl'Iet an" the rose. OI Summer's dyln days are here. An' with it alt. I'm sad; For Fall an" "Winter seem mere drear Than when I was a lad An we walked down the bettem with The brown leaves rustlln 'thre". An pledged our troth one Autumn day. Me an my sweetheart Sue.' But that was flfty years ago. An fifty years Is som There's sumthln" hurtln" In my eyes It's that durned sun by Gum! L. A. J-Q2iC. their service- Working through tin heat of Summer, through the cold of Winter, far In the wilderness. beyond the reaeh of the railroad that is wait ing for settlers, under many disadvan tages, they have collected a ma e data that is of Inestimable value to the State of Oregon. It must always be borne In mind tht a good deal of this work has beon. and is being done, in that section of tho United States which Is the most re mote from railroads or navlganl streams. These surveys have been made In Harney County, on Sflvloa River and Silver Lake: in Mainour County, on Malheur River and Willow Creek; in Umatilla and Morrow Coun ties, on. Umatilla River; In Lake. Har ney and Klamath Counties, on the Klamath project; on John Day. Che waucan and Ana River and on Cros cent and Odell Lakes. As a result of these surveys tho Government is ready to spend $t,io4 000 on two projects as soon tho landowners to be benefited are wliltner to enter into the same agreement that the landowners of Arizona. California. Colorado and other states have eager ly accepted. The sum of $4.4CO.eflO has been set aside for the Klamath project, nearly all of which will be spent in the State of Oregon. It would be well few earn ing critics to note the rapid man r in which this project has been for warded. In May. 1964. the Reclamation. Service engineers were assigned to duty on this project, and In July. 15. the Secretary of the Interior approved the purchase of rights of way and canals costing $547,090. Plans a at! specifications are ready for letting oC contract, and within two years from this date 2d.000 acres of Oregon's fer tile lands under this project will bfk reclaimed. It has been urged that two principal benefits of this project will accrue to California, but it should be remembered that Portland is nearer this project than San Franclaco. ajMl that the freight rate alone determine the market. Further, it should not be forgotten that the increment In la ad values goes to increase the wealth of Oregon, and the added population will be shown by the census of that state. It Is estimated that not la than $D.W.08O will be added to the taxaMo wealth of Oregon by this project JOURNALISMjN LONDON. Henry "Watterson In Courier-Jowrnal. There is a very marked difference in the make-up of the London news papers and. let us say. the New York: newspapers. None of the groat dniiSas of London use display type as it is used in America. They affect book work in their topography as weN as thoir composition. Another point of difference nmeh to the credit of London as againt Now York is the reduction of the day's news into so mo proportion, and Um abridg ment of each detail within Ks proper quantum. There is loss "featuring; no needless superfluity. London com presses into a paragraph what Now York would amplify Into a ootanta. New York covers the field more folly. But it does this at the cost of a vase amount of the immaterial. When nno has read any one of the live leading: London dailies he is tolerably nt being in possession of the history of yesterday. The cleanliness of the London news papers Is delightful. Much of their In terest and value is found in their emrx reports, wherein the story is set dajvrr with great particularity, without sur plusage. There are no exaggerations In the text and no headlining to distort; the text In London, as in America. th lea din je article is beginning to play second fiddle. Whether this is the decline of strong writing, or whether it ItnpUo that the public has found out tho thundcrer and where the thunder cooton from. It would be hard to say. There in no reason why goou editorial writing should not exercise the charm It once did. If not the power. But good editorial writing, tike good butter, must be genuine and freoh. Leading articles kept in cold storago and served, like chickens in a roatan rant. on demand, deceive no e-no who knows the difference between hot chop and cold potatoes. The editorial showld be the rationale of the day's doings. It should expound the news, giving jwr cedence to the most important. Tho reader should instinctively turn Ut It after he lias perused the dispatches. Long or short. It should be slneore. "While there is nothing more meriUoss and grotesque than a bit of wood with a nib of lead at one end and a fool at the other and. yet worse, a knave the clumsiest Illustrations of good sense and good feeling, hot from tao hearts and brains of truthful men. re sponsive to the wires, are priceless. Portland's Fire Department. Municipal Journal and Engineer. m The apparatus of the Fire Deoartniftnc of Portland. Or., for 190t comprised the following: One fireboat. 11 engines, ton hose wagons, one combination chemical engine and hose wagon, three ftmr wheeled Lose carriages, one fotr-wtaoiod hand hose carriage, three two-wheotod hose carts, four two-wheeled hose reels, one first-class hook and ladder truck, one second-class hook and ladder truck, throe third-class hook and ladder trucks, ono hand truck, four chemical engines and five buggies. The total value of the prop erty In trust is J359.HS.75. The total op erating expenses of the department for tho year were SU8.2SO. under call or par tially paid system, and with additional salaries for full paid cl4parunent$M.. Of the 510 alarms for the year WJ woro from boxes. 210 frem telephones and 1 still. There were 36 false alarms for 1S01. a decrease of seven from the pre ceding year. The Increase of alarms ever 1508 was 82. The total kwm last year waa J414.RtG.SO, as agninat f9MJ.753.73 for the previous year. The department consists . of 153 officers and men and 81 horses. The full ptoid department has been In operation only for six months of tho year. In addition to the regular depart ment there are three volunteer flr com panies In suburban districts. In the pant department there are 19,432 feet of two awl one-half inch cotton rubber-lined. SP3 feet of two and three-quarter. 2100 feet of three and one-hnlf, KO feet of ono and one-half and 1CCO feet of chemical hose. In the volunteer companies thore are 2T0O feet of rubber hose, making a grand total of 33.063 feet of hose in actual service. How the Battery Wns Taken. George Ulrdseye In National Magazine, 'Twas at the earliest flush of dawn. "Vhlle Shlloh's fight was raging oa; Grant, with his held glass, steed serene. But anxiously surveyed the seene. Up rushed a rider, hand to brim: Stopped, and cried out. saluting him: "My General, report I make: Der rebels baf a battery take Schwartz battery vas der voh!" Said Grant: "Speak you! How was it osnej3' "By flank und rear pefore ve ieele So Schwartz battery vas took! Cried Grant: "You spiked the guns, of course?" Amazed, the Deutscher's voice was boaase: "Vot? Shplked dem guns dem bran new guns? "Wy. it would shpoll dem! You make faae! "Slake fun?" said Grant, "make tun with you?" Then sharply asked: "What did you det" "Do?" said the Deutsoher. "dat vas plain Do? Ve yooat took dem back again."