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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1907)
8 THE MORNING . OKEGONIAN, TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1907. . SURSCBIITTON KATES. t?-INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE, tj (By Mall.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year g.00 lially, Sunday Included, lx months.... 4.25 rally, Sunday Included, three montha.. 2.25 Dally, Sunday Included, one month.... .75 Dally, without Sunday, one year 8.00 Dally, without Sunday, tlx montha..... 3.23 Ially. without Sunday, three montha.. 1.75 relly. without Sunday, one month..... .60 Sunday, one year 2.50 Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday)... 1.60 Sunday and Weekly, one year 8.90 BT CARRIER. ral?y. Sunday Included, one year 0-00 rally, Sunday Included, one month.... .73 HOW TO REMIT Send postofflce money order, expresa order or personal check on your local hank. Stampa, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postofflce ad dress in lull. Including- county and atate. POSTAGE RATES. Entered at Portland, ' Oregon. Postofflce as Second-Class Matter. 10 to )4 Pages 1 cent 16 to 28 Pages ...2 cents B0 to 44 Paxes 8 cents 48- to 60 Paxes cents Foreign postage, double rates. IMPORTANT The postal laws are strict. Newspapers on which postage Is not fully prepaid are not forwarded to destination. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The 8. C. Beckwlth. Special Agency New Tork, rooms 43-50 Tribune building. Chi cago, rooms 5l6-M2 Tribune building. KEPT ON 6AI.E. Chicago Auditorium Annex, Postofflce Kfwi Co.. ITS Dearborn street. St. Paul, Minn. N. St. Marie, Commercial ctatlon. Denver Hamilton tc Hendrtck, 906-012 Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Store, 1214 Fifteenth atreet; I. Welnstein; H. P. Han sen. Kansas City. Mo. Rlckaeckar Cigar Co., Klntti and Walnut. Minneapolis M. J. Kavanaugh. BO South Third; Eagle News Co., corner Tenth and Eleventh ; Totna News Co. Cleveland, O. James Pushaw, 807 Su perior street. Washington. D. C. Kbbltt House, Penn sylvania avenue. Philadelphia, Fa. Ryan's Theater Ticket office; Kemble, A. P., 3735 Lancaster ave nue; Penn News Co. New York City T. Jones & Co., Astor Houee; Broadway Theater News 8tand. Buffalo, N. V. Walter Freer. Oakland, Cal. W. H. Johnson, Four teenth and Franklin streets; N. Wheatley; Oskland News Stand; Hale News Co. Ogden D. L. Boyle, W. O. Kind, 114 Twenty-fifth street. Omnha Barkalow Bros., Union Station; Magtath Stationery Co. riacramento, Cal. Sacramento Newa Co., 130 K street. Salt Lake Moon Book & Stationery Co.: Roenfeld A Hansen. I -os Angeles B. 1. Amos, manager seven Street wagons. pan Diego B. E. Amos. Long Beach, Cal. B. E. Amos. Pasadena, Cal. A. F. Horning. Fort Worth, Tex. Fort Worth Star. fcan Krancieco-Foster & Orear, Ferry News Stand; Hotel St. Francis News Stand; I Parent; N. Wheatley. f.oldflcld, Nev Louie Pollln. Eureka. Cal. tell-Chronlrle Agency. Norfolk. Ya Krugg & Gould. Pine Beach, Vs. W. A. Cosgrove. PORTLAND, TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1907. PORTLAND'S WATER. , Shortage In the water supply of the city of Portland during the hot season In' Summer and the occasional 'freezing weather in Winter, together with the rapid growth of the population of the city, make it necessary for Portland to take steps looking; toward the enlarge ment of the water supply. At most seasons of the year the quantity of water brought Into the city through the present pipe line is sufficient but when water is used for irrigation of lawns and much Is allowed to run to waste because the water in surface pipes be comes too warm for drinking, the sup ply is inadequate. A similar condition exists in Winter when people let. the water run for fear their pipes '"will Creese. Installation of meters would lessen the waste very slightly, for peo ple would consider it cheaper to leave the faucets partly open and pay for the water that runs to waste for a few days, rather than pay the cost of plumbing and endure the inconvenience Uid damage of burst pipes. Portland's water supply comes from Bull Run, 24 miles distant, through a pipe varying from 42 to 33 inches In dl lmeter. The flow of water is 22,500,000 gallons per day, which more than suf fices for the city at ordinary times and under ordinary conditions. Throughout most of the year there runs to waste some 4.500.000 gallons per day, but as the capacity of a water system must be equal to the greatest demand upon it, the fact that there is a surplus through eight or nine months of the year cannot be offset against a scarcity during the other three or four. Any system of water supply must be constructed with the understanding that its capacity must be in excess of needs through .most of the year but equal to the needs at the time of maximum consumption. For several years, the use of water has been so great in the hot weather that "the reservoirs have been practically emptied every day. New additions have been made to the city, the system has been extended Into portions of the city not heretofore served, and the growth of the business district and the increasing density of population in the old residence section, have aH combined to augment the demand upon the water supply. To issue bonds, place them on sale, prepare plans and specifications, adver tise for bids, consider proposals and award contracts, will consume at least one year of time. Contractors would require at least two years to procure materials, make excavations and lay the pipes. It would therefore take three years from the coming June election to put a new pipe line into use. If Port land should continue to grow In the next three years as It has in the past year, there is no Question whatever that the present system will be entirely Inadquate for actual needs and that a water famine may be experienced. Aside from this certain need for a greater supply, there is the constant possibility of a serious break in the present pipo line which would leave the city without water until repairs could be made. With two Independent pipe lines In use, an Injury to one would not endanger the city supply of water. The proposal to install meters and thereby reduce the waste. Is not .a prac tical solution of the problem that con fronts the city. To put families upon a meter basis in charging for water consumed is not wise from a sanitary standpoint. While such, a policy would eliminate some waste. It would also cause some families to use less water thnn they ought to use in order to kep themselves, their households and their premises clean. The cleansing of a great city requires the flooding of sewers with water, and any system of rates which discourages the free use of water for family purposes would be in jurious. Water used for commercial purposes may very properly be charged for at meter rates, and In fact, cannot well be charged for by any other sys tem. Rules regarding leaky faucets, defective valves, and faucets left open. - should be stringent and should be Mrutly enforced. To Install meters In households would require a large ex penditure for additional equipment and the employment of a larger force by the water defiartmciit la reading: the me ters. It would be unsatisfactory to the people, and unwise for the city. A new pipe line, carrying double the quantity of water now flowing through the present system, would cost accord ing to the estimate of the engineer of the Water Board, $1,500,000. New reser voir sites and reservoirs. If needed, would cost $1,000,000. Another $500,000 has been estimated: for equipment. The City Council has prepared and sub mitted an amendment to the city char ter authorizing an issue of water bonds in an a mourn not to exceed. $3,000,000 for the construction of a new pipe line to Bull P.uru There may be room for doubt whether the full amount will be needed, or should be issued, but there can be no doubt that the new line should be constructed and that the preparations should be commenced now. The bond issue should be authorized by the people at the coming election in order that plans may be, made, con tracts awarded and the work begun. Three years hence, when the new Hne has been completed, we shall see that without it Portland would be Buffering a very serious shortage of water. Portland is not alone in the need of increased water supply. Seattle has a water system, which supplies 24,000,000 gallons of water per day and Is now ad vertising bonds for sale to the amount of $1,000,000 for the purpose of laying a new line. That city has an advan tage over Portland In not being com pelled to build so long a line as ours to Bull Run and hence the Issue of bonds is less. Seattle's need for a new line is no greater nor more pressing than Portland's. The supply Is suffi cient for present demands at ordinary seasons but inadequate at the season of maximum use and inadequate for the future needs of the city. Portland can not afford to wait another year before taking action. WHEN LEGISLATURES FAIL. Governor Folk has called the Missouri Legislature together in order to urge it to enact some of the measures which he recommended at the regular session, but which they refused or failed to pass. The Legislature is now in ses sion, but seems not very likely to ac cede to the Governor's demands. In fact, a large majority of the newspa pers of the state have severely criticised the Governor for calling a special ses sion, declaring that the purposes set forth by him are not sufficient to war rant his action. . At the same time comes the news from Texas, that the Governor of that state has determined to call a special session, though he has not decided when it will be convened. lie wanted some remedial legislation, but did not get it. An anti-pass law and an anti lobbying law will go Into effect this Summer, and he Is thinking of calling the special session to meet after these measures have become effective, so that the legislators, toeing under no undue In fluence, will be more likely to enact the measures he desires. The bills he fa vored were revenue measures, providing indirect taxation which, would relieve tangible property from part of the bur den it is mow carrying. These bills were shelved one by one, and the Gov ernor thinks he can compel the law makers to take the demanded action by getting them together for that 'particu lar purpose. Oregon will watch the results In MIs sourt with some Interest. While no one has proposed that the Legislature in this state should be reconvened for the purpose of correcting its sins of omission, If the experiment in these sis ter states should prove satisfactory we might well, we might think about It. In the meantime, the Grange .leaders might discuss the suggestion. Perhaps they could save some, time and money by Inducing the Governor to call- the Legislature together again to undo the work that was found unsatisfactory, and to pass the revenue bills that were wanted. How about It, Mr. Buxton? How about it, Mrs. Waldo? FARMERS' IJiSTrri-TES. ' Xr. Withycombe, who is certainly in a position to know whereof he speaks, takes issue with an "implied criticism" of farmers' institutes in an article pub lished In' these columns a few days ago upon "Teaching Agriculture at the Farm." He assures the public, through a long letter written in defense of the farmers' institute, that there Is an ap preciable waste of time in welcoming addresses, responses and remarks by prominent citizens upon these occa sions. The Oregonlan Is glad to be as sured by competent authority that these institutes are as far as possible made "intensely practical." Farming, as every one knows, who knows anything about it. Is an intense ly practical vocation. The fragrance of the new mown hay has' been sung by poets reclining in the shade of the haycock, but the placing of the hay cock was an Intensely practical pro ceeding, through all of its preliminary stages up to the crowning achievement of rounding it out so that it might shed; to some extent the sudden downpour of rain from a Summer's cloud. The gold en, billowy wheat, undulating in the Summer air, is a picture fair to look upon, but the plowing and harrowing and sowing and Tolling which preceded this stage were Intensely practical in cidents of a strenuous pursuit, while further strenuous labor will be re quired before "the golden grain is poured into the expansive lap of com merce." To the extent that the farmers' Insti tute, with Its high sounding words of welcome and response relieves the monotony xf the Intensely practical side of agricultural pursuits, it is a welcome adjunct to life on the farm. Ir. Withy combe assures the public further that it is the very best means that is employed for Introducing reforms in agricultural practices, undertaken by the Agricul tural College and Experiment Station. This Is upon his showing, altogether probable since It brings the farmers of a wide district in touch with one an other, and through the opportunity af forded for discussion promotes an ex change of ideas upon topics in which all are Interested. Time was, as many remember, when It was supposed that farming came naturally to a boy born on a farm and that housework and cooking came to farmers' girls by intuition. That pre sumption, though outdated by common experience in life, still obtains in many rural districts. Surprise is felt that farmers' boys do not like farming and are awkward and unsuccessful in the attempt to make things grow and that girls, starting out to cook and do house work, concoct strange messes for the table and are without practical knowl edge In taking care of furniture and in other details of modern housewifery. The suggestion that these boys and girls have not been taught is resented as a reflection upon their intelligence, and perhaps upon the home life in which they were born and reared. Tlio ambitious lad .well grown, and. fairly educated who applied for work in a wholesale grocery store and was asked if he had had experience In the work sought stated the case simply when he replied, "No, I was not born with experience; I am out to try and get some." Had he applied for farm work, his size and strength would alone have been taken Into consideration and he would have been set down as a dul lard, had he not been able to take any work that came to hand and perform it In a creditable manner. To a considerable extent this condi tion of affairs has passed away. Farm ing, In theory at least, has been taken from the catalogue of plodding drudg ery and placed in that of a vocation in which success depends not more upon Industry than upon knowledge. The farmers' institute Is the outgrowth of this movement supplemental, as rr. Withycombe tells us, of the work of the Agricultural College and the Govern ment Experiment Station. This being true, it Is an institution that has an Im portant place In the evolution of the science Jf agriculture and farmers should make it a point of conscience, looking to the advancement of their vo cation and interests to see that the boys and girls of their households attend as well as themselves. COLOXEL HARVEY'S SPEECH. It is unnecessary to explain who Colo nel Harvey Is. Everybody knows all about this great literary luminary whose editorial genius presides over Harper's Weekly, The North American Review, and sheds an occasional Inspir ing ray into the elegant pages of Har per's Bazaar. On the night of April 13, Colonel (Harvey preached a sermon from a text in Ecclesiastes to a rapt congregation of millionaires at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. The text denounces woe upon that land whose king is a child. Colonel Harvey ap plies it to America and Roosevelt. Ac cording to him Mr. Roosevelt is a mis chievous child with "a passion for no toriety, noisy, confused, contradictory, inconsistent, Illogical, Irrational." The sermon, or address, is one of the most virulently abusive of a public man that it has ever been our fortune to read. The language disregards all the conventions of decency; the spirit is one of deep and malignant hatred. Delivered as it was to an audience of trust magnates it probably found great acceptability In their ears. We rather guess the American people will judge of it somewhat differently. The eminent Colonel's veracity may be gauged from one sentence. Although his speech is utterly unrestrained in abuse, reckless in assertion and scandalous in epithet, nevertheless, as though to put Impu dence itself to shame, he says that Americans no longer dare to criticize the President. "The heavy hand of fear rests upon the land," and nobody has the courage to open his mouth to reveal Mr. Roosevelt's awful deeds. He was at that moment doing, somewhat infamously we must confess, but still doing, the very thing he said nobody dared to do. Arid hundreds of others in the service of the magnates are doing the same thing and Colonel Harvey knows It. Doubtless the distinguished Colonel thinks the speech a very brilliant one. since he has sent It broadcast to the press; but we cannot agree with him. We have never been able to discern brilliance in billingsgate nor do we be lieve that literary or political genius best exhibits Itself in uttering slander. One error the orator makes which would of Itself be damning even if his speech were otherwise admirable. He fails to mingle with his falsehoods that small seasoning of truth which is in variably essential to make such attacks effective. Had the Colonel been a genu ine artist in backbiting he would have inserted here and there a fact. The reader's suspicions would thus have been lulled and some of the misstate ments might have been swallowed. As It Is, the untruth is so patent and con tinuous that there Is not the least dan ger of any person being misled. We congratulate Colonel Harvey on that strength of mind which enables him to .rise superior to decency and generosity In his advocacy of Professor Wood row Wilson for the Presidency; but we cannot congratulate Professor Wilson on his choice of an advocate. Were the American people fools and knaves such a foolish and knavish ad dress might captivate them. Being in telligent persons with a preference for candor, It will only disgust them. GAVE A CLUB TO THE PEOPLE. "Corporate capital Is not foolish enough to put a club into the hands of the people that they may turn upon it and brain it," says the Atlanta Consti tution in an effort' to show the absurd ity of the alleged conspiracy to down Roosevelt and his policies. Nqt, eh? What were the Insurance manipulators doing in the days of their conspiracy but putting into the hands of the peo ple a club with which they could be brained? If Mr. Harriman's method of buying the stock of one railroad with the assets of another was not putting a club in the hands of the people, what was it? What, In the name of common sense, do you call the aotion of the railroads In granting discriminations and unjust rebates if it was not a prac tical presentation of a club to the peo ple? In all that has been said and done against the railroads since the agita tion for railroad regulation began, has there been a single act adverse to their interests that was not provoked and brought on by themselves? Not one. For whatever ills the railroads may suffer In the way of government control they have no one to blame but them selves. The people did not want ,to regulate the railroads. They do not want to be bothered with such difficult problems nor to bear the expense of maintaining railroad commissions and conducting railroad suits. But no al ternative remained. It was and is a question whether the people shall suffer all the injustice a railroad can devise, or rise in might and power and assert the right to rule. These men, whose Intelligence is held in such high .regard by the Constitution, assumed that they have, a right to water their stock and then compel the people to pay dividends on the water. If that was not foolish ness then we do not remember to have heard of an exhibition of foolish ness outside of an asylum. Any man who would expect the people to submit for any considerable length of time to such a scheme' of robbery as that is foolish in the extreme, as developments have shown. If corporate capital cjn spired to defeat the President it did no more than pursue the foolish methods which have characterized nearly all Its Important movements In recent years. Farmers of the Willamette Vnllev are advised to increase the acreage of pota toes this Spring. The advice is based upon the fact that the California croD Will nu-fllUir - V. I r. ..... ... j ...... i- 111 no"ii ni ma.-- juuui fit . tae iioous mat suDmeriTecLLtor Vie Summer vacation. almost . the entire potato area of the Sacramento Valley a few weeks ago. It is given by an expert who knows all there is to be known about potatoes as regards their market value, incident to possible supply and certain demand. What with the destruction of many old orchards, careful spraying of trees and a most propitious Spring for blossoming and pollenization the prospects for an abundant fruit crop in the Willamette Valley were never better. The like of which they never saw before Is In store for the colonists who have come hither this Spring from less favored sections of the country seeking. New York's "battle for the babies" has now taken the form of appointment of a commission composed of five ex perts who will recommend plans for the protection of the public, and parti cularly babies, from Infected milk. Fourteen years ago Nathan Straus es tablished pasteurized milk depots in the metropolis and as a result mortality among children under five years of age has decreased from 96 in a thousand in 1892 to 55 in a thousand in 1906. The death rate In Summer has decreased from 136 in a thousand in 1892 to 63 In a thousand In 1906. The new commis sion is charged with the task of devis ing a practical method of protecting the milk supply from the construction of barns and feeding of cows to the pas teurizing and delivery of the milk. It Is a work to which every city must give attention, for milk Is an article of food in every family and Is a ready medium for the transmission of disease germs. By pasteurizing, the germs can be killed without Injury to the milk. With ceremonies befitting the occa sion Calvary Presbyterian Church of this city is celebrating Its quarter cen tennial. This church organization Is an offshoot of the First Presbyterian Church under the pastorate of the late Dr. Lindsley of honored memory, has stood for the religious creed or code of Calvin not aggressively, but earnestly, during all of its years. Its Ideals have been supplemented) by responsible prac tical endeavor and it still stands in the community at the close of 25 busy, changeful years for public morality, Christian charity and personal purity. The celebration will close this evening with a memorial service and roll call of the members who have finished their work. ' In the New York Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church a memorial has been presented favoring the elec tion of presiding elders by the members of the conference, that is. the ministers. Instead of having them appointed by the bishops. While the proposed plan is in accordance with the Idea of popu lar government, it would be likely to introduce into every conference a game of church politics that would be far from beneficial to the cause of the church. An Oregon City potato grower advises Oregon farmers to go In heavily on spuds this season, as the floods in Cali fornia have greatly injured the crop in that state. Killing frosts in Missouri, Kansas and other fruit growing states of the Middle West, have done immense damage to apples, pears, peaches and other fruits. Oregon may expect to profit by the misfortune of farmers who suffered from frost as well as those who sufered from flood. There is no cause for alarm in the de velopment of a few cases of spinal men ingitis in this city. It Is a matter for precaution, calm and deliberate, not for alarm which is as vain as unreasoning. The public is assured that intelligent vigilance Is being exercised in keeping this scourge at bay while medical sci ence is dealing by the best light that it has with the few cases that have been developed. Here the matter rests. Eighty-seven suits pending this term of court in Tillamook County for the condemnation of rights of way for rail road construction make a pretty good showing of good faith on the part of those back of the projects. Builders of paper railroads usually want the right of way donated without any cost to themselves. It costs money to get a right of way by condemnation. What to do with Roosevelt after the expiration of his term, is a question which has occupied the attention of many men and many newspapers. Here is a suggestion: Organize an inter national government and make him president of it. Does . Mr. Harriman approve? Two persons who need not make "statements" are ex-Senator Burton and Evelyn Thaw's mother; likewise Senator Bailey, Boss Ruef, Harriman, Senators Depew and Piatt and the "solid nine" of the Portland Council, a The next Thaw jury should be the most Intelligent yet, and the proof will be its ignorance of what the people and the newspapers have been saying the country over, about Thaw, Evelyn, Mrs. Holman and Stanford White. A number of women who attended the bull-fight at Juarez last Sunday dis covered their sensibilities in time to faint when a matador was torn by a tortured bull. "What went they out for to see?" In order that Oregon shall get credit at the Jamestown exposition for mak ing some progress, the next th.lng in or der is to send a delegation of Indian squaws dressed as white women. . The incoming tide of the Foraker can didacy will have an undertow that is likely to carry somebody out Into the depths of political obscurity. . The Boston Transcript says that For aker is "playing politics." You don't call that politics, do you? If you do, you don't know the game. The newly formed Bible trust should get out an edition of the sacred book with a "Family Record" page that contains spaces for divorces. And now women have successfully rivaled the councils of the Sons of Benjamin. What next? Probably those most in need of higher education will join in to hold back the University appropriation. One of the reasons money is not taint ed Is that some persons think it can do them so much good. . , . . ... ' ' v ut-Hia t'j Buve up a lew collars WHY BOSTON IS NOT PASSING. Commerce la Decadent, but It Ham Nearly Everything Else. Indianapolis News. In the Portland Oregonlan of March 23 there was a brief editorial bearing this caption: "The Passing of Boston." Bos ton is not "passing." No other city is so hospitable to new and strange religions. No other city Is more progressive In poll tics. It is the home of the anti-imperial, lsts. of the free traders and of the Re publican tariff reformers. Boston la, too, a Democratic city, one of the few such cities In the North. It has many titles to distinction its library, Its gilded dome. Its sacred codfish, its beans and brown bread. Its Common and its subway. If It is passing It is only as an ocean grey hound can be said to be passing a slower boat. The real truth about it la that Boston is too swift for most of us. The town may lose a few million dollars in trade now and then, and may have to give place to New Orleans, and perhaps later even to Galveston. But what does it matter? We have just learned that St. Louis has gone ahead of Boston In popu lation, but the fact Is one of no signifi cance. Neither from that nor from the forward movement of New Orleans has the Portland Oregonlan or any on else a right to speak or even think of Boston as "passing." ; When it comes to the suggestion- that the people of Boston will have to place "a little more emphasis on culture" we have only to say that there are limits to what culture can endure. Really culture never has been emphasized In the city 4t has emphasized itself. So spontaneous and natural has it been that it is impossible to think of anything forced In ' connection with it. We are willing to admit no more than that Bos ton, like the whole world and all that therein Is, is "passing through nature to eternity." Mortality, does not belong to It. It has not even a "claim" to mor tality. Passing? We rather guess not. GREAT SCANDAL OP THIS ALTON. Over aST.OOO.OOO New Indebtedness Without Legitimate Reason. New York Globe. The terrible arraignment of the Chi cago & Alton transaction by the Attorney-General of Illinois gains In force from the sobriety of Its tone. The opinion given to Governor Deneen does not read so much like a denun ciatory stump speech as the words of a careful lawyer solicitous for an ex act statement of the facts. When the Harriman interests, says the Attorney General, took control of the road its debt was 18,000,000. Its debt is now 180,000,000, and of this added amount only J22.500.000, according to Harri man's own testimony, was expended for bettering the road. The total profit to Harriman and his associates at the expense of the road is estimated at 124,648.600. As to the $80,000,000 in debtedness, the Attorney-General says: Over 57,O0O,O00 of this indebtedness, or more than 70 per cent of the entire Indebt edness created by this syndicate upon the properties of these several companies, was not created in furtherance of any legitimate purpose for which a railroad company Is, or can be, organized under the statutes of the State of Illinois. But, as usual, the discovery ' comes too late. All that can be done is to lock the door of an empty stable. The Illinois laws do not seem to provide any criminal punishment for this kind of corporation looting. On tho civil side. If the state sholud start proceed ings to revoke the company's charter, the damage would be principally to in nocent stockholders or bond buyers on whom Harriman and his associates un loaded. It Is obvious that the penal code of Illinois is in need of radical amendment. It is a scandal that such things should happen, but the greatest scandal Is that when they happen the offenders can . snap their fingers. Not only in Illinois, but elsewhere, laws must be passed authorizing proceedings against the persons of corporation looters. "BOSS" TWEED DIED TOO EARLY "Trimmer" of the Pennsylvania Capt Itol could Have Given Him Polnta. Collier's Weekly. The official investigation of the methods by which $9,000,000 were spent in trimming Pennsylvania's $4,000,000 state capitol throws all State Treasurer Berry's pre-election charges into the shade. No such shameless plundering has ever been exposed In this country since the time when Tweed paid $1000 apiece for chairs in the New York County Court house. It has been found that all the pretended offering of contracts to pub lic competition was a fraud. By a resolution secretly put through the Board of Public Buildings and Grounds, on motion of Governor Pennypacker, no bid could be considered unless the bidder offered to furnish every item in the entire schedule. The only con tractor who knew of this requirement was John H. Sanderson. Another bid der innocently offered to do the In terior painting and decorating for 52 cents a foot. Sanderson's bid was $2.52. That meant a difference of $617,083.11 on the whole Job. The out side bidder would have received $162,389.85. Sanderson's bid amounted to $779,472.96. Sanderson got. the con tract. The "mahogany" rostrums for which the state paid Sanderson $90, 748.80, were furnished by the sub-contractor for $2060. Somebody pocketed the difference. The mahogany was largely birch behind and colored putty in front Sanderson received the con tract to furnish $138,757.09 worth of im ported "baccarat" glass. He was al lowed to furnish cheap domestic glass made in Beaver County, Pennsyl vania, which cost him $27,329.90. The state paid Sanderson $137,600 for sketches and models for lighting fix tures, a thing that any contractor Is ex pected to supply at his own expense. It has been estimated that the con tractor made about $4,500,000 profit not allowing for confidential deduc tions on work that did not cost him over $1,000,000. Photographing- the Breath Next. Berlin Gable Dispatch in New York Sun. Photography of the breath is the latest science. This was explained at the recent annual meeting of the Roentgen-Ray conference, at which cinema tographic pictures of the breathing of sick and healthy persons were thrown upon a screen. The inventor of the method is Dr, Koehler, of Wiesbaden. His system shows accurately the sympathetic ac tion of the lungs and heart in connec tion with inspiration and expiration. It is expected that the discovery will play an Important role In the diagnosis pf tuberculosis and similar respiratory diseases. I.nna- Sheets for Tall Texana. Austin (Tex.) Dispatch in New York Sun. The Senate has passed finally the bill which requires that all sheets on beds in hotels , and boarding-houses shall be nine feet long. The complaint against short sheets came from the tall men of the state, . SPARE THE STATE VNIVERSITY. Referendum Should Be Invoked Only In Extreme Cases. PORTLAND. Or., April 13. To the Editor.) Permit me a word on the matter of invoking the referendum on the recent appropriation for the State University. Warmly favoring the prin ciple of the referendum as I do, I am jealous of its rite, and believe that it should only be invoked in extreme cases. It Is a most effective instru ment ih the hands of the people and for that reason should be used with caution and reserve. Then, too, the or ganization of the Patrons of Husban dry Is a power in the State of Immense importance to the common welfare. It is an organization to which we may have to look and to which we shall be glad to look at sometime when some vital interest is at stake. It Is of in terest to the whole State, therefore, that an organization of the numbers and standing and influence of the Patrons of Husbandry should maintain a reputation with the whole body of citizens for advocating none but safe nnd discriminating measures. The State cannot afford to have such' a body of its citizens discredited by Its advocacy of any measure not in ac cordance with the best interests of the whole State. With due recognition of the honesty of the motives of those who advocate the use of the referendum in this in stance, I cannot but feel that, if suc cessful, it would be seriously to the hurt of vital Interests of the State. The State University belongs to no Bectlon of the State and to no class of citizens, but to the whole State and to all the citizens. We are all inter ested In its adequate support and In Its steady advance. No institution of the State affects the interests of the whole body of the citizens more closely than does the State University. It is dif ficult to say In clear-cut and adequate statements Just how this Is. But the fact is not therefore to be denied on ignorance. I may mention several re gards in which the maintenance of the university at a high grade of efficiency affects the interests of all- We are all Interested in the reputa tion of our State. We are Just now aiming to get such a reputation abroad through the land as will attract peopl6 here to make their homes with us. Wo are building much on this. We who are here are expecting to enhance our worth largely through the number which we shall induce to come and make their homes within our .borders. It is homemakers we wish to come be fore all others. But homemakers, and especially the kind we are anxious to have come, are Influenced by the show ing the State can make for Its schools. Most of those whom we would Invite to come are citizens of States where the State University is a matter of pride. One of the first things they expect to hear about on coming Into our State Is the high standing in the regard of the people of the State University. We are all Interested in having with in our State a large body of hfghly trained men and women. We need them in the professions, In business, in the legislature, on our commissions, in our schools. Not all men and women in these various departments of life need be of university training; many of fho most efficient will be in the future as they nave been in the past without such training, but withal, we must have a due proportion so trained If we are to keep abreast of our age. But our closet interest in the State University is through our public schools. It Is here that its Influence comes close home to us all. It is a well-settled principle in education that the measure of efficiency in the pri mary and grammar schools, those schools of the whole people, depends upon the Influence that comes from the top down. The school system is like a highly organized living body; every part of it Is quickly responsive to the condition of the head. Let us have a healthy, vigorous, well sup ported and well-directed university at the head of our system and we are sure, sooner or later, to find its Invigorating influence reaching to the lowest schools and to the remotest regions of the State. J. R. WILSON. Poetic Plea for More Pay. The Jersey City schoolteachers have adopted a novel plan to plead for an In crease of pay. Each of the directors of education has received a copy of the following: The firm increased his salary two years ago last May, The . said increase amounting " to just SO cents a day, Of sugar, salt and rice, Since then; they've raised the price. Of carrots and of beets. Of flour, meal and meats. Of baby's little boots. Of 'taters, milk and cheese, Of products of the bees. Of hats and sacks and coats. Of all that sinks or floats. He's paying out the money that he saved before the raise. But PROSPERITY'S upon us and his heart , Is full of praise. For Indigent Conferedate Soldiers. Baltimore News. Captain E. F. Grlswold. a veteran of the Union Army living at St. Johnbury. Vt., and drawing a Federal pension of $12 a month, has made an extraordinary propo sition. It is to the effect that he will turn over to any Confederate soldiers' charitable association monthly the amount of his -pension, the only condition being that the association accepting the offer will apply the money to the relief of indigent Confederate soldiers. Captain Grlswold says he does not need the money, but knows there are many ex-Confederates who do need help, and he holds them In so high esteem that he is willing to do all that he can to aid them. CIVIL WAR Q MTHREAT5.0R MENACES &&D ,OFArYKlN0,0FANY B055, , BUSTER BROWN NEXT WEEK - This tremendously - popular American will appear in the children's section of The Sun day Oregonian. He will make his bow to the youngsters of the Pacific Northwest next Sun day and each week thereafter. ' Make a canvass of the chh " dren of the United States, from . the President 's sons down to the newly-arrived Italian immi grant's 6-year-old on their opin ion as to the funniest comic page published in this country. Probably 99 out of every 100 will answer promptly, "Buster Brown. " His love of adventure, hi means of amusement and exer cise, his companionship with "Tige" and his quaint resolu tions appeal to all healthy boys, their daddies aud grandfathers. By special arrangement, The Sunday Oregonian will publish this feature simultaneously with the New York Herald. So great is the demand for The Sunday Oregonian that the entire edition is often sold out before 10 A. M., and back num bers are unobtainable at any price. Those who are not regu lar subscribers win do well to order from their news dealers early this week. WANTS SPILLJIM AT IORVALLIS Former Pllmn Profea.or Suggested as O. A. C. President. JOHN DAY. April 13. (To the Edi tor.) As the selection of a successor to President Gatch in the State Agri cultural College Is a matter of much concern to every citizen of the -atate and of especial interest to public school officers, I would respectfully ask space In your valuable columns to place the name of Professor W. J. Spillman, Chief Agriculturist of the Federal Gov ernment, before the peopfe and the board of regents. It seems strange to me that no public-mention of Professor fepillman has been made. When Sena tor Paulhamus declared that Washing ton had suffered from the policy of allowing the most capable men to leave the State College for more remunera tive fields, the name of Professor Spill man must have been uppermost in his mind. Why he did not say so I do not understand. Professor Spillman is a scientist a chemist, trained by Dr. David Starr Jordan In the Indiana University, a teacher of highly successful experience, a practiced farmer, and a man of high ess character and attainments. He has a national reputation as a specialist in forage and grasses, and from residence and study in Orgeon has been accorded the position of highest proficiency in these and kindred departments. He stands well with the Department of the Interior at Washington and has many former students high in. the service. His reputation and character would at tract attention and patronage from ev ery section of the United States, while his familiarity with official procedure would offer unexcelled opportunities for securing Government co-operation and recognition of the graduates of his institution. It is not known whether Professor Spillman could be induced to leave his work at Washington for the presidency of the Agricultural College,' but he has always felt a keen Interest in the edu cational and Industrial affairs of Ore gon, and having at one time been con nected with the Oregon State Normal school at Monmouth, .':e might he in duced to accept. At any rate, an at--tempt could be made, and should be. if the Regents are really desirous of getting a man with a "national repu tation C A M i-TTCTOStx I School Superintendent, Grant County. IN OHIO From the Chicago Record-Herald