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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 1907)
THE MORNING OKUGONIAN", WEDNESDAY, SEPTE3IBER 4, 190T. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. INVARIABLY IN ADVANCES. (By Mall.) Pally Sunday Included, one year I J I'ally. Sunday included, ilx months.... J rialiy. Sunday Included, three months.'. i .13 Daily, Sunday included, on month ! Dally. ithout Sunday, one year g.w Dally, without Sunday, six months Dally, without Sunday, three months... l i Dally, without Sunday, ont month Sunday, one year ........ a.ov We-kly. one year tissued Thursday)... J Sunday and Weekly, one year -a" BY CARRIER. Dally. Sunday Included, ens year...... 9.00 Dally. Sunday Included, one month HOW TO REMIT Send PO"oftlce money order, express order or personal check . on your local bank Stamps, coin or eurrency are at the sender's risk. Give postof flee ad dress in full. Including county ana siaia. POSTAGE RATES. Entered at Portland. Oregon. Poatofflca as Second-Class Matter. - 10 to 14 Pages Scents ) to 28 Pases Seems 80 to-4t Pages 5 cent! 46 to BO Pages ' " Foreign postage, double rates. IMPORTANT The postal .laws are strict. Newspapers on w hich postage . no.t,i1u" prepaid are not forwarded to destination. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The g. C. Brckwlth Special A"? York, rooms 48-30 . Tribune building. Lm cago. rooms 610-512 Tribune building. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex. Postofflee News Co.. 178 Dearborn St. St. Paul. Mjnn. N. St. Marie. Commercial Station. Denver Hamilton A Kendrick. BO;1 Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Store. 121 Fifteenth street; H. P. Hansen. S. Rica. Kansas City. Mo. Rlcksecker Cigar Co.. Nlntn and Walnut: Yoma News Co. Minneapolis M. J. Cavanaugh. 60 Booth Third. Cleveland, O. James Pushaw. 80T Su perior street. -Washington. D. C Ebbltt House. Peon- sylvanla avenue. ThUadelphla. Pa. Ryan's Theater Ticket office; Penn News Co. . New York City L. Jones Co.. Astor House: Broadway Theater News stand; Ar thur Hotallng Wagona Atlantic City, N. J Ell Taylor. Ogden D U Boyle. W. O. Kino. 11 4 Twenty-fifth street. Omahi Barkalow Bros.. Union Station. Mageath Stationery Co. Des Moines, la. Mose Jacob. Sacramento, Cal. Sacramento News Co.. 439 K street; Amos News Co. Salt Uike Moon Book & Stationery Co.; Rosenfeld & Hansen. I .os Angeles B. E. Amos, manager seven street wagons. San Diego B. E. Amos. Iong Beach. Cnl. B, B. Amos. San Jose, Cal. St. James Hotel News Paso, Tex. Plaxa Book and Newa Stand. Forth Worth, Tex. F. Robinson. Amarlllo, Tex. Amarlllo Hotel News Stand. San Francisco Foster A Crear: Ferry News Stand; Hotel St. Francis News Stand, U Parent; N Wheatley; Falrmount Hotel News Stand; Amos News Co.; United Jsews Agnts. 11 V Eddy street. Oakland. Cal W. H. Johnson, Fourteenth and Franklin streets; N. Wheatley; Oak land News Stand; Hale News Co. (ioldfleld, Nev. Louie iollln: 1 Hunter. . . Kureka, Cnl. Call-Chronicle Agency. Norfolk Vtt. American News Co. I'lne Ueuch. Ya. W. A. Cosgrove. PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 4. 1901. MR. TV FT ON RAILROAD PROBLEMS. In his speech at Columbus Mr. Taft declared in most positive terms his op position to ownership of the railroads by the Government. He summed up his objections in these three state ments, to wit: First, because existing Government rail ways are not managed with either the effi ciency or economy of privately managed roads and the rates charged are not as low and theifore not beneficial to the public; Second, because It would Involve an ex penditure of certainly ,12,000.000,000 to ac quire the interstate railways and the crea tion of an enormous National debt. Third, because it would place In the hands of a reckless executive a power of control over business and politics that . the Imagina tion can hardly conceive, and would expos our popular Institutions to danger. , These are sound objections. Yet it is conceivable that the evils arising from private ownership may appear so grave as to induce the country some time to accept Government ownership as a remedy; especially If the abuses which have become so notoriously flagrant shall not be soon and effectually checked by control of law. Bat a beginning has been made for such control; and It will depend on the. determination and fidelity of the rep resentatives of the people to make it Increasingly effective. If there is not law enough now, additional statutes will be enacted. The country will not run headlong into Government own ership, but will first employ all possl ble means to secure effective regula tion. With one part of Mr. .Taft's remarks we cannot agree. He withholds assent from the argument that the present physical value of all the railroads of the country should be the basis of rates allowing only a fair profit on such valuation. Mr. Taft says that "land for terminals and right of way and the cost of construction have in creased so enormously that the total of their securities upon which they pay dividends and interest is not much If any In excess of present physical. value." This is merely an opinion, with which most will be unable to agree. Overcapitalization, In Innumerable in stances, is a very patent fact. But if it isn't true, inquiry for ascertainment of -the real truth will not hurt the rail roads and will satisfy the country. Closest scrutiny, under direction of law, should be enforced hereafter, upon every issue of bonds, and there should be ho issue, unless under conditions expressly specified by law. The griev- ance of the country, or the grievance it thinks it has. lies in the inflation of stocks and bonds, on which the traffic Is expected and required to pay dividends, Enormous issue of new stocks and bonds, to cover operations In "Wall street. Increases the burden of the peo ple, as they fully believe; and they ob ject to taxation of their industry, through manipulation of traffic rates, to support these operations. But if the people are shown that everything is fair and the profits only moderate, they will not be unreasonable in their treat ment of the railroads. LET THEM TRY THE INITIATIVE. The Oregonian has no expectation that the people of Oregon will veto the legislative bill appropriating to the University of Oregon the sum of $125, COO per year, now submitted to the ref erendum. The Linn County Grange has eo far had Its way in opposition to the university; but the only result of Its obstructive tactics will be, probably, to embarrass the work of an important state institution for the ensuing year or more. The university will get on some how in the meantime; but it will be subject to just such periodical attacks if a method shall not be devised for determining definitely and finally the proper amount of the state appropria tion for the university. The Oregonian has heretofore sug gested the initiative as a means of de termining the university appropriation problem. We are to have a yes and no vote by the people on the $125,000 ap propriation and nobody will be satisfied with the result, whatever It Is. But a bill appropriating- a reasonable sum under the initiative would stand a good chance, in The Oregonlan's opinion, of removing the menace, for a number of years at least, that now shadows the university and will be over It con stantly until there shall be an authori tative expression of the public will on the subject. There will be no referen dum -on an initiative bill. A PORT OF COLUMBIA YET. The effect of defeat In the State Su preme Court of the Port of Columbia bill will not be seriously felt by Colum bia River shipping interests this sea son, as the O. R. & N. Co. has agreed to bear the burden of bar pilotage for another year and will also continue to operate a tug service at the river en trance. .But it will have the effect or placing our commerce at the mercy of the pilot ring for at least another year. Mr. Farrell. the Pilot Commissioner who brought the suit, will continue to sell beans and bacon In Portland and dis claim all knowledge of bars or bar pilots, and the latter, secure In their Astoria retreat, will go out If the weather suits ahem and remain inside if It does not. They have had things heir own way so long that, as soon as the nervousness occasioned by the hanging over their heads of the Port of Columbia bill ha worn off, they will resume their former attitude of doing as they please, regardless of the inter ests and desires of the port that is pay ing the bills. Meanwhile the remedy Is entirely in the hands of the people of Multnomah County. The Supreme Court has said that the Legislature under the amended constitution had no business to create a special corporation. But this same amended constitution provides a way by which the people themselves may do that very thing. There Is time before the next regular election to prepare an initiative biU creating the Port of Co lumbia and endowing It with all the powers sought to be conferred by the legislative act. THE REFERENDUM CLUB. The ease with which the referendum can be diverted from Its intended func tion and made to serve the purposes of revengeful political machine Is shown in the fight which the Multno mah County Commissioners are mak- ng on Sheriff Stevens. The County Court, which had permitted a Demo cratic Sheriff to have full control or the county prisoners, including their feeding, enforced an old and almost forgotten law and look the prisoners out of the control of Stevens. In order rhat the Sheriff should still remain the custodian of the prisoners, the last Legislature passed a law giving him full control of them, including their feeding, at a rate more than SO per cent lower than that 'which the court had permitted his Democratic predecessor to charge. The County Court, not to be thus defeated in its attempt to strengthen its political machine, in voked the aid of the referendum. Bvery employe at the mercy of the County Commissioners was required to secure signatures to the referendum petition, which was to serve as a stay of proceedings, so that Stevens would be deprived of control of his office for the remainder of his term. One aged brldgetender who refused to circulate a petition was promptly discharged from the service of the county, and others who were somewhat .slow In filling their lists weve threatened. By the aid of such powerful pressure from the pollt leal machine the County Court by a narrow margin secured the number of names required by law and the petition was filed. Here was a matter in which the only question involved was whether the Sheriff should have control of the pris oners. Including . their feeding, or whether this power should be given the County Court. The remuneration fixed by the Legislature was so low that there was no opportunity for a profit In the transaction, although the County Court, by careful mathematical calcu lations, pretends to feed the prisoners at a lower cost than that which the new law allowed. The opinion of the people regarding the merits of the ref erendum will not be improved by the use to which it has been put In this state. The County Court, which has ade use of its patronage, for which the taxpayers are footing the bills, to carry on a ssytem of petty private per secution against as good a Sheriff as Multnomah County has had, may yet learn that they have erred In using the referendum for such a purpose. REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. San Francisco continues to advertise to the world that neither labor nor capital is safe within Its borders. The right of the American citizen to sell his labor as he sees fit is denied, and the attempt to exercise that right is met with assault from a mob. No other city In the world's history ever strug gled to its feet so quickly after going down befre such an awful cataclysm as overwhelmed San Francisco. But, while the stricken city is pulling itself together and trembling from the phys ical shock and injury inflicted on it by the earthquake, it Is being subjected to blow after blow from organized grafters and the peculiar brand of or ganized labor found there. In every other city on the Pacific Coast capital can find openings where It will not be placed In Jeopardy from the assaults o professional labor agitation, and labor will find opportunities where it will not be in peril of brickbats and firearms. Under such conditions It is but nat ural that both capital and labor should give a wide berth to San Francisco, and that city must accordingly struggle on under the present fearful handicap, which will never be lifted until every law-abiding man in the city is permit ted to sell his labor at a wage satisfac tory to himself. In placing the blame for this latest outrage. President Cal houn, of the United Railroads, correct ly states that there will be no peace until public sentiment condemns the practices of the mob which seems to have control of the police and other de partments of Justice in San Francisco. But a public sentiment which approves the use of firearms and the throwing of brickbats to prevent men from earning .an honest living could not come into existence and spread to its present dangerous proportions without some strong underlying cause. Nothing can Justify such lawlessness as disgraced San Francisco on Labor day, but the provocation for the senti ment which caused it can be found in the acts of such men as Mr. Calhoun and other members of the "indicted' club in San Francisco. Bribery and graft have run riot in San Francisco, not only since the earthquake, but be- fore that epoch in the city's history. Capitalists bribed the city and county officials and the police grafted from those whom the- should have arrested. Capitalists secured pay for their brib ery investments in the form of valua ble franchises and other privileges. The men who sold these privileges waxed rich on the proceeds, and the police got what they could farther doui the scale. With this example Derore them, there was a strong incentive be fore the laboring men to try and force wages to a higher level by artificial means. Bribery and graft could not help them even had they chosen to make use of them, so the strike and boycott were invoked. It is possible that the strike and boy cott might have been inaugurated even had there been no grafting and bribery. but there would have been less cause for a grievance. Organized labor sim ply reasoned that if the capitalists could have money with which to bribe lawmakers they also must have rrtpney for paying higher wages. Astbey could not, even had they so desired, en force a division by the means employed by the grafters, the only means at their command was the strike and boycott. This might not have been right and Just, but it was human nature, and Calhoun and his fellow-bribers are more to blame for the public sentiment which Is now making so much trouble in San Francisco than are the union laborers. The moral responsibility of the capi talist is always greater than that of the laborer, for his example Is more cer tain to be -followed than is that of the man who has no capital other than his labor. The atmosphere in San Fran cisco needs purifying, and the convic tion of one man In the higher walks of life will be more beneficial than that of a thousand throwers of brickbats. Cal houn, Glass and their friends sowed the wind and they are now reaping the whirlwind, with the barometer still in an unsettled state. . AT SACRAMENTO. In the course of his comment upon enforcement of the land laws at the Irrigation Congress at Sacramento Monday, Governor Chamberlain pro posed a new plan for the purpose of breaking up large holdings of land. His scheme is not aimed particularly at owners of land "grabbed" from the Government, nor, indeed, at men who have secured land by questionable methods. He- proposes that a gradu ated acreage tax be imposed, the rate rising rapidly as the acreage increases, thus placing a heavy burden upon the holder of large tracts and practically relieving of any tax burden the man who has but the few acres necessary for the support of himself and family. The Governor disclaims any intention to advocate a. system of confiscation, but asserts that men who hold land for speculative purposes should be com pelled to pay a license tax for the priv ilege. In its practical operation his scheme would result In reduction of the large holdings by sales in tracts of such an area that the tax would not be burdensome. The question that immediately arises is that of constitutionality. The Gov ernor meets this in advance by men tioning the inheritance tax, which is a graduated tax, bearing most heavily upon the larger inheritances and en tirely exempting inheritances jot small amounts. This is probably a complete answer to the question of constitution ality, so far as the matter of a gradu ated tax is concerned, but It may be doubted whether the similarity to the Inheritance tax continues, even in prin ciple, when the tax Is made to vary ac cording to acreage rather than value. For example, if one man may own a city block in which 250 persons live and which has a value of $500,000, why may not one map own farm property of similar value and capable of affprd Ing homes for a similar number of per sons? There is a difference In condi tions Justifying a different application of principles of law, but attorneys for t orporate owners of large tracts of Und are great sticklers for equality when the constitution may possibly afford them protection against new Ideas in legislation. If the constitution can be satisfied, there Is little doubt that legislation of the kind proposed by Governor Cham berlain would be effective. Imposition of a graduated acreage tax would make landholding unprofitable to those large concerns, numerous in Oregon, which retain ownership olj land desired by nomeseeicers. Noteworthy among Governor Cham berlain's remarks is his apparent re versal of his attitude toward the for est reserve policy of the Admlinstra tion. The expression "apparent re versal" may seem out of place when the Governor clearly announces that he has changed his views-, and yet it is probable that his opinions have not un dergone as much change as he. Inti mates. Like many other residents and public men in Oregon, the Governor protested most strenuously against that forest reserve practice which created reserves of territory embracing worth less lands which railroad companies thereby were enabled to surrender to the Government, taking valuable timt. ber Jands instead. It was against the combined operation of the lieu-land law and the forest reserve practice that Oregon protested, and it Is scarcely probable that Governor Chamberlain has changed his Ideas of that feature of forest reserve achievements. The policy of the Administration in the cre ation and management of forest re serves the Governor warmly commends, asserting that tnrough this system the people are protected from the complete monopolization of timber lands. The extremely generous commendation which Governor Chamberlain voices when speaking of Chief Forester Pin chot leaves no doubt that the Adminis tration will have a firm friend in the seat of the presiding officer at the Ir rigation Congress at Sacramento this week. And this is of no small conse quence at a meeting In which the op ponents of the Administration are like ly to try to secure adoption of adverse resolutions. Governor Chamberlain ex presses no more than the views of the "people of this state when he commends the forest reserve idea. At the same time this state has no apologies to' make for the criticisms that were ut tered when the Northern Pacific and other corporate holders of "scrip" were permitted to come here and take the best timber lands, unsurveyed as well as surveyed, in exchange for worthless lands elsewhere. Attention has been called frequently to the fact that corporate interests are seizing the water powers of the coun try, under existing laws or lack of laws, and the title they are acquiring is such as will give them a claim of "vested Interest"- at the time in the near fu ture when the people wake up to the value of this portion of Nature's boun- tiful gifts to the Pacific Coast. Gov ernor Chamberlain repeats the warning that has been heard in the past, and urges upon the Irrigation Congress the adoption of some means by which leg islation may bo secured in each of the states, or in the Congress of the United States, for the protection of the peo ple against a water power monopoly. To a large extent, however, the warn ing comes too late and the recourse of the people must be to the power of reg ulation and taxation. The need of legislation governing use of water for irrigation, particularly from streams that flow through the Jurisdiction of two or more states, the importance of the ' enforcement of the conditions of Congressional land grants and recovery of lands that have been acquired from the Government through fraud, are touched upon by Governor Chamberlain and presented to the Irri gation Congress for consideration. These topics will very likely be han dled more In detail by various speak ers. If the congress gives to each topic suggested by Its president the thorough attention the subjects require, this will be a busy week for the delegates. According to reports, many of the hopgrowers who are renters are hav ing difficulty in securing picking money. It is to be hoped that wh-re picking money is not to be had the growers will not issue hop tickets which they cannot afterward redeem. Such a practice was Indulged in quite extensively a few years ago, and the men, women and children who picked the hops lost all or part of the money for which they had toiled. If there'must be a loss, which perhaps there need not be, it should fall upon the growers who have set out an excessive acreage in spite of warnings of over-production. The grower who will engage pifke-t knowing that he has not the means of paying them is on a level with the banker who receives deposits wn?n he knows or should know that "his bank is Insolvent. The five-year close period for elk ends September 15, and a very few min utes after the expiration of that long season of protection there will be plenty of hunters in the forests in search of the biggest game to be found In Oregon. Fortunately for perpetua tion of the species, the law permits the killing of but one elk by a hunter in a season, and In the future there will be no such indiscriminate slaughter of these noble animals as was so notice able before the law was passed. The encroachments of the settlers are grad ually restricting the feeding grounds of the elk, but with rigid enforcement of the laws It will be many years be fore the antlered monarchs will follow the buffalo over the great divide into the happy hunting grounds of the here after. The news of the defeat Of the Port of Columbia bill reached Astoria while the regatta was at its height, thus afford ing the people of the city by the sea plenty of grounds for additional Jollifi cation. It Is needless to say that the pleasure over the defeat of the measure was less pronounced at Rainier, Stella, Westport, Llnnton, St. John, Vancouver and a number of other ports which were perfectly willing that Portland should be given the opportunity to spend its own money in the improve ment of a tug and pilot service that is needed by every port on the river. Some day Astoria will have an awak ening, and will be heartily ashamed of the attitude a few of her people have taken on a subject of such great im portance for the' entire Columbia basin Tacoma newspapers announce the presence in the harbor of two whales, The leviathans disport themselves in front of the city and are quite an at traction. It is, of course, somewhat mystifying how any kind of an attrac tion got by Seattle and reached Ta coma, but, as the feat seems to have been accomplished, the only thing Se attle can do to even up matters is to have a live sea serpent lashing the waters of Elliott Bay. Considering the stories gathered by some of the able seamen on the Seattle newspapers, this should not be difficult to secure. A Georgia scientist predicts that the world is going to dry up. The tempor ary fulfillment of this prophecy would be welcomed by the wheatralsers of the Palouse and the hopgrowers of the WI1 lamette Valleyi while the farmers of the wheat belt of the great Middle West and Northwest, whose grain fields and stacks have been drenched by rain off and on for the past month, would re joice with their brethren of-, the Far West at some indication of a. dry time during September, at least. Mr. Harriman announces that the railroad company will sell its agricul tural lands to actual settlers, but will retain Its timber lands for Its own use. The announcement ..will hardly affect the thrifty gentlemen who have collect ed elaborate locating fees from hun dreds of clients who were led to believe that they, and not the Harriman sys tem, were to have a voice in the ulti mate disposal of these fine timber lands. After reading the forecast of Jim Tompkins, the Mount Hood woodsman, who predicts a hard Winter, a shadow of suspicion creeps in that he may be press agent of the Portland fuel trust. The name Ketchel, borne by the new star that has arisen ln welter-weight pugilism, lends Itself admirably to punning If you put the accent on the last syllable. Making the estimate from published daily reports, it seems that the State Railway Commission has now received enough complaints to keep it busy until Christmas. Can't Governor Hughes find some pretext for a Western trip? Even If he got no farther than Chicago, it would help tome. Advertising pays. (Thus does the Oregon Editorial Association serve no tice on all candidates at the coming primaries. "When a pickpocket "lifted" a Port land detective's watch ln broad day light, he added contempt to insult and injury. What a low opinion of Portland de tectives pickpockets must have when a sleuth may be robbed with Impunity. Hop crops may come and hop crops may go, but somehow there seems al ways to be enough beer to go round. PHYSICIANS AND ADVERTISING. Medical Man Stamps Newspapers "a Beat Means of Publicity E. E. Munger. M. D.. of Spencer, Iowa, I in the Journal of the American Mea lcal Association. There has always been a wide dif ference of- opinion between physicians and newspaper men as to the propriety of advertising. There has been oc casional newspaper comment relative to the much talked of, but little un derstood, Principles of Ethics. It has been assumed that it militates against the advertising function of the news paper. The true physician has noth ing to advertise except that whicn is found in the simple card which an nounces his presence and location in the community. Physicians are the guardians ot the health and physical welfare of the people; newspapers are the molders and often the creators of public opinion. The medical profession, per sonally, and the newspaper fraternity. through the press, come Into closer touch with the community than any other profession or, calling. No other two societies of men have so keen an understanding of human nature, and its desires, passions, virtues, weak nesses and faults. The relations of the physician and the newspaper to the public, embody great reciprocal obligations and rights. Let medical men continue to guard the public health, but let them put away their petty Jealousies and frivol ous contentions that open the gaps through which pretenders enter to mystify and cajole some of the most intelligent. Let honorable physicians tear down the walla that separate them; let them enlist the newspapers in a righteous cause arfd be coadjutors in the emancipation of suffering hu manity from a thraldom which has al ready enslaved too large a part oi the human family. Living as we do in a nation or news papers and magazine readers, are we discharging our duty to society wnen we fall to make use of these large and powerful educational institutions? In stead of being chary about newspapers, might It not be advisable to use a little of their space for the education of the .people for the exposure of fraud and the teaching or tne plain a. b, c's of health, free from technical nhraseolotty and thereby counteract, for the present, and ultimately wipe entirely out, the columns" of rot with which so many papers are nuea, set ting forth the great efficiency of some nostrum? It Is one of the crimes of the ages that any of the great dis coveries made by men of science, who have labored unselflshly,wlthout hope of reward, and rrlven the fruits of their labors to humanity, should be prostituted, as they are, by mendaci ous charlatans. There is but one medium through which the people can be taught; it is the same medium that has furnished the instruction for present Intolerable conditions; it is the greatest educa tional medium for the masses extant; It is the medium most eagerly sought and perused; It is the cheerful com panion and indisputable criterion of al most every fireside the newspaper. How shall we make use of this med ium? Certainly not by abusing It, for It has not been shown that even the great wisdom of the newspaper fraternity Is sufficient to enable them to detect the cunning cupidity of some of their advertisers. Let the Amerl can Medical Association eatablish a Bureau of Education for the dlssemenl- natlon of such knowledge and advice as will enable the people of this country to act intelligently in matters Dertainlner to their own health and Uvea, thereby making it possible for them to assist the medical profession in their efforts to prevent disease, re lieve suffering and prolong human life. Organized as this powerful association now is. this bureau wouia De in einua tion with each state and county so ciety and there could be such a division and subdivision of the labor incident to the writing, editing and dls-srlout insr of suitable articles for publica tion as would make a systematic cam nalarn " of education practicable. Or ganizations like the Austin Flint-Cedar Valley Society should also be affiliated with this bureau. Every decent newspaper in the United States would co-operate in this work by giving space -In its columns to be filled with true information re garding health and everything affecting it. News of thlB kind would be of surprising and surpassing interest to readers. With the friendly aid rather than the opposition of the press more could be accomplished in a short- time in the way of creating public sentl ment In favor of certain reforms and In matters of legislation than can be accomplished by medical journals in the next 25 years. Would Blow In a Million. Irrigon Irrigator. This telegraph strike has shown us that a whole lot of stuff sent over the wires dally to the newspapers and published as "news" Is not wanted by. the public, and the dally papers have been more readable without all of this rot than with it. We sometimes wish we had about a million dollars. We would go to Portland and start a real "newspaper" along our own fool, crank lines. It would be about one-fourth the size of The Oregonian, and would contain the real news of the world In a homeopathic style, and would eschew sensationalism of every sort. It could be read In an hour, and the headlines would give the gist of the articles so succinctly that the busy reader could get all he wanted or needed to know In five min utes. Would such a paper pay? asks the reader. Does the Postofflee Department pay? Does Dr. Broughers church pay a dividend? We would go "bust," but we would set a pace that others would eventually follow, and will follow, for newspapers will come back to first prin ciples after the death of a few men of the Hearst and Pulitzer stripe. Army and Navy Pay. New York Times. Assistant Secretary Newberry, repre-. senting the Navy; Assistant Secretary Wentworth, representing- the Treasury, and General Alnsworth, of the War De partment, got their heads together the other day and approved a bill drawn by Representative Capron raising the pay of non-commissioned officers and privates 30 per cent of Captains and Lieutenants 25 per cent and of Colonels, Lieutenant Colonels and Majors 20 per cent. Senator Hale, Speaker Cannon and Chairman Hull, of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, have all agreed not to oppose this Capron bill. The President ls for it, the people are not against It. The long-suffering. Army and Navy must sub mit to congratulations In advance. Fame. London Daily News. A learned correspondent writes: ' was examining a witness, an elderly woman, last Thursday. On my Inquiring her name she said it was Mrs. Bardell. and that she came from Gravesend. I asked: 'Did you know Charles Dickens?" She replied: 'Do you mean the undertaker?' Such ls fame." Can It Be Indifference Minneapolis Journal. Governor Vardeman says he con cerns himself very little with Presi dent Roosevelt, and, come to think of it. have you heard the President springing any nature faken about Gov ernor Vardeman? . A Horse With Business Sense. Hartford (Conn.) Despatch. -A horse ln Stamford, Conn., broke open a letter box and ate five notes, but left business letters unmolested. SUPERSTITION IS WIDESPREAD. California Profeasor Saya Educated People Believe in -i-pi"""- Providence (R. I.) Journal. -n travail smOtlr S IM- UtTO Bunriauiiun jorlty of educated people? Professor Fletcher Bascom Dresslar. of the Lnlver- ii-. 4. u. -inaf .turned a DOOK any oi aiuuiiim, una juw.. on "Superstition and Education basea on inquiries extenaing over - -ten rears amonar the normal school pupils of California. Some startling figures are given .n o. -i. w .v.. r,,.iiiKinn heiner Hull Dl LIMB reacuvii, iwe j -- - that education is by no means a sure .... Vl cure for superstition. as etiieo...B -- , . i . . ,i . .,,adIq nannls PrOfeS- aituuuc ui umuj cuut,..v r , sor Dresslar quotes the remark of a t rencn writer: i ao nui ghosts, but I am afraid of them." Professor Dresslar made inquiries of 875 pupils, mostly young women, the majority . . , . . j .i ,v,aI tslif nr Ul W lit I II 1 BlOLcU A 1 l 11 IV l J, i,ic. disbelief in one or more particular super- .1.1 nr., . 1 i . . v nt .nara IP Billions. A ne lumi ugmuti "confessions" made by the 875 was 7176. Of these 3051 were expressions of disbe lief, 2132 of partial belief, and 1093 of full belief. This, combining the last two groups, gives 44 9 per cent of the number who admitted Deing inriuencea 10 numc extent by superstitions and 65.1 per cent v, 1 1 (j were ii i.i i , iigurcn inui ic ovu.o . surprising when it Is remembered that all mose examined were normal v:uuvi pu pils preparing themselves to become teachers. A list was prepared including what are vfllirU lilfS I1IU91 IIIIIIUUII DUJl, .Ol.l.u-", and the following table shows the number . , , , i . i i i. oi pupils expressing iuh uenci, iinii uc llpf anH riiahellplS in each: If you drop the dish rag- you will TT 39 22 75 4U 13 4S 4 IS 62 24 21 24 S3 82 61 21 6 43 33 8 44 20 IS 48 27 42 24 11 35 25 18 25 20 28 82 80 T 25 24 18 35 24 T 29 24 8 81 15 8 81 IB 23 21 T nivf comytuiy Thirteen is an unlucky number . . . If you break a looking-glass you will have bad luck Evil will come to you If you start on a Journey on Friday If you (five to a friend aa a present a knife or any edi-ed instrument it will cut your friendship To open an umbrella in the house orinss Daa iuch If you see the n- moon over your , J i a v riKUi Buuuiyn i. i u cj .... Never begin a piece of work on r riaay, for you win nave vv IUvK il yviu WW If a rooster crowa before the front aoor you win nav ompuj Bee a pin and pick it up. All the day you'll have sood luck; See a pin and let it lay. I OU 11 nave inu iui If thirteen sit together at table or.s of me numoer win uie iwiut, year cniw : ,1 If a task be begunon a Friday It will never be successfully done.. To find a pin with the point toward you is good luck If two friends walk on lha opposite sides of a post they will quarrel. If you find a horseshoe you will have good luck v If you see the new moon over your left shoulder for the first, time you will have bad luck To dream of a death means a wed ding If your nose itches you will havs a viwior To find a four-leaved clover will WHERE SPEED MEANS LIFE. Srton Thompson Discourses on Wild Animals' Running; Abilities. Chicago Inter Ocean. Ernest Beton Thompson has been making Investigations into the com parative speed of certain American wild animals, and publishes in the Au gust Success an interesting analysis of the results. The unthinking reader , might sup pose this analysis to be rather inter esting than scientifically valuable. On the contrary, speed is a vital factor of . i- i.w ...... i a wtM rr.i- Burvivai wiin iiiniij 1 tures. Since the law of the wild is to eat and be eaten, it ronows mat mu.o wild creatures who cannot protct themselves by force against their nat ural er.emles must seek safety in flight. Thus on the ability of the pursued to escape the pursuer by superior speed depends Its very existence. Mr. "hompson collected data of vari ous kinds. Some of these are based ...... i a In tha case of upun avium i ti-i'i 1. n , ... - the horse and the greyhound. Others are estimates" based on comparisons. He attempts a scale of comparative Thoroughbred horse, one mile, about 1:40 Pronghorneo. ameiope Greyhound Jackrabblt - "e-on Common fox Northern coyote Foxhound j; n-ttV vnir s.uu In connection with this scale of speeuoi no nnjo. "Many hunters would set the kit fox or swift above tne greynouna, espe cially for a short race, but I have had 1 ,vn,H,nna with thft SD- cles in a chase. The little prairie cot tontail can, I believe, get away from the swift in a loo-yara aasn; tney tan not Keep ii u i iui iwi'B, w - -itial velocity la incredible, and baffles the eye. Not a leg, not a rabbit, is to be seen; nothing but a white streak across tne prairie, tin it pruiniijr m appears in some uui i u w. "VVatterson on Bryan. T-onIsville Courier-Journal. Mr. Bryan is not the choice of the best intellieence among leading Democrats of a single Southern state. The whisper goes around among the timia, time-serving politicians of the South that "we can't elect him, De we u nave 10 nunuusie him." Can Mr. Bryan believe that he will he able to survive another defeat? Can he believe the party may? Yet he holds the destiny alike or his party ana mm self in his own hands, and, by realising this, might save the future of both. The Courier-Journal has no other idea than that of supporting the ticket; but that support and the support of all the leading Democratic newspapers in the country especially in the debatable states can only by broken-winded and one-legged, the editors, like the file-leaders, every where, feeling It short of some unlooked for cataclysm doomed to defeat. BACK TO 3 't. ' j From the Denver Republican. THE AXJfTJ AI LEAVE-TAKrVO OF THE SUMMER RESORT PROPRIETOR IS NOW ON. PROVES MARS IS INHABITED, New Observation Show That Planet Is the Abode of Mfe. London Dispatch to the Chicago Tribune. in answer to a request from the editor Of .Nature for an autnoritatlve statement Of nis observations of Mars made during- I 1907 OIlDO.litlfin PrrLfa.oA!. T- .1 the Lowell communicates to that publication what he believes are the most Important results obtained. Professor Lowell declares the planet Is t Dresent th KnriA - . - -- ui intelligent, con- structive life. "The results obtained." he writes, . exceed what sfcmH nti i lew of the unfavorable declination of the lanet to a nralrinn 1 - " ouuniei ii aa 10 render it nractii-nilv i - - ' i i in i- in r,i , k - land. France, or the northern part of the '"J" -me nrst of these relates the nolur i-ane Pntn. v - ... . .. . . , - inn laci iiihi tne observations were begun In .March, three ...u.iLno n,lu a nan Derore opposition it was possible to catch both caps at an Interesting phase of their careers, the southern one at its maximum and the ui mem at tne minimum extent. "The SOUthpm nan l stretched across 95 degrees latitude, count ing from one side of It to the other, the "-"" " ""'y ver eignt. Since that date the dwindling of the southern cap and the t me nonnern nas been carefully -atched to th . ., . . , , '-"i" -i i-uiuirmation or the curfona mmA.. i .. j "'cn tne latter is formed as witnessed here at two previous 'The next obwrv ... j . .An o.o mo ueveiop- d .outVana' aStem ln the Antarctic 1" ,..!Ut1 emperate rones. After the I, , ' " ne "uth P"ar cap had got their an Way the canaIs bean to make tnetr appearand uh,,. i. , edeVnd8 th ' ' thT, anlJP'"!d.Ahe rest the system in . . joniuues. "Those nn v.a - . Ky.. "' uuin, eucn as Am nronm,nf 1HB,a,thyS' Were darker more TUhnnin etha" those '""ning north. Zl,Cllng.in lts dead or skeleton r. ? . ne former were in the ui ueveiopment. "Jleanwhlla tha .,,., . i-, , -f. j t "i'1-miisi canais were ,inn 1V fa.d'",S 0,,t" ThB PrOC Of eVOlU- nv 1 keeP'n w'th the method of development found here for the northern canals in 1M8. ln fact it of t of prophecy fulfilled and not only sup ports previous observations but proves the -J""' " " , u ,r tnem to have been correct. It la fiiram ...!... it . v.- i. . - i xrom mis , , Planet ls at Present the abode of Intelligent and constructive life. "ay m this connection that the theory of such life upon Mars was ln no way on a nrinri h,.n.i i ' "jiivhictis on my part. but deduced as the outcome of observation mm my ooservatlons since have fully confirmed it. No other supposition ls consonant with all the facts observed. -numer result of this opposition baa been the success of the photographs taken of the planet. I have already counted 68 canals on my plates. The twin Gihon nave been photogrophed double and such delicate markings as Fons Juventae and VnLi "a,s fading to it appear unmistakably in ih n,.i.. ' -. markings as tha riwiniin. .v.. - --'-n -'I me buuui- ern snowcap show beautifully, and it looks r """"'i ot positioning the points or Martian topography by measures of the nhnfnirrnli. i no. in process or realiza tion. CAUSE OF RAILROAD ACCIDENTS. Revenue and Dividends First and Safety Appliance Afterwards. Chicago Journal. The trouble with the railroad business In the United States is made clear by statistics of railroad accidents. During the last six years and seven months railroads in the United States killed 27,744 persons and injured 406.24S, and of these nearly 25.000 of the dead and 845,000 of the injured were their own em ployes. The accidents which caused these fatalities were also the cause of a loss of at least Iio.OCO.OOO to the railroads through the destruction or damage sus tained by their equipment. If the railroads were managed prop erly, they would have invented that sum of 175.000,000 in the development and use of safety appliances and today would be ln much better condition than they are. and besides, nearly 30.000 human lives would I-.ave been saved and more than 400.000 persona would have been kept from Injury and mutilation. But railroads are managed as ad juncts to Wall-street gambling, and their managers are more Interested ln paying dividends on watered stock and sellln? bonds at a profit than ln Improving their service", making travel safer and saving the lives of their employes and of the public. Consequently safety appliances are not in use, except on a comparatively few lines in the United States, and the cost of accidents is paid as they occur Instead of Investing a lump sum to pre vent them. That ls why accidents are so much more frequent ln the United States than they are abroad, because railroads ln this country are purely money-making affairs and are not regarded by their owners as public utilities. The safety of human lives ls not regarded, because it ls cheaper to kill people than It ls to pro tect them. New Thing- In Electricity. . Popular Mechanics. Startling as some of the recent de velopments ln the field of communi cation by means of electricity have been, none ls more unique and unex pected than that recently perfected by First Lieutenant A. C. Knowles, of the United States Army, In which he uses the bodies of living cavalry horses uses a part of his telegraph circuit. By his system it is possible for a cavalry officer at headquarters to communicate with a scouting party on a gallop, re calling them or changing the orders as expedient. THE JOBS - -