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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1907)
TIIE 2I0RNINQ OHECrOXIAN, WEDNESDAY, "DECEjIBEU 4, 1007. SUBSCRIPTION KATES. INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE (By Mail.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year f8.no Pally. Sunday Included, six months.... 4.25 Dally. Sunday Included, three month. . .23 Daily. Sunday Included, one month 75 Dally, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Dally, without Sunday, six months.... 8.25 Daily, without Sunday, three months.. 1.74 Dally, without Sunday, one month 60 Sunday, one year - .o Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday)... 1-50 Sunday and Weekly, one year DY CAUKIKR. Sally, Sunday Included, one year 8.00 Dally, Sunday Included, one month "S HOW XO REMIT Send postofnee money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postofflce ad dress In full. Including county and state. POSTAGE KATES. Entered at Portland, Oregon. Postofflce as Seoond-Class Matter. 10 to 14 Pases 1 cent 16 to a Pages 2 cent! 30 to 41 Pages 3 cents 46 to 60 Pages 4 cents Foreign postage, double rates. LMl'OKT.ANT The postal laws are strict. Kewspapers on which postage Is not fully prepaid are not forwarded to destination. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The t. c. Beckwlth Special Agency New York, rooms 48-30 Tribune building. Chi cago, rooms 510-512 Tribune building. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex; postoffloe evs Co . 178 Dearborn street. SI. I'uul, iliuu. N. St. ilarle. Commercial Station Colorado Springs, Colo. Bell. H. H. Denver Hamilton and Kendrlck. 900-Oia Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Store, 1214 Fifteenth street; H. P. Hansen, S. Bice. Geo. Carson Kansas City. Mo. Rlcksecker Cigar Co.. Ninth and Walnut; Soma News Co.; Harvey News Stand. Minneapolis M. J. cavanaugh. 30 South. Third. Cleveland, O. James iPusnaw, 307 Su perior street. Washington, D. C. Ebbltt House. Penn sylvania avenue. Philadelphia. Pa. 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Wheatley: Falrmount Hotel News Stand; Amos News Co.; United News Agents. 11V4 Eddy street; B. E. Amos, man ager three wagons. Oakland. Col. W. H. Johnson, Fourteenth and Franklin streets; N. Wheatley: Oakland News Stand; B. E. Amos, manager five ivagons. Goldtlcld, Ner. Louie Follln; C B. HEurekn, Cnl. Call-Chronicle Age'noy; Eu reka News Co. PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4, 1907. THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. A man who undertakes to discuss everything In a single document must be expected to discuss some things to very small profit. Of the 30,000 word In Mr. Roosevelt's message to the Six tieth Congress some are used to reiter ate commonplaces which need no par ticular emphasis at the present time. Some are used to advocate policies of dubious expediency. But of course the major portion, a in all that Mr. Roosevelt writes or says, Is unques tionably wise, while his sincere devo tion to the public weal is manifest in every paragraph. It Is sometimes re gretted, however, by the warmest ad mirers of the President that his devo tion to the common good has not been chastened and guided by a systematic ' course in the elements of political economy. This would save him from ' some mistakes and guard him from advocating as benefits what every in ' structed person knows to be evils. Thus, for example, Mr. Roosevelt takes occasion twice in his message to ' lament the failure of the scheme to plunder the people and enrich a syn dicate through a ship subsidy. Of ( course he would not agree that the 'subsidy deserves either of these charges, but that does not alter the fact. As a last resort, he thinks, in case the blessed subsidy must finally and irretrievably be given up, then the navigation laws should be modified. Now everybody knows that H is the navigation laws, and not the lack of a subsidy, which hampers our shipping. Why Qot repeal these laws first? Why not adopt the simple and obvious rem edy at the outset? But Mr. Roosevelt has little predi lection, so far as this message shows, for simple and obvious remedies. Evon upon so plain a subject as the prohibition of campaign contributions from corporations he seems to miss the clear moral issue and to substitute political expediency for obvious duty. In discussing the matter he takes as the principal end to be gained the pro vision of a fund for the support of the political machines. To make this fund secure at all hazards he would have the Nation' assume the expenses of spellbinders, torchlight proces sions, and the pay of "workers" very likely; and only after that would he limit the contributions of the trusts, and other persons. There 1b an eva sion of the Issue In Mr. Roosevelt's remark that the limitation of cam paign contributions would not pre vent rich men from buying their own way Into office. This, of course. Is a thrust at the deplorable Mr. Hearst, and It Is true enough; but it is a very different thing for a man to buy him self Into office and to be bought In by the syndicates. In the one case he may still work for the public good; in the other he Is bought with a price end is bound to work for those who have purchased him. Perhaps It la out of consideration for these same syndicates whose cam paign contributions seem so essential to the President that he touches ten derly upon the subject of the tariff. While discussing the income and in heritance taxes, Mr. Roosevelt has much to say about the equalization of opportunity and the limitation of in herited wealth. He seems to miss here, as elsewhere, the simple remedy for the evils he deplores, and seeks to reach them by roundabout methods. The simple way to equalize opportu nity Is to abolish privilege, to give no man the right to enrich himself at the expense of others. This, however, is what the tariff does now, and has been doing by Us excesses for many years. It Is the principal cause of the In equality of opportunity In this coun try. It accounts more than any other ' cause for our swollen fortunes. It is e prima source and origin of poltb- leal corruption throughout the Nation. The revision of the tariff Is the great est moral and economic Issue before) the Nation today. The poople demand It. Morality demands It. The obvi ous principles of Justice demand It. Yet Mr. Roosevelt dismisses this su preme question In a paragraph, while he elves several panes to the needs i and Imagined needs of the Army. The j Army Is an Important matter, of course; but the welfare of the Ameri can home Is somewhat more Impor tant, and that home Is threatened to day by the tariff. Tt- "RrtrKai-en ronAnta hia denuncia- ' tlons of socialism and bases his anlm 1 adverslons upon its threats to the I home. Why is it any worse for soclal- ism to threaten the home than It Is for the tariff to do the same thing? Es pecially when the evils of the tariff are destructively at work, while social ism is a theory which thrives In Amer ica only sporadically and could not thrive at all were it not that wrongs like the tariff are permitted to go so long unremedied. It is positively dis heartening to read what the President has to say upon this subject. "The tariff should never be touched except for the public good. It Is notorious that it cannot be handled for the pub lic good immediately before a Presi dential election; hence he is In favor of taking it up immediately after the election." This is amazingly futile. When have the beneficiaries of the tariff ever been willing to revise it for the public good ? When have they ever failed to find some excuse for postponing revision? Does Mr. Roose velt expect that they will lack Just as good excuses when the election is over as they find now? The value of this message is in its high ethical tone rather than in the specific recommendations which It makes. And yet that tone is not so. emphatic as it has been in previous messages. The willingness to compro mise upon such subjects as campaign contributions from the syndicates, the astonishing eagerness to promote the subsidy grab, the absolute Incompre hension of the tariff and Its evils, the recommendation of neW tax burdens like the Income and inheritance taxes in time of peace, and with an annual Treasury surplus of thirty millons, are neither moral nor statesmanlike. These new taxes would be very well if old ones were repealed to afford a plausible excuse for them; but to turn enormous fresh streams of revenue Into a Treasury already overflowing would simply put a premium upon wasteful extravagance. What the country wants is relief from some of its burdens, not new ones. If the President cares so much for the wel fare of the American home, let him move In a straightforward way to cure some of the evils which are destroy ing it. But the President meets a Congress that is hostile to him, and he knows It; and his message is a document of pru dence rather than of aggression. ARTIU'R L. FBAZER. It is appointed to all men to die; but it is an absurd thing when death strikes a man like Arthur L. Frazel at the best of his powers, in the midst of his usefulness, fitted by talent and experience for best service, and hav ing promise, but for the absurdity of death, for many years of work, with best results within his sphere. The peculiar aptitudes of Judge Frazer for work that had fallen to his lot are not likely to be seen soon again; perhaps never will be, here. This, our life, is chary of the produc tion of such natures of natures Just fitted for the work that offers in one line and another, in the growth and development of the human spirit and of human society. We have, and shall have, other good Judges. But Arthut L. Frazer will never be replaced. No one will succeed to the work he was doing for reformation and help of the young, as well fitted for it by union of sympathetic spirit and practical Judg ment, as he was. Judge Frazer was yet young. The state, the city, the community, his family, himself, should have had the benefit of twenty to thirty years yet of active life in him. This community has not sustained a greater loss. But what more can be said? For he Is lost to us, and Cut Is the branch that should have grown full straight, And withered is Apollo's laurel bough. AN INTERNATIONAL DISGRACE. From El Paso again comes" the story of the periodical massacre by the Ya qul Indians. A band of these murder ous outlaws swooped down on a pack train, killing four men and wounding another. All of the victims were mu tilated in the usual Yaqul manner, and the report states 'that a number of other raids with fatal results have been made within the past week. The continued and seemingly uninterrupt ed recurrence of these Yaqul raids and butcheries Is a disgrace to both the Mexican and American governments. While the tribe, strictly speaking, should be under the Jurisdiction of the Mexicans, Its members rob, pil lage and butcher on both sides of the boundary line with striking Impar tiality. Sometimes It is a defenceless party" of Americans, prospecting or ex ploring on Mexican soli, that falls' vic tim to the red butchers. Again it is a few harmless Mexicans who are caught on the American side of the line. When the butchery takes place on the Mexican side of the line, the American authorities, with an admir able display of professional etiquette, permit the Mexicans to chase the Ya quis over Into American territory, where they are ldst. When the killing Is done on the American side of the line, the Mexicans Yepay the debt of etiquette by religiously refraining from interfering with the American chase for the outlaws, who then re tire to their Mexican fastnesses. This comparatively small band of Indians In proportion to its numbers has caused more deviltry than any other tribe with which the Americans or Mexicans have had to deal, and, re jecting all efforts toward a peace treaty, it has continued with a. fair degree of safety to murder and mu tilate any and all whites who have dared to venture unprotected into their field of operations. By their acts they have repeatedly placed themselves beyond the pale of any better treatment than Is extended to the rattlesnakes which" with them Infest the country. There Is some thing radically wrong with the sys tems which the two countries have for policing the border,' or these In dians would long ago have been ex terminated. If It is Impossible for the troops to run down and extermin ate this band of murderers. It might not be a. bad plan to Import some professional head hunters from for eign lands, and make It an object for thorn to make llfo and property safe along the Mexican boundary. MEX WERE TOO FAST, Sir Felix Schuster, new president of the Institute of Bankers at London, In his Inaugural address a few days ago said of the financial crisis In America: Like every other crisis It has arisen out of over-confidence, brought about by an abnor mally prosperous stato of affairs. Americans had unbounded belief In the future of their country: a belief which Its natural resources fully justified. They had also a way of dis counting the future too rapidly. Legitimate enterprise was followed by speculation, and speculation based on credit. Va under takings were embarked upon In the expecta- Tw. ,. ,intltv was always lion inai cn - , at hand and lenders were willing to provide it. Immense sums have been plunged into undertakings upon which there for a long time; upon some of them, not till after com plete reorganization on new ua. ir linnirintn. Our "natural utLaiky musk am-.- - resources" are' immense; but feverish haste to get rich out or tnem, jusl if i,.. lonrtAfl us hitherto In like con clusions, has brought on this crisis, which can be solved tnrougn mu' tion only, as others have been. A mighty body of speculators, still hold ing on to unrealizable things, will be forced to "let go." In the Northwest our salvation lies in generous lands, big crops, good prices, and the greatest bodies of tim ber in America. Still, we have among us speculators who have discounted a distant future, for whom the only re lease will be liquidation. WHY NO INQUEST? It was. not worth while, it seems, to make a public and legal Investigation of the death of the boy Joseph Mc Grath, but It was entirely proper to look Into the matter privately. Ac cording to the report of this peculiar Inquest, Dr. Tamiesie thinks the boy came to his death by "spinal trouble," of which the principal symptom ap pears to have been an abrasion on his back. Most spinal troubles have names. What is the name of this one? Does Dr. Tamiesie know? If he does not know Its name, why not invite some one to examine the corpse who does know? The parents of the child and some of the neighbors believe that he was done to death by older boys. They are entitled to a hearing in a public investigation. If the older boys treat ed the child as it has been reported they did, they deserve severe punish ment. The facts should not be hushed up or slurred over. It Is bad enough for the officers of the law to connive at crime in grown men without encourag ing It in boys by weak-minded senti mentallsm. The story was at first that the older boys had tied the child's feet and left him for a long time on the ground. He lay there, it was said, unable to help himself until his feeble cries at tracted the notice of a person passing. Was this story true or false? The new version of the facts has much the appearance of an ex parte statement, and Is not to be accepted unreservedly until more Is known about the affair. The chances are that the story was given correctly at first. Nobody had any particular ' motive to falsify the circumstances then, while some people have a very strong motive to deceive the Coroner now. The persons who purport to know all about the boy's death should be questioned and cross questioned in a public Inquest. The affair is a singular one and looks very suspicious. Big boys have been known to treat small playmates quite as cruelly and even worse Hhan the McGrath boy was treated, even if all of the first account was true. There Is nothing too horrible or Shocking for them to do, as the records show. Of course these particular big boys may have done nothing of the sort; but if they are Innocent the greatest favor the Coroner can show them is to per mit them to prove the truth of the case in an open inquest. WILL TIIE WORM TURN? Messrs. Stubbs, Kruttschnitt and Schwerln, the dominating force in the Harriman interests on the Pacific Coast, have not yet heard of the re trenchment order in construction work on the Harriman lines. The California & Northeastern Railroad, a Harriman project intended to drain the traffic of Southeastern Oregon out by way of California, is being rushed to comple tion with unusual rapidity. Advices from Klamath Falls state that con tractors Archie Mason and Erlckson & Peterson have both Increased their forces engaged in construction work. The desire for early completion of the road Is so urgent that a temporary track will be built round a mountain in preference to waiting for the comple tion of a tunnel which cannot be fin ished until late In 1908. Portland and Oregon have had a good many demon strations of the power of this Califor nia trinity which has such a good, tight grip on the commerce of the Pa cific Coast, but In no other part of the coast has it appeared so plainly as in this trade of Southeastern Oregon.' The Klamath country and adjacent territory are destined to be one of the richest traffic producing sections in the Pacific Northwest. More than a gen eration ago, when the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, forerunner of the O. R. & N. Co., ruled supreme In transportation matters in all of the Oregon territory east of the mountains, long wagon trains tolled wearily up from the Klamath country to The Dalles, which was the nearest shipping point. Wool, hides and livestock have been coming out of that country In In creasing quantities for the past forty years, and when the Columbia South ern was completed to Shanlko the long wagon haul was shortened many miles and Klamath had hopes that a contin uation of the road would soon bring her into communication with the .re mainder of the state. This route was the natural if not very easy groove through w'hlch Ore gon business flowed, and each addi tional mile of railroad that was built south from the Columbia River. Im proved the opportunities and Increased the profits of the settlers. But with the coming of the Stubbs regime there appeared a growing disfavor for the natural route to the Klamath country. The Harriman interests were unable to find any traffic in. the country that Justified the building of a line, al though settlers were rushing in by the thousands and the traffic coming out and going in by wagon trains doubled and trebled, and doubled and trebled again. Meanwhile the California road was steadily building north. It was built through a rough country Jn whioh the cost of construction wnl heavy and the Immediate traffic re turns wera small. But there was a difference In build ing a line which would drain business out to California and one which would keep it in It natural, time-worn chan nel. In the California project no ob table seemed too 'great to be over come; In the Oregon project no obsta cle was too small to be offered as an excuBe for not building. The climax of this policy, with which the Califor nia trinity has placed the commercial curse on Central and Southeastern Oregon, Is near at hand, for while all work has been stopped on Harriman projects which would In the slightest degree benefit Oregon, work on the line that is to divert Oregon business to California is being rushed with un usual haste. And yet, the Stubbs-Kruttschnttt-Schwerin trinity is not supreme. There are limitations to their power, and the extension of the electric line through the, Willamette Valley, the coming of the North Bank road and other opposing lines will place in the hands of Portland, a club that will be swung perhaps with more drastic ef fect than would have been possible had this state In a single Instance, re ceived a fair 'deal from the California trinity of Svengalis for whom Mr. Harriman has been playing Trilby for so many years. The Alliance disaster would seem to call for a searching investigation. The passengers on board the craft, after drifting around the ocean for several days, were detained in a dangerous position for another 24 hours through the inability of the master of the ves sel to agree with the master of the rescuing tugboat as to terms. This seems to be a case where the public needs enlightenment as to the peculiar code of ethics by which human life is placed in jeopardy while two Government-licensed masters wrangle over what should be paid for towing tho craft and her helpless passengers to a port of safety. Human life is said to be held at a low figure In the West, but here Is a case where not much difficulty should be encountered in placing the blame on the man who fixed the price. If, as reported, the master of the Alliance refused to ac cept assistance until a fixed sum for remuneration was named, he is en titled to something more than censure. The decision in the Ascuncion-F. B. Jones collision case, by which Pilot Turner's license Is suspended for SO days, suggests the need for soma re vised "fules of the road." They should permit deep draft steamers, which can run with safetly only In the narrow dredged cuts In the channel, to be given a slight preference in passing. The Ascunclon, which was held re sponsible for the collision, was draw ing 23 feet of water, and, as the night was dark, was obliged to hold close on her course. The Jones was drawing about four feet, and could run in safety anywhere within half a mile of the main ship channel. The shipping of the port is Increasing so rapldlj that unless there is a better under standing among pilots, deep-draft steamers will be obliged to lie up at night or be in constant danger of col lision's which they cannot avoid. Great activity is reported in police circles at present. Two Chinese gam bling dens have been raided, and, if more can be found, they will meet a like fate. Serves the Ignorant China men right. If they must have money without working for it, why don't they adopt a safe method by going out on the highways and byways and holding up and robbing some one? The police records will show beyond contradic tion that this Is an unusually safe method of securing money without work, or without much fear of arrest. Nobody but the victims seems to ex pect the police to arrest hold-up art ists, but there Is of course a wild clamor for the arrest of the few slant eyed Celestials who crawl off into a dark corner by themselves to indulge in a quiet game of fan tan with one another. It is not clear why the City Council took from the State Supreme Court responsibility of prdering the dis charged detectives paid for work they did npt perform and were unfit to perform. If that is the way to "get even" with Mayor Lane, and "show up" his tampering with the law, it Is a queer method. The Supreme Court Is a fitter body to reverse the Mayor than the City Council. The Council would better have allowed tho Court the glory. i Senator Simon, arguing in defense of the officers of the Title Guarantee & Trust Company, against the charge that they had taken deposits knowing the bank to be insolvent, says they cannot be punished therefor, because the statute that would punish this act. Rassed by the Legislature a year ago, Is not yet In force. Cut, Senator, we know a statute on this subject. In an old law book, that is in force. It reads, "Thou shalt not steal." It's a fair guess also that Thaw will be acquitted of the murder of Stan ford White, on ground that "He de served it." Insanity will do for the outward plea, as it did in Mrs. Brad ley's case. "Served him right" is the basis of the acquittal of Mrs. Bradley for the murder of Brown. The convenient cover was the plea of Insanity. Both these vile wretches were moral Idiots. President Roosevelt decided a Fed eral appointment by tossing a coin. Of course it was one of the new coins without the motto, "In God We Trust." Mayor Lane might get pointers from ex-Mayor Williams on how to look pieasant when responsible for an incompetent police force. Merely to .change the subject, be it generally understood that we are al ready three lncrjes short in the sea son's rainfall. If Gladys Van really Intended to kill Ollle Mack, why didn't she do It be fore he opened his show in Portland? Only three short weeks to the next holiday, barring, of course, those made to order by Governor Chamberlain. "The friend of erring youth" Is an appropriate epitaph for Judge Arthur L. Frazer. THB BRYAIf-DAXIISLS INCIDENT. Anothaur Version .of Jforr omertrbat Fnnoia Dlnlogue. Washington Dispatch to the New York Tribune. Senator Daniels was warming up. He proceeded to read Mr. Bryan a lecture. "You don't listen enough to those In the party. You are too fond of dictating what the party shall do," he said. "Why, when did I do that," asked Mr. Bryan, taken aback. "You did it in 1800," said Senator Dan iels, without a moment's hesitation. "You then declared that you would not accept a nomination unless the silver plank was Incorporated in the platform." "Well, you were with me on that plank in 1S8S. Senator." "I beg to differ with you. I was not with you." "You were a member of the committee which drew up the platform.' "Yes, but I opposed that plaak In the platform. I did not believe in it. I fought It when the platform was being written." "I am surprised to hear that, for I always considered you were with me," said Mr. Bryan. "No, I was not. You dictate' too much. You have been too prone to take your cue from the independence league." "Well, Senator, I don't want to- quar rel with you about the matter. When you begin to tell me that I take my opinions from anybody, I think I had better be going." With this shot Mr. Bryan disappeared out of the door. The Senator was angry. He stopped and talked a minute or two and also disappeared, to take the train for Richmond. WORKINGS OF DES MOINES PLAJT Abolishes Ward System and Concen trates City Government. Chicago Journal. The country has heard a great deal about the Galveston plan of city govern ment and how well it works. But little has been heard of an even more radical departure from ordinary methods in Des Moines, Iowa. The Des Moines plan, as it is called, has abolished wards, boards and the al dermanic system, and concentrated the executive, legislative and judicial work In one body of men. The executive and ad ministrative duties are insisted on; others are regarded as incidental to these. The body of counellmon, in whom all this power is concentrated, represents the entire people and not any particular division. Its members act collectively in counseling the welfare of the city, exe cuting the laws and administering its affairs in accordance with the best judg ment of the majority of their number. Thus at one stroke the ward system is abolished, the possibility of every ward being a law unto itself is'prevented, and the distribution of the city's funds among the wards to satisfy the aldermen and their constituents is made a tiling of the past. The executive power has been concontrated and the entire responsibility fixed in a definite body. Harmony and co-operation are made necess.fry, and every member of the Council is responsi ble for tho condition of the whole city.- Whether this plan as a whole would prove beneficial in a city so large as Chicago and containing so many various elements in its population may be open to question. But the fact remains that it serves admirably In Des Moines, and one feature of it, at least, might be adopted here with undoubted advantage. That is the feature vesting responsibility for the entire city in every alderman. Prohibition Party Stands Still. New York Tribune. The National Convention of the Prohi bitionists will be held next year at Co lumbus, O. In 1904 the Prohibitionists cast 258,536 votes out of a total of 13,500, 000. Since then many states and counties, especially in the South, have "gone dry," but we have seen no evidence in elections since then that the Prohibitionists as a party can poll many more votes than they did three years ago. The trouble is that while the Prohibitionists have mul tiplied, especially in the South, the Pro hibitionists have stood still. Practically all of the Prohibitionists in the South vote the Democratic ticket. The Prohi bitionists are feeling, however, in very fine fettle over the great victories of the Prohibitionists. This party suffers from the same af fliction as does the Democratic party. There are more Democrats than there ever were before, but the one thing above all else that they positively refuse to do is to be Democrats. Most of the Democrats vote the Republican' ticket, while Mr. Bryan scurries up and down the earth seeking bait to lure them into the party which uses their name. What Democrats Should Do. Baltimore News. Indeed, the Democratic party's position, it seems quite clear to us, is such as to de mand a complete cutting away from the entanglements and the memories of the past dozen years. Not even the nomina tion of a man like Gray, even assuming that Mr. Bryan should regard his nomi nation with friendly eyes, would serve to patch up the deep-seated trouble that paralyzes the party. If anything can do it, it would be the nomination of a man like Governor Johnson, of Minnesota a man who is not associated in the public mind with any of the party's troubles, who represents personal vigor, force and ability, but is not expressly Identified with any aspect of the party's National record. In other words, what the Demo cratic party needs, in order to cut itself adrift from the melancholy story of the last 12 or 14 years, is to select for -its leader not a man with a past, but a man with a future. Man Sleeps Through Four Months. Newark, O., Dispatch to Cincinnati En quirer. Mertis Wright, who before his "sleep ing sickness" weighed '173 pounds, now weighs less than 100. He is 32 years old and has been asleep since July. 10. Noth ing will arouse him shouting, shaking, dashing cold water in his face and prick ing him with pins having no effect. Life is sustained by forcing two quarts of milk down his throat daily, a tube be ing used for this purpose. Wright can be raised in bed, and will sit in an upright position for hours with out support. He is fast losing flesh and will soon be a mere skeleton. A trephin ing operation will shortly be performed upon him by Dr. William S. Turner, and It is thought will give him relief. Dr. Turner is being called upon by many eminent physicians for a descrip tion of the case, which is considered most peculiar. EtaKllsh III vol to the American Hen. Philadelphia Record. A consignment of 1327 cases of eggs from Kngland the first In modern ship ping history arrived In New York by the White Star liner 'Majestic. What! Will nothing but a return to fair prices save the poor cold storage warehousemen from ruinous competition? The conscientious American hen nearly broke their corner by her too great Industry, and now the blasted British fowl breaks the blockade with the fruit of her pauper labor, defy ing the barriers of a high tariff and freightage and the risk of crackage. Delaware. Chickens Dine on Watches. Philadelphia Record. A brass key an Inch and a quarter long was found In the gizzard of a chicken killed by Mrs. Henry Wilson, of Georgetown, Del. Georgetown chickens have been known to swallow rings and gold watches. x Blind Man's Laundry-at-Home. Newark (N. J.) Dispatch. James J. Carr, of Beverly, N. J., hav ing lost bis eyesight, advertised for laun dry work, and Is now making his .living at the washtub. ai'GEK WAYS OF BRITISH COURTS. Won't Exhume a Dead Body, Thus Set tling Drnce-Portlnnd Case. Chicago Journal. Tho Druce case In England, which in volves the ownership of the Duke of Portland's estate, differs from the Tich borne case, which excited the country so greatly 30 years ago, in the fact that it rests upon one alleged fact, which could be determined in an hour. The claimants, descendants of T. C. Druce, owner of the Baker-Street Bazaar In London, insist that Druco in reality was the fifth Duke of Portland, who died in 1879. The Duke was a very ec centric person, who lived the life of a recluse and was not often seen by mem bers of his own household. One of his vagaries was to build subterranean apartments underneath his country house. On these he spent not less than $15,000,000. and fitted them up most gorgeously. From them, it is said, a pas sage rhns underground to the Baker Street Bazaar; and, if that is so, some color is lent to the Druce contention. However, the main feature of the claim is that Druce's reported death in 1S04 was not death at all. but only the means chosen by the Duke to get rid of his double personality. The claimant charges that the Druce coffin was filled with lead, and then buried with honors and a tombstone erected with Druce's name upon it- But now mark the strange character of British justice. The courts will not permit the Druce coffin to be exhumed and examined, though that would settle the matter one way or the other for good and all. If lead was found within it, the Druce claimant would be sustained. If human remains were found, the Duke of Portland would be made secure in his property. Yet this effective method of ending the whole dis pute cannot be undertaken, for the courts will not allow it. British law may be superior to that of the United States in some respects, but if a similar case were to occur in this country the whole matter would be set tled out of hand. The methods of the Circumlocution office are evidently not yet out of date in Great Britain. THE MATTER WITH THE ARMY. Adjutnnt-General Suggests Increase of Pay or Resort to Conscription. New York Evening Sun. he annual report of Adjutant-General Ainsworth to the Secretary of War em phasizes the fact that the Army as a trade, profession or calling has declined and is declining In popularity and that something will have to b done to offset the charm of civilian life if the depleted companies are to be brought up to their proper strength. The Adjutant-General takes a very gloomy view of the outlook, and indicates an alternative which will shock those in particular who have a heaithy American antipathy to such institutions as the standing armies with compulsory service of certain of the European nations. He say s : The Government in its efforts to procure men for the Army Is now competing every where with private employe who are ablo to offer men much greater inducements than the Government now offers, at least in the matter o pay. If present conditions con tinue, there 'will be nothing for the Govern ment to do but to meet this competition by materially Increasing; tho soldiers' pay or to evade the competition altogether by a re sort to conscription. Various explanations are offered of t-.e 4322 desertions of Inst year. Among these are low pay, as compared with what may be earned in civil life; extra work on ac count of the posts being undermanned; frequent changes in company officers; a lack of capable and well-paid non-commissioned officers, and a low order of in telligence In the recruits, many of whom cannot be made to understand that In en listing they become parties to a contract with the General Government, of which the latter has the right to enforce a per formance. In common with virtually all the de partment commanders, the Adjutant-General deplores the abolition of the canteen as one of the most potent causes of the unpopularity of the service. It is to be feared, however, that the fanatics who brought about that change would rather see our military forces go to the dogs morally and physically, and the keepers of dives and low groggeries thrive great ly, than yield to expert opinion and the dictates of common sense. It remains to be seen whether or not the members of Congress have the cour age to undo the mischief which they wrought when they allowed themselves to be bullied into ignoring the best inter ests of the Army in this matter. As for the pay, which is very much larger In our service than In any other, it is hard to see how it could be so in creased as to overcome the competition of ordinary business. With regard to conscription, Americans would prefer to rely on an extemporized Army in time of need rather than follow the example of foreign powers. Even in Germany the system of compulsory serv ice Is heartily detested. Our Country and Its Activity. New York Times. When Carl Schurz, who at the time of his death was among tho most emi nent of American citizens, landed in New York, a lad of 23, he Was aston ished and dismayed by the impression he received of confusion and contrast. Reviewing this impression 50 years later, In his "Reminiscences," he relntcs how gradually he came to understand that the confusion and the contrast wen; due to universal activity, made possible ami stimulated by the unprecedented degree of liberty that here prevailed. Because men were left unrestricted and largely undirected to do what they would and what they could, they did much that was not the best, as the educated see the best, but on the whole did very much more and more that was in the long run worth doing. Everywhere was the tremendous incitement of opportunity and the net result of the incessant and universal movement was progress. Lost 810,000 n Month. Spokane Spokesman-Beview. Colonel Alden J. Blethen candidly ad mits. In announcing the suspension- of the Morning Times, that Seattle is not large enough to support two morning newspapers. Colonel Blethen confesses a loss of $10,000 a month for eight months in his attempt to establish the Times as a morning paper. This heavy loss is all the more signifi cant from the fact, as Colonel Blethen points out, that the Morning Times was printed from the big and well-established plant of the Evening Times and was. therefore, under no charge for plant or rent. Every attempt to establish two morning papers of modern size has been ill-starred with failure, even In cities as large as St. Paul and Seattle. Prayer and Footbnll. Hartford Courant. With unlimited respect and reverence we beg to enter a protest against the re port in circulation that "Tad" Jones won the Harvard football game for Yale by the aid of prayer. We do not propose to question that the boy prayed, but is would be a matter of surprise. Indeed, if be was the only one to pray in the bunch of two dozen or more in the game. We have no doubt that some.at least of the Harvard boys prayed hard before the struggle, and during it, too; to assume that Yale prayers are the kind that get answers and Harvard prayers come to nought is contrary to the spirit of mod esty which so distinguishes the University at New Haven. Affinities. Yonkers Statesman. Patience Has he met his affinity yet?" Patrioe I think not. He's a bachelor, you know, and a man does not meet his affinity usually until long after he's mar MUSIC SLVAREZ, the great French tenor, is supposed to be the highest- . priced singer at the French cap ital, yet the critic of a theatrical paper the Comedia, recently had the temerity t.o say that Alvarez on a certain occa sion sang out of tune. Not only that, but it was also urged that it was not advisable to renew Alvarez's contract at the Paris opera! But Alvert.z has determined on r-r-re-' venge. Has he challenged the critic to a duel? No, he has planned a more lasting revenge, since lighters at French duels are rarely hurt. Alvares has sued the newspaper referred to for $20,000 damages, on the ground that its criticisms are llkHy to injure him pecuniarily. Although Alvarez is quite a popular favorite as a singer he is only paid $1600 a month in opera. If he sang over here he would probably earn more than that in less than a week. "Who would think to look at George Frederick Handel's serious face and listen to his solemn, digniflod ora torios that he possessed rare tact?" asks a Boston correspondent. The Ger man Prince of Hanover was very fond of Handel and received him as an hon ored guest. Handel wished to see the world and the Prince permitted him to see London, on his promise to re turn by a certain date. But Handel had such a fine time in England that ho forgot all about his Hanover patron. The time came when the German Prlnco spoken of became Kitifr of England, and was-so vexed at Handel that he de clined to receive him at his London pal ace. Did Handel drown his sorrows In wine? Not he. One dny, as King George was In the royal barge on the Thames river. Handel followed in a smaller boat playing some beautiful 'Water Music' that he had just written. The King was delighted and remarKed, 'None but Handel could have written thatr" A smart courier replied, 'Handel wrote that for your majesty and is follow ing you.' Tho beautiful music won Han del's pardon and he was taken into royal favor again." A well-known basso, who Is very bald, went to a barber shop in New York City and said to the head man: 'Haircut.'' "The gentleman does not require a haircut," said the knight of the razor, "What he ought to get is a shine." There is a banker in Indianapolis, lnd.. who is a very competent musical critic, and he is noted for the honesty wlth which he expresses his opinions as to the excellence or otherwise of the performances of different artists. One of the latter became angry the other evening at an adverse criticism of the banker, and went to see him. "Why did you Interfere In a business you know nothing about? Why don't you stick to bonds and loans?" de manded tho singer, shaking with wrath. "I stopped this morning at a boot black's and got a shine," explained the banker-critic. "It was a good shine and I knew it to be so, although I am not a professional bootblack. I am treating; you on the bootblack basis." Ills visitor fled. i Charle3 Bowles, basso, recently gave a song recital at Los Angeles, Cal., and sang several old English ballads made memorable by the art of Francon Davlcs, among them being the old Cheshire ditty, "I'll Give You the Keys of Heaven." Miss Margaret Goetz read an interesting paper on tho composers represented in tho evening's pro gramme. London is still raving over the new operatic soprano, Louisa Tetrazzinl. and she is being hailed as "tho new Patti." Says a London critic: "Madame Tetrazzinl is a Florentine. Her head is crowned with a mass of luxuriant, light red hair. The eyes, dark and lus trous, further accentuate the impres sion one has of a 'signora' stepped from a Venetian canvas. She is tall and in the fuil ripeness of womanhood. Her features answer to her words, her voice is as expressive in speech as it Is in song. It is easy to believe that she ha3 taught herself all she knows of sing ing and acting; that what she gives us on the stage is herself, not something instilled into her by Professor This or That. 'Go.' said porpora to Farinelll after seven years labor at a page of exercises, 'go; you are tho greatest singer in Europe.' 'Go,' said Professor Oecchc-rini to little Signora Tetrazzinl after six months of study; 'neither I nor any one else can teach you any thing more." It was the same with Caruso and with the two de Reszkes themselves were their best, their only masters." . Victor Maurel, the distinguished sing- . ing artist, has joined the San Carlo pra company at Boston, Mass., and will give a vocal recital at Jordan Hall in that city this afternoon. Challapin, the grand opera basso who is stirring New York just now, is the hero of this story: "Challapin, who once had an odd adventure with Gorky, the Russian novelist, was born at Kazan in 1S73 and began life as a cob bler's apprentice. He sang soprano In a church choir until 16 years old, when his voice changed. Twenty years ago on the Volga River, the director of a small, inferior provincial opera com pany received two applicants for a Job. , He refused to accept one of them even as an ordinary chorus singer, on the ground that the fellow had no voice and no talent. The tramp who was accepted was Gorky, and the re jected one was Challapin. The great singer of today made his real debut as a basso at Tlflis, as plain Mephis topheles in Gounod's "Faust" in 1893. His success led to his engagement at the Imperial theaters in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 1901 Challapin be came famous at La Scala in Milan In the title role of Boito's "Mefistofele." Madame Bloomf ield-Zeisler, the em inent planiste, is troubled with ultra scnsltlveness, and she" is shy in meet ing strangers. "I enjoy meeting great people, but I don't enjoy having my feelings wounded," she explains, "Brahmas, for Instance, I had many chances to meet, but I always remem bered the experience of a certain Som poser who wanted to do honor in his home city to Brahms when he visited it. They were strolling along the docks together in a picturesque but very malodorous district. Turning to the composer and critically sniffing the air. Brahms said, "Is this where you get your inspiration?" I always re membered that story, and In conse quence never accepted any of the many opportunities that were given me to meet him. It seemed to me better to know and admire Brahms through his work than to meet him, and perhaps, through no fault of my own, be ex posed to his caustic satire. ... I would suffer. It would hurt me to have unkind things said to me, and so I go on my way alone. Some great people I have met and loved, but many others I have not met for the reason that I have a horror of people hurting my feelings. I cannot forget it, for It causes mo absolute physical pain."