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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 2, 1909)
io PORTLAND. ORIXiON. Entered at Portland. Oregon, -ostofnc aa Sei-ond-olaa flatter. Subscription Hulr. Invariably in Advance. (By Malt.) rally. Sunday Included, one year 18.00 pi y. t-unday Included, alx montba 4.25 :'a -v. Sunday Included, thre month.. 2.2S '. Sunday Included, on month 75 y" wi,hO"t Sunday, on year 00 La!l-. without Sunday, six months; 8 25 liaily. Mhout Sundy. three month.., 175 -f. w'hout Sunday, one month. . . , - .GO Week y, on year 1.50 Sunday, on year 2 50 .Sunday and weekly.- one year....... S SO ' ' (By Carrier.) Pslly. Sunday Included, one year 8 00 Lialiy. Sunday Included, on month... .75 rJ,.1w Kmlt Send poutorflee money ', "Pf" order or peronal check oa our local bank, stamp, coin or currency r ftt the nnriP'l rials I .. - . ! - .. ire. full. TnclTwliii-' J?."?2"am including county and state. Postage Rate 10 to 14 n..., , o " - 10 1 pases. 3 cent double rate. -ifh "'s'r-T m"1" OfBceThe a. C. Bck Agency New York. room. 48- POBTLAXD. FRIDAY, APRIL , lo. THE PROBLEM OF TARIFF. ' It In said that the problem of tariff revision Is giving the Administration at Washington much concern. Well it may. Speaker Cannon and the Re publican leaders of the House also are much disturbed by It.' No won der, for on the plan proposed It is an insoluble problem. It U Insoluble be cause of the complete Incompatibility and impossible reconcilement of the claims of protection, for -which each and every district In the United States is contending: on Its own account, and of the urgent requirement of a great annual revenue, which can be had only by applying sound fiscal princi ples to the problem, making tariff fo revenue the leading object, and pro tection only an Incidental or second ary matter. But with inversion of this principle the object is Impossible of attainment. The demand for revenue has become so imperious that protec tion can no longer be the leading principle of a tariff bill. From this time tariff bills must be framed first with a view to the production of rev enue, for revenue must be had. and tariff for protection Is directlv antag onistic to the Idea or purpose. The "fury has blundered along with this problem thus far. but must begin to correct its errors now; for the demand for revenue, to meet the wants of an expensive government, must now and henceforth dominate the fiscal policy The; object ; of protection ia not to produce revenue for the treasury but to check or prohibit importations and support high prices at home. The chief profits of this system go to those who are thus enabled to control the domestic markets. The beneficiaries now are contending in Congress for preservation of their advantages, and In not a few cases to Increase them This Is what is meant by the clamor cf each district for itself, through its r?rresentatlve, for retention of the eld schedules, or for still higher rates, if.rty lines disappear In this uproar bramble; yet the problem Is one that will most profoundly, affect the Republican party, because, that party Is the one actually in power. It is between the upper millstone of pro tectionist greed, which would cut off or limit the revenues, and the nether millstone of the necessity of providing a vast and steady Income for the treasury between the devil behind 4nd the deep sea. before. ' - The difficulty is aggravated bv the opposition and clamor against articles of universal consumption not produced In this country; the tax on which would fall chiefly on the masses of the people the numerous class. Here again chickens have come home to roost. Protectionists, In support of their argument and appeal for heavy duties on foreign goods that would compete, with their own, have taught the. masses of the people the doctrine that, commodities which we do not produce, yet consume largely espe cially the products of tropical coun tries ought to be admitted free. It was essayed by this policy to recon cile the working people and the gen eral body of consumers to the higher prices of protected goods, and to make them believe they were obtaining compensation, in free admission of 'coffee for the breakfast table"; while the farmers were soothed fur . ther by duties on wheat and hay and potatoes which was really a farce, and merely another part of the game of deception. But the game Is now about played out, because revenue must be had, and the necessary revenue cannot be had by this deceptive system. - Neverthe less, the beneficiaries of it hold on with a desperate tenacity. They have been accustomed so Ion to the profits of the system that excludes the goods of foreign countries so as to make their Own nrlcew fii- . . - - - b"u3 ' 1 uicir own manufacture, that they besiege ine nmirs or congrre.ss for continuance of what they deem their vested rights, and In Important particulars even in sist on increase of the duties. But out of this system onlv ri.... nues are obtainable, its collapse has followed the imperative demands of the treasury for more money; and to obtain this money there must be re adjustment of the tariff on ...ho.4.,1,. that will Increase, not diminish, the revenues. Many schedules must be materially lowered; which will hav the effect both of reducing prices t consumers and of bringing money int the treasurv. "Rut tb m,n - . . . . ....... ft A II J . must be the imposition or increase of duties on commodities not pro duced in our-own country, but of large or general consumption here. Then the treasury will get the monev it needs. Articles Of luxurv. ImnnrtA In this country, rare or costly goods and ware of all rto-rtrn1m -v.,.! be taxed to the utmost they will bear without stopping their importation Articles 01 common use should charged with duties also, but duties should be vorv mortentn be the ahd studied for revenue. nt fr nrnitt Many kinds should come In free, he-" cause they are of -descriptions that have little value and would produce little revenue in proportion to the cost of collection. Commodities that we must import, yet are articles of universal use. as coffee, sugar and tea. should all pay moderate duties, be cause revenues are needed, and these would produce great revenues without much enhancement of price, because everybody uses them. But this method should be adopted only when the priv ileges and inequalities of the "protec tive" tariff are wiped out. A tariff for revenue, not for protection, is what this country wants and Have. ani it u undine most rao- Ml. idly to that encf "under the stress of the demanH fnr rAron.... - a 11 ' - -. -- - . v 1 . joi sible taxes should -be collected, from liquors and tobacco, the taxes upon which are not now. high enough, an never will be-, high. enough, Jill these commodities are made to pay the last possible dollar. And since so much money is needed stamp taxes on in struments used In business transactions would be a very proper resource. In heritance taxes should be left as a resource to the states. The decision of the Supreme Court on income tn-roa me years ago, leaves it doubtful hether the General Government at present can employ this resource, yet it is believed that under a. carefullv drawn law It milrht. Moreover th. Supreme Court has a way of prac tically reversing Itself, when nn-ndtv arises, on Introduction of questions ipon which a difference miv he de tected from those on which it had revlously passed. The one fact that is anna rent ta this, namely, that the so-called pro tective system in our country has reached the stage of collapse, through the necessity of obtalnmenf of rev enues, of which it forbids the supply. Tariff for protection therefore must. perforce, give way to tariff for rev enue. ItwHl not come about all at once, but gradually; and the first crisis of the change Is now at hand. out wnatever may be done, much dis content will be the consequence; and It is nearly a sure guess that the ef fect will be seen and felt In the elec tion of the next House of Representa tives. THE INDICTED TOOLS. The Indictment of theAA rir Trt,. members of the famous moral squad d tne grand Jury Is not a very bril liant triumph for Justice when one comes to think It all over Tt 1- nn enough to punish these men for their Dumptious contempt for right and de cency, but it would be ' a good deal better to punish those on, if that were practicable. To whip me nuseranie tool and let the principal escape scarcely satisfies a rigid sense of equity. The detectives were but the Instruments of those higher in authority. They did what thev were rdered to do. Perhana thev Ai 1 too roughly and with more disregard of common rights than the case re quired, but still they obeyed orders. aa tney Droken in upon respectable privacy merelv once or even wifa we might have admitted that it was an acciaent, or that it was the fault of the detectives themselves. The thing happened, however, not once or twice, but many times. It was done in pursuance of "a system. - It looks absurd, therefore, at this late day to try to punish the wretched nnderlinn-a and let those who are really responsi ble tor tne outrages go unscathed. It may not be nractlcahle to inriift the Mayor, but it is not necessary to rorgei tnat nad he wished the out rages to cease he could. have stopped them with a word. . K QUARK DEAL WAXTED. In an interview at Chicago Wednes day, E. H. Harriman made a number of pointed statements having direct Dean ng on both sides of the railroad problem1. He expressed himself as "in favor . of regulation if combined with protection," and further said that "we have been getting regulation without protection, and that is bad for the railroads and bad for the peorjle. for after all it is the people who have to pay for the mistakes of the Govern- mem - Mr. Harriman's ' statement that he had made the Alton road 250 per cent better for two-thirds of the original cost will hardly be questioned oy any one familiar with his work on the Union Pacific or on any of his roads. . Every railroad that has come under his control has been made more valuable and more efficient. The cost per ton per mile of moving ireignt nas been reduced and a maxi mum of operating efficiency has been attained.. In this accomplishment there is an economic advantage In which eevry patron of the road should share to a certain extent. It should , not be Impossible to se cure legislation which would admit of tne people enjoying these economies and at the same time protect the man whose matchless talent for reconstruc tion and administration of railroad properties has made them possible. 1 nere are a great many railroads throughout the United States which need "Harrimanlzing." Some of them are in the hands of receivers and many others are hovering so close to insolvency that their efficiency is greatly impaired. Under our existing laws it is practically Impossible for a Harriman to take over and reconstruct any of these crippled roads . that may be located In competitive territory with his own roads. In theory this may be a good law, for its object was the prevention of monopoly: but in practice its shortcomings are no ticeable. The objectionable features could and should be removed by "reg ulatlon combined with protection." 1 ne stocknolders of a non-paying road making a life or death struggle for. existence In a territory . where a better-managed and better-operated road could, by merging, improve both properties, are now deprived of the op portunity of selling to or merging with the competing line. The people on the insolvent road suffer by the poor service, and the stockholders undergo loss tr dividends and have no oppor tunity to sell out or enter Into r. work ing agreement with the better-man aged road. If the Government could be forced to apply to Its business the uuji-per-H.n-per-miie rule, men tioned by Mr. Harriman, Government ownership of railroads might rose most of Its objectionable features. This, of course, cannot or will not be done. and we must accordingly hope for a change in conditions and sentiment which will admit of private Individuals or corporations operating the roads with a maximum of efficiency of serv ice at a minimum of cost This can be accomplished by combining regula tion with protection fair alike to the railroads and to the people who sup port them. The present general stagnation in railroad building throughout the United States has been brought about by too many ill-advised laws, both Na tional and state. This unfortunate condition Is reflected In a recent state ment issued by the Burlington road showing a "betterment" budget of but $1. 000. 000 for 1909, compared with xs. 000. 000 in 1908. and J16.000.000 in 1907. In the eleven states traversed by the Burlington, 800 railway laws have been placed on the statute-book In the past two years, and on March 1 there were pending 272 additional measures affecting railroad operation a.n.1 revenues. This excess of legisla THE MORNING tion, ' Oth tatA And "o Hnnal Hoe VaM up railroad work over a large portion or the United Sties. North of us the provincial government of Alberta has guaranteed bonds at the rate of $20, 000 per mile for railroad construction, and will have 500 miles of Canadian Pacific and S50 mites--of Canadian Northern extensions. In Mexico Mr. Harriman Is spend ing millions because the government has given him concessions and. made the country very attractive for capital. A short time ago he announced that he .would spend $10,000,000 in rehabil itating the Georgia railroads. If the Legislature would give .him a square deal. Whatever the iniquities and short comings of the railroads may have been before this anti-railroad crusade began, the offenders have been well punished for their former disregard of the -rights of the people, and, from Mr. Harriman down, they have all ex pressed contrition. It would seem, that It would now be appropriate to brush away some of the bewildering maze or restrictions that both Gov ernment and state lawmakers have spun around them. Let 113 have a 'square deal" that will enable both allroads and the Deorjle thev serve to. get back on the plane of prosperity from which they have been jarred, first by their own rapacity and later by regulation run riot. In this resnect the record of Oregon is better than thet of any other state, for our law- makers have refrained from placing many obstacles In the wa v of the rail roads. The drastic treatment given the roads in other parts of the coun try, however, has deprived some of the Oregon projects of funds which other wise would have been forthcoming. PORTLAND'S PROSPERITY. March statistics tell a pleasing storv of Portland's progress. We must go back many months to the height of the movement Just Drecedlnar the panic of 1907 to find the real estate transfers as large as they were last month. The figures are In excess of $2,000,000, and are all the more re- markabb when .It is considered that the transactions Included a large num ber of deeds to valuable North End property recorded at the nominal value of $1 each. Bank clearings showed a gain of more than $7,000,000 as compared with March, 1908, and building permits with a valuation of $878,235 exceeded those of the corre sponding month last year. Lumber exports, coastwise and for eign, were nearly 14,000,000 feet, and tne tonnage movement of coastwise steamers as far in excess of any oiner iviarcn in past years. The wheat-exporting season Is practically over, except for coastwise business. but the March shipments to California ports were the largest on record. amounting to more than 600,000 bush els, equal to six average-size European cargoes. The new month opens with bank clearings," building permits and real estate transfers, all promisln&r a continuation of the gains of the month Just closed, and all signs point to the most active season that Port land has ever known in business. DISEASE GERMS IN EGGS. One by one the articles that we may eat with impunity or Immunity are banished by sanitary disclosures from bur breakfast tablea until It seems that everything edible, especially those things which most delight the palate is likely to be given oyer to germs of various malignant diseases as their habitat and prey. The latest article of our old-time, menu to fall under the Interdiction of science as' a germ car rier and disease' "disseminator-.Is.' .the egg whether fresh or. stale, it mat ters. ndt. according to a, late edict of an eminent bacteriologist, , To be. safe as food it must be thoroughly cooked. and here the dletarlan comes In and declares that hard-cooked eggs are In digestible and should not be eaten ex cept by "men who labor out of doors. A recent number of the London Lancet contains a communication upon this subject that makes us marvel that our unsuspecting ancestors lived long and thrived upon the very verge of a dangerous vortex, eating ham and eggs for breakfast without fear and even with great relish; that many of them smacked their Hps with great gusto over their mug of eggnog, day after day, for years, finally dyina peacefully, as becomes the aged, with out being tortured by disease; and that the raw egg before breakfast has nourished, where it should have de stroyed for, lo, these many years. It Is shown in this "scareful" arti cle that birds as well as fowls are subject to diphtheria and that eggs as well as fowls often contain virulent germs of this disease and may easily be, and doubtless often are, the un suspected means of spreading it. To Intensify the alarm and disgust aroused by this assertion, Dr. Sambon, one of the professors in the London School of Toxical Medicine, declares that he has even found active diph theria germs In an egg at his own breakfast table. This is serious. It means first that our poultry yards must be kept clean; second, that when a fowl gets what hi our unsophisticated Innocence we were wont to term "the gaps," it should forthwith be killed, promptly cremat ed, and the poultry yard disinfected and third, that the practice of eating raw or half-cooked eggs must be dis continued. "Good Health" comes up to the help of the weak against the mighty in view of this latest menace saying: "it is apparent that eggs must be thoroughly cooked if danger of infection through eating them is to be avoided." Going farther into the subject. It continues: Raw ea-g are unquestionably quite a dangerous as raw milk, or possibly even more so. The gg is doubtless much mora often a source ot serious Illness than is gen erally sup-posed. A stale egg or a sick or Infected egg -.nay be the cause of sudden nausea, vomiting, and purging, the real cause of which may not be suspected. Cer tainly the egg Is very far from being th sate and innocent food which It ha so long enjoyed the reputation of being. Various specie of germs have beet found inside the shells of eggs which were apparently per fectly fresh. It Is known that germa may be picked up and Included In the egg dur ing Its transit along the oviduct of th fowl, and that erms may penetrate th egg after It 1 laid. There Is unquestionably a suggestion of prudence in this estimate. The statement that a sick hen cannot pro duce a wholesome egg is incontrovert ible, but the menace that it carries la reduced to the minimum by the fact that a sick hen does not produce eggs. The great danger is undoubtedly in stale eggs. Undisturbed by the clamor of the bears or the grumbling of the consum ers who are obliged to pay more for bread. Mr. Patten, the Chicago wheat king, continues to advance the price the cereal without much effort. The OREGOXIAX, FRIDAY. Wall-street capital out of the misleading Govern ment crop report, despite their most strenuous efforts are unable to check this steady upward movement.' The ories regarding manipulation of the market are all well enough in their way, but they utterly fall to explain w-hy cash wheat should sell at such a heavy premium over the options. If, as stated by the Government and eliOvjed by the bears, there Is such a large amount of wheat in the coun try, why is it hot being marketed and May or July.being purchased at from 10 cents" to 20 cents per bushel less than the pries of cash wheat? The strength of the foreign markets only tends to confirm the strength of the situation in this country. The O. R. & N. Co. will make Wl protest against the Interstate Com merce Cc-mmission decision in the Spo kane rat case. . Such action was ex pected. By taking the matter Into court It may be DOasible to e-nr fmm the Commission an explanation of w nat is meant by a confession of lack Of Jurisdiction over water terminal rates, and at the same time th o. sumption of the right to fix rates in territory that cannot be otherwise than- under the domination of water transportation. The effect of the Spo- ;ane decision, were it accented hv th. railroads, would be so far-reaching that everv r-aJ-A mre-at r.f thA VT ... n 1 Stiver would of necessity have to be revised, xnis revision would cause a vast amount of trouble and nn for both railroads and shippers, and it would be many years before a satis- lacxory scnedule could- be evolved out of the chaos Into which the Spokane decision has plunged the rate sched ules. The manaerera of the PriitAntnn Home did not wait for thn o-rnni to suggest that the vacant ground be longing to that institution and sur rounding the building be utilized for the benefit of the Home. They have already formulated plans for a kitchen garden, and a potato patch, engaged to hr e. the fruit tree on tne nrtv. section of the grounds pruned and sprayed, the berry bushes along the east side cleared of last year's growth and cultivated, and a new stock of poultry put into the newly renovated chicken-house and yard. The board is composed of energetic, practical and philanthropic women, who, . though sadly handicapped by lack of funds. "a ma.ue tne oest or conditions. The Improvements and work above noted have been made nossibie hv the in creased state appropriation allowed by the last Legislature. The Drimarv law of raiifnmto tv,..t portion of it which relate t aiotiAn of Senators of the United States is "distant by some distance" from the primary law cf Oregon. The Califor nia law is an advisory one, for the purpose of ascertaining the sentiment of voters in the resoec.tlva Senatorial and Representative districts, and "the memDers or tne legislature shall be at liberty to vote either for the Khnira nt their respective districts expressed at saia primary election, or for the can didate for United States Senator who shall have received the indorsement of tlielr party at such primary election in me greatest numDer of districts electing members of such nnrtv tn the Legislature." Oregon's "Statement One furnished the example and warning. Since January, 1908. Douglas County has paid $5444 in scalp bounties for the destruction of predatory wild ani mals. The sum has been paid out of a county tsjc of . one-tenth of a mill, levied for that purpose. The example of Douglas County In this regard Is worthy of emulation. The protection of flocks, fields and orchards fur nished by the destruction of over 1200 creatures of the wild that prey upon agricultural Industries Is of Immediate benefit to the farmers and stockraisers of that section. The Chicago Board of Education Is trying vainly to fill a $3000 position of Supervisor of Domestic Science, though it has applications galore. "We have found some who can cook," says the president: of the board, "but they can't teach sewing, and the sewing teachers can't supervise the cooking class." Luckily, the incompetent as pirants can't put themselves forward as the candidates do for Portland Mayor. The Weston Normal School, we are told, has received from the State "but $174,000 during Its entire history." The Oregonlan would be greatly Inter ested if some friend of the normals would compile authentic statistics showing how many of the alumni and former students (say, of one year's standing) are now schoolteachers. - There Is much talk of asking Joseph Simon to be a candidate for . Mayor. Nobody seems to know whether he would consent. But If there is any man who has keen knowledge and grasp or municipal .conditions and re quirement8, it would be quite in order to name him. . Senator Taylor, of Tennessee, has joined the ranks of humorists. He has a bin to make railroads pay "all law rui claims ' within ninety days. For what does the Senator suppose rail roads hire attorneys? Are -we not causing our rnun tr non J pie to depend too much on schools. ucautmies ana colleges? "The best part of every man's education," said Sir Walter Scott, "is that which he gives himself." xne isew York papers all spell it "kidnapper," and the Chicago papers "kidnaper." It all depends on what dictionary you happen to have been raised on. ine next census at Seattle will be the school .census, for which prep arations are already being made," re marks the Times. "Preparations," of course. It is not easy to see any reason why Fulton should wish the Judgeship, be yond the fact that Bourne and Cham berlain don't want him to have it. Yellow fever helps the calendar an nounce the approach of warm weather by becoming epidemic along thj Met lean border. Twenty-four battleships for the Pa cific are none too many, especially if righting Bon Evans remains ashore. nsvising me lann is like having a tooth pulled: the' longer one thinks about it the harder to have it done. APRIL 2, 1909. INCREASE OF- STOCKHOLDERS. Facta A boat tb Distribution of Rail, road stocks. The Railroad Age Gazette. Returns compiled not long ago for 25 prominent railway companies showed an actual increase of the to tal stock outstanding of only from. $2,890,158,997 to $3,000,248,157. or a lit tle less than 4 per cent. During the same, period the number of stock holders Increased from 211.069 to 253.0S3. or somewhat more than 19 per cent about five times the Increase of outstanding stock measured in ratios. The figures, we presume, at least for the most part, cover the fiscal year for the railways that ended June 30. 1908. But even so. they covered not only nine months of a panic and de pressed twelvemonth, put a period of civic onslaught on the railways Fed eral and state. Such an. attack reach ing all over the country, coupled with reduced earnings, was the reverse of favorable to railway Investment. It Is true that it. from one viewpoint, should have reduced selling, and; In that sense, was favorable to distri bution. But selling' implies buying; and to buying the condition was. on Its face, distinctly unfavorable more so indeed than to selling, for, in the psychology of Investment, the owner has the "hold on" impulse while the buyer Is apt to be conservative and mum. Again, during a time of de pression, 'if new stock Is Issued the shareholder Is likely to take up .his stock rather than sell his "rights" low and thus depression, to a degree, re sists distribution. - Let us take a concrete case to illus trate the situation. The New York, New Haven & Hartford Company dur ing the calendar year 1908 has had no bonds convertible within that time. It has suffered like other roads from the industrial stagnation, in fact more than most of them as tapping Intensi fied factory territory. It has been the object of attack by the Federal author ities and of both Legislative and Ju dicial sttae'e In Massachusetts an at tack reaching at times a most violent character. Yet during the calendar year isos its stocknolders have in creased, as we are informed author itatively, about 2000. or some 14 per cent; and in Massachusetts ainn. where a majority of its stockholders Jive, and where a plurality of its shares, as compared with other states, is held, the number of stookhnlflera hsi increased about 900, or more than 12 per cent. And no one will contend for a moment that such a rns-ri th the New Haven with Its relatively pal- . y Mies in tne market is in any de gree affected by speculative distribu tion of shares. In seekinar the ca.iis.eia of rifetrl tion of conservative railway owner- snip against conditions so adverse one is forced back to underlying and fun damental faots which, fully appraised, are the most cheering sign and symp tom of the general railway situation. Time by which we mean past time and experience have been on the side of the ratlways. The railways have assumed in the mind of the investor an institutional character. As an in vestment class they have paid him well in spite of Incidental evils of "high" finance. Indeed, In not a few cases, he has been a beneficiary of that high, finance which he may not himself as a fiscal moralist approve. He has seen also that the railways have been subject to no such hydraul ics as have poured their floods Into the industrials and the street railways. As an outcome of all these- elements com bined railways acquired a kind of In vestment momentum that held confi dence through adversity. When rail way stocks fell, the old railway In vestor naturally bought them first and advised his friends to do so. The con trast is shown by comparison with the Industrials which, as a whole, have been much less under civic attack than the railways. While 25 railways, as stated,. Increased their stockholders 19 per- cent. 41 Industrials, some of them conservative. Increased their stockholders only from 296,292 to 322, 277. or less. than 9 per cent. Railway stock distribution ratio was more than double that of the Industrials and, of course among a much more conserv ative and retentive class. SOT TO ISSUE THE BONDS. How Kansas Has Put a Check I'pon iHer Prosperity. Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune. Some time ago one of the Ereat rail road systems of the country, the Atchi son, decided to issue $26,000,000 in bonds. The proceeds were to . be used largely for improvements, and a great part of this sum would have been spent In Kansas. Lately the management de cided to withhold this Issue, largely be cause ot the laws in Kansas which bear heavily upon capitalization. This means a great loss to labor. Not only will laborers in Kansas miss the payrolls which would have followed from week to week, but thousands of men in the Iron and steel Industry will miss days and months of employment by rea son or this suspension of a great bond issue. The sword in Kansas which was intended for the railroad fell in another direction. Rabid and unreasonable legislation works against Itself, whether aimed at individuals or corporations. There have been ?ross evils in many corporations. They have done many things they ought not to nave done, and left undone manv things they should have done. But the help that the people expected Is not to be found In laws which are crippling in their action. Then, too, there are many corporations which have been lust and fair in their dealings, but they, too, must sutler. Unfortunately, most of this injudicious legislation is to be found in states west of the Mississippi. That is the very re gion which should cultivate a spirit of justice and reason- There is room within many of those states for thousands of miles of new roads. Thousands of acres of valuable land would be doubled and even trebled In value. Yet the lawmakers appear to be under the impression that corporations are public" enemies, to be punished in every way imaginable. Deal justly by all and good will come. In justice barms all. Mr. IFftgsm'i Intentions. PORTUND. Aprlt 1. (To th Editor. 1 As the undersigned wants The Oregonlan never to labor under a misapprehension of any kind. I will not propose any charter In this year of our Lord. 10O9. but will support the charter of the People's Forum that Is belne drafted v the prmmUtM lieaded by Mr. Isaac 8weet. as I believe it Is honest and for the best Interest of th people who live in Portland. I -cannot say what Mr Leonard may do. but I believe she or any other '-stateslady" has a right to offer a charter if she or they see fit. without asking permission from inu interests-- to ao so. nile I will not present a charter. I may ask for the re call of tne Councilmen who taxed an extra 8 per year on every family In Portland for water, when it wae not needed to run the Water Department. About two years sgo every family In Portland was paying $l.SO per month for water and a free water movement was started and the rate dropped RO cents per month, which has saved every family 12 to date, or about 42O.O00 In the aggregate. H. D. WAGXOX. Plan and Water Problem. PORTLAND. March 31. fTO the Ed itor.) A receptacle containing water, when placed on a scale, weighs five pounds. A live fish weighing five pounds is placed In the water. Will the com bined weight of the two now be 10 pounds, or will the fish, by being alive, and placed In water, so resist the force of gravity that the entire weight will ndw be less than 10 pounds? An ex planation will be appreciated. .A SUBSCRIBER. The weight will be. 10 pounds. A live fish weighs as much as a dead one of the same size. PLAN FOR SPLKN DID CHURCH J Sunnyside Methodists Prepare to Launch Campaign Tonight. A banquet will be held by the offi cial board and Rev. W. T. Euster. pas tor, of the Sunnyside Methodist Church, tonight for 100 workers and leaders in the main auditorium of the church building on East Yamhill and East Thirty-fifth streets. The purpose Is to start the campaign for a new modern stone church, for which plans have been adopted. It is proposed to erect a modern edifice that will cost probably $75,000. Tonight at the banquet outline designs of the church will be submit ted for Inspection. Addresses will be delivered by Bish op Smith. District Superintendent W. w. Holllngshead and several others Rev. Mr. Euster will be toastmaster. It ,eXpected that every member of the 100-commlttee will be there and pre- -T-t . . '"'"""em ior lunns and receive Inspiration for the erection of the magnificent stone edifice, that will reflect credit on the citv. frJhe.Jr'h,ircn p,,,ns of W- N- Black. J. T Boston School of Technology ot Architecture, have been adopted by the Sunnyside official board and the pastor Some time ago the church au thorities Invited architects from all ?her country to submit plans for .t 13 arcnects put in sets in the competition, with the result Architect Blacks set was considered the best and most advanced. Dr Eus ter. who is considered an authority on church work and church erection, ap proved the plans, only he insisted that his own floor plans, which he consid ers the best for church purposes, should be adopted and this was done. Mr. Black Is now engaged in working out the details of his design, and within a ll y. . wl" have them completed, as the intention Is to start construc tion on the structure as soon as It can be done. In general the edifice will be a mag nificent stone structure covering lOOx 100. and will stand on the southeast corner of East Thirty-fifth and East Jamhill streets. There will be a full basement, which will contain the same room as the second or main auditorium. Here will be placed the auditorium and Sunday school, which, thrown to gether, can seat comfortably over 1400 people. Both can . be made Into one room in one minute of time. The floor plans are in the general form of a bowl, so that every one in the audi torium will have a full view of the rostrum and speaker. The ventilation and heating are carefully provided for rr. Euster. in speaking of the plans lor the new church yesterday, said: "I heartily approve of the plans for our edifice. They will enable us to erect a building unsurpassed In beauty on the Coast. We shall have the finest church In the Northwest. There are some special features in this church Among these will be the choir, loft which was drawn according to the Suggestion of H. M. Newton, leader of Robert Mclntyre's St. John's Church, In Chicago, considered the finest In that city. Again, there will be a tower clock that will strike half-hours and at 6 A. M-, 12 M. and 6 P. M., and also will operate a chime. There is noth ing of this sort in the city. Pro vision will be made for the Boys' Bri gade, Epworth League and young peo ple, Sunday school and all organiza tions of an active, working, progres sive church, and In keeping with the progress of the city." . THE SALE OF LIQUORS. The "Place-, Not the Man,' Should Be Licensed. Brooklyn Eagle. In Great Britain no man receives a license to sell liquor. The place Is li censed as one In which liquor can he Sold.- In the term llnnor im ini.Aj wines, whiskies, ale. beer. etc.. narv. thing specific, under the general term liquors. The license of the Dlace elves in th. place a real estate and rentable villus which Is very considerable. Th vitia tion of the lloenaM fnrfalt t-K that place as one In which liquors can be sold, for a period not short, and the license is everv renewahio at ail r. that place, the charges and conditions are very severe, and the old landlord and the old tenant or the new landlord ana new tenant are made the victim or suujects or the penalty in a way and to a degree not ever to be forgot ten. Both the landlord and the tenant are inus interested In preserving the license, that is. in obeying the law. The law permits selling on Sundays In the after noons, between 1 and 6 P. M., but not before or after those hours on Sundays, and the law as to selling and closing hours on weekdays was, at latest ac counts, between 5 A. M. and 12:30 P. M., with equal privileges and penalties as to the place. The license is thus a fran chise as to the place, and the franchise is a valuable one In buying or in selling the place. Here the license is to. or for. or by the man. A violation of the law by him enables the place to be still conducted by another man or a new place to be rented by the same man, and a license to be secured by him in such other place. The licensing of the place in Great Britain makes the owner and ten ant both interested In obeying the law. The licensing of the man here makes him reasonably Immune from penalty or indifferent to it. and really interested In the relatively safe violation of the law, to which violation the police are oblivious or friendly, while Jurors, mainly of cus tomers, are blind or friendly to such vio lations. As politics in great cities large ly turns on these licensed men or their friendly customers, the excise law in cities is largely a farce. The licensure of the place, and not of the man. is the solution in Great Brit ain of enforceable and reasonably equita ble excise legislation. The licensure of the man Is the cause of the failure of excise laws In this stats.- Till that is realized, either officials who would en force law Justly and effectively or re formers who would take cognizance of the habits of others into account, as well as of their own, will have their labors for their pains. SUPPOSED HEAD IS PILLOW Diver Does Not Discover Woman's Body as Expected. ASTORIA. Or., April 1. (Special.) Hugh Brady, a diver, who arrived from Portland yesterday to search Youngs Bay for the body of a woman alleged to have been seen there last Sunday, re turned to Portland this evening. He cruised about for several hours to day near where the body was said to have been seen, but the only thing he found was a water soaked feather pillow wiLii a stripea covering floating about, half submerged, but bobbing up and down with the waves.- It Is thought this Is what was seen on Sunday. Brady wag employed by C. H. West, of Portland, whose sister disap peared January 5 last. Concert Tonight for Seamen. The usual Friday evening concert will be given this evening at the Seamen's Friend Society, corner Third and Flan ders streets, at S o'clock. The Hassalo street Congregational Church will present the following programme: Hasalo-street Orchestra; solo. Miss Alice Lewis; duet. Misses Hampton and Hardy, solo. Miss Esther Olson. Several of the Sailors will also stng, and all friends are cordially invited. FIVE ADMIT THEIR GUILT Sentenced In Circuit Court for Vari ous Petty Crimes. PIve Indicted men pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court yesterday afternoon, and were sentenced by Presiding Judge Gan tenbein. Mike Miller, who came to the United states two years ago from Bohemia, stole to suitcase, and t in -cash from Evan Dosseff on Marcn . u,, occupled a lr Vn.!t f Cnd Street NOrth- -h In". 6d, With e'eton koVs, Tak, Ho,,i ,Pk "dtr- J1 went t t" Eagle suitcas.es were recovered, as well as it mone-v- Miller was sentenced to vT- nt " o Stte Penitentiary. . William Smith, who stole a suit over coat and watch-chain from a First-street lodging-house on March 6, was sentenced to serve two years in jail. He was re leased two dara Hefora . i . .. . 1 ,. , h.,.u j : . aster a year in jail on another harge. D. R. MrDnnnlil - . . , , - "w - - " s - n u to serve two years in the Penitentiary, and placd on parole to Chief Pronation Officer Teuscher, of the Juvenile Court. McDon ald, who Is a chauffeur, said that he overdrew his bank account at Hoed River w ...o .mount. 01 ksi. soon afterward he tOOk a Position at OnnlrQn. T ? Cj7son he had worked at Vancou- i.. v .. ana at 1.0s Angeles. . Alexander Stewart was also placed on Parole after hAln . . ; - ". "cnn-iiiTa 10 two years tn the Penitentiary. He was charged with . v w"orth of eggs from the New Ynrir rtabor,. 1 v. . - j . " null. xle whs em ployed, in order to pay a bill for liquor which he owed to Henry Hoffman, pro prietor of the Delmonico Rooming-house. 1 ne arresting officer made the statement that both Hoffman and Stewart were ar- frlt' Asl i e-l a. -w -. T i , Junge van Zante failed 10 hold Hoffman on the evidence pre sented. -The Ti.i 1 ( 1. . n . . . , ii -" ' n'tl l-toit- man and Stewart as equally guilty. .v mi.-r rv. r.vans, a mute, contributed to the delinquency of Roy Harvev, and was also placed on parole, after bavins been sentenced to serve a year in the County LANDS IN DETENTION HOME Incorrigible 9-Ycar-Old Ynnnir, Will Wander Xo More. Louis Saltman, 9 years old, who ran away from home three times, was sent to the Detention Home of the Juve nile Court yesterday. He left his home in South Portland last Sundav. going to Linnton. He slept under the sta tion in the cold, all night, obtaining htsbreakfast at a nearby house the next morning. He told the people who befriended him that he was on his way to Scappoose. Monday night he was taken in and given a bed. and his breakfast Tiioo.l... 1 . . then decided that he would return. He y me wiuamette River at St. John Wednesday and was taken in charge by the St. John police, who no tified the Juvenile Court officials. Miss Butler brought him to Portland. On his last trip he went under the names of Colsinskt and Schwartz. The first time he ran away he took his brother with him. The two were arrested by Chief of Police Black, of St. John. They said they had come from Winnipeg, that they were kid naped by a man who left them strand ed when he reached Portland. The two youngsters went on a second trip to Htllsboro, and were taken in charge by Sheriff Hancock and brought to Portland. Then the older lad was sent to the Detention Home, the mother be lieving that the younger boy would re main at home. But the third attempt of Louis to run away has confirmed the Juvenile Court officials In their belief . that the younger boy has planned all three trips. SATS HE LOVED AN AFFINITY Wife of Harry M. Chitwood Brings Suit for Divorce. That Mrs. Marie J. S. Chitwood worked at the Union Laundry to support herself and her husband, while Harry M. Chit wood made love to his office assistant, Mignon Renne. in a small real estate of fice at Arleta, Is to be inferred from Mrs. Chitwood's divorce complaint, which was filed In the Circuit Court yesterday morn ing by her attorney. Mrs. Chitwood did not consider it an April fool Joke, either, for she says her husband is a large, able-bodied man. well able to aunonrt. J them both. But the wife's sensitive feelings were wounded beyond endurance when she found that her husband was correspond ing with the Renne woman. It was last month, and he was in Newport on a busi ness and nlpfljanrA trin A tIaa a . . . gathered on the rocks by the sea and sent 10 tne new sweetnean, was followed by postal cards, showing the scenic beauty of Lincoln County, and then by a letter, a part of which Mrs. Chitwood says read as follows: Tou will not get mad If I call you girlie, will you? I can't help It, pet. for you know that I love you. and want to alwav-s lova you. and want you to love me a little. wish you mere here, pet. You must not let anyone see this letter, dear; please burn It up. Please write me a good letter, dar ling. Write soon, love. Mrs. Chitwood says that her husband has Informed her that her relatives are "fools." and that he has been harsh to her. She asks to be allowed to resume her former name. Marie J. Swanson. Slia married Chitwood October 4, 1905. Motion to Quash Charge Denied. The motion to quash the Indictment against W.E. Douglass, charging him with having embezzled 4400 from the Thlel De tective Agency, was denied by Presiding Circuit Judge Gantenbeln yesterday morn ing. It was urged that Douglass was placed in jeopardy when he was tried for having passed a check for $550. and for appropriating the money to his own use. He was acquitted. The first indictment returned by the grand Jury was for em bezzling $4496.40. When the trial Jury dis agreed, the $550 indictment was brought, this being followed by the one charging Douglass with having stolen $4400. Dou glass will be tried April 12. Suit for $10,000. Dropped. The suit of Sadie Lavlne against John Parker for $10.00 was dismissed yesterday morning. Parker was an admirer of Miss Lavine'a charms, it appears, but it was whispered about that she was not the only girl whose funds he was handling, and that he was planning to leave for Italy. A settlement was agreed upon by the couple, and the suit withdrawn by John F. Logan, the attorney for the woman. Libel Snit Verdict Stands. The application of the Journal Pub lishing Company for a' new trial ot the libel suit, in which the jury award ed W. A. Cecil $400 damages because of the injury the Journal did to his reputation. was denied by Circuit Court Judge Bronaugh yesterday morn ing. It was the contention of John F. Logan and John H. Stevenson, who appeared as attorneys for the Journal, that the newspaper corrected its er ror, and that the $400 is therefore ex cessive. Capitalists Nosing About Elgin. ELGIN. Or.. April 1. (Special.) A party of Ohio capitalists are scouring the city, and while their mission is yet unknown.' It is the general opinion from their talk that they are Investigating Elgin's pot teries and fire clay and cement rock which are known to exist here in laruo luantitie. r