Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 1909)
TIIE MORNING OREGONIAX, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1909. I i: 1 1 PO BTLA SD. OBF-UON. Entered t Portland. Oreon. J-eatofrlc a Eecond-Claa Matter. Subscription I late Inrarlablr In Advance. (By Mail.) Dally. Sundav Included, on year. 'Ynk Daily. Sunday Included, six months.. J - Xatiy. Sunday Included, three months... ;;! Dai.y. Sunday Included, one month Duly, without Sunday, one year.. " Uaily. without Sunday, six month - ai:y. without Sunday, three months.... ? Dally, without Sunday, one znontn Weekly, one year A 1- Funday, on year Sunday and weekly, one year w (By Carrier.) Dally. Sunday Included, one year Da!'.y. Sunday Included, one month How to Keanit Send postofTtce money order express order or personal check; on your local bank. Stamp, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postofrice aa drea in full, lncludlns county and state. I'osture Rates 10 to 14 page. 1 cent: 10 to ptite. 2 cent: 30 to 40 pases. 8 cents: 48 to So pace. 4 cent. Foreign postage double rate. . Fatlrrn Huslnes Ofllce The B C Pee wlth Special Acency New York, rooms 4 S Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 410-513 Tribune building. , PORTLAND. MOXDAT, SEPT. Z0. 1009. WHY SPOKANE IS OPPOSED. A Boston dispatch announces that the Chamber of Commerce of that city has adopted resolutions con demning the proposed Spokane freight rates. The organization has also voted to send delegates to the hearing at Spokane a;.d will file at once a pe tition of intervention at Washington. The commercial organizations of New York and other Atlantic Coast cities have taken similar action, indicating that the importance of the matter is at last understood at other points than Portland. Now that Seattle. Tacoma, San Francisco and the Atlantic Coast cities have trailed into this most im portant contest, the batteries of the Spokane papers may occasionally be directed at some other paper besides The Oregonian. Perhaps if the newspapers of the Atlantic- Coast had given the matter more careful study and exploitation when the Spokane rate agitation first began, the subject would now be bet ter understood in the East. The World's Work magazine, which should know better, expresses surprise be cause "one finds on the Coast today a fervid and apparently connected op position to an alleged plan to make Spokane, for example, a distributing center of commerce by giving it termi nal railroad rates; or, at least, some thing close to terminal rates." Had the World's Work writer paid less attention to the biased accounts of Spokane boosters and the yellow re ports of the muckrakers who have supplied Eastern magazines with much misinformation on the subject, it would find no occasion for surprise at the attitude of the "connected oppo sition" to the Spokane rate. The Spokane Spokesman-Review, in commenting on the World's Work article, again accuses the Coast cities of "fighting the people of the Inter ior in their attempt to secure lower freight rates from the Interstate Commerce Commission." This is, of course, untrue. The Coast cities are fighting against an attempted dis crimination by which it is proposed to nullify the advantages of water trans portation now enjoyed by the Coast ports. The Coast cities do not object to any reduction of rates .which the Interior cities may secure on the merits of tbelr location. Water trans portation is the acknowledged -base for all transcontinental rates, and its merits and existence are acknowledged by the Spokane paper which ships its printers's ink from New York by water to Portland and thence by rail to Spo kane at a lower rate than the railroads can meet for the all-rail haul. For the Spokane Spokesman-Review to argue against the existence and the rate-making power of water traspor tatlon In such circumstances, is fully as consistent as would be the act of a temperance lecturer In moistening his throat with a drink of whisky, while making an attack on the demon rum. MILLION-DOLLAR SHOW.. Beginning tomorrow and lasting throughout the week, there will be on exhibition in this city the greatest livestock show ever held In the West. Portlanders have not forgotten the re markable success of the livestock show held in this city, during the Lewis and Clark Fair, in which en tries were present from all of the principal stock regions of the United States. The livestock show to be held in Seattle shortly after the close of the Portland show, has brought to this Coast, and made available for the Portland exhibition an even greater number of high-grade Eastern animals than were on exhibition at the Lewis and Clark Fair. In ad dition to these Importations, the breeders of the Pacific Northwest will place on exhibition a large number of the "blue-bloods" that have made Ore gon and Washington famous In the stock industry. Conservative estimates of the value ol the stock, .which will be on exhi bition In this city every day during thj week, place the figure In excess of ' $l;000,000.. In addition to the stock show, an excellent programme of high-class horse racing has been arranged. The performances on the Portland track last year demon strated that the track la " one of the fastest in the United States, and In the number of entries and the time made the races compared most favorably with those of the parlor tracks of the grand circuit. This year entries are more numerous than ever, and faster time Is probable. Fur ther' attractions in the way of balloon ascensions, fireworks, chariot races, etc., have been provided, and the pro gramme is one sufficiently attractive to please the most exacting. Aside from this million-dollar exhibition of livestock, high-grade racing and other attractions, there is a more potent reason why the exhibition this week should have the unqualified support of everv citizen of Portland. It was through the Interest awak ened by the Lewis and Clark Fair that . the livestock Industry of the state received its greatest Impetus. As the natural outcome of the interest then awakened Portland is today the head quarters of the largest stockyards and packing plant in the West. The dairy ing Industry has expanded until Ore gon condensed milk is selling in nearly every state in the Union, and in every branch of the livestock Industry ther has been an increased interest that has added millions to the wealth of the state. To continue this work and further to advertise the wonderful ad vantages of this state as a livestock region, these -xhibltions must be made successful. This is a matter that concerns every citizen of Portland. Even at a mod erate sacrifice of time, if necessary, the million-dollar show should be fav- ored with at least one visit from every Tnitianrler. It is also the duty of all Portlandera to call the attention of the thousands of strangers who are passing through the city to this won derful exhibition. A sight of the big display of high-grade Oregon live stock at the Country Club grounds this week will be fully as impressive to many of these visitors as anything they will see in the state. WHV NOT A PARTY ISSl'E. . It is an Interesting question how much the people of the United States do really care about the tariff, as a political Issue. It would seem very little. For. though it is an Important matter, experience proves that It can not be made a political or party ques tion. The country is resolved oh maintenance of protective tariff, and the schedules are merely matters of detail; and if every section gets some thing like its "share," there will be no general dissatisfaction. Such seems to be the mind of the country now. t As a political or party Issue-, it Is a failure for another reason. No senti mental idea, no moral enthusiasm, is awakened by it. But a party issue must contain some strong element of this kind or character, or it never will stir the people. Adjustment of tariff means swap of one thing for another. One part of the country or state, one district. Is eager to take protection for Its own. In exchange for the protection that another section or state or district may desire. Divi sion of the contenU of the pork barrel never will awaken sentimental Ideas or stir to any great degree the moral enthusiasm of a people. Therefore, protective tariff .never can be much of a political or party question. It involves no contest of lofty opinions about justice or righteousness, the rights of democracy or the maintenance of the dignity or authority of the Nation. It is trade and dicker, barter and swap, and if the various sections or districts are fairly well satisfied with the shares they receive, severally and collective ly, the country will be fairly content though there will be some grumb ling here and there. There must be some moral issue in politics to stir parties to action. It is not to be found in the swap that secures pro tective tariff for the sugar and rice of the South for protection of equivalent things at the North. In cool and cal culated and reasonably fair division of the loaves and fishes there is no sentimental enthusiasm; which how ever, is necessary to the life of every strong party. A COMFORTABLE CRIMINAL. The announcement that Ortis Ham ilton "will resort to ail sorts of legal technicalities to keep his case from being tried on Its merits" surprises no body. Of course he will, and, judging from what has happened in similar ia nnitA likelv to succeed. Laca. tu. .ioi nf a criminal cause on its 4. UC U .1-1 - merits is rather an exceptional thing in .,., kiotArv anil the defeat of Jus tice by legal device Is the rule. While he is preparing to mane nis ratoiie t through the meshes of the law, young Hamilton seems to have found agreeaoie occupation wi himself. Technically he Is "Ire jail." Practically, he divides his time be tween the Sheriffs office, where he loafs, and his boarding-nouse, he scrubs the floors. Hamilton la a thief of rather stately proportions. As Adjutant-General of - . .1 . . .. . . eomA Washington ne maoe " ten nnn Thi hriilinnt feat entitles in cn-oot cnnrfesv from the offi cers of the law. They act upon the principle that the greater a man's crime has been the lighter his punish ment ought to be. so. msieau w ous ting Hamilton up In Jail to wait for his trial, as they would a man who had stolen a sack 01 nour. mey t.c him as a guest of the state. He goesJ i ni.gati find occupies him self as he chooses while he is laying his plans to slip through the limp fin gers of American justice. When Aaron Burr was imprisoned in Richmond, on a charge of treason, he was given special quarters ..cau., .u nnnn laii wm unhealthy." It .,T.hithv for Burr than was iu jiivic ...... o for other prisoners, but nobody thought of hiring outsiae wu6"' " miserable wretches. Such favors were r. r.t Histincuished connec- omy iui me w- - tlons then, as they are only for bril liant and highly successiui emm" ... ohni'vcr cause they may be granted they show that equality be- fore the law is sometiim " ""' -- ...or,. Wa onlv talk about It and boast of it as we do of Christian ity. The genuine thing we Know nam ing about, for we have never tried it. a RlillV TO UNWRITTEN LAW. The supremacy which the "unwrit ten law nas enjoyea iui a. years appears to have been shaken a little by the verdict In the Dickerson case. The man who shot Garrett down in cold blood was not found guilty of murder in the first degree, as he should have been, but he was convict ed of manslaughter, which Is much better than to acquit him, as the Jury would have done If it had followed the sloppy example of numerous predecessors. The lawyer who sought to make the jurymen violate their oaths by telling them they "would en courage seduction and wreck homes if they found Dickerson guilty has not been rebuked as vigorously as he de served by the verdict. Still he "has been rebuked, and that is something. It Indicates a turn of the tide perhaps and we may hope to see law and jus tice gradually triumph over maudlin effeminacy in murder trials. Of course much of the effect of this salutary verdict would have been lost if the trial Judge had t Dickerson oft with a lighter sentence, or if on appeal to the Supreme Court a new trial were to be ordered. The sentence Is really too easy to match the offense or to establish a warning example. There has been so much of this kind of play with the law that one never knows what to expect-in a given instance. The chances for wisdom and folly when the case Uaves the jury seem to be about even, but it is natural to hope for the best as long as possible. The rigorous punishment of Dicker son for his crime will not encourage libertines to assail the virtue of other men's wives, nor will It Impair the sta bility of anybody's home in the slight est degree. Female virtue has never been so lax. and the security of the home never so frail In England as in Charles II's time, when substantially the only protection a man enjoyed was his own sword or pistol. Crime of every species has always been most prevalent In this and other countries when the law resigned Its functions to private vengeance. Assaults by ne groes upon white women in the South became more and more frequent as long as their punishment was left to the injured nusDana to jniuci., eimci alone or with the help of a mob. It Is only since the law has begun to take effective cognizance of such crimes that they have ceased to increase in number. The "unwritten law" is a species of mcrt law. It is an unblush ing reversion to savage conditions, a confession that civilized methods of dealing with crime arc a failure. They are certainly far from . perfect, but with all their faults they are incom parably superior to private vengeance. Granting that the law often rails to punish criminals adequately, the sensi ble plan seems to be to reform it and make it efficient, not to set it aside en tirely and revert to anarchy. The man who upholds the "unwritten law" may not relish being called an anarch ist, but in that particular he Is noth ing else. The feeling that crimes' against the home, as they are called, stand on a different footing from others may be partially Justified. One may admit that the law does not treat them so seriously as it ought. The maxim that criminals who assail female virtue ought to be deprived of the power to repeat their wrongdoing, is probably sound, but it Is Irrational and exces sively dangerous to leave the punish ment to be inflicted by the aggrieved person. He is no more fit than other complainants to be Judge, jury and executioner In his ownfcause. It may be replied that Juries will not find se vere verdicts for offenses of this char acter. Rather than punish a man se verely for invading a home, they will acquit him, it Is said. This unhappily must be admitted, but It does not Jus tify us in authorizing a man to shoot down his wronger in cold blood. It proves that in their secret hearts many men care a great deal less for the sanctity of the home than they pre tend to, and that before these matters can be placed on a proper footing a vast amount of fundamental education in morality is essential. COLLtER'S THE CONTEMPTIBLE. Collier's Weekly, is a most contempt ible publication, striving for notoriety with least possible regard for the verities. Exposed by The Oregonian for its false statements about the service of steamship lines in connec tion with the Southern Pacific Rail road, which afford water competition between Atlantic and Pacific Coast ports, it essays retreat through quib ble and subterfuge and juggle with words, remarking, moreover, that The Oregonian "frequently concerns itself with defense of the railroads," and "attempts to achieve humor at the expense of Collier's." The first state ment reeks with falsehood; the second Is too absurd for characterization; for who would attempt humor at the ex pense of uncandld dullness? Collier's Weekly Is easily chief among the class of malicious and untfustworthy publi cations that strive for sensational or bizarre effects. In Its latest criticism of The Ore gonian, Collier's states that "to one intimate with the English language," Collier's comment on the Pacific Coast steamship service would not have ap peared as it did to The Oregonian. The original misrepresentation in Col lier's, which called forth mild pro test from The Oregonian, was the statement:' "The American-Hawaiian Company does not touch at any ports which have Southern Pacific termin als." As San Diego, San Francisco and Portland are all Southern Pacific terminals and each of the ports enjoys regular service by the American-Hawaiian steamers, no excessive degree of Intimacy with the English language Is necessary to enable the reader to understand that in printing the state ment Collier's gave currency to an unqualified falsehood. The fact that It appeared in such a notoriously un reliable publication as Collier's Weekly and was accordingly discounted suffi ciently to prevent harm does not lessen the offense of that paper. The original circulation 01 tne iaise-fniin-en now bv its undignified retreat. Is strictly in keeping with the Collier policy. The paper is full of tirades, as a habit, against men oo,,oa that It wishes to misrepre sent. In this case, to get in a blow at the outhern Pacific, it attacKs an im portant part of the commercial busi- e ihs Pnrlflr! Coast States. Its lying about The Oregonian is a matter of small concern. Tnis paper emuua its known service to the coun try, and especially to the Northwest. MENACE IN OLD SCHOOL BOOKS. Second-hand school books are re garded as dangerous disseminators of h ;....a ooT-ma in some of the popu lous centers of Europe so dangerous that such books are tnorougniy iumi gated at the public expense in some cities, before they are allowed to be put on sale. Describing this pro cess the Springfield (111.) Journal says: "French authorities have se cured machines which disinfect the books at a high rate of speed. The books are fed into one end of the ma chine, drawn automatically through one cabinet where air currents sepa rate the leaves and draw every bit of HiT-t from them: they then pass into the main disinfecting cabinet; a third compartment ones mo ioo by hot air application and an ingen ious endless chain carrier takes the books out and piles them on a bench." That there la danger lurking in school books which have passed through many hands during the school year, and are stowed away in musty closets or corners during the hot vacation season " Is a reasonable supposition. It is poor economy to buy soiled and half-worn school books, for this and other reasons. The few cents saved in the purchase would multiply into dollars very fast, if by the purchase of such books, 'any one of the contagious diseases were brought Into a family through the germs that found In them a snug har bor through the Summer. -r a rhlld's Dride In his or her school books and the attachment formed for them are features or sunooi life of which children should not be deprived. What child could regard, or be expected to regardan old texa book. fumbled and scribbled by a -.-o! i no- owner even if passably clean with the pride' and pleasure that comes from the ownership 01 a clean, fresh book upon the flyleaf of which his or her name Was written by the hand of father or mother? This, however, is a sentimental consid- nn that Anest not hold good upon the lower levels of great cities that swarm with the hair-ciaa, poony-iea children of poverty, unthrift and ir responsibility. These must have cheap which .means fwhere the dis- IJI'VJIV.'l " - trict does not supply, them) old books and soiled books, wherein possiDiy lurk the germs of "sarcoptes scabei" or some less common filth disease. Fumigation of such books by the French, .process, wbici ems to be cheap, speedy and thorough, will prob ably commend itself to health authori ties in American cities. The Journal, nhnvn minted. nredicts that these school book purifying machines will soon be in use, where needed, in this country. T-ftm Tinimy rnmefl the neWS that the United. States Government is ne gotiating for the purchase of the Brit ish steamship Belle of Scotland, now discharging coal at the Bremerton Navy-yard. This ought to furnish an excellent nnnnrtunltv for the newly or ganized Merchant Marine League, at Seattle, to get in some ertective rworjt for "the old flag and an appropria tion." The league should immediate ly get out an Injunction, habeas cor pus, hocus pocus, or any old thing which will stop the proceeding. How. can we expect our self-sacrificing and somewhat ignorant Datriots to get a ship subsidy from the Government if it is proved by actual aemonstrauoa that we can buy a ready-built mer chant marine at bargain prices? The offense is a serious one, and should be attended to immediately. The most overworked argument used by hn RiihKldv-Keekers In the past two years was that which placed our fleet at the mercy of a foreign ioe Decause we had an insufficient fleet pf colliers, and now to have colliers offered at bargain prices is certainly distressing In the extreme for our patriots who are seeking to simultaneousty restore) the flag to the seas and Increase the Treasury deficiency. The statute of limitations has freed Mr. Gallagher, the Chief San Fran cisco boodler under Ruef and Schmltz, and it is now expected that his princi pals will be permitted to escape in the same way. A-San Francisco dispatch states that "the net result of all. the fireworks in court for three years is the conviction of one small Supervisor, who refused to abide by an immunity contract." Thus far. Supervisor Cof fey, who refused to accept Heney's bribe of immunity, is the only one of the gang of bo'odlers who has reached Drison. There have been many strange features in connection with this long-drawn-out municipal, scan dal, and it would not be at ail surpris ing if the one lone convict now wear ing stripes would, in the end, stand higher in the estimation of his fellow men than any one else connected with the disgraceful affair. The applica tion of the acid test of time reveals a very thin coating on the gold brick that was sold to Mr. Spreckels. TViv ara hnldlna' a erreat celebration at New York, In the name of Henry Hudson; but partisans 01 verrazano, v.A Tfaiian n Qi.-iim tnr in th service of France, are ready with their ' proofs that verrazano sanea into i-ew jum not; tn ih var 1K24. pierhtv-five years before Hudson's "discovery' A mon ument to Verrazano is now to be .erect ed at tho Ha.rt.erv In New York. Dis putes about discoveries, geographical and otner, mane up many a. yae" history. The most remarkable of all was the luck of Amerigo, in getting a hemisphere, discovered by another, 1,1- rvi nnn m on t "Rut It's never been settled yet what white man first saw Mount Hood. The old trapper, Jo. Meek, used to say, nowever, mai wneu he came to the Oregon Country the place where Mount Hood stands was a hole in the ground. a 19-venr-old bov. son of respect able people in Eagle Valley, went to Baker City to see the sights in the re stricted district. When his money was gone he forged a check ana got ..; nhlch hn nnent for more beer. Now he will serve two years in the Penitentiary, ana nis parents win ennH the rlnvs and'nights in mental anguish. The blame In this oose can be divided between two parties tne man who sold the boy the liquor, which was his business, if he did break the law, and the father, whose business It was to teach his son these nitfalls and the examples that hang about them. The ouestion as to the Pole, "Who seed it fust and called it his'n?" doubt less, as the New York Sun hopes ana Via 1 1 AVAa will ara lone". le Crowded into the back pages of the newspapers, and Soon thereafter rorgotien. ceary, in h-ha acHmniinn of the world. aDDarent- ly is losing ground. There is not much sympathy with his plaint mat Cook knew that he (Peary) was go ing to the Pole, and that Cook, there fore, ought to have staid away. Heads of department's of the mu nlMnnl e-nv.rnment of the City of New York report their estimates for 1910. The estimates reacw the prodigious total of $1:3,000,000. It is $27,000,000 more than the expense of the present year. Opposition to Tammany is busy with these figures, for. an appeal to the people for a rebuke of Tammany's extravagance. In. a trial at Grants Pass of a man charged with selling hard cider which the courts have ruled is Intoxi cating the defendant gave the Jury a bottle as a sample, and the verdict, returned promptly, was not guilty. The attorney for the defense is needed in a greater sphere of usefulness. Traces of Jury tampering1 have been found in Chicago, and this Is Anno Domini 1909. This is, Indeed, a re markable discovery. More call today for "crowner's" quest law. Lots of fun in the joy ride between booze shops In the dizzy hours of the morning. Th mtomnhlla is too dangerous a machine to -be used except by expert drivers who have stamina enougn to keep sober. President Taft followed Roosevelt's policies in consigning Mr". Glavis to the Ananias Club. Mr. PInchot, of course, took notice Polk won first prize on county ex hibit at the State Fair because a woman did It, and possibly chivalry helped. The statute of limitations having run its course, Supervisor Gallagher can resume the bakery wagon. It is hardly proper to teach civic unrighteousness to High School frats In a negative way. ' You never hear of an auto party getting killed going to church on Sun day morning. Tho "rascals" seem to have worn out Mr. Heney. Thi3 is Amusement week in Port land, WHICH IS "EAST," WHICH "WEST" T. T. Gerr Relates a gtorr IUnstratln; Two Points ot View. PORTLAND, Sept. 17. (To the Editor.) .Th a sntreestion by-Governor Johnson, of Minnesota, that In a feeling of resent ment the people of "the West" should array themselves against those of "the annnnt- nf repent tariff legis lation, besides proposing the Inauguration of a -purely sectional am-auinom, e rise to another question embodied in The Oregonian's inquiry, "where does the n, w-t neein?" The .1191 CUU tin .. ... erstwhile patriotic declaration that there is no North, no aouin, no " West" requires a revision either by Its j ..h.r, which will insure the elimination of all reference to the East or the West as obsolete terms wneu nllorf to nlaces. As to airecuona, m.; still have their uses. . Time was when to speak of the Ori ent" meant something specific. It meant a definite place to the eastward of the i e fh world's civilization. since there was nothing to the West. But for some hundreds or years me ien.i "Orient" has been a mslsnomer, and it i i t.tinj.ttv sr. ffinra the United States became a recognized world-power. The time has ccune wnen. raaumuu n Ing taken possession-of the earth in its Ma.h fluorvhnflv havina: gone west after It was found that Cain got his wife "to the east of IDden, unui ino last" is clamoring for an open door into "the first." The phrase "The Orient" should be permanently dropped from our geographical lexicography. When a man i T" . a -vlaif to Jaimn or China and travels west every foot of the way to reach the orient, mo umo na . w-i.An nA furthnr reference should L 1 1 1 UF . ' - - be made to that shelf-worn character la the realms of mythology. All this is well illustrated by a story related to the writer by George P. Hol on vaqi-o naat a resident of Salt Lake, but who was the first white child born where Salem now stands 'way back in '46. Three years ago Holman was sit ting in the lobby or a isew mrs noiei when he heard a young man several times remark in a somewhat pompous tone of voice that he was "from the ttr . u. nnnAaB r ho onnAnl n.11 V V . n i. i . . . "II""' '- - - " proud of the fact that he had made the trip from "the West." evidently reeling that his listeners of the untraveled East would at once sit up and take notice, while they might, of a prodigy among those who were disposed to move about. At the first opportunity Holman asked him what part of the West he was from. "From Pittsburg, sir," promptly and proudly answered the man from the West, and his manner left a decided what-do-you-think-of-me taste in Hol man's mouth. But the ex-Oregonlan was quite equal to the startling occasion, and he countered as soon as he had recov ered his breath) by saying: "Is that so? I am from the East." "What part of the East are you from?" inquired the PIttsburger. "From Salt Lake," said Holman. "You see, I was born in Sa lem, Or., and lived there until I was 40 years old, when I concluded I, would spend the rest of my days in the East, .so I moved to Salt Lake, where, my home Is now." And amid the laughter of the lit tle assemblage, the man from the West executed a stately hike to the continu ous woods, so to speak. -- , The fact Is, whether the East is In 'the West or the West in the East, depends altogether . where you start from to go there all the result of the human race finally succeeding in "making both ends meet." T. T. GEER. COLORED POPULATION OF THE V. S. Details of Information Gleaned from the Cms Report. National Tribune. Washington,' D. C. The census Bulletin relating to the negro population of the United States is of the greatest interest All of the colored population are grouped under the head of "negroes" without attempt to differentiate those who have, some infu sion of white blood. The ,clties which have the largest number of Tiegroes are: Washington. D. C. 8,712 Baltimore 79.2.iS New Orleans 77,714 Philadelphia .' 02.01:5 New York City 60.6rt Memphis. Tenn 49.S20 Louisville, Ky 39.1.-.0 St. IXuis. MO , 35.51tf Richmond. Va. :f2,2!0 Charlestown, S. C 31,522 Chicago. Ill i ..0.1511 NR.shville. Tenn 30.044 Savannah, Ga 28,000 It will be a surprise to many to know how few negroes there are in the promi nent Southern cities. For example. 31,622 in Charleston, about the same in the great city of St. Louis with its 600.000 population. Even in New Orleans, which we are led to believe overflows with negroes, there are but 77.714 In a total population of 2R7.104, or less than one ne gro to four whites. The states which have the largest negro population are: Alabama , ?2T'2?I Georgia - 1.034.813 Florida 230,730 Kentucky 2S4,iOH Louisiana M30.804 Maryland ' 2.15.064 Mississippi n07,:i0 Missouri la-rd North Carolina 4.4h South Carolina I52Ti Tenneasee Texa 620 "2 Virginia 600,722 The Northern states which have the largest population are: District of Columbia 88 .702 Illlnolo 13 nil Massachusetts i s,!? New Jersey ,M4 New York Ohio !'-901 Pennsylvania 150,548 The ten counties In the United States having the largest populations, the per centage of their population are: Issaquena, Miss., 94.0: Mensas, La., 93 5- Madison, La., 92.7; Beaufort, S. C, 90.5; East Carroll. La., 91.0: Tunica. Miss., 90.5; Washington, Miss., 89.7; Coahoma, Miss., 88.2; Leflore, Miss., S8.2; Boliver, Miss., 88.1. After all our talking about the negroes flocking to the towns it appears that more than three-fourths (77.-per cent) of them live in the -. country districts. That the negroes are industrious Is shown by the fact that 3,993,337 of them are en gaged in gainful occupations. This is al most one-half of the entire number, which is a very creditable showing for the race. The birth rate of the negroes has been steadily decreasing, and showed a marked reduction in the decade be tween 1880 and 1S99. It is still higher than that of the whites, but the death rate is almost double that of the whites. In 1900 the death rate of negroes was 30 2 per cent, while that"of the whites was only 17.3 per cent. The-total number of negroes In the United States according to the last census was 8,840,789. In 17!, the first census, there were 637.897 slaves reported; the free negroes would have carried the total up to nearly 800,000, showing that the negroes have increased about tenfold in that time, while the total population of the country increased from 3.026.214 to nearly 90.0W),000. The to tal population has increased about 23 times. THE SQUIB COLLECTTOX. Don't overestimate your capacity, es pecially -when 3 nil are looking for trouble. Philadelphia Record. He Does Mls Jumper ever make a mo at your club meetings? She Oh, dear. yes. She's fidgettlng all the ime. Baltimore American. Nan How Is poor dear TJ1 thla morning? Fan She looka dreadful. Nan Oh. I knew that: I'm asking you how ehe feel Chi cago Tribune. "He ' proposed to me last night." "And you accepted him of course." "No. I couldn't think of another irl who wanted him." Detroit Free Presa. Th Tramp Ah. mister, what would you do It you felt like you didn't have a friec ln the world? The Rich Man What would I do? Why I'd apply for a Job as baseball umpire, of course. Chicago Dally News. Country Boarding-house Keeper What time did he wish to ba called. Mr. Fiveper? Boarder At ha'-past five, please. C. B. H. K. Jes o. Wake me at ha'-pas' four, will ye. an' I'll be sure to have ye up in good season. Puck. VAST OCEAN DEPTHS AT POLE. Peary's Story Solves Big Problems of Arctic Sen and Land. Cyrus C. Adams, in New York Times. Peary has not only discovered the Pole, but he has also settled questions of enor mous importance relating to the geog raphy of the American Polar basin. Nansen's expedition on the Fram dis covered that, contrary to earlier opin ion, there was a deep North Polar Sea basin to the north of Asia. The Arctic Ocean has been thought to be a shallow sea, but Nansen found to the north of Asia depths exceeding 2000 fathoms, or 12,000 feet. It was not to . be expected that lands ' would be discovered rising from such great sea depths. Even vol canic .Iceland stands upon a submarine plateau with comparative 6hallow water around it. There is no deep water around any of the lands which have been dis covered in the Arctic; hence some physi cal geographers have said that all known Arctic lands rise from the continental shelf, and that there is no probability that land will be discovered beyond the point where the shelf ends and the sea bottom descends to oceanic depths. We see several references in Peary's report to the continental shelf. What is .the continental ehelf? It is an expression used by physical geographers to indicate the submarine platfoim surrounding most continental coasts and sometimes ex tending far away from them as a com parative level plain from 600 to 1000 feet, or even more, below the surface of the sea. This is the case far north of Europe, where Spitzbergen and Frans Josef Land rise from shallow waters. The Fram expedition told us a great deal about the conditions of the sea floor to the north of Asia. But how about the American Arctic Sea? We have known almost nothing. Nansen wrote two years ago that all we knew of the American Arctic did not exclude tne pos sibility of a wide extension of the con tinental shelf beyond the northernmost known islands of the American Arctic Archipelago, and that there might be unknown lands on this shelf In the unknown north. He thought It was prob able that some islands at least would be found in this northern region. The only sounding that had been made to the north of Qrant Land was by the Nares expedition, and this was In com paratively shallow waters. But Peary's report contains the record of three soundings from a little north of Cape Columbia to the Pole, and they are very significant In their bearing upon the probability of discoveries of land in that part of .the American Arctic. About 50 miles north of Cape Columbia he took a sounding that revealed the sea floor at a depth of 110 fathoms, or 660 feet. Not a few physical geographers maintain that this depth should be re garded as marking the limit of the con tinental shelf, but some accord even as much as 1800 feet as the limit between the shallow, waters of the shelf and the descent to oceanic depths. Some 30 or 40 miles further north, or at least before, he reached the S5th paral lel, Peary's second sounding gave a depth of 325 fathoms, or 1950 feet. As nearly as can be determined from the data Peary has given in this preliminary ac count, the place is probably not more than 80 or 90 mites to the north of the coast of Grant Land. At this dis tance from the coast he had certainly passed the utmost limit of the conti nental shelf and the ice upon which he stood was over oceanic depths. We have heard that Dr. Cook reports that, considerably to thp west of Peary's route, he saw some land on the western horizon to the south of the 86th parallel. If this is correct, there is land there, probably of no great extent, standing near the outer limit of the continental shelf. It Is not likely that the land is very large, for if It were it would have a tendency to modify the easterly drift of the Ice, which seems to have much per sistence. . . The last sounding which Peary reports was within five miles of the Pole, where all his wire. 1500 fathoms, was sent down without touching bottom. The depth of the ocean near the North Pole, there fore, exceeds 9000 feet, and the northern apex of the world is amid waters that descend to a deep oceanic basin such as those which Nansen discovered In the Asian Arctic. This is the first decisive proof obtained of the existence of great oceanic depths to the north of the American Arctic lands, though the short series of sound ings taken by the Mikkelsen-Leffingwell expedition seem to Indicate that the Bame conditions exist to the north of Alaska at a distance not very far from the coast. In Peary's long sledge journey over the sea ice in 1902 and 1906. "to the north both of Grant Land and Greenland, he saw no land. From his work on those occasions and his. soundings and advance to the Pole, this year, scientific men will undoubtedly think the Inference Justi fiable that in a wide segment of the American Arctic Ocean, to the north of Greenland, the continental shelf ends at a comparatively short distance north of the land, that the existence of any land further north, as far as the Pole, is high ly Improbable, .and though some small islands may yet be discovered rising from the continental shelf, it is not at all likely that any land mass of im portant area remains fb be brought to light in this segment of the American Arctic. This is one of Peary's greatest contributions to geography. Tho light that Peary has thrown on the extent of the continental shelf to the north of Grant Land Is of even more scientific value than his attainment of the Pole Itself, for this is really the most important question, of North Polar geog raphy today and is of much more mo ment, In a scientific sense, than the possible existence of unknown Islands on this shelf. Other scientific work of this expedition is sure to be welcomed as of much im portance. Commander Peary barely men tions these features, but they are of great Interest. Scholars have told of the lamentable dearth of tidal observations along these northern coasts. They are of much significance in their bearing upon other problems, and Peary now has a series of these'observatlons at widely sep arated points from the coast of Green land west to Cape-Columbia. Professor McMillan and the lamented Marvin ob tained a large amount of scientific data. Peary has brought Arctic sledging to Its present perfoction, and this story he has told .of his latest expedition is unique In the fact that it is largely de scriptive of the best planned, best or ganized, and best equipped party that was ever launched Into the Polar un known. Every detail of equipment, every duty of man or animal, ever pos sible contingency that could be provided against had been studied out and planned for in minute particulars. Next year will probably see Amundsen in the field, his vessel tight in the Ice north of Alaska, prepared for a drift of four or five years across the Arctic Sea, He will be equipped to analyze sea water and sea temperatures at dif ferent depths down to the ocean bed: to study the tidal waves and tidal cur rents: the winds and the sea currents to which they give rise; the quantity of air and gases in the sea and their effect upon sea life, and many other matters which have no sensational Interest, but some of which may. in time, be of much importance to the world if their study in the Polar zones may help to a better understanding of them in the habitable and commercial regions. One L'ae for the Pole. PORTLAND. Sept. 15. (To the Editor.) As President Taft does not exactly know what to do with the North Pole, which Peary has placed at his disposal, would you. perhaps, suggest to him, through your paper, to store away the Roosevelt policies there? They could then do no further harm. PH. WELLBORN. Life's SunnySide Most lawyers take a keen delight trying to confuse medical experts in the witness box in murder trials,- and often they get paid back in their own coin. A case is recalled where the lawyer, after exercis ing all his tangling tactics without effect, looked quizzically at the doctor who wa3 testifying and said: "You will admit that doctors sometimes make mistakes, won't you?" "Oh, yes, the tame as lawyers," was the cool reply. "And doctors' mistakes are buried six feet under ground," was the lawyer's triumphant reply. "Yes," he replied, "and the lawyers' mistakes often swing in the air." Phila delphia Ledger. When Representative Birdsall, of Iowa, was serving Wis first term in tho House he -was called, with the other Iowa Rep resentatives, into conference with the late Senator Allison on Iowa matters. Shortly before the conference Carrie Nation had been hustled out of a Senate gallery for making a row. Before the conference began Birdsall said to Senator Allison, very grave' and dignified and a stickler for dignity of the Senate and its traditions and power: "Had quite a little excitement' over in the Senate this afternoon." "What was that?" asked Allieon. who had been out of the chamber when Carrio was eliminated. "Why, they arrested Carrie Nation and took her out of one of the galleries." "Ah," commented Allison, ."for disturb ing the peace. I presume?" "No." Birdsall replied, "for disturbing the dead." And Blrdsail always wandered after that why he didn't get along with Alli son. Saturday Evening Post. "Ah." says the man with the parted whiskers, "when one stands alone in the night and contemplates the wonders of creation, how futile, how puny man seems! How vain, how puerile his hopes and longings, when he is surrounded by tne eternal silence of the universe! Has this ever occurred to you?" "You bet!" answers the man with the big scarf-pin. "He feels just as punk as he doe9 when he misses the owl car and has to stand on the corner an hour for another one." Chicago Post. When Dominlco Esposito was ques tioned in the United States District Court to test his qualifications for citizenship he showed a lack of careful coaching. "What is the Constitution of the United, States?" Esposlto was asked. "The biggest ship." was the reply. "What is the meaning of the Fourth of July?" "That is day Easta RiV froze over. "Who was George Washington?" "Georga da Wash was big Tammany man. Had much contract." "Is Governor Hughes a state or a Na tional officer?" "Yes. I dunno. He stop mucha horse) race. I guess he want Teddy's job." "Do you believe in anarchy?" "I dunno. Me from Sicily. Never heard of him." "Are you willing to take up arms at any time to destroy the United States?" "Any time what I can." New York Sun. An old physician of the last genera tion was noted for his brusaue manner and old-fashioned methods. One time a lady called him in to treat .her baby, who was slightly ailing. The doctor pre scribed castor oil. "But, doctor," protested the young mother, "caotor oil is such an old fashioned remedy." "Madame." replied the doctor, ' babies are old-fashioned things." Philadelphia Ledger. RAISING OF THE SEWARD STATTH Comment on the Great American Whoae Foresight Seeored Alaska. The raising at Seattle of the statue , to William H. Seward, through whose fore sight and wisdom the United States, by a payment of J7.200.000 obtained Alaska from Russia, continues to be discussed from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The New York Sun thinks that Seward's wis dom has now been thoroughly vindicat ed, and agrees with General William H. Seward, son of the dead statesman, that Secretary Seward was first moved to con summate the bargain by considerations of strategetical value of Alaska, and that under American control It could develop more rapidly and be more easily de fended. . , , . "When Mr. Seward visited Alaska two years after he had concluded the treaty with Russia." the Sun proceeds to say, "the appearance of the country outslda of Sitka, which, under Russian proprie torship was a forlorn enough place itself, seemed to confirm the opinion of Mr. Washburne. of Wisconsin, who had op posed the purchase of Alaska, that none but malefactors would ever live there, and constant wars with the savases might be expected. Mr. Seward, however, never wavered in his faith. He believed that the acquisition of Alaska would earn him the gratitude of his countrymen and be his chief title to fame, although he foresaw that 'It would take another gen eration to find it out.' It was the rich gold discoveries that made Americans realize how good a bargain Seward had made when he bought 600.000 square miles, some of it within the Arctic circle, for $7 200,000. In 1908 it was estimated that Aiaska had already contributed $12,000,000 to the National Treasury and had yielded; in gold, fur and fish upward of laoo.ouo. 000 to individual enterprise. After the goldseekers, the hunters and fishermen, came the miner and the farmer. Alaska will yet produce crops of more value than all the gold taken from its sands and gorges; in coal it contains known workable deposits extending over 1,2.: square miles. Indeed, its resources will not be fully comprehended for another generation, so vast is the country andi so backward are the means of communi cation." ' "Men who perceived that Mr. Seward had bought more than ice, and those who had scoffed at what he regarded as jils great work, his magnum opus in nego tiation, lived to see Alaska repaying Its purchase price many times over." says the Boston Transcript. "Tho Pacific North west was one point within the scope of his plan for expanding tho power of tha United States, the Caribbean Sea was tha other. He believed that the United States was destined to become a great republican empire, that its Influence should be fortified in the West Indies, as well as on the Pacific Coast. He could not persuade his countrymen to acqulesca In his Caribbean project, and his Alaskan triumph was won by that mixture of po litical management and diplomatic shrewdness of which he was an exponent, and even then he had to disarm opposi tion Dy appealing to the Amcricnn sense of gratitude to Russia for its moral sup port of the Union cause." "St. Louis. Mo., erected a statue to Thomas H. Benton," says tho St. Paul Pioneer Press, "because he foresaw not only the future maRniflcence of its West ern 'hinterland.' but also the magnitude of the trade with the Orient which would one day seek our Pacific ports. 'There Is the East! there is India!' he exclaimed, as. when advocating the building of a Pacific railroad, he turned and pointed the Senate to the West; and the words are Inscribed upon the. pedestal of his . statue. Seward's foresight as to the com ing greatness of Alaska was as true as Benton's concerning the traffic of the Orient, and has been more quickly real ized. It might be hard to find among his speeches an oratorical flourish so strik ing as Benton's, to inscribe upon his statue; but he more than equaled Benton, with whom he was contemporary, al though 17 years younger in that mixture of political management and diplomatic shrewdness by which great ends are woo,"