THE 3IORXIXG OREGON! AX, THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 4, 1909.
8
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POKTtA-I. THlHSnAT. NOV. . !
THE LIQUOR WAR IX INDLANA.
Tfce State of Indiana presents a cu
rious and Instructive illustration of the
effect of the agitation and effort to
force prohibition anions people who.
while alive to the abuses that attend
an unregulated liquor traffic, yet have
jio (fitention of suppressing it entirely.
Last year Governor Hanly, a short
time before the general election, called
together a Legislature elected nearly
two years before, for the single pur
pose of passing a stringent and prac
tically prohibitive liquor law. The Re
publican party was In control of the
Legislature, and in the circumstances
was forced to assume the, responsibil
ity of the. act and its consequences:
yet many Republican members of the
Legislature protested and declined to
vote according to the dictation of the
Governor and the Prohibitionists. But
their places were supplied by Demo
cratic members, who helped to put
the measures through. These, how
ever, voted that way simply "to put
the Republicans in a hole." There
after they immediately acted with
their party. In the effort to defeat opT
ponents who were to be held responsi
ble for the legislation.
This proceeding completely shifted
the center of political gravity in In
diana last year. ' It caused the election
of a Democratic Legislature, the loss
to the Republicans of a United States
Senator, the election of Democratic
Representatives to Congress in eleven
districts out of thirteen, and the elec
tion of other leading Democratic offi
cials. Perhaps the reversal of the polit
ical attitude of Indiana on National
questions is of little' consequence. But
the liquor question in Indiana remains
as unsettled as before; and Indiana
will, worry with it yet hese many
years, till finally reasonable regula
tion and restriction, such as have been
established In other great states, will
prevail Jn Indiana.
The varied experience of other
states in this business ought to be of
tise to Oregon. It ought to afford les
ions to our people, but probably it
will not. Each state will have to
thresh out the contention for Itself, as
some have done already. Massachu
setts and Iowa and Connecticut are
conspicuous examples. Regulation,
and local restriction. Is the method;
not general prohibition, which always
Is futile.
SBCnONAX, WASHINGTON.
Any plan that might be proposed
for divorcing from the State of Wash
lngton a narrow strip of territory ly
ing along the Columbia River in the
counties of Benton, Klickitat. Skama
nla. Clark, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and
Pacific, would meet with the most
vigorous opposition from the Puget
Pound counties. Yet, from far back
In territorial days, the Columbia River
and adjacent counties in the State of
Washington have been continually an
tagonlzed and opposed by the Puget
Sound interests. These river counties
are rich in natural resources, and
have added much to the fame and
prestige of Washington. The Repub
llcan majorities they have returned
have more than once saved the day
In fierce contests which were all but
lost by factional fighting elsewhere in
the state.
The latest and perhaps most strlk
ing example of Puget Sound Jealousy
of the Columbia River Is shown in the
election returns for the Western Wash
ington Congressional fight. The best
efforts of the astute political leaders
of Pierce County, aided by the votes
of hundreds of others who believe In
fair play and party principle, were
Insufficient to prevent Judge McCredie
from being defeated In a county where
his majority should have run into the
thousands. Nor did the anti-Colum
bia River sentiment spend Its force in
Pierce County. The same impulse
that led to the merciless knifing of
McCredie in Pierce County was felt
In greater or less degree through all
the Puget Sound counties Interested
In the contest. Clallam. Kitsap, Jef
ferson and Mason, all safely Republi
can on most questions, cast large votes
for the Democratic candidate.
This wave of sectional feeling which
reached Its height In Pierce County
moderated as it moved south, and
throughout the Grays Harbor and Wil
lapa Harbor country a normal Repub
lican majority was given the Clark
County candidate. The river counties
responded nobly. It was in the Co
lumbia, Grays Harbor and Wlllapa
Harbor districts alone that McCredie
was saved from defeat. The Intensity
of this factional feeling Is best shown
In the vote of Tuesday, compared
with that of a year ago. In November.
1908. the late Francis W. Cushman, of
Pierce County, received a majority of
more than 1500 in Clark County, the
home of Judge McCredie, this, in pro
portion to the voting strength, being
the largest majority given Cushman
anywhere outside of Pierce County.
This year Pierce County reciprocated
for the great majority given its candi
date a year ago by defeating McCredie
by about 600 votes.
Last year the Puget Sound district,
with the loyal support of the Colum
bia River and other southwest coun
ties, elected the Pierce County candi
date by a majority of nearly 18.000
votes. This year the Puget Sound
counties fought the southwest candi
date so strenuously that his majority
will fall from 10,000 to 11,000 votes
below that given his predecessor, al
though the increased population, with
proper recognition of party principles,
should have given McCredie as large a
vote as that given the lamented Cush
man. It Is obvious that this affront offered
the southwest will not go unheeded.
The river counties, p.nd especially Clark
County, the home of Representative
elect McCredie, are increasing " in
wealth and population more rapidly
than any other portion of the state.
Gray's Harbor and Willapa Bay, which
vovo i,,uiiv heen turned down by Pu
get Sound political influence, and have
always had fair treatment irom mo
Columbia River counties, have always
worked In harmony with these coun
ties, and can be depended on to do so
In the future.
The members of the old "southwest
.nmhin." which was a power in
Washington politics twenty years ago,
are still ore the best ot terms, aajiu
voting strength of the new combine,
thus forced by Pierce County, is many
thousands greater than that ot the old
one. Pierce County leading, and Clal
lam anil some of the smaller counties
following, have marked out a sectional
line. The southwest may hew to mat
n in th. pnmlnr. Senatorial fight in
State, and if It should
do so, the knifing McCredie received in
Pierce County will rise to plague me
men responsible for it.
BATS AND RAT-TRAPS.
A m'ner at PendletOH it Is Dot
necessary to name It, since It bears a
false name says: , .
This much la certain, the Supreme V.ourt
will not autrer through the attacks ot The
Oregonian. That paper's record la too well
known. . . . The attempt or i no
i.i.!.rnra to break the
gonian 1 '
solemn pledges made their .constituents re
garding tne tsenatoranip is -
T . . v. . . -. Hellheratelv advised
Dcrr-'i. a i' ...... --
.uiiilie men to hreak their oatha Is well
qualified. Indeed, to pose aa a cenaor for the
Supreme Court of this state.
ti,... o rQ mere lies. If the source
... imnnrtnnt The Oregonian
would Vail them lies open, palpable.
gross as a mountain. Jiever nas xo
Oregonian advised men to Drra.
their oaths." nor even to break fool
ish promises, that they had no right
to make. As to promises aDoui tne
Senatorshlp, foolish men permitted
themselves to be caught In a trap.
Didn't you hear them squeal when
the realized the position they were
In, like rats In a corner?
Th. nroffnnian has made no attack
on the Supreme Court. It will make
none. It realizes fully tne emoarraEs-
ment of the position In which tne
court has been placed by Governor-cnntn,-
fhamherlalii. and bv the) Leg
islature that had been hoodooed to
elect him. The Supreme Court Is not
..ennnclh. for the rjresence of the
two interlopers who have been forced
Into it, by methods which were a part
of the work of "a great political re
form," forced over the emphatic vote.
repeatedly delivered, Dy tne people oi
the state.
A3 TO CERTAIN ANIMALS,
tt .om Incredible that two fami
lies In a civilized city like Portland
could have a series of lawsuits and
fisticuffs over a rooster, but the court
records declare that the thing has
h.nrwnoH and we must believe mem.
The Hatter-Bowman lawsuits began
with a difficulty over one lone, solitary
Plymouth Rock rooster. wnai iney
will end with remains to be seen.
Murder has been done for less.
Whenever an incident of tnis Kina
it renews the insistent .ques
tion of how much animal life and
what kinds ought to be tolerated in a
. : ... Un-oAo nf emirsp. cannot be
eliminated Just yet. The automobile
is neither cheap enougn nor sunu-ieni-ii
manarribln to replace them en
tirely, but every Improvement in that
admirable Invention Drings tne uwm
r.t fh. hnrw . little nearer. Within
a few years the dirt he makes and his
crazy freaks will become unendurablo
to urban nerves, and he win disappear
from the streets. His exit from the
farm will follow.
Dogs present a more difficult prob
lem. They are useless nuisances, and
many of those kept in town suffer
from disease. They also communi
cate disease to their human idolators.
But they are invested with all the
sanctity of fetiches, and. in spite of the
noise they make and their filthy hab
its, it will probably take a long time
to get rid of them. Portland not only
harbors numberless dogs of all de
grees, and cats -like the sands of the
sea for multitude, but it also derives
a bucolic etiarm from its cows. hens,
ducks and geese. The man who can
afford to keep a cow in his backyard
is probably prudent to do so, all things
considered, even if his neighbors suf
fer for it. Nor, in a young city like
ours, do the meek eyes of a gentle
bossy appear much amiss. But even
In Portland, youthful and Vural as
we are, it looks odd to see a flock of
ducks waddling and quacking through
the streets, while the nocturnal songs
of geese are anything but soothing to
the slumberer's dreams.
MORE SHIPPING FACILITIES.
Establishment of direct steamship
communication between this port and
Antwerp Is of exceptional importance
to Portland and the territory 'served
from here. Frequent additions to the
tariff burdens which the consumers of
the country are carrying and the per
fection of the trust system have re
sulted in such high prices for many
commodities that there is a sausiac
torv margin of profit in importing
them from Europe. With a frequent
steamship service from Antwerp and
other Old World ports, business of this
character could be worked up to large
proportions. There is nothing experi
mental about the project, for Portland
is already receiving large quantities of
merchandise from Antwerp by way of
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. By this
route the freight is carried from Eu
rope to the Atlantic terminus of the
Tehuantepec Railroad, thence by rail
across the Isthmus to Salinas Cruz, on
the Pacific, where It is loaded on
steamers for North Pacific ports. Even
by this unsatisfactory system, a great
saving is effected In the cost of many
ff the commodities imported.
Not all of the advantages of the new
line are confined to the business In
European ports, for the steamer enter
ing with merchandise needed by the
Pacific Coast consumers becomes
available for a return cargo of Pacific
Coast products. Since the start of the
grain, salmon and lumber industry on
the Pacific Coast, this region has had
to bear the burden of bringing here in
ballast the greater portion- of the ton
nage required for carrying our prod
ucls to market. The shipowner, re
ceiving nothing for the inward voyage
of the vessel, was obliged to make the
outward cargo bear the burden of the
round trip. All this will be changed,
with regular liners carrying cargo both
ways, and the producer and consumer,
who in this territory are to a large ex
tent the same, will profit by the
change.
Regular line steamers loading full
cargoes at Antwerp and discharging at
Portland, and vice versa, can handle
freight much more economically than
it is now handled by the Tehuantepec
route, which has proved such a vast
improvement over the old round-the-WrtfT,
cniitnir vessel route. The Te-
hiiantener Tlllte. however. IS WOrKin
xroii nr. to Its eaDacitv with freight be
tween the Atlantic and Pacific ports
.f th i-nitprt States, and. as coast
merchants and shippers are using this
route to a steadily increasing extent;,
there Is plenty' of business for the
American-Hawaiian liners, aside from
the foreign business, which would
properly belong to regular lines run-
nino- direct from the European ports.
The Pacific Coast will not participate to
the fullest extent m tne aavaniagea ui
steam communication with Old World
pqrts until completion of the Panama
Canal, but the advance from sail to
steam in the round-the-Horn trade is
of great significance, and every shipper
in this territory should make a special
effort to patronize tne line.
, BUT HE WILL "STAT."
. nr a ,-a hofnrfl -the election
in
A Jt n v. i. - . . . .
v-, -v..v OanHiHate Gavnor. plead
ing for the election of the entire Tam
many ticket, said In a speech at Sta
ten Island:
'just think Of electing me, if ju will, and
then surrounding mo with a hostile Board
of Estimate. Why. you would fret me to
death. I could bt stay there, and 1 would
not stay-there.
This surely would seem to have been
premature. Gaynor is elected, and
Tammany's Board of Estimate has
been defeated throughout; also Tam
many's District Attorney and Sheriff.
Tn Va nroWTlCA Of this "hostile"
Board of Estimate, will Gaynor "stay
there"? You may be sure ne win.
The Board of Estimate has control of
the Immense disbursements of the
city. But the Mayor, as executive of
ficer, has control of the police, and the
i- .mn-iiHnv tvtnt their "Der-
jjeupic M.. .. .. .
eonal liberty" should be interfered
with.
In New York. San Francisco and
Buffalo this Idea was specially mani
fest and uppermost. The people want
to do as they please, and" not be wor
ried and harried by law. In matters
that relate tothelr personal and pri
vate conduct.
A SYSTEMATIZED PARK PTAJt.
The project of adopting a systematic
plan to be followed In laying out parks
and boulevards - for Portland com
mends itself to the common sense of
the public. No European city would
dream of spending money for im
provements without first adopting 'a
prearranged scheme which could be
followed year after year, so that every
piece of work completed would fall
harmoniously into its appointed place.
Unless parks and other public works
are laid out according to an artistic
concept, they are apt to be neither
beautiful nor useful. The money spent
upon them is simnly wasted. It has
taken some Ame.-ican cities a long
time to liarn this lesson, but apparent
ly It has begun to sink in at last.
After squandering $100,000,000 ' on
erratic efforts to create a park system
without a. nlan. Chicago finally saw
her mistake. Competent artists iwere
.mniAvnil to annlv their Intelligence
to the problem, and the result was a
series of parks connected oy Douie
vards which everybody admires. Bet
. otnl thw are accessible to the
people of the city. The first aim of a
uv i net to he admired by outsid
ers, but to be a comfortable home for
its residents, and this Chicago nas at
tained. . Portland can attain it by fol
1 mi-1 n tr thp same method.
Other cities in this country have
Anna the same thine, -some of them
even better than Chfcago. As much
as twenty years ago Baltimore began a
great boulevard through tne neari or
the city, to connect Patterson anij
Druid Hill parks, with a connected se
ries of encircling driveways. Boston
Ai hotter vet Exnerts aeree that the
capital of Massachusetts has the finest
nark system in the world. It inciuo.es
nn.nnc nth.r o-ortrl thinsrs. a long
stretch of sea beach, which is free to
ih. Tii,hli and easilv accessible. Port
ontnvct natural crifts of hill.
woodland arid river front which few
cities can rival, but an intelligent plan
is needed to bring out ana preserve
their full ueauty ana pront.
THE GREAT PRIZEFIGHT,
The editorial hysteria which the
prospective fight between Johnson and
Jeffries excites in some newspaper oi
flees is an entertaining phenomenon
fine narjer declares with wild-eyed fer-
vor that this meeting of two stupid
and beefy brutes to pommel each other
In the presence of a bloodthirsty
crowd "takes rank over the North
Pole controversy, the Chinese loan,
the Ferrer incident in Spain," and so
on through a formidable list. This
shows how silly some people become
under frenzied . excitement. Why in
the world should anybody outside of
an asylum for imbeciles, think the
Johnson-Jeffries prizefight important?
The writer w-e have quoted thinks so
because, in his opinion, itwlll "settle
the question of physical supremacy"
between the black and white races.
Johnson, the reader may chance to re.
call, is a negro.
Prizefights decide no questions of
physical supremacy which are worth
deciding, and the bodily traits which
they cultivate and exalt are valueless
in the struggle for existence. A farmer
who can work all day in the field
without excessive exhaustion exhibits
physical prowess far superior ,to a
prizefighter's, and of a kind which is
incomparably more important to the
human race. Over-muscled creatures
like Jeffries and Johnson are abnor
mal specimens. They may not be vie
tims of the disease called acromegaly.
but they have escaped it only by a
hair's breadth. All they have gained
in muscular hugeness they have lost in
efficiency, and, what is vastly worse,
in Intelligence. The human race has
mastered the earth, not 6y muscular
superiority .over other species, but by
superior brain power. The instant we
push the culture of the body beyond
the point where it ministers to the in.
telligence, we recede from the human
plane and revert toward the status of
brutes. We fall out of the evolution
arv march and become degenerate,
Prizefights are to be condemned, not
because j-hey are inhuman, but be
cause they are unhuman.
Four men who attacked a non-union
bakery wagon driver during a strike in
Chicago last Spring were convicted in
Chicago yesterday and sentenced to
twenty-five years each in prison. A
few sentences of this character ought
to have the effect of checking the
somewhat common Chicago practice of
assaulting or killing men who attempt
to work without the union label. The
labor of the hands or brain is about all
that a good many thousand American
citizens have to sell, and when they
are prevented from selling it at a price
and in a manner that is satisfactory to
themselves, they are Inclined to ques
tion the belief that this is a free coun
try. The naxt time there Is a strike in
Chicago there will probably be less difi
ficulty experienced in securing men to
take the places of the strikers. The
right of a man to quit work has never
been questioned, but when this country
reaches a state of chaos where it u
unsafe for a citizen to accept a posi
tion that has been abandoned by a
striker, our boasted freedom becomes a
byword.
Republicans of Nebraska have
steadily asserted that the vote of their
state, cast last year for Bryan, was
no indication that the politics of the
state had shifted, but that Nebraska
had voted for Bryan simply to secure
for the state the honor of the Presi
dency. Several of the more Impor
tant counties, as Douglas, containing
'the City of Omaha, and Lancaster,
containing the City of Lincoln (the
latter the home of Bryan), reversed
their -customary vote for this reason
alone. It is noted now that they have
gone Republican again. Out of a total
vote of about 270.000, Bryan's plural
ity in the state was but 4102. The ap
peal to Nebraskans that it would prob
ably be the last chance they ever
would have to get the Presidency for
their state took thousands of Republi
can votes to Bryan; yet at the same
time a Republican Legislature was
elected, and nearly all other officials
of the state.
Now science- has undertaken to dem.
onstrate that the -oldest injunction
given to our forefathers for the pres
ervation of health, namely, not to
drink water with meals, is all wrong.
Experiments conducted by the physio
logical chemistry department of the
University of Illinois are held by the
professors to prove the digesting value
of copious draughts of water taken
while eating. One quart of water per
meal was the prescription, and the
subject thrived on it. The theory is
that water, by diluting the saliva,
causes the digestive fluid to assume
greater digestive activity. An anxious
world will now await a scientific test
of the food value of mince pie and dill
pickles, together with further light on
the disputed question whether hearty
meals before retiring are conducive to
health.
The Oregon Trunk Railway has filed
articles of incorporation at Vancouver,
Wash., for a railroad from a point op
posite Celilo to a point at or near
Klamath Falls. It will be forty-nine
years next month since the Oregon
Steam Navigation Company filed Its
original articles of Incorporation at
Vancouver. That company, in the
twenty years following its incorpora
tion, was a tremendous factor in the
development of Oregon and Washing
ton, and from a small beginning as a
steamboat line developed into the
greatest transportation enterprise in
the Pacific North-west. Let us hope
that this latest Vancouver incorpora
tion will enjoy an expansion equal to
that of the original company from
which grew the Oregon Railroad &
Navigation company.
You may depend, if Charles W.
Fairbanks shall go to China as Min
ister for the United States, he will
not set roaring war between two hem
ispheres by talk. Idle talk, and Indis
creet. He does make speeches, some
times; but they are kept in cold stor
age such a while before delivery, and
come forth in such an icy manner, that
you 'may depend they will not dis
turb the serenity of the world, much
less shake the earth, crack the zenith
and knock' the poles over. Brother
Fairbanks is the very man to succeed
the warmly loquacious Crane.
Mr. W. E. Critchlow, secretary of
the Oregon Prohibition Committee, in
a communication to The Oregonian
corrects statements made by Mayor
Rose, of Milwaukee, and then declares
that arrests in Atlanta, Ga., for drunk
enness decreased in one year 350 per
cent: As a mathematician, Mr. Critch
low is entitled to. the world's gold
anedal. '
One argument against Judge Mc
Credie's candidacy for Congress was
that he "owned two baseball teams in
Portland." One of them was a very
good team, too. But the other was
even worse than the Seattle, Tacoma
and Aberdeen nines. Would it have
htlped the Judge out over there if it
had been better?
The late election appeared to show
that those cities which had been suf
fering from a long spell of reform
wanted the other thing; and some of
the cities that had never been "re
formed" were loud for It. The voter
has a great aptitude for getting what
he finds he doesn't want.
Vancouver votes wet, and Clark
County dry. In Washington the local-
r option law does not permit the county
to enforce, or attempt to entorce, pro
hibition on the Incorporated towns
against their will. The result is that
law will be obeyed in both city and
county in that state.
.You can fool some of the people
some of the time; but there are some
farmers about Pendleton who have
not been deceived by the specious ar
guments of the Merchant Marine
League. See their anti-ship-subsidy
resolutions.
New York bank clearings yesterday
reached a total of $736,461,549. This
will necessitate the enlargement of
some of the checks which make fre
quent trips through the Seattle clearing-house.
Where did the Rev. Dr. L. R. Dyott
get his information that Elsie Sigel
bad not been murdered by a China
man or anybody, and that the New
York police had admitted it? Admit
ted what?
In proportion to the vote cast, the
majority for McCredie in the western
district of Washington seems to be
quite as large as the vote cast hitherto
in the district for Cushman.
Columbia County again votes wet.
Would state-wide prohibition make
Columbia dry against local sentiment
anddesire? And how?
There are mothers-in-law and mothers-in-law,
of course; but so are there
sons-in-law and sons-in-law.
Mr. Heney has at least found a
graceful way of letting go of the
bear's tail.
THE Sl'PREMB COIBT.
The Position la TVhleta It Has Beern
Placed by Political Jugglera.
Polk County Observer.
To the average American citizen, no
matter how rabidly partisan his politi
cal belief, the court of justice and the
public school are two of his country's
Institutions which he would protect as
far as possible from political influence
and control. It Is a high testimonial
to American citizenship that this desire
for absolutely clean and uncorrupted
courts and schools rises superior to all
personal ambitions and desires for par
tisan supremacy. Even In the most
heated and bitter campaigns In Oregon,
seldom has any effort been made to
ftrag the candidates for judicial offices
into the- midst of the battle. On the
contrary, the opposing elements have.
as If by common consent, been prone
to protect the dignity and sanctity of
the courts of justice to the greatest
possible degree, and the voters havte
chosen their Judges and Prosecuting
Attorneys without undue influence,
persuasion or Intimidation.
It remained for a Direct Primary,
Statement No. 1 Legislature and an as
piring politician in the Governor's of
fice to cast dignity and decency to
the winds and use the courts as trad
ing stock with which to carry out their
personal schemes. In the recent ses
sion of that body, the state courts were
played with like pawns oil a chess
board. Circuit Judgeships were created
or shamelessly bartered and traded to
make places for the Governor's politl
cal pets, or to reward the friends of
those Republican members who were
willing to "stand in" on the game.
Even the Supreme Court, itself, was not
Immune from the machinations of these
DOlitical Dlrates. Acting In open and
direct violation of the constitution, the
membership of that' tribunal was In
creased from three to five Judges, and
the Governor at once appointed two
of his favorite partisans to fill the
newly-created positions. It was a dis
creditable piece of business and one
which will yet arise to plague these
political buccaneers and scuttlers, who,
while sanctimoniously pretending to
uphold the will of the people, were In
reality setting the will of the people,
as exDressed In two elections, at
naught. '
It will be recalled that in two dif
ferent elections attempts were made
so to amend the constitution as to
permit the number of Supreme Judges
to be Increased from three to five, and
it will also be remembered that each
attempt was defeated by a decisive
vote. It remained for an initiative and
referendum, direct primary. Statement
No. 1 Legislature boldly to set aside
the will of the people and, in open
and direct violation of the constitu
tion, pass a' bill authorizing the en
larged tribunal. And It was done prln
clpally at the Instigation of a scheming
and ambitious politician, who well
knew that It was unconstitutional, but
who cared for nothing else than his
own selfish ends.
The Observer has long believed that
Oregon has reached a stage in its busi
ness and commercial growth where
more than three Supreme Judges are
needed, but It also believes that the
constitution of the state forbids any
Increase in the number of members of
that tribunal. 'It is our belief that the
recent appointment of two Judges was
Illegal; that the Increase was accom
plished by those who sought to serve
their own selfish ends, and who, know-
( ing full well that their action was not
In accord with the constitution, resort
ed to the sophistry and claptrap of
the demagogue and political trickster
In their effort to deceive the people
Into acquiescence. It Is the further be
lief of this newspaper that eventually
these two additional Judges will be
declared to have been unconstitutional
ly and illegally elected, and that the
way will thus be cleared for a' right
ful method of procedure In increasing
the membership of the Oregon court.
LINCOLN'S STRANGE DREAM.
Preceded Always Announcement of
Some Great War Event.
From the DISry f Gideon Welles, in the
November Atlantic. ,
Inquiry had been made as to Army
news 'on the first meeting of the Cabinet,
and especially if any information had
been received from Sherman. None of
the members had heard anything, and
Stanton, who makes it a point to be late
and who has the telegraph in his depart
ment, had not arrived. General Grant,
who was present, said he" was hourly
expecting word. The President remarked
it would, he had no doubt, come soon,
and come favorable, for he had last
night the. usual dream which he had pre
ceding nearly every great and important
event of the war. Generally the news
had been favorable which succeeded this
dream, and the dream Itself was always
the same. I inquired what this remark
able dream could be. He said it related
to your (my) element the water that
he seemed to be In some, singular Inde
scribable vessel, and that he was moving
with great rapidity toward an indefinite
shore. That he had this dream preced
ing Sumter. Bull Run, Antietam, Get
tysburg, Stone River, Vicksburg, Wilm
ington, etc. General Grant said Stone
River was certainly no victory, and he
knew of no great results which followed
from it. The President said (that) how
ever that might be, his dream preceded
that fight.
"I had." the President remarked, this
strange dream again last night, and we
shall, judging from the past, have great
news very soon. I think it must be from
Sherman. My thoughts are in that di
rection as are most of yours."
I write this conversation three days
after it occurred in consequence of what
took place Friday night, and but for
which the mention of this dream would
probably have never been noted. Great
events did indeed follw. for within a
few hours the good and gentle as well as
truly great man who narrated his dream,
closed forever his earthly career.
Uncle Joe Quo tea SaintPaul.
Boston Globe.
Just before the Taft party started down
the Mississippi, "Uncle Joe" Cannon dic
tated to a reporter the following answer
to a. question as to what he thought of
the fight the insurgents are making
gainst him: "Old Paul, you will recol
lect, if you refer to his journey, finally
struck an attitude and said: 'I have been
imprisoned, punished with stripes, met
with robbers on land and have met the
beast of Ephesus, but none of all these
could discourage me.' That is all." ,
However, as the old saying implies, abil
ity to quote Scripture isn't certain proof
of virtue. "
Aptest of Texts.
Boston Transcript.
"I regret to announce," said the sub
stitute oreacher. "that your beloved
.tnr ur. Pounder, is Indisposed and
will be unable to occupy this pulpit for
several weeks. Our- text this morning
i from Hebrews iv:9: "There remain-
eth therefore a rest for the people of
And he could not think why some of
the congregation smiiea.
HERE'S A REAL FRENCH DI EL.
Nobody Hnrt and Honor Is Fully Satln-
fle-d.
Paris Cable to New York Times, Octo
ber 27.
Challenged by M. Chevassu. a critic
whom he had attacked In a published ar
ticle, Henri Bernstein, the dramatist,
fought a duel at Prince Park today.
Neither combatant was injured.
It was raining so hard that the sec
onds had to load the pistols under um
brellas, and they walked, about examin
ing the ground with umbrellas raised and
trousers turned up well over the ankles.
Umbrellas were used to mark the meas
ured 30 paces.
When for a moment one of the com
batants M. Bernstein closed his umbrel
la and walked about in the rain. Pro
fessor Pozzi. the eminent surgeon, who
was assisting him, was afraid his poten
tial patient might catch cold and strongly
advised him to hoist his umbrella again
and not to run more risks than neces
sary. On arriving, the other principal
Chevassu in a tall hat and frock coat,
stopped for a moment to turn up his
trousers as he conversed with his doctor
and seconds. A little distance off, also
sheltered under dripping umbrellas, stood
Bernstein in a soft felt hat and lounge
suit, chatting gayly with Pozzl and his
seconds.
On the word being given. Chevassu
fired a shot which passed over Bernstein's
head. Bernstein, instead of firing, placed
his pistol behind his back. His weapon
was taken from him by one of his sec
onds and discharged. On being asked
why he did not fire. Bernstein shrugged
his shoulders and replied: "I forgot."
Henri Bernstein seems to have resented
the views of the .French dramatic critics
since the presentation of his latest play,
"Israel," In Paris in October of last year.
When this drama was first produced the
Paris papers expressed widely diverse
opinions of it. some finding it diffuse and
tiresome, while others praised it.
Henri Bernstein was born in Paris in
US'ib. His mother was an American, and
when he became of age he was sent to
Cambridee University, in England, to be
educated. He has produced more than a
dozen plays in the last two years, most
of which have been successful. "Israel"
Is now being presented in this city. r
Among Bernstein's most noted plays are
"The Thief." which had a long run in
Paris and London before coming to this
country last season; "Samson," which
ran all of last season in this city; "Apres
Moi," "Le Barcaii," "Le Detour," "Frere
Jacques," "La Rafale" and "Apres le
Deluge," which was recently produced in
Paris.
UNITED STATES PUBLIC LANDS.
Vast Domain, Most of Which Is Unfit
for Cultivation.
Bonds and Mortgages.
Seven hundred and fifty million acres
seems like an enormous quantity of land.
and It Is. It is really more than the hu
man mind can appreciate. But much of
this land Is of a character that absolute
ly unfits it for human habitation, as it
is in the desert and far away from any
water supply, while other portions are
mountainous and incapable of cultivation.
A great part- of this land lies in Alaska,
and the agricultural possibilities of this
region have yet to be accurately deter
mined. What little is known about it,
however, would seem to preclude any
hope of its ever becoming a great agrl
cultural region, but Its mineral riches are
incalculable, and so far have only ben
scratched.
The following table gives the states and
territories, with the amount of land
which each contains still open to the
public:
State or Territory. No. Acres.
Alabama 1M.713
Alaska 368.021.509
Arizona 42.7tSD.202
Arkansas 1.0H1.1S5
California 29.S72.4M
r-nlnrndo 23,Gl(6.0!7
Florida 414.942
Idaho 26.7S5.008
Kansas J,-1,':
Louisiana "-
Michigan .
Minnesota
Mississippi
" 1.7S8.705
42,791
Missouri ..
27.480
46.5.-.2.440
;i.074.fi.".S
Montana .
Nebraska
Nevada ei.ni.u.iu
New Mexico 44,ill,
North Dakota 2-3:i2
Oklahoma .
Oregon 16.957,013
Kr,.VAt. 6..-)lll.295
ir,i, 36.578.998
'w..hlnrton 4.635.001
Wisconsin - ,.,,-.-r
Wvomine 37.145.302
Total
754,895,296
Oaage Indian as n Financier.
Oklahoma News. ,
An Osaze Indian made a 10-cent pur
chase In one of Bartlesville's dry goods
stores, according to the Bartiesvllie- .en
temrise. tendering a $10 bill in payment
When J9.90 In change was handed to him,
he said he had given the merchant a J20
bill. The merchant found no J0 Dill in
the money drawer, but that didn t con
vines the Indian, who went out and re-
anDeared with all the Osages he could
assemble. They held a war dance, but
that didn't work. The Indian then tried
to employ an attorney, who insisted that
the Osage check his expenqnures since
coming to Bartlesville. He did so reiuc
tantly. Then his face underwent a look
of abject humiliation. He recalled that
he had purchased a J10 blanket, had given
his 20 bill in payment and received the
JIO bill in change. He apologized to the
merchant and offered to set em up.
Southern State Funds. In Bad Shape.
Nashville American.
Alabamar is said to be facing a deficit
of Jl, 000,000 in its treasury. Georgia
came so close to bankruptcy that it had
to resort to a near-beer tax. Tennessee
has no deficit as yet. but it is far from
having as plethoric a treasury as it had
a year ago. In the case of the latter
state it would surprise no one if the
funding board should soon be posting
off to New York to borrow money.
This condition is not encouraging, espe
cially as there is a debt of approximate
lv J12. 000.000 which must be funded
within the next three years. The bor
rowiner of money, if It has to be re
sorted to. will not help the price of
state bonds, and this will have Its ef
feet when the funding time comes
around.
The Law's Delay.
Springfield (Mass.) Republican.
It has taken 15 years for' the courts to
decide that Chicago must pay for cars
burned in the riots of 1894, whether or
not they were owned by the company on
whose tracks they stood. A Supreme
Court, having the last word, Is not apt
to show unseemly haste In saying it.
Mrs. Harrlman'i New Offices.
Chicago Record-Herald.
Mr.' Harrlman has opened an elaborate
suite of offices In Fifth avenue, New
York. In view of the S fact that she
might have secured cheap desk-room
somewhere, Mrs. Harrlman is likely to be
considered by Mrs. H. Green to be fool
ishly extravagant.
In Politics 28 Years) Loses $50,000.
New York Sun.
An ex-Tammany man who is running
as an independent in New York says:
"I have been in politics 28 years, and I
am $50,000 poorer than when I entered."
Is it any. wonder that 1minany has
abandoned so unbusinesslike a person?
In Great Britain, 31 Idle Per 1000.
Topeka Journal.
Great Britain's army of the unem
ployed is growing larger all the time
and now averages 31 persons to every
1000 of population. Just suppose simi
lar conditions prevailed In the United
States. 'v
Tariff Guiltless This Time.
Indianapolis News.
Anyhow, the tariff can't be blamed fol
the kind of hats women Insist on wearing.
Sentiment Out Weat Strong; for Govern
ment Inatltutlon.
"Ravmond" In Chicago Tribune.
In spite of the edict that has gone
forth from the controlling powers in
Congress that there Is to be no postal
savings bank legislation at the coming
session of Cytgress, and possibly not
until after the report of the Monetary
Commision on the central bank, there
Is every evidence that this phase of
the financial problem is to be exten
sively agitated this Winter.
At the same time those who have
studied the subject are aware of the
fact that the postal savings bank sys
tem cannot be adopted in this country
without some radical changes In the
National bank act, and such changes
should hardly be maue while the pro
cess of reforming the whole banking
and currency system is going on.
In eoliie into these financial ques
tions I have found more really popular
favor for the postal savings bank tian
for anythinK else. Part of this faTor-
able sentiment arises from pure ignor
ance. Part of it is honestly the result
of public observation of the banks
themselves In time of stress. snrne
part, unfortunately. Is due to the unfair
feeling that the postal bank Is opposed
by the bankers and capitalists, and
hence that it must be a good thing for
the people.
a
By far the most popular element In
the demand for postal banks comes
either from personal experiences or
from tradition of the calamities whlcn
have overtaken poor people from un
safe savings banks.
The savings banks ot Massachusetts.
New York and other Eastern states
have for years been conducted on con
servative lines and failures have been
rare. One finds, therefore, as I did In
New England, that the demand for pos
tal savings banks in that section is a
mild one. the only vociferous shouters
belonging to that class of people wno
never have and never will have any
savings to worry about.
As one goes westward, however, the
situation changes. In the first place,
the country is sparsely settled. Bank
ing facilities have been supplied to
meet most commercial needs, but dis
tance, instead of lending enchantment
to the view of a savings bank account,
tends rather to spending the money on
mall order stock, or hiding the surplus
In the ginger Jar In a dark corner of
the .cupboard. ,
Furthermore, many of the states In
the central and farther west have been
more than lax in the regulation of sav
ings banks, and the record of disas
trous failures Is unpleasantly large.
Tf the state west of the Alleghanies
and south of the Potomac had as good
savings bank laws as New York ana
Massachusetts the demand for postal
banks would diminish ' about one-half.
Bankers and financial theorists are
apt to misunderstand the indirect re
sults of a single failure. In getting up
statistics of losses, they ignore almost
entirely the element of delay. . If a
failed bank ultimately pays Its 'de
positors in full it is asumed no one
was hurt. The contrary Is generally
true.
Then the-e is the farmer class, which
is undeniably behind the demand for
the postal bank scheme. There are
thousands of little villages from Maine
to California w(iere the Government
has found it profitable enough to es
tablish a money order and registry
office. Few of these villages are large
enough to sustain a bank of any kind.
The village merchants can afford to
send their surplus funds to the nearest
bank, but the farmers' wives who make
a little pin money on their butter and
eggs, or the "hired man" of a prudent
tnrn and an eye on a farm of his own.
do not find it convenient to send their
pennies and silver miles away across
the country to be handled by some
stranger.
Postal savings banks, however de
sirable, could not be established In this
country without a serious disturbance
of existing commercial conditions.
Here is a little table I have compiled
from the last report of the Controller
of the Currency, showing the actual
banking business of the country on or
about July ir ius:
n -Vnmher.
Deposits.
J4.374.551.20S
3.47H.192.S91
2. 937. 129. 59
National 6-3s
Saving 1-408
State 11.220
rreii.r fnm riant Aa ...... 4Z
1, SC6, 964. 214
These deposits are Individual. That
Is. the figures exclaefe deposits from
the Government and the surplus re
serves of other banks. These figures
show that In proportion to their num
ber the savings banks have a stronger
line of deposits than all the other
banks put together. Manifestly, the
field of the savings bank Is so import
ant that it should not be disturbed by
Government competition unless there
are strong reasons for such a depart-
"Tt Is generally admitted that the
creation of postal savings banks would
increase these deposits enormously.
Bringing a savings bank home to the
inhabitants of the village sections
would undoubtedly stimulate the habit
of saving. The increased security af
forded by the Government would also
attract depositors. . Careful investiga
tors say that the postal savings bank
would probably bring increased depos
its or a billion or so, part being money
now hidden and the rest tne result of
Increased thrift due to the facility of
making deposits In the local postoffice.
Should Se n Good' Example.
New York Evening Post.
When it comes, however, to Mrs. Pank
hurst's justifying militant ways because
men have used force the answer must
promptly be that two wrongs make no
right Because men have torn down the
palings of Hyde Park and broken every
window in the main street of Winchester
to obtain this right or that privilege, it
does not follow that women ought to do
likewise. We look to them to set a po
litical example to men, as they do in most
other conditions of life. If they do not.
they are bound to find themselves gravely
criticised. We are glad to note' that Mrs.
Pankliurst refused to suggest or hint that
her methods were advisable in this coun
try they certainly are entirely uncalled
for.' and coujd. in our opinion, be pro
ductive only of harm.
Bringing Up the City Boy.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
A city boy is not doomed to failure
nor condemned 'by birth to pursue a dif
ficult path through life. He must merely
be handled with some knowledge of con
ditions and some consideration of the
fact that what might apply to a country
boy does not apply to him. The difficulty
... ... i. ,i,.f tin nttpmnt is marie to
too uiieu " " - r -
bring up the one after the manner of tlu
other. The parents perhaps were them
selves country bred and they fail to dif
ferentiate, between their own childhood
surroundings and those of their children.
The city is a poor place to . bring up
children, particularly boys. But it should
not be, need not be, and the future ought
to see the 'correction of the present ab
normal conditions.
General Howard's Empty Sleeve.
Springfield (Mass.) Republican.
The late General Howard will be re
membered by the youncer generation of
Americans as an interesting and forcible
speaker, charmingly unconventional in his
style and picturesque in his personality.
His "empty sleeve was always eloquent in
its remainder of those "iron days.' now
almost half a century gone In the fading
perspective of time. General Howard, on
account of his popularity as a speaker be
fore branches of the Young Men's Chris
tian Association and other Christian bod
ies, was probably a more familiar figure
in the last decade of his life to the gen
eral public than any of too surviyjae Civil
War Generals. .f : .' .,