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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1910)
lO 23j (Brevcoman PORTLAND. PRECOX. Entered aa Portland, Oregon PostofCice MM Gecuoci-Clasa &la.ttr. Bnbscrlptlon Bates Invmriablr In Adrflnoe. (BY MAIL.) Tal!y, Sunday Included, one year -48-00 Dally, Sunday Included. lr months.... 4.23 Dally, Sunday Included, three months. . 2.25 Dally, Sunday Included, one month .75 Dally, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Daily, without Sunday, six mqnthi 8.2 S Dally, without Sunday, three months. .. 1.75 rraily. without Sunday, on month . . .60 Weekly, one yoar. ..................... 1.30 Funday. one yer. ................. 2-50 Sunday and weekly, one year. ........ a.30 (By Carrier.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year...... 0.00 Dally, Sunday Included. 6ne month .79 How to Remit Send Postoffice money order, express order or personal check: on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postoffice ad dress in full. Including county and state. Postage Rates lO to 14 pages, 1 cent; 10 to 2H pages. 2 cents; SO to 40 pages, 3 cents; 40 to 60 pages, 4 cents. Foreign postage double rate. Bastern Business Offlre The 8. C. Beck with Special Agency New York, rooms 48 C0 Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 510-012 Tribune building. PORTLAXL). nUDAr, FEB. 11. 1910. I.CXI RJ KM BECOME KECESSARTg. The remark that the real remedies for the high cost of living are more Industry and less extravagance offers the only suggestion that can be of real value in this field of Inquiry- The Inquiry before the committee of Con gress will produce merely a mass of confusing details, which the committee will have neither the industry nor the courage to digest or sum up It is not a comfortable truth, to talk about more industry and less extravagance as the real remedies for high cost of living; and the committee therefore cannot be expected to go to the root of the matter. It will take an im ' mense mass of testimony, but reach no conclusion worth anything. It has often been remarked that the luxuries of one age become the neces saries of the next. This is true now to a greater degree than at any former time In the economic life of mankind. The "decent living" of today was a luxurious living not so very long ago. This, Inevitably is a great cause of high prices. It has an immense effect on the humbler industries, which lie , at the base of production. It creates desire to escape or to avoid them, and causes advance of wage service In the industries that produce neces saries, as well as in those which minis ter to luxurious desire. All prices rise, therefore, with increase of wants and with use of means to gratify them. Nothing else can reasonably be ex pected. Recently the trade journal known as the Technical World presented a list of things once known as luxuries or su perfluities, and very sparingly used, but now the people of the United States spend on . theni not less than 2,500.000,000 annually. Look at this schedule: European trips, $170,000,000; railroad ..pleasure trips and Pullman fares, $173,924,226; theaters and other amusements, $250, 000,000; yachts, $28,451,114; automo biles, $110,000,000; carriages, $55,750, 276; pianos, $48,000,000; talking ma chines, $16,000,000; ammunition and fireworks, $21,930,821; liquors, mineral and soda waters, $605,921,000; cigars, tobacco and smokers' articles, $358, 385,594: candy, $101,578,000; billiard tables. $?,222,922; perfumery and cos metics, $12,253,255; jewelry, $93,606, 443; imported millinery, $15,607,502; laces and embroideries (Imported), $33,611,010; sllk, $197,850,000; im ported toys, $7,206,423; fancy articles "not specified" (domestic only), $11, 961,513. The total here is nearly $2,500,000, 000 a year. No item in It that was not once deemed a "superfluity." Outside this list are all necessary food, clothing and other supplies, about which com plaint of high cost is made. The lat est thing is that the common broom for the house is going up to three; perhaps four, prices, because of scarc ity of broomcorn, of wood for handles, and higher cost of labor. OVERLOOKING THE FACT3. The Spokane Spokesman-Review, in objecting to The Oregonian'a comment on the terminal rate controversy, con tinues to Ignore unpleasant facts and at the same time keeps up' a pleasant flir tation with gauzy theories. Quoting The Oregonlan's statement that "water competition, even with the high local rates back from the coast, already en ables the Coast jobbers to send freight far inland at much lower rates than can be made by any all-rail route," the Spokane paper asserts: "It Is manifest ly unsound for The Oregonian to say that he railroads cannot afTord to carry transcontinental freight to Spo kane at terminal rates. This is con clusively disproved by their eagerness to haul freight 400 miles farther for terminal rates, for profits which are necessarily Jess than they would earn on business carried to Spokane at terminal rates." The Oregonlan based its ' assertion regarding the inability of the railroads to compete successfully with the water carriers on actual transactions." To be specific, we shall not cite the case of the Spokane drugdealers, hardware men, dry gods merchants, or any of the large numbers of Spokane jobbers "who ship Eastern freight by the water route to Portland. The Spokesman Review might plead lack of knowledge of the route over which their freight was moving. We shall, accordingly, take up the item of printer's ink, a commodity which moves In carload lots and is very desirable freight. The business records of the Spokesman-Review will show that the water route from the East offers so much lower rates than the rail route that the pa per saves about $54 a car by shipping its ink from New York to Portland by water, and thence to Spokane by rail. There Is no theory about this transaction. It Is a cold, hard, com mercial proposition that cannot toe ex plained away by all the quibble and subterfuge and sophistry that the Spokesman-Review can print in a cen tury. If the water route to Portland en ables the publisher to save $54 a car on his ink after paying the freight for a 400-mile rail haul after the Ink reaches Portland, is it not plain beyond the necessity of argument that Port land has at least the advantage of that 400-mile rail haul? Is It not equally plain that. In order for the railroads to secure any business that will permit them to bring loaded cars west of Spo kane to be returned with lumber and other Coast products, they must meet this water rate, or cease to do busi ness? Xo one questions the brilliant statement of the Spokesman-Review that, "once Spokane wins its fight for terminal rates, it will enter upon . an era, ui wuuuerLui irdaa expansion. I hhi must ultimately make it the largest city in the Pacific Northwest." As the only possible method by which these' rates could be secured would be by taking the big ocean lin ers up to the foot of Spokane Falls to discharge their cargoes, that "won derful trade expansion" must still de pend on the great natural resources with which Spokane has been favored. The sooner Spokane ceases this twad dle about terminal rates and joins with the Coast cities in a demand for lower rates from the coast ports to the In terior, the better it will be for -all concerned. THE TROtBLE AT ROME. Now. that the Methodists in Rome have discovered a way to embarrass public men who happen to visit that city, they seem disposed to make the most of it. Mr. Roosevelt Is to be forced to choose between "Protes tantism" and the Pope, as Mr. Fair banks did, and, no doubt, every pub lic man who appears Jn Rome here after mji&t take sides. There has not been such a grand opportunity in a long time for a bunch of irresponsible zealots to thrust-religion Into politics. Since Mr. Roosevelt is not a Metho dist there is no emphatic reason why he should seek out the Methodist school in Rome for a visit. ' Judging from the sense displayed by Its man agers . in the Fairbanks Incident it cannot be a very Interesting place. With the Forum, the Coliseum, the art galleries and all the other fasci nating, places and things to look at, one can hardly Imagine an intelligent traveler wasting time on that obscuVe little school unless he expects to win votes at home by doing it. On the other hand, we cannot imagine any Methodist voter in this country per mitting the fact that a man did or did not visit the church college in Rome to influence him. The cry that travelers will "show their loyalty to Protestantism" by visiting this intrusive little school is idiotic. If a person cannot see both the school and the Pope, and it seems he cannot, he displays infinite good sense in preferring the Pope. Religion does not enter Into the matter at all. The Pope is a historical figure. He Is perhaps the most Important personage in the world. It Is in very bad taste for the Methodist school In Rome to make it difficult for travelers of that church to call upon him. THE DEATH-DEALING TAIL. Scientific opinion from other sources does not support Professor Booth's prophecy of disaster and death from the tail of Halley's comet. The Cali fornia savant anticipates that most of mankind will perish in a month or two when the celestial portent sweeps across the earth. The cfemet's tali, containing cyanogen gas, will deal out death to all who breathe it, and since there will be nothing else to breathe, how shall we escape? Others, perhaps quite as wise as Professor Booth, do not forebode such sweeping; destruction. The tail may kill a few victims, it is admitted, but they will be selected with discrimina ton and their end will be easy. Cyano gen kills quickly and without much pain, whne the providence which pre sides over comets will undoubtedly see to it that only the unworthy and useless are smitten. Scientists offer additional comfort with the Information that no comet's tail, even the biggest, weighs more than an ounce or two. This quantity of gas distributed over the entire earth cannot kill a great many peo ple. It would toe unfortunate if every body should escape, for some are fully ripe for the harvest and it would be a pity if they were not reaped. Upon the whole we may properly enough ex pect that Halley's comet's tail .will purify the earth of a few persons whom there, seems to be no other way to get rid of decently, but, so far as the population in general is concerned, there is no occasion for alarm. MR. LODGE OJf THE TARIFF. People who believe that the world is ruled by iumbug may find some support for their faith in one of Sen ator Lodge's recent speeches in the relation between the tariff and the price of meat. He says there Is no such relation and confirms his opinion by citing the fact that we import no meat, while we export a great deal. Clearly he is right, because by no imaginable contrivance can a tariff on imports affect the price of exports. Hence, it Is impossible to reduce the price of meat, Mr. Lodge continues, by repealing the duty. The price is held up by a combination of brigands, he says, and "you cannot reach them through the tariff. I wish you could. If you could reach them through .the tariff, I should be most happy to see that duty taken off, but there is no use In undertaking to fool the people about it." ' Oommenting on hese remarks, the Springfield Republican aptly asks of what use the duty is if it does not affect prices. Of course, if the re moval of the duty cannot lower prices, the imposition of i did not raise them. If, when you abate a certain cause, you do not touch a given effect, it follows pretty clearly that the cause in question never could have produced that effect. Whatr-then, is the use of the tariff on meat? Why was it im posed in the first place? Why is it maintained now? It must have a use. We have discarded the old belief that everything in nature ls useful to man, but we still cleave to the opinion that every thing in the Payne-Aldrich tariff law is useful to somebody. What high purpose does the duty on meat sub serve? Mr. Lodue confesses that its removal cannot fool the people. Does he think its retention can fool them? The people have grown astute enough to understand that removing the tariff on meat will not lower its price, but they have not yet quite seen through the humbug of the belief that its re tention keeps the price up. That seems to be Mr. Lodge's position. There are a number of duties which Btand In the same dilemma precisely as that on meat. The duty of 25 cents a bushel on wheat and that of 15 cents a bushel on corn are examples. Ac cording to Mr. Lodge's logic the re moval of these duties would not affect the price of wheat or corn an atom, because we export those cereals and do not Import them. Why then retain them? For the same reason that we, retain the meat duty. While they do not fool the voter on all imaginable points, still they do fool some voters on some points. Hence It is best to retain them. Everybody sees through the silly figment that their removal would lower the prices of meat and bread, tout Mr. Lodge hopes the farm ers do not sea through the equally silly figment that their retention raises the price of wheat and bread- The duties do not make the workingman's daily food bill any heavier, but they bring the farmer higher prices for his wheat and cattle. When Mr. Lodge says you cannot fool the people by telling them the removal of the duty would cut down the price of meat, by "people" he means wage-earners. When, on the contrary, he believes you can fool the people by telling them the duty keeps ujv the price of wheat and cattle, by "people" he means the farmers. All Is fish that comes to his net. The in telligence of the wage-earners teaches them that the duty might as well stay where it is. The stupidity of the farmers. Mr. Lodge imagines, fools them into believing that their interest would suffer If it did not stay. Thus the precious duties on foodstuffs. In spite of their egregious humbuggery, are perfectly safe and can toe used for trading stock In the future as in the past. The farmers can toe whipped Into line for the tariff on ironware and cottons by threatening their tariff on meat. It is a lovely system and what ever we may think of its goodness, nobody can deny that it was made in wisdom. . CITY OF HOMES. Portland as a "City of Homes" has a reputation throughout the land. That there is small likelihood of this reputation suffeVing is evident from the details of the building per mits now being issued. In the month of January more than 250 residence permits were issued, and February is making an even better beginning. In the first seven businessdays of the month there were issued 66 residence permits of a valuation of $139,290, the total building permits amounting to $223,925. It is not alone in the number, tout in the cost of the build ings constructed that Portland makes a remarkably good showing. The average valuation named in the 339 building permits Issued in Portland In January was $1840, compared with an average of $1316 for the permits Issued in Seattle for the same month. Compared with the January per mits of 1909, there was a decrease of $798,460 in Seattle, while Portland permits showed a gain of $192,695. The figures on real estate transfers for the Bame month show Portland's total to be $2,328,802, With an In crease of $127,754, while Seattle with $2,246,220 for the same month shows a decrease of $182,699. The "higher cost of living" with which we are con fronted on every hand quite naturally must figure in the cost of building, but an average valuation of more than $2100 for the residence permits issued this month indicates a very good class of dwellings, especially when It is noted that the valuation named in the permit seldom if ever represents even approximately the amount which the house wilf cost when completed. Of the sixty-six residence permits issued in the first seven days of Feb ruary but one was for an amount in excess "of $7500 and but two for less than $1000. These statistics show that Portland is not only building more homes than ever before, but they also show them to be of a very good type. There is, of course, a close relation between the construction work for residence purposes and the business structures. The presence of one without the other would be im possible for home-builders of the class that dwell fn $2000 to $8000' residences do not assemble In cities where there Is no business. ' RIVER IMPROVEMENT ASSURED. , The Columbia River seems to have fared very well In the appropriation recommended by the House of Rep resentatives. It now seems reasonably certain that there will be available a sufficient amount of money to enable the work to continue without inter ruption. A dispatch received yester day from Representative - Humphrey reports a total of $2,643,000 available for the Columbia River .district. Of this amount $1,276,000 is for the Co lumbia and Willamette Rivers below Portland. While the improvement of the upper river is of great importance. It is from this lower Columbia im provement that Portland and the en tire Columbia Basin will reap the greatest benefits. With two of the finest water-level grade railroads In the United States leading down from the interior to tidewater at Portland, there is no longer any question of moving the traffic to the ship's side over the line of least resistance. Between this city and the sea there, still remains some work to be done before the river will be in first-class condition for carrying on to the high seas the immense traffic that origi nates in the rich region east of the Cascade Mountains. Work at the en trance of the river should be vigorous ly carried forward until there Is a forty-foot channel between Astoria and the sea- The appropriation which now seems assured will do much to ward accomplishing the end sought. Above Astoria the task is less formid able, but a thirty-foot channel Is nec essary to accommodate shipping that can enter the river when the channel over the river entrance has been deepened to forty feet, the swells at the mouth of the river making it necessary that a ship should have under her keel at least ten feet more water than safety demands in the river. This appropriation, which is of suf ficient proportions to admit of a con siderable increase in the depth ' of water, is of direct benefit to every pro ducer in the Inland Empire. Every thing that tends to the more econom ical movement of freight Is reflected in lower rates and correspondingly in- crease profits to the producer. Portland has spent large sums of money in improving the channel to the sea and now that we have been brought in closer touch with a portion of Eastern Washington, which in the past has regarded Columbia River im provement as exclusively a Portland enterprise, there will probably be less difficulty encountered in securing as sistance in the future. The law's delay is never more con spicuous than when it applies to the case of a confessed murderer, and by legal quip and quibble interposes time between his just conviction and pre scribed penalty. The Roselair case is In evidence of this fact. Here Is a' criminal who, without provocation, killed his wife in their lonely moun tain home in Washington County, hacked her body to pieces and then his rage spent went to Hlllsboro, confessed his crime and surrendered to the Sheriff. Nearly a year has passed since the bloody deed was com mitted. He was tried after frequent delays, convicted and sentenced to be hanged on February 11. Appeal to the Supreme Court has been allowed, pending which stay of judgment has been granted. So here Is this mali cious, vengeful creatures a self-confessed murderer successfully beating back the course of justice, entailing 'expense upon the state and bringing law and its penalty into disrepute. Dr. Mary E. Green, who died in Se attle a few days ago at the age of 66 years, had been active in her profes sion and in the philanthropy which attaches to the practice of medicine for more than forty years. She made a specialty of the nutritive value of foods, contended that povertyvls large ly due to waste and ignorance, and that the laboring man who is not well nourished is he who becomes the drinking man. Her views found "favor with temperance workers and employ ers of labor, and through them she performed an unquestioned service to humanity. Of her four children, two sons and one daughter have become educated in and are practicing the pro fession in which their mother won rare distinction. One of the most surprising things in a world full of surprises is the mar riage of a young girl to an old man and her retirement with him to a lone ly and practically inaccessible moun tain home. The surprise stops here, however, and refuses .to be revived when, a few months later, comes the news of the girl-wife's death either by open murder or through suspicion of poison. The Roselair case in Wash ington County is a lafe illustration of the ending of an ill-starred marriage by the first means; that of Mrs. Fry, in Curry, County, of the latter. Pity for the victims is repressed toy the thought that death was the least dreadful feature in either case cited. The provincial Parliament, now in session at Victoria, has decided to in terfere with the building of "paper railroads." In the future it will op pose the renewals of any charters for railroads on which no work has been done. This action of the Canadian lawmakers will be a hard blow on a promising industry in that country. In the past It has been a common prac tice for speculators possessing suf ficient funds to pay for filing the fran chise papers, to exploit -unnumbered miles of railroad and promote lan schemes that would have been Im possible without the aid of the gov ernment franchise. A Philadelphia dispatch says that "the shareholders of the United Gas Improvement Company at a special meeting, here today voted to cut a $9, 000,000 melon. They agreed to a 10 per cent dividend, payable in stock." This would indicate that the increased cost of living in Philadelphia might in part be due to the very high price of "melons." With the farmers organ izing food trusts in the country and the corporatipns raising $9,000,000 "melons" for the people in the city, .the ultimate consumer can hardly. re gard his future as hilariously pleasant. The usual Chinese New Year's fes tivities in New York have been robbed of one of their chief attrac tions by an order of the Police De partment forbidding the discharge of fireworks. This is undoubtedly a ser-r ious disappointment to many o"f the Orientals, who had awaited the glad new year with joy in their hearts oyer the prospect of removing their enemies under cover of the popping firecrack ers and thus beginning the new year Wjith a clean slate. The ways of the white devils have never been the ways of the Chinese. ..' The moonlight may be "faironight. love, on the banks of the Wabash, far away"; but it will be -noticed that it is the spotlight that is again shining on the Fairbanks of the Wabash. The distinguished Indianian with the Na tional reputation for frjgidlty would sit for a long tme in the Vice-President's chair without attracting one half the attention that he is now re ceiving in the seven-hilled city on the banks of the Tiber also "far away." Out of sixty-four candidates for teachers' certificates taking the exam-' lnation prepared by the State Board of -Education at Pendleton, but six are men. This, like the closing of a mul titude of country postofflces because no one wants to be postmaster. Indi cates that men are seeking the stur dier, more profitable vocations. f Let's see now if "the good people" at Seattle, who claim, as at Portland, to be the special friends and cham pions of the direct primary, can beat Gill In the run for Mayor, who ob tained the Republican nomination by a vote, greater than that cast for all candidates of all other parties com bined. Now we get down to something practical and understandable in this increased cost of living. A scarcity of broomcorn may send the broom up to the dollar mark. As the average housewife must have a new broom at stated periods, regardless of cost, there Is no relief in sight. Now is the time to help the poor corporations crossing the Middle West by writing to Washington for an un limited supply of public documents. Mail-weighing begins next week. A direct plurality primary bill, with trimmings, has passed both houses in Illinois. It had been supposed that state had about all the political object-lessons it could stand. With a comet cellar and a bag- of oxygen, one may escape the harrow ing tall of Halley's comet and its poisonous gas. "Home from Elba" was disastrous. The big-stickers should not ride a dead horse. Hermiston wants a state normal and Weston thinks it wants the old school restored. Roselair and his attorney are sim ply prolonging the agony. Binger Hermann will soon find what luck there is in comets. The Dletist. There was a fat woman. And what do you think? She learned in a paper That victuals and drink Were making her fat, so She went on. a diet (And gained twenty pounds She admits on the quiet)! Saturday Evening; Post. IDEAS ON PHESBXT DISCONTENT. Present Tarlit Represents Dominant Feellns; of Both Part Ira. Xew York Sun. So far as the causes of the increased cost of living can be gruessed at or ac counted for in good faith and without political contention, there is nothing of politics in them. The tariff, so im pulsively blamed, represents the dom inant feeling of both parties. The Democrats are as eager as the Repub licans to "protect" the farmer and to "protect" the interests of their districts or states. Occasionally a Democratic sage explains without a wink that he votes for protection as a- revenue measure. This may save his face, but It must be hard for him to keep a straight one. Republicans and Demo crats are tarred with the same stick. As to trusts and combinations, each party seeks to outbid the other in fire and fury against them. The economic argument of the in creased production of gold and its ef fect upon prices is unavailable to the Democrats. They long maintained that there wasn't money enough- m Still, the shoe pinches, and the party in power must expect to be the object of the cursings. People are grumbling. They want to find a visible and tangible victim. Perhaps Mr. Cannon will be accepted as a sufficient scapegoat for many miscellaneous resentments of In dividual and popular insurgence. The high cost of living is. however, one mark of flush times, which are tradi tionally Republican. There is a good deal of Democratic hopefulness in the air, but. looking beyond temporary re sentments and dissatisfactions, looking ahead, for instance, to 1912, does tl.e dissatisfied and resentful Kepubl'can yet see a Democratic party or a Demo cratic leader that seems worthy of pub lic confidence? The Republican growling at his bills and longing: with natural unreason for somebody to kick has yet a vivid mem ory of the long incapacity of Bryanlsm. Will the Democrats ever offer him something a little possible and sensi ble? . RIGHT TO "SPEAK OUT IN MEETIS'.' Cboi-f of CaniHdstra by Assembly Not Violation of Primary Law. GOLD BEACH, Or., Feb. 9. (To the Editor.) If the right of members of a political party to assemble and dis cuss the merits and fitness of would-be-candidates for office is a violation of the primary law, then let us disre gard that lrtw and proceed to business. The right of every American citizen to "Speak out In meetin' " is one ef the rights which he will not surrender. Few want to return to the old con vention system, but they also want a chance to publicly discuss the fitness of candidates whom they are expected to support, and weed out the undesir ables. How can we find out who is the strongest man for a particular office, unless w'e meet and compare notes? I know of an instance where a man who never paid a cent of taxes In a certain county a man who nominated him Belf, by petition, and because the man whom the people wanted failed to file his petition in time,, was elected, and the choice of the people was not voted for. As the assembly will act In an ad visory capacity, the men recommended by it must be nominated by the elec torates and they will lose none If their rights under the primary law. A majority of the Republicans of Curry County favor the assembly as a means of presenting the - best men for office. So, let us not stop to ask our Democratic friends whether we can meet and present the names of good men to be chosen for office. . J. HUNTLEY. The Manna of the Wilderness. The price of . beef and eggs being what it is, there Is a peculiar timeli ness in the Calcutta Englishman's learned and comprehensive discussion of the subject of manna. The English man recafls that Biblical scholars have for a long time been inclined to identify manna with the saccharine exudation from certain species of the tamarisk bush, which flourishes in desert places. In Persia the plant grows extensively. Herodotus speaks of the City of Collat ebos, whose inhabitants compounded sweetmeats of tamarisk honey and wheat, and today manna is a common article of food in Persia, and from there is imported into India. There has been a difference of opinion among investi gators as to whether the sugary de posit proceeds directly from the tam arisk plant or whether it is the secre tion of a certain insect that feeds od the plant. In any case, manna is found upon the tamarisk bush in the form of a white, crystallized gum. Why Shoes Don't Sqnealt Nowadays. St.sPaul Dispatch. Most every man and woman remem bers the shoes which squeaked when new. A few years ago , when a man wore shoes with soles as thick as those worn today, the first few weeks of their services made him think of an over loaded boxcar grinding through a un ion station. The squeak was agoniz ing. One good strong pair of boy's new shoes could put a school room out of business. "What has become of the squeak?" a shoe salesman was asked "The sale of most shoes are made from two pieces of heavy leather," he replied. "Manufacturers learned that by putting a piece of canvas, or a fber of some sort between these two pieces, the squeak would be eliminated. They did this and that's why the shoes don't squeak now." Collesre Girls Educate Themselves. Minneapolis Journal. Professor Ada PnmatftcW rionn nf Women Of th llnivPrsttv nf ATinnAanta has found that 70 out of 500 university girls work their way through college. There are 900 girls attending; the uni versity. Most of the girls do house work, and others are engaged as stenographers. Dean Comstbck is In cluding those who earned their funds by teaching last Summer. Two Kinds of Offerings. Kansas City Star. , A wealthy lay church worker in St. Louis said in an address the other day: "You men put in the plate as an offer ing to God a sum you wouldn't have the nerve to offer to a Pullman porter." Kansas) Claims m Wheat Kins. Baltimore News. Kansas claims the wheat king of the country. He is John Fike. of Colby, who last year harvested 10,000 acres at a net profit of $60,000. POMTICAl, COMMENT. Congress seems to be in no hurry about thos Taft policies. The President probably realizes now what it mo&ns to nave Con gress on your hands. Atlanta Journal. The trouble with insurgent Republican propositions at Washington Is that it takes time to determine whether -they are green goods or not. Pittsburg Gazette Times. Representative Davis Minnesota "insur gent." believes that reformed rules of the House would "tame" Uncle Joe Cannon. Perhaps they would, but would there be anything worth while left of the rules? Ietroit Journal. Has it come to bo easy to fool ail the people all the time? It is only necessary to declare yourself their friend and to abuse without rhyme or reason those whom they think their enemies. Xew York Times. There is only one conclusion. The people will have to continue to look to Republi cans for real reforms. There may be Re publican elements that will have to be put down before reforms can be accomplished, 'but It is Republicanism alone that Is pro gressive and responsive to enlightened pub lio opinion. Buffalo Express. AVERAGE WATER MAIN. 6-INCH , Shown by Cost of System, Mileage of Pipes and Needs, of Service. Portland has 261 miles of distribut ing water mains ranging from 4 inches In diameter to 30 inches." The cost of these mains, covering a period of many years, has been $1,815,700. as shown by the statement of ' the Water Department on December 31. 1909. Owing to Increased cost of labor and materials, the expense of duplicat ing: this distrbiuting system at the present time would probably be be tween 40 and 50 per cent higher than that sum. or near $2,750,000. an average of $10,000 a mile for mains of all sizes. This is about the present-day cost of laying a main of 8 inches In diameter. This average cost of $10,000 a mile, or $1.89 a foot, is important Just now in discussion of charter amendments proposed for the purpose of assessing cost of mains against benefited lots and' of relieving the water consumers, in their monthly bills, from paying for this expense. In theory the lot-asses-ment plan could be adjusted that land owners will pay for the average size main, for the water system In one con nected whole, a network of pipes cross ing and reinforcing each other. A lot that is served from a 4-inch main has the benefit of all the larger mains that begin with 30 inches in diameter and diminish through S4-inch. 20-Inch, 16 inch, 12-inch, 10-inch, 8-inch and 6-inch sizes , while a lot that taps a 12-incb or 10-Inch main has the same service as another more distant, supplied from a 6-lnch or a 4-inch. As the charter now reads, lots sup plied from a main 10 inches or more in diameter, get the main If it be a new one at the expense of water consum ers, while lots that draw from a main 8 inches or less in diameter are assessed for the cost thereof. This works manifest injustice against land owners supplied by a main 8 inches or less, on the one hand, and against water consumers on the other; while it affords unfair advantage to lot-owners who are served by a main of 10 inches or larger diameter. " . Criticism of the existing arrange ment and of that which preceded it sev eral years ago. whereby wattjr con sumers paid for all the distributing extensions, has been based on the theory that the land-owner should pay the cost of extending the city's pipe system to his lots or suburban tract. Many outlying tracts need only city water to make them r.vai bible for addi tions to the city, and valuable for spec ulation. Hitherto, owners of outlying tracts have escaped this expense and consumers have had to pay it. Large fortunes have accrued to lucky su burban speculators at public expense. In 1907 public sentiment revolted against this arrangement and amended the charter by initiative, assesing all such extensions against benefited lots by the district plan.. But, owing to the difficulty of defin ing benefited districts on account of network of pipes it was found diffi cult to make assesments, and contrac tors, uncertain of their pay, declined to bid. Therefore in the 1909 election the charter was again amended so as to charge the larger mains those o'f 10 inches or more to the water fund, leaving the smaller mains to be paid for as under the 1907 charter amend ment. Now the city is confronted with the same difficulty in defining dis tricts and inducing contractors to lay 8 and 6 and 4-inch mains as well as those of larger size. This brings the problem down to the present moment. ' The Water Department lays no mains of less than 4 inches diameter. It has some 63 miles of pipes of smaller size but they were all acquired with the purchase of private water plants in Albina and East Portland, which the city connected with its own system. The expense of laying these lesser pipes is not included in Ihe $1,818,700 total in the foregoing.- Neither does this, total include the outlay for the conduit from Bull Run nor for the pipes under the Willamette River nor for the tubes that fill the City Park reservoirs. This figure represents the sums paid out of the water fund for e distributing system. Ninety per cent of the distributing mains are cast iron. This material is found the most durable and satisfac tory. The cost of laying mains has much increase! in late years, probably as much as 15 per cent in the year just ended. At the Engineer's office of the Water Department the following esti mates of average cost per foot have been obtained: COBt.t COSt. B-lncb $1.43!16-inch $4.02 8-inch 1.8420-lnrh 4.04 10-inch 2.H024-lnch 6.13 12-Inch 2.7U 30-Inch 8.62 Based on these prices the cost of lay ing the city's water mains at the pres ent time would approximate $2, 750, 000. The mains now serving the city, to gether with present-day cost of lay ing them, are as follows: Diam. inches. Miles. Cost. 30 7.21 $' 315.0150 24 , 15.33 47.,OOU 20 8.44. 212.0O 15 l.liT 2.VU00 16 7.113 163.500 14 . R.II3 150.OH0 32 11.00 129,000 JO 13.15 14.1.500 S 34. 4S 127,000 102.7H 773.O00 4 50. 17 204.000 Totals 361.40 12.782.000 The other 63 miles ot small-size pipes are as follows: MIIes.1 Miles. 3- inch 2-54l-inch IO.jmj 2-inch l.7;-tncta. 3.00 2-lnch 33.90 Va-lncti 43 J Mi -Inch 4.62 1 -inch 3.421 Total $62.80 All the- latter pipes are in East Port land, 'most of them in Albina, where they were placed by private water com panies that sold out to the city. They are too small for a large city, especially to serve the requirement of adequate fire protection. In the general distribution system, 4- inch is the smallest size used and there are strong' practical reasons for using- mains of not less than 6 inches. For adequate lire protection even 6 inches is deemed too small by the National Board of Fire Underwriters. In 1906, engineers of the board made a very complete inspection of Portland's water system and recommended larger than 6-lnch mains In districts that ex pected to have sufficient water supply to fight fires. The engineers in their report to the National Board of Under writers said: A large part of the hydrants are con nected to mains of not more than six Inches diameter. While these hydrants common ly discharged fairly good quantities at the tests, some of them gave unsatisfactory re suits.. General experience with these small mains has fully demonstrated their inability to furnish an adequate supply for fire fighting purposes, under ordinary condi tions. Six-inch mains, when under consid erable pressure, well gridlroned and rein forced at close intervals by mains of larger size, may, when in good condition, prove satisfactory for fire protection purposes. But, when some of the controlling condi tions are unfavorable, it is practically cer tain that these small mains will fall to meet the emergency requirements. All cast iron mains deteriorate with use, but under the same conditions the small sizes suffer much greater proportionate reduction in carrying capacity. From the foregoing totals of Port land's main mileag-e and of probable cost of laying the mains at the present time, it will be seen that the average cost of the distributing pipes of all sizes today would be $10,000 a mile or $1.89 a foot. The actual cost has been nearly $7000 a mile, or $1.32 a foot. The cost of laying an 8-inch main at the present time about equals that of today's average cost of mains of all sires; while the cost of laying & 6-lnch main at the present time almost equals the average actual cost of the mains. This means that if the plan should be adopted of amassing suburban lots by districts on the basis of the aver age cost of all the mains leading the city's water up to them, the lots would be charged as for a 6-inch or an 8-inch mairv In Seattle, they are assessed as for a 6-inch main. By this plan, each lot served with water, would be charged between $60 and $90, that is, either $1.50 or $1.90 a foot for 50 feet frontage. ;Each block would be assessed between $600 and $760. This arrangement would lift a big expense from the water fund and en able a very marked reduction in water rates. In 1906, one-third the gross earnings from water rates were spent for extension of mains, most of the mains being through suburban tracts that were greatly enhanced thereby In value. When this big disbursement for mains was reduced by the amendment of 1907, water rates were reduced about one-third. In conclusion, it may be added that the 6-inch main just about equals the average size of all of Portland's water mains; also the average cost of all the mains and the average needs of all districts. It will be noted that 40 per cent of the main mileage consists of 6-inch mains. Should S-inch mains be laid hereafter as 6-inch are now laid In most extensions, the average coat of laying mains of all sizes would ap proximate the cost of 8-inoh mains. - PROTECT THE CHILDREN'S EYES, Xew York School Authorities Make Rules for Safeguarding Sight New York World. Statistics of the Board of Health show that more than 33 per cent of the pupils in thq upper grades of the ele mentary schools suffer from ocular de fects, and that this percentage Increases from grade to grade through the schools. The conclusion is that such marked increase in defects of vision is caused by the amount of close work re quired by the present curriculum, both in the school-room and at home. With a view to putting in practice the essential rules for the preservation of good eyesight, the women principals suggest that a label with the follow ing reminders printed on it be pasted in all schoolbooks and library books: "Your eyes are worth more to you than any book. "Safety and success In life depend on the eyes, therefore take care of them, "Always hold your head up when you read. "Hold your book 14 inches from your face. "Never read in a dim or flickering light. - "Never read with the sun shining di rectly on your book. "Don't face the light In reading, but have it come from behind, or over your left shoulder. "Avoid books or papers printed in distinctly or in small type. "Rest your eyes every few momenta by looking away from the book. "Bathe your eyes night and morning with pure water." These suggestions are worth keeping in mind by every one. It is a fact proved by systematic Investigation that the great majority of street accidents, resulting lri all sorts of serious conse quences, from loss of limb to loss of life itself, are due to the defective eye sight of the person injured. NOTES THAT ARE CURRENT. Friend Is It safe to send your stuff im a wrapper like that? Poet Well. I find ift always comes back all right! Punch. "He was once a member of the legisla ture, was he not ?" "Oh, yes. And eve since he has t?en living on the reputation, of the reputation he might have made."' Puck. Mrs. Jawback The doctor says I must sleep with my mouth shut. How can I get into the habit ? Mr. Jawback Try prac ticing it when you are awake Cleveland Leader. "There is Nebuchadnezzar eating- grass like an ox!" said one courtier. "Let's hopo for the best," replied the other. "Maybe he's trying to get even with th-a Babylonian. Beef Trust." Washington Star. Tom (who takes his meals at a hotel) Io you like your meals served table d'hote ? Dick (who patronizes a street waffle wagon) No; I generally take mine a la cart. Baltimore American. "Mister," inquired. Dusty Rhodes, "have you got any old clothes you don't want ?' "Xo, but here Is an old automobile you may have." "Thanks, but I have enough trouble supplying me own wants, without begging gasolene from door to door." t Louisville Courier-Journal. , Coalman (who has been summoned from tho street to a flat on the tenth story nn lift) How many hundredweight did you say. mum? Lady .sweetly Oh. I don't want any coal; I was only telling my little girl that if she kept on being naughty you'd take her away in your big black beg, but she's behaving better now, thank you very much. Punch. IN THE MAGAZINE ' SECTION OF THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN DETECTIVE CONNOR'S VALENTINE New series of stories, each com plete in itself. They vho read "Detective Connor's Christmas Adventure" can form a true esti mate of its heart-gripping quali ties. These are not detective sto ries at all, but tales of sympa thetic, practical interest in the "submerged tenth." They com mend themselves instantly. FIRST NEWSPAPER IN OREGON Historical . sketch of the Spec tator, established February 5, 1846, at Oregon City. This is a notable piece of work by. George H. Himes. It is of special interest to the pio neer stock of the Pacific North west, but the picture of life in the wilderness 64 years ago will ap peal to our new people. MEN WHO ARE TRYING B A LUNGER AND PINCHOT Personal side of Knute Nelson and other distinguished men o" either -house who will pass on the National controversy. SECOND PRIZEFIGHT FOR WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP In the series of notable ring con tests, the victory of "Tom" John son over a giant one of the most stubborn fights in history. ORDER EARLY FROM YOUR NEWSDEALER