Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 13, 1910)
lO THE MORNING- OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1910. I"ORTI-AfI, OREGON. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Postoffice as Second-Class Matter. Subscription K&tes Invariably in Advance. (BT MAIL.). Dally. Sunday Included, one year .J8.00 XaJly, Sunday included, six month!.... 4.25 Pally. Sunday included, three month. . 2.25 Pally, Sunday included, one month..... -T5 Dally, without Sunday, one year. ...... 6.00 Pally, without Sunday, six months.... 8.-5 Pally, without Sunday, three month. . 1.75 Pally, without Sunday, one month..... .60 Weekly, one year 1.50 Sunday, one year 2.50 Sunday and weekly, one year. ........ 8.50 (By Carrier). Pally, Sunday Included, one year...... 0.00 Pally. Sunday Included, one month.... .75 i How to Kemit Send Poatofflce money order, express order or personal check on vour local bank. StampB. coin or currency re at the sender's risk. Give postofflce ad dress in full, including county and state. Postage bates 10 to 14 pases, 1 cent; 18 to 2& pages. 2 cents; 30 to 40 pages. 8 cents; 40 to 60 pages. 4 cents. foreign, postage double rate. Eastern Business Office The S. C. Beck witli Special Agency New York, rooms 48 00 Tribune building. Chicago, rooms 610 012 Tribune building. POETLAXB, FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1010. Jl'OTJU!11S WORD AS TO CITY DOCKS. J. N. Teal, William MacMaster, Herman Wittenberg and others, rep resenting the Chamber of Commerce and the Taxpayers' League, urge the iClty to go Into the (wharfage business cu.d they assert that Jlayor Simon should allow sale of $500,000 bonds for that purpose These three gentle men, accompanied by others, pressed through the State Legislature last year B. constitutional amendment that would permit the state t go Into the rail road business. They ere Just as Insist ent now as they were then and just as full of warnings about the "will of the people." Yet their railroad project was and Is impracticable and absurd. It would plunge the state into ruinous debt and burden property with heavy taxes. Their city docks project is equally dangerous to the city. The City Council passed the bond sale ordinance Wednesday without knowing how much docks are going to cost. Tile members were "lined up" for this new scheme of taxation and debt just as the legislators were last year. Now, after an Interval of fifteen months, the state railroad proposal is seen to have been useless and danger ous. Should the Cty of Portland en ter the dock business It will come to the same realization, only in worse degree, because It will not be able to turn back; whereas the state has dis covered the folly of th'e railroad scheme before going in. The Oregonian thinks It Is not too conservative about debt plans for up building the city. This paper has sup ported bond issues for larger water supply, for bridges and ferries, for parks, for schools, for drydock and for pilotage and towaga facilities. In each of those undertakings, the cost has been accurately measured in ad vance and there have be.en no doubtful plunges. But this dock undertaking will have no limit of expenditure nor do the gentlemen from the Chamber of Commerce and the Taxpayers' League mark any limit. It will add millions of dollars to the city's debt and hundreds of thousands to its an nual Interest payments. These gentle men would not dare to undertake an uncertain venture in their private business; yet they press upon the city to do this very thing. If they have in mind any sites r-r purchase by the city they Co not take the public into their confidence, and yet this is most important for the public to know. If they have no. such sites in mind, they are going at this business : .. a most haphazard manner. This Is a time for men to reason to gether instead of indulging. In high flown oratory or threats of the peo ple's supposed vengeance. The ven geance of the people will come home to the men and officials who make the mistake of buying for taxpayers a riR in a poke. This dock project is the most costly that the city has ever been called upon to consider. It ought to U thoroughly examined as to plan, site, cost, main tenance and earnings before it Is en tered. None of these things has been looked after. In its present unde fined shape it is foolhardy, and the wonder is that men. of business repu tation would dare to launch the city into it. The Oregonian is not making a "fight" against these men nor against their pet scheme. It is only making a plea for what it deems common sense. If they carry this project past the Council and the Mayor, they will be punishing the people of this city for many years to come. That ought to be something worth thinking about. KEEPrVG A SALMON AGREEMENT. The State of Washington has or dained closed season for salmon, be tween March 1 and May 1, in the Co lumbia River and its tributaries and in all waters and sloughs thereof below Celilo. The State of Oregon has es tablished the same closed season on its side. The two states have done this through mutual understanding, necessity for which was forced upon them by long years of conflicting reg ulations. Yet Mr. H. M. Lomtsen, of Astoria, secretary of the Fishermen's Union, undertakes to inform The Oregonian that there has been no such agreement or understandir between the two commonwealths so far as concerns tributaries of the Columbia River in Oregon Willamette and Clackamas Rivers and that the closing of those two tributaries has been trumped up by Upper Columbia River wheelmen for their own benefit. The Oregonian expects to see con flict between salmon 'interests of the Columbia River and its tributaries, just as long as there shall be salmon remaining. But this assertion that Willamette and Clackamas fishing should be allowed to open before May 1 that is. before the State of Wash ington permits taking of salmon to begin in its tributaries displays an unreasoning disregard for the comities that nearly two years ago brought the Legislatures of the two states into ac cord for the first time. Mr. Lorntsen's assertion will not hold with fair-tninking men and it certainly is disputed by the circum stances of the joint conference of the Legislatures of the two states and their enactments. The Legislature of Washington included all Washington tributaries in Its statute, and. while the same clause was omitted from the Oregon act in order ts l icify legisla tors from Clackamas County, who oth erwise would have wrecked the bill, the State Board of Fish Commission ers has asserted its authority under an earlier act to make tl.s Oregon regula tions conform with those of the neigh boring state. Mr. Lorntsen's contention, is wholly at variance with the best interests of the salmon Industry and with the tes timony of competent witnesses as to what the understanding with Wash ington was. Furthermore, Lower Co lumbia interests of the Oregon side do not sustain Mr. Lorntsen's criticism of the action of the Fish Commission and the Fish Warden In closing Willamette and Clackamas Rivers between March 1 and May 1. BREAKERS AWKAn, An organization known as the Pro gressive Republican League has been formed In Washington state to pro mote the Senatorial candidacy of Rep resentative Poindexter, insurgent. The league sent out letters to the various candidates inquiring whether they would expect to abide by the re sult of the Senatorial primary. If the league designed by this simple question to stir up a hornets' nest, it succeeded admirably, for it ascer tained beyond a question just how at least two of his opponents look upon Mr. Poindexter. John L. Wilson wrote a long and eloquent letter, wherein he- committed himself to abide by the "spirit and letter of -the direct primary law to the last detail." But, added Mr. Wilson: 1 deem It necessary to state that if It shall be shown that the Intent and spirit of the direct primary law has been violated by the participation of Democrats In the Republi can primary, then of course the election should go to the Legislature. Mr. Wilson knows, the Progressive Republican League knows, and every body knows that it is the intent and purpose of thousands of Democrats to invade the Republican primary and Vote for Poindexter. That is the game. The Poindexter crowd wants no questions asked and is trying in advance to insure Poindexter's elec tion by the Legislature in case the Democratic-insurgent-progressive scheme shall succeed. John E. Humphries, in his letter, declared that Mr. Poindexter. having already Joined the new party is not now a member of the Re publican party, and In the light I view it. has nothing to say or do with the direct primary election. There are rocks ahead for the Poin dexter insurgent band -wagon. ADVICE TO A BRIGHT BOY. The father of a boy 9 years old writes to ask The Oregonian for ad vice as to what books on ancient his tory his son 6hall read. The child has gone through the ordinary school books, it appears, besides "numerous other publications relating to the sub ject," and now he wants to get hold of something more satisfactory. In the course of his letter, which is printed in another part of the paper, the father speaks of his son's inclina tions as "prematurely developed." We do not agree with him. There is noth ing premature, or precocious, in a boy of 9 years liking to read ancient his tory. The subject is fascinating, and any bright boy would naturally be fond of It If he had not been spoiled by bad teaching. The reason why a taste for history is not more common among boys and men is because they learn to detest the subject n school, just as they learn to detest geography, literature and numerous other inter esting things. As for good books on ancient his tory, the world is full of them. Why not give him Plutach's Lives to be gin with? There s nothing better, nothing that will stir his soul more deeply or fill him with loftier ideals. After Plutarch he might take up a translation of Herodotus and then try some book like Arnold's History of Rome. Perhaps after that he would be ready for the narrative chapters in Grote's Greece, which are among the most fascinating ever written. Grote's narrative of the Sicilian expedition is a noble piece of tragic writing', and it has the supreme merit of being sim ple enough for a. boy of 9 or 10 years to understand. Very likely after the boy has read these books he will not need any more advice. He can then go alone on his delightful way through the paradise of literature. The writings we have named are not to be included among "boys' books." They are emphatically men's books, and that is why we have chosen them, for the wisest experience of the race proves that a book which is good for a man to read is also a good boys' book, while we all know that among the most Interesting books in the world for adults are two or three written expressly for boys. DOX'I JOSTLE. Despicable to a degree .is the spirit which seeks to "get even" upon ' a neighbor for some real or fancied slight, encroachment or annoyance, by means that depreciates the value of his property or makes untenable his home. The "spite fence" built to shut out the light from a neighbor's win dows and give a prison-like appear ance to his home; the barn with its disagreeable odors and noises placed maliciously in close proximity to the offending neighbor's front door; the unsightly poultry yard under his kitchen or bedroom windows are some of the occasional devices used to work out the mean and unneighborly spirit called "getting even with him." For these things the law offers no redress, and those who stoop to such devices are impervious alike to the shafts of adverse public opinion and Judicial reproof. These things being true, it 13 well to beware of the beginnings that arouse the antagonism of small minds, beginnings in which neither the one side nor the other is wholly at fault and which lead to consequences so disagreeable, not only to the parties immediately concerned, but to the entire neighborhood In which they live. In the country these unneigh borly differences take the form of boundary line disputes, the land in question often being insignificant in value. Yet such a dispute has not infrequently led to family and neigh borhood feuds of years' standing or ended in murder, the' penitentiary or the gallows. "When people walk close together, they should be careful not to Jostle each other," said a wise old farmer called upon to adjust a boundary line dispute involving a few feet of land which both disputants claimed and about which they were waxing ex ceedingly angry. Disregarding this friendly advice, the two men began "spite-work" tactics, one letting down the fence so that cattle got in on the other's grain; the other wrathfully closing the gap and mounting guard over it with his shotgun, until finally one Summer morning murder, was done on the boundary line and a term for manslaughter completed the story. In a matter recently before the Po lice Court in this city, the dispute seems originally to have arisen over a difference of eighteen inches across a fifty-foot lot line a total of less than seven square feet of land. Re flecting upon the proportions to which this yet unsettled dispute has grown, the worry, the heartburnings, the real Injustice suffered from a depreciation in property values, the neighborhood strife or feeling engendered and the material cost involved, we may well exclaim: "Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth," and repeat the counsel of wisdom which bids those who walk close together to be careful n-".t to Jostle each other. PAINT PRAISE FOR DIRECT PRIMARY. Senator Bourne's "speech" had much to say about the excellence of the people's rule in Oregon that planted himself and a Democrat in the United States Senate in opposition to the sentiment of the dominant politi cal party in this 6tate, through the Juggle of Statement One. But the "speech" made no mention of the spoils system In which Bourne and his reform followers have been careful to keep the dear people enthralled and as to appointment of Federal office holders. This omission was so glaring that Senator Bacon, of Georgia, called at tention to it and the oratorical Sena tor from Oregon confessed he "did not touch that phase of the subject." Further, the "speech" did not ex plain the reasons for the blind at tachment of the people's Senator from Oregon to the people's foe from Rhode Island, Senator Aldrich. The Oregon Senator admitted, during tariff legis lation, that Aldrich knew so much about tariff matters that he felt the need of no Ideas of his own. This has been confirmed by Collier's, the organ of the "uplift" forces with which the Oregon Senator professes-to be other wise affiliated. According to that au thority, Senator Bourne voted with Aldrich fifty-two times '. and against him only twice, and was absent from voting seventy-five times which was the most frequent absence of any Senator except Richardson of Dela ware. These two subjects would have been very appropriate for the "speech," though not altogether- so in the eyes of the political spoilsmen who are occupying Federal offices in Oregon, or who hope to "land" in such posi tions eftsoons. The people of Ore gon have seen the old game continued of rewarding henchmen and hangers on with the Federal offices of the people. There are some reforms, evidently, which direct primaries and Statement One cannot accomplish. Nor have di rect primaries secured for Oregon Senators in the National Capital a conspicuous standing or not! " le influ ence. Never before was Oregon's weight in National affairs so insignifi cant. FCLASKI AI SAVANNAH. The Polish patriot, Casimir Pulaski, to whom President Taft paid a touch ing tribute at the unveiling of his statue in Philadelphia on Wednesday, lost his life at the assault on Savannah by the combined French and Ameri can forces in the Fall of 1779. He was only 31 years old at the date of his death, but he "had been through adventures enough to fill several or dinary lifetimes. Born in Poland in 1748, he was still a boy when the revolutionary outbreak occurred, which ended in the partition of his country in 1772. Pulaski was one of the eight nobles to sign the articles of confederation which began the Struggle. While he was the most per sistent of all the Polish rebels against the overwhelming power of Russia, he was a brilliant and dashing parti san rather than a great commander. At the teginning of hostilities he was routed and driven into the Carpathian Mountains, where r.3 pa3ed a Winter In retirement. . The next Summer he took possession c the fortress of Czenstochowa, and when the Russians laid siege to it he defeated their forces so decisively that for . a mo ment a real prospect of success seemed to open before the Polish arms. It was delusive, however, like most other promises of good fortune which have heartened that unhappy coun try. The French, who had formed a' fleeting and inconstant alliance with the patriots, soon deserted them. The great Russian General Suwarrow but manoeuvered the factious Polish com manders disastrously, and presently the hopes which Pulaski's victory had excited disappeared completely. Pu laski's final exploit in this unfortunate war was to try to kidnap the King, Stanislas Poniatowski, who was in the possesssion of his country's ene mies. If the project had succeeded the sacred prestige of the monarch might have revived the patriot cause, but it failed. Pulaski and those who aided him were denounced as regi cides, nd those who were not put to death fled the country. The parti tion of Poland followed in 1772. Pu laski traveled first to France and then made his way to America, where, as President Taft pbinted out, he ren-' dered valuable service by organizing the first cavalry force the colonies possessed. His adventurous disposi tion fitted him admirably to lead the brave but not very well disciplined horsemen whom he gathered to his standard. At the head of Pulaski's Legion, as his troopers Avere called, he made his way to the South and took part in the desultory operations in the neighborhood of Charleston and in Georgia which preceded Clin ton's resolute effort to conquer that section of the revolted colonies. When the patriots laid siege to Savannah Pulaski went to their assistance. The Fall of 1779, with the Winter which ensued, was probably the dark est period of the Revolution. The colonies, to be sure, had defended themselves for five years against the British, but it was with with failing courage and with resources which now seemed almost exhausted. Wash ington had on paper only 15,000 troops. In reality he commanded no more than 10,000 or 11,000, and their equipment was pitiful. Congress was rent with factions. The various col onies were torn with mutuarjealousies and Arnold was already meditating his treason. Clinton, on the other hand, had a fine army of 30,000 men well equipped and in good spirits. Apparently he had only to, choose whether he would begin the final cam paign of conquest in the North or South. To finish it would be li:.e a holiday to his confident battalions. The defeat of the colonials at Savan nah decided him to overrun the South first and then the middle states and New England. Thus man in his blindness proposes, but a higher power turns his plans to naught. The Americans at Savannah were led by General Lincoln, who had ac quired "some reputation by his opera tions at Charleston. The French troops co-operating with him were under the command of D'Estaing, who brought his fleet from the West Indies for that purpose in September. Naturally Lincoln jpermitted his noble ally to direct the initial operations, but this concession was fatal. D'Es taing was an impulsive, dilatory man who could show valor in action, but was worthless In council. He began by giving the British commander twenty-four hours to make up his mind whether he would surrender or not. The energetic Provost used the respite to build fortifications .and call a band of reinforcements into the town. Almost defenseless when he was summoned to surrender, the British commander was now by D'Estaing's kindness master of the situation. He withstood a siege of a month successfully and in the assault by which Lincoln finally hoped to take the town he put the colonials and French to rout with great slaughter. Among the slain was Pulaski. This brilliant success decided Clinton to move his troops southward the next eeason and undertake that series of operations which met with scarcely a repulse until Greene was sent to op pose his forces, then under Corn wallls' immediate command. Greene urged Cornwallis gradually northward until he was fain to shut himself up in York-town. Thus the mysterious ways of Providence ultimately turned the disaster at Savannah into the dawn of victory for the American arms. Official denials of the report that there would be .no rate war between the Pacific Coast Company and the San Francisco & Portland Steamship Company over extension of the Harri man water-line service to Los Angeles were hardly necessary. In the old days, when Portland and San Fran cisco were the only ports of import ance on the Pacific Coast, there was always 'competition on the route. At the present time, however, establish ment of a direct line from this city to Southern California ports would be no more of an Infringement on the Pa cific Coast Company than the line from Seattle to San Francisco would be on the line from Portland to San Francisco. So long as the Pacific Coast Company does not give Portland a line to Los Angeles, there can be no reasonable objection to the San Francisco & Portland Company estab lishing the service. Aside from this, $10 for a first-class cabin passage from Portland to San Francisco is not a very attractive figure on which to start a rate war. The steamer Corwin, which for many years has enjeyed the distinc tion of being the first boat to reach Nome in the Spring, has sailed from Seattle and that Winter-locked gold center will soon have a few- months' communlcatk i with the outside world. While the arrival of the Cor win at Nome will be a big event in that far-off land, the return trips of the Nome steamers will be awaited with much interest at this end of the line. The output of the Nome placers has cut a large figure in the American gold supply. If this year's receipts are as large as anticipated, they will go far toward offsetting the heavy gold exports which have recently caused some uneasiness in financial circles. The Alaskan gold output for the past dozen years has in the aggre gate reached a figure so imposing that but for those discoveries the world's finances would have been in a much more strained condition than at the present time. The Government crop report credits Oregon with 476,000 acres of Winter wheat and Washington with 676,000 acres. Idaho is credited with 345,000 acres in Winter wheat. This is a total of less than 1,500,000 acres of Winter wheat in a region that at no time in the past ten years has had less than 2,000,000 acres in Winter wheat. The figures of the GovernmenJ, of course, do not mean that there is a shortage of 600,000 acres in the area sown to Winter wheat in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. It simply means that the talented farmers who make up statis tics for the Agricultural Department either do not know the difference be tween Spring wheat and Winter wheat or they are wonderfully careless in segregating their figures. A Linn County woman, applying for divorce after thirty-eight years' married life, says she had but a single dollar to spend in five years. This will make most wives sniff with con tempt at her lack of resource. She began wrong and kept it up. The woman left her baby in a go- cart while she joined a crowd, at a real estate auction ;one hundred yards distant. When she returned the boy was gone. A baby ought to be more valued than all the lots in the land. Spokane waiters to the number of hundreds are on strike, and one griev ance is, they are not allowed to select food from the menu, r-fost waiters, being on the inside, would eat else where. That Californian might have held back his four-unit business until the passage of the comet. - There is a good week's teupply of science on hand. Municipal Judge Bennett is acquir ing the wisdom of Solomon. He threatened a jail sentence on two women principals in a neighborhood row. Seattle streetcar outlaws are wiser than their' victims. A. saloonkeeper who carries a 1000 roll at 1 in the morning is tempting robbery. Why does not somebody organize a cometary meet for next Wednesday and, charge a dollar for seats in the grandstand? Booker Washington is the guest of Katherlne Gould, and no one ever sus pected her of color blindness. Automaniacs who interfere with the streetcleaners at night ought to be flushed, by accident, of course. The Seattle faster died yesterday. The local rasters resumed the habit Just in time. The Gohl jury recommended leni ency. He might be drowned instead of hanged. IS DOCK SITE YET SELECTEDf Should Not City First Find What It Wants and What Will Be Coat? Portland People's Press.. Regarding public docks, some people say a site for the dock has already been selected, and that some of the dock ad vocates know where it is, the price asked and everything else about it. Some Councllmen oppose the dock and otners xavor it. Mayor Simon continues strongly opposed to the scheme, saying that toOO.000. the amount voted by the people,, is not enough to do anything with. Of course, it is not possible that any one is trying to make any money selling a dock location to the city. Cer tainly not. It might be well for the com mittee to ascertain what a desirable dock site will cost, and how much money it will take to build the dock. It would be folly for the city to sell toOO.000 dock bonds without first knowing that the J500.000 will go around. . No business man would borrow $500,000 and turn it over to some one for a build ing purpose with the remark, "Do the best you con with it." That Is Just exactly the position the city would be in if .the bonds are sold without the Council and Mayor Simon first having ascertained that the $500,000 will be enough to purchase the site, and complete the building work. Accordingly a desirable site must first be found, and the price ascertained. Following this, the plans for a dock must be made, and the cost figured out. Then, if It is found that a suitable location adjoining the railroad terminals can be secured, and the dock built,, and ell for the $500,000 voted by the people, the sale of the bonds can be seriously considered by the City Council, and not before. LETTER FROM ANCIE.VT ATHENS Leaden Tablet Reveals Bit of Life of Old Qreek; Period. Scientific American. ' A little leaden tablet, tarnished, ugly and otherwise trivial in appearance, was sent a few years ago from Athens to the Imperial Museum of Berlin. On one side of It is some writing which only recently was deciphered with pre cise correctness by Adolph Wllhelm, an Austrian savant who lives in Athens. The tablet is the original of a private letter that was written about the time of the orator Demosthenes. The writer of the letter lived in a rural neighborhood and wished to send a commercial order to a town. The form of the address was: "To be taken to the pottery market and to be handed to Nauslas, or to Thrasykles, or to the son" (perhaps the son of the writer was meant). ??he weekly market, to which the Attic countrymen had gone to offer their produce and wares for sale, may be imagined as in progress. There the boy who was bearer of the letter was to find the stand or booth of one of the three persons to whom it was addressed and deliver it to him. The text of the letter says: "Mneslergoes greets you cordially, he greets your family with the same esteem and wishes them good health, and he says also that his own health Is good. Please be so kind as to- send me a mantle, either of sheepskin ot of goatskin, and let it be as cheap as possible, for It does not need to be trimmed with, fur. Send with it a pair of heavy soles also. As soon as I have an opportunity I will pay you." So much for the letter, to the motive of which the reader can point with as much precision as the author. Appar ently it was written in Winter, poor Mneslergoes having been surprised out in the open country by one of those tc.y snow storms, which sometimes, even at this day, cover the temples of the Acropolis with a mantle of snow. Therefore he desired to receive as quickly as possible the heavy and warm garment of the poorer country men, a goatskin, which could be bought for four and a half drachmas; and the strong soles which were worn under the ordinary sandals on the rural plains and hillsides. A good pair of the latter could be bought for four drachmas, as a well-preserved bill of that date shows. , A A noteworthy feature of this artless letter is the formula with which It be gins, the very formula that may be found us'ed in very numerous letters that were preserved by the Greek lit erature of later times. Even at the present day, every letter written by a rural ureeK Degtns with the same cor dial inquiry about the health of the person to whom the letter is written and with the brief information about the health of the writer. A "HOLD-UP" GAME IS SUSPECTED Writer Thinks Clsry Pipe Interest Ought to Be Called to Aecount. PORTLAND, May 12. (To the Ed itor) I read with much interest Frank Bollam's communication In The Orego nian of yesterday on the cement sewer pipe question. -It certainly is timely,' but only partly covers the matter. I am one of the 95 per cent of the taxpayers referred to by Mr. Bollam who desire to know fully the trouble and cause of this holdup by the City Council, who the holdups are and what is the color of their hair. There is not a sane person but knows that cement pipe is far superior to clay pipe for sewerage or for any other purpose of drainage. There is no better, time to clean house than now. Just as Port land has started growing, let us know who's who, and what's up, and then dig down and find out the inside motive. We might find a "nigger in the wood pile." Portland is going to have cement pipe. We want the best and at a mate rial reduction from the price of an in ferlor article. I cannot believe the City Council will attempt to make this downright holdup. The people will not stand for it. W. M. KILLINGS WORTH. Ed Howe's Philosophy. Atchison Globe. Women are modest enough until a doctor begin asking them questions. There are so many lazy men that prizes should be given for those who work. We don't believe the men look for second wives as industriously as they used to. In trying to get the best of it, every man is apt to be careless of the rights of others. Women think one of the best things that can be said about a man is, "He isn't hard to cook for." Let any man lose a good office, and become . poor, and soon he has the symptoms of an anarchist. A woman whose stocking doesn't wrinkle is said to be a good house keeper, but then how can you tell? You may have noticed that the preacher who Is opposed to circuses will risk a look at the street parade. If a man is willing to be a. husbana seems to be more important these days than if he is capable of being a good one. When ' there is a . fight in a small town in a prohibition state, the ques tion: "Where did the whisky come from?"' attracts as much attention as the fight. By the time a woman remembers the size of the glove, shoe, shirtwaist, collar, corset, hose and belt she wears, she hasn't enough mind left to be burdened with further statistics. A girl Is clever beyond her asso ciates if she' learns enough after leav ing school to pay back her father all that her school books cost. All girls start out to pay off a mortgage, but no girl ever does it Much Too Small. Chicago Tribune. Roosevelt for Depew's shoes? He couldn't get Into them with a shoe horn. ROOSEVELT CAN DESTROY TAFT Bnt What Would Become of Roosevelt and Republican' Party t New York World. Mr. Taft denies the report printed in a Washington newspaper that he has re ceived letters from Mr. Roosevelt "clearly indicating that he thoroughly indorses the present Administration" and believes that "the re-election of President Taft is the Republican party's duty." Such letters may never have been writ- t ten. but what other course is there for Mr. Roosevelt to follow? What excuse I could he offer for repudiating the Taft Administration? What would be his place in American history if he attempted to sacrifice his personal friend Taft in or der to gratify his own ambition? Those fervent Rooseveltians who expect the ex-President to turn against Mr. Taft pay a sorry, tribute to Mr. Roosevelt's sense of honor, decency and obligation. They regard him as capable of using all his political power as Chief Magistrate to nominate a friend for President and then using his popularity to destroy that friend in order to reach the White House again over the ruins of a wrecked Administra tion. The World is no great admirer of Theodore Roosevelt, but it has a better opinion of him than that. It does not be lieve that he would be guilty of the base treachery that some of his friends so ex uberantly proclaim. Mr. Taft is entitled to Mr. Roosevelt's heartiest support. There can be no ques tion about Mr. Taft's loyalty and devo tion to his predecessor. He has done his full duty by My Policies. He has tried to carry on the Roosevelt Administration to the best of his ability and has probably succeeded as well as Mr. Roosevelt him self would have done had he been elected for a third term and compelled to grapple with tariff revision. To be sure, Mr. Taft has broken with some of Mr. Roose velt's personal friends, but Mr. Roose velt used to quarrel with his own friends, as the "My Dear Maria" letters so elo quently testify, to say nothing of the Harrlman correspondence. In any case there is nothing in Mr. Taft's Administra tion for which a politician with Theo dore Roosevelt's record could Justly re proach him. Mr. Taft is not much of a politician, and Mr. Roosevelt could probably destroy him, but where would this leave Mr. Roose velt? And where would it leave the Re publican party? DRAWBRIDGES XEAH SEW YORK Even Here Government Will Not Ac commodate the Public. New York Times. (To the Editor) This morning 14 Erie main line trains and New Jersey and New York commuter trains were delayed from 20 minutes to one and a half hours at the Hackensack draw bridge by reason of a brick schooner being wedged in the draw. Several years ago the Erie, in asso ciation with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, the Jersey Central and Pennsylvania Railroads, took up vig orously with the War Department the question of having the drawbridges on the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers closed for an hour or two in the morn ing and an hour or two in the even ing in order that commuter traffic might be handled promptly. For many years, as Is quite well known, the opening and closing of drawbridges during the rush hours has seriously delayed the suburban trains. Fully 70 per cent of the delays to Erie commu ter trains is due to open drawbridges. The Government some years ago issued Instructions relative to the Harlem River drawbridges, but the traffic of the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers :i hardly 10 per cent of what it is on the Harlem River, yet the Government has steadfastly refused to put in effect such an order for these waterways. This is a rather serious matter to railroads carrying New Jersey commu ters, and any assistance you can give us toward agitating the subject I have no doubt will be thoroughly appreciat ed by the patrons of the railroads whose lines cross the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers. There is really not suf ficient traffic on these rivers to Justify taking the chances that commuters have to take in being seriously delayed as they were this morning. J. H. MADDY. New York,. May 4, 1910. SETTLERS BARRED ON RESERVES Complaint That O Applicants Out of Every lOO Are Denied Lands. VANCOUVER, Wash., May 12. (To the Editor.) I have seen in The Ore gonian from time to time communica tions stating there was land available in the forest reserves for homesteads, and that homesteads were being al lowed in the reserves. I have been in touch with possibly several hundred applicants' for land In the forest reserves, and believe the facts are that the applications of the settlers are denied in 99 cases in every 100 applications. If The Oregonian will invite the settlers seeking lands in the forest re serves and who have applied for these lands to make public the result of their applications, I believe readers of. The Oregonian will be shocked with the results of the settlers' attempts to get lands. Extend an invitation to all parties who have applied for lands in the Vancouver, Wash., land district for lands in township 4 north, range 9 east, 4 north and range 10 east and 6 north, range 9 east, and see the re sult. F. P. WAGNER. Reading for 8-Year-OId Boy. PORTLAND, May . 12. (To the Edi tor.) I am a father and have an only son who is aged 9 years, in the fifth grade, a great reader and is deeply in terested in ancient history. In my desire to encourage and assist him in his prematurely developed in clinations, I ask some of The Orego nian's interested readers to advise me regarding the proper or at least the most comprehensive works to procure for him. I have obtained both public and high school books used in our schools, be sides numerous other publications re lating to this subject, but they all seem more or less incomplete. In order to avoid the possibility, or probability rather, of having some one advise me to have him read the Bible, I will state that it was through reading this and Darwin's theory of evolution that my son became so interested in both his tory and natural sciences. P. W. P. A Sober and Prond English VHIagre. London Standard. At Steeple Ashton Brewster sessions, the report of Superintendent Scott said that there had been no case of drunken ness during the year, and that has been the record for several years past. The division has a population of 2500 people: there are 13' licensed houses, and the last case of drunkenness was heard of nearly six years ago. It -is believed that this is the only petty sessional division in England that possesses such a clean rec ord in sobriety for so many years in suc cession. An Idle Dream. Washington Herald. The funniest political suggestion xte have. heard in many moons is the one promulgated by some unnamed person to the effect that Mr. Roosevelt might be "shelved" by electing him to the United States Senate. x Human Nature. Atlanta Constitution. The Boston Globe says Secretary Knox "Is human after all." To be sure. He threatened to resign, but did not. LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE A bunch of merry souls gathered in the den of Ab, the cave man. A ten der young pterodactyl had been slain that day, and as they dined off the toothsome mess sly jests went round. Flint, the hammer man, told one on his mother-in-law; Jock, the arrow hewer, said that all the Cave City policemen were Irish; Hitt, the corn pounder, told of the fire sale In Jerusalem, and every fresh a n in broueht mit mar nf i, ter. Then Nip, the hunter, who had uoen vigorously sucking a bone, looked up with a merry twinkle in his eye. "I know whose o-rnnHmnl H i 1 T v dead tomorrow," he announced. noser' cried the bunch, springing from the floor of the cavern. "Everybody's," said Nip. "It's the opening of the Cliff Dwellers' baseball association season." Then everybody groaned. The Joke was so everlastingly old. Judge. A guest in a Cincinnati hotel was shot and killed. The negro porter, who heard the shooting, was a witness at the trial. "How many shots did you hearT" asked the lawyer. "Two shots, sah," he replied. "How far apart were they?" " 'Bout like dis way," explained the negro, clapping his hands with an in terval of about a second between them. "Where were you when the first shot was fired T' "Shlnln" a gemman's shoe in de base ment of de hotel." "Where were yon when the second shot was fired?" "Ah was a passln' de Big Fo depot." ' Robert Herrlck, professor of English at the University of Chicago, was talk ing about the curative power of the im agination. ""The Imagination is wonderful," he said. "I know a Chicago man who went last summer to Asbury Park. He, in a quaint way, proved my point. "He didn't reach Asbury Park till 10 at night, and, very tired, he turned in at once. As he settled his head com fortably on the pillow he said to his wife: " 'Listen to the thunder and hiss ot the surges, Maria. I haven't heard that glorious sound for 40 years. No more insomnia now!' "And, indeed, for the first time in three months the man slept like & log. But when he awoke in the morning ho found that the uproar which had lulled him to sleep was the uproar of a gar age in the rear of the hotel. The sea was over a mile away." Washington Star. "The venerable Countess of Cardigan, the author, you know, of that book of memoirs, thinks the modern girl is too athletic and hoydenish," said an Eng lish visitor to New York. "The Countess of Cardigan often tells of a young man who was drinking tea with a beautiful girl, when her little brother slipped into the room. " 'Mr. Mannering,' the boy asked, 'can you stand on your head?" " 'No,' said the visitor, laughing. 'I don't believe I can.' " 'Well, I can," said the boy. 'Look here.' "And he stood on his head very neatly in the corner. " 'Ha, ha!" laughed Mr. Mannering. 'And who taught you that?' The urchin frowned. " "Sister," he said, "told me I must never tell.' " Washington Star. One time Mark Twain met the late James McNeil Whistler, the artist. A friend having warned the humorist that the painter was a confirmed joker. Mark solemnly averred that he would get the better of Whistler should the latter attempt "any funny business." Furthermore, Twain determined to an ticipate Whistler if possible. So when the two had been introduced, which event took place in Whistler's studio. Twain, assuming an air of hopeless stupidity, approached a Just completed painting and said: "Not at all bad, Mr. Whistler; not at all bad. Only," he added reflectively, with a motion as if to rub out a cloud effect, "if I were you I'd do away with that cloud." "Great heavens, sir!" exclaimed Whistler almost beside himself. "Be careful and don't touch that; the paint is not dry yet." "Oh, I don't mind that," replied Mark, with an air of perfect nonchal ance, "I'm wearing gloves." Kansas City Star. Two California Cities. Houston Post. Pedestrian Weston says if he owned a house in Frisco and one in hell, he would rent out the one in Frisco. Los AngeleB, he declares, is worse than Frisco. If it were not for Chicago and Pittsburg, humanity's unanimous ver dict of Los Angeles would be that it is the meanest town in the world. In the Magazine Section of the Sunday Oregonian "THE STAR," A TALE OF THE COMET, BY H. G. WELLS This master of fiction never wrote a more fascinating story. It is intense from beginning to end and short. . A MOST BEAUTIFUL WIL DERNESS NEAR PORTLAND Spirit Lake and Mount St. Hel ens, where the Y. M. C. A. outing is planned for the coming Sum mer. WHY NOT MAKE DAIRY ING A PROFESSION? Facts and counsel for farmers of Eastern Oregon and Washing ton, by a practical dairyman. CHAMPION JEFFRIES DIPS INTO ROMANCE He tells of his visit to England and compares himself with John Ridd, the hero of ' ' Lorna Doone. ' ' SHANIKO'S TENTH . RAILROAD BIRTHDAY Most active little town in the whole State of Oregon today. ORDER EARLY FROM YOUR NEWSDEALER