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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1911)
TOT: MORXIXG OREGOTA. WEDXESDAT, 3IAKCJT 22. 1911. 10 rORTLAXO. OMCOl Cn;r-4 at rnrttaad. Grasom, aetoglce aa l--a-rn Matter. uaacxieUoa awatas Isvartably la Alnm CBT MAI 11 P!rr. tw4T tnloiad. axe ve'- .....I Iai:r. tjDr lortad. ss nwr.iha. . . Skadar Inclu'l!. tAraa m o n ha. J i-I. I lacudaU. an unMo... lliir. rt:a3ut Sualar. ana yaar. . . - . - witaaul losdky. ats maatfta... Pa:y. w?!aaut Sunday, taraa mot. L&a. 4 M . .71 ru 1.TS I al.r. amaaut Fondajr. aaa saocia.. vaar. eaa rr. ...... ...... Su4ay. tR yaar. .......... .. S&4s aj&tl waaaijr. eaa yaar. 1-W ET CARRIER) . PafTv. Pv,av. tnTntf'1. yaar. I::. Sundar tnriaua.1. osa month..... ."a Mow I Ranall sl paaioffloa ajaaar er4 r. asprasa ord r or paraoaal eha ae) ar lacal baak Stajnra. coin or crrscy at tna Mndwi r: o:a paioffica adlraaa la full. Urludis( enunlr ttl a:ata. P'atCo Ralaa iO 11 It :aa. I cant . IS ta 1 (.iml a casta; ! ta aO jaa. I casta; 49 ta AO aasaa, 4 cant. reci( poalaee SooVa rata. twn Boatawae Offlr.a Varra aa Conk ln Na Yrk. Hrmaawlcn. BuUdi&S. Cai ctfa auIMir. rOKTLAAD. Wi-DNCSDAY. XAKCH ti. BCG.Ua AXD TUB DEMOCRATS. Should the Democrats decide to un dertake some little revision of the tar iff at the special session, it may embar rass them to select a schedule to oper ate on first. There are so many duties rrylr.g for reduction that there will I urn attt-mpt would be self-destrue live. Caligula wished the Romans had only one nck amongst them. lie could then behead the whole people by one blow of the ax. But Insane as the monster was. he knew that his pious aspiration never could be real ized. The tariff has as many necks as the Romans, and however pleasant It would be to behold them all bleed ing at the same time, the most we can rrally expect Is to see two or three subjected to the knife. Which shall they be? Why not take sugar to begin wtthf Not only Is the duty on that article of food wholly Indefensible In Llf. but It has acquired Intolerable mil una by sheltering one of the most abominable of the trusts. The sugar trust has long enjoyed special favors from the Government, while It has systematically robbed the hand that fed It. While It waa gath ering a rich annual harvest from the protective duties on Its product. It waa bribing the employes at the Custom House to betray their country. Just how much money the sugar trust stole from the Government In this way will never be known. Millions have been recovered from It In the way of Ones nd penalties since the exposure, but of course there were millions more of which no trace exists. It Is said that the plunder at New York was but part f Its gleanings. A pretty penny was tored up by the thrifty trust at Bos Ion, another at New Orleans, and so n. If the accounts are true, wher ver the sugar trust had dut1-s to pay It Inaugurated a system of bribery. At Washington It lobbied unblushlngly for protective duties. At the ports of ntry It lavished bribes to evade them. But the kindly Government continued Its favors with most Christian pa tience. When the sugar trust took away Its cloak It made haste to be stow Its coat also. There never has been such an edifying example of turn Ina the other cheek as Congress has afforded la Its conduct toward the sugar trust. To many persons It seems as if t were almost time to cease ap plying the precept to return a kiss for .a blow and begin to handle the mean est of the trusts a little roughly. Is . the Government under any especial ob ligation to shower privileges upon a corporation which has broken every law that stood In Its way? When the Spanish War was over It eras discovered that the sugar trust had used our Intervention In Cuba to grab the best lands In the Island. While the soldiers and ths fleet were fighting the battles) of their country the diligent sugar trust was acquir ing real estate. When the mysterious transaction In the friar lands of the Philippines was finished It transpired to the amazement of ths American people that the sugar trust had ob tained title In some Inexplicable way to the richest of them at pries which looked very moderate Indeed. There was a law forbMdlng any corporation to hold more than 2500 acres In the Philippines, but to the sugar trust all laws look alike, and this one did not hinder It from grabbing and owning hundreds of thousands of acres. When one hears pathetic speeches to the ef fect that lowering the sugar duties will ruin the Industry in the Philippines, his grief may be mitigated by remom bertnc that eucar In the Philippines, precisely as in the United States, means the sucar trust. Why should the American people tax their food to heap up riches for this swinish crim inal? The sugar duties do not add a penny to the prtce of sufrar. so far as the pro ducer is concerned. They force ths consumer to pay more for his food. tut the Increase goes to tho trust, not to the Individual grower of cane or beets. Since the trust owns the refin eries. It can fix Its own prices In both directions, paying to the grower the bars cost of production and extorting from the consumer the last penny which the duty enables It to pile upon the natural price. According to a moderate eetlmate the removal of tho duties would cause the retail price of mgar to fall about onc-thlrd. Ths householder would obtain about thirty pounds of granulated sugar for s dol lar Instead of twenty or less as he does now. When we remember that the an nual consumption In ths United States Is more than 7.009.000.000 pounds, ths saving Is seen to be considerable. The removal of the migar duties would mean a decrease of mors than 1100. 000.000 ar.cually In the cost of living. To people who find the struggle for exis;ence Increasingly severs this Is no trifle. The repeal of ths sugar tax would Injurs no creature under heaven but ths trust, and even that ungainly fowl would not be wounded beyond re covery. On the other hand It would benefit ninety millions cf people. The opportunity of striking at It must look Inviting to the Democra's. Ths death of Jude J. K. Lewis, formerly Chief Justice of ths Supreme Court of Wsshicgton S'ate. and an active participant In ths formatlvs era of that state, took rlace at Los An geles. CsX. last Sunday. His name and activities recall the first Lincoln cam paign, the accession to the Presidency of General Grant and many of the in cidents of ths stirring political and Judicial times between 1S0 and ISIS. A fearless and aggressive man. he -lost out" In politics to the faction that opposed him, and sines Ittl had . fain a reaidsai oX California. Judge be a natural temptation to strike at " Sj ,uch .II of them and end the matter with main construc- one tremendous slaughter, but any ' K,M-J:hiMin- aewer-dinrin:. I Lewis wu tl years old at the tine of r.tm urn n. iiv uiwi ....- K ' his political activities waa contempo raneous for' some years with that of the late Judge Williams of this city. Jnda-e Levis' death removes one of the few appointees of President Grant political or judicial who "by rea eojm of strength" sunrlved to the pres ent day. MAYOR SIMONS KXTIRUUKJIT. Mr. Simon will retire from the Mayoralty of Portland with a notable pMArrf r, r ai.htvnmnt for his adinln- titration. He has given two years of the most painstaking and conscien tious service to-the public. He has worked all the time at the Job. He has not spared himself nor his pri vate Interests and personal Inclina tions In the endeavor to do his full duty. He entered the office reluctant ly and he retires cheerfully nd vol untarily. He thinks more ought not to be demanded of him by the public at this time. He rests on his laurels as a capable and thorough city ad ministrator. There were flaws here and there, undoubtedly. In the Simon administra tion. One finds fault with this partic ular feature or policy, another with something else. The public Is an ex acting taskmaster. It Is not very gen erous In Its commendation, nor always discriminating In Its Judgments. Statistics as to the material Im- garbage-burning and the like, do not appeal to the Imagination. Yet we see them all around us all the time. They are the monuments of a suocessfu business administration of ths city affairs. Does ths city want any other kind of administration? GRAVT THIS rKAN'CHI.SK. No cltlsen of Portland will be dis posed to deny that competition In ths supply of electric lighting and power for public and private uses Is a good thing. Nor will anyone say that Na turs was unkind when It bestowed on the country about Portland water power sites of permanent volume and accessibility. It was not Intended, so we assume, that they should be ded Icated forever to the scenic furniture of Oregon. Now comes the Mount Hood Rail' way aV Power Company and lays Its plans to build a railroad from Port land to Mount Hood and to utilise ths waters of the Sandy so as to bring light and power to Portland. Con structlon of ths railroad Is well under way; ths power plant on ths Sandy will bs completed In October; and an auxiliary steam plant at St- Johns will be ready for operation before May 1, Ths company is asking the city for a transmission franchise so as to distrib ute light and power throughout the city. The ordinance has gone through the usual preliminaries of discussion and revision by the Council and of valuation by the Executive Board: and today it comes up again before the Council for final action. The ordinance should bs passed without delay. The company has agreed to every condition made by the city and has undertaken to pay a fair gross earnings tax IH per cent. Nothing has been left undone, so far as can now be foreseen, that Is de signed to protect and safeguard the city. On the company's siae it nas already made heavy expenditures hers In development of Its properties and It has otherwise demonstrated Its good faith, and Its financial responsl bilitv. It Is an enterprise of the high' est Importance to Portland, and It deserves 11 proper encouragement and consideration. . THE AND NOW. The arrival of scores of colonists In this city thus early In the Spring re calls ths old-Ums arrival of intending settlers In the beautiful valley of the Willamette In the late Autumns of far away years. These homeseekers corns to a modern, wideawake, pro gressive city three or four days from their homes In ths Mississippi Valley, a little tired of the rumble of travel, but otherwise ready at once to engage In agriculture, horticulture, dairying or whatever vocation they are fitted for. Stepping off the train In the Union Depot, they are met by repre sentatives of commercial bodies who are ready with Information that is of special value to the stranger, and in a few hours they have chosen a spot for Investigation and are again on their way full of hope and promise. Those of ths former era came drag ging Into the Willamette Valley late In the Fall after a Journey of six months' duration, often beset by dan ger and privation. Halting their foot sore oxen and battered wagons in the street of Oregon City, or Salem, or awaiting In Portland the arrival of what little they possessed by flat boat from ths Cascades, they were literally stranded, not knowing which way to turn or what to do. There was liter ally no one to advise them. The few who hud preceded them knew little or nothing about ths country beyond the line of their Immediate vision; Winter was at hand and shelter even the shelter of ths traditional log cabin was hard to find. Not a few of them had left the graves of husband, wife or children by ths dreary roadside, and H was difficult under such condi tions to set up even temporary homes. But a mild climate conduced to their comfort: such work as was to be had waa cheerfully undertaken, and after a struggle of a few years stout hearts won and the foundations of the state to which these later Immigrants now come were laid deep and strong. The contrast between ths arrival of the early settlers and those who are now coming Is Indeed marked. It Is the contrast between traction by oxen and by steam: between a strsggllng village, the few streets of which wound In and out among fire-blackened stumps and fallen trunks of great trees, and an opulent city with miles of hard-surfaced streets stretching out In every direction between the halting of tired oxen and battered wagons In forlorn streets or by the roadside, and stepping from well-appointed tourist cars 'into a clean, airy", well-lighted railroad staflon: between "nowhere to go." though all ths beautiful wilder ness lay before them, and "somewhere to go" where opportunity Invites and neighbors abound: between tallow candles and electric lights; the camp fire with its flaring lights, uncertain and weird shadows and the glow of the genial hearthstone. Dear to memory Is the old, old time and big with promise: great In achievement Is the present, abounding In fulfillment anfl grand with still greater promise. Then we had ths cli mate and tho land and a "slates' mail" , nmvamanta that have haul enersetl- I r. - - - " ones In two weeks. The climate and the land we still havs and In addition thereto mall delivery every few hours, a well-established and ever-widening market with development of resources rising to meet it. Cities with all mod ern appliances In sanitation and In trade: cosy villages and thriving rural communities, served by electric rail ways and free delivery of daily mails; railway trains speeding to and from across thecontincnt to supply the de mands of our commerce and trade and over all opportunity beckoning, ever beckoning to homes and business, schools and social activities, content ment and prosperity. Then" is softly shrouded In a halo of romance; "now" Is gilded by glow ing reality. OIK WASHINGTON KRTESTHt. The people of Southwestern Wash ington are Justly Indignant over the defeat of their effort to secure good roads through a region where the topography of tho country Is such that road Improvement Is vitally nec essary to the development of their re sources. This latest slap administered to Southwestern Washington by the Puget Sound Interests is not, however, the principal reason for ths increased friendliness shown Portland. When the territory of Washington was carved out of "Old Oregon." nearly all people In the southwestern portion of the new territory continued to maintain their business and social relations with ths parent state. These people had always transacted their business in Portland and this city had always regarded them as entitled to the same courtesies and assistance that were extended to any of our neighbors on this side of the river. Portland loaned her dredges and worked hand and glovs wh Vancou ver In securing an Increased depth of water from tho mouth of the Colum bia to Vancouver docks. When the Government was slow about Improv ing the Cowlltx River so that steam boats could sscend It. private funds were secured In Portlsnd. and not In Seattle, to aid In the work. Portland has for the past five years been en gaged In exploiting the resources, not alone of Oregon, but of all that por tion of Washington that Is directly tributary to this city. In the East, ths stranger hears first of Seattle, then Incidentally of the Stats of Washing ton. In the East one hears first of Oregon, then incidentally of Portland. This Is satisfactory to Portland and to the people with whom we do busi ness. A man can secure more accurate and reliable Information about South western Washington and Its resources at any of ths Portland commercial organizations than he can secure any where in the State of Washington. Portland takes great pleasure in cir culating this Information. It Is for this reason that Portland has a stronger hold than Seattle ever will have on tho affections of South western Washington. But even the fact that these people have never yet been offered any good reason for transferring their trade from Portland to Puget Sound does not warrant ths treatment that they received on the road matter. The people of South western Washington pay their propor tion of the state taxes, and by reason of the superiority of their resources over those of soma other localities In the state their contribution to ths state government Is a large one. This alone should entitle them to some consideration In. such matters ss the stats road which was asked for at the last session of the Legislature. If Puget Sound ever expected to win any business away from Portland In a territory so situated as ths Southwest ern counties a very poor method was selected for obtaining it. WOMEN AND WORK IN nil FUXJS. The women of Nebraska who havs organized against doing field ana dairy work, on the basis of a recent court decision defining ths rights of husband and wife relative to work on the farm, are on the right track. Farm work, including milking, plowing, feeding and work In the harvest field, is entirely outside "woman's sphere." No woman, especially no child-bearing woman, can do this kind of work with Justice to herself, her children and her home. The man who exac.ts or even permits It has not progressed beyond the type of dullard depicted by Millet's picture. "The Man With the Hoe." That there are some kinds or out door work that are healthful for wom en Is true. Light gardening, bee-keeping in season, poultry-raising when proper equipment Is provided and work In small fruits (excepting straw, berries, which requires too much stooping) are among vocations which women may follow to a reasonable ex tent in connection with their house work when physically able, not only without detriment to their health, but a relief from the treadmill of housework. But the heavier work of the farm should be left to men as suitable and equitable division of labor. A BADGE rOB BOTS. From the point of view of the sa loonkeeper there Is decided merit In the proposed Walla Walla ordinance to compel drunkards to wear a special badge or button.- The button would bear a legend reading "I am a sot," or perhaps, "I am an habitual drunkard, beware of me." or something to that purport. As soon as a man thus deco rated entered a saloon the barkeeper would recognize his falling and decline to sell him liquor as the law requires. Unbranded. the habitual drunkard often looks a good deal like other men so that It is difficult for the barkeeper to detect him. The poor merchant or firewater is thus unwittingly betrayed Into breaking the laws of his country. But from the drunkard s point ol view objections to the new ordinance may easily be conjured up. He might argue, for example, that since he is rjroduced by the barkeeper, that func tionary ought to recognize him without much trouble. The creator snouia know his own handiwork without af fixing a badge to it other than tne blooming noss which it naturally exhibits. i The sot unavoidably carries about with him a number or marks wmcn seem to Indicate his chsracter pretty decisively. The red nose, the blear eye, the trembling hand, the thick tongue, why should the barkeeper fall to In terpret these signs as other people do? Again what would be the effect of the button, badge or label upon the drunkard's character? Would it In crease or diminish his self respect? This Is an Important question, since self-respect is the lever by which he must be raised from the slough where he wallows If ho is raised at all. Kill elf-respect and to all Intents you kill the man. A. brute la human form mayj remain, but the spark of ths divine Is Irrecoverably lost. Should ths city fathers of Walla Walla conclude after due reflection that the proposed button might de grade the wearer and lessen his chances of resuming upright conduct, they might hesitate to pass the new ordinance, no matter how desirable it may appear to the saloonkeepers. Their Interest is Important, of course, still there are others worth some little consideration. Councilman Burgard must be a hu morist. In declining to vots for an increase In salary for city officials who had not even threatened to resign If they failed to get the advance, Mr. Burgard said that he "must know be fore voting for any more raises where the money to pay the salaries is com ing from." Can it be possible that Mr. Burgard has misinterpreted the scowls which are worn by ths taxpay ers as they view ths attenuated purse which now holds nothing but a tax receipt? The money for the increases, Mr. Burgard, Is paid by tho taxpayers who Just at present are so overbur dened with wealth that they would welcome a chance to get rid of It in any old way that a Councilman might suggest. Mr. Burgard, with his Ger man thrift and business qualifications, has made a success in his own work, but It is positively funny to thlrtk of a man entering the City Council, and displaying any anxiety as to where tho money Is coming from before h Is willing fo slve It atway. Ths art of robbing ths people and making them think they like It has Improved materially since Robin Hood and his merrie men kept the sheriff of Nottingham hot-footing it along the blind trails of old England. We note for Instance, in a London cable of March 19, that "as a result of an agreement between the prominent hotels, the only terms on which pa trons will be accepted are that they must take apartments for the whole month of June, at full season prices, with double prices during coronation week." All other highwaymen who grovel, cajole or. threaten the stran ger for tips In . London are preparing to reap a great harvest In June. The London Mall estimates that Americans in London for the coronation exercises will spend an aggregate of 125,000,000 A comparatively small portion of this will be for services rendered, and the remainder will be graft wrung from them by schemes of high and lo degree. McMinnvllle, the shire town of old Yamhill, Is rising to meet the demands that growth and responsibility have nlaced uoon It. A bond Issue of $70,000 has been voted by Its citizens for the Improvement of the city's wa ter system within the proposed street- paving district This insures tne pav ing of fifty blocks this year In ths dis trict covered. Property-owners of that thriving little city havs evidently learned from observation the lesson that ths citizens of much more pre tentious cities had to learn from ex perience that is, to precede tho lay ing of hard-surface pavements by lay ing of water mains ana installing serv. Ice nines. The old adags which as oerts that "experience teaches a dear school" Is well supplemented oy tne statement that "fools will learn at no other." McMlnvllle has clearly taken tutelaa-e In the "other" school ths school of observation. If Mr. Munly had been better ac quainted with ths reputation or cap tain Crowe who resigned from the new Port of Portland Commission, he would hardly have Intimated that any one either "higher up" or "lower down" had "Intimidated" the" resigning member of the commission.. The only Intimidation that Captain Crowe ever knew anything about, was ths kind he used when he was transforming green land-lubbers into the kind of 6ailors which enabled his ship to capture more world's speed records than were held.bv any other ship that ever sailed the seas. Whatever the motive that prompted Captain Crowe to resign, it Is hardly probable that either threats or Intimidation cut much figure. The colonists flocking to these en chanting shores . must pass through pnrti.nd of course. This makes it m as if the immigrants were mere ly making the plethoric city still more rlethoric. But that Is a mere Illusion. They are on the way to green fields and ferUle vales which they will make greener and more fertile by their In dustry. Oregon needs men of muscle to till her soil and, to all appearances, she Is getting them. The principal use of warships more than ten years old is to De snot. io pieces by new ones. What will be the principal use of the new ones ten years from now? To be shot. to pieces from airships, perhaps. The swivel-chair agitators at home who arouse us with their wisn mat vt) not they should fight Japan, have at last fallen asleep through ex haustion. Or have they? An artificial paw has been made for a Denver monkey, and If he can be taught to use a fine comb he will never miss tho digits when his mats stands by. It is said a Washington County man left an estate worth $85,000, made in growing horseradish, and he did not grate turnip into it. Those foreign-born miners march ing armed in the Illinois town need to . .. Ihfln the rebel- Dfl nWUCUc,KU ... . ... llous Mexicans. The "warning to parents" left by the young Callfornlan who committed suicide means not to "spare tho rod." Mr. Lafferty's troubles have fairly begun, with three men wanting the Hood River postofflce. Another rich discovery In Washoe will divert the restless, if no other result obtains. If Crane crowds Bourne from the postofflce committee, Massachusetts gets It anyway. The best pension for a city employe Is a few dollars banked by each every pay day. Mr. Simon has clarified the political situation. Let the best man step Uvely. ' The "Rosenfelt" reception commit tee seems, somehow, to be incomplete. Mr. Rockefeller showed his skill as precinct manager yesterday. ONE LOCTJ VOICE FROM TTLLAMOOK Why Did the Garrraor Veto loan Bill, Approvlos; Others? Tillamook Headlight. We will again refer to some of the appropriations made by the anti-assembly and most extravagant State Legislature, and which had the ap proval of the Governor. .It was wrong in bis eyes to give Tillamook County 11500, to be used for two county fairs, yet the "Tax Eaters" secured $9000 to improve streets in the neighborhood of the Agricultural College at Corval lis, besides the large sums of $140,000 for additional maintenance and $270, 000 for new buildings for the Agricul tural College. The "Tax Eaters" at Salem, besides the enormous appropri ations for the state institutions at. that place, succeeded In railroading a bill for $150,000 for an annex to the State Capitol. The "Tax Eaters," besides se curing $328,252.98 for maintenance of the University of Oregon, managed to work another (175,000 out of the tax payers for a new library bnlldlng at Eugene, and the "Tax Eaters" got $40, 000 for a dormitory at Monmouth Normal School. Ail of which Governor West ap proved, as he did $50,000 for Astoria centennial celebration, but when Til lamook County was wanting to cele brate the coming of the Iron horse and the hardy sons of toll want to exhibit what they have accomplished in this bottled-up country, the Governor put a quietus on It and vetoed the small ap propriation that this county was Justly entitled to. Another thing. Governor West vetoed all the good roads bills prepared by the Oregon Good Roads Association. It will be readily seen that the "Tax Eaters" can pull the legs of the tax payers for large appropriations for the Stats University, the Agricultural Col lege and Normal School, but anything that will help the farmers in giving them good roads, the Governor had to butt in and throw overboard the ef forts of those who had devoted much time to booking for good roar's. ICE-BATH FROM MAYOR GAYNOR Socialist Who Wished a Debate la Made Sadder and Wiser Man. Chicago Evening Post. Mayor Gaynor continues to lighten up the administrative grind in New York with hi felicitous letters. It Is a little art which he alone seems to pos sess and which serves admirably to bind public confidence and interest to him. His message to the New York Board of Aldermen explaining the meaning of the red flag of the social ists and insisting that they should be permitted to carry it In their parades as their symbol of men's blood-fraternity, evoked a roost interesting discus sion of a matter that Is too often left wholly to the discretion of the bull necked policeman. That message nat urally tickled the socialists immensely, and one of them rashly seised the moment to challenge the Mayor to a Joint debate upon the gospel of Marx. 'That challenge drew upon the unlucky zealot the following reply: "Dear Sir: Your letter challenging me to a debate with you on socialism is' at hand. The mere fact that you make the challenge is probably proof positive that you are not fit to make such a debate. People who want to force things down the mental throats of oth ers do their own cause more harm than good. Did you ever read that part of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography In which he says that experience had taught him that ths way to convince another is to state your case moderate ly and accurately, and then scratch your head or s halts It a little, and say that that is the way It seems to you, but that of course you may be mis. taken about It; which causes your lis tener to receive what you say and, as like as not. turn about and try to con vince you of It, since you are In doubt; but tf you go at him with a tone of poaltiveness and arrogance you only make an opponent of him? I write this to you In the hope that It may make you stop long enough to think that possibly you are not so Infallible as you think you are. You compliment me because I know the meaning of the red flag of the socialists, and stated It In my message to the Board of Alder men. It Is Just possible that I- have done more to make the people of New York understand the meaning of your red flag and of socialism than all that you have ever said with a stridulent voice. If you wish to be a teacher. Just read the passage I have mentioned from Franklin, and cool off a whole lot. Sin cerely yours, W. J. GAYNOR, Mayor " Thts Is of a piece with the stoio phi losophy which the Mayor has Intro duced into Gotham. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonlan. March 22. 1881. Some months since we heard the nalnful tale of the murder and out rages of the Indians upon a party of emigrants on Snake River last Fall. Last Fall we were told of expeditions in contemplation to rescue the chil dren and to punish the Indians. Lat terly we hear of no military move ments In the direction of these savages. Why Is this? The command of our troops has been taken from an officer in whom we have confidence. He is now a subaltern to an ofTlcer In Cali fornia. It may suit that officer to take some measures In this matter and it may not. Our people are dissatisfied with this condition of, things. The machinery for the new steam ferrv to dIv between Rockland and The Dalles Is approaching completion in the machine shop of Aionnastes, jin this place. 8t. Louis, Feb. 37. The United States Senate yesterday concurred In the House amendments to the post route bill and passed the bill, thus securing daily overland mall to (jauiorma. The Corvallls Union has an account of some Republicans in Benton County raising a flag with 17 stars on the 4th of March. The Union does not vouch for the truth of the report. If it is so everyone of them deserves a genteel whaling. They are perhaps recent converts, like some we could name In this neighborhood, who, after havlna- served an apprenticeship with disunion Democracy, are now trying to ring In on the Republicans, and who are capable of anything from fobbing n appropriation on contingents to leaving ther country's flag. Out on such Republicans. Knaves! K.navesi One and all. Farmers having good cayuse Worses may be pretty sure of a demand for them this Spring at paying prices, .we look to see a large rrumber of Cali fornia miners fitting .out for the North here, and there will be some even from British Columbia. G. H. Hamilton Not Candidate. PORTLAND. March 20. (To the Edi tor.) I notice In The Oregonlan of this date an article In regard to the recall of Councilman Ellis, of the Tenth Ward, in which it is said that there are a number of aspirants for his of fice. Among a number of names men tioned as possible candidates Is that of the writer. I wih to state that any active Interest which I may have dis played for the benefit of the Wood lawn Improvement Association and our community, or the little good, if any, that I may have accomplished. Is noth ing more than any citizen should do and still not have "an ax to grind." I wish to say that I am not an aspirant for any political office. I am -no poll tician and therefore have no ax to grind for myself. u. a. n o ni i nuiii FAULTS OF THE PAYING SYSTEM. Supporter of Ellis Aaaeadmeat Names Wrosga as He Sees Them. PORTLAND. March 20. (To the Ed itor.) The proposed Ellis amendment to ths city charter providing for com petition In street paving Is an excel lent measure and should bs ordered placed upon the ballot by the Council In its initial form. Patented pave ments and collusive bidding on street improvements is a municipal wrong, that should not be tolerated. And If this amendment Is placed upon the bal lot In June, the people will settle this question and settle it right. The ques tion of good streets Is a broad one, and a subject for wide discussion, hence without going deep into the sub ject I wish to point out some of the objectionable features of toe present system. (1) A petition Is prepared by a paid agent of the paving concern, for a par ticular kind of pavement, a few names are secured, proceedings are begun, ths Council orders the improvement, the contract is let to the sole and only bidder for a patented pavement. (2) Negligence on the part of the city to properly maintain graveled streets for stated periods after specif ically agreeing to do so is a direct vio lation of the contract, and a breach of good faith with the property owners to whom the cost of the street was assessed. (J) Our present charter requires 80 per cent of the property affected by an improvement proceeding to success fully remonstrate. This, is an out rage. The property owners must pay for the street, and a majority of them and not a City Council, should say what is to be done with their money. (4) The charge of 5 per cent engin eering fees additional to the. cost of all street improvement work, notwith standing the salary of sngineers is provided by general taxation, is levied against the cost of all street Improve ments without regard to character or cost. No more time or engineering skill Is required on a high-priced, hard surface street than on a macadam street, but the property -is assessed 5 per cent on the cost of the high-priced street which is unbusinesslike and ab surd. Again, who Is It that subjects our streets to the hardest usages? Is it the individual property owner, who pays for the Improvement? Certainly not. It Is the transporting wagons, wearing out streets for the benefit of the gen eral public. Municipal maintenance of streets, after they are once Improved by the property owner, is the system in vogue in many of our progressive cities. The Ellis amendment, if It becomes a law, will cure some of the defects of our present charter and is a right step toward municipal reform. M. J. HARRAHAN. CONVENTION SYSTEM INDORSED. Power to Select Candidates now Abdi cated, Says Writer. SALEM, Or., March 2a (To the Editor.) The assembly Idea will not down. The common'sense of combination will yet re sume its sway In politics, as well as In Its almost twin of business. Here ta "Rainmaker" Hofer in The Oregonlan of St. Patrick's day, propos ing an assembly, or at least a "near" assembly, to make a Republican plat form, and he it was who only last Sum mer was denouncing assembly in any form. Lane County Is heard from, too. The very next day after the appearance of the Hofer plan, an assembly, to be known and hailed as "The Lane County Taxpayers' Association," was born, with a purpose to scrutinize affairs of county and state In the Interest of those who furnish the money. A few more legisla tive assemblies produced by the present system will call many such organizations Into existence, euid the anti-assembly, self-nominating candidate system will die of auto-Intoxication. The Hofer plan of an assembly to make a platform without aleo nominating Yjandidatee will have about as much ef fect towards good government In the Interest of the people as the eloquence of Demosthenes had on the waves of the sea. Of what use will it bo to frame a platform unless its builders also se lect the candidates to carry Into effect the principles it announces? Formerly the people, by the use of the convention system had an opportunity to select their candidates, but they eilowed that prerogative to be debauched by a lot of corrupt men, some of whom are today loudest of all In their profeselons of political holiness and in denunciation of the system they themselves most be fouled. By the direct primary system the peo ple have abdicated part, if not all, of their power to select their own candi datea Whereas formerly It was possible for them to seek the man for the office, they must now perforce choose from among the self-seekers who thrust them selves upon the electorate at 5 cents per name. It Is generally reduced to a choice between evils. The quality of such candidates Is reflected In freak laws and publlo extravagance. The fundamental difficulty has always been to get the people to take part In politics In their own interest. Continu ally the chief political activity has been In the personal interest of some popular but often Incompetent office-sselter. The people are slowly learning that if they would have good government they mut organize, get together, consult, hold con ventions and be not content with the mere empty platitudes of platforms, but carefully select their own candidates for their fitness to carry out the principles of those platforms. The people need men as well as measures. They can not accomplish much so long as they are kept apart by the secret schemes of the Oregon City Junta with Its soft soap fund. A compact minority and a gum shoe campaign will always defeat a dis organized majority. The convention system affords the most practical means for the people to get to. gether by their representatives to con sult In the open for the common good. It Is a political appliance of great power. The people ought to avail themselves of it and not let it go to waste or tall into the control of corruptionists. A. B. CELT. When Mental Effort Is Mechanical. PORTLAND, March 20. (To the Ed itor.) A claims that to add. multiply or divide Is a mechanical process. B claims that as It requires a mental effort to add, multiply or divide, the process is not mechanical. Which is correct? A. READER. Simple mathematical computations, when frequently employed, become largely mechanical. . In adding eight and six, for example, one automatical ly knows that 14 Is the result,' and does not have to reason it out. Ages of Freneh Academicians. Westminster Gazette. Born In 1S64. M. Henri de Regnier, the Symbolist poet and novelist, one of the new French Academicians, is among the youhgest members of the Academy. The youngest of all Is still M. -Rostand, who Is four years M- de Regnier's Junior and bad the rare distinction of being elected an Academician when he was only S4. The dozen of the Academy Is. Napoleon's old War Minister. M. Emlle Oliver, who is 85 and still actively writing. M. Mezieres Is 84. and M. de Freycmet, a former French Premier, 80. M. Thureau Dangin, the historian. Is 74; the Comte de ta Tula CTlaretip. the direc tor of the Comedie Francalse, 71. M. Anatole France is 66. Pierre Lotl five years younger, and M. Paul Bourget 8. 'ATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN, who In pri 11 vate life is Mrs. George C. Riggs, has given us many readable stories, the chief among which are "A Cathedral Court ship," "Rose O the River," "Timothy's Quest" and "The Birds' Christmas Carol," but she la grieved that she Is still mistaken as the author of "Mrs. Wlggs of the Cabbage Patch." As all well Informed people know, the author of the last-named story Is Alice Hegan Rice who also wrote '-'Lovey Mary" and "Mr. Opp." Autograph seekers often be gin their requests In this fashion: "Dear Miss Wiggins Will you kindly send me your autograph? I should prefer a quotation from Rebecca - or Mrs. Wlggs." London Is no better Informed than New York. At a luncheon giveh to Mrs. Wig gin by a London literary club (the invita tions reading as usual: "To meet Kate Douglass Wiggins") the secretary rose to propose the health of the American guest. At the close of her delightful SDeech. in which the orator evinced that she was perfectly conversant Vith Mrs. Wiggin's literary work, she said: "And last but not least we must thank her for 'Mns. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'!" At another London dinner the guests also insisted that Kate Douglas Wlggin created Mrs. Wlggs. "I wish I knew the names of the guests. I could send them abstracts of my feelings, also those of Alice Rice," exclaimed Mrs. Wlggin, later, "but it would be of no use! Unless I have my tombstone carved during my lifetime they will put an V on Wlggin and a double 's' on Douglas. If there is room at the bottom they will probably add: 'Here lies the author of "Mrs. Wlggs" 1' " a a a It Is noteworthy that Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet's book, "Incidents of My Life," Is limited to an edition of TnO copies, and was lately printed from type and the type destroyed. Much of the book rele-tes to the Irish In New York, around the time of the Civil War. a a a Poet Will you accept this poem at your regular rates? Editor I guess aso It appears to con tain nothing objectionable. Go to the advertising department and aek them what the rates are. How many times do you wish It Inserted? Cleveland Leader. a a a "The Story of the New Netherland," by William Elliot Griffis, member of the Netherlandish Societies of Mlddelburg, Leyden and Leeuwarden, relates the story of the Dutch In America, from 160S to 1909, and Is told from original Dutch documents. a a a Mrs. Louise dosser Hale, who sailed last Saturday for Algiers, has told her friends and publishers that she has' written her last novel about the stage, and that she will never act again. "A woman friend and myself are going out Just as far as we can into the desert from Algiers in an automobile," bbo writes," and the only male thing thai will go along Is a chauffeur who hails from Roxbury, Mass., and has never been out of Massachusetts." How thoughtful. a a a "Reminiscences," by the lata Dr. Goldwin Smith, and edited by Arnold Haultain, Is of marked historical and educational value, and worth the $3 charged for It. The book also reflects its author's love of controversy, and his notes about Cornell University, and his life in Toronto, In which city he died In June, 1910, are of special Interest. a a a Mrs. Elinor Glyn, who wrote the un speakable "Three Weeks," has sailed for England. She left In the hands of her publishers part of the manuscript of her novel for next Autumn, and arranged for a series of articles In one of the maga zines on the proper bringing up of young people. The theories of this eminent au thority will be In a class all by them selves. a a a Edwin Tenney Brewster, biologist, is a native of Andover, Mass., where he iiirAa tta TApntlv eava ud teaching in Phillips Academy to devote himself to literature. a a a Herbert K. Job, author of "The Blue Goose Chase," a forthcoming story of adventure, has succeeded in getting an appropriation from the Government for the experimental raising of wild game. He will commence with quail, partridge and grouse. Mr. Job, who was formerly a Congregational minteter. is now State Ornithologist of Connecticut. a a a SadakichI Hartmann ("Sidney Allen") Is going on the Invitation of the Japa nese government to make a study of the art museums In Japan. Mr. Hartmann Is German-Japanese, and has written "The Whistler Book," ",Landscdpe and Figure Composition," etc a a a "Winifred Graham," author of "Mary," soon to be publiehed, ie known in private life as Mrs. Theodore Cory. Her home is at Hampton, on the Thames, England, in a house that was once the residence of Nell Gwynns and the Dukes of St. Albans. a a a A school teacher In this state who is noted for the usual accuracy of her literary estimates, looked over George Glbbs' new novel "The Bolted Door," when it was first published, and said: "That book is utter rot. It teaches a bad lesson, and won't sell." A month after the novel was published, it went into the , fifth edition, and demand for it con tinues. a a a "Glamourie" Is the Intriguing title of a novel Just published and written by William- Samuel Johnson, a New York lawyer of long practice and a -man of wide travel and reading. "Glamourie" is Mr. Johnson's first book, although he . Is the author of numerous verses, and It tells a story of an Irish genius, his cousin Golden Burke, and a young American in the odd corners qf Paris. Mr. Johnson is a descendant of Dr. Samuel Johnson, first president of Columbia College, and of Jonathan Edwards. He lived in Paris for five years end during three of these years he was engaged In work upon "Glamourie." A CALL TO THE NATIONS. Words by Rob Roy Parrish. Dedicated 't John and Jonathan. Ho, ye bold and hardy Britons, Ho, brave Heirs of Liberty! With a spirit of progression, Hands aclasp in unity. Get your minds and hearts togethei Pledg'd to mut'al fealty, Then fearlessly go forward To the glories yet to be. Carry Cross and Constellation, Of your famous banners high; Through the trials that oppose you Flaunt them dauntlesB In the sky! In your work for weal of Nations, "By the grace of God above," With noble thoughts and actions Come lead in lives of peaceful love. Chorus. To the glories yet to be. Peaceful glories yet to be. With your soils beneath your feet. And your "Hands across the Sea;" "By the grace of God above," With your Flags o'er Land and Sea, Lead the Nations on in love To the glories yet to be. 1