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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1911)
. THE 3IORXIXG OREGONIAX, FRIDAY. APRIL 21, 19lt. l Vf I lje (Dmrimuw PORTLAND. OREOOX. Entaraif a t -... ,4 i'imml flC a S-coad-oasa Mattar. tteacriuoa IsTkrlablr ta aai III MAIbl 'iljr. Sjcviay tacludi. a'a moatha... 4 . .T . HI v; . I M S.J la:i. laadar Included, aoa mania. Xal.r. ii:iut Sunday, ana ar...... taiiy. wttfcovc Auadir. Ms BBola.... Iai:r. wttaoot Sunday, ihra aiouiaa. laiir. aftltoat Sunday la.ly. ajlttxil kunui. a &la. " r. yaar. ...... .. Sunday. an aar.... tutw a4 klr. aaa 1 1) I LARAi fealty. Sunday Indud.. aaa raar. X-iiy. Sanday laelulai. OQe owntn..... Bow I Brasll Mn4 poatofflca naaaf ar4 min uur or paraoaaJ cbaa aa) yaar leal bank Stampa. c-a or eurre at il mmti ri AiiM "- m iar immmm fMitaa tft m -? .N . . T jrm HrunlcL aulldMss. C" taga. ft-, building- rcRiui. iKiD.tr. .ruL tu - COOT or RtAOH'TlONS. Evea If the battles on the border had not res'llted In the killing and wounding of American citizens, the magnitude of American Interests In Mexico Is such that the United States cool J not b Indifferent to the rebel lion. If It -would. Nearly all the railroads running from the United States through Mexico were built with American capital, and. although the Mexican government has become the owner. Americans still own bonds to 1 j rite amounts. The railroads which constitute the security for these bonds have been In 1-irsje part de stroyed or their usefulness has been seriously Impaired by the burning; of bridge. The rebels have caused the rurpensian of traffic for weeks at a time. and. even when traffic was not Interrupted, Its volume was greatly reduced by the disturbed, condition of the country Still other American sufferers are those who are mining- In the northern states of Mexico. The rebels have raided their headquarters and helped themselves to supplies of ail kinds. One case in point Is that of Caaanea. towa of several thousand people, all owned by Americans. It has had sup plies In transit appropriated by the rebels and a large number of the workmen have deserted It to fMn the rebels. Ameriran.ra'nchers across the border have also suffered from raids such as that of the late Stanley Will lams In Lower California, where horses, cattle and supplies were seized Recent figures from the Hureau of American Kepub'lcs detailing the amount of foreign Investments In Mex ico; showed that Americans had put more capital In the railroads and In dustries of that country than all other foreign nations combined. Not only are American Investors af fected, but many Americans living In Mexico hare endured privation and danger to life. -J" his refers, of coure. to those who are living peaceably In the country without taking part In the quarrel, for those Americans, like Will iams and Crelghton. who enlisted In the ranks or the rebels, took the risks of war. ' There seems to be no likelihood of American Intervention In Mexico, and It Is desirable for many reasons that we should not Intervene, but. even If the present peace negotiations should succeed, there will be a pretty bill for somebody to pay. Diaz has from the first denied that there wss a rebellion. He has persisted In describing the rebels as bands of brigands. Holding him to his own statements, the I nlted States may fairly contend that the government of Mexico Is responsible for the depredations committed within Its own territory by bands of brigands and must compensate the losers by Its own Incapacity to maintain order. A condition may arise similar to that which existed In Venezuela, when several American corporations asserted claims which the government of Vene zuela refused to recognize. Similar claims were made by citizens of other countries and a blockade enforced a settlement of those claims. The American claims were settled by arbi tration after a long suspension of dip lomatic relations during which Tresl dent Castro refused to agree to arbi tration. (President Taft Is well known to be an advocate of arbitration and no doubt would propose that method cf settlement, but the claims are apt to be so many and various that many a hitch may occur before they reach The Hague court. AH of which goes to show that rev olutions cot money, not only to the present generation, but to posterity. CKOWING XJTEhTOTK IMH TRT. ?!nce the opening of the union stockyards, about eighteen months ago. more than (00.000 head of live stock have been handled In this city. Figures compiled by Mr. D. O. Lively show totals of 1J4. il head of cattle. 1SI.S4S hogs and fSS.lOg sheep. This Is an average of about 1000 head per day. It Is easy to understand that a business of such magnitude can hardly fall to have a most potent Influence on ether lines of Industry and trade. The establishment of the big packing houses and stockyards In this city has not only put Portland on the map as one of the big livestock centers of the country, but it has also encouraged the farmers of the Columbia Basin to give the stock business more atten tion. The recent fat stock show held at the yards on the Peninsula brought to the attention of the public the fact that the Pacific Northwest could pro duce as fine stock as could be raised anywhere In the world. The magnitude of the business since the Peninsula yards were opened has also demonstrated that the vast sums of money which in the past have been sent East for packing-house products are now kept in circulation In the Pa cific Northwest. Despite the fine showing that has been made by the stockyards for the first eighteen months there is still boundless oppor tunity for expansion. With the rapid settlement of the remaining undevel oped portions of the Pacific North west the .problem of producing enough stock for th home market Is already solved. But beyond the seas. In Alas ka, In the South Pacific and In Siberia, there Is an ever-widening market for these products, and at no place in the country ran this trade be handled to better advantage than at Portland. Great changes have taken place in the livestock industry In this country within th past few years. The big ranges are being cut up Into farms and th Individual herds are steadily de creasing in size. But there are more herds and more stock, for the smalll farmer la learning that there Is an eco tomlc advantage in having a few head M'r a fn, mcluaina county -. tLafa to 14 eaM. I . ta 2 (,.a. J ciita, ft la o MW eaate. ta oe. cait Foraiaa aaataa of stock to turn off each year. He Is also learning that It costs no mora to produce ,a high-class animal than It does to produce a scrub. As a result there is a steady Improvement In qual ity as well as quantity. In Mr. Llvely's report It w-111 be noted that the number of cattle mar keted at the yards exceeded the num ber of hogs. This Is a situation that win be changed when the profits of hograising are better understood. In the corn bolt of the Middle West hog raising la as much of a specialty as wheatgrowlng Is In the Pacific North west, and It Is equally prontable. In this country the business has not yet attained large proportions, but has been' followed merely aa incidental to other branches of farming. Now that It is being demonstrated that there ls money In hogs, we msy expect to note a steady increase In the available supply of the home product and a corresponding decrease In tht number brought In from the East. The Burleson antl-futur bill Is to Congress This bill Is practically an amended form of the tcott nut. wmcn Included provisions making it unlawful to buy or sell futures in wheat, corn or ,w agricultural nroducU. Including cotton. So much opposition aeveiopeu to this bill that the grain feature were eliminated and the Burleson bill, which takes Its place, prohibits on.'y the dealing in cotton futures. It Is somewhat strange that those who should have the most thorough knowledge on the ubject hav alway opposed an anti-future bill or any kind. For that reason we find the New Orleans Picayune, printed at the home and headquarters of the cotton Industry, protesting against the bill. The Inevitable effect of such a law." says the Picayune, "would be to trans fer the control of cotton prices to the European exchanges, particularly that of LiverpooL in the long run th principal sufferers would be the cotton producers of the South and the real benellclarles th foreign spinners and speculators," The New Orleans paper contends that speculation through futures has materially advanced the price of cot ton and that the result of the system has been to transfer the regulatlqn of prices from the foreign srlnners to the American producers. Trading in fu ture Is a branch of business that la not thoroughly understood by the av eragtrlayman. and the lack of under standing regarding It Is responsible for much of the objection that has been raised against It. Of the legitimacy of the practice there can be no ques tion, but the method, like many a good system in other lines of effort. Is ob jected to on the grounds that It is gambling. ' As a matter of fact, there is hardly a flour miller or a cotton manufac- turer In the l-niieo &iaiea wno wou.u . attempt to do business without buy- , Ing and selling for futur acceptance or delivery. there would be a tremendous loss to 1 tQ ,u5oralnate aU othtr political ques both planter and manufacturer, for tjona t t)at Qf wJlUe auprernacy and -neither can have any assurance of 1 here wl, be fcut a 8ing,e rea, party hit ihn market nrlce mar be a C"? months hence, when the raw matenar may be neeneo or in. manuiaciurev, product delivered. In the present ; methods of trading, the contract for future delivery or acceptance become as necessary as a bank check. There Is so much cotton In this country that Riust be sold each year that If the manufacturer deferred his buying and then took It sparingly to Mil hi orders as they were received the planter would be obliged to carry his crop for months and would be unable to bor row but a small amount of money on It. Trading in future wllj never be abolished. but occasional reform measures of the type of the Burleson bill will com up from time to time to teat the temper of the Public pn mat ters of which their knowledge' is lim ited. port LARIZ1NU TUB COXGRESSION At RECORD. ' "VUrM-nrr mnuM ha fullv as ID- ronrlate a name as "Record" for the daily publication which Congress sends forth to a more or less grateful country. The Congressional Record Is cannot be expected to have lnacpena made huge of bulk by speeches which . ent opinions on such subjects as pro never were delivered. Statesmen who ' tectlon and finance and therefore they are troubled with stage fright, those ( will not spilt up Into parties. The who are shut out from full expression development of their Intelligence has by th exigencies of time, the timid. 1 been hindered by false conceptions of the lazy and the squelched are all al- 1 education. lowed the consolation of pouring their ! Many . of the schools and colleges still-born speeches into th Record, which thus becomes a sort of verbal pewer. Its accuracy is aiso open tu question because so much liberty Is given to amend, correct and indeii- nltely alter speeches which have really I been delivered. Oftentimes the child he at.pears In print only faintly re sembles the robust urchin who yelled out his little hour on the floor of Con gress. Mr. Murdork, of Kansas, has intro duced a resolution looking to the cor rection of some of these unfortunate particulars. His Idea is to label everything that goes Into the Record. If It is a speech which was composed In th hot frenzy of a hotel bedroom but never delivered, let It be labeled for what it "Is. Do not say with bare faced mendacity that the Hon. Jere miah Fathead delivered It on such a day to the delighted wonder of his fellow Congressmen. If corrections are made In a speech before It Is print ed, ret them appear so marked. Make the Record truthful and shame the devil. Is Mr. Murdock's desire. Congress may hesitate to adopt his resolution. The right to print speeches never delivered has become almost sa cred with time. So has the privilege of striking out passages which elo quent statesmen are asnaraeu 01 mo dav afterward. The Record would ap pear too much like the report of a scene In the confessional, if everytning in 11 were accurately laoeiea. u c something to charity as well as to truth. But against the proposal to reduce the price of the Record from $4 to $1 per session we fancy not a voice will be raised. The present price Is pro hibitive and Congressmen know it. When any of them emits a speech which he really wants read he shows deep contempt for the Record as a medium of publicity. He knows that nobody reads that severe publication who Is not compelled to do It, and to get his Immortal deliverance before his constituents he puts it Into envelopes and malls it. Uncle Sam pays the freight. The bill amounts to a good deal In the course of a session. It would be eliminated If the "Record were made accessible and reasonably reliable, and no doubt th saving thus effected would more than counterbal ance the cost of reducing the subscrip tion price. , At any rate, the purpose of. the Rec- ord la to keep the public Informed of the proceedings of Congress, a purpose which Is now but Illy accomplished. With Its bulk diminished and Its price reduced, it would come a great deal nearer to attaining the object of Its existence. " TILE IXRD9 AND COMMONS. It cannot be said that the British House of Commons Is going to any frightful extreme In tho limitation on the power of the Lords for which It Is contending. The measure Is sub mitted in two sections. The first ex plicitly deprives the Lords of any control over money bills. Theoreti cally they have had no control of this klml for centuries. As early as the Unit of Elizabeth the Common asserted the exclusive right to grant money to 'the crown, though fhey could not always exercise it as they wished. They were often bullied by the monarch into granting what they -would far rather have re fused. StiU the rlght was never given up and gradually the other branches of the government began to concede it openly. The attempt to amend Lloyd-Georges budget was the first rjimtn "l - - nance bills by the Lords for many 1 years and it failed when referred to . the people. Nobody expects this first part of the measure to meet with seri ous difficulty In the upper chamber. For the second part atorms . and tempests are prophesied. This pro vide a method for the enactment of a bill Into law without the consent of the Lords, although It is not to be done hastily. The bill must pas th House of Commons at three succes sive sessions and consume not less than two years In the process. Then If the Lords throw It out It is to go to the King for his signature and become law whether or no. Here 1 the only parf of the Commons' pro gramme which is really revolutionary. The rest of U merely reaffirms what has long beenpart of the constitution and has been upheld by the electorate upon a referendum. It is a mere matter of speculation how far the Lords will go In opposi tion to the limitation of their power. The wiser ones understand that re sistance cannot be of much use in the long run and are disposed either to submit gracefully or to initiate re forms In the upper chamber them selves. If the House of Lords were an elective body It would lose a good deal of its odium. If it represented the nation, of course the people would not care to abolish It. Perhaps that Is the direction the reform "will ultimate, ly take. . PARTEM IS THE SOUTH. In his address before the South Car olina Bankers' Association Secretary MacVeagh reiterated the admonition, which Southerners have so often heard, that they ought to fllvlde into two po,uclaI partles. The lesson Is . bu( u w,u not be heeded Just tn n remains what he is the South will feel obliged In that section. Were the negroes free to vote, there would of course be twQ R y of tne ,.h(M and an op. pbslng one of tha Dlacha Dut thls will not be permitted. The law enacted by thouth to nullify the Federal Constitution aria disfranchise the negroes have been acquiesced in throughout the country. The courts are reluctant to meddle with, them. , Th conscience of the North concedes I their expediency. It is agreed on all 1 sides that "a regrettable policy was j pursued In the days of reconstruction I which brought great evils upon tho I South and now the white peopIv of I that region must have a free hand to work out their own destiny. ' If the negroes were Intelligent enough to divide about equally be tween two parties It would make something of the same sort possible among the whites. . But we must not expect this for many years to come. Although the blacks have made sur prising progress In many directions since the war In the South they are not yet as a body fit to deal wisely with t lltlcal questions. They are ruled by prejudice and outworn beliefs. They founded for the benefit of the negrpes have done more harm than good. bud. jecis nave wet-ii tausot timn wic- relation to the problems of their lives. hat tney learnea simpiy puuea mem up with conceit and unfitted them for profitable work. The efforts of men like Mr. Wash ington are changing all this. Th ed ucation which they give the negroes applies Erectly to the practical prob lems of their lives. Mr. Washington's school at Tuskegee graduates farm ers, carpenters and tradesmen of all kinds, while it does not neglect the higher things of the spirit. The re ligion which he teaches Is rational. It rises above mere emotionalism with its banalities and cleaves tenaciously to conduct. Mr. Washington is the best friend the negroes ever had. His work Is bound to tell In a geometrlo ratio as time passes. His pupils will establish centers like Tuskegee throughout the South and send out multiplied evangelists to preach the good old gospel of common sense and hard work. As the negroes acquire property and settled habits of industry respect for them will grow. They will cease to be looked" upon as a menace to the com munities where they dwell and It will be conceded as a matter of course that they ouhgt to have a voice In politics. When that day comes they will not be found voting like dumb creatures at the dictation of any boss. They will think for themselves and natu rally their conclusions will vary. Hence they will Join different parties. This will permit the Southern whites to do the same thing. Clearly then the condition of things which Mr. MacVeagh longs to see depends on the development of the blacks in citizenship, as the most in telligent men In the South thoroughly understand. It Is only the hoodlum element In Georgia, Mississippi and the other Gulf states who oppose the progress of the negroes. Intelligent whites are tired of perpetual race trouble, though of 'course they will never consent to end It by submitting to the domination of the negores. ' What the two parties will be Into which the Southern people vtnay some time divide Is an interesting question. It Is not quit safe to assume that they will be th Republican and Dem ocratic parties of our day. Political groups change with the progress of intelligence and the development of new problems. The adoption of direct methods of government will probably exercise an effect upon parties which has not yet been fully estimated. As th old watchwords lose their charm the former lines of division will be come Indistinct and fresh ones will be drawn. Some prophets have foretold that the parties of tomorrow will be con servative and radical. The Democratic and Republican conservative elements will draw together and the radicals from both camps will do the same. 8hould this happen. It will be In strict accord with human nature. None of us are born protectionists or state rights men. but eve-yoody is by na ture either a conservative or a radical. This is a classification which holds good wherever there are human be ings and we may some time see it pre vail openly In this country. If It ever does th Southerners will not have any "more difficulty than the rest of us In finding their proper places. Labor conditions In the Hawaiian Islands present an Interesting study In economics. The Japanese invaded the islands a few years ago and el bowed out most of the Chinese. The little brown men failed to supply all tho demand for labor, and for eeveral years a great maiy Portuguese have been . brought Into the islands. A few weeks ago Alaska cannerymen sent a steamship to the islands for the purpose of securing a mixed lot of Filipinos and Japanese to work in the canneries. Any shortage that may have resulted from the departure of tho cannery workers has apparently been made up. for yesterday's news dispatches reported the arrival at Honolulu of the steamer Oteric with 1SK5 Portuguese Immigrants. The shifting, supply of labor in the Ha waiian islands has a poorer opportu nity for moving on than the supply which becomes uneasy on the main lai4. but there seems to be enough of a movement to make it prontable for the transportation lines. The Patrons of Husbandry' are get ting into line for the annual meeting of the governing body of the order, known as the State Grange, which -will convene in Corvailis May 9. A bulle tin containing the names of the stand ing committees of that body has been Issued. These committees cover a wide range of thought and effort and indicate that the farmer folk are wide awake to their Interests and the publie interests as well. The names of women appear with equal frequency with those of men tipon these committees, showing tha this Organization recog nizes the value oforaan's work in all of its councils' and undertakings. Every section of the state is recognized in the appointment of these commit tees, and Indications are that the com ing session of the State Grange the thirty-eighth annual convention will be more largely attended than any of its predecessors have been, while the open sessions will, doubtless attract large audiences. The opposing attitude of Mr. Can non on the reciprocity measure is thoroughly consistent. .The entire ca reer of the Danville statesman has been marked by a religious adher enc tn the cause of high tariff. It was this attitude of Mr. Cannon and'to.me because I have been experiment' other high priests of the tarirr taber nacle that was responsible for the smashing defeat cf the Republicans last November. Heedless of the re peated warnings that had been sound ed, these standpatters successfully re sisted the attempts of th progressive Republicans to revise the tariff. As a result they will now see revision with a vengeance by a party that would not be In power todaj-had It not been for them. The reciprocity measure may not be perfect, but it is so far ahead of anything that Mr. Cannon and his friends ever offered that it is very popular. It may be hoped that the danger of sneeding . automobiles past tne sharp curve on the elevated roadway between this city ana Vancouver nas been sufficiently Illustrated by death and disaster. The practical wreck of two machines, the death of three persona and the serious Injury of sev eral othors represent the grim toll of disaster at this danger point on the roadway that bridges the Oregon slough between the mainland and Hayden Island. Further illustration should not be necessary. The date of the celebration of Founders day at old Champoeg draws near. Facilities for reaching the his toric' ground are excellent, whether by the water route or by the Oregon Electric. The indications are that the day and occasion will be observed by a large delegation from this city, "whll oatriotlc country folk will as usual rally to do honor to tho day on May 2. Th Rogue Stiver Association has merged with the Portland Fruit Ex change, induced by the superior han dling and sellings advantages of th lo cal organization. Those out of the fold number few, and they will proba bly Join as time passes, making a dom inant concern for general success. As time passes less Is said about the damage that befel fruit from the three frosts of the middle of April. It will probably transplr that only as many of the cherries, peacnes and prunes were killed as will prove beneficial to the rest of the crop. Veal is reported coming in too freely in the local market. Why not quit killing so much of th. "she stock" and help the dairy .industry? According to alarmists, all the Oregon cows will be dead. of tuberculosis some time. The four-legged chicken hatched at Vancouver has greater practical value than a mere freak. A breed of fowls with two sets of "drumsticks" for the festal board will bring great money. There Is possibility that smoking will bo forbidden in the new Court house. By and by a man win not be allowed to smoke wnen using tne tele phone. ' If more people were married in the saddle, like th Fort Klamath couple, there would be more community of in terest in the household. v - The Tacoma- man who fell seven stories and was not hurt "was proba bly listening to a recall and slowed down. Hereafter the Governor cannot be seen until after lunch. Then, of course, -lie will feel good-natured. j PROFIT IX OYSTER TRANSPLANTS. Frelsht and Rlaka Cat Dom Retnrns, Sara Grower. BAT CEXTEK, Wash.. April 19. (To the Editor. I notice In The Oregonlan of April 17. under heading, "Timely Tales of the Day," a little item that refers to an old friend and neighbor of mine, who was recently accidentally drowned at South Bend. Wallace Stu art's mother -worked for me when Wal lace was a babe in arms. I had known him throughout his entire life. Hie business was the oyster business all his life, and he befcame an authority on the cultivation, marketing, etc.. of the native as well as the Eastern oyster transplanted in theee waters. My object In writing 'this, however. Is to correct the Idea thata held forth In the article referred to about the enormous profits of the Eastern oys ter when transplanted in these waters. I. with others, have been engaged in this .business along side of Wallace Stuart for many years. I went back to Long Island Sound and selected carloads of Eastern seed oysters many years ago and have been shipping more or less each year. The cost per car varies from $500 to $1000 and when freight. Icing and some minor charges are Included the most costly carload will not exceed $2000, while the article referred to has the price fixed at $15,000. The fact Is hat there has been some money made planting Eastern oysters, but at the same time many a carload planted never paid first cost. The trouble has largely been caused by planting on the wrong kind of beds. Oysters are planted when the beds are covered with water and not on the dry sand flats. There are likely fortunes yet to be made here In the oyster business, and that In the near future, as this Is without doubt the best locality on the Pacific Coast to produce the finest flavored oyster ever grown. L. H. RHODES. An Oysterman for 50 Tears. Pasaloa rlay la Theaters. PORTLAND, Or.. April 18. (To the Editor.) Being a constant reader of The Oregonlan. I must say that I And pleasure In reading from day to .day the editorial page, which treats all live topics of the day with liberal and broad-minded Judgment. Therefore I do not hesitate In submitting the fol lowing: Oberammergau, of world-wide fame as the place where at Intervals of ten years are'deplcted the life and suffer ing of Jesus Christ for the benefit (or snail 1 say amusement) 01 tne masses, Is again before the public through the medium of the moving pictures this week in the City of Portland. It is a pity that humanity will flock Ira such vast numbers to view an Imitation of the scenes which took place for our benefit some 1900 years ago, but wnicn today has become a bait to catch the almlahty dollar, regardless of the sa cred and Irreproachable character of Him who died for a fallen world. Moving pictures may be educational In some respects, but when religion Is placed upon the sheet. It ceases to be a means or education and becomes a sac rllege. The path that Christ trod was a stormy one, beset by many difficulties and needs no imitating. I believe In drawing a line of demarcation between the holy and the unholy, for Christ himself said: "Render to Ceasar the things that are Cesser's, and to God the things that are God's." Mark 13:17. GEORGE S. WORIf. The Purple Potato, GRESHAM. Or.. April 19. (To the Editor.) The account of a purple pota .to In Tuesday's Oregonlan Is Interesting Ing with It for four years. I got the seed from a Portland gentleman who "swiped" It -from a Russian ship. It Is raised extensively in Russia and Is all that your Oregon City correspondent claims for it. Two years ago I had a lot of them on exhibition at the Gresham fair, where they attracted a great deal of attention Six of the largest were stolen and I have since been wondering who got them. I still have a few left, but not long ago I gave a peck of them to Gill Bros., the well-known gardeners of Russell- ville. who will endeavor to make them commercially valuable, as they. are of excellent flavor, good yielders and of especial quality and color for salads. Several prominent caterers have ex pressed a belief that they would, be a valuable addition to the garnishment of tables at banquets. ; EUGENE L. THORPE. Hotel Fire Escapes. PORTLAND, April 18. (To the Editor.) Why do city ordinances allow hotel fire escapes to be located where access to them is obtained, not through a public hall or corridor, but frequently through bedrooms that moeit of the time a locked? Suppose a fire breaks out. If the bedrooms through which egress is had to fire escapes are occupied the oc cupants probably could be roused to un lock the doors. If not paralyzed by fear and rendered helplees; but. If unoc cupied, they ore locked, and many lives might be lost by reason of that faer in the confusion and delay that would ensue before tlp keye could be obtained and the doors opened. The city ought to require that rooms with fire escapes, when unoccupied, shall be left unlocked day arid night. HOTEL. RESIDENT. Ridicule of Inventions. ABERDEEN, Wash., April 16. (To the Editor.) Is It true that many, of the great Inventions were ridiculed in past, by large, portion of the people? Is It true that when the phonograph wss first exhibited, and made to repro duce human voice, some people said It was the work of the devil? JOSEPH THOMAS. It Is true that some of the greatest inventions now in use were ridiculed generally when put forward In their crude original form. We have never heard, - however, that persons of even average Intelligence believed phono graphic reproductions were the work of the devil. Notary Public, PORTLAND. April 18. (To the Edi tor.) Does the law permit a person who is not an American citizen to be a no-, tary public? If so; does thlo only apply to Oregon or to all other Btates? L. P. K. There Is nothing tn the state law re quiring a notary public to be a citizen. We cannot give information on this point as to other states. In Oregon, Tea. . PORTLAND, April 18. (To the Edi tor.) Does a foreigner have the right to vote, at a Presidential election, hav ing only his first papers. A SUBSCRIBER. ' The Oregon law permits an alien to vote at a general election if he has de clared his intention to become a citizen more than one year prior threto. Dog Fldo's Morning Bath. Pittsburg Post "How is the water in the bath, Flflr "Please, my lady. It turned the baby fairly blue." "Then don't put Fido in for an hour or so." Learning Nearest at Hand. Washington Herald. "There are so many things one must learn by experience." "Well, we can't learn everything by malt" I SANDY BOULEVARD IMPROVEMENT : Protest Made Agalnat Cruahed Rock Between Cartracka. PORTLAND, April IS. (To the Editor.) In The Oregonlan of April IS I note that the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company desires to use crushed rock on its portion of the Sandy boule vard when it is paved from Twenty eighth to Sixty-seventh street This will occasion no surprise, but the report that the Rose City Improvement League favors such a concession can hardly be credited. Property owners In this section of the city are ambitious to make this the greatest and mcust attractive boulevard in the city and with that end ln view have completed plans foe making it SO feet wide and covering it with a hard surface pavement. As the popularity of that boulevard increases the population of that section of the city will keep pace, end the receipts of the Portland Railway. Light & Power Company will enormously increase. , The property . owners or that diftrict are not only asked to give sufficient property to make the street 80 feet wide, but they are to be taxed to the limit for the hard-surface pavement, while the railway company, the chief user of the street and the chief beneficiary of the improvement. Is to escape with nothing but an Improvement of crushed rock a concession that will mar the beauty of the street and that will adversely effect its convenient use. The pretended reason for permitting this inexcusable concession is that "it will prevent teams from driving on the cartracks and retarding the streetcars." What is there to tempt teams to travel on the Una of the tracks when they have a wideband perfectly smooth road way on each side? Some more plausi ble pretense than that should be in vented. The real reason is that the cor poration wants to save Its good money. If It has any force why has not crushed rock between the cartracks been used on the Washington and Morrison and East Burnside and Hawthorne and Union ave nue lines. If this concession Is permitted by the Council it is certain tha the right to make such discrimination will be tested ln the courts, and the whole Improve ment will be, Indefinitely delayed. Here Is at least one opportunity for the Coun cil to give some assurance to the public that It Is not completely owned by the corporations. CHARLES B. MOORES. WEST NEEDS BIGGER STATESMEN. Charge Made That Oregon System Re duces Standard. ASHLAND. Or., April 19. (To the Editor.) The Oregonlan's editorial on the reasons why the West is slighted by Congress Is correct; you have the Eastern point of view. It can be added that the men we have been sending la Congress are the best the Oregon sys tem affords, and if they are not big enough to match the Eastern men it must be due to one or two causes, either we have no better men to send or our system does not result ln the state sending its best men. It has been claimed, and the claim is now pretty generally accepted, that our Oregon system has reduced the stand ard of public officials elected under it. We know that the most capable men for our highest offices, as well as other offices, will not enter the race along with the great number of self-seeking polit ical artists that enter themselves for the offices. The small caliber of the officials the state has been electing is proof of thjs fact. We can't see our selves as the East sees us, but we can see the effects of electing political artists Instead of statesmen. Show me any other normal Repub lican state that would elect a Demo cratic politician Governor Just because he, as Railroad Commissioner, ordered a slight reduction in freight rates a few days before the election which still leaves the rates higher than any other rates ln the country. . N. F. THRONER. Penalty May Be Single Tax f McMINNVILLE, Or., April 17. (To the Editor.) The Oregonlan article in regard to taxation of this date indicates that there is room for a taxpayers league to enforce the present laws on taxation. As a traveling man I find Intense dis satisfaction among all classes with the present tax laws and methods of assess ment Some measure to exempt more than $300 will certainly be carried by the people. If a concerted and system atic effort was made tc enforce our pre sent tax laws and compel the railroad grants, titfber trust, and others to pay more taxes perhaps we would find $300 examption acceptable, but unless some thing is done to relieve the small far mer from the burden of taxation upon his house and stock there will be a sweeping measures passed that will have little else to be taxed than land values. With the other correspondent I echo your echo "Why not a tax league?" If the people vote down all tax measures in disgust, as you suggest they may, then we will have the county tax mea sure still with us, and some one county will sweep all taxes from improve ments. Are we ready to he captured by the Bingle taxers? SID EVANS. Violets Cured III Queen, She Thinks. Vr Vnrlc Press. Fondness of Alexandra, PowaserJ Queen of England, for a certain shale of violet is not a mere wnim, nut really is based on her firm belief the color once cured her of a dangerous illness. Several years ago she was ill for monihs ana, ior a nine, iuijiu' ia i.rfliitK- flhout her con- were y . . i . . r-' - -. dition. One day a friend sent to the Queen a big buncn 01 aarn sprinu vio lets. The medical men noticed that the sick woman immediately began to gain strengtn ana spimo. suit they surrounaea ner nim os mui.u nt the violet color as possible. In the 1 r th. rnnm and in the naugiiitia ., 1 flowers brought. When Queen Alex andra recovered, she . explained, though she said she did" not know 1 why the beauty of that first bunch of vioieis imu - made her eager to regain her health and strength, since men sue mjs 1 . aa fnti1ne fnr vlo- nas snown . - lets and for that color in her gowns and' in the furnishings of her rooms. Effect of Roosevelt's Trip. tiADT-i a-v't-. Anrii lfl. ( To t h Edi torsYes, things are already different ' .v. th.u warn hefnrn Mr. Roose- 1 1 U III wnai velt set out upon the recent tour ln which, to quote The Oregonlan, he strewed wisdom Benina mm line a comet's tail." The, difference may not et be discernible to tne naitea eye, cul t Is there, and the best thing about 1 i ie n ernivine difference that will go on spreading witji the years. When words of wisdom fall upon at tnHv ears the conditions are favor able for a mighty harvest. "Words are the wings of action. , Yes. PORTLAND, April 18. (To the Edi tor.) I am an old soldier's wire, draw ing a pension of 3 a quarter, van my household furniture be assessed by the :ity or county? ifw,ur.n. Property of veteran soldiers or their vidows is not specially exempt from taxation. , Husband's Property Rights. PORTLAND. April 18. (To the Edi tor.) If a woman dies leaving property ha Inherited from her father's estate ! and leaving no children, can the husband sell the property or dispose of It as he Dleases? A KivADiiK. Under tha conditions stated, the hus band will have right to the property. I . I Advertising Talks By William C. Freemasu If there is any doubt that a wave of real old-fashioned honesty is spreading over the land, let him read the follow ing: Thomas E. Kirby, of the American Art Association, was conducting at auction, sale of paintings, the collection of the Jate Peter A. Schennn, of Phila delphia, when he suddenly startled, everybody by announcing the with drawal from the sale of two painting! that were supposed to be the work ol Mr. Inness. Mr. Kirby found that they were nof genuine therefore their withdrawal from the sale but he went further and said that he had suggested to the executors of Mr. Schemra that they ob. tain the consent of his heirs to de stroy the two canvases. Here's a case of perpetrting a fraud on a collector of valuable paintings having the fraud discovered years later (as fraud Is always discovered) and then destroying the imitations o that nobody else could possibly be defraud ed again. This sort of thing Is going on every where in every branch of business and it will keep on going until all traces of fraud and deception are eliminated from all transactions. What effect will Mr. Kirby's action have on future auction sales advertised by himself? There is but one answer: Everybody will have faith In the genuineness of everything he offers. The incident at "the sale in question gave everybody absolute confidence, and the balance of the Schemm collec tion sold quickly and at good- prices. The skeptic or cynic or doubter might say that Mr. Kirby had prear ranged all of this just to create a desire to buy the other pictures, but it so happens that these paintings had been on exhibition for several days and had been favorably mentioned by the news paper critics yet Mr. Kirby and the son of Mr. Inness discovered that they were not genuine, and therefore they did not go on sale. There is an Irresistible something that is getting into the consciences of peo ple that is forcing them to demand the straight thing on the part of every body with whom they transact any business. (To be continued.) Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe Copyright, 1911, by George Matthew Adams. When a man makes one mistake, he nsually follows It up with three or four before he recovers his balance. A girl may help with the housework when she is at home, but she is a queen when she goes visiting. It is only occasionally you find a man who believes h's daughter's voice or piano playing will make him rich; but when you do find him, he has it bad. Don't try to Induce a man to do that which he doesn't want to do; he won't do It, and will hate you, besides. Stirring Series Of Civil War 'Articles to Begin in Next - SUNDAY'S ' OREGONIAN Actors in the great drama of the Civil War will present suc cessively 12 thrilling non-partisan articles on the Civil War that will be illustrated with actual Civil War photographs. To the Tront in '61, will be the opening article. It is given a full page, the illustrations including Thomas Nast's famous painting of the old Seventh New York leaving for the front. It isn't long now nntil our Bible will pass its 300th birthday that is, the tercentenary of the translation and publication of "the King James version." A timely and vital article is pre sented in this connection. Woman is to play an unusually brilliant part in the coronation of England 's Monarch. Geraldine de Longville, writing from Lon don, supplies an interesting half page on this topic, with illustra tions. Farmers can cut down the high cost of living. At least that is what B. F. Yoakum, the eminent railroad man, avers, and he sup ports his views with a thoughtful interview of 2000 words. There are several individuals hereabouts who would be Mayor of Portland. It is the most cov eted of local political places. But it isn't any sinecure. Mayor Si mon is a hard-worked man, and the man who would be Mayor must set his mind to hard work. Read the half page on this in Sunday's magazine section. May day is at hand, and this year quaint May-day ceremonies are being revived the world over. Merry May-day Ceremonies is the title of a brisk, nicely illustrated half-page. There is an excellent half-page, too, on a man in Delaware who, having a couple of millions to give away, takes the stand that good roads are more valuable than libraries. lie has set out to prove his claim. Two strong short stories are provided. The Perfidy of Miss Brown is the eighth of the Peter Ruff Series. Then Prank Bailey Millard, a favorably-known writ er, presents an unusual adventure tale, "Under-Water House." Cap Anson, in his reminiscences, is back in the United States, after his tour of the world. The susceptible Widow Wise invades Mexico and goes to a bull fight. Sambo sets off for the land of the kangaroo, despairing of the wild man's capture, and Mr. Twee Deedle takes the ehildre-n into a land of strange little creatures.