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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 1911)
TITE MORXIXG OREGONIAN, THURSDAV, DECE3IBER 2S, 1911. 8 tye CDiTtronhtn FOBTLAND. OREGO. Entered at Portland. Onioa. Poetoirie a FM4-Ciw Matter. BwecrlBC,a Hia Invariably tm Mnw isr maid rr. oro'ey InejataeL i r tii r. u-iy itc nd"J. month... t-a-r. fcua2y lnc!ui!i. tore month. 11 7. Sunaay loc'udML on moota... t'l J. irnoji .-under, oae yar : y. wttnout 5 jD : month - t ally, without Sunday, thro mor.th. I - jr. without b.jauy. fto mou:a. . WV-k:y. o year .......... - Sunday, on year . .. . 4nda a&d w kly. ac year Bt Carrier.) t a.'rv. a-da Included, oa yaar..... 3 .TS 00 11 I.:. . 1 HO 13 . .71 La'r. Suo.lar Inc.uued. ooo month aT t Karell- .-.4 fmtnffka mMT or" i-r. HDrru order or oraoaal cback jour local Mil Stamp, cola or currancy r it tha a-nd-i-a ijl C.i potior; c adoraaa .a f i ! lac jH'rj courty and atata. I'Htu. It,i, ii, trt 11 nifr, 1 Bt 1 la 1 1 pa. a rant. 3 to 4t &. e-ata. I" to u Paiae. can la. For.B poatas. Coon. a rata. w aaataraj Buainea OtHcaa Varra 0"" Ita rw York. liniMwica build.. Cnica- o traar bu. ding. m Earaovaaj 00.. No, Raat alraat. V.. iatiuo. f1)Kl LA.M. Till ttDAY. dec. m. tut. PAroo AND BOKIOWlm The taxpuylng public of Portland ftcr with dismay a proposed total levy for 112 of ? 3-odd milli. It wi.1 b Impojrd on a total valuation of about $20.000. 000 for the municipal ity, and will yield a revenue of about to. HO'J. 000. It la the greatest sum ever raised for tax purposes. The tax bur den irooi heavier, not lighter. The ability of the property-owner to pay doe not grow greater, but rather less. Several years ago we deluded our frlves Into the queer notion that taxes could be easier to pay when the Uto pian wheme . of par valuations wa . sdopted by our sanguine assessors. Put the bars are now down, our tax resource) are at their maximum, and the levy rllrr.hr higher from year to year. The public has not trt over the rosily notion that It ran tax Itself rich. Bonds are proposed as one way out of the general dilemma. Much de pend!. If b.nds are for Improve ments or projects not needed, going Into debt for them In never wise. We have enouah bridges, and our park system Is fairly extensive. Our com mercial Interests did not demand pub lic docks, but we voted bonds for them. Probably we can get along for a year or two yet without J200.0UO more for the public auditorium. The tunnel under the river can wait a lit tle while, other convenience, luxu- ries. or fancies will come In time and 'with Judic ious outlay. Why try to get them all at once? '- Put some municipal projects are imperatively necessary. We must have abundant water and an adequate wa ter system Recently we voted 13.- 00.000 additional bonds for that pur- and the Investment was wisely made. If the methods of some of our political economists, who happen now to be In office, had been followed. ' we should have raiser the money en tirety out of current taxation. Pay as you go, they say. lon't mortgage the future. We must keep out of debt. Is the way to keep out of debt to pay nut all we have, and a little more, for the benefit mainly of generations yet to come? We must h.ve new schoolhouses. The City of Portland hns a half Unirn or more schoolbullJIng that i (re a disgrace to an enlightened com munity. They are a reproach to the eye. an offense to the nose, breeders of disease and rep'Wltorles of filth. Thev ought to be nsed for the pro tection of the schoolchildren If for no other reason. But the over-prudent School Board says they will do until 1 the money can be had to build new '. buildings In their turn. A large num ber of new and satisfactory structures have been erected In this way and have been paid for. except the Lincoln High School, out of current funds. But meanwhile other decaying edifices are bout to fall down. The Civic Council of Portland will propose to the school meeting Friday that one-half or more of the moneys proposed to be Invested IB new school houses be raised by bonds. , It Is a prudent and economical suggestion. It Is fair that the heavy cost of perma nent schoolbulldlns-s be distributed through a term of years. One-half the cost of well-built schoolhouses, con tributed by the present generation. Is a generous contribution. It would be fair If all. or nearly all. the money for new buildings should be provided through the sale of bonds. We think the public would be willing to vote $1,000,000 In bonds for new school buiMings, If the taxpayers should see fit to recommend It at their annual meeting. If we vote bonds for a wa ter system, why not for a school system ? Hut there Is a phase of all bonding proposals that ought to have more serious and thoughtful attention. If the public Is not called upon to pro vide money through bonds for Im provements and facilities It needs. It will be solicited successfully to expend great sums through bond for projects not actually needed. The credit re sources of city and county are large and there Is an IrresLstlble disposition to employ them. If we do not vote bonds for schoolbullJings, we will vote bonds for new bridges. If we do ' not vote bonds for water works, we -will vote bonds to buy the street rail way ar.d street lichtlrig systems. If we do not vote bonds for a new County Courthouse, we will vote bonds fof an auditorium. If we do not vote bonds for a new public library, we will vote bonds for a gigantic tunnel under the Willamette River. It Is well to pay as you go: but It la not well to pay out 'all you can as you go. and to borrow all you can at the same time. SITE I OK PI BLIC IMM K.- The opinion of the eminent New York engineer who was employed by the Pock Commission that Portland r-should make ail of Its public dock cal culations with due reference to Hoods anywhere In the world to create a su ts entitled to grave consideration, premely good port at the mouth of a Some of the plans we have seen based great river." Portland Is not "at th on a rosy prospectus of a greater ' mouth of" a great river, but J10 miles a great Tor:Iar.d evidently have not been made with as great care or wise forethought. The most disastrous of all Wiilam- I ette Klver floods In Portland occurred tu the Winter. February. 1SS0. No dock should be planned which would have a tendency to confine the over whelming freshets of Winters. In one - of the views showing dock plans there is a series of docks shown near the 1 North Pacific Lumber Company. In view of the certain flood menace a "poorer ait could not be selected. The proposed docks are shown protected b- a breakwater which would confine 1 " the water precisely at the point where ,,it ehould and must be allowed free scope. Repetition of the '$0 flood with the waters restrained at this point would be serious Indeed. That the docks should be below the bridges Is unquestioned. Proper rail road facilities provided at a site Just below the bridges on either side of the river should fill all requirements for the export trade. For the local river trade, the city property at Jefferson street should be utilised: or almost any of the present docks can be pur chased or leased at a fair considera tion. The public dock situation should be handled, and' apparently Is being handled, with the same care, and we hope with as good results, as would ac crue from the efforts of an Individual Investor. THE INMIMiEXTW ONLY PLANK. Senator Clapp la In error when he says the people are beginning to lose confidence In platforms and pledges. They have been losing such confidence for many years, but the last platiorm In which they have lost confidence Is that of the Insurgents. The faction to which Mr. Clapp be longs has shown as great agility as any party In Jumping on and off its plat form. A few years ago the Insurgents had a platform which looked quite at tractive to many people, but they have abandoned one plank after another until the only one remslnlng Is oppo sition to President Taft, right or wrong. One must step carefully and keep a cool head In order to preserve one's footing on a single plank, even If It be fairly broad, and the Insurgent plank Is so narrow that the Insurgent voters have refused to follow the lead era along It. Every sound principle which the In. surgents have put forward has been much better advocated by the Presi dent until they are reduced to the purely negative principle of opposition to him. Negation will not carry them far. JISTICE AVO MiFOIUt. Governor West has found something In the state constitution that pleases him: or some klml mentor has found It for him. which Is perhsps about the same thing. It Is the following pre cious gem from article 1. section 15: I,aws for tha punlshmant of crlma shall be founded on th prln-ltN of reformation, and nl tf vlndlrtle Juatlca. The Oregonian has no fault to find with that sound and humane precept tt has been in the state constitution for over fifty years, and has been ob served and obeyed by a long array of conscientious and law-abiding Gov ernors before the present Incumbent. They did not abandon any of the wise and necessary principles of retributive Justice to a quixotic effort at indis criminate reformation of criminals some hardened and confirmed and others not. They sought reformation of convicts mainly within prison walls, not without. Rut there Is another text from a book wtlh which the Governor Is doubtless as familiar as he la with the state constitution, to which atten tion may be called. It Is the following from Holy Writ: Woa to tha. O land, whan thy kins la a ehlld . . . Tha h'alnnlnc of tha wnrda of h' mouth la fnnllshnea. and the end of his talk la mlfhlTmii madneaa. The tender solicitude of Governor West and his group for the state con stltution a document which they have long Ignored ami spurned and looked upon as embodying the archaic and foolish notions of our old-fashioned and Ignorant forefathers Is a most Interesting manifestation of mock reverence. Possibly the follow Ing quotation from a great writer of the past Gibbon would appear to have a greater relevancy to the times and the fashions In mens opinions than either of the foregoing excerpts I'ndar a democratic ravirntntnt, th cltl Bna exarctaa the power of aovaralsnty and thtta power will be flrat abused, and after wards loat. If they sra committed to an un- wteldly multitude. But of course West, ITRen and the rest know better. THE WESTERN GATEWAY. A cause for gratification due to thr building of the Panama Canal Is a de cided revival of Interest In shipbuild ing and owning, not only in the mari time but in the Interior states. This revival is far different from that which was artificially created by the ship sub sidy agitation, for It Is spontaneous and Is not aimed at gratifying the self ish gTeed of a single Industry or a sin gle section. It is the outgrowth of National pride mortified at the pros pect that, when we have finished the canal, we shall ourselves make less use of It than nations with only a fraction of our wealth and population. A product of this revtved Interest in a book entitled "The Western Gate way." by Patrick H. W. Ross, a banker of Western Washington. The author Is a typical citizen of the world. Born a British subject, he has lived In Ha waii among Americans, traveled much and finally chosen the United States as his country. He argues that the United States has been so busy developing the continent and has drawn so large a proportion of Its Immigration from the HgrUultural people of Europe that It has ceased to think as a seagoing Na tion. He proposes to create a desire to own ships by making a free port of the whole of Western Washington, where the products of the world may be exchanged as they were formerly In the German free ports of Hamburg. Bremen and Lubeck, and where world ports may grow up equal In rank to London. Liverpool and Hongkong. This district he would exempt from tariff and shipping laws, allowing "free commerce, free ahlps, free crews, free raw materials, free goods free labor." The custom-houses would be moved inland to the eastern bound aries of this district. Mr. Roes falls foul of known facts In underrating Porjland's future as an ocean port. He predicts that Portland will become one of the largest cities In the United States, but says that, "al though a good port and capable of be ing made very good, Portland can never be supremely good." He contin ues: "I doubt whether It Is possible from Its mouth, thus fulfilling the re quirement for the greatest porta that they not only be accessible to ocean ships, but have the largest percentage of land within a radius Of 100 miles. That this definition of a great port Is sound is made- evident by passing In review the world's great porta. Lon don Is on the Thames. Liverpool on the Mersey, Glasgow on the Clyde. Havre on the Seine. Hamburg on the Elbe, Antwerp on the Scheldt. Canton and Tien Tsin in China. New Tork. Phila delphia. New Orleans, also are at the mouth of or the head of navigation on great rivers. Mr. Ross" book is a valuable con tribution to the discussion of that greater freedom of commerce of which the most encouraging part la the grow ing movement for free ship. His free port scheme Is In line with that move ment, though his approving comment on ship subsidies paid by other na tions betrays some confusion of ideat on the subject. THE FAMILY TYPE Or BOCIETT. A letter from Mr. A. 8. Froelld. which Is printed la Trie Oregonian this morning, contains the following strik ing sentence: "This problem. In com mon with the whole subject of crimi nology and lawmaking generally, can hardly be solved satisfactorily without looking at humanity as a family, not as an aggregation of equals." The problem to which he refers Is that of dealing with murderous-minded de generates. In another place Mr. Fros- lid adds: "Would It not be better to recognize the family relation, giving more prominence to dutlee than rights, to love rather than force?" to It is our candid opinion that If man kind could agree upon the significance of the word "love" and apply It un swervinclv to the problems of the world every social difficulty would disappear like morning dew. The his tory of the last 2000 years covers one great effort to do this very thing. The effort has not succeeded as yet. but it may by and by. Thus far "love" has been thwarted by self-interest and stupidity. Some time It may get the upper hand and then there will be no reason why we should not see that 'Kingdom of Heaven," or golden age of which the saints and sages nav alwava been dreaming. As for the family relation to which Mr. Froslld thinks we ought to re;urn, It was the primitive social state Usually we cannot solve new problems by returning to old conditions, ana in this case the method would be par tlcularly unhappy. Our correspondent would transform society Into a single great patriarchal family with some one at the head In the position of the Homan paterfamilias or the Jewish Abraham, the people being' arranged in regular stfDordlnatlon like oldet and younger children. The patriarch must have absolute power over those beneath him or It would not be a fam ily. If questions were put to vote we should have a republic, which was the stage Into which the family naturally evolved. Where the family did not evolve Into a republic it decayed into an absolute monarchy. Could we re turn to It the consequence would be nothing else than a repetition of tlls old process. THE COST or UVING. The New York Chamber of Com merce hus been asked for Its approval of a project to establish an Interna tional commission on the cost or iiv Ing. It is notorious that tl cost has been rlslna- of late not in this country alone, but In all parts of the civilized world. In the United States tne strug gle to meet new and difficult condi tions has excited discontent, both so cial and political. No doubt it lies at the root of what Is called "Insurgency" In politics. Certainly it accounts for the bitterness of our labor troubles But our' disturbances over the rising cost" of living are mild compared witn those of some European countries. It hus driven the British government to ftry old-age pensions as a remedy and has upset the ancient system or taxa tlon in that realm. In Franca Its ef fects apear as "sabotage. with a ferocity In the relation between capi tal and labor of which we happily have seen but a few sample In this countrv. But we shall see more if there is not a change of spirit on both sides. So we might pass from one country to another and everywhere we should see abundant evidence that a commis sion to Inquire Into the cost of living might find plenty of useful work. Of course a mere compilation of dry facts would not be of much conse quence. Here and there a person may be met who denies that it is any more difficult to make a living now than It waa twenty-five years ago, but the or dinary Individual Is convinced by stern experience that it is a great deal more difficult. What he wanta Is some knowledge of the reasons for the new and grinding conditions. The pro. posed commission can do Its best work by Inquiring Into causes rather than mere facta. Why Is It harder for an American citizen to live a self-respecting life and support a family credit ably than it was fifty years ago? Until this question has been answered and a remedy provided, how idle it is to rave over such secondary subjects as race suicide. The problem of the cost of living Is twofold. From one point of view it refers to the amount of money required to buy the necessaries and comfort, of life. But this is after all a minor consideration. The sub ject of real Interest Is the amount of effort, or "labor sacrifice," which must be traded for a living. ' In a perfectly organized society ll would be Just as easy to earn a living when gold was scarce as w hen it was plentiful. Prices would fall when gold slipped out of circulation and rise when new mlnee were opened but that w-ould make no difference as to the quantity of "labor sacrifice" needed to obtain food and clothing. Wages would keep pace with other prices, going up as gold flowed. In and down when It flowed out. The mutual relation of all prices would be con stant, no matter how prices them selves might fluctuate and hence the actual quantity of money In circula tion would not affect the real cost of living. In other words, the effort needed to obtain the good, things of life would remain the same without regard to the supply of gold. This, we say, would be the case in a per fectly organized society. That It Is not the case In our present social structure needs no repetition. It has been said often enough. We mention the gold supply In this connection only to re mind the reader that It Is a rather superficial factor In the complicated problem of the cost of living. It af fects prices certainly, but It does not account for that fluctuating Interrela tion among prices which makes th trouble. We are disposed to believe that when the proposed commission has finished Its Inquiries It will have dis covered three fundamental forces pull ing together to Increase the difficulty of gaining a livelihood. The first is monopoly. When a group of men obtain the power to fix the price upon any necessary of life it stands to rea son that they will use It. They may veil their acts under many a plausible pretext. They may make black look white and big little, but when they possess the power to raise the cost and the cost rUes It requires some little Intellectual deftness to avoid the obvi ous Inference of cause and effect Twenty years ago or more our states men discerned the natural relation be. tween monopoly and the cost of living and passed the Sherman Act to safe guard the people. With the law on the statute book monopoly throve un checked and prices marched upward In an unbroken procession. Perhaps It Is too late now to retrieve the dis aster by enforcing the act so long Ig nored. We are told that It is difficult to unscramble eggs. One section ol the public has even fallen into the habit of thinking about changing the ownership of the dish rather than analysing It Into its elements. The second factor In the rising ex pense of living is what economists call "the law of diminishing returns." Ac cording to this law. which is as uni versal a it la cruel, the greater tha demand which mankind makes on the resources of the world the more labor we must expend to get what we need. The more people there are the hardei they must toll to keep from starving. No doubt the United States Is feeling the first rude grip of the law of di minishing returns. From now onward it will be our Intimate companion everywhere and always and we shall have plenty of opportunity to get thoroughly acquainted with it. It Is a law which cannot he repealed by the Initiative nor modified by rhetoric. The moving finger writes and having writ moves onward." and you can make speeches until you are gray without altering a single word. The third force which we have in mind Is waste. Some may prefer to call it a bad habit Instead of a force, but for our part we know of no force In the world equal to that of. habit, and therefore we shall cling to our own nomenclature. Look anvwhere you like In our society and the most conspicuous fact that meets you Is waste. It begins in the kitchen, spreads upward like a desolating fire through the city government, wreaks its Infuriate will In the state legisla tures and reigns unchallenged at every capital In the world. It Is a moderate estimate that one-half the entire prod uct of human Industry Is lost by na management, vanity, foolish enmities and stupidity. Until we have applied a few reforma In this direction It 15 not very encouraging to talk about reducing the cost of living by law. ROSY VISIONS FOR THE WEARY. Not being acquainted with Mr. Ivan Jalowskt, who write to The Oregon Un about single tax today, we are in drfubt whether his letter Is Intended as sar casm or is the result of the writer's associating for long periods of time with only himself. Prolonged solitary contemplation of the mysteries of life often produces weird and beautiful dreams, be that contemplation by the Hindu under the midday sun on the secrets of the spiritual life or by the white man under the rain-spattered roof of Oregon on the problems of the physical existence.- The promises of this writer are not more ridiculous than those of other slngle-tnxers. The latter have many dreamers in the ranks. Some of the advocates of single tHX proclaim, for example, that its adoption will end the social evil and solve the saloon prob lem, to say nothing of settling the con troversies between capital and labor, promoting building and Inducing culti vation of vacant lands. The one poiht that causes us to doubt the genuineness of the corre spondent's sentiments as expressed in the letter is his placing the proper limit of a day's work at two hours. W hy two hours? Anybody who ad vocates a two-hour workday does not at heart want to work at all. Every Industrious man knows he would be perfectly miserable with fourteen waking hours every day in which to loaf. Roaming in beautiful parks, promenading grand boulevards and gazing upon magnificent buildings as dally occupations would pall on any one of working age and normal strength who was not constitutionally lazy. There are comparatively few lazy men In Oregon. No well-bal anced man would seriously seek to carry a measure by appealing to the ambition of the drones. By abdicating Instead of waiting to be forcibly deposed, the Manchus may be able to leave China without being reduced to such straits as was ex-King Manuel. It Is better to be an ex-monarch with a bank account than to be a dead monarch or to be driven to bor rowing of one's royal relatives. Absurdity of the postal regulations Is again shown In the incident at Se ttle, wherein a package five feet square, ' weighing eighty-two pounds. was forwarded to Australia. Not even an order from the Supreme Court In this land could get it into the local malls. Some will disagree with Dr. Rap- pold's statement that the wife whose genius he developed and who cast him off has risen to a sphere far abovt him. No sphere can be very exalted which condones ingratitude. Britain and Russia may clinch their spheres of Influence In Persia, but they will have to do it with bullet and bayo net Asiatics of every shade of color have an Instinctive repugnance to liv ing In spheres of Influence. The local trolley company has agreed to heat Its cars and needs go but a step farther, by teaching Its con ductors the rudiments of the science of ventilation. Perhaps In the matter Of closed draws the Government will heed the w lsh of the great City of Portland bet ter than that of Multnomah County. We must not become asylum for the entire Pacific Northwest, however. There must be mean adopted to Iden tify the unemployed as our own. Any architects' prize competition is sure to stir up a row, so there need be no surprise at the criticism of the Auditorium award. It is part of American economic life that there always shall be dissension In school matters. These - turmoils produce result. Representative Kent proves himself a true progressive by declairng for free ships in preference to free canal tells. The peace treaties are stirring up war in New York. This battle, like many others, rages around the Colo nel. The smudgepot will save the orange crop In California and the wise grower is ready. When you feel Inclined to growl about the rain, read of the blizzards. The East Side charter board 1 get ting down to splinter. Stars and Star-Makers Br Leone Cass Baer. Lilian. (one "I") Graham, a European dancer who recently was seen on Broadway In "The Red Rose." has made the announcement that she is going to change her name. Following the in cident of the W. E. D. Stokes spec tacular portrayal of a revolver range Miss Lilian Graham attempted to dis tinguish herself from the Lillian Graham of that contest by dropping one "1" from her name. She found, how ever, so many people confusing her identity with that of the markswoman. that hereafter she will use the name of Lysa Graham. She says her principal reason for making the change Is that she feared European music hall man agers would be afraid to deal with her. a a a In Sacramento where Fred Niblo and bis wife Josephine Cohan are appear ing at the Clunle Theater, In "The Fortune Hunter." a huge Christmas box from the Cohan family reached them on Christmas day. Among the remem brances was a play written by George M. Cohan, playwrlpht, actor and poet laureate of the Great White Way sent as a gift to his sister. As ownership of a Cohan play Is considered generally to be equivalent to a fortune, the gift Is probably one of the most munifi cent received by any woman this Christmas season. Miss Cohan has for raken musical comedy for straight comedy and Just before going on tour In "The Fortune Hunter," her brother George told her that he was about to prepare a new play, the second he had Written minus music, and that It was to be the new vehicle for the Niblo Cohan starring organization. Cohan didn't let his sister know that the play would be In her hands by Christmas day. When she received it there was attached to the manuscript a notarled. document worded: "This play Is to be played without royalties to Its author, George M. Cohan, as long as It Is presented by his sister, Josephine. and her husband, Fred Niblo." a a a Louise Dresser Is to take a whirl over the Orpheum circuit, or at least a part of it, her' tour beginning on December 31. She Is doing this pend ing the completion of a new musical play which Is being written for her. Her tour Is to last 15 weeks, so It's probable she'll get out to the Pacific Coast. a a When the play Charles Klein Is now writing from Rex Beach's latest "best seller," "The Ne'er Do Well," Is pro duced In New Tork City early next season the chief role of Kirk Anthony will be personated by Hale Hamilton who created the title part in George M. Cohan's great comedy hit "Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford" in which he is at present appearing in Boston. Hamilton Is one of the most conspicuous of the younger generation of actors who have come to the front with rapid strides in the past few years. He ma-de his first New York hit as the young Wall street broker In "The Fortune Hunter" and his pleasing personality should make his selection as the hero of the new Beach-Klein play a wise one. "The Ne'er Do Well" Is to reach the stage under the auspices' of the Authors' Producing Company, a newly-organized firm of which John Cort is president, and whioh is the managerial sponsor for Charles Klein's play "The Gamblers" which Is to be the New Year's attrac tion at the Helllg. a a a In the Dramatic Mirror the "Matinee Girl" tells of how a few actors spent Christmas: Lillian Russell, while on tour, often omits her Christmas matinee and Rives a olnner to her company In her private car. There l a plum pudding for which she has sent to England three months before. There are toasts to the absent ones. Including the manager. Genee gave a Christmas feast to her company on the stage, setting up again the big tree that had been part of one scene. So with Rebecca of Sunnybrook Faim, Ke.te Dnugas Wiggln. the au thor, playing Santa Clans. In fact. In most of the Klaw & Erlanger com panies, the celebration of Christmas is an Institution. Robert Kdeson and his wife, who travels wftti him, celebrated Christmas as they have the day of general Joy, In their villa at Strongheart, ever since their marriage. Mr. Edeson Is resting this week, and Christmas was celebrat ed at the Sag Harbor home on Sunday. "There'll be a week of life as we like It." his pretty, young wife eald, "with log fires and apple Jack, and riding through the woods and a tree cut from our own woods hy Bob himself." Between rehearsals and his wife's cruelly forcing him to accompany her on her Christmas shopping tours, which he says have left one night stands far behind In the mleery race, Otis Skinner is somew-hat worn and cries out against a day which he declares is "The great annual swap." Wilton Lackaye was once moved to write of the seamy side of Christmas, that 19 the side swept away from home, these verses: O lords of hearths and dames of nomea. Whose Joy of this tlma apeaks In the ringing of your laughter. In tha holly or your cheek, 'Twlxt the oysters and the coffee let a cheer ful toast be drunk To tha players poor Penates In tha top tray of hit trunk. While children of an older grojrth their youngster's antics view. And In baby frolics sharing their lost fable fallh renew; While peace of home and mirth of rest are found on every hand. We've the dank Insult called dinner In a Western one-night stand. i Edna Showalter, the vocalist, who was heard here this season with "Chevalier" and who was the first singer engaged by Henry W. Savage for "The Girl, of the Golden West In English, has sued the manager for 133.700 damages. She asks $25,000 for continuing to use her name and photograph after he had discharged her and $8700 due In salary. Miss Showalter was dropped from the cast after two performances. a a a Henry Miller, In a recent Interview, said pertinent things about conditions among the younger playwrights. He ha so many manuscripts submitted to him, many of which are rich in new ideas but so ridiculously lacking In the knowledge of stagecraft, that ex asperation must finally set In. The actor whose life la confined to hard work In a theater has little or no time for life outside with tne springs or new Ideas which such a life can pro vide; so when the actor writes plays he Is as a rule rich in the technique of the stage, but poor in material; while the average playwright Is the reverse In both particulars. Mr. Miller declares that vaudeville audiences are not fitted to genuine dramatic entertainment; the continual change from one thing to an other makes them Incapable and un desirous of continued concentration on one thing.' This prevalence of vaude ville has had its effect on the legiti mate audiences, who, Mr. Miller finds, are restless in the face of a serious performance. He Is a scorner of elab orate scenery, but a strong advocate of the emotional drama. HtMASITT TREATED AS FAMILY Corrfapoadrmt Would Reeosratse Broth erly Relation la Law Making. PORTLAND, Dec. 25. (To the Edi tor.) I not an editorial in The Orego nian today on the right of society to protect itself against murderers, but this is not written in a controversial spirit. This problem. In common with the whole subject of criminology and law making generally, can hardly be solved satisfactorily without looking at humanity as a family, not as an ag gregation of equals. We have pro ceeded In our law making on the theory of equality and by this time most peo ple are dissatisfied with the results. Would It not be wiser to recognize the family relation, giving more promi nence to duties than to rights, to love rather than force? The chief trouble In the treatment of criminals, and more especially murderers. Is the materialism of religion a.i generally taught. For in practical matters we fail to recognize man as an evolving spiritual entity, though re ligion is based upon this fact. We may pretend, but do not really believe In a life outside the hoay. we recog nize material evolution, but fall to realize the reality of spiritual evolu tion. How can we understand and treat criminals rightly without taking note of the fact that conscience Is an evolv ing power? In some it Is weak and in others so strong that physical life is given up rather than violate its edicts. Nor can this discrepancy be explained by physical environment alone. It does not reach the bottom of the problem. The facts should tell us that we have grown-up children and that we must treat them accordingly. But If we face the problems with candor we must also admit that these children are not the natural law makers. Then we are up against the problem of who re to make laws. Here again the spirit of brotherhood, the spirit of the family relation, is the only means 'of a satis factory solution, for we now lose sight of our rights and pay, attention to duties and the promptings of love. We become less eager to seek to pass laws favoring ourselves and getting at the other fellow, and on the other hand we become more concerned lest we should do Injustice, lest we should literally force the young and weak souls into vice and crime and thus making their sins our own even more than theirs. In most men at this stage of human evolution the power to resist evil is limited. Placed in certain environment fall Is therefore absolutely sure to fol low when the limit Is reached. This places a tremendous responsibility on those who think they are not criminals nor addicted to vice. How can we solve the labor problem without recog nizing this family relation? Clearly some are evolved to serve the family In one capacity and some In another; some with manual and some with men tal labor. But the division of the earn lngs should be made in the family spirit. As it Is we recognize two factors In production, capital and labor and between the two the earnings are supposed to be divided. But capital swells up and is padding Its account. It even claims the space and resources nf the nlanet without regard to tne fact that these are or the support of The fnmllv. What is the reaction to r.e' The onDresslon of the weaker mem bers of the family must eventually let down all bars of restraint. But can we In practice recognize the family relation without broadening our religious conception so as clearly to recognize the spiritual man imprisoned for a time In a physical body for the purpose of Its evolution? It becomes necessary to note that souls enter the world, with different capacities morally and intellectually; different capacities to acquire and achieve morally and In tellectually. While we know this to be fact, we are startled by the Inevitable conclusion that the Inhabitant of the body has an age Independent of the age of the body, that some human beings must remain children all their life. As regards the killing of murderers will it shock anybody to suggest that as the executed murderer escapes from his body full of revenge he is free to offer suggestions to all in a similar frame of mind? This is a real and terrible danger, and the proper place to keep such men is in prison. Those who cannot see how these suggestions are offered and are not willing to trust the word of those who can, might be willing to give society the benefit of the doubt If they could only tie induced to Investigate the available evidence. A. S. FROSLLD. SINGLE TAX AND THE MILLENIUM Great Promises of F.artbly Paradise Held Out to the Lssy. PORTLAND. Dec. 36. (To the Edi tor.) C. P. Strain, Assessor ol Uma tllla County, In a letter to The Orego nian todav says "single tax will de stroy private ownership in land," which Is not quite correctly stated. We single taxers propose to leave Just enough of the rental value In land to the present owners so mat tney win sddIv their Intalllgence, education and business acumen in putting the land to Its frreatest productivity. We will let the land owners take the responsibility, but we will take nearly all of what the land produces, whether the crop Is collected In city rents or rarm products. We will go still further. We will vote and sell bonds against the land owners' Holdings to build magnificent nubile buildings, grand boulevards, beautiful parks, establish homes for the aged and poor and havens of rest for the weary and heavy laden. We will shorten the work day from eight hours to Bix hours, and then to four hours and later on, to what it Bhould be. or two hours. By carrying on .vast public Improve ments from the sale of bonds, we will double and treble wages. If the land owners get gay, we will pass an Initia tive measure cancelling all private debts. Through the philanthropy of Mr. Fels. the sagacity of Mr. U Ren and the beauty of the Oregon system, the people will surely come into their own. The only cloud on the horlzen is the remote possibility of the Supreme Court of the United States declaring unconstitutional the Initiative and ref erendum, and unless this calamity should overtake us, single tax will overwhelmingly carry at the next elec tion. Vive 1 'ITRen. Vive la Oregon system. IVAN JALOWSKL Tae Senate O. K.'a Tipping. Washington D. C) Cor. N. Y. World. The United States Senate has put its official O. K. on the tipping evil. It has been Influenced In this by W. Mur ray Crane, of Massachusetts, who su pervises - the Senate cuisine. Mr. Crane's views on tipping have led to a repeal of the antl-tlpplng law of a year ago, when a boldly printed legend appeared on the menu cards of the Senate restaurant reading, "No Tipping Allowed." The sign did not stop the evil. The waiters, fully aware that Instant dis missal would follow if they were caught at it, took tips with the same alacrity as before, and the patrons gave up with the customary reluctance. This year a new style menu card Is In operation. The "no-tlpplng" slogan Is missing. Th oversight of the printer Is not escaping the victims of the waiters. ' Greatest Employment Bnrean. Chicago Record-Herald. In the Civil Service Commission, United States Government has srreatest employment bureau in the the the world. Over half a million people are on the Government payroll, and of these nearly half are receiving pay as the result of competitive examinations. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonian of Dec 18. 1S61. The Norfolk Day Book of the 13th acknowledges that a negro plot had been discovered at Charleston and we have no doubt that the great conflagra tion which has laid In ashes that once opulent city was the work of slaves. San Francisco Herald. (A graphic account of the battle and capture of Port Royal by the Union fleet is reported from the New York Herald.) , A letter from Cincinnati says that the defeat of a Union party in Guyandotte. Va.. was the result of trickery. At the time the Union men were there, there was a rehel force in the neighborhood of some 1000 men. These proposed, with the assistance of the citizens of Guyan dotte, to annihilate the I'nion troops. The- Guyandotte people were to invite them about to their houses, treat them with kindness and then, by signal, in vite the rebels in to the treat of mur der. This was done, and our Union men were murdered by the citizens and sol diers In cold blood. Many, however, es caped. The murders were mostly ef fected in the houses. When Colonel Zeigler arrived and heard the particu lars of the aiYair. he ordered the de struction of the town. The buildings were immediately fired and the whole town reduced to ashes. It is evident that a great battle Is Impending between the two armies in Virginia. Both Northern and Southern accounts agree that one: is. Inevitable. We had already received Intelligence that the Confederate forces were with drawing from the Potomac, but It seems that this movement had only been ob served In the left wing of the rebel army. The center was advancing, and In the meantime McClellan was also making a forward movement. The bat tle will be tremendous, for some 400. 000 men will be engaged, assisted by ar tillery more formidable than was ever brought Into one Held. San Francisco Herald. Report of public schools for quarter ending December 20 senior department G. F. Boynton, principal; Miss F. M. Kittredge, assistant. Whole num ber of scholars, 95: average number, 9. Intermediate department Miss E. J. Way, principal. Whole number of scholars. 110: iverase number. 50. Primary department Mrs. M. Hensil, principal: Mrs. J. Frazer, assistant. Whole number of scholars, 110: aver age number, 80. Whole number at tending school, 26S; average daily at tendance, 198. General McClellan would not allow two bands of music to serenade his wife. He Is opposed to all that sort of thing. The Alta says that a united effort will be made In Congress to procure the restoration of the pony express. A night or two since the balloonlsts. Lane and Dan Sickles, made. an ascen sion from the Maryland shore of the Po tomac and near Quantico Creek. The balloon was lifted almost directly over some of the rebel camps, and they had en excellent opportunity by means of the camp fires visible to determine the position of the enemy. The fires were lighted from Ocognan and they continued down along the line of the road to the vicinity of Dumfries. They were also visible along the two roads as far back as Brentsville. There Is no doubt of the rebels being present in strong force, and that they have not fa'len back as has been alleged by some of the correspondence from the city. A He Understood It. Ladles' Home Journal. A young Canadian came to Washing ton, D. CL, and was making a call upon a very pretty young woman .whom he met for the first time. "Do you have reindeer In Canada?" asked the young lady. "No, darling," he answered, "at this season it always snows." Dollar and American Farm. Indianapolis News. American farms, exclusive of build ings, are valued at $28,770,000. K. NITTS OX MADNESS. Nesclus NItts, whose philosophy had Become about Punklndorf, really the fad. Shot nicotine death ah, conclusion most sad At a roach that romped round on a new blotting pad; Then spake upon madness, and why men go mad. "I sees by the papers that Doo Mary W &1 led Who alius was found more or less of toll.. Has Come to the front and has named the real source Of what makes men's brains wobble . th.li. ..nurse Deolarln It's due to the presence, by KecK' . , Of them collar buttons, at back or the necK. Annoyln' and chafin' the nerves of ,V,a anln. It soon throws his reasonln" power out o' line,' She says. I myself notes another feet too In buttons, to Jolt a man's reason askew And drive him to rampage around, rer And make ' a display like a plumb maniac. 'It works out this way. If you ever k.. t,I.H To slap on a collar and get your tie tied. Nine buttons In ten, will fall out of Bounce onto the floor, and to "bllvlon roll; And many's the man I has seen Jest Of mad, crazy capers, while huntln' a button. "Of course collar buttons can drive And make 'em rage round jest like wild ,l,tifrB In n.i 1 n Drop down on all fours and prance n,Ti h.i-n nrirl there. Crawl under the dresser and growl llKe a Dear, They shore drives men mad In more Than merely by presstn" the backs of tneir spines. But sence Dr. Walker has come to the lltT-ht And brought the fac' out to the popular sight, can't help a-thinkln' this knowledge will cause marvellous change In our treatment And give added force and much more certainty To 'Merica's honored Insanity plea. 'The man who has shot someone else will not need To have his dementia well guaranteed By alienists, who depose and explain That brainstorms or somethln was loggin nis Drain; He'll need but to show to them Jury men gents A bone collar button fer ample de fense." By Desn Collins. 4