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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1912)
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BHT rrRRIN rLVt:l (.M"f What debt of gratitude rr favors pat or to rum. or Doth, does tleorge W. Perkins owe Theodore Roosevelt, that h should descend to the humble rallrr t'f messenger boy between the fnlonel and his campaign manager? Mr rrkinx i. ,rvi rl tunes a million aire a precnt or past director of the tee! trut Bnd the harvester trust, an x-prtn. r of J I". Morgan. Sm h a man I dos nt become a carrier of mii i between a Presidential canummt- ! his mincer without very powerful i motive. Those motive are more apt i to be a Ilvrlv sense of favor to rnme than of favori- pat. What favors would Mr. IVrkin be likely to experi In the future. The nn.-wer l similar to iho.e he an.l the rorporali"n whlt h he it Intertr.l ret eive.1 III the past and an applloiilon -f the poliry towards such rorporat Ions hi h he has proposed In hLs public addresses. There In a stronn resembl.inre ' tween the utteranrts of Mr. I'rralna and Mr. Hoosev.lt on the subj.tt of trusts. Iloth lay most stress on what they rail modern rionnmlr methods, mhl. h require the t-on.Iurt of business on a larse st ale. H-th emphuxian the fart that mofe slie honld not tonsll tute an offrns.- aitalnst the law. Hoth eldom mention .ompetltion without quallfxInK It as "ruthless" or "ri.t Ihroaf ami treat It its out of date. Both ure that t orporullons whl h have the power and opportunity to ef fect monopolies should not be dis solve I. but should be brought under greater government supervision and toptrol. Both divide trusts into two rla.seee too,1 and ha. I. Hoth tlrpre rate prosei iitioii of trusts anil ret-oni-mend definition of what may and may not be done in order to romply with the Shrrnian law before any further attempt is made to enfon e It. Thouah that law was p.i-sed In 19") and no serioua attempt w;i maile to enfone It until lSH.t. a furtlii r period of wait ing; is proposed until this new legisla tion is passed. In sharp rontrasl with this polity. President Taft la stress on the en forcement of the law as it stands i a.nn.-t restraint of trade. w hl n '.m-ane tlostrui ti mi of rompetltion. and I attain! monopolies. He maintains that the law requires and the people desire i that monopolies be dissolved, not su J prrvisetl and controlled. He regards j iho power and opportunity of a cor- poratlon to effert a monopoly as pre i -umptive elden.e that It Intends to j u.e that power anil opportunity. I.Ike Kooeevrlt and Perkins, he does not regard mere size as an offense HRaiust the law. but. unlike them, he rrcards absorption bv a corporation of one I competitor after another as rvldence 1 of Intent to effect a monopolj. He j recognise that modern economic ' methods require that business be done I In larger units, but he maintain that i this Is not inconsistent with the pres ervation of rompetltion. He docs not , habitually prefix a di.-paragiiig adjec j tlve t the ntrd "competition." He. ! too. recommends Federal supervision ' and control, but for the purpose of preventing, punishing and destroying ! mnnooply. not merely of sterilizing it ml rendering it innocuous. If that be pisellle. ( Roosevelt found nothing to trlti. ise i in T.tft's anti-tru.-t policy until Taft t attacked the steel trust, for w hl. h Rooeevelt has always had a peculiar j tenderness. H contrast. Taft has at ( t.u ked every- trust w ithout fear it fa vor. The wrath of Morgan ha. I no t. rrors for nun. nor .!ld he shrink fr -m including his college claseinatr .mil hie political lieutenants among the Indicted. He goes nhe.id and en forces the law as he finds it. without waiting for further definition from a ' .'Iniilrit Congress. lie publican voters are called on to i decide which Is tir progressive and vhirh the reactionary polite. They sr.ouM decide not according to the la bels men attach to themselves, hut at -" t rdlng to their deed and words. Taft Ihs shown by deeds that his policy in .relation to trut Is more progressive ,"than that which Hoosevelt. with the ardert support of Perkins. now recommcmls. (IMUtM LAND 1-tW. ' The liberality of Canada's land law applies only to actual settlers. To 'person who wish to monopolize great (tracts she Is much less hospitable than the I'mtetl Stati c. The consequence in that Canada attracts hundreds of thousands of desirable settlers on smalt tarms. while our public land shows a lamentable tendency to fall Into the hands of we.tlthy speculators. Canada not onl offers land to far mers on rav terms of patment. but she Indulges In a good ileal of "pater nalism." as some of our old-fashioned statesmen would call It. The payment are so computed that no industrious person need fail to make them a they fa'.l due from the proceeds of the land itself. The tlovernment arranges In .-ome In-tarces to build a house for the settler, provide him with seed and eoi it and advance hi supplies for a tear on rre.ltt. This Is a degree of providence which our land law have never striven to imitate, but the Ca nadians seem to think that it pas. It brings in settlers of a very different character from the Huns and Italian who have been flocking to the United States. In recent years. in fact, as the reader knows per fe. tly weil. Cana 1.1 ha been obtaintr.g ittanv settlers from this countr. They rte gone from Iowa. I'akota and hcr slates of the Central West In Vuch numbers that the population of some rural diMruts ha actually de clined. Another unpleasant rircum Btaavo ta that tiny take considerable um of money with them. The aver age 1 said to be not less than $1000. and very Iiaeiy it is murn nuiirt this'. Some hopeful persona have ald that these Western farmer will dis pose of their land and return as soon a thev have obtained a clear title, but to whom will they aellT Somebody mut buy If there Is a sale, and this somebody will be another immigrant with fund. It takes capital to pur chase an Improved farm. It ought to be possible for the United States o to modify It land laws as to attract a grade of Immigration as high a Can ada's. We ourht at least to be able to keep our own wealthy farmers at home. MKTTf.K Lx;lt-ATRM. Here romes that busy Journalistic tinker, the East Oregonlan. with a grand scheme to remodel the Legisla ture. "The Legislature of Oregon I largely a farce." says thh wise old owl. "It Is the chief reason why the Initiative is overused and the refer endum Invoked too frequently." The Kat Oregonlan' remedy Is to get bet ter men for legislators, reduce the present number, pay them well, and extend the legislative sessions. We restrain an Inclination to Inquire how. under the present perfect meth od. It Is possible to get better men for the Legislature and commend with some modifications the suggestion of the Pendleton newspaper. A legisla ture oi ght to have a representative from every county and Senators ap portioned according to population. Thev oucht to be paid well. They ought to be given time to do their work. They ought not to be Intimi dated by a demagogic press on the one hand or coerced by constant threats of appeal to the referendum on the other. The overuse of the Initiative and referendum comes largely rrom the overplay by unscrupulous and cow ardly newspapers and self-seeking and hungry politicians upon the fears and ambitions of the average legislator. How may we get better legislators ? We shall get better legislators when we select and elect men-to the Legis lature without Insisting In advance on binding them hnnd and foot with pledges and leaving nothing to their tliscrt tlon or honor or experience. TI1K I.KMT KATTI.K fOl'P. If those "soldiers of the common good" who draw monthly wage from the Fels war chest are truthful, a tre mendous Interest was created In Seat tle over a single-tax measure. If Mr. l"Ren Is to be believed and California papers quoted him correctly, Seattle ha been losing business to Vancou ver because Vancouver has a form of single tax. If Mr. fridge reported Se attle conditions truthfully to the even ing newspaper that Is the Fels medium of single-tax publicity In Portland, tho people of that city in the recent cam paign were "aroused as never before." It I learned from Mr. Cridge's vera cious report that If a street speaker yelled single tax from nn automobile he was besieged for pamphlets. Voters discussed the Issue In the streetcars, the restaurant and the cafeterias. People debated It In the churches and schools. Henry Uenrge's son-in-law attracted widespread attention. A Chi cago schoolteacher. Miss Margaret Harley. in her addresses stirred the people to a fever heat. Mr. fridge, prior to election, gave Portland a solemn warning. "It is high time that the opponents of single tax In Oregon put on their thinking caps." he wrote from the Puget Sound city to the official chronirler of single tax doings. "A tidal wave Is likely to overtake them If they continue to play upon the beuch." Again he said: "Whatever the result of the election, there is no doubt but what the people of Seattle will be much better Informed on the question than they have ever been." An enterprising special correspond ent of the aforesaid Portland dissemi nator of Fels press-agent literature saw the situation Just as Mr. fridge viewed it. He wired or wrote his pa per a follows: Ts iimpilin her fur and aaainst Ilia mra-ur Is aeeona on'v to the Mayoralty f'Kht Meoma are te-tn- held every night, s, h.. chililren are ttrt.atllis the subject nrd. niK land oa nerp and -peculators are net up" ever what th.-r term threatened ronflst-atton. The atns'e-ialers are making a ..in reme effort to hat a the plan tried out lu Seattle. Well. It Is all over. The election has been held. Sealtle voters have been taught what single tax means. The voter who crowded around the Kels-paid-for automobiles and scram bled for single-tax pamphlets must have taken them home and read them. The exodus to Vancouver's tRX I'topia must also have been fully considered. Seattle has voted and Portland now can measure the height of the tidal wave. Hut we don't need to run away from tiie beach and don our thinking caps that we may ponder over Seattle's coup. The people of Seattle, now so well Informed on single tax. have voted it down two to one. THK sOSnrtHI. BIJTzri VALLEY. ' When Peter French first came In sight of the Blitzen Valley, some thirty or forty ears ago. It was probably an unsightly marsh, covered with willows, and the most of It under water the major portion of each year. He came lu from the south, through Catlow Valley, as he was then extending his ranches from fallfornla. to the north. Klitxrn Valley, more properly Dun der and Hlitzen. was so called from the fact that on the crest and western slope of Stein's Mountain, from which the Punder and Blltzen River flows to the west into the valley and thence north to Malheur Lake. Is frequently visited by electrical storms, particular ly in the Summer. Peter French, the senior member of the French-Glen Company, established a ranch almost at the extreme south ern end of the valley, something like thirty-five miles from Its northern ex tremity at Malheur Lake. This ranch afterwards became famous, aa It still is. as the wonderful P ranch, taking Its name from the brand adopted for the rattle, the first letter of Mr. French's name. The ranch "house proper was In it dav one of the finest of the remote hntldlngs of the kind in the West, and it still Ls a commodious building: and with the numerous subsidiary build ings, such a mess houses, sleeping quarters, barns, stables, smithies, car penter shops. storehouses, wagon sheds and other like buildings. It is more like a little village than an ordi nary ranch. The lumber and all other building material of a merchantable character for the construction of these, was hauled tip from Cedarville. a small town In Northern California, nearly JO" mile away, where for many years all supplies came from. There also the rattle turned off were driven to market, for in those early days all that portion of Oregon paid sole tribute to California. It was In but not of Oregon. ot of the land In the Blltzen Val ley was taken up under the swamp act purchased from the state at a pit tance. But it was really worthless to a person who could not reclaim It. Mr. French, however, set about many years ago to dig a canal the entire length of it. nearer forty miles than thirty, and year after year tfie dredge has worked away during the low- water seasons until the canal Is now nearly completed. It will be remembered by Bome that "Bill" Hanley was at one time Indicted and arrested for pur chasing Juniper wood to run this dredge! It makes one either laugh or weep, perhaps both, to think of a great Government thus attempting to ham per a work of such moment to the state, for when once the Blltxen Val ley I drained and the Irrigating ditch system completed It will be one of the richest valleys In all Oregon. Stein's Mountain lies to the eat; Jackass Mountain to the west. But running Into the Blltxen from the east are several streams, notably Kruger Creek and Diamond Creek, and there are fine valleys up those streams, such as Diamond Valley and Happy Valley. The P ranch embraces smaller ranches at these places, also at Sod House, near Malheur Lake, and at Huena Vista, farther down the valley from the main ranch houses, and sev eral others in Catlow Valley. Taking the Blitxen Valley and the other connecting valleys, there ls an area of somewhere near 40,000 acres of the finest of land, land that will raise Immense crops of anything suit able to that altitude. At the northern end. at the lake. It Is about 4100 feet; at the main ranch, somewhere around 4500. For onions, potatoes, cereals and hardy vegetables this soil, when irrigated, will be very prolific, and when It Is thrown on the market, as Mr. Hanley. who controls It. says it soon will be. It will furnish homes for a great many people. In addition to the lands mentioned there Is a large' area of fine land to the south, in Catlow Valley, which Is In some respects as good as much of the Blltzen Valley land. The latter Is made up largely of a peat formation, the soil being as black as a hat and very deep. But along the waterways In Catlow there i fine land, and many springs and streams to water It. In all the P ranch embraces about 140, 000 acres, but that Includes all of the range land. There are perhaps about 60.000 acres of farm land. It will surely be a great day for Central Oregon when the P lands are thrown upon the market at moderate prices, as they will be if Mr. Hanley has any influence over his co-workers and he seems usually to be the dom inant factor when he takes hold of anything. So doubt he will be In this case. THK LAW RKNCK KTKIKK. The strike of the workers In the Iawrence mills was precipitated by a rut in their wages. The pretext for tho rut was an act of the Legislature which made fifty-six hours a week's work. If we reckon seven working days to the week, as the trusts com monly do, this establishes an eight hour day. If we count only six work ing dav to the week. It amounts to a nine and one-third hour day. The owners or the mills were afraid their profits might suffer by this reduction of the working day and to even things up again they or dered a cut in wages, of course this was made out of all proportion to the decrease of the working day on the good old principle that when you have an excuse for exploiting labor it Is wise to make a thorough job or ' It. Although the textile workers were not organized, they felt so deeply wronged by the loss of pay that they struck. The events which have occurred dur ing the continuance of the strike have emphasized a point or two which it seems desirable to comment upon. To begin with, it has come to light that the men. -women and little chil dren who are employed in the Law rence mills live under conditions which are a disgrace to humanity. In former days the hands In the mjll at Lawrence, and elsewere in New F.ng land. were native Americans and for the most part they dwelt In homes of their own. The standard or living was comfortable and the physical and men tal status of the employes was excel lent. This was before the protective tariff had "elevated the condition of the American laborer" and incited the trust promoters to begin their perfect work. After a time Immigrants came In from England and Ireland who gradually replaced the native Ameri cans in the mills. Their standards of living were lower than those of their predecessors HnU the tariff was there fore enabled to accomplish something toward "elevating labor." This was done by substituting shank beef for sirloin and basement lodgings in a hovel for cottage homes. Next came an immigration of Canadian French men with still lower standards of liv ing and another "elevation of Ameri can labor" followed upon it. The shank beef gave way to moldy scraps and the basement lodgings were made to accommodate four or five famllie Instead of one. Finally came the Italians who could live on so much less than the Canadian French that the latter were expelled from the mills as the Americans and Irish had been before them. The tar iff and the manufacturers' trust were then put In a position to effect a third elevation of American labor. Children were employed In the mills In place of adults. The working hours were lengthened and wages cut to conform to the Italian standard of living and the dwelling conditions of the em ployes went down to the lowest pos sible grade compatible w ith bare exist ence. Some of them are housed in filthy cellars where a normal pig woultT perish of nausea, ami. according to the accounts of their situation, each Individual has far less breathing space than human farmers allow for their swine. Others are herded in tall build ings, fifteen and twenty persons In a single room, with no convenience, no chance for privacy or even decency, and no possible way to keep them selves clean morally or physically. Adult are permitted by the trust to earn from $3 to 110 a week. Little children receive 't if they are un usually capable. Naturally the trust cannot be expected to pay these little things a much as their parents re ceive. Children are the cheapest prod ucts we put on the market in this country and their toll Is priced at the same rate. This is what the tariff has done for American labor at Lawrence. The textile manufacturers and the steel trust are among the mot highly protected of onr Industries and their spokesmen have cried more tearfully than any otUr fur heavy dutH in ! order to keep up the standard of liv ing of American labor. At Lawrence this has resulted In the employment of a horde of Italians degraded almost below the human form . and paid less than they would actually receive under slavery. An investigation of condi tion at Pittsburg not long ago showed that the protection given the steel trust had produced a similar effect upon labor there. The "American workmen" employed by this trust are Huns who cannot speak English and are not encouraged to learn it. They have no opportunity to qualify them- j selves for citizenship. They work in humanly long hours tor mujeraoie pj and their morals are a scandal to Christian civilization. The truth of the matter seems to be that wherever the tariff has been permitted to pro duce its unimpeded effects upon labor, as it has at Lawrence and Pittsburg, there is a social ulcer running with a nauseus discharge. Moreover, we per ceive at both these places a certain searing of the conscience of those who are responsible for conditions and not in them alone, but also In their underlings. The Lawrence mill owners and their policemen could . not look on at the hestlallzation of the Italians without themselves being bestiallzed. The soul takes the color of the dye It dyes with. The lesson of the Lawrence strike Is fairly obvious, we think. It shows that what Is needed In order to "ele vate American labor" and secure In dustrial peace is not protective tariffs, or charity, or any kind of coddling quackery, but pure and simple Justice. While Alaska is locked against those who would develop the coal land. It Is wide open to those who sold for spec ulation land bearing precious metals. One man can take seven powers of at torney and locate eight claims in a group for hi3 association. He Is re quired to do only $100 worth of work a year on the whole group, and often evades this provision. If he located a claim In January, 1912. he could hold the claim if he began work any time before January 1. 1914. Governor Clark recommended two years ago that this law be amended to provide for 1100 worth of work on each claim and renewed the recommendation last year, but Congress has done nothing. Here Is a good place for a little con servation. citizens of Portland who cross the bridges would cease to ask for an ex tension of the closed-draw periods if the rule establishing those periods were made absolute by withdrawal of the discretion given tho bridge engi neers to make exceptions. In practice they make an exception nearly every time a boat whistles for the draw and the rule has become a farce. It is un reasonable to expect probably a thou sand persons to wait or! the bridges w hile a steamer is given right of way that Its crew may not be a few minutes late for supper. Champ Clark would value the com pliment of being likened to Lincoln more highly If there were a little truth in it. When we say of the two men that they were both born on farms all similarity ends. Champ Clark has a cheap and shallow- funny vein which may to some persons appear to resem ble Lincoln's humor, but it is really somethlng entirely different. A little man's mental stature is seldom magni fied by bringing him near a big one. People who imagine that the South Americans give all their time to fight ing will learn with surprise of the new railroad over the Andes from Arica to La Paz. in Bolivia. Arica is Chile's northern seaport. It has a good har bor and has long been connected with La Paz by road. Now there is a rail way. Chile has had railway connec tion with Buenos Acres for several years over an Andean pass to the south or La Paz. A funeral sermon which forgets the merits of the deceased and hammers away at his sins can hardly be worth $25 to the widow-; The Idaho minister who is trying to collect that sum for such a sermon may have a good case at law, but in equity he stands on the shakiest kind of ground. If the widow 1 obliged to pay the bill she ought at least to be given the satisfaction of telling the minister what she thinks of him in open court. What a relief It would be if Kather ine Elkins would only marry some body anybody and settle down. There Is too much politics afloat- this year to leave much time for.discussion of minor matters like the marriage of a society woman. Deep Is the mortification among the first families of Portland, ror none or them are thought worthy to be count ed among the 469 ultra-rashionables. The same fact disposes the rest of us to think better of them. The police department Is being used as agency for collection of the price of a case of beer, for which a woman refused to pay. This is the deepest depth of municipal degeneracy. Of course the House committee could not allow Itself to be prejudiced against the apple-box bill, but samples of the Oregon pack made sufficient im pression and the bill Is dead. The first shipment of hogs from the Deschutes country brought a fancy price yesterday. This is the beginning of what will become one of Oregon's biggest Industrie Do the cat fanciers expect that any man will give up his Inalienable right to throw things at feline vocalists which disturb his midnight rest? Amundsen does not attempt to rob Scbtt of the glory of discovering the South Pole. He Is an explorer with out a "yellow streak." Formation of a diamond trust is du bious, but good news Just now, when the young man's thoughts are turning toward love. When Torn Word, private citizen, can find open and quiet gambling, sworn officers of the law can do as well. The early belt around Hermiston will give new- potatoes from California a run for the market this year. All the knockers have shipped their hammers to London for use by the window-smashing suffragettes. Henri Salvey' flight from London to Paris suggests a new way to break a railroad and steams hie strike. ROOSEVELT'S PLA IS AKALYEED Spirit of "Wklskey Insurrection" Seeu la His Recall Decisions. COKVALLIS. Or., March 6. tTo the Editor.) Is the Colonel really a pro gressive? . His Columbus speech and his subsequent explanation of It should enable us to answer this question cor rectly. From these deliberate utter anots we learn that he would not recall judges but judicial decisions. Let us see how- this would work. Bear in mind that the people have framed and adopt ed a Constitution which expresses their permanent will as to what powers shall be exercised in their govern ment and by whom exercised, whether by the legislative, executive or Judi ciary branches of the Government. Now the people demand legislation on some line and the Lesrlslature enacts a bill providing such legislation, and the executive approves it. This is now the law. Presently a vcase under this law comes into court, wherein the defend ant alleges the law is unconstitutional. On appeal this allegation Is brought before the Snpreme Court. This court Interprets the Constitution, guards against any Infringement of Its pro visions, and must therefore say whether this law does or does not vio late some provision of the Constitu tion. The court decides the law to be unconstitutional: in fact, that it never was a law, being null and void from the beginning. At this Juncture the Colonel would have the people say to the Judges: "Go to! We care noth ing for your decision, less for the Con stitution. This law, however, was enacted by the Legislature and ap proved by the Governor, and It shall stand because we think it will do what we desire." But suppose the Supreme Court of the state decides that the law is not in violation of the Constitution. It is now alleged to contravene Borne provi sion of the Federal Constitution, or to be contrary to some Federal law. and on appeal the allegation Is brought be fore the United States Supreme Court and it Is there decided that it does con flict with the Constitution of the United States. The Colonel would now have the people of the state say, presumably by their Governor. "We will not respect your decision. Our people want this law the Legislature enatced It, I ap proved It. and our Supreme Court says it is In harmony with the Constitution of the state. We care nothing about the Constitution nor the laws of the United States and scout the idea of their supremacy." Was not this the spirit of the Whiskey Insurrection In Western Pennsylvania in 1794? Was not this the attitude of the nulllfiers of South Carolina in 1833? Did nol this distorted doctrine of state rights the sover eignty or the people, precipitate a wicked rebellion and bloiwly war upon us In 1860? To Invite or make possible a recurrence or these things is dee'd etlly retroactive instead or sanely pro gressive. The Colonel finds this difference be tween the Federal and the state con stitutions. The sovereignty of the Fed eral Constitution is the states; that of the state constitution the people of the states. This is not so. In each rase the people are the sovereigns. They framed and adopted the Federal Constitution or else its preamble is meaningless. They fixed the mode of amending It, and by requiring the united action of three-fourths of the states made sure of government by a majority of the people. The people conduct the Government. By direct election they choose the most numerous branch of the Congress, and by delegated election they choose the other branch and the executive. They control the purse and thereby the sword of the Nation. The Colonel may have been misled by thought of the different purposes to which the Federal and the state constitutions are directed, or lie- may no he an accurate thinker. He Is a college-bred man, has large experience in the conduct of public affairs and has held Intimate relations with bright, capable men. How may we account for his vagaries? He preaches polit ical anarchy; he violates the most solemn pacts of friendship; he would trample upon one of the dearest tradi tions of the American people, dear be cause handed dovn by Washington, approved by Adams and Jefferson and acquiesced in by their successors. The Colonel Is not an ignoramus. We must therefore conclude that his Inordinate vanity, his vaulting ambition and his autocratic temperament have led him let us hope unconsciously into play ing the part of a demagogue. J. K. PHILIPS. MOTH-F.ATEX BILWARKS OF LAW Mr. Savage Defines Position and Aaka About Tldeland Case. WILLAMINA. Or.. March 5. (To the F.ditor. ) I have failed to elicit from The Oregonlan the information I most desired, and that of the most public Interest, namely, the terms of the Lin coln County tidelands act, and when passed. Neither have you offered any defense of the mentioned concrete ig nominious results of the "bulwark" system of law as applied. You lose no time, however, in mar shalling your arguments in defense of the abstract principles and theory of this palladium of our liberties. I con cede the apparent Invulnerability of your position, and that I have Incon siderately taken a position hard to de fend that you have hemmed me In with "uncharted seas" at my hack. Yet with a stanch boat and a free wind there are worse things than the open sea. though It be uncharted. And the ancient bulwarks In front are known to be so worm eaten and countermined with abuses as to be next to worthless. Theories and principles are useful when acknowledged as sovereign. For par tial application, they are no good. In mathematics, a single error render un ava'ling the undoubted axiom, "In law. If Justice is thwarted by the connivance of the courts In behalf of Tom Jones. Bill Smith will claim the same license." Until we learn effective loyalty to real (natural) law. we may expect the an noyance of moth-eaten bulwarks and uncharted seas. The subject Is entirely too large for me to enter except with mere sugges tions. I did not Intend a defense of Theodore Roosevelt. I have not read his Columbus speech, and d'd not know his exact position on the Judiciary re call. It was enough for me that he thought such a measure useful. His psychology is all right, and he has a hard head and a clear mind. I would rather trust him than the rank and file of politicians or the legal grubs of the moth-eaten "bulwarks." R. M. SAVAGE. Mr. Savage will find the information he desires In a communication from J. B. Eddy, published today. The Ore gonlan commented on Mr. Savage's first letter because it seemed to indicate a proneness. not altogether confined to him, to accept anything proposed by Colonel Roosevelt simply because Colonel Roosevelt proposed It, and not from an understanding of the propos-.l. Mr. Savage cited the Wilde and Lin coln County tldeland decisions as dem onstrating the need for the recall of decisions. In neither of these cases could the recall of decisions as advo cated by Colonel Roosevelt have been applied. Oregon now has a far more orderly and effective method of ac complishing the same results as those Colonel Roosevelt seeks witli his re call of decisions. He lias not offered anything that would improve the Ore gon system. His recall of decisions. In fact Is a poor and dangerous substi tute for recall of Judges, the referen dum and the flexible constitution. T1DELA1VD CASE IS EXPLAINED. Tract a Granted SO Years Ago aa Subsidy . for Rnllroad Construction. PORTLAND. March 6. (To the Edi tor.) A correspondent at Wlllamlna, one R. M. Savage, has seen fit to criti cise the decision of the Supreme Court confirming the title to tidelands in Lin coln County to the CorvalUs East ern Railroad Company. A -word or two of explanation may throw a little light on this subject and disabuse the public mlnd It is evi dently the intention of Mr. Savage to convey the impression that the state had given valuable property to the rail road company without consideration property that belonged to the people of the state. Mr. Savage is probably a compara tively newcomer who does not know much about the condiitons that existed on the Yaqulna Bay at the time that the Willamette Valley Coast Railroad, the predecessors of the CorvalUs & Eastern, was planned and cbnstructed. That region wa8 practically a wilder ness. The promoters of the railroad conceived the idea that Yaqulna Bay might be made a port of consequence, provided it was served with transpor tation facilities. There was no busi ness on the bay to Justify the construc tion of a railroad. The few people that were there were exceedingly anxious that any aid that might be given to bring about such construction should be given. In order to do this, the state, through Its Legislature, granted- to the company the tidelands owned by the state In Benton County. Lincoln Coun ty was not then In existence. It pro vided that the land be surveyed and aw-arded to the company upon the con struction of a certain number of miles of railroad. The Government appointed a commis sion consisting of John Minto, R. B. Cochran and Jerry Hlnkle. to report as to the compliance of the company with the terms of the grant. The last two have long since gone to their re ward, but Mr. Minto Is still an honored and revered citizen of Marion County. These men were of unquestioned- in tegrity and they reported the railroad constructed and the conditions of the grant complied with. The surveys were made under the direction of the Gov ernor and the company entered into possession of the property. It was a contract between the state and the railroad company, made more than 30 years ago, for a valuable considera tion, and the court evidently concluded that, as far as the railroad company was concerned, the conditions of the contract had been lived up to and it was entitled to the land. Your correspondent would create the impression that a large amount of lands, formerly owned by the state, were by this act given away. As a mat ter of fact, from the Information in niy possession. the amount of tidelands on the Yaqulna Bay conveyed by the grant are not extensive. These lands are overflowed with every recurring tide and cannot he used for agricultural purposes, except by expensive d-yking. A number of portions are of such small extent that they would not pay for the cost of the dyke. I might also add that, during all the years in which the CorvalUs & Eastern Railroad Company has held these lands, they have been for sale and there has not been a single application to pur chase. This letter is written for the pur pose, as nearly as possible, of giving the public a correct understanding of the conditions. The people of the dis trict wanted the railroad and the peo ple of the state, through their repre sentatives, were willing to help to the extent above set forth. If the question were submitted to a popular vote then It would- have carried practically unan imously. Agitators who are so fond of stating that questions of this character should be submitted to the people, should also he willing that all of the facts In rela tion thereto should be stated. My ob servation is that the people may be re lied upon to do Justice when fully ad vised but are liable to be carried off their feet or biased in judgment by ex parte statements. .1. B. EDDY. Right of Way Agent. C. & E. R. R. Co. Legal Rljrntn and Imprisonment. IZEE, Or., March 6. (To the Editor.) (1) Can a man prove up on a home stead spending three years out of the five in the penitentiary? (2) Has a man citizenship after be ing in the penitentiary three years? EDEN WOLD. 1. It was decided in the case of Huffman against Smyth, reported in the Forty-seventh Oregon, page 673, that after a qualified settler has established a residence his removal because of be ing sentenced for a crime Is not, as a matter of law. an abandonment of his rights. The time a man Is in the pen itentiary does not count in the five years he must live on his claim before proving up. A man may live on his claim 14 months and commute. 2. For violation of an Oregon law a man sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary forfeits all civil rights, and forfeits all rights to office during the time of imprisonment only. There are some Federal statutes, which, if violated, take away a man's civil rights and they cannot be restored except by pardon. Youthful Accomplishments. PORTLAND. March 7. (To the Ed itor.) it seems to me on careful re flection that our theological friend from Minnesota left out part of the accom plishments that young America who as pires to be a Methodist minister should acquire. In addition to playing hookey, stealing melons, etc., he should also learn to smoke a few cigarettes, shoot craps, cuss a little and carry a six shooter to shoot up his hoy chums with. A SUBSCRIBER. It is possible today to build up a large business in a period of from two to four years where a few years ago it would require ten or twelve years of time to build to the same proportions. Newspaper advertising has made this possible. Let a new business, or an old business that has not advertised, start an advertising campaign in the strongest and most read newspaper in the town and keep advertising, con sistently, day after day, week in and week out, and results will come. Results and profits that would require a much longer time to materialize without the newspaper adver tising. In Portland the paper for an advertiser to start with is The Oregonian. There are many reasons for starting with The Oregonian. The first and most important is that you wfll reach the greater part of Portland's popula tion in this single medium. After your business has grown to a point where you can afford to spend more money as a result of profits made by" reason of big business develop ing from your Oregonian advertising, it will be well to use other papers as well as The Oregonian. Half a Century Ago From The Oregonlan of "March S. 1S62. On the 7th of February there was a great meeting at Salt Lake City of the heads of the Mormon Church, at which measures were initiated to establish in Utah a state government. The idea was given out that this would he done with or without the consent of the General Government. The Confederate War Department has issued orders to secure all the corn held by distillers, on account of the pernicious effects of the unlimited man ufacture of whisky; also because of the exorbitant prices the Government is compelled to pay for articles indispen sable as subsistence for the army. The CorvalUs Union says that Sena tor Xesmith vetoed to let Stark into the Senate, because there was a major ity who would vote to keep htin out The steamer Vancouver was able to reach Vancouver yesterday. Captain Turnbull reports the Columbia River open as far as Cape Horn, and the ice still running. .Madame Reeve, of New- York City, will deliver a lecture in the court house tonisht on "The War and the Affairs of the Country How All Was Brought About," etc. City election will take place on the first Monday of April next Miners, with their pack animals, are constantly arriving in Portland, from the upper part of this Valley. The snow seems loth to leave the country back of the river. In some places it is yet a foot deep. Farmers who have market articles, vegetables, butter, chickens, eggs, etc., would now find a quick sale for them In this city and at high prices. It is said that a bill before Congress, which is likely to pass, will increase the number of judicial districts in Washington Territory. Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe There Is one thing a defeated candi date always says about the man who defeated him. It is this: "Ho will stoop to anything." You can usually tell a suspicious, character by the way he hates the police. The men have as exaggerated an Idea of their rights as the women have of their wrongs. Trouble is usually plainly labeled in the daytime, and has a red lantern at tached to it at night; but people run into it just tho same. Do you like to hear your friends praised as much as you enjoy hearing yourself praised? You wretch, you know you don't. There is a certain shock experienced by all bridegrooms. It is occasioned by looking up suddenly at his wife, and finding her looking at him critically in stead of tenderly. I don't know how it is in New York, but in country town society, the in quisitive guest always gets hold of a spoon bearing the initials of a neighbor. A great many who weep at funerals really cry at the thought of how little they will be missed when it comes their time to go. In many homes of widowers who have married again, I have seen, conspicu ously displayed, pictures of their first wives. But I have yet to see a woman display a picture of her first husband when she marries again. Men who are modest and well be haved at all other times, will get gay with the dining-room girls when they eat at a hotel. Value of School Bonds. PORTLAND, March 7. (To the Ed itor.) In the city of Portland do school bonds have- any advantage, in safety to the investor, over other municipal bonds? A READER. In Portland the boundaries of the school district and the boundaries of the city practically correspond, so that although under the state law they are two separate organizations, the school district is the city, and the city Is the school district. Generally speaking, school bonds of a community are rated higher than municipal bonds, but this ls not true In Portland, the markot price for both kinds of bonds being the same. One reason why school bonds are rated higher is that school taxes are probably paid more readily, promptly and cheerfully than the. general tax, because the public schools are popular. The preference for school bonds ls more pronounced in small communities than large ones. Discovered! Ha! Monroe Leader. The "machine" has decreed that Presi dent Taft be re-nominated and elected, and The Oregonlan has undertaken the task of roping Oregon and ornamenting It with the Taft brand. We opine that this may prove more of a task than those political "rustlers" counted on In the start, now that Roosevelt is In the field. The common people will have something to say between now and No vember, and their remarks will have no uncertain sound.