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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1912)
8 PORTLAND. OREGON. ' Entered at Portland, Oregon. Postoffles a &ecoca-.iass Matter. Subscription Ratea Invariably la Advance. CBT HATU) Dally. Sunday Included, one year........?? Dally. Eunday Included, six months. ... Dally, Sunday Included, tnree months. Daily. Eunday Included, one month.... 4.23 S.25 .76 Daily, without Sunday, one year. o-vu T1 - 1 1 ....... -rl . iv mnrthl. . Daily! without Sunday, three months... 1.75 Daily, without Eunday, one month.. .... -so 1. T . 1.00 """71 6unday, one year Jry Eunday and Weekly, on year. . ... . . ... (BY CARiUEB.) Dally. Sunday included, one year 8.00 Dally. Eunday Included, one month To Hirw to Rjunit Eend Poatoltlce money or der, express order or personal check on your local bank. 8 tarn pa, coin or currency are at the lender's risk. Give nostoff los address In full In.hutfnv unimti n H itata Poetaare Bates 10 to 14 pases, 1 cent: It to 28 ura. 2 cents: 80 to 40 pages. S cents to to to pases. 4 easts. Foreign postage. aouDie rate. Eastern Business Office Verre a; Conk lln New Tork, Brunswick building. Cbi- rarn Cfaisraki Kit (If 1 n ar ' San Francisco Office B. 3. Bldwall Co. 712 Market street Kurooeaa Office No. 8. Resent street. B. W London. FO KTTVN I), MONDAY, SEPT. 18, 1911. WATCHMAN, WHAT C THJB MGHTT The Oregonian has observed that the scum of the new political move ment in Washington swiftly and uner ringly rose to the surface in the recent boiling commotion at the soap-box pri mary, for the candidates who . were nominated can only be described ade- quately as being- the limit. It is not surprised to find that Its opinion is fortified, and & little more, by the North Yakima Republic, a newspaper printed in the heart of Washington affairs, and therefore in an admirable position to know what is going for ward. The Republic has a good deal to say on the subject. A paragraph will give a clear notion of the Indignant editor's trend of thought: Hodge for Governor, Falconer and Bryan for Congressmen at large; Landon, War- burton and Goodwin for district congres sional candidates The Lord preserve and defend us! We are going to have a period of purity. honesty and devotion to the people's cause in the management ox our public affairs, and these are the instruments chosen by the Lord to give It to ua. Haw wouldn't that 1ar vou? I Hodge, the Illiterate egotist; Falconer, the prince of all the blatherskites; Landon. the roughneck; Warburton, the ex -railroad tool Goodwin, the Sunday school snoop can you beat that handT The selection of this amazing bunch of demagogues, trimmers, political scalawags snd whatnots by the people or by any ele ment of our population was someuung that could not be forecasted. It was un thinkable before the soapbox primaries, and it would be unbelievable now if we couldn't see for ourselves that it actually happened. The Oregonian is prepared to be lieve that the Judgment of the North Yakima paper as to some members of this newest and most heterogeneous. happy family is harsh, but as to others it is as gentle as the dews of heaven In contrast with the real merits of the situation. There is enough unsavory leaven to leaven the whole lump, for tha general average is far below the level of any state ticket nominated by any political party for any campaign In the history of the three states of the Pacific Northwest. The Oregonian is not unmindful of tha fact that some pretty bad nominations have at times been made by all the parties; but this progressive group represents the very acme of all political undesirables, cast offs and non-euches. May there never be another liKe it, ror tne saKe or tne ... .. , , state's good name and future welfare. Good men submitted their names as candidates to the Bull Moose primary In Washington, but they did not get Tar. Paulhamus and Lawrence con irived merely to kill off each other; Nelson Durham was not wanted for Congress; nor the high-minded George H. Walker, nor the active, intelligent and useful John E. Ballaina. These men would be worthy candidates for any party; but they made the mistake of thinking a party that professed to be founded on the solid rock of the ten commandments would not reject them for roughnecks and roustabouts like Hodge and Landon. On the con trary, Hodge and Landon made run away races and easily proved that they are precisely the candidates the great majority of Bull Moosers of one state want The underlying difficulty with the Progressive party is that it is made up of conflicting and inharmonious elements, united only on the common ground of Mr. Roosevelt's candidacy but drawn there by different motives. The Progressive party is composed of the following groups: (1) Theodore Roosevelt. (2) Candidates. (3) The dissatisfied, restless, so cialistic and unattached from the old parties, who stay nowhere long. (4) Men and women who think the old parties are corrupt and decadent, and that progress is only to be had through a new party. The Oregonian is willing to concede that the fourth group is the most nu merous of all, and that Its motives are not to be questioned, nor its reasons to be dismissed as unworthy of thoughtful consideration. But it be lieves they have made a profound mis take in assuming without sufficient warrant that the Republican party is reactionary and inefficient, and in set. ting out to supersede and destroy it for its transgressions and lor its ac ceptance ln some states of unworthy and selfish leaders. It is fortunate ln the present great political crisis that the Democratic party has a leader of intellect probity and sanity, with a forceful and Independent personality. Since the course of the Progressiva I Party ln the Nation has been to make absolutely certain an overwhelming Democratic victory In November, and other victories thereafter, unless the forces that through tradition, convic tion and long experience are hostile to the Democratic party again unite and restore to the Government sure guidance and stable policies. It has often been said that there is now very little difference between the Republican party and the Democratic party, either in character or ln pur poses. If that should be so, it is some thing not to be deplored, but to be commended, for it seems to be a guar anty that in whichever party's hands the Government shall be reposed, there will be careful and conservative direc tion and fairly honest service. We as sume that not even tha Progressives will profess that the rank and file of their party are superior in morality. patriotism or intelligence to the mem- bershlp of the other parties. They have, however, claimed a deeper in sight into the nature of the problems confronting the country, and a more responsive moral and intellectual im pulse to solve them on a basis of social and Industrial Justice. There are about sixty-four planks in the National Progressiva platform, and with the larger part of them the aver- age citizen, of whatever previous or present political faith, finds himself in accbrd. But there Is violent disagree- ment over some of them such as the trust plank, the initiative, minimum wage, woman suffrage, and a few others. The Oregonian can select at least forty planks no child labor, one day's rest in seven, safety standard for wage earners, fair compensation for industrial accidents, the short ballot, stringent laws against bribery and the like to which there will be, for there ought to be, no dissent whatever. What have the Progressives now ob viously accomplished by their hasty d Ill-considered action In abandoning the Republican party? They have in. sured Democratic success. They have dealt a heavy blow to a party with a long and honorable record. They have put in control as leaders undeserving men. They have retarded the pro gressive movement by dividing the forces of progress. They have Joined hands with the radical and seditious element of the population and have fostered the growing resentment against government and law, and have weakened the arm of authority. They have unloosened forces that it may be, and will be, hard to control, and that do not bode well for security, order, moderation, sanity and real progress. Are they prepared to accept so great a responsibility? VISITING AUNT DELIA. William Howard Taft, pausing in the affairs of a busy life, spent Sun day in the quiet little Massachusetts village of Millbury, where lives in quiet retirement his favorite aunt, Delia. He spent the night in a downy bed at Aunt Delia's quiet home, en- Joyed a simple breakfast under the aame iellghttal roof and put ln a day that was in keeping with the simple life of a New England village with its wholesome life and surroundings. A feature of the day was a dinner in honor of Mr. Taft's fifty-fifth birth day anniversary. The piece do resist ance was pie; made not by skilled caterers, but by the loving hands of Aunt Delia. Mr. Taft might have fancied himself a part of this calm untroubled village life except for the crowds that awaited his every appear. ance and the obtrusion of important messages of state that could not wait. Great as is the honor of being President of the United States and many as are the rewards of a big role in life, it may safely be set down that T t villagers felt of Mr. Taft and his big part was returned with interest by the President. To the man who has been denied it, there is something irresistible about the de lightfully simple environs of the coun try or village. Often the greater the stress of city activities through long years the more intense the longing for the wholesome atmosphere of rural haunts. The man who has faced the pressure of big deeds, or active city life, can hardly turn back, nor is it probable that he would remain content with the simple life. The germs of big things and big activities are in his veins. It has come to be his life. Yet he is able to see the subtle beauty of the lesser sphere in all its allurement. Who, great or small among the tense workers of the city, has not been moved by the sentiment? TVOODSCRAFT AND INSTINCT. Hardship and loss of life occasion ally follow the expeditions of city-bred nimrods into mountain fastnesses. which indicate that civilization has w.ut ...wjw and understandinK 0f woods craft which were Inherent in primi tive man. Lost in forests and moun tains, the man of the city who must fall back on his instincts to get him out of tha tangle finds them sadly blunted. Or, if he has learned to read direction from the heavens, he lacks that capacity to adjust himself to the life led by the creatures of the fast nesses. The Indian or skillful woods man is frequently aDie to tnnve or experience little inconvenience in region where the city man, with his blunted instincts, must perish. , The man who has lived close to Na. ture knows her ways. To him the heavens are an infallible compass, the sun his timepiece. He Is quite at home in the remotest wilderness. He knows where Nature has secreted roots and herbs that, in dire emergency, will sus tain him. If there Is game, big or small, the secret of possession is simple to him. The elements have no great terror for him, for he has learned to overcome the inconveniences 01 weather. The pity of the tragic death of three voung men in Alaskan game haunts is that they were not remote from succor. It appears that they passed a stream that would have guided them to salt water and rescue had they followed its course, instead. lacKing mat Knowl edge and instinct which is the woods man's safeguard, they stalked aimless ly about in an environment as danger. ous and hopeless to them as that of a fish removed from water. HOW THEY TAX IX BRITISH COLUMBIA. The following letter presents certain Inquiries that are uppermost la the minds of many persons who have been studying the tax issues now before the voters. The questions asked have been given importance by frequent refer ences made to British Columbia by the Single Tax propagandists in Oregon Medford. Or.. Sept. 14. (To the Editor.) -When was the poll tax abolished ln Ore- ron? When was single tax aaoptea in Ttrirlith Columbia? What rs the difference. if any. between the tax system there and the proposed graduated single tax 7 R. CLASS. The general poll tax was doubly re- pealed by the Oregon Legislative As- sembly of 1907. This act aid not re- peal the road poll or head tax, but Multnomah County gave up attempting to collect it about a decade ago be cause it was practicably unenforcible. Some localities continued to levy the road tax with varied success, but it was probably invalidated by the county op tion amendment adopted in 1910. The single tax has never been adopt ed by British Columbia. In British Columbia the provincial or state taxes are levied direct not through the county tax officials, as is done in Oregon. The provincial gov ernment levies and collects an income tax throughout the province and col lects a personal property tax from every person residing in an unorgan ized district. Municipalities derive local revenues from taxation of real property and from licenses. They are permitted to exempt improvements from taxation and some municipalities, of which Van- couver is one, have done so. Income taxes and license taxes, which are not contemplated by real single tax, are collected in Vancouver. The graduated single tax amendment would inflict preposterous special taxes on large land holdings, rights of way and franchises unlike anything im posed ln British Columbia. No provi- slon i3 made for an income tax such as British Columbia collects. It does not provide for direct taxation by the (State and its exemption of personal property and improvements would be general throughout the state, not local ized as in British Columbia. In its practical workings the Ore gon amendment, because of its exemp tion of all improvements, personalty and incomes, and because of the weak wording of the graduated tax provi sions, would inflict a much greater tax burden on land than does the British Columbia system. In fact the two plans are similar in only the most shadowy way. There Is a greater re semblance to the British Columbia tax system in the plan embodied in the amendments presented by 'the State Tax Commission than in the graduated tax amendment. But to follow it close ly the Tax Commission's plan would need another amendment giving coun ties or cities the right to exempt im provements and personal property from taxes levied to produce revenues for strictly county or city purposes. FRUITS OF UNRESTRAINED MURDER. Murderer Sneed, product of a wide spread American disregard of human life, has claimed the life of another vic tim, after having been permitted his freedom following the inability of Texas Jury to convict him for the mur der of a man who made derogatory remarks about Mrs. Sneed. This sec ond victim is the son of the first, one Boyce. It appears that the son eloped with Mrs. Snaed and the father after wards made uncomplimentary remarks concerning her character, remarks that while not excusable nevertheless would appear to have been -. well founded. No doubt the elder Boyce was per turbed at the conduct of his son in eloping with a married woman. As the father of the male half of the elop ing duo it was quite natural that he should lay much of the blame upon the woman. Had his paternal chagrin asserted itself in the murder of the woman's husband his act would have been entirely as Justifiable as the course 'adopted by the husband. The element of inane sex sentiment being absent he would have hanged, of course, whereas the husband is turned at large with the stamp of partial ap proval and approbation upon his foul deed. No surprise need be occasioned by his second usurpation of the powers of Judge, Jury and executioner. If a Jury would not hang him for the mur der of an innocent relative of his wife's betrayer, why then surely the law would commend him for slaying the paramour of Mrs. Sneed. As he re flected upon the wrongs growing out of his wife's inconstancy, what in hibitions were ' there to restrain his morbid impulse to wipe out the score in bloodshed? His fearlessness of the law Is reflected in his manner of exe cuting the second victim. Bearing a veritable arsenal he opened fire with an automatic shotgun. When victim No. 2 had fallen before the cowardly fusillade of buckshot, Assassin Sneed proceeded to search out the authori ties and surrender himself together with tha instrument of execution and two automatic pistols. Now the significant thing in the Sneed murders, it will be readily re called, is the fact that he previously had an opportunity to slay his wife's paramour, and at a time when his crime would have had the aspect of impulsive action. That was when he found the eloping couple at Winnipeg. But he was able to restrain his mur derous impulses there for the very sufficient reason that Canadian law does not wink at wanton -taking of human life. Sneed knew that he would be hanged in Canada, and hav ing a well ordered regard for his cowardly carcass he awaited an oppor tunity under more favorable environ ment. His latest murder shows all the elements of mature deliberation and cunning preparation. Doubtless he reflected carefully upon the out come of his act and concluded that no harm could possibly result to him. That he was disinclined to take any chances with his Own wretched life is indicated not only by his display of restraint in Canada, but by the cow ardly methods of murder pursued by him in Texas. TROUBLE IN THE LEARNED WORLD. H. C. Bastian's work on the" nature and origin of living matter seems at last to have impressed the orthodox scientists a little, not much, to be sure, but still a little. He may esteem it a triumph to have impressed them at all, for there is no bigotry more nearly impregnable- than that of established scientific opinion. Any settled con viction, whether ln biology or theology, or any other department builds an economic machine around itself by which many people earn their living, so that any change not only implies Intellectual disturbance, which is baa, but also the loss of money, which is worse. We do not gather that at the last meeting of the British Associa tion for the Advancement of Science there was any direct mention of Bas tian's: views and experiments, but in directly they stirred up a good deal of discussion. The president. Profes sor Schaefer, went so far as to say that the present scientific views of the nature and origin of life were not necessarily inspired. Professor Oliver Lodge, who grows more progressive as he grows older, comforted the learned world with the assurance that Bas tian's results do not threaten re vealed religion, while Ray Lancaster thought It made little difference whether they did or not. What he wanted was the truth. Revealed religion has scented dan ger ln pretty nearly every auvauco that the human intelligence has made, but the peril has usually turned out to be imaginary. No doubt revelation is Just as true today as it ever was and it need fear no more terrible ca lamities than it has undergone al ready. Like She, from the fire It alwavs comes out brighter and more vigorous than before and takes a new lease of life from threatened destruc tion. It would be difficult for even the most timid piety to point out any genuine danger to faith in Bastian's investigations. All he does is to put some- saline solutions in sealed bottles, after thoroughly sterilizing them, and await developments. To destroy any germs of life which his solutions might contain surreptitiously he sub jects them to high temperatures. He also takes Infinite pains to prevent any germs from slipping in unawares while he is sealing tne Dottles, so that it is fair to concede that there are no living matter and no seeds of life ln his liquids when "he sets them away on the shelf. After they have stood awhile undis turbed, strange events fcegin to happen ln them. In the first place a little sedi ment collects at the bottom, which is no more than a deposit from the sol ids in solution. There is nothing sur prising in this. Sediment collects in all sorts' of bottles. But In the course of time Bastian's sediment is found I to have acquired a difference. Ex amined ' under the microscope it is seen to consist not only of inanimate particles of saline matter and silicates, but with these are mingled wonderful little creatures which may possibly be alive. Bastian asserts that they are alive, and for this heresy he has been excommunicated by the British As sociation, which refuses even to pub lish his experiments. It is as if a minister of the gospel ware to deny the divinity of Jesus, or hold that the Beast in Revelation had eight heads Instead of seven. Like other heretics Bastian is pug nacious and he has not consented to be squelched. He has published a book in the face and eyes of the Brit ish Association, giving an account of his experiments on the origin of life. The book is ln the Portland Public Li brary, where anybody may obtain it who wishes and find out precisely what the rising storm In the scientific world Is all about. The reader should not commit the error of thinking that Bastian's experiments are easy to re peat. Anybody can put a little soup or grual in a bottle and obtain living organisms by letting it stand in a warm place. But that signifies noth ing, because they come from germs already present' What Bastian does is to destroy all the germs and seeds of germs by heat before he seals the bottles. If life appears after that something marvelous has happened and Bastian not only says it does ap pear but apparently he proves It. The creatures which manifest them selves in the sediment of his solutions present all the phenomena of living beings, as far as the eye can detect and, marvel upon marvel, they die and reproduce themselves. He Has seen them do it and the reader himself can all but see the processes going on ln tha pictures of Bastian's book. Still the orthodox members of the British Association maintain that Bastian's observations are all illusion, or if not illusion at least they are a blunder. They sapiently explain that the creatures in the bottle merely simulate life and that the "reproduc tion" which he fancies he sees going on is nothing more than a species of crystallization. Now Herbert Spencer maintained long ago that crystals were living things in a way. At least they exhibited many of the phenomena of life in his opinion, particularly that of rai-.-oducing their kind. For this he was laughed at, but now comes the President of the British Association ln all his glory and says, in full panoply from his scientific throne that Spencer was probably right.- The read er will discern how ominous the signs are. In all probability before a great while we shall have to forsake our long-cherished belief that life origin ated once and for all in some miracu lous way at the beginning of things and that the marvel never can happen again. The chances are that it is hap pening daily in all parts of the uni verse. Given the same causes, we are likely to get the same effects now as a billion years ago and who shall say authoritatively that the causes are not the same today as they were then ? The bold assertion that they are not is mere guesswork. It would not sur prise us to hear in a year or two that Bastian's experiments are the . most important events in the history of modern science. Newton w,as ridiculed by orthodox pundits when he pub lished his theory of universal gravita tion. That excessive conversation is dan gerous to life is revealed in the plight of a Philadelphia woman who is re ported to be talking herself to death. Constant use of her voice is utilizing her reserve of energy. For while it doesn't necessarily entail a strain on the mind to keep up some varieties of feminine conversation, yet it does pre vent sleep, at least in the speaker, and so her system cannot repair wasted tissues or lay by reserve stores of energy. The doctors examined the woman s head ln vain. .However a lesion need not necessarily be looked for in such a case which may be classified as one Of the multitude of psychic or ' nervous disorders. No doubt the woman had an abnormal volubility which now takes .this pres ent distressing form. While such cases are rare, this one shows what may follow overuse of the linguistic faculties and should serve as a warn ing to the talkative. As a makeup artist; old Father Time is a master of consummate skill. Which must have been fully realized by the two old pioneers who met Saturday ln Portland for the first time in fifty-nine years. What shock each must have experienced at noting the strange makeup that half a century had imposed upon the other. Each must necessarily have retained a picture of the other as a brisk, red-faced youth. To each the time since they last met must have seemed short. A quarter of a century ago seems as yesterday when one looks back. Half a century must appear as but little longer. Therefore,! try to fancy the emotions of meeting, bowed by years, your boyish friends of yes terday. - Mr. Smith, potato king of British Columbia, cannot show Oregonians anything much Deyond system ln handling, which, it must be admitted, is needed. Nothing finer than Ore gon potatoes can be grown anywhere. The mother of a light-weight bruiser, sent to San Quentin for white slavery, cursed the detectives for the "unhappiness" they had brought her. Her son, of course, was not responsible for any of it. The idea of Burns as the habitat of cowboy and tinhorn is dispelled by erection of the large and handsome brick schoolhouse about ready for oc cupancy. When a man has his wife arrested for staying out "after hours," thou sands of abused women ejaculate "Humph!" That gale Saturday must have been reflex action of atmospheric currents consequent upon the Colonel's depart ture. The Governor is now after the "higher-ups," which, if continued, may lead him out of sight. . Fifty carloads of clover seed in one item explain why the Yamhill banks are full of money. Reports of excess of births of boys in the Northwest must mean war in the horoscope. McCredie must get Rapps next season. a dozen of Bill Bull Moose on the National com- mlttea must vamoose. CAPITAL. PUNISHMENT IS DECRIED Views of Opposition to Execution Pre sented by Prison Chaplain. SALEM. Or., Sept. 9. (To the Ed itor.) In an editorial in The Ore gonian recently you rap the Oregon Messenger and many others of this state whom you call "sentimentalists who cry out aerainst exact retributive justice." It is possible that many of your readers figured out from your opening sentence, "poor young Donald Stewart!" that the accuser, more than the accused, was guilty of that terri ble thing sentiment. I presume most of your accused are not ashamed- of the sentiment that actuates them ln seeking to abolish capital punishment, but it seems strange to be accused of following feeling more than reason by those who live in glass houses. I have seen a prominent attorney, ln a rage, leave his pew in a church and walk out because of his sentlmen" in the mat ter, while I was pleading for the abolishment of capital punishment. have been called names and jumped on by ministers of the gospel who were long on the bitter sentiment or re venge or love for the family of the murdered, but short on reason or love for the lost sheep that committed the murder and his family. So it seems to me that it Is hardly fair for The Oregonian to call all of us who believe in the abolishment of capital punish ment "sentimentalists," if that means anything very bad. But why call names any way? Sen timent is a good thing; life without It is cold and barren. Reason is a good thing; without it we would all be at sea in the solution of such problems as the one before us. We will have to get our heads and hearts into this problem If we ever solve it: the sooner the better. Since I have been up ana down the stato discussing this prob lem with all sorts of people, I should like very much to give you and your readers what I have found to be the prevailing sentiments. I am sure I concur with the Oregon Messenger ln that the most common sentiment ln our state is that of re venge. The primitive law of claw and fang is still deep-rooted. To snap back, to take an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth to kill Roberts be cause Roberts killed Stewart is the feeling which rules many, and has a lingering hold on most of us, whether we are ruled by It or not. But the saner Judgment of our day says' that revenge should have no place ln our novel, or on the stage, or ln common things of life. Most of our modern penologists de clare that punishment is not an at tempt on the part of the state to dis pense exact justice, but is an attempt by the means of fitting penalty to protect society and reform the crim inal. The framers of our Oregon state constitution have expressed it thus: "Laws for the punishment of crime shall be founded upon the principle of reformation and not of vindictive jus tice" Art. 1, Sec. 15. The ancient idea that the state can right every wrong by an exact retributive Justice Is no longer held by any nation or state ln general practice, and the feel ing that It ought to prevail in capital offenses is born in the fevered brain where the sentiment of revenge over shadows the saner Judgment. Thre is another sentiment which I meet most everywhere I go. It is the righteous indignation of the people nearly all of them toward the mur derer. There Is and ought to be in every human breast a feeling , of ab horrence for willful murder. It is wholesome and right for the people to rise in holy indignation against this horrible crime. There is good reason, too, for the people to view with alarm and awe the prevalence of crime in this land of ours, where over 8000 homicidal crimes are committed annu ally, and still increasing. As far as I know those who would like to see cap ital punishment abolished are just as keen ln their apprehension of the enormity of murder as others. It is wrong to assume, as The Oregonian does, that we do not want a man pun ished who commits any such terrible crime. No one is advocating the abol ishment of all punishment Just because he says there is a saner way to pun ish than by strangling. No one is losing sight of the terribleness of murder just because he realizes the futulity of curing all the crimes of murder by breaking a man's neck at, the end of a criminal career, rather than trying to get at the sources of crime. There are many of us who do not believe that capital punishment la helping us solve our problem of crime, and still we are smiting with our fists and stamping with our feet and cry ing: "Alas for the evil abomination of murder in our land." We trust, how ever, that we are angry without sin- without revenge without murder in our hearts. The six murderers In the Oregon State Penitentiary are ln a secluded corner, and there Is no halo about tnem or their cells. There outrht to be enough sentiment of fellow feeling to recognize tne lact that these men bleed if pricked, and that they have Deen sinnea against as well as sin ning. It is not sentiment hut ham tfacts to say that these men are growths of our social order, and that the blood shed by their hands is par tially upon the skirts of society. If there is a deep feelin within me when I face these murderers, it is the hot indignation that society spends so much of its wrath upon these simple men and does not vent its wrath upon the institutions that are breeding criminals. As a - mater of fact, very little sympathy and feeling is wasted upon the murderer, and we have a feel ing, too, that there ought to be more teeiing ror nis ramlly and for those who are being led into such criminal careers. PHILIP E. BAUER. Buckeye and Horse Chestnut. PORTLAND. Sept 14. (To the Edi tor.) Kindly explain the difference be tween a horse chestnut and a buckeve. One party claims a difference between the two, while the other asserts it is one and the same thing. A SUBSCRIBER. ine term "buckeye is applied to trees of the Aesculus genus that are indigenous to America. The horse chestnut is of the same genus but dif ferent family, and is a native of the Far East. There are several species of the buckeye. The common or Ohio buckeye does not have such showv flowers as the horse chestnut, its leaves and roots are poisonous, and the bark and leaves exhale a stronger odor. California has a species of its own. and a shrub grown in the South, which proauces ediole seeas, is also known by the name "buckeye." The yellow buckeye of the Southern Alleghanles produces a fruit that is not prickly like that of the horse chestnut. When Brothers Own Jointly. PORTLAND. Sept: 15. (To the Edi tor.) 1. Two brothers, both married. own a piece of property Jointly, in herited from the family estate. One of them has children, the other has not. The" one without children dies, then what becomes of his interest? 2. Can a person who deeds a piece of property to a minor be appointed a custodian or administrator of said prop erty? . E. E. 1. The interest goes to the living brother. 2. Yes. Hint to Ills Sister's Beau. Chicago Tribune. 'Mr. Spooner, I think I like you bet ter than any o' the other fellers that come to our house." "Why so, Bobby?" ' ""Cause when you give sister a box candy she always turns it over to single; tax arguments flimsy Two Things Are Promised Which Can not Go Ton-ether, Saya Writer. PORTLAND. Sept. IS. (To the Edi tor.) The farmer will be helped by tha single tax and the city wage earner, too, say the Fels fund retainers. The proof they give is ridiculously simple. The farmer will have his taxes reduced; the wsge-earner is to have the cost of living reduced by Increased production of food supplies on land now said to be held in idleness for speculative purposes. This is mere vote-catching flummery and It will not deceive either the farmer or the wage-earner, i Wages will inevitably decrease if the cost of living decreases, just as tney are bound, sooner or later, to Increase with the cost of living. This is one of the fundamental laws of economics that the single taxers cannot abrogate. Suppose it is granted, merely for ar gumenfs sake, that the single tax would reduce the farmer's taxes, if the commodities he raises go down enough In price to be of any consequence to the city wage-earner as the single 'taxers claim will happen then the farmer certainly will not be benefited. It is only within recent years that the prices of farm products have been such that even a reasonable profit made by the farmer. Whatever the cause of the high cost of living, it Isn't the farmer's fault. He Is Just be ginning to get a little of what is com ing to him for all his hard work and all the risks he runs and the sacrifices he makes for his rural isolation. He Is Just beginning to find it possible, as a class, to enjoy a few of the com forts and refinements of life he and his family. Now the single taxer wants to re duce the prices on the things he sells and send the farmer back to the hard scrabble days of 1893-96, with BO cents wheat, when the mortgage grew larger Instead of being paid off. Luckily the farmers see through the scheme. I believe they will vote solidly against the single tax in the Fall, Just as the thinking city wage-earner will do who realizes the hollowness and insincerity of the argument thrown out as a bait to catch his vote. C. F. LEE. SEEKING PUBLICITY NOT WRONG Officials, Like Merchants, Wise in Rec ognising Value, Saya Writer. REEDVTLLE, Or., Sept. 12. (To the Editor.) If some of your correspond ents would think more of the great good Governor West is trying to do for sin-ridden Portland intead of letting their mind dwell upon the advertising part ,of the matter they would surely find themselves in line with the great work our Governor is trying to carry out, and instead of cheapening and be littling our Governor's motive, help us to hold up his hands in this battle for civic righteousness. Let the forces of law and order unite in one common cause against the Binks of Iniquity which curse our land. Let us forget political differences and petty jealousies. Let us not be too nasty to plant the dagger of an unjust sus picion against the character of a man who is trying to do something for the common good. If Governor West Is getting a lot of advertising out of this affair and is carrying on this crusade for his political advancement, then it seems to me it is high time we should begin to recognize the value of ad vertising and put our stamp of ap proval upon the public official who, when he gets into office, Is not afraid to do his duty. The public official is like the merchant. If he doesn't ad vertise his goods ln the leading paper he is a dead one. If a public official does nothing, we hear nothing of him, and now because Governor West Is try ing to do something some fellow ac cuses him of playing to the grandstand and advancing his political career. Abraham Lincoln got plenty of ad vertising in his time. He also ad vanced his political career, and it took blood and treasure to convirce the gaping world that he also carried the goods. Come, let there be unity of action ln the cause of righteousness. Let us stand with the Governor in his titanic struggle against vice and its accompanying evils. O. E. FRANK. ROOSEVELT WANTED BEST OF IT Attitude on Delegates Recalls Prnctices of Early Racing Days. SALEM, Or.. Sept. 12. (To the Edi tor.) Colonel Roosevelt's position re garding delegates to the National con vention very forcibly reminds me of an old sport's idea of things in the early days of Oregon's history. It will be well remembered by all old settlers that 60 years ago every young man, and many elders, for that matter, owned a race horse. Quite fre quently they met .- upon some race course to test the speed of the horses, sometimes for the sport of it, but more frequently for a wager. It was cus tomary at these meetings for the own ers of the horses to select judges to decide which was the winner. At one of these meetings a friend of mine, an uncle, by the way, was se lected by an old sport as one of the Judges in a race wherein said sport was one of the contestants. The race was run and the horse my uncle judged foe lost. The owner came around and complained to the Judge and said, "You should' have demanded a bigger start" My uncle replied: "I gave your horse all that he was entitled to, as every body could see." "Yes," replied the other, "but didn't you know that I ap pointed you?" This was too much for the old gentleman, and he called the fellow down with such a rebuke as to greatly humiliate the offender and at the same time made the old man one of the most popular judges ln that locality for years afterward. The Colonel appears to think Mc- Cusker and the other Oregon delegates were Instructed to vote for him, and that therefore, they should disregard all lav and evidence and be his willing puppets. W. H. BYARS. SUPREME BOSSISM FOR COLONEL Such Is Charge Growing Out of (His) Views on Delegates. PORTLAND, Sept. 15. (To the Edi tor.) Colonel Roosevelt insists that he was entitled to direct and control the Oregon delegation to the Republican National Convention in its vote on all issues arising ln that body, -yet he has no use for bosses. The Oregon law does provide that its delegation to a National convention are to vote for the Presidential candi date receiving a plurality of the party vote cast ln the primary. The Colonel asserts the right to reverse this statute at will and direct the delegates not to vote at all. He persists in the doctrine that all delegates are traitors if they refuse to vote to unseat any delegate to whom he objects. His will is law; delegates have no responsibility but to obey. - In the light of the Colonel s wisdom our law is very wean, tsaca Presi dential candidate should be the supreme boss ln the handling of every delegate instructed for him. Much money would be saved since a proxy would be far preferable to the delegate in person. T. J. rXWDINU. Lightning Breaks Raaor. Seaford (Del.) Correspondent Balti more Sun. In a severe electrical disturbance. lightning Btruck the house of Mrs. Mary C. Rose, tearing down the chim ney and cutting a hole in tne roof. The electric flashes chased over the mirrors and broke a razor in the hands of Albert Jackson, who was shaving man ln the barber shop of William Jackson. .. MR. STRAIN ELABORATES POSITION Divorce of State and Local Taxation Opposed on Economic Grounds. PENDLETON. Or, Sept 13. (To tha Editor.) Under the caption "Deriding the People" you comment editorially in The Oregonian September 12 on my argument ln the Voters Pamphlet, which offers a text for stating my position more clearly and correcting some wrong assumptions ln your article: A tax should be so laid that the tax payer knows when he pays It, how much he pays, and what authority levied the tax. When" he knows these things he can Judge better whether it Is excessive and he can fix the responsi bility for it All these things are known now under our present system. Our last Legislature appropriated 33. 063.000 for 1912 against 11,385,000 for 1911. It is squarely up to the present Legislature to explain this prodigious increase. Pennsylvania and New Jersey levy their state taxes upon public service proprty, incorporation fees and the like. Big business and crooked poli ticians have formed alliances there that have not only been a source of graft and scandal locally, but & menace to the Nation. Nobody has to answer to the people. The politicians bleed the public service corporations and trusts and then license them to lay heavy tribute upon the people. - Then again the Bchoolhouses, and the cities, the little struggling cities as well as tbe big ones, are located main ly along railroads. School and city and county tax levies fall upon these public service properties to such an extent that the loss of such revenue would be a calamity to many and a serious blow to most suoh local gov ernments. This amendment represented by S04 Is part of a prearranged scheme. It Is not merely permissive. There is an ulterior purpose behind it all. The Governor says, 1911 message, page S: "The first and most Important step is to provide for the separation of the sources of state and local rev enue. When this is done the state will raise its revenue principally from public service corporations, license fees, inheritances, or such other subjects as the Legislature or the people may think could best be handled by the State Tax Commission." No one who knows any thing about state finances believes that the state revenue could be "principally" raised aloug these lines without plun dering local governments . of their public service taxes. Now then, this proposed new-fangled divorcement provides for a state tax upon such property at an average rate, and this average rate might, or might not exceed that produced in the aggre gate by local levies. I also oppose this scheme Tor very much the same reason that I oppose single tax. The people who bought the bonds of railroad school districts. cities and counties and the people who voted these bonds, and all those who Invested or located ln any of these localities had a right to depend upon the permanence of our system, and therefore to expect public service property to be a fixed asset and to bear Its share ln the maintainance of such local governments. To destrov this arrangement now would be a blow both to elementary and higher educa tion and to civic progress generally. So with land. It has been considered honest to purchase land. Old fogies even commend the practice as prudent and socially desirable. But now. since these investments have been made under the sanction of law and custom, It Is found that the whole scheme Is a public menace. The individual Is to be the goat He has no rights that the public is bound to respect Then again, . your great city of Portland may some day find herself engaged in a competitive struggle with other cities such that economies for your working people may be necessary to maintain your position, or may be desirable to give you - supremacy. Cheaper streetcar fares, cheaper lights. cheaper gas, cheaper public service or every kind; these are the things that may be essential to your existence as metropolis. Surrender this property to the state i a source of exclusive state taxa tion, permit your state politicians to relv uoon a revenue such as can be derived from it through a corrupt alli ance of crooked politicians and big business, and you will soon find your franchise holding corporations invested with vested rights In your streets and in all of the privileges Incident to public service business. These privileges are, and of right ought to be, public property held in trust merely by operating companies. But when these shall be recognized as vested rights and coined into moun tains of watered stock, Portland's great opportunity as the future me troplis of Western America shall have passed. Because of these reasons, who can' doubt that 304 X Yes is a dangerous innovation which should be killed by voting 305 X, No? C. P. STRAIN. WHY NOT USE DOUBLE-DECK CARS f Portland Man Impressed by Their Util ity, as Demonstrated in Europe. . PORTLAND, Sept 14. (To the Edi tor.) While on a recent visit to Eu rope and Great Britain,, my attention was called to the double-deck street car ln use there, and I wondered If it could not be used in our own city to facilitate travel over the bridges. While its appearance Is top-heavy. and the winding outside stairway at the end looks somewhat unsafe for un wieldy people, accidents are practically niL In the Scientific American oi Aug ust 24 appears an article and cut of a double-deok car, which Is a decided improvement upon the British type, and which is being tried out ln New York, and if satisfactory will be introduced there. This again suggests tne tnougnt: Could not these double-decs: cars be profitably used ln Portland for the re lief of congested traffic on both our bridges and chief business streets? While on the subject of cars I will also sav that the wheels of British cars are entirely built in, making it impos sible to run over anything that may be struck by the car. C. B. PYE. Young Old Maid's Problem. PORTLAND, Sept 14. (To the Edi tor.) In The' Oregonian, September 8. appeared an article on the conditions which are causing so many women to shun the marriage altar and choose the life of spinster. The article so accur ately depicts the condition of the ever increasing army, of which I regret to sav I am one. that I seek permission to add an earnest "amen" to the words of my sister writer. If the world at large had any laea of the average old maid's longing for a desirable husband, the prevalent feel ing of derison would quickly change to pity. To live in privation, to strug gle to overcome our natural motherly instincts, to go out into the world and of necessity underbid a man of family to gain a position is Indeed far from the normal life. And for a means of finding my way out of this condition and Into the heart of one who is phys ically, as well as mentally and morally man. is my earnest plea. Hurely there are men who seek other than the whirlwind" woman, who desire for a wife a real homebuilder, one who can cook, sew, keep house, share his sor rows as well as nis joys ana be a other to his children. But how are we to find them? The one who can answer this question can quickly van quish the army of old maids and prove himself the hero of the hour. A YOUNG OLD MAID WHO DOESN'T LIKE HER JOB.