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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1913)
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T4i Market su POKTLAXD, MOJfDAT, OCT. IS, IBIS. SECRETARY LANE'S LANU POLICY. Secretary Lane's Interview on his re turn to Washington foreshadows much legislation beneficial to the West, if Congress gives heed to his recom mendations. There is good reason to expect that Congress will give need, tor the Secretary's recommendations are likely to be backed by earnest efforts of President Wilson to secure action on them. The President has shown his ability to handle Congress by his success with the tariff and In keeping that body at work on the currency. Representative Clayton's renunciation of the Alabama Senatorship at the de sire of "the head of the party" shows how the President is regarded by Democrats In Congress. They recog nize him as not the merely titular but actual head of their party and follow him loyally. Mr. Lane's utterances may, there fore, be taken to forecast the action . which Democratic leaders will propose, at the suggestion of the President, at the approaching regular session, as well as the spirit in which he will ad. minister existing and prospective laws. He will cut red tape in the interest of the settler and will push along reclamation projects, but will not yield to the demands of speculative land owners whose property is covered by Government projects. He will ask Congress to permit settlers to hold Irrigated land for several years with out nnvrriAn t for water and to lengthen the period over which payments are to be spread from 10 to 20 years. He will ask for a drainage law similar to the Irrigation law, probably on the lines of that proposed by the drainage Congress. Alive to the great possibilities of the Western arid land and of the Mid dle Western and Southern swamp land, Mr. Lane looks forward to the day when it will produce enough meat and crops to supply the entire country. That is the work to which this coun try should be setting its mind. It is shameful for a country as rich as the United States to .be talking of Im porting meat and of the high price of food and clothing when we have within our boundaries the means of abun dantly supplying not only our own needs but those of other nations. We need but to develop our own resources on the lines laid down by Mr. Lane, to make the land cultivable and to get the people on the land, to use our resources without destroying them as we have done In the past. Then we can lower the cost of living while enhancing the prosperity of the farm ers and, with It, of all other classes. FEDERALISM IN GREAT BRTTAIV. As the day for final action on the Irish home rule bill approaches and as danger of armed resistance in Ul ster to an Irish Parliament grows, cool-headed, unprejudiced Britons In cline more to the Federal system of government as the -one way out. They see this amount of logic in the Ulster Protestant contention that. If the demand of the majority of one island In the United Kingdom for autonomy is to be granted, the like demand of a majority In one section of that Island should be granted. Ulster Pro testants maintain that they have as Just cause to demand that their racial and religious idiosyncrasies have free play under a local government as have the Catholic Irish. As the Celtic Irish hold England responsible for perpetu ation of the animosities which have kept Irish nationalism alive, so do the Scotch-Irish hold England responsible for their being in Ireland. The Scotch-Irish are mainly de scendants of Scotchmen who went to Ireland at the invitation of the King for the purpose of fastening Anglo Saxon supremacy on the Island. They were to be the governing class and they have been so for over two cen turies and a half. They have always been loyal to the British government, though they compelled the grant of real legislative power to the Irish Parliament during the' brief period of Grattan's Parliament. That, however, was at a time when no Catholic had a vote. They have seen the power gradu-. ally taken away from them until now it is proposed to subject them to a gov ernment in which they would be ruled by the race they want to rule over. They contend that It Is as intolerable to them to submit to Irish Catholic rule as It has been for the Irish Cath olics to submit to Scotch Protestant rule. This condition suggests the separa tion of Ulster from the rest of Ire land and its government by an Ulster Parliament But the Scotch-Irish Protestants are In the majority in only four of the nine counties of Ulster, and the province as a whole Is about equally divided between the two races and creeds. If majority rule Is to be established In each section, then, argue some, four northeastern coun ties would be cut off under a separate parliament. When this suggestion Is made In Great Britain the question is prompt ly asked: If this Is good for Ire land, why not for England, Scotland and Wales? If Ireland may be divid ed, why may not England and Scot land? One Englishman Is quoted as suggesting a local parliament for each section of England divided on the lines of the seven kingdoms of the ancient Saxon heptarchy. The Irish Issue has thus brought up the whole ques tion of federalism as applied to the United Kingdom and finally to the whole empire. The Imperial Parliament Is over burdened with work and Is always far jn arrears of the nation's needs. It attempts as much as our Congress would if It undertook all the legisla tion now produced by the state legis latures. Local Interests and some na tional Interests are Badly neglected. Advocates of federalism are already setting up the claims of Scotland and Wales to home rule and concessions to those countries would surely oe followed fcy a demand for a subordi nate parliament for England or for each of several divisions of England. This would bring closer the realiza tion of the dream of imperial federa tion, with a parliament composed of representatives of the mother country and all its colonies legislating for the common interests of the whole empire. Unionist wlll doubtless oppose such changes violently, for they cannot dis tinguish between federalism and sep aration. Their idea of Union is one parliament ruling over all, not one parliament caring for general Inter Mi while subordinate parliaments care for local Interests, They attempt a parallel between the demands of the Irish Nationalists and those of the Southern Confederates, Ignoring the fact that the Irish ask to be placed In the same position in the empire as the Southern states occupied In the United States both before and after the Civil War.' If Great Britain should adopt the forforai avstnm. It would be a much stronger federation than that of the United, States. All power exercised by the local parliaments would be delegated by the central parliament which would still exorcise all power not thu delegated. There would be no twilight zone, no opportunity for a state rights doctrine. THE TWO BBYA-tfS. Secretary Brvan did not always be lieve that a high Government official could not live In Washington on less than 120,000 a year. His estimates of the high cost of official living were far more modest when he wrote me following, which the Indianapolis Star has exhumed from the files or tne Commoner to plague its owner: If you pay a Judge $5000 a year he will live la accordance with the habits of plain people. He will rent a modest house, 4n a quiet quarter of the town, and will live on a slmnla scale. If you raise his salary to $7500 he will get a more expensive house aad live among people who adopt the SISuO scale of living. If you raise his salary to $10,000 he will only get a still more ex pensive house and live on a still more cost ly scale. If vou give him $12,500 or $15,000 ha will spend his Summers at a fashionable watering place, etc. And thus, by these successive Increases of salary, our Judges get In the habit of living among the rich people: they breathe the atmosphere of the moneyed classes, and In that way get out of touch with the masses of the people, for whom the courts are to hold the even scales of Justice. Substitute the words, "Secretary of State," for the, word, "judge," and this should describe the present view of Mr. Bryan as to his own position, but it does not. The Nation gives him $12,000 a year, but he has got into "the habit of living among the rich people"; he "breathes the atmosphere of the moneyed classes." He does not ask Congress to raise his salary, but he neglects the business of the people while endeavoring, by deliver ing lectures, to raise it to $20,000 a year that he may live up to the mon eyed atmosphere he breathes. There have been two Bryans, One is the Bryan of the BO-cent dollar, the dollar banquet and the simple life at Fair-view, the Bryan who sought of fice. The other is the Bryan of the $12,000 salary and the $20,000 style of living among rich people, who flies about the country trying to procure the additional JS000 In the time which he has promised to give the people. This Is the Bryan who has attained office. OVERCROWDED; BCT BT WHOM? An "advocate" presumably a law yer who has time on his hands aside from the more or less arduous labors of his office writes to The Oregon ian complaining of the overcrowding of the legal profession. There are 16,000 lawyers In New York, and there is expert opinion that 6000 Is enough. As a layman. The Oregonian is pre pared to suggest a smaller figure than 6000. There are too many lawyers everywhere In New York, in Oregon and In the other states; but there is also too much litigation far too much. If there were less for the courts to do, there would be fewer lawyers, for more of them would starve. The Oregonian Is no pessimist, but it thinks that starvation, and nothing else, will stop the rush to the profes sions. The law is not alone in having too many lawyers. Medicine has too many doctors; and the pulpit has too many preachers. If 70 per cent of the New York lawyers get not more than $3 per week per capita, most of them will have to drop the law, and do something else, perhaps go back to the soil. It Is the same with the doc tors and with the preachers. Many of them do not make a living and never will in their professions. We suspect that most of the ne'er-do-wells in the law, medicine and the ministry will not do any better In any other pursuit. The reason is that they have been over-educated into thinking the world owes them a living. Readers of The Oregonian may have observed a statement in a dispatch from New York that a doctor whose marital troubles were occupying a good deal of attention earns from $75,000 to $100,000 per year. Strange ly enough, with a great many people domestic Infelicities increase in exact ratio . as their prosperity grows; but that is another matter. The fact that one doctor makes in fees $100,000 per year merely proves that people are ready to pay doctors well. It Is the same with lawyers, and occasionally a preacher gets a fair salary. All of which shows that the rewards are there. If the lawyer or -doctor or preacher has the tact to discover and the ability to earn them. We have too many lawyers, doctors and preachers indeed. But have we too many good lawyers, good doctors and good preachers? . A MEAN DISPOSITION. From a "personal letter" from Mr. Alfred D. Crldge, one of the authors of the $1600 tax exemption amend ment, forwarded with leave to print all or any part of it, the following is extracted: . - If Michigan exempts a twenty-acre stump farm for five yeara on the value of the land only, and Oregon exempts the Improvements and labor valuea thereon for the same time, which will encourage the settler the most? The land Is not assessed now for an average of $13 an acre, so that the settler In Mich igan would only escape upon $300 of as sessed value. No man can go Upon such land and hope ' to accomplish anything without that amount being invested before the expiration of a year in buildings, fences, livestock, etc If he cleared two acres he would add at least $100 In labor valuea For the flvs-year period ha would certainly be ahead In Oregon on tax exemptions, and If before that period expired he would have Invested $1500 In Improvements and livestock which is what we want him to do he would certainly be very much more encouraged. Then In Oregon we would continue to exempt his little farm, all but its natural value unimproved. while in Michigan they will Jump all over him for the taxes on every lick he ever strikes on the place and treat him as an undesirable citizen ever after by fines upon his thrift and Industry. Except as a matter of contrast it is not a question as to whether the Ore- gon Single Taxers' plan la better far the country than the Michigan exemp tion. It is whether the proposed Ore gon exemption will not retard develop' ment It may be said in passing, how ever, that such "labor values" on land as fencing and clearing, which Mr, Cridsje mentions, are assessed as lanq values and would not be taxed for five years if the Michigan plan were adopted in Oregon, The Oregonian has heretofore point ed out that a $1609 exemption on im provements and personalty would In crease the taxes on raw land and ham per the consummation of the chief desire of Oregon today the eultlva tion of eut-over lands, All Mr. Crldge jffers in extenuation of this proposed .setback is the promise to the home builder on logged-off land that, while In the day of his struggles, need and deprivation his taxes will be Ln oreased, he can be comforted by the hope that he will be able te save something over pereervt tax methods as soon as he becomes prosperous. Mr. Crldge remind us of an Indi vidual who Is known as the meanest man in Kansas City, Whenever that person's little daughter begs for an ice-cream oone he asks her If she wouldn't rather have a gold watch when she is 18 years old. A ivew BocRca or snergy. Professor Frederick Soddy predicts great changes in the economic and political life of the world when the secret of transforming the elements into one another shall have been prac tlcally mastered. It can now be done in one or two cases but only very slowly. For use In the arts of life It must be done rapidly, so that great quantities of energy may be liberated and applied In a short time. The processes of civilization consist mainly in employing physical energy for van ous purposes, such as manufacturing goods, transporting them from place to place, printing books, building houses and the like. The more physical energy man has at his disposal the faster civilization develops and the transmutation or the elements promises to' afford him quantities of it far In excess of any source ever known before. This mas ter secret, as Professor Soddy reminds us in his lectures, has been sought for centuries. The medieval investiga tors believed that they could change one metal into another by heat and certain magic drugs, , but, as we all know, they did not succeed. The modern laboratory can employ much higher temperatures than were avail able in those early days and our sci entists have at their command far su perior resources of all sorts, but their attempts to transform the elements succeeded no better than those of their medieval predecessors up to very recent times. Indeed the common belief was that such a process was impossible and reputable scientists had given up thinking about It. Those who still searched for the secret of transmuta tion were classed with the Inventors of perpetual motion and the clrcle- squarers as Impractical dreamers, if not among positive fools. But witn Madame Curie's discovery of radium a great change came over scientific thought. It was presently observed that the energy given out by radium was due to the break-up of its atoms. As they fell asunder they sent forth atoms of a new element, . helium, which had been formed from those of the original substance. This was an Instance of genuine transformation and It was extremely significant on account of the vast quantity of energy liberated In the process. An ounce of a pure radium salt in the course of its change into helium sets free more than a million times as much physical energy as can be obtained from the same weight of any other substance. Unfortunately, however, the change takes place so slowly that the practi cal arts can ' profit by it only very slightly. The complete transforma tion of an ounce of radium compound would require some thousands of years. During that time it would emit as much energy as ten tons of coal would in burning. But the coal burns In a few hours and therefore its en ergy Is Incomparably more useful at present than that of the radium. But Professor Soddy hopes, or per haps even expects, to see processes Invented by which the transformation of the elements Into one another can be carried on rapidly and thus the energy which Is liberated can be ap plied to the common uses of civiliza tion. It will do the same work that we now obtain from coal, wind and water power, only a great deal more can be accomplished, because the sup ply will be multiplied many times over. Just what the effect will be upon the world Professor Soddy illus trates by recalling the changes which the use of natural sources of energy has already brought about. In the beginning the only available energy men had lay In their own muscles and those of their wives and children. No doubt the earliest method of in creasing this slender resource was by capturing slaves and taming wild ani mals. Banded together in communi ties, people could present a stronger front to their neighbors than isolated Individuals could. Moreover, organ ized tribes preserved Internal peace, which afforded an . opportunity to make the most of the human and brute energy at their disposal. Hence tribes and nations had a serious eco nomic significance in the beginning of history. Civilization could not have originated without them and the slaves of whom they made use. But as science discovered and harnessed the natural sources of energy ' one after another it became economically unprofitable to depend on slave labor. Mechanical Invention was the greatest of all emancipators, because It could underbid human muscle. The scienti fic progress of our own day has gone farther still and made exploitation of the brutes unprofitable In many cases. No doubt the time will come in. the ordinary course of events when no living creature will be kept In slavery for the work It can do. Tribes and nations, have been' sig nificant In the history of civilization because they have enabled groups of men to utilize the physical energy they commanded and to acquire more at the expense of their neighbors. But science, the great developer of energy In modern times, is totally oblivious of national and tribal limits. Its ef forts are world-wide. It has formed the intellect of mankind into a union which knows no boundaries whatever. The best utilization of the supplies of energy now at our disposal requires not the mutual hostility of mankind but their complete co-operation and, therefore, under the action of eco nomic progress, the old barriers be tween the nations are vanishing. They will vanish much more rapidly when the new sources of energy contained in the atoms of the elements have been made available. The transformation, of radium into helium Is therefore seen by Professor Soddy as the first step in an economic process which Is sure to produce a new civilization. When this source of energy - has been utilized as we now utilise eoal the last relics of war will disappear, for the excellent rea son that . men will have nothing to fight oven Energy will be so abun dant that every person may have all he needs or wants. Nations will fade out of existence because their'cltlzens need seek no advantage over others. The reign of universal peace will be ushered In by the achievement of uni versal plenty. Men will finally love one another like brothel's, because the motive for mutual robbery will at last have disappeared. It seems almost aa if the advocates of International peace ought to appoint a day of prayer to hasten the transmutation of the elements. Senator Borah will stump Massa chusetts in support' of A. P. Gardner and the new Republicanism, of which he is the foremost champion, and says! "I am going to be there with my war paint on," In making this announce ment, the Boston Transorlpt speaks of Mr. Borah as "a consistent foe of standpatlsm" on both sides of the Sen ate and adds! The sincerity of the man, hi great ability as a lawyer, his powers in debate, bava all combined to seoura tor him the title of leadership among those who are fighting for ths rarltallalng of the party oreed, the re organisation of party procedure, and all with no thought of personal gain. The Idaho Senator will put the Bull Moose on the defensive. At the recent Franco-British Travel Congress la London a Frenoh delegate said tourists were entitled to better telephone and telegraph service. He told of long waits in his own country and said that to his certain knowledge a telegram from London to Paris with prepaid reply could be sent more rap idly via New York than direct. If one criticises the service, one Is subject to a fine for "insulting an official,", as Prince von Wled recently learned In Germany. In all three of those coun tries the telegraph and telephone sys tems are government monopolies. Be fore we make a change in that direc tion, we should assure ourselves that, it. will be a change for the better. frtinrmi T?nnafvlt fttvles the exemp tion clause of the income tax law a premium on race suicide. He reasons that the exemption, of an additional $500 income for each of not more fho tnrt .v.iir1r-n Is an inducement to limit the number to two and that by a law of nature, a race in which the average family consists of less than four children Is doomed to extinction. . ir o isnn nTsmntlon were eiven for each child, a premium would be r,. nn famillfta of eisrht. for it WOuld exempt the man with $4000 income entirely. Colonel Roosevelt wouia grant no relief from taxation to married couple without children. TnTnattpr-Gen3ral Burleson's Idea rtvii RArvirA rpform is to take away the protection given by the law to tjnnhiiran noHtmasters ana to sur round with it the .Democratic post masters he Installs. Can he not see that this action is an Invitation to Re publicans to repeat the operation ree-aln rtower? It makes the protection offered by the civil service law a delusion ana tne wnoie system a farce. But he only cares to ,r.s,, tha hunrer of the office- seekers who now surround him and Is indifferent to the ultimate effects or his action. '-. tha lntpritfLt bridfre Is built aa aVin.ll noon See electrio railroads penetrating the fertile valleys of Clarke and Cowlitz Counties and cen tering in Portland. These counties hovA na vet hardly begun to develop. Bad roads make farming unprofitable ninv nroductlve sections ana so land Is not cleared and population in nn. hut slowly. Electrio lines will bring Portland markets to the farm ers' doors. The whole region win profit Immeasurably by the bridge. hna hApn nrot-osed to match Mothers' Day with Fathers' Day and now the Hartford Courant proposes ttoIoo riav" with direction that pawnbrokers' shops be closed for those teAntv.fnnr hours. We shall next have Mother-in-Laws' Day, Father-ln- Laws" Day, Cousins' Day ana otner days until all the days in the year will be used up. ctoA-PrAsident Marshall attributes his present happiness to the absence of children from his house, yet ad vises others to marry young and have children. He appears to be making a virtue of necessity in naving . none ui his own. - -..,. .siiKiinn to twentv-storv W C7 ginio vj nj,.- buildings in Portland is possible in terference wlth aviation. The man who uses his ten-story roof for start and arrival has a legitimate "kick." That body of land as large as Green land discovered by Russians north of Siberia will make an excellent penal colony that even a George Kennan cannot penetrate. Albany is due for some extra public ity. Merchants of that city have placed a large order In New York for goods to be shipped by way of the Canal. 1 : If the "wireless eye," which works only in the dark, Is made perfect and cheap, many men will acquire the habit of staying at home nights. Mrs. Pankhurst will be foolish to attempt to land under an assumed name. The brickbats In her fists will establish Identity. Only 44 per cent of the officers of the Army are West Pointers, but they are the leaven that puts "ginger" in the lump Oregon needs more specialists like Ernest Hale, of Cottage Grove, who grows thirty-two tons of carrots to the acre. Lloyd-George's programme savors a good deal of the "forty acres and a mule" of Reconstruction days. People who complain of the high cost of beef are commended to a diet of chicken and eggs. Spencer, the multi-murderer, is de termined to prove he Is no mere ama teur killer. Coffee Is going up, making further grounds for complaint Lay away the score card with the straw hat Stories of Natural Science Synopsis of Lecture) at Reed College, Delivered by Dn William Cenge Morgan, NO. St SIMPl-IFTINO TUB MY9TERT OF FIHE. The mysterious properties of fire as they appealed to old-time philoso phers are accredited with inspiring a great deal of the chemical research of centuries whloh has resulted in the present status of a highly comprehen sive science. The reason for ths long delay in coming to a well-founded conclusion regarding combustion Is that for centuries there wars fsw strictly scientific views of the numerous well known natural phenomena. To give a phenomenon Its aocurate scientific ex planation the observation on which the explanation is based must be correct; that is, to explain what happened an observer must bo sure that he has heard, seen and felt correctly what has happened. From what the ancients knew of fire, their theories ware logical enough, charmingly ingenious and, from having bean based upon faulty observations, consistently wrong. At this time there was no comfortable certainty that the moldy old list of but four elements from which a whole world of things was oomposed could (till reign sover eign and unimpeachable. Beecher de cided in 1660 that these elements did not compose everything, and that they wers not properly chosen. He accord ingly, made a revision, and substituted what ho called "terra plnguli" as one of the elements, and attempted an ex planation to make the process of burn ing - seem . reasonable. Another ex planation cams from Btahl, who In 1697 diverged from previous dogmas. Here we are told of a substance present In Inflammable material ready to escape In flame. This substance was so light that it had negative weight, hence the loss of weight in burnt materials. This substance had the dignity of the name phlogiston Indicative that an essen tlal for the prestige of a new theory Is a name of high-sounding Import a e The development of the phlogiston theory was a more or less logical process, the obvious Iobs of weight In burned matter naturally showing that something was taken away. What went away was phlogiston and what re malned was dephloglstlcated matter, thus bringing the conclusion that ash or residue of oombustlon, plus phlo giston, was equal to the original sub stance before burning, besides showing that long names could make a dis course sound very learned. Faith In the phlogiston theory held steady for many years, and there was a long search to find the method for bottling up some of the phlogiston for experi ments. Carrying out the theory, pure phlogiston would have obligation to burn without leaving any ash; so to find the substance with this qualifica tion could not have been an elusive task. Further research produced the gas hydrogen, which appeared to have extreme lightness, and burned without residue; evidently this might be the phlogiston which formed an important part of all Inflammables. e If chemical research is to be success ful, the necessity for correct observa tion demonstrates Itself. The phlogls ton theory was not successful Taking certain things for granted, such as the obvious loss of weight during com bustlon, has been a stumbling block to centuries of philosophers and chemists; theories llloglcally drawn from accur ate data have never been so obstructive as logical conclusions based on falla cles. Doubtless there was a firmer basis for the phlogiston theory than for any previous theory of combustion, as, for instance, the one which merely said that fire was a "subtle fluid"; lor, in admitting fire to bo "subtle," a scientist merely chooses a dignified way of saying, "I know nothing about It," and such perfect resignation as this has accomplished little in the maze of chemical research. Since the time when progress began In chemistry, few gases, fluids, or solids have been sat Isfactorlly catalogued .by the word "subtle." . So, then, the exploding of the phlo giston theory came as soon as more perfect methods of measurement could show that far from growing lighter as It burned, matter actually Increased in weight Early experiments In this direction were not conclusive, but start ed a growing scepticism which resulted In establishing that In all cases matter, burning, takes on weight Here is the correction of the misleading fallacy; a candle weighs less after burning than before, but then add to it the weight of the gas given off by combustion, and the sum is greater than the weight of the original candle. Simi larly, coal weighs less than Its ashes plus the gas produced by combustion. The tremendously important law of conservation of matter follows close ly upon these conclusions. Were mat ter really resolved Into nothing by com bustion, chemists would likely be still more embarrassed for an explanation. but the products of combustion having ben caught and measured give consis tency to recent theories. The gain In weight realized in combustion assures that the present methods of chemical procedure embody soundly based ideas. A number of publications coming out in about 1775 gave almost simultaneous testimony thai combustion brings an addition In, weight the addition being from no other possible source than the air itself. Those who furnished tne means of establishing these Important claims were the chemists, Scheele, Priestly and Lavoisier. The fruit of investigations of these three chemists of the modern school is the discovery of oxygen and of the part played in combustion by air. Furthermore, chemistry begaD to be a science haying a height of respectability equal to tnat of mathematics, and was no longer either a black art or a magic cult RUSHING INTO CTIE PROFESSIONS Starvation Walts on Most members of -the Bar, Says Writer. M'MINNVILLE. Or.. Oct 10. (To the Editor.) A professor in an Eastern university. In an article In relation to attorneys, says that there are 16,000 lawyers in Greater New York, and that 70 tier cent or them live on tne verge of starvation, with an Income of- not more than $3 a weeK. lie quotes some writer as saying that the trouDie is ovar-crowdlne. This writer quotes the chairman of the New York County Lawyers' Association as Baying, that if there were only 6000 lawyers In New York, instead) of 16,000, their chances would be very fair, almost good, but he urges young men not to aspire to the bar. Last June our Supreme court ad mitted 10 tne Dar, on oxa-uuiii-nuu, n class of about 106, and another class is to be examined at the new term of the court In addition to this, several are admitted every week, on motion, on certificates from other states. It will be seen that there is a great "rush" for admission to the bar in Oregon. A lares majority of those admitted will be disappointed by finding almost nothing to So. The bar is already bad ly over-crowded in Oregon, and this rush is very foonsn. .-.very county seat has several times as many law yers as can find adequate employment and towns that are not county seats have an over-supply. Permit me to quote two stanzas from Saxe, who was himself a lawyer: I've waited and waited In vain, .,( 1 1 n a ,n ODenlne to find. Where an honest young lawyer might gain Some reward lor tnis ton 01 nis raina. Oh. how can a modest young man , E'er hope " for the smallest profession , The profession's already so full iir lawyers ,u .. w j.u.. . ADVOCATE. Balboa of Panama By Dean Collins. West o'er the waves went the ships steering Steadily, Taking the trad a wind that nevsr - fails or Veers, Daring all dangers roughly and Balboa and his brawny buc. caneers, "Red rubies rich In the islands of Ind arej Spices and silks to the ransom of a king; Diamonds, as duit driven down by the wind are; Olittarlng nuggets in the cold clay cling, "Seek we a sea-way to where wealth awaits us; Out unto Indus our strong ship steers;; West o'er the wild wave the gold gleam baits us;" So sang Balboa and his brawny buc caneer!. Purple rose Panama, misty and distant; Sharp her sierras sheared the South ern sky; Forward and shoreward struggling, in sistent Pressed they the quest up the massy mountains high. "Grottoes of gold In the Indies are gleaming; Diamonds as dewdrops, or as wo man's tears; Just o'er the crest, ths dominion of our dreaming"; So sang Balboa and his brawny buc caneers. Rich as the rug for a Persian prophet's kneeling, Far fell the land as they crowded o'er the crest Misty and mild as a maiden's eyes ap pealing. Rolled another ocean away Into the West "Wild as the wisp o'er the mad moors dancing, Vanish the visions we have vainly followed far; Where in the West are the gems of In dus glancing? Where are the grots where the gol den nuggets are? "Stern stands the barrier, broad across the sea-road. Beating us back from our quest of all the years. Where, through Its wide wall, lies for us a free road?" So sighed Balboa and his brawny buccaneers. Northward and Southward, sailed, the seamen daring. Coming from all countries, seeking still afar Down through the stormy straits unto Indus faring Still o'er the middle seas lay the mighty bar. Still the stern barrier, terrible and towering. Four times a hundred years on the ocean lay. Bidding men bovc fore its battlemented lowering. And fare forth to India on another way. Four times a hundred years and its reign is ended. Cleft Is the crest that arose in stub born pride; Stone bones ore broken- and the earth thews are. bended; Straight through the wallstead lies a sea-rood wide. Out of the dim post chant a lusty chorus. Stalwart Balboal The task that you besrun You and your buccaneers finished lies before us; Orient and Occident are welded into MORE INFORMATION DESIRABLE-. Practicability of Swan Island Plan Iteeda fc-nglneer's Inveatlsratton. PORTLAND, Oct 1L (To the Edi tor.) It sounds almost presumptuous to talk of digging out Swan Island by the roots, as It were, and filling up from it the Mock's Bottom lands and Bridgeport Nevertheless, with the intoxication of big things doing in the air, it may be attempted, and it is to suggest careful Inquiry and planning before it is attempted that this Is writ ten. Millions can be very easily spent but unless carefully plonned for, on ticipated profits and benefits will not come back; even the Manama canai was not successfully attempted until many years after it was suggested, and its plans were revised more tnan a dozen times. If we ore to spend millions and mil lions of tax money on public improve ments ond every enterprising com munity has to spend them we can ar ford to toko time enough reasonably to figure out the probable outgo and In come. Years asro I saw nine ducks killed at one shot on Mock's Bottom Slough, but cautious hunters did not count on this for an average. They picked them up generally one by one and many they missed or lost Even In hunting, luck alone cannot be depended on. The pro- nosed extraction of Swan Island Is an engineering scheme and I and many other taxpayers would llKe rurtner in formation from the engineers before voting on the proposed bonding issues. First has the treacherous quality 01 the soli, or rather water and soil of the Mock's Bottom lands been sufficiently considered? During the building of the O.-W. R. & N. Co.'s line across this bottom it was commonly reported that 100-foot Dlllnsr was necessary in places, and even then they sank through much of the soft ground almost of their own weight Mr. Willard, I think it was, also triea down there on the bank of the river to moke an excavation for a drydock, but after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars was compeilea to aesis. oe- couse the bottom of his drydock would not stay in place, but rose in the exca vation like water in a pipe under pres sure. Will the Mock's Bottom land hold up a fill or will it under pressure ooze out Into the river? Second After a hole 40 feet below the ordinary water level is dug where Swan Island now Is will it stay dug or will Its banks be con tinually oozing in? Third would not this proposed turning pool make a Bet- tlintr basin for the river whlcn wouia largely fill up with Snags and sediment at every flood in the Willamette River? The natural forces that made tne Island are still active. Would they not attempt to restore It and would not the annual expense for all time of the maintenance of this harbor be very heavv? Fourth The Bridgeport scheme of improvement is one unit in the design; could it not be taken up first and completed by dredging from tha west channel of the river? In this way, the harbor area would be in creased and a minion or wu -ip.-i preparatory work, as it were, tnat would be useful in itself and would olso serve as a fair test of the utility and practicability of the whole design. Will not the island ana tne m.. Bottom lands keep? It hardly seems probable that they can much Increase in their present estimated value dur ing the next few years. Let us reason together a little while first and then if it seems wise we can tackle the Job. Tiius. J., si-tuau Right to Use the Title "Hon." Buffalo (N. Y.) Express. "How did Calkins get the right to stick that 'Hon.' in front of his name? He never was In Congress, was he?" "No, but he once Impersonated a mem ber of Congress over the telephone." Twenty-five Years Ago From The Oregonian .of October 13, 1S8S. Mltcholl, Intl., Oct. 12. Gov. Hill, or New York, inaugurated his canvass of Indiana at this place today. Olympia, W. T., Oct 12. This city was visited by on unusually heavy rain and wind storm, accompanied by light ning, at 2 o'clock this morning. During the storm, notwithstanding the dark ness, Mt Rainier, 60 miles distant, was distinctly visible, being almost a mass of electricity, Ellensburg, W. T., Oct 12. Col. Cook. ex-Territorial Councilman, died at his farm this afternoon. He was one of the oldest settlers in Kittitas Valley, coming when the Indians were trou blesome, and had to fight his way. Ha was a cousin of Jay Cooke and a. brother of E. M. Cook, one of Oregon's first Secretaries. St Louis,' Oct 11. A special from Nogales, Ariz., says: The last remnant of Geronlmo's band of renegade Apaches have been captured Jn thu Sierra Madre Mountains, in Sonera, Mexico. The weather yesterday was misera ble, still the Republicans of Portland and vicinity got out, despite the mud. and rain, and rallied heartily and en thusiastically for the standards of pro tection of American industry and labor, Harrison and Morton. The procession was a mile long and there were fully 3000 men In line. Nine policemen, un der the leadership of Officer Collins, headed the procession. Orand Mar shal B. B. Tuttle, with the following olds, oil mounted on fiery Bteeds, ca mi no., t: O. Summers. Raleigh Stott, W. 13. Gilbert George C. Sears, S. J. Barber, John F. Staver, T. B. McDevltt, J. E. Mayo, Sam Simmons, C. M. Forbes, George Longford, E. M. Sergeant W, II. Saylor, H. It Alden, O. F. Paxton, Alfred F. Sears, Harry E. Northrup, W. N. Dlmmick, V. P. Boise, I. A. Macrum, George T. Wlllette, Tom Lewlston, M. F. Mulkey, J. J. FltssJmmons, P. B. Sinnott The marine band of 22 pieces, under the leadership of Ralph W. Hoyt came next Then cam. the Harrison brigade, headed by It M. Mc Masters, C. D. Lownsdale, with the flambeau club, the Blaine Club, under command of M. Q. Griffin. A boulevard 20 feet In width is to be built from the Barnes road up to the summit of the hill In Irving Park through tracts owned by A. H. Johnson and Eugene D. White, upon Mr. Rob ert Irving's tract H. R. Dunlway, while descending yesterday from his lumber wharf in East Portland to the Alblna ferry, was by a slip of the ladder pitched head first into the river between the boat ond the wharf. H swam out. Half a Century Ago Prom The oregoulttn of October It. 1.03. Bannock City. Sept. 27. Considera ble excitement has been manifest for the last two weeeks on account of tha conduct of one S. C. Hoyt who has been running pret(y high on the swindle. Ho swindled John Balonche and skedaddled. Four men started in pursuit and tamo up to Hoyt on Burnt River and they brought Him bock. It is shown that he was owing Balanche $3400, Reynolds 11000, Smythers $700, Hurd $500, Dr. Overbeck $150, Brown & Martin $288, his clerk, Mr. Graves, several hundred, as well as others, In all about $.000. It is proved that he carried away tivo purses and that the contained about $9000 In dust Washington, Oct 6. The captures in the battle near Chattanooga have in creased the prisoners in Lib by prison to over 1000. Washington, Oct 6. A colored bar ber direct from Richmond says pcoplo are dally sending their effects fioutli In anticipation of an attack. Last week the State Guard was called out to sup press a threatened bread riot. Hundreds of Government employes, with their wives and wives of soldiers, assem bled In 'front of the state capltol, armed with clubs and missiles, demand ing of the authorities rellof for starving children. The distinguished Cathollo mission ary Father Do Smet, left on the steamer last night He intends going to St. Louis and returning via Fort Benton to his labors among the Indians who Inhabit the Rocky Mountain region. His honor, Gov. Pickering, of Wash ington Territory, was in the city yes terday and favored us with a call. APPEAL I "PI-EASE DON'T KISS MB," Four-Year-old Girl on 70O0-M1U Trip Comes Labeled to Gowna. The child who attracted the most at tention on board the Kronprinzessln Cecllle, arriving from the Weser, was four-year-old Margaretha Rltchen, with a placard stitched to the skirt of her dress on which is written in sev eral languages: "Please take core of me," "I am going to my mamma." "Please do not kiss me." It seems that Margaretha's father died in a town not far from Vienna, and her mother married again. The mother emigrated with her new hus band to Kenwood, Sonora County, Col., leaving the child behind In the care of a relative. When she was ready to receive curly headed little Margaretha the mother sent passage money to the old country and! directed that her daughter bo Bhlpped. When she reaches California the child will hove traveled about 7000 miles. The steamship doctor was thoughtful enout-h to protect the child from germs likely to be transmitted through kisses. The immigration boaTdlng officers found that Margaretha has only $5. which was forwarded here In the care of an immigrant society. There is a family traveling to San Francisco in about eight days. In whose car. Margaretha will probably be sent Meanwhile she will be held on Ellis Island. The stewardess toon tiargaretn:i ashore yesterday afternoon to buy her an apron in Washington street, Hoboken. Getting the Best Through Your Newspaper During these crisp, cool days of Fall when everyone Is sharing in the bustling activities of the season, the advertising columns of The Ore gonian are at their best Advertis ing is always Interesting to readers, but it. is especially so now, and one really does oneself an Injustice not to read carefully each day's offer ings. Store news, touching upon eve"' article of wearing apparel for m,n, woman or child, is presented in the most attractive and informing .man ner. And every other line of busi ness and professional activity with the many opportunities for saving and investment. Is being announced dally in our advertisements. Not to be posted on these ever changing, and Interesting phases of our life Is to be behind the times unprogresslve and neglectful. To get the full value of The Oregonlan's columns, read the ad vertisements. Adv. f