6
THE SUNDAY . OKEGOXIAX, PORTIsAND, FEBRUARY, 1907.
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rORTI.AND, Sl'NDAY, FEB. 10, 1IM7.
LINCOLN".
When Lincoln's only term in Congress
ended !n 1S4!), Polk, who was then Pres
ident, offered to appoint him Governor
, of Orogon. Lincoln declined. Had, he
accepted, the course of history "would
have, been altered. In his robust end
adventurous youth he had been fond' of
hunting, and this taste he could have
gratified abundantly in the Oregon of
that day. He might have led an arca
dian life. free, happy and healthful;
but he would not have rieenin the Na
tional sky as that "powerful Western
star" whose beams guided a hemisphere
to freedom and made democracy the
watchword of advancing civilization;
tior at his untimely death would the
poet have sung a. dirge for "the oweet
ent and wisest soul of all my days and
nights." Lincoln would have died un
sung, for he woujd have died Unknown.;
and all the treasure of one of.
the divinest llvfes that has ever been,
lived on earth the world would have,
l"st.v There would have been mourn
ing at bin death, for all who lived with
Lincoln loved him; but there would
have been nor"po'mp of inlooped flags
with cities draped In black," no na
tion gathered a his funeral traversed
the continent to weep for a loss beyond
repair.
Perhaps his refusal to become Gov
ernor of Oregon wa the turning point
in Lincoln's life. At any rate, it indi
cated his foreknowledge that he was
born for great destinies and must re
serve himself for them. He belonged
not, to a 6iat; not inde-d to a nation.
For, thougli we call Lincoln the great-
rL yi, -linn ivana, no geug'ta pn 11 H 1
.boundaries can contain his fame; his
service was to mankind' and his glory
bflongs to all nations and all time. He
was supremely grea"t. both in the cause
he served and in the. manner of his
service. Sometimes Lincoln is com
pared with Lee; but those who see no
.difference between the magnitudes of
these historic figures are singularly
blind. Lee's personal character may
'. ttand comparison with any man's who
ever neu, ue wa puuum as Lincoln,
perhaps, - and as gentle; but in those
wider qualities which niark'ruen aa the
choice of Providence tor Imperial des
tinies, which predestine them to direct
the course of history,' Lee. lacked mot
where Lincoln was motst. abundantly
gifted. ' , .-."
,Lce devoted great qualities to a bad
cauef. Lincolii devoted immeasurably
greater "ones to the cause which in all
ages has claimed the fealty of the
demigods and martyrs, Lee' fought
and suffered that men might continue
slaves, that the" strong might forever
plunder the weak and that injustice
might prolong its world-old reign.
Lincoln thought, waited, endured and
died that ifftrenched wrong might per
ish arid the everlasting laws of right
eousness might become the. laws of hu
man conduct. Lee failed, and the hu
man race, while It pays tribute to bis
personal character, rejoices in his fail
ure. Lincoln succeeded, and the world
Is forever better for his success.
In the manner of his service Lincoln.
W6S incomparably wise. He -understood
human nature, calculated chances
and computed "results unerringly No
plan of his' ever failed in the long1 cun.
No man that he trusted ever betrayed
him. Those" who despjsed him In the
beginning he compelled to admire him
in the end. Those who would have
thwarted hinrhe won to Inflexible loy
alty. The source of his wisdom was
his fathomless sense of right and
wrong. The key to his success was his
"unerring judgment of men and things.
He read men ate others read books,
though . with deeper understanding.
No unklndliiiess of circumstance could
hid from him the supreme excellence
of Grant and Sherman. All hiB Cabi
net officers , were adequate to their
work. All . the great war Governors
were nis willing vassais, not merely
from loyalty to the Union, but from
love to their commander. The souls of
men were not hidden, from him. He
knew their secrets -and divined their
motives. When slander assailed. Grant
during those Western campaigns which
won the war,' Lincoln smiled his smile
of infinite patience and,sti!i trusted the
growing destinies of the hero. When
Sherman laid before him the sketch of
his march to the sea and the slaves of
routine shook their heads, Lincoln fore
saw the outcome and bade him march.
A master of strategy, he . held before
his mind the complexities of conti-.
nentai campaigns. He was great
enough to know the greatness of his
Generals and left them free because
he comprehended them.
Than Lincoln . no saner -military
genius has ever lived; but h-ere his abil
ity lay in understanding what. -other
minds had conceived . andr in weaving
their, plans Into a compreheti6lie whole.
In war he .was not an executive so
much as one 'who directed the powers
of his subordinates to fruitful "ends.
It was in statesmanship that Lincoln
showed his originality. Here nis judg
ment worked alone and decided without
dependence on others. His plans were
vast. ' constructive and benevolent.
Retributive justice had noplacein his
thoughts. His mind looked toward res
toration, not punishment. When he
died the South lost Its best and wisest
friend. All the mistakes of reconstruct
tion he had foreseen and guarded
against. All the evils of suffrage In the
possession .-.of a 'primitive race were
present to his mind as he thought out
the future of trie, negroes. Had he
lived, dispassionate justice would have
dictated the status of the enfranchised
blacks. His deah opened the way' to
greed and vengeance. Infinite in their
wise benieHcence, his plans for the con-r
struction "of a new and better world,
died with-him, and so far; inferior Jo
him were all his contemporaries that
they could not even measure the great
ness of his thoughts. The mistakes
that he would haVe shunned they has
tened to commit." So grievously did
they err that we are still striving in
vain- to '-right the misfortunes which
they 'brought upon the country.. 'As his
birthday recurs .the Nation remembers
Lincoln with .a sense of. measureless
and irretrievable loss. .We feel ftr him
not merely '.the reverence which is .due
to the gveat.ibut that love which goes
from "the human heart to. a friend, a
protector, a guide."
A tVOKD OF COl'NSKL.
"Seest thou a man wise in his own
jconcelt? There is more hope of a fool
than of him," This text from Proverbs
is recalled, to us by, the case of a man
who, seems to be named Ferguson.
Whether., he is the Ferguson who
served -Msvtk Twain.as a guide in "In
nocents Abroad"1S not certainly known,
but we infer that he is;' because this
Ferguson is CTfteedingly lnnoceit and,
so far' as common sense goes, he is
very far abroad Indeed. He has been
watching the columns of The Orego
nian. so he announces In an obscure
publication which happens to fall
under our notice, and his vigilance has
been rewarded after several months by
the discovery of two misprints, one of
the Biblical name Agur, the other of
Galllo, which the printer turned into
Galllleo. Oyer these Mr. Ferguson
makes gruesome merriment. .'
..He is evidently not "aware that the
result of his observations is really! a
high compliment to this paper., A dally
paper, which, in the course' of 'several
months; presents such uniform accu
racy that, even a hostile critic can dis
cover only two misprints, and those In
names which everybody , who knows
anything is perfectly familiar' with and
can correct instantly and almost un
consciously, has nothing to regret so
far as accuracy ia concerned. A per-,
eon who knows little Is always eager
to display that little, lest It be sup
posed that he knows nothing at all.
Doubtless Mr. Ferguson has been wait
ing all his life to exhibit the fact that
he knew the name Agur, and when the
opportunity, occurred of course iie
jumped at it. - .
But it Is not with these trifles that
we wish to engage the reader's mind.
It is with a circumstance of 6ofrie im
portance. This same Ferguson,, in
closing his silly remarks, gives veason
to infer that he believes the acquain
tance with names like Agur, Gallio;
Zephaniah and the like to be knowl
edge of -the Bible. This opinion Is
shared by many. Of the labors of
scholars who have fruitfully studied
tho Bible and made it possible for uf
to understand and appreciate this
great literary monument of the Jews
he. knows nothing. He probably shuns
all such knowledge as sinful,. He Is
swathed, a"s in a mantle, by the super
stitions and bigotries which he learned
in his' boyhood from some person as
vapid and ignorant as himself.
. Thus mental and spiritual darkness
Is passed on from generation to gener
ation, fool confirming fool in his folly,,
arid all of them mistaking' blindness, for
insight. V It is such men as these to
whom the Scriptures refer in speaking
of those who "are wise in their own
conceit." Doubtless also they are
meant in the text which says that
when '""the blind .lead the blind both
shall fall iritothe ditch. ' If we might
venture a. word of advice to Mr. Fergu
son, it would be to read the papers
for what they say, rather than to see
how they speU, for all proofreaders are
fallible; and to study the Scriptures for
the improvement of his own soul,
which is greatly In need of it, and. not
to detect motes in the eye of his
neighbor. ,
. . Eons,
For some years past the local egg
production has not been nearly ade
quate to the demands of our local mar
ket, while the egg conditions that have
prevailed this year have' 'been more
strenuous than ever before in the his
tory . of -this . city. This assertion ap
plies both to the supply and the price
of eggs, 50 cents a dozen having been
the retail price for some days past,
while not since the middle of Novem
ber has the housekeeper been able to
procurer dozen eggs in this market
for less .than 40 and 45 cents'. A sharp
decline is now close at hand, as in,
February hens begin to 'lay without
extra care or feeding. And just here is
the rub. Farmers do not give the at
tention to the feeding and care of poul
try that Is necessary to keep up the
market supply of eggs during the Win
ter months. They do not know how to
manage this business in order to se
cure, the best results, or knowing, will
not take the trouble to make practical
application of this knowledge. Their
yards barnyards and. often their door
yards are fuH of half-starved, "blowsy,
wind-tossed hens, eagerly seeking
everyNscrap and grain that promises to
appease their hunger; their roosts are
often in" places open to the wind and
rain, and instead of being a profit to
their owners. Viey. merely eke out an
existence until Spring, without fur
nishing as much as an egg for" the
farmer's breakfast. The keeping . of
poultry in this manner is .lamentably
short-sighted, both from the standpoint
of the producer and the consumer. It
is at once wasteful and unnecessary.
Hens can be made to lay the year
around not the same flock, but In
proper' rotation, by Intelligent feeding
and care.' They would well earn their
way and net a handsome profit to their
keepers, with eggs at 30 cents a. dozen,
a price that consumers would willingly
pay In Winter. Farmers and farmers'
wives should in their own Interests
look into this matter. It will pay them.
"HER WRETCHED MOTHER."
No one who has followed the evi
dence In the Thaw trial, sympathetic
ally or curiously, albeit w:ith a choking
sensation inspired, by dfcsgust and in
dignations can fall to indorse the esti
mate of the mother of Evelyn Nesbit
as expressed -by" Harry Thaw In the
above words. A "wretched mother" in
deed must be a .- woman who subjects
her.i young daughter to the cunning of
the professional roue, old In the tricks
and wiles andi arts of his trade, and
abandons her to the Inevitable conse
quences. There Is no excuse for Stanford
White vile, loathsome cormorant,
whose boasted prey was Inexperienced
and helpless young girls; none for
Harry Thaw, an Idler and a libertine,
who through .murder sought to avenge
an Irremediable woe. But the mother,
who - by insistence and connivance
smoothed the downward pathway of
her young, daughter, "what tongue
enough can execrate?" She literally
made merchandise of. the body and soul
of. the child given to her charge, and
livid for a time, upon the unholy incre
ment. ' . ' .. .
We are constrained in such a case to
believe - that even Nature nods some
times when she should tie wide awake,
and during a drowsy lapse permitted
this weakling to become a mother the
mother of a daughter. Stanford White,
has gone to hls . long account and at
last sent there, and not untimely, by an.
avenging bullet; Harry Thaw may find
his swift quietus when the time comes
in the electrical chair, which a great
commonwealth has equipped and holds
In readiness for criminals who upon
due conviction of crime have forfeited
the right to live; - Evelyn ' Thaw wiil
pass down and out of the witness chair
from which the shameful story of her
debauched girlhood fell from her own
lips, a dark shadow upon the shield of
virtuous young womanhood. And the
woman whose lax administration of
her holy office laid the foundation of
the tragedy, ; the details of which have
been worked out In infamy, and crime
and spread upon the records of a
state's jurisprudence It Is sufficient
that she be known as "that wretched
mother." and her part In the shameful
story be cited as an' example of the
gravest possible, malfeasance in the
maternal office. 'My mother dressed
me and told me to- go, and I went," is
the testimony, upon which this woman
stands convicted of (his grossest wrong.,
"Her wretched Another ,. must not re
ceive, any thing' :wrote Harry Thaw to
his lawyer." in directing the dlsposa.l of
bis property in the event of his death.
And as "her Wretched mother," in the
bitter suggestlveness pi the term here
used, will this woman pass through de
served Opprobrium Into dark oblivion.
, . "THE WHITE MAN'S WORLD."
' Not 'long ago there came from Pro
fessor Thomas, of ' trie University of
Chicago, the ponderous statement that
women "modern women" and all
members of . the. black race are not fit
to live except as Inferior beings in the
"white-man's world." ' A fitting "preface
tor this sapient statement, as far as.lt
includes women, ' may be found In
"Paradise Lost," wherein Milton, mo
rose and rendered misanthropic by the
desertion of his wife (she was, by the
way, not v in any sens a "modern
woman'.'), who found the companion
ship of the dictatorial recluse whom she
had married insupportable, made Adam
in shifting the burden of his weakness
upon Eve exclaim:
Oh. why did God.
Creator wiee, that peopled highest heav'n
With eiirits masculine, create at la9t
This novelty, on earth, this fair defect
Of Nature, and not flU the world at once
With men as' angels, without feminine
Or flni Cmo other way
Tx generate mankind? . .
A man who in this ' day and age'
stands barefaced before the world and
under the . sanction of a modern insti
tution of learning revamps ,the story of
the mental inferiority, by nature, of
woman, and places her In the cate
gory with black men,. is far behind the
development of the times and might
well, with Ills opinion, be remanded to
the Miltonic age, wherein the "Fall ot
Man," as sung by the blind poet of the
sixteenth century, was accepted as a
fact of authentic history.
The brainy women and the women of
achievement who rise up on every hand
to confute by their lies the theory of
Professor Thomas must, of course, be
disposed of in order for his declaration
fixing the low mental status of woman
to find an inch of standing room in the
world of fact. This he proceeds to do
and thinks his effort successful by
placing all able -women In the "spor
adic and 'unusual class."
Heedless alike- of the multitude of
which this "class" Is composed and of
the standing in letters. In science, in
philanthropy, in executive ability and
in Industrial achievement to which very
many of - its members have attained,
this critic- goes on to elaborate his
hypothesis, regardless of its flimsy
foundation, and unmindful of the fact
that the record of woman's endeavor
and accomplishment in every com
munity in the civilized world is a refu
tation of his statement. '
- Take, for a familiar example, Liicre
tia Garfield, .mother of a President. Ai
woman of intelligent, tireless industry,
the simple chronicles of the neighbor
hood in which she lived attest the fact
that by her iiinaided effort she brought
up to lives of honor and usefulness a
large family left to her sole care by the
untimely death of her husband. Could
any man hav done as much? Is this
woman a specimen- of - a : "sporadic
class"? On the contrary, are not such
women to be found in every commju
nity, rising grandly to .meet one of the
common vicissitudes of life. and dis
charging intelligently, patiently and
successfully the duties of both father
and mother in caring for their chil
dren? History : tells , us that ' it was
through a woman's self-sacrificing en
deavor that'Abraharn Lincolncame up
through pinched and suffering boyhood
to great and useful manhood, and that
woman was not his own mother, but
his foster-mother. Unassuming, faith
ful, industrious, this woman the sec
ond wife of Thomas-Lincoln not only
brought up his children by her thrift,
but imbued them with her own
strength 'of character, dragging
throughout many toilsome years the
additldnal clog of, an easygoing, good-for-nothing
husband. Is not this ;type
of woman also to.be found In every
community, and could any man accom
plish successfully this task so bravely
borne this duty so Intelligently dis
charged? The "modern woman." thanks to the
development of the age that she has
shared and of which she stands today
an equal representative with modern
man even the modern "white man" is
not a clog upon the world of endeavor,
but one of its strongest mainsprings.
That "she got Into the game" late is
a conceded fact of "history for W'hich
she herself was not responsible. But
her achievement, notwithstanding this
late start, has left its stamp upon the
world, deep and lasting the stamp, not
of sex, an accident at best and a cir
cumstance or condition of which man
need not boast nor woman apologize,
since neither had a voice in its order
ing but the stamp of earnest. Intelli
gent endeavor and "its resultant useful
ness to the race.
It is much wiser, much, more credita
ble, for a man who assumes to be an
interpreter of the signs and symbols of
Nature and of growth, to accept this
fact and rejoice In the blessings that
it conifers upon the race, than to as
sume that woman Is a mistake of cre
ation, made necessary "by a Creator, so
stinted In resources as. not to be able
To nil the world at once
With men ae anirels, without feminine,
Or find- some other way '
To generate mankind. .
A QIKKK THEORY.
In that strange book, "The Toilers
of the Seal" Victor Hugo puts forth a
weird theory concerning the Inhabi
tants of the atmosphere. He begins by
speaking of Jelly fishes, which are
transparent and so nearly of the same
density as sea-water that they are in
visible until they have been cast ashore.
Were there no shore to the sea, and no
rocks where these frail mariners could
be cast away, we should perhaps know
nothing of Jelly fishes.
The atmosphere, he proceeds to re
mark, has no shore; neither are there
any rocks or mountain peaks which
protrude above it. The air, in fact, ex
tends several miles above the loftiest
summits of the earth. Hence, suppos
ing that there were afloat in. the at
mosphere beings related to the air as
Jelly fish are to water, we miglyt possi
bly never know anything about them.
Being transparent, they could not be
seen. Being agile, . they could avoid
contact with obstacles. Perhaps the
atmosphere is thickly populated with
beings of this sort.
A very curious short story published
some years ago pursues the same train
of fancy. A learneal professor got wind
in some way of these aerial beings and
devised a trap to catch them. His ex
periments were carried out in the wilds
of Florida, with a tragic end which de
prived science bf most of the benefit of
his learned labors. He caught one of
the beings, who turned out to be a fe
male of extraordinary beauty, and the
final result was that the trapper him
self was trapped and haled away to the
upper regions.
If these beings exist, their interfer
ence with human affairs may account
for' some of those extraordinary occur
rences which puzzle the curious. Why
may they not become visible when light
is refracted through them at a certain
angle and present the aspect of ghosts?
Granting this hypothesis, ghost stories
lose their incredibility. Those- mysteri
ous sudden appearanoes of living be
ings which are so well attested and so
Inexplicable would ateo be accounted
for, as well as some or all of the phe
nomena of telepathy.
. -Perhaps these material but invisible
inhabitants of the air condescend to
carry messages between human beings.
Perhaps they rap on tables at spiritual
istic meetings; perhaps they write on
slates at seances. Victor Hugo's spec
ulation may be nothing more than the
reverie of a poet; but at the same time
it may le. one of those visions which
are prophetic of great realities. Were
there any way to investigate his theory
it would seem to offer an inviting field
for the ingenuity and diligence of sci
entists. STATE COXTROl, OF IMMIGRATION.
Missouri, on the alert for conditions
that will accrue to her profit, is about
to adopt the South Carolina plan of
securing a due proportion of immigra
tion of the class that will add by in
telligent industry to her prosperity. Of
the vast number or immigrants now
pouring into the United States, some
are much more desirable as citizens
than others. The plan Is to pick and
choose among these, not when they
land in our home ports, but when they
embark at European ports. To this end
the Legislature, now sitting at Jeffer
son City, is asked to appropriate $30,000
to maintain agents in the latter ports
to select the right kind of immigrants
and direct them to (Missouri as their
objective point.
South Carolina has found this plan a
profitable one, in 4hat it has assured to
the state the "pick" of many shiploads
of men from over the sea, who. with
their families, come to the United
States seeking homes. Aside from
these agents of South Carolina and the
agents of the steamship companies,
there are now no selecting or distrib
uting agencies to pass upon or fix the
destination of more than 1.000,000 for
eigners yearly seeking our shores. The
only "selection" made by the latter
agents consists in safeguarding their
companies from the expense of ship
ping, and the certain reshipptyig, of dis
eased and other dependent persons who
would not be allowed to land. All of
the able-bodied men and women who
are brought across the eea are dumped
Into Atlantic ports, at or near which
about 90 per cent of them remain. The
human flood is allowed practically to
take its own course, without any intel
ligent attempt to guide.lt. It is held
that the results of its movement would
be more satisfactory were the states to
take charge of the matter severally,
each looking to its own especial Inter
ests; if a mining 6tate, to placing a
sturdy, industrious mining class; if an
agricultural state, of an agricultural
class, etc. .
, In the view of the St. Paul Pioneer
Press, Congress might well relegate to
the states the entire subject of immi
gration, using Federal authority only
to enforce at the port of entry the ex
clusion of all immigrants nqt coming
to this country under the authority or
guidance of some state agency. Con
tinuing, the journal quoted says:
This plan would . apparently solveat once
all the perplexities in which Congress finds
itself Involved when it attempts to deal
with the immigration problem. It would
obviate the necessity of any Federal dis
crimination between nationalities. No for
eiRn government, certainly.'-could object to
the exercise by a etate of the rlftht of se
lection in choosing; those individually in
vited to -enter the state's family. Ana a
general exclusion act, applying to all nation
alities except the above, would wound the
pride of neither Chinaman nor Japanese.
Hungarian. Italian or Russian. Every one of
them 'would stand on precisely the same
level as the German, the Briton, French
man or Scandinavian.
The plan certalnlyhas features that
commend It to consideration vas vastly
superior to the ungulded flow of ani
mated matter across our Eastern border.
The annual meeting of the American
Forestry Association, held in Wash
ington recently, was, as stated by. the'
secretary, a celebration of the most
notable year in the expansion of the
foreetry movement. The "year 1906 was
conspicuous in strengthening forest
education, the specific purpose of the
association. Twenty-seven hundred new
members were added to the roll during
the year. The need of forest preserva
tion and extension was ' brought 4out
strongly by Secretary Wilson, of the
National Department of Agriculture.
He compared the limited quantity of
wood available today with the abun
dance of the past, and said that the
scarcity of wood was beginning to be
felt throughout the country. It was
upon the showing of Secretary Wilson,
confirmed hy Dr. Edward Everett Hale
and other speakers of prominence In
National affairs, that the association
voted to recommend to Congress the
loan to the Forot Service of $5,000,000
as a working capital for the develop
ment of the forest reserves. This loan
was also recommended by President
Roosevelt in a recent message. Con
gress was further urged to repeal the
timber and stone act, so long a. source
of fraud and loss to the Government,
and to substitute therefor legislation
providing that land more valuable for
timber than for any other purpose shall
be withdrawn from entry of any kind.
The present time, when all the country
is staring w,ith wide-open eyes at the
disclosures in land frauds and when
wood for fuel is almost unprocurable,
is a propitious one for urging theso
protective measures.
Senator's Slchel's bill for a uniform
insurance policy, passed by the Senate
on Friday, Is a measure that has much
trj commend It, and it should pass the
House without difficulty. It places no
unreasonable burden upon insurance
companies but gives a contract of in
surance a definite and uniform charac
ter. While It does not prevent the use
of other forms of pol'oles. it requires
lhat variations from the standard form
shall be printed In type of double size,
thus calling the attention of the insurer
to any unusual provisions in his con
tract. The great majority of insurers
know very little about the terms of
insurance policies. They pay the rate
and take the policy the company gives
them. A standard form of policy has
been adopted In New York and other
states and should be adopted here. As
chairman of the Senate committee on
Insurance, Senator Sichel occupies an
Important position at this partielul-ar
time. The attention he is giving to In
surance legislation shows that Presi
dent Haines made no mistake in select
ing him for that place.
The tale told by Evelyn Thaw has
ia. It the elements of tragedy at once
pitiful and revolting. Whatever may
be the verdict of the jury In the case,
the verdict of pttblic decency, rendered
Impromptu 'when Stanford White
dropped before the smoking pistol of
Harry Thaw and did not rise again;
has been emphasized by the story of
the young woman whom, almost in her
childhood, this pompous, self-sufficient
moral leper debauched. . That verdict
was: "He deserved to be shot." " '
Hon. David Smith, whose death oc-.
curred at his home In Forest Grove
February 8, was known to the pioneers
of two counties as a resident and
neighbor, and to the state in a past
era as a legislator. He lived In Yam
hill County twenty years on a farm
lying north of McMinnvllle; for the
past quarter of a century or more he
had resided in Forest Grove. He left
as a heritage to the state the record
of a long life of probity, hospitality
and good citizenship.
A 14-year-old Lebanon boy, just sent
to the Reform School at the request of
his mother for incorrigibility, says his
parents separated when he was a mere
baby,- and his mother remarried, the
second husband later being sent to San
Quentin for train-robbery. In- the case
of the boy the cause Is probably en
vironment, which is not one of the evils
to be overcome by Dr. Owens-Adair's
measure.
President Harris, of Northwestern
University, will discover in time that
it isn't a first-v-ite idea to advertise the
merits of his university before the
General Education Board by Jumping
all over the $32,000i000 Rockefeller gift,
otherwise the Large Fat Offer to Buy
the- Public Esteem.
Local option suffered en easy death
30 to 15 in the Idaho House Friday.
Yet Idaho is a state where women cast
a- large vote. There may be truth in
the contention of leading women suf
fragists of Oregon that their "party" is
hot wholly owned by ; "vinegary old
maid prohibitionists."
After -a few illuminating hours at
the White House the San Francisco
delegation Is disposed now to enlarge
the world's boundaries, .which have
heretofore been fixed at San Francisco
Bay on the east and the Pacific Ocean
on the west.
Burglars have made it impossible"f or
Councilman Kellaher to open his safe.
This is unfortunate, for Councilman
Kellaher Is one of the kind that has
scruples about accepting the hospitali
ties of any one else's safe.
The Solid Nine will provide its own
votes in Its great combination candi
dacy for Mayor, and the public will
provide the necessary fourteen. Figure
it out for yourself.
- The reporters might easily be able
to persuade the public that Mrs. Thaw
is the most beautiful woman In the
wdYld if the artists would let her alone.
A high record of 725 private pension
bills In the House Friday Is one more
boost toward publishing the entire list.
Councilman Shepherd intimates that
his announcement of his candidacy for
Mayor Is a joke. Well, it's a good one.
If the rest of it Is to be like yester
day, we move to amend the calepdar
and add a few more days to February.
The whistle of the locomotive sounds
a cheerful note to dwellers along the
line afte? a tie-up of a week.
"Salome" is to reappear in the name
of a new ten-for-a-quarter cigar. Is It
as bad as that?
What is the sympathetic tie between
gambling and tobacco?
COMMENT ON CURRENT OREGON TOPICS
Two Weeks' Hard and Rapid Work Before the Oregon Legislature
Bad Practices in Introduction of Bills Putting a Democratic Governor
in a Hole The Troublesome Problem of the Normal Schools.
THERE can be no doubt of tiie
truth of the assertion frequently
made that this session of the leg
islature is attending to business more
diligently than any of its predeces
sors In recent years. While it has not j
taken final action on as many bills as
some Legislatures In the same length
of time, yet the members have given
close attention to the business before
them, and have the work well In hand.
fa that in the remaining two weeks
of tl.e session the bills pending should
receive due attention and the session
close with little left undone for want
of time. The ways and means commit
tees have their work farther advanced
than usual, and the railroads and as
sessment an.l taxation committees have
passed upon practically all the Im
portant measures before them. A few
evening: sessions will enable the Legis
lature to perform a large amount of
work this week and nc. The mem
bers jiave been in regular attendance
and are generally familiar with the na
ture of the bills before them. Thin
session differs from many that have
preceded it in thit there has been no
need for "Vail of the House" In order
to keep a quorum present for the trans- '
action of business.
TT PRACTICK which has been grow-
ing in recent years and which has
been more pronounced at this sosslon
of the Legislature than ever before, is
that of Introducing the same bill In
each house. In many instances the au
thors of bills prepare them In duplicate
and have, them Introduced simultJtii
eously In each house. They go to the
Printer as two separate bills, though
exactly alike, and must be printed
twice, thus not only Increasing tho ex
pense of printing but crowding the
Pointer with work, so that many of
the bills are delayed. This practice has
been criticised by some as a growing
evil. By .others It is defended as a
meaiis of facilitating the work of com
mittees. It certainly encumbers the
calendars, leads to some confusion and
wastes time In reading and referring
bills. The argument In defense of the
practice Is that by Introducing the
same bl'l In each house, a ro;id bill, for
example, the measure is placed In the
hands of the proper committees In each
house early in the session, and Is under
consideration, without waiting for it
to go from one house to the other. I J
a road bill were introduced in the Sen
ate only, it would go through the hands
of the Seriate committee on roads, and,
after it h.'"d been reported and passed,
it would go to the House, be.read twi?e
and then sent. to the House committee
on roads, there to be considered again.
By introducing it in both houses, it
gets to the committee in each house
about tha same time, and, when t.ie
bill goes from one house to the other,
it has In reality been before the com
mittee, and there need be no delay In
acting upon it.
'
THE same end could be attained,
however, by holding joint meetings
of similar committees from the HW
houses. Such meetings .are now held
by some of the more Important com
mittees, such as ways and means, irriga
tion, banking, railroads and assess
ment and taxation. Judiciary and re-,
vision ot laws committees of the two
houses seldom hold joint sessions. The
House and Senate committees (in ways
and means alvrays meet jointly. The
difficulty In the way of joint sessions
is that the lists of committees in the
two houses do not correspond and there
is not uniformity in refeiring bills.
1 he House has 42 committees, while
the Senate has but 32. If the two houses
could agree upon a uniform list of
committees, and then arrange joint
meetings of the committees, glvinj? at
tention to the same subjects, there
would 4e a b'tter understanding of
what each house has before It, nnd
what sort of hills each house may ex
pect to receive from the oilier. But
while this plan would facilitate work.
It would probaoly discourage the sift
ing out process, which has no small
value" in a Legislature. Bills considered
In joint session would tecelve favorable
reports In each houst more frequently
than would bills considered by com
mittees in each house separately. A
committee of the house In which a
bill originates is more likely to look
upon it with favor than is a commit
tee of the. other house. The author of
a bill very frequently has it referred
to a committee of which he is a mem
ber, and, out of courtesy to him. a joint
committee would report a bill favorably
when It would bo given more critical
consideration and be reported unfa
vorably If consldeerd the second time
by a committee of which the author
was not a member. There is little
doubt, however, that uniformity, in the
organization of committees, and dis
continuance of the practice of intro
ducing the same bill in each house,
would save some expense and hasten
the work of the Legislature.
AS THE Legislature gets down to the
real work of passing bills, there i
a very noticeable Increase in the atten
tion members are giving to the probable
attitude of the Democratic Governor upon
the Important measures that are under
consideration. It Is frequently remarked
that the Governor will lose no opportu
nity to make what the Republican mem
bers call a "grandstand play," and It Is
plainly evident that the Republicans
stand much in fear of these "plays."
Chamberlain's ability to write a veto
message that is likely to be popular is
well recognized, and the members are
taking the Governor into consideration
at nearly every step. They realizo that
the Governor will "have the last "say" on
enactment of a law, and that his veto, if
exercised, will bring into prominence any
error the Legislature may have com
mitted, and bring credit to the Governor.
Probably none of the members would ac
knowledge being Influenced In their course
by the possible action of the Governor,
yet it is noticeable that "what the Gov
ernor will do" Is a very common subject
of comment when Republican legislators
get their heads together in informal con
ference. The Governor has, for example, given
particular attention during his adminis
tration to eradication of the evils in the
administration of the land affairs of the
state. He has made known his attitude
toward land sales procured by fraud. If.
then, the Legislature should pass a bill
favorable to the land-grabbers, there can
be no doubt about the action the Gover
nor would take, and the Republican Leg
islature would find that he hail put It "in
a hole." On a 'number of other subjecis
of general public interest the Governor
lias an opportunity to place the Legisla
ture in a bad light It It makes a mis
take, and no one doubts that he will do
so when occasion offers. He has several
advantages, chief among which is the
fact that In a contest between one man
nnd M public sympathy is pretty Ukely
to favor the one.
IT IS possible, perhaps, for a Republi
can legislature to put a Pemocrauc
Governor "In a hole." but none neem to
have done It thus far. A Republics n
Legislature put Governor T. T. Goer In
such a position in 11101. when it passed a
Portland charter bill. One faction of thn
party demanded the veto of the bill and
the other that It be permitted to become a
law. The fijjht was bitter, and the Gov
ernor could not act without making un
compromising enemies of one side or tho
other. His veto of that measure was
probably enough to defeat him. and per
mitting the bill to become a law might
have bad as disastrous effects. The leg
islature "put him in a hole." The leg
islature of IPOS enme within one vote of
placing Governor Chamberlain In as dtffl
ctilt a position when it had under con
sideration the proposed amendment to the
local option law. Had that bill been
passed and put up to the Governor th
whole state would have been divided Into
two factions, one demanding that he veto
the bill and the other that he permit It to
become a law. Whatever course he took
he would have made a host of bitter
enemies, who would have fought him po
litically as long as he ran for office In
Oregon. Possibly he would have been
able to pull himself out of that sort of
a hole without being hurt, but there are
few who think he could have.
THE present legislature shows no de
sire or Intention to try to put the
Governor in a position where he will he
compelled to kill himself off politically.
Perhaps it could be done if the legisla
ture were organized under a leader whom
it would follow in a big game of poll
tics, but there is no indication of such a
sltuntlon. Thougli the Leelslature Is
overwhelmingly Republican, there Is very
little observance of party lines In any of
the voting. There Is no one leader who
can or does map out a programme whirh
the others will follow. Neither parry
lines nor factional lines are to be seen
when there is a division in the voting
upon bills. Neither the Haines forces
nor the Hodson forces in the Senate, or
the Davpy people or the Vawtcr people in
the House, as they were known at the
time of the organization, hang together
on any question of legislation. Republi
cans and Democrats mix their votes on
nearly every question upon which there
is a controversy. It Is proliably fortunate
for legislation that this Is so. but this
situation makes it practically certain that
this Legislature will not make any con
certed effort to shatter the political hopes
of the Democratic Governor, who Is gen
erally credited with an ambition to re
ceive pop il.tr endorsement In 1!S for the
United States Senatorship. '
THE only suggestion that has been
made this session of a possible
trap for the Covernor Is In connection
with the normal school question. The
Governor recommended that two of the
normals be discontinued. It has been
remarked that the Legislature might
pass four separate appropriation hills,
one for each normal, and leave the Gov
ernor to veto two of them, thus put
ting upon him the duty of choosing
and Insuring him the enmity of the
people interested !ri the two schools
that would be left without funds. This
plan would be of doubtful effect, how
ever.' for discontinuance of the appro
priation for two years would not abol
ish the schools, and, taking this view
of It, the Governor might file all the.
bills, regretting that the Legislature
had failed to perform its duty of put
ting two of them out of business. He
would thus make friends in each of
the normal school localities, and the
people generally would not censure
him for refusing to veto bills when
such action would not decide the real
question In issue. The normal school
question, vexatious as it is, seems to
afford little opportunity of making
trouble for the. Governor.
THE present week In the Legislature
will be an Interesting one from the
viewpoint of the spectator in the gallery.
The Normal School bills will be up. a.s
also will appropriation bills, the Vallroad
commission bill, the direct primary bills,
the irrigation code and many other meas
ures of popular interest. The formal and
rather uninteresting first and second
reading of bills is pretty much a thing of
the past, and from this time on there will
be more debate upon bills upon their
merits. The legislature has a habit of
placing important measures on the cal
endar as special orders for 10 o'clock in
the morning or 2 in the afternoon. It
would be much mora pleasing to the gal
lery if the special orders were set down
for evening sessions, so that visitors
would not need to neglect their business
affairs in order to attend the session
and hear the debates. With a railroad
commission bill announced for considera
tion at S o'clock In the evening, the ora
tors In either house would be sure of a
large and grateful audience.
If I'n Wits Kimnln- Things.
Chicago Record-Herald.
If pa was runnin' things you'd see some
changes pretty quick:
The bills would not come In so fast and
pay days wnuld be thick;
He'd make the yellow Journals alt let up on
Harry Thaw.
And stop their prlntln' pictures ot his sla
ter, wife and ma.
And If another Swettenham insulted us.
I-Jlngs.
We'd Mow him Into kingdom come, If pa
was runnin' things.
We'd have the Panama Canal all finished
by July.
And every trust would aet upset gee whllt.
the fur would flyl
He'd ue the big stick nn the folks that
try to ftteal our trade.
And make the standard Oil give back the
millions that it's made;
We'd lock up Leopold and all the ether
wicked kings
And wipe off Russia from the map. If pa
was runnin things.
We'd throw the milkmen all in jail for
spreadln' fever germs.
And m-hen the rich were guilty they would
"get the longest terms;
Tom Piatt would have to quit right off and
never more be known.
And next time Canada sassed back we'd take
It for our own;
The things we buy would all be cheap;
'pretty noon the wingH
Would sprout on ma and me, I guess. If
pa vas runnin' things.