THE DALLES WEEKLY CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 23. 1896.
The Weekly Ghroniele.
NOTICE.
AH eastern foreign advertisers are
referred to our representative, Mr. fc,,
Katz, 230 234 Tem pie Court, New York
City. Eastern advertising must be con
tracted through him.
BTATE OFFICIAL 8.
jvernoi W. P. Lord
Secretary of State . . . : H R Rincaid
Treasurer Phillip Metschan
Bupt. of Public Instruction..
Attorney-uenerai.
Senators
Congressmen
State Printer
..G. M. Irwin
...CM. Wleman
(G. W. McBride
' (J- U. Mitchell
B Hermann
" W. E. Ellis
..W. H.Leeds
, COUNTY OFFICIALS.
County Judge. . .Robt. Mays
Sheriff. 'J...T. J. Driver
Clerk A M. Kelsay
Treasurer C. L. Phillips
, , A. b. mowers
Commissioners Jd.B. Kimsey
Assessor W. IL Whipple
Surveyor J. B. ioit
Superintendent of Public Schools. . .C. L. Gilbert
Coroner.. u. jjuhs
TRUE SASIS OF DAMAGES.
Under the above head the East
Oregonian comments as follows:
u. Messrs. Seufert Bros, and I. H.
Tafle, both of The Dalles, have ob
tained judgment for $35,000 and
$18,000 respectively against the gov
ernment for right of way of the pro
posed portage at Celilo. Judge Bel
linger, of the United States court,
before whom these cases were tried,
interposes his objection to the ver
dicts of the juries and has set one of
the judgements aside and will proba
bly take action regarding the other
with' the view of protecting the
preople against such unreason. The
. Dalles papers, published in the envir- j
onment of the beneficiaries of these
judgments, complain against Judge
Bellingei's action aud attack his
motives. The Dalles Times-Mountaineer
intimates that the "twelve
honest men' composing the juries
have a better idea of the extent of
the damages than Judge Bellinger.
This sounds reasonable, and would
appear to be the case : but is it true ?
Will The Dalles papers, that have
taken up the cause of these claimants,
please inform the public to what ex
tent the Messrs. Seuferts and Taffe
contribute to the support of govern-
.auvuLf it utii niv tuc liiAiiuic values
-of their properties, both personal and
real estate? Do they pay taxes
based on valuation of real estate, to
the extent of the sums awarded
them as damages for only a small
part of their real property ? Were
the values on which the damages
are based creations of industry or
enterprise? If they have not con
tributed to the support of govern
ment through the taxation of values
which they claim will be diminished
by the building of the government
portage, or if the values on which
the claim for damages was based
were never created by industry or
enterprise, but are or tie forms of
wealth bestowed upon man by
Mother Nature, which they have mo
nopolized to their enrichment, why
should they be entitled to damages
in excess of their real injury, or in
excess of the destruction, or taking
for government uses of their prop
erty, the product of their own toil,
or other's toil working for them ?
"With these points fully consid
ered, a just claim for damages could
be arrived at, and the East Orego
nian ventures the assertion that the
'twelve honest men' composing the
juries gave no consideration in these
important particulars, and Judge
Bellinger recognizing both neglect
and ignorance in this connection,
has taken the action attributed to
him and, in doing so, has done his
duty faithfully in the -interests ot the
great mass of the people en whom
the . burden of paying such unjust
damages falls."
The editor of the East Oregonian
lias peculiar views concerning taxa
tion, being an ardent disciple of
Henry George and an earnest advo
cate of the single tax. He discusses
the measure of damages, not from
the standpoint of things as they are
but from that of things as he would
like to have them.
We do not care to enter into a
discussion of the single tax question,
but without looking at the tax roll
we will say that the gentlemen
named are heavy taxpayers. They
pay taxes on their property, but not
on the rights and privileges 'that
"run with the Iand." The damages
in these cases are not caused by J
either the loss ot land, or on im
provements "created by industry or
enterprise ;" but belong to the class
which the East Oregonian describes
as "favors bestowed by Mother Na
ture, which they have monopolized
to their enrichment" that is ihe
right of catching fish from the Co
lumbia, of which they had a monop
oly, and which the condemnation of
their land would deprive them of.
The right to catch fish is hardly un
der our present laws tangible enough
property to be taxed, but it is val
uable just the same.
We are not defending systems of
taxation, but as long as the laws are
what they are this kind of property
cannot be taxed. It is like a corpo
ration of an "artificial" character,
yet it is valuable, even though an
incorporeal hereditament. To illus
trate our contention : . The kast Ore
gonian plant is worth a stated sum,
and is no doubt taxed on its value
as other property is. That value
consists of the worth of its material
presses, buildings and accounts, and
is the same whether the paper clears
$100 or $1,000 a month. The earn
ing capacity of the property is not
taken into consideration in fixing its
value for taxing purposes. So with j
Seufert's and Taffe's lands.
running its street csrs and machinery
with the power of the ' Willamette
falls, and it will not be many.years
before the grand power at Celilo falls
will be turning the wheels of indus
tries here. ' '. -
THE FARMERS' DAY COMING
NEW YORK NEEDS IT.
France seems to be raising some
question as to the Monroe doctrine.
France owns a small portion of the
South American continent, a portion
this country certainly does not envy
her. But she must understand that
she owns now all she ever will. The
United States is not a nation greedy
for the lands of her neighbors, but,
on the contrary, recognizes their
rights, and is prepared to assist in
maintaining them. As for fearing
the powers ot Europe, most of the
country doesn't care a snap for them.
We have no commerce to be de-
stroyed, and no damage could be
done us except the bombarding of a
few ports.
There is quite a general feeling,
tOD, among the inlanders that would
be highly gratified by the bombard
ment of New York City, especially if
the English would do the shooting.
The city is but a suburb of London,
and is practically a British depend
ency. If the knocking of their
houses about their ears would at the
same lime jar a little patriotism into
them the magnificence of the results
would cause the price to be reck
oned as trifling. If the French want
to do this piece of missionary work
for us, it will be appreciated. They
may bombard our seaports, and all
Europe may assist, but none of them
will ever own a foot more land in
America than they do now.
Few of us realize the vast work
undertaken by the Russian govern
ment in the building of the great
trans-Asiatic railroad through Si
beria, and fewer yet have the re
motest idea of the effect the comple
tion of this road will have, not only
on Siberia, but on the world. It
quite probale this great road, nearly
4,000 miles long, will be completed
with the century. The treaty re
cently made with China, by which
an opcu bai bor tne year touna nas
been acquired, will stimulate the
building of the road and the conse
quent settlement of Siberia.
We have all of us been taught tc
look upon Siberia much as we looked
upon the Dakotas, Nebraska and
Kansas, as portions of the great
American desert, instead of a pro
lific soil and the possible granary of
a nation. Our ideas of Siberia, ob
tained from the old geographies,
were totally false. That in twenty
or thirty years from now Siberia
will be raising the bread of Europe,
is a certainty; and were it equally
certain that America would at that
time have to seek a market for her
breadstuff's abroad, the outlook for
our farmer would be gloomy.
The goed-roads convections have
done excellent work in agitating the
subject of improving our roads.
Among the other good things done
by those conventions is the interest
they have awakened in broad-tired
wagons. Why tires should have
been made or used so long of the
piesent narrow style, is past all find
ing out. The broad tire has proven
itself, wherever used, so much better
that the wonder is the narrow tires
are used at alL Down in Nevada,
where they have the best natural
roads in the world, the big freight
wagons have tires five and six inches
wide. Any other kind would be out
of sight in the hard earth at all times.
The county judge of Jackson
county is evidently not infatuated
with the railroad commission. In
arguing tne reasonableness ' of the
tax on the Southern Pacific's prop
erty before the state board of equal
ization Saturday, he spoke of the
commission in slighting terms, say
ing: "The most the commission has
done in four years is to order the
cutting down of a bull pine tree."
It is unfortunate that the judge did
not give us further information as to
why this piece . of vandalism was
done. It is to be presumed that the
bull-pine was trespassing on the right
of way, or doing someting else to
the injury or inconvenience of the
road.
The time is not far distant when
the machinery of the world will be
moved by electricity, which will be
generated cheaply by utilizing tha
natural water power. Portland is
But this is not the case. Thirtv
years from now it will require more
intensified farming than we now
practice to supply our local markets.
We are increasing in population a
million a year, and the rate of in
crease is increasing. Thirty years
from now the population will exceed
100,000,000. In other words, we
will have gained a population as
great, or greater, than that of Ger
many, France or England. We will
have to raise products sufficient to
feed all the present population of
any one of those countries, in order
to feed ourselves. The result . of
this will be improved conditions for
the farmer. We believe the agri
cultural callings have seen their
darkest days, and that the condition
of the farmer will steadily improve.
Siberia will feed the world, but it
will soon be realized that it is really
America for Americans, and that all
our products will be consumed at
home. Then the land owner, the
farmer, will assume that position to
which the nobleness of his calling
entitles him, and the owners of the
soil will be the aristocrats of the
country.
aiconol, cellulose, matting, carpets,
paper, smokeless powder, and a food
for cattle superior to anything now
in the market. , Besides these, he
says he can' enumerate seyeral other
things for which the stalks would be
valuable, and adds that his discover
ies win raise tne value of tne corn
area at least $o per acre. ' This
would be good news indeed, if Irue,
but . we very much fear Mr. Cramp
is articulating through his silk tile.
The smokeless powder and other
things may be all right, but we draw
the line at haying superior cattle
feed left after all the stalk is used
up for something else.
The Cascade Locks edition of the
Oregonian, published Saturday, was
a very valuable number, containing
much information, that is such even
to persons residing in the territory
described. Those who got copies
should forward them to their friends
in the East to give them some idea
ot tne vast and productive area
"where rolls the Oregon."
THOSE DOGGONED DOGS
They
Hold BIgh - Jinks, and
Started a Glee Club.
Bin
Ex-Queen Lilioukalani left San
Francisco Saturday for Boston. Up
to date none of the San Francisco
papers have been able to discover
what the lady is after, but it is as
serted that she was to meet her niece,
This may be all there is in her visit,
but if somewhere a political motive
is not discovered, we lose our guess.
The senatorial election is getting
ripe, and many longing eyes are fixed
on the purpling plum. Who is go
ing to get it is hard to say; but it is
pretty safe te predict ihat if it isn't
Mitchell it will be a stubborn fight,
and will not be settled until the tail
end of the session.
DROWNED IN HOOD RIVER.
arl Wood and XV. W. Edeeimin Lost
in a Small Boat.
BOTH SIDES TALKING.
Attorney-General Olney says, the
recognition or refusal thereof of
Cuban independence is a matter
that belongs to the president, and
not to congress. Senator Sherman
and other leading senators take issue
with Lim on this, and claim that con
gress could pass a resolution which
the president might veto, but that if
it was then passed over his veto, it
would become a law, and as such the
president would have to fee it exe
cuted. The whole discussion is bun
comb, for neither the president nor
congress can recognize the Cuban
government because it does not ex
ist.
The sympathy of the entire coun
try is with the Cubans, simply be
cause they are struggling for free
dom. Outside of ttiat, what Spain
does with her colonies is none of our
business, and the learned law-makers,
who are making the old rotunda at
Washington tremble with their per
orations, are oil well aware of it.
The United Slates senate is only
aping childishness for fear it will be
accused of senility.
Cuba will win her independence if
we let her alone, and will probably
appreciate the blessings of liberty
when she has earned them, through
heroism and suffering.
Mr. Cramp, the Philadelphia ship
builder, has been examining into the
component parts of corn-stalks, and
if he may be believed has discovered
just whole lots of things. He states
that the elements entering into the
composition of the corn-stalk could
be - utilized for the production of
An accident costing two men their
ve?, happened on Hood river, about
eight miles from the town yesterday.
The company building the flame and
irrigating ditch, is now building a bridge
across Hood river for the purpose of
bringinging the flume across to the west
side. This bridge is about eight miles
from the mouth of the river, and a
couple of miles below the sawmill be
longing to Frank Davenport, where lum
1 umber for the flume is being cut.
Monday two men, Carl Wood and a
man who went by the name of Deitrick,
but whose right Dame is W. W. Edger
raan, got in a small boat at the sawmill
intending to go down to the bridge.
The current in places runs very swift,
and in one of these places the boat
struck a big bolder and was literally
smashed to pieces. The men were
whirled under by the current and in a
moment were strangled and beyond
helping themselves. Seven or eight
men working on the flume ran to their
assistance, but the current bore the
bodies down faster than they could run.
Up to last night the bodies had not been
recovered.
Carl Woods parents live in Hood
River valley, and he was a brother-in-law
of Dick Fisher of Mosier.
" Complaint is made by residents on
Third street, in the East End, that all
the town dogs gather about the foot of
the Rinehart steps, Bing dog opera and
recite doggarel nearly all ; night, and
every night. One big yaller dog with n
basso profundo voice eternally yowls his
favorite song, "The Pope he Leads a
Merry Life," while a slate-colored mon
grel, with a voice like a paper of pins,
very appropriately sings "My Bark Is
On the C." A big black American dog,
who is a combination of all kinds and
degrees of dogs,, has no voice worth
mentioning, and so acts as critic and
leader of the doggoned band, racing up
and down the steps and over the side
walks, trying to make up In contortion
for what be lacks in bark.
We once criticised the then mayor for
saying this city had 15,000 dons too
many. We didn't believe him, but will
say, by way of excuse, that we did not
live .here then. We aclraowledge our
mistake, and concede that in his state
ment one word was left out. It should
have been 15,000 acres of dogs. Wo like
dogs, in any reasonable number, and we
like people who like dogs and take
care of them ; but a dog without a home
is almost as low down as a man under
the same conditions. He grows cultus,
uneriy so, anu is only nt lor eoap
grease. If you, gentle reader, own
dog, give him a chance to retain his re
spectability by providing him a place to
sleep and make bim or her stay off the
street at night. " If your dog insists on
barking at tne moon, remember that
your neighbor's soul is in jeopardy, and
go thou to the kennel of the cur (not
the neighbor) and persuade him to si
lence with a club, or at least do not object
if the. neighbor performs this christian
duty for you.
The city's finances are low, and so are
its lights, and we suggest that a tax on
dogs would provide a fund, if paid, that
would illuminate the whole city, and if
unpaid would at least lighten the weight
of woe borne impatiently by a long-suffering
public, and also decrease the
superfluity of dog. '
quality. It is a lignite, and the surface
coal seems to lack pressure. Experts
who have examined the coal speak very
favorably of it, both as to extent and
quality. It is Mr. Small's intention to
prosecute the drilling to a greater depth
this fall. John Day Sentinel.
LAWYER STEEVES
Jury
Came to an Agreement
day Forenoon.
IS ACQUITTED
Tester-
Over the Grade.
A week or ten days ago Me. and Mrs
Andrew Linton were coming to town
riding in a two-horse hack. On a side
hill grade on 10-Mile one wheel struck
a snow drift, and in a moment the hack
was upset and with the horses, was roll
ing down the bill. Mrs. Linton struck
in the snow and rolled over and over for
four or five rods. Mr. Linton dropped
the lines as he fell, but seeing bis wite
rolling down , the hill, took frantically
after her. Fortunately she was not
hurt, barring a few scratches on her
face. A young man who saw the acci
dent came to Mr. Linton's assistance,
and to see if the horses were dead gavo
one of them a kick. The horse began
to struggle, and then away the whole
outfit went rolling down the hill. No
damage was done except the breaking
of a seat and the dashboard, and the
young man we have spoken of went to
Mr. Linton's house and got another rig
for them, in which they continued their
journey to this enterprising city.
Lota of Fun.
Yesterday the courts were kept busy
trying to settle matters between Reid
and Puch. It seems Pach had received
a lot of ladies underwear for the pur
pose of sellingthe same within certain
territory. According to Reid'a story,
Puch left the territory assigned to him,
and sold the goods, or part of them, for
getting to pay for them as sold, accord
ing to contract. Reid telegraphed here
and Nightwatchman Wiley arrested
Puch. No warrant coming, Sheriff
Driver turned him loose, Reid by this
come here and had Puch arrested again.
Then Puch turned over the goods to!
Reid, and Reid dismissed the suit. Then
Puch had Reid arrested for false im
prisonment, but this was dismissed.
The parties are having an awfully jolly
time, and what they will do next, no
man knows.
Martin Marionettes Tonight.
Martin, the magician and ventrilo
quist, begins a week's engagement at
the Vogt tonight. The fact that he is
going to remain here a week is a suffi
cient guaranty that he is not afraid to
be judged by his works. He has fifteen
Marionette specialty performers and
has an entirely new program each
night. There is something fascinating
about ventriloquism, and the quaint
actions of the seemingly animate little
marionette figures that is sure to attract
not only the young folks but the older
as well. This is pre-eminently the show
the little folks will enjoy, and will assist
in making their Christmas holiday one
long to be remembered.
- Mr. Martin shows at the Vogt. Doors
open at 7 :30, performance at 8 :30.
Admission 25 cents, children 15 cents,
reserved seats 35 cents, at Snipes-Kin-ersly
drugstore.
. Xsnopbon N. Steeves is a free man.
., Yesterday at Hillsboro at 10 o'clock
the one juror who hung out for convic
tion capitulated, and a verdict of ac
quittal was returned to Judge McBride's
court. . t
For oyer 24 hours the ballot stood
eleven for acquittal and one for convic
tion. Saturday the jury stood ten for
rcquittal and two for conviction, but
yesterday one of the obstinate jurors
gave up and sometime Sunday night the
twelfth man voted "not guilty" and the
jury went to sleep. Monday morning
when the bailiff of the court was called
he was informed that an agreement had
been reached.
Juror Catchings was indisposed from
the long confinement. He became so ill
Sunday that he had to be taken to a
physician.
The great expense of the trial and the
time and care expended in trying the
case demanded a verdict one way or an
other, and when the result was an
nounced in Portland general satisfaction
was expressed. The Steeves jury was
locked up last Friday evening and up to
Sunday nightjit was generally expected
there would be a disagreement.
Steeves returned to Portland yester
day evening. He was the recipient of
many congratulations from friends on
his acquittal. His friends in Portland
have been confident of bis acquittal
throughout, and have resolutely stood
by him during the trial.
The expense of the trial at Hillsboro
will be borne by Multnomah county,
and will be between $2500 and 13000.
Had a disagreement resulted, the case
would never have been tried again.
THE MARIONETTES TONIGHT.
Professor Martin Proves Himself to be
Genuine Wizard.
The sleight of hand work of Martin,
the magician, is very smooth, and very
interesting. The audience last night
was small, owing principally to the fact
that no one knew anything about it,
until a late bonr last evening, but those
present were highly and delightfully
entertained.
Some of the tricks are old, of course,
but Martin does them so ncatlv that
they seem new. His trick of taking a
live pigeon from a tiny box, and after
letting it flutter for a minute or two
picking it op, and with a gen tie stroke or
two making it apparently dissolve rjnd
fade from sight, was a very pretty one
and brought forth a storm of applause.
There were dozens of other very pretty
illusions, but the feature of the evening
that caught the little folks was the
marionettes. The tiny figures danced,
performed and talked in the most nat
ural manner, and one could hardly
realize that they were npt veritable
Liliputians, come to entertain the little
folks with a vision of fairyiand.
While Mr. Martin's exhibition is sure
to make an impression on the little
folks they will never forget, at the same
time it will furnish plenty of amuse
ment for older folks.
Caught In a Belt.
A Christmas Stocking.
The Salvation army has hit upon a
novel substitute for a Christmas tree a
stocking. Their great annual public
Christmas affair will be held on the
night of the 25th, next Friday. There
will be an excellent program rendered,
including songs, recitation, etc., and
the opening of the aforesaid stocking by
Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clans, the latter, we
believe, has never visited The Dalles.
The members of the army have been
very busy preparing to supply the wants
of the poor families of the town. The
bundles made up for them will be giyen
out that night. Meeting begins at 8
o'clock. Admission 10 cents.
Off for the Islands.
Do not fail to call on Dr. Lannerberg,
the eye specialist, and have your eyes
examined free of charge. If yon suffer
with headache or nervousness yon Un
doubtedly have imperfect vision that, if
corrected, will benefit you for life.
Office in the Vogt block. ,
Fred W. Wilson and Ed Wingate left
this morning on the Regulator for Port
land, where they will take passage on
the Monmouthshire . for Honolulu.
They were tendered a banquet at the
Umatilla House Saturday night, where
many of their friends met to bid them
good bye. Mr. Wilson was called on
for a speech, and bis remarks, which we
are told occupied twenty minutes, are
spoken of as being in his happiest vein,
which means they were the test sues an
occasion would permit. If the boys have
as good a time as their friends wish
them, they will think tbey are in Para
dise and forget to come back.
Coal on the John Day.
Mr. James Small, of the Dayville
country, was seen at the Elkborn, and
in speaking of the coal Interests of this
section of country, said that there was
a great quantity of coal on the John Day
river. It had not yet been developed to
any extent, but it outcropped all over
the country. On the farm was an out
cropping had been prospected by drill to
a depth of 140 feet, the drill penetrating
120 feet of coal. The coal in the last few
feet showed a marked improvement in
Mr. Lyman Smith, who has been en
gaged for some time in running a planer
at Astoria, met with a serious accident
last Friday at that place. He was help-
ng to fix the machinery for grinding
the knives of the planer, when he was
caught by a belt and whirled round
about fifty times before he was extri
cated from his perilous position. His
arm was broken, and the doctors at first
thought he was seriously injured inter
nally. Mr. W. J. Smith went to Astoria
as soon as word was received by tele
gram of the accident. He reports his
father resting quietly, and the doctors
think be will be able to come home in a
few days. Glacier.
From the Old boll.
Colonel Sinnott has a handsome new
cane presented him by Colonel Thomp
son, of Louisville, Ky. The stick is
from a blackthorne in Ireland, from
which Col. Sinnott, when a boy, used to
pluck the berries. Recently Col. Thomp
son visited Ireland and the old home
where Col. Sinnott'a ancestors for 700
years have lived, and cut the bit of
blackthorne which he has sent the
colonel with the latter's name on a
silver plate thereon. The stick is largest
at the little end, and Col. Sinnott ex
plains this by saying it is an Irish char
acteristic, Irishmen being noted for
their great heads.
CATARRH
local'disease
and is the result el colds and
sudden climatic changes.
For your Protection
we positively state that this
remedy does not contain
mercury or any other injur
ious drug. .
Elv's Cream Balm
is acknowledged to be the most thorough core for
Nasal Catarrh, Cold in Head and Hay Fever of all
remedies. It opens and cleanses the nasal passages,
allays pain and inflammation, heals the sores, pro
tects the membrane from colds, restores the senses
of taste and smell. Price80c.atDrmrgistsorby mail.
KL.Y UaOTHEBS, M Warren Street, New York.