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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1895)
THB IstOBOTSTG- OBEGCWJIASr, KOKDAY,1 FEBBTTAITE 11, 1895 Entered at the Postoffloe at Portiac, Oregon. as second-class nfatter. REVISED SCBSCRIPTION HATES. By Han (postage prepaid) In Advance Dally, with Sunday, per xaonth... ....$ 1 00 IaUy. Sunday excepted, per year ....... 10 00 Dally, with Sunday, per year.. 12 00 Sunday, per year...... ...,....-.. 2 00 ?The Weekly, per year... .. .... 1 50 ITls Weekly, three months - 50 TO CITY SUBSCRIBEES. Daily, per -week, delivered, Sunday excepte&5e Dally. pr weeic. delivered. Sundi lccluded..30c Jfews or discussion Intended for publication in The Oregonlan should be addreted Invariably "Editor The Oregonlan," not to the name of any Individual. Letters relating to advertisine. subscriptions or to any business matter should be addressed simply "The Oreconian." The Oregonlan does not buy poems or stories from individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to it without solicita tion. 'o stamps should be Inclosed for this pur pose. 2UAIX.T METEOROLOGICAL REPORT. PORTLAND, Feb. 10. S P. M. Maximum temperature, 42; minimum temperature, 34; height of river at 11 A. 34., 3.0; cfcanze in past 21 hours, 0.4; total precipitation today, none; total precipitation from September 1, 1801 (wet wesson), to date, 19.64; average. 30.22; de flclency, 10.SS; hours of sunshine Saturday, 0:09; possible number, 10:08. WEATHER SYNOPSIS. jtaln Is falling in California through the in fluences of a storm, which appears to be cen tral off the Oregon coast, since the barometer 3s reading lower at Roseburg than at other places. There Is an area of high barometric pressure prevailing east of the Cascades. The barometer Is also leading quite high over Washington. This condition of barometric pressure will likely Impede the northerly move ment of a storm on the coast. High winds oc curred off the Washington coast. WEATHER FORECASTS. Forecasts made at Portland for the 21 hours bnding at midnight February 31: For Washington and Idaho Fair weather and Rllghtly cooler, with brisk to high northerly grinds, and northeasterly gales on the coast. For Oregon Fair weather, except snow or yaln In the southwestern portions, and slightly cooler, with fresh easterly winds. For Portland Fair weather and slightly Cooler, with fresh to brisk easterly winds. B. S. PAGUE. Local Forecast Official. PORTLAND, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11. DR. "WHITMAN". The movement on foot to raise an en dowment fund of $200,000 for "Whitman college, at "Walla "Walla, as a lasting Monument to the memory of Dr. Mar cus "Whitman, gives promise of success and has aroused widespread interest in "Whitman and his career. Dr. D. K. Pearsons, of Chicago, subscribed $50,000 on the condition that $150,000 more be raised. "Walla "Walla citizens sub scribed 550,000 of this, and the Congre gational ministers of Chicago have un dertaken to raise the remainder among the churches of their denomination. Their plan is to request ministers to preach a sermon on Whitman and his work March 10, each in his own church, and to take up a collection for the en dowment fund. It is thought the mat ter will be taken up generally and the fund be raised in a single day. The bones of Dr. "Whitman and his noble wife, both martyrs to their missionary seal, have lain under a grassy mound near "Walla "Walla for almost half a century without a monument to mark the spot A number of years ago a monument association was organized, hut enough money could not be raised to erect a suitable stone. The endow ment of the college bearing his name and located within a few miles of the scene of his missionary labors is the most enduring monument he could have. The place Dr. Marcus "Whitman shall permanently occupy In Oregon history has not yet been determined, though half a century has passed since his death. The thoughtless, and even reck less, zeal of some of his associates, the bitter jealousies and antagonisms be tween the missionaries of various de nominations, and the violent hatred of the Hudson's Bay company by a class of early settlers, growing chiefly out of the fact that the company had a lean ing toward the Catholics, though os tensibly based upon the company's nat ural objection to an American govern ment for Oregon, raised a controversy over Whitman that raged fiercely for years and even now is likely to burst into flame with slight encouragement. IFrom this conflict "Whitman has suf fered, though It has been the means of bringing out more evidence about him and his career than of any other pioneer of Oregon. "When tills factional contro versy shall ha've been burled with the contestants, the evidence eluclduted through it will fix Dr. Whitman per manently in the front rank of those through whose sacrifices and deeds Ore Ron became a sovereign state of the American Union. Dr. Whitman was an educated gentle man, a man of great force of charac cr and resolution. He was not the Jlrst missionary to cross the continent and begin work among the Indians of Oregon, but his was the first mission established among the great bunch Krass hills of the interior. There is no doubt that he looked forward to the final acquisition of this region by the United States, that he recognized in as full a measure as he could in its then undeveloped condition the richness of its natural resources and the error of the opinion he knew to prevail that it was worthless. That he was influenced by these ideas, in connection with a desire to represent the true situation to the missionary board as to rival mls rlons. In deciding to undertake his re markable winter journey In lSi2, there is little doubt; but the story about his controversy with an enthusiastic Briton at Fort Walla Walla, the report of his interviews with Daniel Webster and President Tyler, and his assembling of the large emigrant train of 1S43, are fic titious. It seems to be settled that he ( visited TSashlngton while East, but whom he saw or what he said no man has ever testified to having been told by Whitman himself. In the organizing of the provisional government that and the few following years. Whitman took no part, as he cer tainly would have done had he played the role ascribed to him later by his former missionary associates, but re mained at his mission and attended to the details of managing it. Each year, tts new Immigrants from the East ar rived at his place, on their way to the a. alley, he gave them a warm welcome. Ourins all this time the rivalry between the Protestant and Catholic missions v as becoming sharper, and the latter were rapidly gaining the strongest hold upon the Indians, who were becoming prejudiced against the Protestants be cause they were Americans and encour aged other Americans to oomc and wel comed them when they arrived. The establishment of a rival mission on the Umatilla, and sickness among the In- dians, alleged by the disaffected ones to be caused by "Whitman in order to kill off the Indians and sive their country to the whites, at last brought the culmination, and the hor rible massacre of November 30, 1S47, was perpetrated and the faithful mission ary, his noble wife and eleven others were killed. There Is enough in this without add ing fictitious dramatic scenes, and pur poses and performances never even hinted at by him, to show that "Whit man was a self-sacrificing Christian missionary, a patriotic American, a man of noble purposes and intrepid in the performance of what he deemed to be his duty, and one who improved fully all opportunities that came to him to win Oregon for his native land. As a missionary the Congregational church should honor him, as a patriot every loyal American should do the same, and as a laborious and helpful pioneer of Oregon he should have his name Inscribed among the first on the roll of honor of the state. This Is the positio: position time will eventually give him. K-, ILVT 3IARTIAL LAW MEANS. Whenever any locality in the United States Is threatened with domestic vio lence, there is apt to be much flippant or contemptuous talk about martial law. It is nearly thirty years since martial law has prevailed in any part of the United States, and this genera tion has a very inadequate conception of what it means. In theory, it is the suspension of all civil law, the removal of all constitutional restraint. In prac tice, it is the enthronement of force, the substitution of a trained soldier's will for all the familiar machinery of courts and juries, sheriffs and mar shals, governors and legislatures. When General Miles advised Governor Altgeld and Mayor Hopkins that, if order were not soon restored by use of police and militia, he would put the city of Chi cago under martial law, what he threat ened was the temporary replacement of their administrative authority and that of the state and federal courts with the unrestrained power of his own will, limited only by the superior authority of Grover Cleveland, not as president, but as commander-in-chief of the army. Frederick Remington, who is a high authority on military matters and has seen, as a newspaper correspondent, most of the street riots of the last year, has a very suggestive paper in the last Harper's Weekly, written in the style of the "Battle of Dorking," in which he describes an imaginary strike riot in Chicago, which went a step farther 1 than that of last summer and exacted application of the stern but effective cure whose mere threat by General Miles sufficed to rouse the civil authori ties to a sense of their duty. It pur ports to be written by a military aid attached to headquarters and describes so many of the events of one night of martial law as a single active partici pant may be reasonably supposed to have seen. The mob had reached a point where the civil authorities were wholly para lyzed, the police beaten back at every point, and the militia either held back by a Pennoyer or too weak to cope with the situation. The city was wholly at mercy of the mob, which was wholly under control of the anarchist element, and a night of riot and arson and plun der was coming on. The general at headquarters declared martial law and threw troops into the clty infantry, cavalry and field artillery. A procla mation commanded all peaceable per sons to keep off the streets, close doors and windows and remain in their houses after 7 o'clock. The night opened with skirmishing between outposts of troops and the rioters, sometimes on the streets, sometimes firing from windows of buildings, as In Brooklyn; culminated in the clearing of a depot budding, filled with rioters and defended with dyna mite bombs, by a charge as desperate as any into the bloody angle of the Wilderness; and ended with a merciless sweeping of the residence streets of brigands who were looting private houses. It Is only important to recite a few episodes, narrated with military exact ness, to discover what Is involved in a proceeding like this. There was no par leying, no notice to disperse, none of the familiar tutoyment between civil au thority and rioters. Notice had been given by proclamation and every per son on the street was treated as a pub lic enemy. Shrapnel cleared the streets ahead of the troops as they made their way from point to point, and survivors were gathered up for the drumhead court-martial in the morning. Rifle volleys raked every building from which a shot wa3 fired. When a dynamite bomb dropped from the window of a high building anni hilated an advance guard, the main body coming up rained bullets in all the windows while they made a breach with artillery, filled the elevator shaft with inflammables taken from a jiear-by drug store, and burned building and inmates. In the residence district, looters taken red-handed were marched out with a file of riflemen and shot on the sidewalk. Cavalry ranged the bou levards after midnight, with the order "no prisoners," and left the asphalt dot ted with good anarchists, and sharp shooting infantry potted running loot ers like hares In the gray of dawn. In the morning prisoners were rounded up before drumhead court-martials, shot by hundreds, corded up on flat-cars and whpeled away to the suburbs for burial. From sunset to sunrise, the job was done and order restored. One night of martial law was enough for Chicago. This narrative of Imaginary events, singularly vivid and scientifically accu rate in a military sense, enforces two instructive lessons: the Irresistible po tency and straightforward action of military force when unleashed from civil trammels, and the tremendous ef fectiveness of modern weapons, which makes a mob of thousands as chaff be fore a single company of troops. It is a mighty Illustration of the reserve force of organized society. It cannot be improper to say, since Governor Lord is so persistently voted for In' the balloting for senator, that there Is a reason, over and above all reasons hitherto given, why the thought of sending him to the senate should not be entertained. It is a delicate thing, indeed, to speak of one's physical defects, and It never can be allowable except in a case where public interests are concerned. Governor Lord is un fortunate in being unable to hear. This fact would disqualify him for useful service In the senate. He could not know what was going on in the de bates, how to take advantage of oppor tunity for statement or reply; and only with difficulty can a personal conver sation be carried on with him. For I performance of the duties of governor this is no disqualification, or but a slight hindrance; but it would be a sad and irremediable defect in a senator. In selection of public servants, it is proper to consider a thing- of this kind. A ship would not he entrusted to a blind master, nor an army to a commander deficient in the sense of sight or hearing. Mr. Lord can serve the people of Oregon well as gover nor; he could not serve them as senator. They recognized his fitness for the one place, but could not possibly recognize it for the other. The Orego nlan has been unwilling to say this, but the persistency with which the gov ernor is voted for appears to call for it SAL3ION CLOSE SEASONS. It Is gratifying to learn that the mem bers of the joint fish committee of the legislature have expressed a deter mination to bring in a bill based upon their own ideas cf what is right and necessary to be done, after they have made as careful study of the subject as Is possible in the limited time al lowed them. It is to be regretted that circumstances prevented them from taking hold of this matter earlier in the session, for representatives of con flicting interests are working upon them as strongly as possible, and it may be that they may in this way re ceive wrong impressions there will not be time enough to remove. One such wrong move has already been made, the agreement to amend the Stelwer bill so as to begin the fall close season August 10, Instead of ten days earlier. Commissioner McDonald and Fish and Game Protector McGulre both recommend that the close season be gin August 1, for the very sound reason that the run of fish In large numbers generally ceases before August 10, and it is necessary that greater numbers be permitted to go up to spawn. It is quite natural, in the selfishness charac teristic of human nature, that the can ners, having their establishments in good running condition, should want to continue packing as long as the fish are running In sufficient numbers to make it pay them to do so; but the commit tee should pay no attention whatever to their preferences in this matter, or to those of any other class of persons, if they run counter to what seems for the good of the salmon industry as a whole. That more fish must go to the spawn ing grounds Is undeniable, that the fall fish are the only ones that may, under the conditions prevailing, be depended upon seems almost as certain, and that the only way more can be secured Is to begin the close season earlier, before the heavy run of salmon is over, is equally apparent. The committee should place the opening date back again to August 1 and keep it there. Having done this, it would make assur ance doubly sure if it would extend the close season to the middle of October. One of the things the most strongly Insisted upon by Commissioner McDon ald is the better protection of the salmon from slaughter or interruption during the spawning season, and as this Is not entirely over by the first of October, the protection should con tinue later. No one would be seriously inconvenienced by it, at least not to the extent of the benefit to be derived by the industry as a whole, while the catching of salmon before they have an opportunity to spawn, a practice now very common, would be stopped. A controversy about the value of the spring close season has arisen. The oretically, it i3 desirable, and is 50 de clared by Professor Jordan, Commis sioner McDonald and others. McDon ald, in his report to congress, in view of the fact that the run of salmon prior to the middle of April Is very light, recommends that the season bo ex tended to the first of May. He also recognizes the fact that fish entering the river early do not proceed up the stream with the speed and directness of the later ones, and that those April fish the glllnet men and traps are for bidden to catch fall a prey to the wheels in May. He therefore recommends that the season remain closed for wheels two weeks later, until May 15. This Is a feature the committee has omitted from its bill. The desire of the wheel propri etors to catch in the Bpring the fish that should go up to spawn should no more be gratified than that of the lower river canners to catch the August fish that should be permitted to propagate. If there Is to be a spring season at all, it should be arranged as recommended by Commissioner McDonald. The spring season is but a theory, and may, per haps, be of no practical utility, be cause of the long open season that in tervenes before the spawning time, but if it is to be maintained upon theory, the full theory should be adopted, and two weeks allowed the salmon to get up the river before the wheels are given a chance to catch them. The passage by the house of repre sentatives on Friday of house bill No. 64 produced a flutter among members of the school-land ring. The definite ob ject of this bill is to take out of the hands of this ring, which has been operating in lieu lands these many years, upwards of 250,000 acres of land falling to the state of Oregon within the Cascade forest reserve. This bill should pass the senate. It will break up a system of traffic, speculation and jobbery which has been going on for many years, greatly to the enrichment of greedy operators and their agents. Men who now deny the authority of caucus, of conventions and nomina tions, are likely to be in distress in 1S96-7, when they want to invoke and enforce this authority in behalf of Sen ator Mitchell and Representatives Her mann and Ellis. If these men and their friends think they can afford to Ignore the usages of party now, and the obli gations of caucus, they will very surely get a view of the other side of the question, with the back-action results of their conduct, sooner than they will like It. The right solution of the bridge ques tion at Portland would be the acquisi tion of the Morrison-street bridge by the city, or the construction of a bridge t-t Stark street, with the requirement that small tolls be paid on vehicles at all bridges and ferries, allowing foot passengers to cross free. Then all parts of the city would be served alike, all would be on equality, and there would be a moderate and steady revenue to help pay the charges. Oregon can send no new man to the senate who will be able at once to take the position in that body which Mr. Dolph has won. This Is not saying that Mr. Dolph Is the only man who has ability to serve "the state. But, under the usages of the senate, it will take any new man many years to command the position that Senator Dolph occu pies, and cot then could -he do It unless the circumstance should again be pro- ( pitious and exceptional. It would not be possible at this time to send to the senate any man who could do as much for Oregon as Mr: Dolph Is in position to do. During the month of January $17,660, 000 worth of dry goods were Imported through New York, against $S,970.000 last year. Low tariff helps, in one di rection. "We are patronizing the for eigner, even if the native laboring man is compelled to appeal to charity for support. We shall probably hear no more of the assertion that there shall be no charter amendments and no reduction of taxation. This narrow, factional ef fort has exhausted itself. The Multno mah delegation will now go forward with its effort to enforce economical measures. Small minds have learned that there can be a disinterested citizen, a man of public spirit, by whom hospitality can be extended to public officials, with out a thought beyond promotion of the public interest, or regard for the public good. The Oregonlan is the only general newspaper of the Northwest. It is the only newspaper that publishes a full news report of the world, and a full news report of these Northwestern states. No other journal covers every day the whole field of news. One of the chief motives that has held up the senatorial election is the purpose of officials, state and local, to defeat the pledges of the republican party in the matter of limiting salaries and cutting down official expenses. DOLPH THE BEST 3LVN. The 3Inn "Who Could Do the Most Service Should Be Elected. PORTLAND. Feb. 10. To the Editor.) If John N. Dolph be not the best man to send to the United States senate, then he should not be sent there, regardless of what may be the preferences of The Ore gonlan or any one else. Senator Dolph has no patent upon the office. If, how ever, upon the other hand, he can, at this present juncture, render the state greater service than any other, should not the state return him with as little delay as possible, and thus save further unneces sary expense? And do not both state patriotism and state pride suggest, if it does not demand, that democrats, popu lists and republicans sink all party differ ences and perscnal prejudices, and unite In his election? That Oregon's enviable position in the nation's councils (beyond that of any other new state) is due, in a large meas ure, to Senator Dolph's representation, few, I think, will deny; neither will it, I think, be denied that her liberal recogni tion at the hands of the general govern ment. In the shape of appropriations, far ahead of that of any other new state, or of any other state of twice her age and importance, is mainly attributable to Sen ator Dolph's efforts. And if this be so, 13 it not a question for Oregon to weigh se riously whether it be wise at this time whether she can now afford to change an experienced for an inexperienced man in the senate, when so much affect ing her Interests is at stake? Understand me, I am not for Dolph as against any other candidate unless he can do the state more good than any other. But we must bear in mind that Oregon Is a new state, that she has large and urgent require ments, and that she cannot afford to wait just now to educate new men, ad mitting their mental ability to be su perior to that of Mr. Dlph. She can bet ter afford to rou'.4 cllange, 1 think, later on, when there is not so much pend ing affecting her interests It Is a say ing of Mr. Lincoln's, that It is not a good plan to swap horses while crossing a stream, and is not this applicable to our own case today? It is said that Mr. Dolph is a cold man; admit it admit that he is an icicle what is that to me if he can serve me better than any other? We all have our peculiarities and failings. So far as I have been able to learn, his claimed coldness of character is not due to indifference or to assumption; it is said to be natural with him, and if so it is a peculiarity for which he is not responsi ble, more than Is that of a man who is all effusion, all gab. Gushing, gabbing men are not workers. Thi3 is one of nature's axioms. He may not be as mag netic as some, but his style of greeting people is of very trivial concern, and hardly worthy of consideration in so Im portant a matter as that of selecting a senator to represent Oregon in the na tion's highest council chamber. We should rise above these petty trifles. It is also said that he is opposed to the free coin age of silver. Allow that he is, what has this to do with Oregon? Oregon is not a silver state; she has few silver mines. But allow that she had, It Is a debatable ques tion whether free coinage would be best for the whole country, and If not, Oregon would not be so selfish, I think, as to ask for herself what would not be for the best interests of all the states for the nation at large. T. W. BOOTHBY'S POSITION. An Explanatory Letter That Does Not Explain. The following correspondence has passed between Representative J. S. Boothby, at Salem, and W. W. Smead, at Heppner: Mr. W. W. Smead, Hepner, Or.: I see in The Oregonlan of the 6th inst. an in quiry from you regarding a man by the name of Uren. I would inform you that I know of no such a man, but that the person you refer to no doubt Is Mr. John Bourne. He is the republican chairman of the Bimetallic League, with headquar ters at Portland. This republican league believes that the government should coin all the silver the free coinage of silver. Mr. Bourne and myself have had a good deal of correspondence upon this subject, I holding to the coinage of the American product. Mr. Bourne finally wanted me to meet him in Portland on my way to Salem, to settle a disputed point on the silver question. It had nothing to do with the senatorial question, so I have given you the direct information. You have misrepresented my position on the money question, as stated by myself before the county convention, and throughout Mor row county, that I believe in the single gold standard, and would vote for Dolph. I deny in toto the whole statement. J. S. BOOTHBY. Hon. J. S. Boothby, Salem, Or.: Yours of the 6th Inst, at hand, and contents noted. In reply I will say that If you have been misrepresented in a single par ticular by me, it has been because your statements and actions were such that they could be construed In different ways. AH through the campaign you talked for gold money, silver money and paper money, but you wanted a gold dollar be hind It all. Don't you remember making such statements? I can find 100 men in this county that would be willing to make affidavit to hearing you make such state ments. The first Inkling we had of any change In your views was In The Oregonlan, in which you were reported to have said that you were for the free and unlimited coinage of silver at a ratio of 16 to 1, and for Tongue for United States senator. No denial having been made by you, I felt justified In calling the attention of the people to the fact that you had be trayed the trust reposed in you by the re publican party of Morrow county. As to my object In the inquiry about Uren, I had been Informed that you were corresponding with him, and that be was very anxious to oeeyou, as stated In The Oregonian, and thought that perhaps that correspondence might have had some thing to do with your change, as you stated in your letter in reply to Mr. Mal lory that you had been studying this question lately and had changed your mind within the past two months. No one has said that you ever promised ty vote for Dolph, but your statements dur ing the campaign led the people to be lieve that you would support Dolph or some one who was in sympathy with his views on this question. Another thing that the republicans don't like is your bolting the caucus nominee. By what mode of reasoning do you justi fy yourself in thus making the republic an party an object of ridicule for both the populist and democratic parties? There is no man greater than the prin ciples of the party he Is supposed to rep resent. Every man who was elected to either house of the legislature was elected by the people with the full understand ing that there was to be elected by their votes a United States senator, and that whoever received a majority of the votes of the senators and representatives of his party in caucus would be the party nominee. I again ask. By what mode of reasoning, do you justify yourself In not supporting the man who received the ma jority in the republican caucus? This bolting business split the republican party of Morrow county once," as you well know, and now it looks as if the party was to suffer because a minority are de termined to rule the majority. Will you be kind enough to explain this bolting business more fully to the people of Ore gon? W. W. S3IEAD. SCHOOL FOR DEFECTIVE YOLTH. A Visit to the Noted Institution at Vancouver. "What is that light? A star, a signal to guide over boats, or what?" I said to my Vancouver friend as we crossed the Co- lumbia river a little after dark one even ing a few days ago. "Neither," was the answer I received, "though it might be called- a star to three classes of children the deaf, the blind and -the feeble-minded; for It Is the tower light of Washington's great insti tution for these children. A grand insti tution it is, too; but I will take you up in the morning and let you see and judge for yourself." "But is tomorrow visiting day?" "That is not known there. The doors are thrown hospitably open at any hour from one Monday morning until the next." Accordingly the next morning my friend and I started, thoroughly enjoying the mile and a half walk through the garri son, and gradually up the gently sloping hill until, reaching the top, we stood at the entrance of the main building where the deaf and blind are educated. Here we stopped, looking at the beautiful scene stretched out before us. At our feet rolled the mighty Columbia; in the distance towered Mount Hood, with Its snow capped summit contrasting with the green of the Woods on our left. And I thought, "Could a more fitting spot have been chosen to awaken beauty (an education in itself) in a deaf child's soul than this?" Here their eyes (their sole dependence) gaze always on a scene that must lift them to a higher plane. It was early, therefore we were taken through the building before school was called. Although It was but 8:30, the whole house was scrupulously clean; the result of systematic - division of labor, showing plainly the careful thought and painstaking care of Mr. and Mrs. Watson. It is hard to direct a little family of five or six, but the executive ability shown in ordering a household of 130 children and employes, and having ev erything move with the regularity of a well-regulated clock, is certainly very great. Each pupil has his or her little work to do, and none any burdensome amount. Even the tot of 6 has a chair to keep spotlessly clean. Into the homelike, handsomely finished dining-room, the well-ventilated dormitories, spotless in their whiteness, the many playrooms full of bright, happy faces, and not one miss ing, for none are sick, we went. This Is to these children a home, as the affection and love with which they everywhere greeted Mr. and Mrs. Watson clearly demonstrated, and we saw that In these kindly surroundings they forget they are less fortunate than other children, and aro perfectly happy. It is now 9. We go to the large assembly-room, with Its handsome stained-glass windows, and watch the morning exercises, conducted In the sign language, a beautiful mode of expressing thought and full of meaning even to a stranger. There were also hymns, signed by the deaf and sung by the blind, and as I sat listening and look ing, I felt very thankful that it had been put into the hearts of our people and statesmen to give these children advant ages, making their lives, otherwise dark with Ignorance, full with the light of education, and forming of these many boys and girls useful and intelligent cit izens. We first visited the primary depart ment, which is in charge of Mrs. Watson, and It was most Interesting. The tact in their management is wonderful, and as I watched I saw that Mrs. Watson accom plishes it all through love, for she Is the Idol of each little heart. Their progress is also marvelous consider, they had come to her last September without the knowledge of a single word with which to express their ideas; now they are writ ing sentences, and have a vocabulary of all the words necessary to express their childish thoughts and wishes. From here we were shown through four successive rooms, each grading higher, until the head class is far In our common high school course. Everywhere Is the work well done, showing careful planning and supervision. The blind are in a room by themselves, and the work here is very fascinating, for the fingers fly over the raised points or letters, enabling them to read as rapidly as the seeing person; their faces brighten when given a math ematical problem, and their dissected map makes it possible for them to locate any place called for with great quickness. After seeing the classroom we were given some very good music. Music Is to the blind what scenery is to the deaf. The morning was far spent, so we hast ily went through the printing office, where that trade is taught and the school paper printed; then through the large spotless kitchen, stopping to see the elec tric dynamo, and on to the shops, where four or five useful trades are taught to the boys. Tho girls learn fancy work and dressmaking. Mr. Watson kindly took us to the feeble-minded department, a half mile distant. We found here the same happy faces, the same care over everything, and the same homellkeness as was in the other building. The children were at din ner In their pleasant dining-rooms, par talcing of a well-cooked, wholesome meal, and it was blessed to see the cloudless lives these little ones led, although their minds are In such darkness. I left thinking this is an ideal school, of which the state may well be proud, and also that the children, parents and people were fortunate in securing such a director as Mr. Watson; for he and Mrs. Watson give all their time, thought and heart to this great trust, and it is through their earnest effort and influence that the school has attained Its present standing, and is justly noted throughont the state for the economic management and for the happy home, as well as the fine educa tional advantages it gives to each child under its reof. A VISITOR. The Snlary Bill Should Pass. PORTLAND. Feb. 10. (To the Editor.) The newspapers should stand by Senators McGinn and Simon in the fight to lessen the burden of taxation upon .the people by the introduction and championship of the bill to salary the offices of district at torney and justice of the peace. It is not strange that Mr. Hume would make a stubborn fight to evade a lawmaking that would save the taxpayers thousands of good hard dollars, that otherwise would find their way, into his pocket and those of the petty officials about his office and I that of the justice of the peace. Under prosperous conditions we misht be in clined to submit to this injustice, but not now, when every dollar counts to the man whose taxes assume alarming pro portions. Every landholder, widows In cluded, is taxed to swell the enormous fees of the district attorney's office and that of the justice of the peace, and it seems one of the most commendable acts entered during the present legislature, PROPERTY-HOLDER. EMPLOYING COtNTY PRISONERS. A Scheme Theoretically Good, but Not Practical in Oregon. PORTLAND, Feb. 10.-(To the Editor.) I noticed the other day that one of our legislators (whose name I did not get) has introduced a bill to provide for counties employing convicts of the state peniten tiary. It occurred to me that he might have gone further and looked after coun ty jail prisoners as well. I do not want to be antagonistic to the rightful claims of laboring men, but It does seem to me that if roads are opened, and old roads are Improved, much farming country could be made available to poor men, and be a blessing instead of a curse to the laboring men. It is simply impos sible for counties to improve their roads fast enough with the amounts of money at their disposal each year, and there is no good reason whatever why a large number of Idle men should be kept in the county jail without anything to do. I trust tho legislator will consider this, and in order to get it before him and the public for discussion and perhaps action, I have roughly sketched my Ideas In the form of a bill, which is Intended to be as simple as possible, so as to accomplish the object sought: An act to provide for the employment of male prisoners committed to county jails for Imprisonment, after conviction of mis demeanors. Be It enacted by the legislative assembly of the state of Oregon: Section 1. Every male prisoner of IS years of age and over, who shall here after be legally Imprisoned in any county jail upon conviction of a misdemeanor, fhall be liable to and shall be required to perform manual labor upon the public roads of the county where he is imprison ed, not to exceed 10 hours for each day ofi his imprisonment, Sundays and legal holi days excepted; and such manual labor to be so performed shall In all cases be taken and be deemed to be included in and a part of all judgments hereafter given or made directing the imprisonment of such persons in a county jail. Section 2. The county court of each county, or the judge thereof, Is hereby empowered and It Is its or his duty to make orders and to prescribe proper rules and regulations consistent with economy and the safe guarding of such prisoners; for the employment of all prisoners re ferred to in the preceding section upon the public roads of the county where they are imprisoned, and at such places as may be deemed for the best interests of the county; and such court or judge is also authorized at the expense of the county, to provide for the transporting, guarding of such prisoners, and also to establish and maintain camps for them whenever the distance from the county jail to the place of employment is so great that it Is cheaper to do so than to return the prisoners each day; also, ' to purchase such tools and implements as are necessary to carrying out the work on such public roads. Section 3. The sheriff of each county la hereby required and it is his duty to faith fully observe and carry out all the orders, Tules and regulations of the county court or the county judge of his county made or given for the employment of prisoners In his charge as herein provided. Section 4. No prisoner liable to employ ment as herein provided shall be exempt therefrom except by reason of physical disability, and such disability must be satisfactorily proven before the county court or the judge thereof in the county where, the prisoner is Imprisoned, before his exemption shall be ordered, which shall be- only by order of the said county court or Judge thereof. ROBERT C. WRIGHT. PERSONS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT. Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt's Individual contributions to charity annually aggre gate a very large sum. She Is a most un ostentatious giver, and many of her deeds of benevolence are said to be done anony mously. One of the most noteworthy contractors of Boston, is Mary D. Henry Cram. She is Boston born and bred, and is a young woman of charming personality. She is a member of the Professional Woman's League, of that city. Miss Crabtree, otherwise Lotta, the ever effervescent and perrenial. Is passing the winter in Cleopatra's land, and Is much benefited by her prolonged rest. She Is said not to have any definite idea when she will return to the stage. Deacon White, of Wall-street fame, ig of the old North Carolina Quaker stock, and has been in New York making and losing millions since 18G5. His great point Is his tenacity of purpose and of not car ing whether he is the under dog or not, George Inness sometimes worked 13 hours a day with his brush. He usually stood as he painted, and he worked as the humor seized him on the dozen or more canvases in his studio, going from one to another with palette and maul stick. Mrs. Helen M. Gougar, president of the Woman's National Suffrage Association, Springfield, O., with her husband, has left for the holy land in pursuance of a mar riage agreement to take a big trip an nually, with a view of seeing the whole civilized world before dying. John Scott, for the last 18 years general solicitor for the Pennsylvania railroad, resigned on account of failing health, Feb ruary 1. Mr. Scott Is 70 years of age and has been continuously In the service of the Pennsylvania company since 1857, with the exception of six years in the United States senate, 1869 to 1875. Dr. Loomls will, disposing of $1,000,000, Is an illustration of the large fortunes rolled up by physicians who achieve prominence as specialists In New York. This fortune was made in the main dur ing the last ten years, and Its size would Indicate that the rumor which places the Income of many of the New York crack doctors at 560,000 to 573,000 a year Is not far out of the way. A new and unexpected Influence In French art is reported to be growing up in Paris. It is that of the poet-painters of England. Parisian artists have begun to regard with great respect "the poetic and Imaginative strain" underlying the work of men like Burne-Jones, Watts and Rossettl. One of Watt's renderings of "Love and Life" hang3 now in the Lux embourg, and near it are drawings by Burne-Jones and Leighton. All of them receive marked attention, and the more thoughtful men of France see in them qualities that will alone redeem their art from the reproach of "realism gone to seed." In the meantime the most brilliant pictures, perhaps, of the whole museum are by Americans, the "Portrait of My Mother." by Whistler, and Sargent's "Carmenclta." Students crowd to see them, and to try to penetrate the mys tery of their execution. o A Suggestion. EUGENE, Or., Feb. 3. (To the Editor.) Knowing, as we all do, that In all leg islative bodies the old saying. "I will scratch your back and you scratch mine," prevails, can Oregon afford to have two silver senators in Washington With two silver men in congress, would we not be better off If we had one gold man in the senate from Oregon, even If he was a democrat, than two silver senators? I never voted a democratic ticket In my life (I am 62 years old), but never believed in putting all my eggs In one basket, or, as a farmer sowing all wheat, I look at our interests in a United States senator J In this light. . Q. P. GRIFFIN, SEWS OF THE NORTHWEST. Oregon. Cattle are being purchased in "Wallowa county for the Montana ranges. The fire departments of Eastern Oregon and Washington cities are making ar rangements for a tournament. A subscription is being taken in Pendle ton for a fund for the pension and relief association of the fire department. Eight hundred ounces of gold bullion, valued at $16,000, from the Virtue mine, were deposited at the bank In Baker City Friday. Professor Thomas Condon has gone to Salem to impress upon the legislature that the state should have a board of mineralogy. The first number of the Rainier Review has been issued. It is an eight-page pat ent, edited by W. H. Imus, and the local work Is gocd. A driving association is being organized at Eugene, with the object of Improving the county roads and building a macad amized road to Merasls Park. Frank Jordan, of Talent, who was shot in tne leg by his brother while hunting, has had an operation performed for blood poisoning, and the leg may have to be amputated. The citizens of Lebanon are on a striks against the electric light and water com pany, and threaten to use coal oil and drink no more water until the company repeals some objectionable regulations. The schoolhouse in Mabel precinct, about 23 miles northeast of Eugene, was destroyed by fire some time Thursday night. It Is supposed the fire caught from a defective flue, or the stove, as the young people that evening had been In the room up to 10 o'clock rehearsing for an entertainment. The loss on the build ing, school books, etc., will amount prob ably to 5500 or $600. At a special meeting of the stockholders of Butte Creek Agricultural Association held at Marquam Saturday last, it was decided not to hold a fair this season. For nine consecutive years the associa tion has been successful with meetings, but this year It was decided that it would be better not to hold a meeting at all than to have an unsuccessful fair on ac count of the general stagnation of bus iness with the farmers. "Washington. The Everett Sentinel has given up the ghost. A Presbyterian church' is being erected at Westport. Judge J. A Grlswold died at Monte sano last week. The mysterious dog poisoning at Gol dendale still goes on. The coast survey steamer Hassler is, surveying Tacoma harbor. It Is estimated that 75,000 hogs are beings fattened upon wheat In Whitman county. The South Bend city council has re pealed the ordinance closing saloons on Sunday. Walla Walla's leading business house has Incorporated as the Schwabacher Company. Codd Brothers will drive 1,500,000 feet of logs down the Palouse river to Colfax this season. The second trial of J. K". Edmlston, the Walla Walla tanker, will occur at North Yakima Tuesday. Whitman college is anticipating a suc cessful school year. The football team Is In fine condition. ThetTacoma Whist Club beat the Seat tle Whist Club by 35 points in a series of games at Seattle Saturday night. John W. Pratt has disposed of the Se attle Press-Times to L. E. Nickels, late business manager of the defunct Tele graph. A second shipment of a cargo of 600,000 feet of lumber to Hawaii has been made from Port Angeles. It is for the Hono lulu railroad. The Snohomish-Everett county-seat fight has reached the stae ofmutJlatfon Of records' and efforts -to infiuence the" judge in private. An ordinance has been introduced Into the Tacoma city council, granting right of way for the Iong-talked-of electric road between Taccma and Seattle. A police edict against fallen women an I vagrants has been put in force at Spokane, and the or.ee noisy districts occupied by them are now as quiet as other portions of the city. O. L. Higlcy, C. H. Pealer and Al Pruce, of Qulnault, went elk hunting one day last week. They succeeded in killing two elk, and were preparing to return home when the canoe was wrecked. They lost two guns, about 200 pounds of meat, and a canoe. A young man was driven away from Starbuck last week by an anonymous threatening letter, purporting to be from an organization of citizens. It is now al leged to have come from a man who owed hira money, and took this means to save a few dollars. A boy, who had run away from his home at Colfax, was arrested by the city marshal of Dayton last week. The father showed his caliber by telegraphing the marshal to put the boy In Jail until he arrived. The marshal took him to his own house Instead. It has been decided that Hoyt, who murdered a fellow convict at the Walla Walla penitentiary, can be tried for the crime without having first to be pardoned for his previous offense. He will be tried In April, and if convicted, the warden will be the executioner. At Puyallup Thursday evening, a dis charged ccok entered the hotel, attackod the proprietor with a steel, giving him a severe cut in the face, and then amused himself by throwing dishes of vegetables, eggs and beefsteak at the wans ana cell ing. He was finally put out, and locked In the calaboose. During the night he broke out, climbed the fence, fell to the ground and broke his leg. He has not yet learned to appreciate the humor of the episode, or to figure out his profits. o PARAGRAPHERS' PLEASANTRIES. Microbes in the kiss, you say? Right you are, my boy. Little germs of purest bus?, Bacllfi of joy!-Harper's Bazaar. He I'm sure I don't know what to say to him. She-Just say, "Mr. Norris, I want to marry your daughter," and then papa will say the rest. Life. "I offer thee," exclaimed the prince in the story, "niy crown. Wilt share it with me?" The beautiful maiden smiled. "Sure thing," she answered. "Why shouldn't I? They are wearing men's styles in everthing." Town Topics. Ah, cruel, though fair one, my hopes you betrayed; At the play just behind you I sat; More generous treatment you must have displayed, Had your heart been as large as your hat. Washington Star. "My love for thee is like a ring," he cried; "It hath no end!" And then, In accents winning, "And mine for thee," the maiden fair replied, "Is like a ring for it hath no beginning; New York Herald. Little Dick Mamma was readin' some thing about a heroine. Wat's a heroine? Little Dot I don't know 'xactly, but I guess It's a girl w'at puts out the light an then gets into bed wlfout pullln her feet in quick. Street & Smith's Good News. Modern 3Iald I wish some advice. Old Lady Certainly, ray dear. What Is It? Modern Maid Shall I marry a man whoaa tastes are the opposite of mine, and quar rel with him? or shall I marry a man whose tastes are the same as mine, and get tired of him? New York Weekly. Indian Chief (to prisoner) You say you are a foreign tourist? PrisonerYes. "And you have a title?" "Yes." "And you are unmarried?" "Yes." "Well, I will let you go; but you will have to run the gauntlet of American heiresses all the way back from Denver to New. York," New York Weekly,