Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1895)
"THE SlOEa&IHXa- OBEGOmA3T. WEHNESUArY, FEBKTTAire 10. 1895 $jmsm Catered -at the Postoffice at Portland, Oregon. as second-class matter. REVISED STJESCRIPTION RATES. Ey 3daK (postage prepaid) la Advance Daily, with Sunday, per xaontn.. ...$ 1 00 Dally. Sunday excepted, pef year.... 10 00 Daily, with Sunday, per Tear ..... 12 00 Sunday, per year....,..-......-. 2 00 The Weekly, per year ...--. 1 5 The "Weekly, three months ...... 50 to crrr subscribers. Dally, per Tsreek. delivered. Sunday exceptL25c Dally, jwr defile, delivered. Suadiy included-.30c News or discussion Intended for publication la The Oregonian should be addressed Invariably "Editor The Oregonian." not to the name ol any Individual. Letters relating to advertising, eubscriptions or to any business matter should be addressed simply "The Oregonian." The Oregonian does not buy poems or stories from individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to it without solicita tion. Ho stamps should be inclosed tor this pur pose. DAILY METEOROLOGICAL REPORT. PORTLAND. Feb. 12. 8 P. M. "Maximum temperature, 3S; minimum temperature, 28; height of river at 11 A. 1L, 2.0; change in the past 24 hours, 0.C: precipitation today, .12; pre cipitation from September 1, 1S04 (wet season), to date, 19.76; average, 30.70; deficiency, 10.91; number hours of sunshine Monday, 0:00; pos sible number, 10:20. WEATHER SYNOPSIS. Apparently there was a southerly movement made by the storm on the coast during the past 32 hours. The lowest barometer Is at Rose burg. This change in its -position cannot be de pended upon. It is due to the shift of the po sition of the storm that precipitation in Oregon and "Washington was light today. Three Inches of Enow fell at Baker City, though no snow fell ia Eastern Washington. WEATHER FORECASTS. Forecasts made at Portland for the 24 hours ending at midnight February 13; For Eartern Oregon, Washington and Idaho Saow and nearly stationary temperature, with fresh to brisk southerly winds; high to sales on the coast. For Western Oregon Rain or snow, and sta tionary temperature, with fresh to brisk south erly winds. For Portland Rain or snow, and stationary temperature, with fresh to brisk southerly winds. S. M. BLANDFORD, Acting Local Forecast Official. PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 13. ONE STANDARD OR THE OTHER. Tho standard of money in the United States, as in all countries above semi civilized conditions, is gold. Though we have in the United States a silver party, it is really absurd to suppose that gold will be discarded for silver. But infinite mischief may be done, and has been done, by insistence upon a policy that threatens it. Insofar as there is a question about money, it is a contest of standards. Double stand ard cannot possibly exist. "We have the gold standard now, and long have had it. Free coinage of silver would give us the silver standard, with the value of money cut in the middle. It is because the country has known this that it has so steadily refused to pass a free-coinage act, no matter what party was in power at "Washington. This is the money question in the United States. It is a contest of stand ards. A secondary question is the management of credit currency, a por tion of which must be retired before we can reach stable financial condi tions. An additional cause of embar rassment lies in the fact that the reve nues haVe "beon cut down too much. But the treasury officials insist that the present laws will soon produce revenue enough. This may not be true, but at any time it is within the power of congress to amend the laws so as to increase the revenues. The country is on the gold basis, and it is not reasonable to suppose that it will abandon It and go to the silver basis. Nevertheless, the agitation for free coinage of silver, which, should it prevail, would mean the speedy sub stitution of silver for the gold stand ard, has a paralyzing effect on money, credit and business. It is for this rea son that those who contend that the gold standard should be discarded and the silver standard substituted for it should not be strengthened further in the senate. Insofar as there is any money question in the election of a senator for Oregon at this time, this is that question. The executive authority has been nnd will steadily be exercised, when necessary, as President Cleveland de clares, "for the purpose of reinforcing and maintaining in our treasury an adequate and safe gold reserve." Therefore we shall not go to the sil ver basis, we shall not reject the gold standard and accept the silver stand ard; but it is injurious as well as fool ish to keep up this agitation for a change from the gold to the silver standard and prolong the country's financial and Industrial distress. The president, in one of his recent mes sages to congress, called attention to a consequence of this, in the discrimi nation of investors between our bond obligations between bonds made "pay able in coin" and bonds specifically made "payable in gold," and he added the significant words: "It is hardly neccsscry to suggest that, whatever iray be our views on the subject, the sentiments or preferences of those with whom we must negotiate in disposing of our bonds for gold are not subject to our own dictation." There is an in vincible truth here, which, however, is fatuously opposed and resisted by not a few of our people. No one of sound judgment can sup pose that Oregon would deliberately vote to abandon the gold basis and go to the silver basis. Oregon should not, therefore, now so declare by election of a silver senator. So far as this ques tion is in the election, it is one stand ard or the other. Which? A groat many papers, daily and weekly, are printed in Oregon, but only one general newspaper. Not a few of these papers continually exhibit a ran corous spite against the one. The main reason is simple. If It .isn't creditable. The scope, extent, energy and fullness of The Oregonian are such that others cannot equal or approach it. Is it then so great an offense to publish a news paper that others cannot equal; the newspaper, therefore, that is univer sally read? If so. it must be said that this has been the mission of The Ore gonian these many years, and this will continue to be its mission. The fact may as well be accepted by others without grumbling about it. It is one object of The Oregonian to please, but it cannot reduce its quality, limit its scope or range, or get out of the way. in order to please people. The "outing system," as-it Is called, Js a new feature in the Indian educa tional .spafcem of the government that will be extended to all the Indian res ervations and schools. It consists, briefly, in inducing adult Indians of both "sexes to seek employment in the homes of farmers In the vicinity of the reservations. Secretary Hoke Smith believes the Inauguration of this system will be an important factor in making these Indians self-supporting. The real difficulty will perhaps be en countered in finding families willing to open their homes to the thriftless, un taught creatures, whose heritage from long generations is indolence and irre sponslbilitj The attempt is to be made, however, the secretary having approved a circular to agents and school superintendents, asking them to find suitable families who will receive these Indian servants in their homes and give them practical training In every-day duties. It may be predicted that this Is a class of home missionary work that Is not likely to become popu lar or fashionable, even though fostered by the government. AX ENDANGERED FICTION. It is difficult for Intelligent Europeans or Americans to comprehend the real reason why the Japanese must take Peking and capture or drive out the emperor before they can make a solid and lasting peace. This reason Is hint ed at in the London dispatch of Harold Frederic, printed yesterday, and Is ex hibited more fully in an article by Gen eral "Wolseley in the current Cosmopoli tan magazine. So dense and universal is the igno rance of the Chinese people, and so slavish their belief in the divine om nipotence of the emperor, that nothing but occupation of the capital and con-, spicuous humiliation of the government will make them believe that their na tion has been beaten in war. The gross deceptions by which government Is car ried on in China are amazing. The people swallow the most gigantic fic tions invented by the ruling classes. They believe that the emperor is the most powerful prince on earth, and that all other nations are subject to his will. When the English and French occupied Peking in 1860, and retired after ex torting commercial concessions, it was proclaimed to the people of China that they were admitted by the will of the emperor and driven away when he was done with them. The same fictions would be asserted and believed of the Japanese, should they make peace and retire with a war Indemnity. TheChinese still would believe their emperor omnipotent, ex cept the ruling classes and the few who live about Port Arthur and Wei-Hai-Wei, there being no general diffusion of information throughout the empire. The nation would be as ready as it was six months ago to support the govern ment in vast pretensions of universal dominion, and all the costly and bloody work of this winter might have to be done over again in a few years. The only way the Japanese can gain secur ity for the future is to inflict upon the ruling dynasty such a conspicuous hu miliation as shall be realized through out the empire. The Oriental mind con nects defeat with the ideas of massacre and destruction, of sack of cities, and torture or imprisonment of conquered kings. Forbidden these by their new civilization, the least the Japanese can do is to occupy the enemy's capital and dictate terms of peace to him from that visible eminence of victory. This is Japan's policy. The only question is whether .the .powers of Europe.will permit.its execution. ,They care little enough for the humiliation of the Chinese dynasty in itself, but they fear the effect upon their com mercial relations of its reaction upon the organization of the empire. No one can even guess how far this unwieldy and heterogeneous mass Is held to gether by the fiction of the omnipotence of the emperor, and whether it would not fall into hopeless chaos and ruin were that bond broken. This is a ca tastrophe which all the "Western pow ers expect sooner or later, and which those having greatest influence in China dread most, not being able to see into the future and estimate its ef fect upon their political and commercial relations. It is doubtful if a single power, even Russia, is ready for the crash. If they agree that the occupa tion of Peking by Japan would pre cipitate It, probably steps will be taken to compel both nations to make peace before that critical point shall be reached. INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR CRIME. "When the current fad of hypnotism was Invented, practical persons pre dicted that It would soon begin to play a dangerous part in criminal trials. It offers weak accomplices in crime too convenient escape from responsibility for their own acts not to be seized upon with great eagerness. The current news of the last few months has been full of instances of persons, confronted with evidences of their actual commis sion of crime, who set up the defense that they acted without volition under the influence of others. The most re markable case is that of the woman lately murdered at Minneapolis. One man has confessed that he killed the woman under the hypnotic influence of her lover, who had borrowed money from her and insured her life in his favor. Another, an elder brother of the lover, testifies that he was tempted to commit the act under the same Influ ence, but had power to resist, though not enough to discover the plot and prevent the murder. There Is only one course for the courts to pursue In such cases. That is absolutely to ignore all pleas of un usual influence of one mind over an other, and to hold each individual strictly responsible for his own acts, and all conspiring or acting In common jointly responsible for all the criminal consequences of their conspiracy. The law can know nothing of spiritual com pulsion, loss of volition or hypnotic control. It cannot recognize the sub jection of one nature to another as re lieving the weaker from responsibility. It knows only acts and consplrinffs which lead to acts. These it must de tect and punish, each in its own degree of guilt. In the case in question, the testimony of Bllxt, confirmed by circumstantial evidence, seems to establish that he was procured by the younger Hayward to kill Miss Ging for the hitter's profit. This makes them a pair of murderers, both equally responsible for the result of their conspiracy, though only one struck the fatal blow. If the evidence is complete and not successfully contra dicted by the defense, no court or jury should hesitate to hang them both. As for the elder Hayward, his testimony shows him to have been an accomplice before the fact. In that he knew that his brother intended to have the woman killed, and took no steps to prevent it. He ought to be punished as the law directs. Both these witnesses seem to expect some sort of immunity on ac- i count of the influence they claim the younger Hayward exercised over them. The law cannot connive at such shirk ing of responsibility. If they escape punishment at all, it ought to be only on the ground that they have given evidence against the chief criminal. EMPLOYING THE CONVICTS. The report of the board of managers of the Oregon state stove foundry, showing what Is therein claimed to be a profit to the state in the present method of employing prisoners, as com pared with the contract system that prevailed for ten years prior to 1S93, the repeal of the jute-mill act, and the introduction of bills for working the convicts on the highway and for leas ing their labor to the Oregon Beet-Sugar Company, raise the entire question of the best disposition that can be made of the labor of the men confined in the penitentiary; the fact that they should be required to work, for their own good and to lessen the burden of their maintenance, being taken for granted. Chiefly as the outcome of demagogic and ignorant agitation, the last legis lature refused to renew the contract that has during the ten years previous added some $205,000 to the state treas ury as the earnings of the prison, an average of $20,000 a year, and made a large appropriation for a jute mill, which, happily, was not expended, and that folly has been corrected. Though the contract was not renewed, on the ground that convicts should not be em ployed at work in competition with free labor, the legislature, in order to pro vide work until the jute mill should be ready, authorized the purchase and operation by the state of a foundry plant, and appropriated $65,000 for this purpose. The practical result of the change has been that the convicts con tinue to make stoves, but under a state superintendent Instead of a contractor, though with the important difference that the contractor was compelled to employ all the prisoners not needed for other work, while the state managers have not been able to conduct the es tablishment so as to keep half of them at work half the time. The board fig ures a profit from the operation of the plant for twenty months of $16,S72 20, and, as the wages of the men actually at work would amount to only $12,844 56 at the former contract rate of 40 cents per day, it asserts that there is a dif ference in the present system Of $4028 '24 in favor of the state. This Is specious, but incorrect. Under the contract, enough men were worked to earn for the state $20,000 a year, or for twenty months $33,333 32. Deduct ing the $16,872 20 alleged net earnings, leaves the state worse off than it would have been under the old system -by $16, 461 12. Looking into the matter far ther, it appears that, aside from the plant, the chief credit is some $24,000 worth of manufactured goods not yet disposed of, equal In amount to more than one-half of the total sales for the twenty months. The actual situation is that Oregon has paid out $65,000 and forfeited $40,000 in earnings, and has on hand as an offset $4888 15 in cash, ac counts to the amount of $7716, merchan dise and supplies to the estimated value of $29,172 94, and an old foundry plant for which it paid $40,000. Added to this actual loss is the further disad vantage that there has not been "work for the prisoners 'half the time. - As to the, employlmentwof,pris,gners::otit the roads, it is pretty generally admit ted that this is not practicable, except in the vicinity of the penitentiary or some other place fitted up for their safe-keeping. The expense of caring for them and guarding them and sub sisting them would be so much greater than at present that the state could make no profit out of their labor, while the frequence of escapes and the added harshness necessary in their treatment would be demoralizing. Thirty years ago the state employed its convicts outside the prison, and in two years nearly half of them escaped from the guards while at work. It was after this experience that the system of em ployment within the walls of the prison was adopted. The bill of Senator Denny, authorizing a contract to be made with the Oregon Beet-Sugar Com pany, contemplates the employment of a portion of the men in the factory, which should be located within the walls, and the remainder In the culti vation of beets, with reference to which a provision should be inserted that the prisoners should not be taken more than a specified distance from the prison, say five miles, and should be returned to the prison nightly, and the contractors should pay the cost of transporting and guarding them. The rate of 30 cents specified in the bill is 10 cents less than that of the contract the legislature two years ago refused to renew. The lease system was inaugurated in 1S64, and the rate was 60 cents per day. Ten years later, at the request of the superintendent, the rate was reduced to 50 cents. In 1SS0 the superintendent reported that he could do nothing at that rate, and it was reduced to 30 cents, but two years later a contract was made for ten years at 40 cents. It would seem as though it ought to be worth that much now, where the employer is not called upon to lodge or feed his help. Looking at the matter solely in its financial aspect, in view of the experience the state has had for a third of a century, this would seem to be the best disposition of the labor of the convicts yet suggested. "Whether it is desirable to establish the beet-sugar industry in this state on the convict-labor basis is another question. Modern marine architecture, en gineering skill and navigation have scored another triumph against acci dent and tempest in the arrival of La Gascogne at New York, crippled, but safe, with all on board. Rejoicing is due first for the safety of the large number of people so long in supposed jeopardy; next for the safety, with but relatively slight damage to her ma chinery, of the splendid ship, and last for the triumph of human skill over the combined forces with which it bat tled. The incident teaches again the relative Improbability of shipwreck by storm in the present advanced position occupied by ocean service. The storm that swept the eastern sec tion of the continent with such fury seems to have beaten itself out against the Rocky mountains in its effort to reach the Pacific coast. At all events, .t arrived here late and in an exhausted condition, and, after a great show of surly prowess, was subdued by "fresh to brisk southerly winds and light rains," of which the Oregon climate has usually a large reserve force on calL Comparative values of certain farm products for 1S92 and 1S94, furnished by the department of agriculture, show that farmers sold their wheat last year for 13 cents a bushel less than in 1892, their rye for 5 centsjless, their barley for 3 cents less, their potatoes for near ly 14 cents less, and cotton at almost half the price of that staple in the last named year. They have got the "cheap coat" promised if they would help to put the democratic party in power, but wool is relatively so much-cheaper that they cannot pay for -the coat. The Olympia is nearly ready for sea. The best thing to do with her is to order her to China and send two or three of the gunboats loafing about Mare island with her- There is a gen eral naval assembly In Chinese waters now, and we ought to be represented by as fine a ship as any there. The little gunboats may he' needed soon to go up the river to Tien-Tsin and Pe king, where larger ships like the Balti more and Charleston cannot go. The quality of the finance committee of the senate is proved by its action upon the compromise currency bill of Jones of Arkansas. It has taken out the free-silver section and decided to report it as a separate bill by a vote of 6 to 5. The distribution of parties upon this Important question is shown by the vote on this act. The majority is com posed of five democrats and one popu list, and the minority of four republi cans and one democrat As the record of the alleged Ameri cans engaged in the Hawaiian royalist revolt is examined, they turn out to be a lot of cheap vagabond adventurers, whose character minimizes their claim to protection. If Mr. Gresham shall take up any of these claims, he will suc ceed only in making himself and his government ridiculous. The Hawaiian authorities are too shrewd to give any worthy American real ground for com plaint More than $5,000,000 in gold will be shipped from London to the United States this week. But it will not stay here long, unless congress shall either retire the greenbacks with which it is drawn out of the treasury or so in crease the revenues that these can be locked up there. London can play the "coonskln game" as well as New York. It is a thing to be regretted that the proposal for a central bridge for the city is loaded up with the Stark-street ferry, that the city doesn't need; but perhaps it is the best that can be done, since private interest is so strong In en forcing its demands in the legislature over the public weal. $ We think there is no question about this fact, namely: That when the peo ple of Multnomah county voted for re trenchment last June they did not sup pose that retrenchment was to be post poned to some future time, but was to begin as soon as possible. Banks and railroads, after a while, will be regarded as necessary in Ore gon, and men will 'cease to try to de stroy them. We shall become in time as intelligent and civilized atf people in other states. The committee on ways and means wastes time working on a currency-reform bill. This, house will do nothing -with the subject. it i'ij's 'j - The banks haveVpeen hoarding, gold simply because they fear gold will go to a premium. THE SALMON SEASON. VIcyvh of the Superintendent of tlie CInckanto.it Kntchcry. PORTLAND. Feb. 12.-(To the Editor.) I beg the privilege of saying a few words on the subject of the regulation of the salmon industry; into, which a joint com mittee of the legislature has been Inquir ing for the past two weeks. The commit tee has made a trip to the Cascades and made an investigation among the wheel fishers; it has also made a journey to the mouth of the Columbia and looked at the traps and talked with their owners, and with the cannerymenandgill-net fish ermenall with a view of ascertaining the exact conditions urder which fishing is carried on and salmon go up the rivers to the spawning grounds. It has, I un derstand, practically concluded its inves tigations, and is preparing a report. Such being the case, I must express my surprise that Superintendent W. F. Hubbard, of the Clackamas fish hatchery, has not been called upon to express his ideas on the subject before the committee. Mr. Hubbard is the only man now in Oregon who has an expert kncwledse of the hab its of salmon in the Columbia river and Its tributaries. This knowledge is not merely theoretical, like that of Commissioner McDonald, whose rpport seems to be so much relied upon, but Is based upon hl3 practical expedience at that hatchery and on the spawning grounds for a series of years. It is well known that this practical ex perience has led Mr. Hubbard to conclu sions varying somewhat from the office theories of Commissioner McDonald, and that the recommendation he would make would not be in accord with the legisla tion desired by some of the parties in in terest, who seem to have the most influ ence with those members of the commit tee who are apparently guiding the com mittee in its investigations. Superintendent Hubbard's books show that the spring run of salmon has been absolutely valueless for propagating pur poses at the hatchery, and that the spawn taken from the fall fish has been entirely relied upon for propagating purposes, and that no spawn is taken until long after the fall close season begins, and that much of it Is taken long after that season ends; showing that with early beginning of the fall close season, enough fish would as cend the rivers for .spawning purposes; and further showing hat the close season should extend much later than at pres ent In order to permit the fish to spawn unmolested. In regard to the spring run, the books show as follows: In 1SS7 the rack was put across the river June 23. The next year, thinking to get the early fish, the rack was put across March 10, but all the early fish stopped by It were found to be diseased by their, long stay In the river, and their ova was of no value and had to be thrown away. The following year the rack was put across the river May 2, but this also was found to be too early, and that the fish stopped by it were of no value for propagating purposes. Since then the rack has been put across the river later; and in 1S93, the last year of the operation of the hatchery, it was not put In place until August 3. This shows that the August run of fish must be depended upon, and that the fall close season should begin as early as the first of Au gust in order to permit a sufficient num ber of them to get up the river. As to the time of spawning, the records show that the earliest date that spawn was taken from salmon was August 25, and the latest date November 16. This proves conclu sively that the fall close season should ex tend at least until the first of November; otherwise, the fish will not receive the protection they should have on the spawn ing beds while in the act of spawning. I know that these faSts do not suit those interests that want a spring close sea son for the benefit of the fish wheels; nor those that want the fall close season put off until August 10, so that the canneries at the mouth of the river can catch the entire run of fall fish. But they are the absolute facts In the case, and had Super intendent Hubbard been requested to come I before the committee, be would gladly have given the only expert testimony that is available In Oregon, and would have testified to these facts; and I have no doubt he would have recommended the abolition of the spring close season and the creation of a long fail close season, extending from August 1 to November L This, in my opinion also, is the simplest and the surest means of providing suffi cient natural protection for salmon. GEO. L. RAYMOND. TOLLS ON THE DREDGES. To Submit the Question to a Popular Vote. SALEM, Or., Feb. 12. Following is the full draft of the toll-bridge bill passed by the house Monday nisht: A bill for an act to authorize the charg ing and collecting of tolls and ferryage upon the bridges and ferries of the city of Portland,. In the county of Multnomah, state of Or2gon, and to submit the ques tion whether or not tolls and ferryage shall be charged upon such bridges and ferries to a vote of the taxpayers of said city: Be it enacted by the legislative assembly of the state of Oregon: Section L That the city of Portland, in the county of Multnomah, and state of Oregon, or the bridge commission, the board of public works, mayor and common council of said city, or the county court of the state of Oregon, for the county of Multnomah, or whatsoever agency or au thority shall be charged with the care and operation of the bridges and ferries now owned or controlled or hereafter ac quired or controlled by said city of Port land, be and hereby are authorized when authorized by vote as herein provided, to charge, collect and receive tolls and ferry age upon vehicles and animals crossing any such bridge or ferry at not exceeding the following rates: For four-horse vehicles, loaded or un loaded, not exceeding 10c For two-horse vehicle, loaded or un- loaded, not exceeding - 03c For horses, mules and cattle, per,head, not exceeding 02c For sheep and hogs, per head, not ex ceeding 01c And said city, board of public works, bridge commission, mayor and common council, or county court, as the case may be, is authorized to issue and sell commu tation tickets upon each of the classifica tions above mentiontd, which shall not make the rate of toll or ferryage 1 ss than sixty (60) per cent of what is then the regular charge for a single toll or ferry. Sec. 2. Whenever fifty (50) or more tax payers of the said city of Portland shall file with the auditor of said city a peti tion requesting the submission of the ques tion of Imposing tolls upon the bridges and ferries of the city of Portland, the said auditor shall give notice in like manner and for the same time as notice is re quired to be given for an annual school election, for the election of directors in school district No. 1, of Multnomah coun ty, Oregon, of a vote to be taken at the next ensuing school meeting or election for the election of directors of said school district No. 1. by the taxpayers of said city, for and against the right to charge tolls upon such bridges and ferries. Sec. 3 At the annual meeting or elec tion of directors In school district No. 1, of Multnomah county, Oregon, next fol lowing the giving of the notice provided for in section 2 of this act, the taxpayers of the said city of Portland shall, at said school election, and either upon the ballots for which they vote for said di rectors, for said school district, or upon separate ballots, vote for or against the Imposition of tolls and charges for ve hicles and animals upon the bridges and ferries owned or controlled by the said city of Portland. Each taxpayer desiring to vote in favor of the Imposition of tolls and charges for vehicles and animals upon the bridges and ferries of the said city of Portland shall write or have printed upon his ballot "Tolls Yes," and each taxpayer desiring to vote against the same shall -write or have printed Upon his ballot "Tolls No." j 'The ballots 'for -ana -against the-imposi 'tion'of tolls shall be received and counted, and a record kept of the persons, voting in the same manner as is required by law in the conducting of an election for directors of said school district, and the judges and clerks of said election shall be the judges and clerks of the election herein provided for the determining the question of tolls or no tolls, and they shall canvass the votes cast for tolls or no tolls, and shall certify the result of such election of tolls or no tolls to the auditor of the city of Portland, who shall in turn certify such result to the agency or authority then in charge of the bridges of the city of Portland. Sec. 4 If a majority of all the votes cast for and against tolls at such elec tion shall be "tolls, yes," then the said city, mayor and common council, bridge commission, board of nublic works, coun- tv prsiirt cit ?.TnltTinmnh rnimtv or other agency or authority as the case may be, having the management of the bridges and ferries belonging to or con trolled by said city, shall be authorized and it shall be their duty and they shall Impose tolls and charges for all vehicles and animals crossing any of such bridges or ferries at rates not exceeding those specified in section 1 of this act. ' Sec. 5 The city of Portland, or its bridge commission, mayor and common council, or board of public works, shall not have any authority by virtue of this act to impose or collect tolls or charges upon any of the bridges or ferries of said city until authorized to do so by the vote of the majority of taxpayers of said city voting and the election as pro vided for in this act. Sec. 6 The common council of said city of Portland is hereby authorized and em powered to pass and to cause to be en forced any and all ordinances and provis ions, and to do and cause tq be done all acts and things necessary to carry in to effect the provisions of this act. Sec 7 All tolls and charges received and collected for crossing any of the bridges or ferries of the city of Portland shall go into and become a part of the bridge fund of said city of Portland, and be used for the maintenance, keeping in repair and paying the expenses and opera tion of the bridges and ferries owned or controlled by said city of Portland. AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION. Boston Herald. Very few people realize how great has been the fall in price of the necessities of life during the last 20, or even during the last 10, years. At the present rate of human progress, the luxuries of today are apt to become the necessities of tomorrow, and so the saving effected on one side merely supplies the means for new ex penditure on another. But in dealing with the great transactions of International commerce it is impossible to overlook the enormous shrinkage that has taken place In the value of the staple products of the labor of man, side by side with a steady increase of the rates which are paid for that labor. The exports and Imports of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland furnish, perhaps, the most accu rate standard that could be selected of the course of prices of these staples. There has been no fluctuating tariff to affect values, and no irregularity either In the monetary system or the conditions of exchange to render them uncertain. When we find that in 1S74 England paid $155,000,000 for 47,000,000 hundredweights of foreign wheat and flour, and that last year 89.000,000 hundredweights cost her only $133,000,000, we get a realizing sense of more than the significance of cheap bread. For there Is in such figures the sign and the measure of a social revolution whose progress has been none the less moment ous because It has been peaceful. To go back only 10 years ago, $50,000,000 buys 25, 000,000 pounds of tea more than It would have done m England In IB&i, and 14,000,- f 000 hundredweights of refined sugar can be imported for the price paid In 1S84 for little more than 10,000,000. In 10 years the quantity of dead meat imported into the United Kingdom lias nearly doubled, while its declared value has Increased barely 50 per cent. The cheapening of articles of food has been no more remarkable than that of I the raw materials of manufacture. In 1S74, 14.000.000 "hundredweights of raw cot ton are valued among British Imports at $255,000,000, while last year 16,000,000 hun dredweights count for only $163,000,000. The Imports, of wool were 130,000,000 pounds more last year than they were In 1SJH, but they cost $6,600,000 less than they did then. Of course, the value of the manufactured product bears the impress of the de creased value of the raw material. Great Britain received $25,000,000 less for the cot ton fabrics she shipped last year than she did for those exported In 1S71, but she, nevertheless, sent out 1,700,000,000 yards more. For less than 2.5C0.C00 tons of Iron and steel manufactures exported In 1S74 the price was $133,000,000; for considerably more than 2,500,000 tons exported last year the price was about $93,000,000. These are some of the data which will go to the making of one of the most remarkable chapters In the history of this century the still incomplete economic revolution to which the concluding quarter of it will have been a witness. A MODERN BORGIA. New York Press. For some time a woman who has nei ther wealth, rank, nor beauty, has com manded a remarkable degree of attention In Europe, and has been the subject of numerous cable dispatches which have been published in American newspapers. This extraordinary personage, Madame Jonlaux, has just been convicted of mur der in Antwerp, after a dramatic trial, which was to the people of Belgium what the trial of Lizzie Borden was to the peo ple of Massachusetts. The crime of which she has been declared guilty, recalls the exploits of the Borgias and the achieve ments in the art of poisoning recorded of Catherine de Medici. This middle class, unprepossessing Belgian woman, has been convicted of poisoning successively her brother, her sister, and her uncle. This trio of murders was accomplished in about two years. The motive in each case was the securing of the insurance money on the life of the victim, and no suspicion seemed ta have been aroused until the death of the uncle, who was the third subject of Madame Joniaux's skill in tox icology. . After her arrest, and during the trial which followed, Madame Jonlaux mani fested such consummate self-possession that the public interest in her case con tinually grew more intense. In the court room, where she was tried according to the French method, which virtually in vests the judge with the functions of pros ecuting attorney, she parried every thrust with marvelous skill, and man aged, notwithstanding the overpowering weight of evidence ugalnst her, to im press a large proportion of the spectators with a firm belief in her Innocence. Per formances of this sort on the part of a young and beautiful woman are by no means rare in the annals of criminal pro cedure on both sides of the Atlantic. That Madame Joniaux, without the aid of per sonal attractiveness, should have been aa'e to enlist the sympathy of so many persons proves that she possessed histri onic capacity of a high order. Her conviction, in spite of the great shrewdness which she displayed, and the signal ability of her counsel, M. Hen driks, whose closing plea in her behalf was one of the most eloquent ever made in a Belgian court, demonstrates for the hundredth time the practical Impossibil ity of concealing murder by poisoning. Modern science has clothed the poisoner with new powers, but it has also created methods of detection which are infallible if skillfully used. V PASSING OF STANLEY ." X. Press and Printer. Tl rAi-Tirt lr-nAr IAvtmr "XT Cnnlflr TT"liin he was a newspaper man will not be sur prised at the early "passing" of the Afri can explorer. He has now almost Entirely dropped from public notice. Among a number- of New York's leading publishers J wno -were mscussing ina.matter.tne. omer: day, it was stated that Stanley was now living In the small suburbs of London. He has a comfortable house there, but even the neighbors scarcely know who he is. Not long ago one of this book-talking group said an article from Stanley came to New York, and it actually went beg ging for a publisher. This seems very strange when one considers that it is only three years ago when one of the Scribners hastily packed his valise and went to Cairo, in Egypt, to head off other publish ers and secure the American right to Stanley's book. He received a fabulous sum for it, sold the English, Indian, Aus tralian, Canadian, German and French rights separately, and made a small for tune out of his book. Then he came heze and lectured, and added thousands of dol lars to his resources. Now those who are in a position to know question whether he could draw a paying house at moderate prices. Much of this has undoubtedly been due to his desire to be offensive, a fact which seems very strange to hun dreds who once knew him. He tried to show that he Jacked cordiality. One never knew whether he was really gratified by an honor shown him or whether he was bored by It. It was a very bad case of what Boston called "megalomania," and may be vulgarly translated "big head." Stanley Imagined that he had not only hewed out himself a niche in the temple of time, but he had ascended the pedestal and that the season of obeisance and pil grimage had begun for him. Now, with much of his work discredited, and his name besmirched with storfes of canni balism and other horrors, he begins to find that even a Stanley in all his panoply fills but a small space in this big, bustling and ever-investigating universe. BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. PORTLAND, Feb. 12. (To the Editors Mr. S. A. Clarke has repeatedly made the statement in The Oregonian that nine tenths of the Oregon fruitgrowers did not know of the existence of the state board of horticulture, and again made this state ment at the horticulture meeting, just closed. At first I concluded to let the matter pass, but to allow it to go unno ticed any longer would be acknowledging It as a fact, for silence is consent. I here with annex a letter just received, which is only one out of several hundred and explains itself. It is dated at Lake Che lan, Wash., and signed by Enos B. Pcas lee: "Please advise me how much to remit you for a copy of your Biennial Report of State Board of Horticulture, and I will sent it to you. Myself and neighbors are eager to learn from others' experi ence how to grow orchards and raise fruit. There is so much to know that we ought to learn from competent advisors. I think your report would help us vastly." Looking over my list of correspondents I find that I have received within the last two years over 200 letters of inquiry and requests for our reports, mainly from Washington, Utah, Arizona and Califor nia; yes, even from Australia, New Zea land and South Africa, and over 1C00 let ters from all sections of our own state. These letters received respectful replies, and reports were sent where requested. All this work was done without compen sation of any kind, as the commissioners are allowed small pay only when actually engaged in field work or attending semi annual meetings. The leading horticul tural papers of the East have repeatedly quoted from our reports. Are we known? HENRY E. DOSCH. Commissioner First District. K J? XiOUlSVllIC -UUHCl-OUUiUilI. The notion that cheap and abundant money is an evidence of prosperity is negatived by the facts. Money Is cheap because of the slack demand. The de mand is inadequate to employ the money which we have. If it were certain that the $45,000,000 of idle money in the New York banks that has been offered at 1 per cent could be employed so as to earn 14 or 2 per cent It would be utilized at once. Men able to secure the repayment of the money are not satisfied of their ability to do this. There is a lack of con- r fidence which keeps business down to the basis or current consumptioa, IfBWS.OF THE XORTOTVXST. Oreson. The wife of Captain R. S. Littlefleld, superintendent of the government works at Bandon, )as been committed to tho hospital for the insane at Salem. Mrs. Theresa M. McKay, wife of ex Sberlft William McKay, of Benton county, died at Corvallis Sunday, aged 53 years She came to Oregon from Ottawa, Canada, inlSSi. The farmers' warehouse at Eugene was destroyed by fire early Sunday morning; also a feed and chop mill. Some 6000 bushels of gr.Un and a large quantity of chittem bark were destroyed. Two boy3, -about 12 years of age, ia King's valley, stole a revolver, and soon afterward one of them, named McTim mons, had a bullet in his side. The story, of the other boy is conflicting. Mrs. Catherine Hedges, wife of John E. Hedges, died, at Tualatin last Friday, aged 73 years. Mr. and Mrs. Hedges have been married 54 years. They came to Oregon la 1S51, from Ohio, and have lived on their Tualatin farm 42 years. Chrlsman Bros., of Silver Lake, to whom a contribution of money for the relief of the sufferers from the Christmas fire was sent from Eugene, have returned the money to the mayor, with a letter of thanks and a statement that no more as sistance is needed. A petition Is m circulation in the ex treme northwestern portion of Lane coun ty asking that a small portion of Lane and Lincoln counties lying along Five Rivers and Lobster creek be annexed to Benton county. This would take from Lane county two townships of land that pays no taxes. The county authorities seem to favor the movement. A young man from King's-valley, who had lost a cigar and acquired, two black eyes for Insisting upon smoking at the skating rink, went to Corvallls to procure a warrant for the arrest of the man who caused them- He was told to go back home and and get justice from the local court, but as he had already had that in the shape of a fine for discharging his re volver, he was not pleased with the ad vice. Washington. The North Bend Milling Company':! shingle mill was burned Monday with 940,000 shingles. The expert examining the penitentiary books makes the shortage of the late Warden Coblentz $12,467 54. A child 5 years old died at Ballard Mon day from eating canned plums, and five other persons were seriously ill. The city of Tacoma has been sued for $10,000 damages for the death of a boy killed by an electric car two years ago. The Tacoma board of education has been petitioned by citizens to appoint none but residents of the city as teachers in the schools. The Walla Walla Bar Association has Indorsed John L. Sharpstein for appoint ment as judjre of the ninth judicial circuit by President Cleveland. Charles Webber, mate of the barkentino Modoc, lying at Fort Blakely, had his leg crushed Saturday and was taken to tho Marine hospital at Port Townsend. M. F. Backus has resigned as receiver of the Rainier Power & Railway Com pany, at Seattle, and Frederick Baus man has been appointed. The road ha3 passed into the hands of the Third Street & Suburban Railway Company. Walter Merrick, ex-city clerk of Port Townsend, had a narrow escape from death from electricity Saturday. He grasped a guy wire, and could not let go. A log he was standing upon rolled and broke his hold, throwing him into the water, whence he was released. PERSONS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT. Julio Renfifo Is commander of the chief Colombian army that is trying to put down the Insurgents. Mrs. LilHe Devereaux-BIalre.rtlie' Tritely- , known champion of woman's rights, has been addressing the North Carolina sen ators. The ameer of Afghanistan, who is go ing to visit England in the spring, will probably come by way of Japan and the United States. To Dr. Arthur G. Webster, of Clark university, has been awarded the Elihu Thompson prize of 5000 francs for the best treatise on electricity. Mme. Marchesi, the famous vocal teach er, speaks seven languages with ease. She was a pupil of Garcia, who was the teacher of Malibran and Jenny Lind. Melba, her favorite pupil, Is, she thinks, decidedly the greatest singer In the world. William A. Fisher, who is mentioned as a probable democratic candidate for governor of Maryland, is a leading mem ber of the Baltimore bar. He has been a state senator, and for five years served on the supreme court bench of Maryland. Rev. Dr. Reld, the well-known Presby terian clergyman, of Yonkers, is an en thusiastic fisherman and mountain climb er. He owns a cottage at Lake Placid, in tho Adirondacks, and repairs thither every summer to engage in his favorite pastimes. Dr. George F. Root, the veteran com poser who wrote "The Battle Cry of Freedom" and other patriotic war songs, is a white-haired veteran of 75 years, but his voice is still clear and resonant. He produced his famous song In his little music store in Chicago 34 years ago. Miss Jeannette Douglas was the first woman who ever filled a regular clerkship in any of the departments at Washington. With several other woman who were ap pointed a few days later she was em ployed to separate and trim the paper money, a labor which is now done by machinery. General Resvy, the senior officer In the Russian artillery, has just celebrated hl3 70th year of active service. He entered the army of 1S25, under Alexander T, and has served under five czars. His long ser vice is surpassed, however, by that of Admiral Count Heyden, who entered the Russian navy in 1820. FARAGRAPID3RS' PLEASANTRIES. He They say kissing is unhealthy. She Everything has Its risks. Spare Mo ments. Just a little sunshine, And a little ground hog, too. And then we have the question: "Is ft cold enough for you?" Jllson says that marriage may be a fail ure, but the man who embarks in it usually has to pay 109 cents on the dollar. Buffalo Courier. Wiggles I know just what to take for seasickness. Waggles (eagerly) Do you? What Is It? Wiggles An ocean steamer. Somervllle Journal. Teacher There are three kinds of poetry. You have mentioned two lyric and dra matic: now what is the third? "Well, epi " Elsa Epidemic Fliegende Blaet- ter. "See here. Mldgley, when do you propose to pay that bill?" "Confound It, I pro posed last night, in order to pay all my bills, but she wouldn't have me." New: York Recorder. Oh. woe to all these boarding-houses! They harp the same old tunes; It Is hash you get for breakfast, And at supper It Is prunes. Syracuse Post "How shall we serve that new mission ary?" asked the chef. "As hash, I guess," said the kin.tr of the Mowoka. "He told me before he left home.1 nal. The ship was sinking In the foam. Dashed by the headlong wave; The passengers they thought of home, And then a watery grave. And mothers to their bosoms clasped Their little ones In dread. While the great sea's mad billows grasped, And with their offspring fled. "No hope upon the ocean wide! Captain, we look to you!" And as they drowned, the captain cried: "Thank heaven, we've saved the crew!" Atlanta Constitution.