Morning Oregonian., January 23, 1900, Page 6, Image 6

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THE MORNING OEEGONIAN, TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1900.
to x2gpnmm
Cntered ct the Postofflce at Portland. Oregon, ai
seeond-ciass matter.
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PORTXAATJ, TUESDAY, JAXUAB.Y 23.
AETTRAI, RIGHTS ASH CONTRA
BAND. Theodore S. Woolsey, the well-known
rrcfessor of international law In Tale
unite-rsity, In an article in the latest
uurrber of the Outlook, treats of neu
tral rights and contraband of war, re
'L T.lng the questions involved in the
recent seizures of American and Ger
man goods by the British in South
Africa.
Professor Woolsey says that Great
Pr.ain is bound by certain doctrines
"Rhich she herself has heretofore recog
nized. One of these is the doctrine of
"c rtmuous "voyages," and is in truth
fc'r Ely possible foundation for action
against neutral commerce In present
clrcurr stances, since the Transvaal and
C range Free State have no seaport.
That Is, if the goods are to go through
a neutral port to the Boer states, they
are c nfiscable if contraband of war;
but It e hostile destination must be per
fect y manifest. Upon this fact all de-Fr-is,
for if the goods, though held
crraband by Great Britain, are to be
s- d in open market at Delagoa bay
if the intention of importation ends
vllh that then no hostile destination
can Ll inferred. Since in the present
case no enemy's port exists to which
ccrtrcband can be bound, maritime
caxture can be claimed only through
the d ctnne of continuous voyages.
Croat Britain may be expected to
seize all military supplies seeking en
try at Delagoa bay, on the presump
ti n that it is the Boers who want
them and that the shippers know It.
But has she a right to hold and to en
t rco the same Inference as to provis
i r.s' Professor Woolsey says not.
Zvtn if it be allowed that provisions
r-ay mme under the rule of "occasional
contraband," Great Britain must show
that they have a hostile destination.
Tve historical position of our own gov
cmnent is that provisions can be held
traband only if destined to a hostile
ct or a besieged port. Seizure of
I7 isions for Delagoa bay, on the
c a.n that they were destined to the
B-cts .Professor "Woolsey says would
be a "novel combination of two excep
t -al doctrines, that of occasional con-f-and
and that of continuous voy
.g applied to the same cargo." Our
g T eminent, he says, cannot concede
this, without receding from positions
I,'- hich it has heretofore contended;
aril trus, of course, it will not do.
Great Britain, then, will have to heat
the E ers in battle. She cannot Inter-c-jt
revisions for Delagoa bay, for of
c vse the shippers will take care that
the h ''Lile destination do not appear.
Afer a while she may be able to seize
tho ra Iw ay from Delagoa bay, where
It enters the Transvaal, but she will
haT t a great deal of fighting first; and
ty that time the Boers will have about
exhausted their power of resistance.
THE PARTY OP NEGATION.
Thr pro-Boer meeting in Washlng-t-n
was composed of democratic poli
te lens and blatherskite Senator Mason,
cf I Ilnuis. Its -utter absurdity is set
f.rth in the declaration of democratic
C r pressman Sulzer that the defeat
c f the Boers "will be the severest blow
at republican institutions that has been
struck In a century." The so-called
I1 cr "republic" is not a "sister re
public" at all; It Is a political anachron
ism, a medieval "republic," -which was
-a thing but a despotic oligarchy. There
is r i free speech, or free press, or un
wcrped. absolutely unterrified courts;
the ciurts are the mere creatures of
Paul Kruger, who is the last court of
aipfaL What kind of a "republic"
w u'd the United States have been if
e-' n so great and good a man as
C --ge Washington could have held our
sur-cme court by the neck and been
h rvf the last court of appeal, like
the Ilian of the sultan of Turkey?
t f c urse. Intelligent democrats know
hccr. They are only playing their
c.d-Ume, stupid, demagogic perform
er -e as the party, not of creation of
issues, but of negation to everything
f rrculated by the republican party.
The a-erage democrat, except when
he is .mported. is pro-Boer because he
Is mti-expanslon. He thinks to con
fuse the question of expansion in the
Fr.Hr pines with the question of expan
sion in South Africa. This attitude of
the democratic party, as always a mere
rarty of malignant negation, is what
has always made it difficult to capture
the country and Impossible to hold its
a. egiance long when it is at long inter-,
als victorious. It is never anything
rut a negation; it Is always purely ob
structive, never intelligently and cour
age usly constructive. It holds out
b th hands to anarchism, to state so
da Ism, to dishonest money. The de-ir-cracy
will never extinguish the
r-.ssion of the republican party so long
lis it whitewashes industrial terrorism
and murder in politics by cultivating
an effusive friendship for organized
ruffianism and disorganizing because
eLstrnest finance.
Just so long as the democratic party
I ers is ts in this reactionary attitude,
Just so long there will be a new lease
f Tife to the republican party. Re
pub.icans of enlightened, independent
spirit are not afraid to vote the demo-'
cratic ticket, but they must be certain
that there is a higher, nobler, more
patriotic faith back of It than the old
sickening, reactionary, vindictive war
on equal rights and honest money. To
walk backwards is to be on the side of
barbarism, and impatient as republi
cans may often be of the conduct of
their party, they are not prepared to
leave it for one that condones indua
trial anarchism and organized political
outrage and throws up Its hat for dis
honest and disastrous finance. The
democratic party must stand for some
thing better than mud mixed with
blood, which about expresses the mar
riage between democratic finance and
Altgeldian anarchy.
HARROW VIEWS OF TRADE.
In another column is a letter from
Salem, in which the tariff is inveighed
against as the source of our commercial
inferiority to Europe, and, specifically,
as the reason why Minister Lord went
to Buenos Ayres by way of Liverpool.
The tariff on wool is also given a rap,
as a benefit to a few sheepmen at the
expense of the whole people. This cor
respondent falls into errors about as
great as those he designs to correct.
The chief obstacle to trade between
the United States and Argentina is not
the tariff, but the similarity of its ex
ports to our own. The Argentine has
wheat, corn, hides and wool to sell to
Europe, and so have we. We are not
going to buy these things from Argen
tina, though we do take a good many
hides, and an effort to have the duty
on this product abolished Is now under
way, being urged by shoe manufactur
ers who want as cheap hides as they
can get, and opposed by our home
producers of hides, who want as good
prices as they can get. The treasury
statistics show that we have Imported
more hides from South America than
we did before the passage of the Ding
ley law. Free trade in hides and a
tariff on shoes is a very popular doc
trine in Philadelphia and certain manu
facturing districts of New England.
Owing to the demand in Europe for
Argentine products, shipping Is more
abundant in that trade than with us,
though as a matter of fact we are sell
ing Argentina nearly twice as many
goods as we were two years ago. To
say that South American products are
kept out of the United States by pro
hibitive tariffs is a generalization wo
fully Inexact Some are kept out by
the fact, already noted, that we pro
duce more of that specific kind than we
can ourselves consume. Others are im
ported in great quantities because they
are free of duty. Coffee Is free. Cot
ton (of which we Import nearly 2,000,-
000 pounds annually from South Amer
ica) Is free. Bananas are free. Hides
and raw wool were taxed in the Ding
ley bill In pursuance of the principle
that taxed shoes and free hides, taxed
woolens and free wool, democratic
practices, were not equitable. Revenue
duties are collected on sugar and to
bacco, from whatever source they
come in.
The free trade doctrinaire is iust as
visionary as the high-protection doc
trinaire. Neither is fit to frame a tariff
bill. Neither s competent to be en
trusted with our foreign trade. As to
the means whereby that trade is to be
conserved and promoted, they are
many and various. There is no royal
road to learning and there is no royal
road to foreign trade. It is the product
of many different conditions. Cheap
iron for ships and cheap money for
maritime Investment are Important
conditions. Mutual needs are necessary.
If all we had to export were wheat and
all the Argentine had to export were
wheat, there could be no trade between
us. But with Asia needing locomotives
and flour, and with us needing silks
and tea, trade Is necessary and profita
ble. Our foreign trade is also to be en
couraged by American banks in South
America and the dependencies, by
study of Spanish In our schools, by
sample warehouses In the foreign ports,
and by the wide-awake American con
sul and the Indefatigable American
salesman. Tariffs must be just, and
this no democratic tariff has ever been.
High import duties are useful at some
times, and at other times, as now in
the case of Asiatic goods seeking mar-,
ket here, they are mischievous. As for
free trade, there is no such thing except
In books and visionary treatises. The
government needs all the money it can
get from customs, and more. We may
have to tax coffee yet, and bananas.
We may have to cut down some tariffs
in order to increase the volume of im
ports and indirectly increase the aggre
gate amount of duty collected.
THE) AUTHOR OP "LORNA DOONE.'
The death of Richard Blackmore
takes from this world at the ripe age
of 75 a man of sweet and manly nature,
who will live long in the memory of
the lovers of pure and charming story
tellers as the author of "Lorna Doone,"
which, published more than thirty
years ago, still holds Its place at the
top of fine English fiction of the first
rank, conceding first rank to Scott,
Thackeray, George Eliot, Dickens and
George Meredith. Perhaps it would not
be too much to say that when Mr.
Blackmore published "Lorna Doone,"
In 1869, he founded a new school of
fiction; for he was the first to work
successfully the vein of autobiographic
fiction that has since been so ably
wrought by Robert Stevenson, Conan
Doyle, Anthony Hope and S. R. Crock
ett. ' With the exception of Stevenson,
none of Blackmore's followers have
written a novel of as enduring popular
Interest as "Lorna Doone," and even
Stevenson's most popular stories,
"Treasure Island," "Kidnaped" and
"David Balfour," lack a certain fine at
mosphere of manly simplicity and ten
derness that pervades the beautiful
story of the love of brave, stalwart
John Ridd for delicate Lorna Doone.
Thackeray once bluntly said that
"Pickwick Papers" was the finest and
most original book that Dickens ever
wrote. He compared Its broad, hearty
humor and natural, healthy sentiment
to a draught of fine, fresh English ale.
The flavor of "Lorna Doone" is some
thing far finer and more delicate than
this, and has been compared to that of
a glass of fine old wine, which has
ripened long enough to gather a nutty
taste and a beautiful bouquet. The
best test of a really fine novel is the
delightful memory of it, which prompts
you to read It over again at Intervals
of a few years, and affectionately to in
troduce It to the notice of men and
women whom you like. 'Now there are
but few books of this sort In the whole
range of fiction. Among them are
Thackeray's "Vanity Fair," George
Eliot's "Mill on the Floss" and Black
more's "Lorna Doone." Perhaps we
ought to add Charles Reade's master
piece, "The Cloister and the Hearth,"
which would be a perfect story if he
had left out that long theological chap
ter which Telates how Gerard became
a priest, a celibate and a bereaved j
husband and father, through his priest
hood. There Is no touch of morbidity, no
melodramatic nonsense, in "Iiorna
Doone." John Ridd is a great, brave,
stalwart, manly giant of a Devonshire
yeoman; slow to anger, like all men of
exceptional physical strength, and
averse to fighting, but a man both fear
less and fearful In battle when once
persuaded that his quarrel is just. This
stalwart farmer lad and delicate little
Lorna Doone, who is better bred but
not nobler hearted than her rustic play
mate, fall in love with .each other as
naturally and purely as possible, and
the whole story of his courtship and
the perils through which he finally
wins his wife are told beautifully,
without a single false note of mawkish
sentiment, without an unmanly, foolish
or indecent action on either side. There
Is nothing subtle in the 'plot; there is
nothing unique or eccentric In the char
acters. It is the old, old romantic story
that has been told over and over again
since the dawn of literature; but Black
more has told it charmingly, com
pletely without a bit of cant, or sentl
mentalism; he has presented in John
Ridd a picture so natural in its rugged
stalwartness, taciturnity and strength,
of a noble-minded, heroic farmer lad,
who fights like a Trojan with fists and
heels every man who forces him to the
wall, and fights as recklessly of life
in defense of his girl as a lioness for
her whelps, that the whole, healthy
minded reading world of English
speaking men and women have read
"Lorna Doone" with delight, and will
continue to do so for many, many
years to come.
NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME.
A bulletin recently issued by the state
agricultural experiment station at Ge
neva, N. Y makes suggestions in re
gard to the present as the accepted
time to forestall the possible ravages of
the tent caterpillar, which apply to all
localities subject to the depredations
of these pests. Their eggs, as Is gener
ally known, are secured to the smaller
branches or twigs of trees in small,
black rings, easily discernible when the
trees are bare of foliage. Farmers
having at this time plenty of leisure,
may readily find and destroy these eggs
and thus save themselves the disgust
ing and much more difficult task of
fighting the tent-spinning, crawling,
voracious pests later in the year. Once
let the creatures hatch and begin to
spin, and the most heroic measures are
required to rid invaded orchards of
their presence. These measures in
clude spraying with arsenicals, while
the caterpillars are at work in the
spring; swabbing with kerosene when
they are collected in groups or in the
nests, and jarring them from the trees;
banking the trees to prevent access of
wanderers and invaders, and destruc
tion of cocoons in June and July.
In this state, old and abandoned or
chards have been the nesting-places of
the tent caterpillar for years. The
State Horticultural Society has, how
ever, in recent years, done much
through its agents to cause the abate
ment of this nuisance by insisting upon
the destruction of these useless trees
sad relics of bygone years wherein Ore
gon apples were without blemish and
Oregon orchards flourished for the
planting. Much, however, yet remains
to be done In this line. There was a
time, covering a long term of years, In
which Oregon farmers took no interest
whatever in their orchards. Following
the few years in the decade in which
apples were enormously high in price,
a large orchard area, chiefly of apple,
pear and green gage plum trees, came
into bearing. The market was narrow
and the product, of course, perishable.
The fall climate was not suited to out
door drying, while frultdriers, in the
modern sense of the term, were un
known. It followed that tons upon tons
of the finest fruit rotted upon the
ground, there not being even hogs to
eat it. The result of the discourage
ment that followed Is still seen In neg
lected, gnarly, moss-grown orchards
that disfigure the landscape they once
adorned the haunts of the tent cater
pillar, the codlln moth and the woolly
aphis.
As said before, however, much has
been done in accomplishing the de
struction of the old orchard trees; but
the utmost vigilance is necessary to
keep the new orchards clean. The con
dition of the apples and pears that find
their way to this market from most of
the Willamette valley orchards shows
that the battle so far is an unequal one,
the pests having decidedly the best of
it. The ounce of prevention that in
this, as in everything else, Is worth the
pound of cure, is suggested, at least as
far as the tent caterpillar Is concerned,
in the bulletin to which reference is
above made, by which farmers and or
chardists are notified that now is the
best time to find and destroy in masses
the eggs of this pest.
The Oregonlan has said that men of
the temperament of Senator Hoar live
In a quixotic world. They lack power
to adjust general and abstract Ideas' to
actual facts. Burke has taught the
world that there Is nothing so mis
chievous as abstract political ideas not
adjusted or adjustable, to practical con
ditions. Really there is no political
truth that is absolute. All depends on
conditions and relations. For a people
like ourselves, the assertions of the
Declaration of Independence are sound
truths and first principles. But for
Russians or Chinese or Filipinos they
are not. The armor of- Achilles Is for
him only who can wear it. The New
Tork Times says:
The one thine that la absolutely certain about
the premises for a political conclusion la
that to some extent they must be uncertain.
In Mr. Hoar's case the trouble is the worse be
cause the premises from which he makes his
deductions are iery general and abstract prop
ositions In political philosophy. To him these
are as the laws of nature and of God. They
are right, they are wholly and eternally right;
anything that is In accordance with them or,
rather, with his Interpretation of them, is
right and all else Is wrong. It Is related of him
that he once remarked to a lifelong friend with
whom he had been Intimately associated In the
anti-slavery contest, but who had felt hlm
eelf forced by conscience to support Mr. Cleve
land In ISSt: "I am deeply pained. It had
been one of the cherished hopes of my life that
we fihould meet in heaven!" 'That was half a
generation ago. He Is as uncompromisingly
logical as ever and no more reasonable.
Slowly and with extreme caution the
British forces are advancing from their
crossing of the Tugela river at Pot
gleteT's Drift towards Ladysmlth. At
this point of crossing they were at
about the same distance from Lady
smlth as they were at Colenso, but the
way perhaps Is not so strongly forti
fied. At any rate, they have passed a
strong column over the Tugela river,
and are making slow advance, from
day to day. It is a continual skirmish;
but the extreme caution of the British
commanders stands out in strong con
trast to their impetuosity at the begin
ning of the campaign. And here is
wisdom. They have found that con
tempt of their enemy, though it may
have been magnificent, was not war.
And yet we fully believe the Dutch
Afrikanders never will meet the British
In open field, on equal terms.' On the
other hand, the British will not allow
contempt of their enemy to lead them
Into traps, as heretofore. The signifi
cant feature of the campaign at present
is the extreme caution characteristic of
the British commanders. It may take
them longer to get to Pretoria than
they thought, but this is the way to get
there.
A notable phase of building opera
tions in Boston and some other Eastern
cities, as shown by the year's statistics,
is the Increased use of brick as com
pared with wood. This is true outside
of the area restricted to brick, iron and
stone buildings. Much of the new brick
construction is In localities where wood
might -be legally employed, showing
that the use of the more lasting and
fire-resisting material Is growing be
cause of Its merits. The fact that so
many builders find It profitable to use
brick outside of the fire limits Is held
to prove that an extension of these
limits .would not be so burdensome as
many suppose. The lumber supply on
this coast Is still so ample that brick
has not entered to any appreciable ex
tent into the construction of residences.
The substitution has been made in
Eastern cities because builders have
found It profitable a reason that does
not apply to cities in close touch with
an apparently exhaustless lumber sup
Ply.
It Is proper that the public should be
Informed that, although the transports
Rio de Janeiro and Sikh sailed from
the port of Portland with the Thirty
fifth regiment, some 289 men of which
were made sick and one died from the
fresh meats on board spoiling, the
meats were not supplied, to the shps
here. The ships were furnished with
fresh meats and other stores at San
Francisco before coming to Portland,
and i't is scarcely to be wondered at
that ptomaine poisoning developed be
fore they reached Manila. The trans
ports Pennsylvania and Olympla took
on their supplies of fresh meat here,
and no ptomaine poisoning occurred on
board of them. The meats furnished
were of the best quality, and gave)
great satisfaction.
There promises to be a hot campaign
In Texas within the next few months.
In view of past occurrences at such
times, and mindful of the good name
of the state, the Galveston News sug
gests that every time during" this
period that a farmer gets real mad and
excited over politics, and feels like he
must do something strenuous or perish,
he run right out in the field, grab a
hoe and take it out on the unresisting
earth. There Is good reason to believe
that, if this advice were followed and
the hoeing done Intelligently as well as
vigorously, the crop returns of.' the
Lone Star state would be the most phe
nomenal in its history.
The correlative interests of labor and
capital are- witnessed when calamity
overtakes an Investment that furnishes
employment to a large number of labor
ers in, a community. The loss by fire
of the Ashland woolen mills furnishes
an illustration of this faot which will
prove a striking one to the operatives
so suddenly thrown out of work. It
may be hoped. In the Interests of labor,
that the investment of capital in this
enterprise proved sufficiently profitable
above the heavy loss over Insurance to
induce the prompt rebuilding of the
mills.
The British steamer Monmouth
cleared from Baltimore recently with
5100 tons of steel rails to be delivered
at Melbourne, Australia. This Is said
to be the largest cargo of rails ever
shipped from an American port.
Twenty years ago it was not uncom
mon for big cargoes to arrive at Amer
ican ports, but this fact represents a
condition that belongs to the past. The
trade movement, so far as it relates to
steel rails, now sets the other way.
A good many crazy people have come
out of Iowa, but this Professor Herron,
who offers socialism as a cure for ec
clesiastical authority, is the prince of
them all. Individualism has freed man
from many shackles of sacerdotal au
thority, but its work is not yet done.
When a man buries all his Individual
ity in a grand socialistic machine, he
will look funny talking about Individ
ual rights of belief.
On another page today The Oregonlan
publishes an extremely entertaining
article from the New York Press, an
extreme protection organ, and hereto
fore a McKinley organ, entitled, "Giv
ing the Whole Case Away." It shows,
amusingly, how McKinley has been
converted by his expansion policy from
his extreme protectionist doctrines, and
denounces him for his change.
Democratic National Committeeman
Woodson, of Kentucky, announces that
he has "discussed the political situation
In his state with Colonel Bryan thor
oughly," and that "there Is no founda
tion for the story that Bryan recently
wrote to Blackburn In favor of discon
tinuing the Goebel contest against Tay
lor." So much the worse for Bryan.
The intrenched Boer Is making a
stubborn stand against the English
army. His only hope of victory lies In
fighting under cover, and he Is wise
enough to 'appreciate this fact at its
full value. Once In the open, Tommy
Atkins would compel him to a quick
result.
They who contend for Tagal ascend
ency in the Philippines simply contend
for the right of one tribe to tyrannize
over all the others. In his contention
for "liberty" and "freedom" In the
Phllpplnes Senator Hoar gives himself
up to this paradox and delusion.
Doesn't Travel for Fan.
Omaha World-Herald.
Far from being the great autocrat, tho
arbiter of things of magnitude, the presi
dent of a railway system, be It great or
small, is a dealer In trifles, with a con
sideration for everything. Every acci
dent, large and small; every occurrence
by which the road is to lose a dollar or ro
make a dollar, comes to the notice of the
president. The successful head of a rail
Toad is the one who considers the details.
He is the man who makes the profits,
and he Is the man who has to face the
music at the directors' meeting.
When you see the bright, smooth-running
traveling palace of the railway presi
dent trailing along behind the long string
of passenger coaches, you can be safe
In the opinion that the occupant has not
the softest snap on earth; you can" also
rest assured that if he is a success in hl3
sphere, he Is not traveling for fun.
o o t
TRADE WITH ARGENTINA.
And Incidental References to Tariff
on Wool.
SALEM, Or., Jan. 20. (To the Editor.)
The country Is receiving fresh enlighten
ment upon the subject of tariff duties and
protection. An illustration of one natural
result has been called to mind by the dif
ficulty encountered by the newly appoint
ed minister to the Argentine Republic in
reaching that country. Instead of being
able to take a steamer from New York di
rect to Buenos Ayres, Governor Lord
found It was necessary to take a steamer
to Liverpool and thence an English steam
er to Buenos Ayres. Our tariff duties upon
South American products forbid their ex
port to the United States, hence we have
little business or communication with those
countries. We do not permit our people
to buy of them, and consequently they do
not buy of us. The Argentine represen
tative to .the pan-American congress of a
few years ago explained why the South
American states had little business wltn
the United States, and why they would
have less with the enactment of the Ding
ley tariff bill then pending. He said the
North American etatea prohibit us from
selling our products to their people by
their Import tax upon them, and we are
bound to do our buying where we sell.
W have driven our merchant marine from
the ocean, and now it is proposed to buy
it back with subsidies.
The wearers of woolens are about to
realize new benefits of protection. The
American Woolen Company, or trust, an
nounces the following prices for clay
worsteds for the coming season: For 12
ounce goods, $1 25, against 90 cents a year
ago; 14-ounce, $1 40, against $1; 16-ounce,
$1 67, against $1 10; 18-ounce, $1 72,
against 51 20. These Increases amount to
about 40 per cent The. advance In the
prices of kerseys range from 15 to 33 per
cent. The advance In other lines is about
the same. The only article In the DIngley
bill the tax upon which can bo said to ben
efit Oregon, Is wool, and that tax carries
with It compensatory duties upon manu
factured wlens' Nearly all the wool
of" Oregon Is produced by 100 or 200 men,
and mostly upon government land In the
eastern portion of the state, the pastur
age of which costs thewoolgrowersnothlng.
The sheep of Western Orejon are few in
number, used mostly as scavengers upon
summer fallow, and the wool produced
there is of comparatively small Import
ance. A few hundreds of Eastern Oregon
profit by the wool tax, and all of Oregon
is compelled to pay 40 per cent more for
woolen clothing. And that Is
"PROTECTION."
i o
THE MONTANA BRIBERY CASE.
Something About Senator Claris ,and
His Principal Opponent.
Boston Herald.
Senator Clark was opposed by a citizen
of his own state of great wealth, and who
Is probably Senator Clark's equal In the
unscrupulous use that he makes of money.
It Is not unlikely that legislators at Hel
ena were bribed not to vote for Mr. Clark
as well as to vote for him. Suppose that,
Instead of being one of the richest men in
the United States, Mr. Clark had been a
man of extraordinary intellectual attain
ments and of high moral character, a man
whom a majority of the citizens of the
state desired to have represent them in the
United States senate, and that there was
every reason to believo that these popular
views would find practical expression in
the vote of a majority of the legislature.
Suppose, moreover, that he was Intensely
hated by an exceedingly rich and unscru
pulous citizen of tho state, who determined
to beat him. no matter what the cost The
latter might carry out his purpose by
wholesale bribery, and so long as he con
fined his activity to the purchase, so to
speak, of negative votes, the United States
senate would have no cause to interfere,
although the one elected might be the out
come of an exceedingly flagrant Instance
of legislative corruption.
It Is probable that, If Mr. Clark had
shut up his pocket-book and announced
that he would not spend a cent of money,
his Montana rival's financial activity
would have compassed his defeat He may
say, therefore, that he was fighting the
devil with fire; but If the United States
benato tolerates legislative bribery, even
though opponents may have forced tho
adoption of such measures, It will be dis
astrous to itB reputation and materially
undermine the confidence which the Amer
ican people should have in it as one of
the co-ordinato branches of our govern
ment i 4 0 fr ' '
Our Foreign Trade.
The returns of the foreign trade of tho
United States for the month of December,
and for the calendar year 1899 have reached
us. There is a decrease In the value of
exports of merchandise during December,
adequately accounted for by the falling
off In tho exports of cotton, which In De
cember, 1S98, amounted to 1,430,376 bales,
valued at ?39,908,127; but last month were
only 683,950 bales, valued at 525,831,110, a
decline of 746,426 bales in quantity and $14,
077,017 in value. Wheat also has a very
bad story to tell. Turning flour into
wheat at the rate of 4 bushels of wheat
to one barrel of flour, the total exports ot
the grain in December, 1893, were 28.014,974
bushels, valued at $21,634,582, while last
month the shipments were reduced to 13,
490,853 bushels, valued at $9,974,783, a de
crease of 14,524,121 bushels in quantity and
$11,659,794 in value.
Passing from the returns for December
to those of the calendar year, we present
below an analysis of the movements in
merchandise and the precious metals for
1S89, in comparison with the figures for
1898:
TRADE IN TWO TEARS.
Merchandise: 1809. 1S0S.
Imports ? 700,834,620 ? 0.13,004,031
Exports 1.2TM80.W1 1.2,025,160
Total values $2,075,321,261 $1,8SS.QS9.803
Excess of exports
of merchandise ... 470.652.021 621,200.535
Net exports sliver. . 22,C30,60i 24,70.3S0
Excess of exports
of merchandise
and silver $ 408.201,720 $ 046,027,015
Net imports gold... 5.815,053 141.Sil.20S
Excess of exports
of merchandise
n. n d d r ecious
motala $ 402.470.107 $ 501.180,017
The imports of merchandise are $166,169,
9S6 larger. The exports also have mado
an Increase, though a much smaller one,
the gain on .that side of the commercial
ledger being only $20,561,472. The total
value handled displays the growth of
$186,731,458. The excess of exports, which
In 1898 stood at $621,260,535, dropped to $473.
652,021 In the year just ended. The net
exportB of sliver are substantially the
same, being $22,639,699 in 1S99, against $24,
767,380 In 1898, but the gold movement dis
plays an Impressive difference. In 1S98
there was a net Import of the yellow
metal to the enormous amount of $141,841,
293, while In 1899 this was cut down to tne
inconsiderable supply of $5,815,553, a cur
tailment of $136,025,745 In the Inflow.
o
American Authorship.
New York Herald.
Every trained observer knows that for
several years past the American author
has gradually been coming Into his own.
He need no longer fear foreign compe
tition. Books distinctively American not
only compete successfully with English
publications, but several of the books
most widely read here and abroad have
been by American authors. Growth or
national pride and consciousness of na
tional destiny cannot alone account for
this. The public does not read books be
cause they are American, but because they
are of the kind it wants to read.
THE OREGONIAN'S ANNUAL.
A Story oJ Prosperity."
Brooklyn Standard-Union.
The annual Issue of The Morning Orego
nlan, of Portland, is a paper of 3$ pages,
which presents ( a most interesting story
of marvelous growth and unprecedented
prosperity In this far Wsetern state. Un
der a series of striking heads the mining
Interests of Oregon, the growth of towns,
the products of field and farm, Increase
of railroads and financial Interests, and
many another, are most graphically pre
sented. Diagrams are used to advantage
to show this growth. A row o elevators,
for Instance, pictures the Increase In wheat
production. A wee one shows that in 1W.1
this production was 9,779,000 bushels; a lit
tle larger one Indicates a total of 11,862,
720 bushels In 1895, and other elevators,
ascending in height, are used, until it re
quires a very tall one to show the grand
total of .23,649,334 bushels was reached in
1899.
Pictures of men of different sizes show
the wonderful Increase In population In
Oregon. A dwarf, for instance, stands for
the 90,923 of population in 1870, and a giant
for the 425,000 in 1900.
The general get-up of this special issue
Is creditable in every way, and the ap
pearance of the paper proves that The
Oregonlan shares in the prosperity the
story of which it tells in such an effective
manner.
Grown to Be an Empire.
Philadelphia Star.
The Morning Oregonlan, of Portland,
published a 36-page paper on New Year's
day, with a beautiful photogravure sup
plement of 24 pages, Illustrative of the Im
mense resources, commercial, agricultural
and otherwise, of the state of Oregon,
which has grown to the dimensions of an
empire within a generation. In closing
an editorial on the state's material pros
perity during 1899, this enterprising Jour
nal says:
"Our people begin the new year pros
perous and contented; with well-filled
purses and practically no debt; with con
fidence In the future of the state and ft3
Institutions; with conservatism born of
the experience of depression; with mod
ern methods in the management of their
affairs, and with the valves of energy
wide open. They aro spurred to new and
greater endeavor by the opportunities
which these progressive times, the re
sources of the state and the investment of
outside capital offer to Intelligent effort
The entire state breathes the spirit of
progress. Great as was the development
of 1899, that of 1900 will be greater."
Yearns to Revisit Oregon.
Benton Harbor (Mich.) Palladium.
We are In receipt of the annual number
of The Portland Oregonlan, full of Illus
trations. They show up Oregon's wealth
of resources and Portland's attractive
features to good advantage. The writer
knows of no section of the country which
he yearns to visit, with an honest
wholesome yearn, as much as those mar
velous cites of Oregon and Washington,
where the climate Is so genial and the
business opportunities so great.
The United States has much to be proud
of, but in no particular has that pride
more cause to expand than in tho posses
sion of those rich and alluring common
wealths, Oregon and Washington.
From the Qualcer State.
Scranton (Pa.) Tribune.
The Portland Morning Oregonlan gives
a review of tho past year of prosperity on
the Pacific coast In a 60-page edition, a
portion of which Is In the form of an illus
trated supplement containing numerous
half-tone views of public buildings; the
shipping; hunting and fishing scenes;
wheat fields; the various industries; por
traits of public men, and other interesting
subjects. From appearances The Orego
nlan has shared In the general prosperity
of the state, and fraternal congratula
tions aro cordially extended.
Devoted to Intercuts of Oregon.
Minneapolis Times.
"This Oregon of Ours" is the title of the
first and possibly the most Important ar
ticle In The Portland Oregonlan's mam
moth CO-page annual number. The great
edition is devoted to the Interests of the
state of Oregon and the city of Port
land, and in the most attractive terms are
the material, social and educational ad
vantages of the city and state set forth.
Always a great newspaper. The Oregonlan
Is a newspaper and review combined In Its
handsome annua number.
A Big Surprise.
New York Tribune.
The annual number of The Oregonlan,
Issued on January 1, reflects tho highest
credit on that able and enterprising jlur
nal. Its exposition of the many resources
and possibilities of Oregon will surprise
even those who have been noting the
onward march of that great state. The
year just closedj was the most prosperous
one In the history of the state, and the
present year bids fair to surpass It.
Credit to a Hustling Community.
Burlington (Vt.) Free Press.
The Portland Morning Oregonlan began
the new year by Issuing a 60-page number,
which Included a review of the past year
In that far Western state and an Illus
trated supplement printed on fine book
paper, and containing over 500 Illustra
tions, embracing all the noted scenic at
tractions of Oregon and covering every
important Industry of the Pacific North
west. The Oregonlan Is a credit to the
hustling community which It represents.
s
The Arin-Chair Warrior.
Punch.
Ye amateurs of England
"Who keep your native seata
And criticise so bravely
The lighting man's defeats;
Ye turkey-carpet warriors
Who ventilate your view
Of what could be accomplished
If things were left to you:
Sly paper-map civilians!
One cannot but admire
With how sublime a courage
You face the clubroom Are;
With what prophetic wisdom
You speak the warning word.
Choosing the happy moment
When things have, just occurred!
There runs an ancient proverb.
Good for the swollen head,
How fools rush In serenely
Where angels fear to tread;
But here the common mortal.
The stroller down the street,
Know3 better than to follow
Your rash. Intruding feet.
Is not our task enough, airs.
To bear the present hurt,
That you on wounded honor
Must dump your little dirt?
You, from your padded arm-chair.
Safe In a sea-locked lana.
While those you smirch are holding
Their lives -Mthln their hand.
When we are short of critics
To sum the final blame.
We'll aek a fighter's verdict
Upon a fighter's game;
But you who pass opinions
On work but half begun.
Please give us your credentials.
Show something you have done I
NOTE AND G0JIMENToiA
The longest way "round Is the shortest
way to Ladysmlth. .
If England has any Algers, now Is tha
time to turn them down.
Mr. Bryan will not get any dollar din
ners at the Hoffman House.
Be It Atlia or Klondike,
There's no place like Nome,
The battle is not always to the strong,
but It is usually to the stralghtast shot.
Begirmers in politics will make a mis
take if they think they can learn Its
first lessons at the primaries.
So little ha3 been heard from Aguln
aldo of late that It is believed he must
be getting things in shape to become a
candidate.
The chasing of jackrabblts has been for
bidden In Chicago. With legal restric
tions on the chasing of rainbows, that
city would now enjoy a model govern
ment. Senator Ingalls has been mentioned as
a candidate for vice-president. The sen
ator has been out of politics so long that
party managers have forgotten that he 13
a man of ability.
LI Hung Chang has been placed in
charge of the Yellow river. A position
which brings him In contact with so many
bars ought to be highly acceptable to a
modern statesman.
Justlco Brewer's decision on the end of
the century question has rendered it un
safe for him to visit Germany. He would
be arrested on entering the kaiser's do
main for lese majeste.
Our baby's Just begun to talk. -
He says things, oh! 00- plain.
He talks and talks and talks all day
With all his might and main. v
There's no mistaking what ho says, .J
"Ju3t ask, dear, for papa."
Andi baby quite distinctly said.
"Jugchus- goo goolooboh."
Take this warnln. Mr. Kruger, do your flghtlr
while you can.
For the hodds will be hagalnet you pretty
soon;
There Is sailing to tho Transvaal a hamazln,
little man,.
'Oo will take 'la 'arp an' fight you with a
tune.
'E will sing to Tommy Atkins till e makes 'lxa
bloomln' wild.
'E will sing to Bobs and to old Buller, too.
An' they'll make you feel regretful that yeu
came; to dTaw It mild.
You will get It 'ot and 'eavy 'fore they're
through-
So be careful, Mr. Kruger, do your flghtln.'
whilst you may.
For you cannot lick T. Atkin3 reinforced by
Rudyard K.
This Is an age of Improvement, and It is
wonderful to see how many things thore
are which have for years appeared to bo
the proper thing, but found capable of Im
provement. Persons who have had occa
sion to register at hotels any time during
the past 30 yeara have Invariably found a
huge, unwleldly register, every other leaf
ot which was a page of advertisements.
printed on blotting paper. Now the book
Is a light, handy one, placed on a light
revolving frame, which can easily be
moved about, and one page of advertise
ments, covered with a glas3 and mounted
so as to slide from one side of the regis
ter to the other, takes the place of tha
whole cumbersome mass of advertising
pages. The next Improvement la duo in
hotel clerks, where much la possible.
Several persons Interested in baseball
are agitating the matter ot getting up "a
baseball team here. Interest 13 being re
newed In baseball all over the East, and
there are many who would like to see tho
game revived here. It Is complained
that there Is very little here In the way of
outdoor amusements to furnish sport for
those who have leisure for such things.
The great trouble 13 that people do not
care to go too far to see a baseball game.
The field of the M. A. A. C. Club Is
convenient, but as baseball games are
often played on Sunday, It appears that
this club does not care to lease their
ground for this purpose. Some of tha
street railway companies might find It
profitable to establish an amusement
ground at the end of one of their lines,
where "chutes" could be created and
baseball games, etc., held. It Is thought
that If an electric railway is ever built
out to the White house, such accommo
dation would soon be located there, and,
as this is a favorite resort, would be well
patronized.
If all people who have allowed taxes and
assessments for street Improvements to
go delinquent and their property to bo
sold And It as expensive an amusement
as It has proved to some, it is no wonder
that such persons howl about their de
linquent taxes being advertised and their
property sold to settle the claim. A per
son who had allowed an assessment of a
little over $-1 to go delinquent and tho
property involved to be sold, a day or two
aeo. desired to clear the title to the
property. It had been sold to a broker
for $7 15, and, with costs of various kinds.
Including a deed and the recording of
It, the property-owner only had to pay
$35 to get the title straightened out. In
some Instances, perhaps, property-ownera
save money by allowing their taxes to go
delinquent year after year, but It 13
evidently carrying the joke a little too
far when the property Is allowed to bo
sold However, it Is but just that those
who shirk payment of taxe3 and increase
the burden of those who pay should help
to swell the profits of brokers.
11 0
Yale and the Trusts.
New York Sun.
Like other American colleges, Yale has
been remembered generously by rich men
and women. One of the chief occupations
of a good many of these people In tne
United States is to give money with an
unsparing hand for educational and char
itable purposes. But the young president
of Yale strikes at the hand that feeds
him. We cannot suppose that he writ
consent to take money from those whom
he regards, in a sense, as public enemies
and against whom ho declares a social
war.
o-
Birthplace of Franklin.
Boston Herald.
Perhaps tho most famous . man ever
born in Boston was Benjamin Frankllru.
Today is the anniversary of his birtn,
which occurred on Sunday, January S,
1706 (old style). In Milk street, on the
site of the handsome iron building num
bered 15 and 17. A bust of the printer
philosopher adorns the front of the struc
ture. Little Benjamin was carried across
the street the day he was born and bap
tized In the Old South meeting-house.
a e
Adopting- American Ideas.
New York Times.
When the Canadian contingent sailed fdr
South Africa, each soldier got a "house
wife" just as our boys got them. .when
they went to war in Cuba. Thjs is aa
American laea which has commended it
self to the English so muchthat soma
papers are suggesting that .tho .same use
ful article be given to the British trqopa
in the field.
F