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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1900)
THE MOKNINq OREQONIAff, SATURDAY, FEBRTJAKY 3, 1900. Entered at the BooioMea at Portland, Oregon, aa eecoad-cMsc matter. TELEPHONES. Sttitoriul BeoBM leg Beetaess OQcc....6G7 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION KATES. Pr MsjI (postage ywpatd). b Advance Dai.y with Sunder, per BWBtfa fO 85 Ian. Sunday eered, perjxer.. 7 50 Wily with Sander. ler year 8 00 Sunday per year 2 00 The Weekly, per year . 150 Tie Wekl 3 moatfec 60 T. City Subscribers Daily per week, delivered. Sundays ezcepted.ISc ia.j per week, delivered. Sundays includei.20c News or dieeueetoa intended for publication in Toe oregonian should be addressed Invariably tditor The Orecooiaa," not to the name of WiJ Individual. Letters relating to adertislne. subscriptions or to any business matter should fcp aduressed simply "Tie Oregonian." Tbe Oregcnian dees sot bay poems or stories from Individuate, ajd eaasot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to it without solicita tion No stamps ebouM be laotoeed for this purpose. Pugt Sound BereeH Captain A. Thompson, office at 1111 Paotftc avenue. Taoo-ma. Bex 855, Xaooma poetoffice. Eastern Business Office The Tribune build ing New York etty; 'The Rookery." Chicago; Z C Bkwltb ipeclal asreaey. New York. mL1' te Sea Franeleeo by J. K. Cooper, B Market Btreet, near the Palace hotel, and Go.dsnuth Bros.. 26 Sutter street. For Mle in Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. S 7 earbora street. TODATS WEATHBat-Ocoaeional rain, with a por ion of the day fair; brisk southerly winds. PORTLAXD, SATURDAY, FEB. U, 1000 THE KHXTUCICY TRAGEDIES. The Roeeburg Review tells those who read it that "The Oregonian justifies the murder of Governor Goebel. of Ken lucky." Some iersoas have the habit of lying:, and perhaps can't help it. The Oregonian has oalied the attempt to assassinate Goebei an atrocious crime, as assassination ever must be, whatever the character of the victim. Besides, it has called attention once us ore to the fact that political assas sination, besides being a crime, Is al ways a blunder, because it never changes the course of events in favor of the cause it is meant, mistakenly, to serve, but usually has the opposite ef fect But The Oregonian has not forgotten to state another part of the truth; and this is -what annoys the Roseburg Re View. It has set forth the fact that Goebel has fallen by the same bloody code of private vengeance which he did not hesitate to invoke a few years ago "wh.n he shot a political enemy to death In the streets, and that his action on that occasion was so detestable that Senator Blackburn publicly denounced rum as a murderer. In an impassioned eulogy on his dead friend, whom Goebel had slain, Blackburn said, in substance, that he would his words could have power to preserve the perishable in famy of the name of his slayer, and make it immortal. Again, In these re 'f rt affairs, Goebel has appeared in his character of an assassin, not of a per sonal enemy, but of a state. He has dm en -with high hand and with relent less purpose his plan of usurpation, un der the forms of law created by himself for the special purpose of overriding the electoral rights of the people of Kentucky. He has undertaken to set aside an election, under authority of a law he had caused to be made for the purpose, and though, as The Oregonian has said, Goebel's legislature Is cor rectly described as having exercised a power given it by law, in deciding to unseat Governor Taylor, nevertheless it has acted unjustly, and Goebel's title or claim rests on conversion of the right of election by the people into a farce. Yet, as the proceedings have followed legal forms. The Oregonian has seen no way to arrest them, and has said that submission would be" wiser than lulent resistance. On the 18th of Jan uary it said: "Though this law was framed for an iniquitous purpose by those who now take advantage of it, jet, as we view it, Governor Taylor would better retire, when the legisla ture shall declare against him; for there still is a remedy in future appeals to the people, since the result of elec tions cannot always be set aside." And jtsterday, February 2, it said again: ' It w ould have been far wiser to sub mit peacefully to Goebel's 'constitu tional' act of usurpation than to have resorted to assassination, for the mur der of Goebel "will not restore Governor Taj lor to his rights, and is nothing but an act of passionate political vlndic tUeness. But such a condition of af fairs is but the natural outcome of po litical crimes among a hot-blooded peo ple, who in many sections of the state are habitually lawless." let atrocious and horrible as assas sination is, the fact is that Goebel is the Mctlm of his own truculent char ai tor. He has shown that he has no. regard for the personal or public rights of others. He can assassinate a per sonal opponent or throttle a state, in the same mild, easy and "constitu tional ' manner. Is it strange that he has taught some ignorant, unknown ard less polished aseassu. ..nan himself that " 'Us the sport to see the engineer hoist with his own petard"? THB VNRETURA'IXG DUAVE. There Is something pathetic in the fact that the bodies of a number of men who marched proudly away in Maj 1898, as soldiers of the Second orogon, await at the Presidio the ac tion of the state la bringing them home for interment. Remembering the joy ous welcome planned for the returning rrae. who, having fought the good fight in the Philippines, returned to their native land, to home and to honor, the contrast with the homecom ing f these who not only fought the g i d light, but fell in the contest, is s r iking and painful. Insensate bodies p.or handfuls of dust, all that remains f the silent contingent of the Second Oregon awaits in coffined gloom dis posal at the tardy hands of those who pent them forth with prolonged cheers U military duty in a foreign field. "v hile apparently indifferent, as sug gested by slow action la the premises, tre olee of Oregon will be heard in the oice of her governor asking the state to take action looking to the speedy re turn and proper sepulture of the bodies of such of those soldiers of the Second Oregon as are unclaimed by friends. Tr plea is for the -voiceless; it is dictated by patriotism and urged In tht spirit of tenderness that fitly waits H the bier of even the lowliest of the nation s defenders. For the returning lrae welcoming snouts and generous treatment; for the pale host represent ed on their homeward voyage by tiers of boxes in the snip's hold, and later in grim rows at the military station where they have been stored awaiting orders tender reception, burial with honors and a nownit that wlH at- test to future generations the pride of the people of Oregon in her soldier sons who perished in the country's service. LEASES OP GOVERX3IEXT LANDS. It is evident that a distinction must be drawn between the forestry project of leasing reserves to stockmen, and the apparently similar but radically different proposal contemplated in Sen ator Foster's bill providing for lease of "the vacant public lands west of the 99th meridian of longitude, west from Greenwich, as in the judgment of the secretary of agriculture are more val uable for grazing than for other pur poses." There is also great need, ap parently, to reassure an excited public that one of the last things to be reason ably expected of the government Is that It will deliberately turn over to stockmen all the rights of ownership in the public domain, Including prohi bition of necessary transit across it, and permanent bulwarks against fu ture settlement. If Senator Foster has been led into any such trap, he can be relied upon to set himself right at the earliest op portunity. His bill is, on the surface, a scheme to turn over to the stockmen the country between the Pacific ocean and a line running north and south through Lincoln, Neb. A sop is thrown to the states in the proposal to divide with them the receipts from the leases, "to be used for irrigation and other agricultural development." No part of this revenue can be devoted to the range lands, for they will be Inclosed by their owners and given over to stock. Lands not requiring irrigation will not need government aid for their develop ment While the bill provides that leases shall be for the "smallest area compatible with the best utilization of the land for grazing purposes," author ity is given the secretary of agriculture to "consolidate areas of grazing lands for leasing." Practically, the bill places no limit on the areas which stockmen may lease. No such unrestricted au thority should be given, nor, it goes without saying, will it be given. Unnecessary alarm seems to be In dulged, also, concerning the "doom of the homeseeker." No permanent occu pation, inimical to agricultural settle ment, could be tolerated; but it is not necessary or even truthful to picture the entire grazing area of the West as besieged by an army of intending farmers, only restrained by the Foster, bill from transforming the unoccupied lands into a Dutch garden. A consid erable portion of Eastern Oregon, for example, is now passing from the pas toral to the Industrial stage. This tendency must not be checked. East ern Oregon Is now making its first for ward step. The admirable missionary work of the Oregon Railroad & Navi gation Company and other agencies has directed the attention of Eastern people to the productive area east of the Cas cades, and many settlers are making homes in the country. Stock, once the dominant industry, is yielding the lead to diversified farming. Thousands of acres are being brought under cultiva tion by Irrigation. So great has been the development within a few years that the principal divisions of Eastern Oregon now without railroads will soon have ample transportation facilities. Recent experiments in agriculture in the so-called desert in Central Oregon lead to the belief that there Is hardly an acre of land in Oregon that cannot be brought under cultivation. This is not to say that some equita ble leasing arrangement which will conserve stock Interests and permit free growth of farming cannot be en tered into. The present protest of small stockmen, in which Portland's commercial bodies may very well join, will serve a useful purpose in directing attention to the dangers of the pro posed law. Experience abundantly proves that members of congress and cabinet officers are keenly susceptible to representations of this kind. A 9IAIM3 PRECEDENT. The attempt of the fusion democracy of Maine to steal the legislature and the governorship In January, 1880, pro duced a scene of public turmoil and Irresponsible armed Interference not unlike the present situation in Ken tucky. The vote for governor In the Maine September state election was as follows: Republican, 68,766; Garcelon, democrat, 21,688; Smith, national, 47,590. The final press returns for members of the legislature after the election made the senate consist of 19 republicans and 12 democrats, and the house of 89 re publicans and 61 democrats, with one republican vacancy by death. "Under these press returns the republicans had a majority of 7 In the senate and 28 In the house, or 29 with the vacancy filled. The state constitution made It the duty of the governor and council ministeri ally to examine the officially attested and sealed election returns for repre sentatives and senators, and twenty days before January 1, 18S0, to issue a summons to such persons as should ap pear to be elected by a plurality of votes returned to attend and take their seats. All such officially attested re turns under the law were to be laid be fore the house on the first Wednesday of January, 1880, who "shall finally de termine who have been elected." The governor, Garcelon, and his coun cil formed a conspiracy to count out the republican majority in the legisla ture and count in a fusion majority of democrats and nationalists. The gov ernor issued certificates of election to 78 democrats and nationalists in the house; that body assembled and organ ized under the assistant clerk. Gov ernor Garcelon administered the oath to 76 members; only two republicans qual ified, and 76 votes made a quorum In the house. The republicans claimed no quorum voting, as the speaker was elected by 72 votes and the clerk by 74. The senate was called to order by the secretary; the republicans did not vote, and fuslonists were elected president and secretary. The term of office of Governor Garcelon expired at midnight January 7, and the president of the sen ate became ex-offlclo governor until his successor should be elected by the leg islature. On January 12, Governor Garcelon appointed General Chamber lain, president of Bowdoin college, and a distinguished Union veteran, to com mand of the militia, "to proteot public property and Institutions of the state until my successor Is qualified.' By this time public feeling had be come fearfully excited, and Irresponsi ble bodies of armed men of both parties thronged Augusta, just as they are now doing in Frankfort On the 12th of January the republican members-elect took possession of the legislative cham bers; the senate organized with 18 re publicans; the house organized with S5 members. General Chamberlain prompt ly removed all irresponsible men armed with muskets from the statehouse. There were now two legislatures. The republican organization promptly ap pealed to the state supreme court to decide whether they or the "Garcelon" organization was a legal body. Gen eral Chamberlain, as commander of the militia, declined to acknowledge the president of the "Garcelon" senate as governor unless supported by a decision of the supreme court The state su preme court decided that the action of the republicans was legal, and Davis was chosen governor. The republican state convention, June 23, 1880, in its resolutions, charged the fusion party of the state with "rob bing the state treasury and then trying to steal the .state government by most outrageous frauds and forgeries upon the election returns; with placing an armed mcb In the statehouse and bring ing us to the brink of civil war; with counting in men not elected and count ing out men that were elected; with conspiracy to set aside the election and create a fraudulent government" This happened in Maine twenty years ago, and but for the action of General Chamberlain the controversy would probably have ended in bloodshed. HOMICIDAL INSANITY. Dr. Walter Channlng, In a letter to the Boston Herald, suggests to city boards of health and town authorities one more duty toward the public in the way of protection against disease. He would have cases of Insanity reported, and those suffering from It sent to an Institution unless they can be properly controlled at home. The Immediate cause of his letter is th muniBr vw tho -baseball player, Bergen, of his family ana nimseif. it was commonly known In the town where he lived that Ber gen was "out of his head" at times, having delusions, and what he called "nervous spells. In which he was seized with an uncontrollable Impulse to do something, and could not npssibly han dle himself when In that condition." The case cited by Dr. Channlng was recently paralleled in Oregon, but the practical difficulty for a doctor Is how to determine between a temporary vagary, an eccentric caprice, a strange prejudice, a passing delusion, and a case of dangerous, homicidal Insanity. There have been cases, like that of Ber gen, where the victim was of so much higher Intelligence and information than he that the friends of the afflicted man took charge of h!m on his own ap plication and apprehension that he might kill somebody unless he was carefully watched and placed under re straint There have been authentic cases of able medical men, who, de tecting the growth of homicidal im pulses, have deliberately committed suicide, fearing that the only alterna tive was hopeless insanity rudely an nouncing itself by a murder among the innocents. The public danger lies in the fact that the occurrence of symp toms of disordered working of the mind is not as easily seen by the friends of the person suffering from them as by those who see him at longer Intervals of time and note the difference of mood, looks and manner. Able lawyers and able doctors have held that, in justice to the largest protection of the greatest num ber, no homicidal lunatic should ever be released from the restraint of an asy lum. A very large majority of homi cidal lunatics who have been released on the application of their friends and returned to the outside world as cured or as "no longer daneerous" have soon repeated their acts of homicidal insan- I n.y m a. most rrignum manner. There is the historical case of the sister of Charles Lamb, who In a fit of periodical Insanity killed her mother, and proba bly would have continued periodically to kill other people, had not her brother devoted himself to the work of caring for her and leading her personally to an asylum just before the periodic attack of homicidal violence was due. But everybody who is a homi cidal lunatic has not at hand such tender, devoted, affectionate guardians as Charles Lamb, and few homicidal lunatics have a periodical mania that can be watched and restrained. As a matter of sentiment and natural reluc tance to admit the possible existence of insanity in the family, the nearest friends of the afflicted are the last to consent to any measures of private or public precaution Or restraint, and for this reason are generally the homicidal lunatic's first victims, in their own in terest and In the Interest of the public, the family ought to dismiss all delicacy In such matters, just as they would in a case of smallpox or diphtheria. The consensus of able legal and med ical opinion, that a person once guilty of an act of homicidal Insanity ought to forfeit his liberty the rest of his life, seems sound and humane. In a more barbarous age such lunatics would probably have been promptly put to death, but In our times the most we can expect is the restraint of an asy lum. The fact that the homicidal lu natie may cease to exhibit his lunacy in the asylum is no argument for his re lease, for he is there secluded from peculiar exciting causes. Guiteau had been a homicidal lunatic by reputation among his family for nearly twenty years before he shot Garfield. Had he been promptly placed In confinement in 1866, Garfield would not have been as sassinated In 1881. A right-minded man, who had ever been guilty of an act of homicidal lunacy, and had ever had a subsequent lucid interval, would wish to be destroyed lest he murder some innocent person. England was growing effeminate. Enervated by luxury, she was just about losing her vital sap, for want of something to move her to strenuous en deavor. The South African war fur nishes it. So now, to use Milton's mag nificent phrase, "you see her rising a mighty nation, shaking her puissant looks." No effort she ever made before was so great as the present one, though in fact many former efforts were greater in proportion to former re sources. Lord Roberts wants 90,000 more men, and he Is to have them, and within three months there will be 250, 000 to 300,000 British soldiers In South Africa. Such a force is deemed neces sary for counterpoise to the advantages which the Boers have In Inner lines and rapid mobilization. The British army is to be strong enough to meet the whole Boer force at any point of collis ion. The endeavor which this campaign calls for is just the thing necessary to put new life into the old nation. We have read something in a mighty good author about the cankers of a calm world and a long peace. Johnny Bull now finds he must put himself in fight ing trim. He is doing It. He stood much in need of this "scrap." It will reintegrate his spirit He was fast be coming "unfit for the ring." A nation not in fighting trim Is no nation. Eng land has become very rich, but wealth isn't all. Croesus was rich, and showed his mighty heaps of gold to Solon, who said: "That's big money, but some man will come along with stronger Iron than yours and make himself master of all this gold." England finds she must sharpen up her Iron. The execution of Magers at Dallas yesterday ended a very painful experi ence for Governor Geer, gave, In a sense, respite from anguish of the mother and other family relatives of the condemned murderer, and vindi cated the majesty of the law. The con dition of alternating hope and fear In which the condemned man and his family have dwelt for some weeks, su perinduced by the strenuous efforts of counsel and friends to secure commuta tion of the death penalty, has been most trying. Not the les3 so, though on different lines, has been the situation of the governor, who, in the conscientious discharge of his duty, has been forced to deny the impassioned appeal of the heartbroken mother of the criminal and witness the pathetic misery of others of his blood, when finally convinced that there was no hope of executive Intervention. While the young man went to his doom protesting his inno cence, his guilt had been clearly estab lished to the minds of two juries that had patiently heard and impartially weighed the evidence of the killing. The crime was a deliberate one, com mitted from mercenary motives. There was no break in the chain of evidence upon which Magers was convicted, and no reasonable doubt of his guilt Un der the circumstances, the governor could not be true to his obligation to the commonwealth and turn aside the penalty In this case. The mother Is en titled to the consideration of the pitiful In the sore strait into which she has been brought, the first impulse of which Is thankfulness that the ordeal is over. A letter printed today exposes a scheme to find a way for extorting from Multnomah county the money paid in by the classes of taxpayers who, in fbr mer years, sought "grace" in the mat ter of payment, and gladly paid 2 per cent to get It. It Is proposed now to sue the county to recover the 2 per cent costs. The letter referred to deals plainly with the subject. It Is not an honest pioceedlng now on the part of those who availed themselves of a favor offered by the county, to try to repudiate it. They had the benefit, upon their own solicitation; the county is a loser already through the favor It granted them, since It has had to pay out interest, on account of their delin quency, in larger amount than the sum of the added costs it collected. This proposal now to sue the county is an audacious one; and It Is difficult to see how it can be abetted by any man of standing or character. The exhibit of the scope and re sources of the Baker county mines Is rich not only in facts that have already been demonstrated, but in the possibil ities of development that lie very near the surface of events. Every industry in touch with a vast section stockrais ing, wheatgrowing, lumbering all of the Interests of a diversified agricul ture, will profit by the development of the wealth of this wonderful mineral region. If the people of Oregon and of Portland, as the grand distributing cen ter of the state's wealth, arise as they should to meet the opportunities pre sented by the development of these and other mines of the Pacific Northwest, the measure of their prosperity will be great and constantly increasing. The demand Is certain. It is certain, also, that supply will meet it It is for our people in industrial and trade lines to say whence the supply shall come. Colonel Edwin M. Coates, Seventh United States Infantry, was retired for age on the 29th ult Colonel Coates en tered the Union army as first lieutenant of the Eleventh New York volunteers (Ellsworth's Fire Zouaves), May 7, 1861; entered the regular army August 5, 1S61; became captain in the Twelfth infantry in 1865; major of the Nine teenth infantry in July, 1890; lieutenant-colonel of the Sixteenth Infantry in November, 1S93, and colonel of the Sev enth Infantry in 1898. Colonel Coates was stationed in the Sixteenth infantry for several years at Fort Sherman and at Boise barracks, Idaho. Colonel Coates was breveted for gallant serv ices at the battle of the Wilderness and in the campaign before Petersburg in the civil .war. The bill of Senator Simon providing for the enlargement of the Portland postoffice represents a special and pal pable need. The cramped quarters In Which the hampered employes of the postal department are compelled to do their work in this city Is discreditable to the government and very trying to the men. The relief asked for will, no doubt, in due time (which in such cases means some time) be granted, since there is no question as to Its neces sity. A New York paper headed an account of Bryan's recent visit to that city with the line, "Bryan Here; He Talks' .The superfluity of the last two words is ap parent. It can only be supposed that they were added to meet arbitrary "head- line" rules of the composing room. As well say of a man, "He is alive; he breathes." Boers are said to be fond of holding prayer meetings in their camps. Their dependence upon powder is, however, made known whenever there is an op portunity to deliver a few shots at the soldiers clad in khaki. PRECEDENTS OF A CENTURY. Against These Quay Offers the Grave Claim ot Being a Good Fellow. Chicago Tribune. The constitution says: If 'vacancies happen (In the senate) by resig nation or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the nrit meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. The expiration of the senatorial term of Matthew S Quay, March 4. 1899. no successor having been elected, created a vacancy. The Pennsylvania legislature, which, convened in January, remained In session until April 20. It failed to elect a senator, and the day after It adjourned the governor of Pennsylvania appointed Mr. Quay to fill a vacancy which it la evi dent did not occur "during- the recess of the legislature." It occurred while that body was In session. Nevertheless Mr. Quay claims a seat under that appointment and a number of senators, some of them constitutional law yers, say he is entitled to it They argue that it is the intent of the constitution to provide, as far as possible, that every state shall have two senators, and that the clause quoted above should be con strued as meaning that whenever there is a vacancy the governor shall have the power to fill It even though It happened while the legislature was In session and that body deliberately refused to elect a senator. They strain the language to make It agree with the asumed "Intent" The precedents of a century are against this contention. Never yet has the senate recognized the right of a state executive to make a temporary appointment where the vacancy happened or occurred during a session of the legislature. The first case to come before the senate was In 1794. A Delaware senator resigned In 'Decem ber. The legislature was to meet in Jan uary, and the governor made no appoint ment It met in January and adjourned in February without electing a senator. Then the governor made an appointment The senate decided the appointee had no right to a seat, a session of the legislature having Intervened between the resignation of his predecessor and his appointment. Of the members of the senate who voted on this case five had been members of the federal convention. Four of them voted that the governor had no power to appoint So the rule has been from that day to this. Against an unbroken array of prece dents the friends of Quay set up an in terpretation of the constitution which four of its framers repudiated, and the potent fact that Quay is a "good fellow" pre vails with some of them over other con siderations. That Is an argument which never was advanced before in support of a claim to a seat in the senate. It may have force enough in Quay's case to in duce the senate to reverse all previous decisions. SUBSIDIES INEFFECTIVE. Claims on Their Behalf "Will Not Bear Investigation. New York Journal of Commerce. The Journal of Commerce would be glad to see American steamers traversing every sea and carrying the greater part of our own commerce and a good part ot the commerce of other nations; It would be glad to see this upon one proviso, and that is that it should be profitable; that the business should earn more than Its cost If It should earn less than Its cost the country would lose thQ difference, whether the loss fell upon the shipowners or whether the rest of the population were taxed to reimburse them; the loss would be there, no matter who paid for it. This paper does not believe that it Is sound public policy to take out of the treasury funds raised by taxation and i hand them over to persons engaged in a j private business to cover their losses. The , argument that the subsidy is a logical part of the protective system Is sseclous. Evidently the country does not believe in It, for while it has maintained the protec tive system for many years, it has only occasionally, and for brief periods, pre paid subsidies. The tariff law Is a law for providing the government with a rev enue; the subsidy law Is a law for depriv ing the government of Its revenue; they are not analogous. There Is another distinction; the carry ing trade Is In the very nature of the case exposed to world-wide competition; therefore It presents an entirely different aspect from a domestic manufacture. The advocates of subsidies talk about meeting British competition, but England is com plaining of Norwegian competition. The mercantile marine of Norway Is growing faster than that of any. other country. The commissioner of navigation has pub lished comparative statistics to show the cost of operating ships under different flags. The cost under the British flag Is lees than under the American, but It la still less under the German, and least of all 'inder the Norwegian flag. From the j dawn of history seafaring has been the main pursuit of peoples that had little chance to invest their labor and capital on land. We have been on the sea; we have left it for more profitable pursuits, and now if we are to go back to it, with the help of taxation, are we going to meet only BTltlsh competition, or are we going to face the competition Of Norway and offset the wages of lascars? How far are we prepared to go in this dangerous di rection? There are two reasons why we do not compete with foreign merchantmen. Our ships cost more to build and they co3t more to operate. But that Is largely due to the fact that labor Is better paid and capital more productive here than abroad. Therefore, there Is les3 necessity hero than abroad for taxing people to sup port this Industry; Americans have dropped It for occupations that pay better. But a country that Js exporting locomo tives to every quarter of the globe will not be long In building steamers as cheaply as any other nation, and a country that has demonstrated in most forms of pro duction that high wages are consistent with a low cost of labor will not be per manently kept off th'e sea by the fact that seamen's wages are higher here than abroad. As we are now competing wih Europe In most lines of production jve are by a natural and wholesome course of economic development approaching the time when we shall be able to compete upon the sea with the rest of the world. Subsidies are wholly Ineffective. We have tried them and abandoned them. Not over 4 per cent of the British or German steam tonnage receives money from the government, and In both cases the ships probably earn all they get by speed and frequency of sailings. France, which has adopted the universal bounty system now pressed upon our government. Is complaln L ' of Its absolute futility and Is propos ing the second increase of rates of bounty In 20 years because the French mercantile marine is not even holding its own. No person who can read our economic history, or who can reason, supposes that our merchant vessels can be supported by the government for SO years and then be In a condition to meet foreign competition. They will have to have a constantly in creasing amount of assistance until the system gets too heavy to be borne and breaks down. Because the carrying trade Is wholly un like a domestic manufacture we have In sisted that the protective system Is Inap plicable. We have proposed that the Amer ican line and other American corporations that now own and operate foreign steam ships should be permitted to put their own flag over their own property. This would not serve the interests of the shipbuilders, but the latter have an absolute monopoly of the coastwise trade, and the foreign trade Is Inherently a competitive business. Americans are not now prevented from buying foreign ships; If they desire Amer ican registry we see no reason why they should not have it. It would probably in crease the Investment of American cap ital in the carrying trade. If It did not it would be quite time enough then to In quire what should be done next. But there is one fundamental fact that can never be gotten away from; if it be unprofitable for Americans to engage ia the carrying trade now It will be unprofit able after they have been reimbursed fot their losses; nothing will be changed ex cept the losers. International carrying has got to be internationally competitive, and we suggest, for the present at least, that Americans who desire to engage ia that trade be permitted to procure the Instruments for it as cheaply as their vl vals do. The fact Is that they can and do practice this now, but under foreign flags; if they prefer their own flag we can Im agine no reason for denying it to them. The shipbuilders can learn to meet foreign competition just as well as the makers of steel rails or locomotives or agricultural machinery and of. a hundred other articles have already learned to meet it H ' New Leaves. Brooklyn Life. Teacher Johnny, what time of the year is it when the leaves begin to turn? Johnny Update New Year'3. c The Inevitable Reminder. Atchison Globe. An Atchison man who givea little chil dren nickels says that their mothers nev er fall to say, "Now what do you say for ur THE OREGONIAN'S ANNUAL. Prosperous Oregon. Newburgh (N. Y.) News. The Portland Oregonian, a journal that would be a credit to any state la this Union, celebrated the close of the meat prosperous year Oregon has yet known by publishing a special edition (60 pages) with one of the largest and finest illus trated supplements ever issued from an American newspaper office. It is our contemporary's belief that Ore gon now has a population of about 425,009. She did not receive many immigrants last year, but those who came to her were just to her mind native-born Americans from the Middle West, and a sprinkling ef Yankees, homemakers with plenty ef money In their pockets. All her towns are growing steadily and healthily, and alt ef them are practicing a strict economy in their civic affairs. The people outside the towns were never better off than now. if as well. Last year's yield of the Oregon farms, ranges, or chards and dairies is given as $45,350,737. The lumber cut mounted up to 966,560,860 feet; value, $S,22S,S0. The state's output of manufactured products, all kinds. Is estimated at over $55,100,000. The yield of gold was $3,235,000, of silver $193,149, of coal $264,153. The fisheries did businesa last year to the extent of $2,443,155. The Oregonian remarks: "Demand for stock never was better. The only check to larger trading In this indus try is the Inability of stoexmen to meet the demands of buyers. Horticulture Is pass ing from the control of the careless and the negligent and into the hands of man who will give scientific management to orchards. Mining is out of the experimen tal stage In every section of Oregon where mineral Is found, and the era of large pro duction has dawned. The only unsatisfac tory condition Is the slow growth of man ufacturing. So long as our people con tinue to ship hogs, wool and high-grade lumber to the East and buy them back, with transcontinental freights added, as bacon, clothing and furniture, just so long will Industrial development drag." Portland had Its share of the general prosperity. It will eopn have 100,000 inhab itants at the rate it is growing. Its com merce In 12 months was $9,130,808. Its job bing trade reached $100,000,000 a gain of 25 per cent from the year before. Its bank clearings were $91,652,230. December 2 its ravings banks had individual deposits ag gregating $7,842,873. The new buildings put up last year represent an expenditure of $643,930, and the sales of real estate amount ed to $3,605,555. We hope that 1900 will treat Oregon and Oregon's big city and Oregon's big news paper even better than 1880 did. Wide Variety of Interests. St Paul (Minn.) Globe. The special edition of The Portland Ore gonian, bearing date of January 1, 1800, In Its 60 printed pages, offers a compre henslve exposition, past, present and fu ture, of the Industries and resources of the state of Oregon and of the coun try outside tributary to the city of Port land. A half-tone supplement, covering a wide variety of interests, Is a notable fea ture of a most meritorious publication. The Pacific Northwest, in this annual review, receives treatment entirely ade quate to so Important and progressive a section of the country. Has Done Yeoman Work. Kingston (Ontario) Whig. The Portland Oregonian Id one of the most enterprising of Western journals, a dally paper that has done yeoman work in bullfllng up the great and glorious West The annual number la to hand, and It is of special Interest. It contains over 500 Illus trations, printed on the finest of toned paper. These views embrace all the noted scenic attractions of Oregon and cover every Important Industry cf the Pacific Northwest. In addition, there Is a wealth of Information and statistics showing the growth and development of the West Fevr and Far Between. Lowell (Mass.) Courier. It has been a long time since we have seen a finer annual than that Issued by The Morning Oregonian, of Portland, Or. It contains over 500 Illustrations, printed on the finest quality of enameled paper, and the views embrace all of the noted scenic attractions of Oregon, and cover every Important Industry of the Pacific North west. 9 Sousb's Idea of an Ideal Band. Chicago Tribune. John Philip Sousa, the band leader, who will take his band with him to the Paris exposition upon the Invitation of Commissioner-General Peck for service every day of the fair and for special service at the unveiling of the Lafayette statue on July 4 and the French national fete on July 14, contributes to the current number of the Independent his idea as to what an ideal band should be, though he Is certain it does not exist and most likely never will. "To attain the ideal in the band and orchestra," he says, "we must have perfection of leadership, perfection of players and perfection of instruments." These are unquestionably essential factors of the Ideal band, but Mr. Sousa over looks another Important factor. Granted the perfect leader, perfect players and perfect instruments, how about the per fect music?. If Mr. Sousa had this trinity of perfection at his bands, would he con tinue to perform that monotonous suc cession of two-steps, rag-times, cake walks and pot-pourris of popular hymn tunes which now constitute the staple of his repertory? If so It would hardly be worth while for Mr. Sousa to have an Ideally perfect band. m Scows That Pass in tlie Night. Detroit Free Press.' Jacques leaned over the gunwale of the flatboat as she floated lazily down the De troit river. He smoked his pipe. Pierre hung over the rail of the scow that was upward bound. He also was en veloped In a hazy smoke. In the moonlight the two boatmen recog nized each other. "H'llo Pierre! How you geet along?" "Oh, I been geet along. How you geet along 7" "Oh, I been get along, too." "How you seek fatalr geet along, Jacques?" "My fatalr? Oh, she geet along. She been died last week." Pedigree. Philadelphia Pres3. "One of my ancestors." said the haughty MIse May Flowerstock, "was driven set of England for religious reasons." "Huh!" retorted the unassuming Miss Jones, "two of mine were driven out of the Garden of Eden for the same reason." a The Hitless Hunters. Chicago News. City Sportsman Any game around here? Fanner Yes; the woods are full of It City Sportsman I supposed it bad been pretty well killed off by now. Farmer Oh, no. No one ever hunts around here but you city fellows. Presto! Louisville Courier-Journal. Why should Kaiser Bill worry so much about getting bis legislature to increase his navy? A kaiser, who, by his simple word, can make 99 years a century, can surely, by the same method, make his navy just as big as he chooses. NOTE AJfD COMMENT. After a stem etwee Great Britain has caught a Tartar. If bo news is gee ncrcas, London ought to be celebrating tetey. Wkafever happens, mMmt sMe 1b Kea- tacky can rtoooemMy fee terete! d to tali water. If the eeM smp ia CMtagw freeeeg the erataage wumI k wiK be S. Levis' eay to celebrate. St Aid, after a Me aenoneo fcsaa the city, has raturaxi, and wHl speaM the ra mahtder e the wiater heee. -!- We sever vataa uwauWeu UMtt tfee Jai samca : Per If It staved aM year hw eouM. Wo sates It vkM Ka gonet Oom Paut Is swprMagtir aegieetSai of etiquette. Be has failed te aekaewieckge hie thanks for file atorm ef syatpaehy that was wafted Ms way by the pre-Beer saeet lag the ether aJgbt v It fe perhaps all for the beet that the eil tasks are to remain an the Beet 9tde. Their content wttl be htvahtaMa te pear ea the tioubled waters when eae of these terrible storms threatens te wreek the shipping In their vicinity. The German bark 8trene, ef Hamburg, which is beaded for Portland and Paget sound, Is la command ef Captain Saaer mlleh. This navigator's aaeee woald prob ably have been two syllables eaerter bad he not bees, out la so saaay thunder storms. Although the war department has $968, S60 available for the eetebMehmeat ef a powder magazine within four raMes of New York, and bind in that viemtty setts as low as $MMM an aers, a sMe eannot be secured, ae saeh a eeeabasUbte m stitutleB keeps the adjoining htad awako nights, thas incurring heavy escpeaee Joe opiates. It has come te the point where sol diers' teeth most be hardened or the hardtack softened. General Otis reports that the teeth ef nearly every soldier ha the Philippines are la & bad stage of de cay, and that a year on hardtack in the tropics has almost completely rained the teeth of 5fl per cent of the settlers there. It is now proposed to oommteswB, on dental surgeon, with the rank e major, to every IMi men in the army. A peanut vender who bad been all the morning roasting peannts and getting his portable stand ready lor the day's busi ness, was selling up Third street about noon yesterday, steam roaring from his 'scape pipe, charcoal fumes peering from, the funnel, and the aroma ef freshly-roasted peanuts perfuming the air en bis trail. Being late, he was in a hurry to get to hta stand In front of the Chamber of Commerce, and so was traveling feet A coal front bis engine fell on a gunny aaek suspended beneath hie cart and the breeze soon fanned it into a name. When he discovered the conflagration, be new around like a whole paid fire engine com pany, and before a erowd eeuM gather he had the burning sack extinguished, at the expense of begrimed hands and burned fingers. His remarks were made in Italian, and so the force of them was hwt to hfet admiring aatnenee. A correspondent nwpjtreB: "What la gin seng; and how te it empwyed by the Chi nese?" Ginseng is a perennial herb once very plentiful In a portion of the United States, having Its habitat m the moun tainous dtetrlcts of Virginia, West Vir ginia. Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina, from which it spread west to Missouri and parts of the South. It has a root fear to nine Inches long, which throws ap a stem about a foot high, having ineonenicuoue greenish towers, succeeded by small, berry-like, red fruits. The root of the plant is of interest, or value, chiefly as an article of export to China, where It has long been supposed to possess re markable value in the treatment of nearly all diseases. A species of ginseng used to be plentiful in China, Corea and neigh boring countries, but the great demand for It eaused It to be nearly exterminated, and it became so scarce that before the In troduction of the American root it brought its weight in gold at Peking, and very fine specimens sometimes brought much more. It is not considered la this country to possess any valuable medicinal properties, but Is sometimes chewed as a deraaloent The fact that the Chinese consider it pos sessed of valuable mediemal properties amounts to nothing, as the Chinese are very fanciful in such matters, aa eaa. be seen by the articles they Import here as medicine, such as dried snakes and Hzardsr, the galls of skunks and many other things the smell or looks of which should be sufficient to make a well man stok, and to put a sick man out of his misery. in A HIstorle Cradle. Philadelphia Record. All the Hohenaollern prmees horn s4vq 1722 have slept In a curious old cradle of carved oak. On the four sides te carved the text: "He has given his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all his ways." The emperor regards this old heirloom somewhat in the light of a "mas cot" of the Honenaoilern race, and aH bis children have one after the ether bees cradled in It. a ' Would Have It Sheltered., Phttadetpbla Record. Native Yes, that's where the big light house steed; but the big storm, last UM SW6stt It ct9WH. Lady Vtettor I don't wonder. It was foolish of them to build fc m. sue aa exposed place. - - . ' Bleycle Cenfldeaees. Detroit Free Press. First Bike I saw something today thai makes me tired. Second Bike-What's thai:? First Btke Rubbet. ' e Bavirenraeat. Bnwbetb Oeltup Perkins nt Besten Spaaseria& X Mly grew in a garde far From the stoat of the etty street It ha4 dream wet (be usvoioa Beld auffht leas pere & uweec Then its virgin self, so efeaate wea it Se perfect He retreat. When aigbt eame down the Mr Iteked la we nee of the stats and nmWodi; Then went t nleoe to the sfeey ef deat& Aa the seel ef a nttfe ftM 6eea fcaefc to the oUms of Am Father-soei, Patau ahod aad undented. A Mb bUtmad on tbe btgaway tJtee Te the treed of the nwespiag tbctngj It here tbe g ef a baajkt eyes Where bwraed the esse eC watagc; And eae eame by who Htm Ma beejet Witt a rottriese band aed strong-. K eaagat no glimpse ef & garaen fair. It knew no other anms For a worki that seed and. braised it so Than & wwW ef ate aad stjame; And hoootaEfc. trashed. Its spirit paased Ait tbe events-? sbaeows tarns. And who eaa say bat 'the showered tee A sauted newer had seen Bad Me home keen set oh the Mg-bw7 eleat Te the yath ef shame and sin? And tbe ether forever aecet-wMte Bad K blfgmntit sale wKhtaT