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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1900)
THE MORNING CXREGONIAN, THUBSDAY, MAECH " 1, 1900. ixg rjejgamcm Entered at the Postoface at Portland, Oregon, as second-class matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Room....100l Business Office OCT REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mall (postage prepaid). In Advance Dally, with Sunday, per month $0 S5 Dally, Sunday excepted, per year........ 7 CO Dally, with Sunday, per year 0 00 Sunday, per year ...... 2 00 The Weekly, per year ...... J 50 Th W.V1i. 3 month ... ...... BO To City Subscribers Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays excepted.l5c Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays lncluded.20a The Oregcnlan does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn "any manuscripts Bent to It without solicita tion. No Etamps should be inclosed for thla xuiroose. News or discussion Intended lor publication in Tho Oregonlan should be addressed ln-arlably "Editor The Oreconlan." not to the name of any Individual. Letters relating to advertising, subscriptions or to any business matter should be addressed s'mply "The Oregonlan." Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, office at 1111 Pacific avenue. Tacoma. Box DM, Tacoma postofflce. Eastern Business Ofllee The Tribune build ing. New York city: "The RookeTy." Chicago; the S. C Beckwlth special agency. New Tork. For sale in San Franclpco by J. K. Cooper, 748 Market street, near the Palace hotel, and at Goldsmith Bron., 230 Sutter street. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co 217 Dearborn street. TODAY'S "WEATHER. Occasional rain; winds west to south. IPOIITLAXD, THURSDAY, MARCH 1. THE SHII'-SUnSIDY STEAL. They nave the ship-subsidy bill up again in he Senate. James J. Hill, who Is going into the steamship busi ness on a large scale, wants no subsi dies. He reiterates his objections, and says if the bill should pass it would mean In effect rolitical suicide for those 'who vote or it. A lot of gen tlemen In Congress are in the political suicide business just now. What with the effort to skin our new dependencies at one end of the line and to give sub sidies to rich shipowners and protec tion to vast trusts at the other, the 1 political undertaker may soon have business enough. Are not the great shipowners rich snough? Are they not making money ;nough? The leading object of this ef fort is to subsidize lines already doing business enormously profitable. The subsidy bill, as Mr. Hill has so conclu sively shown, is "not to aid the small Cry, but the multi-millionaires. It will Inot assist the men who have a capital )f $40,000. Subsidies are not for them, jut are reserved for individuals and borporations whose incomes are $20,000,- 100 a year or more. The small capital- are to be taxed so the big ones lay be subsidized." Some days ago Mr. Osborne Howes, of ioston, whose family have been ship owners 250 years, told the House com- llttee that he was opposed to this bill for the following reasons: The growth of commerce Is not to be deter- ined by the running of a few large steamers. t'ou have asked about the St. Paul and the St. auls. I do not wish to decry their merits. xit If there were to be added 500,000 tons of shipping to the merchant marine of the United Btates next year I would far rather that that iroount should be made up of tramp steamers teamers of from 3000 to 4000 tons, steamers jrolng all over the world than to have that B.tKH) ions made up of lilgn-trpc-tra jnengei essels of 8000, 10.000, 12,000 or 14,000 tons unnlng across the Atlantic Ocean. It Is the ramp steamer which, constitutes the greatness f the English commerce; it is not the steam is of the Cunard, or the White Star, or the I'enlnsular &. Oriental Line. They are fine lines, but England's commercial greatness does fcot rest upon them. Her commercial suprem acy comes from the opportunity she offers to very man who has a little capital, who, with a lew jof his friends, can get together ?40,000 or 150,000 or $70,000, build a steamer, and send It ut Into the world to do what he can with It. But the subsidy Js not for such as aese, or very little of It. Besides, if it I'ere, the subsidy is not necessary, and rill give the producer nothing more. Zven the tramp steamers make a great leal of money now, and charters and reights would be as high with the sub- idy as without it. Besides, every dol- ir of the subsidy paid to shipowriers rould be drawn in taxation from the rorkers of the country. If the produc- are to have money out of the, treas ury, give it to them direct; don't pre- 2nd to serve them by putting It into le pockets of men rich already. RETROGRESSION' IN CIIIN'A. According to a late dispatch from eking, the Empress Dowager has 1s- led an edict for a return in the ex- fc-nlnations which aspirants for official -sttions are required to pass to the old fanner of study, according to the pre- ;pts of Confucius. This, if true, pra ises a retrograde movement of great fciportance, when taken in connection jith China's enforced touch with the Festern world. It Is well known that ae governmental system of China is ised upon literary examinations, and is the nature of these which has sen the most formidable obstacles in lie path of political progress in the mpire. Chinese students, who by issing the prescribed examinations ;Come eligible for promotion to the andarinate, have from time lmme orlal been required to prove them- lves familiar with the Chinese clas ps, or, in other words, with the writ- Igs of Confucius and his disciples. As lose writings date back, more than ,'enty centuries, It can readily be seen at the preparation which their study res, for meeting the problems of gov- Inment as now presented, is not the id required. They arc as a matter fact, so absolutely out of date as to without value except in a strictly Serary sense, which does not in any iy apply to the existing situations it nations of today must meet. The Id conservatism that makes the ilnese Empire a dead nation in the :tlng of world-wide activities is due the prescribed education of the gov- llng class. It is full of the most surd errors and superstitions, and Kse stand as an insuperable bar to adoption by the Chinese authorl- 3 of those principles by the preva- Lce of which the great Chinese Ern ie can alone be brought In touch with needs and requirements of the fsent age. vccordlng to the general view, some- Ing has been done toward the re- ival of the paralyzing inheritance of ages from the political and lndus- iil life of China. At best, however, gress in this direction has been ht. The change was chiefly im- tant as indicating an advance 'ard modern methods In life not In little that It accomplished. But according to the report above itioned, even this slight advance Is je counteracted, and the mandarin- the most potent cause of the 1m- mobility of the Chinese Empire, is to be perpetuated indefinitely. It Is a popu lar Institution In that admission to Its ranks Is open to all who are able to pass the examinations. Its favor con fers a hold upon position which Is prac tically impregnable. It is manifest that there can be no growth In modern Ideas In China until the mandarinate Is re formed, and in the path of this reform the edict of the Dowager Empress stands Immovable. The system Is, in effect if not in object, the confirmation of the governing class in opposition to all change, which, of course, means all progress. ACTIVE EFTP-ORT FOR OREGON'. Two very Important factors are con tributing to the present development of Oregon. One Is the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, which Is ad vertising all parts of Oregon, "Wash ington and Idaho tributary to Its rail and water lines, and the other the Southern Pacific Company, which has entered upon a vigorous campaign to foster and diversify Industry between the California line and the Columbia River. "While these great corporations, whose influence touches evr.y relation of our business and Industrial life, are not working on any general or under stood plan, each is exerting its utmost powers in behalf of the country. Both are aiming to make Oregon and its vast resources Intimately known to the outside world, and to attract -to the State the cream of the settlers now making homes in the "West. Through their efforts Oregon is getting the very best of the newcomers. As a rule, they are native Americans from the Middle West, with a sprinkling of Yankees and Southerners men and women, who have sufficient money to make homes or engage in Industry, and not strag glers who come to depend upon the country for- a livelihood. The efforts of the O. R. & N. Co., began so long ago, are so far-reaching and have been so productive of good results that details are not called for at this time. By a system closely re sembling mercantile methods, the com pany obtains the names of thousands of persons In other States who might be Induced to come to Oregon. To these It mails the latest and most authentic descriptions of the resources of the State. Pamphlets and articles on min erals are sent to mining men, and lit erature bearing on the several branches of agriculture to farmers. In addition, similar books, pamphlets and articles are scattered broadcast in the East and In Europe. The company never tires of making known the richness of the gold fields, not only of Oregon, but of Washington and Idaho. Without doubt the present great movement of people into the farming districts and mining regions of Eastern Oregon is largely the direct result of the O. R. & N. Co.'s judicious, generous and per sistent advertising. The work of the Southern Pacific Company differs from that of the O. R. & N. Co., in that the latter com pany is developing a comparative ly new section of country, while the Southern Pacific Is rejuvenating a comparatively old country. In this re spect the Southern Pacific's task is the more arduous and will be less fruit ful of Immediate results. In the O. R. & N.'s territory, both newcomers and old settlers readily accommodate them jelv" to the nrw conditions ThP old timers are not numerous enough to check or defeat the introduction cf modern methods, even if they were so disposed. In the Willamette Valley the people have set ways, and have had, until recently, supreme confidence in exclusive wheat production born of equally supreme confidence in 'the in exhaustibility of the soil. Willamette people must be educated up to new standards, must be taught the fallacy of old policies, before there can be any real modernization of methods and di versification of industry. Low prices for wheat and the impoverishment of the soil by continuous cultivation of grain have diverted a considerable ele ment from wheat, and probably con vinced the majority of Valley farmers that there Is no profit In one crop ex cept in years of failure in other coun tries and consequent high, prices the world over. It would seem, therefore, that all conditions favor the Southern Pacific's well-directed effort to turn the attention of our people" to fruit, dairy ing, stockraislng, manufacture and An gora goat-breeding. The real wealth of a country consists in Its productions. These, fostered to their -full fruitage, will result in benefit beyond compre hension. This is exactly what the Southern Pacific Is aiming to do. It is gratifying to note that the O. R. & N. and the Southern Pacific have the co-operation of our people in their un dertakings. It is a current saying In Eastern Oregon that without the O. R. &N. there would be no Eastern Oregon. That credit may be more evenly dis tributed, it should be said that the pres ent prosperity and recent rapid growth of that section are the joint product of the people and the railroad. If the people of the Willamette Valley will give to the Southern Pacific the cordial support which the O. R. & N. has had in Eastern Oregon, this Valley will be come noted not only for its resources, but for great production and material prosperity. All depends "upon the peo ple. The railroad is doing its duty. VITUPERATIVE ELOQTJENXE. Ml-. Healy, the most brilliant orator of the Irish party In the British Par liament, recently made a speech on the Boer war that In brilliant, insolent vi tuperation cannot be matched In the annals of American parliamentary elo quence. Neither John Randolph nor Bob Toombs, on the floor of the Senate, nor Wendell Phillips on the lecture plat form, ever equaled the speech of this gifted Irishman for bitterness and bru tality of denunciation and satire. Healy said -he had "no imperial soul," but "In the Transvaal he saw the fig ure and form of Irish nationality." He gloried In the British reverses; he "thought he might say that the defeat of the home rule bill was revenged at Splonkop"; and finally, increasing In audacity, he shouted: We are dealing in South Africa with a race which, I understand, had enly two feast days, Dlngaan's day and Majuba day. Since these feasts were established I understand we have given to them Butler's day, Methuen's day, Gatacro's day. Yule's day and Symons' day. One of the noblest and one of the most touch ing things in the war was the correspondence which passed between General Symons in his dying moments and the Boer commander (cheers), and the only unworthy thing was that the English turned their backs on their dying general. (Irish cheers.) In audacity of disloyal sentiment, in hatred of his Government in time of war, this language was never equaled by the most virulent debate In the old days of anti-slavery agitation, within I or without our Congress, It was never equaled by Vallandigham or Voorhees, or any other copperhead of 1S62-65. Even Senator Pettigrew, in his extrem ist utterances, has never used words of such insulting bitterness as those spoken by Orator Healy. The fact that Healy could make such a speech without beirg called to order or ex periencing any serious interruption shows that the real freedom of parlia mentary debate is larger in England than in the United States. The wonder is that he could make such a speech and escape an English mob, "which In days gone by has stoned Wellington's house and Gladstone's carriage. Dur ing our Civil War no copperhead ora tor woulj have dared to refer to Fred ericksburg or Chancellorsvllle as two "feast days," furnished by the North to the South. The strange thing 13 that Healy should have made so bril liantly brutal a speech without any provocation save the sentimental an cient historical grievance of Ireland against England. Since 1SG8 there has been a steady effort on part of English statesmen to improve the condition of Ireland. Under the new local govern ment act passed by the Conservatives, 300 Nationalists have been chosen to the County Councils, to less than 100 of all other parties. That Is to saythe Tories have, by their own legislation, turned over Irish local government to the Irish people. Ex-dynamlters have been elected Mayors, and the most rad ical Irish disunionlsts are in control of the County Councils through recent legislation enacted by Lord Salisbury. And yet, iri spite of the increasing lib erality of English statesmen, Mr. Healy, simply to gratify his race hate of Great Britain, talks on the floor of the British Parliament in a spirit of disloyalty and Insult that would not be permitted In any other Parliament on earth. This spirit exhibited by a man of education and talent is a good illus tration of one of the weaknesses of the Celtic race. They are 'brilliant, elo quent, volatile, poetic, facile, fluent, but while they cannot decently govern themselves they are never willing to be well governed. The nationality of Ireland never bad any existence before the Norman conquest; it never had any since, and is not likely to have any until Britannia ceases to rule the waves. PORTLAND'S MARITIME COMMERCE. The government Bureau of Statistics has recently Issued a circular review ing the shipping business of various ports for the past two years. The fig ures for 1S99 are smaller than those for 1S9S, and this fact has supplied some of the enemies of the Columbia River with an excuse for extensive misrepresenta tion of the matter. From Astoria comes a lugubrious demand on the country press of Oregon to spread the assertion that the Columbia River lost a great many tons of shipping In 1S99. Recognizing the animus of the Astoria attack, the country papers are slow to respond, but as an explanation of the apparent shrinkage has been asked, a few figures bearing on the matter will be of Interest. The amount of tonnage steam, sail, foreign and coastwise arriving at and departing from Portland, during the year 1899, was S00.C09 tons less than dur ing the year 1S9S. As these figures are for tonnage in and out, but half the amount can be taken into consideration as available for handling Oregon's ex ports; that Is, there were 150,000 tons less, required in 1S99 than was used in 1898. This amount of tonnage would carry, In round numbers, 200,000 tons of freight, and Oregon shipments by water were accordingly 200,000 tons less in 1S99 than they were in 1S98. Gov ernment statistics for the two years mentioned show that the foreign ship ments of wheat and flour alone from Portland during the year 1898 were 166, 843 tons greater than they were in 1899. California In 1898 was under the blight o the nearest approach to a total crop failure that she has experi enced since 1864, and grain shipments from Portland to that famine-stricken State were almost the largest on rec ord. They Included 1,732,797 bushels of w'heat, 1,337,634 bushels of barley. 316, 526 barrels of flour, and over 1,000,000 bushels of oats a grand total of 131,439 tons of grain. California was back In her old form last year, and had grain to spare, so that shipments from Port land In 1899 dropped back to. the com paratively Insignificant amount of 51. 984 bushels of wheat, 31,803 bushels of barley, 2628 tons of oats, and 271,550 barrels of flour, a total of 44,280 tons, or 87,159 tons less than In 1S98. By adding the shrinkage of California grain ship ments to that of foreign grain ship ments, we have a grand total of 254,007 tons less grain shipped from Portland In 1899 than in 1898. As the tonnage capacity for 1899 was but 200,000 tons less than for 1898, It was apparent that all of the loss was In the grain trade, and that '.utside of that traffic there was an actual gain of 54,007 tons, as compared with 1S9S. To understand where an apparent loss in one direction discloses a positive gain elsewhere, it is but necessary to consider the statistical position of grain on January 1, 1S99, and January 1, 1900. After the record- breaking year of 1898 closed, there was still on hand in Oregon and Washing ton about 9,000,000 bushels of wheat. On January 1, 1900, the stocks still held in the two States were more than double the size of those of a year ear lier, there being in round numbers about 300,000 tons on hand. This wheat is now being marketed. Portland moved about 2,000,000 bushels of it in January, and another million bushels in February. Puget Sound moved about one-fourth as much in the two months just closing. These figures prove, beyond cavil, that the apparent loss In tonnage in 1899, as compared with the record breaking year which preceded it, was a natural condition of trade, against which all the commercial sagacity in the world was powerless. In the grain trade for 1899, Puget Sound ports showed a loss proportionate to that of Portland. The comparative showing' of the Sound ports for the two years was Improved last year by the unprecedent ed demand for coal and lumber, two commodities which cut but a small fig ure in the Columbia River's maritime commerce. While the bats and the owls rested undisturbed in one of As toria's largest export mills, and the other was running on half time, and her coal mines remained unworked, every mill on Puget Sound was working overtime to fill orders for the export trade, and it was Impossible to secure tonnage enough to handle the coal re quired by the Government at San Fran cisco and Honolulu. Portland feels no alarm over any apparent loss of trade which is due wholly to natural causes, and as her maritime commerce for the iflrst two months of the present year is the greatest ever handled in a corre sponding period, the outlook is not distressing. The gallant stand made by General Cronje will give his name to history as that of a brave soldier, who, in surren dering to an overwhelming force, made compromise with necessity and not with honor. Realizing the great needs of his country, for his services in the field, he made an attempt to escape that was not less valorous than his stand with his little army against the embattled hosts of General Roberts. While In the larger view of ultimate results it is- fitting to rejoice over his surrender, he will receive unstinted tribute, of admiration, for his splendid courage as a soldier, his skill as a commander, and only in a lesser meas ure sympathy in his defeat and cap ture. It Is greatly to be hoped that re ports of humiliation put upon him by Lord Roberts are untrue. Generous Britons, even in their wild rejoicings over the surrender of the brave. Boer, will regard Cronje with something of The fierce Joy that warriors feel In foemen worthy of their steel. When we know all the facts, we shall find out that Lord Roberts was guilty of no ungenerous treatment of General Cronje. The distinguishing trait of Lord Roberts during all his military life has been his personal affability, hu manity and kindness to his foes when in distress. This was his marked characteristic In his Intercourse with the Afghan chiefs, and it was because of this quality that he was so success ful in placating the conquered people of Burmah. iHe treated th'elr priests with kindness, humanity and diplo macy. The fact that Lord Roberts granted every request that General Cronje preferred, allowing him his ser vants and the society of his family; the fact that he -sent a full Major General with a military escort to ac company him to Cape Town, shows that Lord Roberts went out of his way to pay General Cronje the highest hon ors of military etiquette. From the reports of Professor George Anderson, Superintendent of Public Schools in Manila, it appears that the Juvenile Filipinos belonging to those schools are already In advance. In the simple elements of politeness, of the majority of school children of Ameri can cities. A study in politeness and the art of correct living, known as "Urbanlda," was found in the schools of Manila, which the new forces of civ ilization, marshaled by Professor An derson, did not exclude from the cur riculum. Hence the young Filipinos are still taught to lift their hats to their superiors and to render various courtesies to those with whom they come in contact. It is needless to say that "Urbanida" Is a neglected study In American schools, and. seemingly, a lost art in too many American homes. At an "anti" meeting held in Boston recently, Mr. Bourke Cockran, who has scarcely known "where he Is at" for a considerable time past, said he didn't like "imperialism" as compounded of Hanna, McKInley and Lodge, but gave some Instructive views of the relative wickedness of imperialism and some other things. Said Mr. Cockran: "I regard imperialism as fatal to this form of government, but I regard the Chi cago platform as destructive of all gov ernment, and I should prefer some government to no government." The Chicago platform, of course, Is the platform on which Mr.. Bryan was nom inated for the Presidency, and on which it Is proposed to nominate him again. The excellent conduct of the Cana dian contingent In South Africa Is not surprising, for they are the picked men of Canada's whole military -force, which consists of 36,000 men, 1000 being the permanent force or standing army, and 35,000 the active militia, or volunteers. The Canadian militiaman Is fond oj outdoor sports and of hunting large game; he is a good shot, and a hardy vigorous man. The picked men of 35, 000 militia such as Canada maintains would secure the very finest kind of material for soldiers, and with urlef ex perience these Canadians ought to equal any regiment In the British serv ice. Great Britain's close touch with her American provinces Is revealed In the shouts of rejoicing that went up from Ottawa to Victoria on receipt of the news of Cronje's surrender. This illus trates again a fact as old as human history. Members of families may grow indifferent to each, other, and even lndnlge In petty hostilities among themselves when all goes w,ell on the dutslde, but let serious trouble come about, and a common rally for common defense speedily follows. It was the expansion spirit that made the United States great. Missouri, the greatest of the States within the Lou isiana purchase. Is now full of It. All the letters that go out of St. Louis bear this stamp, the official Imprint of the canceling machine: "World's Fair 1903 Louisiana Purchase." Has the Republican party, through its Representatives In Congress, taken the contract to dig its own grave? In effect, it is working at that Job with a wondrous, and even what Burke -called a "quadrumanous," activity. Congress every day Is making material for the Democratic campaign. Why shouldn't Puerto Rico be treated like Hawaii? The greed of protected trusts on the Atlantic seaboard is the obstacle. PHILIPPINE AVAR IN" ItETItOSPECT. Only the Florida War of Sixty Years Aero on a Larger Scale. Boston Herald. Now that the Philippine war, such aa It has been, Jias been declared to be ended, people can afford to review the circum stances, that attended It with calmness. To our mind too much Importance has been given to its character as something formidable to the nation. It has been ex pensive and annoying, and It may con tinue to bo both far soma time in the fu ture; but that It has ever got beyond this wo have been unable to gee. Neither do wo believe that It was incited or protracted by any sympathy with it shown in this country. Agulnaldo had formed a plan to establish a government, of which he should be the head, In the Islands. A con siderable number of people had gone with him In this. When they found that they were not permitted et to do, they were disappointed, and they attacked our Gov ernment as the agency preventing them. If they had had any adequate conception of what tur Government was, i.ey could not have engaged In this enterprise with the least hope of success. Perhaps, the; did not stop to reflect on this point, it was most probably a reckless affair on tho J part of individuate who did not feci much sense of responslbilltr They were chag rined and they resented after the natural Malay methods. These don't count the cost very scrupulously, or look far Into the future. This Philippine war has been only the Florida war of 60 years ago on a. larger scale. Our people then did not all approve the course taken toward Osceola and the Semlnoles, and they said so. But this American testimony that they had been wronged "did not affect the Semlnoles' action, and We do not think that a similar expression on tho part of a portion of our people has much. If any, affected the ac tion of the Filipinos at this time. A harder test was applied when the Mexican war broke out a half-century and more ago. Then Mexico was a nation with regularly organized and equipped armies, and all the appliances of civilized warfare. Our armies which Invaded her were small; wQ almost always met her In battle with In ferior forces on our part sometimes with greatly inferior forces. The contest with Mexico, then, was enormously more doubt ful, than the contest with Agulnaldo and his supporters has now been. Yet states men whose memory Is held in the highest reverence did not hesitate to declare the war to be wrong on our part. e IF CAN'AI WERE FORTIFIED. Then, Indeed, Would It Become a Battlefield. New York Times. During the siege of Paris by the Ger mans the members of the diplomatic corps In the besieged City, on the Initiative of the Swiss Minister, M. Kern, sent a col lective note to Count Bismarck demand ing that, in compliance . with 'usage and the law of nations, their fellow-countrymen in Paris should be permitted to seek places of safety. In his reply, Bismarck enumerated tho measures that had been taken to make known the consequences to the Inhabitants of Paris of a prolonged military defense of the City, and ex pressed his views upon tho policy of for tifying a great national capital: "It Is incontestable that the determina tion, unique in modern history, to trans form tho capital of a great country into a fortress, and to make of Its environs a vast fortified camp, Inclosing almoct three millions of Inhabitants, has placed 4iese latter In a painful and much-to-be-rejret-ted situation. Tho responsibility for it falls exclusively upon those who have made of this capital a fortress and field of battle. At any rate, those who have chosen to fix their domicile within a fort ress and of their own free will continue to reside there during the war, must be prepared! for the resulting Inconveniences. Paris being the most Important fortress in France, in which the enemy has corf centrated his principal forces, which, from their fortified positions in the midst of the City's population, constantly attack the German armies by sorties and by ar tillery lire, no valid motive can be alleged for demanding of the German Generals that they renounce their attack upon this fortified position or that they conduct their military operations In a manner which would be Inconsistent with the end sought to be attained." Geffcken. in his note to Heffter, makes this statement: "The bombardment of Paris was made Inevitable by ,the fact that France had made a fortress of this great City." When a place Is fortified it becomes a natural object of attack Iri war. The en emy's Interest compels him to attack it, and no principle of international law or any othor kind of war Inhibits him. The erection of fortifications is an invitation to assault. All the world und-erstands that. If we as a Nation are mad enough to insist upon building forts at the ports of entrance of the Isthmian canal, we con vert those ports and the whole canal Into a great battle-field of the first war In which we may become engaged. What singular folly, what a colossal blunder, to soend millions In making tho canal a place of battle. In providing for Its sure destruction to the prplonged Interruption of traffic. Instead of establishing it for ever as "a neutralized commercial path way between the two great oceans." Tho common sense o'f our great Admiral and his capacity for sound judgment upon big questions have prompted him to a broad-minded declaration of National policy that would silence and confound the opponents of the Hay-Pauhcefote treaty If their minds were not already a prey to tho ignorant and contemptible preoccupations of mediocrity. t a HERE IS A CURIOSITY. For Whnt Purpose Was Such a Clause About Oregon Inserted? Walla Walla Statesman. In studying the question, who are citi zens of the United States, our attention was called to an enactment of Congress that in view of its surroundings Is very peculiar. On the 18th of May. 1S72, the Presi dent approved the general deficiency bll. Section 4 of that law reads: Sec. 4. That all persona born in the district of country formerly known ns the Territory of Oregon, and subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States at this time, are cltUens of the United States in the same minner as If born elsewhere In the United States. "The district of country formerly known as Oregon Territory" became part of the United States 80 years before that law was enacted; it was divided, part of It formed Into the State of Oregon and the balance into the Territory of Washington, 13 years before It was approved. Less than four years before the passage of that act Ore gon as a sovereign State had given ner assent to the adoption of the 14th amend ment to the Constitution, which declares: All persons born or naturalized In the United Statu, and subject to the Jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States. Tho 14th amendment Is eo clear In Its terms that it Is difficult to discern the reason for the passage of the act of 1S72. The amendment makes all persons born in the United States citizens by birth. The State of Oregon was certainly part of the United States when it ratified that amendment. If the people bo.n in her limits were not citizens within the terms of the 14th amendment, they were not made citizens by the passage of the act of 1S72, because the 14th amendment de clares that If persons are not native born they must be naturalized, and no one will contend that amending an appropria tion act is one of the ways pointed out for making citizens by the naturalization laws, nor will any one contend that It la necessary for Congress to re-enact the Constitution. As the enactment was made in the midst of a long appropriation bill, and not as a separate, distinqt proposition, there Is more than a probability that "there is a nigger in the woodpile," as a Walla Walla lawyer said when addressing a jury on which a colored man sat. Who can or will point him out? a Boers Use Gold N'o Scrip. Washington Post. "Do you know what the Boers are do ing with tho gold they are taking out of the English-owned mine3 Iri the Trans vaal?" asked Mr. James C. Lumon, of Capo Town, at the Arlington. "They are coining it. They have at the present plenty of sparo men at Johannesburg. All tho laborers that can. be had are at work in the mines, and they are forcing them to their utmost capacity. "There is no practical way of getting this money out of tho country to furnish anything that Is needed, and even If the money could be sent, there is no way of getting great quantities of anything pur chased back into the country. Therefore, the money is being used at home. It la customary In revolutions to Issue scrip to pay for property which Is confiscated or taken by other means for Government use. The Boers are coining gold for this purpose, and paying for what they need from farmers and others in pure yellow metal-." 9 ' A Farce That Grows Tiresome. Hartford Courant, Feb. 22. Wo have already printed the news that the Massachusetts Hquse again said "No" J to tho worran suffragists Tuesday after- noon, the record vote standing 124 to 32. That's nearly four to one a larger ad verse majority than usual. "The women who filled the galleries filed mournfully out," reports a Boston paper. Every year these petitioners come up to the Great and General Court, and there is a public committee hearing, and then there Is a Legislative "debate," and then the vore Is taken and they "file mourn fully out." The same farce Is periodically enacted In20 other state capitals Connecti cut's for one. Isn't It nearly time to take It off the boards at any rate for a decade or two? If the "cause" Is losing ground in Massachusetts, the home of Dr. Black well and Colonel Thomas Wentworth Hig ginson, what chance has It at present in more conservative communities, and why should the time of Legislators be wasted (to no purpose? o No Sulibidy for the Atlantic Ferries. Chicago Tribune. There Is no reason why the United States Government should subsidize steam ship lines plying between British, German or Belgian ports and New York and Phll Oidelphla. The existing lines are enor mously profitable already, partly because -they are favored by the Government. The International Navigation Company re ceived for carrying the malls during the last fiscal year, J4SS.00O, while the Cunard line, carrying much greater weight of mall, got only 51S3.50O, and the White Star Line only J61,S0O, This sum of nearly half a million dollars, paid to tho so-called "American" line. Is many times the cost of the service rendered. No subsidy scheme will escape bitter condemnation which does not eliminate the payment of large sums to steamship lines which are but parte of railroad systems. The trouble with that Atlantic steamship line which tho promoters of subsidy legislation are most eager to favor Is that Its Interests are 60 interwoven with those of the Stand ard Oil Company, the Pennsylvania Rail road and the National Transit Company that probably. If a meeting of the Board of Directors of one were held, there would bo nresent almost a quorum of each of the three other boards; and they are all interested alike in this scheme to plunder tho National Treasury. Cool Mines In India. Philadelphia Record. Coal Is widely distributed throughout India, except In Bombay and Slnd, the Northwest provinces, and Oudh, Rajpu- tana and Mysore, where tie mineral Is cither scantily distributed or entirely ab sent. The seams In Bengal and Assam are frequently from 50 feet and SO feet to as much as 10 feet in thickness. The pits are often of considerable depth. At pres ent the deepest, appears to be about 7C) feet. In many cases tho working of the scams leads to the escape of little or no fire-damp, so that the miners are able to work with naked lights. Ar, the present tfmc Bengal produces more than three fourths of the coal mined In India, Indian coal varies much in composition and qual ity. Most of It Is quite suitable for ordi nary purposes, while some of the samples, e. g., certain of these from Bengal and Central India, are of excellent quality, equal to that of some of the best British coals. The fixed carbon of the Bengal coal ranges between 50 and 60 per cent, and. the calorific value exceeds 6000 calor iesequal to about 10 British thermal -units while the ash often does not much exceed and in some instances falls below 10 per cent, and the sulphur frequently present In but very small proportion. e Distnncc of the Sun. PORTLAND, Feb. 2S. (To the Editor.) Is the sun the same distance from earth at all times of the year, or 00,000,000 miles, as the earth forma an eclipse In Its revolution? S. Distance of the earth from the sun varies with the seasons. It is nearer the sun in winter In our hemisphere than In summer. But the movement known as precession of the equinoxes will change this In about 11,500 years. The distance of the earth from the sun, at any time of the year. Is not yet accurately known. Esti mates vary by 1,000.000 to 2.CO0.00O miles. Accurate data for determination of this problem will- probably be reached some centuries hence. The data on which as tronomers mainly rely are derived from observations of the transit of Venus; and It will be about 100 years before another transit of this planet will occur. But It Is now settled that the distance of the earth from tho sun Is never so much as 93,000,000 miles. Estimates vary between 91,000,001 and 93,000.000 miles. i p ' He "Was Known. Boston Herald. The George Washington narrative Is somewhat ancient and flshliko now, thoueh It may be permissible to relate the incident of the aged negro, called as a witness In court, who was asked by the District Attorney his name. "George Washington, sah!" replied the colored gentleman. "George Washington, George Washington," sold the Attorney; "seems to me I have heard that name before." "S'pects you has, sah. I'se been llbln 'bout hyar many years." . No Use for Registry I.nvr. Juno In Joseph Herald. Wo registered the other day, and had to sign our names three times and have two witnesses. This County has no usa for such a law, while a registery law is all right for large Cities and populous Counties. Well, the fools are not all dead yet. i a Coastwise. Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph. "Papa," said Tommy Northside, who had been reading news from the Atlantic shore, "what kind of a steamer Is a coast wise steamer?" "A steamer wise enough to koep oft the rocks along the coast," replied Mr. North side. . 4 0 Rebuttnl Testimony. Chicago Record. The Guest Isn't your little boy rather nervous, Mrs. Bimm? Mrs. BImm No, I think not. Little Boy Yes, I am, ma; when people who come here stay too long It makes me wriggle around and kick my choir. . no Immunity Comes Ilia". Indianapolis Journal. "What makes that new magazine cost so much?" 'T don't know; maybe they have to pay people not to write war articles for it." Time for an Accountings St. Paul Dispatch. Mr. Frick thinks that If Andy Carnegie could afford to pay $4000 for cabling Hoar's speech to Agulnaldo, it is time for him to whack up. o Looklnjr Haclrwnrd. St. Paul Globe. A colony has been formed to lead "Looking Backward" Uvea. It will be awkward If success turns their heads. o " ' "Tlie Q,ulck or tlie Dead." St. Paul Globe. Of Lord Roberts it has been predicted that he will come back from South Africa a duke or dead. A LIvInsr Wnjrc. Ixmdon Globe. (Tho Dean of "Windsor states that they have several livings in Windsor of 120 to 180 a year, and yet they cannot get the best men for them.) Ohl where are hid the Double Firsts? And where, ohl where, the best of men? Livings are here for him who thirsts To live ach week on two pounds ten The Poor, cf course, will call fcr bread, Support he must the Blankat Club, The Mothers' Meeting must be fed. The cricket team receive his ouh. And yet tb man most deeply road, Most skilled to make the two ends moot. To all theso charms of wealth is dead. And spurns the Wring with lua feet. r- It Is never too early for the local Dem ocrats to get into a row. As if any one ever expected that a lot of legislators would allow an anti-posa , bill to become a law! This tale oC Cronje's capture Is a fishy one, they say. For the biggest force they captured TVas the force that got away. The turned-down Congressional candi date from Utah cannot say that there is a hoodoo -on his name. Now Chicago wants her pet enterprise made Into a ship canal. Here is a City which is a typical expansionist. The more Hanna's limb Is elongated. It must be remembered, the better leverago he win have when he begins to kick. Now Britain's brimming- cup of Joy Grows full and ever fuller. And "Bobs'' is standing at the tap; It -wasn't filled by JJuller. Perhaps the Government does not hasten to find Agulnaldo because they would not know what to do with him If they got him. He pulls the sheets from the clanging press. In the room way down below, And to hear him swear, you'd never guess That he was the man with the Hoe. Philadelphia may be slow, but sho bun coed the Republicans into giving her tha convention, while the Democrats mada Kansas City plank down spot cash. Now let the dark blue flag float out Against a gloomy sky. And let the legend, "Rain Today," Confront the paesers-by. For from the East comes heavy news: The man who made the rain And hall and things obey his will. Will not come back again. Two mysterious boxes in tho British Museum are to be opened this year. Ona was left In 1S34 by Mr. Donee, who had beep Keeper of Manuscripts, with direc tions that It be opened this year, and the other contains the papers of Lord Brough- ton, better known as Sir John Cam Hob house, Byron's friend and three times a. Cabinet Minister. He died In 1S69, leav ing his diaries, correspondence and memo randa to tho museum, with dfrectiona not to open them till 19C0. An Interesting exhibit at the Paris Ex position will be an Industry of Minnesota not yet two years old, which Is converting into many useful and ornamental articles the familiar wire grass of the American swamps, theretofore considered wholly; worthless. In this exhibit will be furni ture, the grass taking the placo of reed, rattan or willow; screens, baby carriageo, baskets, Jadlniere bowls and mattings. The material Is described as light, beau tiful, elastic and enduring. More than E00 persons are now employed steadily in tha industry, which number is to be tripled in a few months, the demands for tho goods warranting the erection of two more plants. In the summer, when the raw material is being gathered, more than 3000 persons are engaged. A countryman, passing along Front street yesterday and seeing truck loads of sweet potatoes being unloaded at several commission - houses, while many mora truck loads of Oregon potatoes were be ing hauled to the wharf for shipment abroad, stopped and looked for somo tlmo at the teams and men hard at work. Fi nally ho remarked that this exchange of potatoes Involved a great waste of time and labor, and, consequently, of money. He said that if the people who raised the sweet potatoes would eat them and tho Orcgonians would confine themselves to Oregon potatoes, all the expenses of ship ping, trucking and handling both would be. saved. When told that if this suggestion, was applied to everything, there would be no business, no commerce, not much of anything, in fact, and the country would revert to a Btate of barbarism, he seemed puzzled, and passed on with his head bowed down,, a-studylng. 8 The Shorter Cateclilsni. New York Sun. Has the United States, that Is to say. Congress and the President, a free hand in legislating for countries under Ameri can sovereignty, but outside of the States and Territories? They have. Their control of "posses sions" of this nature Is, as complete aa tha', of any civilized government. C. . tho United States hold Puerto Rico or the Philippines as a "colony?" Surely. Is It politically desirable that the doc trine under which discrimination against new territory Is possible should be Incor porated In any legislation as to Puerto Rico? Not at all. Puerto Rico's commercial re lations to the United States can safely be settled on their merits. Puerto Rico being where it Is and what It Is, should there be a tariff between it and the States of. the American Union? No tariff. o Manufacture in the West. Scottish American. The West is fast becoming a formidable competitor In the Eastern markets. It is coming energetically to the front in man ufactures generally. In many branches o domestic productlon-notably In wooden ware articles for household use. farm im plements and appliances for transporta tionit already commands the Western and Is successfully invading the Eastern markets, where It bids fair to do so with Increasing enterprise ns tho years roll on. 8 " Doss of War. New York Telegram. Tho British army Is the only one in Eu rope which has not attached to it trained dogs to act as messengers, to carry am munition and to do ambulance work. In all tho great armies of Europe there aro bands of dogs of all classes, pointers, sheop dogs, spaniels, St. Bernards, and so on, carefully and systematically trained to perform a score of useful duties on the field of battle. o ' A. Senshell. Bessie Manning Mcintosh in Somerville Journal. What song are you trying to elng me. O shell of the Southern Sea? What wonderful ocean melodies Are you trying to give to me; Delicate, white and fragile,. ' " With your spiral stair within. , Through which the music, bit by bit. Winds in and out and in. ' What soul is Imprisoned in you That lived en that Southern shore. That you took to your heart in Its -flight from earth. And are holding it evermore? Tender, with mournful cadence. Its music Is sadder than tears. As it pleadp from its snowy prison. With a passion of patient years. Of tho beautiful bygone dream life On the warm Australian sand. Of tho hot gold sunshine and brilliant flowers That garland that island land; Of tha life and lovo and sweetness. Of tho sorrow and passionate pain, Tho old world life as you left it Over and over again. j Until that wonderful morning, ' When God ahall whisper low, Aa Ho did by tho ehores cf Galileo Bo many years ago. Tho soul will eeaso Its moanlntr And wait for tho Master's will, Ja tho earth and sky and heaven en hlffft. At thess sweet wordr, "Peacot B sUUT . NOTE AND COMMENT. '4 M .' i