Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1900)
!,-Y$3!?Jfli J5? ' F3 "' ?Vf r THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, 'APRIL' 23, 1900. 3SlW3l he (Dreeomotw Entered at the PostoOee at Portland, Croon. as second-class matter. TELEPHONES. CdltorUl Hncm....ica I Business Once. ...667 REVISED SUnSCRHTION RATES. Br Mall (postage prepaid). In Advance Daily. withSucday. per month.... ....... 40 S3 Dally. Sunday excepted, per year.... .... 7 SO Dally, with Sunday, per rear 00 Eunday, per rear 2 00 The Weekly, per rear V. 1 SO The Weekly, 3 montha.. ........ ........... SO To City Subscribers It Dally, per wesk. delivered. Sundays exeepted-lSc .' Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays lncludeiLZOa TK rt . . . 11 -- a... a a a ... .11. MUVW HUUntA .W T turn any manuscripts sent to It without solicits. ' lion. No atampi should be Inclosed for this I 1 ft lilll l-l.4llH4t. t. . .. ...... ...A....!.. . . I QnrnMtt. News or dlsmtslnn Intended ftvr publication la The Oregonlan should be addressed Invariably "Editor The Oregonlsn." not to the name of nr IndlUduaL Letters rflallre to advertising. subscriptions' nr to any business matter should aauretsea s'mply "The Oregonlsn." Puget Bound Bureau Captain A. Thompson. efSoe at 1111 racine avenue. Tacoma, Box Did. Tacoma postoffloe. Eastern Biutnem (met The Tribune build In. New Tork city: "The Rookery." Chicago; the S. C. Beckwlth speclcl agency. New Tork. Tor rale tn San rrandaco by J. K. Cooper. Market street, near the Palace hotel, and t Goldsmith Bros.. 230 Sutter street. For rale In Chicago by the P. a News Co, 1 Dearborn street. . TODAVS WEATHER-Falr; probably light frosts In early morning; warmer Monday after noon and Tuesday; northweat winds. rOItTXAIVD. MOXDAV, APRIL 23. BV niltECT VOTE OP THE PEOPLE. Senator Stewart, of Nevada, in the preliminary debate a few days ago on the House resolution for election of Senators by popular vote, said: I want the committee to take Into constdera tlon and report. If thl amendment ahould be adopted, what provision they can make for preventing political conventions from taking the place of the Legislature. Will not turn ing from the Legislature to a political con vention create a greater danger of extraneous influence than now exists? I want tho commit tee to report how this amendment, or any that they may report, will avoid the control cf the election of Senators by political corn en tlons. and whether the control by political con ventions will be much of an Improvement on Legislatures. I want to havo that point In vestigated and to have a parallel drawn In the report, so that we can form some Idea as to whether we are not Jumping out of the frying-pan Into the Arc I want to be informed 0a that point before I vote on the measure. There is a complete remedy for the supposed evil. It is a remedy always in the hands of the people, and it never can be wrested from them. If political conventions nominate for the Senate persons whom the people do not want, they can and will defeat the candidates. "With this power in the hands of the people, there will be the surest pos sible guarantee against the nomina tion of objectionable and unworthy men, and corresponding Improvement In all the ways of politics. If Senators against whom there are real grounds of objection and such are very often able to force re-election under the present system or if other candidates to whom the people Justly object, drive their nominations through conventions, they will have to run the gauntlet of popular suffrage; and un scrupulous and unworthy men will soon be taught the necessary lesson. l"-"5nder the present system the people virtually nave no control, and against the intrigue of self-seeking and dis trusted politicians no remedy. The member of the Legislature very often acts as if he were the representative of no constituency, and had nobody's Interests or wishes to consult but his own. Many of the members of every Legislative Assembly never were there before; many of them think it doubt rul whether they will ever be there again, and they resolve to use the of fice and the opportunity for all they are worth. So they dicker with the candidate for the Senate, and get from him promises of office, or other wwnni for themselves, for members of their family or for personal friends. Raids on the state treasury, throueh annro- priation acts, are carried through the Legislature as a part of the deal; and as a result of all this barter and cor ruption a Senator Is made whom the people never would have elected. In general deal, legislation that is necessary for the public welfare gives place to legislation for local or per sonal objects, and the work of the ses sion takes on a character of Jobbery throughout. Even best measures are held up and their advocates forr-rt tn lrrender. or lose every chance of get- ""s meir measures through. Election of Senators by direct popu lar vote would change all this. It is the most important of all measures of political reform; and It would be most satisfactory to the country to learn that the Senate has sufficient regard for the need of this greatest of reforms to .adopt the resolution with practical unanimity, as the Housp .,, .w,. But if action cannot be had through Congress, then the other method of proposing amendments to tho p, Itution should "be employed that Is to Say. through application of th tm.. latures of two-thirds of the states. If the Senate shall refuse or neglect to adopt the resolution that has been sent to it from the House, the Legislatures ought to take this action at their very next sessions. Nowhere have the e-lls or the present system been more marked than in our Northwest Pacific States, and The Oregonian believes these states will be among the fore most in pushing the reform. DALLOUXACV. A sermon noteworthy in more than one respect Is briefly reported in an other column. Dr. Hill's utterances on the limitation of creeds and on the vum uuiy snarea by the minister with all citizens alike, command the respect of all who have the Interests of truth and right sincerely at heart. But it is '" ",s reierence to the power of law over human character that special at tention is desired to be drawn. The preacher says: ,,T th,lluit wora "" n PCcn concern !Sf , LH forcment o . the fact remains that society cannot be regenerated by govern ment. The movement Is from a righteous community to righteous offleers. rather than from righteous officers to a righteous commu- 1 . vp tmm offlc e,"y man whose nana has been smirched by a bribe or whose yrrpathlea are with vice, and put only elder and deacons In their places, and th. .,...!.. woman will stui ply her trade, and vice will ulk. only with atealthler step, up to your very doors. ' These words are true as gospel. They have a two-fold pertinence at the pres ent time. One application of them Dr. Hfll himself unhesltatlnelv miim This is that the present local agitation over vice in Portland, as represented by those members of the uerverted Good Government Association who are sincere In their -purposes. Is misguided In Its assumption that suppression ot vice Is to be obtained hy substituting for the present municipal administra tion one that Is unfriendly to it. Elders and deacons in office, he says, do not make a moral or an orderly city. The way to reform men Is to cleanse their hearts; not to put trust In the chariots and horses of statutes and ordinances. The other application of the principle laid down Is not made In the sermon. but The Oregonian will make It. What Is the reason for this redoubled outcry against gambling, upon the eve of a municipal election, and after the nomi nations have all been made? The an swer Is that the object I? political. It is hoped to defeat the Republican nom inees with the Fusion nominees, the present city administration being Re publican. tThe Good Government Asso elation has doubtless achieved consid erable results in Its proper sphere, which is the suggestion of wortly names for local ounces. The nominees of both parties are almost without ex ception men of known good moral character. Probably at no previous election have so many men of church affiliations been nominated. So far, so good. Portland never hod a more rotten and shameless police administration than was given it by the Fusion outfit the perverted Good Government Associa tion, disowned by its honest originators, is now seeking to foist upon us again. It never had a better one than has been given it by the present Chief oi Police. The Goo-Goos are playing poli tics, and mighty low politics at that. TAKE IT EITHER WAY. The Oregon fusion platform of 1SO0 starts out with this declaration: Wo ... do hereby realllrm and indorse. In whole and tn j-art. In letter and In spirit, the platform adopted by the -Democratic con vention held In Chicago In lsbo. Now, the Chicago platform of 1S95 contained this paragraph: We declare that the act of JST3, demonetizing slUer, without the knowledge or approval ol the American people, has resulted In tho ap preciation of gold and a corresponding fall In the prices of commodities produced by the people. The crime of 1873 Is still In force, ag gravated by the crime of 1900. There must be, therefore, a continued "cor responding fall In prices." or else the crime of 73 Is wrongfully indicted. At the time tne Chicago platform was adopted, cotton was selling in New Tork at 7 cents; now it brings 10. "Wheat was at 65; now It brings 79. Or, to be specific, for the information of the producers of Oregon, here are tne prices of our products at Portland today, compared with the prices on the day that Bryan was nominated. In July. 1896: . . .. 1896. 1900. v near, w a 1 1 a Walla tn i 60 50 tOti 4JOS4 150 13 Q 13 03 it 08 15 0 15H 500 0CJ4A 07K 350 0375 4 00 f 4 SO Salmon loo Rice. 3 co Wool. Valley.... OS Hop 02 Hides rai Hoes a oo' rn r. yal 04 & HL Mutton 3 00 Beef 3 00 03 25 Another leading utterance of the Chicago platform is this: Wo are unalterably opposed to monometallsm. which has locked fast the prosperity of an In dustrial people In the paralysis cf hard times. This refers to the gold standard. The fuslonists of Oregon declare that the gold standard Is the cause of the pres ent "paralysis of hard times." How about It? The Government records show that since 1896 the consuming ability of our people has increased re markably. The amount of products consumed per head of population Is the best test of prosperity or hard times. The record shows: Per capita consumption. Cotton, pounds is.) i u Wheat, bushels. 4.73 "V95 Sugar, pounds 61.6 CL? Coffee, pounds 8.01 10 55 The cause of this present paralyslj Is the paucity of the money supply. Tho figures are these: Money in clrcula " Mar-1- peIroncapita::::::::::,1-506-13A IH Even poor old silver has come In fot Its share. Silver currency of all kinds In circulation July 1. 1896. was J53S.023. 793, and on March J, 1900, it was 3629. 9S1.018. We urge these figures upon the Democratic spellbinders who are about to elucidate and defend the Chicago platform in whole and In part, in let ter and In spirit. We shall expect there to explain whether the crime of '73 has caused the changes enumerated, or whether their platform is a mass of stuff and nonsense. Otherwise, and perhaps In any case, we shall have occasion to refer to the subject again ucmecn now ana June 4. THE DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMA TION. It must be admitted that the Repub lican party. In some of Its own posi tions, is not strong. It has committed errors which have been subject of comment and object of censure hv nonr. ly the whole Republican press of the country. But it has committed no error that is not retrievable. Provision Is made for correction of the mistake as to Porto Rico. The act will soon ex pire by limitation. The affirmative leg islation on the gold standard atones for many omissions. After all, th main question in politics, when one Is dis satisfied with a party, is this. "What is tho alternative?" In this case the alternative is the ascenaency of the Democratic party, on the Chicago platform for that plat form Is to be "reaffirmed, in letter and spirit." Upon it the Democratic party, as its present leaders admit, made a radical departure from its former course. This departure was in the di rection of a socialistic creed, animated by a spirit of hostility to ail existing institutions 01 property, of peaceful In dustry, of government with authority and power to enforce it, of conditions necessary to stable finance and Indus trial prosperity. In a word, that plat form was. Is, and will be. practically a platform of dangerous agitation, tur bulence, riot and anarchy. This ,1s its alarming feature. It is a menace to the prosperity and peace of the coun try. It is the Infiltration. Into the -Democratic party, during many years, of So cialist and Populist aoctrines, with their natural anarchistic affiliations, that has produced this transformation in the character of a party that once stood out as the highest exponent of Individualism, as the strongest adver sary of the Ideas of socialism and pa ternalism in government. And It Is this change of character that produces such profouno. distrust of It In the minds of multitudes. Including many who all their lives have been assocl- ated with It. Tou hear in every auar- I jter from Democrats who recognUe this J 04 00 & 10 03 iLGti in departure, speak of it with regret, and even with alarm. They deprecate this deep infiltration of populist, socialist ana anarchist Ideas, and find them selves compelled to hold aloof from the party so long as this influence Is up permost in It. Strenuous effort has been made throughout Oregon by these Democrats this year to sever this connection of their party with elements foreign to its historical character, but with little or no success. Many of these will act with the Republican party, not be cause they approve its course, but be cause they are compelled to oppose the tendencies and purposes of this fusion of populistle, soclallstlo and an archistic forces with it forces which, moreover, have taken direction of It. Upon Its own merit the Republican party would not be strong enough to hold these men; but the demerit of the Democratic party, under control of thoso who made the Chicago plat form of 1896. and now will repeat It. will determine their action. After one more National defeat, there will be a chance for the Democratic party to get once more on safe and rational ground. SUDSIDr SCIIESIC AS amended. "I'll take the turkey, and you take the owl, or you take the owl and I'll take the turkey." Is the legended offer of the white man to the Indian. An alternative of equal fairness Is now of fered the American farmer by the ship ping subsidy bill in Its amended form. The necessity for hiring men to engage In the shlpownlng business never did appeal very strongly to the farming classes, who are paid no subsidies for following their calling. It was there fore but natural that when tho bill In its original form failed to make any provision for the craft which actually carries the farmer's products to mar ket, the opposition developed In the farming districts became so strong that something had to be done to pacify it. This end. In the minds of the subsidy grafters, has been achieved by what Is known as the "cargo amendment," as neatly polished and as worthless a gold brick as was ever handed the farmer. This Innocent-appearing amendment provides that a steamer shall carry cargo to the amount of 50 per cent of her gross tonnage. In order to entitle her to the subsidy. It further provides that, "in ascertaining the percentage of the cargo required for passenger rind mall steamers, the tonnage measure ment of the space permanently devoted to the carrying of passengers and mall shall first be deducted from the gross tonnage of such steamers." The Inter national Steamship Company, better known as the American line, is credited with the authorship of the bill, and In Illustrating the beauties of the cargo amendment, one of their steamers can be taken to show the workings of the bill as It now slands. The St. Louis, oi the American line, Is of 11.629 tons gross register; but, after deducting the space for passenger accommodations and quarters for her crew of 550 men, the actual freight space which It would be necessary to half fill in order to earn the subsidy would be but 3500 tons. The St. Louis is a 21-knot boat, and comes in for the highest subsidy classi fication. She receives IK cents per gross ton for each 100 miles traveled up to 1500 miles, and additional compensa tion of 2.3 cents per ton per hundred miles. On the round trip from New Tork to Europe the St. Louis will re ceive 315,989, and to earn this she Is compelled to carry but 1750 tons o'f freight. Senator Fiye, In reporting the bill to the Senate, said: "This bill Is thus primarily for the benefit of our exports, and as agriculture. In bulk and value, furnishes much the greater p"art of our exports, the bill is essentially a bill to promote the exports of agricul ture." The St. Louis is a high-speed express steamer, and carries high priced freight, and the grain and cotton of the American farmers goes foreign In slow-moving tramp steamers. Here Is what the subsidy bill does for them. The Belgian King, now in this port, is a fair representative of the type of vessels that carry the commerce of the world. She Is 3379 tons gross register. uuu win carry over woo tons of cargo. She employs a small crew, and has no passenger accommodations; and ac cordingly, in order to become eligible for the subsidy, she must carry as much freight as is taken by the St. Louis. It would bother the Belgian King to go faster than eleven knots, and for this reason she takes the lowest of the clas sified subsidies offered four-tenths oi a cent per ton per hundred miles. In addition to the amount granted for the first 1500 miles. This would make her compensation for the round trio be tween New York and Europe 31436, and to earn that sum she would be obliged to carry practically the same amount that was carried by the St. Louis In earning 315.9S9. The American line, however, with a constantly increasing demand on the space of Its steamers for passenger and express accommodations, does not care to be forced to carry any freight In or der to secure a good, big subsidy. For this reason, apparently, a "Joker" ap pears In the last paragraph of the cargo amendment, which provides that "any shortage In the amount of cargo re quired shall diminish the amount of the compensation "in this paragraph pro vided for,' In the proportion that such shortage bears to the total cargo or Its equivalent, so required." The compen sation "in this paragraph provided for" is the 1 cents per ton for each hun dred miles traveled, the 2.3 cents per ton per mile appearing In a following paragraph. By filling her cargo space with passengers .and baggage, the St. Louis would thus forfeit J2616 per trip, but would still be paid 313,273. The' Belgian King, if It were possible for her to take up all of her cargo space with passengers, baggage, eta, would, under the provisions of the "Joker." los, 3760 27, and would receive but 3675 80. If, as Senator Frye has stated, the ship ping subsidy measure is a "bill to pro mote the exports of agriculture," it will need to be equipped with some amend. ments provided by somebody less in terestcd than the American line offi cials. It Is doubtful If any Army reorgan ization bill will pass Congress the pres ent session, even so simple a reform measure as the one prepared by the military committee of the House. The proposed change In the composition of staff departments Is an important one. It was here our greatest military weak ness developed during the war with Spain. The reorganization of the ar tillery to meet present conditions is also Important. But the whole question of the Army will come up again at the next seRKlnn nnA It la Yuiie.,i n cress will irive It nttntinn t.i .u " The act under which the present Army of 65,000 regulars and 35,000 volunteers Is maintained expires by limitation July 1. 1M1, and the Army will be reduced to the old limit of 25,000 men at that time, unless more are provided for by legislation at the next session. Tnat more than this will be needed seema certain, and Congress will undoubtedly meet the demand In one form or an other. In the Stale of Washington Senator Turner's combination with Governor Rogers will probably give the latter the renomlnatlon for the office of Governor. The office of Lieutenant-Governor, only a uselese appendage, has significance merely as material to trade on. It Is not likely, they say, that "the little feller. Dannels." of Vancouver, now this fifth wheel of the Populist state government, or perhaps, more accu rately, the dog under the wagon, will be taken as the candidate again though he was taken before only for the reason that It was not thought at the time there was any chance of winning the election: and this motive may now bring him the nomination ntmin. Wash ington's vote four years ago surprised everybody. The causes of the slump were very complex, but have since disappeared: and the state this year will go heavily against the Demo-P6pu list party. Washington Is for National expansion and for industrial and com mercial development, and the opponents of this policy will have a hard road to travel in that state. While the fighting spirit against Rus sia Is said to run high in Japan, the unprecedented Immigration of Japan ese to the Pacific Coast ports of the United States and British Columbia is held to Indicate that this spirit does not extend to all the subjects of His Maj esty the Mikado. It is probable, how ever, that this rush is due to commer cial rather than political or military causes, since the little yellow men who are swarming across our Western bor ders seem to come with a definite pur pose to go to work. Japan will not lack soldiers, so far as numbers are con cerned, to throw into the field against Russia, if it should come to that. The few thousands that are coming hither will not be missed from "the populous Island Empire. Whether the Japanese can compete in vigor and endurance with the sturdy Muscovites In cam paign duty Is another matter, which only the shock of battle and the tre mendous strain of war will decide. It Is useless to expect action on the Nicaragua Canal bill at this session of Congress. The House will pass the bill, but the Senate will not. The Sen ate is helpless to do anything but in dulge In endless talk under its ridicu lous rules. Anybody can knife any measure, if he is determined that it shall not reach the point of final con sideration. All he needs Is nerve and sufficient wind capacity. The bill will be killed this time on the pretext that the Hay-Pauncefote treaty is not dis posed of. and great international ques tions are thus left unsettled. And any earnest and statesmanlike endeavor to settle them Is blocked by the same sort of trifling and grubbing dllatoriness In tho Senate. It is not "overproduction" that has caused the American Steel & Wire Company to shut down Its mills. There would have been a steady market, for absorption of the entire product, had not the trust made prices so exorbitant as to arrest consumption. Only a little while ago this trust made a dividend of 312.000.000 to its stockholders. Every body wants iron, steel, wire and nails, and building operations everywhere have been arrested or greatly checked by unconscionable prices made by the trust. Tet the trust has sold for lower prices abroad than at home. Here is a case where the tariff ought to be abol ished. It helps to sustain this reat abuse. Senator Lindsay is accredited with saying in regard to Dewey's candidacy: "Oh, this Is only a woman's affair; Dewey was named at an afternoon tea." An astute Politician, nftpr- tvhnt hod gone before, would have foreseen the general disposition to ascribe this chtnge of heart on the Presidential candidacy to Mrs. Dewey's Influence, and would have avoided the humlllal tlon which has followed. For, say what we will of woman's equality with or superiority to men, no man so insist ent is manly Independence likes to pose before the public in leading string or drawing harness manipulated by his wife. Senator Morgan will have 116 out of 120 votes In the Legislature of his state. He stands for expansion, the Nicaragua Canal and a Democracy that has not descended to the low Bryan plane. The most determined fight In the history of the state was waged on him, and the result Is the utter rout of the ultra-Bry-anltes. A delegation not particularly friendly to the Nebraskan will be sent to Kansas City. Alabama is the very embodiment of the new South. It never sent any pitchfork Senators to Wash ington: but It gave Joe Wheeler for Cuba and the Philippines. The Capo Nome rush is Imminent It Is to be said in its favor that It is a mere Summer excursion to the Arc tic Seas compared to the appalling hard ships of the original Klondike Journey. The goldhunter who leaves Portland travels in a comfortable vessel and Is landed directly on the gold-bearing beach. If he finds no gold, which Is likely, he can get aboard ship and speedily return home If he has taken the precaution to provide himself be forehand wlthareturn ticket. The "Citizens" Legislative nominees. If elected, would go to Salem unembar- rassed by pledges, platform or principles or party, it was selected asa result of a private arrangement between the Democratic ring and certain Republi cans, about whom little Is known ex cept that they are disgruntled. It rep resents nothing but the personal am bitions of the several candidates and the personal purposes of their creators. Mr. Nottingham professes to be as good a Republican as anybody; and he Is especially strong on the gold stand ard and the McKlnley Administration. To prove It. he "connublates" for a Legislative nomination with a lot of Democrats and ex-Populists and sore head Republicans, whose chief aim Is to upset the gold standard and defeat the McKlnley Administration. Scorchers are making a 'mistake when they attack the babies and arouse the mothers to the defense of their off- spring. This may be the last thing nec essary to bring the people' to a realisa tion of the perfectly clear proposi tion that the sidewalk is made for pe destrians and the street for vehicles, even In muddy weather. With 3100.000 to spend, it should not be difficult for partisan fury In Ken tucky to get testimony to convict any person upon whom It might be desired to fasten the murder of GoebeL The bankruptcy law Is a great con venience to the theatrical profession. Minstrel Haverly has Just been acquit ted of 3174.179 debts. Art comes high, but we must have it. CHRISTIANITY'S FALSE FRIENDS. Plena for Catholicism Insincere and Hoatlle' to All Rellsioa. Now Tork Tribune. A curious outcropping of dilettante ag nosticism is its opposition to the Protest ant principle of free and Independent In quiry. For years certain writers In Eng land and America who personally accept no form ot Christianity as divinely author itative have gone out ot their way to ex pose the Inconsistencies Into which the right of private Judgment is supposed to lead Protestants. With a great show of concern for the fundamental teachings of Christ they denounce this right of private Judgment as subversive of Christianity, And declare that the only bulwark of the Christian religion today Is to be found In the great and venerable communion which denlca that right namely, the Roman CathoIIo church. Were such a view put forth merely as the academic opinion of closet philosophers It would deserve lit tle attention, though even then the mys tery would remain why men who them relves stand for the most untrmmeled free thought should condemn" others for exercising the came privilege. Is It possi ble that the explanation of their attltnde Is to be found In the answer made by one of them to the question why he, an ag nostic, constantly sneered at Protestant ten and eulogized Roman Catholicism? "Oh. that is easy." ho rcDlIed. "I don"t in the least care for any form of Christian ity; my only object to to put all the churches In a hole and see them squirm." Yet tho pecious and Insincere pleas for a hidebound orthodoxy mada by such men as thcoe are hailed with Joy by many unthink ing Christians! Because good and loyal Presbyterians differ on these questions and because the church permits such differences of opinion to exist, the cry Is raised that the Pres byterian church Is no better than a club of Intldele. and every opportunity is seized to make the same charge against every other Protestant denomination. They arc all rushing down the steep incline of un belief, we are told, and only one church, the Roman Catholic, remains true to the teachings of Chrln. Outside of Its pale all is confusion, unrest, contradiction. Especially ohould the Roman Catholic church frown on throe self-constituted de fenders of the faith, for the argument which they employ-mleht easily bo turned against Catholicism Itself, and doubtless will be when it suits the purpose of thoeo who are now exploiting It against Prot estantism. The argument by which they prove Protestantism false to the teach ings of Christ proves the same of every form 0 Christianity now existing. For. variant as they are, they have all grown out of the original form of ADostolIc Christianity. The tendency In Protestant ism to recast Its theology and restate some of the forms of Its belief is a fact of momentous Importance. The cauees that have led to It and tho results to Chris tianity that will follow from It ought to be studied by all who call themselves Christians with the most open-minded honesty and with the one object of learn ing the truth. For flippant sciolists to caricature this tendency in order to gain the cheap applause of the unthinking for their forcible feeble banalities Is an of fense against good morals and good man ners. 1 e Dewey's. Platform. OREGON CITY. April 22. (To the Ed itor.) Having lately seen some mention cf Dewey as a possible candidate for Presi dent, If I may be allowed to speak ot great things in connection with small, I will say that his attitude recalls to my mind a trifling Ircldent that occurred In thoee pre-hlstorlc days when Oregon took her politics straight and a man was either a solid Republican or an out-and-out Dem ocrat, and there was less fusion and con fusion than at nrescnt. It was on tho eve of an election, and party spirit was at high tide, even among the school children, and I remember that In my childish enthusiasm I entreated ocr cook, a sturdy girl, who might have en forced any opinion she held by main strength, had occasion demanded, to tell me wnetner sho was a Democrat or a Re publican. With a meekness that Is sometimes char acteristic of her wi and with a faith in the future that was eubltzne. she replied: "I am rot erything now, but I will bo whatever mj htwhand Is." Dewey lac pot actually declared the foregoing to be his policy, but a man may commit himself by what he leaves unsaid, and he should insist on there being an equal rights plank In the platform, when Mrs. Dewey decides which one he is to stand upon. j jj 1 a It la Merely a Sham. Baltimore Is between the North and tho South, but It Is nearer In touch with the sentiment of the latter section, and the opinion of one of Its leading banking houses doubtless reflects the view of Southern financiers who prefer the teach ings of experience to frea lKmg r. politicians. This circumstance gives time ly Interest to the warning words addressed to Southerners by Hambleton & Co. of that city, in their market letter, against believing that the Bryan of 1900 Is not the Bryan of 1SD6. They say: The money question In the last Presidential contest was paramount, because It was realized that the election of Mr. Bryan meant the placing of thli country upon a sliver basis, and the consequent destruction of the credit of the Nation with all ot its resulting evils. Tho passage of the gold-standard bill pre cluded the possibility of any Immediate danger to bo apprehended should Mr. Bryan be elect ed. But. every one knows that Mr. Bryan sun favors free silver coinage, and that not making this a major question In the coming contest la simply a sham. 1 I Sprlnsr Styles of Weather. Indianapolis Press. She I wonder why we always have so much disagreeable weather when it is sup posed to be Spring? He Spring la represented as feminine, is she not? "Yes." "Exactly. Well, my Idea Is that Just be fore Winter goes out of business he holds a bargain remnant sale." The Teat of Merit. Philadelphia Press. Tom Of the two, ScribblerIs undoubted ly the more clever poet. Dick What? You've admitted yourself that Tenson was really inspired, while Scribbler's stuff was rot! Tom I know; but Scribbler sells his stuff. , 1 1 Pleaslns; Reckonings. Detroit Free Press. "It Is queer about Cousin Valeria's old admirers." "What Is queer?" "Why, tho further she gets away from them the more numerous they appear to her." Anything Will Do. Boston Commercial Bulletin. "Is not Smorklns a rising man In poll- t!r7" "Kaw; he is ono of those tellers that would take the nomination for Vlce-Presl- .dent If it was offered him." LATEST ATTACK ON ROOSEVELT. A slight ripple has been stirred up in the calm pool of New 'York's contempla tion ot Governor Roosevelt as the hero of Santiago. Colonel Alexander S.- Bacon takes up his pen in defense of the Seven-ty-flrat Regiment, which retired from the Cuban, campaign with a somewhat inglo rious record, and makes a direct assault on Colonel Roosevelt's military career. Colonel Bacon has Issued a brochure ad dresed to "on intelligent Americans." He introduces maps, sworn statements and personal assertions to show that the Seventy-first did two things on that famous 1st of July no other regiment did. namely, to enter an unknown trail, and. secondly, to stay there under Are without running away. They stayed there so firmly that a colored Infantry regiment the Twenty fourth passed over them to reach tho front. Colonel Bacon, who characterizes Roosevelt as the opprersor of the Seventy-first, gets right down to personalities, and quotes as follows from Roosevelt's book: ' Lieutenant Davis" First Sergeant, Clar ence Gould, killed a Spanish soldier with his revolver. Just as the Spaniard was aiming at one of my Rough Riders. At about the, same time, I alio shot one. I was with Henry Bardsar, running up at the double, and two Spaniards leaped from tho trenches and fired at us, not 10 yards away. As they turned to run I closed In and fired twice, missing the first and killing the second. At the time I did not know of Gould's exploit, and supposed my feat to be unique, although Gould had killed his Spaniard In the trenches, not very far from me. I never learned of k until weeks after." And then Bacon makes the astonishing comment: His slaying the fleeing Spaniard lesi than 30 feet away sounds much like mur der. ... Colonel Roosevelt stands out against the lurid horizon, of war as th. solitary biographer from the days of Cae sar till now, to write himself down boast lngly as a slayer of his fellow man. and that, too. at such close range. It would seem that no person ought se riously to question the right of a soMIer in the open field of battle to kill an enemy who has Just shot at him. The fact that the Spaniard had turned to run did not alter the situation, nor was he then any the less a dangerous and deadly antago nist. He could cease to be an enemy only when he threw down his gun nnd up his hands. But he tried to slay and then to avoid the consequences. If he could thus avoid them, the whole code of war must be changed. The Bacon ethics would not permit one duellist to fire at another If, say, the latter had his Angers crossed. Colonel Bacon further says: Major Reade. In his official report; states that Colonel Roosevelt made this statement: "Twenty-five per cent of my Rough Riders can't carry a pall of water from the creek to the trenches. No man can decry me or my regiment, but we must accede to the next proposition from the enemy." This marvelous demand was made at headquarters before the enemy surrendered. Major Reade was a member of General Kent's staff. Colonel Bacon falls to speci fy -Just when Roosevelt made this state ment, but it is probable that It was in the second or third week of July, nnd it undoubtedly refers to the terms of surren der. The conditions which afterwards led to tho celebrated round robin were begin, nlng to be seriously relt. and Roosevelt, who Is nothing If not picturesque and em phatic, was trying to convey his Impres sions of the needs of the men under him. Discussing this phase of tho controversy, the New York Evening Sun says: On one of those days in the trenches, while the negotiations were dragging along, a report spread that fighting was to be resumed nt 1 o'clock In the after, noon. At the noon meal of hardtack, canned beef, tomatoes and coffee. Colonel Roosevelt's spirits ran riot at the pros pect of the termination of the truce. His eyes danced, and he was Incessantly Jok ing. Almost every officer present was an object of his facetious remarks. The man was brimming over with a desire to hear tho crackling of rifles, the bark of machine guns and the boom of the field pieces and to take his share of the risks of battle. Judging from appearances. Colonel Roose. volt was de:ighted with the resolution of the Spaniards (as reported) to force the Americans to attack them In their trenches. Colonel Bacon should produce the report of Major Reade. The extract printed by him is not Illuminating. The Colonel has given it the wrong construc tion. No doubt, when It is rend In th light of all the testimony, he will be will ing to concede as much. Roosevelt has been accused of being a newspaper fighter and a klnetoscope hero. It Is certain that he does court publicity, but that Is a venial sin, when his courage la actual and his deeds unquestionable. The cause of the Bacon attack Is that Governor Roosevelt ordered the court of Inquiry which broke Colonel Downs and one or two other officers of the Seventy first for their conduct at Santiago. 111 Calculations of the Bryan Leaders. Boston Herald. The total vote In the electoral college will be the same this year as It wos in 1S9C. when McKlnley received 271 electoral votes and Bryan 176. The Bryan leaders calculate that Delaware. Indiana. Ken tucky. Maryland and West Virginia are more likely to favor than to be against Bryan this year. But If these five states should give Bryan their electoral votes, and he should lose none of the states that he carried in 1S96, he would have only 200 electoral votes, against 227 for McKln ley, assuming that the Iatter's losses were confined to these five states. 1 Iteivnrdlne Our Hcrnti. S. E. Klser In Cheapo Times-Herald. A rich man's little daughter Lett her nurse and strayed away. And ran out upon the car track. v Where she loitered long at play. Caring nothing for the trolley As It whirred around the bend. Knowing; nothing ot the angel That was waiting to descend. The rich man stood and trembled With his darling on his breast. And the motorman was lauded And his hands were proudly pressed! By a hair's breadth he bad sated her He had acted lust in time And the people called him noble. And pronounced his deed sublime. The rich man gave him money. Gave him land and gave him praise. Gae blm presents for his children. Made him glad in many ways. And. at night, knelt with his Barling And Implored the Lord to guide The brave motorman from danger And to save blm when he died. The rich man's little daughter Lay upon her bed one day. And her lips were parched with fever. And all hope had ebbed away. But a doctor watched and watted. Watched through weary nights and won Back the Attle maiden's roses Ere his trying task was done. Ite had left his bed at midnight. He had watched with weary eyes; He had braved the fiercest weather. Sighing when he heard her sighs. And he gloried In his triumph When he saw her smiles come back. Rten as he smiled who saved her Where she played upon the track. But no crowd pressed round the doctor. And no happy cheers were heard; He had dona a thing that'scommon. Nothing thrilling had occurred. And the rich man fumed like fury. When he got the doctor's bill. Which he called an outrage lawyers Have the matter going still. NOTE AND COMMENT. In Dakota they are giving Pettigrews speeches with cakes of soap, probably be cause both possess scrub qualities. When Pcnnoyer, Klllfeather and J. J. Kelly can't train with the Democrats, they -must bo a hard crowd Indeed. A friend dropped' In last night in haste, to tell us he thought there had been hullo Ballou enough over a small matter. March may like a Hon bluster. Through his domains. And all his wlndly forces muster. Yet April reigns. The South African war costs 3760 a min ute. If Carnegie wants to die poor, hm oughl to get up one of these little dis agreements on his own account. At midnight In his ruarded test. The Turk lay thinking out a scheme. To beat the U. S. Government. But found It was an idle dream. The man who ordered a slumber robe and found that the clothier had sent hlna a police uniform, thinks there la such a thing as carrying a Joke too for. They tried to make the candidate. Run as a Democrat, lie wanted office bad: but he Could never stand for that. John P. Altgeld says the American citi zen Is a serf. Well, there Is no denying that he Is sometimes a high roller, and that he often Breaks when he strikes the beaches. Now Clark Is on the cold ontstde. The anti-Quay men smile; And say they rather guess that that Will hold him for a while. If all the newspaper correspondents who stood on the bridge with" Dewey when ha fought the battle of Manila Bay will sup port him. he will get a vote that is not to be sneezed at. Where are Pennoyer and Stout and Klllfeather. And all of the crowd that was banded together To spread discontent and dismay? Where are Jim Fralney. and Davis and Power That stood by the party In many dark hours? They've left the whole thing to O'Day. lt'a left to Judge Thomas O'Day. Gone are the leaders that shone In their glory. Vanished their power and dismal their story. All of that brilliant array. Absent from counsel are all the old faces. And one only ruler now stands In their places, And that is the mighty O'Day. The burly Judge Thomas O'Day. George Samuels, a watchman in the gen eral poetofflce. New York, still keeps up a search that he began four years ago, when his son Sidney, 16 years of age. disap peared. The boy ran away from home on July 14. 1535, with a boy companion. Tho other boy afterwards came back and said that Sidney nnd he went to Toronto, Can., where Sidney obtained employment as a coachman with a banker. Since that time Mr. Samuels has had no news of hli boy. nnd says he would be very thankful to any person who could give him any in formation regarding his lost son. The old saying or theory that If it rains on Easter Sunday it will rain on the seven following Sundays has long ago been proven Incorrect, but, like many other things which hae been exploded. Is still believed In by some. It Is not known that It has ever been said that If Easter Sun day Is a fine day the following seven Sun days will be line, but this Is a natural sequence or deduction. It provce, however, as unreliable as the first saying, for Easter was a beautiful day, without a sign of rain, while yesterday, the first. Sund-r ' after, was showery and rather too cool to be pleasant. All the same, the old paying will turn up as rresh as ever next Easter, and there will be the usual anx iety la regard to the weather on that day. The Washington Star warns Webster Davis not to yield to the temptation to deliver pro-Boer lectures for mor,ey. "Wendell Phillips," It says, "was a great orator and a champion of freedom. Four of his lectures 'Rere much In demand African Slavery.' 'Daniel O'Connell," The Lost Arts' and The Scholar In a Republic When asked for terms by ly ceum managers he replied by putting a price on three of the four lectures men tioned, but invariably added: 'Will speak on slavery for nothing. Mr. Phillips, It Is true, never reolgncd an office to taks a stand against slavery', but his champion ship of the negro closed all doors of politi cal preferment to him. He would have adorned any place within the gift of hi countrymen. He was, indeed, a champion of freedom." A letter-carrier, collecting mall from boxe3 around town, was noticed tapping the box with his knuckles before unlock ing it Being asked what he did this for, he said Just to find out how much mall there was In the box. He said he could tell whether there was much or little or any mall In the box from the sound given out when he tapped it. JHe went on to say: "You will probably not believe It. but I can tell by ringing the bell at a house whether there Is any one In or not. If tho house Is empty, the bell sounds quite different to what It does when there are people In It, and this difference Is percep tible If there Is only one person In the house." This Is probably substantially correct, as when people are all out the doors throughout the house are generally shut, while when there Is any one at homo some of the doors are likely to be open and there Is some movement or nolso, if it Is nothing more than talking. If there's any politician who la hungering fcr tame. Who would see the voters tremble at the men tion of his name. Who would turn down office-seekers with a harsh and rasping "nit!" Arjl Impress the cringing heelers with the fact that he was It; He should get off right hy learning just ths proper thing to do. And he'll get advice In bunches. If he'll only ask Ballou. If he wants to get the preachers and the moral gents In line. If he wants to vote the churches just the way he gives the sign. If he'd raise a. vast upheaval in the Interests of reform. And would lead his valiant forces while they took the town by storm. Ho should get a few straight pointers on the best thing not to do. And he'd find lust what he wanted. If he'd only ask Ballou. . If he feels like, writing letters, setting forth Important facts. If he feels like roasting people with his with ering uttacks,- And he finds he's been Imprudent when a counter-charge he reads. And he deems It wise to tell us that he never wrote the screeds. He can get some tips to show him Just the course be should pursue. If before he writes the letters he will only ask Ballou. There are many tricks and wrinkles In a poli tician's trade. And the man who lives to know them all Is born, and never mada. But there now and then arises, like a geyser In the land. Some treat man who holds the voters tn the hollow of his hand. And when such a one arises, all that's left for me and you. Is to cast our ballots humbly as directed try Ballon. A4 :aj j4.-.,i r.