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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1900)
(-wv-j.jg f&ii&trzs l THE MORNING OREGONTA, TUESDAY, APRIL' 24, 1900. ta rsBonum Btered at the Postofflce at Portland. Oregon. j second-class matter TELEPHONES. dltorlal Rooms....lGS I Business Office.. ..CO. REVISED EOBSCItaTION RATES. Br Hall ipostage prepaid), la Advance ally, with Sunday. per month. .. ....... w Jaily. Sunday excepted, per year ........ 7 Dally, with Sunday, per year 00 unday, per year .. ....-. " Weekly, per year.....-. l so be Weekly, i months. ........ ...... D0 To City Subscribers , per week, delivered. Sundays exeepted.l3e ily. per week, delivered. Sundays lncludedOa Tie Grcgcman does not buy poem or atorlea lndlrtduals. and cannot undertake to re- . any manuscripts sent to It without soUctta- klon. No stamps should be Inclosed for this urcose. News) or dlscusilon Intended for publication tn Oregonlan should be addressed Invariably Editor The Oreronlan." not to the name of Individual. Letters relatlrc to advertising. ubscrtpttona or to any business matter should ( addressed simply 'The Oregonlan." Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson. i at 1111 Pacific avenue, Tacoma. Box Mi, Eaooma pastofSce. Eastern Business Office The Tribune build- New Tork. city: "The Rookery." Chicago: he S. C. Beckwlth special agency. New Tork. For sale tn San Francisco br J. X. Cooper. B Market street, near the Palace hotel, and 1 Goldsmith Bros.. 23S Sutter street. For sals In Chicago by the P. a News C&. IT Dearborn street. TODAY'S WEATHER. Palf. with northerly I Winds. POUTIiAXD, TUESDAY, APRIL 24. THOUSANDS OP VOTES IS PE1UL. Six thousand voters of Multnomah re) not rectstered. nectlstrntlon I el os pa three irceki from today May IS. Every voter ivlio Is not reels tered must not only swear In bis te, but must PltOCCIlE SIX FIIEE- I HOLDERS to subscribe to an oath In support of bis claims, and also SWEAR THAT THEY ARE FREE- IlIOLDERS. A freeboldcr Is defined one Vfbo owns nn estate In fee simple. This Is an undertaking; of extreme difficulty THE OXLY SAFE WAY IS TO REGISTER. Register to day. Tbls applies to every voter In Oregon. SEWALL OS SUBSIDIES. The Ions Bllence which Arthur Sewall, the millionaire shipowner, has main tained regarding the Payne-Hanna- Frye-Grosvenor shipping hill has been broken. The public has waited patient ly for "expert testimony," such as Sir. Sewall is in a position to give. That which he now volunteers could more appropriately be termed "awkward tes timony." Such, however, might be ex pected from a man who has already made millions by sailing ships under the American flag, and is today mak ing larger profits out of the business than ever before. The absence of Mr. Sewall from the big lobby at "Washing ton that is trying to force this graft ing measure through Congress has here tofore been commented on, and not withstanding the fact that the bill will add large sums to his profits, he has hitherto been too honest to come out boldly and declare in the face of exist ing facts that a subsidy was actually needed to enable shipowners to compete with' forelgnors. Mr. Sewall discusses the subsidy In Harper's "Weekly of April 14, and the point at issue is lost sight of in a mass of generalities which are practically meaningless, so far as adding anything to what is already known of the measure is concerned. "After a great amount of preliminary bombast about "the grand vista opened up by this country's expanding import ance," etc., Mr. Sewall says: Every year the American Nation pays to for eigners $200,000,000 for the COTt of freight on our exports and Imports. The humiliating sight Is seen of the farmer growing wheat at a cost of 20 cents a bushel, and paying foreign car riers 30 cents or thereabouts a bushel to get It from the Pacific elope to the consumer abroad. Mr. Sewall Is quite familiar with the Pacific Coast wheat trade. He has car ried many cargoes from San Francisco, Portland and Puget Sound. A ship bearing his name has Just arrived out at Quecnstown with a cargo of wheat for which Mr. Sewall collects 23 cents per bushel freight. Before he built the Arthur Sewall, Erskine M. Phelps, Ed ward Sewall and some of the other modern ships of his fleet, he carried wheat cargoes from the Pacific Coast to Europe at 17 and IS cents per bushel. These rates were so satisfactory (with out the aid of a subsidy) that he con tinued to add to his fleet. The Arthur Sewall was built at Bath, Me., at a cost of about $135,000, a figure admitted by British shipbuilders to be from $10,000 to $15,000 less than a similar vessel would cost at a British yard at that time. Her crews are shipped at any port in the world, at exactly the same rate as those paid the sailor working under other flags. There was money enough to satisfy Mr. Sewall when freights were 17 and 18 cents per bushel on wheat. Why, then, does he expect Government aid when there has been an increase of over 25 per cent In rates? Continuing, Mr. Sewall says: The American capitalist has stood aloof from the shipbuilding industries because the cheaper cost of labor and of men to man the ships ha, enabled the foreign shipbuilder to do business on a basis that permits of no profits to the Americans with their higher scale of pay. Mr. Sewall has not stood aloof from the shipbuilding industry. The fleet of ships now flying the Sewall house flag, in number and size, compares favorably with that of any foreign owner. As a matter of fact, there are not a dozen Individual shipowners In the world who control a greater amount of sail ton nage than is operated by the Bath statesman. If Mr. Sewall can explain how he became a millionaire by op erating American ships without a sub sidy, and at the same time give any clear reason why others cannot do the same thing, he will throw light enough on the subject to eliminate some of the shadows of suspicion which now lurk around it. Mr. Sewall and his fellow patriots not only want the $200,000,- 000 per year which we are now navlnc foreigners, but they are asking a yearly bonus of a great many million dollars to assist them In taking It away from the men who may be willing to help tne American farmer out by carrying his freight without the aid of a Gov ernment subsidy. Melancholy shadows of a vanished race and era. the portraits lately print ed of the widow of Colonel Meek and of the last surviving pupil of Dr. Whit manboth Nez Perces Indians appeal with something of pity to the public mind. Of the tribe of which they were intelligent and even Jeautlful repre sentatives sixty years ago, but a feeble, dissatisfied, practically exiled remnant remains, pitifully bolstered up by civ ilization, but surely dropping Into ob livion. To regret the passing of the In dian as here represented is to regret the march of progress, which Is inconsist ent with intelligence, but the chapter 'which the faded faces of these twa old Indian women Illustrate has neverthe less a pathetic shading to "men Brown old, or who are growing old." STILL "THE EXEMY'8 COUXTRY." The Louisville Courter-Journal, which bolted Bryan four years ago, is a warm advocate of expansion: It Is against free silver, and has no faith in Bryan's pro prietary medicine for trusts; neverthe . less, this very able and Influential Jour nal is for Bryan, which means that Bryan will obtain the electoral vote of Kentucky this year. There are other signs that many Gold Democrats of the Middle West and South, who bolted Bryan In 1S96, will not only sup port him for the nomination, but will vote for him at the polls. The Gold Democracy of the West was never so earnest In Its sound-money convections as the Gold Democracy of the East, and it Is not as keenly alive to the vicious consequences to the business tranquil lity and prosperity of the country that would attend Bryan's election as the Gold Democracy of j.he East. The fate of the National election will largely turn on the action of the Gold Democracy of New Tork State. It Bryan obtains the support of the united Democracy of New Tork at the polls, he is dangerously likely to carry the state, and if he carries New Tork he is likely to carry. Indiana. Will Bryan secure the support of the Gold Democ racy of the Empire State? It Is not at all probable that the Gold Democ racy of New Tork State will vote for Bryan in sufficient numbers to give him the state. There are thousands of Democrats in New Tork State who have very large business and property in terests, whose welfare would be en dangered by any shock to public conll dence dr public credit. These' men are Intelligent enough to understand that Bryan's election would be a public ca lamity, and they will be sure to do nothing that Is likely to consign their gold eggs to a silver basket. The conservatism of great property Interests will be fatal to Bryan in New Tork, New Jersey and Connecticut. It may not be denied that Bryan Is stronger with the Gold Democracy of the Middle West than he was six months ago. He Is stronger because McKInley is weaker. The perception that Bryan has a fighting chance for victory helps to stimulate men who are strong Democratic partisans, save on the money question, to vote for Bryan on the plea that, after he is elected, he can be made as Ineffective an ex ecutive, so far as the enactment of the Chicago platform Is concerned, as was Cleveland, who to no purpose tried to persuade a Democratic Congress to en act tariff for revenue only. If Cleve land's efforts to enact his policy came to naught through the opposition of the Democracy from the protection states. why could not Bryan be choked into silence, or. If necessary, turned down by the Democracy from the gold-standard states? This specious plea will capture a good many Gold Democratic votes for Bryan In the Middle West, but It will not persuade the Gold Democracy of New Tork. New Jersey and Connecticut to vote for him. The Gold Democracy in these states has no use for Bryan's nnanclal folly and fraud, represented by free silver at 16 to 1, and holds the arrant Populism of the Chicago plat form in equal dread and detestation. There Is no sign of any disposition to support Bryan In the simon-pure Gold Democratic press of the East, which Is represented by the Brooklyn Eagle and the New Tork Timts. There is small probability that Carl Schurz speaks for the majority of the New Tork "Inde pendents," when he Bays that he would choose Bryan on the Chicago platform with an anti-expansion plank added rather than vote for McKinley and the Republican policy of expansion or "im perialism," as he terms it. Mr. Schurz could easily do this, for from force of habit it has become sec ond nature for him to pass from one political camp to the other. He was a Republican In 1S6S, a Democrat In 1S72, a Republican in 1B76, a Democrat In 1684. 18SS-1892, and a Republican in 1836. Without imputing any Insincerity to Mr. Schurz, he Is everything by turns and nothing long, because he Is noth ing when he Is not critical, and such a man, in spite of his ability, never has any appreciable following. He cannot speak for all the New Tork "In dependents" that are voiced by the New Tork Evening Post, who would hardly carry their hostility to McKInley and "Imperialism" so far as to labor and vote for Bryan and the Chicago plat form. Bryan, from the present out look, is considerably stronger with the Gold Democracy of the Middle West than he was six months ago, but he li not likely to win over the Gold Democ racy of the East In sufficient numbers to give him New Tork, New Jersey and Connecticut. Maryland is the only Eastern state that Bryan has a chance to recapture for the Democracy, and we think his chance there is slim. JUSTICE TO THE WOMAN HOME STEADER. The injustice that has been In some cases suffered by women who, having taken lands under the homestead law and marrying before perfecting the title thereto, have been thereby dlspos sesscd of their holdings, is likely to be abrogated in the future by suitable amendment of the statutes. This amendment, as cited in our Washing ton report several days ago, provides that "where a single woman qualified to make homestead entry has "settled upon. Improved, established and main' talned a bona fide residence on unsur vcyed public land, with the intention of taking the same under the homestead laws when surveyed, and marries be fore making entry of said land, she shall not, .by reason of her marriage, forfeit her right to make entry on said tract; to perfect said entry, and receive patent for the land, provided she does not abandon her residence on the land and reside elsewhere." This gives the energetic young woman, who is more or less numerously represented In Western land districts, a chance to take a "helpmeet," revers ing the Scriptural order of that term, without placing her homestead tract In Jeopardy. As a matter of expediency cool, calculating, cold-blooded expedi ency It might be well for a young woman thus situated to postpone hei marriage until the patent to her home stead was safely delivered Into her hands. This, however, is doubtful, since many and vexatious delays at tend the surveys of public lands, and the consequent delivery of homestead patents upon them. In the meantime, life "on the homestead tract is, in the very nature of things, a lonely one, and also in the nature of things (as every man who has made a bona fide home stead entry can testify). It Is impossible from lack of means to hire clearing and other improvements upon the lands. Hence, to put the marriage of the plucky female homesteader upon a purely utilitarian basis, valuable time In improving fhe land would be lost while she was waiting, in Impatience and loneliness, the slow processes ol the Government, by which she might without Jeopardy to her homestead right and title take a partner in her venture whose interests in it would be equal to her own, and who would bring into the compact the brawn required to make the stubborn wilderness blossom Into productiveness. It Is proper for the Government to protect itself from homesteading In duplicate, and this 'i the Intent of the final clause of the amendment proposed. In the opinion of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, the provisions of the bill are Just, and in this opin ion he will be Joined by fair-minded people generally. It Is no part of the policy of any enlightened government to make the marriage of its Industrious, energetic citizens a disability, and all laws having this tendency through the old idea of woman's inferiority in the marital relation, so prominent In Eng' llsh statutes, may properly and with out u shadow of menace to our domes tic institutions, be expunged from our statute-books. This may be said to be "woman's rights" upon a Just and eco nomic basis, and the underlying princi ple appeals for Justice In the lawgiver without complicating fact with fancy in consideration of the probable out come. It may be held to be commendable rather than otherwise. In a young woman, in whom the home and accu mulative instinct Is sufficiently strong to drive her into compliance with the homestead laws. In order to gratify it, to desire to contract marriage as not only auxiliary to her efforts in an in dustrial line, but from a social and domestic standpoint. Hence it Is most impolitic and unjust to punish her, as not a few young women similarly sit uated and inclined have been punished. by confiscating her holdings under the Government land laws for obeying this instinct. There is, of course, another possibility in connection with the case, represented by the thriftless young land-hunter, who sees in the energetic young woman awaiting the pleasure of the Government to prove up on her homestead a desirable "catch," and who proceeds to spread the matrimo nial net with a view to being "drawn in out of the wet," but against this possible contingency it is hardly the province, as it certainly is foreign to the Intent, of the Government to set up a defense. THE PAY OP JUDGES. The Massachusetts Legislature Is dls cussing a proposition to Increase the salaries of her Judges. The salary of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Is now $7500, and $7000 for the Associate Justices. For the Superior Court they are now $6000 and $5500. It Is now pro posed to Increase all these salaries by $1000. Within three decades there have been three advances in the pay of these branches of the state Judiciary, averag ing $1000 each time for each member of the Supreme Court and the Superior Court. The Springfield Republican re cites these facts and Invites a compari son. If the Increase asked for be grant ed, between what will then be the com pensation of the Massachusetts Judi ciary and certain other judicial salaries in the United States: Massachusetts Supreme Court $ 8.000 United States Supremo Court 10,000 United States Circuit Court 0.000 United States District Court S.oou United States Court of Claims 4,500 New York Court of Appeals.. 13,700 Connecticut Supreme Court ..... E,"00 New Jersey Supreme Court 10,000 Pennsylvania Supreme Court 8,000 Ohio Supremo Court 4,000 Illinois Supreme Court 4,000 The pay of the Judges of the highest court of the other states will average about $3000. The Republican fairly says that the proposed salaries for the Mas sachusetts Judges are generous, for they hold their positions for life, while the Judges in New Tork and most of the other states are elected for a fixed term of years. The only legitimate ar gument for the Increase in Massachu setts is that the Judges are subjected to large traveling and transient living expenses, but this argument will hardly Dear examination, because these ex penses are no larger. If as large, as they were twenty or even ten years ago. The argument for high Judicial salaries that they should be regulated measur ably by what Judges might earn at the bar, or by what the ablest lawyers are able to command In way of Income, seems more specious than sound. The great legal incomes are not the reward of the kind of Judicial ability, legal learning and personal character, that are wanted by the people on the bench. The great legal Incomes obtained by corporation lawyers are not earned Vy men of Judicial quality, but men of the quality of the late David Dudley Field and by Wager Swayne; men who are adepts at circumventing or overreach ing the law, men whose so-called cod of legal ethics stands for absolute Ir reverence and contempt for moral equity or legal fair play. So far from desiring men of this qual ity of Jegal audacity and craft upon the bench, it would be a public calamity to place the scales of public Justice In their hands. The legal ethics of these so-called great corporation lawyers who earn enormous professional In comes, are those preached and prac ticed by Aaron Burr, Lord Brougham and Rufus Choate, the kind of legal ethics that Napoleon would have acted upon, had he been a corporation law yer; but they are not the legal ethics of John Marshall, the Incarnation of reason, equity and honesty, or of Abra ham Lincoln. The lawyers who earn these enormous Incomes are disciples of David Dudley Field, who educated by his successful example a school of so-called "great lawyers," who are largely responsible for devising the vast system of legal wreckage of great rail roads and other great corporate trusts The famous robbery of the Wabash was accomplished by Wager Swayne and Judge Brewer, the nephew of David Dudley Field, through a scheme which United States Circuit Judge Grcsham denounced as "a scheme whose bold ness was only equaled by Its Injustice." This theory of "legal ethics," boiled down. Is expressed In the old doggerel: Cheat your neighbor. It you can; He'll do tho same by you; You'll never set rich, but die In the ditch. Unless you paddle your own canoe. The sort of legal craft represented by great "lawyers" with enormous In comes does not stand for the Judicial ability and legal integrity that Is wanted on the bench, and It Is utterly absurd to measure Judicial salaries by what cunning, astute, unscrupulous cor poration lawyers are able to secure by their abnormally acute genius for trick erywlthln the law. If the people could secure such men for the bench, thej would be a curse to It, for the public would always hold them In suspicion because of their lack of reputation for legal Integrity and their plentiful rep utation for the genius of astute indlrec tlon, mental and moral crookedness. To pay the Judges of a state court from $15,000 to $100,000 a year because a law yer whose kind and quality of practice proves that he is not fit for an honest Judge obtains that income, would be absurd. The largest fee that Daniel Webster ever obtained was $10,000, a far less sum than comparatively ob scure lawyers obtain for lobby practice as corporation agents in a single ses sion of the Legislatures of Massachu setts, New Tork and New Jersey. The people do not want such lawyers for Judges, even if they would serve lor a moderate salary, and they certainly do not want them at the price of an Im moderate compensation. There are to day and always will be plenty of law yers who will be glad and prcud to ac cept a place upen the Judiciary for a fair compensation. These men have all the legal learning and ability necessary to execute justice, however much that may fall below the legal learning and ability necessary to circumvent and overreach law, to the end of Inflicting Injustice. The upright Judge is content with a fair salary because he Is proud of the dignity of his office and Its unex ampled opportunity for public useful ness of the highest and most permanent character. The upright Judge Is a man of simple tastes, who is content to live on a moderate income, which is sure to keep him in touch and sympathy with the great mass of his fellow-cltlzens who are men of upright Intentions. Just purposes, the plain people, the men of pcaco and good will. The type of lawyer that makes a desirable Judge is John A. Andrew, of Massachusetts, rather than Rufus Choate, with his Immoral code of "legal ethics." TURKEY A HARD XUT TO CRACK. It Is perhaps a fair assumption that our btate Department knows Its bust ness In Its peremptory demand unon the Sultan of Turkey to settle our past due claims for damages because of Americans murdered and American property destroyed by the Kurds, but if the Sultan should, without qualifica tion, refuse to pay a penny until he "gets good and ready," and defy our Government to do Its worst, we should be obliged to "take water" and bide a more favorable time to enforce the col lection of our claims, or attempt to secure it by military and naval force. In this event, Turkey would prove a very hard nut to crack, for her army Is no longer the brave but undisciplined force it was In the Crimean War of 1854-56, or even what it was when It so gallantly and stubbornly stood off the .whole Russian army from Plevna In 1877. Turkey has an excellent standing army of over 200,000 men and 696 can non. This army is well armed, trained and disciplined; Its arms are Improved modern cannon and rifles; Its artillery has been trained by educated German officers. The Turk Is a robust man and makes a brave, patient, obedient sol dier of extraordinary endurance. The Turkish Generals In the war with Greece exhibited excellent scientific ability. On a war footing Turkey can put over a million of men into the field and of these, 500.000 represent excellent war material. The ports of Turkey are sufficiently well fortified to stand oft a navy that could not enter Santiago harbor. Smyrna Is so occupied by for elgn residents that Its bombardment could not be undertaken without seri ous objection on the part of the powers of Europe. Turkey, in her war with Greece, was permitted to work her will. If the same liberty was accorded .In a war with the United States, we should have a very difficult task to reduce Turkey to compliance with bur demands. Our Navy could not possibly force the Dar danelles, and a military Invasion of Turkey with an American army would be out of the question. Under the pres ent circumstances, we could not enforce our demands against Turkey with our Army and Navy, and, of course. If Ger many or Russia should secretly or openly back Turkey, we could not be otherwise than defeated. It is possible that our Government has some assur ance from Germany and Russia that our demand will be supported by their Influence with the Sultan. Otherwise war with Turkey would not be a very hopeful undertaking. Probably our Government does not seriously Intend, In event of the Sul tan's recusal to pay or of further delay, to attempt to collect Its claims at the cannon's mouth. Our Government does not probably mean to proceed beyond cutting oft all diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire, Just as Italy withdrew her Minister from Washing ton and suspended all diplomatic rela tions with our country until we settled her claim for damages because of Ital ian subjects murdered by the memora ble New Orleans mob. The bench show lately held in this pity proved, first, that the dog Indus try is a thriving one on the Pacific Coast, and, second, that man's appre ciation of his most faithful brute, friend is an undiminished quantity In an age the tendency of which Is to put every thing upon a commercial basis. True, "old deg Tray" of our childhood the dog without a pedigree, but that nev ertheless held a place of usefulness and trust In the family was'net In evidence at this show, but his faithful counter part Is still on guard at hundreds of farmhouses, not less cherished by the master and beloved by the children than were hl3 nameless ancestors by the masters and children of a past gen eration. But of high-bred dogs, many (and to a novice In dog heraldry, all) kinds and degrees were represented, the admiration of the public not less than the pride of their owners bearing testi mony to the esteem In which these In telligent and Interesting creatures are held. The utilitarian is, of course, in evidence, commenting sorrowfulJy or cynically, according to his mood, on the nature that Is behind it, upon the wastefulness that Invests money In high-bred dogs and squanders It upon their care and keep; but to the genuine lover of animal life, the dog, reaching by cultivation the limit of possibilities In Intelligence In the brute creation. Is an object worthy of man's admiration and even of his affection, and will ever be the recipient of his ungrudged bounty. This Is not a fact to be caviled at, but rather an attribute of human ity to be admired, and within reason able limits encouraged. The Money Devil has established headquarters at Kansas City. The Massachusetts delegation must pay $1100 per day for quarters. Here Is a mild hint that if a Vice-Presidential candidate is wanted, George Fred Williams halls from Massachusetts, and Massachusetts stops at no expense. In estimating the value of Vice-Presidential Umber, the barl should always fit the man. A Kansas reader of dime novels burned down a house in order to pose as a hero In saving the inmates. His reward was eighteen years In the peni tentiary. This Is Just a little like ad vertising the Iniquities of a city in or der to achieve the credit of saving the inhabitants thereof. Verily, those who proclaim their own virtues from the housetops shall have their reward. The Republicans of Ohio purpose to send Hanna to the Philadelphia conven tion "In the Interest of harmony. Harmony is what Hanna wants. The other name for Mr. Hanna's peculiar style of harmony Is McKinley. Croker Is well, and winning money on the trade Persons who have anything to gain by circulating a story of a great and good man's death should se lect a subject less tough and more ready to die. Clark says he will not give up his seat. Money talks through Its hat, sometimes. "NONE OP THE PC11L1CS UUSIXESS." Dot the Public Will Make It Its Busi ness lief ore All Is Done. Chicago Chronicle, A local .magnate of tho American Steel & Wlro Company, when asked why 12 mills of the company had been shut down, throwing 000 or 70M) men out of employ ment, and making a mild "Black Fr.day" In the stock market, is reported to have said: "It Is none of the public's business. Tho American Steel & "Wire Company Is running this business without any neea of explanation to the pubUc We shut down and open our mills when we see fit." If this remark was made, it is tho mo3t graceless and impudent expression of opinion on a subject of great general in terest since one ol tne vanaerouis, wucu told that the public wanted to know some thing about his railroad, replied: 'The public be d d." Vanderbllt owned and operated a rail road under a public charter. His public franchises made his railroad property ex ceedingly valuable. The public were large owners of the stocks and bonds of his rail way company. The public, to tho number of many millions annually, were passen. gera on bis railroads. His freight and passenger receipts derived from tho pub lic paid the expenses or his company and the dividends on his railroad securities. Yet when told that the public desired some Information about the methods and opera tions of his railroad his answer was: "The public be d d." Facts will tell whether the public has a right to know about the operations of tho American Steel & Wire Company. Before this gigantic trust was formed the price of wire nails was $1 30 a hundred pounds; the trust price now Is $3 53 a hundred pounds. Plain wire was $1 20 a hundred pounds; the trust price lst33a hundred pounds. Barbed -wire was Jl 45 a hundred pounds; it is now $3 33 a hundred pounds. This enormous Increase In prices Is paid by the public, and tho magnate says that the operations of his trust are "none of the public's business." A large portion of the public were In vestors In the stocks of the American Steel & Wlro Company. They boijht the property on the assurance of the com pany's officers that It was an honest or ganization, and was highly profitable. By the acts of the trust officials In shutting down Its mill every holder of Its stocks met disaster and the total loss of the pub lic Is millions of dollars. Yet he says that It "Is none of the public's business." It Is no wonder that the public are In revolt against the whole system of trusts and the legislation or the party in con gress which protects and fosters trust or ganizations. The trusts have advanced the price of all the necessaries of life; In some cased the advance is enormous, and the cause of multiplied hardships. Yet the trust magnates say that their methods are none of the public's business. The public will make the trusts their business at the polls. Business In the Dependencies. New Tork Journal of Commerce. Other things being the same, revenue collections are a pretty good Indication of business conditions. The fact that the customs collections In Manila were nearly a third greater In 1SS9 than In 1SS7 raises a strong presumption that more business Is being done In that port under our Gov ernment than under that of Spain. The customs collections In Havana In the first quarter of 1900 were much larger than In tho first quarter of 1S39. That period was too soon after the war to be a normal standard of comparison, but there Is other evidence that Cuba Is rapidly recovering from the war and the revolution and la doing more business than In previous years. Recent visitors say that the rav ages of war are only visible on the sugar plantations. Recovery here must bo slower than In the commercial centers, but It Is said to bo In progress, and the eufferlng In Porto Rico is probably due more to the convulsions of Nature last Summer than to any change American sovereignty has effected In commercial affairs. Far tho most Important export of Porto Rico Is coffee, the conditions of whotse export have not been changed by the war. Method In Onr Pomp. New York Commercial Advertiser. There Is a touch of appreciation of the character of the new members of our Na tional household In the studied pomp with which Governor Allen Is to be sent to Porto Rico. This shrewd and modest New England business man will feel a bit queer on the luxurious Mnyfiower and In the midst of the semi-Latin ceremonial which Is said to be prepared for him. Doubtless we shall hear from other Massa chusetts gentlemen, whose customary be havior Is less shrewd and modest than his. a great deal of nonsense about tho ridicu lous assumption of barbaric dignities by the Iroolent Pro-Consul of the American emperor by the grace of Mark Hanna. The criticism is more ridiculous than the thing criticised, because the latter has a rational motive. The Porto RIcans have their own conception of the formalities of official life, and tho behavior of public officers. To re fuse proper respect to these would be as bad taste as it would be bad politics. e I'lpTtbetlc1 Spelling;. New York Evening Post. Sir: There are some, at least, of your readers who are pained to see you reert to "Porto" r.ico. You have expressed great sympathy for the Island and Its people from a commercial point of view; why not have a like respect for their feellncsT This Is not a question of pedan tic purkm. They could not accept with any equanimity an oHlclal change of name from that they bive had for 400 years, and why should we attempt to force upon them a popu lar usage which they cannot possibly acquiesce In? It seems to mo simply a question of kindly fc-ellnff and good manners, and both these are due them from us In the highest degree of which we arc capable. Very truly yours. F. E. CHADWICK. Captain. U. S. X. We ore willing to give the Porto RIcans not only the spelling, but the government they want; but a newspaper can only fol low official spellings, especially when they are recognized In press dlfpatches. Trmle's Ways. Chicago Record. Grocer Broomcorn has gone up. Clerk What's that for? Grocer Why, stupid, to keep up wits tho way we've raieed the price of brooms. DanKerlesi. Minneapolis Journal. Boston has a horseless fire engine. How much better to put up tireless buildings', ALASKA MINERS AND THE LAW If tho present purpose of Congress Is carried out. the vicious and Iniquitous pro vision in the present laws permitting min ing claims In Alaska to be located by proxy will be permitted to stand. Tho Senate has practically completed consider ation of the elaborate Carter civil code, and will doubtless pass the bill this week. The vexatious question as to mining rights on the ocean beach has been set tled and settled with proper regard for and intelligent conception of the rights and circumstances of tb miners. But cor porations and Individuals may still plaster a mining territory with fictitious blanket locations through agents and attorneys In fact, and hold them against all the world. This Is a greedy game of whole sale grab that freezes out the honest pros pector and working miner, for whom the undeveloped mineral wealth of tho public domain Is intended, and to whom it is too often not given. The much-discussed Hansbrough amendment was designed to cure this widespread evil. It was, how ever, coupled up with an attack on the validity of certain Cape Nome locations, and tho probabilities are that its merits escaped notice of the Senate'ln Its consid eration of the proposed forfeiture of title to claims made by certain persons not citi zens of the United States. It seems that certain Finns, Norwegians and Laplanders in 1SSS took out first citi zenship papers before a United States Commissioner at St. Michael, and then located on valuable claims at Cape Nome. The Commissioner had no legal right to Issue the papers, and tho foreigners who located the claims were undoubtedly still aliens at the time. Charles D. Lane, a Callfornlan, and other American citizens bought the mines for large sums, and they were jumped by some others. It was the purpose of. Senator Carter, father of tho bill, to validate the Lano title In the following provision, which was attacked by the Hansbrough amendment, but has been allowed to remain: "The title to any lands heretofore con veyed shall not be questioned, or In any manner affected by reason of the alien age of any person from or through whom such title may have been derived." The entire justice of this provision will not be seriously questioned by any disin terested person, assuming that the state of facts represented to the Senate in Lane's behalf Is correct. But it is sur prising that the Senate should have so completely Ignored the notorious truth in Alaska as to refuse to accept tho fol lowing: "No location of a mining claim shall hereafter be made tn tho District of Alaska by any person or persons through an agent or attorney In fact, and all locations heretofore made by any person or persons through an agent or attorney In fact upon which $100 worth of labor or Improvements had not been expended or made within 90 days first succeeding the date of such location, aro hereby de clared to bo null and void." It will bo observed that the amendment had no purposo of disturbing existing titles and Intended to establish the rule only for future locations, limiting them to explorers, prospectors, miners or other persons actually on the ground. A proper understanding of the wicked abuses and colossal frauds that have been practiced in Alaska under the present spstem would have made adoption of this provision Imperative upon a right-thinking law making body. It must bo assumed that the existing deplorable situation was not fully presented to tho Senate. The amendment disposing of the trouble some problem as to titles of claims on tho beach at Capo Nomo and In placet similarly situated Is in full as follows: "That, subject only to general limita tions that may be necessary to exempt navigation from artificial obstructions, all lands and shoal water below mean high tido on the shores, bays and inlets of Behring Sea within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be subject to ex ploration for gold and other precious metals by citizens of tho United States and persons who have legally declared their intentions to become such, under such reasonable rules and regulations as tho miners In organized mining districts may have heretofore made or may here after make governing tho temporary pos session thereof for exploration and min ing purposes, until otherwise provided by law. "Provided, further, that the rules and regulations established by the miners shall not be In conflict with tho mining laws of the United States; and all permits heretofore granted, authorizing any per son or persons, corporation or company to excavate or mine under any of said waters, are hereby revoked and declared null and void; and tho reservation of a roadway CO feet wide, under the tenth section of the act of May 14. 1S9S. entitled An Act extending tho homestead laws and providing for the right-of-way of railroads In Alaska, and for other pur poses,' shall not apply to mineral lands or townsltes." In other words, the proposed law leaves the whole matter to tho miners. Un doubtedly, this Is tho most satisfactory and cqultablo thing that could be done. Any fixed limitation of the rlght3 of the beach miners, at this time, or any arbi trary determination of disputes between claimants, would have worked Incalcula ble mischief. It Is a remarkable tribute to the law-abiding character of the min ers that. In tho entire absenco of law, or of precedent of any sort, they were able amicably to apportion claims along Cape Nomo beach, and without serious conflict nmong themselves extract the gold therefrom. There was some trouble between tho soldiers and the beach work ers, but It seems to have been precipi tated wholly on the Initiative of the mili tary, whose commanding officers had ac quired in some way the notion that the rights of the United States were being invaded. The habit of self-government Is strong in the American people. To aU Intents and purposes, Alaska has been In a perpetual state of anarchy. But or derly governments, deriving their powers wholly from the consent of the gov erned, and from their ability to enforce their decrees by force alone, have been established in all parts of tho district Rude equity, a law-abiding spirit, and a general recognition of a discoverer's' rights served to establish peace and i workmg government at Cape Nome. The prospector was permitted to keep what ho found. That Is precisely what the laws of the United States Intend that he shall have. It Is welt enough that tho bill pro poses forfeiture of the permits granted by the War Department to mine In the waters below low water mark. The Sec retary of War doubtless acted within his authority In granting the permits, but that confusion and conflict would have resulted is certain. isi Ills Choice of a Word. Philadelphia Record. "You look robust," remarked the lady ol the house. "Are you equal to the tatk of sawing wood?" "Equal Isn't the word. Madam," replied the pilgrim, as he resumed his Journey, 'To superior to It." NOTE AND C0MMENX The rain appears to be waiting for mov ing day. The Frost King and the iceman put on their turns with very brief Intermissions, That French nobleman who has been arrested In Chicago is probably no 'count, anyway. People who are married by telegraph, being wired together, ought to be hard to separate. Dewey can say that the World Is his, but that doesn't help him with the other pa pers of the country. Governor Roosevelt, It Is said, detests Jewelry. That probably explains why h has so UUle to do with rings. It took a regicide's bullet to show Al bert Edward what a success he is as a Prince. He has worked long enough at the job. If Herod had had a few scorchers In h! employ he could have dispatched the busi ness of killing off Infants with consider able more promptness. Judging by the length of the magazine) articles the Spanish-American War called forth, this affair over In South Africa will keep copy coming In for the next 10 cen turles. Now there are no "Silver" Republicans. But there never were any. "Lincoln" Republicans are fit bedmates for the new style of Lincoln Democracy. Mr. Bryan has discovered. The country is reasona bly familiar with the old style. Governor Smith, of Montana, says: "You aro at liberty to quote me as saying that I never would call that Legislature to gether again under any circumstances." The Legislature Teferrcd to Is tha ona which elected Copper Mineowcer Clark to the United States Senate, In connection with whose election such charges of brib ery have been brought that the Senate's committee investigating the case has agreed on a unanimous verdict of expul sion. A copy of the Commercial Advertiser of Honolulu has been sent to The Oregonlaa by Ed Dekum. which contains the follow ing, under the head of "Wanted": "A competent ratcatcher to take charge) of ratcatchlng In tho City of Honolulu, under tbe auspices of the Board of Health, Liberal salary and as many assistants as are necessary will be employed. Apply at once at the office of the Board of Health." The advertisement broueht to light ona Duval, who has been employed as offlclnl ratcatcher for the city, and the following notice of the man and his methods appears tn another Honolulu paper: "Official Ratcatcher Duval will, like tha Japanese, use traps in his campaign against the rodents. The trap Is unusual In that It will hold a large number of tha objectionable little four-footers. A ban, highly seasoned will be used. Duval cama here about five months ago. and was em ployed by Dr. Pratt as an Inspector in Chinatown. He claims to have caught rats In Paris and various American citki. Further than his own statements, noth ing of the man is known. The salary ot $150 a month Is quite a temptation to am real or Imaginary ratcatcher." When Duval gets through with his rat catching In Honolulu, perhaps Astoria ma be able to secure his services. Joseph Jefferson and Richard Mansfield are exchanging compliments. Says Mr. Jefferson: "I think that Mr. Mansfield's Intensity of temperament leads him to overact. The fault jat my nerves, but I have faith he will outgrow It In time." Says Mr. Mansfield: "I am sorry to learn that my acting has continued to troublo Mr. Jefferson through these many years. I believe it Is 15 years since he at tended one of my performances." Further Icctance of the mutual admira tion of great players Is afforded by an anecdote with which Mr. Mansfield oftea has credited Mr. Jefferson: "You know how actors love one anoth er," Is the cynical way In which Mr. Mans field usually begins It. "Well, during ona of Sir Henry Irvlng's earlier tours Jeffer son, who never had seen the English act or, stepped one night into a theater whero Irving was playing The Merchant of Venice." Jefferson watched and listened for a few minutes. Then he turned to a friend. 'Is that fellow on the stage this man Irving?' he asked. His companion nodded. Jefferson grunted out. 'My man Bob could play Shylock better than that. and stalked from tho theater. "I always think of that Incident." Mr. Mansfield is accustomed to add, with fond emphasV, "when I read the nice things Jefferson says In print about Irving." Mary and Her Landlord. V. Chapman Wright in Westminster llevlsir, Mary opened a little shop To help her on in life's way; And honest toll foupd lta,rward And It began to pay." "llow'a bUT" the landlord often asked. And Mary was Imprudent: Of course she never guessed ho was An economic student. But Mary's landlord's eagle eye Was watching how things went. And when the 1st of May cama round He doubled Mary's rent. Th Imposition staggered her. Uut what could Mary do? Subsistence bare is the tenant's shar AU above Is the landlord's due. So Mary kept on as before. Improving as time went. Cut step by step with Increased trad The landlord raised the rent. And thus tbe merry game went on. Till Mary's life was spent. As fast as God could prosper her. i The landlord raised the rent. i i i The Hedce. O. D. C In Rood Words. Pair neighbor of the thatched cot With Glolro da DUon clustered gable. So star-sweet, on from plot to plot. Thou trlppest. like a nmph of table; So blithe thy smile, so soft thy tone. Thy love so good a life to lead In. I'd fain the hedge were'overthrown. And our two gardens made one Eden! But "No" cries Wisdom: "spare the fence. The thorn, the Ivy blackbirds nest In; Lcate something for the finer sense. Some dream of Joy to hope and rest la. "Some glad surprise, some mystery Of inconceivably sweet meaning'." Wisdom Is wise. My friend and I Scarce press the topmost twigs by leaning. Yon May Hear the Robin Call. Agnes Lewis Mitchell In St. Nicholas. You may read It "May" on the, calendar. You may fix jour heart on Spring, But until you hear the robin's song You will find It's no such thing! For he's sure Just when the snow files. And he knows Spring's secrets aU. You may be quite sure 'tis May-tlmo When you bear the robin call! They'll tell you the Winter's ended You will hear It everywhere Just for a little sunshine And a breath of April air. But you may be sure of one thing; As sure as that rain will fall. It Is really, truly Springtime When you hear the robin call! .iSir-.-.. - j . "f M- w.. ... jjMjSh4ttsviUA3-;.fii ,, ,.