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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1900)
w IT- ) S THE MORNING OREGOXIAN, - MONDAY. 3IAY 21, 1900. SKGpTjf " tie t&xzQomc&u entered tt Mae Pcatofilce at Portland. Oregon. Mooad-cUa matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Hoom....l(XJ I Business Ofae....C67 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION KATES. Br Mall ipcetage prepaid). In Advance Dally, ulthteunday, per month ....f0 85 Sally, Sunday excepted, per year 7 BO Dally, -with Sunday, per" year 9 00 Sunday, per year 2 00 The "Weekly, per year 1 80 The Weekly. 3 month.. . CO To City Subscribers Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday excepted-lCo Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays lncluded.203 Newo or fllsonsslon Intended for publication la The OregonJan should be addressed Invariably "Editor The Oregonlan," not to the name ot any Individual. Letters relating to advertising, subscriptions or to any business matter should be addreised simply "The Oregonlan." The Oregcnian does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn, any manuscripts sent to It without llclta Uon. No stamps ehoula be Inclosed for this Purpose. Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, office at llll Pacific avenue. Tacomju Box 823, Tacoma postoffloe. Eastern Buslneeo Office The Tribune build ing. New Tork city; "me Rookery." Chicago: the a. C. Beckwlth spenjsj agency. New York. -., "" ln Ean B"clsco by J. K. Cooper. MO Market street, near the Palace hotel, and at Goldsmith Broe,, 230 Sutter street. For sale Jn Chicago by the P. a News Co, Zit Dearborn street. TODAT'S WEATHER.-Generally fair, north westerly winds. 1 . POItTLAXD, aiOXDAY, MAY 21, lOOO Senator Turner forecasts the Demo cratic campaign as a struggle for Jef fersonlan ideas. As Jefferson was an advocate of the commercial ratio be tween gold and silver, and an original expansionist, the Senator's reference is not especially apropos. He must have heen thinking of Lincoln. Lincoln is the great Democratic Ideal now, Just as McKinley will be In 1940. If the only service we require of a Legislature were enactment of local laws, it would be measurably safe to trust to the Judgment of the individual candidate as to his views on National questions. But the fact is that the function of choosing a United States Senator is the most salient feature of the Legislature's work. Until that task is performed, nothing else is done, and if agreement cannot be reached, the session is unproductive of material re sults. Now it so happens at this time that Oregon Is vitally concerned in two things that are at stake Jn Congress. One is the standard of value, and the other is Pacific -development. The Republican party Is committed to the trold stand ard and to Pacific expansion. Every Republican nominee on the Legislative ticket is pledged to these two things. If any one of them were known to be false on these supreme questions, he should be -and would be dropped from tho ticket tomorrow. They are all for the gold standard and Pacific expan sion, and they will vote for no man for the Senate of the United States, to succeed McBride or to succeed Simon, who is not known to be solid as a rock for the cold standard and for expan sion. On the other hand, .what does the op position propose? Of the eighteen men Sanring for the Legislature in Mult nomah County against the Republican ticket, no two, so far as we know, think alike on the Important subject of qualifications desirable in a United States Senator. In their declaration of professed principles they expressly dis avow any such agreement. Each one has his own Ideas, each one will con sult his own ideas, as to the United States Senate. If he wants Mitchell, he will vote for MIchell; if he wants U'Ren, he will vote for U'Ren; If he wants Jonathan Bourne, he will vote for Bourne. If he Is a silver man, he will vote for a silver Senator; If an anti-imperialist, for an anti-imperialist Senator; if an anarchist, for an an archist Senator. Nobody knows what kind of a Senator any one of these eighteen men will want. To support them is to take desperate chances at a critical period In the state's history. As to the Republican nominees, we know not whom they will vote for. But we do know the man they vote for will be right on the two main issues to which Oregon stands committed be fore the country. When Congress is about to take steps of such importance that the future of the Pacific Coast may be made or marred by its acts is x?ot a very opportune time for men to ask election to the Legislature on the promise that in the election of United States Senators from Oregon they will be guided by their own sweet will, to be ascertained at their leisure and ex ercised without responsibility to any pledges or principles. When Populism raged over the land, Oregon escaped it. "When wild-eyed Prohibition orators had their will in Iowa and Kansas, Oregon remained sober. When the silver mania swept tho West and South, Oregon kept to financial honor and sanity. "When Cali fornia and Washington lifted up vio lent hands against the Chinese laborer, Oregon respected law and order. Have we escaped all these pitfalls of crankery to fall at last into the abysmal gulf of Fema'e Suffrage? Some few enthusi asts seem to think so, and even to hope so. But it is inconceivable. Members of the Legislature and politicians gen erally are inclined to treat the alleged "problem" with the deference chivalry requires of them, but alone in the elec tion boc th with their Australian ballot they will act with sanity and prudence. The suffrage amendment may get 15, 000 votes in the state. It should not get more. At the risk of being obnoxious to the Bryanite party in the Pacific North vuest, ' must again draw attention to plank of the Chicago platform, the inferable document that haE Just been "reaffirmed in its entirety" at Spokane. Tho Chicago platform says: "We declare that the act of 1S73. demonetising silver, without tho knowledge or approval of the. American peopK has resulted in the ap preciation of gold and a corresponding fall la the prices of commodities produced by tho peo- Prices, as a matter of fact, have risen greatly since 1S96, and the "commodi ties produced by the people' are now about as high as most consumers find It convenient to pay for them. The crime cf 73 is still unavenged. Is it responsible for the rise ln prices, or was the Chicago convention talking through Its hat? There can be no doubt that the true bubonic plague has appeared in San Francisco, and it will require the ut most vigilance to prevent spread, ot the Infection to other Coast cities and to the Interior. General recognition of the demands of the occasion, and cheerful compliance with the rules that may be made for controlling inter course between communities, will make it possible to circumscribe the range of the disorder and to stamp it out in due time. Great difficulties will attend this service. It is hard for people of so healthy a country as the Pacific Coast to realize the gravity of a situa tion so threatening as the present. But it must be brought to the com prehension of all, and there must be intelligent and unremitting vigilance if the danger is to be removed or the plague limited to the Chinatown of San Francisco. It was an error to conceal the facts so long; now that the approximate truth is known, health au thorities everywhere should take cogni zance of it. A DEMONSTRATION IN CAPACITY. There is aneffort to sneer at the Ori ental trade on the part of those who conceive that politics makes t neces sary for them to belittle our achieve ments across the Pacific, and to assert that trade cannot possibly develop to any consequence with a people whose physical wan.ts are so simple as those living in Asia and upon the many islands fringing the Asiatic coast, and whose earning and purchasing power is so smalL To assume this attitude makes it necessary to Ignore the prog ress made within the past few years, and to close the eyes to the forces at work there that are making for an en larged consumption of American goods. According" to the "Returns of Trade" by the Imperial Maritime Customs Sen-ice of China, the total foreign trade of the empire last year was, in round figures, 525,000,000, being an increase in exports of more than $40,000,000, and in Imports of 565,000,000. The total is more than double that of 1S99. Much of this increase was in cotton and woolen goods and foodstuffs from America. It is impossible to blink these figures or to say that they sig nify nothing. If such an increase has been made in Chinese trade alone, with only the surface of the country scratched in the matter of trade de velopment, wl-at may not be expected from the opening up process now going on so rapidly? It is folly to say that the Asiatic millions have no wants and no purchas ing capacity. Neither did the Goths and the Franks and the Lombards of Europe before the advance, of civiliza tion gave them new wants and the capacity to supply them. Improve ment ln Internal transportation will stimulate trade, leading to increased earning capacity and enlarged con sumption, and familiarity with what we have to sell will create a demand for it. The report referred to Indicates fully this tendency in speaking of rail road construction and its effects, as fol lows: The internal trade of tho country 'was also unusually brisk, and the Important changes which -will be brought about by the exten sion of railways have already been proved. Now Chwang and Tlen-Tsin have promptly re sponded to tho stimulus of better means of communication, and the trade of those ports has leaped forward, although the former suf fered from a severe outbreak of the plague It is found that immediately trains began to run. districts through which there was llttlo traffic, such as between Peotlng and Peking, suddenly commence to hum with life and acll lty, and there springs up a nourishing trado which was formerly undreamed of and impos sible for want of cheap transport. The United States needs this trans pacific commerce, and it needs the port of Manila and the rich Philippine Islands as a local center of trade. All talk about giving them up or turning the government of them over to a lit tle aristocracy of half-Chinese Tagals, fct the head of a mass of ignorant, shiftless and Irresponsible Malays, is absolutely puerile, and would be in dulged in only by a few utterly im practical sentimentalists, were it not that politics blinds the Judgment of many honest men and makes insin cere and hypocritical a great many more who are not honest. In order to oppose the Republican party, it may not be necessary to block the progress of the country, arrest Its development and close the doors to its expanding trade, but it seems to be, since that is the attitude the' anti-expansionists have assumed. LABOR'S OPPORTUNITY. The industrial life of the Nation to day is confronted by conditions which are practically new, and to which both capital and labor must adjust them selves. Within a few years our en tire industrial and commercial policy has changed. It Is as if industrial en terprise, that dropped to sleep, so to speak, in 1893, has awakened, a giant in new-found strength, willing, anx ious and able to push its endeavor far out into the Islands of the sea and Into the world's great marts of trade. This Is a condition that calls, as never be fore, for an understanding upon the simple basis of equity and good-will be tween laborers and their employers. Theorize as we may, the labor of the country, like the capital and products of the country. Is regulated by the In exorable law of supply and demand. Just now the demand in all these lines is great, and if the first two elements adjust themselves wisely to the new conditions ln which they find them selves, an era of prosperity is dawn ing for both, the like of which the world has never seen. Conflicts now on and foreshadowed between these two prime elements of production, threatening to halt the Im portant industrial enterprises, are cred itable neither to the leadership of labor organizations nor to the fore sight and wisdom of capitalists. The aim of labor organizations Is to bring about and maintain the best compen sation possible to wage-earners, and the sympathy of the public is with them in every legitimate and honest effort looking to that end. The aim of capitalists, who Invest their means in industrial enterprises, is to bring the earning power of the investment up to the highest standard, and in this desire they are not unlike other men, Including the grand army of men whose labor is their capital. The ele ments of conflict lie dangerously near the surface here and only through the tolerance and Just consideration on both sides of the rights of the other can conflict be avoided. The present is undoubtedly labor's opportunity, and its demands should be wisely placed. Not only should those who are ln authority look to the pres ent Interests of labor in formulating these demands, but they should stead ily keep in view the fact that other and less favorable conditions are inevit able sooner or later, and soon at the latest; the one thing to be studiously avoided is the less of confidence of em ployers and of. capital Many impor tant Industrial enterprises have been halted, and the proprietors of many others are looking to improved, meth ods for avoiding the necessity of the employment of a large force of labor, chiefly or wholly because they may be wrecked by persistent disturbances. Thus, by pushing its present advantage too far, labor may greatly lessen Its own employment by leading to studied methods to diminish the necessity of depending upon it. American enterprise has entered the world's markets, seeking. The meas ure of success It has already attained is due to the superiority of American labor. It is more skillful, more pro gressive and more intelligent than the labor of any other nation. It must ad vance with our National advancement not in wages alone, but in the high er standards of Intelligence, discretion and integrity, and in a dependable quality that will reduce whatever dan ger there may be of an influx of cheap labor from foreign lands to the mini mum. The labor of the land is on trial, and only the most unwise direc tion can make it lose its case. FATE OF 1IIE SAIJIO.Y. In commenting upon the salmon packing Industry, the Chicago Tribune says: The catch of salmon ln Canadian waters last year was valued at $3,159,300, a decrease ot ?2,520.SCS when compared with the returns of the previous year. The decrease Is so great as to suggest that In splto of all that Is being done to replenish the supply of salmon, it, ltko the lobster of tho Atlantlo Coast, and the seal of Alaskan waters. Is doomed to extinction within a few years. The salmon has been driven further and further north with the ad vance of civilization. It was formerly exceed ingly abundant in all of the rivers of the At lantic Slope north of the Potomac, but was killed by overfishing and other causes until now It Is practically unknown In that region. The fish now remain only ln Canadian waters, and ln Oregon. The supply In tho Pacific Coast re gion seemed Inexhaustible only ten years ago. Then it was not uncommon for the rivers to be choked with tho multitudis of ascending fish. Canneries were established and fish were caught ln enormous quantities, canned and sjilpped to all parts of the world. The fish were caught by means of a device called the fishwheel, which threw tho fish ashore ln shoals, and permitted hardly one to escape. A stop was put to this when the supply began to show signs of diminution, and then the Government began to hatch tho salmon, but the hatching stations have not been able to make amends for the waste of & few years ago. The Tribune is correct ln its diag nosis of the fate of the salmon every where except in the Columbia River and Puget Sound. Though Its Ideas of the methods of salmon-catching on the Columbia are somewhat erroneous, its statement about the great decrease in the number of fish Is correct; yet Its ideas upon the Inefficiency of hatch eries are not sound. It is true that hatcheries on the Columbia have not yet repaired the waste of two decades of excessive fishing, but there are not wanting abundant evidences that the river Is now on the up grade. The value of hatcheries has been amply demonstrated. The trouble has been ln the past that we have only propa gated 10 per cent of the number of fish annually that should be put Into -the stream. Where we have averaged probably 5,000,000 a year up to the large output of 25,000,000 last year, we should have had an annual total of 50,000,000, a total which will probably be approxi mated this season. With seven hatch eries at work, there is no doubt of the result, bo long as the Columbia re-, mains a stream of pure water. The same conditions prevail on Puget Sound, the state hatcheries there hav ing begun propagation on a large scale before depletion had. reached the low point to which It had arrived on the Columbia. Not alone to excessive fishing may be ascribed the decrease of salmon in rivers. Contamination of the water by manufacturing enterprises along their banks, by surface drainage from cul tivated fields and by the sewage of cities plays an Important part. All the hatcheries in the world could not keep a foul river full of salmon. That has been one of the leading causes ot the decadence of the salmon-fishing industry on the Sacramento River, ln spite of the years of work at the Government hatching sta tion. Fortunately, the Columbia Is still, and by reason of the topography of the country will always remain, a stream of pure water, and the waste of excessive fishing is the chief obstacle to be overcome. This may be done by an annual propagation of from 30,000,000 to 50,000,000 fish, which is easily within the capacity of hatching stations al ready at work. Practically the same, conditions prevail on Puget Sound, since mostof the streams entered by fish for spawning purposes will remain con tinuously pure as to their waters. The outlook is that the salmon-canning in dustry will gradually center more and more on the Columbia and Puget Sound, until they will become at last the only scenes of extensive packing for the world's markets. IIIS OCCUPATION GONE. A little more than a year ago the great business centers of the country were in the throes of a financial mad ness of a type heretofore practically unknown. The disease reached its most virulent period about February, 1S999. The "promoter," so-called, was abroad sowing with reckless hand the seeds of this peculiar type of madness, and even the most conservative and level-headed business men in many in stances yielded to his blandishments and entered Into Industrial combina tion of greater or less solidity. For awhile it seemed that no scheme for the combination of capital &nd consoli dation of business interests was so wild in its conceotlon that It failed to enlist the support of ordinarily careful and just men. Money that had long been lying idle eagerly sought the channel indicated by the promoter as certain to bring back large returns. New corporations of stupendous capi talization were formed, and the treas ury of New Jersey (the compliant laws of that state making the organization of trusts under them an easy matter) was filled to overflowing by the fees received from them. The promoter was popular in those days, but conditions now are not what they were when this wid-Wlnter mad ness was at Its height. Men' who for merly besieged his office and almost humbly sought his assistance ln "get ting ln on the ground floor" of some heavily watered enterprise do not now take the trouble to recognize him upon the street. His fees and commissions belong to the past, and, if driven by stress of circumstance to approach a capitalist with suggestions of a new In dustrial combination, he is ln danger of bodily violence. Men who kept their heads while the trust epidemic swept the country,, and placidly declared that the evil would worts out its own remedy, find their pre diction In process of verification sooner than they perhaps anticipated. It Is true that there are many trusts in ex istence, but the fact that no more are being fcrmed shows that the check which precedes the stamping out of a malady has been applied. Heralds of disaster and sticklers for calamity still abound, and these, ln the face of a general prosperity that mocks at trusts, declare that the organization of "in dustries" is depressed because it has absorbed everything In sight; that the promoters are so many Alexanders, sighing for more worlds to conquer. But this is plainly an exaggeration, since there are many industrial lines which these manipulators of finance would have tackled, had there been any prospect of success. Disintegra tion has not "been so rapid, as consoli dation was for a time, but many trusts have fallen to pieces by their own weight, and some of the largest show unmistakable signs of collapse. The worst that was predicted has not come to pass, though much that was reprehensible under the name of In dustrial organization resulted from the mid-Winter trust madness of last year. The signs of the times are hope ful, the public has recovered its equili brium, and the promoter's occupation is gone. Predictions of dire calamity from this source will be kept alive for yet a few months by campaign ora tors, who propose political panaceas for an evil which they will not acknowledge Is abating, but those who declared at the height of the epidemic that the evil would effect its own cure have already good and sufficient grounds to con gratulate themselves upon their sagacity. A bill known as the Hallock hill, the object of which Is to prevent the slaughter of birds, lately passed the New Tork Legislature and received the signature of Governor Roosevelt. Thereupon the Millinery Merchants' Association of New York met and adopted a resolution not to use for ornamental purposes the plumage of any birds except domestic fowls and game birds killed for food, after the present supply is exhausted, the ob ject being to make the law obnoxious by rigid enforcement. The dependence is, of course, upon the Influence of fashionable women to secure its repeal. Self-deprivation is not one of the virtues of a woman who sets out to procure "a love of a bonnet," and it is admitted by all that if fashion de mands the plumage of any kind of bird, means will be taken to pro cure it. It has been frequently- asserted by persons who take human nature at its worst that "hard times" were peculiar ly favorable to the destruction of prop erty by fire. This theory Is not veri fied by the figures showing fire losses for 1899, as presented by the National Board of Fire Underwriters. . Accord ing to these statistics, losses from fire ln this country rose to the enormous total of $153,597,830 last year, as against $116,000,000 in 1897, and $130,000,000 in 1898. The increase is somewhat sur prising, and no solution of it is of fered. It disproves, however, the as sertion that hard times tended to the destruction of property through Incen diary means as a method of turning un productive property or business into money at the expense of underwriters. Consul-General Mason is too opti mistic by far in his expectation that out of German antagonism to the United States will result "a broad, lib eral, comprehensively framed treaty, or a series of treaties, between the United States and Germany, ln which all the vexed and Irritating questions relating to naturalized citizenship, countervail ing duties and port charges on vessels shall be regulated, and liberal Justice to Imports of food products secured by reciprocal concessions and embodied in permanent conventions between the two countries." Has Mr. Mason never heard of the Senate of the United States and the reciprocity treaty with France? Seven states will hold elections prior to the vote for President ln November, Oregon taking the lead. North Caro lina will follow next ln order with her state election, the date being August 2; that of Alabama is August 6, that of Arkansas September 3, of Vermont September 4, Maine September 10, and Georgia October 3. Of these, only Ore gon and Maine will furnish Presiden tial straws. The communication signed "S." ln an other column, suggests the power of appointment of commissions, health of ficers, regents of state-aided universi ties, eta, to be reposed in the Justices of the Supreme Court, in order to di vorce the appointments from political influences. Might not the line of cleav age fall on the other side, and the Su preme Court be married to political In fluences? Five hundred Filipino warriors am bushed eighty American scouts, and escaped from the combat with a loss of only fifty-one, having inflicted cas ualties of two killed and three wounded upon the entrapped Americans. Men who can win their independence in this heroic fashion would certainly make a startling phenomenon In self-government. City Engineer Chase is said to have Incurred the enmity of numerous street contractors through his rigid policy of holding them to their agreements with the city. An official of that kind ought to be loved for the enemies he has made. While our furniture and other manu facturers are working up the white oak of the Willamette Valley, they might look Into the matter of fancy furniture woods ln the Philippines. All talk about reducing the Army to the old dimensions is arrant nonsense, and everybody who voted for the Army bill a year ago knew it then as well as he does now. Stephen A. Oonglas In the Bear SIctn. Atlanta Constitution. Mr. William C. Morris, the well-known Insurance man, was exchanging reminls ences with me the other day, when some thing was said about Stephen A. Douglas. "You know that Douglas," said Mr. Mor Tls, "like many great statesmen of his day, sometimes drank to excess, and in his frolics with the boys forgot all about Senatorial dignity. I saw him gloriously drunk ln a little Illinois town in 1E59, after he had made a great speech. "The Senator at that time had an iron constitution. He could work harder and drink more than any of "his contempo raries, and hla excesses did not muddle his head nor tangle his legs. "In this little Illinois town he lost his equilibrium for once. "After drinking many hours with scores of tough Qld topers drinking champagne, brandy and whisky, the 'Little Giant' un expectedly collapsed. "A moment before he stood Hke a gran ite statue- Then, wtihout the slightest warning, he was a shapeless lump of boozy humanity, lolling ln a big arm chair. "The reckless revelers had just sense enough to know that Douglas was drunk, and their next step was a practical Joke, which was a disgrace to the town. "In front of a drug store stood a big stuffed bear. The drunken mob pulled him down. They ripped him open and pulled out the stuffing. "It was 2 o'clock in the morning, and the sober citizens then on deck were too few ln number to do anything. "The town boys had their way. They Jammed the unconscious Senator into the bear skin and stitched it up. "Then they propped the horrible figure in a large chair In the hotel lobby and stood around it ln a state of wild and noisy hilarity till daylight "Occasionally the bear would give a lurch forward, hut the bystanders straightened him up again. The Senator's snorts and grunts were so decidedly bear ish that the boys were delighted. "In the early morning hours, when the bear left his chair, and gave chase to his tormentors, swearing at them ln good, old fashioned Anglo-Saxon, the tipplers went into spasms of glee, and it was difficult to induce them to rip open the bear skin and put the furiest Senator to bed. "That was the meanest practical joke I ever saw," said Mr. Morris ln conclusion, "but it was also the funniest. "Only a very great man could have out lived it. But Douglas was such a 'genuine patriot, and a man of such remarkable ability that the people gladly overlooked his little indiscretions." THE BRYAN CRAZE. Astonishing Hallucinations His Ad mirers Hold Concerning Him. Washington Star. Mr. Bryan affects some men like a craze. They appear to be positively daft on the subject of his personality. Not without claims to consideration when they dis cuss men and afTaire In general, when they speak of him they lose all sense of propor tion and responsibility and talk like those possessed. Their support of him has be come a species of worship. They magnify him. They bow down before him. They call upon him for relief as though he sat upon a throne and -commanded all things. Take, for example, this extract from the speech of Senator Allen placing Mr. Bryan in nomination at Sioux Falls: There Is but one name in the hearts of the American people, and one name on tho lips of the people for President of the United States, and In the man whoso name I am about to mention there is embodied all that Is good ln the American citizen, all that Is pure and all that Is lofty. He Is a statesman of ripe experience, a philosopher and orator without a peer on this or any other continent. Fearless and wedded to tho interests of this Nation, he would make an Ideal President ot theso United States. Since tho election of 1S0G but one name has been connected with the candi dacy for that oHlce. This man Is the embodi ment of all that opposes plutocracy, the em bodiment of all that opposes greed. He is in my Judgment clearly the greatest American citizen ot the age. As an orator, a statesman and scholar he Is the equal of Webster and of Clay, If he la not their superior. Let us make liberal allowance for the extravagance always exhibited In politi cal conventions when favorites are pre sented for consideration, and yet what arrant nonsense is left In this! Mr. Bryan, eo far from being "a statesman of ripe ex perience," has had next to no experience at all In statesmanship. As a member of the House, ho connected: his name during his two terms with but one piece of leg islation, and that was the Gorman-Wilson tariff bill the most disastrous botch of a bill ever prepared by men holding public commissions. It ruined business for a time, and it was the strongest force that operated to hurl the Democratic party from power. Is Mr. Bryan a philosopher? Of what school? And when were philosophy and successful stump Bpeaklng ever so closely allied before? Ordinarily they mix as oil and water do. Is Mr. Bryan a scholar? He makes no such claims for himself. He probably chuckles to himself when the term Is applied even to round out a cam paign eulogy. Is he tho greatest of living orators, and does he top "Webster and Clay, w!io are gone? In the language of the poet, rats! Mr. Bryan is a smooth and captivating sppaker, but he has at least 20 equals in his own party alone, not to mention the Republican party, which Is "long" Just now on orators of a most excellent grade. This flubdub of Mr. Bryan's chief Pop ulist lieutenant would count for little If It did not express in a way sentiments en tertained for him by many Populists and Democrats alike. "Wherever his support ers are found they feel for him, and de clare, a like reverence. He is accepted as the sum of human wisdom. Finance? He knows it all, although the develop ments of the past three years have shown that ln 1SD6 he was a stranger to the subject The tariff? He knows it all, although he helped to frame and to pass the Gorman-Wilson bill. Expansion? Ho knows It all, although he has been so busy campaigning since that subject be came Important he has not had a mo ment's time to give to an exclusive sludy of It And this Is the man whom so many men would call to the Presidency at a time when a statesman of real ripeness, real experience and real soberness of view and statement is absolutely necessary to the needs of the country and to the formula tion and forwarding of sound policies! BRYAN'S COXFESSIOX. Silver to Be Dropped "Whenever Peo ple Tire of It. Chicago Times-Herald. In a sudden fit of Impatience that over came him the other day. Colonel, the Hon. William J. Bryan said to an inter viewer: I am asked as often as once a week whether I have abandoned sliver. To that I answer No. But suppose I should abandon silver, what difference would It make? I am not tho people. "When they abandon that question It will be an Issue no longer. The people make the issue, not the man. No man Is greater than his party. This la a blow for which we have not been prepared. Upon various occasions heretofore we have commended Colonel Bryan for his unvarying loyalty to sil ver. We have pointed out how It was im possible for him to abandon silver with out abandoning his self-respect and for feiting the good opinions of people who have had reasons In the past for believing ln his sincerity, even If they could not subscribe to his theories. But how comes the apostle of the heaven-born ratio, like Rumor: Blown by scrmlse3, Jealousies, conjectures; And of so easy and so plain a stop That the blunt monster with uncounted heads, The stlll-dlecordant. wavering multitude, Can play upon it. It io true, as Colonel Bryan says, that he is not the people who compose his party, and, this being so, why should he abandon silver, even if they, in their wisdom, should do so sensible a thing? Alas, we need not pause for an answer. Colonel Bryan hoe already given it. When the rest of the people In his party abandon silver it will, as he declares, be no longer an Issue, and then he, too, will throw it down. By his own confession. Colonel Bryan Is the champion of silver because it is on issue and not necessarily because he be hoves ln it He has smashed an idol that if not altogether lovely, was, we had foijdly believed, cut from a flawless block. Sancc for the Goose Etc. Milwaukee Sentinel. Captain Mahan, ln an article In tho In dependent shows that the United States could not intervene in the Boer war with out endangering the Monroe Doctrine. We presume It is in accordance with the rule of law that he who seeks equity must no equity. If we forbid Europe to inter fere in the affairs of this hemisphere, we should refrain from Interfering In the af fairs of Europe, GOSSIP OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL WASHINGTON, May 16. Senatcr Lodge, when he delivered his speech on the Mon roe Doctrine, and Germany's attitude re garding it -wanted the people to talk about him. and has succeeded even to a decree that he evidently did not Intend. Not only are they talking about him abroad, but a great many people have considerable to say about him here ln this country. One Senator who has a pretty good idea of foreign affairs, remarked in a very sar castic tone that Senator Lodge was prob ably trying to hold the German vote for the Administration. But as a matter of fact the speech fell like a thunderbolt on the Administration, as every effort has been made for a long time past to main tain friendly relations with the German Empire. The Samoan question was set tled and the treaty was put through with great speed so as to remove all cause of Irritation with the Germans. It is true that during the time tftat the Gernans clashed with us in Manila Bay. this coun try was ready to fight at the drop of the hat. It is also true that the manner In which Germany treats our meat products and fruits has caused a great deal of complaint and irritation. But at the same time every effort is being made by the Administration to prevent any retaliation. The speech of Secretary Root caused a great deal of talk, but he did not go any where near as far Senator Lodge. Secre tary Root, at his banquet gave some in timation about the testing of the Monroa Doctrine. Of course this started Inter national writers to discussing what he meant and they finally decided that he was pointing at Germany. JEtoot himself never mentioned Germany, but Senator Lodge, a member of the Senate committee on foreign relations, did mention thnt country, and spoke in round terms about it This action amazed the Federal Admin istration because at that particular time everybody on the inside was well aware that there was little danger of any trou ble with the Germans. It has been stated by those who seem to think they know something about it that the Ger mans colonizing in Brazil are likely to cause trouble. As a matter of fact. It .Is well understood that these Germans- In Brazil are not likely to become any morn antagonistic to the Brazilian Govern ment than are the Germans in our own country. They will still be fond of the fatherland and maintain their German relations and characteristics, but they will not try to make Brazil a part of the Ger man Empire any more than they will try to make a portion of the United States, where they are thlcky settled, a part of the same empire. There was, perhaps, some reason for believing that Germany would like to secure the Danish Islands, but even that was a little flurry of no great consequence, and not worth the attention given it as a possible cause of war with Germany. It was noticed that Senator Spooner. representing a state where mere is a very large German population, took occasion to refute tha statements of Senator Lodge very prompt ly and vigorously, and asserted that there was no danger of a war with Germany or any desire for one Government Friendly, People "Sot. It Is rather interesting to note In these complications that just at the present time the people of the United States are con siderably Irritated against Germany, and that the Germans have but very little better feeling against the United States, while the government, of both countries are on the very best of terms, better than they have been ln a great many years. There is also a bitter feeling among the people of this country' against England, especially over the Boer War, and yet the Government of. the United States and the Government of Great Britain are on the very best of terms. It Is often ob served that governments do not always represent the feeling of tn .people in their dealings with foreign nations. At the same time governments are a necessity for tho purpose of avoiding just such com plications as the people might rush into. It Is a good thing that the Government does not take the same view of every pass, ing breeze that some of our statesmen and some of our people do, or we would be constantly in -turmoil, and war would be threatened at all times. Kansas City's Graft. The manner in which the Kansas City hotel-keepers are holding up the Demo crats in the matter of rates at the con vention is causing a vigorous protest from those who must go to tne convention. It appears that Ave or six to a room, with the usual rates of " to J6 each a day Is what these Kansas City hotels Insist upon charging. This is so much more than has ever been paid before at any con vention that people who are compelled to attend are protesting very loudy. It also appears that rates at private houEes are very nearly as high. Single rooms at these private establishments are to be charged for at the rate of $10 to J2Q a day. If tnis Is kept up it will leave a very bad taste In the mouths of tho Democrats who attend the convention. It Is in striking contrast with what they have been used to at re cent conventions, for In 1SSI, 1S92 and 1SW they were at Chicago, and ln 189S at St Louis, and In all four of these conventions they were treated as usual, and the rates were not exorbitant. Now, to go into a campaign after being overcharged by tho hotel men will make them decidedly sore and possibly give the town of Kansas City a very bad name. This is another one of tho evils of pur chasing a National Convention. It cost Kansas City J50.CCO in cash to get the Na tional Committee to locate tho convention there, this money being used as a part of the campaign fund. As most of the con tributions camo out of the hotels, hotels want to get even. The work which thp National Committee has been doing in the distribution of literature with that $50. 000 will be nearly offset by the dissatisfac tion which will result among those Demo crats who attend the great Bryan hurrah on the banks of the Missouri. Extremity of Gold Democrats. , St. Paul Pioneer Press. Those who are depending upon discon tent with the Republican record are reck oning without their host. Among Re publicans generally, so far from disconent there is enthusiasm. Among the raug wumps, Gold Democrats and other Inde pendents there is plenty of discontent But if straws indicate the direction of the wind it will not influence their votes. They recognize that the Republican party has kept its pledges even better than they had hoped. They have spent their time and Ink and eloquence in reviling Mc Kinley, have been ransacking the cosmoa to prevent the renomination oi Bryan, and are now taking the only course open to men of their convictions. They are, in short, pursuing the very tactics they pursued In 1SD6 and have begun already to point out that Bryan stands for Bryan ism; that, though his power to ruin the country has been curtailed, he can and doubtless would severely Injure It. As a choice of evils they infinitely prefer Mc Kinley, and frankly say so. A few antl expansionists who prefer anything to ex pansion, a few gold Bourbons who ex pected to lead their party by leaving it, and a few others for various other reasons about as sensible, may swing to Bryan. But the number that know him to be a false prophet will. Judging by present indications, so far outnumber these scattered elements that McKinley's popu lar electoral plusality promises to exceed even that of 1SS6. He 3ilBht Have Said. New York Sun. According to the Hon. "TCilllam Vincent Allen, who Is properly grateful for his seat in the Senate, the peerlesa leader is peerless everywhere, "a patriot without a peer on this or any other continent" Besides, he Is "the most American citizen of the age" and "as an orator, as a statesman, he is the equal of "Webster and Clay, If not their superior." This Is the measured and impartial estimate that might have been expected. Hail Mr. Allen chosen to Indulge In pardonable exagger ation he might have said that Colonel Bryan combined the energy of , the Hon. Tornado Jones with the vocal stress of the Hon, Cyclone Davis. NOTE. AND COMMENT.., f . Don't bo a clam. Get out and run for as office. Roosevelt would rather be strenuous than vice-president Cuba seems to be as badly ln need ot jails as Luzon is of gallows. The Boer war Is seven months old, and. it is able to sit up and take nourishment already. Baden-Powell will be a hero now till he reaches home and tries to get elected to something. If the public Is going to win in that St Louis street-car strike it will have to win, in a walk. The Populist party will not do well when women vote. The supply of beard ed ladles Is limited. It now looks as If Oom Paul would come out of the war pretty well separated from his wife's relations. Perhaps the Barker people would do better If they kept to the right Instead of ln the middle of the road. The candidate now vainly trlea To make all men believe That be has got the winning cards Stowed somewhere up his sleeve. In holding out as long as It did, Mafe king showed a cruel disregard of the feel ings pf military experts. The modern dentist says he never pulls his customers' teeth. But he makes no pledges about their legs. Now doth tho man who makes the Jokes All other themes eschew. And roast the man who queries: "Is It hot enough for your Uncle Sam should look out for the Sul tan. The statute of limitations is running all this time he is sparring for wind. Dewey's special train has the right of way on the Southern railroads. The Ad miral also had the right of way as e. rule when he traveled by water. Now dqth the boy who swimming goes Protest his Innocence And says Jils shirt got wrong side out "While climbing through a fence. Barbara IIetchie has gone the way of William Tell et al. In a few years they will be saying that there was no such, person as Oom Paul and that Dewey was a myth. Senator Clark couldn't get Into the Sen ate, but he may console himself with the reflection that he will be able to hire a room in Kansas City during all the tlmo the convention lasts. The catcher caught the pitcher's eye, The batter dropped his Jaw; The rooter raised his heavy voice. The crowd was struck with awe. Tho baseman's beetling" eyebrows fell. They cast on him the Blame, The coacher pitched his words too high. The runner threw the game. Chicago, May 20. I notice that you Oregonians are greatly pleased because you have pansies so large that they will entirely cover a Jl-plece. "We have plenty of pansies that will cover a. $S-plece, and we don't brag about it, either. VERDANT GREEN. A citizen who attended a meeting at the North End the other evening, where sev eral unasked, incapable and Independent candidates for office were endeavoring ta convince the Intelligent and independent voter present that the only safety and the only hope of a pure and patriotic ad ministration of public affairs depended on. their election, came away much disgusted. He remarked to a friend that, if, by any stroke of 111 luck, that gang of tax-eaters and chair-warmers should be elected to office, he would go into the chicken raising business and secure a contract enabling him to attach incubators to their office chairs, and thus utilize the animal heat produced by them, which Is about tho only useful property they possess. If the election campaign now on hass been decidedly prolific in producing can didates for various offices In triplets and quadruplets, it has been forbearing in the matter of those much greater nui sances, the curbstone orators, who were around In droves a few years ago, and who, with their senseless clamor, col lected crowds which blocked the side walks and made life a burden to all sen sible and well-behaved citizens. One leather-lunged fellow made an effort to gather a crowd on Third street a day or two ago "to listen to what he had to say to them," but the encouragement he re ceived was of a nature to discourage him, and his mesage is still undelivered, and Is likely to remain so. The number of candidates anxious to sacrifice themselves for their country,s,itftfdst'nefr! own good has a tendency to convince one that the Idea which many people have, that "good men are becoming very scarce," Is an in correct one. Probably at no previous time ln our nation's history have so many unselfish and unasked men of pure and noble motives been ready to sacrifice themselves for inadequate salaries. PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHER3 Once Enough. "I notlco that lightning struck the Chicago River last Thursday." "I'll bot that's a case where lightning never strikes twice la tha same place." Cleveland Plain Dealer. Fatalities. "I can't understand the largo number of fatalities ascribed to the earth quake. It was the merest tremor." "Ah, but quite sufficient to cause the average folding bed to close up." Detroit Journal. Mrs. Smythe "What is poor Mrs. Perkins go ing to do now that her husband Is dead? Smythe Take In boarders. Mrs. Smythe No? Why sho can't cook! Smythe Precisely I Didn't I say that she was going to take thein In? Harlem Life. "Thanks," he said, taking the cigar. "I will smoke this after dinner." But it was so vile, that he smoked It while sitting on the front seat ln the grip car, on hl3 way home. For what was he. that he should fly in the face of long-established custom? Chicago Tribune. A Sarcastic Thfbw-Down. Vindictive "Varley (savagely) Dat. new idea uv yours about beta' a "broken-down chess-master" ain't no gootf. Foxy Farquhar Wot happened wen you told de lady? Vindictive Varley (disgustedly) Sha whistled fer de dorg, an said it wuz "jay move." Judge. The Cape Town censor sat chewing the stump of a blue pencil. "Dickens,"' he called to his assistant, "how many Boers did you say our 0000 men defeated J" "One thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine!" responded the loyal Dickens. "Then Just turn It around to 9031. It will make many glad 'hearts, and, besides, Dickens, my brother is a buntlng.manutacturer ln London." Chicago New3. A Critical Moment. "I want to be very care ful." said Mr. Blyklns; "very careful. Indeed. I am now at a critical moment ln my career." "What are you talking about?" asked his wife. "My hopes for the future. I have Just been mentioned as a possible candidate for a prom inent office." "Isn't that nice?" "No. It's not at all nice. It means long, gloomy suspense. When a man Is mentioned for office he's got to be careful. He may start right there and soar to fame. And then again he may get so busy with politics that don't pay that he forgets all about business, and the first thing you know they even neglect to put bis name la th Directory" Washington Star. -Jl 7- r -Ifcafe Jjrf JA Bjjfc-L i-TnrtSi-fo- j