Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, November 19, 1900, Image 4

Morning Oregonian., November 19, 1900, Page 4, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextTHE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1900. &ite Q&X&QQXMXXU Entered it the Poetefflce at Portland. Oregon. as second-class matter. TELEPHOKES. Editorial Room. ...106 1 Business Office... .067 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mail (postage prepaid), in Advance Dally, with Sunday, per month $0 65 Sally, Sunday excepted, per ear J 0 Dally, with Sunday, per year j CO Sunday, per year 2 00 The Weekly, per year 1 52 The Weekly, 3 months w To City Subscribers Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays excepted-15c Dally, per week, delivered. Sundays lncluded.20c POSTAGES RATES. United States, Canada and Mexico: 20 to lG-page paper ........lc 18 to 82-page paper ...... ............-c Foreign rates double. News or discussion Intended for publication la The Oregonlan should be addressed invaria bly "Editor The Oregonlan," not to the name ct any Individual. Letters relating; to advertis ing; subscriptions or to any business matter ahoula bo addressed simply "The Oregonlan." The Oregonlan does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to It without solici tation. No stamps should be inclosed for this purpose. Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, mce a. 1111 Paoiflc avenue, Tacoraa. Box 055. Tacom. Postofflce. ' Eastern Business Office The Tribune build ing, Neu Tork City; "The Rookery." Chicago; the S. C Beck with special agency. New Tork. For sale In San rranolsco by J. K. Cooper. 7a Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Gold smith Bros.. 230 Sutter street; F. W. Pitts, 1008 Market street; Foster & Orear. Ferry News stand. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 258 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines. 108 Bo. Spring street. For sale in Omaha by H. C Shears, 105 N. Sixteenth street, and Barkalow Bros., WIS Farnam street. For sale In Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co.. 77 W. 8econd South street For sale in New Orleans by Ernest & Co., 115 Royal street On nie In Washington. D. C. with A. W. Dunn. 609 Hth N. W. For sale In Denver, Colo., by Hamilton & Xendrlok. 000-012 Seventh street. t tlvely little, and so do those on oleo margarine, filled cheese and mixed flour. The Teally vexatious taxes, therefore, except those on liquors and drugs, could he repealed without seri ously affecting the surplus. The coun try Is so prosperous that we shall have to take off taxes -that we can pay just about as well as not. The situation Is certainly suggestive of the propriety of delegating to the Federal Govern ment such financial undertakings as It can rightfully assume, lightening wher ever possible the almost Insupportable load - Imposed almost -everywhere by municipal, county and state extrava gances and emergencies. plished In the way of magnanimity toward and pity for a fallen foe. "We may well believe that the American Red Cross Association will continue to lead the van of all progress In this line. Its glorious past, written in the records of humanity wherever war has raged or disaster fallen for a long term of years, Justifies the promise of Its continual usefulness, and insures a wide interest in this effort of Its man agers to supply it3 treasury with funds, without whleh the forces of neither peace nor war can be equipped for service or led to action. TODATfl WEATHER. Occasional rain, probably turning to snow; continued cold; brisk southerly winds. PORTLAND, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10 Congress Is not likely to do much In the short session about to convene, but for all that we shall have to un dergo discussion of all the country's problems, and Inasmuch as the real body of Influential legislators will be practically unchanged In the Fifty-seventh Congress, and as no Presidential election is Impending, the chances for actual results are better than usual. There is the reapportionment bill, which should be framed In justice to growing communities and passed promptly, and there is the shipping subsidy bill, which should not be passed at all. Army reorganization should receive attention, and a begin ning, decisive If small, should be made with the Nicaragua Canal. It will be discreditable to the Republican major ity If the gold-standard act, whose im perfections have formed part of Re publican campaign material, is not amended at the first opportunity, so that the charges of double-dealing made by Schurz and others shall be deprived of their point. The strong hand the Administration is now able to command in Philippine affairs, and the activity of the Taft Commission, ren der It unlikely that the Philippine ques tion will be thrown into Congress for a repetition of the Porto RIcan muddle. "We shall want to restore order and get expert opinion upon the workings of such civil methods as the Executive Department can Introduce, before we can enaot a comprehensive law intel ligently. The Senator elected at the Oregon legislative session In January, for the term beginning in March, will doubtless voto upon the Philippine act "What Is certain to be thrust at once into the foreground Is the bill for re duction of the war revenue taxes, be cause the ways and means committee of the House is to sit at once for its consideration. Useful and suggestive on this head is the annual report of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, printed yesterday. Receipts for the fiscal year ended June 90, 1900, reached the enormous figures of $293,000,000, and It Is estimated that for the present fiscal year, to end June SO, 1901, they will be $295,000,000. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that the annual excess of $80,000,000 or so, to which these swollen internal revenue receipts give rise, shall be done away through removal of war revenue taxes. The Commissioner volunteers some specific recommendations. He would abolish the 10-cent tax on "a certificate of any description," and charges on agricul tural affairs. His other suggestions re late to verbal amendments in the di rection of clearness and uniformity. Congress, of course, will go much far ther. The heavy reductions to be ex pected are on stamp taxes, and pos sibly those on beer. The tax ($2 a bar rel now instead of 51) is yielding (in cluding wines not bottled) $73,000,000 a year, of which probably $30,000,000 rep resents the extra amount paid by brew ers on account of the war. They will doubtless redouble their efforts to have the old schedule restored. The general Indisposition to reduce taxes on liquors, which are In the main luxuries, and de sirable objects of taxation, extends also to tobacco., and with greater force, be cause It is easy for the latter industry to shift the tax to consumers. Under prosperous conditions at home and res toration of peace in Cuba, neither manufacturers nor consumers are suf fering from the tax on tobacco, which yields now about $60,000,000 In annual revenue. MUNICIPAL CHARTERS. The motive of legitimate charter building may He In one of two en tirely different things. It may be the attainment of an ideal municipal sys tem, and, on the other hand, it may be the correction of glaring existent abuses. "Which of these ends Is to be chosen in any particular crisis depends on the circumstances of the hour. If our municipal method is altogether wrong, we need a revolutionary char ter, based on prlndrl-s antagonistic to those In force. If we are right on ma'n principles and wrong in some detalW, we need amendments to the old char ter. There are two fundamental princi ples every cnarter must recognize. One Is the logical necessity for authority in the Mayor commensurate with his responsibility, and the other is the right of the people to rule. But these principles, sound In the main, some times must be waived. Here in Port land, for example, we have had bet ter results through the water commit tee than we could have reached through Mayors and Councils; and here in Port land, also, a referendum has lnlqul tously forbidden a just and proper toll for vehicles upon our free bridges. One of these things has grown out of the stupendous size of our Bull Run enter prise, a financial undertaking that called for higher business ability than we get in Mayors and Councils. The other is an incidental penalty of uni versal suffrage, when applied so that non-property-holders have equal voice with property-holders in determining to what extent private property shall be taken for public uses. Nobody can vote a school tax unless he pays taxes. But those who never paid a tax, and never will pay one, voted a tax on tax payers to provide free transportation across the "Willamette River. As to the government of a city, the Mayor Is justly responsible; and the law is unjust if It ties his hands so he can't control the administration of its affairs. The various departments of the city should be under his author ity. For the reign of vice on Manhat tan Island the Mayor of New York Is held responsible, and justly; because the police department Is In his hands. No city's police department should be in such shape that a popular uprising, turning out an administration, would nevertheless leave the police regime se cure from reorganization So of other departments. "One-man power" in a Mayor is real ly the most effective system for secur ing their rights to the people. It en ables them to put a man in office for the express purpose of achieving cer tain reforms, and it gives him the authority to enforce them. If power is scattered about among several inde pendent seats of authority, the task of reform becomes so complicated and te dious that public Interest is pretty cer tain to flag or miscarry before any thing material Is accomplished. Portland's present charter follows, In the main, the principle of authority and responsibility In the Mayor. "Where it is Imperfect In this respect. It should be amended. Our experience with com prehensive new charters has been that each new one contained about as many errors as the former. A safer course would have been to amend imperfec tions and let the good points stand. Perhaps that would be best now. "What we need is not so -much re versal of general policy as the correc tion of abuses. The crying necessity Is for reduction of expenses and pre vention of future deficits. "We should be warned by the past to avoid poli cies of eventual loss to the city and burdens on taxpayers. Every econom ical feature of our present charter should be retained and every new one possible Introduced. The principal reduction, then, must come in the stamp taxes. "Schedules A and B," which the Commissioner re ports as yielding about $40,000,000 for the year, represent the burden laid upon the general body of the people. Stamp taxes enumerated in schedule A cover almost every description of document, bond, agreement, receipt for or order to pay money. Insurance poli cies, telegraph messages, ocean passen ger tickets, and so forth. Those enu merated in schedule B cover all kinds of patent medicines, perfumes and cos metics, chewing gum and bottled wines. It Is an obscure and almost hopeless problem to determine offhand to what extent relief from taxes most com plained of as vexatious can be com bined with the desired end of reduc ing the surpus. Some of the most an noying taxes yield little revenue. The "death taxes," for example, which are resented and are in cases in conflict with .state taxes, and at any rate, as the Commissioner points out, do not operate on bequests of American prop erty by non-resident aliens, produce less than $3,000,000 in annual revenue; licenses on bankers, brokers and places of amusement yield compara- RED CROSS WATCH MEETINGS. The American National Red Cross has In contemplation mammoth watch meetings to be held In New York De cember 31, at Madison-Square Garden, and other great auditoriums, churches and armories. Sousa's band will fur nish music at the first-named place, and a grand chorus of 1000 voices will give a concert until midnight, inter spersed with speeches and "greetings," after which the occasion will be given up to general festivities suited to that grand event, the birth of a new cen tury. The "greetings" will be unique, as not only will the rulers of the prom inent nations of the world be hailed and congratulated over leagues of cables and land wires, but celebrities of every land Count Tolstoi, Joseph Chamberlain, Dreyfus, Zola, Kruger, Sir Edwin Arnold, Hall Calne, An thony Hope, Lord Roberts and more than fifty others have written as to the progress of the Nineteenth and the promise of the Twentieth century for this occasion. The originals of these papers are to be preserved in the Con gressional Library at "Washington. While the object of these meetings is to signal a closing" and hall an in coming century in a manner befitting the Importance of so momentous an oc casion. It is hoped incidentally to raise by these meetings large sums of money for the American Red Cross, a legacy from the old century to the new, and to give a world-wide prominence to that fraternity between nations which tends to ameliorate the horrors of war. The name of this society stands for the amelioration of these horrors, and though grlm-vlsaged war will greet the new century In belligerent attitude, and with naked sword; though war Is war still, and while it 1b raging the human ities are shocked and cruelty exults in opportunity to do the bidding of the savage instinct in man which cen turies of progress have not been able to eliminate from his nature, one has only to compare the battle records of the past with those of recent years to be convinced of the humanlzipg ele ment that has entered Into the spirit of contest and conquest to be able to realize the progress toward humanity for which the name and banner of the Red Cross stand. Much Is still to be desired In this di rection; xatiih will jet A SECTIONAL PARTY. One reason for the defeat of the Democratic party In 1896 and1900, and the chief reason why it is likely to be defeated in 1904, is that it has become chiefly a sectional party; it is the party of the solid South. Of his 155 electoral votes, Bryan obtained nearly the whole of them this year In the South, and all but 43 of them In the eleven states of the old "Southern Confederacy. Of the 43 remaining, the Southern States of Kentucky and Missouri, which were al most equally divided between the Union and Confederate camps, furnished 30, and all the rest, or 13, came from the small mining states of Colorado, Ne vada, Idaho and Montana. The. old Con federate South persists in maintaining the same solidity of sectionalism that it has upheld since President Hayes ended bayonet rule by withdrawing all military government from the re constructed states In 1877. The plea for a solid South before the Civil "War was the preservation, perpetuation and ex tension of slavery; the plea for a solid South after the war was the dread of negro domination, which is disingenu ous today, as white supremacy Is abso lutely assured, and the cry of "negro domination" is utterly fictitious at a National election. At the recent No vember election the old South voted sol idly for Bryan, just as It did in 1896, despite 'the fact that it was a vote against their own interest, agalnsf their convictions regarding expansion, and against the judgment of their con spicuous men of business and leaders In the world of political affairs. Ex Unlted States Senator Reagan, of Texas, and ex-United States Senator Mills, of the same state, took no part in'the recent canvass because they were in favor of expansion and opposed to the Democratic plank on "Imperialism." The fact that the South persists In voting solidly against its own interests and convictions at a time when the bugaboo of negro domination has disap peared Is disagreeable proof that the South is determined to perpetuate its sectionalism after all excuse for Its solidity has ceased to exist. Since 1877 the solid South has fixed the fate of the negro without interference from the National Government, and it Is sure to continue to fix his fate, no matter what political party may be In power at "Washington. The South is still deter mined to pose as a people apart from the rest of the Union In Its sympathies, and so long as this remains its mood there will be no reorganization of the Democratic party on any new lines upon which It can hope to carry the country. The reorganization of the Democratic party with any hope of vic tory is impossible without the electoral vote of the South, and the stubborn, stupid sectionalism of the South is so Incurable that it will be sure to handi cap the Democracy fatally In any future Presidential election. The South votes for Bryanlsm and will continue to vote for Bryanlsm because It rep resents hostility to the Republican party, which perpetuates the National patriotism represented by those who stood by the Union during the Civil War. The Republican party has been more than any other the party of equal rights and honest money, and for this reason the South has never failed to support the party of unequal rights and dishonest money. The South cares little for Bryan per sonally; It supports him only because he Is a reactionary demagogue who is opposed to the prevailing sentiment of nationality and National unity. The South has the dead bee of "the lost cause" In Its brains yet, and the attri tion of that dead insect causes mental aberration. The school histories of the South are filled with ,false statements concerning the origin and conduct of the great Civil War. The Southern children are educated Into the belief that the responsibility for the Civil War rested on the North; that the war on the part of the South was a fight for freedom, Instead of being a battle for the success of a republic whose con stitution rested on human slavery for a corner-stone. Lincoln is painted as a tyrant, Grant as a butcher, the Northern soldiers as cowardly mercen aries, Sherman and Sheridan as van dals. In short, the Civil War and the Southern Confederacy are painted as a "lost cause" that lacked nothing of no bility in origin, conduct and incident; lacked nothing of glory but good for tune. Of course, a people who have not yet outgrown the puerile weakness of teaching historical falsehoods to the growing generation of their school children are still a hopelessly sectional people, and reorganization and victory for the Democratic party are Impossible as long as this cankered, provincial South sits In the saddle, unmoved and unregenerate. The South is still bound to Bryanlsm and its idols, and this fact will make the task of reorganizing the Demo cratic party upon any basis that would promise a National victory in politics most difficult, if not impossible, of exe cution. As a practical Issue free silver at 16 to 1 seems to be dying of general paresis, but Populism is not dead, and the South will be as solid for Bryanlsm In 1904 as it Is today, and because of this there can be no reorganization upon any other basis than Bryanlsm. The solid South dictates the fate of the Democratic party; the solid South will continue to vote for Bryanlsm because it is antagonistic to the prevailing sen timent of nationality and National unity. The South Is still playing the part of "Old Mortality" to the tomb stone of "the lost cause"; its chisel Is not devoted to inscriptions that honor the living heroes of our restored and glorious nationality, but is occupied with renewing the faded inscriptions In honor of the dead who died bravely trying to undermine and upset with their swords the fabric of the Union. first to meet Oregon needs, and after ward to respond to the demands of a growing commerce. Many years ago, when Oregon, was young, isolated. Wholly without Industries other than a crude agriculture, and John Whlteaker was Governor the matter of home sup ply for home needs was urged by The Oregonlan, by county fair orators and through state documents. It Is recalled that the practical, common-sense Gov ernor urged In thi3 connection through one of his state papers the necessity to our prosperity of this home supply, spe cifying "soap, socks and pickles" as among the articles that our people could and should produce In quantities sufficient to supply their own needs. The suggestion was a homely one, but it represented an Intelligent under standing of a pioneer people, their ca pacities and their needs, and has lived after many of the finely turned phrases of the political oratory of that time have been forgotten. An ax and pick handle factory would not have been a paying expedient at that time, because of our narrow market. Now, however, with an opening market in everj direc tion, easily accessible and constantly growing, Its success, under proper man agement, is assured. Clara Barton notes, In a review of the relief work at Galveston, the fact that appeals which have been sent out for building material wherewith to re build the ruined homes of that city have not met with the generous re sponse that followed the appeal forfood and clothing. Being an observant woman, she sees in this the result of the feeling that prevails generally throughout the country that It is un wise to rebuild the city in the face of the possibility of a recurrence of the storm. In Miss Barton's view, this feel ing Is not justified. he says "the city, with Its vast business and teem ing population, Is there, and must re main." It is true, no doubt, that the thousands who are practically shelter less and must continue so unless as sisted by benevolent people to rebuild, "must remain in Galveston." They have nothing to leave on, and nowhere to go, except as wanderers seeking and penniless. The condition of such people is Indeed pitiful, even desperate, yet against the appeal for their relief the feeling that has been referred to in re gard to the menace of destruction that hangs and must hang over Galveston, it will be difficult to raise a building fund commensurate with their needs. We can well believe that the problem of furnishing shelter or providing homes of the modern character for these homeless thousands Is the moBt troublesome that confronts the relief committee. "syndicate" to whatever nature and ex tent the complainant might desire. It is eaid a startling number of divorces have been obtained by these alleged conspira tors, and It was only through the detec tion of a woman who Is said to have rep resented the wife of a number of cases that the matter reached the attention of the authorities. From the nature of the business done, It Is inferred the "syndicate" has flour ished, and if the allegations be true in only one case, they bring to light the ex istence of one of the most dangerous at tacks upon the very foundations of su clety that ever has been conceived. If, as alleged, perjured witnesses were ob tainable to Just such an extent as the complainant cared to pay for them, and separations effected through judicial con firmation, without the knowledge of hus band or wife, as the case might be,, this "divorce syndicate" has been frustrated in one of the most abominable and ex traordinary criminal schemes on record and one which was capable of inflicting immeasurable and Irreparable Injury to the happiness and morals of society. The Disaffection Toward Crolcer. Chicago Tribune's New York Letter. The report that Richard Croker had made a large sum of money speculating on the result of the election Is current, and it has increased the bitter feeling against the Tammany chief on the part of his followers, who accepted his ante election predictions as sincere. There is no longer any attempt to con ceal the fact that on Thursday or Friday before the .erection Croker received esti mates and reports from his district lead ers and confidential agents showing that the plurality for Bryan In this city would be less than 30,000. Mr. Croker knew at the time that a heavy Republican vote would be polled up the state, and that the defeat of Bry an was assured. "With this inside in formation, he continued to claim this city by 80,000, and publicly predicted the elec tion of Bryan up to election day by a plurality of 60,000 or more. Scores of young men in Tammany believed Mr. Croker was in earnest and had inside in formation to Justify his claim of 80,00u plurality for Bryan in New York City. Many of these bet every dollar they could raise on 60,000 or 75,000 plurality in the city, feeling they had a sure thing. The stories of Croker's big profits In Wall street have reached these young men, and they are furious. Richard Croker's most intimate friends do not attempt to deny tho fact that the Tammany boss Is in a bad humor. Since election he has held aloof from every body, and his answers to questions are curt and manifestly impatient. He spends much of his time alone at the Democratic club, and will not discuss his future movements. It is believed at the Democratic Club that Mr. Croker will sail from New York for London within the next three weeks. The only information he would volunteer was: "I am tired out and want a long rest." King Oscar of Sweden has long been ill of a mental malady from which re covery has been practically hopeless. The government has been for some time under a regency. Sweden Is but an In finitesimal factor in European politics, but it Is a stable, well-governed coun try, In the government of which, as ip Denmark, the King is a mere figure headthe rallying point, so to' speak, of the Ministry. The death of King Os car, which is likely to occur at any time his physical condition, like his mentality, being very feeble will not cause any interruption of governmental functions, but his people will mourn him as a friend and a wise and tem perate ruler. The pathetic melodrama of Kruger pouring out his last life-drops In de fense of the country he loved so well gulled only sentimentalists. However, there Is excuse for the old man. He cried aloud to heaven In the hour of distress and was not heard. If the Lord abandonedfilm with so little con science, Kruger may have good reason to abandon his country and conserve his precious life-drops. As against the belief that American youth are averse to naval service, the report of Admiral Crownlnshleld shows that over 68 per cent of the men In the Navy are native-born, while 92 per cent of the landsmen now under training are Americans. This 1b gratifying, since, according to popular opinion, properly trained Americans are the best fight ers in tho world. It Is said that Oliver Belmont Is only out $30,000 by the experiment of his po litical weekly, the Verdict, which has suspended publication since the elec tion. He got off cheaply, considering the experience of many of hlB prede cessors In political journalism of the emergency type. If Croker's election bets were not a bluff, it is about time for him to Inau gurate a cruBade against vice In order to replete his bank account. A woman .tried to kill the Kaiser by throwing a hatchet at him. Woman never could throw anything straight except dishes. It Is anomalously conceivable that if Blnger Hermann didn't want to be Sen ator he could say so. The Whole Pari Fair to Be Rased. Paris cable to the Chicago Tribune. Nothing is to be left of the exposition except the large hothouses on the north bank of the Seine and the art palaces. The Prefect of the Seine submitted to the Municipal Council today a scheme to demolish all the buildings on the Champ de Mars and Trocadero. The center of the grounds will be maintained In the form of gardens for the embelllshmont of the cltv. while the wide border will be sold for building lots for the erection of mansions and hotels. The state Is asked to abandon Its right to use the site for future expositions. The exposition authorities contract for the demolition of the American pavilion provides for its disappearance at an early period. Work will be begun almost Immediately, and Commissioner-General Peck has arranged with the railroad company to provide for the rapid trans portation to Havre of the National ex hibits for shipping on board the United States auxiliary cruiser Prairie, which is expected to arrive there shortly. The American building of the machinery annex at Vincennea, built through the generosity of a few American exniDitors, has been sold, with Its power plant, to a. Manchester firm. Russia's Natural Outlet Is the East. Henry Norman in Scribner's. As Russia was Oriental In her origin, so she moves to the Orient by Innate ana congenital compulsion. Only while Peter the Great indulged his dream of rivaling the West, and while Russia was distract ed and exhausted by internal disorder and external enemies, was this natural process stayed. It has been. It 1b, and It alway will be, her normal development; in tho eyes of her strongest men It is her divine mission. A seaman would describe her course as "east half south." In her blood is the irresistible, mysterious Drang nach Osten; like man himself, she Perhaps acts second to some sphere unknown. Touches some wheel, or verges to some 'goal. It has been pointed out that the sea alone stopped the Cossacks In the seven teenth century, and when they got to work again in the nineteenth, the Rus sians crossed the Pacific, and pushed on to within a few miles of San Francisco, long before the first "prairie schooner" sailed over the plains. The map of Asia 1b a Russian stepladder; the Urals, West era Siberia, Eastern Siberia, Balkalia, Kamchatka, the Amur, Manchuria; the steppe; Khiva, Turkestan, the Merv oasis, Bokhara, Samarkand; these are the runga she has climbed. Persia, Kashgar, Af ghanistan, India itself unless a mightier force than herself bar the way, her feet will be here, too, In the fullness of time. The "half south" In her course Is shown by the gradual descent of her naval baso In tne Far East; Petropavlofsk, Nlko lalefsk, Vladivostock, Port Arthur. If you would understand Russia, and interpret the forecast aright, the march of great events, never forget that, for her, east ward the course of empire takes its way; that as the sap rises, as the sparks fly upward, as the tides follow the moon, so Russia goes to the sunrise and the warm water. This is what the history of Si beria strikingly Illustrates, and It Is from this point of view that the Great Siberian Railway derives Its chief significance. m Getting; Back: Into Town. New York Times, November 9. Thew were many well-known people In town yesterday lunching at the Waldorf, Sherry's and Delmonlco's, and the ave nue was quite gay with shoppers and nromenaders during the late morning and early afternoon hours. A tea at The Fernery, with some beautiful chrysanthe mums on view, and the annual auction sale of horse show seats and boxes, which, this year, for the first time, took place in the Oarden Theater instead of In the assembly-rooms, were the attrac tions of the afternoon. Some of the women who came In town from the sub urbs remained overnight so as to attend the annual reception and "cruBh" tea of The Strollers at the Astoria this after noon. New York Tlme3, November 10. The town was crowded yesterday. Many people who had been in the country were driven into town by the searching wind, and familiar faces were seen nearly ev erywhere. This, however, is usually the case oh Fridays at this season, as it is an off day with the hunt clubs, and there wera no irolf matches of any consequence 'going on In the suburbs. The only en tertainment Ot note was tne annual in dies' day given at the Astoria by Th Strollers. ' . OUR FAULTS IN SPEECH. Clara Sterling DoolltUe in Gbclago 'Record. Our faults in speech are classified for convenience in three groups barbarisms. Improprieties and solecisms. Barbarisms (from the Greek word for foreign or strange) are words or phrases that for some reason are not English that is. n6t good English. They may be of several kinds actual foreign words or phrases that have not been adopted as good English, like "artiste," "moucholr," "bete noire"; coined words that have not come Into general circulation, like "thus ly," "illy," "enthuse," and obsolete words like "rathe," which formerly meant "early," and "an" used In the sense of "If." Improprieties are English words or phrases that are correct in form but are used In wrong senses; for example. J'l stopped at the hotel a month." "Stop" W a good English word, meaning to cease to move. It represents, however, not an act or a condition, but the cessation, of an act, and therefore cannot be a continu ous process. I can stop at the hotel any number of times as I am walking past, but I cannot keep stopping there a month, any more than a train without starting up again can keep stopping after It has once stopped. Of course the person who says that he is stopping with a friend or at a hotel means that he is visiting a friend or boarding at a hotel. The verb that means to remain in a place is "stay." The impropriety is avoided by saying "I stayed at the hotel for a month," or "I am staying at my friend's for a month." Solecisms have to do with grammar and syntax. Tho Soli were a tribe of the Greeks' who moved away from Greece to Clllcla. and whose speech became incor rect and corrupted. Their ungrammati cal constructions were called, from their name, solecisms; now tho term -applies to such false constructions In other lan guages as well as the Greek. Examples of solecisms In English are: "It is him" for "It Is he," "they was" for "they were," "it don't" for "It doesn't" and "they asked John and I to go" for "they asked John and me to go." Of the three classes of mistakes bar barisms, Improprieties and solecisms by far the largest Is the' second. Few of us use words that are not English un less we occasionally forget and "enthuse" or are tempted to drop Into French. Most of us understand tho rudiments of gram mar and can avoid solecisms. But when It comes to using word In their accepted senses and In those senses only, that is a much more difficult matter. Professor Herrick, of the University of Chicago, In his rhetoric says of Improprieties: "They are the most common and the most harm ful errors In the use of words; they rob the language of deflniteness and cause obscurity." He mentions as an example the word "mad." which means "crazy," but is commonly used In place of "an gry." "She was mad" may mean either "she was angry" or "she was crazy," according to the context, and one can- not tell without the context which It does mean. There would be no such am biguity if we limited the word to its proper sense of "insane." Among the hundreds of improprieties certain ones stand out prominently as be ing especially popular or objectionable. "Claim" is one of these. It means prop erly to demand as one's own or one's due. We may claim property, an Inheri tance, rights, children, that belong to us. But "claim" does not mean "assert" or "say," in which sense it Is frequently used. We read "she claimed that she was innocent," where "assert" is plainly the proper word, or "he claimed that he had done the work." when "said," Vln slsted" or "declared" expresses the idea of the sentence. A practical test of whether the word Is correctly used Is the nature of its grammatical object. "Claim" is a transitive verb and takes as its object not a clause, but a noun. We should say then not "he clalme'd that the watch was his," but "he claimed the watch"; not "he claimed that he was the heir," but "he claimed the proporty"; not "he claimed that he had a right to go," but "he claimed the right to go." The misuse of "claim" is long estab lished, having begun before our genera tion. Daniel Webster comments on it in his day and condemns it as at that time a new impropriety of speech. A more recent impropriety Is the use of the verb "state" for "say" or "tell." "State" is a dignified word. It Implies detail and a degree of formality. A state ment is often written, but In any case it is supposed to be serious, considered and of some length. "Yes" and "no" are not statements: they are answers. "He stated that he had been there" and "he stated his story reluctantly" are incor rect. "State" is too formal a word for such cases. The sentences should read merely "he said that he had been there" and "he told his story reluctantly." The words "state" and "statement" are cor rectly used in the following instances: "The lawyer stated his case," "the docu ment stated the facts," "please state your complaint," "they hand in a monthly statement," "the statement of the rail road showed it to be solvent." K0 rE AND-COMMENT. . If at first yen don't succeed, run, run again. Apply it to the man it fits the best The last seen of Garl Schurz he waa armed with a lantern and hunting for himself. Oregon's reputation abroad seems to be safe In the hands of her University foot ball team. Tho Prince of Wales has begun to wear glasses. He will now be able to see his finish, if he looks for it. American and French soldiers don't get along well at Tien Tsln. The French al ways have been kind of Gaulish. The fact that the Democrats are with out hope is evidenced in the permission they have given Coin Harvey to speak. The Atlanta Constitution says that even the frost has been late in visiting the South. Ib November 6 late for that sec tion of tho country? General Kitchener is going tofdepopulate the Transvaal towns. Here is a chance for Omaha to get a few consignments of citizens for the next census. A Kentucky football game ended in a fight. Tho players probably found that the game was a little too rough and de cided to try something milder. In the village of Kerschdorf, near Hei delberg, Germany, there is a lively 91-year-old blacksmith and church warden, who recently climbed to the top of the church steeple and tied a new rope to the bell after the younger mon In the village had refused to risk their necks in the performance of that task. A passenger in an electric street-car yes terday somewhat astonished his fellow passengers by picking up from the floor of the car a nail on the point ot his umbrella-handle. When asked how the stick of his umbrella, which was of steel, came to be magnetized, he still more astonished the other passengers by informing them that it had been magnetized by the elec tricity which pervaded every bit of metal about the car. He touched his umbrella to a riBg in a trap door in the floor of the car, and raised it to an upright position. Then he took a number of carpet tacks from his pocket and proceeded to suspend them In a row from the end of his um brella stick. He then threw the tacks on the floor of the car, and, taking tho um brella from a woman sitting opposite to him, picked them up with It. He showed that every umbrella In the car which had a steel rod was magnetized, and the pas sencers began to Imagine that he was an itinerant magician. Finally one of the passengers who had been eyeing him rather suspiciously, wanted to know how he came to be traveling around with car pet tacks loose in his pocket. He said he had a house to rent on the Heights, and had been up there to tack a notice on it. This was the truth, but the man who made the Inquiry was not inclined to be lieve the statement, and suggested that the magician was one of the fiends who scatter tacks on the sidewalks for the "benefit" of bicycle-riders, and had it not been that friends vouched for the charac ter of the man with the tacks he might have been lynched. Any one crejrtroua of, having the steol rod of his umbrella mag netized can have it done by placing the point on a screw or ring on the bottom of an electric car. The manufacture, on a large scale, of ax and pick handles Is soon to be begun at Oregon City. Oak timber will be used, a considerable growth of which Is found In Clackamas County. The Industry is one of a practical type, and its establishment will appeal to practi cal people who desire the development be accom- of Oregon, resources, great and small. Divorces Easily Obtained. Baltimore Sun. The authorities of New York City are engaged in untangling the details of a novel and most dangerous alleged con spiracy. From arrests already made and developments thus far given to the public it would appear that a "divorce eyn cate," embracing both men and women as members, has Been breaking marital ties with expedition and contrary to the knowledge of the alleged offenders. In other words, the only condition necessary to the attainment of a divorce was the existence of a complainant, all the co respondents, testimony and other legal I requirements being furnished by the The Old Stewart Mansion. New York Herald. Alexander T. Stewart's many heirs have at last sold the famous mansion of the dead merchant prince. The price paid for the property is in the neighborhood of $1,500,000. The buyer is a syndicate comprising wealthy real estate operators and bankers. The Stewart property has a frontage of 113 feet on Fifth avenue and 150 feet on Thirty-fourth street, and is thus suf ficiently large for an Imposing structure. It was purchased by the late A. T. Stew art In 1861, and the present mansion, which is said to have cost $1,000,000, was erected several years later. - Recompensed. Kathcrlno Brown In Truth. "Under the spreading bleacher's shade The brawny halfback stands. A leathern harness on his head. And blisters on his hands. The lungs within his steel-ribbed cheat Can holler like twelve bands. "Week in, week out. from morn till night. He bolU his Profs to so And punt the pigskin through the mud And hear tho trainers blow. They tall oa him when he's too swift And kill him when he's slow. ', Ills hair Is but a muddy mop; A war map Is his brow; He feeds on oatmeal uncooked chop. He- bones no matter how. Tet In this life hath ha reward Exceeding great, I trow High on the club drag's topmost seat A winsome figure stands; , She snubs the other men, and yet His praise from all demands. She screams his college yell, and thrusts Her rosea la his h&sdc Another impropriety that Is gaining ground is the use of "transpire" in the sense of "happen." The word comes from the Latin "trans," meaning across or through, and "splrare," meaning to breathe. Rs original meaning Is to exhale, to pass off In insensible perspiration, to leak out. Secondarily It cmes to mean to escape from secrecy, to become pub lic, or to become known. It is correctly used In such sentences as "It soon trans pired that the murder had been com mitted by a brother of the injured man," "the news ot the plot transpired in time to warn the Intended victims." "some days after the conclusion of the trial it transpired that a Berlous division had occurred among the Jurymen." It is not hard to see how the word should have come to be improperly used. In suoh a sentence as "many things have trans pired since Lincoln's death" the mean ing is evidently that many things which were unknown during his lifetime have since then "leaked out" and become pub lic. But It Is equally true that many things have happened since Lincoln's death. Probably through such sentences as this the Impropriety began and now it has extended to flagrant misuses; for ex ample, "several matters of Interest have transpired during the week," "It often transpires that we think of our friends at precisely the moment when they are thinking of us," "he took an interest in the daily events that transpired in the lives of those about him." Mr. Herrick (to borrow from him again) quotes an ex ample of this Impropriety that would seem almost too gross a violation to be credible were we not familiar with the vagaries of the careless speaker. The sentence is: "A most Incompetent Governor-General has transpired In the Philip pines." Instead of "has transpired" tho writer undoubtedly meant "has been ap pointed" or "has come into office." Be lieving, however, that "transpire" meant "happen," he thought that with only a slight twist he could make it apply to persons as well as to events. He would be mightily surprised in all probability to be qutfted as having said that a Governor General, however Incompetent, had leaked out. The cure for improprieties. It goes with out Baying, Is first to notice them and recognize them as improprieties and then to avoid them. Although "state" and "claim" have been Improperly used so much as to accustom our ears to the misuse, in time even they can bo re claimed. '"Transpire" Is less commonly misused. It still gives us a decided shock to hear of the Judgment day s transpir ing, and as long as such is the case there A number of persons were yesterday ex amining and discussing a rather remark able poster displayed on an uptown bill board. It bore the life-size figure of a stoutly built savage, headless and naked except for a breechclout, running at full speed, and carrying a bottle of something In one hand and a weapon or scourge In the other. This scourge consisted of a short stick, to which was attached a short chain, with a ball garnished with spikes attached not at all a nice thing to be whacked over the head with. On tho breast of the headless savage was painted or tattooed a coat-of-arms, with two wild men as supporters, the whole going to make up rather a striking picture. Under the coat-of-arms was a motto, which one of the spectators said was in Low Dutch, and meant "good health and good luck," or something like that; but there was nothing about the headless savage to give the Impression that It would be either healthy or lucky to meet him. The crowd was endeavoring to figure out what the whole thing meant, why the savage was in such a hurry, where he was going and who he was racing after. One thought he was a headjhunter, or was chasing the man who had taken his head, and another thought that when he caught this man ho intended to muke him take "his" medi cine. Another imagined that the stuff in the bottle was headache medicine, and the scourge was to produce the headache, so that people would buy tho medicine t6 cure it Another thought the picture was Intended to convey the icea that any one who drank the stuff in the bottle would lose his head, but as there are many things in bottles that will produce this effect, this idea was voted down. Finally the crowd decided that they were not going to lose, or even loosen their heads endeavoring to solve the conundrum, and so walked away, leaving the headless savage running and whirling his scourgo around the place where his head ought to be. PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHERS In the Flowery Kingdom. Missionary Now, can you tell me what is the chief end of man Little heathen To be annexed. Puck. , Indolent. "Oh, her husband Is as rich as Croesus I She could have the loveliest things If she were not too lazy to pine for theml" Detroit Journal. A Joint Wardrobe. "Do you like your new cookT" "Oh, yes; I haven't wern my silk cape but once since she came, but, gracious! I'm not going to bother her about a little thing like that." Indianapolis Journal. Rev. Mr. Saintly I was very sorry that X couldn't All my pulpit last Sunday, but I hope you liked my substitute. Mrs. witnerby on, yes. He was fine, and I told my husband, who didn't go, that he little knew what he had missed. Life. Lawyer You eay that you were in the sa loon at the time of the assault referred to la the complaint? Witness I was, sir. Lawyer Did you take cognizance of the barkeeper at the timet Witness I don't know what he called It, but I took, what the rest did. Tlt Blts. N "Tou don't seem to be very sorry about it." remarked tho Brooklyn citizen after toe trolley aeeldent. "No, I ain't as nervous as I was," replied the roetorman; "this U my third today." "Tour third victim! Great heavenaf "Yes; the second one made me nervous, but there's luck 1b odd numbers, you know." Philadelphia Record. Not Her Field. Mrs. Ferguson found a sus-plclous-looklng- egg In the basket that bad come from the grocer's, and she went out and tried to throw It Into the alley. It struck the barn Instead, and exploded with a loud re port. "Den't yoa see now," commented. Mr. Ferguson, "the absurdity of your eonteatloa is hope of preserving the word In Its that women are fitted to go iota polttlcsT" original definite meaning. Chicago Tribune.