THE MORNiyO OREGOyiAN, FRIDAY. DECEMBER 7, 1900.
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TODAY'S WEATHER. Occasional rain, with
fresh to brisk southerly winds.
rORTLAJTD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7.
What business Is It of Government
whether rivers are improved or not,
arid lands made fruitful, isthmuses cut
or agriculture enlightened? An old
theory of government would forbid the
diversion of taxes to any of these pur
poses; but if we examine the bases of
that theory we shall find that the con
ditions surrounding the problem have
radically changed since the theory was
formed. The immemorial aspect of
government to man is unfriendly. It
was his oppressive master. From child
hood to old age he studied and labored
to weaken its power and frustrate Its
ambitious and insidious machinations.
In most men. therefore, was born a
superstitious dread of a strong govern
ment. They swore eternal war upon
centralization, they looked with misgiv
ing upon every farthing withdrawn
from industry by taxation. They wrung
constitutions from kings, they de
stroyed the divine right, they sent their
rulers to the scaffold they quarreled
with royal governors, they declaimed
passionately about rights reserved to
the state and other rights reserved to
the people. "Whether government
should be entrusted with any given
task of magnitude, then, was a ques
tion involving vitally, if remotely, the
rights of man.
All this has passed away. Under a
constitution and representatives chosen
by the people, the division of labor
between government and private enter
prise becomes one of pure expediency.
Government ;s not a thing distinct from
the people, it is only a function of the
people, one of the varied forms in
which the alms and activities of the
race are manifested. Can we do this
one thing, whatever it may be, better
in our capacity as a government or
as a society, or as Isolated individuals?
We brought Bull Run water Into Port
land as an act of government. It was
too big a jod for private capital. The
whole people, assessed on a basis of
cjnsumptlon through a term of years
under process of law, did the work
through their legally chosen represent
atives. If it had waited for somebody
to do it as an investment, we should
Still have been drinking muddy river
water, except those who had perished
from disease In the attempt. These
great enterprises, like the opening of
the Columbia River or the construction
of the Nicaragua Canal, or the reclam
ation of our arid lands, pay. They do
not always pay the specific contribu
tors, but they pay the whole Interested
community. The canal at the cascades
of the Columbia has many times repaid
its cost In the transportation charges
saved the vast grain-growing area of
the Columbia basin. The Nicaragua
Canal will put money in the pockets of
the world's traders to the end of time,
though the taxpayers of the United
States may receive no return for much
of their outlay. Introduction of econ
omies of this 3ort into the imperfect
form given us by Nature are costly
but remunerative. Experience shows
that very often in no other way than
in Us governmental capacity can soci
ety so cheaply and satisfactorily carry
such enterprises to a successful end.
We must also notice again, the pe
culiarly advantageous position enjoyed
by our Federal Government for rals
4ng money. There Is almost no limit to
the millions that can be raised through
the customs and Internal revenue, with
out serious discomfort to the taxpayer.
We are now abolishing Federal taxes
that are not really burdensome, while
state and city governments are put to
It to make ends meet, and every few
years see vast sums of private capi
tal wiped out of existence through
whole or partial failure of great cor
porate enterprises. Numbers of great
works are better done by government
tzr the further reason that they have
an Intimate relation to the public wel
fare. This Is true of the political as
pect of the Nicaragua Canal and of the
Government responsibility for the arid
portions of the public domain, both
land Itself and the water supply. If a
given piece of work can be done by
Government but not by private enter
prise, or if it can be done better, more
cheaply or more safely in that way,
that is the way to do it. We need not
be deterred by old specters of too
strong governments. The people are
subjects, but also rulers. In the capa
city of sovereigns they are not going
to oppress themselves in their capacity
as individuals. McKlnley is elected,
but he is not laying the foundations
o a dynasty any more than Jackson
did, or Lincoln, or Grant.
Discovery that oversight has left us
fritbou! a. close ashing, jjeaeoa for- the
Necanlcum and Ohana Rivers is an
other reminder that fish and game leg
islation must be expected at the com
ing session, if not in the shape of meri
torious enactment, at least in forms
both political and predatory. The lob
byist, we take It, Is already out with
spear and net for the fine, f at run of
trap and wheel men who, rumor sayB,
have done reasonably well the past two
years: and experience forbids a doubt
of the customary bills from Clatsop,
restricting all fishing to the lower river,
and from Wasco, making life a burden
to the daring cruisers of the bar. These
rival philanthropists may be trusted
to prove, as usual, mutually destruct
ive. We certainly ought to have, if we
can get it, a sane and intelligible re
enactment of our fish and game laws,
with any necessary amendments, as
has been suggested by the sportsmen's
organization. In this the danger is that
commercial interests will suffer from
Incompetent handling by experts in
game fish and birds. There should be
two laws ons for commercial fishing
salmon, sturgeon, etc., and the other
for regulation of amateur hunting and
fishing. It would doubtless be advisa
ble to have separate legislative com
mittees for these two distinct objects.
There Is an opportunity for the sports
men to achieve something of real value,
if they will prepare and secure the
passage of a simple, adequate fish and
game law. Only one thing is more im
portant than this, and that is to help
enforce the laws as they are now. It
falls little short of a disgrace that our
sportsmen glv practically no aid to
officers of the law in detection and pun
ishment of deerslayers.
Perhaps Librarian Leach is within
the bounds of strict accuracy when he
calls tne Kelly book of 1830 the first
book about Oregon, inasmuch as its
contents appear to be, for the first time
among publications, applied to the ter
ritory then known as Oregon. Yet
the Lewis aid Clark work (two vol
umes, 1814), though printed under con
tract for the United States Govern
ment, wa? certainly a book, and "about
Oregon," as well as other regions. Jon
athan Carver's book, printed in 1779,
contained mention of Oregon, but was
primarily devoted to his travels (1776
1779), in the Lake Superior country.
The Kelly book is certainly a , most
valuable acquisition, and repays the
library's three years of persistent ad
vertising for it The scarcity of these
early works would be cause for sur
prise, inasmuch as they would likely
be offered to possible purchasers here
whenever found by collectors, if we did
not remember the small store that must
have been set by such books in the
first few years, after publication. Their
editions were, of course, very small,
and doubtless most persons who bought
them put little value on them after
perusal. Probably many an early book
of Western travel that would bring
525 today could be put to no more profit
able use in 1S50 than to start the
kitchen fire.
Representative McCall, who wanted
free trade with Porto Rico for Massa
chusetts traders, doesn't want the Phil
ippines under any programme a
course of action which Is entirely con
sistent with New England's historical
attitude toward westward expansion,
but which casts an unpleasant light
over his doughty championship of Jus
tice to the Porto Rlcans. Mr. McCall
shows himself to have been bitten by
the anti-Imperialist tarantula. He is
dancing mad with liberty and inde
pendence. That is, though liberty and
Independence are two entirely different
things, Mr. McCall shows his inability
to distinguish between them. Political
independence Is one thing, civil free
dom is another. Massachusetts and
Oregon are free, but they are not inde
pendent, and in the same case are Can
ada and Australia. Russia is inde
pendent and not free. A transfer of
sovereignty Is not sufficient cause for
the inhabitants of territory to rebel.
Abuse of power and mlsgovernment
do furnish such a cause. What the
American colonists "rebelled against
was bad government. When the Fili
pinos are similarly abused, will be their
time for independence. They will get
liberty and self-government under the
United States. They couldn't get it un
der Agulnaldo. These are unadorned
facts, and hence they are unpalatable
to that geographically and otherwise
small portion of the Union which sees
ruin to the- Republic every time the
center of population moves westward
or the House of Representatives Is
reapportioned.
A SAD TRAGEDY RECALLED.
The announcement ot the death of
Mrs. Abby Sage Richardson in Rome
recalls a sad tragedy. Nearly thirty
years ago Mrs. Richardson obtained a
divorce from a drunken husband,
named McFarland, whose cruel abuse
of her when he was Intoxicated was no
torious. Mrs. McFarland subsequently
was sought In marriage by Albert D.
Richardson, one of the most gifted
members of the staff of the New York
Tribune. He had been a famous war
correspondent, and had published a
book describing his adventures as a
prisoner of war, for he had been cap
ture! during Grant's Vlcksburg cam
paign. Richardson was an able writer,'
an upright man, and he had been at
tracted to Mrs. McFarland by her su
perior literary ability. McFarland,
hearing that Richardson was paying
his addressee to his divorced wife,
swore that he would kill him. His
first attempt was frustrated by Rich
ardson, who wrested his pistol from his
grasp. Some months after, McFarland,
learning, that Richardson would shortly
marry Mrs. McFarland, sought out
Richardson In the Tribune office and
shot him down. Richardson lingered a
few days in great agony, and before
his death was married to Mrs. McFar
land, to whom he willed all his prop
erty. The marriage ceremony was per
formed by Henry Ward Beecher, and
among those present was the Rev. O.
B. Frothingham, the famous Liberal
Unitarian preacher of whose religious
society Richardson was a member.
Beecher and Frothingham both made
this tragedy a subject of pulpit dis
course, Beecher avowing his solemn
conviction that the relations of Mrs.
McFarland and Richardson had always
been absolutely beyond reproach.
Richardson never paid his addresses to
Mrs. McFarland until she was a di
vorced woman, and his only offense
was that he had once advised Mrs.
McFarland to separate from a man
whose drunken brutality made life
with him degrading companionship.
McFarland was tried for murder and
was defended by John Graham, a fa
mous jury lawyer, who had defended
General Sickles In his trial for the mur
der of Key. McFarland was acquitted
on the ground of Insanity. He sur
vived a few years, but was shunned
by everybodj, and died a social out
cast He was a malignant wretch, for
he confessed to a prominent lawyer. In
whose office he had once -been a clerk
during the war, and who visited him
in prison, that he "did not shoot Rich
ardson because he believed he had se
duced Mrs. McFarland, but because he
was determined that if she was di
vorced from him no other man should
have her."
After her husband's death Mrs. Rich
ardson rose rapidly Into favor as a
writer of superior ability and versatil
ity. She was a woman of very win
ning personality, and was welcome in
the best literary circles of New York
and Boston. She bore herself always
with dignity, and carried the bitter
cross of her husband's murder with
resignation, devoting herself to the care
of her children by her first marriage.
The few thousands of dollars willed her
by Richardson enabled her to live In
comfort unt'l her literary reputation
had become firmly established by her
versatile pen.
THE LEGAL EXFORCEMEXT
OF
TOTAL ABSTIXEXCE.
The "Vermont Legislature on the 23d
ult rejected the local option referen
dum bill that had been under consider
ation In both houses. The vote in the
Senate was 17 against to 12 for, and in
the House it was 140 against to 92 for.
The sentiment in the Senate, as evi
denced by polls of voters at prominent
points, is opposed to the present pro
hibitory law, and the friends of local
option aver tnat if the question was
submitted to popular vote the prohibi
tory law would be relegated out of ex
istence. Many legislators who see
clearly the evil of attempting to enforce
a law not sustained by public senti
ment excuse their legislative action
upon the ground that this Legislature
was not elected upon the Issue of pro
hibition or llrense; hence, without in
struction from their constituents, they
deemed it best to allow the matter to
go to the next Legislature, when that
Issue can be made paramount in each
locality. There are sinister influences
which keep the law upon the statute
book, because it provides revenue for
the cheap attorneys who, as city grand
jurors and prosecuting attorneys, draw
from it considerable annual revenue.
In Vermont, under the corrupt admin
istration of the prohibitory law. the
wholesalers seem to go free. With the
retail rumseller the method Is a sim
ple one of regular monthly payments
In the form of J5 or $10 for "first of
fenses," which, with costs of from 57
to 514 in each case, make very fair
pickings for the prosecuting officers.
It Is managed so as to have a monthly
job in disposing of the cases so that
the costs can be multiplied.
The Burlington (Vt) Independent
once announced that twenty-seven
cases were before one Judge in one
day; that the state's attorney got
"travel" for 162a miles, and that his
swag for that day amounted to 5213 50.
The Sheriff got 577 58, out of the same
cases, and the Justice 560 12. Of course
care Is taken to record only "a first of
fense" in order to avoid sending the
rumseller to the house of correction or
driving him out of business, and so kill
ing the goose that lays the golden egg
for the ' official. The Independent
showed from the records how a single
person, "a dummy" for one of the ho
tels, net even the bartender, but a man
of all work. Inside of three months was
prosecuted eight times, paying 55 or 510
each time for "a first offense." It Is
a matter fully understood by the deal
ers that they must pay about so often
so that the officials can .have a "divvy,"
and that If they do that they won't be
pushed enough to hurt them any. So
notorious are the abuses that are made
possible under the Vermont prohibitory
liquor law that it was vigorously satir
ized by the late Charles H. Hoyt, in his
play, "A Temperance Town," which ex
poses the Inquisitorial cruelty of the
law undet which a man had been sent
to jail for sixty years In an accumu
lative sentence because he could not
pay a fine of 57000, and had to work It
out at the rate -of 30 cents a day. The
only remedy for such cumulative sen
tences was through the Interference of
the Governor, by whom the victims of
this bigoted law were generally par
doned after serving a few years.
It is impossible to resist the conclu
sion that prohibition does not exist
except in the statute-books in the ur
ban centers of the states where it is
nominally maintained. There has been
a gradual abandonment of prohibitory
laws In many states; and there Is con
spicuous failure to enforce them where
they still exist Maine and Vermont
are both sure to follow the example of
Massachusetts and Iowa and substitute
local option for prohibition, which Is a
breeder of corruption under law wher
ever it exists. In Froude's history of
England Is told the story of the sump
tuary laws enacted by Edward IV, un
der which It was sought to fix the qual
ity of diet on a man's table and the
cost and cut of his clothing. Even un
der such imperious tyrants as this
great warrior King of England, and the
no less imperious Henry VIII, these
sumptuary laws soon fell Into a state
of somnolence and obsolescence.
The prohibitory liquor law carries its
death In its clothes. You can educate
the people Into moderation and decency
In the matter of drinking, which is not
to a large majority of the people of
the civilized world in itself a sin.
Drinking In moderation is no more il
legal than eating In moderation. There
is less drunkenness now than formerly,
although drink is cheap and plentiful.
Laws against drunkenness and public
nuisances need to be enforced against
rich and poor alike, but total absti
nence cannot be forced upon people by
law. All such attempts have failed.
The refusal to license such places does
not prevent the sale. As human nature
stands today, the saloon can be regu
lated by the law, but It cannot be ex
terminated. Better the open saloon
than the subterranean dive.
HIDDEN LAXDSOAFE OF THE SEA.
The American trans-Pacific cable
will, in the very necessities of the case,
be an accomplishment of the near fu
ture. In taking up the matter, which
Congress is urged by the President to
do, an interesting report of a survey
made by the Navy Department will be
considered, which will throw much
light so to speak, upon the ocean floor.
A sketch of the first part of this survey
was nlade public a year ago. and the
entire report is now accessible. From
this It is found that the surveyors of
the ship Nero, in their later sound
ings, measured a submarine abyss be
tween the Midway Islands and, Guam
the actual depth of which was found
to be 5269 fathoms, or within 66 feet
of six miles. This, the lowest depres
sion of the ocean bed yet discovered,
was named the "Nero Deep," in honor
of the exploring vessel from which it
was sounded.
A practicable route for the proposed
cable ha3 been found, avoiding- the
"Nero Deep," of course. That from San
Francisco to Honolulu was surveyed
some years ago, and no obstacle to
cable-laying was encountered. From
Honolulu to the Midway Islands the
ocean bed Is an almost level plain of
soft mud at an average depth of about
2700 fathoms. Between these Islands
and Guam the depth Increases to about
3000 fathoms, but the character of the
bed is, for the most part unchanged,
although it is broken in a few places
by reefs and ranges of hills, one of
which, rising to the southward, finally
comes up as the Ladrone Islands. The
practicable route to Guam lies north
of the "Nero Deep," the southern lim
its of which have not been determined.
Between Guam and the Philippines the
bed of the ocean Is more broken than io
the eastward, but no serious obstacle to
laying- and working a cable was found.
On the route from Guam to Yokohama
a submarine mountain range was en
countered, one peak of which rises to
within 500 feet of the surface. It was
not easy to find a pass for the cable
through these mountains, but a prac
ticable route was finally located. North
of this range the ocean bed slopes grad
ually eastward into the great Japan
ese Deep, which until within relatively
recent years was. the lowest submarine
depression known.
The report Is interesting as a study
of the hidden landscape of the sea,
which, outside of any commercial rea
sons, will bear study and investigation.
The tramp is the father of the hold
up. The genus Is readily recognized by
trained peaci officers, and obeys orders
to move on when he knows they are
positive and final. Portland's present
administration has done well, in the
main, in keeping the community free
of these menaces to life and property.
Of course, driving the profession from
one city to another Is not a permanent
solution of the problem, and perhaps
not one altogether Christian or nelgn
borly. Punishment is the only true
corrective. Every highwayman possible
should be shot dead In his tracks; and
for those arrested the only proper des
tination is the gallows. The hold-up
should be made a capital offense.
It Is noteworthy that the Treasury
reports show the voluntary retirement
of over 1200 banks from the National
system within the year, besides those
that have failed under the law's opera
tions. New formations under the law
of March 14 ure, of course, experiments.
Secretary Gage sbows a positive loss In
the Investment of circulation based on
5 per cents of 1904. It Is evident we are
yet far from having provided Induce
ments sufficient to transfer our state
and private banks Into the National
system an end desirable on many ac
counts. We Invite attention to the careful
discussion of Oregon's unoccupied
lands, printed yesterday. The Investi
gation there rehearsed makes it clear
that among the causes of Oregon's slow
growth must be reckoned that of ab
sentee landlordism. The Legislature
might appropriately put on foot an of
ficial inquiry into the whole subject.
Why Mr. Towne accepts the appoint
ment for a few days' term In the Sen
ate Is not disclosed and probably
Is futile to speculate. Perhaps It'
Is In this sort of empty fame that his
nature takes Its greatest satisfaction.
The act does not comport with char
acter of the first rank or of real dig
nity. The man who killed his little child
by running a hot poker down Its throat
as a penalty for crying serves one
good end. Let us be reminded that
cruelty Is not the peculiar possession
Of anv race or longitude. Even the
Boxers reserve their torments for their
enemies
Suspicion that the canal procedure in
Congress is partly dictated by railroad
opposition Is justified by experience.
And yet the course taken is quite cor
rect The treaty comes before the bill,
logically and diplomatically.
Massachusetts gives McKlnley 182,000
plurality. This Is within 6000 of what
it did in 1?96. The mugwumps went for
Bryan, but the young men took the
gold standard and expansion.
Xexr Llrht on nn Old Problem.
New York Times.
Hawaii's selection of an anti-Administration
delegate to Congress, according to
the Honolulu Bulletin, is something for
which President McKlnley should blame
nobody but himself. He insisted upon
appointing a Governor closely identified
with antagonism to native, as distin
guished from foreign, Ideas and Interests,
and though he had tnus " offended the
prejudices and disappointed the hopes of
a large majority of the islanders, ho
neglected to insure the political safety
of the Dole faction by withholding the
franchise from a part or all of their op
ponents. As a result the new territory
has struck a blow, decidedly humiliating.
If not particularly Important, at the man
and party that ao recently created It. It
seems that many of the Hawaiian Repub-'
liens warned the President about the nar
row limits of Mr. Dole's popularity, but
their advice was not heeded, and even the
measure that was expected to win the un
dying gratitude of the natives the grant
ing of manhood suffrage was twisted Into
an effective argument against the Repub
licans. "Why," asked the Ingenious Wil
cox, "If the party honestly supports man
hood suffrage, did the President appoint
as Governor an opponent of that meas
ure?" The question was obviously a
pertinent one, and It had a great effect
upon the suspicious and disaffected part
of the Islanders. The Bulletin is of the
opinion that the natural tendency of the
Wilcox, or Independent voters, is toward
the liberal Ideals and sound principles
of the Republican party, and it finds. In
the outcome of the election simply a proof
f that "these voters will not accept without
protest a Governmental personnel which
Is to them much what the reinstatement
of the monarchy by Cleveland would have
been to the annexationists had Cleveland
been successful." The situation Is cer
tainly a curious one, and it demonstrates
asaln the beauties of consistency, the
dangers of inconsistency.
American Capital In Jamaica.
Review of Reviews.
Jamaica has no desire for annexation to
the United States.. Whatever may have
been former attempts in that direction,
the inhabitants of the island are today
as British as those of Great Britain.
In spite of the present deplorable finan
cial condition; In the face of the disaffec
tion due to excessive taxation, although
the representatives of the people have
refused to legislate with the members
appointed by the crown. Jamaicans do not
look to annexation as their ultimate sal
vation. As in th case of the Danish
West Indies, though In a different sense,
the remedy is now looked for from with
in. And again It is the advent of the
United States in the West Indies that
furnishes the basis for stimulation.
Capital is the present cry emanating
from Jamaica. It was American capital
and American brains whfch during the
past 10 years partly redeemed the island
to itself. From the Governor down to
the lowest-caste coolie, all have praise
for what the Americans have done. But
will the Investment of United States cap
ital continue? Such Is the burning ques
tion of the hour. Can the people of Ja
maica keep on depending on Americans
as their exploiters, or will they at last
be forced to lend a hand themselves?
All indications point in the direction that '
in Lite icjlll &UJ1 ui buus reuivi "
United States, a great trade lc U sorng
up between this Island and the mainland.
Then. Porto Rico likewise produces the
Identical staples with Jamaica. Before
long shipments of 'fruit from Cuba and
Porto Rico will prove these Islands to be
rivals of consequence to the British col
ony which has long held the monopoly.
From "Does Jamaica Contain a Lesson
in Colonial Government?"
TTHl Buddhism Come to the Front?
Professor F. W. Rhys Davids, in North
American Review.
It would be blindness to omit in any
estimate of the position of Buddhism as a
living force it is not at all improbable
that It may turn out, eventually, to be
the most '.mportant point of all the quiet
but irresistible way In which Buddhism
is making its Influence felt, quite apart
from any religious propaganda, in the
thought of the West What Schopenhauer
said has often been quoted, but will bear
quoting again: "If I am to take the re
suit of my own philosophy as the stand
ard of truth, I should be obliged to con
cede to Buddhism the pre-eminence over
the rest In any case. It must be a sat
isfaction to me to find my teaching In
such agreement with a religion professed
by the majority of men." This would be
neither the place nor the time to under
take any discussion of this utterance. It
13 enough to point out that Schopenhauer
is. In all probability, the most influential
philosopher among those now followed in
Germany; and that the influence of Ger
many, at all events In intellectual mat
ters. Is afr present, if not Indeed, In the
ascendant, at least exceedingly powerful.
It Is not probable that any considerable
number of people, either In Europe or
America, will ever range themselves
openly on the side of Buddhism, as a pro
fession of faith. But It cannot be de
nied that there are certain points In the
Buddhist view of life that are likely to
Influence, and to Influence widely, with
increasing intensity, the views of life, of
philosophy, of ethics, as held now In the
West And not only the view of life, the
method also, the system of self-training
In ethical ' culture, has certain points
which the practical Western mind is not
likely, when it comes to know it to ig
nore. The present results have been
brought about by the knowledge or
Buddhism professed by a few Isolated stu
dents. It Is only when the texts have
been properly edited, fully translated, so
studied and summarized, that they have
been made accessible to every one Inter
ested In questions of philosophy and
ethics, that the full power of such truth
as there is In the Buddhist theory will be
felt
It cannot be considered as at all Im
probable that the 20th century will see a
movement of Ideaj not unlike In Impor
tance to that resulting at the time of
the Renaissance, and due, like It, to the
meeting together in men's minds of two
fundamentally different Interpretations of
the deepest problem man has to face.
Irrigation the Hope of the West.
No view of Irrigation can be apprecia
tive which regards it as merely an ad
junct to agriculture, writes William E.
Smythe, In the Atlantic It Is a social
and economic factor In a much larger
way. It not only makes a .civilization,
in the midst of desolate wastes; it shapes
and colors that civilization after its own
peculiar design. It forbids land monop
oly, because only the small farm pays
whon the land must be artificially wat
ered. By the same token it makes near
neighbors and high social conditions. It
discourages servile labor by developing
a class of small landed proprietors who
work for themselves and need little help
beyond that which their own families sup
ply. We can expect no millionaires to
grow from such surroundings, but neither
should there be any paupers.
There Is another Influence peculiar to
Irrigation. This Is the influence which
makes for co-operation. Irrigation Is not
and never can be an Individual enter
prise. A single settler cannot turn a
river to water hla own patch of land,
nor can he distribute the waters flowing
through a system of canals. The result
Is that co-operation precedes Irrigation,
and Is speedily woven Into the entire In
dustrial and social fabric of the com
munity. In localities which have been
longest established thia principle has ex
tended Itself to stores, factories and
banks. These things will not come sud
denly to pass, but they will come be
cause the condition and surroundings of
the time and place will strongly favor.
If not actually compel, the result Such
are the hopes of arid America. What
other part of the world offers a fairer
prospect to mankind?
A Call Upon Rev. Mr. McLean.
EUGENE, Or., Dec 4. (T6 the Editor.)
In your Monday's Issue Rev. Robert
McLean, of Portland, Is reported to have
said In the course of a sermon against
evolution that &00 leading scientists of
England have rejected the theory. His
own words, as given In -your columns, are
as follows: "As a scheme for dispensing
with God and Christianity It was not only
publicly repudiated over their own names
by more 'than 600 of the leading scientists
of Great Britain a few years ago, but
probably Is repudiated today by the great
mass of scientists and scholars In all
countries. This fad. for fad only It is,
leads to naturalism," etc
Now. It may be that 600 "leading scien
tists of Great Britain" have denied over
their own signature that evolution Is a
"scheme for dispensing with God and
Chrlstlaulty," for no one supposes for an
instant that It Is such, but If Mr. McLean
really means to say that 600 leading
scientists of England have rejected evo
lution, will he kindly favor us with the
names of the same? Respectfully,
F. L. WASHBURN.
American Motors Please the British
London Graphic
From America, as usual, comes the
newest Invention, a steam motor travel
ing as quietly as the most luxurious of
carriages, with no smell, no jar, no noise
and no vibration, answering to the touch
as obediently as a perfectly trained thor
oughbred horse, more untiring and swift
er. It was a pure delight to speed along
the roads In the keen Autumn air, Im
bued with a sense of security and free
dom. The machinery of these motors Is
very delicate, and will probably require
further improvements to make It thor
oughly practical; but even fit present,
for amateurs, for Invalids, for dilettantes,
these luxuriously cushioned and absolute
ly comfortable carriages give the great
est amount of pleasure, and promise to be
the vehicles of the future.
Tho Dead Highlanders.
From "Ian Hamilton's March," by Wins
ton Spencer Churchill.
"Near a clump of rocks IS Gordon High
landersmen as good as the one I had
Just talked with lay dead In a row.
Their faces were covered with blankets,
but their gray-stockinged feet for the
boots had been removed looked very piti
ful There they lay. stiff and cold on the
surface of the great Banket Reef. I
knew how much more precious their lives
had been to their countrymen than all
the gold mines the lying foreigners say
this war was fought to win. And yet
In view of the dead and the ground they
lay on, neither I nor the officer who rode
with me could control an emotion of
illogical anger, and we Bcowled at the
tali chimneys of th Rand."
SENATOR PRYE OS SUBSIDIES.
It is quite natural that the shipping
subsidy bill should be given preference
over every other measure oefore Congress.
America's merchant marine is growing at
a pace never before equaled? every ship
yard In the country is crowded with or
ders; new plants are coming Into existence
and old ones are being enlarged; sea
going vessel property has not paid such
big dividends since the Civil War as It
Is paying now. On every hand are evi
dences that shipbuilding and ahlpownlng
are at present proving the most remuner
ative investments in whtcn capital can
be placed. Every day of this prosperity
makes- the appeal of the subsidy grafters
appear all the more ridiculous and unjust
and lessens the probability of public alms
being bestowed for such an unworthy
purpose Senator Frye's speech In the
Senate contains not a single new feature
It is the sumo old buncombe that has
seen oratorical sorvieo since the measure
was first proposed.
In continuing his speech on Wednesday,
however, Mr. Frye flashed some light on
a new phase of the situation. It had been
asserted that 00.000 tons of foreign ves
sels would come in at once under the pro
vision which enabled foreign-built vessels
to participate in the BUbsidy. Mr. Frye
hastened to assure the Senate that he
would offer a substitute for the present
provision, so that It could be determined
exactly how many vessels would be en
titled to American registry. Here is con
sistency with a vengeance. The subsidy
grafters have persistently stated that all
that was asked of the Government was a
sum sufficient to enable the Americana to
meet the foreigners on even terms. If
this were true, why this grand rush of
500,000 tons or shipping to the American
flag? If the subsidy will do no more
than equalize the alleged difference in cost
of building and operation, why will the
unpatriotic foreigners desert their own
flag in order to get their vessels under
the banner of a hated commercial rival?
The answer can be found in the present
results of the French shipping subsidy.
The bitter political hatred existing be
tween the two nations does not prevent
thousands of pounds of English money
being invested in French bounty-earning
vessels, and the Clyde shipyards are shap
ing the plates, making the rivets and
practically "building" these French ships,
which are sent across the Channel
"knocked down." to bo put together in a
French yard. In order that they may earn
a bounty. British ships are all making
money, but they draw no subsidy from
the government, and when France, the
United States or any other nation has any
subsidy favors to bestow, this past mas
ter in the science of marine commerce
will secure share of the spoils. And
what of the producer, who supplies uie
freight which keeps the ships moving?
Why 'should he be taxed for the benefit
of a selct coterie of shipowners and
builders? The business of producing the
cargoes for the ships Is conducted with
out the government aid.
"Last year," said Mr. Frye, "of all the
enormous exports and Imports of the
United States, only 9 per cent were car
ried in American bottoms, and the United
States paid to foreign nations, principally
Great Britain and Germany, $500,000 per
day for doing carrying trade work for
this country."
The Inference drawn from this state
ment Is that the payment of a subsidy
would enable America to do this -work as
cheaply as it was done by the foreigners.
Perhaps It would, but tho producer would
still be forced to pay the freight, and in
addition, the subsidy. Here Is the man
ner in which the problem works out
not amoncr the shipbuilding constituency
of Mr. Frye. or in the palatial offices of
Grlscom's American line, but right here
at tide water, where the producer and
the ocean carrier are thrown In direct
contact: There are 20 ships in this port
today, all loading wheat and flour for
Europe, Africa and the Orient. These
20 ships are owned by 17 different individ
uals or firms. They will carry away
about 2,500.000 bushels of wheat, grown by
at least 1500 farmers, who receive no sub
sidy for growing wheat in competition
with the pauper labor of India, Russia
and tho Argentine. Having no protec
tion whatever in their business, these
1500 farmers should not be forced to pay
a subsidy tax tp Increase the already
large profits of the 17 shipowners, who are
carrying their product to market not
from any patriotic motive, but because
there is money In the business. With the
exception of a couple of French vessels,
none of the fleet now In the river draws
a subsidy from any government They
sail the world over, taking cargo where
ever It can be found, and successfully
competing with other ships.
No matter how great a subsidy might
be paid to shipowners, freight rates would
still be unaffected, for the simple reason
that owners would base their rates on
what tho traffic would bear, and not on
what they might be able to do the work
far. American ships have loaded In this
port at 30 shillings, and paid a handsome
profit on the Investment; but that did not
prevent their owners taking 45 shillings
when they could get it Divested of in
cidental verbiage, the subsidy question
la this: Bhall millions of producers bo
taxed to Increase the profits of a few
hundred shipowners and builders?
PLEASAXTRIES OF FARAGRAPHERS
Benefits of Intellectual Contort "Did you
hare an Interesting literary club meeting.
AllceT" "Ob, yes; every woman there was
working on a. new pattern of Battenberg lace."
Indianapolis Journal.
After the Defalcation-"1 understand," said
the. reporter, "that the defaulter's method was
very simple." "Very!" said the hank official,
with a sigh, "He Just took the money!"
Puck.
Pardonable. Gentleman flee here! I'm not
coins to pay any such rates as you charge.
Do you think I'm a fool?" Cabman (apologet
ically) What else could I think, sir, -when you
took a cab Instead of a street carT New York
Weekly.
Despondent Fair One Do you know, dear,
one. I'm. afraid I must be setting very old!
Consoling Friend Nonsense, darling! Why do
you think eo? Despondent Fair One Because
people are beginning to tell me bow very young
I am looking! Punch.
Too Jtuch. Gusher My wife has promised to
watt for me at the gate of heaven, if she is
the first to go. Flasher Tut tut You
shouldn't be so revengeful as to make her wait
through eternity, simply because she made you
wait while she fixed up sometimes. Life.
Delirium Tremens. Coroner Was there any
thing to lead you to believe that the deceased
was non compoe mentis when he took bis life?
Witness Would ye moind axin me that ques
tion In English? Coroner Well, do you think
he was suffering from temporary insanity T
Witness Faith, 'twas Jlst th opposite av tem
perance insanity, beta" that crazy- wid drink he
was. Philadelphia. Press.
They have called to solicit the firm's assist
ance for a local charity. Greene Suppose we
ask this gentleman that is coming up the aisle.
Gray No; he I dressed too well, and ho has
too much the tir of enterprise and activity.
He is undoubtedly an usdeTling on a small
salary. We will tackle that slouchy-looklng.
woebegone, little man at the desk. He Is sure
to b the bead ot tba establishment Boston
1 Transcript .
. NOTE AND COMMENT
Even the footpads seem to be enjoying
a share In the general prosperity.
All we need 13 link boys to be Just
like dear old I,unnon, don't you know.
If only a Nebraska Senator should die
there might yet be a chance for Bryan.
But the Senator would have to die "pretty
soon. Hon. Charles A. Towne Is probably glad
that the Democrats passed him up. If
he had been inAdlal's place Governor
Llnd never would have been able to find
him.
A little more ot this weather and he
Council will be compelled to pass an ordi
nance making It the duty of citizens
to shovel the fog off their sidewalks
every morning.
An Indiana man has discovered per
petual motion. If, as there is reason to
suspect, Its other name is Agulnaldo, he
ought to be able to f get something for
the discovery.
Philadelphia Is now clamoring for an
investigation of her police force. She
may be a little slow, but she Is sure that
she can prove herself Just as bad as
New York If she can ge the facts bo
fore the public.
The Navy arch In New York City Is not
yet to depart Into the rubbish heap
though it is to be disposed of as rub
bish, for President Guggenhelmer, ot the
Municipal Council, says that under tho
city charter there Is no other wuy. ao
the South Carolina interstate and West
Indian exposition will receive the arch.
which will be taken down with all the
care possible, and transported to Charles
ton, where It will be reconstructed.
A United States patent for a piece ot
land. Issued to Barnabas Norton during
the Administration of Martin Van Buren,
April 15, 1S37, has been filed la Flint
Mich. The patent Is written on sheep
skin and bears the signature ot Presi
dent "Van Buren. The remarkable con
trast between that far distant date and
the present time Is shown in the fact
that the autographs alone would prob
ably command as much today as 120
acres it land wa worth when the natent
was issued. An old resident of the
county said that the land covered by the
patent was wortn In those days about
1150. The document had never befora
beon flld for record.
Another poker debt case has passed
through the Appellate Courts of TNew
York, and, as usual, the debtor wins.
This case differs from the conventional
dispute over a gambling debt In that
the debtor and defendant in the case
acknowledges his debt His plea In de
fense was that he was about to pay up
when he was Informed that the winner
had publicly denounced him as a welcher,
or as a man who was not In the habit
of paying bis poker debts. TS so
enraged him that he determined not to
meet his obligation to his detractor. The
court did n6t consider this phase ot
the question, but simply held that a
gambling debt was not collectible by law.
Bishop Thompson.of Mississippi, sald
the other day: "I suppose there is a
largAr percentage of old men In Missis
sippi than In any other state at least,
it seems so to me, and I have been in a
good many. By old I mean from SO to
50. Theyare not decrepit old men who
hug the fireside, but are quite lively old
fellows. One of them whom I' knew,
a man 89, recently got a little tqo lively.
He went out after dark without a lan
tern, fell Into a ditch, and was broken
up Just as If he were china. I forget
how many bones were broken."
"How do you account. Bishop, for this
large proportion of old men In Missis
sippi?" asked some one. x
"Well," said the Bishop, "there is no
chance to become rich In Mississippi.
Everybody knows it and does not worrv
himself into an early grave tryin to."
The melancholy days have come, the
Baddest of the year, and any one who
desires to get much work done must
hustle. It Is so late when daylight comes
that ona hardly gets fairly started on
anything before the night comes, when
no one except newspaper men and some
others can work. Work is also Impeded
by the dense fog. which the public have
to put up with, as It Is the fate of Lon
don &nd other large cities to be visited
bv such fogs at this season. On the 20th
the sun will reach Its greatest declina
tion, and the shortest day In all the
year will be here, and then the days
will begin to grow longer and everybody
will be glad of It It may be set down
as a generally accepted fact that the
days are not so long as they used to be.
the sun does not shine as brightly as it
used to, the girls are not so pretty as
they used to be, nor the boys so well be
haved, and there is not so much fun as
there used to be.
r
The Evening Wind.
William Cullen Bryant.
SDlrlt that breathest through my lattice: thou
That cool'st the twilight ot the sultry day!
Gratefully flows thy freshness round my brow;
Thou hast been out upon the deep at play.
Riding all day the wild blue waves till now.
Roughening their crests, and scattering high
their spray.
And swelling the white sail. I welcome thee
To tho scorched land, thou wanderer of the
sea!
Nor I alone a thousand bosoms round
Inhale thee In the fullness of delight;
And languid forms rise up. and pulses bound
Livelier at coming of the wind at night;
And lanqulshlng to hear thy welcome sound.
Lies the vast Inland, stretched beyond the
sight.
Go forth Into the gathering shade; go ffrth
God's blessing breathed upon the fainting
earth!
Go, rock the little wood-bird in his nest;
Curl the still waters, bright with stars; and
rouse
The wide old wood from his majestic jest
o..i- tmrrt th innumerable boughs.
The strange deep harmonies that haunt his
breast. . . ,
Pleasant shall be thy way where meekly
bows
The shutting flower, and darkling waters pass.
And where the o'ershadowlng branches sweep
the grass.
Stoop o'er the place of graves, and softly sway
The sighing herbage by the gleaming stone.
That they who near the churchyard willows
stray.
And listen In the deepening gloom, alone.
May think of gentle souls that passed away.
Like thy pure breath, unto the vast unknown,
Sent forth from heaven among the sons of men.
And gone Into the boundless heaven again.
The faint old-man shall lean his silver head
To feel thee: thou shalt kiss the child asleep.
And dry the moistened curls that overspread
His temples, while his breathing grows mor
deep;
And they who stand about tho sick man's bed
Shall Joy to listen to thy distant sweep.
And softly part his curtains to allow
Thy visit grateful to his burning brow.
Go but the circle of eternal change.
Which Is the life of nature, shall restore.
With sounds and scents from all thy mighty
range.
Thee t thy birthplace of the deep once
more.
Sweet odors In the sea. air, sweet and strange,
Shall tell the homesick mariner ot the shore;
And. listening to thy murmur, he shall deem
JHe bears the rustllne leaf and running twfc.