THE MORNING OREGONIAN, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1900. utite rsgomcm Entered at the Postofflce at Portland. Oregon, as second-class matter. TELEPHONES. Editorial Booms ICO 1 Business Oface...GQ7 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mall (postage prepaid). In Advance Dally, with Sunday, per month..... S So Sally, Sunday excepted, per year.... 50 Dally, with Sunday, per year 9 00 Sunday, per year 2 00 The "Weekly, per year 1 SO The Weekly. 3 months CO To City Subscribers Dally, per week. dell ered, Sundays cxcepted.l5c Daily, per week, delivered, Sundajs lncluded.20o POSTAGE RATES. United States, Canada and Mexico: 10 to 10-page paper lc 10 to 82-page paper 2c Foreign rates double. News or discussion Intended for publication In The Oregonlan should be addressed Invaria bly "Editor The Oregonlan." not to the name of any individual. Letters relating to advertis ing, subscriptions or to any business matter should be 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 bs inclosed for this purpose. Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, office at 1111 Pacific avenue. Tacoma. Box 955, Tacoma Postofflce. Eastern Business Office The Tribune build ing. New York City; "The Rookery," Chicago; the S. C Beckwlth special agency. New York. For sale in San FranclFco by J. K. Cooper, "743 Market street, near the PaUco Hotel; Gold smith Bros.. 236 Sutter street; F. W. Pitts, 1003 Market street; Foster & Orear, Ferry News stand. For sale in Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 259 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines. 100 So. Spring street. For sale in Chicago by the P. O. News Co., 217 Dearborn street; For sale in Omaha by H. C Shears. 105 N. Sixteenth street, and Barkalow Bros., 1012 Farnam street. For sale in Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co., 77 W. Second South street. For sale in New Orleans by Ernest & Co.. 115 Royal street. On file in Washington, D. C, with A. W. Dunn. 500 14th N. "W. For sale In Denver. Colo., by Hamilton & Kendrick, 000-912 Seventh street. i TODAY'S "WEATHER. Cloudy and unset tled, with probably no rain of consequence; variable winds, mostly easterly. PORTLAND, SATURDAY, DEC. 8. Washington opinion that the Demo crats are sadly demoralized by the elec tion seems to find confirmation in their proposals for amendments to pending measures. The President recommended a revenue reduction of $30,000,000; the House stretches this to $40,000,000; yet the Democrats offer an amend ment to make it $6QJ)Q0,000, a figure obviously 'designed to promote a deficit and put the Administration in a hole. At the same time they propose various amendments restoring the tax on telephones, telegraph messages, re ligious and charitable inheritances, all of which would, of course, tend to keep the revenue up to present proportions. As the Republicans had decided to keep a heavy tax on beer, which is amply able to stand it, Richardson moved to cut the tax down to the old figure of $1 a barrel. There is obviously no guiding principle here except to find fault with whatever the Republicans have done. This is not statesmanship. What is the matter? "We are left two alternatives. One is that statesmanship has vanished from the Democratic party, and the other is that it is mo nopolized by the Republican party either of which conclusions is quite as deplorable as the other. "We ought to have two parties about equally bal anced in character and intelligence. "We are beginning to hear from the bosses on the subject of primary re form. So long as the project was con fined to academic discussion our vari ous political machines had little or no interest In the matter. But since mem bers of the Legislature, In responses to The Oregonlan's inquiries, are freely pledging themselves to vote for the re form, wo are beginning to encounter evidences of agitation. It must be premised that all the bosses are not in Multnomah County. Every city and county in Oregon has its machine, which controls, or seeks to control, nominations for office. Rival factions in Portland have their friends and rep resentatives throughout the state. The old controversy between Simon and anti-Simon has its roots down deep In the local Republican organization of almost every community in the state; and while the manifest tendency of the direct primary will be to unhorse the bosses of each side and put nominations directly In hands of the party as a whole, this end is not regarded with fond expectation by those whose Idea of harmony consists of their own triumph and the enemy's annihilation. Protest against the proposed law Is voiced by the Eugene Register. The Inference la natural that the Register has been the recipient of fears expressed by the Lane County Republican machine. Yet this may not be the case. "We shall give the- Register credit for entire independ ence, apd treat its objections as made in good faith, merely remarking that by just such arguments as it uses the bosses will seek to frustrate the direct primary movement. One of the Register's misgivings is founded on misapprehension of the facts. It does not understand the method proposed. It fears that each precinct might bring In a different can didate for Sheriff, for example, and that In this way a minority candidate with possibly 150 votes might be elected. The primary law contemplated does not allow such a result Candidates be fore the primaries must have filed nom inations by petition, signed by a con siderable per cent of the voters of the county. No one can Indorse more than one candidate. In this way we should get only three or four, or five or six, candidates at the primaries. The result of the election will be, as the Regis ter supposes, duly certified up to the County Clerk, who will take the names receiving the requisite number of votes and enroll them on the official ballot at the June or November election. The Register's idea of separate precinct primaries, whose nominations are to be reported to the County Clerk, Is, there fore, a misconception. The primary will be an election, held throughout the county (and the state as well) upon the same day, in all respects like the present general election, with official Australian ballots, official Judges and clerks, official tally-sheets ami official returns. The expense of going before the people for a nomination will not be enough to deter poor but meritorious candidates from announcing them selves, but it will be enough to keep the contest from degenerating Into a scramble of a horde of irresponsible aspirants. The Register is disposed to limit the desirability of the direct primary to cities. There is some sense In this sug gestion, and It embodies, we believe, the only sound objection to the primary law, which Is, that it will work a hard ship on sparsely settled communities. The Oregonlan has not the slightest doubt that this will prove true in prac tice,, and it may be confidently pre dicted here and now that If the pri mary law is enacted, we shall have de mands for its repeal brought In from remoter portions of the state after Its first trial. "We might go farther and state the exact truth by saying that it Is a question experience alone can de cide, whether or not the voters of Ore gon are far enough advanced in the process of self-government to use a di rect primary to advantage. That Is, they want self-government, actual as well as nominal, but are they willing to pay the price? Now, the price of delivery from boss rule Is not only the primary law, but It Is the cheerful and ready participation in the law after it is passed. That is, the voters must turn out at the primary election. It Involves sacrifice to do this, and the question is simply whether or not the men of the state are willing to make this sacrifice for the public welfare. If they turn out, the nominations will be the popular choice. If they don't, the machines will continue to select the candidates and muster votes enough at the preliminary election to effect their nomination. - Those inter ested in this reform have designed the direct primary law as a handy tool for the people to use in gaining actual con trol of our politics. But the voter must use the tool with his own hands. "When the horse gets to the trough, the rest of the proceeding waits upon his Initiative. Now is the time for the people of Ore gon to take an Interest In the matter of text-books for the public schools. A commission of five members Is to be ap pointed by Governor Geer next month to select In July the books to be used In the schools for a term of six years. It will be easy enough to find fault with the work of this commission, and doubtless there will be many who now take no Interest In the matter who will criticise and charge improper motives after the work shall all be done. Gen eral attention at this time may possi bly prevent unpleasant results. As to the composition of the text-book com mission, It Is plain that the teaching profession should have representation upon It. Techanlcal knowledge of schoolbooks and the demands of the schoolroom are essential to just judg ment of such a matter, and it would be unwise to Ignore the professional side of It. Still, the evils that the new method of selection was designed to cure are quite as much on the business side of the question as on the profes sional side, and practical business men should also be on the board. Honesty, independence, business acumen and pro fessional judgment are required on this text-book board. Machine politicians should certainly be avoided. If the se lection of text-books for the public schools is to be governed by an Irre sponsible and self-seeking machine, the school machine Is quite as desirable as the political machine. According to the best Information at hand, the Dower Nehalem coal field promises to supply Portland with an element of commercial success that has been lacking here cheap fuel. It ap pears that the coal is there, but It must be brought to this city, and a rail road to the coal measures Is necessary for this purpose. The development of an adequate coal supply so accessible to Portland would be a great factor In the growth of the town. We might wait for some benevolent corporation to build such a road, but while we should be waiting the world would go right along. Would it not be a good thing for Portland capitalists to put their hands in their pockets and build a road to the Nehalem? Then we would get coal and we would also get access to a large area of excellent timber, the finest, perhaps, that is Immediately tributary to Portland. Few enterprises would be of more benefit to this city than a railroad direct to the Nehalem "Valley. Seattle built her own roadB to coal mines, and has thriven upon them; why should not Portland also help her self? THE INCREASE OP IXSAXITT. The publication of the biennial sta tistics of the Oregon Insane Asylum for the term ended November 30 shows a monthly average of 1166 patients. The four states, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Tork and Wisconsin, contain by the new census 13,893,713 persons, or a little less than one-fifth of the whole population of the country. On the 1st of October, 1900, they contained under public supervision 41,115 Insane per sons, or one to every 338 Inhabitants. Ten years ago these states had but 26,940 Insane, or one In every 417 of the Inhabitants; that Is, while the whole population gained 24 per cent in the ten years, the Insane gained 52 per cent, more than twice as fast. The fig ures are as follows! Pop. Insane. Pop. Insane. 1900. 1000. 1890. 1890. Mass 2,803,346 8 900 2.23S.943 5.749 Minnesota .... 1,751.395 3.500 1.301.820 2,050 New York .... 7,2CS,009 23.7SS 5,907,853 10.002 Wisconsin .... 2.0CS.003 4,801 1.6SQ.8S0 3,139 Totals 12.833,713 41.115 11,225,502 28,040 If the whole country showed like re sults, the total number of Insane under public supervision would be 210,000. Some of the leading physicians at the East arc seeking to prevent the com mitment of so many cases of senile dementia to the state hospitals for the Insane. Judge Lyon, of the Wisconsin Lunacy Commission, estimates the yearly increase of the insane there at 125; in Massachusetts it Is 400; In" Min nesota, 200; In New York, 800. The statistics for Scotland show also a steady Increase In the number of the Insane. The latest report of the Scotch Lunacy Commission shows the number of 15,281 Insane for the year 1899. The population of Scotland is 4,314,000, jo that the proportion of the Insane to the whole number would be about one in 270. But forty years before, in 1859, the reported Insane were only 6044, and, al lowing 1700 for the unreported, the total would have been 7744, in a population of 3,041,812, or only one in every 393. In Scotland, therefore, there has been a great Increase In the Insane far be yond the growth of the population. In Ireland, too, there Is a disproportionate gain in the number of new cases, as well as a great accumulation of the un recovered. In Scotland In twenty-five years there has been a gain In the num ber of Insane of 52 per cent, while, the population has gained only 22 per cent; the new cases have gained twice as fast as the population has gained. It is not pleasant to read statistics which show that the number of insane persons- increases faster than the rate of increase of population, but this is the record, both In the United States and Europe. The explanation for the in crease of insaulty is hinted at by Gold win Smith, when he says of the in crease of suicide: It might be hastily inferred the world is be coming less happy. But the inference would be unfounded. Rather it might be said that the means of enjoyment having been greatly in creased and the standard of it generally raised, deprivation is more keenly felt and more pro ductive of despair. The leading cause, how ever, probably is sensibility intensified by civ ilization. It seems to be an admitted fact that the rate of suicide Increases with National ed ucation; not that National education produces suicide, but it produces sensibility. THE EVISCERATED ARMY BILL. The Army bill as It passed the House was completely eviscerated of the re form features it contained as originally prepared by Secretary Root. The only portion of the bill that has not been al tered is that referring to the- Increase of the Army. The parts dealing with the promotion of volunteer officers and the reorganization of 'the staff have been so completely changed that, as a reform measure, the bill will be value less. At present there is no real staff in our Army. , The so-called staff de partments are only military bureaus of the War Department, whose work, with the exception of that of the Inspector General's department, could be done as well by civilians. Secretary Root tried to create an actual staff in our Army which would satisfy the German mili tary definition of a general staff, which Is Intended "to convert the Ideas of the General commanding Into orders by working out all matters of detail." In our Army we have no such gen eral or Army staff. The present heads of the military bureaus at Washington have been strong enough In political pull to frustrate Secretary Root's effort to reform and develop our Army along modern lines. These old military hulks have been rotting at the Army wharf for years. They consider their life ap pointments a kind of "sailors' snug har bor," and, despite the fact that Secre tary Root's plan respected their "vested rights," these old military phantoms were determined to prevent the crea tion of any legitimate Army staff for the future. These Army rings are al ways able to resist any attempt to leg islate them out of their present life-tenure military bureaus, because they are generally uniformed politicians who se cured their original promotions through their personal pull. Adjutant-General Corbln Is nothing but a very able Ohio politician in uniform, who brought Into the Army headquarters at Washington, not the talents and technical knowledge of a trained soldier, but the talents and knowledge of a natural-born master of political intrigue. From Adjutant-Gen-err.l Co'-bln down through the whole so-called Army staff we find a lot of uniformed military politicians, created bythe United States Senators and Rep resentatives who determine the Federal appointments within their states and districts. There Is a perfect understanding be tween this "Army, staff ring" and the Congressmen who control the Federal patronage. The "Army staff ring" ha3 had influence enough with the House military committee to eviscerate the Army bill of all the reform features Imparted to it by Secretary of War Root. If a man of the ability and force of Secretary Root cannot carry an Army reform measure against the op position of the uniformed "politicians that make up the so-called Army staff today, what hope will there be of re form when a weaker and less Inde pendent man Is at the head of the War Department? Mr. Root's reforms are not agreeable to the "Army staff ring," nor to the Congressmen who ara hand and glove with that ring. The holders of Federal patronage and the dispos ers of Federal patronage are common foes of such an Iconoclast of wooden or tin soldiers as Secretary Root. THE ARMY CANTEEX. The vote of the House prohibiting the sale of beer or wine In the Army post exchange, known as the canteen. Is in direct contempt of the recommendations of the vast majority of the leading officers of the Army. At the recent an nual dinner of the Y. M. C. A. of North America In New York City, among the speakers was Major-General Brooke, United States Army, commanding the military department of the East, and In response to a call for his views on the subject of the Army canteen General Brooke said: This association has done a great wok in the Army. I have seen the benefits that have come to the men through Its efforts. During the Spanish war your association did a great work In Cuba, and great benefits have also come from its work in Porto Rico and the Philippines. One of your secretaries condemns our canteen. We in the Army do not call it that. "We call it a post exchange, with a can teen annex. When you can gie us something that will take its place we will be clad to have It. The post exchange has done a great deal of good to the men of the Army; it has drawn them away from the evil places of the cities and from those near the posts, and in every way if benefited them morally and physically. I saw this with forty-two years of experience in the Army. A United States commissary officer writes the Springfield Republican from the Philippines strongly in support of the canteen. We quote: I have been at posts where there were no canteens, and observed that the cases of drunk enness and disorder were greater than where a canteen existed. If thero is no canteen on the premises, he tries his best to get permission to go to town, and no soldier can go to town without celebrating to a greater or less extent- The canteen served to keep the men at the post, for, as is well known, the men fre quently make all sorts of excuses to get to town for the purpose of getting drink. I have known them to offer as excuses the need of getting teeth extracted or filled, or to see rela tives that do not exist. No sooner do these men leave the post than their money begins to part company with thero. and very few of the soldiers return with much money in their pockets. THE HAY"-PATJXCEFOTE TREATY. The attitude of our Government re garding the Nicaragua Canal Is that canal legislation cannot be properly and legally enacted until the Clayton-Bul-wer treaty has been abrogated or the Hay-Pauncefote convention ratified by the Senate. The Administration con tends that one of these things must be done before Congress authorizes the construction of a canal by our Govern ment. Abrogation may be had by a treaty of abrogation with Great Britain or by the adoption by the Senate and the House of a resolution declaring the Clayton-Bulwer convention not In force and effect. The Senate alone, It Is con tended, cannot declare the treaty abro gated; the House of Representatives must concur. For the Government to undertake the construction of an inter oceanic canal without abrogation of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty would be an af front to Great Britain. To ratify the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, with the amendment prepared by the committee on foreign relations, under which the United States could "take any measures which It found necessary for securing, by its own forces, the de fense of the United States," would not satisfy Great Britain, for under this vague provision the United States could interfere with the free use of the canal by neutrals, and could erect fortifica tions which would dominate the canal. The friends of the original Hay Pauncefote treaty say that Great Brit ain would reject this amendment, for loyalty to Canada and her other Pacific possessions compels her to insist that the canal shall always be open to her warships. The pending treaty recog nizes and confirms our exclusive right to police and manage the canal. Prac tically, this constitutes an absolute bar to the passage of the warships of our enemies. The fear of modern explo sives directed by Irresponsible hands, even as our battle-ship Maine was blown up at Havana, would close the canal to belligerent vessels quite as ef fectively as fortifications. With our naval bases on the Pacific and the At lantic, and our shorter lines of com munication, if we could not defeat a European navy, fortifications would not save the canal., As Admiral Dewey says, the real for tifications of the canal are our war ships. If they are stronger than the enemy, the canal needs no fortifica tions, and If they are weaker, the canal would be blockaded In spite of them. The Hay-Pauncefote treaty ought to be ratified or the Clayton-Bulwer treaty abrogated before the Hepburn bill Is enacted, which Ignores the existence of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. The Astorlan says: Will Portland accept the decision of tho Isth mian Canal CommLslon that the shipping of 10 J ears hence will require a channel 35 feet deep, or will the metropolis of Oregon acknowl edge that nature never Intended it. for a sea port? Does Portland Imagine that it can bring enough Influence to bear upon Congress to have that body appropriate enough money to deopen the present channel of the Columbia and Wil lamette fifteen feet more and keep it at that depth? Would the taxpayers of the country endure such enormous and entirely unneces sary expenditures, made for the mere purpose of keeping a seaport where it ought not to be? Or will Portland bear the expense? These are questions which Portland has to meet. Portland Is straining every nerve to Improve the channel to the sea. She has thrown all of her influence to place the Improvement at the mouth of the Columbia before everything else on the river. Portland does not need to be In formed as to the exact point in the river where the extra fifteen feet of water is needed. The experience of the Halewood, the last vessel to leave the Columbia River, shows In a striking manner where the delays are encoun tered. This vessel, drawing nearly 24 feet of water, made the trip from Port land, Including time lost in anchoring over night, in 38 hours. She was ten days in getting from Astoria to the sea. Portland will bring influence enough to bear on Congress to secure money enough to give her as good a channel from Astoria to the sea as she now has from Portland to Astoria, and when more water Is needed, means for getting It will be secured, In spite of the persistent "knocklngs" In the col umns of the Astorlap. Exporting raw cotton through Port land has already been tried, so the hew move of the O. R. & N. Co. to ship large quantities of cotton through this port to the Orient is no experiment. A year ago this month, and In the two succeeding months, 898,592 pounds of raw cotton, valued at $63,630, were ex ported from Portland. Then, In the ab sence of systematic effort, the ship ments fell off. But the Oriental de mand for cotton goods Is heavy, and there Is more profit In Importing the raw cotton Into Japan and there work ing It up with cheap labor than In Im porting the product of the loom. In the past four years the exports of raw cotton to the Orient have quadrupled In value, and the business of transport ing this freight Is becoming important. In the year 1899 the value of raw cotton exported to the Orient was $9,140,124. all but $291,007 of which was taken by Japan. The O. R. & N. Co. shows com mendable enterprise In going after this business. It means that Portland's share In the Oriental trade will be greatly Increased. It also points to the necessity of keeping a deep channel to the sea. It Is cause for popular gratification that the embarrassment under which the firm of Wolff & Zwicker labors promises to be temporary; for serious Interruption of its noteworthy enter prises would be a disaster of public misfortune. It Is greatly to the firm's credit and cause also for general con cern that Its financial difficulties, such as they are, have been Incurred through the effort to build up extensive ship construction here and maintain an es tablishment of credit to Portland's fame abroad and of material aid to its business prosperity. In this laudable ambition the members of the firm de serve, as they enjoy, the sympathy and good wishes of the community, includ ing the creditors, who manifest a dis position to render all encouragement In their power toward the firm's continued activity. If anything more can be done to help along In the matter, willing hands should be ready to do It. Co-operation in Portland's world's fair enterprise by the Manufacturers' Association and the Board of Trade comes with commendable promptness and zeal. Allied with the Chamber of Commerce, these organizations can do almost anything through the commit tees already at work. The action look ing towards abandonment of the Ori ental fair In 1902 seems to have been taken under ,a misapprehension of the facts, but It has apparently served the useful purpose of arousing greater In terest In the project than any other step could have done. The people want the exposition. They should have It, and we guess they. will. A Valley paper gives McBrlde a big boost and In another paragraph ex claims: "To the victors belong the spoils!" Therefore, by simple complex ratiocination, it deduces that the pres ent incumbent of the'Oregon City Land Office should surrender the spoils to a victor. These paragraphs, mutually complementary, stereopticon some In tricate political machinery. If spoils did not belong to the victors, the Sena torial predilections of the editor might be towards something more profitable. A close estimate shows that 100,000 married women are employed In the factories of the United States. This statement ought to offset some of the sympathy that men seem so generally to feel for "poor Mr. Lease," one of the 100,000 husbands of the country whose wives are compelled to rustle out and make or help make the living. Judge Bellinger, we observe, has just affirmed the jurisdiction of the United States Court in a case under considera tion. He is to be congratulated on liv ing up to the high' traditions of his of fice. If Multnomah County's reduction of assessment Is such a crime, it were bet ter for others not to imitate it than to rail. PARCELS POST SYSTEM. Other Countries Seem to Be Ahead of Va in This Respect. Kansas City Star. As soon as rural mall delivery becomes better established an attempt will prob ably be made to amplify the parcels post system. This already exists In a restrict ed sense. Packages of merchandise -weighing not more than four pounds are ac cepted for mailing. The charge of a cent an ounces, or 4 cents for a four-pound package, is prohibitive in many cases. People find it -cheaper to patronize the express companies. Under a parcels post, the Government would handle packages not exceeding a weight limit, probably, of 11 pounds. That is the maximum allowed In foreign coun tries. The postage rate might vary from 5 cents for the first pound to 25 for an n pound package. The advantages of such a system to the general public are ob vious. It -would Involve a saving, not only of money, but of time. "While the cities -would share In the benefits, the country districts would be the greatest gainers. The urban population can avail itself readily of the services of express companies, which the farmer can secure only after considerable trouble. The spread of the rural mall delivery is making the advantage of a parcels post for farmers more apparent than ever. Some rural delivery wagons have al ready received permission to collect ex press packages. They might Just as well carry parcels for the postofflce. With packages delfvered at their door, farmers would have every reason to buy more goods in cities. The retail mall trade, already of large proportions, would re ceive a strong Impetus. A delay of three or four days In receiving goods would be preferable to a tO-mile drive to and from the nearest store. The parcels post would be a great adjunct to rural mall delivery in bringing to the farmer the comforts of city life. Foreign nations have long set the United States an example in the cheap handling of packages. In the British Islet, the postage rate is C cents for the first pound, with 2 cents more for each addi tional pound. The charge on the maxi mum package of 11 pounds is only a shil lingslightly over 24 cents." The largest size allowed for a package is 3H feet long, with a girth which, combined with the length, is not more than six feet. The rate from England to foreign coun tries is low. An 11-pound package may be cent from London to Vienna for 53 cents, and to Constantinople for 73. An anomalous feature of the situation In America Is that parcels with a maximum weight of 11 pounds are carried In the United States malls to certain foreign countries cheaper than to localities In the United States. The rates on these par cels are 12 cents a pound. It costs IS cents less to send a four-pound package irom Kansas City to Berlin than to send the same narcel from here to St. Louis. Germany and Mexico are the only Im portant countries included In this ar rangement. The others are West Indian Islands and the republics of Central America. If foreign countries can have the ad vantages of a parcels post the United States ought not to lag behind. Distances are greater here, but the people are more intelligent and well-to-do. The great in crease in business that would follow the Introduction of the system could reason ably be expected to make it pay. The extension of rural delivery affords an excellent opportunity to presfc the issue of the parcels post. . t PRIMARY REFORM. Apprehensions Prom Lane County That Are EIewhcre Considered. Eugene Register. Considerable discussion Is going on over the state relative to the merits and demerits of primary reform. The propo sition being agitated is, that. Instead of holding county conventions each pre cinct will hold a primary and name the men of its choice for the various county, state and legislative offices. We presume that the actual vote of those present at the primary in each precinct would be made of record and forwarded to the county seat to be canvassed and the re sult announced, those having the highest number of votes being declared the nomi nees of the party for each respective office. In a big county like Lane with 50 pre cincts each precinct might come up with a separate candidate for each office, with the result that the canvassing board would have several hundred candidates. For instance, suppose each precinct should name a separate candidate for Sheriff. There would be 60 candidates for Sheriff and probably the one receiving the highest number of primary votes and become the choice of his party would not have over 160 votes. By such a method the candidates would not be as representative of the whole will of the people as if nominated by a delegated body. The only way this could be overcome could be by the so-called bosses conferring with precinct leaders, for under primary reform the precinct leader would assume the place of the so called county boss, and a sort of agree ment reached in each precinct whereby certain men ehould be voted for in all the places to be filled. Essentially primary reform, or the in itiative, would only work successfully In the cities where the population Is con centrated and a primary convention be comes practically a public meeting where all concerned can attend and become, practically, a city convention, and very much like a county convention. So far as Lane County is concerned we believe It Is as free from political bosses as any county In the state. True, there are leaders, but they are not self-appointed. The duty has been forced upon them by the fact that the masses trust to their judgment and expect them at all times to be ready with advice as to who would be the best men to fill the positions of re sponsibility in administering county af fairs. It !a a question if there would be less demand for this advice under pri mary reform than under present methods of securing nominations by the old plan of county conventions. Experiments are a good thing sometimes and as often are failures. Candidly we see little virtue fn the pro posed legislation except as It relates to cities and a law for Multnomah County along this line is about the extent of needed" reform. Any change In Multno .mah's methods would be for the better. They could not be made worse. The Famous Philadelphia Scrapple. New York Sun. To make Philadelphia scrapple, put one slice of pork and one pound of beef in a kettle and cover with water. The beef need by no means be an expensive cut; what is known to the butcher as a boiling piece is the one usually selected for scrap ple. Let it cook slowly for three or four hours, the water never in all that time getting above "smiling point," its surface merely dimpling. When the meat Is very tender take it out and chop It very fine, then return it to the water In the kettle once more. Thicken with a mixture of cornmeal and buckwheat, using one-third of the buckwheat to two-thirds of the cornmeal. Add salt to season. Pour this mixture Into a square tin and let it hard en overnight. In the morning slice and fry as you would fry cornmeal mush. THE TRUSTS AS INVESTMENTS. United States Investor. We have been asked what should ba .done In order that Investors might see their -way to jput their money Info the se curities of the industrial trusts. The ques tion Is a large one, and It Is not possible to answer it in a satisfactory manner In the space at our disposal at this time. We may, however, mention a, few things which occur to us, leaving a fuller dis cussion of the subject for a. later period. The question was one that was bound to be asked, by reason of the great difficulty of finding adequate employment for the means at the command of ordinary In vestors. There are a very large number of persons in this country who are In possession of what was once, when the investment rate was higher than at pres ent, a competency, but who are fearful, as things have been going for some years past, that It will be impossible for them to maintain their customary manner of life In the future without cutting Into their principal. These people have not money enough to admit of their taking great risks in their investments, conse quently anything that will widen the list of reasonably safe securities may be re garded as an inestimable benefit to the community. The first thing that is needed to put trust securities on the desired basis is uniformity as regarding laws regulating trusts. Of course, it must be borne in mind that, strictly speaking, there are very few trusts in existence. What Is meant by that term is the big corpora tion. Now, the big corporation, per se, is not an evil, but it is capable of becom ing an evil of the first magnitude if not rightly handled. Many of the trusts so far organized (perhaps most of them) are mere stock-jobbing schemes, and were incorporated with the most unblushing disregard of sound business considera tions. This was possible by reason of the flagrantly loose corporation laws of cer tain of the states. If every state in the country except one should bring its cor poration laws up to the highest standard, the evil would still exist: for speculative porporation3 would immediately flock In great numbers to that particular state for charters. The first thing that is needed, therefore, is a National incorporation law, which shall Include a provision for the periodical examination of the condition of the corporations. Another essential is, that the trusts shall issue periodic statements of earn ings. These statements should In a fairly accurate manner reveal the true condi tion of the trusts. At present the indus trial combines absolutely refuse to Im part such information, on the plea that they cannot afford to let their competi tors know what they, are doing. The long and short of the matter Is, the only guar antee that the Investor has that the trust into which he is asked to put his money is being honestly and efficiently man aged, is that he has confidence in the personal character of the men In charge of the affairs. This is no guarantee at I all, in view of the fact that it is the eas iest thing in the world these days to Identify names of the highest respecta bility with schemes of the most dubious character. The blind faith which the in vesting public are asked to repose In the trusts reminds one more than anything else of the Invitation of the spider to the fly. If one stops and thinks, be will speedily convince himself that the only Interpretation to be put on the refusal of the trusts to publish their earnings periodically is, that their condition is not such as to stand the white light of pub licity. Knowing this full well, the trust managers have the effrontery to try to make it appear that their secrecy is due to the fact that they are more prosperous than they dare have the public know. They assume that the public are children, but the public has so far been wise enough to let their schemes alone, and this, we think, will continue to be the case until periodic statements of earn ings are forthcoming. Once more, it will never be possible to get the trusts on a basis that -will make them attractive to investors generally, un til they are managed In accordance with the theory that the principal effort of the trusts should be to lower commodity prices, Instead of to raise them. There can be no permanent success for these combines if they adhere to the policy of keeping" prices at a' maximum level. But this is Just the policy they must pursue If they are going to pay dividends on a vast amount of watered capitalization. This brings us to the fundamental con sideration in connection with the subject which we started out to discuss the trusts can never hope for permanent suc cess except as they are capitalized at the lowest possible figures, rather than at the highest possible figures as at present. In addition to everything else, there must, of course, be careful management. When all these requirements are met. as they will be some day, the trusts will take their place as conservative investments. ' ' Antl-Xecro Legislation In Virginia. Chicago Journal. Virginia is soon to hold a constitutional convention for the purpose of determin ing how to get rid of the negro as a fac tor In politics. Senator Daniel is one of the leading spirits In the movement, and he is anxious to have his state escape the possible danger of a knockout from the Supreme Court of the United States, such as may be given North Carolina and other states, on account of the "grandfather clause" in their new consti tutions. It Is said that Senator, who is one of the best lawyers in the country, has prepared a rough draft of an amend ment which Is to be submitted to the leading Democrats of the state in advance of the meeting of the constitutional con vention. It provides for exempting from disfranchisement all persons, or their de ecendants who have served the state- In time of war, and its effect would be to save the ballot for illiterate ex-Confederates and their descendants. Its provis ions would be broad enough to admit the veterans of all wars, white and black, and. Senator Daniel thinks, would steer clear of any objection the Federal Su preme Court may have to the North Car olina constitution on account of the "grandfather clause." The Popular Vote. The Philadelphia Press publishes a ta ble, official except as to three states, which gives the following totals of the popular vote cast last month, with the contrasting figures for 18S6: 1S96. 1900. McKlnley 7,104,779 7,263,266 Bryan 6,502,925 6,41587 Total vote, omitting minor parties 13,607,704 13,673.653 McKlnleys plurality.. 601.851 847,579 McKinley's increase in plurality as compared with 1S96 246,025 McKlnley's gain In the aggregate Vote in 1900, compared with 1S96.. 153,437 Bryan's loss since 1SS6 87,538 i Sweet Ignorance In Bankers. Washington Post. Two days before the collapse of that Newport bank its directors signed a pri vate statement to the newspapers in which they strenuously denied the report of Bookkeeper Brown's shortage, and, furthermore, they said the books of the institution had been examined and that they were "absolutely and positively cor! rect." Where Ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to know anything about the banking business. NOTE AND COMMENT, It is timet to begin to practice writlnff it '1902." Hanna very properly would rather be the big man of the Nation than President. The Chilean Cabinet has resigned. Now let monarchs tremble on their thrones. It looks as if poor old Kruger had been swindled by the first installment of Webster Davis name. Antls will oppose reorganization of the Army probably because they don't want to set a precedent for their party. The Government Is going to send a tug to the Philippines, but as it is not a tug of war, Aguinaldo need feel no alarm. Mrs. Longtry. has left her husband. Now Bernhardt Is here again. It Is ne cessary to do some tall advertising to keep in the game. Kruger seems to have given up the no tion of coming to America. Maybe he does not know Web Davis, and never even heard of him. There is considerable discussion about fortifying the Nicaragua Canal, but It does not appear that there is any Nica ragua Canal to fortify. For the Lord to go back on Kruger was bad enough, but this last straw, the Lord's chief deputy, the Kaiser, doing likewise, should break the old man's back. Arizona and New Mexico want to bo states. Pqrhaps they have millionaires down there whose money they would lik3 to see put in circulation through Sena torial contests. Portugal and Holland are now talking of fighting. Perhaps they can arrange to give a preliminary bantam-weight bout before the main event between the United States and Turkey la pulled off. Hanna doesn't want to be President. He means, he doesn't want to be a can didate. Running for President, there's the rub, and he has a Nebraskan to bear him out that it were better to be eaten to death with rust than to be scoured to nothing with perpetual mo tion. Tho Tacoma News says: If it is true that Oom Paul has decided to make his home in the United States, It is cer tain he can find no better place to live in than Tacoma. Whenever he feels belligerent he can step over to the British line and get all the ex ercise -he needs. Seattle would offer him more strenuous Inducements. His progeny Is as numerous as Priam's and Seattle Is in the census business. That city proposes to get 20.0GO more people the coming year. Judge Clifford Smith, of Cedar Falls, la., holds that good citizens are needed more in this country than mere voters. Therefore, he refused to grant natural ization papers to several foreigners who came before him because they were unable to understand some simple ques tions which he put to them. None of them could either read or write English, and the judge told them that he did not think they were as yet ready for citi zenship. i Bernhardt' Sixty Tranlcs. New York Letter. Mme. Sarah Bernhardt is a happy wom an. All of her trunks have at last passed through the Custom-House, and her maids can now furnish her with what ever article of apparel she may have a fancy to don. Thus, if madame has any particular preference for any one of her 120 pairs of shoes her whim can be sat isfied. Shoes are one of "Mme. Bernhardt's fads." Her favorite Parisian bootmaker is constantly turning up with some new creation in kid, or peau glace, or peau do suede, or satin, sometimes even of leath er, provided it be dainty enough for tho foot of a goddess. Mme. Bernhardt knows her weaknesses. "I recognize that I have at least three crazes," she said to a friend "a craze for cloaks, a craze for hats and a craze for shoes." She has been very modest In the matter O) headgear this trip. She has brought with her only 16 hats, and a trifle of nine toques these latter mainly creations in furs. As for her costumes, they total up 60. This includes Ave costumes for "La Dame Aux Camelias," six for "Frou Frou," three for "La Tosca," five for the role of Roxane in "Cyrano de Bergerac," two for "Hamlet," two for "L'Alglon" and one each for three other parts in her repertory which may be played here. There are 26 theatrical costumes in Mme. Bernhardt's wardrobe. For non-theatrical purposes the great tragedienne has only a matter of eight fur costumes for trav eling, 'and not more than 25 peignoirs, dinner dresses, walking dresses, afternoon dresses, and so forth. Sixty trunks were required some of them as huge a3 ward robesfor Mme. Sarah's personal effects. The Canyon of the Grand. Cy Warman. I'm going to paint a picture With a pencil of my own; I shall have no hand to help me, I shall paint it all alone! Oft I fancy it before me. And my hopeful heart grows faint. As contemplate the grandeur Of the picture I would paint. When I rhyme about the river, Tho laughing limpid stream. "Whose ripples seem to shiver As they glide and glow and gleam. Of the waves that beat the boulders. That are strewn upon the strand, You will recognize the river In the Canyon of the Grand. "When I write about the mountains, With their heads so high and hoar. Of the cliffs and craggy steepness, "Where the waters rush and roar. When I speak about the walls That rise so high on either hand. You will recognize the rockwork. In the Canyon cf the Grand. God was good to make the mountain The valleys and the hills. Put the rose upon the cactus. The ripple on the rills; But if I had all the words Of all the world at my command I could never paint a picture Of the Canyon of the Grand. i ' By Waters of Galilee. Clinton Scollard In Century. The wind Is low in the oleanders, Softly stirring the rosy sea; Out from a hill a rill meanders Down to the waters of Galilee. A burnlnr blazon of -blue enamels The rainless heaven that arches o'er; And Druses drowse by their crouching camels Where meadows dip to the shingly shore. Crumbling walls that the hyssop clings to, Such is Magdala's glory now; And the only ear that the cuckoo sings to Is that of his mate on the carob bough. The columned city that Herod fashioned. That glistened white in the noonday blaze. Naught is left of its past impassioned Ssve ghosts that wander its squalid ways. Never a sail nor a galley oaring The shimmering reaches of liquid calm; Only a watchful vulture soaring Over the crest of a. lonely palm. But still the mountains, violet, vernal. And the brooding vales where the shepherd be. And the sun. in its equipoise eternal Looking down upon Galilee. And ever, to halo the desert places. By the spell of the girding silence botrcd, The haunting- thought of the face of faces. Of him through whom this is holy groun4l ifrt