Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, March 25, 1901, Page 4, Image 4

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    THE MOKNING . OKEGONIAItf, MONDAY, MARCH 25, 1901.
fts rssomcok
Entered at the Postofflce at Portland, Oregon,
cm second-class matter.
TELEPHONES.
Editorial Rooms 1CS I Business Office.. .007
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Dally, with Sunday, per month 5 85
Dally. Sunday excepted, per year 7 50
Dally, with Sunday, per year 9 00
Sunday, per year 2 U0
The Weekly, per year 1 SO
The Weekly. 3 months
To City Subscribers
Dally, per week, delivered, Sundays excepted.lCe
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POSTAOE RATES.
United States. Canada and Mexico:
10 to 10-pace paper.. .....lc
10 to 32-pace 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
hould 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 be Inclosed for this
purpose.
Puget Sound Bureau -Captain A. Thompson,
office at 1111 Pacific avenue, Tacoma. Box 055.
Tacoma Postofllce.
Eastern Business Office 17, 48. 49 and 50
Tribune building. New Tork City; 403 "The
Rookery," Chicago; the S. C Beckwlth special
agency. Eastern representative.
For sale In San Francisco by J. K. Cooper,
74e Market Etreet. near the Palace Hotel; Gold
smith Bros.. 230 Sutter street: F. W. Pitts.
1003 Market street; Foster & Orear, Ferry
Dews stand.
For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner.
253 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines, 100
Bo. Spring etreet.
For eale 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 Emest & Co.,
115 Royal street.
On file In Washington. D. C. with A. W.
Dunn. COO 14th N. W.
For eale In Denver, Colo., by Hamilton &
Kendrlck. 000-012 Seventh street.
TODAVS WEATHER Rain; brisk and pos
Blbly high southerly winds.
PORTLAXD, MONDAY, MARCH 25
In Chicago there has been perfected
an association of newspaper publishers
to which all disputes arising between
newspaper-owners and their employes
are referred. This sort of thing Is be
coming general in the large cities. In
San Francisco, for example, however
fiercely the various editorial pages may
rave at one another. In the counting
rooms all is harmony. They present a
united front to every enemy. A while
ago one of the papers had a row with
one of the theaters. The paper "roast
ed" the theater's attractions, and the
theater sent never an advertisement or
a free ticket to the paper. So the thea
ter protested to its friends, the rival
newspapers, and suggested that the of
fending paper should be reprimanded
by its rivals; but the publishers' asso
ciation met and the theater managers
were informed that on a business issue
the newspapers of San Francisco stand
together. Every San Francisco paper
is carrying a heavy load of libel suits,
but no mention of them is made in the
columns of friends or supposed ene
mies. In Chicago this arrangement
is probably the most perfect of its kind
anywhere. If the stereotypers of the
Tribune have a difficulty with its man
agement, their cause Is taken up by
their union, and by their union taken
to the proper committee of the publish
ers' association. We do not know what
answer would be made to a Tribune
stereotyper who should decline to rec
ognize the publishers' committee and
insist upon seeing Mr. Cowles of the
Tribune counting-room; but we do
know that the Pennsylvania mlneown
ers refuse to recognize President Mitch
ell, of the miners' association, and in
sist on their readiness to treat with the
men themselves. How about this?
Can employers have walking delegates,
and employes not?
It is probable that most persons who
complain that they frequently read
about Seattle In Eastern papers, and
seldom see any reference to Portland,
never pause to reflect upon the nature
of the reading matter they are disposed
to set such store by. Did it ever occur
to these complainants that advertising
Is not the sole ingredient of merit or
progress? The fact is that the num
ber of people with a good win worth
anything, who are deceived by .boom
literature, cannot at any time be for
midable. No man of business sense or
prudence forms connections or Invests
money upon a single newspaper report.
We have statesmen here who avow
that investors are governed entirely by
rate of tax levy, never Inquiring as to
valuations, and we have those who re
gard valuations as the one universally
accepted Index of profit Both classes
are wrong. The man who puts money
into Portland or Seattle is going to find
out the exact conditions under which
his investment will He. There is very
little of the brass-band or street-faker
style about Portland's methods of
doing business, and the substantial
results so far achieved do not indicate
any crying need of a change. Tou can
take Portland's foreign trade, or its
financial operations, or its manufactur
ing enterprises, or its public works, or
its rate of taxation, or its Jobbing busi
ness, or Its retail trade, and you will
find methods and results that invari
ably make a profound impression upon
the discerning visitor; and he says
Portland Is not given to tooting its own
horn or sensational advertising, but it
is solid, SOLID! There is nothing bet
ter for a town's present and future than
the reputation for trustworthiness and
solidity. The reason is that storms
come some time, and then the struc
ture is tested. "And the rain descend
ed and the floods came, and the winds
blew and beat upon that house, and it
fell not, for it was founded upon a
rock."
Conditions In Alabama are depicted
as very gratifying by the state's Com
missioner of Agriculture In his testi
mony before the Industrial Commis
sion. Within the past five or six years,
he says, much money has gone into
mines and cotton, lands have reached
the old ante-bellum prices, mortgages
have been lifted, mills established,
labor-saving machinery has-been intro
duced, and, notwithstanding higher
prices for cotton, the farmers have
derived benefit from diversifying their
crops. Commissioner Poole, doubtless,
is a Democrat, and would hesitate to
give a political explanation of any of
these favorable phenomena, but it Is
nevertheless a fact that the country's1
adoption of the gold standard In 1896
has had a great deal to do with Ala
bama's prosperity. Men with money
felt that it they put a dollar Into Ala
bama mines, mills or farms they could
take out 100 cents, and not merely 47
cents In silver, when they came to sell.
The basis of investment is confidence,
and in default of confidence in main
tenance of the gold standard Alabama
Investments, as those in other states,
would have gone begging, notwith
standing that Alabama has done all
she could in a political way to prevent
prosperity and invite calamity. Mr.
Poole's testimony is of further interest
In its bearing on the Bryanlte doctrine
that land is passing from the hands of
the many into the hands of the few.
In Alabama the farmers that were In
debt to the money power have paid
off their mortgages, 50 per cent of the
whites and many of the negroes now
own land of their own, and "many
colored men who have heretofore been
tenants only are- becoming owners of
their own homesteads." All this under
the crime of '73 and the rise of the
trusts.
Colonel A. K. Arnold, First United
States Cavalry, has been placed on the
retired list of the Army with the rank
of Bfigadier-General. On the same re
tired list is Brigadier-General Joseph
Wheeler, who was graduated from West
Point in the same class with Colonel Ar
nold, in 1859. Arnold came out of the
Civil War only Captain In the Fifth
Cavalry. He had been brevetted twice
for gallantry at Gaines' Mill, June 27,
1S62, and at Todd's Tavern, May 6, 1864
and he had been awarded a medal of
honor for conspicuous gallantry In a
charge at Davenport Bridge, North
Anna River, Virginia, May 18, 1864. His
classmate, Wheeler, came out of the
Civil War a Lieutenant-General in the
Confederate Army. When the war with
Spain broke out, Wheeler was serving
his eighth term in Congress from the
Eighth Alabama district. He was ap
pointed Major-General of Volunteers by
President McKinley, May 4, 1898, and
last year, on his return from a cam
paign in the Philippines, was placed
on the retired list of the regular Army
with the rank of Brigadier-General.
That Is, Wheeler became a Brigadier
General in the regular Army a year be
fore his classmate, Arnold, despite the
fact that Arnold has spent his whole
life In the United States Army from
1859 to date, while Wheeler resigned
after, less than two years' service in
the regular Army and served four years
in the Confederate Army. Arnold be
came Colonel in the Eighth Cavalry in
February, 1891, and was still a Colonel
when Wheeler became a Brigadier
General. Probably Colonel Arnold,
when he remembered that he had
served his country over forty-two years
without a break, and that his class
mate, Wheeler, had served his country
about four years, with a very bad
"break," and that both have reached
the same rank upon the retired list of
the Army, came to the conclusion that
In the United States Army, as In many
other places, promotion, like kissing,
often comes by favor rather than by
merit, and virtue is obliged to be its
own reward.
EXPOSITION TALK.
The favor with which the Lewis and
Clark centennial of 1905 has been re
ceived all over the country puts an un
expected but unavoidable obligation
upon the people of Oregon, and espe
cially upon the people of Portland. We
cannot now permit the enterprise to
fall without grave discredit. We are
thoroughly in this thing now, and we
must get out with success and reputa
tion. It is important, therefore, that
no mistakes should be made, and the
matter of procedure becomes of first
Importance. Governor Rogers, of
Washington, In a private note to The
Oregonlan. suggests that "It would be
well for you not to put on a full head
of steam before you had agreed upon
a name for the exposition." Many let
ters of similar import have been re
ceived here by others interested In the
enterprise. The name should early be
decided on. A valuable suggestion on
this head is contributed in a personal
letter to the editor of The Oregonlan
from Mr. Charles M. Harvey, of the
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, -who was
himself the originator of the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition. Mr. Harvey is
certain the Portland exposition should
have no name so local In its signifi
cance as "Pacific Northwest Centen
nial." It ought, he thinks, to have "a
more expansive designation," for the
celebration "should concern California,
Utah, Nevada and the rest of terri
tory gained from Mexico." He there
fore suggests "Pacific American Cen
tennial," though he thinks even that
is perhaps too contracted, and he adds
that the centennial "unquestionably
merits National recognition." The chief
point to be kept In view concerning the
name, therefore, is that it must not
convey merely a local or provincial
significance, unless It is to be a pure
ly local or provincial celebration. This
qualification eliminates, evidently, most
of the names that have been sug
gested. Unfortunately, there Is no word that
represents the Pacific Coast as the
Louisiana Purchase represents the
Great West The word "Pacific" ap
plies primarily to the ocean, and the
sources of this cis-Rocky region's ac
quisition have been so varied as to
have denied us a distinctive and in
clusive historical name, such as New
England, for example, has, or the
South. Yet "Pacific" may be the near
est possible approach to the ideal word
non-existent; and If It Ib desired to in
clude the idea of the Asiatic exhibits,
"Oriental" might be added. The orig
inal occasion of our exposition Is the
Lewis and Clark expedition; but the
main thing now is not its original oc
casion, but the end we hope to accom
plish by it That end is more com
mercial than either commemorative or
educational. The chief merit of the
name is not its Ideal fitness or Its pic
turesqueness, but its serviceability
toward making the fair a success.
That Is, we want the name that will
bring the biggest exhibits and the larg
est attendance, and the one quality
this demands Is scope. In a word or
two we want to bring to all minds
a suggestion of the remarkable devel
opment of the Pacific Coast in the hun
dred years since Lewis and Clark win
tered on Clatsop Plains, and the still
more wonderful development in store
through the rise of trans-Pacific trade.
Whoever can do that will name the
fair.
As to other procedure, there Is but
one course. A committee must be
named to gather subscriptions from
the people of Oregon, chiefly In the
City of Portland. This subscription (In
which The Oregonlan itself expects to
take substantial part) must be raised
this year and next, and must not be
less than 5250,000. With this as pre
liminary, we can go before the Oregon
Legislature with a request for 5250,000
more. Other Pacific Coast States will
appropriate probably another $250,000
all told, and here Is the necessary basis
for asking the customary appropria
tion of Congress. The hope that Presi
dent McKinley may be interested in
the enterprise upon the occasion of his
visit here about May 20 to 25 Is well
advised, though It Is doubtless Imprac
ticable to have him "break ground"
for the buildings, as no location has
been chosen, and the time for that has
not come. The President can doubtless
be Induced to say a pleasant word for
the exposition, and to recognize its
National significance and importance.
There is no reason why he should not
bespeak the Government's hearty co
operation In the undertaking. When
the time comes for its inauguration, he
will not be President.
BUR.DBX OX ALASKA FISHERIES.
Natural conditions clearly make it
impossible for Alaska salmon-canners
to comply with the regulation of the
Treasury Department requiring them
to maintain artificial propagating
plants and place In the spawning
waters annually red salmon fry equal
to four times the catch of mature fish.
Manifestly, the petition of the packers
to Secretary Gage for suspension of the
regulation and action looking to the
building of hatcheries by the Govern
ment is founded upon justice and
equity. An industry of the scope and
importance of the Alaska fisheries
should not be burdened with a func
tion with belongs to the Government.
Enforcement of the regulation would
compel the canners to produ'ee about
30,000,000 fry a year, the catch being
7,500,000 red fish. In the majority of
enterprises this would call for an in
crease of between 20 and 25 per cent
in the capital. A cannery packing 1000
cases a day and costing $20,000 would
have to put 52000 in a propagating
plant and spend 52000 or 53000 a year
for its operation. In view of the rigor
of the climate and the lack of proper
food and other essentials, It Is doubt
ful whether the canners could make
a success of artificial propagation with
out going to enormous expense. Propa
gation is a science which should be en
trusted to skilled labor only. This
Alaska has not Meat foods are best
for the young fry, and the territory
does not produce them. Indeed, the
Inhabitants themselves draw their sup
plies of meat from the ranges of Ore
gon and Washington. Absolute purity
of the water Is Important to the life
of the young fry. Alaskan waters are
seldom free from glacial matter or
fungus, both of which are destructive
to the salmon egg In the hatching pro
cess and the fry In Its first stages of
development Low temperature In the
Winter season, when salmon spawn and
the fry requires the greatest amount of
protection, Is another circumstance
which makes artificial propagation In
Alaska uncertain under existing con
ditions. Captain Moser, In his report
on "The Salmon Fisheries of Alaska,"
tells of salmon eggs that were frozen
solid and destroyed In a hatchery, on
the lower end of Baranoff Island In
1895.
It Is unreasonable to ask the Port
land, Puget Sound and. California capi
talists, who have built up the salmon
Industry of Alaska, and are this year
Investing more money In It, to shoulder
the cost of expensive propagating plants
In the face of almost certain failure.
The great trouble with the Govern
ment Is that It governs, or rather rules,
Alaska from Washington. This meth
od has failed in the past It never will
succeed. Claim-jumping and judicial
corruption at Nome and lawlessness
of varying degree at other points are
natural outgrowths of this policy. Now
it is proposed to weigh down the fish
eries with what is nothing less than a
heavy tax. It would be an act of fair
ness for Secretary Gage to suspend the
regulation and appoint a commission of
scientists to study the subject of fish
propagation and select sites for hatch
eries to be built by the Government.
This Is all the packers ask In return
for their heavy Investments In can
ning plants In Alaska. They are will
ing to pay the Government for fry sup
plied to them. They are willing to be
fair with the Government, and the Gov
ernment should be fair with them.
ILLUSTRATIONS IN POINT.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer takes
the marvelous growth of the German
merchant marine as the text for an edi
torial discourse on the necessity for up
building the American merchant ma
rine. The remarks of the Seattle paper
are intended, of course, to further the
interests of the Hanna subsidy steal,
which is exploited for the purpose of
taking 5180,000,000 from the producers
of the country and presenting It to
men who are already enormously rich.
The Seattle paper truthfully says:
"With equal conditions, the United
States could have distanced Germany
as a shipowning nation, precisely as it
has reached and passed Great Britain
in manufactures." The knowledge of
the Post-Intelligencer regarding the
conditions which have brought Ger
many to the front as a commercial ma
rine power is somewhat hazy. The
merchant marine of that country is not
bolstered up with government subsidies,
but is resting on sound business prin
ciples. For the past Ave years no class of
Investment has proven so remunerative
as merchant sailing and steam craft.
The Germans were quick to see the op
portunity for money-making, and their
buyers were . active bidders at every
shipping sale in the country. All flags
looked alike to them when they were
buying, but as soon as a vessel fell
Into their hands she was placed under
the German flag, and, unaided by a
bonus, subsidy or any other form of
artificial support, these naturalized
ships went up and down the waters of
the earth, gaining profits for the own
ers and glory for the German flag.
"Given legislation," says the Seattle
paper, "which will put the American
shipowners on an equal footing with
their foreign competitors, and Germany
and Great Britain will cease to divide
between them the carrying trade of the
United States, and thus to monopolize
an overlarge "portion of the profits of
American trade."
The legislation that will place the
American shipowner on the same foot
ing as his foreign competitors Is not
the kind which is modeled after that
which is making poor, old France the
laughing-stock of the commercial world
Give the American investor the right
to buy ships where he can buy them
for the least money, and he will soon
accumulate a fleet under . the Stars
and Stripes. This method "will place
the Nation on an even basis with the
two great nations which have built
up their merchant marine by the lib
eral policy of commercial freedom
which gives a man the world for a
market.
The annual report of the Rhederei
von J. TIdeman & Co.. of Hamburg,
owners of the four German ships Chile,
Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, Is just
at hand. It shows that the net profits
earned by these four ships in 1900 were
559,936, an average of about 515,000 per
ship. After setting aside 521,000 for
depreciation and carrying nearly 55000
over Into new account, the company
declared a dividend of 15 per cent on
the year's business. This case Is ot
peculiar interest on this Coast for the
reason that the Chile and Ecuador
loaded at Portland, the Peru on Puget
Sound, and the Colombia at San Fran
cisco, and these profits, of course, came
out of Pacific Coast producers. The
Colombia and Ecuador are both British-built
ships, purchased a few years
ago by the Germans, and neither the
two naturalized ships or the two German-built
ships receive one dollar in
subsidies from Germany. At the time
these ships were purchased by the Ger
mans, Pacific Coast lumber and coal
dealers were experiencing the greatest
difficulty in securing American ships
to handle their business, and had not
the antiquated hampering laws of this
country prevented them, America, and
not Germany, would be enjoying that
15 per cent profit.
The British ship Drumburton, which
sailed from Puget Sound for Australia
a few days ago, and the British ship
Drumcralg, which arrived on Puget
Sound Thursday, are both owned by
native-born American citizens who re
side in San Francisco. For the sake
of patriotism as well as profit, the
ow,ners of these ships would like to
sail them under the American flag and
register them at an American port.
They ask no subsidy from the Gov
ernment, and do not need a subsidy, but
their profits would be increased if they
were permitted to make the home port
a disbursing point for these ships, on
American soil. Our obsolete naviga
tion laws are a bar to Investment In
marine property, and when this bar is
removed no subsidies will be needed
to- place the American flag again on
everj" sea. We know what has built
up the merchant marine of Germany
and Great Britain. Why not apply
some of the same kind of legislation
to our own marine Interests?
A wide field for American enterprise
transferred to foreign soil Is indicated
by William A. Heydecker, Consul-General
at St. Petersburg, In a report of
the boot and shoe Industry In Russia
This industry is scheduled as one of
the most flourishing branches of trade
In that vast empire, a fact due to
enormous demand, high protective tar
iff and lack of competition. Within
the past six months Import duties on
many articles have been Increased,
boots and shoes seeking entrance into
the Russian market having to pay
from 30 to 50 per cent more than for
merly. American, and, Indeed, any
foreign-made goods of this class, are
thus shut out of Russia. There are
a few small concerns at Warsaw, but
only one large shoe factory In all Rus
sia, this being located In St Peters
burg. This company does an enormous
business, and Is a close corporation.
None of Its shoes are on the market,
and "none can be purchased. With all
of Its efforts. It Is Impossible for this
factory to meet the demand for a prod
uct so necessary as shoes In Russia's
bitter climate. Hence "It Is suggested
by Consul Heydecker that American
enterprise possess itself of this field.
In his opinion, should American shoe
manufacturers establish factories in
Russia, they would, with their im
proved methods and better class of
work, meet with practically no com
petition and reap results far superior
to those which they can obtain else
where. Americans at the present time
do not feel that It is necessary to go
to other lands to engage In manufac
turing pursuits, yet It the field above
noted Is as promising as It Is said to
be by a man who is In Russia for the
benefit of his countrymen, It is well
worth entering, and no doubt will soon
be entered, by men of means who have
been brought up, to the shoe business.
The annual convention of vegetarians
held a while ago in New York was
devoid of special features. The mem
bers of that body. It is true, solemnly
congratulated themselves and each
other upon their escape from frightful
dangers which, according to their cher
ished belief. He in wait for and fre
quently overtake flesh-eaters, and one
orator went so far as to assure his
hearers that he was prepared to prove
that the Civil War was caused directly
by the unwholesome dietary of the
people of the North; but these state
ments are along familiar lines and
excite little comment While It Is true
also, as farther asserted, that "the jall3
are full of criminals and the asylums
of the Insane," the belief Is not gener
ally prevalent that this Is due to the
fact that a perverse and stiff-necked
generation refuses to restrict Itself to
vegetable food. The temperance peo
ple, Indeed, have long claimed Innings
for their contention here, declaring that
strong drink Is responsible for the crim
inal and Insane population. It will not
do for one class of reformers to trench
thus boldly upon the preserves of an
other. The attempted assassination of Privy
Councillor Pobnedonostzeff is a timely
warning of the orthographical terrors
In store for civilization in case of a
crash between Japan and Russia.
Greece and China. South Africa and
Philippines pale their Ineffectual fires
before the proper names of official
Russia.
The Atchison bartender who got up
on his bar and pleaded with his noisy
patrons to keep still and give Mrs. Na
tion a chance reflects credit upon the
thoroughly democratic Institution of
which he Is a graduate. All creeds and
platforms look alike to the ideal saloon
keeper. m
Japan has been preparing for war
with Russia, lo, these many years.
Coal and foodstuffs, warships and arms
have long been accumulating against
this day. If hostilities come, no one
shall hear Japan complain she Is unprepared.
A REMARKABLE EXHIBIT.
Wall Street Journal.
The question is frequently asked
whether the present era of prosperity can
be considered as any more permanent in
Its character thin have been prosperous
times In the past.
Everything has to be considered rela
tively. Good times resting on a substan
tial basis can be overdone as surely as
good times resting on a weaker basis.
There Is sure to be overproduction and
that is alwaj-6 -what brings commercial
reaction. Nevertheless, the country may
be a good deal longer in reaching the
point of overproduction at one time than
at another. The real question is whether
the forces which have been lifting this
country Into prosperity at home and
prominence abroad are strong enough to
justify expectation that they will con
tinue over more than the ordinary length
of time.
The following article from the Hambur
ger Fremdenblatt throws light on this
question. It says In substance:
"The United States came out of the
Civil War with one of the heaviest na
tional debts recorded In history. It was
reduced rapidly and largely by the ex
ports of agricultural products. When
Industries began to revive, they suffered
seriously for want of domestic capital.
The great American railways were built
largely with English and German money.
The payment of Interest on these securi
ties caused a scarcity of money, especial
ly of gold, and the United States became
financially dependent upon Europe, with
Its rate of Interest dictated from London.
"During the past 10 years, a series of
factors have caused a decided change In
this situation. Good harvests succeeded
each other, and brought a flow of money
to America. Industries found an Im
proved market for their products. These
Industries were promoted not only by pro
tective legislation, but by Improved pro
cesses, and gradually emancipated them
selves from foreign competition. The
Americans then undertook the task of
freeing themselves from foreign capital:
in other words of reclaiming the Indus
trial securities which were in European
hands. They bought them back, and then,
sustained by their protective tariff against
foreign competition, they began to domi
nate foreign markets. First, those of
Central and South America, Asia and
Africa, and finally those of Europe.
"The figures are enormous. During the
fiscal year ended January 30, 1900, the
United States exported goods valued at
51.394.4S3.682, of which nearly all were of
domestic origin The Item of manufac
tured goods amounted to 31.54 per cent,
or nearly a full third of the whole ex
ports In 1S30, they were only 17 per cent
of the total exports, showing the United
States to be marching with gigantic
strides toward conversion from an agri
cultural to an Industrial Nation.
"The value of exports of Industrial prod
ucts Increased during the year 1900 27 per
cent over that of 1S99, showing a progress
In productive and selling capacity which
constitutes an imminent danger to com
peting nations.
"The United States mined in 1S99 gold
valued at 571.OJ3.400 and silver ot a coinage
value of 570,8)6.626. This raised the specie
supply of the Union to 51.034.439,264 in gold
and 5647,371.630 In silver. The United States
consequently has one-fifth of the entire
gold and silver money of the civilized
world.
"The steel manufacturers of the United
States, which, two decades ago, were In
their Infancy, today control the market3
of the world, dictate either directly or In
directly the prices of Iron and steel In all
countries, and are able profitably to ex
port their products even to England.
American tools. In spite of a higher price,
stand above competition In nearly the
whole world.
"A little more than 10 -years ago, the
United States Imported shoes from Eu
rope. Today It floods Europe with ready
made shoes, competes with the products
of cheap labor In England and establishes
shoe depots In Paris and the principal
cities of Germany. The United States con
trols the petroleum trade of the world,
and within a not far distant period the
coal of the United States will play the
same role in the markets of the world.
"Incidentally, it may be remarked that
the typewriting machine with which this
article Is written was made In America.
that It stands on an American table In an
office furnished with American desks,
book-cases and chairs, which cannot be
made In Europe of equal quality for a
similar price. Every one who understands
the existing conditions must agree that
the danger from American competition Is
real and serious, and that Germany to
hold Its own must adopt American meth
ods." The foregoing statement brings out
clearly the most Important factor in the
present period of prosperity. The United
States has paid Its debts abroad, and Is
now able to export its surplus agricul
tural products and manufactured goods to
an extent which is adding enormously to
the National wealth. Exports of 51.394.1S3,
S71 mean a vast business in connection
with the production of raw material and
the manufacture, transportation and sale
of finished goods. More labor, more busi
ness and more profits undcrly the Increase
In values In the last few years.
The opening up of new markets has
made a demand temporarily In excess of
the supply. As long as this continues,
there will be prosperity. Under wise re
striction of output and diligence In devel
oping the markets, the period of prosper
ity may be prolonged
A Billion for Pennlonii.
New York Herald.
Senator Galllnger, chairman of the Sen
ate commltteo on pensions, estimates that
the new pension legislation strenuously
urged upon the last Congress by a com
mittee of the Grand Army would have
brought the total pension expenditures
of the Government up to the enormous
sum of 51.000,000.000 a year. This would
be one and a third times the present an
nual expenses of the United States for
all purposes. Fortunately for the people
who pay what Congress appropriates,
this proposed legislation did not go
through. There Is, however, every rea
son to believe that It will be revived
next Autumn and earnest efforts will be
made by pension attorneys and others
to Induce Congress to pass It. Constant
vigilance will be necessary to prevent
It by those who do not care to see the
National Treasury looted.
Chivalry Out of Repair.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
The refusal of the Tennessee Legisla
ture to admit women to the practice of
the law ought to have the effect of call
ing In that Southern chivalry theory for a
few repairs. While technically a Western
State, Tennessee boasts rather loudly of
her Southern prestige, and In the South
we are told that women are always chiv
alrously treated. The action in question
may be of a chivalrous nature, but It is
a question whether or not the women will
so consider It Supported as It Is by the
further action of the same body refusing
to permit women even to become notaries
public, it at least leaves the question in
doubt
A Plea for the Pretty Girl.
Somervllle (Mass.) Journal.
The homeliest girl can't always cook the best.
Sometimes a pretty girl can make a bang-up
Pie.
A girl. In short. Is not to be condemned
Because her face Is pleasing to the eye.
The best 1? always plenty, good enough.
And beauty should by no means be demised.
Philosophers may praise the homely girls.
But pretty girU should equally be prized.
It's true that "handsome Is as handsome
does."
But one can handsome be and handsome do.
So when a young man falla In love, he ought
To choose a girl that's smart and pretty, too.
THE MINCHIN CASE.
If Mlnchin's style of preparing an ora
tion is not to be criticised, and Is the
proper one. then Oregon would better give
up its oratorical contests entirely Albany
Democrat.
College professors should insist on all
the originality possible In the productions
of the students under them. It is what
develops the mind for the future battles of
life. Read broadly and carefully, but
take no man's language nor his Ideas that
are individual, only those that are gen
eral. We read books to acquire knowl
edge, and there Is a certain acquisition
that must go Into our own .productions,
but there Is a golden mean to be fol
lowed, and students should be careful to
find It. Albany Democrat.
Considerable has been said the past
week among college students and some
others about originality In the production
of orations, the serious charge being made
that one of the orations In the recent
contest was not original, but almost en
tirely taken from a book. In order to
make a showing too many young men and
women make the greatost effort of their
lives In these contests, presenting orations
far beyond their development at the time.
made possible through assistance, and the
result Is that they never afterwards reach
the standard set, and. Instead of going
ahead, as they should, they apparently go
backwards. Better take a low place with
originality than a high place through the
talent of some one else. Stand on your
own feet. Be as honest In this as in
your other life. Don't look over some one
else's shoulder in order to go ahead. Al
bany Democrat
The discussion over young Mlnchin's
oration at the recent oratorical contest
at Corvallis continues to occupy consider
able space in the state press. So far as
fastening the charge of plagiarism upon
Minchin, that Is easier said than done.
A comparison of his oration with Martyn's
Wendell Phillips shows that he has to
considerable extent paraphrased a brief
clause or sentence. That Mlnchin's work
was not legitimate goes without question,
and the chief criticism to be heaped upon
him Is the method he employed, which has
a strong tendency to lower the standard
of oratory and literary effort among our
state education institutions. If Mlnchin's
style Is to be followed hereafter there
Is no further use putting a premium on
effort along this line. The critics should
take high grounds In discussing this ques
tion, and In such discussion Mlnchin's
methods should meet with hearty discour
agementEugene Register.
President Frank Strong, of the State
University, writes a really kind, consider
ate and gentlemanly letter, and says it is
a serious matter to blast a young man's
reputation for life by such a charge.
Americans owe it to one another to bo
courteous. Those In high positions should,
above all others, not strike at the char
acter and reputation of a private citizen
and a young private at that. Just because
he put Into an oration a few extracts from
some brilliant biography. The oration of
another contestant could be torn all to
pieces. But that would not be right. But
what shall we expect of our young men
after considering that they are compelled
to look up to and pattern after persons
who are both educated and religious, or
pretend to be, and yet violate the first
principles of good fellowship and Chris
tian manliness? The establishment of a
school for training In the first princlpl :
of gentlemanly conduct would doubtless
be attended by even some of our college
presidents. Salem Journal.
This event carries a useful lesson for
students who are In school. Minchin Is a
bright young man, who excels In lecture
room and laboratory, and who possesses
oratorical ability. But he was not willing
to offer his own best mental and forensic
product. He was foolish enough to pur
loin another's language and to take with
out credit the form of thought cast In the
mental mold of a mature scholar, palming
It off as his own. He gained nothing in.
mental development In so doing, and be
certainly lost much in moral strength,
whon he consented to perform the act of
which he Is now convicted.
Students and writers must glean ideas
from all available sources, must obtain
thoughts from the storehouses of liter
ature. But. If benefit Is to be secured,
these thoughts must be digested, assimi
lated; the Ideas recast by earnest thought
Young people would better be careful
about this matter of plagiarism, stealing
beautiful language and selling it as one3
own product is as bad as stealing horses.
Pendleton East Oregonlan.
McICinley'n Lack of Force.
New York Evening Post.
Much chuckling comes from Senators in
Washington over the way in which the
President has been taught his lesson in
regard to tho treaty-making power of the
United States. He sends for them now,
and humbly asks them In advance what
kind of treaties he ought to try to nego
tiate. Thus do we mark one step more In
the progressive encroachment ot the Sen
ate upon executive powers. If foreign
countries were frankly to recognize the
facts, they would now send Ambassadors
to deal directly with the Senate. Indeed,
It is broadly hinted that the British re
ply. In the matter of the canal treaty, is
that Lord Landsdowne hardly thinks it
worth while to negotiate further unices
assured beforehand of the Senate's pref
erences. Thus has the Insult which the
Senate deliberately offered the President
struck home. Of course, there Is such
a thing as a natural and proper consulta
tion of leading Senators by the Adminis
tration in respect to foreign affairs. Sum
ner, as chairman of the Senate commit
tee on foreign relations, was constantly
summoned to conference with Lincoln
and Seward and Fish. That is one thing,
but It is quite another for the Senate
deliberately to undertake to deprive tho
President of initiative, and make him. In
international questions, too, merely Its
recording clerk. It Is also quite another
spectacle, and a humiliating one, to ?ee
the President meekly submit to this
usurpation of his Constitutional preroga
tive. A Praiseworthy Measure.
New York Mall and Express.
To tho California Legislature for pass
ing and to Governor Gage for signing the
bill appropriating 5250.000 for purchasing
and preserving the grove of giant red
wood trees in Santa Cruz County, are
due the thanks of the entire country. The
destruction of the great redwoods has been
so rapid in recent years that nothing
short of state or Federal interference
can prevent their complete disappearance.
The number of very large trees of this
species still remaining is already ex
tremely small, and the action oi we
California authorities in providing for
a state pane to inciuae me ijums ua
which they stand will be gratefully com
mended by scientists and the people at
large.
The Old Book.
Frank L. Stanton.
They are giay with the gray of ages,
Borrowed, and begged, and sold;
Thumb-marked of saints and sages.
In the scholarly days of old.
Hose leaves pressed for a lover
Rest In their pages dim.
Though silent centuries cover.
All that Is left ot him.
And I feel In the library's shadows.
With this ghostly company.
The breath of forgotten meadows
And the centuries over me!
And when twilight bells are calling
When the day with Its strifes Is o'er
There afe ghostly footsteps falling
Faint on the library floor.
Blngtrs and saints e-1 sages
In the fame of a name we trust.
But time will cover our pages,
As even our tombs, with dust.
For here la the library's shadows.
Where the famed and tameless be,
I roam In forgotten meadows,
WUh the centuries over me I
NOTE AND COMMENT.
Edward is having a stormy reign with
Dewet
Sampson never really understood how
much mightier the pen Is than the sword
until he attempted to use it.
As a gentleman. Aguinaldo, If he Is
dead, certainly ought to let his dead
friend Bryan know about it
Russian tariff retaliation may not be
wrong, but It can not be right In the
ethics of American protection.
There is said to be danger of compli
cations in China. Not while the present
disagreement of the powers lasts.
One of our Infant lessons is that there
Is nothing new under the sun. Even tho
Idea of plagiarism Is a plagiarism.
OH Is nothing new in Oregon. The
state has always had boomers whoso
tongues were lubricated with unction.
Minchin Is not guilty of plagiarism. The
verdict is supposed to exonerate also tho
English department of Pacific College.
Japan and Russia are in strained re
lations. This Is the most promising
sign of peace In the Orient for some time.
Governor Pennoycr is going back East
It Is not credited that he will call on
Cleveland, for both are gentlemen who
attend to their own business.
Botha lias rejected the British peace
terms for the present He will fight until
he shall have to surrender and then ac
cept British leniency Instead.
Since just as many Commissioners
would be necessary even If we should
have a larger exhibit at Buffalo, tho
economy of the last Legislature Is not
apparent.
Admirers of Schley at Washington
will give him a house. Inasmuch as he
has been taught by example to write
neither letters nor deeds, he ought to
continue a great man.
In view of the great exercise of dip
lomacy In the Orient and the prospect of
Indefinite continuance, new chairs In our
universities are necessary to teach craft
perfidy and equivocation.
Carnegie might attain his Ideal both as
a poor man and a Christian by paying the
Chinese Indemnity. After all. If a man
Just knows the knnck of spending money,
there are lots of ways of getting poor.
Since almost the entire census popula
tion ot the Philippines have surrendered,
pretty soon we shall begin to believe
either that the Islnnds are pacified or
that some Filipinos have surrendered several-times
over.
Mrs. Nation has had a row with her
publisher because he suppressed one of
her articles. She Is just learning to bo
an editor. Since he is colored it is in
order for her to anathematize his race
now just as she extolled it before.
Somebody complains that Oregon ap
propriations are increasing faster than
population and wealth. But everything
has Its compensation. Just think of how .
many citizens are being taken care of
and educated in the ethics of dependence
tipon the State.
Indian War veterans who are seeking
pensions for thejneselves certainly have
not forgotten their wives who under
went Just as many hardships and dan
gers. Or, If they have not, are we going
to have another widows' abuse like that
of Civil War penslqns?
Young Minchin Is defended by the argu
ment that Shakespeare was a plagiarist
But If the young man shall live to be as
great as Shakespeare he will not need
that defense. Anybody who Is not the
equal of Shakespeare takes a big risk
In daring plagiarism.
We are Informed that the Legislature
can cause appointment of a public officer,
but may not displace him while his office
lorts. This dove-tailed logic goes to
prove that if the Legislature should cre
ate a tenure for eternity, only death
could remove the Incumbent
It seems very strange that In this
modern age, when citizenship has such
a high value, some worthy people would
rather pay their dog than their poll tax.
But since the most priceless things on
earth are without price, perhaps citizen
ship and the invaluable right of suffrage
should be also.
A New York man much given to fish
ing, and. of course, to the telling of fish
stories, got religion, and among his many
subjects of repentance were the enorm
ous fish stories with which he had been
In the habit of entertaining his friends.
"From this day forth." he said, "I shall
carry fish scales and I shall leave noth
ing to Imagination, but will have a
straight and accurate story to tell, backed
up by positive evidence." And so In pur
suance of this resolve, every fish was
laid upon the scales, its weight carefully
noted and the story was made to fit the
fact It so happened, as It frequently
does in well regulated families, that an
heir was born to the household, and there
was no handy means of ascertaining Its
weight. Our friend bethought him of hl3
fish scales, and these were accordingly
brought into requisition. The baby
weighed 47 pounds 6 ounces.
PLEASANTRIES OF PAItAGItAPHBUS
Little Angel. "Does Bobbr cry much?"
"Xo; he doesn't cry at all unless he wants
his own way about something." Chicago
Record.
Sarcastic Mrs. Bubble Oh. Mr. Cadlelgh
told me he thinks I sins beautifully! Miss
Dlgg Isn't he too sarcastic for anything?"
Ohio State Journal.
A Merciful Dispensation. Daughter Oh. but
men are so hideously lacking In self-control!
! Mother Don't get feverish about It. dear. If
they weren't, most girls would die old maids.
Brooklyn Life.
The Recall. "Did you notice how many peo
ple gave me the encore In addition to the
ushers?" "Just two." "That's funny. My
father and both my brothers promised to be
In the audience." Cleveland Plain Dealer.
More Than She Meant. "Well, madam."
said the doctor, bustling In. "how Is our pa
tient this morning?" "His mind seems to be
perfectly clear this morning, doctor." replied
the tired watcher. "He refuses to touch any
of the medicines." Chicago Tribune.
A Difference. Mrs. Cauler Bridget O'Ryan.
who has applied for the position ot cook In
my house, refers me to you. She says sho
used to work here." Mra. Housekeep Xot
exactly. She waa employed by me on one
occasion. Philadelphia Press.
Ills Winter Mood. Mr. Subbubs I wish you
would list my villa at Baklots-by-the-Bay for
sale. Real Estate Arent Certainly, elr. Mr.
Subbubs And If you do not find a purchaser
by next October, .see It you can't give the
place away to some one. Baltimore American.
A Distinction. "That enemy of yours says
you are owned by a certain corporation."
"Again my enemy wrongs me," said the prac
tical politician. "I value my liberty too
highly to sacrlflce It. I am not owned by the
corporation he refers to. I am simply leased
I lo It iur a icim ul jrcui. 1 aamuaiuu aw.