THE MOBBING OREGONIAtf, THURSDAY, MABCH 28, 1901.
Entered at the Postofllce at Portland, Oregon,
as sccond-clara matter.
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TODAY'S WATHER.-Occaslonal showers
fin the morning, probably fair during the after
noon; variable winds. I
PORTLAND, THURSDAY, MARCH 28.
For the title of the Portland Exposi
tion of 1905 The Oregonlan has sur
ges tedr
AMERICAN PACIFIC EXPOSITION.
The Lewis and Clark Centennial.
Acquisition, of tlie Great Oregon
." Country.
Expansion of the American Empire
lo the Pacific Ocean.
Hlshivajr of the World to the
Orient.
Centenary of Oregon, Western
Mother of States.
It is impossible In the main title to
convey all the meanings that cluster
about the celebration; yet the achieve
ments, developments and ambitions In
volved in the els-Rocky region are to
an extent summed up in the -words
"American Pacific." Nothing -Is so fit
for commemoration in the history of
the Pacific Coast as jthe Lewis and
Clark expedition, for It was the first
National undertaking looking to per
manent occupation of the "country be
"yond the Rockies. Cjalms based on
discovery lay dormant, and in Califor
nia the first beginnings of American
assertion were in the seizure of Mon
terey by Jonep in 1842, an act afterward
disowned and apologized .for, and in the
deliberate operations undertaken by
Fremont In 1846, under instructions
from "Washington. Jefferson's state pa
pers make it clear that his plan of the
Lewis and Clark expedition had dis
tinctly in mind the ultimate acquisi
tion of this country for the United
States. There is, therefore, a 'logical
and Important significance in the sug
gested sequence of sub-titles "The
Lewis and Clark Centennial," "Acqui
sition of the Great Oregon Country"
and "Expansion of the American Em
pire to. the Pacific Ocean." Next to this
recognition of the centennial of Pacific
Coast expansion is the desirability of
emphasizing the connection here af
forded between the New World and
the Old. Western civilization has long
reached Cathay by way of the Cape of
Good Hope, by Constantinople and by
Suez. Now it Is beginning to recognize
the more direct connection from the
Pacific Coast of North America across
the ocean to the shores of Asia. Growth
of the United States and opening of
China mark an poch in world history
well worthy prominent place in such
a celebration as this. In addition, we
should include mention of Oregon as
the mother of states, for out of the
Oregon territory has been carved
Washington and parts of Idaho, Mon
tana and "Wyoming. The Oregon ter
ritory originally included all United
States territory between the Pacific
Ocean and the Rocky Mountains.
As to the Panama Canal, two things
are requisite, if it is to serve any use
ful purpose of the transcontinental
railroads and their British stockholders
in defeat of the Nicaragua project. One
is that It must be rendered feasible
enough, and the other it that it mustn't
be too feasible. That is, arguments
enough in Its favor must be devised
to afford Congress and the Administra
tion excuse for hesitation between It
and Nicaragua, but something must
be held in reserve, waiting the supreme
exigency, which will render its acquisi
tion and completion Impossible. Almost
any amount of evidence and argument
can be safely Indulged favorable to
the Panama route, so It Is understood
that when the time comes we can dem
onstrate its physical impossibility. All
this, it is scarcely necessary to observe,
bas been prudently arranged. Panama
has two good harbors, as against none
at Brlto and a bad one at Greytown.
Panama has only five locks to Nica
ragua's nine; 38 miles of canal naviga
tion to Nicaragua's 120. Panama can in
time be made Into a sea-level canal
"Without locks, traversed from ocean to
ocean in five or six hours, and even
with the locks under present plans in
twelve hours, while the Nicaragua
route will take thirty-three hours. No
doubt appears to exist as to the feasi
bility of the Panama Canal, provided
the ordinary engineering problems be
met with solutions already approved
and fully relied upon, whereas in two
important particulars the Nicaragua
scheme is of doubtful workability. The
first of these uncertainties Is whether
the enormous masonry dam across the
San Juan River, the key to the whole
Nicaragua enterprise, is really an engi
neering possibility, or would be at any
time liable to complete annihilation,
end the second is the awful condition
of the harbor -at Greytown," "where con
tinual movement of great masses of
black volcanic sand, small In specific
gravity and inexhaustible in supply,
has already closed up a once deep and
spacious harbor, and may triumph over
breakwaters and dredges alike. This
is the argument for Panama, and we
may expect to be- regaled with it from
the Isthmian Canal Commission, from
railroad attorneys In Congress, from
the public-spirited and disinterested
Mr. Nimmo, and possibly from the Ad
ministration Itself. Do not Imagine,
however, that this means we should
actually build the Panama Canal.
Dear, nol The Colombian Government
has granted an exclusive concession -for
the canal which has many years to run,
the best trms we can get in It are pur
chase's of minority stock, and Colom
bia has no end of treaties with foreign
nations promising them e.qual privi
leges in enjoyment of the canal when
built, Imagine Congress agreeing to an
arrangement of this sort!
Among the sources -of Information
Ignored by the recent Oregon Legisla
ture In failure to widen our scheme of
taxation was the thoughtful and com
prehensive report of the Secretary of
State. Mr. Dunbar has made an ex
haustive Inquiry Into the sources of rev
enue approved Tfy recent experience In
other states, and the one place he par
ticularly points out where we should
get revenue and don't is in taxation of
corporations. Tn Oregon we are still
trying to raise all our money by a gen
eral property tax, which Is burdensome
both on real estate and business,
whereas In other states they raise as
much as 50 per cent of their whole
revenues from Indirect taxes, princi
pally on corporations. Mr. Dunbar has
gathered a great deal of testimony on
this head, which will be found In ex
tenso In his report. His recommenda
tions are thus summarized:
1. That all corporations pay a reasonable feo,
graduated according to the amount of capital
stock.
2. That express, telegraph, telephone and
surety companies pay a tax the- same as Insur
ance companies now pay.
3. An Inheritance tax.
4. AH such taxes and fees to go Into the gen
eral fund.
"We now get $30,000 a year from the
Insurance companies. Why shouldn't
we get $100,000 from other corporations?
That would take care of nearly one
sixth of our annual expenses. We rec
ommend M?. Dunbar's report to the
careful consideration of citizens gener
ally. It is full of Information pains
takingly gleaned from many sources,
and recommendations upon many of
our troublesome problems. It Is the
most Important contribution that has
Issued from the state printer's office
since the fine report of Mr. Kincaid,
Issued in 1S97. Its historical value Is
not as great as Mr. Kincald's report,
but In study of our economic needs It is
greatly superior.
It is a pleasure to learn that the able
and Incorruptlbfe voting machine con
tinues to find favor with Legislatures
and election boards. Its use has been
widely extended In the cities of New
York State, and the complaints we used
to hear seem gradually giving way to
commendation. The first state law au
thorizing the use of automatic ma
chines, we learn from Mr. Whlttler's
review of legislation in 1900, was passed
by New York in 1892, allowing towns
to use the Myers automatic ballot cab
inet at elections of officers. In 1893
Michigan and Massachusetts permitted
the use of voting machines at local
elections, and in 1894 New York author
ized their use at all elections. Michi
gan passed a similar law in 1895, Mas
sachusetts in 1896, Minnesota In 1897,
Ohio In 1898 and Indiana and Nebraska
in 1899. Within the past year Rhode
Island has created a voting machine
commission, to examine machines and
make regulations for their use by cities
and towns. In Iowa the use of voting
machines has been authorized at all
elections, and a commission created to
examine the various makes. In 1895
Connecticut authorized the use of Mc
Tammany and Myers machines at local
elections. The first permanent voting
machine commission was established In
New York In 1897. Massachusetts and
Ohio followed In 1898. Owing to pres
sure of other business, and possibly to
the financial unresponsiveness of the
manufacturers, the cause of the voting
machine has been neglected in Oregon
since 3,895, when a sample cabinet was
set up at Salem and industriously
shown to members during the session
by the noted ballot reformer, Mr. Gra
ham Glass, whose efforts for purifica
tion of our elections have, however,
been pursued In other and 'perhaps
more .noteworthy channels.
WHICH WAS THE BETTER PART?
The Northampton (Mass.) Gazette
thinks that . "ex-President Harrison
would have lived longer If he had occu
pied his time with less laborious work
since leaving the "White House. In
stead of taking life easy, as Mr. Cleve
land has, he has been hard at work on
Important and difficult law cashes. This
has taxed his physical forces to the
straining point. Mr. Cleveland has been
wiser. He has refrained from active
mental labor and devoted himself
largely to fishing and hunting. This
has relieved him of worrying about
things, past, present and to come, and
no doubt contributed to his peace of
mind and length of days."
General Harrison died of a disease
that not seldom kills strong men in
their prime, a disease that does not
spare men of leisure and easy life more
than it does men of severe intellectual
Industry. "Washington was leading a
life of leisure as a planter when he
took a severe cold and died of some
form of pneumonia In a few days at the
same age of Harrison. John Qulncy
Adams, who led a life of Incessant
public activity and excitement after he
left the White House, died in the har
ness at 80 years of age. It was Harri
son's unlucky fate to contract pneu
monia, a disease that the strongest
and most robust'men not seldom die of,
but it is altogether improbable that his
professional labor since ..his retirement
from the Presidency shortened his days.
Like Mr. Cleveland, General Harrison
was very fond of hunting ducks, and
was a much better shot than his Demo
cratic successor. He did not omit a
proper amount of recreation from his
life. He was a keen sportsman, and
was fond of walking and outdoor exer
cise. Other things being equal, Mr.
Harrison's mode of life was better cal
culated to promote length of days than
that of Mr. Cleveland, who is four years
younger than Mr. Harrison and has
never, been as prudent In his personal
habits of diet and exercise. Does any
body suppose that if pneumonia should
attack Mr. Cleveland he would stand
much chance of life with his full habit?
Does anybody suppose that Mr. Cleve
land's life of comparative ease and
leisure protects him from contracting
pneumonia? But leaving all this su
perficial speculation out of considera
tion, it is by no means certain that
John Qulncy Adams and Benjamin Har
rison were Inferior to Mr. Cleveland in
wisdom when they persisted In keeping
In conspicuous touch with the people
after leaving the Presidency. Mr. Har
rison said three weeks before his death:
I feel that I have some part In the world;
that I have some duties to my country unper
formed. 1 have convictions naturally and one
must .stand by his convictions and spread them
as widely as he can. So I am not going to go
into a shell.
Mr. Harrison was right; the fame
he won in his profession, the very great
service he did the cause of honest
money in the campaign of 1896 by his
speeches, were better than many ducks
and much leisure. Mr. Harrison did
not suffer himself to 'become fat-witted
with drinking of old sack." He
knew that those who are afraid of
wearing out prematurely not seldom
rust put. .He was a lawyer of the very
first rank, which Mr. Cleveland never
pretended to be. He possessed remark
able gifts of public speech, which' were
not part of the endowment of Mr.
Cleveland. He was of a far different
mental temperament and physique
from Mr. Cleveland. He was not phleg
matic; he was not a man 6f unusual
alimentlveness; he had a keen, nervous
Intellect, and had not become conspicu
ous for adiposity. With his remarka
ble public gifts and professional abil
ity, he could not easily have withdrawn
himself Into private life, and he was
wise to have kept in close touch with
the people In his life so long as he felt
that he had any message to deliver that
would command an audience. He was
doubtless happier for his public and
professional activity and labors, and
doubtless he was more useful than If
he had shot many more ducks and
caught many more fish than has Mr.
Cleveland. Mr. Cleveland doubtless de
cided wlsel3r for himself, but we cannot
say that General Harrison did not
choose the better part, even If a life of
absolute leisure would have prolonged
his days, which Is exceedingly doubt
ful. It Is not worth much to "live an
oak a hundred year, to fall a log at
last, dry, bald and sere." Better the
short, active life of Harrison after he
left the White House than the mere
vegetation of jphn Adams, Madison,
Monroe, Tyler, Fillmore and Pierce. He
was a live man to the last; not a thing
of political tradition and fading histori
cal memory.
A JiATIOXAL MILITIA.
In 1792 Congress passed a National
militia act which embodied the princi
ple of universal military service. This
act of 1792 has never been enforced.
In war time the Federal Government
has had recourse to the volunteer sys
tem, for while It had a National mi
litia law it had never attempted to
support and maintain a militia. The
states have organized their own militia
under state laws, and while the Presi
dent has the power under a statute of
Congress to call" out these state troops
for certain purposes, it is pretended
that he cannot send them out of the
country. The Government by its action
has assented to this idea, for in 1898
the Btate guards were In several states
mustered Into the United States service
as volunteer regiments under a Federal
law. The majority of our states do not
maintain a home guard that is worthy
of support. When the war with Spain
broke out, not more than three states
had militia ready to go to the front.
Most of the states sent a rabble of raw
recruits Into the camps of Instruction,
and In many coses they were not even
provided by their state governments
with uniforms or guns. However de
sirable It might be to have a reformed
militia system, whose entire body
would be Instantly available at the
outbreak of foreign war in the service
of the General Government, so that It
could be sent beyond the borders of the
country without the disorganization in
cident to our Spanish "War, It Is not
likely to be realized. Reorganization,
adequate equipment and the training
necessary to create an efficient body of
citizen soldiery would cost more money
than Congress would consent to appro
priate, for. Including pensions, the
United States npw expends annually
about $387,000,000 for military and naval
purposes. -
Our regular Army of 100,000 men now
costs $152,000,000 as compared with an
expense of $156,000,000 for the German
Army, five times larger. There Is,
therefore, no reasonable hope that Con
gress will reform our Militia system
and create a National militia worthy of
the name. We shall go on in the old
way. A few states will take pains to
provide a respectable body of National
Guards, but the vast majority of the
states will have nothing better than
a nominal militia -utterly worthless to
the General Government In time of war,
and only a source of amusement to
their fellow-countrymen In ' time of
peace. Fortunately, the United States
from Its situation and Its enormous re
sources Is, as Sir Charles Dllke says,
""able to wait for war before making war
preparations. No power will attack the
United States. All powers will submit
to many things and yield many strong
points rather than fight the United
States." "We are not likely to be at
tacked, and we are not likely to need a
stronger standing Army than we have
at present. The popular Intelligence of
our people perceives this, and for this
reason It will always be difficult to
place our military system upon a re
formed basis. We are likely to go on
without reformation until at some fu
ture day, near or remote, we find our
selves face to face with a great war
against a great war power. What
should we do? We should do Just what
we have always done from the War
of 1812-14 to the War with Spain; we
should flounder about and blunder day
and night for a few months, and at
length regain our self-possession and
our Yankee common sense and energy
and beat our enemy to a pulp before
we were through with him.
With providence enough on part of
the Government to keep a large surplus
Btock of the most modern arms and
ammunition always on hand. It would
be an easy matter to repel the Invasion
of any part -of our country by creating
large bodies of mounted riflemen, who
should be able, with the support of
the highly trained horse batteries of
the regular Army, to destroy any Army
that would be able to invade our shores.
Out of 75,000,000 of people It would not
be difficult to raise rapidly an Army of
500,000 men, who were good shots and
good horsemen. In a civilized country
In possession of plenty of men who
could ride and shoot, It would be easy
to make short work, of an Invading
army, provided the mounted Irregulars,
who practiced the Boer tactics, were
brave men, masters of their weapons
and good hdrsemen. The comparative
ease with which an army of Invasion
could be repulsed from our shores ac
counts for the popular Indifference to
the reform of the National militia sys
tem. With Great Britain the situation
Is not Identical, for her shores are
within easy reach of a hostile fleet, and
she has but 40,000,000 of busy people
upon which to draw upon for her mi
litia. And yet we believe that Great
Britain, by adopting some modified
form of the Swiss system 'of conscrip
tion, could defy Invasion by all Europe,
even If her whole regular army was
dispersed in South Africa, India and
China.
The Swiss -system dates from 1S74,
and under what might be called "com
pulsory volunteering" Switzerland is
able to turn nearly 300,000 peaceful cit
izens Into a real army on a "war foot
ing as quietly as a railway company
handles a sudden Increase of traffic
If the Swiss system were adopted In
the United Kingdom, three or four mil
lion of citizen soldiers could be quickly
placed In the field. Sir Charles Dllke
says that Switzerland has a cheap but
highly efficient militia, "the most Inter
esting point about Which Is that, while
field artillery Is supposed to be difficult
of creation and only to be obtained
upon a costly and regular system, Swit
zerland produces an excellent field ar
tillery upon a militia footing." The
Swiss militiaman takes his kit and his
arms home with him, and is bound to
keep them always fit for inspection.
Outside of about 200 professional sol
diers, all the men In the Swiss Army
are paid at certain dally rates for the
actual time when called out, so that
there Is no such thing as a permanent
military caste, as in France. The ar
rangements for mobilization, for com
missariat and transportation are equal
to that of any army In the world. By
law every Swiss adult Is- bound to
serve, but as the physical test Is a
rigorous one, nearly 50 per cent ore
rejected. The recruits who are accept
ed in their 20th year are finally re
tired at 50, and at this age they have
devoted to drill a sum total of not quite
six months. To this kind of cheap,
non-burdensome but efficient system of
conscription Great Britain will come at
last for home defense, and In event of
threatened Invasion by a great power
such a system would be the best pos
sible preparation of our people against
impending war.
The Hawaiian Legislature has under
consideration the plan to establish at
some suitable . point an experimental
station for the systematic study of lep
rosy. An appropriation of $25,000 will
be made for the purpose. So great Is
the dread of the disease that suspects
are often sent to the leper settlement at
Molokai Island, who would not, It Is be
lieved, upon proper examination, be
found to have a trace of it During a
recent visit of the Joint committee of
the Legislature at the leper colony sev
eral of these unfortunates were found
to be without the slightest trace of the
disease. If such persons are able to
stand satisfactorily a bacteriological
examination, they will be dismissed as
cured. As indicating the difference be
tween intelligent consideration and the
superstitious and Ignorant abandon
ment of leper suspects to a horrible
fate, the proposition to study this dis
ease from the standpoint of modern
medical science Is striking. The de
spair of physicians for ages, leprosy,
when once established, has not In the
light of medical knowledge abated one
Jot of the horrors that clung to It in
the early history of mankind. The bac
teriologist, however, has made himself
acquainted with the cause and carrier
of this disease, and now asks oppor
tunity to demonstrate his power over It,
not in a remedial but in a preventive
sense. Opportunity will be given him
sooner or later, of course, and perhaps
nowhere else In the civilized world Is
there a better place for his demonstra
tion than In Molokai, the enforced home
of so many of the bloated, pallid, rot
ting dead-alive victims of this most
unclean scourge.
Rumors regarding the relations be
tween the Union Pacific and Central
Pacific are too numerous and explicit
to be trustworthy. It is probable that
Mr. Harrlman himself would give
something to be as sure as some of the
papers seem to be that he had acquired
control of the Southern Pacific. There
appears to be no doubt that such a
deal as has been written about has
been attempted, and probably It will
turn out successful; but there has been
no measuring c strength and no ab
solute assurance that the end sought
has been accomplished. At the South
ern Pacific annual meeting to be held
In San Francisco April 3 the control of
the property will be determined, and be
fore that time nothing can be known
positively as to Its exact status or Its
relations with the "Union Pacific It
seems very probable that close rela
tions will be established, but nothing
more than this can be said now.
An educational trust to' embrace all
the universities would be a good thing
In one respect If It abated the rivalry
now so prominent. The suggestion
might be passed over without harm to
the rellgloUB denominations of Protes
tantism. Meanwhile, when we add to
the union, labor trust and the various
farmers' trusts one of universities,
where will be the glassless house from
which Industrial combinations can be
assailed?
So Kipling Is coming back to Amer
ica to live. RestleBs as other geniuses,
wherever he goes he wishes he were
somewhere else. His neighbors seem to
have somewhat of a reciprocal feeling.
The California prune trust has cut
Its prices for export. Will Mr, Babcock
dare include the farmer in his bill to
remove tariffs from trust-controlled
products?
Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Ruhlin will meet
at San Francisco. It is thought the
city has enough telegraph facilities for
the match if It should not come off.
General Corblnls going to the Phil
ippines to study the military situation.
The admission of the necessity Is quite
a come-down for the gentleman.
"Our Blnger" may have to get out of
the Land Office. Now we know why he
wanted to be Senator.
PORTLAND AND SEATTLE CLIMATE
The Seattle boom idea, which pervades
the tentative grandeur of that fustian
city, stops short ofno trick to ruddy the
glow of Its Aurora. Nor do its citizens
blush to goad the rosy-fingered goddess
on to blowzy haste. One of the ways they
have of booming their -town is that of
misrepresenting their neighbors. Port
land is used to -hearing itself slandered
and does not mind It any more. But the
statement has been advertised again that
Seattle's climate Is better than Portland's,
and that Its rainfall is less.
The newspapers of Seattle are in no wise
superior to their environment. They are
well Impregnated with the swelling pomp
ousness of the Seattle embryo, and so
hardened Is the epidermis of their con
science that they no longer feel the pricks
of remorse when they distort the truth.
The Post-Intelligencer the other day said
that Portland's average rainfall in 10
years was 45.01 inches, and Seattle's 36.1S
inches. The last figures are right, but
the others are far on. If the authority
came from the Weather Bureau at Se
attle. Uncle Sam would do well to have
the office disinfected of the Seattle idea.
But the occasion of the false, statement
Is interesting for thereon hangs a tale.
Last week members of the Chicago
Commercial Club visited the Northwest.
Portland received them with conspicuous
hospitality, showed them the nonpareil
sights which all visitors delight In, and.
under the handicap of a curtailed stay,
entertained them in the best manner it
knew. Nature generously assisted the
citizens, arrayed herself In her most cap
tivating charms, and smiled happy beams
of sunshine all the timfe. But the Chl-cagoans-
had pressing duties elsewhere,
and, despite the bewltchihg Circe of Ore
gon climate, left abruptly, leaving a
trail of regrets behind.
The Fallacy of Fame.
These gentlemen had heard a great deal
about Seattle. Seattle, the wondrous har
bor, although Tacoma has a better; Se
attle the commercial port, although Ta
coma does more shipping the beauties
of Puget Sound waters, the raptures of
Puget Sound air; the ecstacies of Its
mountains, more potential in Imagination,
fable and song than celebrated Parnassus
or mighty Olympus; the enhancements
of superb Rainier and the velvet undula
tions of its foothills; In fine, the inimi
table grandeur with which the Almighty
had painted that Inland sea In prepara
tion and for the sole purpose of a mighty
city on the western shore, all this and
more, which present space cannot repro
duce from guide books and boom liter
ature, had filled the seething expectation
of the visitors with such shaping fan
tasies that apprehended more than cool
reason ever could comprehend. But they
cannot be blamed for their gullibility.
If Oregon scenes are so grand unsung,
they thought, of course, that those of
Puget Sound must be grander still, since
sung, for of Buch is the deceptive fidelity
of boom literature.
So, after a feast on Mount Hood's beau
ty, on went the Chlcagoans, in the fond
ness of their hope, on to Puget Sound.
Tacoma got slight attention, for the vis
itors were impatient to get to Puget
Sound, and, of course, Tacoma is only a
city of destiny, while Seattle Is the wholo
thing over1 there. They arrived, they
looked, they saw nothing. "This Is not
Seattle," they thought in courteous si
lence. Again they sought a single local
habitation for the diverse shapes of their
imagination Not a single one. All was
as blank as a fog. They stepped down
from the cars to the soggy, teredo-infected
wharf which the city of ambition calls
a depot, and vainly looked for the marks
which Nature had set to the grandeur of
a "Western idea. But It was raining. Drip,
drip, until the world seemed like one vast
sponge, even more than when the Alaska
rush was on. They looked to the harbor;
nothing but the dimpled serenity of the
tide leaping to meet the rain. They
looked to the city; nothing but the dingy,
soggy shacks of a frontier town. They
looked to heaven. But the Infinite hid
his smile behind a wet blanket. They
looked to each other. A common mind
seized them. They gripped their purses
with convulsive memory of rumors. Then
they drove to the -shanty hotel, wonder
ing if even this climax of creation was
a hoax and ruminating on the philosophy
of a gentleman named Shakespeare, who
observed, among other things, that the
ample proposition that the hope makes
fails in the promised largeness.
How Seattle Got Even.
Seattle pride was hurt. Immediately It
bethought Itself of getting even. It had
often sneered at Portland as a "Web
foot" town and boasted of less rain than
Portland, so here, obviously, was a case
for explanation. Therefore, the very
estimable "Pee Eye" came out In a long
article to tell all about It and to furnish
sop for citizens. Of course, facts made
no difference with the "Pee Eye." Pre
varication is the food on which certain
sorts of greatness feed. Out of the arch
ives of its genius the paper evolved Port
land's average rainfall for 10 years to be
43.01 inches. The fact is that the climatic
conditions of Western Oregon and West
ern Washington are almost Identical.
Both have a large rainfall, but neither
less nor more than the other. At some
places on Lower Puget Sound the pre
cipitation approaches or- exceeds 100
Inches. The further up the Sound the less
the rain falls. Tacoma has slightly less
rain than Seattle, and Portland slightly,
but not appreciably, more than either.
The following Is the record in inches for
the past seven years.
Portland I Seattle
1S94 39.32ilS94 41.05
1S95 30.761S&5 29.69
1895 44.131S9G 42.S3
1S97 42.42
1S97 41.53
1898 33.90
1833 29.28
IS93 37.13
1900 36.4S
1S99 42.21
1900 3S.22
Average 3S.7I
Average
.36.85
The record of rainy days of the two
cities is:
Portland
lS9t ,
1893 ,
1S96 ,
1897
1S9S
1699
1900 ,
Seattle
1894
1895
1896
1897
.176'
.1351
JS7
.130
.lb5
.157
.154
.181
.162
.164
.1G4
.144
.164
1898
1899 i
1900
.163
Average 159
Average
..163
fol-
The record of mean temperature
lows:
Portland ! Seattle
1894
.51.9
1894
.50.4
.51.2.
.51.1
.51.5
.52.2
.51.3
.52.8
.52.0
1S95
1896
1S97
1S98
1899
1900
.52.0
1S95
.52.6
.53.1
.52.6
.51.8
.53.5
1896
1897
1893
1899
1900
Average 52.5
Average
Sheldon's Latent.
New York Evening Sun.
The Rev. Charles II. Sheldon proposes
another reform. He wants a Christian
theater. "And by Christian theater," he
says, "I would mean also a theater
owned and controlled entirely by Chris
tian people, as much sb as any church
organization. In addition to all that, I
would mean also by Christian theater an
Institution in which all the actors and
actresses were decidedly and positively
Christian men and women." Of course,
the plays of Shakespeare and loliere.
Goldsmith and Sheridan, Ibsen and Suder
mann woud be 'excluded. But If the
playwrights and actors had to be Chris
tians, why should the same rule not
hold In the case of everybody. else, down
to the speculators on the sidewalk and
even the persons in the audience?
The Pity of It.
New York Evening Sun.
The good people of Cincinnati dearly
love a Duke. They hoped that a chair
broken by Mr. Zimmerman's son-in-law,
Manchester, would be offered for compe
tition at the sale of the household effects
of the father-in-law. It Is a pity that
some of His Grace's receipted bills were
not sold as relics. They would have been
delightful curiosities to add to the collec
tions of these admirers of an effete arls-
l tocfacy
SANGER, PLATT AND DEPEW.
New York Evening Post.
Colonel Sanger's appointment as Assist
ant Secretary of War undoubtedly gives
us an official of greater technical fit
ness for his position than that of any
man who has filled it for a generation.
His personal qualifications are also ad
mittedly of the highest. The only thing
which will give his friends a single
qualm Is the fact, which Piatt hastens
to reveal, that Colonel Sanger, while his
appointment was pending, went to the
boss' office to explain away the crime of
being an Independent Republican and re
former. This was done, we presume, at
the suggestion of those eminent "harmo
nlzers," Secretary Root and President
McKlnley. Any one can see now, how
ever, that It was entirely needless. It
did not reconcile Piatt to the appoint
ment; that remains bitterly distasteful
to him; it only gave him the chance to
say in public with malicious joy that
Colonel Sanger crawled before him like
any other office-seeker. How much more
Boldierly and manly an attitude it would
have been to refuse to crouch, and If
there was any speaking the devil soft to
be done, to have left it to experts In that
art, like Root and McKlnley!
As for Piatt, the Sanger appointment
Is evidently one cup more of humilia
tion for him. He professes to like It.
but the wry faces he makes as he drains
it off are more eloquent than words.
Never was an arrogant boss compelled
bo openly to stultify himself. Up and
down. In nubile and In private, he had
declared that Colonel Sanger would not
and could not be named for the Assist
ant Secretaryship; that If he was, he
could not be confirmed by the Senate.
With a rashness of which he would not
have been guilty in his more astute days,
ho committed himself In the most hard
and fast way. and risked his entire pres
tige as autocratic dispenser of New York
patronage on this single cast. He bas
lost, and the watchful politicians will see
In It still another reason to shake their
heads sorrowfully .and write "Ichabod"
after the name of the once all-powerful
boss. Senator Depew, of course, now
laughs merrily at the whole affair. His
furlbund airs of Tuesday and Wednesday
were all a joke, It appears. He must
have been winking all the time when he
explained to the reporters how It was his
solemn duty, his sworn Constitutional
obligation, to oppose the Sanger appoint
ment. "My oath, my oath," he said,
tragically, "dc not ask me to violate
that!" Alack! It was only his excellent
fooling. If we ever take him seriously
again, may We be condemned to hear his
old stories.
LOW PRICES FOR EXPORT.
A Fale Position That Cnn't Expect
to Last Ffcrever.
New York Journal of Commerce.
Selling abroad at lower than domestic
prices Is not a new thing, but until re
cently it has been merely an Incident of
trade. It is now looming up into a lead
ing feature and arousing ill-will In un
expected political circles. The foreign
market has been of relatively small ac
count; no great effort was made to secure
It; if orders came from abroad they were
filled with the sort of goods that were
manufactured for the home trade, often
to the Injury of the foreign importer, as
so many of our Consular reports show.
The manufacturer was glad to sell abroad
a surplus that was pressing heavily on
the home market, and there were sub
stantial economic reasons why he should
sell this surplus at anything above the
actual cost of production.
But the Wire Nail Trust of four or five
years ago used the foreign market as a
means of keeping Its plants employed
while it was raising domestic prices to
three or four times what they had been,
and by making an abnormal profit on the
goods sold at home practically subsidized
the exports. Since that time the exports
of Iron and steel have become a large
factor In trade. Oftentimes the open
price has been lower here than
abroad, but rall3 have been re
peatedly sold abroad for less than the
prices maintained here by a close combina
tion of the rolling mills assisted by a sub
stantial duty on foreign rails. The same
has been true of some other products,
and It Is believed to be a common prac
tice. The bill of Mr. Babcock to put steel
products on the free list has received an
amount of favorable consideration from
Republicans that Is surprising. The lead
ing iron and steel Industries need no
protection, but they object to a removal
of the duties because it Is their plan
to exclude foreign competition from the
home market and make abnormal profltB
hero out of which they can make good
losses If they have to be Incurred In
meeting foreign competition abroad. The
public sentiment which has cheerfully
supported the protective system, In the
belief that our Industries could not meet
foreign competition at home without pro
tection, looks with small favor upon the
protection of Industries that can export
their goods to every quarter of the globe.
The position of these Industries is very
much like that of the Russian sugar in
dustry; with the assistance of the Gov
ernment, domestic prices are maintained
so high that goods can be exported at
a loss if necessary to find markets for
them, and are normally sold to foreigners
for much less than they are sold to our
own citizens. We laugh at 'the Germans
for taxing themselves on sugar In order
to sell sugar cheap, perhaps at less than
cost, in this country and England: but
many of our people, many of the Influen
tial men in the Republican party, believe
we are doing exactly the same in regard
to many articles, notably Iron and steel.
We are paying prices that cover ex
ceptional rates of profit to enable the
manufacturers to sell their goods to for
eigners for less than they will sell for
at home, and perhaps In some cases for
even less than cost. The comments upon
Mr. Babcock's bill Indicate that this pol
icy Is regarded with marked disfavor,
and if the exports continue to be no mere
incidental Unloading of a surplus, but an
essential part of the trade which the
manufacturers are eager to secure, it
may be doubted whether the public will
continue Indefinitely to sustain a eystem
of high prices at home in order to make
low prices abroad.
t
SILVER-TONGUED.
An Expression as Old as Imaginative
Literature.
HAMMOND. Or., March 26. (To the Ed
itor.) To settle a local argument, between
men who have no access to books of ref
erence, will you kindly answer the follow
ing? To whom -was the expression, "the
silver-tongued orator," first applied?
T. FRANZEL CRAWFORD.
It would be Impossible to answer pre
cisely such a question, for the epithet is
03 old as imaginative literature. "Golden
mouthed" was a common epithet applied
to an orator in Greek literature, and from
the days of Fisher Ames, In Washing
ton's Presidency, down to date, we find
"silver-tongued" applied to every man of
notable eloquence by his- admirers. Ed
ward Everett, Henry Clay, Wendell Phil
lips and E. D. Baker have been called "silver-tongued,"
and a good many orators
of far less note, including Tom Fitch, of
Nevada. Of course, all eloquent men are
not "silver-tongued," for such an epithet
was never applied to Webster; the epithet
properly "refers to a peculiar melodious
sweetness of tone In the orator, but it
has been applied to a good many public
speakers whose voice had a deal more
brass than silver m It.
NOTE AND COMMENT. !'
Wanted A few thousand more.-names
for the 1505 fair.
It looks as if the only way to supres3
Mrs. Nation Is to elect her Vice-President.
The announcement of the failure of
the Delaware peach crop is due in a few
days.
. - .
The end of the Boer War seems to be
subject to postponement without previous
notice.
The Chicago drainage canal flows mer
rily on, in spite of the damning of St.
Louis people.
It is all very w.ell to advise the sluggard
to go to the ant, but he usually winds
up at the uncle's1.
Emperor William has said enough fool
ish things in public to be called tho
Bryan of Germany:
The libraries Mr. Carnegie has founded,
being all In America, "will not Increase the
demand for William Waldorf Aster's
book. ",
Now doth the foolish, little bea .
"Waste every shining hour
By making stores of honey that
He never will devour.
King Edward has applied for an In
crease of salary. He can Ho this with
out fear that his employers 'will tell him.
that they can find a hundred men who
will fill his position better for half as
much as they are paying him now.
A Russian military paper tells of a Lieu
tenant who overheard a Sergeant giving
a recruit a short lecture upon his duties.
"The military service," said the Sergeant,
"requires little prayer to God, .and a.
strict attention to the orders of & supe
rior." Somewhat astonished at this singu
lar definition of military duty, the dfflcer
ventured to ask the Sergeant for his au
thority. Whereupon the Sergeant pro
duced an ancient volume, containing the
following: "The military service re
quires little; prayer to God, and strict at
tention to the orders of a superior."
A Washington Mrs. Malaprop has
broken out again. A learned gentleman
was telling In her presence recently of
some discoveries of excellently well-preserved
human remains mummies. In fact
somewhere out In A Izona or In Texas,
or In some other dry part of the United
States.
"They were In a really wonderful state
of preservation," said he.
"I'm not at all surprised to hear It,"
said Mrs. Malaprop, who never Is sur
prised to hear anything. "I'm told things
keep 'forever in those dry climates. Tho
soil IS so Impregnated with alcohol, you
know." '
The late Queen Victoria was very
anxious that the royal farms at Windsor
should be carried on by her successor,
and she has left her famous herds of
Shorthorn, Devon and Hereford cattle to
King Edward. The Shaw and Flemish
farms were established by the Prince
Consort, and they have been principally
devoted to tho breeding of pedigreed
stock, and for many years past the Queen
had been a large prize winner at the lead
ing shows. The dispersion of her royal
herds would have been a national loss,
but they will be 'fully maintained In
every respect by King. Edward. The. Queen
also had farms at Osborne and at Aber
geldle Mains, where t.here is a very fine
herd of pure-bred Aberdeen Angus cattle.
The most successful scheme for ascer
taining who are really the good clerks in
any branch of the Goyernment service
was recently employed by Census Direc
tor Merrlam, upon whom the duty of get
ting rid of some of hi3 help now lies
rather heavily. The usual way for ascer
taining the ones to be dismissed is to ask
the plain question. But Merriam did it
the other way. He asked which of the
clerks each division chief wished to keep.
Each chief, with an eye single to having
his work done well, made ou a straight
list. No drones were included in It. The
chiefs thought they would be -allowed to
retain these clerks. Instead of that the
director ordered the transfer of these
good clerks to divisions in wrilch there
are to be no dismissals at the' present.
Now the chiefs who were caughj by the
trick are wondering how they are to fin
ish the work they have on hand with the
inferior clerks that are. left.
PLEASANTRIES OF PAItAGRAPHERS
In Puritan Massachusetts. "No, I always at
tend church In the evening." "And why not
In the morning?" "In the morning! Why, t
golf In the morning." Cleveland Plain Dealer.
At the Opera. "You see that woman up
there In the first tier of boxes That's Mrs.
Glltsoaker." "How can you tell? Her face is
turned the other way." "I know her voice."
Life.
Educational. "Now." paid, he. "do you really
think the theater an 'educational institution?"
"I know It Is." said she. "Some of the loe
He"t fashions ever seen originated oh the
stage." Indianapolis Press.
Tsacher Jimmy. It you found IS pennies and
another boy should take two-thirds of them
away, what would 'each of you .have? Jimmy
I'd have six pennies, an he'd have a good
thumpln 'less he'd handed back the rest of
cm mighty quick. Tit-Bits.
"You may not have a saloon In the village,"
remarked the recent Kansas arrnal, "but It
must be dreadfully unhealthy other wayi.
"Why do you think so?" "For the last hour
I've noticed a constant stream of men going
Into that drug store." Philadelphia Times..
Dear Girl. Papa There, there! You needn't
klBs me any more. Tell me what you want.
Out with It. Daughter I don't want anything.
I want to give you something. Papa You do?
What? Daughter A son-in-law. Jack 'asked
me to speak to jou about it. Philadelphia.
Press.
t
The Song- of the Trnec. '
Josh Wink In Baltimore American.
(Lord Kitchener has arranged a seven-day
truce to prepare for peace In South Africa.)
The drums of the war are silent,
The guns of the war are still.
The shout3 of the war have died away
On crimsoned plain and hill. k ' :
The battle flags and bannera , 4-
Sway Idly In disuse.
And the smile of peace makes all things bright,
"When the bugles sound a truce.
The Tjugles sing H gladly .
They sing It with might and 'ma'n
And the echoes wake from peak to peak
To carry the refrain.
From camp to camp the message
Bids all the warfare cease.
And the battle smoke drifts far away,
"With the buglas singing peace.
A
i
And the song of peace sighs softly
O'er every sunken mound;
It chants In the saddest symphony
A requiem profound;
It whispers to the dreamers:
"Your country loves the beat
The gallant ones who died for her"-
"With the bugles singing "Rest." ,
A truce to the crashing cannon j
A halt to the marching feet
For 4he bugle calms all the wrath of men '
"With Its benediction sweet,
And war no more may ravage.
Nor Death again stalk loose, '
For the song of peace enthralls us all.
"When the bugle sounds a. truce.