Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, April 10, 1901, Page 6, Image 6

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THE MOKNIXG OTtEGOtfTAN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1901.
lie rggomcus
Entered at the Postofflce at Portland, Oregon.
as second-class matter.
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bly "Editor The Oxonian," not to the name
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tation. No stamps should be Inclosed for this
purpose.
Puget Sound Bureau -Captain A. Thompson,
office at llli Pacific avenue, Tacoma. Box 053,
lacoma Postofflce.
Eastern Business Office T. 48. 49 and 59
iTrlbune "building. New York City; 4C9 "The
Rookery," Chicago; the S. C. Beckwith special
agency. Eastern representative.
For sale la San Francisco by J. IC Cooper,
?C Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Gold
smith Bros., 230 Sutter street; F. W. Pitts.
3003 Market street; Foster & Orear, Ferry
cewB stand.
For sale in Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner.
259 So. -Spring street, and Oliver & Haines. 100
Bo. Spring street.
For sale in Chicago by the P. O. News Co..
517 Dearborn street.
For sale In Omaha by H. C. Shears, 105 N.
Sixteenth street, and Barkalow Bros., 1012
Farnam street. x
For sale In Salt Lake hy the Salt Lake News
Co., 77 "W. Second South street.
On file In Washington. D. a, -with .A. W.
Dunn, 500 14th N. W.
For sale In Denver, Colo., by Hamilton &
gendrick. 000-012 Seventh street. V
TODAY'S WEATHER. Fair, -with westerly
grinds.
PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, APRIL II.
tOTHERE THtfXICIPAL REFORM BE
GINS. "What Is to "become of the modern city
if -we cannot more effectively control
the public service corporation? This is
the question which Mr. Edwin Burrett
Smith suggests in his April Atlantic
article, but -does not answer. His diag
nosis is Very clever, however, and bis
proposals are promising. He shows us
the municipal counterpart of the pro
tected trust. Special privilege Is the In
iquity in each case, but in the city the
abuse takes the form of the public ser
vice corporation, providing such neces
sary utilities as transportation, gas,
electricity and the telephone. The pub
lic streets, existing solely for the peo
ple's convenience, are occupied by these
corporations for the purpose of render
ing service as necessary as water, pave
ments, etc Only by virtue of this pub
lic necessity are they suffered on the
streets at all. yet they often act as if
the streets were theirs by vested right
which society has no power to modify
or gainsay.
Nor is this the worst of it, for they
soon pass on to the point of not only
owning the streets, but of dictating and
corrupting legislation. "This conscience
less creation," says Mr. Smith, "Is at
once the main cause of municipal mis
rule and the -chief obstacle to municipal
reform." The question of the hour
therefore is, he says, "whether the pub
lic service corporation shall be con
strolled or destroyed." He thinks It can
be controlled, and Is certain at least
that control should first 1e tried. By
requiring revenue from the corporation
in return for every privilege enjoyed, by
making it a monopoly and thus pre
venting duplication of plants with re
sulting wase and corruption of offi
cials by granting franchises only for
short terms, it Is believed that the evils
of this corporation dominion can be
minimized sufficiently to obviate neces
sity for municipal ownership. But if
time proves otherwise, then welcome
municipal ownership as an escape from
Insufferable Ills, both economic and
moral.
"We are persuaded that the chief value
of this nisef ully suggestive essay lies in
its analysis of corrupt corporation
methods. ' We shudder -at the prospect
of adding employes to the city's pay
roll, but we are apt to forget the extent
to which spoilsmen even now control
appointments to office within these
same corporations; we rarely under
stand how close the connection has
grown betwfeen the corporation and the
partj' boss vftio names our Mayors and
Courfqilmen. The body of interested
voters jcreated-by the corporation with
in the electorate Is now almost as
much a part of. the machine as if actu
ally xm the city's pay-roll, possibly more
so. Official puppets of party bosses
come and go, with Inconstant or corrupt
purposes, while the corporation knows,
through succeeding terms, just what it
wants, and with its powerful political
allies and the finest legal talent avail
able, proceeds to get it Coarse bribery
is rarely resorted to, because its finer
forms are usually sufficient; but when
necessary votes are bought by unscru
pulous persons whose services are, high
ly paid and no questions asked, under
the specious plea that the end of self
preservation justifies the means, and if
anything wrong has beccrcdone the high
ly respectable figureheads of the com
pany do not know it.
Every one concerned iir urban com
fort and probity should read Mr.
Smith's article. He shows that until we
have brought these great, corporations
under control, we can have no munici
pal reform worthy the name.
The creditable performance of the
torpedo-boat destroyer Goldsborough on
Puget Sound Monday, while it afforded
unbounded satisfaction to her builders,
was not a surprise. On her earliest trial
the boat gave evidence of her qualities,
and but for one of those unforeseen ac
cidents which continually attend, the
trials of high-speed craft, she would
have covered the measured knot, at a
greater speed than that required by the
Government. Since that time several
mishaps have attended the Goldsbor
ough. Sometimes the coal proved of in
ferior quality, sometimes the crew
lacked the skill and experience to :get
the best results out of the engines, and
again weather conditions were unfavor
able. But the Naval officers who con
stituted the trial board nave all along
been convinced that the craft "had the
speed in her," and that under proper J
conditions she would fulfill the rigorous
Government requirements. And, al
though it Is more than a year since her
first builder's trial, her experience has
not been without a parallel, for the Far
ragut, a thirty-knot boat built by the
Union Iron Works, made a score or
more of unsuccessful attempts to make
the required speed before she was suc
cessful; the JRowan, built on Puget
Sound, never did prove entirely satis
factory, and now the Perry, another
Union Iron "Works boat, is to be accept
ed, at less than contract price owing to
her failure to make the specified time.
There is no reason to doubt that the
Goldsborough, having broken the rec
ord in her class over a measured knot,
will be successful in her second trial,
and become as much of a credit to her
enterprising builders, the Wolff &
Zwicker Iron "Works, of Portland, as
were her two splendid little predeces
sors, the Davis and the Fox, which .so
far exceeded contract speed as to call
the attention of naval constructors all
over the world to the firm which built
them.
APPOMATTOX.
Thirty-six years ago yesterday the
bleeding remnant of Lee's heroic Army
of Northern Virginia surrendered to
Grant at Appomattox. When the last
great campaign began, March 29, 1S65,
Sherman was at Goldsbord, N. C, with
over 90,000 veterans, facing Joe John
ston's army of some 35,000 men. ' Grant,
with 120,000, faced Lee, who had some
70,000 men to defend his intrenchments,
thirty miles in length, before Richmond
and Petersburg. On the 25th of March
a formidable sortie was made agalribt
Grant's right at Petersburg, but was
finally repulsed with severe loss. Sher
idan, who commanded Grant's turning
column of 10,000 cavalry and 12,000 In
fantry, struck at Lee's right and rear,
and on April 1, after two days' hard
fighting, smashed Lee's extreme right
at Five Forks, under Pickett. Lee's
lines had been stretched so thin that
they had finally been broken at last.
The next morning, April 2, at day
light, a general assault was made all
along the line before Petersburg. The
Sixth Corps, some 15,000 strong, and but
700 yards from the enemy, carried th
works in Its front for half' a mile. This
success, supported as it was by the vic
torious charge of the Twenty-fourth
Corps, under General John Gibbon, de
cided the fate of the day. General
Humphreys, with the Second Corps, and
General Parke, with the Ninth Corps,
successfully assaulted on the extreme
left and right, and. Lee at once in
formed Davis that he should be obliged
to abandon his lines that night. The
gallant Confederate, Lleutenant-General
A. PV Hill, fell this day under the fire
of tht skirmishers of Getty's division,
which Jed the charging column of the
Sixth Corps.
The Southern Confederacy really fell
this day, for the rest of the campaign
was the mere hunt of the gallant
quarry that, crippled and bleeding at
every pore, resolutely faced its, pursu
ers like a wounded buffalo bravely
standing at' bay before a pack of wolves
In pursuit4 On April 6, at Sailor's
Creek, Lee's rearguard was over
whelmed and captured by the combined
operations of Sheridan's cavalry sup
ported by thei Second and Sixth Corps.
On April 8 Sheridan's cavalry cut off
Lee's retreat 'at Appomattox Station.
A rapid night march brought up the in
fantry of the Fifth and Twenty-fourth
Corps to Sheridan's support, and at
daylight April 9 Lee found himself with
the road barred to Lynchburg by Sher
idan with 30,600 men. while Meade, with
the Second and Sixth Corps, was press
ing close, upon his rear. Without food,
without artillery, without hope of res
cue, Lee was obliged to surrender.
Of the eminent actors of this last
great campaign on either side, all are
dead save the Union Generals Getty,
Merrltt and Miles, and the Confederate
Generals Longstreet and John B. Gor
don. In this short ten days' campaign
the Army of the Potomac lost not less
than 10,000 killed and wounded.
The result of this last campaign was
doubtless no surprise to either Grant or
Lee. It was a fight on Lee's part
against his judgment, but unless ham
pered by Davis orders, Lee erred In
judgment In staying too long In his lines
before Richmond and Petersburg. His
.only hope was to have withdrawn at
an earlier date, joined Joe Johnston,
smashed Sherman, if there was a
chance, or, failing that, to have re
treated, to the .mountains. Sheridan in
Ills "Memoirs" says that Lee lost his
last chance-of retreat to North Carolina
and a junction with Johnston when he
failed to brush Sheridan from his path
April 4 at Jettersville, because he hesi
tated and dallied for hours until Meade
came up with the Second and Sixth
Corps to Sheridan's support
EXERCISE OP PARDONING POWER,
In a recently published letter Gover
nor Geer seeks to justify his pardon of
Edwin L. Mims upon the ground that
the jury rendered a verdict of guilty
of manslaughter upon an agreement to
recommend to the court for a minimum
sentence, which was one year; that the
Judge ignored their recommendation
and gave Mims five years; that the
jurors said that If they had supposed
the Judge would Ignore the request they
would have neVer agreed to a verdict of
guilty. There" is no force in this plea,
for no jury .has a legal right under
their oath to give any man a full ac
quittal fearing that the court would not
be as merciful as the jury would be If
they were the court The law wisely
binds the jury by oath to render a
verdict iti accordance with the evidence,
and wisely reserves to the Judge the
right to determine whether mercy
should be extended to the guilty and
what measure of mercy, which may ex
tend to a suspension of sentence, but
the jury has only to determine the guilt
of the accused as a question of fact
They may acquit if Insanity to the point
of irresponsibilty is established; they
may find the prisoner guilty with a
recommendation to mercy, but it be
longs to the court to approve or reject
a recommendation to mercy, and to fix
the measure of mercy If the court de
cides to grant the jury's prayer. It is
not a juror's business to find verdicts
which spell mercy Illegally extended. It
Is his sole business to find verdicts ac
cording to the evidence and to recom
mend mercy. He must leave to the
Judge the question of mercy and its
measure. He is bound as an oath-keeping
juror to leave the question of mercy,
where the law wisely leaves It, with the '
court To acquit a guilty man because
the jury thinks the Judge may not be
merciful enough is not the business of
the jury, and the law, by restricting
the jury to a recommendation of mercy,
shows that its clear intention Is to keep
.the jury down to the question of fact
'.s to the guilt of the accused, leaving
tne question or mercy ana its degree
entirely to the discretion of the court.
"A jury ought to understand that a
juror's oath is broken when a clearly 1
guilty man ' is., acquitted. So In
this Mims case It "was not ' the
jury's business to fix the sentence
of the court Their responsibility' ended
with conviction and recommendation to
mercy. They knew perfectly well that
while the Judge may approve the jury's
recommendation to mercy, he Is not un
der the slightest legal or moral obliga
tion to do so. . In this particular case
the Judge did consider favorably the
Jury's recommendation to mercy, for
he gave the convict only five years
when he otherwise would have given
him fifteen, and this jury has the ef
frontery to pretend that they would
have either acquitted the prisoner or
disagreed hopelessly If they had not sup
posed that the Judge would have given
the convict the minimum punishment
of one year. What right had the Jury to
suppose that their recommendation to
mercy would fix the term of sentence?
Surely not from the Judge or the Prosel
cuting Attorney. For these reasons we
deem the plea of the jury for a pardon
to Mims absolutely weak and worthless;
an 'ex-post facto excuse for stultify
ing their verdict by Indorsing an appli
cation for pardon..
The plea that Mims' continued incar
ceration was a source of private sorrow
to "worthy people who were connected
with him by marriage is worthless, be
cause, as Governor Geer confesses, on
that plea 50per cent of the prisoners
could be liberated tomorrow. The truth
Is that when pardons are issued on the
plea of personal sympathy for the pris
oner's decent family, or on the plea that
unless the prisoner Is released he will
die in Jail, punishment is robbed of its
strongest terrors. The reflection that
It Is painful to be separated from wife
and children; that a penitentiary is a
very disagreeable place 'to be sick and
a disgraceful place to die, restrains
many a man of criminal impulses from
committing crime. A penitentiary
should be made healthful, and the food
should be sufnclent'and wholesome, but
beyond this a penitentiary should be
made so utterly austere and repulsive
that no man would ever leave it with,
out an utter disgust and dread of a
return to Its gloomy walls. The only
just rule -In our Judgment should be
for the Governor never to issue a par
don, no matter who signed the . peti
tion, unless It could be shown with
legal conclusiveness that the verdict
was unjust and contrary to evidence.
The desire, the willingness, the anxi
ety of a number of persons, be they
never so worthy and influential, to ob
tain a pardon for a convict should never
be respected4 The state should right
any wrong wrought by clear failure of
justice in the trial, but otherwise there
should be no mercy beyond commuta
tion for good conduct
THE HEROIC IMPULSE.
Our Government has officially paid
much honor to the memory of Lieutenant-Commander
Roper, United States
Navy, who lost his life at the naval sta
tion at Cavlte, near Manila, on the 31st
ult, while trying to rescue some of his
men from a burning compartment of
his vessel, the gunboat Petrel. Secre
tary Long and Admiral Crownlnshield
describe the dead, offider as a hero who
gave his life to save others In peril.
This Is not the first Instance within or
without the Navy wben the heroic im
pulse to self-sacrifice has been ex
hibited. In our Civil War Commo
dore Craven, United States Navy,
lost his valuable life when his iron
clad was blown up by a torpedo at
the battle of Mobile Bay, because he
insisted on the pilot escaping from the
turret first "After you, pilot," said
Craven. The pilot obeyed and was
saved, while Craven was too late and
was carried down to his death In the
iron coffin of his vessel. Of course, it Is
easy to say that Commodore Craven
simply obeyed the rule that a captain
is expected to be the last to leave his
ship in event of disaster, but when the
pilot offered his captain his chance no
body would have known, if Craven had
taken it and been saved, that he owed
his life to his pilot'B magnanimity, save
Craven himself. If the pilot had been
drowned. Craven had only to hold his
peace, for there was nobody left In the
turret, save him and the pilot
While such impulsive acts of nobility
are found in the annals of the armies
and navies of every civilized country,
they are equally common in the history
of the merchant-service. Indeed, they
are peculiar to no particular vocation,
to no rank or class of legitimate work
ers In this world; nor are they limited
to one sex. The day before Commander
Roper lost his life at Cavlte, Professor
Alexander Wheeler of the Bridgeport
(Conn.) High School, was drowned by
the capsizing of his boat, but his com
panion was rescued by a sacrifice on
part of the drowned man. The boat
was small, and when it upset Wheeler
told his companion, who could not
swim, to hold onto the boat while he
swam ashore, nearly half a mile diSJ-v
tant Wheeler was drowned In his at
tempt, but his cpmpanion was rescued.
Wheeler led his class at Yale in 1897.
Here we have the same heroic Impulse
to an act of manly self-sacrifice assert
ing itself on call quite as promptly in
this gentle, peaceful scholar and teacher
as In men bred to the military or. naval
profession. Thackeray says a man
never can tell how much his friend
thinks of him until he asks him for the
loan of a few pounds, and It Is cer
tainly true-that you never can tell what
manner of man will act unselfishly In a
great hour of common danger until he
has been confronted with It.
With the news of the loss of the great
English ironclad, Victoria, ten" years
ago, came the announcement that "the
Chaplain lost his life while trying to
save the sick." That .single sentence
means that the Chaplain of the Vic
toria was one of the same heroic breed
of men as Lieutenant-Commander Ro
per. He imitated his great master,
Christ' Jesus, and rose to the level of
an act of supreme self-sacrifice. He
threw away his chance of life to save
the lives of others because he thought
It his duty to stay at his post to the
last, and because he thought that If
he really believed the gospel of self
sacrifice -he preached he ought not In
the hour of general danger to raise the
cry of " save himself who can." And
yet, while It would seem more difficult
for "a battle-worn soldier or weather
beaten sailor to rise to the level of self
sacrifice than a high-minded clergyman,
nevertheless In actual life Captains and
Colonels and Corporals seem to rise as
often to the level of self-sacrifice In the
bour of a great common danger as men
of gentler breeding and more refined
spirit General Grant once strongly ob
jected to favoring an old officer of the
Army on the, ground, as he told General
Sherman, that "he deserted the com- J
mand when It was prostrated with the
cholera-on the Nicaragua route because
he was' a coward, and he dodged field
duty all through the Civil War beccube
he is a coward." This was Grant's
rugged manliness; he and his comrade,',
Ledbetter, stuck by their command, not
because they enjoyed living on the
same boat with -a -crowd of cholera
stricken men, who were dying with
frightful rapidity, but because4 It was as
unmanly to leave the boat as it would
have been to play coward In battle.
The frequency of such aots of heroism
as that 6f Commander Roper among
humble sailors, miners, loggers, men of
all walks of life. Is sufficient answer to
the pretense that heroism is a pagan
creed outworn in our day or is only
obeye'd by a morbid person; that when
anybody takes a chance to lose his life
In the, hope to save a life he is a crank
or a "morbid" person; that Is, that san
ity Is always selfish. A fine-spirited
New York physician of Southern ante
cedents left his practice and went to
New Orleans to help care for the sick
at the last great outbreak of the yellow
fever In that city. He caught the fever
and died of It, but he was ready for
this self-sacrifice, for when his family
wrote him strongly of his danger he
replied in substance that the best place
for him was the post of - the highest
duty, and then quoted these lines from
Shakespeare:
All places that the eye of heaven visits
Are to a wis man ports and happy havens.
Ships, now loading In Portland harbor
will carry Oregon products to the
United Kingdom, Mediterranean ports,
Siberia, Japan, China, South Africa and
South America, ivhile down at the
mouth of the Columbia a vessel is load
ing lumber for Australia. The fleet in
port loading In the foreign trade in
cludes five big steamships and twelve
sailing vessels, with a combined capa
city of over GO.OOO tons. Half a dozen
ships have already been sent foreign
thfs month, and others beside the fleet
now In the river will follow. Portland
has worked up this big business so
gradually and with so little noise that
its importance is not fully appreciated.
Much of the work has been done In the
face of obstacles which in the future
may be removed. Seattle and Tacoma
are both growing rapidly, but the man
who asserts that their growth is to any
appreciable extent at the expense of
Portland is in error. This city has made
heavy gains in business in all lines
within the past Ave years, and the con
ditions for a continuation of this gain
were never more favorable than they
are at the present time.
A most sympathetic and worthy char
ity Is that which supports the Old La
dles' Home in this city. There are
many who believe that charity could
not go far 'amiss If it confined Its sub
stantial ministrations to two olasses of
dependents aged persons and children
of the homeless class. Self-helpful aid
is due to a multitude of others, and
may be properly and generously be
stowed, but from these two classes, es
pecially the former, no return Is possi
ble. Children, of course, are expected
to become self-sustaining ultimately,
and wise plans for their care look defi
nitely to this end; but aged persons be
come each" year more dependent and
their care must be assumed with that
understanding. The most gracious,
therefore, and. the most patient of all
charities, is that which reaches out and
gathers In the homeless of this class
with the purpose to make comfortable
the last stage of their life's Journey.
It is gratifying to note that this com
munity Is not behind in this good work,
but is sympathetically mindful of the
needs of homeless old people in its
midst.
The right of school authorities to com
pel pupils to be vaccinated or to ex
clude them from attendance on Bchool
has recently been affirmed In two stateB.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania up
holds the Court of Common Pleas In
declaring that the principal of the Key
stone public school, of Philadelphia, had
the right to refuse to admit an unvac
clnated child. A Chicago Judge gave a
similar decision In ,a mandamus case
affirming the right of the Board of Ed
ucation in that city to compel pupils to
be vaccinated or remain away from the
schools. In the latter decision an ex
ception was made In the case of a child
with heart trouble, and who a physician
testified would be harmed by the oper
ation, but it was provided that this un
vacclnated child must remain away
from school whenever a smallpox epi
demic existed.
The "antls" of Boston Insist that
Funston shall be cashiered and dis
missed from the Army, because the
stratagem he employed In capture of
Agulnaldo was "unbecoming an officer
and gentleman." It was deception, in
famous deception, they tell us; horrify
ing to people of moral sense, such as
live in Boston. These good people, if
pressed on the subject, no doubt would
answer that the American name was
sullied by the way that Washington
"played It on the British" at sundry
times during the Revolution. Nothing
can excuse, deception, even In the case
of an enemy In war. But this transcen
dental idea of truth doesn't appear to
have much vogue anywhere.
Lord Salisbury Is sick; M. Waldeck
Rousseau Is sick; Li Hung Chang Is
sick; Czar Nicholas Is sick; the Shah of
Persia Is sick. Commenting upon this
notable sick list, the Philadelphia Times
remarks: "This looks like a case of Sic
Semper Tyrannls all round." To be
complete, however, the list should con
tain the name of Tsl An, Empress Dow
ager of China, the most unconquerable
tyrant of the age.
The trial of Benjamin for the recent
killing of Green opposite the Cascades
begins at Stevenson today. This Is
commendable promptness In action.
Aiken, convicted at Hlllsboro Monday,
committed his offense four months ago.
As for McDanlel, nobody knows whether
anything is ever to be done with him
or not
There are two primary election laws
on the statute-book of Oregon, passed
at the recent session of the Legislature.
Each is confused and inexplicable; and
it will be found that between them
they make a mess of it
General Young's objection to consid
erable withdrawal of troops from the
Philippines Is probably well taken. The
British furnish us from South Africa
with a warning which should not be
In vain.
How would It do 'to have the .Presi
dent christen the LewlB and Clark Ex-
position?
ANNIVERSARY OF APPOMATTOX-
CHICAGO, April 9. The anniversary cf
the surrender of General Lee at Appomat
tox; wets' celebrated by the Hamilton Club
thls evening at an elaborate banquet, to
Which 3500 Invitations were Issued, and of
'which two-thirds were accepted. The
dinner, .which was held at the. Auditorium
Hotel, was one of the most pretentious
affairs ever given by the Hamilton Club.
The chief speakers of the evening were
Blsho: Dudley, of Kentucky, and Presi
dent Angell, of the University of Michi
gan. President Angell spoke on "General
Grant in the Orient," and Bishop Dudley
delivered the principal address of the
evening. He spoke as follows:
"I count it a happy omen for our coun
try, Mr. President, and gentlemen of the
Hamilton Club, that I am standing here
tonight. You have bidden me, a Vir
ginian, a Southerner, a Confederate sol
dier, to have part In your celebration of
Appomattox Day, that I may voice the
feelings of Southern men about the peer
less leader, who, on that aay did sheathe
his stainless sword. You have bidden me
because of your desire to make this your
annual festival .an Influence to unify the
once divided sections, and in this spirit I
am come. Your courteous representative
who brought me your invitation told m.e
of the purpose to portray upon the menu
card of your banquet the figure of Co
lumbia with laurel wreath in either hand,
for the victor and the vanquished, alike
her eons, alike her glory, because of their
heroism. He bade me come to speak al
most the Identical words I had addressed
to a gathering of old Confederate com
rades in a distant city; to utter with
frankness and without restraint the feel
ings of our people In the Southland con
cerning Robert Lee. and therefore am I
come.
"Joe "Wheeler and FItzhugh Lee are the
honored representatives of the United
States' Government Now God be praised
for all this! God be praised that, when
the beautiful Image of Southern independ
ence was hidden, nay, did disappear for
ever behind the storm cloud of battle. In
Its stead arose upon our tearful sight the
vision, not of gibbet and prison-house and
vassalage, but of old - time liberty and
brotherhood and equality the vision of
Columbia with mother heart and out
stretched arms, calling her son3 of the
Southland back to their places of honor
and of service by the family fireside. And
tonight, as we look upon all these wonders
and marvel and give thanks.
"And so I come as your fellow-citizen, In
this proud and mighty Nation o speak of
him In whose memory I am bidden to
speak. I speak of Robert Edward Lee,
the patriot, the soldier, who, by the testi
mony of Scott, was his very right arm
In the conquest of Mexico; of Robert Ed
ward Lee, equally the patriot and soldier
greater than before, who maintained for
four long years, the unequal struggle,
with overwhelming odds, for the principle
that he had been taught, that his su
preme allegiance was due to Virginia,
his mother state.
"Sprung from the loins of the Rupert
of our American armies, the son of that
Light Horse Harry of the first Revolu
tion, he Inherited as well from his mother
the noble trains of the long-descended
families of Virginian aristocracy; and yet,
perhaps, In the good providence of God,
his best preparation for his future career
came from the fact that he was a widow's
son, upon whose shoulders speedily came
the burden of responsibility, of tender care
for those dependent upon his youthful
headship. With this preparation he en
tered the academy at West Point, whence
he came forth first in his class. I cannot
believe that the degeneration of boyhood's
frolic, teasing of its companions, Into the
cowardly brutality to which a Congres
sional committee has borne witness, had
been possible when Lee was Captain of
Cadets, or when, long years after, Colonel
Lee was superintendent! of the academy.
The boy was too brave to be cruel, and
the officer had too largo a conception of
the degradation consequent upon such be-
havior, and of his responsibility for Its
continuance, for him to have been In Ig
norance, or patient, of Its existence.
"The years pass by and bring the alli
ance with the maiden he had loved al
ways, and with It the connection and as
sociation with the family of the chieftain
whose character he had made the very
model by which to fashion his own. Mex
ico comes with that marvelous night ride
alone, to gain the Information which shall
make victory a certainty. And then the
dull routine of army service In one place
and another till the clouds of coming
storm begin to darken tha sky of our
peaceful, happy America. The Impos
sibility that this country should be one
half slave and the other "half free, as
Lincoln said, has seized the minds of the
people.
"The propounder of this sentiment is
chosen President of the United States,
and his election la deemed by the South
ern States to be fraught with calamity to
them. They believe that It means the .de
struction of their peculiar civilization,
the taking away of the property they
have secured, and are holding under the
laws of the Union, and, influenced by this
opinion, they, one by one, m the exercise
of a right which they believe to be part
and parcel of the Federal compact, by
solemn ordinance withdrew from the
Union.
"What shall Lee do? He is come to the
parting of the ways, and Is In an agony
of doubt yes. In agony of doubt Remem
ber that by birth, by training, by service,
he is devoted to the Government of the
United States. Read his letters to his
sons and learn that his political opinions
were of the Federalist school, that his
conception of the course suggested by
Southern leaders was that It was madness.
He recognized to the full the necessary
Inequality of the contest between the
North and the South, and also that such
contest, long and devastating, was as sure
and as necessary as Its inequality. He
loved the flag he had borne with an ecstacy
of devotion, and yet, with such absolute
recognition of the difficulties to be met,
and of the probability of defeat In the
undertaking to be begun, with grief that
was speechless for the evil days on which
his country hau fallen, he wended his way
across the bridge to the land that gave
him birth.
-."The dreary months passed by; the
mills of the gods'1' did grind exceedingly
slow. But at last came the opportunity,
and Lee was at the head of the great
army of Northern Virginia, and there he
rode supreme in the loyai devotion of his
followers, and ever more and more in the
confidence of 'all the people, until the long,
thin line of gray was worn away and the
surrender at Appomattox a necessity.
, "I love to think of him, the great Cap
tain, worshiping the Lord Christ In the
Christian congregation on every Lord's
day; and I recall how he said to an aged
Christian minister: 'Oh, if I could only
learn to pray, for then I could help these,
my college boye, as I should.' I love to
think of him as the gentle, tender ad
viser of wayward boys, so many of whom
do testify to his loving, fatherly remon
strance as the very means of their salva
tion -from the ruin which comes from vi
cious conduct. I love to think of him as
he rode his loved old war-horse through
those quiet mountain roads, the recipient
of courteous salutation from all, both
white and black, the idol of the little
children, who ran from their humble
homes by the wayside to salute him and
to hear his genial, merry words of reply.
The soldier, greatest of his age; the
patriot, unselfish and devoted to the right;
the Christian, loyal to his God and Sa
vior; the gentleman always, everywhere
courteous and kind oh! ,where shall we
find his like?"
' It had been expected that Justice Har
lan, of the United States Supreme Court,
would be one of the speakers, as well as
Congressman F. W. Cushman, of 'Wash
ington, but they, were unable to be present.
ATTORxXEY-GEXERAL SWORN IN.
WASHINGTON, April 9. Philander C.
Knox, of Pittsburg, who succeeds At
torney-General Griggs at the head, of the
Department of Justice, was worn In at
10:30 this morning In the Cabinet-room of
the White House. There were present
President McKInley and Mr. Knox's
youngest son. Philander Ct -Knox, Jr., and
Justice Shlras, of the Supreme Court, who
administered the oath. Justice Shlras Is
an old friend of the new Attorney-General.
Mr. Knox was accompanied to the
White House by C. O. L. Cooper, who was
Attorney-General Grlgg3 private secre
tary, and who may continue with Mr.
Knox. After taking the oath Mr. Knox
remained with the President until the
Cabinet assembled.
The Cabinet meeting lasted about an
hour, and Mr. Knox was presented to his
colleagues. No official confirmation has
been received of the reported rejection of
the Piatt amendment by the Cuban Con
stitutional Convention. The matter was
discussed, and It was considered strange
that General Wood had not communicated
that Important fact. If it were true.
The Cabinet gave some attention to the
subject of indemnity -to be required of
China. It being brought forward by Sec
retary Hay In connection with Mr. Rock
hill's dispatches received since the last
meeting. Great surprise was expressed at
the enormous total of the claims, which,
being all before the Ministers at Pekln.
approximate the vast sum of JSOO.OOO.OCO.
Moreover, at least one of the powers In
sists on keeping the account open until It
elects to withdraw entirely from Pekln
at a remote date to be fixed at Its own
will, thereby leaving the total of Its claim
to be Increased greatly hereafter. The
opinion of the other Cabinet offieers com
pletely accorded with that of Secretary
Hay an to the desirability of securing a
reduction of the claims.
G. W. CoIvIrt Appointed Consul.
On recommendation of Senator Mitchell,
of Oregon, the President has directed the
appointment of Hon. George W. Colvlg,
of Grant's Pass, Or., as United States
Consul at Barranqullla, Colombia. Mr.
Colvlg Is a lawyer, and was a member of
the State Legislature. For a number of
years he was a member of the State
Railroad Commission In Oregon.
Senator. Mitchell Improved.
Senator Mitchell's condition Is much Im
proved this afternoon, and with returning
appetite he seems to be gaining strength.
He Is still confined to his bed, however,
and Is not allowed to receive any callers.
His daughter, Mrs. Helmboldt, who has
been with him during his illness, is suf
fering from an acute attack of tonsllitls.
Commissioner Hermann Is also suffer
ing from this popular malady, but Is able
to appear at his desk every day.
Prise Money for Sampion.
The United States Court of Claims has
rendered a judgment In favor of Admiral
Sampson for $3330 as a bounty growing
out of the engagements at Manzanillo and
Nlpa Bay, In Cuba, during the Spanish
American War. The court also rendered
a judgment In favor of Fleet Captain
Chadwlck. who participated in these en
gagements. Short-Term Bond Offered.
Secretary of the Treasury Gage today
received an offer of $1,000,000 short-term
bonds from New York. The price was
higher than he was willing to pay, and
he therefore rejected the offer.
The Goldsborongh's Run.
So far as the standardizing trial goes,
the torpedo-boat Goldsborough Is believed
to have broken all American records. A
dispatch received at the Navy Department
from Lieutenant-Commander Peters, of
the naval trial board, dated Seattle yes
terday, reads:
"Goldsborough standardizing trials com
pleted today over measured mile; average
speed 30.84 knots. Official trial probably
Thursday."
The standardizing trials are over shorter
distances than the regular official speed
trials, which require the boats to run
steadily for two hours.
Governor Allen Entertained.
The President and Mrs. McKInley enter
tained at dinner tonight Governor Allen,
of Porto Rico, and Mrs. -tllert. Other
Invited guests to meet them Included Sec
retary and Mrs. Wilson, Mnjor-Generals
Corbln and Young, and the latter's aids.
Captains Howard and Smedburg, and
Misses Hitchcock, Phelps and Hanna.
An Act of Courtesy.
Philadelphia Bulletin.
The Administration has performed a
graceful act In ordering Admiral Remey,
of the Asiatic station, to send a first-class
warship to Melbourne to represent Ameri
can good will at the opening of the Par
liament of the new federated Australian
commonwealth next month. The pres
ence of the cruiser New York will be a
significant token of the Interest which
Intelligent Americans feel In the birth
of what is virtually a separate nationality
at the antipodes. The Australians start
out under favorable auspices, for they al
ready possesses several important cities,
with flourishing domestic Industries, a
high per capita average of wealth, and
a population of at least 3,000,000, while
there Is ample opportunity for growth and
development on their great Island, which
is almost entitled to be called a conti
nent It would not be surprising if his
torians 50 years hence should refer to
the ceremony which takes place In Map
as an event of distinct Importance In
the annals of civilized mankind.
Relief From Atrulnaldo.
Letter In New York Sun.
Take a piece of paper and write upon It
the number representing your age In
years, multiply by two, add 3S0O, divide
by two, then subtract the number repre
senting your age, and you will have some
thing before your eyes that you will never
see again.
Forced by Onr Heroes.
New Haven Register.
We cannot condemn General Funston
and Immortalize Nathan Hale.
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGItAPHERS
"Then what Is your reason for marrying
her?" "I have no reason. I'm In love."
Philadelphia Times.
Accounted For. "The Blmbersons keep a
butler now." "Is that so? I've been wonder
ing why the old man hates to go home to
meal3 lately." Chicago Record-Herald.
Love In a Cottage. Yoane Husband Urn!
"What are thesKS, my dear? Wife Those are
apple dumplings. Husband Er my love,
didn't you er dump them a Uttle too often?
New York "Weekly.
Magazine Editor But, my dear madame. I
have merely attempted to give you, in the
kindliest spirit, a few hints on meter and con
struction. "Well. I wouldn't have such a
mean disposition as you hare tor a thousand
dollars!" Life.
Lady Passenger Do you know. Captain, I
have never been able to understand how you
find your way across the ocean. Captain
'Why. by the compass. The needle always
points to the north. Lady Passenger Yes, I
know. But supposing you want to go south?
Glasgow Evening Times.
Mrs. "Mulcahy Mike Mutdoon come home
drunk again last night. O worra. but It must
be hard for Mrs. Muldoon. Mrs. Kllduffy
Dlvll a bit. The Muldoons belong to the
shmart set, and the drunker Mike gets the
prouder they are of thlmselvea. Boston Tran
script. "Well, thafs enough to try the patience of
Job," exclaimed the Village minister, as he
threw aside the local paper. "Why. what's
the matter, dear?" asked hi wire. "Last
Sunday I preached from the text, 'Be ye
therefore steadfast,' " answered the good man.
"but the printer makes It read. 'Be ye there
for breakfast.' "Glasgow Evening Times.
A Living Saint. First Cook (on Easter Sun
day) There goes that pious Olleen Fogarty,
an she's a Christian If Iver there wor wan.
Did yes hear av th' turrlble plnance she Im
posed on hersllf durin' Lint? Second Cook
Ol did not. Phwat wor It? First Cook She
took a situation lrtLonesomhurst lasht Ash
Wlnsday, an shtuckt' It for th' hull forthy
NOTE AND COMMENT.
April's smile has developed Into a broad
grin.
I When a Russian Is in doubt he takest a
shot at the Czar.
The rumor of Agulnaldo's death Is now
circulating In the camps of the Filipinos.
Kitchener has taken the Boer Capital
but Dewet continues to draw the Interest.
Emperor William might not have made
that last speech If he had known It was;
loaded.
Spring fiction Is now flourishing. The
trout fishermen are whipping their favor-.
He streams.
The patentee of the cyclone cellar ought
to be able to do a good business with
European rulers.
What time Kruger gets oft from hi
occupation of dying he devotes to renew
ing promises to visit the United States.
I'd like to be Fred Funston.
And in Manila stand.
And hear the girls aay on the street,
Well, Isn't he Just grand?"
If Mr. Carnegie has any of It left after
establishing a national theater ho might
try his luck with a national racing sta
ble. "What time the sun the morning sky dyes red.
The tender Infant gets Into hla head
The notion that It's up to him to get
The family aroused and out of bed.
It Is a little auleter In Kentucky than
usual, but there have been no reports of
failures of dealers In arms and ammu
nition up to date. ,
Agulnaldo says he does not want public
office In America. He Is probably afraid
some one will get hold of him and mako
him Vice-President
Now doth the happy urchin
Drain life's most Joyou3 cup.
As from the yard ha watches
up.
go
kite
His ' '
There Is trouble and care In the dull Today,
But there never to time to sigh,
For we all must Journey, away, away
To the Country of Bye and Bye,
"Where the Things to Do will all oe Done,
And the toll and care will cease
And the Prizes to Win will be fatrl -won.
And the nights bring Content und yeace-
Oh! the way Is long and the hills .ire .teep.
Through the Country of Dull Tod.y.
But there never Is time to sit and wttp. .
For we still must Journey aara
At ay from the Town of Long Ago,
And out of the City of Now.
Though the thunder rolls and the tempestsblow
Trom the rugged mountain's orow.
Away over river and hill and plain,
Though .rouble attend the way,
. ud there be no shelter from wind and rain.
Ip the Country of Dull Today,
Y.'hen the sun shall sink In tne painted west
And his glory fiU the sky.
We know we shall And the Night of Rest
In th- Ci entry of Bye and Bye.
If the present sunshiny' weather shall
continue many days longer there Is grave
danger that the channel of Washington
street between Sixteenth and Twenty
third will become so shallow that many
wicked reefs will be exposed. As
It is not in the nature of things for the
rain to continue forever, even In Oregon,
the Chamber of Commerce, ther City
Council or some other body should take
action looking to buoying these reefs and
establishing Hfe-savlng stations along
the shore near the most dangerous ones.
The Oregonlan has called attention to
this serious state of affairs more than
once, and It again utters the voice of
warnlpg. Thus far the water has fallan
rapidly, and navigation hag closed ,so
early that there have been no accidents,
but In the case of a gradual subsidence
trouble Is sure to ensue-
If any citizen thinks there is nothing
In a name he can derive valuable In
formation from a brief consultation with
Plon. Jacob Kamm, of the Lewis River
Transportation Company. Mr. Kamm at
tached the opltmlstlc appellation of Mas
cot to one of his Lewis River steamers,
and from the time she left the cradlo
some unerring Instinct has led her
through the densest fogs to the calami
tous neighborhood of other boats, or plied
her up on bars whose existence has
been hitherto unknown. Monday she
left the ways where the result of one
of her previous exploits was being miti
gated, and In the night she sank, pre
sumably with the weight of her unfor
tunate name. Mr. Kamm Is going to
build some more steamers this Summer,
but he will not call any of them Mas
cot The fire demon attempted to got in
his deadly work on an Eastern Oregon
town the other day, but the fire laddies
were too much for him, and his final
finish occurred when the esteemed con
temporary of that place paid its respects
to him as follows:
Last Saturday afternoon at about S o'clock
the wild ringing of the flro bell threw our citi
zens into a freny of excltemerrt. The resi
dence of F. M. Dial. Jirough"' aro defect la
the flue, had caught flm between the celling
and the roof, and waa already enveloped In
smoke and flames. The flr company, sum
moned by the bell, were rushing toward tha
scene of the Are ere many seconds had elapsed,
and they soon had two large hose playing ft
steady stream upon the house. Th fire had
made considerable headway when discovered,
but. In eplte of the amoke and heat, which
was Intense, the house was soon- covered with
men, desperately lighting the Are, which soon
gave way under the perfect deluge of waUr
from hose and buckets. It was & gallant flght
made by the Are company, and they deserva
unstinted praise for tha veteran-like manner
In which they combatted the "Are demon."
The spirited efforts of "our citizens,"
even though prompted by a frenzy of ex
citement, are tame when lined up along
side the graphic description of ye ed
itor. Judging by the wild ringing of the
fire bell as It peals from the burning
page of the writer, and the desperate
fight of the men who covered the house,
It would appear that the chronicler waa
steeped In something of a frenzy himself.
r
A Comparison of Conditions.
Washington Star.
I used to get dlsgruntled-llke toward Pohick on
the Crick,
I thought that luck had served me an uncom
mon low-down trick;
I'd heard about how splendid European moa
archs are,
I longed to ba a- monarch, an especially a
Czar.
But now I'm getln wiser, an I say It loud
an' plain.
That I like thto ol spring wason better than
an armored train;
An this here faithful hat o mlne, whoso brlnx
Is breakln' down.
Gives me a heap mora comfort than a fourteen-
karat crown.
I'd hate to wear a suit o' mall; they've gona
clean out o' style.
It's tough to do your dres3ln with a monkey
wrench an' Ale.
An' when our new alarm clock hadn't been
adjusted right
An' went off unexpected, why I'd simply die
o' fright.
An them courtly ceremonies which a sover
eign enjoys.
They'd leave no time at all fur swapptn'
hosses with the boys.
Nor stttln here upon the fence an whlttlln
of a stick
I bet the Czar u'd like to live at Pohlck oil
the Crick.