THE ;MOT?yryq nireopNTAN. MONDAY, APRIL 15, 1001.
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TODAY'S WEATHER Fair, -with probably
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PORTLAND, MOXDAT, APRIL 15.
THE ANTI IN ETHNOLOGY.
What the anti is he doubtless cannot
help. Who n change his tempera
ment? The man that is for silver
when the world is running after the
gold standard, the man whom social
ism irresistibly draws in aa age whose
individualism forms its proudest boast
this man, be sure, will mistrust the
progress and outreaching of his race
and country. He will grieve at the
bad effects of its institutions at home,
and at the same time tremble lest ex
pansion may destroy those same Insti
tutions with all their mischief. When
he looks about him he will see how
unfit our standards are to make a great
and good people, but when he contem
plates '"empire" he fears lest those
standards may be changed.
To such a man and Professor Ross,
of Nebraska, and late of Stanford, is
his typical representative political and
social science becomes a mere tool to
work with. Its truth Is not an end
to covet, but its phenomena afford
him mere testimony to be twisted to
a predetermined plan. The end sought
in this case, as Professor Ross distinct
ly shows in his Philadelphia address,
is the discredit of Anglo-Saxon expan
sion, and he seeks that discredit in
two ways climatic and economic. Os-
tenslblv rtrnlnrln'r -"fho oancoo nt A
superiority." Sir. Ross is in reality try-
ing to show that we shall fall In the
Philippines. This is the key to his
labyrinth of apparently ingenuous in
quiry, this is the goal to which all his
wanderings tend. -
We shall fall in the Philippines, he
wishes to convey, because we cannot
live in the tropics except as we make
slaves of their native populations.
This, of course, is mere Bryanism, em
bellished with academic trimmings. It
is the old cry about throttling liberty
and making subjects of the Filipinos.
It is sufficient to -say, perhaps, that
our rule Is undergoing establishment
in the archipelago without any slave
system, and that our people seem
able to live and get along there as
well as the Dutch do in the East Indies
or the British in India and Egypt.
The other reason upon which Mr.
Ross seems to rely for discredit of Pa
cific expansion is that in the acquisi
tive capacity we are at a disadvan
tage with the Jew and the Chinaman.
He reasons that we shall be worsted
by them in the tropics because they
have been in trade longer than we
have. The extremity of his position is
discovered in his desperate recourse to
the Jew to support the obviously -weak
menace of the .Chinese. How clever
the Jew isiin driving a bargain makes
very little difference in the expansion
situation, unless Mr. Ross can show
that the French or German Jew is su
perior to the American Jew, which he
will hardly attempt, and certainly not
successfully.
As for his indorsement of the igno
Tant superstition of the "yellow peril,"
it is a humiliating thing to come out
of American university life. The polit
ical economists of our sand lots and sil
ver mines have offered the country, In
the name of the Pacific Coast, no more
senseless doctrine than this fear of Chi
nese and Japanese conquest of our in
dustries. It is almost ten years now
since Japan began her manufacturing
activity which was to undersell and
displace our factories. She buys more
of us today than she sells us, and is
even now willing and anxious to buy
more than she can pay for. Nothing
is more absurd than the idea that a
race of serVile imitators can ever dis
tance the race from which it derives
its models and its methods.
Chinese conquest of Western Indus
try Is as baseless a dream as Chinese
military conquest of Europe. As a
popular superstition it would long ago
have died out, except for two agencies
the temperamental anti, to whom
everything that is is wrong, and the
bold buccaneer of politics, who Is con
tinually girding on his sword to pro
tect American labor.
An impression prevails somewhat
widely in political circles of Europe
that the Kaiser's health is falling
through the constitutional troubles
that at times have been plainly appar
ent throughout his life, and that he Is
breaking down mentally. His mood
since the late attack upon his life has
been altogether strange. Sis latest de
vice for protection against any missile
that may be hurled at him by imbe
ciles or anarchists is to strengthen the
imperial coach by sheet armor on the
inside, concealed by upholstery. His
bodyguard is warned to double dili
gence, and is under orders to run any
person through who is found loitering
susplciously near the imperial carriage.
He has made it plainly understood that
he has confidence no longer in the com
mon people, and that he looks entirely
to the military for protection. Nicho
las of Russia could scarcely be in. a
worse strait than this, but, being a
very different kind of man, he conceals
his fears and his resentment from the
public, and trusts to his bodyguard for
protection without railing against his
people because such protection 13 neces
sary. Both monarchs are, i we are to
trust to reports, on the verge of ner
vous collapse, and whispers of a re
gency are heard in both realms. There
Is, of course, much of unverified rumor
In all of these reports. There is suffi
cient truth in them, however, to justify
the probability that neither Nicholas
nor William will die in his bod from
natural causes, and that neither will
have a. long reign. The very essence
of anarchistic folly is In the murderous
purpose that shadows these rulers, since
each upon his death will be instantly
succeeded by his heir and the policy
of the government will be unchanged.
except as the necessity of putting rtuwn
anarchy and forestalling revolution
may render it more rigorous.
ANOTHER BLOW AT THE SAILER.
The doom of the sailing vessel has
been predicted so often in this age of
steam that we are gradually becoming
accustomed to the withdrawal of the
white-winged argosies of trade from
the ocean routes where they once held
full sway. The ugly, snub-nosed tramp
steamer is driving the symmetrical
clipper out of existence, and much of
the romance of the sea is going out
with it. There is a possibility, of
course, of a Renaissance of the sailer
at some remote period in the future,
when the coal mines are worked out
and we go back to first principles, but
now its glory is waning. Even the
mighty Lloyd's, an institution whose
connection with ships and the sea goes
back to a period when the navigator
"shaped the course before him by the
wake he threw behind," are "off with
the old love and on with the new."
For generations their snrvovnrs In
various parts of the. world havebeen
shipmasters whose practical training
in the service gave them perfect knowl
edge of the construction of a ship and
what was needed In the way of repairs
when she came Into port They were
not machinists, but were sailors and
navigators. The ocean tramp, how
ever, has at last churned his way into
favor with the owners, until the great
er portion of Lloyd's business comes
from the steamers. Last week Lloyd's
appointed as surveyor at Puget Sound
an engineer who has had charge of the
engine-room on one of the Oriental
liners running out of Puget Sound
ports.
Engineers, as a rule, take but little
Interest in the navigating end of a
ship, and the new appointee of Lloyd's
might make a mess of handling a sail
ing ship. The fact that "Lloyd's have
appointed him to look after their busi
ness on .fuget Sound Is a guarantee,
however, that he is familiar with the
business which the changed conditions
of ocean shipping now give that cor
poration. He may never have had the
pleasure of hanging on to the skysall
yard by his eyelids while the scuppers
are boiling below, but there are no
skysall yards on the modern steamer,
and knowledge regarding them would
be Iarelv superfluous, except in rare
cases,
Iron and steel are the successors of
wood and canvas in the construction of
ocean carriers, and it is more necessary
that a Lloyd's surveyor should know all
about engines, hollers, etc., than about
masts, sails and yards. The cost of a
steamer is about three times as great
as the cost of a sailer, and nearly all
or the expensive disasters to steamers
come from trouble In the engine-room.
The British engineers are all first
class machinists, and they not only
know how to repair their engines, but
their knowledge of steel and Iron en
ables them to determine just how
many bolts are needed in a certain
plate, angle or beam to secure the
greatest strength. They are thus
equipped to supervise repairs on the
hull as well as the machinery of a
steamer. The coalpasser, fireman and
deckhand have long ago supplanted the
"sailor of the sail," and the action of
Lloyd's In substituting engineers for
navigators as resident surveyors is the
latest and perhaps the greatest tribute
that has yet been paid to steam's as
cendency on the ocean wave.
THE VICE OP SELF-INDULGENCE.
The murderer, James G. Green, who,
after the aimless manner of the
drunken man, wandered to. the place
where his victim was spending a pleas
ant social evening in company that had
rejected association with him, shot
through a window and killed E. "V.
Benjamin, revealed at his trial the er
ratic mind by which his actions were
governed. Unable to bear the sight of
the grief of the woman who was made
a widow by his deed, he suddenly de
clared his guilt and his willingness to
be hanged without further delay. Re
penting this impulse after judicial ac
tion had been taken in accordance
therewith and he had been convicted
of murder in the first degree, he urged
his counsel to secure for him, if pos
sible, a new trial. Now sullen and
silent, and again lachrymose and pro
testing; now professing "himself ready
for death, and again 'clinging fran
tlcally to life, he presents to the pub
lic a spectacle at once pathetic and
contemptible of the wreck of a human
being in the treacherous,shalIowd of
self-indulgence. At one moment a ro
hust criminal, with nerve to commit a
most heinous crime and audacity to
confess "it; at another a cringing cow
ard, shrinking alike from witnessing
the grief that he has caused and from
just penalty, this man shows what a
libel upon responsible humanity a man
may become through falling in the
virtue of self-control.
The youth and young manhood of this
country have seldom had a more strik
ing object-lesson In the necessity of
cultivating this virtue than that given
by this passionate, impulsive, unlet
tered woodsman, who, possessing the
elements of a sturdy, honorable man
hood, industry, -natural kindness of
heart, capacity for affection, con
stancy, laid all upon the altar of self
indulgence and through the unholy
sacrifice became that shunned and de
spised creature, a man given to ex
cess in drinking and "ugly in his cups,"
and from thence by an easy step a
murderer.
In dealing with such a man after he
has come to this point In his career
there is no choice of methods. Tho law.
the exponent of public opinion, has pre
scribed the penalty, and, though hu
mane people may and do regard the
victim of self-indulgence with compas
sion, they da not -question its justice.
Nay, for humanity's sake they are
constrained to indorse this stern ac
counting, since the safety of the com
munity, already fatally infringed upon,
demands it.
SOCIALISM DEFINED.
Mr. R. A. Raver writes us from Prai
rie City:
Of late I see considerable said about social
Ism and socialists. As a constant reader of
The Morning Oregonlan, I would like to have
you explain, through the morning paper., what
socialism Is, and what socialists are trying to
accomplish.
No definition of socialism will satisfy
both Its friends and Its foes, and among
Its adherents it is very differently un
derstood and applied. There Is prob
ably no better general definition of so
cialism than that of Professor Ely:
Socialism is. that contemplated system of In
dustrial society which proposes the abolition
of private property in the great material In
struments of production, and the substitution
tnereror of collective property; and advocates
collective management of production, together
with the distribution of social Income by so
ciety, and private property In tho larger pro
portion of this social Income.
Yet every writer on socialism has his
own definition of socialism. A promi
nent encyclopedia, for example, calls the
present competitive system, which so
cialism aims to overthrow, "anarch
ical, a term which only socialists
would allow. Many socialists would
doubtless repudiate the last clause in
Professor Ely's definition, which con
templates private property in the in
comes received by individuals from the
Government. Socialism, as a practical
proposal, of course, also varies within
wide limits. Some go no further than
general opposition to private ownership
of land and productive plants. Some
go so far as the platform of the Social
Democratic party In 1900, which de
mands public ownership, not onlv of
rairoads, telegraphs, telephones, water
works, gas and electric plants and
public utilities generally, but also of all
mnes, oil and gas wells. Some go so
far as to advocate community of own
ership of all desirable things, including
women. The Adamites, for example
carrying socialism to an extremity of
logic, went naked and indulged pro
miscuous Intercourse, thus escaping
nfdre effectually than any of their
rival sects the trammels of classes and
private ownership.
The Oregonian's use of the term "so
cialism" In the articles to which Mr.
Raver alludes is probably peculiar to
Its columns, and should be explained.
What The Oregonlan usually has In
mind In its references to socialism Is
not a system of theory or a code of
practice, but a tendency of the time,
a growing, disposition to substitute
communism for Individualism, an in
creasing desire to use the state as a
vehicle for support of the thriftless by
levying upon the accumulation of the
thrifty, an Increasing antagonism to
the man who through patience, energy
and self-denial accumulates, and an In
creasing encouragement to the Incom
petent to rely upon society as a whole
for sustenance, and even entertainment.
Perhaps It is as well to reiterate that
to- all these manifestations of the so
cialistic tendency The Oregonlan Is Im
placably and unreservedly opposed.
The order of Nature Is survival of the
fittest, rule to the strong, possession.
In proportion to efrort.' Under that
order progress appears, but with that
order superseded hy an artificial sys
tem which denies to effort its adequate
reward, incentive to exertion disap
pears and progress' becomes impossible.
This Is the history of socialistic ven
tures, which have been scattered
through all places and times. The rise
of the socialistic spirit is the most dis
couraging phenomena of modern so
ciety.
PROGRESS OF THE GREAT WEST.
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in the
American Magazine of Useful and En
tertaining Knowledge in 1838:
The farmer who has left a good homestead
in New England to migrate to the Mississippi
Valley or anywhere else, on this side of
heaven; the fresh-cheeked youth who has
gone to find his grae in New Orleans; the
Yankees who have enlisted for Texas .
wflat are these, but a motley group of Aprli
fools?
The great West was a blank to New
England In 1838. Oregon was still joint
ly occupied by Great Britain and the
United States, and there were many
north and south of the Mason and
'Dixon line who did not consider It
worth saving for this country. Cali
fornia and Texas had not been won
from Mexico. The Mississippi Valley
was practically a wilderness. Illinois
made Its first appearance in census fig
ures of growth in 1820, with an increase
of 349.1 per cent in population in the
decade. Missouri returned an increase
of 219.3 per cent, and Louisiana of 99.8
per cent. In 1820-30 Illinois Increased
18514; per cent, and In 1830-40 202.4 per
cent. Missouri gained 111 per cent in
1820-30, and 173.2 In 1830-40. Louisiana
added 41.1 per cent In 1820-30, and 63.4
In 1830-40. No other section of the West
figured in the populationrtncreases until
1850, when Wisconsin reported a gain
of 886.9 p'er cent, and Iowa one of 345.8
per cent For over fifty years the
growth of the West has been tremen
dous. The tide of Immigration firct
sweptto the states east of the Missis
sippi, then over the river to Nebraska,
Iowa, Kansas and other states, and Is
now pushing its way over the moun
tains to the Pacific Coast.
The opening of the West, with Its
vast areas of fertile land available for
production on a large scale, ended the
career of New England as an agricul
tural district. Half of New England
Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont
saw its greatest increases In population
between 1790 and 1840; the other half
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Con
necticuthas been at Its best since
1840. Between 1790 and 1800 Maine In
creased 57.2 per cent, New Hampshire
29.5, and Vermont 80.8. These are their
greatest gains in the history of Ameri
can census-taking. Since 1850 they
have been almost at a standstill.
Maine's largest gain in any one decade
was 7.7 per cent in 1850-6Q, New Hamp
shire's 9.3 in 1890-1900, and Vermont's
4.9 In 1860-70. Maine and New Hamp
shire reported slight losses of popula
tion for the decade ended in 1870; and
Vermont's gains in 1860, 1880 and 1890
were imperceptible. Massachusetts,
Rhode Island and Connecticut, the
manufacturing states of New Eng
land, are growing as steadily as such
substantial Western commonwealths as
Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa.
The record increases of population
since 1850 have been made In the West.
In 1860 Minnesota was the banner 3tale
with 2730.7 per cent, California second
with 310.3 per cent, and Oregon third
with 294.7 per cent. In 1870 Nevada
took the lead with 519 per cent, Dakota
in 1880 with 734.5 per cent, Washington
In 1890 with 3G5.1 per cent; Idaho, of
the strictly Western States, led in 1900
with 91.7 per cent. In 1840 the center
of population in the United States was
16 miles south of Clarksburg, W. Va.,
and In 1900 4 miles west of Columbus,
Ind. Between 1840 and 1900 the center
of population moved westward 299
miles. The longest march was 81 miles
between 1850 and 1860, and the smallest
15 miles between 1890 and 1900. When
the manufacturing Interests of what Is
really the West that part of the coun
try west of the Mississippi are con
ducted on as large a scale as they are
on the Atlantic seaboard, the geo
graphical distribution of population
Will he more even, and the center of
population will move to a point near
the geographical center of the country.
A large number of residents of Wal
lowa County have jdified in a petition
to the Secretary of the Interior, ask
ing that official to confine the Indians
of that section of the state to their
reservations. Farmers and stockmen
who have lived where Indians are per
mitted to roam the country at will can
readily understand the nuisance of
which complaint is made in this peti
tion. The reservation lands are ample
for all purposes and pursuits In which
Indians in close touch with civilized
life may lawfully and profitably en
gage. That reservation Indians, wan
dering about in bands, are "generally
obnoxious and burdensome to settlers"
Is a statement the truth of which is
beyond dispute. The simple fact Is
they cannot be otherwise. Their native
Instincts of hunting and fishing set
fish and game laws, at defiance, while
their disposition to drink, carouse and
fight render them anything but safe or
pleasant visitors. The Government,
having undertaken to confine the In
dians to certain liberal allotments of
land, and to make to a degree respon
sible residents out of them, should
keep them within the prescribed lim
its, If for no other reason than that
they may understand that the nomadic
lives to Which they have been accus
tomed are contrary to the practices of
civilization, and are not conformable
with Industrial pursuits. Settlers in
Wallowa County are entitled to the re
lief craved in their petition, and It may
be hoped that It will be granted with
out needless delay.
A suggestion of real benefit to the
stockralsers of easterrr sections of the
state is the visit now in progress of
an ageht of the Department of Agricul
ture for the purpose of studying the
poisonous plants Indigenous to that re
gion. The object Is primarily to lo
cate these plants, and then to find, If
possible, antidotes to these special poi
sons, to the end that stockmen may
be able. to minimize their, losses from
this cause. Knowledge in this, as in
other things, is power, and while from
the exigencies of the case owners of
stock have found for themselves some
remedies for plant-poisoning, they will
be grateful for Instruction based upon
a wider knowledge of the nature and
treatment of plant poisons.
A statement derived from the Naval
Intelligence Office ranks the 'United
States fourth o'n the list ofnaval pow
ers on the following tonnage compari
son: Ships.
Tons.
1,705,410
714,100
500,580
550,070
447,840
250,870
Great Britain .....G4Q
France 423
Russia 322
United States 153
Germany 253
Japan ,....138
The statement Is added that these
figures Include shlp3 that are in course
of construction, as well as those al
ready afloat. The newness of the
American Navy, which has been con
structed in the last seventeen years,
gives It an advantage which tabular
statements do not emphasize.
r
Ex-Judge George L. Christian, of
Richmond, Va., one of the best-known
and ablest men In the city, failed to
secure a nomination as delegate to
the Constitutional Convention, stand
ing eleventh on a ticket of fifteen. This
weakness is attributed entirely to the
fact that. Judge Christian employs a
negro stenographer. This Issue was
made on him In all parts of the city.
In some sections wagons bearing the
placard, "If you want a negro stenog
rapher, vote for Qeorge L. Christian,"
were drlVen along the streetB, and es
pecially near the voting-booths.
Ten years ago there were only three
railroad companies in the United States,
with an outstanding stock capital ex
ceeding $100,000,000 the Atchison, the
Pennsylvania and the Southern Pacific
and their stock issues did not sever
ally rise far above that figure. Now
a dozen railroad companies can be
named whose capital stock amounts
to $100,000,000 or more, and three of
them go above the $200,000,000 mark
the Union Pacific, with $296,000,000; the
Pennsylvania, with $251,000,000, and the
Atchison, with $216,000,000.
They can get up some very ingenious
and pretentious arraignments In Porto
Rico of American rule; but when there
Is danger of. Governor Allen's leaving,
panic seizes them and all hands join
in earnest protest to Washington. The
arraignments apparently are to be un
derstood in a sense purely Pickwickian
and anti-imperialistic.
The Farmers' National Bank of Ver
gennes, Vt, has failed through pecu
lations and speculations of its trusted
cashier. The mischievous results of
these Western towns' boom movements
deserve, as they will doubtless receive,
the able and dispassionate attention of
the New England press.
, E-Secretary Herbert pronounces the
fifteenth amendment and universal suf
frage the "19th-century mistakes of the
Republic." Emancipation doubtless
has its seamy side, but we trust the
full text of Mr. Herbert's address rec
ognizes slavery as at least a mitigat
ing circumstance.
Russia requires some $90,000,000 to as
suage her grief over Chinese outbreaks
in Manchuria. Wonder what the credit
entry is for the 3000 coolies drowned ih
the Amoor?
Massachusetts has more Inhabitants
than the other five New England States.
The figures for Massachusetts are
2,805,346; for the other five, 2,786,604.
We Infer from Mr. D, B. Hill's latest
utterance that no billion-dollar corpora
tion has as yet engaged him as chief
counsel.
SOME ALASKA N COMPLAINTS
San Francisco Call.
Among the memoranda published In
connection with the report just issued by
the Treasury Department at "Washington
upon the salmon fisheries of Alaska there
are a number of letters from Alaskan na
tives urging reforms. Some of these are
sufficiently curious to be of general Inter
est, as they throw illuminating side lights
upon pertain minor problems of the coun
try and its people.
Several of the letters urge the Gov-
eminent to have the fisheries closed on
Sunday, so that they may "lead Chris
tian lives and keep the Sabbath day
holy." "One of the writers, who says his
letter "was written In the public of this
community," Informs the Government of
ficial: "The first thing I want to say Is
this, that all the people whose attention
has been called to the fishing business
have been working on Sundays since the
United .States law was changed. God
has done all His work during six days,
and on tha seventh day He did rest; and,
therefore, we are to follow His Com
mandments, as long as he puts us in ex
istence. We had an opportunity to do all
our work (Is needed to be done) during
tha six days, according to the law. You
saw. .most of the people fishing on Sun
day when you came up in Alaska last
Summer. Almost three-thirds of them do
not want to be in the same condition, be
cause they have tested the law of God
and are obeying Him."
It will be noted that the letter shows,
for an Indian, remarkably good command
of English Such deviations from the
conventional English of our time as oc
cur are quaintness rather than errors. In
Its essence that letter, written "in the
public of this community" (Saxman,
Alaska) Is about as good as could be pre
pared at a public meeting at any village
In the United States. The subject of
complaint is a curious one. for A. D.
Harlan, special agent of the Government,
to whom i-was addressed, says in his re
port: "Wherever I went there were In
dians pleading with mo to use my influ
ence to have the closed day changed from
Saturday to Sunday so that they would
not be required to break the fourth com
mandment. All the cannery superinten
dents, except one, in Southeastern Alaska
said that they thought the elosed day
should be Sunday, and that they did not
know why Saturday was ever made the
closed day."
Another thing of which the natives com
plain is the destruction of fish. One writer
says: "We want you 'to mention this In
the public that all the fish in Alaska Is
getting few year by year by the big
canneries are putting up throughout the
countries In the state. , All our people
would" have nothing to eat after the fish
Is gone from each stream In Alaska, as
we do not want too many fish boats send
.in one stream at a time. . . ,. Animals,
fish, fowl, gold and others are getting
few here In Alaska on account of big
crowd; therefore we -forbid too many per
sons to work at a certain place, especially
In a public property. As the people do
not want If their children starve to death
In a couple of years.'"
Another writes to complain that the or
ders of the Government officials are not
obeyed. He says: "I was write you up to
Wrangel to tell you all about the dam
across the stream. They not taking out
yet as will you told them. They cut on
top the lob about six Inches deep that
was all. I like to hear from you about
that case. You not going to do anything
tuol? Water hlght now. but the Balmon
can't go up the lake. I hoping you do
something with It."
Surely the Government can heed and
respond to complaints made with such
simple directness concerning matters
which, if trifling to us, are of great Im
portance to the Alaskan natives. There
Is no reason why the day of closing the
canneries should not be fixed for Sunday,
as the newly converted Christians desire,
nor is there any reason why we should
not protect the fisheries and compel
obedience to law.
THE STEEL COLOSSUS.
The Tariff Duties and Their Effect
on Prices.
New York "World.
What is the relation of American tariff
duties to the admittedly successful Inva
sion of European markets by American
manufactures of iron and steel?
The present tariff laws Impose these
specific duties: $4 per ton on imports of
foreign pig iron, $7 84 per ton on eteel
rails, $13 44 per ton on steel ship-plates.
On our entire Imports of Iron and steel
manufactures of every kind for the year
1899 the total value whereof was $12,607,340
duties amounting to $5,140,785 were col
lected. This gives us an average ad va
lorem duty on all foreign-made Iron and
steel goods of 43,58 per cent.
These duties are nearly prohibitive of
Iron and steel imports already, and their
tendency Is to' become absolutely so. This
is clearly shown by tho fact that within
20 years the United States has complete
ly reversed the figures of Its imports and
exports of iron and steel. In 1880 our Im
ports were valued at $71,266,699, our ex
ports at $14,716,524. In 1900 our imports
had sunk to $20,476,524, while our exports
had risen to $121,858,344. That Is to say,
we were Importing, 20 years ago, five
times as much iron and steel as we ex
ported, and today we are exporting six
times as much as we Import.
Manufactures of these two metals are
now the fourth item In the list of our
leading exports. Breadstuffs come flrBt
In value, raw cotton second, provision?,
meat and dairy products third and iron
and steel manufactures fourth.
This wonderful growth of our Iron and
steel exports Implies another fact-rthat
our huge steel trust is underselling the
European manufacturers In their own
markets. Consul-General Mason, writing
from Berlin, reports that, in spite of "a
freight of $4 to $4 50 per ton, American
iron can be landed at Belgian, Dutch or
German seaports for $20 per ton," and
that It Is "delivered at Amsterdam some
what cheaper than German furnace men
charge to customers at their very doors."
The Hamburger Fremdenblatt summed
up the situation In a recent article by
saying:
The steel manufacturers of the United States
today control tho markets of the world, dic
tate cither directly or Indirectly the prices of
steel In all countries, and have attained a po
sition to not only compete with the older
iron and steel-producing countries, but even
to profitably export their products to England.
.... The United States has begun to drive
England and Germany from the world's mar
kets, which may he oartly attributed to tha
fact that American firms are protected in their
own market from foreign competition, and can
thus sell their manufactures cheaper abroad
than at home.
For example, steel rails are sold about
$11 per ton cheaper to the English than
jlo the American buyer. Mr. Charles Thul
lin, a Pennsylvania contractor, recently
secured a contract to supply rails for
Russia's great Siberian railway. He asked
the leading steel trust companies here
for bids. They all asked him about $35
per ton, with freight to be added. Mr.
Thullln went over to 'England, sublet hl3
contract to an English Arm, and one of
the same companies that had asked him
$35 plus freight here sold the rails at $24 a
ton, delivered in England, to the English
subcontractors.
HoratlusKnippcr and His Loving Cup
Chicago Times-Herald.
He carried home the lovlns cup
Ills friends had given to him;
He heard his loving wife get up
A thrill went coursing through him.
He eat upon the lowest stair;
His darling calledt "Horatlusl"
And then beheld him sitting there.
And murmured: "Goodness gracious!"
He rose, and with his loving cup
Held fast began ascending,
The steep stairs, as he stumbled up,
"With one another blending.
She waited at the top for him;
Her pose was more than queenly;
The light within the hall was dim,
Tho babies slept serenely.
He reached her with his loving cup;
Who knows what thrills flashed through him?
Ah, when thoy swept the. pieces ut
' His hair was sticking to them.
AMUSEMENTS.
"The American Girl," a play crowded
full of craven villainy, oppressed virtue,
hard luck and the ever-recurring triumph
of the right, played to standing room at
COrdray's last night, and worked up the
gallery to such a pitch of excitement that
its safe distance from the stage was an
excellent thing for the villain. Incidental
ly, the Elleford Company, which present
ed it, was warmly welcomed, and could
not complain that their audience was lack
ing In enthusiasm or Inadequate means of
expressing It.
The story of the play Is a trifle compli
cated but a few words wIU suffice to give
an inkling of the persistence with which
a cruel fate dogs an unhappy heroine,
and the extent to which she is entitled
to congratulations for escaping It.
Her name is Jasmine, and she is a Vir
ginia girl who falls In love with a wan
dering second son of a titled English fam
ily, who has more education than pros
pects. Sampson Craft, a young Ylrglnia
man, who Is totally lacking In principle,
wants to marry Jasmine, but as she has
already secretly wedded to the second son
the thing is not practicable. Moreover,
Jasmine doesn't .want him. A "busted"
theatrical manager and a servant girl
with musical propensities are thrown In
to complicate the plot and add a spice of
comedy. Fate sends thft second son to
England to chase down a rather slim
clew to an Inheritance, and he becomes
lost In the shuffle. Jasmine follows, with
her two children. So does the theatrical,
man; also the servant girl with the musi
cal gift. Presently the villain takes pas
sage for the same country. Having land
ed them all in England, fate proceeds to
"sick" the villain relentlessly on the hero
ine, but she escapes him, through the
timely assistance of the theatrical man
and the servant girl, who once or twice
come so near being too late that the situa
tion looks serious. Fate also keeps the
hero the second son away from his long
lost wife, but compensates him by hand
ing him a very tidy sum of stage money
and putting him next In line for the title
of his family. Although kept pretty busy
with these occupations, fate endeavors
In Its spare hours, to tear the children
from their mother, mixes the villain up
In a scheme to land the title for himself.
and finally seeing the hopelessness of cop
ing with patience and long suffering, gets
ashamed of himself, restores the husband
to his wife, gives the former his title, and
makes the villain feel sick. The situa
tions in the play are strong, and they
crop up at very frequent intervals, to
the obvious delight of the house. The
company was able to take care of them
all right, however, and, judging from the
applause, made a decided hit. Miss Jes
sie Norton, as Twister tha servant girl
and musician, contributed some good com
edy, and sang a couple of songs which
won for her two recalls. A. J. Watson,
as Ross Bolter, the theatrical man, caused
endless amusement by the humorous por
tion of his duties, and was loudly cheered
every time he turned up at the right time
and saved the day. Miss Adelaide Laird
made a handsome- Jasmine, and Frank
Wyman a very wicked villain-, while Carl
Berch as Devon, the second son. got con
siderable out of a small part. During
the evening two children, designated on
the programme as Evelyn and Baby Lil
lian, proved themselves to be very clever
youngsters by playing the part of Jas
mine's offspring with real Intelligence,
and doing a pretty song and dance to
gether. "An American Girl" will be the at
traction until Thursday night, when "Mrs.
Partington and Her Son Ike" will be
put on, with Mr. Elleford, who has not
yet appeared, as Mrs. 'Partington.
, "Peaceful Valley."
Sol Smith Russell's "Peaceful Valley"
was the bill presented by the Cooley
Company at the Metropolitan last night,
with Frank Cooley In the t?rt of Hosea
Howe, made famous by Mr. Russell. One
cannot help admiring the courage of an
actor of Mr. Cooley's experience In under
taking such a part, and It Is unfortunate
for him that courage Is not the only
requisite for success In his profession.
However, he know . his lines, and read
them distinctly, and while he was not mis
taken for Russell by such of the audf
ence as were unacquainted with the com
pany, he succeeded in causing consider
able laughter, and exciting some ap
plause which was apparently genuine.
Miss Gladys Kingsbury, as Virginia
Rand, the New York young woman who
falls 'in love with Hoaea and removes the
barriers which have kept him blushing
unseen In the- little world of Peaceful
Valley, Infused considerable spirit into
"he scenes In which she participated. M
Rose Graves made a serious, earnest
Mrs. Howe, Ward Andrews appeared to
be sufficiently rascally as portrayed by
Hamilton Armour, and the rest of the
cast were all on hand and ready to enter
when the clarion voices of those on the
stage gave them their cues.
Same bill all the week.
Mr. Nelll Glad He Came.
James Nelll, who with his company will
open an engagement at the Marquam to
night, arrived In Portland with his com
pany yesterday, and spent the day enjoy
ing the magnificent weather April keeps
in stock for especially favored visitors.
Mr. Neilf says he Is glad to get to Port
land, as ho feels he Is among friends
here, and he likes to play to Marquam
audiences. The plays he has this season
he believes to be the strongest he has
yet presented, and he hopes that Portland
playgoers will support his Judgment.
Broke Sunday Performance Law.
NEW YORK. April 14. Dan Daly, De
Wolf Hopper and William A. Brady were
arrested in this city, charged with vlo.
latlon of the penal code In connection
with giving theatrical performances on
Sunday. The men are charged with hav
ing produced a burlesque on "Uncle Tom's
Cabin," at a vaudeville performance at
the Academy of Music. All three were
released on bail.
A Flower PIcUer.
Ex-Secretary Morton's Conservative.
General Funston, who has just plucked
Agulnaldo from the cluster of Philippine
leaders, was commissioned in 1S93 a spe
cial agent of the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture to Investigate the
flora and fauna of Alaska, and made up
a very beautiful herbarium from the flow
ers of that far-away territory. He now
adds to the collection of botanical curios
the blooming Agulnaldo. The Secretary
of Agriculture who appointed Funston
had no idea that he would gather speci
mens with sword and gun.
Doing BnNlncas at Heavy Loss.
Washington Poat.
The Government will never get rich by
engaging In the ship brokerage business.
At tho beginning of the war with Spain
it paid $1,292,000 for five vessels which
were offered by private patriots. Since
then it has been able to sell these same
ehips for the sum of $710,900. A simple
arithmetical process shows Uncle Sam to
be loser to the extent of $582,000. It may
be that the gentlemen who did the pur
chasing for the Government were alto
gether too anxious and overestimated our
danger.
To a Bookworm.
John H. Flnley in the Century.
O gentle worm, most wise,, though oft de
nounced a pest.
Who didst the pagc3 of the ancients' books In
fest. Their contents chew upon and Inwardly di
gest, I envy thee when o'er thy course I look.
For 'twlxt the vellum walls of some sweet
classic tome,
'Mid leaves Ink-scented, thou didst have thy
cloistered home.
All margined round with virgin fields In which
to roam
Whene'er thou caredst to .leave thy lettered
nook,
And when thou'dst riddled thy lost line, O
Ptnldus,
What happy destiny was thine, denied to us.
To lay thy sapient bones n such sarcophagus,
And be forever burled in a book I
NOTE AND COMMENT.
Any agreement made by the twine trust
will of course be binding.
McKinley hasn't time to visit Astoria
and her natural advantages will have to
blush unseen awhile longer.
The legend that a clear Easter will be
followed by seven similar Sundays seems
to be in process of verification.
Agulnaldo should be severely punished.
In fact, Mary Johnston ought to make
him the hero of a historical novnl.
They are beginning to And out who Is
to blame for the late bonfire at Leaven
worth. Mrs. Nation can prove an alibi.
President McKinley cannot hold hl3 Job
as long as Emperor William, but ha
doesn't lose as much time dodging scrap
iron.
With Oom Paul and Agulnaldo both due
In this country,, the Pan-AmerIcan Expo
sition will not lack for Midway attrac
tions The guide who attempted to lead an
American party Into a Filipino ambush
had evidently been reading about General'
Fuuston.
Dr. Parkhurst calls the voters In New
York "sheep." This Is probably beoauao
the voters say "bah" when they think
of Dr. Parkhurst.
A few thousand dollars' worth of dyna
mite destroyed the reHult of Hobsonfs ex
ploit. Would that we could get off as
cheap with the result of Funston's.
Richmond P. Hobson, the naval con
structor who sank the Merrimac in tho
entrance of Santiago harbor and gave os
culation a stimulus for awhile, is now a
Captain Instead of a Lieutenant, but ho
doe3 not draw a Naval Captain's pay,
which Is $1500. Mr. Hobson receives J320O.
and under the rules of the Construction
Bureau his pay will be increased $200 a
year every Ave years he remains in active
service. When he came to Washington
from his Alabama home soma days ago
he traveled with Judge Griggs, a Georgia
Congressman.
"All during the trip," said Mr. Griggs,
"people, knowing I was Just a common
Congressman, dame to me and begged me
to Introduce them to the hero."
The Egyptian Gazette of March 11 con
tains an account of a meeting of Brlttaht
and American citizens held at Cairo for
the purpose of raising a fund to astab
Hsh an Anglo-American hospital In that
city. Judge J. S. Long, who represents the
United States In Cairo, presided at the
meeting, and the address was made by
Lord Cromer, who, after alluding to tho
growing friendship between the citizens of
the two nations, made a strong appeal for
united action looking to the establishment
of a hospital where afflicted sons of eith
er land may be cared for. About
10,000 is required to start the hospital,
of which over 7500 has been subscribed
conditionally, and it is expected that tho
remainder will be made up by subscription
In England and America.
Augustus Hare tells an amusing story
of one of his visits to Rome. He had con
voyed his little fiock, which Included at
least one live Princet through the patace
of the Caesars and had gathered them
near the Forum, when he observed a
stranger who had attached himself to tho
party "looking more and more angry
every minute." At length this Interloper
could stand Mr. Hare no longer. He burst
forth In denunciations.
"All that this person ha5 been telling,
you," he informed the party In a loud
voice, "about the palace of the Caesars.
he has had the effrontery to relate to you
as If it were his own. You will be as
tonished, gentlemen and ladles to hear
that It s taken word for word word for
word, without the slightest acknowledg
mentfrom Mr. Hare's 'Walks In
Rome.' "
"All I said," says Mr. Hare, wast 'Oh,
I am so much obliged to you. I did not
know there was anybody In the world
who would defend by interests so kindly.
I am Augustus Hare."
It was a magnificent moment.
The death of Rev. John Samuel Slde
botham, the distinguished English church
man, which occurred recently, has awak
ened a flood of recollections- of hl3 ca
reer, relates a London correspondents
His work as editor of Crockf ord made him
a power in church circles, In which his
influence was well and wisely wielded.
His Ironic exhortations to those clergy
who were sinful enough to Ignore his
application for information always pro
vided entertaining reading; Indeed, the
genial editor himself must have enjoyed
writing those wonderful prefaces year'iby
year.
Sidebotham's physical bulk once led to
a rather funny incident. When he was
the guest of a well-known cathedral dig
nitary in the south the sons and daugh
ters of the host were JbrougKt, finely one
Into the drawing-room to be presented to
the visitor. Last of all came the youngest,
a little fellow of an Inquisitive turn. Evi
dently impressed with the vast propor
tions of the visitor the terrible infant
turned to his mother and Inquired:
"When the gentleman sits down does
he use two chairs?"
None present enjoyed the Joke more
keenly than the editor of Crockfords him
self. A WebMter Centenary.
The 100th anniversary of Daniel Web
ster's graduation from Dartmouth College
Is to be celebrated in that Institution on
September 21 and 23 next. The exercises
will Include speech-making on Webster's
college life and his character notably an
address by Representative S. W. McCall,
of Massachusetts a torchlight parade of
the students and the laying of the cor
ner stono of Webster hall. The alumni
of Dartmouth will participate In the cele
bration. t i
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHERSJ
His Advice. Artist Is there any advice you
could give me? EdHor Well, If I were you I
should try to work It oft on somebody else.
Puck.
Mrs. Snobbtngton We had meant to aall lng
before- this, really, but with the host inten
tions, somehow, wa always kept putting off
the evil day. TIt-BKs.
He Used Ice. First milk dealer Do you put
water in your milk? Second milk dealer Sir.
you Insult mot I use Ice not to dilute the
milk, but to make It cold. Ohio State Journal.
"Have you been through calculus?" inquired
the college professor. "Not Unless I passed
through at night on my way here," replied!
the new student. "I'm from Kansas, you
know." Philadelphia Record.
A Peril Gone By. "Thank goodness, Baster
Is over!" "Why so grateful?" "Oh, Harry
and I always go to church cross Easter morn
ing; he never likes my hat. and I never Ilka
his necktie." Brooklyn Life.
Miss Prye I can't abide Cousin Fanny j she's
so suspicious, you know." Aunt Hannah
Suspicious? Miss Prye Tes, a girt who will
cover up the keyhole of the parlor door when
she has company must be a terribly suspicious
person. Boston Transcript.
Cheoring. "You are sure you can support
my daushtar In the style to which sha has
been accustomed?" asked the Heavy Father.
"Sure," answered Our Hero. With thou assur
ance of youth. "Well, I'm glad to hoar It.
It's more than I can afford any longer." tn
dlunapolls Journal.