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

Morning Oregonian., May 10, 1901, Page 6, Image 6

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 10, 1901)

Prev Page of 12 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (7.0 MB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Prev Page of 12 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page TextTHE MOUSING OftEttOXIAN, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1901. fits tgjgomott. Entered at thePosioffice at Portland, Oregon. &e second-class matter. TELEP.HONES. Editorial Booms. ....166 J Business Office... C37 REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mail (postage prepaid), la Advance Dally, -with Sunday, per month..........-? S3 Daily, Sunday excepted, per year. 7 SO Daily, with Sunday. er year. 9 00 Sunday, per ear ....................... ..2 00 The Weekly, .per year ..................' 1 50 The "Weekly, 4f months .................. 00 To City Subscribers s2ally, per week, delivered, Sundays cxcepted.l5c Dally. per week, delUered. Sundays tncluded.20c POSTAGE RATES. - Tnited States, Canada and Mexico: 20 to 10-page paper....................... ...lc 20 to 32-page paper.-. .... ........... ........2c Foreign rates double. ' JCews or discussion Intended for publication Jn The Oregonlan should be addressed Invaria bly -'Editor The Oregonlan," not to the name of any individual. Letters relating to advertis ing, subscriptions or to any business matter should be addressed simply '"The Oregonlan." The Oregonlan does not buy poems or stories Irom Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any Ynnnuscrlpts 6ent to It without solici tation. Ko stamps should be inclosed lor this purpose. Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson, office at 1111 Pacific avenue, Tacoma. Box 855, Tacoma Postoffice. Eastern Business Office?. 48. 49 and 69 Tribune building, New Tork City; -4C9 "The Eookery," Chicago; the S. C. Beckwlth special egency. Eastern representative. For sale In San Francisco by J. K. Cooper. 746 Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Gold smith Bros., 230 Sutter street; F. W. Pitts, 2008 Market street; Foster & Orear, Ferry news stand. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F Gardner. 259 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines. 106 So Spring street. For Bale In Chicago by the F. O. News Co.. 217 Dearborn street. For sale In Omaha by Barkalow Bros., 1612 Farnham street. For sale In Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co , 77 W. Second South street. For sale in Ogden by W. C. Kind, 204 Twenty-fifth street. On file in Washington, D. C.. with A. "W. Dunn, 500 14th N. W, On file at Buffalo. N. T., in the Oregon ex hibit at the exposition. For sale In Denc. Colo., by Hamilton & Xendrick, 006-012 Seventh street. TODAY'S WEATHER. Probably fair, with lariable winds. rORTLAXP, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1001. A GOOD BEGIXXIlVG. We have done with legislative char ters, and "the people" have the floor. That is to say, instead of a star cham ber court of fifteen or twenty members cf a delegation, Mr. Joe Teal's commit tee, through Mr. Devlin's subcommittee of seven, at w,hich a quorum generally manages to be present, is drafting a charter" which will in due time be sub mitted to a vote of the people. The peo ple can vote on it as a whole, and the subsequent Legislature can vote on It as a whole, power to amend in any de tail being specifically forbidden by the enabling act Mr. Devlin is an official of experience, and has both read and written on the subject of municipal re f urra. Mr. Ladd has served in the Leg islature. If any other members of the cummittee liave had any extended ex perience in the construction of charters, we have not heard of it. This is not to condemn the charter in advance, which promises well, but it is merely to point out that the Idea of "the people" framing a charter is a humbug of the first water. A few dom inant minds will do the work, and the masses, as in the case of Legislative charters, form a background, uncon sulted, Inactive, consenting or disap proving a.s they shall be played upon by skillful agitators, whether public spirited or self-seeking. We shall not have a Simon charter or a Northup charter, but we shall have, let us say, a Devlin charter. And Mr. Devlin'3 may be better than any we nave had" hitherto. He knows a good deal, and he means the best In the world. His associates are energetic persons, sin cerely desirous of making their work successful and creditable. And that is half the battle,. Every modern charter, honestly drawn. Is the resultant of two forces theory warring with experience. To concentrate power and therefore re sponsibility in the Mayor is Ideally de sirable, but when we think of Van "Wyck and Pennoyer. we draw back. Commissions built up within the mu nicipal body, responsible to noone and se lf-perpetuative. revolt us; but wher we contemplate the record of the "Water Committee and the Port of Portland, we hesitate to disturb them. The signal serices of Controller Coler in New York are reflected in the demand for a Controller here. Portland's new char ter, if it is ratified, therefore, will be merely the adaptation of approved the ories to local conditions, and probably the diversions from authoritative rules will outnumber the conformities. The committee's work, so far as out lined, seems to deserve almost unquali fied approval Separation of municipal from political elections has, long been desired by ell except party machines There is no objection to graded terms 1 -r Councilmen, and the device of Coun-cilmen-at-Large is well worth trying as an effort to improve the quality of our Aldermen. Administrative officers In charge of work for which the Mayor is naturally responsible, such as fire and police management, should, of course, be subject to his removal. If there Is to be an source of power in the municipal cabinet, independent of the Mayor, it may well reside in the accounting and auditing department. For this a Controller is proposed, an office whose functions are in some cities satisfactorily discharged by boards formed out of ofllcers already existing. The proposal that the Council should choose the Controller will doubtless be modified to make him elected by the people. To give the Council control over so Important an administrative po sition is foreign to approved theories of municipal government, and contrary t3 the rule the committee itself has laid down. A first-class financial man in the office of Controller, armed with con siderable authority as the fiscal repre sentative of -the people and responsible directly to them and them alone, would be an experiment full of promise. The central thought of charters built six or eight years ago was concentra tion of power in the Mayor. The cen tral thought of many charters today Is rigid separation of legislative and ad ministrative functions. "Whereas once we fancied all would be well if we could shear our unworthy Councilmen of power, now we are taught that If we can give the Council Its full legislative authority Its quality will Improve, and if we can keep away from It the power to interfere with purely executive func tions, its opportunity for rascality will disappear. Undoubtedly there is much force in this contention. It will make a good deal of difference to the average Council whether it legislates for street cleaning and sprinkling on general prin ciples without regard to the man who j is to enforce Its ordinances, or whether it Is getting up an ordinance in collu sion with the appointee It expects sub-, sequently to foist upon the Mayor. It is, conceivable, also, that If legislative functions now bestowed upon various boards were relegated back to the Coun cil, we might get better men for the Council, and at the same time remove a profound cause of popular discontent with the boards, whose usefulness is undeniable, however we may resent their approach to bureaucracy. A great deal is to be expected of the Charter Commission, and The Orego nlan hopes to see the expectation real ized. Let us have a charter made by men who are above the appeals of ma chine politicians; who will stand for the rights of the community as against the ambitions of franchise-seeking corpora tions; and who will concentrate fire and police management In the Mayor's hands so that If "grafting" is going on we shall know whom to hold responsi ble. In the great development in store for Portland within the coming years no more Important duty is to be done than this foundation work of our mu nicipal life. In the rise of trans-Pacific trade, in the immense Immigration now setting in, and through the World's Fair of 1905, the Interests of the city should be safeguarded by a model char ter. THE FUTURE OF WAR. Competent British critics, who have observed the Boer War, like Conan Doyle, an old-time army surgeon, cast . doubt ""upon the necessity of maintaining a large standing army in time of peace. Dr. Doyle holds that Great Britain needs no larger standing army than a very highly trained, care fully selected, well-paid force of 100,000 regulars, and of these he would have but 30,000 infantry, the rest of the reg ular army being artillery and mounted Infantry. Not a man. of this force should be other than an excellent shot. For the defense of Great Britain from Invasion, Dr. Doyle would rely upon a militia of 3,000,000 men, able to shoot well and fight well behind Intrenched lines, and which could be quickly placed in the field. Dr. Doyle scouts utterly the idea that In the wars of the future reliance can be placed only on men trained as soldiers until they become almost machines. The British regulars In the Boer War met men whom Gen eral Methuen confessed were "worthy of our steel," and yet they had served no enlistment, but had left plows and desks for the firing line. The colonial volunteers and the vounteers from Eng land, who had left their plows and desks, did as good service as the regu lars enlisted for seven years or more. The South African War. like our Span ish and Filipino Wars, has been fought out largely for the past year by recruits without long-continued military train ing. Dr. Doyle holds that there will be no place in the wars of the future for any cavalry proper; that their place and largely the place of infantry will be taken by mounted infantry, com posed of men who are good shots and bold horsemen. These mounted riflemen, supported by a powerful and highly trained corps of field artillery, will form the backbone of the efficient armies of the future. The Boer War has proved the utter worthlessness of the finest regulars in the wold, trained by drill and maneu vers, against the untrained Boer mounted riflemen, who could shoot better than the British infantry and move faster than the British Army be cause the Boer pony carried but 250 pounds against the British trooper's 400 pounds. The Boer War proved, too, that an army of untrained soldiers could extemporize quickly field in trenchments from which they could not be dislodged nor materially injured by the fire of the best field artilery of the British service, which has been the best in Europe since Waterloo. The army of Cronje did not surrender because of the artillery fire to which it was sub jected; it surrendered because it was surrounded and its food supplies cut off. The untrained Boer soldiery moved heavier field guns to the front than the enemy, and moved them so rapidly that not more than one was captured during the Boer incessant retreats from Bloem fonteln to Pretoria. British military critics confess today that, had the Boer General-in-Chief in October. 1899, in stead of assailing Natal, thrown their main body of 35,000 men into Cape Colony, where not more than 5000 sol diers were available for defense, the Boers' advance could scarcely have been checked short of the suburbs of Cape Town, and that all the central and western parts of Cape Colony would have risen In rebellion. But General Joubert was in his 6Sth year, was a mental and physical wreck, and In his best days was a bush fighter, utterly Ignorant of the first principles of strategy, so he moved against Lady smith and struck too late and with in adequate numbers at the weak point of the British defense on the northern frontier of Cape Colony. The brilliant performances of Dewet and Botha after Joubert's death, when the Boer cause was lost beyond repair, make It certain that Cape Colony would have been in vaded by them with the main army, while a comparatively small force would have invaded Natal and constantly smashed Sir George White's communi cations with the sea. Cronje surrendered February 27, 1900; Ladysmith was re lieved February 2S, and Bloemfonteln was occupied March 13. General Joubert died March 27 and Pretoria surrendered June 5. Today, almost a year after the surrender of Pretoria, Dewet and Botha still keep the field with a remnant of the Boer Army, which cannot exceed 10,000 men. These facts illustrate what an untrained soldiery can do when well armed, well mounted and well led against an army of trained soldiers. The tactics of Dewet substituted for the military senility of Joubert would have placed a Boer Army of 35,000 in North Cape Colony in October, 1S99, and stirred it into a general conflagration of rebellion. Nothing seems to be lacking to this army of untrained soldiery ex cept officers of high military intelli gence. That is. If the Boers could have exchanged an Ignorant, sick, senile sol dier, like old Joubert, for an accom plished soldier and strategist, like Lord Roberts, they could have "rushed" the British Army from the Orange River to Cape Town, and today it would be still a very far cry to Pretoria for the enemy. What the Boers have been able to do could be paralleled tomorrow In any country in the world that can furnish an untrained soldiery equally brave, equally well armed, equally good marksmen and 'masters of both horse and weapon. Out of the 75,000,000 of our people a million of men could be found equal to the Boers in courage, in marksmanship and horsemanship. Sup plement such an army by a powerful corps of field artillery, and furnish it with ofllcers of nigh military intelli gence, from-Commander-in-Chlef to the, regimental field officers, and you would have a force far more formidable through its mobility-than any million of trained soldiery that could be furnished by the great standing military ma chines of Continental Europe. A neces sity will always exist for trained mili tary talent for officers, but under trained ofllcers such an army of sud denly raised short-service soldiers as we have described could meet and beat the trained soldiers of the standing armies of Europe. Our troops In China, while composed of regular soldiers, were made up principally of recruits of comparatively few months' service, and our Spanish and Filipino Wars have been fought by men who were mainly raw recruits quickly set up into shape by trained officers. -The wars of the future will need educated trained offi cers, but they will not need military machines for soldiers. FOR CONTROL OP PACIFIC TRADE. The marvelous advance in Northern Pacific, which yesterday carried that stock to a figure never before reached by any railroad securities, may have but little bearing on the intrinsic value of the shares. As to the value placed on the rapidly developing trade of the Pacific Coast, however, it is a high trib ute. The few hundred or few thousand shares of the stock which were sold at the top figures reached yesterday can only be regarded as a kind of brokerage fee or an extra heavy margin put up for the purpose of protecting many thousands of shares which might be jeopardized by a change of control in the road. One month ago Northern Pacific was selling at 97 for the common and 94 for the preferred. At these figures the total market value of the road was $148, 775,000, and it would pay on that "valua tion an annual profit of 4.3 per cent, or 4.1 per cent on the total capitalization at par. These figures show the stock to be a good investment anywhere around par, but there has been nothing developing in the past thirty days which would Increase the earning ca pacity of the road sufficiently to war rant even the first phenomenal advance to the vicinity of 150. No capitalist in search of a legitimate investment will pay $1000 a share for. a stock that only nets about 4 per cent on a $100 valua tion, but as an effective club for beat ing an adversary Into submission it Is probably cheap. The control of the few shares of stock that constitute the bal ance of power in the manipulation of tnis Dig transcontinental road may eventually mean the control of the transportation facilities of an em pire. It is for this reason that the Pacific Northwest shou'd feel flat tered at the attention her interests are receiving from the world's money kings. What the result of this tremendous upheaval may be is difficult to forecast. The lines are so closely drawn that the victors may not be determined until the day of settlement arrives. Just at pres ent the Harrlman interests seem to be in the ascendency, and this is probably as Portland would prefer It to be. Mr. Harrlman and his associates have a great many interests which are identi cal with those of Portland, and this city would not suffer by having her ancient enemy, the Northern Pacific, pass into the control of one more friendly dis posed toward "the port. This figit for control, which Is with out a parcel in its fierceness, gives the trust question a new aspect. The pes simistic predictions of those who view with alarm the many recent consolida tions of capital are hardly borne out by the facts in the present case. Instead of a colossal aggregation of capital clos ing in and .squeezing the financial life out of the common people, here we find capital fighting capital with all of the energy displayed by the Kilkenny cats, and with perhaps the same result await ing the contestants. The United States Is too big a'country to be ruled by one man or one faction, in either politics or finance, and the thousands of big indus trial enterprises will never pass into the control of a few men so long as indus try and ambition remain the chief char acteristics of the American citizen. ABUSE OF ATHLETICS. Professor Arlo Bates, of the Massa chusetts Institute of Technology, con tributes to the current number of the Forum a sober protest and solemn warning against the abuse of athletics, which has become a fad of craze In connection with modern education in this country. Professor Bates recalls the fact that the nourishment of the mind by the development of the body was one of the dreams of the idealists at Brook Farm, but Hawthorne con fesses that when the work of the day was finished "these cultivated men, In stead of discussing philosophy and poetry, leaned idly on the stye and poked the pigs." Professor Bates does not deny that dyspepsia soured the temper of Carlyle, that paralysis made Heine a pessimist, and that much of Mrs. Browning's sentimentalism was due to her consumptive habit, yet he fairly says that "the intellectual results which these and others of their kind ac complished, the good they did to soci ety, will easily endure comparison 'with the work of most athletes." Professor Bates might have quoted Pascal, Pope, George Eliot, the historians Green and Parkman. as other conspicuous illustra tions of his argument that the phrase "mens sana in corpore sano" seems in modern practice to have come to be translated "A sound body necessarily makes a sound mind." Professor Bates holds that the college man of today has often been turned away from literature and the inner life by a too great zeal for athletics; that the absorbing fascination of sport has not seldom seriously crippled the ap preciation of the delight of mental growth. The constantly growing lack of power of concentration and of intel lectual virility was recently discussed f by a conference of leading teachers in Boston, and the principal of the Cam bridge High School attributed the diffi culty in a large measure to athletics. Professor Bates says that it is the'gen eral experience at the Institute of Tech nology that a boy's work suffers If he goes deeply into athletics. His work may be conscientious, but it is seldom, of the best or most lasting quality. A young man whom he met on a railway train at the West asked Professor Bates the question, "How shall I learn to like to read?"- His story was that he was brbught up in a cultivated family and by a father fond of books, but he had gone, so deeply into athletics in col lege that by little and little the old in- tellectual life to which he had teen bred became cold and tame, and then slipped away from attention altogether He said in substance: Of course. I thought nothing of it at tho time; but looking back I see now that we really had nothing in mind but athletics. We talked of the games beforehand, estimated chances, discussed the teams we were to. meet all that sort -of thing was necessarily part of it, you know. Then after the games we went over them point by point, and talked of the different men and the "newspaper reports. I can see now that I wasn't reaMy alive to any thing but athletics all the time I was In col. lege. I couldn't today pass an examination on any of the things I stood well In, but I could tell you the details of every game I played. After I graduated, I was sent to a country town to a factory my father owns, and there I'm learning the business. There's no society, and I made up my mind to do a lot of reading. I knew I could never be the sort of man I want to be, the sort of gentle man my father Is, without the help of books. I've been at it a couple of years, and I've waded through a lot of first-class things. They only bore me. I really care only for the news papers, and in those I always read the sport ing news first. Then I take a book, and go to sleep over it, and hate myself. The popular impression in America that this athletic "craze" is purely an Imported English fad Is a mistake, for there is more moderation and a better sporting spirit among English than among American undergraduates. A quarter of a century ago Wllkie Collins .bitterly satirized what is called "mus cular Christianity" in England, but even-in England, the London Spectator says, the army is going to ruin because Its officers are at school spoiled by "the prevalence of the playing fields fallacy, which persuades the English parent to put skill in games far above general intelligence and culture as a qualifica tion for a commission." The London Times, in a leading article, says that before the public schools can be quali fied to train men to be good officers they must free themselves from the reproach of training boya to care for nothing but sport and fostering in them no hab its of industry. The conclusion of Pro fessor Bates is that through the promi nence given at American universities and schools to athletics, the intellectual ideal has been obscured, if not de graded, to the injury of their influence for good to the public and the students. The youth is constantly impressed through his surroundings with the Idea that success is to be won rather by the body than by the mind; that popularity Is of more effect than culture, and that learning may be disregarded for super ficial attainments. Professor Bates for a last word says that "enthusiasm for bodily training has so distorted and maimed the whole system of education that athletics is today the most serious obstacle to the advancement of Intel lectual growth." Statements of the National banks of Portland, published yesterday, make an imperfect and misleading showing of the strength of this city as a financial center. More money Is held by state and private banks and probably m.ore business is' done than by the four Na tional banks, whose deposits, April 24, 1901, according to their sworn returns, aggregated $6,581,529 29. Besides the National banks Portland has seven com mercial banks four on the West Side and three on the East Side and three savings banks. For reasons which they do not explain, the state and private banks refuse to give out for publication such statements as the National banks are required by law to publish; there fore the sum of their resources cannot be given with accuracy, yet It may be set down as approximately true that the Portland banks, apart from Na tional banks, have deposits of over $10, 000,000. Estimates from the unreported banks have been obtained by The 'Ore gonlan from other -bankers, who may be expected to have a fair idea of the business of their competitors. While strict accuracy is not claimed for the subjoined figures, they probably convey fair information of the deposits of the institutions mentioned: Ladd & Tilton $ 5,000 000 00 Security Savings & Trust 2,250,000 00 London & San Francisco 1.000.000 Oft Wells, Fargo & Co 750,000 00 Canadian Bank of Commerce 500,000 00 Three East Side banks 500,000 00 250,000 00 Hibernla and Portland Trust Total , $10,250,000 00 In the National banks C.5S1.520 20 Total for all, banks $10,831,529 20 In setting down the figures of each bank an average was struck between the highest and the lowest estimates given. For example: The highest esti mate of Ladd & Tilton was $5,500,000; the lowest, $4,500,000. Probably the total deposits in Portland banks today are very close to $17,000,000. As an example of the way the Presi dent's tour is centering attention on Pa cific expansion, this paragraph from the New York Journal of Commerce is highly significant: The taking of California would probably have occurred anyway and independently of the slaery question. This country was growing to the AVest, and It could not be confined by boundaries. Not even the ocean could restrain it. When we got the Pacific Coast it was cer tain that we should develop a great Commerce on that ocean. AVe acquired Hawaii commer cially more than a generation before we ac quired It politically. The commerce of the Pa cific Ocean must be predominantly American. Europe does not abut on. that ocean and we do. And in developing our Pacific commerce the President said -very accurately and in hu morous moderation that the possession of the Philippines would be no handicap to us. This country has always been going West. That 1b the aeneral 'direction of civilization and com merce; It Is pre-eminently the direction in which the United States was to expand. It will neier extend politically upon the continent of Asia, but it Is destined to have an enormous commerce with Asia, the bases of which will be at Honolulu and Manila." The President's tour and the struggle in Wall street for possession of North ern transcontinental railroads are two circumstances of great promise to Ore" gon. The President's references to the pio neers of California's settlement betray his great interest in Pacific Coast ex pansion. An opportunity to say some thing similar concerning early efforts in Oregon he would no doubt welcome gladly. This is why the Lewis and Clark Centennial should In some way be brought formally to his attention. Hfs utterance on the subject, printed everywhere in the United States, will be the best advertisement the celebration could possibly receive. The work of the Woman's Club In arranging so valuable an educational event as the appearance here of Mr. Seton-Thompson Is deserving of cordial support by the community at large. Co-operation of the public schools is as sured, and is well advised. Efforts of this kind should be appreciated and en couraged. Uncle Sam will remember the Maine. Survivors and heirs of victims will ask for 55,000,000 damages?. McKinley has been visiting a gold mine. If this Is not a crime against silver It ought to be. LIQUID FUEL FOR THE NAVY-1- WASHINGTON. May 3. The wide spread oil developments In the West have awakened Interest In the problem of liquid fuel as applied to naval vessels. and In fact, steamers of every class. There are many who predict the euccess of these experiments, and In a few years expect to see petroleum In, one form or another, supersede. In whole or In part, coal as the prevailing fuel. The Bureau of Steam Engineering of the Navy De partment has been making experiments with different oils for several years, but as yet la inclined to doubt the efficiency of liquid fuel. On the contrary, fionie of the foreign governments, which have made more extensive experiments, have encountered greater success, some going so- far as to Install oil burners in place of the old coal furnaces. The great advantages in the use of liquid fuel In the Navy are the facility .for handling and transportation, absence of smoke, facility of managing the fires, and quickness with which steam can ,be raised and controlled. During the Span ish War the naval engineers, because of difficulties encountered In handling coal, turned their attention to liquid fuel. They sought to obviate the difficulties of coaling alongside colliers at sea, which more than once resulted In serious acci dents, holes frequently being made In the colliers by the guns of the warahiprf when the .vessels were In a- rough sea, not tb mention the danger of having the guns themselves dismounted. The cost of using liquid fuel la greater than, coal, 'both In railways or ships, but the advantages are causing It to be used to a greater extent from year to year in the navies of Europe. The United States produces an enormous supply of pe troleum, but hae not shown such an ac tive Interest in its Use for maritime pur poses as some of the powers, probably owing to the great coal supply. The Steam Engineering Bureau admits the great advantages attaching to the use of oil fuel, especially In the smaller boats, but claims that In point of econ omy and full efficiency, It, has not yet been demonstrated, either In this country or abroad," that a change from coal is a present possible. The bureau is now en deavoring to devlee some means of secur ing full power from oil without smoke. The torpedo boat Talbot has been turned over to the bureau for experiments with oil fuel, .and tests are now being made aboard the vessel. Experiments are also being carried on ashore In boilers just like those of the torpedo boat, It being the intention of Admiral Melville to get good results ashore before Installing a new grade of oil burners on board the Talbot. Experiments have been made with nu merous types of jet burners, but no Indi cation of possible success has been found. The best type yet tried has failed to secure power for a sustained speed df more than three-fourths the full trial speed of the boat even for half an hour. while the 'smoke feature Is equally as evident as with soft coal, except at a speed as low as ten knots. Experiments with a retort burner, In which the oil is volatilized and mixed with the hot air before i3Juancc therefrom, are now In hand, and while giving promise of greater efficiency than did the jet apparatus, .sufficiently definite results have not yet been obtained upon which to base posi tive conclusions. In most of the foreign navies oil fuel Is being used in conjunction with coal. In this way the oil is pulverized by steam. In other words, as the oil passes from the tank to the burner, It encounters a jet of steam, under high pressure, which mixes with the oil, maldng a spray, and drawing in a current of air for combus tion. Italy, Germany, Russia and France are all using this combined system, and are meeting with considerable success. In this way they report a more complete combustion, than is obtained from coal alone, and at the same time, the oil spray does away with the forced draft, thus extending the life of the boilers. The ships of the German navy are burning tar oil, because of the abund ance of that oil In Germany, and the limited supply of petroleum. The French navy uses petroleum mixed with coal in her ships, rather than, in her torpedo boats. The French navy, by the way, has encountered more success with the mixed fuels than any of the other Euro pean countries. Many of the foreign steamship lines have lately Installed oil burners In place" of the old coal furn aces, some being equipped for both oil or coal, or both. The Installation of oil burners neces sitates tanks for the storage of the pe troleum. When the old coal bunkers are used, they are divided into compart ments, thus preventing the loss of the whole supply of oil In case of penetra tion by shot. The feeding reservoir Is necessarily high above the boiler floor, permitting the oil to flow by gravity. A system of piping and pumps is necessary to complete the plant. Petroleum Is found ver liable to leak, more so than water, and' precautions must be taken to prevent this In the tanks: The chief disadvantage against the pul verization of oil by steam Is the great amount of fresh water 'used, often amounting to G per cent. This great amount of fresh water used, In addition to the amount required for the boilers, i& a serious drawback on board ship, and some torpedo boats so fitted have been unable to go to sea. Another great dif ficulty Is encountered In starting fires. Steam Is required for the action of the burners or pulverizers, necessitating auxiliary boilers for this purpose. At the same time the regulation of the fires Is very simple, and the fire-room force can be greatly reduced, one man being able to care for many boilers. The great disadvantage in the use of steam in the pulverization of the oil has led to many experiments in the use of air for this process. The Russians have taken the lead in these experiments on board their men-of-war, and have, so they assert, solved the problem. Our Navy Department, particularly the Bureau of Steam Engineering, Is not par ticularly Impressed with oil as a substi tute for coal on war vessels. They con cede that It may be very satisfactory on freight steamers which are. not ex pected to make high rates of speed, but say that as far as they have been able to determine, oil will not produce suf ficient steam to run the cruisers and battle-ships at anything like the speed re quired, and therefore cannot be adopted. They are. however, continuing their ex periments to better the system In every way possible. The recent accident to .one of the great German battle-ships; burning oil, in con. junction with coal, is pointed to as a fair illustration of what may be expected should oil be, adopted as fuel. In this accident, which badly deranged the ship generally, because of her grounding on a small reef, the oil broke loose, running from the tanks, and flooding the Ship. It quickly took fire, and in order to save the ship, she had to be sunk. The loss entailed was enormous. The department also claims that oil Is more volatile than coal, and much gas generates in the tanks. If not properly ventilated, the gas In the tanks Is apt to Ignite much more readily than 'coal In bunkers. All In all, they find coal much superior to oil, and will not at this time advocate the substitution of any form of liquid fuel, even though it possesses many advantages over coal. From "Underwoods." Robert Louis Stevenson. Xiave not, ,my soul, the unfoughten field, nor leave Thy debts dishonored, nor thy place desert Without due service rendered. For thy life Up, spirit, and defend that fort of clay. Thy body, now beleaguered; whether soon Or late she fall; whether today thy friends bewail thee dead, or, after years, a man Grown old In honor and the friend of peace; , Contend, my soul, for moments and for hours. Each Is with service pregnant; each reclaimed Is as a,kln-dain conauered. where to rel . PROTEST FROM THE PULPIT. From a Portland pastor The Oregonlan has received a' private note which should, perhaps, be made public, and in doing so It is hoped no confidence is violated, as the name Is withheld. There is certainly no Intention In this office to belittle or discredit the work of the Christian min istry, and The Oregonlan .feels that such a view arises from a strained construc tion of Its utterances. We therefore make room for the protest, in-the cause of free speech: I regret the necessity that Is laid upon xne to utter my private protest against the unjust and libellous treatment which the churches received at the hands of The Oregonlan this morning. I am In substantial agreement with the writer of the editorial on fining the churches so far as the effect of a Saturday half holiday upon church going Is concerned, and I have no particular feeling In regard to the brash criticism of church choirs, although it hits me -and my church as badly as any. I can appreciate this generous recognition of the service we have tried" to render to this community at some cost to ourselves and with a per fectly clear conscience. But when an editor of the best paper on the Pacific Coast says that men stay away from the churches because they have "no relish for the weekly exposition of ob solescent theology and monotonous reci tation of the moral alphabet," he reveals his ignorance, which Is doubly criminal because it Involves an Injustice to a well meaning and efficient body of men. I venture to say that as a class there Is no better Informed body of men In this community than the Christian min istry; that the Sunday services do not deal In things "obsolescent," either in theology or In form: that no class of men are more keenly alert to the needs of the whole life of man and none are more anxious to be of service to men and to the community; that in matters of theology there are at least thirty men in the ministry in Portland who know as much more about the new thought and all It means than all the editors of your paper put together, as you know more about the newspaper business than all the ministers put together. I want to enter my protest against the 'utterance of such ridiculous and hurtful sentiments and I would rather do It in this private way rather than In any kind of public protest. The Oregonian's assertion was, perhaps, too sweeping. Some sermons, not all, are open to the objections Indicated, and not all men stay away from church for that reason. Policemen and Shooting. Pittsburg Dispatch. The case has just been disposed of in Philadelphia of two policemen who had shot a man, as they supposed, in the dis charge of their duty. The court held that they had no right to do the shooting. The policemen pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and the court discharged them after a severe lecture on the reck less use of firearms. This shows the necessity that police men shall be thoroughly trained In all the branches of their duty, and never dis turbed, except for reasons affecting the discharge of their duty. It Is vitally Im portant that a policeman shall know how to shoot, and It is also vital that he shall be fully trained In the corollary knowl edge when to shoot. It Is disastrous to have a man shot by the police when the shooting Is not justifiable. It is hardly less disastrous to have him fall to shoot when the shooting is required. The failure to shoot quick enough has Just cost the life of a valuable office In this city, and It may frequently inflict the cost to the public of the failure to arrest dangerous criminals. Carnegie Library In Massachusetts. Chicago Tribune. At last a town in Massachusetts, Had Iey, has come forward and asked Mr. Carnegie for a library. Prior to this re quest the matter had been discussed in six or seven cities and towns, but in every case the people declined to enter into the begging competition, maintaining that if they needed a library they were able to raise the money. The "town of Hadley Is being criticised severely for its action, but it might plead that its- offense is a trifling one. The people of Hadley are not extravagant. They ask for only $2500, and the town Is willing to contrib ute $100 for the site, which Indicates either the poverty or the "nearness" of the place. While Hadley's action differs wide, ly from that of other towns, and it stands alone In this regard. It must be remem bered that with two or three exceptions the cities and towns of Massachusetts already have libraries, well equipped and well maintained. The Mania for Speculation. Philadelphia Record. Receipts of dally sales on the floor of the New York Stock Exuhange are being broken nowadays with almost monotonous regularity, and still the Investing public cries, like Oliver Twist, for more. There are so many new and gaudy counters In this huge game that even veteran experts are puzzled. When a 6 per cent stock sells for 200 In open market It would seem to be time to stand from under; yet the flood tide of speculation rushes on Its headlong course. Nothing to match It has ever been seen since the palmy days of Fisk and Gould, and even then the fever seemed less intense because less widely distributed and less spectacular In its symptomatic variances. The Westward March. Kansas City Star. During the last 110 years the center of population of the United States has moved westward more than 500 miles. When the first census was taken the cen ter was at a point 23 miles east of Buffa lo. It has moved westward at an aver age rate of five miles a year until now It Is six miles southeast of Columbus, Ind. Its progress during the last decade was less than any previous time. This was due largely to the collapse of the boom in the '80s. The prosperity of the West Is now on a sound basis and an accelera tion of the westward movement of the population center Is to be expected. Have Smoked Him Oat. Chicago Inter-Ocean. In effect, Mr. Bryan serves notice on the Democratic party that he will not sup port men who are hostile to Bryanlsm. The efforts of the Springfield Republican and other Eastern newspapers to amoke Mr. Bryan out have not been wholly suc cessful. They have, simply drawn from him the statement that he is not planning to be a Democratic candidate for the Pres idency In 1904, but that If necessity de mands it he will be, and that whether he Is or not he will be In the field -to fight all Democrats hostile to Mr. Br an's plat form. Good Reason for Redactions. Indianapolis Journal. - Representative Babcock. of Wisconsin, who has spent some time in the West, says manufacturers very generally favor his policy of cutting down the duties on iron, steel and other merchandise which can now be made cheaper In the United States than elsewhere. If such duties en able producers to ask more for their prod ucts than they sell them for abroad, there is good reason for the proposed reduction of duty. Delicate Question. New York Press. The law which some states (notably Arkansas) are advocating, making the payment of a license fee obligatory upon all drinking citizens, will cut two ways. Can a state logically arrest a man for a condition of drunkenness which Is the re sult of his enjoyment of a privilege for which he has paid and received a license? . NOTE AND COMMENT. ' 1 Perhaps we shall make less noise about oil when we strike it. - ' China is seeking a loan from the powers. J She thus seeks to stand off the indem nity. The new Shamrock is a faster boat than her predecessor- That Is what everybody has been hoping for. " A feather-down factory at Montreal was destroyed by fire the other day. The fac tory was" burned down but the down was burned up. ' Of course John Bull Is figuring the cost In Africa. So Is Uncle Sam figuring the ' cost In the Philippines. But both are fig uring the profits. Chaffee may be held to answer for a . frank speech at Pekln. In a delicate" international situation, frankness Is a serious breach of diplomacy. " If you don't know what the weather Of tomorrow's going to be. Don't be doubtful of the forecast. But just wait awhile and see. f Salmon minus the adipose fin are being caught in the Sacramento River. They had their origin in the Columbia. Verily, artificial propagation at Its best state Is altogether vanity. , A" sheet-music trust has been formed. But It is no monopoly because there aro so many other kinds of music. There Is. no chance, for example, of driving out the piano In the next-door flat, or of eliminating the nocturnal competition of the cat. 4 An Oxford professor was giving his pu pils a lecture on "Scotland and the Scots." "These hardy men," he said, "think noth ing about swimming races across the T ay three times every morning before break fast." Suddenly a loud burst of laugh ter came from the center of the hair, and the professor, amazed at the Idea -of any one daring to Interrupt him in the mid dle of his lecture, angrily asked the of fender what he meant by suci conduct. "I was just thinking, sir," replied that In dividual, "that the poor Scotch chaps would find themselves on the wrong side for their clothes when they got over the last time." The gambling fever becomes .most in fectious during rushes to newly discov ered gold fields, but the general public has been exposed to It the last few day?, and It must be admitted it Is very "kctch ln" The knowledge that an Investment of $100 In Northern Pacific stock last Saturday would have yielded a return of more than $50,000" yesterday Is disquieting" to most men. Of all the long arts, that of making money Is one of the longest to ordinary mortals, and when one hears of a fortune made In 15 minutes he Is trou bled with a feeling that 13 not pleasant, and whose other name is envy. Fifty thousand dollars la a very tidy sum to have rbout the house, and when it'mlght have been acquired by simply risking ?10O, one Is prone to dig down into his jmem ory for an appropriate quotation, and fish up the last couplet of Maud Muller, that Is. If he Is not addicted to stronger language. People who do not share thi3 sensation on reading of what they might have done in the way of fortune-making on a small Investment, who can think of their neglected opportunity and remain calm and unruflled, are the kind out of whom gamblers will never make any profit, ut how many of them are there7- t To n. Fisherman. Whither, 'midst brush and brake, When rising mists unveil the dawning day, -Stumbling through stumps and logs, dost thou pursue Thy frenzied, hurried way? t Seek'st thou some brook or pool. Where swim in calm content the wily trout. So pleased with their retreat, dark, deep and cool, Thou can'st not lure them out! There is a hope that burns And blazes brightly 'neath thy throbbing breast. That keep'st the hiking over stones and ferns. And granteth thee no rest. All day thou'lt plod and plod. And go from brook to brook, and creekp to creek. And bruise thy bonest and smash thy high priced rod. And grow worn out and weak. But let thee get a bite. Or hear a splash made by some leaping, trout, Thou'lt hang around that spot until the night, , And scheme to get him out. Thou'rt gone, yon patch of wood, Across the field, hath hidden thee awayi -And yet the lesson thou hast taught la good Which lesson Is, to say: If men of every sort t Would go about their work so earnestly t As they are fain to go about their sport, How great they all would be! PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHERS Cook Tho Irish stew ha3burnedTrRe&laurant Proprietor Well. put"o'2ie'waplce in it, and! add "A la Francalse" . to its name on the menu. Tit-Bits. The Significance. Gladys "Well, did the fortune-teller say you would eventually marry the Count? Edith (sighing) Alas, not She said I would die rich! Puck. An Excellent Heason. "She doesn't Intend to have any bridesmaids." "Why Is that?" "All t her girl friends are so much prettier than aho is." Cleveland Plain Dealer. Carrie The last time Fred called he was very tender. He assured me I was his first love. Bess That's something, to be sure; but last evening he told ma I waa his latest love. Boston Transcript. , She Was Sure. "What makes you so sure that man is less than 35?" asked the young woman. "There Isn't the slightest doubt In the matter," answered Misa Cayenne. "Ha keeps bragging of what he knows about hu man nature." Washington Star. Witness Fined for contempt of court! Why,. ' I didn't say a word. Rural Judge That's just It. You didn't answer my questions, an' that's how you showed your contempt. Witness Well,, well! And I flattered myself that in that way I was concealing It! Philadelphia Record. The Treasure of Hope. Lewis Morris. O fair bird, sjnging in the woods. To the rising and the setting sun, Does ever any throb of pain Thrill through thee ere thy song be ddn: Because the Summer fleets so fast; Because the Autumn fades so soon; Because the deadly Winter treads So closely on the steps of June? O sweet maid, opening like a rose In love'a mysterious, honeyedValr, Dost think sometimes the day will come When thou shalt be no longer fair : When love will leave thee and pass on To younger and brlshter eyes; And thou salt live unloved, alone. A dull life, only dowered with sighs? - O brave youth, panting for the fight, " To conquer WTong and win thee fame. Dost see thyself grown old and spent, And thine a still, unhonored name: When all thy hopes have come to naught. And all thy fair schemes droop and pins And wrong still lifts her hydra heads To fail to younger arms than thine? Nay; song and love and lofty alms May never be where faith is not; ' Strong souls within the present live; The future veiled tho past forgot: Grasping what Is, with hands of steel. They bend what shall be, to their will; And blind alike to doubt and dread. The End, for which they are, XulflU.