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THE MOKXIXG -OHKGOXIAN, TUESDAY, ,'JUXE 23, 1901..
V
uKite rQomotL
Entered at the Postofflce at Portland, Oregon,
as eccond-elass matter.
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ehould be addressed simply "The Oregonian."
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For sale in San Francisco by J. K. Cooper,
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On file at Buffalo. N. T., in the Oregon ex
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TODAY'S WEATHER- Partly cloufcy. with
probably an occasional light shower. Warmer.
Westerly winds.
YESTERDAY'S AVE ATHER. Maximum tem
perature, 00; minimum temperature, 48; pre
tlritatlon, 0.10 inch. '
PORTLAND. TTESDAY JUXE.S.V1001
y
3IUXICIPAL OWNERSHIP "PUBLIC
, UTILITIES.'' r
In the Charter Committee of theXJIty
of Portland there has been some Senate
whether, in the article as to franchises,
such as the right to construct and oper
ate street railways, telephone and tele
graph lines, light plants, etc., witHin
the city, there should be inserted a pfo
lision giving the city power to appro
priate such properties to its own. use,
upon appraisement and payment there
forafter the lapse of a fixed period,
say twenty-one years.
The Oregonian most positively holds
that such franchises ought to be granti
ed, or renewed, only on conditions that
wilj yield-the city a revenue, propor
tioned to their value to those to whom
they mav be cranted. "Rut tho flptnlf
of taxation of such franchises is a sublj
ject open to opinion and debate. The-
franchises have a value beyond the
mere valuation of the property, 'rated
in proportion to other property; for the
use of the streets is a privilege or ease
ment of large value, and practically ex
clusive to each company for the pur
poses granted; hence, in addition to
the moderate property tax there should
be in most cases if not in all a tax
upon the franchise, in the form of a
levy on the gross receipts, under each
particular franchise. The city has a
right to adequate compensation for the
use of these franchises, and it will be
gross dereliction to allow these valu
able uses to continue longer without
proper prevision for compensation of
the municipality.
But the question whether the city is
to go Into the various lines of business
that may be founded on these fran
chises! is a question of quite another
character. Sb Is the 'question whether
It should reserve to Itself the right and
power, to resume these franchises and
take over the property to itself, after a
term of years. The Oregonian will say
plainly that it is no believer in the
socialistic jargon about state or mu
nicipal "ownership of public utilities."
Beyond question, the right of. regula
tion belongs to the state. But the pro
posal df state-, or- municipal ownership
opens (a question of a very, different
kind. lA-s. a policy it is not merely ques
tionable, but held by many, and we
think by most, to be very erroneous.
If the State Is to embark in this busi
ness, how far is it to go? "Where is It
to stop? The term "public, utilities"
can have no restricted definition. Every
Important Industry is a public utility
the making of shoes certainly not less
important than the operation of .street
cars. Again, it is well known that the ex
penditure necessary for the use of any
important franchise and the develop
ment of a property upon It must be
large; also, that for a number of years
there is likely to be little pay or profit,
especially In a city that has not yet
passed, beyond Portland's stage ol
growth. Investors therefore are not
likely to take franchises for short
terms, or even for terms of considera
ble length, and go forward with exten
sive and expensive improvements, un
der notice that by the time profit might
be hoped for they will be required to
surrender both the franchise and the
property. True, It is said they are to
be paid upon an appraised valuation.
But the first property the plant by
this time will probably be thought to
have little value. It may be worn or
antiquated, and -would be appraised for
little; and undoubtedly it would be al
lowed to run down and the service
would become poor, toward the end of
the term when the state was to take it.
No plant is likely to be kept in high
order, when it is understood that the
state Is to take it at its own valuation,
at the end of a term. It would seem,
therefore, that no better way of para
lyzing the undertakings necessary for
public convenience and municipal de
velopment could be devised.
t The philosophy of it, in short, is al
together Utopian. It resembles the
phijospphy of the .jubilee .year of the
dreamers of ancient Israel, who at
tempted, after the return from the cap
tivity, to create an ideal state, founded
on their conceptions of social justice.
Every fiftieth year the first owner of
the property, if he had parted with it,
was to resume it The state was to
take charge of the redistribution, strip
ping of their property those who had
had energy to acquire it, and stripping
them moreover of opportunity. There
is a difference between that case and
this, indeed; mit it is a difference In
detail, -not in fact; for here the state is
to claim the right to take the property,
there the Individual first owner was to
have it back. It is not, indeed, pro
posed in our Charter Committee to
make state ownership general at least
not yet; but there are those who think
there ought to be state ownership of all
the means of production and distribu
tion, and their numbers are not few.
Who, indeed, can give any adequate
definition of "public utilities," and yet
logically leave out any of those things
that are useful to the mass' of man
kind? The true socialist believes that
the state should do it all; and these
municipal propositions are directly in
his line.
These franchises belong to the city,
and it Is its right and duty to require
payment for the use of them. But that
Is widely different from the proposal
that the state or city shall acquire
property and 'embark In lines of indus
try, great or small. "Water supply
stands alone, as a municipal undertak
ing that Is not questioned. There is
nothing else of its kind. Supply of
light has, Indeed, some analogies to it,
but it has not won its way to general
acceptance, and probably never will.
Carriage of people here and there in a
city can properly be no more a part of
the business of a municipality than the
distribution of milk at their doors; and
the transmission of Intelligence be
tween them over the telephone is as
little a part of the city's proper busi
ness. The people of the United States,
we think, are not at all inclined to
allow expansion of socialistic ideas in
municipal and state affairs, to meet
the demands of theorists, dreamers and
utopists. The true American idea, the
idea of a democratic republic, Is to hold
the state to limited functions. Let us
regulate, control and tax the use of
these franchises, but not attempt to
operate Industries upon them, or to ex
tend the functions of state or city, to
meet notions about "public wants," of
which there can be no end. The city
may just as well publish its newspapers
and conduct its hotels and boarding
houses as to operate Its street railways
and telephones.
THE COLUMBIA IX HISTORY.
The Columbia River, which the river
and harbor committee will visit this
week, has been known to navigators
for over 125 years. Captain Bruno He
ceta, commanding the Spanish ship
Santiago, lay to off the mouth of the
river on August 15, 1775, and Heceta,
convinced that he was near the outlet
pf a large body of fresh water, charted
it the Rio de San Roque. The stupidity
of the English sailors deprived them
of the Ijonor of entering the river be
fore the American Captain Gray. Lieu
tenant John Meares. commanding the
East India Company's vessel Felice,
made a superficial examination of
the coast in July, 1788, and re
ported with great assurance that "we
can now with safety assert that no
such river as that of St. Roc exists as
laid down on Spanish charts." Early
in 1792 Vancouver was in the vicinity
of the Columbia, but did not consider
the opening worthy of attention, being
satisfied "that all rivers or Inlets that
had been described as discharging their
contents into the Pacific between the
fortieth and forty-eighth degrees of
north latitude were reduced to brooks
insufficient for our vessels to navigate,
or to bays inaccessible as harbors for
refitting." On April 29, 1792, Gray
spoke Vancouver that he had been for
nine days off the mouth of a large
elver. Still Vancouver was incredulous,
and with an air into which he doubt
less injected a little English contempt
for the upstart Americans, he wrote
"lhat if any inlet or river should be
found, it must be a very intricate one
arid inaccessible to vessels of our bur
den; owing to reefs and broRsn water."
What a striking similarity between
Vancouver's reports and some talk we
heap nowadays! That which emanates
from Seattle and is echoed at Astoria.
The loss of the Peacock in 1841, and
the Shark in 1846, were prejudicial to
the Columbia, as the wrecks occurred
at aitime when the probable value of
the river to commerce was a large fac
tor in; the settlement of the boundary
question with Great Britain. But these
wreck, and. in fact, all the early
wrecks, were caused by lack of knowl
edge Qf the river, and not that the
channels were not sufficiently broad
and deep. Before and after the loss
of the -Peacock and the Shark, and
prior tq 1850, Captain Crosby of the
Toulon, Captain Couch of the Mary
land, Captain Sylvester of the Chenan
cas, Captain Gelston of the Whiton and
the naval officers of the Hudson's Bay
Company entered the river and depart
ed from It without accident. Notwith
standing the bad reputation given the
river by Commander Wilkes for Ir
regular titles, shifting sands and great
distance bf landmarks, the Columbia
has made friends and retained them.
Jdhn Maglnn, president of the Asso
ciation of Pilots of New York, examined
the Wilkes charts shortly after they
were published, and wrote to Senator
Benton that "the mouth of the Colum
bia is a better harbor, and has mani
fest advantages over the harbor of
New York in all the essential points
which constitute a good harbor. . . .
Taking the mouth of the Columbia as
It now is in-a state of nature, without
the aid of pilots, buoys, beacons, light
houses and steamboats, I deem it a
good harbor with the aid of these ad
vantages. I would deem it a far better
harbor than New York, and capable
of containing an unlimited number of
ships." The experienced eye of Ma
glnn read In the charts a future which
Wflkes was inacapable of conceiving,
but which the commander of the
wrecked Shark saw when he said "the
introduction of steam and the presence
of good pilots would render the pas
sage over the bar comparatively safe."
Captain Gray found the channel of
the Columbia neither broad nor plain.
Two crews of the Tonquin, with the
exception of one man, perished in 1811
while sounding. In 1817, Captain Bid
die, of the "United States sloop-of-war
Ontario, was sent to take possession
of Astoria, but the sight of the break
ers upon the bar caused him to regard
the bar as hazardous. In 1839 Sir Ed
ward Belcher surveyed the bar In H.
B. M. ship Sulphur, and grounded sev
eral times. Navigation on the Colum
bia has Improved wonderfully since the
early days. Less than fifty years ago
Portland became ecstatic because a
barkentine drawing -seventeen feet of
water was enabled to ascend the rivers
and discharge 530 tons of freight at its
wharves. Now 9000-ton ships like the
Indrapura and Indravelli come and go
almost without notice.
Portland will ask Congress, through
the river and harbor committee, to
deepen the channel at the mouth of
the Columbia to forty feet It will
demand this, in behalf of the com
merce which it is developing with
Asia, and which Is justifying the use
of large ships like the Indravelli, In
drapura and Knight Companion; It will
demand it in behalf of its station as a
wheat-exporting city, fifth in the United
States in 1900. and outranked only by
New York, San Fran5isco, Galveston
and Boston; it will demand, it in be
half of the wheat exports pf the .ten
years ending in 1900, aggregating 105,
395.105 bushels, being 62 per cent of
the total shipments from the Pacific
Northwest. In behalf of the tributary
country in the Inland Empire, Portland
will demand that the Columbia and
Snake Rivers be opened to Lewiston
at the earliest practicable moment, so
that the food products of that great re
gion shall have" outlet to the sea by
their natural trade route. For an ex
penditure of about $4,000,000 at the
cascades the Government opened forty
miles of river to navigation. For an
additional expenditure of $3,500,000 be
tween The Dalles and Celllo over 200
miles of river would be opened to navi
gation. We should impress upon the river
and harbor committee that We are not
asking Congress to open the Columbia,
but to improve navigation on it. ' Let
us say frankly that the depth of water
at the mouth of the river Is not suffi
cient for the present commerce, let
alone for that which Is developing by
the opening of markets in the Pacific
and the cultivation of large productlye
areas east of us. The Columbia is the
natural trade route of this immense
basin, and should be made free from
Its mouth to the farthest point Inland
to which craft can ascend and load and
unload.
A STEP IN RAILROAD EVOLUTION.
There is more thun one way to skin
a cat, also more than one way to cook
a rabbit; and recent events have shown
that there is more than one way to
combine railroads. Time was when It
was deemed within the power of states
to prevent great railroad corporations
from absorbing their competitors. Time
was when statutes were supposed to
have some bearing on the control of
railroad properties and. majorities of
boards of directors were required to
reside in the state which should au
thorize their existence, thus to be more
amenable to law. The railroad powers
in some cases went through the form
of objecting to these "regulations" and
"discouragements to capital," but
finally accepted them with good grace.
In View of recent events, the verdancy
of the people and the statesmen of the
past generation seems quite refreshing.
What railroad company wishes to ab
sorb its competitors in these days?
Is anybody afraid local boards of di
rectors will direct important railroad
moves? Does anybody suppose those
carefully framed regulations, in consti
tution and statute, achieve their ob
ject? The corporations continue their
several separate legal Identities with
the utmost precision, but the boards
of directors do what they are told1 to
do. Harmonization of interests goes on
just the same, and the railroad trust
Is the result. All this is accomplished
away over the heads of courts and
Legislatures, even beyond the reach of
the professional politicians and with
out harassing popular campaigns. Gray
brain matter and a turn of the wrist
does it.
Two groups of railroads seem about
ready to do business on the new basis
the Harriman group and the Hill
group. There is no illegal or question
able merging of corporations, no at
tempt to do anything which the un
sophisticated Legislatures would re
gard as wicked. Of course it would be
bad for one soulless railroad corpora
tion to buy and own Its competitor and
thus destroy competition; but nothing
was said about one man or set of men
buying and owning both corporations.
Surely It would be a great curtailment
of personal rights and freedom to say
that a man should not Invest his money
in whatever legal property might suit
his fancy. This would violate every
bill of rights from Omaha' to Runny
mede. And there can be nq doubt that
railroad corporations are legal prop
erty to have and to hold.
As matters have come to be railroad
presidents are but general managers.
The real executive function is exer
cised in New York City. Those who
wear the title and draw the comfort
able salary of president have been re
duced to mere operating officials from
whom an accounting is regularly re
quired. The chief traffic men of the
different corporations, within a combi
nation will have to report to a central
traffic chief. There you have it one
executive actuator, one traffic governor
for a large group of roads of allied In
terests. The combination is effected
and nothing but the spirit of the old
arrangement is destroyed. Empty laws
cumber the statute-books, hungry poli
ticians look on in grief. The people are
passive. Now what will the great rail
road combiners do with their properties
make them agents of progress and
development, or mere harvesters of div
idends and trouble?
SOMETHING SEW IN EXPOSITIONS.
During August and September of this
year there will be an international ex
position of hygiene, maritime security
and fishery, held at Ostend, Belgium,
the object of . which is to make known
the measures adopted by different gov
ernments for the organization and
working of services of succor on battle
fields, and In cases of great catastro
phes on sea or land as the use and
working of llfesavlng apparatus, etc.
An international congress will be or
ganized In connection therewith for the
discussion of questions of hygiene and
maritime and colonial security. The
scope of Inquiry proposed is wide and
the topics seem to be irrelevant, but
the work has been so systematized that
investigation and discussion in each de
partment will be carried on independ
ently. The exposition will comprise three
divisions. The first will be under the
general head of hygiene, one section of
which will contain publications relat
ing to this subject; another will relate
to the application of physical and nat
ural science to the hygiene of seamen
and of the inhabitants of the coast; a
third to applications of civil or maritime
engineering; a fourth to the prepara
tion of food on board of vessels, pre
served foods, refrigerating apparatus
everything, in fact, suggestive of mod
ern methods and inquiry into matters
for the interest and welfare of coast
and maritime peoples.
Under the second division "Security"
lazar-houses. Red Cross methods,
lighthouse signals, equipment and
dress for Balvors. apparatus for sal
vage, life buoys and transports for the
wounded and shipwrecked will be icon
sidored. Under the third division
"Fishery" fishing and Its auxiliary
sciences and the physical, Intellectual
and moral development of fishermen
,and sailors, will be considered.
While necessarily there will be much
that is purely theoretical In the discus
sion of the topics thus briefly outlined,
the simple fact that theories have been
elaborated in regard to them Is sug
gestive ot progress in ways of health,
comfort and longevity conditions thai
make for human happiness and useful-
ness and exemplify evolution In some
of ltd most subtle phases.
It is small wonder that the proposal
of Sir Thomas Lipton to race the cup
defender and challenger- across the At
lantic has been received with surprise
by the New York Yacht Club, and there
seems little likelihood that It will be
entertained. The accidents that have
already befallen the slightly built rac
ing machines show that the factor of
safety has been cut down as low as It
was possible to cut It, and that it will
be little short of wonderful if bbth
yachts live through the races without
mishap. Of course, In the event of a
race across the ocean the sail plans
would be modified, and the boats
braced and strengthened to withstand
the shock of the waves; but while the
Shamrock, under rough-weather rig,
and prepared fully for the voyage, may
make the long Journey In safety, she
will make no attempt at speed, and will
be sailed so as to protect her from the
violence of the waves. But even with
all Ihese precautions, several challeng
ers have been wrenched so severely on
the high seas that it was necessary to
dock them before they could enter the
races, and it is hardly likely that either
the Shamrock or the Constitution could
be raced from shore to shore without
grave danger, not only to the yachts
themselves, but to the lives of those
who sail In them. There can be no
question that a face across the Atlantic
would be fine" sport; that it would afford
abundant opportunity for a test of sea
manship, and that It would attract the
Interest of the world even more, per
haps, than the cup races off Sandy
Hook. It should not, however, be made
by feather-weight racing craft, such
as the Constitution and the Shamrock,
but by yachts built for that kind of
work, and able to meet the high-rolling
seas without danger of being wrecked
or capsized In mid-ocean, to the deadly
peril of all on board.
All of the great trade centers which
are the Initial shlpplng-pdlnts to the
ocean for large" areas of production are
In a limited sense inland cities. New
York on the .Hudson, Chicago on a
feeder of the St. Lawrence, Philadelphia
on the Delaware. Baltimore on the Pa
tapsco, St. Louis and New Orleans on
the Mississippi, and Portland on the
Willamette an$ Columbia, are exam
ples. Witness also, In Europe, London
on the Thames, Liverpool on the Mer
sey, Bremen on the Weser, Hamburg
on the Elbe, Antwerp on the Schelde,
Bordeaux on tlie Garonne, and Paris on
the Seine. If salt water Is the first es
sential of a commercial city, why do
San Francisco, Boston and Newport
News yield tc Chicago, and Seattle,
Tacoma and Everett to Portland?
Ships go as far inland as they can, fol
lowing the established custom of trade
from the beginning of time of the meet
ing of seller and buyer at the point
on the trade route most convenient to
both.
The few days of sunshine of last
week caused a marked Improvement
In the appearance of lowland wheat,
pushed the strawberry crop forward
rapidly, caused peas to fill, currants
to ripen, corn to start, and, Indeed,
Induced a general forward movement
In the, domjtfrl of agriculture In the
Willamette Valley. Having thus per
formed a generous act, the clerk of the
weather changed the programme with
out apparent cause or due warning,
and let loose, as it were, "chill No
vember's surly blasts" and rains upon
the June fields and gardens. "Pota
toes needed rain," say the growers of
the useful tubers, and the rest of us
are driven to seek consolation In the
fact that this need has been supplied.
The announcement is made semi-offl-clally
that Pension Commissioner H. C.
Evans has handed his resignation to
the President. It is explained that
while for personal reasons the Presi
dent has been disposed to retain Evans
in office, thcttltude of the latter has
for months been that of "dignified Irri
tation." President McKinley would
like, it Is said, to stand between his
Commissioner and the rascally pension
agents who have made the life of the
latter a burden, but political conditions
will not permit this. So he will en
deavor to soften the matter by finding
a less trying but equally remunerative
place for him, thus making concessions
necessary to his own peace of mind, to
influential pension agents.
Susan B. Anthony's address deliv
ered on the opening day of the annual
convention of the National Woman's
Suffrage Association at Minneapolis In
cluded the following passage:"
When the mother of Christ shall be made
the true irfodel of womanhood and motherhood,
when the office of maternity shall be held a
cred, and the "mother bhall consecrate herself,
as did Mary, to the one Idea of bringing forth
the Christ child, then, and not till then, will
this earth see a new order of men and women,
.prone to good rather than to evil.
The New York Sun quotes this pas
sage, and fairly says that If women
follow such a model "they cannot be
politicians. They will pull baby car
riages instead of wires. Their ofilce is
to raise children for the Republic and
the future." '
A considerate public will deeply sym
pathize with Secretary Hay in the be
reavement that has fallen upon him
and his household through the tragic
death of his eldest son. The death of
a young man just entering upon a ca
reerof honoi and usefulness is, to a
certain extent, a public misfortune,
while to parents whose hopes are sud
denly blasted by the untimely passing
of a promising son, the event Is a bitter
calamity. This being true, public sym
pathy and regret In full measure attend
Secretary and Mrs. Hay In the severe
affliction that has overtaken them.
It would be quite disloyal to McKin
ley, Hanna, Foraker et al. even to sup
pose that anything new or unexpected
would come from the Ohio Republican
Convention. Ohio is a great state, but
its political parties are in that condi
tion of subserviency expressed by the
term "thoroughly organized." The ma
chine does Its work there with neatness
and dispatch.
The population of Salem is again set
down in the census "returns at 4258. It
is a beggarly showing for the capital of
Oregon. Has the place, grown at all
during the past thirty years? Or was
the census enumerator too stupid to
make his returns Jn an Intelligible man
ner? Salem certainly cannot "point
with pride."
We guarantee that Bryan, In declin
ing a third nomination for the Presi
dency which has not been offered him,
d,oes not think he is rejecting an im
perial crowot
EAvST OREGON' IKKIGATlb.V
Bakcr City Republican.
Congressman Malcolm A. Mood hi
succeeded In securing a promteb of a
visit to Eastern Oregon by Professor F.
H. Newell, chief hydrographer of the
Geological Survey. Some time within the
near future this distinguished Irrigation
expert "will be in our part of the stute,
to measure the prominent streams and
furnish data regarding the possibilities of
reclaiming arid lands.
Announcement of this fact should create
widespread Interest and generate an In
tense spirit of activity. Professor New
ell, the dispatch 3tates, has been visiting
those regions where the farmers showed
an appreciation ot such work, and by
united, eager demand, offered some en
couragement to the Government In uf
fordlng all possible assistance. He did
not come to the vast arid region of Oregon-
before because there seemed no de
mand for his services. He found nothing
here to encburage him to believe that pre
paratory work by the Government would
be followed up by Intelligent effort to ap
ply Information conveyed.
Congressman Moody ha3 persuaded the
survey that 'Eastern Oregon farmers are
alive to the possibilities of Irrigation. His
arguments have accomplished what ab
sence of concerted action and progressive
activity on the part of the farmers should
have done before. It now rests with the
farmers to substantiate Mr. Moody's
statements in their behalf. In their keep
ing lies the simple duty of demonstrating
that the agriculturists of this vast unde
veloped region' are awake, are in tl line
of march to greater and better conditions
than those which have blessed their ancestors.
Oregon Is known to po?spss a vast arid j
belt. Irrlgatlom enterprises here have not i
gained the substantial headway noted In j
many other climes. Land In this country,
which If In California would be brilliant
with orange groves or richly productive
of luscious fruits, is set to sagebrush, has
been set to that useless shrub for genera
tions past, and will be so in the future un
less greater enterprise Imbues the Inhab
itants. Irrigation In Eastern Oregon will un
fold possibilities so great that, compared
with the present, they might b? thought
a dream. There Is soil here, fertlh, pro
ducing soil, quickly , responsive tb the hus
bandman's touch if watered.
Around the outskirts of other communi
ties population is clinging to barren
earth, thinly clad with soil, broken with
boulders, and deprived of every produc
tive Ingredient. Wavering at a move
which takes them from environments fa
miliar, to those they know not of, they
pour forth good human energy upon ster
ile ground. ;
These conditions cannot exist when such
vast tracts as spread .before the eye In
Eastern Oregon are open to settlement.
If these thrifty, Industrious people are
taught where to look. Nothing In modern
days does more to attract Immigrants and
capital than legitimate advertising of re
sources. If the eminent Government Irri
gation expert Is known to be spending a
considerable period In thl3 region, and
the Intelligent reports sent out coyer facts
outlining the vast resources of Eastern
Oregon, no surer magnet cquld be formed
for capital. Investors and homeseekers
would follow his statements regarding
agricultural development with absorbing
Interest.
Commencing at The Dalles, Congress
man Moody and Professor Newell will
traverse most of Eastern Oregon. All the
larger streams will be carefully meas
ured, and notes made of Irrigation possi
bilities. One of the watercourses men
tioned In the outline already furnished
was Powder River, flowing by Bakef's
very door.
In anticipation of this, visit, farmers
and business men generally would find It
to the advantage of their community If
an effort were made to prepare Informa
tion, afford Professor Newell opportunity
for observation and study, and manifest
Buch nn interest as would encourage this
valued department further to analyze
Eastern Oregon and report on Its pros
pects. This is one of thfe lines of legiti
mate advertising, which produces tenfold
results. A wlde-avake community will
quickly grasp the opportunity.
A Dangerous Gan.
Hudson Maxim In the Home Magazine.
During the last few years we have
heard a great deal about the man behind
the gun. He has had his share of pralst.
We have pictured him in our mind's eye
as a bronzed hero for whom death has
no terrors. There Is another type of man
behind the cun of whom we have not
heard so much, but he Is an equally brave
and Interesting character. He Is the In
ventive crank. He Is usually possessed of
the most unbounded confidence In his own
devices, due to a blissful Ignorance of the
powerful agencies he attempts to handle.
He Is a real hero all right, and will al
ways express his willingness to stand
to his gun during tests, while the usual
man behind the gun seek3 shelter. Only
recently an Inventor constructed a gun
from gas pipe for throwing dynamite with
gunpowder. He took It to Sandy Hook
for trial, but as the ordnance officers
would not permit him to stand beside
It while he touched It off, he was great
ly enraged and refused to let the gun be
tested at all by the United States Gov
ernment. He threatened to give forelgr
governments the benefit of his Inven
tion, and Uncle Sam would be obllgea
to do without It. He took his gun home
with him, where he could test It all by
himself, which he did In a field back of
his house. He was picked up unconscious,
with his under jaw gone, and a few other
parts missing.
What Tommy Atklnn Ilntci.
Monthly Review.
If tfhere is one thing Tommy hates It is
being worried. The word is a poor one,
and has better but less polite substitutes
in his own vernacular. I don't deny that
he will grouse (grumble) heartily over the
most necessary work, but he will grouse
In a very different and more justifiable
way over unnecessary work, or work given
h.m at t'ne wrong time, when a little con
sideration would have shown the order to
be unfair. There are times when details
must be Insisted on; there are others
when a sympathetic Instinct would say:
"Let them alone." He hates a succes
sion of contradictory orders, one counter
manding the other. Often this is in
evitable, but he Is shrewd enough to
make allowances where It Is so, and to
distinguishes cases where it Is only fore
sight and consideration that are lacking.
An officer's knowledge of his work and
knowledge of his men. never far sep
arated, are here .closly allied. An order
which Is wrong through shortsightedness
or ignorance, though Its results in incon
venience to the giver, may be nothing at
all, reacts inexorably on the rank and
file In the shape of annoyance and worry
perhaps far out of proportion to Its in
trinsic importance.
Tariff Itisne Apraln Forvrard.
Springfield (Mass.) Republican.
Against the Eastern Republican move
ment to punish Babcock by removing him
from the ways and means committee and
the chairmanship of the Congressional
campaign committee, lies the certainty
that the Western Republicans will resent
the attempt and Insist upon some modifi
cation ot Government protection to trust
extortion in the home market. Babcock
knew that Western Republican sentiment
was strongly back of him in putting for
ward such a bill as he has, or he would
not have taken the step. He may be
forced to retreat and the Western Repub
licans may be Induced to keep still a while
longer, most probably. The Eastern wing
of the party Is the stronger of the two.
and will be able to use the prevailing
prosperity and the old tariff argument of
protection to labor and small concerns,
with powerful effect. But success in keep
ing the party together against any change
in the tariff must result In restoring the
tariff question to something of irs old po
sition of importance in American politics.
WOOt, -VERSUS COTTON.
Boston Herald.
In the last bulletin qf the National As
sociation of Wool Manufacturers the edi
tor endeavors and to quite an extent suc
cessfullyto meet the adverse comments
that have been raised by the woolgrowers
concerning the amount of cotton and oth
er substitutes that have been used dur
ing the last few years In the manufacture
of alleged woolen and worsted goods.
Probably few not Interested In the busi
ness have been aware of vthe great ex
tent to which of late wool has given
placo to other materials In these classes
of manufacture. One of the largest and
most successful manufacturers of this
country recently said that, In his opinion,
cotton was used at the present time In
the manufacture of wool and woolen
goods to what would be the equivalent
of 200.000.COO pounds of American wool in
the grease. As the total wool clip of this
country for the year 1900 Is estimated at
less than 300,000.000 pounds. It will be seen
that cotton plays a part almost as great
as wool In the production of wool fabrics.
The editor of the Bulletin admits that
the use Is large; that as the predilections
of the American people for the bargain
counter Is notorious; that as they expect
to purchase something for less than the
cost of materials and manufacture, they
Invite and cannot justly complain of de
ception. But. without saying It In so
many words, he admits that the difficulty
In the present Instance Is the artificially
produced high price of wool.
He says that the free wool tariff of 1KM
not only admitted an enormous quantity
of adulterated woolen goods from abroad,
but also reduced the cost of domestic all
wool goods to a point In keeping with
free raw material. When the duties on
wool were restored under the new tariff,
the manufacturers, particularly those
making ready-made clothing, which repre
sents a great part of the use made of
wool and woolen textile fabrics, found It
Impossible to put up their prices to cor
respond with the artificial advance In the
cost of the raw material. The editor of
the Eulletln'holds the tariff of 1SD4 respon
sible for the present use of substitutes,
because it accustomed the American peo
ple to a range of low prices from which
they cannot now be persuaded to depart.
This, it seems to us. Is a back-handed
responsibility, since, if in the Dlngley tar
iff the wool schedule had been left as In
the preceding tariff, the American manu
facturers could have supplied their custo
mers with the low-priced goods which
they needed without having to resort so
largely to the use of wool substitutes.
Even the editor of the Bulletin admits
that the wcol duties under the present
tariff law are too high, that they oper
ate to restrict the consumption of wool,
and are thus Injurious to the grower of
that staple, a result which he says the
wool manufacturers pointed out to the
woolgrowers at the time the Dlngley bill
was under Congressional consideration.
The statement has been frequently made
at Washington by those representing the
woolgrowers that, If a high duty was
maintained upon imported wool. It would
not required many years before there
would be produced In the United States
all of the wool that the American people
require. To quite an extent present ex
perience Is demonstrating the truth of
this forecast, although in a manner that
the woolgrowers could never have ex
pected. Instead of Increasing their pro
duction of wool up to the level of an In
creased demand, they have, by Insisting
upon extremely high prices, brought the
per capita American demand for wool
pretty closely down to the limit of their
former production; hence. Instead of In
creasing the supply, they have lessened
the demand, and we have low prices for
wool In our market simply because even
the present domestic wool clip, which Is
considerably less In quantity than It was
fifteen years ago. appears to be mora
than equal to the demands of the consum
ing public.
We are not Importing any considerable
quantity .of the foreign manufactures of
wool; we are simply doing without this
staple and are using cotton In place of
It. So long as cotton at ten cents a
pound can perform the service of wool,
which on a scoured basis costs fifty-five
to sixty cents a pound, it is obvious that
the former and not the latter will be
used; and as the editor of the Bulletin
points out, modern Invention has gone so
far In the Improvement of machinery and
methods that cotton manufacturers have
had given to them not only the material
appearance, but also the "feel," of wool
len goods.
The American consumers, numbering In
the aggregate 75,000,000 people1, have In
this way revenged themselves upon their
woolgrowing and woolmanufacturlng op
pressors. The latter, through Congres
sional Influence, have decreed that wool
and wool fabrics should have a high and
artificially sustained market price given
to them. The method adopted for the
purpose of securing this result has been
little less than legalized extortion. The
only means by which the American con
sumers have been able to defend them
selves Is to announce that to quite a de
gree they will do without wool, Just as
their forefathers announced that they
would do without tea when the autocratic
English Government compelled them to
pay a tax upon this. This Instinctive ac
tion, just as effective in its results as
though It had been planned, has great
ly astonished and disappointed the wool
grower, and Is changing the wool Into
what may be fairly described as cotton
manufacturing business.
i
La Grippe in Fifteenth Century.
Notes and Queries.
It Is very well known that the Influenza
Is not an exclusively modern complaint,
but I am not sure Whether a curious ref
erence to it by Bower, the contlnuator of
Fordun's Chronicle, has been noted. Writ
ing of the year 1420) he says that among
those who died In Scotland that year were
Sir Henry St. Clair, Earl of Orkney; Sir
James Douglas of Dalkeith, Sir William
de Aberncthy. Sir William de St. Clair, Sir
William Cockburn. and many others, all
by "that Infirmity whereby not only great
men, but Innumerable quantity of the
commonalty, perished, which was vulgar
ly termed le Quhew tie Quhew a vulgarl
bus dlcebatur)." (Bower, xv, 32.) Now
"quh" In Scottish texts usually represents
the sound of "wh" (properly aspirated),
therefore It seems that In the 15th century
the Influenza was known as "the Whew,"
Just as It Is known In the 20th century as
"the flue." I have refrained from quoting
at length Bower's explanation of the
cause of. the epidemic, but there seems lit
tle doubt that the disease was Identical
with that with which we are so grievous
ly familiar.
The Mr.n Behind the Pen.
Magennls tveagh. In Leslie's Weekly.
Horning, evening, early and late,
Rain, or sunshine, or snow.
Behold our friend of the fourth estate
In the hives of Newspaper Row!
Who uo tireless? day by day?
Who so modeit of men?
Who so young-, though his head be gray?
The man behind the pen.
Headache. heartache, merry or sad.
True to his chrisen trust.
Recording the deeds of the good and the bad.
Gentle, generouE. Just.
Happy-go-lucky, fond of good cheer.
Little to show for it when
He balances books, at the end of a year
Tho man behind the pen.
Popular Idols! Children of fame!
Which of you pauses to think
That most of the glory encircling your name
Was born of printer's Ink?
Towns turn out the people shout
With rapture ecstatic ah. then
Remember the wizard who brought It 'about!
The man behind the pen.
Morning, evening, early and late.
Rain, or rinshlne. or snow.
Behold our friend ot the fourth estate
In the hives of Newspaper Row!
Who so tireless day by day?
Who se modest of tnon?
Who so young, though his head be gray?
The man behind the pen.
NOTE AXD COMMENT.
And the next day It rained.
Last ditches appear to be scattered all,
over the Transvaal.
Drop a hundred million dollars Into the ,
slot and get a trust.
Philadelphia Is achieving a hit In the
role of a terrible example.
What shall we do with our girls? Is be
ginning to be a serious question in Rus
sia and Italy.
Having laid down hi3 arms, of course
General Callles will no longer be able
to lift up his head.
The theatrical season has closed in the
East, but the murder trials have stepped.
In to amuse the matinee girls.
Keep your eye on Funston. He wilt
probably celebrate the Fourth of July by
going out into the woods and capturing
a Filipino private.
LI Hung Chang has retained nn emlnont
lawyer. The old man evidently Intends to
make a will that will stay made for a
few months after his decease.
Another boom in tho stock market is
predicted. Buy early and you will be out
of danger of the fear which Is bringing
Andrew Carnegie's gray hairs with sor
row down to the grave.
We have beat Hon. John Bull at golf.
In the yacht races, ard on the turf, and
the Fourth of July Is coming around to
remind him that we had something fhe
best of the War of the Revolution.
Swiss cow bells have been Introduced
Into the Himalayas to frighten the tigers
away from the cattle. If the cow bells
do not work, accordions can be substitut
ed. Any tiger that ever growled woi?Ad
fly from the sound of an accordion.
A prominent colored man who Is com
ing to Portland, organized a chapter of
the Order of Hawks In Seattle. As the
views of the colored race and those ot
the hawk coincide on the chicken ques
tion, tho good brother ought to be well
qualified to put the order on an inter
esting basis.
The following dramatic criticism ap
peared recently In a Norwegian paper:
"The traveling theatrical company at
present visiting this town gave one night
a representation of a play styled 'Tho
Merry W.ves of Windsor,' by a person
called Shakespeare. The play Is said to
be a comedy, but Is terribly monotonous
In its effect, especially the two first acts.
An uncouth and besotted cavalier, who
flirts and spoons with a bevy of deml
mondalnes, but who becomes a victim
to their absurd Intrigues such Is the sum.
total of the plot. We can only say that
such a play Is roor fare to Invite an edu
cated public to. It was a relief when the
curtain dropped, and wo had an opportun
ity of listening to a selection of humorous
songs."
"I heard Dr. Conan Doyle tell a good
story during a trip I made to London last
Winter." said an Eastern man a day or
two ago. "He said that at a dinner party
he had attended the guests began dis
cussing the dally discoveries made to the
detriment of people occupying high sta
tions 'In life and enjoying the confidence
of the business world. Dr. Doyle said
that It had always been his opinion that
there was a skeleton In the closet of
every man who had reached the age of
40. This led to a lot of discussion, some
of the guests resenting the Idea that there
was no one who had not in his past
something that were better concealed. As
a result of the controversy. Dr. Doyle
said. It was suggested that his views as.
to family skeletons be put to the test.
The diners selected a man of their ac
quaintance whom all knew only as an
upright Christian gentleman, whose word
was accepted as quickly as his bond and
who stqod with the highest In every re
spect. 'We wrote a telegram saying:
"All Is discovered, flee at once," to this
pillar of society,' said Dr. Doyle, 'and
sent It. He disappeared the next day,
and has never been heard from since."
Attorney-General Knox Is the most
youthful-looking man that has occupied a.
Cabinet portfolio In recent years. Ho
looks more like a boy of 18 or M than
he does like a man of middle age. The
other day he was taken for a boy by an
old gentleman who was at the Depart
ment of Justice to see the Attorney-General
on business. Mr. Knox's office Is on
tho first lloor of the building. The walt-tnsr-room
is on the opposite side of the
hall. The old gentleman had been sitting
there for an hour or more to see the,
Attorney-General. At last Mr, Knox
emerged from his office to go to some
other part of the building. The old gen
tleman mistook him for the office boy,
and stepping up to him, said:
"Say, sonny, what kind of a fellow Is,
your boss? I see you coming out of hid
office, and presume you know all about
him. I have a little business to trans
act with the Attorney-General, and would
like to get a line on Mr. Knox before
tackling him."
Mr. Knox's cherubic face brightened,
and. with a merry twinkle In his eyo,
said:
"Oh, he's all right. Walk right In and
sit down until I return. I will then hear
what you have to say."
The old gentleman would then and there
have sold nlmself for 30 cents.
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGItAPHERS
Mathllde Mr. Hungerford is a man who
thoroughly believes In himself. Elaine How
very gullible he must be. Town and Country.
Too Fast for Her. Miss Elden There are so
many fact young men nowadays. Miss Youn5
ly H'm yes? you do seem to havc difficulty In
catching one. Philadelphia Eenlng Bulletin.
Horticultural Millinery. "Harry, how do you
like my new hat?" "I don't know, Harriet:
doesn't it need a little more fruit on top and
a little more snrubbery on the left side?"
Chicago Record-Herald.
At the Apothecary's. Poet How much for
this prescription? Apothecary Two dollar,
please. Poet (soliloquizing as he pays) And
tho publishers toll me that poetry Is a drug
In the market. Oh, that It were! Boston
Transcript.
No Sport About It. "I see that the cup de
fender Constitution takes trial trips on Sun
day. Is It right to indulge in a sport on vhc
day of rogt?" "Trips in a cup defender don't
como under the head of sport. They are
classed as danserou scientific experiments."
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
So Sweet of Her! Mrs. Chattcrlelgh Fancy,
dear, at the Browns' last night, they wera all
sajlng how glad they -were to hear you were
at last engaged! Of course, I didn't bl!ve
the report, dear, and I said I wondered any
one could be so stupid as to imagine anything
an absurd !" Punch.
His Marksmanship. "Did did you ever shoot
a man?" questioned the tenderfoot timllly of
Pepperhole Pete. "See here, young filler."
bawled Pepperhole Pete, In a voice that shook
Piko's Peak, "don't you never reflect an my
marksmanship agin! Shoot a man! I never
mlss'd one, y dern galoot!" Ohio Statt Jour
nal. Caught Red-Handed. "We believe yoa to ba
the guilty man." hissed tho great sleith. "I
am innocent," retorted the accused. "Bit those
red stains on, your hands? They art surely
blood." "No, sir; lithograph Ink. I sarted to
read the art supplement of a Sundty paper
while I was perspiring." Chicago Naws.