Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, August 02, 1901, Page 6, Image 6

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    THE MORNING OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1901.
Entered at the Postofflce at Portland, Oregon,
as second-class matter.
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In The Oregonlan should be addressed Invaria
bly Editor Tho Oregonlan," not to the name
of any Individual. Letters relating to advertis
ing, subscriptions or to any business matter
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tation. No stamps should be inclosed for this
purpose.
Puget Sound Bureau Captain A. Thompson,
See at 1111 Pacific avenue, Tocoma. Box 9K,
Tacoxna Postofflce.
Eastern Business Office, 43, 44. 45, 47, 48, 40.
Tribune building. New York City; 403 "Tne
Rookery." Chicago; the S. C. Beckwith special
agency. Eastern representative.
For sale in San Francisco by J. K. Cooper,
74S Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Gold
smith Bros., 236 Sutter street; F. W. Pitts,
.008 Market street! Foster & Orear, Ferry news
rtand.
For sale in Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner,
39 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines. lOtt
So. Spring street.
For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co.,
217 Dearborn street.
For sale in Omaha by Barkalow Bros., 1612
Farnam street.
For sale in Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News
Co., 77 W. Second South street.
For sale In Ocden by "W. C. Kind, 204 Twen-ty-flfth
street
On file at Buffalo. N, Y., in the Oregon ex
hibit at the exposition.
For sale in Washington, D. C, by the Eb
oett House news stand.
For sale in Denver, Colo., by Hamilton &
Kecdrlck. OOC-912 Seventh street.
TODAY'S WEATHER Fair and continued
warm; northwesterly winds.
YESTERDAY'S WEATHER-Maxlmum tem
perature, SO; minimum temperature, ES; pre
cir'tatlon. 0.00.
PORTLAND, FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1001
OUR TORREXS LAW.
Very little has yet been done by property-owners
in this state to bring their
property under the provisions of the
Torrens svstem of land title registra
tion, enacted by the last Legislature.
That the process of registering titles
should be slow is to be expected, for
there is no branch of civil rights that
undergoes so few changes as that re
specting ownership of real property.
The Torrens system of title registra
tion is a radical change from past
methods, and people will not adopt its
provisions until they more fully under
stand Its advantages. Briefly stated,
the object of the law Is to provide a
method by which a property-owner
may have a judicial decree declaring
his title to land, such decree to be un
assailable by anv nerson upon any
ground. After this has been accom
plished, the title is registered, and with
each transfer a new registration is
made, so that the chain of title may
be seen at a glance and a purchaser of
land may know that his title Is beyond
Question. He not only, knows that the
title appears to be good upon the rec
ords, but also that it Is good In fact
The settlement of disputes, or possible
disputes, concerning the title to land is
an object well worth the attention given
It by the last Legislature, and the time
will come when the change to registra
tion of titles will be looked upon as a
reform of no less importance than the
adoption of the Australian ballot.
'One of the chief obstacles to be over
come by any scheme having for Its
object the quieting of a title is the
right of every person Interested to have
his day In court When an ordinary
suit Is brought to quiet title, the only
persons bound by the decree are those
who are specifically made parties to the
suit and who are served with summons.
One not made a party to the suit may
come In, years afterward, and claim
an interest The Torrens act provides
that all persons interested, known and
unknown, shall be made parties to the
suit, and shall be served with notice
by publication. The title Is examined
by a competent person and a decree
rendered by the Circuit Court upon the
report of the examiner. After this de
cree has been rendered, no person can
assert a claim, to the land unless he
first show by proper proof that he had
no knowledge of. the proceeding; and
this claim must be made within two
years or he fs forever barred, regardless
of his ignorance or any civil disability.
Under the present law a claimant may
appear within ten' years after his title
accrued, and If a disability, such as In
sanity. Imprisonment, etc.,- existed, the
statute does not run against him dur
ing such disability. Under such a sys
tem no man knows when a claimant
may appear to question his title. "Un
der the Torrens system a claimant
must appear in two years or his right
is forever gone and cannot be revived
upon any ground whatever.
But while the Torrens act shuts off a
person's claim to real property, It does
not deprive an Innocent person of his
remedy. The act provides for the crea
tion of an Indemnity fund by means of
a charge of one-tenth of 1 per cent
upon the value of each tract registered.
Thus, if a tract of land valued at $5000
be registered, the owner must deposit
55 in the indemnity fund. Any person
who had no knowledge of the registra
tion proceedings wlthjn two years, and
who can establish a claim to the land,
can have recourse td this fund but can
not attack the title of the registered
owner. He must, however, make his
claim against this fund within ten
years. The disadvantages of the old
system are that a man's title to land
may appear perfect upon the records,
but be. In fact, wholly bad; or It may
appear imperfect upon the records and
be at the same time entirely good. For
example, a man may own a tract of
land which was but ten days ago pat
ented to him by the United States. No
title could appear better upon the rec
ords. Yet a purchaser who buys upon
the credit of the record may go to the
land and find another purchaser in pos
session of the land with a deed from
the patentee. The man with the prior
deed and possession will hold as against
the subsequent purchaser who depend
ed upon the record. Under the Torrens
system no title can be secured except
upon the records.
Agalrv nmn may hold land under
a deed from a man who was once mar
ried, but whose wife did not sign the
de;d. The wife may -have died prior
to the making of the deed, and there
tore the title is perfect, but there is an
apparent flaw in the title. Every per
son of observation knows of Instances
In which men have bought and sold
land, made improvements, and even
"built cities ron the land, and then,
after many years, an adverse claimant
appeared and successfully asserted his
title. In nine cases out of ten there Is
no Justice in such a claim, but It suc
ceeds through the technical title a man
may establish according: to law. The
Torrens system avoids this, and gives
an owner assurance that his title is
good, and that any improvements he
mav make cannot be taken away from
him. As stated in yesterday's dis
patches from Salem, It will be found
more expensive to recister a title than
to secure an abstract of title. But there
is this difference an abstract shows the
condition of the record title, while the
registration shows the title Itself. The
abstract may be misleading; the regis
tration cannot be. An owner who pro
cures an abstract must employ an at
torney to examine the abstract and ad
vise him of the legal effect of each of
the conveyances.
Though the abstract may show a per
fect title, the owner mav in fact have
none. A registered title is unassailable.
While the first cost of registration,
therefore, may be heavier than the se
curing of an abstract, the cost in the
end will be less and the results at
tained much greater. The main feat
ures of the Torrens act, thus briefly
stated, commend It to the consideration
of all property-owners. Those who are
interested in its proovisions may find it
on page 438 of the session laws of 1901.
Thouch mativ land titles in Oregon date
back fifty years, It is now a proper
time for property-owners to secure that
stability of property interests which Is
made possible by the Torrens act. The
next fifty years will see a wonderful de
velopment of this state, and it will be a
matter of no small consequence if it
can be said of real property In Oregon
that its owners can convey It by an
unquestionable title. Such a condition
would enhance the value of real prop
erty, lessen litigation and facilitate
conveyances.
XATIOXAL EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIA
TION. It is probable that no method of
bringing the states of the Pacific North
west to the notice of the country at
large could -be devised, which would be
more effective than that of Inducing
the National Educational Association
to hold one of its annual meetings here.
There is information now that if the
matter shall now be taken hold of with
vigor and address, the next annual
meeting may be held at Portland. The
appointed time is June next. What is
needed now is assurance of such sup
port for the association as will Induce
it to come here. This support Is sought
through Increase of membership. If
guarantee can be had that seven to
ten thousand members can be obtained
In Oregon and Washington, with pay
ment of the membership fee of two dol
lars each, it Is not doubted that Port
land will be selected as the place of
meeting In June next
It is necessary only to awaken a pub
lic Interest in the subject, to get this
guarantee. Since the meeting is to be
sought for Portland, the initiative must
be taken here. It is suggested that the
Mayor call the attention of the Com
mon Council to the subject, with a rec
ommendation that it extend an invita
tion to the association to hold Its next
meeting at Portland, and that our
commercial bodies take similar action;
and with these invitations let assur
ance be offered that our people will
undertake the work of securing the ad
ditional membership. Also, that proper
places of meeting, for the work of the
association during Its stay, will be pro
vided at Portland.
Upon this Initiative the committee of
the association, which is delegated with
authority to select the place of meet
ing, will be expected to visit Portland
for Inquiry and conference; and it is
believed that such assurance can be
and will be given as will lead the com
mittee to designate Portland as the
place for holding the next annual
meeting of the association.
Such meeting, held here, would mean
a great deal for Portland, for Oregon,
and for the whole Pacific Northwest
It would bring twelve thousand to
fifteen thousand teachers and promot
ers of education to Portland, and their
tours would be extended to all parts
of the Northwest States. The fruits
would appear In the work of a multi
tude of schools throughout the United
States, and In the knowledge spread
abroad by so large a number of Intelli
gent observers. Nothing else could
give our country so general or so effect
ive an advertisement Our people ought
to be eager to take advantage of this
opportunity; and The Oregonlan joins
in the sugges'tlon that the municipal
authorities and commercial bodies of
Portland take the initiative through
resolutions inviting the association to
hold its next annual meeting here. Our
citizens, it 'cannot be doubted, will re
spond to all the reasonable require
ments of the association, and be glad
to do It
CITY OR COUNTRY?
The pope's verdict that "rural popu
lations are happier and healthier In
body, mind and morals" than the resi
dents of towns and cities, will be ac
cepted without question In some quar
ters, but In more than one respect the
theorem is debatable. It Is easy to
form such- an opinion if we look upon
the manifest imperfections of city life.
Many urban occupations promote dis
ease of various kinds. The sedentary
life has its terrors for lungs, liver and
kidneys. Strain of business engenders
nervousness and depression. Vice in
its gayer form thrusts Itself upon at
tention at every turn.
Yet the country is not without its
share of troubles. The typical farmer,
bent and anxious: the typical farmer's
wife, dull-eyed and wrinkled, are not
exactly pictures of abounding health.
The farmer has his diseases and his
difficulty to get doctor, medicine and
nurse promptly. Runaways and explo
sions take him off quite as expeditiously
and often more distressingly than they
operate upon the city man. The farm
er's wife grows old before her time.
She fails bodily under hard work; she
goes insane through loneliness and
worry. The sanitary achievements that
have prolonged life In the modern city
are all but unknown on the average
farm. Health of mind Is not synony
mous with emptiness and rest There
are healthful as well as stimulating ef
fects in the social and Intellectual-stimulus
of libraries, lectures, theaters,
museums, concerts and good preaching.
In the realm of morals and training
of the young we have long cherished
the tradition that the country is ahead
of the city. Herein, perhaps, lies a
danger of confusing the country with
hard work and the city with idleness.
It is true that poverty gives the young
man habits of Industry and equipments
for life's battle which are apt to be
denied the children of the rich; but it
is also true that the successful man
began life as a newsboy or mechanic or
clerk or office boy quite as often as he
began on the farm. The city has its
peculiar offenses of conviviality and ar
tificial pleasures. But in the country
are nourished solitary vices, feuds and
hardness of heart which the more cul
tivated and absorbing life of the city
tends to eradicate. It is In the country
that women are driven through melan
cholia to suicide, boys through hard
repression to parricide and theft, and
girls by absence of sympathy to run
away to careers of pleasurable ease.
Outside of cities flourish the vendetta
and the lynching mania, while the "so
cial evil" of the "tenderloin" Is offset
In the country by seduction, rape and
Incest, usually more depraved In their
manifestation than urban annals afford.
It is a mistake to suppose that in
the country one escapes temptation;
for human nature is the same every
where and the strongest tempters are
those man carries about with him in
his own body and mind. Sin is not the
sole effect of temptation. Only through
temptation Is the true soul made strong
for life's work.
LABOR NEEDS JUSTICE, NOT SOUP
KITCHENS.
The intelligent leaders of labor fully
appreciate what the establishment of
what are called Industrial betterments
by wise and humane employers for the
protection of health and the Increase of
creature comforts mean to labor, but
they fairly say that since improved liv
ing conditions mean improved health,
which means better work, Intelligent
employers may be trusted to make this
investment as a good business proposi
tion. What labor asks at the hands of
capital is not the beneficence that is
dictated by self-interest, but simple
justice. To illustrate: Judge Gager the
other day Issued an injunction against
the Ansonia (Conn.) strikers that
ought to be tested in the higher courts.
Judge Gager ordered that no form of
"persuasion" should be used by the
strikers to induce other workmen to
join the revolt
Under this ruling a striker could not
talk with another workman at any
place or time with a purpose to convert
him to the striker's cause, under pen
alty of being punished for contempt of
court. If this injunction will hold water
as the law of the land, why, then, the
Judge can forbid the holding of public
meetings by the strikers and the deliv
ering of addresses designed to influence
nonunion workmen, and prohibit the
printing of reports of such meetings in
the newspapers. This Connecticut in
junction is a direct blow at free speech,
the right of public assemblage and the
freedom of the press, since all these
things are in danger by logical exten
sion of the doctrine of contempt of
court set forth "in Judge Gager's Injunc
tion. The labor leaders will, of course,
carry their appeal from this injunction
to the highest court in the land, if nec
.essary, because only in this way can
their dearest fundamental rights be
vindicated.
It is not a thing of vital consequence
to the thoughtful leaders of labor
throughout the country whether An
drew Carnegie gives labor a great li
brary or not; the vital concern of labor
Is to see to It that in future no tariff
unduly protects Andrew Carnegie so
extravagantly that he is able to acquire
an enormous fortune In an incredibly
short time, and is able to cast his mil
lions into the crowd, right and left,
even as a purse-proud aristocrat in the
Middle Ages fliing a handful of silver
to the mob as the contemptuous largess
of a master to his menials. Labor can
get along far better without Carnegie
libraries than with them at the cost of
the legislation that made a Carnegie
possible. Labor wants Its fundamental
rights vindicated from direct or indi
rect legislative abuses far more than It
does free libraries. Labor needs sim
ple justice; not largess at the hands of
a complaisant plutocrat, who "has '
money to burn" as incense in his own
honor and glorification.
There is no moral difference between
a Carnegie who gives away a library
and a Carnegie that does not give away
a library so far as his relations to the
rights of the people are concerned, ex
pressed in the methods by which he
was able to acquire his enormous for
tune. To distribute something of the
swag to the crowd has been a salient
characteristic of every great pirate,
whether he stole without the law, like
a buccaneer, or within the law, like a
railroad wrecker or a juggler in stocks.
Labor is right when it speaks with
contempt of Carnegie, casting libraries,
right and left, as he might a handful
of silver dollars into a crowd of gutter
snipes to scramble for, and declines to
be grateful to him for his beneficence.
Labor's need is not beneficence; Is not
the multiplication of free books; it is
the multiplication of the defenses of
free labor against the successful greed
of tariff -protected plutocrats. Justice,
not largess, rights vindicated under
law, Is what labor needs, not free
libraries and soup kitchens and col
leges. The presence of Rev. G. W. Izer in
this city will doubtless recall to the
minds of many who were residents here
during his first pastorate the "Woman's
crusade" of 1874. to which he gave cor
dial encouragement "and ardent minis
terial support Twenty-seven years
have passed since that phenomenal
and In a sense hysterical effort was
made to pray the saloons of the coun
try out of existence. In the softened
light of home those who opposed the
effort as futile and fanatlc&l see In it
evidences of the sincerity of good
women and impractical men, who, in
the attempt to transpose cause and ef
fect in the name of temperance, failed
utterly and retired from the hotly con
tested field. 0?he Incidents of that time
belong to the domain of memory. Some
of them will no doubt have a place In
the history of the temperance move
ment of the nineteenth century when
that bulky volume shall be completed,
but for the most part they are memo
ries, merely, that certain names will
recall briefly for yet a little while, but
ultimately to be lost In the unrefund
ing tomb of time.
A dispatch from Denver a few days
ago reported the-death on an arid prai
rie of Mexico of Schlatter, the famous
"healer," who a few years ago took the
credulous of that city by storm. There
are still numerous "Schlatters" travel
ing over the country, and trafficking in
this strange creature's name and fame,
but the assurance Is positively given
that the real Schlatter he of the long,
flaxen hair, light brown beard, droop
ing garments and bare feet, bearing an
expression of unutterable weariness
and ecstatic absorption died a lonely
death on 'the Mexican desert and lies
burled in the old cemetery near Ter
rages, about 150 miles south of the
American line. His record In Denver
I four Winters ago spoke rather of the
superstition and credulity of the Middle
Ages than of the matter-of-fact skepti
cism, of the people of the great West.
An uncouth Norwegian shoemaker, he
suddenly proclaimed himself a divine
healer and was sought by rich and
poor, humble. and great, with a strange,
feverish Intensity that amounted to
religious fanaticism. The man is de
scribed as "open-eyed, vacant, super
stitious; Intensely religious, his eyes far
apart, his irregular features flushed
and feverish, and a thorough believer
in himself." In these elements, strange
as it may appear, lay the secret of his
large following. Why he betook him
self to the desert is unexplained, except
In the probability that In so doing he
sought to further simulate the manner
of Christ. Be this as it may, he could
not withstand the demands of human
hunger, and, crawling under a large
cactus bush, he died, clutching in one
hand a Bible given him by a prominent
woman of Texas, who believed that he
had worked miracles on the body of her
sick son. A strange man with a
strange following, his history proves
not that miracles are possible, but that
the credulous are" not confined to any
age of the world or to any locality.
Sheriff Joseph L. Merrill, of Carroll
County, Georgia, who recently saved a
colored boy from being lynched by a
mob, has received a well-deserved trib
ute to his energy and courageous fidel
ity to his trust from the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of Georgia, who,
In delivering an opinion before the
court last week, said: "Sheriff Merrill
taught the mob that the law can shoot
as well as hang. In xour opinion, if
other Sheriffs in the state would exer
cise the same courage and fidelity to
duty as did this noble man, many
lynchings would be prevented and mob3
grow less frequent." Georgia is not the
only state that has in the past been
disgraced 'by Sheriffs who for the sake
of popularity pandered to the passions
of the mob. Such Sheriffs have dis
graced the records of nearly every state
in the Union. -The trouble Is that the
people elect to the office, which in its
possibilities, If not probabilities, is one
of the highest Importance, not seldom
very cheap men of small brains and
weak personal character. Of course, no
courage In the execution of his office
can be expected of a scurvy little poli
tician when an angry mob seeks to
murder his prisoner. The average
Sheriff is afraid to do his sworn duty
at the cost of personal unpopularity,
and so he generally plays into the
hands of the mob.
The difference between the haphaz
ard, happy-go-lucky dairying of a for
mer era and the methodical, systematic
dairying of the present time Is, in ap
pliances, that between the wooden
churn .with upright dasher or back
breaking crank, by means of which
sour cream was laboriously agitated
until the "butter came," and the mod
ern separator, whereby the butter fat Is
extracted from rich, sweet milk as soon
as It Is drawn from the cow. The dif
ference In the product of the two types
of dairying is that between the soft,
white and yellow "streaked" butter of
the old process, with the aroma of the
churn still lingering about it, and the
firm, golden-tinted' butter of the cream
ery, uniformly colored and sweet as a
nut The former, perhaps, traded for
calico In the embryo department store
of the country crossroads, awaited,
usually In a new cedar washtub, the
coming of the village customer; the lat
ter, in rolls of uniform weight (some
times, it must be confessed, uniformly
short), neatly wrapped and stamped
with the name of the creamery, care
fully shipped and kept in the "ice box,"
meets the demand of the consumer of
the present day. The change Is a de
cided one, and is not remarkable only
because growth is the accepted condi
tion and evolution has passed from the
ory into fact.
The loss of the Nome steamer Charles
D. Lane In far northern waters pre
sents the unusual event of a midsum
mer wreck on a smooth sea. A dense
fog and treacherous rocks, however,
oppose perils to navigation in quiet
waters, and at times, as illustrated by
the wreck of the steamship Rio de Ja
neiro in San Francisco Bay a few
months ago, even in a sheltered pd'rt
The fortunate feature In this latest
wreck is that no lives were lost, the tow
of the Ill-fated vessel being able to res
cue and take her passengers to port.
The lost ship has figured prominently
in Cape Nome traffic for the past two
years, but will be missed chiefly by her
owners, since there is no lack of vessels
to supply the trade between Nome and
southern ports.
While the copper production of the
Lake Superior district showed a de
crease last year of 3.G3 per cent, the
output of these mines has increased
enormously In the last decade. Until
the year 1890 the production of refined
copper by the Lake mines did not, in
any year, reach 100,000,000 pounds. Last
year the total estimated output was
141,603,813 pounds, as compared with
146,950,338 pounds in 1899. The require
ments of electrical business explain this
enormous increase, the supply, notwith
standing the most strenuous activity
in the copper mining districts, scarcely
keeping up with the demand.
Last year the corn crop of the United
States was 2,105,000,000 bushels, which
at 38 cents, the price then quoted,
made the value $810,425,000. The
drouth this year is expected to cut
down the yield about 505,000,000 bush
els. But the 1,600,000,000 bushels, at the
present price, 56 cents, will make this
season's crop worth $896,000,000, or more
than $85,000,000 above the value of last
year's crop. This Is not so disastrous
a failure for the corngrowers as might
easily be imagined.
Veterans of the G. A. R. in encamp
ment at Pleasant Home turned last
Wednesday from the consideration of
war to thoughts of peace, giving their
attention to the most peaceful of all
pursuits that of agriculture. This Is
well, No better use could be made at
this late date and m this peaceful era
of the swords drawn so valiantly and
to such good purpose In the Civil War
than to beat them Into plowshares or
shape them Into pruning-hooks.
It is interesting to note that the most
zealous defenses of hymns are made for
those that have no special literary
merit, but are endeared through long
use. Catchy tunes are another source
of hymnal popularity. Because a relig
ious lyric is a "grand old hymn" does
not redeem it from the charge of being
doggerel.
The War Department has heard of
and censured younsr Schley for his In
terview; there is still opportunity, un
improved, for .the Navy Department
to hear of Sampson's.
A FALSE ACCOUNTING.
St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The New York Evening Post recently
published the following statement of our
account with the Philippines:
Debtor
To one archipelago $20,000,000
To benevolently assimilating the
same. 730 days at $750,000 per day 547.000,000
To expenses able negotiators of
Paris treaty 222,000
To two islands which able nego
tiators thought they had bought 100.000
$567,322,00u
Creditor
By two years' exports to the Phil
ippines, say $3,200,000. protlt on
which at 12 per cent is $384,000
L03S ?506.938.000
The Mississippi Valley Lumberman sug
gests that this statement shows a very
peculiar notion of business, inasmuch as
it indicates that the Post does not regard
as profitable any enterprise that docs not
pay at least 100 per cent in two years,
and something In addition. If every con
cern should estimate as "loss" the capi
tal sunk in Its business there would be
nothing but bankrupts. However, the
Lumberman itself falls In a peculiar er
ror. "According to the usual method of
figuring," it says, "we have made 6.7
per cent on our investment In two years.'.
Just how It manages to make $3S4,000
amount to 6.7 per cent of $567,322,000 i3
beyond the genius of our mathematical
editor. But In spite of the error of the
Lumberman, its criticism Is sound.
Moreover, the Lumberman might have
pointed out that the Post convicts itself
not only of ignorance, but of want of
candor. For not only does 1 charge the
entire expense of the peace commission,
$222,000, to the Philippine acount, but
It makes a similar disposition of $20,
000,000 paid to Spain. But this sum,
though nominally paid for the archipel
ago, was actually paid to assure an early
termination of the negotiations. It was
a sop to Spanish pride, and was Intended
not only to prevent the useless breaking
off of the negotiations and the post
poning of a settlement, but to insure
ratification by Spain. Twenty millions
was a cheap price to pay for the prompt
and definite ending of a situation which
was retarding progress in the Islands
and which was also more or less of a
drag on the entire domestic market Some
notion of what was saved by that $20,
000,000 may be had by considering what
would have been the effect on the stock
market alone of the announcement that
negotiations were suspended. The $20,
000,000, and obviously the $222,000, must
be charged not against the Philippines
only, but also against Porto Rico and
against Cuba, since Cuban tranquillity
has been as profitable an Investment as
Porto Rico.
Furthermore, the Post treats the ex
port business as the only trade which
brings in a profit But if It Is proper to
charge a 12 per cent profit on exports, It
is just as proper to charge a 12 per cent
profit on imports. Finally, not two years,
but three years have elapsed since the
date at which the Post starts Its export
account, July 1, 1893. Since that date,
without including the trade of June, 1901,
the exports to Cuba, Porto Rico and the
Philippines have amounted to $84,452,589
and the Imports from those islands to
$121,070,444. making a total trade of $203,
523,033. The creditor account, therefore,
figuring the profits at the Post's 12 per
cent should amount instead of $334,000 to
$24,662,761. This represents 4.1 per cent
on the investment, and makes a very
different showing from that of the Post.
Nor does this account include the com
mercial benefits of free trade with Porto
Rico, or of the projected tariffs with the
Philippines and with Cuba, both of
which are in tho direction of the free
trade which the Post has long advo
cated. But there Is another aspect of this expansion-
"business" which the Post can
never get through Its hypocritical old
head, and that is that there are- other
returns besides those of dollars and cents.
Few persons except the anti-imperialists
have ever imagined that the taking of tho
Philippines was purely a commercial ven
ture. Few expansionists, if that name
can be properly applied to those who felt
that the Philippines should not be turned
back to Spain or set adrift, have ever
regarded the commercial opportunities as
anything more than an Incidental and
subsidiary advantage. As a matter of
fact, the principal profits on the capital
sunk In the Spanish war and In the
Filipino insurrection are not reducible to
figures. They consist of a prosperous and
rapidly progressing Porto Rico, free from
the Spanish incubus and practically self
governing; in a tranquilized Cuba, soon
to be independent and already showing
remarkable recovery from the ravages
of a long insurrection; in the practically
pacified Philippines, where, as In Cuba
and In Porto Rlco, there Is absolute per
sonal freedom, an Impartial administra
tion of justice, a rapidly developing edu
cational system, and all the agencies that
make for intellectual enlightenment and
material progress. Outside the ranks of
the anti-Imperialists there Is not a citi
zen so utterly mean or so wanting in the
common instincts of humanity who would
not hold that twice the amount In money
and In blood which has actually been paid
would be a cheap price for the opportu
nity to free from the cruelty, injustice
and extortion of Spain the ten or twelve
million Inhabitants of these Islands and
to put them on the high road to liberty,
and enlightenment
"The Devil Can Quote Scripture for
His Purpose."
PORTLAND, August 1. (To the Edi
tor.) Referring -to your editorial of today
concerning my former letter criticising
Heber's hymn, "The Trinity," I wish to
say that I am familiar with chapter iv, In
The Revelation, parts of which you quote
as a continuous quotation, although the
same Is taken from different parts of
said chapter. I believe, however, that no
religious papers except The Oregonlan and
The Sunday Oregonlan nowadays take The
Revelation seriously.
This chapter iv says that St. John saw
four and twenty elders cast their crowns
before the throne, but It does not say that
this is a continuous performance. It fur
ther says that the four beasts "full of
eyes before and behind" continually say
"Holy, holy, holy!" etc. It does not say
that all the saints are accustomed to cast
their crowns before the throne before
which there is "a sea of glass like unto
a crystal."
Would you assert because In a certain
other doggerel I beg pardon, poem It Is
written that four and twenty blackbirds
when baked In a pie began to slng, that
all blackbirds sing? I remember that one
white blackbird does not prove that all
blackbirds are white.
Besides. Is It proof, because a fact Is
set forth In rhyme, that such rhyme Is
poetry and not doggerel?
The King of France and forty thousand men
Marched up a hill and, then, marched down
again
states a fact, but until I read your edi
torial I did not suppose It to be poetry.
Your idea of poetry differs from Ma
caulay's as set forth In one of his es
says. Of course a newspaper by reason of Its
numerous friends and books of quota
tions has advantage over a plain, ordinary
person in obtaining Information and quo
tations. I wonder, however, how The Ore
gonlan learned of those passages from
The Revelation. As you have these facil
ities, may I ask what is the complete
quotation about the devil quoting scrip
ture? PRESBYTERIAN.
A Matter for tlie Neighbors.
New York Tribune.
For many years Robert Johnson, of
Courtland, Va., refused to be shaved or
have his hair cut, and his appearance
was so objectionable to his wife that
she asked the neighbors to do something.
So they captured Johnson the other even
ing and cut his hair and shaved his
beard. He objected until he saw his as
sailants meant business. When he went
to the house nobody knew him and It took
bis wife some time to learn who he was.
THE FIGHTING MACLAYS.
Philadelphia Times.
Edgar Stanton Maclay, who has come
into so much notoriety this week by rea
son of the strictures In his naval history
against Admiral Schley, belongs to an
old Pennsylvania family. He is a lineal
descendant of one of Pennsylvania's first
Senators, and of the other Maclays of
Maclayvllle, as Harrlsburg was originally
called. The Pennsylvania Legislature of
17SS elected Robert Morris to take care
of Philadelphia's interest, and William
Maclay to represent the western part
of the state in the United . States Sen
ateMorris during the full "term of six
years, and Maclay getting the short term
of two years. Maclay kept a journal
during the entire time he held office:
and this was edited a few years ago by
his descendant, Edgar S. Maclay. now so
much in the public eye. The editing of
these manuscripts, indeed, was long Ma
clay's principal literary work prior to the
publication of his history of the Ameri
can Navy. The Journal was first pub
lished as a complete work in 1S90, al
though extracts from It had previously
whetted public curiosity for the rest.
The family long hesitated about printing
It. because of the unusually censorious
spirit in which It was written. No pub
lic character of the time, from Washing
ton downward, escaped the criticism of
this ill-natured and savage diarist.
The Maclays are Scottish people, the
American ancestor, Charles Maclay, hav
ing arrived in Pennsylvania in 1731.
William Maclay, the Senator, was the
son of Charles, and was born in this
state. He received a classical education.
later studying law, and being admitted to
the bar of York County. Visiting Eng
land, he engaged himself as an agent of
the Penn family In the middle and north
ern parts of Jhe province which connec
tion, however, did not prevent him from
taking an active part In favor of the in
dependence of the colonies. He was In the
Pennsylvania Legislature before he went
to the Federal Senate.? Hfs brothers,
John Maclay and Samuel Maclay. also
were prominent in state politics, the hit
ter for a tlmo presiding over the Penn
sylvania Senate.
It Is claimed that William Maclay was
the original American Democrat. He
antedated Jefferson, and broke lances in
favor of liberty and equality while the
founder of tho Democratic party or
Republican, as It was then called was
still In France. He opposed the use of
all titles and forms that were suggestive
of monarchy, wanted to exclude Presi
dent Washington and members of his
Cabinet from the Senate (at that time
they entered It whenever they chose), an
tagonized the proposal for a National
bank, defended the French Revolution;
and beat the air in all directions In a war
against the Federal party. He was, how
ever, a mugwump as well as a Demo
crat. He was sour, caustic and unjust.
He called men "wretches," "rascals"
and "villains" without any compunction
whatever, and iheaped ridicule upon hon
est and patriotic folk.
Maclay's journal throughout Is one
long record of sarcastic reviling?. Gen
eral Washington, at the Inauguration
ceremonies, according to this witness,
while reading his address, "was agitated
and embarrassed more than ever he was
by the leveled cannon or pointed musket.
He trembled, and several times could
scarce make out to read though It must
bo supposed he had often read it before."
On another occasion he sarcastically
calls Washington the "greatest man In
the world," and speaks of his "uncouth
motions." Again, when attending a din
ner in Washington's own house, at the
President's invitation, he says: "It was
the most solemn dinner ever I sat at"
When the cloth was taken away, the
President "kept a fork In his hand I
thought for the purpose of picking nuts.
He ate no nuts, however, but played with
the fork, striking on the edge of the
table with it" Maclay finally got tired
of the society of the Father of his Coun
tryaccording to his own account took
his hat and went home.
Another time he accused Washington of
wishing "to tread on the necks of the
Senate over some Indian treaty"; but his
bitterest words came out in December,
1790, while the Senate was still sitting in
New York City. The President at that
time as well as later, when the 'capital
was removed to Philadelphia held cere
monial levees. These Maclay denounced
as trappings of royalty, and, In an angry
fit, said: "Republicans are borne down
by fashion and a fear of being charged
with a want of respect to General Wash
ington. If there Is treason In the wish, I
would retract it; but I would to God this
same General Washington were In
heaven! We would not then have him
brought forward as tho constant cover
to every unconstitutional and Irrepubllcan
act."
For tho Vice-President, John Adams,
Maclay has no kindlier observations. On
one occasion he says:
"I have really often looked at him with
surprise mingled with contempt when ho
is in the chair, and no business beforo the
Senate. Instead of that sedate, easy air
which I would have him possess, he will
look on one side, then on the other, then
down on the knees of his breeches, then
dimple his visage with the most silly kind
of half-smile which I cannot well express
in English. God forgive mo for the vile
thought! but I cannot help thinking of
a monkey just put Into breeches."
Again, while Maclay was addressing the
House, the Pennsylvania Senator caught
Mr. Adams, the presiding officer, "snuffing
up his nose, kicking his heels, and talking
and sniggering with Otis."
The Constitution of the United States ho
feared would "turn out the vilest of all
traps that ever were set to ensnare the
freedom of an unsuspecting people." At
first friendly with his colleague, Mr. Mor
rls, he soon came to distrust him. and
abused him. roundly, as he did nearly
every one else. When the time came to
move to Philadelphia, he spoke of the
"strange infatuation of self-love" among
the people of the city. "To tell the truth,"
he said, "I know no such unsocial city as
Philadelphia. The gloomy severity of the
Quakers has proscribed all fashionable
dress and amusement. Denying them
selves theso enjoyments, they, as much as
In them lies, endeavor to deprive others
of them also: while, at the same time,
there are not In tho world more scornful
or Insolent characters than the wealthy
among them."
It is not surprising to learn that, when
his two years in the Senate were at an
end. tho state did not return such a man
for a longer term, although he had greatly
counted upon a re-election. May it not
bo that the Senator's descendant and lit
erary heir, Edgar Stanton Maclay, has
diDped hi3 pen Into some of the ancestral
ga'll?
An Old Fishing Fleet Scattered.
London Telegraph.
Tho great North Sea fishing fleet,
known as the short blue trawlers, which
for a century had headquarters at Yar
mouth, after having been withdrawn from
sea for some time, has been finally dis
persed, the last of the vessels, which for
merly numbered 400. and employed 1300
men and boys, being sold by auction. This
fleet was unable to be profitably worked
on account of the North Sea being over
fished by the steam trawlers. The prices
realized were remarkably low, the high
est being $690, while there were many
vessels disposed of at $120, $150. $175 and
$200 each. Some of the purchasers were
Dutchmen.
The Sew Gas.
New York Journal of Commerce.
It requires no argument to show that
gas is the Ideal fuel when Its cost Is suffi
ciently low. Its cleanliness, the fact that
fires can bo started and extinguished in
an instant, the absence of ashes and the
fact that it Is a fuel which need not be
stored on the premises, are such very
great recommendations that for domestic
purposes Illuminating gas Is used to a
considerable extent, and It is also used in
gas engines. Fuel gas, lacking illuminat
ing power and produced at a much smaller
cost, is offered for sale; In some locali-
Itles.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
We notice that Captain J. B. Coghlan,
U. S. N., Is preserving a dignified silonce.
The "Progressive Democrats' of Ohio
should adopt the crawfish as a party emblem.
Tho latest development In the trust line
is one which will control photographic
plates.
The only thing that can be docked aleng
tho San Francisco water front now is the
wages of the strikers.
The salmon are evidently desirous of
getting their families raised before tho
trust goes into business.
It is reported that water is very scarce
in Kentucky, but we have heard of no
suffering resulting therefrom.
However many chances the skippors of
the cup defenders may take, it cannot bo
said that they are ever wreckleas.
I met a little city girl
She wa3 eight. ears old she snld.
And yet she wore a flfteen-doll-Ar
bonnet on .her head.
Let us take warning from the train
robbery nenr Chicago and never venture
unarmed Into tho wild and woolly East.
But ah. my love, could you and T conspire
To grasp this sorry scheme of things entire.
Would we not shatter it to bits and then
Cut down expenses, and make wages hlghor?
Denver has been entertained by a street
duel in which the Innocent bystanders
came off with the usual number of fatali
ties. If the crowned heads of Europe care to
lie- easily, they will have to purchase Pat
erson, N. J., and apply the Herod method
to It.
There was once an old fellow from Glou-
Chester
"Whoso wife grew enraged when he bouchester
And a person named Moore.
Whom she'd known long before.
Promised not to do so, so he louchester.
Emperor William, is growing a board,
and the Populists are looking confiden
tially forward to the time when they will
have an orator dearer to their hearts than
Bryan.
Come smack your lips, and In this sunny
clime
Admit that life Is noblo and sublime.
For who could rack his mind with doubta
and fears
Of past or future, here in melon time?
Perhaps when tho esteemed New York'
Sun gets through dredging the depths of
thought contained in "Tho Raven," it will
come to the conclusion that the aforesaid
poem was never deep In anything but
wine.
There's a wondrous fascination, when the flro
bells ring aloud
That will, conjure up instanter an oxelted
howling crowd.
And the "latest from the ringside" on a blaok
board chalked up high.
Will give pause to all the people who just
then are passing by,
Crowd3 will gather when a wheelman takes a
headlong fatal fall, ,
But to draw a crowd a dogfight simply dis
tances tnem all.
Bishop Courtney, of Halifax, N. S., re
cently kpocked off the hat of a man in
the street who failed to take it off when
a band played "God Save the King." At
first the man was inclined to prosecute
the bishop, but finally contented himself
with writing a letter to the Halifax Her
ald, saying that, while ho yielded In loy
alty to no man, he did not deem It neces
sary to remove his hat when on the street
every time he happened to hear the na-
ftional anthem. Public opinion in Halifax
appears to be against the Disnop.
Tho boy stood on tho burning deck;
Whence all but he had fled.
"I cannot tell how glad I am
This happens now," he said,
"For If I calmly stood and burned
Up in a later day
I'd be put down as caitiff by
The great E. S. Maclay."
,
And so he let the fire burn
And grumbled not a bit.
And when the flame blazed up he lit
Ills cigarette on it.
G. H. Shuttleworth, of a Liverpool firm
that imports American apples, is in tho
West looking over tho apple crop. He Is
thus quoted by the Kansas City Star: "If
this hot, dry weather continues much
longor, there will not bo a Western applo
shipped to Europe. The crop Is not ma
terially injured now. I have Just como
from a trip through Northenj Arkansas
and Southern Missouri, 'tho land of tho
big, red apple.' In only one year did
England import alarge amount of apples
from that section. That was the crop ofi
1897, when our firm received S0.00O bushels.
The Western apple, such as tho Ben Da
vis, is a good seller In England when thero
is a surplus for exporting. The family
eating apple with us, however, is the Al
bemarle pippin or the Newtown pippin. In
numbers received in England the Baldwin;
ranks any other one American variety."
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGHAPIIEUS
OdcCort You know something about horse
racing. What is meant by "the favorite"?
Sport A favorite is a horse that would-surely
win If people only wouldn't bet on him.
Philadelphia Record.
Little 5-year-old Bessie was told to go to
tho drug-store and get a dime's worth of
sweet oil. After getting about half way she
camo running back to ask: "Mamma, hew
sweet do you want it?" Chicago News.
Couldn't Make Comparison. Parson Jack
sonIn de mattah ob watahmelon, I s'poso
you b'liebe stolen fruits am always sweet
est. Sam Johnson I dunno. I ain't nebah
eat any but de one kind. Philadelphia Tress.
These are tho Jocund vacation days, when
the man who has two weeks off rides forty
miles In the sun on his bicycle, mops the
perspiration off his heated brow, pities his
associates who are sweltering in tho office,
and wonders how they can stand tho heat.
Boston Transcript.
Tho Way of It. Mrs. Smith Katie, this
watermelon isn't cold at all. Katie Well,
'taint no fault o mine, mum; Mr. Smith, ha
got slch a big one that when I put it In th
Ice chlst. I had ter take th' lee out. Chicago
Record-Herald.
The Reason. Mr. Frontpcw I am glad you
belong to our church choir, my dear; It Is
such an orderly organization; I never see you
whispering to one another during services.
Mrs. Frontpew No. none of us are on speak
ing terms. Ohio State Journal.
Schoolmaster (turning round sharply)
"Which of you Is it that Is daring to make
faces at me? Six Youngsters (In chorus)
Freddy Brown, sir. Schoolmaster Ah ! then
you six boys stand out and be caned. If you
saw Freddy Brown making faces. It shows
that you were not attending to your lessens.
Fun.
"That was rather a well, a tame sermon
of yours this morning. Mr. Mildman." said the
rector. Just returned from a holiday. "Was
It, sir?" responded the curate. "It wasn't
m'lne. I've been too busy this week to write
one. and I took it from a bundle In your
handwriting out of tho library Tit-Bits.
Located. Stranger Didn't I understand you
to say you'd Just come from the Buffalo Ex
hibition? How did you Ilka It? Chance Ac
quaintancePooh! It's a poor little paltry two-penny-hatf-ponny
affair. Don't begin to com
pare with . Stranger Indeed! By tho
way, how are things in Chicago now? Puck.
Difficult to Treat. "Well, what Is the mat
ter with your husband?" tho physician asked,
as he laid down his repair Ult and removed his
gloves. "Imaginary Insomnia." replied Mrs.
Fosdock. "Imaginary insomn!a7" repeated
the physician inquiringly. "That's what It is.
He thinks he doesn't sleep at night, but ha
gets lots more sleop than I do." Boston
I Traveler.