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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 1901)
THE MOEtflNS OKEGONIAN, MONDAY, NOVEMBER llf 1901. 4 te V8Q&tXW&L Entered at the Pestoffice at Portland, Oregon, as seeond-class matter. REVISED SUpSCRIPTIOX BATES. , By Mall (.postage prepaid). In Advance Daily, with Sunday per znanth $ 85 Ia.U). Sunday excepted, per year.... 7 60 Daily with Sunday, per ear 0 00 feund&y, per year 2 00 Tbe Weekly per year 1 50 The Weekly, 3 months ..... 00 To City Subscribers Dally, per week, delivered, Sundays excepted.lfc Dally, per week, delivered, Sundays included.20c POSTAGE RATES. United States Canada and Mexico: 18 to 14-page paper .............1c 14 to 2S-page paper Sc Foreign rates double. Eastern Business Office, 43. 44. 45, 47, 48. 49 Tribune building. TCew York City; 409 "The Rookery." Chicago; the S. C. Beckwlth special agency. Eastern representative. For sale In San Franclsco.by I E. Lee, Pal Aoe Hotel news stand. Goldsmith. Bros., 23G Sutter street. F. "V. Pitts, 100S Market street; J X. Cooper Co., 74C Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Foster & .Orear, Ferry news stand. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner, 259 So. Spring street, and Oliver & Haines, 103 So. Spring street. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. 217 Dearborn street. For sale In Omaha by Barkalow Bros., 1612 Tarnam street. For sale la Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co., 77 W Second South street. For sale In Ogden by W. C Kind, 204 Twenty-fifth street, and by C. H. Myers. On file in tbe Oregon exhibit at the exposi tion. Charleston, S. C For sale in Washington, D. C, by the Ebbett House news stand. For sale In Denver, Colo, by Hamilton & Kendrick. 906-812 Seventh street. TODAY'S WEATHER Cloudy, with showers. Probably frost in early morning; warmer by afternoon or night. Westerly Winds, shifting to southerly. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem perature, 42, minimum temperature, 36; fair. PORTLAND, MO.XDAT, NOVEMBER 11. was expected to be a. Republican walk-over has turned out to be a veritable, retreat from Mos cow. Not only has the head of the ticket fallen, but most of the other candidates have fallen with him. Virtually the machine has been broken to pieces, and the aspirants for office who relied upon it to carry them through are scattered liko the passengers of a wrecked automobile. . . . Every step taken by the bosse3 who controlled the machine tended to destruction. Where they did not act like knaves they acted like fools. In not one single Important proceeding did they act with sagac ity or even decency. If they had deliberately tried to wreck the machine they could not have gone about it more successfully than they did. Thla is a very old lesson ia politics, but it has to be learned over and over again. New Tork has just enforced it, San Francisco has evidently done the same. The methods of rlngsters may succeed for a time, but there comes a day of awful reckoning. In the end the people will get the men and meas ures that they want Some machines are shrewd enough to recognize this and act accordingly. Piatt, for exam ple, did it in New York this year. Others have the hardihood to set the people at defiance, but inevitably to their own undoing. Instances are plenty enough in Portland's past his tory, and may be looked for again. surrounding conditions is unknown British military tactics. Iron-clad reg ulations rule in camp, on march and in battle. Hence war with the Boer drags along with varying successes, and its cost in men and money contluues to eat into the very vitals of the British nation. to I he g-Uf THE CRUELTY OP "WAR. The passage in Chamberlain's Edin burgh speech which is so hotly resent ed In Germany was this (he was speaking of the war in South Africa): "I think the time has come, or is com ing, when measures of greater severity may be necessary. If that time comes, we can find precedents for anything we do in the actions of those nations who now criticise our 'barbarity and 'cruelty, but whose examples in Po land, in the Caucasus, in Algeria, in Tonquin, in Bosnia and in the Franco Prussian War we have never ap proached." This has been attacked and denounced with great fury by the German press especially the reference to the Franco-Prussian War. Yet there is no need of warmth. The "cruelty" and "barbarity" of the Germans in France were the necessary proceedings of a great war. They were frightful, indeed, but unavoidable, from the standpoint of the necessity of crushing resistance in France; and they were as much worse than the present cruel ties in South Africa as the war be tween France and Germany was a greater and fiercer conflict a war, moreover, in a country -of dense popu lation, containing millions of women and children, shut up in cities and fortresses that were subjected to all the horrors of eiege. But, of course, nobody expected the Germans to desist or to draw off their armies. It was the invariable answer that the way for the French to have an end of the horrors of war was to cease their military re sistance. Such is the answer of the British to the Boers in South Africa now. "All war is cruel," said General Sher man, in his answer to General Hood, who had protested against the "cru elty" of Sherman's order for removal of the inhabitants of Atlanta, after the capture of the city in 1864. Hood pro tested, "in the name of God and hu manity," against this "unprecedented measure," as he called it, which, he asserted further, "transcends in studied and ingenious cruelty all acts ever brought to my attention in the dark history of war." But Sherman's rea sons were military; Atlanta was a cen tral point, vital for military purposes; there were no means of feeding the people without impairment of the ef ficiency of the Army; and though there was cruelty in the expulsion of the non combatant inhabitants, there would have bten greater cruelty in allowing them to remain. Besides, the object was to end the war, and everything had to yield to the single object. No civilized nation ever practices needless cruelty. It was not done In our Civil War; It was not done in the Franco-German War; it is not done in the South African War; we have not done It, are not doing it, in the Phil ippines. But cruelty Is Inseparable from war, and nations at war must and will employ the means necessary to end it of course, without wanton or needless oppression of non-combatants. But what courses it may be necessary to take, what measures to adopt, the i commanders in the enemy's country will decide for themselves, according to circumstances. One of the most diffi cult of all the problems is how to deal in an enemy's country with the non combatant population, which Is usual ly hostile and always a source of sup port to their countrymen In arms. To deprive the non-combatants of the power to help their countrymen in arms as a necessary part of war; but every civilized nation acts as humane ly ki this regard as the circumstances will permit The alternative of such measures is cessation of resistance on one side, or withdrawal from the con flict on the other. A fighting force of the Boers as yet refuses to 6urrender or desist, and the English will not withdraw from South Africa. The in habitants must suffer, of course; but hysterics on the subject will not con tribute to the solution. -EACH IN HIS OWN WAY. Another thing the Lewis and Clark Centennial is going to do for Portland is to uncover to the gaze of some ex cellent but unhappy persons the real merits of many a man whom they have been disposed tO misjudge. " There will be names and amounts on the sub scription roll that will surprise some of our discontented ones to joy and re pentance. Unfortunate though it may be, and fortunate as it is, we are not all made alike. We don't all acquire money in the. same way, and we don't all spend it in the same way. Some men get rich by settling on a piece of land and watching its value grow by the com munity's development This Is not pleasing to men who work with other methods. They wouldn't be content to sit still and do nothing. They wouldn't have the patience to keep the land, or wear old clothes In order to pay the taxes, or turn a deaf ear to every sub scription paper or promoter that came along. Not they. They would sell the land, invest the money, go broke, and maybe land in the poorhouse. Anybody can tell a man how be should run his business, or manage his property; but if he should take the advice and lose all he had, Mr. Any body would not support him or pro vide for his family after he died. Some men can build business blocks and make money by renting them; others simply can't Their ability doesn't run that way. Some men can succeed at manufacturing, others at mining, others at speculation; but one man's meat is another man's poison. Suppose we all put our money Into smelters and East ern Oregon mines, and eight-story build ings, and woollen mills, and furniture factories what would become of us? We should die of starvation, and we should deserve to. . It Is a very dangerous hlng to judge another's conduct by our own capacity and qualifications. The man who can take a drink of whisky three times a day and no more mustn't censure the other man for whom there is no resting- place between the first drink and the gutter; nor must the weaker censure the stronger. The man who likes to be free with his money mustn't complain of the man who knows he must be cau tious or lose all. There was a first-class printer in Omaha once who saved his salary and went into the r.eai estate business every two years regularly. He favored pavements, sidewalks, new buildings, more lights, more sewers. If there had been bicycle paths he would have favored them. He advertised -liberally; he shouted himself hoarse over the great future in store for Omaha. He rose grandly to every opportunity to subscribe for new mills and fac tories. But every two years he was "broke" and back with his apron on, locking up pages for the Western Newspaper Union. He would have been better off to save his money and keep at work for wages all his life. It Is not alone that some men are born cautious and others enterprising. What we need to see Is that the cau tious man simply has to dora his own way. Most men that make a failure in life fail simply because they try to do as somebody else does. A man will get along far better in life if he can only get his own gauge xtnd work according ly. A man will be a better fellow if he can only realize that his neighbors, who go contrary to his ideas of the correct thing, are pursuing what is for them the only right and successful course. Many a patient, plodding soul, whose way to success lies only through slow saving and patient sitting still, has lost his all and become-an embit tered burden on society because he tried to make his cake by some other man's recipe. ADDING TO OCR RESOURCES. In studying the conditions of plant life in the far West, the Department of Agriculture Is performing a service of the greatest importance to the country. Hand in hand with this investigation go experiments with methods calculated to protect valuable native plants from ex termination and the Introduction of ex otics that seem to be adapted to the hard conditions found In some sections of the arid or semi-arid belt The pro gramme also includes experiments with foreign plants where those of' native ori gin or that have been long adopted still do passably well. If there are better varieties we want them, and every quarter of the globe has been raked for specimens to be tested here. Already much good has come from this work, and it is only fairly begun. In the semi-arid West there is room for much work of this character. It is beyond the scope or private endeavor because most of the land that may be reclaimed to usefulness through the ef forts of the department still belongs to the public domain and present condi tions offer no incentive to settlers to occupy it. Ranges that have been eaten out by herds and flocks are little bet ter than open desert To put new grass on the hills Is to rejuvenate the coun try. And if the 'new grass be better than the old, more nutritious and hard ier, it is a distinct step in advance that is reflected in increased industrial de velopment. Where grass grows settlers may and will go and establish homes. Irrigation and general farming will fol low, and the semi-arid waste will be-coinpr-a seat of numerous population and extensive Industrial life. As a feature of this development, however, the Government must provide for a more general distribution of the moisture of the country. Encourage ment is now given for the construction of irrigation works, but it Is found that In many localities th encouragement is not sufficient to induce the Investment of private capital In the necessary en terprises because the water sources are already largely monopolized by private holders, by virtue of which they con trol vast areas of soil to; which they have no title. Some way around this difficulty must be found before the great inter-mountaln plain can be brought up to its full possibilities. Pri vate rights that prevent the use of large areas of public domain must in some 'manner be extinguished. To bind the shifting sands of ocean beach and river strand, to introduce new grasses and grains, to give instruc tion in methods of cultivation that shall get the best results from the soil and conserve present resources, to study the peculiarities of present conditions and products, to educate our producers In "the why and wherefore" of their busi ness, is a grand work, and Secretary Wilson Is doing it well. Nothing to compare with It has heretofore been done. Irrigation and forestry are un der the jurisdiction of another depart ment, but they may safely articulate with the Department of Agriculture in reducing the arid West In Oregon and Washington the work of inaugurating this new movement in agriculture has been greatly promoted by the railroads, the O. R. & N. Co. having taken special Interest in it, .and with most gratifying results. We must go to the soil for the basis of all prosperity, an'd nothing Is mre commendable than the 6tudy and practice of methods that shall make the best use of the soil. her down carried an additional 120 tons lighterage which was placed on board two hours after the arrival of the ship at Astoria, at no expense whatever to the ship. On arrival at Astoria the master of the Leylahd Brothers found seven ships ahead of him waiting an opportunity to get to sea. Not one of these ships lightered a pound of cargo, and some 6f them had been at Astoria two weeks ready for sea. They are there yet, and their experience, as well as that of others which have preceded them and which will follow them, stands as incontrovertible testimony as to where the delays are experienced on the Columbia River. When rebuked by The Oregonlan for vilification of the Columbia River, a Seattle paper recently explained its course by stating that the Interests of the State, of Washington-demanded that the mouth of the Columbia River alone be Improved, and that no attention be given the stream above Astoria. But the fact Is that Portland, Oregon, Washington and Idaho all need help at the mouth of the river now, and there ought to be enough influence in the three states to put the channel from Astoria to the sea in as good shape as the channel from Portland to Astoria. Portland will attend to the matter-of getting ships up and down the river, and they will never increase in size so rapidly but what anything that can enter the river can come to Portland and receive good dispatch and quick .transit between this city and Y0VP Stevens. An Albany correspondent aska upon what authority The Oregonian referred in a recent editorial to Josephine, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, as "the mistress of Barras." That Josephine was the mistress of Barras and the mis tress of the famous Genera Hoche is beyond reasonable historical doubt Barras, in his published "Memoirs," confesses to his illicit relations with Josephine. Before her marriage to Bonaparte Josephine was the bosom friend of the notoriously dissolute Mad ame Talllen, to whose ball dress a wag attached a slip of paper upon which was written, "Respect the property Of the French Nation." During Bona parte's absence in Egypt Josephine was so open fn her gallantries with a young French officer that Napoleon was with difficulty reconciled to her on his return through the appeals of her children, Eugene and Hortense, for whom h felt a very strong affpetion. All the re cently published books on the Napo leonic period agree as to Josephine's amours, both before and after her mar riage to Bonaparte. After Marengo, when she saw a brilliant future before her, Josephine gave no further cause for complaint She was then nearly 39. and was too far past her prime for fur ther folly. Before his return from Egypt, Bonaparte had been informed of Josephine's disgraceful conduct by Gen eral Junot and his brother Luclen confirmed these reports. During Bona parte's famous campaign of 170C-07 Josephine's conduct at Paris was an open scandal. FRANCHISE AS BASIS OP TAXATION Chicago Railway Age. The Supreme Court of IlHnois has an nounced a decision to the effect that every corporation in the State of Illinois must pay taxes not only on Its tangible property, like individuals, but also on its capital stock, Its bonded indebtedness and the Intangible and indefinite asset known as "franchises." The decision is the result of a suit brought a year ago at the instance of an organization of public school teachers of Chicago for the purpose of increasing the amount b taxes available for the pay ment of teachers' salaries in that city. A state law existing for many years re quires the State Board of Equalization to assess the capital stock and franchises of corporations at "a fair cash value." The lands, buildings, machinery, equipment and all other tangible property of the corporation are assessed on the same prin ciple as other property, by the local as sessors in -the municipality and the coun ty, and the practice of the State Board of Equalization has been to add to the amount of the local assessments what it considered- to be a "just and reasonable tax upon the -corporate rights and privi leges, taking into consideration the in debtedness of the companies and also tho compensation which, as in the case of street railway and gas companies, they may have paid to the municipalities by which they are chartered. The assessed valuation of property in Cook County for 1900 was J365.000.000. The lawyers representing the teachers"' asso ciation selected 23 corporations, represent ing street railway, gas and electric light ing companies, out of the -J0O0 or more corporations existing In the county, and adding together their capital stock and bonds, demanded that $26S,000.000 be added to the taxable property values for 1900 and assessed against these corporations. The Board of Equalization declined to make these additions, holding that tho companies, or, in some cases, the corpo rations by which the companies named had been absorbed, had already been fair ly and sufficiently taxed. The case went to the Circuit Court of Sangamon County at Springfield, the state capital, and Judge Thompson decided in favor of the complainants and ordered the Board of Equalization to assess the corporations named according to the following rule: In making the assessment of the- capital stock of corporations, Including franchises, it Is prorer to i?dd the market or fair cash value of the capital stock to the market or fnlr cash value of the debt of the corporation (excluding from such debt the Indebtedness for current expenses), and to deduct from the result th4 aggregate amount of the equalised or assessed valuation of all the tangible property of said corporation, and one-fifth of the remainder would be the net assessed valuation of tho capital stock, Including franchises, over and above the assessment of Its tangible property. The Supreme Court of Illinois has now affirmed this ruling In a decision which censures the Board of Equalization for falling to assess the full market value of the capital stock and for excluding ihe indebtedness and the amounts paid for compensation to the City of Chicago. The proposed metnod of obtaining the taxable value of the corporations 13 Il lustrated by the court by taking the re turns of one corporation, the People's Gas Light & Coke Company, and reducing the figures to the following proposition: AMUSEMENTS. SAX FRAJi'CISCO'S MESSAGE. We are beginning to get some ade quate explanation of the late upheaval in San Francisco politics. At first the city seemed to be struck all of a heap, and treated the election of Schmltz to the mayoralty as Very much of a mys tery and something of a joke. Now It is dawning on the local mind that the result was nothing more or less than a rebuke to machine methods in munic ipal affairs. We printed the other day some representative press comment from the San Francisco papers, and their more recent utterances bring the facts out in yet clearer light Mayor elect Schmitz, it is worth noticing, ex pressly disclaims having been elected by the labor vote principally or pri marily. "I recognize in my election," he says, "a rebuke to the bosses." He is a. Republican, and when the present exigency for the overthrow of bosses has lapsed he will again be found in the Republican camp. Instructive is th comment of the Call: Mr "rcVUs has gone down to defeat amid the wreck of the Republican machine. That which LACKING IX VELDT-CRAFT. A late dispatch says: "It is under stood that it is the intention of the British War Office to send 5000 more mounted men to South Africa within the next six weeks." It Is an accepted faot that if the Boers are to be con quered the British must match them in tactics and means of warfare as effect ive as their own that is to say, as suit able as their own to the conditions that are to be met in campaigning on the veldt "A knowledge of veldt-craft," says the World's Work, "or perhaps It is an instinct, is given to the Boer at his birth, and because of this instinct he understands under all circumstances how to take care of his horse, when to feed and water him, when to 'off saddle' and let the sweat dry on his back, how to take care of the hoofs at night," in short, how to keep this Indispensable auxiliary to successful scouting In con dition to sustain the hard service Im posed upon him. In addition to this, the Boer scout understands exactly how to conceal himself, taking advantage of every donga or dip In the land or bit of scrub to accomplish this purpose. Naturally, the English soldier, born and brought up in" England, knows nothing of this craft In consequence, the Brit ish scout will ride up to the very crest of a hill to examine the surrounding country .with his glasses. The enemy, if there is any in the neighborhood. Is well hidden, while he on the sky line Is easily picked on!, and his horse as well by the invisible enemy. It is the habit of British soldiers to make targets of themselves regardlets of the tactics of their enemies a habit that does not seem to have changed since "Braddock's defeat" familiar to every American schoolboy. To this fact probably more than any other is due the further discouraging fact that the third year of the war in South Africa has opened with the beginning of the end not yet ia sight Adaptability to A WOXDERFOL WATERWAY. The account of a trip from Portland to Astoria on a twenty-two-foot ship Is printed in another column this morn ing. ' Deeper-draft vessels have been taken up and down the river since the water dropped below the "zero mark,' and there Is nothing unusual in the trip mentioned except that it comes at a time when the obstructions between Portland and the sea can be viewed to the best advantage. The most striking impression gained by an experience of this kind Is the plainly manifested fact that between Portland and Astoria there are over ninety miles of river containing a depth of from thirty to sixty feet of water at low tide. This depth is Increased in cer tain places tf over 100 feet of water, proving beyond all doubt that there is a sufficient volume of water in both the Willamette and Columbia Rivers to float the largest ships in the world with perfect safety. Between these re markable stretches cf deep water are occasional shoaler places, where the depth decreases to twenty feet at ex treme low tide. The combined distance of these shoals on the 100-mlle run from Portland to Astoria Is approxi mately five miles, with an additional mile or two where a greater depth, but not the full thirty feet that is in evi dence for such a large portion of the distance, can be carried. The work performed by the Govern ment and the Port of Portland at St Helens and Walker's Island, where the former sixteen-foot channel has now be come a permanent thirty-foot channel, affords indisputable evidence of the Comparative ease in which the entire distance between the two cities can be made- to carry a draft of thirty feet and over. The Port of Portland Com mission cut ochannel up as far as the lower end of the Oceanic dock, and stopped. The result of this work is shown in a fine channel as far as it was built, 'and the most useless chan nel Portland ever had between the lower end of the Oceanic dock and Alblna ferry. The commission Is pumping mud from Postofflce Bar and dumping It right where it will slide back into the channel inside of sixty days, or as soon as the water rises over -the top of the dike where it was dumped. It has dredged a channel at Reeder'a across the river at nearly right angles with the current, and, naturally, it will fill up and will be a nuisance to navigation Tjefore it does fill up. All of this mis management however, does not reflect in the slightest degree on the actual merits of the river, nor does it lessen the possibility of making all t)f It as good as-the formerly Impassable bars at St. Helens and Walker's Island. The river Is not in bad condition, and In spite of the mistakes and misman agement of some who have had charge of its improvement, it is etill in so much better shape than the bar at the mbuth that the delays encountered are insig nificant The Ley land Brothers, on which an Oregonlan representative made the trip to Astoria, went through in less than two days, drawing twenty two feet, and the towboat which towed The other day a murderer confined in the jail at Goldendale killed himself with materials that had been left in his cell inadvertently by his keepers. It was a deplorable act, and the true helnousness of It in all its relations is disclosed by the appended letter we have received from Goldendale over a fictitious signature: Through criminal carelessness the murderer Farris was allowed to commit pulclde, his cell being full of broken glass, rope and wire. No search had ever been made since his incarcera tion. These olflclals In charge ought to be plll6rled to the world, or punished. The peo ple here know the facts, but dare not say a word, through fear. Can't you send up a dis creet and fearless reporter? Numerous are the discreet and fear less reporters attached to The Orego- nlan's local staff though the boldest of them is Ubually the .least discreet, and vice-versa yet it will be impossible for us to comply with the appeal of our anonymous friend and fellow-cltlizen, owing to the lateness of the hour, crowded condition of our columns, etc., etc. We accordingly dismiss the sub ject with a reprimand of the Sheriff, jailer and all others concerned, especial ly the criminal himself. Malfeasance of this kind is Impossible to condone or forgive, and should any other mur derer within our jurisdiction repeat Mr. Farris' act of self-destruction, we shall condemn him also In fit terms. Nevertheless, the man is dead. He did not have to be hanged at public ex pense. Rope left In murderers' cells, by the way, should always be of full strength. The loyal soldiers of the British Em plre struggling for dominion In South Africa are each to be remembered by Queen. Alexandra on Christmas by a gift of a brlarwood pipe, mounted in silver and bearing the monogram of Her Majesty. The Queen Ehows tact In the selection of her Christmas favors for Tommy Atkins, knowing full well that, next to his sweetheart in far-away England, his pipe comes closest to the homesick soldier's heart, and affords him the greatest consolation. The wife of a smoker, the mother of smokers, the associate all her life of smokers of high degree, Alexandra would have been dull of apprehension Indeed had she not discovered that nothing is so pleasing to the smoker as a Christmas present as a good pipe with a woman's monogram upon it indorsing its use. The death of Adolph Kraus, the fa mous sculptor, in an insane asylum In Massachusetts closes a record of genius and ambition, of success and disap pointment, under which a brilliant mind gave way. The record of such a life Is that of "hopes abortive, vic tories half blown, and citadels begun, reduced to dust." The work accom plished by Kraus brought him distinc tion that would have satisfied a less ambitious man, and his end at 51 years is inexpressibly sad. Among the changes Incident to the death of Victoria and the succession of Edward VII is that of the shifting of the royal birthday and its loyal celebra tion from May 24- to November ?. The latter date passed with quiet mention and with scant attempt .at celebration yesterday; the former, with festal ob servances that made a holiday through out the British Empire in the Mays of more than three-fourths, of a century, has passed into history. Amount of paid-up capital stock ?28.0C8.800 Amount of Indebtedness..,.,. 34.000,000 Total S02BOS.80O Deduct value of tangible property. ...515,520,783 Net assessed valuation of capital stock and franchise $47,112,023 Taxable alue (one-fifth of assessed Value) 0,423,403 Taxable value as assessed by State Board 450.000 Additional amount which should be assessed 8,078,403 By this line of argument, therefore, it appeared that one company alone hades caped the assessment on nearly $9,000,000 worth of intangible property; in other words, on Its privilege of existing In Chi cago, although It had paid taxes on $15, 5001000 of tangible property, and the hold ers of :ts bonds to the amount of $34,000, 000 had presumably paid personal property taxes on that.. But not content with their victory, which it Is assumed will add from $225. 000,000 to $300,000,000 to the assessment roll of Cook County for the year 1900 and in crease the taxes for that year 52.350,000 or more, the teachers propose to date back the decision a quarter of a century, and to bring both civil and criminal proceed ings against the unfortunate Individuals composing the State Board oi Equaliza tion from year to year for their failure to suppress the corporations long ago. One of tho leaders of the Teachers' Fed eration says: This will not end our fight by any means. Wo have several moro suits In contemplation. The next one will be a suit in debt against the members of the old board to recover the statutory penalty for neglecting to assess the corporations of Cook County. Tho Intention Is to bring a suit for ?5,0CO.OCO or more, on the ground that the county lost one-half of tho sum by their neglect or connivance. The teach ers also contemplate anothor mandamus suit against the stato board to compel it to make now all the assessments It should have made and did not make during the last 23 years. These back .assessments amount to many bill Ions of dollars, and the revenue law requires that tho taxes levied on them shall have added to them 1ft per cent Interest per annum from tho time they should have been paid to the tlmo.they may actually be paid. The teachers also contemplate the prosecution of the mem bers of the board criminally In Sangamon County, but do not attach so much Importance to the criminal procedure as to thla suit In debt. Low and the Sunday Question. Chicago Tribune. Scth Low would not have had eo large a majority, and perhaps would have had no majority, biit for his Intelligent, judicious treatment of the Sunday saloon question. He had the wisdom In tho first speeches he made to remove that question altogeth er out of the campaign. Thla was the first time for some years that that Issue did not obtrude itself. The reaction in favor of Tammany four years ago wa occasioned In part by the efforts of Theo dore Roosevelt while Police Commissioner to enforce the law for the closing of the saloons on Sunday. This year Mr. Low hastened to announce what his policy would be If elected. He eald that he would Imitate the example set by Mayor Schleren, of Brooklyn, a few years ago. That Mayor did not under take the hopeless ard provocative task of closing the drinking places on Sunday, but required them to run quietly and unostentatiously, especially during church hours. r After this declaration of Mr. Low it was impossible for Tammany to inject the Sunday Issue into the campaign, much as Tammany would have liked to do so. Tho votes of thousands of moderate minded personal liberty man, the majority of them Germans, but many of them or other nationalities, were gained for Mr Low by his disclaimer of -a radical puri tanical Sunday observance policy. It Is to be hoped that the Sunday que? tlon Is out of politics In New Tork City tor all tlmo to come. It was a disturbing element In Chicago politics until about twenty-fivo years ago, when both parties decided that they had had enough of it. If it can be got rid of In New York cs it has been here it will be possible for the elements of law, order and decency In thai city to get Tammany down and keep It down. The Frawley Company, with but faw changes since their appearance last year, opened a week's engagement at Cordray'a last night in "Lord and Lady Algy," and the manner of their welcome by a house that filled the theater was convincing proof that they are still the real favor ites of the frequenters of the theater as well, Indeed, as with a very large num ber of the playgoers of the city. The changes that have been made In the com pany are not material; the only noticeable difference last night was the addition of Blanche Douglas, a very charming ac tress, who had an excellent opportunity to make a good Impression, and Improved it All the better known members of the company, Mr. Frawley, Miss Van Buren, Mr Reynolds, Mr. Araory and Mlnnette Barrett, the Portland girl who took up the stage a few years ago, remain, and all do their usual finished work. Mr. Frawley has introduced several Ideas of his own Into the mounting of "Lord and Lady Algy," which are decidedly telling, the effect of the setting of the first and last act being particularly pleasing. The company work together admirably, and show the effect of careful and painstaking training. An instance of their perfect discipline was given In the last act, when tho audience, thinking tjie curtain wa3 about to fall, started to move, and in stantly the play was stopped by Mr. Frawley, not to be resumed until the impatient ones had again settled In their places. "Lord and Lady Algy" Is a polite com edy, rather overfull of words, but at tho same time affording plenty of chance for good situations and dialogue. The theme Is the differing reputations of two brothers, ono of whom, Lord Algernon Chetland, plays tho races and Is known as considerablo of a sport, while the other, Quarmy, Is a shining light of so ciety and a model in general. Algy has been separated from his wife, owing to their different tastes In horses, cigarettes and other matters, but they still think a great deal of ono another, and Lady Algy has considerable to do .with unraveling the complications that ensue. These complications are caused by the purpose of Quarmy to elope with the wife of a wealthy soap manufacturer, their meet ings being held in Algy's rooms. Of course It is a dramatic necessity that the soap maker should suspect Algy of alienating the affections of his wife, and that the suspicion should be prolonged to almost the conclusion of the last act, when, thanks to Algy's good nature and the timely appearance of Lady Algy, every thing Is straightened out, a little judicious prevarication saving the necessity of a world of embarrassing explanations. The reuniting of Lord and Lady Algy ends the play. As Lord Algy Mr. Frawley does an un usually excellent bit of acting. He is quiet without being indifferent, and makes as light work of his rather prolix speechos as possible, although It Is Impossible to keep from falling now and then Into the drag that pervades the whole piece. His drunken scene in the second act was par ticularly artistic, being entirely free from offenslveness. and only adding to the sympathy which the audience is made to feel for the unfortunate young nobleman. Miss Van Buren is her usual charming self as Lady Algy, and gives much zest to the many bright lines which have been entrusted to that character. Harrington (Reynolds has nojt a great deal to do as Quarmy, but do'es what he has In his usual finished style. Wallace Shaw is an excellent soap-maker, and Miss Blanche Douglas does particularly well with the part of Mrs. Soapmaker, a character which Is near the verge of ruin by over acting as she is by the machinations of Quarmy. Mr. J. R. Amory la an ad mirable servant. Mlnnette Barrett gets all that can be got out of a very small part, and the remainder of the company Is well cast. The costumes of the women are very striking, a fancy dress ball scene gives a splondld opportunity for a gala stage picture. "Lord and Lady Algy" will be re peated tonight. X0TE AND COM&iSt Get out your skates. f l The Sultan believes that it is iVer too late to tak water. "KIXG OF THE OPIUM ItlXG." Popnlnr Drama Draws Crowds to the Metropolitan. That the public thirst for the drama entitled "King of the Opium Ring" was not slaked by nine performances last year was thoroughly demonstrated at the Met ropolitan yesterday afternoon and even ing. At the matinee performance crowds were turned 'away, and last evening a swarm of people filled Third street for nearly half a block, crowded toward the box office and clamored for seats. The house was packed as full as It would hold, and It was not till long after the rise of the curtain that tho3e outside could be convinced that even standing room was no longer on sale. The play, which appeals strongly to tho average playgoer, Is acted by a far bet ter 'company this year than It was last, and becomes far more Interesting as a re sult. The story Is one which seems to fascinate those who hear It told, for noth ing could have created more excitement than the trip through a Chinese opium joint which the audience were taken last night and the series of narrow escapes the principal characters Indulged In. The strain Is greatly relieved by a vein of comedy which Is kept running pretty steadily through the play, two jocose Chi nese washermen, a negro and Irishwoman, a messenger boy and one or two other characters all being needed to keep the plot from getting too thick for endurance. The play Is admirably mounted, the opium-joint scene being as natural as pos sible, and all the other stage pictures pro portionately accurate. M. M. Murray In the name part dli all he had to do very well and won for him self some yery good opinions of his ability as an actor. Robert McClung. as Iron sides, a sailor, had some heroics vhich he managed very judiciously. Wah Sing, the highbinder, as played by Robert Smiley, was sultlclently revolting to suit the tastes of the most fastidious. James J. Flannl gan and Walter Schrode made two very good comedy Chinamen, and got plenty of laughter and applause as a reward for their efforts. Genevieve Kane played Georgette In a manner'whlch made many friends for her, Stella Adams made a good Billy Macy and Llzle Mulyey was eaual to the require ments of the part of Duty Peck. The re mainder of the company was all that was necessary. In the specialty bill Edwlna and com pany gave a song and drill which was a taking number, the Schrode brothers did come clever acrobatic work, Pelot, the comedy juggler, delighted the house with his feats, and Ned Curtis put on a very good burnt-cork turn. "King of the Opium Ring" will run all the week, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday. Hav our English oltizons been ltp0rt lng somo of that Lunnon fog? The court of Inquiry managed to stiig. gle along witliout Admiral Sampson at.r all. J ' The Chicago servant glrls union has disbanded. Case of too many cooks, prob ably. Of course Bourke Cockran will be en gaged to deliver the Tammany funeral oration. Why make a hero of Schley? He never distinguished himself in any way dul fighting. How fleeting 13 fame. Newspapera are now lasued without moro than live or six mentions of Sir Thomas Llpton. It Is surprising that President Roose velt doesn't run out to Kansas to get a little eonvlct-shootlng while the open sea son lasts. Pedestrians arc looking eagerly forward to the construction of city bicycle paths. They will then have a place to walk with out mortal peril. Now that .there Is another Prince ot Wales, the man who broke tho bank at Monte Carlo will have to look out for his laurels. Hot sports are these Princes of Wales. By communicating with real estate deal ers Andrew Carnegie may learn that there are yet a few acres of ground In the United States, which he hasn't purchased for library sites. Nothing has been hoard ot Charles M. Schwab since he said he was looking for 25 $20,000 a year employes. He probably found It necessary to go to the tall timber for a temporary sojourn. The following curious marriage notlco appeared the other day In tho London Times: "On Tuesday, the 15th Inst., at Eotte.fleld, Lincolnshire, John Kirk, an occasional preacher In the Methddlst Con nection, to Susanha Seaton, of Burring- ham, mantua-maker. The patient Driae had kept company near two years with a blacksmith of the same place, and was actually published with him in the church the very Sunday preceding her marriage, but for the reasons best known to herself eloped next day with the preacher; so true is it that we know not what a day may bring forth." "Unless "one his specially schooled him self, memory Is bound to be treacherous sometimes. I don't trust mine any more," said a prominent Eastern busi ness man recently. "It has gone back on me too often. Besides, a postal card only costs a cent, and I always carry a lot of them around with me. My end of the business calls me away from tho store a great deal, and, no matter where I may be riding, on a street-car, walk ing, or In one of the numerous places of business which I frequent when an Idea occurs to me that requires my at tention I jot a memorandum of It down on a postal card, address it to myself and drop It In the nearest letter box. Spme days I will send a dozen postal cards to myself, and the next morning they are on my desk awaiting me. I have been doing thl3 for two or three years, and I think it's a pretty good sys tem." In the churchyard at Bewcastle, Cum berland, England, an Isolated spot about 12 mlUs from any railway station, Is a monument built 1230 years ago, bearing the Inscription: "The first year of Ecg frlth. King of this realm." I. e A. D. 670. Another Inscription (Runic) on the west side, says that it was set up as a "Stand ard of victory in memory of Alchfrlth, lately King" (of Northumbrla), who played so Important a part In the history of the time. An interesting account of the cross is given in Bishop Browne's work. "The Conversion of the Heptarchy." He says that the Inscriptions are "the earliest examples known to be in existence of English literature." and "looking to the Importance In the history of the world of the conversion of England, there Is no historical monument in these lands to compare with the Bewcastle Cross." The shaft, as It stands, Is a square pillar, composed ot'a single block of gray free stone 14 feet high. The cross head is gone, but when entire the monument must have been about 21 feet high. Oregon seems likely to regain Its prestige as the land of big red apples apples without blemish and innocent of harboring worms. The wise horti culturists see possibilities in apple growing that will result in a large in crease of apple orchard area in the state within the next five years, and a corresponding profit to" themselves in the years followlne, Johnny on the Dachshund. Chicago Tribune. If I had to be a dog, I would much rather be a large Newfoundland. Still, we must not repine at our lot. Whatever Providence orders is best for us. Our hired girl says her cousin once had a dachshund that got In his way when he was chopping wood, and he accidentally cut the dog's tail off. At 9 o'clock the next day the dachshund emitted a frightful scream. He had just found it out A dachshund Is the only thing you cannot buy at a depart ment store. Ten Pfcw Committed. Amos It. "Wells In tho Christian Endeavor World. Ten new committees, vigorous and fine; One was too ambitious, and then tkere were nine. Nine new committees, zealous and elate: One got offended, and then tho re were eight. Eight new committees, laboring for heaven; One srot to shirking, and then there were seven. y Seven new committees, "putting in beat licks"; One found It tedious, and then there were six. Six new committees, looking all alive; One wont to sleep, and then there were Ave. Five new committees, keeping up their szore; One became "too busy," and thsn there were four. Four new committees, bright as bright could be; , One became careless, and then there were three. Three new committees, hunting things to do: One thought it oouldn't, and then there were two. Two nejv committees, proud of good things done; One grew "so tired," and then there was one. One now committee, holding on for fun; Fun got exhausted, and then there was none. There is a tract of land in Tazewell County, Illinois, lying along the Mack inaw River, which consists of a continu ous scries of abrupt and deep ravines. Not a foot of the tract could be cultivated. The ridges are full of fox dens, wolves are occasionally found, and turkey buz zards hover over It In large flocks. Even people familiar with the territory have been lost In the dense forest. Except for a few giant oaks, the wood has no com mercial value. The tract Is known as the "Lost Forty." because no one knows who owns It. For years It has been used for trading purposes, and many unwary per sons from a distance have advanced money upon It and taken mortgages in various sums, only to receive a question able title to a worthless piece of land. On the Tazewell County tax books the "Forty" appears with "Owner unknown." The land is watered by innumerable springs, and the Mackinaw River, which winds its way through. The New York Legal Aid Society, of which Arthur von Briesen, a wealthy law yer with a lucrative practice. Is presi dent, is wholly supported from contribu tions from the purses of wealthy men In terested In the work, and It has accom plished a marvelous amount of good. "A poor man or woman," said Mr. von Brie sen recently, "may have honestly earned by hard labor an amount of money. Pay ment Is refused. A lawyer Is consulted, and If the sum Is not promptly obtained the cost of redress In most cases exceeds the aum due. Thousands of such cases occur In New York yearly. Rjght then and there an anarchist at heart Is made. We take such cases up. accept a retainer of 10 cents to help our client's self-respect and collect the money. That represents the total charge, and even that Is not al 'ways exacted. To date we have collected over $S,000 for 115,000 individuals, who otherwise would have been unjustly de prived of that vast amount of money.' FlniHlieil His Tnlmndlc Dictionary. Phjlndelphia Times. After more than a quarter of a century ot erudite labor the venerable rabbi, the Rev. Dr. Marcus Jastrdw, of German town, has completed In manuscript the "Dictionary of the Talmud," which has ben awaited with interest by Biblical student and Oriental scholars all over the world. Begun in 1877, the actual compiling and writing of this Important work have taken twenty-four of the rip- 1 est years of Dr. Jastrow's Ufa.