Morning Oregonian., January 21, 1902, Page 6, Image 6

THE MOENING OREGONIAN, TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1902.
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TODAY'S WEATHER-Cloudy and -unsettled,
with occasional rain; winds becoming south
erly. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem
perature. 415; minimum temperature, 37; pre
cipitation, none.
PORTLAND, TUESDAY, JXS. 21, 1002.
OUR LEGISLATIVE SCRAMBLE.
As to the choice of canal routes, the
country suspends judgment. It doesn't
know. It is bewildered by the Walker
comraission'6 change of front, it hesi
tates at the concessional dangers In
Panama, and at the engineering un
certainties In Nicaragua. It Is certain
of nothing, cot even the commission's
disinterestedness. There Is only one
thing which, if the people could find out,
would hVlp them materially to make up
their minds, and that is the real atti
tude of the transcontinental railroads.
If they are for Nicaragua, then Pan
ama Is better. If thy are for Panama,
then we should, insist on Nicaragua.
The railroads will do anything to defeat
the canal. They have so far been easily
apprehended as working forelay. They
were for Panama as long as that
seemed an impossible proposal, useful
merely to hinder Nicaragua, bur) now
that the commission ia for Panama and
this route seems likely to be adopted,
they may change and order their Sen
ators to work for Nicaragua,
This is what It comes to, and it is a
thing most humiliating. On the one
hand are, the heirs and assigns of the
Maritime Canal Company, on thie other
hand are the Panama Railroad and the
Frenchmen. Somewhere are the trans
continental railroads, working In the
dark, ready to strike with secret hand
where the people's cause can most con
veniently be stabbed. It is a sickening
reflection that at such a time, when the
destiny of millions and perhaps of a
continent is hanging in the balance, the
battle Is in the hands of rival lobbies
and secret powerful influences, while
the merits of the controversy serve not
for guide or counsel, but merely for In
struments of selfish ends in hands as
uncontrollable as they are unscrupu
lous. Nor is the canal dilemma an excep
tion. Cuba Is at the door; and the real
Cuban struggle Is not between pleading
Cubans and patriotic Americans, but
between Havemeyer and Oxnard, mo
nopolistic trusts and millionaires. A
Pacific cable is to be laid, and the issue
between private and Government own
ership is not between strict construc
tion patriots on the one hand and Navy
Department patriots on the other, but
between those who wat to make money
laying a private cable and those who
want to make money laying a Govern
ment cable. The Philippines are at the
door. The question at issue Is not be
tween friends of the Filipinos and
Americans loyal to this country's ideals,
but between those who want to exploit
the Islands for gain and those who want
to oppress them for gain. Shall we
limit Philippine trade to American ves
sels? This will be decided, not by what
is best, but by a battle between those
who own American vessels in the trade
and those who own vessels under for
eign flags. Reciprocity Is at the door,
but its fate is not at the disposal of
those "who long to see their country take
Its place among the best and wisest na
tions of the earth. The issue hangs
upon the result of the conflict waging
between those who are favored by the
treaties and those who are favored by
the present regime. The Grout bill is
pending and the vote In Congress will
merely register the relative persistence
and resourcefulness of the dairymen on
the one hand and the packers on the
other! The arid lands are thirsting for
water, but they will get relief only
through the votes of men who can be
provided a way to make something out
of the deal.
It is very pleasant living In this coun
try, for some people. It Is a model
place to do business, for these gigantic
accumulations of capital, which must
have their dividends, and their princely
salaries, and their protective tariffs,
with such incidental legislation and
court decisions as they require. And
yet they are not satisfied. They need
moresubsidies, more concessions abroad
utilized through high tariffs at home.
They must have less competition from
rivals, the railroads must have less in
terference from Government. All Is
smooth sailing for these devisers and
executives of our National activities.
The sky Is bright, and the cloud In the
west is no larger than a man's hand.
There are people In Kentucky who
object to "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and who
urge their Legislature to prohibit the
exhibition of the drama of that name
in the state. There is weakness in their
plea. It Is an admission that histori
cal justice stands opposed to the preju
dice of the objectors; that slavery can
have no defenders, and that mention
of Its enormities is a reproach to those
who upheld It. But the matter is stale
now. Every dramatic portrayal of
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" Is poor stuff.
Strange that the Kentuckians who don't
like it can't see that the strongest cen-
sure they can pass upon It Is to stay
away from the theaters that play it.
"Uncle Tom's Cabin," as literature, Is
not contemptible, but it is not great
literature. As a novel It is only ordi
nary and commonplace; but as a po
litical pamphlet, surcharged with moral
feeling, It had a terrible dynamic power.
It came at a time when just such a
thing was needed to awaken the free
states to a sense of the wrongs exist
ing in slavery, and to Intensify their
purpose to have no further extension of
slave territory. It was, moreover, one
of the great forces that caused the gen
erous young manhood of the country
to spring to arms at the beginning of
the Civil "War, for the purpose of check
ing or destroying so great a wrong;
and when the crisis of battle came the
Inspiration caught from this book made
the young fellows rush on death as If
going to a banquet." More than any
other one thing, this book awakened
the forces that overthrew slavery In the
United States though the Immediate
downfall of slavery was caused by the
arrogance and moral blindness of those
who upheld It. "Uncle Tom's Cabin,"
as a book, or a play, will be known in
coming ages only to the few who explore
the sources of history. But such pro
tests as that made in Kentucky can
only emphasize the fact that slavery
was the greatest of wrongs. The book
and the play will have vogue only so
long as there may be persons to protest
against them.
EXCOURAGIXG PROGRESS BACK
WARD. The Democratic report in opposition
to the Hill silver reform bill, agreed
upon In the House, will make poor read
ing for those who have been looking
for a return of sense to Democratic
counsels. It will dash all hopes of "a
magnificent opposition," for a more fee
ble and ridiculous jumble of financial
absurdities and inconsistencies could
not easily be framed. The Democracy
continues to devote itself with most en
thusiastic assiduity to folly and suicide.
There Is a good deal In this report
that utterly discredits Bryan and Bry
anism. There is a protest against the
Government's continuance in the bank
ing business, a negative doctrine which
has stood behind the sound-money op
position to Government currencies, pres
ent and prospective. There are fears of
the "endless chain," and of another
"endless chain" a difficulty which the
Bryan cohorts have always hooted at as
imaginary. There Is a contention that
behind $500,000,000 In silver obligations
should stand, under redemption, a gold
reserve of at least $300,000,000, when the
Bryan theory of currency Is that paper
or depreciated sliver needs nothing but
to stand on the Government fiat. It
argues that the Treasury notes are now
a "strain upon the Government,"
whereas the Bryanites have always
taught that flat and not gold behind
notes gives them their value. In this
report gold Is characterized as "the life
blood of commerce," and its exporta
tion is deprecated, in serene indifference
to the Bryanite Idea that "coward gold"
is fit "only to be driven away anyhow,
and the only true money Is patriotic sil
ver, which never deserts us.
There are six heads to the report, and
the first three (for gold) are put to
naught by the second three (for silver).
It is clear that the result has been
reached by giving the gold men their
part and the silver "men theirs, just as
the Pan-American Congress saved the
face of both Chile and Peru by adopt
ing the antagonistic and mutually ex
clusive proposals of each. The silver
end of this report says (1) that ex
changeability will retire the silver dol
lars, (2) produce panics, and (3) strike
a blow at one of our greatest Indus
tries. Observe that the Democrats pro
nounce for a dilemma, and select for
our contemplation the evil imagined as
dependent upon each Qf Its honors. One
of two things will happen, therefore
both of them will happen. To make the
sliver dollars exchangeable with gold,
they say, will either contract the cur
rency or else it will inflate it by the
substitution of silver notes for silver
coin. Hence they cheerfully predict
consequences that may be feared from
contraction. If that comes, or inflation,
if that cornea .
In the first place, we shall have con
traction of the currency. That means
"falling prices, bankruptcy and panics."
Of course, the Democrats know per
fectly well that no contraction Is pro
posed. The millions of silver bullion
piled up uselessly In Government vaults
are not in the circulation now. The
Hill bill, by coining it and the silver
dollars up into small change, will get
it into circulation as fast as business
will absorb It, no faster, no slower.
There will be no contraction, no infla
tion. Making the dollars exchangeable
in gold Is not going to drive them to the
Treasury for redemption, but will make
them firmer. Not certainty of ex
changeability, but doubt of it, Is what
sends token currency to the counter for
conversion.
But the currency will not only be con
tracted, giving us low prices and panics,
but it will also be Inflated, giving us
"the substitution of printed promises to
pay." The Hill proposal "will convert
assets Into liabilities, dollars Into
debts." Oh, how the Bryanlc soul revolts
It at the thought of "printed prom
ises to pay"! How It longs for good,
hard, gold money and laughs to scorn
the sacred greenback of blessed mem
ory! How does this comport with the
policy Democrats have forced upon us
all these years of buying silver and Issu
ing for it notes? "Why did we not hear
this animadversion upon silver notes
when the Sherman law was up for re
peal? The Bryanite party In Congress,
bewailing the addition of "printed prom
ises to pay" to the currency, is one of
the most pitiful exhibitions In our po
litical history. It discourages the hope
that sincerity and sense might once
more return to Democratic councils.
In complaining that the Hill pro
posals will convert "dollars Into debts"
and "strike a blow at one of our great
est Industries," the Democrats uncover
at once their intellectual nakedness.
Here is true Bryanlsm. The silver dol
lar Is a dollar, the silver note is a debt.
The silver dollar is an asset, the silver
.note Is a liability. They know, as every
person of Information knows, that the
silver dollar Is only kept at 100 cents
by the gold standard, and the machin
ery maintained for Its perpetuation. As
a coin it is 47 cents. As a dollar it is
a token coin, maintained just as the
paper note is maintained. "Whether it
is outside the Treasury or inside with a
note outside against It, makes no differ
ence in the Government's assets and lia
bilities. If the maintenance of the sil
ver dollars at par through exchange
ability under the Hill plan is going to
subject the Treasury to strain on their
account. In what way does that "strike
a blow" at silver? Does It not In real
ity strengthen it,and does not the Hill
programme of trying to get the silver
out In the circulation In shape of sub
sidiary coinage really provide the sil
ver mines more hope of selling silver
to the Government eventually, than if
it were allowed to remain piled up use
lessly In the Treasury, as It Is now?
It is creditable to the Democrats'
ambition that they are trying- to get
out of the hole Into which their finan
cial folly has led them. But It Is not
flattering to their discernment that by
such idiotic utterances as this they are
only increasing their claim on the coun
try's distrust and aversion.
TAXATIONS' OP "OX-TlLLABLE"
LAXDS.
Two newspapers of .Eugene City the
Register and the Guard are engaged
In an Interesting discussion of the local
practice of assessment as related to
the so-called non-tillable lands of Larie
County. The Register maintains that
of tile 1,053,361 acres In the county In
dividually owned, classified as non-tillable
and assessed In the aggregate for
$1,569,428, or less than an average of
$1 50 per acre, a very large proportion
are worth all the way" from $5 to $15
per acre, or from three to seven times
the amount forv which they stand as
sessed. And it is further declared -that
"three-fourths of these lands are owned
by men who do not reside In Lane
County, and they are largely held by
resident and non-resident owners for
purposes of speculation." The Register
sees no reason why in the practice of
assessment there should be discrimina
tion in favor of grazing and timber
lands, as compared with general agri
cultural lands. The practice, it declares.
Is cne which unfairly distributes the
burdens of local taxation, since in large
measure It exempts one class of prop
erty and shifts its natural and proper
obligations to another class. The Guard,
on the other hand, affects to view all
this as an assault upon the "farmers
and taxpayers" of the county, and es
pecially as calculated to Injure the stock
Interests, which operate largely upon
the basis of the foothill pastures. The
practice of assessing these lands "which
cannot be used for any other purpose
than stock-grazing at the lowest possi
ble figure" Is commended as a thing
calculated to promote the general inter
est. The amount of lands held by non
residents or for speculation the Guard
believes to be very small.
This discussion turns In Its local as
pects largely upon questions of fact
which neither of the Eugene papers
have taken the pains to present in dem
onstrated form. It would be Interesting
to have a precise description of some of
the lands which are assumed to be non
tillable, to know in a series of specific
Instances which ought to be easily un
covered the exact difference between
assessed values and market values,
and approximately the proportion of
non-resident and speculative holders. A
little positive information of this kind
would go far toward lighting up a sub
ject which cannot be discussed intelli
gently and advantageo'usly upon the
basis of mere assumption.
But In truth the local aspects of this
discussion make the smallest part of Us
interest. Lane is but one of many
counties in which there are large bodies
of land classified as non-tillable and
taxed on a low basis. This word "non
tillable" is one of those Indefinite and
even elastic terms which may be ap
plied to lands very different In kind and
value; and there has long been reason
to believe that in its relations to as
sessment in this state it has been made
to cover a very general and persistent
practice of tax-dodging. The general
practice, as In Lane County, has "been
to assess non-tillable lands at the "low
est possible figure," and It has come to
be the alrrypf pretty much everyvowner
of unworked land, no matter what Its
intrinsic or potential value, to get his
holding In the non-tillable classifica
tion. Thus large tracts In every part
of the state which the owners for one
purpose or another from Inertia, lack
of capital or from motives of specula
tionhave wished to carry over to the
future in the undeveloped state, have
year after year been turned in to the
Assessor as non-tillable and have been
taxed upon a low basis. The man who
would or could do nothing with his
landed property has largely been able
by employment of the term non-tillable
to get from under the burden of public
taxation and to look on while his neigh
bors of energy. Initiative and progres
sive spirit have borne the whole load.
The Oregonian believes and has long
believed that a very large part of the
acreage of "Western Oregon which
stands listed on the assessment rolls as
non-tillable Is among the very best and
potentially the most valuable of all our
lands. The foothill regions on both
sides of the "Willamette Valley, for ex
ample, have In every instance we
know of, when brought Into cultiva
tion, proved their productive quality
and their value to be of the highest. A
large part of the best things we are now
producing and putting upon the general
markets comes from lands passed over
by the first settlers of the country as
worthless or unavailable, and long
classed as non-tillable. It Is certain
that we must go to the foothills for
the best results In fruitgrowing and
In many other lines of our more recent
and profitable production. "We have
been tardy In discovering all this, or at
least In coming generally to understand
It, and the blame is due in no small
measure to the inertia and the petty
fraud which have combined to divert
attention from the foothill regions.
Curiously enough, in the effort to de
ceive the tax-gatherer the owner of
foothill lands has largely deceived him
self as to the worth of his holdings,
and in so doing he has appreciably re
tarded the settlement and industrial
growth of the state.
There is but one sound practice In the
taxation of lands, and that Is to adjust
assessments as precisely as possible to
market value. Neither the law nor com
mon sense gives to the County Assessor
discretion to favor one class of lands
as against another class. It Is none of
the Assessor's business to discriminate
In favor of one interest as against an
other. If cultivated valley lands in
Lane County or elsewhere are taxed at
50 per cent or 75 per cent or par with
respect to market value, then the so
called non-tillable or grazing lands
should be taxed by the same rule. No
other practice Is intrinsically just, and
in the long run no other Is so well cal
culated to promote the general interest
and progress of the country. It Is cer
tain that holders of lands enjoying, a
special exemption on the basis of non
Improvement are far less likely to stir
themselves in enterprises of develop
ment than If they were required each
year to pay Into the tax office their
full proportionate due. And it Is equally
certain that newcomers are with diffi
culty Interested In lands which bear the
official stigma involved In the non-tillable
classification. Every fraud, large
or small, comes In the end to Its pen
alty, and In this case It is a penalty of
widespread application. Directly or
otherwise, every material Interest in the
state is made to suffer from it.
DESERVES HIS KATE.
The plea for the commutation of the
death sentence of Dalton ought to be
rejected. If two men Join a pirate ship
knowing its character, and the ship is
captured, both men would justly hang,
even If one had only scuttled a ship
while the other had actually cut a
throat The crime! for which Dalton
and "Wade have been sentenced to death
Is one that deserves no clemency, be
cause It is the result of cool, deliberate
determination to commit robbery, and
If necessary murder. The men who
commit such crimes are not creatures
of Impulse. They Intimate their pur
pose to take life if necessary by arm
ing themselves before going forth to
steal. They carefully select the scene
of their operations. Their whole prep
aration involves reflection, and Its exe
cution circumspection. These assassins
in cold blood decide to take human life
in order to line their own pockets; they
are not the creatures of transient im
pulse; they are as cool and callous In
their murderous business as a street
walker plying her vocation.
These two cold-blooded young high
waymen go forth armed, hold up an
excellent young man and rob him of his
precious life. His parents have lost an
affectionate and dutiful son; and the
community has lost a promising citizen.
By the stupid betrayal of their own
reckless speech, a cloud of suspicion
gathers about these assassins, and one
of their gossips learns enough to make
their arrest certain. "When Dalton finds
that he Is In the toils, he strives to
manufacture a basis for ultimate clem
ency by making a confession. The im
pulse which prompted him to do this Is
simply born of cowardice and the sense
of self-preservation. His confession does
not make him any less a heartless mur
derer nor abate a partlcle-of his dread
ful moral deformity. The law took this
view of the matter; th.c court drew no
distinction between the assassins, but
treated them as equally guilty of their
awful deed. The law Is common sense;
let them be left to Its justice, which Ib
the only mercy they have a right to ex
pect The counsel for Dalton In their plea
for clemency say: "The question is notl
whether Dalton shall be punished or go
free; It Is whether he shall die or be
Imprisoned for life." Imprisonment for
life to murderers in Oregon and hi most
of the states of the Union does not
mean the living death It implies. Life
prisoners seldom serve more than ten
years of their sentence. Public resent
ment abates; Governors yield to polit
ical Influence exercised through the at
torney of the convict, and a pardon
turns, your life prisoner Into the world
free to resume his criminal career. The
majority will sign a petition for com
mutation or pardon of a murderer un
less the miscreant happened to kill one
of their own or their wife's family; the
majority will sign any paper except a
promissory note or their own death
warrant The signers of such petitions
have no official responsibility, and it is
easier to sign, than to displease the ap
plicant by refusal. There Is no rascal
so deep-dyed in crime in the state peni
tentiary who could not get a large peti
tion for pardon tomorrow If he had
money enough to employ an energetic
attorney to circulate it
But, assuming that life imprisonment
really meant the living death It Implies,
why should the Governor In Justice ex
tend the mercy of commutation to one
of these miscreants and deny It to the
other? Both certainly deserve the ex
treme penalty of the law, and If one
should be spared and the other exe
cuted, a serious blunder would be com
mitted. Both went forth armed In a
confederacy of crime to rob and, if
necessary, to murder. Both were close
enough to their victim to kill him.
"Wade fired the fatal shot, but If Dalton
was not ready and willing to fire It,
why was he there with a loaded pistol?
A man who goes forth to rob armed
with a loaded pistol is as clearly a mur
derer morally as Is his confederate who
fires the fatal shot If there is any
difference between them, It .Is not a
moral but a physical, temperamental
difference. Dalton Is as cruel, bloody
minded and worthless a creature as
Wade. The law has these human tigers
In Its clutch, and under their just sen
tence both equally deserve death. "When
they are both hanged the world will
be sure that these two assassins will
never rob another human creature of
his useful and peaceful life, and in no
other way will the world ever be sure
of It, for official clemency is constantly
opening prison doors with a pardon to
some of the wild beasts within. There
Is only one prison that a pardon can
not break, and that is the narrow cell
of the grave.
The law Is exceedingly generous to all
homicides who commit crimes in fits of
passion. "Where there Is a suspicion of
mental derangement the law Is most
considerate. In cases where great prov
ocation, like domestic wrong, had been
given, juries are often more than just;
they are quixotic in their generosity.
but there is one case in which juries
never show any sympathy and in which
the law should never show any clem
ency, and that a case in which hu
man life has been deliberately taken In
order to spoil the victim of his goods.
A man sordid and cruel enough to de
stroy a fellow-creature In the bright
morning of his life In order to steal his
purse Is worse than a wild beast, and
surely should be hunted down to death
as mercilessly as we do an Irresponsible
man-eating Hon or tiger. The prison at
Salem should not become a menagerie
of human wild beasts of prey. The
state ought not to be taxed to support
such creatures. They should be given
a homestead by the state In shape of a
grave at once and forever. A miscreant
who will take his neighbor's life In order
to steal his purse ought to be placed
where he never can do it again, and the
only place that really assures that is
the grave. The only use that the world
can make of a cut-throat Is to bury
him and add something to the phos
phates of the soil.
The Tacoma Ledger Is much dis
tressed because The Oregonian does not
print Tacoma wheat quotations, and
has arrived at the conclusion that they
are omitted because Portland Is afraid
of Tacoma. The Oregonian does not
print the Tacoma quotations because
they are notoriously unreliable. This
paper has made frequent attempts to
secure accurate quotations from the
Puget Sound cities, but there Is so little
wheat business "actually transacted"
at Tacoma that quotations from that
point are of small value. Portland and
San Francisco exporters handle about
nine-tenths of the wheat that Is shipped
from Tacoma. and, havlne their head
offices In this city and buying the wheat
from Portland, with the option of ship
ping either to Portland or Tacoma, it is
much easier to secure the prices paid
at the exporters' headquarters In this
city than In the round-about way which
the Ledger desires. A Tacoma quota
tion on wheat, to be accurate, would
have to be secured from the Portland
exporters. For the information of the
Ledger It might be statedvthat the only
quotation on wheat from a; Puget Sound
port that would interest either the trade
or the producers would be from Seattle.
That port has a large and growing mill
ing and warehouse wheat trade in terri
tory not directly tributary to Portland
or Tacoma, and the prices on wheat at
Seattle are not always governed by the
Portland export value, as they are In
Tacoma, but by the mllllngjiemand.
General Grosvenor, of Ohio, Is a gal
lant soldier of the Union and a mem
ber of the G. A. R., but In the debate
over the pension bill he roundly de
nounced the rpport of the committee of
the G. A. .R. made at the encampment
last Summer, which charged, members of
Congress with having- failed to do their
duty In regard to a "preference" pension
bill. -Gereral Grosvenor showed that
the bill mentioned would have given
preference over the old soldiers of the
Rebellion to 250,000 men who enlisted
for the Spanish-American "War, a pro
vision utterly unjust The "preference"
bill as originally Introduced and In
dorsed by the G. A. R. did not contain
the "preference" provision, but was in
serted In face of a protest of a minor
ity. None of these "veterans" took
part In more than two engagements,
and the two regiments of volunteers
under fire. before Santiago were of no
service whateverS One of them, a Mas
sachusetts regiment, was promptly with
drawn as worse than useless, as Its
"black-powder" muskets did no harm
to the enemy but drew a disastrous
fire upon our line. The other volunteer
regiment, a New York organization,
behaved so badly under fire that Its
field officers were dismissed in disgrace
on their return home. The Twenty-second
New York never got beyond the
forts in New York harbor. And these
are the holiday soldiers that It was pro
posed to place In a preferential class.
The Nelson bill, which provides for a
National department of commerce and
Industry, and consequently creates an
other Cabinet position. Is designed to
iighten the labors of the Treasury and
Interior Departments, both of which. It
Is asserted, are greatly overburdened.
It will create a bureau of manufactures,
and transfer from the Treasury De
partment the llfesavlng, lighthouse,
marine hospital and steamboat inspec
tion service, the bureaus Of navigation,
immigration and statistics, and the
coast and geodetic survey. From the
Interior it will take the railroads com
mission, the patent office, the census
bureau and the geological survey. It
will also have charge of the Consular
service, now under the State Depart
ment Truly, If, after being relieved of
all these special lines of service, the
departments mentioned still have
enough to do, they are greatly over
worked under the present system and
are entitled to relief. The measure is
strongly supported outside of Congress,
which does not mean, however, that it
will pas3.
President Roosevelt owed his appoint
ment as Assistant Secretary of the
Navy to the .efforts of United States
Senator Lodge and Speaker Reed. The
nomination of Mr. Roosevelt was op
posed by Secretary Long and by United
States Senator Piatt President Mc
Kinley, Mark Hanna and Senator Quay
were also opposed to the appointment
of Mr. Roosevelt Finally Senator Piatt
was persuaded by a New York friend
to withdraw his opposition, and Presi
dent McKinley the following day made
Mr. Roosevelt Assistant Secretary of
the Navy. These facts show that
Speaker Reed was among Roosevelt's
strongest backers at the start, and It
would not be surprising If some day Mr.
Reed were offered a seat In the- Cabinet
or a first-clas3 foreign mission, or, were1
appointed to the United States Supreme,'
Court at the fir3t opportunity.
The engagement of a-number of young
women to go to the Philippines as
stenographers and typewriters gives oc
casion for the exercise of the so-called
wit of the witless In senseless jokes of
which the "pretty typewriter" i"the In
nocent subject Step-mothers, mothers-in-law
and typewriters are standard ob
jects for light-brained wits to play
upon. It Is gratifying to note that
these subjects usually pursue the not
too even tenor of their way with un
answerng lips, not deigning to answer
fools according to their folly. As an
exchange says, In reference to the last
named class, "If these jests have any
truth In them, they are not funny; If
they are not founded in truth, they are
crueL"
M. Metchnlkoff, a famous bacteriol
ogist, announces the discovery of the
conscienceless bacillus that feeds upon
the natural coloring, pigment of the
hair, causing It to turn gray. The .ap
petite the little monster Is said to be
Increased by care, grief, moral shock,
sedentary habits or illness In the vic
tim. It has been fitly named "plgmen
tophagus"; If its discoverer will now
find means to disable or kill the crea
ture, he will be forgiven for adding this
name to our vocabulary.
The Taxpayers' League has made its
annual investigation of county affairs,
which. In spite of back taxes collected
but not anticipated, to the amount of
some $8i,000, shows an excess of ex
penses of $45,000. Their report will be
ready for publication in a day or two.
It will make interesting reading, and
The Oregonian will print It. It will be
a revelation in official extravagance and
waste such as this community has sel
dom If ever confronted.
Discrimination should be used in
granting pensions even to widows of
Presidents of the United States. No
pension should be granted to such as
are wealthy already. President McKin
ley left a large estate. President Cleve
land has wealth, and no doubt will leave
a large one. No pension can be neces
sary for support, or even for assist
ance, of Mrs. McKinley or Mrs. Cleve
land. And the same Is true as to the
widow of President Harrison.
Mrs. Carrie Nation has sharpened and
is about to unsheath her hatchet, Tb
peka, the capital of Kansas, being the
point chosen In her renewed activities.
The novelty of her method of fighting
saloons being worn off, she will proba
bly be unsuccessful In her attempt to
gain further notoriety as a muscular
apostle of temperance.
AMUSEMENTS.
Edythe Chapman, as Barbara In Clyde
Fitch's "Barbara Frietchie," last night
led the Neill Company to the greatest
triumph they have won in, Portland. There
were honors for every one, plenty of them
in the early acts, and enough later on, but
the pretty -Southern girl so dominates tht
whole drama and Impresses her charming
personality so strongly upon, every scene
that the play may be 6ald to be hers. "It
was the second great opportunity Miss
Chapman, has had with the NellL Com
pany at the Marquam, and, great as was
her Cigarette In "Under Two Flags." her
Barbara was still finer, and more artistic.
The play Is a comedy and a tragedy,
each In two acts. Building on that use
ful foundatlon.vthe law that laughter and
tears lie so close together that to Invoke
the one Is to bring the other within call.
Fitch has chosen to begin, with laughter,
and for two acts he conjures It up with
as delightful a comedy as ever was put
Into words by an American dramatist
Then, with a sudden sharp change, he
cries "Havoc!" and lets slip the dogs of
war. The cruel heartbreak of a parting
between two lovers as they are about to
wed is followed fast by the mortal wound
ing of the Northern officer who has won
the most violent little rebel in all Freder
ick, and the curtain falls on the limp form
of the girl, shot dead as she was waving
the flag of her lover's causo in the face
of Stonewall Jackson's soldiers. The
wrench is severe on the audience, but
Fitch knew his business, and the effect of
his last two acts of tragedy is immensely
heightened by the happiness he has made
so vivid in- his introduction.
The play opens In Frederick, and the
first act Is without a flaw. The girls sit
ting In the twilight on the porch of the
Frletr-hle homo rhaff one another on their
love affairs, sputter "Dixie" at the Yankee j
soldiers that pass to and fro, and flirt
with the village youths as naturally as
do the girls one sees on nearly every
front porch any Summer evening. Then
Trumbull, the Yankee with whom Barbara
has fallen In love, drifts in, and a pretty
Romeo and .Juliet love scene is enacted,
with all the rough places in the course ot
true love that troubled the original Ro
meo and Juliet The hatred of Trumbull
by Barbara's people, her daring desertion
of her home with him, and their attempt
ed union, are all In a cheerful vein, and
one would little suspect, while looking at
the calm contentment of the quiet night
in Frederick, what a distressful picture of
the horror of war is soon to be painted In
that very spot Unconsciously or other
wise. Fitch has followed the Shakespeare
love play all the way through, giving it,
of course, an abundance of modern vari
ations. And not even "Romeo and Juliet"
has a more gloomy and hopeless ending
than the pitiful scene in which Barbara
meets her death on the porch of her
father's house, with the "Yankee" Hag
shrouding her lifeless figure.
Miss Chapman is on the stage nqarly all
the time, and she always adorns It The
music of her voice and the charming com
edy which Is always hers to command are
the Ufa of the beautiful first act. and
nothing could be prettier than her love
scene with Captain Trumbull (Mr. Neill).
Then in the second act she Is a pltture of
fluttering expectation when waiting for
the. minister to make her the wife of the
Northern officer. There is a charming
touch in this scene. Barbara, .who has
been striving all the night to win herself
over to the cause of the North, takes the
flag given her grandfather by Thomas
Jefferson, sews the rents she has torn In
It when Maryland went with the South,
and, unfolding it, tenderly gives it to
Trumbull as a wedding present Both
Miss Chapman and Nell got all that was
possible out ot this scene, and it was one
of the most graceful and affecting In the
whole play. Afterward, when Barbara
Is trying to conceal the presence of her
wounded lover In her father's .house, when
she is pleading with her father to let him
remain, and when she Is holding at bay
the lunatic who is seeking to destroy him,
Miss Chapman Is thoroughly an artist,
and if there are any women on the stage
who could do these things better than she
did, they have not visited Portland. The
audience was fully appreciative, and she
received many hearty curtain calls. Her
rebuke to a noisy gallery was a mere In
cident In the play, but It was not the
least of the things for which she deserves
credit
Mr. Neill has but little to do as Cap
tain Trumbull, but does that little In his
usual thorough-going fashion. Robert
Morris has a fine bit of work as a rascally
soldier, which is by far the best thing
he has done here. Donald Bowles makes
much of the part of Jack Negley; John
"W. Burton is a fine old rebel as Colonel
Negley; Clifford Dempsey Is good as
Frietchie; George Bloomqulst plays Ar
thur Frietchie admirably; Lillian Andrews
Is an unctuous old colored mammy, and
Julia Dean. Mary Elizabeth Forbes and
Louise Brownell are as pretty and capti
vating a trio of village belles as one sees
in a long Summer day. The play Is
mounted with much care, being the finest
thing scenically the Neill3 have been seen
In. .The costuming, beside being beauti
ful, so far as the feminine portion of the
cast is concerned, has received careful at
tention as to historical accuracy.
"Barbara Frietchie" will run till
"Wednesday night, with a matinee "Wednes
day. FranUIe Rlcliter.
The sale of seats will open this morning
at 10 o'clock for Frankie Richters recital,
which takes place at the Marquam. Grand
Theater next Thursday night.
"Qho Vadls?"
There are 3? speaking parts in the dram
atization of Sienkiewicz' romance, "Quo
Vadis?" made by Stanislaus Stange, to be
seen In this city at the Marquam Grand
Theater next Friday, Saturday matinee
and night, under the management of b
C. "Whitney and Edwin Knowles. Mr.
Stange and Mr. George Schaeffer devoted
weeks to the close study of the book,
and the stage version presented by the
"Whitney-Knowles company is said to sur
pass in point of merit all adaptations of
popular books recently finding vogue with
theatrical promoters.
The sale of seats will open tomorrow at
10 o'clock.
Xo Eaaentlal Unsoundness.
Chicago Record-Herald.
It was a curious coincidence that on
the day when Congressman Babcock In
troduced his bill which reduces the tariff
on steel the same complaint that he has
made against the steel trust was directed
against the German manufacturers of
wire and of bar and rolled Iron during the
discussion of the German tariff bill In
committee. It Is evident at once that a
policy of protection and bounties which
brings about such a condition of affairs
as this Is essentially unsound. It must
result In a tremendous drain upon the
whole people for the benefit of certain
Industries, and the broader its scope the
more serious must become Its effects
upon the general welfare. The stimulus
cannot compensate for the sacrifice, and
It' is no more possible for a nation to rise
to greater prosperity by such methods
than It is for a man to lift himself by
his bootstraps.
She Clianfired Her Mind.
Baltimore News.
"I never will marry a short, fat man!"
The maiden exclaimed as she worked her fan
In a manner distinctly emphatic;
"I never will marry a man who's thin
And the man that I marry must have some
tin
And he never must be erratic!"
So the maiden grew In a few short years
From the age of smiles to the age of tears,
And was catalogued as a spinster;
And she waited alone while the others wed.
All the chances of catching the right man fled
And the maiden's mistake convinced her.
So she settled her c-p for a short, fat man.
And she ogled the chap with her frazzled fan,
Tho' ne neither was rich nor plucky;
And she finally married a weazened Joke
Who didn't possess the price of a smoke,
And thought herself mighty lucky.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
"We knew all the time that the Golds
borough was all right
The Government Is In need ot one or
two escapeless prisons.
Eggs continue high. Cannot, the hens
be persuaded to lay low?
Hereafter let Portland-built boats have
their trials nearer home.
The robbers who "stoic a Missouri man's
money belt probably got enough cash to
go "round.
Secretary Long says we need a new
Navy. Still the old one did quite a little
work In 19S.
The "Washington office-seekers seem to
get along nearly as smoothly as so many
naval officers.
Carnegie says It Is a joy to help others.
The others also find It a joy to help them
sehes from Mr. Carnegie's pocket.
At last accounts Lord Rosslyn's system
was not paying half so well as any one
of those managed by J. P. Morgan.
The Mayor of Ogden has been clapped
Into quarantine. "Why didn't New York
try the 'same dodge on Van "Wyck?
A Kansas man has lost a suit against
the "regulators." He has thus been not
only regulated, but set back a good ways.
It is said that champagne causes can
cer. And yet the malady does not appear
to be very prevalent among chorus girls.
Dalton might have saved young Mor
row's life If he had chosen, but he didn't
give anybody a chance to file a petition
with him asking him to do so.
Perhaps if Kipling would scold the
Boers a little he would put the hoodoo on
them, which he seems to have attached to
the cause of his own countrymen.
There has been a diamond robbery at
Glendive, Mont. Cannot Portland get up
even a diamond robbery without being
imitated all over the Northwest?
Admiral Schley shot a deer the other
day, and the Navy Department is await
ing a dispatch from Sampson announcing
that the animal was killed by an officer
formerly under his command.
The Right Rev. Arthur C. A. Hall, Bish
op of Vermont, announces In the official
papers of the Episcopal church that ho
has deposed the" Rev. John Davis Ewlr.g,
until recently rector ot St. Jaotcs's cnurca
"Woodstock, from the priesthood, upon, the
declaration that Mr. Ewing had deter
mined to enter the Roman Catholic com
munion. A remarkable shell of a new type that
has just been Introduced Into the German
Army is stated to be receiving the close
attention of the British "War Office. By
the Introduction of a cartridge composed
of amorphous phosphorus into the ordi
nary charge of smokeless powder a thick
white smoke Is emitted when the shell
bursts, thus showing the gunners, even at
the greatest distance, how close the pro
jectile has gone to the enemy's position.
By Increasing the proportion of this chem
ical, an operation which does not lessen
the bursting effect, It Is held to be pos
sible to deposit in front of the enemy's
position a thick wall of white smoke,
which for many seconds will altogether
obliterate his view of the field. The ex
periments in the German Army have
proved highly satisfactory, and it is said
that the Invention is almost sure fle-M
adopted In England.
The Demands of Justice.
Boston Herald.
It Is announced that the Democratic
minority of the Senate has determined
to make a stand In debate against the
passage of the Philippine tariff bill. It
will be based also upon the establish
ment of free trade between the ports
ot this country and those of the islands.
This Is good ground on which to toko
a position. The Islands clearly aro
claimed as a part of our National ter
ritory. "We have paid $2O,0CO,0OO for them,
and -we own them. To establish duties
between one port of our country and
another was for a hundred years and
more supposed" to be unconstitutional.
The recent. decision of the Supreme Court
has eccentrically changed this -view for
the time being, but it has not altered
publi,c opinion on the subject. Porto
Rico, which Is precisely analogous to the
Eastern Islands In the position it occu
pies, was for a time shut out, but Is now
recognized as entitled to freedom of trado
with the parent country. It Is logical
and just to take the same attitude to
ward the Philippines.
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHERS
Madge Have you given Jack your final an
swer yet? Mabel Not yet but I have given
him my final "no." Brooklyn Life.
"Why do you girls call Bertie The Poem?' "
"Why. he's Just like a poem! He's been re
jected at least 40 times!" Chicago Dally News.
Life In a Flat. "The owner says If we don't
pay our rent he'll make It hot for us." "Tell
him to go ahead. That's more than his Janitor
has ever done." Philadelphia Evening Bulle
tin. A Pity. Cassidy Phwero are yez going in
thot new suit? Casey orm going to ask old
man Flannigan for his daughter's hand. Cas
sidy Th' dlvll! Ut seems a pity to rula a
new suit thot way. Puck.
George And If things do not go well with us
the first year, darling. I hem presume your
father will not see us suffer? Birdie (sigh
ing) No, dear, poor papa's eyesight Is growing
rapidly worse, even now. Tit-Bits.
Prudence. "Why don't you go to work?"
asked the well-meaning friend, "r don't dare
to," answered Willie Wishington. "People
would think my father had disinherited me,
and It would ruin my credit." Washington
Star.
Curiosity. Mrs. Hiram Offen Dear. I wish
you'd bring home a dozen Harveylzed steel
plates. Mr. Offen What do you mean? Mrs.
Hiram Offen I'm Just curious to see what
Bridget would do with them. Philadelphia
Press.
Piscatorial Delights. Mrs. Innocent What
did you enjoy most about your fishing trip,
dear? Mr, Innocent I got most excited when
I was reeling In. my love. Mrs. Innocent
(bursting Into tears) And to to th think you
promised me y you wouldn't d drink a drop!
Harlem Life. '
Little Day Bine.
Eugene Field.
The little toy dog is covered with dust.
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier Is red with rust.
And his musket molds In hU hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was" new.
And the soldier was passing fair.
And that was the time vhen our Little Boy
Blue
Kissed them and put them there.
"Now. don't you go till I come," he said,
"And don't you make any noise."
So. toddling off to his trundle-bed
He "dreamt of the pretty toys.
And. as he was dreamlr.g, an, angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue
Oh! the yeara are many, the years are Ions,
But the little toy friends are true.
Ay, falthfuKto Little Boy Blue they stand.
Each In the same old place.
Awaiting the touch of a little hand.
The smile of a little face.
And they wonder, as waiting these lone years
through
In the dust ot that little chair.
What has become of our Little Boy Blue
Since be kissed them and put them there.