THE MORNING OREGONIAN, FKUJAiT, JANUARY 81, 1902..
he v&$imxfm
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I .
PORTLAND, FRIDAY, JANUARY 31.
t
THE STEEL TRUST'S VIRTUES.
When the steel trust decided recently
to take the people into Its confidence by
issuing frequent bulletins of Its affairs
to the press, the new departure was
hailed as a boon to the community and
a stroke of brilliant policy for the trust.
It begins to be doubtful, however,
whether the net result of such state
ments as It Is issuing from time to
time will be helpful to It or otherwise.
There are some things that look better
the less light is shed on them.
In a document printed yesterday. In
which the management appears in the
act of addressing the stockholders, the
steel trust recounts the cost of its prop
erties as $1,437,494,862. It Is true that
this stupendous sum represents the
amount of the stock, common and pre
ferred, on which the steel trust with
draws from its receipts annual divi
dends of 8 per cent. But at that point
all connection between the "cost of the
properties" and their actual value stops.
The component factories may be worth
one-fourth of $1,437,000,000, but they are
certainly worth no more than that.
'"Publicity" may be a great thing for
corporations, but the more light of pub
licity there is cast on these peculiar
operations of the steel trust, the more
perturbation will exist in the ranks of
consumers.
How does the steel trust manage to
earn this handsome dividend on its co
lossal capitalization? Simply by hold,
ing the home market up to high prices
through the high tariff. In Europe it
has to sell In competition at fair prices.
Here it sells at fair prices plus the
tariff. Abroad It is a colossus striking
lerror to the hearts of British, German
jand Russian manufacturers. At home
It is an infant Industry crying for the
tfillk of protection.
In a burst of confidence the manage
ment felicitates Itself, the stockholders
and the community at large upon Its
righteous firmness in refusing to ad
vance prices. Its conscientious stand
in this regard "would be of substantial
and lasting value, not only to the com
panies, but also to the general business
interests of the country." Thus over
whelmed, at its own moderation and
jeelfdenlal, the trust presents a touching
.spectacle. It would be superfluous to
enlarge upon this remarkable exhibit
of altruism and self-sacrifice. As Mr.
Schwab, disports himself at Monte
Carlo and flies about Germany in spe
cial trains to the delight of all behold
ers, he doubtless consoles himself with
the thought that virtue Is its own re
BvarcL SOME PLAIN TRUTHS.
Mayor Low, of New York City, In a
public letter to Rev. Dr. Park
hurst, says that the clauses of the ex
cise law that forbid the sale of liquor
2n saloons on Sunday are not compe
tent to accomplish more than to prevent
the public sale of liquor on that day.
They never have stopped and never will
Stop drinking on Sunday. The law that
prohibits the sale of liquor on Sunday
In the City of New York cannot be
enforced, for the reason that there are
at least 250,000 persons who not only do
.not yield willing obedience to it, but
yield no obedience and incite others to
violate it. The only practical result
during Roosevelt's very vigorous ad
ministration of the police was that the
liquor dealers paid for selling on Sun
day $10 a month blackmail, instead of
$5. Under Roosevelt there were three
dry Sundays, but the whole police force
was used to obtain it, and there was
practically an open field for the perpe
tration of other crimes. Mayor Low
says that the excise law has been en
forced by him up to the very limit of
what Is practicable with the means at
command, and substantially as well as
when it was enforced by Mr. Roosevelt,
with the exception of three Sundays, on
which Rev. Dr. Parkhurst admits
every other law was disregarded in or
der to obtain a "dry" Sunday.
Mayor Low says that when an at
tempt Is made by the police power to
close all access to saloons on Sunday
the following results take place: "While
the pressure lasts every vessel that will
hold liquor is filled on Saturday even
ing and lodgings become saloons the
next day. Then arrangements are made
by which liquor can be had In the room
behind or above the saloon, or In the
room on'one side, and then the Illegal
Sunday trade goes on as smoothly as
before. The law is not enforced: the sa
loon is merely driven to cover. "The
fires of blackmail burn with a forced
draft, and the last state of the city
under such a policy Is worse than the
first." Mayor Low concludes by saying
that while he will continue to enforce
the excise law as one of the general
body of laws which he Is called on to
enforce, and that he will take prompt
cognizance of any complaint of breach
of the law called to his attention, he will
not concentrate the entire police force
on this one law and let all other laws
go by the board, thus making the city
an open field for the perpetration of
other crimes. New York City made no
mistake when it chose Mr. Low for
Mayor; he Is a statesman; not a "tin
horn" moral reformer.
BEET-SUGAR PROTECTION".
Inasmuch as the manufacture of beet
sugar is an Oregon Industry, The Ore
gonlan has asked the La Grande factory
for any statement of Its views It might
wish to make concerning tariff conces
sions to Cuba and the Philippines. In
reply the La Grande people have sub
mitted an article contributed by a Colo
rado beet-sugar man to the New York
Evening Post. They request its publica
tion, and we cheerfully accede. It will
be found elsewhere In today's paper.
The desires of any given industry for
protection do not supply all the factors
to be taken into consideration. The
claims and needs of our beet-sugar In
terests must be taken Into account,
but the claims and needs of Cuba and
the Philippines and also the claims and
needs of the home consumers must also
be taken into account. Not only that,
but the mere assertion of a manufac
turer as to the extent and prolongation
of protection he needs cannot be ac
cepted without question. "We must have
more evidence.
Mr. Carey says his company will need
protection for ten years In order to
overcome the difference between 25
cents a day wages (In Cuba) and $1 75
a day (In the United States). But this
won't answer, for we know that our
farmers eell wheat In Liverpool In com
petition with equally low comparative
wages in India and the Argentine.
Other things may offset the disparity in
wages. Maybe our $1 75 labor is cheap
er, considering its efilclence, than Cuba's
25-cent labor. Moreover, nothing Is of
fered to showy how protection in ten
years is to eliminate this discrepancy
In wages. In 1912 Is American labor to
be paid 25 cents a day, or Cuban labor
$1 75 a day?
The question of equity is as to the dost
of sugar production. Here the beet
sugar men have put themselves In an
embarrassing situation by their devious
course. The cost they figure on when
talking tariff Is very different from the
cost they use in trying to enlist capital
In their investments. The Michigan pro
tests against Cuba, for example, say
that It costs $4 63 per ton to manufac
ture beet sugar after you get the beets.
But Mr. Alfred Musy, a sugar expert
trying to get a factory started at Chi
cago, says the cost of manufacture, in a
5000-ton factory, is only $1 60 a ton.
Mr. Carey figures cost of beet sugar on
the basis of ten tons per acre, though
he admits twenty to thirty tons are
sometimes grown. But at Grand Island,
Neb., they figure on twenty tons per
acre. Thomas Cutler, a Utah manufac
turer, says that a concession of 25 per
cent on sugar from Cuba would not
hurt beet sugar at all, and that one
farmer can easily cultivate forty acres
of the best roots and make more from
them than he can on twice as much
land devoted to other crops.
It Is a curious fact that the beet
sugar Industry In this country thrived
apace under the "Wilson tariff. In Cali
fornia the Chino factory made more
than twice as much sugar in 1895 as in
1S94. The beet acreage around Watson
ville Increased 50 per cent In a year
under the "Wilson tariff. The Cerltos
factory issued $450,000 of bonds to du
plicate its plant The Californian gave
a detailed statement of the cost of rais
ing beets which footed up to $2 07 a
ton, including cost of delivery and Inter
est on land at about $150 an acre. At
the low price of $3 50 a ton- beets netted
$27 an acre.
Sugar is remarkably well protected.
Cuban sugar, sold in New York, sells
for 3.562 cents a pound, of which 1.6S5
is duty, or 94 per cent protection. The
steamship Dunottar arrived at New
York October 22, 1901, from Ilo Ho, Phil
ippine Islands, with 5000 tons of No. 3
sugar on board.
This sugar was sold at 2 0-lGc per
pound, duty paid, for 82 test, say 2.5C25
The freight and insurance was 3-10c per
pound , 30
2.2C23
Tho duty, 1.105c per pound 1.105
Making: the free-on-board value at Ho
Ho 1,0075
The duty of 1.195c per pound on 'the
free-on-board value of 1.0675c per pound
Is 112 per cent ad valorem. This Is
pretty stiff protection.
California beet sugar thrived steadily
In the face of free sugar from Hawaii.
Maybe Californian and Oregon sugar
could thrive In the face of free sugar
from the Philippines. It is far from
certain what reduction the sugar trust
would make In the prfce of refined
sugar In case Cuban sugar came in free
or with 25 or 50 per cent concessions.
The beet-sugar profits are dependent,
not upon the price of raw sugar, but
upon the price of refined sugar.
Mr. Carey does not help his case bj'
talking about the Government "keeping
faith" with him. There Is no Implied
contract with any protected industry to
continue the tariff longer than Con
gress takes it into its head to repeal it.
We cannot believe that Mr. Carey al
lowed Secretary Wilson to gull him bo
easily.
And even If free admission of Cuban
sugar and Philippine 6Ugar should
make this article of universal consump
tion cheaper, much cheaper to the con
sumers of the United States and all of
us are consumers couldn't we, the con
sumers, stand It?
A PRACTICAL VIEW.
Speaking of the withdrawal from set
tlement for forest reserve purposes of
another tract of over 1,000,000 acres of
land in Flathead County, Montana, the
Kallspell Bee says: "More than one-half
of Flathead County has now been with
drawn from settlement by the creation
of forest reserves. These vast areas are
to remain for all time uninhabited and
unimproved. The people wha have gone
Into these outlying districts to build for
themselves homes. In the belief that
they would one day be surrounded by
neighbors and schools, must give up
their homes or live for all time in soli
tude. Had this policy been followed
since the beginning of the public land
system, some of the Northwestern
States, like Wisconsin and Michigan,
would today be a part of an undevel
oped wilderness, instead of rich and
populous commonwealths.''
There is andther side to this ques
tion, the presentment of which Is fa
miliar. There is, however, much in the
above statement that appeals to prac
tical common sense. If, to-further quote
the journal above named, the lands
suitable to settlement In these vast
tracts were left open to homeseekers,
and an effort was made to develop the
country, there could be no serious ob
jection to the creation of the forest re
serves, but, under the present system,
the method Is a most pernicious one,
since every effort Is made to induce oet
tlers with prior rights to vacate their
holdings, and, so far as possible, the
lands are held as an uninhabited wil
derness a policy which, if pushed to
Its' limit, as It bids fair to be, places a
bar upon home-building over wide areas
of our eminent domain.
OVERCROWDING TIIE PROFESSIONS
Judge Lowell, in his address before
the State University, spoke words
worth heeding by the young men he
addressed when he pointed out that the
legal profession had greatly degenerated
from Us high Ideal through the Inva
sion of demi-monde lawyers, shysters
and various forms of legal quacks. But
the most Important message he deliv
ered was his warning that there Is no
honorable profession, calling or occupa
tion In which there are not greater op
portunities. This Is true because of all
the professions that of the law Is the
most crowded. The law is always the
block for men ambitious of polit
ical honors from which to mount a win
ning horse. All our Presidents save six
were lawyers. Nine-tenths of our Cab
inet officers have been lawyers. The
great majority of our conspicuous
statesmen within and without Congress
have been lawyers. The law was an
attractive profession during the first
fifty years of the life of the Republic,
when schools and colleges were scarce
and men of Intellectual quality rela
tively counted for more than they
do today, when the vast Increase In the
number of rich men has largely subordi
nated men of pure Intellectual quality
to the money power as expressed In
despotic corporations and . tyrannical
trusts. To a man of high ideals the
law is no longer an attractive profes
sion unless he Is content to remain a
poor and comparatively obscure lawyer
or Is early able to leave his profession
for a successful life career in the ill
paid profession of politics.
But beyond all this there Is a severe
overcrowding of all the professions In
this country, even as there Is In Europe,
where the pressure is more severely felt
because the country is more thickly set
tled, and there Is less room for terri
torial expansion than In America. In
Europe the overcrowding of the profes
sions has resulted In creating a large
class of educated men who, unable to
make a decent professional Income as
lawyers, doctors or teachers, become ad
venturers, seeking to live by their wits.
Sometimes these educated idle men be-
COmc mprplv nunnlrc V,,l- .-. ninn
they become criminals. It is not un
common in Europe to find men of' fine
education, cultivated manners and win
ning address who are professional swin
dlers, "confidence men," forgers, check
raisers and sneak-thieves. In France a
very large number of persons of both
sexes are educated by the state with
reference to their filling the function of
public teachers, but when their school
days are bver there are no positions
open to them. They must live; they
have been educated Into a contempt; for
manual callings, and, not finding any
pursuit suited to their tastes, they be
gin to live shifty lives, and in twenty
years the men have become quacks or
criminals and the women adventuresses.
We see comparatively little of this
class of educated criminals in the coun
try at large, but it is a good deal In evi
dence In our great cities. It Is a com
mon thing In New York to find men who
have received a professional education
brought before the courts charged with
participation in criminal transactions.
Every man whose professional unwor
thlness has made his country town too
hot to hold him comfortably takes to
flight to a great olty, where there are
more dupes and where It is easier to
hide one's tracks and avoid detection.
There is no doubt of the fact that the,
number of educated men who live dis
reputably by their wits has greatly In
creased in this country in the last twenty-five
years, and it Is doubtless due to
the fact that all the professions have
become fearfully overcrowded. Schools
for the multiplication of lawyers, doc
tors and teachers have greatly Increased
where an education can be cheaply ob
tained. Wealth that Is able to distrib
ute the gift of free education has in
creased, and this multiplication of grad
uates of professional schools Is proving
here, as in Europe, not altogether an
unmixed good. The Idle graduate of a
professional school Is the most danger
ous of all Idle men if he has not reso
lution and ability enough to get on hon
estly in the world, for hetwlll seldom
work with his hands, even if he knows
how, and his tastes are generally ex
pensive. Such a man soon decides to
live by his wits. If he Is a doctor, he
turns quack and soon criminal. If he
Is a lawyer, he turns shyster, legal
swindler, embezzler, robber of trusts,
deed forger. Out of the ranks of thrift
less educated men have come some
very great criminals, like Monroe Ed
wards; the Wall-street check-raiser,
Gray, who was a college graduate, and
the son of a clergyman. The trio of
brothers who twenty years ago swindled
the Bank of England and about every
great, banking-house of Europe out of
thousands of dollars were highly edu
cated Americans of good family.
Judge Lowell Is right. The profession
of the law Is overcrowded to obtain
honorable emoluments, to any large ex
tent. So, for that matter, are the med
ical profession and 'the clerical profes
sion. Where, then, should a young man
turn to apply his Intellectual energies?
Electricity Is but in .the Infancy of its
development and application to the busi
ness of the world. A young man can
not miss it If he makes himself today
an educated scientific electrician and
engineer, for the knowledge of the
manipulation of this force can be util
ized in the Army, the Navy, in the
navigation of ocean steam traffic. In
mining operations, in great engineering
works of public Importance. But sup
pose a young man has no turn for such
pursuits; what is there left? There is
mercantile life, in which 90 per cent
fail, and into whose subordinate posi
tions women have already forced their
way and Into which they will continue
more and more to Intrude, and finally
there Is the soil. To the soil ultimately
a far larger number of men will resort
for a life pursuit than do today. The
great railroads of the country are about
completed, and young men will be compelled-hereafter
more and more to resort
to the soiL The vasttmass of clerical
positions in mercantile life are lower
paid than formerly because of the influx
of women Into business. Women have
cut the wages of salesmen, and as the
country continues to fill up this pres
sure of women Into the occupations of
men will be more severely felt. There
will be nothing left for a good many
men who now hasten to leave the soil
for .mercantile life or clerical labor of
some sort but to go back to the soil
or emigrate. Intelligence and energy
with modern appliances can do more
with the soil than It did formerly, for
even the unlettered Scandinavians who
have taken up abandoned farms in New
England have made a gbod living.
The whole effort in seeking a cure for
consumption Is to And some medicine
or treatment that will destroy the
germs of the. disease without destroying
the tissues upon which they feed. Thus
far this quest has been practically in
vain. If we except the tonic that Na
ture distills from pure air and sun
shine and a life out of doors, which
has been held In many Instances to,
overpower the germ and thus over
come its virulence. This Is at present
the approved method of dealing with
consumptives, and If taken In the first
manifestations of the disease and con
tinued under favorable conditions there
Is good reason to trust In the efficacy
of the open-air treatment The very
latest treatment which contemplates the
cure of consumption by direct attack
upon the bacillus of the disease is now
under the direction of Dr. Bokenham, of
London, which consists In the applica
tion of Tesla's high-frequency electrical
currents. This has to be applied with
extreme care, for obvious reasons, but
thus applied Dr. Bokenham reports that
in V,ery bad cases the cough has been
greatly reduced, the night sweats have
disappeared, the appetite has Increased
and there has been great gain in weight
and general health. Phthisis special
ists do not question the facts as stated,
but doubt the permanency of the re
SUUS .
John L. Sullivan, in a performance of
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" at Boston, played
the part of Legree so realistically that
Uncle Tom danced and screamed in his
agony and fainted under the blows cf
the negro driver's whip wielded by Sul
livan, and had to be carried to a hotel
to recuperate. The elder Booth used to
play the part of Richard III so vio
lently tha Richmond narrowly es
caped death by the sword of Booth, but
then Booth was not seldom intoxicated
upon the stage. We do not insinuate
that the great slugger was Inflamed
with drink when he played Legree. It
is not necessary to assume this. His
fierce hate for the "nagur" would be
sufficient to make him forget that Uncle
Tom was only a dramatic counterfeit
of Mrs. Stowe's blameless Ethlop. At
all events, Sullivan was clearly not as
drunk as the elder Booth, for he did
not violate the text of the play in
trouncing Uncle Tom, while Booth up
set the whole dramatic catastrophe by
running Richmond ignomlniously off
the stage Instead of dying by his hand.
Wireless telegraphy Is In use to a far
greater extent than Is generally, known.
In his recent summary of the progress
of his Invention, given before an Im
pressive assembly of scientists, invent
ors and financiers, In New York, Mar
coni stated that one of the trans-Atlantic
lines has equipped Its steamships
with transmitters and receivers, so that
communication can be effected by those
vessels with points 100 miles away.
Thirty-seven ships of the British Navy
and twelve of the Italian Navy are fit
ted with wireless installations, while
twenty-one merchant vessels are using
the system. In the opinion of Dr. Pu
pln, of Columbia University, who has
achieved much distinction as a scien
tific Investigator, "wireless telegraphy
Is as definite a problem as was the cable
In 1S54." That It will be worked to a
like satisfactory solution, there can be
no reasonable doubt.
John F. Dryden, the newly-elected
United States "Senator from New Jersey,
Is described by the New York Evening
Post as "a man who never would have
been heard of In public life but for his
money." This rich man, who is utterly
without legislative experience or powers
of public debate, was chosen over ex-Attorney-General
Griggs, a lawyer of
the first order of ability, an able speak
er, of wide experience In public affairs.
The Post thinks the turning down of
Griggs, who has what the Senate needs,
intellect, for a man whose only title to
the honor Is his money, "Js simply one
more step in the commercializing of
the Senate."
Such a snowfall as has come to the
Willamette Valley within the past few
days is more than a phenomenon, pleas
ant or disagreeable according to the
spirit In which It is viewed. It Is a
harbinger of plenty through Its guar
antee of protection of wheat fields from
the untempered energy of the frost; an
element of beauty and a medium of
pleasures rarely enjoyed In our mild
and humid Winters. Few Oregonlans
extend a cordial welcome to the enow.
It Is. In fact, an unbidden guest whose
coming is frowned upon, whose stay is
grudged and whose going is cause of
rejoicing.
There is a censorship at Manila, says
Dubois, because newspaper correspond
ents file copies of their reports with
the authorities. "You can quibble over
that fact," he says, by saying that
receiving reports Is not censoring them.
As a judge of quibbling, Dubois Is quite
as accurate and happy as he Is In mili
tary knowledge and common courtesy.
All the war revenue taxes to be re
pealed will cease In July, except that
on tea, which must run the year out.
This Is reassuring. It might cause
widespread heart failure if Congresr
should treai Pacific Coast trade with
any approach to fairness.
It must take a good deal of temerity
for a private concern to offer to build
the; Isthmian Canal wltfibut cost to the
Government. The fate of the private
cable company should have been a
warning. The true way Is to ask for
a subsidy.
An Incident announced for today in
the Courthouse yard may serve to re
mind young men that confession Is not
enough to save a man's neck from the
gallows. The time to escape Is before
the crime is committed.
The Democrats in Congress are evi
dently very discontented and unhappy.
Can you blame them? They have only
been In two terms In forty-two years,
and the storm signals arc still out.
Again, let The Oregonlan say, anent
Kipling's poem, that it Is "nuddled oaf,"
not "muddled oar though It was
muddled In the copy printed by The
Oregon kin.
FOR BETTER STREETS.
PORTLAND, Jan. 30. (To the Editor.)
The Oregonlan of the 25th prints an edi
torial on our bad streets, which has this
central thought: "What we need is legal
machinery by which the public may get
itself enforced." "Citizen," In the 2Sth.
contends that "the charter of Portland
gives ample legal power; it only needs to
be put in operation." "Nothing In Port
land can withstand aroused public will."
This morning Tho Oregonlan prints an
article, "The Law at Fault," which article
admits the legal power in the city charter,
and points out the limitation in the power
of the Common Council in the right of the
owners of more than one-half of the abut
ting property to defeat a street improve
ment if they sign a remonstrance within
10 days from the final publication of the
published notice of the Common Council's
Intention to improve the street, and the
article concludes that this renders the law
ineffectual. It does so only when the pub
lic will Is indifferent to street improve
ments, or the proposed street Improve
ments are of very poor quality, and at
the same time very expensive. When
either of these conditions exist, the Coun
cil ought not to act.
It la hard to get one-half the property
owners to remonstrate when the public
and The Oregonlan are making a vigorous
campaign for street Improvements. Every
body likes to be popular. If the public
demands that streets be Improved, and
the city officials act promptly, so that
about only 20 days' time is allowed in
which to get one-half of the abutting
property to remonstrate, the remonstrance
will not be signed by the necessary num
bers in many cases. It Is a very mild
veto to provide that one-half of the prop
erty affected must remonstrate within 20
days from the proposed street improve
ment or else pay the bills without further
power to protect themselves. It will only
be used to escape from unwise street im
provements. Read what used to be In
Portland. Under the charter of lSS2"the
Council could proceed unless remonstrance
was filed by two-thirds of the property af
fected within 10 days of final publication
of notice.
Under the charter of 1SS3, a limitation
was put upon the Council so .they could
not proceed to Improve a street without
a petition of one-half of the property af
fected, and a right In two-thirds of the
property-owners to remonstrate and stop
It. Under the charter of 1SS9 a petition of
one-third was required to start the Coun
cil to Improve a street, and a remonstrance
of two-thirds of the property could stop
the improvement.
Under the charter of 1S91 a petition of
one-half the property affected was re
quired to start the Council to improve a
street, and a remonstrance of one-half
could stop the improvement.
Under the charter of 1S93 a petition of
one-third of the property affected was re
quired to start the Council to improve a
street and a remonstrance of more than
one-half the property adjacent could stop
the Improvement.
Under the present charter the only limi
tation In the power of the Common Coun
cil to Improve streets Is the right of the
owners of more than one-half of the prop
erty abutting on said proposed work or
Improvement to remonstrate, which shall
bo a bar to any further proceeding in re
lation to the dolns of said work for a
period of six months, unless the owners
of one-half or more of the property abut
ting shall subsequently petition therefor.
At the end of six months proceedings can
be started again by the Common Council.
This much for the legal power under the
charter. Where Is the weakness? In the
public will and the desire not to pay taxes.
Let the public demand street Improve
ments and It will get them. Who are the
public? The abutting property-owners.
Who are the "abutting property-owners.
The public. Who are the taxpayers who
put the money Into the city treasury by
direct taxation? Thenbuttlng property
owners. If streets arc to be Improved
they must be paid for by property-owners,
either as special assessments or by gen
eral taxes. One Is direct, the other is
Indirect. It is similar to supporting your
General Government by tariff laws Instead
of by direct taxation.
By the method of tho general city treas
ury paying for the street Improvements,
do not some of the public hope to get their
streets Improved at general public ex
pense, that some one else will pay their
tariff (street) tax"? If all streets are
to be Improved at public expense. It will
amount to about the same thing to abut
ting owners as each owner paying for his
own streets. Should some streets be Im
proved at public expense and not all? If
so, where Is the dividing line? Who Is to
decide what are favored streets?
Let us get streets with the legal ma
chinery we have. While we argue the
streets are unpaved. Work with the char
ter we have until we get a new one. Then
work with that The result will be good
streets. The public are in complete con
trol. The city officials want to do the
will of the public. CITIZEN.
This Is Interesting if not convincing. It
exhibits a mind alive to the proposal for
better streets, which is a good thing, and
It heltfs to keep the ball of popular agita
tion in the air, which Is another good
thing. " In one respect the writer exhibits
confusion of Ideas, and that Is in relation
to "the public will." The public will
for better streets Is one thing and the
consent of limited groups of property-holders
to specific propositions for which they
are required to pay. Is quite another. It
will oftentimes happen that a noisy advo
cate for better streets will become an even
more noisy objector and obstructionist
with respect to soma particular project
which hits his own pocket It does not
follow as a matter of course as we should
all like to have It that "nothlng.can with
stand an aroused public sentiment" Too
often we know from experience that pri
vate Inertia and obstruction hold out and
continue to hold out against any and every
manifestation of public sentiment It
would be well if public officials could be
roused to energy, and that, we hope, will
happen when the state of the public mind
toward the movement for better streets
shall be more positively manifest
POINTS ABOUT PEOPLE.
After the Bishop of Liverpool preached a ser
mon recently an old woman was heard to say:
"Never was I so disappointed. I never heard
a bishop. I thwot I'd hear something great.
But 1 could understand every word he said. '
Queen Margherlta of Italy did a great many
kind deeds In aid of men of letters and artists
which are gradually coming to light. She dis
covered the musical gifts of Puccini, and sent
him to Milan to study at her expense.
Gertrudo Cutchln, of Lebanon. Mo., who be
lieves that her solution of the problem of tri
secting the triangle has furnished her with the
key to perpetual motion. Is 15 years old. Is a
high school girl, and has received letters of
congratulation on her accomplishments from
professors in German universities.
A school teacher In Newark, N. J., received,
the other day, the following letter from the
father of a pupil: "Dear Teacher Please don't
teach Johnny any more about his Insldes. It
makes htm sassy." It seems that Johnny had
become entirely too scientific and critical con
cerning the family bill of fare.
Rev. Dr. MInot J. Savage,. In a recent ser
mon, dwelt upon the mora permanent func
tions of newspapers. "Here," he said, "is the
making of history going on. the making of our
contemporary humanity, the great questions of
war and peace, of government, of sociology,
of industry! matters of Importance on every
hand, and you need to keep In touch with
them."
The minister who. In 1901. claimed the record
with reference to the grand total of marriages
and funerals, connected with a long minister's
life, is the Rev. J. M. Haughey, of Mason
City, 30 miles south of Pekln, I1L During his
career as a preacher, a period of somq 40 years,
he has married 1357 couples and conducted 1500
fuscrala.
LIBERTY IX THE PHILIPPINES
The North American Review recently
addressed four questions to the three Fil
ipino members of the United States Phil
ippine Commission. It asked whether
American occupation had Improved the
political and economic conditions, what
good results had -been secured, what the
United States should do td promote com
mercial progress and what form of gov
ernment should be established. The an
swers are printed In the current Issue
of the magazine. It may be objected that
the men addressed are prejudiced by their
position. But those of their replies which
deal with questions of fact are corrob
orated by other witnesses, and their
statement of opinion seems to be fair.
The three agree that conditions have
improved greatly. Two of them mention
at the outset the curtailing of the civil
power of the friars as one of the chief
benefits from American rule. Dr. de Ta
vera refers to the "sad and hated political
Intervention" ot, the orders, and says
that while the friars were only the tools
of the Madrid Government, they were
held responsible for the Injustices and er
rors committed. American rule, he de
clares, has brought a municipal auton
omy not even conceived of under the
former regime. It has brought, further,
freedom of speech and of the press, tho
right to assemble, the law of habeas cor
pus and the abolition of banishment, im
prisonment and military executions on
account of political belief. Taxes. Dr.
de Tavera says, produce double what
they ever did before, although the rate
of taxation Is unchanged. Under Span
ish rule, harbors, channels, wharves and
roads had been neglected; there were few
public works of any sort The present
Government Is taking these matters In
hand. The other members of the com
mission mention substantially the same
features of the situation.
All three agree that for the rehabilita
tion of agriculture It would be well to
establish mortgage loan companies In the
islands, with branch offices In the pro
vincial capitals. They urge, too, the con
struction of good roads and railways,
which would open up rich lands now un
titled for lack of means of transporta
tion. Dr. de Tavera favors the opening
of United States ports to Filipino prod
ucts free of duty. The Commissioners
point out that the war has devastated the
country districts and that active meas
ures are necessary to restore prosperity.
The political future of the archipelago
does not greatly concern these Influential
Filipinos. They regard the present prog
ress toward self-government as so rapid
as to be bewildering to the natives. "The
system of absolutely separating the judi
cial, legislative and executive powers Is
so new to the Filipinos," one of them
says, "that at each stp we pause with
doubts and consultations. It Is novel In
the extreme to think of the supreme ex
ecutive power of the archipelago having
a civil character." Another remarks:
"The right of suffrage as exercised today
Is an entirely new thing to the Filipinos."
The Commissioners believe that the new
form of government may well be con
tinued for two or three years, until the
people become more accustomed to self
rule. Then they favor the constitution
of a local Legislature and the selection
of delegates to represent their Interests
In Washington. Two of them hope that
eventually the Islands may become a ter
ritory of the United States.
The statements of these three Influential
Filipinos ought to allay the fears of
those who have been persuaded that the
United States Is crushing out liberty In
the far East
ANARCHISTS AND TIIE PRIXCE.
Threats Uttered Turousrh the Annr
chlut Orpfan.i.
Brooklyn Eagle.
Abraham Isaaks' paper. Free Society,
and John Moat's better known Frelhelt,
are publishing threats against Prince
Henry, who is to visit this country pres
ently, and who will incidentally visit Chi
cago, where these papers are printed.
There are In Chicago at least as many
worthless people a3 In any other city in
America, and such papers as these are
their special organs. It Is obvious that
their editors would be pleased If an at
tack were made on the person of the
Prince, and to that end they are playing
on the Ignorance and prejudice of the
slum population, with the Intention of in
citing some hare-braln to attempt It It
Is a sufficient ill that people enjoying
the privileges of this country should wish
to harm their fellow-citizens, but it Is far
worse that they should desire the Injury
of one who comes here as an ambassa
dor of peace and good will, and who rep
resents not merely one of the great pow
res, but the ruling family of that power
Itself.
What the5e madmen and Idiots In Chi
cago expect to accomplish In an attack on
the German Prince Is not worth going
Into, for they know less than any one
else; but the fact that they are Inciting
violence justifies a close watch on them,
and to seclude them In jails during the
royal visit would be only a sensible meas
ure of protection. It is. to be sure, a sat
isfaction to know there Is not an American
In the whole band, yet If the Prince were
to be hurt while In this country too many
of hi3 people would charge the outrage
upon his hosts, and Instead of being
lessened, the friction between this country
and Germany would be Increased. But
no such attack must be made. Chicago
will be held accountable for every un
toward act and utterance of the wrong
heads whom It shelters, and if It becomes
necessary to put every one of them be
hind the bars while the Prince Is In
specting the stockyards, the sausage fac
tories, the postofflce, Vhe sewer and the
other beadtlcfi In the metropolis of the
Middle West, let them be placed there.
The Cornell Forest.
Hartford Times.
Cornell University Is now defending It
self against an application to have the
purchase of S0.C00 acres of land In tho Ad
lrondacks declared illegal. This is the
land which was bought for the Cornell
School of Forestry, and it Is now alleged
that the purchase was unconstitutional,
and further that even If It were constitu
tional the School of Forestry has violated
the terms of the agreement by denuding
forest land.
In reply the university admits the de
nuding, but says It was done with a view
to proving that the forest growth could be
restored. Neighboring proprietors suffer
from the action of the School of Forestry.
It Is now said that there has been a mis
understanding between the state and the
school as to the rights of the latter, but
It is substantially agreed that the cutting
of timber which the school has under
taken Is Immediately Injurious to other
property, as It Is certainly in opposition to
the usually accepted plans of forest cul
ture. Pointed Paragraphs.
Chicago News.
Him who can be dono the bunko man Is will
ing to do.
The sweetness of revenge often sours a man's
disposition.
Blesslng3 In disguise are responsible for a
lot of profanity.
Clothes make the woman oftencr than the
woman makes the clothes.
No woman can cultivate her mind and hor
complexion simultaneously.
The more pains some people take to show
oft the more pains they give others.
An Inventor is a genius who discovers a lot
of things that are already patented.
A soldier doesn't necessarily undergo a surgi
cal operation when deprived of his arms.
Girls are always trying to convince young
men that two can't live as expensively as one.
Lots of men will tell you how to get rich,
hut they haven't time to explain why they
didn't.
If a man occupies a position of trust he can
always find plenty of other men who are will
ing to be trusted.
The truly good young man doesn't accumu
late a lot of letters and photographs for the
purpose of making a bonfire the night before
bis weddlxur.
NOTE ANJ COMMENT.
Every snow has Its thaw, worse luck.
Can't the Port of Portland Commis
sion turn the dredge loose on some of the
slush?
Marconi's sparking. It appears can only
be done successfully with electrical appli
ances. The steel trust Is prosperous. Schwab
may yet put the bank at Monte Carlo out
of business.
A black man named Green with gray
hair gave color to the Police Court pro
ceedings Wednesday.
A wooden drydock Is prefered to a pa
per one, which is the only type Portland
has been able to use up to date.
Hawaii Is to have a millionaire Gov
ernor. Hawaii. It will be remembered,
sends no one to the United States Senate.
Rhode Island now comes to the front
as a divorce state. And yet a family
quarrel oughtn't to get very far in Rhode
Island.
The law compelling Indians to wear
short hair may so frighten Paderewskl
that he will never again venture into this
country.
Spain would have done well trying to
keep the Philippines and Cuba. Present
events show that she cannot even keep
the peace.
Chicago college professors do not need
to depend on Mr. .Rockefeller for support
They can all get lucrative Jobs aa press
agents whenever they want them.
New York wheelmen are to ride under
new rules. The public will not care what
they ride under, so long as they are par
ticular as to what they ride over.
Carnegie say3 that war Is a terrible
thing. He probably considers that the
fortune he made In armor plate was ac
cumulated In trying to prevent war.
Distillers are endeavoring to have the
tax on whisky reduced. They probably
contend that necessities should be given
to the people as cheaply as possible.
A woman has got $G000 damages for
breach of promise from a dead man. He
would have saved money, without Incon
venience to himself, If he had married
her.
The State Department blames the failure
of the negotiations for Miss Stone's re
lease on the newspapers. The newspapers
have got enough copy out of the affair
to be willing to stand a little blame.
Viewed from tho gallery, Mr. Lessler,
who defeated Perry Belmont the other
day In a New York Congressional race,
seems like a blade of grass, somebody In
Washington say3. He Is less than live
feet high, weighs about 60 pounds, and
hl3 arms are like pipe stems. He wears
boys' shoes and a boy's hat Under his
hat, however, are brains entirely out or
proportion to his size. Everybody agrees
that ho has plenty of ability. "Alexander
Stephens was the smallest man In Con
gress," says Mr. Dessler. "but he was
also one of the greatest men. There Is
hope for me."
Ambassador Cambon has given away a
method used by the minority of the French
Chamber of Deputies to attract attention.
During Cambon's visit to Albany last
week. Assemblyman McKcown was asked
by the French Ambassador: "How much
In the minority are you?" "Oh, so much
that the speaker can run the whole
thing." said Mr. McKeown. "Well, In
France," said M. Cambon, "when the
chamber does not like the ruling of the
presiding officer they have a method of
expressing their disapproval In a forcible
way." "How do they do it?" asked Mr.
McKeown. with some eagerness and a
beam of hope. "They have desk lids
which make a very loud noise when
slammed, and they slam them until the
speaker's, gavel oftentimes cannot be
heard above the din."
It was In one of Boston's art galleries,
where there was an exhibition of the late
J. Appleton Brown's pictures, relates the
Herald. There was a fine array of beau
tiful landscapes, with that mellow and
radiant atmosphere that characterized all
of Mr. Brown's work on canvas. The
meadows were green, the foliage was
rich and full, and the blossoms were true
to Nature at her best A lady came Into
tho gallery to enjoy the pictures, and as
she stood gazing at the wealth of beauty
on tthe walls she exclaimed, rapturously:
"How perfectly enchanting! I declare 1
can almost emcll the sweet perfume of
those apple blossoms." "What you smell,
madame," said the matter-of-fact attend
ant, with no poetry In his soul, "Is some
thing of an odlferous character which the
arllsts mix with their paints nowadays.
It wears off In time after the varnishing."
This was art dealing In Boston.
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAFHERS
Emmy Why does the clock start again when
it gets to 12? Bobby Because 13's an un
lucky number, of course. Punch.
Something. Briggs I donated my brain to
my college, and Just got an acknowledgment
from the president. Griggs Was he pleased?
Briggs He wrote that every little helps.
Harper's Bazar.
Her Side. "I wish, my dear, he had made
his money Instead of Inheriting it. He would
make you a better husband." "Nonsense,
papa. Why, then he would know too well how
to keep It." Life.
Playing In Luck. Hixon Young Pellets tells
me he makes a specialty of doctoring cats.
Dixon Well, his patients are fortunate. Hix
on How's that? Dixon They each have nine
lives. Chicago Dally News.
An Unusual Occurrence. Towne You seem
to havo a little cash. Browne Yes: railroad
accident. Towne You don't mean to say you
got damages Browne I mean to say a. rail
road I took some stock In years ago has finally
paid a dividend. Philadelphia Press.
A Broad Hint. Gerald I have often thought
that I ought to have studied for the ministry.
Geraldine You wouldn't have been- a success.
Gerald Why not? Geraldine You couldn't
make the necessary number of pastoral calls;
you'd stay too long at one place. Brooklyr
Life.
To Be Expected. First Suburbanite I hear
that Jones adopted that hired girl of his so as
to get her to stay with the family. Second
Suburbanite Yes: and now his adopted daugh
ter wants to stay In the parlor and play the
piano all day and let her mother do the house
work. Judge.
Probably an Oversight "How Is that new
correspondent at Podunfc doing?" asked the
managing editor. "I'm a little doubtful about'
him," answered the telegraph editor. "I think
he lacks experience." "What makes you think
so?" "Why. he sent In a story about a girl
who eloped with a brakeman last night, and
he neglected to say that she moved In the
most exclusive society circles." Chicago Even
ing Post.
The Honae Beautiful.
Graven upon the knocker:
O Hate, go by! Love dwells within
And welcomes only kith and kin.
Above the fireplace:
Here, Friend, a dual pomfort find
Warmth, my heart; and Llght, my mind.
Within the living room:
My bread was savorless, but Thou
Hast shared It, Friend. 'Tls manna, now.
Robert Gilbert Welsh in Independent