v - TIIE HORNING OREGO-NIAST. SATURDAY, FJSBKUAKr, S,. 15)02. She rjegonxcai Entered at the Postofilpe at Portland. Oregon, as second -class matter. KKVISED SUBSCKIPTIOX HATES. By Mll CpootAce prepaid). In Advance rvsily. with Sunday, per month $ S3 1'a'lj. Sunday .cted. per year 7 5i lati. with Sunday, per jear 0 00 Sui.day. per year 2 00 TVe Weekly. pr year 1 50 "- VMly. u months 5u T City Subscribers "ally, per week. 6elvcrd, Sundays excepted. 15s 1'ai.j. per week, delivered. Sundays included.20c POSTAGE RATES. I'rltod State Canada and Mexico: 1" tf 14 -page paper... tc H to SS-page papor "c Foreign rates double. Nenc ne discussion Intended for publication In The Orf-onln should be addressed Invarla b j Editor The Oregonlan." not to the notne of any individual. Letters relating to advr-t'"-lrr. subscriptions or to any business matter it uld be addr!Kd slmplv "The Oregonlan." Eastern Rufllnofs Olllre. 48. 44. 45. 47. 48. 40 T-'buno buildinc. w York City; 'GO "Tho Is kery." Chicago; the S C. Beckwlifa special agency. Eantern representative. ro- sale to San Francte n by L. E. Lee. Tal nec Hotel newn stand: Goldsmith Bros.. 230 Sutter -tret. F. w uts. 100S Market street: J K Cooper Co . 7'fi Market Mrcet. near the lslace Hotel: Foster &. Orear. Ferry news -and rir rale in Los Anreles by B. F. Gardner. 250 So Spring streat. and Cfcivar - Halnos. 100 S Fprlmr street. r r sale In Sacramento toy Sacramento News C 431 X street. Sacramento. Cal. Tor sale In Chicago by the P. O. Xcws Co.. 217 Dearborn street. Tor tale in Omaha by Barkalow Bros., 1012 Farnnia ntreet. For pale in Salt Lake by the Salt Lake Xews Co 77 W. Second South street. For naln In Ogdan by W. C. Kind. 204 Twcn t lifth ntreet. and C. H. Mjers. On llle at Charleston. S. C. In the Oregon ex hibit at the exposition. For Mile in Washington. D. C. by the Ebbett II us wws stand. Fr sale In Denver. Colo., by Hamilton A Xrdrik. DMS-fUZ Seventeenth strict; Louthan a Jarkoon Book & Stationery Co.. 15th and Lawrence struts. T'.VS WRATH KR Occasional rain, with l'i. V 'n hlrh south to southwest winds. "i r.STERDAVS VTEATHER-Maximura tem- -.lure. 4, minimum temperature. 3S. rie- n nation. n.J inch POKTW.Ml.J.ATt'ltDAV. PBB. S. UMU:. r PORTI-AXII'S ATTITLlHtl If there be one reason above all oth . why Portland exists us a commer cial city, it is its relationship to the C lumbla River. Its whole future rests t:p-n the maintenance of the Columbia Ilir as a commercial highway. Dry tip the river or fill up its channels and Portland would be a mere local town. Jn two way, the fortunes of Portland r st upon the great river first, it gives t hT conimtrce access to the pea, and - nd, it brings to her through its water-level route through the Cascade Mountains the trafllc of the great in t i ir btu-in. Who will say which of thFw conditions is the more Important, to Portland? Both are vitally related l lur Interests; both. In truth, are es- uthl to her commercial character and x hr very life. Nothing could be I lainer than that any betterment of th.- conditions of the river, either a' ve or below Portland, will make f -r the advantage of Portland. Take The upper river for example: Free navigation, by breaking the monopoly of the railroads, would assure the traffic o" the great beji to Portland for all tun-. It would probably make cheaper railroad rates, thereby stimulating pro t'uctitin. increasing the population of tht- country, extending and intensify ing agriculture and all other forms of industry, and increasing the general liro.cqerlty. .And these things could not fTl to And reflection in the greater pros j'trity of Portland. Xo reasonable man lubts it; no Portland man of common perse but hopes the day of an open liver may soon come. But. the whole purpose of an upper river is related vitally to the condition r.t the rU-er's mouth. A forty-foot chan r. 1 f calm water from Astoria to Lew istun and to the British Columbia line would lie of little or no commercial ad laruase if there were no means of get t rig in and out -between the river and t't ien sea. The reason is plain. The jroiucts of the interior basin come down the Columbia because the river is a highway to the sea; and if access to the sea -were destroyed, there would be t.o point in bringing merchandise this v iy It is true in a very positive sense that the value of the upper river of ivory part of it above Astoria is de p ndent upon the condition at the river's in uth. Portland recognizes this fact; and this is why she Is willing that the whole bounty of the Government at this time, in so far as it may be given to the O-lumbla River, shall be spent at the i.r's mouth where in the present emergency it will do most good. Possibly the emergency here referred to is not fully understood, though we f e no reason why anybody should fail to understand it. The facts are that tindt-r influences still In operation the I'.ir has of late grown shallower than it lias been in recent years. It is. thanks t- the work done by the Government s '"ic years back, vastly better than it v is originally; but It is not wha,t it ught to be or might be made to be by a liberal expenditure of money. At the sane time, the fashion in ships is grow ing larger. Twenty years ago a 3000-ton ship was accounted a monster, while a 4000-ton ship was a marine wonder. To day vessels of 7000 and SOCO tons c me and go to and from this port. AW have, therefore, the embarrassing conjunction of a decreasing depth at the Columbia River bar and an increasfng tendency toward the making of large ships. It is an emergency, indeed, nni one in which every Interest related to the commercial usage of the Columbia River has vital con cern. Portland has her interest in the matter, and a profound interest it is; 1 ut it is not more profound not more :-al than the interest of those who liw by the upper reaches of the river. 3p water at the mouth of the Colum bia River is the condition which makes available to the products of the interior country the relatively cheap water-level rute to the sea. Allow the sands to fill up the channels at the bar. and all this tiallie would be compelled to find its way to the sea over high mountain ranges. The result would be that rates, a r ady high, would be sharply ad v.ineed. This is truth beyond doubt. The level route down the Columbia -Rler is the controlling factor in trans portation rates from the interior basin. The competing mountain route meets this rate because it must But destroy the level route or destroy the Colum-. bia River as a commercial port, which comes to the same thing remove it as a factor In the situation, and the moun tain route will speedily re-establish it self upon another and higher basis. And now a word as to the attitude of Portland: Her situation, as all the world knows, is a very considerable dis tance up the stream. Her relationship to the river is in kind precisely similar to that of -the interior basin. Left to the care of nature, the ship channels which connect Portland with the river's mouth would soon become unnavlgable for deep ships. The obligation of the Government in the matter of the river channels below Portland is precisely what it is In the matter of the upper rivers. Portland has a claim for ship channel Improvement between her wharves and the mouth of the river, precisely the same as L-ewiston has for steamboat channel Improvement be tween her wharves and our own. But in consideration of the urgency of the conditions at the bar and of the impos sibility of getting more than a limited appropriation for the river. Portland steps aside, waives her claim and asks that the whole sum to be appropriated for the Columbia River be devoted to wtrk at the bar to the work upon which the whole commercial utility and value of the river depends. And this means that Portland will take upon herself the maintenance of the ship channels between her harbor and the river's mouth. Possibly it may not be known generally in the interior that Portland has largely done this work for many years past that the channels through which the great mod ern ships pass from the river's mouth to her wharves are largely of her own creation, the product of her own energy and bounty. It is now ten years since Portland took this duty upon herself, and in that period her expenditure of money on river account through her "Port of Portland" corporation has ag gregated (up to October last) the large sum of SS30.G29 CO, of which S76.00S 35 was expended last year. In view of, Portland's prompt and liberal dealing with her own immediate part of the river problem, and of all the facts and considerations above discussed, there would seem no reason why anybody, should fall to see her attitude in its true light, or fail to se that in urging improvement at the; bar before all other projects, including her own, she is pur suing a reasonable and wise policy not more for her own interest than for the interest of the interior basin. HOW TO PACIFY THn PHILIPPIXHS. For a little time on Thursday the Sen ate departed from Its beaten path of Irrelevant recriminations into the un familiar ground of constructive legisla tion. For an hour of two was evinced an adumbration of perceptive capacity, some measurable apprehension of a bill that was pending, and that might pos sibly in time, despite the Senate rules and in contravention of Senatorial dig nity and courtesy, become law. For a few brief moments It dimly dawned on one or two of the least dignified and courteous men there that the Payne tariff bill, instead of arraigning Noyes, or South Carolina horrors, or the "War of the Revolution, or Daniels of Ari zona, or Bell's orders or Dewey's prom ises or "Wheaton's early struggles, really pertained to commerce and tariffs In the Philippine Islands. In the desert of vapidity and disgrace through which the Senate has moved since it received the Payne bill from the House, it ac cordingly found on Thursday, and dal lied there, a tiny oasis of human intel ligence, where figures of duties and actual names of such things as ships and merchandise woke unfamiliar echoes in the Senate chamber and speedily died away to make room for the regular order partly Hoar's appli cation of Tom Corwin's character to tonnage dues and Tillman's superfluous allegation, enforced by blows upon his desk that, his country being at war, he is with the enemy. What little was done seems to be good. Lodge perpetuated the Massachustts tradition, original perhaps with Sumner, of perfecting phraseology, for Massa chusetts beats the world on grammar. He was also wise and firm enough to press to its adoption an amendment which indefinitely defers extension of the coastwise laws to the Philippine trade a provision as compatible with justice as it is inimical to our railroad combinations. The exact purport of some of the Lodge amendments is ob scured by evident errors in transmis sion, but their effect is plainly in the interests of the Islands, with due regard to the ultimate Americanization of their commerce. Philippine and American vessels will have increasing preferences there as time goes on, but restrictions will not be allowed meanwhile to ham per business. Evidence accumulates that the archi pelago stands in most urgent need of prompt and remedial legislation. Judge Taft's testimony is very impressive to this effect, and so is the argument of Representative Cooper, printed in an other column this morning. The Amer icanization of the islands seems to be less a military or a Government prob lem than it is an industrial problem. Not concentration camps or trial by jury will do so much for peace and prosperity as will opportunity for Amer icans to go there and do business and help the Filipinos to do business. If our capitalists and laborers, farmers, miners and lumbermen can get in there and go to work, they will soon make the islands so busy and prosperous that no body will be bothered taking to the guerrilla trail or passing Incendiary resolutions. Liberal tariff and currency schemes put into operation at once, lauds opened for settlement, franchises let for mines and sawmills, licenses is sued for all kinds of productive busi ness these are what the Philippines need and need atonce. Congress seems to hesitate about granting leave for business to go ahead in the Philippines, because it fears that corporations will make money. It Is easy to err in these matters on the side of conservatism. Nobody will promote industry and trade in the Philippines unless he has a chance to make money. Or anywhere else. Mrs. Jessie Benton Fremont, who now receives a pension of $2000 a year from the Government, writes John B. Colton, cf Kansas City. Mo., from Los Angeles, Cal.. that the Government owes her 50. 000. and that if it Is paid she proposes placing upon her husband's grave "a simple slab with 'The Pathfinder, born January 21, 1S13, died June 13, 1S90.' " The pension enjoyed by Mrs. Fremont is not too large, not because she was the wife of John C. Fremont, who was a charlatan and an adventurer, but be cause she is the daughter of Thomas H. Benton, a great statesman, who ren dered most important services to his country, and especially to that portion of it now represented by the Pacific States. Shortly after the death of General Fre mont, in 1S30, Josla'i Royce, of Califor nia, reviewed his career In the Atlantic Monthly, and, among other things, said of him: " "General Fremont possessed all the qualities of genius except abil ity." Lincoln found him hopelessly in effective in action and utterly shallow in judgmct. Fremont was the double of McCfellan, save that he lacked Mc Clcllan's amiable, urbane temper. Fremont trying to pursue .Stonewall Jackson was Sir Fretful Plagiary, while ) McCIellan confronting Lee was always Sir Forcible Feeble. "When Lincoln re moved me I was on the eve of a great victory over General Price," said Fre mont. "When Lincoln relieved me I was about to deliver a great blow upon the enemy," said McCIellan. The found ers of Oregon were wont to laugh at Fremont's title of "The Pathfinder" and say that the only paths he ever found were those that were never lost. His wife. In her doting loyalty to the mem ory of her husband, will doubtless mock history by writing "The Pathfinder" on his tomb; but Mr. Royce correctly sum marized the man as "bearing every mark of being a fictitious character, a purely literary figment In politics, busi ness or warfare, a man of vague and ghostly industry, touching and begin ning a thousand things during his ca reer of flitting and of failing." I'EAHSOX'S BATTLE. A terrible battle is raging at Evan ston and in the Chicago papers and throughout the Methodist denomination over the case of Professor Pearson, of the Northwestern University. He is an able man, devout, consecrated and lt-arned. But his studies have led him to doubt the infallibility of the Bible. He has learned about the discrepancies and Interpolatlcns of the text. He has learned its-human history, the origin of some of its passages and the perver sions it has suffered at the hands of Ig norance, misguided zeal and time. Be ing an honest man, he has spoken out. Being attached to his church and his university, he would fain cling to both. We do not refer to the case of Pear son In order to pass judgment upon it. That Judgment has been rendered with approximate uniformity bj- countless trained observers and disinterested crit ics, hostile alike to church, Bible and professor. From them we learn that the church is entirely wrong in'clinglng to the Bible and the Bible Is entirely wrong in its statements of fa'ct. Were Mr. Pearson a hundred times more vio lent in his attacks upon the Bible, nev ertheless the church and the university would be clearly guilty of all and more that he might charge against it. Not that Pearson is right. Bless you, no! In so far as he makes things un comfortable for Bible, church and school, those institutions are to be be rated: but nothing said on his side of the controversy should carry the im pression that he himself is deserving either of praise or condonation. Pear son, we learn from the uniform voice of the same xinprejudlced critics, Is as wrong as he cculd possibly be, because he still clings to his Bible, church and school. Give them all up, professor, and you will be strictly In harmony with our Christian civilization. Other wise you are at fault in exact propor tion to your loyalty and devotion. There is only one thing more objectionable to the truly infallible and inspired critic than a consistent defender of the old Bible and the old church, and that is the man who would purge each of its errors in order to make it more effect ive. It is somewhat permissible for a man to swallow the creed whole, im possibilities and all; but for him to ac cept its truth and reject its errors this Is the unpardonable offense which if not stamped out might in time give the world an acceptable Bible and a livable doctrine. Not to pass judgment on Pearson, then, or on his opponents, is the present purpose, but only to say that the battle In the church and school, newspapers and church periodicals is a tame affair, compared with the battle that has raged In the man's own breast. One does not need to see the troubled face with tem ples streaked with gray, to know the struggle that has been behind it. What legions of childhood memories and old beliefs soaked in at mother's knee and in college days and seminary training marshaled themselves In serried ranks against the brave young army of scien tific discovereries and historical demon stration! Through what stormy mid night hours has conscience wrestled with doubts, arT"truth with duty! There was a battle' for you! Perhaps a Shakespeare will arise some day to put these twentieth century tragedies into living verse, for they are worthy to stand alongside the struggle of Hamlet over suicide and Macbeth's losing bat tle with temptation and poor old Lear's bootless conflict with Insanity and Rich ard's desperate night before Bosworth Field. AX EXPEDIEXT DESPERATE IlUT KLTII,E. The managers of the Simon machine at Portland, stung to fury by exposure through The Oregonlan of some of their practices .on the County Treasury, at tempt to retaliate by issuing a circular in which they allege that The Orego nlan Publishing Company has drawn, corruptly or unjustly, large sums for public advertising during seven or eight years past. During this period The Oregonlan has done a large amount of county, and The Evening Telegram a large amount of city, advertising. The rate charged by The Oregonian has been merely a fair rate; the rate paid to the Telegram has been a very low rate a rate below that which any newspaper, going It alone and depending on its own re sourcescould afford to take. That the sum paid during this period has been, in the aggregate, a considerable one. Is true; but the amount of advertising done was large. In the case of The Oregonian the service was worth all the money paid it; In the case of the Tele gram it was worth much more. Delinquent tax lists had to be pub lished. The law required it. They came to The Oregonlan for publication, be cause It was the only medium through which the publication could attain any adequate or serviceable circulation. The Oregonlan made It known, in ad vance, that its charge for the service would be 10 cents a line. It was a fair and reasonable charge. For large part of the advertisements that run in its columns daily, and throughout the year. The Oregonlan receives a higher rate. Its bills for the service were audited and paid by the County Board; and The Oregonlan most solemnly assures the public that It paid no member of the County Board anything for it, or al lowed any member a rake-off. In view of recent developments, the public may think this statement necessary. The Oregonlan does business fairly and on principle, and in no other way. How Is it, if The Oregonian's charges were un just or excessive, that this same virtu ous County Board that now tries to set a "back fire" against exposure of some of its recent practices, certified and al lowed a large proportion of these same bills especially since The Oregonian emphatically assures the public that there was no private dealing between any member of the board and itself, in order to get the bills passed and paid? The Oregonlan, then, did the work; Its charges were only Its usual charges, just and fair. And, though the money was paid by warrant on the County Treasury, the larger part of It has come back, or is coming back, to the treas ury through collection of penalties im posed by law on delinquents. This, however. Is not the point, or is merely collateral. The point Is and the fact is that The Oregcnian did a piece of business, just as it does all business. In a way at once fair and honorable. It printed advertisements at a fair rate and got its pay for the service. Every thing was open and above board. So with the city advertisements, printed by the Evening Telegram. Contract rates have been made with the city, through the Common Council, for this service; and as the Telegram has cteadlly com peted with persons who were printing so-called newspapers that were mere travesties of journalism, the rates paid it have always been far below what any newspaper having the Telegram's range and variety of news, and large 'circu lation, should receive. Here, then, are the facts. In answer to this circular issued by the managers of the Simon machine. No unjust or excessive charge for public advertising has ever been made by The Oregonian. Nothing has been done in a corner. The service has been rendered on terms made known In advance; and the rate was paid without protest or objection by these same officials, in whose pres ent interest, and for whose defense against their recent unlawful and cor rupt proceedings, a transaction In which they formerly participated and which they approved without question, is now attacked. It is,a desperate but futile expedient. The custom or courtesy of sending American representatives to foreign court functions is a growing one. In evidence of this is the appointment by President Roosevelt of Dr. J. L. M. Curry, of Virginia, as special represent ative of the United States to attend the ce!ebratli of the 16th birthday of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, on the 17th of next May. Dr. Curry was Minister to Spain during the first administra tion of President Cleveland, reaching Madrid ci the very day that King Al fonso XII died. He was present at the- birtli of the posthumous heir to the throne, in accordance with a Spanish court custom which assembles diplo mats and members of the court in the royal bedchamber upon such occasions. His acquaintance with the Spanish court qualifies him for the mission to which he has been delegated. In view of the events of a fev years ago, it may be considered a delicate and tactful bit of courtesy for our Government to send to Spain an envoy to congratulate the young King upon the attainment of his legal majority and the Spanish peopie upon the end of a long regency. An Army Chaplain some months ago wrote The Oregonlan a letter disputing its accuracy in stating that the Ninth United States Infantry fought at Lun dy's Lane in the last war with Great Britain, and recited the fact that the Ninth regular Infantry was not author ized by Congress until 1S53. The truth Is that the regular Army has changed its organization a good many times since the formation of the Union. The United States Army has varied greatly In Its numbers at different times. It was 50.000 strong In 1S12-14; It was not more than 12,000 strong in 1SG1. There was a Ninth United States Infantry at -Lundy's Lane, for there is a bill now before Congress asking for "the erection of a monument to the memory of Cap tain Abraham F. Hall, of the Ninth United States Infantry, at Lundy's Lane." This regiment disappeared in subsequent changes In the organization of the Army made necessary by its re duction at various times. The Ninth Infantry of today is not the Ninth In fantry of 1812-14. Since there was an "official graft" in the matter of the comparatively small expenditure necessary for purchase of part of the furniture for the new addi tion to the County Clerk's office, the next Inquiry Is, How large was the offi cial graft in building it? Did the con tractors "divvy" with the County Com missioners, in this larger matter? And what now is the inference as to the "official graft" on all the enormous sums expended through the County Board, on roads, bridges, lumber, fuel, and whatever else the county buys or pays for? Cannot the management of the county's affairs be put in honest hands? Is it not worth a trial? Whose "machine" it Is that is doing this busi ness everybody knows. The master of It is directly before the people of Ore gon for re-election to the United States Senate. Commissioner Mack, one of his most active workers, Is said to be on his slate for the office of Sheriff. While the woolgrowers In session at Helena are undoubtedly within justice in their attack upon Statistician North, for his activity In behalf of free wool, it is to be regretted, perhaps, that they did not improve the opportunity to go on record In favor of moderation In wool tariffs. Oregon woolmen have been commendably fair in their attitude on this question, have asked for moder ate protection, and have opposed ex treme tariffs. At a time when tariff re form is widely urged on behalf of the people- and against the protected cor porations. It does not become any of us to insist upon prohibitive duties. Bishop Andrews, of the Mfeihodlsi he Mtl Church, in a recent address entirely ap proves of Mayor Low's position on the Sunday closing of saloons In New York City, saying that the Mayor Is doing as well as he can; that In the matter of Sunday liquor law enforcement It Is fu tile to establish unattainable standards. Professor W. O. Atwater, of the Wes leyan University, who holds that alcohol In limited quantities is "food," is the son of a Methodist minister who all his days was an untiring, uncompromising advocate of the prohibitory liquor law. Which might, perhaps, have been ex pected. Judge Cake Is not attending to official business, or he would be able to put some sort of check upon the "graft." He Is away from home and from his post of duty a good deal, and many complaints about it reach The Orego- Occasion for Tellerlim Indignation. Louisville Courier-Journal. .Senator Teller, who became so Indig nant when Senator Beveridge corrected his stntefyent that the Associated Press dispatches arc censored at Manila, is the same gentleman who introduced a resolution last week calling on the President .to prevent the execution of a Boer prisoner three days after the pris oner had been executed. Senator Teller's Information is not always beyond correc IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Chicago Tribune. Was the old Hebrew "resurrection," meaning the persistence of the nation, the truer notion, or are we individually to live again in another world? Was the Chris tian doctrine of Immortality chiefly a re source of optimism in the face of desper ate worldly distress, or does It register the highest and mcfit significant self-assertion of the individual mind? Has that doctrine been seized upon, elaborated, and utilized for ecclesiastical end?, or has It simply been sympathetic ally preserved and enforced by institu tional Christianity? Ha.s it excused the death of the infant from preventable causes, condoned the sacrifices of war, and palliated the ills of th!s world in general, through confidence in the re wards of the next? Or has it simply ad ministered legitimate comfort? Is there apt to be an Inverse ratio between zeal for social betterment and expectation or a kingdom in heaven? Or does hope in the latter stimulate effort for the former? And whatever be the answers to these Inquiries, are men's minds undergoing a deep change of attitude toward the Idea of immortality? Is it ceasing for many to be a necessary basis for cheerfulness and eVcn for the most optimistic and joyful seal in life? Or is its relative Im portance suffering no conscious decline? Dr. Parkhurst's discussion of this doc trine In New York last Sunday naturally suggests all these questions, though it docs not directly raise them. He did. however, distinctly challenge the idea that the soul is Inherently Immortal. "There is nothing In Scripture or in things." he says, "that encourages us to feel that a soul can be kept from dying any more than a body, unless it is taken care of." It carries no "policy of insur ance against its own eventual oblitera tion. Wc may be immortal," but it will only be "because we have succeeded in being such. . . . If and there is notn ing to disprove it It is the intention of nature that soul should reach that spir itual longevity expressed by the word 'ctcrr.a!,' the soul will have to pay for the superb prerogative by fulfilling the con ditions and taking good care of its spirit ual health. . . . The question wheth er you personally be Immortal Is going to be fettled by you." fhis Is certainly bracing doctrine, al though the lack of dogmatic assertion as to the reality of immortality "we may be immortal," and "there is nothing to disprove It" Is almost as conspicuous as the positive denial of Its realization save by those who ? hall have won it. A score of years ago Mr. Beecher was indignantly characterizing eternal punish ment as morally monstrous. His words created consternation in many religious quarters, but it is remarkable to what ex tent that doctrine has within two decades lost force not only In popular conviction but also In pulpit utterance. The doc trine that this world is mainly a decisive preparation for the next Is one which, though often heard today. I? nowhere urged with the abandonment and power befitting such a tremendous truth. To have its loose and unconditional assertion challenged, as it was by Dr. Parkhurst. will at least make for the clarification of the real truth within it. Where Iteform Im Xeedvd. New York Journal of Commerce. Bank circulation figures- given by our Washington correspondent will surprise no one who has watched the effect of bond prices upon bank notes. The act or March 14, 1M0. made two provisions for small increases in the volume of the cur rency; one was the creation of small banks and the other was the increase of circulation from 00 per cent to par of tht bonds. Of course the latter had the ex pected effect, but it was a very moderate one. Although the small banks are In rural communities, where circulation is relatively a more important source of in come than other branches of the business, yet these small banks have taken out only a small part of the circulation they were entitled to. The law of March It. 1S0O, made no radical change in the bank note law and, therefore. It could have no great effect. The Influences that caused con traction for many years and then retarded the Increase, which was only a part or what the increasing business of the coun try demanded, are still at work; and the circulation secured by bonds, that is, the circulation which Is not in process of be ing retired, decreased nearly $4,000,000 during the last three months of 3901. Such extensive retirements have been an nounced that it is estimated that hy March 10 the circulation secured by bonds will be more than $10,000,030 less than on September CO. Now and for a few weeks there is a decreasing demand for money, but from September CO to the end of the year Is about the busiest time of the year, and yet the deposit of lawful money to retire circulation Increased nearly $5,000,000 In that time. The bank circulation must be separated from Gov ernment bonds. The Peril of Culm. Louisville Courier-Journal. It Is currently said by people who fear that reciprocity might cause some email relief to American taxpayers, which, how ever, 13 not the object of the proposed concessions to Cuba, that the impending distress there Is fictitious, and that the American people are deceived as to the real situntion. In this connection atten tion is Invited to the following statement of what may be expected if reciproclty fall: If It rails, wo may expect that the fields will again become waste, the mills will again be ill."mantleO. the jtreat body of laborers will be thrown out of employment, and that poverty and starvation, disorder and anarchy will en sue; that tho charities and the school? that wo have been building up will find no money ror their support and will be discontinued; that the sanitary precautions which have mail: Cuba no longer a dreaded source of pestilence-, but one of the most healthy Islands In the world, will of necessity be abandoned, and our Atlantic seaboard must again sufTer from the Injury to commerce nnd the maintenance of quarantines at an annual cost of many millions. Perhaps the reader thinks this picture is from the hands of some Cuban sugar grower, or other person who has a pe cuniary Interest In the matter. On the contrary, these lines were written by Sec retary Root, the head of the War Depart ment, which has been In control of Cuba since the war. They are Indorsed by Gov ernor Wood and other ofilcers in Cuba, who have had the best opportunities for obtaining reliable Information as to the condition of the Island. No reason Is ap parent why any of these men should mis represent the actual situation. Constitutional Amendments. San Francisco Call. According to a compilation mode by the New York Sun within 30 days after the assembling of Congress, there were Intro duced no less than 41 bills and joint .reso lutions proposing amendments to the Na tional Constitution. Of course, some of these cover the seme point, but they "still make a goodly array when classified, for they show no less than IS distinct propo sitions. As presented by the Sun, the list show ing the number of bills or joint resolutions introduced in support of each measure stands thus: Election of Senators by popular vote n Federal regulation of corporations and co partnerships 4 InauRuratlon day In April 3 Taxlns power of Congress enlarged or re stricted S Income tax sanctioned 3 "Woman suffrage 2 Anarchy a high crime .. 'X Fifteenth amendment repealed 2 Treason defined 2 I'olyjramlsts disqualified by Congre.3 2 Congress to regulate marriage and divorce... 2 Congrcs. to regulate factory hours 2 Xo "Federal or state aid to sectarian Insti tutions 1 Uniform quillflcatlons of electors In all states 1 Arsaultlng hlzh Federal ofilcers a special crimo 1 Limited term for Supreme Court Justices.. 1 Federal Jurisdiction over use of water... ..... 1 Six-year Presidential term 1 AMOSEMEXT& It was a typical matinee audience that crowded the Marquam yesterday after noon for Josef Hofmann's return concert, a wildly demonstrative audience, not overly critical, applauding to the echo, encoring every number several times over, whether mazurka or sonata, senti mental love song or martial polonaise. And the programme was a typical mati nee programme, for Hofmann has a wise head on his young shoulders, and has evi dently given some profitable study to American audiences. He is, moreover, an adept in programme-making. The roman tic and sentimental, therefore, predomi nated, with a plentiful sprinkling of the bravura, particularly toward the close, when a matinee audience is likely to lose whatever coolness and discrimination It may have had in the beginning. It was Interesting to note the effect of this absence of the critical faculty In the audience upon Hofmann himself. It was nowhere more noticeable than in the Polish Song (G major) of Chopin's, which was played carelessly, and had little or none of the witching airiness and grace which it had Monday night, when he played It by way of encore. Hofmann was at his best in the first numbers on the programme. The opening fugue was superbly given, each voice dis tinct, and with a well-defined Individu ality of It.s own. There was intellectual as well as technical mastery of Bach. Weber's beautiful sonata in A flat major (which, by the way. Is an Ideal "big num ber" for a matinee programme), has never ben better rendered in Portland. Its charming freshness and romanticism. Its grace and fire, wjre enough to carry any audience by storm, and were sufficient excuse for the demonstration that fol lowed. The selection of the Mendelssohn Scherzo a Capprlcclo was another evi dence of Hofmann's good Judgment. As for his own compositions, they were played to an audience that was wholly sympathetic and ready to yield him every shred of honor that he deserved. They proved pleasant enough In the hearing, but without any unusual originality or force. The rendering of the Caprice Es pagnole (Moszowski), on the other hand, was a thing to be remembered, as was. also, the Chopin polonaise, for by this time Hofmann had been warmed up to th right pitch of excitement to give them with the necessary fervor. The polonaise had the true martial spirit and ring or victory. Then came the renction. There was more or less carelessness and slovenliness in the remaining numbers; and the Jtu benstein barcarolle and Liszt rhapsodie were plainly concessions to an uncritical audience. There was a redeeming feature in the pretty idea of closing with a Cho pin nocturne for encore, which was in harmony with the approach of nightfall, and well suited to quiet hysterical enthusiasts. MATIXEES TODAY. Attractive Bills nt All Three The nterK. Wlllson's Juvenile Minstrels, which have been pleasing audiences at the Marquam for the last two nights, will be seen at a special children's matinee this after noon, and the house will no doubt be crowded with little people, who are al ways eager to see other children on the stage. A bag of candy will be given to each child who attends. At Cordray's, "For Her Sake," E. J. Carpenter's lavish production of a stir ring Russian melodrama, will be the bill. The play Is one of the best seen at the theater this season, and the scenery is unusually elaborate. - At the Baker the fine vaudeville pro gramme which has been so successful as a drawing card all the week will be pre sented. There are se'en numbers on the programme, each one of which Is a good show In Itself. There has been a very heavy advance sale. COSIIXG ATTItACTIOXS. "AVhose BnliyArcYon?" at Cordrny's Few modern farce-comedies have been so successful as Mark E. Swan's "Whose Baby Are You?" which will be seen at Cordray's Theater the week beginning Sunday night. The plot Is so complicated as to keep the audience continually guess ing what Is going to happen next, and a constant series of surprises affords plenty of opportunity for laughter. An excel lent company and an all-round good pro duction is promised this year. After an interval of melodrama, a bright comedy will be particularly welcome to the pa trons of the theater. The Vallcyrln. Family nt the Baker. Among the star features of next week's vaudeville programme at the Baker is the Valkyrla family, equilibrists, whoso feats of balancing are said to be the most remarkable ever seen on the stage. Other features are the Carlson Sisters, juvenile dancers and singers; Baby Wes ton, and many other bright acts, Includ ing Weston and Herbert and the Paloma Ladies' Quartet, whose success this week Induced Mr. Baker to continue them for another. The new . programme begins with the matinee Sunday afternoon. 3IodJeUn-Jnme.s Combination. A long line of people were waiting when the reserved seat sale opened for the Modjeska-James engagement at the Mar quam yesterday morning. In presenting "Henry VIII" the manage ment has made every effort to make it as plctorlally effective as the memorable production in which Sir Henry Irving and Ellen Terry appeared about 15 years ago. The company numbers M people. Two cars are utilized In transportation of the scenery and properties. "Henry VIII" will be given on Monday antl Tuesday nights and Wednesday matinee. On Wednesday night will occur the only per formance of "The Merchant of Venice." Ellix Inlnnd Scnndnls. Philadelphia Bulletin. Many complaints have been made re cently regarding the existence of alleged gross abuses at the great Immigrant re ceiving station on Ellis Island. In New York harbor. It is asserted that new comers to the United States. Ignorant of the English language and easily intimi dated by uniformed officials In a strange land, have In many 'instances been mal treated and subjected to extortion by Fed eral employes, while It Is hinted that swindlers and procurers have received di rect assistance from Government agents, hired to protect unwary foreigners. How much of these charges Is true and how much Is fiction can only be ascer tained bj- a searching investigation, which. It Is reported, is to be Initiated as soon as the new Secretary of the Treasury takes office. The subject is said to have been fully discussed In a late con ference between Secretary Gage and his successor. Mr. Shaw, and it has also been brought to the attention of the President. In the absence of proof, it would be un fair to assume that conditions are as bad as they have been depicted, but there seems to be sufficient ground for demand ing a stringent and impartial inquiry into the facts. Ellis Island Is an institution which Is unique In Its proportions and activities. It Is the main gateway through which pours the huge tide of alien life that helps to swell the population and build up the industries of the United States, and the dealings of Its officials with the immigrants who are temporarily entrusted to their charge should be char acterized by justice and humanity. Not fewer than 38S.931 persons were re ceived at this depot during the last fiscal year an average exceeding 1000 dally, and comprising people from every land, speak ing a multitude of tongues, and abso lutely unfamiliar, for the most part, with American regulations and customs. The opportunities for blackmail and kindred abuses in handling this vast mass of hu man beings are manifestly numerous, and if subordinate officials have taken advan tage of them there should be no mistaken lenity In the policy adopted toward the culprits. NOTE AND COMMENT. The burdened Portland citizen Cloes ploddir.g o'er the road. Xor fails to smile a patient smile, Xo matter what his load. But evc:i he. poor, jaded slave. The gentle spirit licks To bear that last but crushing straw. The galling carpet tax. He's stood Tor streets of every sort. From Jagged rock to snnd; lie's borne with grafts of many kinds, And ne"er raised his hand. But now he piteous! walN And asks the headsman's ax To prur.e away that extra straw. The galling carpet tax. The Empress Dowager has wept. Sen ator Teller please copy. Even General Alger's approach to death did not seem to be successful in booming his' book. It will be of no use to tell Miss Stone that she has been released. She will not believe It now. Kipling has turned out enough poetry to win ten wars, but his series still lacks a paean of victory. General Eagan has been challenged t: fight. But the challenger knew he was secure before he spoke. There are yet r few cities which have not been half blown to pieces by explo sions, but returns are not all In. The British Army seems to be reduced to nothing but Major-Gencrals. but then we have only Admirals in our Navy. The New York doctor who has offered himself to be vivisected probably wants to see how some of his patients feel. J. P. Morgan has failed to get control of the coal mines. Too bad, when ho needs them to run the rest of the world. The Kansas City Journal says tho ground hog Is a fraud. That settles it. He doesn't get Into this column with any of his poetry. Admiral Sampson sends word to tho President that he was In. command of the fleet at Santiago. It was the fleet that did tho business, however. Out of 23 golf clubs In Philadelphia, 17 clubs with a membership of 4166 permit play on Sunday and six with a member ship of 201G do not play Sunday golf. Paderewskl has returned to the United States with all his hair. He had better keep out of range when Commissioner Jones happens In on one of his per formances. Prince Henry has announced that he is not going to be difficult to please. This should be taken as an intimation that a couple of frankfurters, a plate of sauer kraut and a stein will be all that Is necessary at the White House luncheon In his honor. "The Holy Ghost and Us" Society, from Shlloh, Me., has settled in Brook lyn, N. Y.. with Frank S. Sandford at its head. Meetings have begun In Brook lyn "to pave the way for the evangeliza tion of the greater city and for great tribulation and the coming of the Lord." "It seems to me that stage-struck girls who think life behind the fotlights Is one round of pleasure, might learn some thing rom studying-the photographs or celebrated actresses," said a noted East ern photographer, who caters to the the atrical profession. "The actresses who are always smiling and looking frivolous In their pictures are almost invariably of minor importance. Even Lillian Russell, who has for years pose6 as a profes sional Deauty, Is seltfom photographed smiling. There is a sadness In the ex pression of most of the great actresses that even the camera cannot overcome. Duse. Bernhardt and Ellen Terry, to mention threo foreign artists from three different countries, are never smiling In their photographs. Julia Marlowe wears a perpetual frown, and Fanny Daven port's mouth had a droop that suggested weariness and care. I might also men tion Ada Rehan, Annie Rusell, Julia Ar thur, Minnie Maddern FIske and a host of others to illustrate my point that the famous women of the stage look far from being happy." "Yes," said Alexander J. Linn, in answer to a New York interviewer's question, "I acknowledge I am the man responsible for the 'redheaded woman and white horse craze,' but I suppose that the time for running me down had gone by long ago. You see it was this way. I was sitting with a couple of friends at a window pt the New York Union League Club, a good many years ago, when one of them said: 'See that coal wagon? By Jove, but there are three fine white horses hitched to It, in a row. You don't often see that.' 'No,' I answered. 'Nor do you often see three handsome redheaded girls like those on the sidewalk.' Then as a Joke of the moment I added, 'But then you never see a redheaded woman, without seeing a white horse near her. The statement was unchallenged. We watched. Along came an open carriage. One of the horses was white, and In the carriage was a woman with auburn tresses. The next white horse was attached to a Fifth-avenue stage. A red-haired girl was among the passengers. One of the editors of a New York newspaper came in just then, and we told him of the joke. He wrote a funny article about it, nnd In less than a week people all over the United 'States were engaged in picking out white horses and redheaded girls. There you have the true story, told by me for the first time." "Does It always hold out true?" "My friend," said Mr. Linn, solemnly, "go read tho history of America for the last 25 years." PLEASAXTIUES OF PAKAGRAPHERS She Have you never been tempted to give up literature? Author Xo such luck I've always been compelled to stick to it! Life. In the Future. First riutocrat You've known him a Jong time, haven't you? Second Plutocrat Yes; we were millionaires together. Puck. Patience What lovely hats she wears 1 Ta trice Yes; you know her husband is a land scape gardener, and he designs them. Yonkera Statesman. An Important Point. Mrs. Ascum So you're going to send your daughter to V."e!lsley. Why not to Vassar? Mrs. De Style The Vassar colors don't become her at all. Philadelphia Press. "Oh!" said the poet, haughtily. "If you don't accept my verses It doesn't matter much. I have other irons in the fire." "Ah! Thep put these verses with them, by all means," said the editor. Philadelphia Record. The Favorite Picture. "There are plenty of candidates for the Secretaryship of Commerce and Labor," remarked Squl'dlg. "Yes; quite a number of willing statesmen are having their photographs taken cabinet size." added Mc Swilllgen. Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph. Wife Do you think Tommy disturbs our neighbor with his drum? Husband I'm afraid so; the man next door made him a present of a nice new knife today, and suggested that Tommy should cut open the drum and spend "tho money that is inside." Tit-Bits. ) S .". jw 'f-'nM-5&-.