Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, June 24, 1902, Page 6, Image 6

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    THE MORNING OREGONIAN, TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 1902.
Entered at the Postofnce at Portland. Oregon,
as eeeond-clasa matter.
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TODAY'S WEATHER Showers; winds shift
ing to westerly.
YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem
perature, 73; minimum temperature, C3; pre
cipitation, 0.11 Inch.
PORTLAXD, TUESDAY,' .TUNE 24, lOoi
A MENACE OP THE CITY.
Again It Is demonstrated what grave
danger the City of Portland is In from
the presence in its midst of the supply
depot of the Standard Oil Company.
Now. without further delay, the Com
mon Council should require the removal
of this depot to some place beyond a
point of danger. Every fire that may
occur in a locality near such a depot
must endanger a large part of the city.
A second time lecently a fire has broken
out there, and the peril has been ex
treme. It is within the right, as it is
within the duty, of the city to abate this
peril, which can be done with effect only
by enforcement of removal. It is
wrong, utterly wrong, to parley with It
or to palter with it.
The presence of these Inflammable
and explosive materials In such a lo
cality produces a paralyzing fear, when
ever a fire breaks out. Every possibil
ity of the extreme peril is then appar
ent. The firemen feel that they must
bend all their energies to the task of
keeping fire away from that particular
place; and yet they are working In Im
minent peril of their own lives, at every
moment Explosion of the tanks, or
communication of the fire wih their
contents, would produce an appalling
catastrophe. No imagination could ex
aggerate it. The fire would be scat
tered far and wide, as by a volcanic
eruption; people would be burned or
smothered by hundreds; communication
by the bridges between the two divis
ions of the city would be cut off at once;
the burning oil, carried In all direc
tions, would make a universal vortex
of fire, in which the city would be de
voured. The Common Council ought to
require removal of that oil depot at
once. Even' delay Is dangerous. The
Standard Oil Company is not a pitifully
poor concern, struggling for existence
and entitled to commiseration; but even
if it were. It should not be permitted
to keep its storage and euppy depot in
the heart of the city. Let the removal
be compelled, and compelled now.
SINGULAR INDIFFERENCE.
It is a fashion with Americans to won
der at the conservatism of the English
mind, in matters political and social;
yet in some of our older states the
conservatism is quite as marked, and
the results of It are as surprising. In
our older and smaller commonwealths,
where the growth has been slow, where
thore has .been no sudden inundation of
the older sentiment by a new popula
tion, it is especially marked. Here now
is Connecticut, which rejects an amend
ment to her constitution, proposed for
the purpose of equalizing representation
in her Legislative Assembly. The con
stitution as It stands is an anomaly
and solecism. It provides for town rep
resentation; and allows to a town of 2000
inhabitants about as many representa
tives in the Legislature as a town of
10,000 or 50,000. It is this Inequality and
anachronism that the voters of the state
have refused to correct.
What Is strange, further. Is the fact
that only about 15 per cent f the elec
tors of the state voted on the proposi
tion. The great body disregarded It.
Yet the press of the state was active In
the effort to bring the subject befo're
the electors. It was not a party ques
tion. Whether one party or another
would obtain advantage through fairer
representation, was not considered at
all. With few exceptions the newspa
pers of the state, without distinction of
party, advocated the amendment
What could be the cause of such In
difference, on a subject that vitally
touches the principle of popular govern
ment? The larger towns were in fact
quite as indifferent as the smaller onea
At bottom undoubtedly it was an ultra
conservatism. There Is dislike of inno
vation. But such result, on such a
question, argues political and even in
tellectual torpidity, surprising in self
governing communities, supposed to be
accessible to the Ideas of modern polit
ical and social agitation.
The truth is that unless a people are
aroused by some concrete example or
illustration of political Inequality and
its consequences, they are very likely
to rest in quiet indifference, and let
matters go on in the old way. The New
Haven Journal and Courier says: "Last
October, when the state voted on the
question of calling a constitutional con
vention, there was Interest enough in
the matter to bring out about 74,000
votes, of a little more than a third of
the total vote. Yesterday, when the
v ' rk of the convention was up for
adottenar irejfcQea, there -was" inter
est ew"?a to bring out only about 31,-
CtM) votes, but a small fraction of the J
total vote. And this after many months
of talk, and what was supposed to be
agitation, though It can now be seen
that there wasn't much that was agi
tating In it It is difficult to tell what
the performance means. If It means any
thing, but it doesn't seem to mean that
there Is any very widespread or strenu
ous demand In Connecticut for constitu
tional reform."
PASSING OF THE MOUSTACHE.
Somebody has started the story that
King Edward Is to be clean shaven be
fore he Is crowned, and while it lacks
everything like confirmation, the favor
with which the Idea has been received
argues something for the final regenera
tion of man from the aspect of the
gorilla. Hirsute adornment-is the pres
ent proud prerogative of the masculine
sex, but the distinction 1s in effect ac
quired. The fair sex has preceded us in
this matter, appropriately enough, as
fashion properly takes its origin there,
and the evolution into angels, who are
confessedly beardless, has advanced far
ther with the ladies than, with the
sterner sex. Yet the credit for this pro
gressiveness on their part and the re
sponsibility for man's backwardness
tend to equalize the score. Science
teaches us that the extinction of the
bearded lady as a species has been due
to the selective process of discerning
man. who recognized the beauty of
smooth faces and conducted his marital
enterprises accordingly, while the sur
vival of hairy men is due' to nothing
less than the penchant of the gentler
sex for, strength, and for whiskers as Its
avatar and seal. Beards may disappear
In time, but not till their unloveliness
and dishonesty are understood through
long generations by the enlightened in
tellect of woman.
The ancient civilizations very natur
ally Inherited the theory that the longer
and uglier the beard the more compe
tent its wearer is to protect his women
folks and hang on to his possessions
generally. The Greeks regarded the
beard, as a badge of virility which it
was a disgrace to be without In the
Homeric time it was also a badge of
sanctity, as with the Jews. To pluck
it was an indignity, to touch It rever
ently an act of moving entreaty. But
with Alexander the Great its inconven
ience and general tendency to unclean
liness were apprehended and the custom
of smooth faces spread throughout the
whole Greek world. Aristotle saw the
force of the new reasoning so clearly
that he parted with his beard, though
he lost thereby the distinguishing mark
of the philosophers, who are supposed
to have coined the proverb, ''The beard
does not make the sage."
The early Romans wore their savage
beards uncut until about 300 B. C. some
body brought a barber over from Sic
ily. The first man to be shaved clean
was Sclpio Afrlcanus, and his admira
ble example was soon followed by every
man of social standing. The epigrams
of Martial make cruel sport of the lower
orders who were unable to afford the
regular shave. The beard's activities as
a microbe-breeder and purveyor were,
of course, unknown then, but the Ro
man mind soon apprehended it as a
mark of slovenliness and squalor.
When a certain Marius Livius came
back from exile he was not permitted
to take his restored seat in the Senate
till he had obtained a shave and a bath.
The classic shaven face of the Roman
lasted until the day of the Emperor
Hadrian, who grew a beard, Plutarch
says, to hide certain scars on his face,
and the resultant fashion was not de
posed until the day of. Constantine,
when reason regained her throne,
whence she was rudely jostled when our
barbarian ancestors, all hair and
brawn, swept down from the North and
put civilization out of business for
some hundreds of dark and heavily be
whlskered years.
The decline of the various forms of
hairy-faced adornment or disfigurement
is a remarkable phenomenon in our
American cities of today, and especially
among young men, and it seems some
thing of a problem how to account for
it The most creditable explanation Is
to be put on moral grounds; for it has
long been known that the beard has
resolved itself into a species of facial
upholstery, quite as full of deceptive
possibilities as those mysterious devices
of dress and toilet the lady of fashion
calls to her aid. A large nose, for ex
ample, may be subordinated by a mous
tache, which is otherwise useful In hid
ing a defective lip or imperfect teeth.
Small features may be ennobled by a
flowing beard, the Imperial gives an im
pression of height to the chubbiest, side
whiskers lend breadth to uncomfortable
narrowness, etc All these devices not
only savor of dead consciences, but di
rectly impede the physical improvement
of the human race, as they cheat Nature
out of the good effect she has the right
to expect from elimination of the ineligi
ble through marriage. If the homely
no-account men are to be made up Into
the semblance of strength and beauty,
who Is to keep them from raising up
children inheriting insignificance from
their father and imperfect discernment
from their mother?
To the credit of American manhood be
it said that the flowing locks and
streaming beard of the Jmprovident or
eccentric have been eliminated until the
American type Is recognized as the man
with the moustache. In no respect did
the immortal Washington, Jefferson,
Marshall and Franklin deserve higher
honor of posterity than in the sfern
resolve In which they left their -fine,
strong features to history unmarred by
any disfigurement of, hair. In Cleve
land and Roosevelt, it Is true, we see
exemplified the American fondness for
the moustache", which doubtless is
thought to betoken a certain chivalry,
or piquancy, or dash, to the character
of which It is the exponent This sole
concession to the barbaric worship of
physical luxuriance may we not hope
also in time to outgrow? The verdict
is in your hands, ladles of the jury,
and posterity expects you to do your
duty.
Rev. W. G. Eliot, of Salem, in draw
ing a lesson from the late outbreak at
the Penitentiary, in a sermon delivered
last Sunday, criticised the practice in
the courts of granting leniency to crim
inals guilty of the first offense against
society. In his view the first convic
tion, if severely punished, would have
a permanent moral effect The logic of
this position is Bound. Make crime at
the very beginning a moral lapse so
serious as to demand, and receive as
nearly adequate punishment as possi
ble. From the truant schoolboy who
grinnlngly assures his schoolmates that
the light laying on of the rod by a
soft-hearted teacher, in consideration of
the "first offense," "did not hurt," to
the obstreperous youth caught In his
first theft and punished lightly because
It was his "first,' the result of palliating
the first offense has been over and over
again proven detrimental to the offender
and to society. Never allow a boy to
announce to his admiring fellows that
punishment for any offense that calls
for its administration 'dld not hurt"
nor permit his prototype of larger
growth to pose- before his comrades as
a hero because he "got off" before the
Police Court with a reprimand, a light
fine paid by his father, or even a few
days In jail. Such leniency only en
courages the youthful offender to fur
ther depredations against the rules of
school or of society.
SERVICE OF THE UNIVERSITY.
It does not at all follow that the more
young people attend the University of
Oregon at Eugene the fewer necessarily
will attend the colleges at Salem, For
est Grove, Albany and other places. A
village postmaster In Nebraska once tes
tified that the establishment of two
banks in the town had increased rather
than decreased the registry and money
order business, because of the Impetus
the banks had given to safe and proper
ways of doing business. Just -so a great
university in Oregon might so stimulate
the Intellectual and educational life of
the state as to help the colleges more
than It hurt them.
It may bfe regarded as certain that
President Campbell will follow In a gen
eral way the ambition of President
Strong to make the institution at Eu
gene a university in fact as well as in
name. He will seek to Interest his re
gents In such 'undertakings ao will
make the university not so much a rival
as a helper of the denominational
schools. The ways In which this must
be done are many and some of them
border closely upon what the colleges
would regard as competition. It goes
without saying that the university can
not help the colleges or anything else
by letting down the standards and effi
ciency of its undergraduate courses.
The better work it does the easier the
colleges .wljl find it to maintain high
standards and be vigilant in training
and discipline. If the university were
to go down, the colleges themselves
could not escape injury from the ensu
ing disaster to the educational life of
the whole state.
Nothing will help the university so
much as an increasing sympathy for it
on the part of the public; and proba
bly the prerequisite to that friendly
feeling Is pie knowledge of the univer
sity life and status in other statea
Some states owe much of their eminence
in the world of thought and affairs to
the fine reputation of their university.
The name of Ann Arbor, for example,
Is famous in the world of science, letters
and the learned professions. This repu
tation has drawn hundreds of students
thither 'from all over the country, so
that this year the University of Michi
gan seems to have broken all the rec
ords in the number of graduates, the
class of '02 numbering 777, a class that
easily enables it to maintain its posi
tion at the head of all state universities
in the matter of class enrollment In
the matter of total enrollment of stu
dents, however, it appears to be closely
crowded by the University of Minne
sota. According to college statistics
compiled from the reports of presidents
of the Institutions, at the close of the
year 1901 the enrollment at Michigan
University was 3S00, while that in the
University of Minnesota was 3550. Illi
nois appears to come next with, an en
rollment of 3000, closely followed by Cal
ifornia with 2932, Pennsylvania with
2475 and Nebraska with 2255.
Side by side with these university
developments, the denominational col
leges have thriven. They have felt the
uplift from the general interest and ac
tivity in education promoted by the uni
versity prosperity. Students from ad
joining colleges are enabled to pursue
post-graduate studies near at home, and
many young men remain in their home
state instead of going to distant centers.
Berkeley has thriven apace because of
Stanford, and vice versa. It would be
an open question whether the Univer
sity of California would be what it is to
day, either as a purely local institu
tion or In drawing upon distant states,
if it had not been for the counter ac
tivity at Palo Alto. Would Mrs. Hearst
have given more or leES if there had
been no Stanford millions?
What any state needs is not a system
of equalization by which each school of
higher education is kept from surpass
ing Its neighbor, but a healthful spirit
of emulation, moving each to do its
best, and above all a zealous frenzy of
Intellectual advance and passion for
true culture that shall pervade the en
tire community and set every young
person on the way to higher education
at some worthy school. In the creation
of such a public attitude and impulse
there is no more powerful ageacy than
a state university, above all petty re
straints and embarrassments of finan
cial niggardliness and local jealousies.
The eternal beneficence which would be
carried to this young state by a uni
versity like Michigan's or Minnesota's
cannot be calculated in terms of money.
AS WAS EXPECTED.
Since the gold-standard act of March,
1900, was passed, the efforts, of the Re
publican majority in Congress have
necessarily been directed chiefly into
preparatory and educational channels.
The next step In currency reform is
really In banking reform; and the as
similation of our present patchwork
system to a sound and scientific dis-'
pensatlon can proceed at best but slow
ly. Two measures, the coinage bill of
Hill's and the banking act of Fowler's,
are on the ways, nautlcally speaking,
and are due for launching about next
session. The recent decision of the Re
publican leaders to postpone action un
til that time was pronounced by The
Oregonlan at the time as certain to be
criticised by extremists of both sides.
Here is what Mr. Bryan's Commoner
has to say:
Yet while the Republicans are shouting "Let
well enough alone" and Insisting that nothing
shall be done to change the tariff laws or tho
trust laws, they are' themselves Insisting' upon
such a change In the financial laws as will
give greater privileges to the bankers and
greater profits to the financiers.
On the other hand, Mr. Richardson
rises in the House to protest against the
inaction of the Republicans In not pass
ing a bill to strengthen the gold stand
ard; a.nd the New York Journal of Com
merce speaks much to the same pur
pose: The present currency disappointment Is the
last of a. long series. Year after year this
question has been used alternately as a sub
ject ot cport in Congress and as a threat
to the country outside. There Is no moral
difference between the man who threatens
that If placed In power be will take steps to
depreciate our standard ot value and disor
ganize our system of exchange and that other
man who threatens, tacitly It may be, that
unless kept in power the voters shall be ex
posed to the danger pressing on them from
the other side. It Is time that a distinct un
derstanding on the currency question was
reached. Either fet us have consideration ot
the question, legislation if possible, but at all
events fair and frank discussion, or else let us
hear no more of the old currency threat when
election day draws near. It would be a, whole
some rebufte to the House of Representatives
If the Republican should give place to a Demo
cratic majority, and It should be known that
tho change was due to the lamentable and
dishonorable failure to redeem the currency
Pledge given to the country at every election
during the past elx years.
It is very easy to set up an Ideal
state of things as a standard, point out
the difference between It and the state
actually attainable, and complain.
Those who have actually to do with af
fairs, however, know that In practice
the best that can be done Is often dis
appointing to the best intentions, and
that, on the whole, we should be thank
ful we get so much legislation in the
way of financial reform Instead of re
pining that we get so little. It took
from 1896 to 1900 to get the gold stand
ard fully recognized, and banking re
form will be lucky if It gets a good
initiatory act by the close of this Win
ter's Congressional session.
The address delivered by Dr. James
Witbycombe before the Farmers' Insti
tute at Antelope a few days ago con
tained many valuable suggestions to the
ranchers of Eastern Oregon. Pre-eminently
a stockgrowlng section, the nat
ural resources of vast areas of that part
of the state must be properly hus
banded, otherwise the range will be
practically eaten out and a great indus
try will languish. The observations of
Secretary Wilson, of the National De
partment of Agriculture, In regard to
these ranges, in passing over them a
few years ago, is well remembered. In
his view it was necessary to inaugurate
a systematic plan whereby the ranges
might be allowed to recuperate from
the severe grazing to which they had
been subjected, if Stockgrowlng was to
continue to be one of the great indus
tries of the Inland Empire. "The re
grassing of your ranges," said Dr.
WIthycombe in the address to which
reference is made, "demands thoughtful
consideration." Then follows a tribute
to bunchgrass on lines presented by
Secretary Wilson, In which the practical
extinction of this valuable forage plant
is deplored, its properties defined and
its cultivation urged In protected pas
tures, 'with a view to its re-establishment
through careful seeding upon the
denuded ranges "where no Improvement
upon Jts physical structure for with
standing drouth" can be made. The
matter Js well worthy the attention of
Intelligent ranchers who see the desira
bility and Indeed feel the necessity of
regrasslng, for open pasturage, large
areas of land "the contour of which
precludes successful irrigation."
The constitution has been suspended
temporarily in Cape Colony. For a time
after 1814, when the territory was
wrested from the Dutch, all authority in
Cape Colony was vested In the Gov
ernor. In 1825 an executive council was
appointed. In 1835 a legislative council
was constituted. In 1853 a Colonial Par
liament was created, consisting of a
House of Assembly and Legislative
Council. Since 1872 the" government of
Cape Colony has consisted of a Gov
ernor nominated by the crown, holding
office generally for six years, and" paid a
salary by the colony of 5000 a year.
Lord Mllner, as "High Commissioner
for South Africa," receives 3000 addi
tional, together with 1000 of personal
allowance. The Governor presides over
an executive council which consists of
Ministers responsible to the Cape Par
liament These Ministers haye a right
to sit or speak in- either branch of the
Legislature, but may vote only in that
branch to which'they have been individ
ually elected. Th lowr house, which
consists of sexenty-six members, is
elected on a very liberal principle, and
the upper house, or Legislative Council,
is also elected, with the exception of the
Chief Justice of the colony, who is, ex
ofllcio, chairmen of that body. With
the constitution of Cape Colony sus
pended. Lord Mllner is absolute auto
crat In his capacity of High Commis
sioner he has a free hand in dealing
with the newly subjugated republics,
and is not trammeled as he would be in
his capacity of Governor of Cape Colony
by Ministers responsible to the Cape
Parliament
Timber losses by fire in the logging
sections of Western Washington, espe
cially in the Counties of Pierce and
King, have been phenomenally large
for this season of the year. It has been
but a few weeks since the rains of
Spring ceased, yet we have record of a
forest fire ot almost unprecedented
fierceness, carrying destruction ovr
sixty-three square mlled of timber. It
is impossible to more than estimate the
consequent Iosp. but when it Is stated
that standing timber to the amount of
550,000,000 feet has been destroyed or
ruined for commercial purposes, the loss
can be approximated. The loss in mills,
logging camps and outfits, and the fact
that the timber destroyed was splendid
flr, clean of limb to the height of 100
feet, and readily accessible to the rail
road, makes the disaster assume pro
portions that are Indeed formidable.
What ot the forest rangers of these
Washington timber districts? Are they
not yet afield, or, being afield, are they
political favorites instead of woodsmen?
Or are mlllmen themselves to blame for
a lapse of vigilance that let loose the
demon of fire in the resinous forests
that were to feed their mills? There
was clearly a lapse in caretaking at
some point of defense, or the fates made
a most wanton attack upon and scored
a costly victory against a great Indus
try through the late forest fire .In West
ern Washington.
Indian War Veterans, are properly
grateful to Senator Mitchell and Repre
sentative Tongue for the untiring efforts
in their behalf that resulted finally In
the passage of the pension bill for their
relief. So far as noted, the President
has not yet signed this bill, though he
will nq doubt do so at an early day,
after which measures placing its bene
fits within the reach of the veterans
will at once be taken. There are some
things for which aged and more or less
infirm and dependent men cannot afford
to wait The payment of a pension,
earned in early life and needed to render
Its closing years comfortable Is mani
festly one of these.
The Rose Show was a most charming
festival. It would have been more ef
fective as a display had it been made a
week or ten days earlier, as the hot
wind of Friday, combined with the sul
try atmosphere that followed, caused
the rosea to wilt quickly, even though
the greatest care was taken to keep
them fresh. However, the display dem
onstrated, In variety, beauty and
abundance of the specimens shown, that
Portland Is a "rose city" of the first
magnitude, and that her citizens can
easily demonstrate that fact to the mul
titude that by invitation will come
hither In the Spring and Summer of
1905.
. CANAL LESSON FROM SUEZ,
.A
New York Tribune.
Last week's yearly report of the Suez
Canal directors was an Instructive docu
ment It had a peculiar interest to those
of us who remember the days before De
Lesseps dug his mighty ditch, days which
were filled with scorn and ridicule of that
propect, and with mathematical demon
strations of the Impossibility ot Its ever
being made to pay. The Suez Canal was
reviled In advance almost as much as the
Erie Canal was by the Tammany Hall
foes of Clinton, and perhaps as much as
tho Nicaragua scheme has been by the
special pleaders of transcontinental rail
roads. Even when Disraeli, at Frederick
Greenwood's suggestion, purchased for
Great Britain the Khedive's shares, and
Incidentally gave Punch the theme of Its
famous "most in Egitto" cartoon, there
were many who dolefully phophesled "no
returns" from the investment For now
many years, however, the success and
the pecuniary profit ef that canal have
been amply established.
During the last year they have been
greater than ever before. The previous
maximum was attained in 1S99, when the
canal was traversed by 3607 vessels, ot
9,S65,6S0 tons. Last year tho number ot
ships was 3699, of 10.S23.S40 tons. The total
receipts, chiefly, of course, from transit
tolls, were 20,624,345 and working expenses
were $5,149,200. If to the latter we add the
charges of the redemption and insurance
funds, and those of the Interest and re
demption funds on bonds and stock, we
have a total expenditure of JS.049,333. That
leaves the handsome surplus of 512,575,010.
With ao favorable a showing, it Is not
surprising to learn -that the directors have
declared a net dividend ot $25 a share,
which is larger by $3 40 than any ever de
clared before. At the same time they have
announced a reduction of tolls from $1 0
to $1 70. and they estimate confidently
that, with the Increase of traffic, the re
ceipts In 1903 at the reduced rate will be
as great as they were in 1901 at the old
rate. They also announce that hereafter
whenever there la an Increase of divi
dends, there will be a corresponding re
duction of tolls. It may-be added, by the
way, that the British shares, for which
Disraeli paid the Khedive $20,000,000, are
now worth $135,000,000.
Now, "the bearing of this observation
lays In the application on it." Suppose
we should apply it in the fashion of the
Rule of Three, to our own much opposed
and much decried Isthmian canal enter
prise? As the disparagement of the Suei
Canal was, or Is, to that of the American
Isthmian canal, so is, or will be, the suc
cess of the former to that of the latter
canal. Or as the expectations concerning
the one have been exceeded by Its success,
so will the expectations concerning the
other be exceeded by Its success. Any way
you look at It, there is much encourage
ment for our Isthmian canal.
Fuel Oil Saves the Grata Fields.
San Francisco Chronicle.
The adoption of fuel oil on the locomo
tives employed on the railroads traversing
the interior valleys of the state has re
moved one ot the chief sources of danger
from fire to the ripening grain fields. Be
fore the introduction of fuel oil on the
California railroads thousands of acres
of ,graln were annually destroyed by fires
started by the cinders ejected from the
funnels of passing coalburnlng locomo
tives. The farmers never felt secure
against loss from this cause. He paid
high rates of Insurance as a rule to pro
tect himself and plowed furrows along
the railroad right-of-way to serve as fire
breaks, while the railroad companies
burned the dry grass alongside their
tracks, so that the sparks and hot cinders
dropping within their territory would have
nothing combustible to feed upon. Still
fires broke out in the ripened grain fields
or Ignited the stubble after the grain had
been removed, and thus consumed the feed
left by the harvester on which the farmer
relied to carry his stock until the rainy
season set in, and the new grass sprang
up.
Now, in large sections, fuel oil has
changed the conditions. The locomotives
using It do not emit any sparks, or eject
red-hot cinders to settle and ignite the
withered grass along the right-of-way or
the parched grain In the neighboring
fields. The farmer Is saved the trouble
and expense of side-furrowing his field
where it borders on the railroad, and
wherever oil is used the corporation is re
lieved of the cost and annoyance of burn
ing the dry vegetation within its right-of-way.
Henceforth, grain-field fires will
probably pass out of the future history of
the wheat-growing valleys; the railroad
claim agent's occupation will practically
disappear; a big leak In the corporation's
treasury will be stopped, and the farm
er's fire Insurance rates will drop to cor
respond with the diminished risk the use
of fuel oil on locomotives has caused.
Some Legislative Amenities.
Washington Post.
Despite these hot days, when everybody
Is supposed to be on edge, the Alphonse
and Gaston episodes in Congress are quite
numerous.
"I love the gentleman from Wyoming,"
said Mr. Ray, of New York, to Mr. Mon
dell, accompanying the 'remark with a
profound bow.
"And the gentleman from Wyoming re
turns your affection," Instantly respond
ed Mondell, not to be outdone In polite
ness. "The gentleman from Maine Is a smart
man, and he listens' to me because he
likes to hear a smart man talk," said Rep
resentative Lankam, of Texas, to his col
league, Littlefleld, of Maine.
"I assent most heartily to the latter part
of that remark," answered Littlefleld,
amid laughter.
Then Representative Ray said that "for
legal knowledge, for acumen, for general
Intelligence, for health, and for beauty,"
there was no one equal to Representative
Hopkins, of Illinois, to which compliment
Mr. Hopkins responded with a graceful
bow. But the climax of courteous tribute
came when Senator Hoar said that Sena
tor Morgan Is "one of the greatest living
Senators, and one of the greatest authori
ties on all great subjects."
Family Xevrspaper of he Future.
St Louis Globe-Democrat
Some Eastern newspapers Issued with
paint boxes on their extremities suggest
that the strenuous paper of the future
will be so arranged that building blocks
for children can be cut out of them, and
whole flocks of paper dolls for the little
girls. We see no reason why two pages
should not be made up of a material that
can be cut Into a shirtwaist, with a spool
of thread attached to the heading. Why
not a half-dozen of ginger snaps on the
editorial page that "only have to be moist
ened" to come loose, or a Noah's ark?
The development of prize-package jour
nalism is In Its Infancy. As presses are
improved, it will be no trouble at all to
supply subscribers with palm-leaf fans,
pillow-slips ana porous plasters, fas
tened right in the body of the paper, only
needing to be cut loose. Any one would
rather have a tidy for the rocker or a
splash for the washstand than an editorial
on the Nicaragua Canal, and a supple
ment may be got up by some clever chem
ist that rolled in a wad, can be used as
an excellent toilet soap.
A Case for The Hasrne Court.
Pittsburg Post.
The fact that this country is about to
submit a dispute with a prominent Euro
pean power to the arbitrament of The
Hague court has probably not attracted
the notice of many Americans. The pow
er in question is Russia, whose reputa
tion as a friend of the United States has
become proverbial, and the comparative
Insignificance of the issue Involved is
shown by the fact that the total damages
claimed by the Government at Washington
for the seizure of certain American seal
ing craft by Russian warships seven years
ago are only $500,000. This Is not a very
big sum as a basis for International con
troversy, and whether we win or lose our
case both parties will doubtless gracefully;
acquiesce in the decision of the court
WATTS ON WORDSWORTH.
Professor H. C. Beechlng writes enter
tainingly in Cornhlll on an obscure critic
of Wordsworth. Alarlc Alexander Watts.
Watts was a bookseller, a poet In his own
right and the deviser of the "Literary
Souvenir." His marginalia In an early
copy of Wordsworth have all the vigor of
the "tartarly" reviewing of the first quar
ter of the nineteenth century. The follow
ing examples of Watta on Wordsworth
hardly require comment, but one may note
that in the "book of beauty" days no
nymph could possibly be robust We have
changed all that in these golfing days.
MATTHEW.
Yet sometimes, when!
Was he a. solitary
uib secret cup
jdram drinker?
Of still and serious)
mougnt ent round.
We walk'd along, while
The sun .often sets
red, but I never knew
It to rise red.
Drignt and red
L prose the mornlngi
sun.
She seemed as happy
as. a wave
That dances on the
sea.
This is nonsense; a
wave can scarcely be
called happy.
And many love
but by none
me; Wordsworth was al-
ways raving aDout not
j being enough beloved;
but he was a constitu
jt tonally selfish man.
Am I enough beloved.
ana lovea naming nan
so well as himself; as
S. T. Coleridge once
remarked to me, "A
very worthy man, very
fond of himself." his
affected sympathy with
rocks, trees. brooks
and flowers serving to
excuse his singular
want of sympathy with
his kind.
TO THE DAISY.
He need but look about.
Why scare? Melan-
and there
)choly may be dispelled,
Thou, art! A friend ahbut It Is not likely to
hand, to scare
be frightened away, by
His melancholy.
la daisy!
Child of the Tear!
The daisy is no more
a "child of the year"
than any other annual
flower which comes and
goes with the season.
I
LOUISA.
I met Louisa in thel Why, I n d eed. a
shade, mlghty athletic young
And having seen that) lady! How ao robust a
lovely maid, jypung lady could have
Why should I f ear been nymph-llke it is
to say jnot easy to conceive.
That, nymph-like, she!
la fleet and strong.
And down the rocks i
can leap along
Like rivulets in
May?
FIDELITY.
Thero sometimes does
a leaping fish
Send through the Tarn
a lonely cheer.
Nonsense; fish do not
cheer.
"SHE -WAS A PHANTOM," ETC.
Like Twilight's, too.l Twilight' has no hair,
her dusky hair.
A Great Lawyer.
Brooklyn Eagle
The full text of the speech delivered at
Manila by Colonel CJtiarles A. Woodruff
before the court-martial appointed to try
Brigadier-General Jacob H. Smith, was
printed on the seventh page of Tuesday's
Eagle. Even a cursory reading of It will
show that it was a fine display of ora
torical talent. A closer perusal will prove
that tho substance was as good as the
form, and that the Colonel's logic In ev
ery way matched his excellent rhetoric.
It Is well thit the Army has lawyers as
capable as Colonel Woodruff. The de
fense of General Smith Involved ques
tions of martial lav.- which demanded
elucidation In every Flngle detail. To do
this properly the counsel for the accused
officer must necessarily have made him
self familiar with half-forgotten prece
dents; it was necessiry' that he should
not only search the records of our own,
wars, but It was necessary that he should
Investigate the Interpretation put upon
martial law by nations other than our
own; he was forced to collect and 'digest a
great mass of material of which only the
pith couid be presented to the court.
How convincingly and concisely Colonel
Woodruff did his work Is apparent from
the printed report of his speech. He In
troduced no superfluities. He went
straight to the point His plea was
backed by argument and his argument by
facts. The effect of what he said upon
those who heard mm Is Indicated In the
story' sent by the Eagle's correspondent
In Manila. He painted the trials and suf
ferings of American soldiers with just
the amount of detail needed to make the
picture impressive. He exaggerated noth
ing. He distorted nothing. He concealed
nothing. He proved himself an admirable
advocate and a credit to the Army, which
ho defended In defending one of Its high
officers. As a lawyer Colonel Woodruff
may have some equals, but we doubt If
he has any superiors In his own service.
His conduct of General Smith's case will
take rank along with the remarkable ex
hibition of legal acumen given at the
Brooklyn Navy-Yard seme years ago by
the Judge-Advocate who represented the
Navy at the court-martial of Commander
McCalla.
Roosevelt's Opportunity and Danger.
New York Evening Post
Every one can see that the present crisis
Is big with the political fate of President
Roosevelt His defeat In the Cuban mat
ter has been brought about by political
managers who are hostile to him In their
hearts, and who are determined to pre
vent his renomlnation. If he falters, or
compromises with them, he is lost But
he can beat them all If he remains "un
shaken, unseduced, untoxriflcd." another
Abdlel of whom It can bo said:
Nor number, nor example, with him wrought
To swerve from truth, or change his constant
mind.
The politicians are teaching the coun
try a lesson, as well as tjie President
People see how the bosses are quietly en
deavoring to monopolize all forms of the
political activity df the Nation. From pri
mary to Cabinet their ambition runs, as
they would have their power extend. This
condition of things the majority of
Americans look upon with loathing. The
system is fairly forcing the people out
of doors to become statesmen, as was
said of the English Conservatives. But
a leader Is necessary In the revolt against
the tyranny of the machine, and Theo
dore Roosevelt almost seems the heaven
sent man to step Into that leadership.
What we are certain of Is that, if he
chose to fling himself upon the popular
sympathies and support, and assert the
right of the people to govern themselves
without consulting the bosses, he could
make himself strong enough to defy the
confederated politicians, and at the same
time render the country an incalculable
service.
To One In Paradise.
Edgar Allan Poe.
Thou wast all that to me, love.
For which my soul did pine;
A green isle in the sea. love,
A fountain and a shrine
All wreath'd with fairy fruits and flowers.
And all the flowers were mine.
Ah, dream too bright to last!
Ah, starry Hope, that didst arise
But to be overcast!
A voice from out the Future cries,
"On! on!" but o'er the. Past
(Dim gulf!) my spirit hovering lies
Mute, motionless, aghast. .
For alas! alas! with me
The- light of Life Is o'er!
No more no more no more
(Such language holds the solemn sea
To the sands upon the shore)
Shall bloom the thunder-blasted tree.
Or the stricken eagle soar.
And all my days are trarices.
And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy dark eye glances.
And where thy footstep gleams
In what ethertal dances.
By what eternal streams.
America's Greatest Need.
Indianapolis News.
The horseless car and the hornless cow,
Their merits no one will decry;
But what we most need
Let inventors give heed
Is a. powderless Fourth ot July.
NOTE AND COMMENT.
We are having a riln without a cor
onation. Never mind; It won't begin to rain
hard till the Fou'
King Edward must be beginning to
suffer from stage fright
The boys have missed their one oppor
tunity to tak'e d hot free bath.
Somebody ought to catch a mascot and
moor it to the Madison-street bridge.
Conflagration is a fine word. Surprising
that no one thought of it before.
It seems to be easier to get behind
the convicts than it Is to get ahead of
them.
The Portland ball team will not lose
another game before Wednesday. There's
no game today.
General Eagan has been using a re
volver, which Is" much Toss deadly than
embalmed beef.
The small boy saves his money
Full patiently to buy
The fireworks that presently
Will help him reach the sky.
The correspondent who reports that
the biggest gun In the world has just
been completed has probably never heard
of J. P. Morgan.
A Texas Indian who had been whipped
by his mother-in-law blew out his
brains. An Indian apparently Is mora
sensitive than a white man.
Richard Croker looks upon the cor
onation proceedings with contempt. Such
formality Is never necessary in an ab
solute monarchy like Tammany.
Dr. Parkhurst Is studying the Irish
people, on their native isle. One would
think that he could have exhausted tha
subject on his excursions Into New York
politics.
The -iebrasKa Populists are talking
about making an effort to have William
Jennings Bryan run for Governor. Will
iam. Jennings Bryan, seems to be a rising
man in Nebraska.
General' Early was to the last an unre
constructed rebel, as Is shown by a story
told of a remark made by General Long
street to the ex-Confederate Cavalry
leader. General Joseph Wheeler, who Is
now on tho retired list of the Army.
"Joe," said Longstreet, "I have only
one wish." "What Is that?" asked
Wheeler. "I want to get Into hell about
half an hour ahead of you and hear
old Jubal Early's remarks when you
come along wearing that blue uniform."
The case of Justus Smith, charged with
intoxication June 14, 1S65, was only dis
posed of on Saturday, 37 years late, In a
New York City court The papers were
only then found, and who Justus Smith
was, and where he Is, or where the po
liceman who made the arrest Is if Indeed
either of them are alive may never bo
known. Justice Hogan, however, who
Indorsed the charge. Is living, and thinks
It a relic of the days when returning
soldiers were often arrested for their
protection, without any purpose of pros
ecuting the charges.
The Boston Journal tells the story of
an actor who was accustomed to spend
his Summers in Wilton, Me. There 'ha
noted When, as the custom was, a farmer
"killed a critter," the liver, sweetbreads,
kidneys, etc., were thrown away. He
offered to purchase these delicacies, but,
though he got tho goods, the "sturdy
farmer scorned his proffered gold." Not
long after he observed as he walked
through the village thti he was the
cynosore of all eyes, and was followed by
a wondering, If not admiring, crowd,
chiefly of the young. "Aha," thought he.
"I cannot escape my fame; my glory as
an actor has followed me even to this
obscure hamlet." And he was mightily
puffed up till he overheard one yokel
shout to another: "BUI, there goes tho
feller what eats Innards."
Africa's European Owners.
Atlanta Constitution.
With the surrender of the Boers Great
Britain acquires an undisputed title to
167,465 additional square miles of territory
In South Africa. She has paid heavily for
this fresh acquisition of real estate, but
she has also at the same time gotten rid
of an old boundary line controversy which
has been the source of endless annoyance.
Great Britain's holdings and "spheres o
Influence" on the Dark Continent now ag
gregate more than 3,000,000 square miles,
or an area equal to the continental domain
of the United States, exclusive of Alaska.
France comes next to Great Britain as
an owner of territory in South Africa, her
combined possessions aggregating 2,000.000
square miles; but most of her property 13
In the Sahara Desert, and Is not very pro
ductive. Germany, Portugal and Belgium
each hold 900,000 square miles; Turkey 400.
000 square miles, and Spain 250,000 squara
miles.
Names Didn't Dnant Him.
London Globe.
Prince Munster (then only a count), to
gether with Count Beust and Count Schou
valoff. was attending a foreign office re
ception In London. Their names afforded
no slight difficulty to the thoroughly Eng
lish footman, who announced the guests
by shouting their names up the great
staircase. Count Schouvaloff arrived first,
and the footman duly announced him a3
"Count Shuflleoff." Then came Count
Beust, whose name in the survltor's mouth
became "Count Beast" Lastly Count
Munster appeared and the footman, evi
dently feeling that a supreme effort was
required, finished off by calling out "Count
Monster."
PLEASAVTRIES OF PARAGRAPHERS
Quite Unintentional. "Bessie, dear, can't you
keep your chair from squeaking when you rock
It?" "I didn't know it squoke, mamma."
Chicago Tribune.
"Do you know a good tonic for nervous per
sons. Slmpklns?" "No; what I want to find
is a good tonic for people who have to live
with them." Tlt-Blts.
His Excuse. Mrs. Handout Will you saw
some wood? Frayed Fagan Sorry, mum. but
I've got the ping-pong wrist, and me physi
cian says I need absolute rest! Puck.
It. Tess Did you see May when she deliv
ered the valedictory at her college commence
ment? Jess Yes, and It certainly was lovely.
Tess That so? Jess Yes, It was Just a plain
moussellne de sole, but so stylish. Philadelphia
Press.
Two Sides of a Story. Homer When you
were In Paris did you find I. difficult to speak
French? Travers Oh. no. I had no trouble In
speaking it. The difficult part was In getting
the Jabbering idiots to understand it. Chicago
Dally News.
Cupid's Benefit. Celia Oh. we had a de
lightful time at Ophelia's announcement party.
Delia "What did you do? Celia She bad us
submit sealed guesses as to the man she Is
engaged to; the girl who guessed right is to
be maid of honor. Detroit Free Press.
A Good Thing Appreciated. "Who is your
favorite author?" asked Mrs. Oldcastle, as she
was looking through tho magnificent library ot
the new neighbors. "Shakespeare," her host
ess replied. "I do think his "Roll On, Thou
Deep and Dark Blue Ocean, Roll,' is one of
the llterarlest pieces I ever heard. Josiah was
readln' It to me not long ago. and It almost
made me seasick It was that real." Chicago
Record-Herald.