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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1902)
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1902. Entered at the Postofflco at Portland. Oregon, as second-class matter. REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By Mall (postage prepaid, in advance) Dally, with Sunday, per month $ S3 fjally. Sunday excepted, per year 50 laiiy. lth Sunday, per year 8 00 Sunday, per vear. 2 00 The Weekly, "per vear 1 50 l!e Weeky. 3 months 50 To City Subscribers Daily, per week, delix-ered. Sunday excepted. l.c "ally, per week, delivered. Sunday includcd.205 POSTAGE RATES. United States. Canada and Mexico: ?? 5 !"PaSe PZ?er Jc l to 28-page paner 2c Foreign rates double. News or discussion intended for publication In Th Oresonian should be addrcyscd invaria bly "Editor The Oregonlan." not to the name of any individual. Letters relating to adver tising, subscriptions or to any business matter should be addressed Mmply "The Oresonian." Eastern Business Office 43. 44. 45. 47. 43. 40 Tribune building:, Xew Tork City: G10-11-12 Tilbune building. Chicago; the S. C. Bcckwith Special Agency. Eastern representative. For sale In San Fran-M-- - L. E. Lee. Pal ace Hotel news stand; Goldsmith Bros.. 235 Sutter street; F. W. Pitts. 3003 Market street: J. IC Cooper Co.. 74 C Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Foster & Orear. Ferry news ctand; Frank Scott. SO E1IU street, and N Wheatley. S13 Mission street. "oo 63,0 ,n Los AnK'ta bv n. F. Gardner. South Spring street, and Oliver & Haines. 0o South Spring street. For sale in Kansas City. Mo..' by r.'.'ksecker ar Co" N1th and Walnut streets. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. Dearborn street, and Charles MacDonald. "3 Washington street. For sale in Omaha by Barlcalow Eros.. 1612 Farnam street: Megcath Stationers' Co.. 1303 Farnam street. For sale in Salt Lake bv the Salt Lake News 77 "VVcst Second South street. For sclo In Minneapolis by It. G. Hearsey & Co.. 24 Third street South. For sale in Washington. D. C, by the Ebbett House news stand. For sale in Denver. Colo., by Hamilton & Kendrlck. 000-012 Seventeenth street; Louthan & Jackson Book & Stationery Co.. Fifteenth and Lawrence street: A. Series. Sixteenth and Curtis streets. TODAY'S WEATHER Showers; southwest erly winds. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem perature. rS; minimum temperature. SO; pre cipitation. 0.27 inch. PORTLAXD. FRIDAY, OCT. HI. 1002. Observe that Dr. JosephI is at work on an act to reform abuses In connec tion with the transfer of insane per sons to the Asylum. Observe that the Federation of Labor is at work on bills for protection of child labor and against overcrowding: of theaters. Observe that the Taxpayers' League is at work upon reformatory measures for city and county governments. Observe that the Game Association, is at work on amend ment of the fish and game laws. What are the members of the Legislature do ing? Possibly sawing wood certainly saying nothing. It is the habit of our Legislatures to give little concern to the tasks for which they are elected. The evil of conducting lunatics to Salem by Deputy Sheriffs instead of by Asylum nurses trained for the purpose is per fectly understood, and its correction was officially urged as long ago at least as when George McBride was Secretary of State; yet no Sregislature has taken the trouble to eradicate the abuse. Its perpetuation has been tolerated, out of regard for a number of considerations, the least discreditable of which Is the desire of Sheriffs and deputies to enjoy journeys to Portland and Salem at pub lic expense. Executions should take place In the Penitentiary instead of in county jail yards; but If half a dozen members of any Legislature ever cared about it, they concealed their desires most po tently. Governor Lord devoted himself assiduously to a study of the state gov ernment and its needs. His words fell on stony ground. Secretary Dunbar has made an exhaustive examination of the assessment and taxation problem, and shown us the weak spot where corpora tions with intangible assets escape their rightful burden; but nobody apparently has paid the slightest attention to that admirable piece of work. Such reforms in the civil and criminal code as we have are due to the Bar Association. Such local amelioration as we can boast is due to Judge Cleland and the Tax payers' League. If we get the good charter that has been framed, it will be the credit of a commission laboring between sessions. Ed Bingham has leg islated himself all over the Oregon elec tion laws, but others drew the pay for their enactment In view of the record, it may be proper to felicitate the pres ent Multnomah County delegation upon the decision to get together and discuss measures in advance of the session. In this way they may be able to pump up an Interest in public affairs which is not usually expected to encroach upon their normal occupation of balancing be tween Senatorial candidates. Among recent contributions to the anthracite problem is one by Mr. J. J. Hill, the redoubtable head of Northern Securities, who denounces as unjust the practice of the coal roads In charging four times as much per ton per mile for anthracite as for bituminous, even in the same train. This and similar re flections have little pertinence now in the face of the railroad attitude of What are you going to do about it? But It is well enough to bear in mind that their pertinence may be somewhat enhanced in the month, of December, when a certain deliberative body con sisting of two housss will be called to order In Washington. It may not have occurred to the anthracite presidents that members of the Republican and Democratic parties are likely to vie with each other in the promulgation of animadversions cn the operators of Pennsylvania, and perhaps in the advo cacy of still more pointed and business like investigation. A committee of in quiry, empowered to send for persons and papers and ascertain to what extent if any the Sherman anti-trust act is violated, and composed In about equal parts of Bryanic Democrats and Roose veltian Republicans, with secret anxi ety concerning the labor vote, might give Presidents Baer, Wilcox and Cas satt a bad quarter of an hour. Perhaps it would even be well for the operators to come to terms with their men before the present Inquiry proceeds to its bit ter end. It will be a memorable epoch in Wash ington State history If this Winter oses Senator Turner ordering his men at Olympia to vote for Governor McBrlde's commission bill and Governor McBride ordering his men to vote for Senator Turner's re-election. Such an event Is not at all Impossible, and every day heightens its probability. We shall not condemn the parties to this 'arrange ment, because conditions in Washington are such as to afford very cogent de fense for so questionable a procedure on the Governor's part. He can say that his own party, or that portion of it controlled by Wilson and Ankeny has betrayed the plain mandate of the Ta coma convention and turned its back upon the "railroad commlsslonJiiWas in honor bound to support 9f$enti- ment has been so aroused In favor of the commission that It would be apt to condone an act of so patent party per fidy. A Governor owes allegiance to the people before his party, and It would not be hard for McBride to plead ne cessity as the justification of his course. The dramatic character of the situation is not lessened by the fact that the commission itself is a fals2 alarm of the hollowest sort.. The preposterous idea that only through, a railroad commis sion can abuses of taxation be remedied appears to have been swallowed whole by the Washington votera It is cer tainly a most curious development of politics that compels a Republican Gov ernor to go outside his. party for help in his anti-trust.- and anti-railroad cam paign, especially when he goes to, the only man of real force and danger to his own party In the enemy's ranks. It Is an Impressive reflection, by the way, how potent a figure Senator Turner would be today if lie were a McBride Republican instead of a free-coal, anti imperialistic Democrat and Populist. By all means let us have the Hop Inspector, and while we are out for something new as a means of extract ing money from the state treasury, why not make it worth while? Give the Hop Inspector a deputy or two or three or four, a secretary, a stenographer and an advisory board. In the future as In the past there will come years when the hop crop will be a failure, or when the price will recede to a point where the crop will not pay for the picking. Then what opportunities would be presented to the Hop Inspector for earning his salary by telling in pamphlet form (from the office of the State Printer) Just how it happened! Of course, the men who buy the hops will pay more for stock examined by a state inspector than for uninspected goods, just as the Washing ton wheatbuyers pay more for state in spected wheat than for that which they inspect themselves, and if the Inspector says moldy, Immature hops are all right the buyer will have to take them at the price called for by the Inspector's grade. We demand, we insist, we must have a Hop Inspector, and after we get him the neglected onion growers, the potato bug catchers and the bean producers are entitled to recognition. By a con sistent course in this matter we may in time s'e the necessity for an in spector of inspectors, then an inspector of the inspector of inspectors. Great is the pursuit of a livelihood without the necessity of labor, and inspectorships and commissions are the best methods of obtaining the end desired. LAXD LAW FRAUDS. The action of the Interior Department in the matter of frauds against the Government under the timber and min eral land laws is, so we take it, designed to correct a loose, irregular and tech nically dishonest practice which has long prevailed here and elsewhere in the newer parts of the country in connec tion with the taking up of Government lands. This action is timely, for at the rate the lands are going, especially in forested districts, there will soon be nothing left in the hands of the Gov ernment and no bar to the operations of speculative exploiters whose whole in terest is their own immediate profit and who -are not restrained by considera tion of effects to follow their devastat ing operations. There has been almost no pretense of living up to the requirements of the law relating to land entries; and It is not going too far to say that not ''one timber entry out of ten Is either legally or morally "on the square" when the aim and spirit of the law are taken into account. The most common offense is misrepresentation of the purpose for which the land is taken. The entry man or the entry-woman, since women are quite as active as men In this mat ter of timber land speculation swears that application is not made on specula tion, but in good faith to apply 'to his own exclusive use and benefit, when, as a matter of fact, three times out of five he is acting for somebody else or with a definite understanding that a certain market will be provided for the land when the title shall be in shape to transfer. A long train of evils follows. The man or woman who starts in to get a timber claim by misrepresentation Is not likely to halt at any means neces sary to gain the end sought. Rank per jury is excused on the ground that It Is common and safe, and by the fact that It is more or less inconvenient and unprofitable to conform to the letter and spirit of the statute. A fraud of this kind, practiced for many years, not condemned by public opinion, winked at by the officers of the Government, in the view of most persons loses Its criminal character. It has been so here. Men otherwise of good character have taken the position that since there has been no other way to get possession of the land, a technical fraud is quasi legitimate under the prin ciple of necessity. It has been argued that since the development and progress of thetcountry has been largely depend ent upon the appropriation of public lands, there is no moral delinquency in gaining possession of the lands by what ever process may be effective, no mat ter how it may tally with the technical requirements of the law. These argu ments, supported by the almost uni versal feeling that a fraud against the Government harms nobody, have very commonly overborne all scruples, and the system of irregular and fraudulent practice which the Secretary of the In terior has set about to correct has been the natural consequence. And, human nature being what It is, it is a consequence not very surprising, nor, in all cases, very severely to be censured. That It has been a means of state and community prog ress is certain, and on the whole no very great Injustice has been 'done. Some schemers , have grown rich under the practice, 'but at the same time the profits of the system have to a great extent fallen into the hands of persons who, by their presence in the country and by their energies, have contributed to the causes which have given value to the public lands. The laws governing the disposal of public lands have not, on the whole, been more nearly In ac cord with the conditions and necessi ties of the country than has been the irregular practice which has grown up through evasion of the laws. There can be no doubt that progress in many forms would have been delayed by a strict adherence to the letter and the spirit of the land laws; and It is because of this fact that the Irregular practice grew up and hag until now been toler ated. Here as elsewhere, when laws have failed to meet the requirements of the conditions and the times, an in formal practice has usurped their "actual if not their nominal authority. But a time has come when a vital Interest of the country, is menaced by irregular practice In the matter. of land entry, when a system of land and tim ber piracy carried on without any sort of consideration for the law or for the interests of the country, threatens to destroy our wealth of timber. The Sec retary of the Interior does well in this emergency to draw tight the reins of au thority so long held with a slack hand, and by strict construction and severity of proceeding under the law to protect the public forests against the vandals who are seeking by dishonest means un der cover of the law to make them their own. This calls for a change of policy on the part of the local land authorities, and .in this connection good results may very easily be attained. Let the offi cials of the land offices be Instructed to Inform applicants for lands that the law Is to be enforced in its spirit and letter, and this declaration alone will serve to stop 75 per cent of the irregular and fraudulent practice; and a prompt sys tem of inspection and prosecution will make short work of such fraudulent en trymcn as fail to take a kindly hint. The current practice is largely due to the attitude of the land authorities, and a change of front on their part will al most Instantly check it. It is a situa tion in which the department cannot bear severely upon the irregular entry men without exposing its own delin quency; for, if its agents had, in their dealings with entrymen, taken care to exact obedience to the letter and the spirit of the law, the number of fraud ulent entries would have been relatively few. CHOLERA IX ASIA. The terrible ravages of the cholera in the Philippines, in China, Japan and Egypt are doubtless due to the fact that it is almost Impossible to make Oriental peoples obey quarantine regulations and observe necessary sanitary precautions in the matter of keeping the supply of drinking water free from contamina tion. When the cholera first visited this country, In 1832, it was exceedingly de structive. There were many deaths in Quebec, Montreal, Boston, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Buffalo and New Orleans. It followed the great routes of water 'transporta tion along the rivers and the canals. All the towns on the Great Lakes, on the Ohio and the Mississippi suffered greatly. The cholera came again in 1S49, but its victims were few. The yel low fever in the first years of the Re public was destructive in New York and Philadelphia and appeared atNantucket Island, but it is many years since the yellow fever, save in sporadic cases, has been known north of Memphis, and there has been no serious visitation of the cholera since 1832. When the cholera appeared in Europe It was very destructive in London and Paris in 1830-31, and was a fearful scourge in St. Petersburg. But since 1832 neither Western Europe nor Amer ica has had serious visitation of chol era. The explanation lies in the fact that quarantine measures are strictly enforced among enlightened nations that are incapable of enforcement among Orientals. Furthermore, science has discovered that the most fertile source of cholera epidemic Is polluted drinking water. - It is said that when the cholera last visited Paris persons who drank nothing but bottled mineral waters all escaped the disease. The disease was spread in one district by ignorant women washing the clothing and bed ding of the cholera patients in the brooks and streams connecting with the water supply. Pure drinking water is difficult to get in Oriental countries, and the natives are hopelessly filthy in their habits and absolutely indifferent to the importance of keeping the drinking water free from all chance of pollution. The same condition of ignorance of and Indifference to sanitary laws prevails today In Asia that prevailed all over Europe in the Middle Ages and as late as the close of the seventeenth century. In the fourteenth century the plague destroyed in Europe, it Is estimated, not less than 25,000,000 of people. Eng land suffered so terribly that labor was scarce and demanded and obtained high wages. The plague ravaged London as late as the reign of Charles II, and the great fire which followed burned up the filthiest part of the city, so that the pestilence never reappeared. The city of the Middle Ages had no drains or sewers of any sort. None of the domes tic decencies of life were respected, and the result was a state of frightful filth out of whose tainted atmosphere, soil and water finally stalked death in vari ous forma When Asia enforces the measures of Western Europe against the plague and the cholera, Asia will be as exempt from these dreadful diseases as Europe. PROTECTION OF GAME. The members of the Fish and Game Association at their last meeting ex pressed apprehension that the Mongo lian pheasant, the finest and most beau tiful of all our game birds, Is destined to an early extinction, ahd recommend ed that the law be changed so that none of these birds should be put on sale in the markets. In our judgment this change would only hasten the exter mination of the birds. The people would favor, we believe, complete stop page of the shooting of these birds for a term of years, but while it might be possible to enact an odious law, it would not be easy to enforce It, and to pass a law allowing only sportsmen to hunt and eat Mongolian pheasants would be to invite everybody who was not a sportsman to violate the law directly or Indirectly by buying the birds of lawless pothunters. The general public would say the pub lic ought not to be taxed to protect a game'bird only to furnish recreation and game dinners for the sportsmen and their friends. If they are to have ail the game that is shot, so that none can be legally purchased in market or out side of it, the general public cannot be fairly asked to protect game for the recreation of a small portion of the pub lic. The people of the state are inter ested as a whole in the preservation of its game birds, but they are not In terested 33 a whole in the preservation of these game birds If they are destined when shot only for the pot of the sports men and their friends. This kind of a law would at once put a premium on poachers, for the general public would say, if the law makes it impossible for us to buy a pheasant In market, we will do our best to get our bird without the open market. The birds that are now shot in the market season would be shot just the same, only they would be shot earlier and sold secretly. A law that would im press the public as only for the benefit of a favored class would make enemies all around, but a law which prohibited all shooting of these birds for a term of years would Impress the public as fair and not open to criticism as class legislation. Perhaps the best protection, the only effective protection, for the Mongolian pheasant is to convince the farmer that it would pay him to protect his lands from trespass and make sportsmen pay for the privilege of shooting on his grounds. It is reported that the present scarcity of Mongolian pheasants is due to the fact that when the birds are about half grown, in July, they are hunted down by the boys of the neighborhood. The farmers are too good-natured to make any protest against the young fellows killing the blrdo, and this will always be the situ ation, no matter what laws you pass, unless the farmers could become satis fied that strict protection of the birds and renting out their shooting to sports men whose killing should be limited to a certain number of birds, would pay them for the trouble of preventing an invasion of lawless hunters at midsum mer. Unless it can be made for the In terest of the farmers to protect the birds, the days of the Mongolian pheas ant are few in the land. The beauty of the bird and his excellence for the table will be fatal to his existence unless farmers find It worth while to abstain from killing him and insist on absten tion in others. In the old states of the East it is not difficult today to make a fair bag of ruffed grouse, quail, snipe and wood cock. The Springfield Republican had letters recently describing a successful hunt of this sort in the woodland near Boston, and in the Berkshire Hills and the Valley of the Housatonic, and there is plenty of excellent quail shooting to be had on Long Island. In these old, thickly settled states wild birds do not seem to become extinct. It Is not be cause of game laws, for our Iawe are as strict as those of the East. It must be due to the fact that either there are fewer wing shots or perhaps fewer per sons who can afford the time and" the money it costs to reach the hunting grounds. The Oregonlan ventures to ask why the woodcock is not colonized in Ore gon. We have the snipe, and the wood cock Is found in the same climate at the East. It is found nil over New Eng land, is found in New York and New Jersey, and in the Middle West. Why not in Oregon? It is a fine bird, as large aa our Oregon quail, and much more difficult to shoot. Foreign grouse and partridges are colonized In Oregon, and why not try the woodcock, which is a far finer bird for the table than our Oregon quail or snipe? The announcement of the death of Mrs. J. C. Card, whosa funeral took place yesterday, has been heard with sorrow and regret by her . many friends In this city. She had been for some years prominently identified with public work in womanly ways, and will in these lines be greatly missed. As first president of the Woman's Club, as a member for some years of the board of managers of the Baby Home, as presi dent of the floral section of the State Horticultural Society, in which' capacity she managed several chrysanthemum and rose shows in this city successfully, she showed executive ability of a fine order and an energy that was tireless. The last six months of her life were clouded by suffering and shadowed by impending death, yet she bore herself bravely in the face of the enemy until at the last death came to be a friend whose coming she hailed with gladness. The impress of her endeavor will long remain upon the community. The Chinese Government levies no Import tax on American flour and wheat for the same reason that Great Britain makes no exaction when these commodi ties are admitted in her territory. The Chinese and the British need our wheat and flour, and they buy it only when they are unable to buy it elsewhere on equal or better terms. Any additional cost which would result from the levy ing of a tax would fall not on the Amer ican shippers, but upon the people who are levying the tax. Japan had a flour import duty a number of years ago, but as soon as her demands for flour and wheat increased beyond her moderate home production she abolished the duty. The American flour trade in the far East will continue to grow as the ad vantages of wheat as food become known to the Orientals, and not until they promise to figure as exporters of wheat and flour will an import duty be levied on our products. ' We are indicted as follows by the Salem Journal: A granger who scatters a few handsful of nickels among the children to see them scram ble has his picture printed and the scene de picted In the great Oregon newspaper. A de serving young lawyer, like Webster Holmes, of Salem, who has only good will toward every body, is pictured In the same paper to look like Rev. Mr. Parsons, the Methodist minister. That Is metropolitan Journalism, holding up the tri fling and trampling on the deserving young man struggling to make a name for himself. We certainly offer Mr. Holmes all due apologies. If an artificial resemblance to Mr. Parsons is calculated to blast his career. But what has Parsons done to earn such obloquy? The man who makes two blades of grass grow where 6nly one grew before is not a circumstance to the man who tears up wooden walks and puts down cement. There are a few enterprising Portlanders who have laid thousands of feet of cement walks about their properties. They deserve a monument. The sympathy of the corrmunlty will go out to the family of Mr. J. W. Fuller. A loving husband - and father, whose mental difficulties are due to excessive work and worry In business, his mys terious fate is one to arouse the keen est interest among all who know him. The National Sanitary Convention censures San Francisco for Its Inefficient handling of the bubonic plague. Which will not, of course, inconvenience the entire population of that city from re affirming its solemn oath that there never was any plague there. Oregon and Washington mills are so busy that the Government almost de spairs of getting lumber for the Philip pines in time. Serves the Government right. Why did it adopt .the gold stand ard and restore peace In the Philip pines? It Is a fine thing for the Manufac turers Association to get together in in formal banquets like the one of last evening Nothing is more needed in Portland than "the cultivation of friendly social relations among its business men. Lord Roberts ami His Titles. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Roberts, Earl of Kandahar, Pretoria and Waterford, Viscount of St. Pierre. P. C. K. P., G. C. B., G. C. S. I., G. C. I. E., V. C, D. C. L., LL. D., proposes to come to the United States early next year. Hadn't he better wait till that 750-foot Cunarder is put In commission? Some of his alphabet might get wet. CENTENNIAL AND SPECIAL SESSION Time No O-bJcct. union Republican. Yes, an extra session ia badly needed. It would save Tour or five weeks of time. This, of course, is sufficient to justify the, great expense of the extra oesrfon (?). Lane In Apathetic. Eugene Register. Only 11 Lane County people signed the. petition asking Governor Geer to call a special session, and that is about the ex tent of special session sentiment in this county. "Portland Agitators" Is Good. Astoria Astorian. Senator Corbett Is out with the state ment that the Legislature must give ?500, 000 to the Lewis and Clark Fair, or else It will not be held. We believe the amount asked will be readily forthcoming and that the needs of the centennial require it. The state can afford to make this contri bution to the worthy cause, and will make it unless the Portland agitators succeed in creating enough hostility to hold up the appropriation. Let Senator Corbett ad vance Portland's suggestions and the Leg islature will act promptly upon them, but keep those agitators In the background! IIr.lt r. 3I1H1 on Too Much. larsrfficld Mall. The Lewis and Clark Fair is a business proposition. The state will reap great benefits from the Fair If properly planned and conducted, and this Is the only thing that makes It desirable that the Fair should be held, .or that the state at large should contribute for Its support. Whether $300,000 should te appropriated out of the state fund Is a very open question. To a Coca County taxpayer It looks to be en tirely too large a sum. This section would get no adequate returns for Its contribu tion. The Fair will be a mint for Port land. Let Portland "put up." If she wants the Fair. If a JoOO.OjO contribution Is needed, the Mail would suggest that the state give a reasonable sum and Portland make up the balance. Absolutely Without Merit. Astoria A3torlan. If the fair Is not meritorious enough to bo a success without a special session of the Legislature, it ought to be dropped. Of, course. It Is plain to every one that Portland wants not only a S300.0CO appro priation, but a United States Senator cr, well. The Oregonlan has no one to blame for this combination of politics and busi ness but the people of Its own town, and all Its misrepresentation will not hide the real object of the advocates of a special cession. It may be noted with -gratification that fho sentiment for an extra s&i olon. even in Portland, Is dying out, . for the proposal was absolutely without merit. Oregon will do anything reasonable to help the fair, but it will not be held up by the people of Portland. Experience Against It. Albany Democrat. In Oregon a great deal has been said about an extra session of the State Legis lature to secure what is alleged to be In the minds of some, -needed legislation. There are two factions at work for the session, one which took the Initiative, which wants a law passed providing for flat salares for nil state officials. In the Interest of economy and numerous other things, and the other In the Interest of a big appropriation for the Lewis and Clark exposition. The Democrat ls In favor of the flat salary proposition, but it ls very doubtful If an extra session of the State Legislature would settle It, and the people of the state would be at a large ex pense on an experiment. The general ex perience has been very decidedly against extra sessions of either state or national bodies. The truth Is, we have too much legislation as it is at the regular sessions, and It sometimes seems as if It would be better for the country If Legislatures and Congress did not meet as often as they do. Too Many Chances for Jobbery. Elgin Recorder. The Oregon taxpayers have good reasons for dreading even the regular sessions of the Legislature and they will doubtless look with suspicion upon the effort now being made to have Governor Geer call an extra session, a short time prior to the beginning of the regular session, although a special session at the present time might prove quite a benefit to the state at large. There has probably never been a time In the history of the state when the condi tions were so favorable for Jobbing the taxpayers as the present. The election of a United States Senator, the proposed ap propriation of a half-mllllon dollars for the Lewis and Clark exposition, and the numerous raids being planned on the State Treasury by the various state institutions, indicate a condition of affairs that may well cause the taxpayers to view the situ ation with apprehension. Under existing circumstances it would probably be better for those who foot the bills if Governor Geer would convene the Leglslatuse In special session to dispose of the more Important measures, prior to the beginning of the regular session. Invoke the Referendum. Dufur Dispatch. We are sorry to see the Portland papers making faces about taking the medicine they prepared for themselves. Of course, they are not really frightened about leav ing this $500,000. appropriation to a vote of the people, but, like the boy passing the graveyard at night, they are whistling pretty loudly. The using of the referen dum, on this fair appropriation, would be a severe lesson for Oregon, and partic ularly for Portland, but It ls a lesson that ls richly deserved. It ought to be In voked! When the press of Oregon, with all Its leading statesmen. Including 913 of Its standing candidates for United States Senator, advocates nd carries through an amendment that makes it possible for a minority of the voters of the state to change the state constitution in four months, no lesson Is too severe. The Tax payers' League of Portland ls asking for an extra session of the Legislature for the purpose of finding out whether or not the Initiative and referendum Is self-operative. We would suggest that It might be cheaper for the taxpayers to hire a lawyer. If we haven't one in the Attorney-General's office, and ask his opinion about It. Danger In Failure to Act. Salem Capital Journal. The Oregonlan says all that can be done at a regular scfision of the general assembly can be done at a special ses sion. If thnt is true there ls all the more reason why the work should be done at a special session. Take the office of State Printer. If all can be done at a special session that can be done at a regular ses sion, that office can be put on a salary, and all the cost of the special session saved on that one office alone. Is there any excuse then for these prominent Re publicans not holding a special session and saving the people from ten to twenty thousand dollars a year on this office alone? The bills for tho flat salary law can be drafted and made ready to pass, and not take over 10 days for that pur pose, and In that time no Senator could be elected. If flat salaries are right four years hcni-e, they are much more so right now. If the referendum ls In full force and effect now, that amendment Implies legislation In Its final clauses now, and not at some future time. If we have a world's fair at all It shoud be set upon Its feet now, and not wait until It will be come difficult and doubtful whether any thing can be done. Let Governor Geer and the thinking men In the Republican party analyze thin situation fully and fairly, and they will see that failure to act or refusal to act on any fallacious plea whatever is fraught with danger to themselves, and will work Incalculable Injurj- to the commonwealth. GENERAL BOOTH AND HIS FAMILY The Independent. The decline in public interest In thl3 country In the Salvation Army began with the secession of Commander Balllng ton Booth and Mrs. Booth to organize the Volunteers seven years ago. Since then, two others' of General Booth's children, who had devoted their lives to the Sal vation Army, have withdrawn from It, unable to submit to the conditions under which it was controlled by their father. One can perhaps Imagine the pain which such a decision Involved, much greater than In the case of hundreds of others who have withdrawn, but who were riot forced to resist such strong parental in fluences. The last of these secessions la that of Mrs. Eooth-Clibborn, who was regarded as the special successor of her noble mother. I One of tho chief blunders thnt "Gen eral" Booth has made Is his evident at tempt to establish a family dynasty. His conduct would be called nepotism In a secular army. Tho chief posts of hener are given to his children or to his daugh ters' husbands, in which latter case the daughter has equil or superior authority with her husband. It Is a matter of com mon report that the four daughters agreed, at their father's desire, that they would never marry anyone who would not accept their superior authority in Army matters, and Mrs. Booth-Cllb-born's unwillingness to maintain the con tract led to severe rebuke from London ! and was one cause of her final withdraw al. Where the son-in-law has, as has Booth-Tucker In the United States, the title of commander, the wife holds a unique title, hero that of consul, and her authority is nominally equal to that of the commander, but really It Is supreme. Until protests were made by the staff she always signed her name above the com mander's on official documents. A curious illustration of this nepotism occurred In the appointment of Lucy, an Immature girl not 20 years old, to be commander of the Army In IndTa. In this case competent and experienced officers were passed by, and the result has been anything but happy. The peculiar con ditions of the country, the Intricate diffi culties of caste and tribal differences, the complexities of officeshlp and sol diery, made the post of leader one of ex ceptional responsibility, only to be filled by a man of the greatest experience, de votion and ability. Such men the Indian Army possessed, men who had grown up with the movement, and by years of self-sacrificing toil established them selves In the esteem and affection of the rank and file. But the "general," to the amazement of the entire Army, appointed his youngest daughter, not out 'of her teens. The work was all but wrecked; the best officers were driven from the ranks, and the work received a shock from which It still suffers. It ls our impression that a very con siderable reconstruction of the work of the Salvitlon Army Is to be desired, but that It is not possible so long as the "general" does not retire. The Army is topheavy with officers. The "target" system encourages activity, but It also promotes slovenliness of discipline. A "target" is set before each officer, eo many more soldiers, meetings, conver sions, War Crys sold: a promotion de pends on the reports that can be maTIe. What shall an officer do, sent to a post where his predecessor's reports do not seem borne out by the conditions found? Will he be willing to confess a failure and lose favor at headquarters? That the Salvation Arniy has done a noble work we acknowledge and affirm. We know It has attracted a multitude of enthusiastic and devoted people who have spent their young lives In its service. Eut we know, too, that a multitude of Its best officers have left It. led by those highest In authority, and by the "gen eral's" favorite children. The British army was found to bo wanting in South Africa, not In the courage of its soldiers, but In Its staff. Downing stre needed sweeping, and sweeping changes are needed In the Salvation Army. Outcome of the Water Cure Libel. New York Commercial Advertiser. A Washington dlspctch In the Tribune this morning gives facts and a miserable showing they make in regard to the charges which the antis brought against the American soldiers In the Philippines In connection with the water-cure method of torture. Sifted down, the evidence which the anti committee offered, with veritable shrieks of horror, seems to substantiate only one case, and this has no relation to the Regular Army, but to officers and men long ago discharged from the Volunteer service. The way in which the antls met tho request of the Judge Advocate-General of the Army, to whom tho charges were referred by Secretary Root for investi gation, was eminently characteristic. They referred his letter to their legal adviser, and the latter, ignoring all the charges except one, sent some affidavits In regard to that, and annexed to them an anti tirade against Secretary Root, containing nearly 100 unsupported charges against him for suppressing and distort ing evidence of Inhuman cruelty on the part of the Army in the Philippines. Only that, and nothing more. Secretary Root is quite Justified in treating critics of this caliber with con temptuous silence. They have ceased to have the slightest Influence with the pub lic, and have driven away from their company every independent In the land whose mind ls performing its functions properly. What Constitutes Usefulness. Henry Cabot Lodge In Success. The man of business who devotes his surplus wealth to the promotion of edu cation or of art. or to the alleviation of suffering. Is doing public service. So, too, among business men and lawyers and journalists, among the men engaged In the most energetic and active pursuits, we find those who are always ready to serve on committees to raise money for charitable or public purposes, to advance Important measures of legislation, and to reform the evils which are specially rife In great municipalities. To do this they give their money, as well as their time and strength, which are of more value than money, to objects wholly out side the labors by which they support themselves or their families or gratify , their own tastes or ambitions. Thus they meet the test of what constitutes use fulness In a citizen by rendering to the country, to the public, and to their fel low citizens, service which has no per sonal reward In It. but which advances the good of others and contributes to the welfare of the community. Qua Gursum Ventus. Arthur Hugh Clough. As ships, becalm'd at eve. that lay Wlth canvas drooping, side by side. Two towers of call at dawn of day Are scarce long league apart descried; When fell the night, upsprung the breeze. And all the darkling hours they plied. Nor dreamt but each tho self-same seas ' By each was cleaving, side by side: E'en so but why the tale reveal Of those, whom year by year unchanged. Brief absence Joln'd anew to feel. Astounded, soul from soul estranged? At dead of night their sails were flll'd. And onward each rejoicing steer'd Ah. neither blame, for neither will'd. Or wist, what first with dawn appear'd! To veer, how vain! On, onward strain. Bravo barks! In light, in darkness, too. Through winds and tides one compass guldes To that, and rour own selves, be true. But O blithe breeze! and O great sees. Though ne'er, that earliest parting past, On your wide plain they Join again. . Together lead them home at last! One port, methought. alike they sousht. One purpose hold where'er they fare O bounding breeze, O rushing seas! At last, at last, unite them there! NOTE AND COMMENT. Seattle Is now announcing to theworld "If anybody's It, I'm them." The open season for Ghlnamen is over, so the Municipal Court declares. The officials of Portland have let down their back hair and gone for the crimps. General Botha says his purpose and aim have been condemned by Europe. Smooth Boers are now out of date. The fact that Colombia is slow to adjust the Panama Canal business Is good evi dence that more revolutions are needed. When a New York Judge sentenced a negligent automoblllst to six months' Im prisonment he administered swift punish ment. From all reports, the officials In Wash ington are saying to each other, quietly, of course: "In time of peace, prepare for Miles." Now that the New York preachers are going to act as dramatic critics, we may expect a tremendous revival of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The youngster who slips out of the back door tonight in order to deport a neighbor's gate wiil discover that his dad brought home a shingle. A grouse mistook the date, and, think ing yesterday was Hallowe'en, tried to look Into a plate-glass door on Park ave nue. The bird was found dead. Probably she saw that her "fate" was a pot hunter. Nov. is the season when the young man rolls up his trousers at the bottom and seeks the house of a maid where there is a fireplace. Summer In a hammock Is bliss, but Winter by the sldo of a pink and white girl with kind eyes seems to be more attractive. There Is always the fire to poke up when the conversation grows dimmer than the light. President Cleveland has emerged from his life of Innocuous desuetude with a re habilitated vocabulary. He has always been fond of the sesquipedalian vocable, but In yesterday's speech he displays a new and enlarged assortment, all neatly arranged in pairs. He is reported to have said once In a moment of confidence that the end of every properly constituted man was two legs; therefore, every bodily perfect clause should stand on two latl tudlnous words. But In Mr. Cleveland's present address the words wear over shoes. Infantile reasoning leads to belief In a plurality of deities In the case of a diminutive Portlander. The other day he rushed In to his mother and cried: "Mamma. I've come from Sunday school!" "Yes, dear; what did you learn?" "Teacher, she says God can come just this quick!" and he swung his arm swiftly. "Yes. dear. But God ls always here and everywhere." The lad pondered a moment. Then he said earnestly: "Gee, there must be a lot of "em." The old poplars on lower Couch street have gone. Many a sea-worn salt has sat beneath those stately but unappreci ated vegetables and spun a yarn as twlst e'd and kinked as his language. But prog ress, which has no respect for the aged, has decreed that these seven sleepers of the forest shall be cut off from the land. The wandering reporter In search of an elu sive Item along the water front has often discerned, as he supposed, the almost Il legible initials of some couple who sat against one of the sturdy trunks many years ago. Possibly with the felling of these trees will disappear forever the traces and memoirs of the happiest hours In the lives of two, now In separate graves. The story comes about a little boy whose parents spend their Summers on Clatsop Beach. It came to pass upon a day that this youngster went out along the banks of a slough to play. An hour afterward he was dragged out of the water by the hair of his head and taken home to dry. His mother put him to bed and rubbed him down with divers evil smelllng liniments, In order that his blood might flow within him. When all was done that maternal anxiety could think of, the mother said: "Billy, don't you think you ought to return thanks to God for saving your life?" There was a long silence. Then a weak voice came from under the blanket: "I s'pose so. mamma, but I held on to the gwass myself." A young girl who has elected to earn a little spending money by securing a can vassing outfit and taking orders for holi day books called the other day at a neat cottage on the East Side and was met at the door by a middle-aged woman, who appeared somewhatinterested In the sub ject of books, but did not find anything on the agent's list exactly to her liking. "What I like to read about," she ob served, "are the lives of great men." The agent Immediately turned to her cata logue a"nd produced the "lives" of Mc Klnley. Washington. Daniel Webster and others. The woman looked dubiously at tho Illustrious names, remarking finally: "Yes. I suppose they would be Interesting, but I think I would rather have the Hve3 of Tracy and Merrill." PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPIIERS "Didn't you hear the doorbell. Bridget?" "Yes, mum." "Well, why didn't you answer It?" "I did answer it; I said 'Oh. fudge! mum." Yonkers Statesman. Passer-by Whoy. wherever be gwoln', Jarge, thl3 tolme o' day? Jarsc Oh. w'm a-go!n' Into the town to zee this 'ere Comet as they tells about! Punch. Aunt Arthur, how does It happen that Willis Jones is promoted at school so much oftener than you other boys arc? Arthur Huh! His fatl-er's a promoter! Chicago Dally New3. "Did the great author talk for publication when he landed In Xew York?" "Certainly. He wouldn't have had any thins to correct the noxt day If he hadn't." Cincinnati Commer ial Tribune. "You admire that musician?" "Very much," answered Mr. Cumrox. "For his composition! or for his performances?" "Neither. For his nerve in charging $5 a seat." Washington Star. Now. that Yale College has honored a dialect poet with a degree, we trust that Billvllle Uni versity will be equally generous end make the Yale professors honorary members of the Lit erary Barbecue Society. Atlanta Constitution. A Happy Town. An automobile occupied by a gentleman and his wife passed through here early Monday morning, cn TOute to Jacksonville. The vehicle attracted a great deal of attention from those of our citizens who happened to be up at the early hour in which It passed through. Girard (111.) Observer. A Wicked Swindler. A clever swindler has victimized about 150 members of the Vermont Assembly by collecting 51 50 each from them for a photographic souvenir which he did not deliver. It was a shameful outrage to thus deceive the guileless Green Mountain Legisla tors. Such wickedness should be confined to Etates like Pennsylvania, where a little Joke of that kind would be regarded as .a legltlmata spoiling of the Egyptians. As It Is. this heart less robbery will be told to coming generations of the descendants of these men who have found the dangers of a great city "to be about them aa they walked the streets of Montpeller. Boston Transcript.