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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1903)
THE MORNING OREGONIAS. THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1903. Entered at the Postofflce at Portland. Oregon, as second -class matter. REVISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. Er Mall (postage prepaid, Jn advance) Ballr. with Sunday, per month. .-.J0.S5 Daily. Sunday excepted, per year.- 7.50 Dally, with Sunday, per year.. 8.00 Sundajr. per year i 2.00 Jhe Weekly, per year 1.50 The Weekly. 3 months 50 To City Subscribers allr. per week, delivered. Sunday exeepted.ISc DaUy. per week, delivered. Sunday lncluded.20e POSTAGE KATES. .-UaJteI States. Canada and Mexico: 10 to 14-page paper. ....lc 1 to SS-page paper...... Fore Jen rates double. News or discussion Intended for publication In The Oregonlan should be addressed Invaria bly "Editor The Oregonlan." not to the name of any Individual. Letter relating to adver ting, subscrlpticn or to any business matter ehould be addressed simply "The Oregonlan." The Oregonlan does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re turn any manuscripts sent to It without solici tation. No stamps should b inclosed for this Purpose. Eastern Business Office. 43. 44. 45. 47. 48. 49 Tribune building:. New Tork City; 510-11-12 Tribune building. Chicago: the S. C. Beckwlth Special Agency. Eastern entatlve- -For sale In San Francisco by L. E. Lee. Tal ce Hotel news stand; Goldsmith Bros.. 233 Sutter street; F. "W. Pitts. 100S Market street: J. K. Cooper Co.. 748 Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Foster & Orear. Ferry news stand; Frank Scott, 60 Ellis street, and N. Wheatley, 813 Mission street. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 259 South Spring street, and Oliver & Haines, 203 South Spring street. For sale in Kansas City, Mo., by Rlcksecker Clear Co., Ninth and "Walnut streets. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. 217 Dearborn street, and Charles MacDonaJd. 63 Washington street. For sale In Omaha by Barkalow Bros., 1612 Farnam street; Megeath Stationery Co., 1308 Farnam street. For sale In Ogden by W. G. Kind, 114 25th street; Jas. II. Crockwell. 212 25th street. For Bale In Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co.. 77 West Second South street. For a!e In Washington. D. C, by the Ebbett House news stand. For sale In Denver. Colo., by Hamilton & Kendrick, 900-012 Seventeenth street; Lou than & Jackson Book and Stationery Co.. Fifteenth nd Lawrence streets; A. Series. Sixteenth and Curtis streets. TODAY'S WEATHER Partly cloudy, with probably occasional light rain or snow; west erly winds. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem perature, 40; minimum temperature, 34; pre cipitation, 1.37 Inches. PORTLAND, THURSDAY, MARCH 12. SENATOR MORGAN'S EFFORT. Senator Morgan's light against the Panama Canal is earnest and able, but will not prevail. His preference for the Nicaragua project Is founded on rea sons that ought to have weight with the Senate; but the majority of the Sena tors .have committed themselves, too hastily, -we think, to Panama, and Mr. Morgan la talking to a body that has fully made up its mind against his con tention. The extent of Senator Mor gan's inquiry Into the subject Is as sur prising aa the readiness and versatility with which he discusses all parts of it. He not only maintains that the Nica ragua route is better for the United States better both for construction and for operation but that if we adopt the Panama scheme we shall have difficul ties of every kind, both with the Pan ama Company and with the govern ment of Colombia, and, moreover, shall have a bargain of the worst possible description, in these particulars, 'to-wlt: "We undertake to pay the Panama Ca nal Company $40,000,000 for the work as it stands; to complete the canal "will cost at least $140,000,000 more; then Co lombia must have $25,000,000 for the right of way and an annual payment of 5100,000 for 100 years for the right to operate making $10,000,000 more; In all, the sum of $215,000,000, and at the end of the lease (100 years) we are to give back the canal and the railroad with it to the government of Colombia. Fur ther, Senator Morgan contends that we shall be Involved in continuous difficul ties, of International bearing, since the work done on the canal by the old com pany belongs to Colombia; that that government is Justly bound for the debts of the company, since it has not relinquished and refuses to relinquish its right of sovereignty and of claim to the property, and hence that no title to the canal can be given but by the Colombian Congress, which that Con gress refuses to grant This Is a very formidable presenta tion. "Whether Senator Morgan is cor rect or not in his assumption that we are buying Into complications of so grave a character, with the French owners and with the government of Co lombia, the other parts of his statement as to cost of the concession and our ob ligation to give up at the end of 100 years a property that has cost us so great a sum, ought to be met as ques tions of fact. Let us see if any of the advocates of the Panama purchase can meet Senator Morgan on this ground. "We want an Isthmian canal, but are in no way obliged to such terms to get it; for Nicaragua Is offered as an alterna tive, and there is good reason for supposing that route as easy at least as Panama, and certainly it would be a shorter route for interchange of the commerce of the two coasts of the United States. Again, as to the relin quishment at the end of 100 years we certainly shall be even more in want of the canal at that time than we are now. But the Senate somehow has been hypnotized with Panama, and It can hardly be expected that the cautionary efforts of Senator Morgan will suffice to avert what there seems reason to fear will be a great mistake. "We can have better terms In Nicaragua, and above all, If we go to Nicaragua we shall have a canal permanently our own, on a route between the opposite coasts of the United States shorter by many days than that of Panama. HONESTY THi-l BEST POLICY. It was recently discovered that bonds of Milwaukee to the amount of $4,416, 500, all Issued since 1S9S, were Invalid through a technical flaw In their au thorization. This decision, though it rendered the securities legally worth less, did not seriously disconcert the holders of the bonds. The statement went forth that these bonds, though worthless as waste paper, were good as gold. It was an honest debt and Mil waukee would recognize and pay it, though technical infirmity might reside In the evidences of It Some months ago a New Tork broker lent his influence and service to a covert attack upon the Northern Pacific Railway and the arrangement by which the Hill-Morgan merger was effected. "Whatever the merits or demerits of this transaction, the method of attack was such that nobody of repute would stand for it, and when It was finally traced home punishment was visited upon the perpetrator ia the. form of suspension from the Stock Exchange, of which he was a member. This is ra heavy pen alty, but the circumstances were deemed to warrant It. There had been no Infrac tion of statute, but good: faith sod hon-, est practice as understood in "Wall street had been violated, cd the incident could not be permitted to pass unpun ished. Such occurrences as these are com paratively common. The law Is power less to correct such Infirmities or breaches. Milwaukee might argue that a municipal corporation, whose acts are in the form of statutes and ordinances, of which all men are supposed to be Informed, ought not to abide by the terms of an invalid contract. Likewise the New Tork stock broker might set up the claim that nobody should inter fere with his liberty of action within the law of the land. The significant thing about both, cases is the recognition of some standard of common honesty and of the value of such honesty as an asset in the business world. Milwaukee holds her credit high. She performs her con tracts, not because the harsh agencies of the law would compel her to do so, but because she has & sense of justice, of what is fair and honorable between citizens and communities. The New Tork broker held his honor cheap. He is of the kind which respects the rights J or omers only when a policeman is pres ent. Both these instances testify to the value of honesty In business from some .other motive than fear of the law. But for this higher conception of the duties and privileges of citizenship, of civic virtue if our people had no more of these qualities than are embodied in the statutes of the land we aa a people would be in a bad way. FRIENDLY REBUKE OF MR. BRYAN The exalted moral standards of Mr. TV. J. Bryan never appeared to better advantage than In the remarks he ad dressed on Tuesday to the state con vention of Michigan Democrats. The Nebraskan's practice 'justifies his preaching; for, on all the stages he has occupied, the virtues of our Christian civilization have been signally exempli fied. As an actor, for example, he avoid ed the wicked profligacy which some of our eminent comedians, for example, have exhibited. He never squandered thousands In a night's debauch- He was a bad actor and probably never earned over $17.50 a week and find him self. As a soldier. Colonel Bryan forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne or shut the gates of mercy on anything or anybody. His sword rusted lnglorlously in its sheath on Tampa's desert strand. As an editor, also, Mr. Bryan found, his crimes confined. He never debauched public opinion with the powerful en gine of the Omaha "World-Herald, for, reprehensible though his views may have been, the vehicle was inadequate to the outrage, though we understand the paper is still published. Nor can the machinations of the venal corpora tion lawyer "be charged to his account; for such are his attainments In the legal profession that no corporation we ever, heard of secured his services, or sought them. Of his private virtues it would be superfluous to speak. He Is fond, we understand, of his own wife and children; and unless report errs, countless thousands have seen him at his religious devotions when no human eye was upon him. As an expounder of morality, then, Mr. Bryan is qualified; and this brings us to the Detroit ad dress, in which he remarks: There never was a time when there was a greater need for the application of Democratic principles than today. ... X could' not draw the line between Addicks, who wanted to buy a Senatorshlp with his own money and run It for his own Interests, and other men who buy office for a corporation and run It for the Interests of the corporation. . - . I cannot draw a dis tinction between the men who sell their votes for $5 and the one who makes a million trading In party politics. I remember a case where J. P. Morgan made millions on a matter of Repub lican policy. Though the line of thought here is left, with true Bryanic Indirection, to inference, it Is nevertheless as plain as the nose on your face. Democratic principles ere needed today because men are buying votes for Senatorahlps, and because stockjobbers are working Congress. Democratic principles, that Is to say, are merely a synonym for honesty, for uprightness. The man who buys a seat In the Senate, maybe Ad dicks, who Is not yet there, by the way, maybe Clark, maybe Kenney both of whom did get there as Democrats Is a Republican. The man who trades In the New Tork Stock Exchange on the "Wil son tariff bill, Gorman, for example, or Smith, of New Jersey, is a Republican. Simply apply Democratic principles to "Wall street and boodlers generally, and the world Is saved. A simpler gospel, or one at the same time more compre hensive, was never preached. One can only wonder, indeed, at Mr. Bryan's moderation. Or perhaps It was sheer Inadvertence in the confusion of the moment that he failed to enroll among the Democratic principles along with honesty such virtues as chastity, humility and benevolence. "We are un able to recall any justification in the history of the Democratic party, South or North, for excluding from the list of Democratic principles such graces as temperance and brotherly kindness. "We may mqdestly suggest to Mr. Bryan, therefore, that when next he has occa sion to expound Democratic principles he merely writes them down as the Dec alogue, the Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule, with Inferential inclu sion of Faith, Hope and Charity. It is not like him to err In this way on the side of eelf-restralnt- TDIUCEY'S PREPARATION FOR WAR. Turkey does not propose to be caught without preparation for war, even when conferring with the powers that plead for Justice to Macedonia; for on the 5th Inst, an trade was issued calling the troops of the Third Corps In Salonlca to the colors, and the Minister of "War is negotiating for the purchase of 270,000 kilogrammes of smokeless powder from Germany. The Macedonians have not become more peaceable since the pro mulgation of the reform scheme and the revolutionary scheme has clearly not been checked. It is a notorious fact that the present Sultan never kept his word when fulfillment of It was In trusted to agents appointed by himself, and It would not be a matter of sur prise if he should again break faith from force of habit If the promised reforms In Macedonia should not be carried out and Russia should Interpose by force of arms to compel their exe cution, the only obstacle to the success of Russia would be the possible Inter ference of Great Britain. Great Britain Interfered to save Tur key from victorious Russia in 1SS3, when the Czar's victorious arms had forced Turkey to sign a treaty which bound the Porte whenever Russia should be at war to close the Dardanelles to the warships of all other nations. Great Britain Interfered and prevented the execution of this treaty. In 1S33 Great Britain saved "the Turkish Empire from dissolution at the hands of the victori ous army of the son of Mehemet AH, the great paeha of Egypt, Great Britain saved Turkey again from Russia in the Crimean "War, which all enlightened Englishmen consider today was a blun der and an International crime. Great Britain committed another great blun der when, under Lord Beacons field, she Insisted that the treaty of San Stefano ehould be abrogated by the treaty of Berlin. This treaty included an article which provided for radical reform of the political abuses inflicted upon the Christian subjects of the Porte in Mace donia. No attempt has ever been made by the powers signatory to this treaty to enforce the provisions of that article so far as Macedonia is concerned, and there is small expectation that the Sul tan will now carry out the reforms that he has been constrained to promise. There is absolutely no hope for relief for Macedonia until the Turk is ex pelled from Europe, and the chief ob stacle to the expulsion of the Turk since 1832 has been Great Britain. Four times In seventy years Russia would have freed the Christians of European Tur key from the despotic rule of the in tolerant Moslem, but England in terfered and continued the occupation of Constantinople by the Sultan, whose government Is become a political ana chronism In Europe. The natural In quiry Is whether Great Britain, In event of Russia's undertaking by force of arms to compel the Sultan to right the wrongs of Macedonia by enforcing the pledge of the Berlin treaty, would again Interfere. Probably public opinion in Great Britain today would forbid such intervention, for England herself was one of the powers signatory to this pledge. The action of Beaconsfield was really repudiated by Great Britain, for the folf of his Ministry followed quick on the event of the Berlin treaty, and Gladstone's most effective thunder against the Tory government was its intervention in behalf of the Sultan. Turkey lost Greece In 1829, and lost Egypt a little later to another Moham medan dynasty. The treaty of Berlin In 1878 recognized the Independence of Servla, Roumanla and Montenegro; gave Bulgaria home rule under the Sul tan, gave Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austria. Since that date Crete has been given home rule, pays no tribute to the Porte, and its Governor Is a son of the ICIng of Greece. Macedonia remains, and the Sultan will fight to the last be fore he will relax his grip upon that province, for it extends to the Aegean Sea, and if it should become an inde pendent state or be occupied by another power, the position of Constantinople would be so weakened es to be not long tenable. Four hundred years ago the' empire of the Sultan stretched from Budapest, In Hungary, to the Persian Gulf, and the Turkish fleets ruled the Mediterranean until beaten at Lepanto by' the combined navies of Spain and Italy in the sixteenth century. Today the dominions of the Sultan have re ceded from the Danube so far that Macedonia is about all that is left of Turkey in Europe. The Sultan, if pushed to It, can put e million of men into the field, and he will never surren der Macedonia without a desperate struggle. A SOUND DECISION. If our Army is not purged thoroughly of unworthy. Incompetent officers whose military life has been extravagantly prolonged by political "pull," it will not be the fault of President Roosevelt, who recently vetoed a bill to place a former Army officer, Captain Edward L. Bailey, on the retired list with the rank held by him when he was dis missed the service in December, 1875. The beneficiary of this bill was found deficient two years running at the Mili tary Academy and discharged In Janu ary, 1865; from June to October of the same year he was in the volunteer Army, active operations having ceased; in March, 1867, he was appointed to the regular Army, and a year later was court-martialed and acquitted, the ac quittal being disapproved by the re viewing authority. In January, 1872, he was court-martialed and suspended for a month, and in November, 1875, he was cashiered for breach of arrest and gambling with enlisted men. Among the charges brought against him were drunkenness, insulting innocent women, falling to pay his debts, public associa tion with dissolute women, embezzlement-It Is perhaps not remarkable that such a man in the first ten years following the Civil War was court-martialed several times before he was expelled from the Army, for public opinion both within and without the Army was less severe in its standard of military vir tue than, it Is today, but it Is astound ing that "such a man should have been able twenty-eight years after his expul sion from the Army to secure from the Senate and the House of Representa tives, Including the military committee, of which Senator Hawley Is chairman, the Indorsement that he Is a fit man to be placed on the retired list of the reg ular Army, which Is theoretically estab lished as an honorable reward and house of refuge for upright officers who have become disabled through disease, wounds or old age from further active service to their country. "No act of special gallantry or conspicuous service marked the short period during which he was an officer," says the President, so that to reward a person with such a record by placing him on the retired list where he would draw pay for the rest of his life "would Involve a confusion between the treatment accorded to loyal and faithful service and that accorded to insubordination and unfaithful ser vice, which could not fall to be most prejudicial to the morale and efficiency of the Army." This Captain Bailey, who was dropped from "West Point In 1865 after two years' residence, was then probably 20 years of age, perhaps a little older; he cannot be far from 60 years of age today. Since his expulsion from the Army In 1875 he can not have reformed his life, or he would not be' under the necessity of asking for restoration to the Army at the cost of the resurrection and discussion of his infamous military record. There is nothing surprising that such a con temptible man should have the gall to ask for restoration, but the astonishing thing Is that Congress, after reading this man's record, should vote to put him on the retired list. Of course, the military committees were familiar with Bailey's record, for the very first busi ness of this committee is to call for the official record of all officers seeking res toration to the regular Array. That record was read by President Roosevelt and unquestionably was read by the military committee of the Senate. The startling thing is not the application of this wretched old parasite for restora tion, but that he should have influence to obtain it, and but for the President's veto would be today enjoying It. If such a man through political "pull" can get oo the retired list by vote of a Congress that was familiar with hl3 record, what sort of a man would Con gress regard as Ineligible to the retired list? Bailey had been repeatedly con victed of embezzlement, of drunkenness, of gross Immorality; he had never done any gallant service in the field; he was an altogether worthless person In 1875, and he Is nothing today but a wretched old hulk who wants to tie up for the rest of his days at the Government wharf. With such subordination to political "pull" in the military commit tees of Congress in time of peace, what wonder that in the hurry and bustle of the Spanish-American War and that In the Philippines a number of unworthy officers should have secured appoint ments upon the active Army list? But It is absolutely Inexcusable that today. In full face of his Infamous record of 1875, Congress should vote, to restore to the Army and place upon the retired list a man that twenty-eight years ago was expelled In disgrace from the active list of the Army. If the man had redeemed his disgrace by a- reformed life; If, as a man of mili tary education and experience, he had enlisted In the regular Army and done good service by sobriety and valor In the ten years following his expulsion from the regular Army, there might be come plea In abatement offered for his Immoral impudence In asking today for restoration to the Army, but he has done nothing to redeem his disgrace; he is nothing but a worthless man who ob tained political "pull" enough to secure restoration to an Army to which he never ought to have been appointed and certainly never ought to be restored. That he is not restored, In spite of the action of Congress, the country has to thank President Roosevelt, who de serves the thanks of every gallant offi cer upon the retired list for refusing to make It an asylum for aged and de cayed military convicts. Among the sites offered for the dry dock the choice should be made on care ful consideration, based on expert .knowledge, or on best knowledge that can be had, as to conditions favorable for a work of this character. Many sites have been offered, and the one feature of the offers that has been sur prising is the uniformity of high prices. Few among us had any- idea that river front property, of which there Is great extent below Portland, was rated so high. The Assessor doubtless will take note of this surprising fact As between prices for various sites, there is not much difference. The valuation at vari ous places, es has been remarked, is very much a matter of opinion. The real question Is, "What site should be chosen? Decision of this question re quires an expert knowledge, to which The Oregonlan does not pretend. It is in the hands of the Port of Portland Commission, composed of Intelligent and responsible men, who unquestion ably desire the best possible thing. They must consider what the site Is at each place offered, the bank, the bot tom, the currents and eddies, accessi bility by river and rail, and all other conditions that enter Into the problem. Such men as those of this commission must be trusted to do the work assigned to them. The one thing The Oregonlan must repeat Is Its expression of surprise at the high valuations placed on all riparian property down that way. Per haps the commission would do well to select Its site and then under the power of eminent domain call for a valuation.- Friends of Mrs. Maybrick In Amer ica are very confident she will be re leased from the English prison In which she has been confined thirteen years. She was charged with the murder of her husband and sentenced to imprison ment for life. Her name was Florence Chandler; she was a native of Mobile, Ala., and married a wealthy English man, once a resident of Norfolk, Va, She had very large land holdings In "Virginia, to which, upon her conviction, she resigned all claim for the sum of $10,000. A suit is now pending at Rich mond to upset this transfer, and It is believed the suit will be successful. Her friends say that assurance of her re lease has come through the British Min ister at "Washington, and they give May 1 as the date promised. During many years there has been constant effort to effect her release, on the ground that the proof against her did not warrant her conviction, but Queen Victoria never would listen to the petition. King Edward, unless the report errs, is dis posed to be more lenient The Albany Herald conveys the infor mation that throughout the First Con gressional District "there is a strong de mand for a man of firm and known con victions on certain great and vital ques tions which affect the great West" The name, we observe with regret. Is not mentioned, but that can be forgiven. What we really need to know Is where the Herald gets its Information as to the aforesaid demand. We should be glad of the name of a man, woman or child in the First District yes, or the Second either, that has ever expressed the desire indicated or would insist upon it in preference to a package of garden seeds. It is complained that the license tax to be paid on the stock of corporations bears hard on the plans of mining com panies. Many of these companies issue large amounts of stock for speculative purposes. So It Is said mining men will Invoke the referendum on the new act But Is it not an abuse of the IncorDora- tlon act when stock Is authorized and issued greatly beyond the Intention to have It paid up? And is it not a duty of the state to require that every cor poration shall be put on a sound basis? Whether the referendum In Oregon is to stand or not will depend very much on what use shall be made of It; or rather, whether It shall be used reason ably and rightly, or so abused as to annoy and put a check upon the reason able purposes of the people. If it Is to be merely an instrument In the hands of peevish, cranky and Irrational ob structlonlsts. it will not last long. There is a story that the entire sys tem of Flagler railroads and hotels in Florida has been sold out to a Morgan syndicate for $50,000,000. Such sale would virtually carry with it the sov ereignty of the State of Florida, which has been Flagler's servant for several years. Cheap and Bear. Philadelphia Record. Senator Spooners statement of his po litical account In the last campaign gives a total expense of $1300, of which $1000 consisted of a contribution to the Repub lican State Committee. The expense of Senator Pettus, of Alabama, for his last election was Just $1. But the expense of Senator Spooner for his election was doubtless exceedingly small in compari son with what It cost Addicks for hia final defeat A. BLOT OS THE RECORD. - Pniladelphia Bulletin. The failure of Congress to heed the plain demands of justice by reducing the tariff on imports from the Philippines Is & blot upon its record which goes far to Justify the caustic remarks of Senator Hoar in Its closing moments about the unfitness of-the Washington legislators to govern a subject race on the other side of the globe. The excuse of Ignorance cannot be urged in this instance. An abundance of official reports portraying the discouraging indus trial conditions In the Philippines had been brought to the attention of the members of both chambers: and these were rein forced by an energetic special message from the President only a few days ago, urging that Philippine products should, be admitted to the United States at lower rats of duty. The House has a reasonably clear con science in the matter, since It passed some time ago a bill cutting down the tariff on products from the Philippines to 25 per cent of the DIngley rates. The Senate emended the measure by making the re duction only 50 per cent instead of 75 and then failed to pass it It Is true that obstinate Democratic fili bustering is In part responsible for this result; and the men on the minority side who resisted this scant measure of justice to a subject people deserve to be publicly condemned. But the disgraceful" way In which the obvious obligation of the Na tion toward the wards whom it has an nexed at the point of the bayonet has been disregarded constitutes a striking illus tration of the fallacy of the" amiable the ory that In governing the Filipinos Con gress could be trusted to sink selfish par tisan considerations and to act with wise benevolence. THE SENATE STOCK EXCHANGE. New York Times. It is not the fanatical Senator Morgan or the conscienceless Senator Quay who is responsible for the harm that has been done. It is the majority of the Senate, and especially It is the very leaders who apparently suffered most Mr. Aldrlch. who lost his belated bank deposit bill, and Mr. Lodge, who lost his Philippine tariff bill, have been supporters and beneficiaries for many years of the sys tem that arms one or two Senators with fatally obstructive powers. Both of them are hidebound protection ists; both have been active and persistent advocates of the policy of "truck and dicker" by which the various Interests affected by the tariff have had their schemes forwarded in legislation; neither of them has led any effective oppo sition to the rules, the effect and aim of which are to foster log-roiling In the Senate. They may wince now when they seem to suffer from the working of the rules, but they have known for years that the rules worked in that way, and must do so, and they have never shown any eagerness to surrender the chances for Intrigue which the rules provided, and which their party constantly has seized and profited by. The present situation of the Senate is not one of helplessness. It is one of open guilt and deserved disgrace. The Senators maintain It because on the whole they Uko it and get advantage from it Their rules are of their own making, and can be unmade wnen tney wish. They do not change them because they know that these rules make of the Senate chamber and Its committee-rooms an exchange for exceedingly profitable traffic. Branch Banks Might Be Better. New York Journal of Commerce. The organization of small National banks seems to be going on at an accele rating pace, especially In tho growing parts of the West and South which are not fully supplied with banking facilities. Since the passage of the act of March 14, 1900, reducing the minimum capital re quired to $25,000 and making somewhat more liberal conditions for circulation, the number of National banks has increased from 3617 to 4515. Of the 12S6 organized' since then. 913 have a capital under $50, 000, tho former minimum. Fifty were organized during the month of February, 33 of which were those of small capital. It is to be understood that some of these are converted from the state system and some are reorganizations, so that all are not additions to the number of banking Institutions, while some National banks disappear by absorption or otherwise. The most notable thing In the record Is the increase In the number of small Inde pendent banks scattered among the small er towns, especially of the West and South. These are likely to prove an ele ment of weakness whenever a financial strain shall come. Their resources are small; they are dependent upon a local business at high rates, and the chance of imprudent management is great A system under which tho strong banks of the principal cities could establish branches where they were needed would supply facilities much more effectively, economically and safely than Is possible' through the multiplication of these little institutions. Stand toy It. McMlnnvllle News. We hear the question asked: What about the referendum of the Lewis and Clark appropriation bill; will it be sub mitted to the people? Why should It be? Are not the people satisfied with the appro priation of $500,000 for the 1S05 Fair? While the residents and taxpayers of our state may feel that this sum Is a trifle large, they realize the fact that should the bill be submitted to referendum and be de feated, it would bring shame and disgrace on our beautiful state and give us a black eye long to be remembered by our sister states around us who are all taking a hand with good large appropriations to help out the 1905 Fair. Before the bill ap propriating $500,000 by our Legislature was passed It was frequently asserted that the matter should be submitted to refer endum, but since its passage these asser tions have become less frequent Every one should be In favor of the Lewis and Clark Fair and help it along in every pos sible way, for It will be a great adver tisement for our state. "Government Bonds." "Government Bonds" Is the title of a book printed for the National City Bank of New York, for private circulation, by Robert Grier Cooke. As the title Indicates, everything about Government bonds, cou pon and registered, is told. There are also chapters on "Circulation," "Public De posits," "Bonds of Foreign Governments." "Treasury Regulations and Circulars" are given, as are also "Official Forms." such as resolutions, powers of attorneys, etc. At the close of the book Is given the tele graphic code In numbers and phrases. Tho book has for frontispiece a picture of thfc United States Treasury at Washington, D. C, and there is also a photogravure showing the Bank of England. The Devouring: Steel Trait Cleveland Leader. Tho steel trust continues to show signs of a deliberate and comprehensive policy of absorption of all other concerns in the same line of business which are of much Importance. Needless to say, its pur chases will have to be made at very high prices, and its policy will lead bold and ambitious men to establish 'new Iron and steel mills for the purpose of selling them to the big trust at a fat profit If that sort of thing goes far enough, there will be grave trouble ahead for the greatest of the industrial combinations. The Expansion of Salem. . Salem Journal. In the activity of real estate and the many new Improvements projected in this city. It is easy to see that the capital city has entered upon an era of expansion. Better streets and public grounds, finer residences and more beautiful surround ings for them, more convenient business and office buildings are only straws show, ing the line of progress. THE WORLD'S GREATEST SEAPORT Boston Herald, sir Henry D. Le Marchont, one of the directors of the London & India Dock Company, has, in the National Review, an article on the port of London, In which he demonstrates that it Is an entlrely mlstaken Idea that the commercial prom inence of London Is in any degree de clining In consequence of the growing prosperity of other European seaports. Thus, taking the tonnage of vessels en tering the great European ports during the year 1301, the following table of com parisons Is afforded: Tons. London .... 15,952,000 Liverpool 9.704.000 Hamburg S.3S3.C00 Antwerp 7,463.000 Rotterdam 6,382,000 G las grow 3,357.000 Hull 3,102.000 Southampton 2,502,000 Bristol 1,563.000 The London figures for the year 1S71 were 6.S4S.00O tons, and In 1SS1 10,001,000 tons, thus showing a material apprecia tion in the last 20 or 30 years. Sir Henry says, what Is indeed true, that the per centage of increase shown In London Is not so great as that of some of the other cities. But the percentage idea, he as serts. Is In certain ways delusive. Thus, If a new line were to be established be tween London and Rotterdam, giving by repeated voyages a total tonnage arrival at each port of 200,000 tons a year. In the case of London this would represent an increase of 1.25 per cent while the per centage of increase to Rotterdam would be 3.12 per cent, although In actual results the gains to the two ports would be alike. He further points out that certain ports like Southampton are largely ports of call. Thus, a streamer of the Hamburg American Lino stops at Southampton to drop or to take on a few passengers, and immediately the tonnage of the port Is credited with the tonnage of the stopping vessel, while ships only come to London for tho purpose of discharging or taking on cargo, and hen;e every increase in tonnage means increased cargoes, with all of the remunerative operations to the port which cargo bringing or going im plies. MR. HOWELL'S VIEW OF MATTER. President's Letter Entitled to Dae Consideration of Southerners. Commenting on the President's letter to its editor, Clark Howell, touching the matter of appointing colored men to Fed eral positions In the South, the Atlanta Constitution says: As the Constitution stated in discussing Mr. Edwards' letter, the people of the1 South would be more delighted than those of any other section to find that the Pres ident's position had been misunderstood, and It is but Just to the President to say that in the light of his own .assurances, coupled with the statement of Mr. Page and that qf Mr. Edwards, his words are entitled to due consideration and to the conservative thought of the Southern peo ple. The South would infinitely prefer to feel that the President sympathizes with its better sentiment than to bo forced to dwell In -the thought that Its people are living under an Administration hostile to all that to which the people of this sec tion cling most tenaciously in defense of their underlying civilization. It Is perhaps natural that the President under all circumstances, should not say as much in giving his vieW3 on this sub ject as has been said for. him by Mr. Edwards and Mr. Page, and yet the evi dent display of conservatism and friendly feeling In Mr. Roosevelt's utterance Is so. marked as to bespeak at least a sus pension of criticism with the view of rendering final Judgment upon the subse quent events of his Administration. There remains two years of his present term of office and, unless appearances are decep tive, Mr. Roosevelt will be renominated by his party as his own successor. Whether or not he will be elected is a different thing the Constitution hopes and believes that he will be succeeded by a Democrat but there Is abundant time in the two closing years of this Administra tion for the President to make good all that has been said for him as regards his attitude In the matter of Southern ap pointments. It Is a dreadful, uncanny thing for the South to be made to feel that it is not "at home in the house of its fathers." True, it Is there, and there to stay, to do Its duty loyally, faithfully and uncom plaininglybut how much better for the people of this section to know that they are close to the tnrob of the Nation's heart with the right hand of fellowship extended, with their sympathies respect ed, and their conditions appreciated, rather than that the association be one of open indifference or actual antagon ism! As for tho negro, he Is being treated more fairly in the South today than in any other part" of thp Union. The best people of both races understand each other. If there Is a problem it will work itself out in God's own way and in his appointed time. The result cannot be forced. To attempt to do It Is to lose all tho progress that has been made, to hinder Instead of to help the negro to make It harder .for those In the South who do understand him and his condi tions to help the race in its effort at prac tical elevation. This said, therefore, let us give the President a fair showing, and let us Judge him by the future. If by his future course he shows that he understands and appreciates conditions as they exist in the South, he will go out of office with the same regard as that in which his la mented predecessor was held. Captive in London Town. The Spectator quotes from. & recently pub lished book of verse, "Poems, Lyrical and Dramatic," by W. G. Hole, the following fine poem: ' There comes a ghostly space 'Twlxt midnight and dawn, "When from the heart of London Town The tides of life are drawn. What time, -when Spring Is due. The captives dungeoned deep Beneath the stones of London Town Grow troubled In their sleep. And wake mint, mallow, dock. Brambles In bondage sore. x And grasses shut In London Town A thousand years and more. Tet though beneath thg stones They starve, and overhead The countless feec pace London Town Of men who hold them dead. Like Samson, blind and scorned. In pain their time they bide To seize the roots of London Town And tumble down Its pride. Now well by proof and sign. By men, unheard, unseen. They know that far from London Town The woods once more are green. But theirs is still to wait. Deaf to the myriad hum. Beneath 'the stones of London Town A Spring that needs must come. Most Independent of Callings. Bloomlngton (111.) Bulletin. It is gratifying to note that the boys are beginning to realize what has been a his torical fact since Adam that farming is the most dignified and gentlemanly calling in the world. In Europe the man with the acres has long been held to be the first gentleman, but in America for some decades It was the practice of the boy to look away from the farm and yearn for commercial and professional pursuits In town. This condition is changing, and it Is now the boy from college to the farm rather than from the college to the store or office. A Xe.TF Dozology. The Standard OH doxology. as rendered by William H. Crane, the actor: , Praise John, from whom oil blessings flow. Praise him oil creatures here below. Praise him above, ye heavenly host. Praise "William, too, but John the most NOTE AND COMMENT. ' The worst thing about the young Earl of Yarmouth la that he looks like young Billy Hearst . ' Sir Oliver Lodge said recently in a London speech that "society might be di vided into the overworked and the unem ployed." Governor McBride. his veto and his mi nority friends will probably constitute a majority of the Washington Legisla ture when It comes to matters of personal flavor. President Jordan, of Stanford University, worked his way through Cornell by wait ing on table, husking corn and digging ditches. His, tuition was free, under the state scholarship he received from Wyo ming County, where he lived. W. B. Heyburn, the new Idaho Senator, is the biggest man in the Senate from the viewpoint of avoirdupois. But he makes good-humored complaint that East ern papers have exaggerated his weight "They say I weigh 400 pounds." he re marked, "when the truth Is I am Just a scant 2S0." The recent death of Miss Cora Deane, ' a promising young writer in Chicago, 13 laid to the "no breakfast" fad reinforced by a diet of uncooked foods and the prac tice of Christian Science theories. This Is further proof of the truth of Gray's musty averment that the paths of glory lead but to the grave. The postoffice authorities have discon tinued, temporarily, the rural mall de livery along a number of Indiana routes because of the impassable condition of the roads, as notice to the people that If they want regular mall service they must sec to it that the roads are fit for travel. Out 'here In Oregon, where people are fond of saying Winter roads are tho worst in the world, we are establishing rural delivery routes at the very worst time of the year, and none are discon tinued. Recording to Mr. Payne, who moved for the vote of thanks to retiring Speaker Henderson, this was not the first time this resolution has been offered by a mem ber of- the majority party. In the fifth Congress such a precedent occurred, whan Speaker Dayton was retiring; in the sixth Congress, to Speaker Sedgwick; In the tenth Congress, to Speaker Varnum; In the 12th Congress, when that man who has illuminated the history of his country, Henry Clay, was retiring from the Speak er's office. Again In the 20th Congress, when Speaker Stevenson retired; again in the 25th Congress, when James K. Polk laid down the gavel, he was refused a unanimous vote of thanks; In the 35th Congress, Speaker Orr; In the 36th Con gress,. Speaker Pennington; In the 47th Congress, Speaker Kelfer, and in the 51st Congress, that great Speaker, that great statesman, that man who, recently called from the scenes of life. Is mourned by the Nation, Thomas B. Reed, was refused this recognition. If all the Irish Catholics should shift over to the Baptist faith on the strength of the Jersey pastor's discovery that St. Patrick was a Baptist, the tactics of the politicians of this country would undergo immediate revision. That would be a great thing for -the Baptists, If not for the politicians. And the accession thus made to the Protestant Sect might swal low the original stock and result In the creation of a Baptist pope. At any rate, nobody need be ashamed of owing alleg iance to St Patrick, Catholic or Baptist, for the undisputed record shows him to have been of good antecedents and a thorough churchman. Here It Is: St. Patrick was a gentleman Who came of decent people; He built a church in Dublin town And on It put a steeple. The old gentleman's service to Ireland in driving out the snakes and toads was very great. It Is said, however, that the dearth of snakes in the Emerald Isle ac counts for the Inclination of some of the sons of Erin to seek and bite the adder when they get over on this side. About half the1 letters that go through our malls are addressed to some "Esq." Occasionally you will find a "Mr." at the front end of the same and the "Esq." at the tail end. The 'Squire in the United Statea Is usually a Police Justice in the small country towns. The title originally was bestowed upon the shleldbearer, or armor-bearer, of a knight In these days we use it loosely, tacking It on to every body. Just as "Hon." Is tacked. Esquires may be divided into five classes he who does not belong to one of them may or may not be a gentleman, but Is no esquire. According to Wharton, these' are the classes: "Younger sons of peera and their eldest sons; eldest sons of knights and their eldest sons; chiefs of ancient families (by prescription); esquires by creation or of flce, as heralds or sergeants-at-arms. Judges, Justices of the Peace, the higher naval and military officers, doctors in the several faculties, and barristers; each Knight of the Bath appoints two esquires to attend upon him at his installation and at coronations." No estate, however large, confers this rank upon its owner. This Idea of limiting the application of the term Is English, however, and Amer ica refuses to be bound by It PLEASANTRIES OF PAP-AGRAPHERS Simpson Do you know anything about art? Jackson I know enough about art not to try to talk about it. Detroit Free Press. Llnzee There's nothing I like better than hard work. Morris There's nothing you like better when somebody else is doing It. Boston Transcript. Anxious Mother Daughter, why do you per sist In reading those sensational stories? Pret ty Daughter Because they make my hair curl, mamma. Chicago Daily News. "Yes " concluded the medical raconteur, "she became Insane through excessive dancing." "One might say she was hopping mad. I sup pose," gurgled the Cheerful Idiot. Baltimore American. "I seen in the morning paper that a New Tork woman has successfully gone through the bankruptcy court." "Counfound 'em I There goes another of man's exclusive privileges!" Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Did any other man ever kiss yon?. he fer vently asked. "Well," replied the girl who has spent three seasons at the seaside, "no one that wasn't engaged to me ever did." Chicago Record-Herald. The Parson I Intend, to pray that you may forgive Casey for having thrown that brick at you. The Patient Mebbe yer Rlv'rence 'ud be saving tolme If ye'd Just wait till Oi git well an' then pray fer Casey. Brooklyn Life. "You said I could prescribe my own terms." protested the startled and indignant prima don na. "I know It." replied the manager, who had cut her figures In half, "but I didn't say I'd follow your prescription." Chicago Tribune. "I don't suppose you'll be sorry when the school season's over." remarked the old gentle man. "Tes, I will." replied the street urchin. " 'cause I don't never go to school at all, an' It's lots o fun watchln de odder kids w'at has to." Philadelphia Press. "Suppose." said the imaginative philosopher, "that a fairy were to appear to you and prom ise to grant you three wishes. "What would you ask for?" "If anything like that happened to me," responded Colonel Stllwell, of Ken tucky, "I'd ask -for a pledge and sign It then and there." Washington Star.