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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 16, 1903)
6 THE ilORSIXG OEEGONIA2S, MONDAY MARCH 16, 1903. Entered at the Postofflee at Pprtland. Oregon, us cecond-class mailer. . HEVISED SUBSCRIPTION BATES. By Mall (postage prepaid. In advance) Daily, -Kith Sunday, per month....... J0.S6 Dally. Sunday excepted, per year.......... 7.50 Dally, with Sunday, per year . -00 Sunday, per year ............ ........... 2.00 The Weekly, per year. 1.50 The Weekly. S months ... To City Subscribers . k Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday excepted .Ua Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday Included .20c POSTAGE BATES. United States. Canada and Mexico: 10 to 3 4 -page paper... .......lc I to 2S-page paper ............. --2a PcrIj-n rates double. News or discussion Intended for publication In The Oregonlan should be addressed invaria bly "Editor The Oregonlan." nofto the name of any Individual. Letters relating: to adver u'ag. subscription or to any business matter should be addressed simply "The Oregonlan." The Oregopian does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undrtak to re turn any manuscripts sent to it without solici tation. No stamps should be Inclosed for this parpese. - Eastern Business Office. 42. 44, 45. 47. 48. 4 Tribune building. New York City: 510-11-12 Tribune building. Chicago: the S. C. Beckwlth Special Agency. Eastern representative. Tor sale In San Pranclsco by L. E. Lee. Tal ce Hotel news stand; Goldsmith Bros.. 238 Suter street: F. W. Pitts. 1008 Market street: 2. K. Cooper Co.. 740 Market street, near the Palace Hotel; Foster & Orear. Ferry news etand; Front Scott. SO Ellis street, and N. Wheatley. 813 Mission street. For sale in Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 260 South Spring: street, and Oliver &. Haines. 805 South Spring street. For sale in Kansas City. Mo., by Blcksecker Cigar Co.. Ninth and Walnut streets. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. 217 Dearborn street, and Charles Mac Donald. 63 Washington treef. For sale In Omaha by Barkalow Bros.. 1612 Famtm street; Megeath Stationery Co., 1308 Farnam street. For sale in Ogden by W. O. Kind. 114 25th ttreet, Jas. H. Crockwcll. 242 25th street. For sale in Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co., 77 West Second South street. For ale In Washington. D. C. by the Ebbett House news stand. For sale In Denver. Colo., by Hamilton & Jvendrlck. 000-012 Seventeenth street; Louthan & Jackson Book and Stationery Co.. Fifteenth and Lawrence streets: A. Series. Sixteenth and Curtis streets. TODAY'S WEATHER Cloudy to partly cloudy; variable winds becoming: southerly. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem perature. 60 dec.; minimum temperature, SS deg,; no precipitation. PORTLAND, 31 ON DAY, MARCH 10. "WASHINGTON'S EIGHTH LEGISLA TE HE. The record of the Eighth Legislature of the State of "Washington is a fairly good one, when the circumstances un der which that body was working are considered. A warm factional fight in the ranks of the dominant party was not conducive to best results on all problems which were presented for solu tion, but the most of the Democratic members of both the House and Senate took a higher ground than is usually the case when they happen to be in a position to aid the party In power on its road to destruction. From a polit ical standpoint, the few Democrats In the Legislature had everything to gain and little or nothing to lose by stand ing to one side and permitting the factions of the majority to fight to a finish. It Is to their everlasting credit that they tied up with neither faction. Kelther did they remain passive; in stead, they joined with the better ele ment of the majority party, and aided in passing the bills which possessed merit, and turning down those which had none. There is always an element of uncer tainty about a new law, and, accord ingly, the test of time will need be ap plied to eome ,of the Important bills which were passed at Olympla at the session Just ended. Pre-eminent in im portance among "the long list of bills which successfully ran the gauntlet down to the Governor's signature may be mentioned the new road bill and the tax commission bill. The former, framed for the purpose of Improving the public highways. If It fulfills the expectations of Its promoters, will not only succeed in that respect, but will at the same time reduce the cost of road-building and repairing throughout the state. It certainly should have some appreciable effect in wiping out that old prejudice between the city and country as to where the money Bhould be spent, for city members of the Legislature were completely routed when they at tempted to secure an amendment which would permit them to expend 25 per cent of the road and. bridge funds In the limits of the "city district where it was collected. The country members de manded all of it and got what they de manded. The road bill also provides for a better distribution of funds. The tax bill provides increased facili ties for getting more taxable property on the rolls. The bill is undoubtedly superior to the railroad commission bill, for the reason that it provides that not only the railroads shall be made t6 pay their taxes, but all other corpora tions must do the same. It has, to a large extent, eliminated the possibility of the commission's getting very far into politics, which was the chief objec tion to the railroad commission bill, and if It proves as successful in Its opera tion as similar laws in other states', the people of Washington can forgive the Eighth Legislature for many of Its shortcomings. The aggregate amount carried by the appropriation bills shows Washington to be an expensive state to operate. The appropriations made for the edu cational, penal and reformatory insti tutions and for handling the machinery of the state In other departments ran up very close to $2,000,000, while an ad ditional $1,000,000 is called for for other purposes. This is a large amount of money, but Washington Is a big state, and her very "bigness," In more ways than one, has caused the heavy demand on the public purse. It is many hun dred, miles from the ranches, forests and mines in the northeastern part of the state to the fisheries and fruit farms of the southwest. A wagon-road or some other public utility may seem of vital importance to the members from the northwest, and, taking the sponsor's word for it, the southwestern man as sists in putting it through. "Reciprocity is practiced on the same lines. In this way, considerable money is appropri ated which might not come out so easily If the etate were smaller and it was easier for Individual members to take an unbiased view of the matter. Aside from the- two bills mentioned, there was the usual large number of measures of lesser importance, many of which, how ever, if. interpreted as the members in troducing them expect them to be in terpreted, will aid in increasing the rev nues of the state, and decreasing the expenditures. If decrease- in crime means a reduc tion in city arid county expenses and It undoubtedly does the "moral" laws passed will save the state large sura a EitrnlrtsUIng' it financial factor from the effect of these laws, and they re main measures of unusual merit. "With gamblers end maouereaux subject to punishment as felons, "Washington should shortly discern n improvement lo the moral tone of the entire state. The Eighth Legislature of the State of "Washington might not have been a model In all respects, but Its work on the whole will average up well with that of Its predecessors. IMPRACTICABLE IDEALISM. There is an excellent newspaper pub lished at Wilmington, DeL, by name Every Evening, with whose good purposes we sympathize, but with whose working hypothesis of public life we find It impossible to agree. Says this well-meaning' but Imperfectly in formed journal, speaking of one of Del aware's new Senators: Mr. Allee, whose name on the roll call of "the highest deliberate body In the world" now comes between the names of Aldrich and Alli son, is a roan absolutely without the slightest qualification for the position. A modest trades man of Dover, his political horizon Is bounded by his election district. His knowledge of pub lic questions Is an unknown quantity. We shall not dispute the Implication that Mr. Allee'e ignorance of public questions Is on the whole to his dis credit, but the further idea that this fault impairs his fitness for the United States Senate is certainly a most curious and perverted reading of the situation. Whence could Every Even ing derive such a conclusion from the history of Its own state? They had one man In, the Senate with a knowledge of public questions, Thomas F. Bayard, who is dead, and another man with a knowledge of public questions, George Gray, whom Delaware turned out of the Senate fora nobody named Kenney. It is apparent that Delaware prefers Ad dlcks, who knows nothing but corrupt politics, to Gray, a statesman of the Bayard school. It Is absurd to suppose that Addicks could corrupt a state that didn't want to be corrupted. But where does Every Evening get Its working model of the Senatorial stature? Did the Bland-Allison silver law reveal any great knowledge of pub lic questions on Allison's part, or does the Aldrich 1)111 to relieve Wall street point to learning of the Bayard order? What Is Piatt's view of, the Monroe uoctrme, or yuays tneory or oaniung currency? From what repository of learning does Senator Hanna derive his philosophy of "stand pat" and the "full dinner-pall," and does Every Evening look for ultimate truth in Senator Fora- ker's brief for the Union Pacific in the Supreme Court? Yet we would not in injustice deny to the dominant type of Senator such a "knowledge of public questions" as it undoubtedly possesses. , There are as pects of our National problems in which the Senatorial research has been wide and deep. We have the solemn and troublesome race question at the South; and the mere ordinary man can never hope to know as much as Alger and Hanna have forgotten about capturing negro delegates to National conven tions. We have the obecure and ever present tariff problem; and If any one knows more certainly how to work the protected corporations successfully through tariff monkey-work than Alli son and Gorman, his place is in the Senate if "he is not already there. We have the money question, and on the most effective application of Treasury notes and bank notes to voters and Leg islatures we have an Impressive array In the Senate, from Aldrich of Bhode Island to Clark of Montana. We have the great problem of the trusts, and Depew understands the railroad end of them, while, for the industrials, the superior knowledge of Mr. J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller and Henry O. Havemeyer is always at the Senatorial disposal. Give Mr. Allee, good Every Evening, a chance. He is young, and time may lead him up to the dizzy heights of scholarship apparently inaccessible to all but Piatt and Quay, Hanna and Gorman, Dubois and Tillman. If he is a successful as well as a "modest tradesman," his calling has well fitted him for the traffic In which he will now participate on a somewhat larger scale; and if he has thoroughly mastered "the horizon of his own election district," he Is on the direct road to the pinnacle of statesmanship; for in such humble beginnings did the great careers we have mentioned take their rise. We are a practical people. The man who can't "get next" to the "workers" in his own ward Is devoid of the rudiments of Sen atorial statesmanship. It is rather to Mr. Allee's advantage than otherwise if lie has resolutely turned his back upon the soft and seductive ways of knowledge and intellectual attainment to improve his mind In study of man's baser nature, that he .may deftly play upon its secret springs. IS HILL BEHIND ICEENEf If the Harrlman-Keene difficulty over the Southern Pacific were merely a stock jobbers' quarrel, the country could afford to treat it with indiffer ence. But there is reason to believe that the full significance of Keene's at tack Is not revealed In his petition for Injunction. If It should be found that James J. Hill Is the real Inspiration of Keene's movement, few people would be surprised. No secret has been made of the fact that Mr. Hill has not cherished a warm regard for Mr. Harrlman since the little game In Wall street two years ago. In which Mr. Harrlman forced recognition from the Great Northern magnate and prevented him from working his will with the Burlington and the two North ern transcontinental Mr. Hill has carried a knife in his sleeve since that time, and has neglected no opportunity to make conditions hard for Mr. Har rlman. Last Fall he began a system atic bear campaign, and was an im portant factor in depression of Southern Pacific stock. Harrlman had taken 575,000,000 of that stock at about 65, and when It went down to 56 it became a very heavy load Hill could see nothing but a blue future for every thing, ami he took pains to ret his views abroad where they would do the most harm. But Harrlman man aged to stand the strain, the stocks re covered, and Hill's calamity howl took a vacation. Now Keene appears with a basketful of legal complications for the Harrlman people, and these carry a strong odor of the wily railroader of St. PauL On their face the allegations against the Harrlman control of Southern Pa cific appear to have merit; it would be useless to go into court without this appearance at least. As a matter of fact, they may be supported, and Har rlman may thus be turned out of Southern Pacific, though this will not establish disinterested good faith on the part of Mr. Keene. By the success of this move, Mr. Hill would obtain a vic tory fee b&s loc.Hight but It Is hardly to be supposed that would end the war. Serious conflict between these trusts seems inevitable, and we may "be at the beginning of it. There is ground for the suspicion, however, .that Mr. Hill will not emerge from the battle wholly unscathed. FOR. A GREATER XAVT. England never would tolerate a great stabdlng army, but she maintains the greatest naval establishment In the world. Her opposition to a great mili tary establishment le based on the the ory that it might be used to control the government, or at least to limit the free political action of the people and it is rational apprehension; but no fear like this has ever been felt In England in relation to the navy- We are fol lowing much the same course. Every proposal to increase' the Army of the United States evokes, and ever has evoked, hysterical protest in the name of "liberty." But we are building up a navy without any outcry of this sort against it. And yet a modern sailor could be made to serve with great ef fectiveness as a soldier, and a single battleship might control a great port and city and direct the course of a rev olution. However, neither the United States nor Great Britain needs a large stand ing army, for they have government through opinion and no habit of re bellion against its decrees. But they both have need of naval establishments for the outer world. 9:111 recently, In deed, this was not so much a need of the United States, but our people now. substantially with one accord, agree that we must maintain and increase our Navy. We have entered within re cent years into new relations with the world at large, and we should be strong enough at sea to maintain our new po sition, and, moreover, to discourage any aggression upon the Monroe Doctrine. All parties virtually concede this; and Democrats as well as Republicans give their support to the new naval policy. In the last hours of the late session of Congress, the naval appropriation bill, carrying a total of $81,877,291.43, was passed. It was the largest naval appropriation ever carried through Con gress. In addition to current expense, It provides for no less than five new battleships, besides many smaller craft. These battleships will be among the greatest ever constructed, and of types carrying all the latest Improvementa Of those of the type of the Oregon, so perfect and so famous a few years ago, it may be said that, though they are not by this time old junk, merely, yet great expenditure will be necessary to bring them up to present requirements. No definite programme as to extent of naval Increase or expansion has been adopted by Congress, but the Naval Board has formulated a plan which fixes forty-five battleships of the first class as the naval strength necessary to protect our coasts, our outlying pos sessions and our growing foreign com merce. The programme Includes, fur ther, a proportion of cruisers, scouts, torpedo-boats and auxiliaries; that is to say, to every four battleships there should be two armored cruisers, four fast torpedo-boat-destroyers, etc., be sides other classes. This programme may or may not be adopted by Con gress; but It is' argued with much force that It is a very doubtful policy In a matter of so much moment to depend haphazard on the variable temper of Congress from year to year. THE NEW TAX LAWS. There will be many complaints in the Fall of 1904, when the taxpayers are called upon to pay a second tax In one year. For the time being It will seem almost like a double taxation, yet every one knows that the tax burden will be no greater because of the change in the time for paying1 taxea Heretofore the people have paid their taxes in March and April, but In 1904 a new law passed by the last Legislature will go Into effect, requiring that taxes be paid on or before the last day of December of the same year the assessment of property is made. In March, 1904, property-owners will pay their taxes due upon the assessment of 1903, and In De cember of the same year they will pay upon the assessment made In the Spring of 1904. After the first year there will be but one tax to pay annually. The change In the Taw was made In response to a demand that has been heard for several years, especially in the rural districts, where both the farm ers and merchants have more money in the Fall and early Winter tlan at any other time of the year. As property owners may have an extension of time on half of their taxes until April It they pay the first half In December, the new law presents as equitable a plan as Is possible. The farmer ' who wishes to hold his crop until Spring before sell ing may do so without great incon venience so far as payment of taxes is concerned. The reduction of the rebate for prompt payment from 3 per cent to 2 per cent seems to have been well ad vised. During the past two week3 the property-owners In every county In the state have been crowding the Sheriffs' offices to pay their taxes within the time limit, and thereby save three cents on each dollar. No penalty has ever been so effective in securing prompt payment as this rebate plan has been, and it is well that the rebate was not abandoned. At the same time, it Is quite certain that the payments will be nearly as large with an allowance of 2 per cent rebate as with a deduction of 3 per cent, and the public treasuries may save the difference. The payment of a large proportion of the taxes in December of 1904 will start all the counties and the state with a good sum of money In the treasury at the beginning of 1905. Some of the counties that have been keeping a little behind and have been paying Interest on warrants may be enabled to get even with the world and start anew. The accumulation, of money will be but tem porary, however, for, as eald before, the total amount of revenue wll be no greater, but will merely be received earlier. After the change has been ef fected and the people have forgotten the temporary Inconvenience of being required to pay taxes twice In one year, the new arrangement will give almost universal satisfaction. Governor Chamberlain's pardon of A. M. Humphrey is clearly based entirely upon sympathy. Judge Burnett fairly stated the case when he said in his let ter that, although shrinkage might ac count for the shortage of wheat in Humphrey's warehouse eo far as the crop of 189S was concerned, still this did not excuse the conversion of wheat of a subsequent crop. The fact re mained that the wheat had been dis posed of, and the farmers suffered the loss. Perhaps one could not be human and harden his heart to the pleading of a faithful wife ""and mother of five small children, yet those who know only the facts In the case must feel that the scales of justice up at Salem do not swing the same for all. The executive hand occasionally tips them off the bal ance. The oft-repeated argument that to Imprison the criminal Is to Inflict the punishment upon his innocent family Is fully answered by saying that the offender should have thought of this when he committed the wrongs It is a strange law which says that the man without a family shall be punished, while the man with a family shall not. The establishment of such a rule cre ates a still greater. Inequality before the law, for it means that the man whose family can make a personal plea stands In a more favorable position than one whose family resides at a distance. Since Humphrey has been .pardoned. It may be said that no warehouseman has ever been punished for the larceny of wheat in Oregon. Mr. Bramble, of Cameron County, Pennsylvania, and the father of eleven children, recently introduced In the Legislature of that state a bill to sub sidize large families and to provide gold medals for mothers of large families. The bill provides prizes ranging from 510, a medal to cost 510 to 550, and a 550 gold medal to mothers of families rang ing from nine to fifteen children. The seventh son or daughter born within the state Is to be educated s,t the ex pense of the state, the provision for this purpose not to exceed 5500. The act shall not apply to any woman who has been separated or divorced from her husband. Mr. Brumble should have gone farther, since he engaged In the business of supervising the family af fairs of his constituents, and provided a premium for intelligent, responsible fatherhood. Motherhood Js. after all, but half the battfe when it comes to peopling a state with citizens worthy of the name. When we read that there are now 25,000 children between the ages of 10 and 16 years who are working in the coal breakers and factories of Pennsyl vania, of whom their fathers merely take an Inventory as of stock in pinch ing, paltry trade, we are forced to be lieve that an added volume of Juvenile, life is not so much needed in that state as is parental responsibility that looks to the care, training and education of the children now in hand. Besides, a gold medal Is about the last thing that the mother of "from nine to fifteen chll dren" needs. Stationary washtubs In the kitchen and money to fee a stout armed laundress would be much more to the point, as Mr. Brumble would know If he were Mrs. Brumble. The late Legislature of Montana cre ated a bureau for the prevention of cru elty to children and dumb brutes in that state. As an inducement for the prose cution of persons guilty of such cru elty, it is provided that one-half of the fines imposed for violation of the law shall be paid to Informers. The State Humane Society is made a bureau for carrying out the Intent of the law, and Is empowered to appoint state .and local agents to assist In the work. The bureau and Its agents must report an nually to the Governor, and In' order that sentiment favorable to the protec tion of children and dumb animals may be created and fostered, the annual re port is to be printed and distributed under the direction of the board of di rectors, of which the Governor, Super intendent of Public Instruction and Attorney-General are ex-ofiiclo members. The secretary of the hoard will be ap pointed by the Governor, and will re ceive a salary of 51200 a year. One-half of the fines Imposed will be turned Into the state treasury, the other half being given as a bonus for Information. The latter provision Is depended upon to make the law answer the purpose of Its creation the former to reimburse the state for expenses In conducting the bureau and securing prosecutions. The plan is indorsed by humane people throughout the state as meeting a de mand of humanity that has been too long overlooked. Since women were be fore this Legislature at different times In advocacy of "women's rights," it is somewhat surprising that wifebeaters were not Included In .the category of offenders who fall under the ban of this law. - The owner of an orchard who is not now spraying his trees has but little claim to the title of "fruitgrower." He is more of a fruit-destroyer than a fruitgrower, for his own trees are grad ually yielding to the ravages of pests and are spreading diseases to other orchards. Spraying is an expensive operation, but it is essential to the pro duction of an excellent quality of fruit Though trees may bear crops of clean fruit for a few seasons without spray ing, it is only a question of time when the product of such an orchard will command a second or third-class price In the market. Besides being directly profitable to the Individual horticultur ist, spraying helps the fruit industry of the state by Improving the reputation of our product in the markets of the country. Every farmer should spray his. fruit trees. He should try to induce all his neighbors to do likewise. If any of his neighbors have diseased trees from which his own are likely to be In fected, he should see that that neigh bor either cleans his trees or digs them out Better to lose your neighbor's friendship than to lose your own fruit trees, for If he is willing to endanger your property his . friendship is not worth having. The President has left The Dalles out of his route of travel when he shall visit the Coast. The Chief Executive ought to visit the route of the proposed canal and locks upon which sev eral millions of dollars of Government money are to be expended. The Commercial Club might serve the city a. good turn by putting forth an effort to ret the President to visit The Dalles. Tlmes-Mountalneer. By all means, the President should make the trip from Portland to The Dalles, and make It by the river. Such river scenery is presented nowhere else In the world. Nor Is there any other such scene In the world as the rapids where the canal and locks are to be constructed. Let us all join in the endeavor to Induce the President to take a day on the Columbia River. Germany has "claims" against Russia similar to her claims against "Vene zuela, but she doesn't bluster and pro ceed to seize custom-houses and to col lect the claims. There would be trouble. Germany, as the bully of Europe, Is more a coward than ever France was when she was the bully of Europe. It takes the Seattle Post-Intelligencer a page, more or less, to tell what that town Is doing in the way of prepara tion for President Roosevelt's visit We merely mention the matter, on the chance that something similar may oc cur to eomebody here. S0TES OF VARIOUS KINDS . . How the whirligig of time changes things! A few weeks ago la New York coal brought anywhere from 510 to H5 per ton. and it was bard to get at that. Now some dealers are offering to sell their stock in bulk at 54.40 per ton and can find no takers. One of these men says his coal cost him between $9 and 510 per ton, and at present rates he stands to lose 5100,000 on the stock ho has on hand. Andrew Carnegie has come to the relief of the "English language as she Is spoken." He has pledged his financial support to a movement which will bring about reform and correct abuses in the speaking and writing of English. This lis in pursuance ofj a desire of Mr. Carnegie to have Eng lish the principal language of the world. The first step will be in the direction of reform and simplicity. The members of the various philological societies which have been laboring for phonetic spelling and the creation of a pronunciation alpha bet aroused . Mr. Carnegie's Interest in the matter, and he will finance the under taking until its completion to the extent of 510,000 a year. The original carnation was a flve-petaled bloom, native In the south of Italy. It was imported into England r about the time of the Norman Conquest Asearly as 1EL9 horticultural works gave minute directions for the cultivation of the flowers in Winter. The carnation indus try has risen to considerable importance during the last ten years, according to Town and Country- As 2,500,000 of young carnation plants are sold each year and florists produce an equal amount grown by themselves, which are not sold, the entire production of, young carnation plants approximate 5.000,000 and upward year. These plants are grown under glass during the Winter time for cut flower purposes, producing an annual average of more than 100,000,000 blooms. What becomes of this enormous number of flowers is somewhat of a mystery. They are put to Innumerable uses. Signor Pino, the Genoese engineer whose hydroscope, which It Is said enables per sons to see the bed of the sea, was re cently experimented with In the Mediter ranean, said recently in an interview that his invention would allow a clear view over an area of several thousand square yards, at a depth of from -400 to 500 yard3. Signor Pino was reticent in regard to the construction of his instrument but stated that be was able to see fish, plants, crust acea, and other objects even of the small est size. He says his apparatus can be easily adapted to use on shipboard, and will enable a captain to see submerged reefs and banks from the main deck of his ship. The , instrument was tested in the presence of delegates from the Min istry of Marine. One of Scotland s widely known humble citizens died the other day in the person of Robert Blair. Probably few men In the rugged northland had so many per sonal acquaintances as Blair of Aber- foyle enjoyed. He was the last of the family of Trossachs men who have been Intimately connected with the stream of tourist travel that yearly flows through the famous glen which Scott first brought to the world's notice In his "Lady of the Lake." Robert Blair was the owner of the little shaggy horses that carried the travelers over the hill from Loch Lomond. For two generations he was to be found at the "pony station," picking, out the bst animals for the women, the most suitable for the nervous, the children, the fat and the lean, or catering to those who enjoyed a little of excitement At the tidal power station of Plouman ach, on the northern coast of France, the difference "Of tide level Is about 20 feet The storage reservoir Is a natural pond of four acres, having the form of a tri angle, with the base toward the shore, and In the embankment separating this from the sea are automatic gates, which open when the level of the sea rises higher than the water In the pond, and are closed by the weight of the water In the pond when the tide recedes. Tne two water wheels of the station drive dynamos. which, aided by storage batteries, are used for electric lighting. A prominent British engineer, James Swinburne, foresees the failure of this and all other plans for us Ing the tides as a- source of electric power on account of the great expense of work ing turbines on variable pressure or any Kind of storage. An TJnfortnnte Failure. St Paul Pioneer Press. The gravity of the wrong done by the" failure of Congress to pass the Philippine tariff bill opening to the products of the islands admission to our home ports on more rational terms, Is such -as to occa sion regrets In some quarters that Presi dent Roosevelt did not include the House as well as the Senate in his call for an extra session. With their cattle gone as the result of a destructive epidemic: with capital holding back from Investment be cause of unsatisfactory conditions; with agriculture languishing and all other In dustries dormant the Philippines need every encouragement the great Republic which has forcibly gathered, them "under its wing" (It that be not too kind a aim He) can give. As tho Portland Oregonlan well says. Congressional inaction in such a crisis "will forever stand as a blot upon our record, for which no subsequent rep aratlon can atone." The amount of un necessary hardship, of business ruin, of demoralizing idleness, which must be faced In the nine months to pass before Congress shall again meet In regular ses sion is hard to compute. And then it Is to be borne In mind that racial antipathies have not yet been wholly overcome, or the success of our Philippine experiment placed beyond dispute. American indiffer ence, where sympathy was rightfully ex pc-cted, may cause the antipathetic feeling to flame up in outbreaks ever more diffi cult to handle than the "ladronelsm' which today bears witness to the lack of Industrial opportunity In the islands. Tho distribution of tho $3,000,000 relief fund voted by Congress will no doubt act In some degree as an emollient but Indus trial opportunity Is more valued than charity among the Filipinos as among ourselves. "The Secret of Life." Chicago Record-Herald. No one can read the illuminating state ment concerning the solving of the secret of life which was made by Professor" Jacques Loeb, head of the department of physiology in the University of California, the other day, without being wonderfully Impressed. Having declared that he be lieved "a scientific explanation of life's phenomena would be developed In the fu ture," the professor went on to say that "the logic of science must rest on the as surance that a life phenomenon has been explained completely as soon as It is pos sible to control It unequivocally by phys ical or chemical means or repeat it in all detail on inanimate material." This Is a plain, simple, straightforward presentation of the case. Even a child should be able to understand it How, then, can a college student remain in doubt? Furthermore. Professor Loeb said: "We cannot admit that there is any obstacle to our complete control, and in consequence our knowledge, of life phenomena. Every one, I believe, who recognizes the control of life phe nomena to be the great problem of scientific In vestigation will come to the same conclusion. Undoubtedly. When science can take a handful of sawdust a chunk of clay and a batch of pitch, and. after having mixed them thoroughly, make the mass a living, breathing thing, sensible to pain and capable of reproducing itself, it will be foolish for skeptics to stand back denying that the secret of life has been solved. This Is all that remains to be done in order that Professor Loeb's theory may be Indisputably established as the right one. Who can doubt when so thin a veil hangs between us and the grand old se cret? A Strike Leaacr. Buffalo Express. That Democratic National Commltte-. man who suggests John Mitchell as a running mate for Judge Parker in the Presidential campaign probably figures that Mitchell could win the Democratic strike against William Jennings Bryan. JL GRIEVOUS WRONG. - Chicago Record-Herald. Despite the good laws enacted by the 57th CongresSi Its closing - days were shamelessly wasted by the willful slaugh ter, through filibustering, of many meri torious measures which the people de manded and which were entirely devoid of partisan character. Among such aro the Philippine tariff bill, the Aldrich. financial bill, the bill to protect -the President the pure-food bill, the Cuban treaty and the Panama Canal treaty. Opinions may have varied about the merits of portions of these bills, but for most of them the popular demand has been unanimous. The Philippine tariff bill, for example, by which justice would be done to the Filipinos and at the same time benefits secured to the United States, has encountered no disinterested opposi tion. How striking was this unanimity of favorable opinion was revealed by the press of the country. Chicago has been united for It while in New York pipera with constituencies as varied as those of the Evening Post the Sun, the World, the Herald, the Times, the Tribune and the American have stood shoulder to shoulder and spoken as If with one tongue. Here are some of their recent expres sions: If a plebiscite could be had In favor of treating the Philippines decently and that Is til that Is Involved In buying their products untaxed the voices In favor -would come up like the sound of many waters. New York Evening Post. March 2. The deplorable condition of those Islands and the Immediate need of what relief the tariff bill can give have been known to it (Congress) for a long time, and the factious obstruction to the passage of the bill has not even the poor excuse of party policy. New York. Sun, March 1. Any tariff against our "possessions" Is an anomaly and an Injustice. But if these con cessions are the bast that can hCobtalned ther Democrats should join in passing them. It Is a shame to that party and a policy that will give It a heavy handlcnp In the next election that Its representatives In Congress are so mole-eyed and Inconsistent as to obstruct Cu ban reciprocity and Philippine relief. New York "World, March 1. It would be a National disgrace If Congress failed to pass the bill reducing the tariff on products from the Islands. New York Herald, March 2. This measure ... Is the bill reducing the tariff on Imports from the Philippines. The appeal of the President for Its passage is strong and well founded, but we fear It falls on deaf ears. Again the greed of the pro tested Interests stands In the way of humanity. Justice, decency. New York: Times, March 2. Everybody whose Judgment la worth anything declares that lower duties on Philippine prod ucts are absolutely necessary for the welfare of the islands and for the success of our ad ministration. New York Tribune, March 1. If we are to hold tho Philippines and who now doubts that we snail T common jusuce to their people demands that we treat them not as conquered subjects but as sharers In the benefits of American Institutions. New York American, March 1. To the great discredit of our National Congress it must be slid that the opinion that the failure of this legislation is due to criminal greed 13 as unanimous as is the demand for the legislation itself. A Pack of Cards. New York World. The ordinary playing-cards of today ore derived from a stick gome, supposed to have originated In this country. Fifty small sticks are a pack; the "game" was originally for the player to divide the sticks rapidly with his two hands, the opponent guessing which hand held the larger number. Owners . of sticks spent rainy days In carving them. The Asiatics borrowed the game and carved more elaborate counters out of ivory; those with different carv ings grew to have different values; ar ranging them In groups of fours made it necessary to add two to the original num ber. Then thin slabs of ivory began to be used. For centuries after this all playing cards were hand-painted at first or ivory or metal, afterward on cardboard. The pictures, at first legendary heroes and la. dies, -gradually became the fixed, wood- faced caricatures we now know. And these, coming back to America In their westward Journey around the world, find our Pacific Coast Indians still juggling the some kind of sticks their forefathers used. Bryan in the Trenches. Washington Star. We may well question the report that porrolnent Eastern Democrats, with Mr. Cleveland at their head, are preparing to fight Mr. Bryan for control of the Ne braska delegation to the next Democratic National Convention. Such a step would be certain to benefit rather than Injure the silver leader. He has lost control of his state, but not of the Democratic ma chine there, and the machine will deter mine the sort of men to represent the state at tho convention. Mr. Bryan, as the Star has several times pointed out should not only control but head that delegation. His presence at the conven tion would add greatly to the Interest of the proceedings. And if Mr. Hill will go as a delegate from rew York, Mr. Gor man from Maryland, Mr. Olney from Mas sachusetts and Mr. Cleveland from New Jersey, what a battle will be fought! Might Buy Sew England. Toronto Star. Representative De' Armond says he is quite in earnest In advocating the pur chase of Canada. If he is, let him talk business like a business man. Let him amend his proposition by making a bid for Canada and put a price on the New England States, and agree either to buy or sell. This would be a business-like offer which would command respect and be considered. As it stands now, his prop ositlon Is a trifling one, but If Uncle Sam is willing either to buy or sell, a deal could be arringed. A Cheap Falsehood. Brooklyn Eagle. When you see the report that 30,000 clergymen Invested In the racing concerns that promised sudden wealth, you may take the statement for exactly what It Is false. We may have some clergymen who are foolish, but to say that thousands of them are gamblers and knaves is too absurd to refute. And sensationalists never tell the truth after they have print ed their falsehood. They let the latter stand to disgrace Its victims, and them selves. , Some Progress Made. Buffalo Express. The legislation which the President had' most at heart was a series of acts for the better control of trusts. This has been only partially accomplished, but enough has been done to enable the Admlnistra Hon to claim substantial progress. .' . The most Important of the anti-trust bills, however, the so-called LIttlefield bill, was passed only by the House.. The failure to consider it was one of the most serious sins of the Senate. LEnvoI. Kudyard Kipling. When earth's last picture Is painted. And the tubes are twisted and dried. When the oldest colors have faded. And the youngest critic has died. We shall rest and. faith, we shall need it Lie down for an aeon or two. Till the Master of all good workmen Shall set us to work anew. And those that were good shall be happy; They shall rit In a. golden chair; They shall splash at a ten league canvas With brushes of comet's hair, They shall find real saints to draw frot Magdalene, Peter, and Paul; They shall work tor an age at a sitting. And never get tired at all. And only the Master shall praise us. And only the Master shall blame; And no one shall work for money. And no one shall work for fame; But each for tho Joy of the working; And each In his separate star Shall draw the thing as be sees It Per the Ood of. things as they are. NOTE AND COMMENT.' Heyburn of IdahoTthe heaviest man In the Senate, appears to weigh well with the President, too. Didn't Cuba suit Mr. Morgan? We ex pected to see the Island towed through Hell. Gate and anchored In Wall street before this time. What's the use of all this turmoil over a drydock. Its building and Its location, when one of those empty reservoirs In the City Park would be just- the thing?- The story about the Great Northern aiming for San Francisco, published in the local, columns of The Oregonlan Wednes day morning, has reached San Francisco and comes back in modified form this morning. It holds large possibilities. In view of the fact that the Montana Legislature adjourned1 without providing for representation at the St Louis ex position, the Topeka Journal suggests that the best exhibit possible would be the Montana Legislature itself In. the act of electing a Senator. But Montana will not elect a Senator again until 1S05. Up to date the names of 30 states are borne by our battleships and cruisers. Whenthe remainder of the states have their names on warships we shall be com pelled to admit more territories to state hood. In order to build the Navy up to our high aim. We ought to name one ship Quay and then take' It out and sink it The earliest extant manuscript of the Hebrew Old Testament is a copy of the Pentateuch, now in the British " Museum and assigned to the ninth century, and the earliest manuscript bearing a precise date Is a copy of the prophets, at St Petersburg, dated A. D. 916,- while the majority of the manuscripts belong to much later periods. The Municipal Art League, of Chicago, has a bill before the Illinois Legislature to give municipal authorities nower to regulate the billboard nuisance, and the billposters declare they will spend $100,- 000 to defeat It That sum of money, nut where it Will do the most good, will prob ably do the business. But it will also prove the need of popular agitation against this widespread abomination. When, the gift of $1,000,000 to Barnard College was announced, everybody sup posed that Rockefeller was the guilty man. But the price of oil did not advance and people found It necessary to revise their first hasty conclusion, with the result that Mrs. Elizabeth Milbank Anderson is dis covered to be the real donor. The gift was upon condition that she should not be known in the matter. Now that, she is discovered, will the college lose the money? The sight of a full-grown centipede Is said by travelers in tropical land3 to be enough to affect the strongest nerves. Ten to 11 Inches Is the average length, al though larger ones have been seen. Laf- cadlo Hearn, In MTwo Years in the French West Indies," says the vitality of the centipede is amazing. He kept one in a bottle, without food or water, for 13 weeksr at the end of which time it re mained as active and dangerous as ever. The hen attacks the centipede with de light, and often swallows him head first without taking the trouble to kill him. The cat hunts him, but Is careful never to put her head near him. She has a trick of whirling him round and round upon the floor so quickly a3 to stupefy him; then, when she sees a good chance, she strikes him de'ad with her claws. In a little world of her own Mrs. Jeffer son Davis Is living her remaining days in New York. She has an apartment on the 14th floor of the old Hotel Gerard, in West Forty-fourth street Her windows overlook the surrounding roofs, and on few occasions does she leave her rooms. She walks with difficulty, and doe3 not have to visit as her friends pay court to heir as if she were a royal personage. Mrs. Davis uses a tall cane, as people did 10C years ago, and the head Is of tortoise shell and gold. She has as a companion sweet-faced Southern woman, who 13 always with her. On Wednesday after noons the famous woman sits In a high backed chair that came from Beauvoir, the Davis homestead, and then she re ceives the long file of admiring women who call. These are notable gatherings, and there are as many Northerners as women from Dixie land among them. Carter Harrison owes his political suc cess In Chicago largely to the fact that at a critical time he was persuaded into a course that placed a moral obligation upon all decent citizens, regardless of politics, to support him. This was when the street-car companies, trusting In their control of the City Council, got a bill through the notorious Tanner adminis tration authorizing extensions of fran chises without terms as to fares. Mayor Harrison then blocked the game of the franchise-grabbers, and there was no seri ous opposition to his election for the next term, and at the end of that he was chosen by a large majority over his Re publican opponent But his administra tion has developed so many weaknesses and abuses that there la now a general demand for a change. The decent people regard their debt to the Mayor paid, and they will vote for another man If he promises better government Whether Graeme Stewart, the present Republican nominee, is that man is not entirely clear. PUiASANTUIES OF PAEAGBAPHERS Motto of the Collector Never put off until tomorrow what can be dunned today. Harvard Lampoon. Mrs. Springfield of Oshkosh fell down a well yesterday, and. as usual, there was a woman at the bottom of it. Baltimore News. "I wouldn't marry you If you were -the last man on earth." "Oh, yea, you would, for I should ask you Just the same." Baltimore Herald. Mayme I had IT offers of marriage this Winter. Edyth Aren't you afraid the fellow will get discouraged and quit proposing? Chicago Daily News. Jagsoa I wouldn't stand for that If I were you. Why don't you call him a liar? Wag son That's Just what I'll do. Where, where Is your telephone? Detroit Free Preaa. "Do you really suppose that man Smoot has another wife?" "He -says he hasn't -ut one." "I suppose that ought to settle It, but some men are so absent-minded." Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Yes." mid the aggressive business agent of the labor union, "arbitration Is all right in its place." "What do you consider Its placer "Why, It always seems to me as if we ought to strike first and arbitrate afterward. We lose all the run the other way." Chicago Evening Post. Barbershop Proprietor What was that you put on your customer's face after you were through Bhavins" him? Wasn't it hair re storer? New Barber Sure! "Well, you must be crazy." "I guess not. If It Is what we crack it up to be, he'll be back tomorrow for another shave!" Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. First Golfer (to second golfer, who Is caught ina bunker) Well, Jones told me this morn ing 'he did this hole yesterday in four. Second Golfer (who stammers) If Jones s-s-sald he old It la four, he was a 1-1-1-1 . First Golfer Steady, friend, steady! Second Golfer" he was a Mucky beggar! Punch.