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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1903)
VOL. XLLIX jNtO. 13,190. PORTLAND, OREGON, SATURDAY. MARCH 21, 1903. PRICE FIVE CENTS. WRITE US FOR SAMPLES AND PRICES OF NG, PACK HEADQUARTERS FOR ILL KINDS OF RUBBER GOODS GOODYEAR RUBBER COMPANY K. K. PEASE, President. 73 AJfD 75 FIRST STREET. PORTLAND, OREGON. ' 1 1 Bring your Films with you! welcome An expert from the factory will give a PUBLIC DEMON STRATION in our new ground-floor Photo Department MONDAY, MARCH 23d, 2 TO 6 P. M. . On the knack of developing films in broad daylight with the Kodak Developing Machine. No Dark-room Required. BLUMAUER-FRANK DRUG COMPANY Photo Department. 142-140 Fourth Street. SHAW'S PURE BLUMAUER & HOCH 108 and 110 Fourth Street Sole Distributers .for Oregon and i. F. DAVIES. Pre. St. Charles Hotel CO. (INCORPORATED). FRONT AND MORRISON STREETS PORTLAND, OREGON European-Plan Rooms 50c to $1.50 First-Class Restaurant In Connection HOTEL PERKINS Fifth and Washington Streets EUROPEAN PLAN Flnrf-Ct&o Gfeeelc Restaurant Connected WltU Hotel. SHAFTING CUT TO LENGTH, KEYSEATED AND STRAIGHTENED FURNISHED IN CONNECTION WITH OUR Power Transmission Specialties WILLAMETTE IRON & STEEL WORKS PORTLAND, OREGON, U. S. A. PROTECT YOURSELF FROM TODAY. Buy the best Have stood the PORTLAND SAFE & LQCK CO General Agents 76 FIRST ST., Cor. Oak PORTLAND SEED COMPANY Now located at corner Front and Yamhill streets, with the largest and most complete stock of Seeds, Trees, Shrubs, Fertilizers, Spray Pumps, Bee and Poultry Supplies ever carried by any seed house In the Northwest :: :: :: :: :: :: 1000 CHOICE TWO-YEAR OLD ROSE BUSHES JUST IN Lewis & Clark Collection and Otljer Popular Varieties. Itcmexntier oar new location. Descriptive catalogue free. CORNER FRONT AND YAMHILL STREETS. FINEST OF MANRARA'S BOUQUET CLEAR HAVANA CIGARS LANG & CO., DISTRIBUTERS Nonunion 3Ien Under Guard. PITTSBURG. March SO. Forty more nonunion men wore brought to the city U lay by tho American Bridge Company for work on the new Wabash bridge, and 17 of theee, it Is claimed, deserted and Joined the strikers. The others were es corted to a hoteL Purine: the afternoon the 15 nonunion men quartered at the St, Charles Hotel were escorted to the Wabash pier at the foot of Ferry street, by -5 policemen. A Ereat crowd was attracted by the sight of the proccsefon, but no hostile demon stration of any kind occurred. America's ORIGINAL MALT WHISKY Without a Rival Today MALT 'Washington. J. "W. BLAIN. Sec and Treas. PORTLAND, OREGON RooaiB R!nr!e ......,Tto to fL!W per -Say Kooms Doubl ... Booms TamUr ... .uo to xz.ug per qay .60 to iS. 00 ser Aw FIRE Fireproof Safe. TODAY. test for 57 years. THE ESMOND HOTEL OSCAR AHDERSOH, Huiger. Front end Morrison Streets, PORTLAND - OREGON FREE 'BUS TO AND FROM ALL, TRAIN'S. Kates European plan, 50c, 75c, $1.00. $1-50. 2.00 per day. Sample rooms in connection. ALL Hirer May Chance Channel. GREE1CVILLE, Miss.. March 31 The protection dyke at Leland, Ark., is rapidly slipping Into the river, and It is now prob able that the river will seek a new chan nel, leaving Greenville In the interior. The situation Is most grave. The river is ' four feet above the 1SS7 mark, and rising at the rate of half a foot a day. Heavy rain fell during the night, which will retard work on the dyke and add to the danger. The levee from Lunar to Leland Is seep ing badly, but the engineers do not regarJ this with apprehension iTOP SUIT! King County Delegation May Be Called Off DISCLOSURES ARE DREADED Story of Preston's Futile Sena torial Struggle. DID NOT PLAY FAIR WITH ALLIES Frantic Efforts of Furth. to Land the Prize, and Then to Cover His Tracks When He Was Un successful. If the civil and criminal libel cults against the Seattle Times are pressed, much political history will be verified that Is sow mere hearsay. Pressure will In all probability be brought on the members of the Kins County delegation to perauada them to let the matter drop. "Wilson, Furth. Frlnk and many other good political fighters aro very much Interested In seeing that tho suits are not brought to trial. SEATTLE, March 20. Special.) Coin cident with the trial of civil and criminal libel suits against the Seattle Times and those men connected with the publication of stories reflecting upon certain King County members of the Legislature will come a revelation of inside political his tory that will astound the people of Se attle. In fact, if the parties to the suit pursue their investigations, the case is more apt to become known for the news broken to the people of King County than for Its effect upon the Times. Members of the King: County Legislative delegation Insist they will force the suits against the Times to an Issue. Attorneys have been at work on- the cases for sev eral weeks, carefully collecting evidence, preparing themselves for the trial of the causes. The papers are all drawn and the members of the delegation are ready to force the Issue. Twelve of the members of the delegation aro Joined in the various suits. No Invi tation was extended Representative Lewis Levy to Join In the actions. No one seemed to be anxious to invite him, and Levy did not obtrude himself. If he feels aggrieved at anything that may have been said Mr. Levy has been left in undisputed possession of his right to bring an inde pendent action. The outcome of the suits is a matter of mere conjecture. It is an easy matter to arouse suspicion and a hard thing to prove that injustice has been done. There ia a general belief that many members of the delegation are absolutely above suspicion, but the result of their effort at vindication will not be known until a verdict is rendered. In the meantime if there Is any prob ability that some of the inside history of the Preston fight will be public prop erty as a result of the suits, strong, pres sure is certain to be brought to bear to dissuade the members of the King County delegation from forcing the fight. As It now stands some of the ostensible sup porters of Preston, who were really urg ing the King County delegation to break from him, are protected by the delegation, which has been bound by a pledge of secrecy regarding all the moves In the game played at Olympla last Winter. But a libel suit would probably bring out much of this story, and that Is one of tho rea sons influential politicians will endeavor to put off the threatened proceedings. What John L. Wilson Did. To bring out the fact, for example, tlyit ex-TJnlted States Senator John L. Wil son, who has Just arrived from Spokane to lay the foundation for another Sena torial boom, urged the King County dele gation repeatedly to break away from Preston and make a deal with Ankeny, would have a bad effect upon the stand ing of the Spokane man In Seattle. Nor would It aid tho chances of Jacob Furth In the future to show that he planned some of the moves in the Ankeny deal. A. B. Stewart would hardly care to have It shown that he devoted his last week while In Olympla to an effort to save his broth, er's job as Postmaster In Seattle, and he did not treat Preston any too kindly in this effort. Then there Is J. M. Frlnk, who was one of the first to alight from the train that brought a "Preston" dele gation to Olympla, and who Immediately posted off to the King County headquar ters to ask that he be substituted for Preston as the King County Senatorial candidate. W. P. Trimble, J. J. Mc Gllvra and E. C. Hughes were among the King County "dark horses" In the Preston train. None of these men Is going to permit that libel suit, with its attendant revelations, come to a trial If he can prevent It. Nothing but a trial of such a case or some equally effective move, could ever convince Harold Preston of the bad faith shown by his home city. He still clings to the belief that he was jobbed by his delegation. He does not know and the people of Seattle do not know that the delegation merely followed. the advice of the leading politicians of King County. When these facts are known there may be a change of sentiment, but this is some thing the King 'County members are not worrying over. There was scarcely a move. If any at all, that was taken without consulting Senator Wilson and E. C. Hushes. Jacob Furth knew almost everything the dele gation planned to do, and he urged the members to take some of the action It did. The Impossibility of harmonizing the different Interests with Preston convinced most of the politicians Interested in his fight that it was a hopeless effort to at tempt to elect him. The claims of Mc Bride that he could elect Preston If the King County Senators supported the rail road commission bill were not shown to. be well founded, and the politicians knew at all times that there was no chance for the Democratic support that was always held up as a possibility ''by the Governor and his friends. Preston Would Xot Trade. In the beginning a fair division of the work of waiting upon other members of the Legislature was attempted. The out side members were divided among the King County delegation by Preston's own orders. Then arose the question of a di vision of patronage and what Preston would permit his delegation to pledge. Preston promptly insisted he would not trade patronage for votes. This answer was accepted In good faith for a day or two, and then it developed that Preston had already promised to name Senator Warburton District Judge In the event the State of Washington was cufinto two Federal Judiciary districts, and had de clared that he would see that Senator Sharp's son was made clerk of the court. More than that it was discovered Reuben W. Jones had been slated for Postmaster of the City of Seattle. Then some of the King County members claimed bad faith in the distribution of patronage, and went on a strike. The next break came when Preston In sisted upon naming a portion of the com mittees in the Senate, so as to reward his friends. His knowledge of the situa tion became apparent when he picked out three Ankeny men to be honored at the beginning, and then came back with the explanation he had just discovered his error. Preston was not allowed to Inter fere there again. When it was discovered that no deal could be made with the commission men In the Legislature, McBride and Preston were ready to believe that they could not elect Preston Senator. Then It was that John L. Wilson made overtures to the two, offering to support the railroad com mission bill with whatever strength he could muster In the event McBride and Preston would support him. S. A. Perkins, Wilson's Pierce County manager, endeav ored to undermine the Pierce County sup port' of Ankeny at the same time, but failed, and the deal with Preston and McBride fell through. Then Furtn "Butted In." Jacob Furth was put forward as a can didate, and he secured a pledge of time from the King County delegation to al low him to go out and ascertain the strength he could muster from tho out side counties. -There were four men in, the King County delegation who were not fa.-' vprably 'inclined! toward Furth's can didacy, and this fact, together with his work outside the county, convinced Mr. Furth that he was not a possibility. Then In rapid succession half a dozen other men were discussed, but they would not do. By this time there was a well-organized movement afoot among the Democrats to swing over to Ankeny's support. Twelve of them had pledged themselves to do so, and four Republicans "voting in the air" were ready to jump to the Walla Walla candidate. The King County members became alarmed, and sordid the politicians from that city. A conference, or, rather, a series of con ferences were held with .John L. Wilson, E. C. Hughes, A. B. Stewart, Jacob Furth and others, at which times the sit uation was canvassed. It was proclaimed there that Preston could not win, and the delegation was urged to make the best possible terms with AnKeny. At the suggestion of Wilson and some of the other politicians Preston was served with his first notice that the delegation wanted to be released. In the meantime some of the King County men endeavored to ascertain what could be expected from Ankeny In the event support was thrown to him. In cjdentally an effort was put forth to swing as many of the King County mem bers as possible and 17 agreed, at first, to leave Preston. FiRhtluj? for Delay. Preston and his managers continually pleaded for more time, and It was granted. These continual extensions of time wor ried Wilson, Furth and their friends more than the King County delegation. The Ankeny managers were almost ready to force Ankeny's election without aid from King County, and such a result would not have aided King County's future chances. It was for this reason that these men urged the King County delegation to pre cipitate the election of Ankeny at once. Wilson, for example, even went so far as to go to the Baldwin Hotel, where one of the King County caucuses was In progress, and urge the King County men to "do It at once." The plan of Wilson and his friends, as well as the Idea of the King County men, was to shoulder the responsibility upon the seven Republican hold-over Senators and at the same time permit them to do a bit of good politics. The night of the first state ball the lines were laid for one of the closing moves in the fight. The King County Senators, according to agreement, summoned the other hold-over Senators, outside Pierce County, to a con ference. Before any of them appeared Senators Potts, Tucker and Palmer hied away to the ball and Senators Van de Vanter and Hemrlch went off on busi ness engagements, leaving Senators Smith and Klnnear to meet the outside Senators. They called in these men, one at a time, and secured a pledge from most of them to support a King County candidate for Senator two years hence in the event King County agreed upon a suitable man. This work had scarcely been ac complished when Jacob Furth, accompan ied by Wilson, Hughes and several other friends, reappeared and declared he saw his way through the fight. Furth was In formed that the King County Senators had been bound by the pledges they had given the hold-over Senators, and no matter what Furth was able to do they would have to stay by their agreement. Furth Immediately conceded that he had been too late, and a day was spent In covering up Furth's tracks. In the meantime Preston asked for more time tq try new moves in his fight for CCo&cluded on Fourth Page.) ORIGIN OF ROW Keene Had Organized Southern Pacific Pool.. HARRIMAN WAS WILLING But Pool Failed to. Realize on the Big Game. SOMEONE SOLD INOPPORTUNELY It Was Hnrrlman Who Let Out the Stock That Spoiled Keene's Plans, and Who Made a Heap Out of the Transaction. The Keene-Harriman difficulty over Southern Pacific bad Its origin In dis appointment at the failure of Keene's pool to boom Southern Pacific stock. At a critical time Harrlman sold heav ily, thus preventing the advance Keene was manipulating tor. Then, when the stock had slumped, Harrlman covered. When Keene discovered this, he took action In two ways Invited Southern Pacific proxies and went Into court to prevent the Harrlman party from vot ing its stock at the annual meeting. It Is one of the finest fights between heavy operators ever seen In Wall street. NEW YORK, March 20. (Special.) The firm of Talbot J. Taylor & Co. has Issued a call for proxies to be. voted at the an nual meeting of the Southern Pacific on April 8. Union, Pacific has also sent out a call for similar proxies. The meaning of these two events is very plain. It is that the speculative forces of Wall street's greatest speculator are arrayed for battle against the corporate powers at the command of Wall street's greatest railroad king. The origin of tho trouble dates bacic mora than a year. At that time' James R. Keene began, to ask various capitalists in Wall street certain questions relative' to the possibility of getting up a pool In Southern Pacific stock. As week followed week more and more of Wall street speculative fraternity professed a willing ness to enlist under tho banner of Mr. Keene in a campaign to put this stock 30 or 40 points higher than ruling quota tions. All last Spring Mr. Keene and his lieutenant, Talbot J. Taylor, worked un ceasingly In the completion of this pool. They tried the market thoroughly. They put the stock through Its paces, and dis covered just how much it could be moved by tho buying of a certain amount, how easily It broke under selling, how strong a bear party had to be met and defeated on each move of the game, how much capital it was necessary to have behind the manipulation, and. In fact, they gained in those months of skirmishing all the knowledge that it was deemed necessary to possess If tho undertaking of the pool wa3 to be carried through to a successful termination. On Mr. Keene's return from Europe last Summer, the real campaign began. The great leader told his friends that It would be short and sharp, and that by the end of September Southern Pacific would be selling at pari The pool at the begin ning of this short campaign consisted of about 300.000 shares of the stock of South ern Pacific, and was composed of about SO members. It was the biggest speculative pool, and the richest that Wall street has ever seen. It had behind it an aggregate capital of nearly $100,000. The members of It were strong and confident Among them were numbered some of Wall street's oldest and wisest brokers at least two railroad presidents, two chair men of railroad boards and five independ ently wealthy capitalists. Hardly a man In It but was a director of one or more corporations whose stock Is listed on the Stock Exchange. How Pool Boomed Stock. At the outset Mr. Keene assured the members of the pool that Mr. Harrlman would not in 'any way oppose the pool operation. They scattered literature across the "continent to tell the public that the Southern Pacific pool was going to put the stock up partly in order that the 750,000 shares held by Union Pacific and Mr. Harrlman might be of greater value to those two interests. They stated flatly that Union Pacific and Mr. Harrl man would In no wise object to this in crease In the value of their assets. At a cost of 540,000 they Issued a magnificent cloth-bound circular, telling of the great ness of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Its marvelous resources, its wonderful terri tory, its growing industries. Its thriving towns, its rich mineral prospects, lt3 splendid record of earnings. They, stated In this circular that before the end of 1502 Mr. Harrlman and Union Pacific would decide to pay a dividend of 4 per cent on Southern Pacific stock. They gave to the world the impression that Mr. Harrlman and Union Pacific had pledged themselves to the declaration of this div idend. They left to the world not a sin gle doubt as to the fact that Southern Pacific by the end of 1902 would be a dividend stock paying its stockholders a rich return on their investment. Southern Pacific went up. It went from CO to 70 in a week. It went from 70 to 80 in three weeks. There It checked. Some body was selling. Market sharps in the offices nudged one another as they watched the ticker and confided to one another the secret: "Keene Is selling the pool stock." "That was the crucial moment In the history of this great pool. If It had been true that Keene was doing what his ad mirers thought he was doing, all would have been well.. It Is true that Mr. Keene denied flatly at that time that he was selling Southern Pacific, . but, of course, no one believed him. No one ever believes the leader of a pool in Wall street, so tho public winked and made remarks complimentary to the genius, but not to the veracity of James R. Keene. Mean time the selling continued. Southern Pa cific was traded In to a tremendous ex tent. Some days as much as 100,000 shares crossed the board. People began to won der who was doing the buying. The stock seemed to bo pegged around SO. Then, aa suddenly as it had become active, the stock became dull. People said that Keene had got out of Southern Pacific Keene Had to Support It. Meantime Mr. Keene was having trou bles of his own. It can be stated now In the light of subsequent events that Mr. Keene had sold no stock of Southern Pa cific. On the contrary, to keep the stock from dropping back to where it was when the pool began he had been obliged to buy an immense amount of additional stock. For once the great leader was beaten. He did not know where the stock was coming from. He thought that some person was selling short, and he thought that It would be Interesting to squeeze that person. It was the mistake of Mr. Keene's lifetime. The person In question was E. H. Harrlman, a man who had in hl3 treasury more Southern Pacific stock than even Mr. Keeno and his powerful pool would care to buy, and a person moreover who. If control of Southern Pa cific once passed out of his hands, could turn around and make Southern Pacific worth less than $25 per share. It was never a part of Mr. Harrlman's plan to let the Southern Pacific pass out of his hands. He knew, what Mr. Keene did not know, namely, that there was coming on the street a period of money stringency. He knew that during such a period thousands of shares of Southern Pacific would be thrown Into the street, and the buyers for this stock would be few and far between. He knew that he could, stay short of the market until this time came and buy at bargain prices the stock that he had already sold to Mr. Keene and his friends. Therefore, he sold and sold heavily. ' Mr. Keene did not take the members of the pool fully into his confidence. They had surrendered all discretion in the mat ter of the pool stock Into Mr. Keene's hands. They are absolutely guided by his word. He told them to wait, and they waited and are waiting still. Tight money came. It swept upon the street suddenly. Prices crumbled. Stock values dwindled rapidly-. All the work of Mr. Gates' six months' campaign was undone in three short weeks. Thousands of men and women all over England, Germany, the United States and Canada lost In those three weeks every cent that they had been. Induced to put Into the "Wall-street market. Southern Pacific was as bad as any other stock on the list. It- tumbled rapidly. From 81 It dropped to below 60. There It steadied. Mr. Harrlman covered his shorts. He took his time about it; He knew perfect ly well that the pool stock cost Mr. Keene and his friends about $70 per share, and that they would not sell It below that price. He was careful to see that his buying did not bring it up to that price. It Is believed that he covered his shorts below 63. When he had them covered, the stock still looked so cheap that he considered it a bargain, and he kept on buying, so that before the stock reached .65 he had added 150,000 shares to the stock already In .the treasury of Union Pacific, and had made the control of the road safe .beyond a doubt Sold Keene to a Standstill. Mr. Harrlman then announced -through his bankers, lhat he nad made this pur chase. of Southern Pacific stock, and that any one who wanted control of Southern Pacific would have to buy it from E. H. Harrlman. It was a bad day for the pool. Wall street began to realize that Harrlman had sold Keene to a standstill. The stock went down again. Rumors began to spread that the Southern Pa cific pool had gone to pieces. Mr. Keene vigorously denied It. The street took this as a good reason for-believing that It was so', and kept on believing that it was so until a couple of weeks ago. Since then events have crowded on one another in the history of the Southern Pacific pool.. On March 5 It leaked out that Edward Lauterbach had served pa pers on Alexander Miller, secretary of Union Pacific, and then Immediately with drawn the papers. Those papers were an injunction to restrain Union Pacific from voting the 900,000 shares of Southern Pa cific stock which were held in its treas ury at the annual meeting on April 8. Rumors flew thick and fast It was stat ed, and It has since been corroborated, that Messrs. Keene and Harrlman had, figuratively speaking, come to blows. Mr. Keene had accused Mr. Harrlman of bad faith in selling stock to the pool, and In refusing to help the pool out by declar ing the dividend. Mr. Harrlman prompt ly told Mr. Keene that Southern Pacific belonged io Union Pacific, and to Mr. Harrlman.. and that those two Interests would do with it whatever they thought fit On March 11 Mr. Keene sent out his call for proxies. In It he declared that Mr. Harrlman and the Union Pacific man agement were practically robbing the stockholders of Southern Pacific. He de clared that Union Pacific Intended to use the earnings of the other road to build up the Central Pacific branch, and then finally to take over Central Pacific and make It part of Union Pacific, leaving the rest of the Southern Pacific system out In the cold. On the 13th Keene ob tained a temporary' Injunction on the grounds set out In his petition presented and withdrawn March 5. The sequel to this remarkable fight will be found in the report of the annual meeting April S, and probably in the rec ords of the law courts after that date. The Southern Pacific pool will stand to gether. They do not hope, even In. their wildest moments to wrest control of Southern Pacific from the Harrlman grasp. They do hope to make such a pro test that Union Pacific and Mr. Harrl man will be shamed into the payment of a dividend on Southern Pacific. If all else fails, they are undoubtedly willing to carry the matter Into the courts on the ground that the earnings of Southern Pa cific are being diverted to the benefit of an alien road, namely. Union Pacific. Meantime Mr. Harrlman Is cool and con fident He waives aside all questions rel ative to Southern Pacific His bankers say the matter is a joke. Mr. Harrlman and Union Pacific can afford to laugh. On the selling short of 100.000 shares at SO. and the covering of It at 60, Mr. Harrl man cleared $2,000,000. Incidentally he bought 150,000 shares for $3,000,000, which he can make worth $15,000,000 by simply calling the directors together and telling them to declare a dividend. It Is a joke. Everj" one in Wall, street says so, except the members of the Southern Pacific pooL Restraining Order Amended. NASHVILLE. Tenn.. March 20. United States Judge Lurtcn. sitting in chambers here, has granted, the motion made by at torneys for the Southern Pacific Railway to amend the restraining order granted March 13. The motion was to strike out the words "In the City of New York." where they first occurred in the laws of the company and insert the words "at the office of the company in Beechmont, Jef ferson County, Ky." To Suppress Relielllon In China. WASHINGTON. March 20. A cablegram received at the State Department today from United States Consul McWade at Canton, says: "Viceroy Tezen today dispatched troops to suppress an Incipient rebellion at Yam chow, in the province of Kuan Tung." AT T. JOHN Drydock Will Be Lo cated Down the River. INDORSED BY LOGKWOGD Victoria Site Not Practicable for the Purpose COST OF PROPERTY $14,000 Fifty Thousand Dollars Will Put the Tract in Condition for the Re ception of the Dock Cap tain Spencer's Approval. The Port of Portion (J Commission yes terday selected the drydock site at St Johns. 1100 feet of water front will be pur chased for $14,000. To prepare the property for the dry dock will coat $50,130. Less dredging will be required than at any other site except the Victoria dock, and little trouble Is expected In maintaining the channel. The river Is wide at the point select ed, and there is ample room for navi gation. The drydock will go to St Johns. The Port of Portland Commission, at a special meeting yesterday afterno'on, by a unani mous vote, accepted the offer of Hartman'. Thompson & Powers of 14C0 feet of water front near St Johns, adjoining the Brazee tract, at $10 a front foot Engineer J. B. C Lockwood estimates that It will cost $50,130 to prepare the property for the re ception of the dock, which will bring the total coat up to $64,130, The Victoria dock site prepared tor the berthing of the dry dock, would have cost the port $129,780, ac- cording to Mr. Lockwood's figures. There was a full attendance of the mem bers of the board present except Ellis G. Hughes, who never attends, and several Interested- spectators, Including Captain E. W. Spencer, Captain F. B. Jones, Lewis Russell, Charles Hegele and Paul Labbe. The proceedings began with the reading of the report of Engineer Lockwood, on the two sites last proposed those of Cap tain Spencer and Hartman, Thompson & Powers. The report was accompanied by drawings showing the proposed loca tions of the dock upon the sites. The re port follows: Since submitting my report to you of February 2S I have, at your request, ex amined two additional proposed sites for the drydock. Captain E. W. Spencer offers the Vic toria dock at $75,000. This property con sists of about 775 feet, river frontage, a short distance below the steel bridge. It (Concluded on Fourth Page.) CONTEXTS OF TODAY'S PAPER. National Affairs. Senate amendments have muddled the Cuban treaty. Page 5. Secretary Hay's answer- to Argentine proposi tion. Page 3. Further arrangements for President's tour. Page 3. Transport DIx may load at Portland. Page i. Domestic. Origin of the quarrel between Keene and Har rlman. Page 1. AVabash trainmen offer to arbitrate. Page 2. Arguments for and against the railroad merger. Pago 6. Missouri Supreme Court fines the beef trust. Page 5. More Mississippi levees break and Increase flooded area. Page. 2. Grand Jury's story of battle with West Vir ginia miners. Page 7. Collision between- steamers costs' six lives. Page 7. Foreign. Chamberlain ;reak3 on his South African tour. Page 3. Balfour proposes to give Ireland partial home rule. Page 3. American explorers in Central Africa. Page 3. Sports. Portland Browns win game at San Jose by 8 to 3. Page 7. Northwest League trying to capture Coast League players. Page 7. Pacific Coast. Some "Washington politicians would be glad to see Times suits stopped. Page 1. HUIsboro and Forest Grove up in arms against Portland and the Fair. Page 4. Referendum League In Polk County Is quies cent. Page 4. Taxes on timber lands In Marion County will be doubled. Page 4. Oregon City paper mills cannot pay higher wages. Page 5. Commercial and Marine. Light pack of Alaska salmon is expected. Page 15, Early losses in wheat at. Chicago regained by shorts covering. Page 15. General- Improvement In New Tork stock mar ket. Page 15. Weekly trade reviews. Page 15. Oranges lower at San Francisco auctlpn. Pago 15. Derelict lumber schooner sighted off the mouth of the Columbia. Page 14. Portland and Vicinity. Drydock site selected In St Johns. Page , Fair board will be harassed If referendum la called. Page 10 Civil service commission plana to throw exam inations oaen to all citizens who can read and write. Page 12. State board examines line of proposed portago railway. Page 10. Leung John is killed as result oC highbinder war. Page 16. J C. E. Wood, trustee of bankrupt estate, re moved. Page 11. t Attorneys for De Falco endeavflr to prove his Insanity. Page 10. " Seattle man purchases controlling interest In Cordray's Theater. Page J2. James McDiarmid is micsing. and he is sus pected of embezzling $5G0. Page 14. Committees will meet tonight to plan Presl- .. dent's welcome. PagelO. St Louis fair will not be postponed until 1905. Page 11. .r .