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TODAY'S WEATIIEIl Occasional rain, prob
ably part snow or sleet; variable winds, mostly
northwesterly.
YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem
perature 4S; minimum temperatnre. 33; total
precipitation. .11 of an inch.
FORTLAXD, FRIDAY, APRIL O, 1003.
PCACB FOIl iiu:um).
The land question In Ireland Is as
troublesome a problem to the United
Kingdom as the race question in our
country Is troublesome to us. Tet
there Is more hope of settling- the land
question In Ireland and of getting It
out of politics than of settling the race
question In the United States and of
clearing our politics from Its difflcul.
ties. Race problems are of all others
the most troublesome.
In no other civilized country of the
world has such a system of land tenure
existed as that which has existed in
Ireland. For centuries it has been a
reproach to the principles of an en
lightened civilization. Till recently the
landlord has been absolute master of
his tenant; and as the landlord usually
lived out of the country, he ground the
tenant down by his deputy, absorbing
the rents. All enterprise and industry
In the Irish peasant were simply at a
discount; for any Improvements he
might make could only result, as he
too well knew. In Increase of the rent.
Tlife expression became intolerable, and
wholesale eviction followed as addi
tional injustice. For a long time the
only legislation on the subject was di
rected to the punishment and repres
sion of the discontent which such a
state of things naturally provoked.
All the deeper was the sense of the. In
justice and cruelty, since it could not
but be remembered that In most cases
the title of the landlord depended on
or ran back to conquest and confisca
tion. Down to 1S70 the legislation did
little or nothing to mitigate the cruel
rigors of this dreadful situation, while
measures of great severity were con
stantly employed against all resistance
to it
The first measure that opened a door
of hope was Mr. Gladstone's bill of
1870. It had three objects first, to ob
tain for the Irish tenant security of
tenure; second, to encourage the mak
ing of Improvements; and, third, the
creation of a peasant proprietorship.
But it did not go far. What it really
did was to make eviction too costly
for any but the wealthier landowners.
Its provisions for compensation of
landowners were ineffectual, and the
clauses attempting to create a peasant
proprietorship were also futile. It
tended, therefore, to increase the agi
tation rather than to allay it; and the
natural consequence was increasing se
verity of repression. Followed then
the act of 1S81. which attempted to in
troduce the principle of purchase with
the aid of the state, and regulation of
the rent charge by law. Results were
unsatisfactory, and popular tumult In
Ireland was followed by vigorous coer
cion acts. Through the Land League
the power of the government was re
sisted, and the treatment accorded to
Captain Boycott gave a new word to
the language. By the assassination of
Lord Frederick Cavendish in Phoenix
rark. Dublin, Immense harm was done
to the cause of Ireland though that
crime was a conspiracy In which only
a few persons were concerned, all of
whom were brought to punishment.
But the agitation tended to open men's
minds to the demands of justice, and In
1SS5 the first effective purchase act was
passed, setting aside 325.000.000 to pro
mote the purchase of lands by tenants,
the government to advance the pur
chase money as a loan. A second and
similar act was passed in 1SSS. Down
to the present time there has been an
expenditure of more than $100,000,000 on
this account, and" the new bill now
rending will add 550,000,000 to this great
Bum, The Conservative party, at first
bitterly opposed to the policy, has now
apparently made the policy Its own.
Government is taking the place of the
landlord, and the tenants are encour
aged and helped on favorable terms to
become owners of the land. Of course,
there are difficulties. 'Where the ten
ants have been turbulent, the landlords
are eager to sell, but where the tenants
have been quiet and law-abiding the
landlords are unwilling to sell and put
up the price. Thus, it is complained,
"ihe virtuous have suffered in many
cases for their very virtues, while the
bad have profited by their vices." But
such difficulties are Inevitable In the
redress of a great national wrong.
Since ISS5 the Irish question has been
passing into a wholly new phase; and
Justin McCarthy, himself an Irishman,
sounds the triumphant note that the
struggles of that fair but long unhappy
country, not merely since the union,
but for many centuries, "are practical
ly at an end."
The Supreme Court of Massachusetts
has decided against the. antl-voccina-
tionlsts, who have questioned the con
stitutionality of the statute In regard
to compulsory vaccination. Even con
ceding, says the court, that vaccination
may possibly work Injury m particular
cases, yet it Is agreed by the medical
profession-and the public generally that
the general results of vaccination are
beneficial, and have proved bo. It Is a
case, therefore, where the concern of
the Individual gives way to that of the
community at large. The antl-vaccl-nationlst
may escape treatment by pay
ing the J5 penalty. He might escape by
agreeing, to isolate himself from others
during an epidemic, but his right to
moye about among his fellows while
subject to the disease is not a reason
able contention.
A BLOW AT AXAKCirr.
Every contract, combination In the form of
trust or otherwise, or conspiracy. In restraint
oi iraao or commerce among; ine several states.
Lor with foreign nations. Is illegal. Every
person who shall make any such contract or
engage In any such combination or conspiracy
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and.
on conviction thereof, shall be punished by one
not exceeding 13000. or by Imprisonment not
exceeding one year, or by both said punish-I
menu, in me uiscreuon ot tne couru
Such Is the language of the law of
the United States, duly enacted by
Congress and approved by President
Harrison July 2, 1890. Its meaning is
perfectly plain, and it is not surpris
ing that the United States Circuit Court
of Appeals, sitting at St- Paul, pro
nounces by the unanimous opinion of
the four Judges the Northern Securities
merger an illegal body in the view of
this first section of the Sherman anti
trust law of ISM. It would have been
surprising if any other decision had
been rendered. And It would also have
been ominous and disturbing.
It is hardly susceptible of belief that
the Sherman law conveys a different
meaning to Hill. Morgan and their col
leagues than to the ordinary mind.
They can scarcely be credited with the
conviction that the joint acquisition
and control of Great Northern and
Northern Pacific had for either Its pur
pose or Its effect the stimulus of com
petition between those roads. In their
heart of hearts they probably regard
the contention that the merger's con
summation before the Government's
bill was filed renders the merger Im
peccable In the eye of the law, as
"novel" and "absurd" as does the rul
ing of the court:
No, we must acquit the merger peo
ple of that bucolic simplicity which
they assume, and in which they pro
fess to believe that the merger Is an
enterprise in aid of competition and
aiming at nothing so much as the full
consummation and embodiment of the
purposes of the Sherman law. They
understood the law, but it did not suit
them. They had other Ideas. They
had other plans.
The law was a mere negligible inci
dent to their more pertinent undertak
ingsa mere fly on the great wheel of
their colossal schemes. Hence it did
not affect them. It was to be ignored,
or, in the last extremity, to be gotten
rid of by high-priced legal talent In a
maze of technicalities and whimsicali
ties and nonsenslcalltles. "What was
Congress to Hill, what is the President
to Morgan, what are a few Judges,
more- or less, to Wall street and the
brainiest lawyers in the United States?
"We are engaged, they said, in a great
movement of world development. We
must be equipped for quick and coher
ent service acres the American conti
nent and to the coast of Asia. What
we require we must have. If the law
is otherwise, so much the worse for
the law. It must stand aside. We
cannot be balked.
This is anarchy In high place, but
anarchy. Disregard and Impatience of
law come to the same thing, whether
held at the corner of Broad and Wall
and in private palace cars and along
Fifth avenue, or by the ragged beggar
stealing a loaf of bread from the ba
ker's wagon. It Is to the undying
credit of these Eighth Circuit Judges
that they send out to waiting mankind
in this critical point in the history of
representative government that so far
as they are concerned the law is still
supreme. Good or bad, wise or foolish,
it Is supreme: and it can depend Upon
the machinery of the judicial depart
ment of the Government to do Its part
In sustaining the mandate of the leg
islative department-
The victory, however, is not final.
The custodians of the people's cause in
this preliminary skirmish have acquit
ted themselves well the Attorney-General
as well as the court. But the ul
timate outcome Is for the people them
selves. This decision is probably in
advance of the public conviction as to
the sacredhess of the law. From the
rich tax-shirker and automobllist down
to the humble wreaker of private
vengeance on his enemy's premises or
person, we are all too careless of stat
utes and ordinances that stand In our
way. If this decision evokes In us all,
high and low, a higher regard for the
social compact, it will have served its
purpose welL In the day when our re
sect for law crumbles at the founda
tions of our Teutonic-English civiliza
tion, we shall begin to throw away the
means by which a thousand years of
training have raised us to the, pinnacle
of social and industrial efficiency.
THE LABOR SITUATION.
As the first of May approaches, the
labor situation throughout the country,
and, indeed, the. civilized world, be
comes strained and laborers of the less
considerable type more or less turbu
lent, and employers more or less dog
matic This has been the rule for a
number of years, and the present year,
though big with prosperity and bright
with promise, is no exception. A feat
ure of the situation, however, that is
encouraging as indicating the growth
of tolerance and self-control Is the ab
sence, generally speaking, of lawless
ness and the prevalence of a temperate
spirit In the discussion of matters at
Issue. Time was when the terms
"strike" and "violence" were synony
mous. Remembering the real griev
ances to which laboring men at times
were subjected grievances In which
trades unionism took mighty root to
gether with the fact that might was
generally held to make right, this fact
Is not surprising. That labor has less
to complain ot in these days than it
had in those is a fact patent to alL
Equally patent is the fact that its lead
ers are men of greater breadth of vjew,
and Its rank and file less excitable and
less prone to the use of the physical
argument when pushing Its claims to
justice than formerly.
It is thus that the strikes of the
present year have been orderly. Man
agers counsel men to refrain from vio
lence, and the men are quiet and well
behaved, albeit idleness Is the greatest
possible incentive to habits that breed
disorder. The point of battle has been
narrowed to discrimination against
nonunion men. Here employers of
labor take their stand with determined
resistance, and here, also, labor leaders
take up their strongest position. This
is a principle which the Anthracite op
erators distinctly excepted from the ar
bitration of the coal-strike committee,
and to it labor leaders generally cling
with tenacity.
Thus far there seems to be little dis
position in this city or elsewhere
throughout the labor storm area to en
courage a general strike movement on
a sentimental Instead of a practical
basis. This feature of the situation Is
Indicative of two things first, that the
labor leaders are more practical and
just men than some of the generals
who have conducted the labor wars of
the past; and, second, that the power
defined as popufar sentiment is a force
with which Intelligent men in this day
"prudently reckon. The popular feeling
Is today with the laborer, and it may
be depended upon to support cordially
any reasonable Jemand that Is made In
his name. To place this tremendous
.reserve force in Jeopardy Is not wise,
and it is not at all likely that it will be
done in the Spring campaign now on
between labor unionism and capital
unionism.
THE STREXGTH OP OCR !AVY.
A Vancouver correspondent recently
deprecated the view of Admiral Dewey
regarding the strength and ability of
our Navy. In Justice to Admiral Dewey,
it should be noted that In his compari
son of the German. and American navies
he said, "Germany could not possibly
get a fleet over here that could fight the
fifty-four warships of the American
Navy." In this statement Admiral
Deweji Is correct, for Admiral Melville,
who la not a very able man, but Is au
thority in the matter of steam engineer
ing. In his discussion of our actual naval
strength In the March North American
Review, says In substance that while we
need a Navy of such strength that it
would hold Its own, at least near our
own coast, with any fleet that could be
assembled even by a combination of
powers, yet to effect this purpose we do
not need to possess the largest navy,
for "the modern battleship has so many
engineering weaknesses that the actual
force that could be brought here, even
by a league of foreign powers, would be
only, a fraction of the strength that
some experts believe could be assem
bled." This article was published by Admiral
Melville before the views of Admiral
Dewey were in print. Admiral Melville
points out that If naval strength were
dependent only on the relative number
of guns and the amount of armor pos
sessed by naval powers, their relative
strength would be simply proportionate
to relative national wealth, and navies
would be -bought rather than created.
But supremacy on the pea ran only be
secured by that nation which is rich in
natural, manufacturing and material
resources and whese people possets or
can acquire the sea. habit. Naval
strength Is dependent upon the auxil
iaries that the fleet requires. Great
Britain has Invested from three to four
times aa much money In naval auxil
iaries as In battleships. These auxil
iaries Include tralnlng-ehlps. torpedo
boats, supply vessels, cruisers, docks,
arsenal? and naval stations; and because
of the strength of these auxiliaries the
English naval experts are very Indiffer
ent to any projected alliance of naval
Continental powers. The English naval
experts agree that It would require
three battleships upon the part cf
England to match two French vessels
of like character, if a blockade of the
French coast should be attempted, be
cause the French vesseles in harbor
would be supported by coast batteries
and torpedo mines. A European power
would therefore require a fleet of at
least double the strength that we pos
sess to operate against our shores. Ad
miral Melville says that the defects of the
modem battleship for blockading pur
poses will be made manifest to the naval
world If some nation ever attempts to
operate against our principal Atlantic
ports, and our naval strength has thus
been enormously Increased by reason of
our isolation from those countries which
aspire to naval supremacy.
Cool or the want of It is the life or
death of a fleet; and Great Britain Is
the only naval power in the world that
is on equality with America as regards
the possession of an adequate supply, of
fuel of good steaming quality. In warship-building
yards Great Britain Is the
only country that Is superior to us. In
transportation facilities we surpass the
world, and In event of war all parts of
the country could contribute quickly to
the defense of our coast and the sup
port of our Navy. In men who have
the habit of the sea we equal any nation
of the world, for our Navy, In event of
war, could draw, on the fishermen and
whalers of New England, the oystermen
of the Chesapeake, the sponge-divers of
Florida, the sealers of Oregon and
Washington, and the coast marine of
the Atlantic and Pacific states. Our
military strength Is such that If a for
eign army should ever land on our coast
it would be utterly wrecked through our
resources; and Admiral Melville holds
that while we may not be able to pre
vent hostile vessels from reaching our
shores, "it Is highly probable that we
would prevent many from returning to
their home base." The navies of the sev
eral leading powers are, says Admiral
Melville, "powerful shields of defense,
but uncertain weapons for distant work,
and conflicts between great fleets can
only be expected between powers whose
possessions are not distant from each
other." It is not our battleships alone,
but our supremacy in agricultural, min
eral, manufacturing and material re
sources that constitute our actual naval
strength, and from this point of view
Admiral Dewey is sustained by the
great professional authority, of Admiral
Melville.
With the last few months, says the
Baltimore American, women In the coun
try districts of the United States have
found a tew occupation la the Govern
ment service. Some hundreds of them
in various parts of the country have
been appointed rural mallcarrlers, and
the reports to the department show that
they have done their work promptly, ef
ficiently and intelligently. While we
should naturally think that womea mall
carriers would be delayed In the per
formance of the work by stress of
weather, these reports show that they
have braved the fierce blizzards of the
West in the discharge of duty in a
most remarkable and satisfactory man
ner. While working as substitutes for
men carriers of their families temporar
ily disabled by Illness, dally deliveries
have been made practically on time by
women in the deep snow and driving
sleet. Feeling their responsibility, they
have met it with courage, determination
and success. Encouraged by this proof
of their ability, some of these obstltsto
and other women who have faith in
themselves have taken the regular civil
service examination, and, passing: It
creditably, have been given routes.
There are sow something like forty
women mallcarrlers in their own right
in the rural dollvery service. Perhaps
the most astonishing and in some quar
ters disconcerting testimony In regard
to their qualifications for the work
comes from the department officials,
who say that the women carriers lose
so time la vlsJUng and gossiping on
their routes, but attend to business
promptly -and cover their distances on
time. Thus one by one the traditions
of the ages drop away from us. Per
haps in the course of human events
even the mother-in-law may receive
credit for the patient, unpaid drudge
that she Is. instead of Insolent censure
for her true motherly hiterest in her
children and their children.
"There has been nothing so hopeful,
patriotic and bustness-llke In Ireland
since the eighteenth century." These
were the concluding words of Mr.
Wyndham, Irish Secretary, In a speech
in the House of Commons in regard to
the genuine Industrial revival in that
island that has followed the annual
grant for the develoment of Its agricul
tural and industrial resources. Vic
toria's long reign, celebrated In the an
nals of history for enlightenment and
progress, missed a grand opportunity
for further and greater distinction In
that Its ruling forces remained stolid
In the presence of Gladstone's efforts to
Infuse new energy and hope into the
hearts of the Irish people. Loyalty to
a government cannot be coerced. To
be worth the having, it must be spon
taneous, and to be spontaneous it must
be supported by a Just appreciation of
the people's rights. Lacking this sup
port, the loyalty of the Irish people to
Queen Victoria and her government
was of a surface quality that gave al
legiance as a mere matter of form and
under compulsion of circumstances.
Possessing It, Irish loyalty to King Ed
ward will manifest Itself In such terms,
of welcome and fealty upon the occa
sion of his forthcoming visit as neither
royalty nor its representative has met
upon Irish soil for more than a century.
The Czar of Russia might learn a use
ful lesson from the revival of hope and
loyalty and Industry In Ireland and
apply It with profit to Finland and Its
hungry, hopeless. Inly rebellious, out
wardly crushed" people.
Baltimore makes boast of one of the
best street railway systems of any city"
in the country, and, furthermore, that
it is served by conductors and motor
men excellent in quality, efficient in
duty and obliging In manners. Not the
patrons of the system alone, but the
ruling forces of the company as well,
appreciate this latter phase of the
service. Attesting this fact, an In
crease of approximately 10 per cent In
the wages or its employes has lately
been made by the company, the an
nouncement of which was a complete
surprise to the men. The action of the
management in substantially apreclat
lng length of service and fidelity to
duty will, says the Baltimore Herald,
undoubtedly be followed by happy re
sults. It adds: "When men feel that
the corporation they serve will do the
right thing by them, they will give It
a higher grade of work, 'and all con
cerned will be benefited." It behooves
these men to make good this assertion.
Men so situated represent a principle.
In this respect they are like women
who hold political office, or who by
strange lapse In the prejudices of the
average school board reach the posi
tion of City Superintendent of Schools,
or perchance that of principal of one
of the larger schools. The burden of
proof of a strong contention which
rests upon a demand for falmess lies
with them. They cannot afford to fall.
The women of Portland, or those
among them who ore anxious and will
ing to help the Lewis and Clark Fair
along, should fling away personal am
bition and become Imbued with the idea
that the public good Is paramount to
private ends. What they must do. If
they ore to succeed and. of course,
they will succeed la to get together,
and. In honor preferring one another,
let titles go and set to work systemat
ically to do what is expected of them.
There is work for alL Competent lead
ership Is necessary: but, like the man
behind the guns on a battleship In ac
tion, the rank and file of the Woman's
Lewis and Clark Club will be the de
pendable quantity In this organization.
This being true, it Is not worth while,
nor Is it worth of women to fight
over honors of official position that will
be empty unless rounded out with
plenty of hard work and a Just con
sideration of the value that attaches to
the work of others.
A black cloud passes over this fa
vored section of the Pacific Northwest
In April, spits a little snow and disap
pears; in other sections of the country
ATKansas, for example such a cloud
assumes the shape of a funnel, and,
swooping low, carries death and de
struction In its track. The story Is one
of sharp contrasts. Its moral Is plain.
There are still uncultivated but pro
ductive lands In this favored section
awaiting development, and special rail
way rates are made to immigrants.
Representative Lucius N. Llttauer. of
Gloversvllle, N. Y Is a Jew. He served
in the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth and
Fifty-seventh Congresses, and was an
intimate personal friend of President
Roosevelt. Representative Lessier, of
New Tork, is a Jew, and Congressman
Julius Kahn, Adolph Myer and Henry
M. Goldfogle are all Jews.
The new sewer in East Twenty-eighth
street is an excellent piece of work as
sewers go. The Inspector says so.
That ought to settle the question and
send the complaining iproperty-owners
who insisted on uniform size of pipe
and properly cemented Joints home
wiser If sadder men.
Mr. Hermann has been nominated In
the First District for Representative in
Congress, apparently because a major
ity of the Republican electors of the
district prefer him to others. He has a
strong hold on public sentiment in the
district, and doubtless will be elected.
nia Home Was a Rich Beehive.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
Contractor Thomas McD. Hirst, of
Bethlehem. Pa., has secured 200 pounds of
nna noney in comb, which he found in
layers of six feet in length stored in tiers
between nine-Inch rafters in the rarret
floor of his house, which is undergoing
repairs. Tne presence of the bees Is a
mystery, for the residence has been con
tinually occupied for the past 10 years.
SPIRIT OF TOB NORTHWEST PRESS
Accused of IuBdellty.
Medford Mall.
Ex-Senator Simon complains that Presi
dent Roosevelt went back on tns word In
relation to the appointment of the Regis
ter or tne Oregon city Lena once. Joseph
has done those sort of things himself.
so he should not be surprised if the In
fluence of two live Senators Is greater.
man mat oi one aeaa one.'
Ontht to Fall and Will.
Newport News.
It looks sow as though the effort to
Invoke the referendum on the Lewis and
Clark Exposition appropriation were about
to fall through and It ought to. rto man
that takes the least bit cf pride or In
terest In the welfare of the state, should
attempt to raise the slightest obstacle to
the progress of this great enterprise,
which means so much to the whole Pacific
Northwest.
Oregon Seeds Xeir Blood.
Roseburg Plalndealer.
It has gone too far to stop the appro
priation for the Lewis and Clark Fair,
by having the matter put off by the
referendum. We cannot afford to pot the
state bock ten years because the graft
was thrust upon us; and now that the
Fair Is assured let all the papers of
Oregon who were originally opposed to
the manner the enterprise was railroaded,
through the Legislature, go In to make It
a success. We are fully persuaded that
If there is one place in the world con
trolled by the Anglo-Saxon race that
needs new blood It is Oregon, and the
Lewis and Clark Fair will bring It.
Roland for Ills Oliver.
Deschutes Echo.
An Albany man, who made the trip
to the Bend country. Crook County, says
that the roadway all along the course
Is strewn with whisky bottles and cans.
Over In that country every one Is In
vited to drink at every turn. In Prine-
vllle. a man in front of the saloons in
vites the passer-by to go in. Out in the
country the first question asked Is:
"Have you kissed the baby." Albany
Democrat. That the bottles and cans are
all empty Is not a surprise to us, or the
great number of them either, for there
has been a good many people from Al
bany over this same road In the last
year.
Let Them Be Themselves.
Eugene Register.
Let Oregon schools teach and demand
more Independent thought and self re
liance. It Is bad policy and of little ben
efit to education that our young men and
women are made over from second-hand
thought and not Imbued with an ambition
to be original In all they say and do.
This Is not the basis upon which real
genius Is founded, and the world never
bears much of the second-hand man or
woman. This thing of young men being
foisted onto the people as winners of ora
torical contests upon borrowed laurels of
others Is a disparagement of education In
Oregon that will keep the standard down
to mere mediocrity. Let us have an
awakening along this line. There may be
nothing new under the sun. but because of
that -fact we need not develop Into the
stale, flat and unprofitable.
Perpetuation of Great Fortunes.
Eugene Guard.
The late Henry W. Corbett was a suc
cessful business man. yet he had one
peculiar Idea .about handling money. He
bequeathed the bulk of his estate of sev
eral millions to three grandsons yet in
their minority, with the unusual condi
tion that they should not come Into thelr
Inheritance, except for allowances, till
the youngest attained the age of 3, about
57 years hence.
If money and the saving of money is
all. Henry W. Corbett. was right. If the
shaping of the lives of boys and girls to
depend on themselves, to be able to man
age the affairs of life when at man's
and woman's estates without the aid of
executors is right. Henry W. Corbett
was entirely wrong. Such inheritances
.cannot but stifle individual effort, will
make mere machines of the beneficiaries.
Penalty for Forest Neglect.
Waltsburs Times.
That the sins of the fathers are visited
upon the children was never more fully
illustrated than In the present distress
along the southern portion of the Mis
sissippi River, and aloag a number of
Its tributaries. The denudation of the
forests on the hills and mountains at the
headwaters of streams and rivers Is bring
ing .about Its' own retribution in alternat
ing periods of drouths and floods, either
of which alone are sources of calamity to
the Nation as Well as to the Immediate
territory affected. In addition to this, the
devastation of forests has caused an ex
pense In building and protecting levees
that runs Into the millions of dollars an
nually. Mile after mile of these em
bankments are now required to hold In
waters that formerly did not rush down
In such torrents as to cover the same
territory, and would not now bad not the
provisions of nature been so grossly set
aside.
Trail of the Plagtarlstlc Serpent.
Walla Walla Etateman.
Down In Oregon a great fuss has been
raised because the champion college ora
tor has been found guilty of plagiarism,
his oration on "The Homeless Nation"
being copied from a speech on "The
Scattered Nation" delivered by the late
Senator Zebulon Vance, of North Caro
lina. The only wonder Is that there are
not more discoveries of flagrant plagi
arism on the part of college debaters
Anyone who has been on the inside knows
that not more than one speech out of
SO delivered by college students is truly
original In Its language, to say nothing
of the Ideas expressed. It Is quite a com
mon thing to hear High-School boys at
commencement exercises talk as elo
quently as Daniel Webster, yet when a
young Demosthenes after graduation is
given a trial as a newspaper reporter.
It Is a rare thing to find him able to ex
press the most commonplace Ideas In
readable English. "Cribbing," however,
is not confined to high-school and col
lege students. Many political orators of
considerable prominence have been de
tected In the same practice.
A Sane and Wholesome Will.
Tacoma Ledger.
The will of the late ex-Senator Cor
bett was stamped with the sane and
wholesome personality of that gentleman.
Mr. Corbett had lived long. His con
duct had been marked by wisdom, pru
dence and thrift. The result was that,
although while active In affairs, he had
been quick to answer the demands of
charity and to sanction needed expendi
ture, old age found him with a fortune.
The distribution of this fortune he
planned on a scale that Is a new honor
to his memory. The wife, who had long
been his companion, was remembered
In an ample provision of cash, and a lib
eral Income. Other relatives are to re
ceive large amounts, but not on a mag
nificent scale. Servants have not been
forgotten. Worthy Institutions will have
a substantial addition to their resources.
The dominant feature of the will, as It
strikes the observer, is the absence of
effort to keep the accumulations together
and to pass them down intact. There
is no foundation laid for a branch of the
aristocracy of gold. The money Is to be
scattered, not wildly or without aim. but
in the best possible manner. It will find
Its way through many channels Into use
ful service. No beneficiary will be ele
vated by his or her share above the
necessity of work, or at least of. care In
conserving the allotted portion, and yet
the eum to each will be sufficient to mean
Independence of the finest sort; freedom
from poverty without the burden of ex
cessive wealth. It is refreshing to ob
serve an instance where a will is in token
of unselfishness, and serves to carry Into
effect the actual force and character of
one who passes from the scene.
FIRST FAILURES OF GREAT ORATORS
Wallace Putnam Reed in Atlanta Constitution.
It seems that Lord Lo vat. a gallant hero
of the South African War, rose to address
the House of Lords In the debate on the
army hill and suddenly collapsed In the
most ludicrous manner, after finishing his
first sentence.
The noble lord was attempting his first
speech, and was seized with what is called
"stage fright." He managed to say. "Hy
lords. I venture to iMnV this' army sys
tem, by producing a definite scheme"
Then he paused, waited a moment or
two, and sat down in hopeless and help
less embarrassment.
A short time ago the Duke of Devon
shire made a still more notable failure.
He was loaded for a big speech, but, after
ruins ana attracting the attention of tht
house, he looked in every direction, de-
uueraieiy c nangea nla position two or
three times, and then resumed hl sear-
without uttering a word.
Some of thA wflrM'i mi i ... . mm,mh
-made rldiculcus failures In early life.
onencan in bis maiden speech made
such a donkey of himself was so nervous,
rambling, unintelligible and Inaudible that
the Commons enffttaw v ,k i-.. -,.--
and Jeers, forcing him at last to sit down.
'c omuant young insnman was
game all the way through.
1 xnow i have rot It in m w
G d. It shall come out!"
in the deDth nf rj fitiTniitflttAn th.t ,
he foresaw the time when his eloquence
WOUld daxxlft nnrt 9lffm . . k...-.
f- nvB. ...u b UUUV
and hold a kingdom spellbound.
oome oi tne very men who laughed at
his maiden speech lived to hall him as
the ideal orator nf thi!r tim, th
heard his matchless speech against War-
reu iiaaungs, ana tney tnorougnly agreed
with Byron when he wrote:
Nature made but one such r
And broke the die In molding; Sheridan,
e
Disraeli had a very similar experience.
When he entered Parliament he was un
popular because he was a Jew, a spec
tacular dandy, a conceited youngster and
a demagogue.
His first speech was no thine but stam
mering Jargon, and the uproar was so
great that he bad to sit down.
It Is all right," he said, "you will
not listen now, but the time is coming
wnen you win near me.
How splendidly that prediction was re
alized Is a matter of history.
ji. lew years later be was a master of
men. easily adapting himself to every
class, the aristocracy and the mob, the
scholarly and the Illiterate. -
Motley heard him address a crowd In a
country town and described his speech as
one or tne cleverest, wittiest, most men
dacious and most besotted speeches ever
heard."
A few days afterward he wrote that
Disraeli's style In Parliament "was calm.
statesmanlike and altogether different
from his declamatory efforts before the
masses."
e
Some fanciful stories have led people to
believe that Daniel Webster was a natural
orator, even In his early boyhood.
This Is a mistake. One of his class
mates. In an article published in Put
nam s Magazine about 60 years ago, says
that at college Webster could never be
Induced to speak. One of his professors.
woo appreciated his great talent, pleaded
with him so earnestly that Daniel, then
a grown man ef 21. promised to declaim
wltn the other students.
When the day came his name was
called, and with a firm step he mounted
the platform. Facing the audience with
perfect outward self-possession and dig
nity, he made a low bow.
Everybody waited expectantly. The
friendly professor began to look anxious.
A suppressed titter was heard among the
students.
Then, with a look of unutterable despair
In his large, unfathomable eyes, the God
like Daniel made another majestic bow
and walked back to his seat.
He never tried to speak again at college.
e
John Randolph and Alexander H. Ste
phens were almost living skeletons, with
out an. ounce of surplus flesh. Their voices
were naturally shrill, hlgbi-keyed and dis
cordant. Randolph practiced singing until his
voice became. well trained, attuned to
every mood, and Its tones and cadences
were so musical that the speaker swayed
and controlled any crowd at his will.
Perhaps Stephens had read of Ran
dolph's system qf voice training. At any
rate, he followed It- With no ear for
music, and never able to carry a tune,
the young lawyer, when riding the cir
cuit, used to sing for hours as he trav
eled the lonely country roads, leading
from one Courthouse to another.
Robert Toombs, at college, began to
display some speaking ability, and while
still a young man his Imperious will, self
confidence, habit of self-assertion. Intel
lectual pride and firm belief In the mas
terful power of his thundering voice,
backed by a superb physique, which made
nervousness out of the question, advanced
him to the front rank of the great ora
tors of his day.
A certain recklessness, contempt for
the opinion of others, determination to
make himself heard, and perfect confi
dence in his own powers, made him equal
to any emergency, and carried him tri
umphantly through ordeals in which al
most any other man would have failed.
A ailsrhty Poor Policy.
Brownsville Times.
After all the money that has been spent
and the work and energy that has been
put forth toward making the Lewis and
Clark Exposition a success. It would seem
mighty poor policy to put the project In
grave doubt by Inviting a vote" under the
referendum on the proposition.
Morgan's Address to the Senate.
Chicago Record-Herald.
I come not here to talk. You know too well
The story I would tell too. But this ditch:
The brlfht sun rises to his course and lights
Yon ditch's banks! He sets and Ms Hat beams
Fall on that ditch not Xlcararua's ditch.
Of which I would that I might say a word.
It I bad but the time and sift of speech
But that lgnobft hole of Panama.
That reeking, foul and fever-haunted rut.
Dug- past some cozen paltry villages.
Strong In some hundred odors, only great
In that strange spell a debt.
Each hour gray ghosts
Of Its dead victims haunt the thing.
Cry out against It! But this very day
An honest man. my neighbor 1 name no
names
Cried: "Rise! Rite. Morgan, say a word or
two
Against this crime tins shameful thing! Sit
not
In servile silence! Are yos speechless, dumb.
That rightful proteec may not pass your lips?"
I know a better course I that speak to ye
I toll you ef It once. A pleasant wsy
Full of all beauties and of easy grades.
Of awe-it sM quiet scenes, with here and there
A tail volcano throwing ashes out
In graceful showers.
How I loved
That giorlo-ls scheme! Younger by forty years
Than you behold me now, I took it up
To descant on Its fair advantages
And win your favor tor it. In one short ses
sion Ttist pleasing; fad of mine was slain! I saw
The frltnds that I had won desert! But her
X rise, at last, from silence to cry Shame!
Have ye good earsT Then I will ope my
mouth and speak!
I have few words, but I can say them o'er and
o'er;
You shall not stop m ere I say my piece.
Tor I can sleep and talk tf needs must be.
And eatinx still declaim!
Tet here I stand
And here ye sit and read the while I talk
Of that Which, needs no honest praise of mine
Why, but Its very name should be a charm
To win you to Its favor!
And one agate
Hear me. ye walls that echo back the words
Pvs said and still win say: Again I swear
That Nicaragua aball'be ditched!
NOTE AND COMMENT.
"Oct" Btnger seems as ague' as ever.
The Browns are all right. They have
nearly won several games.
Hereafter tha lenrM nf thA Portland
baseball team will have a minus 'sign P re
eled.
"Out of the Land office into Congress"
Is the title of the latest popular novel by
an Oregon author. .
The painters 'and carpenters have a
union, and the contractors are also going
to organize. It's about time the general
public did something- along this line.
If Messrs. Lewis and Clark could have
foreseen the present unhappy termination
of the 1306 Woman's Club, they probably
would never have started on their great
Journey.
The painters say the people can't paint
any more. Does this apply to the ladles
with the artificial complexions and the
gentlemen who wfsh to put a red coat of
pigment on the town?
The telephones to The Oregontan were
kept busy last night by Portlanders In
terested in the returns from Eugene.
Finally one of the centrals, whose curios
ity could not be downed, butted In with:
"Say, where Is the prizefight!"
Peter de Villa, the discoverer of gold In
the Klondike region and once fabulously
rich. Is now earning a livelihood by nail
ing boxes at the Ben Lemont winery at
Santa Cruz, CaU He has a suit pending
for the recovery of one of tho richest
mines In the Nome region, but has no
means with which to prosecute It. and the
case is likely to go against him by de
fault. Lackawanna trains go through a tunnel
under Hoboken Heights that Is three-quarters
of a mile long. The signals are
locked automatically. The Instant a train
enters' the portal the danger signal Is set.
and no power on earth can turn It white
until that train has passed safely out of
the other end. The blocks on the road
are from halt a mile to a mile and a -halt
In length, and they are guarded by two
semaphores one tor the block Immediate
ly ahead and the other for that In ad
vance of It. The engineer can tell at a
glance whether both blocks are open, or
If one or the other Is occupied.
In a Western town recently while David
Warfield was playing "The Auctioneer."
the performance was witnessed by a num
ber of girls from a local seminary. They
were much pleased with the actor's work,
so much so. In fact, that each of them
wrote her name on a programme, the
originator of the scheme adding the line:
"Can we see you apart!"
The message was duly delivered by one
of the ushers and reached the star Just as
he was making up for the second act.
Taking a red pencil, one of his "props."
he wrote the following reply:
"Thanks awfully, but I don't coma
apart. Am all In one piece."
A man who Is on duty most of the time
in the White House offices and has a
weakness for statistics has made a record
for a month of the number of visits which
certain public men paid to the President
Here are a few Items taken from his
record for February: James R. Garfield,
63; John R. Proctor, 64: General Leonard
A. Wood. C; W. D. Foulke, K; Senator
T. a Piatt. 35; Frank P. Sargent, W; -Senator
H. C Lodge. ' El: Secretary of
State Hay, 10; Secretary of War Root.
8; Senator Knnte Nelson, 62. Mr. Gar
field takes the lead because he has taken
much of tha burden of the new depart
ment of Commerce off Secretary Cortel
you's shoulders.
When Mr.'AUes, Assistant Secretary of
the Treasury, was returning from Cuba
a few days ago a young man whom he
had seen on the Key West steamer came
up to him on the train and began a con
versation with easy familiarity. "Get any
cigars through!" asked the affable young
man. "Oh, yes." replied Mr. Alles. "A
couple of boxes." "Didn't pay any duty
on 'em. I hope." "Tea, I paid duty," said
Mr. Alles sadly. "Oh, ohsaw!" said the
young man. "You're dead slow, I got SO
through and they didn't pay duty." "Touc
see." said Mr. Alles. "the difference be
tween us Is that I am an Assistant Secre
trary of the Treasury." The young man
vanished and Mr. Alles did not see him
again during the trip to Washington.
Congressman Cannon was sympathiz
ing with the woes of Postmasters, says
the New Tork Tribune.
"Why anybody would be a Postmas
ter!" he exclaimed. "And yet there are
hosts of applicants. But why anybody
Just listen, now, to what a Postmaster
from my district out near Danville went
through the other day.
"An Irishman came to this man and
asked If there was a letter for him.
" There Is, says the Postmaster, 'and
It's a big, fat letter, too. There's 11 cents
due on It.'
'"Well, says the Irishman, 'Just open
it and read It to me. will you? My educa
tion was neglected in my youth.'
"The letter was twenty pages long, but
the Postmaster read It all through out
loud.
" 'Just read It again.' says the Irish
man, when he ended, and, being obliging,
the Postmaster did so.
"Then the Irishman scratched his head
and said:
" 'How much Is due on herf
" "Eleven cents.'
" "Well, keep her; she's none of mine,"
said the Irishman. 'She don't belong to
me." And he walked off."
PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHEItS
"Why, Judge," said the colored witness,
"though cat boy ain't three foot high, he kin
cuts Jest ea xood ez you kin!" Atlanta Con
stitution. She Are you fond of birds? He Sure thing!
I simply adore them. She Which is your fa
vorite! He Quail on toast. Chicago Dally
News.
"Do your neighbors keep chickens?" "Ko,"
answered the suburban citizen: "that's Just
the trouble. They don't keep 'em. They turn
em loose." Washington Star.
Birdie Coruss Why, some day 1 hope to be
billed as the acknowledged queen of comic
opera. Hamington Fat I should think yoa
might. Lots of singers are. Puck.
Pailette You'd be surprised It you knew the
amount of time spent on that canvas. Pellette
Yes: I understand men have stood In front
of It for hours trying to make out what It is.
Yonkers Statesman.
Miss pelts Of course no one could truthfully
speak of her as pretty. Mr. Lovett WeU er
perhaps' not, but she has such a quiet, unaffect
ed manner. Miss Spelts Yes, but It has taken
her several years to acquire It. Philadelphia
Press.
"Nov that ye are one of thlm. tell me what
a politician la." "A politician Is a teller that
promises something that he can't do to git
elected, and does somethlnr hs promised not to
do to hold his Job." Life.
Ulss Gusch I'm sure something has hap
pened to Clarence my nance, you know. He
started for Boston two days ago. and I haven't
heard from him since. Mr. Bra tie Why not
adnraiir jxiu Lfiucjv-Aiimniu! Mr . 11 . -
Its: say "uxt. a nance: wore hlah eoli
answers to name ot warence,-- or something
use uftbrauHciuus frees.