5 THE MORNING OREGONIAN, MONDAY, .MAY 25, 19-03. Entered ct th PoitofSce at Portland. Oregon, as second-class matter. REVISED EU3SCRIRPTI0N BATES. Br Mail (postage prepaid. la advance) Sally, with Sunday, per month Daily, Sunday excepted, 7T year . J-oO Dally, with Sunday, per year "J Sunday, per year.l ......... f-iX The "Weekly, per year... 1 The Weekly. 3 months To City Subscriber . . Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday -i$? Dally, per week, delivered. Sunday lncludd.o POSTAGE RATES. United States. Canada and Mexico JO to K-page papr....-.-... 16 to 80-page paper r? 2 -to 44-page paper .. ... Foreign rates double. News or discussion Intended for publication la The Oregonlan should be addressed Invaria bly "Editor The Orerronlan." not to the name ol any individual. Letters relating to adver tising, subscription or to any business matter should be addressed simply "The Oregoalan." The Oregonlan does not buy poems or stories from Individuals, and cannot undertake to re tura any manuscripts sent to It without solici tation. No stamps should he inclosed for this purpose. Eastern Business Office, 43, 44, 43. 4T. 48. Tribune building. New York City; 310-11-12 Tribune building. Chicago: the a a Beckwlth Special Agency, Eastern representative. For e&le In San Francisco by L. E. Lee, Pal ace Hotel news stand: Goldsmith Bros.. 238 Butter street; F. W. Pitts. 100S Market street; S. K. Cooper Co.. 740 Market street, sear the Palace Hotel; Foster & Oresr. Ferry news stand; Frank Scott, SO Ellis street, and N. Wheatley, 81S Mission street. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 239 South Spring street, and Oliver & Haines, COS South Spring street. . For sale In Kansas City. Mo., by Rlcksecker Cigar Co., Ninth and "Walnut streets. For sal In Chicago by the P. O. News Co., 217 Dearborn street, and Charles MacDonald. CS "Washington street. For sale In Omaha by Barkalow Bri 1612 Faraam street; Megeath Stationery Co.. 1303 Famnm street. For sale In Ogden by W. O. Kind. JH 23th street; Jas. H. Crockwell. 242 25th street. For sale In Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News Co., 77 West Second South street. For r&le In Washington, D. C. by the Ebbett House news stand. For sale In Denver. Colo., by Hamilton & Kenddck. 808-812 Seventeenth street; Louthaa & Jackson Book & Stationery Co.. Fifteenth and Lawrence streets: A. Series. Sixteenth and Curtis streets. TODAY'S WEATHER Fair. Northwesterly winds. TESTERDAT'S WEATHER Maximum tem poraturo, 75 dcg.; minimum temperature, 44 deg.; no precipitation. PORTLAND, MOJTDAY, MAT 25, 1003. OCTGEXERALED. It Is significant of the poor manage ment which labor has enjoyed through out the present difficulties that its most obvious and promising weapon, a legal arraignment of the lumber trust, is wholly neglected until the struggle Is practically over and the battle lost. It is doubtful if anything can ever come of this prosecution now. Inasmuch as the keen interest in the controversy has abated with gradual resumption of work and the refusal of the building trades to strike. Its chief service will probably be to promote the activity and emoluments of certain acute and emi nent attorneys who thrive prosperously upon the fears and prejudices of great corporations. The principals in the controversy on both sides will likely grow tired of fighting before more than a paltry beginning of ten or twelve million pages of pleadings, etc. have been drawn up, to the delight of Chancery "Lane and the despair of the helpless litigants. The actual prose cutor in the case has no interest in it, apparently, but to get lumber, and he would doubtless be easily appeased by free supplying of his orders. The lum ber trust may prefer that part of valor known as discretion to a too minute Inquiry into its general purposes and specific methods. The prosecution is timely, however. in view of the activity in the organ ization of employers associations throughout the country; and while these new bodies are utterly distinct from the business combinations formed to restrain competition and monopolize trade, the prominence of both in the public mind should serve a useful pur pose in showing the absolute necessity and propriety of organization among kindred interests in our complex indus trial order; and for organized labor in Portland the duty is to endeavor to recoup some of the ground hitherto lost by false moves like the talk concerning the referendum on the Fair and the Presidential parade. The employers, assuredly, cannot long abide In the no tion that the absurdity of combination among workmen will be demonstrated by combination among masters; and the unions should take the lesson to their hearts that organizations, whether of masters or men, are to be judged by their deeds, whether good or evil. It is not enough to know of a proposal that It is the demand of organized labor. We must explore Its grounds in equity. Nor is it enough to know that a given ultimatum as to hours and wages is deemed worthy of promulga tion by the employer. The press, and. if necessary, the authorities, will look into the merits. That much was set tled by the anthracite inquiry and award. The sooner the reckless fighters on both sides of these controversies come to realize that they are not a law unto themselves, the better. The sooner trusts and unions alike get the idea of public accountability into their stub born heads, the sooner we shall have steads profits for the masters and steady wages for the men. The tend ency toward equal treatment for labor and capital is hardening very rapidly. A St Louis court has dissolved a mas ter plumbers association formed to de Btroy competition and achieve monop oly, and at Omaha the courts have for bidden the capitalistic side of a con troversy to pursue the familiar tactics of discrimination against union con tractors. This ovenlng-up of privileges and restraints Is likely to affect union ism more adversely than otherwise, for it has far greater need of caution than of encouragement in its present mood of blind rage against capital, persecu tlon of nonunion workmen and social istic study to restrict output. The present strike or lockout seems In a fair way to settle Itself through sheer exhaustion of the contending forces. Its chief bearing is on the al ready disturbing question of union labor in connection with the Lewis and Clark Centennial. "Little doubt can be entertained that some official recogni tion of unionism will be asked of the Pair boards, and, If not granted, then insisted on with more or less temper and show of force. A victory of that sort for unionism Is certainly problem atical; and. In any event, has been only made more difficult by the record of the building season so far past. Present tactics can serve no other purpose than to foster a spirit of resistance to union ism in the general public and to keep nonunion men. xrom Joining the organ izatlons In their respective crafts If the building trades have any hope at all of controlling the labor supply on the Centennial buildings, their best move toward It would be to go to work at once, secure all the situations they can and push their organizations among the nonunion workmen they have done so much to alienate; Defeats are often the stepping-stones to victory; but the wise commander does not tarry on the field until his force, Is annihilated and his arms and entire commissariat are captured by the enemy. THE "WEST AND ITS PRESIDENT. President Roosevelt, in his triumph ant tour of the "West, is a living wit ness of the malice and folly of the Federalists who, under the leadership of John Adams and other advocates of a small, strong and suppressive Gov ernment, opposed the policies of Jef ferson and denounced the purchase of Louisiana as subversion of the Consti tution. .Ninety-nine years ago last Thursday, to the very minute that Roosevelt was laying the cornerstone of the monument In the City Park, Lewis and Clark, buffeted by head winds, were slowly tolling up the muddy Missouri toward a little village of seven poor houses, the last white settlement that separated them from the wilderness. They had pulled away from the mouth of the river a week before, but were now making what many students of history regard as the final start of their Journey to the Pa cific Stowed carefully away was Jef ferson's final Instructions to Lewis. "The acquisition of the country through which you are to pass," wrote the President, "has inspired the country generally with a great deal of interest In your enterprise. . . . The Feds alone still treat It as a philosophism and would rejoice at Its failure. ... I hope you will take good care of your self and be a living witness of their mallce and folly." President Roosevelt is the greatest living witness of the soundness of Jef ferson's expansion policy. He Is an ex ponent of expansion. He Is the first President, before becoming President, to give any study to the West and ac quaint himself with its potentialities. Jackson, the first Harrison, Lincoln, Johnson and Grant were from states that the Atlantic seaboard considered of the "West, but not of the great West the West beyond the Mississippi Their administrations were engrossed with affairs of greater moment to the Union at the time than the development of the West, and down even to the end of Grant's time the West was compara tively little known or understood. It has remained for Roosevelt to be the first of Western Ideas and sympathies to occupy the Presidential chair. He has roughed It with us on ranch and range, he has seen the pioneer era of homebulldlng, he has studied us, he has written about us, and his heart and soul are with us. He can be cowboy or President with equal credit to the hardi hood of the one and the dignity of the other. His "Winning of the West," though mainly Inspired by other writ ings, and lacking what critics would call literary polish, shows that he knows and understands us. He cred its to exploration, military and diplo macy, the part each has played, fully appreciating the pioneer settlers who blazed the trail to their new homes and bade Government . follow. Land ex ploration finds higher esteem in him than the fruitless search for the north west passage among Jcy fields or Span lsh greed for gold and ruthless con quest among pueblos and cacti. "It was the explorations of Lewis and Clark," he declares in his story of the "Winning of the West," "and not those of Mackenzie on the north or of Spain in the south, which were to bear fruit, because they pointed the way to tens of thousands of settlers who were to come after them and who were to build thriving commonwealths In the lonely wilderness which they had traversed Lewis, Clark, Astor and Roosevelt are the human witnesses of the malice and folly of the opposition to Jefferson; every state west of the Mississippi is a material witness. But, after all, It Is the President, and not the country, that has been honored by the visit that has Just been made. It Is the country, and not the man, that is the magnet The West has grown too big to be Ignored In the National coun ells or overlooked by the President in his tours among the people. From 900, 000 people scattered along the western bank of the Mississippi In 1840 the population of the great West had grown in 1900 to over 21,000,000, of which over 87 per cent was native American. In 1900 the population of the West nearly- equaled that of the entire country in 1850, .the ratio being about 21 to 23. At the census of 1900 the West including Alaska, had 75 per cent of the coun try's gross area, 27.5 per cent of Its gross population, 45.2 per cent of its railroad mileage, and reputed 43.2 per cent of its farm products, 99.6 per cent of its gold yield, 16.1 per cent of Its manufacturing output, and 19 per cent of its foreign commerce. The grain yield in 1899 was 2.300,000,000 bushels, or 53.1 per cent of the total for the Union, as compared with 9.6 per cent in 1S50. Farm values aggregate over $9,000,000,000. Nearly 130,000,000 domes tic cattle pasture on the plains and In the valleys arid mountains that were once the range of the buffalo and other wild beasts. The Oregon Country. which was denounced before Roosevelt was born as being Inhospitable to the honest farmer of the Atlantic seaboard or the Ohio Valley, has 100,000 farms, worth $600,000,000. Alaska, "that bar ren waste that would never add one dollar to our wealth or furnish homes to our people," has yielded in less than forty years gold, fish and furs worth $150,000,000, and has paid revenue to the Government exceeding by $2,000,000 the price Russia got for It In 1867. Asia and Oceanlca, that Pacific which Sew ard predicted "will become the chief theater of events of the world's great hereafter," have a population of 847, 000,000,. and an annual foreign trade of nearly $3,000,000,000. Moreover, there will be 143 votes from west of the Mis sissippi River in the next Electoral Col lege, whereas there were only a hand ful forty years ago. It is fortunate for the West that In this period of its broadening movement It had so sincere and far-sighted a friend as Roosevelt so high In the coun cils of the Nation. His long look Into the future finds no barrier In the Rocky Mountains or in the waters of the Pa cific any more than the Mississippi re pulsed the frontiersman of a century ago. Ho can see coming the day of utility for the Philippines, likewise the day when Alaska, made as fertile and as productive as Finland, may send a regiment to uphold what was done in 189S by his valor and the valor of the Oregon boys in khald who marched with him in Thursday's parade. In his hands the potentialities of the West will find guidance to their true destiny. MR. ROBERTSON AXD OTHERS. Our old friend John P. Robertson, evidently carried away by that enthu siasm which characterizes all his ac tions, signed his name twice to the pe tition for the referendum on the Lewis and Clark Fair. Every one who knows John P. (and nearly every one does) expected him to slsm the referendum petition, but who would have'thought he would sign It twice? Afllxlng a slg nature'to a referendum petition Is the exercise of one of the rights and privi leges of a voter. If there Is any differ ence, so far as right and wrong Is con cerned, between voting twice at the polls and signing a referendum petition twice, that difference Is so small that the ordinary citizen will be unable to see it It Is fortunate that in this case the offense was committed before May 2L for on that day the new referendum law went into effect and any person signing a petition twice would have been subject to a fine of $500 or Impris onment in the penitentiary for two years. The Incident Is not referred to for the purpose of humiliating Mr. Robertson, but with the hope that a salutary les son may be taught John P. has for many years been an agitator for polit ical reform. He has filled Salem and Portland papers with columns of facts and figures to show that the country is going to the demnltion bow-wows, and yet he is enjoying with the rest of the"! people a period of prosperity the like of which John P. could have conceived only in a nightmare. He railed against General W. H. Odell for having a desk in the State Land Agent's office and for engaging extensively In the business of negotiating sales of state land, and now he himself has advertised a simi lar business, and his notice says he can be found at the State Land Offlce. Recent litigation indicates that Mr, Robertson's special line of business has been that of watching the records to find some purchaser of valuable state land delinquent in his payments a day more than the law allows, when he would seize the land without giving the first purchaser a chance to pay up. Now, all these things teach a leBson in broad charity. -Because Mr. Robert son did not want the Fair, and thought it would do him no good, he didn't want any one else to have It A private desk In a public offlce was wrong, un less It happened to be John P.'s desk. Making easy money by dealing In state land was wrong until the money went Into John P.'s pocket Perhaps Mr. Robertson made a mistake when he signed his name twice. Undoubtedly his land transactions were entirely legal. But he Is no more likely to have a good defense for questionable trans actions than any one else. Being him self vulnerable, he should not be too ready to find fault with others and to oppose enterprises designed for the public good. The fact of the matter Is there are too many people in Oregon who are "ferninst" everything like a deviation from the old, well-worn rut A large number of those who signed the peti tion for the referendum on the Lewis and Clark Fair belong to this class. They are afraid to venture anything. They are opposed to the expenditure of a dollar for anything but that which supplies a present and material need. They take no pleasure In the prosperity of others, even though they share In directly In the beneficial results of that success. Now that Oregon Is finally committed to the Lewis and Clark Centennial pro ject, and Is on the eve of an Industrial and commercial development whose magnitude 13 to-be determined largely by the spirit of the people, let all of the old mossback methods be laid aside. Let every man who has been a knocker lay away his hammer and club. Let all Oregon pull together for the up building of all our Interests all the time. Let not a small minority stay the progress of the great majority, but Inspired by the heroism of a generation that Is gone, let old Oregon be turned Into a new Oregon, with all the life and energy that should characterize every part of the new West. OBSTACLES IX TRAINING FOR A JOLT. The story comes from San Francisco that George Gould will force Mr. Har rlman to give him better rates into San Francisco, or, failing to do so, will ex tend his own lines west from Ogden and declare war on the Union and Southern Pacific It Is further stated that if Gould does build through to the Coast he can beat the Harrlman lines on both time and service, and would open up a country now devoid of railroad facilities, but capable of supplying considerable new traffic If Mr. Harrlman In California Is as weak kneed In the face of a bluff as he Is In Oregon, Washington and Idaho, the Ogden extension of the Gould line to the Coast will be Indefinitely postponed and Gould will get any kind of a rate that he asks for. The Incident serves to show how little the public, who pay the freight, are considered In the di vision of territory and tribute by these modern land pirates. The Government Is paying these roads millions for a fast postal service, and the general public Is paying them a great many more millions for passenger and freight service. The emoluments are sufficient to warrant the best pos sible service, but if that were being rendered, Mr. Gould's threat "to beat Harrlman on time and service" would be of no avail. Situations of this kind have frequently arisen in the Harrl man territory in the Pacific Northwest but they have never yet reached a stage so acute as to affect time serv ice or tariffs. The people suffer by these unfair and unnatural divisions of territory and imperfections of service The wheatgrowers of Idaho are pay ing the Northern Pacific for an enor mously expensive haul up Potlatch Canyon, when by all reasonable laws of nature and commerce Mr. Harrlman should haul the freight out of the rich Clearwater country by a water-level grade. And yet in spite of all the rich traffic that has been developed by the advent of the railroad, it Is extremely doubtful whether a rail would have yet been laid in that steep canyon, had it not become necessary as a means for coercing Mr. Harrlman. Mr. Baer claims for the coal barons ownership of the coal deposits "by di vine right," The action of Messrs. Har rlman and Hill in dividing the business of the country in utter disregard of the inclinations of the people leads to the belief that they have made the same mistake regarding the possession of title to the earth and the fullness thereof. If there Is a new and unde veloped country which can supply Mr. Gould' O prion artanelnn wlfh nrnfltnril 5 traffic, why does he not build through it and give the settlers an opportunity to reach the world's markets? The an swer Is simple. He Is being paid by Mr. Harrlman to keep out of It This Is ad mitted, and Mr. Gould Is now about to strike for hlghftr pay. If he does not receive the advance demanded he will build the road, develop a new country, give the people a better service and faster time acro3s the continent and in other ways prove the Infallibility of that old statement that when rogues fall out honest men get their dues. Lying west of Portland Is a region of marvelous riches. There are vast forests of tho finest timber In the world, heavy deposits of coal, fertile valleys where rich grasses grow the year round and the soli of which is of almost magical richness, and yet the trail of the packhorse Is the only road leading Into this land of wonder ful possibilities. Mr. Harrlman is not in Ignorance of the rich Nehalem. Mr. Mellen and Mr. Hill have also heard of it The first Indication of their knowledge of the region was shown about two years ago, when some Port landers made a moVe to build a local i-allroad into the rich field. Then did these "topllners" of the railroad world throw surveying crews and right-of-way men into the field and announce to the world that they would build into the Nehalem Immediately. Portland quit so did the Hlll-Harriman-Mellen com bination, and they have not yet re sumed operations. The Klickitat country, one of the best farming regions In Washington, endeavored for years to secure railroad connection with the outside world, but the railroad men were apparently ob livious of the fact that there was such a region on the map. Their Ignorance would still be as deep-rooted as ever, had not Portland capital opened up that country with a road. Now the Northern Pacific Is making frantic ef forts to get Into the field and head off any further diversion of traffic from an unnatural to a natural channel which will admit of growth. Mr. Harrlman objects to'' building Into Southeastern Oregon on the ground that his knowl edge of the resources Is Imperfect Tak ing his past record as a criterion, how ever, this knowledge will be In his pos session a few minutes after some other company JolnB hands with the Colum bia Southern and the portage railroad In giving Portland an opening In that country. The resources from the Har rlman .point of view will then be suffi cient, for two railroads instead of one, unless the Independent line can be bul lied Into turning the property over to Harrlman. We have no George Goulds ' In this part of the country, but we have a solid, wealthy, public-spirited com munity, which slowly but surely over comes the obstacles which lie in the path of our progress. Mr. Harrlman is gradually assuming the shape of an obstacle, and may be treated as such. It Is not to be wondered at that the two recent feats of the cup-defender Reliance have set the yachting world agog, for certainly no craft built as was the Reliance, for purely racing pur poses, has shown such wonderful speed! Small wonder that London's crack yachting experts were amazed when they read the cable dispatches which conveyed to them the news that the new boat had defeated the Columbia and the Constitution in a most decisive manner. The sailing of the new boat was a most agreeable surprise, coming as It has after the earlier trial spins, which, to say the least, were most dis couraging. The footing, reach and clear sailing of the Reliance In her two re cent trials stamp her as a boat without an equal, and she will be, barring acci dents, the boat that will defend the America cup. Her work also gives a serious setback to the yachting critics, who on her earlier showing began to hint that she was a failure and that either the old Columbia or the Consti tution would be called upon to race the third Shamrock. Now, however, the question of which boat will sail In that great race during August is settled, and for that we are duly thankful. It would have been a sore blow to Mr. Herres hoff, who designed this masterpiece, and, In fact, to the whole American public, had the Reliance failed In the purpose for which she was designed. For, while the old Columbia holds a warm spot in the hearts of all true Americans, and the Constitution, for that matter, they wanted to see the new craft sail as the defender, and not a boat that had once served the pur pose for which she was constructed. Employers' unions should be encour aged. If for no other reason than be cause they will put to rout the old an tipathy to labor unions. The man who joins a union on one side and denounces the union on the other is sufficiently destitute of the sense of humor to be detained on suspicion of lunacy. It Is to the laundry-owners' credit that they have at length made an effort to relieve the public inconvenience, so Jauntily Inflicted at first by both par ties to the "controversy. The real suf ferers In these engagements are the consumers, whose claims for recogni tion are seldom countenanced. Many newcomers to the state have, of course, had ho" opportunity to regis ter, but none such need be debarred from voting If they can ffnd six house holders to vouch for them. This in dorsement at the polls, accompanied by the elector's affidavit will entitle him to vote. Mr. Hermann will be elected, and by a good majority; but to give him such majority as Is due from the district the Republicans must come out and vote. The way to support the Admin istration of President Roosevelt Is to send men to Congress who will sup port it The New Tork Financial Chronicle calls the Omaha Injunction against an employers boycott against union con tractors "grotesque." The injunction never seemed grotesque to the Chron icle when It was working exclusively the other way. The death of Judge A. R. Maxwjell, of Shipley, Fla., who has Just passed away in his 83d year, is said to leave Senator Vest, of Missouri, the last survivor of the Senate of the Confederate States. Let us put away the hammer That our mossbacks used to bear. And the unions' referendum It has climbed the golden stair. Now, who will claim the honor of being first to leave an estate subject to the Inheritance tax? THE IOWA -AMBITION. Minneapolis Tribune. The Iowa idea of tariff reform recalls the old Ohio Idea of money debasement; not at all by its professed public pur pose, which Is far nobler, but by its polit ical motive. The Ohio Idea, as we remem ber it was. exploited by" a young and am bitious school of politicians to unseat the old stagers and get place and power for themselves. As far as one can see into the tangle of Iowa politics, this is the no tion of the tariff reformers, who . want to get the Word monopoly into the National Republican platform and themselves into high offlce. The latter Is a natural and not discred itable ambition. Far be It from any news paper to contemn or discourage honorable political ambition In any community, or to deal harshly with any legitimate strategy of politics. Of course It was a disgrace ful thing In Ohio to try to climb by the evil ladder of money debasement The political youngsters In Jowa have chosen a cleaner road upward, and there Is no reason why the whole Northwest should not wish them well. It is undeniable that Senator Allison and Speaker Henderson and Representative Hepburn and the rest have been holding office for a long time. The men they are raising up'to succeed them, like Secretary Shaw, seem to owe advancement more to their assistance than to their own talent. It Is no wonder that men like Governor Cummins think they are entitled to help themselves to the good things of political life. But it certainly adds to the Interest of life for a newspaper to cultivate the habit of looking at things as they are; and it would be self-delusion to suppose that any tremendously vital public issue is Involved In the Iowa idea. The treatment of this by the President recalls the deft political manipulation of J6hn Sherman. The way that veteran drew the teeth and claws of the Ohio Idea without destroying his popularity in Ohio is one of the marvels of the history of the American money craze. There Is noth ing to compare with it in tfae President's performance In Iowa, except the deftness of that performance. He abstracted the Iowa tariff plank from the pack and sub stituted the St. Louis tariff resolution with such dazzling nlmbleness that the friends of Governor Cummins seem none the wiser for the prestidigitation. Probably there is nothing In the rumor that Governor Cummins was persuaded to part with his highly prized word monop oly by Presidential encouragement of his political ambition. It is more probable that the triumph was won by pure per suasion. When he is put to his shifts, Roosevelt Is nearly as artful a smoother as ever McKlnley was. WALL STREET AND UXI0NISM. New Tork Financial Chronicle. The labor situation, now that it has. reached the desperate stage and has led to a general organization of employers against the Intolerable demands of their men. Is likely soon to assume a more restful state. An important point that may Jbe gained by a confederation made up of the heads in our industrial structure will be Its Influence on politicians and offlce-seekers, little and big. It suggests to those classes power and votes. The Idea of lato.has seemed to be that tho man who carries all the burdens In bad as well as In good times, runs all the risks of a business enterprise and furnishes all the capital, is not to be considered in set tling party policies, in framing industrial laws or in posing as a candidate for offlce. When theso politicians awake to a realiz ing sense of the fact that employers and business men have votes, the same as the laboring men, that they are acting collec tively and unitedly, and that the member ship of the newly organized Business Men's Associations is large enough to con trol elections, we may be sure that busi ness Interests will receive some consldera tion at the hands of party leaders, and that legislation will no longer be of the one-sided character it has been in the pas. . In this sense the earnestness and determination displayed by business men and employers in the matter and the im mense numbers that are Joining in the movement constitute one of the most fa vorable signs of the times. In another particular the movement is apt to be helpful. This feature was forci bly brought out by Oscar S. Straus in his remarks Thursday night at Boston before the American Social Science Association when he said "the solution of differences lies along the lines of evolution, not rev olution; and In my Judgment that evolu tion will best be promoted, as the first step, by organization on the part of em ployers In their respective branches of Industry. By this means they will be best able to Scope with and restrain or ganized labor in resisting uneconomic de mands and unreasonable exactions, at the same time they will be best able to agree among themselves to accord such terms and conditions as to wages, hours and employment as tend to improve the stand ards pf life and living among laboring men." ASSIMILATES AMERICAN JOKEL Secretary of the Chlnene Legation "Sot Perplexed by Its Subtlety. Washington, D. C. "Have you ever been naturalized?" "Yea, but It didn't take." "Now, that Is what we Americans call a Joke," explained the Washlngtonlan to the brand-new secretary of the Chinese Legation, who has indicated his desire to become conversant with the customs of this countn. In spite of the alleged humor, however. he failed to laugh, and fa Is informant con sidered a further explanation proper, ac cording to the Times. "You see," he continued, "the word 'nat uralized' has been confused with 'vaccl- nato.' " The meaning of the two words was then defined, together with the phrase "didn't take." "When we say the vaccination didn't take, we mean that tho virus didn't have the desired effect With this the Chinaman expressed his admiration for American wit, and a broad smile overspread his face. The conversation was continued in a general way until tho wise resident of Washington suddenly fancied it would be humorous to relieve hjmself of a Joke at the expense of the Celestial. With a pat ronlzinr air he put a query to the attache In Jaw-breaking words, and then-.laughed at his own brilliancy. The secretary stared blandly at him for a moment utterly bewildered by the ques tion. His face was expressionless, but he gave a faint smile when the American explained he had been Joking. "A joke yes; but It didn't take," he re- piled with a naive smile. Queer Gabble. Boston Herald. Tho Washington Post quotes Secretary Bhaw as reporting that President Roose velt lately said to him: Well. If McKlnley had beea President dining Cleveland's last term. I suppose we certainly should have -cons upon a free-ellver basis. If Cleveland had been President during McKln leyB first terra, he likely -would have caused us a National dishonor alluding to the docla- raUon of -war against Spain, presumably. We await some vehement denials or ex planations from all those concerned In this "alleged conversation. It Is a little too steep to be readily accepted as correct, unless It is assumed that the President and Secretary Shaw have both lost their heads as well as a sense of the proprieties Practically TtfaanlmeHS. Pendleton Tribune. CowgiU, without any Intention on his part, has done the stats a good turn. He has shown that not 5 per cent of the peo- p"e are opposed to the portage road. BEAM IN THE AMERICAN EYE. New York Evening Post Those who are ursine Secretary Hay to file a nroteat with the government of Russia against the barbarities practiced on the Jews at Klshcnef should taxe notice of a debate In the Italian Cham ber of Deputies on the. 7th of May re- srartHntr the lynching of two Italian citi zens at Erwin, Miss., in July, 1901. The Under Secretary, of Foreign Affairs, Sig nor Baccelli, was asked what had been the outcome of the representations made hv TtitK- in reference to that affair. Sig ner Baccelli replied that notwithstanding the energetic measures taKen Dy ine rllnlnmnMn nnr ivmsulftl BeentS Of Italy. no conviction of .the guilty parties had been obtained. He said mar. tne unnea States Congress had voted the sum of enm fni- thf next nf kin of the victims. but that the Italian Government would not accept blood money as a satisfaction. although It could not prevent uie rela tives of the victims from receiving it He added that the late President Mc Klnley and President Roosevelt strongly mnrmn" lvnhlnpq nnd that bills had been Introduced in Congress for the trial by the Federal Courts or sucn onences against foreigners, but that the bills had not been passed. In short, the matter stood Just where It was In 1901, when the crimes were committed. Some statistl- pfll fnfnrmiiftnn tt.-yi j onnt-rlmtpd shnwlnf that besides Europeans, about 130 Ameri can citizens are lyncnea every year, xma race mignt oe taKen as presumptive evi- uence mat we are not movea Dy preju- HfoA ncrn'nof fnynltrnnrc n nrt that Wf mete out equal Injustice to all. but SIgnor of the case. He hoped that the American nation would realize that lynching is u. cuaium wnicn is not u. creuit io an nfvnTife a try rf lH1lnMnn ltfrl the United States has reached, and that una country would menu its ways. There is a great difference between the Russian outrages and those com mented upon in the Italian Parlia ment It is not pretended that any of the Jews at Klshenef are American citi zens, or that any of them have declared an Intention to become such, whereas the persona lynched at Erwin, Miss., were subjects of the King of Italy tem porarily sojourning in the United States as they had a right to do. It may be replied that this is only a legal difference, and that It does not estop us from pro testing In the name of a common human ity, against outrages in Armenia, Bul garia, Roumanla and elsewhere. Per haps it does not but seW-respect requires that when we go into the court of nations we should go with clean hands. It ap pears from the (debate In the Italian' Par liament that we not merely lynch for eigners, but that we deny them Justice afterwards, and refuse to change our laws in such way as to promise amend ment in the future, although two Presi dents have successively recommended such change. While we hold this atti tude towards other countries it Is im possible for us to command attention for any representations we may make to them regarding their Internal admin istration of justice. Our position should be that of meekness and humility toward foreign nations until we can show our selves capable of punishing the murder ers or their subjects within our terri tory. HARM IN COURT-MARTIAL. Army and Navy Journal. To the New York Times we are Indebted for an exceptionally lucid and broad minded view of a certain form of embar rassment which constantly threatens of ficers of the Army serving in the Philip pines. The Times prefaces its remarks with the following extracts from a letter written by an officer stationed in the Southern Philippines, whose name, for ob vious reasons. Is not disclosed: The truth Is. all the officers out here, to use. a slang expression, are 'buffaloed," and are afraid to do anything for fear of a court- martial. Tou cannot realize the mischief the different trials out here have worked. This Is especially oo down here In the Moro coun try, where the people are being handled very gingerly, to an extent. Indeed, that would seem incredible to you. The officer who precipitated a war with the Moras, no matter how well he might be Justified In taking the step, would probably get a court-martial out of It. . . . The commanding officer here Is bound hand and foot, and Is unable to take vigorous ac tion. Everything has to be reported at head quarters before any expedition can be under taken, and so wo must sit with folded hands and raging hearts and "wait for orders." We are certainly sowing the wind, and some poor devils some day will reap the whirlwind. Commenting on this letter, the Times says: "Without doubt this Is the feeling of the Army In the Philippines. A soldier Is tho last man in the world to stir up unnecessary strife, for it Is he who has to do the fighting. But the effect of the courts-martial In the Philippines is that we make war, when we have to make it with one hand tied behind us. Officers feel themselves responsible to a public opinion In the United States which they know to be uninformed, and which they also know that malicious attempts are making to organize against them. War Is always full of severities and horrors. To know whether the severities are un just or the horrors avoidable one must know all tho circumstances of the case. When officers accused of too vigorous a prosecution of hostilities or too early a beginning of hostilities are court-martialed In the-Philippines, they are judged, so to say, by a Jury of tho vicinage. They are judged by their peers, who know the situation. And the result Is that almost Invariably the uninformed agitators In the United States rebel against this only expert Judgment and insist that there Is a 'conspiracy' among the officers in the Philippines to shield one another. What la .of more Impor tance, the mere fact of a court-martial Is regarded by officers as a stigma, a stigma which they are extremely loath to Incur. The letter writer whose letter we are taking for a text enumerates cir cumstances of extreme provocation un der which commanding officers have re mained inactive. We do not repeat the enumeration for fear of Identifying the officer. But it is perfectly plain that our Interests in the Philippines are suffering from the well-founded fear of officers that the action they know to be desirable may expose them to misconstruction and persecution. Moreover, an officer acault- ied by a Jury of his peers, who knows what hi3 situation was, has still the risk to run of a public rebuke by the Presl dent of the United States in tho form of a disapproval of the findings of the court- martial which has acquitted him or which has inflicted upon him a merely nominal punishment for excess of zeal and vigor in tne service or nis country." Hallelujah Says. Atlanta. Constitution. The Bun Is cllmbln' higher In the middle o' the day. An I tell you I'm a-feelln' like the Summer's . on the way; An we'll be choppin cotton an' we'll soon be stackln' hay. An we'll all sing hallelujah In the mornln'I Some folks they like tho "Winter when the frost Is on the shed. An the stars are Ilka bright diamonds la the cold skies overhead. But give me Summer blossoms an the water melon red. An we'll all sing hallelujah In the mornln'! I don't keer fer the hot cays fer the twinkle o the heat la tne long and weary furrows where the sand'U burn your feet; Toe the noonday bells are rlngln an' the noon day rest Is sweet, An we'll all sing hallelujah la the mornln'I I don't keer what the season in this mortal Trorld may be: I want to roll In blossoms feel the breeze a blow! a' freel - - la the 'seed I see the harvest, an' the harvest Is fer me. As' we'll all sins hallelujah In the rnornln'l NOTE AND COMMENT ;. If the Sawmills keen tied' un the ooli ti clans won't get any plank-i for theli platforms. Contrary tn exruv-tatlnrutJ the..Prert. dent Is having a peaceful time on Pu get Sound. , It will be noticed that none of thg criticism about Dr. Lorenz Is coming from his patients. President Roosevelt probably thougfit he was laying a corner-stone for a free swimming bath. The St Louis man who stole $6 'and got six years In tho penitentiary got his time at bargain-day prices. The new milk factory up. in the Will ametto Valley will doubtless have mora or les3 watered stock. Seventh street ought to be preserved In alcohol and saved to show posterity what nice streets we had. From present indications,, the only, thing Portland will get out of the trans port will be to get left, as usual. There were 13 people in the elevator that dropped at Pittsburg last week. Su perstitious people please take note. To read the reports of the President's speches at Tacoma, one would think that Mr. Roosevelt had stored up all his en ergy for his visit to the Washington city. Discipline at Columbia. New York Times. Much discussion was provoked among Columbia students Tuesday by the very immediate prospect of a curtailment of the academic freedom of the undergrad uates. President Butler's attitude waa outlined In an article that he contributed to the Columbia Literary Monthly, as follows: "What we need. It appears to me, lit Columbia College and In every other college is a tightening of the lines. They were much tighter 21 years ago and I liked the sum total of conditions then better than I do now. Discipline, too, has been relaxed, and the college student has largely lost the character building ad vantage of being in statu pupillarl and of being compelled to do a good many things that he calls useless and does not like. "Furthermore, he Is much more In tho public eye than is good for him. Ho rushes to the newspapers alike with his prizes and with his injured feelings. His boyish achievements are lauded like the labors of a Hercules or the valorous deeds of an Achilles. He Is taught for a few brief years to look at life through a magnifying glass, and when the glass Is taken away from him on the evening of commencement day things look small and tame, Indeed. "When Mr. Sadler was In this country last year he made the shrewd and clever observation that American educational government was a paldocracy, govern ment by tho taught He was right, and he put his finger on a growing weakness In American education. When Chicago school children go on strike against a teacher, it is time to call a special ses sion of the Legislature to restore cor poral punishment, and to make an ap propriation for shingles.'" The Columbia catalogue has this year for the first time made an allusion to matters of student discipline. It Is a matter of general opinion that it is the intention of the university authorities to bring student affairs under university, supervision in the future. Mexico's; Financial Problem. Philadelphia Press. The outlines of Mexico's method of giv ing a fixed value to her silver have been made public ana appear well calculated to carry out the object sought Senor Ll mantour, Minister of Finance, who has been in this country consulting on 1 the subject, seems to be well satisfied with the outlook. A New York banking-house Is to assist in carrying out the scheme and will probably furnish the $25,000,000 In gold required. The object Is to give a fixed and guar anteed value of 50 cents to each Mexican silver dollar. At the present time the ex change value of a Mexican dollar Is 38 cents In gold. But this is a low price. One of the first things to be done is to stop the free coinage of silver. The Mexican government will then coin 100,000,000 of new Mexican dollars, which will be guaran teed a fixed value of B0 cents In gold. Thera will be the $25,000,000 of gold In the treas ury to carry out that purpose, which will apparently be enough. Forty per cent of Mexico's exports 13 of silver. That will probably not decline. If a dollar redeemed In gold Is held In the treasury until the gold Is returned there will pTobably be no great demand for gold. It will be of great value to Mexico to stop the continuous fluctuation In value of her money. Mexico will really be on a gold basis when this proposed arrangement Is carried out Other silver countries are discussing similar steps to be taken with a similar object in view, and the decline in silver may be stopped. President Diaz Is to be a candidate for re-election as President of Mexico, and ha may celebrate his next inauguration by putting into .effect at that time, this new scheme to maintain the proposed value of the Mexican silver dollar. It is 45 years since Diaz first became President and great strides are now being made In' the way of developing the nation. The Mexi cans fear any possible change that may re sult from the election of a new President, so they will adhere to Diaz. PLEASANTRIES OF PARAGRAPHER3 "How much did Romeo?" asked the would be funny girl In the balcony. "Well," replied her escort, "that depends on what Juliet." Chicago Dally News. "This Is my birthday." "And I suppose you feel as young as you ever did?" "No; I don't believe I'm quite old enough yet to feel as young as I ever did." Town and Country. "Has he had much success as an author?" "No. The publishers couldn't sell more than 100,000 copies of Ms last book before It came out." Chicago Record-Herald. Patient (In asylum) My friend over here Is craay, but he's an up-to-date lunatic. Visitor He is, eh? Patient Oh, yes. He has auto mobiles In his head. Brooklyn Life. "I see that John Alexander Dowla says he Is going to spend 5100.000 to Invade New York with his peculiar ideas." "Well, lfi costs most Westerners more than that" Harper's Bazar. Teacher (of art class) What do you know of Alma-Todema? New pupil She's a 'girl in the sixth grade at the "Wentshaw School, only her last name Isn't Tadema. It's Taggart. Chi cago Trlbcne. "I heard a fellow say dat he wasn't happy unless he was workln'," said Plodding Pete. Well." responded Meandering Mike, "dat shows what a terrible t'tng1 It Is l& git Into kablts." Washington Star. "I have succeeded in securing a splendid new play for next season,"- said the eminent actress. "What Is it?" Inquired the critic. "It's a modern drama In three acts and eight new Paris gowns." Philadelphia Press. Young Jack Notwed You don't think bach elors should be taxed for not marrying, do you? Gladys Brltely Dear me, nol Most of the bachelors I know deserve & "humane med al" for staying single. Judge. A Day OST. Indianapolis News. Who wouldn't take a day off. When -the fleecy clouds In view Are trailing, sailing 'way oft. Down a breezy sea of blue? - -Who wouldn't fly and stay off. Who wouldn't lie and lay off. And get Away away off. In the daisies and the dew? Who wouldn't fall to wishing, When, they hear the trees a-swlsfelafft And the whole, world's, so&e pushing, And hi beckoning to yettT