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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 1903)
THE MORNING OREGONTAN, MONDAY. AUGUST 3, 1903, he x2$omaxx Entered at the Postnfllce at Portland. Oregon, as second-class matter. REVISED SUBSCIUKTIOK BATES. Br Mall (postage prepaid in advance) Dally, with Sunday, per month O.S- Dally. Sunday excepted, per year........ Daily, with Sunday, per year -W Sanaa)', per year -rx The Weekly, jr year - 12 The "Weekly. 3 months - To City Subscriber . ,, Dally, per week, delivered, Sunday excepted.!.: DaLy, per week, deHvered, Sunday lncuded.20c POSTAGE RATES. Vnited States. Canada and Mexico 30 to 14-page paper c 16 to 20-page paper - 22 to 44-page paper.... ..........3c Foreign rates double. News or discussion Intended for publication in The Oregonlan should be addressed invari ably "Editor The Oregonlan," not to the name of any Individual. Letters relating to adver tising, subscription, or to any buslneta matter ehottid be addressed simply "The Oregonlan." Eastern Business Office, 43. 44. 45. 47. 48. 49 Tribune building. New Tork City; 610-11-12 Tribune building. Chicago; the- S. C. Beckwlth Special Agency, Eastern representative. For sale in San FraiJclfco by I. E Lee. Pal ace Hotel news stand; Goldsmith Bros., 238 Putter street; F. TV. Pitts, 100S Market street; J. K Cooper Co., 740 Market street, near the Palac Hotel; Foster &. Orear. Ferry news etand. Frank Scott. 60 Ellis street, and N. Wheatley, 813 Mission street. For sale In Los Angeles by B. F. Gardner. 259 South Eprlng street, and Oliver & Haines, SOS South Spring street. For sale in Kansas City. Mo., by Rlcksecker Cigar Co., Ninth and Walnut streets. For sale In Chicago by the P. O. News Co.. S17 Dearborn street; Charles MacDonald. S3 Washington street, and the Auditorium Annex sews etand. For sale in Omaha by Barkalow Bros.. 1012 Farnam street; Megeath Stationery Co., 130S Farnam street; McLaughlin Bros., 210 S. 14th street. For sale ia Ogden by W. G. Kind. 114 25th Etret, James H. Crockwell. 212 25th street; F. R. Godard and C. 11. Myers. For sale in Salt Lake by th Salt Lake News Co., 77 West Second South street. For sale In Washington. J3. C, by the Ebbett Hause news stand. Tir sale In Denver, Colo., by Hamilton & Kenlrick. 006-912 Seventeenth street; Louthan & Jackson Book & Stationery Co., Fifteenth and Lawrence streets; A Series, Sixteenth and Curtis streets. TESTERDAT'S WEATHER Maximum tem perature, 07; minimum temperature, 00; pre cipitation. 0. TODAY'S WEATHEIl Fair and slightly warmer; northwest winds. POItTLAXTJ, MONDAY, AUGUST 3. lOO.l OUH MODEILY COUXUCOPIAE. The opinion of county authorities that damages will not lie against the county for Injuries sustained in the recent Morrison-street bridge fatality will be a snd Jolt to that considerable body of the public which rejoices in the prospect of some thousands or hundreds of thou sands In damages, as in the creation of copious financial blessings -without any corresponding sacrifice. A snug $100,000, more or less, disbursed among those who have little or nothing as the result of their own achievement. Is, we must understand, a clear gain of wealth to the community. It costs nobody any thing. It simply comes from "the county." So it is with that other modern cornu copia, "the city." If only the citywlll furnish us light, water, lovely sF$ets, delectable sidewalks, free bridges, rest ful parks, band concerts, well-stocked libraries, finely equipped schools, free bathhouses, etc., etc., why, then, society Is by that much clear gainer. It is all velvet, as the gamblers say. Nobody should provide anything for himself. "The city" should provide all. It is so easy. It costs nothing. It comes, like reading and writing, by nature. All that is necessary Is to pass a law, and the thing is done. If the taxpayer has any mission In life or excuse for his ex istence, other than to be means for those who have none, power for the nerveless and provider for the thriftless, It would seem high time for him to show cause why he should not be confiscate with all his goods to the populace. Now It Is a curious concomitant of this most admirable and equitable arrange ment, that those who must eari enough for themselves and the unproductive as well, are substantially without service from their public donations, and if they want anything done have to do it for" themselves. While "the city" and "the county" are dispensing joy for the doless, what are they doing for the doers? If you want a pavement, build it yourself; if a sidewalk, lay it; If water, buy It. If you want to go any where, keep a carriage or pay car fare. If your house Is robbed, hire a detec tive. If you are alarmed at footpads, carry a revolver. If boys molest your r remises, take a club and get after them and their parents. There are no taxes available for any such purpose. They are busy paying official salaries. Keeping up public buildings and "Insti tutions," looking after the support, con duct and comfort of the Immense army of Incapables and unwlllings. The man that won't work must be clothed, fed, amused and tended, in Jail or out of It. The end of this thing is an increasing disposition of the beneficiary to be ben efited, and an increasing demand upon the cornucopias. The producer must tighten up his belt another notch or two and go to work a little harder. In the City of Chicago, for example, where some $30,000,000 a year are contributed by "the city" to the edification of the multitude, officialism and general de pendence have reached so high a state of development that the citizen, or rather taxpayer (for the leech Is also a citizen), Is organizing himself Into a supplementary Instrument of govern ment, that is to say. of dividing his earnings with the non-earning. Chicago r.Jw has Its small-park associations. alley-cleaning associations, street-repair associations, garbage-removal associa tions, sldewalk-buildlngassociatlons, and clty-beautlful associations by the score. Thus far no sewer-bulldlng, bridge building, or viaduct-building associa tions have come into existence, but they are next in order, and the Chicago Trib- une, in an interesting summary of the situation, suggests that since the city government is confessedly and chron ically bankrupt, the functions of the city government must eventually be performed by private associations op- crating upon a subscription basis. It is not a violent assumption, per haps, that sooner or later, the provider of everything for the provider of noth ing will weary of his Job. There Is a possibility that the Interior of the cor nucopia will some time be exhausted and cease its uninterrupted flow of bles sings upon all applicants. It Is only good-natured forbearance that suffers the unprofitable to ride In the saddle while the energetic carries him along; for power is to the strong the moment they care to put forth the hand and seize it. The flotsam and jetsam of hu inanity are as nothing to the forceful few, once they are aroused. Some day perhaps there will be a reaction from this artificial arrangement under which the no-account ride in a wagon that is pulled by the industrious and the fru gal. Mature make so such pitiful mis take. In her economy every tub stands oh its own bottom. In her model realm the failures do not sit at the head of the feast, the drones do not lord it over the workers, the parasite is taken at nis true valuation, and not at nis own. u.ne cornucoDia is a pretty thing in myth ology; but it is not a good working model for men of sense and spirit, HILL. DID, DDT HILL DIDN'T. Under what color of right does Mr. J. J. Hill felicitate himself upon the decision rendered at St. Paul Saturday by Judge Lochren, of the United States Circuit Court? If the court is to be be lieved, Mr. Hill and his railroad, the Great Northern, had nothing to do with the acquisition of the Northern Pacific. The job wag done, if we admit that It was done at all, by Northern Securi ties. Therefore, Mr. Hill had no part in it Therefore there Is no acquisition of one road by Its competitor. There fore nothing has been done in restraint of trade. Ordinarily, when the court announces the law. It Is the province of all good citizens to acquiesce, without trying to go behind yie returns. But when Judges Caldwell, Sanborn, Thayer and vande- venter, sitting In the United States Court of Appeals on April 9, say one thing, and Judcre Lochren. sitting In the United States Circuit Court on August 1, says an entirely opposite thing, then reason declines to abdicate; then the question Is pertinent, "Which will stand? We understand Judge Lochren to affirm that it would have been in re straint of trade and in suppression of competition if J. J. Hill, through the Great Northern, had acquired the Northern Pacific; but that Inasmuch as Mr. Hill accomplished this end through the device of Northern Securities, the law is effectually, evaded and the act Is legal. This Is a very fine point, ob viously, and while It may be law, it Is most transparently not fact. The law of Minnesota forbids the consolidation of parallel or competing lines of .rail ways. It 13 a rather far-fetched theory that this act Is forbidden to the com peting road but not to a common own ership of both roads; and that what would be unlawful for President Hill of the Great Northern is lawful for President Hill of the Northern Securi ties. This is the first occasion we can recall when a court of such standing has for mulated an avowed defense and justifi cation of sharp practice, confessedly aimed to violate the spirit of the law by getting around the letter. Judge Loch ren's reasoning is precisely that ad vanced by Mr. Hill's lawyers at the time Northern Securities was formed. Let us not say that Judge Lochren had part in the Hill councils. Let us simply say that Mr. Hill is a person of great Influence In Minnesota, in the press and In the legal profession of greater In fluence, perhaps, than he has In some other places In the old Senate Chamber at Washington, for example, where nine modest men, on a day of the October term, will impart to Mr. Hill some In formation that it is desirable for him to know. A MISTAKEN POLICY. The labor unions that have at vari ous times In New Tork. in Indiana and very recently In Texas been forcing their members to resign from the mili tia have acted with a most plentiful lack of wisdom. Such action Is sure to rob the labor unions of popular sym pathy and support, for It will be taken by the public as laying down the doc trine that a man cannot be both a unionist and a militiaman, If the peo ple should once be confronted with a situation of affairs when all labor unions would make war on the National Guard In every state, with a view to dfssgjvlng It, the people would have small Sympathy or support henceforth for an organization which holds Itself above the law and confesses that Its own purpose Is so lawless that no Na tional Guardsman Is eligible to its ranks. A few months ago In Schenec tady, N. Y., a labor union tried to boy cott one of its own members who as a militiaman had .served with his com pany while preserving order during a strike. The Watexbury (Conn.) street car strike was followed by an effort to Injure the militia company that put down the rioting, and the attempt to boycott the citizen soldiery of Evans vllle, Ind., Is of the same quality of dan gerous purpose. Another illustration of unwisdom on part of a labor union was forcing a con flict with a very able) Influential and sincere friend of labor, the President of the United States. The President was entirely fair when he said that labor was free to unite or not, as It pleases; that the Government will not discrimi nate against union men, neither will It discriminate in their favor. It will not discharge a competent, satisfactory man simply because he is obnoxious to the union, and it will not employ an In competent or unworthy man solely be cause he Is backed by a labor union. The President said, "No rules or reso lutions of the union can be permitted to override the laws of the United States, which it is my sworn duty to enforce," and then he quoted from the Judgment and award by the Anthracite Coal-Strike Commission of March 18 last, approved by him, as follows: It is adjudged and awarded that no person shall be refused employment or in any way discriminated acalnst on account of member Bhlp or nonsiembershlp in any labor organi zation, and that there shall be no discrimina tion acalnst, or interference with, any em ploye who is not a member of any labor or ganization by members of such organization. The President fairly said that this commission, appointed by him. includ ed a member of a labor union; that In common decency all the Government departments must be handled In ac cordance with this principle, clearly and fearlessly enunciated by the com mission. Trade unions, of course, have a right In equity to ask of emnlovers a fair and open field for organization among employes, and no favors either way. The free action of the individual worklngman cannot be legally inter fered with under our form of trovern ment. The principle of personal liberty is fundamental under our institutions The individual employer, as a matter of expediency or business Interest, has a right to employ nobody but union men, or to refuse employment to other than nonunion men, but the Govern ment. as an employer, cannot take i position either way. The best friends of organized labor will agree with The Oregonlan that it is extravagant for the unions to expect absolute control, not only over private Industry, but over the Government Itself, in Its capacity as an employer. The dancer that confronts organized labor in this country is that it sometimes presses its demands too far. It is an idle dream to expect to union ize our Government and terrorize the President by threatening to embarrass the Government by strike if the law of a local labor union cannot prevail over the law of the land which it Is the President's sworn duty to execute. There is no "higher law" in this coun try that is permitted to prevail above the enacted law of the land. President Roosevelt is the friend of organized labor; a year ago at Chattanooga he said, "I believe emphatically in organ ized labor,"' but if organized labor should ever force the President to choose between Its extravagant de mands and enforcement of the laws of the land, the President would do his duty and the people would rally to his support at the polls because of It. MORE DOG-1 X-TII K-M G ER TAC TICS. The reply of the O. R, & N. Co. to the application for right of way for the proposed portage railroad Is fully up to expectations. In effect It is: "We have the country bottled up, and will neither withdraw the cork nor lend you the corkscrew." Under certain conditions, the arguments presented by the corporation might be accepted with out much demur. But in their pres ent temper the people will not re ceive them with the best grace in the world. The conditions under which Mr. Harriman's objections would be re ceived in respectful submission are these: That he should make some move toward opening up a vast region east of the Cascade Mountains, on which the Northern Pacific is steadily increasing and strengthening its hold. We do not ask for much, and we do not require it all at once, but the slightest kind of a movement would give us reasons for still trying to be friendly with the men who show so much Indifference to our industrial and commercial needs. First on the list is Central Oregon. The building of this portage road will give the Columbia Southern an outlet to Portland independent of the O. R. & N. Portland merchants are desirous of getting In on the trade of that rich country before Mellen and HU1 decide that- they will make It tributary to Puget Sound, or before It can be drained south to San Francisco. The experience of the past teaches us that air. Harrlman Is what the street would term an "easy mark" when Mellen and Hill care to assert themselves. He can be bluffed out of any territory that the other fellows decide they need them selves. With a portage road, matters would be different. Portlanders are slow to anger. They meekly submit to being knocked down, dragged out and cuffed around in a commercial way, but when It comes to being commercially butchered to make a holiday for rail road boomers operating on Puget Sound, they will yet enter a, protest, and Mr. Harrlman eventually will find it unnecessary to keep his ear to the ground to hear that protest. Then there is the Ifewiston extension. Another immense grain and fruit crop Is now starting for market by way of that fearful grade up Potlatch Canyon, and thence on over the Cascade Moun tains. It Is lifted nearly a mile In the air, dropped down, and lifted another mile and dropped again before it is at tidewater. The completion of the Snake River extension, which has long been promised, would permit all of the produce of that vast region to reach tidewater by a down-hill haul, and much shorter mileage, and Portland would do (he business that Is now all forced to Puget Sound by an unnatural route. The Wallowa country Is another field for trade of which Portland has for years been fondly dreaming. And dreaming Is as far as we ever get or will get so long as Mr. Harrlman is kept bullied into submissive silence and' Inactivity by more enterprising railroad men. This exasperating Inactivity has wrought the people of this state up to a pitch which bodes no good for rail roads or railroad property when the next Legislature meets. The Harrlman Interests have secured $20,000,000 recent ly, and, according; to statements In the public prints, will use it in construction and betterment work. There is a strange silence as to where they will use the money, but there Is nothing to indicate that any of it will be spent in this vicinity except in the employment of Cowgllls and similar people who care to undertake the work of attempting to thwart the will of the people. Until he does make some such move, any ex. cuses that Mr. Harrlman can make for his failure to assist enterprises that will aid In the development of Oregon will not be received with a good grace. The dog-in-the-manger policy was never popular In this state, and the Harrlman manner of carrying It out is not only unpopular, but it is offensive. EXCELLENT TRADE CONDITIONS. Portland bank clearings for the week ending last Saturday showed a larger percentage of Increase than those of any other city on the Pacific Coast. That they accurately reflected the condition of trade was corroborated by the busl ness of local wholesalers. Almost with out exception they report a larger dis tributive trade than at any correspond ing period in the history of their busi ness. The money stringency of which so much is heard in the East, as yet has not made Its presence felt on the Pacific Coast, or at least not in Port land and Oregon. There is the usual demand for money with which to move the crop, but it Is being met with no inconvenience to the bankers, and for legitimate business enterprises of any nature funds are In good supply. The wheat crop is later than usual. and there is considerable disposition on the part of the farmers to hold their grain. In this they have been encour aged by the sharp advance In the East. and the great scarcity of old wheat, which has forced millers to pay a handsome premium over export values in order to secure stocks for grinding. Flour ad vanced during the week in response to the strength of the wheat markets, and an Improved demand from the Orient. Late advices report the Hong Kong market pretty well cleaned up again. the demands of Japan and Russia being so great in anticipation of trouble that the big stocks at the Chinese metrop olis were sent north to meet the de mand. In the local produce markets Oregon fruit and vegetables were re celved in such liberal quantities that the California stock was almost driven from the market. Receipts, however, were insufficient to cause any weakness in prices, the close Saturday in most lines being slightly above the opening on Monday. Hops were firm, and the few transactions reported were at high figures. The outlook for the crop con tinues excellent, and the quality prom lses to be very fine. There was one or two sales of wool reported during the week, a lot of pretty good proportions changing hands in ths Wallowa coun try. An interesting feature of trade in this city last week was the clearance on the first day of the month of wheat and flour to the' amount of over 325,000 bush- els, the largest shipment that has been cleared in any single day this year. The month's shipping business was given a further start by the clearing of one of the largest cargoes of lumber ever dis patched from this city. The principal feature of Interest in the trade situa tion Nationally was the sharp advance In wheat prices, the Chicago market scoring a net gain of 3 cents per bushel. Contrary to expectations, this advance, which was based on bad crop reports and attendant reduction in traffic for the railroads, did not seriously affect the stock market. To be sure, there was nothing like activity In the mar ket, but it closed the week In a, little better shape than it was In seven days earlier. Harvest Is on at full blast In Oregon, Washington and Idaho, .and while the yield In most sections will show a slight falling off from that of a year ago, the Improvement in prices will more than offset the shrinkage In the out-turn. Barley promises to turn off fully as large a crop as that of 1902. although it will come from a much" larger acreage. the yield per acre being smaller than that of last year. In the Willamette Valley the grain crop Is fully as large as that of last year, and the quality is much better. A VOYAGE AND A LESSOX. While the recent vovace of the United States steamship Kearsarge did not marK any considerable advance in the speed of battleships. It points clearly to a notable advance In our tuiva! not- icy. It Is only necessary to contrast the voyage of the monitor Monterev to Manila with the trans-Atlantic passage of the Kearsarge to have an object les son In the development of America's perception of the proper functions of a navy. The building of monitors was the out come of a rooted belief that a navy- was no more than a collection of float ing forts for the defense of the coast. The building of a Kearsarge, whose ramus or action overlaps an ocean. Is the outcome of the true doctrine that a navy's function is to seek out and de stroy the ships of the enemy. As Ra- leign declared, and as Drake practiced, tne uuty or a fleet with rerard to ene mies Is to "take them with their own beef In the bellies, before they have tasted of our good Kentish canons." The principle was for a: time obscured, out now it Is once again the mainspring of naval policy, and to- build "coast- defense" ships Is regarded as a con- lession of weakness. Captain Mahan, a prophet whose honor is not. nerhans. so great In his own country as in some others. Is an able exponent of this car dinal rule, and his works havp dnn much to gain It the consideration Its merits deserve. The Kearsarge did more than show- that an American battleshlo could steam across an ocean at thirteen knots; she proclaimed to the world that, when the need arose, our sea sword would flash in the farthest corner of the earth. Deliver us from sentimental notions of pity for convicts! Deliver us from the silliness o "scientific oenolotrv." Ex cess of this stuff produces results like that of Tracy last year, and that of the present affair In California. "Prison reform" has gone far and away beyond tne bounds of common sense. A nrlson should be a hard place. The harder the better: the more rigorous the dlsclnllnp the better. Theoretically, "prison re- iorm ana "scientific penology" may- serve ror a sentimental exercise, to those who have nothing better to do; DUt tney would better be hoeing cab bage or cutting cordwood. Meantime, let us pray for deliverance from nrlson reform and scientific penology, and de vote ourselves to the work of maklne tne penitentiary an undesirable nlace of residence, by keeping the inmates un der restraint strict and severe. In this country no one goes to the nenltentlarv unless he elects the way of life that leads to It. When he reaches the result to which his life has led he should have what he has earned. The countrv has had enough for the present of "prison reform and of scientific penology." The time has come to enforce the nen- altles. It Is up to the judges, juries and executives, and to that public opinion or sentiment wnich controls all. The centennial of the establishment of tne first Catholic church In Boston and New England Is to be celebrated next month. Boston Is now very large ly a Catholic city. This is mainly due to foreign immigration. In early colo nial days, under Governor Belcher, the Catholics were bitterly persecuted at a time when the Puritans persecuted everybody outside their own pale, and in later days of Native Americanism the Roman Catholics suffered gross outrages. The mob that burned the Catholic orphan asylum in Charlestown was composed chiefly of "rowdies," who had been stimulated to fury- by- the inflammatory speech of a Methodist preacher. This outrage was promptly resented by the decent, law-abiding people of Boston of all parties and re llglous denominations. The Unitarian Dr. Channlng denounced the crime from his pulpit and was a conspicuous actor at the great public meeting which was called because of the burning of this Catholic school. Lleutenant-General A. P. Stewart, the most famous surviving Confederate sol dler save General Longstreet, is re ported to be dangerously 111. He was graduated from West Point In 1S42, and ranked number 12 in a class of fifty- six members, which included the Union Generals Rosecrans, Pope, Sykes, New ton and Doubleday, and the Confed erate Generals M. L. Smith, McLaws, Longstreet and D. H. Hill. General Stewart is over SO years of age. He commanded a brigade at Shiloh, a divi sion at Chickamauga and Chattanooga. He commanded a division under Gen eral Joe Johnston In the Atlanta cam palgn, was a corps commander under Hood at Franklin and Nashville, and bore a leading part in the battle of Bentonville, N. C, in March, 1S65. He was a very able, scientific soldier, and a man of high scholarly attainments, The treaty- of alliance concluded with the Mikado does not bind Great Britain to assist Japan in event of that nation becoming engaged in a single-handed contest with the Czar. Great Britain's support cannot be claimed until Japan finds herself assailed by two powers at once. France would be reluctant to grant aid to Russia If she asked for It, and Russia would hardly ask for aid at the cost of making England an en emy. -The Russian Generals are confi dent of their ability to beat the Jap anese on the mainland, while, on the other hand, the Japanese feel sure of victory if they have to deal with Rus sia alone. WOMEN'S CLUB AXD THE FAIR. EUGENE. Or., Aug. L The promptness and heartiness with which the women of the different towns of Oregon responded a few monlhs ago io the call for organ ization Into Lewis and Clark clubs was really a remarkable exhibition of civic spirit. Their response was a most grati fying sign of the popular hold the idea of a centennial observance had. ana it in dicated an absolutely unselfish Interest in the success of the proposed fair, and a genuine love of Oregon. In joining these clubs, the women knew that they were assuming heavy burdens In untried fields. The mere possibility of such a whole hearted movement In Oregon, as' tnese clubs augur, therefore, a glorious ftuture for the state. Because so spontaneous and patriotic In their origin, these clubs have the largest promise for lasting good of any agency In the Exposition organ ization. But a note of warning was sent In from the Eugene Club. a few days ago Indicat ing that the existence of these clubs Is threatened. They are pining for some thing to do. It Is reported that "they do not feel that they can Initiate any work, because they believe that part should be done by the officers vpf the Exposition or by some general organization." It would seem that they should discrim inate In their deference to the Exposition authorities and use the sphere In which they are necessarily free In contributing to the higher needs of the Exposition. The energies of the Lewis and Clark Fair Association directorate at Portland have been taxed In devising a satisfactory or ganization, and plans In the expense-Incurring part of the Exposition. The women must, of course, wait to get the sanction of the officials for any activity that is to be supported by the Exposition funds. They know full well that the greator part of the higher Exposition services are unpaid that is why they re sponded so heartily but they have In a measure failed to realize that these high er services cannot even be prescribed. These must be spontaneous and volunteer services. The financial core of the Exposition is an essential, still only a minor part. The whole machinery of the organization or. the Lewis and Clark Exposition can be little more than an instrumentality. through which and around which the peo ple of Oregon are to manifest their spirit, purpose and power. The women of Ore gon in jolnlrfg the Lewis and Clark clubs showed their disposition. It Is up to them now to take the initiative In constructive activity In harmony with a celebration of the Lewis and Clark expedition. That exploration was great and worthy of commemoration because it was the har binger of a progressive civilization, where there had been only stagnant barbarism. An observance of the centennial of that event will be befitting only as It inaugu rates a new epoch In which progress In Oregon will ride on an electric car in stead of on on ox-team wagon. Why should not the Oregon people, and largely through the agency of these clubs. realize Just such an Impetus from the Centennial? Why attempt anything less? Oregon has a united people. They are In earnest and ready for an enthusiastic pro motion of a movement for the common good. They have a rich environment, and they have faith in it. Why not have faith in themselves? The determination to make the Exposi tion result in a large influx of people Into the Pacific Northwest as permanent set tlers Is creditable. It is wise, however. not because It will enable real estate own ers to sell a part of their holdings at an advantage, but because it will make available all the higher goods of life In greatly Increased measure. Yet to make the Inflow of a great Immigration the chief motive of the Exposition and to subordinate everything else in the Cen tennlal to that end would be unwise and discreditable to the Oregon people. An Exposition policy that placed the main emphasis on attracting people to Oregon would be a virtual confession that we- feel It necessary to hand over the making of Oregon to the outsider and the stranger. Of course, we wont all the help we can get, but we shall get It most free ly, and of the best kind by showing that we can make something desirable out of Oregon ourselves. Why turn the making of Oregon over to others? for that is what a consuming and an almost exclu sive desire for newcomers amounts to. We naturally want to be a part of, some people. Is there a better land and people to turn our hand to than Oregon and her people? Why not think of Oregon as ours to be made wholesome, beautiful and great? Why not look upon the Oregon woods, rivers, fields and towns as ours, whose beauty and utility are to be con served and enhanced? Most of us wish our ashes to rest here, our posterity to have the best of human environment here and our names to be handed down with those of Oregon. I submit then that the keynote of the Exposition activity should be not primarily "a more populous and richer Oregon," but "a better and more beautiful Oregon" an Oregon trans formed into the best home for the best people. A lower aim would be unworthy of the Oregon people and of the Centen nlal occasion. In the light of such a conception of the function and purpose of the Exposition. the field of labor open to the Lewis and Clark clubs is large and Inviting. The endeavor to get premium-winning prod ucts from the farm, orchard and mine is creditable "and necessary, but there is a higher work; and this Is the work of the Lewis and Clark clubs. It Is to develop the ideal home-rural and urban, the ideal town, the Ideal school, the Ideal factory, store and farm, with regard to higher social utilities. The ideals of older com munltles must be adapted to Oregon con ditions. A home or town or school to ap proach perfection must be adapted to pe culiar local traditions, local necessities, local relations to the outside world and the limitations and advantages of local climate. Model town and country resi dences of the Willamette valley and of Eastern Oregon would be on very differ ent plans. If the Lewis and Clark clubs were not organized for the development of community sympathy and co-operation In the promotion of progress on these fundamental problems of social and civic life, what were they organized for? Re serving the right or way for work in ac cordance with the Instructions from head quarters, why should not these clubs or ganize as follows: First A local history department for a serious study of the development and tendencies of their localities. They could Identify and mark historic sites, trails, highways, ferries; gather the reminis cences of prominent pioneers; make up files of old newspapers, maps; locate im portant Journals, correspondence and other records. The Oregon Historical So ciety would gladly furnish syllabi for guides In this work. Second A department of civic improve ment should engross a large part of the energies of these clubs. Such books as Ely's "The Coming City," Robinson's "Modern Civic Art, or the City Made Beautiful": Zueblln's "Municipal Prog ress" would give Inspiration and sugges tion. Mr. Baxter's papers in recent num bers of the Century and Professor John Qulncy Adams' article in last Sunday's Oregonlan would be helpful. Third A department of home economics and Industrial art would find, la the flies of the Craftsman and In the reports of recent National conferences on these lines of work, exceedingly Interesting material and a practical line of study. Fourth No other work has been found eo effective la the East as that which has In view the getting of all the educational forces of a community Into working rela tlons and making the school the center of community life. Nothing else" Is so effec tive In promoting "a finer public spirit and a better social order." With the help of the Lewis and Clark clubs, the Oregon schools could develop such efficiency and place such an educational exhibit at Port land in 1905 as would do Incomparable good for Oregon and make her name the brightest among the states. Dutton's -'Social Phases of Education" would be of great help in beginning this line of work. F. G. xOTJNG. "THE MYSTERY OF LIFE. Kansas City Star. Standing on a bridge that spans the Blue River at Leeds, last evening, a young wife Mrs. Nora. Winfrey sudden ly sprang into the water on the approach of her husband, for whom she had been waiting. He hastened to the rescue, and both were drowned within a short dis tance of the river's bank. It is related that, as young Winfrey reached the bridge, he said to his wife: "Are you going to jump Into the river?" "Why. yes; I would Just as soon as not," she answered, and leaped over the railing Into the stream below. Here was a brief tragedy involving the swift destruction of two lives, which seemed to reveal no cause save a sudden and unaccountable impulse. It may be supposed that the first thought of suicide was conveyed-'to the young wife by the idle question of her husband. To think was to act, and to act was to perish. Such are the attenuated threads on which the concerns of life and death often hang. Mankind Is admonished every day of "the Impenetrable mystery of the things by which It Is constantly surrounded. The drama of human existence becomes no clearer or more Intelligible by its eter nal re-enactment. More puzzling than all things beside are the processes of the mind with its hidden springs of action. Every man 13 a riddle even to himself, for he cannot know the day of the hour when he may be seized by some uncon trollable Impulse that may change tne whole current of his being or wipe It out altogether. Men and women talk of the Inscrutable ways of Providence and they doubt the existence of a Creator whose plans and purposes they cannot comprehend. But the great universe, with its stately pro cession of the sun and the moon and the planets, and the distant stars, Is no more unfathomable to the mortal who beholds and contemplates it than the operations of the mind within himself, and the mo tives and Impulses by which he Is or dained cither to happiness and successs or to failure and destruction. PLAIX TALK IS BEST. And That la the Reason TV-ny Tlie Oregonlan Talks Plainly. Lewlston (Idaho) Tribune. The Oreeonlan has lone been a foremost and powerful supporter of the Harriman Railway Interests In Oregon, and has rendered Invaluable service to the com pany In creating a friendly public senti ment toward It, In shielding It from po litical attacks. In procuring it rights and concessions and in turning business Its way against the rival Northern Pacific Company. Tho Oreganlan's chief editor is a director in the Harriman company and an Intimate friend of its higher of ficials. Now, however, this is the way The Oregonlan editorially considers the Harriman Company and Is doubtless also the way the City of Portland feels: (A recent article from The Oregonlan is reprinted here by the Lewiston paper, which then comments:) For a great and friendly newspaper like The Oregonlan to criticise the Harriman Company in this manner means some thing. It means that tho policy of this company is offensive and ruinous to the best Interests of the country It pretends to serve and that the country Is entitled to, and will, defend Itself by retaliatory if not coercive measures. If The Oregonlan, with its papitalistic interests aha affilia tions, feels and talfts this way, is it any wonder if the plain people, who are born and bred with prejudices against corpora tions and plutocrats, feel and talk sim ilarly and are eager to vent their animos ities through penalizing and confiscatory measures? How can a large corporation. goverened by Intelligent and broad-minded men, afford to Incur the open and wide spread anltnosltles and Just reproaches that the O. R. & N. Co. is incurring, and what possible gain can It be to that com pany to defy and harass and retard the people who furnish it its Income, even though It may seem to make or save a few dollars by the transaction? Sir. Har riman while he Is In Europe may feel Immunity In defying public sentiment and in wasting the country's resources, but, as The Oregonlan says, this "dog-ln-the-mannger policy will not long be borne." This policy Is that while asserting juris diction over the transporatlon business of this country-, his company will neither build needed and necessary extensions. nor let any other company do so. It forces the country to make long, difficult and expensive hauls of its products to unnatural markets snd thus repress its energies, its growth and Its development. This policy is one of falsification and bad faith. Mr. Harriman on repeated occa sions, and with the utmost publicity has announced certain extension work to be completed as soon as the material could be assembled upon the ground. The ma terial has been assembled at two different times and then hauled away again. Many enterprises and improvements were In augurated by virtue of these announce ments and no thanks are due Mr. Harri man that great losses and disturbances have not followed his treacherous and misleading proceedings. This country now has an opportunity to get to market by the river route, but it Is understood that the Harrlman Company, which owns some of the land necessary to the portage, will delay and block the work by requir ing condemnation proceedings and then taking interminable appeals. With a record like this It will be Impossible to create and maintain a healthy public sent iment toward this company, much as there may be an inclination and a purpose to do so on broad principles. A New Mm. Malaprop. Philadelphia Record. 3 A young Phlladelphlan who has just re turned from abroad traveled on the same steamer with MolUe Elliot Seawell, the novelist, and found her to be a woman with a keen appreciation of humor. She told of a very rich, but rather vulgar American woman, whose daughter had married Into- the nobility, and who was a veritable Mrs. Malaprop. "The old lady spends considerable of her time with this married daughter," said Miss Seawell, "and when I met her in London she gave me a very pressing Invitation to come out and see her at her daughter's country house. Then she started to describe what evidently had been an old baronial castle remodeled, only she referred to it as a baronlcal castle, whatever that may be. 'In the hall they have the love liest pair of antler's horns you ever saw.' she said. 'And the hall has been entirely ruminated.' I suppose she meant reno vated. I ventured to express the hope that the stairs had not been altered, for I have a sort of veneration for the stairways and balconies that are characteristic of the old English houses. 'Oh, goodness me! yes,' she said. "They have a spinal stair way now. That was the final straw, and I cut the old barbarian during the rest of my stay In London." The Facts In the Case. Chicago Dally News. It turned her head The gown was not By any means a perfect fit. Some ugly wrinkles it had got And down the back the seams were split. The sleeves were short and all too tlzbt. And showed lone lines of basting: thread. But, though it was "a. perfect sight," It turned her bead. The colors fairly seemed to shriek A purple, trimmed with blue and green. With salmon bows a gaudy freak: A gaudier was never seen. No tint but did the other kill; One looked upon the thing with dread. I shuddered at the sight, but sUU It turned her head. , It fairly turned her head, and yet Tha woman's taste was reckoned good. Among a most exclusive set A leader she unchallenged stood. But then, she did not wear the dress; She saw It. Though 'twas not well-bred. Just as It passed ber, I confess. It turned nercead NOTE AND COMMENT A reporter's lire must be even mora exciting in China than In Baker City. Crop- reports are generally favqrable. An unusually heavy yield of the Oregon grape vine is reported. Jim Corbett has appeqred as Charles the Wrestler in "As You Like It." and Shakespeare Is famjous at last. An Indiana woman sueo for divorce be cause her husband insists upon sleeping with his boots on. Such roughshod trampling over a woman's susceptibilities shows that hubby is but half-eouled. Great Is Wisconsin! says the Eau Clalro Leader. Its streams produce pearls an Inch in diameter. ' It3 hens fay eggs nlno inches in circumference, and Its fields pro duce strawberries weighing an ounce and a half each. Where else in these United States can these prodigies be duplicated? Kansas school boards are Inserting clauses in their contracts with employes prohibiting courting or marrying by teachers during the school term. What trouble the directors are laying up for themselves. Who Is to define courting? Shall It be Infringement of contract for a teacher to go on a moonlight buggy ride, or to dance more than ten round dances with tho same partner? What's in n. Xante? Cleveland, O. A fire escape was tho modern setting of a Romeo and Juliet balcony scene. The final curtain fell in tho Police Court today. Lizzio Joblotsky, aged 17, was tho Juliet, and John Hay duck was her own Romeo. He was seen on the fire escape In sweet converse with Juliet by a policeman, and .was arrested as a burglar. In the Police Court, on a charge of disorderly conduct, ho was fined $1. Richmond Times-Dispatch. O Hayduck, Hayduck, -wherefore art thou Hayduck? Deny thy father, and refuse tny namj; Or It thou wlit not, be but sworn, my love. And I'll no longer be a Joblotsky. A Brntal Crime. Bill Fake, who is In Portland for tho purpose of establishing a yarn factory, was the victim of a brutal assault at tho corner of Third and Morrison streets yesterday at noon. Twelve men, heavily armed with rapid-fire Maxims, told Fako to throw up his hands, and to emphasize their commands fired 17 shells Into his unprotected body. Seeing the folly of further resistance, Fake submitted to bo searched. Luckily he had only 5476,000 in gold on his person, the poke he usually carries having been left In a cigar box In his room at a lodging-house somewhere in Portland. Fake's place of business is un der his hat, through which he talked quite freely yesterday. The matter was not reported to the police, as Mr. Fake said fie well knew he would be thrown Into jail, and In- addition be held up to scorn by the Portland papers, which have, he declared, far too much regard for mere truth and accuracy. Life in Shnnsrlinl. Some Interesting items are contained In the latest Issues of the Shanghai Times. Concerning the repair of ono of tho train gates of Pekln, damaged In IDOO by the allies, it Is said 570,000 taels have been collected for the purpose. "The Imperial College of Cestronomers," says the Pekln dispatch, "has chosen tho 7th day of this moon as being a day of good fortune to start tho work." This Is much better than starting In any old day of any old moon. An aged ex-pollco sergeant of Shanghai, who had served no less than 23 years on the municipal force, has been sentenced by the mixed court, British Assessor Giles and Magistrate Sun, to three years imprisonment and to receive 500 blows, on a charge of receiving petty bribes. Two Chinese, who made spurious cash, obtaining a tiny fraction of a cent profit, were sentenced by the same court to 500 blows, three months In the Cangue and three years Imprisonment. "Does the Health Officer," seriously asks the Times, "Know where the Pok chuangpang is?" The sporting editor of the Times is de scribed as being "farmer, poet, author, follower of Walton and the best authority on sports on the Pacific. That the sporting editor's job Is no sine cure Is readily seen from the description of a "battle royal." This was an affair In which five men got Into the ring to gether and soaked one another for all they were worth. The two men last on their feet fought three rounds for tho purse. PLEASANTRIES OF PAUAGRAPIIEItS A Narrow Vista. "Boston's horse show this year promises to ba the finest that tho horses ever saw." Boston Globe. "What you swine do w'en you gits ter Glory?" "Xuthln" 'tall but des crawl In en rest!" Atlanta Constitution. In Kansas "A Phllllpsburg church has elect ed a deacon for two years, or durlne good behavior." Topeka Journal. "When a man gits a thlnkln' he's smahter dan anybody else," said Uncle Eben, "you kin look foh a bran' new set o hahd luck stories befo' long." Washington Star. Mrs. Brownovltch I understand your hus band Is seriously III. Mrs. Smithlnsky Yes, he's too ill to do anything except make good resolutions. Cincinnati Enquirer. "He's certainly a good Christian." "Not much, he Isn't." "What? You've said so your self." "Nothing of the sort; I merely said he was a church member." Philadelphia Press. Mrs. Browne You don't mean to say you use ammonia for headache. Mrs. Malaprop O! Not the kind you mean. You get It at a drug store; Just ask for "acrobatic spirits of ammonia." Philadelphia Press. Hanson (to the man with suit case) Not much fun lugging that thing around, eh? Man with, suit case Oh, I den't know. You'd ought to see how folks act when I bumb the case- up against them. Boston Transcript. And Then the Ax Fell. "How do you account for the rotation of the earth on its axis'" asked the professor. "Well." answered the young man who Is always at a loss, "I sup pose the earth had to rotate on something." Washington Star. "Yes," related the tattered wayfarer. "I told de lady in de wayside cottage dat I was a street-car conductor out of a Job, but she wouldn't believe me." "Why was dat?" asked his companion of the Ues. "She said I was too. polite." Chicago News. "I am proud to say," remarked Mr. Meek ton, "that my wife Is not what could be called a quarrelsome woman." "Indeed?" "I never knew her to quarrel In my life. She merely an nounces what the wants and that's an end of the matter." Washington Star. Subtle. Husband There was a perfectly lovely woman In the theater tontidit. my dear. I couldn't keep my eyes off her. Wife Indeed! How kind of you to tell me J Hus bandKeep calm, my love, keep calm; It was yourself. Sydney (N. S. W.) Bulletin. Wise parent So you have made up your mind to marry young Parsons, have you? Miss Kallowgal Yes, papa. I love Frederick. Wise parent Well, I don't know as that should prevent your union. It Is not Impossible you may learn to respect him In time. Boston Transcript. "I don't care to marry at least not yet," said the flirt. "Why not?" asked the matron. "Because as matters are now I have the atten tion of "half a dozen men. while If married I would have the attention of only one." "Huh!" exclaimed the matron, "you wouldn't have even that." Kansas Independent.