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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1904)
THE MORNING OBEGDSIAN, TUESDAY, DEOEMBEB 20, i&04. Entered at the Postofflce at Portland. Or., as second-class matter. REVISED SUBSCRIPTION BATES. Br mall (postage prepaid In advance) Daily, -with Sunday, per month $ .83 Dally, with Sunday excepted, per year.. 7.50 TJullv. with Sundfiv. oer vear. . 9.00 Sunday, per year... 2.00 The "Weekly. per year 1 M The "Weekly. 3 months 50 thine and everything that people "who contemplate a change of location' would like to know about Oregon are of tlme- and Increasing interest. They be long to the class of facts that do not grow old In. the telling, and that find a constantly increasing number of listen ers. .15 Dally per week, delivered. Sunday ex- ccpica .... .......... ......... -- Tn!ltv tut vrV rfAl!vred Sunday In' eluded .20 POSTAGE RATES. United States. Canada and Mexico 10 to 14-page parser ....... .lc 16 to 30-page paper. ................. 2c 22 to 44-page paper.... c Foreign rates, double. EASTERN' BUSINESS OFFICE. The S. C. Beckwith Special Agency New ork: rooms 43-50. Tribune building. Chi cago: rooms 510-512 Tribune building. The Oregonlan does not buy poems or sto ries from Individuals and cannot undertake to return any manuscript sent to It without solicitation. No stamps should be Inclosed tor this purpose. KEPT ON BALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex: Postomce News Co.. 178 Dearborn street. Denver Julius Black. Hamilton & Kend rlck. 003-912 Seventeenth el. and Frueaufi Bros.. 605 16th st Kansas City. Mo. Rlcksecker Cigar Co.. Ninth and Walnut. Los Axurelea B. F. Gardner. 250 South Spring, and Harry Drapkln. Oakland, CaL YT. H. Johnston. Four teenth and Franklin st. Minneapolis M. J. Kavanaugh. 50 South Third: I. Regelsburger. 217 First avenue South. New York City I. Jones & Co.. Astor House. Ogden F. R. Godard and Myers and Har- rop. Omaha Barkalow Bros.. 1012 Farnam: Mageath Stationery Co. 1308 Farnam. Salt Xjike Salt Lake News Co.. 7T "West Second South street. San Francisco J. K. Cooper Co.. 746 Mar. ket street: Foster & Orear. Ferry News Stand: Goldsmith Bros.. 236 Sutter; L. E. Lee. Palace Hotel News Stand: F. W. Pitts, 1008 Market. Frank Scott. 80 Ellis: N. "Wheatley; S3 Stevenson: Hotel St. Francis News Stand, WashizurtoD- D. C. Ebbltt House News Stand. PORTLAND, TUESDAY, DEC. 20. 1004. HE WILL "REFORM" THE PARTY. Mr. Bryan, in his latest Commoner, discusses the causes, as he views them, of the decline of the Democratic vote in the recent election. The vote fell off, it will be remembered, more than 1,300, 000, as compared with that of the year 1900. "The lesson," he says, is that "In proportion as the Democratic party espouses the cause of the masses, it is strong; in proportion as It Is timid and hesitating, it is weak." Mr. Bryan therefore makes it plain that he intends to take up the work of leading the party back to the position it abandoned in 1904, to take up a "conservative" candidate and "conservative" prlnci pies. "There is no danger," he says, "that the party will again soon make the mistake that it made this year." This must be cheering to those who In eisted on "conservatism" for the Demo cratic party, and "set up" the St. Louis Convention to that end, against the Bryan leadership and regime. But Mr. Bryan has no hard words for them. He -wants their support In future, so far as it may be possible to get it. So, ex cusing them for their "mistake" of this year, he says: The political conditions which prevailed just prior to the Democratic convention were abnormal and unusual. A great many honest Democrats, anxious to make all the progress possible, believed It wise to attempt the conciliation ot the so-called business Inter efts, but more properly described as the Interests of the large corporations. The at tempt was made; it proved unsuccessful; It will not be repeated. Soothing can be more certain than That "the so-called business interests' will be ruled out of every place of In fluence in the parly, and that those who controlled it in the year 1S9S and again in the year 1900 -will again take control, dictate Its policy and write its platforms. And, on this ground, the party will probably be stronger than it was under "plutocratic" direction this year. It will awaken again all the dis content, from "whatever cause, latent in the country: it will stir up the "Have-nots" against the "Haves" once more, with tremendous vigor; the move ment "will stop the growth of Populism and Socialism, in politics, by bringing most . of these forces into the Demo cratic party, on a half-socialistic plat form; and, since on the, fringes of the Republican party there are not a few "who sympathize "with this movement and .with the policy behind it, the Dem ocratic party, under such leadership, will "Win the support of no small num ber who, this year, threw their votes for Roosevelt. It will be formidable, therefore; but It will cause other-large bodies of Democrats to withdraw from the party and to act with the Republi cans. For a new peril to property,' In dustry and business -will appear, more pronounced perhaps than even in 1896. It is unfortunate, indeed, and deeply to be regretted, that events tend more and more to distinct alignments of parties on a division of this nature forcing business io fight for its life and prop erty for existence, and producing a constant and growing stream of tend ency to class distinctions in politics. ' ANOTHER JOLT FOB THEORY. Mr. W. L. Marvin, who accompanied the Merchant Marine Commission on its search for Information regarding the status of the American marine, contrib utes an article on that subject to the current number of the Review of Re- lews. Mr. Wlnthrop's decidedly biased report of the condition of affairs down upon the bed, the order for able- bodied inmates to keep off the beds in daytime, and other wholesome restric tions and regulations for the govern ment of this pauper colony. Most of these rules are such as ordi nary people observe "without compul sion in and about their own homes. They are in acocrdance with the sim ple rules of decency, bodily comfort arfd community -welfare. That they will evoke complaint from men who never have observed them when ordering their own lives is to be expected. The purpose is to keep the poorhouse, its surroundings and its inmates in clean, wholesome condition; to eschew all lux uries; give competent care to the sick; compel, if necessary, those who are able to work to do so when called upon; Congress" (referring' to appropriations) has been offered in the words: "This is a billion-dollar country." The day of small things in high places has passed away. The explanation is fur nished by Mr. Barry himself in speaking- of the present as a decade of money-making, money-spending and a bursting treasury." Lessons of thrift are forgotten alike in public and In pri vate life. Economy is not considered necessary; extravagance is the rule. There are -those -who regard these con ditions with apprehension; others who give them no thought. It is a new chapter that Is being added to an old story. The official conscience is not quick, and it may be assumed that the days are gone by wherein it Is likely to be pricked by the sword. The pres- which was disclosed by the investiga tion makes it quite clear that he was provide affalnst scandals and disorder ent generation, happy-go-lucky, and and make the Inmates amenable to the fortified by an increasing abundance. simple rules that govern orderly men and women in every station of life. Superintendent Jackson is to be don- gratulated upon the rules that he has caused to be posted for the government of his motley community. The county will be a subject of congratulation if, he succeeds In enforcing- them, thereby In perfect sympathy with the members of the commission which he was serving as secretary. There was nothing in his position, however, or In the evidence which he recorded, that warranted any such misrepresentation as appears in the following extract from his article in the Review: How perilously feeble this "sea habit" has chant Marine Commission at such important iuhkidb me inosi 01 juj toinca.t v.ujlj .v.umuuuuij, is u. vcrj urn luea, put oy is willing to leave tlie solution of this question to a succeeding generation, and to look with Indulgence upon- ex travagance in the high places of the Nation. Dr. Lyman Abbott's"" idea of God, which is given publicity as If it were ports as Portland. Or., and Galveston, Tex. There the Inquiry failed to disclose so much as one American, shipowner, ana. ot course. American officers and seamen had vanished with the American ships. In both cities, the overseas shipping business was entirely in the hands of foreign companies, which look with frank hostility upon every effort to re gain for American ships the carrying of even a share of American commerce. , In selecting Portland and Galveston as "awful examples" of what a port may suffer by not going on record in favor of a subsidy graft for millionaire shipowners, Mr. Marvin was unfortu nate. The only inference that we can draw from his mournful lament over the decadence of American shipping at Galveston and Portland is that we are being seriously Injured by the alleged "frank hostility" of foreign companies whlch he- says control our overseas shipping business. All or mis reaos well, and would be Important If true. which It is not Official figures com piled by the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Commerce and Labor, a summary of which was printed in yes terday's Oregonlan, give the wheat ex ports from all American ports for tne first 11 months of the calendar year. These official figures show that Galves ton and Portland led all other American ports in the amount of wheat shipments for the year to December 1. Despite the inferred lack of shipping facilities, these two ports, which were singled out for the slur of Mr. Win- throp, succeeded in shipping practically one-half of all the wheat exported from American ports this year and there are still plenty of idle ships In Portland harbor offering to carry cargoes to any port In the civilized world at the lowest Investment for the benefit of Its pau pers. To those who find retreat in the poorhouse, in indigent age or from dis ability through sickness or other un avoidable misfortune, the fullest meas ure of pity is due. These are the grate ful, not the rebellious, paupers, and for their government few. rules are necessary. But the arrogant, the eelf- assertive, the complaining, paupers who reach the poorhouse through indolence him In a form that cannot be called new. He says he believes no Idnger in a personal God, an Individual God, but In ' a God who Is In and through and of everything." It was said better by St. Paul, or whoever it was that wrote the Epistle to the Epheslans, "God, who is above all and through all and In all." It Is impossible to keep the Idea of a personal God from onthropomorphic conceptions; but, conceive the universe as the living garment of God, and God or Insobriety, If not In the majority, are I as the soul of the universe, and you fating im nnfflAlAnt nnmKaM s mol-a I Yift Vft nn Mm n r n!i9 n 1n tlon, and in some degree comprehensi ble. This divine force or power- Warms in the sun, refreshes In the""breeze. uieams In the stars and blossoms In the trees. Lives through all life, extends through all extent. Spreads undivided, operates unspent. -Nor Is this pantheism. It means one in strict rules for the government of such Institutions necessary. Citizens who pay tribute to common humanity in maintaining the county poorhouse will be gratified to know that rules cover ing every requirement of cleanliness, decency, humanity and economy have been formulated and -posted there. They are called ''new rules," but we are fain force. nriA PTiArrnr thnf "(rnvorno v. Vlt.- -H.,,. . .1 1 .. H. I ' CD , 0 . w ucllc lUai. maiii ui. uiu e and stars and rolls through all tblnns wwv. ..x v..w., v.kMCi4TC -"v. it nas seemed n. 1 trio str-nrn Tr. Lyman Abbott's statement, made In a sermon to Harvard students, should be telegraphed. But old Ideas, to all succeeding generations, are, to an ex tent, new Ideas. in paupera would have long ago been masters of the place Instead of humble subjects of the county's charity. THE LUXURY OF BEING A SENATOR. David S. Barry has an article in the current number of Pearson's Magazine in which he deals with the United States Senate upon the basis of a "Mil lionaires' Club," whose members enjoy all of, the luxuries of a privileged class at the , expense of the people. Going back a little more than a quarter of a century, Mr. Barry says that In 1878 The announcement of the death at his home near Oregon City of Dan O'Neil will cause surprise and regret through out a wide section of the Pacific North west. His name was identified with river transportation from a very early period of steamboating on the Wlllam ette ana Columbia Rivers. Genial. the United States Senator provided obliging, ready with Information, he himself at the expense of the Govern- was an ideal purser, and In that ca rates on record. The overseas shipping ment, In addltllon to his salary, with paclty was employed, first and last, for business of Portland Is not "entirely In mileage, one hundred and twenty-five nearly half a century on the boats that the hands of forelfm companies." The dollars a year for stationery, and one plied these waters. His death signals largest Individual user of overseas clerk, if he happened to be chairman tne Passing of a prominent figure in the of a committee and needed one. That transportation era that extended down was practically all. In the present almost to the present year. Mr. O'Neil year of grace, a United States Senator, retired from the active duties of his he declares, would sniff at one clerk vocation but a few months ago, and and declare it Impossible to do his work Passed the short interval between that without two or three, while such a t,me and the end of his long and cheer- shipping out of Portland, or out of any Pacific Coast port, is T. B Wilcox, an American born near the birthplace of the American mer chant marine, in Massachusetts. Mr. Wilcox today has cargoes afloat for EuroDe. Africa, the Orient anl Central thing as paying for a clerk out of his fu journey at Rose Farm, where his iiiuniuKe to -int3 .Minnie toimes more than forty years ago was celebrated. He leaves many warm friends and aC 1. L M .. . uust oi acquaintances tnrougnout the Northwest. America, and American, German, Brit ish, French and Japanese flags fly over the ships carrying them. These ships are chartered at the lowest rates possl- Jble, for the reason that the lower the charter rate the higher the price which can be paid the producer. As there are a hundred producers concerned In a single cargo, It is easy to understand how the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number demands that the freight be shipped on the vessel that will carry' It the cheapest and to the best advantage. "Foreign companies" have no con trol over the shipping business of Port land, for the reason that the business is created by the Americans and is routed own pocket, as his predecessors, up to a comparatively few years ago, were accustomed to do, would be regarded by a Senator of today as a crime. Under the old rule, each important committee had a clerk, and perhaps an assistant and a .messenger, to wait NOTE AUD COMMENT. The Cavalier. Do children today go fpr rocking-horse rides On bumpety steeds with mottled" sides? Bumpety, bumpety. to and fro. That's how the rocking-horse wed to go; With, cars pricked up and head In the air. He galloped wildly past tabic and chair. Nothing could etop him when off he'd go, Bumpety, bumpety, to and fro. A wonderful beast was that mottled steed. He never failed In the time of need; In the lists be charged with Ivanhoe, And the Templar's horse went sprawling low. Anon his rider he bore to the front. And kept him there throughout the "hunt. Rivers and hedges he took in a breath. And brought his rider in at the death. Oh, a wonderful horse for a wonderful ride "Was old bumpety bump with the mottled hide. He was always ready, that willies steed. To gallop off at his utmost speed; He galloped to York with Daredevil Dick Not a bailiff's horse could keep up the lick And the highwayman waved his band to the lot. As he distanced their horses and distanced their shot; And this wonderful horse saw nothing queer In clattering on with Paul Reverc,- Whose whoops to arouse the country-alda Brought a startled mother to end his ride. Oh, bumpety-bump. and to and fro. There wasn't a, place this horse didn't go. He fled from lions aeroas the sand. He carried a Knight in the Holy Land, He chased after Injuns, and ran them down. He carried Gilpin across the town. He carried the good news out of Ghent, He lived in his Arab master's tent Oh,, bumpety-bump, and to and fro. There wa3n"t a place that horse didn't go. y Do children today have such wonderful rides On bumpcty-bumps with mottled sldea? A Brussels Inventor has put off "the mar ket an articulated oar, which enables a man rowlns a boat to face in the direc tion in which he is moving. It Is a cer tainty that the invention will not be taken up by the young men who are ac customed to row their best- girls up to Ross Island on Summer evenings. The Buffalo Express says that "a Penn sylvania man who splits wood at the age of 94 attributes his ability to work to the, tobacco habit," and adds that this Is the stroncest argument ever advanced against the use of tobacco. November, points out the Boston Rec ord, was the first full calendar month to pass without a lynching since 1SS5. The Record need not be downcast; a little rest now and again breeds Increased energy. Some Unpublished Correspondence.. Boston My Dear Colonel Greene: I have the highest respect for you as a man and as a Colonel. My respect for you there- ifore Impels me to say that I consider you a lying hound, a cheap blackmailer and a dirty thief. Pray call on me when you visit Boston. With assurances of my highest esteem, I remain, yours affection ately, Tom Lawson. New York My Dear Mr. Lawson: Your highly gratifying letter moves me to reply- that you are an unprincipled scoundrel, a swindler, a dirty cur unfit to associate" with a skunk. If my language appears unduly warm, pray attribute it to the fervency of my affection for you. Tours phrcnotlcally, W. C. Greene. Boston My Dear Colonel Greene: Your Inexpressibly gratifying letter to hand. with newspaper advertisement concerning mo to boot. Your sentiments overcome me. I feel that I am unworthy of such commendation, especially from such an unpunished blackleg as yourself. When Dies Twice; Imprisoned for Life (St. Petersburg' Letter to London Express.) t.. .- n,.irA nf the brutal as- deatU sentence will be commuted to penal saesination of Von Plehvc, who at the time of j servitude for life. Tha nrnnrlotv nf t11l is-, S -" " ' j twuitih u. 1.1 intuitu. .31-,.. fenni? Vniir.. anrf Wnihnilf'. uvuii me vuiuiiiiiitM; wucn ill se&sion I oauuu u- ilom Law'SOn. and attend a Senate door after the meeting hour at 12 o'clock. The Sen ators who were chairmen of commit tees used the committee-rooms as their private offices, while Senators too young In service to be chairmen had neither rooms, clerk nor messenger at the expense of the Government. This writer proceeds to draw a com parison between this time of a quarter gree, that the sentence of Imprison- tf ment for life does not mean what it says Is at least questionable. This con eolation was given to Bert Oakman, the Hlllsboro murderer, from the bench when penalty was pronounced. It evi dently had a cheering effect, as, accord ing to report, the young man was In a very complacent frame of mind when he passed through this city en route to market by them by the cheapest of a century ago and the present period ior the penitentiary to enter upon his method of transportation. These Americans sometimes employ foreign ers to carry their freight to market. because the foreigner, being less fa vored than the. American with oppor tunities for investment on shore, has been forced to Invest his money in the leas remunerative business of shlpown- ing. As one of the witnesses before the commission put the matter: "If the American employs a foreigner to carry his freight to market, he does it for the same reason that a bank president em ploys an express wagon to carry his trunk down town the expressman s time is less valuable than his own, and there Is economy In giving him the job." There Is nothlns In the shipping situation, either at Galveston or Port land, that need, give Mr. Wlnthrop or any one else concern. We shall always find ships to carry our products when ever we have any to ship: v TRITE TRUTHS. . In the current number of Orchard and Farm we find the following reference to Irrigation in this state: Few states in the Union present such prac tical irrigation projects as Oregon. There are thousands upon thousands of acres In the state, east of the Cascade Mountains, to be had at a very low figure, but which. If well watered, would at once attain a value of $20 to S150 and upwards per acre; and these tracts only - await the introduction of capital to bring them into a condition to support & large population, where there will be a higher average of human -comfort than can be found In many sections of the East And Middle "West. Supplied with water. these arid regions those In which there is no rainfall or an insufficient amount to make the soil productive will surpass the most profitable farming lands In the humid states. 250 bushels ot potatoes per acre, 40 to SO bushels of wheat and 30 to 300 bushels of oats being ordinary yields. These are facts that have been well attested by results. The statement of them is not new, but it cannot be re iterated too often. The people of Ore gon have been criticised in times past for remaining silent in regard to the resources that await development in the state. Content with the facts per taining to the climate, opportunities and possibilities of the state, and with their part in them, they have4 been slow in Waking these things known to in tending Immigrants. IatterJy, and especially since the Lewis and Clark Fair became a settled fact, this silence has been broken with the result that thousands of people will come hither in 1805, seeking and finding homes. Plain, unvarnished facts In re gard to the climate, soil, productive ness. natural resources, stage of de velopment, market facilities, the price of land, the status or manufactures the opportunity for investment any- THE PAUPER'S LIBERTY. "New TUles" are announced for the government of our pauper colony that has found refuge in the house among the hills to the. west of the city. A glance through them Indicates pretty strongly that slipshod methods will not be pursued nor disorderly conduct tol erated by the new superintendent, who has been placed in charge of that insti tution. It is a fact well attested by experl ence in dealing with paupers, and even corroborated by casual observation of their peculiarities, that as a class they chafe at restraint; that they hold a chronic grievance against the methods by which they are housed and fed, and a grudge against those who are al moners of the v taxpayers' bounty. There are exceptions to this rule, of course. Gentle, uncomplaining' women and men, silently submissive to the pauper's lot, are not infrequently found In almshouses. But the rank and file of those who have utterly failed to pro vide even a poor shelter and a meager support for themselves in age or mis fortune hold a chronic grievance against society, and especially rebel against the rules and regulations through and by which public charities are dispensed. Very little heed is given, or in the nature of things can be uiven, to com plaints which bewail the restriction of the liberties of the pauper. It is a set tied rule that he cannot be allowed to go at his will and come at his pleas ure, while subsisting upon the tax payers bounty. While the -poor farm Is his place of abode, he must confine himself In his rambles to Its limits-, un less, like any other dependent, he gets permission from his caretakers to ab sent himself for a specified time. The necessity of this rule is apparent to all except restive paupers, whose dear de light Is to "come to town," and these find bitter grievance in the penalty of exclusion from the place for Its viola tion. The public will note with approbation the rules for personal cleanliness, com pulsory exercise, the requirement to re move the boots or shoes before lying of money-anaking, money-spending and a bursting treasury" as follows: Every Senator today, big and little, without regard to politics or length of service, has at least one clerk who draws his salary from the Government; each Senator of the majority side, ar-d almost every one of the Democrats, has a private room In the Capitol or in the Maltby annex across the way a building pur chased to permit the Senators to spread them 6elves and each important committee chair man bai; one or two or three assistant clerks. The chairmen of the smaller committees. many of which never meet, manage to get two clerks by seeing to It that the "mcssen ger" (selected is a stenographer and typewriter. This la a good plan for tho "messenger" as well as the chairman, for otherwise the for mer would have nothing to do. Formerly the clerks of the small and useless committees were paid when tho Senate was In seralon Now they draw annual salaries, and cases exist of clerks who never come to Washington at all. It is further pointed out that the Sen ator of today has many perquisites and pleasures In addition to a superabund ance of patronage and clerical and other assistance. To specify, he Is shaved and bathed free of expense in tho Senate barber shop and in bath rooms, where only the most skilled workmen are employed, and the most delicate eoaps, perfumes, " dyes ' "and pomades used. He has his mall dellv ered to him by Senate officials three times dally, at his residence, in the morning and evening, and at his desk In the Senate In the middle of the day. He has telegraph and telephone service of the most pomplete kind at his elbow. as the result of the elaborat6 electric system recently installed; he has the privilege of sending all official corre spondence free, It IS not these things, however, and their place -upon the appropriation bills that reveal the luxuries that wait upon the Senatorial state. That inexhaust ible, bottomless pit, the contingent fund, from which, all expenditures are paid, carries and conceals this burden. True the annual report of the Secretary of the Senate reveals some strange things to the curious who scan it. As, for example, a very recent report showed that a Senator from Georgia did not use that year one cent of the $125 allowed for stationery, but. drew the entire sum in cash; that somebody consumed five pounds of Copenhagen snuff; that the silver inkstand on the desk of the acting Vice-President cost 590 (each outgoing Vice-President, or President of the Senate, takes the ink stand as a souvenir when his term ex pires); that the floors of many of the committee-rooms are covered with "carpets of the Wilton grain" at $3.85 a yard; that mirrors costing $200 each are set above the mantels; that the clocks cost on an average $40 each; that ordinary, straight-backed chairs have been made to Individual order at $47 each; that velour curtains for the "life sentence." Events may prove that Justice will be satisfied in this case with less than the penalty provided by law for murder in the second- degree, but It would be prudent at least, and serve to fix the lesson of self-control which the court sought to impress upon this criminal to let him think that his crime called for a full measure of punishment. Admiral Birileff, who is superintend ing the equipment of the remaining Russian ships in the Baltic, advises his fellow-officers to stop writing to the papers and to devote all -their attention to bringing the fleet Into fighting con dition. Admiral BlrllefTs advice resem bles a remark attributed to Napoleon: Je lalsse la plainte aux femmes; mol. J'agls." In modern English, "I let the women do the kicking; I Jump in and rustle." This would be an excellent motto for the Russian officer to paste in his hat. New York My Dear Mr. Lawson: You are a'gentkman. Yours admiringly, W. C. Greene. Boston My Dear Colonel Greene: You're another. Yours lovingly, Tom Lawson. Tho Bulls think Lawson a trifle over bearing. Tonight's fight will be won by the native son of California or Denmark. Mrs. Chadwlck has an Insane woman as her cellmate. She must feel as If sh were beside herself. From Limerick. "Whom next will the jury Indict? The wicked are all In a frict. But they don't make a eound, Beeauee they have found The best thing to do is sit tict. Colonel Greene declares that he will not be "egged on." Probably he remem bers the old story of tho actor who was nrrrt,A nr oni InfOT- PtTITPfl Off. w 'Those old Oregonlans had no stoves In the early times, they say. Wonder how they did their cooking?" "Well, of course they had the Cascade Range." It would make any man hot," declares Colonel Greene, "to lose $2,000,000." That's going a bit too far. It would make any- poor man hot, but we rich folks don't mind a couple of millions. The latest achievement of Burbank, the California king of plant life, is the production of a spineless cactus, which will grow on desert lands and supply cattle with food half as nutritious as alfalfa and Is wonderfully productive. Well may this man be hailed as a mon arch of life, since he provides food for millions of men without the shedding ot Djooa. Statistics Just published by the De partment of Commerce and Labor show that the United States Imported goods valued at $190,021,658 from the United Kingdom in 1903, and exported to that country in the same period goods val ued at $524,262,656. The corresponding figures for the preceding year were, imports, $165,746,560 and exports $54S, 543,477. Consul Brush reports from Milan that the Italian government is undertaking extensive trials of automobiles for war purposes. The machines, however, are not being tested as substitutes for charging cavalry, but merely as car riers of stores and provisions. No more beautifully Illustrated Christmas edition has been Issued In the Northwest than that of the Seattle Argus. Unusual Indian and marine photographs have been reproduced with excellent effect, and the letter-press Is of similar merit. Dr. E. N. Hutchinson, of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry, is criticised as being "too careful" in tho discharge of his official duties. For this relief from prevailing conditions and criticisms, many thanks. When- Nan Patterson speaks of eat windows of th committee-rooms cost lng her Christmas dinner in Washing $52 a pair, and-that Senatorial luxuries for that year cost, in the aggregate, $1,433,395.98. These things and many more recited by Mr. Barry prove, fir3t of all, that "old things have passed away." Per haps this Is to be regretted, perhaps not.. The excuse for "a billion-dollar ton she should remember what hap pened to General Buller after his re marks about a Christmas dinner in. Pretoria. The Biiavlloquent Colonel Greene and the polished Thomas W. Lawson should collaborate on & 'Polite Letter-Writer.' his death was Russian Minister of the In terior, rhould have escaped with a sentence of life imprisonment, subsequently reduced to 20 years by the Czar's amnesty proclamation, astonished the American public The follow ing extraordinary story of Russian ponce methods annearj to throw some light upon the subject, especially in view of the cable dis- natch from the London Express corresponaeni at Zurich, published In The Oregonlan today.) CIRCUMSTANCES have now made it possible to tell for the first time the asto'unding sequel to the arrest of the assassin of M. de Plehve, the Russian Minister of the Interior. Few romances with Russia for their theme and Nihilism for their motive transcend the surprises of this story as told in part by the Bu reau of Police and in part from sources which that great Russian department has sought ineffectually to suppress. It was a few minutes before 10 o clock on the morning of the 23th of July that M. de Plehve met his death. The assas sin, himself slightly wounded by the ex plosion of two bombs he had thrown, was instantly arrested and hurried away by the police. Within the next 24 hours the subjoined announcement was given out: The murderer has been identified. His name U Porozneff. and he comes from a small town In Southern Rueala. He bos made a confes sion Implicating others. Twelve hours later he was reported to be dead. The form in which tnte latter intimation was given to the foreign corre spondents was as follows: While the hospital attendant's attention was drawn aside for a moment. Poroaneff tore off the apparatus which had heen placed on his stomach and succumbed within half an hour to internal hemorrhage. On July 31 two amazing things hap pened. Poroznoff. who had succumbed to Internal hemorrhage 36 hours earlier, came to life again and made another confession. as a sequel to which "about a thousand persons" were arrested. On August 1 the Police Bureau, having apparently mislaid the official fact of PoroznefTs identifica tion confession and death, gave out the subjoined Information: The assassin of M. de Plehve died today. He steadfastly refused to make aay disclo sures, and the mystery of his Identity remains unsolved The succeeding two or three days proved uneventful, and the narrative leaps, there fore, to August 4, when the following In timation was allowed to be made public: The authorities are very anxious that the prisoner should not die of his wounds, and when he was operated on at the hospital sev eral police officials were preeent In respect of a man who had already been twice officially declared to be dead these precautions seem to savor of extrav agance. The authorities, however., were busy in other directions and probably did not notice the discrepancy, for three days later it was formally intimated that: The identity of M. de Plehve's assassin is now established, and two more arresta have been maae. At this point there was gain an ap parent lull for a few days in the relent less activity of the police, but an an nouncement of August 19 made it clear that during the interval they had been sllentlv and unerringly drawing the bonds of Justice tighter: The young man who la under arrest as the suanected murderer A if. de Plehve has been identified by the police as a former student of the University of Moseow, and Is the son of timber merchant named Saaonoff, in .the gov' ernment of Saratoff. The investigation Is be lng continued. On Aufrust 21 they permitted it to be known that they had made another dis covery The identity ot M. de Plehve's murderer has been definitely ascertained. His nam to iat voveff. and he is a graduate ot the Teohnolog leal Institute. He will be lnciuaea among the criminals granted a partial amnesty on hi ehristenintr of the Csarevitcn. ami me The police themselves seem to have be come conscious that something was lack ing I- their story, that a link had been lost somewhere, for on the next morning (August 22) they issued the following of ficial statement: The rumors that Sasonoff Is dead are un founded. Sasonoff Is fully convalescent. Sasonoff, in fact, was. himself again; he was not even Matveyeff, though he had been circumstantially identified under that name on the morning of the pre vious day and all his life history laid bare. But at this point, in view of the bewilderment which this official narra tive may so far have occasioned, it may be convenient, in the light of what is to follow, to tabulate tho events in the as sassin's history during these flv-and twenty days: July 2S Assassin caught red-handed. July 20 Identified as Porozneff. July 30 Died of hemorrhage. July 31 Made confession causing 100O arrests. August 1 Died- unidentified. August 4 Efforts made to keep him alive. August 7 Identified again and two more ar rests made. August 19 Identified as Sasonoff. August 21 Identified as Matveyeff and death. sentence commuted. August 22 Reldentlfied as Sasonoff. August 22 Officially declared not dead. After this nothing probably can cause much astonishment to the reader. It. has been hinted that the police had some thing to conceal, and the peculiar elab oration of their fictions, the mystification in which they purposely enwrapped the whole story and the badly contradictory Information they Issued from day to day- suggest that the fact they desired to hide was one of the first importance. A fact of the first Importance it un doubtedly was, for It was nothing le?s than the circumstance that they no longer had a prisoner to guard. About S o'clock on the night of, let us say, the 20th of August the Chief of Po lice received an urgent summons to re pair to the palace. At the same hour the Governor of the prison In which Sasanoir- Matveyeff-Porozneff was confined was also called away. Ten minutes later two gendarmes pre sented to the Deputy Governor of the prison an order to deliver over to them the person of the prisoner. The order was scrutinized, but as it was found to bear the signature of the Chief o'f Police, together with the official cipher, the pris oner, heavily manacled, was handed over to the two gendarmes, who, with loaded revolvers in their hands, followed him Into a closed carriage, on the box of which was another man in official uni form. The vehicle was then rapldly driven off in the direction ot the NevskI Proapekt. An hour later the Governor ot the pris on returned, angry and perturbed. He had been summoned on a fool's errand. Almost simultaneously the Chief of Po lice arrived at the jail and asked for the prisoner. The order was shown to him and was instantly pronounced to be a daring forgery. Without a moment's delay Russia's elaborate pollco machinery was set in motion, the streets of St. Petersburg were scoured for traces of the sham gen darmes and their closed carriage, all the Nihilist haunts were visited and every possible place of refuge was searched. The quest was vain. Gendarmes, pris oner, carriage and driver had vanished Into the night. One item remains to be added. If tho assassin of M. de Plehve is ever de manded by any person high in authority a prisoner will be prtfRiced. The St. Petersburg police are never at a loss over a detail of that sort. But the man pro duced will not be the man arrested on tho Ismalloffsky Prospekt tho moment after M. de Plehve was murdered. That man may now be in Geneva, Paris or perhaps London. He Is certainly not within tha. confines ot the Russian Empire. WEX. J. Three Types of Beggars. Everybody's. Radally the beggar will come to ona of three classes: First, the purely unfertu nate; second the drunken outcast; third, -th professional panhandler. He of the first class usually is forced by circum Btance to follow tho lino of least resist ance into the poorest and chcaptcst quar ier of the town, whero ho will not be likely- to meet with his om-timo rnena?, and whero his misery will una sumcienc company to render it unashamed, and so NECESSARY TO RECALL IT. The President Himself Should Not Forget His Vote of Confidence. Minneapolis Tribune. 9 It i3 going to be necessary from timo to time to recall that the enormous ma jority for Theodore RooseVelt was a personal vote of confidence in him. It may also be intcrprcteu as a vines m support of the pohcies which have come to be represented in ni3 person. It was not a vote of commence in tno old leaders of the Republican party, who did their best to undermine and defeat the President. Itwas not a vote In support of those pollclos of the Repub lican party which nave Deen mainuuneu In spite of him and in spite of a ma jority of the people. It was not a vote in support of the lavistt expenauures ot public money which have doubled tho appropriations of congress in a iew years and turned a huge revenue sur plus Into a deficiency. Least of all was it a support oi tno Dlngley tarifT, which the President be lieves has outlived Its usefulness, but which the Senatorial representatives of greater protected Interests have so far succeeded in projecting against hla pru dent projects of conservative reduction. It is true that the same election which gave Roosevelt a majority so tremen dous increased the Republican majority in the House of Representatives to more than 1C0. the largest known for many years. But we nrmiy Deuove mat una Increaso is due to public admiration for and confidenco in tho President and to belief that the House of Representatives will co-operato with him in carrying out popular policies. Should this public confidence be disap pointed by continued dissipation of tho public revenues in extravagant appro priations and by continued refusal to lighten the public burdens by mooincR- tion of the tariff, wcbelieve tnat re publican members of Congress will find themselves confronted two years henco by a body of constituents actuated, oy an entlrply different spirit. The people have given tne itepuoucans BITS OF OREGON LIFE. Shouting for a Good Cause. ' Gervals Star. There will be a shooting match in St. Louis next Saturday for the benefit of the pastor's house. Talmadge's Mystery. Baker City Herald. C. M. Talmadge, who has been spending the past season looking after the sheep Interests, returned to this city Monday. He put the reporter "next" to something that Is going to happen, but he won't tell it now. his destination will bo one of those cheap lodging-houses, where a warm fire and a freo hand in the Government because an unclean bed may be had for 10 cents or hov believe that the party will be guld- le&j a night. The outcast of tho second fl h- tho man whose policies they ap- class is almost wltnout exception Drougnt prove. Disappointment ot tnis nope to his dej-raded condition through drink. and ho takers to the lower Bowery Imper sonally, because It constitutes his natural environment, being where the greatest quantity of rum is sold for the least amount of money, ana wnerc a ireo sicep may be had during stormy nights on tho rear-room floor of a saloon. The professional panhandler of the third class goes down the Bowery, not becauso he lives there, for ho does not, but be cause he finds sundry resorts which cater exclusively to his kind. Expensive Mistakes. Buffalo News. In connection with lawyers trying to confuse experts in the witness box in murder trials, a case is recalled whero tha lawyer looked quizzically at tho doctor, who was testifying, and said: "Doctors sometimes make mistakes, don't they?" "The same as lawyers." was th re- Dlv. "But doctors' mistakes are buried six feet under ground," said the lawyer. "Yes." said the doctor, "and lawyers' mistakes sometimes swing in the air." would, wo believe. lead them to ioolc elsewhere for Instruments to carry out their will. A Righteous Protest. Washington Standard (Olympla). What a travesty on justice and pro priety is the placing of a statue of Gov ernor Rogers on Sylvester Park, when the statesman-soldier, who founded the Territory' of Washington, and who died gallantly fighting- for his country at Chantilly, has not been considered for this niche of honor. What a mockery of public duty when men like Elisha P. Ferry, the first Governor of the State of Washington, is passed by in this dispensation of the honors of a modol public career! Even tho grave cannot cover the memory of such a mistaka on the part of those who seem Ignor ant 'or oblivious of deeds which exalt human endeavor. His Faith Stronger Than His Works. Albany Democrat. A funny incident happened at Lebanon this week. A new oven had just been erected by a Lebanon man for the bakery, evidently a good one. The architect wag demonstrating its excellency and to show off the strong arched roof got on it, when, crack, and he wont through to the bottom. Crimson Journalist Makes a Call. Castlo Rock Advocate. Ernest O. Kennedy, the bright and shin ing youth, who wields that great moral lever, the WInlock Pilot, honored Castle. Rock with a brief but glorious visit Sun day. Lurid streaks of crimson lingered on the local landscape long after his de parture for the little burg up the line. Marshal Beach's Glad Hand. Woodburn Independent. Tbirty-ono hobos run out of town was Marshal Beach's record Saturday. The' Marshal goes about It In a very nice man ner. Ho approaches a gang and accosts them with. "Traveling?" With lighted countenances, glad that someone Is taking an interest In them, they reply, "Yes." "Then," says the Marshal, "git!" and they git, for the sudden gleam that comes Into the officer's eyes satisfies them that ho means business. Making Course of True Love Hard. The Dalles Chronicle. Bargain counter inducements in the marriage license business will soon be a thing of the past In Oregon if the Legislature contInu.es to get in Its work. At Its last session a raise In the price was made, whereby the passports to "glory" were mado to tax the bene dict S3. This year it Is said a bill will be introduced increasing it to $5 per. It was at least considerate to allow Leap Year to pass before the ralso was suggested. Monotonous London Street Names. St. James Gazette. The "Saints" have no fewer than 397 streets named In their honor In London. Thfr are 105 Church streets. Sfi Chanel slreets, 66 King streets, 100 Queen streets and nearly as many rligh streets. If a letter were addressed to one of these without further definition It would take. some months 'before it could Teach the address. A Mystery. New York Evening Sun. "You don't get my name in the pa pers, said an excited man wno was run over on Broadway by an automo bile yesterday. Could the mystarlous stranger by any possibility nave Deen Lawson, of Boston? . Room for Her Talents. Milwaukee Sentinel. Colonel Watterson's papor seams to favor Casslo L. Chadwlck for Secratary of the Treasury. But Mrs. Chadwlck's genius an a borrower should not bo overlooked by Russia and Japan. Motion to Amend. Washington Post. "God save the young men from stylish women," says "Vicar-General Pox. of Might substitute "old bank young men." ' Trenton, crs" for In Boulogne. Chicago Chronicle. : There was a maiden in Boulogne Whose heart was harder than a stogne. To every beau She answered. "Ncau." And said she'd rather live alogne. : But when the maid had older grogn.' And had become but kln and bogne. Sho changed her mind, Alan, to find Her chance for wedded bliss had- fiogne. And now thir maiden of Boulogne. In grief to ween and sigh is progne. Her grief Is- great. She curses feat. Alone she makes her constant mogne. Now maiden all, let this be knogne, A husband Is a boon to owgne. " .So do-not wait And meet the fait --. Of this poor maid who makes her mogne.