Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 1905)
THE FRIDAY, JANUARY , JtWt Entered at the Postofflce at Portland. Or., a second-class .matter; REVISED SCBSCBJPTION BATES. Br mall (postage prepaid In advance) Daily. Ts-lth Sunday, per xnosith $ .85 Drily, with Sunday excepted per year. - "-50 Bally, with. Sunday, per year 8.00 Sunday, per year 00 The "Weekly, per year - 1-50 The "Weekly, 3 months - -60 Dally, par week, delivered. Sunday er- cepted v" Dally, per -week, delivered. Sunday In- eluded 0 POSTAjGE RATES. . ; United States, Canada and Mexico 10 to 14-page paper... ............... .-..-le 18 to 30-page, paper. - . ....2c 22 to 4-page pejer -i -' - - -So Foreign rate, double. EASTERN BUSINESS OKFICK. The S. C. Beclcwith Special Agecy New Tork: Rooms. 43-30, Tribune "building. Chi cago: Rooms 510-312 Tribune bulldlnc. 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 for this purpose. KEPT OX SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex; Postofflce News Co., 178 Dearborn street! Denver Julius Black, Hamilton & Kend rlck. &00-312 Seventeenth street, and Frue auS Bros.. COS 16th st, Kansas City. Mo. Ricksecker Clsrar Co.. Ninth ana Walnut. "Los Angeles llarry Drapkln. Oakland. CaL W. H. Johnston. Four teenth and Franklin streets. Minneapolis M. J. Kavanaugh. SO South Third; lu Regelsburger, 217 First avenue South. New Tork City L. Jones & Co., Astor Hou?e. Ogden F. R. Godard and Myers & Harrop. Omaha. Barkalow Bros., 1612 Farnam; Mageath Stationery Co.. 130S Farnam. Salt laker Salt Lake News Co 77 "West Second South street. San Francisco J. K. Cooper Co.. 740 Mar ket street; Foster & Crear, Ferry News Stand: Goldsmith Bros., 23C Sutter: L. E. Lee. Palace Hotel News Stand: F. W. Pitts, 1008 Market: Frank Scott. SO Ellis; N. Wbeatley. S3 Stevenson; Hotel St. Francis News Stand. Washington. D. C. Ebbltt House News Stand. PORTLAND, nUDAY, JAN. 6, 1305. THE CONDUCT OF WAR. German military opinion, say the telegraphic reports, while acknowledg ing the large moral effect of the fall of Port Arthur in Inspiring the Japanese and depressing the Russians, regards It as only an Incident and as having little relation to the Immense field operations that will begin in the Spring. General Kuropatkin, it is asserted in official circles at Berlin, has 600,000 troops east of Baikal, of which more than 400,000 are already gathered at Mukden. It is impossible, the German military men aver, for the Russians to cease fighting with that army in being, -which, In the Spring, they add, is ""likely to number all told 700,000 men. There is sound Judgment in these statements Japan must now meet Russia's great field forces. She can hardly outnumber them; and as both armies are In very strong positions, which they have been fortifying a long time, ;it is hard to say which of them will take the next initiative. At pres ent the ' game is merely a block. Japan's advantage consists in the fact that she is near the seat of war, and with Port Arthur in her hands she "will have no difficulty In getting forward all necessary material of -war. Of course it is Indispensable at all times that she retain command of the sea. But the use of strongholds in -war is often much exaggerated. Strength for -war is in armies, not in fortresses. The nation that depends on fortresses al ways loses in the struggle. To throw troops into fortresses Is seldom a measure of safety. No military genius commits that mistake. Napoleon never allowed himself io be trapped In a fortress though some of his Generals were, as Davout at Hamburg and Rapp at Dantzlc. There are two theories or schools of military science; one hold ing that mobility is everything, the other that power of resistance is the surer force. Doubtless here, as in. all other affairs, the truth lies between two opposing theories, or perhaps in combination of them. In Europe mili tary writers are very busy with these and other problems, to which new in terest has been contributed by the pres ent war. Some of these iwriters go so far as to denounce military strongholds as danger to any country that constructs them; partly on the grojmd that too much reliance is likely to be placed on them, as In the case of France in her latest "war with Germany, and partly on the ground that the real Issue of a war in most cases must lie in quick strategy and active combat. For noth. ing Is settled 4o long as effective ar mies remain In the field; and strong' holds, If a country's armies are shut up In them, are good for nothing. Ba zaine's 200,000 men in Metz "were use less to France. It Is earnestly con tended by European military -writers that Russia made a serious mistake in not evacuating Port Arthur at the be ginning of the war and adding the forces garrisoned there to the army of Kuropatkin, thus enabling him to at tack Kuroki at the crossing of the Yalu. Kurokl's army at this time. It la said, was not strong, and with the ad dition of the Port Arthur garrison Kuropatkin could have defeated It at the Yalu, and thus have changed the course of the first part of the war. The evacuation of the fortress would have compelled the fleet to go out and fight, it is held and Instead of dying lngloriously it could at least have in flicted some damage on the Japanese fleet and have given the second Pacific squadron under Rojestvensky a chance of securing control of Eastern waters. The argument on the other hand Is that Russia, holding Port Arthur with 30,000 men, detained at least 100,000 Japanese;- that If these troops of Japan could have pushed on up the peninsula they would have added to the already overwhelming forces of Oyama, who would have been enabled to crush Kuropatkin, before his rein forcements could arrive. There is much, doubtless, to be said on both sides, as the common remark goes; but each and every war has circumstances of Its own, and hard and fast rules cannot be applied to' every case. In general It Is to be concluded that war between powerful and resolute combat ants can be ended only by hard pound ing, and the advantage to one side or to the other depends very greatly on the generalship by which the Btrategy is directed. The success of Prussia when her ene mies were about to overwhelm her was not an achievement of her eoldiers, but of Frederick; the marvelous campaign of Italy and -the astounding result at Austerllts were victories not so much of the French' soldier' as bf Napoleon; the campaign of the Jerseys, in the dark days of our Revolution, was the work of Washington, more than ot the tagged and finiritlese, soldiers fte com .manded. In war leadership, though not everything,' Is almost everything; and it find Its resources in -mobility. In activity, in initiative energy. In cour age guided -by Quick Judgment direct ing sudden yet concerted and consecu tive blows, rather than In sitting xiown in strongholds and awaiting the onset of the enemy. PROPORTION OF THE SEXES. In the enumeration of population the sexes are almost equally divided. So many boys are born and so many girls. The numbers are nearly equal. IVhy, the ord knows, doubtless: but he doesn't tell. Tet , there are more -males than fe males; not many more, but some pro- portion more. Doubtless it Is "the ob ject of Nature to supply soldiers. These secret and subtle purposes of Nature may therefore be the proper answer to those who long for universal peace. .However this may be. -we have It from the census of the United States that part of it which is devoted to statement of the- proportion of the sexes in populaion that In the year 1900 there were 38.816,448 males and 37,- 178,127 females. Weshall have to kill off, therefore, a bunch"of our male pop ulation. Now If there were an excess of females-we should find an argument for Mormonlsm. But 'since there Is ex cess of males, we may take it as an ar gument for war. Nature makes no mistakes. She Is -incapable of mistakes. It is curious to observe that the pro portion of males oyer females in our country is increasing. In 1820 it was much smaller than now. It was cut down rapidly during the decade of the Civil War 1860-1870 but .now Is greater than ever. In. 1820 the excess oX males In each 10,000 of population "was 160. In 1870 it had fallen to 112. By 1300 it had risen to 216. The males, therefore. increase, If war doesn't take them off. "Will the supporters of the new Hague Conference tell us how, under their the ory, "we are to rid ourselves of the cankers of a calm world and a long peace? POPULATION OF CHINA. From the days of Marco Polo, and even from an earlier time, there has always been matter of dispute as to the population of China. Figures running from 350,000,000 to 400,000,000 have repeatedly been given, only to be disputed by persons who have made careful inquiry: Investigators say" that little credit is to be given to the meth ods of the Chinese government In making the enumeration, or in the .re sults put forth under Its authority. A new essay on the subject, by "Will iam W. Rockhlll, head of the Bureau of South American Republics, who is to succeed Edwin H. Conger as Min ister to China, is published. Mr. Rock- hill has made China his special study for twenty years and more, since, through the aid of the late Professor "W. D. Whitney, of Yale University, the noted philologist, he was first sent out to the diplomatic service to Corea. His conclusion la that the population Is not over 275,000,000, and probably consider ably lessbetween 250,000,000 and 276, 000,000. But Mr. Rockhill says "there is one reason In particular which from re motest times has tended to keep a higher rate of increase in China .than in other countries of like natural ad vantages, and that Is the deslfe of every Chinese to have posterlty,"to keep up the ancestral worship. According to Menclus (B. C. 372-289), -there are three unfilial acts, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them.' To this belief is due the universal practice of early marriages, prevalent In China from the earliest time. But, on the other side. as tending to keep down the popula tion, is the list of appalling disasters and reigns of terror which, in other eras, but particularly In the last cen tury, have strewn China with the dead. These are In addition to an ordinary death rate apparently about twice as high as among the whites of the United States." FOREIGN SHIPS WILL NOT RETIRE. Some fears are expressed that the passage of the bill recommended by the Merchant Marine Commission will seri ously affect Portland's export trade, It Is argued that, as there are no American steamers sailing out of this port, the business will be diverted to other ports where there are American ships engaged. There is but small like lihood of our being placed at much of a disadvantage by the workings of the new bill it it becomes a law. Port land never secured any export business or any other kind of business without fighting for it. All of the concessions that this city ever received from the railroads or steamship lines came, not as voluntary donations, but because they had to come. We have grown and prospered under a state motto ("She flies with her own wings") which is still full of truth, and we shall continue to grow and prosper in spite of any at tempted handicaps which men engaged In building up rival ports may attempt to place upon us. The ship-subsidy .bill was concocted. not for the purpose of facilitating our commerce or reducing the cost of car rying our products to market, but to increase that cost. Under the protec tion of the proposed subsidy, subven tlon, graft, or whatever it may be termed, the American lines plying out of San. Francisco and PUget Sound will largely Increase their profits, but not at the expense of Portland's business. The philanthropists who hope by playing on -patriotic impulses and distorting the facts regarding the true situation of American shipping to get the proposed law on the statute-books state that they need the subsidy because the for eigners can carry our freight cheaper than it can be carried by the American millionaires who are engaged in the shipping business. This Is an admission that they will pocket the subsidy and make no change In rates. But the foreigner who has carried freight out of Portland on sliding scale of rates will meet those which are established by the bit com bines, who whi get the greater part of the proposed subsidy. If the subsidized liners of Mr. Hill and Mr. Harrlman cut the rate on flour to U per ton which "would be a greater reduction than would be warranted even by the subsidy, Portland can still secure ton nage at the same rate. Our patriotic shipowners have not been working like beavers to get this law on the books and their hands In the Treasury be cause they expect to reduce freights Instead they will hold them where they are or advance them and pocket the subsidy In addition to their present earnings. So long as Portland can supply the business for ships there will always be tonnage to bandlff It, except when wo are temporarily hypnotized by the Schwerlns who occasionally drift Into power and work a slight hardship be fore" they are dethroned.- The Ameri can shipowners, with the aid of an ex tensive lobby at Washington, secured the passage of a bill which provided that all freight for the: Philippines should be shipped In American bottoms. It was intended by this law to throw the business to Seattle and' San Fran cisco, but the first cargoes sent across the Pacific to Manila after the enact ment of the law were sent from Port land by American steamers which came from Seattle to Portland because the cargoes were unobtainable on Puget Sound at satisfactory prices. Subsi dized or unsubsidized, the ship will continue to go to the cargo regardless of what flag she Is sailing under. STATE LAND LOANS. Ten or twelve years ago the StaUs Land Board was reckless In making loans from the school funds, and a number of loans were made upon In sufficient security. As a consequence the Board was compelled to foreclose Its mortgages and take the land to satisfy Its claim. In this way the state acquired about 120 farms, more or less Improved, and held them for a favor able opportunity to sell. Eighty of the farms have been 6old at some advance on the amount of the cost to the state. and, according to the report of State Land Agent West, the remainder will probably sell for less than the state's original loan On the whole, he be lieves that the state will come out about even on the lands taken on fore closure. This fortunate outcome. If it should be as fortunate as predicted, will be largely due to the prosperity of the country and the advance In land values which have enabled the state to sell the lands at approximately the amount Invested in them. It is to be hoped that the state will not be compelled to relearn Its lesson on loaning money, as it did on selling lieu land. One experience of .ths kjnd J described is .enough, and the state should not again be forced to become the owner of improved farms, for which It can have no possible use. The man agement of the state school fund is a matter of business, and not of friend ship or politics. Loans should be made only upon first-class security after careful Investigation, and this seems to have been the practice of the Board for the last six or eight years, for there Is not now a bad loan outstanding that was made in that ftne. The Board has insisted upon prompt payment of in terest, so that the amount of debt does not grow large enough to Impair the se curity or discourage the debtor. By lending only one-third the amount of the value of the property the state's Interests are made safe and the bor rower is not permitted to Incur an ob ligation which hetrannot pay.. Yet who knows but that we may again have a State Land Board that will make loans upon such email security that the state will again be foreclosing mortgages upon the farms of Its citizens? A CLEAN CITY. A timely suggestion by Mayor Will iams In his annual message is, "Clean up." Civic pride should at once respond thereto, to the end that Portland will be able to' show to the multitude of visitors who. In her own name and the name of the state,, she has Invited to come here next Summer a dead, well- ordered, city. There Is absolutely nothing to hinder this, unless It' may be indifference and lack of civic pride. We can have clean, unobstructed streets; a street-cleaning department on the alert to do its duty; a system of garbage collection that will properly and effeclvely dispose of the refuse of the city; a police force ade quate for the protection of person and property, and a fire department that will insure, as far as human effort can do thlB, the safety of the city from fire. These things will cost large sums of money. The taxpayers or .fortiana have not been slow in responding to the demands made upon them in sup port of these interests In the past Recognizing the fact that the city Is making rapid growth, and that it will be subjected to the scrutiny of a much larger number of people this year than In all of the previous years of Its his tory, they will not be niggardly In ex penditure now. Extravagance will be frowned upon as. Indeed, It should be, now and always; but parsimony will not find favor with our public-spirited citizens. It Is well to remark here, however, that money alone will not accomplish what is needed to present a clean city to the public gaze. The private citi zen the householder, whether owner or tenant school teachers, school children all have an interest In the "clean city" proposition made and urged by the Mayor, which differs from that of official responsibility In degree butnot in kind. Thousands of rose bushes have been planted along our streets. These will be gorgeous with bloom when the great Fair opens and visitors begin to throng our thoroughfares. Two or three weeks later they will be unsightly with falling and withered roses unless these are clipped and the litter Is disposed of. Here Is work for the children. They will need some In struction in the manner of doing the clipping so as to insure the quickest response in the way of new buds and roses. Mothers and teachers should be able to give this instruction and at the same time Imbue " the children with pride and responsibility In the work. This Is a simple thing, but it mans a great deal tP a- city that aspires to be known as a "Rose City" and invites the world to come and receive proof of its right to the title. Another small thing that belongs to the category of everybody's 'business and is consequently nobody's business is the lighter, street litter that offends the eyes of orderly persons and which is cast, here a little and there a little. Into the streets. Banana and orange pecls,apple -cores, paper bags from which candy or fruit has been abstract ed, cigar stumps anything which the individual having used has no further use for belongs to the category of street litter for which the Individual rather than the city is responsible. We have ordinances prohibiting the cast ing of rubbish upon the streets, but for obvious reasons the observance of these minor details that go so far toward making a clean city depends upon the individual. Then we" have the reeking gutter, pungent of noisome odors. All un cleanness runs along the curb in many places, notably along Burnslde street three or four blocks from the west ap proach to the bridge. It is useless to appeal to the Civic pride or the lessees or owners of those blocks in the hope of making them clean up or keep clean after the street department has done Its- work. Zt Is here that the- rcguls- tions against casting litter or refuse r of any kind In the streets mast be en forced against tt individual ty T power if at all? And, last and greatest;" because Mt widely diffused, and as disgusting, even as -the reek of the gutters in fro at of saloons where the lower element con gregates and smokes? and drinks and spews, is spitting on the streets and lh public corridors. There is an ordinance which makes this disgusting act a mis demeanor, punishable by fine or im prisonment, or both. Whatever else Is done. we cannot hope to have a clean city while this form of casting filth in public places goes unpunished. Ap peal to the spitter to stop this prac tice on the basis of civic pride or of personal or public decency is futile. His sensibilities In these lines have been blunted or destroyed. Otherwise he would net be guilty of the misde meanor. Other cities have enforced an ordinance against this practice. What others. have done Portland can do. Let it proceed in earnest to" do this, or abandon all thought of showing our visitors next Summer a "clean city" in the full extent of that term. Japan will have a Urge number of prisoners of war on her hands as the result of General Stoeesel's capitulation, and as many of the captives are sick or wounded, there will be Increased trouble in caring for them. Under The Hague Convention, prisoners of war must be given the same general treat ment as the troops of the power holding them. They may be required to do a reasonable amount of work, but the re sultant profits must be handed over to the prisoners. A prisoner recaptured after escaping must not be punished in any way for his action, as the right to escape is -universally conceded, even es caped convicts not being returned by the country to which they may fly. The humane and honorable treatment ac corded the Russians Is in striking con trast with the license and rapine that marked the storming of Port Arthur when the Chinese held the fortress. The murdering of helpless noncombatants on that occasion shocked the world, and the present restraint of the Japanese troops is another Instance of Oriental adaptability to changed conditions. Foreign opinion is now a matter of im portance to Japan, and every method is used to influence It, even the bodies of dead soldiers being dragged by sur vivors to the Russian trenches, so that foreign attaches may be impressed with the manner in which the bayonet charge had been pressed home. Last year California Imported from the East more than 13,000 tons of but ter, eggs, cheese and poultry, and no doubt the import Into Oregon and Washington exceeded this proportion What's the matter in this Western country? Simply that life Is easy and people are not disposed to work. But how long till they will work? How long till people who will work will crowd out those who will not? Is this spot of earth, in our Pacific States, bo favored by Nature that means of living are yet so easy that nobody will work? Is this the reason why the natives on this coast were the most degraded of the human species In America? Are our people, who settle down on the Pacini Coast, to become incapable of exertion? There are clams and berries and fish, and a mild climate. A lazy people can live, as the Indians did, without effort. But are we to be con tent with it? There is every oppor tunity here; but exertion Beems to.be irksome. We can beat the East In pro duction of all things, but we don't, We shall, some time, but first this leth argy must be shaken off. First of all things we must produce meats, poultry, butter, cheese and canned fruits, and not bring them over from the East by thousands of tons. At last the Czar has come to the con elusion that a fleet In the Baltic Is worth two In the Orient, end has re called Rojestvensky, whose exploits hitherto have not redounded to the credit of his service. On the ground that discretion is the better part of valor, the Russian decision Is com mendable. the only thing against It be ing that delay will enable the Japanese to close Vladivostok as effectually as they closed Port Arthur, and the fleet. therefore, will have less reason than ever for leaving the seclusion of the Baltic for the bogeys and dangers of the open sea. That General Stoessel should be tried by court-martial for the surrender of Port Arthur Is not only In accordance with Russian custom, but with the cus torn of almost every other nation. Such a trial In no way casts any reflection upon the conduct of the defense, but is merely a precaution to Insure the ventilation of all cases of surrender. In the same way the survivors of warship's crew are tried for the loss of their vessel, even in- circumstances that prevented them from exercising any control over Its fate. Never will a Jury be empaneled in Multnomah, nor In Oregon, to try Mayor Williams. Every man who may be called and questioned will say in ad vance that his mind Is made up, and he never would vote for conviction, on such a charge, Yet some few persons say five on an accidental grand Jury, who consult only with each other and with their own narrow prejudices may be very foolish on a particular day, or at certain phases of the moon, Even they, however, will recover. The port J) f Portland now has a new Sailor Boardlng-House Commission, but the manner in which the local courts kicked holes In the law which created the former commission makes the es teemed organization fully as effective as the fifth wheel on a wagon. After the experience of last year the gentle men who entertain sailors will hardly fall over each other to get before the commission with the $250 fee which the law says shall be charged for a license, The demand of the receiver of the shipbuilding trust for a fee of 4200,000 rhas been turned down by the court. The receiver probably based his claim or the percentage of profits which Schwab; -Morgan et al. had hoped to make out of the sale of stock before the water flooded it out of the market A project Is on foot td create a new county In Eastern Oregon, to fce called "Stockman." That name Is not slgnlfl cant The Oregonlan motes for substl tutlon of the name of some of the eml nent pioneers of Oregon. Call the new county Nesmlth. If Mayor Williams ever comes to. trial the District Attorney for Multnomah County, who will be the prosecuting officer. wjll nave before him' a- talk lie J will no uoubt highly relish; , NOTE AND COMMENT. It's getting so 9t lata- that every tisaa we see the picture of a pretty girl in-tk papers we expect to find a patent-medicine ad usderneath It Vice-President-elect Fairbanks denies that he died on a tram, bat fails to speci fy where he did die. An excellent way for a nation to "get Into a scrap would be to Insist upon me diating between Japan and Russia, The Japanese are less successful in rais ing the Russian ships than in sinking them. : Jaaars Robinson was sent to isil for 30 days st Mobile. Als for kiaslnr a rlrl aralnst her wllL Milwaukee Wisconsin. Never kiss a girl against her will; kiss her against the door. In a New Year's message to the New York World Thomas W. Lawson we won't mention him again for a week tells of the meeting of Old Man ISO and Infant 1903: The connUes3 ghosts of the ruined and tha crashed, whose shadowy feet tread the chill rold pavement of Wall street after nlchtfall. neara the old man murmur: "God be with rou, and mar you do that which I and ray predecezaiors have not done" and the flit ter! nc teeth of the millions ot rats In the cellars beneath the chill gold parement rat tled and their sharp claws quivered with dread as the Infant giant answered: "By the rreat, glorious God. I will." Lawson Is an authority on ratting. Schoolteachers, next to ministers and trust presidents, are the most criticised class of people in the country. Even If they were all angels the critics, would find something unsatisfactory about them, the way they rustled their wings, per haps. A speaker at the National Educa tional Association in Chicago has been telling the department presidents that not one teacher in ten walks correctly. "Most of the teachers simply slide along the easiest possible way." he said, "pay ing no attention to the rules ot physical culture, of which they are supposed to have at least some knowledge. The, re suit 13 often seen In the pupils, who also form a careless, slovenly attitude In their walking." Some one should have sug gested to these authorities on education that the teachers form their style of walking from watching the hesitating way in which the ghost walks. Even the New York Evening Post has turned iconoclast It demolishes the tra dition that "black-eyed Junos" haunt the Capitol to Jobby in behalf of a nefarious measure that will ruin the rising young Senator from "Irrigatia." An old resi dent of Washington is quoted as saying "I've been about the Capitol a whole lot and yet I've never clapped eyes on any of these superb and imperious Messallnas of the lobby." Next we shall have the Post saying that there are no typical Western Congressmen, tall men in wide black hats and flappy coats, with mouths full of tobacco and picturesque profanity. Mrs. Hobart Chatfield-Taylor, the Chi. cago woman who opened a bookbinding establishment a couple of weeks ago, not because she needed the money, but be cause she held that "a life of. Idleness is stifling to a woman of possibilities," has ruined her nervous system, by overwork and has been compelled to abandon work for stifling Idleness again. From 11:30 A. M. to 12:30 P. M., and from i to 3 P. M. Mrs. Hobart Chatfleld-Taylor visited her office, gave out Interviews on "women in business" and. posed for photographers. ow the Inevitable .collapse has come. .ears, no oart unatneia-Taylor went at the thing too passionately. Without any training she endeavored, to give up two hours a day to being in an office, and of course she broke down. Her misfortune should be a lesson to other women whom whim or necessity may force Into busi ness. Make haste slowly, and don't try to matte a fortune In five minutes. X damsel who dwelt at Two Hirers Fell down on a board full of sllrers; If rumor be true. She murmured "Boo hoo! Now wouldn't that give yon" the shivers?' Milwaukee Sentinel. This might be amended to read: A damsel who dwelt at Two Rivers Fell down on a board full of silvers; If rumor be true. She called In a dentist. And he s been extracUng them ever since. It is a curious thing that when a habit ual criminal is pinched ho nearly always gives an Irish name to the police. Just why this should be so, it is difficult to say. It may be that the criminal desires to establish a presumption of innocence. The nom de gnerro selected by the writer of the following letter is Irish, too, pos slbly as a hint that there Is no snake In the grass: Fortiana. Or.. Jan. 6. To Note and Com ment) The following hypothetical query originally appeared la London Truth: "Were the present war between the United States and Japan, and had the former col' lapsed as nas Russia, would the English be inconsolable?" I wilt ask you to reprint It. hoping that thft man with the carrot nose and spasmodic shoulders, who. yelled at Dr. wise in the peace scrap Sunday last: "Rappl! Raps 11 Don't mind the tarn Irish!" may read It and ponder. "Hypothetical queries" are fine things for pondering purposes, and this one is interesting as an Indication that Labby is up to his old tricks. He always was fond of questions. Even the "Queer Sto ries" he used to run or still runs on the lust pace of Truth were questionable. Lawon may not shock the System, but if he keeps on he'll ruin a few nervous systems. -"Listening on the stage is a part ot the finest equipment of a good actor," says the Listener of the Boston Transcript. We are glad to see this recognition ot the rights of the audience. It's most dl couraging to talk all through a show and have the actors constantly disturb one by talking too. The Stenographers' Convention-, which has been In convention In Chicago; could not agree upon a standard of beauty. strong effort Was made to establish this "Eyes, like a gazelle: hair, wavy and soft; complexion, natural and alabaster, tinged with a pink glow; hands, small and dimpled." An exchange remarks that any stenographer possessing these quail cations can always get a Job, but it seems to us that, after reading of 'the Ch&dwick case, an employer would be" frightened to death of "eyes, like a gazelle." which is reputed to have eyes full of that appeal ifig look. An alabaster-tinged-with-a pink-glow complexion ought to. be all right, and dimpled hands would look well on the keyboard of & typewriter, but eyes like a gazelle's., never. WEX. J. Taking Care f the Pennies. Philadelphia Press. Plncner I believe in that old saying about taking care of the pennies. You know it don't you? Spenders Oh, yes. "Take cart ot tke pennies and -the dollars will take cafe of your heirs." GREAT WOMEN OF -ELIZABETH- (Br Arraseseeat "With PROX "her father, tho. bluff, caprie--lous. despotic Henry Vnl. Eliza beth crorSher harsh, manlike voice. athletic "body, hearty address, violent temper,.' and a mind quick, confident and comprehensive. From her mother. tne beautiful, gay, voluptuous Anno Boleyn, she Inherited a love of sensu ous frivolity, finery, wit and jewels Dounaies vanity and an insatiable love of flattery. SUo swore like a trooper, she spat on a courtier's coat when she did not like It, she rode and danced until the strongest of hep courtiers were exhausted: she enthused her troops by her warlike speeches and -example; she governed her kingdom with the will of a statesman and the win oi a despot. At the same time she coqueted like a girl of 16, kissed whom she nlmi fn-nAiaA h.P robin," Lord Leicester who already had a wlfe before her whole court, played with her rings thaf her cour- uigui. nuie me aeneacy of her hands, and had 3000 dresses from all we countries or the world. Some one aakod Disraeli why he got along with Queen Victoria' so much better than his rival, Gladstone. "He addresses her like a public meeting." the Tory leader rerjliert. r ti-ja o- roan." "One cannot understand Eliza beth without, bearing In mind that she ivna u woman as wen as a Queen. She lived in a great age the age of. the discovery- of America, the age ot the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the age When Ens-land's .mnt nlnrfM !!-!- ture wa3 produced. It would doubt less nave Deen a great age had she not lived in it. Having been born in It, nsni royaiiy aid sne play her part. Henry VHI divorced Catherine of Arragon to marry Anne Boleyn. In 1536. When Elizabeth mo, Ia.d tVinn 1 years old, he beheaded Anna to marry Jane Seymour; and at the same time Mary, his daughter by Catherine, and .ouzaDein, nis daughter by Anne, wero declared illegitimate. Elizabeth was 13 years old when her father died and her brother. Eflwnrfl vr nm h& throne. She was 16 when Edward died and Mary became Queen. She had had several gooa teachers, had read Cicero, SODhOCleS and Othnr Tltln an A flyadr authors, and (had become proficient In me lecnnique or music. She had also entered alreadv nnnn a norr nt n quetry which was to last the rest of ner me. Admiral .Lord Seymour had given her such attentions, and Eliza beth had so far responded to them, that their dubious relations had been made a subject of public inquiry. xier position oecame. a trying and dangerous one- when Mary became Queen. Mary, a bigoted Catholic, speedily undid all her father and broth er had done tn fr th Vno-llat, Phnui. from toe control of the pope and per secuted tne Protestants with a rigor ous and bloodthirsty cruelty which earned her th nlkngm. "ninmiv Mary." Elizabeth consequently be came the hope ot the Protestants, and When Wv&tt mined rVllIlnn In Mary threw her Into the tower. Had one not nere, ano later in ner more agreeable but "no less real prison at WoodSfOCk. ndroltlv Mnfnrmoi) tn tha Catholic ritual, she would undoubtedly nave iosi ner neao. November 17. 1558. itarv died nd Elizabeth sucpeeded to the throne. The new Queen was 25 years old and a beautiful and when ahe chose to be a cnarming woman. Her eyes were fine, her figure commanding, her skin fair, and her golden hair curled naturally. She spoke French and Italian fluently, and on one occasion when the Polish Ambassador was insolent to her she rated him roundly in Latin. Bui Elizabeth, in thA nnaitlnn In which she now found herself, had need or qualities different from personal beauty and a knowledge of Latin. The nation's trade was decaved. Tt- wan torn by religious dissensions. It was waging a disastrous war against France. She rasa in thi iwrailnn Pnno Paul IV arrogantly declared that Eng- ianq was a net oi me noiy see ana that THINGS WE MUST FORGET. Amusing Harmony Suggestions From Across the Atlantic. Chicago Tribune. A month ago an English gentleman. Sir Edward Clarke, suggested that the people ot the United States call themselves "Uaonlans" Instead of Americans. Now another English cousin suggests a slight modification of the National hymn, "The Star Spangled Banner." Sir Howard Vin cent, M. P., objects to the third verse for the reason that it recalls the enmity for Great Britain which rankled in the com poser's heart when he penned the lines. He declares that the words are inapplica ble and out ot date, keep an old sore needlessly running, and breed ill will and distrust in young America. There fore, by all means, let the third verse be dropped and the hatreds' and passions of older days forgotten. The suggestion of Sir Vincent will bo followed. The third verse will be dropped. Any other suggestion In the interests of international peace will be gladly re ceived. Our Navy may be too large. Any suggestion as to dispensing with all or a part or that needlera functionary will be gladly executed. There may be certain Chapters in American history calculated to excite hostility. It may be that such chapters had better be dropped. The Dec laration of Independence, when read at Fourth of July celebrations, may awaken mild anti-British sentiment among those who try to understand why the instru ment was promulgated. Probably it had better be forgotten. The correct understanding of history and a true knowledge of the early strug gles of a small but liberty loving people are of no Importance when weighed against the possible ill will which may re sult when that country gets into a posi tion to take care of itself and then learns Who was its worst foe In the early days. The British Insist that we are their courins. That may be. The difference Is that we used to be poor relations, and now we are rich and powerful relatives, upon whose forbearance depends the in tegrity of their empire. THIS RACE QUESTION. Charleston (S. C.) Xe-ars and Courier. Tho far-away Portland Oresonlan now takes up the word and makes a klndlr and lntclll gent comment upon the race question. It declares that "the ghral opinion ot the North holds It a mistake to push the negroes Into conspicuous Federal positions In the South, for it Is not done In the North, and It Is best, moreover, not to touch the sensibil ities o the South on this sore spot." And then The CtegOhlan xJlts these pertinent ques tions: "Whj- should we not begin In the Northern StatesT" "Why not a negro Post master at Boston, as well as a negro Collector ot Customs at Charleston? Does anyone sup. pose that 3assachusetta wouldn't roar as loudly as South Carolina!" Philadelphia. Record. The Portland Oregonlan, one of the ablest Republican Journals In the country, suggests that If the President deilres to accurately Saul the quality of public sentiment on tha race question lie shall fdllor up his appoint ment of a negro Collector of Customs at Charleston. S. C. bj- the .appointment" ot a negro Postmaster at Boston. Tha Oregonlan opines that tie roar ot protest from Maiwachu setts would make South Carolina dissent a caueak by compaxlsos. ' MODERN TIMES the Chicago Tribune.) Elizabeth, being a bastard; cduld not inherit Its crown. Elizabeth, although sh liked Catholicism better than Protestant ism, accepted the challenge, perse cuted tai Catholics cruelly, some times fiendishly, and finished tlie. work of making England a Protestant ha-"' tlon. From statesmanlike wisdom rather than tlmorousness she avoided war as far as possible, and thus gave tho country a chance to hoard and In crease its strength. She was thrifty with the crown revenues so much so that she almost bankrupted the nobles whom she made entertain her ah! that she sent out the mon who de stroyed the Spanish Armada with rot ten food, and . in sinking ships. Shp gathered about her Burleigh. Wal singham. Nicholas Bacon, Throckmor ton, Sadler as able statesmen as ever were trusted with public busi ness In England and under her and their long administration the country rapidly became prosperous, peaceful and happy at home and feared, re- spectvd and admired abroad. The golden days of good Queen Bess" Is no mere figure of speech. England never had a ruler who understood its people's temper, and needs better or who ministered to their temper and needs more successfully than thl3 great Queen. , The nearest claimant to the English throne was Mary Queen of Scots, a Catholic. The Protestants were there fore anxious for Elizabeth to marry and have an heir. To a deputation from the House of Commons who ap proached her on this subject she re plied: "And for me It shall be suffi cient that a marble stone declare that a Queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin." Neverthe less she carried on more or less vigor ous flirtations with Philip II of Spain. Eric of Sweden, Henry HI. of Franc-. Henry of Navarre, Archduke Charles of Austria, and several minor admir ers. She professed at 38 to dote on the Duke Alencon, a hideous dwarf 13 years her Junior. But the real abject of her love was the handsome and gal lant Duke of Leicester, whom she would hfcve married but for .Burleigh's opposition. Her later affection for the youthful Essex was more that of a mother for her son. and she seems never to have grieved much over hav ing beheaded him for repaying her love by raising a foolhardy rebellion. In 156S Mary Queen of Scots took refuge from her rcblllous Protestant subjects in England. Instead of a gusst. Elizabeth made her a prisoner for life. -In 15S6 Mary was convicted of complicity in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth. The English Queen wanted her enemy put out of the way, but also wanted to avoid responsibility for the deed, and she tried to have her killed privately. Failing In this, she at last, in February. I5ST. signed the warrant for the Scotch Queen's death. After Mary was dead Elizabeth, with coarse hypocrisy, wrote her jaon, afterward James I. of England,, expressing "ex treme dolor" for the "miserable acci dent." Elizabeth's love of finery, frivolity and adulation grew with years. At 60 she dressed, danced and flirted like a girl of 16. Raleigh, who knew her weakness for flattery, compared her to Alexander. Diana, Venus, Orpheus, and angel, and a nymph, in a single breath. But. on the whole, the close of heir life was sad and konely. All the men and women ot her time were gone. The new generation did not understand her and she did not under stand it. Her health rapidly declined in 1602. In 1603 she became sick and melancholy.. She refused to take medicine or to go to bpd, and" became only a skeleton. Her old'quoenliness flashed - up when Lord 'Beauchamp was mentioned as her successor. "I will have no rogue's son 4n my seat." she exclaimed. But she fast became insensible, and on March 2i. 1603. "her great life quietly ebbed away. She had Indicated by a motion of her head that James, King of Scotland, was to be her heir. She was 70 years old and had reigned 45 years. s. O. D. THE NEW YEAR'S OREGONIAiV. Eugene - Register. In It New Tear's edition The Oregonlan has eclipsed all former efforts and prove Its title to tielng the greatest paper published on the Pacific Coast. The Oregonlan has the best facilities of any paper in the West for collecting accurate data and presenting the same Is readable and comprehensive shape. Pendleton Tribune. Tho Orcgonian's Xew Year' edition elimi nates it from competition In the Northwest in special numbers. When: other papers want a standard they must turn to Tha Oregonlan. Its excellence Is s surprise each year, and Its enemies and those who endeavor to 'become a thorn In Ita flesh In business competition etep aside and allow the brains and skill of Tho Oregofilan to pass. Then they may quarrel over the crumbs. Such a number should be an inspiration to other newspaper effort. It shows what may be attained by perslsten, continuous labor, integrity and hope In the future. It is an ideal that sort ens the harder lines of the task Of newspaper building and Inspires the ambition Of those In this profession to greater endeavor. Probably Greater Frauds in Washington. "Walla Walla Statesman. And now it is charged that greater land frauds have been committed In Idaho than In Oregon. Probably an Investigation would show that the State of Washing ton can beat both of her sister states in this' respect. Great syndicates by fair means or foul have secured possession of the most valuable timber lands of the state. Much of this was purchased from the Northern Pacific Railroad, which se cured it under tho HeU land act, but there Is good reason for believing that a con siderable part of it was secured through fraudulent entries, perjurjes and forger ies, as in Oregon and Idaho, OUT OF THE GINGER JAR. The Lawyer H'm! "What makes you think you wish td study to become a lawyer? The Applicant Well, me folks object to me beln' a burglar. Judge . -Mr. Jackson Bam Shlnbone done got 30 days in Jail fo' steaUn' chickens! Mr. Johnson Gee! Dat's a long time to go wlvout chickens! Puck. Larry When th doctor came to vaccinate y did yez roll up yez slave? Denny Shurc. 01 pulled up both av thlm awn dared him to come outjilde. Chicago Daily News. Excited Committeeman My! You're here at last! 1 thought you were going to disappoint us. lecturer I am. Just watch the audience while I'm talking. Baltimore American. Johnslnr To' aln' no heavyweight, now I tell you 'dat! 'Kastus Is dat sd? Well, Aft aln' hea.'d no visitors In de City Tourin &hs ask whah, you Uvea at,, nelthah! Cleveland Leader. "Monopoly Is the cause of our financial troubles." said Mr. Torklns. "No, Charly. dear." answered his wife. "I'm, sure you ar mistaken. There Isn't any face horse by that name." Washington st. Miss Flyyrty Jack Hansom was telling me about a romantic adventure he had at tha party last night. It seems he bumped Into a girl in a dark hallway and kissed her;- and he i doesn't know yet Miss Elders Oh! tee-hee! That was I. Miss Flyrty What? Oh! for goodness eak. don't tell him now. Let him love his romance. Philadelphia Press. "Doctor." said the caner. "somehow I'm afraid of pneumonia. There's a good deal of It In town. I hear. What causes it? Riding In coM cars?" "No." said the doctor. "That toughens a man. All my pneumonia patients contracted the malady by living In orerheated (team flats." The caller went away with a light heart. H --as doubly safe;-Cbicasa Tribune.