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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 1905)
THE JIOHSESsG OBEGOSTiAX, MOOT AT, JANTMKY . 1, 1805. niTMl at the Foitofflce xt Portions, Or., aa second-class matter. XX VISED SUBSCRIPTION RATES. sku -postage JJf-epaia in auTsocij Xir. with Sunday, per month -S5 DtUly. with Sunday excepted., per year... 7.60 j-omy, mui Tsuncay, -per year........ a.w bandar, per year.., s.w The "Weekly 3 .month? .7 17.V.7 .'. 77. .V.V. -W Ial 5v per week delivered Sunday In cluded jro POSTAGE KATES. T7nlte& States, Canada and Mexico 30 to 14-page baper...... .le 16 to 30-pagro "paper 2c 32 to 44.pape paper..... .3c Foreign rate, jdouble. EASTERN' BUSINESS OFFICE. Th C. Beckwith Special Agency New Torki Rooms 43-50, Tribune building:. Chi cago: Boomt 510-512 Tribune building. The Oreso a dees not buy poem or stories from individuals, and cannot undertake to return any manuscript sent to It -without solicitation. No stamps should be Inclosed or this purpose. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex; Postofflce 3C s Co.. 178 Dearborn street. Dearer -Julius Black. Hamilton & Kend rlck. 806-012 Seventeenth street, and Fruenuff Bros.. 05 Sixteenth street. J eas City. Mo. Rieksecker Cigar Co.. Ninth and "Walnut. Lm ABge!es-Harry Drapk'ln. -"Oaicland. Cal. XT. II. Johnston. Four teenth and Franklin streets. . . YtaaeapoUa 51. J. Kavanauph. 50 South Third, h. Regelsburger, 217 First avenue Bon tlu New "i'ork City". Jones '& Co.. Xstor Souse. Of4ea F. H. Godard and Myers & Harrop. Omulm BarkaloTr Broi., 1612 Farnam; Bfageath Stationery Co.. 1308 Farnam. Salt Ike Salt Lake News Co.. 77 West Second South street.' Sao Francisco; J. K. Cooper Co.. 746 Mar ket street; Foster & Clear, Ferry News Stand; Goldsmith Bros.. 536 Sutter; . E. Lee. Palace Hotel News Stand: F. "W. Pitts. 1008 Market; Frank Scott. SO Ellis; N. "Wheatley. S3 Steven son; Hotel St. Francjs News Stand. Washington. D. C Ebbltt House News Etand. PORTLAND, MONDAY, JAN. 16, 105. ' v. CHINA AND THE WAR. A land of mystery, a vastlanfl-, teem ing with a population thai can llv-on a low plane of industrial civilization. Is the interior of China, jtt is a land that has offered little or' nothing to the cupidity of foreigners -and so by sub mission, has escaped conquest that has overtaken almost all other peoples, at one time or -another. The characteris tic that Is called conservatism has trough t forth there.. Jta . fullest fruit. Could any foroe awaken China and Btart her uponajirogreaslve career? i rfclsr-TSne of the questions carried In the possibilities, of the war between Kuscla and Janan. Tet it seems cer- 4iixi that, 'whatever the result of the war, ltVill leave China In the .state in which it found her. In any case a new lorce is to be in active contact with China's historic immobility. Herein will be one of the greatest, perhaps the very greatest, of the consequences of this war. It may be expected to start a movement that will shake China out of her lethargy even though the full awakening will not come at once. The era of railroad building in China "work will not be pushed very rapidly. country is the subject of ahlghly In teresting report by George E. Ander son, Consul of the United States, at Hangchow. In the general economy ofvtVe -cauatry: this canal-system holds highly important place. It has ex- sted almost in Its present form during ftany hundreds of vears. Tim Grand Canal'etea46 from Hangchow to Pe UiH. "being -about 1000 miles In length. "Much tit it is banked with stone," says Coflul Anderson, "and all of it is in such-condition that with the ex penditure of a little money the system could be put upon a modern and effect ive basis." The canal system, as it Is. "handles practically all the Internal trade of China, and this trade Is far greater than Its foreign trade." The canals have many other uses than that of transportation. One of these is irrigation of rice fields; another is the use of the muck which gathers at. the bottom of ihe waterway, .for fertilization. Still another Is the use of every particle of plant life growing in and around the -canals, for 'various purposes. Again, the quantities of fish taken from the canals are immense. The Chinese have no artificial fish hatcheries, but the supply of fish is maintained at a high point by the fact that the floodedrlce fields act as hatch eries and as hiding places for the young fish until they are large enough tp look out for themselves. Vast areas of land are maintained in high state of fertility by muck dredged from the canal bottoms. It is taken in much the' same way that oysters are taken by hand on the Atlantic Coast In the place of tongs are large bag like devices on crossed bamboo poles, which take in. a large quantity of the ooze at once. This is emptied Into the "boat, and the process Is repeated until the boatman, has a load, when he will proceed to some neighboring farm and empty the muck, either directly on his fields especially around the mulberry trees, which are . grown for the silk worms or in a pool, where it is taken later to the fields. Prom this muck the Chinese farmer will generally secure enough shellfish to pay him for his work, and the fertilizer is clear gain. The fertilizer thus secured is rich In nitrogen and potash and has abundant humus elements. This dredging of the canals for fertilizers is the only -way by which the Chinese have kept their canals In reasonably good condition for centuries. The fertilizer has paid for Itself both ways. Recently there were complaints filed at Peking that the ashes of the steam launches plying on the canals were Injuring the muck for fertilizing purposes, and the problem has been considered a serious -one by the Chinese government. It Is not probable that any "renova tlon" of the country can greatly alter these conditions in China; for life is formed on conditions of Xature. and th adaptability through -Jong ages has become as perfect as possible. But change will come In some of the meth ods of industry, and largelyMn political administration, which on its,' fiscal side has been wasteful, dishonest and op pressive. ASp&Hent arid industrial peo ple has borne everything from its rul trs, and reform is not likely tp come save through some force from without. No question but New York is ad vancing to a position among the first centers of the world. A larger amount of foreign bonds was sold in this coun try last 5-ear than in any year in the history of' the country, including Issues by Russia, Japan, Cuba, Mexico and a London" underground railway. "We took a forty-million Mexican loan, be sides buying six, millions of Mexican notes, the thirty-five million Cuban bond issue, twenty-five millions of the, first Japanese loan and thirty millions more' on the second Japanese loan, about five millions of a Russian loan and. seventeen and a half millions of the London subway bonds. Besides these there -were several -foreign mu nicipal bond Issues which were placed in this country. Time was London and Paris' were the leading financial cen ters of the world. It'may be said they are yet; but they have a. growing rival in New York, which within another century is likely to lead both of them. BOTH THE BAR AND THE CANAL. The Government of the United States is in honor bound to go ahead with the canal at Celllo, just as if can not and will Tiot avoid its acknowledged duty of deepening the channel at the en trance of the Columbia, Both projects are of great moment; both deeply affect the individual -welfare of every citizen of the Columbia Basin; both are In separable from the continued progress and development of three common wealths; each merits andi each pos sesses the special favor of the United States Government in its mighty worsl of improving the Important waterways' of the Nation. If effort on the one hand to deepen the bar-channel is . remitted, incalculable injury will sure ly ensue to the commerce pf three states; if construction" of .the (canal at Celllo, once undertaken, is -tutw to be postponed, It may well be feared that that will mean its virtual abandon ment. It Is not necessary to. set forth elabo rately the value and real need of an open Tlver, or the serious obstacle a closed river has' been and Is to our ad vancement. Everybody knows all about It. "What The Oregonian has to say on that subject now is sim ply that the good faith of the United States is specifically pledged to con struction of the Celllo Canal. On June 13, 1902, Congress, in the river and harbor appropriation act, approved the plan for the Celllo Canal, and- provided that it should be examined by a board of engineers with a view to modifying the so-called Harts plan so as to dimin ish the cost. Then it was provided that the work should proceed. The un? expended balance formerly appropria ted for the boat railway project was made available. A board of engineers was appointed, investigated the project. modified its specifications, and the Sec retary of, "War on November 6, 1903, approved the plan for a continuous canal from Big Eddy to Celllo, with locks, adding .the- proviso that the state should furnish the right of way. The State of Oregon, at the special session of its Legislature in- December, 1903, promptly appropriated $100,000 for right of way, which was promptly procured for the Government. Congress on April 28, 1904, appropriated an additional 5100,000 for the canal. Contracts for clearing out the submerged rocks In Three-Mile Rapids were let, and the work of building the canal is under way. Now the people of the state are In formed by 'Chairman Burton, of the House, rivers and harbors committee as set, out iri .an Oregonian Washington dispatch1, last Thursday that there can be no ' considerable . appropriation for both the bar and the- canal. He prac tically asks that choice" be made be tween the two. The people of Oregon should not they cannot accept the alternative. It Is much as if a parent were to be asked which of his two chil dren he would suffer to' be taken from him. As both are equally bound to him by indivisible ties of affection, so It may be said that the. bar and the canal are each of paramount importance to all the citizens of Oregon and the In- Jand. Empire. . We cannot believe on the one hand that the Government will fall lo so ahead with the work of deep ening the river entrance; nor on the other hand that the same Government, having approved the canal and having invited the state to undertake a part ner's interest in the enterprise, now proposes to back out when the state has done its full share. Chairman Burton publicly advocates the policy of the Uni ted States undertaking river improve ment only when the locality or state-to be benefited makes an appropriation for the same purpose. Very welt. The State of Oregon has appropriated $100, 000 for right of .way at Celllo to say nothing of Its own scheme for a portage road and it has expended something like $1,300,000 on its own account in deepening the river channel from Port land to the sea. Little more, it would seem, could be asked or could be done to show the profound concern of all our people in an open river. Let the. Legislatures of Oregon, Ida ho and Washington show the -real posi tion of their respective constituencies by adopting forthwith, memorials to Congress, setting forth the Imperative urgency of an unobstructed river from Asotin and from Priest's Rapids ttf the sea. Then there will be no misconcep tion at Washington as to what .we really want and think we have a right to expect. - THE INAUGURAL BALL. Our few Democratic -brethren In Con gress have' been making a deal of fuss about the inaugural ball that is to be "pulled off" in Washington at the be ginning of President Roosevelt's sec ond tenfu They deem such display "undemocratic." Foolish and trifling it may be, but undemocratic it is not The first inauguration ball was 'held at Philadelphia, in 1793. The announce ment of It was Inserted in the local papers of the city," as follows: The members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives of the United States are repectfully Invited to a ball on the 4th or March. 1793. to be clven by the Danclnc Assembly, in honor or the unanimous' re-election of Oorse "Washington, the President or the United States: the anniversary of the present form or Government or the "United States, and a parting' leave with the members of the present Con cress. And later, when Andrew Jackson had triumphed over all his opponents and enemies, there was an inauguration ball to usher-in his second term. But perhaps among the "fool things" that democracy does is the "inauguration ball." Theodore Roosevelt, greatest of all modern democrats. It seems must drift with the current Even James Bu- chanan, the poor old bachelor, had to yield to the, force of Imperious custom. Our democratic womankind, which Is the same as the world's womankind, is behind this business. Ourwomankind delights In It It is foolish, no doubt; yet after all it is well enough that a great nation should make a fine dis play, when" a President is conducted into office. At least it exalts our wom enfolk, in their own estimation if not In fact Give ,thelr -gowns and jewels a chance. How dear to the feminine heart it .is all know; and the feminine heart is half the heart ot the country In numbers, and the whole of it in fact NORTHWEST WHEAT CROP. No more ridiculous or misleading fig- , ures have ever been fathered by the Department of Agriculture than those which purport to give the amount of wheat produced In Oregon, Washing ton and Idaho last year. In the face of the facts, which were easily obtain able from railroad companies, wheat exporters, millers and others in a posi tion to give exact information, it will be a difficult matter for the department to excuse the publication of figures so utterly at variance with the facts. In these fearfully and wonderfully made figures Oregon is credited with 14.050, 000 bushels. Washington 32,141.000 bush els and Idaho with 6,733,000 bushels a total of 52,924.000 bushels. Earlier in the season there -would have been some excuse for wild guessing on the crop, tout now, with the season six months advanced, and the movement shown' by official figures, it Is not clear why the Government experts should land so wide of the mark. The figures put forth by the Govern ment are approximately 10,000,000 bush els too high. In other words, the crop has been overestimated about 25 per cent This will be admitted by all men who are at all In touch with the busi ness, as the distribution of the crop, is now outlined quite clearly. Shipments from Oregon, Washington and Idaho to all foreign ports and to California for the six months ending December 31 were 11,370,000 bushels. Shipments East by rail or purchased to go East by rail will reach a total of nearly 12.000,000 ftushels. Allowing a much more liberal per capita consumption than is made by the Government, the demands for home consumption will require for the twelve months ending June 30, 1905, ap proximately 11,000.000 bushels. Here we have a total of 34,370,000 bushels shipped, consumed or withdrawn from the market for shipment or consump tion. There was a carry-over (wheat and flour) from the 1903 crop of about 4,750, 000 bushels. If the Government fig-1 ures were correct, this carry-over, add ed to the crop, would have made a to tal of nearly 5S.000.000 bushels on which the trade could have worked. Deduct ing from this amount everything that has been accounted for up to date, the Government figures would show on hand in the three states in addition to the amount sold but not yet shipped East and the amount required for home consumption a total of more than 23, 000,000 bushels.' To Illustrate how ut terly preposterous such figures are. It is only necessary to state that a sur plus of 23,000.000 bushels available for shipment on January 1 is nearly dou ble the largest amount ever held In the three states on a corresponding date, although the shipments from the rec ord crop of 1901 for a corresponding period were smaller than they were of the 1904 crop, if we Include Eastern rail shipments. The publication of such figures in the local Yiddish circular, which purports to be a grain paper, the statistics for which are compiled by ship brokers in terested in bulling1 the freight market, would not excite comment When, however, such wild and grotesque es timates are vouched for by the Gov ernment, which is in a position to se cure reliable information, nothing but harm can result .Early last Septem ber The Oregonian printed Its annual estimate of the crop of the three states, placing the amount at 45,000,000 bush els. A much poorer yield than was expected in some of the ate Spring wheat districts not harvested when the estimate was made cut the amount down, and the final returns next July will show a crop considerably less than 45.000.000 bushels. HISTORX OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION. The American people are Indebted to an Englishman for the latest and. in some respects the most interesting his tory of that most memorable achieve ment known as the American Revolu tion. As Bryce's book on the American commonwealth has already taken its place as a classic on both sides of the Atlantic, so a similar acceptance is surely in store for Sir George Otto Tre velyan's latest work. He is no unpracticed .writer, and no untrained statesman. His biography of his celebrated uncle. Lord Macaulay, won his place in the ranks of the best authors, and his position as a wise, conservative statesman In the British Liberal party is secure. Doubtless his book on the early history of Charles James Fox introduced him to those studies of the critical years in which the American Revolution rose and sue ceeded, and which he has now turned to such excellent account Every American reader will do jus tlce to the sympathetic view taken of the great leader of the Revolution throughout Goneral Washington Is the herd of the book. No one can read these pages without feeling that In very deed the Father of His Country fairly won that title of admiration and of love.- But it will oe a surprise to many whose ideas of King George III has been of a stupid tyrant, incapable of aught beyond a brutal following out of one straight line of domination, to have this character replaced by that of far wider powers, more adroitness and longer foresight The King in point of ability was no unworthy op ponent But throughout the war he had to fight an ever-strengthening par ty in England itself which abhorred the war, was In sympathy with the colo nists and which deeply felt that the struggle for English, liberty and for constitutional government would not be' won until the American tolonles were free, and constitutional liberty reigned on -both shores of the Atlantic The author shows his skill- in the character sketches of the leaders in both countries. John Adams, .Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jeffer son and Benjamin Franklin, among the statesmen of the Revolution, are care fully drawn. On the other side of. the water we find the pictures of jthe scenes In which Charles James Fox, Edmund Burke, William Pitt, Samuel Johnson and John Wesley were the leading fig ures. The Ministers of King George ap pear rather as clerks to write their masters letters, emfeody in state papers the points he desired, and act as bis paid champions, in the historic debates In Parliament, where talent, eloquence. high character and patriotism distin guish the opposition, but for long-drawn-out terms were overborne by the brute weight of voles of the dull ma jority. Money in floods, court places. commissions In army and navy, mo nopolies, seats on board of control, royal favors, such were the weapons with which the King fought to main tain that majority. Save In the great cities and the largest counties of Eng land the people's voice could not make Itself-heard In Parliament Rotten-boroughs, ,where thirty or forty purchas able voters could be handled, these were the strongholds of the King. It was not until the opposition, led by Fox, Pitt and Burke, could, outside the walls at Westminster, rouse the popu lar conscience to action, and until the King was forced to. face the inevitable downfall which would surely follow a longer pursuit of his dream of creat ing a desert In the New England States and calling it peace, that the cause of America was won. On tills side of the Atlantic really the most pathetic figures and the worst sufferers in the end are shown to have been the loyalists, whor having weighed the allegiance due to one side or the other, decided for the King. On this side despised for the resolve to abandon the cause of their neighbors, on the other side finding no. place to lay their heads, their journals and memoirs record pitiable lives and un honored deaths. The story of Washington's indomi table efforts to create an army, to sup port a navy, to evoke the help essential to him from populations scanty in num ber and In many cases wanting In en thusiasm, is admirably told. The weld ing of the diverse colonies Into the young Nation; the inventing, the im provising, of the machinery for that Nation: the meeting of large resources by small, of army corps by divisions, of fleets and squadrons by individual ships; the resolute efforts of the finan ciers to provide means for the susten tatlon of the soldiers of the Revolution all this Is written with a sympathy so evidently genuine that it is hard to realize that the author belongs in heart and soul to the nation which was made to appear to be upholding the wrong side of the appeal to arms. Therefore let the book be read in America as In England, seeing beyond the details of battles fought and won, of ships taken, of forts besieged, of lines held through Winter's horrors, to the greater Issues at stake In the birth and baptism of the great Nation on this side, and the winning of the fight for the curtailment of the monarch's pow ers and the liberties of the older na tion in the motherland. Beyond a doubt the assessment and taxation laws of .this state are yet Im perfect and could be improved by some changes. At the same time, the tax system Is working smoothly and there is no popular demand for a change. Whatever Inequality there Is In the distribution of the burden of taxation is due chiefly to the failure of Assess ors to find all the property or their refusal to assess it at its proper value. The fault In this regard is not one that can be remedied by law, but must be reached by bringing the force of pub lic opinion to bear upon the Assessor. The legislature of 1905 tinkered with the assessment and taxation laws against .the protest of the members who were best informed upon public affairs. As a result a special session was neces sary to remedy the fatal defects due to careless legislation. Let well enough alone is a pretty good rule to follow. When the people demand a change it will be time to consider amendments. If the Oregon delegation at Wash ington, fancies that the Pacific Coast is not for tariff revision and it appears to have that opinion It will do well to read the interviews in The Sunday Ore gonian.- They are a fair expression of public sentiment in Oregon, as they are in -no sense selected expressions from selected persons. They were pro cured from all classes, with no pre vious knowledge or Intimation as to the Views of any of them. The result Is an overwhelming preponderance of opinion against the "stand-patters" and for the policy of revision under stood to oe supported by President Roosevelt And so without doubt is the attitude of the entire Pacific North west Columbia County (Washington) wool- growers are contracting the 1905 clip at 15 cents per pound, one-third of which is paid In advance. The outlook for a strong wool market is very good indeed, and prices .may he. higher; but there will be but small Inclination to question the wisdom of the men who make contracts at such satisfactory prices. It is not so long ago as to -be forgotten when the great staple 'was practically unsalable at half that fig ure. Whenever salmon run In the Colum bia, fishermen persist in fishing and canners in canning, even though, they disobey the law. Now, after defying the law they are at Salem clamoring for more law the kind of law that won't stop them from fishing and can ning while salmon are In the river. Is there any better time to protect sal mon than -when there are salmon to catch and can? The Irrigation committees of the Ore eon Leeislature will have more impor tant duties to perform than ever before In the history of tnc state, a. new irri gation code is to be enacted, and lake beds in Klamath County are to be ceded "to the United States all this to open the way for National Irrigation works. . Russia was to have N given China "protection" in Manchuria, and now, when China chafes at heholding its subjects and their prpperty destroyed hv war Russia comDlains of breaches of "neutrality." China perceives that it would enjoy better "protection" were Russia out of Manchuria. Panama doesn't want John Barrett for Minister and Governor of the Canal Zone at the same time. Panama is mis taken In our John. He speaks well of himself, 'Indeed, he did that In Oregon, but Panama needn't think him dan gerous just because General Huertas does that, too. And so the Speaker couldn't be elect ed without Clackamas County; nor per haps the President but let that pass. The best of us might miss both the band wagon and the railroad commit tee. Hurrah for -Clackamas! JC0TE AND COMMENT. Without a navy this country could w'lu. any power that attempted an Invasion. The advantage of a strong fleet is that It enables us to cross the seas and whip any nation that's too scared of us to come over here. Give Haytl enough rope and she'll hang some American citizens. P. Bin is the name of & minor arrested Saturday. A skinfull is no better than a blnfulL A Seattle minstrel had a boy arrested for hitting him with a snowball. It's bad enough to have jokes- thrown at one without snowballs. Bishop John Hamilton expects the Coast to be populated in the future by Anglo- Chinese and Anglo-Japanese. What a wonderful power of expectation the bishop must have. J.- Edward Addicks, described by the North American as frenzied financier and politician, has been sued for settlement of a bill run up by Mrs. Addicks with a dressmaker,' and the matter Is apparently considered of sufficient Interest to note that some of the items In the bill were: One black taffeta, coat and skirt, J1SS; one red silk waist J30: one old blue waist. JS3." No frenzied millinery about this. It Is now decided that Eve didn't eat an apple, but a quince. She must have. been a slick hand at tempting to Induce Adam tp take even one bite out of such forbidding fruit Eagle and baby have reappeared in the dispatches. Palouse report a heart rending tale, but should have let the eagle get a few feet up in the air with the child before the victim's- father "brought the 'blrd low with a single well- directed shot." Superintendent of Schools, Cooley, of Chicago, seems to think they're brats in frats. A crazy German Prince was accustomed to enforce court etiquette in the insane asylum wherein he was confined. He evi dently wanted things In keeping with his surroundings. Portland has been called a "stovepipe hat town" by a Chicago writer, and his many readers have been informed that evening dress is not quite unknown here. It is Interesting to note that in San Francisco there Is a longing for the older fashions. The Argonaut quotes a man who deplores 'the "passing of the early California style of dress for men the large sombrero, the high buckskin boots and the corduroy trousers." The writer calls upon all Native Sons to "show an Independence of style which shall not only be picturesque and suggestive of strength, but shall also be serviceable." Should San Francisco adopt this "purely California garb." what is Portland to do? Can't Mr. Hlmes discover the purely Oregon garb for men and have it made the compulsory attire of Portlanders be fore the Fair opens? Rubbers and um brellas would probably figure in the dresp arid would afford opportunities for the exercise of individual taste without disturbing the general effect. In Medical Talk for the Home a Massa chusetts physician sings the praises of baked apples. Says he: "You can tell a man who eats baked apples anywhere you see him he looks like Jupiter at perihelion. You can tell a woman across the street who eats baked apples she re minds you of Venus crossing the sun's disc She eclipses everything in sight No one ever dined alone on baked apples the gods always descend to earth when the aroma of apples a-haklng is wafted up to their divine abode." Eat baked ap ples and look like Jupiter at perihelion or Venus crossing the sun's disc, as the case may be, and have gods as your guests besides helping along the Hood River district An old story is thus retold by an ex change: Professor Barrett Wendell, of Harvard, -who Is lecturing on America in Paris at the Sor honne, aras describing at a banquet absent minded men he had met. "We bad once at Cambridge." he said, "a very absent-minded Latin Instructor. This gentleman would plod the streets with an open book held before his face, and everyone had to get out ot his way. as though he hod been blind. "It Is said or him that one Spring day. as he was walking In the outskirts ot Cambridge with his usual open book, he stumbled against a cow, and before he had time to collect his thoughts mechanically took oft his bat and murmured: " 'Madam. I beg your pardon.' "Then he perceived his mistake, and con tinued on his way, reading as before. Hair a mile on ha collided with a beautiful young lady, whereupon. In a ferocious voice, he said: 'Is that yon again, you brute T " This recalls the companion story ot the man who addressed a woman- whom he had erroneously mistaken' for an ac quaintance. Stammering out an apology, he told how he had come to make the mistake, adding. "But I see that I have the wrong sow by the ear." WEX. J. BITS OF OREGON LIFE Luther Wants Right of Way. Myrtle Creek Mail. Luther Redlfer would like for Mr. Mc Ferrln to chain the dog Sunday evenings. Got an Education in One Day. Junction City Times. Scott Howard started to school Tucsdav and quit "Wednesday. He said one day was enough for him. , 1 Cougar Corners a Trapper. - Lebanon Corr. Ilwaco Journal. Dan Raymond, a trapper, was followed by a large cougar last Wednesday night on the hank of the South Fork, and but for tho timely assistance of J. T. Burns might have had an unpleasant experi ence. Hearing cries for help. Burns left his house with a lantern and found Ray mond against a tree, waiting for the onslaught Thcv animal disappeared as soon as Burns arrived. Eagle Chases Two Lambs. Browsvllle Times. Last Wednesday morning E. A. Hale shot a large bald eagle at his home five miles north of this city. White attending to his -work, his attention was attracted to the actions of two youhg lambs that came running into the sheep .shed. He then noticed that they were followed by an eagle la swift pursuit Hurrying to the house. Mr. Hale secured his .30-30 rifle and returning to the sheep pasture lo cated the big bird and shot It The eagle measured seven feet from tip to tip. A. Common Ground. 4 Washington Post Colonel Bryan and his son-in-law have made up. They probably met on the common ground that neither of them cares much for Judge Parker. "A Danger to Our Literature. New York World. Another Indiana author has been ap pointed consul. There is dancer that I some of these writers wm nave tneir dia lect ruined by residence abroad. DirvMNuc murLt5 THE DAHOMANS (By Arrangement with, the Chicago Tribune.) THE country lying along the eastern ; coast of Africa for some miles, north of the equator was chiefly known a hun dred years ago as the territory which supplied rao3t of their wares to the world'3 slave .markets. Since civilized peoples have ceased to be Interested In the Afri can natives as desirable property they have become more Interested In the study of them as human beings, and they have discovered that several highly curious tribes having peculiar customs, some amusing, some revolting, live along this coast Among the most Interesting of these tribes are the Dahomans. The Dahomans are brownish negroes, of medium height, slender and astonish ingly agile. They have much endurance, but lack the strength of some neighboring peoples. The women are usually stronger than the men. Men and women alike are braggarts and habitual liars. Their monarchy Is of a curious dual Character. Their rpal Klntr mnVn n tense of sharing his throne -and dividing his authority with an imacrlnn king." The "hush klnff" Vina nfPliora nt state and guards and Is paid the same hon ors as ine real King. A former King. Geru, wanted to monopolize the profits of me paim ou ana otner trades which his people carried on with civilized nations. dui ieu u oeneatn his royal dignity to fare Invented the fictitious bush king and Vested him with tho envrtprt mnnonnllin By this artifice the" odium of the sordid transactions, in question ,1s cast upon the mYthlcal klne of thn hush. whllA thn rpal Ivlnr wears thA fln rlnthM. Mm. self with the rum. and has for his army the guns and powder which are sained by them. The Klne that Is. the real "Kinir ! a. despot. Many of the laws the various inunarens nave promulgated are wise ana well adapted to the peculiarities of peo ple and countrv. Others are hut nrodimts of the royal caprice. No man may. marry until ne has first got the Kings permis sion. No subject may sit on a chair In DUblic. or wear hrxi. nr t-M tn a Viom- mock. The Prime Minister, who 13 also commander-in-chief of the army and pub lic executioner, is the only person who majj address the King as "Asah," a word which"' Is- supposed to resemble the roar 01 ine iion. Anotner important official Is the King's "drunkard." It Is deemed nec- essarv that His MalMtv shall hgp tha reputation of 6elng the most capacious toper as well as the first gentleman of. the kingdom. There are times, however, when ne is unaoie unaided to maintain his repu tation. He therefore has his drunkard stand near him at state ceremonials and when he finds he Is getting groggy he passes nis surplus liquor along to that of ficial. The most extraordinary feature of the Dahoman army Is Its female warriors or Amazons. la 1728 the Dahoman King was nam pressed by his old enemies, the Whydahs. In his extremity he organized a regiment of women. It fought well and the Whydahs were defeated and their country annexed. The Amazons were, in consequence, made a nermanent division of the army. Gezu. the greatest of the Dahoman Kings, put the Amazons on a level in every- way with the male soldiers, gave them female officers and raised their numDer to w, and It Is said there are still about 3000 of them. On a certain day once every three vears everv suhie-i- must bring all his adult daughters to the jving. ine most promising of them the monarch chooses as officers and the resf become soldiers, while the more nrnmlslnir aaugmers ot slaves are made servanta of ine Amazons. Some of the Amazons are given as wives to male soldiers, who have distinguished themselves. A few of them become concubines of the King. The rest are required to remain celibates. If one be caught in a llason she Is put to death HAVE NO RIGHT TO GROW OLD. Helpful Discussion of a Delicate Subject. Margaret Deland in Harper's Bazar. The change In this matter of growing old since the time when the lady of 33 felt herself too ancient to wear a flower in her cap is Interesting. It is especially Interesting at that dreadfu moment when we first realize that we are ourselves no longer young. It Is an extraordinary mo ment; pain, denial, rebellion, hopeless ness. It arrives In many different ways. It used to come with spectacles but now adays the babe wears spectacles; some times it creeps upon us with a little stif fening of the Joints; one does not run upstairs quite as lightly as one did. It may even reveal Itself In the Impatience that is felt because people do not speak quite as distinctly as they should an im patience to which the younger generation rudely refers as deafness. These are gradual Intimations that we are not as young as we were. There are abrupt ones especially there Is the glance into the mirror some morning after a sleep less night Probably every woman over 45 has known the start of astonishment and dismay that comes with that glance a creased and tired complexion, dull eyes, wrinkled throat: well, these symptoms need not be catalogued, they are too un pleasant The woman who has had this slight shock before breakfast glances at her looking-glass many times that day, and always with a growing comfort, tor as the day passes things change; her face Is more alert, her eyes brighter, her double chin" Is, somehow, firmer. No; it was only fatigue from a bad night; not age. oh no! When we get breath, after the first shock of what we saw. let us look stead ily at that weary face, and then thank God that he has sent us notice! "That age," let us say to ourselves, "Is skin deep. Horrid, too, of course. And we must give some attention to It and lessen It In any honest way we can, because no body wants to be esthetlcally unpleasant to anybody else. But real age that we must be on the watch for! These tired eyes, this dull complexion, are In them selves of slight Importance: as warnings they are of enormous Importance." And quickly we will begin to throw up. de fenses against -our subtle foe! Self-examination, the search for symptoms, is the first step. Are we dull to other people's anxieties and concerns? Do they bore us? Are we shut up within our own plans and pains, our own pleasures? Hah! Selfishness! The beginning of the end: the first gray hair, so to speak. Are we complacently satlsfied with things as they are Do we resent innovations automobiles, or ser vant girls' unions, or any other new. esthetlcally objectionable or materially disturbing thing? Are we contemptuous ly Impatient at change? Stagnation! Do we feel we are certainly and entirely right In our theories of life and conduct, or even of art or science or amusement? a, -cm. nre that we are the people, and wisdom and religion will die with us? That orthodoxy is our doxy, ana netero doxy Is everybody els.e's doxy Intoler ance! Blindness, deafness, senility of the soul. Here. then, are the three deadly symptoms of old age: Selfishness-stag-natlon-intolerance. But. happily, we have three defenses, which are Invulner able; If we use them, we shall die young If we live to be a hundred. They are: Sympathy progress tolerance. What Jim Abbott Found Out. Scio News. James Abbott came down from -Sweet Home for a few days' stay. Jim states that Sweet ' Home is about depopulated these days. Tnose persons that arc left there are badly scared. They will prob ably conclude before the land Investiga tion Is closed that "the way of the trans gressor is hard." ur lilt WORliD.: by her comrades and the man also is executed. arfIm e,nemy 3,ain y her in battle anDi Is decorated with-a cowry, fo IKK Sh.eU mney- Which IS glUrtl S her SSL & the oloo, anto five Vv. -"'""zons are o.vldeU the eenhtT.rbuss women. men the infot,. esses' tn razor armed wit? .1!: Tbt razor women are foS wSS, S S ab0ut elRhtan inch JTSSZ oTthe Amazons'- efficiency as soldier They are whoaadt,SSeS'Kbut XtaS2rK th sw t. 5? Chance to know. said & SaIS and a,ww4 1,ke In?Mau In a suPreme be mg. .iau. When they invoke Man aid he turns their cases over to leopards locusts, alligators, trees and stones Iho airshefrayred l ttS m,nor titles or a man s K00d deed8 outnumber nls evil- onps tn nr m .j Joins his snlrlt In Ttnmi 1 ?e. land. Otherwise, his old body Is destroyed - U1JC I5 provided for his spirit tvery man is assigned at birth a certain number of good and evil deeds, but he uju commuting the evil ones by making suitable offerings to the deity through the fetish priests. ,The fetish priests, of whom more are women than min.', are numerous. They have many privileges, and fare sumptuously every m on,the frlts of the people's credu i y ,an suPers"on. If a man's wife is Ji, ?fleaess he not beat her as " ?he were an ordinary woman; and the male priest is at liberty to take any mans wife whom ho fancies. Jprlncipal fetJsh 13 snake called the danhgwbe." From 20 to 50 of these always in the snake house ?r wanderlns over the neigh borhood. The usual punishment for kill ing one, whether accidentally or inten tionally, is to be burned alive. If a .man meet a snake fetish after night he must prostrate himself before it, then take it gently in his arms and carry It to the snake house, where he will be heavlly flned for having met It. There Is little romance In Dahoman marriages. They are mainly a matter of business. If a young man decides he would like to have a young woman, he opens negotiations through his relatives with her father. The father charges for his daughter not what he thinks she is worth, but all he thinks the suitor will pay. After marriage the woman prac tically is a slave. Formerly the birth of twins was regarded as proof or tho mother's Infidelity, and her breasts were cut oft and here babes drowned. The Dahomans have lOng been notor ious for the practice of human sacrifices. Captain Snelgrave. In 1727, saw 400 - pris oners beheaded In celebration of the con quest of the Toffo country. The next year Whydah was conquered, and 4000 prisoners were executed. The sacrifices, which take place yearly, are called "an nual customs." and those which take place on the death of a king are "grand cus toms." On the death of Gezu, in 1S58. 500 persons most of them the King's eunuchs, wives and personal attendants were slain, the object being to supply the defunct monarch with plenty of company and servants in Kutomen. The skulls were collected In a pyramid or used to decorate the palace walla. "VThe clay of the King's mausoleum was kneaded with human blood. Tho proportion of celibate women among the Dahomans is so large, and war and Ihe diseases which contact with civilization has spread among them ara working such ravages among all classes that they are rapidly deteriorating. The prediction which Mr. J. A. Skertcrjly made 40 years ago that ere Jong the Ds homans "will be classed among the tlons that have been" seema in a wffr way to be verified. S, O. D. ROOSEVELT AND'THE W0MEX. One Feature of Message Stirs Up Feminine Controversy in England. Washington Post. Seldom has a President's message at tracted the attention abroad that has been given to Mr. Roosevelt's recent paper. Particularly has It aroused com ment In London, where leader after lead er In all the journals have found their Inspiration In the message as a whole or In some part of it. His declaration In regard to the Monroe doctrine. It was to be expected, would provoke some words, and it has been discussed at length. But It seems that his reference to woman,-which has attracted compara tively little attention on this side of the water, bids- fair to be the cause of rea'.iy acrimonious controversy in England, where woman's rights and woman's suf frage are not generally supposed to be burning- Issues. It must be admitted that "upon our attention being called," the President did come out rather plain and flat-footed as to woman's place In American economy, and, for that matter, in the economy of the world. "The prime duty of the man." he declared, "is to work, to be the bread winner; the prime duty of the woman Is to be the mother. ,the housewife." Over here, with the echo of his "race suicide" pronunciamento still ringing in our ears, we were prepared for this, and took It as a matter of course. But not so in London. There It has struck the advocates of what they are pleased to call the higher life for woman as a de cidedly new and. to them at least. Inlmc cal theory, if not a dangerous and Yicious one The advanced women of London, and the columns of the papers there begin to show signs that they are active and outspoken If not numerous, have taken up cudgels to combat the President's ideas. Lucas Malet. who has won dis tinction by her work as a novelist dis cusses the subject to the extent of two of the long-and-wlde columns of the Lon don Telegraph, and deserting for the time being her favorite field of fiction, turns to fact with which to meet the President's Insidious attack. She very properly hold3 that In order for a woman to be a mother and a housewife she must have a husband. But, she declares. It Is a notorious fact that thero are not enough men "to go arcund. What If a woman to do In that case? itlss Malet rather seems to have the better ot the President on that proposi tion, and to an Impartial and unpreju diced observer It would seem Incum bent upon him to recommend remedial legislation. Miss Malet Is perfectly free to admit that conditions In harmony with the President's views of woman's whole duty would be perfectly lovely, or word3 to that efTect. but that, as things arc. they are "visionary, -chimerical, a coun sel for perfection for elect souls, hut useless as leverage to the mass. Woman's Dissipation. Atchison Globe. In a certain Atchison family - the lather and children decided recently that, owing to mother's strict and somewhat narrow religious views she did not enjoy life as much as she should. So they coaxed and coaxed for her participation in a little dissipation, and asked her to name what it should be. After much hesitation and struggling with her conscience, sho said she would stay at .home from a prayer meeting and play a game of parlor cro quet Beats the Almanac Atchison Globe. Girls used to have "engagements." but nowadays they have "dates." It Is said of a popular. girl in town that she has more dates than an almanac.