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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1905)
THE MOENING- OEEGOJHAN, TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 7, 1905. Entered at tho Postofflcc at Portland, Or., ' as eecond-clasa matter: SUBSCBIPTION-'RATES. INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. (By Mall or Express.) Dally and Sunday, per year $9.00 Dally and Hunday. nix month 5.00 Dally and Sunday, three months...... 2.55 Dally and Sunday, per month 83 Dally without Sunday, per year 7.50 Dally -without Sunday, six months 3.00 Dally without Sunday, three months... 1-A3 Dally without Sunday, per month.- 65 Sunday, per year.... 2.00 Sunday, six months I-00 Sunday, three months CO BY CARRIER. Dally -without Sunday, per week 15 Dally per week. Sunday Included 20 THE WEEKLY OREGONIAN. (Issued Every Thursday.) Weekly, per year... 1-50 Weekly. fIx months -5 Weekly, threo months 30 HOW TO KEMIT Send postofflce money order,, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The S. C. Beckwlth Special Agency New Tork: Rooms 43-50. Tribune building. Chi cago: Rooms 510-512 Tribune building. The Oregonian docs not buy poems or stories from individuals and cannot under take to return any manuscript Bent to It without solicitation. No stamps should be Inclosed lor this purpose. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex; Postofflce News Co., 178 Dearborn street. Denver Julius Black, Hamilton & Kend rick. 906-912 Seventeenth street, and Frue nuff Bros., 605 Sixteenth street. Kansas City, Mo. Rlcksocker Cigar Co., Ninth and Walnut. Lot Angeles Harry Drapkln. Oakland, CaL W. II. Johnston, Four teenth and Franklin streets. Minneapolis M. J. JCavanaugh. 50 South Third; L. Begclsburgcr. 217 Flrst avenue South. New York City L. Jones & Co.. Astor House. Ogden F. R. Godard and Myers & Har rop. Omaha Barkalow Bros., 1C12 Farnham; Megeath Stationery Co., 1308 Farnam. Salt Lake Salt Lake News Co.. 77 West Second street South. San Francisco J. K. Cooper & Co., 740 Market street: Foster & Crear, Ferry News Stand; Goldsmith Bros.. 236 Suttor; L. E. Lee. Palace Hotel News Stand; F. W. Pitts, 1008 Market: Frank Scott. SO Ellis; N. Wheatley, 83 Stevenson; Hotel St. Francis News Stand. Washington, D. C. Ebblt 1 House News Stand. PORTLAND, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1905 SOMETHING ABOUT PROHIBITION. Mr. "Wallace McCamant, with wh'om The Oregonian does not agree in all things, though it does agree with him in many, on Sunday night, in an ad dress at the People's Forum, said that he had always been, an advocate of per sonal liberty, and therefore last year he had voted against so-called local option. "Should the right," he asked, "of thousands to exercise' their own vo lition be-infringed in order that a score may be -protected from an influence which leads them.. into wrong-doing? Should the whole community be placed ! in a straight-jacket In order that the state may throw its protecting arm around the weakling? Right here The Oregonian joins hands with Mr. McCamant. Here is an ex-, pression of -best good sense. Mr! Mc Camanfs associations are largely with' those who take the opposite view -with those who would cut and prune and trim all men to the standard of the weakest; who would agree with the fox who had lost his tail, that the tail was a wholly unnecessary appendage, any way. The fundamental truth is that no one is under obligation to abstain from the proper use of anything in this world, because some weakling or some fool abuses It. Still less has any one the right to force this false theory of duty on others. Man is a responsible being, or he is nothing. When God made man we use the common phrase he set temptation before him. The Maker of man let us say it with reverence apparently knew no other way to develop responsibility and character and accountability in man. Strength Is produced only through temptation. The weakest falL What then? The strongest survive, and they are some good to the world. It is through them alone that the world gets on. They who are sp weak as to fall the victims of any passion or appetite the world is well rid of them. This is the way of Nature, and it Is inexorable. There Is nothing in this world that is not for use for reasonable use and they who abuse anything in this world must take the consequences. Source of all greatest abuses and evils is the sex ual function. Is it to be prohibited or abolished? ABOLISH PRIVATE CARS. One of the greatest of all the evils of railway discrimination arises through use of special cars, .by firms and com binations engaged in the meat, fruit, furniture, livestock, liquor and other trades. No railroad ought to be per mitted to haul cars other than its own or those of another Toad. The railroads are not favorable to the refrigerator or other special cars, but haul them be cause if they do not their competitors will. Yet they who own these cars and get this special service have a tremen dous advantage over the ordinary and smaller shipper. Statements made be fore the Interstate Commerce Commis sion show forth the results of these operations, in a most striking way. We get some mention of these things by telegraph, -but the statements are too elaborate to be telegraphed In full. We now have by mail the entire state ment delivered a few days ago by E. M. Ferguson, of Duluth, Minn. In this statement the Injustice to the ordinary shipper from the use and abuse of the special and private freight-car service is presented at some length. It was urged that the only relief possible was In making it unlawful for railroads to carry goods in its own cars, or in the cars of some other railroad. The abuse of the private-car system was aggra vated, further, he urged, by secret rout ingand expediting of such cars, against the interests of the ordinary shipper. Astonishing figures were produced at the hearing as to the profits of the private-car companies or nrrns, -wuicti operate their own cars throughout the United States virtually forcing the railroads to haul them, by playing one road against another. In giving details Mr. Ferguson said the Interstate Com mission had reported that the rental of the cars paid as mileage by the rail roads would alone be sufficient to re place the -cars- in three years, or a re turn of 33 1-3 per cent per annum gross on the cost of construction. Senator Elkins desired him to give his opinion as to what net return was secured from each, car for each day that It was in operation. Mr.' Ferguson thought it would amount to about $6 a day. Sen- a tor Elkins said he had estimated it at about $1 per car per diem for the 12,000 to 14.D00 cars which the Armour Com pany alone operated, and that the cars earned, therefore, 512,000 to. $14,000 every day in the year. "They could sell their products at net cost, could they not?" he inquired; "and yet make a profit on their business from the receipts of their cars?" "Certainly," was the reply. "I have carried out your calculation, and find that if they only run these cars on an average of 100 days in the year the Armour Company would clear $7,200, 000 by the operation." These are some of the abuses that ought to be removed, so as to make it possible for all persons engaged in trade to get transportation on equal terms. POULTNEY BIGELOW ON THE PHILIP PINES. A dispatch, from Boston,.printed yes terday, stated that Mr. Poultney Bige low, just returned from the Philippines, says "the Filipinos are a thousand years behind the age, and it is a -mistake to treat them like white men." This statement will undoubtedly pro duce deep distress in the bosoms of the "antis" at Boston. Poultney Bigelow is a traveler, corre spondent and author, of character and fame. He has been a lecturer on mod ern history at Yale, Princeton and Col lumbla, has visited almost every part of the globe, and written much on co lonial administration; his books on the history of modern Europe, especially his great work on "The German Strug gle for 'Liberty," have, had great vogue. His sympathies run naturally with the critics of the policy we find necessary in the Philippines. These critics have transcendental ideas of the capacity of every p?o-)le for self-government; so they insisc.we should quit the islands, and leave the Filipinos to "govern themselves." The reason why we can't leave the Filipinos to govern themselves Is that they do not possess any self-governing capacity. Observers like Secretary Taft and Poultney Bigelow doubt whether they ever will, and certainly do not think they ever will attain the self governing capacity of Americans. We cannot put the control In their hands and be responsible to the world for their acts, which would quickly embroil us with other powers; we cannot aban don them to the tender mercies of the hawks of Germany, France, England, Japan and Russia, that are hover ing about the Orient. We can do, then, nothing else than we are doing now. The Filipinos are ignorant of the first principles of s61f-government, and even the Christian Filipinos must be guided and restrained. Not ten per cent of the people speak Spanish, and the remain ing ninety per cent or more are densely ignorant, superstitious and subject to imposition of all sorts. They know nothing of human history or of the experience of mankind, wrought out through ages in the larger world. Secretary Taft says that "it is abso lutely necessary," in order that the peo ple of the. islands shall be taught the rudiments of self-government, that a firm, stable government under Amer ican guidance and control, In which the Filipino people shall vhave a voice, should be established, and that noth ing but such a government can educate the people into a knowledge of what self-government is." This work Is un der way. but progress is slow; and in- Jlnlte patience is required. The de mand that arises from time to time, in Congress and elsewhere, that the Fili pinos -be given their independence and allowed to exercise their right of self- government, is irrational and therefore imnractl cable. In every problem of government the condition and the cir cumstances of a people must be con' sidered. It is strange indeed that any one should suppose that the people of the Philippine Islands could establish and maintain a government upon the model of our own. GOYERNMENT TIMBER LANDS. While the air is thick with tales, true and exaggerated, of the robberies of the public timber domain, it is in order to repeat that, when the Government uses all its energies to detect and punish such land frauds as are matters of his tory. Its powers are exhausted. The laws which have given color, oppor tunlty and shelter to those who have learned the easy way to handle timber lands stand unrepealed. These finger posts on the road first to fraud and so on to the Penitentiary still strike the eye in plain light of day. It is useless to say that those who break the terms of the law are responsible, and that it is the breach, not the observance, of the timber-land laws which has dragged the culprits down. The facts are plain, In the first place, the bait Is too entlc ing. When one can for 5400 get from the public timber worth 54000 or more it Is a terrible Inducement to step as close as possible to the ragged edge of conspiracy and perjury. Next, these temptable people all know that the day will soon, and possibly very soon, dawn when the chance will be gone for good, Hence the hurry to get In before the door is shut. This talk about a chance for the poor man Is contemptible. There is no more reason why the poor man should either steal the Nation's heritage, or be pre sented with a slice of It for one-tenth of Its value, than that the rich man or even the bugbear corporation should have similar chances on a large scale, Let us see things as they are. The per cent, whatever It Is, of the forests and woodlands yet In, the public domain should be at once withdrawn from sale, In large quantities or In smalL There Is no need, for any more timber land being opened .to provide for the bus! ness needs of the Nation for many years to come. Already timber specu lators and purchasers, large and small own enough, and more than enough, to feed the market for the next forty years in these states of the Northwest and in Oregon In particular. Let them have a chance to work oft some of their spoils, and meanwhile what is left in the Nation's ownership will Increase In worth, and may be handled In a more businesslike way than by selling It for a tenth or fifteenth of its value. The timber and stone act was passed while the Nation was sleeping on its owner ship. President Roosevelt has still -an other chance to prove himself the true guardian that we all believe him to be of the timber lands of the United States. Congress so plainly is follow ing his lead In the fierce fight for the people's Tights against the railroads that be should be encouraged to go yet farther. There used to be talk that the timber should be cleared off and the hardy et tier have his chance to get a cheap farm on the soil where the timber grew This is pitiful stuff to us who dwell in sight and knowledge of the forests of the Pacific States. .What is the value of an acre, or of a mile, of land, hang ing part on edge over the canyon, here the big stumps, six feet across on the average, stand as thick as apple trees in an orchard? Who will pay for the powder to blow them out, or will. feed the fires to consume them? Presi dent Roosevelt has wise ideas about re foresting the logged-oft lands. He made this very clear the other day. There are immense areas available for this process now, without stripping the mountains,, glades and canyons of the standing trees that have been for cen turies maturing. Np, the Nation has wasted its heritage, and opened Its treasures to be stolen Xmder the guise of law, long enough. Let us save the fragments that remain. The Interests of the Nation very far outweigh the possible chances that any individual may have from the continuance of the timber and stone act. Let it be re pealed. IMPROVING ON LEGEND. Woman is considered to be as curi ously inquisitive today 'as ever she was, but there are indications that this Is a mistaken view. Bluebeard's young wife was so consumed by curiosity that she peeped into the secret chamber, and. having there beheld the bones of her predecessors in hubby's affections, was about to be dispatched by that enraged disciplinarian when rescue came. Since that time Bluebeard has been regarded as the monster of monsters in his own line, although not more than six or seven wives had been tumbled into the room of death. How different with the wives of Johann Hoch; who is presently to be welcomed to Chicago by a depu tation of fifteen survivors of the sister hood. Of all the thirty-seven women- new discoveries may have brought this number to forty by the time this is read of all these not one appears to have possessed curiosity enough to un lock the Bluebeard chamber of Hoch s past career. All were married to the man without Inquiry Into his anteced ents or thought of those that had gone through the ceremony before with this suitor by wholesale. Hoch was evidently accustomed to easy conquests. The landlady of the New York house In whlehhe was cap tured said that Hoch had not been twenty minutes under her roof before he offered to peel some potatoes for her, and within twenty-four hours he had proposed marriage. It Is reasonable to believe that Hoch must have been given the marble heart" by a number of women, but two-score easy victories had made him believe In quick wooing and had doubtless led him to accept oc casional rebuffs with philosophic calm. certain that good fish remained in the sea. The man's career shows clearly how many women do regard marriage as a holiday matter, one requiring no deliberation, and its bonds something to be shuffled off easily. Besides an indefinite number of charges of bigamy, Hoch Is also alleged to have embezzled money belonging to thirty-three different women, to have been a perjurer, a forger, to have prac ticed medicine Illegally, and lastly he Is thought to have murdered eight women. If but a part of these charges are true, Hoch is so much greater a criminal than the legendary Bluebeard that his name Is likely to pass into the currency of language as did that of Burke. Lombroso would find In Hoch a congenial study. In a recent trial Lorn broso came -to the defense of a friend, a man named Ollvo, living at Bergamo, accused of wife-murder. The prisoner did not deny, that he had killed his wife, but pleaded that she was a woman of very disagreeable character. Lombroso gave a precis of his book on "Degener acy, and said tnat me aeienuant was a man whose brain was not normal, but so constituted that the disagree able character of the wife had such an effect on it that he could not help kill ing her. On this evidence the jury ac quitted the man. It Is difficult to dls cover any other line of defense that can be adopted by Hoch, even although a Chicago jury Is not likely to regard murder Justifiable in the case of a dis agreeable wife. A HOLTDAY FOR ALL. With the basic principles of the proc lamatlon issued yesterday under the auspices of the National Grange, Pat rons of Husbandry, thoughtful, consid erate people are in sympathy. It Is readilv conceded that the farm or rather what It stands for Is the corner stone of the Republic, productively speaking; that the factory comes next in importance, and that underlying and overtopping all of the vast productive resources of labor and capital thus combined Is the American home. To the end that these elements, the influence of which is brought out -to a considerable extent in detail, may be publicly acknowledged as supreme, cer tain, conditions and observances have been formulated In this address, which are more or less relevant to the purpose In view. It Is asked, for example, that Washington's birthday, February be observed as "Farm, Home and Fac tory Day." This is all right as far as it goes, but why, it may be asked should It not be celebrated or observed In a spirit of patriotism, as heretofore, by all classes of American people, in eluding the vast army of school chll dren? Is there any special reason why the American people should withdraw their thoughts from the real achieve ments of Washington's life and en deavor and concentrate them as sug gested upon conditions affecting the "farm, home and factory"? Does not Washington belong to all the people by virtue of his achievement? Is not this anniversary properly a day for the masses and not a day for the classes As well ask that the Fourth of July be set apart for the celebration of our Industrial growth, and considerations for the improvement of factory condi tIon&. It is well always to observe the fitness of things, and It Is especially necessary to do so when essaying what Is popularly called "betterment" of the ordinary conditions of life. The name of Washington is held be fore the people of America as a syno nym of patriotism, of courage, of pa tience, and finally through the stead fast exercise of these virtues of achievement. The American home and its betterment cannot demand greater virtues than these, and it may well share with all other Institutions of the land. the. universal basis of which is liberty, the honor and the pleasure, and, ethically speaking, the profit. which accrues from the annual cele bratlon of Washington's birthday. British officials of late appear to ex press themselves without considering the "extraneous importance given their utterances by their positions. One of the Civil Lords of the 'Admiralty has Just aroused Germany by- an exceed ingly Ul-ad vised and quite unnecessary speech on British naval preparations. The Secretary X)f State for War a few days ago made a public speech In which he commended ' the Russian revolu tionaries In thinly-veiled language. Even the Premier, at the time of the North Sea outrage, made public state ments that he was entirely unable to back up with facts. Such blunderings and lack of tact are apparently becom ing so common that they cease to at tract much attention. Salisbury's ref erence to Spain as a dying nation or Chamberlain's remark about those who sup with the devil needing a long spoon the devil In the case being Russia would now arouse no Indignant pro tests. The death from nervous prostration of C. K. Beckwlth, president of the late Citizens' National Bank of Oberlin, closes a chapter in the sensational Chadwlck drama that was played be fore an astonished public several months ago. The banker, so strangely misled by the adventuress Into a griev ous waste of the bank's money to .the fatal impairment of its credit, fell 111 under the terrible mental strain to which he was subjected by the disclos ure of Mrs. Chadwick's methods, and was not able to rally. A weak man rather than a dishonest one, lacking in' Judgment rather than in principle, his downfall was pitiful. Having paid the penalty for his transgression, whatever It was, to the uttermost, the tongue of censure will be relatively dumb when his acts are called In question by the Federal Court, before which he was to have been arraigned on five indictments for violation of the National banking laws. An army divided against itself can not long stand against the single-minded efforts of the Japanese, and. the res ignation of Kuropatkin, who has staved off disaster for a year, is significant of the condition of affairs in the Russian army. There probably never was a war without jealousies and bickerings between the officers on each side, but when the two highest officers disagree so bitterly as Kuropatkin and Grippen- berg have done, affairs are in a perilous way. While Kuropatkin has done nothing of especial brilliance during the campaign, he has yet carried out his announced plan of retiring on Muk den or Harbin, and has avoided disas ter in doing so. His withdrawal from Manchuria will undoubtedly weaken the confidence of the troops, and may well be the signal for the collapse of Russia's Eastern campaign. Persistent rumors charging unneces sary severity In the government of the wards of the Boys' and Girls' Aid So ciety on the East Side have been set at rest by the findings of the legislative. committee appointed for that purpose. It Is necessary to hold an even, steady and strict hand over the charges of the society brought In from sad conditions of neglecL Otherwise the heterogene ous household could not be managed at all. Considerate people know this and give slight credence to tales of sever ity that busybodles from time to time circulate in the neighborhood or on the streets. It is right and proper, how ever, to look into such charges, since in many older Institutions than this similar charges have been substanti ated by disclosures that have shocked humanity. . The Seattle people, with their usual enthusiasm. Jumped into the State Cap ital fight, and through their Chamber of Commerce indorsed Tacoma. Then they had another meeting and took It back, because the Olympia merchants threatened to trade somewhere else in Portland, perhaps. But r Seattle does not Intend to keep Its hands off. A prominent real estate dealer says he proposes to offer to the state a site on top of a high Seattle hill a capltol. site worth 5100,000. So It would'appear that Seattle, which rarely "passes up a good thing," also wants the capital prob ably because Tacoma wants It It will take a two-thirds vote to remove the seat of government from Olympia; and It may yet be found that the old town Is not without friends or influence. Some curious Information concerning Iceland is given in the annual report from the United States Consul at Copenhagen. The per capita trade of Iceland Is declared to be much greater than that of any of the commercial nations, and the standard of living Is high. Education is compulsory and there is not an illiterate in the coun try. Practically all of the world's eider down comes from Iceland, 7000 pounds having been exported last year. Ice landic ponies are another source- of rev enue, being sold in large numbers to English colliery-owners. Japan is convinced that enormous battleships will be the type of future warships, and is preparing to have built vessels of 18,500 tons. The pendulum of naval construction Is now swinging In the direction of the monster ships that were the fashion In the '80s, after the 10,000-ton battleships have gone out of vogue. These new vessels are to be armed with 10-inch guns as their sec ondary batteries, and will have to be of such great beam that new docks will be required to accommodate them. News that a large colony of Japanese would be established in Texas for the growing and manufacture of silk was given in yesterday's dispatches. . In an other column appeared the news that Japan had passed a retroactive law pro hlblting foreigners from mining In the empire. These items are different enough to stimulate thought. If Booth Tarklngton, or any of the other American authors who have taken to politics, were to be Imprls oned, what a commotion would be caused among the readers of the "best sellers." In Russia, however, Gorky'i arrest does not appear to have created much stir, probably on account of the lack of a Carnegie. A curious Incident occurred In. Paris last week in connection with the North Sea Inquiry. The Minister of Public Instruction usually sends complimen tary tickets to the state theaters to dis tinguished visitors in Paris. The com missloners were amused to find that they had been given seats for "The Flying Dutchman." General Grlppenberg has left the front for St. Petersburg. A round-trip on the Siberian Railroad will make him realize to the full the horrors of war. The new Portland ball team will con tain few familiar faces. Therefore may be a good ball team. There is no truth in the rumor that the Czar has offered-Swinburne the po oltinn'nf ftntirfc TlOefc. '" NOTE AND COMMENT., A cas.o of ,goodrbyc and not au revolr 1th General Grlppenberg. Love of excitement led a New Yorker to become a burglar. His moderation is evi dent when one remembers that he might have satisfied his cravings by becoming politician. About this time valentines begin to ap pear in the store windows. Hoch. the much-married man arrested In New York, laughed at the story that he "had proposed to his landlady. "Would man ask a widow." he said, "when there are so many unmarried girls?" That's a pretty poor argument. "Vid ders, are always popular; girls only sometimes. American Rrcachers are "reviving" London, which will need no assistance in relapsing. Two wonders In one, as tho Charleston News and Courier says: First, the dis covery of .a J5.OGO.000 diamond In Africa, and, second, that so far no actress says she lost it. Warehouse Inspector Halloway, of Chi cago, claimed 54 in his accounts for In specting a grain elevator which stands in the State of Indiana, and the Chicago papers see In this a proof of the city's greatness. Even city officials, they say. are- unable to tell where Chicago ends. Indiana Is probably Inside tho city limits Just as the Nome district Is part of Seattle. Canon McAlpine, whose speech to tho Galway peasants, declaring that people would be fools to starve "so long as fat sneep wero grazing on the hillside or Bleek klne were browsing on tho plain," was cabled to this country, has recently had tho pleasure of seeing his words bear fruit. A few nights after his speech a thief stole all the Canon's turkeys, and left a note thanking him for the hint. Jamestown Is now struggling along the thorny path from which Oregon so lately emerged into the plain of assured success. General Orlppcnbcrg Went to the front. Now he's Rone to the rear My! what a stunt! For young men with a high rating, the most effective valentine Is a marked copy of Bradstreet's. , The Marquam Gulch cougar should re member how Sheriff Word dealt with the tiger. "How to Make Money" has suspended publication. Perhaps the editor is about to practice Instead of preach. Manchuria's "red-beards," or Chunchu brigands, have made their appearance in a London music-hall. A troupe from -the Llaoyang district Is giving exhibitions. Among tneir attractions we note a Chinese girl who does a coon shouting turn. A Chinese singing coon songs of the madc-ln-England variety should be well worth hearing. A Now York girl rejected a lover so often that he became desperate and, meet Ing her in the street with another man. knocked her down with a heavy cane he carried. The man was arrested, but when he appeared in court the girl said she hadn't known that Jack loved her so much, and they were married. It is to be hoped that Jack's love will not cool after marriage, and that he will not be shy about expressing It with the -poker or whatever "club comes handiest. An East Side physician sends the fol lowing clipping from a local paper: Portland's Chinatown is said to be grad ually decreasing In population. At pres ent there are estimated to be 5000 male Chi nese who resided here. There are only be tween 100 and 130 Chinese women. Vigilant Customs-House officials more than counteract the effects of Immigration and other means of Increase. The correspondent adds that with re gard to the President's views on race suicide the Customs-House officials should avoid meddling in politics. Some rather interesting bits of test! xnony are contained in a report of the divorce case of Dr. Herkimer, chief sani tary Inspector of Brooklyn. To the ques tlon, "Are you temperate or intemper ate?" Dr. Herkimer replied: "I am pro roundly temperate." A little later he said he had gone to an inebriates' home for "nervous trouble, stomach trouble and possibly a little alcoholic trouble." merely temperate man might have serious "alcoholic trouble," but a profoundly tern perate man could have but little alcoholic trouble. To the question, "Did you ever use profane language?" Dr. Herkimer re plied: "That depends upon what you call profane. Some people call damn pro fane. I don't suppose I would be a man unless I sometimes said damn sometimes with an adjective, but I am not in the habit of using profanity." That. expresses the views of a number of people on the use of expletives. With an ever watchful eye for the hap plness of all classes, the Kansas City World remarks that if dice shaking in cigar stores Is to be prohibited there will be a dull and listless time for the girl behind the counter. Paragraphs on the crisis in Russia have been legion, but undoubtedly the worst of the bunch Is perpetrated by a Kansas City paper, which says: "The Russian throne comes nearer to being on the bomb than any -other in the world." WEX. J. PARTICULARS ARE NOT WANTED Illinois Investigators Shut Off .Comer ford, end He Cries "Whitewash." SPRINGFIELD, 111., Feb. 6. Represen tative Frank D. Comerford, author of the charges of corruption that precipitated the legislative Investigation now in prog ress. gave his fellow solons today a still rreater shock. He attempted to read what he called a bill of particulars, re lnforclng his attack and giving charges In detail far more sweeping. The com mittee declined to hear the document read. After half an hour s deliberations, the committee announced that a full in vestigatlon would be made of everythln touched upon in the bill. A heated wrangle ensued. Mr. Comerford inti mated that there was bad faith and an attempt to whitewash. To Testify In Land-Fraud Cases. OREGONIAN NEWS BUREAU, Wash ington. Feb. 6. Harry C. Robertson, sec retary to Senator Mitchell, left for Port land last night, having been sub penaed to appean, before the grand jury in tho land fraud cases, it is understood that his- testimony will have more direct bearing on the case of Hermann than that of Senator Mitchell. No Result at Jefferson City. JEFFERSON CITY. Mo.. Feb. 6. The sixteenth ballot for United States Senator taken today was without re suit. The ballot resulted: Niedrlng haus, 50; Cockrell, 55; Kerens, 11; Pet tljohn. 2; Finkclberg, 1; Senator Gard .ner. of St; " Lauls. 1. There wero 2 pairs. STATEHOOD DEBATE ENDS. Weary Stream of Talk In the Senate Dries Up. WASHINGTON. Feb. 6. The long- drawn-out general debato on the bill cre ating two states out of the Territories of Oklahoma and Indian Territory ana rew Mexico and. Arizona was concluded today lth a speech by Beveridge. which con sumed the greater part of tho day's ses sion. He reviewed the principal argu ments in opposition to the bill, giving special attention to the proposition to unite Arizona and New Mexico. He spoko for almost three hours, and closed amlu a cordial burst of applause from the gal leries. Previous to Beveridge s speecn. Foraker spoke In support of his amend ment to eliminate Arizona and New Mexico from the proposition. , Foraker spoke in favor of striking out that portion of the bill relating to Ari zona a.ncr New Mexico. His opposition to the bill was based upon the consolidation of Arizona and New Mexico into "one state. While he did not Indorse all the details of the provision for the union of Oklahoma and Indian Territory. nc was willing to accept it. Referring to the character of the people of Arizona and New Mexico. Foraker said that posslbly some are not as good as they should be. but he contended that they are not alone as a community in that respect. Beveridge advocated the passage of the bill as reported, by the committee on ter ritories, which provides for the creation t two states out of the four remaining territories. Beveridge based his advocacy of the bill upon the theory that Congress has absolute control of the creation of new states, and. In elaborating, he said the interests of the Nation as a whole were paramount to the wishes of the peo ple of the territories. He declared tnat the Constitution gave Congress power to Impose any condition in such legislation. and quoted many precedents to show that the tendency was toward large areas and extensive population In forming new states, which, he said, must be the case in order to do justice to sister states. He contended that Arizona and New Mexico were similar in topography and other characteristics, and not naturally separ ated by a mountain range, as had been claimed by some of the opponents of the bill. Beveridge contended that the creation of Arizona Territory had not involved any contract to maintain the boundary thus established, and his argument on this point caused an Interruption by Alger. who said that people who settled In Ari zona had gone there on a practical con tract with the Isatlonal Government. "If." he said, "the United States is not going to keep its agreement,- what are we here for?" Beveridge replied that there was no more reason wny a perpetual pledge should have been given to the people of Arizona than to" those of any other ter ritory. He said that the principal reason for the original creation of the Territory of Arizona in 3S63 was to supply offices to defeated Congressmen. Beveridge asked Alger how many of the Arizona people had ever read the so-called pledge of per petual autonomy to that territory, and Alger replied by asking how many of the New Mexico people had read It. "Why," responded Beveridge, "I know all that the Senator knows about It, and know that not one out of a hundred thousand ever read it or knew anything about It." "No doubt." replied Alger, "the Senator knows all that I do. and more, but I know that, when I was in Arizona, I heard number of men refer to the pledge In a way showing perfect familiarity with it." He added tnat he had become the owner of considerable property in Arizona. which he would sell in a minute if the present bill should become a law. Beveridce closed with an appeal on be half of his committee for the passage of tho bill. FLURRY AMONG THE DIPLOMATS Social Call of Old Friend on Presl dent the Innocent Cause. WASHINGTON, Feb. G. Because Sir Mortimer Durand, the British Ambassa dor, in response to. an invitation from the President, accompanied Mr. Spring Rice, the first Secretary of the British Embassy at SL Petersburg, to the White House last night for an informal chat, the Diplo matic Corps was agog today over the supposed significance of the conference. An early caller at the State Department today was Mr. Takahira, the Japanese Minister, who spent some time with Sec retary Hay. The hesitancy with which the Minister replied to the question as to whether peace proposals were In the air contributed to the suspicions already afloat that this movement was content nlatlnc a step toward Intervention. Later in the day came Count Cassini, the Rus sian Ambassador. The Ambassador re ceived the most positive and categorical assurances that this Government was not exchanging any Ideas with any govern ment regarding the ending of the war, and that the conference at the White House was without political significance. Sir Mortimer Durand called after Count Cassini and saw Secretary Hay for the first time In several days. It can be stated very positively that, however wide the range of conversation last night, and it naturally did include the situation in Russia, the object of the visit was entirely without political pur pose or result. Mr. Spring Rice 13 an old friend of the President, having been at tached to the Embassy here when Mr. Roosevelt was Civil Service Commission er, and no diplomat In Washington enjoys closer relations with the President and Secretary Hay than Sir Mortimer. The President and the Secretary would both like to see Mr. Rice come to Washington as first Secretary, as would the Ambassa dor, but It is feared that, in view of his recent transfer to St. Petersburg, it will be impossible. He served with Sir Mortl mer in Persia and is a warm friend of the Ambassador. Mr. Spring Rice expects to sail for home some time this week. RIVER AND HARBOR BILL READY It Contains Provisions for Much Work, Partly at Local Expense WASHINGTON, Feb. 6. The river and harbor bill has been practically complet cd. Under the head of new legislation there is a provision which strengthens the authority of the Engineering Department in preventing the dumping of refuse and other material in harbors and navigable channels. Provision for more than 109 surveys Is contained In the bill. A feature of the bill Is the Insertion of a number of projects for which ap nronrlations are made conditional upon the expense of the Improvement being shared by the state or municipality Dene fited. These include: Tacoma harbor, Washington, $40,000 cash and an author! zatlon of 5200,000 upon the maintenance of the Improvement after completion. The bill carries authorization for franchise to the Nome Improvement Company to dredge and construct Jetties at the harbor of Xome, Aiasrca, ai cost of ?300,000. Minor Business of the Senate. WASHINGTON. Feb. 6. When the Senate convened today Stone present ed a memorial from the Missouri i.eg islature for the enactment into law of th President's recommendations for the enlargement of the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Spooner presented a memorial from the Wisconsin Legislature praying for a revision of the tariff laws. A bill was passed adding to the State of Arkansas a small strip of land in Fort Smith, now in Indian Territory. Philippine Railroad BUI Is Law. WASHINGTON, Feb. 6. The President today signed the bill authorizing rail way construction In the Philippines, and conferring on the Philippine Government the authority to .guarantee bonds to tho J extent of 4 per cent of. $20,000,000. FOREIGN PARCELS POST, Arrangement Is Made With Britain and France. PARIS. Feb. 6. W. S. Shallenberger, Second Assistant Postmaster-General of the United States, has completed an ar rangement with the Postoffice Depart ments here and In London, which arc ex pected to make a number of important changes in handling trans-Atlantic malls. Mr. Shallenberger said today: "The decisions are tentative, but are sufficiently advanced to Indicate that there is no doubt of satisfactory con clusion. The arrangements include: First Sorting the malls on board steamers, so a.i to be r"ady for distribution when they arrive at New York. Second Readjustment of the transcontinental railroad charges for carrying British malls acro.js the Vnlted States to and from Australia. Third Parcels Dosts between the United States and England and the United States and t ranee. The trip of Messrs. Shallenberger and Masten followed a conference with First Assistant Postmaster-General Wynne, at hich it was decided to make an effort to settle these long-pendiiip: questions. The Americans say they found the officials In London and Paris ready to eo-operate. so that little remains to be settled but the details and the ratification of the authorities at Washington. The system to be adopted on board the steamers is the same as in use on Ameri can railroad cars. The pnrcels post ar rangements contemplate the conveyance of packages up to 4& pound? at the rate of 12 cents per pound under similar con ditions to the present German-American parcels post. Heretofore the service has been carried on through the express com pany, and will continue so with packages over pounds. Mr. Shallenberger considers the English arrangement settled and that the French arrangement only awaits the adjustment of details which are not considered seri ous. The advantages secured are such that probably some modification will be made in the charges for carrying foreign malls on the American railroads. GENERAL BUSINESS OF HOUSE Mondeli's Pet Bill Killed Panama Canal Bill to Be Rushed. WASHINGTON. Feb. 6. There was spirited debate on a bill to ratify an agreement with the Indians on the Shoshone or Wind River Reservation, in Wyoming. Opposition came princi pally from Fitzgerald (Dem., N. Y.) and McMoran (Dem.. Mich.), and was based upon an alleged special preference to be granted to some one to select b4u acres of valuable mineral and oil lands of said reservation. Mondell (Rep., Wyo.). Lacey (Rep.. Ia.) and Hitch cock (Reo.. Neb.) supported the meas ure, the former becoming engaged in a heated colloquy with McMoran. wna charged that it was proposed to rod tho Indians. Mondell moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, but the bill failed fa receive the necessary two-thirds vote and was lost. Unanimous consent was given, mak ing the bill to provide for the govern ment of the Panama Canal Zone, etc a continuing order of the House to be called up at any time. The bill, among other things, abolishes the Panama Canal Commission and puts the man agement of canal affairs in the hands of the President. The river and harbor appropriation bill was reported. REPLY TO SWAYNE PRESENTED House Managers Reiterate Charges and Senate Receives Replication. WASHINGTON. Feb. C. The House today again had before It the Swayno impeachment case. Palmer (Rep., Pa.) presented the replication of the man agers of the House to the answer of the Judge. The replication reiterates that Judge Swayne "Is guilty or tne high crimes and misdemeanors men tioned in said articles, and that the House of Representatives is ready to prove the same." Without comment or any Kina, ;no replication was adopted. Authority was given the managers to file with the Secretary of the Senate any of the subsequent pleadings they shall deem necessary. At 2 o'clock the Senate convened as a court to receive the replication, which was presented by the House managers, who were present to meet Messrs. Thurston and Higgins. counsel for Judge Swayne. The ceremony con sumed ten minutes ana at us conclu sion the court adjourned until Friday, February 10. Good Service Is Recognized. WASHINGTON. Feb. 6. Secretary Mor ton today directed a letter to Paymaster- General Harris, Chief of the Bureau or. Supplies and Accounts, informing him that, although his statutory retirement will occur on March 10 next, it Is the de partment's wish that he remain at the head of the bureau for at least a year after that date, in recognition of his ex cellent administration. MAY DISPLACE ITS PRESIDENT Portland Mining Company Divided on Burns' Policy in Labor War. COUNCIL BLUFFS. Ia.. Feb. 6. The annual stockholders' meeting of the Port land Mining Company was held in this city today to determine what persons were holders of stock and entitled to vote. President Burns appointed a committee, which was Instructed to report during the afternoon. President Burns intimated that, unless he secured some support from the Strat ton Interests, he probably would be de posed as president. He attributed the op position to his re-election to the position taken by him in the recent minors' strike in Colorado. Among those opposing him are Frank G. Peck, his brother-in-law, and Thomas F. Burns, his brother. When President Burns called the meet ing to order this afternoon, a number of proxies were reported by the committee, which stated that its work was still In complete. A full report will be made to morrow morning. In his annual report. President Burns strongly criticized Governor Peabody and General Bell, of the Colorado militia, de claring that they have Interfered with the rights of labor, and finds fault with the board of directors of the Portland Com pany for not sustaining him in a suit for damages brought by him against Pea body and Bell for closing the mine. This suit was later dismissed by the board over Burns' protest. HE DEFINES THE CLOSED SHOP Tailors' Union Secretary Says Non union Men Are Not Barred. BLOOMINGTON, III., Feb. '6. The first National convention of the Journeymen Tailors Union In 12 years opened here today. John B. Lennon. general secre tary. In discussing the open shop, said: "A union shop is not, under union rules and practices, a closed shop to nonunion Ists. We do, not object to giving em ployment to those who are not members. After, however, the nonunlonlst has been employed. If an agreement exists with our union as to prices and conditions of labor, we Insist that the nonunion man or woman shall cast their lot with our or ganization In the maintenance of wages and other conditions of labor." Lennon recommended a federation of the tailora with the Garment-Workers of America. During the year there was a net gain of 89 locals, with a present total membership of 16,000 members. Strike or lockout benefits have been paid to 37 locals, the total amount of benefit ex pended being JS4.S42. Samuel Gompers, president of tho American Federation of Labor, spoke to the -delegates at the afternoon session.