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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 20, 1905)
THE MOBNDiS OEEGONIAN. MONDAY, -MA3CH '20, 1905. Entered at the Fostofflce at Portland. Or., at second-class matter. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. IXVABIABLT IN ADVANCE. (By Mall or Express.) Dally and Sunday, per year. J9.00 Daily and Sunday, six months.......... 5.00 Dally and Sunday, three months....... 2.55 Dally and Sunday, per month . -55 Dally without Sunday, per yar 7.50 Dally without Sunday, six months S.d0 Dally without Sunday, three months .... 1.S5 Daily without Sunday, per month. Sunday, per year 2.00 Sunday, six months L00 Sunday, three months .SO BT CARRIER. Dally without Sunday, per week - .15 Dally per week. Sunday Included 0 THE "WEEKLY OREGOKIAN. (Issued Every Thursday.) Weekly, per year 1.50 "Weekly, six months -75 Weekly, three month 50 HOW TO .REMIT Send postoface 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 Seckwith Special Agency JTew Terk: Rooms 48-50 Tribune building. Chi cago: Rooms C 10-5 12 Tribune bull dine Tie OrecMlaa does not buy poems or s tori w rom Individuals and cannot under take to return any manuscript sent to It without solicitation. No stamps should be lsclosed tor this purpose. KEPT OK SAXJC Chicago Auditorium Annex; Poctofllce ' Xews Co., 178 Dearborn street. Dallas, Tex Globe New Depot, 250 Main street. Dver Jallu Black, Hamilton & Kend rlck, 906-912 Seventeenth street, and Truo auS Bros.. 605 Sixteenth street. Pes Molaes, la. Moiei Jacobs. 809 Fifth street- GeldOeld, JTer. C. Malone. Kaaaaa City, Mo. Rlcksecker Clrar Co.. Ninth apd Walnut. Js Anccle Harry Drapkln; B. 35. Amos, tl West Seventh atreet. Minneapolis M. X Kavanaugh. 50 South Third; L. Regelsburcer. 217 First avenue South. Kerr York City L. Jones & Co.. Aetor House. Oakland. CaJL W. H. Johnston. Four teenth and Franklin streets. Osden F. R. Godard and Meyers & Hax rop; P. U Boyle. Omaha BarkalOTr Bros., 1612 Farnham; Mageath Stationery Co.. 1308 Farnham. McLaughlin Bros.. 246 E. 14th. Phoenix. Arfr. The BerryhlU News Co. Sacramento, CaX Sacramento News Co.. 28 K street. Salt Lake Salt Lake News Co 77 West Second street South. Rants, Barbara, Cat S. Emrth. Sen Diego, CaL J. Dillard. Baa Francisco J. K. Cooper & Co.. 746 Market street; Foster & Crear. Ferry News Stand; Goldsmith Bros.. 236 Sutter; L. E. Lee. Palace Hotel News Stand; F. TV. Pitts. .100$ Market; Frank Scott. 80 Ellis; N. Wfaeatley, 83 Stereneon; Hotel St. Francis News Stand. St. Louis, Mo. E. T. Jett Book & News Company, 806 Olive street. . Washington, D. C Ebblt House News Stand. 1 1 PORTLAND. MONDAY, MARCH 20, 1905. t ' STATED IN' SDDPIJEST FORM. It has been said by certain advocates 4of Bocialism that The Oregonian either jdoes not understand -what socialism 'means, or purposely misrepresents It. But these persons, when they attempt to expound It, are soon themselves lost in cloud-land. Evidently they have In mind some kind of benevolent scheme, which, however, they are not able to define. The onlv mv to ascertain what socialism means Is to consult Its authoritative exponents. This has been The-Oregonlan's method and habit. It will not be denied, we suppose, that Karl Marx is the most authoritative leader and thinker of modem social Ism. Though dead more than twenty years, he remains its prophet, priest nd king. It was he who set forth most forcibly the theory of the exploi tation of labor by capital, through which, as he asserted, great private fortunes are amassed, because the la borer receives in money wage less than the full value of the produce of his work the surplus value being absorbed In dally driblets by the great sponge of capital. The. remedy proposed is in the collective, ownership of the means of production and. distribution that is, ownership and direction by the state. It wih not be denied that this is the theory of socialism, its end and aim. Collectivism is only suggested by Marx as the future governing princi ple. It is not worked out by him in detailed application, but others have done so, from the principles he ex pounded. All disciples of modern so cialism hark back to his theories and expositions. The end and aim of so cialism, therefore. Is the transforma tion of private and competing capitals into a united, collective capital, under state control, operating under an in dustrial democracy. At this time The Oregonian will not attempt any disquisition on the consequences of this system, in operation under direction of the state. The doctrine does not call for an equal division of property, tyit Insists on a scheme under which no man may make money through em ployment of others. What socialists want, therefore, is that all Instruments for the production of and distribution of wealth be.. taken over by and owned and managed by the members of the whole society collectively that is, by the state, and that all the wealth cre ated by and with these instruments shall be apportioned in some equitable manner, "which nobody thus far has been able to explain, in any consistent or workable way. It will be 6oen. of course, that in a lit tle time private wealth would prac tically disappear and the general wealth would dwindle with it unless isoine way can be devised to upset old human nature and induce men to ex ert themselves, though they know they are not to have the results or rewards. A MIGHTY BUSINESS. It is estimated that there are 550,000 miles of railroad in the world, of which 210,000 miles, or nearly two-fifths, are in the United States. The gross earn ings from operation of our railroads In the last fiscal year were 51,900.000,000. Of this. ?1,350.000,000 came from freight, $450,000,000 from passengers and 5100, 000,000 from mails, express, etc. The railroad companies further earned about 540.000,000 from a great variety of Incidental services. This Income was divided in the following manner: Operating- expenses, 51.250,000.000; taxes, -v560.000.000; interest on bonds and debts, 5275.000,000; dividends. 5165.000.000; sur plus, 5190,000,000. It will thus be seen that the dividend represented! about V per cent of the gross income, while the surplus was devoted to the renewal and improvements of plant. The number of persons employed reached the pro digious total of 1.300.000. against a round 1,000,000 so employed in the fis cal Tear -ending June 50, .. 1800.- The compensation 'paid last year to these employes was 5757,000,000, against 5577, D0O.0O0 thus paid In the fiscal year of 1900. In this Interval of four years there was an Increase of 30 per cent in the number employed and an in crease of 31 per cent In the remunera tion given, this 'increase being almost entirely in the pay of the wage-earners. On English roads a like increase of the pay of workers is noted; but there Is no such increase of tonnage as on the American roads. ALL IN GOOD TIME. It Is a great thing to be President, with more power than an Emperor in any effete European monarchy; but It Is a greater thing to be, great -enough to rise superior to the vexations and harassments and importunities that be set the ruler of a free people, made up of 80.000,000 units, with every unit a possible office-bolder. Consider the case of President Roosevelt. He appoints a colored man therefore a sovereign cit izen to the Collectorshlp of Charleston, and he stirs up the Indlgation of Till mans of the South. Then, to show that he plays no favorites, "he selects a high toned colored lawyer to be Collector of Internal Revenue In New York, and no body Is pleased but the appointee and his fellows. But the President goes se renely on his Impartial way, because nobody, white or black, ever is pleased when a fat job Is filled and all chance for everybody else to get at the public crib is cut off. The President takes care of a. deserv ing but unfortunate ex-Senator In "Wis consin by making nim a. Federal Judge, and the La Follette faction Is unhappy. He promotes a Kohl saat frtfm the district bench in Illinois to the Circuit Federal bench, and the dissatisfied bar breaks into print to vent Its wrath. He dis places some obscure Iowan by naming another obscure Iowan to an English Consulship, and the Iowa delegation holds an indignation meeting. The Senate postpones its final adjournment for an hour while Senator Spooner re pairs to the "White House apd wrestles prayerfully with the President about a certain United States Attorney. Af fairs of state are likewise held up while the momentous problem as to the "West Virginia Internal Collectorshlp Is set tled. A Senator is defeated for re-election in "Washington, and he makes the corridors of the "White House ring with his lamentations about the pro posed disposition of the Federal patron age by his colleague in collaboration with his successor. And here in. Ore gonbut let us draw the veil. The sub ject is really too delicate. It is al luded to merely to remind the public, which seems to think that the; entire energies of the Administration are bent upon the unpleasant task of putting three-fourths of the Oregon Congres sional delegation in jail, that the Presi dent has other things to think about many others. There are forty-five states, and each has its separate rela tion to the Federal economy. There are. for example, seventy-two United States District Attorneys, and the set tlement of the Oregon race for that de sirable Job Is the settlement of just one seventy-second part of the problem as to those offices alone. If the Presi dent permitted himself to worry about "these things so much as one-seventy-second, part as much as. the Congres sional delegations do, he would soon have to order his shroud. So let us feel as good as we can about who Is going to fill the various fine jobs in. Oregon, for wo have good reason to think that the Administration will do as it pleases when it gets ready, and it will not get ready the sooner because any one out here in Oregon has allowed himself to get agitated about it. THE MAGNET OF PROSFJEBITY. Ten steamships landed 9388 immi grants at New Tork In the forty-eight hours ending March 12. The smallest number of passengers carried by any of these vessels was 500, and one Ger man steamer from Bremen had 1625 passengers in the steerage. At the time these 9388 passengers were landed in New York there were en route for the same port thirty steamships with more than 25,000 passengers on board. These figures are said to break all existing records for immigration so early in the season, and the reason for the unprece dented movement is said to be the un usual demand for labor. More than one-third of the arrivals last Satur day and Sunday were Italians, and 70 per cent of the number were engaged at once to work on railroad construc tion and in the mines in Pennsylvania. This class of labor, as In the past, seems to be In the majority, but the movement this year is quite general from nearly all European countries. - Of the emigrant ships afloat for New York last Sunday, eight were coming from Italian ports, six from Germany, three each from Austria and England, two each from France and Scotland, and one each from Scandinavia, Hol land. Belgium and Portugal. Nearly all of this great swarm of immigrants is made up of unskiled laborers, and their assimilation without creating dis turbance is a high tribute to the pros perity of the United States. "With such a large foreign element In- our midst, it becomes an easy matter for people across the Atlantic to keep in pretty close touch with the labor pulse in this country. Accordingly, whenever there is a period of bard times, it is re flected in a slackening in "the immigra tion to this country. During the "soup house era" of the early '90s, immigra tion not only almost ceased, but lack of opportunity for labor in this country was so pronounced that many of the foreigners returned to the old country to take advantage of cheaper living. There are a great many factors in volved in bringing an economic crisis such as periodically frightens capital Into hiding, and lays a heavy hand on labor, and not the least of these Is the ever-noticeable trend of the population towards the great cities. "While it is probable that quite a number of the Immigrants now pouring into the coun try are of a very undesirable class, yet there is still a field for the labor of the better classes. They 'will not all find that field If they herd together in the congested cities of the East. On the contrary, the first breath of hard times will find them not only unable to do anything to improve their own 'condi tions, but will make It equally hard for those already here. But here in the undeveloped. West, with thousands of square miles of virgin forest, with vast tracts of unoccupied land suitable for making better farms than these Immigrants ever saw In the old coun try, there is opportunity for them to reap rich rewards. Our cities are al .ready comfortably well supplied with unskilled labor, but if some of the .sun- ply now. pouring into-the United State can be diverted into the country, it will soon be producing something that will aid in the growth of both city and and Washington last year brought into the two states 300 carloads of butter and eggs and more than 300 carloads of pork products, and the con sumers had to pay for them fancy prices, which included the cost of the long freight haul across the continent. "What these two states need is small farmers to produce at least enough of these important staples to supply the home demand. The business is remun erative, and it will be a long time be fore It is overdone. The railroad com panies, with their colonist rates, are helping to distribute the surplus pop ulation that is suffering from conges tion in less-favored states in the East and Middle West, and in so doing they may create a few vacancies for the new citizens now coming over In the steer age. Until we of the Far West can show a country population in keeping with that which surges into our cities we shall not be making the most of our j opportunities, and, for the present at least, we can take care of all of the sober, industrious foreigners that can be sent us. Of anarchists and profes sional jawsmlths we are'oversupplied, and, if possible, these should be halted at Ellis Island and returned to the land of their birth. riM)M THE TROVIN'CES.M Captain Seth Bullock has been giving his opinion of New York. It is some thing, that hundred of men have done before, and that hundreds will do again. Captain Bullock saya that New York Is "provincial," thereby endeavor ing to turn New York's own damning epithet against Itself. There is' only one adjective as bad as provincial In the vocabulary of Gotham, and that is suburban. But the use of provincial by Captain Bullock will not sting New York; it will merely provoke laughter. That a cowboy from the "provinces" should apply such a term to the me tropolis, the Babylon of a hemisphere it is to laugh. Ono suspects that Captain Bullock, full of the patriotic prcvinciallsm of the plains, answered some New Yorker, momentarily curious as to the home of such a stranger, with the expression, to him so full of magic, "The West." To which the mildly inquisitive New Yorker responded, "Buffalo?" It is waste of time to call New York names. It is just New York, self-centered, satisfied, careless of criticism. France complains that Paris is Inter ested in nothing that is not Parisian. New York is interested in little that goes on beyond its own limits. A street-car strike, with Its attendant skirmishes, is of far more Importance than the clash of empires In the Ori ent. The Sun is New York's own pa per, and the Sun Is conscious of other places. It knows that there is a state called Kansas, because several freaks that have amused even New York have come from Kansas. A monster squash produced by Iowa will bring the name of that state into the columns of the Sun. and the goings-on of Indiana's lit erary men attract the amused atten tion of critics broken to read Howells. New York and its Sun are tolerant of the Test of the country. They realize that the ranges and the farms and Chi cago and other things are necessary to produce beef for New York's stomach and millionaires for New York's brown stone avenues. New York doesn't call Chicago or Portland provincial. They are. simply not New York; that's all. With alt its indifference, perhaps be cause of its indifference. New York is wooed by all Americans and many for eigners. Captain Bullock's Irritation will pass away; he will realize that New York, like a pretty woman, most attracts when she is thinking most of herself. He will take back that un availing "provincial," and will say in stead, in despairing admIratIon,"that New York is just New York. And no body will be surprised if this rough rider should eventually join the re doubtable Bat Masterson "on that little street in heaven that they call Broad way." UNION LABOR AT TVATC. The opportunity for union labor to get an accurate line on Its own attitude toward the public, as well as toward nonunion labor. Is afforded In a most striking manner by the present clash between the Longshoremen's Union and the Sailors' Union. The work of loading lumber vessels does not require a high degree of skill, and each of the contending factions of unionism is in every way competent to handle the work. But there is insufficient work to furnish employment to all of the union sailors and union longshoremen who desire It. The longshoremen make an attempt to enforce the demand that they should be glvpn preference, and in so doing regard; the sailors as ene mies, although the latter are good union men. The sailors, having paid their dues with promptness, and their "cards" showing evidence of good standing, cannot regard themselves as interlopers, or "scabs." They need, the money, and they can render as equiv alent therefor as good a day's work as the longshoremen. Neither side to the controversy will admit that it is in the wrong, and the disinterested nonunion public, which pays the bills, having for once at least a squarely impartial viewpoint from which to witness a union labor trouble, awaits the outcome with a calmness not always possible on such occasions. The union sailor, who. In the case un der discussion, seems to be the object of attack, is in exactly the position of the nonunion laborer in other labor troubles which we generally have with us in some form or other. Like the nonunion man. he is now the object of attack from men who wish to secure the work on which he 13 engaged, and it would be interesting to know how he enjoys the position In which his own union has in the past placed other men and made them suffer. Labor is a commodity for which there is a universal demand, and, like all other commodities for which such de mand exists, the emoluments will al ways be based on the law of supply and demand. There may be some good sallormen who are better than poor longshoremen when the ability to hustle lumber aboard a ship is considered. When the employer who pays the wage discovers one of these men, it seems hardly fair that he should be obliged to make a critical examination to deter mine which particular union brand he is wearing. From an economic stand point and arguing from the ancient be lief that all men are born free and equal, the necessity for the good work man or laborer wearing any kind of a union brand does not appeal power- fully- But unionism, has its good. feat- ures, and is here to stay. The one great lesson that it has not yet fully committed to memory is that when men are in need of work they will make a determined effort to get It, no matter whether they be union sailors or non union landlubbers.' Another feature that should be con sidered in connection, with the present trouble is the rights of the man who is compelled to pay for this labor. Per haps he prefers union sailors to union longshoremen, and, as we usually ac cord, a man the privilege of spending his money as he sees fit, so long1 as he does not become a public nuisance, no exception should be made Id a case where union labor happens to be flying at the throat of union instead of non union labor. The solution of this vexed question will be awaited with interest, as it is one of the few labor troubles that have arisen in which comment can be Indulged without Incurring the un just accusation of "being prejudiced against unionism." New Orleans journals print accounts of the progress of the work of creat ing a thirty-five-foot channel through the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi, upon which the Government is expend ing six and a half million dollars. This pass is fifteen mile In length, and is being Improved by the Eads methods, through which the South Pass was opened many years ago. Solid walls of concrete are being built up on both 6ldes of the fifteen-mile channel through its whole length. One thou sand men are employed, and the work is to be finished in 1S0S. In the manu facture of the mattresses which ore put down into the soft mud as & foundation for the concrete, all the available wil lows have been cut from the banks of the Mississippi River for a distance of 27S miles. It is expected that the open ing of the thirty-flve-foot channel will result In doubling the cQmmerce of New Orleans. A delegation of Ute Indians has vis ited Washington to protest against the opening of their reservation to white settlers. .The President "declined to ac cede to their wishes, and, in reply to his refusal, one of the braves asked that he be permitted 4o locate In some forest reserve as far away from the white man as possible. The President was obliged to refuse even this re quest, although ha might have consid ered it, had he recalled the famous "seven-eleven" land in Oregon. Testi mony regarding that portion of our for est reserves Is all to the effect that there Is very little danger of any en croachment from any more white set tlers, and the "Indians" that discovered it are too busy keeping out of the Peni tentiary ever to bother the Utes if they were to go there. Editor Moorhead, of the Junction City Times, expresses hope that the present referendum agitation will bring about the repeal of the whole initiative and referendum scheme. Well may Editor Moorhead view with alarm the "Swiss Innovation" to our constitution, as he fitly terms It: Down with such dan gerous importations from the decaying monarchies and Imitation republics of Europe! Jf something Is not done soon, the people might take a notion to abol ish the Legislature entirely, and then what would, become of Editor Moor head's biennial job as chief clerk of the Senate? It has perhaps escaped general public attention that the recent Washington Legislature enacted a law for the transportation of Insane persons, con victs and incorrlglbles, designed to bring about the same reform that is under way in Oregon. The State Board of Control Is to employ necessary per sons to convey such charges from the various counties to the Penitentiary, Insane Asylum or the Reform School. Governor Mead took an active interest in this measure, and it Is largely due to his influence that it has become law. Portland'bank clearings for the week ending last Saturday were 54,961,000, a gain of nearly 51.000,090 over any corre sponding week in the history of the city. There were no unusual transac tions, no padding by carrying over bal ances from day to day, including them as cash, but everything happened Just in the usual order of business. These clearing-house figures constitute an in fallibly accurate commercial barometer, and are merely the reflection of a growth that is apparent in all lines of legitimate business. It is astonishing how little news the Japanese give out about the war, and how little they allow their own achieve ments to become known to the world. The people of our country, or of Eng land, would have the news one way or another. If they were Interested. In the results as the Japanese are at the pres ent time; and their newspapers would get it at all hazards. An Iowa minister has been unfrocked for sharp practice In horsetradlng, and a Delaware member of the cloth has been suspended for a year for speculat ing in stocks. If the lines of religion are drawn much tighter, the church raffle will be about the only game of chance that is left for the ministers. The Czar will hardly be able to ex tract much comfort from knowing the grape-shot incident was due to a blun der Instead of a conspiracy. Grape is just as deadly directed by a blunderer as by a knave. Twenty persons have recently sub scribed 51,000,000 for increase of Har vard University endowments. Presi dent Eliot wants $1,500,000 more. The sums mostly come from wealthy alumni. Russia's private soldiers are paid three kopecks, or less than 2 cents, a day. As they are getting very little glory, it seems that Ivan Ivanovitch makes a bad bargain for his life. The Czar Is on the hunt for a man who can command his armies, apd win. It reminds one of the way in which the General of the Army of the Potomac was changed so often. It would be interesting to learn ex actly what President Morales of Santo Domingo thinks of the Senate. ' Somehow the talk of an extra legis lative session came to nothing. One session was enough, perhaps. Alva Adams, quondam Governor of Colorado, achieved the prefix "ex" in record time. -Here's hoping the Washington "will be as good a ship as the Oregon. NOTE AND COMMENT. Seeing Portland. "To the right is the lofty peak of Mount Hood. You could get-a splendid view of It from here if that blue and yellow bill board was removed. Behind that ad for Sniffy Soap flows the silvery Willamette. Where you sea the purple cow on that empty house .the first school in Portland was situated. Mount St. Helens might be seen In the distance if it wasn't for the billboard in between.' " A baby weighing 17?i pounds has been born at Ballard. The Washington stork must be an airship. If dogs read the papers we should ex pect some bull terrier to nip a piece from the leg of Leopold Samuel. Dreyfus Is still waiting for rehabilita tion. What has he done for posterity that it should bother about his case? Morocco is France's Santo Domingo. The Rev. S. Koster, of Orange City, la., has been fired from the church for "sharp practice la horsetradlng." If sharp practice is to be eliminated from horsetradlng, what's to be left? Portland's" "trousers' thief' Is not the only one. Booth Tarktngton left his dress trousers In an Indianapolis hotel recent ly and telegraphed from New York for them. It was discovered that a boy had stolen them and sold them for 51. Th.9 trousers were finally located on a colored man at a prize ball, and the poor fellow was compelled to leave tha dance- and deliver up the stolen property. Presum ably. TarkJngtou hastened to buy another pair. Advertisements are not abbreviated so much in this country as in England, and not so much In England as in Australia. Two ads from 8ydney papera have been offered as samples. One reads: "Wanted reap. yg. ladles for u'clothlng and fy. dep.; imps, and apps." The other Is more Intelligible. "Photogs. yg. lady wants pos., ustd's devel. and printing. Small "pal." Mention of tho merit system still has a red-rag effect. A final "h" has been restored to the name of Pittsburgh by the Pennsylvania Railroad, although, as Harper's Weekly observe, the name will continue to be denoted on hotel registers by the let ters. "Pts," or "Ptsg." ThJs starts the San Francisco Post off on a column philippic against the "uncouth Goth" who speaks of San Francisco "as "Frisco." "This wretched creature." says the Pqst. "Is always 'from the East,' and generally he is either a drummer or a cheap actor. Invariably, however, he is a fiinoant ncr- Bonago; a shallow, empty, brainless Idiot. T . . . ji jfa u& mm wnetner ne is referring to Frisco In Idaho or Montana, or wherever the place may be. he will assume an injured air and reply that he Js speaking of Frisco In California. It grates on tho ear of a gen uine citizen of San Francisco to hear this absurd condensation of the noble name of the city. He longs to throw the uncouth Goth out of the window. He shudders as In the presence of a sacrilege. He feels debased and he hastens away from the vicinity of that miserable stranger within the gates." Toot! Toot!! But it's not a bad exposition of Frisco's views. . Instead of a "charter rush." the plant Ins of an enormous yellow C on the hill side will commemorate Charter day at tho University of 1 California. Two pro fessors have protested, on the ground that the monument will disfigure the hill side. What has that got to do with It? the students may well ask. A French newspaper says: "Tho chief feature of the stay "of tho Baltic fleet at Nosst Bo has been a rise of no less than 70 per cent in tho price of cham pagne In Madagascar." This looks bad for the first fisherman Rojestvensky butts into. . WEX J. To Prevent Mistakes. Chicago Tribune. Stranger (at the village hoteli Tears ago I knew everybody. In this town. I wonder what has become of a young fel low that used to loaf around the livery stable and play checkers my. how he could play checkers! his name, I think, was Berryham Landlord That's my name. I'm the chap. Stranger You don't say! Then you must have known a prim young school teacher, a Miss Landlord Mister, before you say any thing more I may as well tell you I mar ried a prim young school teacher. Stranger O. I beg your pardon. Landlord What for. sir? Stranger Why eraay. do you know whatever became of a young squirt named Chlggers. that clerked In Pummy's gro cery store? Landlord I haven't thought of him for 17 years. I don't know where he Is now. Good deal of a numskull, wasn't he? Stranger He was and he hasn't any mora sense now than he had then. I'm Chlggers. Shall we call It a standoff? "More Tharr Regal." London Saturday Review. No man in his position can help contem plating with envy tho free hand allowed a British Minister in the manipulation of foreign affairs, but If not Mr. Roosevelt, then some early successor will find him self no less generously trusted with the National Interests of the United States. The dangers and difficulties inherent in any attempt to conduct complicated ne gotiations through representative bodies may any day appear aggressively insistent even to the averago American. A business people will quickly appreciate the most business-like way of conducting public af fairs. Hitherto the existing framework has sufficiently served public require ments. The new developments make it quite impossible that they can do so much longer. In spite of all the precautions of the founders of the Constitution the time is rapidly approaching when in electing the President the people will recognize that they endow him for the season with prerogatives more than regal, because he embodies their own absolutism. Disraeli's Peculiarities. A. contemporary of Disraeli in his me moirs records this Impression of that famous dandy's personal appearance: Usually he- wore a slate-colored velvet coat, lined with satin; purple trou sers, with a gold braid down the outside scam: a scarlet waistcoat, long lace ruffles falling down to the tips of his fingers: white gloves, with bril liant rings outside them, and long black ringlets rippling down over his shoulders. When he rose In the House he wore a bottle-green frock coat, with a white waistcoat, collarless, and a copious supply of gold chains. Smith in Portuguese. T. P.'s Weekly. A German resident in Portugal, whose patronymic is Schmltz, or our famous English Smith, has been writing home to Cologne complaining of the spelling of his name adopted by various Portuguese correspondents. Hero are a few of them: Smhytls, Scimlthx, Xemlte, Chemltlz and Schemeth. COST OF LIVING LESS Rase or Prices of' Conunodlilea Dnrlnc Forty-IMvc Years Americana Are Better Housed, Better Clothed and Very 3Iucl Better Fc'd. NEW YORK, March .According to statistics compiled by the New York Herald there Is scarcely the difference of 51 a year in the per capita cost of com modities this year and In the year ISfil. at a certain period, although even then the Civil War had an appreciable effect. At the close of the war the cost of living was rnore than three times what It is now. That Is, through suspension of the gold standard and the use of the Irredeemable currency, prices had enormously advanced. But with resumption of the gold standard! prices became lower and almost staple again. At this time the people of the United States are better housed, better fed. and get more for their money than ever. One of the means of arriving at this conclusion is through the comparative tables of the Dun Index, which represent the analyses of experts. These tables are compiled on the ratios of various commo dities which each person in the country consumes In the course of a year. The quotations are multiplied by the annual per capita consumption. The price of Wheat, for instance, is multiplied by 5.55, the number of bushels which each inhab itant of the country consumes in a twelve month. The price of coffee is taken nine times, that of cheese 2.3 times, and chem icals are figured In at small fractions of an ounce. Metals, clothing, breadstuffs. meats, everything that a human being requires in the civilized state, are care fully estimated. Wholesale Figures the Basis. The figures, of course, are based upon the cost of commodities in the first mar kets at the lowest wholesale prices, as it Is Impossible to make any exact calcula tions on retail prices. The profit of the retailer is a variable quantity, but It must be in the neighborhood of 25 per cent gross in order to permit him to do busi ness. The Dun tables represent, however, the relative cost of living with great ac curacy. Multiplying the per capita al lowance by five, will give a fair Idea of the expenses of the average American family. The annual per capita cost in January. 1S60. was 5121.63. It sank In the year 1S61 to 5101.32. the estimate being made on the basis of Jury prices. The cost of living on January 1 of this year is given at 5100.31S for each person. With the close of the War of the Re bellion the country was In an impover ished state. Little was produced, for the farmers had left their fields by the hun dreds of thousands to fight In the armies of the North and South. In addition, cur THE RANGE OF PRICES IN 15 YEARS. The figures show the amount spent by an individual each year for the given necessities of life: Dairy and Garden. 512.662 10.813 13.406 13.530 28.053 38.043 . 23.472 3E.4M 23.614 18.121 16.112 20.799 16.010 13,620 13.142 14.918 t . - Bread July L stuffs. 1S60 530.530 1S61 15.743 1S62 1S.057 1S63 26.154 1SS4 45.616 1K5 25.401 1S66 31.471 TSo 36.537 1SS8 3S.416 1S63 29.116 1870...- 25.332 1S71 24.S00 1S73 22.171 1573 20.460 1574 23,657 1875 24.S4S 1876 18.777 1S77 21.812 1878 16.673 1S79 17.034 1SS0 17.461 1SS1 20.363 1882 25.494 1S83 19.018 1SS4 17.871 18S5 16.370 '1SS6 15.311 1887.., 15.156 18SS J5.3S4 ' 18S3 14.331 1890 14.S67 1891 19.7S2 1892 17.426" 1893 14.963 1834 15.113 1893 14.763 1896 10.504 1897 10.5S7 1893 12.783 1899 13.483 1900". 14.835 1901 14.904 1KC 20.534. 1903 17.473 1904 1S.244 Meats. 573 7.4K3 7.150 10.113 15.683 16.112 17.153 14.27S 13.210 13JS1 14.161 12.177 11.055 10.114 11.560 13.2S7 10.726 10.066 8.1S1 S.233 9.230 H.3S1 1X740 1 1.210 11.173 9.205 S.906 8.667 9.416 S.211 8.036 9.217 8.700 10.135 8.389 8.622 7.05S 7.5S9 7.634 7.9SS 8.906 9.430 11.62S 9.260 9.033 15.9K 11. 790 10. 60S 10.233 12.534 11.311 14.685 12.250 11.360 10.872 10.241 11.185 11.849 9.603 10.711 12.453 10.403 11.710 10.334 9.874 7.872 8.714 9.437 10.974 10.901 11.030 12.577 13.083 10.S1S ODD BITS OF NORTHWEST LIFE. Unknown Benefactor's Good Deed. Philomath Recorder. Some kind soul put oil on the creaky college windmill Wednesday- Setting a Good Example. Lyie Corr. Goldcndale Sentinel. Mrs. E. F. Hale has got the front of her store painted; it Is quite an improve ment. Lyle Is progressing. Mr. Wacheno Asserts Hb Rfghts. Willamina Corr. McMlnnvillc Reporter. The pollco court has been quite busy latoly. Dar Wacheno was tried and fined 53. but refused to pay it, so laid It out In jail. Oregon's Good Roads' Movement. Dower Siletz Corr. Toledo Leader. John Bones', Jr., cams in over the toil road last week. He reports the road In fair condition only two places whero one is completely lost sight of. Alarming Prophecy About Weather. Wolfer Corr. Aurora Boreal is. March 16 The weather we are having at present Is very fine, but we do not think it will last long Some of our lads Intend to attend the big ball at Hubbard next Saturday night, especially Frank. John Jesse butchered six fine hogs last Tuesday. Well. Flora, you must not forget to put in some news next week. Wc suppose you -havo lots of news. Those fish were excellent, Ralph. ' Mr. Hutchinson, has moved from this place to Paradise; we mean City of Par adise, -see? Horrible Fix of a Bachelor. Ritter Corr. Long Creek Ranger. The morning after the ball, which was recently given at the residence of one of the bachelors here, to his consterna tion and dismay, ho fouud a dainty pair of corsets in the apartment used that night as the ladies' cloakroom. Such indiscriminate display of feminine ap parel is rather shocking to a bachelor's modesty, and it is reported that the said bAhelor Is too modest to remove the of fending article or to venture In the room where It rests In stately repose, and un less the owner is soon found or some other disposition is Ynade of same It Is feared that tills modest gallant will de sert his bachelor quarters, and take to the" hills. East Toledo Breaks into Print. Toledo (Wash.) Recorder. Spring has come and the weather Is favorable for getting in crops. The school meeting in District St went off with a terrible roar and tho heavy weights won. Elliott voted his grocery bilL We have the pleasure pf seeing Mc Corkle's pleasant face up our way quite often. George Studebaker Is getting out cedar poles and hauling them to the river. Albert . left his horse unhitched and walked home. A certain, buggy on our roads needs greasing. ' ' J. Brooks was elected school director in District 24.' rency had depreciated and financial con ditions were violently disturbed. In War Time. '"Before I went to the army," said a man who for years had been connected with one of the largest provision houses in New York, "prices for mdats were about the same as they are now, perhaps a little iower. Sirloin steaks were IS cents and porterhouse steaks were not weighed at all. They were sold for 5150 each and they were cut thick and heavy "When I came back and learned what prices were being asked I was ashamed to look customers In the face. I found sirloins selling at from 50 to 55 cents a pound. The present price In New York City is from IS to cents at retail. Porterhouse was 63 cents a pound, while now No. 1 porterhouse may be bought for 26 cents, and a little less for cuts not ab solutely choice. Veal cutlets brought 63 cents. It's now from SS to 30 cents. Prime ribs now to be had for 2J, cents at retail were 3S cents a pound; veal chops wero from 35 to CS cents, and lamb was about the same. All these, pieats. counting on the best cuts, are sold now at 22 cents. Corn beef rump was 32 cents then, and now it Is 18, while naval corn beef was felling at 16 cents, which is about twice the present price." The Cost of Clothing. The ready-made clothing Industry waa in its infancy In those days and a service able suit at $63 was no better than tho $25 teady-made of today. A first-class over coajr. made by a fashionable tailor, could be had for 5100, while today almost a3 good a one may be had for 550, although the prices of the fashionable artists have not materially changed. Shoes were not considered expensive at 510. and the Beau Brummels of that pe riod thought nothing of paying 520 for the long boots reaching to the knees. There were dollar brogans In those good old days which had about the tensile strength of press boards, and several pairs would have gone the way of lost soles befoco the cheap shoes of today could be worn but. Shirts were cheap, but there were no garments equal to those made at tho prestent time. Cotton goods were scarce and' high at the close of the war and tho quotations often reached 8." cents per yard. In 1866. Investigation of the commodity tables shows that the cost of living is greatly lnftj?enced by the commercial status of the eountry. After the war the arts and manufactures were gradually resumed, al though the sum required to maintain a family was far above the normal. In the year 1S66 the cost of living wag 5207.D7S per capita. Other Cloth- Miscella- Food. ing. Metals, neous. Total. 5S.&N 522.439 J25.S51 515.812 5115.191 7.653 21.147 22.500 16.573 101.920 10.9S7 28.413 23:207 17.290 118.510 16.3SO 45.679 37.079 24.264 173.1S0 27.303 73.4SS 59.193 . 31.653 278.9S7 21.037 43.307 ,35.956 25.551 194.435 20.821 45.377 ' 41.762 27.922 207.978 20.167 3S.169 35.426 25.523 1SS.32-4 19.720 33.604 27.3S3 24.7S6 1?2.S23 16.347 36.309 28.355 2J.201 164.630 13.308 o .aO 26.612 2L7S6 148.781 13.823 30.624 27.371 21.907 151.510 14.845 32.427 32.643 21.319 150.479- 13.625 29.411 32.298 21.552 143.089 13.67S 27.620 23.254 39.S52 143.133 14.415 25.318 23.513 1S.39S 131702 12.914 21.747 20.452 15.951 116.473 13.321 21.850 15.578 15.160 109 547 ft.246 19.836 15.789 14.836 96.26S 9.881 20.123 15.149 16.2SG 97.2S3 11.539 21.9S4 1S.70S 17.133 105.653 11.663 20.9S2 19.293 16.900 111901 11.627 21.202 19.832 16.650 123.230 10.726 20.209 18.071 15.764 107.213 9.323 19.014 16.272 14.6S5 99.70S 8.712 17.740 14.132 13.6SS 90.697 8.570 - 18.063- 14.466 13.669 89.226 .9.252 18.174' 16.033 1S.T33 . fat 9.317 17.477 15.366 " 14.1ao 95.134 10.912 17.107 14.7S2 14.600 $9,691 9.749 17,264 15.506 15.416 9L549 9.330 16.501 15.107 13.691 96.092 8.733 15.645 14.S27 14.252 90.103 9.188 15.871 14.030 14.716 90.613 8.47S 13.860 12.015 14.011 83.292 8.689 15.315 11.021 13.233 81.513 S.529- 13.602 13.232 13.520 74.317 7.SS7 3 3. 80S 11.642 12.2SS 72.433 8.82S 14.633 1U43 12.522 77.76S 9.157 15.021 15.633 12.369 85.227 9.4S2 16.324 14.834 16.070 91.415 9.0S6 15.093 15.344 16.617 91.500 8.747 15.533 16.0S4 16.826 101.910 9.186 17.136 16.544 16.763 99.456 10.406 .16.514 15.42S 16.019 37.192 THE NORMAL SCHOOLS. A New Golden Rule. Milton Eagle. Tbe Athena Press believes that "I4ve and let live" should be the motto in regard to normal schools. Interpreted, that would mean, "Tou let me graft all I can, and I will let you graft all you can." That is an entloin? proposition, a kind of revised and up-to-date edition of tho Golden Rule, and is said to be in much favor among tricky politicians. Not Alone Against the Normals. Santlam Newa. The idea seems to prevail with many of out contemporaries that the people arc dissatisfied only with th appropriations made for the nor mals. This, we believe, is a mistaken idea. So far as we have been able to learn, tho sen timent of the people in this locality, they wish to register an emphatic protest against extrav agance of the Legislature in general. They; axe Just aa much opposed to the $123,000 or more appropriated, for new buildings for the 'Corvallla and Eugene schools as they are for the appropriations for the normals. They be lieve, that all money given to any or all of thes schools is contrary to the mandato of tho opsstltution. Yamhill and Education. McMinnvllie Teiepbone-Regtster. It is not that the people of Yamhill County are opposed to education, for tfie contrary 19 true. No county in the state provides more liberally for her pubUc schools nor has better schools than does Tamhlir. In addition to this, we have two colleges whose work compares favorably with that of state schools, and they do not receive one 'cent of aid from the state. We would not oppose a reasonable appropriation, for one normal echool, but the appropriation of large sums of money, not for educational purposes but aa an' aid to certain localities of the state and. that political combinations may be made. Is the reason for our action in this matter. It Is not alone the appropriations tor the normal schools that we oppose, but alto some of the other unnecessary expenditures of money, and the log-rollings and political com binations by which these appropriations are made. It is not only the unnecessary burden of taxes that the people havo to carry that is objectionable, but the fact that all legislation Is controlled and manipulated by these combi nations which, are working for appropriations. She Got Off Easy. - Boston Transcript. Fuddy Tou know that Miss Bonney threatened to bring suit for breach of promise against Tom Lollard, and that they finally agreed to leave it to arbi tration? Duddy Yes, I did hear something of tho sort. How did It come out? Fuddy The arbitrators have unani mously decided that Miss Bonney ought to give Tom $10,000 for breaking his promise. One Would Say So. Louisville Times. When Mr. and Mrs. George F. Dun villa, of Yankton, S. D., arrive vVith their nine sets of healthy triplets to visit Mr. Roosevelt, the President will be company for Doc Osier", who is mis erable because he spoke.