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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1905)
7 THE MORNING OHEGONIAN, "Tt'ESDAY, MtiRCSH- 21, l&Qo. festered at the Foslofflce &t Portland, Or., as second-class matter. . SUBSCRIPTION "RATES. INVAEIABL.T IN ADVANCE. (Br Mail or Express.) Dally and fcundsy. per xear.. -50.00 Xslly and Sunday, six months.......... 5-00 Dally and Sunday, three months....... 2-55 Dally and Sunday, per month.......... -5 Dally -rflthont Sunday. per year 7-30 Dally lrlthout Sunday, air months ...... 3.90 Dally without Sunday, three months .... 1.M Dally -without Sunday, per month ...... .S3 Sunday, per year 2.00 Sunday, six months -'- LOO Sunday, three months -CO BY CARRIER. .Dally without Sunday, per week....... ! Dally per week. Sunday Included -20 THE WEEKLY OREGON! AK. (Issued Every Thursday.) Welcly. per year ............v........ L50 Weekly, tlx months -73 Weekly, three months - KOW TO REMIT Send postofflce money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency ar at the sender's risk. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The S. C. Beckwlth Special Agency New Tcrk: Rooms' 43-50 Tribune building. Chi cago: Rooms 510-512 Tribune building. The Oregoalaa does not buy poems or rtorles izorn individuals and cannot under take to ret,urn any manuscript sent to It lthout 'solicitation. No stamps should be inclosed for this purpose. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex; PostoClee Ntws Co, 178 Dearborn street. Dallas. Tex. Globe News Depot, 250 Mala street. Dearer Julius Black, Hamilton & Kend rlck, 008-012 Seventeenth street, and Frue xuE Bros 805 Sixteenth street. Dee Stolses, la, Moses Jacobs. SOT " Filth street. GoWield, Not. C. M alone. Kwpias city. Mo. lUcksecktr Clrar Co., JCInth and Walnut. Xos Angeles Harry Drapkln; B. E. Amos, tie "West Seventh street. SQnaeapolhv M. J. Kavanaugh. 50 South Third; L. Regelsburgtr, 217 First avenue South. , New York City I. Jones & Co.. Astor House. Oakland, Csl. W. H. Johnston. Four teenth and Franklin streets, Ogdea F. R. God&rd and Meyers & Har rop; D. L. Boyle. Omaha Barkalow Bros.. 1C12 Farnham: Magcath Stationery Co.. 1308 Farnham. McLaughlin Bros.. 246 8. 14th. Fbocnix, Ariz. The Berry hill News Co. Sacramento, CaL Sacramento News Co 42d K. street. Salt Lake Salt Lake News Co.. 77 West Second street South. Santa Barbara, CaL B. Smith. San Diego, CaL J. Dlllard. San Fnuiclico J. K. Cooper & Co.. 74S Market street; Foster & Crear. Ferry News Stand; Goldsmith Bros., 236 Sutter; L. E. Lee.. Palace Hotel News Stand; F. W. Pitts. 1008 Market; Frank Scott. SO Ellis; N. Wtitoiley. S3 Stevenson; Hotel St. Francis News Stand. St. Louis, Mo. E. T. Jett Book & News Company, SOS Olive street. Washington, D. C. Ebblt House News Stand. ' Portland, tdesdat, march it, 1905. FURTHER- COURSE OF THE WAR. The New York Sun prints an extract from a personal letter received from Toklo, written by a person who is said to be in clbse touch with Japanese offi cialdom, in which the provable course of the -wax, on the part of Japan, Is outlined, with what seems to be strik ing: Judgment. This writer says the Japanese will not pursue the Russians very far towards the north, for the difficulties are too great. To go even to Harbin would require a long line of transportation; the railroad has been virtually, destroyed by the Russians, and It "will take a long time to recon struct its, roadbed and restore its rails and bridges, and there Is scarcity. indeed total lack, of cars, which can not soon be supplied. Consequently, after inflicting all possible damage upon the retreating Russians, as far as they may Te able to pursue them. the Japanese -will go for Vladivostok by sea, landing a. large force north or south of and Isolating It by cutting the railroad between It and Harbin. It .Is believed the Japanese are now organiz ing this force for operations against Vladivostok; but so effective is their system of maintaining secrecy that the utmost efforts of seekers for news for transmission abroad are unavailing. It Is not. Indeed, within probability that the Japanese will undertake to fol low the Russians vers' far Inland. To do so would Immeasurably Increase the difficulties of their situation and add enormously to the expenses of the war. Near the seaboard they have every ad vantage. They have gained Port Ar thur, have expelled the Russians from Southern Manchuria, and certainly now can take Vladivostok. Their supremacy at sea makes their projects compara lively easy, so long as they continue to operate on short lines of communica tion. : But they .' nust wrest Vladivostok from Russia, because it is essential to their military purposes to deprive Rus- ela of a sea base, during the remainder of the war. Yet Japan would not wish to retain Vladivostok, if Russia would yield her position in Manchuria. What Japan undertook to do was to free Corea from the pressure of Russia, and to force Russia to relinquish her millr tary hold on Northern China. To these ends it was necessary to take Port Ar thur and to expel Russia from the Manchurlan seacoast. These things now are accomplished, and Japan has Jlttle to do more, beyond maintenance of what she has gained. But to make her position secure she must take Vladivostok. Then, holding what she has won In Manchuria, and organizing that great province and the kingdom of Corea against Russia, she will make them and herself secure against further Russian aggression. It may be the Japanese will be able to push on up the country to Harbin the Junction of the railways from Port Arthur and Vladivostok; and she may think It necessary. But every day's further journey into the interior will multiply the difficulties and In crease the cost of her campaign. Rus 6la is fighting far from home, and has this heavy handicap. Japan will not wish to take part of this burden, or like one, upon herself. It Is not im probable, however, that a Japanese army sent to Vladivostok would cause withdrawal of Russian forces from the Japanese -front above Mukden to meet it; when - the Japanese might advance without much further resistance Harbin. The Japanese may be ex p'ected to make strenuous efforts, now and continuously, before Russia can get new forces and necessary supplies up to the seat of war. over their five thou sand miles of railroad. The extreme of folly is witnessed In the eagerness with which tourists press upon belching, hissing, flre-ejecting Vesuvius to obtain a view of Nature pyrotechnics at close range. Guards have been stationed to keep these in panely curious persons from passing the danger line. In spite of the great est vigilance, nowever, some -win suc ceed In "running: the lines," to return If at all none the wiser tor their fool hardlness. In this -we find & striking example of the futile effort of applied prudence for the protection of folly stricken people from themselves. A pessimistic poet has It that Man Is to man the surest, sorest I1L The truth of -this statement is never more manifest than when the Ills en countered are self-inflicted and In defi ance of all efforts of the law to turn them aside. . THE GENERAL ADVANCE. In many states, mainly in the West, state authority Is hot on the trail of monopolies and combinations that en gross business in various lines and are believed to make unconscionable prof its. Missouri has Just passed a maxi mum freight-rate bill; Wisconsin, no longer deterred by the failure of her former efforts to control her railroads by legislation. Is now again making a determined effort to force the railroads within her borders to terms; In South Dakota it Is proposed to put the Btate into the manufacture of binding twine; the Minnesota, legislators are consider ing the advisability of a state factory to turn out harvesting and binding ma chines. Washington has Just enacted a drastic railroad commission law, and a good while ago entered Into the busi ness of making grain "bags. Texas has enacted stringent laws against the Standard Oil Company, and Kansas Is golng-into the business of refining oil, in avowed opposition to the great mo nopoly. Governor Hoch, of Kansas, fa- ors a popular loan for the state oil refinery bonds. His idea Is to have them Issued In denominations of 5100 each and offer them to the public with a limit of five to each purchaser. "You see, 3ays the Kansas City Star, with a pretty sarcasm, "that when you give the people a chance to take a crack at Rockefeller, you must restrain them In some way. In this general effort on the part of so many states and more states doubt less will follow the example many things will be attempted that will prove very impracticable, and after a while will be called foolish. Indeed there are those who clearly see now that some of the Ideas are extremely crude and unworkable. But the country will not be satisfied to allow things to continue as they are, without some effort to con trol monopolistic actions and tenden cles. The first efforts must be tenta tlve, and there will be blunders, of course. But the state has a right to make laws for regulation of all busi ness within Its limits, and particularly for the regulation of the business of corporations that have a sernt-publlc character. Such corporations depend on the state for authority to exist and do business. Between the efforts of the states and of the General Government there Is now to be close Inquiry Into the meth ods by which monopolistic combina tions do business, and It will be Judged whether It Is Just that prices and sup ply shall depend on the volitions of the few who have gained control of so large a- part of the production and business of th6 country. If it shall be found that there has been no oppression, the country- then -certainly .will stand amazed at the moderation of those who have had the power. But a present THE BEEF TRUST INQUIRY. Government Inquiry Into the methods of the beef trust began yesterday, and it is said that plenty of evidence will be submitted to prove that the octopus has been "restraining trade" since Its Inception. There seems to be a pretty general opinion that Commissioner of Corporations Garfield failed to bring back that for which he was sent, when he reported on the beef trust. The re port was entirely too pleasing to the packers to warrant the belief that it represented conditions as they actually existed. The Investigation of the Com missioner was supposed to be for the purpose of determining whether or not the trust had violated any law through combination In restraint of trade be tween stages, or whether or not It had a. monopoly of any branches of the trade in which It was engaged. Commissioner Garfield failed to report on this feature of the matter, but instead submitted figures on "beef" showing that the profits on the gross amount of business handled were but 2 per cent, and that the difference between what the stock man received for the animal on the hoof and what the packer received from the Tetaller was but 51 per head. That the percentage of profit on the total amount of beef sold in a year has but little to do with the point at Issue Is apparent, for two reasons: First, be cause the capital invested may be turned over a dozen times a year; and second, because the charge against the trust was not one of exorbitant profits. the latter not constituting a legal of fense. What the public desired to know and what it hopes to know by the time the Inquiry which began yesterday ls- concluded. Is whether these profits were the result of a monopoly created by se cret rebating, unlawful combinations of capital and other nefarious methods, or whether they were secured In legltl mate business open to legitimate com petition. Commissioner Garfield devot ed practically all of his report to the "beer industry, which is only one of many wealth-producing factors that have aided the trust in piling up colos sal fortunes. The trust slaughters sheep and hogs and it handles in immense quantities butter and eggs, fruit, vegetables, game and nearly every other product that is of vital necessity to the existence of man, while the profits on its private re frigerator cars, exclusive of the rebates, amount to nearly 510,000.000 per year. But even on the beef report, with its suspicious-appearing figures, there Is general belief that the Commissioner was "jobbed" by the accommodating packers, who aided him In his research through their books. A Kansas City commercial writer "who has been close touch with the livestock and packing-house markets for twenty-five years has furnished the New York Her aid with detailed figures which take up specifically each detail of the business, including all costs, expenses, raalnte nance of plants, etc. By these figures he shows that. Instead of a. profit to the packers of 51 per head on cattle, as re ported by Commissioner Garfield, the trust is making an average of $7.41 per head. He places the nominal capital! zation of the trust at 5110,500,000, and on this valuation submits figures show Ing that the returns exclusive of the private-car graft are more than 40 per cent per annum. The beef trust by Its arbitrary methods has accumulated large stock of enemies, most of whom have suffered financial ruin at its hands. From, these enemies aome In- teresting testimony will be forthcom ing and. as the nature of the business makes It not difficult to trace transac tions, this evidence can much of it be easily corroborated. Commissioner Gar field can hardly have satisfied the wishes of President Roosevelt in this matter, and the Inquiry now under way will probably develop many iniquities more glaring than any that have yet been officially uncovered. HOW HISTORY IS MADE. Another long and weary day. twen ty-four slothful hours, seventy-two thousand tiresome seconds, and tomor row will come," said The Virginian to the happy young woman who was to be his bride, ""and we shall be married at last." Before, that beatific morrow The Virginian killed a man, dis persed the "rustlers" to the four winds. and restored law and order on the range. A day may make history, or It may not. It depends on who makes It and how It Is done. Sometimes It takes longer, other times shorter. For Illus tration, great things In Oregon are not frequently done in a briefer time than a. year. Three-hundred 'and sev enty days ago there was a Republican primary in Multnomah County. Three hundred and slxty-slx days ago there was a Republican convention, made up of 129 delegates, divided as follows: Regulars 114 Independents' 15 Total 129 A cursory glance at these figures dis closes that the convention was a some what one-sided affair so one-sided that the Independents did not get even "look in." It. Is true that the gen tlemen who regarded themselves as responsible for the political being of the 114 delegates had some slight 'diffi culty among themselves, and a few un fortunate slate - smashing episodes marred the harmony of an otherwise ery pleasant affair. It transpired, too. that In one or two other particulars it would have been better If the slate smashing operations had been conduct ed on a larger scale, for the electors took a hand eighty-one days later and punched two gaping holes In the pro gramme. But that Is an old story. Now we are going to have another primary; but It is of a new kind. We look In vain for the machine, the slate, the boss and the heeler. Why they are gone It Is bootless to inquire; but a long" series of events seems to have made it desirable for them to seek the strange repose of seclusion. We shall miss them; though perhaps In time we shall summon them back. But not now; not now. There arc no birds In last year's nests. WHEN FISHING IB WRONG. Few persons would choose for a pul pit the bottom of a capsized boat in the middle of the Columbia River, es pecially with the water as chilly as It was on Sunday; yet from Just that po sition a small boy made a remark that is worthy of 'passing notice. "I guess we won't go fishing any more on Sun day," said the boy to his father, who shared the precarious hold of the cranky boat's keel. The essential hu mor of the remark was probably not appreciated at its full value until the tug had come along and rescued the party and clothes had been dried be fore the fire; but those who merely read about It must pay it the tribute of a smile. It will be observed that the boy's re mark was based upon two premises: First, that fishing on Sunday Is wrong; and second, that the capsizing of the boat came as a punishment for the wrongdoing. Regarding the second. there Is not much to be said. When something bad happens to a neighbor. it's a Judgment, as the old Scotch. woman said, and when it happens to one's self, it's a dispensation of Provi dence. The Iroquois fire killed hun dreds of theatergoers; and the Slocurn wreck ended the existence of a Sunday school. As to the first premise, disagreement may be expected. There Is a sort of fishing that Is wrong on Sunday and also on Monday, and the other days of the week. The restless, record-seeking, unduly-prevaricating, three-Inch-trout-murderlng rogues make fishing wrong on any day. They are not fishermen. Says the mllkwoman to Plscator, "And my Maudlin shall sing you one of her best ballads; for she and I both love all anglers, they be such honest, civil quiet men." Your true fisherman Is honest barring such trifles as stretch ing his fish a few Inches and adding a few ounces to their weight. He Is above all quiet, and his communion with Nature makes him civil. Fishing to such men is exercise for the body. recreation for the mind and balm for the spirit. Your complete angler Is his own parson.. The river bank Is his church, the birds are his choir, and the blessed world Itself his Bible. 'I guess we won't go fishing any more on Sunday," said the boy on the upturned boat out In the icy Columbia. But, now that he is safe and dry on shore, does he hold to the same opln ion? A FRAUD ON ITS FACE. Those who followed Apostle Joseph Smith, through his testimony In the Smoot case, were justified In the belief that the president of the Mormon Church was a hypocrite of the coarser grain; that he had borrowed the livery of falsehood as a mask for truth, and that, though he attempted to adjust this livery in sanctimonious way to hide his moral nakedness, this was still plainly visible through the clumsy ad' Justment of the flimsy garment. Posing as an apostle of the revealed word of God, as a man chosen of God to do His work on earth, by his stud' led subtlety he gave the lie to his own pretensions then as he now openly and unblushlngly gives it to his sworn tes timony upon that occasion. The assumption and rant of this boastful hypocrite might be fitly passed In the contemptuous silence that they otherwise merit but for the fact that they have weight with people of a cer a in sort, unfortunately too numerous In the politics of the States of Utah and Idaho, and even in Oregon, and In the high places of the Nation. Of the common herd that listen eagerly when he prates of "revelation' of the close .fellowship between him self and God; of the "anti-Christs,' who must be cast out of the temple. "cut adrift and let go"; of his own deep piety and utter infallibility, there Is nothing to say except that they are the shallow dupes of his presumptiop and but for the fact that they have votes women as well as men they would not be worth considering. It Is this last condition, however, that nrmt tn mnt of dancer In th J sections. These people , are eo thor oughly grounded in the sophistry of Mormonlsm that they are incapable of thinking for themselves, and readily become the tools of the sophists when the elders desire to "work" them for some special object. It is in the presence of aihost of this kind that President Joseph Smith can unblushlngly acknowledge that he lied under oath when giving testimony be fore the Congressional , committee on the Smoot case. And the people that compose this host will find full Justifi cation of this boldly proclaimed false hood In, the excuse of their "sanctified" leader that he swore falsely In order to Avoid a trap set for him." A wiser people, a more Independent, self-reliant people than are these dupes of Mor monlsm, would at once see that In de nying that he had "revelations" when questioned upon that point by the com mittee. Apostle Smith told the truth because it served his purpose better than a He could do under the circum stances then existing; while in declar ing that he still has revelations from God he Is telling a cheap and transpar ent lie In order to serve his present pur pose. We judge, says the Boston Tran script, that the News-Leader, of Rich mond, Va., Is not wholly in sympathy with the hysteria that was developed over the Booker .Washington luncheon at the White House and some of the other incidents which have produced such a prodigal expenditure of emotion in that section. At all events, It was not of those worried about the possible presence of negroes in the inauguration this year, and advises Its readers to be equally philosophical. It regarded it as none of its business if they happened to be found there, and in a procession five or six miles long it doesn't believe the Caucasian mass was polluted by con tact. "Nobody believes," it says, "In drawing the social race line tighter or holding It harder than the News-Lead er, but there Is no sense in going to extremes or -talking a lot of nonsensi cal bosh. If some of the Idiot news papers with which we are afflicted in the South choose to stir up this subject, as they usually do, and If some sappy ouths from Georgia or that neighbor hood see fit to fuddle themselves with liquor and say absurd things concern ing It, the best course for the rest of us is to Ignore them entirely, let the subject go by default, and go on calmly about our business or pleasure." This reference to the fuddled saplings from Georgia doubtless harks back to the bumptiousness of the Georgia militia at the Manassas maneuvers last Fall, and their outraged feelings over the presr ence of colored troops, who, by the way. behaved with much more dignity and decorum than the white gentlemen from Georgia. Detective Joe Day- Is handy with his pistol, very handy. Everybody knows that. Schumer had no business to run away after arrest. He thus defied the officers to use the mo3t extreme meas ures to capture him resort to their weapons. If need be. The question in this case, as in all other similar cases, would seem to be largely one of fact a question as to whether ordinary means of physical force, pursuit, detention, wereexhausted and he could be stopped or caught by no other available method. What has an -officer a pistol for? It Is not only for defense, but It Is the-, very symbol and instrument of his authority. On the one hand, then. It was Joe Day's business to get and keep his prisoner. and not to kill him. On the other hand, It was Schumer's place to submit to arrest, or take the consequences. Whether Joe Day did what he could, and all he could, before resort to his re volver to shoot Schumer In the leg, as he says may not be satisfactorily de termined even by official investigation. The growth of Birmingham (Ala.) is one of the marvels In the growth of our cities. When the census of 1870 was taken, the site of the city was a corn neid; in 1889 the enumerators found 2000 Inhabitants; In 1890 they found 26,178; In 1900 there were 38,415 and, according to the city directory, there are now 61.000 people In the city proper, is ear by are the towns or Bes semer, 10,000; Ensley, 9000; Piatt City, 5000, and smaller places. In this dis trict, comprising Birmingham and close-by towns, there are now more than 100,000 inhabitants, with Industries already enormous and rapidly grow ing, based chiefly on coal and Iron. It Is destined to become one of the great est manufacturing districts of the United States, and there are. those who believe that one day it will rival Pitts burg. A nice spectacle was afforded the country by the House of Represents tlves in voting an appropriation for the payment of mileage for a special ses sion that began Immediately on the conclusion of the regular session. This was evidently "constructive" mileage for a "constructive" Journey during a constructive", recess to a "construct lve" home on a "constructive" road that furnished no "constructive passes. Under the auspices of the civil au thorities of the state that he served long and well, and of the Grand Army of the Republic, all that is mortal of General Joseph R. Hawley will today be carried to the tomb. Honored both In the councils of peace and the ranks of war. General Hawley goes to his grave, having performed his part in life vig orously, faithfully and acceptably. The prosecution of the Oregon land swindlers evinces the fact that the pub lic domain is now small enough to ena ble the Department of the Interior to keep a sharper eye upon it," says the Milwaukee Wisconsin. This suggests a new cause for thankfulness. Let the Nation rejoice that It has been swindled out of so much that It can easily watch the remnant. "A Parliament would wreck Russia." Not the Russian people, but the Rus sian autocracy. And if the Russian Empire cannot be held together with out the autocracy, tyranny and autoc racy might well depart together. Mexicans are alarmed over the ex actions of a "beef trust," They might reassure themselves by calling In Com missioner Garfield to report. If estimates that the Exposition will draw 2,000,000 are correct, we may be sure that 2.000,000 people will see a show worth seeing. Russians now admit that "their recent losses aggregate 120,000. Kuropatkin at least put up a fight before he turned and ran. NOTE AND COMMENT. The Russians are making a bee- Linlevltch fcr Harbin. Brother Brougher and some of the others talk as if they would Ilka to begin the experiments with the Osier theory on Mayor Williams. According to a local authority, dogs are keenly sensitive to the disgrace of I being arrested. That's more than many I From the New York Press: A Bare Living. Chorus girls. Sienklewlcs describes school life in Poland as a "round of chagrin, tor ment and tragedy." Are Polish schools 1 run on the merit system? During the tremendous excitement attending the final struggle in the Mis souri Legislature over the election of a United States Senator, a page quieted the tumult by singing "My Own Blue- belL A popular song will con most anybody; even a lot of wrangling Mis souri politicians. so rar commendable restraint has been manifested by the weekly and monthly neriodicals. For days wo have not seen a single reference to a; "fair penitent. Thank the Lord, race suicide is popular with some classes. As the Washington Post says: Reed Smoot was not asked to address the congress of mothers. Probably he hadn't I time to prepare a speech. Now it. is understood what is meant I by the threat to let daylight through a person. Henry James says that the modern novel Is "tinkling dialogues and twad dle." And In most of them the dialogue doesn't even tinkle. A Louisville woman has patented an invention which, the Herald says "promises to revolutionize the lacing of shoes by fat people." By pulling a string the shoe enn be laced without stooping anu a tig at another string loosens the laces. This invention may revolutionize the lacing of .shoes by fat people as the Herald thinks prob able, but It is a cinch that Angelina won't have It along when her shoe comes untied as she's out walking with Edwin. Ten out of 20 French recruits recent ly examined confessed that they had never heard of Napoleon. Perhaps the other European nations remember the Little Corporal better; he did his best I to impress himself upon the memories of most of them. Harpers 'describe "The Marriage of William Ashe" as "a great breathless story." Amusement for literary socie ties: Try reading "William Ashe" and" holding your breath at the same time. The St James Gazette is naturally provoked Into severe criticism of proof readers by an Incident In Nova Scotia. In the first edition of St Matthew in Mlcmac, It appears, the translator found. when he came to revise It, that in chap- xer xxivw, instead or ".Nation shall rise against nation." he had written "A pair of snowshoes shall rise up against a pair of snowshoes." But there was only one letter misprinted naooktukumikslj Ik (a nation), having been displaced by naook- takumlksijlk (a snowqhoe). Such a care lesanesa. Collars for women are doomed by fash ion, perhaps at the Instigation of the soap manufacturers. The Springfield Republican accuses Kan- sas people of going to church when there's no dogfight on. ui a etlemlnate state thats going to buck Standard Oil. No prettier compliment was ever made than one attributed by the Spectator to a small boy. who admiringly asked a girl. Are your eyes new onesr Some Russian soldiers kissed the ground they had been holding against the Jap anese. Sad things are these good-bye kisses. In extracting comfort out of misery the Los Angeles Times Is the Mark Tapley of the newspaper world. Referring to the rain that was drowning out that part of the country last week, the Times says: If any resident of Los Angeles has ever felt an unholy desire to change his habi tat to Seattle or Portland, the weather for the past four days will show him a sample of what he escapes by remaining where he is. Dr. Anita Newcombe McGce. who was an acting Assistant Surgeon in tha war with Spain, has returned from an of ficial visit to the Japanese hospitals. "We worked side by side with the Japanese nurses," says Dr. McGee. "Their meth ods are very similar to ours, only they are not quite so methodical and system atic as the American nurses. They pay more attention to the whims of their pa tients." Of course, It's a shocking thing. from an official medical viewpoint, to bother about what the patient thinks, but we fancy the wounded would be Inclined to condone the nurses' offense. WEX. J. The Novel-Reading Habit. The Bystander. I have known ladies who devoured as many as three novels in a day, and one wonder of her sex assured me that she read "The Egotist" in a train Journey from Peterborough to London! I have read most of Mr. Meredith's books, and I believe I do not exaggerate when I say that each, on an average, took my leis ure hours for eight or nine days. M. Charles Legras, the French critic, has aptly pointed out that we have to llva so long in the company of the characters of any of Mr. Meredith's novels he puts It ai oa)-umt t a uu nuuucr we re- member them. I know a journalist who alleges that he Tead through Boswell's "Johnson" one Sunday. I don't believe him. But for the average modern novel uiree. or jour uuma auuum oe ampie ai- lowance. I read thoroughly "The Prod igal Son." and wrote a column of a daily newspaper on it, in one day; but that was conscientious reviewing! Some reviewers confess to -polishing off half a dozen books in a day. Yet even that may be done quite honestly, for it Is possible by close ly studying the first few chapters to get Into touch with an author, and then to skim lightly through the remainder with an eye to the evolution of the plot only. This I recommend as no bad plan to those who wish, to keep in touch with current fiction, while giving the solid stretches of their leisure to the standard authors. Must Envy Theodore. New York World. How would the Czar like to have been the central figure in an inauguration like that of March I ? ' IS THE "TELEVUE" A MIRACLE? ' Portland 3!an Seems to Have Solved the Problem of Transmlttlnjc Color and Form br Telephone Reault of a Critical Examination. ' In an age of marvels, one marvel more or less passes without much at- ! tentIon.We vibrate between absolute -1 attitude of instmotMi rommi "at, demanding proof not Insensible to evi- I dence, I3 the only one to be encouraged. ao wnen a friend said on SaturJay last: "Have you seen the televue? If not. let us go and look Into It," the sug gestion was acceptable. Both of us had heard of It, but had not paid much attention. We fqund a long storeroom close to the temporary postofflce in which two Dooms or enclosed ceils were built. Just like those fop the long distance telephone, some distance apart and with partition between. Electric or tele phone wires led from one to the other overhead; also a separate hand tele phone apparatus in each cell enabled one to speak to the other. Entering one of the boxes and closing tho door thero was no means In evidence of communl eating with the other save by wire. When seated on a stool thero was op posite one s face a black box having a solid black face with a tiny orifice Ift the center just large enough to look, through. The little hand telephone was given to each of us to talk through. Looking through the center hole toward the other box there was noth ing but blackness for a second or two. Then a face became visible, not all of it at first, but forehead and eyes, then nose, mouth and chin: then, as the face turned In obedience to my request "by tne pnone, my friends face was not only visible but unmistakable. It was sttn as if In a small mirror, but color of hair, eyes and cheeks were as 'dis tinguishable as shape. First one play ing card and then another was held in front of the face, and. form, designation and coloring were absolutely clear and distinct. As my turn came to be the seen, not the seer, I was told to turn round on my stool, and therefore, to turn my back on the other box. I found my face fronting a half globular lens about six Inches in diameter. Three small elec tric Incandescent lights. Just above the lens, being turned on, threw a strong but not a glaring light on my face. As the light fell on my faco it became visible to my friend in the other box in the same gradations in which his face had been seen by me. Similar use of the playing cards made them plain to him in the other box. One of the ap paratuses was somewhat more effec tive than the other, the features being more distinctly seen with their lines and marks. After exchanging some remarks by phone wo left the boxes and walked round and about and inspected the room enough to satisfy ourselves that no arrangement of mirrors and lenses. no either direct or reflected rays had provided, so far as we could tell, the THE AMERICAN POLICY. Timely Reference to the Position of James G. Blaine. Chicago Inter Ocean. James G. Blaine. It, will be admitted. was instinctively right on the greater questions of American policy. Political opponents called him a Jingo, and inti mated that he would be a dangerous man In the Presidential chair because of his aggressive Americanism, but they rarely criticised his enunciations of American policy. As a member of the House, as a Senator, and as Secretary of State he made a record - that any American, Democrat or Republican, must now be proud of. As Secretary of State Mr, Blaine de clared that Cuba and Porto Rico were in tho American system. He gave notice to European nations and to Japan that the Hawaiian Islands were in the Ameri can system, and must always remain there, whether the Islands were annexeC to the United States or not. He declared this Government to be committed to the abrogation of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty n n .1 (nnlntn V.n .V. A TTnlt.a4 dfatao IFtnl) never perraltNany European power to con- irni inn Amencan uuimui. In 1S81 he definitely enunciated a policy for the supervision of the finances of the South American and Central American republics. He proposed to do in Vene zuela what President Roosevelt nas prom ised the Dominican people to do for Santo Domingo. No one at that time questioned the wisdom of Mr. Blaine's businesslike statement of the situation. What he rec ommended was not carried out, simply because France, one of the negotiating creditor nations, declined to accept the proposition. What Mr. Blaine declared as to JUDa, Porto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands belns a part of the American system has received the sanction of law. xne Ha waiian Islands and Porto Rico are Amer ican territory are cart of the American political system as weli'as of the Ameri can commercial system and uuDa is di rectly under American Influence. The Blaine policy on the Isthmus has been carried out. The Clayton-Bulwer treaty been abrogated and It has been made impossioie lor any xiuropena. ur ajwut nower to control the American isthmus. Mr. Blaine's ideas as to American su pervision In Venezuela have been recog nized and nut In practice. His ideas as to supervision in Santo Domingo have re ceived the sanction of President Roose velt In the agreement now before the Sen ate. Tho Roosevelt policy, therefore, dlf fers in no essential particular from the Blaine policy of 24 years ago. Why should the Senate hesitate to approve for Santo Domingo what Mr. Blaine recommended for Venezuela and the other South Amer ican republics? Imaginary Appendicitis Rochester Post-Express. London Is suffering from an operating mania. The Dally Mall, veracious organ, is authority for the statement that In the course of a fortnight one well-known operating surgeon has had no fewer than ST cases of ivurely imaginary appendicitis. Imaginary appendicitis is a malady in it self, and It is a nice point whether the sufferer should not have the appendix removed to cure the sickly Imagination, or the Imagination operated on in some way to cure it of fanciful ailments. It is true that the inquiring scalpel has never ferreted out the exact place In which the Imagination lurks. To some people this may seem a difficulty in the way of oper- atine. But those who reason In that way do not know the fecundity 01 resource or the medical fraternity. Science has made many advances, and, if a doctor cannot operate on a man for a diseased Imagln- atj0n, which ne cannot locate, wno can; prori one fact It Is possible to reason to another, and we know that whereas neonle'ln London still retain the vermiform appendix, there has been a considerable transfer or. good Jinglisn gold from unprofessional into proiessionai pockets. This proves that there was at least a supposititious maiaay, ana wno save a meflicai man is enuuea 10 tees for curing a man of an ailment he never bad? Where the Woods Are Densest. ' Chicago Record-Herald. Where, oh where. Is Alexien. the man who oereuaded tho Czar to fight on the assurance that the Japs could never effect a landing in Manchuria? First Catch Your Elihu. Chattanooga Times. Elihu Root has refused a $100,000 canal Job. For the very reason tnat .ne. couia afford .to refuse'it Mr. Root. is the man -for the place. means for transmitting the -images from ono box to the other. ' . We were in the presence either1 of a nn infant Invention of novelty and far- reaching importance- The .Inventor was In the room, but not near the boxes. He answered our Questions with all frank ness compatible with his position as? own ing an as yet unpatented invention. He told us that he was just starting for Washington to apply for his patent, which he dared not delay any longer, although he felt that the methods he used were capable of much Improvement and devel opment. Still, he considered that he had so far succeeded In seizing and apply ing tho principle that time and patience only were needed to carry him to com plete and recognized perfection. The inventor was aware of the early history of the telephone, and. though not fully informed of the many stages through which It had passed, he had. I thought, been treading a parallel road. Neither to my friend nor to myself was there any Indication In his modest conversation of the charlatan. We. came away with tho Impression (not yet the conviction) that this man had solved in principle at least the old problem of transmitting form and color by electrical current through wire. He told us that ho had so far operated through 450O feet as the longest distance. He compared tho experiment we had wit nessed, through, say. 20 or 25 feet distance, with the early success of Alexander Gra ham Bell in transmitting articulate sounds by wire from the cellar to the attic of his house. It sounds incredible ono readily admits, to forward form and color through wire by electricity. The tel ephone was no less of a wonder at Its birth time In view of the then condition of knowledge. The turning electric im pulses loose in the air. catching them hundreds of miles away, and translating them into a previously arranged lan guage. Is surely no less wonderful. If experience and time justify the claims of this inventor, and it is permissible to hope if not to fully believe that they will, the Bcope of tha "televue", alone and In connection with the telephone, is wide In deed. The train dispatcher will see his trains arrive, the arrested man will stand in full sight of the Informer, the dlstart child will be In sight of tho parent, the invalid will seo as well as hear by phone the play, the uncovered vein at the bot tom of the mine will be shown in actual sight of the stockholder, or purchaser, the physician in his office will see his patient. What else time would fall to describe. Practical difficulties in working out are certain to be met. It may be that they will he Insuperable and the Invention dio stillborn. But the mere fact that tho idea has been so cm-rent In the minds of men for years, and that the students here and everywhere have set it befora them as a goal to be reached. Indicates success for some one. It may be for the Portland man. in whom his townspeople at any rate should feel and express their interest.- WALLIS NASH. WATTERSON ON GAMBLING. Monte Carlo letter to Louisville Courier Journal. All gambling 1s vulgar. Call It what you will, assign for it whatever motive you please, it is an Irrational, an Igno ble struggle for money. Money got for nothing on the turning of a card or the revolution of a wheel bringeth good to no man, not even" to him who wins it. And to him that loseth? Sometimes perdition, often. 'ery often, that sinking sensation, that tired feeding even where the value loss Is Im materialwhich follows futile effort and says as plain as whisper in the ear, "The world's against you." - - - " There is a postal-card picture which shows us the facade of the Casino at Monte Carlo, with a drove of sheep, fat and woolly, going in. and the same drove, nude and skinny, coming out, .and no friendly voice to cry: "May heaven tem per the wind to the shorn lamb." Gambling, like everything else, is rel ative. The sin lies In the overplay, with its collateral vices, chief among them Improvidence. The reigning sovereign. who has only his money to lose, and plenty of that, is not to be classed with the banker or the banters confidential clerk or secretary, who has everything at Btake, character included, though each Plays for the same end that 13, tne di version and excitement. Asked what was the greatest pleasure in life, Fox said, "Winning at cards," and tha next, "Los ing at cards." There was a gambles for the love of it, and yet Fox played- never for high stakes after hQ was 40, if ho played at all. A Tammany Vocabulary. New York Mall. Shlmsha" Is tha latest word to coma Into circulation as a result of Tammany rule In the Police Department. It may be well to collect and define some of tho words and phrases with which Tammany rule has enriched the Knickerbocker vo cabulary: GRAFT. A politician's or policeman's private commission. HONEST GBAJTT. una commission in the form of a contract to a relative. WAYWARD SON. The relative who gets the contract. PANTATA (Bonemian). a. grarung police captain. WARDMAN. ma collector. THE ICEMAN. A Jocular translation of pantata. SBAEJsJ-TJP. A round dance of pan- tatas. SHAKE-DOWN. It follows a shake- up. THE TENDERLOIN. The district where a pantata hag the richest pickings. THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT. Tim." Sullivan's sphere of influence. CADET. The runner for a disorderly house. SHIMSHA CTIddlsh). A cadet THE BRASS CHECK. A shimsha's token money. JOHN DOE. The gambling syndicate. HIGHER UP. The head waiter who gets the lion's share of all political tips. CAUGHT WITH THE GOODS ON. The only Tammany crime. There remains only to illustrate our lexicon with two Tammany sentiments, one of today, the other of Tweed's time: (1) "I am working for my own pocket all the- time;" (2) "What are you going to do about it?" Charge of a Doubtful Judge. Kansas City Journal. A Missouri paper says that a new Judge arose to charge the jury and spoke as follows: "Gentlemen of the Jury, charging a jury Is a new business to me, as this Is my first case. You have heard all the evi dence a3 well as myself. You have heard what the learned counsel have" said. If you believe what the counsel for the plain tiff have told you, your verdict would be for the plaintiff; but if. on the other hand, you believe what the defendant's coun sel has told you, then you will find a verdict for the defendant; but If you. were like me, and don't believe what either of them said, then I'll be d d If I know what you'll do. Constable, take charge of the Jury.' To a Good Old Age. Cleveland Leader. Let science .teach us how to live in good health and In full possession of our faculties up to four score years. ana uv. vjsier 10 me contrary uutwiiu standlng, the world will be better and Its units a good deal1 more content than they would be" with the seven ""and a half score limit. . . - .