THE MORNING OREGOXIAX, THURSDAY. 3IARCH 8, 1906.
Entered at the Postofflce at Portland, Or.
as Second-Class Matter.
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vania avenue.
PORTLAND. THURSDAY, MARCH 8. 1.
THE SEATTLE LESSON.
The Immense signlilcaT.ee of the Seat-
tic election cannot be ignored. It was
the fight of the Plain Citizen against
corporate tyranny. There was no other
issue. It found, indeed, manifestation
through several avenues, toward the
"open town." "bosslsm," gambling and
"the machine." But these were Incidents
only. At basis it was universal revolt
against the railroads which have dom
inated Seattle for years. The steam
roads and the street railroad combine
have taken from Seattle what they
wanted In the way of public
franchises and have left for oth
ers whatever they chose not to
-take, which was nothing. Through
their absolute control of municipal ma
chinery, for example, they have held up
for months the application of the Chi
cago. Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad
for rights of way over the streets, by
imposing Impossible conditions, and
they have made It clear that Seattle
could give no competitive railroad any
thing whatever except through theh
favor.
The railroads owned the Republican
bosses. The Republican bosses ran the
town. The town endured it through
many years, and then found a way to
burst its shackles. The Republican or
ganization, as usual, put up a ticket.
It was headed by Mr. Rlpllnger, person
wily a popular and agreeable young
gentleman. The Democrats, being nu
merically weak, retired from the field
In favor of a Municipal Ownership
ticket headed by W. H. Moore, an ac
tive and outspoken advocate of munici
palization of public utilities. The Re
publican leaders, recognizing with
alarm the overwhelming public resent
ment at railroad domination and the
growing sentiment for municipal own
ership, themselves declared in their
party platform for that principle "as
soon as it could be carried Into effect."
The entire opposition was united in one
straightforward demand for Immediate
municipal ownership, without any qual
ifications whatever. In the one in
stance the voter was offered the real
article; and In the other the bogus
brand. Rlpllnger was beaten and
Moore was elected Mayor of Seattle be
cause the people propose to take control
of their own affairs and direction of
their own utilities In their own hands.
There is no other interpretation what
ever to Tuesday's election. It may, of
course, be doubted whether it will be
practicable for Seattle now to buy and
operate Its expensive street railway
.system, but that Is a problem for the
future. Seattle has declared thiat It in
tends to do It, because It Is weary of
insolent and inconsiderate treatment by
Its public-service corporations and Is
determined no more to yield to their In
satiable demands for larger public priv
ileges without adequate returns to tht
public treasury.
It may be well for the publlc-ervic
corporations of Portland to take heet
of the Instructive Seattle lessou. There
was never anywhere a more perfect and
complete system of political and com
mercial control of any city than in Se
attle. Yet the Plain Citizen has upset
the system because the corporations did
jiot know how to use, or did not care
to use, properly, the enormous privi
leges they had obtained from the pub
lic. TILLMAN AND THE RATE BILL.
A hundred years from now historians
will still be speculating over the mo
tives that decided Mr. Aldrlch and his
coljeagues upon the interstate com
merce committee to give Mr. Tillman
charge of the Hepburn rate bill in the
Senate. Was it a childish blunder, the
result of a. fit of pettlshness? Wias it a
deliberate Insult to the President? Or
was It a move in a deep game of policy
which we shall understand when we
see the outcome, and not before?
The last supposition -Is the least prob
able of the three. The policy of the
leaders of the Senate, Aldrlch, Elklns,
Foraker, has never been very deep. It
has consisted simply in giving privi
leged Interests all they asked and vot
ing down or pigeonholing every meas
ure for the public good. To follow such,
a policy consistently requires no great'
astuteness. It demands merely 4ndlf
ference to their oath of office, loyalty
tb their corporate owners and contempt
for the public These qualities the lead
ers' of the Senate have shown In un
qualified perfection; but to conceive
and execute a deep-laid stratagem ia a
very -different matter. They probably
Jack the wit to do such a thing. There
plenty of corporate strategy "both"
deep and dark, but it Is worked out by
the brains of mercenary lawyer?, not
by- the magnates themselves or their
Senatorial puppets.
The chances are that in handing over
the rate bill to Mr. Tillman they made
a triple blunder. They believed that
placing the bill under Democratic man
agement would turn the Republican
sentiment of the country against it;
they believed that the public -contempt
for Mr. Tillman would be reflected upon
the measure and that it would expire in
a storm of ridicule; and they believed
that Mr. Tillman's desire for petty re
venge would make him betray the Pres
ident's favorite measure. In all these
things they were mistaken. The coun
try does not care whether the Hepburn
'bill emerges from Congress under Rc
publican or Democratic Buspices. It
wants the law enacted, and will re
ceive what It wants from cither party
Indifferently.
FRANCHISES. ' A
"Look not mournfully Into the past.
says the poet, "for it comes hot back
again," and his counsel Is wise, but
only half wise. True, the past comotb
not back again, nor the franchises that
have been given away in the past. Like
Esau's birthright, Jacob has got them
and will probably keep them. Tears
and sighs over the folly that squan
dered these franchises will never re
store them to the public. Remorse can
not alter the pat, but. If keen enough.
Jt may prevent the repetition of similar
folly in the future, and therefore, not
withstanding Longfellow's advice. It is
a salutary passion. Mournful content
platlon of our thriftless former dealings
with franchise-grabbers is a singularly
salutary mental exercise for Portland
citizens just now, when the brutal logic
of facts and figures -sets before us what
we have lost and what the fraction of
the municipal wealth which we have re
tained is worth.
Citizens' eyes bulge to read of the
bids by competing corporations for a
franchise on Front street limited to
twenty-five years and under strict
terms of regulation. Suppose the street
railway and gas franchises still be
longed to the city and could be offered
now to the highest bidder. They would
realize an income which might make
municipal taxes practically unneces
sary. It is useless to cry over spilled
milk unless our tears make us more
careful with what Is left. That is only
a small part of what has been bestowed
In the past upon greedy corporations,
but In Itself it Is far from insignificant.
One traction company, for example,
propoees to build a standard-guage line
on Front street costing some 560.000 ano
turn It over to the city free of charge;
then It will lease the line, paying 550,000
bonus and a fixed toll of 51 per oar for
25 years. This would yield the city an
estimated annual Income of 518,250, be
sides what amounts to a cash payment
of 5110,000; while at the end of twenty
five years a new and still more advan
tageous contract might be made.
This looks well and It actually Is well.
In comparison with the old shiftless
system of giving away franchises it is
magnificent thrift It indicates that
the interests of the city are Incompara
bly better understood and cared for by
the Council than they ever were before.
It maj' even excite suspicion in some
minds that the traction company has
made an excessively liberal proposition
In its eagerness to control the fran
chise. If such a suspicion exists, a lit
tle thought must dissipate iL The com
pany asks the privilege of charging
other users of the line 52.50 per car dur
ing the franchise period. Suppose there
are to be five such users each running
as many oars as the traction company.
Each of these corporations must pay
the traction company an annual rental
of 545,625, and all together they would
pay it 5228,125. Deducting from this
sum the 3'early rent or toll which the
company pays to the city, we have a
net annual profit to the holder of the
franchise of 5209.875.
This is not a bad return from an in
vestment of 5110,000. In twenty-five
years St would amount to $5,246,875,
while the total tolls paid to the city
would amount to 5456,250. The traction
company therefore will not get the
worst of the bargain, in all probability.
Jf Its terms are accepted; and If they
are not accepted. It may propose terms
a great deal more advantageous to the
city and still be safe.
The object of this little calculation is
not to offer advice or even suggestion
to the Council. They seem to be abun
dantly able to conduct the negotiation
without assistance. The only purpose
is to remind the public of the enormous
money value of these franchises which
have been squandered so heedlessly
and lavishly in the past. A harsher
word than "squandered" might well be
applied to such transactions. The fran
chises have been acquired by fraud;
they have been stolen through the con
nivance of faithless public officials. And
yet their value, great as it is, belongs
wholly to the city, because the popula
tion, the industry, the enterprise of the
city have created it. The men who
hold them, by titles founded 4n almost
every instance upon dishonesty, have
created no part of their value. Those
holders have simply applied their spe
cial privilege to absorb value created
by the efforts of other men, and they
will continue so to apply their special
privilege as long as It exists. The
American people have awakened to the
true significance of the traffic in fran
chises. In the past it has meant the
delivery of the fruits of tadUBtry 'into a
few favored hands as fast as they rip
ened; in the future, under the new and
better system which the disposal of the
Front-street franchise inaugurates, it
means the preservation for the city the
material good which the progress of
the city creates.
WHERE THE RESPONSIBILITY. RESTS.
It -rests with the Port of Portland
Commission whether the Portland &
Seattle Railway shall enter Portland or
not. It has seemed to this entire com
munity that the Commission has;riere-
tofore interposed needless obstacles in
.the way of -the Hill railroad. If the
railroad is to come to Portland at all.
It must enter over a bridge, and tha
bridge must be below Portland. No one
has suggested a 4etter location than.
the Swan island crossing, and no one
has advanced reasons that seem to the
public sufficient to justify construction
of an unwieldy, expensive and experi
mental bascule bridge.
Delay In reaching a decision in this
vital matter has been too long. There
should be decision at once, that this
community may understand definitely
and finally the attitude of the Port of
Portland Commission towards this mos
important project, and that we may
kno'w now whether we are to have the
Hill railroad at all. It Is the belief of
The Oregonlan that, unlese the Port of
Portland Commission proposes .for Mr."
Hill a-practijcaWe 'plaa,ir"aicrrit has not
heretofore done, for coming Into thlr
city, he will abandon entirely the Co
lumbia and Willamette bridges and the
North-Bank Railroad will be a mere
supplementary Puget Sound line. The
North -Bank Railroad will, of course, be
built, and we shall have Northern Pa
cific and Great Northern cars in Port
land, but they will come over the pres
ent Northern Pacific line, and we shall
not have opened up to us the productive
Northern Pacific-Great Northern Job
bing territory and the valuable North
ern Pacific-Great Northern grain terri
tory that are now tributary to Puget
Sound.
A heavy responsibility, therefore,
rests upon the Port of Portland Com
mission. Is it willing to be held ac
countable by this community, as it will
be, for abandonment of the Hill project,
so far as it concerns Portiind? The
Orcgonlan says plainly to the Port of
Portland Commission that further de
lay, in Its opinion, will seriously Jeop
ardize the whole Hill scheme, and there
must, for the sake of Portland, be an
early decision, and the decision should
be favorable to Mr. Hill. It must be, if
Portland is to be the scene of activity
by the Hill lines.
RUSSIA GOLD-BRICKED AGAIN.
The bigoted, overbearing, autocratic,
ignorant aristocracy which pulls the
strings that control the movements of
the "Little Father" puppet in Russia
has apparently learned little or nothing
from the cataclysm of fire and blood
through which It has Just passed or, to
be more accurate. Is still parsing. The
Imperial manifesto just issued relative
to the National Assembly and reorgan
ized Council of the Empire Is certainly
a cute of giving a stone In reply to a
request for bread. "With many of her
ships in the hands of mutineers, the
streets of the principal cities red with
the blood of soldiery and revolutionists,
and the entire government so thor
oughly honeycombed with treason and
on the verge of dissolution by blood
shed, extravagant promises were made
of Immediate reforms, and that the
rights of the people should be respected.
But the might that makes right suc
ceeded In stamping out a few of the In
surrections, and. with the attendant
feeling of fancied security, the aristoc
racy took a fresh grip on the reins of
power.
Of course, after all the extravagant
promises that had been made when the
life of the empire was almost trem
bling In the balance. Immediate return
to the old despotic policy would not look
well, but close scrutiny of the Russian
policy as outlined in the Czar's mani
festo discloses the fact that the "peo
ple" have gained absolutely nothing by
the alleged change. No thinner veneer
ing of gilt was ever placed on a diplo
matic gold brick than that which orna
ments the suspicious-looking present
that the "Little Father" has Just made
to his cringing subjects. "With a burn
ing desire to enable the people to par
ticipate in the molding of legislation
it is decreed that one-half of the upper
house of the National Assembly shall
be appointed by the Emperor, and of
the other half twenty-six shall be elect
ed from the nobility and clergy. The
lower house, which is known as tht
Council of the Empire. Is to consist of
n equal number of elected members
and of appointees of the Emperor.
As it is provided that only measures
passed by both houses shall be submit
ted for imperial sanction, it can easily
be understood that legislation passed
by the lower house which might be un
satisfactory to the upper house would
meet a painless death with less effort
than is required to put a. "cinch" bill
to sleep in an American Legislature.
It would seem that, after so carefully
stacking the cards, no further precau
tion was necessary to prevent the com
mon people from securing their rights,
but the power behind the Russian
throne was not taking any chances.
There Irss been no modification of the
right of the government to promulgate
temporary laws during recesses of Par
liament, and, as the body of lawmakers
can be dissolved at any time by Im
perial edict, recesses can be made to or
der whenever it is deemed necessary to
pass . law which might excite suspi
cion in open session. In order that the
people might not be burdened with too
much work, the Czar has relieved Par
Hament of any participation in consid
ering the reports of the Minister of Fi
nance on the state of the treasury, or
on reports of charges of malfeasance
against members of the Council of the
Empire. Ministers. Governors-General
and naval and army officers.
These matters are to be attended to
by special commissions appointed by
the Czar, and these commissions als
have sole control or the franchises for
stock companies, titles of nobility, any
thing. In short, which presents unlim
ited opportunities for the kind of graft
that has made Russia famous for its
infamy. Any objectionable bill which
might accidentally get through both
houses can be rejected by the Czar, and.
after such rejection, cannot be brought
forward again at the session then be
ing held. In presenting to the people
these evidences of a desire to give them
voice in making the laws, the Czar says
that he "firmly holds that participation
of the representatives of the people in
the government win contribute to the
economic welfare of the empire and
strengthen the unity of Russia." This
statement was neither sarcasm nor
irony. It was Just Russian.
MISUNDERSTOOD CONDITIONS IN THE
ORIENT.
Changing political and commercial
conditions .in the Orient are continually
bringing to light surprises, for the wise
men of that other East. Every few
days there is an exclamation of wonder
from "Washington over the discovery in
the Chinese boycott of some phase that
was known and understood out here on
the Pacific Coast ten or twenty years
ago. It is not yet a dozen years since
James J. Hill discovered the Oriental
flour trade, although Citizen Wilcox for
a dozen years before Mr. Hill's discov
ery hud been distributing Portland flou
in all prominent districts between Sinr
apore and Vladivostok. The greater
number of these startling discoveries
are made by new attaches of the Con
sular Service who are shunted away to
a foreign country, where their general
incompetence will be less noticeable
than it would be in a department at
Washington. A Washington corre
spondent of the Chicago Tribune has
been taking some of these Consular re
ports seriously, and, as a result, wires
his paper from Washington that "much
of the supposed animosity displayed by
the Chinese against American goods k
caused by the persistence of our manu
facturers 4n refusing to study the Chi
nese market and to make themselves
acquainted with the Oriental mini."
Flour, cotton and oil constitute the
bulk of our exports to China, the value
of these commodities exceeding that of
all other shipments from this country.
The flour trade was the foundation for
all trade with China, and had its begin
ning In a small way more than fifty
years ago. Flour as well as cotton, oil
and other commodities, of which China
has been a good purchaser, is sold
throughout the Flowery Kingdom by
native agents, working with American
or. English representatives of American
firms. These men make a careful study
of the Chinese markets, and arc in the
closest possible touch with them. The
fantastic names and pictures which or
nament the bags in which flour Is
shipped lo China offer plenty of evi
dence as to the consideration th-at is
shown the Chinese in preparing our
wares for their markets. American
agents can always be found right on
the border, and ns far Inland as it is
safe for a Caucasian to go.
Basing his views on such misleading
Information. It is but natural that the
Chicago correspondent should decide
that "the boycott Is more Imaginary
than real." The specific grievance
named Is certainly much more Imagin
ary than real, but unfortunately the
boycott is different. The Chinese boy
cott was instituted for no other pur
pose than to coerce the United States
Into granting in our Immigration laws
certain concessions which will make it
easier for an unlimited number or Chi
nese "merchants" to invade our shores
and compete with our own white labor.
The boycott never has been distinct
ively a fair weapon, but is brought
Into play In cases where its sponsors
believe, or profess to believe, that the
end justifies the means. The Eastern
newspapers and the Department of
Commerce and Labor -will know more
about Chinese trade and Chinese boy
cotts before the trouble now brewing Is
settled.
It has been eloquently said that Great
Britain "is a power whose morning
drumbeat, beginning with the sun and
keeping company with the hours, cir
cles the earth daily with one continuous
and unbroken strain of the martial airs
of old England." The Brlltsh army Is
one of the "big" things of the world.
All over the civilized and uncivilized
world, wherever the foot of white mat
has trod, we can find Tommy Atkins
and his gun. By force of arms he has
drilled civilization and religion Into
more savages than have experienced Its
refining Influence from all other nations
combined. But the British army, in
spite of the bewildering immensity of
Its proportions, is dwarfed by our own
army of pensioners. The total expend
iture for the entire British army for the
current year Is estimated at 5148.630.000.
which Is a great many millions less
than the United States Is called on to
appropriate for the pensioners. Grea
Britain is said to be groaning under the
increasing cost of her army. There Is
not very much groaning over the vast
sum annually paid out to American
pensioners, but the sum is increasing at
an astonishing rate.
Portland's contention that if a suffi
ciency of tonnage were provided for the
Oriental trade the traffic would expand
rapidly has been vindicated on the first
trial. The service is not yet what it
should be. but last Fall a number of
extra steamers were placed on the run
to take care of the business offering.
The result is noteworthy. For the
eight months ending February 2S Port
land's Oriental flour shipments show an
increase of 370,380 barrels over those of
the corresponding period in the previ
ous season, while Puget Sound, with
much larger aggregate shipments,
shows a gain of but 356,625 barrels over
the same period last season. For the
first eight months of the season of 1904
05 Portland shipped 31.S per cent of the
flour sent from North Pacific ports to
the Orient, Seattle. Tacoma and Everett
shipping 6S.2 per cent. This season to
February 2S Portland has shipped 3S.S
per cent and the three Puget Sound
ports 61.4 per cent. With this show
ing there should be no difficulty in the
future in securing a sufficient amount
of tonnage to take care or the business.
If it be true, as It is generally as
sumed to be. that bees aid In fertilizing
fruit by carrying pollen from one blos
som to another, it Is probable that great
good would result to the fruit jerop of
the Willamette Valley if farmers kept
more bees. Perhaps one farmer In a
hundred keeps a few stands of bees,
whereas nearly every farmer could keep
them If he would. They require little
attention, scarcely any expenditure of
money for food, and not a heavy invest
ment in the beginning. The profits
might not be large, but they would
add something to that steady income
which Is the advantage of diversified
farming.
The state school lands In Idaho are of
no greater value than those of Oregon,
but they have been handled In a much
more businesslike manner. Evidence
of this is shown In the sale of a sectlo
of school land In the Coeur d'AIcne
country a few days ago for 525,000.
fhere have been extensive land frauds
in Idaho among the big thieves, but
the Puters and McKinleys were less nu
merous and active in school lands In
that state, and as a result the common
wealth will some day have a vast sum
in Its treasury as proceeds of school
land sales.
A press dispatch from Chicago makes
the naive statement that it grew so
dark yesterday that the cattlemen at
the stockyards were unable to distin
guish their cattle from the others. This
defense may satisfy a Chicago gra
Jury, but It wouldn't go In Klamath
County.
We are just a little curious to know
if the gentlemen in Multnomah County
who have subscribed to statement No.
1 are willing now to tell their Multno
mah County constituents that they wH
vote for the "choice of the people,"
whatever county he comes from?
"Scotty." the Death Valley miner, will
take to the stage with a play which
he is financing with his own money.
For the sake of the dramatic art it is to
be hoped that no other money will be
attracted by it, either through the box
office or otherwise.
Naturally the thugs and divekeepcrs
of Chicago will lay it to the City Coun
cil. It looks pretty dark for them since
the passage of the 51000 license ordi
nance. In the case of Congressman Black
burn' the grand Jury seems to have
been guided by the old adage that
"handeome is as handsome docs."
The miraculous restoration of Lob
byist Hamilton's ear for music follows
Mr. McCall's death with auspicious
suddenness.
THE SILVER LINING.
By A. If. Ballard.
To Love arid Be Beloved.
Go where you will, and look where you
may.
There is nothing so sweet on earth, I say.
As to love and be beloved:
Ever, to death, we repeat, anon.
Wc have lived, do live and shall live on
To love and be beloved. .
In it winsome world we feel, and hear.
And see 'till we find there's naught so
dear '
As to love and be beloved:
We plan, wc struggle, we work, we moan.
To call a single success our own
To love and be beloved.
We bear the dreary rub of things. -With
all its pains, with all its stings.
To love and be beloved;
Wc fain would live a life like this.
To prove to ourselves Just what it Is
To love and be beloved.
We fight the battle, bend the knee.
Yearning for love's sweet minstrelsy.
To love and be beloved;
Wc stake our riches, risk our souls
Watching while one great phrase unrolls:
To love and be beloved.
"The flame has gone from his heart;" she
says.
And she often thinks of the sacred days
When she loved and was beloved:
"A woman's love burns quick, and out,"
lie ponders, and he thinks about
Loving and being loved.
But. go where you will, and look where
you may.
There Is nothing ao sweet on earth, I say.
As to love and be beloved;
Ever, to death, we repeat, anon.
We have lived, do live, and shall live on.
To love and be beloved.
A conscientious man is the safest man
Being conscientious is more the result of
experience and judgment than a natural
endowment,
Diligence, deeds, dollars that's the or
dcr of It. Tou can get there If you keep
It up.
Hope Eternal.
Never mind the- clouds and sorrow.
God's bright sun may shine tomorrow.
Don't worry if you cannot set the world
on fire today. Keep on gathering kind
lings. Some time a really magnetic ac
tion of yours will start the blaze, and then
there will be fuel enough for a large flame
that everybody can sec.
Lament of the Franchise President.
Serious things my head harass,
I wish I never heard of gas.
a
Summer Clothes.
In the Spring a woman's fancy
Lightly turns to thoughts of dress.
That bewttchlng necromancy
Fills hor soul with sweetest stress.
Pitch In or they'll pitch you out.
Definitions.
(Tips on the Race of Life.) -
Forgetf ulness A simple, convenient.
single word to express a wide range of
reasons why you don't want to tell what
you arc asked.
Portland An Eastern city In a Western
Stnte.
Senator A member of the richest club
in the United States.
Tea Gown Any night dress not made of
white material.
Tea What they call whisky (or what
ever you want), when served to you in a
cup In the afternoon by. a lady in her own
house.
Faithful A myth told by men and worn
en to each other for the sake of enter
tainment. It is one of life's practical 1m
possibilities, yet frequently spoken of as
agreeable fiction.
Handsome A quality a woman may pos
sess and still have brains, a man never.
Love .Letter The Influence a girl uses
to try to guide you with during her ab
sence. Loyal Everybody is that, as long as you
have money.
Kiss A sign of contempt.
Caress Stroking a pussy-cat; or, say, a-
girl's hand, or better.
MARRIAGEABLE AGES.
Milwaukee Sentinel.
In Austria a "man" and a "woman" are
considered to be capable of conducting a
home of their own from the age of four
teena fact which accounts in no small
degree for the spirit of "child fatherhood
of the man" ao prevalent In Austria,
In Germany the man must be 18 years
of age. but the age of the bride-elect is
left to popular discretion.
In France the man must be IS and the
woman 15. while In Belgium the same
standard prevails.
In Spain the Intending husband must
have passed his 14th year and the woman
her 12th. These figures, in connection
with the admitted poverty of Spain, so
cially considered, are full of the deepest
meaning.
In Hungary for Roman Catholics the
man must be 14 years old. and the woman
12; for Protestants the man must be 13
and the woman 15.
In Greece the man must have seen at
least 14 Summers and the woman 12.
In Portugal a boy of 14 is considered
marriageable and a woman of 12.
In Russia and Saxony they are a littia
more sensible, for In both countries a
youth must refrain from matrimony till
he can count IS years and the woman till
she can count 16.
In Switzerland the men from the age
of 14 and the women from the age of 12
are allowed to marry.
In Turkey any youth and maiden who
can walk properly and can undestand the
necessary religious service are allowed
to be united for life.
To go further afield, mere children of
ten. nine and even eight years of age are
by Indian custom, often married. This
applies to the girl only, although native
boys of from 12 to 14 become husbands
and the nominal heads of households.
In China too the custom is nearly as
senseless. Boys and girls who ought to
be on the school-bench or playinjr battle
dore and shuttlecock set up their family
gods.
It Is curious to note that the "marriage
able age" standard increases in cold or
temperate latitudes and that the lowest
point is touched in tropic latitudes, lack
of civilization also having much to do
with It.
Parcels Posts and Deficits.
North American.
Great Britain's parcels post carried last
year 4.XO.0O) packages at a profit of 512,
CO0.0Q0. The charge in the United King
dom for a three-pound parcel by mall,
with house-to-house collection and de
livery. Is 10 cents. In the United States
the postage on a three-pound parcel is
45 cents. The British ooatal jmmliin iat
year was 52.000.COO. In the United States
last year the postal deficit was 513,00,We.
WHAT ARE FAIRGAS EARNINGS?
- Indianapolis Star.
Speculation Is often Indulged as to when
the present moral wave will subside or
what course It will next follow. So far
there Is no sirn of Its abatement. Here
in Indiana, for example. Governor Hanly
Is much stronger today than he was two
months ago. We can not tell when this
awakening of the chic conscience will
subside, but we shall venture to hazard a
guess as to at least one aspect of reform
which the Immediately ensuing months
will witness. Cities will turn their atten
tion to control of public-service corpora
tions, to the abuses that have grown up.
to the means of securing proper consid
eration of the public casement In these
stupendously valuable franchises.
No aspect of this movement will be more
In evidence than that of the manufacture
and sale of lighting facilities, especially
of gas. The fact appears to be that the
capitalization of gas companies has been
steadily Increased without regard to the
tangible assets of the companies, but has
been determined solely by what the traffic
will bear. This operation has been made
posible by the increasing utility of the
franchise itself, which acquires value with
the growth of the city and the increased
consumption without any cost to "the pro
ducing company. In this way gas plants
have been enabled to protect themselves
artificially against the necessities of me
chanical replacement and against that
close correspondence between tangible as
sets and capitalization which has been
forced upon other manufacturing enter
prises. In other words, wc confront a situation
In which It Is sought to collect from the
public what Is called a fair return on an
Investment which Is enormously out of
proportion to the value of the producing
company's plant when stripped of the
value Imparted by the franchise and by
arbltrary valuations placed upon constant
ly depreciating physical properties. It is
doubtful whether or not the bedrock basis
of actual justice can be reached In this
matter: but what we shall get will be
some much nearer approximation to a
moderate interest charge upon the actual
value of the plant, considered as a manu
facturing and mercantile proposition.
A gaw plant ought to earn a moderate rate
of Interest on the sum It would take to
duplicate It phyMral property and the ma
chinery of lt organization. The value of
the irnneblAe Itself belong to the public,
and nnj- interest upon It should go Into the
public treasury. -
There Is no reason why a gas plant
anouin receive favors from the nubltn
which giv it a more favorable value as a
piant man a foundry or a fiourmill en
Joys. This Idea Is going to get possession
of the public mind. It will work a revolu
tion Jn numberless cities throughout the
land, beginning probably with Indianap
olis. SOMETHING DOING IN COUNTRY
A Dead One? Not With This Showing
Hlllsboro Argus.
seen at a glance up the street: A
milk wagon stuck on Second street, in
front of the water tower. A dog bit a
uoy wnuc uic ma was pawing down the
chaln-tlc. Man under the Influence vain
ly trying to mount a bicycle. Fellow
irom .Miaaieton Kicking about his taxes.
Man showing a gold watch that he had
just won In a DC-cent raffli and th
watch was a good one. Irate sitlzen
shaking his flst at a man In a
Came near running Into the pedestrian.
rour teams waiting to water horses at
the public trough. And who says HHIs-
ooro is a aeaa oner
Docs It Pay to Advertise?
Boulder Creek Corr. Tillamook Headlight
Dave Hess was traversing nur htch
way3 last Monday. It doesn't scm tn
pay to advertise in the Headlight for a
wire, as neither Dave or either of his
colleagues have received any benefit from
the advt. they Inserted several months
ago calling for wives. Dave looks dis
couraged and dbwnhearted. and RalDh
has gone East, where girls are more
pienuiui (or leas shy).
Stealing a March on Mrs. March.
Falls City Logger.
"While Mrs. Murrh verta mnVlni. mnrn
Ing call on her neighbor. Mrs. Courter. a
cow made a call on Mrs. March. The
cow. uncling no one at home, entered the
house and proceeded to the kitchen and
ate ft nil thpn went lntr thn nnrlni- on,?
looked at the pictures and was Inspect
ing tne flirrerent rooms when Mrs. March
returned and her visitor departed to make
other calls.
Jack Russcl Takes No Cliunccs.
Peaceful Valley Corr. Dayton Chronicle.
Jack Russcl passed through here a few
days since, en route for home, after see
ing his sweetheart safely housed beneath
Hank Thompson's roof. Never fear.
Jack, Hank will see to It that she won't
be carried oft while you are absent.
Why They Overlooked Him.
Lakeview Examiner.
"Plush Screamer" told our readers last
week that v. E. Scammon had gone
East to tvislt with a brother. Willis in
forms us that he Is at his home In Plush.
cleaning out his barn. No one thought of
looking there for you. Willis.
Where She Was Lost.
Highland Corr. Sheridan Sun.
Tank Lady had the misfortune tn lnf
a fine cow by being hooked In the mud.
No Real Change Is Made.
Lakeview Examiner.
A whole lot of cood printers' Ink has
been wasted on what is known as State
ment No. 1 in the new primary nominat
ing law. and after all Is said, and further.
if you please, after all candidates for the
Legislature have signed it. or refused to
sign It. nothing has been accomplished.
ine l-"onsututIon or the United States
gives Legislatures the right to elect United
btates senators, and until that section of
tne constitution Is repealed. ReDublican
United States Senators will be elected in
states wnere the Legislature Is Repub
lican, and Democratic Senators elected In
states where Legislatures are Democratic.
NEWSPAPER WAIFS.
His Wife Have you bad a bad day. dear"
The Financier Yes. I lost ever 5230.CCO. And
tne worst or It Is that nearly $100 of that
was my own money! Life.
The Stont One Really, my dear. I was
never so embarrassed in all my life. I felt
as if I could sink through the floor. The
Thin One I don't wonder. These modern
buildings are such flimsy affairs. Brooklyn
Life.
"How did Mr. Scadds make his money?"
asked the Inquisitive girl. "My dear."
answered Miss Cayenne, "you muat never
again ask auch a question about any one.
People will think you are writing for a maga
zine." Washington Star.
Mr. Dangle I heard that our old friend
and neighbor had a very impressive funeral.
Mrs. Dangle It waa so fine it was really an
imposition of th respect people had for him.
And the minister preached such a beautiful
paregoric over the diseased. Baltimore Amer
ican. Fair American (at a meet of the Mavnell
Hounds) My! You do look smart In that red
coat! But. ar. I reckon you borrowed it?
Sportsman JOi. I didn't, why do you think
in? Fair American Well, I guess it's got
M. H-" on the buttons, and that ain't your
initials, anyway. Punch.
Mr. Sraythe appears to be mastering the
game, quite quickly," remarked Mts Hax
sard. on the linke. "Yaas. ea!d Mr. Bun
ker, "but he foozles atrociously at brawaey
shots, y' know." "Does, he.reallyr "Yaas:
he teslsta upon calling 'brawsaey shots', bras
aey hota." Philadelphia, Press. ,
G. B. SHAW ON AMATEUR ACTORS
Vents His Spleen on Their Theatri
cals and Demands ou Authors.
London Tribune.
I have a strong grudge against clubs of
amateur actors, because they habitually
insult the art they dabble ;n by assum
ing that it Is a sin which can only be
covered by charity. It is quite a common
thing for organizers of amateur perform
ances to appeal to the author to forego
his fees on the ground that the proceeds
are to be given to some charitable insti
tution. That Is to say, a popular author
Is asked to hand over some hundreds a
year to amateur societies to give to their
pet charities, and that. too. without the
slightest guarantee that the management
of the performance will be businesslike
enough to realize for the charities the
whole value of his contribution or. In
deed, any part of It at all. A more un
reasonable demand can hardly be Ima
gined within the limits of practicable
human audacity. Even professional mil
lionaire philanthropists like Mr. Camcgle
and Mr. Passmore Edwards reserve the
right to choose for themselves the ob
jects of their endowments.
Besides, the charity of amateurs is
hardly ever really charitable in its mo
tive. It Is a mere coat of whitewash for
an Indulgence which Is regarded as ques
tionable, if not positively disreputable.
It is also adulterated by a desire for the
acquaintance of the titled patrons and
patronesses of charities. And the eco
nomic effect of the performance, when
the expenses leave any surplus. Is simply
to relieve the ratepayers of their social
obligations by helping to keep hospitals
out of public hands and In private ones.
Why on earth should a playwright be ex
pected to contribute to the rates of
places he has never lived In?
What makes this additionally exasper
ating Is that while there Is little difficul
ty in raising vast sums of ransom and
conscience money from the rich in the
form of charitable subscriptions. It is
hard to get a farthing for the starving
art of the theater either from public or
private sources. If all the money that
has been wasted on charities by amateur
actors had been devoted to theatrical
art by building up local dramatic socle
ties with repertoires, wardrobes and oven
theaters of their own. not only would
dramatic art be much more developed
than It Is now In England, but other arts
would have grown up round the local
theaters. Just think of what a playhouse
would mean to a country town If it had
Its own dressmakers, its own tapestry
weavers, its own armorers. Its own era
broideresscs and its own dress designers
and painters and machinists. What is to
be said In defense of the stagestruck stu
pidity and ignorance that Is content with
a basket of soiled second-hand clothes
and toy swords sent down by a London
costumier and hired out for a nlcht at
about treble the price the whoie parcel of
rubbish would sell for In Hounsdltch?
Do you expect me or any dramatic au
thor to be lenient in the matter of fees
to people who keep up these nasty, vul
gar. Ignorant practices? Rather let us
heap crushing exactions on them and
starve their folly to death.
Almost all amateurs desire to-Imitate
the theater rather than to act a play.
They actually call their performances
"theatricals." and are as proud of that
Illiterate Insult as any genuine dramatic
artist would be outraged by It. They
lose all their ordinary decent instincts
the moment they give themselves up to
what they privately think is the sin of
acting. You see gentlemen who are mor
bidly particular about the cut and fit of
their coats and trousers walking on the
stage in ludicrously misfitting tunics from
the costumier's amateur ragbag. You see
the amateur carrying a tinsel-topped pan
tomime spear for the hire of which he
has paid more than the local blacksmith
would have charged him for a real spear.
Women who would die rather than be
dowdy In church or at a garden party
face the footlights In costumes and make
ups which no self-respecting figure In a
penny waxwork would tolerate. Reach-me-down
equipments are considered good
enough for dramatic masterpieces are
positively preferred to decent and beauti
ful things because they are so much more
theatrical.
As to plays, they, too, must be second
hand reach-me-downs. You amateurs
don't want to bring plays to a correct
and moving representation for the sake
of the life they represent: they want to
do Hawtrey's part In this or Ellen Ter
ry's part in that, or Cyril Maude's part in
the other, not to mention the amateur
Salvinls and Duscs and Bernhardt and
C'oquellns. The enormous and overwhelm
ing advantage possessed by amateurs
the advantage of being free from com
mercial pressure and having unlimited
time for rehearsal is the last one they
think of using.
The commercial plays, which arc the de
spair of actors, but which they must pro
duce or starve, are the favorites of our
amateurs. They do out of sheer folly and
vulgarity what our real dramatic artists
do of necessity and rfve some saving
grace and charm to In the doing. Richard
Wagner said that the music of the great
masters Is kept alive not by professional
concerts and opera speculations but on
the cottage piano of the amateur. I wish
I could say as much for the amateur thea
ter. As I cannot. I shall only beg your
amateur clubs to let my plays alone and
to assure them that as long as they per
sist In their present ways the only part I
shall play In the matter Is the part of
Shylock.
A Plea for Ideals.
Charles Wagner, In Harper's Bazar.
Then lej us all have an Ideal!
Let us have courage! Do not put
them on on holidays, only to lock them
afterward In the closet. Put them on
every day and carry them everywhere.
Take them as one takes a torch: bring
them near to the realities of life, as you
would carry a light Into a dark place.
The treasures of the Ideal which are in
the souls of others may be transmitted to
our own. Let the world with its ugliness,
Its trials and Its pains experience the con
tact of the human soul, which. Impreg
nated with the memory of heaven, is the
creator of the ideal and of light. Some
of our fathers who have passed before us
along the ways, sometimes so hard, where
we In our turn pass, have thrown their
lights even up to the very portal of the
tomb. They have put strength Into weak
ness: have experienced that In poverty
itself the spring of riches rise. In realiz
ing the mystery which operated every
day of their lives that Is to say, the
transformation of outside Incidents by
means of the inward energies of the soul
they truthfully might have said. "We
are poor, but with our energies we have
enriched others."
Thin Ice.
John Tfmnlf In T.!nnini.nt
When Prue and I went skating
(Prue is twenty and petite)
I must confess I lingered
O'er her dainty little feet. -1
Till Prudence cried out archly:
"The ice is getting thin,
IX you kneel around much longer
we do ir. snan tumDie in. .
When Prue and I went skating
I grew for once quite bold.
We had dQne the "Roll" together
And she said her- hand waa cold.
So I warmed It. (Do you blame me,:
Prue is pink and young and fair.)
Then she cried in mock alarm: "The Ic
is DreaKtng, sir. Take carei"
When Prue and I went skating
(The coast, was clear) I dared
To draw her to me gently
While I told her that I cared:
And she dropped her lashes shyly.
so i Kissea ncr. wouian's you 7
And I knew without a word from her
The ice had broken through.
Man-Like.
Grace G. Bostwick in Lippincott's.
"Oh Ma. I hurt my head." said he.
"And did. you cry J" asked' mother.
There wa'n't nobody there, so I -Did
not," said little brother.