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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1906)
5 THE MORNHS'G OKEGOJKIAN, FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 1906. Entered at the Poitofflce at Portland, Or., a Second-Class Matter. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. C INVARIAIJL.T IN ADVANCE.. ."O (Bj- Mall or Ejprtn.) DAILY. SUNDAY INCLUDED. Twelve months $8.00 x months. .. 7. .. 4.23 Tkree months 2-23 One ranUi c DHvered by carrier, per year ..- 8.00 Delivers by carrier, per month....... .75 i time, per week - -20 SMay, one year . 2.30 Weekly, one year (Hsuea Thursday)... 1.50 Sunday and Weekly, one year 3-50 HOW TO UEMIT Send postofflce money order, express order or personal check on yur lcal bank. Stamps, coin or currency re at the Fender's risk. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The ts. C. Beekwlth Special Agency New Trk. rooms 4S-&0. Tribune building;. Cbl cag. rooms 510-312 Tribune building. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex, Postolflce S Co.. 178 Dearborn street. M. Paul, Minn. N. St. Marie Commercial Statton. Dearer Hamilton & Kendrlck. 806-012 Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Etore, 1214 Ktfteeatfc street; J. Welnsteln. Owltirield, v. Guy Marsh. Kansas City, Mo, Rlcluecker Clear Co., Xleth a4 Walnut. Minneapolis M. J. Kavanaugh. 50 South Third CIct eland. O. James Pu6haw, 307 Su perior street. Nr York City L. Jonoa & Co., Astor Howee. Oakland, Cnl. Y. H. Johnston. Four teratfc and Franklin streets, Ojrdpn D. L. Boyle. Omaha Barkaloiv Bros.. 1012 Farnam: Macath Stattenery Co.. 130S farnam; 248 Foartoenth. ScrnniPiit(i, Cul. Sacramento News Co., 3 K ftrtt Salt Lake Salt Lake News Co.. 77 "West twtid street Sowth; Miss L. Levin. 2 Chnr.h street. Lo Angelr B. E. Amos, manager seven itrt oni. Berl News Co.. 32Gtt South 3Jroada San llIro R K Amos. Santa Barbara, Cnl. B. E. Amos. PaMtdma. Cal. Berl News Co. San lTanolfcco J. K. Cooper & Co:. 740 Mrkt rtreef Goldsmith Bros.. 230 Sutter run Hotel St. Francis News Stand; L. E. le. Palace Hotel News Stand; Frank Scott, KIIU: N. Wnoatley Mevnble News Stand. conT Market and Kearney streets; Foster A Orr. Ferry News Stand. WsWnclon. I. C. Ebbltt House, Penn rrlvasita avne. itum-AXii. puibav. makcii 30. too. CONTROL AND OWNERSHIP. X" man sitould be elected a member ? th-f Lclstaturc who will not un luivoc'y pledge himself to vote for orit taws a? -r-III secure to the public the wmrshtp and control of all public mlt franchises, a public utility franchise, we need not repent. Is a spe cial privilege. It confers the .right to nk swne use of the highways differ ent from ordinary traffic. The right to Jay tracks and run ears in the streets if on vtrh franchise; the right lo lay $nr main? is another. To think clearly upon tate matter ne must keep in mind th distinction between a franchise and ibr material preporly which is used amt operated under It. The tracks and -aref a street railway company are no part of Its franettiee: the franchise is ttee pmntwlon which the company en-Joy- to lay Its tracks and operate lis ran tn the public highways. Similarly " franchtff of a gas company Is a permission to lay Its mains in the wt. Tne mains, gas works and so n ha- nothing In themselves to do with the franca tee. They are material property. A franhie Is property, but it to not material. It is what the law calls an incorporeal hereditament.' It can be Hoatght. aold. taxed and Inherited, but it cannot he handled and weighed. Therefore, when we say that the public mphi to own and control the public wtllhy franchises we are not speaking f car tracks, gas mains and the like, hu: the right to inace and operate these Thin m the public highways. This right by Its very nature and by all anund principles of statesmanship the luhltr should always- control and never ermanently alienate. It may not always be convenient or expedient for the public to exercise Its rhrnt to build and operate street rail ways or to manufacture and supply pa. It may often bo best to delegate the rhtht to private individuals, thut is. t-. grant them a franchise: but the rmm ahould be made for a short period niy. It tihoutd never be Irrevocable, and the (subtle should have full control er H exercise. In other words, the grant 4iotftd always be a conditional !t-aee rather than h sale. It should never convey the ownership. This the public ebould always retain. The con stitution of the State of Washington forbids the grant of an Irrevocable franchtee and It would be well If all the other at ate; had the same provis ion. Doubtless. If It came to an issue, the cotmtton law would in no case toler ate an irrevocable franchise, but It Is safer and bettor lo have definite legis lation epon the subject. We need an aot of the .Legislature which shall for bid all such grants in the future and tpeal those which have been made In the past. In particular, the franchise r the Portland Gas Company ought to be repealed. An irrevocable franchise creates a privileged class in the community with the erpetuul right 10 prey upon the earnings of the common people. This Is perhaps the most serious objection, to such x grant, but there are many oth ers. For example, the values of all utility franchises Increase rapidly In a srrowlng city. Of this Increment the people should have the benefit, for they create 1L Hence all fratichlse grants should terminate at short Intervals, to be reissued at a new valuation. Cor jHtraitons like the gas company conceal the increase In the value of their fran chise by Issuing watered stock, but the trick Is shallow and Is now pretty well understood by everybody. The public should never relax Us con tro: of a franchise. At their best these grants tend to become monopolies, and, nelng special -privileges, they savor of Injustice and almost Inevitably degen erate Into petty tyranny unless held In check with a firm hand. They are the principal sources of graft and corrup tion in our city governments. It may be possible for a public utility corpora lion to be honest, but the possibility has seldom or never been demonstrated n practice. If the city does not con trol them, they always control the city. For these and many other reasons we believe that It Is fundamentally lm jMirtant to obtain adequate legislation securing to the public the ownership and control of public utility fran thlsep. Irrevocable grants should be forbidden; grants without proper com pensation should be declared void; no franchise should be valid "which does not "provide for proper public control, and all existing franchises which vio late any of these requirements should be repealed. The time has come to eiect a Legislature which will give at tention to these fundamental questions. Matters of remote and purely theoret ical Interest ought not to take prece dence over the practical. - THE GAELIC REVIVAL. Gaelic Is a dialect or branch of the great Celtic language, which was a one time spoken throughout Western Europe. The Cymric of the Welsh lan guage belongs to the same tongue, and has acquired a quasi-humorous repute for cacophonous concatenations of con sonants. Readers of Dickens will re call with a smile that famous poem, "The Mewllnwllllnwodd." Gaelic Is a living tongue In the Scotch Highlands and In Ireland. In Johnson's time Macpherson pretended to have discov ered a copious poetic literature In the Highland Gaelic which he translated as Onlan's poems. Johnson, however, proved that his translations were fraud ulent, and It is now well known that the only Gaelic literature of much con sequence was produced In Ireland. Mans old Irish writings have been lost, but a large number survive and their literary importance is great. In the ninth century and later, while the rest of Europe was enveloped In the intellectual gloom of the Dark Ages, Ireland was aglow with religious, ar tistic and literary culture. Christian missionaries were sent from her s-hores all over Europe. Great poems and prose Avorks were written. A language was cultivated which Is still copious, though 30,000 words have been lost from lis current vocabulary and only sur vive In literary fragments. Gaelic be longs to the same family of languages as the L.atln. Greek, Sanskrit and Eng lish the Aryan family, which has pro duced most of the world's great litera tures. Among these literatures the Irish. It is said, ranks high. It deserves to be studied not only as a historical relic, but for Its great beauty and in tellectual power. The Gaelic revival is a movement among Irish patriot. to restore this no ble language and literature to their proper place in the world. Dr. Douglas Hyde is lis leading apostle. His work has been enthusiastic, persistent and successful, and In carrying It out he has achieved for himself a distinguished position in the world of letters. By re storing the historic language of Irish men to common use he hopes to revive the national consciousness of Ireland with a happy reactive effect upon In dustry and the general welfare of the people. Why should he not succeed? His mission is laudable and seems to be practicable. THE IMMIGRATION PROBLEM. All previous records In the Immigrant traffic will be broken this year by the enormous crowds of aliens that are rushing into this country from the Old World. The vast proportions of this movement are reflected In the news dis patches for the past few days. Yester day more than 11,000 of these aliens poured Into New York on seven steam ships, and in Tuesday's Oregonlan ap peared a dispatch announcing that there would be a weekly average of 2000 Russians coming by way of the port of Copenhagen alone. Another dispatch announced the sailing from Liverpool of a steamer with 2600 passen gers, nearly all of whom were emi grants, while another steamer headed for Montreal carried 1200 passengers. The arrivals at the port of New York alone last week reached a total of more than 2f,000 Immigrants, and four steam ers arriving at that port last Wednes day brought C215 steerage and 923 cabin passengers. The enormous crowd of steerage passengers who came Inst week were brought over In twenty-one steamers, an average of more than 1000 passengers to the steamer, and of the total more than 10,000 came from Genoa, Naples and other Italian ports. The heavy Increase in the immigra tion from Russia can, of course, be traced to a considerable degree to the unsettled political situation In that un fortunate country. It being a certainty that none of the laboring classes will remain there If It Is possible for them to get away. The Italian Immigration, however. Is probably due to the remark able prosperity and good demand for labor In this country. Prosperltj- Is so widespread at this time that even In New York, the dumping-ground where so much of this cheap labor makes the first halt, there Is employment for all at much better wages than are possible in Europe. The fact that there Is still plenty of employment for this cheap labor from the Old World at good wages Illustrates the tremendous power of the United States to assimilate such vast additions to our population with out causing a radical change In our financial and political conditions. Nevertheless, there Is occasion for some apprehension In this rapid In crease In population from such a source. We have been enjoying several years of wonderful prosperity, and under such favorable conditions there was em ployment for all. but good times move In erratic cycles, and when the next reversal Is encountered we may have a larger labor population than can be taken care of to advantage. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905, all pre vious records for Immigration In a sin gle year were broken by the admission of 1,026,499 people, an Increase of nearly 175.000 over the former record year of 1903-4. The Increase since June 30. 1905, has been so pronounced that It Is now regarded as a certainty that the total for the current fiscal year will exceed 1,250.000 people, making a grand total for the. past Ave yeara of more than 4,340,000 Immigrants. In other words, about one-twentieth of the entfre population of the United States on July 1, 1906. will be foreign born immigrants who have come Into this countrj' within the past Ave years. Estimating the immigration for the current year at 1.230,000 people, the total for the ten years ending June 30, 1906, will be 6,303,494, more than one third of which will reach here In the two years ending June 30, 1906. It Is possible that we could stand this tre mendous pressure on our labor market if we could place these -Immigrants to the best advantage Instead of having them crowd into the large cities, where labor now has too much to contend with. All over the West there Is a vast amount of land to be reclaimed and placed in cultivation. There are for ests to be leveled, railroads to build, and an almost unlimited amount of In dustrial exploitation that requires labor, both skilled and unskilled. If our alien friends who are now coming In by the shipload will scatter out and; aid. In this work, they can be taken care of for a while, at least, if, on the contrary, the next "breath of hard times finds them congested In the great cities, there will be trouble and distress, and the anarchistic tendencies which caused some of them to leave the Old World will develop quite rapidly, to the detriment of those who were hci;e first and should have been more careful In selecting the Immigrants who came later. The question Is one of sufficient gravity to cause some apprehension for the future, and the American citizen cannot but ask with some misgivings. Where -will it end? THE LIFE INSURANCE OUTLOOK. The Issue of The Spectator for March 16 contains a tabulated statement pur porting to- show "the financial standing and business in 1905 of the life Insur ance companies of the United States." The confidence of the public in life in surance was severely tried In the course of the year 1905. but it does not seem to have been much impaired except perhaps In the case of the three great companies which were Investigated by the Armstrong committee. Each of these companies, the Equitable, the New York Life and the Mutual Life, wrote less business In 1905 than In 1904. The Equitable makes the worst show ing. Its new business fell from $306, 700.000 to $141,700,000. the decrease ex ceeding the entire amount paid for In 1905 by some J25.000.000. The other two companies did not suffer o badly. The business of the Mutual fell off about 17 per cent, and that of the New York Life more than 10 per cent. These results are mere approximations, but they in dicate fairly well what has taken place. On the other hand, the Northwestern, of Milwaukee, wrote more new business In 1905 than in 1904 by some 20 per cent, while the Mutual Benefit, of New ark. N. J., gained over 12 per cenL Most of the smaller companies also make a good showing in this respect. We may conclude, therefore, that the life insurance business still flourishes in spite of damaging disclosures In certain cases, but that people have learned to discriminate among the companies. The biggest ones are not necessarily the best managed, nor do they afford In all cases the most economical Insur ance; such, at least, seems to be the popular verdict. Concerning dividends. The Spectator's table Is significantly silent, except to remark that "some thirty-six millions went to living policy-holders In the form of dividends." It would have been interesting to learn 'what sum each company allowed as dividends, but per haps The Spectator thought It was not worth while to take up space for such a trifling matter. The Item, whatever Its amount, seems to have been Judiciously hidden In the lump sum paid to policy holders, which includes death payments, endowments and so on. The total pay ments to policy-holders in 1905 were a trifle more than 63 per cent of the total disbursements of the companies. In other words. It costs the companies 37 cents to pay 63 cents to a policy-holder out of the money which he has himself contributed. Of course, under such cir cumstances dividends must be exigu ous. No wonder The Spectator does not think It worth while to tabulate them. The amount of new business written Is only a partial indication of the state of the public, confidence In life insur ance. The number of policies lapsed Is quite as significant as the number of new ones issued. A man lets his policy lapse when he becomes disgusted or dis couraged. How many such cases oc curred in 1905? The Spectator pre serves a sphinx-like silence, but It Is possible to attain an Idea of the num ber Indirectly, and It must have been rnormous. A director of the Mutual Life told Jerome, it is reported, that their lapses for 1905 amounted to $100, 000.000. By computation we obtain the same result from The Spectator's table. and. applying the same rule to other companies, we find that the lapsed pol icies In the Equitable In 1905 must have footed up to something like $120,000,000, while for the New York Life the total I was still greater. Of course It is the small policies which lapse. The large holders are shrewd enough to persevere In their payments, for all the companies are sound finan cially, whatever we may think of their morals. Moreover, the premiums al ready paid on a lapsed policy are large ly forfeited; so that the calamitous re sults of the Insurance crimes, like those of all financial crimes, fall most severe ly upon the poor. A SURPLUS OF WILD HORSES. One of the most exciting chases, if It may be so called, that has taken place since the era of the grand buffalo hunt ended on the great plateau, is the pro posed round-up of 18.000 wild horses In Douglas County. Washington, next month. As scheduled. .400 cowboys will take part In the ride after these wild creatures of the range. The purpose is to rid the range of this great band of grass consumers, and the effort, pre sumably, will be to dispatch rather than capture the horses. These untamed and practically un tamable animals are the product of Na ture left to Itself on the great range for thirty years. The stock Is interbred and of course underbred, and has no place In the economy of civilized life. While its extermination will be a gain to the legitimate stock-breeding and raising interests of the section over which the horses have so long roamed at will, the instincts of humanity are shocked at the cruelties that will be In flicted through the means by which this purpose Is to be accomplished. Perhaps this Is the best that can be done at this stage of affairs to rid a wide section of the countrj- of a verita ble pest to the stock jndustry. Like many other scourges, the remedy for this plague of wild horses lay In pre vention. The careless settlers of thirty years ago who allowed their ponies to run uncared for on the range year after year were culpable In this matter. Their action, or Inaction, was without excuse except such lame excuse as thrlftlesB ness makes for neglected duty, and the result has been a multiplication of unprofitable animals that have eaten out the grass on the range for years to the detriment of the interests of a legitimate stock Industry. Now comes the necessity of repairing the conse quences of the settlers' carelessness and a "round-up" looking to the extermina tion of thousands of these wild creat ures, with such cruelties as will be necessary to accomplish that end. The chase will be an exciting one, no doubt, and the ultimate result will be benefi cial. Though the means employed are shocking to common' humanity, there may be no other way by which the end can be accomplished as qtlckly and as effectively. With that iew the onlook ers from a wider world muBt be con tent. The Spokane papers are pointing with pardonable pride to the fact that the building permits for the Falls City for the month of February exceeded those of Portland by $10,928. This showing, which Is so pleasing for Spokane and -dlcredltable for Portland, Is due to the economical tendencies of the Port land contractors and builders. It costs $1 per thousand on the valuation to take out a building permit In Portland, and in consequence nearly all of the permits are taken out at ridiculously low figures. Our contractors and build ers saved $11 by permitting Spokane to outstrip this city in the value of the February building permits. This is. a great deal of money, even when distrib uted between a hundred or more con tractors, and they are probably excusa ble for their wise and public-spirited policy of taking out building permits at about one-third to one-half the coat of the work. In order that Spokane may not misunderstand the situation, we will state that the $311,543 worth of building permits Issued In Portland In February represent structures which will cost In the aggregate more than $500,000. Economy Is an admirable trait, especially when It Is coupled up with civic pride and public spirit. The Department of Commerce and Labor numbers among Its staff some rare old antiques whose days of useful ness are past but who are kept In ser vice to prevent them becoming private instead of public charges. Some of these ancient nuisances apparently hnd access to the January map showing the transportation routes of the world, and It appeared without any reference to the Columbia River. Of course any In dividual outside of Seattle or Tacoma would understand that the omission was due to a stupid blunder on the part of the old relics In the Department of Commerce and Labor, but the Puget Sound papers are gloating over the In cident and confidently asserting (hat the omission was made because the commerce of the Columlba did not Jus tify Its place on the mnp. This errone ous belief Is. of course, made ridiculous by the customs collections every month, the receipts at Portland usually exceed ing those of all Puget Sound ports com bined. The states of the Pacific Northwest are likely to have a substantial acces sion to their population the coming season. Washington and Oregon will, as now appears, be especially favored In this direction. This Is the result, no doubt, of the revelations In regard to climate, location, resources, scenery, etc., that the opportunity of the Lewis and Clark Fair provided. Whatever the cause, the effect Is In evidence In the long trains carrying their full limit of passengers that pull out. at regular Intervals, from St. Paul to Pacific Northwest sections. There is room and welcome and promise of prosperity for all who come with definite purpose and energy to work It out. Let them come and let us greet them cordially. A direct steamship line will be estab lished between San Francisco, Nome and the lower Yukon ports. The com pany will put on the steamers Watson. Buckman and Indiana. Seattle Is still adding to her already big fleet, and will have more than twenty steamships Hn the Alaska trade this season. As has been mentioned before, the way to get Into the Alaska trade Is to get In. A single 100 Al steamship which can carry passengers and freight is worth more In the development of the Alaska business than all of the good resolutions that can be passed. .Hot air Is an excellent thing with which to operate balloons, but It Is a dismal failure either in securing or propelling steamships. Louisiana has ncqulreu title to a bit of territory that has long been claimed both by that state and Mississippi. The land Is particularly valuable be cause It Includes a million acres of oyster-beds. The contest was carried through the Supreme Court of the United States, and has Just been settled in Louisiana's favor. Of course, every body is not happy at the outcome, but the peaceable method of settling differ ences Is coming to be approved In the South, as less strenuous and on the whole more satisfactory than the old method of fighting them out. Such les sons are learned slowly by a hot-blooded people, but they are salutary. To say the least, it Is in bad taste to comment in public print on the Inno cence or guilt of an accused person while the trial Is In progress, but In the case of the Walla Walla woman under arrest for assaulting with a lump of coal a Methodist minister whose un restrained cows played havoc with, her garden and lawn, one would be hard hearted Indeed If he did not wish for the assailant's acquittal. According to the press dispatch, Mrs. Gallagher threw the lump of coal. Whether she hit the Rev. Mr. Zellars is not stated. No doubt the correspondent wanted to leave something to the public's imag ination. All eyes on the Pacific Coast will be turned with more than passing Interest toward the convention, of Harrlman's general managers called to meet next week at New Orleans to consider what best to do In order to flank Hill's Inva sion from the north and Gould's from the south. As each advancing host Is equipped with brains and money and the defenders are by no means naked, residents of the Invaded territory may watth the council of war with the same equanimity that the fabled old lady observed the bear fight. In the death of Mrs. Ruth Scott at Oregon City Thursday morning, the record of a long, useful and unselfish life was ended. The homes of the af flicted for many years knew her cheex and when there- was joy in the house hold of a friend the joy was hers also. Her long life was one of tender affec tion, great activity and unostentatious, kindly, ready usefulness. By these tokens she will live In the hearts of her children and In the remembrance oC a wide circle of friends. It Is a phenomenal year that does not bring disaster In some form to Johns town, Pa. Now it Is flood and again Are. and still again both fire and flood. The latest loss by Are a few days ago aggregated $500,000 Insignificant by comparison with the dreadful disaster of flood that made the name of Johns Town synonymous with horror for many months in 1SS9. la St. Louis really the rottenest mu nicipality in the United States, or does it happen that the Missouri metropolis Is simply the victim of widest public ity? Perhaps the probe applied as deep would reveal like putrefaction else where, but to date St. Louis stands In a class by herself. At this time the Pacific Northwest, basking In the blandishments of Na ture, is the only part of the trans-MIs-!sippi empire not suffering from dam age by storm. THE SILVER LINING. Br A. H. Ballard. Ballad of the Soubrcttc. (What he thought.) When the right Eyes so bright Flash their light. Favored Boy. Your finish is In sight Chosen boy; You may balk with all your might. She will worst you In the fight. She will own you day and night, Help, ahoy! (What he said.) I am busy. And I'm dlxzy. You are fizzy, Little girl; But I like the name of Lizzie For a whirl: So Tun along and play. Sing elsewhere your roundelay. Come again some other day. Pretty girl. (What she thought.) . When a man Is "also ran" If he can Win the raoc; When he passes up a peach Of a face; When his arms must merely reach Here' to me so I may teach Him the happiness of each, . What a case! (What she sakl.) Hully gee! You for me! Twenty-three! You annoy. But I loved you passingly. Funny boy: You'll be married to a frump. You will call yourseir a chump. And you'll want this frisky lump, Honey boy. Money will satisfy a few of your wants, benumb a few more, and poison all tho rest. A tinsel ball Is soon tarnished, but a ball of pure gold grows brighter with rubbing. Yielding or resisting temptation is not so much a question of virtue as of who and what and where. When people tell you anything because they think you ought to know it, you may be sure that they have a grudge against the other person. The laughter of yorac women seems punctuated with tears." The Actor's Dinner. With dignified and haugthy mien He dipped Into the soup tureen. And spake unto the waiter, calm and suave. "Do you pervc lobsters here, my man?" The menial did his features scan. And answered. "Sure. Just tell me what ye'll havc"N Artists are seldom as bad as they paint. People who enter matrimony expecting a blissful haven often find it devilish hard work. Definitions. (Tips on the Race of Life.) DOUBLE A sort of multiple cyc-slght produced by certain brands of tea. HOT WATER Something everybody Is going away from all the while, and still going right Into It. TIME The most valuable inheritance anyone can have, and which everyone has to the limit or their life's capacity, and al.o which nearly everyone wastes utterly. Prodigality In the squandering of moncy ls not to bo compared with the limitless waste accomplished by the spendthrifts of time. MANAGER A man who plans, worries and owes. GASOLINE An explosive substance used underneath autos and launches to make puffing noises In sympathy with the violent heartbeats of the excited and frightened occupants of the car or boat. BELASCO The name of two brothers: one llvos on the Atlantic Coast, the other on the Pacific Coast, and their Intellects are Just as far apart. David B. IIIH Very III. Camden. S. C. Cor. New York World. David B. Hill, the ex-Democratic leader of New York, has practically given up his business, and in accord ance with Instructions from his physi cian Is devoting his entire time to try ing to recover his health. While not confined to Jils room, his condition Is such as to alarm some of his friends. When Judge Parker and Judge O'Brien were here the other day they found the Democratic chieftain in anything but robust health. They spent the day with him. Other friends who have visited Camden since Mr. Hill came here two months ago "to spend a few weeks" nave been impressed with the fact that he Is showing- the effect of the grip from which he suffered before he came South. He sits outside the hotel on fine days and apparently Is not Inter ested In anything beyond his struggle to regain his vitality. He has under taken no business of any kind. Several attaches of his law firm have been here to see him. but liave not taken up any buslness with him. One of them was here last week and found the Senator far from well. Mr. Hill has not made ans plans for returning North. He will not go until warm weather, and his friends do not expect him to take up his business for several months, if at all. Codsolatlon for the Nobodies. E. W. Howe in Atchison Globe. l: you are miserable because you are not great think of the former greatness of Rome and cheer up. For 1103 years Rome was mistress of the known world. Today the language of the Romans has almost been forgot ten, and the Roman capital has no commercial Importance, and is known among men merely as a curio. The Romans, noted as philosophers and sol diers, who Invaded and subdued every nation known at the Roman period, are now museum curiosities. Fortu nately they have been spared the hu miliation of Ramcses II.; In Egypt I saw the body of this great ruler on payment of -0 cents. If you are not great you will at least escape the hu miliation of having your body exhibit ed 2000 or 3000 years after death. Where Is This Town? Guess. Smart Set. BUlvllle is a lively little town lying Just on the other side of the first of the month. It Is made up in part of old buildings, some of them having been standing for some time, and many new ones, varying in size. It la peopled by handsome fig ures, some of them a good deal broader than they are long. Those who put up here oer night are likely to stay here all the rest of their lives. After that, the only way to leave It Is to go over the river ARGUMENT 0FTHE SLUGGER The Last Violent TSesourcc. Morning Astorian. The assault made upon an editor of the Horning Oregonlan, on Monday last, by an Individual whose feelings are alleged to have been hurt by reason of the trenchant -and candid policy of that pa per In Its strenuous and righteous fight against the Portland gas monopoly. Is one phase of the warfare that should rouse public sentiment absolutely In favor of the big daily and create a tendency for a nummary and wholesome solution of the controversy. The courts are al ways open for the adjudication of news paper abuses and the Idea that a single disinterested citizen should take It upon himself to enter the private office of an editor and forcibly champion the cause and interest of a contending element in a broad public fight such as this one Is. is susceptible to but one construction and that is that the assailant is the paid agent of the losing faction and that the attack is the last contemptible resort to reprisal, a demonstration that carries with It the tacit confession of weakness and culpability. The Portland public should be with the editor and his associates- from this Instant on. until the last contention of The Oregonlan is ad mitted and made good. The gas company deserves nil that may come to It from this nasty and unwarranted medicine and adjust Its business to the equitable and decent demands of the Portland public, the better for all concerned; and while It Is purging itself, it might as well get rid of such zealots as Its friend, the as sailant, appears to have been. Tnklns t"c People's Side. Albany Democrat. Portland gas Is getting tropical enough to be carried Into personal encounters in newspaper offices in that city. Such things are a public matter tinder the pres ent condition of affairs, and the news papers have a right to discuss them in their columns. If Portland Is paying a good deal more than other cities for its gas It Is the province of the press of the city to make It public. If Albany peo ple pay 25 per cent more for their elec tricity than Corvallls people do tor the same service It Is entirely within the province of the newspaper to call atten tion to the fact. Such things are public affairs, and The v'regontan Is ontltled to credit for taking sides with the people of Portland, who have long had to pay trlbute of a high character for their gas and electricity. The AVhole Public SlusRCtl. Salem Capital Journal. The Oregonlan editors deserve credit for employing any means to eject a man from their office, who evidently came in to read the riot act to them for vigor ously slugging the gas trust. It is bad enough to have all the public slugged. The editors should be let alone. A law should be passed to punish hold-up artists of all descriptions with at least five years at hard labor. Will This Be the Outcome? Pendlctfen Tribune. The Portland law clerk who. out of plty for the Portland Gas Company, assaulted the managing editor of The Oregonlan. may find himself In a position where he can with heartfelt propriety repeat the famous saying of Cardinal Wolslcy some what modified. "If I had but served my God with half tho zeal that T have served my company, he would not have left mc naked among mine enemies." Cnt Makes Pacer Go. Derby. Conn.. Cor. New York World. It greatly troubles Fred Hunt, of Waterbury. tha this particular cat cannot pace a mile In 2:15. Because Grace Davis, the mare he Is training-, ;an. For wherever the mare goes, tho cat has to go. else the mare Is uglier than the mischief. ' The cat. a big Maltese, and tho mare have developed a remarkable affection for each other. Grace Davis refuses to sleep at nlsht unless the cat Is snug gled In the straw by her side. After the stable boy has shaken down her bed. she paws an open spot In which the cat must be. In the daytime the cat goes to sleep on the mare's back, and she sniffs at the cat's fur and affec tlomitcly rub3 her nose along- the cat's back. When the maro Is exercising1 the cat follows, and keeps as close as shn can and Is always at Grace's heels when she returns to the stable. Should the mare be kept away from her own stable for a night she gets sulky, and It Is feared when she Is taken to Charter Oak Park the Maltese will have to line up and pretend to start anyhow, or Grace will be dis graced as a pacer. Morgan Buys a Mastodon. New York Tribune. J. Pierpont Morgan has given to the American Museum of Natural History the Warren mastodon, which Is considered the finest specimen known to be In exlstonco. With this gift also goes the rest of the Warren collection of bones of extinct an imals. The mastodon will be set up in the museum as soon as it can be brought here from Boston, where one of the museum staff is now perfecting arrangements for Its shipment. The Warren mastodon was found about 1S60. near Newburg, N. Y., by laborers en gaged in draining marshy land. It was purchased by Professor Warren of the Harvard Medical School. Because of Its fine state of preservation, the skeleton being almost complete. It has attracted much attention among scientific men. A little stone house in the Back Bay. Just off Beacon street, was built for the mastodon. According to the will of Dr. Warren, the mastodon was left to his children, and could not be sold by them. After the death of his last child the mas todon was to go to his grandchildren who could keep or sell It. When Mr. Morgan learned that the mastodon was for sale he at once purchased it for the museum. Xot Rude, After AH. Philadelphia Public Ledger. "Who Is that distinguished - looking man?" asked the stranger. "Dat map saved me a good deal of trou ble once." replied the man on the corner. "He Interrupted me In de middle of a sentence, and " "Ah. I see. You were going to say something Improper, and "Naw! I wuz in de penitentiary an he wuz Governor of de state at de time." NEWSPAPER WAIFS. Mike "Th rich live by robbln' th" poor." Pat "Yls; 'tis a mystery phwere th' poor jrlt all th' money they are robbed of." Judge. "Isabel says she will never marry any man who Isn't a hero." "But she can easily convert any man Into a hero." "How?" "By fretting- him to marry her." Cleveland Flalndealer. Mrs. Stingy "What do you want to leave u for. Bridget? I'm ure we have treated you as one of the family." Bridget "In dade. an you hoV. ma'am, an Ol've stood It long enough." Life. "A man must know a great deal to be of much value to your corporation." "Tea." answered Mr. Dustln Stax. "and on the other hand he must sometimes forget a great deal." Washington Star. "I notice that your verse Is Inclined to be halting." said the editor to the young man with the celluloid collar. "Yes. sir." replied the poet. "That's when my fountain Pn balked." Milwaukee Sentinel. The Tramp "You're one man In a hun dra. 'Taint often 1 meet anybody that'll talk to me two minutes without ask In why I don't go to work, at some trade." The Re markable Man "Oh. I can tell by looking at you." Puck. There are no noblemen In this country, are there?" observed the titled foreigner. "Oh. y. there are plenty of them." re plied the American, good-naturedly, "only we don't have to tag them over here." Detroit Fro Tret. WOMEN "NOT GOOD AT FIGURES" Principal Feltcr's Opinion as Treated In a Chicago Newspaper; Chicago Inter Ocean. Dr. AVlllIam Felter. principal of the Brooklyn Girls' High School, is of the opinion that the present method of train ing the feminine mind Is harmful rather than beneficial. In order to prove his contention that women are not mathematicians naturally, and to establish some other points, he goes into matters that need not be dis cussed here. The main point Is whether or not he Is right In declaring that women are not good at figures. No husband worthy of the name has ever questioned his wife's ability to keep housekeeping accounts. Indeed, it should be said to the credit of the male sex as a whole that the average husband would Just as soon question the law of gravita tion as to criticise the statement of ex penses for the ensuing week which his wife hands him on Monday morning. Where is the man who has not seen and admired, -and accepted, something llko this: I will need this week: For the table, not counting every- thing. $14.30. Call It 20.00 Suit for Tommy; will do the best I can. SG.75. Call It 10.00 Must have for laundry. I think. .25. H U 4.00 Other things for table, except meat. $1.30. Call It 6,00 Dress for Kate; saw bargain adver- V Used; S.00. Call tt 6..V1 Plumber has been here twice 7.SO You forgot the paper Mil 2.00 Miss Jones, two days' sewing, at S 1.2.1. .Call It 3.30 Having Edward's bicycle repaired; it Isn't worth It 4.00 Other things for table; 1 am forget ting some things..... s.riO Mr hat you said I could have 10.0O The coal man was in agnin 23.00 Club dues (you promised them a month ago) 2 00 Meat for table; r think I'll need $3.65. Call it .. 7.00 Girl's wages; back from last week 6.0O I can't remember everything. Call It.. 1.S0 I didn't think It would be so much. ..$112.10 Can you let me have $40? I'll .put some of these things off. Dr. William Felter and other eminent mathematicians may not see In the ac counting methods of lovely woman any thing to commend, but the foundations of society would be disturbed If the average husband should be mean enough to cast the slightest reflection upon them. Women may not be the very best math ematicians, but they are pretty nearly everything else that is desirable, and why quarrel with them simply because they do not. as a rule, know or care very much about figures? Hockcfeller's Queer Actions. Exchangc.y John D. Rockefeller, within the past 12 months, has done or said a number of things which have struck those who knew him as being unusual. First of all. nc got him an iron-gray wlsr. He invited tho newspaper humorists to his home in Cleveland and joined thflr Jokesmlth's union. He walked barefoot on the dewy grass before breakfast. He found a reporter in church on Sunday and sat down beside him and whispered to the scribe for five min utes, telling him that posterity would render Justice to him. He took to wearing a newspaper, in side his waistcoat to keep him warm. In the Fifth-Avenue Church, after service, ho stopped In the lobby and ad vised his friends to eat cheese. He stuffed potatoes with S- gold pieces and sent a bushel basketful to his Cleveland pastor. Dr. Eaton. Each Stork Brings a Dime. Dickinson, N. D.. Cor. St. Paul Pio neer Press. There is a bonus of 10 cents a head on all babies born In this county. Un fortunately, however, this bonus does not go to the parents, but to the phy sician who reports the birth. At the last regular meeting of the City Coun cil Dr. Perkins presented a bill for fees for filing vital statistics, covering a period of two years. There was some surprise when the bill was presented, but an examination -of the law shows that physicians of the city and county are allowed 10 cents for each birth or death reported. The law has been In force for several years, but was appar ently undiscovered by the physicians until now. WJiut Their Opinions" Are Worth. Salem Statesman. The subsidized press of the State of Oregon today is a press under the pay, not of corporations, not of business in terests, but of individual candidates for office. The way some of them arc straining at a gnat in their effort to Insure that the camel which they are riding will be swallowed is Interesting, but also very disgusting. There are a few papers In this state, perhaps, that are getting- more money for the publi cation of "editorial opinion" than thcy have ever gotten before for any of their space. The Highest Office. 'Watson's Magazine. If we must bow to what is wrong, flatter what we dospise. preach what we disbelieve, and deny what we feel to be true. Is success thus won any thing but a gilded dishonor? To be a man. sucli a man as you know God would have you be manly, truthful, honest scorning meanness, hating- lies, loathing- deceit, meeting the plain du ties of life, and shirking none of its plain responsibilities is not that the highest office you can fill? CURRENT COMMENT CLIPPINGS Xaplea It now trying to prove that she is healthy, even If she dirty. Chicago makes similar claims. Washington Post. Cornelius X. Blisa says that he doe not know Andrew Hamilton another case where Ignorance U bliss. Boston Globe (Dem.) Out In Iowa they have eight different kinds of Republican?, but they are all after the same kind of Jobs. Washington Post. Seattle's new municipal ownership Mayor Is urged, as a first step, to light the city brilliantly. All parties will be apt to support that practical recommendation. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. A Brooklyn school principal says that the study of mathematics causes girls to dislike men. Yes: especially If the girls have been studying the mathematics of a man's pay envelope. Buffalo Express. They are going to start an all-night bank in Chicago. Just what demand there is for It we do not know; but it will be convenient for the hold-up men to get the checks cashed which they take from their victims. Koch ester Herald. The New- York Assembly has passed a bill against the docking of the tails of horses. Since 1505 docking in Connecticut has been a crime, punishable by a maximum penalty of one year In Jail or a flne of $300, but we suspect that on occasion this hu mane law l violated. Hartford Times. One has to know the Missouri orator pretty well to appreciate the intense satisfaction with which Congressman Shackleford used his rhetorical denunciation of Speaker Can non, "You turn your thumbs down and the House deals a death blow to prostrate, bleed ing Oklahoma." That figure of the Roman populace and the gladiators la honorably con spicuous In the forensic history of this state, Kansas City Star. The Rev. Dr. Sllcer opposition to the bill to banish betting from the New York race tracks appears to have called down upon his head very much the same sort of criticism as that which Bishop Potter met with when he undertook to establish a de cent saloon. The Idea In each case was to mitigate a recognized evil Instead of jaader taklng the Ixnpcsible task of crushing- It out altogether. The- Potter experlmenti failed, and the Sllcer scheme seems likely to: follow suit. Boston Herald.