t VOL. XLVI NO. 14,404. PORTLAND, OREGON, AVEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1907. PRICE FIVE CENTS. 1 UPPERRIVER ow FALL NG Friday Will See Crest of Freshet. WILLAMETTE RISES RAPIDLY Heavy Damage Is Wrought by Storm, on 0. R. & N. TRAIN STALLED AT WYETH Tracks Are Mocked by Slides nntl .Melt i nc Snow.s Tlireaten Culverts and Embankments Six En gines Stalled on Main Line. . THK FLOOD SITUATION. Floods in the Willamette are ex pected to continue until "Friday, when the river will reach 21 feet, the hlKheet point during any Win ter since the big flood of 1890, when it reached 2S.T reet. The high water Is causing great damage throughout the Valley. Port land merchants are loners from water in cellars and on lower docks. Settlers in the upper valley are taking to the hills to escape the ris ing river. Bridges, ferries and build ings are being swept away by the swirling flood. m The Chinook of yesterday has wrought havoc on the main ilne of the O. R. & N., where heavy snow has been suddenly turned to water. Plid.es have covered the tracks and washouts are frequent. Traffic is demoralised completely and It will be several days before the line Is Cleared. With every tributary swollen by melt . lag Bnows. the Willamette River at Port land continued to rise rapidly all day yesterday and last "night. The upper river is now falling and Iriiuy is expect ed to see the crest of the flood In Port land. Great damage" was done by the high water throughout the Valley. There la a strong current in 'the river at Port land, which adds to the gravity of the situation and the probability of more serious loss on the water front.. Goods stored on lower docks and In cellars near the river have suffered con siderable damage and merchants are buiy moving their wares to safer quar ters. Some who delayed removing goods fiom the lower docks learned their error yesterday when many of these structures were flooded. The river rose two Inches an hour near ly all day yesterday. By dark it had reached 18 feet above low-water mark and was still coming up. The rise Is ex pected to continue until Friday, when it is expected the crest of the flood, which will be about 21 feet, will be reached. This height will exceed that of any Win ter since the big flood of 1890. when the river came up to 2S.7 feet on February 6. The river rose two feet at Albany yes terday, but fell almost two feet at Eu gene. This Indicates that the flood in the upper river has subsided. Lacking backwater In the Columbia and continued support in the upper river, the flood will soon run Itself out. It is predicted by District Forecaster Beats that the river will commence falling at Portland by Saturday. The general chlnook of yesterday prom ises to turn colder today and this will check the melting of snow in the mountains and further reduce the danger of a continued flood. Heavy Damages on O. R. & X. Havoc wrought on" the main line of the O. R. & N. between. Portland and The Dalles by the storm is Immense and the damage will total a very large sum. The wires are down for ten miles east of Troutdale and no word could be received from the storm-swept district yesterday. Scenes along the line are said to surpass any similar storm ravages for the past 20 years. General Manager O'Brien, accompanied by E. A. Kllppel, superintendent of tel egraph, and J. F. Graham, superintendent of motive power, reached the city last night after spending the day on the line In a special train. They confirmed the stories of complete demoralization of the main line. For miles the tracks are blocked by slides and the melting snows threaten to wash away culverts and, em bankments. At Troutdale the themometer rose to 60 degrees at midnight Monday, and the snow began to go off with a rush. The chlnook made Itself felt all along the Columbia gorge and streams were pour in down muddy torrents, bringing much drift that endangers the tracks. Efforts are being made to put on steamers that will carry passengers and mail around the points of blockade, op erating trains In connection with the boats over the tracks that can be opened. The Harvest Queen, which left Monday to bring down the passengers JW the stalled train near Wyeth, was waiting at Bonneville yesterday for the train to reach that point. So far as learned here, the train failed to make connections and the boat Is still held there. General Superintendent Buckley, of the llarrlinan lines, In 'order to get a tele gram through to Portland from The Uallos yesterday had to send it around by Salt L.k9 and San Francisco. The message arrived hure in the afternoon and threw some light on the conditions along the Upper Columbia. Train and Engines Stalled. The stalled passenger train was near Wyeth and unless it could be gotten through to Bonneville to meet the steamer waiting for it. It would be backed to Hood River last night. One locomotive was stuck between slides at Shell Rock. Five other engines were stalled between Dodson's and Bridal Veil. The Albina rotary snow-plow Is on a siding at One onta without power. Another rotary was started yesterday from The Dalles to dig out the imprisoned train and clear the line. All along the road between Trout dale and The Dalles workmen are busy with work trains and construction equip ment restoring the tracks as fast as pos sible. Along the river a silver thaw, similar to the storm In Portland last week, brought down telegraph wires and broke trees down across the track. Land slides and snow slides are almost innumerable. Op erating officials do not expect to get the line open before late In the week. Trains 3 and E of Sunday ape consoli dated at Shell Rock, while trains 1 of Sunday and Monday are consolidated at The Dalles. The Washington division was reported open by Superintendent Buck ley with the exception of ,the Pomeroy and Pendleton branches. It was raining yesterday at La . Grande and water trouble was expected. Itain and Sleet at The Dalles. Rain and sleet continued to fall at The Dalles yesterday and Superintendent Buckley reported 30 Inches of snow at Wyeth with a little more at Hood River. This was before the chlnook struck i and it is probable that this has mostly been turned into water before this morn ing. Train No. 2 is" stalled in the snow be tween Yoakum and Barnhart. Trains can hardly be moved through the Pa louse country because of the heavy snow. Even on the St. Johns branch of the O. R. & N., almost in the city limits, there were slides yesterday. The inces sant rains had softened the earth until many of the clay banks slipped down upon the track. Delays on Southern Pacific. Wires were down last night on the Southern Pacific south of Junction City, but up to that point the main line was clear. Trains are running late, however, on account of the soft tracks and uncertain condition of bridges and embankments. The bridge on the Springfield branch near West Stayton was pronounced unsafe yester day, but repairs are going forward. A break In the line at Springfield Junction, where 150 feet of embank ment was washed , out, was repaired yesterday morning. Reports that reached General Manager O'Brien's of fice today from Springfield state the rain had stopped and the river has stopped rising. The Northern Pacific Is not in any immediate danger from the floods un less the Cowlitz comes up rapidly.' Rises are reported.' but as yet they are not serious enough to delay trains. However, the Northern Pacific passen ger trains are coming In from IS to 36 hours late. This is said to be due to snow and storms on the eastern end. Slides on Oregon Water Power Line. Slides along the river bank north of The Oaks blocked the tracks of the Oregon Water Power line, and Oregon City and Cazadero cars were routed by the Sellwood line. The Clackamas bridge remained unsafe yesterday, and passengera were transferred across It on foot. Should the river continue to rise. It is expected that the power plant of the Portland General Electric Company at Oregon City may be compelled to shut down. River Is Rising Rapidly. Less than ten feet additional rise and the flood situation at Portland will be worse than it was during the Winter of 1890, when the Willamette stood 28 feet above the low-water mark, and the business district of the city suffered severely. At dark last night, the river was several inches past the 18-foot stage, and the water was rising at the rate of 1 inches an hour. All the lower docks between the Burnside bridge and Yamhill street were covered. At Ains worth dock the water was even with the planking. Log rafts and all man ner of drift was going downstream at a rapid rate, and business men along the front were bending every energy to put stores at a safe distance above the danger limit. E. A. Beats, In charge of the local Weather Bureau, says that with the water in sight, there will be a mark of 21 feet at Portland. Child Saved From Drowning. "Work on the water . front was badly Interfered with yeste.rday. At an early hour in the morning the Portland Pub lic Bathhouse went adrift. The fire boat George H. Williams managed to get a line on the structure just In time to prevent Its colliding with the Steel bridge. Shortly after the bath house went adrift the baby child of Superintendent Rolfe fell overboard from the -ouseboat where Mrs. Rolfe and the child had taken refuge. The baby had drifted underneath the pon toon, and Mr. Rolfe was compelled to go overboard In order to rescue the in fant, i The French bark Turgot, moored at the lower Southern Pacific dock on the East Side above the Steel bridge. Is In a very dangerous position. Drift ac cumulated around the stern of the ves sel to such an extent yesterday, that the services of a steamer were re quired to clear . her. Several extra lines were put out, but all were made fast to the dock. The structure is old and Insecure, and If anything carries away, the Steel bridge and the ship will suffer heavily. During the big flood of 1890, the steamship Danube was lying at the same berth, and It was necessary at that time to run cabins to deadmen away inshore. The bottom at that point is cement gravel and anchors will not hold. Itlvera falling at Roseburg. HOSKBURGv Or.. Feb. 5. Little rain . jOoncnidgd. on Pag 1XJ. PLEA OF INSANITY HITS' MANY- SNAGS Jerome Puts Thaw's Alienist on Rack. BOMBARDS HI WITH WORDS Proves Adept at Handling Medical Phraseology. MUCH EVIDENCE BARRED Bad Day for Thaw's Counsel Ends In Angry Conference and Ru mored Threat to Abandon Case to Gleason. NEW YORK, Feb. 6. The task of prov ing to a Jury that Harry K. Thaw was insane through heredity and mental stress when he shot and .killed Stanford White was taken up today by the defense in this famous case, but, when adjournment was announced later In the afternoon. It was the general opinion in the courtroom that but little progress had been made. Thaw's attorneys endeavored in vain to place before the jury evidence tend ing, it was said, to prove a vein of In sanity in the collateral branch of the defendant's family, but they were blocked at every point by District Attorney Jerome, whose objections were upheld by the rulings of Justice Fitzgerald. The defense did, however, get before the 12 men in the box thetestimony of an expert. In his opinion Harry Thaw was suffering from Insanity the night of the tragedy. Mr. Jerome attempted to down the evidence of the alienist, Dr. C. C. Wiley, of Pittsburg, and for tnree hours put him through a cross-examination as severe as was ever heard in any court The prosecutor was relentless in his attack, and before he had finished Dr. Wiley protestingly declared: Did Not Come as Expert. I aidn't come hero as an expert. I came as a witness to a fact, and I have been converted into an expert without be ing prepared for it." The District Attorney astonished every one by his Intimate knowledge of medi cine and its technical phraseology, dem onstrating the care with which he had prepared himself to meet the very de fense which Thaw's counsel have entered in his behalf. Mr. Jerome searchingly In quired into Dr. Wiley's record as a phy sician and as an expert on insanity. He hurled volleys of technical questions at the witness, who at times sat mute and at other times declared he could nqt an swer or .gave evasive replies. Often he brought upon himself sharj warning from Mr. Jerome to make a reply and not an argument. Dr. Wiley said he predicated his opinion as to Thaw's insanity upon his actions .................................................... ..................... f WHAT WILL HE LOOK LIKE WHEN HE IS PULLED OUT? the night of the tragedy, as described to him in a hypothetical question propound ed by the defense," and on an incident which he witnessed in a Pittsburg street car during the Summer of 1906. Thaw, said the doctor, acted irrationally on the car, coming in suddenly and jerking up one of the window blinds, slamming it down and then lifting it again, the while engaging In a wordy war with the con ductor. "Have you ever examined this defend ant with any of the recognized tests of insanity?" asked Mr. Jerome. "No," replied the witness. "Have you ever conversed with him?" "No." Alienist Baffled at Own Game. The District Attorney then drew from the alienist the opinion that Thaw's acts on the Madison-Square Garden roof when he killed Stanford White, were not acts of insanity when taken singly, but con stituted evidence of insanity when con sidered collectively. At times Dr. Wiley seemed entirely baffled by the questions. He hestitated at each and before he could answer Mr. Jerome had framed another question, replete with impressive-sounding technical, terms and apparently offer ing a problem no less difficult than its predecessor. The witness admitted that many .of the tests to which the District Attorney referred, such as the Romberg test and the Argyle-Robertson pupil test, were unknown to him, and when he was asked to quote from any accepted work on insanity, declared he could not give the exact language from any book. Mr. Jerome's well of knowledge, however, seemed never to run dry. He carried his cross-examination through practically the entire morning session, and for an hour and 20 minutes after luncheon continued to ply the witness with all manner of questions. Thaw Begins to Worry. "fhaw's counsel sat silent and without protest aa Mr. Jerome grilled the first witness for the defense. Thaw him self seamed to take but little interest in theross-examination at the outset, but later began to take notice, and was often in earnest conversation with those of his counsel who sat nearest him. Before the close of the exam ination, however. Thaw seemed to wor ry. His attorneys appeared puzzled at first, but evidently determined to give the District Attorney the widest liber ty. At the close of the cross-examination of Dr. Wiley an attempt was ma.Je to introduce testimony tending to show that a strain of insanity has ex isted In certain branches of the Thaw family. Among the witnesses called were Albert Lee Thaw, of Richmond, Va., who said that his father and Harry Thaw's father were first cousins. The defense stated Its purpose 'to draw from the witness the fact that his father died- in an asylum for the insane, when Mr. Jerome objected. He declared the relationship of both -the witness and his father 'was ton . far retrieved . 'm ihe defendant to be competent. - ' I "And the law." he added, "Is not sat isfied that u man is insane merely be cause he dies, in an asylum or a retreat for persons suffering from mental dis eases. The fact that a man dies in an institution such as that conducted by Dr. Wiley, the eminent specialist we had upon the stand today, for instance, is no proof that ne was insane. There must be competent testimony to the fact." Witnesses to Insanity Barred. Justice Fitzgerald upheld this view view of the matter, saying, however, that his ruling was subject to revision if the attorneys for the defense could cite authorities on the subject. Mr. Gleason, who alone conducted the case for Thaw today, did cite some cases. (Concluded on Page 4.) URGES REPEAL OF FRANCHISES Council Committee Completes Report. GRANTS HAVE BEEN ABUSED City Attorney Will Be Asked to Draft Bill. CHARGES FULLY SUSTAINED If Council Adopts Recommendations, Delegation of Council Will Go to Salem to t'rge Repeal of Perpetual Franchises. SYNOPSIS OF REPORT OF GAS COMMITTEE. Gas furnished consumers Is of poor quality. Consumers have been grossly over charged. Company's methods of dealing with public cumbersome and unsatisfac tory. Bill should be presented to Legis lature revoking franchises granted by state. Franchises granted by city should also be revoked, which could be done by action of the Council. Legality of action recommended la based upon opinion of City Attorney McNary. "That all franchises held by the Port land Gas Company be revoked as soon as possible is the recommendation to the Council of the special . committee that has been investigating the af fairs of that corporation. The asser tions of the committee that the grants held by the gas company should be canceled are unqualified, and this con stitutes the remedy for the abuses of privilege which have been found to exist. The final report of the commit tee was formulated at a meeting yes terday afternoon and will be presented for the Indorsement of the Council at Its session today. In order to revoke the franchises of the gas company, which had their ori gin in the territorial and State Legis latures, the committee recommends that a bill be presented at once to the lawmakers now In session at Salem. Such a bill will kill the so-called "per petual franchises" that have been handed down to the present corpora tion from Its predecessors in the dis tant past. The bill is to be prepared by the City Attorney if the Council follows out the advice of Its commit tee, and a special delegation of six Councllmen will be sent to the Legis- A different procedure is necessary to lature to urge the measure upon the solons. nullify the grants to operate which the gas company secured through ordi nances pf the Portland Council. In this case th power to act lies where it rVrst Issued, and the Council Is therefore memorialized to cancel the franchises which were so freely granted by the city fathers of former years. City Attorney Gives Opinion. The action of the committee was taken only after thorough considera tion of the merits of the case and also the legulityv-oit the proceedings that are recommended The action Indorsed has its basis in a written opinion sub mitted to the committee at its request by City Attorney McNary. Mr. Mc Nary holds that instead of being Im mune from negatory legislation, as was contended by attorneys for the corporation during the investigation, the franchises are subject for repeal by the same powers that are re sponsible for their existence. The fail ure to provide a suitable quality of gas at a reasonable compensation is sufficient ground for the revocation of the franchises, and the committee has decided that the gas provided con sumers by the company is both of bad quality and of excessive price. Councilman Masters Absent. Th committee met at 2 o'clock yes terday afternoon, with five members present. Councilman Masters being the only one absent. At a previous session the committee had passed resolutions to the effect that the gas furnished to patrons in Portland is of poor qual ity, that consumers are grossly over charged and that the corporation's methods of dealing with the public are cumbersome and unsatisfactory. The essential charges made by The Ore gonian against the gas company thus being completely sustained, the only work remaining for the committee was the determining of a remedy and form ing of its report. Every member or the committee present was unreserved in his asser tions that the franchises of the com pany should be revoked. It was held that this action should be taken not only because of the abuses of privi lege which have been shown in the operations of the gas company, but because proper control of the company is impossible under its present grants. Instead of being ensconced from rea sonable supervision by Its franchises. It was declared that a public utility corporation, such as the gas company, should be amenable to regulation. In stead of its franchises being "perpet ual" It was asserted that they should be governed by a definite limit of dur ation. The Qregonlan'g Counts Sustained. . In formulating Jts report, the com mittee incorjiora.ted' ).e 11 original counts comprising the charges tftled by The Oregonian against the gas company. It then appended its findings relative to the shortcomings of the company and the recommendation that the franchise be revoked. The motion that the report be submitted to the Council as the recom mendation of the committee was made by Councilman Bennett and carried by unanimous vote. The report in full fol lows: "To the Honorable Mayor and Council of the City of Portland: "We, your committee appointed to in vestigate the Portland Gas Company, under a resolution adopted by the Coun cil January 17, 1906, beg leave to submit our report as follows, to wit: "Pursuant to said resolution the com mittee held various meetings for the tak ing of testimony and the examination of documents relating to the charges made against the gas campany. The specific charges made against the Portland Gas Company consisted 'of 11 counts, as fol lows : "No. 1 The Portland Gas Company is at this time charging, and has during the entire life of its franchise and ope rations in the City of Portland charged, extortionate prices for gas. "No. 2 The Portland Gas Company has been furnishing to consumers a poor quality, of gas. "No. 3 The uniform policy of the Port land Gas Campany has been to disre gard and Ignore studiously and con temptuously the Just complaints of its patrons. "No 4. The meter readings by its agents are arbitrarily unreliable. Incorrect and dishonest, and are besides uniformly ex cessive. "No. 5 It Is the common rule of the Portland Gas Company to refuse a grant of rebates for over charges. "No. 6 Excessive penalties for delin quent payments are exacted from all customers who may not have paid their monthly bills within the first five days of each month. ' . , i . "No. 7 The practice of the company to require deposit before meters are in stalled in the place of business or dwell ing of any patron is followed with obvious and intentional discourtesies. "No. 8 The Portland Gas Company has exercised its privilege - under Its fran chise to tear up the streets at will with out the slightest regard to public right or the general convenience. "No. 9 The Portland Gas Company Is paykjg and always has paid taxes to the city, county, the school district and the state, and has falsely undervalued its assessable property throughout its whole career to succeeding county and city assessors. It has paid no franchise tax whatever at any time until this year, and has rendered the public no adequate re turns for the extraordinary privileges it enjoys. "No. 10 The Portland Gas Company In Its internal financial management has pursued a carefully planned policy of stock manipulation, resulting in gratui tous award of large blocks of gas stock to the "inside circle," who have had charge of Its affairs. "No. II The Portland Gas Company, operating under a franchise granted by the Oregon Territorial Legislature of 1859, and under a franchise granted by the State Legislature of 1874. known as the Zleber franchise, has repeatedly, de signedly and unlawfully . Ignored public rights and proper public Interest ahd concern in the conduct of Its affairs, and has managed and considered the gas tConcladsd on Page 10.) E Greatest Patrons of Printing Press. ALL ARE ARDENT BOOK-LOVERS Most Popular Pictures Tell History of Writing. LITERATUPE IN AMERICA Pilprrims Began Printing Soon After Landing and Now 50, 000 Firms Are in Publishing Business. Some High-Priced Books. BY FREDERIC J. HASK1N. WASHINGTON. Jan. 31. (Special Cor respondence.) The people of the United States are today writing more Iwoks. buying more books and reading more books than the inhabitants of any other country. All Americans are book-lovers, from the messenger boy. lost In open eyed wonder at the startling adventures of Dead wood Dick, to the rich lady who buys her books with bindings to match the color of her curtains. There are now over 50,000 firms in this country engaged In the business of making or selling books. Children are the greatest pur chasers, one publishing firm alone print ing more than 1.000,000 spelling books each year. The manager of a large depart ment store which has branches In a num ber of our big cities, told me that during the holidays each one of these stores dis poses of 2000 sets of Shakespeare's works. Evolution of Books. i Doubtless the most popular and widely known series of pictures In the Library of Congress at "Washington is that by John W. Alexander, representing the evo lution of the book. The first picture Is called "The Cairn," and shows men of a prehistoric asre setting a pile of stones Jn a crude fashion, so that others might know and understand their work long after fhey had gone. The second is a patriarchal storyteller In long white robes and hood, leaning on his staff and recounting the glories of some nation for the benefit of his hearers, who are. seat ed on the ground near him. This is called "Oral Tradition." Theext shows an Egyptian youth cnlsellng out his mes- (Concluded on Page 3.) CONTENTS TODAY'S PAPER The Weather. YBPTETR DAY'S Maximum temperature, 69 degree; minimum, 64 degrees. TODA Y S Occasional rain and slightly cooler; southwesterly winds. National. Washington Senator and Representatives , - - disagree on Seattle Fair appropriation. Page 4. Army appropriation- bill in Senate. Page 4. Increase in salaries for postal clerks and carriers. Page 4. Company organised to take canal contract. Page 2 Politic. Chicago Council adopts traction settlement and Mayor Dunne is furious. Page 3. Senator Bailey 'creates scene at Investiga tion. Page 2. New Jersey Republ lea ns nominate Briggs for Senator. Page 2- Domestic H ask in on Americans as book lovers. Page 1. Jerome discredits first alipnlst In Thaw's defense and causes quarrel among Thaw's lawyers. Page 1. Eastern railroads decide to raise freight rates. Page 2. Kruttsehnitt criticises Great Northern road Page 2. Great storm in Middle West : many freeze to death on prairies. Page 3. Foreign. Socialists lose heavily In second ballots la German elections- Page 3. British Premier prepares to attack House of Lords. Page 3. Pacific Coast. Snow blocks all trains on the Northern, Pa cific Page 5. Landslide demolishes fom,e of Toledo farm er. Page 5. The rp- may be another Chester Thompson trial. Page 5. Two bills for reciprocal demurrage auhmlt ted to Washington L-egl slat ure. Page &. Oregon Legislature. Kay's bill for transportation of convicts killed. Page 6. McCue's bill allowing Fish Warden's patrol launches passes House. Page 7. Bill for cheese and butter inspection intro duced. Page 0. Malarkey's bill will curb Southern Oregon company's land monopoly. Page 6. Two new bills for county division. Page T. Connivance at lawbreaking made felony by . new House bill. Page 7. Two pending bills contain dangerous per petual franchise Jokers. Page 7. Stat Institutions demand appropriations ag. gregating $151,000. Page rt. New water code bill is framed and Intro duced replacing Perkins bill. Page 7. Normal combine making a winning tight. Page 5. Commercial and Marine. High price paid for Oregon onions. Page 15. Break in Hill stocks at New York. Page 15. Chicago wheat market firm. Page 15.' Portland and Vicinity. Willamette River Is rising rapidly at Port land, but falling at upper river points. Page 1. Great damage Is wrought by storm on O. R. & N. Page 1. Council committee recommends repeal of gas franchises. Page 1. Unknown man dies In the snow. Page 11. W. H. Green, fireman. 4 arrested and charged wtfh receiving stolen postage stamps. Page 16. Arrest of woman may reveal new scandal In fire department. Page 16. Bill will be introduced in Legislature pro viding for commission to control towage . service on Columbia River. Page 10, AMERICANS IK AN D READ ROOKS