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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1907)
s TIIE MORNING OREGOXIAN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1907. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. ty INVAKIABLY IX ADVANCE. (By Mall.) Pally, Sunday included, one year $8.00 XJally, Sunday Included, six months.... 4.25 l&Uy, Sunday Included, three months.. 2.-5 XJally, Sunday Included, one month.... -75 Pally, without Sunday, one year 6.00 Dally, without Sunday, six months 8.25 iJaily, without Sunday, three months.. 1.73 Dally, without Sunday, one month 60 fcunuay, one year 2-50 Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday),.. 1-&0 Eunday and Weekly, ono year 3.50 BY CAKR1JEB. Dally, Sunday Included, one year..... 0.00 Dally, Sunda5 Included, one month.... -T5 HOW TO REMIT Send postofflce money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stamps, coin or currency are at the sender's risk. Give postofflce ad dress In full. Including- county and state. POSTAGIS RATES. Entered at Portland, Oregon, FOBtofflca as Second-Class Matter. 10 to 14 Pages 1 cent 18 to 28 Pages -2 cents 30 to 44 Pages 3 cents 40 to oO Pages cents Foreign Postage, double rates. IMPORTANT The postal laws are strict." Newspapers on which postage Is not fully prepaid are not forwarded to destination. EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICE. The S. C. Beokwlth Special Agency New York, rooms 43-50 Tribune building. Chi cago, rooms S10-512 Tribune building. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex, .Postofflce News Co., ITS Dearborn street. St. Paul, Minn. N. St. Marie, Commercial Station. Colorado Springs, Colo. Western News Agency. Denver Hamilton & Hendrick, 906-912 Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Store, 1214 fifteenth street; 1. Welnsteln; H. P. Han sen. Kansas City, Mo. Rlcksecker Cigar Co.. Ninth and Walnut. Minneapolis M. J. Kavanaugh, 50 South O James Fushaw, SOI Su perior street. Atlantic City, Jf. J. Ell Taylor New York City L. Jones & Co., Astor House; Broadway Theater News Stand. Oakland, Cal. W. It. Johnson, Four teenth and Franklin streets; N. Wheatley; Oakland News Stand. Ogden D. I Boyle, W. Q. .Kind, 114 Twenty-fifth street Hot Springs, Ark. C. N. Weaver & Co. Omaha Barkalow .Bros., 1612 Farnam; Mageath Stationery Co., 1308 Farnam; 240 South Fourteenth. Sacramento, CaL Sacramento News Co., 439 K street. Salt Lake Moon Book & Stationery Co., Kosenxeld & Hansen. Los Angeles B. E. Amos, manager seven street wagons. Han Diego B. E. Amos. Long Beach. Cal. B. E. Amos. Pasadena, Cal. A. F. Horning. San Francisco Foster & Orear, Ferry News Stand; Hotel St. Francis News Stand; L, Parent, N. Wheatley. Kiireko, Cal. Call-Chronicle Agency. Washington, D. C. Ebbltt House, Penn sylvania avenue. Norfolk, Vs. Jamestown Kews Co. Pine Beach, Vs. W. A. Cosgrove. Philadelphia, Pa. Ryan's Theater Ticket Office. PORTLAND, THVKSDAY", FEB. 7, 1907. PERPETUAL FRANCHISES AGAIN. Upon the subject of franchises of the gas company the gas committee enunci ates two incontrovertible propositions. First, that the franchises ought to be repealed. Second, that those granted by the city murt be repealed by the city and those granted by the Legislature must be repealed by the Legislature. The reasons for revoking the franchises of the gas company are numerous and urgent. Meet of them are more or less familiar to the citizens of Portland, but .it can do no harm to reiterate them. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance and the price of deliverance from the tyranny of privileged monopolies- Ik unceasing appeal to the popu lar sens of right and Justice. We suf fer from the insolence and extortion of the gas company because we choose to suffer; there no power that could subject us to these impositions were we as active in resisting as the company is In devising them. One principal reason for repealing the franchises is that, as they stand, the gas company fa virtually exempt from control. It can charge whatever price for gas it pleases, and that price, as the report of the Council committee shows, has been extortionate. It can make the quality -either good or bad to cult its own convenience; and it has invariably chosen to make it bad. Of course there is more -profit in selling poor gas at a high price than good gas at a reasonable price, and the company has never been lacking in de votion to its own financial interests. In the words of the committee, "The company has grossly overcharged the public." Being the sole arbiter of the relations between itself and the public, the company can continue to over charge even more grossly than in the past. There is nothing to hinder It. The gas cdmpaxiy has used methods of accounting, reading the meters and! making out bills -which, to put it char itably, are "cumbersome and unsatis factory." Under proper management there could not be so many complaints of Inaccurate meter readings, exorbi tant bills and petty annoyances of all sorts as there are now. The company naturally thinks only of its own con venience and profit, and disregards the convenience of the public altogether. This may always be expected of a mo nopoly which is not subject to strict regulation, and the gas company will Tiever be eo subject until its franchisee have been repealed and reissued upon an entirely different basis. One of the worst and most exasperat ing results of no regulation is the priv ilege which the company assumes of tearing up the pavements when and where' it pleases, without regard to the rights of the rublic. Sometimes the pavements are replaced after long de day, but never are they made entirely good. The annoyance which the city has endured from this one cause le sufficient to create a demand for repeal of the franchises, were there no other grounds. To be sure, the City Attor ney decides that the CdTinell already has authority to regulate the price and Quality of gas; but it is admitted that this authority Is vague and unsatisfac tory. Any attempt to exercise It would undoubtedly lead to discouraging liti gation. What the public diemandis is a. clear and unmistakable statutory dec laration of the right to regulate and control. This can only come after the revocation of the old franchises. With the ground thus cleared of dubious claims, the Council, under the recent constitutional amendment, may proceed to grant a modern, civilized franchise which shall protect the rights of the public at least as completely as those of the monopoly. Another objection to the actual fran chises is that they purport to bo per petual. A perpetual franchise is, of course, an absurdity in logic and inad missible in law. Nevertheless the com pany claims a perpetual franchise and thereby pretends to be in a measure Independent of the authority of the state and city. This matter should be Fettled aa soon as possible. If the Leg it lature of the State of Oregon cannot repeal the acts of Its predecessors the public ought to know it. If a special privilege once granted) is granted for ever under our present system, the system ought to be modified in that particular. The City. Attorney holds that these franchises may be revoked, and 'common sense as well as common Justice takes the same view. The Ore- gonian speaks emphatically for the re peal of the gas franchise, because that Is more grossly injurious to the public than any other; but logically all perpet ual privileges stand on the same ground. None of them is defensible They should all be repealed. The or gan of the local plutocracy errs, as usual, In saying that The Oregonlan urges the repeal of the gas company's franchise only. The Oregonlan has con sistently and repeatedly urged the re peal of all perpetual franchisee. But, after all, what The Oregonlan has or has not done is a comparatively unim portant matter in the premises. The real question is whether the members of the Legislature will or will not do their duty as public servants. Do they owe fealty to the gas company or to the people? Will they keep their pledges made before election, or wiU they ignore them? There is nothing in the contention that the recent constitutional amend ment in giving cities the right to form their own charters virtually gave them authority to repeal existing franchises granted by the Legislature. The City Attorney holds that the revocation must be by the Legislature, and he Is right beyond all question. What the city has given it may revoke; but what the Legislature has given the city can not revoke. The duty of the Legisla ture in this matter is plain. It should repeal all perpetual franchises granted by the state, particularly those of the gas company. New ones may then be granted by the city which shall be lim ited in time and 6hall guard the hith erto neglected rights of the public. JUST SO. No one, of course, seriously expected the Portland City Council to take of fensive action of any kind against the organized plutocracy of Portland. It is not built that way. It was chance only, perhaps, that originally placed five of the six stiff-backed members on the special gas committee, so that the ne farious operations of the grasping gas monopoly could be properly exploited and fitly reprehended. Here was an error that the combined interests Of special privilege in Portland the fran chise corporations hastened yesterday to repair by smothering the report of the gas committee and strangling all proceedings looking to revocation, of perpetual franchises. When the gas committee did its duty, the public had hopes that the Council might do the same. But the public did not thor oughly know the Solid Nine. It will know today when it reads of yester day's proceedings. It will know still more hereafter when the complete rec ord is made up and! presented in all its interesting and surprising details for scrutiny of the Plain Citizen, whom the Council majority has thus betrayed. It is strange that the public-service corporations of Portland have so sadly mistaken the temper of the people on the living question of franchise control. They are making the same blunder the great trusts and monopolies made last year in defying the power and1 author ity of the National Government to make them obey the law. Now the railroads and the great beef barons a.nd all the rest are very tame. It will be the same in Oregon. The associated beneficiaries of privilege in Portland may move in the old way to influence Councils and Legislatures for their pro tection and profit; but in the end the people who cannot be cajoled, or cor rupted, or fooled, too often, will break their hold and determine their status. The battle is only beginning.! Meanwhile the public should know that there are six members of the Council who have the courage and the Independence to declare that their souls and their votes are their own. TO AID OCR COMMERCE. . The unsatisfactory bar service at the entrance of the river has for a number of years proved a serious handicap to the commercial prestige of Portland and other Columbia and Willamette River ports. Attainment of a perfect service at this time is probably impos sible. If it were otherwise, there would be no demand for pilots, and small, light-power towboats would be ade quate for the work. But it is highly essential that there be maintained on the bar the best possible service that conditions will warrant. It is for the purpose of securing such service that the rivers, harbors and navigation committee of the Portland Chamber of Commerce has prepared a bill, as out lined In yesterday's Oregonian. It Is proposed by this bill that the residents of the three counties, Columbia, Clat sop and Multnomah, form an incorpo ration to be known as the Port of Co lumbia. The object of this organization, as set forth in the bill, is to maintain an efficient towage and pilotage service at the mouth of the Columiba River. By failure to pay due heed to the protests which have been raised against this service in the past, the port has suf- lerea to such an extent that we are now penalized by foreign shipowners with a discriminatory rate of Is 3d per ton on most of the sailing ships com ing here. The proposed method by which the business shall be handled te not a new one. It has the merit ' of consolidating the tug and pilot work under one general head, thus prevent ing any shifting of responsibility and making it easy to fix the -blame for any shortcomings, and naturally with the blame fixed the remedy is easier of ap plication. This method was tried In the old days of the Flavel regime, and the efficiency of the service has never since been equaled. Unfortunately, the exorbitant rates charged by Flavel more than off set the advantage of his good service. It was tried again for a brief .period by the O. R. & N. Co., and results were the opposite to those attained by Fla vel. In the desire to make the service show a profit so much economy was practiced that shipping suffered worse than it had before or has since. It was the Imperfections of the service in the old days that were responsible for some of the odium which now rests' on the bar, and which it is hoped to remove by the establishment of a good service. to be maintained less with a view to actual profits than to the ad vantage which will follow by improv ing the reputation of the port in the minds of shipowners. The proposed law is one which must appeal to all dwellers in the Columbia Basin who produce anything which can be shipped seaward. The funds needed for carrying out the project are to be raised by taxation of the three coun ties. 'The plan for raising the funds necessary for the carrying out of the project is such that the burden will fall Jvery lightly on the taxpayers of the three counties, and under proper man agement it will undoubtedly be possi ble to make the service self-supporting at rates which cannot but appeal to the shipowners and redound to the advan tage of the port. The Columbia. .River has very active competitors north and south, and it is highly important that more stringent measures be adopted for the protection and encouragement of our shipping. There is no sentiment in business, and until we can show the foreign shipown ers. In dollars and cents, that this port has advantages which do not warrant discrimination, we will be forced to suffer the existing handicap. The pro posed bill Is drafted on broad, liberal lines, which empower the commtasion ers to correct most of the evils which now exist, and in the hands of a non- political commission, such as will be named, good results are bound to fol low the passage and enforcement of the new law. WILL THE COMMISSION BE EFFICIENT? The Joint railroad committee at Sa lem, it appears, is willing that the Gov ernor shall appoint the proposed Rail road Commission. We suspect that the committee, or some of its members, do not care greatly about the com mission. We cannot understand how otherwise they may be willing to turn over to Governor Chamberlain the ma chinery for building up a powerful po litical organization and electing himself to the United States Senate. The bill. of course, is not yet through the Leg islature. It may not go through in its present shape, or at all... The emer gency clause, of course, will have to be stricken out, else the Governor will carry out his celebrated threat of veto ing any and all measures which are to go into effect upon his signature and thus defeat any opportunity for the referendum. If there is to be a, Railroad Commis sion it ought to be an elective commis sion. The whole tendency of recent state legislation is toward the elective commission. Many states which have had appointive commissions have aban doned them, and - have adopted the other plan, while we know of none that has preferred the appointive method after trying the elective. If we are to have a Railroad Commission, it Is to be assumed that it will become a, perma nent part of our governmental machin ery. But it is bound sooner or later, under the proposed plan, to fall vic tim to the intrigues and machinations of personal politics. After Chamber lain there will be another Governor, we suppose. The struggle for control of the commission will be present In every gubernatorial campaign, and is likely to influence greatly both the for tunes of particular candidates and the welfare of the state. We shall expect soon to see the usefulness of the ap pointed commission utterly destroyed. Its only chance for continued efficiency, it seems to The Oregonian, is in the election of commissioners by the peo ple. COAL SHORTAGE AND CAUSE. It is announced that several thousand tons of Japanese coal have been pur chased for shipment to Puget Sound. Two cargoes are en route from the Far East' to- San Francisco, and negotia tions are pending for a cargo for Port land. In the case of Puget Sound this certainly lends color to the belief that the expression "carrying coals to New castle'.' is something more than a figure of speech. Reasons for the remarka ble shortage' of coal on the Pacific Coast are not easily discernible. There has been a tendency to blame the rail roads for much of the trouble, and In Eastern Washington especially there have been charges that the railroads had restricted the output of the mines. The State .Coal Mine Inspector for Washington has Just filed his report with the Governor, and, instead of showing a decrease in production and thus accounting in a degree for the shortage now existing, it shows that the coal production of the state for the year 1906 was 443,623 tons greater than for the preceding year, the production for the last quarter being greater than for any of the1 three preceding quar ters. There is a possibility that the in creased use of oil as fuel has, paradox ical as it may seem, been the means of causing or at least contributing to the coal shortage. This new fuel came Into general use with such rapidity that it undoubtedly had some effect In caus ing coal dealers all over the Coast to hesitate about securing the usual heavy stocks. San Francisco has for years carried enormous stocks of coal, the requirements of the Navy and. the large number of vessels running in and out of the port being eo great as to war rant these large stocks. During the earthquake and fire these stocks were practically wiped out, and when recon struction began the enormous growth of the oil industry was undoubtedly a restraining factor against renewing the big supplies. The railroads which had begun using oil on a large scale were also influ enced in reducing their coal supplies until -it was too late to repair the dam age. Even far into the Interior, where the influence of the oil fuel is not felt, there seems to have been a general lack of preparation for the severe weather which has been experienced. Interstate Commerce Commissioner Clark, In an interview at TCansas Cityv in discussing the situation in the Northwest, said: The consumers of course did not think of buying fuel until the cold came. The dealer had no stock on hand. He had not filled his bins, but each had a few cars filled with coal on the sidetracks. - The lesson has been a severe one, but it will hardly go unheeded by the con sumens or the railroads. One result may be removal of the coal duty so that dealers will have an opportunity to stock up without fear of any adverse legislation which might affect their holdings. There is tonnage with a ca pacity of more than 100,000 tons now- listed to come from Australia with coal ror tnis tjousc, ana naa tnere been no duty on this coal much of this would have been brought in before the situa tlon became so critical. The proposal in Illinois to make hanging the punishment for highway robbery is not entirely without reason. A highwayman is really more danger ous to society than a murderer, for the ordinary murderer brings down but one victim. The highwayman is ready' to kill as many persons as may resist his efforts to rob them. Every highway man Is a murderer at heart, and if he spares the life of a victim it is be cause he considers it more advan tageous for Mm to do bo. No moral principle in his character stays his hand. The highwayman Is, with scarcely an exception, beyond hope of reformation. His weapon of death is raised against every man or woman who may have money or valuables which he desires to possess. Society is the gainer by the death of such men. JThe man who has deliberately chosen the career of a highway robber, and he must have chosen it deliberately if at all, has no further right to expect the government under which he lives to se cure him in .the enjoyment of life. While the Oregon Legislature could probably not be .induced to make htgh-w-ay robbery a capital offense, there is scarcely any argument to be advanced against such a measure that is not also to be made against the hanging of murderers. The ghost .of that old scheme, a short passage from Europe via a Dominion port, has been revived in Canada. Many attempts in this line have suf fered defeat and there Is no reason to suppose that another looking to the same object will succeed. The big and fast steamships bearing expeditious passenger and mail service will con tinue to follow the Southern route, which terminates in American harbors. The latest scheme is to make Galway. Ireland, the European terminal and St. Johns, N. F.. the Western, with an aux iliary line to the Canadian mainland. It la urged that the run can be made between the two ports mentioned in two and a half days, as the rout lies outside of the fog belt and fast time can therefore be made. It is figured that the distance from London to St. Johns could be covered in three days and from St. Johns to Halifax in one day, so that mall could be delivered in four days. The trouble Is that, when the four days were completed, neither passengers nor mails would be at their destination. Wheat gained more than a cent per bushel in the Chicago market yester day, and the foreign markets scored the heaviest advance that has been made this season. Famine in Russia. with the prospects of an embargo by tne government on all wheat exports, were the principal factors in the ad vance. The statistical position of the cereal in the United States has heen very strong for a long time, but the dependence of our consumers on the markets of the Old World has prevent ed much strength in the market. Even now the future of prices depends to a greater extent on the foreign situation xnan on any conditions which may ex ist in this country. If -the Argentine comes along with the enormous crop wnicn ner people have been reporting, fancy prices for the cereal are not very probable. A Chicago dispatch savs that the hired men of Mr. Hill and Mr. Harri- man are engaged In a wordy war as to the respective merits of their em ployers. Mr. Kruttschnitt says that the reconstruction of the Union Pacific. and Southern Pacific by Mr. Harriman nas enabled those roads to transport fireight more "quickly, economically and efficiently" than any other trans continental road. While it is undoubt edly true that Mr. Harriman has spent more money than Mr. Hill has spent on improvements and betterments, the men who pay the freight on this end of the line will look In vain for any freight transportation in recent month which answers the description of being vi"'-, cvuiiuiinca.1 or emcient. The martial strains of "The Watch on the Rhine" will still float upward from the most distant and unprofitable of the Kaiser's possessions. The pol icy ui reirencnment in the matter of maintaining large forces of soldiers in these remote possessions has been ag gravating the Socialists for a long time, out at ine reballoting in the Reichstag elections, which were heir) throughout the empire Tuesday, the Kaiser's wing of the party won by a large majority. This victory ought to assure the stockholders in the Krupp gun factory umt mere win De no immediate de crease in the, size of the dividends. Ventura, Cal.; the bean metropolis, also complains against the Southern Pacific for discrimination because "it charges a terminal rate to Los Angeles and the local rate to Ventura, thus making it impossible for Ventura todo a. juooing Dusiness." Spokane has smarted the epidemic of complaints that threatens to make a iohhl ter of every crossroads postofflce in the country. While Senator Hodson, friend of the people, is playing for a few brief mn ments his new and unfamiliar role of ioe or monopoly, he ought to have the Legislature Investigate the Portland Job printing trust. otherwise tho Franklin Association, of which he has Deen a member. But of course he has now withdrawn from such' uncongenial uuuipany. Chinese rebels are said to be imrw-f. ing large quantities of arms and am munition in cases which are labeled as books." The articles named on the label, as well as the actual contents of ine cases, are apparently highly essen tial in the civiliziner of the wllnw nm. pie, and it may be that to this fact ia aue lne seemingly inappropriate label. Senator Bailey, of Texas, endeavored to chastise personally a man who called him a liar. If Bailey were to make a personal matter of it with everv indi vidual who regards him as something worse man a liar, he would be kept fully as busy as W. J. Bryan and get teas iun out or nis time. There Is no normal school combine Of course not. The normal schools and the other state schools just happen to nave a community of interest" and to be logrolling In the same old wav to get their hands on the state's funds ana anviae the spoils. The trouble with Expert Wiley was that he ran foul of an expert on ex perts. -An expert always eets alone- better when he doesn't have to answer questions, telling what he knows and now he knows it. It's a coincidence only that those O. R. & N. locomotives were stalled and dead when there was precious little coal to feed them. The O. R. & N. Co. always did play in luck. Mr. Jim Hill modestly says he owns only 7 per cent of the Great Northern stock. But he takes great care that the 93 per cent do none of thejtalking. Attorney Delmas will make a real coup for his foul client if he manages to fortify that insanity plea by showing how he tried to conduct his own case. "Children cry for it," remarks the Spokesman-Review on the latest Spo kane dream of the State of Lincoln. Castorla's only rival, evidently. Expert Wiley probably knows now that the dorsal region is where Jerome hit him, FARM FOR STATE'S PRISONERS J. D, Lee Suggests Substitute for Jute- Mill and Road-Work Plana. WASHINGTON, Jan. 25. To the Edi- tor.) My present remoteness from th State Capitol precludes my keeping well advised as to the present and prospective work of the Legislature. I have noted with Interest the diff erent plans discussed for the employment of state convicts. I presume that the wheat-exporting districts will favor a Jute mill, while Western Oregon will more incline to work them upon the high ways. Both of these proposals I would be pleased to discuss in their various phases, as my opportunities for study- ! Ing them have been good, but I will re frain from so doing. As It sometimes happens that consider ation of two plans results In indecision and inaction, I will call attention to a suggestion made In my biennial report of October 1, 1902, as Superintendent of the Oregon State Penitentiary, which may serve as a solution of the question of employment, should the other pro posals fail of adoption. It Is the locating of a new Penitentiary upon a tract, say of 1000 acres of land, the methods of its purchase to be explained further on. After showing the near approach of self support that could be made under certain conditions, I say in substance (pp. 7 and 8): The preceding paragraph shows the urgent need for more land for the use of the peni tentiary. My mature judgment Is that the state should not delay the purchase of both clear and wooded lands. The limited amount adjacent to the prteon (about 120 acres) pre vents the Inauguration of a thorough system of rotation of crops so essential to good farm ing. In fact, we need all the nearby lands for gardening If we Include potato and corn crops under that heading. I have rented some additional land, which to some extent Im proved the conditions. But paying rent Is exceedingly poor policy. In a few years It will aggregate the price of the land and yet the state will be without land. Moot of my leases have been paid by work in clearing the land. In that way we secured the use of the land and had the wood for fuel. The purchase pf an adequate tract of land, not too far distant from the prison, either in Marlon or Polk County, would, at least, serve three good purposes: First, It would contribute very largely toward the self-main tenance of the institution; second, it would furnish employment to a large number of. convicts In providing products for our own consumption and that of some of the other state Institutions; third, it would afford an opportunity of making at least one classifi cation of the men. The younger, less hard ened and more studious, especially short timers, could be selected for the farm camp. This camp, It would be my hope, would expand into a reformatory and educational department, with permanent and up-to-dato fcutildlnge where unusual .facilities would be afforded for the advancement of the classes which I have just mentioned, both In mental equipment, moral uplifting and thorough drill In modern methods of agriculture, horticulture and stock-raising to some extent also, that this location would ultimately be the prison proper or main penitentiary. The present location is not a desirable one for keeping a large number of men. It could remain a cen tral power and pumping station and Industrial department. It has been frequently urged that the con vict should be taught a trade during his In carceration. This plan would be favorable to that. I am not certain, however, that any trade is better than a thorough drill In agri cultural pursuits. Farming is healthful exer cise and provides good equipment. We use about $3,r.K worth of fuel annually. In lo years It would amount to $35,000, but prices are advancing and would probably be over t-k),000. Why not appropriate the amount of the wood bill and buy uncleared land instead of fuel and make your own wood? The trees should be grubbed. This we do -by pulling them over with horses, using a pulley and tackle. The land thus cleared Is easily made ready for the plow and Its value greatly enhanced. Such an Investment In land and utilization of convict labor would meet the wood bill and place the state in possession of a more valuable tract of land than the original isnr- chase. In a word, the land would be clear gain. Since making that report conditions have somewhat changed. Land has ad vanced. Much wooded land in the vicini ty of Salem has been denuded of its growth, but I believe the proposition 15 still worthy of consideration. In fact is as important as ever. In at least two of the states through which I have recently passed I have heard the regret expressed that there is so little land for the use of their penal institutions. The old plan of a mural inclosure only has been discarded, but perhaps to stu dents of penology the importance of ex tensive grounds appeals most stronirly This Legislature could perform an im portant service to the state by adopting this or some similar plan. J. D. LEE. HODSOX'S OWN LITTLE TRUST. How Portland Job Printers Combine to Cinch the Public. PORTLAND, Feb. 6. (To the Editor.) If Senator Hodson would devote his at tention, talents and energy to breaking up the "printing trust," of which he is a member, known as the Franklin As sociation with its grievous overcharges for Job printing. Its private telephon system used to inform competing (?) printing establishments of prices made to inquiring customers for prospective work, thereby eliminating all ;Mmpeti tion, and its fines imposed on its mem bers for cutting a price made by a com peting (?) firm, he would accomplish more for his constituents, the business houses of Portland and the Northwest, and the counties of Oregon, fiom whom he obtains orders by his political pull, than by playing personal politics and displaying a private grudge, as he has done In his "Associated Press common carrier bill." A VICTIM. Senator Lodare 11 a Pedestrian. Washington (D. C.) Despatch. Probably no member of either branch of Congress walks as much as Senator Lodge. The weather must be very in clement, indeed, and the streets and roads sleet-covered or muddy when the Massachusetts statesman does not cover several miles a day on foot. On those rare occasions when the Senate sessions are prolonged to 6 o'clock or later, Mr. Lodge's walk is usually con fined to the distance between the Capi tol and his residence on Massachusetts avenue, something over a mile. But when the Senate does not sit late he frequently extends his walk from the Capitol out into the country, and re turns home with an appetite for din ner that would do credit to a farmhand. A Boston newspaper man, Morton E. Crane, is his constant companion on the daily walk from the Capitol, and their figures have become one of the familiar sights of Pennsylvania ave nue late in the afternoon. Although older than the President by several years, Mr. Lodge is rjne of the few persons who, without becoming wind ed, can keep up the furious pace set by that strenuous and illustrious pedes trian,, whose companion he frequently is on the long jaunts Mr. Roosevelt takes out in the country. Afterwnrd. Charles Hanson- Towne. Oh, to think that the world will go on After we are dead! Lovers will go on loving, The old, old words will be said. New buds wlllloom In April, And white be the apple bough; June will return, the birds troop back. The earth to be as glad as now. The long, green pageant of Summer Will march its accustomed way. And year after year the Autumn pomp Will crimson the pallid day. Lovers will go on loving. The words that we said will be said, "When you and T are forgotten. When jpu- and, I are dead; STATE'S WEED OF WATER CODE Oregon' Development Blighted by Want of It, Says Professor Yonnc. EUGENE, Or., Feb. 5. (To the Edi tor.) The development of Oregon has been checked and even permanently stunted by the years of delay ih the enactment of an adequate water code. No other single cause has had such blighting influence on commonwealth possibilities in this state. For this Leg islature to fail to get the right prin ciples into our irrigation legislation would be simply disastrous. What in ducement Is there for an actual cultl- cator to locate In our arid or semi ari.l districts before he can be certain of getting water rights? The existence of any surplus water for any prospec tive settler can be determined only through hydrographic surveys and the determination of prior rights. Frovi eion for such surveys and for a process for the conclusive determination or ex isting rights must necessarily be fea tures of any adequate code. The present Legislature has no more important duty than the enactment of a code based squarely upon the prin ciple of "beneficial use. The embodi ment of this principle in the Oregon water code has been delayed alto gether too long. The absence of it from our code means the larger and larger development of monopoly in water rights and monopoly in water rights Is incompatible witlt the condi tions of democratic society. With un restricted private ownership in our power resources they will be gathered up by syndicates who, having no inter est In the local development of the stnte, will simply tax us with their rates for their own enrichment. If the Judicial procedure of litigation proposed as necessary for the deter mination of existing rights will be burdensome on those who have long established rights, why may not the state aid them in securing clear titles? There could be no better purpose served In the use of public funds. But the Wyoming irrigators did not find the process proposed for the deter mination of existing rights burden some. Is nothing to be learned from states older and more prosperous in ir rigation than Oregon? Why should those who champion the interests of the millions of producers yet to be in Oregon be stigmatized as theorists and the champions of special privileges and private monopoly be represented as taking the better part in this matter? F. G. YOUNG. LEGISLATURE OPENED, ANT HOW With "Now I Lay Me." but Suppliant Couldn't Finish Correctly. Trenton (N. J.) Cor. New York World. When the formal meeting of the New Jersey Legislature was recently called, in accordance with the effhstitution, which requires that-a joint session of the body be called every day while the contest Is on for the election of a Lnlted States Senator, only two legis lators were present. Nevertheless, it was necessary to comply with all the forms of convening the joint session, and Assemblyman Burk, of this city, asked Captain John Lovett. the ser-geant-at-arms of the Senate. If he would offer prayer to properly open the session. Mr. Burk made the request in a Jok ing manner, but Captain Lovett took the request seriously, and asked with all reverence that those present in the House join with him In reciting the Lord's Prayer. Then, amid deep silence, the voice of the Captain was heard: "Now I iay me down to sleep," he began, and paused. The Assembly Chamber at the time was filled with students undergoing the state veterinary examination. They tittered when Captain Lovett paused in the prayer, but their levity lasted only a moment. Then one of them, in a deep voice, took up the supplication and all finished it. "I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And should I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." At the conclusion of the prayer Cap tain Lovett asked the Speaker pro tern, if he would be allowed the usual $10 fee given to clergymen making the prayer. "No," was the reply. "You didn't know your prayer. The state pays only for completed prayers." An Appeal for the Bird. PORTLAND, Feb. 4. (To the Editor.) Portland is having unusual Winter weather. The "silver thaw" and the heavy frosts have almost ruined the trees and flowers of the Spring to come. The people are clamoring for wood and coal, which we know are very scarce. But there is a question .1 would Vke to ask the public: What do the birds find to eat during these snow storms and "sliver thaws"? The answer is, nothing. The ground has been covered with snow and ice, and if the people observe they will see helpless robins and sparrows sitting lonely on the bushes, or hopelessly searching for food. Why do not the public take interest In these beautiful creatures and feed them? A crust of bread which would thoughtlessly be thrown away could bo given to the birds, many of which aqe starving to death. A SCHOOLGIRL. IN First Man Who's the elderly looking Second Man That's Senator smoet, till taking his seat away from him. OPEN LETTER TO BARON HAYASHI Japanese Ambassador Petitioned to Strive Against Breach of Peace. PORTLAND, Feb. 6. (To the Editor.) The following letter has been sent to Baron Hayashi, the Japanese Ambas sador at Washington: Please to allow us a word touching the contention between your government and ours not to discuss its merits, but earnestly to protest. In behalf of the best people in this country arid In yours and for the hlgn est and best Interests of both, never to at tempt its adjustment by the arbitrament ot the sword. Diligently use your best effortfc with your government for a speedy adjust ment such in kind as will leave the mutual friendship of the two countries undis turbed, at least to the end of the present century. War Is a horrible thing, as both peoples ought to know from past experi ence. A war with the United States would almost certainly bring hopeless ruin to your country, whether after a few years struggle you should be vlctoKlous or be de feated; for in either case, your loss in men and treasure would be so great as to ren der your now splendid empire an easy prey for Russia or China, for they both have an account against you, which they will not be slow to collect the first favorable oppor tunity. I would suppose that you under stand this. Again. It Is very questionable whether you would come out of the conflict victori ous. This country has had four foreign wars, and has never known defeat. This term is not found In our National vocabu lary, and any other nation would have a gigantic tank on hand in attempting to print it there with sword, shot end shell. War is a hellish demon, whose awful work is death in ItB most cruel form, leaving in its wake blight, woe and misery for succeeding ags. Almighty God will not fall to inflict con dign punishment upon the nation that en gages In war. except it be in self-defense; and it is a fearful thing to fall Into the hands of the living God. Ihe Sovereign of the Universe, when awful guilt lies at the door all stained with human blood. My dear sir. use the best efforts of your ransomed powers in the Interest of and for peace, wonderful peace! "on earth peace, good will toward men." DANIEL, M. CONWAT. Postscript: Allow me to add a word more. As I see It, this country has done more for Japan than has any other country, or than have all others combined. No thought of war against the United States should bs entertained for one moment by Japan. Let our motto be for peace now and forever. D. M. C. PROTEST FROM AN ART ADMIRER Prudish Defacement of Work at Art Museum Ia Objected to. PORTLAND, Or.. Feb. 6. (To the Editor.) Having been only a few months in this city. I visited today for the first time the gypsoplasts in the Art Museum and it was quite a pleasure to see that the Portland public gets in such a way a notion of the most beautiful chef d'oeuvres of the ancient sculptors. One of the finest pieces, a scene full of life and of charming humor, is the "little boy with the goose." You can really see his efforts and how he en deavors to master the big bird. His face Is beaming with joy and mirth and it glows with zeal to overcome his ad versary. I remember how much I en joyed this group when I saw It for the first time In Rome in the original, some years ago, and now I saw here in Port land a copy of this masterpiece spoiled in a most barbarous way. Do those gentlemen who have fixed this horrid leaf, with an old rusty nail, on the stomach of the little boy, believe that he will cause In his natural nakedness great damage to Portland's morals? I think it Is the limit of Ignorance to de form this innocent child's body for hypocritical and stupid prudlshness. Why didn't they dress him elmply in some bathing-drawers? This would have suited him better. And why do not these gentlemen dress "Venus of Melos" in a kimona that they may not be shocked by the beauties of her body? And Portland claims to be the most advanced city of the West Coast, where all modern ideas And a home! Is the spoiling of ancient masterpieces a sign of an enlightened spirit? I do not think so. WALTER VOLLMANN. Rogers to Give Younger Men a Chance. Cincinnati Enquirer. H. H. Rogers recently celebrated his 67th birthday. He found his room In the Standard Oil Company's offices dec orated with American Beauty roses and other flowers, gifts of hlB associates and employes. He seldom misses a day In his office. There have been reports that Mr. Rogers purposed to retire from active business, particularly the presi dency of the Amalgamated Copper Company, but he said that he could not now throw off his harness. He has told friends, however, that he will have to give younger men a chance and con fine his energies to building up the Tidewater Railroad, in .e bituminous coal fields of Virginia, which he may extend to the Great Lakes. Ever Wonianly, William Roscoe Thayer. Bet her among the angels! let her shine a star Nay, call her woman, never more divine Than when she walks the levels where our longings are. And lightens up the prison where we pine. Be angel to my worship; be star my steps to lead From earth's deep gloom to thy radiance above! The dally inspiration of thine Influence I need; But. oh. be simply woman to Tny lovel 1950 From the Washington Herald. Senator? the grand old man from Utah. They're