THE MORNING OREGONIAN, ERIDAY,. .MARCH 8, 1901.
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PORTLAND, I'RIOAY, MARCH , 1907.
AS OMIMUS CONJUNCTION.
What effect will this reported alli
ance between Mr. ' Hearst and the
doughty Tom Watson, have upon the
political fortunes of Mr. Bryan? Mr.
Watson Mas one of the few passengers
upon i ho old ship of populism who
crawlel safely ashore when it was
wrecked, and he continues to this day
vigorous and vocal. His votce is a
shriek and-his thoughts are of an in
temperate cast which repels the con
servative mind; but for all that, ho is
not without Influence. Among the
f.irmers. in particular those of the
South, his ebullient utterances are
taken for monuments of sagacity. His
exhortations are heeded and' obeyed.
Thousand:' stand ready to say to him
in the language of inspired writ.
"Whither thou goest I will go. and
where thou lodgost I will lodge." If
he elects to go into Mr. Hearst's polit
ical camp and lodge there, they will go
with him.
Hitherto Mr. Hearst has not enjoyed
much of the confidence of the farmers.
It was their voles which defeated him
when all the rest of his ticket rode to
j;lorious victory in New York. They
sympathize with his doctrine of unrest;
they believe most that he says about
'the iniquities of the corporations; but
at Hearst himself they still shy. Per
haps the reason is that he came upon
them too suddenly in the full panoply
of his revolutionary preachments. Your
'bucolic mind moves slowly. It .must be
prepared 'by soft allurements and dis
creet approaches. It. must have time to
examine a new proposition. toruininate
over it, to compare its aspects In Spring
and Fall, to observe how it stands the
biting blasts of Winter. Mr. Hearst
phot-kit the farmers. Their interest in
him is' not unkindly, but, like a steer
eyeing a stranger, they decline to ac
cept his advances all at once. More
over.' Mr. Hearst's most devoted allies
and followers heretofore have been the
labor unions and it is only of late that
the asperity of the farmer's feelings
toward organized labor have been
somewhat smoothed. Until recent years
the farmer has posed as an employer of
lHbor. The struggles of the unions to
Advance watros and shorten hours have
therefore received but scant approval
from him. Big wages for his help
.meant small profits for himself. As to
shorter hours of labor, he was con
vinced that they were out of the ques
lion on the farm. The Lord had fixed
'by the immutable course of the seasons
tho number of hours a man must work
daily in seed time and harvest. To at
tempt to curtail them looked mightily
like, impiety. It was certainly foolish.
The advent of the small farm with
scientific agriculture has changed, or
. is rapidly changing, all this. The man
who cultivates his ten acres under the
tuition of the Department of Agricul
lure and in close correspondence with
the experiment stations of the colleges
is no longer an employer of labor. The
efforts of the unions to raise wages
may now receive nis sympathetic ap
proval, since high wages mean a high
power to consume his apples and "pota
toes. iHaving no wages to pay .on his
own account, he can heartily rejoice in
those which are exacted from his man
ufacturing neighbor. Moreover, on the
small farm scientifically conducted the
hours of labor are not from daylight
to dark. With less land and more sense
and knowledge has come leisure. The
farmer can now take time to think for
himself and in his hours of meditative
calm, under the stimulus of Mr. Bryan
and other prophets, he has discovered
that there may be some justice in the
contention of the unions for time to
rest. pl;v and think. Being a fair man
if a little deliberate in his mental ac
tivity, the farmer is not unwilling to
concede to others the same blessings
which he ha won for himself.
The newer agriculture has. in fact
made many changes possible In the
farmer's point of view. It has taken
him from the employers' class: it has
destroyed the essential antagonism be
tween him and the labor unions; and
ii has revealed to him clearly that the
same causes -which excite discontent
among the wage-earners are operating
to plunder his own class of a large
share of what they produce. These
causes he has been taught to sum up
tersely in the phrase "The domination
of the plutocracy.'" The plutocracy
robs him, so he thinks, at every turn.
It poisons his :sroceries. charges two
prices for transportation,, makes him
pay double for his machinery, picks his
pocket through commission charges,
buys up the legislators whom he elects
to remedy matters, and fools him with
fake statutes.
Having this opinion, of the plutoc
racy, he is naturally eager to join bat
tle with' it, and experience has taught-
him that he cannot nght. successfully
w.itnout an organization and a leader.
It is one of the puzzles of our economic
history that the union idea has hith
erto had so little strength among the
farmers. Their uncertain economic
status, partly laborers, partly employ
ers, has acted as a disintegrating prin
ciple among them. The fact that they
could well act independently in some
matters has led them to .fancy that
they might be independent in every
thing; but they are learning better.
The leaven of solidarity has begun to
work,' and we may expect before a
great while to see -the farmers massed
in a union as strongly coherent as that
Jf the miners. Who shall lead them?
Evidently the man who most complete
ly expresses their class aspirations. Is
this .Mr. Bryan? The, development of
radicalism among the farmers has over
taken Mr. Bryan and perhaps left , him
behind. He stands where he did ten
years ago; they have steadily advanced.
The "class-conscious" farmers have
more real political kinship today with
Mr. Hearst than with Mr. Brian." Mr.
Bryan's strength is the universal belief
in his integrity; a suspicion that he
was trying to brake the car of progress
would be a source of weakness. If the
corporations should' finally turn to him
as a bulwark against men of more rad
ical ideas, the farmers would probably
desert his banner. Who, then," would
be loft to lead them but Mr. Hearst?
The alliance between Hearst and Wat
son cannot prevent Bryan's nomination.
but it may easily be the instrument
reserved by destiny to prevent his elec
tion.
THE M1LLWORKKAS 8TK1KK.
The milluorkeis' strike is. from ,a
business standpoint, the worst labor
trouble that has been inflicted on our
prosperous city. In no otner commod
ity ill which Portland and Oregon are
so largely interested is such a large
portion of the cost of the finished prod
uct absorbed by labor. From the time
the ax of the woodman lays low the
Umber in the forest until the finished
product is loaded on board ship or car
labor comes in for a liberal portion of
the cost at all stages. The strike in
this city has not yet rcajched an acute
stage, where the .mills are obliged to
hut down; but if it should reach such
a stage the loss to the men employed
In the varying branches of the industry
would be enormous.
Throughout the timber districts of
the Lower Columbia and its tributaries
are thousands of men employed in log
ging ca,mps which supply the Portland
mills with -the raw material. Hundreds
more find employment on the boats en
gaged in towing the logs to the mills,
and the vessels to and from the sea.
There are hundreds on the vessels en
gaged in carrying the product to mar
ket. All of this army of laborers will,
if the strike 'is prolonged, feel its bane
ful influen.ee either directly or indi
rectly, -and. no matter on what basis
the matter is adjusted between the men
actually striking and their employers.
there will be rn economic loss of thou
sands which must fall on the men who
were not directly involved.
As in all other strikes, the men who
can least afford to lose suffer the most.
The millowners could probably retire
and spend their days in peace without
the necessity of sawing another log;
but few, if any, of the employes can
afford to do so. Labor is the only cap
ital which the laborer has to work
with, and when he ceases working his
capital is dead. Whatever the merits
of the present controversy may be. it
is affecting a large number of inno
cent people who are not directly con
cerned and who would heartily rejoice
at early settlement of the trouble.
ntI(.IU:i) AND 'OCNI WANTING.
New York City has, according to gen
eral belief, the most efficient bureau of
weights and measures of any city in
the country. ' The question of. short
weight and scant measure having been
brought prominently before the people
of this state through the. discussion of
the Burns bill in the late Legislature,
it may be of interest to our people to
know that, though they have not al
ways got what they paid orat the gro
cery store, the meat market and the
coal bunkers, thoy are probably as well
off in this respect as are the people of
the opulent metropolis.
The report of the bureau shows that
during the year 1006 a total of 43,7Ha
inspections wei'e made and as a result
18:15 violators of the law were detected.
This list included 453 grocers, 75:1
butchers, 179 ice dealers and 78 coal
dealers.
On the lower East Side, where pur
chasers can ill afford to lose even a
fraction of an ounce on any purchase,
it is shown by this report that dealers
cheat 697 times out of every 1257; that
coal dealers who give short weight cut
out from 50 to 000 pounds to the ton,
the average shortage in this commodity
among this class of violators of the law
being 100 pounds. Among small deal
ers bags supposed to weigh- 60 pounds
commonly contain not more than 40
pounds of coal.
Portlan.i grocers will perhaps aver
age up fairly with those in the business
anywhere. It is pleasant to think that
in the m tss they give good weight and
full measure. But it is not reasonable
to suppose that they are entirely with
out those in their ranks who would be
scheduled by an efficient inspector of
weights and measures with the 453 in
New York who, being weighed- upon
their own scales, were found wanting,
SCIENTIFIC LOVE.
The intellectual labors of the profes
sors in the University of Chicago are
often sneeringly classed among the
bye-products of petroleum. We recog
nize the validity of the classification,
but we omit the sneer. The adventures
of those learned gentlemen in the wil
dernesses of thought are exciting, di
verting, terrifying, but they are not to
be sneered at, nor, for that matter,
sneezed at, cither.
Take, for example. Professor Charles
R. Henderson's lucubrations upon the
theme of love. Under his guidance sci
ence has at last successfully invaded
that dark and bewildering: realm and
matte, as it were, a secure conquest of
it. To speak plainly. Professor Hen
derson has reduced lovemaking to an
art. Henceforth it will go by rule, by
number, weight and measure. Unless
the account is misleading he has dis
covered a formula by which a young
man can conduct a courtship without
the delay, heartburning and uncer
tainty which have always aforetime at
tended lovemaking. If the rule is fol
lowed strictly, the result is inevitable.
The beloved object simply must say
yes when the question is popped. It
works out like a quadratic equation or
the rule of three.
The young rvaa nrst ascertains the
weight, complexion, age and a few
other attributes of the girl whom he
desires to marry. These particulars he
inserts In the formula. Then he multi
plies, divides and extracts the square
root and the result is a receipt which
never fails. It beats philters and love
powders all hollow. He learns just
how many times to call, at what hour
and how long to stay; what he is to
say at each visit; when to send flowers,
and so on, neglecting nothing, leaving
nothing to chance.- It is alleged that
the rule never has been known to fail.
Of course the saving of time and ex
pense through this latest triumph of
exac-t science will be enormous. Think
of the hours and days which young
men in love have heretofore wasted
hanging round the home of the fair
one, pining, sighing, writing sonnets.
No more of that now. Think of the
energy wasted in popping the question
before the proper moment and being
told that it was so sudden. All that
is past. Thing of the money wasted in
buying superfluous theater tickets,
flowers and rides in the shoot the
chutes. All that will now be saved.
Lovemaking is reduced to a certainty
and future lovers will be the happiest
instead of the most wretched of man
kind. The debt of gratitude which the
world owes to Mr. Rockefeller will be
enormously increased by this latest
great discovery which has been made
at his university.
THE WATER-LEVEL ROUTE.
Construction of a railroad down the
Snake River from Huntington to Lew
iston will give the Harri.man interests
a decided economic advantage over any
other transcontinental railroad. No
other line in operation or projected be
tween British Columbia and the Mexi
can border can follow so closely the
lines of least resistance as that which
finds an outlet at tidewater at Portland.
For one who is unfamiliar with the
tremendous advantage of low grades in
railroading it is difficult to understand
the heavy saving in cost of operation
as compared with that on lines where
grades are heavy. With. Mr. Harri
man introduction of economies of this
nature seems to have been a hobby,
and it is a hobby that has served well
to fatten the dividends of his proper
ties.
In three years he spent on the Union
Pacific and Southern Pacific alone more
than J140,000,0O0 in reducing grades and
eliminating curves, and that it was
money well spent is strikingly shown
by the results which have followed.
But by none of his other routes to the
coast will it bo possible to move as
much freight with a given amount of
power as by the line which terminates
in this city and of which the Snake
River branch now under construction
will be a most important link. The
tendency in railroading has for a long
time been to enlarge -the size of the
trainload to the maximum capacity of
the engines in .use, and as the ability
of the engines to move heavy trains is
dependent to a considerable extent on
the nature of the track and roadbed, it
naturally follows that every additional
car that can be added to a train means
an increased profit on the service.
The Paciftb' Northwest will, reap a
benefit from this new line on both east
bound and westbound business. It will
offer an opportunity for shipment of
lumber, fruit, hops and other Oregon
and Washington products by the best
transcontinental line in operation, and
its economic advantages will, -as soon
as the Columbia Fvlver bar is improved;
result in the routing both east and
west of enormous quantities of Oriental
freight,.- which by the Harriman lines
now terminating at San Francisco must
be lifted over great altitudes in both
the Rocky Mountains and the Sierras.
Nature has been kind to Portland in
affording such a wonderful water-level
route from the far Interior down to
tidewater, and. now that the advan
tages of this route are being recognized
by the greatest railroad men of the
age, the future of this city is assured.
With as much at stake as we shall
have when this new line and the new
North-Bank road begin delivering
traffic at our gates, it becomes all the
more important that all possible effort
should be made to improve conditions
at the entrance of the Ttver. There
should be no relaxation of energies
until the river between Astoria and
the sea is in as good condition as it is
between Astoria and Portland.
FOREIGN TRADE INCREASING.
Foreign trade for the year 1007 seeihs
to be making a good start on another
record-breaking year. The Bureau of
Statistics of the Department of Com
merce and Labor has just issued a bul
letin showing the business for Janu
ary, and for the seven months of the
fiscal year beginning July 1, 1906. Ac
cording to these figures, our exports for
the first month of the new year were
J19.000.000 greater than for the . same
month last year. Imports for the same
period were $20,000,000 greater than for
January, 1906. For the seven months
our imports showed a gain of 3114.000,
000 over those for the same period in
the preceding- fiscal year, while our
exports were ?79.OO0.OOO greater than for
the corresponding period last JPear.
Europe, as usual, led all other coun
tries, taking four-fifths of our exports
and supplying about one-half of our
imports, although the relative propor
tion of gain was about the same, in
all countries with -which we do busi
ness. There is, of course, always some
complair.t 'because our foreign trade
does not grow more rapidly, but the
figures at hand are. considering the
circumstances, quite satisfactory. There
is a continued effort in some quarters
to promulgate belief that our foreign
trade is languishing because there is
an insufficient amount of American
shipping to carry our goods to market.
The steady increase in the volume of
our foreign trade, coincident with the
decline in our foreign fleet under the
American flag, offers sufficient answer
to this specious argument for a ship
subsidy. That the trade could be in
creased is undoubtedly true, but it must
not be forgotten that it requires two
parties to make a trade.
If we discourage and prohibit impor
tation of goods and products from
countries with which we are seeking to
increase our trade, it is hardly reason
able to suppose that they will put
themselves out to push our wares to
the exclusion of those from other coun
tries more favorably inclined to the
square deal. We ' have 'been for so
many years engaged in the business of
developing our internal commerce and
evolving plans and policies for living
within ourselves that, aside from the
great staples which the foreigners are
forced to buy from us, we have sold
only a limited amount of goods to them.
In return, we take just as little as can
be squeezed in through the high-tariff
screen that shuts out many foreign
commodities which could be used to
great advantage in this country. As
the output of our factories and fields
increases beyond the needs of home
consumption the necessity of a dumping-ground
in other countries for the
surplus will become steadily more ap
parent. At the present time, as for many
years past, the foreigners are coming to
us for these goods and products, but
the time is approaching when we must
go to them and solicit their trade. We
must do even more. We must let down
he bars' to a great many commodities
which our own people need, and the
sale of which would enhance the pur
chasing power of the people who are
buying our surplus products. This
country cannot go on showing such
liberal increases in foreign trade with
out perfecting some kind of a recipro
cal arrangement with the countries re
sponsible for the showing made. Our
transportation facilities, financial con
nections and othejvfactors In the for
eign trade questioTi are of the best;
but if we are to maintain the prestige
we now enjoy it will be necessary for
us to adopt a more liberal .policy
toward other countries and incidentally
send aniong them a higher class of for
eign Consuls than the average now in
the service.
Reduction of the compensation of. a
public official at his own request is so'
rare a circumstance that it deserves
more than a passing notice. News dis
patches published a few days ago in
form the taxpayers of Oregon that
State Printer W. S. Duniway has re
duced the cost of printing the legisla
tive calendars from $16,106 to $7800. or
a saving of $8300. There was strong
effort in the Legislature to have calen
dars printed as they have been in the
pasti but Mr. Dunlway, contrary to all
precedents, threw 'his influence with
those who stood for reform. He was,
in fact, the father of this reform, for
his campaign against printing office
grafts last Spring was directed chiefly
against the calendar abuse. He was
elected largely upon the strength of his
pledges to the people. He has .made
good his pledges thus far. and deserves
credit for so doing. ,-It is not often that
a public officer will fight to have his
income reduced $200 a "day for forty
days, as Mr. Duniway did.
The new Oregon containsso many peo
ple who have reached this land of prom
ise within the past decade or two that
it is only when the hand of death io laid
on some of the oldtimers that we recall
the old days before the railroad- came.
Captain Miles Bell, who died at Salem
last week, like John Kelly, who died
in Portland this week, was one of the
old guard of Ben Holladay's regime in
Oregon, Captain Bell running on' the
river boats of the Holladay line, while
Mr. Kelly was in the ocean service.
The continual changes which are being
wrought by the development in the
present era are full of interest, but
there was a tinge of romance about
Oregon life in .the golden . age of .steam-
boating in the Northwest that-will not
be forgotten until- the last of the .'now
rapidly aging participants have been
gathered to rest.
The Iroquois Theater trial has been
blocked indefinitely by a complication
of legal technicalities. , It has only been
little over three years since the the
ater tragedy took place, and the mat
ter is recalled at this time by the plac
ing on trial for manslaughter of Will
J. Davis, manager of the theater. Of
course it is natural to expect that' the
lawyers will enter objections when any
such attempt is made to railroad mat
ters. " Judging by- the length of time
that has already elapsed since the trag
edy, it is unreasonable to expect that
Mr. Davis should be placed on trial for
at least ten-or" fifteen years. 'However,
his rights will undoubtedly be protected
and if he does not die of old age in
the meantime the trial may proceed
toward the end of the century.
The British bark Galena has been
stripped of her rigging and all move
able equipment,-audi will probably be
abandoned to her fate." It was thought
before the storms of Winter -had buf
feted - her that she might again be
floated, but with shipping property at
low ebb in value, the incentive to take
the risk of the heavy expense involved
is missing, and the bark will remain
as a monument to the reckless naviga
tion of the master who was responsi
ble, for her trouble.
Councilman Preston announces that
he wishes to be.,re-elected in the First
Ward. Mr. Preston, like several other
members of the Council who stood with
the "solid nine" on the side of the gas
company against tho people and forti
fied the liquor forces, is pleased with
his record. -The gas company and the
saloon men will vote for him and his
associates. The ambitious gentlemen
have a constituency sure enough.
It seems that the possessors of the
city's market block are violating the
terms of the franchise awarded them
by the city and are using the block for
other purposes than stipulated in the
franchise. By and by the possessors
will claim the "vested right" to do
with the land as they please. It's the
same old way of gouging the public
by means of franchises.
The next National political conven
tions will be filled with delegates of
the Oregon brand- of statesmanship
paying their own railroad fare. Won't
the railroads fejE-l queer? But give Mr.
CRen more rope and, there ' won't be
any National conventions.
The Senate at Olympia has turned
down a. .bill for the initiative. If one or
two men wh'o live in Oregon should
move into Washington State, things
might be different.
Judge Hebbard, in San Francisco,
seems to be another man afflicted with
"emotional Insanity." He needs only
to shoot somebody to prove it.
A woman in Bellingham has just died
at the age of 100 years, refusing to the
last to call a physician. She knew one
secret of long living.
Hill has delivered the goods as to Se
attle and Portland terminals. Now all
of us would like to see what goods Har
riman will deliver.
It takes more than a Legislature to
kilt Oregon's surplus normal schools.
Like the cat, they all "come back.
HOW DIVORCES ARB INCREASING
Twice aa Frequent la Pant Decade aa
Be-fore That Time.
Chicago Tribune. .
Between 1S67 and 1SS6 the number of
divorces in the United States per 100.000
of population-was 33. Between 1887 and
1906 the number was 70 per 109.000. Mani
festly the divorce habit is growing upon
the people. But it is not growing so rap
idly in Chicago as it is in other parts of
the country. In Philadelphia the number
of divorces was 22 per 100.000 of popula
tion in the first period and 63 in the sec
ond. In Chicago the figures were 73 for
the first period and .107 for the second.
Even in Boston the rate of increase is
greater than in Chicago. There are still
more divorces here per 100,000 than in
Boston or Philadelphia, but that may not
be the case a few decades hence. The
unenviable reputation which this city has
so long enjoyed as the great divorce
center may fade away.
The inquiries of the census bureau leave
no doubt .ae to the increasing frequency
of divorce. They have not gone far
enough to give a clew to the reason.
When all the causes relied on by the
complainants shall have been tabulated
there may be a little more light on the
subject. It may, be helpful- to find out
how many of the parties to the suits were
reared in this country and how many
were immigrants brought up under dif
ferent conditions.
Even when the statistics shall have
been gathered up and worked over in
many ways there will be room for
abundant controversy over the underlying
cause of an unpleasant social phenom
enon. There will be abundant opportun
ity for the sociologists, the ministers,
and others who are interested in the subject-to
display their acumen. Some will
ascribe the greater disregard of the
sacredness of the marriage tie to the
growth of irrellgion, others will lay it to
the greater economic independence of
women, for a divorced woman can earn
her living more easily now than she could
50 years ago. Some will say that woman
has gained a higher sense of personal
dignity and will not put up with hus
bandly abuse so meekly as she used to.
Others will say that the laws are too
lax and judges too easy going and that
the reformation of the divorce laws will
work a great change for the better. If a
study of the divorce statistics for 40 years
shall show that social forces which legis
lation cannot enchain are chiefly re
sponsible for the 'increase in divorces,
there will be no hope -of a radical cure
Nothing will remain but to apply what
ever palliatives the wisest students of the
evil can suggest.
GOVERN OREGON BV COMMISSION
Suggestion Is Made That Galveston Ex
periment Be Tried. .
GASTON. Or.. March 6. (To thi Editor.)
I recently saw in The Oregonian com
ments by different people as to causes
for failure of the last Oregon State Sen
ate to fulfil the promises made to the
people when elected and remedies for
same.
Can there be any change under the
present system, in lobbyists gettmg in
their work while the legislative house3
are in session? Would it not be better to
abolish both houses and govern "Dy
commission a la Galveston, made to suit
this state?
Let the people elect the Commission
every four vears. said Commission to
frame, the laws as required by the peo
pie,- and let the Commissioners come be
fore the people every two years to be
voted upon at one great mass meeting of
voters, in lieu of primaries as at pres
ent. '
There being no vetoing power, the peo
ple would govern. And be the laws good
or bad. they would suffer accordingly.
Then, what the people wanted they would
get and would not be compelled to put
up with what they did not want. It
might cost a little more, but we would
get what we paid for which we do not
get now. If any member of the Com
mission should prove incompetent, he
should be removed at the request of the
majority of the people at the end" of the
first two years. Would not something of
thla kind be more satisfactory than what
we have at present?
JOHN MASTERS
Qualified Inaanlty Experta.-
Chicago Chronicle.
The hair-splitting, the involved state
ments, the didactic manner and the pomp
ous dignity of the average "expert" com
bine to give him the air of a "crank" t
man who cherishes one idea and subordi
nates all others to It. He is the victim
of egomania ranging from adolescent to
senile. To iut such men in the position
of passing upon men's lives or. liberty is
preposterous.
It happens fortunately that the insanity
"expert" has so thoroughly discredited
himself that juries pay small attention
to htm, and where one "expert" is pitted
against another the two neutralize each
other, so to speak. The question is, how
ever, whether these monomaniacs should
be permitted to testify at all. If lunatics
are to pass upon the sanity of accused
persons why not go to the incurable ward
instead of the superintendent's office for
experts"? Why not "go the whole figure'
at once? The question- is not ludicrous
but entirely serious. If insanity is the
prime qualification for an "expert" the
crazier he is the more expert he will be.
In this view of the matter the witness
chair should be occupied not by the milde
cases of mania but by gentlemen in strait
jackets. .
Railroad Commission Prophecy.
ASHLAND, Or., March 6. (To the Edi
tor.) I have not noticed that The Ore
gonian has advertised for a prophet, they
beina- somewhat of a drug on the marKet
and while not posing as one, I venture to
DroDhecy as follows: That. at tne nex
meeting of the Legislature, the Railroad
Commission will report- something like
this: First That the salary of a Com
missioner is not sufficient. Second Tha
the Commission is greatly hampered by
the lack of clerks and stenographers.
Third That the Commission was unable
to accomplish much toward the relief of
cause of lack or autnonty unoer tne pres
ent law. - . -
I mention this as being In line with the
usual realization of legislation by com
mission, feeling that a large portion of
laws are enacted to correct and amend
old laws or. to repeal them especially
thosa designed to level differences and
correct ineaualities caused by great ability
in one man or set of men, as against less
ability and advantages in other men. The
"smart" and "wicked" seem always to
survive. . H- L. Vv .
Christian Scientist Gives Thanks.
'HERMISTON, Or.. March 6. (To the
Editor.) After reading The Oregonian
frank editorial last Sunday regarding Mrs.
Eddy, I resolved to write and say how
very much Christian bcientists appreciated
it. There have been so many unjust
articles published lately on the subject of
Christian Science that it helps to restore
one's faith in mankind to have a paper
like The Oregonian. so widelyknown for
its splendid, sound editorials. - give the
topic fair treatment.
MRS. A. C. CRAWFORD.
NO ' MORE ASSISTED ALIENS
Attorney-General Says 'New Immi
gration Law Forbids Tliem.
WASHINGTON, March 7. A statement
was issued by the. Department of Justice
today concerning an opinion submitted
to President Roosevelt by Attorney-General
Bonaparte as to whether certain im
migrants who were landed in South Caro
lina last Fall are legally in this 'coun
try. The opinion is that the immigrants
were entitled to admission to this coun
try, and that they were In the United
States legally. This opinion agrees with
that rendered upon the same case by
Solicitor . Barle, of the Department of
Commerce and Labor.
The Attorney-General holds, however.
that under the provisions of-the recently
enacted immigration act. the immigrants
in question could have been excluded.
What south Carolina Did.
The statement says:
It appear from the statement furnished
by the Department of Commerce & Labor
hat the Legislature of the state created
he office of Immigration Commissioner and
made an appropriation of $2000 for Its ex
penses for the -express purpose of encourag
ing Immigrants to come Into that state, it
also appears that certain private parties
made up a Xund amounting to about $:U),ono,
which was placed in tiie hands of the
Commissioner, E. J. Watson, and with these
resources he 'went abroad and by adver
tisements and otherwise collected a consid
erable number of laborers or artisans wiio
were willing to migrate to South Carolina
where labor was -In great demand.
He paid the passage of these people by an
agreement that they should repay him out
of their wages from employment he might
procure for them. Under the terms of the
agreement signed by the immigrants and
Commissioner Watson, the latter promised
o find employment for the former, but the
immigrants themselves -were free to reject
any particular offer of employemnt that
might be made to them.
Immigrants 'Sot Under Contract. .
The Attorney-General holds. In effect.
that the original provisions of the alien
contract labor law of 1885 were not re
pealed by the Immigration law of l0:l and
that after 3P03, whenever passage money
had been paid of any alien laborer who
came to-this. country under a previous con
tract to perform labor here, such alien
labor -was not entitled to admission Into
the trnited States.
Tills did not operate, however, to Include
the laborers in question, because, according
to the construction placed upon the act of
1885 by the courts, it was an essential con
dition to a violation of that law that the
aborers should be under a previous en
forceable contract ' to perform labor, and
these laborers do not appear to have been
under any such enforceable contract. Al
though the passage of these laborers may
have been .paid in pursuance of ftn offer
or solicitation of employment and in viola
tion ot the "provisions of the act o. iyo-i.
this would not render the aliens themselves
liable to e-.luslon, as this act did not con-
ain any provision excluding from admission
aliens whose passage money had been paid
in violation of Its provisions.
New Law Would Exclude.
The Attorney-General holds. In effect.
however, that under the provisions of the
new immigration act which was approved
by the President last Monday, the immi
grants in question, could have been ex
cluded. .
CASE AT CHARLOTTE DROPPED
Cotton-Mill Men Accused of Violat-
- lug Law Go Free; 1
GREENSBORO, X. C. March 7. The
tflal of Kdward A. Smith- and Sumner
Sargent, Charlotte mill men charged with
violation of the immigration laws, was
abruptly ended today by Judge Boyd s
instructing the-jury .to find in favor of
the defendants. The actiqn was taken
on motion of counsel for the .Government.
It was alleged in the complaints that
the cotton mill-owners employed Costello
to go to England to hire laborers for the
mills and that, in -pursuance of this agree
ment, . Costello went and by promises,
contracts and 'agreements secured the
consent of -aliens to come to America. It
was also alleged that Costello prepared
their passage and -gave them "show"
money. There were 71 of the aliens who
came to America to work in the mills
around Charlotte. .
The defendants offesrd as defense that
Costello exceeded his authority as agent,
and Judge Boyd held that the Govern
ment must show that the.' defendants
shared in the unlawful purpose with Cos
tello. The defendants also contended that.
as there was hot skilled labor of a like
kind unemployed in this country, they
were not amenable tq the law.
Consternation In Hawaii,
a
HONOLULU, March 7. The opinion of
Attorney-General Bonaparte - to tbe -effect
that assisted immigration is illegal
has caused the greatest consternation
here. It is feared that it will cause the
loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars
Involved in the charters of the steamers
Heliopolis and Kumerfc. besides defeat
ing the effort to introduce European im
migration into Hawaii. A special meet
ing of'the Territorial Board of Immigra
tion will be called to consider the. sub
ject and will cable its views to Presi
dent Roosevelt.
And Danger Lurked So Near.
CHICAGO. "March 7. That the roof
of the old. La Salle-strcet tunnel has
not been broken through -by the keel
of some vessel of deep draught was a
subject of wonderment yesterday -'to
the engineers who-are superintending
the destruction of the" tunnel. -' .
It was. -discovered that the brick
arch, which "held up the river," is
barely two. feet in thickness. Iti the
absence of the original- specifications.
traction authorities have supposed that
the roof varied in thickness from four
to six feet, and have - allowed, street
cars to pass through without" . a
thought of danger.. ' . V
A CORNER ON THE
r ALLyms
K. H. HARRIMAN BAYS HK WOl'M)
C'OCNTKY IF " THE INTERSTATE
ALLOW HIM TO'. ; - -
iKgs I '
NO ACTION OX CHINESE liABOn
Government Kclease-s Bidders from
Obligations Vntler Bids.
WASHINGTON. March 7. Frederick
Morse, of the American-China Company,
and Julian Rubens, who have submitted
proposals to the Isthmian Canal Commis
sion to supply Chinese laborers for the
canal work, have addressed an Inquiry to
Secretary Taft as to the decision of the
Department upon their bids, which have
been pending since last Fall:
Action has been deferred on these bids
because the administration was not cer
tain that the work would be done by con
tract or continue under Government man
agement. Meanwhile the bidders have
become impatient and' Mr. Morse called
on Mr. Taft today, with the result that
they went to the White House and dis
cussed the matter with the President.
Later the following statement was given
out at the War Department: .
"In -view of the changes which have
taken place in the management on the
Isthmus, the persons making the bids
for Chinese labor, which have been long
pending, have been notified that no ac
tion will be taken in respect to them;
that they are released from any obliga
tions under their bids, and that, if occa
sion should arise for a renewal of bids
for Chinese labor, they would be noti
fied." GERMAN TARIFF AGRKEMK.Vf.
Misunderstanding Is Removed Von
Sternberg's Salary Raised.
BHRLIN. March 7 When the proposi
tion to increase the salary of Baron
Speck von Sternberg, the German Am
bassador at Washington, by $5090, came)
up before the appropriations committee
of the Reichstag today, during the discus
sion of the Foreign Office budget. Baron
Ton Koerner, director In the trade divis- '
ion of the Foreign Office, said an agree
ment in opinion had been reached with tho
representatives of the United States on
the basis for a future commercial treaty
from which it was hoped that a satis
factory outcome of the situation would be
reached. The American Tariff Commis
sioners, Dr. von Koerner added, had not "
full power to conclude a treaty, but the
results of the negotiations were favor
able to German interests. . .
Many misunderstandings had been ad
justed, the American Commissioners had
been convinced of many inconvenience.
and unfair things in the treatment of
German exporters, had ao reported to
President Roosevelt and the results of
their report will foe made public soon.
Turning to the salary of the Ambassa
dor to the United States, Dr. Koerner
said that the cost of living in Washington
had increased since the salary of the
Gorman representative was lixed.at
000, when the German Legation, in 1x03,
was raised to the rank of an Bmbassy.
The committee eventually decided to in
crease the Ambassador's salary by $500".
and also voted to increase the. salary of
the first, secretary by raising it to
M750, tho same as in the case of the sim--inr
posts at Paris, St. Petersburg and
Vienna.
SAYS TOWER HAS 1XFLCKNCE
German Foreign Minister Denies
American Newspaper Attacks.
BERLIN, March 7. Tho Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs, Herr von
Tschirsky, in conversation today with
the, correspondent of the Associated
Press, said: 1
"I have heard that some of the
American newspapers have said that
your Ambassador here. Mr. Tower, is
without - influence with our govern
ment. Such statements seem to me odd,
because it is well known now large
a personal' and political position Ir.
Tower has made for himself in Ber
lin.' He maintains. It Is true, with
firmness, the contentions of the United
States, but that is precisely what we
expect of our own Ambassadors. Mr.
Tower's long experience in internation
al matters and his power of interpret
ation prove clearly to us that Ameri
can views have contributed much to
tho good-will between our country and
the United States."
Emperor William dined with Ambas
sador and Mrs. Tower this evening.
MAY NOT SEE CANAL AFTER ALL
Quarantine May Prevent Congress
men From Going to Isthmus.
NEW YORK. March 7. Speaker Can
non and the other members of the Con
gressional party which sailed a few days
ago : on the Hamburg-American steam
ship Bluecher.' may not be permitted to
visit Colon, according to information re
ceived here today." The party- had planned
to stop at Colon on the. homeward trip
and inspect the canal work. Today the
news came: that the "Panama government
has - established a quarantine against
Venezuelan ports, because of a reported
outbreak-of yellow fever at La Guayra.
The Bluecher is scheduled to call at La
Guayra and also at Puerto Cabello, be
fore she reaches the Isthmus.
-w J n r !,.,! rn 1'.. tn
- '. . '
i . ROME, March 7. According to Signer
Tadiollni, the sculptor, the monument of
Pope Leo XIII for the basilica of St.
Jdhn Lateran will be finished in ten days.
The bo'dy 'of the late pontiff, he thinks,
will bev removed after Easter.
The monument represents the Pope giv
ing a blessing. His statue is inflanked
by figures representing the church mourn
ing nd kneeling workmen imploring a
blessing. .
"KING". BUSINESS
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