8
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, APRIL 19,' 1907.
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PORTLAND-. FRIDAY, APRIL 19. 1807.
WHAT IS AJ "ACTUAL SETTLER" T
"What constitutes an actual settler?"
asks a correspondent of The Oregonlan
writing from Dallas, desiring to know
who is entitled to buy lend in the rail
road land grants of the Oregon & Cali
fornia and Southern Pacific, under the
proviso of the Congressional act of
April 10. 1869; "provided, further, that
the lands granted by the act aforesaid
shall be sold to actual settlers only. In
quantities not greater than one quarter
section to one purchaser, and for a
price not exceeding $2.50 per acre"; and
under saction 4 of the Congressional act
of May 4, 1S70: "And be it further en
acted, that the said alternate sections
of land granted by this act, excepting
only such as are necessary for the
company to reserve as depots, stations,
sidetracks, woodyards, standing ground
and other needful uses in operating the
road, shall be sold by the company only
to actual settlers, in quantities not ex
ceeding 160 acres, or a quarter section,
to any one settler, and at prices not
exceeding $2.50 per acre."
If the land-grant matter shall be
brought to Issue In court, the meaning
Is likely to be a strnuous subject by
the railroad attorneys. For how can a
person be an actual settler on land
that belongs to a railroad? Would he
not rather be a trespasser? If the acts
of Congress meant actual settlers to
mean those persons then occupying the
land granted the railroad, have not
such actual settlers ceased to exist In
the thirty-seven years since the acts
were passed? The railroad attorneys
will be fertile with subterfuges, subtle
ties and technicalities. The meaning of
actual settler will be one of the hard
fought issues.
But sound sense, unimpaired by soph
istry of lawyers, puts on actual settler
an easy meaning. The acts intended
that any person otherwise qualified who
desired to make a home on land within
the railroad grant should be considered
an actual settler. Such persons were
to obtain the land from the railroad
Just as other land from the United
States. Here. Is evidence of the fact
that Congress placed the granted lands
In trust for the railroad, making the
railroad trustee. .
By the terms of the trust the railroad
was to sell tho land., at a price not to
exceed $2.50 an acre, to actual settlers.
In order that the Government lands
adjoining might not be sold for a less
price and thus prevent the sale of the
rullroad lands, the act of 1S66 declared:
"And the sections and parts of sec
tions of land which shall remain in the
United States, within the limits of the
aforesaid giant, shall not be sold for
less than double the minimum price
t$2.5 of public lands when sold," and
the act of 1870 declared that such lands
"shall be disposed of only to actual set
tiers, at double the minimum price for
such landiO
The meaning of actual settler, there
fore, should not be difficult to deter
mine. It is a person who purposes to
establifh & home. Such person was to
have the same access to the lands
granted to the railroad as retained by
the United States. The United States
was to charge him not less than $2.50
an acre and the railroad not more than
that price. The railroad agreed to re
ceive the land on these terms, and Its
acceptance of the acts of Congress is
on record. The United States made the
rr-llroad us agent for disposing of the
lands, awordlng to the terms of the
Congressional acts, and the agent was
to use the money obtained from selling
the lands for redeeming its construc
tion bonds. . This was considered a
more convenient method of aiding the
railroads than for the United States to
sell the lands and pass the money over
to the railroad.
Tt was not Intended that title to the
lands in the grant should be vested In
the railroad, to dispose of as it willed
or as absolute ownership would have
permitted. The railroad received the
lands in trust, which bound It to dis
pose of them to actual settlers. Just as
the Interior Department was obliged to
do under the same acts as made the
grants. According to this Interpreta
tion, any person, otherwise qualified.
Intending to establish a home, should
be allowed by the railroad to pick land
where he wishes to settle, and to re
ceive the land at a price not to exceed
$2.50 an acre and in a tract of not more
than 160 acres.
O.VE MORE NOTABLE LAND-FRAUD
CASE.
The opening of the Benson-Hyde
land-fraud case at Washington In the
near future, for which case many wit
nesses have been summoned from Ore
gon, will at last throw open to public
view the secret transactions by which
was consummated one of the largest
land steals ever undertaken in Oregon.
In a general way the story has been
known for several years. In fact. The
Oregonlan published In 1900 a detailed
account of the proceedings 'so far as
they appeared upon the surface,
through which the 'Benson-Hyde oper
ators gobbled up the surveyed sections
In the Cascade forest reserve. The
story of that deal contained a list of
names of all the men and women who
acted as "dummies" for the landgrab-
bers, and cited the dates upon which
the sales were made and the manner
In which the Benson-Hyde syndicate
was able to realize upon the land while
the state was not. Those facts were
then given to the world, and called to
the attention of Government officials at
Washington. After the lapse of several
years prosecutions were begun, and
now. seven years after the facts were
published in Oregon, the whole story of
that crime is to become known in all
its details. Through the power of the
courts to compel witnesses to tell what
they know, we are to find out where
Justly falls the censure for acts of
omission and commission.
Speaking of disclosures mode up to
that time. The Oregonlan said in 1900:
It might be unjust to point out that
some Oregon statesmen, a very few,
had affiliations that would have made
them useful in promoting such an en
terprise." Since that time develop
ments have shown that it would not
have been unjust to point out that cer
tain Oregon statesmen had affiliations
that made them useful in the land
fraud enterprises. The comment was
also made that no petty state land ring
accomplished the Cascade reserve steal.
but that the ring which engineered that
deal had a wider sweep. Subsequent
events have fully warranted that as
sertion,: as also the declaration that a
duty of explanation lay upon Commis
sioner (Hermann, who, though his atti-;
rude as Bhown upon the records may
be correct, did not make such a protest
against the operations of the land pi
rates as would have prevented the suc
cess of their schemes.
The Benson-Hyde deal was effected
during the Incumbency of General W.
H. Odell as Clerk of the State Land
Board. There were some indications
that George W. Davis, former clerk of
the board, was a party to the transac
tions and aided In the purchase of the
lands in behalf of the ring. Disclosures
that are yet to be made are not likely
to be creditable to either of these gen
tlemen. On the other hand, if the full
story be fold in the trial at Washing
ton, It will be found that the one man
who tried to stand between the people
and the land thieves -was T. W. Daven
port, then State Land Agent, -who pro
tested against sale of : the lands, but
whose letter of protest so mysteriously
disappeared, to be resurrected only
upon the appointment of. a vigorous
and conscientious young man to the of
fice of State Land Agent in the person
of Oswald West. Very little of practi
cal benefit can be gained by the trial
now about to begin, but in the unfold
ing of the story of the Inner workings
of the land ring we shall be repaid for
the trouble and expense If we learn
upon whom the people should bestow
their condemnation and upon whom
should fall the public censure.
THE SOCIALIST.
The gist of Mr. Kite lung's letter,
printed today. Is that socialism is do
ing a great work of criticism upon the
evils of existing institutions.. This opin
ion The Oregonlan has frequently ex
pressed, though, of course, without ac
cepting the socialist prediction of what
will result from such criticism.
Neither is it necessary to disagree
with Mr. Hitching In his belief that
the future will see many and profound
changes in the organization of society.
This is entirely likely. But it Is also
likely, that the changes will be different
from what the socialists expect. The
disciples of Marx are too uncompromis
ing in their views to become a potent
constructive factor In this country; but
they play the role of fault-finder to per
fection. We do not say this In contempt. It
is necessary to find fault, though not
always pleasant. The kicker, or knock
er, or whatever he may be called, plays
an important part in the evolution of
history. "We have not had too much of
him in America. It is said by many
that his breed has not been as numer
ous as it ought, lie is like the hair
shirt and the penitential peas which
some people wear on their backs or in
their shoes, disagreeable but salutary,
being a constant reminder of back
sliding and an instigation to good re
solve. May the socialist multiply and re
plenish the earth, though not too nu
merously. We do not wish to see the
fault-finders drive the rest of us out of
the country; but we can stand them
with resignation while they continue in
a minute and castlgatory minority.
They are like the skeleton at the feast,
morally excellent. But one skeleton la
better than many. - ,
SNOBOCRACV.'
The "snobocracy" of Pittsburg, which
has made that city the butt of ridicule
for the whole country, came in for a
round roasting at the hands of the
Pittsburg Leader on the occasion of the
dedication of Carnegie Institute a few
days ago. And the criticisms were evi
dently well deserved. Over the door of
the edifice Mr. Carnegie had caused to
be inscribed the legend "Free to the
People," but the social leaders who had
secured control of the management
made tip a list of persons in their fa
vored circles who were to be admitted
to the dedicatory ceremonies and ropes
were stretched to keep "the people" at
a respectful distance. Aristocracy oc
cupied the seats by virtue of passes
which were necessary in order to secure
admission. While the vulgar mob. the
common people, were excluded, William
E. Corey, of divorce fame, was enrolled
upon the list of honored quests, though
for some reason he did not attend. The
snobocracy of Pittsburg, says the
Leader, holds tr at all men who will
worship at the shrine of tho dollar in
contempt surpassed only by the con
tempt in which tt Is held In turn by
men who despise it for Its sham and
pretenslons.
Pittsburg is- not alone in possession
of a snobocracy, but the peorte of the
rest of the country are pleased to be-
lleve that the home of Corey and Thaw
is a little worse off than any other city
in the Union. If the people find ropes
stretched across the doors of an institu
tion which they are taxed to support
and over whose portals is Inscribed
"Free to the People," they are' likely
to entertain hard feelings toward thole
who have created class distinctions,
-whether it be in Pittsburg or anywhere
else. ' .
BLCMXERING PLUTOCRATS. . 4
Predatory wealth cannot elect a Pres
ident of the United States any more
than.it can elect a Mayor of Portland,
It makes a sorry blunder when it
plunges into politics to defeat Koosevelt
or any other man for office: Our Portland!
plutocrats know this full well; conse
quently we find - them . doing political
business on the sly. That is the way
they have carried out their schemes
In the past. It is the only way preda
tory wealth like that represented by
Harriman can accomplish its designs.
"Working; in secret, plutocratic -influ
ences can do things- for their own ag
grandizement. Working in the open,
they drive away more political forces
than they can draw to them. The peo
ple are awakening to their acts and
"bawling them out." The plutocrats of
the Nation foolishly accept this as a
challenge to fight and declare war. It
is just what President Roosevelt want
ed them to do. It was . just the evidence
necessary to prove tothe people the sly
hand that has been dabbling in the
people's politics and government.
. Harriman would better go back and
sit down. Also the rich men in Los
Angeles ard fian Francisco who are
pitting their millions against Hervey'B
inquisition of boodle. Those men dont
seem to know the true forces' behind
the Government of the Nation and of
every state. Public sentiment always
defends the rights of property; that's
why agitators of discontent and of at
tack on property always fall,' But the
agitators of attack on plunder will not
fail. The plunderers make the mistake
of supposing themselves the representa
tives of the vast army of those who
own property and of supposing their
prosecutors and assailants to be . the
representatives of the horde of discontent-
But they will know before they
get done with this business that the
people backing up the attacks are those
of small or moderate means, who want
no disorder nor strife in the aftairs of
the country, hut who demand, that get-rich-quick
schemes shall cease.
It may make a tremendous fight In
the next Presidential campaign. It is
certainly a concern of National Import
ance. The movement to curb plunder
is the same the country over and' in
Oregon and California. It involves lo
cal representatives of the grab system
throughout the land Just as the Na
tional representatives. They will be
drawn Into the current' in spite of their
efforts to keep out of it.
XX ADEQUATE SUGGESTIONS.
The number of homicides In Germany
averages about three to the million in
habitants. In the United States it is
129 to tbe million. What Is the reason
for tbis difference? Shall we seek for
it In our greater freedom? Is liberty
inconsistent with the safety of human
life? Must we choose between the des
potism of an imperial government and
that of the criminal classes? That we
do live. In this country under some
thing like a despotism of crime Is in
contestable. Its control over the ma
chinery of Justice is so complete that
we are able to punish only about one
in a hundred of our homicides In Ger
many they convict and punish 95 per
cent. If we must submit either to one
kind of tyranny or the other, those who
value their lives would naturally pre
fer the German variety.- If the safety
of human life cannot be secured under
free institutions, then they are a failure.
To us this conclusion is repulsive. We
cannot accept It. We prefer to believe
that the faults In our social arrange
ments can be corrected without revo
lutionary measures. In the last num
ber of The Independent Mr. J. E.
Brown points out some of these faults
and suggests remedies for them. His
diagnosis is unimpeachable as far as It
goes. At his system of medication we
look somewhat askance.
The two remedies which he seems
principally to relie upon are restriction
of immigration and police espionage
such. as prevails in Germany. That our
laws for inhibiting undesirable immi
gration are farcical is probably true.
For example, not long ago these laws
excluded from America an Englishman
of world-wide reputation and the high
est character because he admitted that
he was a philosophical anarchist. Sad
he been base enough to deny his con
victions the law would have opened the
gate to him. Because he was honest
he was rejected. An anarchist .of the
bomb-throwing type can gain admis
sion by doing what this Englishman's
conscience ' would not permit. The
worse his character, the easier it is for
him to falsify his opinions. Criminals
of all sorts slip in freely by similar
tricks. Mr. Brown says that foreign
nations ship them here systematically
and really there is little to hinder it if
they wish to do it. But we are disposed
to believe that this source of crime is
exaggerated. It accounts for some ele
ments in our deplorable condition, but
not for many or the most Important.
In Germany, agAIn, every citizen
lives under strict police surveillance.
The police know when he goes on a
visit and when he returns. iHis serv
ants are all registered at the police
office. They know when he hires and
when he discharges them, and why.
Everything he does, all he says and
most that he thinks are known to his
official guardians. Mr. Brown regrets
that we have not something of the
same sort here. The regret is futile.
Nothing like it would or ought to be
tolerated. Nor is it necessary. . The po
lice could keep track of criminals with
out constant espionage of decent men.
If the failure of our .criminal admin
istration stood alone we might hope to
Tetrieve it by superficial measures; but
it does not It is no more flagrant than
our failure to devise and administer
laws to control corporations. It is per
haps even less flagrant than our fail
ure in the matter of city government.
Lapses so numerous Imply deep-seated
causes which no medication of outward
symptoms is likely to cure. The fact
Is that our civilization presents a case
of arrested development. More than a
century ago we devised a scheme of
government and a system of jurispru
dence which was, for the time, excel
lent. It was better than had ever been
seen In the world before. Having de
vised it, we sat down and began to
sing paeans to. Its perfection, and we
have been singing them ever since.
Meanwhile the rest of the world has
moved forward. England has remade
her criminal Jurisprudence. Germany
has completely Tevolutloned her in
stitutions. France has passed through
changes . numerous and profound. In
this country new conditions have de
veloped everywhere. New problems
have presented themselves for solution.
New enemies of society have appeared.
Old enemies- have assumed new as
pects. To meet the changing conditions
we have- done little or nothing. We
have sat still, calling upon mankind to
adimire our institutions while the ele
ments of destruction undermined the
walls -they stood upon.
What good would more policemen do
us so long as the criminal classes con
trol them? In the ordinary village of
the United States the town marshal is,
if not himself a criminal. In sympathy
with lawbreakers. He is almost never
a man of uncompromising inclination
to rectitude. A typical instance may
be cited. In a little town not long ago
the marshal -warned two girls who
broke the village ordinance against
fast driving day after day openly and
defiantly that if ' they persisted he
would arrest them. They persisted and
he- did arrest them. It set up an in
credible scandal. - He was denounced
by everybody and presently turned out
of office. Mis successor was a "dis
creet" person, a habitue of the saloons
and a drunkard. The case, as we say,
is typical. It indicates our National
attitude toward the law and its en
forcement.'" The alliance between our
police and the criminal classes is no
torious. .Nobody thinks of it except as
the natural and necessary thing. Crlm
lnaloids nominate many of our offi
cials, even1 judges too frequently. High
judicial functionaries are named by
lawbreaklng corporations. Bribes, some
times petty, sometimes Important, are
freely taken by municipal officials from
the corporations which they are sup
posed to control. Our civilization is in
that primitive state where we still
value human life less than profit. The
homicides by gun and poison, fearfully
numerous, are still few compared -with
those by railroad wreck and unpro
tected machinery. The slaughter of in
fants' by poisonous milk and bad food
and air amounts to 60 per cent of all
those born Into the world. &ucb is the
problem that confronts us. How can
we tjhink, of solving It by the restric
tion on immigration and Increasing po
lice espionage? Our murder trials, are
like- savage voodoo dances. They pro
ceed to the music of hewgags and
teratoma. And when they are done what
do they amount to? The court entan
gles itself In the meshes of a law
which deserves little respect and re
ceives none at all, while the prisoner in
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred
goes free.
A campaign for a "Greater Colorado"
has been started ' in the Centennial
State. It is proposed to raise 1100,000
for a publicity fund, the plan being
somewhat like the "Everybody Gives"
campaign recently conducted In this
city for completion of the T. M. C. A.
and Y. W. C. A. building fund. The ef
fort will cover thirty days and Ute fund
raised will be expended in conducting a
press bureau, the duty of which will be
to keep Colorado" constantly before the
public in various sections of the coun
try where capital and energy dominate.
Special articles on Colorado will be writ
ten by writers duly qualified for the
work, and traveling cars will be sent
out, accompanied by competent lectur
ers. Colorado Is following Oregon In
the effort to become known where this
knowledge will bring most promising
returns. Success to the effort. There
is room for all who are worth making
room for energetic, thrifty home-mak
ers of the farming and Industrial
classes preferred.
The statement in a recent dispatch
that - there are 20,000,000 of people in
Russia who cannot live until next har
vest without aid indicates a condition
of -wretchedness and destitution incon
ceivable to our favored people. The
famine-stricken area covers twenty-one
provinces with a population of about
30,000,000. Agriculture Is the only occu
pation of these myriads of human be
ings. In many provinces there were no
harvest returns last year, even the seed
that was sown being lost Truly there
is no curse equal to that of overpopula
tion. Before its known horrors the
dream of race suicide sinks into insig
nificance. Living in holes dug in the
ground, without fuel, almost naked
their scant rations composed of bread
made of ground acorns and other un
palatable substances, afflicted with
typhus and scurvy and blindness, these
creatures appeal in vain to an opulent
government for aid and grovel and die
unsuccored.
Fourteen years ago a New York min
ister promised a woman member of his
flock that he would dance with her on
her 100th anniversary. A few days ago
the anniversary occurred and he kept
his promise. No proceedings have yet
been brought to expel the pastor from
the church. . First thing we know it
will become fashionable for ministers to
dance with the 100-year-old women of
their churches. It ought to be.
Pennsylvania investigators are hav
ing a hard time securing testimony re
garding the transactions by which a
$7,000,000 graft was worked on a $9,000,
000 contract for the furnishing of the
new Pennsylvania Capitol. Better send
for Heney and Burns. They'll tell you
how It happened.
The American Soicety of Equity has
determined to unite five wheatgrowlng
states of the "West in a firm stand for
a dollar a bushel for this year's crop,
That is good as far as it goes, but it
would not be wise to refuse any 95-cent
contracts on the strength of it.
An Ohio farmer residing in a "dry"
county asserts that he has a spring on
his farm that yields an intoxicating
liquid. Surely they won't prosecute a
man for selling a natural product.
An Omaha Republican club has
turned Its picture of John M. Thurston
to the wall because of hi3 Criticism of
President Roosevelt. Senator Foraker
better sit up and take notice.
In order to express different degrees
of a, new but not yet popular malady.
we shall have to speak of brain storm.
brain hurricane, brain cyclone, and pos
sibly brain blizzard.
We sympathize with the fire Insur
ance companies for what they lost
when the flreboat was laid up, not from
fires, but from failure to put up rates.
If the members of Hermann's Jury
have grandfathers, we doubt not that
Hermann can remember them. '
Question for faithful Democrats:
What is the difference between a Lane
Democrat and a Republican?
Since the railroad -magnates - have
combined, why not the railroad commissions?-
SO BREAK IX OUR. PROSPERITY.
Forecasters of Hard Times 'Generally
Talk From Selfish Interest.
N w York Tribune.
The occasional predictions we hear of
hard times and unsettled markets seem
to come, in the main, from forecasters
with an ' interest of their own to serve
In discouraging public optimism. . The
directors and managers of our great rail
road systems are doubtless apprehensive
of the results ef the 2 cents a mile leg
islation which many states are now en
acting. They realize that a widespread
anti-railroad sentiment has been aroused.
whether Justly or unjustly, by revela
tions of unscrupulous management and
daring speculation on the part of certain
railroad officials. Railroad companies
want to take their bearings and see
their way clear before they enlarge their
operations. They prefer to. err on the
side of caution, and. are disposed to . mag
nify .any symptoms of a slackening In
production and prosperity. The Inter
ests engaged in speculation are also fear
ful that their activities will be limited
by stricter regulation of the conduct of
great corporate enterprises, and they take
a similarly gloomy view of the financial,
commercial and Industrial situation. The
so-called panic of March got on the
nerves of the speculators and has prompt
ed them to misinterpret the symptoms of
what was really only a temporary in
digestion arising from overextension of
credit.
The Tribune's special dispatches, from
great centers of production and distribu
tion like Pittsburg, Chicago. Cincinnati,
Baltimore and "St. Louis, as well as its
summaries of local conditions, indicate
clearly that the country is not suffer
ing from a depression in business. It is
the testimony of the beat judges In these
centers that all the business ia being dona
which can be done with existing plants
and resources, and that a slight relapse.
Instead of threatening prosperity, might
be distinctly helpful.
The. railroads may not be able to. scale
down to any material extent their plans
for betterments. They are not able now
to handle the traffic Qffered to them, and
if general business continues to expand
and the crops of 1907 equal those of
1905 and 1906 the transportation lines will
be forced in their own interest to equip
themselves for the greater carrying trade
thrust on them. Agricultural prosperity
is the real basis of our present National
prosperity, and so long as the farmers
can raise record crops and get remuner
ative prices for them other industries
will flourish and the railroads will have
all the traffic they can handle. - There
has been, undoubtedly, much overspecu
lation in the last two or three years.
The stringency of credit which it has
occasioned has caused some alarm in and
out of Wall street. But It has not hand
icapped production and exchange, and so
long as general business conditions con
tinue sound, as they are today, there
need be no fear of any sudden shattering
of the Nation's prosperity.
REMEDY LIES WITH THE COURTS
They Alowe Can Divest Law -and - Jus
tice of Its Technicalities.
New York World.
The great bulk of American law, espe
cially in criminal cases, and almost the
whole -body of criminal procedure, have
been made by the courts themselves. One
small volume containing the Code of
Criminal Procedure and the Penal Code
embodies all the legislative criminal law
In New York. Tt takes hundreds of vol
umes and a library far beyond the means
of any ordinary practitioner to contain
the court-made law. '
Instead of taking the code as a plain.
Intelligible schedule of procedure, adroit
lawyers and learned judges have used
this as a foundation on which to rear
a collossal and involved structure of
technicalities.
There is nothing In the code which pro
vldes that trials shall be either primarily
or Incidentally 4o enable lawyers to dis
play their adroitness and eloquence.
Neither are Judges obliged to tolerate the
spectacle of a court of justice used as a
stage and attorneys posing and mouthing
as if they were actors.
How the law can do anything to stop
these practices it is hard to see. The
Legislature cannot' well pass a bill en
joining a Judge from permitting the law
yers to talk too much or commanding him
to exercise more ability, common sense
and decision of character. The judiciary
might as well try to enjoin -the Legisla
ture from passing a bad bill or the Gov
ernor from making an unfit appointment
as for either of these co-ordinate depart
ments of the Government to try to make
lawyers conduct .themselves with dig
nify, decorum and decency.
The power to make its own rules and to
conduct its own proceedings is Inherent
in every American court. The power to
fix professional standards and enforce
legal ethics rests In every bar association
and every committee on admissions to the
bar. The evils are the growth of many
years. They were not creatd by Lgls
laturea or Governors, but by lawyers and
judges. The .power which created them
is the only power that can destroy them.
BIT. Roosevelt Has Won tbe South.
New York Evening Post.
John Temple Graves' proposal that
W. J. Bryan should nominate Roosevelt
at the noxt Democratic convention II
lustrates clearly how, by means of his
trip South, the Brownsville affair, and
other methods, the President has won
the South. When the most rabid antl
negro editor in Georgia thus acclaims
the man who asked Booker Washington
to lunch, the hatchet is indeed burled
and the "solid South" in the greatest
danger. But there is something emi
nently fitting that chis advocate of
lynching should make the proposal he
does, for it is lynch law that he would
thus apply to the Democracy. To turn
it over to the Republicans bodily would
however, not mean the delivery of its
true soul of the soul which inspired
It in the days of Cleveland, and long
before. An era of good feeling for tjl
save railroad men and corporation man
agers this may be, but that fact leaves
a few political questions still unsettled
individualism as opposed to state and
national management and supervision
the rights of the states, and the In
iquities of the tariff.
High School Fraternities, Barnacles.
Chicago Tribune.
The State of Minnesota bas cast the
weight of Its Influence against the or
ganizations which, in late years have
fastened themselves like barnacles
men tha Ylirrh RphdHls of the f011Tltrv
Its Legislature has determined that no
fraternities or sororities shall be per
mitted to exist in any high school of
the state. The hostile attitude of the
Chicago Board of Education does not
seem- to have produced much effect.
The fraternity houses continue to dis
play insignia upon doors or windows.
The boys still pass in and out In the
daily sight of their school companions.
Forbidding them to appear in athletic
or literary contests does not appear to
have accomplished much. The situa
tion is a strange one. If parents would
co-operate with the school authorities
and use their influence with the boys
and girls It would not take long to
stamp out an evil which has grown to
large dimensions.
Mother West.
Denver Republican.
There is a mother, ao legend runs.
Of mothers quite the. best.
Who boasts ten million rturdy sons -
Tw!t plain and mountain crest:
She gives them wealth In goodly store.
She gives abounding health and mora.
She opens wide Contentment's door.
Her name Is Mother West.
O mother, whose bounties never fail
Thy children, amply blest.
To foreign shores we may ret sail
Ovir pilot strange unrest
Tlut still thy children turn to thee.
Thy plains, thy hills, thy mystery.
And at the last, from oversea.
Come home to Mother Westl
BAD ArVERTI5EMK'T FOR 0HEG05
Why Kot Send Also Red Shirt Brigade
to Represent California!
Oakland, CaL, Herald.
Oregon is protesting through The Ore
gonlan against the sort of advertisement
proposed for the Jamestown Exposition.
A lot of young women are Industriously
drilling to represent "Indian maidens"
(The Oregonlan announces sardonically
that it will forbear to call these young
women "squaws"), and they expect to
Impress the "average Easterner" with a
picturesque Idea of the kind of civilisa
tion that prevails In the Northwest. The
Oregonlan suggests that this method of
Informing the outlander regarding social
and ethnological peculiarities of Oregon
is as misleading as It would be If the cli
mate of the state were allegorized in a
"group" consisting of a frog sitting in a
pool of water under an umbrella It
might be added that if the young women
who are going to the Jamestown potlatch
in the guise of Clackamas squaws and
Minnehahas would artificially web their
little feet the ancient libel would be re.
vived and confirmed.
The protest is valid and timely. For
tunately, California will be only partially
represented at an exposition that will do
nobody except the buyers and sellers any
good. Otherwise, it is probable that some
of our local idiots would organize a red-
shirt brigade with "pants" in its boots
and pistols in its belt to corroborate the
rural Idea that the Californlan Is still a
character In one of Bret Harte's stories.
The most interesting' and certainly the
most popular section of the fair will be
the Midway Plaisance, or whatever
answers to that designation; and it is
probable that these Oregon maidens wUl
do their squaw dances In one of the side
shows' of that section. Oregon as a state
need not suffer -from the foolery.
MR. ROOSEVELT AND HIS FOES,
Conspirators Cant Harm the President
He Prospers Under Attack,
New York World.
Another day has passed and no S5.00O.OO0
conspirator has yet been taken into cus
tody, but President Roosevelt's popularity
goes on Increasing. The cynics who
looked to see It burst from over-inflation
are nursing dying hopes.
the Legislature of Pennsylvania Sena
tor Penrose's state, rises like one man to
denounce any combinations "of any party
or parties Intended to reverse or defeat
the policies of justice which the President
has so wisely and fearlessly inaugurat
ed." Pennsylvania used to stand for the
Pennsylvania Railroad In politics: now it
"stands for Roosevelt and all that his
administration stands for."
The Pennsylvania Legislature on'y- beat
out that of Nebraska by a few days. At
Lincoln, where the Union raciflc once
elected Senators and made and unmade
laws.-. Mr.. Harriman is reconvicted of
being what President Roosevelt said he
was, and the President is urged to keep
right after the wicked corporations. One
of Governor Cummins- favorite diversions
has-been hammering the railroads, but
his chances of being made Iowa's favorite
son in 1908 are only a shade better than
those of Secretary Shaw, who has Just
gone to work In Wall street.
A procession of political suspects, eager
to renew the oath of allegiance to the
big stick, is clogging the corridors of
the White House. Senator Scott hastens
from the Brownsville inquiry to swear
that he never before was so infatuated
with Rooseveltlsm. Senator Penrose only
awaits the opportunity to do likewise.
Anybody who knows him must feel' con
vinced that he could not have been the
"very big man politically" who got
"very, very drunk" and babbled about
the $5,000,000 plot.
The President an quiet his mind. No
body denies that he Is no novtce in poll,
tics. But It Is still early to begin bother
lng about delegates to the next National
convention.. All he needs to do Is to let
his opponents In his own partv have
free swing.- The more bitterly Senator
Koraker attacks the Administration In
Ohio the stronger the President will be
come with the country. It is Roosevelt
luck that men like ex-Senator Thurston
and ex-Governor Odell and Mavor Rev-
burn, of Philadelphia, should take the
lead in assailing his policies.
The President should rest easy. The
Summer season approaches with its
happy prospect of vacations for the
weary. If the "conspirators" want to
work overtime at conspiring that is their
lookout. The more they air their grlev
ances the sooner their plan of campaign.
if they have any, will be found out. They
are entitled to the whole stage If they
want it, for they, furnish light amuse
ment. They do not Beem to alarm the
country or harm its President.
Close Compalgn, If "Standpats" Rule.
Washington, D. C, Herald.
If the standpatters, are to control
the next Republican convention we
shall look for a closer campaign In
1908 than might otherwise be expected
provided, of course, that the Demo
crats are guided by sanity and broad
statesmanship in their platform pro
nouncements and their ticket. The
time was never more auspicious for
tariff reform. The popular mind is in
a ferment Instinctively, It knows that
industrial and economic conditions are
out of joint. It has been told by ,the
leaders of public thought that fhe trust
is mainly responsible for the inequali
ties of opportunity that exist, and that
transportation abuses have added to
them. While this it true, It Is only
a part of the truth, and the smallest
part. Party lines now lie too lightly
to encourage the theory of the stand
patters that their word will be ac
cepted as gospel by the followers of
their party. "Deeds and not words"
are what the people are at present de
manding: Performance "and not promise
is what they expect. If the subject
of tariff revision Is , to be taken up
after the next President has taken his
seat, why should It not be taken up
now? The 60th Congress is overwhelm
ingly Republican. If It is essential
APRIL THE MONTH
IN THE
Magazine Section
OF THE
SUNDAY
OREGONIAN
BUSTER BROWN AND HIS
FAITHFUL DOG
First appearance in The Sunday
Oregonian of this popular
youngster.
LANDING AN OREGON
SPECKLED BEAUTY ,
Full-page illustration in colors
of a fishing scene on Johnson
Creek.
ELEPHANTS AS SAWMILL
HANDS
Finely-illustrated story of hu
man interest from Lower
Burma.
WHEN MIDAS MOVES TO
THE COUNTRY
Rnral palaces of millionaires
costing a fortune every season.
WHERE SIX PERSONS MET
VIOLENT DEATHS
Marion County farm which
fate selected for bloody deeds.
JAPANESE REVERENCE
FOR HER HEROIC DEAD
Annie Laura Miller writes a
story of unceasing devotion.
PLANTING BULBS FOR SUM
v MER FLOWERS
Timely hints to be taken advan
tage of this week.
POLICING THE DESERT OF
SAHARA
Frank G. Carpenter writes how
the French guard it with sol
diers. SEEING THINGS WITH THE
GOOGAN GIRLS
Rescue of two widows from em
barrassment caused by auto
mobiles. THE ROOSEVELT BEARS IN
RUSSIA
They take the Czar for a ride
and save him from assassins.
that the tarifT be " revised by Its
"friends," why should its "friends'"
risk the hazard of Its being done by
the opposition? The way to revise is
to revise. The time to revise is now I
lee Blasted I,lke Stone.
Indianapolis News.
Glacier ice is now delivered to some
of the largest consumers of Lyons and
other cities of Europe. There are so
many railways in the Alps at present
that It has been found profitable to
gather this Ice and transport It to tho
cities, where it is preferred to other
Ice because of Its hardness and lasting
qualities. This ice Is blasted and
mined in the same manner as stone Is
quarried.
Hr Playtnir.
Outer's Book.
With lore and grace her fingers klsa th
keys,
Wherefrom melodious sound . responsive
springs
Faint as the flutter of a seraph's wings
Close followed by a swarm of murmuring
bees:
Then comes tha soughing of tha Summer
breeze.
As muttering heaven a sterner message
brings:
Throughout ths skies tha voles of thun
der rings.
While echoes speak as from the wakened
seas.
But list the downpour of ths rushing ralnl
The chattering brook becomes a growling
stream
And down the precipice leaps In wild cas
cades, Then lags through levels to tha listening
main:
Soft as a star bright-falling In a dream
Th waters lapse and die; tha vlplon
fades.
OF SMILES AND TEARS
From tha Philadelphia Inquirer.
4