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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (May 29, 1907)
THE MORMXG OREGOXIAN, WEDNESDAY. MAY 29, 1907. ' SUBSCRIPTION RATES. INVARIABLY IJJ ADVANCE. (By Mall.) rally. Sunday Included, one year $8.00 Iall-, Sunday Included, nix months.... 4.2S Dslly, Sunday Included, three montha. . 2.25 Pally, bunday Included, one month 75 I'aily. without Sunday, one year 6.00 Pally, without Sunday, six 'months. .. . 8.25 Pally, without Sunday, three montha.. 1.75 Daily, without Sunday, one month.... .60 Sunday, one year 2-50 Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday) . . . . lt0 Sunday and Weekly, one- year 8.50 BY CAKR1ER. Pally, Sunday Included, one year 9.00 Pally. Sunday Included, one month....- .75 MOW TO REMIT Send postoMlce 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. rOSTAt.K RATES. Entered at Portland, Oregon. Postofflce as Second-Class Matter. 10 to 14 Pages 1 cent 16 to 2S Paites 3 cents 3o to 4 Pages 3 cents 46 to 80 Fates 4 cents ' Forelpn postage, double rates. IMPORTANT The postal laws are strict. Newspapers on which postage Is not fully EASTERN BUSINESS OFFICK. The IS. C. Beckwlth, Special Agency New Tork, rooms 4S-u0 Tribune building. , Chi cago rooms 5J0-512 Tribune building. 7 Kept on sale Chicago Auditorium Annex, Postofflce News Co., 178 Dearborn St. St. Paul, Minn. N. St. Marie, Commercial Station. DenTer Hamilton ft Hendrlck,1 906-912 Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Store, 1214 Fifteenth street; H. P. Hansen, S. Rice. - Kansas City, Mo. Rlcksecker Cigar Co., Kinth and Walnut; Sosland News Co. Minneapolis M. J. Cavanaugh, BO South Third; -Kagle Newa Co., corner Tenth ana Eleventh; Yoma Newa Co. Cleveland, O James Pushaw, 307 Su perior street. Washington, D. C. Ebbltt House, Penn sylvania avenue. Philadelphia, Paw Rysn's Theater Ticket office; Kemble, A. 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Jamestown Exposition News Etand; Potts ft Roeder; Schneider ft Kaiser. : Floe Beach, Vs. W. A. Cosgrove. PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, MAY 29. 1907. IT IS COMING TO A HEAD. tn all our states the people are beset nd bedeviled by" thv- arrogance of greedy corporations which have ob tained special franchise privileges, mostly without payment or compensa tion to the public, and now assert abso in thorn frpp from nub- luiir uniiciouiv . . . -1 - - - - lie regulation or control. (Here now is the case of the Consolidated Gas Com pany of New York, with whose position jthat of the Portland Gas Company is exactly parallel. "The Consolidated Has Company." says the New York World, "is organized under the laws of the State of New York. Its right to "exist is derived from the people of New York. All its. powers, privileges and opportunities to engage In business are - . i ,i . . 1 P Vaif Y-t. conierrea oy iuo ' " . . " under franchises granted by their au thority." It obtained the franchise anany years ago, paying nothing for it. beyond an agreement to perform cer tain petty and merely nominal duties ior functions, which, however, for the greater part, it has repudiated. The Iranche, apart from the physical prop erty, it now values at $20,000,000; and it (Insists on the right to make a charge of $1 a thousand on gas, on the"as 'sumptlon that the company is entitled to a 6 per cent dividend on this valua tion, as well as on that of its physical property. "In other words," says the World, "In addition to 6 per cent on the Investment the company has a law jful right to tax the people of this city 11,200.000 a year more for their privilege of paying $1 a thousand .for gas." Like claims are asserted everywhere, end in Portland as elsewhere. Individ uals who have formed corporations and are doing business on vast public assets Insist that the people shall pay interest and profits to them on the yast valua tions of their own franchises. Subser vient instruments of these incorporated looters were members of the Oregon Kenate last "Winter, constituting a ma jority of that body, who voted for a declaration, or its equivalent, that cer tain franchises of Portland had' become the property of those doing business under them! The Legislature of New York -was" not so subservient to the franchise-grabbers, nor so indifferent' to the rights of the people. It appointed a commit tee to investigate the business ! of manufacturing, distributing and sell-" Ing gas in New York City; and "this committee, after a painstaking exam ination of the company's books, papers and sworn reports, and after taking testimony of its officials and employes, finds that the company can manufac ture, s?ll and distribute gas at 75 cents a thousand and earn a reasonable profit on its actual investment. The Legisla-. Jure thereupon allows a margin of Safety and fixes the rate at 80 cents a thousand." - From the report of this committee the gas company appeals, brushes aside the decisions of the courts of the state and the acts of the .Legislature and goes Into the United States Circuit Court and pleads that the people of New Tork ''are about to take its prop erty without due process of law. A Federal Judge straightway issues an or StXer restraining, the people of New York 'from enforcing their own laws against tine of their own creatures, and the .-whole issue, both of law and of fact, is then referred to a master in chancery. After long delays the referee sustains the corporation, holding that in addition to Us right to earn reasonable dividends till the original investment and on the jiresent value of Its physical property it lias also the right to earn dividends on the market value of the franchises Avhich the people gave it to enable it to perform a public service. Or, to put it in another form, after the people have ireated a monopoly they must let it enjoy all tho. fruits of monopoly." So a valuation of $20,000,000 Is set on the franchise, and effort is made to Bus Jain it in the courts of the United states. The whole principle involved Hill be mightily simplified and cleared up by the outcome. The people have no intention of taking away- from any body his rightful property, but they are determined to have their own. What the decision of the United States Su preme Court will be. need not be pre dicted. That, tribunal may' be trusted to do the right thing though it has at times done the wrong thing. .- But' the course It laid down as to . "vested rights." in the earlier . days, has been widely departed from, and. is not: the course or trend of the present time, and its decision in the Dred Scott case, though apparently- establishing' slavery forever, became one of the chief forces used in , slavery's overthrow. As the great abuses built up In this country come, one after another, under attack, they try to find refuge under state sov ereignty, court law or constitutional precedents,, but always In vain. The people are determined to have deliver ance, with Justice, . from the great abuses that arise in the course of their national and social development; and, though often foiled In the effort, thefr always battle till they win. .- DEVLIN AND LANE. Both are, mighty good men. But of different, orders of excellence. Devlin pursues the orderly and methodical course. His principles are sound. He has clear views as to the duties of the citizen. He has fixed views as to civil administration. He is "regular." Every thing he stands for has the approval of experience. 'He is anti-revolutionary. But these are revolutionary times. The difficulty of his position lies in his Identification, real or supposed, and more or less,' with old abuses, vested rights, franchise pretensions and the whole system against which our mod ern life is engaged la struggle. He is associated' with an order of things everywhere under attack. But we are passing out of old conditions into new. And Mr. Devlin Is not an innovator, still less a revolutionist. But in Harry Lane . there Is revolu tionary stuff; at least people, think there is. Men call him "Harry,". and that seems to prove it. - Long time he was a back number; but he has taken a step forward. At least people think so. And some say so. 'He was a fossil of a prehistoric political age; but the upheaval of the new times has thrown him up with a lot of new material; or dained perhaps for the creation of new political worlds. These are yeasty times, and The Ore gontan takes an interest, but a sort of languid one only; in the spectacle of the fermentation. (Republicans of Ore gon " have decided to abandrm party. They have repeatedly rejected their own candidates and elected Democrats to the principal offices in the state. The Oregonian Is resigned. . Like the old German who had lost his wife, it has U be. A SERIOUS DRAWBACK. Civil service has its drawbacks and even Its abuses. Chief among the latter is the protection that it affords to men and women in the public- service who have passed the day and date of their usefulness. They are carried on the payrolls, and report daily at the office for duty, but they are incapable of rising to requirements ofthe situation In which tney find themselves. It is not possible, thus handicapped, for the Commissioner of the General Land Of fice, for example, to put his office on a modern business basis, and to require prompt, active and efficient service of his subordinates. The grandfathers and grandmothers in the various depart ments at. Washington should be placed upon the pension roll of sympathy and there supported, if It is incumbent upon the Government to take care of them. The quarterly pension paid to them would then represent the cost of their maintenance, whereas in present condi tions there is no way of computing this cost with any degree of accuracy. These people have served their day and generation . well and should give place to a more active contingent, not because they are not worthy, but because they are worn out and are en titled to rest. This is a plain, simple statement that finds verification in the experience of the aged In every walk of life. The fact that underlies it is only to be deplored when it is disputed by the strained and painful effort to make it appear fiction. NEW TERRITORY FOR PORTLAND. Seven thousand carloads Is the esti mated amount of wheat that will this year be directly tributary to the new Snake River line being built jointly by the O. R. & N. Co. and the Northern Pacific between Rlparia and Lewiston. Of this vast amount, fully one-half will be drawn from territory that has never before been tributary to Portland, and much of the remainder will come from territory that has been accessible to both the O. R. & N. and its competitor. The big wheat belt of the Clearwater country has for so many years been the special preserve of the Puget Sound buyers that naturally they -will still di vert some of the wheat to Seattle and Tacoma, but the bulk of the movement will be over the line of least resistance, which In this case is by the water level route 'to Portland. Next year, with tKe Northern Pacific hauling wheat down the Columbia over its own rails, a still greater proportion of the cereal will seek a new market at this the near future completion of the Snake River line from Lewiston to Huntington will open up more wheat acreage in the Wallowa country, and this, with increased acreage in the Central Oregon countrg, will enable Portland easily to maintain her prestige as the largest wheat port on' the Pacific Coast. Despite the bright outlook for business of this nature, it will not do for Portland to relax her efforts to keep down ship expenses and make the port as attractive as possible 'for shipping. This is an era of low freights and eco nomical vessel operation : throughout the world, and' the owner who was mildly indifferent regarding his port expense accountwhen freights were 50 shillings and 60 shillings Is now scru tinizing every Item with great tare and carefully weighing one port against another. Portland has accomplished a great deal along the line of reduction in port expenses by deepening the river so that lighterage 1b no longer necessary. The crimping system, by which vessels in need of crews were mulcted for enor mous sums, has also been abolished', and, through the assistance of the Pa cific Bridge Company, the .charge for removing ballast from ships tackle has been eliminated. With the Port of Co lumbia Commission in effective opera tion, the heavy charge made for bar pilotage on grain vessels will be" re moved, thus placing the port on exactly even terms with the Puget Sound ports with which we have had to compete. The items mentioned have. !n the past formed a handicap oh the port which caused many shipowners ' to refuse to send their ships here except at a higher rate of freight then was demanded from other ports. r BILL NYE. The late Edgar Wilson . Nye, better known as Bill Nye, Is to have a monu ment. It will be erected by the Amer ican press humorists at Laramie, Wyo., and will transiently prolong the mem ory of a man who did much for the pleasure and somewhat for the profit of his generation. The early home of Bill Nye was in Northern Wisconsin. In Pierce County, where he acquired local -celebrity at spelling bees and teachers' institutes before he tried his fortunes in the great world. i His humor was of the variety which pleases for the moment but is soon for gotten. It had little'of the lasting qual ity of George Ade's or Peter Dunne's. Far superior to Josh Billings, whose power to amuse depended on bad spell ing. Bill Nye nevertheless belonged to the same school or group of merrymak- ers, which also included Artemus Ward and the author of "Sam Slick." Their productions were devoid of thought and appealed purely to the sense of the ludi crous. Sometimes they raised a laugh by exaggerating petty annoyances which everybody has felt. One of Bill Nye's best skits was an absurd descrip tion of the sorrows of country life. He enumerated the matutinal rooster, the untimely roblrt, the whistling plowboy and all the rest of the morning sounds of the country as if they were'lntolera ble nuisances, and did It In such a way that the reader was compelled to laugh. He made fun of our little irritabilities and perhaps helped us to overcome them by showing how petty they were. Like all the rest of, his group, -Nye was Irreverent to the verge of impiety, though it is impossible to say that he ever ridiculed anything that was worth revering, ft would be interesting to read a book which should show the in fluence of our National humorists upon our ideals of religion and justice. Cer tainly such men as Nye and Artemus Ward modified them a great deal; Mark Twain and Mr. Dooley have influenced us still more. Are we better or worse because we can laugh at Hades and joke about the day of Judgment? The Oregonian hopes the monument to Bill Nye will be worthy of its subject, and Invites all who have laughed at his jokes to contribute to the memorial of his fame. ONE KIND OF PUNISHMENT. The good people of St. Helens were startled a short time ago by the elope ment of one of their townsmen with a young girl of 16 years, whose sister, slightly older, was his wife. The de serted wife with a babe in arms was destitute and distracted, and authorities of the county at once set themselves to the task of returning the errant hus band that he might be duly punished as the law provides. The sleuths were successful in their quest; the man .was brought back frbm Bellingham, Wash., and haled before the court to answer for his crime against society. The case against him was clear, and he made no defense The Judge, however, came to his rescue and to that of his family. Acting upon the hypothesis that the state did not need this man at Salem, while his family did need the proceeds of his labor, he was given his Hberty with, the admonition and on condition that he go to work, conduct himself as a decent, law-abiding citizen should, and support his wife and child as be came a husband and father." The wronged wife" was willing to forgive the man, a place was found for the foolish young damsel who had eloped with him, and at last accounts the fellow had gone to work to support his family. The settlement Is an unusual one," being heretofore unknown to, our jurispru dence. The wisdom or practicability of the decision depends wholly upon the view that the wife takes of the terms of the compact, and the good faith of the husband In entering into it. 'If she Is a woman who Is content to live upon "victuals and drink," she is to be 'con gratulated upon an arrangement . that promises to supply her needs in this re spect. The woman who accepts a set tlement of this kind as the best, for all concerned is not likely to 'suffer ship-t wreck upon the shoals of sentiment, while the man is certainly of more use as a breadwinner for his family than he would be to thestate as a convict. RAILROAD RETRENCHMENT. . Too much importance should not be placed on the wholesale discharge Of railway employes at the beginning of what is always the dull season in rail roading. A Chicago special in yester day's Oregonian announced that by the first week in June It was estimated that the number of railroad employes dis charged would reach a total of 100,000 men. This does not mean that the rail roads are going to retire from business or cripple their service by a policy of retrenchment that approaches the dan ger line. Nearly all of the states in the Union now have laws compelling the railroads to employ a proper, num ber of employes in the operation of their trains, and also specifying the number of hours these employes shall 'work.' It is obvious that no men can be spared from any train that is operated, or by making one crew perform the work of two. With the grain movement over for the season and poor outlook for a crop for the coming season. It is but natural that a number of train crews on nearly all of the railroads which make a specialty of this business can be dispensed with. f This retrenchment, however, cannot properly be charged up to legislation hostile to the railroads, for few of these corporations, even with the widest lati tude given them, have ever displayed sufficient philanthropy . to keep more men on the payroll than were actually needed to handle the business. - The in vestment ,in these railroads is too great to admit 'of any neglect of business or sacrifice of safety in the operation of trains, and there is no occasion for fear that the announced policy oY retrench ment will be carried to a point where the service will be appreciably worse than it has been in the past. The nu merous wrecks, many of which have been traced to careless operatives, would indicate that, at least in some quarters, the discharge of employes was overdue. The traveling public might even be willing to get along with a few trains less than are now operated, pro vided there was improvement in the percentage 6f those which were kept out of the ditch. . f The discharge of ; men employed on construction work does not necessarily reflect on. the Jaws which have been passed for the regulation of the roads, hand with such a heavy demand for la- Dor In other pursuits there will be no immediate evidence of resultant unsat isfactory, conditions. The steadily In creasing cost of material and the In creasing demands of labor have brought the cost of construction work, not only on railroads, but in all other lines of industry, up to a figure where it is al most imperative that a halt be called. The history of our country, from the time' the labor problem became any thing of a factor in our Industrial life, offers irrefutable evidence that wages rise and' fall periodically, and that In these movements the pendulum invaria bly swings too far one way or the other. Railroad managers, as well as other employers of labor, reasoning from past history, seem to think that the top has been reached In the upward swing, and they are shortening sail accordingly. The railroad constructed at this time will of necessity be forced to do busi ness with roads built a dozen years ago by both labor and material that were secured from 30 to 50 per cent cheaper than present figures. This Increased cost, of course, will be a weight on the fixed charges until the end of time, and it Is perhaps only business sagacity that has caused capital to hold aloof until there is an adjustment of present unsettled conditions.. It may be' good politics on the part of the railroad to charge this policy of retrenchment up to the anti-railroad legislation, but dif ficulty will be encountered in making the people believe that the interference of the Government and State Legisla tures is more than a minor factor in the approaching change. Two popular fallacies frequently cher ished by opposing interests have been dispelled by some recent decisions in Lewis County, Washington, courts. One was that railroads will not pay the full value of right of way which they need for a road. The other was that Wash ington courts in these days of anti railroad sentiment would naturally be inclined to glvethe complainant against the railroad a shade the best of the de cision.) In one of the cases just decided the railroads offered $3000 the property-owner wanted $4000 and the court awarded $2000. In another case the courts gave an owner $2875 after he had refused an offer of $3000 from the rail road. Perhaps Mr. Harriman should have thrown himself on the mercy of the Washington courts Instead of mak ing so many tideland millionaires in Seattle. - ' American clocks and! watches enjoy a very high reputation throughout the Levant, though only about $3000 worth of these were imported last year. This amount could be greatly increased, ac cording to United States Consul Harris, of Smyrna, were manufacturers to give attention to the first steps of the busi ness and use Judgment in te selection of the local agent. This is the eld story in regard to American' manufactures in the far foreign countries, and one which the new conception of consular -service is striving diligently to improve. Con sul Harris adds that, should the manu facturers of standard American make decide to appoint an. agent at Smyrna who would . sell their products exclu sively, including stock for repairs, a good business in American timepieces could readily be established. Two Japanese residents of Los An geles have filed declarations of Inten tion to become American citizens. The District Attorney says that under the existing laws of the United States there is nothing to bar the naturalization of Japanese as American citizens, and the County Clerk has accepted the applica tions. This question is Imminent wher ever in the United States intelligent subjects of Japan have' taken up their residence. The Issue is one that hiust be met fairly and squarely in accord ance with the treaty relations existing between the two countries. That it has been met thus in this case is ap parent. The decision is somewhat sig nificant In that It was rendered In California, where the initiative In ex cluding the Oriental peoples has 'always been -taken. The plan which will combine the rose fiesta with the date of the Oregon Pio neer reunion Is one that will give an added pleasure to the yearlyi dwindling number to whom June of each suc ceeding year brings a day of feasting and placid enjoyment in this city. June 19 will be the day of days to the gray haired statebuilders this year. That is the date also of the inauguration of the rose fiesta, and we may well believe that the beauty and the. fragrance of the day will dwell with the aged pio neers throughout the remaining years of their lives, a subtle offering upon the already hallowed shrine of memory. -Belated Justice was too long delayed in the case of Police Sergeant Hoge boom, who died in this city yesterday. The unfortunate man bore a fine record through his long career on the police force, and only a few days ago had been restored to the position from which he had been reduced to the ranks on a charge that was never proven. He never lived to enjoy the pleasures of that vindication, butit must have been comforting In his last hours for him to know that justice had not entirely for saken him. ' "Governor Buchtel, of Colorado, In dorses the Roosevelt view that our idle rich should be knocked In the head. In this' twentieth century civilization the suggestion Is not to fee considered. A much better method would be a system of social and commercial ostracism which would force these drones to work. As a fomenter of socialism, anarchy and similar ills, the actions of our idle rich are unequaled by any other force now in existence. By declaring in favor of an ordinance making it a misdemeanor to refuse to rent dwellings where there are children in the family, the Los Angeles City Council has earned the- good will of President Roosevelt, the Queen of Spain and the stork. Oregon can give profitable employ ment to a few thousand of the army of laborers whom Eastern railroads pro pose to discharge the. coming Summer. Mr. Ruef may console himself with the thought that he will have distin guished company in San Quentin. There seems to be no scarcity of money in San Francisco for use in mil lionaire boodlers' bonds. This week's weather is but the annual reminder of Nature's bounty to the Pa cific Northwest. Mr. Delmas believes it's an lllwlnd that doesn't blow good to criminal lawyers. Wonder if Abe Ruef received advance sheets of S, A. D. Puter's,book? ; ' ''" ' . DEFINING AX "ACTUAL SETTLER" Laad Department Haa Held That There Must Be Residence. SALEM, Or., May 28. (To the Editor.) Many inquiries are being made con cerning the meaning of the term "actu al settler," as used In.' the land grant to the California and Oregon Railroad Company. According to Judge Ball inger's opinion the construction of that term will devolve upon thecourjs, since the matter has passed o.ut of the hands of the administrative department of the "Government, unless a forfeiture is declared. Up to this time I had found no opinion of the-courts made upon a similar case. I wrote to the- General Land Office to find what authoritative construction that Department had made upon the term "actual settler" and append the reply hereto. -Whether the courts will follow this ruling in their opinion remains' to be seen, as they are usually independent In the expression of opinion and in the con struction of the law. v V. C. HAWLEI. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE. Washing ton. D. C, May 15. 1907 Hon. W.' C. Hawley, T$. C, Salem, Or. (Sir:) In the case of the United States vs. Jones 10 L. D., 23 the Department has under consideration the act of May 26. 1880. 21.stat. 143), which gives certain actual settlers the right to purchase lands In the Osage Indian reservation, in Kansas. It was held in sa id decision that the term "actual settler"- refers to one who had made settlement on the . land and followed same by residence. This has been the ruling ofthe office in regard to the meaning of'the term "actual settler," and the same ruling would hold good in regard -to the construction of the term "actual settler," when used in a grant to a railroad company. (Signed) FRED DENNETT, Assistant Commissioner. INTEREST ON NEW BOND ISSCES Proposed City Improvements and Changes in the Money Market. PORTLAND, May 28. (To the Ed itor.) I believe it to be the duty of every citizen to weigh carefully the proposed amendments about to be sub mitted to the people at the June elec tion, said amendments being of excep tional magnitude and of common Inter est to all. The proposed bond issue exceeds J5.000.000, 12,300.000 for parks and $3,000,000 for water- purposes, bearing Interest at 4 per cent- The last bonds have no clause whatever which could prevent them from being sold at less than par value. The first 4. per-cent bonds ever issued by the city were for the new Morrison-street bridge, which were sold for $3.50 below par value two years ago. In 1898 the city sold 5 per cent bonds at a premium of $24. In other words, the $400,003 4 per cent bond issue cost the city in 30 years $100,000 more than the 5 per cent bonds. If the city undertakes the proposed Improvements and is forced to, issue bonds therefor in a weaker money market than two years ago, it faces the possibility of being obliged to ac cept as low a figure as $10 below par value for 4 per cent bonds, and may cost the city $1,001,000 and more in 30 years. If the Water Board will put in a meter system, which it can do, with out selling bonds, it will result in an increased water supply sufficient for years to come. The experience of other cities proves conclusively this fact. ' ' The franchise of the so-called Econ omy (?) Gas Company for a period of 25 years has a big "nigger in the fence," We pay 95 cents for gas now to the Portland Gas Company. We know this to be a much higher price than other cities pay. San Francisco pays but 75 cents, and yet this pro posed franchise distinctly states that they may charge consumers' 95 cents, the same price as the Portland Gas Company. But more, the city obli gates Itself at the -expiration of 25 years to buy the plant at an increased valuation or else renew the franchise of the company indefinitely at the old rate. Also, all the promoters are re quired to put up as security, is a bond for say $5000. The franchise reads: "Economy Gas Company, its successors and assigns." They can sell this fran chise to any one, even to the Portland Gas Company. By this course they will then have the people of the city at their mercy. Notwithstanding the large interest obligation which the city may have to assume in case the bond Issues are car ried, the Municipal Association, rep resented by Mr. Connell and Mr. Bain, Instead of investigating the merits of measures of great importance, have fixed their attention upon the only ordinance which will Increase the reve nues of 'the city by $150,300 annually, almost enough to pay the whole in terest on the $5,000,030 bond - issue. Portland may need this money badly and as the ordinance Is a good one, let us have the $800 license. In hope that the initiative and referendum may prove a success. F. TOPKEN. Speaker Cannon for Tariff Revision. Chicago Journal. Speaker Cannon, who is now an avowed candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination next year, has evidently had his ear to the ground, for he has dis covered that the people of the West want the tariff revised. Senator Hopkins re cently gave out an interview in which he said that Mr. Cannon was in favor of inserting a tariff reform plank in the Republican platform promising immediate action by the next Congress. ' Nothing could be better calculated to help Mr. Cannon's candidacy than this declaration, which Is completely In line with publio opinion, at. any rate in that part of the country in which the Cannon ' boom lis strongest. The people are determined that an end shall be put to the discrim inations in favor of great combinations of capital, which have "done more than anything else during the past ten years to heap up the mountainous fortunes which have become a public peril. NEWSPAPER WAIFS. ; "I should think." she said, "that rolling would make you awfully tired." "No, I stand it first rats. You see I never, keep my score at all." Chicago Record-Herald. "I don't see how he can be such a popu lar clergyman, when he abuses the congre gation so." "Easy enough. Everybody thinks he Is talking about everybody else." Town and Country. "A tramp fell Into the water tank of a locomotive and rode 27 miles without being discovered." "Was he unconscious when found?" "No. Unrecognisable." Cleveland Plain-Dealer. "What, then." asked the professor, "Is the exact 1 difference between- logic ana sophistry?" "Well." replied the bright stu dent, "if you're .engaged in -a controversy It's Just the difference between your line of argument and the other fellow's.'.' Phila delphia Press. Mrs. Muggins How is your husband's cold 7 Mrs. Buggins I'm afraid he will never get over it. Mrs. Muggins Gracious! Is it so bad as all that? Mrs. Buggins Well, you see the doctor has advised him. to take whisky for It. Philadelphia Rec ord. Taft Starts for St. Louis. WASHINGTON, May ' 28. Secretary Taft, who is. suffering with a severe fcold, was somewhat better today, and spent several hours at the War Department, afterward attending the meeting of the Cabinet. Secretary Taft left Washrington .at 4:30 P. M. -' today for St. Louis, where he expects to arrive tomorrow night and ad dress the millers' convention. He will not stop at Cincinnati, as he originally planned. - ; SO WAY TO ESCAPE BRYABfi So the Democratic Party la Imperfect ly Heeoneiled to Him. New York Tribune. Colonel Watterson alone seems to be kicking against the pricks, at least with any energy. The rest, of the Democracy appears resigned to its fate. Any one who wishes to know how the party feels about its prospective candidate has only to read the Democratic papers of New York. We do not think that "The World." "The Time" and "The Ameri can" misrepresent, in expressing dissatis faction with Colanel Bryan, the senti ments of the Democracy. We have read the Democratic newspapers of New Eng land, of the Middle West, of the West and of the South, and of those that reach us we venture to say the majority view the impending candidacy of Colonel Bryan with reluctance and regret, but they bow to it. The party seems to think the Bryan candidacy is one of the ills that flesh Is heir to. to consider it as inevitable, as ill health, old age and final dissolution. Humanity may become reconciled to the Inevitable, hut never Tegards it with en tire satisfaction. Even so, the Democracy seems to be reconciled, thongh imperfect ly reconciled, to the Inevitable candidacy. Some Ponce de Leon will always offer to lead us to the fountain of eternal youth: some Matchnikoff will couasel us to slay old age in our entrails: and wkh the voice of hope that springs eternal colonel Wat terson will see visions of a candidate geographically located and facially capar isoned unlike" the Inevitable; but the great mass of the Democracy, if we may judge from the voice of the organs. Is re signed to its fate. A deep and settled resignation is upon It almost Oriental in its fatalism. What is to be is to be. The inevitable candidate will meet his inevi table defeat. Then will be time enough to talk of hope. We have never seen any American in stitution, least of all any party, afflicted with such profoundly melancholy fatal Ism, We are supposed to be free to select our candidates, irrespective of the designs of fate, and to select them with reference to what we think Is their availability as vote getters. Inevitability is not sup posed to trammel conventions, but the Democracy seems to' be afflicted wfth the fatalistic notion that here is a candidacy and here is a defeat from which there Is no escape. We were depressed by the Bight of this melancholy fatalism, and even Colonel Watterson's vision of a Northerner -with a mustache failed to restore our customary spirits. SENATORS BY ' DIRECT' PRIMARY Eighteen State In Which New Method la Adopted. . Chicago Record-Herald. A few days ago a list was published of the states in which direct primaries for the election of United States Sen ators have been established. There were 13 states with .such a law when the Legislatures began their sessions this Spring, and five more "nave been added, of which Iowa and Washington are the latest. In addition. Pennsyl vania has come within a single vote of adopting such a measure. Now. if one takes this list of states. Including Oklahoma, and examines It In connection with a map, it will appear that 16 of the 18 the other three being In the far Northwest make a con tiguous territory stretching from the Southern Atlantic Coast to the Rio Grande and up through the Mississippi Valley to Lake Superior. Begin at Lake Superior and we have Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, making the' northern Bpur. To the southwest He Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. To the southeast we have Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Ala bama,. Georgia. Florida, South Caro lina and Virginia. Out of the whole South only Louisiana and North Caro lina have yet to adopt the custom. The three remaining direct primary stales, lying 'detached in the Northwest are North Dakota, Oregon and Washing ton. The country is thus practically divid ed into three sections, of which two have still to adopt the new plan. One Is the Northeast and the other Is fhe. West beyond the Missouri, but both in the Northeast and the West the germ Is at work, and results may be expected still more rapidly in the next few years. . .- The Legislatures are thus being in part set free from 'the Interference with their strictly legislative duties which the senatorial contest involves. They will not be entirely set free unless a constitutional amendment is passed, or unless the states adopt the still more radical plan In which Oregon has set the lead and pledge the Legislators to choose the man who gets the most votes at the polls, even though they be of tho opposite party. SmokVrs' Rlffhta on Trolley Can. PORTLAND, May 28. (To the Ed itor.) Too much has already been said about smokers on the rear platforms of trolley cars, and that the odor from cigars and pipes is very unpleasant to other passengers. Smokers have will ingly submitted to the rules of the streetcar company, but it seems that after the order was issued, women want to get smokers also off front platforms. Not only women prefer these seats, but boys as well. Smokers pay as much for a car rffle as the others, and are entitled to some consid eration. Would It not be fair to every body that a sign be put up stating tTIat the front platform Is for smokers only? F. A. T. EARLY otCt 4tlMS 10Mt ' , Vs- ( wrutn;MPTAiioM) . (7fNsei-n - '. ' TO TrM H0ST FRANCE SAYS "GIVE ITTO 3IE." Wants Reciprocity Like- Germany, but Must yield More. WASHINGTON, May 2S.-Although It is stated that nothing has yet been done to-, ward adjusting the tariff, relations be tween France and America, and while 'it also has been stated that there appeared to- be no occasion for the dispatch of a tariff commission to Paris., as was done In the case of Germany, the satisfactory completion of the arrangement with that country has caused propositions to be made to consider the case of France., So far as is known, the recent decision that a tariff commission would Serve no useful purpose remains unchanged. The ' reason assigned for that statement was that the negotiations with France had long ago progressed far beyond the com mission stage and had indeed resulted in the drafting of a treaty. But this treaty can .come to nothing without affirmative congressional action, and the French Gov ernment is believed to he unwilling to await the uncertain course of legislation. Instead, it is willing, it is believed, to follow the example set by Germany and endeavor to secure whatever advantages are open to It under a reciprocity agree ment drawn under section 3 of the Ding ley act. Itl8 now for the State Department to determine what shall be demanded as a CKiid pro quo for a 26 per cent cut in the champagne duties. It is true that this concession was made to German cham pagnes, hut as the total amount of the importation was trifling and the revenue insignificant, it Is held by some treaty officials, that the cases are not parallel, for the French champagne Imports last year aggregated more than $6,000,000. Therefore, to secure anything like an equivalent in the concessions that might be asked, America, it Is held, should se cure a considerable addition to the pres ent limited list of articles of American origin upon . which the French Govern ment grants the minimum tariff rates.. SCLTAJf'S ARMY . IS ROUTED pretender In Morocco Has Won De- . , clfeive Victory. MADRID May 28. Despatches received here from Melilla. Morocco, say that the rebellion of the pretender has. routed the Sultan's troops with great loss. . Mrs. Watson's Thanks for Sympathy. LIVERPOOL. May '28. The widow of Dr. John Watson, whose funeral ' took place here yesterday, Is In receipt of countless messages of condolence from Americans of all creeds. In reply to these communications she has requested the Associated Press . to send to the newspapers of the United States the fol lowing: . ' -airs, jonn watson ana iamny aesire to express their deep gratitude to the' hodv of friAndR who n lrinrilv have sent expressions or sympathy and, as it is im possible to communicate with each, in dividually, she asks that this be an ncknowledgment acceptable to all." American Enterprise In Corea. ' VICTORIA, B. C, May 28. Mall ad vices from Corea state that a New "York millionaire has, applied to tle Toklo foreign office, through Count Okuma, for leave to stdrt a beet sugar indus try In Corea. The Japanese Foreign Office is unwilling to grant the appli cation' in the protectorate,-as the ln: dustry Is being considered by a Jap anese company. Sufficient capital can not bo secured by the Japanese .con cern, however, and It is seeking the American to Join Interests and form an American-Japanese company. Reaction in Control in China-' . PEKIN, May 28.-Aii Imperial edict tfiade public today appoints Tsen Chun. Shuan, recently appointed president of the Ministry of Comrminieations and, one of .the most prominent reactionaries, to be Governor-General of Liana: Kwans;. in succession to Viceroy Chou Fu. The appointment of Tsen Chun Shuan, who is a native of Kwangsl, is a noteworthy de parture ' from custom. Hitherto officials have not been allowed to hold civil ap pointments In their native . provinces. Skeptical on Hague Conference.- TOKIO. May 29. Absolute secrecy Is maintained by the Japanese Government regarding the subjects It will present to the coming Hague Peace Conference for discussion; and It Is impossible to make a preliminary forecast of the govern ment's position. It is generally felt that the conference will not have much prac tical result. The Japanese press Is not enthusiastic on the subject. War Prisoners Released at Lastr VICTORIA, B. C. May 28. Advices from Japan state that the crews of the schooners Taifuku Maru and Taiyo Maru, seized off Copper Islands by Rus-. aian cruisers during the war and im prisoned at VlaJlvostock, have been re leased. , . Chinese Rebels Attack Towns. SWATOW, China, May 28.-The revolu tionists are now attacking Chung Lang and Tung; Chang, wealthy towns in Ching Hal dlstijlct. Many of the inhabi tants have fled to this city. The uprising is attributed to excessive taxation. B(L)OOMS , --From the New Tork Press.