THE MORMXG OREGOXIAN, WEDNESDAY. MAY 29, 1907.
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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.