THE MORNING OREGOXIAX. MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1903.
LAYS BARE BANK'S
BURIED SECRETS
Probing of Experts Causes
Ghosts of Wild Schemes
to Walk.
MAZE OF HIGH FINANCE
Books Kept by Ross and HU Associ
ates a Veritable Labyrinth to
Accountants High Carni
val of Grab Revealed.
Each probe Into the bunco bank of the
Title Guarantee & Trust Company un
covers another secret ot frenzied finance,
which the bank officers thought they had
touried in the graveyard accounts of profit
and loss and "suspense" earnings. When
ever the experts stir up the dry bones,
the ghost of a wild scheme begins to
walk. The marvel is that the bank kept
on its feet so long.
It took money to engineer the deals
of the broken bank. The stuffed ac
counts of earnings could not carry on
the deals, since they were but wind, and
only money talked when the bank did
business outside its own walls. So the
bank's officers dipped their hands into
the money of the depositors, replacing
the hard cash with airy nothings, such
as "enhanced values," fictitious profits
and make-believe commissions.
In searching the graveyard for the last
Testing place of each set of bones, the
experts find many tombstones, which are
Badly mute on the most interesting mat
ters in the careers of the departed. But
the obituaries contain enough facts to
show that if all the bankwreckers could
be collected in the penitentiary, the offi
cers of the Boss bank would be entitled
to the blue ribbon in their class.
Took One Final Grab.
When the bank was breathing its
last, during the legal holidays Just
before its demise, favored persons were
laying hold of this or that, in fear that
it might not be theirs after the funeral.
Boss helped himself to $17,000 by cred
iting that sum on his 31,000 note to
the bank; I -add & Tilton helped them
selves to $26,000, by having the bank
turn over that sum lying to the Ross
bank's credit in New York; Wallace
McCamant, attorney for the bank, re
ceived a J1000 slice by being credited
with that sum, as fee for legal services,
on his $5000 note; and George A. Steel.
Ktate Treasurer, caused the bank to
hand out $10,000, by crediting that sum
on the note of the Portland Fuel Com
pany, of which he is president, from the
account of the Home Security & Invest
ment Company, of which he is also
president.
All the deals were put through the
bank November 2-4. before depositors
had knowledge of the wobbly condition
of the bank, and when the holidays
barred out all but the favorites. These
favored creditors knew of the impend
ing fall, and ued their knowledge to
pay themselves 100 cents on the dollar.
Another favored creditor was Mrs. E.
A. Mack, who loaned the bank H46.50 on
October 11. 1907, at 6 per cent Interest, tak
ing therefor a demand certificate. Vhe
shaky condition of the bank at that time
is revealed by its willingness to pay the
high rate of 6 per cent interest, in order
to get money. Evidently the bank offi
cers' conscience hurt them for having
taken Mrs. Mack's money, since they
made it a point to restore It to her. else
it would have gone down in the collapse.
Certain Depositors Favored.
Other Interests were looked after, too.
by the bank officers, at the expense of
depositors. The savings deposits de
creased JSlflO during the Interval between
October 28 last day's business and No
vember 6 day of receivership. This de
crease was $.V00 paid to one preferred
depositor and $100 to another. The de
mand deposits decreased $990.60, In three
items, one of which was that of Mrs.
Mack's, mentioned in the foregoing. The
check accounts decreased $9671 money
which should not have been paid out.
On the other hand, there was a big
Increase in the overdrafts during that
Interval being money drawn from the
bank in excess of funds held to the
credit of various Individuals and de
partments. The miscellaneous over
drafts showed a growth of $1500. The
freneral department Increased its debt
to the bank by tills method by more
than $40,000. raising its overdraft from
$8,000 to $128,000. The trust depart
ment carried away a big load of cash
from the bank department also $25,300
for replacing trust funds.
The bank speculated with the trust
funds In its care and used the money
of depositors to restore those funds.
In other words, the depositors were
mulcted for the bank's misuse of the
trust funds.
So that when all hands in the bank
rested on November 6 and Ross called
on the Federal Court for a receiver,
through his dummy, N. Coy. the cash
and the rash items in the bank had
shrunk $39,000 since October 28. Ross
and his men had been a busy bunch in
those eight days.
Cash Shrunk Woefully.
Their thrifty handling caused the
ral cash in the vaults to shrink from
$31. 15.1.92 to $4394.72 a difference of
$26,756.20. and the overdraft of the
general department to Increase from
$S8.000 to $12S.000. and the overdraft
of the trust department from $24,000
to $49,000. The stock of gold dwindled
from $23,460 to $293.
Hidden in a maze of. crooked book
keeping are numerous heavy losses,
which the accountants have not been able
to trace out. The bookkeeper ot the bank
was an automaton, who did the bidding
of Ross and Aitchison and Burkhart, and
who, when he became too familiar with
the secrets, was transferred to another
department and succeeded by a hand that
knew nothing but to obey orders. The
losses were cleverly concealed, by being
put Into the suspense account. Instead of
into profit and loss. Sometimes the losses
were divided between suspense and profit
and loss.
Occasionally there would be a clean up
of Junk in the suspense account. Then
the loss or part of it would be charged
up to profit and loss, while the same
amount would be credited to the Junk
suspense in order to make the suspense
balance. Or a transfer would be made
to some person or corporation or "tnist."
These accounts are like the fabled
labyrinth. Into which men could enter
but not find their way out. Such Is the
pliRht of the accountants after each days'
exploring: they find themselves in the
labyrinth, unable to trace their way out.
Krpt Wind on Tap.
The suspense account, besides serving
to secrete losses, also served as a ready
reservoir of wind, with which to replace
depositors' money. When Burkhart want
ed a sum to make up his overdraft on
the bank, he drew It from "suspense"
and credited It to his account. Then he
drew depositors' money to the amount of
the "suspense" wind. On December 31.
1904. Burkhart had drawn on the bank, in
excess of what he had in it, $5269. The
sum of $8000 wind was then transferred
to his personal account. On February 29
of the same year his overdraft was $1934.
Then $2000 wind was transferred to his
account.
Unless Burkhart can show that the
$10,000 was disbursed by him for the pur
poses of the bank, the plain inference is
that it was used by him personally. In
this case it amounts to the same as if a
person having access to the bank's cash
had gone into the vault, filled his pockets
with money and absconded, like Willie
does with mother's sugar. The account
ants have been unable to find that the
$10,000 was ever credited back. If that
was done, it cannot be recognized with
out knowledge of the many checks drawn
against the suspense account. If the
transactions were honest, why the need
of passing them through the suspense ac
count? Possibly Burkhart was acting as a
medium for hiding losses. On Decem
ber 31, 1904, the same day that $8000
suspense wind wae credited to Burk
hart, the suspense account was charged
with a total of $32,000.' Of this sum
$20,000 was credited to the Goldbug
Syndicate and $4000 to the Levems
Ledge. Gold Mining Company two. wild
mining ventures of the Ross bank. The
remaining $8000 was that credited to
Burkhart.
May Conceal a Loss.
This Burkhart charge on "suspense"
might, therefore, have been a ruse for
secreting a loss really much heavier
than the books show. At any event,
this method wae used in other deals,
and its possible use in this is cited for
example.
At the time of the $30,00 credit to
Burkhart. February 29. 1904, the fol
lowing charges to "suspense" were
made:
Laver Park trust $ S.ono
Livens letge Gold Mining Co JJ.500
T nlon IJght & Power Co 20.000
Fourth Plain Bvaiorator Co 3,000
A. A. Lindaley, trustee 22,305
Bill, receivable (Kinney notes) 2,086
T. T. Burkhart, personal 2.000
Total $88,982
On the same day another entry to the
credit of "suspense" was made for $66,
982, which it will be observed balanced
the foregoing charges on that account.
Where the credit entry came from is not
revealed. All the ventures mentioned in
the foregoing made the bank heavy
losses.
The Union Light & Power Company
drained the bank of probably $50,000. It
will be observed from the foregoing entry
that $20,000 was drawn from "suspense"
on February 29, 1904, for this company.
The company was financed by the Ross
bank, for an electric power plant at
Silverton. The plant cost probably
$100,000 and was bought by the Portland
General Electric Company for $50,000, at
a time when it was running behind $500
a month.
This Was Burkbart's Fet.
The scheme was a pet of Burkhart's.
He planned td turn water energy into
power and light, to be sold at Mount
Angel, Woodburn and Salem. The com
pany built a dam, with depositors'
money, but the dam was carried away
and the company resorted to steam, with
resultant heavy loss. Burkhart would
not sell the company to the Portland
General Electric: instead he sold the as
sets and dissolved the corporation, pre
sumably to hide the finances of the dis
astrous venture.
All manner of Junk was thrown Into the
suspense account. What was taken out
was used as a license for withdrawing the
sum named from the depositors' cash. On
May 23, 1906, such license was issued
through the suspense wind, to withdraw
$45,000 for the Goldbug Syndicate, down
in Jackson County in addition to the $20,
000 withdrawal of December 31, 1904.
Whence came the contents of the "sus
pense?" It was a sort of miscellaneous
Jackpot for contributions from all sources.
On June 30. 1002, $14,500 was thrown in,
as enhanced value of the stock of the
Marquam building,, resulting from a Su
preme Court decision. A year later, $10,
000 was thrown in as part of the en
hanced value of the safety deposit vaults.
The enhanced value added at that time
was $23,000, but the bank officers thought
$10,000 ought to go to "suspense" (the
vaults had been successively marked up
from $7000 to $60,000). The remaining $13,
000 went into general earnings.
A Deal in Bonds.
On April 21. 19.16, the general earn
ings were credited with $53,200. com
ing from the purchase of $266,000 par
value of bonds of the Oregon Iand &
Water Company (Umatilla Irrigation
project!. The bank bought the bonds
at 80 (the irrigation company being
one of the many subsidiary corpora
tions), and immediately listed the
bonds as an asset of the bank at par,
and credited the 20 per cent increase
to the account of general earnings.
But on June 30' following, $10,000 of
the $53,203 was withdrawn from gen
eral earnings and put into suspense
earnings.
This seems to have been clean-up
day, because a lot of Junk assets which
had been carried in "suspense" until
they grew musty, were taken out of
that account and Charged to profit and
loss. Their amount was $62,759.
The bank tried to balance its sus
pense account on September 30, 1907.
It found chat the Junk in that account
showed a credit balance of $124,008,
half cf which was commissions, . from
sale of the irrigation company's bonds
and of the Marquam block from the
Colonial Investment Company at the
Fairgrounds. The bank had a large
number of subsidiary companies. It
was doin service for them and charg
ing them commissions.
Ross had no money in the bank in
his personal account, but drew checks
on the bank and used its money Just
the same. The account of this peculiar
transaction with the bank is in his per
sonal cash book and ledger, which have
vanished. He had a way of, gettlngr
money out of the bank, also, through
his dummies. Coy and Reid.
I "sod Coy as a Dummy.
On May 26. 1906, Ross opened Coy's ac
count, not by depositing money in Coy's
name but by writing out a check in Coy's
name, for $2150 an overdraft. Two days
later another overdraft followed for $4450.
Other overdrafts followed until the total
was $7500 in June, 1907. Ross was virtual
ly borrowing this money from the bank
and paying no Interest.
On June 19. 1907. Ross sold 76 shares in
the Commercial building to the bank, for
$76,000, through Coy, who was credited
with that sum. Ross took In exchange,
shares or Title bank stock, through Coy,
paying $65,120. The difference between
the selling price of the building stock and
the buying price of the bank stock to
Coy was $10,SSO. which was rakeoff to
Ross.
Ross carried through the same trans
action in the name of Reid. thereby
doubling the profits to himself. Ross
opened Rcid's account In the bank May
26. 1906, not with deposit of money, but
with an overdraft for $3900.
Indictment of Ross. Burkhart and
Aitchison is expected this mornlnsr. An
effort will be made to put them under
heavy bond, the same as was done with
the bankwreckers in San Francisco.
ADMINISTRATOR'S SALE
At McAllen & McDonnell's, corn
Third and Morrison streets.
PHOTO CALENDARS HALF PRICK
10c up, Kiser, 248 Alder at.
POLICE VANDALISM RUIN
OF CHINESEMERCHANT
The Other Side of a Recent Lottery Raid Mistaken Zeal of Ignorant
Guardians of Peaco Results in Bankruptcy for Victim
Guiltless of Wrong.
BT CHARLES MESSER STOW.
o
F course, he is only a Chinaman,
so it does not matter really what is
done to him. He was caught with a
lottery tickec in his possession by the
keen-eyed minions of the law, who are
clever enough to find lottery tickets
and gambling dens in Chinatown, but
who have been known to miss occa
sionally a criminal who some have
thought ought to be behind the bars.
Together with some of bis friends he
was taken to the station and let out
on ball. Then his trial was put off
from day to day. When finally it came
up there were witnesses - who could
identify a lottery ticket, and all the
Chinamen arrested were fined some
$10 each. The , Judge called "Next!"
and the case was ended.
In their zeal to make this raid suc
cessful the keen-eyed ones took plenty
of ' evidence. It all' looked alike to
them, so they ripped off the walls of
the room various sheets of paper cov
ered with guilty-looking writing, and
took from the counter various books
with guilty-looking characters In
scribed in them. They also took the
cash drawer for fear that something
might be overlooked.
It so happened, however, that the
sheets of paper taken from the. walls
were a sort of daily paper in which
were set forth the wants of those
who frequented that particular store.
One wanted to buy a horse and his
desire was duly written out and past
ed on the wall. Another wanted a
cow and so anybody who had a cow
SPEAKS AGAINST TREATING
ARCHBISHOP CHRISTIE TALKS
ON TOPIC.
Urges Young Men of Church to Take
Itecldcd Stand Against
Practice.
Archbishop Christie spoke at the . 8
o'clock mass in the Cathedral yesterday
morning for the first time In months, this
being the occasion of the monthly meet
ing of the Cathedral Men's Club. Al
though still weak from the effects of the
operation which he recently underwent In
Chicago, the Archbishop spoke for 20
minutes t more than 400 people, the
largest part of the congregation being
men. He pointed out that the treating
habit is a source of excessive drinking
on account of the social obligation resting
upon each man to put up a treat for his
friends In spite of the fact that he may
not want to drink or to spend the money.
He urged that work against the habit be
made a general movement among Ca
tholics, and said non-Catholics should
also take It up. He said In substance:
The antl-treatlng movement Is the. most
practicable temperance -reform that ha been
et on foot in this country. It must com
mend Itself to every thinking; person. It
combines in Itself two elements which give
It value. In the first place. It Is a moderate
movement. Hence It should be easily intro
duced. There are several countries of Eu
rope In which the treating habit Is un
known. There Is nothing visionary in the
hope that It may become obsolete here. In
the second place, the antl-treat Ins; move
ment applies the remedy to the real source
of the drink evil. It Is useless to deny that
the social glass is responsible for most of
the drunkenness and wasteful expenditure of
money connected with the liquor traffic.
The social glass Is the curse of the young
man who has to make his way In the world
It leads him, out of human respect, to con
tract the habit of drink It leads him to
excess In the use of intoxicants. It fosters
prodigality In spending. I am convinced
that the treating habit Is responsible for the
ruin of thousands of young men whose pros
pects for life were of the brightest. 1 am
heartily in favor of the work of the Cathe
dral Men's Club, and I trust that every man
In the parish will be enrolled among Its
members. I hope that the movement will
become general among our people, and
among the citizens of the state.
Twelve centers favoring the movement
against the treating habit have been- or
ganized in Portland, and it is planned
to effect an organization of these centers.
Before the end of January the Cathedral
Men's Club will invite representatives of
those bodies who have taken up the
movement to send representatives, who
will form a ''Federation of Anti-treating
Centers." Its object will be to make
the work of each center effective, to or
ganize new centers,, and to propagate
the movement generally throughout the
state.
Since the movement started several
months ago, the Cathedral Men's Club
has grown rapidly, and before six months
more have passed it is expected that it
will have between 600 and 700 active
members, In addition to the regular
membership. The movement ' has been
taken up by a number of Holy Name
societies, who will send representatives,
when the time comes, to effect the or
ganization of the federation.
WANTS"ALTOGETKER"CLUB
Mr. McCusker Also Wishes for Some
First-Class Funerals'.
PORTLAND, Jan. 5. (To the Editor.)
Before reading the decidedly emphatic ad
vertisement of Louis J. Wilde, anent our
to pay the least peculiar mannerisms re
garding people and things, I had contem
plated writing an article along the same
lines, but possibly would have been less em
phatic in my remarks.
It ls a sad truth that from force of habit,
our citizens have become experts at wield
ing the hammer. They can scarcely be
blamed, however, as they have merely fol
lowed In the footsteps of what we were wont
to term the "first families," for want of a
more opprobrious designation. The persons
alluded to are those who came here in early
days and sat down on a large-slxed chunk of
the hemisphere, thereby suffering a stroke
of "nervous prosperity" so much so. in
fact, that they have been persistent In their
efforts to prevent anyone else from falling
inlo the same error. Those of us who have
arrived on the delayed trains, are prone to
look with scorn somewhat mixed with
envy on the aforesaid first families, and to
remark openly that what we need here is a
number of funerals, in which the late la
mented should consist of the before-mentioned
aristocracy.
Now, this would be all right, and no
doubt proper. If the condftfons would be
changed thereby, but the "late arrivals" are
very little improvement on the "early birds."
In fact. I am Inclined to the opinion that,
given a free hand, the L. R.'a could give
the B. B.'s a full house. Jacks up, and beat
them with a bob-tailed flush.
I think that Mr. Wilde has some Justifi
cation for his remarks. Without going Into
the merits or demerits of the failure of the
Oregon Trust Company, .or any of the other
suspended banks, it might bo pertinent to
inquire just what assist an re the Oregon
Trust Company received at the hands of our
citisens, other than from those unfortunates
who had their money there, and whose in
terests lie In reorganisation? We have sev
eral commercial bodies In this city who
make a loud noise about the superiority of
our city and state, and any one familiar at
ail witb our resources will not di scute It.
to sell could know1 where to find a
buyer.
It happened also that the guilty
looking books taken by the keen-eyed
ones were the merchant's cash books,
in which he recorded his daily sales
and kept track of the money given
him for safe keeping by the Chinamen
returning from . the canneries. Here
were entered the debts of those who
came to this man to borrow when they
had need. All told, upwards of $10.
000 was on the pages of, these books,
and this represented the entire busi
ness of this son of . the Celestial Em
pire, who had come to the free coun
try of America to seek fortune.
He is only a Chinaman, though, so
it does -not really matter that his busi
ness is ruined, that all the capital he
had got together by years of saving
and had increased by putting it out
at interest war at one stroke taken
from him and he was left as poor as
the day he landed.
For that is what happened. Accord
ing to the city charter, all parapher
nalia taken in a gambling raid must
be destroyed. These books looked
guilty. Only a Chinaman, anyhow, so
into the fire with them! The keen
eyed ones had taken them as evidence
and surely there was no chance for
the keen-eyed ones to be mistaken!
Whn he found what had become of
his business and his books, even
though he was only a Chinaman, this
one wept.
"Ton aliee same kille me." he wailed.
HIb business was his life. Now his
business was gone. The keen-eyed
dnes had seen to it that there should
be no more lottery tickets in this
store. Justice? Oh. he's only a China
man; that doesn't matter, really.
Hence the noise Is more or less wasted.
To get at the value of an organisation to
a community, we must ascertain Just what
benefits have accrued from Its efforts. At
the present writing, I am unable to call to
mind any, but it Is possible that something
has been done that has not been made pub
lic yet. I feel that I can positively assert
that Portland has grown -by reason of its
natural location, without any effort on the
part of Its citizens, but in spite of them.
This Is a strong statement, but I am open to
conviction. Has any industry been brought
here through our efforts? Jf some persons
knock for admittance, are they welcomed by
those who are In a position to assist, or are
such conditions imposed as to make It well
nigh Impossible to comply with them?
When the Portland & Seattle Railroad
Company wanted to cross our river, did the
gentlemen delegated to look after such af
fairs, make It easy for them to get in ?
Ttier are a number of other questions
answered in the same language.
When the Oregon Trust Company sus
pended, did any nf our commercial organi
zations come to the front to assist the ie
posltors In obtaining their money? Did any
financial institution offer assistance? On
the other hand, were the directors and
everybody connected with It 'cussed" by our
good citisens, regardless of whether they
knew of the -cause or not? I am not excus
ing anyone for this failure, but citing the
fact that we as citizens of this great city
were indifferent to it, notwithstanding that
this failure did materially assist In the run
that was made on other banks, and was the
beginning of the shortage In confidence that
foltowed. When it became nearly a cer
tainty that this bank would open again, did
any financial institution celebrate with joy
the occasion? Did they, on the other hand,
express sorrow? Well, perhaps.
Wss the failure of the Merchants' Na
tional Bank due to any fault of theirs, or
was It rather to malicious persecution by
You
filtered
You would see glass-lined tanks where we age it
so long that it cannot cause biliousness.
How we filter it through white wood pulp.
How we sterilize every bottle. How cleanliness is
carried to extremes. .
Ask for the Brewery Bottling.
Common beer is sometimes substituted for Schlitz.
To avoid being imposed upon, see that the cork or crown is branded
That Made Milwauke
some of our boosters? No need to answer
this question everybody knows.
Regardless of who is responsible for the
failure of the Title Guarantee A Trust Com
pany, since W M. Ladd has signified bis In
tent ron of underwriting the deposits, is It
good policy for some aspirants for political
honors If there are any such to hamper
him with conditions that might make it Im
possible for him to do as he wants to?
This brings out the selfishness of the
average man. Those who have their money
In the Title Guarantee Company do not care
just how the money is paid, so that it Is
paid promptly nor do they care who else
may suffer. Two weeks ago they would
have sold their accounts for 25 cents on the
dollar but now that there Is a chance to
get all, are they thoughtful and willing to
assist? I hope so. Two million dollars Is
a great deal of money, even for Mr. Ladd to
pay on short notice, and It would even make
me hustle to pay It without the usual GO
days' notice. The attorneys for the de
positors, as well as for the Surety Com
pany, should be liberal in their demands.
Any undue pressure might complicate mat
ters Remember that the obligations of Mr.
Ladd to the depositors of his own bank sre
as sacred as those of the defunct institution,
and any further financial embarrassments
would be nearly fatal to our business inter
ests. On the other hand, the reorganization
of the three suspended banks would so re
store confidence as to be of inestimable
value.
If Mr. Wilde and his associates can reor
ganize the Oregon Trust Company, there
should be no petty, selfish Interests stand In
the way, but all our people should lend a
hand.
I think with the dawning of the New
Tear, It would be quite the appropriate thing
to organize what we might term the "All
Together Club," bo that the naked truth
might be seen and felt occasionally. Ws
would all be benefited by It. So let us re
solve. THOMAS M'CUSKER.
STRONGER BY ASSAULTS
Dr. J. Montgomery Preaches on
Bible Criticism.
Rev. Andrew J. Montgomery, pastor of
the Third Presbyterian Church, preached
yesterday morning from the text Matthew
xvii:8. "And when they lifted up their
eyes they saw no man save Jesus only."
The sermon was to prepare the congrega
tion for the week of prayer which be
gins today. After giving an exposition
of the text. Dr. Montgomery said that it
had been found by the engineers who
were digging the Panama canal that too
much sunlight was detrimental to health,
and that the natives on the Isthmus,
who understood conditions retired four
and five hours a day to their huts to
avoid the glare of the sun. From this
fact the speaker drew the lesson that too
much sunshine and evenness in spiritual
life Is net a good thing, wherefore' God
sent clouds with the sunshine to his
children.
"The most dangerous time in the Chris
tian life." said Dr. Montgomery, "follows
the most exalted spiritual uplight, so
God sends a variety of experiences, dis
tributing the clouds along with the sun
shine. We have been passing through a
variety of experiences the past few years.
Even the fundamentals of the Christian
religion, and birth of Jesus Christ, have
been attacked under the name of higher
criticism, tverything in connection with
the Bible has been subjected
to the
severest tests, and yet good has come
out of these tests. The facts of the
Bible and the Christian religion have
been verified and strengthened by this
onslaught of criticism and they stand
firmer than ever before. The doubts that
assail the Intellect are not so dangerous
as the moral doubts, but these may be
overcome by seeing Jesus only."
. Dr. Montgomery closed his sermon by
declaring that all should work for the
glory of God, and the upbuilding of his
kingdom, and not for the church only.
He called special attention to the week
of prayer. '
How Schlitz beer
would never buy any
would see plate glass
air, where we cool it.
You would realize better
Chit-Chat of the Sporting
World. I
BT WIU. 6. MAC RAE.
DT ANDERSON, once Portland's
popular second baseman, has already
received several offers to play ball this
season. Andy was by long odds the best
keystone sacker In the Northwest League
last season. He finished the season with
a fielding average of .947, which shows
that Old Wooden Shoes is a long way
from being a has-been.
Only eight players In the Northwest
League, batted .300 or over. Eddy House
holder led the league with ,347, which
shows that the war-horse still knows
how to clout the ball.
Just before goingto press. Chit Chat
received over its short wire circuit an
account of the 100.000th accident to Bill
Souls. Souls, who is armed with a pilot's
license on the Vancouver stone barge, is
hereby the championship title as the hard
luck marine.
Prank Selee. the old Boston manager,
backed by a bank roll, is trying to buy
the Denver ball team from George Te
beau. It would be a great and glorious
thing for the game if some one would
tie a can to Tebeau.
Mike Mitchell, formerly a McCredle
star, made no mistake when he left the
matter of his salary to President Herr
man. When Mike received his 1908 con
tract he found a healthy Increase in his
salary. Mitchell by this time Is on his
way to Sea Breeze, Fla., where he goes
to get into shape for the Cincinnati Reds.
English clackers have a delightful way
of telling of a horse's work-out. Here Is
a sample: "Wansford (Northants).
Thursday A dull morning. Court Fla
vour. Michellne. Todwick and Clongowes
cantered a mile: Pacha. - Canty Bay,
Glasshampton gelding and Jovey's Neuk
came a mile and a half at a sweating
pace; Bellax. Symptom, Fortune Bold
and Pllnllramon had healthy progressive
work; the yearlings cantered four fur
longs twice." Such Information as this
would be as welcome to the American
bettor as a life preserver to a man who
couldn't swim even dog-fashion.
DIGDALE SEEKING NOTORIETY
Fat Manager's Offer Probably Xot
in Good Faith.
D. E. Dugdale is starting early with
his First of April jokes. The offer of
the Northwest League to buy the Port
land franchise from the Pacific Coast
League will go down In history as the
Joke of the 1908 season. Evidently Dug
dale and President Lucas have given up
waiting . for the McCredies to knock at
the Northwest League door with the
Portland franchise. If Dugdale was In
earnest. It certainly shows that the
Northwest League Ls still very sweet on
, Portland and must sadly need this city
! In its circuit.
i Perhaps Dugdale and his associates
! were of the opinion before they sent
i Judge McCredle the telegram, that the
McCredies were tired of Portland and
would welcome a chance to sell the Port
land franchise. If they were, the tone
of Judge McCredie's telegram must have
been most discouraging.
Just now, with Los Angeles wanting
continuous baseball, the Coast - League
would be willing to talk business with
Seattle and some other good Northwest
League city, but the Coasters are not so
anxious that they would offerto spend
is brewed,
other.
rooms, filled with
how much purity means
if you saw the
we use,
amount
to
Sbci wood St She! woo4
8 Front Street, Portland.
Yes, they are
dropping, and
today it's
Men's
Slices
That have
dropped from
$3.00 and $2.50
to $1.85.
Not all sizes
of all kinds, but ;
all sizes of
some kinds.
Come in and
see the bargains.
CLOTHING CO
GuS KuhnProp'
166-168 THIRD STREET
money for the franchise. Undoubtedly,
when Judge McCredle stated at the close
of last season that he was satisfied with
a four-club league and that he had made
a little money, or would have at least,
had it not have "been tor the failure of
the Oregon Trust and Savings Bank, lie
was not believed by the Northwest
League magnates. The truth probably
has been driven home by this time.
There may come a time again when
Portland and Seattle shall be in the same
league, but the outlook Is not very
promising so long as the McCredies are
satisfied with the treatment they receive
from the Californias. If the McCredies
were in the baseball business Just for the
meney they could make out of it, Port
land perhaps by this time would have
been with the Northerners. Judge Mc
Credle figured the matter out carefully
and he couldn't see where the game
would be benefited by Portland dropping
the Coasters.
No well posted baseball fan who read
Dugdale's telegram yesterday, believes
that the fat manager of Seattle was in
earnest. The Northwest League Is not
rolling in wealth, at least not to the
extent that it could afford to pay a
fancy price for the Portland franchise.
Dugdale likes printer's ink. His name
hasn't been in print much of late. The
old fellow evidently saw a chance to
break In, so he sent the telegram.
Harvard to Row Annapolis.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 5. The man
ager of the Harvard varsity crew an
nounced tonight that Harvard would row
the midshipmen of Annapolis on the
Severnon, April 22, the race taking me
place of the customary one with Colum
bia In the Harvard schedule. This will
be Harvard's first rowing conteBt with
the midshipmen. At the same time trie
Harvard baseball team will make Its
headquarters at Annapolis and will prob
ably meet the Navy In one or more
games.
you
methods,
and the
we spend,
attain it
0
I