Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, January 22, 1908, Image 8

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Morning Oregonian., January 22, 1908, Page 8, Image 8

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Newspaper Page TextTHE MOTINING OREGOMAX, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1903. I' SUYJSCRIPTION BATES . INVAB IA.BLT IN ADVANCE. (Br Mall.) Dally, Sunday Included, one year ...$8.00 Dnlly. Sunday Included, air months.... .2S Ially, Sunday included, three, months.. 2.SJ5 Dally, Sunday Included, one month.. -To Dally, without Sunday, one year do Dally, wltnout SUinday, six months 8.25 Dnlly, without eaday, three months.. I.i5 Dally, without Sunday, one montb -00 funds'?) one yeair 2.ol Weekly, one yeas- .(Issued Thursday)... 1.50 Sunday and -weekly, one year.... - 8.00 Bt CAKKrEK. Dally. Sunday incluvled. one year 00 Dally. Sunday Included, one month To HOW TO SK-MIX Send postofllce money order, express order or personal check on your local bank. Stairips, coin or currency are at the sender's risk,. Give postottlce ad dress in full. Including county and state. POSTAGE KATES. Entered at Portland, Oregon. Post office. as second-Class Matter. JO to 14 Pages J cent 30 to 28 Pares ............. .3 cents 8l to 44 Pages -8 cents 40 to 60 Pages j cents. Foreign postage, double rates, IMPORTANT The poslal laws are strict. Newspapers on which postage Is not fully prepaid are not forwarded to destination. EASTERN: BCS12TESS OFFICE. The S, C. Beckwith. Special Agency New York, rooms 4H-60 Tribune building. Chl cago. rooms 510-312 Tribune building. KEPT OX SALE. Chiearo Auditorium Annex; Postoftlcot News Co.. 178 Dearborn street. St Paul, Minn. N. St. Marie, Commercial' Station. Colorado Springs. Colo. Bell. H. H. Denver Hamilton and Kondrick. 908-9H Seventeenth street; Pratt Book Store. 1214 Fifteenth streeit: H. P. Hansen, S. Rice. George Carson. Kansas City, Mo. Rleksecker Cigar Cos., Ninth and Waluut; Yoma Newt Co. Minneapolis Ja. J. Cavanangb. B0 South Third. Cleveland. O-James Pushaw, 80T Su perior street Washington, BL O. Ebbltt House. Penn sylvania avenue. Philadelphia. P.a Ryan's Theater Ticket Office; Penn Newis Co. New York Cltyi. L. Jones Co.. Aator House; Broadway Theater News Stand; Ar thur Hotallng Wagons; Empire News Stand Ogden D. L. tloyle; Lowe Bros., 114 TwHnty-nfth street. Omaha Barkalow- Bros., Union Station: Mageath Stationery Co. IX- Moines, la. Moae Jacobs. Sacramento. Cal. (Sacramento News Co., 430 K street; Amos News Co. Salt Lake Moon Book & Stationery On.; Ronenfeld & Hansen; G. V". Jewett. P. O. corner. Los Angela -B. E. Amos, manager-ten street wagons. I'ssadens, Cal Amos News Co. San lilego B. E. Amos. San Jose. Cal. St. James Hotel Hews Stpnd. Dallas. Tex. Southwestern News Agent. 844 Main street; also two street wagons. Aniarllla, Tex-Timmons ft Pope. ban Francisco Forster & Orear; TVrry News Stand; Hotel St. Francis News Stand; 1. Parent; N. Wheatley; Fairmount Hotel News Stand; Amos News Co.; United News Agency, 14' Kddy street; B. B. Amos, man ager three wagons. Onktund, Cal. W. H. Johnson, Fourteenth and Franklin streetsj N. Wheatley; Oakland News Stand; B. li. Amos, manager nve ?oidtield, Nov. Louie Follln; C. E. I.ureka. Cal. Call-Chronicle Agency; Eu reka News Co. rOKTLAND, WEDNESDAY. JAN. M. 1908. HUUHES AND TAFT IN NEW YORK. The story that comes from New York, that the demonstrations In fa vor of Hughes at public meetings In that city are the work of clacquers drummed up by orders from Harri man and paid for by Wall street, bears every appearance of being itself a .product of spurious manufacture. Kvery effort Is being made' to throt tle all expression for Hughes, and this, manifestly, is a part of the game. The Administration has set Itself to the-work of forcing the nomination of O'aft. The work is being, done with the President's customary energy and Intrepidity; for the office-holders and other Administration forces under stand that they have the President's Function, as well as his example, for the "thorough" method. .Their con duct and behavior at public meetings, to prevent all except men who speak for Taft from being heard, and espe cially to "howl down" and "throw out" all who would speak for Hughes, Is a disgrace. The people are unwill ing to have a candidate forced on them by the official powers. . Such methods will cause many votes to be withheld from Taft in the election, should he get the nomination; espe cially in New York; whose electoral vote is vital to Republican success. Hughes has the confidence of the people of New York. He alone was successful on the Republican ticket. In the latest general election. The effort to suppress him and his friends will. If persisted in, make a first-class row among the Republicans of New York. Organization for Hughes la being pushed In all parts of the state; "first," as the Brooklyn Eagle says, "by those who like him, and have confidence in him; secondly, by those who don't like sundry others who are being" forced on them and toward them, and, thirdly, by still others who believe that the party can more easily control necessary states with his name than with that of any other Republican at this time." Nothing could be more shabby than this story that his active supporters lire men in the pay of Harrlman and the Wall-street gang. Hughes has made a record for independence of this Influence which others have not yet had opportunity to make; and he would be much more likely to carry the State of New York than Taft would be. Besides, It is extremely disagreeable to many persons to find the Administration trying to force the nomination of a candidate. THE FUTURE OF CANADA. What is it to be? The inquiry is made in no patronizing way, because Canada is great enough to command her own future. She is growing into the Importance of a great nation, and is virtually independent. Her allegi ance to the British Empire is but nominal In its terms, but it is Arm lu nil realities; for England now makes no such mistakes in dealing with her colonies as she made in her dealing with us before our assertion of Inde pendence. It has been learned that no bond between a mother country and Its colonial children is so strong as that of affection, voluntary and unconstrained. It Is a bond that may be quickly broken by the Interference of coercive laws.. The more coercion the weaker the allegiance. All the great British colonies now are virtu ally independent. Yet nothing could be further from them than any dispo sition to assert it. It Is a family af fection, supported by a patriotic pride in the British Empire. Mr. Harold Blgbie, writing in the London Chronicle, believes that while Panada never will seek admission into the United States, she will in time become an American Canada that is to say. less a British Canada than now. This, indeed, will be a consequence of the very nature of things. Her strength, through devel opment, will become ao great that she will take on more and more the dis tinctive character of her position ana greatness. Attending it will be nearer approximation than heretofore to the spirit of the United States. But there is no likelihood that this chaVige will conflict with the conditions or requirements of allegiance to Great Britain. You may, indeed, see Brit ish and Old World customs more plainly in Canada than in the United States; yet everywhere in Canada there are signs of conformity and ap proximation. Geographical position, physical conditions, and growing in tercourse are largely responsible for this; and there is now a community of feeling and spirit between the United States and Canada which was not possible fifty years ago. Truth is, Canada is developing into a great separate nation. Independent as to her material Interests of Great Britain; yet held by ties of allegiance of the firmest kind all the firmer because merely sentlmerttal. The de velopment of Canada has but Just be gun; and the Dominion by the end of the present century will probably have a larger population than Eng land, Scotland and Ireland. The destiny of Canada is one of the most interesting of all subjects of forecast and speculation. We may take for light upon it the remarkable saying of Coleridge, a century ago, that "the destiny of the United States of Amer ica, as a nation of one hundred mil lions of freemen, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, living under the laws of Alfred and speaking the language of Shakespeare and Milton, was an august conception." We shall soon have exceeded our one hundred millions of people, and persons now living will see thirty millions in Can ada. By the close of the twentieth century there will be two hundred millions in America, virtually the same people, to support and extend and fulfill Coleridge's "august concep tion." OPINION AND CUSTOM. A telegraphic dispatch - from Mil waukee, Wis., printed today, tells us that there are 13.S17.426 Roman Catholics in the United States. Add those of our islands in the Pacific and Atlantic, the number is 22,018,898. Of the whole population this is nearly one-fourth. The remaining three fourths doubtless would be called Protestants. It is very likely that if you should enumerate all the population, by fam ilies, some of whose members are Catholics, you might get the twenty two milions. And if you should enu merate all the remaining population, by families, some of whose members are Protestants, you might get seventy-five millions more. But this cal culation wouldn't, prove that the numbers thus found were Catholics and Protestants. You would have only the conventional and ecclesias tical way of stating it. The great majority acknowledge Christianity, but do not accept the theological and ecclesiastical dogmas offered by one denomination or another. Opinion here is not aggressive; but acquiescence should not be mistaken for positive opinion. It is. easy to conform, when no harm can come of it; much easier than to combat- "Al most every opinion we have," says the pious Scarron, "we have but by authority; we judge, act, live and die on trust, as common custom teaches us; and rightly, for we are too weak to decide and choose of ourselves. But the wise do not act thus." When Lu ther exclaimed "O doxa, doxa! quara es communis noxa!" ("O, opinion, doxa, dogma, how common an evil you are!"), he stated the fundamental principle of Protestantism. As an other German writer puts it, "An ounce of custom outweighs a ton of reason." No one can separate hlra self from the thought and custom that lie about him. In seasons of po litical and social revolution there arises a struggle between the resisting force of ancient habits and the conta gious sympathy of new modes of feel ing and thought. In one portion of society the inveterate influence of custom prevails over the contagion of example; in others the contagion of example prevails over the conserv ative force of antiquity and habit. Which of these conditions is the prevalent one now, each person will judge for himself. But obviously the disposition is not to adhere witiout question to old and customary opin ion. We may be going too fast; but as to the movement there Is noques- tion. And yet opinion, especially on matters of religion, is the most con servative thing in the world. It is shocked by the change of a term or phrase or custom, or by suggestion of such change. The revised translation of the Scriptures, though more accu rate than preceding ones, disturbed pious minds. Habits of thinking, feeling and act ing are the most potent forces 'in the world, in all ages; and this without much regard to their truth or er rancy. WOMEX AND SALOONS. It would not be quite true to say that a woman can have no decent purpose in visiting a saloon. The women of the Salvation Army some times Invade drlnklng-places with an excellent purpose. Occasionally we hear of an exasperated wife entering the doors and haling her besotted husband home, to his great benefit; but as a rule it is safe to conclude that a woman who visits a saloon goes there for a purpose which were better unfulfilled. The ordinary drink-ing-place is bad enough as a resort for men. For women It is not to be thought of. If they visit it, their ruin is only a matter of a short time. In fact, a woman who finds the saloon attractive is already ruined in all es sentials. The final climax is a mere detail. . An ordinance forbidding women to visit saloons ought to be more accept able to barkeepers than to anybody else, since it would relieve them of a great deal of trouble and suspicion. The belief that saloons are places where women are led into vice and men encouraged in crime has' done much to create hostility to public drinking shops. If the practices con tinue which have caused the suspi cion, there is no reason to expect that the hostility will diminish. It is much more likely to increase until the American saloon is swept out of exist ence. ' Many saloon men who believe that their business is legitimate do their best to avoid the practices which bring odium upon it; but their efforts are thwarted by the practices of oth ers who regard neither law nor de cency. It Is the latter class of liquor- sellers who give the saloon its evil reputation and endanger its existence. The people will not always tolerate an institution which they believe to be a cause of vice, crime and poverty. Decent liquor-dealers are therefore more interested than anybody else to eliminate the objectionable features from their business and rid it of those men and those practices which give it a bad name. No saloon which women visit can fail to be a hotbed of Indecency. Women who visit saloons must inevitably fall to the level of its worst habitues. On every ground the law should do its utmost to keep them away. THE STATE UNIVERSITY. The report of the president of the Board of Regents shows that tfle in come of the State University of Ore gon will exceed 159,000 this year by only a few dollars. This sum is piti ful. It is not enough to. pay the sal aries of the professors and keep the machinery of the Institution running. In fact, though the 'teachers have served some three months virtually without salary, there will be a deficit of $16,000 this year unless some bet ter provision is made. The president of the board recommends that all contracts be made terminable with the current year, which conveys something like an intimation of dis solution. . The plain truth is that it would be much more to the credit of the state to discontinue the university than to support it upon a basis of continual starvation. Either a state university is desirable or it Is not. If it is not desirable, let it be abandoned and the funds applied to some more useful purpose. If It is desirable, then it ought ' to be supported liberally enough to be efficient ami to meet its increasing needs. Other states have found, without exception, that a state university is an investment which pays from every point of view. Mich igan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, refuse nothing that their great universities ask for in the way of support, and nobody complains. It is believed in our most progressive states that the higher 'education is just as essential to the welfare of a community as the primary schools. Experience shows that. primary education seldom flour ishes unless It is inspired and stimu lated from above. Unless we support our state univer sity, Oregon must dependfor higher education upon the meager dole of charitable millionaires. A self-respecting commonwealth, like a self respecting individual, prefers to pro vide for Its own wants instead of de pending upon donations. Moreover, it is better that there should be one advanced Institution in every state which depends upon the great demo cratic public for support. Such an Institution will teach economics, poli tics, history and social science with a very different trend from that which prevails under the Influence of Stand ard Oil. The perpetuity of free insti tutions depends upon the intelligence of the people. As we become more democratic we must become more in telligent or shipwreck is not far off. Oregon Is one of the states which is traveling swiftly toward pure democ racy. Unless she travels fully as swiftly toward knowledge and wis dom her democracy will end in bank ruptcy.. On the perilous sea where we' have chosen to voyage It would be Insane to discard chart and com pass; but that is precisely what we should do were we to hamper the higher education. The people of this state need all the lessons that the ex perience of mankind can teach. They should take the state university to their affections. They should foster and cherish It. It will return In wise counsel, guidance and leadership far more than the value which It can possibly receive. Between the state university and the people there should be intimate sympathy, hearty co-operation, thorough understand ing. The suspicion should be put away that there is anything aristo cratic in the higher education. It is the most 'democratic thing In the world. Ignorance is the friend of priestcraft, despotism, oppression. The pure intellect is now, as it has always been, the friend and savior of the common man. Prometheus still brings fire from heaven and kindles the hearth in every cottage from it. PANAMA RAILROAD TRAFFIC Secretary Taft on Monday submit ted to the Senate committee on inter oceanlc canals the report of J. L. Brlstow, who was sent by the War Department to investigate the rela tions existing between the Panama Railroad Company and the steamship lines operating on the Pacific Coast. The object of this investigation was to ascertain whether the Government ought to engage In the steamship business on the Panama route. Mr. Brlstow made the startling discovery that the business at the Pacific ter minal of the road had been reduced one-half since the Government took charge, there being but 16,000 tons of freight transported from Panama to Colon last year. Quite naturally, all of the blame for this decrease in busi ness Is placed against the Pacific Mail, which was refused an exclusive con tract for the business of the road. While there is no love lost between Mr. Harriman and the Administration at Washington, anything which the Pacific Mail might or might not have done would have had little or no ef fect In holding the business at Pan ama; in fact, Mr. Harriman is un doubtedly congratulating himself that his offer was refused. The establish ment by the Government of a steam ship line on the Pacific Coast will fail to win back the traffic that is lost, and the experiment would be costly. More than a year ago, when the American-Hawaiian Steamship Com pany signed a ten-year contract with the Tehuantepec Railroad Company for the handling of traffic between the two oceans, it was pointed out in these columns that the new route would absorb practically all of the business that had been crossing the Isthmus of Panama. The extent to which the new route has succeeded is shown in the Government's own statement that the traffic from Pan ama last . year was but 15,000 tons, while single steamers of the American-Hawaiian line operating a fort nightly service delivered at the Pa cific Coast terminus of the Tehuante pec route for shipment to Atlantic ports 12.500 tons. Not only has the Tehuantepec "route practically elimi nated the Panama route from the traffic situation, but the inroads it is making on the transcontinental rail road business are limited only by the capacity of its already large fleet of steamers. As for the Pacific Mall, its local business between Panama and San Francisco has been cut to pieces by the German and French lines, which have more frequent sailings and carry freight for much lower rates than the old line has been charging. Under" such conditions the operation of a steamship . line by the Government would be about as absurd an undertaking as could well be imag ined. The opening of the Tehuante pec route has afforded a trade high way between the oceans that cannot be successfully competed with until the completion of the Panama Canal. France is struggling with a phase of the tipping system with which Amer ica has some trouble, though in a dif ferent manner. It seems that in Paris it is the custom for the servant girl who does the family marketing to re ceive a sou for each franc's worth of goods purchased. That amounts to a commission of 5 cents on the dollar. The commission is, of course, added to the price of the goods, and the house holder not only pays that, but also suffers from excessive purchases the servant girl is tempted to make and the wastefulness encouraged in all de partments of household affairs.. In France the system is an open and pub lic one. In this country the -purchasing agents of large corporations some times get a commission upon the pur chases they make for their employers, and the commission is undoubtedly made a part of the purchase price. Sometimes, too, public servants get a rakeoff on the purchases they make for their employers.' While this has not come to be recognized as an es tablished practice, it may soon have the approval of our courts and become a legitimate feature of public business. The graft decision in San Francisco is plainly a tendency in that direction, and no surprise need be felt at any de cision the courts may make as to the legality of rakeoffs secured by pub lic servants on the deals they make for the public by which they are em ployed. The Chicago Health Department's report for the midwinter week clos ing January 13 showed a total of 650,000 cases of persons suffering from an aggravated type of influenza or grip. Not since the epidemic sea son of 1898-99, says the bulletin, has influenza played such an Important part in the mortality of the city, as during the week covered. The death rate of the week was 17.48 the high est January rate since 1899. Elder ly people and those debilitated from any cause are the readiest subjects of the malady, and those most likely to succumb to its prostrating weakness. Warmth, rest, fresh air, nourishing food and gentle stimulants cover the treatment enjoined for the comfort and possible recovery of the patient. It is the one disease in which the de termination "to keep up and fight it off" is condemned as worse than use less. The patient who yields to the inclination so pronounced in the early stages of the attack, to go to. bed ad stay there, is the one whose recovery is the most speedy and permanent In another year that is, about April or May, 1909, the United States will relinquish the provisional gov ernment of Cuba. The census of the Island will be completed in two or three months, the local elections will be held in June, and the presidential election next December. The eco nomic conditions of Cuba, according to the report of Charles E. Magoon, Provisional Governor, lately filed in the War Department at Washington, are excellent. The manufactories are rapidly expanding in capacity and output; new deposits of iron have been discovered and are being devel oped, and foreign and domestic com merce and trade for the past year show a gratifying increase over previ ous years. So much for supplanting the destructive, centuries-old policy of Spain in the government of the island by a policy that encouraged the de velopment 6f the natural resources of Cuba and taught the people the essen tial elements of prosperity, self-control' and the. basic principles of en lightened self-government. f The Port of Portland referendum petitions are now in circulation, and every taxpayer In the city should make it a personal matter to get the lists completed as soon as possible. The practically unanimous desire of the people to hasten the needed re form in our shipping business is shown by the fact that two solicitors yesterday forenoon secured 250 sig natures and met with but one re fusal, and in that lone case the per son refusing was unable to offer any reason for his refusal. Do not wait for the solicitor to hunt you up, but sign the list unsolicited. The most persistent hammering of the bear element in the wheat mar ket, aided by the enormous ship ments from both coasts of the United States, has proved insufficient to force wheat down to tl per bushel in Chi-- cago. - There has been a decline of several cents per bushel from the highest point reached, but the price is still hovering around far above the average in "previous years, and prom ises to hold at good figures until the entire surplus is marketed. Mr. Bryan in his speech in Ken tucky yesterday said, "it was wrong for Democrats to refuse to support men just because they did not want them." But this is what Republicans have been doing -in Oregon, with Democratic applause. , Lease of the McGinn quarter block at Seventh and Washington is one fact to prove that real estate values in Pprtland have not been adversely affected by the October panic. In view of the coming of Eastern folk by the thousand, taking advan tage of the colonist rates, every pub licity agency in Oregon should imme diately get busy. Press reports from Rio Janeiro are singularly silent on- the subject of profanity in connection with Admiral Eyans' game leg. Probably Lawyer Delmas Is more Interested than any other reader of the reports of the Thaw murder trial. Has any one noticed that the recent financial flurry has had the effect of reducing the price of farm products? So far from scaring us with the bogy man's yam about blowing up the fleet, it did not even amuse us. WASHIXGTOS'S ROYAL BLOOD. Discovery That He Wan of the Stock, of Ensllah Kings. Boston Transcript. That George Washington, the first Presi dent of the United States, was a lineal descendant of King Edward I is the an nouncement of an English genealogist who, for several months past has been investigating the ancestry of the Wash ington family In a branch about which hitherto little or nothing has been known. The Rev. Frederick W. Ragg, a univer sity graduate and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, undertook the Investi gation of a branch of the Washington ancestry purely out of antiquarian inter est. That the line of genealogy ascended to royalty was as great a surprise to him as It Is to the two nations interested. That the liberator of the American colo nies should have sprung from an English monarch carries the serpent's tooth Into the third and fourth generations. Mr. Ragg has been for several years interested in the restoration of the little parish church at St. Leonard, at Acton-le-Walls. in Northamptonshire. But his Interest Included other items as" well, notably the crumbling tombstones of the Washingtons In the churchyard and the parish register In which the births, deaths and marriages of the family were recorded for generations. The genealogy of the male Washingtons, father to son to grandson, has long been known. It had hitherto occurred to no one to trace the ancestry of a certain Margaret But ler, the wife of Laurence Washington, of Sulgrave. who died in 1616. the same year as Shakespeare. Margaret Butler was the great-great-great-grandmother of General George Washington. She was the great granddaughter of Sir John Sut ton, of Dudley, owner of Aston-le-Walls. From the father of Sir John Sutton, who died In 1487, the line of ancestry is clear through the Tlptofts and Cnarltons, np to Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, and his grandfather, izy-.crl of Woodstock, AEarl of Kent, the son of Ktiward I, King of England, and Margaret, daughter of Philip III of France. One reason why this thread of the Washington ancestry has never before been known is probably the circumstance of there having been two Margaret But lers livtng in Aston-le-Walls at about the same period. An entry In the Aston-le-Walls parish register reads: "Anno Reglne Elizabeth Tricesimo Nup tie facte sunt inter Laurencium Washing ton genl et Margaretam Butler terclo die Augustlj 'anno predicto." The date of his marriage was 1588. The confusion between this Margaret Butler (if. Indeed, it was known that there were two persons of that name) led to a neglect of this branch of the family, with the result that some centuries have passed since the decease of the first President of the United States before the discovery that he came of royal lineage. Mr. Ragg, with whom res:s the credit of this surprising discovery, is a man of scholarly tastes with an enthusiasm for the architecture of the English parish churches. In order to repair the nave and choir of a church In the south of England, of which he was rector, he learned the mason's trade and stone cutting and set about the work himself. When he moved to Aston-le-Walls he was instantly struck by - the fine archi tecture of the little church, which was being allowed to go to ruin. The parish enrolls only 170 persons.vand as most of these are tenant farmers and laborers, no funds could be raised for repairs. He regarded the church as especially wor thy of preservation on account of its Identification with the Washingtons. A more sophisticated man would perhaps have appealed to America. Mr. Ragg was in the habit of doing things himself. And yet while busily occupied In endea voring to raise funds for -the repairs, in venting a new kind of mortar and super intending the construction work as fast as it could go forward, he found time to go into the neglected branch of . the Washington genealogy, of which he writes to friends on this side as follows: "I hunted up the descent of these an cestors (of the Washingtons) and the re sult will, I think, be surprising. It ought to delight all Americans." Aside from a brief reference to the ob stacles and delays which beset the stu dent of genealogy, this is the only men tion of the chart of the ancestral descent which Involved weeks of patient research and investigation. It seems only fair to this modest and diligent scholar that; in view of his in teresting .contribution to our knowledge of Washington's family, he should re ceive some assistance from this side in his sturdy effort to preserve the church which bears such an interesting connec tion with our national history. He Is not the less entitled to assistance from Americans because he has made no ap peal for It. S Pennsylvania's Exhibit In Graft. Boston Transcript Slnce indictments were found against 14 men for being concerned in the Capitol building and furnishing graft at Harris burg, Pa., the public has not heard much about the matter, but interest in it Is likely to be revived by the trial of these cases which is scheduled to begin Janu ary 27. Recently some fresh indictments have been found against several men in the defendant list, fraud in measurement being the basis of the charge against them. ' The architect of the building is already under W0.C00 bail In 30 charges of conspiracy, while Sanderson, the contrac tor, who showed such a genius for mak ing, bills, and Cassel, president of the Pennsylvania Construction Company, who supplied the metallic furniture, have each 15 charges hanging over them besides be ing Involved in the new one of false pre tense. Proceedings agatnst them have progressed to the entire satisfaction of the publio up to date. The Governor re deemed his pledge by instituting a vigor ous investigation. The probing committee showed that it was on no whitewashing mission, and the Attorney-Oeneral pushed to its logical conclusion the evidence that was placed before him. The scandal has been large enough to attract National at EMBARRASSING J: JAPAN'S TROUBLES OF HKR OWS. Corea la Still Rebellion and British in India Show Distrust. Boston Transcript. Several of the foreign newspapers which have been discussing our relations with Japan appear to have been Inspired by the belief that If the Tokio Govern ment were disposed to strike at the United States it would have a perfectly free hand to do so. They have spoken as if Japan had no domestic questions that would check a disposition to enter upon a belligerent policy, and they have dwelt upon the promptness with which, anticipating events, her fleets and armies were set in motion against Russia before any declaration of war was issued. After the manner of the strategists of the study they have speculated as to what might, coUld, would or should happen If Japan were to aim a blow at us while our fleet is midway the east coast of South America on its voyage to the Pacific Corea refuses to be readily assimilated. In fact the Coreans are fighting assimila tion with all the weapons which their im perfect development leaves at their dis posal. When th Corean army was dis banded or dispersed by the Japanese sev eral months ago a popular resistance sprung up, of .which dispatches have made but brief and occasional mention. Private letters received in this country from per sons who -have special opportunities to observe the situation and no conceivable motives for misrepresenting It are to the effect that the Japanese troops In Corea have all they can do to make head against the "insurrection." The Insur gents belnA "unable to make a stand In the open field in regular military order against the Japanese troops, have- re sorted to guerilla warfare. While Japan has this Corean Insurrec tion on her hands, she is still further em barrassed by the evident mistrust of the British in India of the ability of the Tokio government to curb the "Asia-for-the-Asiatlc" propaganda which the bellig erent Japanese have - been preaching.' Count Okuma may have ibeen misreported, as he asserts. He may have Intended to advise a merely commercial competition in India, but ft will take many disavow als to soothe the sensibilities of the Brit ish officials. They noted with suspicions that they did not dissemble the display of moving pictures of Japanese victories over the Russians which was so conspicu ous a feature of the Hindu nationalist agitation of last Summer. These pictures were accompanied by Inscriptions to the effect that they illustrated the mi.itary triumphs of an "Asiatic" army over Europeans, and by an adjuration that sounded very much like 'Go thou and do likewise." WORLD'S OLDEST NEWSPAPER. In a Modern Sense, .Said to Be the Cars. Ins of Germany, Dated 1600. Professor Adolph Koch of the Uni versity -of Heidelberg has been deliv ering at that seat of learning a course of lectures on "Public Opinion. Jour nalism and the Press," and Nathan Straus, brother of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, has been listen ing to them. He has kindly sent to us a facsimile of what is said to be the oldest extant specimen of a news paper In the modern sense of the term, copies of which were distributed by Professor Koch among his audience. It bears date of 1609 and was issued weekly. It has an elaborately engraved border to its front page title, representing David and Goliath glaring at one another from opposite sides of the sheet, and three chubby angels, symbolic of Hope, Faith and Charity at its foot. The set of numbers for the year forms a quarto volume of 115 pages, and con tains correspondence from 17 towns, among them Rome, Vienna, Cracow, Am sterdam and several German cities. - The publisher of the paper was Johann Caro lus, and his place of business was Stras burg, where he conducted this enterprise until 1634, when the name of his brother and successor appeared. This paper was probably continued throughout the seven teenth century, and it was an up-to-date journal for its time. It might even be said to have initiated the "scoop," since through Its columns the practical demon stration of Galileo's great invention, the telescope, was announced to the world in May, 1609. As a record of the communicable world's doings at that time It Is a relic of large public interest and historical value. The Venetian gazettes of the previous century 'were tentative essays into the field of journalism, but they fell under papal displeasure and were discontinued. Italy was the parent of the daily news paper in a way. since the Acta 131 urn a of ancient Rome was a part of the daily public archives. It had, however, a too restricted circulation to be put in the journalistic class. The oldest dally Jour nal still being published Is, perhaps, the Tchlng-Pao of Pekin, whioh was started In the eighth century and Is yet running But its spirit is still about as ancient as when the first number was issued. The Carolus newspaper makes a plausible bid. In the modern sense, for the distinc tion of being the pioneer of the "fourth estate." She Was "Getting Even." Youth's Campanlon. It was close on midnight, and the pro fessional guest felt it was high time for him to stop playing. "Perhaps I'd better not play any more tonight." he said, wearily. "I see you have near neighbors, and they might be annoyed." "You needn't mind them for a minute," said his hostess, earnestly. "We are perfectly sure they poisoned our cat, and if they did, nothing is too bad for them." A Simple Situation. Washington Post, Ind. The political situation on the Demo cratic side of the hedge is marvelously simple and hopeless. The two wings have flapped together after a fashion. More than 3,000.000 Democrats would rather go to defeat with Bryan thanto victory with any other candidate. At least 2,000,000 are willing that Mr. Bryan shall be nominated in order that a third defeat may rid the party of Its old man of the sea. Prom the Milwaukee Sentinel. LIBEL RULING OF JUDGE HA XX A. One of Putnam's Lam-yen Say It Was Wrong; but Quite Honest. GRANTS PASS, Or.. Jan. 20. (To the Editor.) The press of the state has com mented very extensively upon the convic tion of Mr. Putnam upon an indictment for libel before Judge H. K. Hanna at Jacksonville last week. The criticisms of the trial Judge have in some Instances been so unjust that I can not forbear offering a wod of expianation. I was one of Mr. Putnam's attorneys and am also a stockholder In the Medford Pub lishing Company that owns and publishes the Dally Tribune in which the alleged libel was published and. am in a posltior. to know whereof I speak. Upon the trial of the case the defendant was treated as fairly as could be desired by any man. With the other attorneys for the defend ant I presented a motion asking the court not to permit the Sheriff of Jackson County to summon the jurors for the trial of the case but to appoint an elisor for that purpose. When the motion was presented A. E. Reames prosecuting at torney said he would not oppose, and that he did not wish any one whom the de fendant suspicloned of being prejudiced against him to have any part in selecting the Jurors. At my susgestion the court appointed R. B. Dow as elisor. At the beginning of the trial the prosecuting at torney took the position that the defense would not be permitted to go Into the question of the assault charged to have been committed by Barnum upon J. F. Reddy or into the manner of conducting the investigation by the grand Jury of such assault. He cited some judicial precedents to sustain his contention which I did not consider very strong or applica ble In view of our statute on the subject. The court concurred In this view, and even went a little further and stated that he did not think that we could question the rightfulness of the grand jury's ac tion. This view was a surprise to tlus defendant's attorneys, as mey relied on the words of the statute, but we were not prepared to offer any legal authori ties to sustain Our position under any similar statute. In the town of Jack sonville there did not happen to be text books on the subject of libel and the libraries at hand were not very extensive. The case was being tried on Saturday which had to be the last day of court as the Judge had to hold court at Grants Pass on Monday. The attorneys asked for no time to present authorities but concluded to take exceptions to the rul ing of the court, make their record and appeal. The rest of the trial was some what perfunctory. If there was any feeling or prejudice manifested by the trial judge I did not observe It. In truth he was liberal and courteous to the defense. All the defense can complain of. Is his view of the law. I believe the court was In error, but I know it was an honest mistake. Had the trial Judge not believed that law to be as he announced it, he certainly would not have Instructed the Jury as he did, for he knew the case would be appealed, and it would oe unreasonable to accuse him of Intention ally committing an error that would cause the Supreme Court to reverse the case. To my knowledge there was nothing done by the trial judge in this rase, to call down upon his head the criticisms of the press of this state. He should no more be subject to criticism In this case, than any other Judge In any other case who makes a ruling that Is against the law, but which he honestly believes to be correct. As I said in the beginning I am interested in seeing the ruling of Judge Hanna set aside by the Supreme Court, and 'believe It will be, but even though the whole state of Oregon be lieved so. that would not justify the crui cisms which haye Imputed either lack of knowledge or unfairness to him. I have little patience with the homage usually paid to judges of our courts. I have never believed that a fallible lawyer 'became an infallible Judge as soon as he was ele vated to me bench. I believe they are Just objects of criticism, and In Oregon have been criticised too little, but mis representation is not criticism. And in this matter iue press of the state is not giving Judge Hanna a square deal, be cause it proceeded on the L.eory that he was trying to be unfair to the defendant, and this supposition is both unreasonable and untrue. ROBERT G. SMITH. The Oregonian does not feel called upon to assume responsibility for what the "Press of the State" may have said about Judge Hanna's remarkable decision. For itself, it -has not Imputed to Judge Hanna a deliberate purpose to deny Euitor Put nam his rights before the law. But that Putnam was denied hiB rights, it has as serted, and its assertion Is. we think, fully supported by this letter attempting to defend the Judge. The Oregonian said, following the decision that "there has been here a most surprising invasion of liberty of the press and an unjustifiable denial of Putnam's elementary rights be fore the law as a citizen. Tills decision means that a newspaper has no right to criticise a grand Jury or the court. Tliat is absurd and cannot stand any test of history, or experience or Judicial prece-. dent." This criticism, The Oregonian thinks, was and Is entirely warranted. Putnam had made a harsh attack upon the Dis trict Attorney and grand Jury of Jackson County for their failure to indict a man named Barnum accused of murderous as sault. The grand Jury and District At torney caused Putnam to be prosecuted for criminal libel. When he attempted to support his statements by Introducing testimony as to the facts and circum stances upon which they were based, the Judge peremptorily excluded testimony of that kind saying that the libel had noth ing to do with the Barnum assault. This ruling, In the opinion of The Oregonian, is in plain violation of common justice and of. the Oregon law, which happen hi thl Instance to be the same thing. We gather from Mr. Smith's letter the chief reason why Putnam was convicted was the weakness of his defense by his lawyers. Judge Hanna, too, we think, needs a more effictentr advocate. The Oregonian renews its expression, made some days since, of a desire to hear from the Judge, that it may be corrected If its understanding of his decision is wrong. It has tried several times to get a full text of Judge Hanna's- Instructions, but It has failed. A Bet With' the Government. Harper's Weekly. An Irishman wishing to possess a homestead, and not knowing how to go about it, sought information from a friend. "Tim." he said, "you've taken a homestead, an" I thought, maybe, ye could tell me the law consarnin' how to go about It." i "Well, Patrick," says Tim, "I don't Just remember the exact wordln' uv the law, but I kin give ye the meanin' of It. The meanin' of It is this: The Govern ment Is willln' to bet ye 160 acres uv land again fl4 that ye can't live on it fer la years without starvin' to death." Economy. Cleveland Leader. . ' A recent benedict sends tlia foltowingr verses, showing haw soon a man learns new wisdom, one he's fslrly caught: I used to set my dinners At restaurants and turn: The check the waiter brouffht mo Was usually this much "$2.80." But now. since I've discovered The joys of wedded blifcs, Matilda sets the dinners. The cost for two is this 0.63. - However, there's a icas range That ornaments 'my flat; The Way Matilda runs it Jiriii monthly bills like that J13.20."