Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, February 01, 1908, Image 8

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Morning Oregonian., February 01, 1908, Page 8, Image 8

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Newspaper Page TextTHE MORXTXO ORECOXIAX, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, lOS. M BSCKIPTION BATtH. . INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. (By Mall.) Ta1!y. Sunday Included. one year 8 T'atly, Sunday included, six months.... 4.25 Pally, Sunday Included, three months. . 2.-5 Iully, Sunday Included, one month.. .75 I'aliy, without Sunday, one year 8.00 I'aliy. without Sunday, six months 3.25 Jjally. without Sunday, three month.. 1.75 J'hIIv. without Sundav. one month 00 Sunday, one year Weekly, one year (issued Thursday).. Sunday and weekly, cne year 3-50 BY CAKRIK. r)nfly, Sunday Included, one year 8.00 lailv. Sundav Included, one month 5 HOW TO REMIT Send postoftice money order, express order or personal check on jour local bank. Stamps, coin or currency re at the sender's rink. Olve postotflce ad dress In full. Including- county ana state. POSTAGE HATES. Entered at Portland. Oregon, Postofllca as Second-Class Mattor. in m u Pa... ..1 cent 3 to 28 Paires 2 cents H lo 44 Pages 3 cents to 00 Paires cents Foreign potafie, double rates. IMPORTANT The postal laws are strict. Newspapers on which postage is not fully prepaid are not forwarded to destination. EASTERN BUSINESS" OFFICE. Thi. f ' )- b a t h Knerial Airency New Tork. rooms 48-50 Tribune building. Chi cago, rooms 610-012 Tribune building. KEPT ON SALE. Chicago Auditorium Annex: Poatoffloa JSews Co., 178 Dearborn" street. M. Paul. Minn. N. Be Marie. Commercial etatlon. t ... Snrinn rnln. Rail H S. Denver Hamilton and Kendrlck. 906-013 Seventeenth street: Pratt Book Store. 1214 nrteenth street; J. Hansen, a. iuw Ueorge Carson. Kansas City, Ho. Rlcksecker Cigar Ninth and Walnut: Toma News Co. M lnnrapoUa M. J. Cavanaugb, 60 Bouth Third. Cleveland, O. Jama Pushaw. SOT Su perior street. Washington. D. C. Ebbltt House. Penn sylvania avenue. Philadelphia. Pa. Ryan's Theater Ticket Office; Penn News Co. New York City. L. Jones 'Co.. Aator House; Broadway Theater News Stand: Ar thur Hotaling Wagons; Empire News Stand. Ogden D. L. Boyle; Lowe Uros.. 114 Tweniv-fifth street. Omaha Barkalow Bros.. Union Station; Mageath Stationery Co. lies Moines, lew Mose Jacobs. hacramento, Cal. Sacramento Newi Co., 40 K street; Amos News Co. Holt Lake Moon Book A Stationery Co.; Rosenfeld Hansen; O. W. Jewett. P. O. corner. Los Angeles B. E. Amos, manager ten street wagons. Ptisadenu. Cal Amos News Co. Han Diego B. E. Amos. .Sun Jose. Cal. St. James Hotel News Stand. Dallas. Tex. Southwestern News Agent. 344 Main street; also two street wagons. Amarilla, Tex. Tlmmons & Pope. San Francisco Forster & Orear; Ferry News Stand; Hotel St. Francis News Stand; L. Parent; N. Wheatley; Falrmount Hotel News Stand; Amos News Co.; Untied News Agency, 14s Eddy street; B. E. Amos, man ager three wagons. Oakland, Cal. W. H." Johnson. Fourteenth and Franklin streets N- Wheatley; Oakland News Stand; B. JE. Amos, manager nve wagons. GoldHeld. Not. Louie Follln; C. E. Hunter. Eureka, Cal. Call-Chronicle Agency; Eu reka News Co. PORTLAND, 6ACTJRDAY. FEB. 1. 1908. A SURVEY OF THINGS. The Oregonlan, as a looker-on in politics, though not a party advocate, supposes It may offer some considera tions on the political situation In Ore gon. It doesn't exactly ask or expect unanimous consent, but will go ahead on an easy canter or career round the field, and sometimes perhaps make short cuts across it, asking no body. The new political and legislative methods make a peculiar and con fused situation. The professed object is to place and to" keep their own gov ernment in the hands of the people. It is Ideal, in its terms; but party, as well as government, requires organi zation, and ' organization requires leadership, and leadership requires that some man or group shall take the lead; and this again means the creation and activity of the person we call the boss, or of the group we call the machine. Our new system there fore attempts impossibility. Un der the plea of bringing their govern ment into the hands of the people and keeping it there, it would forbid organization and leadership strong enough to do anything. And yet in politics men must co-operate, and in all co-operation some will take the lead and become more active than others. Then the effect must be sim ply the substitution of one leader, manager, group or machine for an other. Then is our effort to result merely in the elimination of one ma chine and clearing the way for an other? This may be some gain doubt less; but it was often effected under the old system; for parties always have been accustomed to 'changfe leaders and the managers of their or ganization very often. The great body of citizens are sel dom active in politics, because It doesn't suit them to be so. Most have other business to attend to. But they are easily stirred by appeals against the organization or machine. Nor are they likely to stop long enough to observe that those who are declaiming most loudly against the tyranny of the organization and Its usurpations are desirous chiefly of obtaining this control for themselves; and when they do obtain it they con tinue the prevailing or antecedent methods, without much .change ex cept in the identity of the personal factors. All this is inevitable, be cause it Is human nature, and it will continue, because it is human nature. Few of those whose votes carried the new system to adoption are satis lied with the results it produces. Its effects prove to be very different from what was anticipated or supposed. It i.s found not to be a way of determin ing "the people's choice" for nomina tions, or their judgment on proposals either of Initiative or referendum. It produces a great crop of candidates, each supported by a small group, but few of them entitled to consideration, and many who never could have been seriously thought of. But they di vide the primary vote, and one candi date obtains a few more votes than any other. But he is not the people's choice at all. He is not even the party's choice: and if the office is an important one he will probably bo de feated In the election. Or, if elected, it will be merely by a scratch, after a hard fight. All this may be Illus trated by familiar example:. , Mr. Bourne, y vigorous effort, sup ported by a. fund which no other can didate was able to provide, received the primary nomination for Senator. But he obtained less than one-fourth of the Republican vote of the state, and less than one-third of the Repub lican vote cast In the primary. He was not the people's choice at all, nor his party's choice at all. Of course the same could have been said of any other one of the -contestants for the nomination, who might have won It in the same way. But it was especially difficult to elect Mr. Bourne. The causes were in his antecedent polit ical career, of which nolhing needs to bo said here. The majority for other Republican candidatfs in the same election was 30,000; for Mr. Bourne it was barely 2400. Both with the can didate for this office and with tha I system under which he had .pushol i himself forward the Republicans I were greatly dissatisfied. Many swal lowed their objections and voted for him on the party name, but a multi tude refused, because he -was not deemed a representative of their po litical principles and of their party, and so passed over the name with out marking their vote for Senator. Another multitude, feeling deeper re sentment, emphasized it by votlng'dl rectly for Mr. Gearin, who, indeed, might easily have received the major ity of the popular vote, had his polit ical friends known how close it was and how easy it might have been. Bvery one knows that Mr. Bourne was not the party's choice nor the people's choice. The pretension set up, therefore, under the primary law Is a fallacy. It was shown in a sim ilar way In the nomination and de feat of Mr. Withycombe for Governor. It-will almost surely be shown again In the coming election. Doubtless Mr. Chamberlain will be the nominee of his party for Senator. In the pri mary he may be expected to get one third of the whole vote. " The other two-thirds will be divided between Fulton and Cake. One or other of these will have the plurality; and then we shall expect Chamberlain to get the majority of the popular vote; and if "Statement No. 1" shall be the rule of action for members of the Legislature, he will be elected Senator by that body, aa a Democrat, and will act as a Democrat and with the Dem ocratic party on all political and na tional questions throughout his term though two-thirds of the peopla of Oregon are Republicans. Is thl3 the way to arrive at the people's choice? Is this representative government? Under the system tl.j Republican party will not be able to nominate against Chamberlain the candidate it would want, or the candidate on which it could or woulC unite against Chamberlain, and thus defeat him. Its factions, drawn further apart by the primary contest, and all their dif ferences accentuated by it, will not unite for the election. ' Wherein . the primary law disap points Is In its inapplicability to the principles of human nature, and in Its failure to bring out men for office who are the choice of the. party, or the choice of the party in whose name the candidate comes forth. "Wherein the scheme of initiative and referen dum fails is, first, in the facility It offers to groups of whimsical and cranky persons to piopose laws; and second, as to the referendum, in the invitation it presents to similar per sons to "hold up" proper legislation. For examples of the one kind look at the fish bills and other initiative measures now presented. For exam ple of the other kind, take the refer endum call on the bill for support of the University of Oregon. The mass of voters seldom will take the trouble to give sufficient examination to Initi ative bills or "referendum. Many of them are irrational, and the whole thing comes to be looked upon as a bore or nuisance. The Oregonlan now has no business with party at all, because as matters now are It sees no way to make ac tion through party, effective for any result. A minority party will have little trouble under present condi tions; Indeed will be favored by .them, but a majority party will be broken into factions and fragments' and can accomplish little or nothing. Such Is the state of the Republican' party in Oregon. The new system has in creased and aggravated all its dissen sions, and Is constantly sowing seed for new crops of them. Having noted this for a number of years, The Ore gonlan has stepped aside to watch the melee and record it; for it has found by the abundant experience of abortive effort that there can be no result from exhortation, remon strance, appeal or expostulation. Re publicans have shown again and again that they will not vote for candidates so nominated, especially for leading positions, who get but a' fragment of the votes for their nomination. It is true thatv Furnish, nominated for Governor six years aso by a conven tion, was beaten. But this was the exclusive work of rival politicians seeking revenge; yet Furnish was beaten by only 250 . votes, while "Withycombe, supported by all the ef fort of the party leaders (so-called), was beaten by ten times as many. The knife of faction, sharpened by the new system, has been used, and will still be used, with deadly effect. It has been driven right into the vitals of the Republican party. The Ore gonlan excuses itself frpm using the tone of lamentation and mourning. It simply supplies a plain explanation of facts and conditions. This party may yet elect, and doubtless yet will elect, through the mere mechanical habit of voting, certain candidates for in ferior offices, or others upon whom no fight la made; but It cannot elect to leading positions, which may be con tested among its own members or by the opposition, candidates who push themselves forward ,for nominations and get them by petty pluralities, which represent neither people nor party. But after all, no doubt, we shall hear it said, "Well, what of it?" Nothing In the world, so far as The Oregonlan is concerned, except that it analyzes a situation and gives the news. It Is unwilling to lead or to follow the procession, again and again, "through the slaughter-house to the open grave." It has had its fill of that, to satiety. A MCCKRAKEK EXPOSED. The recent exposure of the alleged weakness of the American Navy by one Henry Reuterdahl at the time" of Its appearance created a sensation. While the writer was comparatively unknown, some weight was given to his criticism by the fact that S. S. Mc Clure unequivocally indorsed the story with the statement that he had "personally verified" the "facts" set forth by Mr. Reuterdahl. If one-half of the charges made by Reuterdahl were true, it was made quite clear to the American people that they had invested an enormous sum of money in a fleet as vulnerable and useless as a lot of old tramp steamers surmount ed by guns which could be' destroyed by the first real warship encountered. Fortunately for the good name of the men responsible for our Navy, the Scientific American has come to the front with an elaborate analysis and expose of the muckraking Reuter dahl. There is nothing theoretical or as sumed about the line of defense es tablished by the Scientific American: Each change, is taken up, analyzed and discussed in detail. One of Reu terdahl's most serious charges. In dorsed by IcClure, was that "the broadside guns of fcrelgn battleships and cruisers are, generally speaking, twice as high as ours, and many of them three times as high." The Sci entific American refutes-- this slander with the actual measurement of the Connecticut and British vessels of a similar type built at the same period. On the Connecticut the broadside guns are fifteen feet above the normal water line, and on the British vessels Drake, King Edward VII and' .Swift sure the distances are: Ten feet seven inches on" the Drake, thirteen feet three inches on the Swlfteure and twelve feet nine and one-half Inches on the King Edward "VTI. With a similar strict adherence to facts Mr. Reuterdahl's critic proves by ..ctual displacement figures tha the new ex pert has made a glaring misstatement in. saying that when loaded our ship3 show but six inches of the main ar mor belt above the water line, for in sinking the vessels to this depth they would -lose their buoyancy to such an extent that they would sink entirely. It is also shown that if the armor plate were raised there would be great danger, when the ship was roll ing, of exposing so much of the hull below the armor that shells could pass under it and explode In a vital part of the ship, -.. hlle in passing above the armor as now placed the damage would not be fatal. This very able exposure of a liar will be well received by the American people, who were at first Inclined to give full cre dence to the McClure article, which, with Its accompanying diagrams and engravings, was sufficiently elaborate in detail and serious In language to impress readers with the sincerity of the writer. Mr. Reuterdahl has earned a front seat in the ranks of the muckrakers, hut he has also earned the contempt of the American people, who do not love a liar. THE SPECIAL MESSAGE. Mr. Roosevelt's special "message to Congress is one of the most powerful pieces of political eloquence in the English language. It contains pas sages which will be read with passion ate approval by mature men and re cited with flaming hearts by ambitious youth long after the President has ceased from his fight with the powers that prey and others have taken up the weapons .for liberty and justice which he wlejds so potently and man fully. It breathes the spirit through out of clear perception and undaunt ed courage. He discerns with un erring accuracy the meaning and ex tent of the struggle which is on in this country between the forces of predatory wrong and the forces of common right, and he strides into the fray without flinching. If Mr. Roose velt has ever dreamed of compromise with those insidious enemies of the republic who endeavor to make their success an excuse for their crimes against morality and law, hg has thrust that dream from his thoughts. If he ever dreaded the consequences to trade which might flow from the Inflexible pursuit of Justice and the unmasking of gilded wickedness he dreads them no longer. In this great utterance the servile creature who lives upon .the favor of the pirate corporatio z and earns his vile livelihood by making himself the mouthpiece of their mendacity or the Instrument of their social treason will see nothing but a cunning move in the game of politics. To his base vision this noble muniment of eternal Justice will appear as nothing more or better than a deft intervention for Taft and against Hughes. Mr. Roose velt Is a consummate politician. That is one reason why his enemies hate him. Were he stupid tr jy could out wit him.. Were his ambitions alien to the popular will, they could ruin him by calumny. Were he less than a master of , masters in the sword play of politics, they would have given him the death stab long ago, and, seating some compliant tool in the Presidential chair, would have' com pleted their schemes to establish a plutocratic oligarchy and make the American people forever slaves to the evil hierarchy -f Mammon. As a politician Mr. Roosevelt is in comparably superior to his enemies, but that is the. smallest of his advan tages over them. To them the com. mon man is but a clod to be trodden under foot, a sheep to be shorn, a beast of burden to be worked out and cast upon the dunghill. But Roose velt, like Lincoln, sympathizes with the common man. He knows the heart of the people, he hears the cry of their wrongs and burns with indig nation against their oppressors. It is a low phrase to say that a man lives with his ear to the ground, and of Roosevelt it is not true. The mere politician must watch and listen and spy to learn what the people desire and form his servile opinion whether or not they desire it earnestly enough to make it advantageous for him to take their side. But'Roosevelt knows what the people want without prac tice of these unworthy arts. They want justice' and he wants justice. What more is needed to put him in harmony with the feeling and thought of the Nation? It is a noble trait of the President that he knows human nature well enough to trust it. He makes his appeal to the deeps of the popular mind and heart. He speaks without evasion or subterfuge. He cajls a spade . a spade. He gives crime its right name. Of course, the cry will go- up from the maleficent hordes whom the Pres ident lashes with the whip of truth that he is severe, undignified, un- statesmanllke. He is severe, but so is truth; and there are times when the interest of the Nation demands from its first magistrate something more effective than dignity. If Mr. Roose velt continues to give us the same passionate advocacy of what is right and just that iie offers in this mes sage, we can well dispense with ail the dignity he loses by it. One can Imagine that Isaiah was somewhat undignified when he denounced pro phetic woes against the wrongdoers In Israel. From one point of view all passion Is undignified, and yet,' with out passionate advocacy of the right, wrong would reign undisturbed over the affairs of men. Let us be thank ful that Mr. Roosevelt is sufficiently undignified .in this memorable mes sage to tell the naked truth with con vincing power and unparalleled en ergy. 1 Nor do we agree that it Is unstates manlike. It urges upon , Congress to take immediate action upon several questions of fundamental importance. The petty creatures who assume to dictate the legislative policy of the Nation have decreed that this session of Congress shall be stale, flat and unprofitable; that it shall be a scene of humbug and passive inaction; that the men sent to Washington to guard our interests and remedy our. .evils shall spend the Winter spewing forth buncombe. Mr. Roosevelt would have none of this. There Is work to be done and he urges Congress to do it without delay, knowing that even as a party measure it is better to go before the country with a record of achievement. There is an employers' liability act to be passed: injunctions must be regulated to maintain even handed justice between workman and employer; the Sherman act must be so modified that beneficial combi nations may become lawful; the pow ers of the Interstate Commerce Com mission must be enlarged; the Na tional authority to punish the crim inal syndicates must be exercised for the common good. Here is sufficient work to keep Congress busy for .-. long time. How much of it will be done when the two houses adjourn and the two rival parties go before the people for Judgment? Has it ever occurred to the pitiful band of leaders that both may possibly be condemned? Fallacious reasoning -on the al leged benefits of llgh protective tariff is too common to excite much remark. Still, an incident now and then appears that may receive com ment. We find the Corvallis Gazette saying that in 1882 steel wire nails paid a duty of 1 cent a pound and were sold at 8 cents a pound; but in 1884 the duty was raised to 4 cents a pound, and since then wire nails have been much cheaper and often have been sold as low as 2 cents. The fallacies of the conclusion that the greater cheapness is due to the high duty are numerous. First, no account is taken of the improved methods which have completely revolutionized the manufacture. Second, no ac count is made of the fact that these methods have cut the price in foreign countries the same as in our own. Third, a duty of 4 cents on nails that are sold at 2 cents Is absurdity. Fourth, our manufacturers, whenever they get a chance, sell to foreigners at low prices, while they hold up the rate at home, and are enabled through the tariff to gouge domestic consumers. Fifth, the nail industry is part of the system of the over gorged steel trust, whose enormous profits are among the scandals aris ing from predatory wealth. It i3 edi fying, indeed, to find the steel trust glorified as a benevolent and philan thropic institution, organized and maintained for the benefit of labor, under protective tariff. There is no need of an additional Federal Court in Oregon, nor 6f an other department of the State Circuit Court in Multnomah County. The main purpose of these suggestions is to provide additional offices. Every new court will be as fully officered as the old ones, and its expenses at max imum, the year round. The effort of the politician and office-seeker to multiply offices and compel support from the publlcT treasury is sleepless. It Is a horde already twice too large. All. the service, from one side of the country to the other, could be per formed by one-half the persons now in office, and then they would have little enough to do. There are not only too many offices, but two-thirds of ""the persons in effice render no service comparable with the amount of money they get. The people of the United States are being reduced fast to the position of a body of feud atories held to work for support of a privileged class on the public pay rolls. Japanese importers are suing the United States Government for i 1,5 00, 000 allegedto be due them for exces sive duty levied on "sake," the stuff from whichi Japanese dreams are made. The Japanese allege that the intoxicating qualities of sake are not so pronounced as Uncle Sam thinks they are, and that the duty should be reduced and a refund made of the amount mentioned. It might be well for the Government to investigate and see If the use of sake had anything to do with promoting the "peppery" dispositions which the Japanese have been exhibit ing along the Pacific Coast. If so, an advance Instead of a reduction should be made In the tariff. Theodore P. Shonts, who has the sympathy of all true Americans, has felt it necessary to announce that there will be no marriage settlement on the Due de Chaulnes when he marries Miss Shonts. In making the announcement Mr. Shonts expresses his regret that such a subject should arise, and states that it would never be mentioned "when the bridegroom Is an American." There is, of course, no such disgrace in connection with the Shonts wedding as attended the bargain and sale of the Vanderbilt girl to a titled ape from over the sea, or many other similar matches. The Tillamook people, tiring of the miserable transportation facilities be tween Portland and their city, have Induced San Francisco people to place a 1200-ton steamer on the run between San Francisco and Tillamook, It will not require a v-;ry great knowl edge of mathematics or human na ture to figure out where the trade of Tillamook will go when the new boat is placed on the run. The ice trust in New Tork is cheered by the good news that a bountiful supply of, the frozen water is beign secured. I Jack Frost does not play favorites, and in consequence the coal trust is already reaipng in creased profits through the action of the thermometer. It has been well and most truly said that "disorganization in party life is the signal for activity on the part of doctrinaires and discontented poli ticians." Here is a mirror in which the Republican party of Oregon may see a reflection of itself, all right, all right. Mr. Bryan declares that all argu ments used In an election should be used publicly. If this doctrine be put to practice for the next six months, the political news will be the most in teresting feature of every daily paper in the United States. "The issue here," said District At torney Jerome. "i3 not whether Stan ford AVhite deserved death. We can not go into that." But it is not prob able that it can be kept out of the mind of any member of the jury. .. Rr.PtBI.ICAK Oil DEMOCRATIC Sundry ConNlderationa and Various Views. Woodburn Independent. The Portland Journal thinks it would be a splendid thing If Oregon went into the Democratic column at the next Pres idential election. It falls to. state whether It should go overwhelmingly Democratic or bytthree plurality. This expectation on the part of the Journal will not be realized, 'especially with Eryan In the saddle, for the eminent, or. correctly speaking, prominent Nebraskan can never carry -this state. But, In one sense, Oregon Is in the Democratic col umn now. Wo have a Democratic Gov ernor. Portland has a Democratic Mayor and District Attorney, and Sen ator Bourne, virtually a Populist-Democrat, seeks to load us up with others of the same ilk. U'Ren may run for United States Senator and may be elected, and those who know him well kndrw that deep down In his heart ho la not Repub lican. If he were elected Senator, and If Bryan, were chosen President, Oregon would have two Senators at Washing ton standing hand in hand with their old love, Bryan. It therefore cannot be truthfully stated that Oregon is wholly Republican, yet there is discrimination against this state. Better would it be if Oregon next November gave a larger Re publican .plurality than ever; then, if Bryan is elected, he would make an ef fort with favors to turn the state. It woilld be bis aim to work upon Repub lican states, not those he knows will go Democratic. On the other hand, If the Republican Presidential nominee is elected, Oregon would recefve less recog nition than It ' does now If It failed to materially assist In electing the Repub lican candidate. It would be different if Oregon had 86 electoral votes and in the doubtful column, but it has only a little measly four and would but get the horse laugh if it changed political colors. s e NEW LAW OX PICTURES COPYRIGHT Painting Needn't Have Notice On It Face to Prevent Reprodnctlon. Topeka, Kan., Journal. A decision just rendered by the United States Supreme Court in a copyright suit holding that it Is not necessary for a painting to have a copyright notice painted on Its face to prevent its reproduction, is likely to have a far-reaching effect on the pub llcatlon of prints in this country. Heretofore, the practice In the United States courts on this point has been conflicting, but there has been a general tendency to hold that unless a painting bore on its face a state ment of its copyright anyone was at liberty to copy or reproduce It in any form he chose. The practice In England and on the continent is that ownership of a can vas does not confer a right to repro duce a picture. The practice here has worked great hardships on artists, for unless they disfigured their pictures with copyrighted scrawls they were likely to be unpleasantly surprised some day to see their masterpieces staring at them from advertising cards or posters. Justice Day, who delivered the opin ion of the United States Supreme Court on the subject, holds that the notice of copyright required by the Federal statutes need not be Inscribed on the original painting, but that the statute is fully complied with if notice is Inscribed upon the published copies which it is desired to protect "PISTOL-TOTERS" 1ST GEOHZrl. Are It earn r ded aa Greater Dnngera Than Illegal Liquor Seller. Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution. With courage and pith Judge ;.Ioses Wright of the Rome circuit has struck one of the greatest evils in Georgia and the South squarely between the eyes. To the Rome grand Jury he charged: 'The pistol-toter Is a far greater menace to the community than the blind tiger The conviction of one pistol-totejr In this community would do far more gupd than the conviction of men selling liquor. A man never knows when he Is going to. be shot down like a dog by some fellow car rying an arsenal In his hip-pocket. That is the truth of it; let us indict them and let us apply the law to them as vigorously as we know how. Judge Wright has with perfect accuracy said the first and last words with regard to a practice which the authorities of this state are impelled by their oaths and the public safety to stamp out relentlessly. The pistol-toter we have always with us. Whisky merely complicated the problem. From an official standpoint, it has disap pearedand he still remains, ever ready to arbitrate some petty quarrel with the deadly six-shooter. There Is no evading the issue. Every man who carries a pis tol "without, the sanction of law Is a potential murderer. He may not leave hlshome with murder in his heart. But it needs only the slightest provocation to stir the blind blood-lust in his veins and, reckless for the moment of consequences, to resort to the means of death so easily at hand. When we drive out whisky and Ignore as negligible its deadly accessory, we are dangerously near making a farce of the enforcement of law in vjeorgla. Thla la a Mean'' Man. Chicago Inter Ocean. A recent case in one of the Cleveland. O., courts is well calculated to cause every right-thinking man to olush for his sex. It was the case of as neat and active and pleasing'' a little woman as ever stood In front of a judge to accuse her husband, and the charge was laziness resulting In the criminal neglect of his family. It Is only necessary to quote the testimony of the woman in order to give the reader a pretty clear'impresslon of the kind of a man her husband is. Said she: Why. Judge, he Is o lazy that when he goes up to bed in the attic above our room he pulls up the ladder. That's the only stairway, and when he has puiled it up with him I can't wake him in the morning. He never help me and does not work often enough to need any sleep, let alone all he gets by pulling up the ladder. And ingratitude of the' basest kind was added to this, for she went on to say: My husband wae awfully anxious for me to marry him, but he left me on the day we were married and did not como back for a week. Then be begged me on his knees, and 1 took him In. I've supported him ever since. Xtw Catholic Marriage Lam, New York Tribune. Churchmen will watch with much In terest the operation of the new marriage laws of the Roman Catholic Church, which, according to reports, will be uni versally enforced after next Easter. The most Interesting clause Is the one pro viding that betrothals, to be binding be fore ecclesiastical courts, must be for malized In writing and- attested by a priest or two other trustworthy persons. What makes this significant is the fact that it has long been insisted upon, in all essential respects, by not a few priests here and there, and in some cases has resulted In tempting many 'persons to break with the church. Will the In creased authority with which the regu lation is now promulgated succeed in bringing the free American back to the good old ""custom of "publishing the banns"? The merits of this custom are great indeed, but we suspect that the headstrong and too independent Ameri can youth will not see them, even if the bann-publlshlng fees be cut down to a bargain sale figure. ' Trlbote to T. T. Geer. Baker City Democrat. A pretty compliment was paid T. T. Geer the ' other day. One of; the old residents of Eastern Oregon said he could shake hands, chuck more babies under the chin, eat with more different people when he was out campaigning than any other man in the Northwest, not excepting Methodist presiding eiders. NO WAY TO GET RID OF BRYAN Yet There la I.otid Democratic Protest Against Him. Nashville (Tenn.) American, Dem. Everywhere Democrats who openly de clare for Bryan will privately admit that they have no hope of his election. No man of political Intelligence believes he would be elected. The newspapers which urge the nomination of Mr. Bryan are, with few exceptions, weak editorially, and otherwise are of the third or fourth class. The ablest newspaper advocates of Mr. Byran's nomination are Republican newspapers. They feel that with Bryan as the Democratic nominee the election of the Republican nominee is assured, no matter who he may be. It is a question I of judgment. Springfield (Mass.) Republican, Ind. That there is hope that Mr. Bryan will yet withdraw in a blaze of glory, winning universal applause for magnificent self sacrifice, and leaving some other wretched, forlorn Democrat to be wal loped at the polls that there Is hope of this should not be lost sight of even now. But Waldorf-Astoria conferences will not achieve that result. When Mr. Bryan withdraws, he will" be the stage manager and all the accessories will be to his histrionic taste. . Utica (N. T.) Press, Ind. Before it became absolutely established that President Roosevelt would not bow to the wishes of those who wanted him to try for a third term, it was frequently asserted that nobody but Roosevelt could defeat Bryan. Now that Roosevelt has been removed from consideration it is noticeable, however, that the sentiment In favor of Bryan's nomination among the Democrats instead of Increasing has declined. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Rep. The wise Democratlo enemies of Bryan will encourage him to get the candidacy this year, so as to take him out of the fight for the nomination in 1012. As Democratic defeat this year Is inevitable, the putting up of some colorless candi date at Denver like Johnson, Hoke Smith or Harmon would fasten Bryan's grip on the party four years hence. The only way that the Democrats can unload Bryan is to let him go to defeat at the polls in 1908. , Philadelphia Ledger, Ind. When the country is struggling to establish business on a safe basis, reform the currency and restore confidence, it would be contemptible in Democrats those who know better to do anything for Bryan's- encouragement or leave un done anything likely to rid National poli tics of his disturbing fllghtiness. The best course Is to organize the bolt now and give him notice. Then he and his friends would have no excuse for com plaint If he were nominated and the bolt came. San Antonio (Tex.) Express, Dem. It probably would be stimulative of Democratic effort and enthusiasm if there should be an earnest and conspicuous movement for the nomination of a con servative Democrat of the Harmon, Gray or Johnson type. Inasmuch as it would arouse the party spirit in the breasts of a great many Democrats who will be apathetic, to say the least. If convinced that the nominee has been practically agreed upon before the convention and that it Is Hobson'a choice with them. Philadelphia Record, Dem. The question at the present time Is not whether Mr. Bryan is right or not. and still less Is it whether he was right in 1S96. It ought not to be necessary to discuss him or his platforms. The Demo cratic party has twice nominated him without success, and while he was not the candidate in 1904, it Is Idle to pretend that he was not a large factor before, during, and after the convention. It ought to be sufficient for practical men who desire the success of the Democratic party that Mr. Bryan has been defeated twice when conditions were far more favorable for his success than they are now. Charlestorf (S. C.) News and 'Courier, Dem. There ought to be some sort of or ganization against Mr. Bryan within the party and we do not know of any one who could lead In this work better than Mr. Rldder. Without organization, Mr. Bryan will be nominated at Denver In July and be defeated, as he ought to be defeated, in November. LOCAL OPTION IN WASHINGTON. It Will Now De Pnt I'p to the Colored Brother Also. New Yof-k World. "Whiskey has no enemies In the cloak-room and no friends on the floor," said Representative Sherley, of Kentucky. Congress may not reform the currency, or revise the penal laws of the United States, or provide for adequate coast defenses, or amend the Sherman law, or reduce the extrava gant expenditures of the Federal Gov ernment; but it Is reasonably certain to grant the domands of the W. C. T. U to the extent of enacting a local option law for the District of Colum bia. When this act is passed it will con tain no provision disfranchising the negro. No honest and thirsty South ern statesman will advocate a "grand father clause" to restrain the colored brother's fine frenzy at the polls. Here is one Issue of negro suffrage on which North and South, Democrat and Republican, will stand shoulder to shoulder, an Impregnable phalanx. When the local-option bill passes, every male negro in the District of Columbia who has attained the age of 21 years will have not only a chance but an invitation to vote on the great issue of sumptuary regulation. And few Congressmen are disturbed by doubts as to what the colored brother will do to the Demon Rum when be encounters it at the ballot.box. The Loaera In Life's Race. London Post. Mr. Chlozza-Money discovers that out of about 700.000 persons who died in the year 1906-07 In Great Britain 82.121 left property worth 299,334,000, while .the rest either died bankrupt or left nothing to attract the notice of Somerset House. The list is, he points out, "almost entirely a list of losers" in life's material race. But of the winners he finds that al most two-thirds died leaving on the average only 200 ($1000) out of the the gigantic total of nearly 300,000, 000. Another 10,000 of them left estates not exceeding the value of 1000 apiece, so that "practically all the property left in an average year is left by only 21,000 persons out of 700,000." rive to Foot. W. M. M. In Commoner. The shades of nleht were falling fr When up from Washington, D. c. There come decrees all handed down By Judges wrapped in black silk gown "Five to (our.- The Income tax? They pondered lata And argufied with learning great: They seized their pens and gravely wrote Opinions tnen tney took the vote ' Five to lour." The Merger? 'Twaa a famous case. Each Judge sat there with solemn faea, -And heard the argument so keen. When the decision came 'twas seen "Klve to four." Our wards beyond ths deep blue sea? Ah. surely hera they will agree! But after rods of legal lore Behold the spectacle once mora "Five to- four." A law to safeguard human life. To care for orphans and tor wife; Ah. Judges on that will agree! But there's the record look and see "Five to tout." POTPOURRI BY NANCY LEE. Of course, the Senator's friends will re gard the attack as a Heney-ous offense. The full name of the foreigner on whom Gladys Vanderbilt has conferred her cash and affections Is Count Lazelo Jeno Maria HenTlk Simon Szeche-Szechenyl. When the Vanderbilt millions begin to flow Gladys will speak of her "Dear Lazelo." When more are absorbed by bridge, po ker and keno She may mention the Count as "Lazelo Jeno." When the titled Siechenyi's begin to guy her, Gladys will refer to "Lazelo Jeno Maria." When the acid tost rubs the gilt from the brick. The' Count will become "Lazelo Jeno Maria Henrik." When the pawnshop has all, to the very last diamond. He'll answer to "Lazelo Jeno Maria Hen rik Simon." And the final rhyme, by far the saddest. Shows the lady's name as "Dennis," not "Gladys." A cockney cabdrlver In London, who had driven all day a typical London skate, decided to have a glass of 'alf and 'alf. o left his cab tied in front of the tavern. Presently a little newsboy rushed In breathlessly to the bar and then the fol lowing dialogue occurred: "I say, cabbie, your 'orae haa fallen down." "You blasted beggar, I bet you pushed him down." In the "domestic Information" column of one of our contemporaries we notice that, of all different methods of punisnlng children, spanking takes the palm. e A theatrical man tells the following, for which he vouches authenticity: Frederick Warde and Louis James were touring the West, and at a small town in Nebraska were billed to play "Othello." The manager of the com pany had occasion to visit one of the dignitariesof the rural community and invited him to witness the perform ance. After the show was over and while they were issuing from the the ater, the manager asked his companion what he thought of the show. "Pret ty well," was the hesitating reply; "yea, it was a pretty good show, but I can't see but that the nigger did about as well as any of 'em." ' There was a man who spoke disre spectfully of the equator. Wo certainly have a right to hurl objurjatlons at this eatit wind. A woman's mind is never mads up so readily as her face. An Englishman tells of thT follow ing conversation which took "place at a smart London fancy drees ball. As the guests entered the drawing room the characters which they por trayed were announced by the butler. Two dignified matrons who had pre ferred to wear evening gowns Instead of fancy dress costumes were the next to enter. "What characters shall I announce?" queried the butler. "Oh, we haven't attempted anything in particular." To their horror, in a phonographic tone of voice the butler announced: "Two ladles of no particular charac ter." The mining fatalities in the United States may be twice as great as they are in Europe, but then the profits are also twice aa great. An economic Idea Is the hardest kind to get accepted. l.rt the Womtl Do the Work. We all agrea That policy Is quite the proper thing you seo; But if the Japs Think that perhaps We spend our time In talcing naps We really hold When all is told Our country more than lov or gold. So do not think That we will shrink From fighting with the "missing link." But weeks and fears And beera and teara 'Twill take to round up volunteers; To drill and train And skill attain 'Tls not so simple as appears, . "While an hour at most Upon our Coast " Would land the yellow nifty host. So I've thought of a way To save the day And prove how false la their silly boast. "While at the show Two nights ago Awatching tho chorus come and go. The dizzy whirls Of the score of girls And their marching to and fro; I noted the grace Of figure and face And how they kept time and step and place. Why not send the chorus girl The war flag to unfurl And hurl destruction to the pony ballot pace? Ten thousand miles In the rank and files They'' have marched for years in their silken lisles. To fife and drum We've watohed them come Changeless, deathless (except for styles). She will the powder face To arms she will embrace And usually captures every man she sees. And I really think that she Would an acquisition be In fighting with the wily little oily Jap anese. In the front row The beauties would go Just as we've seen them at every show. The polite little Japs "Would surrender, perhaps, And capitulate to the charms of the foe. If he wouldn't be polite And bow down to beauty bright "We'd bring the back ranks on and the Japs would scoot with fright; For the grandma chorus phiz Such a scare producer is Our enemy would fly to escape the fearful sight. The cornerstone of Lova In tage Is usually a solitaire. cot- Ignorance, to the average woman. Is rarely bliss.