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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1908)
8 THE MORNING OREGOXIAX, FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 1908. euBSCKirnost bates. INVARIABLT IN ADVANCE. (By Mall.) Tllr, Fundajr Include, on year I'aily. bunday Included, tlx months.... 4.25 pally. Sunday Included, thre months.. 2.-0 tally. Sunday Included. . on month.. .75 bally, without Sunday, ona year. ...... w pally, without Sunday, alx month! Pally, without Sunday, three months.. 1-79 Pally, without Sunday, ona month..... JJ Sunday, ona year Weekly, one year (Issued Thursday!... 1 W) Sunday and weekly, cao year. .. V B CAKJUiB- 1 Pally. Sunday Included, ona year...... 00 mnj. niinuay niciuueu. uub HOW TO REMIT Send postoflice money rder, express order or peraonal check on your local bank. Stamp, coin or currency re at the sender's risk. Glva postonice aa traas Id full. Including county and atata. rOSIAOK KATES. Entered at Portland. Oregon. FostofHcs- a Second-Class Matter. m . 10 to 14 Pam ......J 36 to 29 Paces J c .i t to 44 Psges ' c"" a to 60 Pages " Foreign postage, double rates. IMPORTANT The postal laws ara t Newspapers on which portage is not fully prepaid are not forwarded to destlnalloa tASTEBN BLblMEbS Ol-l'ICK. The B, C. Hrckwith Hpociat Aaracy Nsw Tork. rooms 48-60 Tribune bulidlnx. Chi cago, rooms 610-512 Tribune building. KEPT ON SALE. Chlcagn. Auditorium Annex: Po,orr''-; r-'ns to.. 17 Dearborn street'. Empire Itews Stand. ft. Paul. Minn. X. St. llarle. Commercial E'.atlon. olorado Hprlngs. Colo. Bell. H. H. Henver. Hamilton and Kendrlek. ia-v Feenteenth street; Pratt Book Store. 1-ie fifteenth street; H. P. Hansen. 3. Rica, cieorxe Carson. Kansas City. Mo. Rlrksecker Cigar Co.. IMnth and Walnut: lorn a Newa Co. Minneapolis M. J. Cavanaugh. 60 South third. Cincinnati. O. Tome Nsws Co. Cleveland. O. James Pufhaw. 10T Bu" lerler btreet- H'ashington. I. C Ebbltt House. Penn arlvanla avenue; Columbia ews Co. Pittsburg. Pa- Fort Pitt News Co. Philadelphia. P. tlyarTs T neater Ticket Office: Penn News Co.; Kemble, A. P., f " Lancaster avenue. New York City Hotallng-s newstands. 1 I-ark Row. S8ih and Broadway. 4Jd ana Broadway and Broadway and ::utn. "leie" Ihi.ne 6VJ74. Single copies delivered; Jones A Co.. Astor house; Broadway The stter News Stand; Empire News Stand. Olden. D. Ij. Boyle: Powe Bros.. 114 1'wcnty-fUth street. Omaha. Bark. low Bros.. Union Station; klRKcath Stationery Co.: Kemp A Arenson. Ilea Moines, la. Mose Jacobs. Fresno, Vat. Tourist News Co. bacrtunento. C'al. Sacramento Newa Co.. 430 K. street; Amos Newa Co. bait Pake. Moon Book & Stationery Co.; Rosenfeld 4: Hansen; ti. W. Jewett. P. O. corner; Htelpeck Bros. P-ng Beach. Cal. B. E. Amos. Pasadena. Cal. Amos Newa Co. ruo Diego. B. E. Amos. ban Jose. Emerson W. llunston, Tex. International News Agency. Dallas. Tex. Southwestern News Agent, 44 Main stre. ; also two street wagons, r't. Worth. Tex. Southwestern N. an A- Agency. Amarilla. Tex. Tlmmons A .Pope. bun Francisco. Forster A Orear: Ferry News Staud; Hotel St. Francis News Stand; P. Parent; N. Wheatley; Fairmount Hotei Newa Stand; Amos News Co.: United Newa Agency. 14 li Eddy street; B. E. Amos, man ager three wagons; Worlds N. S.. A. butter street. Oakland, Cal. W. H. Johnson, Fourteenth and Franklin streets; N. Wheatley; Oakland Nea's Stand; B. E. Amos, manager live w axons: Welllngham. E. O. (ioldrleld. Ner. l.oula Follln. Eureka, C'al. Call-Chronicle Agency; Eu reka News Co. J-ORTPANO. FRIDAY, MARCH S7. 1. FARMERS' COMBINATIONS. . The President thinks that the Sher man anti-trust law ought to be modi fied for the sake of business men, wage-earners and farmers. To each of these great classes he beileves that In its present form the law does more hnrni than good. Against evil com binations it la only partially effective, in his opinion, while Its. latest con struction by the Supreme Court is eueh that it bans the good ones with out discrimination. Mr. Roosevelt's remedy for this state of things is to forbid all combinations in restraint of trade, exactly as the law does now, but ho would temper the ban by authoriz ing some administrative official to ex-t-mpt combinations which appeared to be harmless or beneficial. This pro posal looks attractive, but in principle it is dangerous. It is contrary to American ideas of government to give eny administrative officer power to suspend the law. . For Congress to frame a law which shall discriminate between combina tions which ought to be permitted and those which ought to be forbidden may bo a difficult task. It may even be impossible. But it is a task which belongs distinctly to the Legislature, and not to the executive. If the offl t'ial who distinguishes between the pood and bad acts fairly, he must fol low general rules, and it is no more tlifHcult for Congress to lay down these rules ill a statute than it Is for nn individual bureaucrat to embody them in an executive order. It may as well be admitted, however, that the distinction between good and bad com binations is almost as vague as that between good and bad men. The worst combinations in restraint of trade must be credited with some benefits to society; the best ones must bo charged with many evils. Who would like to undertake to say just how much good and how little evil a combination shall present to entitle it to exist? It Is to be feared that Mr. Koosevclt has not yet discovered the panacea for the-trust disease. Nobody knows how any given measure relating " to combinations would work out In practice. When the Sherman law was passed, who dreamed that it would apply to either labor unions or farmers societies? It t umos to pass, however, that they are nbout the only bodies which it affects at all. There are men who frantically dispute the right of laboring men to combine to raise their wages, but there is nobody who has much to say against combinations of farmers to Improve their products. Improvement of product, of course, means a rise in price, but it Is generally conceded here that if the consumer pays more he gets a fair equivalent. But there are tombinations among farmers which look, not to the Improvement of their product, but solely to better returns for 4heir industry. What shall we aay of these? Combinations of this, kind do not im to make the consumer pay more, k but to diminish the profit of the mid dleman. As matters stand, farm products seldom pass directly from tlte man who raises them to the one who consumes them. Almost invaria bly they are handled by at least one middleman, and usually by several. The first middleman fixes the price to the farmer; the last one fixes It to the consumer. At one end of the line the price is made as small as possible. At the other it is made as large as possi ble. The middlemen share the spoils among themselves. The longer the line, as a rule, the heavier the trib ute at both ends. . it Is apparent, therefore, that farm ers" combinations have a double pur pose, neither of which is injurious to the public. Certainly it injures no bodv to have high-grade food products on the market; and just as certainly the elimination of the middleman can not injure the consumer. In general he profits by it, for. do the best they can for themselves, the farmers obtain only part of what the eliminated go between absorbed. When it is possi ble to get rid of the middleman he should go, because, unless he is Indis pensable, he is a mere parasite devour ing what belongs of right to others. He has been permitted to insinuate himself between producer and con sumer and to prey upon both by rea son of the fact that farmers have heretofore acted as disintegrated units. They have thought very little about their true economic interests, and when they have thought they have been powerless to act. Just as the laboring man is at the mercy of his employer when he seeks to bargain without the alliance and suppoft of his whole trade, so the isolated farmer is at the mercy of the middleman and of innumerable other powers that prey. The sheer robbery that is perpetrated upon farmers every year by humbug agents would pay off the National debt. They are swindled by book agents, peddlers, mining promoters, horse dealers; stove sellers, and, worse yet, by patent medicine vendors, to an extent that seems incredible. The law cannot protect them- along these lines. It Is only the growth of intelligence that avails, and sad experience proves that Intelligence develops in the rural districts, in direct proportion as the farmers learn to combine. While they remain isolated it does not develop at all. To the sociologist and the lover of his kind the most hopeful sign of the times is the nascent spirit of combination among the farmers. Any law which acts to destroy it is a bad law upon the whole, no matter how much or what incidental good it may do. -Better -have no laws whatever for the regulation of trusts and syndicates than one which dooms the farmers to benighted heathenism and the labor ing men to hopeless servility. THE 1P1.INOIS COJTVKNTION. It would be interesting to know whether or not the prayer which the Rev. J. M. Francis offered up at the Illinois Republican Convention was applauded as fervently in heaven as it was by the delegates. The occasion of the outburst in the midst of this sa cred rite was the mention of Mr. Can non's name. The saintly Mr. Francis was reminding the Lord how much the favorite son of Illinois had done to promote civilization in general and justice between the corporations and private citizens in particular when, purely by accident, of course, the name of the great man happened to slip through the minister's lips. Then came the applause. Did the holy per sonage mention the Lord's name also in his prayer? And if he did, was it also applauded? The report is silent concerning these diverting inquiries and perhaps they are useless. It may be that the Lord is not so popular in Illinois as Mr. Cannon is. The platform which the convention adopted after being edified by this prayer is unexpectedly sensible. Of course it gives Mr. Cannon a glowing indorsement, heralding to an awe struck world the great truth that "he is in every way fitted to be the party's standard-bearer in 1908." The unim portant fact that nobody outside of Illinois would vote for him is omitted from the indorsement, doubtless for politeness" sake. There is also a long paragraph . of gibberish in praise of the Dingley tariff, which one easily pardons upon reading farther "along that the platform really favors genu ine revision. The Dingey creation is "the most scientifically adjusted , and the best tariff" ever invented in earth or heaven. Thus declares the platform in one sentence, but in another it re covers complete sanity and announces that some changes are necessary to "maintain the scientific accuracy of the tariff." There is something ab surd about trying to maintain what never existed, still the first confession of newly converted sinners should not be satirically scanned. It ought to be read with that broad charity which covers a multitude of absurdities. The convention, after a great deal of galli vanting around the point, finally comes out and says in plain words that "some of the present rates must be lowered and some must be repealed altogether." This is grand, emanat ing from the dark remoteness of Mr. Cannon's own state, but a relapse soon follows and the platform strays off into the usual wild talk about protect ing labor and raising the price of wheat bytustoms duties on imports. There are some remarks about financial legislation, interstate com merce and the trusts, but they mean nothing and are not intended to mean anything. All that one can glean from them is an intimation that the Illinois Republicans stand with the President and perhaps this ought to satisfy the public. ' RBBICTIOX OF THE HOP AREA. The remedy for excess in any line of production is not far to seek. When supply, gorged to repletion, is jio longer met by demand, it is time to reduce it to the required limit.. This question is before the hopgrowers of the Willamette Valley at the preset time. In the estimation of competent judges, full half the acreage now in hops in this section, and indeed throughout the entire Northwest, might with profit to all concerned be plowed under and planfed to some other crop that would give a return for which there is a more certain de mand. Hopraising has in some years past in this state been enormously profita ble to the growers and fairly remu nerative to a large army of pickers. In the latter capacity it has solved the problem in hundreds of instances of the wherewithal to buy the children's schoolbooks, the farmer's boys' and girls' first ready-made suit, and the outfit for the new baby. It has, more Over, not infrequently helped out on the taxes, and even, where the whole family was afield working to that end, has paid the interest on the mortgage, and perhaps taken something oft the principal. In the present condition of the hop market, however, and with what ap pears to be a constantly lessening de mand and consequently a lessened production of malt liquor, it Is mani fest that growers cannot, if they per sist in the business, pay former prices for picking hops and have anything left for themselves from the returns on the crop. It is equally manifest that those who- pick hops must be paid a living wage for the work or find other employment during the hop-pickiug season. This is the sim plest phase of the situation present ed by an -overstocked and flat hop market and the prospect of its contin uance indefinitely, but- it is one that affects a large number of people and gives, at the hop-picking season, the greatest anxiety to the grower. The reduction this Spring of the hop area by one-half, as urged by men In close touch with the situation, would give warning, months in ad vance, to those who have come to de pend upon hop-picking for needed funds in the Fall as supplemental to returns from other lines of endeavor, that this avenue of revenue is closed, and it behooves them to open or seek another. As to the hopgrowers be ing men of industry, and sagacity they will readily find some crop for whiah the demand is more steady than it has ever been for hops, to take the place of the unprofitable half of their hop vines. The situation is a. -trifle disconcerting, but it is not necessarily discouraging in a section whose soil responds gratefully and bountifully to the intelligent efforts of the agricul turist and the horticulturist in the wide and varied field that is open to their endeavor. THE 8. ft. rHAKCHlSP It is a matter of regret that the conditions imposed by 'Schwarzchiid & Sulzberger regarding a site for their packing-house plant were such that the City Council could not, or did not, see fit to grant them. Portland solicits the attention of any industrial enter prise that will in any way contribute to the welfare of the city and state. But when the S. & S. representatives announce that, falling to secure a cer tain site in the city limits, they will seek a location in some other city, they discredit the merits of the city in which they so earnestly sought a lo cation. The natural assumption is that Portland was selected as a site for a packing plant because it offered special advantages in the way of transportation facilities, close proxim ity to an immense stock country, and cheap lands for a plant. These are the advantages which brought to this city the Swift and Ar mour plants, and, from a strictly busi ness standpoint, it is not clear why the demands of the S. & S. people should be more exacting than those of their great competitors. In refusing a fran chise for a packing-house location in the city limits, Portland has placed no obstacles in the way of the enterprise that will not be encountered in any city, and this excuse accordingly fails to justify the S. & S. people In aban doning Portland for some other point.. Seattle has been mentioned as a pos sible candidate for the' independent packing plant, but neither the S. & S. people nor any one else can get a lo cation as near to the heart of the city of Seattle as the Zimmerman plant is to the center of Portland. For many years there' has been a constant complaint in Seattle over the location of a large packing plant many miles out ef the city on the tidelands, ahd if the S. & S. people were to go to Seattle and attempt to secure a loca tion closer in, they would meet with the same opposition that was encoun tered here. There has never been a disposition in Portland to hold up new enterprises or place any unnecessary obstacles in their way. In this respect Portland has an enviable reputation, and will endeavor to maintain it. For their own good as well as for the benefit the plant will be to Portland, it is to be hoped that the S. & S. people will locate on some of the numerous sites fully as advantageous as that of their chief competitors. VOTERS AND THE LAW-MAKING POWER The most serious fault found with the initiative and referendum is the frequency with which resort is being had to that method of securing legis lation. And this is a fault of no small importance. At the caminc election I the people of Oregon will be called upon to express their views upon 19 measures, many of which are so long and complicated that the people gen erally cannot possibly understand them. The average workingman, or business man, for that matter, cannot or will not take the time to study all these measures so that he may under stand their purpose and effect. While a few voters will vote intelligently upon all, the great majority will vote understanding upon a few of the bills and mark their ballots blindly as to the others. The Woman Suffrage amendment, the' amendment changing the time of holding general elections, the amendment increasing the pay of members of the Legislature, the Uni versity appropriation bill, the com pulsory pass bill and a few others, are measures which the average voter will understand and upon which he will doubtless vote intelligently. The fishery bills, the tax exemption bill, the proportional representation amend ment, and perhaps one or two others, are measures which there is no like lihood that any considerable number of people will study and understand. The initiative and referendum is being grossly abused It was never in tended that there should be such fre quent resort to this method of enacting laws. The purpose of the direct legis lation amendment was to give the peo ple the power to legislate for them selves in the few and important in stances in which the Legislature re fused to enact the laws needed and desired. Such was the idea upon which was based the provision that bills could be proposed by petition of a certain per cent of the voters of the stae, and it was assumed that these petitions would not be filed unless the subject matter was of so great impor tance and . interest that the people would spontaneously demand the sub mission of the measure and volun tarily prepare and sign the petitions. But in practice a different plan ct operation has developed. As everyone knows, the measures are prepared by a few persons perhaps by a single in dividual and the petitions are cirevf lated by men who are paid for the work at so much per signature. Tlie people of the state sign the petitions because it is easier to do so than to refuse, and in a large majority of in stances they sign without first read ing the measure attached to the pe tition. Indeed, the men who circulate the petitions do not want the signers to take the time to read the measures. As illustrating this point, the story is told of a man who was circulating a petition for submission of one of the long measures now- before the people. He handed the petition to a voter with the request that he sign it. The voter took the paper and remarked, "I'll have to read it over first," but he was relieved of this trouble, for the pe tition circulator promptly replied, "Well, never mind; I haven't time to wait. I can get plenty of people to sign without reading it. and Td starve to death if I waited for .Everyone to read it through." And 'thjs was a fact. If every man who signed the fishery bill petitions had read the bills before signing, the bills would never have been filed. There is one apparent remedy for this flaw in the workings of the ini tiative' and referendum and that is to make it a crime for" any one to pay or accept pay for circulating a petition. If a measure is not of sufficient im portance and public interest to enlist the voluntary service of the people in circulating petitions, it should never go before the people under the initia tive or referendum. Under the present practice, the man or group of men who have money to spend, and who are willing to spend U, can secure submis sion- of any measure to a vote of the people, even though it be against pub lic interest. Properly used, the initiative and referendum is a reserved power which may be of great value to the people. But selfish desires rather than popular demand figure too largely in some of the measures submitted. Dollars bring the signatures to any kind of a peti tion. If the praftlce of -hiring men to circulate petitions were abolished by stringent criminal lavs, there would be no resort to direct legislatjton un less the real interests of the people demanded such a course. A Los Angeles dispatch announces that the Corean colony in that city will raise a fund to aid in the defense of the assassin who shot D. W. Stevens. A Corean student in the University of California who will be sent to San Francisco to attend to the defense is reported to, have "unequivocally in dorsed", the assassination. The inci dent well illustrates the manner in which the freedom of this country is abused by the cold-blooded murderers who flock in from other countries where laws are more seriously regard ed than they are. in the United States. It might be a good plan for the Gov ernment promptly to send these mur derous heathen back to Corea, instead of permitting them to carry on their treacherous work under the protection of the American flag. The wholesale deportation of this class of foreigners would result in a marked decrease in crime which is promoted and encour aged by such utterances as are cred ited to these Corean students. The "Lownsdale method" of reju venating old orchards is growing in favor. It offers a relatively easy so lution of a' problem that has long vexed the more progressive horticul turists of the state and branded a multitude of farmers- with thriftless ness. As shown by George Melvin Miller, of Lane County, in a communi cation published in The Oregoniajj yesterday, the proposed plan i. e., cutting the old trees down to within eighteen inches of the ground, allow ing the stump to sprout and top-grafting it later is the most economical as welLas the surest way to rejuvenate the old orchard, and one that will give the quickest returns in marketable ap ples. Consideration's like these, not to mention the praiseworthy, clean and neighborly desire to get rid of pest ridden trees, di&pei the sentiment that lingers about the old orchard, and commend the Lownsdale method to .practical, energetic farmers of the new school. To the average landsman, as well as to a great number of men "who go down to the sea,; in ships," it is some what difficult to understand why the cruise of the Ame1can fleet should be regarded as such a remarkable per formance, or why there should be any great risk involved in continuing the trip around the world. The natural assumption is-that these vessels are at least as seaworthy as the diminutive, fussy little tramp steamers that churn their way round the globe about twice a year. Their engineers are also ex pected to know as much as the $60-a-month man on the tramp steamers. It Is thus merely a case of plenty of coal and fairly good navigating skill. It is glorious to think that our beauti ful white squadron has done some thing that no other naval fleet has ever accomplished, but a careful an alysis of the performnacj; fails to re veal anything very difficult in the un dertaking. Rev. John Flinn celebrated yester day his 91st birthday in this city. He is one of the few remaining minis ters of the Methodist Church who la bored in the Oregon country during the old territorial years. The Pacific Christian Advocate says of him: "He was an apostle of good cheer and comfort to the-people." It may be added that this venerable man Is still an apostle of good cheer to all who corue within his narrowed circle, as in his -serene age he reviews the activi ties of his early years, enjoys the ret rospect and. untroubled, awaits the call that all must hear. So great is the interest awakened throughout the Willamette Valley by M. O. Lownsdale's proposed horticul tural reform that a future generation be it many years hence may write his epitaph, "Savior of the old apple tree." President Louis J. Hill, of the Great Northern, who is soon to visit Port land, doesn't need to worry over the gate closed to those who buy. tickets. He travels on a pass. As one solution of the perplexinp disciplinary problem at Stanford, how will it do to employ the old-fashioned birch just once all 'round and let it go at that? Illinois Republicans tried to dodge and declare for "tariff adjustment.'" But even Joe Cannon's state had to submit and come out for revision. Tom Taggart's Indiana Democrats eulogize Mr. Bryan as a "great moral force.". The real French Lick stamp. None others genuine. It is pleasing news up North to learn that the Republican party of Tennessee is in good health and has physical vigor. It would seem that the faculty at Stanford really intends to run the in stitution. Motto for this year's graduating class at Stanford: It doesn't pay to cut up. Illinois has spoken,' and its voice is for Cannoa. For the present. COLD STORAGE EGGS. Consolidation of the Ootpnt Bnt 11a Difficult to Monopolise Hens. Brooklyn Bag!?. The hen is about to get Into action and various combinations of capitalists are preparing to put 300.000,000 dozen fresh laid eggs into cold storage. These will be dealt out to consumers in various stages of age. at a great advance upon the prices which the purchasers will pay during the next two J months, when the supply very much ex ceeds the demand. The magnitude of the Industry may be realized when we know that the bankers of New Tork. Chicago and Pittsburg have agreed to reduce the amount of their loans on eggs as collateral. Heretofore owners of eggs In cold storage have been able to borrow from the banks on their storage certificates at the rate of 14 cents a dozen. But the banks are becoming conservative, and this year loans will be limited to 10 cents a dozen. The restric tion will make a difference of 12,O00,O0O in the amount of money which the efcg dealers will have to do business with. Consequently upon that and other busi ness conditions, the purchasers will re duce their prices from the 18 and 19 cents a dozen, which they paid last year, to 15 cents. But when the hens take their vacation . they expect to sell their pre served product for 40 cents a dozen, re gardless of the reduction in the prices paid to the poultryman. These figures make vivid to the con sumer the distinction bet -een fresli." "strictly fresh" and "jusl. eggs" which the corner grocers maintain so scru pulously. The distinction depends upon the length . of time the eggs have lain in the warehouses. It is to toe observed that the payment of 40 cents a dozen will secure nothing more modern than the middle grade "fresh eggs." The storage men expect to dispose of their product at that price after months of holding. But the figures also point,, a way out to some of those unable to find employment or to continue business in cities during the present depression. With capital for a little land and a few hens. a business is open to any man which all the trusts will not be able to monopolize. The combination may be able to eut the price on the eggs to be stored, but for the eggs that are "strictly fresh." within three or four days from the hen, there is and always' will be a good market in every large city. The total of the egg business Is said to be greater than that of iron and steel. But the produc tion is and always must be subdivided into small plants. It offers a chance to the man or the woman with little money to become an independent producer, and such chances have become scarce under the recent progress of consolidation. It is hard to' consolidate hens or to re duce their Spring output. "COURTESY I PRESS EXCHANGES. "Why Should Any Journal Give Some, thin? of Value for Notblnjtf Grants Pass Observer. Country newspaper publishers as a rule are great for trading their sheets for any other papers that will -trade with them. This is called "exchange" and there are probably some papers in Oregon whose exchanges are the principal part of their circulation. Every no account paper thinks it has claims of "courtesy" upon all other papers for the 'assumed right of exchange. The system has long been considerable of an abuse. Two years ago. when the present publisher took control of the Observer, two radical reforms were instituted immediately. One was that no paper would be mailed to subscribers out side of Josephine County, unless paid in advance; and the other was the striking off the mailing list of a score or two of worthless exchanges that is to say, pa pers that were of no benefit to the Ob server, and whose columns indicated that they received no benefit from the Ob server. Odd enough, most of these papers continue to come to this office without the "courtesy" of exchange, but they are never opened. The publishers of them do not seem to be acquainted with their own exchange list. The exchanges that now come to the Observer are mostly local with a few city dailies. They are. always welcome, because they continually contain news or other matter of value to the Ob server, and In return they occasionally appear to And something in this paper of use to them. It is a nice little exchange list, but courtesy -has nothing to do with it. However, the Observer's wrestle with useless exchanges was a very small mat ter compared with the imposition along the same line suffered by The Oresronlan. In this case, provided the exchanges were worth reading, the "courtesy" of ex change meant an 18 publication for a $1 publication. But many of the exchanges being entirely valueless, it developed upon The Oregonian to be at an expense of thousands of dollars a year as a contri bution to newspaper "courtesy." Lately The Oregonian weakened on the one sided deal and a large number of worth less country newspapers do not now re ceive the chief journal of this Coast as a free gift. Many of them, no doubt, feel sore at The Oregonian's flagrant breach of exchange of "courtesy." LAYING MIXES IX COLUMBIA Government Engineers Strengthen ing Coast Defenses. FORT STEVENS, Or.. March 26. (Spe cial.) The District Artillery Engineer is receiving a large shipment of submarine mining cable for use in connection wit'h the laying of mines. As there might be circumstances which would require the prompt- arming of the waters of the Lower Columbia, all the necessary arti cles for such a procedure are kept con stantly on hand and are regularly in spected and tested to ascertain their effi ciency. A searchlight brigade, composed of seven portable searchlights, is expected t& arrive in this artillery district some time in May for the purpose of determining by actual experiment the proper number of and most suitable locations for search lights. This is of vital importance to ar tillery, as the tracking of vessels at night necessitates the use of these lights and requires that they should be of sufficient number to easily distinguish the target. Select Albany Co-ed- Debaters. ALBANY, Or., March 26. (Special.) In a try-out debate last evening. Misses Wiiletta Wright. Rhoda Stal naker and Mamie McKnight were chosen to represent Albany College in a co-ed. debate with Willamette Uni versity, to be held in May. It .is the first team ever chosen to represent the local college in a debate, exclusiveiy for girls. There were five contestants in the try-out last evening in the col lege chapel. The question discussed was: "Kesolved. That the United .States shall permanently retain the Philippine Islands.", Misses Martha Montague and Wiiletta Wright sup ported the affirmative, and Misses Mamie McKnight. Rhoda Stalnaker and Katheryn McMillan the negative. Filipino Boys at W isconsin. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, Eugene, Or.. Mareh 26. (Special.) Angosta Hi dalgo and Raphael H. Aguilar. two full blooded Filipinos who attended the uni versity last year, are meeting with marked success in the University of Wis consin, where they are enrolled in the department of chemical engineering. Both of these boys came from prominent- fam ilies in the islands. Hidalgo beinff a -To-galo and Aguilar a Pompagno. - Hidalgo received his preparatory instruction . at Portland High School. He is president of the Philippine Club at Wisconsin, which consists of over 30 Filipinos, who are en rolled at the Madison College. BY UUAX TINGLE. IV AX old Scottish book on Domestic' Economy I came recently upon the following sttement: "Onions -are supposed-to possess a considerable quantity of nourishment.' They used to form the favorite bon-bons of the Highlanders, who- with a few of these and an oat cake would travel an incredible distance and live for days without other food." If this is true, it helps to explain a good many things, such as, for instance, the fine qualities and sturdy health asso ciated with one's conception of a High lander, and the traditional clear, rosy cheeks of the true Highland lassie. For the onion, with Its relatives, leeks and garlic, has always been held in highest esteem as a "blood purifier" and de stroyer of "cold, acrid and dangerous humors." In the light of this statement also, I Judge that certain recent streetcar neigh bors of mine must have been Highland ers, although they were not in National costume and to all appearances had not a single bagpipe, sporran, glen, pibroch, cateran, dirk, or "whateffer" about their persons. There Is no doubt, how ever, that they had been indulging freely in their "favorite bon-bons'- and were now proceeding to "travel incredible dis tances." Afid possibly there was Highland an cestry in the- case of the delightfully pretty young girl who paused for a mo ment beside me In the vegetable market last week and. with the expression of one of Ouido Rent's soft-eyed cherubs, exclaimed to her companion, "Tou know, I simply- adore young green onions. Don't you?'.' I don't know, though. whether it would be safe to offer her a package of onions when she was expect ing chocolates or marshmallows; but it seems certain that if many girls were to eat less of the latter and more of the former class of "bon-bon" it would be the better for their health and for their complexions. But as every one knows this "Sphinx of Vegetables," this "Rose of Roots," as its admirers have called It. has one grave fault linked with its thousand virtues. Two centuries ago Swift sang: There Is. in every cook's opinion No savory dish without an onion. And he adds the warning: But lest your kissing should be spoiled. The onion must be thoroughly boiled. s : Unfortunately there are many cooks who do not know or do not use the proper method In boiling, and most of us can understand the reasons for a defi nition, furnished by a little 9-ear-o!d, of the word "aroma" in her spelling les son. She wrote: "Aroma is what you have in the parlor when you boil onions in the kitchen." A certain epicurean authority of the early nineteenth century, commenting on the -couplets of the great Dean quoted above, says:' "This warning is intended for the benefit of youthful gourmands. It is, however, a precaution of no great moment, as the period when a man be gins to pay much attention to palatic en joyments is nearly about the same at which the taint of his breath becomes an affair of lesser concernment either to himself or others. It may be remarked, by the way, that one sign of the pre cocity of the youth of this age is their beginning to talk of the business of the table at a time when their fathers were still upon their bread and milk." . , Another writer states: "Undoubtedly the taste for onions, cayenne and olives increases with age." And a famous re cipe for Spanish garlic sauce concludes with the words: "This is rather an overpowering sauce for English palates, but it is much rel ished abroad and by middle-aged, trav eled gourmands at home." After that it takes a good deal of courage to confess that I not only have a general affection for onions and leeks, but (at the risk of being classed as "an elderly traveled gourmand") have a par ticular liking for tills same Spanish sauce. I firmly believe, however, that "the eater of raw onions, who loves his fel low men. should be as one set apart from them." and that "the price of in dulgence is seclusion for a season." Sometimes I have had to take the seclu sion without the indulgence, especially on one occasion on a German steamer where every one, from the captain down, began every meal with caviar and huge spoonfuls of chopped onions. At the first meal I suddenly and com pletely lost Interest in -all things edible or human, and hastily made for solitude In my own little white cabin. But later, in self-defense, I took my "appetizer," and crunched the juicy morsels as the rest of the company did. ' The ancient Egyptians, with their well known passion for deifying useful things, regarded the onion as an object of wor ship. This may or may not have some thing to do with the many superstitions that have clung, and t,o a certain extent still cling about it. and the marvelous cures of all kindR that have alwavs been creditecj to it. Still we would hardly ex pect in this age of science to find a so called teacher of hygiene give the follow ing instructions to her pupils: "When there Is sickness in the house, place cut onions under the bed and they will sweep away all disease." How many people still confuse magic and medicine! TAKES POISOX AXD USES GIX Former Dalles Man Kills Himself in Cabin Xcar Underwood. THE DALLES. Or., March :.';.-( Spe cial.) Coroner Burget returned tonight from Underwood. Wash., with the body of Alfred Bergeron, which was found in his lonely cabin by a neighbor Tuesday. There was every evidence that Bergeron committed suicide. A six-ounce bottle of carbolic acid was found on the table with half the con tents gone. Bergeron had evidentlv drank a large portion of the poison, as his hands and face were badiy burned by the.flrery fluid. To make his work of selfdestruction doubly certain Ber geron had placed a shotgun beside his bed. which he ingeniously discharged with a handsaw. The discharge of shot entered the body and Inflicted a fatal wound. From the condition of the body, deatli had resulted ten days ago. Bergeron was last seen in' The Dalles ten days ago. when it was known that he purchased a six-ounce bottle of car bolic acid. He left here for his home at Underwood after drinking heavily for several days. He had $35 in money when he left here and tx was found in his cabin. Bergeron owned land four miles from Underwood in partnership with Louis Comini. a marble worker of this city. He leaves a brother, Joseph, a Mill Creek fruit farmer, and three grown sons In Montana. Funeral services will be con ducted tomorrow from the Crandall un dertaking parlors in this city. Catch Seattle Man in Arizona. PHOENIX. Ariz., March 26. The po lice this evening arrested Archie C. Bell, a contractor and carpenter, who recently arrived here, on a .telegraphic order from the Chief of Police of Seattle, Wash. Bell is charged with obtaining money under false pretenses. It is alleged that Bell is an alias and that his right name. Is L. L, Sherr. Advertising Talks No.1. THE PERAMBULATING SHOWCASE By Herbert Kaufman. THE newspaper is a hu:e shop window, carried about the city and delivered daily into hundreds of thousands of homes, to lie examined fet te leisure of the reader. This shop window is unlike the actual plate glass showcase only in one rcsect it makes display of descriptions in stead of articles. You have often been impressed by the difference between the decorations of I wo window-trimmers, each of whom employed the same materials for his work. The one drew your attention and held it by tho grace and Cleverness and art manifested in his display. The other realized so little of the possibilities in the ma terials placed at his disposal that un less s"ome one called your attention to his bungling you would have gone on unconscious of its existence. ' An advertiser must know that he gets his results in accordance with the skill exercised in preparing Ii is verbal displays. He must make peo ple stop and pause. His copy has to stand out. He must not only make a show of things that are attractive to the eye but are attractive to the people's needs, as well. The window-trimmer must not make the mistake of thinking that the showiest stocks are the most salable. The advertiser must not make the mistake of thinking that the show iest words are the most clinching. . Windows are too few in number to be used with indiscretion. The good merchant puts those goods back of his plate glass which nine people out of ten will want after they have seen them. The good advertiser tells about goods which nine readers out of ten will buy if they can be convinced. Newspaper space itself is only the window. jusJ v the showcase is but a frame for merchandise pictures. A window on a crowded street in the best neighborhood, where prosperous persons pass continually, is more de sirable than one in a cheap, sparsely settled neighborhood. An advertise-' ment in a newspaper with the most readers.and the most prosperous ones possesses a great advantage over the. same copy in a medium circulating among persons who possess less, means. It would be foolish for a shop to build its windows in the alleyway and jnst as much so to put its ad vertising into newspapers which are distributed among "alley dwellers." Copyrlttht land. COWPAKISOXS IX COST OF I.IIti It Coats More to l,lve. Heeanae of More Luxurloila I.Ivlnsr. Youth's Companion. Few topics of conversation afford a more' general agreement among all classes of people than the increase in the cost of living. Estimates vary as to how much the increase has been, but nearly every man who supports a fam ily will say, without hesitation, that it costs more now than It did 2.". years ago. There is truth in the statement, but perhaps it is not the whole truth or the most important part of it. Each man's experience has to do. of course, with his own family; and families have a way of beginning small and in- creasing. Moreover, as children grow older it costs more to keep them. A more accurate statement is that the actual cost ,of necessities, althoush greater now than a year or two ago, has not materially increased since 1S7-I, but that the tastes and ideals of the people have made the expenses of the family greater. The education In hygiene lias made a necessity of tlie bathtub, which was formerly regarded as a luxury, and has insisted that all the nlumhino- h nnon Tln i in.. .. I r .......... cut. . li vim 1 DlumliinEf. in turn. mWee Ii1o-1ia rates. The network of trolley cars offers inducements to spend a nickel for a ride, and makes it easy to take shop ping trips, on which other nickels are spent. The telephone means another outlay. Refrigeration has made possi ble a far more varied diet, but it is alo a more expensive diet: and the cultivation of vegetables under glass lias placed upon the poor man's table in midwinter such articles of food as not even the rich could secure a gen eration or two ago. . Finally, there is the matter of fash ion, which now provides evening clothes for children whose parents in childhood did not own a suit of any kind. Even the humble shirtwaist, sensible, as it is. means an increase in the laundry bills. As a' woman pro fessor of household economies said. In an address in New York a few weeks ego, "We are told to drink certified milk, and yet cows refuse to give cer tified milk for less than 15 cents a quart." It may cost more to live now than It used, but whether the cost of living Is greater is something which will bear examination. . When Baby Wakes. Chicag-j Nv!. At R. wbf-n tho bsby s;o- to bM, ' His carnal cravlniea satisfied. Ho Is so plump and rosy rd. S dimpled. sm, and drowej- eyed. That to his crib I often crep And watch my we one elerp. 'Tis then 1 vow this babe, somehow. Is more than all ti-.e wor:c to me, I cannot say I fc-l that way When baby wakes at 3! "When baby rouses me at 6 O'clock I really do not care. . I put him throuRh his Infant tricks And toss him jtaily In the air. Most thoroug-hly 1 then enjoy The darlin little bov. And gladly cry: "No g-old could buy This roly-poly winsome wee!' I must confwn I prize him less When he wakes up at 3! One night in pain our wee one slept. The fever on his restl'ps brow; And Ihcn, as to hl crib I crept. In R-rief. that makes me tremble now, t I wondered if our little one Would wake to (rrset the sun. The long night through 1 watched with you. Hear wife a-l. oh, what Joy to see Our dartirg pmile, at laat the whiis He woke at 3!
