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THE MORNING OREGOXIAX, FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 1908.
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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!